Roxie Hart

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All right, break it up.

Get back. Get moving.

What happened?

All right, move along.

Make mine a scotch and soda, double.

What about you?

- I'll have a root beer.

- Root beer?

Well, it's your liver, my friend.

Night desk?

About that shooting...

the guy that was shot,

his name is Leonard Moss.

M- O- double "S."

As in "Sam," yeah.

Hold it.

Let's have another, same thing.

He was in a crap game.

Uh, hold it.

- Hey, you all right?

- I just never saw a stiff before.

No? Well, I always thought

newspaper reporters...

This is my first day at it.

Okay, I'll call you later.

Ernie wants us to stick around awhile

just in case.

- You all right?

- I'm all right.

It's probably that stuff you're

drinking. How about bringing that bottle?

- All right.

- Another thing you've got to remember about newspaper work...

The public always expects a newspaperman

to do a lot of drinking...

and so you mustn't ever

let the public down.

- You think this story will make the front page?

- Be lucky to get in at all.

One dice hustler

shoots another dice hustler. So what?

They don't seem to have the murders

these days like they used to.

Different class of people, I guess.

What's the matter with this crate?

That thing ain't worked in 10 years.

L- I don't suppose

there's any connection...

but we haven't had a real good

juicy murder story in this town...

since the Democrats

got hold of the country.

Back under the Republicans...

Well, how do you like that?

Ten years?

That's more like 15.

Yeah.

# Mine in May, His in June #

# She forgot mighty soon #

1927. Remember that?

Yeah. Uh-huh.

#There they go in their joy #

# Happy girl, lucky boy #

#And here am I #

# Brokenhearted ##

That's what I mean. That's the song

they sang for Roxie Hart.

- And was that a story.

- What was?

Roxie.

- Customers.

- All right. I'll get 'em.

I'll get 'em. Hello, boys.

Charge your glasses, gentlemen.

To Roxie Hart...

the prettiest woman

ever tried for murder in Cook County.

Okay, partner.

To Roxie Hart.

To Roxie Hart.

Well, what about her?

- You remember that story?

- Yeah, some of it.

1926, '27, '28...

the bad old days when everything went

and everything was big...

big money, big crooks, big murders,

big stories.

- "Keep cool with Coolidge. "

"Keep cockeyed with Capone. "

"Keep daffy with Daddy Browning. "

This seems to call for a spot of music,

and serve everybody a round on me.

What about Roxie Hart?

Roxie Hart, the Teapot Dome,

The 18th Amendment,

the Monkey Trial, Carl Wanderer...

Texas Guinan, Mayor Thompson.

#The black bottom #

# Black bottom #

Hall-Mills, Judd Gray and Ruth Snyder.

I wanna hear what you got to say

about Roxie Hart.

Why not?

That was the best of them all.

That was all of them rolled into one...

15 years ago...

and I remember it like it was yesterday.

That first flash of a shooting.

The police?

This is Finnegan...

the janitor at 1442 South Melrose.

Somebody just shot somebody

in apartment six!

And I make this statement voluntarily...

and of my own free will.

Freely and gladly.

I fired five shots into the man...

- Smack into him.

- Killing him instantly.

Like a dog.

- Cheerful little assassin.

- Assassin?

Is it assassination to shoot a burglar?

What would you do if you came home and

found somebody banging on the bedroom door?

- Check on the wife.

- But she wasn't here, I tell you.

Wasn't nobody here.

I come home from the poolroom and...

You know,

I'm the best snooker player down there.

- Yeah. And as I go...

- Come on. Come on. Sign it.

He ain't tryin' the case.

He's just a reporter.

Not bad, huh? One hour, and we got

the guy and a signed confession.

Last week, a jury thanked a man

for killing a burglar.

This week, they're giving a Hupmobile.

- Where do you think the madam could be?

- The what?

- The wife.

- The movies, maybe.

Let's go outside

and have a talk with the prosecutor.

Say, is he trying

to insinuate something?

- How do you look at this thing?

- That's my wife. She's artistic.

I'll never see anything that reminded me

less of Whistler's Mother.

- Everybody through with this?

- It's all yours, Doctor.

I believe that if everybody

would love everybody else...

Okay, Billy Sunday, let's go.

Yeah. Well, that's about all it is,

I'm afraid... routine 12-B.

Yeah.

Joe theJerk defends the little nest...

while Miss Flapper Wife

is out mooning overJohn Gilbert.

Okay, Tommy.

See you later.

How do?

Oh, no, you don't!

I want to have a couple of words

with you. That's all I want.

Oh! Oh, hey! Cut it out, will ya?

- I only want to say a word...

- Let me go!

Oh, no.

Will you cut it out?

I'm not a copper!

- What are you?

- I'm a newspaperman.

Oh!

- All right!

- Let me go!

Oh, no!

There's a cop there, lady.

You want me to call him or not?

- What do you want?

- I want the story.

I want you to tell me

what really happened in here.

- You heard him. I was...

- Don't give me that.

You weren't skinnying around the outside

of this building for your health.

- Come on, let's have it.

- You let me go!

- You plugged him, didn't you?

- Are you batty?

Come on. What are you scared of?

They won't do anything to you.

This county never does anything

to a dame.

Cook County is the most gallant county

in the whole country.

Why, a pretty murderess

is as safe here...

as she is in her mother's arms.

What do you want me to do,

say I shot him when I didn't?

- Oh, no, you're not. Come here.

- Let me go.

Cut it out, will you?

You do that again, I'll break your arm.

No, uh, uh, uh!

No more billy goats either.

Oh, please let me go. I didn't do it.

I swear I didn't. He shot him!

But why did he shoot him?

Because he busted in and caught you.

He didn't have to bust in.

The door was open.

Oh, mercy me. Mercy me.

Bring the body back in the parlor.

- We gotta get outta here.

- Oh, no! Cut it out. Look, honey.

You and me is gonna

have a nice little talk.

Look, honeysuckle,

you get right in there...

and Daddy will be back

in just a few minutes.

We met this gentleman downstairs.

He says he knows the stiff.

Who are you?

E. Clay Benham at your service...

of Benham and Casely,

theatrical booking agents.

That is... or that was my partner,

the late Mr. Casely.

I don't want to seem crude, but I'd like somebody

to make up their mind about these remains.

He wasn't no midget, remember.

You positively identify this man?

- Gladly. That is, naturally.

- Take it away.

Just ring twice anytime.

Service with a smile.

- What do you know about this?

- Very little, I'm afraid.

- I didn't even know that Roxie was married.

- Roxie?

Mrs. Hart. She was a client of ours

in a way of speaking.

- We weren't able to place her.

- What particular talent was she peddling?

She described herself, I believe,

as a dancer.

I don't believe it.

She wouldn't lie to me like that.

She was here washing the dishes

all the time.

My dear fellow, it's a matter of record.

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