"What happened out there, Billy?" " My clutch stuck." " Yeah, I saw what stuck your clutch." "See you tomorrow night at Lou's?" "No, sir." "No poker for me." "Taking my wife to New Orleans this weekend." "You gonna see the fight?" "No, just take in some shows." "Do a little dancing." "What kind of dancing you gonna do with them two left feet you got there?" "Two flat left feet." "If you don't watch it, you may find a flat left foot in your navel." " You and who else?" " Just me, chump." "And a flat left foot in your navel." "Look out." "You'll get your clutch stuck again, up your" "Watch your lips." "They may get you into something that your behind can't get you out of." "And you may have two left feet dead in your sternum." " I think we can get it on right now." " What?" " Right now." " Because I am tired of you, man." "Every time you come around, it's been words back and forth." "I'm sick of it." "I don't care how much you swell up." "Keep an eye on him, now." "Now." "Wait." "Don't throw no punches." "I wanna talk to you for one second." "Let me tell you something." "Before we get it on, I wanna say something." "This is all..." "I love you." "Come here." "Go on." "Go and say hello." "Come here." "See?" "There you go." "You write "1" "Do" "She got me." "Thank you." "She's all finished now." "Mr. Williams, Mr. Foster?" "I'm sorry." " You got to do it." " I said no." " It's the end of the line." " There's got to be another way." ""There's got to be another way." Tell you what it is." "You got to!" "You're crazy." "I haven't done it since I was in the Army." " You did at Joan's birthday last year." " That don't count." " I was fooling around." " It was beautiful." "I saw it." "I got it all figured out." "I'm taking Beth to New Orleans this weekend to celebrate our anniversary." "You and Dee Dee come and help us celebrate, and while we're there" " No!" " Listen to me!" "Some of these lodge members have been there for 60 years or more... and they're our responsibility!" "You better change your pants before people think you can't hold your water." "You got to do it!" " We're running an hour late already." " Maybe their taking so long is a good sign." " I'd better tell them to start the meeting." " Go ahead." "Clyde, honey, the world is not run on CB time." " You two will be late for your own funeral." " I hope so." "Billy ain't here?" " No." " What they say?" "Billy Foster, will you hurry up?" "Everybody's in there waiting on you." " Where is our car?" " I sold the car." " Why did you sell our car?" " I sold the car." "Is it our wedding anniversary tomorrow... or is it not our wedding anniversary tomorrow?" " So what?" " So, for 14 years... you've been working your fingers to the bone from sunrise to sundown... and I never had a dollar to spend nothing on you, so I sold the car." "I'm taking my wife to New Orleans for the weekend." "A man can always get a cheap car, but he can't get a wife." " Ain't that sweet?" " Yeah." " They are up to something." " I know it." " I am." " Yes, you are!" " And I'm gonna be." " Yes, you will!" " Triumph have I?" " Yes!" " Steady of heart?" " Yes!" " No valley of sorrow is deep enough." " No!" "No mountain of pleasure is high enough... to cause my feet to stumble one step in our everlasting journey..." "to the righteous side of life." " Praise to Him!" "And marching out at the head of our great multitude... to show us the way is our founder... the great grand warrior of the Kingdom of Shaka." "Praise to the kingdom!" "He stamped his feet on the ground that is Africa, and the Earth trembled." " To the evil, he shows no mercy." " No!" " To the deceitful, his blows are swift." " Yes!" "But to the pure in heart, he is love." "Love, brothers and sisters." "He is our leader." "The great grand warrior of the Kingdom of Shaka." "All praises due to our founder!" "All praises due to the Kingdom of Shaka!" "Brothers and sisters... another day has dawned... and though we are here in our good health and strength... today is not a good day for us." "The city has refused to grant us the extension that we wanted." "And so I guess the best way to start this meeting... is with a financial report on our situation from our treasurer, Brother Billy Foster." "We all know the situation." "We have known for the past three years... that the city was gonna tear down this section, commencing next year." "In six weeks, we've got to be out of this building." "Two years ago, you all made pledges to the new building fund... and you've fulfilled those pledges, but that's not enough." "Brothers and sisters, for the past two years... we're raking and scraping, but it is not enough!" "The initial cost of the construction... is $55,000." "That means we got to have at least that before we can start." "And so far, in the kitty, we've got $18,000." "Now, what are we going to do about it?" " Fight it!" " Tighten up and dig deeper." "Now, I know it's gonna be rough." "It is now or never!" "Now, the sons and daughters of Shaka have always thrived on adversity." "That's right!" " We live to overcome suffering." " Yes!" "We live to create light where there was darkness." " We have got to put our heart in it." " Yes!" " We've got to put our soul in it." " Yes!" " We've got to put our spirits in it." " Yes!" "And we've got to put some more money in it!" " That money should be in a bank." " It was." " We can go to jail if this don't work." "It's gonna work." " It's been a long time." " But you still got the touch." "'Cause I remember, at Sister Joan's party, with Victor Brown... you had him going around there, crowing like a rooster in a henhouse." "That's right." " How much is that?" "$2,000." "Mortgaged my furniture, sold my car, closed my bank account." "$2,000 from me. $18,000 from the lodge." "$20,000." "No, man." "I'm a milkman." "You're a factory worker." "We don't look like nobody who'd come up with no $20,000." " We gonna look like we got a million." " How?" "You just leave that up to me." "I'll take care of that." "Our women must never know nothing about this." "Never." "They're just going to New Orleans to have a good time." "That's for showing me one of the nicest times I've ever had in my life." " Is that all I'm gonna get?" " That's all you gonna get in public." "Stop!" "You fresh thing." " You know you love it." " Yes, I do." "And tonight I'm gonna lay a blockbuster on you." "Yeah?" "I'm gonna have a block for you to bust, too, baby... so you better bring a whole lot of hammer." "Have hammer, will travel... and go deep into your crevice." " It's the truth." " I know, but I certainly wish... you two would stop putting your business in the street like that." "Are you gonna sit there and act all proper... like Clyde ain't been hitting your switch regularly?" " I ain't in it." " I could say something, but I won't." "Of course Clyde and me have relations." "We certainly don't let the whole world know about it." "Do we, honey?" "Me and Dee Dee, we don't make no noise." "We whisper a lot." ""Oh, baby."" "We're all grown." "And we know what's happening." " Besides, it's our anniversary." " I know that." "But suppose somebody who didn't know you heard you talking." "What would they say?" "They'd say I was having a horny conversation... with a man in a fancy restaurant, and he was picking up on my vibe." "Picking up on them." " Dee Dee, I didn't know you were a prude." " I am not a-- lam not a prude." "But there are some things that I won't do, and that's all." "La-di-da." "Baby, that was a good lunch." "Now I'm ready for a nap, but first I'm gonna go take a wee-wee." "Dee Dee, come on and go to the powder room with me." "Come on, girl." " You tell me why?" " Why?" "The fella with the pink flower... the biggest of the bigtime gamblers in Louisiana." "Kansas City Mack." "Owns this restaurant, right here." "Your books don't look good." "I don't like it." "22% off can only mean one thing:" "bad management." "You." "You got to start increasing your volume in all your operations... especially in gambling, joy houses, and the liquor business." "Boss, inflation" "That ain't bothering Biggie Smalls in Kentucky and Alabama." "They're rolling along, heading in this direction." "It's your territory they'll grab first." "We're pushing as hard as we can." "We're on top of it seven days a week." "That's not good enough." "You got to come up with new ideas." "That's why Biggie Smalls keeps beating us to the punch." "Young college-educated faggots are doing his thinking for him." "Maybe y'all are too old." "Maybe y'all need to take a walk." "Maybe I ought to get some young college-educated faggots to think for me." " How are things looking on this fight?" " Not so good." "We're getting action on 40th St. Black, but nothing on Farnsworth." "That figures." "Even his mama ain't dumb enough to bet on him." "Look, use your heads." "If there ain't no Farnsworth money around, close your books and set this one out." "La dies and gentlemen, welcome to the training camp... of the Middleweight Champ of the World... who will defend his championship the night after tomorrow... right here in the fabulous city of New Orleans, at the Sports Center." "He is now coming to the ring to spar in three rounds of boxing"" "far your entertainment." "The Middleweight Champion of the World, 40th St. Black!" "Let's hear it, ladies and gentlemen!" "Anybody running into him better be driving a Mack Truck." " Okay, let's go see the challenger." " What's his name?" " Bootney Farnsworth." " Bootney Farnsworth?" "Come on, keep your right up, protect yourself." "Protect yourself!" "Move!" "Jab with your left hand." "Jab!" "There you go!" "Throw them punches in." "Move, Bootney!" "Honey, Bootney Farnsworth is knocking out his fellas, too." "No, dear, that's Bootney Farnsworth, there." "Look, kid." "Move." "Use your jab, understand?" "Don't try to slug it out." "If you get tagged, clench." "Keep your gloves up high, protect yourself." " Okay, let's go, come on." " Go get him." "Take him." "Punch!" "Cover up!" "Move it, move!" "40th St. Black is gonna kill that poor baby." " Here's your press card." " Where'd you get these?" "I printed them up myself." "You guys got one minute, and that's it." "My fighter has to eat and get some sleep." "Based on your last fight, do you feel you deserve a shot at the title?" "Martin was a pushover." "Bootney was carrying him." " I hear your sparring partner decked you." " He slipped." "Word's going around you're not in shape." "What do you say about that?" " Lies, propaganda!" " Then why are you a five-to-one underdog?" "Because we fight in the ring, not in the newspaper..." "like that big-mouth, empty-headed sissy." " Can we quote you, Bootney?" "Yeah, you can quote him!" "You tell the world... when we're through with 40th St. Black, he'll look like 30th St. Yellow." "Any truth to the rumor that you're developing a secret punch?" "Don't answer that, Bootney." "Everything in its proper place." " If you lose, what are your plans?" " We can't answer that." "Losing's the last thing we think about." " How long will the fight last?" " It won't go the distance." "If you win, will you be an active champion?" " We'll fight anybody, anywhere." " One little personal question." "How's your love life?" "How's his love life?" "He's got his hands full." "Okay, it's time to give my fighter some rest." "So up and out, let's go." "You know what to write, what pictures to print." "I appreciate you coming down." "See you when we win the championship." "Out you go, fellas." "Thanks a lot for coming by." "Appreciate it a lot." "Mr. Ellison?" " You really think I got a chance?" " He's gonna beat your brains in." "You've got something, but we just can't seem to..." "You do have a chance, son." " But not a good one?" " Not a good chance." "But you never know." "Come on, kid." "Get some rest." "We've got another day's work ahead of us." "Bootney Farnsworth, can you hear me?" "Listen to the rhythm of the chimes." "Listen to the rhythm of my voice." "You are going into the deepest part of your sleep." "Deeper and deeper." "Now your subconscious belongs to me." "Open your eyes." "In the innermost reaches of your heart... you are a tiger." "Tiger." "You are capable of great feats of strength and courage." "Strength and courage." "You can beat any fighter in the world." "You will win the championship." " I will?" " Yes." "Out of sight." "Tomorrow at your sparring session... you will demonstrate all the power you are capable of... and on the night of the fight, you will win over 40th St. Black." " Win." " Win." " Invincible." " Win." " Mean." " Win." "Downright nasty with strength." "Now go to sleep." "Go to sleep." "Sleep." "Win." " What are we gonna do now?" " The fire escape." "What are we gonna do?" "How do we go down?" " What are we gonna do?" " We're gonna put knots in these sheets... throw them out the window and climb down." "You're crazy." "We can't go down there on these." "Are you crazy?" "Do you know what they'll do to us if they catch us?" "Keep moving, fool." "Will you get your foot out of the way?" "Oh, boy." "Come here." " Who are you?" " Just as I thought." "Who am I?" "Do you realize how many rules you've broken... regarding a single-occupancy room in the state of Louisiana?" "Do you realize how many laws you've broken, sir... since you've entered this room?" " Who are you?" " Who am I?" "Who am I?" "I work for this hotel." "lam the house detective." "And this is my assistant, Frank... and Frank will read you..." "Read him his rights." " His rights?" " Yes, the rights." "Rights." "Anything you say may be held against you." "And it doesn't matter, because we've got enough against you." "Now, you, young lady, I'll get to you in a second." "But you first." "Now, what is your name?" " Rufus Isaacs." " Rufus Isaacs." " Are you married, Rufus?" " No." "Okay." "Where do you work?" "Right herein the hotel." "Then, Rufus, it's gonna really be heavy on you." " Now, what do you do here in the hotel?" " I'm the house detective." "House detective, I see." "That about closes this whole thing up, doesn't it?" "Yes." "You got us." "I guess you wanna put the handcuffs on us... take us on down to the manager's office... and explain to him how you caught us behind the sofa... while you were in here making love to a married woman." " Wait a minute now." " What?" " Now, just wait a minute." " I don't understand what you mean." "We have to go down and talk to the manager." " No." " What?" "You know, it's cool." " It's cool." "It's cool." " Rufus said "cool."" " Rufus said it's cool." "I knew he was hip, with the name Rufus." " Rufus." " You wanna take us down?" "Forget about it, you know." "We will now have three rounds of sparring... between the challenger, Bootney Farnsworth, and..." "Hell." "What's the use?" "Nothing but horse the rest of the way, fellas." "That's all." "We believe in change and we're prepared for it... with new techniques and new approaches." "And as for our part, we feel that... you're the best pieces of manpower available in this whole region." " Thank you, Mr. Smalls." " Call me Biggie." "We hope to be able to move into this area peacefully." "No violence." "But if Mack and his boys prove stubborn... then what has to be will be." "That's where you come in." "And if you're as good as your reputations... then we can look forward to a smooth transition." "Come in." "Excuse me." "Get the brothers a drink." " Mongo Slade from New York?" " That's right, Biggie Smalls." " What can I do for you?" " I hear you're taking bets on a fight." "Big bets." "I like Farnsworth." "$10,000." "Mr. Slade, sit down." "Let's have a talk." "Sir, there's a man outside who wants to see you about placing a bet." "Tell him this is a restaurant, not a bookie joint." "I did." "He said, "Big money."" "Okay, let's see what he looks like." " You wanna see me?" " Yeah, I wanna see you." " About what?" " My name is Mongo Slade." "I'm from out of New York City... and me and my boys want to make a bet with you." "Why don't you take it to one of the local bookies?" "Mainly because when we go to the local bookies... ain't none of them gonna take your bet unless you say it's okay... so we're just coming to see you." " How much you wanna bet?" " Who are these people here?" "These are my partners." "Bubbletop Woodsen, Fish an' Chips Freddie, Jody Tipps." "How much you wanna bet?" "I wanna bet $10,000." "Five-to-one odds, Farnsworth to win." "We would have bet $20,000, but we don't wanna overload your circuit." " Count it." " No need." "Mongo Slade." " New York City." " That's right." "I think we can do business." "You see, Kansas City... when we lose, we pay off." "Dig?" "Now, when we win... we don't wanna have to go chasing y'all all over Louisiana." " You understand?" " You win, we'll be here." "That's right." "Now, everything will be cool... for now." "And now, ladies and gentlemen, this is the main event of the evening." "Fifteen rounds of boxing"" "for the Middleweight Championship of the I/I/arid." "Judging at ringside will be Cecil Bethe!" "and Billy A dams." "Third man in the ring, your referee, the man in charge..." "Larry I-702a dilla." "Introducing in this comer, the challenger... weighing in at 155 pounds"" "wearing white trunks with a black stripe... from Possum '5 Paw, Alabama..." "Bootney Ferns worth!" "And his appanent, defending his title and his crown... and weighing in at an even 150 pounds... wearing black trunks with a white stripe... from Bigfoot, Mississippi... the Middleweight Champion of the W0!" "0'... 401'); $1'." "Bla ck!" "Okay, fellas, you both know the rules." "I want you to obey my commands." "When I say "break," I want you both to step back clean." "Keep your punches up, protect yourself at all times." "This is it, brother." "Shake hands now, and come out fighting." " I just hope he's still under." " What?" "I ain't sure." "This isn't right." "What is happening?" "Six, seven... eight, nine..." " If you ain't clean, you'll have a short life." " What?" "You may be living a little too dangerously, Mr. Slade." "You can't sell no wolf tickets at Kansas City." "Now, we gonna be by to see you have the bread ready." "You got my meaning?" "Meet me at my warehouse on Macon Street in half an hour." "We got you." "You un-hypnotize Farnsworth before we do anything else." "I'm gonna make a phone call." "Beth, listen." "You and Dee Dee get packed as soon as you can... and when you're finished, here's what you do." "Don't ask questions!" "My main man!" "We did it." " What's going on?" " How do you feel, Bootney?" "I didn't feel a thing." "How could you, when he never laid a glove on you, champ?" "Never laid a glove on me?" "Champ?" "You mean, I won?" "Of course!" "Kid, you were terrific." " Better than the last sparring session." " The last sparring session?" " I won..." "You mean, I'm the champ?" " That's right!" "I'm the champ?" "That's right!" "'Cause I am bad!" "That's right, 'cause I am bad!" "I'm so bad that sometimes I'm even scared of myself!" "And don't nobody mess with me, otherwise, I'm gonna drive on their face!" "I am the champ!" " Now, who am I?" " The champ!" " Who?" " The champ!" "That's right, and don't y'all forget it!" "We gonna have a party in this hotel so big... we gonna be boogying down all night!" "I am the champ!" "Hold it." "We're gonna wait for a call." "We wanna make sure that neither fighter was drugged or hyped up." "You know what I mean?" "Yeah, sure." "Take your time." "Hello?" "Right." "See you around." "Who the hell is he?" " This is my" " I'm his partner." " What did you do to 40th St. Black?" " What do you mean?" " How did you put the fix in?" " You're accusing us of a cheat?" "Thought you might want to share a professional secret." "You lost, Mack." "Live with it." " Here's your money." "Count it." " No need to count it." "Sure hope you boys don't have an accident on the way home, with all that money." "Keep an eye on them, so we know where they are in case we need to find them." " Congratulations, Mr. Ellison." " Hello, Mr. Mack." " The boy was fantastic." " Thank you." "He came into his own tonight." " Scotch and soda, please." " It all started the last day we sparred." "He knocked out all his sparring partners, smashed up the ring... and he hit the heavy bag so hard that the ceiling caved in." " No kidding?" " I'm telling you!" "He must have had hisself psyched up for this." "Psyched up is what it was... because there were times when I didn't even know him myself." " Can you beat that?" " It was like he was in a trance." "Here comes the champ!" "It was like he was in a trance." "Let's get to a phone." "Brothers and sisters, welcome to the new home.." "of the Sans and Daughters of Shaka." "The storm has passed." "And once again our mighty ship is back on course." "I want to thank especially... our treasurer and vice marshal... for those successful investments they made on the stock market." "Thanks to their efforts, we are now in a brand-new home." "We have a brand-new daycare center right downstairs... and $10,000... toward the new nursery school building fund." "I promised there wouldn't be any speeches today, and I'll keep my promise." "But before I do sit down, there is one more thing I just got to say." "Now, no longer are we gonna have to crawl... on the back roads of "No can do."" "From now on, we are riding on the freeway... of "Yes, we can do."" "Now..." "So, let's eat, drink, and enjoy ourselves... on this most momentous occasion." "I thank you." " Pardon me, sisters." " Yes?" "May we help you?" "You certainly can." "I'm MacArthur Clutch." "We'd like to speak to your husbands regarding investments." " Investments?" " We know that your husbands... have been doing some smalltime investing to help out the lodge." "Like some bets they made in the stock market." "We're here to show them how they can increase their dividends." "In other words, how they can get paid back more." "We represent a New Orleans breakage firm." "He means brokerage firm." "We want to show your husbands some breaks." "We'll show them how to make more breaks for themselves and the lodge." "We don't know too much about what you're saying... but I'll take you to my husband, and then you and him can talk it out." " That would be just dandy." " Good." "I tell you, I knew this bird from another life." "There's some men here who wanna talk to you about interests and dividends." "Fellas, these men are from New Orleans." "They represent a brokerage firm." "The Strong-Arm Brokerage Firm of New Orleans." "Our motto is, "We get even," and you can count on it." "They're here to help the lodge make some money." "Money?" "Somebody say money?" "Yes, Grand Supreme..." "This is Mr. MacArthur Clutch and his associates, a brokerage." " Well, now." "How do you do, gentlemen?" " Just fine, sir." "Actually, there's not too much to discuss at this time... just a few minor details for preliminary purposes." "I was wondering if I might borrow your treasurer to discuss this in private?" " You know, all the boring details." " I think that would be just fine." "I'd like to go with you myself, but my place is down here right now." "But why don't you take Brother Williams along as my proxy?" "I was just gonna ask you if that might be possible." "Of course it's possible." "Beth and Dee Dee, show these gentlemen to my office." "We'll just be a minute." "Us breakers don't take too long to do nothing." "Won't you follow me, please?" "We'll see y'all when you get downstairs, hear?" "Bye, baby." " I'm gonna kill them!" " Wait!" "Wait a minute!" "Wait a minute!" " Not now, Bubbletop." "Not here." " I'm gonna mineralize them." "I'll let you have them." "You can pick them clean, but first we talk." " Dishonest crooks." "Hypocritists." " You made fools of us, Mr. Mongo Slade." "You won a small victory, but you'll lose the war." "Your wives will be with us, and your lives will be marching to the cemetery." "What are you talking about?" "I'm talking about Farnsworth's hypnosis and $10,000 at five-to-one." "Hypnosis?" "We don't know nothing about no hypnosis." "You know anything about hypnosis?" "We don't know nothing about no hypnosis." "Bubbletop knows about hypnosis." "Want him to show you what he knows?" "No!" "We know a little about hypnosis." "Just a little." "You put the whammy on Farnsworth, made him think he was Superman." "Then you put the bite on us and disappeared." "Took a while to figure it out and find you, but we got your asses now." "What you looking at me like that for?" "You're the one that put the whammy on..." "Don't you look at me like that." "And don't look at my boys, either." "Look at him." "Any of you guys feel sleepy?" "Cut that out!" "Where'd you learn to put the whammy on people like that?" "In the army." "Medical corp." "Bubbletop will put you to sleep soon enough..." "if you don't jump at this proposition." " Proposition?" "What proposition?" "One that will get our money back and wipe out Biggie Smalls... put him out of business for good." "The rematch between Farnsworth and 40th St. Black is one week away." "Us six, here, are the only people who know what happened last time." "Farnsworth and his people don't have the slightest idea what went down." "Quiet as it's kept, Farnsworth is his old self again." "His sparring partners knock him out." "He lost that confidence you gave him." " Now his punches can't break an egg." " So?" "So you come back to Orleans and hypnotize Farnsworth again... three days before the fight... so everybody thinks he is back in winning condition... and everybody will want to bet on him." "Me and my boys will cover those bets." "On the morning of the fight, you will dehypnotize Farnsworth... so when he climbs in that ring, he'll be his old, scared self again." "After the fight we'll be even, and you'll be free to go." "How do we know we can trust you?" "I trust you." "Me, too." "So what will it be?" "You coming back to Orleans... or will you ask the Grand Supreme to arrange your funeral?" "I've always enjoyed going to New Orleans." " I'd rather go to New Orleans" " Than the cemetery." "You're right." "Well, well, well, Mongo Slade." " What can I do for you?" " I want to place a bet on the fight." "No kidding." " How much of a bet?" "$50,000." "On who?" "Bootney Farnsworth." "Lightning doesn't strike the same place twice." "Says who?" "Look...excuse me a minute." "I got to discuss with my colleagues before I can okay a bet of such magnitude." "You understand, don't you?" "Brother..." "Take your time... brother." "The last time that chump was in here, he burned us good." " He knows something." "I can feel it!" " Me, too, boss." " We have to stall him for a couple of days." " Right." "And let's take a look at Farnsworth, see if we can get some kind of line on him." "Because if that guy knows something... there's no reason why we shouldn't take advantage of it, right?" "Right." "Open it." "I suspect we can cover your bet." "Give us a couple of days while I get cash from out of town." "So long as you'll cover me before fight time." "Nothing to worry about." "In that case, I'll ease on." "If it ain't Shove-Along Mack and his old-time doggie." "Biggie Smalls." "Your mama still working in them $10 houses?" "Some other time." "One of these days, I'm gonna climb all over you." "It'll take more guts than you've got." "You got to bring ass to get ass." "You're colorful, Mack." "Dumb, old-fashioned and out of style, but colorful." "You're out of your territory." "I don't like people coming into my town... without paying their respect." "We no longer consider this town as out of our territory." "Watch your mouth, son." "I've brought you a message from the boys in Kentucky and Alabama." "They say you run this town like a sissy and think you ought to consider retiring." "We're ready to talk a deal." "Deal?" "Listen, Mississippi and Louisiana belong to me and my boys... and you'll be one dead sucker, along with these young college clowns... if you try that expansion stuff on us." "You know how things are nowadays with the gambling and sporting life... in the Black Belt." " There's no need for two of us." " You got that right, Biggie." "Now, Mack..." "I wouldn't like to see no violence." "You ain't gonna have to." "I'm gonna hit you so hard you won't see nothing, ever!" "Meantime, while you're a guest in my town... if you're looking for some action, we betting on Farnsworth." "If y'all like 40th St. Black, I'll cover everything you got, sucker." "Boss." "You see what I see?" "I'm looking." " Those guys are working for Mack." " I'll be damned." "It was Mack all along who beat us out of that bread in the first fight." "Looks like we were set up." "It seems that lightning is trying to strike in the same place twice." "This whole thing has finally come together." " Yeah, boss?" " Yeah!" "Slade comes over to us... to drop some heavy cash on Farnsworth... thinking we'd be glad to pick it up... because the word is out that Farnsworth ain't got nothing going for him." "Mack is betting on Farnsworth while telling us that we can bet... on 40th St. Black." " So where's all the heavy money going?" " On 40th St. Black." "Sucker money, every last cent of it... 'cause here it is the last day of sparring, and Farnsworth changes up... after playing possum for all these weeks." "For the suckers, it's too late, and Mack knows it." "And if we hadn't seen this session, we'd have bet on Black, too... and we'd have been cleaned out." "Mack is a fox, a dirty old fox." "You call Kentucky and Alabama... and get every cent you can muster up as fast as you can get it." "Right, boss." "We are gonna hit every book in this town with big bucks, understand?" "Nothing but heavy, heavy bets!" "You get the word around that we're betting on Farnsworth... and you tell all takers that the odds are negotiable." "It's as good as done, boss." "Okay, you contact every book in town." "Tell them that Biggie and his boys... are betting very heavy on Farnsworth, and we're covering every cent." "Let's go." "This is Mack." "Good." "Fellas, we're on our way." " Yea h?" " Everything': set." "It's time ta dehypnatize our friend." "And do it right, understand?" " We're leaving now." " Where do you have to go so early?" "It's 8:00 in the morning." "That was Mr. Clutch, dear." "You can plan a long day." " Make a lot of money for the lodge." " Sure." "Mack just called. it's all set." "It's up to you now." " Well?" " I couldn't catch him." "Where is he?" "At the rate he's going, he's in Mexico by now." "Come on." "We have to catch him at his hotel." "Come on." "Stick." "There you go." "Stick it." "All right." "Cross with the right." "There you go." "Shoot some jabs." "Jab!" "Fellas, go ahead and put him to bed." "I don't know what I did with the key." "I must've left it down in the bar." "Miss, pardon me." "Do you have a key?" "Could you open the door?" "I left the key in the bar or somewhere." "Thank you so much." "Certainly appreciate it." "Thank you so much." "Thank you." "What the hell's going on?" "Do you have your card?" "Get your card out." " See if you can find your card." " My card." "Here it is!" "Here's the card!" "No, this is from the suit." "We represent the champ's hometown." "We're the local chamber of commerce from the champ's hometown... and this is my friend here, as you can see." "Now..." "Yes!" "You did, of course, and you're right about all of it." "But we wrote a song for the champ... coming from Possum's Paw, Alabama." "This is Mr. Sebastian." "He's the composer of the song." "Mr. Sebastian." "Now, you're probably wondering about the window." " Yeah." " No." "Yes, well... you see, when we first arrived here... we came up to see the champ legitimately." "Came up, and we said, "We'd like to see the champ."" "People said, "You cannot see the champ the day before the fight."" "So my friend and I took it upon ourselves... to come out on ledges and do all sorts of things... mainly because in our hometown... of Possum's Paw, Alabama, which is the champ's hometown also... there is an orphanage." "Now, this orphanage has real orphans." "I mean, these kids, they don't even have...things." "Some of them, we don't know where they came from." "We got one green one." "Poor child." "And he loves the champ more than anybody... because he doesn't have anyone to identify with." "But if you say the champ's name... they start acting just like they had real parents... and they're running around writing their names on the walls." "We decided to take it upon ourselves... to come in through the window... to try to get to the champ... to see if there's some way that we could sing the song." "So, we'd like to sing it for you, if it's all right." "Call the police." "What's the sense of talking about building a recreation center for this area... when our community-relations team sits on their fat asses and blows steam?" "$2,500 in six months." "Is that the best they can do?" "Tell them to get off their tails, get in the community and relate." "Tell them I wanna see some improvements or I'll have their heads!" "Now, go ahead." "Open it up." "My name is Lt. Bottomley, 27th Precinct." " We got you here on a variety of charges." " You have?" "Breaking and entering, criminal trespass, criminal mischief, burglary... attempted larceny, attempted murder." "It all depends on what your intentions were to Farnsworth." " But we didn't try to murder anybody." " We wouldn't hurt a fly." "Then just what were you doing there?" "We're from the champ's hometown... and we came up to sing him a song that we specially composed for him." "And I had to have the right vocal pitch... in order to get the right vocal level..." "I'm sure you understand." "Just listen to the sound of the charm." "Just listen." "Listen." "We got out of that." "What do you mean, "we"?" "I got us out of that fix." "And from now on, I'll do the thinking." "All along, you and Mack have been telling me what to do." "Now I'm gonna tell me what to do." "And I'm gonna tell you what to do." "All right, what are we gonna do?" "Since there's no way to get to Farnsworth to dehypnotize him..." " Yea h?" " Everything': perfect at my end." "Your m a ve." "What are you gonna do with it?" " I'm gonna invest it." " With Mr. Clutch?" "In a manner of speaking, yes." "Now, we need you... and the lodge needs you more than ever before." "I don't want you asking any questions." "I don't want you to get upset." "I want you to listen carefully." "We cannot afford any mistakes." " Biggie Smalls?" " Who wants him?" "I want to make a bet on the fight." "What makes you think he takes bets on fights?" "If he don't, I guess I'll just have to take my $5,000... and go someplace else, won't I?" "Who is Biggie Smalls?" "You do your business with me for the time being." "Where's your $5,000?" " On who?" "It's right there on the paper." " You serious?" "ls there salt in the sea?" "Does honey come from a bee?" "You bet your ass I'm serious." " You sure you know what you're doing?" "lfl didn't, I wouldn't be here, sugar." "$5,000 at twenty-to-one odds." " That's right." " And you're betting on..." " Betting exactly what's on that paper." "If you win, I'll move on, you keep my $5,000... and bless you, sugar, if you lose..." "I'll be back for $100,000." " Deal?" " Lady, you must have money to burn." "Deal." "Excuse me." "Hello, this is Zack." "I got a crazy lady down here who's putting down $5,000... on the weirdest bet I ever heard." "She wants..." "$5,000 at twenty-to-one?" "Probably some nut." "She's got the money there?" "Take it." "What the hell, as long as the money's real." "Let's eat." "Fifteen rounds of boxing"" "for the Middleweight Championship of the I/I/arid." "Judging at ringside, Marvin Lewis... an my left at ringside, Lloyd Gaudi." "Your referee, the man in charge in the ring... giving instructions after introductions..." "Larry I-702a dilla " "Here we gal In this comer, the challenger... weighing 150 pounds... wearing black trunks with a white stripe... the farm er Middleweight Champion of the W0!" "0'... from Bigfoot, Mississippi... 401'); $1'." "Bla ck!" "And his opponent, defending his crown... wearing white trunks with a black stripe... the Middleweight Champion of the W0!" "0'..." "Bootney Ferns worth!" "Okay, fellas, you both know the rules." "This is for the Middleweight Championship of the World." "I want you to obey my commands." "When I tell you to break, I want you both to break clean... but protect yourself at all times." "Shake hands now, and good luck to both of you." "Stay away!" "Come on!" "Get up!" "No!" "Dirty, rotten, no-good, crooked turkeys!" "They crossed us!" "They beat us again!" "Mack!" "That dirty, rotten, double-crosser!" "He was rigging this from the start and we couldn't see it!" "That broad!" "They sent that broad to Zack with $5,000 at twenty-to-one." "Then they fixed the fight, knowing it was going to draw." "He sent that frowzy broad up there to make that stupid $5,000 bet!" "At twenty-to-one, he stands to score $100,000!" "Let's go." "We got to get to Zack's." "We find them, and we kill them." "Step on it, man." "That broad with the crazy bet?" " She just left." " You paid her?" " You okayed the bet." " Damn it, Zack!" "Where'd she go?" " I don't know." " You don't know?" "Wait a minute." "We know who sent her." "Them two knuckleheads from Atlanta, and they'll be dead before sunrise!" "It's got to be somebody they trust a lot to help with this con." "A wife!" "But which one?" "I'll be damned." "Both of them." "Them dumb field hands are smarter than I thought." "I'll bet Biggie Smalls got hit for $100,000, too." " The lines are all dead." " There's a pay phone across the street." "I wanna speak to Biggie Smalls." "It's urgent." "I'm sorry, sir, but Mr. Smalls is out for the evening." "I'm not sure when he'll be back." "You're welcome." "Out for the evening?" "Let's get to his hotel." "Don't touch it!" "The only thing you'll leave here with is your life and a message." "We know who you are and we know who sent you." "Who sent me?" "Tell Kansas City Mack if he wants this money... to come here and get it himself." "Just tell him to come on up here." "Just tell him to come up here, and he'll get the big payoff!" "Kansas City Mack." "You think I work for that smalltime country chump?" "You surprise me, Mr. Smalls." "You ain't got the smarts I thought you had." "What?" "I work for the new syndicate, sugar." "I'm on the road 10 days out of every month." "All I do is move money from one city to another." "When they win, I pick up." "When they lose, I deliver." "Now, that money is theirs." "And they want it in Chicago with me by morning." " You're lying." " You try me." "Will you tell this child to get that thing out of my face... before I make her eat it?" "You better let me call Chicago." "Give me Chicago, sugar." "225-3599." "Hello, chief?" "I'm having trouble with the pick up." "He's right here." "Say, are you crazy?" "I understand that you're 6' 2" and good-looking." "Fl/ow how would you like to be 4 ' 2" and ugly?" "Air-condition your brains... and arrange for you to spend some time... in the bottom of the ocean in a box of cement!" "You get up off of the money and keep your good looks and your life!" "We want the woman and the money in Chicago, in the morning." "Nice talking to you, Biggie." "Take it." "Jive turkey." "See you, sugar." "There they are!" "There they are!" "There they go!" "Well, Lieutenant... you have to excuse us for barging in on you like this." "Looks like we turned down the wrong alley." "We were looking for the bail entrance, not the jail entrance." "Relax, fellas. it's all over." "We know what you've done, and it's gonna follow you for life." "Life?" "We're pleading the Fifth." " We want our lawyer." " I told you they were unduly modest." "Let me go and talk to them, convince them they should take the rap." "Now, if y'all don't go along... with what me and Clyde are about to put down... we're gonna start singing like The Temptations... and everybody gonna do some time around here." "But y'all gonna do about 30-40 years... before the man even starts thinking about parole." "So all I want you to do is smile... and show that you're gonna cooperate with whatever we do." "That's beautiful." "They're ready to confess... that in the past years... they have wreaked havoc... among the brethren of the community..." "Sausage nose, chitlin eyes." "And I say to you that MacArthur Clutch... and..." "Hiawatha Smalls..." "When they heard... about the police community-relations team trying to get money... to aid the recreation fund for the little slum kids... it brought tears to their eyes." "They shed tears." "And so when they heard about it, they came running forth... through a door that they didn't know anything about." "Just came running!" "And you saw them." "They were excited, like little children." ""We don't know where we are or who we are..." ""or anything like that." ""And we plead the Fifth." 'Cause they're gangsters!" "And that's why they looked funny when they ran in here." "Didn't do it on purpose." "They wanted to help." "And so that's why they're here... to aid the police department." "On behalf of Mr. MacArthur Clutch... $10,000 for the community teams' recreation center." "And on behalf of Mr. Hiawatha Smalls... another $10,000 for the 27th Precinct Community Youth Center!" "Because Mr. Smalls and Mr. Clutch are such concerned citizens... they have one more donation to make." "These two reconstructed gentlemen asked... that $5,000 each be donated to a large nursery school fund... in Atlanta, Georgia." "This is for Atlanta." "The nursery back there." "Now..." "Yes, sir." "Excuse us a second." "If it's the last thing I do, I'll get you for this." " That's really too bad." " It sure would be." "That would mean Lt. Bottomley... would have to open that envelope with all that evidence." "That's really too bad, because I like some of these guys." " You're lying." " Lt. Bottomley?" " Would you tell them about the envelope?" " I have an envelope in my safe." "It's to be opened in case my friends here meet with any untimely accident... or come down with a severe case of death." "You can trust us, Lieutenant." "We wouldn't dream of hurting these two fine gentlemen." "Good." "Just in case, I'm gonna make my own stipulations." "Now, that envelope stays locked in my safe... just as long as I don't see a trace of you two in my fair city again." " Agreed?" " You can count on us, Your Honor." "I never did like New Orleans that much nohow." "Just so as we understand each other." "Clyde, let me ask you a question." "If you had a boxing match... between Muhammad Ali and Sammy Davis Jr..." "how much you think they'd draw?" " Are you crazy?" "I'm serious." "How much?" "And I suppose you'd want me to hypnotize Sammy?" "No." "You hear me?" "N-O." "No!" "Millions of people... betting against Sammy Davis Jr." "Ain't nobody gonna bet on Sammy Davis Jr." "Man don't weigh but about 118 pounds... fighting a man who weighs 230 pounds." "Ali would be so comfortable, he'd come in weighing 340 pounds." "Come in, hit Sammy dead on top of the head, break both his legs." "That'd be the end of the fight." "But if you hypnotize him... we'd go in there 800-to-1..."