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NARRATOR: The film which you are about to see
is an account of the crimes committed by Karen Bird and Jack Blueblood.
By June of 1974, they would be responsible for 11 homicides
and wanted dead or alive in six US states.
Karen Bird was born in the shadow of the Appalachian Mountains
in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on January 24th 1956.
She weighed six pounds eight ounces
and was described by the hospital staff as being a particularly pleasant baby.
Jack Blueblood was born a half-breed seven years earlier
on an Indian reservation in South Dakota.
His father was a Lakota Sioux
and his mother, who died giving birth, was Irish Catholic.
Try as he might, Jack's father could never forgive his son
for taking away the love of his life.
(BEATING)
Not a day went by that young Jack wasn't reminded of his guilt.
Unlike Jack, Karen grew up a model child in a model American town.
The only symptom of her budding misbehavior was an aversion to church,
and CCD, and an obsession with guns.
(CLATTERS)
Jack inherited from his mother a sweet tooth,
her good looks, and an extensive record collection.
When Elvis Presley broke in 1955, Jack became his disciple.
In Elvis and his music, Jack felt something ancient.
Something primal. He felt freedom.
Both Jack and Karen would continue to lead aimless, reckless lives
throughout their adolescence,
both searching for something better, something more,
something elusive they couldn't quite define.
It was only a matter of time before this yearning led them to one another.
They would eventually meet
at the Second Chances Rehabilitation Clinic
located in Floodwood, Michigan.
Karen was sent there involuntarily by her parents
after she was suspended from high school
and turned to nicotine, vodka and teenage boys.
Jack was sent there by the state for his barbiturate addiction
and an increasingly abnormal obsession with Elvis Presley.
Well, at the time of your evaluation,
you said that Elvis was straying from the righteous path
and it was your duty to guide his soul to salvation.
Yep.
Diagnosed with a delusional disorder,
Jack was prescribed daily sessions of electroshock therapy
at twice the recommended dosage.
(SIZZLES)
On March 13th 1974, Karen and Jack would cross paths for the first time,
setting in motion one of the most destructive love affairs
in the annals of US crime.
JACK: Get your fuckin' paws off me, man!
My people was born here in this dirt and I'll do as I goddamn please!
Can I help you?
(CLATTERS)
So what's a pretty girl like you doing here stuck with all these juggle heads?
I don't know.
My parents thought I should take it easy for a while, I guess,
- I got nerves, - Yeah, they say I got the nerves too.
I mean, how can't a smart person with a brain have the nerves?
You see the world we live in? You gotta wonder.
It's the people that don't have nerves
who should be locked up in here, I think.
- They're the real suspicious ones. - Yeah, I guess,
- So what's your name? - Karen.
- That's a pretty name. - Thanks.
My name's Jack Blueblood.
(CHATTER OVER WALKIE-TALKIE)
Can I see you again?
- Maybe, - I gotta get.
Hey. He's in the ladies' room.
(MUFFLED VOICES)
- (LOUD THUD) - GUARD: Ow!
(GLASS SHATTERS)
I just don't wanna be some...
Chattanooga chambermaid.
I want something different.
Like what, Karen?
- I don't know really. - And that is the crux of your anxiety.
The unknown.
- You mind if I have a smoke? - No,
- Dr Sanborn, can I ask you something? - Of course.
Why is that Jack Blueblood guy here?
Because he hears voices in his head that tell him to kill,
- I also think he might be queer. - (LAUGHS)
You can laugh if you want to but Jack Blueblood is a very dangerous man.
You need to stay away from him. Trust me,
On top of solar flares and sun spots,
what I'm really most freaked about is pandemics,
Toby! Get!
Checkmate.
Little birdie told me you snitched on my hiding spot.
Oh, yeah?
Look, sugar tits, I don't know who the fuck you think you are,
but there's rules around here.
Don't call me sugar tits.
Rule number one, I'll call you whatever the fuck I wanna call you.
Rule two, do not cross me.
I carry artillery in my boot just like the King and I ain't afraid to use it.
I'm 50% Irish, 50% Lakota Sioux.
I'm 100% white trash.
NARRATOR: Jack and Karen fell for each other quickly.
According to an entry in Karen's diary at the time,
Jack is unlike anyone she'd ever met before.
KAREN: Sure, he's crazy but he's alive.
He's got mercury for blood and fire in his eyes.
And although he might look rough and primitive,
deep down he's sensitive and kind.
Last week at movie night, he cried during "Pride of the Yankees",
and he whittled me a statuette of the Virgin Mary out of a bar of Lava.
He says that sometimes his head feels like it's crowded
with a bunch of black dogs who won't quit barking. It drives him mad.
And I can relate to that feeling.
Plus we tell each other secrets we ain't never told anyone before.
When I was eight years old, I killed a baby bluebird just to watch it die.
I feel bad about that.
I like The Beach Boys more than The Beatles.
Don't tell anyone. It's controversial.
My one true dream in life is to step foot into the Pacific Ocean,
feel the warm frothy water on my legs, breathe in the fresh salty air.
Your turn.
I hate my daddy.
My favorite month of the year is October when the air smells all wet and fun,
When I listen to Elvis, it's like the gospel.
Those two minutes and 30 seconds
I forget I'm just a kid trapped in a box somewhere waiting to die.
I'm free, baby.
You are the most beautiful, most far-out chick I've ever seen in my whole life,
NARRATOR: Karen had never felt this way about a boy before.
When she was with him she didn't feel that funny, lonesome feeling,
and neither did he.
But this carefree time would soon come to an end.
PATIENT: Felt like the walls were caving in,
like the air was disappearing and the sky was falling.
Like nothing was real no more and I was being erased from it all.
Like I was being rubbed out.
DOCTOR: Very courageous. Thank you for sharing that,
DOCTOR: All right, everyone, let's discuss what Toby told us.
(KNOCKING)
- Who's there? - JACK: It's me, baby. Open up.
- What's the password? - JACK: Pretty please. Open up.
I gotta tell you something, I gotta tell you something. Hold on.
What?
Now, we've been going steady for a couple of weeks now. Right?
So there's something you should know about me.
- OK. - A couple of years back...
My dead mama made contact with me.
She told me that I gotta kill Elvis.
NARRATOR: By 1972, it had become clear to Jack
that a distinct change had occurred in Elvis and his music.
Shortly after the "Aloha From Hawaii" special, while high on mezcal...
(BACKWARDS SINGING)
...Jack accidentally spun his favorite Elvis record backwards,
and claimed to have heard a message from his dead mother
spinning in the grooves of the wax.
(DISTORTED VOICE) Kill Elvis.
Elvis, like Elvis Elvis?
Look, I knew you were gonna say that and I know it sounds crazy, baby,
but you gotta trust me on this one, OK? Look, I got proof.
Elvis is playing the Sports Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, on May 11th.
Which also happens to be my dead mama's birthday.
Now, does that sound like a coincidence to you? Cos it don't to me.
- What are you trying to say? - I'm gonna bust out of here.
I'm gonna hitch west and I'm gonna kill the son of a bitch.
Are you gonna come with me, sunshine?
You always said you wanted to see the ocean.
The beaches and the sunscreen. Don't you just love that smell?
I thought you loved Elvis, Jack.
I do.
So then why would your mama want you to kill him?
I don't know, Karen.
I've been waiting on a sign from my mama just to make sure this is 100%,
and then this came in the mail today.
This is my destiny, Karen. It's my calling.
I need you to come with me.
Look, I ain't never had the courage to do this till I met you.
Hey. What I tell you two about being in each other's rooms, huh?
Fuck off, Get off me, Hey, just think about it, OK?
Dr Sanborn would like to see you in his office.
- It's time for your 'sis. Let's go. - (JACK RANTS)
(DOOR SHUTS)
(JACK GRUNTS)
(SIZZLES)
Miss Bird. Come in.
Have a seat.
(LOCK CLICKS)
I want to talk to you about your affairs with Jack Blueblood.
- (SIZZLES) - (GRUNTS)
- (SIZZLES) - (GROANS)
(SIZZLES)
(PROLONGED GROANS)
(KNOCKS ON DOOR)
What's the matter, baby?
(VOICE BREAKS) Dr Sanborn.
- What? - He... He touched me.
He did what?
Hey, Doc. I think that therapy is working out real great.
(GLASS TINKLES)
(PILLS RATTLE)
(ALARM BELL RINGS)
All right, everybody. Time to go home.
Tell your friends, you whackos, this party's over.
Baby, it's me.
I killed that scumbag piece of shit, cos he deserved it,
and I ain't ever gonna let anyone touch you
or look at you funny or say a bad thing ever again.
I love you.
I love you too.
Pack your shit. We're going to California.
NARRATOR: By the time the police arrived,
Jack and Karen had hotwired a 1961 Cadillac Deville and hit the road.
They would arrive in LA eventually,
but first they would enjoy the sights and sounds of America.
Dr Guido Nash, an expert on adolescent psychology.
Look, in rare cases, patients of his sort
receiving experimental therapies can have violent reactions, sure.
DR NASH: But the girl, she haunts me.
I don't know what to say about her.
Her file reads like Jackie Onassis's.
She had parents who loved her, affluence, good looks.
She had every privilege in life.
She should have been a debutante.
Jack?
You think you're going to heaven or hell?
Eternity anywhere sounds like hell.
After 2,000 years of playing baseball and flying around,
I think I'd be looking for a way out.
You know what I think?
Close your eyes.
KAREN: I think it's like this. But forever.
♪ Hmm, mm-mm-mm
♪ Will you walk along with me
♪ To the dark side
♪ Of the twilight
♪ Will you come along with me
♪ Stay by my side
(HUMS)
(RADIO JINGLE)
OVER RADIO: A select committee of the United States Senate
is about to begin pubic hearings on something called Watergate.
One year ago today, Watergate was just an address,
a rather fancy, expensive address in this capital city,
but now it has come to symbolize much more.
The word "crisis" is perhaps too mild to apply to Watergate.
President Nixon's White House has been shaken,
indeed the entire executive branch of the government
has been jolted by the continuing accusations and revelations.
Most of them, it must be kept in mind, not yet proved.
Seven men, only seven men,
have been convicted for their part in the burglary.
We see now Senator Sam Ervin, who is the chairman of the...
NARRATOR: Elvis Presley, despite all his trying otherwise,
had somehow gotten caught in the lazy river of time.
At 39 years old, he had more than betrayed
the fresh-faced boy from Memphis he once was.
You know, I just sing the only way I know how to, really.
And people seem to like that, so I'm real glad about that. I'm lucky.
What do you plan on doing
after this whole rock and roll thing has run its course?
Well, um... I don't know, sir.
Maybe I'll go back to being an electrician or something like that.
NARRATOR: But rock and roll had never run its course.
For better or for worse, it was here for good,
and Elvis was its accidental king.
(GIRLS SCREAM)
A king navigating the zeitgeist of a time and people
he didn't always understand.
After this rehearsal, you have a one o'clock meeting with Mr Beefy.
People who had led him astray, who had made him their song-and-dance man,
and when they got bored, stopped seeing his movies,
stopped listening, really listening,
to the voice that had grabbed them by the shirt collars
and shook their souls.
The summer tour of 1974, his first in years,
was a concentrated effort to win back those who had strayed from the King.
To reassert his seat at the throne.
The first date, at the Los Angeles Sports Coliseum,
was to be the big send-off. They had been planning it for weeks.
What is it?
♪ That powers throughout
♪ The universe displayed
That's it.
MAN: All right, Elvis, we should take ten, I think.
All right, damn it, don't...
(CLATTERS)
Don't tell me when to take a break, all right?
We're doing a song up here, we finish the song,
And yet mere days away from the show...
That's just unheard of.
...Elvis was ill prepared. He was 20 pounds too heavy.
You boys don't listen to him, you listen to me,
And his voice was unrehearsed.
Perhaps worst of all, he didn't really care.
And it was that nihilism, that black-hole feeling in his chest,
that scared him the most.
All right, take ten, let's do it.
- MAN 1: Cut, Slate, - MAN 2:634,278 to nine.
But Elvis was a religious man. He prayed for redemption.
He prayed for a return to glory.
Somebody get me another Coke, please?
And little did he know... salvation was on its way.
KAREN: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil,
Amen.
(SIGHS) OK.
(HORN BEEPS)
(ENGINE TURNS OFF)
Jack?
- Jack! - Hey there, T.
Hey!
NARRATOR: Jack's only companion on the reservation
was another outsider,
a slight-figured nancy boy by the name of Teijo Littlefoot.
I was going for a kind of ethereal Joni Mitchell by way of Paul Bunyan
for the decorating scheme.
A lot of kinda like feminine trinkets next to masculine knick-knacks,
I made that one.
Oh! And I got these cute little thingamajigs at the dollar store.
- Aren't they cute? - Mm-hmm,
They remind me always to smile even if I'm feeling blue,
So, Jack, what you in town for, huh? You all right?
Right as rain, Teijo.
We had to kill a few folks back at the loony bin so we're on the I am.
- We're headed to LA, - Los Angeles. Oh, my goodness!
Hey, Jack, could you take me with you?
(LAUGHS)
I don't think so, Teej.
Oh, come on, please. I get so bored here,
All I do is watch this stupid television.
And when nothing's on, I hang out with Kimbo.
Do you remember Kimbo, the little handicapped kid?
He's so annoying.
Look, you don't wanna get yourself mixed up or killed on our account, OK?
We got an objective. We can't have any dead weight, I'm sorry, buddy,
- Oh, my. You're finally doing it, huh? - That's right.
This is big, This is big, He's been thinking about this for years.
That's exactly right.
That's why I'm gonna need to get that map I gave to you.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: Before Jack was committed,
he had buried a duffel bag full of guns,
money and rare first-edition comic books.
He drew out a map of its location and wrote the directions in pig Latin
and entrusted it in Teijo's safe-keeping
while he was away from home.
Teijo, this is all I have.
This is everything.
You're my best friend but if you fuck this up, I will kill you,
You can trust me, Jack.
TEIJO: Oh, I must have seen that movie, Midnight Cowboy, I don't know,
like seven times in the theater. It was so good,
KAREN: Is that the one about the two queer men?
- TEIJO: Yeah, - KAREN: Yeah, I like that one too.
JACK: They were not queer in that movie, they were friends,
It was about friendship. Get y'all's heads out of the gutter, man,
(KAREN LAUGHS)
- JACK: What's so funny? - KAREN: Nothing.
Goddammit, Teijo, This don't make no sense.
We should have found it by now.
Things move. The earth moves. You never heard of plate tectonics?
(DULL THUD)
JACK: Sweet mother Mary.
(LAUGHS)
Teijo, where's the money?
Oh, I don't know.
- What do you mean, you don't know? - I don't know.
Teijo, you got about five seconds before I come over there.
It's gone. OK? It's gone. I used it all, it's gone.
No!
- Come here. - KAREN: Jack!
- Gonna whup your ass, boy. - Jack! Stop it!
Come here.
(PANTS)
- I bought pills, OK? - What kind of pills?
Estrogen pills. Lots of them.
What the fuck are you talking about?!
Read about it in Newsweek. They're supposed to make you more womanly.
So if I get my operation, I want my body to accept my new girly parts,
- Are you out of your goddamn mind?! - That's not fair,
I wasn't gonna leave the money in there for all the wormies.
Fuck you, Teijo.
Jack. Jack. Jack.
- Be reasonable, Jack. Come on. - Come on, Karen.
- Not you, bro. - Oh, yes, me.
You're not leaving me out here with all this shit,
(EXHALES)
Daddy. It's Jack. Open up.
I know you're in there.
California, huh?
- (RAPS ON DOOR) - Daddy, it's Jack,
I need to talk to you.
There's a lot of people there that can help me,
- Yeah? - Yeah. Doctors and stuff.
- (TAPS LOUDLY ON WINDOW) - Open up, you drunk son of a bitch.
Well, I wouldn't get any ideas, Teijo. I mean, you know Jack.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACH)
Daddy.
NARRATOR: Jack hadn't looked his father in the eyes for many years.
Doing so then was the closest he ever came
to feeling a sense of love for the old man.
(SNIFFS)
Hey, K!
Daddy, this is my female friend Karen. Karen, say hi,
Hi.
Don't she look an awful lot like Mama?
Kiggy, what do you want?
Look... We ain't here for no trouble, all right?
It's just that... You remember Teijo.
He used all my money to...
Well, we need to borrow some bread.
Goddamn it, no!
Goddamn it! Hey! Open the fucking door!
(RAPS)
Open up!
That ain't who I think it was, was it?
(SIGHS)
Goddamn it, I told you I didn't want any trouble.
You have been trouble since the day you were born.
(GUNSHOT)
Oh, God.
Where's the money?
Where's the fucking money?!
(RATTLES)
You know, if you think about it, I kinda did you a favor here.
You're gonna be reunited with Mama again,
Will you tell her I said I love her? I can hear her loud and clear,
It's a shame we never got on right.
It's too late now, I guess.
There's cops. There's cops out...
TEIJO: Shit!
- Fuck, is he dead? - JACK: Yeah, he's dead.
OK, no, no, you both are taking me with you to LA.
- Absolutely not. - No! You can't leave me with this.
I said no, Teijo.
Jack, let him come with, I could use a friend on the road.
Ah, come on.
All right, look, you guys go out back. I'll take the pigs in the front,
You go on my signal, OK?
- Is everything cool, baby? - I'm willing,
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(GUNSHOT)
(BANG)
(WHOOPS AND LAUGHS)
NARRATOR: Karen's usually sedated suburb found itself in a media frenzy
not seen since the high-school football team won state 16 years prior.
The death count is now five.
Jack Blueblood and Karen Bird, lovers, dreamers, serial killers.
FEMALE REPORTER: Karen Bird, the silver-spoon delinquent,
enjoyed riding her bike,
donating to charity, and participating in religious education.
Then something went astray.
I didn't really know her.
My dad said I couldn't talk to her
after she supported McGovern in our school's mock election.
Just fun, I guess. I don't know.
The Bird family has been kind enough to open up their home to our cameras.
I'm in Karen's room right now.
I want to show you all something we found
while investigating her record collection.
NARRATOR: A poem Karen had written on the inside sleeve
of Karen Dalton's "In My Own Time" was analyzed for clues.
KAREN: Moonbeams and daydreams and buttons and bows.
Saltwater kisses and hot sand between toes.
My mom in her summer dress and the smell of her hair.
The sounds of July and life without care.
NARRATOR: Amid Jack and Karen's honeymoon of bloodshed,
the law was hot on their tail.
They were traced to a motel only seven hours from the reservation
where they had signed into the guest registrar with phony names.
Having been informed that his client
was on the precipice of a nervous breakdown,
Colonel Tom Parker flew to Los Angeles
in hopes of interceding a mental collapse and protecting investments.
Hey.
What did I tell you about sunglasses where I can't see your eyes?
- Take 'em off. - Yes, sir.
Now, what's this I hear from Charlie about you not hitting your notes?
Tour starts in two days, Elvis.
How is everything?
Colonel, you remember when we first met?
Of course.
You told me I'd be the brightest star ever did shine,
Yes, I did.
And I was.
You are still the brightest star, Elvis.
No, sir, I... I think...
What do they call them old dead stars burned out a long time ago?
Dwarfs, I'm like,,, I'm like a dwarf star.
What are you talking about?
Sir, I'm talking about quitting. Quitting the whole racket,
Do you have any idea what kind of money is tied up in this tour?
Contracts, the tickets, the paychecks?
Not to mention that canceling such an event
would cause an irreparable rift between you and the public,
and we don't need any more of that.
Elvis, listen.
Once this tour is through, by all means, take some time off.
That Lisa Marie, she ain't gonna be a little girl forever,
Mama came to see me in a dream. Couple of nights back.
I think she was trying to tell me something but I don't understand what.
Things just ain't the same since she passed, sir,
- That's when all this really started. - All what started?
Just all this sorrow.
NIXON ON TV: ...that I welcome this kind of examination,
because people have got to know whether or not their president's a crook.
Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got.
(MUSIC PLAYS IN BACKGROUND)
Can I help you?
- Hello. My name's Jack Blueblood. - What do you want?
Well, sir, I don't know if you remember me but we met a few years back,
Sioux Falls Elvis convention. You gave me your address here
and told me you might be able to help me find Elvis,
Yeah.
Jack Blueblood, We got shithoused that night, didn't we?
- Yeah, we certainly did, sir. - How are you, man?
- Doing good. Do you mind if we come in? - Yeah, you can all come in, Come on in,
It's been a while since I've been on that convention circuit.
I don't know, been what, four or five years, Jack?
Oh, that was... That was 1970, sir.
- Long time. - Awful cool place you got here, man.
Yeah, thank you, My wife had a real eye for things.
It's really all her junk. Yeah.
She's in a better place.
So, what brings you out west? Where y'all heading?
Oh, we're just passing through on our way to LA,
Ooh! City of Angels.
Who's this girl standing next to Elvis?
Oh, yeah, That would be Miss Dixie Locke.
Yes, That was Elvis's high-school sweetheart.
Mr X knew Elvis way back when, Karen. Ain't that something?
Yeah. Old, old friends.
And where is she now?
I don't know. Suppose just another name in the phonebook.
Just a footnote in the life story of a boy that she loved when she was 16.
Huh. I'm getting all sentimental. Sorry about that,
Let's talk shop. What can I do you for, Mr Jack?
Well, I came here to get the name of the hotel Elvis stays at in LA.
(LAUGHS)
As well as his room number and whatever name he uses for the reservation,
Why would you need that information, son?
You told me a couple of years ago I could buy that information off of you.
80 bucks. That's what you told me a few years back.
Jack, we was laid out drunk.
I might have said a few things that I really couldn't...
Look, man, we both know I didn't drive out here
in the middle of goddamn nowhere to shoot the shit with you,
What's the name of the hotel?
I heard about y'all on the radio. Oh, yeah,
I heard your name, Jack Blueblood. I remembered our little conversation.
You son of a bitch. I tell you what.
I was mad at Elvis way back then but I'm not now. I found it in my heart--
(GUNSHOTS)
Come again?
Presidential suite, Beverly Canyon Hotel.
(CLICK)
Directory assistance.
I need the Beverly Canyon Hotel in Los Angeles, California, please.
Hi, uh... Can I be connected to... What's the name on the room?
Mr X: Woodrow Wilson.
To Woodrow Wilson's suite?
One second, darling. Password?
- Sea salt. - Sea salt.
(CHUCKLES)
That wasn't so hard, was it? All right, deal's a deal, man. 80 bucks.
I'm gonna need to take your phone.
I'm also gonna slash the tires on your Dodge out there,
I'm really sorry about that.
So here's 140. That should cover it.
That should pay for everything. Let's go,
He's just a man, Jack.
He's just a sad, poor old man.
NARRATOR: That afternoon, Karen felt a sensation in her gut
she hadn't felt for a long time.
She looked for familiar shapes and faces in the desert clouds,
but there were none to be found.
At a truck stop in Mexican Hat, Utah,
she stole from the book rack a "Vixen" magazine for Jack,
a "Total Teen" for Teijo,
and a picture book on Ancient Egypt for herself.
On their long car ride to the Grand Canyon,
she wrote a short memoir about herself in hieroglyphics.
She didn't share it with Jack or Teijo,
and when she arrived at the Grand Canyon later that day
she ripped it up into a million pieces
and watched as her biography fell to the bottom of the earth like snow.
KAREN: Did you know the sun's gonna burn out one day?
- TEIJO: My God. Really? - KAREN: True story.
When?
About five billion years, give or take.
That's crazy.
Yeah, once it runs out of hydrogen, it'll become, like, a red giant,
and then expand and swallow the Earth and all the other planets,
And then it'll explode and turn into a black dwarf or something.
Black dwarf? No, thank you.
Yeah. It used to really scare me when I was a little girl, but...
Now five billion years seems like an eternity.
Teijo, can I tell you something? You promise you won't tell anyone else?
Oh, my God, secrets. Yes.
I missed my monthlies.
Well, when were you supposed to get 'em?
I don't know, Couple of days ago, I haven't really been keeping track.
Baby Jack. Imagine that.
I,,, I think you're gonna make a great mama one day, Karen.
Thank you.
I look at you and you're just,,, You're so cool and confident and pretty.
You're an inspiration to someone like me who doesn't have a lot of confidence.
No, that's not true, Teijo.
It is.
You know what? You don't need to worry anymore, Teijo.
Cos in California everything's gonna be different.
There's a lot of people like you there. A lot of people like us,
♪ There's a city of light
♪ Where there cometh no night
♪ For the sun never sets
♪ In the sky
♪ In the Bible we are told
♪ That the streets are pure gold
♪ And a cool gentle river
♪ Runs by
♪ Oh, I'm bound for that city
♪ God's holy white city
♪ Oh, yes, I am
♪ I'll never turn back
♪ To this world anymore
♪ No matter how rough may be the way
♪ No matter how oft I stop to pray
♪ I'm bound for that city
♪ On that evergreen shore
(BUOY BELL RINGS)
(LIFT BELL DINGS)
(DOORS SLIDE OPEN)
- Daddy! - Hey, babies.
- You all right? - Yeah,
The Colonel said you were having a nervous spell or something,
No, I ain't having any damn nervous spell.
All right.
Hope you're being healthy.
Yeah. I am, Priscilla.
Good. Let's go, sweetie.
Well, hold on there. Where you going?
It's Lisa's bedtime, Got a big day tomorrow.
(BELL DINGS)
We're gonna go to the beach before Daddy's show, aren't we, Lisa?
Mm-hmm.
All right, why don't you put her on the bed and come on back for a while?
Elvis, I can't.
Enjoy your party.
- Night, Injun, - Good night, Daddy.
Party's this way, Elvis.
Want one of these?
What's that?
Doctor dropped by this afternoon.
- Which doc? - New guy,
(MUSIC PLAYS)
- You go ahead, I'll be right in. - All right.
(PSYCHEDELIC MUSIC PLAYS)
(ENGINE HUMS)
Jack, I need to say something.
I don't think you should kill Elvis.
(CHUCKLES)
You're a real riot, Karen.
I ain't kidding.
Mr X's story and the photos on the wall,
it made me realize Elvis is real.
He's got blood in his veins and love in his heart just like us.
Thank you, Karen. I know that.
I think the law will let you off easy for killing Sanborn,
He was a perv and you protected me.
And your daddy...
Well, he treated you wrong your whole life and he got what was coming.
But Elvis is an innocent man.
Karen, there ain't nobody that's innocent, All right?
Jack, you love Elvis.
- That man is a fucking phony! - Phony?
You know that I have strict orders from my mama to do this.
Your mama's dead.
(TIRES SCREECH)
You better take it back.
What? It's the truth.
You take it back right now.
No.
Let go. Let go!
You shouldn't have done that.
I'm sorry. All right? I'm sorry.
Karen, will you get back in the goddamn car?
- Please? - No!
Karen, honey. Get back in the car.
Turtle dove. Most beautiful girl I've ever seen.
Will you please get back in the fucking car right now?
Karen, when you joined this thing,
you knew full well what you were getting into
and now you're just as much a part of it as anybody else!
Not true. I ain't killed no one.
- (LOUD GUNSHOT) - (GASPS)
- (ENGINE REVS) - (LOUD METALLIC THUD)
(GRUNTS)
Teijo! Get back in the goddamn car!
- (GRUNTS) - All right, Blueblood.
On the count of three, I'm gonna shoot your queer little companion,
Three... two... one.
JACK: OK!
(METALLIC CLUNK)
(COCKS GUN)
♪ I don't know if
♪ We're in a garden
♪ Or on
♪ A crowded avenue
♪ Sha bop sha bop
♪ You are here
♪ Sha bop sha bop
♪ And so am I
♪ Sha bop sha bop
♪ Maybe millions of people
♪ Sha bop sha bop
♪ Go by
♪ But they all disappear
♪ From view
♪ And I only have eyes
♪ For you
♪ Sha bop sha bop
Would you guys like the Shangri-La Suite?
It's for lovers.
Yeah, OK.
(SIGHS)
This is your thing.
Your whole life's plan, not mine.
I thought maybe it was but it ain't.
I always make that mistake.
Plus I think I'm pregnant.
How long have you known?
I don't know-know.
I just haven't had my lady time in a while.
It's been on my mind.
I'm sorry if this interferes with your destiny.
It don't really.
I'd just adopt it into my whole plan.
Destiny plus baby.
(EXHALES)
(KNOCKS)
- MAN: Yeah. Who is it? - The Colonel.
He's not in good shape, Colonel.
COLONEL: Open the goddamn blinds.
Things got crazy, I made sure he had a good time.
I asked you to get his spirits up, not lay him out.
Elvis. Wake up, son.
Elvis, you got a concert in seven hours.
Hey. Daddy.
Just flying...
If he is not at the sports arena for that soundcheck,
you and the rest are fired.
And I will blacklist every single one of you. Do you understand me?
Loud and clear, sir.
Elvis! Hey! Come on, man, you gotta work with me, brother.
Gotta help me out.
♪ Ooh-ooh! Ooh-ooh!
♪ Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!
♪ When they gave out
♪ Eyes like diamonds
♪ That would shame...
Are you sisters?
Y'all look like sisters. You look like twins,
♪ My darlin'...
I'm a twin.
♪ My darlin'
♪ You were the first in line
I had a brother, Jesse, he was...
He was number one, he come first, but he's,,, he's dead,
♪ That hold a new thrill every time
♪ My darlin'
♪ You were the first in line
♪ There may be others
♪ That knew you longer
♪ Who pledge their hearts to you
♪ But there's no other
♪ Could love you stronger...
Are we going to the ocean, Jack?
Soon as I get back, baby.
- Don't you go without me, OK? - OK,
I put a,22 in the desk drawer next to the Bible, just in case.
I love you.
I love you too, baby.
♪ The first and the last in line
♪ There may be others
♪ That knew you longer
♪ Who pledge their hearts to you
♪ The first
♪ And the last in line
(STARTS ENGINE)
ANNOUNCER: And here comes the biggest news in entertainment history,
for here in person comes the singing sensation Elvis Presley in person.
Well, I just think he's still the King, you know?
Once the King, always the King.
I just... I just...
(GIGGLES)
I just... I love him so much.
Ever since that first time I saw him sing on TV, I felt the holy spirit, man.
I saw the light, brother. It was amazing.
I love him so much. I love him so much.
NARRATOR: The Pacific Ocean was larger
and more inspiring than Karen had ever imagined.
Looking upon it, she thought of all the countless waves
which had crashed along the beach throughout history.
A natural process, happening constantly and endlessly,
without her involvement or observation.
This thought made her both happy and sad at the same time.
And then Karen said a prayer for herself, and for Elvis,
and for Teijo, and for Jack.
- Pretty neat sandcastle you got there. - Thanks,
Lisa. Hey.
Hello.
I'm looking for a Mr, uh... Woodrow Wilson,
KAREN: Dear Jack, it's not easy for me to write this letter,
though I feel it's unlikely you'll ever read it.
I don't believe we have a guest here by that name, sir,
Sea salt?
It's been a whirlwind couple of months, and this last week especially.
I need your car keys.
I love you, and I'm sorry.
Now, please.
But eternity anywhere sounds like hell. KB.
Mr Wilson can be accessed via the service elevator in the basement.
That gentleman at the velvet rope can show you the way,
- And what's your name, sir? - My name's Jack Blueblood.
P.S. I hope you found whatever it was you were looking for.
XOXO.
♪ I'm so hurt
♪ To think that you, you lied to me
♪ I'm hurt
♪ Way down deep inside of me
♪ You said your love was true
♪ And we'd never, never, ever part
♪ Now you want someone new
♪ And it breaks my heart
♪ Whoa-oh
♪ I'm so hurt
♪ Much more than you'll ever know
♪ Yes, darling, I'm so hurt
♪ Because I still love you so
♪ But
♪ But even though you hurt me
♪ Like nobody else could ever do
♪ I would never
♪ Ever hurt
♪ Hurt you
(SILENCE)
(GUNSHOT)
NARRATOR: Looking into Elvis's eyes, it all became clear to Jack.
This was the man who sang "That's All Right" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky"
and "Mystery Train." This was his hero.
It was a voice that had gotten him through many lonely nights.
This was Elvis Aaron Presley.
They were dream brothers,
and they were connected by some inextricable cosmic force.
And then Jack died.
If you're just joining us, we have breaking news
from the Beverly Canyon Hotel,
where there has been an assassination attempt on Elvis.
Elvis's unidentified assailant
was shot down by one of the Memphis Mafia, Judd Feathers,
who we're hearing died soon after by wounds sustained to his chest.
We're going live to an interview with Elvis now.
My old friend J Feathers is, uh...
Well, he's a hero and he saved my life.
We're gonna dedicate tonight's show to him.
NARRATOR: The whole thing was covered up by RCA and the Colonel,
who feared that the incident might tarnish
Elvis's already tenuous relationship with the public and his fans.
The incident lives on in Elvis's can of urban legends,
along with his supposed abduction by aliens
and the faking of his own death three years later.
(ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA PLAYS)
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
(WILD CHEERING)
Elvis played to the Los Angeles crowd that evening like he was 18.
He had found his Shangri-La.
He had found salvation. He had found the righteous path.
And so had Jack.
As for Karen, some say her car slid off the highway and into the ocean,
where she's still trapped underwater, entombed by the sea.
Others speculate she moved to Canada, gave birth to Jack's child,
and became what she ran away from in the first place, her mother.
The most popular story is that she changed her name,
laid low for a few years and re-emerged a decade later
as recording artist Jennifer Fever, whose minor 1988 hit "Shangri-La Suite"
was said to have been about her brief affair with Jack Blueblood.
As far as the evidence is concerned, she was last seen
entering a gas-station bathroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Billy Freehall, a transient male prostitute
and the last person to see her alive,
claimed he would never forget the look on her face.
A mixture of freedom and despair.
It would stay with him for the rest of his short life.
Sure, the sun would burn out one day
but that wasn't for a very, very long time.
The future was an endless highway,
and Karen would follow the sun until its end.