The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964–1968): Season 1, Episode 13 - The King of Knaves Affair - full transcript

A deposed leader of a Middle Eastern nation, now living in Rome, is conspiring to ruin the economy of his country. Solo and Kuryakin adopt cover identities as part of a plan to foil the plot.

[GUNSHOTS]

Say, hi there, Mr. Bardington.

You got a minute?

I told you to keep
away from here.

But why?

All you have to do is
name an hour and a date.

That's not much
for $10,000, is it?

BARDINGTON: You say the money's
in a bank in Rome? How do I know?

Word of honor.

You still haven't told me
why you want uranium.

Now, why do you have to ask so
many questions for, Mr. Bardington?



I'm a patriotic American.

I don't wanna do anything to
jeopardize the security of my country.

Do you recognize the short one?

Yeah. Angel Galley. A
very talented racketeer.

What's an official of Bardington's
stature doing with a racketeer?

What does a racketeer
want with uranium?

All right, Mr. Bardington...

recalling what I said about accidents to
cherished wives and precious children...

you've got one last chance
to name the hour and the date.

Well, I guess we
just can't do business.

Sorry.

[CAR ENGINE STARTS]

[TIRES SCREECHING]

ILLYA: That's it.



We'll report in as
soon as possible.

Dead?

Yes.

[DOORBELL JINGLING]

He's waiting for you.

- Who?
- Whom.

Whom is waiting?

Mr. Kuryakin, in
Mr. Waverly's office.

Mr. Waverly had
to leave for Nairobi.

He said you are to
keep yourself busy.

ILLYA: A power-plant official is
stabbed before our very eyes...

by a notorious criminal who's
abducted from under our very noses.

The power-plant official expires
before we can ask him one question.

- We couldn't look more foolish.
- Now, wait a minute.

Mr. Waverly said
that this assignment...

Was to record the conversation
between Bardington and Angel Galley.

We weren't alerted to
the possibilities of murder.

And Mr. Al Waverly won't
be interested in excuses.

When he returns,
he will want results.

The thing that
concerns me most...

is that this matter might involve an
international nuclear sabotage plot.

We know that Angel Galley
is a sadistic psychopath...

- but do you really think he's a spy?
- If not, why was he abducted?

Obviously there
is a counterplot.

A counterplot.

To a plot which, according to
our worldwide organization...

doesn't even exist.

I think we better get a little
more information on this...

and we better
get it rather fast.

- Wanda. WANDA: Yes, Mr. Solo?

Book Mr. Kuryakin and myself on two
separate jet flights to Rome immediately.

- Yes, sir.
- Thank you.

Well, Angel Galley did say the money
was in a bank in Rome, didn't he?

- So?
- So arrivederci.

[MAN SPEAKS IN ITALIAN]

[SOLO SPEAKING IN ITALIAN]

Grazie.

[SPEAKING IN ITALIAN]

[SPEAKING IN ITALIAN]

Not so good, cara mia.

If there is a plot to
foment a nuclear disaster...

or, in fact, a counterplot...

[DOOR OPENS]

Ah, Mr. Solo.

Welcome to Rome once again.

How are you, Mr. Venerdi?

And Miss Lusso.

Mr. Venerdi tells me
they've still been unable...

to discover any nuclear
plot or counterplot.

Ah, I see. Then we
start from scratch.

How many banks
are there in Rome?

As of noon today, 403.

VENERDI: We'll look
into the bank situation.

I would suggest that you start by checking
a place in Rome where it is said...

eventually one will
meet all the wicked...

and the wealthy of the world.

Casa Truffare.

VENERDI: Sì.

When did they reopen?

Oh, just last month.

May I suggest that you
begin your investigation there?

What will be our
cover identities?

Mr. Solo will
have the identity...

of Buddington Smith
of Meadowlark Falls...

Idaho, United States...

who disappeared
at sea last agosto...

while attempting to smuggle small arms
and ammunition into Southern Rhodesia.

Mr. Kuryakin will become
Eugen Strickland, Ph.D...

of Bad Gastein, Austria.

A researcher in
particle physics...

whose brilliant
career was cut short...

by a radiation accident...

which, because of the top-secret nature
of the work, has never been made public.

GEMMA: This way, gentlemen.

VENERDI [ON RECORDING]: With
a force of 8 million electron volts...

the mesons attain a speed
of 10 million electron volts...

and have a half-life of...

VENERDI [ON RECORDING]:
Scopic sight and replaceable barrel.

Latest best price on the black market,
Nairobi: 2 pounds 6 and 9 pence...

with long rounds at 1
pound 3 and 2 the gross...

[MUSICIANS PLAYING]

[MAITRE D' SPEAKS IN ITALIAN]

No, not now, Irving. Not now.

[CROWD LAUGHING]

What's a nice girl like you
doing in a place like this?

Huh?

Does your uncle know you're out?

- Ooh! Hey, what's the big idea?
- American?

- A hundred proof.
- I believe you had too much to drink.

- Have some food and coffee.
- Well, I'm not hungry.

- Then go back to your hotel and rest.
- I was just trying to have a little fun.

[ILLYA SPEAKING IN GERMAN]

[SPEAKS IN ITALIAN THEN GERMAN]

[SPEAKING IN GERMAN]

Buddington Smith.

Doctor. Hey, that's me.
Listen, these are my guests.

I won't make trouble.
Word of honor.

It shall be interesting to see if
your word has any value, signor.

[FASIK SPEAKS IN ITALIAN]

[IN GERMAN ACCENT] Mr. Smith,
permit me to introduce my wife.

Pleased to meet
you, Mrs. Strickland.

You're a lucky man, doc.

[IN GERMAN ACCENT]
Thank you, Herr Smith.

I see your receptionist is picking up a
little extra money working the evenings.

GEMMA [IN NORMAL VOICE]: Mostly,
she picks up a little extra information.

[MUSICIANS PLAYING]

Well, I see plenty
of the wealthy.

Which ones are the wicked?

Madam Avide.

She's made a fortune buying
and selling foreign currencies.

Her specialty is to depress the
value of a small nation's money...

buy up huge amounts of it...

then force the value
up before she sells.

And her partner?

Bodyguard.

The diamond is the Star of
Karachi, worth a hundred thousand.

- Lira?
- Pounds.

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

Ah, and there's Konrad Vask.

In one year, he managed
to salvage seven ships...

all of which had
main-shaft bearing trouble.

He has often been accused of
piracy but never brought to trial.

And could he be mixed
up in the uranium deal?

Almost anyone in
this room could be.

[CROWD APPLAUDING]

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

There is another possibility:

Fasik el Pasad.

Recently deposed supreme monarch
of some 12 million oppressed subjects.

Now he's a bouncer
in a velvet hash house?

Not bouncer, proprietario.

Well, I tell you. He has fingers
that've got a grip like a vise.

The only person in
this room I don't know...

is that American girl.

Well, that's too bad.

However, that
prosperous-looking gentleman...

is something else again.

B.B. Stoneham.

He's amassed a fortune
buying into corporations...

stripping them of their
assets, and moving out.

He never really
breaks the law...

he just diligently destroys
businessmen and businesses.

Like a shark tearing a
drowning man to shreds.

[IN NORMAL VOICE] It's
time to throw out some bait.

Doc, I tell you.

A man has gotta make his
way in this world by himself.

[IN GERMAN ACCENT]
It's too late for me, I'm afraid.

[IN GERMAN ACCENT] My
husband is a superb physicist...

but rather poor at
university politics.

I'm not talking
about promotions.

There are other opportunities if you
can get your hands on some uranium.

Me, I don't even know
what uranium looks like.

I deal in cash.
Matter of fact, I got a

nice little bank account
right here in Rome.

ILLYA: Mr. Smith, are you
making me some kind of offer?

No, I'm just
saying think it over.

Mull it over overnight and
call me tomorrow. Hotel Victory.

The gentlemen who just came in.

With Angel Galley
when he was kidnapped.

He was watching
me in the parking lot.

His name is Bobo Barrett.

There is no subtlety about him.

He is the top man of an
international crime syndicate.

I've gotta get out of here
without him seeing me.

I don't know what sort of
whistle he might blow on me.

Doc, may I have this
dance with your wife?

[ERNESTINE GASPS]

[CROWD CHATTERING]

ERNESTINE: So sorry.
- Don't give it another thought.

- Oh, you're an American, are you?
- Yes. Only by birth.

Right through here.

[HANDLE CLICKS]

Mouth shut. On your feet.

Hands on your head.

Buddington Smith?

Present and accounted for.

We can make this very brief.

Where is Angel Galley?

I never heard of it. There's a
restaurant guide in my suitcase.

No, no, Mr. Smith.
Mama will shoot.

Now, which bank do you contact?

- Bank?
- About uranium. Which bank?

Oh. Well, don't you know?

If I knew, would I have bothered
to climb your fire escape?

Mr. Smith, the first shot goes into the
floor. The second goes into your head.

Mm-hm. All right, then.
Better shoot, get it over with.

You see, the safety catch is on.

It limits the range of
the weapon considerably.

[ERNESTINE CRYING]

Come on, now. Be fair. I
let you inspect my wallet.

You didn't mention your name.

Well, let's see.

Well, you're certainly not Jackson W.
Heggenheimer of Red Bank, New Jersey...

because he's deceased...

leaving his entire estate to his
widow, Shirley, and their four children.

Perhaps you're
Shirley Heggenheimer.

No, I am not Shirley
Heggenheimer.

Oh, you're not.
All right, let's see.

Then maybe you're Miss Ernestine
Pepper of Red Bank, New Jersey...

and a member of the
Legal Secretaries' Guild.

Oh, here's an
affidavit, unsigned...

verifying that Angel Galley's
signature on the will is a true one.

Uh-huh. I see.

And a notary-public seal.

Well, may I say that you are the
prettiest notary public I've ever met.

Will you please tell me
where to find Angel Galley?

- It's very important.
- Why?

Otherwise, poor Shirley won't be
able to collect her husband's estate.

Why?

Because the will is being contested
and another relative claims it's forged.

The only other witness died. That's
why we have to find A... Mr. Galley.

SOLO: Just how did it happen that
Angel Galley was a witness to this will?

ERNESTINE: He
was in the office...

the evening that Jack
Heggenheimer came in to sign it...

waiting to take me out again.

SOLO: What is your
relationship with Angel Galley?

ERNESTINE: Absolutely nothing.

SOLO: I see. You just happen to
want his autograph on the affidavit.

ERNESTINE: Yes.

SOLO: Well, that doesn't explain
why you happen to be in Rome, though.

Oh, Mr. Smith,
please believe me.

Shirley Heggenheimer
is practically destitute.

She gave me every cent she had in
the world to make this trip to Rome.

If she doesn't get that
inheritance, her children will starve...

and I'll simply die.

SOLO: Well, you're a very sweet and
sympathetic young lady, Miss Pepper.

Now, you really are.

I tell you, if you jot down
your number there...

if I run in to Angel Galley,
I'll be sure and give you a call.

Oh, uh, incidentally, how
does a nice girl like yourself...

happen to be having a
dinner date with Angel Galley?

That is none of your business.

[KNOCKING]

Come in.

Well, what did you make of her?

I think she's an agent.

I pasted a bug on her bag, but
we better see where she goes.

You had another visitor drop in.

He's dropped out.

I have to go and see to him.

[DOOR OPENS]

[DOOR CLOSES]

She was rather clumsy.

SOLO: I don't know. That story was
cleverly concocted to enlist my sympathies.

But far too complex.

Spies aren't what they used to
be anymore. No pride of craft.

No standards.

SOLO: Maybe she's not an agent.

My intuition says she is.

Well, I wonder what your intuition
would say if she wasn't so pretty.

Ah.

[SPEAKS IN ITALIAN]

OPERATOR: Sì, signorina.
How are you this evening?

That depends on whether
there are any messages.

OPERATOR: There
was uno, signorina.

La Banca Latina Nuovo
has telephoned in regard...

- to the Signor Galley of whom
you speak. ERNESTINE: Yes.

OPERATOR: They regret
they know nothing of this man.

ERNESTINE: Nothing?

Grazie. I'm going to bed now.

But if a Signor Buddington Smith
should call, have the concierge wake me.

Buona sera.

Hey, look.

[SPEAKS IN ITALIAN]

The police. Um, uh...

La polizia.

The police, the police.

[SCREAMS]

[KEYS JINGLING]

GUARD: Outside.

[SOLO GRUNTS]

This way.

MAN: And in return for such
rights and titles, I do swear...

to be thy vassal, oh, King...

in accordance with
the law of the land.

I, Fasik el Pasad...

dub thee prince...

with title to that land known
as the Valley of the Lion...

the rank of brigadier general.

Hail, Prince Cadera.

ALL: Hail, Prince Cadera.

Your Majesty, a new recruit.

Kneel in the
presence of the king.

Hey, listen, Charlie, I'm an
American citizen. I... Ooh!

[SOLO CHUCKLES]

He claims to be Buddington Smith of
Meadowlark Falls, state of Idaho, U.S.A.

Can anyone confirm this?

Your Majesty, my information
is that Buddington Smith...

drowned off the east coast of
Rhodesia on August the 14th last year.

Yeah, well, that report's a
little exaggerated there, fella.

You will explain, Mr. Smith...

why you were present when
Kenneth Bardington was murdered.

Listen, I'm an American
citizen, and I don't have to...

You will address the
king as "Your Majesty."

And you'll remain on your
knees until bidden to rise.

His Majesty asked
you a question.

What is your answer?

About Bardington?

Why? Was he there?

Prince Barrett was there
in the service of his king.

And you?

Well, I was trying to make a
little deal with this Bardington...

Your Majesty.

I guess someone else
got there before me.

What sort of deal, Mr. Smith?

SOLO: In my line. Arms,
explosives, ammunition.

Uranium?

Uranium?

Oh, you're the one who
put out that offer, huh?

Your Majesty.

I did.

And we shall discuss
it in due course.

By decree of His Royal
Highness, Fasik el Pasad...

you, Buddington Smith...

are impressed into His Majesty's
Royal Brigade with rank of private.

Pay and allowances withheld
pending security clearance.

My name is Smith.

Bud Smith.

Uh, I don't suppose I
could borrow a knife?

Yeah, well, thanks anyway.

What are you in for?

Same as you.

Well, I didn't do
anything. I was kidnapped.

Who wasn't?

You mean this Fasik just
goes around grabbing people...

and tossing them
in the city jail?

This is no longer the city
jail. It's the old carcere.

Garibaldi slept here.

Oh.

So you mean this Fasik just
moves in and takes over a jail, huh?

He bought it.

Oh. Yeah.

So we have to buy
our way out, huh?

There's no way out.

We just stay locked up?

Until we're cleared.

I would have been
checked into barracks...

but some chick I used to know
showed up in Rome looking for me.

- Fasik wants to know what she's up to.
- Mm-hm.

Well, what exactly
is Fasik up to?

Look, in two minutes
we've got terror-tactics drill...

and a multiple-choice
test on court etiquette.

So be quiet.

[GRUNTS]

What's this, a gag? Some test to
see how long it took me to get free?

I told you, be quiet.

[GRUNTING]

Well done.

Next two.

I could use some exercise.

I'm referring to you, Mr. Smith.

Well, listen. I'll tell you, Your Majesty,
I'm not exactly this kind of type here.

I'm sort of the front-office
fellow. You know what I mean?

[GROANING]

Have him brought inside.

Carry on.

And remember:

This platoon will be putting this drill
to practical use before the month is out.

You are not very good
at wrestling, Mr. Smith...

but in losing that encounter...

you have increased our
confidence in your claimed identity.

Okay.

Now let's talk about uranium.

Well, actually, I'm not
interested in obtaining uranium.

The offer was merely a means devised
by Prince Barrett to locate certain men...

ones determined enough
to subject humanity...

to the risk of a
nuclear holocaust...

if there were a
chance for profit.

And is there?

You claim to be an
expert in munitions.

Identify it.

It's the Brussels
Vengeance rifle.

Manufactured...

[FOOTSTEPS]

Well, look who's here.

Miss Notary Public.

Mr. Smith.

You admit knowing her?

I should.

She barged into my
room last night with a gun.

And then you
proceeded to follow her...

and pick up her conversations
with this electronic device.

What is a gunrunner
doing with spy equipment?

- I wanted to see what she was up to.
- Where did you get it?

Same place you got those rifles?

[LAUGHS]

Fair enough.

What were you saying about that?

This is the Brussels
Vengeance rifle...

manufactured by the Belgians,
under duress, for Hitler.

Sight's been
calibrated upside down.

One in 10 has a faulty sear.

It's a very impressive piece of
sabotage, if you like sabotage.

Now, what's your plan?

I am preparing to
return to my country...

and resume my regime.

Your people don't want
you. They drove you out.

Not my people.

A pack of insurgent beggars.

The papers say you made
off with quite a pile of cash.

Why do you wanna go back?

The reason is
engraved on this sword.

Handed down from
Mohammed the Turk...

when he conquered
Constantinople in 1443.

Passed into the dynasty
of Pasad in 1681...

when my ancestors fought their
way into power in my country.

"Behold the king," it says...

and "A nation belongs
to the king who seizes it."

I intend to do just that.

I don't think all those insurgents
are going to stand aside and cheer...

when you make your
way back to the palace.

We have been very busy.

The Duchess Avide has been
quietly using her financial connections...

to buy up large amounts of the
legal tender of the insurgent regime.

In a few months...

she will dump it
on the market...

wiping out the stability of the
insurgent currency overnight.

Barons Stoneham and Vask...

have already sent their agents
into my country's industrial complex.

Also, in a few months...

they will have bankrupted
every important corporation.

Prince Cadera.

Once a member of the
American crime syndicate...

has embarked on a campaign
of political intrigue and bribery...

which will ensnare the
insurgent legislature...

in a morass of
scandal and shame.

There will be murders
done, thefts, arson.

The people will cower in terror
and disgust with their leaders.

I will move in at the
head of the troops...

which Prince Barrett has been
recruiting with his ingenious methods.

This will be a new concept
in counterrevolution.

First, destroy the
national moral fiber...

the will to resist...

until my people
cry out for a savior.

Then I will return.

Maybe you got something there.

And you may make a
certain unique contribution.

Such as?

The Belgian rifles are not
the only faulty armament...

which my purchasing
agents have acquired.

We have a number of these
machine guns made in Hungary...

during a certain
period of political unrest.

The firing pins are
softer than pot metal.

The crews who
attempt to fire them...

will be killed by their
own exploding weapons.

Field radios with built-in short circuits
which deplete the batteries in minutes.

Machine-gun ammunition
with rusted linkage.

I would like to see these channeled
to Singapore or Maracaibo...

where I am told the insurgents go
hunting for bargains in armaments.

Well, I say there's enough equipment
there to demoralize their army...

Your Highness.

There is a dukedom in my country waiting
for the man who can arrange such a thing.

Five hundred square miles...

tens of thousands
of inhabitants to rule.

Don't listen to him, Mr. Smith.

FASIK: Think, Mr. Smith.
Not merely financial gain...

but honors, respectability.

A noble of the realm.

You will join our new peerage.

You will establish a line
for your descendants.

Singapore and Maracaibo.

I got some pretty
good connections there.

Then are you ready and willing
to swear allegiance to your king?

Yes, I am, Your Majesty.

ERNESTINE: Don't do it!

Hundreds of innocent
people will be killed.

Well, it's too bad, baby.
Man's gotta pay the rent.

Mr. Smith.

As a final small test...

cut the young lady's throat.

FASIK: Your king
is waiting, Mr. Smith.

Well, Your Majesty, I...

I hope you will not fail this
last test of your allegiance.

Oh, quite the
contrary. You see, I...

I prefer a more
efficient weapon.

Mr. Smith, there
is no purpose...

So you have mortar shells,
thirty-ought-six rifle rounds...

grenades.

Ooh. These are the Hong
Kong defiance grenades...

almost as famous as the
Brussels Vengeance rifles.

Nonsense.

That is standard stock
for the use of my troops.

No, I beg to differ with
you, Your Highness.

They're not.

See, in the standard grenade,
the pin is simply a safety device.

You must release the
handle to explode the charge.

Now, these have been booby-trapped
so when you pull the pin...

the charge explodes.

Now, I want you to cut Miss
Pepper's bonds and release her.

Mr. Smith, I warn you...

No, I warn you.

Either you release
Miss Pepper...

or I'll pull this pin and
blow your face to shreds.

You'll blow off your
hands in the process.

Well, I wouldn't like
it. But nevertheless...

I'm willing to
make that sacrifice.

You see, I've grown
quite fond of Miss Pepper.

You're bluffing. That's
a standard grenade.

Just one inch...

between pain...

and blindness...

and death.

[PIN CREAKS]

Stop.

Release her.

Release her!

SOLO: Run.

[EXPLOSION]

All right. Come on.

[GUNSHOTS]

Angel.

Angel, what are
you doing in there?

- Come on. Come on.
- Guard. Guard!

ERNESTINE: Come on.

Come here.

Now, look. You made it
up that hotel fire escape.

- Think you can make it over that wall?
- I think so.

All right. Come on.

Now, look. I'll go first, I'll try and lead
them away. Then you can make it over.

Get to a phone, call
Dr. Strickland at the hotel.

- He'll know what to do. All right?
- Oh, wait. What about this?

I've come all the way
from Red Bank. I'm not...

You heard Fasik, he plans
to terrorize an entire nation.

That nation can look after itself. I'm here
to help Shirley and her four children...

- who will starve to death.
- I'll get it signed.

Oh, and about Angel Galley and
that dinner date I had with him...

- I met him through his sister.
- Ernestine...

I want you to know. He told me his
work had something to do with policies.

Naturally, I thought he meant
insurance, so I started dating him.

Then I found out he
had nothing at all to do

with insurance. He
was in the policy racket.

I dropped him fast...

- believe me.
- All right. I believe you.

BARRETT: Let's go inside.

[HOOFBEATS]

[HORSE NEIGHS]

[GRUNTING]

I would have made
you a wealthy nobleman.

We must now discover
who you really are.

And that should be an
interesting experiment.

Take him inside.

- I'll question the woman first.
- We haven't found the woman as yet.

But we will...

very shortly.

[GUARDS COUGHING]

[GUNSHOTS]

- You wait outside.
- Oh, no. You promised.

Fasik, where's Mr. Smith?

Your Majesty, have
you seen Mr. Smith?

Mr. Smith.

Oh, Mr. Smith. I'd have perished
if anything had happened to you.

That's sweet of you. Even sweeter
that you made it over the wall.

And you saved Angel for me.

How can I ever thank you?

You have.

Mr. Smith, when
we get back home...

if you'd like to call
me, I can be reached...

- I know. The number is in here.
- Oh.

ANGEL: All right, all right.
Let's get this over with.

ERNESTINE: Very well.
Raise your right hand.

Do you, Angel Galley, swear
that the statements you are about...

SOLO: Everything under
control, Mr. Venerdi?

- The situation is well in hand.

SOLO: Grazie.
- Arrivederla. Scusa.

Gemma was wrong.
Ernestine is no agent.

No. No, no. She's
a notary public.

[ENGLISH SDH]