Black Caesar

Say, man, how's about a shine, mister?

Come on, put your foot up there.

I'll shine it up good.

OK, make it snappy.

Gonna shine 'em up good

so you can see your face in 'em.

Hurry up, kid. Come on, hurry up.

No sh*t, man. Takes time

to shine 'em up bright.

You little bastard! You little black

bastard, let go of my leg! Let go!

Let go! Let go of my leg!

I was born in New York City

on a Monday

It seems I was out shinin' shoes

by Tuesday noon

All the fat cats in their bad hats

doin' me a real big favour

I got the fat cats in their bad hats

playin' it on real good

Here's a dime, boy

Give me a shine, boy

Down and out in New York City

Got nowhere to be,

but where can you go

When you're down and out

in New York City

I'm never, never, never

gonna get that way again

Down and out in New York City

Got nowhere to be,

but where can you go

When you're down and out

in New York City

I'm never, never, never

gonna get that way again

No

No, no

No, no, not me

When you need a break

You need an angle

When you want a friend

Gonna get myself together

in the morning

Gonna leave it all as one bad dream

All the fat cats in their bad hats

are doin' me a real big favour

They've got the fat cats in their

bad hats playin' it on real good

Here's a dime, boy

Give me a shine

(baby cries)

N*ggers aren't allowed in this building.

They never are.

I been sent with this.

- You ever see me before?

- No.

You're lyin', blackbird.

- (woman) Who's at the door, Jack?

- The janitor.

We'll be back in a minute.

Where's the fella who usually

brings me this envelope?

How should I know?

You don't know a lot of things.

You and me better take us a little walk.

Remember, n*gger, you've never seen me,

you've never been here.

You got more to be afraid of

from me than anybody.

I'll cut your black balls off. You hear me?

I hear ya.

Oh, just a minute.

There's not enough here.

- Enough what?

- It's $50 short. Now, where is it?

I don't know. I don't have it.

You're lyin', boy.

I don't have it.

Listen, n*gger, they wouldn't dare

short-change me. So cough it up.

They did it, didn't they?

I don't have it!

I'll take it off of you.

I could put a bullet through you

for carrying a switchblade.

Do you want to be put away

or are you gonna give me that 50 bucks?

Look, you f***in' ass! I ain't got your

money. You don't get pissed at me!

Get out!

(knocking)

Yeah, come in.

Why aren't you with the other guys?

Why are you always by yourself?

Well, the, uh, the other guys,

they... they don't want me around.

Oh. Well, you're the one I wanna see.

See, I'm gonna be gone

for a few years under this rap.

I'm gonna learn a lot.

I want you to learn a lot too.

- What are you talkin' about?

- I mean, you're the big brain.

- I take good care of you.

- I'll be all right.

Just shut up and listen!

I want you to finish school - high school.

I was figurin' on CCNY someday.

It's for free.

I want you to learn where to put money

so you end up with

more than you started with.

Then when I get out, and I've started

my business, you'll be with me.

Sure. Anything you say.

- Now get out before you start cryin'.

- I ain't cryin'.

OK, so you're not cryin'! Get out. F*** off.

And Joe, before I see you again,

I want you to get laid.

Make it snappy. I gotta catch

a four o'clock flight to Vegas.

Yes, sir.

- You ever been to Vegas?

- No.

Figures. I never seen any coloured fellas

around the tables at Vegas.

I oughta tell the boys to let 'em in.

Christ's sakes. For Christ's sakes,

nobody likes to lose... like the Negroes.

(laughs)

They're born losers.

You know what I oughta do?

I oughta build a casino

right out in the desert.

Just for the n*gger trade.

I bet they'd hitchhike, ride the rails,

even steal cars to get there.

- Be right with you, sir.

- That's OK.

Take your time. I want Mr Grossfield to

look his best for his friends and relatives.

- Who the hell are you?

- Did you know that a man's beard

keeps right on growin'

even after he's... dead?

Now, you get it real close, Sammy.

We want it to last Mr Grossfield.

You're full of sh*t. You ain't got no gun.

Keep right on workin', boys.

This doesn't make any sense. I don't know

who sent you, but we can work it out.

Nobody sent me.

I thought it up all by myself.

- Sorry, sir.

- Sammy, don't disfigure the man!

I was plannin' on givin' it to him where

it didn't show. You're makin' a mess.

Look, can't we talk this out?

What do we say?

I'm just as nervous as you are.

This is the first time for both of us.

I ain't never killed anybody before.

I'm just tryin' to break into the business.

At the top.

Look, I haven't got a gun. It's in my coat.

Now, come on, give me a chance.

- Sorry, sir.

- My hand's shakin' too.

- Will you be careful?!

- Sorry.

The organisation is not gonna

let you get away with it.

There's already a contract out on you.

Cardoza wrote it.

That's right. Your friend Cardoza.

I'm just... savin' him time.

By volunteerin'.

Oh, say, you did a sloppy job, Sammy.

I ain't gonna let you shave me.

- Jesus Christ!

- Sauce looked like it needed more meat.

What are you doin'? Who are you?

Just a jig who heard

Grossfield needed killing.

That contract was only for professionals.

Don't I qualify? I spent eight years

in some of your best private institutions.

- It was a clean job.

- You call that a clean job?

In the afternoon, in a barbershop,

with witnesses?

That's why I did it in front of everybody.

Everybody knows your... organisation

don't employ no n*ggers.

Sit down.

Uh...

Want somethin' to eat?

Peppe in un piatto di rigatoni.

E per me un piatto di spaghetti.

Where did you learn

to speak our language?

One of my cellmates was a Sicilian kid.

Yeah?

I ain't never heard no dinge

speak Italian before.

How many of us do you know?

- You get your 200.

- Since when did the price go down?

Since when do spades

make as much as whites?

Listen, shadow, you're lucky

I'm even talkin' to you.

Look, you may wanna use me again.

Don't screw it up.

No, I don't use the same man in the same

city twice. They can be easily identified.

I got a built-in disguise.

They never look at me. They never

look at my face, my nose, my lame foot.

- All they know is that I'm black.

- Your kind has no guts.

If you get picked up,

right away they start to talk.

You know what the other families'd do if I

hired you? They'd scream bloody murder.

Nah.

You can't work for me.

The other families won't let me do it.

I don't want a job.

I want one full block to call my territory.

127th Street and Edgecomb Avenue.

- Why do you want that? It's sh*t.

- I'll make it work.

Hey. Who says spooks

don't have any ambition?

You don't know what you're gettin' into.

There might be a whole load

of people I wanna get rid of.

You might not have a good deal after all.

So I put in a little overtime.

Salute.

Paid the cost to be the boss

Paid the cost to be the boss

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