39 Steps, The (2008) Movie Script
In cafes and salons across Europe,
groups huddled together
discussing politics, philosophy,
- nationhood.
- Your malt, Mr Hannay.
Thank you.
- Soda, sir?
- No, thank you.
In London, talk was of Hobbs' dismissal
for four by Haig at the Oval.
Sticky wicket, old boy,
- that's what did for him.
- That's cricket, by the way.
I'd only recently
returned from Africa.
Everything in England seemed
cliquey, claustrophobic,
class-bound.
And frankly
deathly, deathly, dull.
Bored,
I'd stay out all night,
seeking entertainment.
- Good night, Sir.
- Good night.
It's Mr...
Scudder, isn't it?
- I believe you live on the third floor.
- two men out there who want to kill me.
Well, if you make a habit of
crashing into other people's homes,
I'm not surprised.
Now if you'll excuse me,
I'd rather a long night...
I'm not afraid to fire.
- I served as a soldier...
- Second Boer War,
intelligence officer
under Hamilton at Rooiwal.
- How did you know that?
- It's my business to know
who my neighbours are, Mr Hannay.
So...
what's the story?
I am a freelance agent
for the British
Secret Service Bureau.
My housekeeper told me
you were an accountant.
I don't make a habit
of telling people that I'm a spy.
Nowlast night I was supposed
to meet someone from the Bureau
to exchange information.
But it was a double cross.
Obviously I've been betrayed.
I've been on the trail
of a German espionage ring
and I tracked down their headquarters
to a village in Scotland.
You should contact the Weekly News.
They're offering 10 to anyone
spotting a German agent.
An espionage ring could
make you a very wealthy man.
I apologise for having disturbed you,
Mr Hannay.
With your permission, I will attempt
to evade my would-be assassins
and report on what
I've learnt to my superior.
No-one should involve
themselves in intelligence work
without a good breakfast.
Do you have the key to this?
I'll go and get it.
Eat, Mr Scudder.
Life never seems as grim
after a couple of fried eggs.
I've heard whispers of a plot
to assassinate a high-ranking
European royal figure.
Really?
- Who?
- Suffice it to say,
for those who wish to see war,
this man's death could light the tinder.
It is very possible I won't
survive once I leave here.
If you love your country,
take this... to Captain Kell
at the Secret Service Bureau.
And trust no-one else.
You've picked the wrong man.
- I'm shipping back out to Africa as...
- Then drop it off on your way.
- How do you know you can trust me?
- I don't.
But right now, you're all I have.
Leave it.
I don't imagine German spies knock.
I have a note for
a gentleman named Scudder?
Where is the notebook?
Did I hear a gunshot?
Yes, follow me.
A man's been murdered.
I think the killers
are still inside.
They must have left by the fire escape.
If we hurry...
- Is that the murder weapon?
- My revolver. Yes.
I'd put it on the table.
Then I, I went to open the door.
I thought it was the milkman. It wasn't.
- Who was it?
- A German spy dressed as a milkman.
A German spy dressed as a milkman
shot the deceased with your gun?
No, his accomplice did.
- And was he dressed as a milkman?
- No.
Know this sounds incredible.
I was sceptical when Scudder...
Scudder will be the name
of the deceased gentleman?
Yes. I'd never met him
before this morning.
If you'd never met him before,
how did he land up dead
on your living room floor?
- He push my frontdoor.
- He broke in?
- Not exactly.
- And what did you do
- when he barged through your door?
- I drew my gun, naturally.
- And you shot him?
- No. We had breakfast.
- And then you shot him?
- No, I didn't shoot him.
- A German spy shot him.
- May I ask your name, sir?
Richard Hannay,
I'm arresting you for murder.
Stay where you are!
I'm so sorry. Did I startle you?
I've been in a bit of a dust-up,
I'm afraid.
An affair of the heart. Her brother
is determined to separate us.
Still...
who can blame him?
All I have to offer is love.
My rival comes with 10,000 acres
and a herd of prize pigs.
How comforting to see such
an enchanting smile. Thank you.
I don't suppose...?
No, I couldn't possibly
impose on your good nature.
Suddenly I was facing
the hangman's noose.
I had no pals in town
to testify on my behalf
and I could think of only
one person who might save me.
Scudder's Captain Kell
at the Secret Service Bureau.
Mr Hannay?
- May I get you something, Sir?
- No...
thank you.
How did one obtain the telephone
number of the Secret Service Bureau?
- May I help you?
- Secret Service Bureau, please.
Putting you through, sir.
Secret Service Bureau.
May I be of assistance?
- I'd like to speak with Captain Kell.
- What is it concerning?
A matter of life and death.
My death.
- I need to speak to him immediately.
- I'm afraid he isn't here.
Well, when will he be back?
Maybe someone else
could be of assistance?
No. I need to speak
to Captain Kell personally.
Just tell me when I can...
If I could take your name, Sir?
Yes, it's Richard...
I was on the trail
of a German espionage ring
nd I tracked down
their HQ to a village in Scotland...
If you love your country...
take this to Captain Kell
at the Secret Service
Bureau and trust no-one else.
No-one.
Good morning, Sir Gerald.
Arnold will inform
the porter you're here.
- Colonial Club?
- yes.
I need to speak to Sir Gerald urgently.
Has he arrived yet?
Just a minute, Sir.
Sir Gerald?
A call for you.
I had to get out of London quickly.
Perhaps the only way to prove
my innocence was to prove Scudder right.
Track down the German spy ring he
claimed was operating out of Scotland.
I'd try to contact
Kell again from there.
The 9.30 Caledonian Express
to Inverness'
is departing on Platform 9.
You can't do that, Sir.
Morning.
What was it Scudder discovered
that cost him his life?
He'd written his notes
in code using Roman numerals,
suggesting the material
was highly sensitive.
I had to find
the key word to decipher.
My list became more
and more desperate.
Nothing unlocked the puzzle.
The assassination of a royal figure,
just as Scudder had predicted.
For those who wish to see war,
this man's death could light the tinder.
May I possibly have a quick
look at the cricket scores?
No!
I beg your pardon.
I'm...
quite a cricket fan myself.
I thought I might
read them out aloud.
Hambledon 100 for 3.
Westerley...
Chipping Sodbury 88 for 6.
Puddington Reserves all out for 14.
Charlton Wallop 32 for 6...
Mear over Swinton...
This train is going nowhere
until we've searched every compartment!
Excuse me for saying, sir...
but you look awfully familiar.
Have we met?
I think I'd remember.
Excuse me, sir,
I'm looking for this man here.
My name's Wesley.
And the drunken
reprobate sitting with me
is called Arthur.
Should you talk about
your companion like that?
I'm thinking of leaving him
and going solo.
I was the talk of London, you know.
Now I'm reduced to
travelling third class.
One never knows
who one's going to meet.
Maybe... even
...a murderer.
Listen,
if you're serious
about a solo career,
maybe I could be
of financial assistance.
On one condition...
you and your partner help me out.
- Have you seen this man?
- I have. He left just a minute ago.
- If you're playing me for a fool...
- The gentleman's quite correct, officer.
He headed towards
the front of the train.
The front of the train, lads.
I made it as far as Scotland.
But if the police captured me
before I located the German spy ring,
I was going to swing
for a murder I didn't commit.
I needed evidence.
Until I was able
to contact Captain Kell,
my only hope
was to crack Scudder's code.
I've heard whispers of a plot
to assassinate a high
ranking European royal figure.
I had it!
The F for Franz represented A,
the R the E and so on.
F was A,
the sixth letter of the alphabet,
so A was represented
by the Roman numeral 6.
R was E, so represented
by the Roman numeral 18.
According to Scudder's notes,
the assassination was about to trigger
a war of a magnitude never seen before.
The Germans planned to destroy
the vastly superior British Navy,
leaving them free
to invade this country.
My head swam with
the enormity of it.
Stop!
GUNFIRE GUNFIRE Stop! Stop!
Stay where you are, Mr Hannay.
Good Lord! Are you all right?
- I am so sorry.
- What are you apologising for?
He rolled out in front of you.
Are you the Liberal spokesman?
I beg your pardon?
Are you Tommy Twisdon?
Yes, I am.
- I'm Harry Sinclair.
- This is my sister Victoria.
The hotel said you left an hour ago.
Where have you been?
Our Uncle, Sir George Sinclair.
Tommy Twisdon.
Pleased to meet you, Mr Twisdon.
Secretary to the National
Committee of Defence...
Sorry.
There's...
- a twig in your...
- Mr Twisdon took a bit of a tumble.
Could you point me to a telephone?
I need to contact in London.
I'm sorry, we've no time for that.
You better get in there fast,
before there's a mutiny.
This way, please.
- Ladies and Gentlemen...
- Miss Sinclair, please...
- Thank you Professor Fisher.
- it gives me great pleasure
to welcome your prospective
Parliamentary candidate
in the Dungarven by-election,
Harry Sinclair.
Gentlemen.
- I am delighted...
- Speak up, laddie!
- What?
- Speak up!
Right!
Sorry.
I am delighted
to stand before you this afternoon,
as your perspective...
parliamentary candidate...
In fact I think
the whole arms race with Germany
has been a total waste of revenue.
Our good friends, the Germans,
are not the enemy.
But for the Tories
we would be,
working side by side with the Germans,
in peace.
Thank you, Harry.
Your prospective Liberal candidate,
Mr Harry Sinclair.
- I haven't finished.
- Best leave them wanting more, son.
And now the moment
you've all been waiting for,
our honourable guest speaker
of whom Prime Minister Asquith said,
"If you want to get the job done,
"get Twisdon. " Mr Tommy Twisdon.
You know what's wrong
with this great nation?
Smugness and complacency.
You think because Great Britain has
the largest overseas Empire,
because she does indeed rule the waves,
that you're somehow impregnable?
I do not believe you
should be so sanguine,
in your friendships with Germany.
The assassination of
the Archduke Franz Ferdinand
proves that tensions between countries
and alliances run dangerously high.
- That's Europe.
- What's that got to do with us?
You wouldn't be saying that if foreign
boots were marching down your high street,
- would you?
- Surely, sir,
- surely that's warmongering?
- No, sir, it is a warning.
Where do you stand on women,
Mr Twisdon?
What?
Where do you stand on women?
As a rule I try not
to stand on women.
Wouldn't you agree
that one way to defeat this smugness
and complacency you speak
of would be to give women the vote?
I think you ladies should
be grateful that you don't have
to get your petticoats dirty fighting
for your country, Miss Sinclair.
So, gentlemen,
I urge you,
vote Harry Sinclair,
your liberal candidate.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think you'll
agree with me that Mr Twisdon...
It's him!
Open the door!
How dare you talk to me like
that, Mr Twisdon? Women...
Believe me, this
is really not the...
Stay where you are, sir.
Stand aside please, Miss.
I am completely within
my rights to talk to this man.
- I said, stand aside, miss.
- I'm a suffragette, not a criminal.
- I'm warning you.
- Unhand me, you bully.
Wait for me.
Go back.
Down here.
Damn!
- Now look what you've done.
- Well, it's not my fault.
So much for emancipation.
Why don't you find yourself another hobby?
I didn't become a suffragette
because I'm bad at needlepoint.
All that twaddle about freedom.
How can we be living in a free
society when so many people
are viewed as second class citizens?
What are you doing?
Well, I don't want to get
my petticoats dirty, Mr Twisdon.
Nice knowing you, Miss Sinclair.
I'll go it alone from here.
Just a minute.
I assaulted an officer of the law.
The constabulary came after me, not you.
My name's Hannay.
- You said it was Twisdon.
- No, I didn't. You did. My name is Hannay
and I'm wanted for murder.
- Well, why didn't you say so?
- You never gave me the chance.
Do you understand?
The police aren't interested in you.
Go and say you're sorry.
Say I'm sorry?
I kicked a policeman...
while he tried to arrest a murderer. but they'll
arrest me as your accomplice and not for assault.
- That's absurd.
- I agree. I hardly know you.
- God, are you going to kill me too?
- Of course not. I'm innocent...
Give me patience!
Will you stop following me?!
Well, I have no choice! Thanks to you,
I'm a fugitive from the law.
Now why don't we steal that car?
Leave it in the next town.
Because it belongs
to those two men up there.
They're German spies who are chasing me
with the view to ending my life.
Not just a murderer,
but a delusional maniac.
- Just my luck.
- What are you...
- Give me that.
- What if the owners hear?
Do you fancy earning a shilling?
- Yeah!
- Good. When I nod,
pull her hair.
- What did you do that for?
- The man said he'll give me a shilling.
I'll drive.
No, you will not!
- I'm perfectly capable.
- Just move along, move along.
- Do you have children, Mr Hannay?
- I'm not married.
That is a relief to womankind.
Where exactly would you
like me to drop you?
It looks like your German
pals have caught up with us.
Come on!
Who are they really?
Fellow criminals?
I am not a criminal.
And they are German spies.
I specht a little deutch.
Ich mere will come to an understanding.
The last time I encountered these men,
they killed a man in my apartment,
named Scudder. They won't stop
until they have the notebook he gave me.
Then they'll kill us both.
So unless you have a gun...
- I don't believe in violence.
- Course, you did. You believe in violence.
You're a suffragette!
You fire-bomb the homes of politicians!
What? You'd rather I sat at
home warming your slippers?
- I don't want you touching my slippers.
- You are a prehistoric boor.
You, my dear,
are an unhinged hysteric.
Right, that is it. I've had enough.
Stop the car.
- No.
- Go on. Let me out.
What are you doing, you lunatic?
Get off the steering wheel!
- Get your hands off me.
- I haven't touched...
- Are you trying to get us killed...
- you Lunatic?
The word I'm looking for
hasn't been invented.
Get up!
I don't understand,
I thought you were coming to rescue me.
This criminal kidnapped me.
She's an innocent bystander.
There's no honour in hurting
a weak and fragile female.
- I'm not weak and fragile.
- Please, let's discuss this
like gentlemen.
You assume two things, Mr Hannay.
One, I'm a gentleman,
two, there is anything to discuss.
Give me the notebook.
This is a terrible mistake...
Shoot the woman.
No! Wait.
It's in my inside jacket pocket.
Go on, search him.
Where is the notebook?
It was there, I promise.
It was...
Search her.
Examine the car
and the surrounding ground.
Into the car!
Move on!
Be quiet!
If you would follow me, please.
Miss Victoria Sinclair
and Mr Richard Hannay, Sir.
Professor Fisher?
Fraulein Sinclair.
You know this man?
Well, we discuss the weather sometimes in
the Post Office. I thought he was English.
I wish to congratulate you,
Mr Hannay.
I was a little concerned that your
police would capture you before I did.
But your skilled survival
technique has saved you.
- You should join us.
- Join you?
You have no love for Britain.
How did you describe it?
Smug and complacent?
Let the woman go then
maybe we can talk.
Under different circumstances
I would have enjoyed that.
Please believe me when
I say that there are aspects
of my vocation
which I find distasteful.
But, if you don't tell
me where Scudder's notebook is,
I will be obliged to extract
Miss Sinclair's fingernails,
one by one.
I don't know where it is.
All right.
I tried to read it, but it was in a code
I couldn't understand so I destroyed it.
In which case,
you are of no use to me.
And I'll be forced to kill you both.
Be quiet.
Quiet!
- Is Professor Fisher at home?
- one moment sir...
Sir George,
what a pleasant surprise.
Not really, no.
There is a strong possibility
my niece has been abducted.
- What?
- By a man named Hannay,
wanted by the police for murder.
He impersonated a visiting
dignitary and took Victoria.
And whether she went
voluntarily or not...
the facts appear confused...
Anyway,
my nephew Harry
and I are calling on everyone in the
vicinity to see if they know anything.
Well, naturally I will inform
my staff to keep a look out for her.
My niece is very dear to me,
Professor Fisher.
If anything were to happen to her,
I don't know what I would do.
I understand.
Please, don't worry.
I feel sure your niece
will be returned safely to you.
Thank you.
And I'm sorry to have disturbed you.
Bind and cuff them.
And then take them to
the oubliette to contemplate their fate.
Move, stand up.
Turn around,
back to back.
Give me your hand,
down.
Watch it.
What are you doing?
I'm escaping, that's what I'm doing.
How did you do that?
What about me?
You?
You speak German...
How do I know you're not a spy too?
I spent some time in German South
West Africa as a mining engineer.
- "Let the woman go andthen maybe... "
- A minor detail.
- But I was trying to save you.
- Maybe It could have beena double bluff.
If I'm a spy, then what am I doing
locked up in here with you?
Even for a woman,
that is a remarkably stupid notion.
- Where did you learn to do that?
- Harry's rather taken with Houdini.
An oubliette,
where prisoners were left to rot.
You'll have to charge at it,
see if you can break it down.
Or, I could save myself
the humiliation,
and you could pick it
with your hair pin.
- Explosives.
- Are you sure?
Fuses and detonators.
- What are they intending t?
- Sabotage our naval bases.
It's part of their plan
to invade the country.
I owe you an apology.
It's possible you're not the delusional
maniac I first thought you were.
Thank you.
You used to be a mining expert,
can't you just blast us out of here?
- It had crossed my mind, but no.
- Why not?
I've no way of calculating
the amount of charge
I can't lay enough fuse. I could end up
blowing us both to kingdom come.
That man is going to tear out
my fingernails.
We have searched the crash site,
there is no sign of the notebook.
Torture the girl,
in front of Hannay.
He's a gentleman,
and won't bear to see her suffer.
- I'm sorry you got caught up in this.
- Please, Mr Hannay.
This isn't your fault.
Are you sure about this?
Yes.
- No, stop them.
- Victoria, no!
Victoria?
Victoria?
- We have to get out of here.
- Well...
Down here.
Take your coat off.
- What?
- Take your coat off, show me your arm.
It's stupid.
- I can't seem to stop shaking.
- It's natural.
I feel the same.
Thank you.
You should go back to your brother's.
If there's a problem with the police,
- I'm sure your uncle can fix it.
- What do I say?
I was blown up in
a castle owned by an acquaintance
of his who happens to be
a German spy, but I can't prove it.
No, sorry. I don't give up,
no matter how hopeless
a cause appears.
Wasn't exactly on my list
of things to do next.
Caught in the middle of a plot
to invade the country.
A country which, it has to be said,
does not feel like home.
What, so that's it,
- you're just going to turn your back...
- What? No.
- But you said...
- If I may finish?
Sorry.
You don't realise
the true value of something
until you're about to lose it.
I'll do everything I can,
to stop those men.
And...
as there may well be other situations
ahead which may require
the use of a hairpin...
We carry on together.
It seems the most sensible plan.
Not that I actually have a plan. Without
Scudder's notebook, I have no proof.
We should go back to where the car was.
See if we can find it.
The Germans have already
searched there and besides.
We'd never find
that stretch of road again.
It was north of Kirknairn,
half a mile after the left-hand turn
with the gravel heap on the side
- and 2 beech trees on the right.
- You remembered all that?
The road is that's way.
Is this it?
Yes.
Well remembered.
- Pray.
- What for? A rabbit?
Scudder's notebook.
- What?
- I picked your pocket after we stopped.
- You picked my pocket?
- And hid the notebook
so the Bosch wouldn't find it.
Wait... a minute,
that means that you knew along
I was telling the truth
about the spies!
- You risked our lives...
- Trivial detail, I saved our lives.
But that's not the point.
You risked our lives...
Sorry, I don't feel too clever.
We need to rest.
Well, there's an inn a little way
from here. It's left, over a stile.
Past the cattle trough,
beyond a sign to Dungarven.
Let's postpone the argument
till we get there.
Wait.
What?
Give me your hand.
- What if you think that because...
- Please!
I haven't had a decent meal for
nearly two days, I've hardly slept,
I've been chased, shot at, blown up
and now I am soaked to the skin.
Even Casanova couldn't be thinking of
anything other than a bed
and something to eat.
Wait, here.
The burn marks on your back
might provoke some comment.
- Ready?
- Yes.
Come in.
Here you go.
Beef sandwiches,
and a nice pot of tea.
And not forgetting the mustard
that you asked for.
Thank you.
We've had a fair few vehicles
come off the road by the loch.
You and your husband'll feel better
after a good night's rest.
Would you be so good as to bring us
two very large whiskies, please?
Of course.
We should probably get out of these
wet things before we catch pneumonia.
Show me your arm.
It'll help with the pain.
I should do your back.
That'll be all. Thank you.
- We should've a look at this notebook.
- Yes.
If they intend to spike our fleet,
the Bosch'd have to know our naval plans
where every ship
and submarine is positioned.
That's what I can't get
from Scudder's notes.
- Maybe he never found out.
- The Germans obviously think he did.
Yearning Retainer?
Forget-me-not?
- What does that mean?
- It has to be double code.
Yearning Retainer, Forget-me-not,
followed by the numbers 2, 7,
and the letters NCD.
It's double encryption.
The most vital piece of the puzzle.
A knowledge of ciphers,
German explosives.
You're a useful man
to have around, Hannay.
Coming from a suffragette,
I'll take that as quite a compliment.
Two sevenths?
A fraction?
- What's the date?
- The 30th.
...of June: 30/6.
- What if 2/7 means...
- The 2nd of July?
Whatever Scudder
was warning us about
is going to happen the day after
tomorrow? That'd explain his urgency.
- We have to contact Captain Kell.
- There's nothing we can do tonight.
I'll telephone the Bureau
first thing in the morning.
Well, I suppose we should
try to get some sleep.
- I'll take the floor.
- No.
No, you won't, Hannay.
I trust you.
I've fought in a war, Victoria.
I saw men killed,
women and children
burnt out of their homes.
There's nothing glorious there.
Then we must do all we can
to ensure Britain is not at war again.
Get dressed.
The Germans are downstairs.
What?
- We've to contact Kell.
- Let's go to the house Harry's renting.
Telephone from there. The Prof. Won't
expect us to come back to Dungarven.
- About turn.
- What?
Right, sorry.
Don't tell Harry
about Scudder's notebook.
He's never been good
at keeping secrets.
Hello, Harry.
Good grief.
Don't come a step nearer, you...
- Unhand her, you swine.
- Well, he isn't touching me, Harry.
He's a friend
and a hero of this nation.
Oh, right!
Jolly good.
Damn thing isn't loaded anyway.
Now, we just need
to use the telephone.
But the police mustn't know
we're here. Understand?
Not really, but...
don't you worry.
Good show.
Phyllis? It's Victoria Sinclair.
No, I was not kidnapped
by the Liberal spokesman from London.
No, he did not.
Listen, I want you to put me through
to the Secret Service Bureau...
What...
my fianc works there.
Yes, I know I said marriage was a...
Yes, I said that too. Look, could you
just put me through, please?
No listening in. Yes, you do.
She listens in. I'll speak to them.
Phyllis may call the police
if she hears you.
Hello? I want to speak
to Captain Kell urgently.
No, no-one else will do.
I have to get a message to him today,
it's a matter of national importance.
Please give him this number,
Argyll 135.
Are you crazy?
You've just told them where we are.
Scudder was convinced
he's been betrayed
- There was a traitor in the Bureau...
- I had no choice, Hannay.
You and Harry aren't safe here.
I'll give myself up to the police.
Maybe they'll believe me.
Or maybe they'll hang you.
We just have to sit tight, Hannay.
And hope that Kell contacts us.
Damn fine speech
you made yesterday afternoon.
You should be the politician,
not me.
- Why are you going in for it?
- Sort of... last resort.
Not done very well
at anything else, so...
Uncle George thought
I might make a go of politics.
Did you say your uncle
was on the Defence Committee?
- Absolutely.
- Could you fix a meeting, sharpish?
Of course. He'll sort you out.
You'll be an MP in no time. Well...
Once the murder charge goes away.
Right.
Good.
Might be a good idea not to
mention this to your sister.
I'd only get another lecture
about universal suffrage.
Right.
Good.
This is all very hush-hush.
I needed to speak to someone
about national security, urgently.
How did you know
I wouldn't turn up with the police
and have you arrested
for murder, abduction
- and deception?
- I didn't, Sir.
Well, if...
Victoria brought you here,
there must be something about you.
Which leaves 2/7... tomorrow.
The words, Yearning Retainer
and Forget-me-not
and the letters NCD.
NCD?
There is a meeting of the National
Committee of Defence
- at Stirling Castle tomorrow.
- What are you discussing?
Sir George,
I've risked my life
for this country.
The unveiling...
of the new naval defence plans.
Well, that's it. That's it!
If the Germans can get copies,
they could destroy the fleet
in advance of the invasion.
- Out of the question.
- Scudder was sure he'd been betrayed!
What?
I assure you, Hannay,
tomorrow it will be impossible
either to steal or copy those plans.
The First Sea Lord, Prince Louis
of Battenberg, will present them
to the committee and then they will be
locked away under guard.
Does Victoria know
we're having this chat?
No.
If you had brought the police
I thought she might... cause a scene.
She's risked enough.
Why the hell didn't you part
from her earlier, man?
I want you to go back
to London tomorrow.
I promised my brother before he died
to take care of Harry and Victoria
as my own.
- If you care for her, at all...
- You've no idea how much...
I care for her.
The professor is still out there.
The longer you stay close to Victoria,
the more you endanger her life.
I will pass this information
on to Captain Kell.
I will also have a word with the
Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
You'll no longer be a wanted man.
No need to repay me.
It's over?
For you, yes.
May I tell Victoria I'm leaving?
And have her hate me?
Come in.
I couldn't sleep,
worrying about tomorrow.
- Why hasn't Kell contacted us?
- I'm sure he will.
Well, let's hope
the Germans don't find us first.
Isn't it strange?
We were so much easier with each other
when we faced death together.
- A prehistoric boor...
- ... and an unhinged hysteric.
Hardly a marriage made in heaven.
- Thank you.
- What for?
Your passion,
your commitment.
For helping me understand
what's really important to me.
Which is?
This country and the people in it.
I never really belonged anywhere,
not here, not in Africa.
I had no real loyalties, except...
maybe to myself.
I was...
I was running away, I suppose.
And now you've stopped?
Yes.
I could stay the night.
I've shocked you.
A bit.
I'm flattered.
Honoured.
- I mean I don't make a habit...
- You don't need to say anything.
There is nothing I would love more.
Nothing.
But who knows
what may happen tomorrow?
- Well, I can look after myself, Han...
- Please.
Just this once,
allow me to protect you.
Hello? Are you the same operator
that connected a call
from Harry Sinclair's house
to the Secret Service Bureau, yesterday?
What?
She disconnected the call?
Before you could put her through?
Who was that man that Victoria
left with this morning?
What man? No idea.
Well...
- Does she have any German pals?
- Apart from our German cousins?
- Harry, I need to borrow your car, now.
- Sorry, I'm playing in the Trossachs.
It's a national emergency.
I have to get to Stirling.
- Lord, Really? Why don't I drive you?
- No, thank you, I don't think...
I know I'm not your obvious first choice
in an emergency but please...
All right. I'll get my goggles.
- D'you want me to come with you?
- No, thanks.
You're a good man, Harry.
- I need to speak to Sir Sinclair.
- Sorry sir, move along.
You don't understand,
it's a matter of national security.
- Hands above your head, now!
- What?
You're that murderer, Hannay.
- Take him to the cells.
- No listen, please!
- I'm calling the police... Come on!
- Just listen to me, I need to...
Sorry.
In the name of King George V,
open the door!
- Victoria?
- Hannay.
What are you doing here?
I work for the Secret Service
Bureau.
It's all right.
I'm too late.
My God!
- You're Scudder's traitor!
- Don't be absurd.
You stole the notebook whilst I slept.
You had me followed by the vicar.
- Why didn't I finished you up?
- Not for sentimental reasons, I'm sure.
You knew all along that 2/7, NCD meant
the unveiling of the Brit. Naval plans.
There are armed guards outside
every door. How do I remove them?
Under your petticoats?
Lord knows what devious schemes
you have inside your...
- Your head... They're in your head.
- What?
When you took us back to retrieve
Scudder's notebook after the crash
you could describe every tree,
every landmark. Same with the inn.
You have a photographic memory.
I'm right, aren't I?
- Yes...
- What now?
You scream "enemy of the state",
and the guards rush in, shoot me?
And waste a valuable resource?
Captain Kell, Mr Hannay.
- You're Kell?
- The genuine article, I can assure you.
Ask Mr Churchill.
Lieutenant Commander Wakeham.
How d'you do?
I'm sorry we couldn't introduce
ourselves earlier.
It served the Bureau
to have you in the game.
That's why I sent Victoria
to cover your back.
She nearly got me killed.
Well, you enjoyed
every minute of it.
You used me as bait.
As long as the Germans were chasing you,
we could keep tabs on them.
See who else
they were in contact with.
- Who's Scudder's traitor?
- We don't know.
But after Scudder's warning,
we were doubly cautious.
The plans were travelled here
in separate boxes. They'll be resealed.
Which means the traitor
had to be sitting at this table.
- Who was sitting here?
- Uncle George.
There was a Zuban cigarette burning
in the ashtray at the Professor's.
For heaven's sake,
what are you saying?
Uncle George is the traitor?
You honestly think that Uncle George
would let the Professor kill me?
He loves me.
I mean he came looking for me.
Suppose your Uncle was
at the Professor's when we arrived.
And overheard the Prof. Threatening you.
How could he just slip away quietly?
Instead he rings the doorbell.
And he warns the Professor...
"If anything were to happen to her,
I don't know what I'd do. "
That is absurd, Hannay.
- Has been a father to me.
- I understand how difficult this is.
- When we talked last night, he did...
- You spoke to Sir George?
Yes,
I told him everything I knew.
He said he'd pass it on to you.
But... Did he?
No.
This photographic memory of yours.
Is it inherited?
On my father's side.
Sir George left the room
with the plans in his head.
I'll be followed, as long as
he doesn't suspect we've a traitor.
- He does. I told him.
- What?
Well, if you'd just trusted me
instead of playing hide and seek...!
- If Sir George does get to Germany?
- Then our naval defence is in ruins.
- We're a sitting duck.
- I'll alert all ports,
- railway stations, aerodromes.
- The double code!
Maybe it'll give us the rendezvous.
- Yearning Retainer. Forget-me-not.
- What the hell did Scudder mean?
We need a thesaurus.
Synonyms of yearning.
- Pining. Hunger.
- Crave.
Desire. Long for...
Long retainer. Retain, retain?
There's Long Keep.
The Professor's castle.
No, my men have searched the place.
It's been abandoned.
The Professor and his henchmen fled.
- What does forget-me-not mean?
- Forget me... The oubliette.
French for to forget. It's a place
you put prisoners you want to forget.
I don't understand.
We were in the oubliette.
There's that tunnel we used.
But it's hardly a secret escape route.
Scudder was right about everything else.
He sacrificed his life for this...
Wait.
He and I had breakfast.
He did something. I remember thinking...
What? What did he do?
- He dipped his finger in the milk.
- Invisible ink.
Somewhere in the oubliette,
there has to be hidden 39 steps.
We'll follow you.
Last night in the bedroom,
that had nothing to do with my job.
Well, at least you're only a spy
and not a suffragette.
Well, actually I'm a spy
and a suffragette.
Oh, Lord!
- Nothing.
- What if we're wrong?
They've taken all the explosives.
Scudder's steps.
He's your uncle.
He's a traitor.
You lied.
You were going to kill Victoria.
This is not our dream
for the brave new Reich.
If Germany is to become great,
sacrifices have to be made.
- We both know that.
- Not my family.
Get in the boat, George, please.
If I die, the plans go with me.
We have no choice now, George.
- If I have to shoot you, I will!
- I would expect nothing less.
My God, it's one of theirs!
Come on, George,
the U-Boat can't wait.
It can only stay surfaced
for three minutes.
Don't shoot. I'll get him.
Come on, George, you can make it.
Don't shoot Sir George!
- What's that?
- It's nothing.
Thank you.
I'm not sure I could have shot him.
When we return to London,
I intend to woo you.
Flowers,
dinner,
dancing,
followed by a passionate lecture
on the enfranchisement of women.
What do you say?
Victoria!
Victoria! Victoria!
Victoria!
It's a deep loch,
she could be anywhere.
I'm sorry, Hannay.
On 4th August,
Germany invaded Belgium.
Great Britain had no choice
but to declare war.
Victoria and I may have helped
save the country from invasion,
but not from conflict.
Harry! Good to see you.
How are you?
Fine. It isn't me.
Well, it is me but...
Victoria wanted to say goodbye.
Top secret, old man.
She'll see you after the war,
Hannay.
groups huddled together
discussing politics, philosophy,
- nationhood.
- Your malt, Mr Hannay.
Thank you.
- Soda, sir?
- No, thank you.
In London, talk was of Hobbs' dismissal
for four by Haig at the Oval.
Sticky wicket, old boy,
- that's what did for him.
- That's cricket, by the way.
I'd only recently
returned from Africa.
Everything in England seemed
cliquey, claustrophobic,
class-bound.
And frankly
deathly, deathly, dull.
Bored,
I'd stay out all night,
seeking entertainment.
- Good night, Sir.
- Good night.
It's Mr...
Scudder, isn't it?
- I believe you live on the third floor.
- two men out there who want to kill me.
Well, if you make a habit of
crashing into other people's homes,
I'm not surprised.
Now if you'll excuse me,
I'd rather a long night...
I'm not afraid to fire.
- I served as a soldier...
- Second Boer War,
intelligence officer
under Hamilton at Rooiwal.
- How did you know that?
- It's my business to know
who my neighbours are, Mr Hannay.
So...
what's the story?
I am a freelance agent
for the British
Secret Service Bureau.
My housekeeper told me
you were an accountant.
I don't make a habit
of telling people that I'm a spy.
Nowlast night I was supposed
to meet someone from the Bureau
to exchange information.
But it was a double cross.
Obviously I've been betrayed.
I've been on the trail
of a German espionage ring
and I tracked down their headquarters
to a village in Scotland.
You should contact the Weekly News.
They're offering 10 to anyone
spotting a German agent.
An espionage ring could
make you a very wealthy man.
I apologise for having disturbed you,
Mr Hannay.
With your permission, I will attempt
to evade my would-be assassins
and report on what
I've learnt to my superior.
No-one should involve
themselves in intelligence work
without a good breakfast.
Do you have the key to this?
I'll go and get it.
Eat, Mr Scudder.
Life never seems as grim
after a couple of fried eggs.
I've heard whispers of a plot
to assassinate a high-ranking
European royal figure.
Really?
- Who?
- Suffice it to say,
for those who wish to see war,
this man's death could light the tinder.
It is very possible I won't
survive once I leave here.
If you love your country,
take this... to Captain Kell
at the Secret Service Bureau.
And trust no-one else.
You've picked the wrong man.
- I'm shipping back out to Africa as...
- Then drop it off on your way.
- How do you know you can trust me?
- I don't.
But right now, you're all I have.
Leave it.
I don't imagine German spies knock.
I have a note for
a gentleman named Scudder?
Where is the notebook?
Did I hear a gunshot?
Yes, follow me.
A man's been murdered.
I think the killers
are still inside.
They must have left by the fire escape.
If we hurry...
- Is that the murder weapon?
- My revolver. Yes.
I'd put it on the table.
Then I, I went to open the door.
I thought it was the milkman. It wasn't.
- Who was it?
- A German spy dressed as a milkman.
A German spy dressed as a milkman
shot the deceased with your gun?
No, his accomplice did.
- And was he dressed as a milkman?
- No.
Know this sounds incredible.
I was sceptical when Scudder...
Scudder will be the name
of the deceased gentleman?
Yes. I'd never met him
before this morning.
If you'd never met him before,
how did he land up dead
on your living room floor?
- He push my frontdoor.
- He broke in?
- Not exactly.
- And what did you do
- when he barged through your door?
- I drew my gun, naturally.
- And you shot him?
- No. We had breakfast.
- And then you shot him?
- No, I didn't shoot him.
- A German spy shot him.
- May I ask your name, sir?
Richard Hannay,
I'm arresting you for murder.
Stay where you are!
I'm so sorry. Did I startle you?
I've been in a bit of a dust-up,
I'm afraid.
An affair of the heart. Her brother
is determined to separate us.
Still...
who can blame him?
All I have to offer is love.
My rival comes with 10,000 acres
and a herd of prize pigs.
How comforting to see such
an enchanting smile. Thank you.
I don't suppose...?
No, I couldn't possibly
impose on your good nature.
Suddenly I was facing
the hangman's noose.
I had no pals in town
to testify on my behalf
and I could think of only
one person who might save me.
Scudder's Captain Kell
at the Secret Service Bureau.
Mr Hannay?
- May I get you something, Sir?
- No...
thank you.
How did one obtain the telephone
number of the Secret Service Bureau?
- May I help you?
- Secret Service Bureau, please.
Putting you through, sir.
Secret Service Bureau.
May I be of assistance?
- I'd like to speak with Captain Kell.
- What is it concerning?
A matter of life and death.
My death.
- I need to speak to him immediately.
- I'm afraid he isn't here.
Well, when will he be back?
Maybe someone else
could be of assistance?
No. I need to speak
to Captain Kell personally.
Just tell me when I can...
If I could take your name, Sir?
Yes, it's Richard...
I was on the trail
of a German espionage ring
nd I tracked down
their HQ to a village in Scotland...
If you love your country...
take this to Captain Kell
at the Secret Service
Bureau and trust no-one else.
No-one.
Good morning, Sir Gerald.
Arnold will inform
the porter you're here.
- Colonial Club?
- yes.
I need to speak to Sir Gerald urgently.
Has he arrived yet?
Just a minute, Sir.
Sir Gerald?
A call for you.
I had to get out of London quickly.
Perhaps the only way to prove
my innocence was to prove Scudder right.
Track down the German spy ring he
claimed was operating out of Scotland.
I'd try to contact
Kell again from there.
The 9.30 Caledonian Express
to Inverness'
is departing on Platform 9.
You can't do that, Sir.
Morning.
What was it Scudder discovered
that cost him his life?
He'd written his notes
in code using Roman numerals,
suggesting the material
was highly sensitive.
I had to find
the key word to decipher.
My list became more
and more desperate.
Nothing unlocked the puzzle.
The assassination of a royal figure,
just as Scudder had predicted.
For those who wish to see war,
this man's death could light the tinder.
May I possibly have a quick
look at the cricket scores?
No!
I beg your pardon.
I'm...
quite a cricket fan myself.
I thought I might
read them out aloud.
Hambledon 100 for 3.
Westerley...
Chipping Sodbury 88 for 6.
Puddington Reserves all out for 14.
Charlton Wallop 32 for 6...
Mear over Swinton...
This train is going nowhere
until we've searched every compartment!
Excuse me for saying, sir...
but you look awfully familiar.
Have we met?
I think I'd remember.
Excuse me, sir,
I'm looking for this man here.
My name's Wesley.
And the drunken
reprobate sitting with me
is called Arthur.
Should you talk about
your companion like that?
I'm thinking of leaving him
and going solo.
I was the talk of London, you know.
Now I'm reduced to
travelling third class.
One never knows
who one's going to meet.
Maybe... even
...a murderer.
Listen,
if you're serious
about a solo career,
maybe I could be
of financial assistance.
On one condition...
you and your partner help me out.
- Have you seen this man?
- I have. He left just a minute ago.
- If you're playing me for a fool...
- The gentleman's quite correct, officer.
He headed towards
the front of the train.
The front of the train, lads.
I made it as far as Scotland.
But if the police captured me
before I located the German spy ring,
I was going to swing
for a murder I didn't commit.
I needed evidence.
Until I was able
to contact Captain Kell,
my only hope
was to crack Scudder's code.
I've heard whispers of a plot
to assassinate a high
ranking European royal figure.
I had it!
The F for Franz represented A,
the R the E and so on.
F was A,
the sixth letter of the alphabet,
so A was represented
by the Roman numeral 6.
R was E, so represented
by the Roman numeral 18.
According to Scudder's notes,
the assassination was about to trigger
a war of a magnitude never seen before.
The Germans planned to destroy
the vastly superior British Navy,
leaving them free
to invade this country.
My head swam with
the enormity of it.
Stop!
GUNFIRE GUNFIRE Stop! Stop!
Stay where you are, Mr Hannay.
Good Lord! Are you all right?
- I am so sorry.
- What are you apologising for?
He rolled out in front of you.
Are you the Liberal spokesman?
I beg your pardon?
Are you Tommy Twisdon?
Yes, I am.
- I'm Harry Sinclair.
- This is my sister Victoria.
The hotel said you left an hour ago.
Where have you been?
Our Uncle, Sir George Sinclair.
Tommy Twisdon.
Pleased to meet you, Mr Twisdon.
Secretary to the National
Committee of Defence...
Sorry.
There's...
- a twig in your...
- Mr Twisdon took a bit of a tumble.
Could you point me to a telephone?
I need to contact in London.
I'm sorry, we've no time for that.
You better get in there fast,
before there's a mutiny.
This way, please.
- Ladies and Gentlemen...
- Miss Sinclair, please...
- Thank you Professor Fisher.
- it gives me great pleasure
to welcome your prospective
Parliamentary candidate
in the Dungarven by-election,
Harry Sinclair.
Gentlemen.
- I am delighted...
- Speak up, laddie!
- What?
- Speak up!
Right!
Sorry.
I am delighted
to stand before you this afternoon,
as your perspective...
parliamentary candidate...
In fact I think
the whole arms race with Germany
has been a total waste of revenue.
Our good friends, the Germans,
are not the enemy.
But for the Tories
we would be,
working side by side with the Germans,
in peace.
Thank you, Harry.
Your prospective Liberal candidate,
Mr Harry Sinclair.
- I haven't finished.
- Best leave them wanting more, son.
And now the moment
you've all been waiting for,
our honourable guest speaker
of whom Prime Minister Asquith said,
"If you want to get the job done,
"get Twisdon. " Mr Tommy Twisdon.
You know what's wrong
with this great nation?
Smugness and complacency.
You think because Great Britain has
the largest overseas Empire,
because she does indeed rule the waves,
that you're somehow impregnable?
I do not believe you
should be so sanguine,
in your friendships with Germany.
The assassination of
the Archduke Franz Ferdinand
proves that tensions between countries
and alliances run dangerously high.
- That's Europe.
- What's that got to do with us?
You wouldn't be saying that if foreign
boots were marching down your high street,
- would you?
- Surely, sir,
- surely that's warmongering?
- No, sir, it is a warning.
Where do you stand on women,
Mr Twisdon?
What?
Where do you stand on women?
As a rule I try not
to stand on women.
Wouldn't you agree
that one way to defeat this smugness
and complacency you speak
of would be to give women the vote?
I think you ladies should
be grateful that you don't have
to get your petticoats dirty fighting
for your country, Miss Sinclair.
So, gentlemen,
I urge you,
vote Harry Sinclair,
your liberal candidate.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think you'll
agree with me that Mr Twisdon...
It's him!
Open the door!
How dare you talk to me like
that, Mr Twisdon? Women...
Believe me, this
is really not the...
Stay where you are, sir.
Stand aside please, Miss.
I am completely within
my rights to talk to this man.
- I said, stand aside, miss.
- I'm a suffragette, not a criminal.
- I'm warning you.
- Unhand me, you bully.
Wait for me.
Go back.
Down here.
Damn!
- Now look what you've done.
- Well, it's not my fault.
So much for emancipation.
Why don't you find yourself another hobby?
I didn't become a suffragette
because I'm bad at needlepoint.
All that twaddle about freedom.
How can we be living in a free
society when so many people
are viewed as second class citizens?
What are you doing?
Well, I don't want to get
my petticoats dirty, Mr Twisdon.
Nice knowing you, Miss Sinclair.
I'll go it alone from here.
Just a minute.
I assaulted an officer of the law.
The constabulary came after me, not you.
My name's Hannay.
- You said it was Twisdon.
- No, I didn't. You did. My name is Hannay
and I'm wanted for murder.
- Well, why didn't you say so?
- You never gave me the chance.
Do you understand?
The police aren't interested in you.
Go and say you're sorry.
Say I'm sorry?
I kicked a policeman...
while he tried to arrest a murderer. but they'll
arrest me as your accomplice and not for assault.
- That's absurd.
- I agree. I hardly know you.
- God, are you going to kill me too?
- Of course not. I'm innocent...
Give me patience!
Will you stop following me?!
Well, I have no choice! Thanks to you,
I'm a fugitive from the law.
Now why don't we steal that car?
Leave it in the next town.
Because it belongs
to those two men up there.
They're German spies who are chasing me
with the view to ending my life.
Not just a murderer,
but a delusional maniac.
- Just my luck.
- What are you...
- Give me that.
- What if the owners hear?
Do you fancy earning a shilling?
- Yeah!
- Good. When I nod,
pull her hair.
- What did you do that for?
- The man said he'll give me a shilling.
I'll drive.
No, you will not!
- I'm perfectly capable.
- Just move along, move along.
- Do you have children, Mr Hannay?
- I'm not married.
That is a relief to womankind.
Where exactly would you
like me to drop you?
It looks like your German
pals have caught up with us.
Come on!
Who are they really?
Fellow criminals?
I am not a criminal.
And they are German spies.
I specht a little deutch.
Ich mere will come to an understanding.
The last time I encountered these men,
they killed a man in my apartment,
named Scudder. They won't stop
until they have the notebook he gave me.
Then they'll kill us both.
So unless you have a gun...
- I don't believe in violence.
- Course, you did. You believe in violence.
You're a suffragette!
You fire-bomb the homes of politicians!
What? You'd rather I sat at
home warming your slippers?
- I don't want you touching my slippers.
- You are a prehistoric boor.
You, my dear,
are an unhinged hysteric.
Right, that is it. I've had enough.
Stop the car.
- No.
- Go on. Let me out.
What are you doing, you lunatic?
Get off the steering wheel!
- Get your hands off me.
- I haven't touched...
- Are you trying to get us killed...
- you Lunatic?
The word I'm looking for
hasn't been invented.
Get up!
I don't understand,
I thought you were coming to rescue me.
This criminal kidnapped me.
She's an innocent bystander.
There's no honour in hurting
a weak and fragile female.
- I'm not weak and fragile.
- Please, let's discuss this
like gentlemen.
You assume two things, Mr Hannay.
One, I'm a gentleman,
two, there is anything to discuss.
Give me the notebook.
This is a terrible mistake...
Shoot the woman.
No! Wait.
It's in my inside jacket pocket.
Go on, search him.
Where is the notebook?
It was there, I promise.
It was...
Search her.
Examine the car
and the surrounding ground.
Into the car!
Move on!
Be quiet!
If you would follow me, please.
Miss Victoria Sinclair
and Mr Richard Hannay, Sir.
Professor Fisher?
Fraulein Sinclair.
You know this man?
Well, we discuss the weather sometimes in
the Post Office. I thought he was English.
I wish to congratulate you,
Mr Hannay.
I was a little concerned that your
police would capture you before I did.
But your skilled survival
technique has saved you.
- You should join us.
- Join you?
You have no love for Britain.
How did you describe it?
Smug and complacent?
Let the woman go then
maybe we can talk.
Under different circumstances
I would have enjoyed that.
Please believe me when
I say that there are aspects
of my vocation
which I find distasteful.
But, if you don't tell
me where Scudder's notebook is,
I will be obliged to extract
Miss Sinclair's fingernails,
one by one.
I don't know where it is.
All right.
I tried to read it, but it was in a code
I couldn't understand so I destroyed it.
In which case,
you are of no use to me.
And I'll be forced to kill you both.
Be quiet.
Quiet!
- Is Professor Fisher at home?
- one moment sir...
Sir George,
what a pleasant surprise.
Not really, no.
There is a strong possibility
my niece has been abducted.
- What?
- By a man named Hannay,
wanted by the police for murder.
He impersonated a visiting
dignitary and took Victoria.
And whether she went
voluntarily or not...
the facts appear confused...
Anyway,
my nephew Harry
and I are calling on everyone in the
vicinity to see if they know anything.
Well, naturally I will inform
my staff to keep a look out for her.
My niece is very dear to me,
Professor Fisher.
If anything were to happen to her,
I don't know what I would do.
I understand.
Please, don't worry.
I feel sure your niece
will be returned safely to you.
Thank you.
And I'm sorry to have disturbed you.
Bind and cuff them.
And then take them to
the oubliette to contemplate their fate.
Move, stand up.
Turn around,
back to back.
Give me your hand,
down.
Watch it.
What are you doing?
I'm escaping, that's what I'm doing.
How did you do that?
What about me?
You?
You speak German...
How do I know you're not a spy too?
I spent some time in German South
West Africa as a mining engineer.
- "Let the woman go andthen maybe... "
- A minor detail.
- But I was trying to save you.
- Maybe It could have beena double bluff.
If I'm a spy, then what am I doing
locked up in here with you?
Even for a woman,
that is a remarkably stupid notion.
- Where did you learn to do that?
- Harry's rather taken with Houdini.
An oubliette,
where prisoners were left to rot.
You'll have to charge at it,
see if you can break it down.
Or, I could save myself
the humiliation,
and you could pick it
with your hair pin.
- Explosives.
- Are you sure?
Fuses and detonators.
- What are they intending t?
- Sabotage our naval bases.
It's part of their plan
to invade the country.
I owe you an apology.
It's possible you're not the delusional
maniac I first thought you were.
Thank you.
You used to be a mining expert,
can't you just blast us out of here?
- It had crossed my mind, but no.
- Why not?
I've no way of calculating
the amount of charge
I can't lay enough fuse. I could end up
blowing us both to kingdom come.
That man is going to tear out
my fingernails.
We have searched the crash site,
there is no sign of the notebook.
Torture the girl,
in front of Hannay.
He's a gentleman,
and won't bear to see her suffer.
- I'm sorry you got caught up in this.
- Please, Mr Hannay.
This isn't your fault.
Are you sure about this?
Yes.
- No, stop them.
- Victoria, no!
Victoria?
Victoria?
- We have to get out of here.
- Well...
Down here.
Take your coat off.
- What?
- Take your coat off, show me your arm.
It's stupid.
- I can't seem to stop shaking.
- It's natural.
I feel the same.
Thank you.
You should go back to your brother's.
If there's a problem with the police,
- I'm sure your uncle can fix it.
- What do I say?
I was blown up in
a castle owned by an acquaintance
of his who happens to be
a German spy, but I can't prove it.
No, sorry. I don't give up,
no matter how hopeless
a cause appears.
Wasn't exactly on my list
of things to do next.
Caught in the middle of a plot
to invade the country.
A country which, it has to be said,
does not feel like home.
What, so that's it,
- you're just going to turn your back...
- What? No.
- But you said...
- If I may finish?
Sorry.
You don't realise
the true value of something
until you're about to lose it.
I'll do everything I can,
to stop those men.
And...
as there may well be other situations
ahead which may require
the use of a hairpin...
We carry on together.
It seems the most sensible plan.
Not that I actually have a plan. Without
Scudder's notebook, I have no proof.
We should go back to where the car was.
See if we can find it.
The Germans have already
searched there and besides.
We'd never find
that stretch of road again.
It was north of Kirknairn,
half a mile after the left-hand turn
with the gravel heap on the side
- and 2 beech trees on the right.
- You remembered all that?
The road is that's way.
Is this it?
Yes.
Well remembered.
- Pray.
- What for? A rabbit?
Scudder's notebook.
- What?
- I picked your pocket after we stopped.
- You picked my pocket?
- And hid the notebook
so the Bosch wouldn't find it.
Wait... a minute,
that means that you knew along
I was telling the truth
about the spies!
- You risked our lives...
- Trivial detail, I saved our lives.
But that's not the point.
You risked our lives...
Sorry, I don't feel too clever.
We need to rest.
Well, there's an inn a little way
from here. It's left, over a stile.
Past the cattle trough,
beyond a sign to Dungarven.
Let's postpone the argument
till we get there.
Wait.
What?
Give me your hand.
- What if you think that because...
- Please!
I haven't had a decent meal for
nearly two days, I've hardly slept,
I've been chased, shot at, blown up
and now I am soaked to the skin.
Even Casanova couldn't be thinking of
anything other than a bed
and something to eat.
Wait, here.
The burn marks on your back
might provoke some comment.
- Ready?
- Yes.
Come in.
Here you go.
Beef sandwiches,
and a nice pot of tea.
And not forgetting the mustard
that you asked for.
Thank you.
We've had a fair few vehicles
come off the road by the loch.
You and your husband'll feel better
after a good night's rest.
Would you be so good as to bring us
two very large whiskies, please?
Of course.
We should probably get out of these
wet things before we catch pneumonia.
Show me your arm.
It'll help with the pain.
I should do your back.
That'll be all. Thank you.
- We should've a look at this notebook.
- Yes.
If they intend to spike our fleet,
the Bosch'd have to know our naval plans
where every ship
and submarine is positioned.
That's what I can't get
from Scudder's notes.
- Maybe he never found out.
- The Germans obviously think he did.
Yearning Retainer?
Forget-me-not?
- What does that mean?
- It has to be double code.
Yearning Retainer, Forget-me-not,
followed by the numbers 2, 7,
and the letters NCD.
It's double encryption.
The most vital piece of the puzzle.
A knowledge of ciphers,
German explosives.
You're a useful man
to have around, Hannay.
Coming from a suffragette,
I'll take that as quite a compliment.
Two sevenths?
A fraction?
- What's the date?
- The 30th.
...of June: 30/6.
- What if 2/7 means...
- The 2nd of July?
Whatever Scudder
was warning us about
is going to happen the day after
tomorrow? That'd explain his urgency.
- We have to contact Captain Kell.
- There's nothing we can do tonight.
I'll telephone the Bureau
first thing in the morning.
Well, I suppose we should
try to get some sleep.
- I'll take the floor.
- No.
No, you won't, Hannay.
I trust you.
I've fought in a war, Victoria.
I saw men killed,
women and children
burnt out of their homes.
There's nothing glorious there.
Then we must do all we can
to ensure Britain is not at war again.
Get dressed.
The Germans are downstairs.
What?
- We've to contact Kell.
- Let's go to the house Harry's renting.
Telephone from there. The Prof. Won't
expect us to come back to Dungarven.
- About turn.
- What?
Right, sorry.
Don't tell Harry
about Scudder's notebook.
He's never been good
at keeping secrets.
Hello, Harry.
Good grief.
Don't come a step nearer, you...
- Unhand her, you swine.
- Well, he isn't touching me, Harry.
He's a friend
and a hero of this nation.
Oh, right!
Jolly good.
Damn thing isn't loaded anyway.
Now, we just need
to use the telephone.
But the police mustn't know
we're here. Understand?
Not really, but...
don't you worry.
Good show.
Phyllis? It's Victoria Sinclair.
No, I was not kidnapped
by the Liberal spokesman from London.
No, he did not.
Listen, I want you to put me through
to the Secret Service Bureau...
What...
my fianc works there.
Yes, I know I said marriage was a...
Yes, I said that too. Look, could you
just put me through, please?
No listening in. Yes, you do.
She listens in. I'll speak to them.
Phyllis may call the police
if she hears you.
Hello? I want to speak
to Captain Kell urgently.
No, no-one else will do.
I have to get a message to him today,
it's a matter of national importance.
Please give him this number,
Argyll 135.
Are you crazy?
You've just told them where we are.
Scudder was convinced
he's been betrayed
- There was a traitor in the Bureau...
- I had no choice, Hannay.
You and Harry aren't safe here.
I'll give myself up to the police.
Maybe they'll believe me.
Or maybe they'll hang you.
We just have to sit tight, Hannay.
And hope that Kell contacts us.
Damn fine speech
you made yesterday afternoon.
You should be the politician,
not me.
- Why are you going in for it?
- Sort of... last resort.
Not done very well
at anything else, so...
Uncle George thought
I might make a go of politics.
Did you say your uncle
was on the Defence Committee?
- Absolutely.
- Could you fix a meeting, sharpish?
Of course. He'll sort you out.
You'll be an MP in no time. Well...
Once the murder charge goes away.
Right.
Good.
Might be a good idea not to
mention this to your sister.
I'd only get another lecture
about universal suffrage.
Right.
Good.
This is all very hush-hush.
I needed to speak to someone
about national security, urgently.
How did you know
I wouldn't turn up with the police
and have you arrested
for murder, abduction
- and deception?
- I didn't, Sir.
Well, if...
Victoria brought you here,
there must be something about you.
Which leaves 2/7... tomorrow.
The words, Yearning Retainer
and Forget-me-not
and the letters NCD.
NCD?
There is a meeting of the National
Committee of Defence
- at Stirling Castle tomorrow.
- What are you discussing?
Sir George,
I've risked my life
for this country.
The unveiling...
of the new naval defence plans.
Well, that's it. That's it!
If the Germans can get copies,
they could destroy the fleet
in advance of the invasion.
- Out of the question.
- Scudder was sure he'd been betrayed!
What?
I assure you, Hannay,
tomorrow it will be impossible
either to steal or copy those plans.
The First Sea Lord, Prince Louis
of Battenberg, will present them
to the committee and then they will be
locked away under guard.
Does Victoria know
we're having this chat?
No.
If you had brought the police
I thought she might... cause a scene.
She's risked enough.
Why the hell didn't you part
from her earlier, man?
I want you to go back
to London tomorrow.
I promised my brother before he died
to take care of Harry and Victoria
as my own.
- If you care for her, at all...
- You've no idea how much...
I care for her.
The professor is still out there.
The longer you stay close to Victoria,
the more you endanger her life.
I will pass this information
on to Captain Kell.
I will also have a word with the
Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
You'll no longer be a wanted man.
No need to repay me.
It's over?
For you, yes.
May I tell Victoria I'm leaving?
And have her hate me?
Come in.
I couldn't sleep,
worrying about tomorrow.
- Why hasn't Kell contacted us?
- I'm sure he will.
Well, let's hope
the Germans don't find us first.
Isn't it strange?
We were so much easier with each other
when we faced death together.
- A prehistoric boor...
- ... and an unhinged hysteric.
Hardly a marriage made in heaven.
- Thank you.
- What for?
Your passion,
your commitment.
For helping me understand
what's really important to me.
Which is?
This country and the people in it.
I never really belonged anywhere,
not here, not in Africa.
I had no real loyalties, except...
maybe to myself.
I was...
I was running away, I suppose.
And now you've stopped?
Yes.
I could stay the night.
I've shocked you.
A bit.
I'm flattered.
Honoured.
- I mean I don't make a habit...
- You don't need to say anything.
There is nothing I would love more.
Nothing.
But who knows
what may happen tomorrow?
- Well, I can look after myself, Han...
- Please.
Just this once,
allow me to protect you.
Hello? Are you the same operator
that connected a call
from Harry Sinclair's house
to the Secret Service Bureau, yesterday?
What?
She disconnected the call?
Before you could put her through?
Who was that man that Victoria
left with this morning?
What man? No idea.
Well...
- Does she have any German pals?
- Apart from our German cousins?
- Harry, I need to borrow your car, now.
- Sorry, I'm playing in the Trossachs.
It's a national emergency.
I have to get to Stirling.
- Lord, Really? Why don't I drive you?
- No, thank you, I don't think...
I know I'm not your obvious first choice
in an emergency but please...
All right. I'll get my goggles.
- D'you want me to come with you?
- No, thanks.
You're a good man, Harry.
- I need to speak to Sir Sinclair.
- Sorry sir, move along.
You don't understand,
it's a matter of national security.
- Hands above your head, now!
- What?
You're that murderer, Hannay.
- Take him to the cells.
- No listen, please!
- I'm calling the police... Come on!
- Just listen to me, I need to...
Sorry.
In the name of King George V,
open the door!
- Victoria?
- Hannay.
What are you doing here?
I work for the Secret Service
Bureau.
It's all right.
I'm too late.
My God!
- You're Scudder's traitor!
- Don't be absurd.
You stole the notebook whilst I slept.
You had me followed by the vicar.
- Why didn't I finished you up?
- Not for sentimental reasons, I'm sure.
You knew all along that 2/7, NCD meant
the unveiling of the Brit. Naval plans.
There are armed guards outside
every door. How do I remove them?
Under your petticoats?
Lord knows what devious schemes
you have inside your...
- Your head... They're in your head.
- What?
When you took us back to retrieve
Scudder's notebook after the crash
you could describe every tree,
every landmark. Same with the inn.
You have a photographic memory.
I'm right, aren't I?
- Yes...
- What now?
You scream "enemy of the state",
and the guards rush in, shoot me?
And waste a valuable resource?
Captain Kell, Mr Hannay.
- You're Kell?
- The genuine article, I can assure you.
Ask Mr Churchill.
Lieutenant Commander Wakeham.
How d'you do?
I'm sorry we couldn't introduce
ourselves earlier.
It served the Bureau
to have you in the game.
That's why I sent Victoria
to cover your back.
She nearly got me killed.
Well, you enjoyed
every minute of it.
You used me as bait.
As long as the Germans were chasing you,
we could keep tabs on them.
See who else
they were in contact with.
- Who's Scudder's traitor?
- We don't know.
But after Scudder's warning,
we were doubly cautious.
The plans were travelled here
in separate boxes. They'll be resealed.
Which means the traitor
had to be sitting at this table.
- Who was sitting here?
- Uncle George.
There was a Zuban cigarette burning
in the ashtray at the Professor's.
For heaven's sake,
what are you saying?
Uncle George is the traitor?
You honestly think that Uncle George
would let the Professor kill me?
He loves me.
I mean he came looking for me.
Suppose your Uncle was
at the Professor's when we arrived.
And overheard the Prof. Threatening you.
How could he just slip away quietly?
Instead he rings the doorbell.
And he warns the Professor...
"If anything were to happen to her,
I don't know what I'd do. "
That is absurd, Hannay.
- Has been a father to me.
- I understand how difficult this is.
- When we talked last night, he did...
- You spoke to Sir George?
Yes,
I told him everything I knew.
He said he'd pass it on to you.
But... Did he?
No.
This photographic memory of yours.
Is it inherited?
On my father's side.
Sir George left the room
with the plans in his head.
I'll be followed, as long as
he doesn't suspect we've a traitor.
- He does. I told him.
- What?
Well, if you'd just trusted me
instead of playing hide and seek...!
- If Sir George does get to Germany?
- Then our naval defence is in ruins.
- We're a sitting duck.
- I'll alert all ports,
- railway stations, aerodromes.
- The double code!
Maybe it'll give us the rendezvous.
- Yearning Retainer. Forget-me-not.
- What the hell did Scudder mean?
We need a thesaurus.
Synonyms of yearning.
- Pining. Hunger.
- Crave.
Desire. Long for...
Long retainer. Retain, retain?
There's Long Keep.
The Professor's castle.
No, my men have searched the place.
It's been abandoned.
The Professor and his henchmen fled.
- What does forget-me-not mean?
- Forget me... The oubliette.
French for to forget. It's a place
you put prisoners you want to forget.
I don't understand.
We were in the oubliette.
There's that tunnel we used.
But it's hardly a secret escape route.
Scudder was right about everything else.
He sacrificed his life for this...
Wait.
He and I had breakfast.
He did something. I remember thinking...
What? What did he do?
- He dipped his finger in the milk.
- Invisible ink.
Somewhere in the oubliette,
there has to be hidden 39 steps.
We'll follow you.
Last night in the bedroom,
that had nothing to do with my job.
Well, at least you're only a spy
and not a suffragette.
Well, actually I'm a spy
and a suffragette.
Oh, Lord!
- Nothing.
- What if we're wrong?
They've taken all the explosives.
Scudder's steps.
He's your uncle.
He's a traitor.
You lied.
You were going to kill Victoria.
This is not our dream
for the brave new Reich.
If Germany is to become great,
sacrifices have to be made.
- We both know that.
- Not my family.
Get in the boat, George, please.
If I die, the plans go with me.
We have no choice now, George.
- If I have to shoot you, I will!
- I would expect nothing less.
My God, it's one of theirs!
Come on, George,
the U-Boat can't wait.
It can only stay surfaced
for three minutes.
Don't shoot. I'll get him.
Come on, George, you can make it.
Don't shoot Sir George!
- What's that?
- It's nothing.
Thank you.
I'm not sure I could have shot him.
When we return to London,
I intend to woo you.
Flowers,
dinner,
dancing,
followed by a passionate lecture
on the enfranchisement of women.
What do you say?
Victoria!
Victoria! Victoria!
Victoria!
It's a deep loch,
she could be anywhere.
I'm sorry, Hannay.
On 4th August,
Germany invaded Belgium.
Great Britain had no choice
but to declare war.
Victoria and I may have helped
save the country from invasion,
but not from conflict.
Harry! Good to see you.
How are you?
Fine. It isn't me.
Well, it is me but...
Victoria wanted to say goodbye.
Top secret, old man.
She'll see you after the war,
Hannay.