Take the Money and Run is a 1969 film written, directed by, and starring Woody Allen. The film is a mockumentary that tells the story of Virgil Starkwell, an inept bank robber.
Using a documentary style, archive footage and interviews, the story is told of the inept and unfortunate Virgil Starkwell, who entered a life of crime at a young age. Starkwell is arrested for attempting to steal a bag of money. Sent to prison, Virgil attempts to escape using a bar of soap carved into the shape of a gun, colored with shoe polish. Unfortunately for Virgil, it is raining outside and his gun discolors and melts. Starkwell still manages to escape from prison, but only by accident: participating in a mass escape plan, Virgil is in fact the only inmate not to have been warned that the plan has been canceled. Free but unemployed, Virgil finds no way to support himself and his family. He is eventually arrested again and sent to hard labor, where he is starved and brutally punished.
Starkwell escapes again, but is caught when he tries to rob an old friend who turns out to be a cop. Virgil is sentenced to 800 years in prison, but remains optimistic that "with good behavior, he can get his sentence reduced by half." In the final scene, Starkwell is shown carving a bar of soap, asking the interviewer if it's raining outside.
Using a documentary style, archive footage and interviews, the story is told of the inept and unfortunate Virgil Starkwell, who entered a life of crime at a young age. Starkwell is arrested for attempting to steal a bag of money. Sent to prison, Virgil attempts to escape using a bar of soap carved into the shape of a gun, colored with shoe polish. Unfortunately for Virgil, it is raining outside and his gun discolors and melts. Starkwell still manages to escape from prison, but only by accident: participating in a mass escape plan, Virgil is in fact the only inmate not to have been warned that the plan has been canceled. Free but unemployed, Virgil finds no way to support himself and his family. He is eventually arrested again and sent to hard labor, where he is starved and brutally punished.
Starkwell escapes again, but is caught when he tries to rob an old friend who turns out to be a cop. Virgil is sentenced to 800 years in prison, but remains optimistic that "with good behavior, he can get his sentence reduced by half." In the final scene, Starkwell is shown carving a bar of soap, asking the interviewer if it's raining outside.
Category
🎥
CortometraggiTrascrizione
00:00:00On December 1st, 1935, Mrs. William Starkwell,
00:00:06the wife of a New Jersey handyman,
00:00:08gives birth to her first and only child.
00:00:11It is a boy, and they name it Virgil.
00:00:14He is an exceptionally cute baby with a sweet disposition.
00:00:18Before he is 25 years old, he will
00:00:20be wanted by police in six states
00:00:23for assault, armed robbery, and illegal possession of a wart.
00:00:28Growing up in a slum neighborhood
00:00:29where the crime rate is amongst the highest in the nation
00:00:32is not easy, particularly for Virgil,
00:00:35who is small and frail compared to the other children.
00:00:59Thank you.
00:01:04Virgil Starkwell attends this school,
00:01:06where he scores well on an IQ test,
00:01:08although his behavior disturbs the teachers.
00:01:12We interviewed Mrs. Dorothy Lowry, a school
00:01:15teacher who remembered Virgil.
00:01:17I remember one time he stole a fountain pen.
00:01:20I didn't want to embarrass him.
00:01:23So you know teachers have ways of doing things.
00:01:25So I said to the class, we will all close our eyes.
00:01:29And will the one who took the pen please return it?
00:01:33Well, while our eyes were closed, he returned the pen.
00:01:38But he took the opportunity of feeling all the girls.
00:01:45Can I say feel?
00:01:47Spending most of his time in the streets,
00:01:49Virgil takes to crime at an early age.
00:01:52He is an immediate failure, and barely
00:01:54manages to escape with a gumball machine stuck on his hand.
00:02:00With both parents working to make ends meet,
00:02:03Virgil becomes closest to his grandfather,
00:02:06a 60-year-old German immigrant who takes the boy
00:02:09to movies and baseball games.
00:02:11Then tragedy strikes.
00:02:13At a Washington Senators game, Virgil's grandfather
00:02:16is struck in the head by a foul ball.
00:02:19The blow causes permanent injury to his mind,
00:02:21and he becomes convinced he is Kaiser Wilhelm.
00:02:24Here are some rare photos of him with other patients
00:02:27on the sanitarium grounds.
00:02:32When he is 15 years old, amidst the violence and poverty
00:02:36of the slums, Virgil receives a cello as a gift.
00:02:42He is fascinated by the instrument,
00:02:44and for the first time in the Starkwell house,
00:02:47music is heard.
00:02:56We spoke to Mr. Torgmann, his first and only cello teacher.
00:03:00And there is not very much to tell,
00:03:01because his cello playing was just terrible.
00:03:07He would, he had no idea about tone production.
00:03:12He would just saw it back and forth,
00:03:16just scratch the instrument to such a point
00:03:20that it would drive everyone that listened to it
00:03:22absolutely insane.
00:03:24He had no conception of the instrument.
00:03:27He was blowing into it.
00:03:35He loved his cello, and I think he stole
00:03:39to pay for his lessons, but he would not
00:03:41apply himself one iota.
00:03:46Virgil steals to pay for cello lessons,
00:03:48and although he does not achieve greatness on the instrument,
00:03:51he is soon good enough to play in a local band.
00:04:10A jungle, however, is no place for a cellist,
00:04:13and Virgil soon learns the facts of life.
00:04:16A jungle, however, is no place for a cellist,
00:04:19and Virgil soon learns the facts of life.
00:04:46At 18, Virgil is lonely and confused. Unable to concentrate in school, he has long since
00:04:59dropped out. He wants nothing more than to belong, if only to a street gang. It is here
00:05:05he thinks he will prove his manhood.
00:05:12Under constant economic pressure, Virgil turns to the local pool hall as a means of
00:05:16making a living. I'm going to be a pool hustler, he tells his friends.
00:05:46Virgil tries to join the Navy, but is psychologically unfit. That looks to me like two elephants
00:06:02making love to a men's glee club. Mr. T.S. Foster, Virgil's first probation officer,
00:06:09remembers him vividly. He was a trustworthy kind of person. I mean, you had to remember
00:06:14certain idiosyncrasies that he had. Like what? Well, like not always telling the truth.
00:06:24He didn't always tell the truth. Sometimes he exaggerated the truth. Sometimes, you know,
00:06:34just plain lies. He does have a criminal record, yes, but that doesn't mean that the boy was
00:06:39all bad. Unable to fit in with any aspect of his environment, Virgil strikes out on
00:08:45In
00:09:13an effort to shed some light on this period of his life, we spoke with his father and
00:09:17mother. They are ashamed of their son's criminal record and so wear disguises. He was a good
00:09:23boy. He was a beautiful boy. Oh, come on. If he was a good boy, why are we wearing these?
00:09:28He's rotten. He's a gangster. That's what he is. This is what he is. How can you say
00:09:32that? He was so bright and he was so talented. Well, bright and talented. And he loved music.
00:09:37He was an atheist. I tried to be God into him, but it was too tough. He was trying to get away
00:09:44from us and be independent and make his own life and be a human being on his own. I mean,
00:09:49you're a very dominating person. What? You are. And he was trying to find himself. All right.
00:09:55Look, I'll talk to you later about the whole thing. What do you mean later? Vowing that he
00:10:00will never serve his full term, Virgil plans an elaborate escape using a bar of soap and some
00:10:05shoe polish. God, God. Yeah? You gotta take me to the infirmary. What's the matter? Don't ask.
00:10:35Virgil's attempted escape is dealt with harshly.
00:11:05His sentence is extended an additional two years. 1956 is a happy-go-lucky year for most people.
00:11:12Virgil sees none of it from his tiny cell. He marks time by reading until one day a new
00:11:38opportunity arises. We need volunteers for an experiment. The doctors want someone to be
00:11:46inoculated with a new vaccine. It's never been tried on humans before, so we don't know what
00:11:53the side effects may be. To be honest, you'll be taking a chance. As reward, there's a parole. I'm
00:12:05sure there are some among you brave enough to take the risk. With parole as inducement, Virgil
00:12:11submits to the vaccine test. It is a success, except for one temporary side effect. For several
00:12:18hours, he is turned into a rabbi. And so the reason we celebrate the Passover holidays by
00:12:26eating matzo is to commemorate the time that Moses led the children of Israel from Egypt.
00:12:36Oh, so many good qualities. I mean, yeah, name, name, name. He had all sorts of mechanical
00:12:56abilities. He was artistic. He, do you remember the painting he did for you on your birthday?
00:13:02That's what it was. I used to hit him and try to teach him about God, but would he listen? No.
00:13:07Virgil leaves prison apprehensive, but with some hope that he can begin a new life. Instead,
00:13:14he finds a world difficult to cope with. Ashamed to go home, he rents a cheap room in a strange city.
00:14:01No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
00:14:31No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
00:14:48Desperate and broke, Virgil tries to support himself with small crimes. Here he attempts to rob a local pet shop.
00:15:01I don't know.
00:15:02I don't know.
00:15:03I don't know.
00:15:04I don't know.
00:15:05I don't know.
00:15:06I don't know.
00:15:07I don't know.
00:15:08I don't know.
00:15:09I don't know.
00:15:10I don't know.
00:15:11I don't know.
00:15:12I don't know.
00:15:13I don't know.
00:15:14I don't know.
00:15:15I don't know.
00:15:16I don't know.
00:15:17I don't know.
00:15:18I don't know.
00:15:19I don't know.
00:15:20I don't know.
00:15:21I don't know.
00:15:22I don't know.
00:15:23I don't know.
00:15:24I don't know.
00:15:25I don't know.
00:15:26I don't know.
00:15:27I don't know.
00:15:28I don't know.
00:15:29I don't know.
00:15:30I don't know.
00:15:31I don't know.
00:15:32I don't know.
00:15:33I don't know.
00:15:34I don't know.
00:15:35I don't know.
00:15:36I don't know.
00:15:37I don't know.
00:15:38I don't know.
00:15:39I don't know.
00:15:40I don't know.
00:15:41I don't know.
00:15:42I don't know.
00:15:43I don't know.
00:15:44I don't know.
00:15:45I don't know.
00:15:46I don't know.
00:15:47I don't know.
00:15:48I don't know.
00:15:49I don't know.
00:15:50I don't know.
00:15:51I don't know.
00:15:52I don't know.
00:15:53I don't know.
00:15:54I don't know.
00:15:55I don't know.
00:15:56I don't know.
00:15:57I don't know.
00:15:58I don't know.
00:15:59I don't know.
00:16:00I don't know.
00:16:01I don't know.
00:16:02I don't know.
00:16:03I don't know.
00:16:04I don't know.
00:16:05I don't know.
00:16:06I don't know.
00:16:07I don't know.
00:16:08I don't know.
00:16:09I don't know.
00:16:10I don't know.
00:16:11I don't know.
00:16:12I don't know.
00:16:13I don't know.
00:16:14I don't know.
00:16:15I don't know.
00:16:16I don't know.
00:16:17I don't know.
00:16:18I don't know.
00:16:19I don't know.
00:16:20I don't know.
00:16:21I don't know.
00:16:22I don't know.
00:16:23I don't know.
00:16:24I don't know.
00:16:25I don't know.
00:16:26I don't know.
00:16:27I don't know.
00:16:28I don't know.
00:16:29I don't know.
00:16:30I don't know.
00:16:31I don't know.
00:16:32I don't know.
00:16:33I don't know.
00:16:34I don't know.
00:16:35I don't know.
00:16:36I don't know.
00:16:37I don't know.
00:16:38I don't know.
00:16:39I don't know.
00:16:40I don't know.
00:16:41I don't know.
00:16:42I don't know.
00:16:43I don't know.
00:16:44I don't know.
00:16:45I don't know.
00:16:46I don't know.
00:16:47I don't know.
00:16:48I don't know.
00:16:49I don't know.
00:16:50I don't know.
00:16:51I don't know.
00:16:52I don't know.
00:16:53I don't know.
00:16:54I don't know.
00:16:55I don't know.
00:16:56I don't know.
00:16:57I don't know.
00:16:58I don't know.
00:16:59I don't know.
00:17:00I don't know.
00:17:01I don't know.
00:17:02I don't know.
00:17:03I don't know.
00:17:04I don't know.
00:17:05I don't know.
00:17:06I don't know.
00:17:07I don't know.
00:17:08I don't know.
00:17:09I don't know.
00:17:10I don't know.
00:17:11I don't know.
00:17:12I don't know.
00:17:13I don't know.
00:17:14I don't know.
00:17:15I don't know.
00:17:16I don't know.
00:17:17I don't know.
00:17:18I don't know.
00:17:19I don't know.
00:17:20I don't know.
00:17:21I don't know.
00:17:22I don't know.
00:17:23I don't know.
00:17:24I don't know.
00:17:25I don't know.
00:17:26I don't know.
00:17:27I don't know.
00:17:28I don't know.
00:17:29I don't know.
00:17:30I don't know.
00:17:31I don't know.
00:17:32I don't know.
00:17:33I don't know.
00:17:34I don't know.
00:17:35I don't know.
00:17:36I don't know.
00:17:37I don't know.
00:17:38I don't know.
00:17:39I don't know.
00:17:40I don't know.
00:17:41I don't know.
00:17:42I don't know.
00:17:43I don't know.
00:17:44I don't know.
00:17:45I don't know.
00:17:46I don't know.
00:17:47I don't know.
00:17:48I don't know.
00:17:49I don't know.
00:17:50I don't know.
00:17:51I don't know.
00:17:52I don't know.
00:17:53I don't know.
00:17:54I don't know.
00:17:55I don't know.
00:17:56I don't know.
00:17:57I don't know.
00:17:58I don't know.
00:17:59I don't know.
00:18:00I don't know.
00:18:01I don't know.
00:18:02I don't know.
00:18:03I don't know.
00:18:04I don't know.
00:18:05I don't know.
00:18:06I don't know.
00:18:07I don't know.
00:18:08I don't know.
00:18:09I don't know.
00:18:10I don't know.
00:18:11I don't know.
00:18:12I don't know.
00:18:13I don't know.
00:18:14I don't know.
00:18:15I don't know.
00:18:16I don't know.
00:18:17I don't know.
00:18:18I don't know.
00:18:19I don't know.
00:18:20I don't know.
00:18:21I don't know.
00:18:22I don't know.
00:18:23I don't know.
00:18:24I don't know.
00:18:25I don't know.
00:18:26I don't know.
00:18:27I don't know.
00:18:28I don't know.
00:18:29I don't know.
00:18:30I don't know.
00:18:31I don't know.
00:18:32I don't know.
00:18:33I don't know.
00:18:34I don't know.
00:18:35I don't know.
00:18:36I don't know.
00:18:37I don't know.
00:18:38I don't know.
00:18:39I don't know.
00:18:40I don't know.
00:18:41I don't know.
00:18:42I don't know.
00:18:43I don't know.
00:18:44I don't know.
00:18:45I don't know.
00:18:46I don't know.
00:18:47I don't know.
00:18:48I don't know.
00:18:49I don't know.
00:18:50I don't know.
00:18:51I don't know.
00:18:52I don't know.
00:18:53I don't know.
00:18:54I don't know.
00:18:55I don't know.
00:18:56I don't know.
00:18:57I don't know.
00:18:58I don't know.
00:18:59I don't know.
00:19:00I don't know.
00:19:01I don't know.
00:19:02I don't know.
00:19:03I don't know.
00:19:04I don't know.
00:19:05I don't know.
00:19:06I don't know.
00:19:07I don't know.
00:19:08I don't know.
00:19:09I don't know.
00:19:10I don't know.
00:19:11I don't know.
00:19:12I don't know.
00:19:13I don't know.
00:19:14I don't know.
00:19:15I don't know.
00:19:16I don't know.
00:19:17I don't know.
00:19:18I don't know.
00:19:19I don't know.
00:19:20I don't know.
00:19:21I don't know.
00:19:22I don't know.
00:19:23I don't know.
00:19:24I don't know.
00:19:25I don't know.
00:19:26I don't know.
00:19:27I don't know.
00:19:28I don't know.
00:19:29I don't know.
00:19:30I don't know.
00:19:31I don't know.
00:19:32I don't know.
00:19:33I don't know.
00:19:34I don't know.
00:19:35I don't know.
00:19:36I don't know.
00:19:37I don't know.
00:19:38I don't know.
00:19:39I don't know.
00:19:40I don't know.
00:19:41I don't know.
00:19:42I don't know.
00:19:43I don't know.
00:19:44I don't know.
00:19:45I don't know.
00:19:46I don't know.
00:19:47I don't know.
00:19:48I don't know.
00:19:49I don't know.
00:19:50I don't know.
00:19:51I don't know.
00:19:52I don't know.
00:19:53I don't know.
00:19:54I don't know.
00:19:55I don't know.
00:19:56I don't know.
00:19:57I don't know.
00:19:58I don't know.
00:19:59I don't know.
00:20:00I don't know.
00:20:01I don't know.
00:20:02I don't know.
00:20:03I don't know.
00:20:04I don't know.
00:20:05I don't know.
00:20:06I don't know.
00:20:07I don't know.
00:20:08I don't know.
00:20:09I don't know.
00:20:10I don't know.
00:20:11I don't know.
00:20:12I don't know.
00:20:13I don't know.
00:20:14I don't know.
00:20:15I don't know.
00:20:16I don't know.
00:20:17I don't know.
00:20:18I don't know.
00:20:19I don't know.
00:20:20I don't know.
00:20:21I don't know.
00:20:22I don't know.
00:20:23I don't know.
00:20:24I don't know.
00:20:25I don't know.
00:20:26I don't know.
00:20:27I don't know.
00:20:28I don't know.
00:20:29I don't know.
00:20:30I don't know.
00:20:31I don't know.
00:20:32I don't know.
00:20:33I don't know.
00:20:34I don't know.
00:20:35I don't know.
00:20:36I don't know.
00:20:37I don't know.
00:20:38I don't know.
00:20:39I don't know.
00:20:40I don't know.
00:20:41I don't know.
00:20:42I don't know.
00:20:43I don't know.
00:20:44I don't know.
00:20:45I don't know.
00:20:46I don't know.
00:20:47I don't know.
00:20:48I don't know.
00:20:49I don't know.
00:20:50I don't know.
00:20:51I don't know.
00:20:52I don't know.
00:20:53I don't know.
00:20:54I don't know.
00:20:55I don't know.
00:20:56I don't know.
00:20:57I don't know.
00:20:58I don't know.
00:20:59I don't know.
00:21:00I don't know.
00:21:01I don't know.
00:21:02I don't know.
00:21:03I don't know.
00:21:04I don't know.
00:21:05I don't know.
00:21:06I don't know.
00:21:07I don't know.
00:21:08I don't know.
00:21:09I don't know.
00:21:10I don't know.
00:21:11I don't know.
00:21:12I don't know.
00:21:13I don't know.
00:21:14I don't know.
00:21:15I don't know.
00:21:16I don't know.
00:21:17I don't know.
00:21:18I don't know.
00:21:19I don't know.
00:21:20I don't know.
00:21:21I don't know.
00:21:22I don't know.
00:21:23I don't know.
00:21:24I don't know.
00:21:25I don't know.
00:21:26I don't know.
00:21:27I don't know.
00:21:28I don't know.
00:21:29I don't know.
00:21:30I don't know.
00:21:31I don't know.
00:21:32I don't know.
00:21:33I don't know.
00:21:34I don't know.
00:21:35I don't know.
00:21:36I don't know.
00:21:37I don't know.
00:21:38I don't know.
00:21:39I don't know.
00:21:40I don't know.
00:21:41I don't know.
00:21:42I don't know.
00:21:43I don't know.
00:21:44I don't know.
00:21:45I don't know.
00:21:46I don't know.
00:21:47I don't know.
00:21:48I don't know.
00:21:49I don't know.
00:21:50I don't know.
00:21:51I don't know.
00:21:52I don't know.
00:21:53I don't know.
00:21:54I don't know.
00:21:55I don't know.
00:21:56I don't know.
00:21:57I don't know.
00:21:58I don't know.
00:21:59I don't know.
00:22:00I don't know.
00:22:01I don't know.
00:22:02I don't know.
00:22:03I don't know.
00:22:04I don't know.
00:22:05I don't know.
00:22:06I don't know.
00:22:07I don't know.
00:22:08I don't know.
00:22:09I don't know.
00:22:10I don't know.
00:22:11I don't know.
00:22:12I don't know.
00:22:13I don't know.
00:22:14I don't know.
00:22:15I don't know.
00:22:16I don't know.
00:22:17I don't know.
00:22:18I don't know.
00:22:19I don't know.
00:22:30After dinner, we went for a walk.
00:22:32I...
00:22:33I asked her for a lock of her hair, you know, and...
00:22:36We didn't have a scissor, so I tried pulling it out.
00:22:39And she was a good sport.
00:22:40I'll tell you, she was, you know, when she got excited, she stuttered.
00:22:41I...
00:22:44She was so cute that way.
00:22:46girl who studies, you know, they turn red,
00:22:48they're always gasping for breath,
00:22:50you know, it's really, it's sweet looking.
00:22:52And she, she was an expert on laundry, you know,
00:22:55she was fantastic, I offered to let her do my shorts,
00:22:59and she was very moved by that, I think.
00:23:01She just knew everything about underwear,
00:23:03I never saw anybody who knew so much about socks
00:23:04and t-shirts, she was some kind of, you know,
00:23:08genius that way.
00:23:09♪
00:23:21G-g-g-g-good night, V-V-Virgil.
00:23:25♪
00:23:31Continuing his deception, Virgil sees Louise more frequently.
00:23:35When she questions him about his cello playing,
00:23:37he avoids the subject.
00:23:40In order to better understand Louise,
00:23:42let us examine her background briefly.
00:23:45Adopted at age two from a cruel and impoverished orphanage
00:23:48by a career military man and his wife,
00:23:51she was subjected to an upbringing of extreme discipline,
00:23:54which left her shy and withdrawn.
00:23:57Never having a real home, she lived on army bases,
00:24:00while her father pursued a brilliant military career
00:24:03that after 30 years catapulted him to the rank of corporal.
00:24:07Her mother, an alcoholic, turns to religion for comfort
00:24:11and quickly becomes a fanatic.
00:24:13She responds to Louise's need for love by beating the child
00:24:16and claims to have conversations with God
00:24:19in which they discuss salvation and interior decorating.
00:24:24Destitute and in love,
00:24:25Virgil attempts to change his life with one bold stroke.
00:24:29And if you'll just take this to window number nine.
00:24:47What does this say?
00:24:57Can't you read that?
00:24:58I can't read this.
00:24:59What's this?
00:25:00Act natural?
00:25:02No, it says,
00:25:03please put $50,000 into this bag and act natural.
00:25:06It does say act natural.
00:25:09I am pointing a gun at you.
00:25:14That looks like gub.
00:25:15That doesn't look like gun.
00:25:16No, that's gun.
00:25:17No, that's gub.
00:25:18That's a B.
00:25:19No, see, that's an N.
00:25:20It's G-U-N.
00:25:21It's gun.
00:25:24George, would you step over here a moment, please?
00:25:27What does this say?
00:25:30Please put $50,000 into this bag and act natural.
00:25:35What's act?
00:25:36It's act.
00:25:37Act.
00:25:38Does this look like gub or gun?
00:25:42Gun.
00:25:43See?
00:25:44But what's act mean?
00:25:45It's act.
00:25:46A-C-T.
00:25:47Act natural.
00:25:48Please put $50,000 into this bag and act natural.
00:25:51Oh, I see.
00:25:52This is a hold-up.
00:25:53Yes.
00:25:54May I see your gun?
00:26:00Well, you'll have to have this note initialed
00:26:02by one of our vice presidents
00:26:04before I can give you any money.
00:26:06You see, I'm in a rush.
00:26:08What?
00:26:09I'm in a rush.
00:26:10I'm sorry, but that's our policy.
00:26:15The gentleman in the gray suit,
00:26:18The gentleman in the gray suit.
00:26:20That's G-U-N.
00:26:21Gun?
00:26:22Yes, I'm pointing a gun at you.
00:26:24Gun?
00:26:25That's G-U-N.
00:26:26That's a B. That's gub.
00:26:27No, excuse me, that's an N.
00:26:29Miss Frank.
00:26:30I am pointing a gun at you.
00:26:32Act natural.
00:26:33No, that's act.
00:26:34What is act?
00:26:35That's act.
00:26:36Oh, it couldn't be.
00:26:37That's a plain B.
00:26:38No, no, no, no.
00:26:39I'm afraid not.
00:26:40That's act natural and I'm pointing a gun at you.
00:26:42Mr. Miller.
00:26:43I am pointing a gub.
00:26:46No, that's gun.
00:26:47That's G-U-N.
00:26:48That's gun.
00:26:49I am pointing a gun at you.
00:26:50That's a G-U-B.
00:26:51No, no, it looks like a B, but it's an N.
00:26:52But this one isn't right either.
00:26:53It says A-B-T-C-D.
00:26:54Of course it is.
00:26:55I see.
00:26:56It's a gun.
00:26:57No, no, it isn't.
00:26:58That's the point.
00:26:59It's a gun.
00:27:00It is a gun.
00:27:01It has to be.
00:27:02We discussed this inside.
00:27:03Just a short while ago.
00:27:04Over there in the window.
00:27:05It's gun.
00:27:06If I could read, I would know.
00:27:11Hello, Louise.
00:27:12Uh, listen, I can't make our date today.
00:27:15I've got to go up to Boston to give a concert.
00:27:18Well, look, why don't I give you a call in about, um, about 10 years?
00:27:30Virgil Starkwell is apprehended in the act of bank robbery.
00:27:34He is given 10 years in the state's strictest maximum security prison.
00:27:38It is here that he mingles with hardened criminals for the first time.
00:27:46The prison has not been built that can hold me, Virgil tells another inmate,
00:27:51and I'll get out of this one if it means spending my entire life here.
00:28:07After all, what a child the boy is.
00:28:11After all, what a child the boy is.
00:28:13According to what his environment is, what his background is.
00:28:16Let's face it.
00:28:17It was our fault.
00:28:18Would you let a man say a word or two?
00:28:20I knew there was a day when I said, this kid is rotten.
00:28:24You know the expression, a rotten kid?
00:28:26That's what this kid is.
00:28:27Whose genes did he have?
00:28:29What genes?
00:28:30And chromosomes.
00:28:31What genes?
00:28:32What, what, what?
00:28:33Don't talk fancy in front of the man, because, you know,
00:28:35you make an impression and, you know,
00:28:37The time passes slowly for Virgil,
00:28:39who works hard and tries to adjust to prison life.
00:28:42He becomes a model prisoner and is put to work in the laundry.
00:28:46He becomes a model prisoner and is put to work in the laundry.
00:29:46© BF-WATCH TV 2021
00:30:16Visitor, Starkwell.
00:30:18For me?
00:30:36I'm not with the Philharmonic.
00:30:39I know.
00:30:42I'm sorry.
00:30:43It's okay, Virgil.
00:30:46You don't mind that I came to see you, do you?
00:30:47No, I'm happy to see you.
00:30:50How did you find out I was here?
00:30:52I called up your landlady.
00:30:54She told me where you were.
00:30:56She said that...
00:30:59Virgil, did you rob a bank?
00:31:02I did not rob a bank.
00:31:03If I had robbed a bank, everything would be great.
00:31:06Well, what did you do?
00:31:07I tried to rob a bank, is what happened.
00:31:09And they got me.
00:31:11I misspelled the note.
00:31:14Virgil.
00:31:16Can you bake?
00:31:19Yes.
00:31:21I need a...
00:31:23Cake.
00:31:25A big cake.
00:31:26Like a chocolate cake.
00:31:27Virgil, you don't...
00:31:28You're allergic to chocolate.
00:31:29I need a cake with a gun in it.
00:31:31I'll bake you a cake, I'll put the gun in.
00:31:34I'd like a dozen chocolate chip cookies with a bullet in each.
00:31:39How long are you going to be here?
00:31:41Oh, well...
00:31:44I estimate in the neighborhood of...
00:31:48What's today? Monday?
00:31:50Tuesday, Wednesday, next year.
00:31:53Ten years.
00:31:55Virgil.
00:31:58Is it possible you could wait for me?
00:32:01Yes, if you want me to.
00:32:05With Louise to inspire him,
00:32:07Virgil works hard and becomes more optimistic.
00:32:10She comes frequently for the next few months.
00:32:16He complains about the food,
00:32:18and she brings him home-cooked meals.
00:32:28Louise's impact on Virgil is discussed here by Dr. Julius Epstein,
00:32:32a one-time prison psychiatrist who recalls Virgil.
00:32:36Louise meant a great deal to Virgil,
00:32:38from a psychiatric point of view.
00:32:40His love for her was the healthiest thing in his life.
00:32:43It was genuine and clean,
00:32:46not like some patients I know.
00:32:50She ain't gonna wait, Virgil.
00:32:52They think they can, but they never do.
00:32:55You know, I've become eligible for parole in a year and a half.
00:32:58Yeah, well, that's nice.
00:33:00With any luck, maybe two or three years, you'll get out of here.
00:33:03Could be a lot shorter.
00:33:06What do you mean?
00:33:08We got this proposition we want to talk over with you.
00:33:11What kind of proposition?
00:33:13Next week, five of us are gonna make it out of here.
00:33:16We need an extra man.
00:33:18It's all set. By next week, we could be miles away from this zoo.
00:33:22You gotta be kidding. We'd never get out of here. They'd kill us.
00:33:26We got out of rougher places than this.
00:33:28Why don't you just think about it, huh?
00:33:31Ain't no broad gonna wait around for years for you.
00:33:34No matter what she tells you in that visiting hall.
00:33:39Well, I think the conflict in this personality disorder
00:33:43started from his formative years.
00:33:45I think that gave evidence in his choice of the cello.
00:33:49For instance, studying the cello at the age of six,
00:33:52which is just coming out of the formative years,
00:33:54but the conflict is there within the choice
00:33:56because it's generally assumed that the cello is a phallic symbol.
00:34:00The grasp, but the lower structural forms
00:34:04are certainly feminine, if anything, motherly.
00:34:08In fact, the utilization of the bow, I would imagine,
00:34:12is the sublimation of stroking a torso.
00:34:16So between the grasping of the phallic
00:34:19and the stroking of the torso would create, I would imagine,
00:34:23great conflict, even at the age of six.
00:34:30Virgil Stockwell becomes part of an escape plot
00:34:34as every move becomes tense and strained.
00:35:00He's a good guy.
00:35:16Take the guards on our floor with us.
00:35:18They'll be ready in case there's some trouble.
00:35:20I still don't understand how we're gonna get past the main tower.
00:35:23We're gonna be dressed as guards.
00:35:25That's why Friday at noon, because you work in the laundry,
00:35:28you wear the guards' underwear.
00:35:30What?
00:35:31Yes, we've already got some uniforms stashed in the darkroom.
00:35:34I don't understand. If you've got the guards' uniforms,
00:35:36what do you need their underwear?
00:35:38We want to do this as realistically as possible.
00:35:40I'm known for my detail work.
00:35:59Sir, we can't find our underwear.
00:36:01I think something's up.
00:36:03Hmm. We'd better keep our eyes open.
00:36:08What's going on?
00:36:10I don't know.
00:36:12I don't know.
00:36:14I don't know.
00:36:16I don't know.
00:36:18I don't know.
00:36:20I don't know.
00:36:22I don't know.
00:36:24I don't know.
00:36:27The warden knows something's up.
00:36:29Let him haul off the grate.
00:36:31What?
00:36:32I said the warden knows something's up.
00:36:34Let him haul off the grate.
00:36:36I don't know.
00:36:38He's too risky for catching a chance.
00:36:42Tell the rest of these guys.
00:36:48Great talk. The warden knows something's up, huh?
00:36:51Try it again next week.
00:36:57The warden wants to see you.
00:36:59Come on.
00:37:05Michael Sullivan, an ex-convict
00:37:07and one of the leaders of the break,
00:37:09describes that fateful day.
00:37:11I told all the other guys that the break was off,
00:37:14but I forgot to tell Virgil.
00:37:16I don't know why I forgot.
00:37:19Nobody ever told him.
00:37:27All ready.
00:37:29What? Huh?
00:37:56What?
00:38:27There's a break in the north cell block.
00:38:29Notify the warden immediately.
00:38:44Hey, where is everybody?
00:38:46We called the break off.
00:38:48You called the break off?
00:38:50Yeah.
00:38:52Why didn't somebody tell me?
00:38:54Did you hear that? Virgil's not there.
00:38:56Fire in the cell!
00:39:01Could somebody possibly sneak downstairs
00:39:03and let me back in?
00:39:25All right, warden, I got your daughter.
00:39:28Wait! Hold your fire, men!
00:39:31Let me go or she gets it!
00:39:33What is she doing down there?
00:39:36She was kissing Kowalski!
00:39:39Is Kowalski a midget?
00:39:41No!
00:39:43He's not a midget.
00:39:45What did he say?
00:39:47He's not a midget.
00:39:55Fire!
00:40:07Taxi, please.
00:40:09First one in line's next.
00:40:24Taxi!
00:40:55On July 11th, Virgil and Louise marry.
00:40:58It is a simple ceremony
00:41:00following what he later described
00:41:02as a deeply moving blood test.
00:41:04This was the happiest moment of my life.
00:41:06I just wish my parents could have been there.
00:41:08We weren't aware...
00:41:10Am I right? Am I right?
00:41:12Say, be honest.
00:41:14He turned out to be punk.
00:41:16Punk, punk, punk.
00:41:18They take up residence in another state
00:41:20and, living on Louise's small savings,
00:41:22move into a cheaply furnished flat.
00:41:24They are poor, but for the moment at least,
00:41:26safe from the law.
00:41:28When these innocent pictures were taken,
00:41:30they were both unaware
00:41:32of the incredible series of events that were to come.
00:42:22© BF-WATCH TV 2021
00:42:52© BF-WATCH TV 2021
00:43:23I got that little hard ball came out.
00:43:25Why does that always happen every time we make love?
00:43:28Oh, Jesus.
00:43:31As a wanted criminal,
00:43:33Virgil finds it harder than ever to find employment.
00:43:35He secures a little work
00:43:37selling encyclopedias door to door,
00:43:39but the job proves too much for him.
00:43:42He is forced to take to the streets,
00:43:44and for a while he earns a meager living
00:43:46selling meagers.
00:43:49We're going to have a baby.
00:43:53Get out of here.
00:43:55No. No, we're going to have a baby.
00:43:57I went to the doctor. We're going to have a baby.
00:43:59That's my present for Christmas.
00:44:04Well, all I needed was a tie.
00:44:08Aren't you happy?
00:44:10I don't believe it.
00:44:12No, Virgil, really.
00:44:14Well, how did it happen?
00:44:16What do you mean, how did it happen?
00:44:18Well, I'm...
00:44:20You mean, because...
00:44:24At night, the two of us...
00:44:26Mm-hmm.
00:44:28And that's what happened?
00:44:30Mm-hmm.
00:44:32In the spring, Virgil and Louise are blessed with a son.
00:44:35They name the boy Jonathan Ralph Starkwell,
00:44:38after Virgil's mother.
00:44:47Virgil and Louise move to a new state
00:44:49and try to start over.
00:44:51Virgil has the usual trouble finding work.
00:44:53Finally, he hears of an opening in an insurance office
00:44:56and is back against the wall.
00:44:58He attempts to lie his way into the job.
00:45:05Please sit down.
00:45:07I'm sorry.
00:45:09It's all right.
00:45:11It's all right.
00:45:14Please sit down.
00:45:21Name, please.
00:45:24John Q. Public.
00:45:26It's P-U-B-L-I-C.
00:45:30Mr. Public, have you had any experience
00:45:33working in an office before?
00:45:35Yes, I have.
00:45:37What kind of office was it?
00:45:40Rectangular.
00:45:43Have you ever had any experience
00:45:45in running a high-speed digital electronic computer?
00:45:50Yes, I have.
00:45:53Where?
00:45:56My aunt has one.
00:45:58And what does your aunt do?
00:46:01I can't recall.
00:46:03You said before you worked in an office.
00:46:06Did you deal in products or services?
00:46:08Products.
00:46:10Is this something found in the home?
00:46:13No, it's not.
00:46:15It's one down and nine to go.
00:46:17Is this product edible?
00:46:19No, I'm afraid it wasn't.
00:46:21I think our time has run out,
00:46:23and I'm sorry to say you haven't guessed my occupation,
00:46:26so I'm going to flip all the cards
00:46:28and tell you exactly what I used to do.
00:46:30I used to manufacture escalator shoes
00:46:32for people who were nauseous in elevator shoes.
00:46:35I'm sorry you didn't actually get my occupation,
00:46:38but you did win $10,
00:46:40and I want to thank you very much.
00:46:42Better luck next time.
00:46:44You're a good sport.
00:46:46Hiding his past from his fellow employees,
00:46:48Virgil does well at his first decent job,
00:46:51the mailroom.
00:46:53His past catches up with him, however,
00:46:55as a fellow employee learns of his criminal record.
00:46:58What are you doing for dinner, Mr. Publick?
00:47:00Oh, Miss Blair, I'm having dinner with my wife. Why?
00:47:03We're having dinner, Mr. Publick.
00:47:05Oh, no, I said I was having dinner with my wife.
00:47:08I found this picture in a magazine.
00:47:11One word from me, and you're back in prison.
00:47:14Okay?
00:47:16What do you feel like eating?
00:47:18Virgil Starkwell becomes the victim of a blackmail plot.
00:47:21Miss Blair, confident of her power to expose him,
00:47:24begins making small demands for money.
00:47:26These increase as time goes on.
00:47:29Everything that he holds dear to him is in jeopardy.
00:47:32His life and family hang on the whim of an unstable woman.
00:47:35He is driven to desperation,
00:47:37and with the responsibility of a wife and child to protect,
00:47:41Virgil Starkwell contemplates murder.
00:47:44What would you like to drink?
00:47:46Oh, what do you have?
00:47:48Oh, how about some sherry?
00:47:50I have some very fine sherry.
00:47:58What's the matter?
00:48:01Did you hurt your hand?
00:48:03Clumsy.
00:48:05I'll be right here.
00:48:10Disguising two sticks of dynamite as candles,
00:48:13he sends Miss Blair an anonymous gift.
00:48:19The plot fails, however,
00:48:21as he makes the dynamite too thick to fit into the candlesticks.
00:48:25Determined to rid himself of the blackmailer,
00:48:28he rents a car and attempts to run her over.
00:48:32Aah!
00:48:34Aah!
00:48:36Aah!
00:48:38Aah!
00:48:40Aah!
00:48:42Aah!
00:48:44Aah!
00:48:46Aah!
00:48:54You know, I think somebody's trying to kill me.
00:48:57Oh, don't be silly.
00:48:59When I came home from work last night,
00:49:01there was a car in my living room.
00:49:03It tried to run me over.
00:49:05A car? It must be your imagination.
00:49:07Who'd try and kill you?
00:49:09I don't know. I have no enemies.
00:49:11You didn't tell anybody, did you?
00:49:13No. You can do the carving.
00:49:26Virgil!
00:49:29Cut your waist.
00:49:31I mean, you eat like an animal.
00:49:33It's delicious, really.
00:49:35Get the salad dressing. We'll make a toast.
00:49:38Then you start on that turkey liver.
00:49:58What are you doing in there?
00:50:00I'm just creating the proper atmosphere, dear.
00:50:03I'm a sucker for atmosphere.
00:50:05Why don't you carve the turkey?
00:50:07Yes, of course, my darling.
00:50:09Someone sent these as a gift,
00:50:11but they were too big to use,
00:50:13so I shaved off the bottom.
00:50:19With law enforcement agencies on his trail,
00:50:22Virgil takes his family into the woods.
00:50:26This was really a desperate time in my life.
00:50:29We had no money.
00:50:31I tried mugging old ladies,
00:50:33but I got hit in the groin with a crutch.
00:50:36I tried counterfeiting for a while.
00:50:38I just got the plates all fouled up and everything.
00:50:41Lincoln came out smoking a cigarette.
00:50:43I robbed a butcher shop.
00:50:45I got a job as a carpenter.
00:50:47I got a job as a carpenter.
00:50:49I got a job as a carpenter.
00:50:51I got a job as a carpenter.
00:50:53I robbed a butcher shop.
00:50:55I got away with 116 veal cutlets.
00:50:58Then I had to go out and rob a tremendous amount of breading.
00:51:13Their money gone, and with food scarce,
00:51:16the Starkwells live like hunted animals.
00:51:23¶¶
00:51:52You weren't very happy then.
00:51:54Oh, no, this was the low point of my existence.
00:51:57I was thinking of getting out of crime altogether,
00:52:00maybe becoming a singer or something.
00:52:02Must have been a very tough decision for you to make.
00:52:05Uh, yeah, it was really tough,
00:52:07but my family was starving,
00:52:09and I had already filed for bankruptcy, you know.
00:52:12I see. Well, what prompted you to go on?
00:52:15I came up with an idea for a robbery
00:52:18that was so fantastic and so brilliant
00:52:20that it was made a real work of art by all the guys in my cellblock.
00:52:24They must have looked up to you.
00:52:26Well, you know, those guys are mugs.
00:52:31I, uh, I'm gonna rob a bank.
00:52:34Oh, no, Virgil, not again.
00:52:36Yes, I think so.
00:52:38I think that's our only way out of this mess is for me to...
00:52:41There's a little dinky bank in Ross County,
00:52:43and I think if I could get 2 or 3 good men,
00:52:46I could get in there and get it,
00:52:48and then I could go to Mexico or up to Canada or, uh...
00:52:51But, Virgil, what if you got killed?
00:52:53No, don't worry. Nothing to worry about. I know how to use a gub.
00:52:56No, it's gun, Virgil.
00:52:58Oh, gun. I'm sorry. Did I say gub again?
00:53:00Yes.
00:53:11Don't turn around.
00:53:13I want to speak to you about a business proposition.
00:53:19It's a bank job.
00:53:22A couple of guys and myself are gonna get together.
00:53:25About four weeks from now,
00:53:27a quarter of a million dollars.
00:53:29We walk in and take it like that.
00:53:31It's an easy job.
00:53:33I think we just pull up, take it.
00:53:40Oh, uh...
00:53:42How long...
00:53:44What? Because I said the part about the bank.
00:53:47The part about the bank.
00:53:49You...
00:53:51You're looking...
00:53:53You guys are dressing alike again.
00:53:55I, uh...
00:53:57See, I just...
00:53:59I just broke it myself.
00:54:02All the boys in the neighborhood went wrong.
00:54:04It wasn't his fault. We just didn't have time for him.
00:54:06We were working so hard.
00:54:08Would you like to see my stamp collection?
00:54:10I have a collection of stamps.
00:54:12First, he selects an appropriate bank.
00:54:16Next, he cases the bank by cleverly concealing a camera in an unsuspected place.
00:54:29That night, a meeting takes place.
00:54:31Among the ones chosen are some of the most sinister names in the underworld.
00:54:35William Hummers, wanted by the police for bank robbery,
00:54:39assault with a deadly weapon,
00:54:41murder, and getting naked in front of his in-laws.
00:54:46Frankie Wolfe, wanted by federal authorities for dancing with a mailman.
00:54:53A.D. Armstrong, wanted all over the country for arson,
00:54:56robbery, assault with intent to kill,
00:54:59and marrying a horse.
00:55:07All right, boys.
00:55:09We're here to talk about the Union Fidelity Bank.
00:55:13June 16th.
00:55:1510 a.m.
00:55:17What you're about to see are films of the Union Fidelity Bank.
00:55:20We're gonna see them just once.
00:55:22Then, to destroy the evidence, we're gonna eat the film.
00:55:25It'll be buffet-style.
00:55:27You can just help yourself, take plates.
00:55:29There's potato salad over there, and my wife made coffee.
00:55:31These films could save your lives.
00:55:43Ah, there's always a boring short.
00:55:47He'd have the gang over for meetings,
00:55:51and I'd put out little trays of pretzels and bullets.
00:55:57I had to. He's my husband.
00:55:59We got this film camera.
00:56:01We got lights. We got a truck.
00:56:03And the idea is, we pull up in front of the bank,
00:56:06and we look like we're making a movie.
00:56:08We play the actors.
00:56:10All we need is somebody to be the director.
00:56:14Virge, I got the perfect guy.
00:56:17An ex-con I did some time with by the name of, um...
00:56:21Fritz.
00:56:23I will be the director.
00:56:26I once was a film director, many years ago,
00:56:29before movies had sound.
00:56:31I worked with John Gilbert, Rudolf Valentino, Ruth and Garrick.
00:56:34Ruth and Garrick were baseball players.
00:56:36I was also bad boy for the Yankees.
00:56:42The fools in Hollywood didn't recognize genius.
00:56:48But now, I shall wear the uniform of a director once again,
00:56:53and you will be my actor.
00:56:56You, you will enter the bank and say,
00:56:59up with your hands, this is a stick-up,
00:57:01thereby announcing our theme,
00:57:03Men's Greed.
00:57:05Now say it, and let me hear the line.
00:57:07Up with your hands, this is a stick-up.
00:57:09No, no, more feeling.
00:57:11Again now.
00:57:12Fritz, Fritz, this is a bank robbery, not a movie.
00:57:16Oh, yes, of course.
00:57:18Oh, forgive me.
00:57:20I will be fine when the time comes.
00:57:23Thank you all.
00:57:24Everybody, take five.
00:57:36Oh, don't tell me you're going to use the shower now.
00:57:40Virgil, why do you do this to me every morning?
00:57:42I just got in here.
00:57:43Well, I'm going to be late for the robbery.
00:57:45So you'll be five minutes late.
00:57:47They can start without you.
00:57:48They can't start without me.
00:57:49I'm the leader.
00:57:50I made you some coffee.
00:57:52Oh, Jesus.
00:57:54Every, every day I have trouble getting in the bathroom
00:57:57for crying out loud.
00:58:00Honey, what shirt do you want to wear?
00:58:02What'd you say?
00:58:03I said, what shirt do you want to wear?
00:58:06I'm going to wear my light blue.
00:58:08No, you're not.
00:58:10It was dirty.
00:58:11I washed it last night.
00:58:12Why did you wash it?
00:58:13I was going to wear it today.
00:58:14I washed it because it was dirty.
00:58:16Well, so what?
00:58:17I'm just going to rob a bank.
00:58:18I happen to have ironed your base shirt.
00:58:19Do you want to wear that?
00:58:20No, I can't wear a base shirt to a bank robbery.
00:58:22Why not?
00:58:23Because it's light.
00:58:24I'll be in trouble.
00:58:25I'll be in trouble.
00:58:26I'll be in trouble.
00:58:27Do you want to wear a base shirt to a bank robbery?
00:58:29Why not?
00:58:30Because it's light.
00:58:31I'll be an easy target.
00:58:32I think it's a perfectly good shirt to wear.
00:58:33No, it isn't a good shirt.
00:58:34It's beige.
00:58:35Well, who wears beige to a bank robbery?
00:58:37What are the other guys wearing?
00:58:38I don't know, for crying out loud.
00:58:40Well, why don't you call them up and ask them?
00:58:42Oh, nobody's going to be wearing beige to a bank robbery.
00:58:45It's in poor taste.
00:58:47June 16th, 9 AM.
00:58:49The days of planning are over.
00:58:51Virgil and his accomplices depart from his hideout
00:58:54and proceed toward their destination.
00:59:16Everybody, get your hands up!
00:59:35This is a stick-up!
00:59:45Hey, what are you doing here?
00:59:47We're holding up the bank.
00:59:48We're holding up the bank.
00:59:49Oh, no, I'm sorry, we're holding up the bank.
00:59:51We're holding up the bank!
00:59:52Oh, no, no, we were here first.
00:59:54Look, could you come back tomorrow?
00:59:55We'll be finished by then.
00:59:57We've been planning this for months.
00:59:58We're not going to have it ruined by a jackass.
01:00:01All right, we'll take a vote.
01:00:02How many people here would like to be held up by this group?
01:00:09All right, now, how many people would like to be held up by our group?
01:00:16Now, beat it.
01:00:20You call this a bank robbery?
01:00:23I yelled action five minutes ago!
01:00:28Is that the way to pick up money?
01:00:31Now, you hold this stuff.
01:00:33What's going on here?
01:00:34There's a million cops outside.
01:00:36Let's get out of here.
01:00:38Let's get out of here.
01:00:53Each member of the gang gets five years for his part in the crime.
01:00:57Virgil gets ten.
01:00:59He is taken not to prison this time, but to a road gang,
01:01:03where his criminal behavior will cost him dearly.
01:01:07You men come here because you committed crimes
01:01:11rendering you unfit to live in decent society.
01:01:14That's too bad.
01:01:16I think you're going to find you made a mistake you're going to regret.
01:01:21Now, our job, man and the boys,
01:01:23is to see that you get some civilization in you
01:01:25so that when you leave here,
01:01:27you're going to think twice about performing antisocial acts.
01:01:33And my advice to you is to obey the rules and do your job.
01:01:38You got any complaints, you come to me.
01:01:40There ain't nobody on the outside going to help you.
01:01:43Now, we don't like complainers, and we don't like troublemakers.
01:01:48If things get a little too rough for you in here,
01:01:52you're just free to take off for Florida.
01:01:56Show them which direction Florida is, boys.
01:02:06Any questions?
01:02:08Do you think a girl should pet on the first date?
01:02:11What?
01:02:13I mean, if both parties involved are mature and liberal.
01:02:17Gonna see Miss Liza
01:02:20Gonna go to Mississippi
01:02:25Gonna see Miss Liza
01:02:29Gonna go to Mississippi
01:02:33Gonna see Miss Liza
01:02:36Gonna go to Mississippi
01:02:40Gonna see Miss Liza
01:02:42Gonna see Miss Liza
01:02:44Gonna go to Mississippi
01:02:46Gonna go to Mississippi
01:02:48Gonna see Miss Liza
01:02:50Gonna go to Mississippi
01:02:52Gonna see Miss Liza
01:02:54Gonna go to Mississippi
01:02:56Gonna see Miss Liza
01:03:01Gonna see Miss Liza
01:03:06Gonna go to Mississippi
01:03:11Gonna see Miss Liza
01:03:15Gonna go to Mississippi
01:03:22Gonna see Miss Liza
01:03:41Hey.
01:03:43You think you got a good enough aim
01:03:46With that hammer to knock these bracelets off me?
01:03:49Look, man. I don't want no trouble.
01:03:51Nothing's gonna happen. You think you can do it?
01:03:54You never missed yet?
01:03:56All right, go ahead.
01:04:07Sorry, man. First time?
01:04:15Food on a chain gang is scarce and not very nourishing.
01:04:18The men get one hot meal a day, a bowl of steam.
01:04:28All right, boys. Who didn't give me a good day's work?
01:04:40Come with us, Wilson.
01:04:49What's the matter, Stockwell? Can't you take it?
01:04:52Come on. I want you to see this so you'll know what you got to look forward to.
01:05:19Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?
01:05:21What do you mean?
01:05:23Don't beat the shot of your damn fool. Beat him.
01:05:26Oh, him.
01:05:28Jesus.
01:05:29The time drags by in an endless grind of back-breaking labor.
01:05:35Brutal discipline is common under the hot sun.
01:05:38The men are not even permitted to faint without written permission.
01:05:41Virgil complains, and he is severely tortured.
01:05:45For several days, he is locked in a sweatbox with an insurance salesman.
01:05:49Hi, I'm Joe Green. I represent Ajax Widges Insurance Company.
01:05:53I'd like to talk to you about your insurance. You're about 30, right?
01:05:56You know, I think the best thing to do would be get straight in life, plus a little term.
01:06:00And how about dental and medical? We've got this major medical. It's a good deal.
01:06:07At the end of each workday, the men are chained to each other by the ankle in groups of six,
01:06:12making movement slow and painful, and escape impossible.
01:06:24Then one day, the impossible is attempted.
01:06:34See that field? If we make it across that field, we'd be out of here.
01:06:38We'd take them by surprise if we all suddenly made a break for it.
01:06:42You're crazy.
01:06:44That's right. I'm a paranoid schizophrenic, but I say we try it.
01:06:48Ain't that right, boys?
01:06:50Try it.
01:07:09I'm not with them. I want to stay.
01:07:12All right! Everybody split up!
01:07:15Now!
01:08:08Now!
01:08:38Now!
01:09:03My car broke down. Can I use your phone?
01:09:05Of course. Come in.
01:09:08Come on.
01:09:27Okay, now. We're gonna get out of here.
01:09:29I know a guy in town who's got enough tools to get us out of these chains.
01:09:33All right. Now, you act natural and answer it, or you're finished.
01:09:38Who is it?
01:09:40Patrolman Lynch. Can I come in?
01:09:42Well, not now.
01:09:44It's an emergency. I'm afraid I'll have to.
01:09:46You better untie her. Tell him that we're your cousins. Tell him we're visiting you from out of town.
01:09:56All right. One false move, and you're finished.
01:10:03What is it?
01:10:05I hear there's been some trouble up at the prison.
01:10:07I'm checking the area for anything suspicious.
01:10:10These are my cousins. They're visiting me for the holiday.
01:10:14What holiday?
01:10:16Did you ever hear of St. Abernathy's Day?
01:10:19No.
01:10:21That's what we're here for.
01:10:23Come here, you. Come here.
01:10:27Do you think your cousin is safe living here all alone?
01:10:31Look how close we are to the prison.
01:10:33Look out here. It's just a few miles down the road.
01:10:37Come here.
01:10:42I don't know.
01:10:44You sure can't be sure when you live so close to a prison.
01:10:48Hey, wait a minute. Did I see something move out there?
01:10:51You couldn't have.
01:10:53Did I see something move out there?
01:10:55You couldn't have.
01:10:56I'm sure I saw something move. Quick, everybody take one window and check it.
01:11:00If there's somebody out there, we're gonna have a chance to see him.
01:11:09Guess it must have been my imagination.
01:11:14Now?
01:11:17Excuse us.
01:11:24They're escaped convicts.
01:11:26Really?
01:11:27They'd broken in.
01:11:29Didn't you notice how they all moved together closely?
01:11:32They're chained together at the ankles.
01:11:35I thought they were just a close family.
01:11:38Okay, boys. The game's up.
01:11:44The old lady must have told.
01:11:47I don't know.
01:11:50The old lady must have told.
01:11:52You're going back to that prison.
01:11:54And this time, you're gonna stay there.
01:12:00Where are we gonna go? We need tools.
01:12:02Let's get my wife. She'll help us out of this.
01:12:12Oh, Virgil, if you'd only listened to me and gone straight.
01:12:16Honey, we needed the money, and I robbed a bank.
01:12:19Virgil, when are you going to stop doing that?
01:12:22Don't you realize you're a father? You have responsibilities.
01:12:25If she's my wife, I'd build her one.
01:12:27Would you mind keeping out of this, please?
01:12:29I don't want to discuss it unless we're alone.
01:12:32Well, I want to discuss it now. You don't want to discuss it alone?
01:12:35Okay. I'm going to the next room, and I want to talk about it right now.
01:12:39I can't come in alone. I'm chained.
01:12:41How do you think I feel?
01:12:43I'm a young woman sleeping alone here every night.
01:12:46Darling, look.
01:12:48Don't you think that means something to me? How do you think I feel?
01:12:51I think back to the days when you were in the Philharmonic.
01:12:54I was never in the Philharmonic.
01:12:56You used to lie in bed. You used to make love to me.
01:12:59You used to recite poetry and play with that doll you got me.
01:13:02Oh, Virgil.
01:13:04Oh, Virgil.
01:13:06Oh, Virgil.
01:13:08Oh, Virgil.
01:13:10Oh, Virgil.
01:13:13Darling, look.
01:13:15You guys look away from that, sweetheart.
01:13:17Don't you know that no matter what happens,
01:13:19you're always going to mean the same to me?
01:13:21Will you stop giggling?
01:13:24You'll always mean the sun and the earth and the moon to me.
01:13:28Oh, Christ.
01:13:32With Louise's help, the chains are removed from Virgil's ankles.
01:13:36Once more, the family takes flight.
01:13:38Feeling guilty about their son's education,
01:13:41Louise tries tutoring him.
01:13:47He's been very depressed.
01:13:50I think...
01:13:52I think if he had been a successful criminal,
01:13:55he would have felt better.
01:13:57You know, he never made the ten most wanted list.
01:14:01It's very unfair voting.
01:14:03It's who you know.
01:14:05Virgil Starkwell embarks on a series of crimes
01:14:08that make him a wanted desperado.
01:14:22Here, he attempts to rob the vault of a bank
01:14:25but finds a family of gypsies are living there.
01:14:30By the end of six months,
01:14:32the FBI regard Virgil as a menace.
01:14:35Although he does not make the ten most wanted list,
01:14:38he does win gangster of the year award
01:14:40and is asked to speak at many luncheons and universities.
01:14:44For the end of the story, we spoke to Mr. Daniel Miller,
01:14:47an FBI agent and author of the book Mother Was a Red.
01:14:51The FBI actually wanted Virgil very badly.
01:14:54Mr. Hoover was quite upset by Mr. Starkwell and his activities.
01:14:58In fact, he confided to me on several occasions
01:15:01I can remember one very well,
01:15:03after a bowling match on Thursday night
01:15:06in which he said he couldn't sleep nights,
01:15:08he was smoking a little too much,
01:15:10and he thought that this criminal, as he put it,
01:15:16might very well be part of a subversive plot.
01:15:21Obviously, an atheist and a pinko
01:15:26and trying in general to disturb our society.
01:15:31They finally traced him to a cheap neighborhood
01:15:34down in Lower East Side in New York
01:15:36where he was living at the time
01:15:38in a very sleazy, run-down tenement house.
01:15:41Virg, I remember him.
01:15:43I used to live with him, as a matter of fact,
01:15:45in the same rooming house that is.
01:15:47One day he told me he was a gynecologist.
01:15:50He couldn't speak no foreign languages.
01:15:53Who's he kidding?
01:15:55I thought I saw his picture in a post office.
01:15:59I didn't remember whether it was on a wall or on a stamp.
01:16:03Do you remember Virgil?
01:16:05Oh, yeah.
01:16:07Well, I don't know. Now I think he's brilliant.
01:16:09I mean, just absolutely brilliant.
01:16:11Just when I found out that he was a criminal,
01:16:13I just couldn't believe it.
01:16:15I just thought I was going to die
01:16:17because he just was the best cover-up job
01:16:19I've ever seen in my life.
01:16:21I mean, unbelievable acting job.
01:16:23I actually believed that he was an idiot.
01:16:25I mean, I really believed it.
01:16:27Come on, like everybody thought so.
01:16:29Everyone just thought that he was such a schlemiel
01:16:31and it turns out he's a criminal.
01:16:33Just to think that that idiot was a criminal,
01:16:35I just can't believe it.
01:16:37I mean, you've never met anybody like this in your life.
01:16:39You've never met such a nothing.
01:16:41I can't believe it.
01:16:43There was a mind working in there that could rob banks.
01:16:45It's phenomenal. Phenomenal.
01:16:47You know, once I said to him,
01:16:49what do you do?
01:16:51He said, I rob banks.
01:16:53Go no, right?
01:16:55I said to him,
01:16:57I think it was April 11th
01:16:59when he finally captured Virgil.
01:17:01It was sort of very odd circumstances.
01:17:03An amateur photographer happened to be there
01:17:05at the time
01:17:07and took the only known films
01:17:09of his capture.
01:17:11I was coming down here.
01:17:13This is the spot where it actually happened.
01:17:15You see, as a matter of fact,
01:17:17I had just brought my pants into the cleaners
01:17:19and I was sort of angry with them
01:17:21because last time I brought them in
01:17:23and I didn't know what had happened.
01:17:25Oh, yes.
01:17:27Well,
01:17:29I'll tell you exactly what happened this morning
01:17:31with me
01:17:33and about the camera.
01:17:35Well, back to this thing
01:17:37in which I became known merely because of what happened
01:17:39and I had the camera.
01:17:41I was having breakfast in the morning.
01:17:43I think it was two fried eggs,
01:17:45toast.
01:17:47I don't know whether it was orange juice or grapefruit,
01:17:49but I remember I had a juice.
01:17:51But at that time,
01:17:53it was orange juice, that's right.
01:17:55In fact, I've got them right here.
01:17:57I'd like to show them to you.
01:17:59The very last films of Virgil Stockwell
01:18:01being captured by the FBI.
01:18:03All right, get your hands up.
01:18:05This is a sticker.
01:18:07Hey, I know you.
01:18:09Virgil Stockwell.
01:18:11Oh, uh,
01:18:13Eddie, what, Haynes?
01:18:15That's right.
01:18:17We were in the marching band together.
01:18:19Oh, very strong bones.
01:18:21Isn't that funny? My God.
01:18:23Hey, what are you doing?
01:18:25I'm with the Philharmonic.
01:18:27Hey, don't kid me, that's great.
01:18:29I was just talking to someone, Oscar Sunken,
01:18:31about the great ties we used to have together.
01:18:33They were hilarious.
01:18:35You remember when we got caught taking a shower
01:18:37in the great locker room?
01:18:39I do. I never saw anybody so embarrassed.
01:18:41I'll never forget your face.
01:18:43My face? You dropped the towel.
01:18:45You dropped the towel, too?
01:18:47Oh, yeah, sure.
01:18:49Hey, remember that?
01:18:51We painted the car yellow?
01:18:53Right, on Halloween, I remember that.
01:18:55That's right, it was Halloween.
01:18:57It was really funny. It was yellow stripe.
01:18:59That's right, like a barber comb.
01:19:01Keep your hands up. I have to shoot you.
01:19:03Oh, yeah, yeah.
01:19:05Remember the football game?
01:19:07You fumbled the last play.
01:19:09You picked up the ball. I was yelling.
01:19:11And then I ran the wrong way,
01:19:13and everybody was yelling.
01:19:15You were a good, old, nice man.
01:19:19Wallet.
01:19:21I didn't hear you.
01:19:23Look, it's been great speaking to you, really.
01:19:25Oh, it's so nice to see you, Virgil.
01:19:27You, too. Take it easy.
01:19:29Best of luck to you.
01:19:31Virgil, I just realized
01:19:33that I'm a cop.
01:19:35No kidding. How's it going?
01:19:37It's a great job. I get a pension.
01:19:39Do you remember when...
01:19:41Virgil Stark-Wellis tried
01:19:43to commit 152 counts of robbery
01:19:45and is sentenced to 800 years
01:19:47in federal prison.
01:19:49At the trial, he tells his lawyer
01:19:51confidently that with good behavior,
01:19:53he can cut the sentence in half.
01:19:55Virgil, now that you're caught
01:19:57and you're facing a very long prison sentence,
01:19:59do you have any regrets about choosing a life of crime?
01:20:01I think that crime definitely pays
01:20:03and that, you know,
01:20:05it's a great job.
01:20:07The hours are good, and you're your own boss,
01:20:09and you travel a lot,
01:20:11and you get to meet interesting people,
01:20:13and I just think it's a good job in general.
01:20:15What about your cohorts?
01:20:17What has ever happened to them,
01:20:19all of the many guys you've been associated
01:20:21with in various gangs?
01:20:23A great many of them have become
01:20:25homosexuals,
01:20:27and some of them have entered into politics
01:20:29and sports.
01:20:31How do you manage to spend your time in prison?
01:20:33Do you have any hobbies or anything?
01:20:35I do. I've been working on...
01:20:37I've been doing a lot of stuff in shop,
01:20:39actually, and I'm very skilled
01:20:41with my hands.
01:20:43You know if it's raining out?
01:21:09you