Force of Evil

---

This is Wall Street.

And today was important

because tomorrow, July 4th,

I intended to make

my first million dollars-

An exciting day

in any man's life.

Temporarily, the enterprise

was slightly illegal.

You see, I was the lawyer

for the numbers racket.

Buck on 823.

823, $1.00.

Good morning,

Mr. Morse.

Put a dime on 776

for me tomorrow.

How do you like that

for luck, Bob?

Today's winner's 114.

I had a dime on 113.

Didn't I?

Yeah, you did.

I nearly made 60 bucks

Except for

that one little digit.

600 to 1.

You going to play

776 tomorrow?

Nah, 823.

This morning, I nearly

got hit by a car,

And you know what

the last number

Of the license was?

I figure if I live through

today, it's my lucky number.

Am I right,

Mr. Morse?

If you don't

get killed,

It's a lucky day

for anybody.

Nickel on 776.

776?

That's a nickel.

The suckers bet on any

combination of three numbers

Selected from the totals

Bet at some race track

that day-

20 million bettors a day

in the united states.

Tell Mr. Wheelock

I want to see him.

Annual income to cheap crooks

and racketeers?

Over $100 million.

It seemed a shame

For so much good money

to go to waste

In other people's pockets.

Yeah.

Oh, Mary, hold all my calls

and cancel everything.

Well, make it for Friday.

Thank you.

Hello?

Mr. Tucker?

Well, sure. Put him on.

One minute, Hobe.

Hello, Ben?

Fine. Right. Right.

I'll be there

in a few minutes.

Bye.

Come in, Hobe.

Morning, Joe.

Morning. I wonder if you

can help me out with this.

No shine today, Louie.

Thanks.

You know

that new Galahad

The governor appointed-

Our new special prosecutor?

Link hall?

Yeah, hall.

His father was

in the class

Ahead of me

at Harvard.

You know the son?

I gave the boy a pony

for his 4th birthday,

But I haven't seen

a great deal of him since.

Since when?

Since the market

fell in on me in '29.

Do you think you can manage

To invite the son up

for dinner soon?

Why?

Well, I...

Louie, would you mind

Stepping out a moment,

please?

Thank you.

If we knew which side

of the street

Hall was working,

Our client, Mr. Ben Tucker,

might appreciate it.

We don't want any collisions

we don't have to have.

We've got

a big retainer

To change

the numbers racket

Into a legal lottery.

Uh, Joe...

you usually know

what you're doing,

But it's one thing

to represent Tucker legally-

As his lawyer,

I mean.

I mean, it's

the business of lawyers

To protect

a lot of people.

They, uh... even

teach that at Harvard.

Yes?

But the minute you start

doing business for Tucker,

Doing Tucker's business,

it's a different thing, Joe.

Lawyers are not protected

from the law.

Tucker is

making me rich, Hobe,

And Im your partner

who's making you rich.

I wear

his old school tie,

And you wear mine.

You can buy one for yourself

during lunch hour

Off any pushcart.

Louie.

Finish his shine.

How much have you

got here, Joe?

25,000.

There's another 60

in my office safe.

Well, there's

50 more here.

It will be more

than plenty.

We only want to finance

12 of the banks, Joe,

The big ones-

And your brother's

little bank, of course,

So it makes 13.

The rest can

go to the wall,

And the combination will

take over their trade.

You going up to see

your brother now?

Can I be frank

with you, Ben?

Edna always

says that to me.

She says, "Im going

to be frank, Ben."

Then out it comes-

Something mean

and terrible about me...

or something foolish

about herself.

I'll be foolish,

Ben.

I'm a lawyer-

Your clever

little lawyer-

And Ive taken over

the formation

Of this numbers

monopoly

To make it legal,

respectable, and...

very profitable

for you,

And Ive done it for

two reasons.

What's

the second reason?

Frankly,

the first is money.

But the second reason

is my brother.

He's 50 years old,

A man with

heart trouble,

And when 776

hits tomorrow

And wipes out

his capital,

It will wipe out

his life.

He'll turn white

and die...

ashamed to be

old and broke.

That's my problem.

He won't come

into the combination

Unless I force him,

And I can't

force him

Unless I tell him

about 776.

You'll tell him

nothing of the kind.

It's the only way,

Ben!

It's the only way

to ruin us! No!

I tell you,

it's safe!

No!

You'd better

not go up

And see

your brother at all.

Now, look, Joe.

Let's get

the picture clear.

Tomorrow's the 4th

of July,

The one day

in the year

When there's

a superstition

To bet

one number-776.

Tomorrow, the nickels

and dimes

And pennies

of every sucker

Goes on 776, right?

That's right.

Now, we're fixing

that number to hit,

And the bankers

are going to go broke

Because they

got no distribution

On the betting.

You know, I didn't have to

invest all this money, Joe.

I could have called in

my ex-Beer partner Ficco

With his handful

of Chicago shooters

And just taken

all those banks

Like I did beer

in '27,

But you,

you said no.

You're

my smart lawyer.

Right?

That's right.

You said you were trying

to work up public sentiment

To get a law passed making

numbers a legal lottery,

Like lotteries are

in Ireland or Cuba

Or like race track

betting is here,

And that rough stuff

would kill the chance dead.

And I said "all right,

Joe." Right?

Right.

I can't help it

if you have a problem

With an older

brother, Joe.

I can't risk $200,000

for sentimental reasons.

Don't worry about

your brother, Joe.

He won't die

of heart failure

As long as he remembers

he has a rich brother.

Rich relatives

are better

Than doctors

or medicine men.

O.K., Ben, O.K.

And just

remember, Joe,

You and I are the only ones

who know about 776.

I have no reason

to tell anybody.

Don't you trust me?

Of course

I trust you, Joe.

I just want you

to know

How worried I am.

Got a match, mister?

Keep them.

I hadn't seen

my brother Leo for years,

And here he was,

back in the slums

Where we were born.

He ran a small numbers bank

The way another man

runs a restaurant or bar.

These collection offices

were called banks,

And they were like banks

Because money

was deposited there.

They were unlike banks

Because the chances

of getting money out

Were 1,000-To-1.

These were the odds

against winning.

What do you want,

mister?

I would like to see

my brother Leo Morse.

I'm Joe Morse.

The banks were located

behind poolrooms,

In lofts, cellars, or hidden

in slum apartments like Leos.

Wait here

a minute.

Big play

on 776 today.

People got

a superstition

To play it

every 4th of July.

The old liberty

number-

Never hits.

Mr. Morse, there's

a man outside to see you

Who says

he's your brother.

My brother?

What does he look like?

Like a firecracker,

you dope-

Like your brother.

How are you, Leo?

What do you want,

Joe?

I came

to see you, Leo.

Do I need

a particular reason?

You wouldn't

come around here

If you didn't have

a particular reason.

What's the difference?

We're brothers.

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