Original subtitles

Goodbye, L .A.

Seven smog -free days.

Santa Barbara.

Penthouse, there's a woman being strangled. Oh, shit.

Turn around.

That's it. Penthouse with the umbrella.

I don't see anything.

Are you sure you saw... I saw someone trying to kill a woman.

Turn around. Let's head back.

That's it, Sarge. That's the umbrella I was looking at. A place like this, I

wouldn't want to disturb them for nothing.

Look, Kramer, I know what I saw. I saw a red -haired woman being strangled up

there. All right, all right.

If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have gotten conned into this.

Up there, huh?

Penthouse apartment.

The penthouse? Impossible.

Can you tell me... Who lives up there?

Mr. and Mrs. Montford. They're English from Nassau in the Bahamas.

What's happened?

Would you describe Mrs. Montford?

She's a lady.

Definitely a person of quality.

I mean, how does she look, age, and so forth?

Oh, well, she's very attractive. Red hair.

Average height, 5 '8", 6 or so.

Age, 35,

I'd say.

All right, we're going up now.

Don't call up. Don't do anything.

Yes? Sergeant George Kramer.

Are you Philip Monford?

Yes, I am.

Where's Mrs. Monford? Where?

Enjoying her privacy. Good day. Mr. Monford, we understand you may have had

little trouble here a few hours ago.

What sort of trouble?

Do you mind if we come in and look around?

Do you have a search warrant?

We could get one.

We?

And who are you, I beg?

The name is Mannix. The profession is obviously not the law.

To secure such one, Mr. Maddox, one has to show reasonable cause, and I doubt

you could.

But I believe in supporting local authorities.

Come in.

Kramer?

Is the terrace all right? I was looking down on that umbrella.

Looking down?

Yes, Mr. Montford, from a helicopter.

I looked down and saw a man strangling a woman out there.

What a shocking experience for you.

No wonder you've been acting so oddly.

But I assure you, you're quite wrong.

Sergeant, how could I be of help?

Well, simple. Just tell us where your wife is.

She's in the bedroom asleep.

At 1 .30?

We had rather an exhausting evening.

She's having a nap.

Well, I hate to intrude, Mr. Montford, but maybe she could shed a little light

on the situation.

Well, I doubt that.

We've been together all morning.

And you don't care to ask her?

No, Mr. Mannix, no, I wouldn't. She's really very tired.

I must ask you gentlemen to leave.

He's dodging, Kramer. She's dead.

I beg your pardon.

Now, let's all cool down.

Sergeant, I'm an attorney by profession.

I'm quite cool, thank you, and in full possession of my rights.

Kramer, I saw a red -haired woman being strangled out there. If his wife's

alive, let him produce her.

What's all the fuss about, darling?

It's a... It's a mistake.

My apologies, ma 'am. Mr.

Montford, sorry to have bothered you.

I saw you earlier.

Really?

I'm afraid you have the advantage over me, Mr... We don't know, Mr. Maddox,

darling. The situation shall, I trust, continue.

Good day, Mr. Maddox, gentlemen.

Mrs. Montford, I saw you earlier today fighting a man.

You were being strangled out there.

Mannix, move.

I'll, uh, say it again. I apologize. Of course, sir.

Mr. Mannix, I appreciate your concern over me, but really I'm quite all right.

Get a search warrant. Mannix, I went along with you because of your

even if your story was sort of far out. But come on, let it lie. Kramer, I saw a

man try to kill a red -haired woman on that terrace. Subber.

Well, I'll tell you what.

You find a corpse and I'll file a complaint. Fair enough? I know what I

can't hear you, Mannix. So stop chewing on my ear.

Monfort? M -O -N -T -F -O -R -D?

Yeah. Philip and Barth.

Very British.

From Nassau, the Bahamas.

According to the apartment manager, rich, respectable, and very

All of the wrong things.

For murderers, you mean?

I mean.

Are you sure?

Look, Peggy, I know what I saw. I saw Mrs. Monfort.

Well, I saw a red -haired woman being strangled on that terrace.

All right, I'm sorry.

But maybe it was a family argument.

They fight and then cover it up.

Oh, come on now, Peggy.

If they had a family argument, why wouldn't they tell us?

All right.

I believe.

Don't humor me. I'm not.

But if you don't know the difference between a murder and a family brawl,

you're in the wrong business.

I guess I just didn't want to believe because, well, it's going to be a hard

uphill fight.

Yeah, well, I'd embarrass Sergeant Kramer. Now he's going to have to file a

report.

The police will have me officially off base.

You know how that is. All right, okay. Now don't give me the hot defense of the

police department.

Look, I'm going to go check out the Montfords. I want you to... I know.

To find out if there have been any red -headed ladies discovered lately.

Dead.

So Mannix is really hung up on this, isn't he?

You know how he is, Lieutenant.

He saw it and he won't give up.

He thinks he saw something, so he goes charging in. I'm not calling him a liar,

Peg. Just wrong.

But what if he's right?

He's not.

No dead, bed -headed ladies.

Sergeant Kramer made out a report.

I checked out everything.

No reports of violence from the hotel.

One unidentified body found.

Floater. Male.

In his late 60s.

No ladies.

Zero.

Just the facts, ma 'am.

But all the returns aren't in yet.

Peg, you're a cop's widow, so I'm leveling with you.

Be loyal to Joe Mannix, fine.

But be sensible.

The Montfords are strangers in this country. They're visitors.

They're nice people. They're respectable.

If Mannix bothers them, I'm going to have to lean on him. I don't want to.

So don't make me play it rough.

Tell him, leave the Montfords alone.

Well, it's you.

I'd like to talk with you and Mr. Montford.

Philip is out.

But as you see, I'm not.

I'll keep it simple, Mrs.

Montford.

I'm a stubborn man. I can't forget what I saw.

I'm beginning to believe you.

So I'm asking a favor.

I'd like to look around just to find where I went wrong.

Why this can't be the apartment and why you're not the woman who was strangled.

I think you're slightly crazy, Mr. Mannix, but look away.

Maybe I am crazy.

Is this where you imagined that you saw me murdered?

Right here, Mrs. Montford.

The site stays with me.

I'm touched.

And do call me Barbara.

Well, are you convinced?

I guess so.

Then shall we have a little drink in celebration?

Did your mother call you Mr. Mannix?

First name is Joe.

Well, what would you care to drink, Joe?

Joe?

Oh, was there a piece of furniture removed from here?

I beg your pardon?

Well, the mark's on the carpet. It looks like there was a heavy piece of

furniture here.

Really? What was it, Mrs. Montford?

I thought you agreed to call me Barbara.

Get him out of here.

Get him out of here.

You must be insane breaking in here. You were right about his coming back, Mrs.

Monfort. I called the police as soon as I saw him go up.

He kept insisting that he wanted to talk to me about some crime or other.

I don't know. He kept insisting that I was hiding something.

Oh, now, wait a minute. Don't you worry, Mrs. Monfort. He won't bother you

again.

I feel much safer now.

What do you want me to say? Nothing.

No apologies.

No explanations.

What are you going to say?

That you didn't mean to rough her up? I didn't do a thing to her. Joe, you

wanted information. You figure she's lying.

You grab her. Not hard. I didn't touch her.

Now, that's a hand -varnished, all -wood frame.

Sure, because you saw her getting killed this morning. I saw something this

morning. Joe, stop it.

You're lucky.

You're up to your thick head in luck.

A lady isn't going to press charges.

Oh, that's sweet.

Yes, it is.

Because if she did, you'll go down the drain.

Where's your license?

Look, Joe.

I'm not threatening you.

I just want to remind you.

Just a piece of paper.

You can tear up a piece of paper. That's not my life, Dave.

Just 12 years of it. Well, that's a lot.

Keep it warm, next to your heart. Don't get cute. Give it to me straight.

One more complaint and you could lose your license.

Straight enough?

Just straight enough.

Thanks.

Well, what do you think, Lieutenant?

Well, he wasn't even listening.

Thinks he saw a killing and can't let it go.

you to work a night shift.

What happened?

Oh, nothing, little mother. Now, you've got a real kid at home. It's time you

get there and tuck him into bed.

He's been asleep for an hour, and my friend is babysitting. What happened

Lieutenant Angstrom?

Oh, just a little warning.

If he gets any more complaints, I'm out of business.

And you're not gonna let it go?

No, it stinks.

It smells.

The lovely Mrs.

Monfort mousetrapping. Why?

Pretty sense of humor.

A female's sense of danger. I was starting to dig.

Sure. And the next life you lose may be your own.

Peggy, when a man falls off a cliff, he's got one of two choices.

He can say he fell, or he can claim he jumped.

Well, I'm jumping. Your coffee's cold.

Jump where?

You've got no clues, no case, nothing.

Not even a body.

I think I have.

Oh, no.

Wait a minute. Listen to me.

I must have been looking at the way they got the body out.

And that's what triggered Mrs. Montford into the act.

What?

Well, there was a piece of furniture about six or seven feet long, judging by

the marks on the carpet. It was low, under a picture, about the size and

of a coffin.

And it had been removed.

And whatever it was, they got the body out.

Well,

you can stop thinking about it. You're fired.

What? Only temporarily.

You can get in a lot of trouble aiding and abetting. Now, if I'm busted, you

a month's salary and a recommendation.

If I prove out,

all is forgiven.

No good.

Yes, good. One thing about us cliffjumpers, Peggy, we like to take the

alone.

Home.

Hey, furniture for the penthouse?

Yeah, about six, seven feet long, maybe three feet wide.

Probably moved out on Wednesday.

All right, let me take a look.

Oh, yes, it was that big stereo council. Went out for repairs.

Wednesday about midday. Oh, good.

I represent bonded insurers. We're making spot checks on local deliveries.

But I have the name of the mover.

Argosy Movers.

Thanks. I'll mention you in a report.

Thank you.

Sorry, ma 'am. I knocked.

I just come to tidy up.

That's quite all right.

What's the matter, sir?

I think this is what you wanted.

That's funny.

Mind letting me in on the joke?

It's a delivery to a station wagon.

We took the stereo console to a parking lot and put it into the back end of a

station wagon.

How did you know which station wagon?

Well, the guy that called said it was the only one on the lot.

What lot? The parking lot behind the Mission Church on Cougar Canyon Road.

Church? Yeah, that's right.

Hey, Jake.

Want to go easy with that stuff, huh?

Yeah, I figured it was a contribution.

So we delivered it right to the wagon back at the church.

Ingenious.

It's funny, though. They could have saved money just by driving the wagon to

hotel themselves.

Money's no object.

Your men didn't happen to notice the license number on the station wagon, did

they? What for?

Thanks.

I figured while I was here, I'd just straighten up this messy bed.

It's very thoughtful of you.

Oh, nothing at all. I'll be down in a wink.

How'd I do?

Beautiful.

A beautiful portrait of Philip Montford.

Showing the man for what he really is.

Honest.

Respectable and rich.

I see here he ticks off some businessman about cutting corners.

And he refuses the fee.

A lawyer refusing money.

Can't get disbarred for that.

Is that the end of it, then? I mean, can I stop running up these heavy

babysitter bills?

No, no. Peggy, first, look up the name of those people we used in the Bahamas

before. That British investigation firm?

Whitegate and Hornby.

Discrete inquiries.

Wire them and ask them to inquire into Philip Montford's dealings with Sir

Arnold Salt.

Sir Arnold who?

Salt, the man he chews out in this letter.

Oh.

But Philip Montford's just a little too perfect. A real Sir Galahad with money.

Let's find out what an enemy has to say about him.

Right. That's the way you catch a shy bird, you know. What?

He put salt on his tail.

Oh.

Oh, morning, Peggy.

Any answer on that cable to the Bahamas?

Better than that. Yeah, what?

May I introduce Mr. Mannix? Miss Joanna Salt.

How do you do?

Hello.

Any relation to Sir Arnold Salt?

Oh, definitely.

His niece.

It's quite a coincidence.

Oh, no, it isn't a coincidence.

Your man and Nathal began making inquiries. I discovered you were behind

so I... I flew here at once.

Impulsive? Perhaps.

Mr. Mannix, what do you know about Philip Monfort?

Not much.

What do you know?

I know the man's a fraud and a swindler.

Oh, he has a marvelous reputation, concealing an absolute shark.

Miss Salter, have a seat.

Now, tell me more.

Well, it all begins with my great -aunt Athelia.

She was nearly 90 when she died.

For approximately 80 of those 90 years, she'd been middling poor.

A rather fabulous land boom suddenly hit the island, and great Aunt Othelia's

land turned out somewhat more valuable than gold.

As I said, for nearly 80 years, she'd been poor.

When she died, she was worth nearly 12 million, with a most trustworthy

solicitor in charge of the estate.

Philip Monford.

Philip Monford.

Of course, my uncle, Sir Arnold, thought he was the major heir, and I was to

receive a, well, a fairish sum myself.

Well, imagine our surprise when the estate turned out to be heavily

generally confused, and, well, worth practically nothing.

Who got it? My uncle had exactly the same question.

He went to Montford, and they had a terrible quarrel.

Montford made some threats, and then suddenly he and his lovely Barbara

departed.

What did your uncle do?

Followed them. And I haven't heard from him or about him since, until your

inquiries. Miss Salt, what do you want?

Well, I don't really want to live as my great -aunt Othelia did in genteel

poverty.

I would like my share of the estate.

You mean you want Montford nailed?

To the wall.

Peggy?

Peggy, brief, Miss Salt.

Where are you going?

To church.

The idea of a rock mass throw you?

No.

But it doesn't send me either.

I have a weakness for Bach.

Me too.

But I'm musically ecumenical. If I'm going to bring kids into the church,

be to their own sounds.

What brings you here?

Well, last Wednesday, there was a station wagon parked in your parking

Wednesday. I can't help you. Wednesday's my synonym gig.

Mrs. Timmons, the housekeeper. Now, she might have noticed.

Wait a minute. I'll go fetch her. Thanks.

This is Mrs. Timmons. Will you please help this gentleman? I'm sorry, I've got

blow. Thank you. I'll be back late, Mrs. T.

If you're selling... Oh, no, no. I'm a private investigator.

Investigator, huh?

What's that socialist preacher been up to?

I knew they'd get him and his hippie notion soon enough. I knew it.

Mrs. Timmons, uh...

Do you remember a station wagon in your parking lot three days ago? They were

loading a large hi -fi phonograph console into it.

Wednesday? About three in the afternoon?

Yes. Did you see the license plate?

Uh, maybe.

What was inside it? Drugs?

LFD? Well, I can see you're no fool. Did you notice the number?

Um, S -R -O -1 -24.

What's he done?

Thank you, Mrs. Timmons.

When I say this, you'll be the first to know.

Thank you.

Peggy, will you stop worrying about me? I'm all right.

You just get to work tracing that license.

Right. S -R -O -1 -2 -4.

The number here?

K -L -5 -6 -6 -8 -1.

Right.

Now we're almost done.

My brake cable?

Yeah. Almost worn through. When you pulled on the brake, pops, you went.

Almost like it was cut.

What about my foot brakes?

There's no fluid in the cylinder.

You should keep a check on that, you know. I mean, the accelerator linkage

jammed open, and with no brakes, you could have been killed.

Yeah, it's quite a coincidence.

Everything going wrong at once.

Accidents happen that way.

And your front end got dinged up pretty good when you stopped.

I can't really tell exactly how it all happened. Well, I'll just have to be a

little more careful in the future.

How much longer are you going to be? Five more minutes, Mr. Mannix.

Hello?

Oh, your office.

Five minutes.

Peggy?

Beach Auto Rattles, huh?

Here it is.

SRO -124.

Station wagon, right?

Yeah, right. Who rented it?

I can't make that name out. Some people's handwriting is like that. It

matter, though. They paid cash.

And what did he look like?

He's a tall fellow.

I had an English accent.

Figures. You see, he took it out on Wednesday and brought it back on

You know where he went?

No, he never said.

See, he's gone 68 miles.

Yeah, well, we have a 100 -mile minimum, so I had to charge him for it, but he

didn't complain.

He was a nice fella.

Yeah, sweetheart.

How far would you say it is from here up to the top of Cougar Canyon?

Oh, 15, 16 miles.

It means roughly 30 miles round trip. That would leave about 37 miles. That

means maybe 20 miles there and 20 miles back.

Where and back?

That's the big question. Mind if I use your phone?

Mr.

Mannix's office.

Peggy, get out the county map, will you? I'll hold.

Right.

Now, listen, using the beach auto rental as the center point, I want you to

start at Newport Beach, draw a half circle up through Fullerton, through

Compton, and then back down to the coastline.

Got it?

Got it.

Now what do I do? Now you look up every hi -fi, phonograph music shop within

that circle, call them and ask them about a repair job on the Montford

Console, delivered Wednesday afternoon.

But there must be hundreds of places.

At least.

So I'd better hang up and let you get right on it.

Your car was sabotaged. That's murder.

Joe, you must go to the police.

Without proof?

Dave Angstrom would tell me to drive more carefully or buy a newer model.

Well, what if we both went? Maybe that would convince them.

Oh, thanks.

But they're already convinced that I'm suffering from delusions. Now, if I went

to them with the story that my car tried to kill me... Peggy.

Thank you for your help.

Got anything?

A sore throat, but I'm carrying on.

And I thought detectives simply made brilliant deductions.

Only the brilliant detectives. Mostly, it's work.

The Monforts aren't stupid.

It's not going to be easy to peel off their cover.

No, but you'll do it.

I think I'm very lucky. Got it.

Yes?

Yes, that's it.

And thank you very much.

Jackpot.

Harrison Brothers, cabinet makers. And they're working on Philip Bonford's

console right now. There's the address.

But why all the way out here?

Near the ocean.

Put weights on the body, dump it into the sea, and it's gone forever.

And they need to leave the console here for repair.

Can I help you?

You're one of the Harrison brothers, yes.

Ben Harrison.

Only one left. My brother's been dead eight years.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I understand you're doing some repair work on a stereo console for a Mr.

Montford? Mm -hmm.

That's right over there. Job's almost done.

There she is.

It's going to be a perfect job, an exact copy.

Where's the original?

Oh, that was ruined.

I mean, you couldn't possibly repair it.

It was all burned and scorched in a fire, I guess, and that's why Mr.

came here, because, you see, we specialize in reproductions.

All the works came separately, so all we have to do is put them back in, finish

it off, and you won't be able to tell it from the original. Where is the

original? It's no good.

We threw it out in the back.

Is it still there?

Well, we burn all our scrap.

I don't know. It could still be outside.

The seven -foot stereo console was delivered here Wednesday. You know where

is? Sure thing.

Well, where?

Right in there.

Burned it first thing this morning.

Took me half an hour to bust it up. That thing was really built.

I'd like to keep the place neat.

Hope it wasn't important.

Don't you know it's against the law to have an open fire in this county?

Well, mister, I've been doing it for 30 years.

Look, I'm sorry.

That's that.

Gone forever.

I'm afraid so.

It's going to be an absolutely perfect copy, believe me.

I believe you, Mr. Harrison.

Why, thank you. Thank you.

Here. Take a look at this inlay.

You know, probably took them weeks to get that.

I'm supposed to do it in a few days.

People don't know.

That's a piece from the original console?

Uh -huh. Can I have it?

Sure. I have a sketch.

Thanks.

But that's all burnt and scorched.

It's absolutely lovely.

Now, the lab's got to have had time.

If there are any traces of blood, Joe, they'll be found. Relax.

Lieutenant, I don't understand. Why haven't you brought the Montfords in?

Because there's no evidence against them, Miss Salt.

But I've told you.

My uncle, Sir Arnold Salt, followed them here. He can tell you. If we can locate

him. But this is a big country. Your uncle could be anywhere.

Lieutenant. Miss Salt, you've got suspicions, he's got suspicions. But

has any proof.

Oh, there'll be proof.

One dead woman. Who?

And why was this possible victim killed?

By whom?

Joe, don't start pushing again.

Come in.

Anything? Sure, Lieutenant.

The surface of the wood was burned, but we picked up blood traces, some cell

tissue. You can start working up an apology, Dave. Any chance of

on her?

Her? The victim? The woman?

Well, we checked it out. The traces all fit. Cell tissue belonged to a male in

his 40s.

My uncle.

They killed my uncle.

a woman fighting. I just naturally assumed it was the woman being killed.

was the man.

There must have been somebody else there. Somebody I couldn't see.

Now go.

What? The blood was Philip Montford's. Are you sure, Dave? I just talked to

There was a short in the stereo.

It started to burn.

He cut himself trying to put it out.

Well, he's lying.

He's willing to come in for a lab test.

He reported the damage Tuesday, the day before you saw something, Joe.

And the hotel doctor treated him. Had a nasty cut, lost some blood.

They could have set it up in case somebody traced the console. Stop it,

Every time the evidence comes in, you call it fake.

I go by the facts, and the facts all fit.

Munford's are leaving tomorrow. They're going on a cruise.

Frankly, I'm very happy for them. And for you.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm working on a real case.

You know the way out, Joe.

I hope.

That's it, then. Dead end.

Oh, no.

Joe.

The lieutenant, he meant it. So do I.

You told me once never to be stubborn, just adjust to the facts.

That's right.

The facts include what I saw.

They include Barbara Monfort framing me and my car booby -trapped to kill me.

And my uncle has vanished.

Yeah. Now, let's, uh... Let's be logical about it.

The first time I went up to the Monfort penthouse with Sergeant Kramer, they

said nothing had happened, absolutely nothing.

So? So, why didn't they just say they had a family argument and they'd made

That would have turned me off on the spot.

Because they were frightened.

Exactly. Now, they weren't sure what I had seen, so they lied.

Then they framed me again with a lie to get rid of me.

It just isn't right that they'd have an explanation for everything.

Philip Montford's a wealthy man, but when his council is damaged, he

takes it down there for repairs.

Oh, sure, it's possible, but logical?

Not very.

But where can we go with it?

We go to the Montfords.

But they're leaving tonight.

Right. They're running scared. Smart, but scared.

Up till now, I have been pressuring them, but what if they get hit from

angle, unexpectedly? Say, somebody who they didn't even know was in town.

I'd be delighted.

Hey.

Yeah, you're right.

They killed once.

They tried it again.

It's too dangerous. Now, wait a minute.

They're not insane. They wouldn't simply up and shoot me.

Especially if you were nearby.

Joanna.

When a crook gets uptight and scared, he explodes.

A murder is never sensible.

But it does happen.

Yes, I know, but I'd like to try.

All right.

We tell them that the police have found two kinds of blood on the wood, that

they've located the body, and they're about ready to pick up the Montfords.

I tell them that.

Exactly that.

And I'll be out on the terrace.

With luck, they'll blow up.

Without luck, we'll be right where we are now.

With a view of nowhere.

Evening, Mannix.

You wouldn't be here visiting Mr.

and Mrs.

Monfort, would you?

Because if you are, you're not. Not for another 20 minutes or so.

Why another 20 minutes? They'll be out of here and gone by then. You can stop

running your head into a wall. Now just sit down over here.

Good evening, Barbara.

What are you doing here?

Visiting, darling.

Visiting.

Oh, leaving or fleeing?

Get out.

Why? I have a most important message for you.

Where's Philip?

I would like you both to hear the unpleasant news at the same time.

He's out.

And if you don't leave, I shall call the hotel desk.

Go ahead.

It will only bring the police here just a little sooner.

What news?

They've found the body, you know.

A little careless of you, if I may say so.

But then you always were a bit lazy, weren't you, darling?

Where did you say Philip was?

He's out, I told you.

And if you don't leave, Joanna, I shall have great pleasure in kicking you out.

Very well.

But I shall have great pleasure in seeing you in the dock.

Uncle Arnold.

Yes, my dear.

girl i was with miss salt she went up she can go up anybody can go up except

lieutenant's orders she was going up to the montfort she could be in trouble

sure getting strangled baby huh framer i've got to check on her no chance we'll

put her body in our trunk and we'll be at sea before the morning three but she

is my niece whence her squeamish about killing philip my dear beloved ex

-husband

Twelve million is a great deal of money.

I helped you kill Philip for that.

I'm not about to stop for her.

Excuse me, you got a match?

Bang!

Where are the stairs? Right around there.

Here.

Kill her.

Well?

You want me to do it for you?

You must have gone nuts.

You're going to have a tough time believing this, Sergeant.