Original subtitles

How many, sir? Fill her up.

Car wash, sir?

No, just to fill up the tires.

Could you possibly give us a lift?

I'm going to Bangkok.

Well, could you drop us in London on the way? Why not?

Are you here for business or pleasure?

Well, a little bit of both. How about you?

Me?

Strictly for business, Mr. Rule.

Drive.

Mr. Roo's residence.

For you, madame.

Thank you. Contessa di Gontini.

St Mary's Hospital, yes, I'll hold on.

What is it?

It's the Casualty Department of St Mary's Hospital.

Yes.

Yes, I know him.

Of course, I'll come straight away.

Is it Harry?

An accident?

Was he hurt?

Harry is dead.

Special delivery.

Pay off your friend, darling.

Drop her off on the motorway.

Maybe she can hitch a ride back to London.

See you later.

Why don't you tell me what this is all about?

One thing I can tell you, mate, you're going to be among friends.

Didn't Charlie promise you?

Harry!

You too. How did it happen?

A fake accident report. We walked straight into it.

Correction, we ran straight into it. You should be flattered, Harry Ruse.

Okay, okay, this is no time for an inquest. Later, maybe.

Right now, I want to show you this little gadget.

Now, pay attention.

So I'm only going to explain it once.

This stuff is dynamite.

And this thing with the wires is a little spring-loaded detonator,

all set to go off in exactly eight hours.

It's connected to a radio receiver.

Now, the transmitter, see?

It's sending out a little signal. Do you hear that?

Beep, beep.

Now, if you get clever, all I've got to do is

turn off the transmitter and bang, no bother.

Any questions? No, no, no. It's clear.

Got a complaint, though. No, no, I mean,

it won't do nothing right now if I switch it off.

But you can bet your lot it will once she's loaded, Mr. Rook.

You got all that, Harry.

Don't worry.

He ain't the one who's going to need it.

I wouldn't jump up and down on that thing if I were you, mate.

Well, while you're in an expansive and explaining mood,

would you mind telling us what this is all about?

Why not?

You've got this little get-together lined up for this afternoon.

Is that so?

That is so, Mr. Rule.

With a certain Mr. Koufax, a fancy social register shipowner,

and I'll be coming along with you.

You'd do anything to get into high society, wouldn't you?

You got it, darling. Not just so as we understand each other.

Don't forget my little switch on the transmitter.

All I got to do is flick and bang.

Do you want to try it? Not at the moment.

Here's the radio for you, just to remind you of your friend Paul Boucher.

As long as you can hear the beep dee beeps, he's got no worries. OK.

You designed the security system on Koufax's pad?

We'll be watched by closed-circuit TV.

I'll have to flick the lights at six-second intervals.

Great.

Don't forget the beep-de-beep, will you?

Good morning, Mr. Rule. Hi. I'd like to meet the Contessa di Contini.

I'm honored, Contessa.

And, uh... And my associate, Paul Boucher.

Oh.

Well, I assume you have no secrets from Mr. Boucher? It seems that way.

Good.

So now I can tell you why you are here.

I want you to help me to restore this cross to its former splendor.

The gems, you know, were first stolen by the Crusaders

as they made their way to more holy pastures.

Eventually they were found and reassembled and brought home,

where they were entrusted to a very famous and talented gem setter.

Very like our Mr. Nervonoff here.

Well, he promptly stole the gems and made his getaway with some pirates, who,

with a true sense of justice, cut his throat.

Yes, well, they were stolen and found and re-stolen a total of eight times,

but never once were they re-set in the cross.

This time, they will be set in the cross, and the cross returned to my homeland.

It is to be the one great pious act of my sinful life.

Where are the gems now?

They are being flown in from Amsterdam,

due to arrive in London in three hours' time.

Until this moment, only I and my Dutch friends knew of this fact.

Well, sir, now it is up to you to make sure that the gems arrive here safely.

Three hours.

That should be okay. We can hire an armored

truck and some reliable guards in that time.

An armored truck, will that not attract attention? Yes,

an armored truck will attract attention.

A diversion.

Say no more. One does not hire Rubens and then lean

over his shoulder to tell him how to paint.

But, um... But... You know... You know that you have my complete trust.

Totally.

But... I, uh...

I think that I will be there myself, with my private detective, and a few others.

Just in case we try to steal them ourselves.

We are all human, Contessa.

Here's a duplicate of the package you're gonna collect.

Just make sure I get the real one.

And the transmitter? Stays on two hours after

we clear the airport. If we're followed, bang.

You mean we take your word for it?

It means you take it or leave it, darling.

We could have handled all this, you know, sir.

Which vehicle has carried the jewels, sir?

Only Harry Rule knows.

Don't worry.

He's a very clever man in his work.

He's going to use the truck after all.

If we make it, I'll see you at the house.

Are you coming with us?

No, I think I'll walk. Something tells me I'll need a little exercise.

Empty.

Radio directional equipment is in the van.

All right, you can work out the frequency from the receiver.

We'll exit through the back.

All right.

The thing was set to go off in eight hours. That

means we got less than 50 minutes. Let's go.

I still can't get a trace.

You mean we're out of range? That's what it looks like.

There.

There's the transmitter now. It's presumably still with Charlie.

It's a strong signal, not too far away.

Pinpoint it.

It won't take us to Paul.

No, but laughing Charlie will.

What is it?

Well, there's something very odd about it. It's coming from fairly high up.

Are there any tall buildings in this area?

Negative.

Settle for a windmill.

The transmitter's still working.

Harry?

See if he's got the keys to the handcuffs in his pocket.

I don't know. I don't know what I'm thinking.

Well, whatever you come up with, it won't help Paul now.

How much time have we got?

25 minutes. We'll never find him in time.

Charlie?

Where's Paul Boucher?

Where's Charlie?

Where?

You want to see Charlie? Take a look.

Yeah, he's dead.

Where's that farmhouse?

Charlie!

Where?

Harry, who killed him?

Yeah, why?

Charlie?

One thing's been bugging me. How was he able to match that package at the airport?

Give us an exact duplicate of the real one.

I don't know.

Only Koufax could have told him.

Maybe he worked for Koufax.

A double cross.

And if Koufax killed Charlie, a triple cross.

6.24. That gives us hardly more than five minutes.

Allez.

Allez-vous-en.

Filez.

Four minutes.

There's the main highway.

Allez-vous-en, filez!

Viens, mon petit.

Viens ici.

You know, in less than two minutes, Harry, that bomb is gonna go off.

For Paul's sake, let's hope our timing's wrong.

There it is.

Hurry, get this thing out of here.

Well, that's quite a story.

One question, though. It doesn't give Koufax a clear motive.

Well, how do you like $3 million insurance for a clear motive?

I like it very much. What do you hear about that?

The customs declaration form you signed at the airport. The fine print?

The fine print. You should always read the fine print.

Okay, let's talk to Koufax.

All right, we'll take the front door.

That leaves you the drain pipe. Thanks.

Curious.

Now, that piece was on sale in Roma last week.

Drop the gun, Mr. Rule.

Well done.

Stay where you are.

Contessa, don't be foolish.

These things are priceless.

As an expert, you must appreciate that any violence

in this room will do no harm whatsoever.

Stop her! There isn't a genuine peace in this room.

Just a piece of chinoiserie.

Contessa!

Perhaps you prefer a fake Hellenic head.

What do you say to that, sir?

The value of my collection is well known.

Every major item in this room has found its way

into the sale rooms in the last six months.

Ever since your company took a stock market meeting on the Alaskan oil concessions.

Are you suggesting that Gregor Koufax is broke?

I'm suggesting that $3 million in insurance

money might come in pretty handy just now.

I want them arrested now. You saw yourself the gems stolen.

True.

But the recovery was pretty prompt.

The contents of the upstairs safe.

You did that with a certain amount of feeling, Harry Rule.

Didn't I tell you about how I lost 40 cents on the dollar in that deal?

Harry.

Yes, my limey angel?

I'd like to make a proposal to you.

Yes?

My direction-finding equipment.

Yes?

Well, I think... Yes?

That both our offices should share the cost of a replacement.

No.

I'm bringing it up at our next general meeting.

I'll oppose it.

Look, I'm burning. Will you put some more of that junk on me?

I just did it. Give the son a chance.

Listen, I'm Bernie. I can feel it.

You just want your back rubbed. You never know where that'll lead.

Well, I don't know about that, but I'm telling you I can feel it.

About my equipment.

I'll oppose it.

I told you I'll bring it up at our next general meeting.

In the avenues and alleyways Where the soul of

the man is easy to buy Everybody's wheelin',

everybody's stealin' On the lower living high Can we ever stop them?

Some of us are gonna try.