Deadly Game (1977) - full transcript
A military convoy is transporting something apparently for disposal. They pass by Sheriff Abel Marsh's town and they are passing by property that's owned by Amy Franklin who is the girlfriend of Abel's deputy, Malcolm. Before they know it, everything around the property is uninhabitable. The army returns to clean things up and make restitution. But there is one nagging question, was this an accident or was it deliberate? That is something Abel is most interested in finding out.
Stryker, 0305977.
412.
The president
loves you,
colonel stryker...
As, of course,
we all do.
Of course.
It has to be done.
The congress has spoken.
Congress has
a tendency to speak,
especially
in an election year.
That's not really
a very profound
remark, you know.
But then, luckily,
you're not paid to think.
It's only
10,000 gallons.
Agh.
Dump it. Pack it up,
move it, dump it.
Pull in
that crew--
that nerveless bunch
of boobs you worked
with before--and move it.
How?
Covertly, that's how,
and don't fly it.
Do you know
what 412 is?
Thank you very much.
I don't want to know
what 412 is.
Very wise of you.
I pray you'll
never learn.
I prefer my present
assignment.
But he loves you.
Oh, no, he doesn't.
He needs me.
That's a different
thing, Billy.
Is it?
Are you certain?
Yes.
Well, I'm not.
As I grow older,
I'm not really certain
about anything
anymore.
That's why you're
the perfect man
for your job, Billy.
I know. That's
probably why
I'm in charge here.
I haven't the faintest
idea what I'm doing.
You're lying.
I often lie.
There's no need
to lie.
Isn't there?
Ha ha ha!
Welcome back, sergeant.
I'm glad it's you.
Did you have to ask
for me, colonel?
You know,
the percentages
are getting
mighty low.
Come on, Jim.
We wouldn't do that
to you.
Not much.
What am I carrying
this time?
This load's
as wholesome and safe
as apple pie.
What do you think
you're doing, redman,
you ass?
I'm point man,
colonel.
You assigned me.
Where's the neon
sign saying
"what's with
the funny truck
behind me"?
Or is the outfit
notice enough?
This is covert,
redman. Covert!
Oops.
Covert?
Covert.
Jim, the president
loves you,
sergeant redman
loves you,
and I love you.
And I'll buy you
a beer in San Diego
in exactly 74 hours.
I was in Diego
during the war.
They had 3 Ferris wheels
on the main street.
What a town.
Swell.
Are you ready?
You ready, colonel?
Do it.
Done.
Now what, sir?
We hold our breath.
Bad load, sir?
Well, corporal,
it ain't apple pie.
[Truck horn honks]
You know, I don't think
California quail
are nafigous.
It's not pronounced
that way, Emma.
It's nidifugous.
Well, how would you
know that?
Nobody knows how
to pronounce that.
That's why they use
words like that.
Ah! Mountain
chickadee,
two o'clock.
Where?
Where? Where?
I don't see it.
Well, it's gone
now.
[Vehicle engine]
What's that noise?
It's a truck.
What truck would
use the old road?
Well, one is
today.
Well, it'll
frighten the birds.
The birds?
Emma, the general
belief is,
the birds moved out
the day you moved in.
There it is.
It's an awful
big truck.
I wonder what
it's doing here.
You are the only
birder I know
that smokes.
Why do you do that?
It's disgusting!
Who put you in charge?
I drink, too.
[Tires skidding]
Man: Hey, Phil!
Stop! Stop!
Get away from there!
Phil, come back!
Phil, come back!
No!
That Andy capp!
Gloria, what do you say
I take you out
for breakfast?
That's the best
piece of toast
I ever had.
Want some butter
for it?
Right under
your foot.
It'll sink, Abel.
It's going to sink.
You put cement
in water, Abel,
it sinks.
That's nature's way.
If you'd gone
to high school,
you'd know that.
Come on, get out.
We're having
a picnic.
Now. Out. You. Now.
People are doing this
all the time.
I've got plans
right inside,
pictures and everything.
It'll be finished
in a week,
if everybody
will leave me alone.
We'll have
a little sail.
Abel, there's no mast,
no rudder, no sail,
no anchor, no ropes.
We'll have
a little float?
And no
life preservers.
I went to high school,
and besides,
the water's only
4 feet deep there.
Your hull is
at least 5.
It won't even fit.
We'll wait
for high tide.
Talking to you
is like talking
to a wall--
a Welsh wall.
And it's not cement.
It's concrete.
Fat lot you know.
What have you got
in here?
Your favorite--
vanilla pudding
on whole wheat.
Mmm. With Mayo?
I'll just go
in the house
and clean up
a little bit.
Woman: You know,
that old joke really
applies to you.
What old joke?
You can tell
a rich boy from Georgia
because he's got
twocars jacked up
in his front yard.
Don't make fun
of my cars.
You can make fun
of my boat,
but don't make fun
of my cars.
And don't make fun
of Georgia.
[Siren]
Bad accident!
Abel: Where?
At Franklin crossing
by the old
bird sanctuary,
the old road.
A semi.
When?
Sometime
this morning.
People hurt?
People dead?
One ok, two dead.
Maybe more later.
A semi, you say?
Yeah, a big semi.
How big a crew?
3, I guess.
What did it hit?
Nothing. Apparently
it just blew up.
It didn't hit anything.
Wait a minute.
You said there were
a crew of 3,
you accounted
for 3,
it didn't hit
anything,
and you say
more may die?
Who?
US.
It's 412.
That's what they call it.
That's what
they call what?
412.
Ok. What's 412?
I don't know.
That's what colonel
stryker called it.
He's coming.
Ask him.
Whatever it is,
that's what spilled out.
I do know it's something
that doesn't break down,
doesn't go away,
unless, of course,
a wind comes up,
and blows it
somewhere else.
Oh, boy.
What are we supposed
to do, sergeant?
How do we clean it up?
You can't.
You don't have
the equipment.
The army
will clean it up.
Colonel stryker said
to close the area off
and pray.
It's some poison
something,
isn't it?
Poison gas
of some kind.
It's a weapon--
some kind of weapon
that kills
and doesn't go away,
some awful substance
rolling around
out at
Franklin crossing
because the u.S.
Army, in its
infinite wisdom,
decided to transport
on rotten old
back roads.
And it's just
lying there,
waiting for
a wind to come up
and kill US all.
Oh, good.
Abel, how are we
supposed to evacuate
2,000 backpackers
and hikers and campers
when we don't even
know where they're at?
We can't, Malcolm.
It would take
forever.
Anyway, the army's
sending in
some rig
from Los Angeles--
the container,
they call it.
It's supposed to
suck the stuff
up somehow.
Should be here
in a couple
of hours.
We may get by
unless a wind
comes up.
Did you find out
what that stuff is?
No, but it isn't
too pleasant.
It apparently
kills things.
Plants?
Plants?
Yeah, plants.
Trees. You know.
Will it hurt
growing things?
Will it
hurt the land?
There's land out there.
What's going to happen
to the land?
Gee, I don't know,
Malcolm.
All we can do
is wait and keep
people away
and not breathe
too deep.
What's the matter?
Well, that's
Amy's land.
She owns all that
land out there.
Amy?
Amy. Amy Franklin.
My girlfriend Amy.
Oh. Oh, right.
Yeah. Amy.
I didn't know you
two were serious.
Well, I'm serious.
Good. She's neat.
Yeah. I'd be really
lucky if it worked out.
Malcolm, you're
one of the nicest,
gentlest people I know.
She'd be lucky.
Uh, well, you see,
we decided...
Well, you see,
we discussed about what
she was going to do with it,
and we thought
maybe she'd sell it.
That's why I asked.
Be a real shame
if the land was ruined.
Yeah.
Norton air force base?
This is major slate.
Give me the weather
tower, please.
Yeah. Weather tower?
Major slate.
What's the plot?
Major slate?
It's an old trick.
See, they won't
give out--
yeah. Yeah.
Got you. Thanks.
I don't know why
I bother.
I don't know
what they're
talking about.
Do you really know
what a low-pressure
area is, really?
How serious
is it, Abel?
It's deadly serious.
We may sneak by.
Two men are dead
who were alive,
but the stuff--
412, they call it--
seems to stay
where it's spilled,
and there's no wind
and none predicted.
Well, you have
your hands full.
Here's your free lunch.
Uh, I'll trade you
lunch for dinner.
Deal.
The pit?
The pit? The pit?
That isn't food
they serve there,
you know.
I don't know
what it is,
but it isn't food.
That's how I get
half my patients.
6:00?
6:00.
The pit.
[Buzzing]
Abel marsh.
Abel, is that you?
Fred, who do you
think it is--
Marshall McLuhan?
Who? Who is it?
Fred--
we found a car
here, Abel,
parked
near the field.
One of those little
Japanese jobs.
I don't know.
They all look
alike to me.
And Doris, that
newspaper lady
who's coming out--
word's leaking, Abel.
Everything is leaking.
Ok, ok.
I'm coming.
[Car backfires]
Abel!
[Helicopter]
That's the army.
You seen the chief?
Just left.
Huh?
He just left.
That way.
Oh. Ok.
Down.
Is that the brass?
Colonel stryker?
Yeah, that's him
walking in.
Big fancy
scientific-type
gas mask,
some geiger-counter
kind of thing,
and off he went.
He's brought
a second mask,
if you'd like to join him.
Just breathe normally,
and if there's a leak,
that goes off.
Abel: Then what?
You get back up here
fast if you can
still walk--
if you're still alive.
Ok, let's try it.
Yeah.
[Muffled]
How do I talk?
Chief, if you
want to talk,
push that button
right there, see?
Right there.
There. That's right.
But it's safer
if you don't talk.
[Muffled]
No, no.
Push the button
right there.
That's right.
Now say what
you want to say.
What do you
want to say?
Good-bye.
Why did he
do that?
That's his job.
He's the chief
of police.
What's his job?
I have no idea.
Sabotage?
And/or murder.
Redman, 4 body bags.
Plastic gloves.
Right. Sergeant?
Polly Campbell
and Emma Henderson.
Two of our people--
spinsters, and neat
ladies.
So now 4 are dead
in Jasper lake.
Wind's up.
We're losing an acre
a minute. Move it.
We're moving, colonel.
We're going to get
the stuff.
At least there are
no more people
threatened.
People?
It's the land.
You can't suck
412 out of the land.
That's why congress
sent US to sea
to dump it.
412 does to
the land what it did
to those people,
and just
as permanent.
I don't know, Malcolm.
That's chemistry,
not medicine,
but I suspect
that they'll never
tell you what 412 is--
only what it does.
We can see
what it does.
Oh, well. You know,
it's only land.
It's not people.
Malcolm: Only land?
It's our--
it's your future.
Is it family
land, Amy?
She earned it.
♪ Won't you come home,
bill Bailey? ♪
♪ Want you to come home
♪ I moan
the whole night long ♪
♪ I'll do
the cooking, honey ♪
♪ I'll pay the rent
♪ I know
I done you wrong ♪
♪ remember that
rainy evening ♪
♪ I put you out...
Why don't we go
in there?
What?
Why don't we go
in there?
Ok.
Singers:
♪ bill Bailey, won't you
please come on home? ♪
What did that mean,
you earned it?
Oh. What Malcolm
is talking about
is that I'm divorced
and it was
my husband's land.
It was part
of my--
actually, all
of my divorce
settlement.
Um, this is
California, you know.
Half of his is mine;
Half of mine is his.
Well, he spent
his half of mine,
and then he spent
my half of mine,
and so, yes,
I took his land
because that's
all there was left
after 4 swell years
of marriage to handsome
David Franklin--
a proud lineage
that runs back deep
into this country's history--
at least
all of 11 minutes.
Where's the colonel?
I thought
he was with you.
No. I went home
and changed,
and he was at the station
making some calls.
Then he was going
to his motel and change.
Gloria thinks
he's pretty.
I'm here.
Is he pretty?
A woman
without a man
is like a fish
without a bicycle.
What's going on?
Nothing.
Hi, Abel.
Amy: But thank you
for inviting US
to dinner.
It's a pity
the food is inedible.
It's the best place
in town.
Lord knows
that's true.
Hi, folks.
My name is Phyllis.
Can I get you
something?
Yes, please. Beer.
Phyllis: Beer.
Beer.
Banana daiquiri.
Oh, colonel.
Colonel stryker,
this is Susan
Glasgow.
Colonel Edward stryker.
And Amy Franklin
of Franklin cross.
Stryker: Oh, boy.
Scotch, rocks.
Double, please.
Abel: Of course,
you know Malcolm.
Ok. We've cleaned up
the surface spill.
It's gone.
By tonight
or tomorrow morning,
everything
will be gone,
save for the
contaminated area
west of the road,
which is, I understand,
miss Franklin,
your land.
Now, miss Franklin,
Abe here tells me
you're thinking
of putting your land
on the market.
Susan: It's Abel.
They call him Abel.
Oh. Oh, I'm sorry,
Susan.
Doc. They
call her doc.
Doc.
Uh, well.
Was that true?
You bet it's true.
Have you
set a price?
Have you?
Ha ha ha.
Abel: Colonel,
h-how much land
was destroyed?
Stryker: It went back
in a sort of wedge shape.
I'd say about 300 acres,
give or take--
a few deaths.
Miss Franklin,
today's spill
wasn't preplanned.
Stryker: You
do understand.
It's not government
policy.
Great. That's great.
Listen, what exactly
is 412?
I mean, you have to
tell US that much.
I can't tell you
what 412 is--
here's to truth
in advertising.
I can't tell you
what 412 is because
I don't know.
I know what it does
but not what it is.
I don't know how
it does what it does,
but what it does
do is, it vanquishes
oxygen.
Oh, lord.
What?
What do you mean?
412 is one of
a group called
defeaters.
It defeats oxygen.
It eliminates it.
With no oxygen,
there's no life.
Animal or plant.
That'll be
$1,000 an acre,
soldier boy.
Stryker:
What's that?
That's Abel's truck.
Yeah, but...
What is it?
That's a 1928, '29,
'30, and '31 model a Ford--
uh, with 1935 wheels.
He's fixing it up.
Interesting.
We'll walk you
to your Jeep.
Thank you.
What do you know
about that
girl--
Amy Franklin?
She's a friend
of Malcolm's,
and Malcolm's
a friend of mine.
She got that land
in a divorce
settlement
and came back
to look it over
and decide what
to do with it.
Apparently.
Now, wait a minute.
You think Amy Franklin
had anything to do
with blowing up that truck,
that's lunacy.
She wants $400,000
for her land.
I don't blame her,
and neither do you.
Who knew that truck
was coming through here?
Me, 5 others.
Who knew
what the load was?
Me, 5 others.
We're being checked.
I started the check,
and it'll be
some check.
I can imagine.
It isn't anybody
under my command.
I picked them.
I picked the route.
I picked
the departure time,
as I have
in the past.
You mean you've sent
other trucks through here
carrying stuff like 412?
Yes, indeed.
Not 412, but other
things, occasionally.
It's one of my jobs.
One of your jobs?
What do you do?
I...i work
for the government.
I bet you do.
Man: Hello, Abel!
Spent the night
alone again, huh?
Ha ha ha!
What is this?
A vat?
That's not a vat,
Carter.
That's a boat.
What's the matter
with you?
What do you mean,
a boat?
You're kidding.
That's not a boat.
That's a vat.
Fill it up
with stuff,
like manure, maybe.
You've seen them
on the highway.
You ought to
have it taken away.
It doesn't help
the look of your
place any.
That's a boat, Carter.
It's a concrete boat,
and I'm going to
put it in the lake down there.
Yeah. I know, Abel.
A boat, huh?
How are you going
to get it down there?
We're going to
slide it down.
Oh.
We're going to
take some boards,
and we're going
to grease them,
and we're going
to slide it down,
and we're going to
elevate the boards,
and that's how
we're going to
put it in.
Yeah? Well--
and this is
private property.
You're trespassing, Carter.
Yeah? Well, good
luck with the vat.
Ha ha ha!
I want to talk
to you, Abel.
What is going on?
That's talking,
Doris? Can't you say
"good morning"?
Good morning.
What is going on?
It's only 8:00
Monday morning.
Hopefully, nothing.
I mean about
that truck
and all those men
and their gas masks,
the soldiers.
You can't suppress
the truth,
Abel marsh.
I'm going
to find out,
and my readers
are going to
find out.
Good. When you find out,
you let me know.
Wait a minute.
You're supposed to
help me.
How can I help you?
You're the reporter.
You have to do
the digging.
I can't do that for you,
and you wouldn't
want me to.
You have pride
in your work.
You're a professional,
Doris.
Now, you dig
that story out.
That's what
you're paid to do,
and you wouldn't
have it any other way.
And then, if you're
willing to share
your findings with US,
we will of course
be very grateful.
We can use
all the help
we can get.
Thank you, Doris,
for your interest.
Good morning, Abel.
Stryker says
that dynamite
was implanted
about midnight.
That's 7 hours
before that truck
blew up.
Morning, Fred.
How does he know that?
How should I know?
We got a bet.
John says he comes
from the east.
I say he's come
from Alabama
and he had
speech lessons.
You're both wrong.
He was born in Ireland.
Did Malcolm have the duty
Saturday night?
John: Yes, 4:00 to 12:00.
I was 8:00 to 4:00.
You got his report?
He hasn't
turned it in yet.
He usually sees Amy
after his tour,
doesn't he?
Yeah, usually.
Anybody know
if he saw her that night
after his tour?
John: Yeah, usually.
Oh, beauty.
I'm legal.
So was
world war ii, Jake.
Morning, Amy.
How you doing?
That crud work here?
Jake's all right.
He's had
some hard times.
So did his wife--
around the head
and face and chest.
He's a beater, Amy,
a wife-beater.
A woman beater.
I know. He told me.
I can handle him.
You have any news?
Yeah, some.
Stryker's calling
management--
the Pentagon--
to discuss
the possibility
of buying your land.
In the interim,
he's going to put
a big, fancy fence up
to keep people out.
It's not his land,
Abel.
And he's got
some guy coming
to see about
the feasibility
of clearing
the contaminated
soil away--
you know,
like strip-mining--
then reseeding it.
Abel, it's not
his land.
Amy...
Did you have a date
with Malcolm
Saturday night
after his tour?
Why?
Because i'm
the chief of police
and I'm asking you.
Is he in trouble?
Amy.
Yeah, we met.
Around 10:00 or so?
No, midnight.
He got off at midnight.
We drove around
for a while.
And before midnight?
Who?
You.
I had a date.
You had a date?
Yes, I had a date.
What do you think,
I blew up your truck,
me and Jake?
Jake?
I was out
with Jake.
Jake?
Yes, Jake.
You went out with
Jake--that Jake?
Not exactly out.
He, uh, he was
at my place.
Your place.
Yes. My place.
My room.
I live
at Mrs. Beezly's--
you know,
the boarding house?
Jake was
in your room
at Mrs. Beezly's
boarding house?
Mrs. Beezly
knew we were there.
She saw US come in.
She saw US leave.
Well, me leave.
I met Jake at the strawberry
field at 8:00.
We were back
at my place
around 9:00, I guess.
And I left
to meet Malcolm.
And all we did
was drive around,
like I said,
for a while.
Hey, Abel?
You don't have to
tell Malcolm, do you?
Tell him what, Amy?
Woman: Jake went
to school with our Phil.
He was at his wedding,
and he was a pig.
He still is a pig.
Abel, I don't know
about that girl.
I know she sees
your Malcolm.
She never brings him
over here.
He ain't ugly enough
for her.
Not that Malcolm's
the prettiest thing
in town,
but he's a nice man.
She's--she's had
other men, then?
And Saturday night,
it was Jake?
You saw them?
Well, pin it down
for me, frieda.
Can you?
Well, he came in
sometime during supper,
about 8:30,
and then she left
at 11:30.
And he stayed?
Frieda, for goodness sakes,
this is your place.
You don't have to have
overnight guests.
Abel, I rent
these people my rooms,
not my morals.
It really isn't
any of my business.
So she likes ugly men.
I don't.
Frieda, are you
flirting with me?
You lose
about 20 years,
and you come back.
I like younger men.
What would we
talk about?
Talk?
I bathe when I want,
I shave when I want,
and I pay my own way.
And what I do
with my friends
is my business--
who I see,
what I do,
and when I do it.
And if you don't like it,
go ahead and put
the cuffs on me.
You drink scotch
whiskey in a glass.
I drink beer
from a can.
Arrest me!
You live in a house.
I live in a trailer park.
Book me.
I go bowling.
You play chess.
Well, arraign me.
I got a young girl
who likes me. You don't.
Lock me up.
I spend the night out.
You spend it in.
Throw the keys away.
I got something
women like, chief.
It ain't no funny truck.
Jake, I must tell you,
my manhood
is not at stake here.
Believe me.
Neither is mine.
You just go inside
there and ask.
10-4, Bertha.
Catch your act later.
Bye-bye.
You guys want
anything else?
I've got some fresh
rhubarb pie.
I've got bread pudding,
raisin ice cream.
The cheesecake is good.
I just thawed it out.
Uh, well, no,
I don't...
So, what does
that prove?
What?
What does it prove?
Does it prove
anything?
It proves
Amy has an alibi.
Is that what
you want me to say?
Yeah, though it's
a revolting alibi.
You want class
in your alibis,
move to Beverly Hills.
What I don't
understand is,
why is Amy
messing around
with Malcolm
if she likes
guys like Jake?
Maybe she just
likes men, Abel.
You know
what I mean?
I mean men.
A lot of men.
She's up to something,
John, but I don't
think it's that.
United States
of america is here.
Um, he's ok.
He's just in trouble,
and he's struggling.
Yeah?
They found
another body.
It's Vernon brea,
boss.
Vernon was no
bird-watcher.
He was a farmer,
and not a very
good one.
If he was in here,
he was probably
poaching.
Did you find a gun?
No. Found
nothing.
Is it safe
to go in there?
More or less.
Abel: Oh, lord.
Look what's happening.
It's in the land.
Uh-huh.
It looks like
it's just creeping.
This is dead,
that's dying,
and it's just
moving.
As invincible
as sin.
Abel,
get your nose
out of that.
If this were my land,
I'd want $2,000 an acre.
Do you think
I don't know that?
We're losing
the land
and the water
and the air...
Because
we're sloppy...
Or cruel or greedy
and rapacious.
Somebody came here
and did this--
an ape--an ape
with a trainer.
And 4 people
are dead because
of that.
No, sir.
4 people are dead
because of 412.
No, sir.
4 people are dead
because somebody
from Jasper lake
set an explosive
here on this road.
It's the old
chicken or the egg
dilemma, huh, colonel?
Which came first?
For instance,
you knew that 412 was
coming across the country.
Ok, one for you.
But there's a flaw
in your argument.
I'd never heard
of Jasper lake,
luckily.
Further,
this is not my land.
Abel, did that guy
ever find you?
I don't know, Jeff.
What guy?
The guy in overalls,
looked like a farmer?
Vernon.
Was he about 5'10",
5'11",
probably needed
a shave,
a lot of gray hair?
Yeah, yeah.
He found you?
No. We found him.
What happened,
Jeff?
Yesterday afternoon
sometime, you drove away.
He drove in.
I told him
you just left,
and so he went away,
but he seemed pretty
anxious to talk to you.
Thanks, Jeff.
Well, Vernon might
have seen something.
Could have been
hunting and then gone home.
Right. Then went back
again yesterday,
maybe to confirm
what he'd seen,
not knowing
about the 412.
Hey, did he have a wife?
Good idea, but no.
Vernon was a widower.
He had nobody.
Come on in.
Hello, everybody.
Hi.
Hello, whit.
What are you
doing here?
How's Nellie?
Oh, she's--
well, let's see.
Oh, uh, Gloria,
were you able to get
the gold star
ambulance?
All set. Harry's
going to deliver
Vernon's body
directly to
the coroner
on horse mountain.
Fred: The stud.
Hmm?
Nothing.
He's jealous
because the coroner,
known locally as a stud,
and probably for good reason,
went to school with doc.
But Abel didn't
go to school with doc.
Abel went to school
with my husband Fred.
Gloria: He's the pretty one
over there in the corner.
Why don't you sit down?
Abel, you want
to swap?
I'll take the stud,
and you take Fred.
Fred: Sit down.
You got something?
Sit down.
I'm sitting.
Are you ready?
Yes!
"Amy Franklin
of Franklin crossing,
"born Amy McGregor
of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania,
25 may, 1950."
Fred--
"where her father,
a captain in the
United States army,
was stationed."
Shall I continue?
Mm-hmm.
Would you like to know
what her father did
in the army?
Yes.
He was a chemist.
Chemist. "One trained
in chemistry."
Chemistry. "A science
that deals with
the composition
of structures
and properties
of substances
and of
the transformations
they undergo."
David wardley Franklin,
Amy's husband.
Would you like to
know what he does
for a living?
He's a civilian
chemist employee
of the government.
His specialty:
Biochemical warfare.
How does that grab you?
Oh, boy.
Phone. May I use
your phone, please?
[Whispers]
18.
Stryker, 0305977.
His code.
His code.
Stryker:
Mallory? Hi.
Last name Franklin.
F-r-a-n-k-l-i-n.
First name David, uh--
wardley.
W-a-r-d-l-e-y.
Middle name wardley,
w-a-r-d-l-e-y.
Civilian in our employ.
A chemist.
Biochemist.
I'll wait.
Well, colonel,
looks like we were
both wrong.
It's not which
came first;
It's who came first.
Mallory? Go ahead.
What are you
talking about?
We're trying
to establish
the responsibility
for the deaths.
Is it the person
who invented 412
or the person
who blew up the truck?
Ok, Mallory.
Thank you.
Guess who aided
in the development
of 412.
David Franklin,
Amy's...
You got it.
And curiously enough,
he lives and works
in Los Angeles,
a hundred miles away.
What's up?
Malcolm:
Is something up?
You're all sitting around
like you lost
your best friend.
Um...
Hey, uh...
Hey, Malcolm,
we've stumbled
onto something.
Why don't we
go across to tiny's,
and I'll fill you in?
Ok, but I got to
go on patrol.
That's ok.
You go ahead.
I'll be there
in a minute.
See if he's thawed out
his cheesecake,
and I'll take a piece.
Well, looks like
I'm going to Los Angeles.
Before I go,
I'll take the boat,
go over to Vernon's,
and look around.
Wear boots.
What?
Gloria:
You're going to
need boots
to take the boat--
hip boots.
Is the dock
under water?
What dock?
The police dock.
Talk to whit.
What?
Fred: That's right.
Whit.
Whit.
Huh?
What are you
doing here?
He's under arrest.
Well, w-we don't
have a dock,
and I thought--
Fred: He stole
our dock.
He pulled
the pipes up,
put a rope
around it,
and towed it
to his place,
by hand.
Walking.
A-And I thought
we could share it.
Whit...
There would be
plenty of room
for you.
I mean, you can
tie up there
anytime that
you want, you know.
You just get your rope
and throw it on
your dock there,
and I'll be right
there to c-catch it
for you,
and we got
no problem.
Whit...
Do you and Nellie
have a boat?
Well, uh, no.
No, but we're
thinking about
getting one, though.
Hey, you guys,
what do you guys
recommend?
Do you--do you think
a 25-horsepower
would be enough?
Or do you--
you know, uh,
probably--maybe--
probably ought to
get a 75-horsepower.
That way we could,
uh, get away
from you guys
all the time
instead of
getting c-caught.
Whit.
Huh?
Bring it back.
What?
The dock.
Bring the dock back.
Bring--
bring it back?
Mm-hmm.
Well, uh...
All right.
But, uh...
Could I borrow
your boots?
Well, there
you have it.
Thanks, tiny.
Wow.
What kind of man
is this David Franklin?
What's he trying
to do?
There are 5
dead people.
What would
make a man do
a thing like that?
Do you suppose
he was trying
to hurt Amy?
That's a possibility,
Malcolm.
Divorced people
sometimes have
a kind of a hatred.
Anyway, I'm going down
to see Mr. Franklin.
Do you think
I should come?
No. No, that would be
a mistake,
wouldn't it?
Mmm.
Maybe Franklin
is jealous.
Do you think
he knows
Amy has a boyfriend?
Oh. Amy. I would
hate to be the cause
of anything--
Malcolm,
did you know
that Amy's father
was a chemist
in the army?
Really?
Wow. That's
a coincidence.
Yeah, isn't it?
[Dog barks]
[Horn honks]
"1012."
412. 1012.
[Tires screech]
Anybody home?
Mr. Franklin?
David Franklin!
Franklin! David Franklin!
Well, it was
David Franklin.
And it looked
like suicide.
Or it was meant
to look like suicide
or was suicide.
Or wasn't.
If he did
commit suicide,
that must mean
the case is closed.
Which case?
The accidental deaths
of thetwo soldier drivers
and two bird-watchers,
the maybe accidental
death of Vernon brea,
the maybe death by suicide
of David Franklin,
the sabotage
of federal property...
The settlement of claims
arising from said sabotage.
I withdraw
the question.
What about the girl?
Amy was at
the trading post all day.
The minute you called,
I went out.
There she was,
having a beer
with her friend Jake.
Jake?
[Door opens]
You ready?
Gloria: You got me
a new fridge?
What's the matter
with what we got?
Vernon brea,
white male Caucasian.
Gloria: Fred,
white and Caucasian
mean the same thing.
He probably thinks
it means Vernon came
from the caucasus.
What are the caucasus?
Fred, have you
got something?
The coroner's report.
Oh! From Dr. Cape?
Peter? The stud?
You call him
the stud, too?
No. Other people call
him the stud, Abel.
I wouldn't do that.
He's a friend.
Fred: Are you people
through?
Vernon brea died
of a lack of oxygen.
But not from
our old friend 412.
Vernon was suffocated.
No trace of foreign substances
in bloodstream, no 412,
no accidental death, Abel.
Murder one.
I think that means
the case has been
reopened.
I'm just
in the way here.
Thank you, Gloria.
Bye, everybody.
Abel: You can't leave.
Why not?
You don't have a car.
How was your day?
Anything happen in L.A.?
See, it's--it's
just been 4 months.
I know.
A lot of dad's patients
were his own age,
his generation.
And there aren't
too many of them left.
The trouble is,
a lot of men
don't want
a woman doctor.
Well, yeah.
Uh...
I know it's a--
how do you say--
I guess they
just don't feel easy
with a lady doctor.
I mean,
if I didn't know you--
no, i--
I haven't been sick.
But, I mean, I'd go.
Would you?
Oh, in a second.
In a second.
But you have--you have
lots of women patients.
Ha ha ha!
Yeah. I have more
women patients
than I have men.
But a lot of women
don't want to go
to a woman doctor.
So consequently,
I am working
in a rather narrow
little space.
Which, of course,
I knew going in.
Going in, sure.
But like we said--
4 months
and you'll make it.
You're good.
Yeah. I am.
I'm a good diagnostician,
like dad was.
I love that.
I love the chase, I guess.
The solving things.
Like what you do.
The deductive process.
I just love it.
Want to come in?
Yeah.
Good.
But I can't.
Bye.
I--i can't.
You can't?
Tonight, I can't.
Oh.
Another night,
I could.
Could what?
Abel, whispering:
Frieda.
Thanks, frieda.
I didn't want to
talk on the phone,
because I didn't
want to take
the chance of
anybody hearing US.
I have to know
about Amy's night
last night.
Did she meet
Malcolm as usual?
No, Abel.
She didn't.
Uh-oh.
She had a visitor.
He came in sometime
during supper,
and he left this morning
during breakfast.
Lot of people
saw him come in,
lot of people
saw him leave?
Saw them both.
They came in together,
and they went out together.
Conspicuously?
Well, in his case,
that was certainly the word.
Meaning what?
Meaning tiny.
Tiny?
Tiny? Tiny
from tiny's?
Did he stay all night?
I don't suppose--
he stayed all night.
How do you know?
I heard them.
Ohhh.
Abel?
Want a little
home-grown?
I beg your pardon?
Do you smoke?
Frieda,
I don't smoke,
and you don't smoke.
Period.
End of discussion.
Frieda, i'm
the chief of police.
Ok. Then you want
to fool around?
Abel: Nonfat chocolate milk.
Artificial chocolate.
Artificial chocolate?
Listen. We've got fake
sugar, simulated eggs,
phony bacon, imitation
mayonnaise, phony
butter,
orange juice that ain't,
coffee that doesn't
have any coffee in it,
and I've got a machine
in the back room
that turns
hamburger into steak.
You know, a person
can come in here
and order a whole meal
and not get one thing
they asked for.
Pretty soon,
they're going to have
imitation cholesterol.
Yeah.
What do you want, Abel?
Amy Franklin.
That's easy.
Take her.
She's yours.
No, I don't
wanther.
Oh, well,
join the club.
What does
that mean, tiny?
Call me Lloyd.
Lloyd?
Yeah, please
call me Lloyd.
That's my name.
I hate to be
called tiny.
Call me Lloyd.
Ok, Lloyd.
Yeah. That's
my name. Lloyd.
Ok.
We were talking
about Amy Franklin.
Oh, yeah.
What do you want
to know about her?
Well, they say
she likes men, tiny.
Lloyd.
All kinds, all sizes.
Just men.
That's what they say?
Mm-hmm.
They're lying to you.
She doesn't like men.
Don't you see?
If she liked men, she
wouldn't go out with me.
Look at me, Abel.
Oh, now, wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
So you had a night with her,
for whatever reason.
Don't analyze it.
Just accept it.
You had a night with her.
Yeah. A night.
Yeah.
I think she
wants to marry me.
Well...
Malcolm.
Let me tell you what
the evidence suggests.
Now, this won't
be easy on you, ok?
Yeah, ok.
The evidence suggests
that Mr. Franklin
and his ex-wife,
if, in point of fact,
she is his ex-wife,
engineered all of this.
Profit: Around
$400,000, which
amount Amy will get
because she has
a perfect case
and perfect alibis.
All the money,
especially if
the senior partner
meets with
an unexpected suicide.
Except what she pays
her cheap goon.
And he may be
doing it for free.
You know,
I never touched her.
I mean, I touched her.
We, uh, we necked.
But I never really--
yeah. Yeah.
I don't understand.
If she really did
all those things,
what did she need me for?
She had those other guys.
What did she even
bother with me for?
I was just extraneous.
I didn't fit into her plan.
She didn't need me.
She just used me.
Are you going
to arrest her?
No.
What are you
going to do?
Nothing.
Somebody's got to
do something, don't they?
Yes.
Well, who?
You.
Me.
Yeah.
Why me?
Malcolm...
We have
3 options.
One tonight,
two tomorrow.
Tomorrow's
options are
either the Los Angeles
police department
will hit this town,
and hard,
and/or
the United States army
led by colonel stryker,
and they'll be
out for blood,
and you know whose.
And so they'll
get her. So what?
She's obviously right
in the middle of it.
Yeah. Says who?
Says who?
Listen, maybe she's
floating around
the edges somewhere.
But who says she's
in the middle?
Malcolm,
for goodness sake.
Her alibis
are grotesque.
They draw attention
to the fact
that they're alibis.
Is she trying
to say something?
You've known her
for months
and you like her,
and I like her.
Which leads
to our last option.
Do you two
have a date tonight?
Yeah.
Good.
I have an idea.
Oh.
Stryker: San Diego.
They're waiting for me.
Do you have to ride
with it all the way?
My job, Abel.
What's your
final destination?
The pacific.
Ha ha ha!
That's what's called
a tactical evasion.
Oh.
I don't like not knowing
exactly what happens.
It's my job to follow
through, not walk away.
David Franklin.
He's dead, colonel.
It does get back
to the girl, doesn't it?
Washington
dug up something.
Amy Franklin's father,
McGregor, regular army,
deceased,
recruited David Franklin.
Mmm.
Did Washington agree
to the purchase price?
They had no choice.
$407,500 in hard cash.
I don't know how
she did it, but she did it,
and it's a first.
What's a first?
Scamming
the United States army
and maybe
getting away with it.
No, thanks.
I've got to go.
Do me one favor, Abel.
I'll try.
Unscam it.
Tonight ok?
Tonight?
I've got
a little plan.
You didn't tell me.
I know. I know. I'll
call you in Guam.
Guam? How'd you
know it was Guam?
Have a nice sail.
This is fantastic.
I didn't know
we had this.
I want it.
For what?
We don't
have it, Fred.
I have it.
It's mine.
What is it?
Gloria: What is it?
You do understand
he doesn't understand
what it is.
You think you
can handle that, Fred?
Handle it?
Shoot, I'm a marine.
Well, ex-marine.
That's right, marine.
I can ride a horse
and love a woman.
Or is it vice versa?
Is it legal?
It's legal, for
hunting an elephant.
We got a lot of those
in Jasper lake.
Gloria, there's
a lot of weird things
in Jasper lake.
You don't need
an elephant gun
for them, John,
maybe just
a little mascara.
Anyway, Abel's
always telling US,
we got to be polite
to everybody.
You never can tell
who's going to be
our next senator.
Well...
We're ready.
It's early.
It's 11:00.
You got to give
her time,
and him time.
I hope this works.
So do the taxpayers.
Have you got
any proof?
I don't think
I'll need a gun.
Abel, do you
have any proof?
Maybe I'll
take this one.
Or is this
just a hunch?
Maybe it's
just intuition.
Gloria, do you
have any of your
marvelous cocoa?
Guys, he's not
answering you.
He's not even
talking to you.
He's talking to me.
Abel, you got any proof?
Oh, boy. Oh, boy.
Now don't do
anything dumb.
As if that
would be a first.
I'll be back.
You'd better get back.
You got dishes to wash.
Want a new fridge?
Do you know how long
we've had this one?
Your mother. It was
her wedding present.
I thought she
gave US the stove.
That was
your sister.
Emma?
Donna Marie.
What'd Emma give US?
A ladder.
Yeah?
Where is that ladder?
Will you go away so
you can come back?
We'll fix
this tomorrow
with some glue.
No.
Tomorrow we'll
get a new fridge.
How will we
pay for it?
We'll sell the ladder.
Evening,
Mrs. Beezly.
Evening, Malcolm.
How are you tonight?
Oh, I'm fine.
Thank you, ma'am.
Is Amy around?
Yes, Malcolm.
She's upstairs in her room.
Would you like me
to get her for you?
Yes, ma'am.
Thank you.
If you
wouldn't mind.
Oh, it'd be
a favor, Malcolm.
I am irrevocably
buttsprung.
Amy, you in there?
Yes, Mrs. Beezly.
I'm here.
Coming.
Your young man's
downstairs.
The skinny one.
His name is Malcolm.
I know.
Malcolm rossiter Jr.
I knew his father.
I'll bet you did.
Abel said
to take our time
so it looks like
I convinced you
to take me there.
Like you
spilled the beans.
That's not
all I've spilled.
What a waste.
How can you
ride that thing?
It'd give you
uremic poisoning.
What are you
talking about?
This thing's fun
and is good
for your health.
Right.
I'll see you on the
dialysis machine.
I'll take the shed.
You take
the outhouse.
It's time to go.
[Engine starts]
Amy...
Why'd you do it?
I didn't do it.
Oh, I don't
mean the truck.
I mean the men.
What men?
What men?
Never mind.
Never mind!
So come on.
Sit down.
Please.
1012.
1012.
Unbelievable.
Yeah. It is,
isn't it?
Apparently it took
Abel a little while
to figure it out.
About a minute,
minute and a half.
Of course, Vernon
didn't put down
the first 3 numbers
because every phone
in Jasper lake has
the same exchange.
Qu7.
Qu7-1012.
So Abel dialed it
and it answered...
Robinhood inn.
Don't.
Don't.
He'll kill you.
He'll kill anything.
Up.
Stryker: Put the gun
on the table.
Now the car keys.
Now let's all sit down.
So you figured out who
snuffed the farmer, huh?
He went looking
for Abel to tell him
he'd seen somebody
rigging the road.
So he found me. Bad luck
for farmer brown, huh?
Amy, I want you to sign
these papers where you
see an "x."
That was stupid.
You just
admitted that you
blew up the truck
and killed Vernon.
That's true,
corporal--
deputy?
That's fine, Amy.
Now the last one.
The power of attorney.
Now when you endorse
this, we'll be done.
You're not stupid.
You're crazy.
Certifiable.
There's
no possible way
you can
get away with this.
That's all, Amy.
Thank you.
Now take
this young man's car.
Go to town and pack.
Amy, don't do it.
We'll catch you,
both of you.
Sure you can catch her.
So what?
She hasn't done anything.
She's passed over
some land for payment.
That's no crime.
That's a good deal.
That's democracy.
You made her
sign that check.
I asked her to sign it,
and she signed it.
She's a generous,
giving girl. Always was.
As for me,
you'll never find me.
You see, there's no
colonel Edward stryker.
You can't catch a fellow
who ain't there.
Let's go, captain.
On the double.
I'm certainly
willing to try.
What do you think
I should do first?
Abel, where's stryker?
He's headed for the Jeep
in one of those sheds.
You all right?
Yeah, but what
about stryker?
Fred has
that situation in hand.
Fred?
[Starts engine]
Next.
Malcolm,
may I have
the key, please?
Where'd
he find you?
The boarding house.
Waiting.
Where's the colonel?
The colonel
is safe
and moderately
sound.
He'll spend
tonight
at the county
lockup at
horse mountain,
and tomorrow
the army
will come and
take him away.
And you, too,
maybe. I guess.
I don't know.
I don't know
what they'll
do with you.
Key, please,
Malcolm.
Ok. Ok.
I'm coming.
You told me to
see if I could
find her.
Well,
I found her.
I didn't tell you
to arrest her.
Oh, no?
Why not?
Sit down.
You sound like Fred.
Sit down.
Why'd you do
what that guy
told you to do?
Why'd you
sign the papers?
Why'd you just
get up and leave
like an obedient
child because
he told you to?
Because she is
an obedient child.
The colonel's
my father, Malcolm.
He co-developed 412
with my ex-husband David.
Then the congress said,
"no good. Dump it."
And dad went
a little crazy.
And yes,
I was the device.
My father invented
a man named stryker
who never existed.
Then he engineered
his own death
and took over
stryker's identity.
Long scam.
Until he killed Vernon.
And David said,
"no. Wrong.
Too many killings.
End of scam."
So dad killed David.
And so I agreed
to help Abel
stop him from killing
somebody else,
like me....Or you.
When did you
find out about this?
Jake the wrangler,
Jake the wife-beater,
told me he
made love with Amy,
and I happen to know
from his ex-wife
and from court evidence
that's physically
impossible for Jake
to do with anybody.
Which is, I suppose,
one of the reasons
he used
to beat up people.
That leaves tiny.
Yes.
You did spend
the night with tiny,
didn't you?
Yes.
For an alibi?
Yes.
I think I went
too far with tiny.
I think he
thinks that means
we're engaged.
Dad said he would
kill you if I didn't.
So I did.
How do you like them
apples, Malcolm rossiter?
For goodness sake,
why are you staring at me?
Have I got
something on my shirt?
[Car pulls up]
Here he is.
Good morning, Malcolm.
You look awful.
Here's the receipt
for her, Abel.
Want some coffee?
Never again.
They took her away
in a truck,
an army truck.
It was like a hearse,
only it had a lock.
One officer, a major
in army intelligence,
two mps, male.
One mp, female.
I never saw
a female mp before.
So they put her
in the back of the truck,
locked it,
gave me a receipt.
Just like a meat market.
Then they
climbed in it
and drove away.
One snappy
little drumroll.
Then good-bye
Amy Franklin.
Malcolm, I hesitate
to mention this
in your present state,
but there are others.
That's not important.
What's important is that
there's only one you.
Thank god.
I got enough competition
in this town as it is.
Hey, you know
that little honey
that rides that
two-seater bicycle?
Ginger something
or another.
Well, now this
is boring to me,
Malcolm,
but she's got
the hots for you.
Truth. Truth.
I mean,
lord knows why.
Come on.
It's the truth.
Hey, it's as baffling
to me as it is to you.
And listen, I tried.
I really tried.
I couldn't get
to first base
with her.
She wouldn't
even let me
hold her hand,
let alone
anything else.
Gross.
Listen, all
she offered me
were questions
about Malcolm.
Ginger grisnick.
She's a really
lovely girl,
Malcolm. Really.
Ginger grisnick?
Lovely name.
Look, I know what
you people are doing.
I know what
you're up to.
It's obvious.
It's as obvious as hell.
I like it.
[Cheering]
Well, I got to go
open the office.
[Stifled laughter]
Did you know that boating
is the number two
recreational pastime
in america?
I hate to ask.
What's the first?
Oh, I have plans
coming on that.
Photographs
and everything.
People are doing it
all the time.
412.
The president
loves you,
colonel stryker...
As, of course,
we all do.
Of course.
It has to be done.
The congress has spoken.
Congress has
a tendency to speak,
especially
in an election year.
That's not really
a very profound
remark, you know.
But then, luckily,
you're not paid to think.
It's only
10,000 gallons.
Agh.
Dump it. Pack it up,
move it, dump it.
Pull in
that crew--
that nerveless bunch
of boobs you worked
with before--and move it.
How?
Covertly, that's how,
and don't fly it.
Do you know
what 412 is?
Thank you very much.
I don't want to know
what 412 is.
Very wise of you.
I pray you'll
never learn.
I prefer my present
assignment.
But he loves you.
Oh, no, he doesn't.
He needs me.
That's a different
thing, Billy.
Is it?
Are you certain?
Yes.
Well, I'm not.
As I grow older,
I'm not really certain
about anything
anymore.
That's why you're
the perfect man
for your job, Billy.
I know. That's
probably why
I'm in charge here.
I haven't the faintest
idea what I'm doing.
You're lying.
I often lie.
There's no need
to lie.
Isn't there?
Ha ha ha!
Welcome back, sergeant.
I'm glad it's you.
Did you have to ask
for me, colonel?
You know,
the percentages
are getting
mighty low.
Come on, Jim.
We wouldn't do that
to you.
Not much.
What am I carrying
this time?
This load's
as wholesome and safe
as apple pie.
What do you think
you're doing, redman,
you ass?
I'm point man,
colonel.
You assigned me.
Where's the neon
sign saying
"what's with
the funny truck
behind me"?
Or is the outfit
notice enough?
This is covert,
redman. Covert!
Oops.
Covert?
Covert.
Jim, the president
loves you,
sergeant redman
loves you,
and I love you.
And I'll buy you
a beer in San Diego
in exactly 74 hours.
I was in Diego
during the war.
They had 3 Ferris wheels
on the main street.
What a town.
Swell.
Are you ready?
You ready, colonel?
Do it.
Done.
Now what, sir?
We hold our breath.
Bad load, sir?
Well, corporal,
it ain't apple pie.
[Truck horn honks]
You know, I don't think
California quail
are nafigous.
It's not pronounced
that way, Emma.
It's nidifugous.
Well, how would you
know that?
Nobody knows how
to pronounce that.
That's why they use
words like that.
Ah! Mountain
chickadee,
two o'clock.
Where?
Where? Where?
I don't see it.
Well, it's gone
now.
[Vehicle engine]
What's that noise?
It's a truck.
What truck would
use the old road?
Well, one is
today.
Well, it'll
frighten the birds.
The birds?
Emma, the general
belief is,
the birds moved out
the day you moved in.
There it is.
It's an awful
big truck.
I wonder what
it's doing here.
You are the only
birder I know
that smokes.
Why do you do that?
It's disgusting!
Who put you in charge?
I drink, too.
[Tires skidding]
Man: Hey, Phil!
Stop! Stop!
Get away from there!
Phil, come back!
Phil, come back!
No!
That Andy capp!
Gloria, what do you say
I take you out
for breakfast?
That's the best
piece of toast
I ever had.
Want some butter
for it?
Right under
your foot.
It'll sink, Abel.
It's going to sink.
You put cement
in water, Abel,
it sinks.
That's nature's way.
If you'd gone
to high school,
you'd know that.
Come on, get out.
We're having
a picnic.
Now. Out. You. Now.
People are doing this
all the time.
I've got plans
right inside,
pictures and everything.
It'll be finished
in a week,
if everybody
will leave me alone.
We'll have
a little sail.
Abel, there's no mast,
no rudder, no sail,
no anchor, no ropes.
We'll have
a little float?
And no
life preservers.
I went to high school,
and besides,
the water's only
4 feet deep there.
Your hull is
at least 5.
It won't even fit.
We'll wait
for high tide.
Talking to you
is like talking
to a wall--
a Welsh wall.
And it's not cement.
It's concrete.
Fat lot you know.
What have you got
in here?
Your favorite--
vanilla pudding
on whole wheat.
Mmm. With Mayo?
I'll just go
in the house
and clean up
a little bit.
Woman: You know,
that old joke really
applies to you.
What old joke?
You can tell
a rich boy from Georgia
because he's got
twocars jacked up
in his front yard.
Don't make fun
of my cars.
You can make fun
of my boat,
but don't make fun
of my cars.
And don't make fun
of Georgia.
[Siren]
Bad accident!
Abel: Where?
At Franklin crossing
by the old
bird sanctuary,
the old road.
A semi.
When?
Sometime
this morning.
People hurt?
People dead?
One ok, two dead.
Maybe more later.
A semi, you say?
Yeah, a big semi.
How big a crew?
3, I guess.
What did it hit?
Nothing. Apparently
it just blew up.
It didn't hit anything.
Wait a minute.
You said there were
a crew of 3,
you accounted
for 3,
it didn't hit
anything,
and you say
more may die?
Who?
US.
It's 412.
That's what they call it.
That's what
they call what?
412.
Ok. What's 412?
I don't know.
That's what colonel
stryker called it.
He's coming.
Ask him.
Whatever it is,
that's what spilled out.
I do know it's something
that doesn't break down,
doesn't go away,
unless, of course,
a wind comes up,
and blows it
somewhere else.
Oh, boy.
What are we supposed
to do, sergeant?
How do we clean it up?
You can't.
You don't have
the equipment.
The army
will clean it up.
Colonel stryker said
to close the area off
and pray.
It's some poison
something,
isn't it?
Poison gas
of some kind.
It's a weapon--
some kind of weapon
that kills
and doesn't go away,
some awful substance
rolling around
out at
Franklin crossing
because the u.S.
Army, in its
infinite wisdom,
decided to transport
on rotten old
back roads.
And it's just
lying there,
waiting for
a wind to come up
and kill US all.
Oh, good.
Abel, how are we
supposed to evacuate
2,000 backpackers
and hikers and campers
when we don't even
know where they're at?
We can't, Malcolm.
It would take
forever.
Anyway, the army's
sending in
some rig
from Los Angeles--
the container,
they call it.
It's supposed to
suck the stuff
up somehow.
Should be here
in a couple
of hours.
We may get by
unless a wind
comes up.
Did you find out
what that stuff is?
No, but it isn't
too pleasant.
It apparently
kills things.
Plants?
Plants?
Yeah, plants.
Trees. You know.
Will it hurt
growing things?
Will it
hurt the land?
There's land out there.
What's going to happen
to the land?
Gee, I don't know,
Malcolm.
All we can do
is wait and keep
people away
and not breathe
too deep.
What's the matter?
Well, that's
Amy's land.
She owns all that
land out there.
Amy?
Amy. Amy Franklin.
My girlfriend Amy.
Oh. Oh, right.
Yeah. Amy.
I didn't know you
two were serious.
Well, I'm serious.
Good. She's neat.
Yeah. I'd be really
lucky if it worked out.
Malcolm, you're
one of the nicest,
gentlest people I know.
She'd be lucky.
Uh, well, you see,
we decided...
Well, you see,
we discussed about what
she was going to do with it,
and we thought
maybe she'd sell it.
That's why I asked.
Be a real shame
if the land was ruined.
Yeah.
Norton air force base?
This is major slate.
Give me the weather
tower, please.
Yeah. Weather tower?
Major slate.
What's the plot?
Major slate?
It's an old trick.
See, they won't
give out--
yeah. Yeah.
Got you. Thanks.
I don't know why
I bother.
I don't know
what they're
talking about.
Do you really know
what a low-pressure
area is, really?
How serious
is it, Abel?
It's deadly serious.
We may sneak by.
Two men are dead
who were alive,
but the stuff--
412, they call it--
seems to stay
where it's spilled,
and there's no wind
and none predicted.
Well, you have
your hands full.
Here's your free lunch.
Uh, I'll trade you
lunch for dinner.
Deal.
The pit?
The pit? The pit?
That isn't food
they serve there,
you know.
I don't know
what it is,
but it isn't food.
That's how I get
half my patients.
6:00?
6:00.
The pit.
[Buzzing]
Abel marsh.
Abel, is that you?
Fred, who do you
think it is--
Marshall McLuhan?
Who? Who is it?
Fred--
we found a car
here, Abel,
parked
near the field.
One of those little
Japanese jobs.
I don't know.
They all look
alike to me.
And Doris, that
newspaper lady
who's coming out--
word's leaking, Abel.
Everything is leaking.
Ok, ok.
I'm coming.
[Car backfires]
Abel!
[Helicopter]
That's the army.
You seen the chief?
Just left.
Huh?
He just left.
That way.
Oh. Ok.
Down.
Is that the brass?
Colonel stryker?
Yeah, that's him
walking in.
Big fancy
scientific-type
gas mask,
some geiger-counter
kind of thing,
and off he went.
He's brought
a second mask,
if you'd like to join him.
Just breathe normally,
and if there's a leak,
that goes off.
Abel: Then what?
You get back up here
fast if you can
still walk--
if you're still alive.
Ok, let's try it.
Yeah.
[Muffled]
How do I talk?
Chief, if you
want to talk,
push that button
right there, see?
Right there.
There. That's right.
But it's safer
if you don't talk.
[Muffled]
No, no.
Push the button
right there.
That's right.
Now say what
you want to say.
What do you
want to say?
Good-bye.
Why did he
do that?
That's his job.
He's the chief
of police.
What's his job?
I have no idea.
Sabotage?
And/or murder.
Redman, 4 body bags.
Plastic gloves.
Right. Sergeant?
Polly Campbell
and Emma Henderson.
Two of our people--
spinsters, and neat
ladies.
So now 4 are dead
in Jasper lake.
Wind's up.
We're losing an acre
a minute. Move it.
We're moving, colonel.
We're going to get
the stuff.
At least there are
no more people
threatened.
People?
It's the land.
You can't suck
412 out of the land.
That's why congress
sent US to sea
to dump it.
412 does to
the land what it did
to those people,
and just
as permanent.
I don't know, Malcolm.
That's chemistry,
not medicine,
but I suspect
that they'll never
tell you what 412 is--
only what it does.
We can see
what it does.
Oh, well. You know,
it's only land.
It's not people.
Malcolm: Only land?
It's our--
it's your future.
Is it family
land, Amy?
She earned it.
♪ Won't you come home,
bill Bailey? ♪
♪ Want you to come home
♪ I moan
the whole night long ♪
♪ I'll do
the cooking, honey ♪
♪ I'll pay the rent
♪ I know
I done you wrong ♪
♪ remember that
rainy evening ♪
♪ I put you out...
Why don't we go
in there?
What?
Why don't we go
in there?
Ok.
Singers:
♪ bill Bailey, won't you
please come on home? ♪
What did that mean,
you earned it?
Oh. What Malcolm
is talking about
is that I'm divorced
and it was
my husband's land.
It was part
of my--
actually, all
of my divorce
settlement.
Um, this is
California, you know.
Half of his is mine;
Half of mine is his.
Well, he spent
his half of mine,
and then he spent
my half of mine,
and so, yes,
I took his land
because that's
all there was left
after 4 swell years
of marriage to handsome
David Franklin--
a proud lineage
that runs back deep
into this country's history--
at least
all of 11 minutes.
Where's the colonel?
I thought
he was with you.
No. I went home
and changed,
and he was at the station
making some calls.
Then he was going
to his motel and change.
Gloria thinks
he's pretty.
I'm here.
Is he pretty?
A woman
without a man
is like a fish
without a bicycle.
What's going on?
Nothing.
Hi, Abel.
Amy: But thank you
for inviting US
to dinner.
It's a pity
the food is inedible.
It's the best place
in town.
Lord knows
that's true.
Hi, folks.
My name is Phyllis.
Can I get you
something?
Yes, please. Beer.
Phyllis: Beer.
Beer.
Banana daiquiri.
Oh, colonel.
Colonel stryker,
this is Susan
Glasgow.
Colonel Edward stryker.
And Amy Franklin
of Franklin cross.
Stryker: Oh, boy.
Scotch, rocks.
Double, please.
Abel: Of course,
you know Malcolm.
Ok. We've cleaned up
the surface spill.
It's gone.
By tonight
or tomorrow morning,
everything
will be gone,
save for the
contaminated area
west of the road,
which is, I understand,
miss Franklin,
your land.
Now, miss Franklin,
Abe here tells me
you're thinking
of putting your land
on the market.
Susan: It's Abel.
They call him Abel.
Oh. Oh, I'm sorry,
Susan.
Doc. They
call her doc.
Doc.
Uh, well.
Was that true?
You bet it's true.
Have you
set a price?
Have you?
Ha ha ha.
Abel: Colonel,
h-how much land
was destroyed?
Stryker: It went back
in a sort of wedge shape.
I'd say about 300 acres,
give or take--
a few deaths.
Miss Franklin,
today's spill
wasn't preplanned.
Stryker: You
do understand.
It's not government
policy.
Great. That's great.
Listen, what exactly
is 412?
I mean, you have to
tell US that much.
I can't tell you
what 412 is--
here's to truth
in advertising.
I can't tell you
what 412 is because
I don't know.
I know what it does
but not what it is.
I don't know how
it does what it does,
but what it does
do is, it vanquishes
oxygen.
Oh, lord.
What?
What do you mean?
412 is one of
a group called
defeaters.
It defeats oxygen.
It eliminates it.
With no oxygen,
there's no life.
Animal or plant.
That'll be
$1,000 an acre,
soldier boy.
Stryker:
What's that?
That's Abel's truck.
Yeah, but...
What is it?
That's a 1928, '29,
'30, and '31 model a Ford--
uh, with 1935 wheels.
He's fixing it up.
Interesting.
We'll walk you
to your Jeep.
Thank you.
What do you know
about that
girl--
Amy Franklin?
She's a friend
of Malcolm's,
and Malcolm's
a friend of mine.
She got that land
in a divorce
settlement
and came back
to look it over
and decide what
to do with it.
Apparently.
Now, wait a minute.
You think Amy Franklin
had anything to do
with blowing up that truck,
that's lunacy.
She wants $400,000
for her land.
I don't blame her,
and neither do you.
Who knew that truck
was coming through here?
Me, 5 others.
Who knew
what the load was?
Me, 5 others.
We're being checked.
I started the check,
and it'll be
some check.
I can imagine.
It isn't anybody
under my command.
I picked them.
I picked the route.
I picked
the departure time,
as I have
in the past.
You mean you've sent
other trucks through here
carrying stuff like 412?
Yes, indeed.
Not 412, but other
things, occasionally.
It's one of my jobs.
One of your jobs?
What do you do?
I...i work
for the government.
I bet you do.
Man: Hello, Abel!
Spent the night
alone again, huh?
Ha ha ha!
What is this?
A vat?
That's not a vat,
Carter.
That's a boat.
What's the matter
with you?
What do you mean,
a boat?
You're kidding.
That's not a boat.
That's a vat.
Fill it up
with stuff,
like manure, maybe.
You've seen them
on the highway.
You ought to
have it taken away.
It doesn't help
the look of your
place any.
That's a boat, Carter.
It's a concrete boat,
and I'm going to
put it in the lake down there.
Yeah. I know, Abel.
A boat, huh?
How are you going
to get it down there?
We're going to
slide it down.
Oh.
We're going to
take some boards,
and we're going
to grease them,
and we're going
to slide it down,
and we're going to
elevate the boards,
and that's how
we're going to
put it in.
Yeah? Well--
and this is
private property.
You're trespassing, Carter.
Yeah? Well, good
luck with the vat.
Ha ha ha!
I want to talk
to you, Abel.
What is going on?
That's talking,
Doris? Can't you say
"good morning"?
Good morning.
What is going on?
It's only 8:00
Monday morning.
Hopefully, nothing.
I mean about
that truck
and all those men
and their gas masks,
the soldiers.
You can't suppress
the truth,
Abel marsh.
I'm going
to find out,
and my readers
are going to
find out.
Good. When you find out,
you let me know.
Wait a minute.
You're supposed to
help me.
How can I help you?
You're the reporter.
You have to do
the digging.
I can't do that for you,
and you wouldn't
want me to.
You have pride
in your work.
You're a professional,
Doris.
Now, you dig
that story out.
That's what
you're paid to do,
and you wouldn't
have it any other way.
And then, if you're
willing to share
your findings with US,
we will of course
be very grateful.
We can use
all the help
we can get.
Thank you, Doris,
for your interest.
Good morning, Abel.
Stryker says
that dynamite
was implanted
about midnight.
That's 7 hours
before that truck
blew up.
Morning, Fred.
How does he know that?
How should I know?
We got a bet.
John says he comes
from the east.
I say he's come
from Alabama
and he had
speech lessons.
You're both wrong.
He was born in Ireland.
Did Malcolm have the duty
Saturday night?
John: Yes, 4:00 to 12:00.
I was 8:00 to 4:00.
You got his report?
He hasn't
turned it in yet.
He usually sees Amy
after his tour,
doesn't he?
Yeah, usually.
Anybody know
if he saw her that night
after his tour?
John: Yeah, usually.
Oh, beauty.
I'm legal.
So was
world war ii, Jake.
Morning, Amy.
How you doing?
That crud work here?
Jake's all right.
He's had
some hard times.
So did his wife--
around the head
and face and chest.
He's a beater, Amy,
a wife-beater.
A woman beater.
I know. He told me.
I can handle him.
You have any news?
Yeah, some.
Stryker's calling
management--
the Pentagon--
to discuss
the possibility
of buying your land.
In the interim,
he's going to put
a big, fancy fence up
to keep people out.
It's not his land,
Abel.
And he's got
some guy coming
to see about
the feasibility
of clearing
the contaminated
soil away--
you know,
like strip-mining--
then reseeding it.
Abel, it's not
his land.
Amy...
Did you have a date
with Malcolm
Saturday night
after his tour?
Why?
Because i'm
the chief of police
and I'm asking you.
Is he in trouble?
Amy.
Yeah, we met.
Around 10:00 or so?
No, midnight.
He got off at midnight.
We drove around
for a while.
And before midnight?
Who?
You.
I had a date.
You had a date?
Yes, I had a date.
What do you think,
I blew up your truck,
me and Jake?
Jake?
I was out
with Jake.
Jake?
Yes, Jake.
You went out with
Jake--that Jake?
Not exactly out.
He, uh, he was
at my place.
Your place.
Yes. My place.
My room.
I live
at Mrs. Beezly's--
you know,
the boarding house?
Jake was
in your room
at Mrs. Beezly's
boarding house?
Mrs. Beezly
knew we were there.
She saw US come in.
She saw US leave.
Well, me leave.
I met Jake at the strawberry
field at 8:00.
We were back
at my place
around 9:00, I guess.
And I left
to meet Malcolm.
And all we did
was drive around,
like I said,
for a while.
Hey, Abel?
You don't have to
tell Malcolm, do you?
Tell him what, Amy?
Woman: Jake went
to school with our Phil.
He was at his wedding,
and he was a pig.
He still is a pig.
Abel, I don't know
about that girl.
I know she sees
your Malcolm.
She never brings him
over here.
He ain't ugly enough
for her.
Not that Malcolm's
the prettiest thing
in town,
but he's a nice man.
She's--she's had
other men, then?
And Saturday night,
it was Jake?
You saw them?
Well, pin it down
for me, frieda.
Can you?
Well, he came in
sometime during supper,
about 8:30,
and then she left
at 11:30.
And he stayed?
Frieda, for goodness sakes,
this is your place.
You don't have to have
overnight guests.
Abel, I rent
these people my rooms,
not my morals.
It really isn't
any of my business.
So she likes ugly men.
I don't.
Frieda, are you
flirting with me?
You lose
about 20 years,
and you come back.
I like younger men.
What would we
talk about?
Talk?
I bathe when I want,
I shave when I want,
and I pay my own way.
And what I do
with my friends
is my business--
who I see,
what I do,
and when I do it.
And if you don't like it,
go ahead and put
the cuffs on me.
You drink scotch
whiskey in a glass.
I drink beer
from a can.
Arrest me!
You live in a house.
I live in a trailer park.
Book me.
I go bowling.
You play chess.
Well, arraign me.
I got a young girl
who likes me. You don't.
Lock me up.
I spend the night out.
You spend it in.
Throw the keys away.
I got something
women like, chief.
It ain't no funny truck.
Jake, I must tell you,
my manhood
is not at stake here.
Believe me.
Neither is mine.
You just go inside
there and ask.
10-4, Bertha.
Catch your act later.
Bye-bye.
You guys want
anything else?
I've got some fresh
rhubarb pie.
I've got bread pudding,
raisin ice cream.
The cheesecake is good.
I just thawed it out.
Uh, well, no,
I don't...
So, what does
that prove?
What?
What does it prove?
Does it prove
anything?
It proves
Amy has an alibi.
Is that what
you want me to say?
Yeah, though it's
a revolting alibi.
You want class
in your alibis,
move to Beverly Hills.
What I don't
understand is,
why is Amy
messing around
with Malcolm
if she likes
guys like Jake?
Maybe she just
likes men, Abel.
You know
what I mean?
I mean men.
A lot of men.
She's up to something,
John, but I don't
think it's that.
United States
of america is here.
Um, he's ok.
He's just in trouble,
and he's struggling.
Yeah?
They found
another body.
It's Vernon brea,
boss.
Vernon was no
bird-watcher.
He was a farmer,
and not a very
good one.
If he was in here,
he was probably
poaching.
Did you find a gun?
No. Found
nothing.
Is it safe
to go in there?
More or less.
Abel: Oh, lord.
Look what's happening.
It's in the land.
Uh-huh.
It looks like
it's just creeping.
This is dead,
that's dying,
and it's just
moving.
As invincible
as sin.
Abel,
get your nose
out of that.
If this were my land,
I'd want $2,000 an acre.
Do you think
I don't know that?
We're losing
the land
and the water
and the air...
Because
we're sloppy...
Or cruel or greedy
and rapacious.
Somebody came here
and did this--
an ape--an ape
with a trainer.
And 4 people
are dead because
of that.
No, sir.
4 people are dead
because of 412.
No, sir.
4 people are dead
because somebody
from Jasper lake
set an explosive
here on this road.
It's the old
chicken or the egg
dilemma, huh, colonel?
Which came first?
For instance,
you knew that 412 was
coming across the country.
Ok, one for you.
But there's a flaw
in your argument.
I'd never heard
of Jasper lake,
luckily.
Further,
this is not my land.
Abel, did that guy
ever find you?
I don't know, Jeff.
What guy?
The guy in overalls,
looked like a farmer?
Vernon.
Was he about 5'10",
5'11",
probably needed
a shave,
a lot of gray hair?
Yeah, yeah.
He found you?
No. We found him.
What happened,
Jeff?
Yesterday afternoon
sometime, you drove away.
He drove in.
I told him
you just left,
and so he went away,
but he seemed pretty
anxious to talk to you.
Thanks, Jeff.
Well, Vernon might
have seen something.
Could have been
hunting and then gone home.
Right. Then went back
again yesterday,
maybe to confirm
what he'd seen,
not knowing
about the 412.
Hey, did he have a wife?
Good idea, but no.
Vernon was a widower.
He had nobody.
Come on in.
Hello, everybody.
Hi.
Hello, whit.
What are you
doing here?
How's Nellie?
Oh, she's--
well, let's see.
Oh, uh, Gloria,
were you able to get
the gold star
ambulance?
All set. Harry's
going to deliver
Vernon's body
directly to
the coroner
on horse mountain.
Fred: The stud.
Hmm?
Nothing.
He's jealous
because the coroner,
known locally as a stud,
and probably for good reason,
went to school with doc.
But Abel didn't
go to school with doc.
Abel went to school
with my husband Fred.
Gloria: He's the pretty one
over there in the corner.
Why don't you sit down?
Abel, you want
to swap?
I'll take the stud,
and you take Fred.
Fred: Sit down.
You got something?
Sit down.
I'm sitting.
Are you ready?
Yes!
"Amy Franklin
of Franklin crossing,
"born Amy McGregor
of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania,
25 may, 1950."
Fred--
"where her father,
a captain in the
United States army,
was stationed."
Shall I continue?
Mm-hmm.
Would you like to know
what her father did
in the army?
Yes.
He was a chemist.
Chemist. "One trained
in chemistry."
Chemistry. "A science
that deals with
the composition
of structures
and properties
of substances
and of
the transformations
they undergo."
David wardley Franklin,
Amy's husband.
Would you like to
know what he does
for a living?
He's a civilian
chemist employee
of the government.
His specialty:
Biochemical warfare.
How does that grab you?
Oh, boy.
Phone. May I use
your phone, please?
[Whispers]
18.
Stryker, 0305977.
His code.
His code.
Stryker:
Mallory? Hi.
Last name Franklin.
F-r-a-n-k-l-i-n.
First name David, uh--
wardley.
W-a-r-d-l-e-y.
Middle name wardley,
w-a-r-d-l-e-y.
Civilian in our employ.
A chemist.
Biochemist.
I'll wait.
Well, colonel,
looks like we were
both wrong.
It's not which
came first;
It's who came first.
Mallory? Go ahead.
What are you
talking about?
We're trying
to establish
the responsibility
for the deaths.
Is it the person
who invented 412
or the person
who blew up the truck?
Ok, Mallory.
Thank you.
Guess who aided
in the development
of 412.
David Franklin,
Amy's...
You got it.
And curiously enough,
he lives and works
in Los Angeles,
a hundred miles away.
What's up?
Malcolm:
Is something up?
You're all sitting around
like you lost
your best friend.
Um...
Hey, uh...
Hey, Malcolm,
we've stumbled
onto something.
Why don't we
go across to tiny's,
and I'll fill you in?
Ok, but I got to
go on patrol.
That's ok.
You go ahead.
I'll be there
in a minute.
See if he's thawed out
his cheesecake,
and I'll take a piece.
Well, looks like
I'm going to Los Angeles.
Before I go,
I'll take the boat,
go over to Vernon's,
and look around.
Wear boots.
What?
Gloria:
You're going to
need boots
to take the boat--
hip boots.
Is the dock
under water?
What dock?
The police dock.
Talk to whit.
What?
Fred: That's right.
Whit.
Whit.
Huh?
What are you
doing here?
He's under arrest.
Well, w-we don't
have a dock,
and I thought--
Fred: He stole
our dock.
He pulled
the pipes up,
put a rope
around it,
and towed it
to his place,
by hand.
Walking.
A-And I thought
we could share it.
Whit...
There would be
plenty of room
for you.
I mean, you can
tie up there
anytime that
you want, you know.
You just get your rope
and throw it on
your dock there,
and I'll be right
there to c-catch it
for you,
and we got
no problem.
Whit...
Do you and Nellie
have a boat?
Well, uh, no.
No, but we're
thinking about
getting one, though.
Hey, you guys,
what do you guys
recommend?
Do you--do you think
a 25-horsepower
would be enough?
Or do you--
you know, uh,
probably--maybe--
probably ought to
get a 75-horsepower.
That way we could,
uh, get away
from you guys
all the time
instead of
getting c-caught.
Whit.
Huh?
Bring it back.
What?
The dock.
Bring the dock back.
Bring--
bring it back?
Mm-hmm.
Well, uh...
All right.
But, uh...
Could I borrow
your boots?
Well, there
you have it.
Thanks, tiny.
Wow.
What kind of man
is this David Franklin?
What's he trying
to do?
There are 5
dead people.
What would
make a man do
a thing like that?
Do you suppose
he was trying
to hurt Amy?
That's a possibility,
Malcolm.
Divorced people
sometimes have
a kind of a hatred.
Anyway, I'm going down
to see Mr. Franklin.
Do you think
I should come?
No. No, that would be
a mistake,
wouldn't it?
Mmm.
Maybe Franklin
is jealous.
Do you think
he knows
Amy has a boyfriend?
Oh. Amy. I would
hate to be the cause
of anything--
Malcolm,
did you know
that Amy's father
was a chemist
in the army?
Really?
Wow. That's
a coincidence.
Yeah, isn't it?
[Dog barks]
[Horn honks]
"1012."
412. 1012.
[Tires screech]
Anybody home?
Mr. Franklin?
David Franklin!
Franklin! David Franklin!
Well, it was
David Franklin.
And it looked
like suicide.
Or it was meant
to look like suicide
or was suicide.
Or wasn't.
If he did
commit suicide,
that must mean
the case is closed.
Which case?
The accidental deaths
of thetwo soldier drivers
and two bird-watchers,
the maybe accidental
death of Vernon brea,
the maybe death by suicide
of David Franklin,
the sabotage
of federal property...
The settlement of claims
arising from said sabotage.
I withdraw
the question.
What about the girl?
Amy was at
the trading post all day.
The minute you called,
I went out.
There she was,
having a beer
with her friend Jake.
Jake?
[Door opens]
You ready?
Gloria: You got me
a new fridge?
What's the matter
with what we got?
Vernon brea,
white male Caucasian.
Gloria: Fred,
white and Caucasian
mean the same thing.
He probably thinks
it means Vernon came
from the caucasus.
What are the caucasus?
Fred, have you
got something?
The coroner's report.
Oh! From Dr. Cape?
Peter? The stud?
You call him
the stud, too?
No. Other people call
him the stud, Abel.
I wouldn't do that.
He's a friend.
Fred: Are you people
through?
Vernon brea died
of a lack of oxygen.
But not from
our old friend 412.
Vernon was suffocated.
No trace of foreign substances
in bloodstream, no 412,
no accidental death, Abel.
Murder one.
I think that means
the case has been
reopened.
I'm just
in the way here.
Thank you, Gloria.
Bye, everybody.
Abel: You can't leave.
Why not?
You don't have a car.
How was your day?
Anything happen in L.A.?
See, it's--it's
just been 4 months.
I know.
A lot of dad's patients
were his own age,
his generation.
And there aren't
too many of them left.
The trouble is,
a lot of men
don't want
a woman doctor.
Well, yeah.
Uh...
I know it's a--
how do you say--
I guess they
just don't feel easy
with a lady doctor.
I mean,
if I didn't know you--
no, i--
I haven't been sick.
But, I mean, I'd go.
Would you?
Oh, in a second.
In a second.
But you have--you have
lots of women patients.
Ha ha ha!
Yeah. I have more
women patients
than I have men.
But a lot of women
don't want to go
to a woman doctor.
So consequently,
I am working
in a rather narrow
little space.
Which, of course,
I knew going in.
Going in, sure.
But like we said--
4 months
and you'll make it.
You're good.
Yeah. I am.
I'm a good diagnostician,
like dad was.
I love that.
I love the chase, I guess.
The solving things.
Like what you do.
The deductive process.
I just love it.
Want to come in?
Yeah.
Good.
But I can't.
Bye.
I--i can't.
You can't?
Tonight, I can't.
Oh.
Another night,
I could.
Could what?
Abel, whispering:
Frieda.
Thanks, frieda.
I didn't want to
talk on the phone,
because I didn't
want to take
the chance of
anybody hearing US.
I have to know
about Amy's night
last night.
Did she meet
Malcolm as usual?
No, Abel.
She didn't.
Uh-oh.
She had a visitor.
He came in sometime
during supper,
and he left this morning
during breakfast.
Lot of people
saw him come in,
lot of people
saw him leave?
Saw them both.
They came in together,
and they went out together.
Conspicuously?
Well, in his case,
that was certainly the word.
Meaning what?
Meaning tiny.
Tiny?
Tiny? Tiny
from tiny's?
Did he stay all night?
I don't suppose--
he stayed all night.
How do you know?
I heard them.
Ohhh.
Abel?
Want a little
home-grown?
I beg your pardon?
Do you smoke?
Frieda,
I don't smoke,
and you don't smoke.
Period.
End of discussion.
Frieda, i'm
the chief of police.
Ok. Then you want
to fool around?
Abel: Nonfat chocolate milk.
Artificial chocolate.
Artificial chocolate?
Listen. We've got fake
sugar, simulated eggs,
phony bacon, imitation
mayonnaise, phony
butter,
orange juice that ain't,
coffee that doesn't
have any coffee in it,
and I've got a machine
in the back room
that turns
hamburger into steak.
You know, a person
can come in here
and order a whole meal
and not get one thing
they asked for.
Pretty soon,
they're going to have
imitation cholesterol.
Yeah.
What do you want, Abel?
Amy Franklin.
That's easy.
Take her.
She's yours.
No, I don't
wanther.
Oh, well,
join the club.
What does
that mean, tiny?
Call me Lloyd.
Lloyd?
Yeah, please
call me Lloyd.
That's my name.
I hate to be
called tiny.
Call me Lloyd.
Ok, Lloyd.
Yeah. That's
my name. Lloyd.
Ok.
We were talking
about Amy Franklin.
Oh, yeah.
What do you want
to know about her?
Well, they say
she likes men, tiny.
Lloyd.
All kinds, all sizes.
Just men.
That's what they say?
Mm-hmm.
They're lying to you.
She doesn't like men.
Don't you see?
If she liked men, she
wouldn't go out with me.
Look at me, Abel.
Oh, now, wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
So you had a night with her,
for whatever reason.
Don't analyze it.
Just accept it.
You had a night with her.
Yeah. A night.
Yeah.
I think she
wants to marry me.
Well...
Malcolm.
Let me tell you what
the evidence suggests.
Now, this won't
be easy on you, ok?
Yeah, ok.
The evidence suggests
that Mr. Franklin
and his ex-wife,
if, in point of fact,
she is his ex-wife,
engineered all of this.
Profit: Around
$400,000, which
amount Amy will get
because she has
a perfect case
and perfect alibis.
All the money,
especially if
the senior partner
meets with
an unexpected suicide.
Except what she pays
her cheap goon.
And he may be
doing it for free.
You know,
I never touched her.
I mean, I touched her.
We, uh, we necked.
But I never really--
yeah. Yeah.
I don't understand.
If she really did
all those things,
what did she need me for?
She had those other guys.
What did she even
bother with me for?
I was just extraneous.
I didn't fit into her plan.
She didn't need me.
She just used me.
Are you going
to arrest her?
No.
What are you
going to do?
Nothing.
Somebody's got to
do something, don't they?
Yes.
Well, who?
You.
Me.
Yeah.
Why me?
Malcolm...
We have
3 options.
One tonight,
two tomorrow.
Tomorrow's
options are
either the Los Angeles
police department
will hit this town,
and hard,
and/or
the United States army
led by colonel stryker,
and they'll be
out for blood,
and you know whose.
And so they'll
get her. So what?
She's obviously right
in the middle of it.
Yeah. Says who?
Says who?
Listen, maybe she's
floating around
the edges somewhere.
But who says she's
in the middle?
Malcolm,
for goodness sake.
Her alibis
are grotesque.
They draw attention
to the fact
that they're alibis.
Is she trying
to say something?
You've known her
for months
and you like her,
and I like her.
Which leads
to our last option.
Do you two
have a date tonight?
Yeah.
Good.
I have an idea.
Oh.
Stryker: San Diego.
They're waiting for me.
Do you have to ride
with it all the way?
My job, Abel.
What's your
final destination?
The pacific.
Ha ha ha!
That's what's called
a tactical evasion.
Oh.
I don't like not knowing
exactly what happens.
It's my job to follow
through, not walk away.
David Franklin.
He's dead, colonel.
It does get back
to the girl, doesn't it?
Washington
dug up something.
Amy Franklin's father,
McGregor, regular army,
deceased,
recruited David Franklin.
Mmm.
Did Washington agree
to the purchase price?
They had no choice.
$407,500 in hard cash.
I don't know how
she did it, but she did it,
and it's a first.
What's a first?
Scamming
the United States army
and maybe
getting away with it.
No, thanks.
I've got to go.
Do me one favor, Abel.
I'll try.
Unscam it.
Tonight ok?
Tonight?
I've got
a little plan.
You didn't tell me.
I know. I know. I'll
call you in Guam.
Guam? How'd you
know it was Guam?
Have a nice sail.
This is fantastic.
I didn't know
we had this.
I want it.
For what?
We don't
have it, Fred.
I have it.
It's mine.
What is it?
Gloria: What is it?
You do understand
he doesn't understand
what it is.
You think you
can handle that, Fred?
Handle it?
Shoot, I'm a marine.
Well, ex-marine.
That's right, marine.
I can ride a horse
and love a woman.
Or is it vice versa?
Is it legal?
It's legal, for
hunting an elephant.
We got a lot of those
in Jasper lake.
Gloria, there's
a lot of weird things
in Jasper lake.
You don't need
an elephant gun
for them, John,
maybe just
a little mascara.
Anyway, Abel's
always telling US,
we got to be polite
to everybody.
You never can tell
who's going to be
our next senator.
Well...
We're ready.
It's early.
It's 11:00.
You got to give
her time,
and him time.
I hope this works.
So do the taxpayers.
Have you got
any proof?
I don't think
I'll need a gun.
Abel, do you
have any proof?
Maybe I'll
take this one.
Or is this
just a hunch?
Maybe it's
just intuition.
Gloria, do you
have any of your
marvelous cocoa?
Guys, he's not
answering you.
He's not even
talking to you.
He's talking to me.
Abel, you got any proof?
Oh, boy. Oh, boy.
Now don't do
anything dumb.
As if that
would be a first.
I'll be back.
You'd better get back.
You got dishes to wash.
Want a new fridge?
Do you know how long
we've had this one?
Your mother. It was
her wedding present.
I thought she
gave US the stove.
That was
your sister.
Emma?
Donna Marie.
What'd Emma give US?
A ladder.
Yeah?
Where is that ladder?
Will you go away so
you can come back?
We'll fix
this tomorrow
with some glue.
No.
Tomorrow we'll
get a new fridge.
How will we
pay for it?
We'll sell the ladder.
Evening,
Mrs. Beezly.
Evening, Malcolm.
How are you tonight?
Oh, I'm fine.
Thank you, ma'am.
Is Amy around?
Yes, Malcolm.
She's upstairs in her room.
Would you like me
to get her for you?
Yes, ma'am.
Thank you.
If you
wouldn't mind.
Oh, it'd be
a favor, Malcolm.
I am irrevocably
buttsprung.
Amy, you in there?
Yes, Mrs. Beezly.
I'm here.
Coming.
Your young man's
downstairs.
The skinny one.
His name is Malcolm.
I know.
Malcolm rossiter Jr.
I knew his father.
I'll bet you did.
Abel said
to take our time
so it looks like
I convinced you
to take me there.
Like you
spilled the beans.
That's not
all I've spilled.
What a waste.
How can you
ride that thing?
It'd give you
uremic poisoning.
What are you
talking about?
This thing's fun
and is good
for your health.
Right.
I'll see you on the
dialysis machine.
I'll take the shed.
You take
the outhouse.
It's time to go.
[Engine starts]
Amy...
Why'd you do it?
I didn't do it.
Oh, I don't
mean the truck.
I mean the men.
What men?
What men?
Never mind.
Never mind!
So come on.
Sit down.
Please.
1012.
1012.
Unbelievable.
Yeah. It is,
isn't it?
Apparently it took
Abel a little while
to figure it out.
About a minute,
minute and a half.
Of course, Vernon
didn't put down
the first 3 numbers
because every phone
in Jasper lake has
the same exchange.
Qu7.
Qu7-1012.
So Abel dialed it
and it answered...
Robinhood inn.
Don't.
Don't.
He'll kill you.
He'll kill anything.
Up.
Stryker: Put the gun
on the table.
Now the car keys.
Now let's all sit down.
So you figured out who
snuffed the farmer, huh?
He went looking
for Abel to tell him
he'd seen somebody
rigging the road.
So he found me. Bad luck
for farmer brown, huh?
Amy, I want you to sign
these papers where you
see an "x."
That was stupid.
You just
admitted that you
blew up the truck
and killed Vernon.
That's true,
corporal--
deputy?
That's fine, Amy.
Now the last one.
The power of attorney.
Now when you endorse
this, we'll be done.
You're not stupid.
You're crazy.
Certifiable.
There's
no possible way
you can
get away with this.
That's all, Amy.
Thank you.
Now take
this young man's car.
Go to town and pack.
Amy, don't do it.
We'll catch you,
both of you.
Sure you can catch her.
So what?
She hasn't done anything.
She's passed over
some land for payment.
That's no crime.
That's a good deal.
That's democracy.
You made her
sign that check.
I asked her to sign it,
and she signed it.
She's a generous,
giving girl. Always was.
As for me,
you'll never find me.
You see, there's no
colonel Edward stryker.
You can't catch a fellow
who ain't there.
Let's go, captain.
On the double.
I'm certainly
willing to try.
What do you think
I should do first?
Abel, where's stryker?
He's headed for the Jeep
in one of those sheds.
You all right?
Yeah, but what
about stryker?
Fred has
that situation in hand.
Fred?
[Starts engine]
Next.
Malcolm,
may I have
the key, please?
Where'd
he find you?
The boarding house.
Waiting.
Where's the colonel?
The colonel
is safe
and moderately
sound.
He'll spend
tonight
at the county
lockup at
horse mountain,
and tomorrow
the army
will come and
take him away.
And you, too,
maybe. I guess.
I don't know.
I don't know
what they'll
do with you.
Key, please,
Malcolm.
Ok. Ok.
I'm coming.
You told me to
see if I could
find her.
Well,
I found her.
I didn't tell you
to arrest her.
Oh, no?
Why not?
Sit down.
You sound like Fred.
Sit down.
Why'd you do
what that guy
told you to do?
Why'd you
sign the papers?
Why'd you just
get up and leave
like an obedient
child because
he told you to?
Because she is
an obedient child.
The colonel's
my father, Malcolm.
He co-developed 412
with my ex-husband David.
Then the congress said,
"no good. Dump it."
And dad went
a little crazy.
And yes,
I was the device.
My father invented
a man named stryker
who never existed.
Then he engineered
his own death
and took over
stryker's identity.
Long scam.
Until he killed Vernon.
And David said,
"no. Wrong.
Too many killings.
End of scam."
So dad killed David.
And so I agreed
to help Abel
stop him from killing
somebody else,
like me....Or you.
When did you
find out about this?
Jake the wrangler,
Jake the wife-beater,
told me he
made love with Amy,
and I happen to know
from his ex-wife
and from court evidence
that's physically
impossible for Jake
to do with anybody.
Which is, I suppose,
one of the reasons
he used
to beat up people.
That leaves tiny.
Yes.
You did spend
the night with tiny,
didn't you?
Yes.
For an alibi?
Yes.
I think I went
too far with tiny.
I think he
thinks that means
we're engaged.
Dad said he would
kill you if I didn't.
So I did.
How do you like them
apples, Malcolm rossiter?
For goodness sake,
why are you staring at me?
Have I got
something on my shirt?
[Car pulls up]
Here he is.
Good morning, Malcolm.
You look awful.
Here's the receipt
for her, Abel.
Want some coffee?
Never again.
They took her away
in a truck,
an army truck.
It was like a hearse,
only it had a lock.
One officer, a major
in army intelligence,
two mps, male.
One mp, female.
I never saw
a female mp before.
So they put her
in the back of the truck,
locked it,
gave me a receipt.
Just like a meat market.
Then they
climbed in it
and drove away.
One snappy
little drumroll.
Then good-bye
Amy Franklin.
Malcolm, I hesitate
to mention this
in your present state,
but there are others.
That's not important.
What's important is that
there's only one you.
Thank god.
I got enough competition
in this town as it is.
Hey, you know
that little honey
that rides that
two-seater bicycle?
Ginger something
or another.
Well, now this
is boring to me,
Malcolm,
but she's got
the hots for you.
Truth. Truth.
I mean,
lord knows why.
Come on.
It's the truth.
Hey, it's as baffling
to me as it is to you.
And listen, I tried.
I really tried.
I couldn't get
to first base
with her.
She wouldn't
even let me
hold her hand,
let alone
anything else.
Gross.
Listen, all
she offered me
were questions
about Malcolm.
Ginger grisnick.
She's a really
lovely girl,
Malcolm. Really.
Ginger grisnick?
Lovely name.
Look, I know what
you people are doing.
I know what
you're up to.
It's obvious.
It's as obvious as hell.
I like it.
[Cheering]
Well, I got to go
open the office.
[Stifled laughter]
Did you know that boating
is the number two
recreational pastime
in america?
I hate to ask.
What's the first?
Oh, I have plans
coming on that.
Photographs
and everything.
People are doing it
all the time.