Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983): Season 1, Episode 3 - The Visiting Fireman - full transcript
In 1905 Germany, the British have two operatives planted inside a top secret German shipyard. After one of them is exposed, Reilly is sent in to replace him, but because the surviving agent is perceived as being a weak link, Reilly doesn't reveal himself to him... even though they are boarding at the same house. Reilly diverts himself by romancing his Marxisr landlord's daughter.
[gentle music]
[crowd yelling]
[water splashing]
- This way!
[men yelling]
- No, no!
[gunfire]
- Well, here's a how do you do?
You don't have to
read between the lines
to see the man's desperate.
What will happen
if we pull him out?
- We'll have to start
from the beginning again.
- But he isn't capable
of doing it that's all.
- Sir, there is another
dimension to the problem.
Zaharoff, off he's
written to the Admiralty
saying it's absolutely
imperative we get the plans
of the gun, or he can't
guarantee the capacity
of our ships to deal with it.
He says if we don't
get the plans now,
our ships could be at the bottom
of the ocean in ten years time.
- Well, this man can't do it.
His nerve's gone.
- Then we'll have to send
someone in to support him.
- Who?
- Reilly?
According to Margaret
he's due back soon.
- Very well.
Try and get ahold of
him before she does.
- How much do I tell him?
That there are certain
plans at a German shipyard,
which we must acquire.
That they are located in
various parts of the yard
which makes it impracticable
to obtain them all
in one night.
That one of our men has
already been killed,
that the other is panic-stricken
and under suspicion,
and that quite frankly the
task is well nigh impossible.
And that ought to do the trick.
[train whistling]
- It seems that all roads
lead to Hamburg these days.
- Hello, Basil.
- Is that all you have to say?
I delayed my
journey for one week
so that our paths would cross.
- I didn't think it
was a coincidence.
- I was informed by Fothergill
that you would be on this train.
I believe you were
at Port Arthur
when the Japanese attacked.
- [Reilly] Yes.
- The torpedoes
were not successful.
- Torpedoes?
- I have a new patent by
a man called Harrington.
Next time they will not fail.
- They were your torpedoes?
- They were my warships.
I sold the Japanese their navy,
an exceptionally good one
apart from the torpedoes.
Fothergill tells
me you are going
into the Blohm & Voss shipyards.
- Yes, and to pull out a
young and inexperienced agent.
It's a relatively simple task.
- The gun is more important.
- Yes, Fothergill
mentioned your interest.
- I need the drawings.
- [Reilly] Why don't you
send in your own man?
- You think I haven't tried?
They come back in beautifully
made coffins, turned brass,
copper screws and the
sort of lead you only find
on cathedral roofs. [laughs]
Well?
- Very well, Basil, I shall
get you your drawings.
- Thank you, my dear fellow.
And you'll earn the thanks
of a grateful nation.
- But clear it with
Fothergill first.
- Oh, I have done so already.
I shall be in Berlin
for six weeks.
You can reach me
at the Kempinski,
should you have any problems.
[gentle music]
- [Narrator] In
1905 the spy fever,
which raged across Germany,
had almost destroyed
the rudimentary British
espionage network.
Many of its agents
were naval officers
straight out of
college and ill suited
to the psychology of
intelligence work.
Reilly, returning
from the Orient,
was one of the few professionals
available to the British,
and it was a measure of
Cummings' desperation
that he was ordered
straight into Germany
before he had even set
foot on English soil.
And his only help
was a Navy lieutenant
who was rapidly
losing his nerve.
[dogs barking]
[dog yelping]
- [Glass] Yes?
- [Reilly] You're
advertising a room?
- That's right.
You work at the yard?
- [Reilly] I hope to.
- What's your name?
- [Reilly] Frikar.
- This way.
This is Herr Goschen,
you'll share with him.
Herr Goschen this
is Herr Frikar.
[gentle music]
Herr Frikar is looking
for a job at the works.
Perhaps you'd take
him down tomorrow.
- What's your trade?
- I'm a welder, but my
specialty is works fireman.
[horn honking]
- Good morning, Herr Von Jaegar,
welcome to Blohm and Voss.
This is the subject.
There's no proof, merely that
he has all the characteristics
you described in your letter.
- [Von Jaegar] Has he
any friends in the yard?
- [Huberhoff] No.
- He lives alone?
- No, he shares a room
with one of his workmates.
Fetch Frikar.
- At once Herr Huberhoff.
The fireman, is he around?
- [Man] He's in there.
- [Von Der Helle] Frikar?
- What are these,
spittoons, ash trays?
Even the guard dogs pee in them!
- Herr Huberhoff
wants to see you.
- Is it an emergency, I ask you?
Herr Huberhoff?
- Herr Von Jaegar is
an expert on espionage.
He's here to discover
spies and saboteurs.
- If this yard burns down, it
will be through carelessness.
Don't blame it on saboteurs.
- Are you from Holstein?
- Answer Herr Von Jaegar.
- Yes, sir.
- And a patriot?
- Yes, sir.
- You share a room with a
mechanic called Goschen.
We believe that he is a spy.
What do you say to that?
- I find it unlikely.
- Unlikely?
- He's a good man, works hard,
he's punctual, polite,
and a Protestant.
- [Von Jaegar] Go on.
- He does not swear,
he polishes his boots.
Such a man could not be a spy.
- [Von Jaegar] Is
there anything else
you can tell me about him?
- Once a week he
writes a letter.
- To whom?
- I don't see what
business it is of yours.
- Answer the officer!
Don't they teach you
manners in Holstein?
- We're also taught to
mind our own business!
- Goschen is an English spy.
- And the pope, no doubt, a Jew.
- I want you to
report here everyday.
You will tell me what
Herr Goschen is up to,
and you will not tell him
of our interest in him.
Keep your mouth shut.
- That all, sir?
- You may go.
Such insolence!
I would sack him if it were
not essential he be here.
- He could be useful.
- Maybe, let us
concentrate on Goschen.
It is imperative that he
be transferred immediately.
- That would give the game away.
- But he's a threat to the
security of the project.
- I want him put under pressure.
Send him up the gantries.
- He's on the gantries.
- Then work him nights, as well.
[men laughing]
[dramatic music]
- [Goschen] Yesterday
the room was searched.
I suspect Frikar.
I hate that man.
All he can talk about are fires.
Even in sleep he shouts
out his hose drill.
[men laughing]
- You a religious
man, Herr Frikar?
- Mmmm.
- A Catholic?
- Of sorts.
- Then you may accompany my
daughter to Mass on Sunday.
- I should be honored.
- Herr Goschen cannot
because he's a Protestant.
I will not, because
I am an atheist.
- You're an atheist?
- Father, please.
- And what's more, a socialist.
No doubt you've seen the
pictures on my walls,
traitors the lot.
- Well, how can you be both
a socialist and a patriot?
- I can and I am.
- And when the war comes?
- What war?
- The war.
- The working class
of Europe won't fight.
Remember the bayonet is a weapon
with a worker at each end.
- And what are we
building those guns for?
- Because we have to
earn a living wage.
- So much for your socialism.
- It's all right for
you, you're not married.
[whistle blowing]
Nor do you have a
daughter to support.
- Don't blame it on me.
- Yes, don't blame it on her.
- It's time for my watch.
[train chugging]
Believe me, I do do it for you.
[sewing machine whirring]
- There's a first-aid class
tomorrow at the fire station,
bandaging and so forth,
care of flesh wounds.
Will you come with me?
- I will have to ask Papa.
- If he will let me
take you to church,
he will let me take
you to the first aid.
[dramatic music]
- Morning.
- [Man Inside] Morning.
- What seems to be the trouble?
- The main block's jammed.
- I'll need assistance.
- I've been detailed to help.
- Where's your harness.
- Harness?
- Here.
[chains clanking]
Set the brakes on safety
and make sure the
boat is secure.
- All right.
- All set.
[dramatic music]
- [Goschen] It's a bearing.
We'll have to
dismantle the wheel.
- [Jaegar] How
long will it take?
- [Goschen] An
hour, maybe longer.
Give me a spanner.
What's your name?
- Jaeger.
- You're an engineer here?
- No, a naval officer, seconded.
- I thought you
looked different.
[dramatic music]
[grunting]
You look after the
tools, Herr Jaegar,
I'll look after myself.
[boat horn sounding]
- Have some letters for me?
- [Postman] Name?
- Goschen.
- Identification?
- I come here every week,
you must know me by now.
- Yes, but your ID.
- I've left it at home.
Now do I have to
go back and get it?
- All right.
Goschen.
Sign here.
- [Fothergill] Dear
Goshen, don't worry.
We are sending our best man.
- Attention!
The water which is delivered
through your hoses,
is drawn from a three barrel
pump designed to shoot
100 cubic kilos of the stuff
over a range of 17 meters.
The nozzle must be held so,
so that you have
maximum control.
Grip it firmly,
master it, tame it.
[train whistle blowing]
- [Huberhoff] Good
morning, Von Jaeger.
- Morning, Huberhoff.
- And what was your
impression of Herr Goschen?
- I have the greatest
admiration for him.
So far he hasn't
put a foot wrong.
- I would also
like to inform you
that Frikar hasn't
been in to see me.
He appears to have
ignored your request.
- It is simply
misguided loyalty.
There is no need for
disciplinary action, yet.
- Come on, Muller, I am waiting.
What happens if a fire
breaks out in Section J?
If a fire breaks
out in Section J?
- I sound the alarm.
- You sound the alarm.
- Obtain keys of fire office
from Herr Huberhoff's office.
- Obtain keys of fire office.
- Open fire office
and prepare pump.
- [Von Der Helle] Prepare pump.
- Convey pump to J section.
- And?
- Put out fire.
- How can you put
out a fire, Muller,
when you have not got a
floor plan of the shed?
- Oh, obtain floor
plan from plan office.
- And how do you
unlock the plan office?
- With a key.
- And where do you get that key?
- From the main security office.
- Good.
- Excuse me, sir.
- Yes, Frikar?
- Isn't all this
a waste of time?
Wouldn't it be simpler
if the floor plans
for the sheds were kept
in the fire office?
- I beg your pardon, Frikar?
- I said wouldn't
it be quicker--
- We have practiced it Herr
Frikar, and it works perfectly.
- You mean you've actually
lit a fire in, say,
the paint store and allowed
it to burn for 10 minutes?
- Of course not.
- Then how do you know it works?
- It works, Herr Frikar,
because I say it works.
- Of course, if you say
so, Herr Von Der Helle.
[bomb exploding]
[bells ringing]
- [Man] Go for the
key, get the key!
- [Fireman] Come on! [yelling]
[bells ringing]
- I have been asked by the
management to congratulate you
on your initiative, Herr Frikar,
and to present you with
a signed testimonial.
- Thank you, Herr Huberhoff.
- You are to be
permanently transferred
to the works fire section
with a rise in salary.
- I'm overjoyed, Herr Huberhoff.
- You will also be glad to
know that the recommendations
you made last week
have been agreed
by the Security Committee.
From now on all the
floor plans of the sheds
will be kept in
one place, namely,
the new office above
the fire station.
In that way we will
not have a repeat
of last night's nonsense.
[dramatic music]
- What caused the fire?
- An incendiary.
Why anyone should want
to burn the place down,
I really don't know.
- [Reilly] He keeps a
journal, did you know that?
- [Fothergill] A journal?
- [Reilly] Yes, how he
feels, what's going on.
I feature rather
frequently in it.
- [Fothergill] My God.
- [Reilly] Who chose
him for the job?
- [Fothergill] He's a
Navy man, one of Kell's.
You must order
him to destroy it.
- I'm not sure that I care.
See, I haven't actually
told him who I am yet.
- [Fothergill] But you
are in contact with him?
- Yes, we share a room.
- You mean you share
a room with him,
and yet you haven't
told him who you are?
- Yes, and I think I should
keep it that way, don't you?
I mean, he might be
picked up at any time,
and if the journal
is anything to go by,
he's likely to fall to pieces.
He's at the end of his tether.
- Look, I don't
quite understand.
You're here to protect
him, to get him out.
- I thought it was the
gun which was important.
- Well, can't you do both?
- No.
- Is he under pressure, or
is he just imagining it?
- Oh, no, they're
onto him all right.
- Then you must warn him!
- I can't without
jeopardizing my own position.
Fact is, Fothergill, you're
gonna have to make up your mind
which it's going to be,
Tanner or Goschen or whatever
he calls himself, or the gun.
- [Fothergill] I shall
have to consult Cummings.
- Might be quicker
to consult Zaharov.
He's in Berlin.
- Zaharov, what's he
got to do with this?
- He wants the gun for Vickers.
- Look, let's get this straight.
Are you working for
Zaharov or for us?
- Vickers is an English firm,
aren't you both
on the same side?
- The greater good of our
country is not to be confused
with the sordid
commercial interests of
a firm like Vickers.
- If Zaharov says he
wants the gun for Vickers,
who's to gainsay him?
Certainly not Cummings.
- Not for the first time,
Sydney, you've got it wrong.
If it comes to the life
of one of our agents,
or the demands of a
man like Basil Zaharov,
Cummings won't hesitate
and neither will I.
Our tradition demands
that we do not
let our men down in the field.
- But you do it all
the time, old boy.
- My advice to Cummings will be
that Goschen should be warned,
and if you can't do it, we will.
[horses' hooves clip-clopping]
[dramatic music]
- [Postman] Yes?
- My mail.
- What name?
- Goschen.
- [Postman] Just a minute.
Goschen, one letter.
- You always pick
up Goschen's mail?
- When he's on duty.
- What's in the envelope?
- Money, I hope.
- Give it to me.
- You ask Goschen for it.
- You could lose your
job, you know that Frikar.
- You fire me, I'll have
the whole factory out.
We're all socialists
around here.
[ducks quacking]
- [Boy] Daddy!
[gentle music]
- Lock the door.
- [Glass's Daughter]
Will you both be home
for lunch tomorrow?
- No, I'll take a sandwich.
- Something wrong
with her cooking?
- I don't feel hungry
tonight is all.
- You got something
going down at the works?
- Yes, as a matter
of fact, I have.
Bit of overtime.
- [Reilly] Saving up
for your old age, huh?
[train whistle blowing]
- [Glass's Daughter]
Will you be out late?
- It'll be two before the
job's done, yes, I suppose so.
- Hey, wait for me!
I ask you, what
kind of world is it,
when grown men won't
walk each other to work?
Hey, Goschen!
Goschen, Goschen!
[door slams]
[dramatic music]
- You became suspicious only
when you noticed the substance
on the face of the drawings?
- Yes, sir.
- It must have been
picked up when we laid it
on the desk here.
- How long could
he have had access?
- We only laid the
powder last night?
It could have been
going on for weeks.
- The locks haven't been forced.
But they've been manipulated.
- Well, what do you
make of it, Von Jaeger?
I think you should
arrest Goschen.
- I would prefer to
give him more rope.
- These drawings
are most secret.
There will be an outcry
if it was ever discovered
they'd fallen into enemy hands.
- Those drawings are
useless without the others.
- Nevertheless, I insist
you search his room!
- I'll have Frikar
report to his lodgings.
[gentle music]
- [Reilly] I live here.
- Is this yours?
- You think I can
afford a camera?
- We found it in your room.
- [Reilly] Where?
- Under your bed.
What time did Goschen
turn in last night?
Can you remember?
- Don't ask me, I
was at the yard.
- Eleven, twelve?
One?
When you're father's at the
yard, where do you sleep?
- In here.
- [Von Jaegar] So you'd
be in a position to hear
if anyone came into the house?
Unless, of course, you
were somewhere else.
- I was in here.
- [Von Jaegar] Alone?
- Of course.
- And no one came into
or left the house?
Read that.
- I can't.
- [Von Jaegar] Then allow me.
Frikar has come home promoted.
Since the fire, he
has been unbearable,
boasting that he had
saved the factory.
His attitude to
me is patronizing.
Now he not only
works shorter hours,
but he is carrying on
with Glass's daughter.
He crawls into bed at four
o'clock in the morning,
and I am obliged to
listen detail by detail,
as to what he has
just done to her,
which is followed
by a vocal rehearsal
as to what he will do
the next time round.
- You bloody welsher!
[woman crying]
[Glass yelling]
- That was unfair.
- Did you crawl into bed at
four o'clock this morning?
- Yes.
- [Von Jaegar]
Was Goschen there?
- No.
- You have seen
this book before?
- Yes, he used to write in it.
- I want you to
come back with me.
You two will go to
the police station,
where you will be required
to make statements.
- You betrayed Goschen,
you betrayed me,
and you betrayed her.
- I love her.
We will get married.
- And I'll stand by him,
even if it is a mortal sin.
- You see?
- Now when I bring him in,
I don't want you to
give the game away.
I want you to be
filling the sand buckets
or something like that.
I don't want you to say
anything until I've told you to.
Do you understand me?
I'm going to ask
Goschen a few questions,
and I want you to be here
when he answers them.
- Yes, sir.
- I appreciate your reluctance
to get involved in this,
Frikar, but I am relying
on you to play your part.
Do you understand me?
- Yes, sir.
Is this where you do the spying?
- These drawers
contain the plans
of the gun we're
building out there.
There are many
people who would like
to get their hands on it.
Now remember what I told you,
just listen to
what he has to say,
and don't speak
till you're told.
- Yes, sir.
[dramatic music]
[suspenseful music]
- Have you got the plate?
- Yes.
- What are you
doing here, Frikar?
- I've been told to wait,
by the yonker out there.
- Herr Von Jaegar
to you, Frikar!
[dramatic music]
- Another bolt.
- [Von Jaegar] You
want to grease?
- Yes.
[boat whistle blowing]
- Games up, Goschen.
- Spanner.
- I was arrested in
South Hampton in August,
I know how you feel.
I was pulled from
the water naked.
They made me run all
the way to the lockup.
So much for the
English sense of humor.
You will find that you
are treated better here.
After all, you were an
officer, engaged in a dangerous
and legitimate
branch of warfare,
for which you will
get little thanks.
Believe me, once you've
crossed the channel,
they forget you.
- No one's been in touch
with me for months.
I wrote time and time again.
- [Von Jaegar] It's over now.
- I tried, but without
help, I'm helpless.
- You did your duty,
there was nothing for
you to be ashamed of.
- I'm so glad it's over.
I've been watched
for some time, right?
- Yes.
[crowd yelling and whistling]
What we wanted
was the other man.
- What other man?
- The one that was sent
in to replace Maitland?
- [Goschen] No one was sent.
I told you, there's
been silence, nothing,
not even instructions.
- What about the letters?
- What letters?
- [Von Jaegar] The ones
that Frikar fetched for you?
- Frikar?
- You used him to fetch
letters from the post office.
- No, believe me, I don't
know what he's up to.
He's lying.
- Look, Goschen, there
is no time for games.
This is a serious situation.
[crowd yelling]
I was at the post office.
I saw him pick them up.
But that is not my main concern.
What I want is the other man.
We're not fools, you know?
We knew that moment that
Maitland was killed,
the British would send in
someone else with a new plan.
[men yelling]
I think it's time
we were going down.
Come on, Goschen.
We're going down.
- No, I'm not going.
- We have to.
Don't worry, you
have my protection.
- I want to make a statement.
I've been most unfairly treated.
And my trust has been abused.
And I've been misled.
- [Crowd] Spy! Spy! Spy! Spy!
And I had to be someone, really
- Goschen, you are my prisoner!
I am ordering you to return
with me to the ground.
- My name's John Tanner.
I'm a lieutenant
in the Royal Navy.
[men chanting]
[dramatic music]
- [Crowd] Spy! Spy! Spy!
- [Crowd] Spy! Spy! Spy!
- Lieutenant, I command you!
[crowd cheering]
- Well, there's
nothing much left,
his old shirt and his boots.
The police have
taken everything.
- Well, where he's gone,
he won't be needing it.
Now, we must sort out your
betrothal to my daughter.
[train whistle blowing]
- How much of this
do we publish?
- [Von Jaegar] None of it.
The inquest will record
accidental death.
- What do we do with the body?
- [Von Jaegar]
Inform the British.
- They won't claim it!
- It is their duty!
He was one of their men.
A naval officer with
a family, no doubt.
It shall be handed over
with a guard of honor.
We are not gangsters.
- Well, I'll inform
the British consul
that the unidentified body of
a naval officer was recovered
under a crane at the
Blohm and Voss shipyard,
request a time and
place for the return.
This is a nasty business.
- [Goschen] December the eighth,
bitterly cold, heavy snow.
Leave at five to
walk to the yard.
I do not know how long I can
survive this kind of life.
January the 10th, ice
on river a meter thick,
contrived to get to the
post office, still no news.
February the 12th, new
tenant, his name is Frikar,
have taken an instant
dislike to him.
February the 15th, room
searched, suspect the new man.
March 16th, fire at
works, Frikar the hero,
now he will be quite unbearable.
March 18th, I no longer
go to the post office.
What is the point?
There is never any mail,
and even if there were,
they would be waiting for me.
[dramatic music]
[phone ringing]
- Von Der Helle!
Yes.
- There's been another break in.
This time they got everything,
every drawing, every
plan, everything!
- I'm coming down.
- Yes, Herr Von Jaegar?
- [Von Jaegar] Arrest Frikar!
- Frikar?
- [Von Jaegar] Yes.
[train whistle blowing]
- You killed the watchman?
- There was no stopping him.
He came at me with such fury,
perhaps because he
knew me so well,
the man that was to
marry his daughter
he'd caught stealing plans.
- They will call him a patriot
that died for his country.
- On the contrary, Basil,
he was a socialist,
who believed a
bayonet was a weapon
with a worker at each end.
- The socialists
have got it wrong.
There will be a fortune
to be made with bayonets
in the next decade.
You know these plans are
very important, Sydney,
you are to be congratulated.
- Well, I couldn't have
done it without Goschen,
though he never knew what
the hell was going on.
- Alas, poor Goschen.
- What will happen to his body?
- If my experiences
are anything to go by,
he, too, will be returned
in one of their
exquisitely made coffins.
There will be some tawdry
backstreet ceremony
in a dreary general port.
Somewhere neutral like Austin.
And the German escort
will have superior smiles
on their faces, they always do.
Although, this time, the
laugh will be on them.
I trust you will attend.
Unfortunately, I have
other business elsewhere.
Besides, my association
with the service,
I would prefer to be
kept confidential.
- You know, Basil, one
day we may find ourselves
on opposite sides, and I will
take the greatest pleasure
in denting your self-esteem.
- I look forward
to that, dear boy.
[train whistling]
- [Narrator] With the
return of Goschen's body,
a new realism entered the
British intelligence service.
Not only because of their
growing rivalry with Germany,
but because they
now began to learn
from Reilly's ruthless approach.
The death of Goschen marked
the beginning of a new age
of professionalism in
European espionage.
[train chugging]
[boat whistle blowing]
[train whistle blowing]
- He never got my
message, I suppose?
- No.
[birds cawing]
[gentle music]
[crowd yelling]
[water splashing]
- This way!
[men yelling]
- No, no!
[gunfire]
- Well, here's a how do you do?
You don't have to
read between the lines
to see the man's desperate.
What will happen
if we pull him out?
- We'll have to start
from the beginning again.
- But he isn't capable
of doing it that's all.
- Sir, there is another
dimension to the problem.
Zaharoff, off he's
written to the Admiralty
saying it's absolutely
imperative we get the plans
of the gun, or he can't
guarantee the capacity
of our ships to deal with it.
He says if we don't
get the plans now,
our ships could be at the bottom
of the ocean in ten years time.
- Well, this man can't do it.
His nerve's gone.
- Then we'll have to send
someone in to support him.
- Who?
- Reilly?
According to Margaret
he's due back soon.
- Very well.
Try and get ahold of
him before she does.
- How much do I tell him?
That there are certain
plans at a German shipyard,
which we must acquire.
That they are located in
various parts of the yard
which makes it impracticable
to obtain them all
in one night.
That one of our men has
already been killed,
that the other is panic-stricken
and under suspicion,
and that quite frankly the
task is well nigh impossible.
And that ought to do the trick.
[train whistling]
- It seems that all roads
lead to Hamburg these days.
- Hello, Basil.
- Is that all you have to say?
I delayed my
journey for one week
so that our paths would cross.
- I didn't think it
was a coincidence.
- I was informed by Fothergill
that you would be on this train.
I believe you were
at Port Arthur
when the Japanese attacked.
- [Reilly] Yes.
- The torpedoes
were not successful.
- Torpedoes?
- I have a new patent by
a man called Harrington.
Next time they will not fail.
- They were your torpedoes?
- They were my warships.
I sold the Japanese their navy,
an exceptionally good one
apart from the torpedoes.
Fothergill tells
me you are going
into the Blohm & Voss shipyards.
- Yes, and to pull out a
young and inexperienced agent.
It's a relatively simple task.
- The gun is more important.
- Yes, Fothergill
mentioned your interest.
- I need the drawings.
- [Reilly] Why don't you
send in your own man?
- You think I haven't tried?
They come back in beautifully
made coffins, turned brass,
copper screws and the
sort of lead you only find
on cathedral roofs. [laughs]
Well?
- Very well, Basil, I shall
get you your drawings.
- Thank you, my dear fellow.
And you'll earn the thanks
of a grateful nation.
- But clear it with
Fothergill first.
- Oh, I have done so already.
I shall be in Berlin
for six weeks.
You can reach me
at the Kempinski,
should you have any problems.
[gentle music]
- [Narrator] In
1905 the spy fever,
which raged across Germany,
had almost destroyed
the rudimentary British
espionage network.
Many of its agents
were naval officers
straight out of
college and ill suited
to the psychology of
intelligence work.
Reilly, returning
from the Orient,
was one of the few professionals
available to the British,
and it was a measure of
Cummings' desperation
that he was ordered
straight into Germany
before he had even set
foot on English soil.
And his only help
was a Navy lieutenant
who was rapidly
losing his nerve.
[dogs barking]
[dog yelping]
- [Glass] Yes?
- [Reilly] You're
advertising a room?
- That's right.
You work at the yard?
- [Reilly] I hope to.
- What's your name?
- [Reilly] Frikar.
- This way.
This is Herr Goschen,
you'll share with him.
Herr Goschen this
is Herr Frikar.
[gentle music]
Herr Frikar is looking
for a job at the works.
Perhaps you'd take
him down tomorrow.
- What's your trade?
- I'm a welder, but my
specialty is works fireman.
[horn honking]
- Good morning, Herr Von Jaegar,
welcome to Blohm and Voss.
This is the subject.
There's no proof, merely that
he has all the characteristics
you described in your letter.
- [Von Jaegar] Has he
any friends in the yard?
- [Huberhoff] No.
- He lives alone?
- No, he shares a room
with one of his workmates.
Fetch Frikar.
- At once Herr Huberhoff.
The fireman, is he around?
- [Man] He's in there.
- [Von Der Helle] Frikar?
- What are these,
spittoons, ash trays?
Even the guard dogs pee in them!
- Herr Huberhoff
wants to see you.
- Is it an emergency, I ask you?
Herr Huberhoff?
- Herr Von Jaegar is
an expert on espionage.
He's here to discover
spies and saboteurs.
- If this yard burns down, it
will be through carelessness.
Don't blame it on saboteurs.
- Are you from Holstein?
- Answer Herr Von Jaegar.
- Yes, sir.
- And a patriot?
- Yes, sir.
- You share a room with a
mechanic called Goschen.
We believe that he is a spy.
What do you say to that?
- I find it unlikely.
- Unlikely?
- He's a good man, works hard,
he's punctual, polite,
and a Protestant.
- [Von Jaegar] Go on.
- He does not swear,
he polishes his boots.
Such a man could not be a spy.
- [Von Jaegar] Is
there anything else
you can tell me about him?
- Once a week he
writes a letter.
- To whom?
- I don't see what
business it is of yours.
- Answer the officer!
Don't they teach you
manners in Holstein?
- We're also taught to
mind our own business!
- Goschen is an English spy.
- And the pope, no doubt, a Jew.
- I want you to
report here everyday.
You will tell me what
Herr Goschen is up to,
and you will not tell him
of our interest in him.
Keep your mouth shut.
- That all, sir?
- You may go.
Such insolence!
I would sack him if it were
not essential he be here.
- He could be useful.
- Maybe, let us
concentrate on Goschen.
It is imperative that he
be transferred immediately.
- That would give the game away.
- But he's a threat to the
security of the project.
- I want him put under pressure.
Send him up the gantries.
- He's on the gantries.
- Then work him nights, as well.
[men laughing]
[dramatic music]
- [Goschen] Yesterday
the room was searched.
I suspect Frikar.
I hate that man.
All he can talk about are fires.
Even in sleep he shouts
out his hose drill.
[men laughing]
- You a religious
man, Herr Frikar?
- Mmmm.
- A Catholic?
- Of sorts.
- Then you may accompany my
daughter to Mass on Sunday.
- I should be honored.
- Herr Goschen cannot
because he's a Protestant.
I will not, because
I am an atheist.
- You're an atheist?
- Father, please.
- And what's more, a socialist.
No doubt you've seen the
pictures on my walls,
traitors the lot.
- Well, how can you be both
a socialist and a patriot?
- I can and I am.
- And when the war comes?
- What war?
- The war.
- The working class
of Europe won't fight.
Remember the bayonet is a weapon
with a worker at each end.
- And what are we
building those guns for?
- Because we have to
earn a living wage.
- So much for your socialism.
- It's all right for
you, you're not married.
[whistle blowing]
Nor do you have a
daughter to support.
- Don't blame it on me.
- Yes, don't blame it on her.
- It's time for my watch.
[train chugging]
Believe me, I do do it for you.
[sewing machine whirring]
- There's a first-aid class
tomorrow at the fire station,
bandaging and so forth,
care of flesh wounds.
Will you come with me?
- I will have to ask Papa.
- If he will let me
take you to church,
he will let me take
you to the first aid.
[dramatic music]
- Morning.
- [Man Inside] Morning.
- What seems to be the trouble?
- The main block's jammed.
- I'll need assistance.
- I've been detailed to help.
- Where's your harness.
- Harness?
- Here.
[chains clanking]
Set the brakes on safety
and make sure the
boat is secure.
- All right.
- All set.
[dramatic music]
- [Goschen] It's a bearing.
We'll have to
dismantle the wheel.
- [Jaegar] How
long will it take?
- [Goschen] An
hour, maybe longer.
Give me a spanner.
What's your name?
- Jaeger.
- You're an engineer here?
- No, a naval officer, seconded.
- I thought you
looked different.
[dramatic music]
[grunting]
You look after the
tools, Herr Jaegar,
I'll look after myself.
[boat horn sounding]
- Have some letters for me?
- [Postman] Name?
- Goschen.
- Identification?
- I come here every week,
you must know me by now.
- Yes, but your ID.
- I've left it at home.
Now do I have to
go back and get it?
- All right.
Goschen.
Sign here.
- [Fothergill] Dear
Goshen, don't worry.
We are sending our best man.
- Attention!
The water which is delivered
through your hoses,
is drawn from a three barrel
pump designed to shoot
100 cubic kilos of the stuff
over a range of 17 meters.
The nozzle must be held so,
so that you have
maximum control.
Grip it firmly,
master it, tame it.
[train whistle blowing]
- [Huberhoff] Good
morning, Von Jaeger.
- Morning, Huberhoff.
- And what was your
impression of Herr Goschen?
- I have the greatest
admiration for him.
So far he hasn't
put a foot wrong.
- I would also
like to inform you
that Frikar hasn't
been in to see me.
He appears to have
ignored your request.
- It is simply
misguided loyalty.
There is no need for
disciplinary action, yet.
- Come on, Muller, I am waiting.
What happens if a fire
breaks out in Section J?
If a fire breaks
out in Section J?
- I sound the alarm.
- You sound the alarm.
- Obtain keys of fire office
from Herr Huberhoff's office.
- Obtain keys of fire office.
- Open fire office
and prepare pump.
- [Von Der Helle] Prepare pump.
- Convey pump to J section.
- And?
- Put out fire.
- How can you put
out a fire, Muller,
when you have not got a
floor plan of the shed?
- Oh, obtain floor
plan from plan office.
- And how do you
unlock the plan office?
- With a key.
- And where do you get that key?
- From the main security office.
- Good.
- Excuse me, sir.
- Yes, Frikar?
- Isn't all this
a waste of time?
Wouldn't it be simpler
if the floor plans
for the sheds were kept
in the fire office?
- I beg your pardon, Frikar?
- I said wouldn't
it be quicker--
- We have practiced it Herr
Frikar, and it works perfectly.
- You mean you've actually
lit a fire in, say,
the paint store and allowed
it to burn for 10 minutes?
- Of course not.
- Then how do you know it works?
- It works, Herr Frikar,
because I say it works.
- Of course, if you say
so, Herr Von Der Helle.
[bomb exploding]
[bells ringing]
- [Man] Go for the
key, get the key!
- [Fireman] Come on! [yelling]
[bells ringing]
- I have been asked by the
management to congratulate you
on your initiative, Herr Frikar,
and to present you with
a signed testimonial.
- Thank you, Herr Huberhoff.
- You are to be
permanently transferred
to the works fire section
with a rise in salary.
- I'm overjoyed, Herr Huberhoff.
- You will also be glad to
know that the recommendations
you made last week
have been agreed
by the Security Committee.
From now on all the
floor plans of the sheds
will be kept in
one place, namely,
the new office above
the fire station.
In that way we will
not have a repeat
of last night's nonsense.
[dramatic music]
- What caused the fire?
- An incendiary.
Why anyone should want
to burn the place down,
I really don't know.
- [Reilly] He keeps a
journal, did you know that?
- [Fothergill] A journal?
- [Reilly] Yes, how he
feels, what's going on.
I feature rather
frequently in it.
- [Fothergill] My God.
- [Reilly] Who chose
him for the job?
- [Fothergill] He's a
Navy man, one of Kell's.
You must order
him to destroy it.
- I'm not sure that I care.
See, I haven't actually
told him who I am yet.
- [Fothergill] But you
are in contact with him?
- Yes, we share a room.
- You mean you share
a room with him,
and yet you haven't
told him who you are?
- Yes, and I think I should
keep it that way, don't you?
I mean, he might be
picked up at any time,
and if the journal
is anything to go by,
he's likely to fall to pieces.
He's at the end of his tether.
- Look, I don't
quite understand.
You're here to protect
him, to get him out.
- I thought it was the
gun which was important.
- Well, can't you do both?
- No.
- Is he under pressure, or
is he just imagining it?
- Oh, no, they're
onto him all right.
- Then you must warn him!
- I can't without
jeopardizing my own position.
Fact is, Fothergill, you're
gonna have to make up your mind
which it's going to be,
Tanner or Goschen or whatever
he calls himself, or the gun.
- [Fothergill] I shall
have to consult Cummings.
- Might be quicker
to consult Zaharov.
He's in Berlin.
- Zaharov, what's he
got to do with this?
- He wants the gun for Vickers.
- Look, let's get this straight.
Are you working for
Zaharov or for us?
- Vickers is an English firm,
aren't you both
on the same side?
- The greater good of our
country is not to be confused
with the sordid
commercial interests of
a firm like Vickers.
- If Zaharov says he
wants the gun for Vickers,
who's to gainsay him?
Certainly not Cummings.
- Not for the first time,
Sydney, you've got it wrong.
If it comes to the life
of one of our agents,
or the demands of a
man like Basil Zaharov,
Cummings won't hesitate
and neither will I.
Our tradition demands
that we do not
let our men down in the field.
- But you do it all
the time, old boy.
- My advice to Cummings will be
that Goschen should be warned,
and if you can't do it, we will.
[horses' hooves clip-clopping]
[dramatic music]
- [Postman] Yes?
- My mail.
- What name?
- Goschen.
- [Postman] Just a minute.
Goschen, one letter.
- You always pick
up Goschen's mail?
- When he's on duty.
- What's in the envelope?
- Money, I hope.
- Give it to me.
- You ask Goschen for it.
- You could lose your
job, you know that Frikar.
- You fire me, I'll have
the whole factory out.
We're all socialists
around here.
[ducks quacking]
- [Boy] Daddy!
[gentle music]
- Lock the door.
- [Glass's Daughter]
Will you both be home
for lunch tomorrow?
- No, I'll take a sandwich.
- Something wrong
with her cooking?
- I don't feel hungry
tonight is all.
- You got something
going down at the works?
- Yes, as a matter
of fact, I have.
Bit of overtime.
- [Reilly] Saving up
for your old age, huh?
[train whistle blowing]
- [Glass's Daughter]
Will you be out late?
- It'll be two before the
job's done, yes, I suppose so.
- Hey, wait for me!
I ask you, what
kind of world is it,
when grown men won't
walk each other to work?
Hey, Goschen!
Goschen, Goschen!
[door slams]
[dramatic music]
- You became suspicious only
when you noticed the substance
on the face of the drawings?
- Yes, sir.
- It must have been
picked up when we laid it
on the desk here.
- How long could
he have had access?
- We only laid the
powder last night?
It could have been
going on for weeks.
- The locks haven't been forced.
But they've been manipulated.
- Well, what do you
make of it, Von Jaeger?
I think you should
arrest Goschen.
- I would prefer to
give him more rope.
- These drawings
are most secret.
There will be an outcry
if it was ever discovered
they'd fallen into enemy hands.
- Those drawings are
useless without the others.
- Nevertheless, I insist
you search his room!
- I'll have Frikar
report to his lodgings.
[gentle music]
- [Reilly] I live here.
- Is this yours?
- You think I can
afford a camera?
- We found it in your room.
- [Reilly] Where?
- Under your bed.
What time did Goschen
turn in last night?
Can you remember?
- Don't ask me, I
was at the yard.
- Eleven, twelve?
One?
When you're father's at the
yard, where do you sleep?
- In here.
- [Von Jaegar] So you'd
be in a position to hear
if anyone came into the house?
Unless, of course, you
were somewhere else.
- I was in here.
- [Von Jaegar] Alone?
- Of course.
- And no one came into
or left the house?
Read that.
- I can't.
- [Von Jaegar] Then allow me.
Frikar has come home promoted.
Since the fire, he
has been unbearable,
boasting that he had
saved the factory.
His attitude to
me is patronizing.
Now he not only
works shorter hours,
but he is carrying on
with Glass's daughter.
He crawls into bed at four
o'clock in the morning,
and I am obliged to
listen detail by detail,
as to what he has
just done to her,
which is followed
by a vocal rehearsal
as to what he will do
the next time round.
- You bloody welsher!
[woman crying]
[Glass yelling]
- That was unfair.
- Did you crawl into bed at
four o'clock this morning?
- Yes.
- [Von Jaegar]
Was Goschen there?
- No.
- You have seen
this book before?
- Yes, he used to write in it.
- I want you to
come back with me.
You two will go to
the police station,
where you will be required
to make statements.
- You betrayed Goschen,
you betrayed me,
and you betrayed her.
- I love her.
We will get married.
- And I'll stand by him,
even if it is a mortal sin.
- You see?
- Now when I bring him in,
I don't want you to
give the game away.
I want you to be
filling the sand buckets
or something like that.
I don't want you to say
anything until I've told you to.
Do you understand me?
I'm going to ask
Goschen a few questions,
and I want you to be here
when he answers them.
- Yes, sir.
- I appreciate your reluctance
to get involved in this,
Frikar, but I am relying
on you to play your part.
Do you understand me?
- Yes, sir.
Is this where you do the spying?
- These drawers
contain the plans
of the gun we're
building out there.
There are many
people who would like
to get their hands on it.
Now remember what I told you,
just listen to
what he has to say,
and don't speak
till you're told.
- Yes, sir.
[dramatic music]
[suspenseful music]
- Have you got the plate?
- Yes.
- What are you
doing here, Frikar?
- I've been told to wait,
by the yonker out there.
- Herr Von Jaegar
to you, Frikar!
[dramatic music]
- Another bolt.
- [Von Jaegar] You
want to grease?
- Yes.
[boat whistle blowing]
- Games up, Goschen.
- Spanner.
- I was arrested in
South Hampton in August,
I know how you feel.
I was pulled from
the water naked.
They made me run all
the way to the lockup.
So much for the
English sense of humor.
You will find that you
are treated better here.
After all, you were an
officer, engaged in a dangerous
and legitimate
branch of warfare,
for which you will
get little thanks.
Believe me, once you've
crossed the channel,
they forget you.
- No one's been in touch
with me for months.
I wrote time and time again.
- [Von Jaegar] It's over now.
- I tried, but without
help, I'm helpless.
- You did your duty,
there was nothing for
you to be ashamed of.
- I'm so glad it's over.
I've been watched
for some time, right?
- Yes.
[crowd yelling and whistling]
What we wanted
was the other man.
- What other man?
- The one that was sent
in to replace Maitland?
- [Goschen] No one was sent.
I told you, there's
been silence, nothing,
not even instructions.
- What about the letters?
- What letters?
- [Von Jaegar] The ones
that Frikar fetched for you?
- Frikar?
- You used him to fetch
letters from the post office.
- No, believe me, I don't
know what he's up to.
He's lying.
- Look, Goschen, there
is no time for games.
This is a serious situation.
[crowd yelling]
I was at the post office.
I saw him pick them up.
But that is not my main concern.
What I want is the other man.
We're not fools, you know?
We knew that moment that
Maitland was killed,
the British would send in
someone else with a new plan.
[men yelling]
I think it's time
we were going down.
Come on, Goschen.
We're going down.
- No, I'm not going.
- We have to.
Don't worry, you
have my protection.
- I want to make a statement.
I've been most unfairly treated.
And my trust has been abused.
And I've been misled.
- [Crowd] Spy! Spy! Spy! Spy!
And I had to be someone, really
- Goschen, you are my prisoner!
I am ordering you to return
with me to the ground.
- My name's John Tanner.
I'm a lieutenant
in the Royal Navy.
[men chanting]
[dramatic music]
- [Crowd] Spy! Spy! Spy!
- [Crowd] Spy! Spy! Spy!
- Lieutenant, I command you!
[crowd cheering]
- Well, there's
nothing much left,
his old shirt and his boots.
The police have
taken everything.
- Well, where he's gone,
he won't be needing it.
Now, we must sort out your
betrothal to my daughter.
[train whistle blowing]
- How much of this
do we publish?
- [Von Jaegar] None of it.
The inquest will record
accidental death.
- What do we do with the body?
- [Von Jaegar]
Inform the British.
- They won't claim it!
- It is their duty!
He was one of their men.
A naval officer with
a family, no doubt.
It shall be handed over
with a guard of honor.
We are not gangsters.
- Well, I'll inform
the British consul
that the unidentified body of
a naval officer was recovered
under a crane at the
Blohm and Voss shipyard,
request a time and
place for the return.
This is a nasty business.
- [Goschen] December the eighth,
bitterly cold, heavy snow.
Leave at five to
walk to the yard.
I do not know how long I can
survive this kind of life.
January the 10th, ice
on river a meter thick,
contrived to get to the
post office, still no news.
February the 12th, new
tenant, his name is Frikar,
have taken an instant
dislike to him.
February the 15th, room
searched, suspect the new man.
March 16th, fire at
works, Frikar the hero,
now he will be quite unbearable.
March 18th, I no longer
go to the post office.
What is the point?
There is never any mail,
and even if there were,
they would be waiting for me.
[dramatic music]
[phone ringing]
- Von Der Helle!
Yes.
- There's been another break in.
This time they got everything,
every drawing, every
plan, everything!
- I'm coming down.
- Yes, Herr Von Jaegar?
- [Von Jaegar] Arrest Frikar!
- Frikar?
- [Von Jaegar] Yes.
[train whistle blowing]
- You killed the watchman?
- There was no stopping him.
He came at me with such fury,
perhaps because he
knew me so well,
the man that was to
marry his daughter
he'd caught stealing plans.
- They will call him a patriot
that died for his country.
- On the contrary, Basil,
he was a socialist,
who believed a
bayonet was a weapon
with a worker at each end.
- The socialists
have got it wrong.
There will be a fortune
to be made with bayonets
in the next decade.
You know these plans are
very important, Sydney,
you are to be congratulated.
- Well, I couldn't have
done it without Goschen,
though he never knew what
the hell was going on.
- Alas, poor Goschen.
- What will happen to his body?
- If my experiences
are anything to go by,
he, too, will be returned
in one of their
exquisitely made coffins.
There will be some tawdry
backstreet ceremony
in a dreary general port.
Somewhere neutral like Austin.
And the German escort
will have superior smiles
on their faces, they always do.
Although, this time, the
laugh will be on them.
I trust you will attend.
Unfortunately, I have
other business elsewhere.
Besides, my association
with the service,
I would prefer to be
kept confidential.
- You know, Basil, one
day we may find ourselves
on opposite sides, and I will
take the greatest pleasure
in denting your self-esteem.
- I look forward
to that, dear boy.
[train whistling]
- [Narrator] With the
return of Goschen's body,
a new realism entered the
British intelligence service.
Not only because of their
growing rivalry with Germany,
but because they
now began to learn
from Reilly's ruthless approach.
The death of Goschen marked
the beginning of a new age
of professionalism in
European espionage.
[train chugging]
[boat whistle blowing]
[train whistle blowing]
- He never got my
message, I suppose?
- No.
[birds cawing]
[gentle music]