Original subtitles

Don't put on a light.

Joey.

Joey Curtis.

But not that sure that they didn't see me come in.

Mannix. I'm hurt.

Mannix.

Beat. What happened, Joey?

Green. Easy.

It'll keep.

Easy, Joey.

Kelly.

Green.

Frame.

Yeah, this is an emergency operator. I need an ambulance. Name is Maddox. I'm

17 Paseo Verde.

Yes, sir. That's 17 Paseo... Hello?

Hello?

I've done the phone bit.

Good evening.

Where is our young friend?

Well, you got me.

Whoever he was, he came in here and went out with the speed of light.

Hey, this guy's an investigator, man.

Really?

Well, Mr. Mannix, that may put a slightly different complexion on the

but I do hope you'll choose to cooperate.

Why not?

Splendid. Find him.

Why did he come to you?

Well, I don't know.

Say, by the way, who is he?

Oh, come off it, Mr.

Mannix. Please don't play the fool.

It will only cause a good deal of unpleasantness.

I suggest you trot him out and answer my question and quickly.

Where do you get off breaking in here like this?

In your business, I should think you'd have learned the realities.

You'd be out of your mind to cut it this close.

I want the boy.

I did get that call through before you cut the line. Where is he?

Yeah, baby.

Where is he?

He's coming, too.

Mr. Mannix, are you all right?

All right, Peggy.

Mr. Mannix, can you feel this?

Of course I can feel that.

What are you doing here, Peggy?

Piling up overtime?

The police phoned me when the ambulance call came in.

Mr. Maddox, please lay back.

He's gone.

Who? Well, that kid, Joey.

No one could be there.

What do you mean, no one could be there?

That's where we found you.

Well, that's all very well, Peggy, but we have to have a charge number. Now, if

I don't, Wickersham's going to have my head.

As a matter of fact, ever since Mannix left Intertech, one hour a day is

to Haydegan.

Now, who do we charge it to?

Well, with any kind of luck, we can charge it to us.

But suppose, uh, just suppose we don't come up with a satisfactory answer.

Intertech's fabulous computers knock them up with bingo?

Parker, think what you're saying.

Well, no matter how remote, there's always a possibility.

The whole of civilization is built on faith, Parker.

Don't waver.

know any more about him, Lieutenant.

Joey Curtis was a kid I used on a job once because he knew Cleveland.

This was 1965?

Yeah, October.

When the going got rough, he stayed right in there with me. Now, he may be a

punk, but whatever he was, you liked him.

And I don't think he had any real connections then. He was on the fringe,

useful, trying to get noticed, so some of the heavy money would pick him up and

make him a member.

Looks like someone did all right.

What do you got?

Assorted. Some good news, some bad.

No, I never saw him in Los Angeles. I never heard of him outside of Cleveland.

Nobody else did either.

Yeah, yeah, I'm listening. Go ahead, Lieutenant.

Chick Muller, never heard of him. Ditto Red Jake.

Yeah, ditto, ditto, ditto.

Uh, Lieutenant, do me a favor.

See what Cleveland can make.

Look, what do you think we are around here, Mannix? An extension of your

Lieutenant, I'm an outraged citizen.

I was hauled out of bed and brutally assaulted.

Okay, we'll do what we can.

Ditto all of them. There is no Joey Curtis.

Kelly Green frame.

That's the key.

Frame.

When I knew Joey Curtis, he thought a work of art meant counterfeit money.

Frame. That's a frame -up.

Kelly Green.

Color, description.

Best assumption is it's a name.

So we looked for somebody with the name Kelly Green.

That's, uh, what the computer said.

I took the liberty of going to, well, you know, a certain organization.

Now, don't be angry, because it worked.

Intertech put Kelly Green frame through the computer, and what do you think?

That I'm going to strangle you.

Well, there's a girl named Margaret Green, who is the daughter of a

judge, Francis M. Green, and her nickname just happens to be Kelly.

Right.

Kelly Green.

Reputedly, a real swinging doll.

Even the computer drooled a little.

Mr. McClure, how did it happen?

Where is he? I want to see him.

All right, I'll wait for you.

No, I won't say a word to anyone.

Mr. Mannix is here, Miss Kelly.

Thank you, Norma.

Miss Green?

You're a private investigator, Mr. Mannix.

Yes, that's right.

About 2 a .m. this morning, a young fellow just got out the words Kelly

Freeman and passed out.

What's that got to do with me?

Well, your name is Green and your nickname is Kelly.

And I'm in a frame.

Sorry, try another color.

All right, black. Black hair, about 25 or 6 years old. Average height, slim.

Good -looking boy.

You know anybody like that?

No.

His name was Joey Curtis.

What happened to him?

He was beaten half to death by professionals.

This boy, was he a friend of yours?

I knew him in Cleveland.

He did me a favor once. I liked him.

And if I knew this Joey Curtis, which I don't, what was I supposed to do? Talk

to me.

Tell me if you're in some kind of trouble.

Tell me why somebody would want Joey worked over.

I told you, Mr. Mannix.

I don't know him.

I can't help you.

I'm sorry.

Excuse me.

Yes, sir.

I'd like to see Judge Green for a minute. A frame, Mr. Mannix?

What sort of a frame?

I don't know, sir.

Well, why should this man come to you with this cryptic phrase?

It was cryptic because he didn't have any more breath.

I understand.

Now, this whole theory of yours rests on the assumption that this young man was

talking about my daughter.

That's right, sir.

Yet Kelly told you she didn't know a Joey Curtis.

I think she was lying.

Mr. Mannix, you said you'd gone to the police.

Well, I suggest you leave it there. Good afternoon.

Judge.

Your daughter may be up to her ears in something she can't handle.

Mr. Mannix, if you expect me to hire you to protect my daughter from this

mysterious frame, the answer is no.

Thank you for your time, Judge.

Not at all.

I appreciate your concern.

Kelly, darling, I want to talk to you.

Peggy, get me Lieutenant Hargrove on the phone.

There's big money inside.

Oh? Morgan Farrell.

Well, roving vice president of the Mafia Acceptance Corporation.

Hello. Lieutenant Hargrove, please.

Thank you.

Two back in five minutes.

What's Farrell want?

He didn't say. Said it was very important.

And if he didn't see you immediately, buildings all over town will fall down.

Very interesting.

You see, Peggy, you ask a few questions in the right places and suddenly it

becomes earthquake country.

Oh, uh, hold up on that phone call to Lieutenant Hargrove, huh? Oh, Mr.

Farrell's not alone.

Bodyguard?

Body.

Mr. Maddox?

I'm Morgan Farrell.

This is Miss Hampstead from my office.

Miss Hampstead, a pleasure.

Oh, can I get you a drink or something?

Perhaps later?

You know, Mr. Mannix, I love books ever since I was a kid.

Just bought a whole library from some guy. A phony.

Never cut the pages.

Anybody knows that.

Even if you don't read them, you always cut the pages.

Right.

Well, now, what can I do for you, Mr. Farrell?

I've heard a lot about you, Mannix, from some of my associates.

We don't have to use names.

I've got a job for you.

That's what I'm here for.

We have an outfit in Hong Kong that deals in gold. That is, we don't. A U

citizen isn't allowed to own gold or trade in it.

But there's a Chinese who has an outfit, Lim Young. He does.

Farrow and Associates have sunk a big stake in Lim Young and Company Limited.

And the way these deals work out, it's mostly bookkeeping.

You understand?

Oh, bookkeeping.

Right. And that comes down to who does the bookkeeping.

And this Chinese brand of double -entry stuff is mighty peculiar.

I can imagine.

Now, we sent our own security men over, and they've come back, maybe a little

fatter, maybe not.

But there's been no change in the bookkeeping.

Now, what I want you to do, Mannix, is hop a plane to Hong Kong and find out

what's going on. You can write your own check.

Miss Hampstead, who's got the whole deal in her head, will go along.

With me?

Naturally.

Miss Hampstead is a first -class bookkeeper.

A bookkeeper?

First class.

She'll give you the dope on the business and the characters and what they may be

trying to pull off.

Miss Hampstead is a very efficient young lady.

I have taken the liberty of making up a little schedule for you, Mr. Mannix.

First, we'll need your passport.

It is in order, isn't it?

Oh, yes, of course.

Good.

TOA is holding accommodations for us.

First class, naturally.

Of course.

They'll need our passports by 2 p .m. Okay, Mannix.

Naturally. I mean, who can turn down all of this in first class?

Why isn't he in a hospital?

There's nothing more a hospital could do for him. He has my own doctor.

We're arranging for a nurse.

You didn't tell me he was this bad.

You said just a couple of bruises.

Anyone thrown from a moving car is going to hurt.

And look like it.

You'll be all right, Kelly.

Is that what your doctor said?

Kelly, please.

Your friend Mannix told me you were worked over by professionals.

Thugs. Who sent them? Who hired them?

Let it rest, Kelly.

Don't start turning over rocks.

You'll never know what you'll find underneath them.

I'm a big girl.

Big enough to love a man.

Old enough to take whatever trouble comes with him.

I want Joey in a hospital.

I want the police called in.

No.

Joey, Joey.

Whatever happens, whatever it is, we can stay together and come out on the other

side. We can.

you in a hospital.

Look at you well.

You're going to be so ugly.

I'm going to have to learn to stand the sight of you.

No, Kelly.

No. No hospitals.

No police.

Kelly, they'll ask questions, and we can't stand the answers.

The men who beat me up, Kelly,

those men were paid by your father.

I'm certainly impressed with Farrow & Associates. A very generous

To think all this money just for incidental expenses.

I certainly hope that the generosity of the organization extends down through

the entire personnel.

Oh, excuse me a moment.

Peggy? Yeah?

Miss Hempstead and I are leaving on a trip.

Oh. Business.

We're going to Hong Kong almost immediately.

Why not?

I mean, there's nothing special cooking around here.

And who wants to be in town during the earthquake weather?

Head for the hills, I always say.

Oh, by the way, have you seen my passport?

Didn't you have it? Now I remember. It's in the security files.

I'll be back in a minute.

What's this about Hong Kong?

The big payoff.

Days of wine and roses with Miss Hampstead.

The question is, how does Morgan Farrow tie in with Kelly Green?

Ask Miss Green.

Yeah, what if I could find her?

Frame.

Usually means pressure, but pressure on Kelly.

For what?

Money. This is an outfit that spits money.

What else could Kelly Green have?

A father.

That's a judge.

Judge Francis M. Green.

Exactly. If he's in their pocket.

And maybe they're putting the squeeze on him and using Kelly whether she knows

it or not.

Hey, what do I do with Miss Hampstead?

Well, tell her I'm out looking for her passport. I don't know, show her

of Hong Kong. Get it stoned.

Everything?

That's no trouble, Joe.

Here, Judge Green's calendar for the next couple of days. Yeah, thanks,

Yeah, people of the state of California versus Philip.

People of the state of California versus Jennings. People of the state of

California versus Mariko.

Rudolph, violation section 187, penal rule.

Murder.

Rudy Mariko?

Yeah, one and the same.

I didn't know Judge Green was sitting on the Mariko case.

Well, that all depends.

See, first he has to rule on the plea for change of venue.

See, Mariko's attorneys say he'd never get a fair trial here.

So they ask for a move and hold the trial in the north.

And Judge Green's got to decide, huh?

What's the word?

Which one? The top, middle, or the bottom? Package.

All right, on top, Rudy Marico is feeling fragile and decided he's

the smell of gas.

As in chamber? Right, thus making him talkative.

And in the middle is the good judge himself being pressured from both sides.

The word is that Marico's old acquaintance is uptight.

And they don't want him chatting about them, you see.

The Plains is like Morgan Farrell.

Well, I'd say he's one.

So Rudy Marico is now prepared to sing along.

And tomorrow, Judge Green decides where he hits the high notes.

Leading to what?

Well, look at it this way.

Right now, Rudy Marico is in maximum security.

But if the trial's held up north and he's moved in a car plane...

A world full of strangers, full of surprises.

If somewhere en route, that security relaxes.

What?

Mariko goes up in smoke.

You want this one too, Cal?

Here comes the jerk.

Yeah, that one and a cosmetic case.

Boys, if you wouldn't mind for a minute.

Excuse me, Dad. I mean, you're... Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Kelly,

do you mind getting rid of your friends for a minute?

I'm sorry. I don't want to play the big scene.

Kelly! Easy, George. No, easy.

Easy.

Easy.

Easy.

Ellie, I don't want any more of this.

I'm sorry, Kelly.

It's okay.

I'm going to have to send you a bill, Judge.

Kelly, will you go downstairs with me?

No.

Then we'll talk here.

You're really going to play the scene, aren't you?

It won't do you any good.

Don't you understand I'm through?

I don't want to talk about it.

Kelly, no matter what you've been led to believe, how much you're in love, no

matter how we've argued,

Please have a little faith in me.

I'm your father and I love you very much.

I believe you.

That's what makes it so ugly.

What do you want me to do? Tell me.

You love me.

I want you to love Joey just as much.

Well, maybe I don't know him. We could talk. I could try.

Liar.

You had him beaten.

You had him hurt.

You believe that?

I hope you love me very much, Father.

I want you to hurt, too.

Then you've won something, I suppose, Kelly.

You hurt me.

Get the bags.

Let her go.

I'll let you out when I'm good and ready.

Will you behave yourself?

Will you stop the car?

Now you listen to me.

Those planes of yours aren't surf pumps.

They're bad news. I'm not interested.

Will you stop the car?

your life in danger is that what my father told you to say sit down here

Stay quiet, Joey, or I'll have to hurt you again.

The games are over.

Mannix is causing real trouble.

So we do it the nasty way.

Tell your pigeon the facts.

Happy honeymoon.

Keep your eye on him.

It's not bad, then.

It's worse.

I... I lied to you.

About everything.

Every time.

From scratch.

Right up to telling you your father paid someone to beat me up.

He didn't.

McClure had somebody work me over.

The idea was...

Dr. Kahn, you make you fall for me.

Then your father gets shook up.

And when McClure promises that something might happen to you, he decides to

trade a favor for a favor.

Get somebody named Rudy Mariko out in the open for a hit.

Why were you beaten then?

Because you worked.

I shut you up. You fell.

And I went right over the cliff with you.

I fell in love with you.

I told him I wanted out.

I wanted you.

I wanted to tell you.

Kelly, I'm... I'm... A man I love.

And I take whatever trouble comes with him.

All of it?

And Stone calls sober.

I'm sorry, Miss Hampstead, but that Hong Kong trip is off.

You see, there's going to be a change of venue.

Unfortunately, I'm working on a case involving Rudy Marico.

I will tell Mr. Farrow.

I don't think he'll like it.

Farrow and his troops are going to be after you, and soon.

I sure hope so.

Peggy, you stick around. I may need you.

Where are you going?

I've got to see Judge Green.

I don't know where he is.

He does this sometimes when he's upset or a case troubles him.

Does what?

Well, he goes off so he can think.

Oh, where?

I'm sorry, sir. I can't tell you that.

Look, I've got to see him tonight. Kelly is... Miss Green is in serious trouble.

I don't know.

Now, I mean it when I say she's in serious trouble.

Well, all right.

It's a small cabin up near Lake Arrowhead, 55 Bellevue Road.

Mannix, I don't know whether you're a madman or just totally unprincipled, but

you are going to leave here, and at once.

You think it's going to be that easy, huh, Judge?

Give Mariko a change of venue, get him out of jail, and on his way to wherever

they told you?

Seems simple enough.

No suspicion on you.

You really think that's a way to help Kelly?

I assure you, Mannix, you're wrong.

Terribly wrong.

Kelly has spoken to me. She wants to be alone, to think about this fellow.

She's reconsidering this infatuation.

And I have some thinking to do myself.

Alone.

I'm giving the Mariko situation a going over.

Tomorrow I have to make a decision on the facts.

You're down on your knees, aren't you, Judge?

They got to Kelly.

The one thing in the world that you really care about. And they're putting a

squeeze on good and tight.

I could make my own decisions.

Even if it costs Kelly her life? I'm trying to save her life.

Do you think after 20 years on the bench, I'd prefer justice just to keep

daughter away from a boy I don't even know?

No.

They made it perfectly clear to me.

If I didn't do what they wanted, if I disqualified myself,

there'd be an accident.

A dirty accident.

Kelly and Joey Curtis.

Maybe both of them stinking of liquor.

Or shot full of drugs. Found dead in Mexico.

Or on a mountain road in the Sierras.

Somewhere.

She's all I've got.

A wild rebel kid, but... She's all I've got.

How a man could lie to himself.

Tonight I was ready to believe objectively, judicially, that Mariko

very well be unable to stand trial fairly here.

I hate to say this, Judge, but even if you do what they want, I don't think

there's a chance in the world you'll ever see Kelly again.

If they do anything to Kelly... Now, there's one way we can get her back, if

you're willing to gamble.

Gamble? Kelly's life on what? On me.

And an idea.

Now, it's not a very good gamble, but it's the only one in town.

Don't you realize if you interfere that I might louse things up sure?

If I do nothing, I won't be responsible for her death.

But that's the only difference.

Now, there's one way we might get her back alive and make this gamble work.

You've got to call me and say you're going to the police and spill a whole

story.

And it's up to you, Judge.

My number's here on this card.

Her life depends on your call.

Hello?

Oh, Mr. Mannix, I was right about Morgan Farrow's troops.

There's a couple of strange -looking characters lurking around outside.

Good. We might need him. Now, listen to me, Peggy.

In about an hour, you lock up shop and get in your car and drive off. Park a

couple blocks away, then double back and stay out of sight.

Now, if it looks like I'm going on a little trip, you get on that phone fast,

huh? Right.

Hello, Mannix.

I've been acting as your answering service. I hope you don't mind.

Not at all.

While you were out, Judge Green has been trying to reach you.

Make the call.

This is Mannix.

The police are on their way here now.

I'm going to tell them what I know, as you suggested.

Yes, sir.

Mannix, you've got yourself a client.

I want you to consult with the police and proceed.

Yes, sir.

And I'm sorry what this will mean for you.

That's unimportant now.

Oh, Mannix.

Yes, sir.

What sort of a chance do we have?

Well, I, uh...

I can't really estimate that.

I'll be in touch.

The plane under call?

Right.

Get her to the field.

Joey and the girl.

We'll make it a full load.

Oh, then I get to see Hong Kong after all, huh?

That's a break you missed for good.

Like my boys are cutting it pretty close.

What boys?

The police helicopter.

Not to mention the boys on wheels.

Sure, sure. You've got a stakeout.

Take a look at it, Farrell.

Would I have gone back to my place when I knew you were looking for me? Or send

word back with Miss Hampstead?

I had to find Kelly somehow.

Beginning to get the picture?

You want to load up Romeo and his chick? Get him aboard.

Hurry. Okay.

Let's get him out of there That

was

communications the cars haven't found him yet, maybe the helicopters will

I hope so.

Snap it up.

I'm sorry, Mannix.

You'd be better off staying, Pharaoh. No matter what happens in the Mariko deal,

you'd make out. Your connections, money.

Belief. He wasn't bluffing. You've blown it, Pharaoh.

That's no police chopper.

That's Navy.

Good try, Mannix.

Let's get moving.

Farrow, the minute you roll that plane, you'll be a kidnapper. You know the

penalty for kidnapping.

That's not Navy.

Go up. We're going to run.

You'll go around them.

Get him to a hospital.

We'll need an ambulance.

Easy, darling.

Joey!

Joe!

Maddox?

It's going to be all right, Kelly.

We've come a long way since Cleveland, Joey.