All language subtitles for Calling Homicide - 1956

[Music]

[Music]

Yes, ma'am. We'll send

a radio car right over.

Madam, you can tell your side of it to

the deputies when they get there.

Yes, ma'am. We'll send them right out.

Hi, Lieutenant.

Hi, Ted.

Haven't seen much of you lately.

I've really been knocking.

I thought I worked hard when I was with

you, but man, I've really been going.

They gave you an assignment, didn't they?

Bunko Squad, somebody told me.

Yeah, Bunko Squad.

Lots of elbow room.

You know, I've been doing some digging

around, and I've run

into something really hot.

Andy, if I'm right, this is one of the

dirtiest rackets I ever heard of.

Andy, phone. Spastic.

Right. See you later, Ted.

So long, Lieutenant.

How you doing, Ted?

Fine, Mike. Checking out?

Yeah. Where you parked?

Out back.

You better go along with it.

Hey, Joe.

Hello, Mike.

See you, Ted.

It's the firing extinguisher.

Ted's in there, Andy. Ted Allen was killed by one of the

gangster's favorite

weapons, a booby trap wired to the

starter switch of his car.

No one had seen anyone

tampering with his car.

The wire used was common lamp cord,

impossible to trace.

All we had was Ted's statement about

uncovering a dirty racket,

but we had no idea what the

racket was.

All of his notes, his papers, were

consumed in the fire.

He hadn't had a chance to tell his

immediate superior, Captain

Verdon, what he was working

on.

A search of his desk

turned up nothing of value.

His wastebasket held one scrap of paper

that couldn't be accounted for.

A name, an address, a telephone number.

Francine Norman, 9128

Lookout Mountain Road.

Crossview 92241.

Hello?

Francine Norman, please.

She ain't here.

She's in Europe. Europe? How long has she been gone, please?

A couple of months.

Two months.

Is that Miss or Mrs.?

Miss Norman.

Miss Francine Norman.

Who's this speaking?

The housekeeper.

Thank you.

Housekeeper.

Crusty old gal.

We didn't give up on the name.

We put it through R&I.

Ask the Los Angeles Police

Department for information.

We drew a blank, a big zero.

We put it through R&I. We put it through R&I. We put it through R&I. We put it through R&I. We put it through
R&I. We put it through R&I. We put it through R&I. We put it through R&I. We put it through R&I. We put it through R&I.

We put it through R&I. But what happens is we put it through R&I, a big zero.

Then during a pouring all-night rain, we

had another homicide on our hands.

The Lionman's call was routed to the

sheriff's office, Hollywood station.

Right. I have it.

Called Doyle.

Hello. Doyle speaking.

Yeah, Al, I got you.

Now, where was the body found?

Hollywood Hills off Coldwater Canyon.

All right, Al, I'll

be there in 20 minutes.

And call Mike and tell

him to meet me there.

Right.

- Morning, Mike. - Hi,

Andy. It's a bad one.

It must have been a

real psycho to do that.

Or somebody who didn't want

that face to be recognized.

Corners, man, I was pretty sure she was

dead before she got here.

Yeah, that's what I figured. Somebody

shoved her off the top.

Mike, when it gets light enough, send

your men up there to have a look around.

Tell them to get plenty of pictures.

The way they're tearing these hills down,

this one may not be here next week.

Well, you're right.

Okay, boys.

We did what we could at the

scene, but it wasn't much.

Another tough case at this time was the

last thing we wanted.

But whether we liked it or

not, it was our responsibility.

The first question we

had to find the answer for,

who was this brutally battered victim?

Missing persons hasn't got anybody that

age and that weight.

Her fingerprints aren't on file anywhere.

Clothes, excellent quality. No

identifying marks or labels.

Death was caused by strangulation.

Injuries to face and head

inflicted sometime later.

Yeah, that's what we figured.

Lieutenant, her hair and her hands gave

me the impression of good grooming.

Now, I don't think we're going to find

that this was just an ordinary big girl

knocked off in some dingy hotel.

You're a big help, Ernie.

Well, you know what I mean. I mean, I...

She wasn't just a nobody, a drifter.

Yes, I know what you mean.

Yes, Johnny?

Not a thing.

I talked to Ted's wife again today. It

was tough, believe me.

No help.

She has no idea what he

was working on either.

The lab's been trying to run down the

type of explosive use.

Couldn't do it. Not enough residue.

Thanks, John.

Now we've got another one.

It's all we need right now.

Rough. Looks that way.

Now we'll be up to our ears

and radio and press people.

All morning they've been breaking into

programs with news flashes.

They're comparing this one to the Black

Dahlia case already.

I guess so I want a duck

every time I see a reporter.

Got nothing on Ted Allen.

Now it looks as though we got practically

nothing on this one.

Lieutenant, I got a fellow outside. I

think you ought to talk to him.

He's filing a complaint against a woman

named Francine Norman.

Mr. Valencia, this is Lieutenant Doyle.

Lieutenant, look, I don't want to make a

federal case out of this.

Just tell the

lieutenant what you told me.

Well, there was this

name, name of Francine Norman.

I get a call. A

picture tube's conked out.

Oh, I run the Fairfax Radio and TV shop.

When did this happen?

About a week ago yesterday, the 11th.

The day Ted got it. Go on.

So I go up there. Big house

up on Lookout Mountain Drive.

Naturally, I try to

sell her a new 27-inch TV.

Cinch! She says, "Go

ahead and install it."

I should have known it was too easy.

It's been my experience that if a person

doesn't haggle about price at all,

they are probably maybe not even actually

looking forward to paying the bill.

Now this day...

Mr. Valencia, I take

it you didn't get paid?

Not a nickel. Not even a kind word.

I show up the next day, she's gone.

To Europe, the housekeeper says.

And the old sourpuss wants to pay the bill. Europe, the housekeeper says.

And the old sourpuss won't even let me in

to take the setback.

Now that's why I'm here. I'm

trying to get the set back.

Mr. Valencia, will you describe the

woman, the one who called you?

Oh, a real dish.

About tidy, dark brown hair and eyes.

Terrific bill.

You boys are going with us.

Valencia, we'd like you

to show us this house.

Sure. Sure.

Four cops to collect the lousy bill.

(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING)

Oh, it's you again.

Just a moment. Please, Sheriff's Department.

May we come in?

Well, you are in.

I'm Lieutenant Doyle,

Mrs. Sergeant Duncan.

I'm Mrs. Dunstetter, Ida Dunstetter.

You're the housekeeper, Mrs. Dunstetter?

Yes, I am.

Where's Mrs. Norman?

Out.

Mrs. Dunstetter, did you tell this man

that Mrs. Norman has gone to Europe?

Maybe I did.

Keep your dirty hands off that set.

Has she gone to Europe?

I don't know, but it's

none of his business.

It's ours, though. Where is she?

I don't know. She comes and goes.

She told me if people got

nosy to say she was in Europe.

Oh, come in, boys.

More cops.

Suffering cats? How many cops is this

chisel I have to bring with him?

Don't you call me a

chisel, you old witch?

Now, I just want with you too quiet.

Mrs. Dunstetter, we're not

concerned about any money

Mrs. Norman may or may not owe this man.

We're investigating a murder.

A murder?

Yes, and we want Mrs.

Norman's fingerprints.

From that cigarette box, for instance.

I'm sure she's used it.

You think she killed somebody?

No, just checking. All right, boys.

Muyte.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Terrific view.

Yeah.

Mrs. Norman, huh?

Could be a professional name.

No sign of her, Mr. Norman.

I guess not.

It's quite a drop, Andy.

About 50 feet straight down.

Yeah.

Lieutenant.

Yes, Johnny? You got something?

Hey, Chegg.

Mike, you better get the crew over. We'll

have to give this

place a good going over.

Now, see here, Mr.

Lieutenant. Enough's enough.

Nobody's gonna give this place a going

over without Mrs. Norman says so.

You'll just have to wait and get

permission from her.

Oh, I beg your pardon? What did you say?

I said you'd have to wait

until Mrs. Norman came back.

I'm afraid we can't do

that. Mrs. Norman is dead.

Hey, Mike.

She must have been unusual dame.

Found a picture of her

anywhere in the house.

That's right.

Where did you get that?

A refrigerator. When you

started to go to waste.

Mike, give me the lowdown. You guys

giving up on who killed Ted Allen?

Look, Andy and I broke Ted in.

I was the best man at his wedding. He

named his first boy after Andy.

What makes you think we'd ever give up?

That's what I figured.

Mike, when can I talk to the housekeeper?

Maybe when Doyle gets through with her.

That's his department.

Well, thanks a lot.

Mrs. Dunstetter, the last time you saw

Miss Norman was Monday evening.

Yes.

What time?

About eight. She drove me to the bus.

Did she seem worried or nervous?

No.

Maybe so. But she was away a lot.

She never told me where she

was going or when she'd be back.

I see.

Mrs. Dunstetter, what was the source of

Miss Norman's income?

I thought you knew.

She owns the school for models.

She teaches the young chickens how to

show off clothes and to walk.

Yes, of course. Norman Incorporated. It's

on the Sunset Strip.

Then when they finish school, she gets

some jobs. She says.

Thank you, Mrs.

Dunstetter. You've been very helpful.

I realize this has

been quite a shock to you.

Sure, it's a shock. It's a shock if a dog

gets run over in front of the house.

But I wouldn't kid you,

mister. I didn't like her.

No?

No. And she didn't like me.

Yes, but you worked

for her for three years.

Sure, I needed the job. And she needed

somebody who could stand her.

Well, I could. Because

I'm just as mean as she is.

Pardon me. Was.

She was mean, you

say. I don't understand.

You go digging around Francine Norman's

life long enough. You

will understand plenty.

Why don't you tell me?

Mister, I'm old and cranky

and full of aches and pains.

But I'm not ready to end

up the way she did just yet.

You find out from somebody else.

I was unable to get any more information

from the housekeeper.

I decided to investigate Normandy

Incorporated before the news of Francine

Norman's death reached her employees.

This isn't Sadam's.

Thank you.

Come on, come here. Come

on, come here, come here.

Shoulders back. That's right. Now, girls,

do you see what I mean?

I'm sorry. Visitors aren't permitted.

Oh, Miss Adams, listen to Tint Doyle.

This is Sergeant Duncan.

We're from the sheriff's office.

How do you do?

How do you do?

Lieutenant, what can I do for you?

Are you in charge here?

Yes, I'm Darlene Adams. I run the school.

I'd like to talk to you and

some of the other folks here.

May I ask the purpose of this, isn't it?

My credentials.

This way, Lieutenant.

Oh, Mike.

Oh, yeah.

The lieutenant asked me

to have you come here.

Mr. Gilmore is an overall charge, and as

I told you before, I run the school.

Benny, one more chair, please.

Mr. Fuller is in charge of our employment

service, job placement, so forth, and

acts as a sales manager.

I remember you, Mr. Fuller.

I believe we met at the old tech art

studio about 1938 or 1939.

That's right. Dashing young leading men

in those days, wasn't I?

Tony interviews the girls who are

interested in our school and sells them

on the idea of coming with us.

Nothing illegal about that, I hope.

Of course not.

And Miss Francine Norman is the owner.

That's right.

I'm sorry to say Miss Norman is dead.

Why, Lieutenant, that's wonderful news.

Shut up, darling.

No, no, please go on, Miss Adams.

Why is it wonderful news?

You didn't know Francine Norman, did you?

No.

You wouldn't understand.

I take it you all feel the same way.

The only person who reacted like a human

being, who showed any emotion at the

death of another human being,

was that young man who

brought in those chairs.

Benny, he would.

He was punching before he went into the

ring and started taking them on the chin.

Now, look, Lieutenant, before you mark us

all down in your little black book as

ingrace and monsters,

I suggest that you find out the kind of

person that Francine Norman was.

You find that out and

you'll know why she was murdered.

Who said anything about murder?

I merely said she was dead.

Yes, I know.

And now I'm supposed to get pale and

tremble and start to

stammer a lot of excuses,

and by and by I break down

and confess the whole shebang.

I played a scene like that once in a

picture twenty years ago.

Mr. Fuller, I'd say

you're about two-thirds drunk.

That explains your

attitude, but it doesn't excuse it.

But you are right about one thing.

Francine Norman was murdered.

Now then, you'll all answer my questions

simply and directly.

Miss Adams, when did

you last see Miss Norman?

Well, I believe it was Wednesday.

Yes, Wednesday afternoon.

Won't you come in? You

can hear much better inside.

Oh, uh, Miss Adams, I

didn't know you were so busy.

I'm sorry if I disturbed you.

I just wanted to know if I

could go home early today.

Yes, Donna, it's, uh,

it's quite all right.

Thank you.

Who was that girl?

Uh, Donna Graham.

Any reason she should be

snooping around out there?

Nonsense.

Donna's a fine girl.

Why should she be snooping?

It's just that the kid's all excited.

She got herself engaged last Monday,

and she's been floating around on those

crazy pink-tip clouds ever since.

Miss Adams, in your opinion, is this

establishment strictly legitimate?

Oh, it is, yes.

And your department, the agency?

Legitimate in, in every possible way.

You agree with that, Mr. Gilmore?

Of course.

Then you won't mind opening

your files for my inspection.

You'll open those files if you get a

court order, not before.

I didn't ask you.

You have no objection?

No, of course not.

I'll get the keys.

Now, Miss Adams, there's

a sudden chill in the air.

What happened to that

cynical attitude of yours?

Open up him!

Andy!

Andy!

Hold it, Mike.

Too many people out there.

I'm sorry, Andy.

He's suckered me.

Oh, never mind.

Just keep your eyes on

Fuller and Miss Adams,

and put in a call and

have Gilmore picked up.

Right.

All right, girls, break it up.

Break it up.

Son, will you come here, please?

Your name is Benny, isn't it?

Yeah.

Is that Miss Norman?

Yeah, that's her.

You liked her, didn't you?

Yeah, yeah, I liked her.

Sorry, Benny. Now, look. I don't want anybody to

come inside this office.

Now, you wait outside.

And if anybody tries to come in,

you tell them they've got to see me.

You understand?

Yeah, yeah, sure, I got you.

Fine.

Excuse me.

She was a 55 model.

His name is Bill. He's a man of the same age. She was a 55 model.

His name is Gilmore.

Alan Gilmore.

Right.

I'm happy to find you're still here.

Did Sergeant Duncan

tell you what happened?

I could have told you Gilmore

would try and pull something.

Could you?

Gilmore didn't have any keys.

Francine had them.

Believe me, she just

didn't leave them lying around.

Well, thank you for telling me now.

I don't see that Gilmore

is accomplishing anything.

We'll pick him up.

And as far as the safe

and files are concerned,

we'll get a court order and have them

forced open within 24 hours.

Might get busy on that court order.

And arrange to have a couple of deputies

guard this place until we get that order.

Right, Lieutenant.

I'm going to lay it on

the line with you two.

There's something wrong, something phony

about this establishment.

Oh, I know on the surface

it appears to be legitimate.

But I think it's a

cover-up for something else.

Just what it is, I don't know yet.

Perhaps those locked files will tell me.

All right, I could hold you two as

material witnesses, but I'm not going to.

That's all for now.

Oh, thank you. Thank you very much.

Okay, Annie, we'll have the

court order by 11 tomorrow.

Good.

That's quite a pair.

They hated Francine

Norman, yet they worked for her.

Think they hated her enough to kill her?

Could be.

Put a man on each of them.

Tell them to go back four or five years,

see what they can turn up.

Maybe they can find out what kind of a

hole this Norman woman had on them.

Right.

That's what she looked like.

Francine Norman.

Beautiful woman. Just beautiful.

How was that picture?

You know Ray Engel, the director?

Sure.

That's what he looked like ten years ago.

And there's a 46 license plate

on the car in the background.

Ray is making a picture

over at the United Lot.

It's only about five minutes from here. I

think I'll go have a talk with him.

I went to see Ray Engel because I had a

hunt that the photograph meant

something to Francine Norman.

She didn't seem to be the kind of woman

who would let her life or her desk be

cluttered up with non-essentials.

Don't make it look too easy.

See, first you hit him in the jaw, then

you follow it up with a kick.

Now, you grab for the gun.

And when you get your hands on the gun,

you see, you wrestle

them over to the table.

Andy! Work on it, will you, fellas?

Well, nice to see you,

Hawk Shaw. How's everything?

Doing good. How's the deal?

Oh, still knocking on my heart, see?

As long as the kids go for their rock'em

sock'em shoot'em up stuff, I

guess I'll still be around.

Rick, can I have a minute?

Sure, anytime. Going over here.

Well, what can I do for you?

Remember this picture?

Yeah.

Yeah, who's that skinny guy

with all the hair? Is that me?

There's Francine Norman, Pete Bonnella.

He's a writer, very clever boy.

Jim Haddix and me.

See, I can't remember

the name of the picture.

Well, the name doesn't

matter. What about the girl?

Oh, Francine. Boy, what a beauty.

Ambitious real drive.

To be a star?

No, to make money.

Of course, if she had to be a star to

make money, why, then she'd be a star.

But the money came first.

What about the big fella?

Jim Haddix, he was a stuntman. He doubled

the leading man in the picture.

He could do anything, very agile. Wish he

had a couple of guys like him right now.

He's not around anymore?

No, he got smart. He got out of the head

knocking the racket.

My script girl ran into

him just a few days ago.

Hey, Flo, come here.

All right.

Coming.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Hello, Andy. Nice to see you.

Nice to see you. Flo, you remember that?

Good grief, ancient history.

Well, that was the crooked

mile over at International.

That's the one.

In 1946.

Ray says you saw this

fella Jim Haddix the other day.

That's right. He's a contractor.

Bills houses and

making nothing but money.

I see. You know

something puzzled, really?

What's that?

Leading lady in the photo, of course.

Director, sure, they

horn in lots of times.

And sometimes even the writer, if he

happens to wander on the set.

But why a stuntman? You

don't see that very often.

I wonder how this fella Jim Haddix

happened to get in the picture.

- Gee, I don't know. - I do.

You would. Got a mind like a bear trap.

Never let this thing go.

Well, a script girl who couldn't remember

wouldn't last very long, would she?

All right, Flo, you're wonderful. Give.

A triangle. Pete Van Elder. Nice guy.

Crazy about Francine.

Francine couldn't see anybody but Jimmy.

That's right. That was a red-hot romance.

Jimmy was the only thing

she liked better than money.

I see.

Any help?

Well, I don't know.

It's a 10-year-old lead,

but I guess it's

better than no lead at all.

Ready on the set, Mr. Angle?

Oh, yeah. Stick around, huh, Amy?

Oh, I can't, Ray. Thanks a lot.

Oh, Flo, did Jim Haddix happen to mention

the name of his company?

Yeah, it was the, uh...

- It was the, um... - Webster

Construction Company?

- That's it. - Thanks, Flo. Thanks a lot.

Francine. Oh, there was a

clawing, ruthless woman.

She was gonna get rich if it killed her.

You called it, Flo.

- Come again? - It did.

- See you, Ray. - Uh, yeah. Go on, Amy.

Thanks to Flo Burton's bear trap memory

and to a telephone number casually

written on a desk bed,

my 10-year-old lead had

suddenly become up to date.

I decided to visit the Webster

Construction Company and see Jim Haddix.

- Oh, Mr. Haddix? - Yes.

I'm Lieutenant Doyle of

the Sheriff's Department.

I'd like to speak to you.

Of course, Lieutenant.

Uh, do you mind, darling?

No, I'll wait for you outside.

I didn't expect to find Miss Graham here.

- You're engaged,

aren't you? - That's right.

I suppose you heard about

the death of Francine Norman.

Yes, I caught a news flash.

You know her quite well, didn't you?

Of course, but that was a long time ago.

We called it quits in 1948.

Any special reason?

Francine was in love

with only one thing, money.

So I pulled out. I left

town for a couple of years.

When I came back, she

wasn't in pictures anymore.

Couldn't get rich fast enough, I suppose.

She'd started the model school, and she

was making a lot of money.

That would be in 1949 or 1950?

Summer of 1950.

I went back to stunt work

for a while, and I got smart.

I got tired of having my brains now, to

make leading men look good.

So I quit the studios

and started building.

I worked hard. I had a few breaks.

Here I am.

How long since you've

seen Francine Norman?

A couple of months.

In a restaurant down

in La Cien de Guevova.

Did she phone you last week?

No.

I have a paper here, a leaf

from Francine Norman's desk pad.

Your number, I believe.

Yes, it is.

Didn't she phone you?

Well, she may have tried, but I didn't

hear anything about it.

When did you announce your engagement to

Miss Grimm last week?

Was it in the papers?

Yes.

What day?

Monday, I think.

Monday?

Monday the 16th.

That was the day Francine Norman wrote

your number on this paper.

Well, maybe she just

called to congratulate you.

Yes, it's probably it.

Well, Lieutenant, if that's all...

That isn't all.

Now, you said that

Francine Norman wanted money.

It's obvious she got it and lots of it.

But how?

Probably from the school.

It was very successful.

No, not that successful.

I think it's a cover-up.

A cover-up?

For what?

Well, I... I don't know.

I thought you might have some ideas.

No.

Addicts, you may have read about the

murder of a young deputy named Ted Allen.

After he was killed, I found Francine

Norman's name and his effects.

A few days later, she was dead, murdered.

Now, there's got to be a link between Ted

Allen and Francine Norman.

And there is a link

between Francine Norman and you.

And, Addicts, if you're

holding back any information,

I'm going to personally make it my

business to nail you with

everything the law allows.

I'm sorry, Lieutenant.

I told you all I know.

That remains to be seen.

We'll find out a lot of things when we

open the files tomorrow.

We're getting a court order.

Well, that should

clear up a lot of things.

I expected well.

Jimmy?

How could he know?

How could he find out so much?

Jimmy...

He frightens me.

I decided to visit Peter Van Elda, the

fourth person on that

ten-year-old picture.

He lived in a run-down apartment building

that may have been luxurious in the days

when Rudolph Valentino was a good-looking

young tango dancer hoping to get a break.

Yes?

- Mr. Van Elda? - That's right.

I'm Lieutenant Doyle, the sheriff's

office. May I come in?

Sheriff's office, sir. Come on in.

Sit down.

What can I do for you, Lieutenant?

I believe you knew Francine Norman.

Yes. I knew that.

You recall this picture?

Look at that beautiful face.

Francine Norman is dead. Murdered.

Of course, it had to be that way.

Why do you say that?

I write crime stories. You know, you and

I are more or less in the

same racket, Lieutenant.

And we both know that if you find a

motive for murder, you generally have a

good suspect for murder. True?

Let's say we have a potential suspect.

I stand corrected. A potential suspect.

Well, you're a lucky guy, Lieutenant.

Lots of cops have to work real hard to

get one good suspect. You have hundreds.

- That many? - Sure.

Anybody that ever knew Francine well is a

suspect because to know her well, to

really know her, is to want to kill her.

Did you want to kill her?

Naturally. I loved her.

Beautiful, black-hearted Delilah.

I even wrote a script once for

the murder of Francine Norman.

I told you I write crime stories. I'm

familiar with police methods.

I know the kind of mistakes that trap a

killer. So why should I

write a script for myself?

Solve all the problems, set up all the

alibis, have all the answers ready.

But you didn't use the script.

No, I didn't.

Why not?

Because I'm a lousy writer. I could never

make it come out

right. I always got caught.

You didn't tell me. Why

did so many people hate her?

I'll whisper one word. One word is black

and is wicked as man has ever spoken.

The word is blackmail.

I returned to Hollywood Station with

several new angles for my men to work on.

Even though Van Elder was erratic,

probably close to being

an out-and-out psychopath,

I was convinced that he spoke the truth.

That one ugly word, blackmail, fitted the

facts as I knew them.

All right, boys. First of

all, let's hear what you have.

Not much. There were very few strange

prints around the house.

Apparently, she

didn't have many visitors.

I searched that place from top to bottom.

I couldn't find a letter or picture, not

even an address book.

Now, where do you find a house that

doesn't have a little book

with telephone numbers in it?

Now, the killer may have tried to clean

the place out, just in case his name

happened to be in a book or letter.

New pictures where the body was found.

You know, the ones you

asked for on top of the hill.

About that court order, kind of a

surprising development.

Big Shot lawyer tried to block our

opening of those files.

Big Shot who?

John Kahneman.

That's big enough. Who do you represent?

He refused to say. That's probably why he

didn't get to first base.

He sure tried. Mike, look at that.

Top of the cliff where

the body was pushed on.

That's right.

You remember the fellows in that picture

with Francine Norman?

Yeah, sure.

His name is Jim Haddix, and he owns the

Webster Construction Company.

Now, because of rain, the bulldozers were

not working that day.

But had they been working, tearing down

those hills and shoving

that dirt into the gully,

the body would never

have been discovered.

It would be under a thousand ton of rock

and stone right now.

That's right.

Mike, you see the name on that equipment?

Can you make it out?

Yeah. Webster Construction Company.

All right, let's go to

work on this fellow Haddix.

And Mike, I want to know where he was

every minute from the 11th on.

Right.

Arnie, he's a contractor.

He has access to explosives.

Try to tie him in with the blasting

powder they used to booby trap Ted's car.

You boys dig into his past.

Find out where he was when Francine

Norman was getting her

blackmail factory started.

All right, get on with it.

Well, Mike.

Yeah?

You better double check your security

arrangements for those files.

I think they might

answer a lot of our questions.

I don't want anything to happen to them.

Candy.

Duncan stationed two

dependable men at the school,

with orders for at least one of them to

stay in the room with

the files at all times.

All of us failed to foresee the

resourcefulness and daring of the people

who didn't want us to

get into those files.

It was well after midnight when Deputy

Wall heard a tapping

sound at the back door.

Who's there?

What's up, pal?

(GUNSHOTS)

Go get the extinguisher.

Get your gas.

Listen.

Watch your hands where you are.

There it is.

Yes.

I'm a operator, operator.

Get in.

Operator, I want to serve the cops.

This is a emergency.

Hello, operator.

The destruction was complete.

Each drawer had been rigged with an

incendiary capsule of white phosphorus,

set off by a small explosive charge.

It's pretty clever.

The whole thing is self-contained.

No chance of it being

touched off by accident.

You had to have a key.

Well, boys, you've done real good.

You were supposed to guard those files.

What are you, a couple of rookies?

Now then, the man who broke in.

You say he seemed to know his way around?

He either knew the place real well or he

had eyes like a cat.

He made it to the file and went out the

window and nothing flat.

And it was pitch black, too.

Agile like a cat, too.

Or a stuntman.

Have had expects up and brought in.

Make the charge breaking and entering.

Whoever did it had to have some keys to

open that top drawer.

Nobody was supposed to

have them at Francine Norman.

Make the charge murder.

Lieutenant, they got

the safe open in there.

Good.

We didn't touch a thing, Lieutenant.

The contents of the

safe were a disappointment.

Securities, cash, records

of the school operation.

The only unexplained item was a

typewritten list of names and addresses.

Most of the names are unknown to me.

The few I recognized were those of

thoroughly respectable people.

I wasn't taking

anything for granted, however.

I instructed Deputy

Arnhoff to check on these people.

To find out what they had in common.

What it was that put them all together on

a list in a murdered woman's safe.

What a mess, Benny.

Yeah.

Ben, do you know a man

by the name of Jim Haddix?

Yeah, yeah, I know him.

Did he ever come around here?

Couple of times.

How about Miss Norman's

house? Did he ever go there?

Sure, I did. I seen him.

And I sent for seeing him out to pick up Haddix. I didn't know that. I enjoyed that I seen him.

And I sent for seeing

him out to pick up Haddix.

He's gone. Not at

home, not at the office.

A lot of people waiting in his office. He

had appointments, but he didn't show.

Did you send out an APB?

Sure.

Gilmore now Haddix.

Can't we hold on to anybody?

There was a phone call from Arnhoff.

He said to tell you that he checked a

dozen names on that list.

So far, they're all solid,

respectable family people.

Well, that's fine. Just fine.

But now Haddix. People burn up files

right in front of our noses.

Just when we should start moving, we run

into nothing but dead ends.

Mike, we got nothing to go on till we got

Haddix or Gilmore or both.

So get him.

Lieutenant, phone for

8. Johnny Fitz on line 2.

Doyle speaking.

Lieutenant, I'm in

Pinky's bar down on 5th Street.

Fuller's here.

He's getting kind of targeted. He claims

he knows he killed Francine Norman.

Yeah, stay close to him. Keep your ears

open. I'll be right over.

Yeah. Yeah, I know where

the place is. 5th and Carson.

Fuller is getting

loaded, doing a lot of talking.

Claims he knows who

killed Francine Norman.

Do you mind moving over?

(knocking on door)

Ethel, how you have changed?

Yeah, fool me. It's Lieutenant Doyle.

Hi, Lieutenant. Hello, Fuller.

That's the name, Fuller.

You know what the boys on

the set used to call me?

The electricians,

cameramen, property men.

Mr. Fuller Burbond.

Reminds me.

Danny, fill her up again for Fuller.

Fill her up Fuller for Fuller.

Who killed Francine Norman?

How should I know?

He said you knew.

Who said so?

Someone heard you.

You must be drunk.

Who talked to me first?

Who killed Francine?

What difference is it me?

She deserved to die.

Anyway, I wouldn't snitch on her friend.

It is an honor.

A honor? A honor.

Don't give me that. You're just talking.

You don't know a thing.

I do. I know. I know.

Who was it?

Give me my drink first and I'll tell you.

(SIGHS)

Fuller.

Fuller, who was it? Who shot you?

A friend.

A friend? The same

person who killed Francine?

Who was it?

(SIGHS)

The killer got away clean.

We couldn't find a single person who saw

enough of him to give

us a good description.

To me, it was typical of the miserable

luck we met at every turn.

I was faced with the discouraging fact

that practically every

lead had blown up in my face.

Then, as so often happens, when things

look worse, we got a break.

Some things we found in

Fuller's apartment, Andy.

Kind of interesting.

Yeah. Hand me the list, Mike.

Here.

Miss Adams will see you, Lieutenant.

Oh, come in, Miss Adams.

Sit down.

Thank you.

I, um...

I heard about Tony Fuller and I'm... I'm

shocked. I was very fond of him.

Someone's been making inquiries about me

digging into my past.

He's one of your men, isn't he?

Yes, he is.

Well, I may as well tell you. You'll find

out about it anyway.

Tell us what, Miss Adams?

About Francine, what a racket was.

I think we know that.

Fuller told us, even after he was dead.

We found these papers in his apartment.

Rambling, incoherent.

Written by a man with

a tortured conscience.

Francine Norman was

running an adoption racket.

Yes, Blackmarket and Babies.

Go on.

Well, Francine ran attractive ads in

newspapers, magazines,

all over the country.

You'd be surprised at the

number of girls that flocked here.

Naturally, she selected the most

promising ones for the school, gave them

the best of training, and...

Well, everything was perfectly

legitimate. You saw that.

And those that were not selected?

Oh, Francine was very helpful.

She encouraged them to

stay here rather than go home.

Offer to give them help, loan

the money if they needed it.

And more often than not, they needed it.

Yes.

Francine had some contacts with illegal

maternity homes, quacks, midwives.

One way or another, she was in a position

to know about any girl who got

in trouble in the whole area.

Yes, she was very kind, of course.

Took care of the

mothers, paid their expenses.

And then sold the babies to people so

anxious to adopt a child that they

weren't willing to go through the delay

of regular adoption channels.

Solid, respectable people.

Well, that was bad enough, but...

Oh, Francine was greedy.

The opportunities for

blackmailing were too tempting.

Many of the girls who gave their babies

to her went on to good

marriages, good careers, and...

Francine bled them without mercy.

Like your sister?

You... you know about her.

It's quite evident that

you're protecting someone.

Yes, my sister. She's married now, and

she could be very happy

if all this doesn't...

No reason for her to be involved.

We'll do our job without hurting any

innocent people if we can.

Would you tell us about it?

Francine got her filthy hands on my

sister about five years ago.

Nobody at home knew anything about it.

Poor little Rita was too

ashamed to ask for help.

Francine didn't

bother her for a long time.

Then Rita got married, and her husband

began to do well, and...

Oh, Francine knew.

That's what the files were for.

She began to blackmail

her. Rita paid what she could.

I paid too by working at the school.

It was a surprise.

Miss Adams, a deputy named Ted Allen, was

murdered because he got too close to the

truth about Francine Norman.

She probably ordered the

killing, bought and paid for it.

And one week later,

she was dead. Who did it?

You must have some idea.

No, I...

Gilmore?

Oh, he wouldn't have the

nerve to kill a chicken.

That leaves only Jim

Haddock's, doesn't it?

Well, I... I don't know.

I think you do. He

killed Fuller too, didn't he?

No. Jim wouldn't do

that. He was Tony's friend.

That's just what Fuller said before he

died. A friend did it.

Efforts to find Haddock's

and Gilmore were redoubled.

Gilmore for criminal

complicity in the adoption ring,

Haddock's for the murder of Francine

Norman and Tony Fuller.

In the end, it was Gilmore himself who

broke the case open.

Yeah, Doyle speaking.

Lieutenant, this is Gilmore.

Don't try to trace this call. If you do,

I'll hang up. Just listen, please.

All right, Gilmore. Go ahead.

Haddock's killed Francine.

You know that, don't you?

Now he wants to kill me.

Why do you say that, Gilmore?

Don't try to stop me, Lieutenant. I said

I'd hang up and I will. Just listen.

Haddock's is down

there now. He's waiting.

He said he'd kill me.

Just where is he?

In an alley between 7 and

8, just west of La Brea.

We'll pick him up.

Gilmore, where are you?

Near there. But don't worry. I'll be gone

before you get here, Lieutenant. Goodbye.

You got a trace on that

call? Not enough time.

Get this on the air

with Haddock's description.

Have three or four radio

cars move in. Code three.

Yes, sir.

(knocking on door)

Who is it?

Sheriff, Sir, but... open up.

(dramatic music)

You try and shake me down, will you?

You'll never try it again.

You're going out that window, Gilmore.

The cops come to find

what's left of you down below.

(grunting)

Look out, Gilmore.

No, Haddock's please.

Look out, you're out.

Help!

(grunting)

Gilmore confessed his complicity in

Francine Norman's adoption racket.

And admitted that he

tried to shake Haddock's down.

But denied any

knowledge of Ted Allen's murder.

He was sure, however, that Haddock's had

killed Francine and Tony Fuller.

Gilmore's a liar.

There's not a word of

truth in anything he says.

I'm just sorry I didn't

throw him out that window.

That'll make a nice statement.

Is that all you've got to say?

Yes.

Yes, that's all.

Here, look at this picture.

Your equipment, I believe,

one of your construction jobs.

The body was found just below there.

Right where the bulldozers would shove

dirt on us when they

went to work the next day.

Come on, Haddock's, what

have you got to say about that?

I've only got one thing to say, and I'll

go right on saying it.

I didn't kill anybody.

Miss Graham's here, Lieutenant.

Well, you brought her in.

Keep her out of this mess.

I'm afraid we can't do that.

Why not?

If you killed Fuller,

and I think you did,

somebody had to tip you off that he was

shooting off his mouth.

Miss Graham was in the building that day.

I think she called you.

That's a lie.

Now, you listen to me, boy.

Take him away.

Jimmy.

It's all right, baby.

Just don't let him shove

you around in there, huh?

Sorry, Miss.

Go ahead.

Miss Graham, please.

Sit down, please.

Thank you.

Miss Graham, how long

have you known Jim Haddock's?

About eight months.

Did you know that he at one time was

Francine Norman's boyfriend?

Yes, he told me.

Did Miss Norman know about your

friendship with Haddock's?

No, he thought it best that we didn't

tell her until I finished school.

Why?

Well, he...

he said she was a

vindictive, jealous woman.

Well, in that case, why did you announce

your engagement in the papers?

Well, that was a mistake.

We only told my mother.

She told some friends.

One of them must have

given it to the newspapers.

And Francine Norman was furious.

Yes, she was horrible.

She called me names.

And she called Jim

Haddock's and threatened him.

Yes.

Threatened him with what?

What to tell about them, I suppose.

Oh, no, Miss Graham, an old love affair.

An old attachment of that kind is nothing

to blackmail a man with.

It must have been something very serious.

Something that could

ruin him or hang him.

What was it?

I don't know.

I think I do.

How did Haddock's know

that Fuller was talking to me?

Well, I don't know. I...

I mean, he didn't.

Did you tell him?

No.

You were in the school

that day I saw you come in.

I think you listened in on my phone

conversation about Fuller.

And then went to another

phone and called Haddock's.

No, I swear I didn't.

You came in the back door of the school.

Then what did you do?

Well, I went around to the classrooms. I

was looking for Benny.

Van Dowski, the handyman?

Yes, I wanted him to

help me empty out my locker.

And you continued

looking for him unsuccessfully?

Yes.

Can you prove that?

Well, I asked one of the girls.

Irene Cummings, you

could ask her, I suppose.

Oh, please believe me.

I did not phone Jim

from the school that day.

Miss Graham, if you want to help Jim

Haddock's, you'd better

tell him to level with us.

And if he's in the clear, we'll do

everything we can to help him prove it.

But he's got to tell us the truth.

The next time you see him, tell him that.

Van Dowski.

He was right in the office cleaning up

when you were on the phone with Phipps.

I remember he had a kind of

a strange look on his face.

A couple minutes later, I

turned around, and he's gone.

I want her to do a little checking.

I called my men in to look

at the case from a new angle.

We went back over reports, depositions,

evidence of every kind.

We started new lines of inquiry based on

the idea if Haddock's didn't kill Fuller,

who did.

After a few days, some

interesting facts began to turn up.

Haddock's is not the

only good pistol shot.

Van Dowski's pretty sharp, too.

Of course. Why didn't

I think of it before?

Benny and Tony Fuller

were very good friends.

Checked his army

record and combat engineers.

Had plenty of training in

demolition and use of explosives.

Benny told me he grew up in Portland.

Got a make on him

from the Portland police.

Even as a kid, he was moody, dangerous,

nearly killed a man once.

Yeah?

Good. Get pictures before

you move any of this stuff.

Ellis and his boys gave his furnace room

at the school going over him.

They found dynamite,

fuses, two boxes of .45 ammo.

They got the gun?

No. Benny's probably got it with him.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Who is it?

It's Lieutenant Doyle, Benny. Open up.

What do you want?

I want to talk to you. Open the door.

(DOOR OPENS)

Hello, Benny.

Hey.

My boys have been digging around in the

furnace room at the school.

So what?

We found dynamite, fuse

caps, and shells for .45.

I don't know nothing about them.

Where's your gun, Benny?

Colonel, who's got a

gun? I ain't got no gun.

Do you mind if we look?

Take it easy now.

Andy, look.

Francine Norman's pictures,

her address book and letters.

Those things were stolen from her house.

Why did you kill her, Benny?

(GUNSHOTS)

(GUNSHOTS)

Benny, you rigged the deputy's car to

blow up, didn't you?

Yeah.

And you killed Francine Norman. Why?

Why did you kill her?

Francine Norman.

That writer, Van Elder, had a name for...

Beautiful Black-hearted Delilah.

Well, it could be that

having killed Ted Allen for her,

he felt that he was

entitled to tell her he loved her.

Francine Norman was a cruel woman.

She probably brushed him off

or worse yet laughed at him.

I don't suppose we'll ever really know.

What about Jim?

I don't think the DA

would want to hold you.

Of course, he could

charge you for assault

in attempting to throw

Gilmor out of that window.

But, uh, then again, you could say you

were only trying to prevent his escape.

Yeah. Yeah, I guess I could say that.

We'll try it on the

DA, see if he finds him.

Well, don't call us. We'll call you.

Thanks, Lieutenant.

Sergeant.

Thanks very much.

Well, Mike.

Yeah? What do you say we drop over to Ted's

house and see how Allen's getting along?

I, uh...

I picked up a couple of

knick-knacks for the kids.

(CHUCKLES)

(MUSIC PLAYING)