Red Hollywood Page #10

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by the Black Panthers.

Uh, if he wasn't going

to be rescued by some

uh, self-respecting whites

with a conscience,

then who was going

to rescue him?

Please, Mr. Morse,

all I want is to quit.

That's all, nothing else.

They won't let me quit

and I want to quit.

I'll die if I don't quit.

I'm a man with heart trouble.

I die almost every day myself.

That's the way I live.

Silly habit.

You know, sometimes

you feel as though

you're dying

here

and here,

here.

You're dying

while you're breathing.

Freddy, what have you done?

Freddy, what have you

done to me?

Take it easy, Pop.

You're coming with us, Pop.

Come on!

Come on!

You can't take all night.

Stand up and walk!

Stop him, stop him,

he knows me.

Kill him, kill him,

he knows me!

(GUNSHOT)

(DRUNK MAN SINGING

INDISTINCTLY)

(SINGING CONTINUES)

All right, reach, reach!

C'mon, I'm not kidding you,

let's go!

Alright, c'mon, in the back,

down on the floor, hurry up!

(SCREAMS)

This is where we hit

the jackpot!

Jerry, wait, Jerry!

Jerry, what are you

going to do?

Jerry, don't!

You do that again

and I'll break you in half!

What's the matter with you,

anyhow? You his brother

or something?

Jerry, Jerry, you never said

you were going to kill him.

Why do you have to kill him?

You want him to give our

description to the cops?

What'll they do when

they get the chance?

I've got more brains

than any of 'em.

You hear me?

I've got more brains

than any of ya!

Jerry, don't!

You can't do it,

not just like that!

Hey, Pop, Mom promised

me a quarter

for the baseball game.

Howard!

And now she won't

give it to me.

I didn't hear you come in.

How are you, darling?

Fine.

Can I have a quarter, Pop?

You look tired.

I didn't get

much sleep last night.

My whole club is going

to the baseball,

and it costs a quarter.

All the other kids

are going!

Oh, they are?

Here! Will this do it?

Fifty cents!

(LAUGHS)

Howard...

You got a job!

You go to that ballgame,

buy yourself a couple

of hot dogs.

Gee, Pop, thanks a lot.

Bye, Mom, I'm late.

Howard, tell me

what happened?

Did you go to the doctor?

Oh, never mind about that.

Tell me about the job.

Oh, Judy, honey,

you promised me.

They've got good doctors

at that clinic.

They're the best in town.

Oh, I don't really need

a doctor yet.

Anyhow, I knew

you'd get a job,

and then we could pay

for my own doctor.

Oh, tell me what happened.

Tell me about the job!

There isn't any job.

But you just gave Tommy

a half a dollar.

What did you do

that for?

'Cause I wanted to!

You wanted to?

Yes, I wanted to!

My kid can go

to a baseball game, can't he?

Not when we owe money

for groceries.

Last night I needed

50 cents more to buy eggs.

Then we'll do without them.

Judy, honey,

don't pick on me now.

I'm tired.

I've been up all night.

Begging for groceries,

begging for doctors,

is that what we came

to California for?

You know what we came

to California for.

You wanted to come

just as much as I did.

Can I help it if a million

other guys had the same idea?

Well, I wish we were

back home.

At least we weren't beggars.

Oh Judy, don't cry.

Please don't cry.

What can I do?

What do you

want me to do?

NARRATOR:
A film industry

not yet purged

of its leftists

might still voice certain

simple truths about crime

that have become

almost unthinkable today.

That criminals are not

always monsters

beyond the kin

of human understanding

or sympathy,

but sometimes,

ordinary people

with ordinary needs.

That crime has social causes,

the humiliations

of unemployment, for example,

or just plain envy.

(CAR HONKS)

In a society

based on class divisions

where money is the measure

of all things

and a mercantile approach

to human relations

determines even

the language we speak.

Taxi, lady?

Where's your meter?

I'll figure out the fare

as we go along.

You might overcharge me.

I might at that.

Hop in, honey.

Where'd you like to go?

Uh, let's go downtown.

Window shopping.

(GROANS)

How dull can you get?

Well, that's what

I want to do.

We can, uh... We can do

something else later.

You have a deal, honey.

(ENGINE STRUGGLING)

(ENGINE STARTS)

(SIGHS)

It's still here.

Nice lookin' coat.

I bet they'd sock you

at least 1,000 bucks

for a coat like that.

Are you kidding?

Why, that's mink!

It's a bargain at 2,000!

Isn't that the most

beautiful thing you've ever

seen in your life?

Well, it's not bad.

Are you thinking I'm

buying it?

I want that coat

and I'm going to get it.

For $2,000?

For whatever it takes!

NARRATOR:
To satisfy false

needs or real needs,

crime might seem

the only way.

I know another guy

that averages four

or five hundred a week.

Sometimes more.

He'd be willing to split

with the right partner.

He's the guy I was thinking

about for you.

For me?

All you have to do

is drive his car.

Think you'd be interested?

What makes you think

he'd want me for a partner?

My personal recommendation.

All you gotta do

is drive his car.

He does all the work.

What kind of work?

Well, you know,

knock over a gas station,

maybe a hamburger joint,

a liquor store.

Nothing risky.

Oh, no, no.

Oh, wait a minute.

Jerry, I didn't know

that you were talking

about that kind of work.

Why, is something wrong?

Well, I've done a lot

of things in my time, but...

Suit yourself.

Just trying to get

you a break.

You asked me, didn't you?

Well, yes, I asked you,

but I...

But what?

Anybody else make you

any better offer lately?

You guys kill me.

They kick you in the teeth,

the more they kick you

the better you like it.

What are you

looking for? Handouts?

Here, there's 10 bucks! Live!

Don't get sore,

Jerry, I...

Who's sore?

I feel sorry for you!

Go tell your troubles

to the First National Bank.

They'll listen to you.

They've got a special

tough luck department.

Go on, take the 10 bucks

and get out of here.

Jerry?

Yeah?

Who's your friend?

Who do you think?

NARRATOR:
The crime movie

had often been

a privileged genre

for social commentary,

from both left and right.

The right portrayed crime

as a symptom

of social disintegration.

The left presented it

as a form of

capitalist accumulation.

(CHATTER ON POLICE RADIO)

By the late '40s,

the Hollywood left

had developed

a sophisticated critique

of criminal economy

and the class relations

it produced.

On the bottom

were the unskilled workers,

the desperate ones for whom

even crime would not

be a way out.

To get ahead, the proletarian

criminal had to develop

a skill

and he had

to sell himself.

What boxes

have you opened?

Cannon vault, double door,

even a few fire chests.

All of 'em.

Can you open a vault

with a time lock

and relocking device?

Sure.

What do you use?

Lock or seam?

Seam.

Ever taken one?

Remember the Shafter job?

Yes, I heard about it,

behind the walls.

It was a good score.

Who supplies

your soup?

I thrash it myself.

How are you as a pick lock?

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