1
Do you solemnly swear that
you will faithfully execute
the office of president
of the United States...
and will to the best of your ability...
preserve, defend and protect the
constitution of the United States?
I do.
Congratulations Mr President.
Good fight, Mr President...
The inauguration went off with a bang.
Yes, but it was pretty wet.
That's more than I can say
for this punch!
Don't you worry about Paris.
I'm not... It's Oklahoma
I'm worried about!
- Goodnight, Ted.
- Goodnight, Senator.
Glad to have you in the cabinet.
Well, it's better than
being a lame duck.
Goodnight, Mr Vice-President.
Hope you sleep well.
When did a vice-president
ever do anything else?
Judd... one of your constituents outside
is very anxious to see you.
I don't want to see anybody...
My hand is worn out now.
Well you better see this fellow...
He's insistent and he's armed.
- Hello Uncle Judd!
- Hello Jim!
He insisted on coming
to your reception, Mr President.
That's alright, Miss May.
Beekman...
He's the only person that see the president
at any time without an appointment.
Jim, I want you to meet the gentleman
who made your uncle the
president of the United states.
I've got a speech.
Alright, let's hear the speech.
I love my Uncle Jud because he's
going to cure the depression...
and make all the people rich again.
I see your nephew is inclined
to the military.
What's that?
Are you going to be a soldier, Jim?
No, I'm going to be a gangster.
I guess it's more profitable, at that.
Are you a policeman.
You have a very ignorant nephew,
Mr President...
He should know I'm not a policeman,
by looking at my feet.
You'd better run along home now, Jim.
Gangsters need some rest,
you know.
Goodnight, Mr president.
I hope you'll have a different
opinion of me, than your nephew.
Did I keep my promise, Judd?
Well, I'm in The White House.
And considerably worried.
- Why?
- When I think of all the promises...
I made the people,
to get elected.
You had to make some promises.
By the time they realise
you're not going to keep them,
your term will be over.
Thanks for those unexpected
votes from Alabama.
Wait till you get the bill
for them!
Good luck, Chief!
Senator Langham...
If you run the Senate,
like I'm going to run The White House...
we won't need any luck.
Jasper...
I can't tell you
how grateful I am.
Don't mention it.
You'll make the best president
the party ever had.
Well, Beekman...
Here we are in The White House.
Pretty big place
for a bachelor president.
I think I'll look the place over.
I feel a good deal like a puppy...
I have to turn around 3 or 4 times...
before I lie down.
I hope I never have to shake hands again,
the rest of my life.
Is there anything else
I've got to do?
There are a lot of cablegrams
up in your study.
I suppose I should read those.
Anything else?
Well I'd like you to know how much I appreciate
this opportunity of serving my country.
Serving your country, yes...
Beekman...
Do you realise you're the youngest
secretary a president ever had?
I appreciate the honour, Sir.
We need young blood around here.
Beekman's rather a long name...
- Do you mind if I call you Beek?
- Not at all, Sir.
I'll call you "Beek",
and you call me "Major", OK?
Oh, Mr Beekman!
Mr Beekman is the president's secretary.
Miss Malloy... is that correct?
Miss Pendola Malloy.
Miss Malloy, the president has had
a rather trying day.
I know...
Inaugurations are very trying.
May I ask what it is
you wish to see the president about?
About Miss Pendola Malloy.
Of course.
If you have a seat,
I'll notify the president you're here.
You're so kind.
Here are some more
of them telegrams, Major.
Hello, Sebastian...
How do you like your new home?
It sure am a big place Sir...
Red rooms, blue rooms,
green rooms...
At times like these,
the president needs lots of rooms.
Sebastian, I never knew there were
so many kings in the world.
And neither did I, Sir.
His Majesty desires to convey to you
and all the American people...
his felicitations on the birth
of a new political era.
- Mr President...
- Hello, Beek.
Say, where is Siam?
Siam?
Just north of the Malay Peninsula,
just south of China.
- That's fine.
- Mr President, there's a...
Just a minute...
If I'm going to call you "Beek",
you've got to refer to me as "Major".
Very well, Major.
When I told you today there was only one person
that could see the president at any time...
I was wrong.
There are two.
Will you come with me, please.
You're my first official duty.
How flattering.
Miss Malloy, Major.
- Nice seeing you here, Mr President.
- Nice being here, Miss Malloy.
You two have gotten acquainted
by this time, I suppose.
- Yes, indeed.
- Beek... this is Miss Malloy.
How do you do, Miss Malloy.
Miss Malloy's going to be your assistant.
You don't mind, do you?
- Not at all.
- He's very rigid, but I like him.
Anything else, Major?
You may call me Pendy,
if I can call you Beek.
Of course.
Good night, Beek.
Good night, Pendy.
Good night.
In this terrible hour of crisis...
America must look to its president
with unshakeable confidence.
My attitude is one
of complete optimism.
With the help of such patriotic
and idealistic men as yourselves...
I plan to carry this nation
from the depths of despondency..
To the unsullied and
sunny heights of prosperity.
I count on you journalists
for inspiration and support.
In future, all questions will have to be
submitted in writing...
24 hours before these meetings.
Today, however, the president
has very generously consented...
to answer a few
questions directly.
Mr Paterson...
Does the president intend to grant
John Bronson an interview?
The president didn't catch the name...
John Bronson, the leader
of all the unemployed.
The president considers John Bronson
a dangerous anarchist.
If he comes near The White House,
he'll be arrested.
The president hasn't forgotten
that Bronson heads a million men...
who are armed and unemployed.
On the last count, there were
270 camps of these men...
in the public parks
of our largest cities.
The president considers the whole question
of unemployment a local problem.
Is the administration
going to take any action...
on the racketeering that
is rampant in the country?
Are notorious gangsters like Mick Diamond
going to get away with it?
My administration also regards Mick Diamond
and all racketeers as local problems.
We choose to believe that bootlegging and
all forms of racketeering will disappear...
as soon as the public become educated
to respect the 18th Amendment.
- Mr Thieson...
- Mr President...
My paper's indictment against the
government is a staggering one.
Starvation and want
is everywhere.
From coast to coast
and from Canada to Mexico.
Millions of dollars are poured
into new battleships.
Farmers burn corn and wheat...
Food is thrown away into the sea...
while men and women are
begging for bread.
Men are freezing without coats,
while cotton rots in the fields.
Thousands of homeless...
Millions of vacant homes.
Over 5,000 gangland murders
last year.
Yet only 5 gangsters imprisoned...
Not for killing, but for
income tax violations.
What does the new administration
say to this.
What answer, what definite plan does the
government have to this indictment?
This tale of misery and horror,
of lost hope, of broken faith...
of the collapse of
the American democracy.
Young man,
I shall answer you directly.
Through you, I shall speak
to all of my country.
America will weather this depression,
as she has weathered other depressions.
Through the spirit of Valley Forge...
the spirit of Gettysburg
and the spirit of the Argon.
The American people have risen before,
and they will rise again.
Gentlemen, remember...
Our party promises a return
to prosperity.
- May the president be quoted?
- The president may not be quoted.
If you don't stop asking questions, we won't
have any place to sleep for the next 4 years.
Well boys, can I be of any
further service to you?
How about a glass of beer?
- Remember this is the White house.
- I thought it was the Senate.
I enjoyed the
president's speech.
It was straightforward
and to the point.
Sure!
Prosperity is just
around the corner.
A miracle will rise again.
When she rises, wake me up
and we'll all rise together.
Mind if I use your desk
for a game of solitaire?
Go ahead.
Get a load of Thieson...
Hey Thieson, take the world off your shoulders,
you're beginning to look like Atlas.
Oh, yes Senator,
that's all taken care of.
Mr Beekman...
The pesident would like to see you.
Well?
Miss Malloy is the president's
confidential secretary.
Confidential or personal?
- What are her duties?
- What's home without a woman?
Maybe she'll bring that beer.
Gentlemen... the president.
Sit down please... no need to be formal
just because I'm president.
Well, what's the order of the day?
I saw Hargraves this morning
and he's pretty sore.
What have we done to him?
Well, he feels though he's been
sort of left out of the picture.
We can straighten that out.
What would you suggest?
Ambassador to Greece?
What do you say?
If it's alright with the boys,
it's alright with me.
Ambassador to Greece.
That's one way to get rid of him.
I hope he has good-looking legs.
If he hasn't, he certainly
will look funny in those short pants...
they have to wear over there
when they appear at court.
- Great guns! What are these?
- Need to be signed.
Entrants for American consul in Shanghai.
Appointment for postmistress at
Little Lake. Sells a lot of stamps.
Installing a sewer system in Puerto Rico.
Well, here goes!
Where did this come from?
A present for you.
What is it?
Springfield Memorial Society.
With that... what?
Lincoln freed the slaves with that.
Well...
Here goes the Puerto Rican garbage!
You could do important things
with that pen, if you wanted to.
For instance?
Well, you're president, aren't you?
Pendy, I'm afraid
you're an idealist.
There are a lot of things
you don't understand.
A lot of things the
people don't understand...
and don't want to.
- Don't they?
- No.
You see, Pendy,
the Party has a plan.
- And I'm just a member of the Party.
- Of course.
It's just 5 minutes before
your car leaves for Annapolis.
And I couldnt get
your detective magazine.
It wont be out until noon tomorrow
in New York.
Well, we'll get the War Department
to fly it down in an army plane.
We're the President of the United States,
aren't we?
You know, Judd...
It's turning quite cold...
Be careful, won't you...
Look after that throat.
Uncle Judd!
Hello, Jim, how are you?
Where have you been all day?
You rascal, you!
Straighten up your tie here...
- Goodbye, Mr President.
- Goodbye, Miss Malloy.
Have a nice trip, Sir.
Tickled to death
to get a day off...
Glad to get rid of me,
aren't you?
Of course, Mr President.
You sit there...
Don't you look around, either.
We shall now switch you
by remote control...
to the camp for the unemployed
in Central Park, New York City.
From which You will hear from John Bronson,
the leader of America's unemployed army...
address an open letter
to the people of America.
- A treasure hunt?
- Close your eyes.
This is John Bronson speaking,
not for himself...
but for about a million men
who are out of work...
who cannot earn money
to buy food...
because those responsible
for providing work...
have failed in their obligations.
We ask no more than that every citizen of the
United States should be ensured to have...
the right to put food in mouths
of our wives and children.
Our underlying purpose
is not revolutionary...
We are not influenced
by militant leaders...
None of us are Reds...
We merely want work.
And we believe that these great United
States of America, under proper leadership..
Can provide work for everybody.
I have appealed to the president
for an interview.
But the president says that
he will not deal with us...
because we are dangerous anarchists.
We are not!
We are citizens of America with full
confidence in American democracy.
If it is properly administered.
What overcoat
do you want to wear?
The overcoat the president of
the United States always wears
when he goes to the
US Naval Academy.
I ask your president now, if he's ever read
the Constitution of the United States?
Laid out that day by those great men,
in Philadelphia, long ago.
A document which guaranteed the American people
the rights of life, liberty, property...
and the pursuit of happiness.
All we ask is to be given those rights.
This country is sound, the right man in The
White House can bring us out of despair...
into prosperity again.
We ask him at least to try.
Here you are Major. Mr Beekman says
this is the Annapolis coat.
We shall now put you
back to the main studio...
from which you will be entertained
by half an hour of popular music...
furnished by courtesy of the
Metropolis Outfitting Company.
Do you know, you're the first president
of the US to drive his own car.
If those motorcycle cops don't step on the
gas, I'll climb right up on their tails.
The newspaper men can't keep up with us.
Great! I've been hoping this would happen
since I was elected.
What are we doing, 95mph?
98, Sir.
They told me it would do 110.
News flash from Washington...
President Hammond has been injured
in an automobile accident.
Speak!
Speak, Willy!
- They can't tell me the truth.
- Dr Eastman speaking...
Can tell you nothing
at this time.
Well, doctor, what is
your opinion?
I'd say it was only
a matter of hours.
Do you concur in that opinion, Doctor?
I'm afraid he's beyond
any human help.
Is the Major going to be alright?
He'll be alright,
but he must have quiet.
- Did you ring, Miss Brett?
- Why no, Doctor.
The bell in th study rang.
The bell in the study's...
I rang, Eastman.
Mr President!
I heard what you said,
but the doctors are wrong.
Judd Hammond isn't going to die.
What is the lowdown, Dr Eastman?
We're all going crazy.
You'll be accused of assassination,
first thing you know.
The president is still unconscious.
We've printed that one line for weeks...
No one believes it.
I was here when Wilson was sick,
and Harding, too...
and no one ever dared
hide the news from us.
The president is still in a coma.
That's all I can tell you.
Beekman, you have to tell us something new,
even if you have to lie about it...
Has he talked? What does he look like/
what does he eat?
Tell us something! Where is he?
We're all going to be fired.
We have to write something.
Until we get the truth, the stories
are going to get wilder and wilder.
A Japanese duck could run this country,
or we'll have anarchy!
I know as little as you do.
Dr Eastman and the valet are the only two people
to have seen the president since the accident.
Now that's all!
There's something going on here
that doesn't quite gel.
I'm sorry...
I've told you all I know.
I think the whole thing
is preposterous.
Doctor, I can't stand it any longer.
You've got to let me see him.
Miss Malloy...
Mr Beekman...
This situation is getting
too much for me.
If I'm going on with this,
I've got to have help.
I've got to have somebody
to share the burden.
Burden?
President Hammond has been
perfectly well for 2 weeks.
What?!
Do you know what you're saying, Doctor?
That is... he SEEMS physically fit.
Sometimes concussion
can produce results that...
transcend all the laws of medicine.
You must prepare yourselves
for a shock.
The president is not the Judd Hammond
that I have treated for 15 years.
But your bulletin!
The presidents orders.
Why?!
Two weeks ago, I advised him to get up...
and reminded him that he had
been conscious for 24 hours.
He told me that he had been
entirely conscious for a week.
But that he wanted time to think.
What did he say?
What did he talk to you about?
He says nothing.
He sits there, silently,
reading, or thinking.
A gaunt grey ghost,
with burning eyes...
that seem to see
right down into you.
I can't stand it.
- I'm going to see him.
- Miss Malloy! Please!
Please be reasonable.
If you insist on seeing the president,
it must be on your own responsibility.
Alright.
Doctor, I will assume responsibility
for Miss Malloy's action.
Very well.
Judd...
Judd!
Why have you shut us out?
What's the trouble, Miss Malloy?
You seem upset about something.
But, dear...
Don't you know how worried we've been?
Miss Malloy, I want all available information
on John Bronson and the army of the unemployed.
Facts, unprejudiced reports,
the truth, you understand?
Yes.
That is all, Miss Malloy.
Tell Mr Beekman I would like
to see him at once.
That is all, Miss Malloy!
Yessir.
What is it, Pendy?
Something happened.
Something I can't understand.
His eyes were so strange.
His voice is different.
And, oh, Beek...
He called me "Miss Malloy".
You poor kid.
Mr Beekman... instruct the members
of my cabinet to meet me in 1 hour.
Mr President, an hour is hardly time...
I expect every member
to be present in one hour.
Yessir.
Am I late?
- What's all the rush about?
- I don't know myself.
Why didn't he see us before?
We've been waiting for him
for 2 weeks.
Don't forget, Judd's been a sick man.
Now, boys... let ME handle
this situation.
I've known Judd
longer than any of you.
He's been a very sick man
and we've got to humour him.
Yes, but we've got to think
of the Party.
No matter what happens,
the Party comes first.
The president.
Please omit all condolences.
Save your sympathy for the
people of the United States...
who are in dire need of it.
Sit down, gentlemen.
We're confronted with
an ugly situation, Judd.
A lot of things have come up
since your accident.
Yes, I know.
I mean the army of the unemployed.
Bronson and his gang.
I know... they're getting ready to march
on Washington... a million-strong.
We didn't think you knew.
I call on you, as commander-in-chief
of the army and navy...
Give me the authority to mobilise
and keep these ruffians in their camps.
- Do you want to declare war?
- We've got to uphold the law.
What law?
Something must be done at once...
or this armed mob will descend on us.
Run riot all over Washington.
Every citizen of the USA should be assured the
elementary necessity for keeping life within his body.
This cabinet, every member of Congress,
each office-holder...
is answerable directly
to the public conscience.
Gentlemen, I refuse to call out the army
against the people of the United states.
And I refuse to accept that.
Discussion on this subject is closed.
Be careful...
I might resign on you.
Your resignation is accepted.
Judd, I was only suggesting...
Your resignation is accepted!
You have my permission
to withdraw.
Gentlemen, I suggest you read
the Constitution of the United States.
You'll find the president
has some power.
Well, I'll be...
May I ask why Secretary of State
Brookes resigned?
He didn't resign... I fired him.
Exactly, Mr President,
why did you fire Secretary Brookes?
I fired him because he's
an old-fashioned politician...
incapable of being
Secretary of State.
Furthermore he insisted
upon calling up the army...
to keep the unemployed
from marching on Washington.
A fine straight-talk, Mr President.
Too bad the president
cannot be quoted.
This president can be quoted...
This president wants to be quoted.
The president's here, Alice.
He's hoping we'll stay away.
Well... we start tomorrow.
- Are you John Bronson?
- Yeah.
Can I see you alone for a minute?
Certainly.
I'll be right back, honey.
It's an interesting commentary
on our social system, Inspector...
that the errors of youth should
prove so embarrassing at maturity.
Sure.
I'm much better-looking now
than I was then.
Especially the profile.
Don't you think?
You've filled out a bit.
Cigarette, Inspector?
Thanks.
I'll smoke it after dinner,
if you don't mind.
Not at all.
Inspector...
Haven't you forgotten something?
Oh, yes, the negative.
You may want some prints
made up for Christmas cards.
Hello, Bronson.
Nice of you to have dropped in on me.
- Thanks for the escort.
- Oh, that's alright.
Would you sit down.
No thank you.
The unemployment situation
doesn't seem to have affected you any.
Life has been very good to me.
That's a terrible thing...
these men of your.
Millions of American citizens
starving and homeless.
Yes, it is.
I'd like to do something
for those not so fortunate.
Keep your men in their camps,
and I'll see they're taken care of.
I'll have them fed clothed and housed.
Lots easier for you
if they stay in the camps, isn't it?
You're not only a patriot, Bronson...
You're a very astute man.
Your profits are much bigger...
since the police of the big cities
have been lined up outside our camps.
Praying that we don't start something.
That's right, I don't want anything
to be taken away from their prayers.
We're going to Washington
and you won't stop us.
Can't get anything in Washington.
The American government is...
like the American people...
just a bunch of boobs.
We're going to Washington
and look into this government...
that lets decent men starve,
and fosters a lot of vultures.
I get you, Diamond.
But you can't put a million men
on the spot.
We're leaving for Washington, tonight.
That's fine... Just thought
I'd have a talk with you...
and get your viewpoint.
I think I can find my way back alone,
if it's alright with you.
Perfectly alright...
No hard feelings.
But don't be too hasty.
I should give the matter
a little more thought, if I were you.
Bronson...
Cigarette?
That ain't my brand.
A-mouldering in the grave...
John Brown's body lies
a-mouldering in the grave...
John Brown's body
lies a-mouldering in the grave...
But his soul goes marching on.
John Brown's body lies
a-mouldering in the grave...
John Brown's body lies
a-mouldering in the grave...
John Brown's body lies
a-mouldering in the grave...
But we'll go marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah...
Don't mind me, boys!
Carry on... to Washington...
Glory, glory, hallelujah...
And we'll go marching on!
The Secretary for War
has instructed you..
To have tanks and cavalry
move on Baltimore tonight?
We believe the unemployed army...
will make camp for the night
in the Baltimore parks.
Mr President, the Secretary of War
would like to see you immediately.
- He seems very much disturbed.
- Yes, I thought he would be.
- Show him in.
- Mr President...
Splendid Mr President.
The general has told you my plans?
All I need is your authority
to mobilise the army...
to disperse these unemployed vagrants,
when they reach Baltimore.
Mr Secretary, the War Department will supply
food, shelter and medical requirements...
to these men in their camp tonight.
Mr President, are you out of your mind?!
In 1918 we forced 4 million men to accept
the hospitality of the government.
- But that was war!
- This is war, and the enemy is starvation.
At one time we gave
millions of tons of food...
to the starving Russians, the starving
Chinese, and the starving Belgians.
Now we can feed our own people.
As President of the United States,
my first duty is to the people.
But if you encourage
these ruffians...
I haven't the time or
inclination for argument...
Resign, or get on with your job.
Tons of food rotting...
Millions of people starving.
What's to prevent us from putting this food
into the mouths of the hungry?
Mr Beekman...
Would you please make arrangements for me to
leave for Baltimore, early in the morning.
He mustn't go and face that mob...
There's no telling what
might happen to him.
I thought you said a simple honest man
could solve everything.
I'm beginning to have a faith in him,
I never had before.
He's way ahead of ME.
The way he thinks is so simple
and honest, it sounds...
It sounds a little crazy.
He's doing the things
you wanted.
And if he's mad,
it's a divine madness.
Look at the chaos
and catastrophe...
the sane men of this world
have brought about.
Mr President, I am responsible
for your personal safety...
And I refuse to let you go
alone into that camp.
Logan, you heard what happened
to Secretary of State Brookes.
This is Alice Bronson.
My poor child,
I am with you in your grief.
I pay tribute to the martyr...
John Bronson...
Who gave his life in this effort to arouse the
stupid lazy people of the United States...
to force their government
to do something...
before everybody slowly
starves to death.
It is not fitting for
citizens of America...
to come on weary feet to
seek their president.
It is rather for their president
to seek them out...
and to bring to them the last
full measure of protection and help.
And so I come to YOU.
I feel certain the last thing
you men want, is charity...
Money for idleness, and the demoralisation
that follows in its wake.
17 years ago the government
put guns and bayonets in our hands...
and told us to bring back peace.
We did.
Now put shovels and
picks in our hands...
and we'll really
bring back prosperity.
We want work!
We want work!
Exactly!
You have been told there is
no chance of getting work.
But I say there IS work, necessary work..
Waiting to be done.
I'm going to make you a proposition...
You've been called the army
of the unemployed.
You're soldiers trained,
not in the arts of war...
but in the greater arts of peace.
Trained, not to destroy,
but to build up...
if someone will give you a job.
I propose therefore to create an army,
to be known as the Army of Construction.
You'll be enlisted,
subject to military discipline.
You'll receive army rates of pay.
You'll be fed, clothed and housed,
as we did our wartime army.
You'll be put to work,
each one of you in your own field...
from baking loaves of bread,
to building great dams...
without one dollar of profit
accruing to anyone.
Then, as the wheels of industry
begin to turn...
stimulated by these efforts...
you'll be gradually retired
from this construction army..
Back into private industry...
as rapidly as industry
can absorb you.
That's all very well,
Mr President...
but what's Congress
going to say to all this?
I've called a special session of Congress
for tomorrow.
I shall ask them for funds
to carry out my plans...
for the rehabilitation of America.
If they give me these funds tomorrow...
I shall immediately open the first
Construction Army recruiting station...
here in Baltimore.
And you shall be my first soldiers.
Mr President...
Your address to Congress
on the Construction Army.
My address to Congress?
What's this? Who wrote this?
Why, you did Mr President.
No, Miss Malloy, I didn't write this.
I never saw...
Oh, yes, my address to Congress.
Beek...
Beek!
What's the matter, Pendy?
I've just seen something.
He didn't know his own words, Beek!
And then he lifted his head...
for all the world,
as if he were listening.
There was something in the room
that made me shiver.
And then he just smiled and said...
"Yes, of course."
What do you think it means?
Well, we felt from the beginning
that the president was really two men.
But I became aware
somehow tonight...
of a third being.
I know that sounds impossible.
I'm not a very religious person,
Beek, but...
Does it seem too fanciful
to believe...
that God might have sent
the angel Gabriel...
to do for Judd Hammond,
what He did for Daniel.
Gabriel? I thought he was
a messenger of wrath.
Not always.
For some, he was
The Angel of Revelations...
sent as a messenger from God,
to men.
Gabriel over The White House.
Mine eyes have seen the glory
of the coming of the Lord...
He is trampling out the vintage
where the grapes of wrath are stored...
He hath loosed the fateful lightning
of His terrible swift sword...
His truth is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
Well, boys...
You understand then, that you're not
to let Hammond suspect you're against him.
Not by word or attitude.
Not even that we've had
this meeting here tonight.
Come in!
The president's secretary is here.
Well, Beekman?
A communication for you, Mr Cummings.
One for you, Sir...
Mr Lockhart...
Mr Bourne.
Mr Perry.
Mr Fox.
And one for each of
you gentlemen...
If you'd be kind enough
to pass them down.
How did Hammond know
we were here?!
Very strange...
The next thing to do is open it.
That settles it.
We'll take this to Congress.
We've got a big enough majority
to throw him out.
We'll show this lunatic, who's boss!
I speak for the majority
of the Senate...
and the House of Representatives...
assured that President Hammond
has been a traitor to his Party.
False to the principles
on which he was elected.
I propose to demand
from the House...
the impeachment, the immediate removal,
of the President of the United States.
The President of the United States.
May the rules be suspended?
I would like to dispense
with all red-tape...
so I can answer
questions directly.
Can I have the floor?
Unless there is objections...
the rules of this Congress
will be suspended.
Gentlemen, I am here as a representative
of the American people...
in their hour of
darkest despair.
A plant cannot grow,
by watering the top alone...
and letting the roots go dry.
The people are the
roots of this nation...
and the sturdy trunk,
and the branches, too.
You have spent 4 billion dollars,
only to aggravate adversity.
I ask for 4 billion dollars
to restore buying power...
stimulate purchases,
restore prosperity.
You have wasted precious weeks
and years in futile discussion.
We need action...
Immediate and effective action.
Mr President, there is a movement
in Congress for your impeachment.
How is time for making any requests,
however small?
Very well, I shall withdraw
that request...
but I should like
to substitutes another.
I ask you gentlemen to declare
a state of national emergency.
And to adjourn this Congress,
until normal conditions are restored.
During that period
of adjournment...
I shall assume full
responsibility for the government.
Mr President, this is dictatorship!
Senator Langham...
words do not frighten me.
But the United States of America
is a democracy.
We are not yet ready to give up
the government of our fathers.
You HAVE given it up.
You've turned your backs.
You've closed your ears
to the appeals of the people.
You've been traitors to the
concepts of democracy...
upon which this
government was founded
I believe in democracy...
as Washington, Jefferson and
Lincoln believed in democracy.
And if what I plan to do, in
the name of the people...
makes me a dictator...
then it is a dictatorship based on
Jefferson's definition of democracy.
A government of the greatest good,
for the greatest number.
This Congress refuses to adjourn!
I think, gentlemen,
that you forget...
that I am still president
of these United States.
And as Commander-in-Chief
of the army and navy...
it is within the rights of the president
to declare the country under martial law!
Fellow countrymen...
your overwhelming support
of my Emergency Acts...
has enabled me to move more rapidly
than I dared hope.
I do not say that the unemployment problem
is solved...
But we are at least taking
hundreds of thousands of men...
into an organised life of
food, shelter and clothing.
If you could realise
the staggering facts I face...
the appalling waste of your money,
and America's deplorable condition...
I feel sure you'd support me...
in the things I plan
to do on your behalf.
I propose to safeguard the homes
of American citizens...
by a law to prevent the foreclosure
of mortgages...
until the average American workman
has a chance to go to work.
I propose a national banking law...
which will protect our people's money
in the banks.
I propose, immediately, to give direct aid
to the 55 million American people...
who depend entirely
upon agriculture...
without whose prosperity there can be
no real prosperity in the United States.
Our next task is a return
to law and order.
I do not propose to mince words.
This primarily means that cesspool
known as the 18th Amendment.
This has fostered the evil force...
The greatest enemy of law and order,
America has ever known.
The racketeers...
a malignant cancerous growth...
eating at the spiritual
health of the American people.
Public enemies... I refer to men
of the type of Nick Diamond.
Arch enemies of these United states.
Men who are bleeding the people of America
by illegal racketeering in every industry...
from bootleg whisky to babies' milk.
The enemies of every honest citizen...
The enemies of our nation...
the United States of America.
Just a big-shot.
Congress has voted
to repeal the 18th Amendment.
This however, requires millions of dollars
and months of time.
To be made effective by the ratification
of the sovereign states.
That'll take 3 years.
My patience is exhausted
with these bootleggers...
these racketeers,
and these kidnappers.
I serve warning... these evil forces
must be, shall be eliminated.
So that our citizen,
pursuing his peaceful way...
will no longer be forced
to conduct his business...
in the shadow of extortion and debt.
Good night.
Good night!
You suppose he was talking about us?
Oh, you look so tired.
Why don't you call it a day
and get some rest.
Tired? I'm as fresh as a daisy.
You're the one who looks tired.
Besides, I've got some figures
to go over.
Our European debts.
I didn't know there WAS
that much money.
Good night, Sir.
Just a moment, please.
Do the president's guests
always receive this attention?
That's alright, there's nothing there.
May I keep this?
This way, please.
Is this the proper outfit?
This is a nice place
you have here.
It's alright... keep your seat.
The old custom of rising
when the president enters the room...
I abolished with
the new administration.
Nice of you to come on my invitation,
Mr Diamond.
I've been pretty busy lately...
Almost as busy as you are.
Yes, I guess you and I
are the only Americans...
who have any business left.
You needn't look me up...
I've paid my income tax.
Yes, I'm sure you have.
This is just your biography.
You don't mind a little
intimate discussion?
The story of an immigrant boy
who became the most famous man in America.
Well, there are SOME good deeds here.
You've at least rid the country
of a number of your own kind.
That's something I'm grateful for.
But you're a menace to this country,
Mr Diamond.
The most inexpensive way
to get rid of you...
would be for you
to eliminate yourself.
Return to your own country.
Why?
I am what I am today
by public approval...
If people want something,
I give it to them.
We're in the same boat.
I too exist only
by the will of the people.
Exactly... So why should I give up
a good business, until I have to?
May I ask, just what
you had in mind...
when you asked me to come here.
I thought we'd talk over
this bootleg situation.
When it's on my trucks,
it's bootleg.
On a silver tray in Park Avenue,
it's hospitality.
Mr Diamond, we are two of the most
notorious men in America.
For notoriously different reasons.
I had hoped we might
make a bargain...
but you seem to
have different ideas.
The bootlegging business involves
yearly a sum of money...
aggregating several
hundred millions of dollars
American people need that money.
I warn you, Diamond...
The government is going
to muscle in on your racket.
I thought I was guaranteed
there'd be no frame-up.
Diamond, I don't think
you're quite ready for framing.
Gentlemen, you'll see that Mr Diamond
is escorted safely to his car.
Would you mind standing there
just a moment, Miss Malloy?
- And why, Sir?
- I just want to look at you.
Mr Beekman, you're a fool.
I'm a fool about you.
Beekman, can I speak to you
a moment, please.
Yes, Mr President.
One hour after our first
federal liquor store was opened...
It was wiped out by the most dastardly
demonstration of gangster defiance...
in the history of this country
Nick Diamond has declared war
on the United States.
Big shot!
- Still here Beek?
- Still here.
You must be tired.
I'll never rest, till you get well.
You love me a lot, don't you?
- Beek...
- What?
I didn't feel any pain at all.
Just...
a delicious sense of lassitude
and peacefulness.
I'm glad, Pendy.
And then...
I had a terrific feeling of loneliness.
Of being terribly,
completely alone.
Yes, I know.
I wanted you, Beek.
I think I feel well enough
to be kissed.
Beekman, you're fired!
I've got a better job for you.
It's only a temporary one.
I'm forming a mobile unit of the United States
army to be known as the Federal Police...
to eliminate gangsters.
I want you head that unit.
Yessir.
I need a man who has suffered
a terrible personal hurt...
A man whose energy and efficiency
will be at white heat.
A man ruthless and merciless.
That is of course if you're willing
to postpone your wedding for a while.
You don't mind about us?
With no Congress to interfere...
we might be able to arrange
a wedding at The White House.
Diamond... In the name of the United States
of America, I call on you to surrender!
- Boss, this is the army.
- This is just another pinch.
My lawyer will habeas our corpus out of that
district attorney's office, in 10 minutes.
Boys, let's give them a round
to show them we're hard to get.
Diamond, you're in a bad way.
Discharging firearms at the federal police
doesn't help, either.
I believe I'm still entitled
to have a lawyer.
Sure... You can have
any lawyer you want...
Uncle Sam will pay the bill.
But don't forget...
This isn't going to be a court trial..
It's going to be a court-martial.
Nick Diamond...
Racketeer... murderer... kidnapper.
It is the finding of this court-martial
that you and your men are guilty.
This court is convinced
that you have...
as part of your
racketeering and extortion...
committed some 23 homicides.
Murders, with your own hands.
You have instigated dozens more.
Yet by bribery, by technicalities of the
law, you have escaped all punishment.
You're the last of the racketeers,
Diamond, and why?
Because we have
in The White House a man...
who's enabled us to cut the red tape
of legal procedures...
and get back to first principles.
An eye for an eye, Nick Diamond.
A tooth for a tooth.
A life for a life.
Fire!
Gentlemen, from the newspapers, I gather,
there is quite some sentiment...
to the effect that the president is to be
out-generalled by craftier European politicians.
That once again, America will walk out
of conference rooms with empty pockets.
You may allay those fears.
America is through with conferences
in rooms.
The International Debt Conference, scheduled
to be held tomorrow at The White House...
will be held instead
on a private yacht.
The delegates at that conference will
first be my guests at a naval parade...
which, quite by coincidence,
I assure you...
will consist of the largest concentration of
naval strength in the history of this nation.
Are we to infer that the debt conference
will end in America's favour?
Those debts have got to be paid.
The president intends
to collect by force?
Those debts have got to be paid!
Is the United States prepared to wage war
against 15 leading nations.
Those debts have got to be paid.
That's all, gentlemen.
Wait a minute, Beekman...
The president doesn't intend to go to war?!
You heard what he had to say.
The USA won't stand for war...
even from Judd Hammond.
Gentlemen, you will bear with me a moment
while the radio is being connected.
But Mr President...
we did not understand that
this conference would be broadcast.
We will speak more advisedly, if we know
the people of the world are listening in.
One of the reasons we entered the Great War,
was to secure the end to secret diplomacy.
To establish throughout the world
a fixed policy of open covenants...
openly arrives at.
Gentlemen, we are at least today
fulfilling this great purpose.
We are taking the world
into our confidence.
I will open the conference
on the question of war-debt...
with a brief statement of America's side
of the controversy.
These debts were incurred to save
the debtor nations from destruction.
The money they received,
they pledged their honour to repay.
Then the debtor pleaded poverty.
The United States compromised
the debts by half.
This remaining half, debtor-nations
solemnly signed agreements to pay.
Gentlemen... are you prepared
to pay those debts?
For Germany to pay her debts, means
more taxes on the half-starved people.
They may burst into
open revolution.
You think, Belgium, neutral,
inoffensive little Belgium...
could suffer the ravages
of invasion again?
For ten times the money
she owes you?
We helped the little American colonies
when they fought for their freedom.
Helped them with money.
That's right, you helped us.
And America has shown
an affection for France, ever since.
But, we paid you back.
And rightly, too.
A cosmopolitan nation
like the United States...
has reason to cherish affection
for all nations of the world...
whom she properly considers
her forebears.
Yet, the inescapable consequences
of the debt, are...
Someone must pay it.
And if your nations cannot
pay a debt you contracted...
to save yourselves
from destruction...
it will have to be paid
by the American taxpayer himself.
And the burden on the American taxpayer,
for sharing his part of the war...
Is too heavy... He can't pay
his own debts and your too.
Gentlemen are you prepared
to pay your debts?
But Mr President, we can't discuss matters
of such great importance here in an hour.
We must have further conferences.
I have never seen an American eagle
go into one of these conferences...
that it didnt come out,
plucked of its pin-feathers.
There will be no further conferences.
We paid when we could,
and we're no longer able to pay.
We loaned billions ourselves...
and have not received
one penny in return.
Very well... I hereby repudiate
one of our past conferences.
I refer to the naval limitations agreement.
As a result of that agreement...
America destroyed battleships...
while European countries
destroyed blueprints.
And from now on,
America refuses to allow...
European nations,
or Asiatic nations...
dictate how many ships and what kind
of ships America shall have in the navy...
which defends her lands
and her people.
Mr President...
You can't repudiate the signature
of your country.
It is you who have
repudiated signatures...
destroyed credit and confidence
among nations.
Made solemnly-signed agreements
no more than scraps of paper.
If you can repudiate the debts
owing to the American taxpayer...
incurred to save your own people
from destruction.
Are no standards of ethics left?
You have gone
into moral bankruptcy.
I can repudiate anything.
Gentlemen, I would like to have your
attention over here for a few moments.
I want you to take a last look
at America's small navy...
An American restricted
and hampered navy.
The last look at an American navy
controlled by foreign powers.
But when I get through with America's
new navy, America's own navy...
it'll make all of your navies
look like toy ships in a bathtub.
Is the President of the United States
going to plunge the world into another war?
No, the United States must have the greatest
navy in the world, because we want peace.
Mr President, you leave us
no alternative.
We'll gladly pay our debts if you
can show us how to do so.
I've been waiting for someone
to ask me how.
Gentlemen, I'm going to tell you how.
People of the United States...
nations of the world...
It's not my intention to go to war
to collect the debts...
We want peace.
But in order to have peace...
while the nations of the world are preparing
to spring at each others throats...
we must be able
to command peace.
Peace and a return to prosperity
go hand in hand, only through one agent...
While hundreds of
thousands of families...
are wondering where
their next meal is coming from...
While I'm vainly trying
to balance the budget...
we spent last year nearly 360 million
dollars on battleships... Why?
Because the other nations
of the world do.
And you, Great Britain, you spent last year,
nearly 1000 million dollars on armaments.
And you France, last year
you spent on your armaments...
Over 1000 million dollars more...
than the small payment you were
supposed to make us, but defaulted.
And you, Italy...
Over 500 million.
And you other nations
in proportion.
And yet, people of the world...
we wonder where
the money is coming from.
To save our nations from financial
collapse, I'll tell you.
When I think of the billions...
spent on these glorified,
antiquated pieces of scrap iron...
it makes me despair of humanity.
Antiquated, I said,
and I propose to prove it to you.
At the same time I'll
show you a method...
whereby the world may be saved
from international bankruptcy.
Commander Jones, you may proceed.
Over there, there are 2 battleships...
Those ships cost our taxpayers
40 million dollars.
Today they are pronounced obsolete.
Why?
Because fools throughout the world
are working out new designs...
New ships, new futilities...
which render yesterday's work useless.
Those ships are radio-controlled.
They contain not a single
human being.
Major Dawson, you may proceed.
Here they come.
The United States navy of the air.
Major Dawson, you may fire
when ready.
Just what is the purpose
of this demonstration?
Mr President...
What is your objective?
People of the United States...
Nations of the world.
The world will not learn,
without bitter lessons.
The next war will be
a terrible story of the failure...
of antiquated machinery
and antiquated methods.
Of the horrifying destructiveness
of the modern agencies of arms.
Armies and navies will be
destroyed from the air.
And as these aeroplanes
destroy armies and navies...
they will destroy cities...
they will destroy populations.
Peace and faith
are necessary among men.
Not merely for the welfare of nations...
but for the very existence
of nations.
The next war will depopulate the Earth.
Invisible poison gases...
Inconceivably devastating explosives...
Annihilating death-rays will sweep
to utter destruction...
not only the men...
but the children who would
constitute another generation...
and the mothers who bear them.
Unless man's God-given faculty
for utilising the forces of nature...
for beneficent purposes...
shall surpass their vicious genius
for destruction...
the race of man shall perish
from the earth...
and the Earth shall be left
to the less cruel...
the less destructive...
and the less stupid
wild animals.
People of the world...
I speak to you...
Shall we save this world?
Shall we restore it
to a condition...
where we can truly say
there is peace on earth...
goodwill toward men.
Shall the United States of America
build such a navy to force peace?
Or shall the other nations agree
to eliminate their armaments...
balance their budgets...
restore honour among nations?
The United States would be glad
to fall in line with such a movement.
But only after the other nations
have proven their good faith...
by convincing action.
The very fate of our civilisation
rests here and now, where it belongs...
in the hands of the people
of the world.
Here we are, ladies and gentlemen,
in the East Room of The White House...
on the most important day
in the peace and prosperity of the world.
The Washington Covenant has already been
signed by most of the foreign powers...
and Baron Kenzo Futimoto,
Prime Minister of Japan...
is about to sign the covenant.
President Hammond
has not yet appeared.
[Japanese]
The Right Honourable Charles Campbell,
Prime Minister of Great Britain...
is next signer of the covenant.
Today truly begins a new era
of peace and prosperity...
for the peoples of the world.
The Right Honourable Paul-Laurent
Chauffard, the Prime Minister of France...
is next to sign.
[French]
The President.
Are you alright, Sir?
With this document...
this Covenant of Washington...
the world takes its first real step to
prevent our civilisation from tottering...
as did forgotten civilisations
before us.
Bring him right here...
There on the settee.
Be careful, boys.
Loosen his collar.
- Get me some water!
- Yessir.
Alright, boys... thanks.
- Here's the water, Doctor.
- Put it over there.
It's his heart.
You'd better make some statement
to the delegates.
Anything, to allay their fears.
Hello, Pendy, old girl.
Here, Mr President, take this.
There's nothing you can do
for me, Split.
Does the President of the United States
meet with your approval?
He's proved himself.
One of the greatest men
who ever lived.
Hold my hand, Pendy.
Gentlemen, the President of the United
States sends you his heartfelt gratitude...
for your magnificent accomplishment
in achieving this Washington Covenant.
His only thought being that the
millennium of peace on Earth...
be preserved forever
for the peoples of the world..
Gentlemen, the President of
the United States is dead.