Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962): Season 7, Episode 34 - The Twelve Hour Caper - full transcript

Good evening,
I’ve gone into a new business,

it is a manufacture and sale
of ticker tape for parades,

our motto is:

"We can make any street wall street",

a secondary purpose of this paraphernalia,

is to get our audience in
the proper mood for tonight's play,

"The 12-hour Caper",

the preceding information has been obtained
from sources believed to be reliable,

but its accuracy and completeness,

and that of the opinions based
thereon are not guaranteed,

this is in sharp contrast to the
information you are about to receive.



THE TWELVE HOUR CAPER

Wiggam...

-yes, right away, miss Pomfritt...
-Yes?

-Good morning beautiful.
-Shut up, what is it Herbert?

That was security downstairs, 8:45
Friday time to test the alarm.

How's your mother Herb?

-Well fine thanks Joe.
-Give her my best. -I will.

-Hands off.
-You love it. -You want a bet?

Enemy bombers, let's live our last moments
together, it's bigger than bombers.

-Let me go.
-No.

-Ah mr Tupper.
-Good morning.

Good morning mr Tupper.

Princeton gets out of hand every Friday.

Mr Lowe has a multitude of auxiliary
talents,



none of which is useful in the
investment business,

I suppose so sir.

Wiggam,

how's your mother feeling?

-Just fine thank you sir.
-Good,

Infinity Company called about that
bond shipment today?

No sir, not since last night.

Well as far as I know it gets here
around four,

four o'clock on a Friday,

can you think of a more awkward
time to take delivery on,

565 000 worth of
negotiable bonds off hand?

No sir.

I have to put them in the
downstairs vault over the weekend.

Yes sir.

It's just like money, you know,

just like
over half a million dollars in cash,

-makes a man think Wiggam.
-Yes sir I’ve thought about it,

-quite a great deal.
-I’m good, good boy,

keep thinking Wiggam, there's no limit
to where you can go in this business.

no limit. Miss Pomfritt would you get me,

Infinite company on the phone,
I want to see what's going on.

Sylvester Tupper calling mr Fennerty,

and I was defending mr Tupper calling,

You pull that one more, time just one
more time...

I'll kill you literally.

I’ll give you three to one
he Lowe the bond today,

Tupper.

What about Tupper?

The promotion, son,

question of who gets my job.

Oh...

He'll give you the bad news today,

he never was one to put off an unhappy
duty over the weekend,

gets in the way of his golf game.

Good morning.

-Good morning.
-Happy Friday.

Well how goes it Herbie,

what's on the
books for the weekend?

well going to Rio,

gonna break out of the
old shell,

Herbert’s you dog, you've been keeping
secrets from us,

mama going too?

oh just kidding Herbie,

just kidding,

Wiggam...

-Oh yes sir.
-Would you come here a moment please?

Well I just talked to
Infinity about postponing,

the delivery of those bonds until Monday.

-Who?
-Oh he agreed with me 100%,

no sense whatsoever,

in delivering a shipment like that
after banking hours no sense at all,

if the bonding company knew about it
they would hit the ceiling so...

So you're putting it off till Monday.

No, no, we're taking a chance
anyway there's no alternative,

so you prepare to handle it in the usual
way,

issue memo, receipts, and so forth,

-and uh we'll put them in the night
vault over the weekend. -Yes sir.

Oh Wiggam...

Yes sir?

One more thing,

sit down,

I don't believe we've discussed
the matter who's to step into,

Frisbee shoes as head cashier when
he retires next month, are we?

-No I don't believe we have sir. -I know
you'll agree with my decision,

we've been teammates for a long time you
and I Wiggam together on the firing line,

-why 10 years ago when you came to us...
-11 sir.

-11?
-11 years ago sir.

Oh yes, 11 years ago I told
you that I’d look out for you,

and I still have the same feeling,

you're going places with
Tupper and Sons, Wiggam,

I, I know you'll understand,

that I had your interest
in mine when I decided to,

move Westbrook into Frisbee spot,

it's a college graduate, uh business
administration school,

-he has a lot going for him.
-Oh yes sir.

But I still have my eye on you
Wiggam don't you forget that.

Yes sir.

And uh,

rest assured to this Wiggam,

the fact that Westbrook happened
to be my wife's favorite nephew,

had absolutely
nothing to do with my decision.

I understand sir.
-Good boy,

all right
that'sall Wiggam.

Thank you sir.

Wiggam,

are you ready for those
bonds?

-I certainly am sir.
-Good thinking.

Did he?

He did it.

About time for coffee isn't it gentlemen?

how about it herby?

-I buy you a cup.
-No thank you Westbrook.

Uh you mind if I borrow this?

Please take it.

How do you rephrase it?

He said he had
his eye on me that I’m going places.

Oh you know who this is?

see you at lunch?

same time, same place.

You are now looking at Tupper and sons,

at ten minutes to four on
almost any Friday morning,

it's the main door here,

men's, ladies washrooms here,

Frisbee’s desk here,

my desk here,

Miss Pomfritt here,

Westbrook,

Renshaw,

Oh, mr Tupper of course,

here,

his office,

and most important gentlemen,

the fire
stairway door,

right here,

now photograph this plan in
your mind gentlemen,

you'll only have one minute to look at it,
you must know which letter perfect,

have a deviled egg,

now, at four,

Westbrook will be gone,

he hasn't stayed until four in the two
years that he's been with us,

and by long tradition exactly at four o'clock,

Frisbee leaves,

followed by Crenshaw,

and Lowe,

that leaves,

Miss Pomfritt,

the bonds will arrive by
armored car and messenger,

at five minutes after four,

the messenger will have his receipt and
be gone,

now as you can plainly see the deciding
factor in our plan,

is the presence of Miss Pomfritt,

here,

now she must not be present,

now gentleman come through the fire
stairway door,

there is only one moment when
Miss Pomfritt is not present,

at exactly 10 minutes to 5,

she will rise from her desk and take the
day's correspondence,

into mr Tupper's office,

she leaves mr
Tupper’s office,

and vanishes into the ladies washroom,

to put on her street makeup,

her average time in there for the past
seven weeks has been approximately,

no exactly,

three minutes and 41 seconds,

now that would seem safe enough but we
can't be too sure,

Miss Pomfritt being a very young woman is
subject to caprice.

She comes out and hits that alarm the
building slams shut like a nervous oyster.

We also got the bullets,

what if they
search us?

Uh no no no you won't have the bullets.

What
do you mean we won't?

You leave Tupper’s office here,

Miss Pomfritt's desk here,

miss Pomfritt's wastebasket,

I’ll put some papers on top of her desk,
you drop the bonds into the waste basket,

and sweep the papers off on top of them,

then you exit,

via the fire stairway door,

take off your mask, go downstairs, grab an
elevator and down you go, the alarm goes off,

you have nothing to hide.

What about the bonds?

Well they will question me of course
but I have been a trusted employee,

for over 11 years and I’ve handled
much bigger shipments than this,

so after they've gone,

I’ll take the bonds out of the waste
basket slip them into my attache case,

and leave,

we'll meet as planned
to divide the spoils,

that should bring 188 333,

and 33 in the third cents,

a piece,

shall we synchronize our watches
gentlemen?

-Have a nice weekend Herb.
-Well thanks, Joe.

-Say hello to your mother for me, will you?
-I will.

-Now you know this is bigger than both of us.
-No.

Oh gorgeous listen to my song.

I tuned you out about
ten past nine get lost.

You know, you're driving me into the arms,

Miss Pomfritt,
do you have that report ready for me?

thank you

Wiggam what's holding
up that bond shipment?

I don't know sir, they're 12 and
a half minutes late already.

Well call Infinnity,
tell him we can't handle it at this hour.

-But sir...
-It makes no difference.

I’m a reasonable man but taking on over
half a million dollars in negotiable bonds,

at this hour on a Friday
is idiotic and I’m know.

-You from Infinity company?
-Right.

All right get on it Wiggam.

-Uh what am I doing that's wrong?
-Nothing.

Good night Herbert.

Oh, good night.

Yes that's right Inffinity
handled the liquidation,

I have all the
information right here,

yes George it's going to be up to us,

to place the whole half million in tax-free,

yeah well let me tell you something
George this is great...

Gently Webster, gently.

And uh that was uh what time mr Wiggam?

I’d say about um, uh, ten minutes to five.

Mr Wiggam just brought
the bonds into my office.

Yes, first I had to enter them in...

In the what?

Uh beg you pardon...

You were entering the
bonds in something.

Uh yes um,

-in the ledger. -It's routine
when we receive securities, you see.

I see, so then you uh took the bonds into
mr Tupper's office,

and stood waiting for him to finish on
the phone.

I was talking to my associate
about the deal, you see,

these securities came to us,

as a result of an estate liquidation,

and the principal beneficiary happened
to be one of our clients,

I tried to to get Infinity,

to call off the shipment as a matter of
prudence,

but...

-I’m sorry here let me...
-Oh no no no...

Allow me uh I don't interrupt,
go ahead.

Well then mr Pumphrett
um were you uh uh close,

enough at close range to see
either of the uh uh men?

No.

-Couldn't identify them.
-No they both wore masks.

And by the time you could get a look at
them they both gone out the fire exit door?

I thought something was wrong and then I
came closer,

and I saw them both on the floor,

I screamed and hit the alarm switch.

Oh...

I’ve checked on everyone in the
building,

there's uh no one in here without a good
reason and there's no sign of the bonds either.

-Okay go on down to the main door I’ll be
within a minute. -All right.

Now mr Wiggam I wonder if you'd mind
coming into mr Tupper’s office,

for a moment,
you too mr Tupper,

I’d like you both to assume
the exact positions you were in,

-after the robbery. -I was standing over
here by my desk,

I was on the telephone with my associate,

-and you Wiggam?
-Here sir.

Uh would you both lie down
please?

-After you Wiggam.
-Thank you sir.

Thank you.

Herb it was a little more to
his right I think.

Thank you Miss Pomfritt.

Now uh mr Tupper
as far as you can recall,

uh you were facing the way you are now?

On the telephone, that is correct,

I knew not whence the blow came
lieutenant,

one moment I am deep in conversation
with my associate,

and in the next moment...

Yes yes of course,

and when you came to you found
mr Wiggam lying there beside you?

That is right.

All right, thank you very much gentlemen,

uh gentlemen,

you can get up now.

Oh thank you Wiggam.

Of course you understand this is merely
a preliminary investigation.

Oh yes I do,

-these were negotiable bonds.
-That's very good mr Tupper.

Now Wiggam was on the floor there,

in roughly that position
when you came in and...

the minute you saw what had happened...

I hit the alarm switch,

but by then both of the thugs were probably,

outside the office and
on their way downstairs.

it's hardly likely they'd
try the elevator but,

it's possible they could
have taken the back stairway.

That is right.

But in either case they'd have been
stopped and checked for the man on duty,

at the main door, if they attempted to
leave the building with a security.

That is right.

So we'll have to assume that they,

spirited the securities out of the
building in some other way.

Nice time of year to be
going to Rio mr Wiggam,

I envy you.

I’m looking forward to it.

-There you are sir, loading right now at
gate six have a nice flight. -Thank you.

-Happy landing.
-Thank you.

-Ready mother?
-Yes dear.

Here are the closing stock averages,

Thirty industrials,

down 3.7,

Fifteen Utilities,

up 1.6,

we should have more closing quotations
in one minute.

There has been a change in our business,

I’ve eliminated the middleman,

as for our final quotations,

they were from Herbert Wiggam and his
mother as they left for prison,

and we decided not to
repeat them on the air,

next week we should be back with another
story until then,

good night.