Police Squad! (1982): Season 1, Episode 2 - Ring of Fear (A Dangerous Assignment) - full transcript

In order to infiltrate a criminal gang that bribes boxers Frank makes a contract with one of them, Buddy. This leads to a kidnapping of his girlfriend and Frank has to find her before Buddy forfeits.

Police Squad! In color.

Starring Leslie Nielsen.

Also starring Alan North.

And Rex Hamilton
as Abraham Lincoln.

Tonight's special guest star,
Georg Stanford Brown.

Tonight's episode,
A Dangerous Assignment.

Break it up. Come on.

Okay, kid.

When we get the high sign
from Martin,

then you take the dive.

Four, five,



six, seven,

eight, nine,

ten, you're out!

Mike,

I think you made a big mistake.

Oh, Cooper, you worry too much.

I'm sorry,
no one's allowed inside.

No, I'm sorry.
It's the rules, it's the rules.

No entry.

Press.

Oh, okay.

My name is
Sergeant Frank Drebin,

Detective Lieutenant,
Police Squad,

a special division
of the police force.



I'd just come
from the stockyards.

We'd gotten reports
that hundreds of cows

had been senselessly
slaughtered in the area.

But I couldn't find
any evidence.

I stopped off for a hamburger

and checked in
with headquarters.

There'd been
an apparent suicide.

I went right to the scene.

My boss was already there.

Ed.
Oh, hi, Frank.

What's up?

Uh, guard discovered the body
about an hour ago.

Somebody went in here
right before it happened,

but the guard's got bad eyes
and he can't make an ID.

Uh, we're dusting
for prints now.

What happened?
Kid named Mike Schultz.

Set up to look like suicide
but I'm not so sure.

Why would a boxer

who just scored the biggest
victory of his career

go out and commit suicide?

Are you thinking murder?
It could be.

Anyone with Schultz
after the fight?

Just his manager.
Who's that?

Some Joe named Cooper.

Who's this Joe Cooper?

No, no, it's Sol Cooper.

He manages half the boxers in
town and they're all on the take.

Want me to question him?
No, no, Frank. No.

We may be dealing with
murder and corruption here.

I want you to go undercover.

I knew that Montague Martin
was one of the few criminals

who still tampered
with the outcome of fights.

My plan was to find
a crooked fighter

and straighten him out.

Mabel, Mabel,

set the table.

Don't forget

the red hot...

Aren't you Buddy Briggs?

Yeah.

Too bad you lost
your last three fights.

So I had some bad luck.
So what?

Well, maybe you don't have
the right kind of management.

Don't you think you should start
thinking about that, Buddy?

I make a pretty good living.
Maybe you can make a better one,

and a cleaner one
and a better one.

Where's your manager?
In the back.

One of you manage Buddy Briggs?

Yeah.

You gotta be Cooper.

I hear you own a piece of just
about every boxer in town.

Yeah, what's it to you?
I'm a manager.

I wanna take over
Buddy Briggs' contract.

What are you,
some kind of wise guy?

Yeah, I'm a wise guy

with a lot of long green.

You manage Lorne Greene?

I'll trade Buddy
for Lorne Greene.

No, no.
I mean I got cash.

You manage Johnny Cash, too?

Wait a minute.
Who are you?

Kelly.

Bob Kelly.

Mind if I sit in a few hands?

Your money's good here.

Goodyear?

You got the blimp, too?

It didn't take long
for me to see

that the game was as crooked
as Cooper's smile.

Just you and me, Kelly.

I raise you $500.

Well, that's my kind of action.

Here's your $500.

One grand more.

That's a lot of do-re-mi, Kelly.

I'm outta cash.

What about these?
No dice.

But there is something else
I'm interested in.

What's that?

Buddy Briggs' contract.

All right, Kelly.

What do you got?

Full house. Kings over.

Not so fast, Kelly.

A straight beats a full house.

No it doesn't.
A straight beats three of a kind.

A full house beats a straight.

Doesn't a flush beat a straight?

A straight flush
beats everything.

Not a royal flush.

Does a flush beat a full house?

A regular flush
or a straight flush?

A flush... A flush
beats a straight.

I've played a lot of poker.

A full house beats a straight.

Maybe so, Kelly.

But four of us beats one of you.

All right,
I've got an ace in the hole.

That makes me the winner.

Buddy Briggs belongs to me now.

But just to make it
nice and legal,

I brought along a bill of sale.
Sign it.

You. You witness it.

You,
you check for spelling errors.

All right, Cooper.
Get that stuff in there.

How many "L's" in legally?

You may have a fighter, Kelly,

but you'll never get a fight.

We got this town sewn up
tighter than a floozy's skirt.

We'll see about that, Cooper.

Well, gentlemen,
it's been a nice afternoon.

Hope we can do it again
some other time.

I'm free Wednesdays.

This guy's more trouble
than he's worth.

I want him knocked off!

My plan was working.

I was now Buddy Briggs' manager.

But I still had
no way to connect

Cooper and Martin
with the murder.

I got a call from Olson.

The lab had come up
with something.

So you see, Katie,
when I throw this switch,

the electrical current
from the power source

is able to continue its journey
to its final destination.

In our case, the light bulb.

Gee.

All set then?

I guess so, Mr. Olson.

Here we go.

Oh. Hi, Frank. Ed.

Yeah.

Why don't you run
along now, Katie?

And next week remember
to bring three things

from your mother's dresser.

Gee, thanks, Mr. Olson. Bye.

Anything on
the Mike Schultz case?

The dead boxer?

Well, there weren't many clues.
Any prints?

No, but we found some whiskers.

Oh?

Take a look in here.

Facial hair.

Yep.

Hair is like fingerprints.

No two follicles are alike.

The strand on the left
belongs to Schultz.

The one on the right
was found near his body.

So, whoever belongs
to that whisker is our killer.

Have you identified him?
Yes.

It belongs to him.

Luca Burnett
was a five-time loser

who was working
for Montague Martin.

Now I knew who was responsible
for the murder.

But I needed someone
who wasn't afraid to talk.

The next step
was to work on Buddy Briggs.

Hi, Buddy.

What are you doing here?

I'm your new manager.

Hey, look, buster,

I don't know who you are
or what you're trying to pull,

but I work for Cooper.

Not anymore.

And you don't go in the tank
anymore either.

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

All right, Buddy,
play it stupid.

I don't care.
You hear me?

I don't wanna end up dead
in some locker room.

Now get out!

Mary.

Mary, why aren't you
at waitress school?

Mary.

You've been drinking again,
haven't you?

You're a bum!

Mary.

The only money you've ever
earned is by throwing fights.

You're not the man I married.

How can you say that?

Because here's
the man I married.

Mary, I love you.

I'm trying to give you
all the things you never had.

A decent home, a decent life,
your own synagogue.

You're never gonna
give me those things,

and you know why?

'Cause you got no guts.

You're scared of Martin and Cooper.
They own you.

Nobody owns Buddy Briggs!
Nobody!

Don't lie to me!

Every big fight you've ever been
in, you've taken a dive.

And you know what?
You could've been somebody.

You could've been a
contender instead of a bum,

which is what you are.

Muffin.

Buddy,

I'm here to help you.

Now, do you think
you can beat The Champ?

I can take him blindfolded.
What if he's not blindfolded?

I can still beat him.

I believe you.

That's why I won you
in the poker game.

You fight on the up-and-up,

you'll be able to look in
the mirror and see a winner.

You've been living
in the dumps too long, pal.

I'm gonna help you and Mary
get out of this sewer.

Come on.

All right, Buddy,

now, you meet me tomorrow
at Maury's Bar on Prospect.

I'm gonna get you a fight
with The Champ.

Well, how are you gonna do that?

You leave that to me.

Buddy.

What'll it be?

Screwdriver.

Anything to drink?

No, thank you.

Hey, Kelly.

Sure are a lot of
photographers here tonight.

Yeah, I know.
Is Cooper and Martin here? Yeah.

They're sitting at the table
with a couple of tramps.

Well,

I think it's time to go
and meet Mr. Big.

His name's Mr. Martin.

Well.

Hey, Cooper,

you calling any bluffs lately?

Well,

if it isn't Mr. Kelly.

It's the guy I was
telling you about,

the guy who manages
Lorne Greene and Johnny Cash.

Go powder your noses.

Listen, smart boy,
I own this town.

You may have a fighter,

but you're never
gonna get a fight.

We'll see about that.

Roses are red, violets are blue,

sugar is sweet,
I'm gonna break your face.

Buddy Briggs could break
every bone in your body.

Yeah, well, he must be
a pretty good boxer.

Well, how would you know?

You never won an honest fight
in your life.

Hey, take it easy.

Nobody wants to get hurt.
Just cool off.

Why should I?
The only reason you're champ

is 'cause of guys
lying down or dying.

Hey, let me buy you a drink.
We'll talk.

I wouldn't drink with you, you
two-bit, phony excuse for a fighter.

You're just tired,

you didn't mean it.
Ah, forget it.

"Forget it"?

Nobody says "forget it" to me!

Sorry, Buddy,
no sax before a fight.

Are you nervous?

Yeah, a bit.

But I know I can take this guy.

Nothing can stop me tonight.

What are you doing here, Martin?

Get outta here.
I've gone straight.

If you're smart,
you'll go straight to the canvas

in the 12th.

Forget it.

We've got Mary.
What?

You're bluffing.
Oh, yeah?

Mary's scarf!

You could have
gotten that anywhere.

How about this?
Mary's purse!

There are millions
of purses like that.

How about this?

Mary's toaster!

Oh, my God.

In the 12th, Buddy.

I can't believe it.

I trained to win this fight.

I can win this fight.

Now I gotta lose.

Buddy,
I'll make a deal with you.

I'll bring back Mary,

you beat The Champ.

I radioed Hocken to get some men

and meet me at the arena.

If I wanted to put Martin
and his monkeys behind bars,

I had to find Mary, and fast.

Johnny, I need
some information and fast.

There's a woman in trouble.

You mean Mary,
the boxer's wife who was just kidnapped?

Right. You know
anything about it?

Maybe I do, maybe I don't.

She's in big trouble.

She's being held
by Martin's goon, Luca.

What's a "goonluca"?

No, Luca Burnett.
Martin's henchman.

Right.

Where are they?

It's a big city.
Could be most anyplace.

You might wanna try Jim's Gym.

Thanks, Johnny.
I'll be in touch.

It's a bypass operation, Johnny.
So?

The guy has a history
of sinus bradycardia.

I wouldn't know anything
about it.

You got him on atropine?
Of course.

Do a midline thoracotomy,
strip the saphenous vein,

be careful not to puncture
the myocardium.

Tonight's main event, 15 rounds

for the championship
of the world.

In this corner,
weighing 210 pounds

in the dark trunks
is the current champion,

The Champ.

Jack and Jill went up the hill,

I'm gonna break your face!

I'm gonna break your face!

No! No! No!
No! Help!

Police Squad!
You're under arrest!

No way, Ray!

All right, Luca,
I've got a gun in your ribs.

I'm not Luca
and those aren't my ribs.

Eat lead, copper!

Mary, you all right? Yes.

So am I.

- How about now?
- Now?

Not so good.

We're about to start
the 12th round.

And remember, Buddy Briggs
has never gone the distance.

At this point, I'd say
it could go either way.

Both men are strong, but tired.

And one punch could end it
at any moment.

One, two,

three...

Mary, Mary.

Every big fight
you've ever been in

you've taken a dive.

I'll get you
a fight with The Champ

and then maybe
you'll be a winner.

There's no place like home.

There's no place like home.

Auntie Em!

And Toto, too!

- You'll always be a bum!
- Buddy!

Six, seven,

eight, nine...

How many fingers do you see?

Thursday.

The winner!
Yeah, Mary!

Yeah, Mary!

Mary! Yeah!

How do you feel about the
victory, champ? Great!

It's not only a victory for
me, but for all of boxing.

'Cause I'd like to tell
you about some cheap crooks

who are trying to ruin the game.

Montague Martin!

Kelly! The name is
Detective Frank Drebin

and I'm a boxing fan.

What the...
All right, Martin,

you've fixed your last fight.

From now on, the boxers in
this town will lose honestly.

Buddy! Buddy!

Buddy! Buddy!

Mary!

Hi, Ed.
Oh, hi, Frank.

Excuse me.
Yep.

Uh, Drebin here.
Get me Pete Preussing.

Tell him I'd like the final
report on Martin and Sally Decker.

Right.

Looks like we got
a new champ, huh?

Well,

looks like I can get back to
reading the sport pages now.

Speaking of sports pages, I see they're
bringing your friend Martin in now.

You think you're
a big man, Drebin,

but I'm telling you,
I'm gonna beat this rap.

Don't count on that, Martin.

Looks like you and your
cohorts'll be doing your boxing

up at the Stateville Prison
from now on.

Be sure to tune in next week
for another exciting story

from the files of Police Squad!