I, the Jury (1953) Movie Script
1
- Where do you think you're going?
- I'm Mike Hammer.
The body's in there, Mike.
Yesterday it was Jack Williams,
now it's "the body".
The guy who said he'd give
his right arm for a friend.
He didn't have to catch
that Jap bayonet in his arm.
It was meant for me.
Where'd he get it, Pat?
Low. The killer carved the nose off a .45.
If you're dealing yourself in
you're gonna have to go easy.
How easy? Let you find him first
so he can be kept alive by shysters?
You're not the law, Mike.
You're a private sleuth.
Because we let you be one.
Sure, you've helped me before
and I hope you will again,
but don't get any crazy ideas about
how you're gonna pull the trigger yourself
or you'll find yourself without a licence.
- You didn't hear me say that!
- I don't have to.
It's right there on your puss?
Listen, Pat, I've managed
to take care of myself
one way or another for a long time.
And licence or no licence,
I'll find the killer.
And he'll get what he deserves,
a .45 right where he gave it to Jack.
Mike Hammer makes his usual
statement to the press.
Me, I...
He's a one man police department.
I know how you feel, Johnny.
He just has that certain knack
of making friends.
If I were you,
I'd do a piece on him.
The only piece I'd like to do about him
is in the obituary column.
Wouldn't do you any good there.
If you did a story on page one,
it might get you some new readers.
Play it up strong.
You know,
"Warning to the killer.
I, Mike Hammer, will find you
and give it to you as you gave it
to my pal Jack Williams."
It's an idea.
Sure it is.
It's your idea.
The weather was
about as happy as I was.
And unless I missed my guess,
it would be pretty much
the way Myrna would feel.
Myrna was Jack's girl.
And when she wasn't working at it,
she was singing torchy songs
for the tourist clubs
right here in Greenwich Village.
Hello, Myrna.
Looking at the ceiling's
not gonna help you any.
I need facts. All the help I can get.
You were at the party.
Jack say anything to you?
Was he worried?
Alright. Maybe you're just not interested.
Maybe he didn't mean enough to you.
Let me alone.
How can anyone know
what I really felt for Jack?
He was the only one
who cared enough to save my life.
Everything he earned,
he spent curing me.
Nights he'd sit up with me.
And my nerves were that raw,
I couldn't stop screaming.
And you don't know if I'm interested?
I'll tell you a secret.
We were gonna be married.
Next week.
Here... do you good to cry.
I'll be back when you're up to it.
- Good morning to you, too.
- Good morning.
I can see by the morning papers that
you've been shooting off your mouth again.
"I, The Jury - Says Mike Hammer."
Listen to this.
"It was also reported, according to Captain
Pat Chambers of the Homicide Squad,
that Mike Hammer had some idea
of the killer's identity
but refused to reveal it to the police."
What? Let me see that.
You mean you really don't know?
I'd be after him now if I did.
And why would Pat do that?
Flush out the killer. Worked before.
He lets him know I'm onto him,
and then the killer tries to shut me up.
Then that's why he'd send over a list of
the guests who were at Jack's party.
He thinks of everything,
even lays out the route, huh?
Present were George Kalecki, Hal Kines,
the Bellamy twins and Charlotte Manning.
Well, maybe I've got
some ideas on that too.
You're not going to be his patsy, are you?
Why not? I'm a sitting duck for anybody
with a .45. Come on.
- Hi, Velda.
- What do you know, Pete?
- Going out, Mr Hammer?
- Yeah, I see business is picking up.
Picking up all over. Are you looking for
company tonight, Mr Hammer?
I wasn't figuring on it.
If I were you, I'd take one of those
rides to the roof again.
Step across the adjoining building,
request the elevator operator, Benny,
to take me down to the basement
where I would take the service
entrance out to the back street.
That's if I were you.
You've got yourself a deal.
Come on.
Shall we go?
Hey.
Don't need the both of us disappointing
Pat's tail, let him follow you.
Generous of you.
I think so.
Hey. Wait a minute.
First on the list,
Mr George Kalecki.
The Four Oaks, West Chester.
George had come a long way
from the Bronx and a cold water worker.
That was before he went in for managing
fighters and splitting the purses even.
Eighty for Honest George
and 20 for Joe Pug.
We got down to business in a hurry
and I hit him with the facts.
He wasn't Jack's kind of company,
which made him
suspect number one in my book.
You really have a sense of humour,
Mr Hammer.
Yeah? Well, I get funnier as I go along.
For instance,
what were you doing at Jack's place?
Simple. He invited me.
Look, you.
I was in bed when the murder occurred.
I can prove it.
How? Take a notary public home with you?
The police haven't even attempted
to connect me with this Killing.
Where do you come off
with these accusations?
Because I know you for a phoney.
I remember you
when you didn't know the difference
between a Rembrandt and a right cross.
You're still a small time operator
no matter how much art you swallow.
Get out of here.
What? All this art and no manners?
You heard him.
Hal!
Better wait to be introduced, boy.
Now maybe we understand each other.
You'll find I'm not without
some influence, Mr Hammer.
You're full of a lot of influence.
But I wouldn't advise you to use it.
What is it you want from us?
- This Kines?
- Yes, it is.
Well, is it?
Another one of your art pieces?
Mr Kines is a student I am helping
to put through Parkdale College.
He's in visiting me
over the Christmas holidays.
That's why I took him to Jack's party.
What did you do after
you left Jack's place?
Tell them, Hal.
We went downstairs to my car
and drove home.
Who's we?
George, Myrna and myself.
We dropped her off first at her apartment
and then came home.
- Is that right?
- Yes, that's right.
Then what?
We had a highball and went to bed.
Yeah?
Well, that still doesn't mean
that either one of you guys
couldn't have sneaked back to Jack's place
and pumped a bullet in him.
You're sick, my friend.
Yeah.
Well, there might even be an epidemic.
Charlotte Manning. Psychoanalysis.
Things had changed since I was a kid.
Shingles were wood
and carried a lot of weight.
Now they were brass
and could still weigh nothing.
It's too late for an appointment.
You're no beauty either.
Why don't you take an aspirin
like a good fella?
And tomorrow Miss Manning
can see you and take care of you.
Where do you think you're going?
Tell the lady she's got company.
What is it Kathy, a patient?
Well, if he ain't, he ought to be.
Be right out.
"Analyze Yourself" by Charlotte Manning.
Later I was to find out that this
was no Swami with a crystal ball
but the real McCoy.
Anything from
a mental motor overhaul to a tune up.
Your slippers, Miss Manning.
Thank you, Kathy.
These characters,
the way they come barging in
all hours of the day and night.
It's enough to try
the patience of a saint.
Forgive me for keeping you waiting.
That's alright.
I'm not going to stand
on ceremony if you don't.
My name's Mike Hammer.
Guess I caught you at a bad time, huh?
Expecting company?
You make it sound so very incriminating.
Alright, I confess, I was expecting you.
Me? Go on.
Pat Chambers told you
I might drop in, huh?
It's a pleasure to see your mind work,
Mr Hammer.
So penetrating and logical.
Oh, I'm quite serious.
After all, the mind is what
I deal with in my profession.
I didn't come here to have my head
examined.
Compliments of the management.
May I take your coat?
Okay but I can't stay long.
Hey, from now on,
when you're expecting company,
you better let your maid know
her etiquette is almost as bad as mine.
From my advance information,
I knew that wouldn't stop you.
It feels very light. No artillery?
- There.
- Well, how chic.
What time did you get to the party?
I got to the party about 11.
I was held up by a visit to a patient.
We left together around one,
Esther and Mary Bellamy,
and we took my car.
I dropped the twins off at their apartment
and came straight home.
- Anybody see you come in?
- Yes, Kathy, my maid.
Drink, Mr Hammer?
No, I'm not much of
a champagne drinker, Doc.
Beer!
Pat tell you about that too?
No, Jack Williams did.
He talked about you quite a lot.
That was while you were treating
Myrna, isn't it?
Captain Chambers was asking
about Myrna when he was here.
He wanted to know
how strong she was mentally
and whether there was any chance
of her resorting to her old habits again.
There's no chance of that happening,
is there, Doc?
Let's say so far, so good.
I'll drink to that. Here, have some.
I've never been a beer drinker.
Oh? Pleased to introduce you
to a new habit.
I'm very pleased to meet it.
Aren't you hungry?
Yeah, I'll nibble on some of this
if you don't mind?
Hey, don't depend too much upon my friends
if you really wanna
find out about my taste.
Best thing for you to do
is to find out at the source.
Oh, you've been very revealing already.
Yeah, I guess I have been pretty noisy,
haven't I?
But for good reason.
I like to stick my neck out.
Makes me think I'm tough.
I'd be on a city police force like Pat,
only I just don't like paperwork.
Does that add up for you, Doc?
You are tough, Mike.
It's not a bad fault in a man.
There are other things I could tell you
about yourself
if you'll give me a ring sometime.
Just don't get too far from the telephone.
I'm disappointed you're leaving so soon.
I thought you came here
to really grill me.
Oh, this time I'm just
sizing up the suspects.
Am I a suspect?
Till I find out who killed Jack,
everyone is.
Oh, here, thank you for the chicken.
I'll see you, huh?
Thought I shook you a while ago.
I'm surprised at you, Mike.
A little insulted, too.
You think I'm that easy to shake.
That was one of my men.
I just had a hunch I'd find you here.
Yeah, together with this route list
you conveniently furnished.
Oh, that?
Kines just moved out of Kalecki's place.
In kind of a hurry, wasn't he?
Somebody took a shot
at Mr Hal Kines this afternoon.
He thinks it was you.
The only thing
I've aimed at him has been this.
There's such a thing
as due process of the law.
Watch it, Mike.
Next time I'll wait
for an engraved invitation.
From Hal Kines at the Midworth Arms?
You'll never get it.
Midworth Arms, huh?
That's where the Bellamy twins live.
Is it now?
I just wanted to bring
your list up to date.
Act like a clam
or I'll open you up like one.
Guy's gotta make a living.
I thought you'd try this.
I'll try anything once.
Well, you're right about it being once.
Because you're not going to get
another chance.
You broke into my apartment.
That makes you a burglar.
All grown up, aren't you? What makes
you think you can do a man's job.
Big athlete!
Come on in.
How'd you know
what I wanted for Christmas?
I got your letter to Santa Claus.
Hey, you're cute.
Here, you can have your present now
if you want it.
Tom...
Dick...
Maurice?
What's the matter, no girlfriends?
I have a twin sister. That's enough.
Here.
Try this one.
They come alive.
Go on, Mike. Take a look.
Oh, Captain Chambers
told me to expect you.
Besides I remember the...
face from a picture
Jack showed us once.
It's not an easy one to forget.
He was always talking about you,
even when he was a guard
on my daddy's estate.
That makes us old friends.
Press the button.
Which one are you?
I'm Mary.
I've got the strawberry birth mark.
The other one's Esther.
Where is Esther?
Out.
Shopping.
I wanna see her, too.
You won't like her as much.
What about Jack the night of the party,
you notice anything strange?
No.
Just that Jack and Myrna
had some sort of argument.
She walked away.
There's nothing strange about that,
is there?
Lovers quarrelling all over the place?
It's the way it should be.
That's Esther.
Last year's skeet champion.
Well, what'd Myrna do
when she walked away?
Had a conference with Charlotte.
Oh, you known the Doc long?
Ever since
Jack first brought her around.
She's been treating Myrna.
Uh-huh. And then you
got a cab and went home?
Cab?
Charlotte drove us back.
Then we went to bed right away and...
and knew nothing about the murder
until a reporter called us up
for a statement.
Hey, what's this? The country club?
It's only 40 rooms but we call it home.
Ah, well, thanks for the show,
Miss Bellamy.
I'll keep in touch, huh?
We're giving a party Christmas Day.
You're invited.
Oh, I'd like to come too.
Only I got beer stains on my white tie.
Hey.
Here. Scratch.
Say, Mr Hammer.
Would you take this
into Velda for me, please?
- What is it?
- Velda's stuff for her guest.
Hey.
Hey! Jingle bells, jingle bells!
And away I go!
I beg your pardon.
I thought I was walking
into a business office.
Meet the Killer.
Dug him out of the files for you.
Been doing a little research.
Here's some more of the same, pal.
Aren't you Killer Thompson, the fighter?
Yeah.
I used to see you at the Garden.
I thought you were
retired and rolling in it.
Kalecki's the one who's rolling in it.
He used to be Killer's manager.
Go on, tell him what you told me
about Kalecki.
Sold me out, he did.
Sold me out to the numbers racketeers.
I should've beat his brains out.
Why would he wanna dump a winner?
I was getting old.
He used me up quick.
Time to trade me in
for a piece of their racket.
Suckers!
He give them
the same deal he give me.
Here's to you, champ!
What's the matter with you?
My name's Hammer, friend.
I'm looking for some help.
I've heard of you.
What do you want?
What do you know about Kalecki?
Eight ball in the corner pocket.
Maybe you didn't hear what I said?
I heard you. I'm still don't know
what you're talking about.
I'm busy.
That was only the beginning and pretty
much the way it went all around.
Nobody knew anything.
Not even Blind Toby, who's specialty was
hearing things to make up for his eyes.
All of a sudden
he became deaf to my questions.
He was ready to swap jokes
and lend me money
but he couldn't say whether Kalecki
was a name or a disease.
Westside, Eastside, all around the town,
I felt swell, like a three day headache,
and I was beginning to find out again
how hard the pavements can be.
For all the good it did me,
I could've stayed home.
Suddenly there was
an epidemic of head shaking.
Only the harder they shook their heads,
the more frightened
the look in their eyes.
There had to be one loose tongue around
only I hadn't heard from it yet.
Not even a whisper to set me straight.
So far, the only take-home pay
added up to a big, fat nothing.
And there was a bonus too.
Unless I laid off,
my own number would be up.
Gee, Mr Hammer, I'm glad to see you.
Where you been keeping yourself, Bobo?
Java, black.
Still running the numbers, kid?
Ah, no, I don't do that no more.
That ain't right.
I'm learning all about bees.
Look, I got me a library book and a card.
Good for you.
I built me a hive
out of an egg box up on the roof.
Careful you don't get stung now.
Oh, they wouldn't sting me.
They like me. They walk on me.
Yeah, sure, Bobo. Everybody likes you.
Well, so long.
I gotta go see a man
about buying a queen bee.
Do you think five bucks
is too much to pay?
Everything's up, Bobo, even queens.
So long.
Hey, Signore Hammer!
I'm glad to see you. How are you?
- I'm fine. How's it going?
- Fine, I'm...
But what brings you to this part of town?
I came over for some of that good beer,
you know.
Oh, you know better
than to come here for beer.
- I'd want to buy...
- ...a little coffee.
But for you, Mr Hammer,
I make especially.
Hey, that was a tough break
about Jack Williams.
Nice guy.
Him and his girl, Myrna,
used to come in here often.
Drink up, Mr Hammer.
No, it's on the house.
I'll pay for the beer
and I'll take some advice.
Eh? Like, what kind of advice?
Take a number.
Oh, no, I'm too dumb to give advice.
You're still taking
a play for the numbers.
Oh, numbers, punch boards.
Give the people what they want!
Who takes first cut on all the nickels,
isn't it Kalecki?
Drink your beer, Mr Hammer.
Good pump on it.
Now, don't stall me, Manuel.
I remember you coming
to me for a favour once.
You don't know what you're asking me.
I'm asking you for help.
I remember a very frightened
Manuel coming to me for help.
I'd do anything for you,
you know that.
Then what about Kalecki?
Does he give the orders?
That's what I hear
but I ain't never seen in my...
Alright, mister, what's your game and why
you been nosing around here all day?
Get him!
Enough.
Now maybe you get the idea, Hammer.
You keep your mouth shut.
Poor guy. My friend.
Hey, you're supposed to make it better.
That's more like it.
You've always had a need for trouble,
Mike.
You go looking for it.
I don't run away from it.
Don't give me any of that double talk
about my having a suicide complex.
My analyst couch is in the other room.
This one's for guests.
That gives me the right to offer you
a little friendly advice.
Which was just what I was after
when I dragged you out of bed.
- Do you wanna go first?
- I insist.
You've obviously be stirring up the mud
in the stream.
This time you got off with a few bruises.
Next time could be worse.
That old suicide complex?
Martyrs without a purpose
are out of season, Mike.
This job will take more than one
pair of hands, more than one mind.
There are many who want to help.
- You, for instance?
- Me, for instance.
Okay, Doc.
Add it up for the team,
you're the expert.
What business would Jack
have with Kalecki?
I don't know.
What makes you think a psychoanalyst
is anything more than a human being?
I'm not a magician, Mike.
What would you say if I told you
that Kalecki was running a numbers racket?
In my profession, nothing surprises me.
I hear the most amazing confessions.
I understood
he was something of an art collector.
He isn't particular.
He also collects sucker money
from number players.
Mike,
do you mind if I
play detective for a minute?
Now you're cutting in on my racket.
Maybe that's what Jack stumbled into.
Jack was no cop,
he was an insurance investigator.
But he had been a policeman.
Maybe it was just principle with him,
maybe he wanted to hand over
the information to you.
What for? He knew being a cop was strictly
business with me.
No, runs deeper than that.
While we're at it,
what was your connection with Kalecki?
He interests me purely as a case.
As a matter of fact, so do you.
Who knows? You might end up
being a chapter in one of my books.
What about Kines?
Why?
He gonna end up being a chapter too?
He introduced me to Kalecki.
You weren't becoming possessive,
were you Mike?
You're all better now.
Able to sit up and take nourishment.
I just had a relapse.
Mike, there isn't a chance Jack
could have left you a message, is there?
Why? Cops went all through
his place, didn't they?
But you didn't, Michael,
and I can't imagine Jack
not trying to get a message to you.
You always think
of the right thing at the wrong time?
Only when they're so obvious, darling.
Stick around.
I might bring back
a fractured skull this time.
No sense tipping off the cop
guarding the door outside.
He wouldn't understand.
Besides, he might be sleeping.
"Expected you here before this, Mike.
If you find anything, let us know. Pat.
There was an old diary Jack kept.
A habit he had picked up
while he was still on the police force.
He'd even hung onto it through
all the action in the Pacific.
If the cops didn't get it, who did?
What are you following me for?
Get outta here!
What happened? Missing persons finally get
in touch with you? Where have you been?
- Looking for a needle.
- In whose haystack?
Look what I found at Jack's place.
You better show it to Pat. Play ball with
him cos he's the last friend you've got.
I've always got you, baby.
After Charlotte Manning, that is.
It was her idea I look for this.
Miss Haystack.
Most of this stuff adds up to nothing.
There's a recipe for veal paprika,
a memo to buy Myrna a Christmas present.
There are a few final notes
that might touch off a lead.
Does the name Eileen Vickers
mean anything to you?
It's a girl.
Well, it meant a lot more to Jack.
For instance, this little item right here.
"Saw EV again. Changed name
to Mary Wright. Call father."
Now that was dated two weeks
before Jack was killed.
- Where's the tie-up.
- Turn the page. See, look.
"Call family.
RH Vickers, Woodbelle, New York.
Girl in bad shape."
Trace and raid on the 23rd. Raid what?
I don't know.
"Ask CM. She can help."
CM? That's for Charlotte Manning.
"Call family.
RH Vickers, Woodbelle, New York.
Girl in bad shape."
Yes, sir.
There you are, Mr Dodds.
You'll be feeling much better now.
My name is Hammer, Dr Vickers.
Mike Hammer.
Do you hear that, Mr Dodds?
Meet Mr Hammer.
Old Mr Dodds is always getting
into some mess or another.
He chases cats.
I've told him it isn't neighbourly
but then he won't listen.
Now, what did you say was the trouble,
Mr Hammer?
Well I don't know yet.
It's about your daughter.
Well, don't worry, Dr Vickers,
she isn't hurt or anything.
Sometimes I think I would welcome the news
that Eileen was dead.
That shocks you, doesn't it?
- Are you married, Mr Hammer?
- No.
Well, then you wouldn't understand
what it means to have a daughter
and try to make something out of her
and then to fail.
What I'm trying to figure out is
how Jack Williams fits into the picture.
Oh, well, I asked him to help my daughter.
He knew her when she was a little baby.
You see, Eileen met a fellow at school
and ran away with him.
Since then, it's been
one scrape after another.
Well, do you happen
to remember the boy's name?
John Hanson.
It isn't likely I'd ever forget it.
About two weeks ago,
I saw Eileen in New York.
It was frightening the way she looked.
She said she'd changed her name
to Mary Wright.
Said she was working for some people
called Carlos and Bonita.
She said she was a dance instructor.
Oh, well, you'll have to excuse me.
That's Tom. He'll be needing my help.
Cute little terrier.
He was run over by an automobile.
Well, thanks a lot, Doc.
I'll let you know.
You get around on a job like mine.
If it isn't to identify
some stiff at the morgue,
you're explaining things to a blackmailer.
Or hunting down
a shoemaker's missing daughter.
Right now, it was a dance school
run by Carlos and Bonita,
just off Gramercy Park.
And I was in the market
for some fancy rhythm.
Especially from a dance instructress
named Mary Wright
with connections in Woodbelle, New York.
Mary? A gentleman on the way in.
He wants to rhumba.
Right this way, sir.
Room 6.
Well, hello there.
Hi.
Get out of your hat and coat.
Let's just talk this one out, Eileen.
The name's Mary Wright.
Who are you anyway?
Let's just say I'm a friend.
I pick my own friends.
Now if it's a lesson you want,
you're in the right room.
Anything else,
you've got the wrong person.
It's my lesson.
Let's just make believe that this
is a dance hall and I'm on the town.
I have a ticket.
It entitles me to buy your time,
for dancing or talking,
and right now I wanna do some talking.
What about?
I saw your father today.
Did he send you here?
I'm a volunteer, didn't I tell you?
I'm always volunteering for dirty jobs.
And I'm sick of this
sending people around to see me.
Why won't he leave me alone?
I know what I want
and nobody's going to change my mind.
Nobody. Not you, not him, not Jack.
- And you can tell him that.
- He's dead.
Jack?
But...
we were just together last week.
We talked about old times.
He was murdered.
What else did he talk about?
He wanted me to meet a friend of his.
Somebody called Charlotte.
Charlotte Manning.
Maybe she'd help me, he said.
- Maybe she...
- Well? Did you go see her?
No.
I don't want help from anybody.
I want to be left alone.
Why? Because you're a sucker for some
louse by the name of Hanson?
Get outta here.
Is that why Jack was
planning to raid this place?
Get out of here!
Go on, get out, get out...
Okay.
But it takes two to rhumba.
Mary Wright or Eileen Vickers?
Take your pick.
Either way,
they spelled out the same thing.
I wasn't her type.
I could've changed her mind
only I didn't have
a couple of years to hang around.
But it didn't take
an Einstein to figure out
that Miss Woodbelle and her father
didn't see eye-to-eye on anything,
including the weather.
That's what happens when you
hang onto a thread
as thin as the one
we've been following.
It's bound to break at the first strain.
So far the only thing
that measured up was a hunch.
I had the feeling Doc Vickers' little girl
was more important to the setup
than she wanted me to believe.
Trace and raid on the 23rd.
Why would he want the place
raided tonight? That's what I wanna know.
What did Jack expect to pick up?
And how was he going to pull it off
now that he was no longer a cop?
I'll take odds it's all tied up
with a sawed-off .45.
Maybe. But why would he want
to read those old college yearbooks?
And since when has he been
interested in college affairs?
He wasn't.
I figured they were part
of an insurance case
so I sent them over
to this company for a check.
This morning they came back.
No connection.
- Hello, Mike.
- Hi, Miller.
- Pick up anything?
- Here's the invoice.
Hey! This came from the Maxwell Bookshop.
That's where Miller's just been.
The original order was for six,
each on a different college.
We've only got three.
Somebody must've
walked off with half of them.
We've got the dates on the other three,
let's have a look at them.
Call the library,
tell them we're on our way.
Yes, sir.
Jenny, get me the library uptown.
Yeah.
That meant dragging one of the librarians
back again and into the basement,
where there were a couple
of miles of reference material,
including college yearbooks.
- Recognise him?
- Yeah.
- John Hanson, alias Hal Kines.
- Or vice versa.
He's been going to college
for the past 20 years. What's his racket?
I don't know. Let's go ask him.
Good. I'll try Kalecki's place
and you can take the Midworth Arms.
Who do you think you're kidding?
He's with Eileen Vickers tonight.
That's why Jack wanted the place raided.
We'll go together, if you don't mind.
Never mind, he just came in.
Been trying to locate you, Chief.
- What happened?
- Plenty.
Double homicide.
We called the coroner.
He's on his way in.
They were having a party upstairs.
Heard a couple of shots down here.
When they investigated, they found this.
I think you know something about him, Cap.
The man's Hal Kines,
the girl's Mary Wright.
Ne Vickers.
Death attributed to gunshot wounds.
We dug one of the slugs out of the wall,
looks like it came from a .45.
45!
Get it down to ballistics right away.
Yes, sir.
The guests are being screened upstairs.
It's a cinch he isn't gonna talk.
No. Oh, and the owners
are in there with Stein.
- This publicity will ruin us!
- Get back.
Did anyone else come in here
for the lessons?
I do not know, I was busy
preparing for the party all day.
Wait. She did have a guest
before the party!
Him!
Now I remember.
The way she screamed for him to get out.
Wasn't he the one
who came to see Mary?
Yes, that is right,
you told me all about him.
Kalecki was just brought in.
Wait, don't let him go, he's the one.
Take it easy, lady, a half hour ago
we were in the basement at the library.
- Stein.
- Oh, but it's him.
Sit down, will you, please?
He was like a son to me, that boy.
You're a liar.
You've been putting him
through college for the past 20 years.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Don't you?
Why was he made up like a collegiate?
I only met him two years ago.
He was a freshman at Parkdale.
And another thing, why did he move out
of your apartment in such a hurry?
Because of Esther Bellamy.
She was no good for him.
We quarrelled, we quarrelled over it.
Then why was he found
with the Vickers girl?
I don't know.
And what's the idea of him going to this.
Bonita and Charlie's
place for dance lessons?
He was an excellent dancer.
So you figure Esther might
have pumped those bullets into him, huh?
- She could have got hold of a gun.
- Yeah?
So could the girl's father.
You know, he didn't approve of Hal
any more than you approve of Esther.
Whoever it was...
I want them found
and taken care of.
You can name your own price, Hammer.
The killer's not in here now.
Did you show him the way out?
Or maybe you did the job yourselves?
- But you are wrong.
- Please.
You killed the girl, right?
Yes, yes.
Are you crazy? Let him alone.
He's lying, Pat, his name
isn't Carlos any more than hers is Bonita.
And he can't speak Spanish either!
I asked him if he did the killing
and he says, "Yes."
Alright you two, if you don't talk, you'll
find yourselves facing a murder charge.
Alright, so my name's Bonnie.
But we didn't hurt anyone.
You think people wanna learn to rhumba
from anyone born in Coney Island?
You gotta be a Rudolph Valentino type!
You gotta be a Carlos not a Charlie!
All of which proves you're a liar!
How do we know you two
didn't show the killer the way out?
Which makes you an accessory.
I'm gonna tell them, Charlie,
they can't kill us for it.
There's a hidden exit in the backyard.
- But we didn't show it to anyone, I swear!
- Alright then, show it to us.
The passageway was here
when we first took over the building.
It used to be a speakeasy.
That's how he got in and out.
Great history, this house.
From a respectable brownstone,
to a speakeasy, to this.
You're gonna give us a break though,
aren't you?
Right across the neck.
- Miller.
- Yes, sir.
- Close them up.
- I'll get right on it.
Go on.
How did you get in here?
I used one of your tricks.
Five dollars in the eager hands
of your elevator boy worked marvels.
Sucker. His orders were
to let pretty women in free.
I thought you might like
to buy me a drink.
You know you're a mind reader?
Just as soon as I get this telephone call
I'm expecting, we can take off.
In the meanwhile, help yourself.
This is an opener.
Do you hear about Hal Kines?
It was dreadful.
I don't have to tell you
what a shock it was.
Why, Mike?
Why would anybody want to kill him?
That's what I've been staying up
half the night trying to figure out.
I'm frightened.
Haven't you noticed
the pattern of the killings?
Yeah, all done with a .45.
And aimed at people
who were at Jack's party.
You're not getting the heebie-jeebies,
are you, baby?
I suppose so.
Well, I'll tell you what you do, baby.
You just stick real close to me...
- Yeah?
- Mike.
What'd it show, Pat?
No luck.
That .45 that got Kines and the girl
won't match up with
the slug we took out of Jack.
That makes it real nice.
Now it's two guns we're after.
What about the girl's father?
He check out alright?
He didn't do it.
Thanks, Pat. I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Well, pardon me.
Thought I was coming into a business
office instead of a boudoir.
This is my assistant.
Velda, this is Miss Manning.
Oh, how are you, Miss Manning?
I thought you might
need me on the Kines thing.
This is the best assistant I ever had.
I wouldn't want to drag
him away from his work.
Oh, that's perfectly alright,
Miss Manning.
He's like a homing pigeon.
No matter where you let him loose,
he always comes home to roost.
- Goodnight.
- Goodnight, Velda.
And don't worry,
I'll take good care of your pigeon.
Are you alright, baby?
I think so.
Looks like I have reason to be afraid.
Ah, it was me they were after, not you.
Left his calling card. Come on.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, order
additional patrols into the areal.
And keep on it.
Lost your black sedan.
I'll get this down to ballistics.
The sharks are beginning to bite, huh?
The idea, in case you don't get it,
is your supposed to be dead.
Maybe you can drum some sense into him,
Miss Manning.
Promise you'll be careful, Mike.
What's the matter, Doc?
Worried?
Can't you see?
Mike?
Open up, Mike!
Mike!
Alright!
It's me, Mike.
Alright, alright. Wait a minute. Alright!
Oh, it's you, Bobo.
Come on in.
Hey, I see they got you working, huh?
I can't stay long, Mike.
I gotta get back to the job.
They're looking for you,
that's what I came to tell you, Mike.
Oh, now simmer down, Bobo,
I can't follow you.
It's because of the fight you had
at Manuel's bar.
I heard the big guy giving them orders.
What big guy?
I don't know his name. He's gunning
for you. He told them to get you.
A kind of...
Kind of foreign name.
Was it like "Kalecki"?
Yeah... yeah, it sound like that.
Thanks, Bobo.
Well, I gotta get back to the kiddies now.
Oh, Mike...
I got me my queen bee.
Oh. Now all you need's a king.
Queen bees don't need no kings.
Things have certainly changed,
haven't they?
It says so in the book.
Oh well, then it must be so.
Yeah.
But first things first.
That little item of a .45
whistling past my head last night
set the order of business for the day.
And where there was a .45 involved,
there might be a crack shot
named Esther Bellamy to go with it.
I'm afraid I can't add anything more
to what my sister has already told you.
Then don't be afraid,
just fill in a few pieces.
Let's start with where you went
when you left Jack's funeral.
Have you been following me, Mr Hammer?
Let's say I've been keeping track
of you up to a point.
I don't see why I can't tell you
what I did yesterday.
I walked, Mr Hammer, all day long.
In the evening, I took in a movie.
What kind? A shooting movie?
I'm busy, Mr Hammer.
Alright, baby, I'll get to the point.
Last night, someone took
a shot at me from a fast moving car.
Now, I'm funny about things like that,
I wanna find out who'd wanna do it.
I wouldn't have missed
if I'd aimed at you.
Maybe you didn't miss after all?
Maybe you were aiming at Hal Kines?
I wouldn't hurt Hal Kines.
No? Gets a gun, kills a girl,
then blows his own brains out,
then hangs around and takes a pot shot
at me from a black sedan, is that it?
Has anyone ever told you
what a charming man you are?
Yeah. Your sister.
But we can talk about that later.
We're identical twins, Mr Hammer.
We practically think...
and feel alike.
Okay, Mary.
Recess is over.
- Now let's get down to business.
- How'd you know?
You happen
to be missing a birthmark, baby.
Now where is Esther?
Out.
Trying to get
over the shock of Hal Kines' death.
Now you're talking like your sister,
trying an alibi.
How do you know I'm not my sister?
I don't.
Esther and Hal got along fine.
Until Eileen showed up again.
Which is a good reason to buy a .45.
Oh, Esther's not the killing kind.
She's not like me.
Talking to the Bellamys
was like a dog chasing his tail.
Now you had it, now you didn't.
In the meantime, I could dig up
more facts on the disappearing twin.
Here we are, bright and early.
You look as though you could
use some breakfast.
How about some eggs scrambled
and some black coffee?
Kathy, would you mind before you leave?
This isn't a drive-in, you know.
You're just brimming over with news,
aren't you?
Did you know that Esther and Hal Kines
were like this?
I suppose I did.
Nothing definite except what I could
put together from observation.
Quite a family, the Bellamys.
What's Esther like?
Oh, night and day compared to Mary.
People like Esther
don't usually kill, Mike.
They go through their emotional crises,
suffer and dramatise themselves
until something else comes along.
Yet I suppose Esther could sooner
kill than, say, Mary.
Mary's the sort who gets rid
of her aggressions in other ways.
You're telling me.
Now it's time you looked
after yourself a bit.
- I got...
- Orders from Dr Manning!
Oh, I got too much to do.
This vendetta of yours...
That's all I can call it.
But this driving through brick walls
to Kill, it's wrong, Mike.
Speaking professionally,
I know what it can do to you.
And I know what it'll do to me if I were
to walk out on Jack now.
Can you understand that, professionally?
I can even understand it personally.
You have your breakfast.
Oh, and there's a barber shop
down the street, Patsy's.
You've got time to go there
before I get back.
Then you might get all prettied up for me.
Patsy's?
Goodbye, darling.
Hey, that was kinda special, wasn't it?
Cab?
Spindler's Publishing Company.
4th and 32nd street.
I was beginning
to react to police cars on the fly
the way your dog does when
you whistle for him around feeding time.
Watching me, you'd think that there was no
other business the police department had
except to cut me out of things.
I wish my hunch
hadn't been right this time.
I had the feeling that the lights
were going out on the Christmas trees.
Poor Bobo. Even his queen bee got away.
Hello, Mike. Captain.
It's all yours.
Thanks.
Nobody even heard a shot fired.
It could've been anybody
moving in and out the store.
But why Bobo?
Come here.
Cute, huh?
That's what he had on him.
That's no toy. Shoots for real, too.
I can't get it through my head
that Bobo was part of a gang.
Why couldn't he have
been some innocent little stooge
who was bumped for trying to warn me?
No, that luger he was packing,
that was no water pistol.
That was his membership card to the club.
Yeah? Yeah.
Okay, Pat, I'll tell him.
Well, you can quit worrying
about little Bobo, he's tied in alright.
Remember the wild shot
someone took at Kines?
It was Bobo.
The slug matches up with his gun.
The birds and the bees, huh?
Only this time, I got stung.
But why would Bobo wanna gun Hal Kines?
Where's the percentage?
You find that reason for me
and [I'll tell you why Kines was
knocking around with all those colleges.
A racket of some sort?
Had to be.
Velda had a point.
Joe College could've
been a travelling salesman
for some of the best
and oldest rackets in the world.
What other reason could he have had
for making colleges his headquarters?
It was a job and he wore
his leather like a uniform.
Real fertile territory.
Prime ripe cuts and the picking's choice.
Must've been like taking candy from kids,
especially the weaker ones.
And there are a few around.
The sort of kids
that go in for panty raids.
A look into Hal's room at the frat house
where he lived was in order.
Poor Mr Kines.
Who would've known this would happen
when my boys left for the holiday?
Which room was his, ma'am?
4b, second floor, rear.
Oh, but the constable said
no one was to go in.
He wouldn't even allow
Mr Kines' guardian into the room.
Well, he didn't mean me, ma'am.
I'm sure you want to cooperate, don't you?
Oh well, of course.
Belford, will you show
the gentleman upstairs?
- Yes, ma'am.
- Relax, relax, Belford.
I'll find my way. Thanks, ma'am.
Oh dear, oh dear.
Open up in there!
Open up in there!
Stay right where you are, young fella.
Just don't move.
Too bad you couldn't make it yourself,
Captain,
I sort of figured on getting the day off,
bring him back myself.
There you are.
That dumb hayseed.
You're lucky he didn't blast away first
and ask questions later.
Why do you suppose
I assigned men to follow you?
They cramp my style. And you didn't have
to leave me in this tank all night either!
I thought it would help
if I leave you here for a month.
What are you complaining about,
I struck pay dirt, didn't I?
No, just stick to your own rap.
Remember, we're the law, not you.
- There's a legal way of doing things.
- Legal way?
Mile of red tape and some smart lawyer to
squeeze out a couple of tears for a guy.
Look at your big time crooks
who hide behind the law.
They use it, they don't live by it.
That's not gonna happen
with Jack's killer.
Here, this is why Kalecki came here.
Kines got the idea that
Kalecki was gonna put him outta the way
so he put down a few facts just in case.
Hey, you don't know of a nice legal way
to take a look inside Kalecki's
safe deposit box, do you?
You might turn out
to be a hero after all.
The box felt heavy and for good reason.
Collectors' items from all over the world
and it took a smooth organisation
of crooks to collect them.
Nifties from the Russian crown jewels
to emeralds that some callous Dame
got the easy way and lost just as easy.
Jack Williams must've
found out who Mr Big was.
But now that Kalecki's dead,
who's the new Mr Big
moving in under a barrage of .45s?
These slugs were taken out
of Kines and the Vickers girl.
They have the same markings,
shot from the same weapon.
This is the one fired at Mike Hammer.
This is the one that got Bobo.
The characteristics
of all four slugs are the same,
shot out of the same gun.
The gun was a .45 Colt, double-action,
like the one Kalecki used.
But was this the gun that killed Jack?
No, Mike. It's a .45 alright
but not the one that did it.
Alright, Thomas, you can go.
I feel like the man who gets to the corner
and discovers there is no corner.
That's where you and I differ, Mike.
I can see the corner
and maybe a little bit around it.
Kalecki's vault box, Bobo, Kines,
all spell just one thing.
- There's a common denominator.
- But where does Jack fit in?
Myrna! Well, think of her background.
- Take a shortcut, Pat.
- Alright, real short.
Myrna did a stretch,
for jewel theft among other things.
And I did a stretch in the kindergarten,
so what?
So they could've gotten to her,
the Kalecki's and the rest of them.
- You're crazy.
- Alright, so I'm a lousy guesser.
But there's a theory, things equal to the
same thing are equal to each other.
If it sounds screwy,
maybe it is, who knows?
But I'm just trying to piece it together
so it'll make some sense.
He cured her, he believed in her,
that sound like the sort of person
who'd set her up for the kill?
I've got a file cabinet
full of records to prove otherwise.
Why don't you read the newspapers?
And I'll tell you another thing,
I never did go along with Jack and Myrna
when he was still a cop.
Well, what've you got against Jack?
Did she ever really open up and give us
any names when he picked her up?
She told him everything she knew.
She even gave him the name
of the contact that dealt with her.
And then, just before he came to trial,
he very conveniently slit his throat.
Now where's your case?
You're not thinking
maybe Jack was tied up with them?
He hated them for they did to Myrna,
I don't think he ever quit on the case.
And Myrna, she's still a part of the gang
and set him up for the Kill,
is that it, Pat?
He stumbled onto something
and was killed for it.
That's it.
Things equal to the same thing.
Pat couldn't be right.
Not about a kid
who took on the way she did.
That was no act.
Pat was just getting panicky and reach-y.
Charlotte could tell me.
If anyone knew what made Myrna tick,
it was Charlotte.
We've got a bell here, you know!
Then somebody outta tell it
it's supposed to ring.
The plug keeps coming out!
She's in the dark room
and you can't go in there.
He's here again.
Charlotte?
Half a moment, darling. Any luck?
Yeah, all bad.
Come on in.
I promised my publisher I'd have
these prints for him by tonight.
I'm beginning to feel like this guy.
He's in a state of hypnosis
brought on by sodium pentothal.
Allows him to talk freely.
Should have tried some out Hal Kines.
You'd have found out he's tied in
with Kalecki and his rackets.
- Kines?
- Yeah.
For instance, why they took
all those trips abroad,
and what they were bringing back
besides art pieces.
I can't believe it.
You would've if you could've got a look
into Kalecki's vault box.
Everything from a king's headpiece
to the eyes out of a Chinese idol.
And another thing you didn't suspect,
Kines' real age.
He's twice what he admits being.
That's something I almost guessed.
Certain ways the light
would catch his face.
His constant search
for the fountain of youth.
But why?
Hal Kines was in charge of new talent.
Another branch of the business.
How terrible.
Now that I think back to it,
his symptoms begin to fall into place.
Look, is it possible Myrna
could've slipped back again?
- What makes you ask that?
- One of Pat's theories.
And it wasn't Kalecki who killed Jack?
Wrong .45.
Hasn't it ever occurred to you
that Kalecki is partial to .45s?
He could've used two different guns.
A lot of things occur to me.
Come in.
You're wanted on the phone.
A Captain Pat Chambers.
Alright, Pat.
You wouldn't take my advice
about Myrna, would you?
Look, I've listened to all I'm gonna.
Don't you cut me off. Right now, she's at
Manuel's place with a couple of playmates.
He's been trying
to locate you for an hour.
Well, why'd you call me?
You've got everything figured out.
I thought you'd like to get her yourself.
C'mon, looks like Myrna's
gonna need your help.
She wouldn't listen to me, Mike.
There she is.
Come on. Get up.
Oh, look who's here. Sir Lancelot.
The brave black knight.
Beat it, Sir Lancelot!
- You heard the lady.
- I'm not gonna ask you again, Myrna.
Listen to him. The big brother act.
Well, I'm sick of listening
to all the big brothers and lovers.
From now on, no one cuts me so deep
I can't close the wound.
Go away, go away.
Myrna, come on now.
Let's go.
Good thing he apologised.
Leave me alone. Take Jack...
I wanted to go too
but they wouldn't take me, Jack.
What'd she have to say?
Shh. Nothing. I couldn't talk to her,
she needs sleep.
What, you want Pat to get to her first?
Nobody gets to her till tomorrow morning.
That girl's ready to collapse,
I forbid it.
Alright, alright.
Look, will you look after her tonight?
Don't worry about her, Mike.
She's in good hands.
Pat's gotta be wrong about her.
Trust me, Mike, I helped her before.
You know how much she loved Jack?
She says she was dead without him.
There is such love, Mike.
That's why I can understand it.
But it's wrong, Mike.
Nobody has a right to belong to anybody
so completely that it blots out
the rest of the world.
Of course, if suddenly something should
happen, you're lost.
Jack?
Very lost.
Jack? Jack?
I couldn't...
I couldn't hurt you.
Myrna?
Listen to me, Myrna.
You must answer my questions.
What did Jack tell you
the night of the party?
Did he say anything about me?
If you don't tell me everything,
I can't help you.
What was it he said?
Did Jack say anything?
Did he?!
You must trust me, Myrna.
You can confide in me.
You must tell me, Myrna.
What was it Jack said?
Myrna!
Myrna! Myrna!
Hello, Velda. Mike.
Need me for anything?
I think you'd... better come back, Mike.
Couple of... customers left some
information for you.
Can't it wait till morning? I'm beat!
It's more than important, Mike.
Okay.
That was the tip off.
The words "more than important' meant
come quick and come up the back way.
Smart girl, Velda.
One step ahead of whoever
was sitting on her neck.
You know something, Lolly?
The little lady
was a little too cooperative.
I got an idea the lady
and Mr Bigmouth
got some kinda signal rigged up.
You've been seeing too much television.
Yeah, maybe it was the same show?
Good try, sister.
You dirty ape!
How do you like that, Lolly?
I'm an ape, huh?
Bigmouth is not an ape.
You recognise me, Bigmouth?
I figured we'd meet again.
Well, you got your wish.
Not yet.
Not until I splash your teeth out
all over the floor.
Bigmouth don't show the proper respect.
What's the matter, Bigmouth,
you running out of talk?
I always remember
you being very fast with the wisecracks.
All of a sudden you're quiet.
What do you want from him?
Alright.
Alright, I'll tell you.
Him.
That's what I want, him!
You bumped Kalecki.
What's it to you?
He was a friend of mine.
Like Kines?
You're lucky he didn't finger you too.
Kines had it coming,
he was getting out of hand.
Talked too big for his pay cheque.
Why the girl?
Keep pumping, Bigmouth, I don't mind.
The girl just happened to be there
when she should've been home.
Where does Jack Williams come in?
I don't know how he comes in
but I know how you're going out.
You're gonna have an accident.
Lolly!
My... my hand.
My hand.
Freeze!
Get Pat.
He talked, alright.
He spilled his guts
right down to the line.
The only trouble was he didn't have
the answer to the $64 question.
Kalecki was the number one
man in the ring
and his art collecting a blind.
It gave him an excuse to leave
the country as often as he wanted to
for contact with other syndicates.
Did he know why Bobo was killed?
Kalecki didn't always confide in him.
Then how did he know for sure that
Kalecki didn't kill Jack Williams?
And what about the Bellamys?
Did he know about them? Was he lying?
Questions and answers,
questions and answers.
And sometimes for variety
it was answers and questions.
But no break yet.
Nothing about the missing .45
that cut down Jack.
- Oh, Mike, she's gone.
- What?
What do you mean, she's gone?
Myrna, I finally
got her off to sleep, Mike.
I thought I'd take a nap myself.
When I opened my eyes again, she was gone.
But I asked you to look after her.
I know Mike but I...
I didn't think she was in any condition
to get up and leave.
I don't even know how
she managed to get dressed again.
Mac, send out an all-point bulletin
on the local broadcast.
Pick up Myrna Devlin,
furnish description.
Right.
Hit and run alright, Captain.
- Looks like she'd been drinking.
- I want a full report.
- I'll get it to you in the morning.
- Now.
Alright.
- Move her over to my office.
- Yes, sir.
- Take care of it.
- Yes, sir.
You wouldn't listen to me when
I tried to tell you about Myrna.
You had to play
cat and mouse with me.
Lay off, Pat.
Now will you believe she slipped back to
where she was when Jack picked her up?
She told me she hadn't
when I picked her up tonight.
Alright, I'm crazy.
The medical examiner's crazy.
Everybody's crazy except you.
Go on in there and take
another look at her arm.
Oh, Myrna couldn't lie.
Not Myrna.
Merry Christmas.
Now I know why you invited
that crowd to your party, Jack.
That was before they started
fighting among themselves.
Only you knew it was coming
and that's why you were killed.
Kalecki had a million dollar
jewellery racket.
Everything was sweet until his pal
and playmate, Hal Kines,
decided he needed some psychoanalysis.
Charlotte hypnotised him
and made him talk.
He talked enough to convince her
that there was more money in jewellery
than there was in psychoanalysis.
There could be only one boss
and it was decided with a gun.
The new Mr Big is now
ready to move in.
Only it isn't Mr Big, it's Miss Big.
Beautiful Miss Big.
Mike, darling?
I knew you were here.
I felt it.
How did you get in?
Kathy's out.
Through the dark room.
Makes a real nice alibi.
No bell at the front
door for Kathy to hear
and your own little
private entrance and exit.
Nobody disturbs a person
in a dark room.
Put that gun away, Mike.
Let's talk this out.
I've already had
a long talk with myself, baby.
Right through a head full of nightmares
and it's all clear now.
Listen to me, Mike.
- You're not making sense.
- Stay put!
That's better.
Light becomes you from that angle.
And this little item shoots deadly
and it doesn't listen to reason.
Then will you let me call Pat?
You've got it all wrong, baby.
This time I'm the analyst
and you're the patient.
You wanted the whole world, Charlotte,
all of it.
Not to use.
Just to have.
My coat, Mike.
Don't you trust me to take off my coat?
Go on, Mike.
Take out your hates
and disappointments on me.
I know about such things.
Sure.
People tell you everything.
And if they don't, you've got ways.
Like that poor dope you hypnotised.
Is that what you did to Kines?
Is that how you learned about
his rackets with Kalecki?
Is that why you pumped Myrna's arm
full of stuff to make her talk?
Only one person would've been
worried about what she knew.
And that was Jack's killer!
Go on, Mike.
Ride your imagination. Get it all out.
I'm a good guesser, huh?
Okay.
You cut yourself into the ring
because of what you knew
and then you tried to get Kines
to help you take it over.
And isn't it a fact
that when Kalecki barked,
you put little Bobo on his trail.
You knew how to twist that
kid's mind any way you wanted.
I'm tired, Mike.
You should be.
You've come a long way.
And to think I almost bit for your idea
that Kalecki killed Jack.
Now we can live happily ever after.
Except for Myrna.
Poor Myrna.
Handing her over to you so you could
find out what Jack may have told her.
But that was your mistake, Charlotte!
No, Mike!
My mistake was falling
in love with you.
That's why I couldn't pull that trigger
from across the street
at the barber's shop.
And that's why you can't pull that trigger
any more than I could.
Listen to me.
Too late.
You told me you loved me, Mike.
- You said that yourself.
- I told you a lot of things.
You can't just wipe them away
like they were nothing.
There's so much
we could do together, Mike.
The two of us.
Time's running out, Charlotte.
No plans for the new year?
The world, Mike...
...it could be ours!
I never wanted the world!
Just... just room enough
for the two of us.
I'm frightened, Mike.
Hold me.
Hold me tight, darling.
So long, baby.
How could you?
It was easy.
There was only one thing left to do.
Order a basket.
A real pretty one.
And wait for Pat.
He had his Killer...
and I had my memories.
- Where do you think you're going?
- I'm Mike Hammer.
The body's in there, Mike.
Yesterday it was Jack Williams,
now it's "the body".
The guy who said he'd give
his right arm for a friend.
He didn't have to catch
that Jap bayonet in his arm.
It was meant for me.
Where'd he get it, Pat?
Low. The killer carved the nose off a .45.
If you're dealing yourself in
you're gonna have to go easy.
How easy? Let you find him first
so he can be kept alive by shysters?
You're not the law, Mike.
You're a private sleuth.
Because we let you be one.
Sure, you've helped me before
and I hope you will again,
but don't get any crazy ideas about
how you're gonna pull the trigger yourself
or you'll find yourself without a licence.
- You didn't hear me say that!
- I don't have to.
It's right there on your puss?
Listen, Pat, I've managed
to take care of myself
one way or another for a long time.
And licence or no licence,
I'll find the killer.
And he'll get what he deserves,
a .45 right where he gave it to Jack.
Mike Hammer makes his usual
statement to the press.
Me, I...
He's a one man police department.
I know how you feel, Johnny.
He just has that certain knack
of making friends.
If I were you,
I'd do a piece on him.
The only piece I'd like to do about him
is in the obituary column.
Wouldn't do you any good there.
If you did a story on page one,
it might get you some new readers.
Play it up strong.
You know,
"Warning to the killer.
I, Mike Hammer, will find you
and give it to you as you gave it
to my pal Jack Williams."
It's an idea.
Sure it is.
It's your idea.
The weather was
about as happy as I was.
And unless I missed my guess,
it would be pretty much
the way Myrna would feel.
Myrna was Jack's girl.
And when she wasn't working at it,
she was singing torchy songs
for the tourist clubs
right here in Greenwich Village.
Hello, Myrna.
Looking at the ceiling's
not gonna help you any.
I need facts. All the help I can get.
You were at the party.
Jack say anything to you?
Was he worried?
Alright. Maybe you're just not interested.
Maybe he didn't mean enough to you.
Let me alone.
How can anyone know
what I really felt for Jack?
He was the only one
who cared enough to save my life.
Everything he earned,
he spent curing me.
Nights he'd sit up with me.
And my nerves were that raw,
I couldn't stop screaming.
And you don't know if I'm interested?
I'll tell you a secret.
We were gonna be married.
Next week.
Here... do you good to cry.
I'll be back when you're up to it.
- Good morning to you, too.
- Good morning.
I can see by the morning papers that
you've been shooting off your mouth again.
"I, The Jury - Says Mike Hammer."
Listen to this.
"It was also reported, according to Captain
Pat Chambers of the Homicide Squad,
that Mike Hammer had some idea
of the killer's identity
but refused to reveal it to the police."
What? Let me see that.
You mean you really don't know?
I'd be after him now if I did.
And why would Pat do that?
Flush out the killer. Worked before.
He lets him know I'm onto him,
and then the killer tries to shut me up.
Then that's why he'd send over a list of
the guests who were at Jack's party.
He thinks of everything,
even lays out the route, huh?
Present were George Kalecki, Hal Kines,
the Bellamy twins and Charlotte Manning.
Well, maybe I've got
some ideas on that too.
You're not going to be his patsy, are you?
Why not? I'm a sitting duck for anybody
with a .45. Come on.
- Hi, Velda.
- What do you know, Pete?
- Going out, Mr Hammer?
- Yeah, I see business is picking up.
Picking up all over. Are you looking for
company tonight, Mr Hammer?
I wasn't figuring on it.
If I were you, I'd take one of those
rides to the roof again.
Step across the adjoining building,
request the elevator operator, Benny,
to take me down to the basement
where I would take the service
entrance out to the back street.
That's if I were you.
You've got yourself a deal.
Come on.
Shall we go?
Hey.
Don't need the both of us disappointing
Pat's tail, let him follow you.
Generous of you.
I think so.
Hey. Wait a minute.
First on the list,
Mr George Kalecki.
The Four Oaks, West Chester.
George had come a long way
from the Bronx and a cold water worker.
That was before he went in for managing
fighters and splitting the purses even.
Eighty for Honest George
and 20 for Joe Pug.
We got down to business in a hurry
and I hit him with the facts.
He wasn't Jack's kind of company,
which made him
suspect number one in my book.
You really have a sense of humour,
Mr Hammer.
Yeah? Well, I get funnier as I go along.
For instance,
what were you doing at Jack's place?
Simple. He invited me.
Look, you.
I was in bed when the murder occurred.
I can prove it.
How? Take a notary public home with you?
The police haven't even attempted
to connect me with this Killing.
Where do you come off
with these accusations?
Because I know you for a phoney.
I remember you
when you didn't know the difference
between a Rembrandt and a right cross.
You're still a small time operator
no matter how much art you swallow.
Get out of here.
What? All this art and no manners?
You heard him.
Hal!
Better wait to be introduced, boy.
Now maybe we understand each other.
You'll find I'm not without
some influence, Mr Hammer.
You're full of a lot of influence.
But I wouldn't advise you to use it.
What is it you want from us?
- This Kines?
- Yes, it is.
Well, is it?
Another one of your art pieces?
Mr Kines is a student I am helping
to put through Parkdale College.
He's in visiting me
over the Christmas holidays.
That's why I took him to Jack's party.
What did you do after
you left Jack's place?
Tell them, Hal.
We went downstairs to my car
and drove home.
Who's we?
George, Myrna and myself.
We dropped her off first at her apartment
and then came home.
- Is that right?
- Yes, that's right.
Then what?
We had a highball and went to bed.
Yeah?
Well, that still doesn't mean
that either one of you guys
couldn't have sneaked back to Jack's place
and pumped a bullet in him.
You're sick, my friend.
Yeah.
Well, there might even be an epidemic.
Charlotte Manning. Psychoanalysis.
Things had changed since I was a kid.
Shingles were wood
and carried a lot of weight.
Now they were brass
and could still weigh nothing.
It's too late for an appointment.
You're no beauty either.
Why don't you take an aspirin
like a good fella?
And tomorrow Miss Manning
can see you and take care of you.
Where do you think you're going?
Tell the lady she's got company.
What is it Kathy, a patient?
Well, if he ain't, he ought to be.
Be right out.
"Analyze Yourself" by Charlotte Manning.
Later I was to find out that this
was no Swami with a crystal ball
but the real McCoy.
Anything from
a mental motor overhaul to a tune up.
Your slippers, Miss Manning.
Thank you, Kathy.
These characters,
the way they come barging in
all hours of the day and night.
It's enough to try
the patience of a saint.
Forgive me for keeping you waiting.
That's alright.
I'm not going to stand
on ceremony if you don't.
My name's Mike Hammer.
Guess I caught you at a bad time, huh?
Expecting company?
You make it sound so very incriminating.
Alright, I confess, I was expecting you.
Me? Go on.
Pat Chambers told you
I might drop in, huh?
It's a pleasure to see your mind work,
Mr Hammer.
So penetrating and logical.
Oh, I'm quite serious.
After all, the mind is what
I deal with in my profession.
I didn't come here to have my head
examined.
Compliments of the management.
May I take your coat?
Okay but I can't stay long.
Hey, from now on,
when you're expecting company,
you better let your maid know
her etiquette is almost as bad as mine.
From my advance information,
I knew that wouldn't stop you.
It feels very light. No artillery?
- There.
- Well, how chic.
What time did you get to the party?
I got to the party about 11.
I was held up by a visit to a patient.
We left together around one,
Esther and Mary Bellamy,
and we took my car.
I dropped the twins off at their apartment
and came straight home.
- Anybody see you come in?
- Yes, Kathy, my maid.
Drink, Mr Hammer?
No, I'm not much of
a champagne drinker, Doc.
Beer!
Pat tell you about that too?
No, Jack Williams did.
He talked about you quite a lot.
That was while you were treating
Myrna, isn't it?
Captain Chambers was asking
about Myrna when he was here.
He wanted to know
how strong she was mentally
and whether there was any chance
of her resorting to her old habits again.
There's no chance of that happening,
is there, Doc?
Let's say so far, so good.
I'll drink to that. Here, have some.
I've never been a beer drinker.
Oh? Pleased to introduce you
to a new habit.
I'm very pleased to meet it.
Aren't you hungry?
Yeah, I'll nibble on some of this
if you don't mind?
Hey, don't depend too much upon my friends
if you really wanna
find out about my taste.
Best thing for you to do
is to find out at the source.
Oh, you've been very revealing already.
Yeah, I guess I have been pretty noisy,
haven't I?
But for good reason.
I like to stick my neck out.
Makes me think I'm tough.
I'd be on a city police force like Pat,
only I just don't like paperwork.
Does that add up for you, Doc?
You are tough, Mike.
It's not a bad fault in a man.
There are other things I could tell you
about yourself
if you'll give me a ring sometime.
Just don't get too far from the telephone.
I'm disappointed you're leaving so soon.
I thought you came here
to really grill me.
Oh, this time I'm just
sizing up the suspects.
Am I a suspect?
Till I find out who killed Jack,
everyone is.
Oh, here, thank you for the chicken.
I'll see you, huh?
Thought I shook you a while ago.
I'm surprised at you, Mike.
A little insulted, too.
You think I'm that easy to shake.
That was one of my men.
I just had a hunch I'd find you here.
Yeah, together with this route list
you conveniently furnished.
Oh, that?
Kines just moved out of Kalecki's place.
In kind of a hurry, wasn't he?
Somebody took a shot
at Mr Hal Kines this afternoon.
He thinks it was you.
The only thing
I've aimed at him has been this.
There's such a thing
as due process of the law.
Watch it, Mike.
Next time I'll wait
for an engraved invitation.
From Hal Kines at the Midworth Arms?
You'll never get it.
Midworth Arms, huh?
That's where the Bellamy twins live.
Is it now?
I just wanted to bring
your list up to date.
Act like a clam
or I'll open you up like one.
Guy's gotta make a living.
I thought you'd try this.
I'll try anything once.
Well, you're right about it being once.
Because you're not going to get
another chance.
You broke into my apartment.
That makes you a burglar.
All grown up, aren't you? What makes
you think you can do a man's job.
Big athlete!
Come on in.
How'd you know
what I wanted for Christmas?
I got your letter to Santa Claus.
Hey, you're cute.
Here, you can have your present now
if you want it.
Tom...
Dick...
Maurice?
What's the matter, no girlfriends?
I have a twin sister. That's enough.
Here.
Try this one.
They come alive.
Go on, Mike. Take a look.
Oh, Captain Chambers
told me to expect you.
Besides I remember the...
face from a picture
Jack showed us once.
It's not an easy one to forget.
He was always talking about you,
even when he was a guard
on my daddy's estate.
That makes us old friends.
Press the button.
Which one are you?
I'm Mary.
I've got the strawberry birth mark.
The other one's Esther.
Where is Esther?
Out.
Shopping.
I wanna see her, too.
You won't like her as much.
What about Jack the night of the party,
you notice anything strange?
No.
Just that Jack and Myrna
had some sort of argument.
She walked away.
There's nothing strange about that,
is there?
Lovers quarrelling all over the place?
It's the way it should be.
That's Esther.
Last year's skeet champion.
Well, what'd Myrna do
when she walked away?
Had a conference with Charlotte.
Oh, you known the Doc long?
Ever since
Jack first brought her around.
She's been treating Myrna.
Uh-huh. And then you
got a cab and went home?
Cab?
Charlotte drove us back.
Then we went to bed right away and...
and knew nothing about the murder
until a reporter called us up
for a statement.
Hey, what's this? The country club?
It's only 40 rooms but we call it home.
Ah, well, thanks for the show,
Miss Bellamy.
I'll keep in touch, huh?
We're giving a party Christmas Day.
You're invited.
Oh, I'd like to come too.
Only I got beer stains on my white tie.
Hey.
Here. Scratch.
Say, Mr Hammer.
Would you take this
into Velda for me, please?
- What is it?
- Velda's stuff for her guest.
Hey.
Hey! Jingle bells, jingle bells!
And away I go!
I beg your pardon.
I thought I was walking
into a business office.
Meet the Killer.
Dug him out of the files for you.
Been doing a little research.
Here's some more of the same, pal.
Aren't you Killer Thompson, the fighter?
Yeah.
I used to see you at the Garden.
I thought you were
retired and rolling in it.
Kalecki's the one who's rolling in it.
He used to be Killer's manager.
Go on, tell him what you told me
about Kalecki.
Sold me out, he did.
Sold me out to the numbers racketeers.
I should've beat his brains out.
Why would he wanna dump a winner?
I was getting old.
He used me up quick.
Time to trade me in
for a piece of their racket.
Suckers!
He give them
the same deal he give me.
Here's to you, champ!
What's the matter with you?
My name's Hammer, friend.
I'm looking for some help.
I've heard of you.
What do you want?
What do you know about Kalecki?
Eight ball in the corner pocket.
Maybe you didn't hear what I said?
I heard you. I'm still don't know
what you're talking about.
I'm busy.
That was only the beginning and pretty
much the way it went all around.
Nobody knew anything.
Not even Blind Toby, who's specialty was
hearing things to make up for his eyes.
All of a sudden
he became deaf to my questions.
He was ready to swap jokes
and lend me money
but he couldn't say whether Kalecki
was a name or a disease.
Westside, Eastside, all around the town,
I felt swell, like a three day headache,
and I was beginning to find out again
how hard the pavements can be.
For all the good it did me,
I could've stayed home.
Suddenly there was
an epidemic of head shaking.
Only the harder they shook their heads,
the more frightened
the look in their eyes.
There had to be one loose tongue around
only I hadn't heard from it yet.
Not even a whisper to set me straight.
So far, the only take-home pay
added up to a big, fat nothing.
And there was a bonus too.
Unless I laid off,
my own number would be up.
Gee, Mr Hammer, I'm glad to see you.
Where you been keeping yourself, Bobo?
Java, black.
Still running the numbers, kid?
Ah, no, I don't do that no more.
That ain't right.
I'm learning all about bees.
Look, I got me a library book and a card.
Good for you.
I built me a hive
out of an egg box up on the roof.
Careful you don't get stung now.
Oh, they wouldn't sting me.
They like me. They walk on me.
Yeah, sure, Bobo. Everybody likes you.
Well, so long.
I gotta go see a man
about buying a queen bee.
Do you think five bucks
is too much to pay?
Everything's up, Bobo, even queens.
So long.
Hey, Signore Hammer!
I'm glad to see you. How are you?
- I'm fine. How's it going?
- Fine, I'm...
But what brings you to this part of town?
I came over for some of that good beer,
you know.
Oh, you know better
than to come here for beer.
- I'd want to buy...
- ...a little coffee.
But for you, Mr Hammer,
I make especially.
Hey, that was a tough break
about Jack Williams.
Nice guy.
Him and his girl, Myrna,
used to come in here often.
Drink up, Mr Hammer.
No, it's on the house.
I'll pay for the beer
and I'll take some advice.
Eh? Like, what kind of advice?
Take a number.
Oh, no, I'm too dumb to give advice.
You're still taking
a play for the numbers.
Oh, numbers, punch boards.
Give the people what they want!
Who takes first cut on all the nickels,
isn't it Kalecki?
Drink your beer, Mr Hammer.
Good pump on it.
Now, don't stall me, Manuel.
I remember you coming
to me for a favour once.
You don't know what you're asking me.
I'm asking you for help.
I remember a very frightened
Manuel coming to me for help.
I'd do anything for you,
you know that.
Then what about Kalecki?
Does he give the orders?
That's what I hear
but I ain't never seen in my...
Alright, mister, what's your game and why
you been nosing around here all day?
Get him!
Enough.
Now maybe you get the idea, Hammer.
You keep your mouth shut.
Poor guy. My friend.
Hey, you're supposed to make it better.
That's more like it.
You've always had a need for trouble,
Mike.
You go looking for it.
I don't run away from it.
Don't give me any of that double talk
about my having a suicide complex.
My analyst couch is in the other room.
This one's for guests.
That gives me the right to offer you
a little friendly advice.
Which was just what I was after
when I dragged you out of bed.
- Do you wanna go first?
- I insist.
You've obviously be stirring up the mud
in the stream.
This time you got off with a few bruises.
Next time could be worse.
That old suicide complex?
Martyrs without a purpose
are out of season, Mike.
This job will take more than one
pair of hands, more than one mind.
There are many who want to help.
- You, for instance?
- Me, for instance.
Okay, Doc.
Add it up for the team,
you're the expert.
What business would Jack
have with Kalecki?
I don't know.
What makes you think a psychoanalyst
is anything more than a human being?
I'm not a magician, Mike.
What would you say if I told you
that Kalecki was running a numbers racket?
In my profession, nothing surprises me.
I hear the most amazing confessions.
I understood
he was something of an art collector.
He isn't particular.
He also collects sucker money
from number players.
Mike,
do you mind if I
play detective for a minute?
Now you're cutting in on my racket.
Maybe that's what Jack stumbled into.
Jack was no cop,
he was an insurance investigator.
But he had been a policeman.
Maybe it was just principle with him,
maybe he wanted to hand over
the information to you.
What for? He knew being a cop was strictly
business with me.
No, runs deeper than that.
While we're at it,
what was your connection with Kalecki?
He interests me purely as a case.
As a matter of fact, so do you.
Who knows? You might end up
being a chapter in one of my books.
What about Kines?
Why?
He gonna end up being a chapter too?
He introduced me to Kalecki.
You weren't becoming possessive,
were you Mike?
You're all better now.
Able to sit up and take nourishment.
I just had a relapse.
Mike, there isn't a chance Jack
could have left you a message, is there?
Why? Cops went all through
his place, didn't they?
But you didn't, Michael,
and I can't imagine Jack
not trying to get a message to you.
You always think
of the right thing at the wrong time?
Only when they're so obvious, darling.
Stick around.
I might bring back
a fractured skull this time.
No sense tipping off the cop
guarding the door outside.
He wouldn't understand.
Besides, he might be sleeping.
"Expected you here before this, Mike.
If you find anything, let us know. Pat.
There was an old diary Jack kept.
A habit he had picked up
while he was still on the police force.
He'd even hung onto it through
all the action in the Pacific.
If the cops didn't get it, who did?
What are you following me for?
Get outta here!
What happened? Missing persons finally get
in touch with you? Where have you been?
- Looking for a needle.
- In whose haystack?
Look what I found at Jack's place.
You better show it to Pat. Play ball with
him cos he's the last friend you've got.
I've always got you, baby.
After Charlotte Manning, that is.
It was her idea I look for this.
Miss Haystack.
Most of this stuff adds up to nothing.
There's a recipe for veal paprika,
a memo to buy Myrna a Christmas present.
There are a few final notes
that might touch off a lead.
Does the name Eileen Vickers
mean anything to you?
It's a girl.
Well, it meant a lot more to Jack.
For instance, this little item right here.
"Saw EV again. Changed name
to Mary Wright. Call father."
Now that was dated two weeks
before Jack was killed.
- Where's the tie-up.
- Turn the page. See, look.
"Call family.
RH Vickers, Woodbelle, New York.
Girl in bad shape."
Trace and raid on the 23rd. Raid what?
I don't know.
"Ask CM. She can help."
CM? That's for Charlotte Manning.
"Call family.
RH Vickers, Woodbelle, New York.
Girl in bad shape."
Yes, sir.
There you are, Mr Dodds.
You'll be feeling much better now.
My name is Hammer, Dr Vickers.
Mike Hammer.
Do you hear that, Mr Dodds?
Meet Mr Hammer.
Old Mr Dodds is always getting
into some mess or another.
He chases cats.
I've told him it isn't neighbourly
but then he won't listen.
Now, what did you say was the trouble,
Mr Hammer?
Well I don't know yet.
It's about your daughter.
Well, don't worry, Dr Vickers,
she isn't hurt or anything.
Sometimes I think I would welcome the news
that Eileen was dead.
That shocks you, doesn't it?
- Are you married, Mr Hammer?
- No.
Well, then you wouldn't understand
what it means to have a daughter
and try to make something out of her
and then to fail.
What I'm trying to figure out is
how Jack Williams fits into the picture.
Oh, well, I asked him to help my daughter.
He knew her when she was a little baby.
You see, Eileen met a fellow at school
and ran away with him.
Since then, it's been
one scrape after another.
Well, do you happen
to remember the boy's name?
John Hanson.
It isn't likely I'd ever forget it.
About two weeks ago,
I saw Eileen in New York.
It was frightening the way she looked.
She said she'd changed her name
to Mary Wright.
Said she was working for some people
called Carlos and Bonita.
She said she was a dance instructor.
Oh, well, you'll have to excuse me.
That's Tom. He'll be needing my help.
Cute little terrier.
He was run over by an automobile.
Well, thanks a lot, Doc.
I'll let you know.
You get around on a job like mine.
If it isn't to identify
some stiff at the morgue,
you're explaining things to a blackmailer.
Or hunting down
a shoemaker's missing daughter.
Right now, it was a dance school
run by Carlos and Bonita,
just off Gramercy Park.
And I was in the market
for some fancy rhythm.
Especially from a dance instructress
named Mary Wright
with connections in Woodbelle, New York.
Mary? A gentleman on the way in.
He wants to rhumba.
Right this way, sir.
Room 6.
Well, hello there.
Hi.
Get out of your hat and coat.
Let's just talk this one out, Eileen.
The name's Mary Wright.
Who are you anyway?
Let's just say I'm a friend.
I pick my own friends.
Now if it's a lesson you want,
you're in the right room.
Anything else,
you've got the wrong person.
It's my lesson.
Let's just make believe that this
is a dance hall and I'm on the town.
I have a ticket.
It entitles me to buy your time,
for dancing or talking,
and right now I wanna do some talking.
What about?
I saw your father today.
Did he send you here?
I'm a volunteer, didn't I tell you?
I'm always volunteering for dirty jobs.
And I'm sick of this
sending people around to see me.
Why won't he leave me alone?
I know what I want
and nobody's going to change my mind.
Nobody. Not you, not him, not Jack.
- And you can tell him that.
- He's dead.
Jack?
But...
we were just together last week.
We talked about old times.
He was murdered.
What else did he talk about?
He wanted me to meet a friend of his.
Somebody called Charlotte.
Charlotte Manning.
Maybe she'd help me, he said.
- Maybe she...
- Well? Did you go see her?
No.
I don't want help from anybody.
I want to be left alone.
Why? Because you're a sucker for some
louse by the name of Hanson?
Get outta here.
Is that why Jack was
planning to raid this place?
Get out of here!
Go on, get out, get out...
Okay.
But it takes two to rhumba.
Mary Wright or Eileen Vickers?
Take your pick.
Either way,
they spelled out the same thing.
I wasn't her type.
I could've changed her mind
only I didn't have
a couple of years to hang around.
But it didn't take
an Einstein to figure out
that Miss Woodbelle and her father
didn't see eye-to-eye on anything,
including the weather.
That's what happens when you
hang onto a thread
as thin as the one
we've been following.
It's bound to break at the first strain.
So far the only thing
that measured up was a hunch.
I had the feeling Doc Vickers' little girl
was more important to the setup
than she wanted me to believe.
Trace and raid on the 23rd.
Why would he want the place
raided tonight? That's what I wanna know.
What did Jack expect to pick up?
And how was he going to pull it off
now that he was no longer a cop?
I'll take odds it's all tied up
with a sawed-off .45.
Maybe. But why would he want
to read those old college yearbooks?
And since when has he been
interested in college affairs?
He wasn't.
I figured they were part
of an insurance case
so I sent them over
to this company for a check.
This morning they came back.
No connection.
- Hello, Mike.
- Hi, Miller.
- Pick up anything?
- Here's the invoice.
Hey! This came from the Maxwell Bookshop.
That's where Miller's just been.
The original order was for six,
each on a different college.
We've only got three.
Somebody must've
walked off with half of them.
We've got the dates on the other three,
let's have a look at them.
Call the library,
tell them we're on our way.
Yes, sir.
Jenny, get me the library uptown.
Yeah.
That meant dragging one of the librarians
back again and into the basement,
where there were a couple
of miles of reference material,
including college yearbooks.
- Recognise him?
- Yeah.
- John Hanson, alias Hal Kines.
- Or vice versa.
He's been going to college
for the past 20 years. What's his racket?
I don't know. Let's go ask him.
Good. I'll try Kalecki's place
and you can take the Midworth Arms.
Who do you think you're kidding?
He's with Eileen Vickers tonight.
That's why Jack wanted the place raided.
We'll go together, if you don't mind.
Never mind, he just came in.
Been trying to locate you, Chief.
- What happened?
- Plenty.
Double homicide.
We called the coroner.
He's on his way in.
They were having a party upstairs.
Heard a couple of shots down here.
When they investigated, they found this.
I think you know something about him, Cap.
The man's Hal Kines,
the girl's Mary Wright.
Ne Vickers.
Death attributed to gunshot wounds.
We dug one of the slugs out of the wall,
looks like it came from a .45.
45!
Get it down to ballistics right away.
Yes, sir.
The guests are being screened upstairs.
It's a cinch he isn't gonna talk.
No. Oh, and the owners
are in there with Stein.
- This publicity will ruin us!
- Get back.
Did anyone else come in here
for the lessons?
I do not know, I was busy
preparing for the party all day.
Wait. She did have a guest
before the party!
Him!
Now I remember.
The way she screamed for him to get out.
Wasn't he the one
who came to see Mary?
Yes, that is right,
you told me all about him.
Kalecki was just brought in.
Wait, don't let him go, he's the one.
Take it easy, lady, a half hour ago
we were in the basement at the library.
- Stein.
- Oh, but it's him.
Sit down, will you, please?
He was like a son to me, that boy.
You're a liar.
You've been putting him
through college for the past 20 years.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Don't you?
Why was he made up like a collegiate?
I only met him two years ago.
He was a freshman at Parkdale.
And another thing, why did he move out
of your apartment in such a hurry?
Because of Esther Bellamy.
She was no good for him.
We quarrelled, we quarrelled over it.
Then why was he found
with the Vickers girl?
I don't know.
And what's the idea of him going to this.
Bonita and Charlie's
place for dance lessons?
He was an excellent dancer.
So you figure Esther might
have pumped those bullets into him, huh?
- She could have got hold of a gun.
- Yeah?
So could the girl's father.
You know, he didn't approve of Hal
any more than you approve of Esther.
Whoever it was...
I want them found
and taken care of.
You can name your own price, Hammer.
The killer's not in here now.
Did you show him the way out?
Or maybe you did the job yourselves?
- But you are wrong.
- Please.
You killed the girl, right?
Yes, yes.
Are you crazy? Let him alone.
He's lying, Pat, his name
isn't Carlos any more than hers is Bonita.
And he can't speak Spanish either!
I asked him if he did the killing
and he says, "Yes."
Alright you two, if you don't talk, you'll
find yourselves facing a murder charge.
Alright, so my name's Bonnie.
But we didn't hurt anyone.
You think people wanna learn to rhumba
from anyone born in Coney Island?
You gotta be a Rudolph Valentino type!
You gotta be a Carlos not a Charlie!
All of which proves you're a liar!
How do we know you two
didn't show the killer the way out?
Which makes you an accessory.
I'm gonna tell them, Charlie,
they can't kill us for it.
There's a hidden exit in the backyard.
- But we didn't show it to anyone, I swear!
- Alright then, show it to us.
The passageway was here
when we first took over the building.
It used to be a speakeasy.
That's how he got in and out.
Great history, this house.
From a respectable brownstone,
to a speakeasy, to this.
You're gonna give us a break though,
aren't you?
Right across the neck.
- Miller.
- Yes, sir.
- Close them up.
- I'll get right on it.
Go on.
How did you get in here?
I used one of your tricks.
Five dollars in the eager hands
of your elevator boy worked marvels.
Sucker. His orders were
to let pretty women in free.
I thought you might like
to buy me a drink.
You know you're a mind reader?
Just as soon as I get this telephone call
I'm expecting, we can take off.
In the meanwhile, help yourself.
This is an opener.
Do you hear about Hal Kines?
It was dreadful.
I don't have to tell you
what a shock it was.
Why, Mike?
Why would anybody want to kill him?
That's what I've been staying up
half the night trying to figure out.
I'm frightened.
Haven't you noticed
the pattern of the killings?
Yeah, all done with a .45.
And aimed at people
who were at Jack's party.
You're not getting the heebie-jeebies,
are you, baby?
I suppose so.
Well, I'll tell you what you do, baby.
You just stick real close to me...
- Yeah?
- Mike.
What'd it show, Pat?
No luck.
That .45 that got Kines and the girl
won't match up with
the slug we took out of Jack.
That makes it real nice.
Now it's two guns we're after.
What about the girl's father?
He check out alright?
He didn't do it.
Thanks, Pat. I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Well, pardon me.
Thought I was coming into a business
office instead of a boudoir.
This is my assistant.
Velda, this is Miss Manning.
Oh, how are you, Miss Manning?
I thought you might
need me on the Kines thing.
This is the best assistant I ever had.
I wouldn't want to drag
him away from his work.
Oh, that's perfectly alright,
Miss Manning.
He's like a homing pigeon.
No matter where you let him loose,
he always comes home to roost.
- Goodnight.
- Goodnight, Velda.
And don't worry,
I'll take good care of your pigeon.
Are you alright, baby?
I think so.
Looks like I have reason to be afraid.
Ah, it was me they were after, not you.
Left his calling card. Come on.
Yeah. Yeah. Well, order
additional patrols into the areal.
And keep on it.
Lost your black sedan.
I'll get this down to ballistics.
The sharks are beginning to bite, huh?
The idea, in case you don't get it,
is your supposed to be dead.
Maybe you can drum some sense into him,
Miss Manning.
Promise you'll be careful, Mike.
What's the matter, Doc?
Worried?
Can't you see?
Mike?
Open up, Mike!
Mike!
Alright!
It's me, Mike.
Alright, alright. Wait a minute. Alright!
Oh, it's you, Bobo.
Come on in.
Hey, I see they got you working, huh?
I can't stay long, Mike.
I gotta get back to the job.
They're looking for you,
that's what I came to tell you, Mike.
Oh, now simmer down, Bobo,
I can't follow you.
It's because of the fight you had
at Manuel's bar.
I heard the big guy giving them orders.
What big guy?
I don't know his name. He's gunning
for you. He told them to get you.
A kind of...
Kind of foreign name.
Was it like "Kalecki"?
Yeah... yeah, it sound like that.
Thanks, Bobo.
Well, I gotta get back to the kiddies now.
Oh, Mike...
I got me my queen bee.
Oh. Now all you need's a king.
Queen bees don't need no kings.
Things have certainly changed,
haven't they?
It says so in the book.
Oh well, then it must be so.
Yeah.
But first things first.
That little item of a .45
whistling past my head last night
set the order of business for the day.
And where there was a .45 involved,
there might be a crack shot
named Esther Bellamy to go with it.
I'm afraid I can't add anything more
to what my sister has already told you.
Then don't be afraid,
just fill in a few pieces.
Let's start with where you went
when you left Jack's funeral.
Have you been following me, Mr Hammer?
Let's say I've been keeping track
of you up to a point.
I don't see why I can't tell you
what I did yesterday.
I walked, Mr Hammer, all day long.
In the evening, I took in a movie.
What kind? A shooting movie?
I'm busy, Mr Hammer.
Alright, baby, I'll get to the point.
Last night, someone took
a shot at me from a fast moving car.
Now, I'm funny about things like that,
I wanna find out who'd wanna do it.
I wouldn't have missed
if I'd aimed at you.
Maybe you didn't miss after all?
Maybe you were aiming at Hal Kines?
I wouldn't hurt Hal Kines.
No? Gets a gun, kills a girl,
then blows his own brains out,
then hangs around and takes a pot shot
at me from a black sedan, is that it?
Has anyone ever told you
what a charming man you are?
Yeah. Your sister.
But we can talk about that later.
We're identical twins, Mr Hammer.
We practically think...
and feel alike.
Okay, Mary.
Recess is over.
- Now let's get down to business.
- How'd you know?
You happen
to be missing a birthmark, baby.
Now where is Esther?
Out.
Trying to get
over the shock of Hal Kines' death.
Now you're talking like your sister,
trying an alibi.
How do you know I'm not my sister?
I don't.
Esther and Hal got along fine.
Until Eileen showed up again.
Which is a good reason to buy a .45.
Oh, Esther's not the killing kind.
She's not like me.
Talking to the Bellamys
was like a dog chasing his tail.
Now you had it, now you didn't.
In the meantime, I could dig up
more facts on the disappearing twin.
Here we are, bright and early.
You look as though you could
use some breakfast.
How about some eggs scrambled
and some black coffee?
Kathy, would you mind before you leave?
This isn't a drive-in, you know.
You're just brimming over with news,
aren't you?
Did you know that Esther and Hal Kines
were like this?
I suppose I did.
Nothing definite except what I could
put together from observation.
Quite a family, the Bellamys.
What's Esther like?
Oh, night and day compared to Mary.
People like Esther
don't usually kill, Mike.
They go through their emotional crises,
suffer and dramatise themselves
until something else comes along.
Yet I suppose Esther could sooner
kill than, say, Mary.
Mary's the sort who gets rid
of her aggressions in other ways.
You're telling me.
Now it's time you looked
after yourself a bit.
- I got...
- Orders from Dr Manning!
Oh, I got too much to do.
This vendetta of yours...
That's all I can call it.
But this driving through brick walls
to Kill, it's wrong, Mike.
Speaking professionally,
I know what it can do to you.
And I know what it'll do to me if I were
to walk out on Jack now.
Can you understand that, professionally?
I can even understand it personally.
You have your breakfast.
Oh, and there's a barber shop
down the street, Patsy's.
You've got time to go there
before I get back.
Then you might get all prettied up for me.
Patsy's?
Goodbye, darling.
Hey, that was kinda special, wasn't it?
Cab?
Spindler's Publishing Company.
4th and 32nd street.
I was beginning
to react to police cars on the fly
the way your dog does when
you whistle for him around feeding time.
Watching me, you'd think that there was no
other business the police department had
except to cut me out of things.
I wish my hunch
hadn't been right this time.
I had the feeling that the lights
were going out on the Christmas trees.
Poor Bobo. Even his queen bee got away.
Hello, Mike. Captain.
It's all yours.
Thanks.
Nobody even heard a shot fired.
It could've been anybody
moving in and out the store.
But why Bobo?
Come here.
Cute, huh?
That's what he had on him.
That's no toy. Shoots for real, too.
I can't get it through my head
that Bobo was part of a gang.
Why couldn't he have
been some innocent little stooge
who was bumped for trying to warn me?
No, that luger he was packing,
that was no water pistol.
That was his membership card to the club.
Yeah? Yeah.
Okay, Pat, I'll tell him.
Well, you can quit worrying
about little Bobo, he's tied in alright.
Remember the wild shot
someone took at Kines?
It was Bobo.
The slug matches up with his gun.
The birds and the bees, huh?
Only this time, I got stung.
But why would Bobo wanna gun Hal Kines?
Where's the percentage?
You find that reason for me
and [I'll tell you why Kines was
knocking around with all those colleges.
A racket of some sort?
Had to be.
Velda had a point.
Joe College could've
been a travelling salesman
for some of the best
and oldest rackets in the world.
What other reason could he have had
for making colleges his headquarters?
It was a job and he wore
his leather like a uniform.
Real fertile territory.
Prime ripe cuts and the picking's choice.
Must've been like taking candy from kids,
especially the weaker ones.
And there are a few around.
The sort of kids
that go in for panty raids.
A look into Hal's room at the frat house
where he lived was in order.
Poor Mr Kines.
Who would've known this would happen
when my boys left for the holiday?
Which room was his, ma'am?
4b, second floor, rear.
Oh, but the constable said
no one was to go in.
He wouldn't even allow
Mr Kines' guardian into the room.
Well, he didn't mean me, ma'am.
I'm sure you want to cooperate, don't you?
Oh well, of course.
Belford, will you show
the gentleman upstairs?
- Yes, ma'am.
- Relax, relax, Belford.
I'll find my way. Thanks, ma'am.
Oh dear, oh dear.
Open up in there!
Open up in there!
Stay right where you are, young fella.
Just don't move.
Too bad you couldn't make it yourself,
Captain,
I sort of figured on getting the day off,
bring him back myself.
There you are.
That dumb hayseed.
You're lucky he didn't blast away first
and ask questions later.
Why do you suppose
I assigned men to follow you?
They cramp my style. And you didn't have
to leave me in this tank all night either!
I thought it would help
if I leave you here for a month.
What are you complaining about,
I struck pay dirt, didn't I?
No, just stick to your own rap.
Remember, we're the law, not you.
- There's a legal way of doing things.
- Legal way?
Mile of red tape and some smart lawyer to
squeeze out a couple of tears for a guy.
Look at your big time crooks
who hide behind the law.
They use it, they don't live by it.
That's not gonna happen
with Jack's killer.
Here, this is why Kalecki came here.
Kines got the idea that
Kalecki was gonna put him outta the way
so he put down a few facts just in case.
Hey, you don't know of a nice legal way
to take a look inside Kalecki's
safe deposit box, do you?
You might turn out
to be a hero after all.
The box felt heavy and for good reason.
Collectors' items from all over the world
and it took a smooth organisation
of crooks to collect them.
Nifties from the Russian crown jewels
to emeralds that some callous Dame
got the easy way and lost just as easy.
Jack Williams must've
found out who Mr Big was.
But now that Kalecki's dead,
who's the new Mr Big
moving in under a barrage of .45s?
These slugs were taken out
of Kines and the Vickers girl.
They have the same markings,
shot from the same weapon.
This is the one fired at Mike Hammer.
This is the one that got Bobo.
The characteristics
of all four slugs are the same,
shot out of the same gun.
The gun was a .45 Colt, double-action,
like the one Kalecki used.
But was this the gun that killed Jack?
No, Mike. It's a .45 alright
but not the one that did it.
Alright, Thomas, you can go.
I feel like the man who gets to the corner
and discovers there is no corner.
That's where you and I differ, Mike.
I can see the corner
and maybe a little bit around it.
Kalecki's vault box, Bobo, Kines,
all spell just one thing.
- There's a common denominator.
- But where does Jack fit in?
Myrna! Well, think of her background.
- Take a shortcut, Pat.
- Alright, real short.
Myrna did a stretch,
for jewel theft among other things.
And I did a stretch in the kindergarten,
so what?
So they could've gotten to her,
the Kalecki's and the rest of them.
- You're crazy.
- Alright, so I'm a lousy guesser.
But there's a theory, things equal to the
same thing are equal to each other.
If it sounds screwy,
maybe it is, who knows?
But I'm just trying to piece it together
so it'll make some sense.
He cured her, he believed in her,
that sound like the sort of person
who'd set her up for the kill?
I've got a file cabinet
full of records to prove otherwise.
Why don't you read the newspapers?
And I'll tell you another thing,
I never did go along with Jack and Myrna
when he was still a cop.
Well, what've you got against Jack?
Did she ever really open up and give us
any names when he picked her up?
She told him everything she knew.
She even gave him the name
of the contact that dealt with her.
And then, just before he came to trial,
he very conveniently slit his throat.
Now where's your case?
You're not thinking
maybe Jack was tied up with them?
He hated them for they did to Myrna,
I don't think he ever quit on the case.
And Myrna, she's still a part of the gang
and set him up for the Kill,
is that it, Pat?
He stumbled onto something
and was killed for it.
That's it.
Things equal to the same thing.
Pat couldn't be right.
Not about a kid
who took on the way she did.
That was no act.
Pat was just getting panicky and reach-y.
Charlotte could tell me.
If anyone knew what made Myrna tick,
it was Charlotte.
We've got a bell here, you know!
Then somebody outta tell it
it's supposed to ring.
The plug keeps coming out!
She's in the dark room
and you can't go in there.
He's here again.
Charlotte?
Half a moment, darling. Any luck?
Yeah, all bad.
Come on in.
I promised my publisher I'd have
these prints for him by tonight.
I'm beginning to feel like this guy.
He's in a state of hypnosis
brought on by sodium pentothal.
Allows him to talk freely.
Should have tried some out Hal Kines.
You'd have found out he's tied in
with Kalecki and his rackets.
- Kines?
- Yeah.
For instance, why they took
all those trips abroad,
and what they were bringing back
besides art pieces.
I can't believe it.
You would've if you could've got a look
into Kalecki's vault box.
Everything from a king's headpiece
to the eyes out of a Chinese idol.
And another thing you didn't suspect,
Kines' real age.
He's twice what he admits being.
That's something I almost guessed.
Certain ways the light
would catch his face.
His constant search
for the fountain of youth.
But why?
Hal Kines was in charge of new talent.
Another branch of the business.
How terrible.
Now that I think back to it,
his symptoms begin to fall into place.
Look, is it possible Myrna
could've slipped back again?
- What makes you ask that?
- One of Pat's theories.
And it wasn't Kalecki who killed Jack?
Wrong .45.
Hasn't it ever occurred to you
that Kalecki is partial to .45s?
He could've used two different guns.
A lot of things occur to me.
Come in.
You're wanted on the phone.
A Captain Pat Chambers.
Alright, Pat.
You wouldn't take my advice
about Myrna, would you?
Look, I've listened to all I'm gonna.
Don't you cut me off. Right now, she's at
Manuel's place with a couple of playmates.
He's been trying
to locate you for an hour.
Well, why'd you call me?
You've got everything figured out.
I thought you'd like to get her yourself.
C'mon, looks like Myrna's
gonna need your help.
She wouldn't listen to me, Mike.
There she is.
Come on. Get up.
Oh, look who's here. Sir Lancelot.
The brave black knight.
Beat it, Sir Lancelot!
- You heard the lady.
- I'm not gonna ask you again, Myrna.
Listen to him. The big brother act.
Well, I'm sick of listening
to all the big brothers and lovers.
From now on, no one cuts me so deep
I can't close the wound.
Go away, go away.
Myrna, come on now.
Let's go.
Good thing he apologised.
Leave me alone. Take Jack...
I wanted to go too
but they wouldn't take me, Jack.
What'd she have to say?
Shh. Nothing. I couldn't talk to her,
she needs sleep.
What, you want Pat to get to her first?
Nobody gets to her till tomorrow morning.
That girl's ready to collapse,
I forbid it.
Alright, alright.
Look, will you look after her tonight?
Don't worry about her, Mike.
She's in good hands.
Pat's gotta be wrong about her.
Trust me, Mike, I helped her before.
You know how much she loved Jack?
She says she was dead without him.
There is such love, Mike.
That's why I can understand it.
But it's wrong, Mike.
Nobody has a right to belong to anybody
so completely that it blots out
the rest of the world.
Of course, if suddenly something should
happen, you're lost.
Jack?
Very lost.
Jack? Jack?
I couldn't...
I couldn't hurt you.
Myrna?
Listen to me, Myrna.
You must answer my questions.
What did Jack tell you
the night of the party?
Did he say anything about me?
If you don't tell me everything,
I can't help you.
What was it he said?
Did Jack say anything?
Did he?!
You must trust me, Myrna.
You can confide in me.
You must tell me, Myrna.
What was it Jack said?
Myrna!
Myrna! Myrna!
Hello, Velda. Mike.
Need me for anything?
I think you'd... better come back, Mike.
Couple of... customers left some
information for you.
Can't it wait till morning? I'm beat!
It's more than important, Mike.
Okay.
That was the tip off.
The words "more than important' meant
come quick and come up the back way.
Smart girl, Velda.
One step ahead of whoever
was sitting on her neck.
You know something, Lolly?
The little lady
was a little too cooperative.
I got an idea the lady
and Mr Bigmouth
got some kinda signal rigged up.
You've been seeing too much television.
Yeah, maybe it was the same show?
Good try, sister.
You dirty ape!
How do you like that, Lolly?
I'm an ape, huh?
Bigmouth is not an ape.
You recognise me, Bigmouth?
I figured we'd meet again.
Well, you got your wish.
Not yet.
Not until I splash your teeth out
all over the floor.
Bigmouth don't show the proper respect.
What's the matter, Bigmouth,
you running out of talk?
I always remember
you being very fast with the wisecracks.
All of a sudden you're quiet.
What do you want from him?
Alright.
Alright, I'll tell you.
Him.
That's what I want, him!
You bumped Kalecki.
What's it to you?
He was a friend of mine.
Like Kines?
You're lucky he didn't finger you too.
Kines had it coming,
he was getting out of hand.
Talked too big for his pay cheque.
Why the girl?
Keep pumping, Bigmouth, I don't mind.
The girl just happened to be there
when she should've been home.
Where does Jack Williams come in?
I don't know how he comes in
but I know how you're going out.
You're gonna have an accident.
Lolly!
My... my hand.
My hand.
Freeze!
Get Pat.
He talked, alright.
He spilled his guts
right down to the line.
The only trouble was he didn't have
the answer to the $64 question.
Kalecki was the number one
man in the ring
and his art collecting a blind.
It gave him an excuse to leave
the country as often as he wanted to
for contact with other syndicates.
Did he know why Bobo was killed?
Kalecki didn't always confide in him.
Then how did he know for sure that
Kalecki didn't kill Jack Williams?
And what about the Bellamys?
Did he know about them? Was he lying?
Questions and answers,
questions and answers.
And sometimes for variety
it was answers and questions.
But no break yet.
Nothing about the missing .45
that cut down Jack.
- Oh, Mike, she's gone.
- What?
What do you mean, she's gone?
Myrna, I finally
got her off to sleep, Mike.
I thought I'd take a nap myself.
When I opened my eyes again, she was gone.
But I asked you to look after her.
I know Mike but I...
I didn't think she was in any condition
to get up and leave.
I don't even know how
she managed to get dressed again.
Mac, send out an all-point bulletin
on the local broadcast.
Pick up Myrna Devlin,
furnish description.
Right.
Hit and run alright, Captain.
- Looks like she'd been drinking.
- I want a full report.
- I'll get it to you in the morning.
- Now.
Alright.
- Move her over to my office.
- Yes, sir.
- Take care of it.
- Yes, sir.
You wouldn't listen to me when
I tried to tell you about Myrna.
You had to play
cat and mouse with me.
Lay off, Pat.
Now will you believe she slipped back to
where she was when Jack picked her up?
She told me she hadn't
when I picked her up tonight.
Alright, I'm crazy.
The medical examiner's crazy.
Everybody's crazy except you.
Go on in there and take
another look at her arm.
Oh, Myrna couldn't lie.
Not Myrna.
Merry Christmas.
Now I know why you invited
that crowd to your party, Jack.
That was before they started
fighting among themselves.
Only you knew it was coming
and that's why you were killed.
Kalecki had a million dollar
jewellery racket.
Everything was sweet until his pal
and playmate, Hal Kines,
decided he needed some psychoanalysis.
Charlotte hypnotised him
and made him talk.
He talked enough to convince her
that there was more money in jewellery
than there was in psychoanalysis.
There could be only one boss
and it was decided with a gun.
The new Mr Big is now
ready to move in.
Only it isn't Mr Big, it's Miss Big.
Beautiful Miss Big.
Mike, darling?
I knew you were here.
I felt it.
How did you get in?
Kathy's out.
Through the dark room.
Makes a real nice alibi.
No bell at the front
door for Kathy to hear
and your own little
private entrance and exit.
Nobody disturbs a person
in a dark room.
Put that gun away, Mike.
Let's talk this out.
I've already had
a long talk with myself, baby.
Right through a head full of nightmares
and it's all clear now.
Listen to me, Mike.
- You're not making sense.
- Stay put!
That's better.
Light becomes you from that angle.
And this little item shoots deadly
and it doesn't listen to reason.
Then will you let me call Pat?
You've got it all wrong, baby.
This time I'm the analyst
and you're the patient.
You wanted the whole world, Charlotte,
all of it.
Not to use.
Just to have.
My coat, Mike.
Don't you trust me to take off my coat?
Go on, Mike.
Take out your hates
and disappointments on me.
I know about such things.
Sure.
People tell you everything.
And if they don't, you've got ways.
Like that poor dope you hypnotised.
Is that what you did to Kines?
Is that how you learned about
his rackets with Kalecki?
Is that why you pumped Myrna's arm
full of stuff to make her talk?
Only one person would've been
worried about what she knew.
And that was Jack's killer!
Go on, Mike.
Ride your imagination. Get it all out.
I'm a good guesser, huh?
Okay.
You cut yourself into the ring
because of what you knew
and then you tried to get Kines
to help you take it over.
And isn't it a fact
that when Kalecki barked,
you put little Bobo on his trail.
You knew how to twist that
kid's mind any way you wanted.
I'm tired, Mike.
You should be.
You've come a long way.
And to think I almost bit for your idea
that Kalecki killed Jack.
Now we can live happily ever after.
Except for Myrna.
Poor Myrna.
Handing her over to you so you could
find out what Jack may have told her.
But that was your mistake, Charlotte!
No, Mike!
My mistake was falling
in love with you.
That's why I couldn't pull that trigger
from across the street
at the barber's shop.
And that's why you can't pull that trigger
any more than I could.
Listen to me.
Too late.
You told me you loved me, Mike.
- You said that yourself.
- I told you a lot of things.
You can't just wipe them away
like they were nothing.
There's so much
we could do together, Mike.
The two of us.
Time's running out, Charlotte.
No plans for the new year?
The world, Mike...
...it could be ours!
I never wanted the world!
Just... just room enough
for the two of us.
I'm frightened, Mike.
Hold me.
Hold me tight, darling.
So long, baby.
How could you?
It was easy.
There was only one thing left to do.
Order a basket.
A real pretty one.
And wait for Pat.
He had his Killer...
and I had my memories.