Original subtitles

Hmm.

This is the story of Walter Nebecker.

Doing what he likes best, fighting crime in the streets.

You see, Walter's a policeman.

Unfortunately, the chief doesn't want Walter on the streets.

Captain, get back to your cage, boy.

Now! So Walter must fight crime in his own way, in the computer room.

That's where he's an expert.

Fortunately for me, Walter's advanced knowledge of electronics led him to

experiment with what is called a hologram.

That's a very fancy word for a three -dimensional picture that, when

can be made to look real, sound real.

As a matter of fact, given enough power, it can even be made to feel real.

That's kind of what got me into this world.

My name is Auto Man.

You must be Walter Nebeka.

How did you know that? It's on the programming you fed into my system. I

say, Walter, you're very good. Very good indeed.

I look wonderful.

If you do say so yourself.

You programmed me to be honest.

But tell me, why did you call me Auto Man? It means that you're the world's

first truly automatic man.

You can do anything because you're not real.

Oh, but I am. I'm as real as you are, just different.

And thanks to you, perfect.

Nobody's perfect, Auto Man.

That's not true, Walter.

You've programmed me to observe other people and do whatever they can do as

as they can do it.

Jimmy Connors playing tennis, John Travolta dancing.

In fact, on a scale of one to ten, think of me as an eleven.

I've created a monster.

No, what Walter really created was a wonderful force for good.

Auto Man.

That's me.

for heavy backup roger gallop on my way this is the police pull your vehicle

over to the side of the road

crashed into a campground in Chatsworth this morning, killing the pilots on

board and three other people on the ground.

FAA investigators are on their way to the scene to determine what caused the

Air 860 to fall from the sky during its pursuit of a burglary suspect.

We'll have a complete update for you on the news.

We've got to talk.

Sure. Drink?

No. Did you hear about the accident?

What accident?

It's all over the news. A police helicopter went down this morning.

I'm sorry to hear that. It was a Velair 860.

How's that our problem?

We didn't do business with Velair.

I've got a computer disc in my office that said we did.

We should have anticipated something like this. We paid almost nothing for

surplus parts, and that's exactly what we got.

Henry, accidents happen.

Five people lost their lives, Jarrett.

That's unfortunate.

We're going to run tests on those remaining parts.

Henry, three days from now, the problems of this company belong to the new

owner, not us. Now, you're not going to red flag a deal it took a year to put

together. There have been three accidents in the past three months.

I am not going to be responsible for another preventable tragedy, Jarrett.

I am afraid my partner's become a bit of a problem.

Problems are the last thing you can afford right now.

I need to get this out to my daughter in the afternoon mail.

I wish I could talk some sense into him. I don't think talk is going to do it.

Hang on a minute.

Hello?

Ed, this is Henry.

Oh, hello, Henry. How are you?

Not too good.

Listen, Ed, is there some place where we can meet?

Let me get rid of my other call.

You believe in miracles?

Guess who I got on the other line?

Who? Your problem.

I'll get back to you.

Yes, Henry. How about that place I took you last time?

Club Dionysus.

Well, that's fine.

What time?

How's 8 o 'clock?

You're on.

I don't know if I can, Norm. Wally, believe me. I have been in the video

business for a long, long while.

But I can't remember the last time I saw something that had winner written all

over it like this thing does.

So, uh, what is it? They want to design a video game based on the TV show

Abilene.

The soap opera?

Is that an idea whose time has come or what?

Well, I don't know, Norm. I think you're talking to the wrong guy. I'm not much

of a fan of that kind of thing. Nope.

I've never even seen the show. No problem, no problem. I got six months of

videotape right here. Now, you check this out, and you tell me if that isn't

worth money in the bank.

Well... I'm not gonna promise anything. No, wait a minute. All I'm asking

is that you give it half a chance.

Terrific wallets. I'll eat them on the way out. Bye -bye. Okay.

Otto? You seem surprised with someone who programmed my arrival.

I did?

We were going to work on some refinements of my database.

Oh, that's right, yeah. I have some tapes on criminal behavior I got from

Sounds wonderful.

Huh.

Hello? No problem at all, Captain.

I'll be right there.

What is it, Walter?

Oh, a small emergency down at headquarters.

I gotta go.

Anything I can do?

Oh, no, just stay out of trouble. I shouldn't be gone that long.

Hmm.

These must be those criminology tapes.

Abilene? What's that got to do with crime?

Well, no sense wasting time.

I hope I don't seem ungrateful, then.

You were nothing short of a miracle worker arranging that foreign bank loan

us, but... Believe me, Henry, you're doing the right thing.

Trying to sell a company under a cloud is only going to make a bad situation

worse. I wish Jared could see it that way.

He wanted a stone wallet until the deal was made.

The sooner you get this behind you, the better.

As a matter of fact, we're going to go talk to Jared as soon as we leave here.

Once you both make a clean breast of it to the authorities, you'll feel a

thousand percent better.

Well, I'm glad someone doesn't think I'm crazy.

Shall we?

I just want you to know your partner won't be into work tomorrow.

He had to make a detour.

By the morgue.

You killed him?

It was that or watch him blow the sail of the company clear out of the water.

Now listen to me.

Carefully.

I want you to go through his office.

He has the entire operation on a disc.

I know. I turned his office upside down after he left tonight.

Now the disc was gone. I assumed he took it with him.

That disc gets in the wrong hands and you're going to have one hell of a time

hanging off that loan I arranged.

Don't worry. You can tell your friends that I'll pay them their money just as

soon as the sale goes through.

I hope so.

They're not the kind of people to disappoint.

Oh, yes, sir. I am doing that right now. I am putting Lieutenant Curtis on the

case.

Yes, sir, will do.

Second call from the commissioner.

Every time some big, high, muckety -muck like Henry Innes gets murdered, it's

then the torpedoes, so we find out who did it.

Nebbish, come on in.

What's up?

Did you ever hear of Henry Innes?

The aerospace guy.

Yeah, his body was found tonight in a downtown alley.

Might have been a mugging. He was missing his billfold, he was missing his

jewelry. Now, I don't know if this figures or not. His secretary says that

was very rattled today and she's never seen him so upset.

Any suspects?

No. We did find this appointment book in his briefcase, though. I want you to

look at the last entry.

CD 2000.

An abbreviation of some kind. Any idea what it means?

Isn't that what you and your high -priced hardware store are for?

I'll get on it right away.

All right.

Has the family been notified?

There's only a daughter. We haven't been able to contact her.

So we better put a newslet on this thing until we do. All right.

Are you still working on that appointment book entry?

Oh, yeah, I keep going in circles on it.

Wally, I never thought I'd say this, but have you thought about calling Auto

Man? I'm quite capable of figuring out a simple abbreviation without running to

a hologram for help.

Walter,

you called?

Second opinion never hurts.

Well, I'll leave you two to your flu thing.

Bye -bye, Roxanne.

Have a good evening, gorgeous.

What was that all about?

I'm a new man, Walter.

And I owe it all to you. And to those marvelous tapes.

The tapes on criminal behavior?

That's what you said. I found it odd. They were all set in a town called

Abilene.

Soap opera.

Otto, you watched the wrong tapes. Not wrong.

Right. Fact.

For the first time, I've realized what's been missing in my life.

What's been missing?

Lust, Walter.

Passion. Ruthlessness. Deceit.

I'm missing the struggle for life's most worthy goals. Power and romance.

What have I done? Choruses of angels. Midnight rendezvous. Burning desires.

Yeah, yeah. Otto, Otto. I get the picture.

Walter, I've been in the world for close to six months.

And I still haven't fallen in love.

You don't understand.

You're a hologram. You're not even real.

Neither are the people in soap operas, and they fall in love every 20 minutes.

I don't believe this.

Walter, you don't want people to think I'm a wimp.

No, I don't.

But if you don't mind, I'd appreciate you directing your energies toward

cracking that code that I fed into your memory bank.

That was a breeze.

Oh. Did you figure out what CD means?

Well, I came up with three possibilities.

One, certificate of deposit.

It's a financial instrument.

Two, Carnival Dream, a long shot in yesterday's fifth race at Hollywood

Innes was something of a horse player. And the most likely possibility, Club

Dionysus. He had a credit card receipt from that establishment.

Otto, you're terrific. That's a singles club on Lancashire.

Now, what about that 2 ,000?

Military for 8 p .m. He spent six years in the Navy.

Which means he had an appointment at that bar last night.

It may just pay to go down there and ask some questions. It's a good thing I'm

familiar with the case. We can go over the questions on the way. Otto, Otto,

in your present state of mind. A single club full of eligible young women just

isn't the place for an inexperienced young hologram.

Well, I guess you're right.

Good luck, Walter.

Thanks, Otto.

I never would have found that place without you.

You're darn right he couldn't have found that place without me.

There's one thing I've learned from Abilene, it's you don't take no for an

answer. Besides, my program won't allow me to stand by idly if there's some way

I can help.

No, Cursor, it has nothing to do with the beautiful young women.

Now, res me up something chic, but unpretentious.

This should drive them wild.

Hey, where's the fire, buddy?

Auto Man?

Auto Man?

I could do that.

Probably better.

May I join you?

Till death do us part.

I mean, uh, sit down.

Hi there.

Well, hi.

She's spoken for.

Do you enjoy piano music? I love it.

It's my second favorite thing in the whole world.

What's that he's playing? Great Balls of Fire.

Do you play?

Try me.

Can I buy you a drink?

Hey, I saw him first.

Hi, my name is Rachel Ennett. I wonder if you know my father, Henry Ennett.

Ah, sorry, don't know the name.

Oh, well, maybe you'd know the face.

Here.

Yeah, I guess I've seen him once or twice.

Look, it's real important.

He was supposed to meet someone here last night, but he was murdered en

and I need to know who he was meeting.

Look, I'm really sorry to hear this.

All I know is the other times he was in here with Ed Scanlon. Good customer.

Do you know where I could find him?

No, sorry.

Oh, well, thanks.

Excuse me.

Rachel Innes?

Yes? My name is Walter Nebeker.

I'm a police officer.

I think we're here for the same reason.

Well, why don't we let the gentleman decide?

Well, it doesn't seem fair to deprive either of you.

How did you know about your father's appointment?

Look, sooner or later, you're going to have to start trusting somebody.

Excuse me for one moment.

Your place or mine?

Excuse me.

What are you doing here?

I was doing just fine until you interrupted.

Next time, we really should have a little signal worked out between us. It

really would save a lot of embarrassment.

I don't believe this.

Where did she go?

Where did who go?

There she is.

Uh, where are you going?

Oh, I'm sorry, but the smoke was really getting to me.

Well, that's okay. We can talk outside.

Oh, Rachel Innes, this is my associate, Otto.

Hello.

Walter,

is there a chorus of angels singing right now?

I got a call from my father about 7 o 'clock last night.

Did he call you from work?

Yeah, he was pretty upset.

He said he'd made some serious misjudgments, that he was involved in a

that could have devastating consequences if he couldn't stop it in time.

Oh, excuse me.

I'm feeling rather strange, Walter.

Probably interference from those power lines overhead.

Did he say anything else?

That he'd be coming to this bar later in the evening and that he'd call me when

he got home.

Only he never called.

Well, we'll do everything we can.

Right, Otto?

Rest assured.

We'll go to the ends of the earth if necessary.

We'll overcome any obstacle.

If I have to climb the highest mountain, cross the deepest river, Otto, we'll

get the idea.

Thanks.

Both of you.

Edward M. Scanlon, longtime operative for West Coast Organized Crime Family,

specializing in gambling and loan sharking.

And what would a reputable businessman like Ennis be doing meeting a man like

that? Maybe his partner can answer that.

Lieutenant Curtis, my wife Christine. How do you do? Hello, Lieutenant.

Now, if there's anything we can do to help expedite your investigation, just

name it.

For starters, could you tell me if Henry Innes had any enemies?

I thought he was the victim of street crime.

Well, that could be, but right now we just don't want to rule out any other

possibilities.

As far as I know, he was everybody's friend.

A colleague of mine spoke to his daughter. She seems to think that her

might have been in some sort of trouble, something that he couldn't handle.

Rachel always had an active imagination.

So you wouldn't know anything about that?

Well, if he was in some kind of trouble, he never shared it with me.

What about Ed Scanlon?

Is that a name I should know? What's the name of your partner named?

I'm afraid I can't help you there.

I don't recall us ever mentioning him.

What about you, Mrs. Powers?

Sorry, Lieutenant.

Is there anything else that either of you would like to tell me?

Just assure me you'll find Henry's killer.

I will.

Good day.

It wasn't your fault at all, will it, Joe?

It was an evil thing that E .J. was saying about me.

I couldn't convince anyone else he was lying. That's why I took off from

Memphis. Well, it's all over now, Willie Joe.

Autobahn? Shh!

What are you doing? Do you realize I've been trying to reach you all morning?

Walter? Would you please tell me what's going on?

Okay.

Willie Joe left the ranch after he got blamed for Bonnie's nervous breakdown.

But now he's come back only to find his stepbrother E .J.'s in love with both

Bonnie and her half -sister, Yvonne.

That's not what I meant.

Otto, you've gone absolutely mad.

No. You're thinking of Earl, Willie Joe's long -lost brother. Now, he is

Enough!

Why didn't you res up when I accessed you?

I didn't realize you'd called.

I called because Lieutenant Curtis has been asking for those profiles on

Henrietta's business associates.

The analysis you were supposed to leave on my desk this morning?

I'm sorry. I forgot.

Otto.

You're a computer.

You can't forget.

I have felt rather out of phase of late.

It seems every time I try to concentrate on something, my circuits get

overloaded by Rachel's face.

Walter, the simple fact is, I think I'm in love.

That's ridiculous.

How can you be in love?

You're an electronic display.

You're a series of commands.

And you're programmed to do police work.

Not to fall prey to human weaknesses.

Of course, you're right.

I can't possibly be feeling emotion.

I'm... I'm simply reacting to interesting stimuli.

All right. Now, look.

I'm going back to work.

When I get there, I want a full update on the Innocence Investigation. Cross

-indexed and summarized. Yes, Walter.

More soap operas!

It's falling apart, Scanlon. I can see it.

That Snoopy cop all but accused you of Innes' murder, and it's only a matter of

time before we're tied in with that helicopter accident.

Finding one defective part is a long way from proving a conspiracy.

You and your foolproof schemes.

I should never have taken that blood money.

I never want to hear you talk like that again, Powers.

Six months ago, this company would have gone belly up.

My friends hadn't bailed you out.

I haven't forgotten.

Well, I hope you haven't forgotten that the Barons are coming over to celebrate

buying the company.

Have the lawyers settled on a price?

Here are the figures.

Make sure Ennis' daughter's here tonight.

Her signature has to be on the papers.

It'll be easier if she makes a new owner. What happens if that young cop

been seen with gets in the way?

Don't worry.

I'll make sure he doesn't show up tonight.

Like I said!

what's to come.

Now stay away from Rachel, punk.

She's my girl.

Who's there?

Rachel Ennis.

Oh.

Hello, Otto.

They told me I could find Officer Nebuchadnezzar here.

He, uh, just left.

Is there anything I can do for you, Rachel?

Well, shouldn't we wait for Officer Nebaker?

Well, there's no need.

He works for me.

Please.

Now, how can I help you?

Well, Dad and Mr. Powers have been trying to sell the company for almost a

now. Suddenly I find out there's a party at the Powers estate tonight to

celebrate closing the deal.

Now, do you think this might have something to do with your father's

Well, I don't know.

I just didn't know who to turn to for help.

I just feel so alone right now.

Tell Mr. Powers you'll be bringing a date.

A millionaire by the name of, uh, Traspers.

Who's also a prospective buyer for the company. Would you do that?

Yes.

But who's this Mr.

Traspers?

Me.

You.

Why are you... sticking your neck out like this for me could be dangerous

because because it's my job

Of course, a change of pace is always nice.

Otto?

You here?

When I get my hands on him...

How long have you been playing the piano?

How long have I been sitting here?

You amaze me.

Great.

Not to mention the way you tickle those ivories.

I don't recall running into any ivories. Not to mention tickling them.

You know, you're a very special person.

Walter Nebuchadnezzar.

And how did you say you made your fortune, Mr. Joseph?

Oh, please, ma 'am. Plain old Billy would do just fine.

I'm in cattle.

How many head did you raise?

Oh, we raised the whole steer.

Head, body, and tail.

Oh,

there's the little fella now.

Folks.

I'd like you all to meet my personal accountant, Walter Higgins.

I'd never leave home without him.

Have an accident, Mr. Higgins?

No, thanks. I already had one.

Looks like the IRS got to you again.

Can we talk?

Walter tells me what I can afford and what I can't. Of course, there aren't

many things I can't afford, so he don't have much to do.

Otto. I'm just joking. Of course, there are a lot of things I can't afford.

For instance, there was that judge in Fort Worth.

The late, honorable Homer Banks.

Don't look so shocked.

Whatever Billy Traspas wants, Billy Traspas gets. Tell him, Walter.

Uh, well... What part of Texas are you from?

That funny little part on the left. The panhandle. I knew that, Walter.

They sure know how to grow them in the panhandle.

I'd like to propose a toast to Mr. and Mrs.

Behrens, who are about to become the new owners of this great company.

Thank you.

And to the memory of Henry Innes, who made it great.

You don't drink?

No sense risking a short circuit.

I know exactly what you mean.

Excuse me, I'll be back in a minute.

By the way, I love your collar.

Does the rest of you glow like that?

Well, as a matter of... Ah, Mr. Trospers.

Excuse me.

What happened to you, Walter?

I had a run -in with a couple of freelance chiropractors. What is this

about? Rachel didn't want the company sold until she found out what happened

her father.

So I thought this might do the trick.

And I wound up your accountant.

Well, I thought sidekick might offend you.

Your father didn't send you anything before he died, did he?

I don't know what you mean.

Well, he had a computer disk the accountants need to finish completing

inventory on our assets.

I don't know anything about a disk.

He might have mailed it, but then you haven't had a chance to check your mail.

Why would my father mail me something when he could hand it to me?

Don't worry. We have all the facts we need.

I'm just trying to save time.

You know the Rawlings on Abilene?

The TV show?

They're modeled after my family.

And what about that no -good E .J.? Modeled after me.

You don't strike me as being that ruthless.

Only when I'm going after something I want.

How much did you say you were paying for this company?

Well, actually, that's confidential.

What is it, $30 million?

Bordy, I'd rather not discuss it.

Oh, Mr. Powers?

Yes. I don't know what this geezer's offered you for your firm, but I've just

added 10%. What?

Now, see here, this transaction is all but done. It's a little late to reopen

the bidding.

20%. What?

I've just improved his offer by 20%. Cash.

Cash? Cash.

Do we talk or are we going to let this buzzard steal your company?

Well, you have to understand, Mr. Trosper, this is rather sudden. It'll

some time to study the proposal.

I understand that. Take 15 minutes.

What's the matter with you? You look like someone just put starch in your

bloomers. I've never met such a rude young man in all my days.

Not even when you were toast of the Dallas Cowboys?

Well, I never... It's not what those linebackers used to tell me.

What are you doing?

I'm saving them from financial disaster, Walter.

Yes, sirree, Mr. B.

She must have been a hot little number before the fire went out.

Theodore, let's go.

How about it, Mr. Powers?

Excuse me, I'd like to confer with my associates.

Certainly.

Yeah, I got you.

What?

Cavanaugh just ran a computer check on him.

Says the guy's worth maybe 500 mil.

And what are we waiting for?

I got a feeling we can ask our price.

I don't know.

It's all too easy.

I say we take this cowboy for all he's worth.

Darling, Lieutenant Curtis is here.

What can I do for you, Lieutenant?

Well, I thought you might be interested in our progress on your partner's murder

investigation.

Couldn't this wait until tomorrow? A traffic helicopter went down in

North Carolina this morning.

What does that have to do with anything? The fan mechanical failure is our

police chopper. Only this time, somebody traced the defective material to your

company right here.

Lieutenant, I'm sorry, but I can't help you.

Mr. Powers, I'll be working late tonight.

Police headquarters, if you think of anything, just call me, all right?

Listen, Otto, I think I know where we can find the answers to a lot of our

questions. Are you game?

Well, I started off this morning.

Well, then let's go.

What about Walter?

I think it'd be easier for just the two of us to slip away unnoticed.

Where to?

My father's beach house, Point Dune.

I'll just leave Walter a note.

Cursor?

Excuse me. Did you see that Mr. Higgins receives this? It's quite important.

Certainly, sir.

You really know how to travel and dial.

I like to think so.

For you.

Wait up.

Come on, faster, faster, move.

The car's been with us for miles.

Do you think they're following us?

Well, there's one way to find out.

Hang on.

Where'd they go?

It's my father's writing, and it's addressed to himself.

Now, be careful. Don't touch the shiny parts.

A disc's memory is very sensitive.

Interesting. What is it?

See this unit designated surplus?

The purchase price of the assembly from the manufacturer in the Orient was $1

,640.

But look what it was sold to the aircraft company for under the

new. $37 ,000?

Well, that's quite a markup considering it's just middlemen selling surplus

goods. I think the term is highway robbery.

Wait a minute.

See this name, Bel Air?

That's the name of the helicopter that had the rotor gear go out.

Now it's beginning to make sense.

Your father and his partner must have been engaged in the buying of surplus

parts and selling them as though they were new.

Well, that must be the catastrophe Dad was trying to avert. Another accident

like that helicopter crash.

We better get this information into the right hands.

I think it might be advisable to wait for Officer Nebaker.

He undoubtedly got my note.

This is Stanley.

We had him for about five miles, and then that sports car he was in took off

like a bat out of hell.

Where did you lose him?

Pacific Highway, just a mile or so north of Topanga Canyon.

That's it. They're headed for Henry's beach house.

I'll bring the papers for Rachel to sign, and I'll meet you there.

All right.

You are more beautiful than ever.

Is she your ex?

No. She's E .J.'s cousin.

You're crazy.

Yes.

About you.

I'm a little bit at a loss.

You see, this is the scene that's usually cut off by the commercial.

I was sure I was beginning to mean something to you.

Rachel, it would never work.

We're from two different worlds.

What are you saying?

I'd only disappoint you.

And I don't think I could stand to see you hurt.

I'm not interrupting anything, am I?

No.

Hello, Walter.

We think we have a good idea why Rachel's father was murdered.

What is it?

Yes, I think we'd all like to hear.

Mr. Scanlon, I presume.

I didn't buy that good old boy routine for one minute.

You're cops.

Both of you.

And unless I'm mistaken, you're the man behind Henry Innes' murder.

Not to mention the conspiracy to sell second -rate aircraft parts.

You're going to have a hard time proving much of anything in the condition I

leave you.

What do you want from us?

All I want from you is your signature on the sale of the company tomorrow.

Then why don't you let her go?

Because I'm not a fool, that's why.

Now, why doesn't everybody get nice and comfortable?

Mr. Powers is on his way now.

Young lady, move! I'm in a hurry! A big hurry!

No,

but don't let that stop you.

I

guess

we lost him.

I'll get on the radio to Lieutenant Curtis.

Chopper to headquarters.

Send backup units to the south of Malibu and then east on Canyon Road.

10 -4. I'll be there in about three minutes.

There they

are. How are we going to stop them?

We'll just have to close the road.

How are we going to do that?

Cursor?

What the hell is a wall doing in the middle of the road?

I could have sworn there was a wall here.

Come on, then.

Scanlon, get out.

Come on, get out. Up against it.

When I thought you were shot, something inside of me almost died.

I'm amazingly resilient.

I wish I could say the same from my heart.

I hate to sound like a soap opera, but no matter what happens, I'll never

you.

Never.

Is there anything wrong?

Would we bring vintage champagne if something was wrong?

No, Nebbish, for once something is right.

The FAA has grounded at least 90 helicopters and at least a dozen

based on the information you found.

Think of the lives you saved.

I didn't do it alone.

Well, it looks like Powell has turned to the mob to get his company a bailout.

Yeah, and after Scanlon got the loan, he put together a scam to make sure that

the mob got their money back. He arranged so they bought literally tons

second -rate parts and sold them as new.

And the disc you found on him is going to make the DA's work a lot easier.

Ooh, sweet sound of success. You know where that comes from?

Hard work.

Look it, Nebbish is here. It's 10 .30 at night.

He's still working on his computer stuff over there.

Yeah, what are you working on, son?

Well, uh, it isn't really very interesting.

Don't be modest, Walter. Tell him.

Well, uh, I was trying to figure out how many points to give it to 4C for having

an affair with her plastic surgeon.

See that? What'd I tell you?

Plastic surgeon?