Original subtitles

(pleasant orchestral music)

- [Buz] Don't rock the boat!

- You won't forget, huh?

- Do I ever forget?

- I'm the anxious type, I need reassurance, okay?

- Okay, okay.

Have the second button sewn back on

and don't crease the sleeves, just roll them.

- Right.

I want to look sharp when I get back Saturday night.

You think you can scout up something by then?

- Now, there's a vote of confidence.

- I've been through that whole plan.

Down where you are, it's teaming.

Not like where I am,

hidden away in advanced research and development.

So, what are our chances, tiger?

- Well, there's some live ones in subassembly

and pre-planning looks pretty promising.

- Stick to subassembly,

pre-planning types are too intellectual.

(airplane engine rumbling)

(spirited music)

Thanks.

You know, it's getting so I'm afraid to ask,

but you're not Sandy Mason, are ya?

- Bob Keel.

- Tod Stiles.

- I know.

- I've been supposed to report to Mr. Mason for a week,

but every time I go by the lab

there's a big "Secret" sign on the door.

- Ever race in Division Four?

- No.

Stock hydros, runabouts, no modified jobs,

and that's been about three years.

- Any marathons?

- [Tod] No, sorry.

- Well, Sandy will teach you.

- I'm beginning to doubt that there really is a Sandy.

- First ranger on the left.

(slow orchestral music)

(pleasant music)

- [Tod Voiceover] Flying out to Site 6,

it came to me that the volcanic rock below

was no more desolate than the man who sat across from me.

And it came to me, too, that whoever fights the future

has a mortal enemy.

A faceless enemy,

because the future has no being of its own.

It steals its being from each man,

and once it's tricked him of his secrets,

it appears outside him,

waiting, a predator he must meet.

(dramatic music)

(pleasant music)

- Hi, George.

- [George] Hiya, Bob.

- Tod Stiles, George Mills.

- Hiya, Tod. - Hi.

- Just throw your stuff there in the back and climb up.

- Oh, thanks.

- Everything get here?

- About an hour ago.

- Benson and Larue, they have anything particular to say?

- Just keep up.

They wouldn't even let me help unload the gear.

- Everything inside the shop.

- Yeah, and they're outside,

four on and four off.

(scoffs) Even Matahari or Rin Tin Tin couldn't get in there.

- And how's the outside situation?

- Same as usual,

a couple of midweek fishermen,

honeymoon couple down at Thompson Bay.

Nothing to worry about.

- Worry about 'em, I like it better that way.

(slow orchestral music)

(truck engine starts)

(boat engine starts)

(knocking)

- [Tod] Yeah?

- Ready to go to work?

- One thing about working for Sandy Mason,

you don't get a chance to worry in advance.

There's no warning system.

- Relax, this is an easy run.

She's not wringing out anything today but you.

She's gonna see how you read the river, that's all.

- Read the river?

- Yeah, this is all the Colorado here,

backed up behind the Parker Dam.

Covers some cottonwood trees and a few volcanic hills

which have since become reefs.

Sandy needs a new track for testing.

A longer run than we've been using.

A least 10 miles where we can flat get with it

once he decides to open her up.

So...

You read the river.

- And he reads me.

(boat engine roaring)

- Under no condition push her past half-throttle, clear?

- Yes, sir.

- Give me a straight run at half-throttle,

then the tightest turn you can make.

And watch out for the tops of trees.

(boat engine roaring)

I said half-throttle!

- They're drowning!

- All right, get your jacket off.

Now, you run this boat back to dock.

- You just going to leave them there?

- You run it back at half-throttle.

You don't stop, you don't turn,

and you don't pick anybody up, clear?

And when you get there, you turn this over to Bob Keel.

Tell him to send out one of our regular boats

to pick us up.

Not this one!

You and I, Stiles,

we'll have our little talk when I get back on the shore.

(tense music) (boat retreating)

(slow, dramatic music)

- I always say you can't go through life

carrying a snakebite kit, so, uh, cheers.

Incidentally, if you've run into to any diamondbacks today,

I'm buying.

- He's waiting outside.

You forgot something.

The rest of your drink.

- Well, that's only good for snake bites.

I don't know what you take for rib crushers.

(slow, dramatic music)

- I asked the front office to get me a reliable test driver.

Not someone that's so set in his ways

that I couldn't train him.

And what do they send me?

A bull in search of a china shop.

Well, there's no time left to replace you,

so we're gonna struggle along with each other.

But I swear to you, Stiles,

either you follow my instructions without question,

without blinking an eyebrow,

or our anchor you at the base of Parker Dam.

I don't have words to waste, I don't have time to waste.

10 years I've worked on this!

It's been tested on all the computers,

and now it's going to be tested here at Site 6 this week.

And two weeks from now in a marathon,

with your help in spite of yourself, clear?

- Look, I'm sorry if I goofed,

but when I see somebody drowning--

- Did I let 'em drown?

- If you'd just tell me what all the secrecy is about,

what it is we're supposed to be testing,

maybe I'll be a little quicker on the uptake,

but nobody around here wants to do any talking.

- An engine, mister!

A marine engine they've been dreaming about for years.

An engine that will obsolete every outboard motor

on every boat in every country.

An engine that'll wipe out the competition!

An engine they've been dreaming about for years,

my engine!

So, you remember that.

You remember it's cost me 10 years

and this company a lot of money.

You remember it's cost me more than time,

things I don't like to talk about.

So, when I say jump, mister, you jump,

or else you pack your bag, and you go back to L.A..

Your choice, mister.

- I like it here, no smog.

- All right.

Seven o'clock tomorrow morning, on the dot,

with your safety jacket ready to go!

(dramatic music)

(pleasant music)

- I'm on my honeymoon.

That was just "thank you".

Oh, apparently, you don't remember me.

- This hasn't been one of my best days.

- Oh, one of your very best.

At least, for me.

You saved my life.

- Oh, the lady in the lake.

- I'm very grateful.

- Actually, I didn't do anything, it was Sandy.

- They say my beef stroganoff

is the best east of the Rockies.

Does it bother you we're west?

- Is there enough for three?

- Oh, Bill.

He had to drive into Needles.

- [Tod] I don't know your name.

- Jean Cory.

That's okay, Tod.

She's not really married, except to her job.

- [Jean] Goodnight.

- Did she suggest that tomorrow she'd be swimming

over at Thompson Bay?

And if you got out alone in that simply scrumptious new boat

you were unwinding today,

she just might happen to have a pair of water skis handy.

And would you give her a tow, please?

- You know, there must be a toehold someplace

for people of limited intelligence, like me.

- Then, she'd tire of skiing,

and she'd ask you to pull her aboard.

And in that few seconds she climbed the transom,

her busy little eyes will have bored clean through

those twin-engine prototypes we brought down here.

(moans and sighs)

Jean was one of my top students at MIT.

She's now the assistance chief engineer

for one of our competitors.

- You mean, the whole thing on the lake today...

- Tod, the lake is 30 miles long.

We own only a few sections on this side.

We can't build a wall around it.

Now, we don't have any, uh,

beef stroganoff up at the shack,

but there is a fairly respectable beef stew on the card.

And some home-baked apple pie.

How about it?

(pleasant music)

- I brought him some stew.

- I don't know.

- Well, he hasn't eaten all day.

- Well, they got a saying in the jungle.

The only way to enjoy a meal is to have your dinner

without providing someone else with his.

All I know is the orders are don't disturb.

- I'd like to try.

- Well, it's your stew.

- (knocks) Mr. Mason?

- He insisted, Mr. Mason.

- Come on in, kid.

Well, they say I scare people,

I don't seem to scare you, come on.

- How do you know?

- I miss a lot of meals. (Tod laughs)

Put it right here.

You know something?

You're the only person, except for my wife,

that ever had had the fortitude to make me eat

by bringing it in here and putting it down in front of me.

Hey, thanks a lot.

I'm glad I don't scare you.

- Except when you say jump, I better jump

or I'll be anchored at the base of Parker Dam.

- I meant that.

- Yes, sir.

- Oh, uh...

Take a look under that, and tell me what you see.

What do you see?

- The same engines that were on our boat today.

- That's right.

They weigh 100 pounds a piece.

Take a guess on the horsepower.

- Well, they look like 40s,

but they perform more like 60s.

- 100.

- Well, that's no possible.

I mean, I'm no engineer, but I know a ratio

of one horsepower to one pound of weight

is some kind of a dream.

- I told you, kid, 10 years.

These are turbines.

Only one moving part.

No vibration, they last forever.

Nearest marine engine to this is four times as big,

four times as heavy.

Tell you something else.

Once we test these out, and we tool up,

we can deliver them for $1,500 each,

with a lifetime guarantee.

You know what that'll do to the competition?

Put it right off the map.

Then, we'll see.

We'll see who's the old man of the mountain around here.

Stiles!

(spirited music)

Now, the first half-dozen runs,

I want your eyes on the meters.

I want 'em fine-tuned while I'm pulling full power.

Then, we'll see how fast you can switch

the tanks and fuel lines.

We'll keep practicing until you can do it in your sleep.

Then, we'll check you for body balance and shifting.

I'm gonna get her trimmed down and floating

with plenty of air under us.

Then, go looking for waves.

I want you to get the feel of just how far forward

to shift to help squash the air out.

So we can haul her flat without throttling down.

Got it?

- Got it.

- Okay.

(engine starts)

(engine roaring)

(boat engine roaring)

- What do you think it'll do?

- 90, maybe more.

- Wow, boy, he did it.

- Yeah.

- You should be turning handsprings.

After all, you helped him.

Where would he be without the finest metallurgist

in the country, just tell me that, Bob?

You know what this means?

- I wish I didn't.

(engine roaring)

When Sandy comes in, tell him I'll be at the bar.

- No welcome mat?

- Just an early start.

(pensive music)

(slow orchestral music)

You should've held the cab, miss.

This is company property.

- They told me in Los Angeles he was here.

- You're Dana, aren't you?

You don't remember me, do you?

- I'm sorry.

- The yo-yo.

- Oh, you taught me.

Mr. Keel.

- Rock the cradle, walk the dog,

and, uh, let's see, there was--

- Playing dead, and sleeping--

- [Bob] Sleeping dog!

- The sleeping baby, wasn't it?

- No, sleeping dog.

Well...

Well, how's your mother?

- Hey, the boss just landed, wait 'til he hears!

You're coming over to the...

- [Bob] You've got a visitor, Sandy.

- I can't seem to say...

I can say hello,

but I can't seem to say...

Hello, Father.

- Dana.

- Hey, kid, come here.

Get her a place to stay, stick with her.

Anything she needs, you know.

Until we work things out.

Well, come on, he's waiting for us!

(melancholic music)

(spirited music)

How are you?

- I tracked you from the air.

You had to be clocking 92.

- And I was still holding back.

- It's a proud day.

How are you, Bob?

Say, uh, do you mind if I have

a couple words with Sandy, Bob?

Due into Minneapolis this afternoon,

I wanted to catch you on the way.

- Oh.

- George, how are you?

- Just fine, Eddie.

- How's Betty?

- Oh, she loves it out here.

- Good, good, say hello to her for me, will ya?

- Sure.

- Come on.

I guess it's the times, huh?

In 80 years, we've come from Edison's light bulb

to 100 megaton sunbursts.

But in our understanding of our own personal natures,

we're still in the horse and buggy era.

So that when we see a man, a friend even,

choking on his own personal brand of bitters,

we tend to swallow our tongues.

Sandy, I know why you broke through on this engine.

You wanted to show us, all of us.

When Norma left you, you didn't want friends anymore.

You just wanted to win something

that nobody else had won before.

Take people's minds off what you'd lost.

Well, okay,

but now what?

Now that you've shown us,

now what happens?

This week at the factory there were three attempts

to get a look at your plans for the turbo engine.

No luck, but the next thing,

they're gonna be coming after you.

Stock options, five-year contracts, the whole barrage.

- Oh, come on. - Oh, don't say it, Sandy.

Don't say it.

Don't tell me nobody can buy you.

It's a cutthroat world.

This engine's gonna hurt a lot of companies

until they finally close the gap.

They got a right to stay in business.

A right to fight for their existence.

Sandy, I flew in here today to make a bid to keep you.

As of now, your salary is up 10,000 a year.

Royalties, that goes without saying.

Stock options,

and once you've wrapped up the marathon,

three months vacation.

In the sun, in the snow, you roll it.

- I never wanted--

- Oh, you don't have to answer me now.

There's no pressure.

And don't feel guilty if you decide

to take some other offer.

We want you with us, Sandy, but...

We want to see you free,

and happy again.

Look, uh, walk me back to the plane, huh?

There's a cold front coming in from Canada.

I want to beat it into Minneapolis.

(loud, jazzy music)

- You always play that thing so loud?

(music stops)

- I haven't heard American jazz for so long, I...

- Yeah, I noticed the suitcase.

Labels on top of labels.

What's the one with the funny writing,

half French and half something else?

- Swahili.

- Oh, Africa.

- The Congo.

- Well, if you need me for anything else,

I'm in the main apartment building, number three.

- I was lying!

I play the music loud.

I keep trying to drown out the other sounds.

They don't drown.

When I saw him last, I was 10.

What is he like?

- Well, um...

I really don't know much about him.

- He was strong, very strong.

He could open a jar of strawberry jam

with one twist of his wrist.

Once at night, he came in my room.

He thought I was asleep,

and he tucked the comforter in at my feet.

When he left, I couldn't even pull it out

the way I always liked to do,

the way I liked to poke my toes out free.

Once at Pasadena, at a parade,

he picked me up so I could watch the floats go by.

He held me up for more than an hour.

Is he still strong?

- Well, I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley.

(approaching footsteps)

- Dana, your father was on his way over

when they called him from the shop.

Some sort of an emergency.

You know we're getting ready for this race,

and well, he'll catch you later.

How about some lunch?

- I'm ready.

(melancholic music)

- Sandy, I'm leaving.

I'm taking Dana back to England,

where she can climb over stiles,

run in the fields.

Where the grass is as sweet as apples.

No, darling, don't say anything, please.

This is nothing we can settle in the morning over coffee.

All the armistices with three-minute eggs

have been exhausted.

And don't say that you'll change.

You can't.

I look into your eyes, and I see the future.

All the horizons.

And you, alone, are the furthest one.

You don't need anyone, darling.

You don't need me.

It breaks my heart to admit it.

Goodbye, Sandy.

- Norma.

- [Man] Monsieur?

- You're a long way from home.

- It's a (mumbles) world now, monsieur.

- You know, last year's marathon,

I chased two of your engines halfway through the race

before I finally managed to pass 'em.

Lots of luck this year.

Say, your racing teams aren't due for another week.

A little early, aren't you?

- As you can see, I'm fishing.

Read this in your leisure.

Tomorrow morning, I'll meet you right here.

We'll discuss it.

Au revoir, monsieur.

(pensive music)

(jazzy music blaring)

- Nobody tonight, that's what the man says.

(knocking)

Look, son.

- Do you hear the music?

- If it was anybody but Sandy's kid,

I'd have had her turn it down hours ago.

- Can you hear it, Mr. Mason?

- Now, look, if it bothers you,

go tell her I said to turn it off!

Well, two in a room make a steam bath.

So, say your peace and get to bed--

- There's a girl up there that's scared to death

of being alone!

Now, I stayed with her all day today!

I don't mind that, I'll stay with 'til she stops shaking!

She says the last time she saw you was 10 years ago!

There's no emergency here in the shop,

so what are you trying to do to her?

That's a contract, not an answer.

- You got a big nose for other people's affairs.

What would you do if somebody offered you half of Europe?

That contract!

That's maybe the biggest and best chunk of incentive

anybody was ever offered to sell out!

- Are they buying you or your engine?

- Do you know what's right or what's wrong?

- Yeah, I usually do.

- Congratulations, I don't!

Not anymore.

There was a time I would've told the boss,

"You don't have to pay me anymore money to make me stay."

There was a time when I'd throw that character from Europe

and that contract right into the river!

But now, now I'm wondering just how long

it's gonna take me to learn French.

Somewhere, somehow,

a simple, beautiful thing,

a single morality, a single set of standards,

was smashed like an atom into 10 million separate pieces!

And now...

Now, what's...

Right for a man, can be wrong for his business.

And what's right for his business,

can be wrong for his country.

And what's right for his country,

can be wrong for his world.

Look, kid.

Please, get her to turn down that radio.

(jazz music blaring)

(knocking)

(music shuts off)

- Your father said please.

- He's not coming, is he?

- No.

- He still hates her that much?

- I think you should know where you stand.

He doesn't want to see you,

tonight or any other time.

- Do you know law?

- A little.

- [Dana] The power of escheat?

- No, I guess I missed that one.

- When my mother remarried,

it was to Henri, an attorney, a Belgian.

Under the power of escheat,

the unclaimed property of a citizen reverts to the state.

What power have we for unclaimed people?

(dramatic music)

(spirited music)

(knocking)

- Yeah?

- Well, you might act a little surprised.

I mean, don't strain yourself.

I wouldn't want to rock the boat, not today,

but you might force a "what are you doing here?"

- What are you doing here?

- I'm glad you asked that question.

- Look, I'm sorry I couldn't get back,

but between the tests and this thing today, and Dana.

- We had a date Saturday night, remember?

You could've called.

Who's Dana?

- Did you get my suit back?

- [Buz] In the car.

- A girl.

- Oh.

- What's it doing in the car?

- You do remember our last conversation, don't you?

You said two live ones and stick to the subassembly.

Well, in the car, with your suit,

mad for life, two grape crushers.

Now, the way I figure it,

we can drive up to Vegas.

I mean, after the race, it's not that far.

If you don't want to roll dice,

well, you can walk around and roll those sleeves of yours.

What did you do, meet her here in the desert?

- Who?

- Dana.

- Oh, as they say, this is it.

Good to see you, tiger.

Vegas sounds great.

I could use some--

- Yeah, (stammers) but what about this Dana?

I mean, with the two chicks I got incubating.

- Oh, she won't mind.

- She's a girl?

- For two weeks now, every minute I haven't

been on the lake with Sandy, I've been with her.

Just standing around,

trying to give her the strength to leave.

We haven't said 10 words to each other since last week.

Like, uh, Wednesday night,

we just sat on the dock 'til sunrise.

We didn't talk to each other,

but every time I'd start to leave,

she gets this look in her eyes, Buz.

Well, it's desperate,

and full of terror.

- Good luck.

- Thanks.

(horn honks)

Dana?

What'll I tell him if he asks where you went?

- He won't.

- At least I know you're not going back where you came from.

Ashes, Dana, you're covered with the ashes of burnt bridges.

You haven't told me anything,

but some things are beyond words.

You came here looking for more than a father.

You came here needing something.

What it is, what it was, I still don't know,

but this much I know.

Whatever it is you were looking for,

you're leaving without it.

- Do you really want to know?

- Yeah.

- My mother's dead, my stepfather, too.

- Does he know?

- To him, my mother died the day she left him.

Is this the father I want?

The father I have to buy back with the death of my mother?

I didn't come running here, Tod.

I slipped back, screaming.

I fell back in terror.

Because I lost my foothold in the world I knew.

This slaughterhouse of a world I once loved.

In Mabulula, some soldiers had been drinking.

They mistook Henri and the others for white mercenaries.

My mother ran out to stop them,

and they machine-gunned her, too.

Afterwards, they were sorry about the mistake.

They came to shake my hand

and tell me how sorry they were about the mistake.

Some of them were crying.

I don't know how they did that because I couldn't.

I couldn't even close my eyes.

Everything I saw after that

stayed in my eyes for hours.

Images that wouldn't go away.

But none of them could cover the one image,

Henri and Mother

in the street of Mabulula.

In the Africa I knew,

the scent of the universe was in the air.

On the savannas, you could

fill your nostrils with their perfume of thyme.

Unspoiled, unchanged.

After it rained, I used to watch the rainbow

bury its claws in the west.

Africa and I had a treaty.

An alliance of love.

But now I understand nothing, anymore.

Nothing.

- [Announcer] All unlimited boats to the mill area.

The pace boat is now picking up the boats.

(boat engines revving)

Everything looks in good line.

The flag is down!

304 is pulling into lead, closely followed by 91.

Behind him 39,

102, 93, 707.

Sandy Mason seems to be having trouble.

His boat is still at the dock.

- Bob, grab yourself a helmet.

Get him a jacket, quick.

(boat engines roaring)

- [Announcer] There goes Mason's boat now.

He's just passing the judge's stand.

(boat engines roaring)

(spirited music)

- [Tod Voiceover] Whoever fights the future,

has a mortal enemy, a faceless enemy.

Because the future has no being of its own.

It steals its beings from each man,

and once it's tricked him of his secrets,

it appears outside him.

A predator he must meet.

But it can be met, and it can be vanquished,

if only you reach out for it with open arms

and a hungry heart.

(soaring music)

(jazzy orchestral music)

- [Narrator] This has been a Screen Gems Film Presentation

from Columbia Pictures,

Herbert B. Leonard, Executive Producer.