Original subtitles

This is the city, Los Angeles, California.

It's a productive city of industrious people

who work hard, play hard, and live easy.

It's the hope of easy living

that attracts most people to Los Angeles.

Some of them want an easy life without hard work.

When they go that route, they're my problem.

I carry a badge.

It was Tuesday, March 14th.

It was fair in Los Angeles.

We were working the day watch

out of Burglary Auto Theft Division.

The boss is Captain Mack.

My partner is Bill Gannon.

My name's Friday.

For several weeks, the city had been plagued

by a number of daring daylight burglaries.

Using the same MO, the burglar had been hitting

as many as four homes a day in one area

between the hours of 10:00 and 3:00.

The newspapers were full of stories.

We had just been assigned the case,

and we didn't have a clue.

The story you are about to see is true.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Sorry, Joe. I thought you'd seen it already.

What did you cut out?

Oh, nothing much, just a couple of things.

- What things? - These little items

they stick at the bottom of pages, like this.

"There are more than 2,000 species of snakes known in the world."

Yeah, fillers.

- What? - They call those fillers.

Sure. They're an education, Joe.

You take this one here.

"The word companion comes from two Latin words

meaning "to break bread together."

That's fascinating. Now, companion,

why don't we try to break this case together?

We've been over it six dozen times, Joe.

There's gotta be something we overlooked somewhere.

What? Every job's the same.

He hits in daylight. He jimmies a patio door.

He takes furs, cash, jewels, nothing else.

No latent prints, no fuss, no muss.

There's gotta be a common denominator somewhere.

I can't find it, Joe.

Well, you sure can't find it in there.

I'm still thinking.

Just what are you going to do with that collection

of instant intelligence?

You want to know the truth?

That's why I asked.

- Okay. Lou Sale. - What about him?

Whenever Lou comes in, what's he say?

- What? - He says "What's new?" Right?

- Yeah. - And what do you say?

- Not much. - Same here.

I always say "Not much, Lou. What's new with you?"

And he says "Not much." Right?

Right.

Well, wait'll he checks in today.

He'll give me that same old "What's new?"

Yeah? And then you'll say

there are 2,000 kinds of snakes in the world.

You got it.

Speak of the devil.

Watch this, Joe.

Hey, Lou!

Bill, Joe. What's new?

Did you hear what he asked, Joe?

What?

You asked "What's new?"

So?

I'll tell you what's new.

Ahwahnee in Yosemite Valley derived its name

from the Yokuts word meaning "deep grassy valley".

- What's that Yokuts mean? - Oh, it doesn't say.

The Yokuts were small tribes of California Indians

who spoke related dialects.

They're nearly extinct now.

How'd you know that?

I used to date a librarian.

- What's new, Lou? - Funny you should ask, Gannon.

I had a hunch about that daylight burglar you're chasing.

Now suppose, Joe, it's not a he, but a she.

- Yeah? - It's possible.

But not probable.

Now, think about it.

Now, whoever does it, does a tidy job,

takes only the stuff that's easy to lift, easy to carry,

leaves the house spic and span, no mess.

Sound like a woman?

You buy that, Joe?

Just a hunch.

Let's say it is a woman, for a minute.

There have been a few.

They usually work after dark.

Do you remember Bonnie McKenzie?

Oh, Bonnie's been straight for two years, Joe.

- You know that. - Do I?

11:48 a.m., Bill and I left the office

and drove over to Bonnie McKenzie's cafe.

We'd arrested Bonnie four years ago for burglary.

She drew a two-year sentence.

The court had been lenient with her.

She was pregnant at the time.

Is this a social call or business?

A little of both, Bonnie.

Poor guy. He's stone deaf. That's why he eats here.

He ain't heard how lousy my food is.

Oh, you put out a good bowl of chili, Bonnie.

- Want one? - Yeah.

I'll have a bowl... Plenty of onions, too.

You, too, Sarge?

I've got a big batch to move.

No. No, thanks, Bonnie.

I never touch onions when I'm working.

Well, why not, Joe?

Nobody ever notices, for goodness' sake.

Things kind of slow, are they, Bonnie?

You see 'em lined up to get in here,

I'm doing so big here?

You see Conrad Hilton on his knees

begging me to sell him the business?

No, it's on me, Joe. How much, Bonnie?

I didn't have anything.

Oh, that's right.

How much, Bonnie? 40 cents.

I'll have a creme soda, too.

That'll be 58 cents, including tax.

Bonnie, have you been reading the papers lately?

Every day. What about 'em?

You been reading about that day-lighter?

Yeah, he's been hitting good, hasn't he?

You know, one of the boys at the office has a hunch it's a she.

Look, when I was prowling, I did it for my old man.

I got rid of my old man before I took my last fall.

I ain't made a kinky move since I come out, Gannon.

You know that.

You know that, Friday.

Well, sometimes you hear things, Bonnie.

Look, there's how many people dropping into L.A. every day?

They ain't all Shirley Temple, you know.

Your day-lighter don't sound like nobody

I ever went dancing with.

Well, just thought we'd ask, Bonnie.

This kind of cargo this cat hauls,

three, four big ones a day.

He's gotta be a hype with a habit

that'd knock a horse to his knees.

- Yeah, maybe. - If he's a narco,

he ain't been on my dance program ever.

I might've run with some kinky ones in my day,

but addicts are out.

I've got my kid to think about.

How is she, Bonnie?

She's doing real good, for a kid born in prison.

12:42 p.m. We return to the office.

Captain Mack was waiting for us.

Another day-lighter, same MO.

- Name's Bakerton. - Yes, sir.

And on your way down, pick up a pack of mints.

For you, Captain?

For you.

We drove to the Bakerton home at 706 Flores Bonitos Drive,

a fashionable neighborhood in The Hills

south of Griffith Park.

We arrived at 1:01 p.m.

The Bakertons were doubly upset.

They had just returned

from the funeral of Mrs. Bakerton's father,

when they discovered

their patio door had been pried open.

The burglar's MO was the same...

$260 in cash, $1,200 worth of jewelry,

and a mink cape were missing.

It was 2:10 p.m.

Well, where are we today that we weren't yesterday.

Weren't those people we saw yesterday at a funeral

when they were hit?

The Edglies?

Yeah, rotten coincidence, isn't it?

Suppose it's not a coincidence?

Suppose the guy knew.

Guy.

You sold back Lou's hunch.

I'm working on one of my own. Yeah.

Where were all these other victims

when their homes were entered?

Now, if we check back on every one of them,

pinpoint where they were,

we may have that one common denominator

we need for a lead.

You think there's a possibility

they were all at funerals?

A lot of bodies are buried in this city every day, Bill,

and I never heard of a funeral at night.

3:56 p.m. I explain my hunch to the boss.

Officer Sale sat in.

- Yeah. - Lou?

That woman Heisdorf and I talked to last Friday

lost a sapphire ring and a leopard coat,

the one with a southern first name.

Mrs. Savannah Chandler.

Joe, she was at a funeral.

Okay.

You've got an hour left on your shifts.

Joe, you and Gannon check with the divisional detectives.

Sale, you and Heisdorf check the crime reports we have here.

Let's find out exactly

where all those victims were at the time.

The idea is so simple, Joe.

I'm surprised at you.

How's that, Captain?

You didn't think of it sooner.

7:50 p.m. We went over

the results of our investigations,

collating the information from every angle...

Age of victims, location of homes,

times of day, reasons for absence from their residence.

No consistent pattern emerged.

The funeral theory didn't seem to hold up.

We checked out for the night.

Long day.

Yeah. You go on ahead. I forgot my cigarettes.

You want a ride home? No, I brought my car.

That funeral theory of yours?

Yeah, what about it?

Said you never heard of a funeral at night?

That's right.

Japanese do it all the time.

Of 26 victims, 17 had been at funerals,

two had been in church, four were in maternity wards,

two were at weddings, and one at a bar mitzvah.

Then it hit me... Births, deaths, weddings.

Vital statistics.

They were always in the newspapers.

Names, times, addresses.

I took the bulldog edition of the Times

home with me to study. The next morning,

if anybody asked me what's new,

maybe I'd have some answers.

Wednesday, March 15th, was a bright, warm day.

The reports from the geographic divisions

confirmed my theory.

It was 8:25 when I spelled it out for Captain Mack and Bill.

I can't argue the logic, Joe,

but we haven't enough men to cover everyone in the city

who'll be at a wedding, funeral, and a bar mitzvah.

Well, the way it breaks down, he works in cycles,

and he's on a funeral kick now.

Or he could go back to weddings any day, Joe, or bar mitzvahs.

That's right, but most daytime weddings are on weekends,

and bar mitzvahs, they're all on Saturdays.

If he's on a funeral kick, look at this, Joe.

Must be 70 death notices in today's paper.

63, but only 14 of those print the address of the deceased,

and only six of those are in this area,

where he's been working.

You really did some homework, Joe.

All right.

Give it a shake. Sale and Heisdorf can assist.

With six possible targets,

can you spare two more men a few hours?

Lansroni and Guy until 1:00.

I can't spare six men longer than that.

That gives us four and a half hours to catch a thief.

We've had four and a half weeks.

9:25 a.m. We dressed in soft clothes.

Each man was issued a handy talkie,

because we would use our personal cars for the stakeout.

A veteran burglar can spot an official unit,

and the man we were after was no amateur.

My car was in the garage for overhaul.

The mechanic was a buddy,

so he let me use his pickup for the day.

I parked across from an address on Lime Grove Way.

The others were deployed to observe other addresses

in the funeral notices.

It was 9:55 when the last man checked with me

to announce he was in position.

According to the paper,

the first service was to begin at 10:00 a.m.

At 9:56, a vehicle pulled up on Lime Grove Way.

There were two reasons why the vehicle was suspect.

Although it said Laundry on the truck,

there was no firm name, no other identification,

and the driver was acting in a peculiar fashion.

I got Bill at his stakeout spot on frequency 9

and told him I thought I had something.

Looks kind of old, doesn't he?

Yeah, a little.

A little?

Looks old enough to be my grandfather.

I'm going to check his registration.

Here, you!

You're not her regular laundry man.

- Who's that, ma'am? - Mrs. Pendyke.

- No, ma'am. - Nobody's home anyway.

They're all at Mr. Pendyke's funeral.

He passed away on Monday.

You'd better come back some other time.

Yes, ma'am.

Strangers make us jittery around here...

The papers and the TV just full

of all those burglars in the daytime.

We can't be too careful, you know.

Yes, ma'am, I understand.

Well, good.

See that you do.

10:38 a.m. The suspect had been

inside the residence over half an hour.

Hold it right there, Mister. We'd like to talk to you.

Talk about what, and who are you people anyway?

Stand still.

Police officers.

Yes, sir, that's what it says all right. Cops.

Well, what's the problem? I park wrong or something?

More like something. Now, before we talk,

it's our duty to inform you of your rights.

What rights is that?

Any statement you make to us may be used against you

in a court of law.

Yeah?

You have the right to remain silent

and the right to the presence of an attorney during questioning.

If you desire and cannot afford an attorney,

one'll be appointed before any questioning.

You understand that?

Yes, sir, clear as glass.

You want to ask me something,

then I'm not supposed to tell you, right?

So, what do I need an attorney for?

- What's your name? - Williams.

Charles Augustus Williams.

You have a driver's license, Mr. Williams?

Ah, you figure it out.

How could I drive a truck without one?

May we see it?

There it is, big as a house!

He means your license.

Well, say so. Be specific.

You'll find it's up-to-date, official, A number 1.

Yes, sir, except for one thing.

It's a Florida license.

Of course it is. In Miami Beach,

you wouldn't use a Pennsylvania license, would you?

How long have you been here, Williams?

Oh, how do you mean, here?

Los Angeles.

Five, six, seven months.

I'm no bookkeeper.

Where do you live?

Here and there. I move a lot.

I don't get along with landlords.

They're all chiselers.

You living in this house now?

Me, here? You've gotta be kidding.

You know the people who do live here?

Certainly. I pick up their laundry, don't I?

- Do you? - No, I went in there

to make love to the upstairs maid.

What do you got in that bundle?

Dirty laundry, that's what I've got in that bundle.

What do you think I've got in that bundle?

Dirty laundry!

What's that, a mink bed sheet?

We also clean furs.

You clean jewelry, too?

Isn't that just like people for you?

Always mixing up diamonds, pearls, gems in their laundry.

Oh, give it to me, all of it.

I'll just have to take it back.

No, we'll do that for you, fella.

How can you be suspicious of a man 75 years old?

According to your license, you're 72.

72, 75. I'm no bookkeeper.

You're no doctor, either.

What do you do with rubber gloves?

I wear them, what else?

I have a bad arthritis, and they help keep out the dampness.

Is that illegal?

No, sir. What about this?

What about it? It's money.

Is that against the law, too, these days?

No, not if it's yours.

What about this, Williams?

Oh, that?

An old man like me needs something to protect himself

against hoodlums and muggers.

You know how it is.

Yeah, we know how it is.

People have been known to pry open doors and windows

with bars like this.

All right, Williams.

You're under arrest for burglary.

You've gotta be kidding.

A judge would laugh you out of court.

A man my age, 77, a burglar?

Come on.

Told you before, we do not welcome strangers anymore,

and if you don't leave with your friends immediately,

I'm going to call the police.

Yes, ma'am, we'll be outta here in just a minute.

That's not fast enough.

I'm going to turn you in, all of you.

11:05 a.m. The suspect was booked and held in Central Jail,

pending further investigation.

He continued to deny his guilt

and refused to divulge his present address.

Williams' name and description were put through R & I

to search for any prior record.

He had none in the state of California.

1:15 p.m. We brought the suspect in for further questioning.

We had him on one count,

but we needed additional evidence

or his admission of guilt

in all the other jobs we suspected he had pulled

during the past weeks.

Now, what happens, the third degree?

We want to ask you a few questions.

I'm an innocent man!

You've got the wrong boy, fellas.

You ever see a crook 73 years old before?

I thought you said you were 75.

75, 74, what's the difference?

You ever bust a burglar my age before?

No, I can't say we have.

Well, that's your answer.

We don't think so, Williams.

Cops. You're all alike. You can't catch a crook,

so you grab an innocent old man

and brainwash him to say he did it,

so you can get a promotion.

Nobody's brainwashing you.

Then you'll keep me locked up here in this tiny room

without windows until my throat is parched from thirst,

and you won't even give me water.

Would you like some water?

No, not now, but you got a cigarette?

- Help yourself. - Thanks!

I don't know about you fellas, but for me,

a cigarette always tastes better with coffee.

Got any coffee around this place?

We might have.

Milk, no cream.

You gonna tell us what we want to know?

I might, if you've got some pie.

- Pie? - Apple, cherry, anything,

with vanilla ice cream on top, two scoops.

I'll see what's left in the cafeteria, Joe.

Of course, it's real bad for you to eat dessert until after.

After what?

Steak, boiled beef,

chicken, pork chops, anything,

as long as it comes with a green vegetable,

a few carrots, and a baked potato, no butter.

That's a whole meal.

With salad, it would be...

Just oil and vinegar dressing, after, of course, soup.

If you've got a cafeteria here, like you say,

they'll have a soup du jour.

We're not running a lunch counter here, Williams.

I'm talking to him.

First, I've gotta have a half grapefruit or tomato juice, then soup.

At my age, you've gotta watch how you eat.

Didn't you have lunch in jail?

- An hour ago! - And you're still hungry?

No, not especially, but you gave me a cigarette.

That's right, but we're not gonna serve you a complete meal.

In that case, take back your cigarette.

All right, now, let's talk about

this unfortunate little situation of yours, shall we?

My unfortunate situation?

Your unfortunate situation.

But if you want to talk about it, I'll listen.

We don't want you to listen. We want you to talk.

How can I talk about something I don't know about? Come on!

Then let's talk about something you do know about.

- Like what, for example? - Burglary!

Okay, light me up one,

and I'll tell you boys a few things.

For the next 35 minutes,

the suspect gave us a detailed lecture on everything

that came into his mind, except burglary.

After 45 minutes, we knew we were wasting our time.

The old guy's sure a talker, isn't he?

Friday, Gannon?

I was just gonna send this down to you.

- I dug it out of the files. - Yes, sir?

It's an old warrant on your suspect, Dade County, Florida.

That him?

That's him.

Charles Augustus Williams Smith.

That's four years old, Joe.

And look at his age then, 81.

Well, like he said, he's no bookkeeper.

His first fall was in New York

back in 1915 for larceny.

Yeah.

The old boy's spent more time in the joint than most lifers.

Yeah, well, maybe now he'll talk to us.

Let's get him back up here, Bill.

Right now, how about a little breather?

Why? Do you think he needs a rest?

I do.

At 4:00 p.m., we began to re-interview Charles Smith.

We confronted him with the old Florida warrant,

which he examined carefully.

You know, that's not a bad picture of me,

the full face.

Profile, so-so, but the full face...

- Yeah? - They've sure got

a first-class photographer in Miami.

Did my pictures here turn out good?

We haven't seen them yet.

You know why they shouldn't be as good as these?

No, why?

Because I was a younger man then.

Well, you still don't look your age.

Do you know how old I am?

85.

84, 85. Who counts?

How'd you get that 72 on your license?

Look, even in Miami, they don't encourage

an 80-year-old man to operate a car.

So, you touch up your hair a little, walk in straight,

and tell the clerk you're only 69.

And you also give them a different name.

You're a different man.

- Who is? - I am.

This man, Smith, was an old-time cat burglar,

one of the best, fast, clever, daring.

But when he decided to retire, to stay out of prison,

he changed everything, his home, his business, his name.

- I see. - No, you don't.

Willie Smith is dead.

I'm Charley Williams in the laundry business,

a new leaf, a new life, a new man, completely innocent.

And it's a good thing for you.

- How's that, Smith? - Cops.

If I were Smith, would I be here now?

He had a brilliant mind.

The police of 16 states couldn't catch him,

a cat burglar like him, such intelligence, grace, artistry!

Willie Smith was a genius.

Yeah, Lou.

That stuff you just picked up,

the fur coat and the jewelry?

- What about it? - The victim just identified it.

Thanks, Lou.

Sorry, Bill.

I guess Charley here is right.

We've been pretty stupid

trying to pin all those jobs on you, Williams.

What's happened?

I checked with the divisional detectives

who worked all the other daylight burglaries.

- Yeah? - They say it couldn't have been anybody

who knows what he's doing. The jobs were too sloppy.

Sloppy?

Pure amateur.

The way they'd spot the empty houses,

looked in the papers for funeral announcements, sloppy.

That's right. Weddings, parties.

You call that amateur? If you weren't amateurs,

you'd know what a brilliant scheme it is.

- Is that right? - Did you nincompoops

ever find a latent print anywhere?

Did you ever have a witness?

Was there ever any ransacking?

Did you ever find the kind of mess an amateur makes?

No, and we never found any of the loot, either.

A pro would've cashed in most of it by now,

some of it, anyway.

This stumblebum, whoever he is,

is too stupid to find a fence.

Will you take me where I want to go?

We'll try.

I'll show you who's stupid, Mr. Big Shot!

4:19 p.m. we drove the suspect

to an address in North Hollywood,

where he had rented a small house.

Smith said he would show us more than $60,000 worth

of jewelry and furs wrapped in bed sheets or pillow slips.

He did.

Each bundle contained the loot of one burglary.

4:32 p.m. We called the office

and asked that Officers Sale and Heisdorf come out

and give us a hand.

4:50 p.m. While Bill filled in Sale and Heisdorf,

I returned the suspect to the car.

You know, Sergeant, I've been working too hard.

You have to admit, I did a brilliant job,

but I've gotta slow down.

Property truck's on the way, Joe.

Could I go home, boys?

I'd like to lie down for a while.

You're going back to jail.

That's home! Yes, siree Bob!

All right, let's go, Smith.

You two boys have a great distinction, don't you?

- How's that? - No doubt about it, is there?

- What do you mean? - You're looking at him...

Charlie Smith, the world's oldest cat burglar.

He was.

The suspect was found guilty

on four counts of burglary in the second degree.

Burglary in the second degree is punishable

by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year,

or in the state prison for not less than one year,

or more than 15 years.