From Hollywood to Deadwood (1988) - full transcript
Two loser detectives need to score a case or give it up. Finding a missing starlet leaving a trail of blackmail and murder may be too much for them.
Hello, this is Jack Haines,
private investigator.
If your wife is cheating
on you,
please give her my name
and number. Thank you.
Haines,
pick up the phone.
Haines, I know you're there.
All right, 20 bucks says
you can't beat me to the bar.
George, beer.
-What's the rush,
Haines, thirsty?
-Yeah.
Haven't seen Raymond, I hope.
How'd you get here so fast?
Never left.
Raymond, one of these days
I'm gonna blow you away.
You son of a bitch.
I almost killed myself.
Four and a half minutes,
Haines. That's gotta be
a record.
Send it in to the
Guinness Book.
Just giving you some tail
work. Didn't want you
to get out of practice.
Well, that ain't the kind
of tail work I need.
George, get me a beer
and whatever Haines
is drinking is on me.
It was stupid.
Drive all the way out there
to see my ex-wife. Try to
borrow money from her.
Pathetic.
My life is pathetic,
Raymond.
Someone's gonna call.
They always do.
Who?
The last case
was a goddamn
embarrassment.
You hear
about that,
George?
Some guy wants to pay us
200 a day plus expenses
to follow his dog at night
and see where it goes.
I mean come on, Raymond.
Following a dog at night.
Taking pictures of him
relieving himself.
You don't need that.
Takes time to establish
yourself. You know that.
I don't know, Raymond.
I don't know.
Well, hi there.
Hi.
Seen any good
movies lately?
I don't go to movies.
Oh, where do you go?
Places I like.
Maybe the places you like
are the places I like.
Maybe.
You two know each other?
We just met.
Well, I'm with her.
Oh, you two know each other?
Very well.
Well, thanks for telling me.
I just got over
a nasty bout
of the clap.
You care to
repeat that, pal?
Oh, what's the matter?
So thick between the ears
they don't work?
I hope you can afford
a good plastic surgeon.
Back off, meat head.
What's the matter?
Your friend can't
handle himself?
He can handle himself.
He just can't afford
a good plastic surgeon.
Haines, you can't
lose control like that.
I'm telling you,
you're gonna
get us in trouble.
I can handle myself.
What about you carrying
your piece in that bar?
Aren't you fortunate I was?
I don't know, Raymond.
I think I'm gonna give up
this detective work.
-Go back to acting.
-Do it and quit talking
about it.
I will. Just as soon
as I have some money.
When are you going to finish
that mystery novel?
About a year.
A year? What do you do,
write one word a day?
If that.
Now, I'm backing on my
10% of that novel.
Seeing how it's based
on my exploits.
Oh, don't flatter yourself.
Look, if it makes a killing,
I'll make sure you
never go hungry.
Or thirsty.
In the meantime...
Thank God, I needed that.
Yeah, I love it.
Maybe we should have stayed
in LA instead of coming
down here.
Nah, we were burning out
up there.
Well, we were having fun.
No, we weren't.
We were miserable.
We got stiffed on half
our bills.
I think Hollywood has
got to be the sleaziest
place in the world.
Yeah, but in all that sleaze
and slime, there's work
for us.
Down here, nobody is doing
anything that requires
our services.
Bullshit, it's just more
subtle. That's all.
We're gonna get a lot of
interesting cases down here.
I'm telling you.
My name is Steve Reese.
I need to talk to you about
a highly confidential matter.
213-464-7626.
Call me anytime, day or night.
Thank you.
Yeah, what's up?
We got a job.
What is it, a stakeout at
the wild animal park?
No, Haines. It's a film
company. Missing person.
They don't want to talk
about it over the phone.
Hollywood?
Yes, Hollywood.
I thought we weren't
gonna take anymore
entertainment cases.
There's reward money
in this one, Haines.
I gotta warn you. I got
a mean headache here.
Take an aspirin.
We're leaving
in about an hour.
What the hell is that?
It's a shiatsu mask.
A what?
It's got ice water in it.
Soothes the temples.
Does it work?
Of course it does.
What do you think I'm
wearing it for, disguise?
Haines.
Mr. Reese, a Raymond Savage
is here to see you.
All right.
It's the last office on
the left. You can go right in.
Um, haven't I seen you
in films before?
No, I don't think so.
Haines.
Raymond Savage.
Jack Haines.
We're very pleased
to meet you, gentlemen.
This is Marcia Diamond,
associate producer and
vice president of production.
How do you do?
Ted Field, president
of Monolith.
And I'm Stephan Reese.
You may call me Steve.
I'm the producer of the film.
Steve got your name
from Bob Elmendorf
over at Castle.
He said you were brilliant
in a video pirating case,
that you knew the
entertainment business
inside and out.
Recognize her?
Lana Dark.
She did some films in the
late '70s. She was up
for an Academy Award.
Didn't win.
She took off for Europe and
that's all I know about her.
Very good.
Lana is in a picture
I'm producing for Monolith
called Pleasure.
Monday, she didn't show
up for her call.
No one knows where the
fuck she is.
Where was she living?
Shangri-La Hotel
in Santa Monica.
She checked out Friday.
She has a house in Santa Fe,
New Mexico,
but she hasn't been there
for months. In fact,
it's up for sale.
Did you call the police?
Of course, we did.
They checked into it,
but because she
is not missing as
a result of foul play
they won't look for her.
In other words, it's our
problem. Not theirs.
How can you be sure
it isn't foul play?
That's how.
What have you done
to find her?
We have talked to everybody,
tried to find out where
she might have gone
but no one knows anything.
We have 10 million leveraged
against distribution deals
all over the world.
If we don't finish this
picture, we're in trouble.
You're insured.
Of course, we're insured,
but nobody wins in these
insurance cases.
It's not particularly good
for a production company's
reputation
to have the actress
walk off the set.
Maybe there were tensions
on the set. Who knows?
It doesn't matter.
You have to be a professional
in this business.
First time director,
they had some problems.
Lana is very demanding.
She can be difficult.
But we want her back.
It wasn't anything specific,
was it?
Boyfriend problems,
not getting paid.
Nobody gives a shit about
her personal problems.
All right. Who saw her last?
- Her driver.
- When was that?
Friday afternoon, when he took
her back to the hotel.
Did she have a car?
She had a rental. Nobody knows
where she rented it from.
We're offering
a $25,000 reward.
We want you to work
double overtime.
All right.
We'll look for her.
Beside a reward
on something like this,
we go for five a day for both
of us plus expenses.
And we'll need a five-day
retainer in advance.
Fair enough, gentlemen.
We're gonna need the names
and numbers of cast and crew,
anyone else we should know
about. Family...
All we have is right here.
All right. What do you want
us to do when we find her?
Don't contact her, call us.
We'll take it from there.
Okay, I think that's
everything.
Oh, there's one more thing.
I'd like a contract for
the reward money
signed and notarized
before we get started.
Is that necessary?
We found that it is when
dealing with clients in
the film business.
I knew you guys
would be back.
What happened?
No work down there?
Sit down.
Sit down.
Okay.
We got a case up here.
25 grand reward.
Who's missing?
Actress, she shut down
a big film production.
Psycho, huh?
Maybe.
Aw, hell.
You'll probably find her
drying out in Palm Springs.
Or up in Malibu talking
to the waves.
I miss you guys.
You're too good for that
podunk beach town.
Oh, we're too good for
detective work period.
Yeah, we all are.
Ernie, we need a file pulled
from immigration. The actress
goes by a fictitious name.
Lana Dark.
Sexy.
We want to find out her
real name.
She spent a couple years over
in Europe, so they should have
a pretty good file on her.
That's no problem.
I'll get old Deeker
back in uniform.
Haven't used him in a while.
But I think he's still living.
Have to grease
his palm though.
Two for Deek. Two for you.
Ah, hell. I don't want any.
You guys are friends.
Come on, Ernie. Take it.
-Quid pro quo.
-Quid pro quo, what's that?
Chinese seafood dish.
Raymond, you still big
on the words, huh?
He intellectualizes
everything.
Drives me nuts.
I got to ride around on
Haines' shoulders so he
doesn't look decapitated.
You two. You ought to
get a divorce.
You got any advice on
disappearance?
Yeah, you find out
everything you can.
Personal habits, anything.
You never know what will
flush her out.
The police have
already been here.
Well, the police don't have
college educations.
Has anyone else stayed in this
room since she left?
No.
Maid find anything?
Just that book over there.
Well, the long-distance
are to a Santa Fe,
New Mexico number.
A realty office, probably
the brokers to her house.
Let's see. A couple calls to
the production company.
This girl didn't socialize
much if you ask me.
Well, what do you think,
fly or drive?
If you know where you're
going, you fly.
If it's a cracked brain pan,
you drive.
How's she run?
Who are you?
Private investigators.
You're Lana Dark's driver,
right?
What's the matter,
something wrong?
Did you drive her from the set
to the Shangri-La Hotel
on Friday night?
Yeah, that's right.
You didn't wait for her and
take her somewhere else?
The airport, maybe?
No, why? Is she missing?
Missing. Did we say anything
about missing, Raymond?
I don't remember saying that.
They said they were gonna
shut down for a few days. I
figured something was wrong.
Listen, Bobby, what kind of
a woman is she?
What she a jerk to you? Did
she talk to you? Was she on
time when you picked her up?
I loved driving her.
I looked forward to it.
She always asked me how
I was doing, how I
was getting along.
She'd always thank me.
She's a wonderful person.
I hope nothing has happened
to her.
She didn't
seem disturbed
to you at all, did she?
Lana? Disturbed? No.
You think of anything,
give us a call.
Next day, my agent calls
all excited and says
I got the part.
Well, I'm going nuts.
Lead role in a major
motion picture.
I'm on a dead-ahead course
with fame and fortune.
Then my agent calls again.
And he says they've decided
to go with someone else.
You know who that
someone else was?
Bob Redford.
Bob "Golden Boy" Redford
waltzes in at the eleventh
hour and aces me out.
That's when I
started drinking.
How about you?
What can I get for you?
Uh, nothing. Thanks.
Contract is signed.
Good.
Haines, you were an actor once.
Why would somebody walk?
Once? I still am.
Right, sorry.
How would you like it
if I introduced you as
an ex-writer of mysteries
that never got published?
Okay, got the point.
I don't know. A lot of
reasons. But disappear?
Career suicide.
That's why I can't figure it.
Something pretty heavy
must've happened.
Or she flipped her pons.
That girl look
crazy to you?
You never know till you
buy 'em a drink.
I just don't believe it.
You don't believe it, or
you don't want to believe it?
How'd you know all that stuff
about her, anyway?
I saw a film she made
a few years ago.
It's one of my favorites.
What's that?
Blue Stranger.
Never heard of it.
What, did you get
a crush on her?
Haines, I don't get crushes
on movie stars.
Let's get out of here.
Ernie, it's Savage.
What's up, buddy?
All right. We appreciate it.
We'll buy dinner for you
when this is all over.
Right, quid pro quo.
Yeah, thanks.
Well?
Laura Durkheim.
I'm looking for a woman who
might have rented a car here
sometime during
the last six weeks.
She might be listed as either
Laura Durkheim or Lana Dark.
I'd like to see
some back invoices
or if I could get on your
computer. Whichever is
easier for you.
I don't think I can do that
without approval.
Come on. You're a modern
woman, aren't you?
I could get fired.
Look, let me just call
the main office and see
if they'll approve this.
Wait.
Wait a minute, all right?
Uh, I'm not really
a private investigator.
I had this made up.
The woman I'm looking
for is my wife.
We had a fight and she left.
Now, I know that she
rented a car here.
I know that. And I just
want to know if she's
brought it back or not.
I'll tell you,
I've been miserable.
Really miserable.
I'm sorry.
Can I get you some water?
No, thanks,
just the invoices.
I'm sorry, I...
It still hurts.
These go back
the last three weeks.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
What about La Cabana?
I can't eat that shit.
Let's get some sushi.
All right, follow me.
Whatever car rental
place it is,
it's not close to
the Shangri-La,
that's for sure.
I called Social Security and
got an old address for her in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Her father died in 1968 and
her mother was placed
in a hospital for alcoholism
the same year.
Lana was put in the custody
of her aunt.
I talked to her.
She thinks Lana is possessed
by the devil.
Hasn't even talked to her
since she left for Hollywood
at 17.
No brothers or sisters?
Nada.
Barry, it's Raymond Savage.
How's the film business?
Barry, the reason I called is
I want you to arrange the
screening of a film for me.
It's called Blue Stranger.
It's a film noir period piece
shot around 1980,
directed by a guy named
Robert Martins.
It stars Lana Dark.
Who is it?
Nick Detroit,
private investigator.
Open the door or there
won't be one anymore.
What do you want,
tough guy?
Your husband hired me
to find you.
So you found me. Now what?
Listen to me and listen to
me good. I've been on this
case for two weeks.
I've been lied to,
beat up and worse.
When I saw your car out
in front, my job was over.
The moment I knocked on
the door, I crossed over
the line.
Something a good detective
shouldn't do if he wants
to keep his license.
I'm not impressed.
Your husband's a killer.
Men kill over little things
like money
and beautiful women
disappearing in the middle
of the night.
Am I making sense?
Or do I sound as stupid
as I feel?
What do you want from me?
The truth.
The truth?
The truth is I could shoot you
right now and put this gun
in your hand
and they'd think you just got
tired of your miserable life.
Wouldn't it be heaven?
Police, open up!
Give me the gun.
No.
I said open it!
A married couple
who are having a little
spat over money.
If you don't want to spend
the next 20 years of your life
in the state pen,
keep your pretty mouth shut
and do what I tell you.
Okay.
You'll get out of here.
Raymond, turn out
the light.
What are you reading,
anyway?
Nothing.
I'm just filling in
the profile.
Oh, the profile.
Well, Raymond,
I got news for you.
Tomorrow, I'll get her credit
card and your profile
is history.
Hey, what the hell are
you doing?
-Remember me?
-Yeah, what do you want?
I have a problem.
Lana had a rental,
but not a company rental.
I've been to every rental
agency around the motel
and I've come up
with nothing. Nothing!
You didn't take her to a
rental car place when she
first checked in, did you?
Shit. Here comes my client.
Beverly Hills Hotel.
Hold on, fat cat.
I got a few questions
to ask your driver
and then I'll be
on my merry way.
Come on, man.
Split. Give me a break.
Who is this eight ball?
He's a private investigator.
Yeah, looks like a bum to me.
Look, jerk, don't irritate me.
Sit back, have a drink,
take your clothes off.
Do whatever you do back there.
This will only take a minute.
I have to take this crap?
This is my limo.
And don't call me
an eight ball again
or I'll dust your kisser.
And then I'll kiss
her duster.
Are you going to let him
talk to me like that?
You've been lying to me,
Bobby. You see that little
bead of sweat on you lip.
Get your hands off me.
She's in trouble, Bobby.
Real trouble. She's flipped.
Now, we want to find her
and help her. You understand?
I don't care how much
she paid you to keep
your mouth shut.
You're gonna tell me
or I'll eat 'em.
I'll lose my job.
Just tell me the name
of the agency.
I followed her to a
Budget on Jefferson.
She turned in her car and
then I took her to another
Budget out by the airport.
She told me she was leaving.
She didn't want anyone
to know.
Honest to God, I don't
know where she went.
How much she pay you
to keep your mouth shut?
$200.
And you couldn't do it,
could you?
You're sick, man.
Care for a drink?
No, thank you.
That picture was taken
at the Venice Film Festival,
some years ago.
You were in love with her?
Yes.
At the time.
Is this the first picture
you've made together since
Blue Stranger?
It's been a long time.
Why do you think she walked?
It was her first film
in five years.
Lana wanted it to be
something more than it
was intended to be.
She's a very bright girl.
Most directors don't like
strong-willed women.
So they clashed.
Can I get a smoke from you?
Something isn't right here?
An actress who has been in
a lot of films, comes back to
Hollywood to revive her career
and the first film she gets,
and this is with an old friend
no less,
she leaves halfway through
production for no reason.
That doesn't make sense.
There is something else you
should know that Monolith
doesn't know.
She did this once before
on a film in Europe.
It took them a week
to find her.
But she came back.
Lana is a very
capricious woman.
She has dark
mood swings where
all of a sudden she becomes
so morose, you can't
get through to her.
And then she can
be wonderful.
Where did the financing for
Pleasurecome from?
It was pre-sold to buyers
and distributors all over
the world.
What happens if it
isn't finished?
Even with the insurance,
we stand to lose a lot
of money.
Not to mention credibility
in the business.
I've got to finish
this picture.
I'll let you know when
I have something.
Bullshit, you're no
private investigator.
Man, I'm having
a real credibility problem
here today.
Maybe I need a new tailor.
Like I said.
Bull. Shit.
Well, I guess I'm just a big
old bullshitter, then.
Now, let me see
those receipts!
Okay, okay.
Pick up my hat!
Have a little respect
for your elders.
Punk.
What's up?
Had to use the knuckle
duster, but I got it.
Haines, when I'm just about
ready to write you off,
you come through.
Write me off and
you are through.
Now check this, she turned in
one car and picked up another.
What does that tell you?
She drove.
Like I predicted,
cracked brain pan.
And if she's using
that credit card, she's
gonna keep on using it.
Pretty tough to get
information out of those
people though.
Well, what do we need?
I forget.
Credit card number,
we got that.
Social Security number, ditto.
And her credit limit I think.
We can guess that.
Yeah, we need one other thing.
A woman's voice.
Come on, let's go see that
old girlfriend of yours.
I told you I don't want
to see Christine.
Pull over.
Excuse me, miss. How would you
like to make a quick 50 bucks?
Jesus! I just wanted you
to make a phone call.
Pervert!
That's a hell of an opening
line, Haines.
We must be too close
to Hollywood Boulevard.
-Let's go see Christine.
-No!
You son of a bitch.
You still owe me $200.
And wouldn't take
my phone calls.
Where the hell you been?
-I don't want to see you.
-Wait a minute, Christine.
I was going to pay you but
I just didn't have the money.
And I was going to call you,
but it's long distance now.
Uh-huh. I can't believe you
come here like this,
showing your face
asking me for a favor.
Christine, here's the 200
we owe you.
I ought to give you
this for clothes.
You look like what we haul
in on the weekends.
Yeah, and you're a sweet as...
Pardon me, but could you two
pursue this some other time?
Christine, we'd like for you
to make a phone call
on a credit card.
This better be legal.
Yeah, it's...
It's pretty much legal.
She's heading
east by car.
I see.
She stayed in a Holiday Inn
in Barstow
and she bought gas in Gallup,
New Mexico.
Well, it sounds like a rash
decision to me.
She's driving, so it could
mean there's no real purpose
to where she's going.
She might be just
blowing off steam.
Well, the shit has hit
the fan here.
There was an article in
The Tradesaying
that we had to shut down
because our lead actress
has disappeared.
I'm getting calls from buyers
wanting to know what the hell
is going on.
I'm telling everybody that
she's not feeling well
but I don't know how long
I can make them believe that.
Hopefully, it should just be
a matter of days.
I say we catch a
flight out of here pronto
and head her off at Santa Fe.
Why the hell would
she be heading there?
They know about her house.
That doesn't make sense.
We got nothing
else to go on.
And I'm sick of talking
to these people.
You think she's just sitting
there waiting for them to come
slap her with a lawsuit?
I can't believe how you
oscillate between the
brilliant and the moronic.
It's my special gift.
All right, what do you
want to do?
You're calling the shots.
We know she's not here.
We're four days behind her.
And we're going to continue
being four days behind her
as long as our only lead
is that credit card.
We have to see if we can't
find something more
definitive
right here where we have
better access to information.
Access to information?
What are we, the IBM
detective agency?
We're not getting anywhere,
Raymond.
We got a tail on her.
I say let's move it before
she has a change of heart,
we get aced out of that
25 grand and end up
back on the dog trail.
Raymond.
Look, all right.
This is what we know.
Lame production.
Actress bombed.
They probably told her
to drop her top.
She flew the coup,
said screw it.
It's that simple.
-Maybe.
-Maybe?
Raymond, we got
a job to do here.
Find a missing woman.
And what went down here
don't mean shit to us
unless it's information
leading to her whereabouts.
I want to stay here just
another day before I head off
on some wild goose chase.
As long as she's still moving,
we're just eating her dust.
I'll take dust
any day over smog.
Where are you going?
Pick me up at 2:00 a.m.
Haines, come on.
Listen, baby, they'll come
after you when I don't call.
-And when they find you...
-They'll never find me.
And when they find you,
they'll do whatever is
necessary, you understand?
We're in a
dangerous area here.
Where did you
hide the money?
I know you have it.
You believe them, don't you?
I'd do it, too.
It's all illegal.
Whenever this amount of money
is concerned,
even the self-righteous are
prone to temptation.
You want it bad,
don't you, Nick?
Yeah.
I want everything.
You're right, I did take it.
I took every
last cent of it.
I thought so.
We can get out of here,
go to Europe.
You ever been to France?
I'll take you there.
I don't need this stupid
life anymore.
I want to show it to you.
Sure.
I've never seen
20 grand before.
Sorry, Nicky.
I don't like people
who don't believe me.
Francis, you don't want
to shoot me.
Haines, come on.
You got to get up.
Come on, get up.
We're leaving this town.
What?
Barstow.
I always wanted to spend
a summer in Barstow.
-You keep the phone log
and receipts, I hope.
-Yes, sir.
Did you notice anything
about her?
Well, she came in late.
Looked tired.
She didn't say much.
She left early.
Of course, there's not much
reason to hang around here.
Amen.
It's a Santa Fe number.
Might be your boy Mueller.
750 to Santa Fe. If we drive
all night, we might be able
to make it by tomorrow.
What's that?
Toasted cheese.
Oh, good.
For a moment, I thought
I barfed up my liver.
They're right.
She hasn't been here.
It got a little weird when
I mentioned our girl.
Mueller's not here.
He's at a bar downtown
called the El Farol.
You mind if we buy
you a drink?
Not at all. Don't mind
if you do. Sit down.
-You're an actor?
-Yep.
I think I remember you from
an old series. I can't
remember the name though.
Empire?
Empire,that's it.
-Yeah, that's right.
-Great show.
What was the name
of that actress on there?
You know her name?
Um, Lana something.
Lana Dark.
That's it.
I think this conversation
is over.
Gentlemen, good night.
Assholes.
All right, Peter.
We know she was here.
We have reason to suspect
that you saw her.
Is she still here?
You think I'm gonna tell
you lowlives anything?
Now, wait a minute.
We're both book of the
month club members.
She might be in trouble.
We'd like to help her.
What do you think I am,
a fool?
Read my lips.
I'm not gonna
tell you anything.
All right, one more question.
Did she tell you why
she walked from the film?
You guys are desperate,
aren't you?
Listen to me, Mueller.
We're gonna watch you.
We're gonna dog your
every waking step.
Let him go, Haines.
You're never gonna find her.
She's too smart for
you crackerjacks.
Gas in Denver.
And a Super 8 motel
in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
And that's it.
Okay, Christine. Thanks.
What's she
heading north for?
It's cold up there.
Come on, baby. Hop a flight
to the south of France.
Make this interesting.
We're out here in the middle
of nowhere. She's got us on
a four-day leash.
She's got to stop sometime.
We know that.
No, I don't know that.
You don't know that.
She could get all the way to
Canada, cross over and hop
a flight to Sri Lanka.
Boy, what's gotten into you?
You lost your sense of humor.
Think we'd be doing any better
back in LA?
I was close
to something there.
Oh, and what was that?
I just don't believe that
a woman this smart,
this attractive,
everything going for her,
does what she does.
Raymond, have you ever heard
of schizophrenia, dementia
praecox, manic-depressive?
This woman is not crazy.
If she was schizophrenic,
I don't think she'd be
this tough to track.
Bullshit. When they're
in that zone
they're the cleverest
people in the world.
They even write novels.
I've seen you get
like this before.
-Like what?
-Obsessed.
You want to believe
that this woman is some
kind of victim.
You remember that painter
whose husband hired us
to find her?
You didn't want to believe
that she was screwing half
the San Fernando Valley.
Remember what you said to her
when we finally did find her?
You said, "I'm disappointed."
I'll never forget that
as long as I live.
Well, you're a better
detective when you're
obsessed. I'll give you that.
But if you think that when we
finally do get to this woman
that you're gonna
have trouble
turning her in,
you better just turn around
right now and hand this case
over to someone else.
- What the hell are we doing
out here with no spare?
Don't get mad at me just
'cause you need a drink.
I don't need a drink.
When I need one,
I'll tell you.
All right, why don't we
just figure this out?
Could you give me a lift
into town?
Son of a bitch!
Hey, come back here!
What's so fucking funny?
What do you say we
go out tonight? Shake it
up a little bit.
You know,
take the night off.
No, I'm gonna stay in,
read some Kierkegaard.
Oh, all right.
♪ I'm a cowboy
who never saw a cow
♪ Never rope steer 'cause
I don't know how
♪ Yipee ay-oh ki-ay
♪ Yipee ay-oh ki-yay
♪ Buffalo gal, won't you
come out tonight?
♪ Come out tonight,
come out tonight
♪ Buffalo gal, won't you
come out tonight?
♪ And we'll dance by
the light of the moon ♪
What are some of the names
of the films you've made?
Oh, they go way back,
but not too far back.
My first film was called
Only Devils Have Wings.
And then I did Escape
from the Jungle She Monster.
But, of course, you probably
remember The Dark Parade.
♪ She's shooting
her head, suddenly
She began to stand
♪ She says fooling around
ain't fooling nobody ♪
Let me get you, Francis.
Nick, I can't feel anything.
Come on.
Don't go out on my, baby.
Not here, not now.
It's such a beautiful time.
We're all so young.
Don't talk, baby.
I'm not gonna make it.
Put me down, get out of here.
Be quiet. You're not gonna
die. You can't die on me.
Listen to me.
We're gonna walk out
of this thing. We're gonna
get you to a hospital.
1-2-3, 4-5-6.
Where are all the cars?
It's too late at night, Nick.
The moon is covered up
by clouds.
Shh. Save your strength.
Too much blood.
Hey, stop!
I'm sorry.
No!
Okay, just slow down.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, that's it?
All right, thanks, Christine.
Deadwood, South Dakota.
-Haines?
-Raymond. I'm in the tank.
-Can you bail me out?
-Great.
Ha, ha. I'm just kidding.
No, I got waylaid by
a couple of free-spirited
pleasure seekers.
Well, I'm happy for you,
Haines.
What's new?
Next stop is a town
called Deadwood.
It's in South Dakota.
The Dakotas, huh?
How far is that?
Oh, 300 miles or so.
Oh, well, I guess you're
gonna want to get out
of here pronto, huh?
Haines, if you want
to spend another night
with those girls,
that'd be good
for me, too.
We've been getting on each
other's nerves anyway.
Look, I'll tell you what.
Tomorrow, I'll catch a bus,
the late one. You pick me
up at the station.
And we're gonna need
some more cash.
I'll have some wired to us
in Deadwood.
Yeah, I just need a day off.
Clear my head.
I figured that. Look, I'll see
you in Deadwood, partner.
So long.
Did someone pick her up
or did she have a car waiting?
As far as I know,
she walked off.
-Have you ever
seen her before?
-No.
This is it.
Excuse me, that's my phone.
You're somewhere around here.
But you don't want me
to find you, do you?
There's a lot of homes out
there in the hills, all over.
-Okay, thanks.
-Thank you.
What can I do for you?
Do you have a pack
of L&M's back there?
Yeah.
$1.25.
Have you ever seen this
woman before?
What do you want to know?
Her stepfather died and I've
been hired by the probate
people to find her.
She's the sole inheritor
of quite a bit of money.
Yep, I've seen her.
You're positive?
Oh, yeah. We don't get
too many glamour girls
around here.
When was this?
I think it was the day before
yesterday. She came driving
up in a gray Jeep.
She came in and picked
up some supplies.
Had you ever seen her before?
No, first time.
Did you happen to notice
which way she was heading?
The car was pointing that way,
so she must have been heading
off toward Mystic.
-Straight down this
road here?
-Yeah.
Thank you very much.
Hey, don't you want
your change?
No, you keep it.
Thanks.
Looking for something, mister?
Is there a way to get through
this road here?
It's private.
Are you looking
for someone?
No, I'm just sightseeing,
enjoying the countryside.
Well, it's a private road and
I can't let you go up there
unless you know someone.
Okay, then.
I'll turn around.
Lana.
What do you want?
I've been looking for you.
Well, look somewhere else.
You're on private property.
I just want to talk to you.
I'm gonna count to three
and if you're not back
across that creek,
I'm gonna blow your head off.
-Just wait a minute.
-One.
If I turn around,
they're gonna be
back inside of 24 hours.
-Two.
-Look, let's make a deal.
What kind of a deal?
Well,
I could discuss it better if
I wasn't partially submerged.
Who are you?
I'm a private investigator.
I was hired by Monolith
to find you.
I've got another shell
in here.
And I'm at that point in my
life where I really don't care
about some lowlife detective.
It's difficult to organize
one's thoughts looking down
the barrel of a shotgun.
What do you want from me?
Money?
Miss Dark, listen to me.
The moment I set foot
in that creek I put my
pen on the company's ink.
I've never done that before.
I think something is wrong and
the truth is more important to
me than the money.
That's perfect.
A detective with a conscience.
Get back.
You're in so deep right now
you don't know who to trust
or what to do.
Any other detective would be
at the nearest phone booth by
now and this would be over.
You don't have any choice.
You have to trust me.
You shoot me, you might as
well shoot yourself.
I've been looking for you for
almost two weeks. I'm tired.
I'm hungry. I'm wet.
But forget all that.
I think something is
screwy here.
I can make a phone call,
they'll come out here
and sue your ass or whatever.
But that doesn't interest me.
What interests me is you.
I have no intention
of turning you in.
Of course, you can believe
that or not. I don't care.
What I do care about
is why you walked.
Because I'd like to help you.
Raymond, where are you?
What's the matter, is the
fresh air too much for you?
Whew, man.
When there is going
to be a full moon
I always hike to the
top of the ridge to
watch it come up.
But I can catch you
on the way down
if you like.
No, hold on.
So tell me, what is it that
you really want from me,
Mr. Detective?
For you information, the name
is Raymond Savage.
I have trouble understanding
why a woman as
intelligent as you
flushes her career
down the toilet in one
rash move, that's all.
Who said I was intelligent?
I did a lot of research.
I know.
What did they tell you?
Not that I give a damn.
Almost nothing.
Just find her.
You know, I'm impressed.
I thought I covered
my tracks fairly well.
You did. Unfortunately for
you, I'm one of the best.
I think maybe you were driven
by something other than
professional obligation.
Maybe.
Lana, look. I know you don't
trust me, and I can't say
I blame you.
But I am tired of
this bullshit.
You're in a lot of trouble,
a lot more than you realize.
Now, I can help you but you've
got to be straight with me.
'Cause like it or not, we're
in this together now.
I hate to disappoint you.
But the reason I left was
because I was fed up with
those people.
It's that simple.
And they can send an army of
guys like you in cheap black
suits out here to find me.
But I won't go back.
They can sue me, they can
put a gun to my head.
I don't care.
I'll never finish that film.
You think I'm not
in my right mind,
don't you?
No, and I'm one of the few.
Does that make me a fool?
How much were they going
to pay you? I bet a lot.
25 grand.
I might be able to get it.
Don't waste your money.
They'll just send
someone else.
If I turn you in,
what are you
going to do?
I don't know.
I might have to kill myself.
This is right where
I'd do it, too.
Just like your husband.
I fascinate you, don't I?
What are you going to do,
Mr. Savage?
You like me, so you don't
want to turn me in.
But you don't exactly want
to walk away empty-handed
either, do you?
Where's your car?
It's back at the gate.
You walked a long way.
I guess it would be cruel
of me to send you back
so late at night.
I wouldn't make it
if I didn't get a lift.
I have a guest house.
You can stay the night.
Where are you going?
Wouldn't it be better for you
if you found my house but
didn't find me?
No.
You're in deeper than I am.
Yeah, but nobody cares
what happens to me.
Nobody cares what
happens to me.
No, you're wrong.
I do.
You are in way
over your head,
Mr. Savage.
Believe me, I know.
No, I don't think
you do know.
Look, you can't
keep running.
What are you going to do
about it? There's a phone over
there, why don't you use it?
You see, I am a little crazy.
I'm not the angel you think
I am.
What's the matter, am I
destroying your fantasy?
You were going to come and
rescue the poor little
princess in distress.
You're drunk.
Oh, no. I'm not drunk.
I'm so clear-headed,
it's unreal.
I should have shot you
when I had the chance.
Yeah, but you didn't.
Ow!
I'm sorry.
Did I hurt you?
No.
You really do want to
help me, don't you?
What is it about me?
Your eyes.
Your mouth.
I was afraid you'd left.
Do you have a cigarette?
I should have told you
this before.
Raymond, they wanted me
to leave.
What?
They wanted me to leave
the film.
Who did?
Reese and Field.
The picture was in trouble
and they were running
out of money.
And they wanted me to take
the fall, disappear.
Leave some kind of note that
made it look like I went crazy
and couldn't continue.
What? Why?
So that they could collect
on the insurance.
What are you saying to me?
Are you in this with them?
Is that it?
No.
If they wanted you to leave,
why would they hire me
to find you?
Because they don't know
where I am.
What difference does
that make?
They probably panicked.
Why would you go along with
something so insane?
I didn't go along with it.
They offered me a lot
of money. I didn't take it.
So why didn't you go
to the police?
Who would have believed me?
I would have.
Wait a minute. Look at me.
Look at me.
Are you telling the truth?
Yes.
Then you have to go back.
It's bad enough that
you've already walked.
The only way is for you to go
back, make this public and
force them to finish the film.
You don't know these people.
It isn't that simple.
Yes, it is.
You don't have
any other options.
What are you going to do,
fade away?
End your career,
disgraced by these people?
My career is over anyway.
No.
No, everything is just
beginning for you.
Everything.
Well, well, well.
It's Ramon Savage.
To what do we attribute
this visit?
Sorry, Haines.
Oh. Sorry, Haines.
It's okay, Raymond.
Pull up a chair, sit down.
Take a swig off of this.
I don't want any.
He doesn't want any.
Must have found Jesus.
Haines, I don't blame you
for being pissed.
Oh, hey, Raymond.
I discovered a great diet.
A friend says he'll meet you
somewhere with some money.
And guess what? He doesn't
show up for two days.
The pounds just melt away.
I'm gonna call it the
get fucked diet.
Are you gonna listen
to me, or what?
Pardon me for being so rude.
I found her.
Pray tell.
She's staying at a house in
the middle of the Black Hills.
No one could have found her
unless they got lucky.
And you got lucky.
That's right.
Well, great. That's it.
We can go home.
That's not how it's
going down.
What?
Things have changed.
Raymond, have you made
a certain phone call yet?
You know I haven't.
Why not?
She told me some things.
She told you some things.
And I bet you're gonna
tell me some things.
Back off, Haines.
Where's my 12-5?
-You're gonna get it?
-From who?
Her.
Talk to me, Raymond.
Oh, I get it.
It's true love.
And I didn't think Kierkegaard
could fall in love.
That's not the only reason.
She said that Monolith
wanted her to leave.
What?
They wanted her to leave.
So, she split.
It had something to do
with an insurance scam.
I don't know the details
but I'm gonna find out.
Professional curiosity, huh?
That's right.
Insurance.
Raymond, I don't believe
a word of this shit.
Well, I do.
Of course, you do.
The little lady gives you a
roll in the hay and suddenly,
you're hearing the harps.
She's probably on a plane
to South America right now.
Even if she is,
I still believe her.
I can't believe
I'm hearing this.
I thought that I could
trust you.
I thought that
we were partners.
You're gonna get your money.
Oh, yeah. And I'm
Wild Bill Hickok.
She's gonna meet us in
front of the hotel tomorrow.
We'll take care of you.
Raymond, have you lost your
grip? She's an actress.
When was her last film?
She doesn't have any money.
And I'm not gonna hang
around Deadwood, South Dakota
while she hocks her villas.
I didn't expect you
to believe me.
What are you going
to tell Monolith?
That we're calling it off,
we couldn't find her?
That's right.
That pisses me off.
Oh!
You leave me alone for two
days while you do the polka
in the Black Forest
with the woman that
we were hired to find!
That's a breach of detective
ethics, Raymond.
A serious breach.
I'm in love with this woman,
Jack. And I believe her.
I just hope you know
what you're doing.
I've seen you get
this way before.
You think you're acting
rational. You think you've got
everything under control.
In the meantime, the whole
thing is completely irrational
and you end up with nothing.
I made my choice.
I hope it works
out for you.
When did you say she
was supposed to be here?
Don't say it, Haines.
Lana?
Lana?
Raymond, you better
come over here.
No.
No!
We got to call somebody,
do something.
We can't just let her
lie there.
Hold it right there.
Let's go guys.
The sheriff wants to see you.
Your stories check out.
I guess you were just in the
wrong place at the wrong time.
Suicide.
The only prints on the gun
were hers.
Besides, what we know
about her now,
it seems pretty cut and dry.
Except what you two were
doing out there,
but we all have a pretty
good idea about that.
Pretty actress. In trouble.
I think it's a fair guess
to say
your license will be
revoked when you get back
to California.
Any Hollywood people
come out here?
No, the story went out on AP
and they called to verify.
Do they know he was
seeing her?
They were sent a copy of
his deposition. Yes.
Where's the body
and personal effects?
With her aunt over
in Sioux Falls.
They pushed her to
the edge, Haines.
I'm going to expose them.
Raymond, I'm awfully sorry
about what happened
but we got our lives
to get on with.
This is my life.
Oh, boy.
What is it?
Radiator hose.
Can you fix it?
What the hell?
What?
Look at that.
What is that?
A tracking device.
An expensive one.
Ten-mile range, at least.
Somebody is tailing us.
What the hell is going on?
What are you doing?
Hey!
-What are you doing?
-Nothing.
Nothing, my ass.
Why are you tailing us?
I don't know what you're
talking about.
What the fuck is this?
I was hired to find
the actress.
I thought you guys were on to
something so I followed you.
Who you working for?
The insurance company.
You're a lame son of a bitch.
Why are you following us?
Ah!
My partner is talking to you.
Okay, okay.
Go easy on the arm.
I followed you out here.
I couldn't get through
the gate but I saw you
when you were at that lake.
I realized you had something
with her. I didn't know what
was going on.
I called them and
told them the story.
They said to stay on you
because it looked like you
were trying to protect her.
You guys are in trouble.
Big trouble.
Oh, scary.
Did you contact her?
No, just a phone call.
That's all.
All right. Let him go.
Ah!
Hey!
Hey, that cost 1,000
bucks you son of a bitch.
Let it go, Haines.
Get out of my sight!
And if I find out
that you got a
reward for this
I'll repo every
goddamn car you own.
I don't own a car!
Listen,
I found your friend.
She told me that they wanted
her to leave the picture.
They wanted out of it.
And I believed her.
And I think you know why.
Lana
had a husband.
A director in France.
A brilliant guy
but a real jerk.
They did a film together.
A painful film
about their relationship.
When it came out,
he couldn't handle it.
It was too personal.
So,
he killed himself.
I know about that.
Yeah, but not how it happened.
That was kept quiet
by his family.
The rumors were that he fell
out of a window and
Lana was there and might have
had something to do with it.
Of course, nobody that
knew her believed that.
But she couldn't handle
the rumors.
So she committed herself
for mental exhaustion.
What?
She spent six months in a
mental hospital outside Paris.
I was in Europe at the time.
I helped her through it.
I was the only
goddamn friend
she had.
She came back to do this
movie. She needed the money.
The movie got in trouble.
So they asked her to commit
herself again so they could
collect the insurance money.
Why didn't
she call their bluff?
Because they threatened her.
They threatened
to bring up her past,
make it look like the picture
was in trouble because of her.
They made it clear to her
that it would be best for both
of them if she went through
with the plan.
I'm sorry.
You can't go in there.
Yeah,
we're sorry, too.
Can we help you, gentlemen?
You lied to us.
You used Lana.
I have information that you
wanted her to commit herself
so you could get out of
the picture and collect
the insurance money.
You're responsible for her
death and I'm gonna make
sure you don't get a dime.
That's interesting.
Because the story I have
is that you found our actress,
slept with her and
were going to turn her in.
You're a couple
of real losers
and you're the ones
that are responsible
for her death, not us.
Shut up, all of you.
You find Lana.
You take advantage of
her, a troubled woman.
She kills herself before
I can help her.
-It was your...
-Wrong! She was coming back
to finish the film.
Wrong! We talked to her and
she wasn't coming back.
She just told you that
because she thought you'd
buy it and leave her alone.
Lana came to us and said
she was cracking under the
pressure of the film.
And we told her if she
wanted out of the picture
there was a way.
A legitimate way.
Wait a minute.
You talked to her
before she died?
That's right. And we told her
we got her number from you.
You son of a bitch.
I'm gonna kill you!
-Raymond, hold it!
-Let go of me!
I smell something putrid here.
And when I get it in
my nostrils like this,
I don't let it go!
Nobody jerks
us around. Nobody!
Let's go, Raymond.
I burned one
real good once.
A guy hired me to find some
fellow who owed him money.
I found him.
He turned up two days later at
county with two broken legs.
Police tried to get me
on accessory.
Son of a bitches.
They didn't like me anyway.
I was doing a lot of
witness discreditation
for defense attorneys.
I went after him.
Became an obsession.
I bugged his ass.
I tailed him till he was ready
to shit or go blind.
He's doing five to 10
now on extortion.
You don't mess with
Ernie November.
You've been set up
on something screwy.
Forget what they got on
Raymond. You go after them.
Find the paperwork.
That's where it's gonna be.
You got to do it for your
own piece of mind.
Otherwise you'll end up like
half these other jamokes,
shitfaced over a bar.
Film Insurance Group.
Joe Petralia, please.
Who's calling, please?
This is Raymond Savage.
I'm a private investigator.
What do you want, sir?
Tell him that I have something
very important I have
to talk to him about.
Hold, please. I'm sorry,
he's not in.
If he's not in the office,
why do you keep putting
me on hold?
Hold again.
Yes?
Raymond Savage,
I want to talk to you.
Even if what you're saying
is true,
that they tried to get her to
commit herself to try to get
out of the picture,
then it wouldn't be
the first time.
It doesn't matter now
because she's dead.
You wouldn't be interested
in saving your company
$10 million?
Of course, I would.
But the unemployment line
is littered with failed heroes,
Savage.
With that woman's past and
your only evidence some letter
she wrote to this Mueller guy,
you haven't got a case.
But what if I could prove that
they had knowledge of her past
and that they used that
knowledge to blackmail her?
Yeah, if she were alive,
we could get them
on due diligence,
but unfortunately,
she's dead.
Case closed.
All right, I want to see the
accounting books on this film.
No can do.
What's the matter, afraid I
might find something?
I've heard about you, pal.
I know the whole story.
In 15 years
of this business,
I've never heard
of a detective who went
against his client.
You've seen too
many movies, Savage.
Go home. It's over.
There's another reason
I don't like you.
If you hadn't found her,
and frightened her
into killing herself,
we wouldn't have had to pay.
Why is that?
We don't pay on disappearance,
or non-performance.
Wait a minute.
What if she refuses
to finish the film?
We don't pay.
She did them a favor
by killing herself.
Look, Mrs. Durkheim,
I'm sorry it's late,
but did you find anything
like a journal
in Laura's things?
I have to know.
It's very important.
I might have to kill myself.
And this is right
where I'd do it, too.
You gonna
be all right?
If I get in trouble,
back me up.
It didn't make a hell of
a lot of difference to me
whether I bought the limited
partnership or not,
but they thought it was
a pretty good tax shelter.
There is this woman
down in Malibu
who channels this
3,000-year-old spirit
into her body.
I'm really disappointed
you didn't invite me
to your party.
Cheers.
Did you come to see me
about something?
As a matter of fact, I had an
idea for a film. I thought you
might want to hear it.
Ten years ago a beautiful
young actress makes a film
that vaults her into fame.
She has an affair
with the producer.
When she leaves him,
he's crushed.
She goes to Europe, falls in
love with a director who jumps
out of a window.
Speculation abounds. Did she
push him or didn't she?
Distraught, she
commits herself.
Her career falters.
She returns to the States.
This same producer decides
to revive her career
and casts her in a film.
But there's a catch.
He has no intention of making
the picture. It's a front.
He pre-sells the film based on
a budget overloaded with
non-production costs.
Skims like a
son of a bitch
because,
you see, he's in debt.
He owes money,
lots of money.
He's gotten used to a
lifestyle most of us dream of.
How am I doing?
Fine. Go on.
But he has a plan.
Halfway through the film,
humiliate the actress.
Tell her it would be
detrimental to her comeback
if it were ever finished.
And then when her nerves are
frazzled, tell all she has
to do is take a walk.
Commit herself.
But she disappears.
Now, the producer has a film
that's running out of money.
It can't be completed.
It's been screwed.
So he hires two detectives
to find her. One of them
finds her.
And when he does, he comes
face to face with the truth
of this monstrous lie.
But he convinces her
to return.
The producer, desperate now
because his insurance doesn't
pay on disappearance,
finds out where she is.
He's tipped off by
the detective for
the insurance company.
He goes there, tries to talk
her into going through
with the original plan.
Once again, she refuses.
There's an argument
and he kills her.
Sentimentalist, aren't you?
That's not a bad story.
But who is going
to believe it?
I found this down
by the stream.
Is that where you shot her?
I've got a story for you,
Sam Spade.
A producer tries
to make a film.
But his lead actress
disappears, vanishes because
she's a spoiled neurotic.
He hires two detectives
to find her.
But when she turns up dead,
they're disappointed.
Because they're no longer
entitled to the reward money.
Disgraced, one of them shows
up at the producer's house
and threatens him with a gun.
The producer is quicker.
Now, whose story do you think
they'll believe?
The false one.
They always do.
You killed her,
didn't you?
Now, just for my own
piece of mind before
you blow me away.
Got to hand it
to you, Savage.
You're a much better
detective than I thought.
You killed her,
didn't you?
You killed her because
she had too much integrity
and that overwhelmed you.
Yes, I killed her.
And I'm gonna have
to kill you now.
Put the gun down, Reese.
They'll know you
murdered me, too.
Put it down.
It's over, Steve.
Give it up, man.
So we get this son
of a bitch and we go right
to the wall with him.
I'm telling you,
Raymond was brilliant.
Brilliant.
Here he is.
Shot of Black Jack.
Raymond, I got some
good news for you.
This producer read that
article about us in the paper
and says he wants to make
a film about us.
He says it's a classic
mystery story.
You guys are gonna be famous.
Now, get this.
I figure I'm holding all the
cards on this, so I say
"You get to write it
and I play myself,"
and he said, "Fine."
25 grand up front
on the option.
Forget it.
Forget it?
What are you, nuts?
I'm not interested.
Raymond, this is for real.
This is our break.
We can get out of this line
of work and go do what
we want to do.
Haines, it's a lot of talk
and you know it.
If they ever get around to
making the film, they'll
bring in Redford to play you
and some hotshot young
screenwriter to replace me
and put some stupid happy
ending on the thing.
No way, no way.
We'll get it in writing.
It's personal, and I keep
the personal to myself.
I said that we'd
think about it.
Haines, we're
detectives.
That's all we are.
Maybe someday
we'll be something else.
Maybe I'll write the long
goodbye and you'll play
King Lear.
Right now we're just
detectives.
Pretty damn good ones.
Why sell out
like everyone else?
private investigator.
If your wife is cheating
on you,
please give her my name
and number. Thank you.
Haines,
pick up the phone.
Haines, I know you're there.
All right, 20 bucks says
you can't beat me to the bar.
George, beer.
-What's the rush,
Haines, thirsty?
-Yeah.
Haven't seen Raymond, I hope.
How'd you get here so fast?
Never left.
Raymond, one of these days
I'm gonna blow you away.
You son of a bitch.
I almost killed myself.
Four and a half minutes,
Haines. That's gotta be
a record.
Send it in to the
Guinness Book.
Just giving you some tail
work. Didn't want you
to get out of practice.
Well, that ain't the kind
of tail work I need.
George, get me a beer
and whatever Haines
is drinking is on me.
It was stupid.
Drive all the way out there
to see my ex-wife. Try to
borrow money from her.
Pathetic.
My life is pathetic,
Raymond.
Someone's gonna call.
They always do.
Who?
The last case
was a goddamn
embarrassment.
You hear
about that,
George?
Some guy wants to pay us
200 a day plus expenses
to follow his dog at night
and see where it goes.
I mean come on, Raymond.
Following a dog at night.
Taking pictures of him
relieving himself.
You don't need that.
Takes time to establish
yourself. You know that.
I don't know, Raymond.
I don't know.
Well, hi there.
Hi.
Seen any good
movies lately?
I don't go to movies.
Oh, where do you go?
Places I like.
Maybe the places you like
are the places I like.
Maybe.
You two know each other?
We just met.
Well, I'm with her.
Oh, you two know each other?
Very well.
Well, thanks for telling me.
I just got over
a nasty bout
of the clap.
You care to
repeat that, pal?
Oh, what's the matter?
So thick between the ears
they don't work?
I hope you can afford
a good plastic surgeon.
Back off, meat head.
What's the matter?
Your friend can't
handle himself?
He can handle himself.
He just can't afford
a good plastic surgeon.
Haines, you can't
lose control like that.
I'm telling you,
you're gonna
get us in trouble.
I can handle myself.
What about you carrying
your piece in that bar?
Aren't you fortunate I was?
I don't know, Raymond.
I think I'm gonna give up
this detective work.
-Go back to acting.
-Do it and quit talking
about it.
I will. Just as soon
as I have some money.
When are you going to finish
that mystery novel?
About a year.
A year? What do you do,
write one word a day?
If that.
Now, I'm backing on my
10% of that novel.
Seeing how it's based
on my exploits.
Oh, don't flatter yourself.
Look, if it makes a killing,
I'll make sure you
never go hungry.
Or thirsty.
In the meantime...
Thank God, I needed that.
Yeah, I love it.
Maybe we should have stayed
in LA instead of coming
down here.
Nah, we were burning out
up there.
Well, we were having fun.
No, we weren't.
We were miserable.
We got stiffed on half
our bills.
I think Hollywood has
got to be the sleaziest
place in the world.
Yeah, but in all that sleaze
and slime, there's work
for us.
Down here, nobody is doing
anything that requires
our services.
Bullshit, it's just more
subtle. That's all.
We're gonna get a lot of
interesting cases down here.
I'm telling you.
My name is Steve Reese.
I need to talk to you about
a highly confidential matter.
213-464-7626.
Call me anytime, day or night.
Thank you.
Yeah, what's up?
We got a job.
What is it, a stakeout at
the wild animal park?
No, Haines. It's a film
company. Missing person.
They don't want to talk
about it over the phone.
Hollywood?
Yes, Hollywood.
I thought we weren't
gonna take anymore
entertainment cases.
There's reward money
in this one, Haines.
I gotta warn you. I got
a mean headache here.
Take an aspirin.
We're leaving
in about an hour.
What the hell is that?
It's a shiatsu mask.
A what?
It's got ice water in it.
Soothes the temples.
Does it work?
Of course it does.
What do you think I'm
wearing it for, disguise?
Haines.
Mr. Reese, a Raymond Savage
is here to see you.
All right.
It's the last office on
the left. You can go right in.
Um, haven't I seen you
in films before?
No, I don't think so.
Haines.
Raymond Savage.
Jack Haines.
We're very pleased
to meet you, gentlemen.
This is Marcia Diamond,
associate producer and
vice president of production.
How do you do?
Ted Field, president
of Monolith.
And I'm Stephan Reese.
You may call me Steve.
I'm the producer of the film.
Steve got your name
from Bob Elmendorf
over at Castle.
He said you were brilliant
in a video pirating case,
that you knew the
entertainment business
inside and out.
Recognize her?
Lana Dark.
She did some films in the
late '70s. She was up
for an Academy Award.
Didn't win.
She took off for Europe and
that's all I know about her.
Very good.
Lana is in a picture
I'm producing for Monolith
called Pleasure.
Monday, she didn't show
up for her call.
No one knows where the
fuck she is.
Where was she living?
Shangri-La Hotel
in Santa Monica.
She checked out Friday.
She has a house in Santa Fe,
New Mexico,
but she hasn't been there
for months. In fact,
it's up for sale.
Did you call the police?
Of course, we did.
They checked into it,
but because she
is not missing as
a result of foul play
they won't look for her.
In other words, it's our
problem. Not theirs.
How can you be sure
it isn't foul play?
That's how.
What have you done
to find her?
We have talked to everybody,
tried to find out where
she might have gone
but no one knows anything.
We have 10 million leveraged
against distribution deals
all over the world.
If we don't finish this
picture, we're in trouble.
You're insured.
Of course, we're insured,
but nobody wins in these
insurance cases.
It's not particularly good
for a production company's
reputation
to have the actress
walk off the set.
Maybe there were tensions
on the set. Who knows?
It doesn't matter.
You have to be a professional
in this business.
First time director,
they had some problems.
Lana is very demanding.
She can be difficult.
But we want her back.
It wasn't anything specific,
was it?
Boyfriend problems,
not getting paid.
Nobody gives a shit about
her personal problems.
All right. Who saw her last?
- Her driver.
- When was that?
Friday afternoon, when he took
her back to the hotel.
Did she have a car?
She had a rental. Nobody knows
where she rented it from.
We're offering
a $25,000 reward.
We want you to work
double overtime.
All right.
We'll look for her.
Beside a reward
on something like this,
we go for five a day for both
of us plus expenses.
And we'll need a five-day
retainer in advance.
Fair enough, gentlemen.
We're gonna need the names
and numbers of cast and crew,
anyone else we should know
about. Family...
All we have is right here.
All right. What do you want
us to do when we find her?
Don't contact her, call us.
We'll take it from there.
Okay, I think that's
everything.
Oh, there's one more thing.
I'd like a contract for
the reward money
signed and notarized
before we get started.
Is that necessary?
We found that it is when
dealing with clients in
the film business.
I knew you guys
would be back.
What happened?
No work down there?
Sit down.
Sit down.
Okay.
We got a case up here.
25 grand reward.
Who's missing?
Actress, she shut down
a big film production.
Psycho, huh?
Maybe.
Aw, hell.
You'll probably find her
drying out in Palm Springs.
Or up in Malibu talking
to the waves.
I miss you guys.
You're too good for that
podunk beach town.
Oh, we're too good for
detective work period.
Yeah, we all are.
Ernie, we need a file pulled
from immigration. The actress
goes by a fictitious name.
Lana Dark.
Sexy.
We want to find out her
real name.
She spent a couple years over
in Europe, so they should have
a pretty good file on her.
That's no problem.
I'll get old Deeker
back in uniform.
Haven't used him in a while.
But I think he's still living.
Have to grease
his palm though.
Two for Deek. Two for you.
Ah, hell. I don't want any.
You guys are friends.
Come on, Ernie. Take it.
-Quid pro quo.
-Quid pro quo, what's that?
Chinese seafood dish.
Raymond, you still big
on the words, huh?
He intellectualizes
everything.
Drives me nuts.
I got to ride around on
Haines' shoulders so he
doesn't look decapitated.
You two. You ought to
get a divorce.
You got any advice on
disappearance?
Yeah, you find out
everything you can.
Personal habits, anything.
You never know what will
flush her out.
The police have
already been here.
Well, the police don't have
college educations.
Has anyone else stayed in this
room since she left?
No.
Maid find anything?
Just that book over there.
Well, the long-distance
are to a Santa Fe,
New Mexico number.
A realty office, probably
the brokers to her house.
Let's see. A couple calls to
the production company.
This girl didn't socialize
much if you ask me.
Well, what do you think,
fly or drive?
If you know where you're
going, you fly.
If it's a cracked brain pan,
you drive.
How's she run?
Who are you?
Private investigators.
You're Lana Dark's driver,
right?
What's the matter,
something wrong?
Did you drive her from the set
to the Shangri-La Hotel
on Friday night?
Yeah, that's right.
You didn't wait for her and
take her somewhere else?
The airport, maybe?
No, why? Is she missing?
Missing. Did we say anything
about missing, Raymond?
I don't remember saying that.
They said they were gonna
shut down for a few days. I
figured something was wrong.
Listen, Bobby, what kind of
a woman is she?
What she a jerk to you? Did
she talk to you? Was she on
time when you picked her up?
I loved driving her.
I looked forward to it.
She always asked me how
I was doing, how I
was getting along.
She'd always thank me.
She's a wonderful person.
I hope nothing has happened
to her.
She didn't
seem disturbed
to you at all, did she?
Lana? Disturbed? No.
You think of anything,
give us a call.
Next day, my agent calls
all excited and says
I got the part.
Well, I'm going nuts.
Lead role in a major
motion picture.
I'm on a dead-ahead course
with fame and fortune.
Then my agent calls again.
And he says they've decided
to go with someone else.
You know who that
someone else was?
Bob Redford.
Bob "Golden Boy" Redford
waltzes in at the eleventh
hour and aces me out.
That's when I
started drinking.
How about you?
What can I get for you?
Uh, nothing. Thanks.
Contract is signed.
Good.
Haines, you were an actor once.
Why would somebody walk?
Once? I still am.
Right, sorry.
How would you like it
if I introduced you as
an ex-writer of mysteries
that never got published?
Okay, got the point.
I don't know. A lot of
reasons. But disappear?
Career suicide.
That's why I can't figure it.
Something pretty heavy
must've happened.
Or she flipped her pons.
That girl look
crazy to you?
You never know till you
buy 'em a drink.
I just don't believe it.
You don't believe it, or
you don't want to believe it?
How'd you know all that stuff
about her, anyway?
I saw a film she made
a few years ago.
It's one of my favorites.
What's that?
Blue Stranger.
Never heard of it.
What, did you get
a crush on her?
Haines, I don't get crushes
on movie stars.
Let's get out of here.
Ernie, it's Savage.
What's up, buddy?
All right. We appreciate it.
We'll buy dinner for you
when this is all over.
Right, quid pro quo.
Yeah, thanks.
Well?
Laura Durkheim.
I'm looking for a woman who
might have rented a car here
sometime during
the last six weeks.
She might be listed as either
Laura Durkheim or Lana Dark.
I'd like to see
some back invoices
or if I could get on your
computer. Whichever is
easier for you.
I don't think I can do that
without approval.
Come on. You're a modern
woman, aren't you?
I could get fired.
Look, let me just call
the main office and see
if they'll approve this.
Wait.
Wait a minute, all right?
Uh, I'm not really
a private investigator.
I had this made up.
The woman I'm looking
for is my wife.
We had a fight and she left.
Now, I know that she
rented a car here.
I know that. And I just
want to know if she's
brought it back or not.
I'll tell you,
I've been miserable.
Really miserable.
I'm sorry.
Can I get you some water?
No, thanks,
just the invoices.
I'm sorry, I...
It still hurts.
These go back
the last three weeks.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
What about La Cabana?
I can't eat that shit.
Let's get some sushi.
All right, follow me.
Whatever car rental
place it is,
it's not close to
the Shangri-La,
that's for sure.
I called Social Security and
got an old address for her in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Her father died in 1968 and
her mother was placed
in a hospital for alcoholism
the same year.
Lana was put in the custody
of her aunt.
I talked to her.
She thinks Lana is possessed
by the devil.
Hasn't even talked to her
since she left for Hollywood
at 17.
No brothers or sisters?
Nada.
Barry, it's Raymond Savage.
How's the film business?
Barry, the reason I called is
I want you to arrange the
screening of a film for me.
It's called Blue Stranger.
It's a film noir period piece
shot around 1980,
directed by a guy named
Robert Martins.
It stars Lana Dark.
Who is it?
Nick Detroit,
private investigator.
Open the door or there
won't be one anymore.
What do you want,
tough guy?
Your husband hired me
to find you.
So you found me. Now what?
Listen to me and listen to
me good. I've been on this
case for two weeks.
I've been lied to,
beat up and worse.
When I saw your car out
in front, my job was over.
The moment I knocked on
the door, I crossed over
the line.
Something a good detective
shouldn't do if he wants
to keep his license.
I'm not impressed.
Your husband's a killer.
Men kill over little things
like money
and beautiful women
disappearing in the middle
of the night.
Am I making sense?
Or do I sound as stupid
as I feel?
What do you want from me?
The truth.
The truth?
The truth is I could shoot you
right now and put this gun
in your hand
and they'd think you just got
tired of your miserable life.
Wouldn't it be heaven?
Police, open up!
Give me the gun.
No.
I said open it!
A married couple
who are having a little
spat over money.
If you don't want to spend
the next 20 years of your life
in the state pen,
keep your pretty mouth shut
and do what I tell you.
Okay.
You'll get out of here.
Raymond, turn out
the light.
What are you reading,
anyway?
Nothing.
I'm just filling in
the profile.
Oh, the profile.
Well, Raymond,
I got news for you.
Tomorrow, I'll get her credit
card and your profile
is history.
Hey, what the hell are
you doing?
-Remember me?
-Yeah, what do you want?
I have a problem.
Lana had a rental,
but not a company rental.
I've been to every rental
agency around the motel
and I've come up
with nothing. Nothing!
You didn't take her to a
rental car place when she
first checked in, did you?
Shit. Here comes my client.
Beverly Hills Hotel.
Hold on, fat cat.
I got a few questions
to ask your driver
and then I'll be
on my merry way.
Come on, man.
Split. Give me a break.
Who is this eight ball?
He's a private investigator.
Yeah, looks like a bum to me.
Look, jerk, don't irritate me.
Sit back, have a drink,
take your clothes off.
Do whatever you do back there.
This will only take a minute.
I have to take this crap?
This is my limo.
And don't call me
an eight ball again
or I'll dust your kisser.
And then I'll kiss
her duster.
Are you going to let him
talk to me like that?
You've been lying to me,
Bobby. You see that little
bead of sweat on you lip.
Get your hands off me.
She's in trouble, Bobby.
Real trouble. She's flipped.
Now, we want to find her
and help her. You understand?
I don't care how much
she paid you to keep
your mouth shut.
You're gonna tell me
or I'll eat 'em.
I'll lose my job.
Just tell me the name
of the agency.
I followed her to a
Budget on Jefferson.
She turned in her car and
then I took her to another
Budget out by the airport.
She told me she was leaving.
She didn't want anyone
to know.
Honest to God, I don't
know where she went.
How much she pay you
to keep your mouth shut?
$200.
And you couldn't do it,
could you?
You're sick, man.
Care for a drink?
No, thank you.
That picture was taken
at the Venice Film Festival,
some years ago.
You were in love with her?
Yes.
At the time.
Is this the first picture
you've made together since
Blue Stranger?
It's been a long time.
Why do you think she walked?
It was her first film
in five years.
Lana wanted it to be
something more than it
was intended to be.
She's a very bright girl.
Most directors don't like
strong-willed women.
So they clashed.
Can I get a smoke from you?
Something isn't right here?
An actress who has been in
a lot of films, comes back to
Hollywood to revive her career
and the first film she gets,
and this is with an old friend
no less,
she leaves halfway through
production for no reason.
That doesn't make sense.
There is something else you
should know that Monolith
doesn't know.
She did this once before
on a film in Europe.
It took them a week
to find her.
But she came back.
Lana is a very
capricious woman.
She has dark
mood swings where
all of a sudden she becomes
so morose, you can't
get through to her.
And then she can
be wonderful.
Where did the financing for
Pleasurecome from?
It was pre-sold to buyers
and distributors all over
the world.
What happens if it
isn't finished?
Even with the insurance,
we stand to lose a lot
of money.
Not to mention credibility
in the business.
I've got to finish
this picture.
I'll let you know when
I have something.
Bullshit, you're no
private investigator.
Man, I'm having
a real credibility problem
here today.
Maybe I need a new tailor.
Like I said.
Bull. Shit.
Well, I guess I'm just a big
old bullshitter, then.
Now, let me see
those receipts!
Okay, okay.
Pick up my hat!
Have a little respect
for your elders.
Punk.
What's up?
Had to use the knuckle
duster, but I got it.
Haines, when I'm just about
ready to write you off,
you come through.
Write me off and
you are through.
Now check this, she turned in
one car and picked up another.
What does that tell you?
She drove.
Like I predicted,
cracked brain pan.
And if she's using
that credit card, she's
gonna keep on using it.
Pretty tough to get
information out of those
people though.
Well, what do we need?
I forget.
Credit card number,
we got that.
Social Security number, ditto.
And her credit limit I think.
We can guess that.
Yeah, we need one other thing.
A woman's voice.
Come on, let's go see that
old girlfriend of yours.
I told you I don't want
to see Christine.
Pull over.
Excuse me, miss. How would you
like to make a quick 50 bucks?
Jesus! I just wanted you
to make a phone call.
Pervert!
That's a hell of an opening
line, Haines.
We must be too close
to Hollywood Boulevard.
-Let's go see Christine.
-No!
You son of a bitch.
You still owe me $200.
And wouldn't take
my phone calls.
Where the hell you been?
-I don't want to see you.
-Wait a minute, Christine.
I was going to pay you but
I just didn't have the money.
And I was going to call you,
but it's long distance now.
Uh-huh. I can't believe you
come here like this,
showing your face
asking me for a favor.
Christine, here's the 200
we owe you.
I ought to give you
this for clothes.
You look like what we haul
in on the weekends.
Yeah, and you're a sweet as...
Pardon me, but could you two
pursue this some other time?
Christine, we'd like for you
to make a phone call
on a credit card.
This better be legal.
Yeah, it's...
It's pretty much legal.
She's heading
east by car.
I see.
She stayed in a Holiday Inn
in Barstow
and she bought gas in Gallup,
New Mexico.
Well, it sounds like a rash
decision to me.
She's driving, so it could
mean there's no real purpose
to where she's going.
She might be just
blowing off steam.
Well, the shit has hit
the fan here.
There was an article in
The Tradesaying
that we had to shut down
because our lead actress
has disappeared.
I'm getting calls from buyers
wanting to know what the hell
is going on.
I'm telling everybody that
she's not feeling well
but I don't know how long
I can make them believe that.
Hopefully, it should just be
a matter of days.
I say we catch a
flight out of here pronto
and head her off at Santa Fe.
Why the hell would
she be heading there?
They know about her house.
That doesn't make sense.
We got nothing
else to go on.
And I'm sick of talking
to these people.
You think she's just sitting
there waiting for them to come
slap her with a lawsuit?
I can't believe how you
oscillate between the
brilliant and the moronic.
It's my special gift.
All right, what do you
want to do?
You're calling the shots.
We know she's not here.
We're four days behind her.
And we're going to continue
being four days behind her
as long as our only lead
is that credit card.
We have to see if we can't
find something more
definitive
right here where we have
better access to information.
Access to information?
What are we, the IBM
detective agency?
We're not getting anywhere,
Raymond.
We got a tail on her.
I say let's move it before
she has a change of heart,
we get aced out of that
25 grand and end up
back on the dog trail.
Raymond.
Look, all right.
This is what we know.
Lame production.
Actress bombed.
They probably told her
to drop her top.
She flew the coup,
said screw it.
It's that simple.
-Maybe.
-Maybe?
Raymond, we got
a job to do here.
Find a missing woman.
And what went down here
don't mean shit to us
unless it's information
leading to her whereabouts.
I want to stay here just
another day before I head off
on some wild goose chase.
As long as she's still moving,
we're just eating her dust.
I'll take dust
any day over smog.
Where are you going?
Pick me up at 2:00 a.m.
Haines, come on.
Listen, baby, they'll come
after you when I don't call.
-And when they find you...
-They'll never find me.
And when they find you,
they'll do whatever is
necessary, you understand?
We're in a
dangerous area here.
Where did you
hide the money?
I know you have it.
You believe them, don't you?
I'd do it, too.
It's all illegal.
Whenever this amount of money
is concerned,
even the self-righteous are
prone to temptation.
You want it bad,
don't you, Nick?
Yeah.
I want everything.
You're right, I did take it.
I took every
last cent of it.
I thought so.
We can get out of here,
go to Europe.
You ever been to France?
I'll take you there.
I don't need this stupid
life anymore.
I want to show it to you.
Sure.
I've never seen
20 grand before.
Sorry, Nicky.
I don't like people
who don't believe me.
Francis, you don't want
to shoot me.
Haines, come on.
You got to get up.
Come on, get up.
We're leaving this town.
What?
Barstow.
I always wanted to spend
a summer in Barstow.
-You keep the phone log
and receipts, I hope.
-Yes, sir.
Did you notice anything
about her?
Well, she came in late.
Looked tired.
She didn't say much.
She left early.
Of course, there's not much
reason to hang around here.
Amen.
It's a Santa Fe number.
Might be your boy Mueller.
750 to Santa Fe. If we drive
all night, we might be able
to make it by tomorrow.
What's that?
Toasted cheese.
Oh, good.
For a moment, I thought
I barfed up my liver.
They're right.
She hasn't been here.
It got a little weird when
I mentioned our girl.
Mueller's not here.
He's at a bar downtown
called the El Farol.
You mind if we buy
you a drink?
Not at all. Don't mind
if you do. Sit down.
-You're an actor?
-Yep.
I think I remember you from
an old series. I can't
remember the name though.
Empire?
Empire,that's it.
-Yeah, that's right.
-Great show.
What was the name
of that actress on there?
You know her name?
Um, Lana something.
Lana Dark.
That's it.
I think this conversation
is over.
Gentlemen, good night.
Assholes.
All right, Peter.
We know she was here.
We have reason to suspect
that you saw her.
Is she still here?
You think I'm gonna tell
you lowlives anything?
Now, wait a minute.
We're both book of the
month club members.
She might be in trouble.
We'd like to help her.
What do you think I am,
a fool?
Read my lips.
I'm not gonna
tell you anything.
All right, one more question.
Did she tell you why
she walked from the film?
You guys are desperate,
aren't you?
Listen to me, Mueller.
We're gonna watch you.
We're gonna dog your
every waking step.
Let him go, Haines.
You're never gonna find her.
She's too smart for
you crackerjacks.
Gas in Denver.
And a Super 8 motel
in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
And that's it.
Okay, Christine. Thanks.
What's she
heading north for?
It's cold up there.
Come on, baby. Hop a flight
to the south of France.
Make this interesting.
We're out here in the middle
of nowhere. She's got us on
a four-day leash.
She's got to stop sometime.
We know that.
No, I don't know that.
You don't know that.
She could get all the way to
Canada, cross over and hop
a flight to Sri Lanka.
Boy, what's gotten into you?
You lost your sense of humor.
Think we'd be doing any better
back in LA?
I was close
to something there.
Oh, and what was that?
I just don't believe that
a woman this smart,
this attractive,
everything going for her,
does what she does.
Raymond, have you ever heard
of schizophrenia, dementia
praecox, manic-depressive?
This woman is not crazy.
If she was schizophrenic,
I don't think she'd be
this tough to track.
Bullshit. When they're
in that zone
they're the cleverest
people in the world.
They even write novels.
I've seen you get
like this before.
-Like what?
-Obsessed.
You want to believe
that this woman is some
kind of victim.
You remember that painter
whose husband hired us
to find her?
You didn't want to believe
that she was screwing half
the San Fernando Valley.
Remember what you said to her
when we finally did find her?
You said, "I'm disappointed."
I'll never forget that
as long as I live.
Well, you're a better
detective when you're
obsessed. I'll give you that.
But if you think that when we
finally do get to this woman
that you're gonna
have trouble
turning her in,
you better just turn around
right now and hand this case
over to someone else.
- What the hell are we doing
out here with no spare?
Don't get mad at me just
'cause you need a drink.
I don't need a drink.
When I need one,
I'll tell you.
All right, why don't we
just figure this out?
Could you give me a lift
into town?
Son of a bitch!
Hey, come back here!
What's so fucking funny?
What do you say we
go out tonight? Shake it
up a little bit.
You know,
take the night off.
No, I'm gonna stay in,
read some Kierkegaard.
Oh, all right.
♪ I'm a cowboy
who never saw a cow
♪ Never rope steer 'cause
I don't know how
♪ Yipee ay-oh ki-ay
♪ Yipee ay-oh ki-yay
♪ Buffalo gal, won't you
come out tonight?
♪ Come out tonight,
come out tonight
♪ Buffalo gal, won't you
come out tonight?
♪ And we'll dance by
the light of the moon ♪
What are some of the names
of the films you've made?
Oh, they go way back,
but not too far back.
My first film was called
Only Devils Have Wings.
And then I did Escape
from the Jungle She Monster.
But, of course, you probably
remember The Dark Parade.
♪ She's shooting
her head, suddenly
She began to stand
♪ She says fooling around
ain't fooling nobody ♪
Let me get you, Francis.
Nick, I can't feel anything.
Come on.
Don't go out on my, baby.
Not here, not now.
It's such a beautiful time.
We're all so young.
Don't talk, baby.
I'm not gonna make it.
Put me down, get out of here.
Be quiet. You're not gonna
die. You can't die on me.
Listen to me.
We're gonna walk out
of this thing. We're gonna
get you to a hospital.
1-2-3, 4-5-6.
Where are all the cars?
It's too late at night, Nick.
The moon is covered up
by clouds.
Shh. Save your strength.
Too much blood.
Hey, stop!
I'm sorry.
No!
Okay, just slow down.
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, that's it?
All right, thanks, Christine.
Deadwood, South Dakota.
-Haines?
-Raymond. I'm in the tank.
-Can you bail me out?
-Great.
Ha, ha. I'm just kidding.
No, I got waylaid by
a couple of free-spirited
pleasure seekers.
Well, I'm happy for you,
Haines.
What's new?
Next stop is a town
called Deadwood.
It's in South Dakota.
The Dakotas, huh?
How far is that?
Oh, 300 miles or so.
Oh, well, I guess you're
gonna want to get out
of here pronto, huh?
Haines, if you want
to spend another night
with those girls,
that'd be good
for me, too.
We've been getting on each
other's nerves anyway.
Look, I'll tell you what.
Tomorrow, I'll catch a bus,
the late one. You pick me
up at the station.
And we're gonna need
some more cash.
I'll have some wired to us
in Deadwood.
Yeah, I just need a day off.
Clear my head.
I figured that. Look, I'll see
you in Deadwood, partner.
So long.
Did someone pick her up
or did she have a car waiting?
As far as I know,
she walked off.
-Have you ever
seen her before?
-No.
This is it.
Excuse me, that's my phone.
You're somewhere around here.
But you don't want me
to find you, do you?
There's a lot of homes out
there in the hills, all over.
-Okay, thanks.
-Thank you.
What can I do for you?
Do you have a pack
of L&M's back there?
Yeah.
$1.25.
Have you ever seen this
woman before?
What do you want to know?
Her stepfather died and I've
been hired by the probate
people to find her.
She's the sole inheritor
of quite a bit of money.
Yep, I've seen her.
You're positive?
Oh, yeah. We don't get
too many glamour girls
around here.
When was this?
I think it was the day before
yesterday. She came driving
up in a gray Jeep.
She came in and picked
up some supplies.
Had you ever seen her before?
No, first time.
Did you happen to notice
which way she was heading?
The car was pointing that way,
so she must have been heading
off toward Mystic.
-Straight down this
road here?
-Yeah.
Thank you very much.
Hey, don't you want
your change?
No, you keep it.
Thanks.
Looking for something, mister?
Is there a way to get through
this road here?
It's private.
Are you looking
for someone?
No, I'm just sightseeing,
enjoying the countryside.
Well, it's a private road and
I can't let you go up there
unless you know someone.
Okay, then.
I'll turn around.
Lana.
What do you want?
I've been looking for you.
Well, look somewhere else.
You're on private property.
I just want to talk to you.
I'm gonna count to three
and if you're not back
across that creek,
I'm gonna blow your head off.
-Just wait a minute.
-One.
If I turn around,
they're gonna be
back inside of 24 hours.
-Two.
-Look, let's make a deal.
What kind of a deal?
Well,
I could discuss it better if
I wasn't partially submerged.
Who are you?
I'm a private investigator.
I was hired by Monolith
to find you.
I've got another shell
in here.
And I'm at that point in my
life where I really don't care
about some lowlife detective.
It's difficult to organize
one's thoughts looking down
the barrel of a shotgun.
What do you want from me?
Money?
Miss Dark, listen to me.
The moment I set foot
in that creek I put my
pen on the company's ink.
I've never done that before.
I think something is wrong and
the truth is more important to
me than the money.
That's perfect.
A detective with a conscience.
Get back.
You're in so deep right now
you don't know who to trust
or what to do.
Any other detective would be
at the nearest phone booth by
now and this would be over.
You don't have any choice.
You have to trust me.
You shoot me, you might as
well shoot yourself.
I've been looking for you for
almost two weeks. I'm tired.
I'm hungry. I'm wet.
But forget all that.
I think something is
screwy here.
I can make a phone call,
they'll come out here
and sue your ass or whatever.
But that doesn't interest me.
What interests me is you.
I have no intention
of turning you in.
Of course, you can believe
that or not. I don't care.
What I do care about
is why you walked.
Because I'd like to help you.
Raymond, where are you?
What's the matter, is the
fresh air too much for you?
Whew, man.
When there is going
to be a full moon
I always hike to the
top of the ridge to
watch it come up.
But I can catch you
on the way down
if you like.
No, hold on.
So tell me, what is it that
you really want from me,
Mr. Detective?
For you information, the name
is Raymond Savage.
I have trouble understanding
why a woman as
intelligent as you
flushes her career
down the toilet in one
rash move, that's all.
Who said I was intelligent?
I did a lot of research.
I know.
What did they tell you?
Not that I give a damn.
Almost nothing.
Just find her.
You know, I'm impressed.
I thought I covered
my tracks fairly well.
You did. Unfortunately for
you, I'm one of the best.
I think maybe you were driven
by something other than
professional obligation.
Maybe.
Lana, look. I know you don't
trust me, and I can't say
I blame you.
But I am tired of
this bullshit.
You're in a lot of trouble,
a lot more than you realize.
Now, I can help you but you've
got to be straight with me.
'Cause like it or not, we're
in this together now.
I hate to disappoint you.
But the reason I left was
because I was fed up with
those people.
It's that simple.
And they can send an army of
guys like you in cheap black
suits out here to find me.
But I won't go back.
They can sue me, they can
put a gun to my head.
I don't care.
I'll never finish that film.
You think I'm not
in my right mind,
don't you?
No, and I'm one of the few.
Does that make me a fool?
How much were they going
to pay you? I bet a lot.
25 grand.
I might be able to get it.
Don't waste your money.
They'll just send
someone else.
If I turn you in,
what are you
going to do?
I don't know.
I might have to kill myself.
This is right where
I'd do it, too.
Just like your husband.
I fascinate you, don't I?
What are you going to do,
Mr. Savage?
You like me, so you don't
want to turn me in.
But you don't exactly want
to walk away empty-handed
either, do you?
Where's your car?
It's back at the gate.
You walked a long way.
I guess it would be cruel
of me to send you back
so late at night.
I wouldn't make it
if I didn't get a lift.
I have a guest house.
You can stay the night.
Where are you going?
Wouldn't it be better for you
if you found my house but
didn't find me?
No.
You're in deeper than I am.
Yeah, but nobody cares
what happens to me.
Nobody cares what
happens to me.
No, you're wrong.
I do.
You are in way
over your head,
Mr. Savage.
Believe me, I know.
No, I don't think
you do know.
Look, you can't
keep running.
What are you going to do
about it? There's a phone over
there, why don't you use it?
You see, I am a little crazy.
I'm not the angel you think
I am.
What's the matter, am I
destroying your fantasy?
You were going to come and
rescue the poor little
princess in distress.
You're drunk.
Oh, no. I'm not drunk.
I'm so clear-headed,
it's unreal.
I should have shot you
when I had the chance.
Yeah, but you didn't.
Ow!
I'm sorry.
Did I hurt you?
No.
You really do want to
help me, don't you?
What is it about me?
Your eyes.
Your mouth.
I was afraid you'd left.
Do you have a cigarette?
I should have told you
this before.
Raymond, they wanted me
to leave.
What?
They wanted me to leave
the film.
Who did?
Reese and Field.
The picture was in trouble
and they were running
out of money.
And they wanted me to take
the fall, disappear.
Leave some kind of note that
made it look like I went crazy
and couldn't continue.
What? Why?
So that they could collect
on the insurance.
What are you saying to me?
Are you in this with them?
Is that it?
No.
If they wanted you to leave,
why would they hire me
to find you?
Because they don't know
where I am.
What difference does
that make?
They probably panicked.
Why would you go along with
something so insane?
I didn't go along with it.
They offered me a lot
of money. I didn't take it.
So why didn't you go
to the police?
Who would have believed me?
I would have.
Wait a minute. Look at me.
Look at me.
Are you telling the truth?
Yes.
Then you have to go back.
It's bad enough that
you've already walked.
The only way is for you to go
back, make this public and
force them to finish the film.
You don't know these people.
It isn't that simple.
Yes, it is.
You don't have
any other options.
What are you going to do,
fade away?
End your career,
disgraced by these people?
My career is over anyway.
No.
No, everything is just
beginning for you.
Everything.
Well, well, well.
It's Ramon Savage.
To what do we attribute
this visit?
Sorry, Haines.
Oh. Sorry, Haines.
It's okay, Raymond.
Pull up a chair, sit down.
Take a swig off of this.
I don't want any.
He doesn't want any.
Must have found Jesus.
Haines, I don't blame you
for being pissed.
Oh, hey, Raymond.
I discovered a great diet.
A friend says he'll meet you
somewhere with some money.
And guess what? He doesn't
show up for two days.
The pounds just melt away.
I'm gonna call it the
get fucked diet.
Are you gonna listen
to me, or what?
Pardon me for being so rude.
I found her.
Pray tell.
She's staying at a house in
the middle of the Black Hills.
No one could have found her
unless they got lucky.
And you got lucky.
That's right.
Well, great. That's it.
We can go home.
That's not how it's
going down.
What?
Things have changed.
Raymond, have you made
a certain phone call yet?
You know I haven't.
Why not?
She told me some things.
She told you some things.
And I bet you're gonna
tell me some things.
Back off, Haines.
Where's my 12-5?
-You're gonna get it?
-From who?
Her.
Talk to me, Raymond.
Oh, I get it.
It's true love.
And I didn't think Kierkegaard
could fall in love.
That's not the only reason.
She said that Monolith
wanted her to leave.
What?
They wanted her to leave.
So, she split.
It had something to do
with an insurance scam.
I don't know the details
but I'm gonna find out.
Professional curiosity, huh?
That's right.
Insurance.
Raymond, I don't believe
a word of this shit.
Well, I do.
Of course, you do.
The little lady gives you a
roll in the hay and suddenly,
you're hearing the harps.
She's probably on a plane
to South America right now.
Even if she is,
I still believe her.
I can't believe
I'm hearing this.
I thought that I could
trust you.
I thought that
we were partners.
You're gonna get your money.
Oh, yeah. And I'm
Wild Bill Hickok.
She's gonna meet us in
front of the hotel tomorrow.
We'll take care of you.
Raymond, have you lost your
grip? She's an actress.
When was her last film?
She doesn't have any money.
And I'm not gonna hang
around Deadwood, South Dakota
while she hocks her villas.
I didn't expect you
to believe me.
What are you going
to tell Monolith?
That we're calling it off,
we couldn't find her?
That's right.
That pisses me off.
Oh!
You leave me alone for two
days while you do the polka
in the Black Forest
with the woman that
we were hired to find!
That's a breach of detective
ethics, Raymond.
A serious breach.
I'm in love with this woman,
Jack. And I believe her.
I just hope you know
what you're doing.
I've seen you get
this way before.
You think you're acting
rational. You think you've got
everything under control.
In the meantime, the whole
thing is completely irrational
and you end up with nothing.
I made my choice.
I hope it works
out for you.
When did you say she
was supposed to be here?
Don't say it, Haines.
Lana?
Lana?
Raymond, you better
come over here.
No.
No!
We got to call somebody,
do something.
We can't just let her
lie there.
Hold it right there.
Let's go guys.
The sheriff wants to see you.
Your stories check out.
I guess you were just in the
wrong place at the wrong time.
Suicide.
The only prints on the gun
were hers.
Besides, what we know
about her now,
it seems pretty cut and dry.
Except what you two were
doing out there,
but we all have a pretty
good idea about that.
Pretty actress. In trouble.
I think it's a fair guess
to say
your license will be
revoked when you get back
to California.
Any Hollywood people
come out here?
No, the story went out on AP
and they called to verify.
Do they know he was
seeing her?
They were sent a copy of
his deposition. Yes.
Where's the body
and personal effects?
With her aunt over
in Sioux Falls.
They pushed her to
the edge, Haines.
I'm going to expose them.
Raymond, I'm awfully sorry
about what happened
but we got our lives
to get on with.
This is my life.
Oh, boy.
What is it?
Radiator hose.
Can you fix it?
What the hell?
What?
Look at that.
What is that?
A tracking device.
An expensive one.
Ten-mile range, at least.
Somebody is tailing us.
What the hell is going on?
What are you doing?
Hey!
-What are you doing?
-Nothing.
Nothing, my ass.
Why are you tailing us?
I don't know what you're
talking about.
What the fuck is this?
I was hired to find
the actress.
I thought you guys were on to
something so I followed you.
Who you working for?
The insurance company.
You're a lame son of a bitch.
Why are you following us?
Ah!
My partner is talking to you.
Okay, okay.
Go easy on the arm.
I followed you out here.
I couldn't get through
the gate but I saw you
when you were at that lake.
I realized you had something
with her. I didn't know what
was going on.
I called them and
told them the story.
They said to stay on you
because it looked like you
were trying to protect her.
You guys are in trouble.
Big trouble.
Oh, scary.
Did you contact her?
No, just a phone call.
That's all.
All right. Let him go.
Ah!
Hey!
Hey, that cost 1,000
bucks you son of a bitch.
Let it go, Haines.
Get out of my sight!
And if I find out
that you got a
reward for this
I'll repo every
goddamn car you own.
I don't own a car!
Listen,
I found your friend.
She told me that they wanted
her to leave the picture.
They wanted out of it.
And I believed her.
And I think you know why.
Lana
had a husband.
A director in France.
A brilliant guy
but a real jerk.
They did a film together.
A painful film
about their relationship.
When it came out,
he couldn't handle it.
It was too personal.
So,
he killed himself.
I know about that.
Yeah, but not how it happened.
That was kept quiet
by his family.
The rumors were that he fell
out of a window and
Lana was there and might have
had something to do with it.
Of course, nobody that
knew her believed that.
But she couldn't handle
the rumors.
So she committed herself
for mental exhaustion.
What?
She spent six months in a
mental hospital outside Paris.
I was in Europe at the time.
I helped her through it.
I was the only
goddamn friend
she had.
She came back to do this
movie. She needed the money.
The movie got in trouble.
So they asked her to commit
herself again so they could
collect the insurance money.
Why didn't
she call their bluff?
Because they threatened her.
They threatened
to bring up her past,
make it look like the picture
was in trouble because of her.
They made it clear to her
that it would be best for both
of them if she went through
with the plan.
I'm sorry.
You can't go in there.
Yeah,
we're sorry, too.
Can we help you, gentlemen?
You lied to us.
You used Lana.
I have information that you
wanted her to commit herself
so you could get out of
the picture and collect
the insurance money.
You're responsible for her
death and I'm gonna make
sure you don't get a dime.
That's interesting.
Because the story I have
is that you found our actress,
slept with her and
were going to turn her in.
You're a couple
of real losers
and you're the ones
that are responsible
for her death, not us.
Shut up, all of you.
You find Lana.
You take advantage of
her, a troubled woman.
She kills herself before
I can help her.
-It was your...
-Wrong! She was coming back
to finish the film.
Wrong! We talked to her and
she wasn't coming back.
She just told you that
because she thought you'd
buy it and leave her alone.
Lana came to us and said
she was cracking under the
pressure of the film.
And we told her if she
wanted out of the picture
there was a way.
A legitimate way.
Wait a minute.
You talked to her
before she died?
That's right. And we told her
we got her number from you.
You son of a bitch.
I'm gonna kill you!
-Raymond, hold it!
-Let go of me!
I smell something putrid here.
And when I get it in
my nostrils like this,
I don't let it go!
Nobody jerks
us around. Nobody!
Let's go, Raymond.
I burned one
real good once.
A guy hired me to find some
fellow who owed him money.
I found him.
He turned up two days later at
county with two broken legs.
Police tried to get me
on accessory.
Son of a bitches.
They didn't like me anyway.
I was doing a lot of
witness discreditation
for defense attorneys.
I went after him.
Became an obsession.
I bugged his ass.
I tailed him till he was ready
to shit or go blind.
He's doing five to 10
now on extortion.
You don't mess with
Ernie November.
You've been set up
on something screwy.
Forget what they got on
Raymond. You go after them.
Find the paperwork.
That's where it's gonna be.
You got to do it for your
own piece of mind.
Otherwise you'll end up like
half these other jamokes,
shitfaced over a bar.
Film Insurance Group.
Joe Petralia, please.
Who's calling, please?
This is Raymond Savage.
I'm a private investigator.
What do you want, sir?
Tell him that I have something
very important I have
to talk to him about.
Hold, please. I'm sorry,
he's not in.
If he's not in the office,
why do you keep putting
me on hold?
Hold again.
Yes?
Raymond Savage,
I want to talk to you.
Even if what you're saying
is true,
that they tried to get her to
commit herself to try to get
out of the picture,
then it wouldn't be
the first time.
It doesn't matter now
because she's dead.
You wouldn't be interested
in saving your company
$10 million?
Of course, I would.
But the unemployment line
is littered with failed heroes,
Savage.
With that woman's past and
your only evidence some letter
she wrote to this Mueller guy,
you haven't got a case.
But what if I could prove that
they had knowledge of her past
and that they used that
knowledge to blackmail her?
Yeah, if she were alive,
we could get them
on due diligence,
but unfortunately,
she's dead.
Case closed.
All right, I want to see the
accounting books on this film.
No can do.
What's the matter, afraid I
might find something?
I've heard about you, pal.
I know the whole story.
In 15 years
of this business,
I've never heard
of a detective who went
against his client.
You've seen too
many movies, Savage.
Go home. It's over.
There's another reason
I don't like you.
If you hadn't found her,
and frightened her
into killing herself,
we wouldn't have had to pay.
Why is that?
We don't pay on disappearance,
or non-performance.
Wait a minute.
What if she refuses
to finish the film?
We don't pay.
She did them a favor
by killing herself.
Look, Mrs. Durkheim,
I'm sorry it's late,
but did you find anything
like a journal
in Laura's things?
I have to know.
It's very important.
I might have to kill myself.
And this is right
where I'd do it, too.
You gonna
be all right?
If I get in trouble,
back me up.
It didn't make a hell of
a lot of difference to me
whether I bought the limited
partnership or not,
but they thought it was
a pretty good tax shelter.
There is this woman
down in Malibu
who channels this
3,000-year-old spirit
into her body.
I'm really disappointed
you didn't invite me
to your party.
Cheers.
Did you come to see me
about something?
As a matter of fact, I had an
idea for a film. I thought you
might want to hear it.
Ten years ago a beautiful
young actress makes a film
that vaults her into fame.
She has an affair
with the producer.
When she leaves him,
he's crushed.
She goes to Europe, falls in
love with a director who jumps
out of a window.
Speculation abounds. Did she
push him or didn't she?
Distraught, she
commits herself.
Her career falters.
She returns to the States.
This same producer decides
to revive her career
and casts her in a film.
But there's a catch.
He has no intention of making
the picture. It's a front.
He pre-sells the film based on
a budget overloaded with
non-production costs.
Skims like a
son of a bitch
because,
you see, he's in debt.
He owes money,
lots of money.
He's gotten used to a
lifestyle most of us dream of.
How am I doing?
Fine. Go on.
But he has a plan.
Halfway through the film,
humiliate the actress.
Tell her it would be
detrimental to her comeback
if it were ever finished.
And then when her nerves are
frazzled, tell all she has
to do is take a walk.
Commit herself.
But she disappears.
Now, the producer has a film
that's running out of money.
It can't be completed.
It's been screwed.
So he hires two detectives
to find her. One of them
finds her.
And when he does, he comes
face to face with the truth
of this monstrous lie.
But he convinces her
to return.
The producer, desperate now
because his insurance doesn't
pay on disappearance,
finds out where she is.
He's tipped off by
the detective for
the insurance company.
He goes there, tries to talk
her into going through
with the original plan.
Once again, she refuses.
There's an argument
and he kills her.
Sentimentalist, aren't you?
That's not a bad story.
But who is going
to believe it?
I found this down
by the stream.
Is that where you shot her?
I've got a story for you,
Sam Spade.
A producer tries
to make a film.
But his lead actress
disappears, vanishes because
she's a spoiled neurotic.
He hires two detectives
to find her.
But when she turns up dead,
they're disappointed.
Because they're no longer
entitled to the reward money.
Disgraced, one of them shows
up at the producer's house
and threatens him with a gun.
The producer is quicker.
Now, whose story do you think
they'll believe?
The false one.
They always do.
You killed her,
didn't you?
Now, just for my own
piece of mind before
you blow me away.
Got to hand it
to you, Savage.
You're a much better
detective than I thought.
You killed her,
didn't you?
You killed her because
she had too much integrity
and that overwhelmed you.
Yes, I killed her.
And I'm gonna have
to kill you now.
Put the gun down, Reese.
They'll know you
murdered me, too.
Put it down.
It's over, Steve.
Give it up, man.
So we get this son
of a bitch and we go right
to the wall with him.
I'm telling you,
Raymond was brilliant.
Brilliant.
Here he is.
Shot of Black Jack.
Raymond, I got some
good news for you.
This producer read that
article about us in the paper
and says he wants to make
a film about us.
He says it's a classic
mystery story.
You guys are gonna be famous.
Now, get this.
I figure I'm holding all the
cards on this, so I say
"You get to write it
and I play myself,"
and he said, "Fine."
25 grand up front
on the option.
Forget it.
Forget it?
What are you, nuts?
I'm not interested.
Raymond, this is for real.
This is our break.
We can get out of this line
of work and go do what
we want to do.
Haines, it's a lot of talk
and you know it.
If they ever get around to
making the film, they'll
bring in Redford to play you
and some hotshot young
screenwriter to replace me
and put some stupid happy
ending on the thing.
No way, no way.
We'll get it in writing.
It's personal, and I keep
the personal to myself.
I said that we'd
think about it.
Haines, we're
detectives.
That's all we are.
Maybe someday
we'll be something else.
Maybe I'll write the long
goodbye and you'll play
King Lear.
Right now we're just
detectives.
Pretty damn good ones.
Why sell out
like everyone else?