Original subtitles

This is the city.

Los Angeles, California.

It ranks first in the country in a number of things.

Among them, land area and automobiles.

One of the biggest areas here is occupied by

the University of California at Los Angeles.

It's situated on 411 acres in West Los Angeles.

UCLA is a student body of 29,000,

a faculty of 2,000 distributed among 71 departments

and 14 schools and colleges.

Since 1945, a $160 million building program has been underway,

the largest on any campus in the United States.

One of those expansions concerns the library.

With over two million books, the university has the largest collection

of any college in the world.

UCLA is a place where young people prepare for a successful future.

A goal is worthwhile but the path is long and hard.

Some try to find an easier way.

When it's illegal, I go to work.

I carry a badge.

The story you are about to see is true.

The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

It was Tuesday, April 11th.

We were working the day, watch out of Frauds Division Forgery Section.

The boss is Captain Frankel.

My partner is Bill Gannon.

My name is Friday.

We checked in for work at 9:00 a.m.

For the past two and a half minutes,

Bill appeared to be testing the construction

qualities of the squadron furniture.

What's the matter? Something wrong with the furniture?

No, Joe, there's nothing wrong with the furniture.

Isometrics, they're called. Good old dynamic tension.

You can do it anywhere anytime.

Do your isometrics three minutes a day, you don't have to do anything else.

- Is that so? - Yes, Joe, it's so. It's the tension.

One muscle working dynamically against the other that does the trick.

You don't get much exercise, do you, Joe?

Oh, I get out and bowl when I have a chance.

Well, that's nice. I don't suppose you do any jogging.

Well no, I don't have much time for that.

But you've got time to sit around and get flabby.

That's why you ought to try isometrics, Joe.

It doesn't take any of your valuable time. Now, watch this.

See. That didn't take any time.

A few seconds here, a few seconds there, that's all it takes, Joe. No time at all.

You've got muscles like bands of solid steel.

That's amazing. You've been doing this isometrics have you?

Just starting.

What's the matter, Gannon? Something wrong with that chair?

No, sir Captain, just exercising.

This might give you a little more. Theft and forgery.

Woman calling herself Sarah Phillips passed over $3,000 with a bad paper last week.

- Stolen payroll checks. - Yes, sir.

The checks were stolen in the Monument Movie Studios.

- The Phillips woman works there. - All right. We'll go have a talk with her.

Yeah, do that and maybe you can help find whoever

- it was that stole her driver's license and her credit cards. - Yes, sir.

And who's been forging her signature to these checks.

9:45 a.m.

We drove over to Sarah Phillip" apartment on

Harper Avenue just below Sunset Boulevard.

- Yes? - You're Ms. Phillips, Sarah Phillips?

- Yes, that's right. - Police officers, Ms. Phillips.

This is Bill Gannon. My name is Friday.

- It's about those checks. - That's right.

Please, come in.

Can I get you anything? Coffee? Orange juice?

No, thank you.

Please sit down.

This thing has made me a complete wreck. I'm so nervous.

Yes, ma'am, we understand.

I just can't get over this. It's never happened to me before.

I mean having my name used makes me feel so responsible, so guilty.

Someone stole my identification cards, my

driver's license, my credit cards, everything.

Yes, ma'am. Now, when did you first notice they were missing?

Just the last couple of days.

Stores all over town have been calling me.

Every time that phone rings I want to dig a hole in the ceiling.

I know it's going to be some place of business calling that's

been swindled by somebody using my name.

And you're employed by Monument Studios, is that right?

I've been doing commercials mostly on TV but

I've just signed a seven-year contract with Monument.

Do you have any idea where or when your identification

and credit cards might have been stolen?

No idea. They were all in my purse but I have dozens of credit cards

so I didn't notice that a few were gone,

and unless I'm getting a ticket I never look at my driver's license.

What a mess this is.

My roommate has been calling me "Public Enemy No. 1" ever since this thing started.

Is your roommate here?

I don't want to get her involved. She doesn't have anything to do with this.

We didn't say she did.

Mary has a regular job. She works in a bank. That's her picture.

- What's her full name? - Mary Hargrave.

How long have you known her?

You act like you really suspect her.

- How long have you known her? - About six months.

Oh, she's a nut but she's a real good roommate.

Is it possible she could have taken the things from your purse?

That's what I mean. You suspect her.

Absolutely not.

Mary just kids about being money crazy.

Actually, she's a very religious person.

Is that so?

Why just last week she joined the Ming Dynasty Crusaders.

- The Ming Dynasty Crusaders? - Yes, the MDC.

She's very devout.

It's the third religion she's had since I've known her.

The third in six months?

She's extremely devout but she has trouble deciding what to be devout about.

She'll stick with Ming Dynasty though.

- What makes you so sure? - She's made a commitment.

She went out and bought herself a gong.

10:25 a.m.

Sarah Phillips gave us a list of the various stores which had

reported receiving the forged payroll checks.

We drove out to talk to the victims.

The first one on the list was the Beautyfix Boutique on Santa Monica Boulevard.

May I help you?

Yes, we'd like to talk to the manager if we could.

Oh, Ms. Tigley. She's in back. I'll get her.

Thank you very much.

- That certainly is short. - A little.

I've got more material on my handkerchief than she has in her entire dress.

I mean you know me, Joe.

I'm no prude but really, can you imagine your mother wearing something like that?

No, but then my mother is in her 70s.

Yes, gentlemen? You wanted to see me?

Angela Tigley, I'm the manager here.

Yes, ma'am. We're police officers. We'd like to talk to you about a forged check.

$240. I should have known better.

I should have smelled something funny about a $240 sale.

I should have known it was too good to be true from a size 10.

Yes, ma'am. Can you describe the person who passed the check?

A perfect size 10. I waited on her myself.

Could you be a little more specific?

What was her age, height, weight, the color of her hair?

Oh, brunette, shoulder length, pageboy no fall.

- Pageboy no fall? - It was her own hair. She wasn't wearing a wig.

She was about my height and weight.

- I'm also a 10. I'd say she was 25, maybe 26. - How was she dressed?

Pale blue blouse with gold piping, navy blue miniskirt, and thong sandals.

I wouldn't bother writing all that down.

How's that?

- That's what she wore when she came in. - Yes, ma'am.

When she walked out she was wearing a brand new $240 outfit.

11:15 a.m.

we arrived at Platt's Jewelry Store.

Sydney Platt like Angela Tigley had accepted a bad check.

He had been cheated out of a lady's diamond wristwatch,

two gold bracelets, and a pair of diamond earrings,

total $538 plus tax.

His description the woman tallied with the one given us by Angela Tigley.

11:35 a.m.

We checked back with Sarah Phillips to find out if she knew anyone who would fit the

description we had been given by the two victimized store managers.

Yes, I know somebody who fits that description, but it's impossible.

Size 10, brunette, shoulder length hair, 25, 26 years old.

Twenty-five, my roommate, Mary.

That picture is about two years old but her hair is longer now.

But Mary wouldn't do something like this.

Why because she plays the gong?

We'll have to take this photograph along with us, Ms. Phillips.

It will be returned after we finish our investigation.

- All right. - Do you have any samples of her handwriting?

Yes, the book by the phone. That's her address book.

We'll have to take this along with us too. I'll be returned.

What do I tell Mary if she notices her picture and her address book are gone?

What time do you expect her today?

As soon as she gets off work. She'll be home by five o'clock.

All right. These will be back by 4:00.

Now, we'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything

to her about this until we've completed our investigation.

Oh, don't worry about that.

I don't want to make things any worse than they are.

I just know Mary isn't guilty.

She's just too nice.

Well, if she's that nice, she isn't guilty.

Yes.

And if she's guilty, she's not that nice.

11:55 a.m.

We showed Mary Hargrave's photograph to Angela Tigley.

We asked her if she recognized her as the forger.

Ms. Tigley said there was a resemblance but she couldn't be

certain without seeing the girl in person.

12:15 p.m.

We showed the photograph to the victimized jeweler, Sydney Platt.

He was also in doubt.

He said that the woman in the two-year-old photograph might

have been the same person who passed the check

in his store but he couldn't be positive.

1:05 p.m.

We took Mary Hargrave's address book to Question Documents Section.

Roy Kiser compared the handwriting in the book to the

signatures on the forged payroll checks.

- Well, how does it look to you, Roy? - You got no make here.

- You're sure? - That's what they pay me to be sure. No chance, Joe.

Whoever filled out this address book didn't sign these checks, all right?

- Well, thanks, Roy. - Anytime, boy. One thing I can tell you.

- What's that? - The girl who signed this checks.

- Yeah? - She's a southpaw.

- Are you sure of that? - They just don't listen.

Yes, Bill, I'm sure.

The girl who filled out the address book is right-handed.

The one who signed the checks is a leftie.

- Well, that's a help. - We also serve, we only sit and wait.

Oh, we never doubted that for a second. Roy, give us an educated guess.

How many left-handed women do you think there are in Los Angeles?

At least 100,000.

You know it's simply amazing how this man cracks our cases wide open for us.

- Fantastic and that really doesn't seem fair. - No.

He does all the work, we get all the glory.

Get out of here. I got work to do.

So do we. We've got 100,000 suspects to round up.

My money is on you, Hawkshaw.

You will accomplish that by tea time.

Frauds Division, Friday.

Yes, that's right.

What's your name?

I see.

Where?

Well, when?

Okay. How do we know you?

Uh-huh, yeah, yeah.

- Okay. We'll be there. - What's that?

Somebody wants to tell us who's been passing those stolen payroll checks.

Who's someone?

Five-foot-ten, brown hair, blue eyes, brown beard, no name.

- Oh, him. - Where is the meet?

Edendale Cemetery, the mausoleum.

2:10 p.m.

We returned Mary Hargrave's photograph and address book to Sarah Phillips,

then we drove to the Edendale Cemetery in West

Hollywood to meet the anonymous informant.

- You must be the men. - We're the men.

Give me a sign.

- Are you Friday? - That's right and this is Bill Gannon.

Now, what's your name?

Thompson, Thompson of Valhalla.

I come here to commune with the dead. We're all dead, you know.

You said on the phone you know who's been passing stolen payroll checks.

The best coffee in town. I make it myself.

Yeah, I know who's been passing the checks.

- I wish I didn't. - Why is that?

Well, she's not in it by herself.

I mean she'd never do it by herself.

It's those flake-outs she's been running with.

I mean then they put her up to swipe in the

payroll checks and those IDs in the studio.

She used to work out there as a secretary. I used to work out there myself.

- I was a hack. - What's that?

I was a hack. You know, I wrote bad movie scripts, bad TV scripts and it's

strictly for the loot and didn't make much of that. But I'm out of that is scene now.

Knock wood... knock cement.

What do you do now for a living?

Well, for a living, man, I... I live period.

I meditate, ponder the universe. I commune with the dead.

What do you do for money?

Well, I'm still on unemployment.

Now and then I collect the residual on an old TV script.

- You're writing now? - I told you, Gannon.

I'm spending most of my time thinking.

You know, most people don't realize the writing is the easiest part.

It's the thinking that takes time.

It's that period of creative gestation that separates the

artist from the hack, the living from the dead.

Tell us about the ex-secretary who's been passing the stolen checks.

Sondra.

She's a beautiful person.

Just beautiful.

When I left the studio to devote myself to serious

work, she kept on out there as a secretary.

We moved to a cabin up in Oakleaf Canyon.

It was great for a while.

But she became friends with a bunch of the Canyon creeps, especially Ralph and Dixie.

They're a total waste.

And a couple of weeks ago, she left me.

She said I was destroying her ability to paint.

She paints.

She's very good.

She said I was stifling her inspiration.

So now she lives with Dixie and Ralph in that communal pigsty

they share with the other bad news characters up and down the Canyon.

And it's that fat dumb Dixie who talked her in

clocking those payroll checks and those IDs.

You know, even if Sondra were starving, she'd never steal for herself.

But they brainwashed her.

You know, they convinced her that she owed it to her friends to steal for their sake.

Why are you telling us all this?

Because I love her and I want her back.

I know that sooner or later, with or without my help, you'll catch up with them.

I guess I was hoping if I helped you, maybe you could help her.

Maybe you could put her on probation and return her to me.

That will be up to the court to decide.

I dig.

But you could put in a word if you wanted to.

You could tell the judge that she's not a felonious person,

that she only did what she did for her friends, the leeches.

You could him that she has a man who loves her and wants her back.

Where is this Sondra now?

Well, they all went up the coast somewhere the day before yesterday.

I think they're living alfresco near Big Sur.

They're supposed to be back the end of the week.

I'm keeping her cat for her till she gets back.

Anybody else involved in the operation besides this Sondra?

Well, Sondra is the number one patsy.

She swipes the checks, she passes them but they got a three-way go in the take,

Sondra and the two leeches, you know, Dixie and Ralph, a couple of real parasites.

They can't even steal for themselves.

- Do you have a picture of this Sondra? - No, not on me.

There's one back at the pad.

Now, I pray to God she understands my motive in doing this.

I hope she sees that it was love and not spite.

- She will see that, won't she? - I wouldn't know.

Now, tell me, this Sondra, you two are living together, is that the idea?

Don't you think we should man? She's my wife.

Legal, with a license to back it up.

3:25 p.m.

We accompanied Blake Thompson to a cabin up in Oakleaf Canyon.

Powerful, isn't it? It really turns you on.

- It blows your mind, doesn't it? - Sure does mine. What is it?

Well, what are you seeing?

- Well, that's a real nice frame. - No, don't be self-conscious.

Let yourself out. Hold nothing back.

Don't be uptight about it. Just simply respond.

Well, there's a big yellow thing down the corner and there's a

purple swirl in the middle and a lot of brown drops all over it.

Okay and I add it up and tell me what it says?

Yellow and purple and brown.

That's her.

It's a self-portrait.

It's Sondra.

Sondra. Pretty girl.

This isn't the only picture you have of her, is it?

I mean this is good but we could use a photograph.

Got one. Hang tough and I'll get it.

I don't think it's as good of her myself. It's in black and white.

Sleeps right on top of her picture.

This is Sondra's cat, Toby, and this is Sondra.

You seem like a bright guy, Thompson, well-educated.

Tell me something. You like living like this?

Well, it's the only way to go.

All an artist needs is pen and paper.

Everything else is just trivia.

Doesn't this mess depress you a little?

Does it matter whether Tolstoy or Dickens slept in a clean bed

when they wrote War and Peace or Oliver Twist?

Maybe not to everybody, Thompson, but I'll lay your odds, it mattered to someone.

Who?

Mrs. Tolstoy and Mrs. Dickens.

Thursday, April 13th, 1:15 p.m.

We had just returned from lunch.

Frauds Division, Friday.

Yeah.

What's that address? Uh-huh.

Is that up near your place?

Yeah, I got it. Okay. We'll be right out.

It was Thompson. His wife just got back.

1:35 p.m.

We drove to the address Thompson had given us.

It was another rundown house a little farther up in Oakleaf Canyon.

Don't inhale or you'll be higher than a pond of weed.

Hey there. Hey there. I know you?

Police officers.

Oh, you know him.

Oh, am I floating?

You're not going to believe this, Dixie, but the heat just waltz into my dream.

Mine too.

Joe.

Monument Studios, Sarah Phillips, payroll checks.

Driver's license, credit cards, all belong to the Phillips girl.

Ralphie.

Yeah, Dixie.

What's it mean when I see the same thing you see?

I think it means we're in big trouble.

- Where is the Thompson woman? - Who? Oh, Sondra.

Well, isn't she here?

She went off with what's his name?

You know, the lump that she's married to.

- Hey, man, just don't stop us from floating now, huh? - No chance.

Because all I want to do is just float, float, and float.

Me too.

You will right down the Central Jail.

2:45 p.m.

We booked the suspects for violation of Section 470 PC, forgery.

Bill filled out a request for an all points bulletin for Blake and Sondra Thompson.

Frauds Division, Gannon.

Oh, how you've been?

Yeah, we've been looking for you.

Sure we went there. We went by your place about half an hour ago too.

Okay, I understand.

Right.

Ten minutes.

That was Thompson. His wife is with him.

- They're at the cabin waiting for us. - Yeah.

Having the last cup of coffee.

The best in town.

No, not this time.

He's been watering it down.

He was crying.

It was 3:05 p.m.

when we arrived at Thompson's cabin.

Hi.

- You want a cup of coffee? It's the best in town. - No, thanks.

Sergeant Friday, Officer Gannon, this is my wife, Sondra.

I couldn't let you bust her with the rest of those creeps.

I had to talk to her one last time.

I had to tell her why I did it.

We better get going.

Wish me luck, sweetheart.

Bye.

Wednesday, May 10th A month went by.

Bill and I had to appear in court later that day to testify at the Thompson trial.

We were reviewing the case.

- Sergeant. - Yeah, can I help you?

No, sir. Not anymore.

You don't recognize me?

- Blake Thompson. - Well, what happened to you?

I woke up.

I realized that Sondra's leaving me for Ralph

and Dixie wasn't really a step-down for her.

I used to say they never did anything constructive, that they lived like pigs.

Then I took a look at the way I lived.

They were just more honest than I was.

They'd lay around with their pot and pills, getting their kicks.

I was no better with my meditation and my great unwritten books.

I don't blame Sondra for splitting.

In these past few weeks, while she's been out on bail

we've had time to talk about things that count, the things that really matter.

I don't know if I can write anymore.

I've been Tolstoying my brain for so long now that I'm not

even sure I can write bad movies, let alone good books.

It was because of what's happened to Sondra

that I decided to turn off, tune up, and drive back in.

Partly, it was really seeing myself for the first time

through her eyes that straightened me on.

It's not so hard to look like a pig and live like a bum and pigs

and bums are the only ones around.

But taking an honest hard look at yourself really shakes you up.

I'm working on a movie script.

Nobody ordered it. I'll take my chances on the open market.

My agent thinks it's pretty good. The studio might be interested.

Movies don't have to be bad, you know.

It's not movies that are hack.

It's hacks who were hacks.

I was a hack. Maybe I'll always be one,

but I'll never be a pig again.

Well, I just wanted to stop by and say thanks.

Trial starts pretty soon, doesn't it?

A few minutes now.

Sondra is out in the hall.

- Would you say hello to her? - Sure.

The courthouse is a couple of blocks away.

Should we walk over?

Together?

We don't mind if you don't.

The suspect was tried and convicted of forgery

which is punishable by imprisonment

in the State Prison for not less than one year nor more than 14 years

or by imprisonment in the County Jail for not more than one year.

However, due to the circumstances surrounding her involvement,

sentence was suspended.

The suspects who were the instigators of the crime

were tried and convicted of forgery.