Studio One (1948) s02e38 Episode Script
The Man Who Had Influence
NARRATOR: Whether's it's a product for home or business, farm or factory, you can be sure if it's Westinghouse.
[FANFARE.]
[MUSIC PLAYING.]
HARRY: This one's from Foster.
J.
C.
: What does he say? HARRY: Ready to support Scott.
Stop.
Can only offer one better suggestion.
Why not run yourself? [LAUGHTER.]
I'd say he means it.
Certainly he means it.
He's been trying to get rid of me for 20 years.
By backing of a senator, I don't get it.
Maybe I'm just dumb.
No, not dumb, just young, Harry.
It's the eternal choice between public acclaim and anonymity.
Take anonymity, Harry.
Take it every time.
Certainly, but There's no buts about it.
If you want influence, stay out of the papers.
You know, we all make mistakes, Harry.
We're all human, and well all make I make my own, but only a very few people know about them.
But make one mistake on the floor of the Senate and the newspapers will tear you apart.
You know, Foster can be senator for 20 years, but I'll still be stronger than he is as long as I remain anonymous and he keeps his name in the papers.
That's such good advice that I shouldn't give it to you.
You'll probably use it one of these to cut my throat.
Well, you have a low opinion of me, haven't you, J.
C.
? Not at all.
I think you're using me just the same as I used a lot of people myself 20 years ago.
But I think you're young enough not to be able to do me very much harm until I'm old enough not to care.
[KNOCK ON DOOR.]
Come in.
Excuse me, Mr.
Grant, but Mr.
Scott has just arrived.
Ms.
Scott's with him too.
Ms.
Scott's with him too? All right, Martha.
Tell him we'll be right in there.
Yes, sir.
Well, what do you say? Shall we welcome the new senator? Your mind's made up, then? Yes subject to change.
You know, Harry? He has something that we lack.
His family fought in the Revolution.
He inherited their crusading spirit.
Use crusaders, Harry.
Never be one, but use them.
They make admirable allies at times.
Well, Paul, Jane.
How are you? Nice to see you.
You know Harry Cohalan of course? In case you're worried, Mr.
Grant, I'm not staying for dinner.
Well, you can stay for a cocktail, can't you? I'd love one.
Harry, they're all mixed.
Would you get one? David's supposed to be meeting me here.
David? Well, he said he was driving up from college this afternoon.
Didn't he let you know? No, But There's nothing remarkable about that.
Ha.
He really is terrible.
No one has a right to be that irresponsible.
No, I'm only surprised because I thought that this was examination week.
But maybe he's made arrangements to pass without taking them.
You really brought him up very badly, Mr.
Grant.
I recuse all responsibility, Jane.
He's known to how wrangle and get around me ever since he was that high.
Thanks, Harry.
Oh, by the way, Paul Foster's I just get a wire from Foster.
He's agreed to come in with us.
Wonderful, J.
C.
Now how certain does that make it? Well, nothing is ever certain, as you know.
We still have Angelo to contend with And his record's very good, as you know and the Italian vote is important in all the key areas.
[CAR TIRES SCREECH.]
That, I would say, is your son, Mr.
Grant.
No one else can afford to ruin as many tires as that.
Eh.
No one else has had that much practice.
DAVID: Hi, everybody.
Sorry I'm late.
Seems to me you're about 10 days early.
True, true.
Hello, Mr.
Scott.
Hello, darling.
What took you so long? I hurried in just the wrong places.
Here, Harry, I have a couple of presents for you.
Edgewood, passing a red light, that should be easy.
This is tougher state cop tagged me for 83 on Route 29.
I tried to buy him off, but he got mad.
Hey, cocktails, that's what I need! How does it happen that you're cutting exams, young man? I didn't.
I got fired.
JANE: Oh, David, no.
What was it this time? Overcut two subjects, flunked three.
I also had a few drinks and told the dean what I thought of him, so we parted.
Cheers.
Does that mean that you'll have to take another year? Well, I don't see why, dad.
They need a new biology lab, a freshman dorm, and an armory.
Certainly I can't be worth more than a biology lab.
I see.
Why, you're looking mighty fresh and lovely.
I'll take you ahead of economics bore any day.
And what should I take you ahead of? Dad.
He's not as reprehensible as I am on the surface, but then he's had a lot longer to learn how to cover up.
Dinner is served, sir.
Hello, Martha! Oh, Mr.
David, I didn't know you were here.
Martha, how are you? I'm glad to see you.
You'll stay for dinner? Not if I can help it.
I'm taking Ms.
Scott to some little dive.
Would you like to join us? Oh, Mr.
David.
[MARTHA LAUGHS.]
By the way, are Ted and Eleanor joining us here? Yes, and they've got a weekend guest with them.
Someone named "Downs.
" He does something.
Well, that's great.
Well, don't wait up on me, dad.
I won't.
Goodnight, dad.
Hope you solve the Italian vote.
Are you actually running for Senator, Mr.
Scott? With a little assist from your father.
Well, don't promise anything.
You might not get elected, but you'll live longer.
And it's very important for you to live, because Janey's got to have someone to come home to when she can't stand me anymore.
I can scarcely stand you now and we're not even married yet.
Maybe I'd better rush you out and marry you tonight.
I might hold you to that.
I talk too much.
Uh huh.
Well, goodnight all, and, uh up the Italian vote.
Yeah, he's quite a boy, J.
C.
Quite a boy is right, but expensive luxury, Harry.
I was just wondering how much it might cost by next year.
Yeah.
Me too.
You know Paul? You're lucky.
You have four children.
Well, come on.
Let's go to dinner.
[MUSIC PLAYING.]
Is anybody having any fun? I'm not.
Why not? I'm out of cigarettes.
[LAUGHTER.]
Hey, Luigi? Yes, sir? I need some cigarettes.
Right away, Mr.
Grant.
That music is terrible.
It's so sad, it reminds me of mother's.
Hey, how about another round? That's about all you need, my sweet.
Trying to reform me? Not yet, darling.
Oh, don't start on that, Jane.
Not tonight.
I've WAITRESS: Cigarettes? Cigarettes? Here, right here.
Well, where did you come from? You're a pretty little thing.
Hey, listen, what are you doing? You're too young to be working in a joint like this.
I want to speak to the manager.
Oh no, please, I need the money.
I'll tell you what I'll do.
I'll stake you to a three month myself.
And if you haven't found a decent job by then, I'll cover you for another month.
Gee, I I could never take anything like that, Mr.
Grant.
You see? She knows my name, Grant.
You'd take it from a Smith but not from a Grant.
There's a quid pro quo about a Grant.
Any smart girl knows that.
Here, Janey, you give it to her.
Maybe it'll buy your father a couple of Italian votes.
David, you embarrassed the kid to death.
Well, I was only trying to How about that other round? Come on, Eleanor, let's dance.
He's had a lot to drink.
Do you think we ought to start home? Oh no, I'm used to ending an evening with someone else.
You don't mind? No, it's David's way of showing his independence.
See, he has to feel he's free.
Well, it leaves me free at the same time.
I meet some very nice people that way.
Is that remark personal or general? Oh, I talking to you very much.
It won't be easy to talk here.
Would you like to dance? Very much.
Service, my friend.
Service for the finest I'm sorry I embarrassed you.
Oh, Mr.
Grant, that's all right.
Are you leaving your friends? No, it's just the other way around.
They're leaving me.
Oh, I'm a very popular beau as long as the check isn't paid.
Didn't you have a hat? No.
Say, how'd you like me to drive you home? Thank you.
I can't leave for another hour.
Suppose you could.
It's impossible.
Well, that's no kind of an answer.
The point is, would you? Now, don't answer yet.
You need some advice first.
Don't do it.
Don't have anything to do with me because, well, in the first place, I've had quite a few drinks.
And even if I hadn't, you'd be a fool to accept.
Now, answer my question.
If I get Luigi to let you off early, will you let me drive you home? Yes.
Why? I think you just want someone to talk to.
Besides, I don't think you're much more dangerous than most.
Hey, Luigi? Yes, sir? You're working this young lady much to hard.
How about letting her off early? She will go with you, Mr.
Grant? So she says.
With you, it is all right.
Thanks, Luigi.
I won't be a minute.
You know, you haven't even asked my name.
Why should I? The way things are, I won't remember anything tomorrow anyway.
I'll tell you later then.
Shall we go? Yes.
Oh, where is he? Oh, he's trying someone else that attracts him more for the moment.
One thing about David, he never forgets to pay.
Lovely sermon, but a nicer day for golf.
If we can get some in this afternoon.
Maybe we can.
Thanks, Martha.
You're home earlier than usual.
Yes, the sermon was short this morning.
It's too bad my son wasn't there.
Might have done him some good.
I suppose he's still asleep though, huh? Yes, sir.
Are you sure he's really there? His car's not in the garage.
Maybe you'd better go up and knock on his door, huh? See if he's awake.
He should at least try and make lunch on Sundays.
Yes, sir.
You know, it's too bad that you're not my son, Harry.
You'd have had a far more colorful existence.
I'm quite happy with things as they are.
Yes, but it's rather unfair, though.
You do all the work, he has all the fun and inherits the fortune.
I sometimes wonder how long it'll take him to go through it.
Perhaps you should leave it in trust? With you as executor? That's not what I was saying.
[CHUCKLES.]
Harry, come on.
No, you're better off where you are.
Yes Martha, what is it? Mr.
David'll be down in a moment, Mr.
Grant.
Well, thank you, Martha.
He doesn't look well at all, sir.
He doesn't.
I didn't expect he would.
He probably [PHONE RINGS.]
See who that is, Martha.
Yes, sir.
Harry, I think you better get on with the police this evening and pick up a missing car.
JANE: Good morning, Martha.
Good morning, Mr.
Grant.
Well, good morning, Jane.
How are you? I swear, I must say that you look in far better shape than our David does this morning.
He did get home then? Don't tell me that he walked out on you.
[CHUCKLES.]
For his fashion.
I just stopped by to return something he left behind last night.
Would you give it to him for me? It's $200.
Well, he'll be done himself in a minute.
Supposing you give it to him, yeah? Oh, I don't think I'd better Don't anyone say good morning.
I'm in no mood for irony.
Well, you're a noble-looking sight, I must say.
What happened to your head, David? What happened to your car, David? Isn't it here? It's not in the garage.
Well, didn't I have it when I took you home last night? You didn't take me home.
[PHONE RINGS.]
Oh, I might have known it.
It's just a big, beautiful blank.
I didn't get in a fight, did I? You must have crashed in the car.
Harry, you'd better get the police on it.
Yes.
Jane has something for you, David.
Oh? Well, I'm glad to see you're still speaking to me anyway.
Mr.
Downs was very attentive.
He even paid the check.
Downs? Downs? It's not use.
It's all a haze.
That's pretty obvious, isn't it? Excuse me, Mr.
David, but there's someone here to see you.
For me? Who is it? Mrs.
Cassini, sir.
Never heard of her.
Somebody must see her.
She seems very upset.
Well, maybe you want me to see her, huh? Why not? You handle these things better than I do.
All right, what would you do in my case, Jane? Make David see her.
No, I'm afraid the shock would be far too much for him.
He's had too much.
He's been taken care of too long.
You enjoy it.
You always have.
I'd enjoy seeing you do something once that might make me think that eventually you'll become a man not that I expect it.
Why, I actually believe I made him angry.
That's the first time that's happened in years.
David.
Yes? I came to bring you this $200.
I also wanted to give you something else.
It's rather meaningless anymore.
You've given up, is that it? David, I'm tired.
Well, I can't say that I blame you.
Your father's right, David.
You're just not a man.
The things I feel about you are the things a man feels.
If only I'd well, I can't feel them all the time.
Something gets in the way.
What? You do nice things for me.
I can't help wanting to hurt people when they do nice things for me.
So does my brother.
He's ten years old.
All right, but what are you going to do when you can't help it? Grow up.
In this house? Try it sometime.
But David, don't you see? You've got to start sometime.
You can't go on like this.
It's killing all the nice things in you.
What nice things? My clothes? My neck tie? My face lotion? Heh.
What nice things? Your father wants to see you, David.
No.
I think you'd better come, David.
This isn't very funny.
Well, what does the woman want? I think she can tell you better than I can.
[SOBBING.]
Mrs.
J.
C.
: Cassini, you mustn't cry.
You wanted to see me? Mrs.
Cassini, this is my son, David.
Where is she? Where is my child? My Maria, what have you done with her? Wait a minute, wait a minute.
I don't know I don't know what's going on.
Mrs.
Cassini's daughter is the hat check girl at the Stateline Cafe, David.
You took her with you last night.
Luigi told me.
She don't come home all night.
Where is she? What you do? I honestly don't remember, Mrs.
Cassini.
Who cannot remember such a thing? Who? She is my child, my Maria.
For you, she just is another woman.
Where is she? You tell me where she is, please? Now, Mrs.
Cassini, I assure you that we will do everything possible to try and find your daughter.
We'll get the police on it at once.
In the meantime, why don't you let my chauffeur take you home? And if there's any damages at all, you may rest assured that I will cover them.
I want my child! I want my Maria! I want my child! Harry, take Mrs.
Cassini home.
She's very upset.
Naturally.
In the meantime, I'll call Captain Osbourne and start the search immediately.
Please come with me, Mrs.
Cassini.
I want my child, my Maria! My bella bambina! [MRS.
CASSINI SOBBING.]
Well, come on.
What did happen? I don't know.
I don't know.
I know sometime during the night, I ordered some cigarettes.
Someone brought them.
She had black hair, I think.
I don't remember.
You have a convenient way of forgetting, huh? Haven't you, David? You've been doing it for years.
It's what keeps you going.
I tell you, I don't remember! I don't remember anything! Well, might be another frame up, of course.
But it doesn't sound like it to me.
That woman sounded pretty genuine.
Than pay her off and get it over with.
I don't want her looking at me like that anymore.
You mean the way that you used to look at me? When? When you were younger.
What had you done to me? Nothing.
Captain Conway wants to see you, J.
C.
Don't tell me that the Chief of Police is reporting on missing cars now.
That's far too He asked to see you personally.
All right.
Send him in, send him in, Harry.
You don't suppose you hit a policeman, do you? Come on in, gentlemen.
Good morning, Mr.
Grant.
Good morning.
Sorry to break in on you on a Sunday morning like this.
Quite all right, don't worry about it.
Where did you find the car? A back road over on the other side of the lake.
Not much left of it? Not much.
There's something else, Mr.
Grant.
I'm afraid it means we're going to have to take your son with us.
Well, you've done it before, Captain, and I've gone through an awful lot of trouble getting him out again.
But if you feel it's your duty, why, go ahead.
I'm afraid it may be a little more difficult this time, Mr.
Grant.
The car wasn't happy empty when we found it.
There was a girl in the front seat.
She bled to death.
Her name was Maria Cassini.
J.
C.
: Cassini? HARRY: Manslaughter, Captain? CAPTAIN CONWAY: 'Fraid so, sir.
But how? I apologize, Captain.
I see you have no choice but to take the boy with you.
CAPTAIN CONWAY: No, sir.
Go ahead, David.
Dad? I'll do the best I can for you.
Well? Harry, you've seen a lot of things go on around here, and some of them have not been very pretty.
But this time, you're going to see something really dirty.
[MUSIC PLAYING.]
NARRATOR: Now that you've seen part one of "The Man of Who Had.
" "Influence," let's turn to our Westinghouse program.
Are you a quiz whiz? Well, I guess that depends on what Betty is going to ask.
Well, my first question is, how many genuine frost-free refrigerators are there? You're right.
There's only one.
And who makes the only real frost-free refrigerator in the world? Why, everybody knows It's Westinghouse.
And there it is.
The only refrigerator in the world that never needs defrosting, that's always frost-free.
And now let's look at the inside of this sensational new.
Westinghouse frost-free refrigerator.
Now, in all other refrigerators, as you know, frost is always gathering up here in the freeze chest.
And maybe you have the kind you have to defrost yourself.
Or perhaps your refrigerator has a clock-type defroster, or there's a dial and the refrigerator turns off while it's defrosting and everything starts to melt.
Well, that never happens with this wonderful new Westinghouse refrigerator, because it never allows frost to build up.
It always keeps itself frost-free.
Now, the minute that frost starts to form up here on the freeze chest, the magic frost-free system goes to work and quickly melts whatever little frost has formed.
And the tiny amount of frost water is automatically evaporated.
Now, in other so-called automatic defrosting refrigerators this is what happens to your ice cream during defrosting.
But the Westinghouse frost-free refrigerator gets rid of the frost so fast that your ice cream stays hard and firm like this.
And of course, your frozen fruits and vegetables just never even start to melt.
Isn't it wonderful? Yes, it's the only refrigerator in the world that actually defrosts itself and disposes of the defrost water automatically.
See this new Westinghouse frost-free refrigerator at your Westinghouse dealer.
It's today's greatest refrigerator.
You can be sure if it's Westinghouse.
NARRATOR: Now let's return to Westinghouse Studio One, and "The Man Who Had Influence.
" Oh.
It's only you, Jimmy.
That's right.
Well, you didn't get much of a sleep, did you, boy? It seemed enough to me.
I had some pretty bad dreams.
You always did dream, laddie, even as a kid.
This is pretty old stuff to you, isn't it Jimmy? Oh, sure, sure.
We lock you up, your dad gets you out.
But this is something worse, isn't it? Yep.
Were you there, Jimmy? Yep.
What did she look like? Don't you remember? No, nothing.
[JIMMY CHUCKLES.]
You don't believe me, do you.
Nope.
But I tell you, I was drunk.
But then you hit that culvert.
No one stays drunk after a thing like that, Davey.
You weren't drunk when you walked away and left that kid to bleed to death.
You know, Davey, I've always kind of liked you.
But if I was to tell you what I think they ought to do to you now, well, I think they ought to give you the chair.
Of course, there's no law that can make them do it, but that's what you deserve.
Even if I could make you believe I was out of my head? How? Get your dad to fix some doctor into saying you had a concussion? Maybe I did, and maybe Oh, what's that use.
You've made up your mind already.
Yeah, I made it up the minute I saw that kid.
Wish I had a picture of her.
I'd like to send it to your old man.
I tell you, I don't know what she looked like.
I don't know how she got in the car.
I don't how I got home.
Go back to sleep, Davey.
You dream fine.
Hey, Jimmy? Yep? You wanna know something? What? I almost hope I don't get off.
[JIMMY CHUCKLES.]
Fat chance, kid.
Right now, your old man's fixing up an acquittal.
It's costing him plenty, but he's fixing it.
I'd like to cross him, but I don't know how he works.
Don't you? Oldest game in the world.
He works on the belly.
He finds a soft spot and works on that.
He always knows where a man hurts the easiest and the most.
What, eh what was your soft spot, baby? I don't know.
I know.
You were scared of him.
You still are.
Maybe.
And as long as you can't take care of yourself in a jam, he's got you right where he wants you.
Yes, he's in that little room of his right now, looking over a long list of names.
Pretty straight guys, most of them But one of them made a slip about 10 years ago and accepted a little present that he shouldn't.
One's afraid he's going to lose his job.
One's got a sick child.
And one's been cheating on his wife.
He's got it all down.
Well, he'll look it over, and then all of a sudden, he'll stick the pin in.
Heh heh.
And he knows most of them squirm and flutter and try to get away, but he's always got 'em.
He only has to wait.
So you think he's gonna get me off, huh? I got $10 says he will.
I won't take it.
I wouldn't either if I was you.
I'd like to be in that room right now.
Why? I'd like to see who's there.
Heh heh.
Can't you guess? Yeah, I guess I can.
There'd be dad sitting behind his desk, listening.
And Harry would be beside dad watching him.
Then across What about, uh What about McKeever? No.
Well, he did pretty well for us in the Darcy case.
That's what's wrong with it.
Too many reporters started watching him like hawks.
I wish we had you handling this instead of Turner, Paul.
[PHONE RINGS.]
With that girl being accounting, we can't risk a Yes, hello? Yes, speaking.
Yeah.
Hello.
Well, what were his reasons? Yeah.
Well, who was in there? Yeah, I see.
Well, what does the judge say? Two weeks? All right, I'll do what I can.
I'll call you in the morning.
Well? Judge Snyder refused bail.
Angelo had two men in the hearing.
He's moved in, and he's gonna make it tough for you.
You'd better get out of here.
You'd better visit the upstate, northern part of the state or something.
You mustn't be found here.
Yes, I guess that's smart.
I don't think it is.
Why not? If this thing comes to trial in two weeks, Jane's going to be called.
If Scott walks out on that, somebody's going to start asking some embarrassing questions.
He might need to try to answer with his own daughter on the stand.
Yes, that's right.
That's good, Harry.
That's very good.
That makes sense.
Will I have to appear? Well, of course you will, my dear.
You'll be one of the principal witnesses.
You're engaged to David, you were one of the I'm not, though.
You're not what? Not engaged.
I broke off with David this morning.
Well, where is it? The ring? David has it, I suppose.
Well then, you have to get it back, Jane.
I can't do that, Mr.
Grand.
Well, then I'll have to get it back for you, that's all.
You can't go into court without it.
Why not? Well, you're smart.
You would make a bombshell out of that that would blow us right out of court.
So you want me to become part of the machine, is that it? I'm to lie along with the rest of you? Jane.
I've seen it building up for years.
I've seen what it done to David.
I don't want to have anything to do with it.
I'm not thinking so much of David as I am your father.
What difference it is going make to him? Just the difference between being a United States Senator and remaining an another lawyer.
Leave me out of this, J.
C.
Any girl that runs out on the man she's engaged to can't be very much good, Jane.
Maybe it runs in the family.
Maybe he father's a quitter too, or I'm not letting David down.
I'm fighting for him.
If he's guilty, he ought to pay for this.
It's the only thing in the world that might shock him into being a man.
The kindest thing is to make him suffer just once.
Now, you think That's what you've never let him do, and that's why he is where he is today.
So you think it's all my fault, huh? Yes, I do.
Well, maybe that's so.
But that's a pretty harsh thing to throw in a man's face.
I know, but I also know that there's only one way to help David.
And that's by hurting you.
Well, if that's the way you feel about it.
You're still in love with him, then? Yes.
I shouldn't be, but I am.
Well then, maybe you'd better go home and sleep on it.
You'd better take her along, Paul.
We can't get anywhere now in any case.
Just as you say, J.
C.
Come on, dear.
Why that little fool, she'll never get him now.
If it's the last thing I do, I'll see that she never gets him! He's my son.
And if I want to save his skin, no little pink and white Bobby soxer is going to stand in my way.
I'll take care of her and her fat-headed Mayflower father too if necessary.
Let that be a lesson to you, Harry.
Never lose your temper, it's a sign of weakness.
And you can never afford to be weak, not even in private Especially in private.
Well, come on.
Let's see what we've got.
I just noticed a name here we both passed over.
- Who's is it? - Seymour Dreyden.
Dreyden? Nobody's gotten to him in 50 years.
It's going to be pretty clean, having a man like that sit against your own son.
It's good cover.
I know.
But how would we get to him? For one thing, I was noticing his retirement date December 12.
That's only about a month after election.
Yeah, go on.
His wife's pretty sick.
It's an expensive illness.
The thing I like about it is, we don't have to show our hand unless everything else goes wrong.
Yes.
Yeah, I like it too, Harry.
I like it very much.
Well? You're not sick enough to justify sending to a hospital, David.
But you have had a bad shock.
Bad enough to call it concussion? I think we can say that, yes.
What other possible reason could you find to explain my blacking? We wouldn't need any other reason.
We? Are you under orders from dad? I'm very fond of your father, David.
He's done a lot for me over the years.
Fond enough to fake a medical report and swear to it in court? What are you getting at, David? I never had a concussion.
I blacked out.
I'm ready to swear to that.
But there's some other explanation.
This is a fake.
Well, there could be another explanation, but it's not the best sort of evidence in a court of law.
What's that? Psychological.
You may have wanted to forget wanted to so much that you really did forget.
But that starts questions Easy questions to ask, hard ones to answer.
It's simpler to say it was concussion.
And after all, it might have been.
I can't say it wasn't, David.
Thanks, doc.
That's all I wanted to know.
Get all the rest you can, boy.
This case is going to take a lot out of you.
I'll see you later, doc.
Thanks, Jimmy.
OK, doc.
So what do you think? Oh, nothing.
Everything's moving just to as is to be expected.
A well-greased machine, huh? Let's call it "professional.
" You know, Davey, when one of these things starts, you can always tell how amateur it is by how rough they get.
Then if things begin to break right, the smart ones find out that it isn't smart to get rough any more than you can help it.
It gets in the papers, and that's bad.
So, uh, pretty soon, things seem to quiet down.
Looks like nothing's going on at all.
But it is.
It's going on all the time.
Yeah, I'd estimate that it's taken about, uh, 20 years and $30 to $40 million to get you out of this jail, David.
I had no idea I was such an important person.
You're not.
It's just that, well, you've had so much privilege all your life that you never know anything else existed.
And you know, after a while, it sort of grows on you until you come to accept it, like something you've earned.
What do you call privilege? Well, uh, a police escort.
You plow through red lights in broad daylight and don't get a ticket.
And you know there are a lot of guys that, after they've ridden through a red light once, never see why they should stop again.
So it just becomes a polite word then for breaking the law without having to pay for it.
Yeah, you're a fine hunk of privilege, Davey.
Of course, I wouldn't mind if I didn't know how many people have been hurt just to keep you happy.
Who? Well, the judge on this case, for one.
I don't even know who he is yet, but I know what he's been going through.
All day they've been squeezing.
Of course, you'll never get Paulson or Pilate or Dreyden, or even Frame.
They can't be squeezed.
Ah, no, you'll get some little guy with a soft belly, and all day Shut up, shut up, will you?! I've heard all I can take! I don't have to talk, son.
I was only doing it because you asked me.
J.
C.
: Clancy Mallory, haven't seen you in a long time.
That's right, Mr.
Grant.
You don't come around here very much anymore.
No, I try to keep out as much as possible.
Hello, David.
How are you? They taking good care of you? Oh, hello Jimmy.
You're quite a stranger, too.
Well, you got me this assignment, Mr.
Grant.
And somehow it's just stuck.
Do you hold it against me, Jimmy? [CHUCKLES.]
What do you think? How are you doing, David? I'm all right.
Doc Hartley been here yet? He didn't wait a minute.
He probably left some woman dying to take care of me.
So what did he think? He said it was concussion.
It wasn't.
But he'll make it stand up in court.
I know he'll make it stand up in court.
But don't you realize there's something if you hadn't been hit at that bar, maybe this thing never would have happened.
Why, you were out before you got into that car.
Who said I fell? We have three witnesses.
How much did it cost? That's something that you'll never (ANGRILY) No! I've got to know.
How much did it cost!? How much are you going to have to pay the judge? Nothing.
We'd have an awful tough time trying to fix that judge.
Why, we wouldn't even make the attempt.
Who is it? Old man Dreyden.
I'd just as soon think of trying to bribe Abe Lincoln.
Dreyden? Are you going to let him sit on the case? Why not? He's being assigned in the morning.
Hey, Jimmy.
Jimmy, old Judge Dreyden's gonna sit on my case, you hear that? Yeah, I heard it.
Well, what've you got to say now? Nothing.
Oh dad, this is wonderful news.
I wanted to believe in you.
More than anything, I wanted to believe.
Now I know you're all right.
You're all right.
I've been wanting to hear you say that for a long time, son.
Scared you don't know how scared.
But you're not scared anymore, are you? Not anymore.
Well, that's fine.
You don't have to be scared about anything.
No matter what happens, I'll see that you're taking care of, no matter what happens.
I'll tell him as soon as he comes in, Turner.
I'll have him call you.
Turner's worried, I gather? Why shouldn't he be? That testimony of your daughter's just about sewed up the case for the other side.
She told the truth, and that's a pretty hard pill for J.
C.
to swallow.
May be a little tough for you to swallow too, Paul.
He's got to lose sometime in his life.
It's about time he learned to take it.
That sounds like him now.
[DOOR SLAMS.]
Any calls, Harry? Turner.
He wants you to call back.
Why? The case has gone to the jury.
I think he just wants to talk.
Gah, talk! There's been too much talk! We should have realized that the moment that Jane opened her mouth, right here in this room! She gave us good warning, didn't she? She didn't go behind our backs.
If you can't control your people, especially your own family, you're very little use to me.
You expect me to turn against my own daughter? I don't care much what you do.
You're on your own from now on.
What do you think will happen now? I think they'll walk in there at 10 o'clock and give their verdict.
After that, they say that David is guilty if they do.
There's no use trying to keep the lid on the press after that.
They'll rake it all up and lick their chops over it.
They'll smash everything that it's taken me 20 years to build.
Gone, wasted, wiped out.
I'm glad you made that speech, J.
C.
For the first time, I see you just as you really are.
I'm not interested.
Well, you're going to hear it just the same.
J.
C.
Grant, not David Grant, not your own son.
You don't care what happens to him so long as it doesn't hurt you.
Get out.
Get out! You know what's bad about that Harry, don't you? The thing that's bad about it is it's true.
You know why? Because David never really was my son.
He was hers his mother's every bit of him.
She was the most beautiful woman I have never known, and yet I could never get the better of.
She was the one person in the world that I could never defeat.
Maybe if she'd lived long enough I might have, but she didn't give me the chance.
She died before she was 30.
And yet ever since, part of her has been living here in this house with me, laughing at me, laughing at me.
The battle between us when David was only 10 years old.
But eventually I won, I broke him.
I made him need me every time he turned around.
But now it falls on me.
Because now, when he's in it up to his neck and I shouldn't care, I find I do.
I care more than I'd like.
[INAUDIBLE.]
And now, Harry, you know what very few people have ever.
You've found my soft spot.
And one of these days, you'll use it.
Not right away, but one of these days you will.
You'd be a fool if you didn't.
I don't think so.
Wait till you're tempted.
Oh, come on.
That's enough from me.
We've got work to do.
Well, how you feel, Davey? Not much of anything.
Yeah, it was a tough night, all right.
Things didn't go so good, did they? No.
Your dad pulled every trick there was, but for once it didn't pay off.
How much of it was dirty, Jimmy? Eh, you know as well as I do.
Doc Hartley, those phony witnesses from the Stateline Yeah, yeah, I know that.
But none of this counted against Jane, did it? No, no.
Angelo's crowd played it nicely too, held her back till she was yards from the table.
Smart.
I guess I really hurt her a lot more than I knew.
Yeah, she was pretty rough all right.
She didn't lie.
She didn't twist anything.
But that's what I don't understand.
Why? Women are mean when they're No, no, not mean, Jimmy.
It was something else she ah, nuts.
How 'bout another hand? I'm sick of thinking about it.
Suits me.
By the way, how much money do I owe you? $16.
45.
Well, I'll have you know I always pay my bets with dad's money.
Someone to see you, David.
Me? Who is It? I don't know.
Guess it's sort of an exception.
Hello, David.
Hello, Jane.
You know Jimmy O'Rourke, don't you? No/ How do you do? Evening, Ms.
Scott.
Five minutes.
Yes.
Oh, David, David, I hurt your so terribly.
I know I did.
I guess I deserved it.
I couldn't look at you, David.
I didn't want and it almost killed me.
I thought I couldn't go on.
But why? You were only telling the truth.
No, David.
There was one thing untrue One thing no one ever asked me.
What was that? Why I was doing it.
I wanted to ask.
I still do.
I'm still in love with you, David.
That's why I did what I did, because I thought you needed it, because I thought you'd never be anyone I could go on loving if you didn't pay for something yourself, really pay.
I don't understand.
I don't get it at all.
They came to me, David.
They tried to make lie.
I couldn't do it.
They tried to make me say I hadn't seen you going out.
I couldn't do it.
Every time I thought of your father trying to make me say what would be good for you, I got mad.
It may me say more and more, it made me hurt you case more and more.
I knew it.
I wanted you to know it, too.
Oh, I'm glad you told me.
Don't worry.
If it changes things, it's what I wanted.
I'm not trying to get out of anything anymore.
I only wanted to know why.
Is that why you came? Yes.
Oh, I'm glad.
I'll sleep better tonight.
God bless you.
I'll see you in the morning.
I'm afraid I'll be there, all right.
And right on time, too.
Anything you need, Davey? No, I say, there is one thing.
I meant to give her this ring.
Catch her for me, will ya, and give it to her? I think that's something you'd better do yourself, kid.
Maybe you're right.
I'll have to wait.
Goodnight, Davey.
Goodnight, Jimmy.
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NARRATOR: We return now to Westinghouse Studio One, and "The Man Who Had Influence.
" [PHONE RINGS.]
Hello? No, I'm sorry, Mr.
Grant's not here at the moment.
Who's calling, please? Oh hello, Sid.
It's Harry Cohalan.
No, J.
C.
has no statement to make to the press.
Huh? None whatever.
He accepts the verdict of guilty.
Yeah, sure, he'll be at court tomorrow, 10 o'clock, irrespective.
That's all, sorry.
Who was that, Harry? Inquirer.
What time did Dreyden say he'd get here? - He said 5:00.
- Well, it's 10 after now.
I know.
Are you sure he's coming? No, I'm not sure, J.
C.
He said he would, but he didn't like it.
I don't like it either.
Excuse me, Mr.
Cohalan, but Judge Dreyden is here to see Mr.
Grant.
Oh, come on in, Seymour.
Come on in.
I'm glad to see you.
Thank you, J.
C.
You know Harry Cohalan, of course.
Yes.
We met this morning.
Evening, judge.
Won't you sit down, Seymour? Thank you.
I hope this hasn't inconvenienced you, coming out here today? Well, that's quite beside the point, isn't it? Well, you act as though you had some preconceived idea of why I asked you here.
I haven't been here often enough over the last 10 years to think that you wanted to talk about the weather.
Obviously not.
I'm here to fight for my son.
We both know that before we start.
Well, come to the point, J.
C.
What do you want me to do? Give the boy a suspended sentence? Because you may as well know that I won't do it.
[J.
C.
SIGHS.]
Sometime during the night, I'll make up my mind what I feel the boy should get.
And not you, not anyone, will change that decision by two days.
I've been in this business for 31 years and no one has reached me yet, and I'm certainly not going to start now.
Yes, that's quite true, Seymour.
Your record has been excellent.
If anybody deserves their pension, you most certainly do.
I believe I do.
Do you intend staying on the Cedar Street house, or are you going to try and take your wife out of the city? We hope to get a place in the country.
How? Well, we hadn't quite what are you getting at, J.
C.
? I merely said "how," Seymour.
You've borrowed every penny possible on your house already.
You owe the Second National $14,800, and you're in debt to Doctor Reitzen for roughly $900.
And your wife's illness is costing you we'll say $400 a week.
I merely want to know what you're going to use for money.
You don't care how dirty you get, do you J.
C.
? You'd even use my wife's tragic illness to try to get to me.
I'm not in good financial shape.
I haven't been for the past five years.
But I haven't been bought either.
Of course, the one thing that would have saved you would have been your pension.
I should hate to see you lose that, Seymour.
That would be a real tragedy for you and your wife, wouldn't it? What do you want, J.
C.
? Very little, really.
Sit down, Seymour.
Well, J.
C Time, Jimmy? No, you've got a couple of minutes yet.
What's the matter, Jimmy? Nothing, and I don't want to talk about it.
You're so low, so rotten, you and your whole tribe? I want to forget I ever knew you.
You're kidding.
No, no.
I'm not kidding.
Why don't you go ahead and get yourself fixed up? You wanna look your best when you walk out of that courtroom today.
What are you talking about? You're going to be sprung.
I don't believe it.
I just heard they got to Dreyden last night One of the squarest guys in this town or any other than you ever met.
But they got to him because well, because his wife is dying, and he won't let her die in pain.
That's what it cost to let you get out of here.
How do you know? Oh, we have ways of knowing in this business.
Dreyden spent three hours with your dad last night.
I don't believe it.
Dad would never go that low.
You don't think so, huh? How low do you think he went with me? Why do you suppose I'm in this cell right now instead of being Chief of Police? Because I fought your dad.
I wouldn't be bought, so he broke me.
And I stayed broke.
For 20 years, he never let go, and I'm just Patrolman O'Rourke.
[CHUCKLES.]
And you think he'd hesitate to use doctors bills against a man to get you out? Ha.
Don't make me laugh.
So you think I'm going to walk out of here free, is that it? Well, how much do you think so? $1's worth? $100? $500? You name it, anything you want.
I can't afford it, Davey, but that's one bet for $100 that I'll take.
I'll enjoy collecting it from your old man.
No, no.
If I lose this bet, you come to me.
This is one debt I'm going to pay myself.
Time to start in, Jimmy.
OK.
Let's go.
I'm ready.
The jury has declared the prisoner, David Grant, guilty of the crime of manslaughter.
The penalty for the crime of manslaughter, authorized by statute within this state, is not less than two nor more than ten years.
The court is also empowered to suspend sentence where, in its judgment, the circumstances justify such a course.
The court is now prepared to declare its sentence.
But before we do so, the condemned party has a right to speak.
David Grant, have you anything to say before this sentence is passed? [DAVID CLEARS THROAT.]
Yes, your honor, there is.
Proceed.
I'd like to say first regarding the verdict that it was just.
I am guilty as accused, and any evidence to the contrary is either honestly mistaken or dishonestly misrepresented.
That is, however, only a part of the reason I requested this chance to speak.
I have the misfortune Or fortune, according to the way you look at it To carry the name of Grant.
Most of you are here today in this court only because that is my name.
It's known to every one of you in this town.
Few of you are here in the hope that I, David Grant, will get a minimum or at the most, a light sentence.
A far greater share of you are here in the hope that I'll get 10 years and nothing less.
Well, I'm one of that second group.
I hope I get that full 10 years.
I should.
I've earned it.
But I've just heard something that's hard for me to believe.
I've just heard that Judge Dreyden has been persuaded to let me off.
I don't believe that.
I don't want to believe it.
Because if it's true, it means that my own father threatened an honest man because his wife was dying, and made him agree to keep the law/ I don't believe that.
I don't believe a man can live in this country, can thrive in it and get rich in it and then turn and destroy it.
I don't believe that.
I don't believe that a man as honest as Judge Dreyden would accept such a bribe, even if it meant the end of his career and the death of his wife.
That's what I've heard.
Judge Dreyden, now that you're going to have to pass sentence, now it's out in the open for everyone to see.
If you give me anything less than the maximum the law allows, I'll know.
And you'll know.
And everyone in this whole town will know that you've been bought, that you've been hired by Grant money and Grant influence to rob this court of any semblance of justice.
I don't believe that you ever considered doing such a thing.
But if you did, reconsider.
Stop and think whether any one person has the right to cheat justice for any personal gain, no matter what it might be.
That's all I have to say.
You've just heard from a man on whom this court [INAUDIBLE.]
.
Much as I admire the courage and honesty of this young man, I believe with deep conviction That I should be quite as culpable were I to bow to his challenge, as I would be if I had accepted the bribes which he has implicated I received.
As the situation in this town stands, this may well be the last opportunity I shall have of addressing this court.
I therefore feel a peculiar compulsion to be fair, no matter what the cost.
I do therefore, David Grant, sentence you to two years in the State Penitentiary.
Court is dismissed.
Well Jimmy, I guess I owe you $100.
But you're gonna have to wait a couple of years to get paid.
I think that's one bet we'd better scratch, kid.
Dad? As I told you before, Henry, he never really was my son.
He was hers his mother's all of him.
Everything.
NARRATOR: Before we look at next week's Westinghouse program, here is something well-worth remembering.
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[MUSIC PLAYING.]
Others in the cast of "The Man Who Had Influence" were Mary Gildia, Clark Rider, Frank.
Rolenger, Sylvio Minciotti.
John Draper, and Eve Marie Saint.
This is Paul Brenson saying goodnight for Westinghouse, inviting you to be with us again next week.
[FANFARE.]
[MUSIC PLAYING.]
HARRY: This one's from Foster.
J.
C.
: What does he say? HARRY: Ready to support Scott.
Stop.
Can only offer one better suggestion.
Why not run yourself? [LAUGHTER.]
I'd say he means it.
Certainly he means it.
He's been trying to get rid of me for 20 years.
By backing of a senator, I don't get it.
Maybe I'm just dumb.
No, not dumb, just young, Harry.
It's the eternal choice between public acclaim and anonymity.
Take anonymity, Harry.
Take it every time.
Certainly, but There's no buts about it.
If you want influence, stay out of the papers.
You know, we all make mistakes, Harry.
We're all human, and well all make I make my own, but only a very few people know about them.
But make one mistake on the floor of the Senate and the newspapers will tear you apart.
You know, Foster can be senator for 20 years, but I'll still be stronger than he is as long as I remain anonymous and he keeps his name in the papers.
That's such good advice that I shouldn't give it to you.
You'll probably use it one of these to cut my throat.
Well, you have a low opinion of me, haven't you, J.
C.
? Not at all.
I think you're using me just the same as I used a lot of people myself 20 years ago.
But I think you're young enough not to be able to do me very much harm until I'm old enough not to care.
[KNOCK ON DOOR.]
Come in.
Excuse me, Mr.
Grant, but Mr.
Scott has just arrived.
Ms.
Scott's with him too.
Ms.
Scott's with him too? All right, Martha.
Tell him we'll be right in there.
Yes, sir.
Well, what do you say? Shall we welcome the new senator? Your mind's made up, then? Yes subject to change.
You know, Harry? He has something that we lack.
His family fought in the Revolution.
He inherited their crusading spirit.
Use crusaders, Harry.
Never be one, but use them.
They make admirable allies at times.
Well, Paul, Jane.
How are you? Nice to see you.
You know Harry Cohalan of course? In case you're worried, Mr.
Grant, I'm not staying for dinner.
Well, you can stay for a cocktail, can't you? I'd love one.
Harry, they're all mixed.
Would you get one? David's supposed to be meeting me here.
David? Well, he said he was driving up from college this afternoon.
Didn't he let you know? No, But There's nothing remarkable about that.
Ha.
He really is terrible.
No one has a right to be that irresponsible.
No, I'm only surprised because I thought that this was examination week.
But maybe he's made arrangements to pass without taking them.
You really brought him up very badly, Mr.
Grant.
I recuse all responsibility, Jane.
He's known to how wrangle and get around me ever since he was that high.
Thanks, Harry.
Oh, by the way, Paul Foster's I just get a wire from Foster.
He's agreed to come in with us.
Wonderful, J.
C.
Now how certain does that make it? Well, nothing is ever certain, as you know.
We still have Angelo to contend with And his record's very good, as you know and the Italian vote is important in all the key areas.
[CAR TIRES SCREECH.]
That, I would say, is your son, Mr.
Grant.
No one else can afford to ruin as many tires as that.
Eh.
No one else has had that much practice.
DAVID: Hi, everybody.
Sorry I'm late.
Seems to me you're about 10 days early.
True, true.
Hello, Mr.
Scott.
Hello, darling.
What took you so long? I hurried in just the wrong places.
Here, Harry, I have a couple of presents for you.
Edgewood, passing a red light, that should be easy.
This is tougher state cop tagged me for 83 on Route 29.
I tried to buy him off, but he got mad.
Hey, cocktails, that's what I need! How does it happen that you're cutting exams, young man? I didn't.
I got fired.
JANE: Oh, David, no.
What was it this time? Overcut two subjects, flunked three.
I also had a few drinks and told the dean what I thought of him, so we parted.
Cheers.
Does that mean that you'll have to take another year? Well, I don't see why, dad.
They need a new biology lab, a freshman dorm, and an armory.
Certainly I can't be worth more than a biology lab.
I see.
Why, you're looking mighty fresh and lovely.
I'll take you ahead of economics bore any day.
And what should I take you ahead of? Dad.
He's not as reprehensible as I am on the surface, but then he's had a lot longer to learn how to cover up.
Dinner is served, sir.
Hello, Martha! Oh, Mr.
David, I didn't know you were here.
Martha, how are you? I'm glad to see you.
You'll stay for dinner? Not if I can help it.
I'm taking Ms.
Scott to some little dive.
Would you like to join us? Oh, Mr.
David.
[MARTHA LAUGHS.]
By the way, are Ted and Eleanor joining us here? Yes, and they've got a weekend guest with them.
Someone named "Downs.
" He does something.
Well, that's great.
Well, don't wait up on me, dad.
I won't.
Goodnight, dad.
Hope you solve the Italian vote.
Are you actually running for Senator, Mr.
Scott? With a little assist from your father.
Well, don't promise anything.
You might not get elected, but you'll live longer.
And it's very important for you to live, because Janey's got to have someone to come home to when she can't stand me anymore.
I can scarcely stand you now and we're not even married yet.
Maybe I'd better rush you out and marry you tonight.
I might hold you to that.
I talk too much.
Uh huh.
Well, goodnight all, and, uh up the Italian vote.
Yeah, he's quite a boy, J.
C.
Quite a boy is right, but expensive luxury, Harry.
I was just wondering how much it might cost by next year.
Yeah.
Me too.
You know Paul? You're lucky.
You have four children.
Well, come on.
Let's go to dinner.
[MUSIC PLAYING.]
Is anybody having any fun? I'm not.
Why not? I'm out of cigarettes.
[LAUGHTER.]
Hey, Luigi? Yes, sir? I need some cigarettes.
Right away, Mr.
Grant.
That music is terrible.
It's so sad, it reminds me of mother's.
Hey, how about another round? That's about all you need, my sweet.
Trying to reform me? Not yet, darling.
Oh, don't start on that, Jane.
Not tonight.
I've WAITRESS: Cigarettes? Cigarettes? Here, right here.
Well, where did you come from? You're a pretty little thing.
Hey, listen, what are you doing? You're too young to be working in a joint like this.
I want to speak to the manager.
Oh no, please, I need the money.
I'll tell you what I'll do.
I'll stake you to a three month myself.
And if you haven't found a decent job by then, I'll cover you for another month.
Gee, I I could never take anything like that, Mr.
Grant.
You see? She knows my name, Grant.
You'd take it from a Smith but not from a Grant.
There's a quid pro quo about a Grant.
Any smart girl knows that.
Here, Janey, you give it to her.
Maybe it'll buy your father a couple of Italian votes.
David, you embarrassed the kid to death.
Well, I was only trying to How about that other round? Come on, Eleanor, let's dance.
He's had a lot to drink.
Do you think we ought to start home? Oh no, I'm used to ending an evening with someone else.
You don't mind? No, it's David's way of showing his independence.
See, he has to feel he's free.
Well, it leaves me free at the same time.
I meet some very nice people that way.
Is that remark personal or general? Oh, I talking to you very much.
It won't be easy to talk here.
Would you like to dance? Very much.
Service, my friend.
Service for the finest I'm sorry I embarrassed you.
Oh, Mr.
Grant, that's all right.
Are you leaving your friends? No, it's just the other way around.
They're leaving me.
Oh, I'm a very popular beau as long as the check isn't paid.
Didn't you have a hat? No.
Say, how'd you like me to drive you home? Thank you.
I can't leave for another hour.
Suppose you could.
It's impossible.
Well, that's no kind of an answer.
The point is, would you? Now, don't answer yet.
You need some advice first.
Don't do it.
Don't have anything to do with me because, well, in the first place, I've had quite a few drinks.
And even if I hadn't, you'd be a fool to accept.
Now, answer my question.
If I get Luigi to let you off early, will you let me drive you home? Yes.
Why? I think you just want someone to talk to.
Besides, I don't think you're much more dangerous than most.
Hey, Luigi? Yes, sir? You're working this young lady much to hard.
How about letting her off early? She will go with you, Mr.
Grant? So she says.
With you, it is all right.
Thanks, Luigi.
I won't be a minute.
You know, you haven't even asked my name.
Why should I? The way things are, I won't remember anything tomorrow anyway.
I'll tell you later then.
Shall we go? Yes.
Oh, where is he? Oh, he's trying someone else that attracts him more for the moment.
One thing about David, he never forgets to pay.
Lovely sermon, but a nicer day for golf.
If we can get some in this afternoon.
Maybe we can.
Thanks, Martha.
You're home earlier than usual.
Yes, the sermon was short this morning.
It's too bad my son wasn't there.
Might have done him some good.
I suppose he's still asleep though, huh? Yes, sir.
Are you sure he's really there? His car's not in the garage.
Maybe you'd better go up and knock on his door, huh? See if he's awake.
He should at least try and make lunch on Sundays.
Yes, sir.
You know, it's too bad that you're not my son, Harry.
You'd have had a far more colorful existence.
I'm quite happy with things as they are.
Yes, but it's rather unfair, though.
You do all the work, he has all the fun and inherits the fortune.
I sometimes wonder how long it'll take him to go through it.
Perhaps you should leave it in trust? With you as executor? That's not what I was saying.
[CHUCKLES.]
Harry, come on.
No, you're better off where you are.
Yes Martha, what is it? Mr.
David'll be down in a moment, Mr.
Grant.
Well, thank you, Martha.
He doesn't look well at all, sir.
He doesn't.
I didn't expect he would.
He probably [PHONE RINGS.]
See who that is, Martha.
Yes, sir.
Harry, I think you better get on with the police this evening and pick up a missing car.
JANE: Good morning, Martha.
Good morning, Mr.
Grant.
Well, good morning, Jane.
How are you? I swear, I must say that you look in far better shape than our David does this morning.
He did get home then? Don't tell me that he walked out on you.
[CHUCKLES.]
For his fashion.
I just stopped by to return something he left behind last night.
Would you give it to him for me? It's $200.
Well, he'll be done himself in a minute.
Supposing you give it to him, yeah? Oh, I don't think I'd better Don't anyone say good morning.
I'm in no mood for irony.
Well, you're a noble-looking sight, I must say.
What happened to your head, David? What happened to your car, David? Isn't it here? It's not in the garage.
Well, didn't I have it when I took you home last night? You didn't take me home.
[PHONE RINGS.]
Oh, I might have known it.
It's just a big, beautiful blank.
I didn't get in a fight, did I? You must have crashed in the car.
Harry, you'd better get the police on it.
Yes.
Jane has something for you, David.
Oh? Well, I'm glad to see you're still speaking to me anyway.
Mr.
Downs was very attentive.
He even paid the check.
Downs? Downs? It's not use.
It's all a haze.
That's pretty obvious, isn't it? Excuse me, Mr.
David, but there's someone here to see you.
For me? Who is it? Mrs.
Cassini, sir.
Never heard of her.
Somebody must see her.
She seems very upset.
Well, maybe you want me to see her, huh? Why not? You handle these things better than I do.
All right, what would you do in my case, Jane? Make David see her.
No, I'm afraid the shock would be far too much for him.
He's had too much.
He's been taken care of too long.
You enjoy it.
You always have.
I'd enjoy seeing you do something once that might make me think that eventually you'll become a man not that I expect it.
Why, I actually believe I made him angry.
That's the first time that's happened in years.
David.
Yes? I came to bring you this $200.
I also wanted to give you something else.
It's rather meaningless anymore.
You've given up, is that it? David, I'm tired.
Well, I can't say that I blame you.
Your father's right, David.
You're just not a man.
The things I feel about you are the things a man feels.
If only I'd well, I can't feel them all the time.
Something gets in the way.
What? You do nice things for me.
I can't help wanting to hurt people when they do nice things for me.
So does my brother.
He's ten years old.
All right, but what are you going to do when you can't help it? Grow up.
In this house? Try it sometime.
But David, don't you see? You've got to start sometime.
You can't go on like this.
It's killing all the nice things in you.
What nice things? My clothes? My neck tie? My face lotion? Heh.
What nice things? Your father wants to see you, David.
No.
I think you'd better come, David.
This isn't very funny.
Well, what does the woman want? I think she can tell you better than I can.
[SOBBING.]
Mrs.
J.
C.
: Cassini, you mustn't cry.
You wanted to see me? Mrs.
Cassini, this is my son, David.
Where is she? Where is my child? My Maria, what have you done with her? Wait a minute, wait a minute.
I don't know I don't know what's going on.
Mrs.
Cassini's daughter is the hat check girl at the Stateline Cafe, David.
You took her with you last night.
Luigi told me.
She don't come home all night.
Where is she? What you do? I honestly don't remember, Mrs.
Cassini.
Who cannot remember such a thing? Who? She is my child, my Maria.
For you, she just is another woman.
Where is she? You tell me where she is, please? Now, Mrs.
Cassini, I assure you that we will do everything possible to try and find your daughter.
We'll get the police on it at once.
In the meantime, why don't you let my chauffeur take you home? And if there's any damages at all, you may rest assured that I will cover them.
I want my child! I want my Maria! I want my child! Harry, take Mrs.
Cassini home.
She's very upset.
Naturally.
In the meantime, I'll call Captain Osbourne and start the search immediately.
Please come with me, Mrs.
Cassini.
I want my child, my Maria! My bella bambina! [MRS.
CASSINI SOBBING.]
Well, come on.
What did happen? I don't know.
I don't know.
I know sometime during the night, I ordered some cigarettes.
Someone brought them.
She had black hair, I think.
I don't remember.
You have a convenient way of forgetting, huh? Haven't you, David? You've been doing it for years.
It's what keeps you going.
I tell you, I don't remember! I don't remember anything! Well, might be another frame up, of course.
But it doesn't sound like it to me.
That woman sounded pretty genuine.
Than pay her off and get it over with.
I don't want her looking at me like that anymore.
You mean the way that you used to look at me? When? When you were younger.
What had you done to me? Nothing.
Captain Conway wants to see you, J.
C.
Don't tell me that the Chief of Police is reporting on missing cars now.
That's far too He asked to see you personally.
All right.
Send him in, send him in, Harry.
You don't suppose you hit a policeman, do you? Come on in, gentlemen.
Good morning, Mr.
Grant.
Good morning.
Sorry to break in on you on a Sunday morning like this.
Quite all right, don't worry about it.
Where did you find the car? A back road over on the other side of the lake.
Not much left of it? Not much.
There's something else, Mr.
Grant.
I'm afraid it means we're going to have to take your son with us.
Well, you've done it before, Captain, and I've gone through an awful lot of trouble getting him out again.
But if you feel it's your duty, why, go ahead.
I'm afraid it may be a little more difficult this time, Mr.
Grant.
The car wasn't happy empty when we found it.
There was a girl in the front seat.
She bled to death.
Her name was Maria Cassini.
J.
C.
: Cassini? HARRY: Manslaughter, Captain? CAPTAIN CONWAY: 'Fraid so, sir.
But how? I apologize, Captain.
I see you have no choice but to take the boy with you.
CAPTAIN CONWAY: No, sir.
Go ahead, David.
Dad? I'll do the best I can for you.
Well? Harry, you've seen a lot of things go on around here, and some of them have not been very pretty.
But this time, you're going to see something really dirty.
[MUSIC PLAYING.]
NARRATOR: Now that you've seen part one of "The Man of Who Had.
" "Influence," let's turn to our Westinghouse program.
Are you a quiz whiz? Well, I guess that depends on what Betty is going to ask.
Well, my first question is, how many genuine frost-free refrigerators are there? You're right.
There's only one.
And who makes the only real frost-free refrigerator in the world? Why, everybody knows It's Westinghouse.
And there it is.
The only refrigerator in the world that never needs defrosting, that's always frost-free.
And now let's look at the inside of this sensational new.
Westinghouse frost-free refrigerator.
Now, in all other refrigerators, as you know, frost is always gathering up here in the freeze chest.
And maybe you have the kind you have to defrost yourself.
Or perhaps your refrigerator has a clock-type defroster, or there's a dial and the refrigerator turns off while it's defrosting and everything starts to melt.
Well, that never happens with this wonderful new Westinghouse refrigerator, because it never allows frost to build up.
It always keeps itself frost-free.
Now, the minute that frost starts to form up here on the freeze chest, the magic frost-free system goes to work and quickly melts whatever little frost has formed.
And the tiny amount of frost water is automatically evaporated.
Now, in other so-called automatic defrosting refrigerators this is what happens to your ice cream during defrosting.
But the Westinghouse frost-free refrigerator gets rid of the frost so fast that your ice cream stays hard and firm like this.
And of course, your frozen fruits and vegetables just never even start to melt.
Isn't it wonderful? Yes, it's the only refrigerator in the world that actually defrosts itself and disposes of the defrost water automatically.
See this new Westinghouse frost-free refrigerator at your Westinghouse dealer.
It's today's greatest refrigerator.
You can be sure if it's Westinghouse.
NARRATOR: Now let's return to Westinghouse Studio One, and "The Man Who Had Influence.
" Oh.
It's only you, Jimmy.
That's right.
Well, you didn't get much of a sleep, did you, boy? It seemed enough to me.
I had some pretty bad dreams.
You always did dream, laddie, even as a kid.
This is pretty old stuff to you, isn't it Jimmy? Oh, sure, sure.
We lock you up, your dad gets you out.
But this is something worse, isn't it? Yep.
Were you there, Jimmy? Yep.
What did she look like? Don't you remember? No, nothing.
[JIMMY CHUCKLES.]
You don't believe me, do you.
Nope.
But I tell you, I was drunk.
But then you hit that culvert.
No one stays drunk after a thing like that, Davey.
You weren't drunk when you walked away and left that kid to bleed to death.
You know, Davey, I've always kind of liked you.
But if I was to tell you what I think they ought to do to you now, well, I think they ought to give you the chair.
Of course, there's no law that can make them do it, but that's what you deserve.
Even if I could make you believe I was out of my head? How? Get your dad to fix some doctor into saying you had a concussion? Maybe I did, and maybe Oh, what's that use.
You've made up your mind already.
Yeah, I made it up the minute I saw that kid.
Wish I had a picture of her.
I'd like to send it to your old man.
I tell you, I don't know what she looked like.
I don't know how she got in the car.
I don't how I got home.
Go back to sleep, Davey.
You dream fine.
Hey, Jimmy? Yep? You wanna know something? What? I almost hope I don't get off.
[JIMMY CHUCKLES.]
Fat chance, kid.
Right now, your old man's fixing up an acquittal.
It's costing him plenty, but he's fixing it.
I'd like to cross him, but I don't know how he works.
Don't you? Oldest game in the world.
He works on the belly.
He finds a soft spot and works on that.
He always knows where a man hurts the easiest and the most.
What, eh what was your soft spot, baby? I don't know.
I know.
You were scared of him.
You still are.
Maybe.
And as long as you can't take care of yourself in a jam, he's got you right where he wants you.
Yes, he's in that little room of his right now, looking over a long list of names.
Pretty straight guys, most of them But one of them made a slip about 10 years ago and accepted a little present that he shouldn't.
One's afraid he's going to lose his job.
One's got a sick child.
And one's been cheating on his wife.
He's got it all down.
Well, he'll look it over, and then all of a sudden, he'll stick the pin in.
Heh heh.
And he knows most of them squirm and flutter and try to get away, but he's always got 'em.
He only has to wait.
So you think he's gonna get me off, huh? I got $10 says he will.
I won't take it.
I wouldn't either if I was you.
I'd like to be in that room right now.
Why? I'd like to see who's there.
Heh heh.
Can't you guess? Yeah, I guess I can.
There'd be dad sitting behind his desk, listening.
And Harry would be beside dad watching him.
Then across What about, uh What about McKeever? No.
Well, he did pretty well for us in the Darcy case.
That's what's wrong with it.
Too many reporters started watching him like hawks.
I wish we had you handling this instead of Turner, Paul.
[PHONE RINGS.]
With that girl being accounting, we can't risk a Yes, hello? Yes, speaking.
Yeah.
Hello.
Well, what were his reasons? Yeah.
Well, who was in there? Yeah, I see.
Well, what does the judge say? Two weeks? All right, I'll do what I can.
I'll call you in the morning.
Well? Judge Snyder refused bail.
Angelo had two men in the hearing.
He's moved in, and he's gonna make it tough for you.
You'd better get out of here.
You'd better visit the upstate, northern part of the state or something.
You mustn't be found here.
Yes, I guess that's smart.
I don't think it is.
Why not? If this thing comes to trial in two weeks, Jane's going to be called.
If Scott walks out on that, somebody's going to start asking some embarrassing questions.
He might need to try to answer with his own daughter on the stand.
Yes, that's right.
That's good, Harry.
That's very good.
That makes sense.
Will I have to appear? Well, of course you will, my dear.
You'll be one of the principal witnesses.
You're engaged to David, you were one of the I'm not, though.
You're not what? Not engaged.
I broke off with David this morning.
Well, where is it? The ring? David has it, I suppose.
Well then, you have to get it back, Jane.
I can't do that, Mr.
Grand.
Well, then I'll have to get it back for you, that's all.
You can't go into court without it.
Why not? Well, you're smart.
You would make a bombshell out of that that would blow us right out of court.
So you want me to become part of the machine, is that it? I'm to lie along with the rest of you? Jane.
I've seen it building up for years.
I've seen what it done to David.
I don't want to have anything to do with it.
I'm not thinking so much of David as I am your father.
What difference it is going make to him? Just the difference between being a United States Senator and remaining an another lawyer.
Leave me out of this, J.
C.
Any girl that runs out on the man she's engaged to can't be very much good, Jane.
Maybe it runs in the family.
Maybe he father's a quitter too, or I'm not letting David down.
I'm fighting for him.
If he's guilty, he ought to pay for this.
It's the only thing in the world that might shock him into being a man.
The kindest thing is to make him suffer just once.
Now, you think That's what you've never let him do, and that's why he is where he is today.
So you think it's all my fault, huh? Yes, I do.
Well, maybe that's so.
But that's a pretty harsh thing to throw in a man's face.
I know, but I also know that there's only one way to help David.
And that's by hurting you.
Well, if that's the way you feel about it.
You're still in love with him, then? Yes.
I shouldn't be, but I am.
Well then, maybe you'd better go home and sleep on it.
You'd better take her along, Paul.
We can't get anywhere now in any case.
Just as you say, J.
C.
Come on, dear.
Why that little fool, she'll never get him now.
If it's the last thing I do, I'll see that she never gets him! He's my son.
And if I want to save his skin, no little pink and white Bobby soxer is going to stand in my way.
I'll take care of her and her fat-headed Mayflower father too if necessary.
Let that be a lesson to you, Harry.
Never lose your temper, it's a sign of weakness.
And you can never afford to be weak, not even in private Especially in private.
Well, come on.
Let's see what we've got.
I just noticed a name here we both passed over.
- Who's is it? - Seymour Dreyden.
Dreyden? Nobody's gotten to him in 50 years.
It's going to be pretty clean, having a man like that sit against your own son.
It's good cover.
I know.
But how would we get to him? For one thing, I was noticing his retirement date December 12.
That's only about a month after election.
Yeah, go on.
His wife's pretty sick.
It's an expensive illness.
The thing I like about it is, we don't have to show our hand unless everything else goes wrong.
Yes.
Yeah, I like it too, Harry.
I like it very much.
Well? You're not sick enough to justify sending to a hospital, David.
But you have had a bad shock.
Bad enough to call it concussion? I think we can say that, yes.
What other possible reason could you find to explain my blacking? We wouldn't need any other reason.
We? Are you under orders from dad? I'm very fond of your father, David.
He's done a lot for me over the years.
Fond enough to fake a medical report and swear to it in court? What are you getting at, David? I never had a concussion.
I blacked out.
I'm ready to swear to that.
But there's some other explanation.
This is a fake.
Well, there could be another explanation, but it's not the best sort of evidence in a court of law.
What's that? Psychological.
You may have wanted to forget wanted to so much that you really did forget.
But that starts questions Easy questions to ask, hard ones to answer.
It's simpler to say it was concussion.
And after all, it might have been.
I can't say it wasn't, David.
Thanks, doc.
That's all I wanted to know.
Get all the rest you can, boy.
This case is going to take a lot out of you.
I'll see you later, doc.
Thanks, Jimmy.
OK, doc.
So what do you think? Oh, nothing.
Everything's moving just to as is to be expected.
A well-greased machine, huh? Let's call it "professional.
" You know, Davey, when one of these things starts, you can always tell how amateur it is by how rough they get.
Then if things begin to break right, the smart ones find out that it isn't smart to get rough any more than you can help it.
It gets in the papers, and that's bad.
So, uh, pretty soon, things seem to quiet down.
Looks like nothing's going on at all.
But it is.
It's going on all the time.
Yeah, I'd estimate that it's taken about, uh, 20 years and $30 to $40 million to get you out of this jail, David.
I had no idea I was such an important person.
You're not.
It's just that, well, you've had so much privilege all your life that you never know anything else existed.
And you know, after a while, it sort of grows on you until you come to accept it, like something you've earned.
What do you call privilege? Well, uh, a police escort.
You plow through red lights in broad daylight and don't get a ticket.
And you know there are a lot of guys that, after they've ridden through a red light once, never see why they should stop again.
So it just becomes a polite word then for breaking the law without having to pay for it.
Yeah, you're a fine hunk of privilege, Davey.
Of course, I wouldn't mind if I didn't know how many people have been hurt just to keep you happy.
Who? Well, the judge on this case, for one.
I don't even know who he is yet, but I know what he's been going through.
All day they've been squeezing.
Of course, you'll never get Paulson or Pilate or Dreyden, or even Frame.
They can't be squeezed.
Ah, no, you'll get some little guy with a soft belly, and all day Shut up, shut up, will you?! I've heard all I can take! I don't have to talk, son.
I was only doing it because you asked me.
J.
C.
: Clancy Mallory, haven't seen you in a long time.
That's right, Mr.
Grant.
You don't come around here very much anymore.
No, I try to keep out as much as possible.
Hello, David.
How are you? They taking good care of you? Oh, hello Jimmy.
You're quite a stranger, too.
Well, you got me this assignment, Mr.
Grant.
And somehow it's just stuck.
Do you hold it against me, Jimmy? [CHUCKLES.]
What do you think? How are you doing, David? I'm all right.
Doc Hartley been here yet? He didn't wait a minute.
He probably left some woman dying to take care of me.
So what did he think? He said it was concussion.
It wasn't.
But he'll make it stand up in court.
I know he'll make it stand up in court.
But don't you realize there's something if you hadn't been hit at that bar, maybe this thing never would have happened.
Why, you were out before you got into that car.
Who said I fell? We have three witnesses.
How much did it cost? That's something that you'll never (ANGRILY) No! I've got to know.
How much did it cost!? How much are you going to have to pay the judge? Nothing.
We'd have an awful tough time trying to fix that judge.
Why, we wouldn't even make the attempt.
Who is it? Old man Dreyden.
I'd just as soon think of trying to bribe Abe Lincoln.
Dreyden? Are you going to let him sit on the case? Why not? He's being assigned in the morning.
Hey, Jimmy.
Jimmy, old Judge Dreyden's gonna sit on my case, you hear that? Yeah, I heard it.
Well, what've you got to say now? Nothing.
Oh dad, this is wonderful news.
I wanted to believe in you.
More than anything, I wanted to believe.
Now I know you're all right.
You're all right.
I've been wanting to hear you say that for a long time, son.
Scared you don't know how scared.
But you're not scared anymore, are you? Not anymore.
Well, that's fine.
You don't have to be scared about anything.
No matter what happens, I'll see that you're taking care of, no matter what happens.
I'll tell him as soon as he comes in, Turner.
I'll have him call you.
Turner's worried, I gather? Why shouldn't he be? That testimony of your daughter's just about sewed up the case for the other side.
She told the truth, and that's a pretty hard pill for J.
C.
to swallow.
May be a little tough for you to swallow too, Paul.
He's got to lose sometime in his life.
It's about time he learned to take it.
That sounds like him now.
[DOOR SLAMS.]
Any calls, Harry? Turner.
He wants you to call back.
Why? The case has gone to the jury.
I think he just wants to talk.
Gah, talk! There's been too much talk! We should have realized that the moment that Jane opened her mouth, right here in this room! She gave us good warning, didn't she? She didn't go behind our backs.
If you can't control your people, especially your own family, you're very little use to me.
You expect me to turn against my own daughter? I don't care much what you do.
You're on your own from now on.
What do you think will happen now? I think they'll walk in there at 10 o'clock and give their verdict.
After that, they say that David is guilty if they do.
There's no use trying to keep the lid on the press after that.
They'll rake it all up and lick their chops over it.
They'll smash everything that it's taken me 20 years to build.
Gone, wasted, wiped out.
I'm glad you made that speech, J.
C.
For the first time, I see you just as you really are.
I'm not interested.
Well, you're going to hear it just the same.
J.
C.
Grant, not David Grant, not your own son.
You don't care what happens to him so long as it doesn't hurt you.
Get out.
Get out! You know what's bad about that Harry, don't you? The thing that's bad about it is it's true.
You know why? Because David never really was my son.
He was hers his mother's every bit of him.
She was the most beautiful woman I have never known, and yet I could never get the better of.
She was the one person in the world that I could never defeat.
Maybe if she'd lived long enough I might have, but she didn't give me the chance.
She died before she was 30.
And yet ever since, part of her has been living here in this house with me, laughing at me, laughing at me.
The battle between us when David was only 10 years old.
But eventually I won, I broke him.
I made him need me every time he turned around.
But now it falls on me.
Because now, when he's in it up to his neck and I shouldn't care, I find I do.
I care more than I'd like.
[INAUDIBLE.]
And now, Harry, you know what very few people have ever.
You've found my soft spot.
And one of these days, you'll use it.
Not right away, but one of these days you will.
You'd be a fool if you didn't.
I don't think so.
Wait till you're tempted.
Oh, come on.
That's enough from me.
We've got work to do.
Well, how you feel, Davey? Not much of anything.
Yeah, it was a tough night, all right.
Things didn't go so good, did they? No.
Your dad pulled every trick there was, but for once it didn't pay off.
How much of it was dirty, Jimmy? Eh, you know as well as I do.
Doc Hartley, those phony witnesses from the Stateline Yeah, yeah, I know that.
But none of this counted against Jane, did it? No, no.
Angelo's crowd played it nicely too, held her back till she was yards from the table.
Smart.
I guess I really hurt her a lot more than I knew.
Yeah, she was pretty rough all right.
She didn't lie.
She didn't twist anything.
But that's what I don't understand.
Why? Women are mean when they're No, no, not mean, Jimmy.
It was something else she ah, nuts.
How 'bout another hand? I'm sick of thinking about it.
Suits me.
By the way, how much money do I owe you? $16.
45.
Well, I'll have you know I always pay my bets with dad's money.
Someone to see you, David.
Me? Who is It? I don't know.
Guess it's sort of an exception.
Hello, David.
Hello, Jane.
You know Jimmy O'Rourke, don't you? No/ How do you do? Evening, Ms.
Scott.
Five minutes.
Yes.
Oh, David, David, I hurt your so terribly.
I know I did.
I guess I deserved it.
I couldn't look at you, David.
I didn't want and it almost killed me.
I thought I couldn't go on.
But why? You were only telling the truth.
No, David.
There was one thing untrue One thing no one ever asked me.
What was that? Why I was doing it.
I wanted to ask.
I still do.
I'm still in love with you, David.
That's why I did what I did, because I thought you needed it, because I thought you'd never be anyone I could go on loving if you didn't pay for something yourself, really pay.
I don't understand.
I don't get it at all.
They came to me, David.
They tried to make lie.
I couldn't do it.
They tried to make me say I hadn't seen you going out.
I couldn't do it.
Every time I thought of your father trying to make me say what would be good for you, I got mad.
It may me say more and more, it made me hurt you case more and more.
I knew it.
I wanted you to know it, too.
Oh, I'm glad you told me.
Don't worry.
If it changes things, it's what I wanted.
I'm not trying to get out of anything anymore.
I only wanted to know why.
Is that why you came? Yes.
Oh, I'm glad.
I'll sleep better tonight.
God bless you.
I'll see you in the morning.
I'm afraid I'll be there, all right.
And right on time, too.
Anything you need, Davey? No, I say, there is one thing.
I meant to give her this ring.
Catch her for me, will ya, and give it to her? I think that's something you'd better do yourself, kid.
Maybe you're right.
I'll have to wait.
Goodnight, Davey.
Goodnight, Jimmy.
NARRATOR: And now let's pause for a moment and look at our program again.
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NARRATOR: We return now to Westinghouse Studio One, and "The Man Who Had Influence.
" [PHONE RINGS.]
Hello? No, I'm sorry, Mr.
Grant's not here at the moment.
Who's calling, please? Oh hello, Sid.
It's Harry Cohalan.
No, J.
C.
has no statement to make to the press.
Huh? None whatever.
He accepts the verdict of guilty.
Yeah, sure, he'll be at court tomorrow, 10 o'clock, irrespective.
That's all, sorry.
Who was that, Harry? Inquirer.
What time did Dreyden say he'd get here? - He said 5:00.
- Well, it's 10 after now.
I know.
Are you sure he's coming? No, I'm not sure, J.
C.
He said he would, but he didn't like it.
I don't like it either.
Excuse me, Mr.
Cohalan, but Judge Dreyden is here to see Mr.
Grant.
Oh, come on in, Seymour.
Come on in.
I'm glad to see you.
Thank you, J.
C.
You know Harry Cohalan, of course.
Yes.
We met this morning.
Evening, judge.
Won't you sit down, Seymour? Thank you.
I hope this hasn't inconvenienced you, coming out here today? Well, that's quite beside the point, isn't it? Well, you act as though you had some preconceived idea of why I asked you here.
I haven't been here often enough over the last 10 years to think that you wanted to talk about the weather.
Obviously not.
I'm here to fight for my son.
We both know that before we start.
Well, come to the point, J.
C.
What do you want me to do? Give the boy a suspended sentence? Because you may as well know that I won't do it.
[J.
C.
SIGHS.]
Sometime during the night, I'll make up my mind what I feel the boy should get.
And not you, not anyone, will change that decision by two days.
I've been in this business for 31 years and no one has reached me yet, and I'm certainly not going to start now.
Yes, that's quite true, Seymour.
Your record has been excellent.
If anybody deserves their pension, you most certainly do.
I believe I do.
Do you intend staying on the Cedar Street house, or are you going to try and take your wife out of the city? We hope to get a place in the country.
How? Well, we hadn't quite what are you getting at, J.
C.
? I merely said "how," Seymour.
You've borrowed every penny possible on your house already.
You owe the Second National $14,800, and you're in debt to Doctor Reitzen for roughly $900.
And your wife's illness is costing you we'll say $400 a week.
I merely want to know what you're going to use for money.
You don't care how dirty you get, do you J.
C.
? You'd even use my wife's tragic illness to try to get to me.
I'm not in good financial shape.
I haven't been for the past five years.
But I haven't been bought either.
Of course, the one thing that would have saved you would have been your pension.
I should hate to see you lose that, Seymour.
That would be a real tragedy for you and your wife, wouldn't it? What do you want, J.
C.
? Very little, really.
Sit down, Seymour.
Well, J.
C Time, Jimmy? No, you've got a couple of minutes yet.
What's the matter, Jimmy? Nothing, and I don't want to talk about it.
You're so low, so rotten, you and your whole tribe? I want to forget I ever knew you.
You're kidding.
No, no.
I'm not kidding.
Why don't you go ahead and get yourself fixed up? You wanna look your best when you walk out of that courtroom today.
What are you talking about? You're going to be sprung.
I don't believe it.
I just heard they got to Dreyden last night One of the squarest guys in this town or any other than you ever met.
But they got to him because well, because his wife is dying, and he won't let her die in pain.
That's what it cost to let you get out of here.
How do you know? Oh, we have ways of knowing in this business.
Dreyden spent three hours with your dad last night.
I don't believe it.
Dad would never go that low.
You don't think so, huh? How low do you think he went with me? Why do you suppose I'm in this cell right now instead of being Chief of Police? Because I fought your dad.
I wouldn't be bought, so he broke me.
And I stayed broke.
For 20 years, he never let go, and I'm just Patrolman O'Rourke.
[CHUCKLES.]
And you think he'd hesitate to use doctors bills against a man to get you out? Ha.
Don't make me laugh.
So you think I'm going to walk out of here free, is that it? Well, how much do you think so? $1's worth? $100? $500? You name it, anything you want.
I can't afford it, Davey, but that's one bet for $100 that I'll take.
I'll enjoy collecting it from your old man.
No, no.
If I lose this bet, you come to me.
This is one debt I'm going to pay myself.
Time to start in, Jimmy.
OK.
Let's go.
I'm ready.
The jury has declared the prisoner, David Grant, guilty of the crime of manslaughter.
The penalty for the crime of manslaughter, authorized by statute within this state, is not less than two nor more than ten years.
The court is also empowered to suspend sentence where, in its judgment, the circumstances justify such a course.
The court is now prepared to declare its sentence.
But before we do so, the condemned party has a right to speak.
David Grant, have you anything to say before this sentence is passed? [DAVID CLEARS THROAT.]
Yes, your honor, there is.
Proceed.
I'd like to say first regarding the verdict that it was just.
I am guilty as accused, and any evidence to the contrary is either honestly mistaken or dishonestly misrepresented.
That is, however, only a part of the reason I requested this chance to speak.
I have the misfortune Or fortune, according to the way you look at it To carry the name of Grant.
Most of you are here today in this court only because that is my name.
It's known to every one of you in this town.
Few of you are here in the hope that I, David Grant, will get a minimum or at the most, a light sentence.
A far greater share of you are here in the hope that I'll get 10 years and nothing less.
Well, I'm one of that second group.
I hope I get that full 10 years.
I should.
I've earned it.
But I've just heard something that's hard for me to believe.
I've just heard that Judge Dreyden has been persuaded to let me off.
I don't believe that.
I don't want to believe it.
Because if it's true, it means that my own father threatened an honest man because his wife was dying, and made him agree to keep the law/ I don't believe that.
I don't believe a man can live in this country, can thrive in it and get rich in it and then turn and destroy it.
I don't believe that.
I don't believe that a man as honest as Judge Dreyden would accept such a bribe, even if it meant the end of his career and the death of his wife.
That's what I've heard.
Judge Dreyden, now that you're going to have to pass sentence, now it's out in the open for everyone to see.
If you give me anything less than the maximum the law allows, I'll know.
And you'll know.
And everyone in this whole town will know that you've been bought, that you've been hired by Grant money and Grant influence to rob this court of any semblance of justice.
I don't believe that you ever considered doing such a thing.
But if you did, reconsider.
Stop and think whether any one person has the right to cheat justice for any personal gain, no matter what it might be.
That's all I have to say.
You've just heard from a man on whom this court [INAUDIBLE.]
.
Much as I admire the courage and honesty of this young man, I believe with deep conviction That I should be quite as culpable were I to bow to his challenge, as I would be if I had accepted the bribes which he has implicated I received.
As the situation in this town stands, this may well be the last opportunity I shall have of addressing this court.
I therefore feel a peculiar compulsion to be fair, no matter what the cost.
I do therefore, David Grant, sentence you to two years in the State Penitentiary.
Court is dismissed.
Well Jimmy, I guess I owe you $100.
But you're gonna have to wait a couple of years to get paid.
I think that's one bet we'd better scratch, kid.
Dad? As I told you before, Henry, he never really was my son.
He was hers his mother's all of him.
Everything.
NARRATOR: Before we look at next week's Westinghouse program, here is something well-worth remembering.
[DINGING.]
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To discover how economically Micarta can beautify your business or home, consult your architect, carpenter, or lumber dealer.
For home or business, for farm or factory, you can be sure if it's Westinghouse.
[MUSIC PLAYING.]
Others in the cast of "The Man Who Had Influence" were Mary Gildia, Clark Rider, Frank.
Rolenger, Sylvio Minciotti.
John Draper, and Eve Marie Saint.
This is Paul Brenson saying goodnight for Westinghouse, inviting you to be with us again next week.