Original subtitles

- Dr Hill? - Dr Bassett.

Well, where's the patient?

I hated to drag you out of bed at this time of night.

Will you let me go while there's still time!

You'll soon see why I did.

Doctor, will you tell these fools I'm not crazy!

Make them listen to me before it's too late!

I'll listen to you. Let him go.

Who are you?

I'm Dr Hill from the State Mental Hospital.

- I'm not insane! - Let him go!

Listen, listen.

Doctor, now you must listen to me, you must understand me.

- I'm a doctor, too. I am not insane... - All right, all right, all right.

Now suppose we just sit down over here, Dr Bennell,

and you tell me what happened.

Well, it started...

For me, it started last Thursday.

In response to an urgent message from my nurse,

I'd hurried home from a medical convention I had been attending.

At first glance, everything looked the same.

It wasn't.

Something evil had taken possession of the town.

These two. Here you are.

- Thank you, sir. There you are. - Thank you.

Morning, Mr Fisher.

DOG.!

- Hiya, Sally. - Hi.

Welcome home, I'm glad you're back.

- How's Mickey and the baby? - They're fine,

but it seems that everybody else in Santa Mira needs a doctor.

- You've got an office full of patients. - Oh, no. On my first day back?

Well, some of them have been waiting for two weeks.

Why didn't you send them to Pursey or Carmichael like I told you to?

Most of them wouldn't go. They want to see you.

Oh.

- What's the matter with them? - They wouldn't say.

You know, usually people can't talk enough about what's ailing them.

For instance, Wally Eberhard was in twice

and called three times about something, but he wouldn't tell me what it was.

That's funny.

Neither would anyone else,

from Becky Driscoll down to that fat traffic cop, Sam Janzek.

Becky Driscoll? I thought she was in England.

She got back a few days ago and she wanted to see you.

Are you still interested?

My interest in married women is strictly professional

or yours would have been a lost cause long ago.

- How was the convention? - Wonderful.

They wept with envy when I read my paper.

Come back here! Jimmy!

What's the matter, Mrs Grimaldi?

It's nothing. He just don't want to go to school.

Well, if I were you, I'd have a talk with his teacher.

And I will when I get time.

What's the matter, has Joe been sick?

No, we gave the stand up.

Too much work.

The boy's panic should've told me

it was more than school he was afraid of.

And that littered, closed up vegetable stand

should have told me something, too.

When I last saw it less than a month ago,

it was the cleanest and busiest stand on the road.

That's strange.

She was in to see you, too, last Friday

and I tried to get her to see Doc Pursey, but she wouldn't.

She said only you could help her.

Well, whatever it was, it couldn't have been too serious, I guess.

One minor concussion, two cases of the common cold,

and six cancelled appointments.

Looks like you rushed me here for nothing.

I don't understand it, Miles. They couldn't wait to see you.

But you're still booked up solid for the afternoon.

I bet they don't show.

Look, there's Wally Eberhard talking somebody into buying some insurance.

There's nothing wrong with him.

And Bill Bittner's taking his secretary to lunch.

And speaking of lunch,

will you tell whoever that is that I'm out having mine?

- ls Dr Bennell in? - Uh, yes, he's here.

Do you suppose he has time to see me a moment?

Well, if he hasn't, there's something wrong with him.

Go right in.

Becky.

Almost five years.

It's wonderful to be home again.

I've been away so long, I feel almost like a stranger in my own country.

I hope you don't mind my conning without an appointment.

Not at all. What will you have?

We're pushing appendectomies this week.

Oh, Miles.

I don't know, maybe I clown around too much.

Pretty soon my patients won't trust me to prescribe aspirin for them.

But seriously, what's the trouble?

It's my cousin.

Wilma? What's the matter with her?

She has a... Well, I guess you'd call it a delusion.

- You know her uncle? Uncle Ira? - Sure. I'm his doctor.

Well, Miles, she's got herself thinking he isn't her uncle.

How do you mean? That they're not really related?

No, she thinks he's an imposter or something.

Someone who only looks like Ira.

- Have you seen him? - I just came from there.

Well, is he Uncle Ira or isn't he Uncle Ira?

Of course he is. I told Wilma that, but it was no use.

Please, would you stop by and have a talk with her?

Well, Sally says that I'm booked up for the afternoon,

but why don't you ask her to come in and see me?

I'll try.

- Um, how about some lunch? - I can't. I'm meeting Dad at the store.

When did you get back?

I came back from London two months ago.

- I've been in Reno. - Reno?

Reno. Dad tells me you were there, too.

Five months ago.

- Oh, I'm sorry. - So was I.

I wanted it to work.

Well, I guess that makes us lodge brothers, now.

Yes.

Except that I'm paying dues while you collect them.

Miles.

- Hello, Gordon. - How are you?

- Sam! - Hello, Doc.

At it again, eh?

My nurse tells me you were in last week and wanted very much to see me.

It wasn't anything important.

Say, didn't he go to college with us?

Quit his second year to get married, like I wanted us to do.

Just be thankful I didn't take you seriously.

You be thankful.

I found out that a doctor's wife needs

the understanding of an Einstein and the patience of a saint.

And love?

I wouldn't know about that. I'm just a general practitioner.

Love is handled by the specialists.

Well, here's where I leave you.

You know something? This is where you left me the last time.

Hiya, Johnny.

Sally, I'm off.

Will you tell the answering service I'll be at home?

- Mm. Goodnight, Doc. - Goodnight.

I'm not going in there!

Listen to me. Stop all this nonsense and be a good boy. Come on.

Hey, hey, hey! Hey, hey, take it easy.

- Why, isn't this Jimmy Grimaldi? - Yes, Doctor.

- Can I talk to you a minute? - Sure.

You know, I almost ran you down this morning?

You've got to be careful running out on the road...

Granny, no!

Come on, come on, come on.

Hey! Hey!

Hey, hey, hey, slow down, now.

Look, school isn't as bad as all that...

School isn't what upsets him, it's my daughter- in- law.

He's got the crazy idea she isn't his mother.

She isn't! She isn't! Don't let her get me!

Nobody's going to get you, Jimmy.

How long has this been going on?

An hour ago, I found him hiding in the cellar, having hysterics.

He wouldn't tell me anything until I started to phone his mother.

That's when he said Anna wasn't his mother.

Could you keep him with you for a day or so?

Of course.

Give him one of these every four hours during the day.

And call me tomorrow, let me know how he's feeling.

Yes, Doctor, thank you.

Don't let her get me!

Nobody's going to get you, Jimmy.

All right, Jimmy, open your mouth, shut your eyes.

In the words of the poet, I'll give you something to make you wise.

That's a good boy, Jimmy.

I'm not going home! Ever!

You're going to stay at your grandmother's house.

- Call his mother and tell her... - She's not my mother!

- Don't tell her where I am... - All right, all right!

Run along, run along. Everything's going to be all right.

You be a good boy, now. Go on.

- Goodnight, Doctor. - Goodnight.

Sally, I've changed my mind.

I'm not going directly home, I'm going to stop off and see Wilma Lentz.

Should I call the boy's mother?

Yes, call her and tell her what happened

and that I suggested it might be a good idea

if the boy spend the night at his grandmother's house.

All right.

Hello, Miles.

Nice to see you, Wilma. Becky.

Let's have it. You talked to him, what do you think?

It's him. He's your Uncle Ira, all right.

He is not.

How is he different?

That's just it, there is no difference you can actually see.

He looks, sounds, acts, and remembers like Uncle Ira.

Then he is your Uncle Ira. Can't you see that?

No matter how you feel, he is.

But he isn't, there's something missing.

He's been a father to me since I was a baby.

Always when he talked to me, there was a special look in his eye.

That look's gone.

What about memories?

There must be certain things that only you and he would know about.

Oh, there are. I've talked to him about them.

He remembers them all down to the last small detail.

Just like Uncle Ira would.

But Miles, there's no emotion. None.

Just the pretence of it.

The words, gesture, the tone of voice,

everything else is the same, but not the feeling.

Memories or not, he isn't my Uncle Ira.

Wilma, I'm on your side.

My business is people in trouble and I'm going to find a way to help you.

Now, no one could possibly impersonate your Uncle Ira

without you or your Aunt Eleda or even me

seeing a million little differences.

I want you to realise that, think about it,

and then you'll know that the trouble is inside you.

Wilma, where are you?

Out on the lawn.

Say nothing to her.

Why, Miles! I didn't know you were here. Welcome home.

Hello, Mrs Lentz.

- Did you ask Miles to stay for dinner? - I can't tonight.

- I'm making spoonbread. - Please, don't tempt me.

Well, maybe next time. Wilma, where are my glasses?

I think I saw them on the mantelpiece. I'll go with you.

Miles, am I going crazy? Don't spare me, I've got to know.

No, you're not.

Even these days it isn't as easy to go crazy as you might think.

But you don't have to be losing your mind to need psychiatric help.

I'd like you to see a doctor friend of mine.

- A psychiatrist? - Dan Kauffman.

I'll make an appointment for you tomorrow.

All right, but it's a waste of time. There's nothing wrong with me.

We'd better break this up or he'll start wondering.

- Wondering what? - If I don't suspect.

You've been a big help and I don't want you to worry about me, or you either.

- I'll be all right. - Sure you will.

Staying here, Becky, or may I drive you home?

- Would you like me to stay? - Of course not. Goodnight.

Goodnight.

Nice having Becky back again, eh, boy?

Sure is.

In the back of my mind, a warning bell was ringing.

Sick people who couldn't wait to see me,

then suddenly were perfectly all right.

A boy who said his mother wasn't his mother,

a woman who said her uncle wasn't her uncle,

but I didn't listen.

Obviously, the boy's mother was his mother, I'd seen her.

And Uncle Ira was Uncle Ira.

There was no doubt of that after I'd talked to him.

- Miles, he is Ira? - Of course he is. What do you mean?

It's just that Wilma's so positive. Will she be all right?

Oh, I think so.

I'm a doctor according to my diploma,

but I don't really know what Wilma's trouble is.

I could start talking psychiatrical jargon,

but it's out of my line and in Dan Kauffman's.

I wish you didn't have to go home for dinner.

I don't. Dad's eating out with a friend.

I could pick you up at seven.

Well...

It's summer, and the moon is full, "and I know a bank"

"where the wild thyme grows".

You haven't changed a bit.

- Whoa, watch out! - Sorry.

- Hey, Miles, when did you get back? - This morning.

How are you, Danny?

This is Ms Driscoll. Dr Kauffman, our one and only psychiatrist.

- How do you do? - Watch out what you say.

- Ed, you remember Becky? - I should. I brought her into the world.

You did us all a favour. Hello, Dr Pursey.

This saves me a phone call.

I've got a mixed-up kid and a woman who need a witch doctor.

The boy says his father isn't his father,

and the woman says her sister isn't her sister.

That's pretty close.

I knew you'd been studying hypnosis, but when did you start reading minds?

He doesn't have to read them.

I've sent him a dozen patients since it started.

What is it? What's going on?

I don't know. A strange neurosis, evidently contagious.

An epidemic mass hysteria. In two weeks, it's spread all over town.

What causes it?

Worry about what's going on in the world, probably.

Make room for Wilma Lentz tomorrow, will you, Danny?

Send her in around two.

- Goodnight. - So long, Danny.

This is the oddest thing I ever heard of. Let's hope we don't catch it.

I'd hate to wake up some morning and find out that you weren't you.

I'm not the high school kid you used to romance,

so how can you tell?

- You really want to know? - Mm.

Mm. You're Becky Driscoll.

Hey, Santa Mira's looking up.

Has ever since you got back.

Is this an example of your bedside manner, Doctor?

No ma'am, that comes later.

Good evening, Doctor.

- What happened to the crowd tonight? - I don't know.

It's been this way for two or three weeks now.

Well, at least we don't have to wait for a table.

- Take your pick. In here, or here. - Here, I think.

- Shall we? - Mm-hmm.

Where's the band?

Business started falling off, so I had to let 'em go.

There's the jukebox, though.

Shall we dance?

I hope you didn't let the bartender go.

- I'm the bartender. Martinis? - Two. Dry.

Uh... Very dry.

- Miles? - Mm-hmm.

I don't care what Dr Kauffman says, I'm worried.

You are in the capable hands of your personal physician.

Oh, Doctor?

Ah, there's our evening. Sorry.

Thanks. Dr Bennell.

Jack Belicec wants you to come to his house right away, Doctor.

He says it's urgent.

Thank you.

Better hold those drinks. Emergency.

Well, at least they called before we ordered dinner.

- How hungry are you? - I can wait.

- It may be quite a while. - Then I'll go with you.

Sorry, we'll be back later.

There's Jack.

Hello, Jack, what's the matter? Teddy sick?

No.

Miles, thank heaven! I thought you'd never get here.

- Well, if you're not sick, who is? - Nobody.

Then why did you drag me away from my dinner?

You won't believe it, Miles, until you see it for yourself.

Hello, Becky, good to see you again.

- Hi, Becky. - Come on in.

Would you be able to forget that you're a doctor for a while?

Why?

I don't want you to call the police right away.

Quit acting like a writer. What's going on?

Maybe you can tell me. You're the doctor.

Miles, put the light on over the pool table.

Go on, pull it down.

Well, what do you make of it?

- Who is he? - I have no idea.

Its face, Miles, it's vague.

It's like the first impression that's stamped on a coin.

- It isn't finished. - You're right.

It has all the features, but no details, no character, no lines.

That's no dead man.

Have you got an ink pad around the house?

Should be one in the desk. Why?

I want to take the corpse's fingerprints.

Of course it's a dead man. What else could it be?

I don't know, but I've got a feeling that...

Well, this sounds crazy, but if I should do an autopsy,

I think I'd find every organ in perfect condition.

Just as perfect as the body is externally.

Everything in working order, all set to go.

Hold that down.

These are blank.

Waiting for the final finished face to be stamped onto it.

But whose face? Tell me that.

I think we could all use a drink.

- Bourbon all right? - Fine.

- Not for me, thanks. - Miles, answer me, whose face?

I haven't the slightest idea, honey. Have you?

How... How tall would you say that thing is?

Um, 5'10", thereabouts.

How much does it weigh?

I don't know, it's pretty thin. Maybe 140 pounds?

Jack's 5'10" and weighs 140 pounds.

- Teddy, will you stop talking nonsense? - I'm sorry, darling.

- Come on, let's have that hand. - But it isn't nonsense!

Becky, you don't think it's nonsense, do you?

Of course it is. Jack's standing here in front of you.

Of course I am. Bleeding to death. Excuse me.

You know what? I'm afraid you may live.

Here, this should fix it.

Miles, don't you think we should call the police

and have them take that dead body out of here?

I'm afraid it isn't just a dead body.

Thanks.

I wonder if...

What?

- I wonder if there's any connection. - What do you mean?

There's something strange going on in Santa Mira.

Dr Kauffman calls it an "epidemic of mass hysteria."

Becky's cousin's got it for one.

She thinks that her uncle and her aunt aren't her uncle and her aunt.

There's several cases of such delusion.

Now, this isn't you yet, but there is a structural likeness.

It's fantastic, but there must be some reason why this thing is in your house.

Would you be willing to sit up with your strange friend

and see what his next move is?

If nothing happens by morning, call the police.

If something happens, call me, will you?

You know I will.

- Goodnight. Take it easy. - Sure.

- And nothing's going to happen. - Goodnight, dear.

Well, if it does, it'll make a charming, blood curdling mystery story.

I was careful not to let Becky know,

but for the first time, I was really scared.

Dan Kauffman's explanation of what was wrong in town, “mass hysteria

couldn't explain away that body on Jack's billiard table.

Come in while I turn the lights on.

You're a forward Wench, dragging me into a dark hallway to be kissed.

I'm dragging you into a dark hallway because I'm scared of the dark tonight.

In that case, I'd better stay and tuck you in.

That way lies madness.

What's wrong with madness?

Madness. Now, goodnight.

Well, it's about time you two got home.

Dad, what are you doing in the basement this time of night?

Working in my shop.

- How about a nightcap, Doc? - No thanks, kind of late.

I'll take a rain check. Goodnight.

Goodnight.

- Goodnight. - Night, Miles.

Oh, Jack! It's you! It's you!

No, no, you mustn't go near it! Get out of here, please! Please!

What happened, Jack?

Teddy says the thing at our place is me right down to the cut on my hand.

Sit down, baby. I didn't wait to look.

It's alive! It's alive!

The hand was cut and bleeding

and the position of the body had changed!

Here, here, take this.

I'll call Danny Kauffman.

Hello?

- Hello, Danny? - Yeah?

Something's happened and I've got to see you right away.

Will you get over here as fast as you can?

It's important.

Oh, okay.

He's on his way.

I'll make some coffee and be right with you.

Good deal, Miles, thanks.

Miles, what about Becky? Do you think she's all right?

BECKY". Dad, what are you doing in the basement this time of night?

Working in my shop.

I don't know what it was, call it a premonition,

but suddenly I had the feeling that Becky was in danger.

I had to get to her as quickly as possible.

I was going to ring the bell, but then I had a hunch I'd better be careful.

Something was wrong in this house.

Becky. Becky.

Becky?

- Miles, will you tell me what happened? - The same thing.

I found another one in the cellar at Becky's house

coming to life while I stood there watching it.

- It was Becky. - Yeah?

- I want to see one of these bodies. - All right.

Now, you're going to bed and you're staying with her.

Put on your clothes, we'll go to Jack's first.

Got any coffee around here?

Yeah, you'll find some in the kitchen.

- He doesn't believe me, Beck. - He will.

- Somebody's playing games. - Rough ones.

There's a blood spot.

What you saw was the body of a murdered man.

- Did you examine it carefully? - Yes.

I don't know what's happened to it,

but it was not an ordinary body and there wasn't a mark on it.

I checked it, too, when I put it on the table.

There wasn't a scratch!

You can kill a man by shoving an ice pick into the base of his brain

and leaving a puncture so small the naked eye can't see it.

Danny, you're ignoring the fact that this was not a normal body.

And you heard what Teddy said about the hand.

I heard lots of things Teddy said, and none of them made any sense.

- All right, now... - Hold onto it, pal, I was there, too!

So was Miles.

Now look, we took its fingerprints. Look at that.

Tell me why it didn't have any.

He didn't want any, so he took them off with acid.

Stop trying to rationalise everything, will you?

Let's face it, we have a mystery on our hands.

Sure you have, a real one. Whose body was it and where is it now?

A completely normal mystery.

Whatever it is, it's well within the bounds of human experience

and I don't think you ought to make any more of it.

I wouldn't if I hadn't looked in Becky's cellar.

How do you explain away the body I saw there?

I don't think you saw one there.

You don't think I saw one here, either?

I know you did because three others saw it, too.

But I dreamed up the second one?

Doctors can have hallucinations, too.

The mind is a strange and wonderful thing.

I'm not sure it'll ever be able to figure itself out.

Everything else, maybe, from the atom to the universe,

everything except itself.

Nevertheless, I saw Becky's double,

and the body that we saw here bore an uncomfortable resemblance to Jack.

Mighty uncomfortable.

All right, let's go on to Becky's and have a look.

All right, where's your girlfriend's double?

Okay, sceptic, lift the lid.

- There's a body here all right. - It's Becky's double.

- It sure is. - Take another look.

Now you see it, now you don't.

It was there, half hidden by that blanket.

You said you saw it there just now.

- I thought I did. - Why did you come here tonight?

You had seen a dead man at Jack's. An average-sized man.

The face in death was smooth and unlined, bland in expression,

which often happens.

You'd just become aware of a curious, unexplainable epidemic mass hysteria.

Men, women, and children suddenly convinced themselves

that their relatives weren't their relatives at all.

So your mind started playing tricks, and reality became unreality.

The dead man became Jack's double in your eyes.

Look, come off it, will you, Dan?

I know, Miles, this is all hard to believe,

but these things happen, even to witch doctors like me.

I saw her here! She was real!

You saw her all right, in every tiny detail,

as vividly as anyone has ever seen anything,

but only in your mind.

Look, Danny, you can talk all night, but you're not going to convince me.

What in heaven's name are you doing in my cellar?

Using it for an office, Mr Driscoll.

These gentlemen are patients, badly in need of psychiatric treatment.

- Stop talking nonsense. - I'm not.

They've been having nightmares.

If you're drunk, you'd better sober up quick.

- The police are on their way. - We're not drunk.

Nothing as simple as that. Pull up a chair.

Why you're crazy, all of you.

Hey, what's going on down there?

Hello, Nick, glad to see you.

You saved these two characters a trip to the station.

They want to report finding a body and losing it.

Where? When?

At my place. About 7 o'clock.

Why did you wait so long to report it? You know better than that, Doc.

Yeah, Well, it was a curious sort of a body

and then it wasn't there anymore.

I have a good mind to throw you both in jail.

Well, if you'd seen it you'd understand why we waited.

Thin man, 5'10", fingerprints burned off with acid?

I've just seen it on the slab in the morgue.

It turned up in a burning haystack

on Mike Gessnefls south pasture two hours ago.

Now, break it up! Go on home!

Well, you win. Pick up the marbles.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

Orange juice.

Thank you.

- How do you like your eggs? - Any way you like them.

- Boiled, two minutes? - Two minutes?

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

You know, dragging you out of bed in the middle of the night

was a lot of trouble, but it was worth it.

Now seriously, Miles-

What was that?

Who is it?

The gas man. Morning, Doc.

Good morning, Charlie. I guess I'm a little jittery.

Not getting enough sleep.

Well, I won't be bothering you anymore.

- Putting the meter outside in the patio. - Okay.

The eggs will be hard boiled.

Did you do this for your husband?

Mm-hmm.

- Didn't your wife do this for you? - Oh, yes. She liked to cook.

That's one of the reasons why I'm single.

I never was there when dinner was on the table.

Well, take my advice and don't get mixed up with a doctor.

They're seldom at home.

What would you say if I told you I was already mixed up with a doctor?

I'd say it was too good to be true.

Things like this can happen all of a sudden.

What's so all of a sudden about

two people who have known each other most of their lives?

- Good morning. - Good morning.

Good morning.

I thought I smelled some coffee. Why didn't you give me a call?

- I didn't want to wake Teddy. - Oh, she's wide awake.

- Got a good sleep. - Good.

But I don't feel that she should go home right away, Miles.

Would you mind taking in a couple of boarders for a while?

Or do you have something else in mind?

Well, I was toying with an idea, but you can stay.

Here, Jack.

Thank you, doll. I'll take it up to Teddy.

Miles, did you make that appointment for me with the psychiatrist?

Yes, 2 o'clock.

I don't need him. I feel like such a fool.

I woke up this morning and everything was all right.

- You don't know how relieved I am. - Yes, I do.

Listen, will you give Becky a call and tell her about it?

- She was worried about you. - All right.

- She's at my house. - At your house? Why?

Well, it's a long story, but she'll tell you all about it.

Becky's still at his house.

All right.

- Good morning. - Good morning, Sally.

Take a peek at what's in the reception room.

- Mother, why don't we go home? - In a little while, Jimmy.

He certainly made a quick recovery.

Yeah. I guess we all have.

But driving home, I had a lot of questions and no answers.

How could Jimmy and Wilma seem so normal now?

Surely I have done nothing to cure them.

Maybe they wanted me to feel secure, but why?

Well...

- I hope you didn't forget the steaks. - I never forget anything.

Don't worry about him, he's completely housebroken.

I need a martini, Beck.

- Onion or olive? - Doesn't matter.

I want to pour it on the charcoal. I can't get this stuff to burn.

Oh, a martini isn't dry enough. I'll get you something that'll start it.

For drinking purposes.

- You're looking ship-shape. - Thank you, sir.

Here we are.

Jack! Jack!

They're like huge seed pods!

This must be the way that body in my closet was formed.

- Miles, where do they come from? - I don't know.

If they are seeds or seed pods they must grow some place,

on a plant, probably.

And somebody or something wants this duplication to take place!

But when they're finished what happens to our bodies?

I don't know.

When the process is completed probably the original is destroyed

or disintegrates. No, wait!

Sorry, but I take a dim view of watching my own destruction take place.

There isn't any danger until they're completely formed.

We learned that last night at your house,

your blank didn't change right away.

Not until you fell asleep.

Miles, when the change does take place,

do you suppose there is any difference?

There must be. Wilma noticed it.

So did little Jimmy.

So did I.

My father...

That must be what he was doing in the cellar last night,

placing one of these.

I'm sorry.

I felt something was wrong,

but I thought it was me because I'd been away for so long.

They have to be destroyed! All of them!

They will be. Every one of them.

Listen, we're going to have to search every building,

every house in town.

Men, women and children are going to have to be examined.

We've got some phoning to do.

I'm going to stay right here where I can watch them.

- I'm going to stay with you. - And don't call the police.

Nick Grivett didn't find anybody on a burning haystack!

Why don't you call Danny? Maybe he can help.

Danny?

No, I'm afraid it's too late to call Danny, too.

Well, what are you going to do?

Get help.

I hope that whatever is taking place is confined to Santa Mira!

If it isn't...

Operator.

Hello, this is Dr Bennell. This is an emergency.

I want to talk to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Los Angeles.

- Can you make them believe you? - I've got to.

Where do they come from?

So much has been discovered these past few years

that anything is possible.

It may be the results of atomic radiation on plant life or animal life.

Some weird alien organism.

A mutation of some kind.

So why should they take the form of people? Of us?

I don't know, I don't know.

Whatever it is, whatever intelligence or instinct it is

that can govern the forming of human flesh and blood out of thin air is...

Well, it's fantastically powerful, beyond any comprehension.

Malignant. All that body in your cellar needed was a mind,

and it was...

And it was taking mine while I was asleep.

I could take that pitchfork myself and...

On your call to Los Angeles, Doctor, they don't answer.

Well, try again, that office is open day and night!

If they've taken over the telephone office, we're dead!

Is that me?

This is an emergency, emergency! Now look, there's been...

Operator, get me a better connection.

I'll try, Doctor.

It's no use, all the Los Angeles circuits are dead.

All right, try Sacramento.

Give me the state capitol, I want to talk to the Governor.

The Sacramento circuits are busy, Doctor.

I'll call you back.

All right.

All right, I'll wait for your call.

I'll take the phone outside.

- Jack! - Yeah.

They've got the phone!

Now you and the girls get in your car and make a run for it.

The first town you get to, yell for help.

What about you?

In a little while that phone is gonna ring.

If there's nobody here to answer it,

they'll know we've gone and block the roads out of town.

- I'll stall them until you're out of reach. - Well, then what are you going to do?

Try and find out what's in back of this.

- I'm staying. - No!

Miles, don't ask me to leave you.

- Jack, get going! - Miles, I can't!

Look, somebody's got to go or we don't get any help!

Please, let's get out of here.

Well, watch out for yourselves.

Go over by the phone. Stay there. If it rings, call me.

- Hello. - ls Dr Bennell there?

- Yes, I'll get him. - Never mind.

Just tell him the Sacramento circuits are still busy,

and ask him if he wants me to keep trying.

All right, hold on.

Miles! The circuits are still busy!

Well, tell her to keep trying! Also, try San Francisco and Washington!

- We're getting out of here right now. - Well, where are we going?

Sally's.

We're still unable to get through to Los Angeles.

Do you wish me to keep trying?

Dr Bennell? Dr Bennell!

I needed someone I could trust,

and I figured Sally, my nurse, was my best bet.

I decided to try to phone her to see if she was at home.

Maybe they hadn't taken over the pay phones.

I'll try the pay phone.

Hey, Mac!

Oh, hi, Doc, how are you?

Listen, will you give me a couple of gallons fast? I'm in a hurry.

Sure. Martha! Doc's in a hurry, get the windshield, will ya?

I have to have the keys to open the gas tank.

Somebody sick out this way?

There's been an accident.

Funny, we haven't heard about it.

Well, it just happened.

Before I could even get her

number I saw Mac closing the trunk of my car.

He could have been checking my spare tire,

but I didn't think so.

- That should do it. - Thank you.

- All set? - All set, Doc.

Fine, thank you. Put it on my bill, will you?

Sure, Doc.

What's the matter?

We've got to make it to Sally's house.

I wasn't sure now there was anyone I could trust,

but I took a chance and drove to Sally's anyway.

When I saw several cars in front of the house,

I decided to play it safe.

- What's wrong? - Probably nothing,

but we're not going in there until I'm sure it's safe.

Slide over under the wheel

and get out of here fast if anybody shows up looking for us.

Baby asleep yet, Sally?

Not yet, but she will be soon, and there'll be no more tears.

Shall I put this in her room?

Yes, in her play pen.

No, wait, maybe I'd better take it.

Why don't you go in, Miles? We've been waiting for you.

Becky, start the car! Quick!

Becky, get going!

Attention all units, attention all units.

Apprehend and detain Dr Miles Bennell and Becky Driscoll,

now believed heading north In a black and white Ford sedan,

license number 2-X-3-7-7-9-6.

All units designated as road blocks move to your stations.

It is urgent.

These two persons must be detained and not permitted to leave Santa Mira.

Repeat. It is urgent.

Be on the lookout for a 1955 black and white Ford sedan,

license number 2-X-3-7-7...

We'll try to make it to my office. Cut in to that alley on the right.

Do you think he'll come back?

I don't think they'll check again before morning.

By then Jack should be here with help.

What if Jack doesn't get through?

He's got to get through.

Here, now take two of these, they'll help you stay awake.

We can't close our eyes all night.

We may wake up changed?

Into something evil and inhuman.

In my practice, I've seen how people

have allowed their humanity to drain away,

only it happens slowly instead of all at once.

They didn't seem to mind.

But just some people, Miles.

All of us, a little bit.

We harden our hearts, grow callous.

Only when we have to fight to stay human

do we realise how precious it is to us, how dear.

As you are to me.

Maybe that's Jack, trying to find us.

He'd know better than to use the phone.

Where is he?

Why doesn't he come!

Just like any Saturday morning.

Len Pearlman, Bill Bittner.

Jim Clark and his wife Shirley and their kids.

People I've known all my life.

What time is it?

7:45.

Yeah, I know, it's too early to be so busy.

What are they doing here?

There's the answer, must be strangers in town.

They're waiting for the bus to come and go.

There isn't another one through here until 11.

Farmers.

Grimaldi. Pixley. Gessner!

Crescent City.

If you have Crescent City families, step over to truck number one.

Crescent City, first truck.

Redbank.

All with Redbank families and contacts, go to truck number two.

All with Redbank families and contacts, truck number two.

Havenhurst. The third truck.

Havenhurst, the third truck.

Mill Town. The third truck.

Mill Town. The third truck.

Valley Springs. The third truck.

Valley Springs. The third truck.

First our town, then all the towns around us.

It's a malignant disease spreading through the whole country.

That's all for today.

Be ready again tomorrow.

I can't wait for Jack any longer. Stay here.

- But you're not going out there! - I've got to stop them.

Wait! We're safe here!

They're not here, I hope we're not too late.

Jack! Thank God!

Jack, the whole town's been taken over by the pods!

Not quite, there's still you and Becky.

Miles, it would have been so much easier

if you'd gone to sleep last night.

Now relax, we're here to help you.

You know better than that.

Where do you want us to put 'em?

Would you like to watch them grow?

- No, thanks. - Put them in there.

There's nothing to be afraid of, we're not going to hurt you.

Look, once you understand, you'll be grateful.

Remember how Teddy and I fought against it?

Well, we were wrong.

You mean Teddy doesn't mind?

Of course not. She feels exactly the way I do.

Let us go!

Look, we'll leave town, we won't come back.

We can't let you go, you're dangerous to us.

Don't fight it, Miles, it's no use.

Sooner or later you'll have to go to sleep.

I'll wait for you in the hall.

Miles, you and I are scientific men,

you can understand the wonder of what's happened.

Now just think,

less than a month ago Santa Mira was like any other town,

people with nothing but problems.

Then out of the sky came a solution,

seeds drifting through space for years took root in a farmer's field.

From the seeds came pods,

which have the power to reproduce themselves

in the exact likeness of any form of life.

So that's how it began,

out of the sky.

Your new bodies are growing in there,

they're taking you over, cell for cell, atom for atom.

There's no pain.

Suddenly, while you're asleep, they'll absorb your minds,

your memories, and you're reborn into an untroubled world.

Where everyone's the same.

Exactly.

What a world.

We're not the last humans left. They'll destroy you.

Tomorrow you won't want them to, tomorrow you'll be one of us.

I love Becky.

Tomorrow will I feel the same?

There's no need for love.

No emotion?

Then you have no feelings, only the instinct to survive.

You can't love or be loved, am I right?

You say it as if it were terrible. Believe me, it isn't.

You've been in love before. It didn't last. It never does.

Love. Desire. Ambition. Faith.

Without them life's so simple, believe me.

I don't want any part of it.

- You're forgetting something, Miles. - What's that?

You have no choice.

I guess we haven't any choice.

Good.

I want to love and be loved.

I want your children.

I don't want a world without love or grief or beauty. I'd rather die.

No. No.

Not unless there's no other way.

Why didn't they just give us a shot or a sleeping pill or something?

Drugs dull the mind, maybe that's the reason.

No, it wouldn't work.

I might get one or even two, but I couldn't possibly get three of them.

You're forgetting something, darling, me.

It isn't three against one, it's three against two.

Give me a knife.

No.

Here.

Go over by the desk.

What's going on in there?

- Miles, Miles! Unlock the door. - Open the door, Miles.

Miles, open the door!

- Open the door, Miles! - Miles!

Open the door!

Our only hope is to make it to the highway.

Well, that does it. The only other way is out the front door

and there's bound to be somebody watching it,

but we'll have to chance it.

Keep your eyes a little wide and blank, show no interest or excitement.

Well, Sam, we're finally with you.

They were supposed to let me know.

The chief said he'd phone the station, then I'd get the call.

He phoned, but the line was busy. He's calling again now.

Watch out!

I'm sorry, Miles.

This is Janzek, they got away. Turn the main siren on.

Here, the steps!

Only a few steps more!

Come on! They went this way!

They're over there!

Miles, I can't, I can't.

Miles, I can't. I can't go on.

Yes, you can!

Here's her sweater, they must be in the tunnel!

Look, Tommy, you go that way.

Give up! You can't get away from us!

We're not gonna hurt you! Give up!

Not in the tunnel. All right, everybody outside!

Come on, let's check the hills. Everybody move!

Miles, I can't stay awake much longer.

I think they're all gone now.

We'd better start, or we'll never make it to the highway.

Miles, I've never heard anything so beautiful.

It means we're not the only ones left who know what love is.

Stay here and pray they're as human as they sound.

Goodbye, darling.

This is Station KCAA, the 24-hour platter parade.

The station of music and...

Becky!

Becky!

Becky.

Becky, where are you?

I'm here, Miles.

You didn't go to sleep.

I'm so tired.

They weren't people, it was more of them.

They're growing thousands of pods in greenhouses.

We've got to get away.

I'm exhausted, Miles, I can't make it.

We can't make it without sleep.

Yes, we can.

I went to sleep, Miles, and it happened.

Oh, Becky!

They were right.

I should never have left you.

Stop acting like a fool, Miles, and accept us.

No.

Never!

He's in here! He's in here! Get him! Get him!

I've been afraid a lot of times in my life,

but I didn't know the real meaning of fear,

until... until I'd kissed Becky.

A moment's sleep, and the girl I loved

was an inhuman enemy bent on my destruction.

That moment's sleep was death to Becky's soul,

just as it had been for Jack and Teddy and Dan Kauffman and all the rest.

Their bodies were now hosts harbouring an alien form of life,

a cosmic form which to survive must take over every human man.

So Iran, Iran.

I ran as little Jimmy Grimaldi had run the other clay.

My only hope was to get away from Santa Mira,

to get to the highway, to warn the others of what was happening.

- Wait! - No, no, we got to get him!

No, wait, let him go. They'll never believe him.

Help! Help! Help! Wait!

Help, help, help!

Wait! Wait! Stop, stop! Stop and listen to me!

Listen to me! Listen, listen!

Those people that are coming after me, they're not human!

Listen to me! We're in danger!

Get out of the street. Go on, get out of here!

You're in danger! Please!

Get out of here, go on, get out of here!

There isn't a human being left in Santa Mira! Not one!

Hey! Hey, stop! Pull up, will you?

Pull over to the side of the road, I need your help.

Something terrible has happened!

Go on, you're drunk! Get out of the street! Get out! Go on!

Are you crazy, you big idiot?

Look! You fools, you're in danger!

Can't you see? They're after you! They're after all of us!

Our wives! Our children! Everyone!

They're here already! You're next!

You're next! You're next! You're next!

You're next!

You don't believe a word of this, do you?

Sure, it's fantastic, but it happened!

Don't just sit there measuring me for a straight jacket, do something!

Get on the phone, call for help!

Oh, what's the use?

Well, what do you think? Will psychiatry help?

If all this is a nightmare, yes.

Of course it's a nightmare.

Plants from another world taking over human beings.

Mad as a March Hare.

What have we here?

Ran his truck through a red light.

Greyhound bus smacked him broadside and tipped him over.

Put him in the OR.

Will you take over Bennell for me, Doctor?

Certainly.

How badly is he hurt?

Both legs, left arm, broken all to bits.

We had to dig him out from under the most peculiar things I ever saw.

What things?

Well, I don't know what they are, I never saw them before.

They looked like, uh, great big seed pods.

Seed pods?

Where was the truck coming from?

Santa Mira.

Get on your radio and sound an "All Points Alarm."

Block all the highways and stop all traffic,

and call every law enforcement agency in the state.

Operator, get me the Federal Bureau of Investigation!

Yes, it's an emergency!