The Streets of San Francisco (1972–1977): Season 1, Episode 8 - In the Midst of Strangers - full transcript

( funky jazz theme playing )

ANNOUNCER: The
Streets of San Francisco.

A Quinn Martin production.

Starring Karl Malden.

Also starring Michael Douglas.

With guest stars David Wayne,

Louise Latham, Ramon Bieri

and Robert Foxworth
as Dennis Hailey.

Tonight's episode, "In
the Midst of Strangers."

( upbeat theme playing )

Hey, we got happy news today.



Happy news, hey,
happy news today.

We got happy children.

We got happy stories
about happy people.

Happy children,
happy dogs, happy cats.

Hey, Stormy, wait a
minute. Hey, Stormy.

Hey, hold it, Stormy.

Stormy, here you
are, here you are.

You can wrap fish in it,
you can swat flies with it.

That's what you can do.

You can put it over
your head on a rainy day.

Have another paper.
Yeah, thank you.

All right, Stormy.
Thank you very much.

You can do anything you
want with it. Here you are.

Right there you
are. Thank you, lady.



Happy news, we got
nothing but happy news.

Happy news.

Hey, here's your paper.

Happy news.

Get in the tub with
it after an empty day.

( mellow theme playing )

( phone ringing )

Mr. Rhinelander.

Oh, hello, Marian.
I'm sorry to be late.

That's not like you.

Well, I'm afraid I
indulged myself.

A tie in a store
window caught my eye.

Oh, very elegant.

No, no, not this one.

It's still in the store,

with the suit they're making up

from the material that
went so well with it.

( both laugh )

Well, you're entitled to it.

After this, especially.

Oh.

It's beautiful.

Tsk, I'll be a hero at home.

You did say 7500?

That's right.

Here you go.

Would you like
me to gift-wrap it?

No.

I'm gonna take
it just like that.

Thank you very
much, Mr. Rhinelander.

Thank you, Marian.

I know she'll enjoy it.

Well, she'd better.

( chuckles )

( policeman whistles )

( car honks )

( indistinct chatter )

Hey, we got happy
murders, happy riots.

We got happy
luncheons, happy teas,

happy and... Hey,
Mr. Rhinelander.

Heh-heh. How are you?

Hello, Wally.

Hey, you're on Page 3.

You and your housing commission.

Very impressive,
very impressive.

( chuckles ): Well,
thanks, Wally.

Saw you on the tube too.

Well, what did you think?

Oh, you won that debate
going away. Going away.

( laughs )

RHINELANDER: Thanks, Wally.

WALLY: Thank
you, Mr. Rhinelander.

Oh, there's my car.

Oh, yeah.

Hey, we got happy
news today, happy news.

Here you are. Paper here.

Here you are.

Hey, we got happy
news today, happy news.

Hey, happy news today.

We got happy
children, happy dogs.

Happy dogs, happy
children, happy, happy, happy.

There you go.
Thank you very much.

Happy news. Hey,
here's your paper.

( cable car's bell ringing )

( car honks )

( bell ringing )

CAGNEY: Ahem,
excuse me, sir, eh,

can you tell me which way
is, eh... Which way is closer...?

( suspenseful theme playing )

( bell ringing )

( gunshot )

Let's get him outta here.

( tense theme playing )

( upbeat theme playing )

Stone?

Yes, sir.

You're the one that
solved that cop ambush

last year, that's right?

Well, there were
dozens of us involved

in that case, Mr. Skolimowski.

The mayor wants you
on this one, lieutenant.

And, eh, what's-his-name,

your partner, here.

This is Inspector
Keller. Eh, Steve Keller.

SKOLIMOWSKI: Keller.

Mr. Skolimowski.

The mayor wants
you both to accept

full responsibility
for this thing

so that nothing gets lost
between desks, got it?

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

I'll tell you,

I have had it with these
political assassinations.

You don't like
somebody else's views,

you get a gun
and blow him apart.

Maybe the doomsday
boys are right.

Maybe this is the
end of the world.

You got it pegged as
assassination already?

The mayor does.

Rhinelander's been a broad
target for over two years.

I can't remember the exact date.

But ever since he
took over control

of the low-cost
housing commission.

Maybe it would
help if we could get

a complete report of
his public appearances,

statements, press
conferences, a complete record.

You got it. Anything else?

Time.

I can't give you time.

I figured.

Anything else?

Yes, sir, what do you think?

You're the cop.

No, I mean, you're famous
for politicking on the lawn,

rapping with the people,
the crazies, intellectuals.

Was there any group
that hated Rhinelander?

The crazies hated him.

But then, they hate me too.

They hate all authority,

and these days authority
is anyone who wears a tie.

Gentlemen,

I have a calendar
that won't quit.

Thanks for coming
in. Keep in touch.

Now, you wanna talk about
a platinum-plated steamroller.

How does a guy like that...?

Don't overbook your
mind, buddy boy.

Just pick up the message.

He's the boss, you're the cop.

Came through loud and clear.

( chuckles )

"What's-his-name."

( laughs )

You like that, don't you?

( upbeat theme playing )

Hey, special edition.

Yeah?

Hey, Lowell, they
killed Mr. Rhinelander.

Yeah. Who?

Mr. Rhinelander.

He was standing right here
yesterday, where you are.

He handed me a buck, as usual.

No kidding.

What do you know about that?

Here today, gone tomorrow.

( man whistles )

Wally, I just had to do it.

I had to sell one on my own.

You're taking my
place, aren't you?

You might as well jump
in and see if you can swim.

Hey.

( chuckles ): Hi.

( honks )

See that?

Yeah.

Cop friends of mine.

Bet they're on the case.

Yeah?

Yeah.

Hey, Lowell.

I'm gonna leave you in
charge for a few minutes.

Oh, well, don't
worry. I can handle it.

Yeah. Bank's open. I
wanna get over there

before they give mine all away.

Wow, 3000 dollars.

LOWELL: I wonder
what it'll be like

to have all that money
in your hand at one time.

Yeah, me too.

I wonder if three big
ones, eh, feel any different

than a lot of little ones.

Heh, I'm not too familiar
with stuff you can fold.

The stuff that clinks,

that's what I know about.

Paper?

It is so obvious
what you're up to,

Mr. Rhinelander, so obvious.

Demonstrate your
love of humanity,

so that you can run
for governor next time.

RHINELANDER ( over
TV ): That simply isn't true.

I have no political ambitions.

I took this job...

SPRING: You took the job as a
stepping stone, and you know it.

Now, the fact is
that if the city builds

this so-called low-cost
housing project

right next to our district,

the incidence of crime
will double in a year.

How do you know that?

No one will be safe on
the streets after dark.

There are racial overtones here,

and I don't like them one bit.

So that's Harold Spring.

Yes.

Look at that anger.

The other members
of his association

are sitting next to him.

You've got their
names in that manila file.

But he's the president.

Yes, president
and driving force.

Hold it there.

Our property
association has to...

I get angry too.

You ought to a close-up
of my face when I get mad.

You said you wanted
to see all the tapes

of the commission hearings.

That's really something.

SKOLIMOWSKI: You mean
you don't think he's capable

of squeezing a trigger?

KELLER: Or getting
anyone else to?

Of course he could have.

So could anybody else
in that hearing room.

So?

Rhinelander's job was
the worst job in the city.

No matter where he
placed that low-cost housing,

somebody was bound to get mad.

Well?

It's too darn easy.

You haven't got the
killer yet, have you?

So, what's easy?

When you can stand
up and shout like he did

and get it off your chest...

You know...

maybe you don't
have to kill anybody.

( mellow theme playing )

Wally Sensibaugh,
you're finally gonna do it.

Look out world, here I come.

We'll miss you.

I'll only be gone six weeks.

Six weeks without
you on the corner?

San Francisco won't be the same.

Traveler's checks?

No, I want cash.

I wanna hold it in
my hand a little while.

I know what you mean.

I'm only going to
the travel agency.

Hundreds okay?

Sure, sure.

Three thousand dollars even.

Three thousand
dollars in 25 years.

That's how long Harriet and
me been talking about this.

Ever since I took
over the corner.

Harriet's been working
too, all those quilts.

I'm one lucky son of a gun.

Bon voyage, Wally.

So long, fair lady, I
bid thee fond adieu.

( chuckles )

( suspenseful theme playing )

( Wally whistling )

( upbeat theme playing )

There it is. Right there.

That's the place. They
dragged me a ways.

Yellow for mugging,

blue for robbery,
red for murder.

Where's Mr. Rhinelander?

Oh, yeah. Red, yeah.

Wonder what they hit me with.

Felt like a sledgehammer.

Have a seat, Wally.

Hey, Wally, what
are you doing here?

Hey, fellas, fellas.

All my savings, $3000,
I had it in an envelope.

All my trip money.
Oh, my God, my God.

I'm sorry, Wally.

They came up behind
me and clobbered me.

It was a dumb thing to
do, carrying all that cash,

but I wanted to hold
it for a little while.

( breathing heavily )

I've been saving for so long.

What am I gonna tell Harriet?

I know what that
trip meant to you.

Come here, come here.

Come here.

That's me.

Lessing, take this
one over, will you?

Right away, Mike.

Wally, excuse me for this,

but did you sell
Jules Rhinelander

a newspaper yesterday morning?

Yeah. Yeah, I sold him a
newspaper, and then he got

on the cable car.

On his way to the
club. Secretary said

he had a squash game.

He did. I saw him.

And then I...

You're busy with
something else, huh?

Yes we are, Wally.

We've got the whole city
administration on our backs.

That's all right. Okay.

Look at that, Steve.

If this keeps up,

we're gonna have
more pins than space.

Tsk.

( whispers ): Civilization.

( sighs )

( tense theme playing )

( Dennis chuckles )

Toy soldiers.

Yeah, like when I was a kid.

I could just reach
down, move a man here,

move a man there.

( chuckles )

Toy soldiers.

How much?

Three thousand.

I make, eh, the
jewels at 12,000,

12,500, tops.

Bank it.

You sure that's the
L.A. box number?

Yeah, sure.

( elevator dings )

( dramatic theme playing )

( sighs )

Hey, I went over the
charts this morning.

Yeah?

Graphed in a new estimate
on what we handled in Seattle.

What's it look like?

Oh, it could be up 8
percent by year's end.

( chuckles )

Keep it up, we might
have to go public.

Yeah.

Done.

Well, let's hope no one
knocks off that post office

before Wednesday.

All told, not a
bad week's gross.

Yeah, but that's not
as good as Seattle.

It's a convention.

You can't beat a convention.

Tsk, there's still one flaw.

You never know who they are.

Yeah, there'd be no sweat
if he hadn't tried to get away.

What was his name?

Rhinelander.

Jules Rhinelander.

Yeah, he was a real macho.

Marlon, what do we
have on parking garages?

Uh, Union Square, underground.
Two attendants every level.

Well, that's not your best bet.

Ah, here we are. Atherton
Garage, five levels.

Hold it.

You see something?

Yeah. Our two little
friends are back.

( chuckles )

DENNIS: Work,
work, work, work, work.

( chuckles )

Well, anyone for
an early dinner?

( man yelling indistinctly )

All right.

Got it. Got that?

Yeah.

It's a nice place to
watch the world go by.

Yeah... maybe.

Maybe somebody was here waiting.

You think it was a pro?

Maybe.

Anyway, that's what
Skolimowski thinks.

Say, wait a minute.

Let's measure the distance now

between Gump's and the corner.

No, forget it. No, no.

Wait a minute. Why?

Oh, they're all yellow pins.

Look, let's just re-create
exactly what happened.

There could be more than one

what's-his-name
around here real quick.

( chuckles ): All right.

( clears throat )

( mellow theme playing )

Guess who's home?

Let me see those tickets, heh.

Oh, come on now, Wally.

( chuckles ): Let
me see those tickets.

Smells good.

It's meat loaf.
Now, Wally, please.

Sage?

Uh-huh.

Well, how near you done?

Oh, it's almost finished.

Now, you should
get 200 for that one.

Of course, they'll turn around

and get 350, 400 for it.

Wally... ( sighs )

( melancholy theme playing )

( sighs )

Harriet, I'm gonna take a bath.

Wally, you just show
me those tickets.

At dinner, huh? Okay?

Oh, you mean and... And
make it more important?

Of course, you're
absolutely right.

At dinner.

Oh, leave the
door so we can talk.

Well, I-I've been
talking all day.

( sighs )

( sighs )

Look.

Huh?

Oh, yeah, yeah. The
green book. Yeah.

That's that new
Michelin Guide from Italy.

Just came this morning.

You know, I, uh... I
phoned the bookstore.

And we get France tomorrow.

Ain't that funny?
Italy came today.

I was just thinking
about Italy, tsk.

( sighs )

Well, here's our file.

Tsk, Harriet, they
made you in heaven,

but they made me in
an awful tired place.

( knocking on door )

Tsk.

Steve, Mike. Come on in.

Hi, Mrs. Sensibaugh.
How are you?

Oh, let me, uh, get
this quilt out of the way.

Mike, look at this.

Hey, that's pretty.

Beautiful.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Wally.

Wally, you're dripping.

Well, well. Look who's
here. Gumshoe and son.

Wally...

Mum's the word.
Exciting day, huh?

Well, nice to see you guys
dropping by. Doing your duty.

Wally, listen... Yeah.

Oh. Wally, please.

Uh, when you saw
Jules Rhinelander...?

Rhinelander. Yeah.

You saw him?

Oh, we always
exchange a few words...

Wally, please, when you
saw Jules Rhinelander,

did you have a talk with him?

Eh, yeah, yeah.

But what did you talk about?

Uh, his debate on TV.

Debate on the TV? Yeah.

And that's all, you're sure?

WALLY: Yeah.

Wally, you see, we're
building a timetable

of Rhinelander's movements...

Oh, yeah. Well,
uh, did you find out,

uh, what time the
cable car left my corner?

Now, far be it from me
to tell you guys your job,

but, uh, you should talk to
the motorman, you know.

Eh, then you back
up a minute and a half,

and that should give you
the exact approximate time

that Rhinelander hit my corner.

Just a suggestion, you know.

Thank you. We appreciate it.

There's a lot of meat loaf...

These are busy guys.

Some other time,
thank you very much.

Wally, I'm sorry
about what happened.

Oh, yeah, yeah, thanks. Thanks.

Me too, Wally.

Thanks for the
invitation. Goodbye.

Come back any
time, fellas. Yeah.

Nice guys.

Nice guys.

Real serious.

You know, they
put a case together

like you make a quilt.

Piece of this, piece of that.

One day they...
They got the killers.

( sighs )

Yeah, well, back to the old tub.

Wally, why did they say
they were sorry for us?

Sorry?

Yeah, just... Just
now, when they left.

Oh, oh, j-just now.

Uh, just now. Well, uh...

I didn't wanna tell ya.

Didn't wanna tell me what?

( sighs )

This.

Oh, honey, you have got a lump.

It's as big as a
walnut on your head.

And there's stitches.

Six. Six stitches.

Wh-what happened?

Well, it was the dumbest
thing I ever did in my life.

I bent down to cut
a bundle, you see,

and, uh, raised up my
head and... And whammo.

You know that, uh,
iron lip on the mailbox?

Well, cracked right into it.

Oh, honey, does it hurt?

Yeah, a little. Yeah.

Uh. Well, that's why I
couldn't tell you, you know?

I didn't even have
time to get to the bank,

let alone get the tickets.

Oh, well, of course not.

Take a smack like
that on the head.

Now, you just...
You get finished,

and I'll see if the...
The meat loaf's ready.

( mellow theme playing )

( sighs )

( dramatic theme playing )

No, I didn't kill him.

Dr. Gary, you're a teacher.

Therefore, you must
know the value of words.

So when you said...

When I said that
Jules Rhinelander

was lacking in compassion...

And I did say that.

I meant exactly that.

He was lacking in compassion.

All right.

Now, your group...

My group demanded
that Rhinelander resign

because there was no evidence
that he had made any provision

on behalf of those tenants.

You mean, since the buildings

were going to be torn down?

Good riddance.

In most cases, they were
rat-infested tenements.

Inspector, no plans had
been made for these people

to move somewhere
else, anywhere else.

They were just to be
left to their own devices.

Just live in the gutter

like rats themselves,
I guess, huh?

Has your group ever considered
kidnapping Rhinelander

as a symbolic or
political gesture?

( laughs )

Well, I have records here
of every single meeting

of your property
owners' association.

And everyone the
chair recognized

had something to
say about Rhinelander.

And some of it
was pretty violent.

Sure, we were bitter about him.

We had good reason to be bitter.

How often did you
meet with him privately?

You mean, did I
have the opportunity

to hate him on my own,

without any help
from the association?

Yes.

Yes, I met with him twice.

Once at his downtown
office, once at city hall.

( phone rings )

I'd like to hear about
both those meetings.

I want to caution
you, lieutenant.

You're confusing my organization

with some shabby
left-wing outfit.

We don't behave that way.

Did you discuss a
demonstration against him?

We don't demonstrate.

We hold lawfully
assembled meetings.

Isn't it true that when
Rhinelander's death

was announced,

you put up your own
name as his successor?

Isn't it true that as soon

as Rhinelander's
death was announced

you put up your own
name as his successor?

Oh, yes, that's true.

I happen to think I
can do a better job.

A more compassionate job.

( sighs )

Thank you, Dr. Gary.

Um, let me, eh, put you
onto something, inspector.

The man you wanna
talk to is Howard Spring.

Eh, Spring and his
property owners.

They're a bunch of,
heh, right-wing zealots.

Thanks for the tip.

Hello, Dr. Gary.

( sighs )

Mr. Spring.

Well, it's good to
see that our taxes

are being used properly.

Oh, yes, well, eh,
some of them, anyway.

( door slams )

Dry as a bone. Anything?

No. You?

Nothing.

You know, I'm still hung
up on those 18 minutes?

A guy who lives by a stopwatch,

according to his
wife and secretary.

How does he get
that far off schedule?

He leaves his office at
exactly ten minutes to 10.

It's exactly a ten-minute walk,

and he arrives at
Gump's at 18 after.

You know, maybe it
doesn't mean anything.

Like all of those
criminology books of yours.

What was that chapter
you were telling me about,

where the, um... The, uh,
way a cigar got chewed up,

told you all about the
suspect's inner conflict?

Now wait a minute. I
don't write those books.

I read 'em, but
I don't write 'em.

You know what I'd do

if I ever had to write a book?

What?

I'd say sometimes
a chewed-up cigar

is just a chewed-up cigar.

I'll call the
distributor tomorrow,

tell him you'll be
back on the truck.

Let's face it, Lowell,

I don't need you anymore.

I'm not going anywhere.

I'll finish the day with you.

You know, I really
feel lousy about this.

Go get him.

Here you are, mister. Thank you.

( suspenseful theme playing )

Thanks.

Hey, Lowell.

Take over.

CAGNEY: Seven.

( elevator dings )

Seven.

( elevator rings )

( elevator door opens )

( vacuum whirs )

( suspenseful theme playing )

( dramatic theme playing )

( panting )

Little monkey down on
the corner, he spotted me.

How?

I don't know how, but he did.

Did you hit him?

Yeah, maybe a piece,
but I didn't stop him.

All right, pack it
up. And don't panic.

( sighs )

MAN ( over radio
): Inspectors 81.

We have a 217, corner
of Powell and Geary.

Ambulance on scene.

10-4.

( dramatic theme playing )

( tires screeching )

Wally. KELLER: You all right?

Hey, you guys. They're in there.

The... Th-the punks
that stole my money.

They shot from up
there? No, no, in...

In the hotel, there.
I saw the room.

Slow down. Who?

Well, I stumbled on
something, you know.

I recognized a shoe.

One of those, eh,
modern, fancy jobs.

The guys that
stole my money. Oh.

Just a scratch, just a scratch.

I move fast, you
know, hard to hit.

Let's get 'em, Mike.

All right. Come on,
hero, let's go, heh.

( tense theme playing )

Ho!

( suspenseful theme playing )

Nothing?

All right, Wally.

No suitcases, nothing.

They didn't pay their bill.

How many guys registered here?

Uh, three. Businessmen types.

I made a mental note,

uh, salesmen for
some big company.

They said they had a lot of
appointments during the day,

and they wanted the sitting
room for their meetings at night.

You know, when they got together

and gathered up their notes.

STONE: Check the garage.

If they had a car,

find the make and
the license number.

Steve, come here.

What've you got, Mike?

Look down there.

Shoppers,
businessmen, secretaries

going out to lunch,
coffee breaks.

Everybody hustling.

Nobody really
looking at the next guy.

You're right.

It's a whole choreographed
scene from here.

Everybody's daily pattern.

Lens paper.

Binoculars.

STONE: Three guys
sitting up here watching,

taking it all in.

Downtown raiders,
moving in on easy marks.

Women with department
store shopping bags,

men with expensive wristwatches.

Newsies who talk about
how much they're gonna

draw out of the bank.

I got a big mouth.

Successful-looking businessman

enters an expensive
jewelry store.

He looks like an easy mark.

Just another yellow pin.

And he ends up a red one.

MANAGER: Left just a few
moments ago in a yellow LTD.

The license number on
the tag was 721-ENO.

What's the garage
exit they left from?

Uh, Powell. Headed
for California Street.

And up the bridge.

Thank you.

( upbeat theme playing )

( cable car's bell rings )

( pants )

Jump in, jump in.

I see your argument.
I'm not sure you're right,

but I do see your argument.

They gotta be
heading for the bridge.

If they head up Powell,

they're going over
California Street.

They're going over California,
they're headin' for Van Ness.

If on Van Ness, they're
going over the bridge. But...

And this is a big but.

They could've gone the
other way on Van Ness,

and circled back
to the peninsula.

Now these guys are
no dummies, you know.

They... They could've
lost us by now.

If you wanna push
that thing a little harder,

it's okay with me.

Wally.

Huh?

Shut up.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Shut up, Wally. Shut up.

Traffic 27, Route
1025, Inspectors 81.

Our 10-20, um,
Ria and Cervantes.

Suspect vehicle
yellow and black LTD...

( siren wails )

heading west toward Highway 101

to Golden Gate Bridge.

Inspectors 81 in pursuit.

( dramatic theme playing )

( siren wailing )

( siren wailing )

( tires screech )

( tires screech )

STONE: Get in there.

( siren stops )

( gunshot )

( both panting )

Hey, man.

You hold on, man, just hold on.

( suspenseful theme playing )

( gunshots )

( ominous theme playing )

Hold it.

Drop it.

Against the wall.

Come on.

Don't try it.

( panting )

Now, how bad?

Could be worse.

Come. Come on, get up.

( handcuffs clank )

All right, come on.

( handcuffs clank )

Let's go.

( Wally chuckles )

You did it. You guys did it.

I knew you could.
I knew you could.

Check in. Tell them
who really did it.

Central Division, this is 81.

Stone, Keller and Sensibaugh.

( chuckles )

Be my guest.

( upbeat theme playing )

Here we go, here we go.

( laughs )

Hey.

KELLER: When are you taking off?

Tomorrow.

STONE: Send us a
postcard, will you, Wally?

First day. No make
it the second day.

Harriet and I gotta
handle the jet lag.

You guys heard
about the jet lag?

The jet lag. Yeah, I know.

Have a good vacation,
will you, Wally.

Enjoy it, Wally, enjoy.

Thanks, thanks. And you
guys take care of things, huh?

Keep the rain off the rhubarb?

Right. Yeah.

Hey. We got happy
stories today. Happy stories.

We got happy dogs,
happy cats, happy children.

Hey. We got happy
finance. We got happy sports.

We got happy business.

Yes. Happy...

( funky jazz theme playing )