Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983): Season 1, Episode 2 - Prelude to War - full transcript
Despite his personal misgivings about the destabilizing effect of a war between Russia and Japan, Reilly is pressured into helping the Japanese in launching a surprise sneak attack against Port Arthur. His chief contribution to the operation is handing over the plans of the Russian mine fields guarding the harbor. He doesn't lose the opportunity that this insider information gives him, and he capitalizes on the knowledge by acquiring large stores of cement, coal, lumber, and other indispensable war materials. The master spy also is not surprised to find out that his neglected wife Margaret has been having an affair with his subordinate Greenberg.
[horse hooves clomping]
[bird cawing]
- Port Arthur,
February the eighth,
the whole winter has gone by,
yet there is no improvement
in my marriage to Sidney.
He spends all his
time in the hills
or in his office at Port
Arthur, concerned about
the drift to war with Japan.
Yet, he can no longer see that
we too are drifting apart.
I sometimes pray that the
war will come quickly,
so that my fate can be
settled, one way or the other.
[roosters crowing]
[barnyard animals vocalizing]
Minna?
- Yes, missy?
- Ice, I want more ice.
[dramatic music]
[birds cawing]
[waves crashing]
- Ship oars!
Out!
[dramatic music]
[waves crashing]
[dramatic music]
[man shouting]
[dramatic music]
[bird cawing]
[dramatic music]
- Margaret?
We've had a cable from Tokyo.
The Japanese fleet
has left Sasebo.
Looks like war.
- When?
- [Greenberg] Matter
of days, I would guess.
- Thank God.
- How can you say that?
- [Margaret] It
means we can go home.
- I'd never see you again.
Is that what you want?
- If you're looking for Sidney,
you'll find him
down on the shore.
- [Narrator] In the spring
of 1904 Reilly found himself
in the ancient Chinese
province of Manchuria,
a land so rich that both the
Russians and the Japanese
were greedy to possess it.
From his vantage point as a
shipping agent in Port Arthur,
which was the headquarters
of the Russian Pacific Fleet,
Reilly came to realize that
the Russians were ill prepared
for war.
As the crisis developed, Reilly
pleaded in his dispatches
to Cummings in London that
the British do something
to avert the catastrophe
that would follow a Japanese
attack, but the British and
Japanese had recently become
allies, and Cummings
was loathe to interfere.
Instead, he instructed
Reilly to place himself
at the disposal of
the Japanese navy,
thereby ensuring his
reluctant participation
in the coming war.
- These batteries
overlook the harbor?
- Yes, but their crews
are down at the port,
preparing the war ships
for the next six weeks.
- What about the guns here?
- They're still undercover.
- You're certain?
- Their recoil chambers have
not yet been filled with oil.
- What about the minefields?
- What minefields?
- The ones that protect
the Russian ships.
There must be a
passage through them.
- Well, it changes.
Every day they sow more mines
and in the evening they
sweep a new channel.
- Mr. Reilly, we need a copy
of tonight's swept channel.
[dramatic music]
- What time tonight?
- At midnight.
- Without warning?
- Our code does not require
a declaration of war.
- The Russians do not
recognize your code.
- Well that is unfortunate.
For them.
[horses whinnying]
- Has the British
government been informed?
- I presume so.
After all, we are allies.
- Well, like it seems to me--
- That is beside the point.
You will get us the chart
of tonight's swept channel.
You will deliver it to me
here at 10 PM, no later.
- It won't be that easy.
- Mr. Reilly you are
a shipping agent.
It won't be that difficult.
- I presume then that this is
no ordinary reconnaissance.
- No, we are going to
cut the cables that link
Port Arthur with
the outside world.
- Did you bring
payment for the guide?
- 2,000 falas.
- Don't let him know.
His friends will
cut your throats
before you reach the cables.
Tell him the boat that comes
tonight brings the payment.
- I appreciate your advice.
- I shall be back tonight.
- [Captain Tanaka]
With the chart.
[horse hooves clomping]
[chickens clucking]
- Hello Minna, you're packing?
- [Minna] Greenberg's been here.
- He says the Japanese
are out to sea.
He says war is inevitable.
- He's right, they
attack tonight.
- Oh my God.
- Book your passage
out on the next ship.
- [Margaret] What about you?
- [Sidney] I have to
stay on for a while.
- They'll kill you, you know?
I know exactly what
you're doing here.
- Greenberg your lover?
- Why do you ask?
- I'm just curious.
- Is that all?
You're not angry?
You're not jealous?
You're just curious?
- [Sidney] We haven't
got much time.
- Yet you feel it
appropriate at this moment
to inquire whether
Greenberg is my lover?
- I want to know.
- Why has it taken you so long?
Well, the answer to
your question is yes,
Greenberg was my lover.
He actually took these
out of their wrappings.
I sometimes feel
they've been boxed up
ever since we left Southampton!
- [Sidney] Greenberg
say anything else?
- I don't think
you understand what
it's been like for me here.
I can't go into town because
you say I'll be raped,
forbidden to ride outside
the house without an escort
in case I'm kidnapped.
I'm a virtual prisoner.
I never know when you're
coming in or going out.
The only companion I have
had has been Greenberg.
Without him, I'd have gone mad.
- The dangers were real!
Baku was Christian compared
to what happens out here!
- Then why did you send me home?
What's going to happen, Sidney?
- Going to sink
the Russian fleet.
God knows what will
happen after that.
- [Margaret] I mean about us.
- Your selfishness is
of cosmic proportions.
There is going to be a war.
This country is going to be
turned into a chattel house!
Everyone we know
here is going to die!
- Including you?
- No, I'll find a way.
- Like you did in Baku?
- No, this time you're
going, I'm staying.
- Look.
We can't stop the war.
But we can mend our
feelings for each other--
- It's too late!
- It's never too late.
You taught me that.
- I have to get to the office.
You must pack.
I'll send Greenberg to collect--
- [Margaret] Sidney!
- I'll try and get
back this afternoon,
but things are difficult.
- Please.
It's not my fault.
It's this place
that's done it to me.
- I know, I know.
What was that for?
- Just to show you,
you can't fob me off
with a kiss and a hug.
[upbeat music]
[dramatic music]
[horse hooves clomping]
[dramatic music]
[people chattering]
- Did Margaret
tell you the news?
- Yes.
- Everyone's trying to get out.
The office has been
like this since sun up.
- Well, they know the
quickest way out is by rail.
- Whites only on the
railroad, just as new orders.
- Has the Foo Ping docked?
- An hour ago.
- Tell Macdougal not to
damp down the boilers.
He may have to
sail on the flood.
- Yes, sir.
And Greenberg?
Make out the
documentation for my wife.
She'll be leaving
on the Foo Ping.
- Of course.
[trumpet playing]
- [General Stoessel] All junior
officers invited to attend
the Admiral's Ball
tonight will attend.
That is an order.
Do I make myself clear?
- [Vanderberg] Yes, sir.
- I have also noticed
officers riding through
the streets at a gallop.
This causes panic.
Officers will in future learn
to curb their impatience
and ride in a manner
befitting to their rank.
- Yes, sir.
- Three, the band.
I am concerned that the
band is not playing music
of a particularly
marshal character.
Strauss is not to my
way of thinking suitable
for mounted parades.
Gilbert and Sullivan--
[knocking on door]
- Your excellency, a dispatch,
sir, from Saint Petersburg.
The Japanese delegation
have left the city.
- Where were we, Vanderberg?
- The band, sir,
Gilbert and Sullivan.
- May I pass this
to the admiral, sir?
He may wish to raise steam.
- Why, sir?
Are we expecting an attack?
- Under their frock coats
the Japanese are still
warriors, your excellency.
The word for war and
attack are the same
in their vocabulary.
- In the history of our
civilization a yellow race
has yet to make an
attack upon a white one.
I do not think that
the Japanese are likely
to set a precedent.
- Nevertheless--
- Thank Saint Petersburg for
the information and file it.
- Yes, sir.
- Gilbert and Sullivan
is equally unsuitable.
[knocking at door]
Yes?
- I have a warrant
sir which needs
your excellency's signature.
- Bring it here.
Four, caviar.
It is important that the
caviar for tonight's function
arrives on time and at
the right temperature.
Why do you want
to arrest Reilly?
- I'm told he's in contact
with the Japanese, sir.
- The Japanese?
- Yes, sir.
So I thought if he was detained
we could find out precisely
when they will attack, sir.
- There will be no attack.
How many times do I have
to reassure the inhabitants
of this town that war
is out of the question?
- Yes, sir.
- You may search his house.
If you find anything
which incriminates him
then you may arrest him.
- Yes, your excellency.
- And shoot him.
- Crucifixion is the custom in
these parts, your excellency.
- A firing squad,
inspector, if you please.
- Yes, sir.
Thank you, your excellency.
- Where were we?
- Caviar.
[people chattering]
- Mr. Reilly!
Mr. Reilly, Mr. Reilly!
[people shouting]
Like Krakatoa in '83.
Ericson.
I'm from England.
I saw Cummings before I left.
He gave me this for you.
- Am I meant to smoke it or
does it contain some message?
- Why not try it and see?
- [Sidney] What brings
you to Port Arthur?
- The war.
I'm here to cover
it for the Times.
That is, if there's
going to be a war.
- [Sidney] There is.
- Yes, Cummings said your
view was pessimistic.
- At this moment the Japanese
fleet are 40 miles south
of Ronde Island.
At midnight they aim
to hit Port Arthur,
sinking the Russian fleet.
At dawn they will put
ashore landing parties
at Chefoo and Dorney.
By mid day they should
control the entire province.
Dear Reilly, things seem to
have got a trifle out of hand.
Stay as long as you can.
There's a good fellow, yours, C.
Do you know I cabled
Cummings for advice
and all he sends me is this?
[knocking at door]
[Minna screaming]
- But there will be some
declaration of war surely.
- According to the
code of Bushido, no.
As I understand it they're
under no obligation
to inform anyone
but their ancestors.
- Seems a little bit
strange, isn't it?
I mean, they ought to be
given a sporting chance.
- Colonel, for the past 20
years the imperial Russian army
has advanced eastward
sabring anyone and everything
that got in its way.
They gave nobody
a sporting chance.
- The destruction of
the Russian fleet.
That would change the balance
of power throughout the east.
That's the point.
No one will be safe after this.
- That is just what I've
been saying in my report
since I came here.
[banging on door]
- Mr. Reilly, sir.
- Ah, Lee Pin.
Lee Pin, this is
Colonel Ericson.
The colonel is--
- A foreign correspondent
for The London Times.
- Lee Pin is from the bank.
He knows all about
our operation here.
[people chattering]
[horse hooves clomping]
Lee Pin, correct
me if I'm wrong,
but are there not
22,000 tons of coal dust
at the depot at Chefoo?
I want you to buy it.
I also want you to buy all
coal stocks north of Dorney.
- All coal stocks?
- At least 10,000
tons, and anything else
which will be useful in the
war, timber, sand, cement.
It's a bad situation,
colonel, but I don't see
why we shouldn't
make money out of it.
- Macdougal's run
up a fever flag.
He won't let anyone on board.
He wants to talk to you.
- What is it?
- He says it's cholera.
- You'll have to excuse me.
- If they're landing
in town, nay,
I shall make my way there now.
- Mr. Reilly sir?
In war time they
crucify speculators.
- Buy.
[horses' hooves clomping]
Greenberg, with effect
from tomorrow you take over
as shipping agent
at Port Arthur.
I've written to
Shanghai informing them
of your promotion.
- It's a very happy day for it.
- Some people might find
such a sentiment misplaced.
[horns bellowing]
[Minna screaming]
- I sincerely regret,
Mrs. Reilly, that this had
to happen in your
husband's house.
- May I ask what
you expect to find?
- Incriminating documents.
Items that relate to his
espionage activities.
- Why do you think
my husband is a spy?
- All foreigners are spies.
Especially those who work
for transportation companies.
Whose is this?
- It belonged to
my first husband.
- English spies are
particularly fond of the Bible.
They take great pleasure
in constructing elaborate
ciphers from its most
tendentious passages.
- My late husband was
a minister of God.
- I'm not interested
in your late husband.
I'm interested in Mr. Reilly.
Where are his ponies?
They're not in the stables?
- I have no idea.
- Mrs. Reilly, why are
you leaving the country,
at this moment?
Are you running away?
Is Greenberg your
lover, Mrs. Reilly?
[dramatic music]
Would you say, Mrs.
Reilly, that your departure
from the bungalow is as a
result of a disagreement between
yourself and your husband
over Mr. Greenberg perhaps?
Or is it connected with
the coming war with Japan?
[dramatic music]
Of course if Mr.
Reilly were here
everything would be made clear,
would it now?
[horns bellowing]
- Welcome aboard.
- What's all this
about fever, Mac?
- There isn't any fever.
I just didn't want
everybody boarding
until after I'd had the
chance to talk to you.
I think it was about here.
I came in behind Ronde
Island to run up the coast
and there they were.
Battleships, troop
ships, cruisers.
I steamed right through them.
- How fast were they going?
- They were hardly making way,
but the course was
north, northwest.
They were heading
in this direction.
- Did they see you?
- No, sir.
No, I was carrying no lights.
These are pirate waters.
- I want you to
turn around, Mac--
- They were
jettisoning life rafts,
ventilators, even the
stoppers off the big guns.
Not even they would throw
such stuff overboard
for an exercise.
They're preparing for battle.
- Take her out in the
flat head for Chemulpo.
- But we've got to
warn these people.
Haven't we?
There are women and
children up on--
- It's none of
our business, Mac.
- That's not true!
We're allied to the Japanese--
- That's right, we
can't interfere.
- But there's gonna be a
lot of killing out there!
Just look at those ships,
they're like coconuts at a fair!
No steaming up
boilers, no torpedo--
- You are not to interfere
in this business, Mac!
Now you turn around
and head for Chemulpo
and you'll tell them there
what you saw at Ronde.
- By which time
it'll be too late!
How many have you got
waiting out there?
- 400, 500 people.
- Well, I'll take the lot.
- You're taking no one.
- But it--
- I know all the arguments, Mac.
But we're not going to interfere
with what's happening here.
- You mean the town's
doomed, and there's nothing
you can do about it?
- That's right, Mac.
- I'll be damned if
I'll go along with that.
- Chemulpo?
- That's right.
- What about the fever?
- Just one man.
I'll have him looked
at when we get there.
- Well, make sure you do.
Here are your clearance
papers, captain.
Bill of lading, charts
for the swept channel.
What about the
passenger manifesto?
Are there any alterations?
- Yes, one, my wife, she'll
be traveling to Chemulpo.
- Her name?
- Mrs. Margaret Reilly.
- This is a letter for Captain
Bailey on the HMS Torbit.
When you get to
Chemulpo give it to him.
- If we get to Chemulpo.
- Give it to him, Mac.
Also, this is the latest
position of our own ship.
See that they're
telegraphed to Shanghai.
- Well, can't that be
done from here tomorrow?
- The lines will be out.
- You're in this right up
to your neck, aren't you?
- That's why I want you
to get Margaret out.
If she's here this time
tomorrow they'll nail her
to the wall of the bungalow.
There's just one other thing.
I shall need the chart
of the swept channel.
Can you get through without it?
- Yes, I can.
I can just read
off the bearings.
- You're sure?
- Yes.
- Then can I have it?
[dramatic music]
- You're going to let
them in, aren't you?
Over the bar, through
the minefield?
Torpedo boats, no doubt.
You know what happens when
a torpedo hits a warship?
A flash ignites the magazine.
You wouldn't believe that
in such a confined space
men can die in so
many different ways.
- Thank you, Mac.
- I doubt if we
shall meet again.
But if we do, it'll be
no longer as friends.
[dramatic music]
[horse hooves clomping]
[dramatic music]
- Margaret?
- [Margaret] Here.
- Tsientsin?
- Yes.
- Took Minna?
- All of them.
- Forget about the trunks,
just pack two cases.
Macdougal's sailing
this evening.
He's offered you his cabin.
- What about you?
You're not coming.
- I have some
business to attend to.
- You won't change your mind?
- No.
- I'll wait.
- Macdougal can't!
- Tomorrow then.
- Tomorrow will be too late!
- So, this is how it ends.
I'm just packed
off like a parcel.
- If you stay, they'll kill you.
There'll be 200 people
crucified on the hill tomorrow.
I don't want you
to be one of them.
Now, these people take
their reprisals seriously.
- So, when I get to
Chemulpo, what then?
- Keep going.
- Back to England?
When I get there,
how long do I wait?
How long?
You are coming back?
- Of course I'm coming back.
Somehow I'll get
back, believe me.
Will you be there when I do?
- I don't know.
God forgive me.
I prayed for this war.
I thought it would
bring us together again.
[horses' hooves clomping]
- It's Greenberg.
He'll take you to the docks.
- Can't you even do that?
- I have to meet the Japanese.
- They're here?
- Yes, they are.
[dramatic music]
[horses' hooves clomping]
[ominous music]
[dramatic music]
- Signal the fleet.
We'll make course
for Port Arthur.
- Yes, admiral.
[ominous music]
[dramatic music]
- Wonderful, isn't it?
- What is it, sir?
- A salt dish.
We'll present her
with it at midnight.
I want it properly wrapped,
in silk, don't you think?
- Yes, sir.
- Good.
And the whole affair
is to be recorded.
- Yes, general.
- Take a seat over
there, will you,
while I adjust the focus.
These machines can
be most unflattering.
[knocking at door]
- General Stoessel?
- [General Stoessel]
Yes, what is it now?
- The lines to Chefoo
have been cut, sir.
- Fog.
- I have dispatched
the destroyer
to pick up the shore party.
- Have Captain Tanaka
brought to my cabin
the moment he comes aboard.
- Yes, sir.
[ominous music]
[dramatic music]
- He'll be waiting for us.
- Give him a few more minutes.
[dramatic music]
[horses vocalizing]
- Captain?
[horse hooves clomping]
[ominous music]
- You're late.
- I brought the chart.
- You are to be congratulated.
- Tell your captains there's
only 15 feet of water
over the bar.
- Our torpedo boats are 11.
- You better get your
men back on board
or you'll miss the party.
- Here.
We paid off the hullers.
There's 60 falas
left over for you.
- The price has doubled
since Judas was around.
- [Captain Tanaka]
You misunderstand.
We have a regular tariff
for the reward of spies.
- I'm glad to hear it.
[horse hooves clomping]
[dramatic music]
- Tsientsin's in the office.
- What about the Foo Ping?
- She sailed on time.
- Good.
[dramatic music]
- Good evening, Mr. Reilly.
- What do you want, Tsientsin?
- I've been trying
to find you all day.
- So I've noticed.
- It is a matter of urgency.
General Stoessel
wishes to see you.
[people chattering]
[upbeat music]
I'm glad your wife got away.
- Thank you.
- I was surprised to
hear she was going only
as far as Chemulpo.
With such a large
amount of luggage
and such an ardent
embrace from Mr. Greenberg
I feared she was
leaving us for good.
Still, that's none
of my business.
- What?
- When he turned away the
poor fellow was crying.
Well, there was such a
large amount of crying
on the bun tonight that
it went quite unnoticed,
except by me.
Tell me, Mr. Reilly,
which do you favor,
an attack tonight,
or tomorrow morning?
- An attack?
- From the Japanese.
- How could they possibly
attack when your men
are at a circus and
the officers at a ball?
- Inconvenience is one
of the drawbacks of war.
- Were you invited to
the ball, inspector?
- No, sir.
It is for officers
only, white officers.
- Too much of a Chinaman, hmm?
- They think of us
as barbarians, yet,
my ancestors were
rulers of this world
when they were no more than
the serfs of the great Kahn.
- The Japanese will not
make better masters.
- You're right.
A charming people but
given to extremes.
I would not like
them in charge here.
But such decisions are not
made by humble servants
such as myself.
They are made in heaven.
- You're wrong, Tsientsin.
They are made in the
board rooms of banks.
That is why this war will be
fought over coal and timber.
- It has nothing
to do with honor?
- No.
- Then, why are you here?
- That is a good question.
- Inspector Tsientsin, the
general will see you now.
- Mr. Reilly--
- Your excellency.
- Take these, I'll give
you the rest later.
Wait outside, inspector.
Mr. Reilly, I am informed
by the commissioners
to the interior that all the
coal stocks on the peninsula
are now owned by your company.
- Yes, your excellency.
- You have also found it
prudent to invest the company's
money in timber, pig
iron, cement, grain,
and other commodities
that might prove useful
in the event of war.
Mr. Reilly, your company's
investments have led
to panic buying on
the Shanghai market.
Prices are going
through the roof.
- Once the war starts,
they will go even higher.
- There's not going
to be any war!
And if there was, I would
not hesitate to make
an order, requisitioning
your stocks.
You would not profit
from them by one kopek.
So why have you pursued
this ludicrous scheme?
- Sir, my stocks have
been carefully selected.
They are at Chefoo,
Dorney, and New Chan,
which in the event of
war will be occupied
almost at once by the Japanese.
And so you see my
profit will be in yen.
- Yen?
- Yes, that's what we in the
west call forward buying.
- Let me tell you sir
that the Japanese will not
be permitted to land one soldier
north of the 38th parallel.
- Sir, their transports
are already at sea.
- At sea they may be,
land they will not.
This exercise is a bluff
designed to promote
panic in the peninsula.
And you sir are part of it!
- Sir, your excellency
has known for months
that I am an agent of
the British government.
You have regularly opened
my secret dispatches
to our embassy in
Saint Petersburg
and in those dispatches I
mentioned for your benefit
as well as the British
the suicidal nature
of the coming confrontation.
Now, neither you nor
the British have paid
the slightest attention
to my warnings
and so I've been left
with nothing better
to do than to make
the maximum profit out of
your combined stupidity.
[bell ringing]
- It was my intention to
have you tried for espionage.
However, in view of the
resources that your company
now hold here I do
not want to overreact.
Take him to the lockup.
Keep him there.
If the war breaks
out, shoot him.
It's people like you that
cause all the trouble.
Spies and speculators.
If the world was
left to military men
we would have been
spared this crisis.
- Thank you, your excellency.
[knocking at door]
Yes?
- It's nearly 12, sir.
Time to cut the cake.
- Have you found the
fault on the Chefoo cable?
- No, sir.
The lines to Dorney
are also down.
[phone ringing]
- Gregeor?
[phone ringing]
- Hello, port office?
No, he's busy.
Right.
A report from the
lighthouse, sir.
Unidentified torpedo boats
are standing off the point.
- Well, call the battery
and ask them to confirm.
Oh, and call Dorney.
See if any of our
boats are due in.
- There's nothing
in the ledger, sir.
- Nevertheless, call
Dorney and check.
[dramatic music]
- We are approaching the coast.
- Break out the battle flags.
- Yes, admiral.
[dramatic music]
- Turn out your pockets.
[keys jingling]
Your watch?
- May I keep the watch?
- Enjoy your cigar.
I suggest you smoke it
sooner rather than later.
There will be no time for
formalities should I return.
[dramatic music]
- All senior officers
present, admiral.
- Gentlemen.
We are at war.
Our enemy is Russia.
Our target, Port Arthur.
Our aim, the destruction of
the Russian Pacific Squadron.
[cannons blasting]
[knocking at door]
- [Macdougal] Mum?
[knocking at door]
Mum?
- Yes, what is it?
Is that gunfire?
- Aye, I'll have to
douse the lights.
- What's that burning?
- That, mum, is Port Arthur.
[cannons blasting]
[fire crackling]
[missiles whistling]
[cannons blasting]
[people screaming]
[cannons blasting]
[people screaming]
[cannons blasting]
[missiles whistling]
[cannons blasting]
[missiles whistling]
[dramatic music]
[missiles crashing]
[dramatic music]
[boards clanking]
[dramatic music]
[fire crackling]
- [Narrator] On
February the ninth, 1904
the Japanese fleet
under Admiral Togo
attacked and sank the
Russian Pacific Squadron
as it lay at anchor
outside Port Arthur.
In the year that followed,
100,000 men were lost
in the storming of the port.
For his part in its
downfall, General Stoessel
was court marshaled
and sentenced to death.
Reilly escaped and returned
to Europe a year later.
[fire crackling]
[missile whistling]
[explosions detonating]
[classical music]
[rhythmic music]
[bird cawing]
- Port Arthur,
February the eighth,
the whole winter has gone by,
yet there is no improvement
in my marriage to Sidney.
He spends all his
time in the hills
or in his office at Port
Arthur, concerned about
the drift to war with Japan.
Yet, he can no longer see that
we too are drifting apart.
I sometimes pray that the
war will come quickly,
so that my fate can be
settled, one way or the other.
[roosters crowing]
[barnyard animals vocalizing]
Minna?
- Yes, missy?
- Ice, I want more ice.
[dramatic music]
[birds cawing]
[waves crashing]
- Ship oars!
Out!
[dramatic music]
[waves crashing]
[dramatic music]
[man shouting]
[dramatic music]
[bird cawing]
[dramatic music]
- Margaret?
We've had a cable from Tokyo.
The Japanese fleet
has left Sasebo.
Looks like war.
- When?
- [Greenberg] Matter
of days, I would guess.
- Thank God.
- How can you say that?
- [Margaret] It
means we can go home.
- I'd never see you again.
Is that what you want?
- If you're looking for Sidney,
you'll find him
down on the shore.
- [Narrator] In the spring
of 1904 Reilly found himself
in the ancient Chinese
province of Manchuria,
a land so rich that both the
Russians and the Japanese
were greedy to possess it.
From his vantage point as a
shipping agent in Port Arthur,
which was the headquarters
of the Russian Pacific Fleet,
Reilly came to realize that
the Russians were ill prepared
for war.
As the crisis developed, Reilly
pleaded in his dispatches
to Cummings in London that
the British do something
to avert the catastrophe
that would follow a Japanese
attack, but the British and
Japanese had recently become
allies, and Cummings
was loathe to interfere.
Instead, he instructed
Reilly to place himself
at the disposal of
the Japanese navy,
thereby ensuring his
reluctant participation
in the coming war.
- These batteries
overlook the harbor?
- Yes, but their crews
are down at the port,
preparing the war ships
for the next six weeks.
- What about the guns here?
- They're still undercover.
- You're certain?
- Their recoil chambers have
not yet been filled with oil.
- What about the minefields?
- What minefields?
- The ones that protect
the Russian ships.
There must be a
passage through them.
- Well, it changes.
Every day they sow more mines
and in the evening they
sweep a new channel.
- Mr. Reilly, we need a copy
of tonight's swept channel.
[dramatic music]
- What time tonight?
- At midnight.
- Without warning?
- Our code does not require
a declaration of war.
- The Russians do not
recognize your code.
- Well that is unfortunate.
For them.
[horses whinnying]
- Has the British
government been informed?
- I presume so.
After all, we are allies.
- Well, like it seems to me--
- That is beside the point.
You will get us the chart
of tonight's swept channel.
You will deliver it to me
here at 10 PM, no later.
- It won't be that easy.
- Mr. Reilly you are
a shipping agent.
It won't be that difficult.
- I presume then that this is
no ordinary reconnaissance.
- No, we are going to
cut the cables that link
Port Arthur with
the outside world.
- Did you bring
payment for the guide?
- 2,000 falas.
- Don't let him know.
His friends will
cut your throats
before you reach the cables.
Tell him the boat that comes
tonight brings the payment.
- I appreciate your advice.
- I shall be back tonight.
- [Captain Tanaka]
With the chart.
[horse hooves clomping]
[chickens clucking]
- Hello Minna, you're packing?
- [Minna] Greenberg's been here.
- He says the Japanese
are out to sea.
He says war is inevitable.
- He's right, they
attack tonight.
- Oh my God.
- Book your passage
out on the next ship.
- [Margaret] What about you?
- [Sidney] I have to
stay on for a while.
- They'll kill you, you know?
I know exactly what
you're doing here.
- Greenberg your lover?
- Why do you ask?
- I'm just curious.
- Is that all?
You're not angry?
You're not jealous?
You're just curious?
- [Sidney] We haven't
got much time.
- Yet you feel it
appropriate at this moment
to inquire whether
Greenberg is my lover?
- I want to know.
- Why has it taken you so long?
Well, the answer to
your question is yes,
Greenberg was my lover.
He actually took these
out of their wrappings.
I sometimes feel
they've been boxed up
ever since we left Southampton!
- [Sidney] Greenberg
say anything else?
- I don't think
you understand what
it's been like for me here.
I can't go into town because
you say I'll be raped,
forbidden to ride outside
the house without an escort
in case I'm kidnapped.
I'm a virtual prisoner.
I never know when you're
coming in or going out.
The only companion I have
had has been Greenberg.
Without him, I'd have gone mad.
- The dangers were real!
Baku was Christian compared
to what happens out here!
- Then why did you send me home?
What's going to happen, Sidney?
- Going to sink
the Russian fleet.
God knows what will
happen after that.
- [Margaret] I mean about us.
- Your selfishness is
of cosmic proportions.
There is going to be a war.
This country is going to be
turned into a chattel house!
Everyone we know
here is going to die!
- Including you?
- No, I'll find a way.
- Like you did in Baku?
- No, this time you're
going, I'm staying.
- Look.
We can't stop the war.
But we can mend our
feelings for each other--
- It's too late!
- It's never too late.
You taught me that.
- I have to get to the office.
You must pack.
I'll send Greenberg to collect--
- [Margaret] Sidney!
- I'll try and get
back this afternoon,
but things are difficult.
- Please.
It's not my fault.
It's this place
that's done it to me.
- I know, I know.
What was that for?
- Just to show you,
you can't fob me off
with a kiss and a hug.
[upbeat music]
[dramatic music]
[horse hooves clomping]
[dramatic music]
[people chattering]
- Did Margaret
tell you the news?
- Yes.
- Everyone's trying to get out.
The office has been
like this since sun up.
- Well, they know the
quickest way out is by rail.
- Whites only on the
railroad, just as new orders.
- Has the Foo Ping docked?
- An hour ago.
- Tell Macdougal not to
damp down the boilers.
He may have to
sail on the flood.
- Yes, sir.
And Greenberg?
Make out the
documentation for my wife.
She'll be leaving
on the Foo Ping.
- Of course.
[trumpet playing]
- [General Stoessel] All junior
officers invited to attend
the Admiral's Ball
tonight will attend.
That is an order.
Do I make myself clear?
- [Vanderberg] Yes, sir.
- I have also noticed
officers riding through
the streets at a gallop.
This causes panic.
Officers will in future learn
to curb their impatience
and ride in a manner
befitting to their rank.
- Yes, sir.
- Three, the band.
I am concerned that the
band is not playing music
of a particularly
marshal character.
Strauss is not to my
way of thinking suitable
for mounted parades.
Gilbert and Sullivan--
[knocking on door]
- Your excellency, a dispatch,
sir, from Saint Petersburg.
The Japanese delegation
have left the city.
- Where were we, Vanderberg?
- The band, sir,
Gilbert and Sullivan.
- May I pass this
to the admiral, sir?
He may wish to raise steam.
- Why, sir?
Are we expecting an attack?
- Under their frock coats
the Japanese are still
warriors, your excellency.
The word for war and
attack are the same
in their vocabulary.
- In the history of our
civilization a yellow race
has yet to make an
attack upon a white one.
I do not think that
the Japanese are likely
to set a precedent.
- Nevertheless--
- Thank Saint Petersburg for
the information and file it.
- Yes, sir.
- Gilbert and Sullivan
is equally unsuitable.
[knocking at door]
Yes?
- I have a warrant
sir which needs
your excellency's signature.
- Bring it here.
Four, caviar.
It is important that the
caviar for tonight's function
arrives on time and at
the right temperature.
Why do you want
to arrest Reilly?
- I'm told he's in contact
with the Japanese, sir.
- The Japanese?
- Yes, sir.
So I thought if he was detained
we could find out precisely
when they will attack, sir.
- There will be no attack.
How many times do I have
to reassure the inhabitants
of this town that war
is out of the question?
- Yes, sir.
- You may search his house.
If you find anything
which incriminates him
then you may arrest him.
- Yes, your excellency.
- And shoot him.
- Crucifixion is the custom in
these parts, your excellency.
- A firing squad,
inspector, if you please.
- Yes, sir.
Thank you, your excellency.
- Where were we?
- Caviar.
[people chattering]
- Mr. Reilly!
Mr. Reilly, Mr. Reilly!
[people shouting]
Like Krakatoa in '83.
Ericson.
I'm from England.
I saw Cummings before I left.
He gave me this for you.
- Am I meant to smoke it or
does it contain some message?
- Why not try it and see?
- [Sidney] What brings
you to Port Arthur?
- The war.
I'm here to cover
it for the Times.
That is, if there's
going to be a war.
- [Sidney] There is.
- Yes, Cummings said your
view was pessimistic.
- At this moment the Japanese
fleet are 40 miles south
of Ronde Island.
At midnight they aim
to hit Port Arthur,
sinking the Russian fleet.
At dawn they will put
ashore landing parties
at Chefoo and Dorney.
By mid day they should
control the entire province.
Dear Reilly, things seem to
have got a trifle out of hand.
Stay as long as you can.
There's a good fellow, yours, C.
Do you know I cabled
Cummings for advice
and all he sends me is this?
[knocking at door]
[Minna screaming]
- But there will be some
declaration of war surely.
- According to the
code of Bushido, no.
As I understand it they're
under no obligation
to inform anyone
but their ancestors.
- Seems a little bit
strange, isn't it?
I mean, they ought to be
given a sporting chance.
- Colonel, for the past 20
years the imperial Russian army
has advanced eastward
sabring anyone and everything
that got in its way.
They gave nobody
a sporting chance.
- The destruction of
the Russian fleet.
That would change the balance
of power throughout the east.
That's the point.
No one will be safe after this.
- That is just what I've
been saying in my report
since I came here.
[banging on door]
- Mr. Reilly, sir.
- Ah, Lee Pin.
Lee Pin, this is
Colonel Ericson.
The colonel is--
- A foreign correspondent
for The London Times.
- Lee Pin is from the bank.
He knows all about
our operation here.
[people chattering]
[horse hooves clomping]
Lee Pin, correct
me if I'm wrong,
but are there not
22,000 tons of coal dust
at the depot at Chefoo?
I want you to buy it.
I also want you to buy all
coal stocks north of Dorney.
- All coal stocks?
- At least 10,000
tons, and anything else
which will be useful in the
war, timber, sand, cement.
It's a bad situation,
colonel, but I don't see
why we shouldn't
make money out of it.
- Macdougal's run
up a fever flag.
He won't let anyone on board.
He wants to talk to you.
- What is it?
- He says it's cholera.
- You'll have to excuse me.
- If they're landing
in town, nay,
I shall make my way there now.
- Mr. Reilly sir?
In war time they
crucify speculators.
- Buy.
[horses' hooves clomping]
Greenberg, with effect
from tomorrow you take over
as shipping agent
at Port Arthur.
I've written to
Shanghai informing them
of your promotion.
- It's a very happy day for it.
- Some people might find
such a sentiment misplaced.
[horns bellowing]
[Minna screaming]
- I sincerely regret,
Mrs. Reilly, that this had
to happen in your
husband's house.
- May I ask what
you expect to find?
- Incriminating documents.
Items that relate to his
espionage activities.
- Why do you think
my husband is a spy?
- All foreigners are spies.
Especially those who work
for transportation companies.
Whose is this?
- It belonged to
my first husband.
- English spies are
particularly fond of the Bible.
They take great pleasure
in constructing elaborate
ciphers from its most
tendentious passages.
- My late husband was
a minister of God.
- I'm not interested
in your late husband.
I'm interested in Mr. Reilly.
Where are his ponies?
They're not in the stables?
- I have no idea.
- Mrs. Reilly, why are
you leaving the country,
at this moment?
Are you running away?
Is Greenberg your
lover, Mrs. Reilly?
[dramatic music]
Would you say, Mrs.
Reilly, that your departure
from the bungalow is as a
result of a disagreement between
yourself and your husband
over Mr. Greenberg perhaps?
Or is it connected with
the coming war with Japan?
[dramatic music]
Of course if Mr.
Reilly were here
everything would be made clear,
would it now?
[horns bellowing]
- Welcome aboard.
- What's all this
about fever, Mac?
- There isn't any fever.
I just didn't want
everybody boarding
until after I'd had the
chance to talk to you.
I think it was about here.
I came in behind Ronde
Island to run up the coast
and there they were.
Battleships, troop
ships, cruisers.
I steamed right through them.
- How fast were they going?
- They were hardly making way,
but the course was
north, northwest.
They were heading
in this direction.
- Did they see you?
- No, sir.
No, I was carrying no lights.
These are pirate waters.
- I want you to
turn around, Mac--
- They were
jettisoning life rafts,
ventilators, even the
stoppers off the big guns.
Not even they would throw
such stuff overboard
for an exercise.
They're preparing for battle.
- Take her out in the
flat head for Chemulpo.
- But we've got to
warn these people.
Haven't we?
There are women and
children up on--
- It's none of
our business, Mac.
- That's not true!
We're allied to the Japanese--
- That's right, we
can't interfere.
- But there's gonna be a
lot of killing out there!
Just look at those ships,
they're like coconuts at a fair!
No steaming up
boilers, no torpedo--
- You are not to interfere
in this business, Mac!
Now you turn around
and head for Chemulpo
and you'll tell them there
what you saw at Ronde.
- By which time
it'll be too late!
How many have you got
waiting out there?
- 400, 500 people.
- Well, I'll take the lot.
- You're taking no one.
- But it--
- I know all the arguments, Mac.
But we're not going to interfere
with what's happening here.
- You mean the town's
doomed, and there's nothing
you can do about it?
- That's right, Mac.
- I'll be damned if
I'll go along with that.
- Chemulpo?
- That's right.
- What about the fever?
- Just one man.
I'll have him looked
at when we get there.
- Well, make sure you do.
Here are your clearance
papers, captain.
Bill of lading, charts
for the swept channel.
What about the
passenger manifesto?
Are there any alterations?
- Yes, one, my wife, she'll
be traveling to Chemulpo.
- Her name?
- Mrs. Margaret Reilly.
- This is a letter for Captain
Bailey on the HMS Torbit.
When you get to
Chemulpo give it to him.
- If we get to Chemulpo.
- Give it to him, Mac.
Also, this is the latest
position of our own ship.
See that they're
telegraphed to Shanghai.
- Well, can't that be
done from here tomorrow?
- The lines will be out.
- You're in this right up
to your neck, aren't you?
- That's why I want you
to get Margaret out.
If she's here this time
tomorrow they'll nail her
to the wall of the bungalow.
There's just one other thing.
I shall need the chart
of the swept channel.
Can you get through without it?
- Yes, I can.
I can just read
off the bearings.
- You're sure?
- Yes.
- Then can I have it?
[dramatic music]
- You're going to let
them in, aren't you?
Over the bar, through
the minefield?
Torpedo boats, no doubt.
You know what happens when
a torpedo hits a warship?
A flash ignites the magazine.
You wouldn't believe that
in such a confined space
men can die in so
many different ways.
- Thank you, Mac.
- I doubt if we
shall meet again.
But if we do, it'll be
no longer as friends.
[dramatic music]
[horse hooves clomping]
[dramatic music]
- Margaret?
- [Margaret] Here.
- Tsientsin?
- Yes.
- Took Minna?
- All of them.
- Forget about the trunks,
just pack two cases.
Macdougal's sailing
this evening.
He's offered you his cabin.
- What about you?
You're not coming.
- I have some
business to attend to.
- You won't change your mind?
- No.
- I'll wait.
- Macdougal can't!
- Tomorrow then.
- Tomorrow will be too late!
- So, this is how it ends.
I'm just packed
off like a parcel.
- If you stay, they'll kill you.
There'll be 200 people
crucified on the hill tomorrow.
I don't want you
to be one of them.
Now, these people take
their reprisals seriously.
- So, when I get to
Chemulpo, what then?
- Keep going.
- Back to England?
When I get there,
how long do I wait?
How long?
You are coming back?
- Of course I'm coming back.
Somehow I'll get
back, believe me.
Will you be there when I do?
- I don't know.
God forgive me.
I prayed for this war.
I thought it would
bring us together again.
[horses' hooves clomping]
- It's Greenberg.
He'll take you to the docks.
- Can't you even do that?
- I have to meet the Japanese.
- They're here?
- Yes, they are.
[dramatic music]
[horses' hooves clomping]
[ominous music]
[dramatic music]
- Signal the fleet.
We'll make course
for Port Arthur.
- Yes, admiral.
[ominous music]
[dramatic music]
- Wonderful, isn't it?
- What is it, sir?
- A salt dish.
We'll present her
with it at midnight.
I want it properly wrapped,
in silk, don't you think?
- Yes, sir.
- Good.
And the whole affair
is to be recorded.
- Yes, general.
- Take a seat over
there, will you,
while I adjust the focus.
These machines can
be most unflattering.
[knocking at door]
- General Stoessel?
- [General Stoessel]
Yes, what is it now?
- The lines to Chefoo
have been cut, sir.
- Fog.
- I have dispatched
the destroyer
to pick up the shore party.
- Have Captain Tanaka
brought to my cabin
the moment he comes aboard.
- Yes, sir.
[ominous music]
[dramatic music]
- He'll be waiting for us.
- Give him a few more minutes.
[dramatic music]
[horses vocalizing]
- Captain?
[horse hooves clomping]
[ominous music]
- You're late.
- I brought the chart.
- You are to be congratulated.
- Tell your captains there's
only 15 feet of water
over the bar.
- Our torpedo boats are 11.
- You better get your
men back on board
or you'll miss the party.
- Here.
We paid off the hullers.
There's 60 falas
left over for you.
- The price has doubled
since Judas was around.
- [Captain Tanaka]
You misunderstand.
We have a regular tariff
for the reward of spies.
- I'm glad to hear it.
[horse hooves clomping]
[dramatic music]
- Tsientsin's in the office.
- What about the Foo Ping?
- She sailed on time.
- Good.
[dramatic music]
- Good evening, Mr. Reilly.
- What do you want, Tsientsin?
- I've been trying
to find you all day.
- So I've noticed.
- It is a matter of urgency.
General Stoessel
wishes to see you.
[people chattering]
[upbeat music]
I'm glad your wife got away.
- Thank you.
- I was surprised to
hear she was going only
as far as Chemulpo.
With such a large
amount of luggage
and such an ardent
embrace from Mr. Greenberg
I feared she was
leaving us for good.
Still, that's none
of my business.
- What?
- When he turned away the
poor fellow was crying.
Well, there was such a
large amount of crying
on the bun tonight that
it went quite unnoticed,
except by me.
Tell me, Mr. Reilly,
which do you favor,
an attack tonight,
or tomorrow morning?
- An attack?
- From the Japanese.
- How could they possibly
attack when your men
are at a circus and
the officers at a ball?
- Inconvenience is one
of the drawbacks of war.
- Were you invited to
the ball, inspector?
- No, sir.
It is for officers
only, white officers.
- Too much of a Chinaman, hmm?
- They think of us
as barbarians, yet,
my ancestors were
rulers of this world
when they were no more than
the serfs of the great Kahn.
- The Japanese will not
make better masters.
- You're right.
A charming people but
given to extremes.
I would not like
them in charge here.
But such decisions are not
made by humble servants
such as myself.
They are made in heaven.
- You're wrong, Tsientsin.
They are made in the
board rooms of banks.
That is why this war will be
fought over coal and timber.
- It has nothing
to do with honor?
- No.
- Then, why are you here?
- That is a good question.
- Inspector Tsientsin, the
general will see you now.
- Mr. Reilly--
- Your excellency.
- Take these, I'll give
you the rest later.
Wait outside, inspector.
Mr. Reilly, I am informed
by the commissioners
to the interior that all the
coal stocks on the peninsula
are now owned by your company.
- Yes, your excellency.
- You have also found it
prudent to invest the company's
money in timber, pig
iron, cement, grain,
and other commodities
that might prove useful
in the event of war.
Mr. Reilly, your company's
investments have led
to panic buying on
the Shanghai market.
Prices are going
through the roof.
- Once the war starts,
they will go even higher.
- There's not going
to be any war!
And if there was, I would
not hesitate to make
an order, requisitioning
your stocks.
You would not profit
from them by one kopek.
So why have you pursued
this ludicrous scheme?
- Sir, my stocks have
been carefully selected.
They are at Chefoo,
Dorney, and New Chan,
which in the event of
war will be occupied
almost at once by the Japanese.
And so you see my
profit will be in yen.
- Yen?
- Yes, that's what we in the
west call forward buying.
- Let me tell you sir
that the Japanese will not
be permitted to land one soldier
north of the 38th parallel.
- Sir, their transports
are already at sea.
- At sea they may be,
land they will not.
This exercise is a bluff
designed to promote
panic in the peninsula.
And you sir are part of it!
- Sir, your excellency
has known for months
that I am an agent of
the British government.
You have regularly opened
my secret dispatches
to our embassy in
Saint Petersburg
and in those dispatches I
mentioned for your benefit
as well as the British
the suicidal nature
of the coming confrontation.
Now, neither you nor
the British have paid
the slightest attention
to my warnings
and so I've been left
with nothing better
to do than to make
the maximum profit out of
your combined stupidity.
[bell ringing]
- It was my intention to
have you tried for espionage.
However, in view of the
resources that your company
now hold here I do
not want to overreact.
Take him to the lockup.
Keep him there.
If the war breaks
out, shoot him.
It's people like you that
cause all the trouble.
Spies and speculators.
If the world was
left to military men
we would have been
spared this crisis.
- Thank you, your excellency.
[knocking at door]
Yes?
- It's nearly 12, sir.
Time to cut the cake.
- Have you found the
fault on the Chefoo cable?
- No, sir.
The lines to Dorney
are also down.
[phone ringing]
- Gregeor?
[phone ringing]
- Hello, port office?
No, he's busy.
Right.
A report from the
lighthouse, sir.
Unidentified torpedo boats
are standing off the point.
- Well, call the battery
and ask them to confirm.
Oh, and call Dorney.
See if any of our
boats are due in.
- There's nothing
in the ledger, sir.
- Nevertheless, call
Dorney and check.
[dramatic music]
- We are approaching the coast.
- Break out the battle flags.
- Yes, admiral.
[dramatic music]
- Turn out your pockets.
[keys jingling]
Your watch?
- May I keep the watch?
- Enjoy your cigar.
I suggest you smoke it
sooner rather than later.
There will be no time for
formalities should I return.
[dramatic music]
- All senior officers
present, admiral.
- Gentlemen.
We are at war.
Our enemy is Russia.
Our target, Port Arthur.
Our aim, the destruction of
the Russian Pacific Squadron.
[cannons blasting]
[knocking at door]
- [Macdougal] Mum?
[knocking at door]
Mum?
- Yes, what is it?
Is that gunfire?
- Aye, I'll have to
douse the lights.
- What's that burning?
- That, mum, is Port Arthur.
[cannons blasting]
[fire crackling]
[missiles whistling]
[cannons blasting]
[people screaming]
[cannons blasting]
[people screaming]
[cannons blasting]
[missiles whistling]
[cannons blasting]
[missiles whistling]
[dramatic music]
[missiles crashing]
[dramatic music]
[boards clanking]
[dramatic music]
[fire crackling]
- [Narrator] On
February the ninth, 1904
the Japanese fleet
under Admiral Togo
attacked and sank the
Russian Pacific Squadron
as it lay at anchor
outside Port Arthur.
In the year that followed,
100,000 men were lost
in the storming of the port.
For his part in its
downfall, General Stoessel
was court marshaled
and sentenced to death.
Reilly escaped and returned
to Europe a year later.
[fire crackling]
[missile whistling]
[explosions detonating]
[classical music]
[rhythmic music]