Hawaii Five-O (1968–1980): Season 7, Episode 23 - Diary of a Gun - full transcript

One of the better of far too many TV-series episodes advocating gun control, as four owners of a single Saturday Night Special automatic use it for death and destruction (including, in one case, a child shooting himself). Ramon Bieri, the lone credited "guest star" imported from the mainland, plays a postal worker who finds the weapon and goes postal with the gun on his wife and her lover. Stuntman and many-time bit player Beau Van Den Ecker has the second-largest role as a thug who uses the weapon in the last 15 minutes of the show to rob and shoot up convenience stores, leading to a massive manhunt and a final shootout on a freeway under construction.

Okay, fellas, let's move
it. Come on, come on.

Do it.

What's wrong with you? Let's go.

Come on, come on.
Let's go, you guys.

Come on, move it.

That's 24, man.

This one.

McGARRETT: Now,
this weapon was used

in a liquor store
holdup, June 17th.

On the street, it's known
as a "Saturday night special,"

as you all know.



It's small, cheap,
deadly and illegal.

And someone's bringing
them in by the carload.

McGARRETT: Same type weapon
used in gas station robbery, August 1st.

All right, all right, let's go. Come
on, come on, open the door.

McGARRETT: Handgun used in
the Rigby murder, June the 24th.

McGARRETT:
Twenty-five caliber slug

from the drive-in theater
heist on July the 2nd.

McGARRETT: Gun used in
supermarket holdup, June 9th.

Handgun used in that
same drive-in theater heist.

Gun used in motel
shooting, July 10th.

McGARRETT: Handgun used in
the Barnett robbery, July the 14th.

All right, Steve,
you've made your point.

Okay, Danno. Lights, please.

John, handguns kill 20,000
people every year in America.



Half a dozen
shootings or killings

in the past month
right here in Hawaii.

And all with the same type

of cheap .22 or
.25 caliber handgun.

Saturday night special, the kind
of weapon a punk would pick up

on a weekend when
the shops have cash

and the tourists
are ripe for mugging.

Unlicensed? Unregistered?

Oh, of course, and
apparently flooding the Islands.

I assume you've
checked all the dealers?

My beat. Most dealers
don't handle those things.

They're considered
junk merchandise:

unreliable, inaccurate.

But they can kill
you just the same.

They're street guns, John.

With one conceivable use: crime.

What about the source?

Well, our experts tell us

that they're mostly
foreign-made and smuggled in.

Up until a couple of years ago,

you could import them
legitimately by the shipload.

So there must be
millions of them around.

Now, these newer ones
are maid on the mainland

in states that
have no restriction

on the sale of handguns.

But somebody is buying
them up in quantity

and bringing them to Hawaii.
So far we don't know who.

Steve, I can't begin a
grand-jury probe without facts.

As district attorney,

I have to supply a list
of suspected dealers,

dates of importation and sale.

Okay, John, we'll
get them for you.

It's just a question of tracing
one of these to its source.

All right, come on baby,
all right. Seven, nine.

All right. One more time.

It's close, close, come
on. Here we go, here we go.

All right, all right, all right.

Okay, go, go, go. All right.

Come on, yeah, here we
go, here we go, all right.

One more time, one more time.

All right.

We'll go one more
time, one more time.

All right.

Come on, Jojo. Yeah, come on.

You got it?

Bread up front, kid.

This doesn't look
right, Lou. It's gotta be.

Well, I don't see it.

Wait here, I'll ask those kids.

Hey, fellas, could you tell me

how to get to the Aloha
Tower from here, huh?

What you want the Tower
for, Mister? We're Hawaiian.

You got an expensive shirt.

You're rich, huh,
mister? No, I'm not rich.

Come on.

A real gold watch. Get
your hands off of me.

That ain't smart, Mister.

Lou!

God! Oh, my God!

They shot him! The one
in the gray aloha shirt!

On the beach, a bit
off Sand Island Road.

A shooting. Backup
and ambulance needed.

We have a 10-24
on Sand Island Road.

Ambulance and backup
car proceed to scene.

Repeat: 10-24 at
Sand Island Road.

Police! Stop or I'll shoot!

Down on your stomach.

Hands behind you.

The other one.

Okay, let's move.

Five-0. Kamana.

Yeah.

Okay, thanks. We'll get on it.

Danny, we've got a shooting

by a kid with a .25
caliber handgun.

Another special.

The kid was collared, but
H.P.D. can't find the gun,

and he won't say where he
got it or what he did with it.

Let's lay it on Steve.

Okay, Chin, hold them here.

McGarrett, Hawaii Five-0.
I spoke to Dr. Eselma.

Oh, yes, but not too
long, Mr. McGarrett.

Thank you.

I'm sorry to disturb
you, this won't take long.

I'm gonna bring
some young men in.

See if you can identify
the one who shot you.

All right, Chin, bring them in.

Recognize any of them?

That one.

Second from left.

McGARRETT: This one?

Yes. All right, Chin,
take them away.

You're animals! Look
what you did to us!

Animals!

Nurse.

McGARRETT: Look, kid, withholding
details can't possibly help you.

We know you shot him,
there's no question about it.

He picked you out of a lineup.

I didn't mean it. I swear
to God, I didn't mean it.

Yeah? What did you mean to do?

Just scare him, that's
all. I wanted to scare him.

Where did you get the gun?

I bought it.

Where?

From a guy.

What guy?

I don't know.
Just a guy in a car.

He came around to the
neighborhood a couple weeks ago.

Said he could get
us a gun, 20 bucks.

So you bought one and
decided to scare people, huh?

Once, just once.

Where did you get the 20 bucks?

I earned it.

You never earned
a buck in your life.

Where did you get it?

Won it in a crap game.

Yeah, you probably
ripped it off.

What did you do with the gun?

I don't know.

Look, you got rid of that gun

someplace between
the shooting site

and the arrest on
Sand Island Road.

Where did you get rid of it?

Toss it down a sewer?
Pass it to another kid?

McGARRETT: Look,
kid, we're gonna find it,

and you're gonna ruin your
life by going to a reformatory.

You can make it easier on
yourself by telling us now.

Where is it?

Mailbox, corner of
Sand Island and Kahili.

Check it out, Danno.

Okay, book him.

Hey, hon, there was
a sale on papaya.

That's really thrilling.

Okay.

All right, I'll eat them
all myself, I promise.

Oh, hey, wait till you
see what I found today.

You won't believe this.

I hope it's money,

because that's what
we could use, like a lot.

No, no, it's not
money. It's a...

Are you going out, honey?

No, I'm getting
dressed to cook papayas

in that sauna bath
they call a kitchen.

Where are you going?

My sister called.

Her boss wants her to
come in for three hours today,

so I'm taking Joel
to the playground.

Kind of a fancy
getup for babysitting.

What is that,
some kind of crack?

No, honey, I just...

I happened to pay
for this dress myself

from the money I earned in
the restaurant last summer.

So you don't have
to make any cracks.

Sometimes I think you
don't want me to look nice.

Honey, I love the way
you look. You know I...

You ought to show it sometimes
instead of asking questions

like some kind of cop.

Louise.

And I'll tell you
something else.

I'm not gonna look like a drip

just because you can't
make enough money

to keep a dog alive!

Honey. Louise,
let's talk a minute. I...

Palm Gardens Hotel.

Palm Gardens
Hotel. May I help you?

May I help you?

Hello? Hello?

It's not here.

Must have been taken
out during the 12:00 pickup.

You mean the postman's had
the gun for the last three hours?

It looks that way.

What's his name?
Who's on this route?

A fellow named
Briggs. Michael Briggs.

Let's go.

We found the mailbox where the
boy claimed he dropped the gun.

But the box was empty.

Postal inspector
thinks the letter carrier

may have picked up the gun.

But he didn't turn it in.

McGARRETT: Who's the carrier?

A guy named Briggs.
Michael Briggs.

Frank's checking him out now.

McGARRETT: The boy could have
been lying. He could have buried the gun.

I don't think so, Steve.
He was too scared.

McGARRETT: Maybe you're right,
Danno. Find Briggs and find that gun.

It's the answer to our problem.

Once we get it,

we'll trace it
back, step by step,

to the man who first sold it.

We'll find Briggs.

He's been with the
postal service ten years.

Got a clean record.
Keep after him.

That was Frank. There's
been another shooting.

Palm Gardens Hotel.

What have we got, Frank?

A double homicide,
a man and a woman.

The man was shot in the
room, the woman in the hall.

Looks like she was
trying to get away.

Any make on the weapon?

Two slugs so far. They're
digging more out of the walls.

What caliber?

Twenty-two or .25.

Who were the people murdered?

The man's name was Chet
Farrel, a professional football player.

Yeah, middle
linebacker, wasn't he?

What about the woman?

Local. Her name's Louise Briggs.

Briggs.

That's the same
name as the postman

who has the Sand Island route.

Get a rundown from
the postal inspector.

If he was related to
this Louise Briggs,

put out an APB, possibly
armed and dangerous.

Williams calling McGarrett.

Williams calling Unit
1. Come in Unit 1.

Yeah, Unit 1, McGarrett.
What do you got?

Post Office records
show Michael Briggs

married to Louise Briggs,

the girl who was shot
at the Palm Gardens.

Her home address
is 3204 Welby Street.

Got it, Danno.
Thank you. Let's go.

Get the back, Frank.

Don't move.

Frank, frisk him.

All right, come on, get up.

Come on.

He's clean.

You can sit down
now, Mr. Briggs.

Where is it?

She was in there with him,

my Louise,

in the room.

Where's the gun you
took out of the mailbox?

I saw her.

Where's the gun, Mr. Briggs?

Easy, Frank, easy. Let him talk.

Said she was going
to her sister's house.

She lied to me.

Why did she do that to me?

What did you do?

Do?

Do you remember driving
away from the hotel?

I drove away in... In the car.

Did you have the gun with you?

Gun in my lap.

What did you do
with it, Mr. Briggs?

Threw it away. Where?

Out of the car.

Where were you when you
threw the gun out of the car?

Road.

Buildings.

What kind of buildings?

White.

Trees around.

I'm afraid that's not
good enough, Mr. Briggs.

What kind of building was it?

Was it an office building,
a school, a private home,

a warehouse, what?

Church.

Maybe that's some kind of lead.

Let's take a crack at
it. I want every church

between here and the
Palm Gardens searched.

Every inch of the ground
around those churches.

Tell H.P. to look for a white
one with trees around it.

I want that gun before
someone else gets killed.

I'm on it.

All right, let's go, Mr. Briggs.

Steve?

Yes, Duke? What is it?

H.P.D. has covered every inch
of ground around that church

where the gun
was supposed to be.

And no sign of
it? No sign of it.

Are you sure you've
got the right spot?

It's the only white
church within miles.

Someone must have picked it up.

Let's hope they believe in
supporting your local police.

McGARRETT: Well, keep on it,
Duke. Keep on it. We need that gun.

Pow.

Pow.

Pow.

Pow.

Where did you get that?

Arthur, can I see that, please?

Pow. No, it's mine!

Arthur, please,
let me have it. No!

Arthur. Arthur, open the door.

Arthur, please!

Get me the police, hurry.

I don't care what district,
any police, it's an emergency.

This is Ellen Chang.

3151 Montserrat
Avenue, Apartment 126.

My little boy has
just... Oh, my God.

Arthur?

Arthur?

It hurts. Oh, it's all right.

Everything will be all right.

- Please, Mommy...
- What happened?

My little boy, he had
a gun, he shot himself.

I've got to get help.

Kelly calling Unit 1.
Kelly calling Unit 1.

Go ahead, Chin.

We have an
accident report, Steve.

Small boy shot himself
with a small-caliber handgun

he picked up off the street.

Could be the special
we're looking for.

McGARRETT: Where's
the boy? In a hospital?

His mother took him home.

3151 Montserrat
Avenue, Apartment 126.

McGARRETT; We're on our way.

Are you the boy's mother? Yes.

Tell me what happened, please.

He... He came in with a gun.

He shot himself.

Where did he get the gun?

Outside, he found it outside.

Where outside?

I don't know.

Hi, son. Hi.

What's your name? Arthur.

How do you feel, Arthur? Okay.

I hear you found a gun, huh?

Where did you find
it? Near the road.

What road? Diamond Head Road.

You mean right out in the road?

Near the church.

The white church?

With some trees around it?

Good guy. Frank,
I think we've got it.

You'd better call
off the search.

Right.

I'd like to see the gun, please.

It must be in the bathroom
where he dropped it.

It... It was here, right here.

Uh. I don't know what happened.

Was anyone else here
beside those people?

No, just Eddie.

Who's Eddie? The janitor.

I guess he's left.
Where does he live?

He has an apartment
in the basement.

Thank you.

Frank, let's go.

Open it up.

Huh.

Looks like Eddie's in
the appliance business.

Yeah, and maybe just
added a gun to his inventory.

Iowa.

Check all this stuff against
the H.P.D. stolen property list.

Frank, pick up Eddie Larkin,
wanted for questioning.

Whiskey.

You got any money, Eddie?

What kind of question is that?

I don't want any more
toasters or blenders.

I want green paper with
numbers in the corner.

You got that, Eddie?

How about number
25 on an iron barrel?

What make?

Same kind you push.

You got it on you?

Yeah.

Wrap it up.

No, I don't want it.

Why not?

The handgrip's busted.

Just splintered a little.

N.G. Put it in your shirt.

Look, I'll let you
have it real cheap.

For a song.

What's cheap?

You name it, you
got it. Any price.

Only one guy I
know might want it.

But he's low on bread.

Call him over.
We'll work it out.

Good to see you, Steve.

McGARRETT: My pleasure, sir.

Steve, I called you because
the pressure's building up

on this illegal gun traffic
that's flooding the Islands.

These Saturday night
specials as you call them.

Any leads?

Any target names?

Governor, those guns can
slip through in a thousand ways.

Luggage, crates marked
as legitimate items.

As you know, we have
no customs inspection

on goods from the mainland.

We're getting a lot of
flak on this end, Steve.

Chamber of Commerce,
tourist board, media.

They want these
shootings stopped, and fast.

And so do the police
officers of this state, sir.

We want them stopped as
much, or more than anyone else.

Nine times out of ten

it's a policeman's
life that's on the line.

Now, I'm aware of that, Steve.

But I've got to make some
statement to the press.

I had hopes you could help me.

McGARRETT: Sir, the problem is
to find the source of these weapons

and to cut it off.

We're working on it and
we're working on it hard.

Please, please bear with me.

Let's give it top
priority, Steve.

McGARRETT: Yes, sir.

We're doing everything
we can. Everything.

And thank you, Governor.

Hey, remember me?

Yeah, all of you, baby.

Heard you got busted for five.

Did you dig a
tunnel or something?

State dug it for me.
Good behavior, you know?

Well, not too good, I hope.

You'll find out.

Wait here. I got some
business to take care of.

Is this the guy?

Make your deal outside.

Use the back entrance.

You too, baby.

Let's see it.

What do you want for it?

Ten.

You gotta be kidding.

An asking price.
Make me an offer.

It's worth maybe two bucks.

I'll keep it for
that. Give it back.

Five, and you're getting a lot.

I'll split the difference, 7.50.

You got a deal.

Hey, where's the bread?

Didn't Alfie tell you?

He said you were
short, not a charity case.

You get paid when I score.

No deal. Give me back the gun.

I guess I don't have
any other choice.

And neither do you, pal.

Who is he? Name's Eddie Larkin.

Works in a building
on Montserrat Avenue.

Yeah, I know
him. He's a janitor.

Any make on the killer?

Yeah, we got a rough description

from a teenage girl who
looked out the window

right after the shot.

Saw two people,
a guy and a girl.

Heavy-set guy.

The girl had sandy hair.

Central, this is Williams.
Patch me through to McGarrett.

McGarrett. Steve,
we found Eddie Larkin.

In an alley near Hotel
Street, he's dead.

No sign of the gun,

but he was shot with a
small-caliber weapon.

Odds are 100-to-1
its our special again.

McGARRETT: I'll be right there.

Ten-four.

Hey, Mister.

You going near
Waikiki? I could use a lift.

Where to?

The hospital, sucker.

I got your message, Danno.
You sure it was Eddie Larkin?

Positive.

This witness saw him and the
killers coming out of that bar.

Stay with her.

You want something, Mister?

Yeah.

Who was the man and
woman who went into the alley

with Eddie Larkin?

The woman had sandy hair.

Don't know any
chicks with sandy hair.

Maybe I can help your memory.
What time did you hear the shot?

What shot?

If we're gonna play games,

there's a much
better court downtown.

Look, I came on work
twenty minutes ago.

The place was a graveyard.

No games, no shots,
no chicks with sandy hair.

Okay?

Who was on before you?

Alfie, the boss.

Where is Alfie now?

I don't know.

Where does Alfie
live? I don't know.

Let me add to your knowledge.

Withholding information
in connection with a felony

is a crime for which
you can go to prison.

Now, do you want to risk it?

A robbery-shooting, Steve, on
Pauoa and Auwaiolimu Streets.

Suspects: a stocky man
and a sandy-haired woman.

They got away in a car.

Any make on the
car or the plates?

Negative.

Central, this is McGarrett.

I want a patch all units.
Delta, Charlie, Bravo Sectors.

- I'm taking command.
- Ten-four.

All units, this is McGarrett.

I want roadblocks
on the corner of, uh,

Kam Highway and Like Like.

Nu'uanu and Judd.

Central, this is Williams.

Patch me through to McGarrett.

McGARRETT: McGarrett.

Steve, I just trailed Alfie to a
warehouse at Wahiawa Gulch.

You'd better send us Duke
and a couple of blue and whites.

Right. Will do.

The guy was wasted
with one of our pieces,

right next to my bar.
They could tie it to us.

How the hell do
you let that happen?

It happened, okay?

Look, I figured I'd
skip to the mainland,

wait till things cooled down.

That way, no links
to you or the outfit.

So what are you doing
here for? This ain't the airport.

I need bread.

How much? A couple of big ones.

Hey, car coming
up. Nobody we know.

Okay, out the back.

Come on, come on, beat it.

Freeze!

Williams to McGarrett.

Williams to
McGarrett. McGarrett.

Steve, we've got
Alfie in custody.

Sent him in for questioning.

Find anything on him?

Yeah, $2000.

Looks like he picked
it up at a warehouse.

Uh, the E-X Tool Company
out here in Wahiawa Gulch.

Okay, Danno. Seal it
off, nobody in or out.

I'll get a search warrant
out there as soon as I can.

We'll be waiting.

Another holdup, liquor
store. Nuuanu near Kuakini.

Same description.

Stocky man and
a sandy-haired girl.

What time? Four forty-two.

That's about as far
as they could get.

All units, all units.
This is McGarrett.

Fugitives now
pinpointed in Delta Sector.

Repeat, Delta Sector.

All units in Charlie
and Bravo Sector,

proceed to the
perimeter of Delta.

Notify when in position.

Cops.

Visual contact with fugitives.

Lunalilo Freeway and
Lehia, proceeding Eva.

Good, that's only a
few minutes from here.

All units, all units.

Close in on Lunalilo Freeway
from Lehia to Vineyard.

Make sure all exits and
side roads are blocked.

I want a noose
and I want it tight.

We're on our way.

You in charge here?

Now, how did you
guess? Search warrant.

Go ahead. Okay.

Hey, make sure you
put everything back, huh?

All right, let's
start with these.

Here.

Let's open this bottom one.

I'm just starting, baby. Ha.

Look.

You're all invited
to a party, suckers.

Hold your fire.

All units, hold your fire.

Hold your fire.

Sharpshooter in
place? Right down there.

Have a unit move in behind him.

Unit 9, move into position.

This is McGarrett,
Hawaii Five-O.

You're completely
surrounded. There's no way out.

Surrender now,

I'll guarantee you safe
conduct to the police line.

McGARRETT: I'll give
you one minute to respond.

Come and get me, cop!

Duke, Frank, let's go.

Watch her, Frank.