Original subtitles

( folksy theme playing )

( strumming )

MAN: Hi, B.J.

( continues strumming guitar )

( singing indistinctly )

Come on, baby brother. We gotta head on.

Give me your guitar.

( laughs )

Can you make it? Ha, ha, hey.

Come on, we got a schedule. Whee-hee-hee!

You ain't got a brain in your head, Woody. Come on.

All right. Come on, get up.

Oh, wait till I get my bottle.

Tell you what.

Listen, me and you... have just...

You're gonna fall down now.

Whoa. You're gonna make it.

Yeah.

You gotta step that way.

( chuckling )

( laughs )

Whoa.

Ahh.

Give me that.

Anybody fool around with our plane?

WOODY: Yeah-hoo-hoo.

The door was open, and, uh, I locked it yesterday.

It wasn't me.

Uh, say, Pete, you got some turbulence

about 50 miles to the southeast. Whoo-hoo!

I got some turbulence right there, but...

Okay, thanks. ( chuckling )

( laughing )

( Woody yelling )

You look out for him, Pete.

I try.

( Woody yelling )

Yah, hoo-hoo!

Eh, hey, hey!

Hey!

( laughing )

Yee-yah!

Yah!

Ha, hey. Yee, ha, ha.

( whooping )

( plane flies overhead )

( plane whirring )

( crashing ) Pa!

Pa!

( flames crackling )

( dramatic theme playing )

Hey, Pa.

That's Woody Long.

( upbeat theme playing )

ANNOUNCER:

Starring William Conrad.

With guest stars:

Clu Gulager,

Diane Varsi,

Joan Van Ark.

ANNOUNCER:

( majestic theme playing )

WOMAN ( over PA ): Mr. Frank Cannon.

Report to the information desk, please.

Mr. Frank Cannon.

( slow, dramatic theme playing )

( country music playing on earphone )

Oh. Yes, sir?

Heh. I'm Frank Cannon. You called me?

Oh. Yes, sir.

Well, there was a gentlemen asking about you,

but I don't see him now.

Was he, uh, tall, wearing denims and a cowboy hat?

Yes, sir, that's right. Yeah.

Well, he just left. But don't worry, he'll find me.

( plane flying overhead )

Think I might get a cab?

No, sir, ain't no cabs.

They're all gone to the funeral.

( mysterious theme playing )

Hi.

Tell you what.

I need a ride, and you obviously

want to keep an eye on me.

So why don't you give me a ride

and make it easy for both of us, huh?

( engine starts ) Good boy.

Have you got a name?

Uh, you know mine.

Yeah, boy.

B.J.... Long.

Long. Are you Woody's brother?

Aren't they gonna miss you at the funeral?

( scoffs )

That ain't no funeral.

That there is what you call a sideshow...

at the carnival.

I don't care.

He ain't buried there anyway.

That $2.000 casket. It's empty.

Just plain empty.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have stood for it.

Where is he buried?

This seems like the right place.

It's more like his music.

Yeah.

It's fittin'.

Why were you tagging me, B.J.?

Now, it don't make no difference to me, mister,

but that insurance company must have

put out a lot of money

to get a fancy fellow like you

to come all the way up here.

Woody had a lot of insurance.

Some of it's gonna be coming your way. You know that.

I know this.

I don't want nobody poking around my brother's life.

He's dead now.

( car approaching )

( melancholy theme playing )

B.J.: That's Woody's wife.

I thought we were keeping this between us.

My name's Frank Cannon, Mrs. Long.

I'm sorry about... I got enough sorries, mister.

I don't need anymore.

He didn't come up here to bring no flowers, Jo.

The insurance company sent him.

I figure he's got questions, so you tell him...

You tell him just what you want to tell him.

This girl just buried her husband.

She's got... She's got nothing to say to you.

JO: I got one thing to say.

You'd better go back where you came from...

'cause we don't need no people sniffin' around here right now.

Be in touch with you tomorrow.

What does the man-mountain do?

Name's Harm.

( scoffs )

It's the only thing wrong with you, B.J.

You talk too much.

Oh, man. I've done me enough talking with policemen

to last me a lifetime.

I'm a private detective.

All the same to me.

That farm where the plane crashed,

how far is it from here?

About an hour.

( folksy theme playing )

Woody was on his way to Mexico, on course.

He had a ranch down there, didn't he?

Yeah. He'd fly down there regular, every month,

to... get away from things.

E... Especially if he had trouble, you know.

He'd go down there and blow off some steam...

come on back smiling.

Woman trouble?

You talk to Jo Anne about that.

MAN: Hold it there!

This here is private property.

That sign meant what it said.

Cost you $2 to come in here.

We, uh... just wanted to look around.

I tell you, uh...

I wish it had never happened.

People coming in here from all over.

That first day, they tore down my fence yonder, uh, tromped down the field.

I never seen the like.

Did you see the plane crash?

Well, uh, my boy here...

he seen more than me.

Tell me, son, when the plane went down, was the engine running?

Yes, sir. It was real loud.

What happened to the wreckage?

MAN: Well, the folks carted off a whole lot of it that first day.

Uh, they took anything loose they could lay their hands on.

Made the government people real mad when they come here.

The FAA, the investigators, they take anything with 'em?

No, sir.

I let 'em put it all in the barn.

Uh, they looked it over real careful... but I guess they're through with it now.

I'd like to see it.

The boy will show you.

All right, thanks.

( mysterious theme playing )

( ominous theme playing )

( birds chirping )

They say the liquor caused it?

It's in the FAA report. Is it true?

No. Most assuring.

B.J.: Woody, you know, he drank more than was good for him,

but not Pete. Pete never when he was flying.

Was Pete badly hurt?

Yeah, pretty bad.

Son, is there anything here that the government men didn't see?

No, sir. -You sure? No souvenirs, anything...?

Oh, I got enough souvenirs.

I'm going to the pickup.

You know who that man is, son?

That's Woody Long's brother.

Now, it's very important.

You sure there's nothing else?

( mysterious theme playing )

I thought maybe Ma could make a dress out of it or somethin'.

Woody Long's parachute.

This the only one on the plane?

Yes, sir. I was the first one there.

( dramatic theme playing )

( mysterious theme playing )

Just a minute. Who are you?

What do you want? -Uh. Well, my name is Frank Cannon.

I work for the insurance company.

The doctor said it was all right for me to talk to Pete

for a couple of minutes. Oh.

Well, I'm sorry I was rude.

I'm... I'm Francine Dexter... How do you do?

Pete's fiancée. How do you do?

Uh, I've been here since early this morning.

Pete... this is Mr. Cannon.

He wants to ask you some questions.

Pete... I read the FAA report.

Did the engine fail?

It was the controls.

I don't know what happened.

I tried to make it to an open field.

I almost made it.

Just one more question. Why was there only one parachute aboard?

I don't know.

I must have forgot it.

Hey. I'm tired.

( slow, dramatic theme playing )

You don't think it was an accident.

( door opens )

( door closes )

( sighs )

Pete loved that guy.

Everybody did.

Even his wife? -Well...

It was that bad between them, huh?

If you're looking for somebody who hated Woody

and would've been a lot better off with him dead,

you didn't have to look much further than Jo Anne Long.

That one thinks she's so good, but you should have heard

some of the things Woody told me about...

( dramatic theme playing )

Who is that big ox they call Harm?

Woody's bass player.

Band clown.

Kind of a flunky to Woody and Jo Anne.

But he wouldn't have hurt Woody. Not Harm.

He really loved... Yeah, I know.

He loved him, like everybody loved Woody.

( country music playing )

♪ When you were mine ♪

♪ I didn't know I loved you ♪

♪ I didn't know ♪

♪ Till you found someone new ♪

♪ My tears will dry ♪

♪ But I'll have This big heartache ♪

♪ To remind me, love I love you ♪

♪ Big heartache Since you left me ♪

♪ Great big heartache ♪

♪ Since we're through ♪

♪ Oh, I know the whole affair ♪

♪ Is over now ♪

♪ But my love ♪

♪ I'm still in love ♪

♪ With you ♪

( music ends )

Real fine, B.J. ( claps )

Real fine.

Thank you, boys.

Ten o'clock tomorrow morning.

All right? Right on.

Real good, B.J.

( playback playing )

Jimmy Winter? Yes, sir.

My name is Frank... I know. Yes, sir.

You're the fellow with all the questions, I hear.

( chuckles )

How about a drink?

I thought you'd never ask.

♪ Great big heartache Since we're through ♪

♪ Oh, I know... ♪

He sounds an awful lot like Woody, doesn't he...?

Yeah. Better.

If I can get that old boy going, he's gonna be bigger too.

Oh? Yeah.

'Course he ain't got much ambition.

I had to give him a $10.000 advance...

in cash.

Really?

The only way I could get him here.

Hm.

Woody.

Beloved Woody.

Woody.

I loved him like a son.

'Course B.J.... Now, B.J.'s the real thing.

You know, he wrote most of them songs. Really?

He wrote a whole bunch of 'em in jail.

That's what we're doing.

We're gettin' out a memorial album now.

B.J. was in jail?

It must have been about ten years ago, I reckon, uh...

B.J. and Woody held up this bar up in Tyler.

They got caught right off, but, uh...

B.J. always took care of his younger brother,

so... took it all on hisself.

Woody done six months, B.J. done seven years.

But Woody made it up to him.

When he got out, he give him the farm

when the old missus died.

B.J. don't seem to want much else.

Except $10.000 in cash.

Aw, that's nothing.

You see, now Woody's a legend.

The record companies changed their whole schedule

for these rereleases.

Anybody that's got a piece of Woody

is gonna do all right. Jo Anne, B.J. especially.

How about you?

Well, if I can get old B.J. a-goin',

I'm gonna do just fine.

Did you know that Woody was flying out that morning?

Sure. I suppose everybody did, knowing Woody.

♪ ...Affair is over now But my love... ♪

Harm?

Harm, what are you doing?

♪ I'm still in love with you ♪

I want him out of here, Jimmy.

You get him out of here!

Now, Harm.

Harm, I want you to go on home now.

W... Woody wanted me to play on his record.

I should have been on the record.

You come down tomorrow, and we'll...

I told you to get!

( action theme playing )

( grunts )

Come on, Harm. Stand up.

Stand up. Walk it off.

More.

Ooh-ooh.

Boy, that Harm is mean when he's drunk.

But how come he's so mad at you?

He's not mad.

He's scared.

( dramatic theme playing )

( folksy theme playing )

Ah. Morning, B.J.

Kind of warm this morning, isn't it?

Yep, sure is.

Yeah, it's quite a place you got here.

What do you raise?

Not much.

( scoffs )

Aw, come on, B.J. Is this an example

of that down-home hospitality I've heard about.

Leaving a thirsty man out in the hot sun? Come on.

I got company.

Oh.

Okay.

Uh. Answer me one question, will you?

Who knew Woody was flying to Mexico that day?

I did.

I drove my brother out to the airport.

What about Harm? Did he go too?

You said one question.

You know, B.J....

if you don't kill me first,

or I don't hang a murder rap on you...

we may even learn to like each other.

Don't you count on it, mister.

( chuckles )

Bye.

( upbeat theme playing )

Hi.

May I?

Thank you.

Say, you drive quite a car.

Thank you.

Pete's very generous.

( chuckles )

Well, somebody's generous.

Either Pete or B.J.

Or was it...

Now, look, dear. I'm familiar with the arrangement.

I'm from Los Angeles, remember?

A celebrity cannot afford a scandal.

So he has a friend or a trusted employee

who just happens to have a girlfriend.

One who travels.

Right?

Do you know what you're calling me?

Yes. Woody Long's girlfriend.

( sobbing )

More than just his girlfriend.

He loved me. He really loved me.

I... I couldn't even go to his funeral.

You know, what does interest me

is why you didn't go to Mexico with him?

I didn't even know he was going.

Oh, I mean, I-I-I knew, but...

he didn't want me.

You see, we... We had this fight...

But you did love him, hm?

Of course I loved him.

Yes, of course.

Well, that probably explains why...

you're moving in on his brother now, right?

( slow, dramatic theme playing )

( door opens )

Pete? Hm?

How you feeling?

Not good.

That insurance guy was here again.

I wouldn't talk to him.

I know. I saw him, but it doesn't matter.

I was out to see B.J.

He's gonna come across with the money. Hm.

What would I do without you, huh?

You don't have to do without me, darling.

All of Pete's records.

The FAA just sent 'em back.

They've closed the books on it, I guess.

Had there been any repairs on the plane recently?

Mm, nope.

Well, now... Pete did do some modifications.

Yeah... He needed some more room

for some of this equipment he carried.

Harm loaded it all onboard,

and then old Woody changes his mind,

and Pete had to take it all back off that morning.

Harm. That's Woody's bass player, right?

Yeah. When was he out here?

Well, like I told you, the day before the accident.

That big Harm, heh,

he's worth three when it comes to lifting.

I gotta keep my eyes on him though.

He's always wanting to

mess around with the planes.

Take good care of the reports for me, will you?

Oh, they'll be here. Heh.

Uh, Mr. Cannon? Yeah?

I wouldn't go messing with that Harm.

He's crazy drunk half the time. And the rest of the time,

he's just plain crazy.

( ominous theme playing )

( tense theme playing )

( tires screech )

Lieutenant, I'm Frank Cannon.

I heard you were on the Woody Long case. Uh...

( door closes )

That's wood alcohol.

Harm drank all kinds of lightning.

He probably didn't even notice till it was too late.

You knew him?

Well, he had been in trouble a few times, yeah.

( engine starts )

Feel kind of bad about this.

I... I liked Harm.

Lieutenant Keely, Mr. Cannon. How are you?

You, uh, don't have any idea

who might've wanted to poison him, do you?

Poison him? You mean,

you think that somebody might've...

Well, I do have a couple of ideas.

First of all, I think that Harm killed Woody Long.

And secondly, I don't think

that this was a suicide.

Now, if that's so, that means that Harm killed Woody

for or with somebody else,

and that somebody else

wanted to shut Harm's big, loud, boozy mouth.

I think we ought to keep this quiet as long as possible.

Mr. Cannon, I'm not even too happy

that you told me, you know?

( folksy theme playing )

( doorbell rings )

Well, you do get around, don't you?

I came up here to tell Jo Anne about Harm.

And she feels mighty bad, mister.

JO ANNE: Let him in.

You're supposed to be here investigating an accident.

So why don't you just get on with that?

Because it was murder.

That doesn't seem to surprise you, does it?

You think I killed Woody or had him killed?

Do you?

I'm not sure.

I know he was rough to live with.

You only half know, mister.

Liquor... women.

We're near broke, you know.

Private plane and a pilot.

We're near broke.

I used to hide money, and...

Why did you put up with it?

I loved him.

( sighs )

Yeah. I believe you did.

Looks like somebody got mad.

Woody.

Night before he died.

He'd had a hassle with one of his women.

Came home... and I gave him another one.

If I hadn't have done that...

he might not have gone.

He want to Mexico because of a quarrel?

Well... we fought all night.

He called Pete, woke him up.

The plane was ready the day before.

Yeah.

They had a date to play at Texarkana.

Pete was gonna fly the instruments up, and...

Woody would drive up the next day...

with the rest.

But... he decided to go to Mexico.

Didn't care.

Wait a minute.

Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

Pete took the instruments off.

There was only one parachute in the plane.

That's because Pete was flying alone that day.

( gasps )

I've been asking everyone the wrong question.

It isn't who knew Woody was going.

It's who didn't know.

( mysterious theme playing )

Then it wasn't Woody. Was it?

No, it was Pete they wanted to kill.

( tense theme playing )

Hi. Got anything?

I got the bank records. Good.

Well, you were right.

Pete made a deposit after every flight to Mexico.

Now, some of 'em are a good size too.

All right, I'm gonna need something else.

I want you to round up every souvenir taken off that plane.

Everything on it, and everything in it.

Oh-whee. Now, you know what you're asking?

You know, that's gonna take half the force.

No, the whole force. Tell 'em it's for Woody.

We're gonna put that plane together again, piece by piece.

That's gonna tell you how he was killed, huh?

No. It's gonna tell me why.

( tense theme playing )

Mr. Hailey, I think maybe we'll call it a night, huh?

All right. Okay.

Come on, kids. Let's go.

Good night. Good night.

Good night, Jimmy.

( sighs )

( mysterious theme playing )

( gunshot )

( suspenseful theme playing )

( gunshot, glass shatters )

( birds chirping )

KEELY: I almost had to trade my badge for that. It's all right.

Ha-ha. It fits.

So it fits. Now what?

Yeah.

Taste it.

Kind of sweet.

You bet. It brings a sweet price.

That's snow. Cocaine.

You know, Pete had this container

installed over a year ago, and he's flown Woody to Mexico

over a dozen times since then.

That's a lot of border crossings...

but who would ever suspect a plane

owned by the beloved Woody Long, huh?

Why do you suppose they tried to kill him?

I don't know. But we've found the right victim.

And we'll let him tell us who the murderer is.

( dramatic theme playing )

Satisfied? I wouldn't move him.

Somebody moved him. He's gone from the hospital.

But that's terrible. He could die.

That's the risk. But it was a bigger risk

leaving him at the hospital, wasn't it?

What do you mean?

Look... I don't know what you're getting at,

but you might as well know.

Woody used Pete as a cover, just like you said.

I was supposed to be Pete's girl.

But the joke is, he put Pete and me together

one too many times.

I love Pete.

Did Woody know?

He knew there was someone.

We quarreled about it the night before he...

tsk, died.

What else did he know?

What?

Now, come on, honey.

It doesn't cut. I won't buy it.

I give you one word:

cocaine.

( sighs )

It's true.

Pete was running it for someone.

I begged him to get out of it.

He tried to quit, and that was why they got him.

I know why. Tell me who.

I don't know! I really don't know!

He never would say.

He was afraid it would be dangerous for me.

Don't you see, whoever it is, they've got him.

Pete knew that they would try again.

You've got to stop them.

Okay. Okay, I'll find him.

You stay here, don't answer the door for anybody.

And if Pete tries to get in touch with you,

call the police. Lieutenant Keely.

All right, I will. I promise.

( suspenseful theme playing )

( dramatic theme playing )

MAN: We had a deal, and I'm sticking to it.

( man 2 moaning )

I don't know where you're planning on taking him,

but it better not be too far.

What'll we do?

You ought not to have messed in this.

Well, open his coat. But be careful.

Never mind.

( sighs )

I didn't think I'd need a gun with you.

Okay.

Well, you might as well make yourself useful.

Pick him up.

Go on.

( grunting )

( Pete groaning )

You know, B.J....

I think you're gonna be a sucker all your life.

First, you take a fall for your brother.

And now this.

I'm doing this for Woody.

When you tried to shoot me last night,

was that for Woody too?

Mister, I ever try to shoot you, I won't miss.

It was a man with a rifle in a pickup.

There just must be about a hundred

of them things in this county.

Now, let's go down to the barn.

( slow, dramatic theme playing )

( groaning )

Francine, it's bad again.

I know, baby. We'll hurry. Mm.

I'll be right back. Yeah.

Stop.

My daddy used to... lock us up.

Old Woody, he spent a lot of time out here.

Come back here.

Stop. Or I'll shoot.

( grunting )

This will keep him hobbled.

You got till morning.

Has she been telling you what you wanted to hear, B.J.?

Or has she been telling you the truth, huh?

You shut up!

What kind of a con is she peddling anyway?

She said someone came to her.

Somebody who could tell her who killed Woody and why.

And that's what the $10.000 was for, huh?

And you bought it.

She knew what was happening all along.

She knew that Pete was using that plane

to smuggle narcotics across the border.

That's how your brother Woody got killed.

( slow, tense theme playing )

I want that money now, B.J.

Who you running from now, honey?

Now, come on. You know who tried to kill Pete.

You've known it all along.

You're not only afraid of the police,

you're afraid that Jimmy Winters will get to you first, huh?

And as far as you're concerned,

I could've saved you a lot of money.

Jimmy lied to me about the plane trip.

He told me he knew when Woody was taking off.

Well, nobody knew that,

because Woody didn't make up his mind

until early that morning.

( sighs )

Jimmy Winters?

He talked Pete into it. I mean...

I didn't want Pete messing with that stuff.

( money hits ground )

You earned that, lady.

It wasn't our fault.

Amateurs. That's what killed your brother:

stupidity.

They won't get to the county line.

Jimmy Winters.

B.J.!

I like you.

Don't be a sucker again. Stay here.

I don't reckon I'm too bright...

but you ain't gonna shoot me.

Don't be an idiot!

( grunts )

( tense theme playing )

( gunshot )

( cocks gun )

B.J.?

Jimmy, I'm gonna kill you.

Wanna know something?

I don't care that much.

Now, I loved that boy. That's the truth.

But you know me, B.J.,

I got a thing about money.

Pete, he decided he was gonna

go into business for hisself, and...

So I had... Harm

slap him around a little bit.

Then he got mad, said he was gonna go to the police.

I wish I'd never got Harm into this.

You killed Harm?

Had to.

Him and his big mouth.

But Woody, I didn't...

I didn't know he was on that plane.

I'd sooner have died myself.

Go ahead on. It don't matter.

CANNON: Go ahead and shoot him, B.J.!

( tense theme playing )

You've done time before.

What's a few more years, huh?

Patsy like you gets used to it.

Look at him. He's dead.

And you can hardly wait to finish him off

and take the rap for it, you poor, stupid...

( sobbing )

( folksy theme playing )

Aw, come on, B.J.

Come on.

You come back and see us sometime, now, you hear?

Sure will.

Well, so long, B.J.

Uh, look here. I ain't, uh...

Uh, I don't... I don't rightly know how to say this,

but, uh... you helped us.

More than you had call to.

And I wanna thank you.

( sighs )

Boy. Hoo-hoo.

I figured I had to say that.

( laughs )

You know something, B.J.?

It's like I've always said, you talk too much.

( upbeat folksy theme playing )

( chuckling )

( upbeat theme playing )