Trapdoors (1981) - full transcript

TERRY: We're about to
enter the third dungeon.

The dwarf goes first.

There's a strong
gust of fetid wind,

and the dwarf's torch blows out.

Giant blood-sucking spiders
are falling from the ceiling.

The elf and dwarf
draw their swords

and run deeper into the dungeon.

Rolling for the dwarf.
The dwarf is dead.

One of the spiders
is dragging his body

deeper into the dungeon.

Game's over. Bedtime.



Mom.

Mom? Come on.

You've been up late
every night this week.

But I didn't... No buts,

and no computers tonight, okay?

Okay?

Okay.

Good night. Good night.

(BEEPING)

It's him, outside.

Right now?

TERRY: Belathiel,
cutpurse, pickpocket,

and master thief scores again.

(MAN CHATTERING ON RADIO)



JANET: Yes, Daddy.

MYRON ON RADIO: Call
him back, Yeah, this is 276X,

Listen, what's
yesterday's total?

Plus four bills. Check.

Okay, look, at Delmar.

(RADIO CRACKLING)

MYRON ON RADIO:
Twenty-five on the nose.

And then I want
baseball on the 7th, Yeah.

Three, number
four, number one, $5.

(SHRILL WHISTLING ON
HEADPHONES) Morning, Rick!

What are you doing?

Nothing.

Is that hooligan
bothering you again?

He doesn't bother me, Daddy.

I have an appointment
with an A.J. Simon.

Huh?

A. J. Simon.

Oh, well, step right on in.

(GROWLING)

Shut up, Marlowe. Don't
growl at the customers.

(WHINING)

Mr. Simon? A.J.: Yes.

My name is Scully.

A.J. Simon. Nice to meet you.

You met my brother, Rick.

Now, what can we
do for you, Mr. Scully?

I would like you to
find someone for me.

A boy, 13 or 14 years old,

thin, blond hair,
he wears glasses.

I don't know his name,
but he must live around here

'cause he rides
his bike to the bank.

Okay. What bank would that be?

First National. I'm the
vice-manager of the local branch.

He never comes inside,

makes his withdrawals from the
automated teller after the bank is closed,

about once a week.

If he's got an
account at your bank,

obviously you have his
name and address on file.

Well,

the name is Anthrax Vermillion

and the address is
care of General Delivery.

Mr. Simon, let me
be honest with you.

This boy has somehow gotten
inside the bank's computer system.

I don't know how,
but he has opened

a phony interest-bearing
checking account.

Funds are transferred into
the account and then out again.

While money is in the
account, it earns interest,

then he withdraws the interest.

I didn't know that was possible.

Well, it's not supposed
to be possible.

Maybe he used one of those
home computers, I don't know.

How much has he taken?

$740.67.

That's all?

It's not how much. It's
the fact that he's doing it.

Mr. Simon, if I report this,
the FBI will get involved

and the kid will go
to jail. He's just a kid.

If I can find him, find
out how he's doing it,

and get him to stop, I...

It's not the money.

I could write a check from my own
personal account to cover the loss.

He could pay me back.

It's just that I don't think
he realizes what he's doing.

And besides, anybody that good
with computers, I could use him.

Probably give him a job.

(DOOR OPENING)

(GROWLING)

Shut up, Marlowe.

SCULLY: Thank you very much.

You will send the bills to
me personally at home?

Whatever you like.
We'll be in touch.

All right. Thank you.

You know anything
about computers?

I know they don't like me
every time I try to cash a check.

You might try putting some
money in your account.

(DOOR CLOSING)

Am I supposed to?

(RADIO CRACKLING)

Well, it went perfect.
They fell for it.

(CAR ENGINE STARTING)

(WOMAN CHATTERING ON RADIO)

The kid's not gonna have
any choice in the matter.

Either we'll scare
him to death...

WOMAN: Or what?

How much are we gonna get?

How much do you want, Doris?

$50,000? $100,000?

How about a million?

How about five million? Cash.

(WHINING)

A.J., would you go get
Marlowe a can of dog food?

Why should I do it?

I did it yesterday
and the day before.

Yeah, but he's your dog.

Oh, come on, A.J., just go
get him a can of liver chunks.

He likes liver chunks. Here.

(WHISTLING)

(TIRES SCREECHING)

What's the matter?

Nothing. I'll drive.

(BEEPING)

STORE CLERK:
It's $196.50 with tax.

Of $200.

$3.50 change.

Let me write up a receipt.

How do you spell your last name?

Terry M-A-C...

TERRY: No. M-C, capital D.

Right. And give me
your address again.

4501, Chapman Street, San Diego.

(CAR HORN HONKING)

(CAR ENGINE STARTING)

Got his name.

That's a big help.

I got his address.

Hi, Mom. Hi, Ter.

Where you been? Went
to the computer store.

Bought an RS-232 interface.

Glad I asked.

Hello. Can I help you?

Yes, ma'am. My
name is A.J. Simon.

We're detectives.

Detectives? Yes, ma'am.

Like to ask you some questions,

part of an investigation.

Questions about what?

Are you from the police?

No, ma'am. We're
private investigators.

May we come in for
just a moment, please?

Sure.

Thank you.

Where'd you get the badge?

Dime store.

(TYPING)

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

I'll be with you in
a second, Mom.

ANN: Terry, unlock
this door, now!

These two men are from the bank.

ANN: You stole over $700!

$800.

What did you do with it?

I gave $300 to school,

so we could have a video
game system in the rec room.

I bought some computer stuff.

I got the tire fixed
on my bicycle.

I bought you a birthday present.

Is that supposed
to make it all right?

I don't want a birthday present
bought with stolen money!

Don't you understand? It's
against the law. You're a criminal.

I didn't steal from
anybody. Not really.

All I did was collect interest
on other people's money.

ANN: Oh.

I could have stolen a
lot more if I wanted to.

You are all I have in the world.

What is wrong with
you? Are you crazy?

Mrs. McDaniels.

Maybe you want to be a criminal!

Maybe you should go to jail!

A.J.: Mrs. McDaniels.

What Terry did was wrong,

but I'm sure there's a way we
can straighten things out here.

I could pay the money back.

How?

Where are you gonna
steal it from to give it back?

I don't have $700!

A.J.: Mrs. McDaniels,

Terry can pay the money
back a little bit at a time.

That isn't what's important.

What's important here is that the
bank wants to know how he did this.

Now, I'm sure if Terry were
to turn himself in voluntarily...

I mean, I can't
promise anything.

Well, why don't we arrange a
meeting and see what happens.

Okay?

We can set it up in
our office for tomorrow.

Terry can give a demonstration.

All right.

Don't worry about it,
kid. It's gonna be all right.

What is this stuff, anyhow?

Fantasy games.

Trolls and Trapdoors,
Angels and Demons.

Like Dungeons and
Dragons, only better.

Oh, yeah?

Show me how you play?

I read about Trapdoors in a
magazine, so I decided to write one in.

I binary XOR'd my birthday,

so when I get on the line
and enter the number...

You have any idea what
they're talking about?

TERRY: The program falls
through the trapdoor No.

Into my funds
transfers sub-routine,

before going into
the internal audit trail.

(CHUCKLES)

I'm gonna be honest with
you, Terry. I am very impressed.

Did you learn all
this from books?

No, I just played
with the machine a lot.

Where did you get the
phone number that links

all the branch terminals
with the central computer?

From Information.

You know, technically,
this is impossible.

I think Terry just
didn't realize that,

and went ahead
and did it anyway.

How would you like to work
on a big computer at the bank?

Are you serious?

Absolutely.

I want you to tell our systems
analyst everything you've told me,

so he can make sure
nobody ever does this again.

Great.

Do I have to pay the money back?

Sooner or later.

But I wouldn't worry
about that, if I were you.

Anybody who's good
with computers as you are

is not gonna have to
worry about earning money.

Bye. So long, Terry.

Come by sometime. We'll
play Angels and Demons.

Okay. All right.

Take care, Terry.

Well, you'll send
the bill to me?

Uh, no. We usually
get paid on completion.

That wasn't my understanding.

It's no problem.

We'll just put it
in the mail to you.

Fine. Thank you.

Sure.

What was that about?

That guy's just a
little too nice for me.

You're a cynic.

You know, when
we get paid for this,

we ought to get a
computer for the office.

(HONKING)

Hey, Ter!

Hey, Ter, I was thinking, why don't
we go over to the bank right now?

You can put your bike
in the back of the car.

Well, my mom told me I
had to be home by 4:00.

We'll give her a
call. She won't mind.

Put the computer in the trunk, put
the bike in back. What do you say?

Okay.

Just gotta stop by a
friend's house on the way.

Fine with me.

Margie? This is Ann.

Is Terry over there?

Have you seen
him this afternoon?

He was supposed
to be home at 4:00.

I've had dinner ready for hours.

Oh. Okay, well, thanks.

ANSWERING MACHINE: Thank you
for calling Simon & Simon Investigations.

You can leave a message
when you hear the beep.

Please leave your name
and telephone number,

and we'll get back to you just
as soon as we can. Thank you.

Mr. Simon,

this is Ann McDaniels,
Terry McDaniels' mother.

Terry didn't come
home this afternoon.

(SIGHS)

Is there any more gravy, Mom?

Do you still remember
the way to the kitchen?

I went to the PTA
Mother's Reunion last week.

Ah. Have fun?

Mmm-hmm.

Good.

Did you know that Tom Martin
is a neurosurgeon in Buffalo?

Mmm-hmm.

Dropped his cookies the first
day we hit the frogs in biology.

Bobby Lovejoy is
VP for marketing,

Granite Corporation.

Bobby Lovejoy sat
behind me in algebra.

Funny, always had
the same answers I did.

Suzanne Schiffs, Legislative
Assistant to Congressman Slayton.

You remember the
year that we thought

she was an exchange
student in Ecuador?

Walder Harper's in
the Houston Ballet.

Of course, everyone
asked about you two.

(SIGHING)

Now, don't bother
getting up, Mom.

We'll do the dishes tonight.

We will?

Here.

I don't want it.

You might as well eat, kid.

You're not gonna be here long
enough to go on a hunger strike.

I don't eat junk food.

Scully!

What?

He won't eat.

(LAUGHING)

Hey, come on. Is that a
way for partners to act?

We're not partners.

SCULLY: Sure we are.
We're gonna be rich.

I'm not gonna be rich.

Did you tell him that?

No.

I'm not lying to you, Ter.

You're gonna be rich and
you're gonna be famous.

People are gonna write
books about you, son.

Night, Mom.

Thanks for dinner.

Did you break any dishes?

No.

Take your hat off
when you kiss a lady.

Hey, Rick? ANN ON PHONE:
, , if he's still in your office.

Yo.

Listen to this.

Could you give me a call when
you come in, please? Thank you.

(ANSWERING MACHINE REWINDING)

This is Ann McDaniels.

Terry didn't come
home this afternoon,

and I was wondering
if he's still in your office.

Could you give me a call
when you come in, please?

Thank you.

(RINGING)

Terry.

No. Hi, Mrs. McDaniels,
this is A.J. Simon.

Oh, yeah, hello.

I'm sorry to call you back so
late. I just got your message.

A.J.: Has Terry come home yet?

No.

Well, he left our
office at 3:30.

Have you called the police?

Over an hour ago.

They said they'd send somebody.

They will.

You don't happen to have
Scully's home number, do you?

Hold on just one second, please.

Why?

Because if I were Scully,

I'd have to be thinking that
any kid that could steal $700

could steal seven
million dollars.

Of course, I'm a cynic.

To hell with it.

Hey, what do you
think you're doing?

What does it look
like we're doing?

We're searching the place.

MAN: At 4:00 in the morning?

You guys cops or something?

Yeah, right.

You know where Scully is?

Probably at his girlfriend's.

Girl in the car.

Do you know her name?

Doris. Doris, Doris...

Doris. Got it.

Thank you.

Well?

We've got $3,700,000.

DORIS: You said we'd
get five million at least.

I don't care what I said. Do you
want to get away with this or not?

We gotta take the money
from inactive accounts.

That'll give us a month until
the transfers are discovered.

All right. Okay, sorry.

What are you doing?

I'm resetting the status flags.

You make the transfers yet?

No. Why not?

I'm tired.

If I don't get some sleep,

I'll probably make a mistake.

All right. Get a couple
hours sleep in the other room,

but I wanna transfer the
money before the bank opens.

Turn off the computer.

Should I log off the system?

Just do it right, okay?

Belathiel can hear the rats
scurrying in the darkness.

He knows if he
sleeps, they will attack.

If he only had a rope to
lower himself from the tower.

If only he were a dwarf,
then he could climb down.

DORIS: What are we
gonna do with him all day?

We both have to show up for
work. He can't stay here alone.

Don't worry about it.

You're gonna kill
him, aren't you?

God, I hope you know
what you're doing.

I know exactly what
I am doing, Doris.

I've been waiting ten
years for a chance like this,

and I'm not gonna worry
about what happens to some kid

when there's four
million dollars at stake.

So just shut up and let me work.

I said... (KNOCKING ON DOOR)

(WHISPERING) Get a robe on.

DORIS: Just a minute.

RICK: Sorry to bother you,
but the neighbors complained.

What?

Who are you? Do you
know what time it is?

Yes, ma'am, we're
private investigators.

DORIS: Just a minute,
I'll open the door.

We're looking for
your boyfriend, Scully.

We just went to his place, and
he's not there. Now, where is he?

How should I know? He's not
my boyfriend. I work for him.

When is the last
time you saw him?

Yesterday.

I'll see him in a couple hours.

I'll tell him you're
looking for him.

We think that your
boy... Your boss

is in a lot of trouble.

Trouble like kidnapping,
bank robbery.

If you see him, don't tell
him that we're looking for him.

Just do us a favor and
give us a call. All right?

Yeah, sure.

Who'd he kidnap?

I think you know
who he kidnapped.

I hope I'm wrong,
lady, 'cause if I'm not,

you're gonna go to prison,
and about the only choice

you're gonna have is how
long they send you away for.

And if Scully does
anything to that kid,

you can count on
seven years, minimum.

Unless, of course, you're
just an innocent party

who got roped into this mess.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

But if I see
Scully, I'll call you.

Okay. Thanks.

All right. Now, you
do everything right,

and this time tomorrow, you can
go home, you can call the police,

it's not gonna matter,
they're never gonna find us.

You behave yourself, and
nothing is gonna happen to you.

But if you don't,

it's not just you
who's gonna get hurt.

I'm gonna pay a visit
to your mother, too.

Do you understand me?

Good.

Get dressed.

We're gonna make
those transfers now.

Not now.

Hey, Rick? Yeah.

What kind of a car
was Scully driving?

Hell, I don't know.

It looked like that
one or that one or...

Hell, I don't know.

SCULLY: Terry, get in here.

Coming.

(COMPUTER BEEPING)

SCULLY: What happened?

TERRY: I don't know.

Enter a password.

I don't have a password.

Get out of there.

Get out of there,
let me do this.

SCULLY: What in
the hell did you do?

I stuck another trapdoor
in, one you can't get out of.

He's gone.

A.J.: How long ago
did this happen?

Hey, where are they?

Police.

RICK: A.J.? A.J.: Yo.

Come here.

Take a look at that.

"How to play A & D. Some place
dark. Find the light, then go in.

"A dwarf could hide for
days in the dungeons of W."

What's "W"?

Well, he didn't get
a chance to finish it.

He was trying to tell us
where he planned to hide.

Scully's got a gun.

He's gonna kill him.

All right, "How to play A and D."
That's Angels and Demons. A and D.

"Some place
dark. Find the light,

"then go in. Hide for
days." Find the light.

(EXCLAIMS) The lighthouse out on the
Point, it's just over the hill from here.

A.J.: Okay. RICK: All right.

"Some place dark."

Oh, the World War ♪♪ bunkers.
We used to play there as kids.

Oh, yeah. All those
tunnels interconnect.

He could stay away
from him for days.

Yeah, he could stay
away from us for days.

I don't know. I got a way we
can find him, fast. Come on!

(GATE CREAKING OPEN)

(WHISTLING)

(RADIO CRACKLING)

Hold on.

This way.

(PANTING)

That's gotta be Scully.
He's taken a wrong turn.

(FOOTSTEPS PATTERING)

RICK: Terry's down this one.
He's running away from us.

(WHISPERING) Hey, Terry.

Stay where you are, it's us.

Say something
so he'll believe you.

Um...

Your mom made meat
loaf for dinner last night.

She said it was your favorite.

It was all I could think of.

Terry, stay where you
are. We've got a light.

You figured it out.

Yeah, now let's get out of here.

All right, look, you
guys go back that way.

Get back to the lighthouse, and
I'll lead Scully down to the beach.

You're trapped down
there. I can always swim.

You just get him
out of here. No!

Move it! Rick!

Now!

Terry, keep moving!

(GUN FIRING)

(YELLING)

AJA.!

Look, I can make this by myself.

You sure? Yeah,
I've done it before.

Okay, go. Get help. Okay.

(GROANING)

AJA.!

Hold on!

There's nothing
left to hold on to!

I'm coming!

Rick!

You better pray he surfaces.

Are you all right?

Yeah! Are you?

Everything's under control.

Come on down, the water's great.

Since we're not gonna
get paid for this job...

(PHONE RINGING)

MAN: Excuse me. Can I help you?

I know they don't work here,

but I'm looking for either
A.J. Simon or Rick Simon.

I'm sorry, I don't
know where they are.

Maybe we can help. I mean,
if it's a detective you need...

I don't need a detective,
thank you, but you could help.

I represent the San Diego
First National Bank and Trust.

The firm of Simon and Simon

has done us a tremendous service

and very possibly saved the
bank a large amount of money.

In recognition
for their efforts,

we've decided to present
them with a citation.

Perhaps you could
give it to them for me.

Well, I think we can do
that. Can't we, Daddy?

And you can tell them,
should the occasion ever arise,

we'll be happy to refer
customers to them.

Oh, I will. They'll
be glad to hear that.

Thank you, very much. Goodbye.

That is really
beautiful, isn't it? Look.

Get that thing out of here.

Well, now, Daddy, I thought
you might like to give it to them.

Out!

(MAN CHATTERING ON TV)

What is this? $67.50

for a tune-up on your truck?

Yeah, I use it in business.
What's wrong with that?

We don't have the
money to pay for it,

that's what's wrong with it.

Well, if you'd gotten
Scully to pay on delivery,

we'd be in good shape
now, wouldn't we?

MAN ON TV: This time he's in
trouble, He's gonna get sacked,

(GROANS)

He's gone round the 15 yard
line by Oakland's Stork Hendricks,

Phone bill... Shine
it on for a month.

(LAUGHING SARCASTICALLY)

If we don't have a phone,
we're out of business.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

All right! All right!

MAN ON TV“. He's at the 20, breaks
a tackle, cuts back against the grain.

He's got a clear field. 30,
35, 40, 45, mid-field strike.

45, 40. He's in the clear,
and may go all the way.

A 30, and he's
knocked out of bounds...

Hi. Hi.

Terry's decided to give you
something, haven't you, Ter?

And a great tackle,
a team-saving tackle,

But that's his computer.

Well, I'm kind of grounded when
it comes to computers for a while.

You gonna leave
that thing with us?

ANN: Mmm-hmm, sure.

Terry's gonna show
you how to use it.

You can balance your checkbook.

Yeah?

Oh, no, A.J. does that.
Can you play games on it?

Sure.

Well, hook it up and
show me how it works.

The clock ticks down to
the two minute warning. So...

Okay, hook up the terminal.

Are you sure you
really wanna do this?

I want that thing
out of the house.

Terry has to pay back the
money he took from the bank.

I don't want him
using that to do it.

See, this is the input

and this is the output.

RICK: Okay.

Black and gray, right? Black's
the input? Yeah. Uh-huh.

Yeah.

I don't suppose we
could get Terry to transfer

just a little money into
our account, could we?