The Invaders (1967–1968): Season 1, Episode 8 - Quantity: Unknown - full transcript

A private plane crashes, but the investigators can't find a record of the flight, nor can they find a body - even though it was a crash no one could have walked away from. What they do find is a cylinder made of some strange metal they can't identify. They have it sent to Sperrick Laboratories. It arrives, but not without incident. Someone tried to hijack the mail truck, and two security guards were killed. David Vincent arrives at Sperrick to investigate. He is certain that the aliens were behind the attempted hijacking and that what they wanted was that strange cylinder. He is also certain that they will try again. Vincent finds allies in a security guard and a woman scientist. But as always, he never knows which of his friends are real and which are enemies in disguise.

(engine sputtering)

Can't figure it... no record
of the flight or the plane

not a trace of a body anywhere.

Nobody could walk away

from a crash like
that, that's for sure.

What do you think of this?

What is it?

I don't know... it's like
nothing I've ever seen before.

Found it in the cockpit.

It's practically weightless.

Better get it to Sperrick.
That's a lab in Eastgate.



They'll know what it is.

Right.

Hey! How come the roadblock?

Hey, come on, you
guys, what's the gag?

You two new on the job or what?

Now-now listen...

Look, I'm the regular
man on this route, honest.

Just ask any...

(tires squealing)

(gunshots)

(gunshot)

Leo... you hit?

(gasping): Hijackers...
Two of them.

Where'd they go?



I-I got... one of them.

He started to glow.

He burned... up.

Burned up?

I swear... I-I swear.

All right, get the ambulance.

I swear. All right. All right.

I swear.

He burned up.

He burned up.

I swear...

NARRATOR: Starring Roy
Thinnes as architect David Vincent.

The invaders...

alien beings from
a dying planet.

Their destination... the earth.

Their purpose... to
make it their world.

David Vincent has seen them.

For him, it began one lost night

on a lonely country road

looking for a shortcut
that he never found.

It began with a
closed, deserted diner

and a man too long without sleep

to continue his journey.

(eerie whirring)

It began with the landing of
a craft from another galaxy.

(whirring intensifies)

Now David Vincent knows
that the invaders are here,

that they've taken human form.

Somehow, he must
convince a disbelieving world

that the nightmare
has already begun.

The guest stars
in tonight's story:

James Whitmore...
William Tallman...

Milton Selzer...

and special guest
star, Susan Strasberg.

A small private plane crashes,

leaving no trace of its victims.

A mail truck is attacked,
two security guards killed,

a killer disappears
in a burst of flame--

News items too incredible
to be taken seriously

except by one man.

David Vincent's only
possible conclusion:

The killers had been aliens,
and for reasons of their own,

might even be attending
their victim's funeral.

MAN: "Unto almighty God,

"we commend the soul
of our brother departed

"and we commit his
body to the ground.

"Earth to earth, ashes to ashes,

"dust to dust...

"in sure and certain
hope of the resurrection,

"unto eternal life through
our Lord Jesus Christ,

"at whose coming in glorious
majesty to judge the world,

"the earth and the sea
shall give up their dead

"and the corruptible
bodies of those

"who sleep in him

"shall be changed and made
like unto his own glorious body

"according to the mighty
working whereby he is able

"to subdue all things

"unto himself.

May God rest his soul."

Isn't that the fellow

that was at the hospital
the day Leo died?

Yeah.

Wonder who he is.

I don't know.

Maybe he's a
friend of the family.

No. I asked them.

They don't even know his name.

The name's Vincent,
David Vincent.

I'd like to see Mr. Richards.

Do you have an appointment?

Uh, I'm afraid not.

Sorry. Mr. Richards don't see
anybody without an appointment.

Well, tell him I have
information about that attack

on the mail truck.

Shall we continue this

in Miss Oberly's
office, Mr. Vincent?

Miss Oberly, will you
excuse us, please?

Of course.

Sit down.

No, thank you.

All right.

Now, just what is your
interest in this, Mr. Vincent?

Does it matter, if I can help?

Yes, it does, Mr. Vincent.

The men who were killed
weren't just numbers to me.

I know their families.

I've visited their homes.

I was at Leo Rinaldi's
daughter's wedding

and I was at his funeral...

and I want his killers.

It does matter, Mr. Vincent.

It matters a lot.

Now, who are you, and
exactly what do you know?

Well, I don't know;
I only suspect.

The people at the
newspaper office told me

that there was a
cylinder on that truck...

A strange, weightless cylinder.

There were also a number
of items of great value.

But not of value to the
people who hijacked that truck.

Now, I can't prove it,
but for reasons of my own

I believe they were after
only one thing on that truck...

The cylinder.

Now, may I please see it?

Please.

Miss Oberly, will you show

Mr. Vincent that cylinder?

It's all right.

I'll tell you, if Leo Rinaldi
hadn't meant so much to me,

I think I would
throw you out of here

on your ear.

Have you found
anything out about this...

Where it's from,
what it's made of?

Well, I've tried to get to
it a couple of times, but...

uh, we've been very busy

working on some
government contracts here.

Mr. Richards, two men
have already been killed

because of this cylinder.

Now, I can't begin to guess
what it is or why it's so important.

The people responsible
for those two killings

won't stop at just two.

If necessary, they'll
blow up this entire plant

to get this cylinder.

Believe me, I know
them; they'll do it.

But why would anyone
want something like this?

Let's ask them.

I'm suggesting we set a trap.

Let them try to take the
cylinder again and catch them.

How long would it take you
to make a duplicate of this?

A couple of hours.

Okay. Go ahead with it.

Now, if the police
go along with this,

we'll ship the phony
cylinder to our Cleveland plant

and give out a
release to the papers.

(car horn honks)

Lieutenant Farley,
this is David Vincent.

Glad to meet you.

Well, don't be. I'm
the guy who argued

with the police commissioner

for an hour and
a half about this.

Here she is.

I'm sorry to be late with this.

It was just sitting
in my office.

I thought it had
been sent to you.

Well, I guess we're
all set, Lieutenant.

Straight to the airport, Harry.

Yes, sir.

Lieutenant Farley will
follow us a short way behind.

He's got men
posted along the way.

If anything unusual happens...

uh, well, I'll tell you
while we drive, huh?

Well, they'll never
have a better chance.

(phone ringing)

Well, they may make
their move at the other end.

Cleveland.

Sure, Vincent.

Tell me all about it.

(car engine starting)

Hello.

Hello. Is there any
news from Cleveland?

I don't know yet.

I'm going in to see Richards.

I understand
he's in your office.

Well, congratulations, Vincent.

You made all of
us look a little sick.

That phony
cylinder's in Cleveland

safe and sound... nobody
even looked twice at it.

Your enemy agents
must have stepped off

on the wrong planet.

I spent the afternoon
running a check on you.

I've got the whole
package... The police reports

the medical reports, the works.

Medical reports?

He's a full-time
dedicated crackpot.

Well, this isn't the first time

he's had people
running around in circles

because of his
paranoid delusions.

He specializes in false alarms.

He sees invaders from
outer space under every rock.

Delusions don't commit murders.

I'm sorry, Vincent.

Wait just a minute,
Mr. Richards.

Let me explain this.

We're not interested in
your explanations, Vincent.

Good-bye.

(dialing phone)

I was hoping it would work
out the way you wanted it to.

Thank you.

Miss Oberly.

I wonder if you'd do...

if you'd do me a favor.

Run some more
tests on that cylinder.

Well, I can't do that.
That's impossible.

Look, I know how
Farley made me sound.

Listen... why don't you
just forget the whole thing?

Without Mr. Richards
help, it's impossible.

You can't get anywhere.

It's like banging your
head against a stone wall.

If you'd just let me explain.

Look, what I'm trying to say
is, I don't want to get involved.

I... I'm sorry.

(elevator door opens)

Don't move.

What is it?

You don't know.

No, I don't.

I know who you are
and what you are.

Look, fella, I don't know

where you get your information.

If I'm wrong, I may burn for it,

but, if I'm right...

I'm going to enjoy
watching you burn.

You think I'm one of them?

Oh, you tell me who
you are, will you?

Tell me they didn't send you.

Tell me you're not an alien.

All right, now get
your hands up.

Up!

All right, now bend them.

Bend them!

Well, they did an
extra-special job

on you, didn't they?

What makes you
think I'm an alien?

You came to the
hospital, didn't you?

To see that Leo
Rinaldi didn't talk

and then you were at the
grave to make sure he was dead

and now you're here to get
that cylinder for your buddies.

Just talk to Lieutenant Farley.

They never got
near that cylinder.

Oh... because you
knew it was a fake.

Yeah, and you tipped them off.

How do you know
so much about them?

(elevator door closing)

(screaming)

All right...

now I've told you
I'm not an alien.

You tell me how
you know about them.

How do I know?

I'll show you how I know.

Look at that...

It's a picture of my family.

Was my family.

We... we went camping...

a year ago...

and my little
girl there, Judy...

She went out to
get some firewood

and she came running
back into camp and she said

"Daddy, there's...

spaceships in the hills."

We laughed at her.

Naturally, we laughed at her.

Then my wife...

my wife went with her

to prove to her
that she was wrong.

Well, she wasn't wrong.

I heard them
screaming and I ran...

and I got there
just in time to see...

see them die.

My wife...

and my little... little girl.

Do I know?

Yeah... I know!

I'm sorry.

You're sorry?

That's...

one word that...
they... never use.

Did I...

make a mistake about you?

I told you I'm not an alien.

We're after the same thing.

Well, then...

then you know... what
it means, don't you?

I've been laughed
at and... ridiculed.

Mr. Vincent, I need...

I need somebody...

who knows like I do, that...

they're all around
us... I don't know.

Like somebody to help?

Would you?

Why not?

Look, we... we-we
can't talk here.

I know this is a
lousy place to talk.

I'm staying at the Crescent.

Why don't you come up there?

I get off duty at 6:30.

Would... 7:00 be all right?

Good.

Take this.

Thank you.

Thank you.

7:00.

(knocking)

(knocking continues)

Who is it?

It's Diane Oberly.

Can I come in?

Yeah, sure.

Sit down.

What's wrong?

I almost didn't get up here.

I've been sitting
down in the lobby

for ten minutes trying...

I'm frightened, Mr. Vincent.

I'm frightened, and
I need some help.

After you left, I decided
to run some more tests

on that cylinder.

What did you find out?

The metals resemble
nothing on this earth.

Now, I'm... I'm
enough of a scientist,

not... not just to dismiss
people as psychos,

especially when there's
some kind of evidence

to prove that what
they're saying may be true.

It's not just the cylinder.

I...

I have the feeling I'm
being watched all the time.

It's driving me crazy.

Every time I try and
work on that cylinder,

or I'm in the laboratory
anywhere near the cylinder, I...

I don't know.

Maybe I'm just imagining things,

but I'm so scared that
I can't even work on it.

I...

That's why I said no to you
when you asked me to help you.

Now you said
you're being watched.

By whom?

I don't know.

It... it's just a
feeling that I have.

Maybe it's your men
from outer space.

Mr. Vincent... if it is true...

and if I'm not just going
crazy or imagining things,

then what do they want of me?

What can they possibly
want of any of us?

If you could just give me

one piece of evidence...
Concrete evidence...

That I'm not just
imagining things

and that these
people really exist.

I wish I could.

If I could, I'd be in
Washington right now.

(phone ringing)

Excuse me.

Hello.

Hello?

David, it's Harry Swain.

Harry, what's wrong?

Well... David, they're on
to me, maybe both of us.

They just cornered me
in... in an alley, and...

they came at me with...

with-with-with disks.

Well, I fought them
off and ran, got away.

Are you all right?

Yes, I'm fine, but...

but I can't come there.

I'm afraid to leave this place.

Where are you?

It's a... it's a little bar...

Uh, 224 Horatio.

I'll be in one of the booths.

I'm on my way.

Look, Diane, I know
this is a bad time

to do this, but I...
You have to go.

Yes, but I'll call
you later, all right?

Is, uh... is Harry
Swain a friend of yours?

Why?

Well... he has some kind
of extraordinary interest

in the cylinder.

All I know is that he
came to work for us

about three months ago
and he never even talked

to me, and then all of a sudden

he-he's trying to
become my best friend,

but he never asks
anything about me.

All he ever talks
about is the cylinder...

Where it's kept, how it's
guarded... things like that.

He claims that it's
because he wants

to find some information

that will lead him to the
murderers of Leo Rinaldi, but...

it's a lie, I just... I
know he's lying to me.

You don't have
to worry about him.

I understand Harry Swain.

Thanks for your concern.

Now, uh... where
can I call you later?

Well... I'll go back to the lab.

I'll run some more tests on it.

Okay.

(soft jazz playing)

Harry?

David... David...

Are you all right? Yes, yes.

They really did a job
on you. Yeah, well...

Yeah... they did...
something else...

They told us something.

Whatever they're planning,

it's going to be soon...
Maybe even tonight.

Tonight? Yeah.

Why is that cylinder
so important to them?

I don't know, I don't
know, but whatever it is...

whatever is inside that cylinder

is important enough
to them to... to kill for it.

What are we going to do?

We can't just sit here.

Well, if they are planning
something for tonight

there's only one thing we
can do... that's move first.

What do you mean?

Let's get the cylinder
before they do.

You mean steal it?

Why not?

David, if we could do that...

Look... there's a
man in New Orleans.

His name is Colonel Griffith.

He's in military intelligence,

and if we can get
that cylinder to him,

he'd make it the number
one project at the Pentagon.

But how?

Can you get us
through that gate?

Yeah, sure, but the vault,
David, is locked until morning.

There's no problem, then.

The Oberly girl is
up in the laboratory

working on the cylinder right
now, so the vault must be open.

Well, that's great.

Then we got no problems.

Wait, wait, wait.

We do have a problem.

That girl... I want
her out of there.

I don't want her harmed.

You get her out of there,
we haven't got a chance.

They've already killed two men.

They've tried to kill you.

Now, what do you
think they'll do to her

if they planned
something for tonight?

They're getting ready to
destroy the human race,

and you're worried
about one girl?

We can't let ourselves
become as bad as they are.

How many wives have you lost?

How many daughters, mister?

You fight them as long as I have
and you'll become just like me.

Now you make up your mind.

It's... the human
race or one girl.

Make up your mind.

If it's too tough
for you, forget it.

I'll do it myself.

Just a minute. Hold on.

You're right.

We'll do it your way.

Okay...

Okay. Let's go.

Yes, I'm working
on it right now.

Well, I should have
something for you by then.

Yes, it should be finished
by the time you get here.

The gate is...

is locked at night,
but I've got a key.

There's... there's
guards in both buildings.

One of them stays at the desk

while the other one
goes on his hourly rounds

and comes back
in about 15 minutes.

Right.

Oh, here is Colonel
Griffith's address

in New Orleans.

If we get separated...
you go there.

I left the keys in the car.

Okay, got it. Okay?

Okay, and stay low.

I'll take a look.

Go ahead.

Hey.

What happened to you?

Ho, ho, don't ask.

What I night I've had.

I tripped getting
out of the car,

stumbled over that hedge,

and then I realized I left my
wallet locked in the locker.

Open up, will you?

Yeah.

Here. Take this.

(shrill tone starting
and stopping)

What are you doing here?

I came for the cylinder.

What?

I said I came for the cylinder.

Did you plan on stealing it?

Yes, if necessary.

David, that's so foolish.

I've been running a laser
beam on it trying to cut into it.

In a day or so, we may have
the evidence that you want.

I don't have a day or two.

I just called Mr. Richards,

and he's on his way
over now to look at it.

I'm sorry. I have to
disappoint Mr. Richards.

The main gate...
It's open, Harry.

Walt must've heard something
out there or saw something...

went out to check it and,
uh, and left the gate open.

Well, take care of it.

Yes, sir.

I'm going up to the
lab to see Miss Oberly.

She's not up there.
Of course, she is.

She just phoned me and
asked me to look at some tests.

Sir, they just called
from her home.

There's somebody
sick there or something.

She left a few minutes ago.

Oh?

Well, I'd better see what
she was doing in the lab.

Uh, she left a report for you

in your office in the other
building, Mr. Richards.

All right.

I'll check them before I leave.

OBERLY: David,
you're making a mistake.

Please, listen to me.

David.

David, look.

Just, just look at the
results of these tests.

The metal defies
every natural law...

So do the people I'm fighting.

They want what I
want, the cylinder.

David, please, please, you're
defeating your whole purpose.

Leave it with me. Look,
Diane, I know these people.

They'll be coming
after this cylinder,

and they'll blow
this place up to get it.

I don't want you
here when it happens.

(gunshot)

I'm sorry. It was an accident.

I was just trying
to keep him away.

He could die.

I'm sorry.

It was a mistake.

Please. I tried to keep him
away, but he argued with me.

He started fighting,
and... and the gun went off.

That's all.

Call a doctor.

No.

Call a doctor!

No, we've got to
get that cylinder

and get out of here.

No, you don't.

All right, now
where's the cylinder?

Where's the cylinder?!

(yells)

She's all right.
Come on, let's go.

Let's go, let's go!

Here, look.

There's a stairway
down in the other building.

Okay, go.

David!

David, don't!

(gunshot)

♪ ♪

Colonel Griffith?

Come in, Mr. Vincent.

Sit down, won't you?

You must have
had a difficult time.

You've heard about Harry Swain.

Yes, I heard... The
morning papers.

Terrible thing.

Tragic loss.

On the other hand, it may
have been best this way.

You see, Mr. Vincent,

if Richards dies, Harry Swain
would have been held for murder,

and I doubt if anyone

would've understood his motives.

I was confused myself.

I assure you, he's
one of the best.

In one of the papers,
they mentioned the fact

that they found no
trace of the body.

That reminded
me of a plane crash

that happened a few weeks ago.

(chuckling)

You're certainly not
suspicious of Harry Swain.

Well, I was worried for a while.

But not very much, I see.

You did bring the cylinder.

There's something I
should tell you about...

You don't have to
tell us anything, David.

It got pretty hot
there for a while,

but I, fortunately, was able
to make my way to a window.

GRIFFITH: You should
be flattered, Mr. Vincent.

When you showed up at the plant,

we changed all our
plans... just to include you.

You made it easy for us, David.

We were going to go
for the cylinder anyway,

but instead of risking
an out-and-out raid,

we decided to use
you to avoid exposure.

Besides, we rather
enjoyed using you,

of all people, to help us.

That cylinder
contains instructions

from our planet, David,
plans for the takeover.

Thank you for helping us get it.

It's empty. This box is empty!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(screaming)

♪ ♪

Long distance, please.

(phone rings)

Metallurgy. Miss Oberly.

Yes, this is she.

Put him on.

Hello, Diane?

David? Yes.

(relieved sigh)

How are you?

I'm fine, thank you.

How's Richards?

He's going to be all right.

Say, I read the report
in the newspapers.

I want to thank you for
what you didn't tell the police.

You don't have to thank me.

I'm just glad that he didn't die

and I... I don't
what I would've said

if they'd kept on
questioning me.

David... Harry Swain, was he...?

Yes, he was one of them.

David... will I see you again?

I hope so, Diane.

So long.

David, w...

NARRATOR: For David Vincent,

every friend is a
potential enemy.

His enemies understand this.

Someday, perhaps,
his friends will, too.