Hawaii Five-O (1968–1980): Season 3, Episode 5 - The Guarnerius Caper - full transcript

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Yes, it is a Guarnerius.

It was made around 1730
by Giuseppe Guarneri.

He signed his name with a cross

and the letters IHS.

And he was known
as Giuseppe del Gesu.

Uh, "Jesus, Savior of Men."

How much do you
suppose you could get for it?

Fifty thousand?

Seventy-five.

Hundred thousand!



Heh. It would be
impossible to say.

Well, congratulations.
This was terrific.

Thank you, thank you.
Thank you very much.

Just wonderful.

Thank you very much.

Here we go, man.

Here we go, man.

Out of sight!

Look out, it's 10,000 feet, man.

Oh, sh... It's 10,000
feet. Don't panic, man.

Don't panic. Don't panic, man.

Don't... Look out, man.

Ten thousand...
Don't panic, man.

Stay cool. Stay...



Look out!

Stay cool or something, man.

What?

Hey, that's some big thing,
that set of wheels, huh, man?

Oh, yeah.

There's got to be more
where that come from, man.

So, what are we
waiting for, man?

Let's make it.

Okay.

Now, ladies and gentlemen,
I believe the maestro

would like to say a
word or two. Maestro?

Thank you, Mr. Gifford.

First, I want to
thank you, all of you,

for the warm welcome
you have given me.

Although this is my first
visit to these beautiful islands,

I hope it will not be my last.

I expect I will see all of you

at my concert tomorrow evening.

And I hope the concert
will not be a disappointment,

so that you will invite
me back someday.

McGARRETT: Danno, get your coat.

Where to?

According to the governor,

to head off World War III.

I'm Jack Gifford.

The governor called and
said you were on your way.

McGarrett. Dan Williams.

How do you do,
Mr. Williams? Mr. Gifford.

Josef Sarpa,
Mr. Rostov's secretary.

He's talking to the
Soviet embassy

in Washington.

The car is mine, put at
Mr. Rostov's disposal.

This is unimportant to me,

but you will recover
it, won't you?

We try, Mr. Gifford. We try.

But cars stolen on this island
are stolen for one reason.

Thieves can't get
very far with them,

so they steal
them to strip them.

I just cannot understand

how a senseless thing
like this could happen.

Mr. McGarrett, if you're
certain it was the car

and not the Guarnerius
the thief was after,

I have a suggestion to make.

That we make a public appeal
for the return of the violin.

I'm prepared to offer
a substantial reward,

no questions asked,

if the violin is returned.

No, absolutely not.

Why not, Mr. McGarrett?

I'm Josef Sarpa.

Just made a similar suggestion
to our embassy in Washington.

Why are you opposed?

Because there's a
possibility that whoever stole

Mr. Gifford's car may not
know the violin is in the trunk.

Therefore, they
don't know the value.

But if they strip the car,
won't they look in the trunk?

Spare tires are one of
the main things they go for.

True. But if they don't know

the value of it,
they may leave it,

figuring it isn't
worthwhile bothering with.

But if the thief knows
he'll receive a reward?

Mr. Rostov, if you
make a public appeal

and they find out that you
have a priceless Guarnerius,

I don't know what
your chances are

of ever getting
your violin back.

Now, I ask you, please,

give me your assurance
that you'll keep this quiet.

I'm afraid such an assurance

can come only our
embassy in Washington.

And now, if you'll excuse us,

Mr. Rostov and I
will return to our hotel.

One moment, Sarpa.

My Guarnerius is one of
only a very few left in the world.

I call it mine, but I do
not think of it as such.

In a sense, it belongs to
everyone who loves music.

It would be their loss as well.

Find it, Mr. McGarrett.

Bring it back. That
is all that matters.

You convince your
embassy of that, Mr. Rostov.

Hey, man!

What took you so long, man?

Man, who'd you lift this from?

Some undertaker?

Oh, yeah. Hey, man,
wait till you see that engine.

Got to be about a
million cubes, man.

Yeah? So let's do it. Yeah.

All right.

Yes?

I spoke to Bolgerov personally.

The embassy's been instructed

to frame a note to the
United States government

deploring the loss
of the Guarnerious.

You are to telephone Mr. Gifford
to inform him you're canceling

the concert tomorrow evening.

No.

No?

I will not be party to turning
this unfortunate business

into an ugly political issue.

Very well, Rostov.

I cannot force you
to cancel the concert.

But I caution you to
be prepared to explain

your lack of cooperation

when we return home.

It wasn't the violin that
was stolen, governor,

it was Mr. Gifford's car.

The State Department
tells me that distinction

won't satisfy the Russians,
who obviously see an excuse

to embarrass this country
in the eyes of the world.

Washington's even worried

that Moscow may
use this incident

as an excuse to cancel the
cultural exchange program.

Governor, Five-0
is doing all it can.

So is H.P.D.

We've got choppers in the air,

we've got checkpoints
all over town.

Identification is pulling files

on anyone who ever
stole a wheel cover.

But there's one thing

that we both have
to face and face now.

What's that?

An ignition jumper
was used on that car.

That means somebody
knew what they were doing.

Now, that car could
be stripped down,

being sold piece by piece
right now all over Oahu.

And the violin?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Oh... Hey, man!

Hey, look what I found.

A fiddle!

Oh, let me see that, man.

Ah!

Wow, what a crazy
tennis racket, man.

Watch the world
champion tennis player

win the world
champion tennis match.

Oh, yeah, slugger? Well, let
me see you hit my high hard one.

Okay, man.

All right, man,

watch the world
champion home-run hitter

hit the world champion home run.

Come on, man.

Blast!

Strike one!

What?!

All right, come on,
man, put it across there.

One more. Over the fence.

Fuzz, man!

Let's split!

Hold it a minute.

H.P.D. wants to know

how long you want to maintain
that checkpoint on Nuuanu.

Steve?

Hold it, Danno. Tell
'em we'll let 'em know.

Yeah, Danno?

Associated Press
is on the phone.

There's been a leak. News
story out of Washington

quoting an anonymous
Soviet embassy source.

Says the violin was
stolen by American fascists

as an act of political vengeance

against the Soviet Union.

They never change
their tune, do they?

Kono, contact
Chin in the chopper.

Both wire services
want confirmation.

If he hasn't scouted
Sherwood Forest yet,

tell him to get with it.

It will take us a month
to cover it on the ground.

Right.

What about A.P.?

Stall 'em.

See you later, man.

Right.

Hey, wait a minute,
man! Where you going?

Oh, I don't know, man.

One of them shops
over on Kinlekey

ought to pop us
something for this.

Twenty, maybe even 25 bucks.

You are out of your head, man.

Who's gonna give
you more than 5 bucks

for that dumb fiddle?

Wait a minute, man.

What?

Mazzini.

Huh?

The old coot around
the corner, man.

The fiddle teacher, you know.

Gino Mazzini?

Yeah, Gino Mazzini.

An old gut-scratcher like him

could always use another box.

It's worth a try.

Let's make it.

I just want to get one
thing straight, Mr. Sarpa.

Are you more interested
in finding Mr. Rostov's violin

or in getting as much
political mileage as you can

out of this, uh,
so-called incident?

Are you accusing my government?

Oh, I'm not accusing
anybody of anything.

Not yet.

Then what are you
saying, Mr. McGarrett?

Only this:

you were the last
one who saw the violin.

You put it in the trunk
of Mr. Gifford's car.

So you say.

Are you suggesting that I...

No, no. I'm saying you
left a priceless violin

unguarded in an unlocked car.

Now, I can think of a lot
of embarrassing questions

I could ask, Mr. Sarpa.

Yes? One moment.

For you.

McGarrett.

Chin, Steve. I got the car.

Sherwood Forest?

That's right.

Stripped?

And no violin.

Get a lab crew out there.

I want the prints of anyone
who touched that car

since it left Detroit.

Mr. Gifford's car
has been found.

The Guarnerius?

Gone.

Ah.

Well, how about it,
pop? How about it?

Twenty bucks, pop?

Got yourself a brand-new fiddle.

And you sure could use one, man.

What have you been doing
with this, hammering nails?

Come on, pop, man,

what's it gonna be? Yes or no?

Come on!

Where did you get this?

Hey, look, you want it, okay.

You don't want it,
that's okay too, man,

but we got to split, so
you make up your mind.

I don't have $20.

Oh, you are such a downer, pop.

I can give you $15.

Sold to the man with the
flat wallet for 15 bucks.

Now, come on,
make with the bread.

Make with the bread.

Ah!

Oh!

Leave me alone!

Gotcha! Oh!

Steve? Gifford's car
was full of fingerprints,

but none of them matched
those of known car thieves.

Probably turn out to be
Gifford's and or his guests'.

Che Fong says the ones we want

were probably wearing gloves.

There are some strange smears.

We're dealing with pros, Danno.

What about that panel
delivery truck that Chin spotted?

How many do you
figure there are like that

on the island?

Heh. Beaucoup.

It's gonna be a long day.

Did you talk to Tojo?

Yeah.

What's happening?

He's got some joker lined up

who will spring for 550 for
the engine and the parts.

That's groovy.

Counts out like
180 bucks apiece.

Plus what we got
for the fiddle, man.

Fifteen bucks, man?
What's to count?

We should have told
that old coot to shove it.

Shh!

The violin,

a priceless
250-year-old Guarnerius,

disappeared shortly after
it had been placed in a car

belonging to
industrialist Jared Gifford,

head of the committee
sponsoring the concert

to be given at the
Shell tomorrow evening.

The violin, considered
a national treasure

of the Soviet Union,
was reportedly insured

for a quarter of
a million dollars

against theft or damage

during the month-long
goodwill concert tour

of the United States
by the Russian violinist.

Mr. Mazzini. Come in.

Anything wrong?

Perhaps you could help me.

Sure.

Wo... Would you
look inside this violin?

Inside?

Yes. Right through here.

Perhaps you can
see some sort of label.

Well?

Yes. Yes, I think so, it...

It looks like a...
cross and some...

Some letters.

I-H-S?

Yes.

Yes, I-H-S.

Are you all right, Mr. Mazzini?

Yes, yes.

Tha... Thank you, Luanna.

Operator.

Hello, operator. Please
give me the police.

Hello. Is this the police?

Hello? Is this the police?

Who...? Who is it?

A... And the door was opened.

I looked in, and...

How long was this after
he showed you the violin?

Just a few minutes.
Less... Less than five.

And you saw no one
in here or in the hall?

No.

Uh, not then.

You mean, you saw
someone earlier?

Hey, man, there's a guy I know,

he does a little
fencing now and then.

Forget it.

What do you mean,
"Forget it," man?

I'm saying we've
already got a buyer.

Who?

The Russki fiddler.

Just got it on the radio.

He's offering 10 thou for it,

and no questions asked.

Hey, wait a minute, man.

If that Russki wants
that fiddle that bad,

then why don't
we stick him good?

I mean, really shaft him.

Like, uh, ask for 30
thou. That's 10 apiece.

Ooh, I like it. I like it!

Well, let's find us
a telephone, right?

Right. Right!

McGARRETT: And
somehow your violin

ended up in the
hands of an old man.

A violin teacher named Mazzini.

Whoever stole the car

probably sold it to
him for a few dollars,

then went back to get it

after your embassy told
him what it was worth.

Now, Mr. Mazzini was blind,
but he knew what he had.

He was trying to
return the violin to you

when he was killed, Mr. Rostov.

Now, if anybody tries to
contact you about the violin,

I want to know
about it immediately.

I'll have to think about this.

Well, you think about it.

And while you're at it,
you can think about this:

those men have killed once.

They'll kill again.

Now, if you arrange
to meet them alone,

you could end up in a basket.

Our offer for the return

of the violin stands,
Mr. McGarrett.

I shall take immediate steps

to see you do nothing
to compromise it.

You heard it right.

Rostov and Sarpa are not
to be kept under surveillance.

You're to stay as far away
from them as you can get.

Governor, let us do
this in an orderly fashion.

There's no use arguing, Steve.

You're not to do
anything, one thing,

to jeopardize Rostov's
chances of recovering his violin.

What about jeopardizing our
case against Mazzini's killers?

You'll have to find some
other way to get them.

The Guarnerious is
the only link we have,

if we don't nail
them with the violin,

we may not have a
chance to prove anything.

Then that's how
it will have to be.

Yes, sir.

Steve...

if anything happens
to Rostov's violin,

Washington's going to
come looking for scalps,

and there won't be a
thing I can do for you

when they start to lift yours.

That's what I said,
man. Thirty big ones.

Now, that's the price.

I will need some time
to raise that much.

Yeah, well, how much time?

Two hours.

You got one.

That's impossible.

I said, you've got one.

But I have to
contact my embassy,

have them cable a bank here.

All right, now, you
listen to me, commissar.

I am not interested
in your problems, man.

Now, I'm going to call
you back in one hour,

and if you don't have
the bread up by then,

the next time you
see that fiddle,

you'll be able to use
pieces of it to pick your teeth.

I'm sorry.

What is it?

There was one
picture, you hesitated.

It was this book.

Mind if we look at it again?

Maybe you ought to have
another talk with the governor.

Wouldn't do any good.

He's on my back

because the State
Department's on his.

So, what do we do?

Yeah, Jenny? Yeah, put him on.

It's Chin. I'll put him
on speakerphone.

Chin? Go ahead.

Steve, with the
help of a police artist,

we may have come
up one possibility.

Name: Norman Dekoven.
Street name: "Deke."

Lives at 6552
Kalanianaole Highway.

A beach shack.

Has a record of
assault, battery, burglary.

Never mind that. Is the
girl sure of the make?

Well, that depends,
if you're talking about

what a smart defense
lawyer could do...

That's what I'm talking about.

One pake's opinion:

the defense attorney
would wipe us out.

All right, Chin, take her home.

Pick up Dekoven?

No, not yet.

Get out there, nose around.

See what you can come up with.

Steve, where you going?

I'll let you know
after I've been there.

No use all of us
getting scalped.

This is your friendly
neighborhood fiddle dealer, man.

What's the story?

Groovy.

Now take the bread

to the corner of
Kanaina and Monsarrat.

Now, when you get there,
man, you'll find a phone booth.

Just wait.

And if you're clean,

you'll get a phone call
telling you what to do next.

We're in business, man.

The money's waiting for
the Russki at the bank.

Another hour and
we have got it made!

All right!

Fat Daddy, how about that pizza?

Out of sight, man.

Mr. McGarrett.

Sarpa and I are
leaving Honolulu.

What about the concert?

I've informed Mr. Gifford
the concert is canceled.

I see.

Then you're leaving without
the Guarnerius, of course.

Mr. McGarrett, I would prefer

you speak to Mr. Sarpa
about this matter.

I would prefer to talk to
you about it, Mr. Rostov.

Somebody contacted you
about the violin, haven't they?

Mr. McGarrett, you
must excuse me.

I have many things to do.

Is Sarpa meeting them alone?

I don't know.

Mr. Rostov, I was
not exaggerating

when I told Sarpa that
those people could kill him.

Sarpa knows what he is doing.

You must realize by now

he is a highly-trained
intelligence agent.

All right... I'm
gonna level with you.

We have a tentative
identification

of one of Mazzini's killers.

We'll probably arrest him.

We may even convict him,
but it won't be for murder.

Not unless we can
link him with your violin.

Now, I know it's risky.

Something might
happen to the Guarnerius.

But I'm asking you
to take that chance.

Mr. McGarrett, please,
try to understand.

I am not a political
man. I am a musician.

My music is the
only thing in the world

that matters to me.

I detest men like Sarpa,

but they are the
kind I must live with,

must go home to.

The kind who can tell me where
and when and what I can play.

If I cooperated with you...

No, I'm sorry. You
must excuse me.

Please.

Mr. McGarrett, there is
nothing more to discuss.

Sarpa was assured
by your government

there would be no interference.

That's right. I
shouldn't even be here.

I take orders too,

and it can get very
unpleasant for me

when I don't obey them,
especially in this case.

But I want Mazzini's
killer so badly

that I'm willing to put my
neck on the chopping block.

Sarpa is picking up the
money from the bank,

and then... I don't know.

What bank?

I cannot tell you that.

Mr. Rostov, tell me
the name of the bank.

Give me the information

and I guarantee that no one
will know where it came from.

If there's any heat...

Any heat at all, I give
you my word I'll take it.

You owe a fellow
human being that.

Gino Mazzini.

I'll have a look around.

That's it.

Hello?

All right, man, you're
looking clean so far.

Now, just keep it up

and we're all gonna
get what we want.

Just remember one thing, man.

From now on in, we're
gonna be watching you

every single second.

Now, you got that?

Yes.

Groovy.

Now, man, look under the shelf

and you'll find a
map stuck there.

That'll tell you
where to meet us.

Now, I'm gonna tell
you one more time:

don't try anything cute.

Hey, man, what's with that iron?

We ain't gonna leave the Russki

to fink on us later, right?

Right, man.

Right on!

That's a two-way
radio, is it not?

Yeah.

I would like you to
contact your dispatcher

and, uh, ask him to make
a telephone call for me.

Huh?

It's an emergency.

A public telephone
booth is much cheaper.

It's not a matter of expense.

Okay, mister.

Calling dispatch.

He's here.

Uh-oh.

Uh-oh, I don't like this.

Let me see.

Hey, let's cut out.

Relax. The other guy
is the Russki fiddler.

I seen his pictures
in the paper.

I understand perfectly, Sarpa.

It is my violin.

I should be the one to
run the risk of reclaiming it.

And then too, if I'm killed,

there would be that much
more propaganda value

than if something
happened to you, huh?

I will be waiting here for you.

I still say I don't
like it. Let's split.

Stop worrying. They
know we're watching.

They wouldn't try to make
a switch right out in the open

if they were
trying to sucker us.

He's right, man.

Besides, uh, we've
got super friend.

Heh.

Yeah.

I would like to see
inside the case, please.

Sure, man.

Don't, please!

The bread, man.

Let's see that bread.

Yeah, let's see the bread, man.

Beautiful, man!

Oh.

Oh, you are a beautiful person.

You really are.

Give me the violin, please.

Ain't he a beautiful person,
for a commie, I mean?

Please, you have the money.
Give me the violin. Please!

Yeah, um, we've been
thinking about that, man,

and, uh, we decided to give
you something else instead.

Something you can wear...

right between those
two funky commie eyes.

But we made an agreement.

Words, man, words.

McGARRETT:
Drop the gun! Drop it!

Hold it!

Get out of here!

Hold it!

All right, hold it, man.

Now, you hold it right there!

You drop that gun,
man, or I'll rack up

this fiddle and I mean good!

Put it down.

I am telling you man,

I'll smash this thing
into so many pieces

it'll take a year to find it!

Hey, Russki, you want
this music box, man?

You better talk to him.

And you tell him
to get out of here,

and I mean now!

No.

All right, I'm going to
give you three seconds

to put that violin down.

Nice and easy.

One...

Two...

You're gonna live.

Is it... It has not been harmed.

I thank you, Mr. McGarrett.

Mr. McGarrett,

I have decided to play the
concert tomorrow evening.

And I would like to dedicate
the concert to Mr. Mazzini.

My turn. Thank you.