J. Edgar: The Most Powerful Man in the World Page #5

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had been beaten back...

but the Depression had hit

and there was a new threat.

The bank robber, the car thief,

and the kidnapper.

But, unfortunately, as with communism,

America didn't react with scorn.

They gave the American gangster

admiration.

And the defiance by desperate,

armed criminals...

of the forces of society and

civilization can no longer be ignored.

Bugs Moran and Al Capone

top the list of public enemies.

Look around you.

They could be anywhere.

May I remind you that the Bureau of

Investigation seeks to be your protector.

It belongs to you. It is as close to you

as your nearest telephone.

And with your help...

Warner Bros. presents

"The Public Enemy."

James Cagney plays

public enemy number one.

- Why, you.

- Aah!

There you go with that wishing stuff again.

Maybe you found someone

you like better.

Coming soon to your neighborhood theater.

Fantastic.

That summer, a single crime opened

the door to set things right.

Do you know what that was, Mr. Jones?

Sorry, sir, what was that?

Who is the most famous man

of the 20th Century thus far?

Joe McCarthy, sir?

Mr. McCarthy was an opportunist...

not a patriot, Mr. Jones.

Who is the most famous man

of the 20th Century thus far?

The most famous?

Ls that you, sir?

Well, I suppose his notoriety

depends on the field that he is in.

His field was in the clouds.

Well, then Charles Lindbergh, sir.

Yes?

Charles Lindbergh's

baby has been kidnapped from his home.

Send officers from Trenton.

I'll be on the first train.

What is it?

Charles Lindbergh...

Lindbergh's baby's been kidnapped.

You've got to find him.

He has to be brought home alive.

Yes, Mother.

Yes, Mother, I know.

When we arrived at Mr. Lindbergh's

home that morning in 1932...

we began an investigation that would

forever change our Bureau.

This morning we've heard from

the Pennsylvania Railroad, Will Rogers...

President Hoover,

Governor Roosevelt, Customs...

the U.S. Mail, and the Boy Scouts.

All of you. Get off of that dirt.

You're trampling evidence.

Immediately! Get off!

There's nothing there. We checked.

No defined footprints.

Lt appears he was wearing fabric

on his shoes.

You don't think the size

could've held some value?

How did he get up there? Are there

marks on the window and wall as well?

A ladder.

We found it 100 yards away.

We moved it inside.

You moved it?

Yes, for safekeeping.

Congratulations, Mr. Schwarzkopf.

You have contaminated the crime scene.

Now, get your boots off this property.

And what right do you have

to be here, Mister, uh...?

J. Edgar Hoover,

director of the Bureau of Investigation.

We've been sent by President Hoover

to ensure the investigation...

The president has authorized access

to all documents and evidence.

Mr. Hoover, you're free to observe, but

New Jersey's not the president's domain.

And where is Mr. Lindbergh?

I'd like to hear his opinion on the matter.

- Mr. Lindbergh's around back.

- After you, sir.

He's been up all night.

Mr. Lindbergh himself

came down to meet me.

He shook my hand and expressed his

gratitude and faith in our young Bureau.

He fell five feet.

Who did?

The kidnapper, with the child in his arms.

That's speculation, Mr. Hoover.

Mr. Lindbergh, sir, if the ladder had split

while the person was on their way up...

it would have collapsed.

You see, it was a miscalculation.

Lt was meant to bear the weight of a man,

but not the weight of a man and child.

We have other theories.

Where's the ransom note?

Of course.

And you are touching that

with your bare hands as well?

We checked.

There are none of those finger imprints

that you fancy so valuable.

Please hand it over, Mr. Schwarzkopf.

That's Colonel Schwarzkopf.

"Have 50,000 dollars ready,"

spelled R-E-D-Y.

"We will inform you where,"

spelled W-E-R-E, "to deliver the money"...

spelled M-O-N-Y.

"We warn you for making anything public

or for notify the police.

Indication for all letters are signature,"

S-I-N-G, "singnature."

Three holes.

I want this letter and the ladder.

No jurisdiction.

I've showed what you asked for.

- lt's time for you to go.

- Mr. Lindbergh, please...

Mr. Hoover, thank you. As you can see,

we have everything under control.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Thank you for your time, Mr. Lindbergh.

Clyde.

Clyde, I'm afraid for his boy.

He trusts the local police more than us.

He thinks we're all fools.

He'll go around them too.

He's going to bargain with the kidnappers.

President Hoover called me the morning

the child was taken...

and asked me to do whatever was

in my power to solve this crime.

But do you know what all the power

of the Bureau means...

without federal laws, without arms,

without the ability to make arrests?

Lt means nothing.

Mr. Chairman, I urge passage

of the Lindbergh Law...

making kidnapping a federal offense.

To immediately deliver all the fingerprints

in this country to my office...

so that we may create a central file.

To help arm our agents

so that they have a fighting chance...

against the submachine guns of some

of the most dangerous characters...

in the history of American criminality.

And I urge you to do this

in the name of Little Lindy.

Because if he can be taken,

then what child is safe?

And if we cannot aid in his safe return,

then what use are we?

Every fingerprint

from the local authorities...

across the country began flowing in.

Finally, we had a centralized system.

What is it, Edgar?

The last of the fingerprints came in

from Chicago.

You know our new president has scheduled

a meeting with me, Miss Gandy?

Do you know that there are talks

of reorganizing the Bureau?

Yes, I've heard similar whispers.

Hmm.

Have you?

Miss Gandy, do you remember that file

we created on his wife?

Mrs. Roosevelt?

Yes.

Will you make a copy for me, please?

Yes, of course.

Thank you, Miss Gandy.

Lindbergh hired criminals to find his son.

Off the desk now, Agent Garrison,

follow me.

Yes, sir.

He even got an offer from Al Capone

to help pay the ransom money...

but, in the end, he employed an

eccentric by the name of John Condon...

who placed a newspaper ad to act

as a go-between with the kidnappers.

Now, was Condon a criminal too?

He most certainly wasn't

an agent of the law, Mr. Garrison.

Why are you doing this?

So a mother may have her baby again.

And you may know that the

American people are grateful...

for the honor bestowed upon them

by your pluck and daring.

And how do we know the kidnapper is the

same that wrote the letters that you have?

The symbol, uh, matches

the original letter's symbol, doesn't it?

What is it, Mr. Lindbergh?

In a moment of thoughtlessness...

I showed the symbol

to some other men...

and I'm not sure

that they were trustworthy.

I'm not sure anyone is trustworthy.

I will be having your letters analyzed...

to make sure that they

are from the same author.

And while Mr. Lindbergh

placed his faith in hoodlums...

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