Roxie Hart Page #4

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What are you trying to do,

kill this story?

Listen, you are supposed to

be a newspaperman...

not a detective, you understand?

You are supposed to build up a story,

not tear it down.

Gimme that.

Never scare me like that again.

Gentlemen, Mrs. Hart.

Roxie, dear, this is Mary Sunshine,

the famous feature writer.

And these are

some gentlemen of the press.

- How are you, Mrs. Hart?

- So glad to meet you.

- Boy!

- Oh, you poor child!

Come, sit over here.

We all understand.

I'm going to leave now, Roxie,

so Miss Sunshine and the boys...

can interview you

without being disturbed.

Just answer their questions frankly.

Don't forget what I told you.

Yes, Daddy.

Just a frightened kid, that's all.

Good-bye, Mary.

- Good-bye, boys.

- Bye.

- Good-bye, Jake.

- Good-bye, Willy.

- Excuse me.

- Yes, of course.

- What's that?

- Dinner from the Ritz, madam.

There's two more outside, butjust

from restaurants, no other hotels.

Listen to this...

"My heart and hand are at your feet.

"With you, my life would be complete.

Yours with pleasure,

an unknown admirer. "

Isn't that lovely?

Probably from Lord Byron.

Then why doesn't he sign it?

- But, Mr. Flynn...

- Now wait a minute.

You get the dough,

I'll get you a pass, and not before!

But what kind of a jail is it...

that everybody in the world

can get in to the wife but the husband?

Everybody's been so lovely. I haven't

had to eat this jail slop once.

Just what did happen, Mrs. Hart?

- How's that?

- Tell us in your own words, why?

Well, all I can remember is

a dreadful quarrel, and then a threat.

I can see him coming toward me now

with that awful look in his eye.

A wild look.

Oh, look, alligator pears! Gee, that

fella certainly does give out, does he?

He was bearing down on you

with that wild look...

and then what?

And then we both grabbed for the gun.

And get that straight...

we both grabbed for it.

- And then?

- And then...

- everything went purple.

- Purple?

A purple... flash.

Light or dark?

Pardon?

I say, light purple like lavender...

or dark purple like violet?

Violet.

In other words, self-defense.

You can bet your sweet life it was.

They'll be so glad to know you can eat.

It's choking me, every mouthful,

but I feel it's my duty.

Oh, it is. It is.

You've got to keep up your strength.

I can't sleep at night either.

All night long, I just walk up and down,

tossin' the floor.

You recall nothing specific

during this, uh, purple patch?

- How could I? Must have been mad, insane.

- Oh, dear.

Oh, not for the asylum, understand?

Over with right away.

Sane before and sane after...

with a little teensy-weensy

spot of insanity right in the middle.

- Is that it?

- That's it. Shoot me the jam, Sam.

Is it true, Mrs. Hart,

you were swept off your feet by jazz?

Yeah, what about that black bottom?

- Well...

- You're good at it, ain't ya?

- I ain't had no complaints yet.

- How about a little sample?

- Now?

- Sure. Why not?

- Sure, Roxie. Give, Roxie.

- Be a sport.

Boy!

Aw, you're really the nuttiest guy

I ever saw.

Why don't you, Mrs. Hart.

It might take your thoughts

off your tragedy. Do a few steps for us.

You don't think

it might be what you call out of place?

Certainly not.

You think we'd ask you if it would be?

Well.

I don't know if I ought.

Get away! Get away!

Go on, scat!

Who wants to see pictures of you,

anyway?

- I'm the husband, ain't I?

- I don't believe it.

Well, hush my big black mouth!

Mrs. Hart,

I think you're just wonderful.

- What?

- I know you didn't do it. I just know it.

You're a sweetie pie to say that...

but if you print it,

I'll wrap a chair around your neck.

Kind of liked her, huh?

"Kind of liked her"?

That's putting it feebly.

I couldn't sleep for thinking about her.

Go on.

I wanna hear some more.

Oil for the lamps of China, gentlemen.

A month later.

Chicago, Chicago

That toddlin'town

- Are you going to behave?

- Let go, you!

- Are you?

- Let go, I tell you!

- Are you?

- Yeah! Let go of my hair.

If I find you biting anyone else

around here...

I'll have the dentist

pull every tooth in your head!

Got a butt, buddy?

Won't you tell us just how you happened

to take up banditry, Miss Baxter?

Did you suffer an inferiority complex?

Hello, Miss Sunshine.

Later, Mrs. Hart.

Or would you describe yourself...

as a thrill slayer?

Mr. Callahan.

I got a scoop for you.

I'm thinking of going

on a hunger strike.

Okay, kid. Happy hiccups.

What about the guy who was with you?

They got him outside.

Maybe you'd like to take a peek at him.

Do you want to come?

Roxie.

I'm awfully worried, Roxie.

You're worried?

Listen.

My lawyer goes out of town

on a vacation.

My agent, whenever you want him,

you can't find him.

In 10 days, only one little

scoop of a story and no pictures.

And now this.

You can figure for yourself how I feel.

It's not that. Did you see that

editorial in theLedgerthis morning?

It's not that. Did you see that

editorial in theLedgerthis morning?

About me?

It said, "Why is it that men could be

hanged in this county but not women?"

It was called:

"We demand equal rights for women. "

- Say! That's swell.

- Roxie, please, this is serious.

This case isn't going to be like the

others. Everybody's getting sore...

the mayor, the newspapers,

the preachers, women's clubs, everybody.

- It never was like that before.

- You're sweet.

Don't you understand? They're gonna

try to make you pay the penalty.

I never thought of anybody

really worrying about me before.

If anything happened to you, Roxie,

I don't know what I'd do.

How old are you?

- Twenty-five.

- Well.

Listen, sweetie pie,

I'll tell you a secret.

Any old time the going gets too tough, all

I have to do is say one word and I'm out.

Just one word. That's all.

So you needn't worry.

I'm so happy.

Is there anything I can do for you?

Yeah, go find that Benham, that agent

guy, and tell him I want some action.

- Right away.

- A proposition like this, you gotta keep it boiling.

Something new all the time. When you

got your whole future tied up in it...

you gotta grab it by the horn

and hit it while it's hot.

Hit it while it's hot,

grab it by the horn.

# Hit it while it's hot

Grab it by the horn #

# Hit it while it's hot #

Well, sir, if you thought

Roxie got a build-up...

you should have seen Two-gun Gertie's.

Things moved fast in those days.

Almost before you knew it...

J. Edgar Hoover couldn't have

found Roxie's name in the papers.

Two-gun Gertie, Two-gun Gertie...

that's all the papers could think about.

But, gentlemen, class will always tell.

Roxie, crushed to earth,

will always rise again.

Just when the hour was darkest, when obscurity

seemed to have settled down permanently...

over that brave little jailbird,

up she zoomed again like a rocket.

Like a rocket.

Back to page one

in every sheet in town.

With one little twist of the wrist,

one simple girlish idea...

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