Original subtitles

Let's go!

a Quinn Martin Warner Brothers production starring Ephraim Zimbliss

also starring Stephen Brooks, with guest stars Ralph Meeker,

Albert Salmi, Don Quine.

Tonight's episode, The Plunderer.

Inspector? We were in Baltimore when we heard the code. Howard?

Badman? Very professional job.

Three inside men and a driver. They picked up an armored car delivery, shot

of the guards.

Will he make it?

I don't see how.

How much do they get?

Twelve thousand in the delivery bag. The manager's inside checking out the

vault.

Mr. Shaw, the getaway truck's been found. They dumped it in a municipal

building on 7th Street, transferred it to another car.

Any witnesses?

No reliable ones, sir. They used tear gas again.

Jim, take a look at it.

All right.

Three men on the inside, a driver, and tear gas.

Sound familiar?

Howard, were you at a station in the Midwest, Kansas, Iowa?

No.

When you get a chance, call Livingston to the 91 desk.

Ask him to check the M .O. file for a four -man team.

Smoker, gas, bombs, car transferred.

How many bombs did they use?

Well, we've recovered three of the containers so far. One outside the vault

two in the air conditioning unit. Air conditioning?

These boys didn't miss a trick. They immobilized the whole bank before they

their move.

conditioners in the service closet in the back of the washroom.

Two of them came down as plumbers.

There'd been some trouble with the pipes before.

A legitimate concern was in yesterday to fix one of the washbasins. Did you find

anything? Yes, sir. There are two distinct types of wrench markies on the

joint. It's been tampered with and then repaired.

They evidently loosened the collar enough to let a good -sized leak

So they loosened the pipe Monday morning. The manager has it fixed Monday

afternoon.

Who notices a couple more plumbers who drop by on Tuesday to finish the job?

Four men, at least two cars, tear gas, guns, plumbers' outfits.

They must have planned this thing for months.

But why?

What? Well, this isn't Fort Knox, a branch bank in a quiet part of town.

They couldn't have hoped for more than 10 ,000 or 15 ,000 in that delivery bag.

Well, obviously, they were after the vault. They waited for it to be open.

What's the manager's name?

Gardner.

All right, thank you.

Mr. Gardner, my name is Erskine, Bureau Headquarters.

Yes? How soon can you give us an itemized list of everything missing from

vault? There's nothing missing.

Nothing? Not a penny.

The vault was wide open. All I had to do was reach out their hands.

What kind of bank robbers are these?

First flight to Butcher's Bay, Virginia.

One way.

I really don't care where I go.

How about Butcher's Bay, Virginia?

But I gotta go by train. I love to hear the clicking of the wheels on the

tracks.

I'm telling you, Eleanor, I'm a great believer in fate.

Now, look, if you hadn't walked into that restaurant, if we hadn't started to

talk, if you hadn't offered me this lift... Now, isn't that funny?

As I recall it, you asked for a lift.

I did?

Well, it doesn't matter, because we are now at the start of a very beautiful

relationship.

What's this?

This is the end of a beautiful relationship.

It's where I'm staying.

Look, uh, Eleanor, Butcher's Bay isn't very much further. Maybe... I'm sorry.

All right, if you want to destroy a man's belief in fate.

Goodbye.

It's been fun Goodbye

Lou, the 91 desk called. They'd like you to check back. The phone's over here.

Any luck here?

Not much. The plumbing firm reported the truck stolen at 10 .15 this morning.

We've had at least half a dozen descriptions of the car they transferred

By the way, Lou, I found these particles of broken glass or stone in the back of

the truck. I thought maybe scriptography would like to look at them.

Oh, one more thing.

I found some fibers caught in a wall spinner.

I'll have them checked out, but they look to me like cashmere.

Somebody in that truck must have pretty expensive tastes.

No wonder he robs banks.

If that's what he was doing.

Erskine, 91 desk, please.

Passed up a chance to clean out the vault.

Sounds like an amateur.

I wonder.

Dwight, Lou Erskine.

Oh, yes, Lou. On that Baltimore 91, I think I might have something for you.

Good. You had the right area. There was a Kansas hood named Wendell Cummings. He

operated out of Topeka in the 40s. Always used tear gas, always stole a

always had another car in a public garage.

That's it.

Now, this boy gave us fits for about five years.

Most meticulous planner I ever saw. He had great faith in the dry run concept.

The what concept?

Well, Wendell liked to stake out a top bank. Then he'd find a smaller one to

practice on. It wasn't hard.

Floor plans are usually similar. Jim,

where is this Cummings at, you know?

I do. He's back in Kansas at the family plot.

He died at Leavenworth in 64.

Okay, thanks very much.

Lou, we just heard from General Hospital.

The U .S. Attorney can take a murder charge under that indictment.

The guard died on the operating table.

Did we get a statement?

No, we never regained consciousness.

All right, call Leavenworth. I want the names and current whereabouts of every

cellmate of a bank robber named Wendell Cummings.

He's dead, but it seems he left a disciple.

Oh, boy, you caught me with a bundle.

It's 40 cents, you owe me.

Yeah, my daddy told me never to play cards with crooks.

Hey, King, you want to take a hand?

King!

No, no, no, no.

Maybe they picked him up.

Come on, King, relax.

He'll be along.

I told him the hotel. I told him the time.

Thanks for the ride, honey.

Frank, will I see you again? Will you call me? Sure, love. Sure.

Yes, sir.

No,

I'm on my own now.

Think I got a reservation?

Oh, yes, of course. Will you sign here, please?

Will you... Why, you want to fight?

Hey, how are you, King? Hi, Frank.

What kept you?

I took a couple of details.

312, please. Take those bags up to his room. He'll be up later.

Well, I can't wait. I'd like to freshen up a little bit.

Later.

The poor guy must be drunk.

What's the matter, buddy? Come on.

Hey,

looks like homecoming week at Lemonworth U.

Cowboy, Otto.

How are you, Frank? Hot.

It's not much of a view.

How come you didn't pick a hotel overlooking the bank?

Disappoint me, King.

That happens sometimes.

What's the problem?

The guard died.

It was on the radio this morning.

All right, so he died.

Shouldn't have gotten in my way.

Everybody gets in your way, don't they, Frank?

Like that clown out in the hall.

We're in this hotel in this city at this time, so nobody will notice four single

businessmen in the crowds.

And the first thing you do when you get in is belt somebody.

Look, you never know what hit him. Tomorrow morning he'll wake up and he

even know that I was around. You're right.

Because you won't be here tomorrow.

Here's your money.

Now split.

Split? We can't afford you, pal.

You can't afford to do without me.

The three of you aren't going to pull off this job alone, and you know it.

We'll cancel it.

What, after two years?

What about all your plans?

Look, that guard was the only one who saw me, and he's not going to be around

identify anybody.

Cowboy?

He knows the routine, King.

Otto?

Tim, you know how I feel. We've waited a long time for this. We need a man in

the lobby.

I think it's a mistake.

But if that's the way you vote, okay.

Gentlemen, to the Urban Bank and Trust Company.

And the $2 million Navy payroll.

Biggest cash haul ever made.

The reddish powder is crushed agate, Inspector.

This particular type comes from the state of Chihuahua in Mexico.

We've put the larger fragments together to give you a general idea of the

original shape of the object.

This is part of the outer rim.

By extension, we can presume that the object was a button about the size of a

dime.

About the normal size of a coat button, isn't it? Yes, sir.

It may have fallen off in the truck, been ground underfoot.

Hello?

Heron Fibers report.

The material on the splinter was cashmere.

What about the Leavenworth names?

Just came through, all 112 of them.

112?

Cummings was in prison for 15 years. That adds up to a lot of cellmates.

Okay, so I'd break him down. All right. Meanwhile, I want a description of that

forwarded to all Latin American import companies.

Mexican agate ought to ring a bell somewhere.

Cowboy's rented a car. He'll pick us up in front of the hotel in five minutes.

What for?

We're going to check the route again.

I don't want to run into any surprises on Tuesday.

What surprises? Listen, I thought we were... Yeah, all right. Five minutes.

What's the matter with you?

Somebody there?

No, no.

You leave the women alone until we're through with this job, Frank.

You understand me?

Yeah, I understand you. All right. Five minutes.

Here's some trash. You got a furnace? I want you to burn it, okay?

Yeah.

Yes, sir.

There she is.

What happens, Tuesday, if all the parking spaces are taken?

We improvise.

Cowboy, you can drive that truck around the block. If there's no place to park

the truck, we forget the whole bit. We go home. What are you talking about? We

go home. Is that clear?

Anything's wrong, we go home.

Anything smells wrong today, we go home.

We're not knocking off the corner candy store. Once this one starts, nothing

stops it.

Customers, guards, nothing.

But this one doesn't start until it's right.

All right.

You're running the show.

You remember it and quit bugging me.

Take a run out of the garage where you parked the car. Make sure you know your

way in and out on Tuesday.

Same pieces of red agate.

Okay.

What about Layton?

Nothing usable as yet.

The car's been here for several days, probably since Tuesday.

Any luck on Cummings' cellmates?

Takes six weeks to go over the whole list, and we haven't got six weeks.

Our best bet seems to be a man named King Hogan.

He was a close friend of Cummings, was with him when he died.

He was released in May of 64, supposed to have been seen in Baltimore in

January. Lou?

Nothing on Hogan, but we did hear from an importer in Philadelphia who

handling a cashmere jacket with Mexican red agate buttons.

I wrote down the customer's name and address.

Everything looks about the same.

They've added another guard.

What do I do if one of them jumps me? Slap his wrist?

Suit yourself.

You can burn them boats down as far as I'm concerned.

We're not practicing this time.

Just what the doctor ordered.

Sure you don't know someone who can take Frank's place?

Still don't trust him, huh?

No. It's one mistake I made. I knew it the minute I asked him in.

I feel like I'm in a car heading for a railroad crossing.

I can hear the train whistling down the track.

Now the question is, am I going to get across before the engine hits me?

Want to call it off?

We're set. We go.

I tell you, the apples this season ain't fit to throw at crows.

Want to try to choke one down?

Cowboy, the only way I can stand apples is in hard sight.

You don't know what you're missing.

They say an apple a day keeps the officers away.

Well, there she is.

That looks a little open over there, doesn't it?

No, it's all right.

I'll just pick me one of them trucks from the back.

I won't miss it for a couple hours.

Twenty minutes from the back.

Say we hit all the stoplights.

Ten minutes.

King says the armored truck gets there at noon.

About 11 .15 would be just about right.

Well, now.

Why don't you steal me one of those next Tuesday? How about it, cowboy?

Thank you.

You know, I think I ought to go help her.

You play off the woman. It's for your own good.

This job's too important.

Crying out loud, cowboy?

Don't you know when a man is kidding you? I mean it.

I've already got the money spent. I even know the orchard I'm going to buy in

Yakima, Washington.

That's very nice. I got the Riviera planned.

A couple of nice yachts and some women with class.

Why don't you just relax, huh?

Yes, yes, I remember the jacket, Inspector.

Do you still have it, Mr. Goulding?

No.

It wasn't the sort of thing that suited me. It was too...

I

bought it to impress a girl, Inspector.

She was very striking.

A girl.

And the jacket.

But they were both too young for me.

When I finally realized what a fool they were making me look, I got rid of them.

Both.

Do you know where it is now?

The jacket, that is?

I gave it to my gardener.

What's his name?

Victor Dahl.

His address?

I have the faintest idea in the world, Inspector.

He took the girl, too, when he left.

Thank you, Mr. Groening.

The name on the list?

Yeah.

He's in Atlanta.

Yeah. It's me.

What a sweet domestic scene.

Few guys could only cook.

Hey, King.

That straight?

Perfect. You know, Earl, you've really got a flair for this.

Well, that's one thing I'll always be thankful Eleven worked for.

They taught me a trade.

Where's Frank?

He's in his room.

I told him to meet us down here.

Hey, anything in there?

Nope. No alarms, no problems.

Gentlemen, I think we're in business.

What are you going to do with your share of the loot, King?

Well, you might not believe this, but it's not the money I'm really interested

in. Come on.

It's the job, the plan, my plan.

Two million in cash and maybe more.

The biggest boost ever made.

It's like Mount Everest.

That make sense, Otto?

That's what you want.

And what do you want? What are you after?

Me? I just want to retire from this trade and, I don't know, maybe buy a

house. One of those California senior citizen towns.

Find me an old woman who likes to play gin.

Who I can beat once in a while.

I wonder what's keeping Frank.

Let's pick him up and get a bite to eat.

I thought I heard somebody.

I just finished my shave.

The maid let you in?

What's the matter?

What was she doing here?

Who, the girl?

Hey, come on, King. Will you please quit, huh?

I ran out of soap, so I called down, and they sent her over with a couple of

bars.

Hey, what am I supposed to do? Sign a loyalty oath every time a woman says

to me, huh?

Why don't you guys grow up?

Friend, I've just about had it with you.

Hey, King, take it easy, huh?

We're going to have a fight. Let's wait till after we eat.

We can take a drive down to some nice quiet beach, okay?

Who is it?

Desk clerk.

I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but I found one of the bellboys wearing this

jacket. He said you gave it to him.

Thank you. It was a mistake.

I thought perhaps it was.

I'll speak to the bellboy.

Thank you, sir.

I was getting tired of it, so I gave it away.

Where'd you lose the button?

I don't know. Somewhere around here.

Not in the Baltimore Bank?

Not in the guard's hand?

I told you I lost it somewhere around here.

I want to see the button.

Oh, come on. I said I want to see it.

What difference does it make?

I mean, so, uh, who's gonna trace one lousy button, even if they do find it?

Make it easy.

Still alive.

Well, you can do what you want. I'm clearing out.

He's got a point, though. Who's gonna trace one lousy button?

Hey, King, you gonna slide down the whole mountain when we're so close to

top?

Okay, gentlemen.

Two million dollars.

In thirds instead of quarters.

What happened to the jacket when you were arrested?

A friend of mine swiped it.

Friend. Is this somebody you knew in Leavenworth?

Yeah. Full name?

Frank Collins.

Punk.

Makes you wonder if there's any justice.

I mean, I get stuck in here, right?

He's out having a ball.

All right, now, can you listen to me?

Yes. He's also worked as a barber and a lady shoe salesman in New York, Boston,

and Philadelphia.

Now, we'll send you all the addresses we have.

All right. Now, if you turn up any information whatsoever about his current

whereabouts, contact us here, would you please?

Thank you. Good night.

You had Livingston put out Hogan's description, too? Yes, sir, I did.

What about the banks?

Well, he checked most of the major ones. There are no reports of any plumbing

problems.

But then again, half the circulars are probably still sitting unopened on some

clerk's desk.

You tried the bus and train depots?

Mm -hmm.

Here, Baltimore, Philadelphia, nobody remembers seeing Collins.

He checked with his landlady, his girlfriends, his business associates.

See everybody but his enemies.

And I don't think he'd tell them where he's going.

Wouldn't he?

Who'd remember him more clearly than an enemy?

Listen to this report.

Purse snatching, pandering, assault, contributing to the delinquency of a

extortion, and all his victims women, even when he was on parole.

Put out another bulletin. All law enforcement agencies.

Have them show Collins' pictures specifically to all female complainants

their books.

Keep it.

Hello, Best Plumbing?

Listen, my show has gone all to pieces. Can you come out and fix it?

Oh, wait, hold on a minute.

Yes, that's the man.

I'll never forget that face.

He robbed me, too.

He said he was going to Butcher's Bay.

Right.

Right.

Butcher's Bay. Telling us how to notify every bank in town. And have a car meet

me at the airport.

Right.

24 to dispatcher. 24 to dispatcher.

Dispatcher to 24.

I'm on Fairlane Road, six miles east of the state highway.

On that APB -19, I've just discovered a body, apparently died of a bullet wound.

Identification papers read Frank Collins.

Hello, Paxton.

Plumbers?

Yes, just saying.

Good.

What do you think, something wrong?

It'll be 20 minutes before that armored truck gets here and they open the vault.

Let's get out of here.

Guard, stop those men.

Inspector? Lyons, how's it looking?

There's still one of them holed up in the back. I think it's King Hogan from

description. There were three men to begin with.

Hogan?

The bank's surrounded.

You're not going anywhere.

Come out with your hands up.

Throw your gun outside.

Hogan didn't have much in his pockets, Inspector.

Wallet, a tell bill, a few dollars, and this.

What is it?

Looks like a page torn out of a magazine.

Everett. Why would a man want to keep that?

Maybe he wanted to climb mountains.