Walk East on Beacon! (1952) Movie Script

1
This is a drama of real life,
adapted from the recorded experiences
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Of the FBI's many responsibilities,
none is more urgent than its duty
to protect the people of the United States
from a worldwide conspiracy,
which seeks through subversion to destroy
established governments everywhere.
Fighting in the front lines
of the FBI offensive
against the forces of treason are alert
and highly trained special agents.
Their strategy is based
on the utmost tactical use
of the scientific techniques
of crime detection.
But nothing is more essential
to the success of the Bureau's operations
against all criminals
than the support
of responsible and alert Americans.
For example, the investigation
of these two people
began with a telephone call
to the Boston office of the FBI
from a woman who stated
that someone named Robert Martin
was forcing her husband
to work for an espionage ring.
The anonymous caller
declined to give her name,
but her statements were checked,
and they led the FBI
to this Robert Martin,
who was then photographed
in the Boston Public Garden
by special agents
using a concealed camera.
From the Public Garden,
agents followed Martin
to the Charlestown district,
where his surveillance was taken over
by FBI agents
assigned to the Hoosac Pier section
of the Boston waterfront.
Prokiewicz, please.
- SS pier?
- Yes.
Berth one.
WFBI Boston. This is Car 11.
Our subject is aboard
the Polish freighter.
Okay, Eleven.
It's not our man.
Car 11 calling WFBI.
- Go ahead, Car 11.
- Someone dressed
exactly like our subject
has left the freighter.
We are following him.
Okay, Eleven.
Car 16, please replace Car 11
at Hoosac Pier.
Car 16. Okay.
Soon after this man stepped ashore,
Car 16 reported that the freighter,
Robert Martin still aboard,
was heading back to Poland.
Are you in touch with Car 11?
Calling Car 11.
This is Reynolds.
Detain your man for questioning.
Car 11. Okay.
In espionage investigations,
the FBI must always weigh the value
of apprehending or losing one suspect
against the possibility
of uncovering
all the members
of an underground network.
The man in custody identified himself
as Michael Dorndoff, a deckhand.
Poland is now nothing
but one big prison camp.
All the people are slaves.
I planned to jump ship.
This is the first chance I had.
You had plenty of opportunities
before today.
Sorry if you think I'm lying to you.
Where'd you get those clothes
and this visitor's dock pass?
The captain and the visitor were drunk,
so, when this fellow passed out,
I stole his clothes.
Did you steal his money, too?
No. My family in Poland,
they have saved it for me.
We're going to turn you over
to the Immigration authorities
on the charge of entering
the United States illegally.
If you send me back to Poland, like
that, a bullet in the back of the head.
That's all for now.
I thought you Americans
helped people like me.
- I am not a criminal!
- Let's go.
Well, if you're checking up
on my husband,
why don't you ask the people
at his office?
They'll tell you
he's going to be made a partner.
Just what did you want to know?
Has Mr Martin ever taken a long trip
without telling you where he was going?
Of course not.
I know everything he's doing.
Mrs Martin, it's very important that
you give us all the information you can.
May we look through
your husband's desk?
Certainly.
Everything is in there.
All right.
Mr Reynolds, what is it?
Has something happened to Bob?
Your husband left Boston yesterday.
On a freighter bound for Poland.
Poland?
...I don't believe you.
Why would Bob go to Poland?
We don't know yet
whether he was forced to go
or whether he left voluntarily.
Mr Reynolds, Washington is on the line.
- Inspector Belden.
- Thank you.
Hello?
Charlie, I've just come
from the director's office.
He wants us to stay right
with the Martin case.
Send us everything you have.
Yes. Put the 16mm film
of the surveillance on the plane,
and I'll have it picked up
at the airport.
Okay, fine.
Tell Ident in the lab
to expedite examination
of everything that comes in from Boston
on the Martin case.
What may seem inconsequential
to a layman is frequently significant
to the trained investigator.
At FBI headquarters
in Washington,
a full staff of laboratory
and identification experts
concentrated throughout the night
on articles found in the Martin home.
By 4:30 a.m., important information
was developing.
A teletype to the Boston office
had summoned S.A.C. Reynolds,
the special agent in charge,
to an early-morning conference
in Washington with James Belden,
a veteran FBI inspector
assigned to domestic-intelligence cases.
We first investigated Martin back in 1939,
when he was known as Robert Wedder.
He was twenty years old,
a student from Akron, Ohio.
He was a member
of the Young Communist League.
In the summer of 1940, while touring
Europe with another group of students,
he disappeared.
We were informed, about a year later,
that he'd been given Comintern training.
Sorry we didn't
take Martin off the freighter.
No. No, we're afraid
that might tip our hand.
We're satisfied that his wife knows nothing
about his communist affiliations,
and his friends and neighbours
speak very well of him.
In other words,
he's been a perfect sleeper.
Yes? Thank you.
The conference is ready.
The 16mm movies
taken in the Public Garden were screened
for the Bureau's espionage experts,
who handle all cases involving members
of the communist underground.
The film you just saw
was shot in Boston
one hour before Martin
went aboard the Prokiewicz.
I want you to check thoroughly
all undercover sources and informants.
Find out when he returned to this country,
what he's been doing since,
who his contacts are,
when he was activated,
and who replaced him after
he disappeared aboard the freighter.
What about the woman?
The film doesn't give us
a very good view of her face.
Can anyone add to her description?
- Inspector Belden.
- Yes?
I took those pictures.
She has a peculiar walk.
Peculiar? In what way?
Well, it's difficult to describe.
Would you say she was a trotter,
a pacer, or did she single-foot?
No, it's a... kind of a lope.
Send out a confidential bulletin.
Include pictures of Martin
and this shot of the woman we just saw,
and have Agent Brown put,
in his own words,
his description of the way
the woman walked.
We've arranged with Immigration
to release the sailor temporarily.
Have him put
under 24-hour surveillance.
We're setting up a special squad
of agents in Boston.
- Right.
- Gentlemen,
the director feels that Martin
was a key espionage agent.
We've got a lotta work
ahead of us.
Special agents of the Boston office
were given a preview of the man
they were to watch continuously.
If the Immigration inspectors are
satisfied, that's good enough for us.
- Does that mean I'm free?
- As far as we're concerned.
I told you I wasn't a criminal.
Paging Mr Rider.
A week's surveillance of Dorndoff
established only one thing
of special interest.
At two o'clock each afternoon,
he made his appearance
at one of Boston's traditional
meeting places.
Nationwide distribution of the Bureau's
bulletin brought quick action.
From Philadelphia to Seattle,
police already knew many suspected
communists with shoulder bags,
and some of these
had distinctive walks.
Were you ever in Boston?
Boston? Never.
I hear it's a dump.
Would you mind walking
across the room?
Say, what is this?
Please, just over
to the bench and back.
That's close,
but not quite good enough.
Whaddaya mean,
"not quite good enough"?
- That's all, Miss.
- It's about time.
Listen, brain, you had no right
to arrest me in the first place.
All right, let's go.
Special agents,
watching the comings and goings
of Michael Dorndoff, could not surmise
that the investigation that started
with an anonymous telephone call
would eventually lead them
to Gregory Lazchenkov.
The Lazchenkov case,
a synthesis of FBI procedures,
began in Moscow.
On the morning of April 14th,
Gregory Lazchenkov left
his Jarejinskova Plaza headquarters
on an urgent mission.
A Red Army plane took him to Warsaw
and then to the Port of Gdynia,
where he signed aboard
the Polish freighter Prokiewicz.
His destination was the United States,
and his orders were,
first, speed the penetration of Falcon,
a new and secret American project
with headquarters
near Washington D.C.,
and, second, extort information
from Falcon's top mathematician,
Professor Albert Kafer,
whose theories were being evaluated
on the newly developed,
high-speed, electronic calculator,
somewhere in the vicinity of Boston.
On May 3rd, the Prokiewicz
had docked in Boston.
One of its visitors was Robert Martin.
Lazchenkov.
I never expected to find you here.
Sit down, Martin.
What's gone wrong?
Have you been ill or just on holiday?
What do you mean?
I explained to the courier it's
getting more difficult from day to day.
I've warned all my people
to be very careful.
You were ordered
to concentrate on Falcon.
So far, we have received nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
We have one excellent contact
at Falcon already.
You know. Nicholas.
What about the professor?
You've had his name for a month.
Professor Kafer's probably
the outstanding scientist at Falcon.
I was able to talk to him
only the other day.
He's contributing
to my Refugee Committee.
The Section has promised
to penetrate Falcon without delay.
The military has become impatient.
You must understand, Lazchenkov...
Apparently, Falcon is one of America's
most closely guarded secrets.
- It may take us months to break it.
- Months?
I worked as fast as I dared.
Please explain that to the Section.
Why not tell them yourself?
I can send a special report.
Perhaps you would like
to deliver it in person.
Person? Where?
Moscow.
You will be received
with honours.
I haven't been in Russia
in six years.
But I can't leave now.
Will these still introduce me?
I believe you give this
to the florist.
That to the photographer.
Falcon is too important to be entrusted
to one who lacks courage.
You will proceed to Moscow
immediately.
Immediately?
Very well.
I'll make arrangements.
- What arrangements, Martin?
- I have to pack.
- There are clothes here.
- I have to call my wife.
- Why?
- To say goodbye.
I dislike telephones.
Have you forgotten I'm Martin?
We trained together in Moscow.
Do you know anyone more dedicated,
more willing to sacrifice?
For ten years, I've been waiting
for this opportunity to serve.
Would you destroy it all?
Do you want to destroy me?
Section can no longer tolerate failures.
I won't go to Moscow.
You can't make me go.
I'm an American citizen.
Don't insult me.
Come, Comrade,
your pass for the dock.
- What's the code?
- Frank Torrance.
T-O-R-R-A-N-C-E?
Contact points?
South Station, Parker House,
bus terminal.
Good luck.
If I get past the gate,
sail immediately.
Spasibo.
The foreign espionage agent
operating in this country is well aware
that he enjoys a unique privilege,
the freedoms guaranteed
by the Bill of Rights
to all loyal American citizens.
- I think you'll like these, Mrs Summers.
- I'm sure I will, Mr Danzig. Thank you.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
Good morning.
Can I help you?
I'm looking for a certain plant,
balsamita.
I believe you carry them.
Yes, I have it.
Send it for me with this card.
I cannot find an envelope for it.
I'll try and find an envelope.
Just one minute, please.
Will you come in, please?
- Who recommended you to me?
- Martin.
- You are Alex, yes?
- Yes.
- When can you contact Nicholas?
- Nicholas? Never.
- He must be here tomorrow.
- I'm sorry. That's impossible.
- What do you mean, impossible?
- Please.
Nicholas can be very helpful to us,
but it is his wife, Elaine,
who is important.
To have Nicholas leave Washington
would be indiscrete.
I suggest that Elaine
come to Boston.
She's very charming.
Very well, but she must be here
tomorrow evening.
If it's an emergency,
I wire a plant.
For routine meetings,
I just send flowers.
- This is most urgent.
- All right.
Tomorrow, the 31st.
An odd-number day.
An azalea.
Very well, she will come to Boston.
Now, here are the meeting places
for seven, eight and nine o'clock.
- You have papers for me?
- Everything, Mr Gregory Anders,
even this year's driver's licence.
You made me a widower.
I would have preferred to be a bachelor.
But that is personal
and unimportant.
- But this, of course, is useless.
- It's your birth certificate.
My accent, is it Bostonian?
I promise you, I'll see
that you have naturalisation papers.
- How soon?
- Early next week.
- I must have it at once.
- But I...
I am here because Martin was too slow.
He accomplished nothing.
If we are to be efficient,
we must also be cautious.
Don't caution yourself
into impotence.
Our superior has set a deadline.
A man who has been
so long in Moscow
can't be expected to know
all we have done here,
but no apparatus in America has been
more quietly and thoroughly prepared.
Look here.
My runners.
One hundred per cent American.
Absolutely safe.
Ah, runners are unimportant.
They can be used only once.
Naturally. But a few college students
I have helped now and then
are available for long trips.
Sleepers.
"Z" means has not attended any
Party function for the past three years.
Double "Z" is afraid to refuse.
Those are people who have helped
in industrial espionage.
And everyone pays dues.
You talk about caution,
and you trust the identity
of so many of our people to a safe.
- Are you a fool, Danzig?
- Wait.
Anyone tampers with that safe, everything
in it will be instantly destroyed.
Now it can be opened
without danger.
You should be interested
in these.
They're very useful to our couriers.
For parcel lockers
at the international airport.
I have done all this
without arousing suspicion.
I've been reckless just twice...
A month ago,
to get your message to Martin,
and now this meeting with you.
Yet you say that I caution myself
into impotence.
You are too excitable, Comrade.
Don't forget to send the plant
to Elaine.
Naturalisation papers?
- I'll put you on the waiting list.
- Who's ahead of me?
A gentleman who trades in narcotics.
I've been lucky.
Last week, I buried a single man
born in Poland, naturalised in Boston,
and no relatives.
Perfect, Helmuth.
For his naturalisation papers,
I have been offered $1,000.
Gimme 'em.
Are you prepared
to better that offer?
Listen, Comrade,
if anybody tells the FBI
what August Helmuth's
real name is...
Why didn't you say
it was for the Party?
Gregory Lazchenkov,
obeying the primary rule of espionage,
remained inconspicuous.
By mailing coupons
and answering advertisements,
he sought to establish a plausible cover
for his activities.
Yes?
I brought your mail, Mr Anders.
My, you do get a pile of it.
Thank you very much, Mrs Sullivan.
Official visitors never seem
to appreciate our difficulties.
They don't understand Americans.
I would say
that a man of his rank
knows our problems
better than we do ourselves.
And if he asks us to work harder,
we must.
- Good evening.
- Good evening.
This is Elaine
from Washington.
- How do you do?
- How do you do?
- The papers you asked for.
- Thank you.
Now I am an American citizen.
Good work.
I am sorry you can't stay
for dinner.
Thank you.
I'm sure we understand
each other.
Good evening, Elaine.
So, you are the wife of Nicholas.
Our superiors are impressed
with the opportunities you have created
for carrying on important work.
Nicholas will be delighted
to hear that.
Together, we can do much more
than either of us could do alone.
Highly practical combination
of devotion and service.
The two are inseparable for us.
Oh, yes.
On behalf of the Section, I've brought
Nicholas a token of official recognition.
Will you present it to him, please?
But we work without expecting gifts.
Oh... It's beautiful.
But our reward will be the satisfaction
of having helped to advance the cause.
Naturally. I understand.
Tell him he is
ordered to accept.
The Section's policy is to honour
those who are in a position
to perform distinguished work.
He always obeys an order.
Now, you and Nicholas are to concentrate
completely, exclusively, on Falcon.
Get me everything, anything.
No bit of information, no scrap of paper,
is without value.
We will work harder.
Right now, we don't even know
what Falcon is, except a lot of figures.
You must get me those figures.
They will give us the secret.
Tell Nicholas I have all the money
he needs. I will give you...
This sort of thing you can't get
for money, only from dedication.
Yes.
From conviction such as yours.
Bells of Moscow.
Spasskiye Vorota.
Can you print
from a torn negative?
- All depends.
- It's cut in half.
- What kind of a print did you want?
- Two and a quarter will do.
Maybe we can help you.
Chris, a customer's in a hurry.
Look in the envelope, Chris.
- Someone recommend you to us?
- Yes, an old friend, Mr Martin.
You know him?
There are lots of Martins
in Boston.
Ask the gentleman
to come inside.
- What do you call me?
- Gino.
- You're Alexander?
- No. Alex.
Don't worry.
This place is tight.
The telephone's an extension
to an old lady's apartment.
She uses it only to call the doctor.
We never phone out.
Only Martin calls us.
Only from a pay station.
Martin will be away
for a while.
What about the professor?
Millie... She handles it.
It's taken a lot of time,
but we'll get to him.
- Can Millie keep her head?
- Whaddaya mean?
She is nervous.
Don't worry.
We've been together four years.
She's done all right by the Party.
And me.
Tell her she must
see the professor at once.
Everything is arranged,
but Martin said be careful, very careful.
- There has been too much delay.
- All right.
- Do we follow Martin's plan?
- It was my plan, not Martin's.
How can we get in touch with you,
just in case?
Never.
I keep in touch with you.
The same way as Martin.
- Was everything all right?
- Yes.
You're late today, Professor.
Oh, only... Only three minutes.
Excuse me, Dr Kafer.
A friend asked me to give you
an important message.
My son, you have seen him?
No. But I know he's well.
Sit down, Professor.
This is his handwriting.
Where is he?
He's in Berlin,
the Russian sector.
- You have come from Mr Martin?
- Martin?
Yes, he also knows about Samuel.
May I ask your name?
Names don't mean anything, Professor.
Your name's well-known to us, though.
For the work you did
for the communists in Buchenwald.
- Buchenwald?
- Shh!
I was only fighting Hitler then.
We have ways of proving
that you joined the Party.
- That is impossible.
- I said we have ways of proving.
Young woman,
what do you want of me?
You're doing some important research
at the Montrose Laboratories.
Make your work available to us,
and your son will have his freedom.
I cannot believe that my son
would ask me to do this.
- You doubt the message?
- Please, could I keep that for my wife?
It'd be unwise to tell your wife, Professor,
until your son is out of East Berlin, alive.
But I have hardly commenced my work.
There is nothing yet to give you.
You'll receive further instructions
within a few days. Follow them.
Remember, your son's life
depends on your co-operation.
And your silence.
Hello?
This is Albert Kafer.
Kafer. K-A-F-E-R.
Yes.
Montrose Laboratories.
I am greatly troubled. Is it possible
to make an appointment to talk privately?
A teletype, Bureau.
A confidential appointment
has been requested by Albert Kafer,
research specialist on the staff
of Montrose Laboratories, Boston.
Lundy, prepare a summary
of our investigations
of all Montrose personnel.
I'm stopping by the security office
at Falcon. After that, I'll be home.
Right.
In official Washington,
there were few who even knew
the existence of Falcon,
and fewer still its location.
Seventeen miles
across the Virginia line,
the Nathaniel Barlow estate
had become the headquarters
of an extraordinary scientific undertaking.
Thank you.
Under highest security,
the best scientific minds
of the western world
met in the ballroom
of the old mansion
to evaluate bold theories,
which, if proven, might revolutionise
the patterns of peace
and the weapons of war.
Well, what's on your mind, Jim?
You have a scientist named Albert Kafer
working at the Montrose Laboratories.
What sort of a project
is he assigned to?
Kafer? Well, there's only one man
who can answer that question.
- Dr Wincott himself.
- Would you find out for me?
Oh, he's asked to meet you.
Well, the conference should be over
by this time. Let's see.
Security office.
Even Dr Wincott has to go
through my office to get in here.
Inspector Belden to see Dr Wincott.
- I'll let him know you're here.
- Thank you.
These are the people scheduled
to see Dr Wincott tomorrow, sir.
Well, get the list to Miss Adams
for background data.
- Yes, sir.
- And tell Wilben I'd like to see him, please.
- Yes, sir.
- Thank you.
- Did you want to see me, Mr Mason?
- Yes.
I'd like the latest list of our co-operating
universities and research laboratories.
Yes, sir.
- Won't you come in, please?
- Thanks.
Then the constant "a"
must be so adjusted
that the cycloid passes through
the point of "x" squared.
- Dr Wincott?
- Yes, Harry?
This is Inspector Belden
of the FBI.
How do you do, Inspector?
I've looked forward to meeting you.
- Thank you.
- I'd like to have you meet my associates,
Dr Debranov, Dr Fairlow.
- Nice to know you, gentlemen.
- Very nice to know you.
Can we continue
with this later, gentlemen?
- Why, surely, Doctor.
- Will you excuse us, gentlemen?
- Bye.
- Bye.
Inspector Belden is interested
in Albert Kafer.
Kafer? What about him?
Well, not the Professor himself,
but in his work.
- Is it a new weapon?
- Yes and no.
Project Falcon is concerned
with the physical laws
that govern the development
of all weapons.
Kafer thinks he's on the way
to proving a theory
that may well give us something
tremendously important.
By the first of next month,
he will probably have completed
his 210th year of computations.
Excuse me, sir.
His what year?
His 210th.
The new calculator at Montrose
enables a mathematician
to accomplish many centuries of work
in a single lifetime.
I talked with Kafer
just this morning.
He's confident of success.
I understand that the most
improved model is at Montrose.
Yes, and if you're ever in Boston,
drop by there and see it sometime.
Well, I think I'd better warn
Inspector Belden
that if he's granted an audience,
the calculator won't stand
for any trifling questions.
In Boston the next morning,
Inspector Belden took charge
of the investigation.
We know all about your background
in Europe, Professor Kafer.
Would you mind telling us
whatever you can
about the circumstances leading up
to the meeting with this woman?
Ja. Well, a few weeks after
I had started my work here in Boston,
I received a note from a former
colleague of mine at the university.
He had heard, he said, that Samuel
had been kidnapped from West Berlin.
My son is also a scientist,
and we had talked many times of America
and the opportunities to advance the work
we had begun before the war.
That very day,
an American representative
of an organisation
helping prisoners and refugees
from the slave-labour camps
came to our house.
He told us it was possible
to get food and cigarettes to Samuel,
so I gave him
a small sum of money.
The news had shocked us so
that we did not think to ask him
how he knew these things.
But he promised
to get us word from Samuel.
I did not expect it to come
in this manner.
Do you recognise
any of these people, sir?
That woman in the caf was fair-haired.
She had dark eyes,
rather piercing.
And although she seemed nervous,
she spoke with determination.
Did you happen to notice
how she walked?
No.
When she left, I could think only
of how to keep this last horrible
bit of news from my wife.
I survived Buchenwald, Inspector.
I know many communists
and how they work.
They're using my son
as a hostage
so as to force me
into giving these people information.
Yes, sir, we know
that the communists
have promised to release your son
in return for the information,
but, unfortunately,
they don't keep their promises.
No.
This man, Inspector, Mr Martin.
The man from the refugee organisation.
Professor Kafer, we want you
to keep this appointment
when the telephone call comes.
Mr Belden, I am a scientist.
You would not find me helpful
in the role of counter-espionage agent.
I asked for this interview
because you gentlemen know better
how to deal with people
who would trade with my son's life
in return for the work I do.
It takes years of preparation, sir,
and hundreds of men
to smash an espionage ring.
Now, you have the opportunity
to walk right in.
We'll prepare the material
for you to give them.
Ja, but when they find it's false,
my son will be executed.
Before they find that it's false, though,
we may have had time to discover
who their agents in this country are.
I need time to consider this, gentlemen.
My wife... She must not know
what I'm doing.
We realise that, sir.
As soon as you get definite word
of the meeting,
please call us right away.
Ja, ja.
Thank you very much, Professor.
Isn't it time you were in bed,
my dear?
But, Albert, it's early.
Oh, you are working too hard.
For three nights now,
you've bundled me off to bed like a baby.
Ja, ja, I know it is early,
but you need your rest.
Tomorrow you are going
to the arboretum.
- That was last week, Albert.
- Oh!
I'm beginning to think that it bothers you
to have me work in here.
No.
I think maybe I take a little walk
once around the block.
It'll help me to get these problems
off my mind.
- Don't be gone too long.
- No, no, no.
Inspector Belden, please.
Hello, this is Dr Kafer.
I found a letter put in the door.
Ja.
I am to carry an umbrella
in my left hand
and an empty cream jar
in my right.
I am to start from the corner
of Clarendon and Beacon.
And the note also says
no matter what happens,
I am to keep walking
until I am recognised.
Well, please follow
their instructions exactly.
We'll have men all around you,
but don't ever look for us.
And, Professor, if it's possible,
try to keep the letter.
And don't worry.
Kafer will be at the corner
of Clarendon and Beacon.
When he hears the clock strike eleven,
he'll start to walk east on Beacon.
Pardon me, madam.
Is this the corner
of Clarendon and Beacon?
Of course it is.
How do I get to Trinity Church?
How do I get to Trinity Church?
I live in Nantucket.
Give me the letter.
Since you met the lady,
they've been in touch with your son.
He says he wants
all of your equations.
He says if you hurry,
they'll let him go.
And when he gets to London,
you'll hear from him.
I see.
To make copies will take a few days.
Where do I send them?
Keep 'em in your pocket.
Somebody'll find ya.
Now keep on walking.
Car 21, subject looks like taxicab driver.
He's getting into taxicab.
Massachusetts registration 947-248.
He's starting it.
He's heading toward Boylston.
The man who made the contact
on Beacon Street
is Malvin Foss, a taxi driver.
We believe that he will attempt
to meet Kafer again tomorrow,
so Washington has prepared the material
for the professor to give him.
You are to find out
who gets the envelope
after the old gentleman
has given it to Foss.
The surveillance cars
will be equipped with spotlights...
Like this one, in which
there's a concealed camera.
The camera works
from this push button.
It's possible that Foss may have
fifty fares in his cab tomorrow.
I want you to photograph
all of them,
find out who they are
and where they live.
And be sure that Foss
never gets out of sight.
Now, here's the plan of operation.
Whenever a passenger
gets out of the cab,
the second car will detach itself,
and the car next in line
will take over number two's position.
Number two will maintain
a close surveillance on the passenger.
Stay with him
until you find out who he is.
For four days,
taxi man Foss was the subject
of continuous scrutiny
by a score of FBI cars.
Each of his passengers
was photographed and investigated
until their identities had been
satisfactorily established.
This intensive surveillance
brought no development,
until late in the afternoon
of the fifth day.
Taxi?
Taxi, mister?
This is Car 59.
Professor is in cab,
heading over West Boston Bridge.
Okay, 59.
Will you ask Inspector Belden
to come to radio?
Car 24. Professor left in middle of bridge.
- Subject has papers.
- Okay, 24.
Car 49.
Woman with shoulder-strap bag
getting in cab near Embankment Drive.
- This is as far as you're going.
- What's got into you?
Get out. From now on,
find someone else to do your dirty work.
This is Car 60.
Woman out at Louisburg Square,
heading in direction of Charles Street.
Request assistance.
Seventy-two, will you assist Car 60?
Car 72. Okay.
Car 72.
Woman has entered
Sulenko's camera shop,
- Hudson near Charles.
- Okay, Car 72.
Despite identification
of taxi driver and passenger,
no arrests were ordered.
In counter-espionage,
each new lead must be fully explored.
Oh, so that's our girl, huh?
Jim, Agent Henderson's been shopping.
For fingerprints.
Oh, you got some nice ones.
The girl calls herself Millie Sulenko
and is listed as proprietor
of the camera shop.
But her real name's Theresa Henning,
long record in front organisations.
Thanks, Henderson.
There's a photographer working for her,
but we haven't determined his identity.
- What about the landlord?
- He's volunteered to co-operate.
All his leases give him,
or anyone he designates,
the right to enter the premises
at any time.
- He told us to go ahead.
- Oh, that's fine. Have these blown up.
Can't I burn
the professor's papers, Chris?
Just let me check the microfilm.
What are you so jumpy about?
That Vincent, the taxi driver.
Chris, he's cracking up.
He imagines the FBI is following him.
Vincent, huh?
We got plenty on him.
Don't worry.
Okay, you can burn the papers now.
The FBI had yet to uncover
all the links in the chain of transmission
leading from Sulenko's photo shop.
Microfilm, no larger
than a postage stamp,
contained the computations
received from Professor Kafer.
The intricacies of the Boston
communication system were such
that couriers never knew
the source of their dispatches.
Will you be good enough
to page Lieutenant Horton?
Your attention, please.
Lieutenant Horton, please come
to American Airlines ticket counter.
Lieutenant Horton.
Your attention, please.
Lieutenant Horton, please report
to American Airlines ticket counter.
Lieutenant Horton.
Your attention, please.
Pan American World Airways
announces the immediate departure
of Clipper Courier, flight 122,
to Shannon, London, and Frankfurt.
All passengers, please assemble
at gate number ten
to be escorted to your Clipper.
Within thirty-six hours after delivery
to the underground,
information was on the way to Moscow.
Mal?
Mal, wash up.
Supper's ready.
I'm not hungry.
You've got to eat something.
I don't feel so good.
Please, dear,
tell me what's wrong.
Maybe I can help.
Rita, will you please
keep out of this?
It has... It hasn't anything
to do with you.
Maybe it has quite a lot
to do with me.
Unless your friend stops calling me
at the store, I'll lose my job.
What did he want?
This time, he said, "Tell Vincent
the colour pictures were pretty."
Who's Vincent?
Tell him they were gorgeous.
Simply gorgeous.
Take it easy, Mal.
Look at me, sweetheart.
Is this man like that Martin?
He mentioned Vincent, too.
What difference does it make?
I've never asked
about these things before,
but now you must tell me.
Please.
Rita, it started when I was a kid
during the Depression.
I wanted to help get the world
back on the track,
so I started going to meetings,
listening to speeches,
and singing songs.
When I came to,
I had a card in my pocket.
My Party name was Vincent.
It was like waking up,
finding yourself married
to some woman you hate,
So you begin hating yourself.
Rita, I tried to quit.
I hoped I was through
with them for good.
- You still can be.
- No.
Once you sign up,
they've got ya.
I tried to run away.
I took a job in Rochester
with a film outfit.
One day,
a man comes to see me.
He says I've got to give him
the formula to the new colour emulsion.
If I didn't, the company would find out
my name was Vincent.
So, afterwards, I was listed
as an espionage agent.
Now if I don't do what they want,
they'll turn me in.
That's what they mean when they say
the colour pictures are pretty.
Mal.
What would you say if I'd already
called the FBI about that Martin?
You what?
You mean...
What could you tell them?
You don't know anything.
You're my husband.
I can see things.
- Did you give them your name, Rita?
- No.
Why don't you go to the FBI?
You're being blackmailed.
Do you know what would happen
to us if I did?
They'd kill us both.
That's the risk
I'm willing to take.
But this way,
you're Killing yourself.
Day after day, I've watched you.
I can't help it.
Mal, together we can fight back.
Rita, I did.
I tried.
- It's too late.
- No.
No!
- How are you coming on the video?
- It's ready to go.
Leo's placing a transmitter
in a room on the second floor.
Where will you spot the eye?
Here. Our cables run down
this abandoned flue.
Here's the opening,
and it's perfect.
Knowing Sulenko's photo shop
operated as a front
for the underground,
the FBI made use
of an important new device.
Testing voice.
Testing voice.
One, two, three, four.
Testing image.
Inspector Belden's asking
if there's anything new on the sailor,
Michael Dorndoff.
He was back
at the South Station today.
- At two o'clock?
- Yes, sir.
Yesterday, it was the Parker House.
At two tomorrow,
it'll be the bus terminal.
Has he made any contacts yet?
Lots of them,
but if he's recruiting espionage agents,
the Party sure changed its policy.
They're all pin-ups.
You should have seen the one
he had today, Bill.
A cute little redhead.
Yes, gentlemen?
One of our buddies
had a nervous breakdown.
- We want some nice flowers.
- We have some fine roses.
Not for the hospital.
He's dead.
Oh. That's too bad.
A funeral piece you want?
Well, how much do you care to spend?
For the flowers, ten bucks.
The rest we're giving to his wife.
Of course.
Where is it to be sent?
That's the fella, Malvin Foss.
F-O-S-S.
64 Schertler Street.
The results on the Princeton variables
are coming through now, Doctor.
Good, good, good.
604826.62.
Hold it a moment.
Hello, Kafer speaking.
Get me Washington.
I want Dr Wincott on the line.
- The Cornell integrations, Doctor.
- Beautiful. Now we are close to it.
Once more, please.
Exactly the same procedure.
Yes, yes.
604826.62.
Stop, stop!
Hello. Dr Wincott,
my electronic princess has done it.
Gentlemen.
- News from Montrose, Doctor?
- How did you guess?
Gentlemen, it was Kafer.
He's completed his work.
It's no longer a theory.
Kafer has proved it.
-Oh, this is wonderful,
-Wonderful.
When will we get it?
I told him we'd send
a special clerical staff to Boston
to help him get out the report.
Till his findings arrive,
fifteen groups will be at a standstill.
Why not have Kafer
come to Washington?
Kafer's as anxious to get his findings here
as we are to have them.
- I'd like to make a suggestion, Doctor.
- Yes, Debranov?
If he could dictate the basic computations
on a tape recorder,
we could run it through
at a general conference.
That should give us enough
to start our revisions.
- That's a very good idea.
- That would be useful
for radar, weapons analysis, ballistics.
What about the others?
Well, I can only speak
for rockets and guided missiles.
- It would be helpful.
- It would help my stratosphere people.
Well, good. I'll have Kafer
start his dictation immediately.
Apparently, the facts are conclusive.
Everyone in Falcon is excited.
It's something very big.
Is Nicholas sure it's Kafer?
Positive.
He even found out
that Dr Wincott won't let him
put a single equation on paper.
- What?
- No, he's been told to dictate everything.
A courier will carry the tapes
to Washington.
When?
No-one knows, but Nicholas
wants someone sent to Washington
ready to move quickly.
You know the procedure
for meeting at Union Station.
Of course.
Identification near entrance
at Union Station,
have copy of Reader's Digest under arm.
In other hand, a TWA travel bag.
Greet each other like old friends.
- And the time?
- The odd hours, between seven and one.
Inspector, I have shifted
from the defensive to the offensive.
While I was having my usual coffee,
the waitress called me to the telephone.
It was a man who spoke in German
with a Slavic accent.
- When was this?
- Yesterday afternoon.
He said his superiors were delighted
with the first package.
And then he said, "We have heard
of your new discoveries,
"and we must have them at once."
Did he give you directions
for the next meeting?
Oh, I would not let him.
I said, "You promised me my boy.
"Release him and have him
flown to me from West Berlin,
"and I will give you
my final report.
Inspector, I have read
that in kidnapping cases,
the FBI does not interfere
if there is any hope
that the victim is alive.
Could you not follow
the same procedure with me?
If they only suspect
that I am working for you,
my plan to help Samuel
will have no chance of success.
I couldn't do that, sir.
You're far too important to this country.
Inspector, I beg of you,
if I sometimes sense
that your men are near me,
perhaps the man who said he would
tell Samuel to call may also know.
- Well, I'll discuss that with Mr Hoover.
- Thank you. Thank you.
And please tell him that my other two boys
died in a Nazi concentration camp.
Well, my work is now done,
and my findings are in Washington.
But my boy, Samuel, has the
potentialities of a great scientist,
and can help the cause of freedom
for many more years than I have left.
When I hear my boy's voice...
They could not fool me
with an imitation.
Professor Kafer.
Please don't expect too much.
But there is a chance, Inspector,
and this one I must take alone.
- Chris.
- Hey, what's up, baby?
You're gonna miss me
for a while.
I have to go to Washington tonight
on the Federal.
What's wrong with the one
who comes to Boston?
I don't ask questions.
I think there's something big at Falcon.
Our professor hit the jackpot?
Search me.
I need money again, Chris.
That's all right, baby.
- Hey, we're getting down to nothing.
- Honestly.
I should think for a trip like this,
they could afford to pay expenses.
Someday, Millie, we won't
have to worry about dough.
Commissar gets everything for free.
Everything.
I'll ask the Washington field office
to cover the Union Station.
In espionage, as in warfare,
each challenge must be countered
with alternate plans of attack.
And, always, there must be
a clear avenue of escape.
Kafer dictating his equations
on a tape recorder presents problems.
And it will delay us.
- Elaine was not disturbed.
- Maybe so.
Of course, there is a way
we can make sure of getting his report.
What about these people?
Completely underground.
Very well-trained for emergencies.
I think perhaps the professor
can be made to co-operate.
- Yes?
- Yes.
If you should have to take a trip,
who will be in charge of the flower shop
while you are away?
My wife.
And this Millie
who will meet Elaine...
You know her,
but she doesn't know you?
That's right.
I've been very careful.
Follow her to Washington tonight.
Watch her closely.
Keep me informed through your wife.
Return to Boston as soon as possible.
I should like to keep this book
just in case.
Danzig.
Good luck.
Miss Allen, please hold
all telephone calls.
Yes, sir.
And make sure that the intercoms
in your office are cut off.
I'll get them.
They're cut off, Doctor.
Gentlemen, considering the significance
of Dr Kafer's report,
I must ask that no notes be taken
at this time.
Consider two observers
with one observer
in a generalised system
in which he considers
himself addressed.
Then a world line
through the first observer,
in this case, a straight line,
would give a world line
for the second observer.
Okay, where did we leave off?
- Debranov.
- Debranov.
Fairlow. Mallair.
Lawbin.
Plus the hyperbolic tangent of Ks
sub-naught over 2K
and the velocity of light
times the quantity Ks sub-naught
minus the hyperbolic tangent
of Ks sub-naught-prime over 2K.
From this equation,
man now conquers distance and space.
By overcoming the force of gravity,
he may build mansions or fortresses
in space itself.
The heavens can now serve
as highways
over which man may direct his caravans
in peace or in war
with unerring accuracy
to any point on the Earth below.
I hope this new knowledge will be used
for the advancement of mankind.
Have Mr Mason
come down here, please.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir?
Mason, this recording contains
top-secret information
- of incalculable importance.
- Yes, sir.
You will be personally responsible
for its security.
Yeah, I thought I'd stop back...
- Elaine!
- Hi. Had a busy day?
Mm-hmm, like all the rest.
Say, how about you two stopping past
on your way to the club tonight?
I'm afraid we can't. We're having dinner
with the Clarks in Alexandria.
Oh, that's too bad. I was hoping
you could give us a ride over.
I'm sorry, Ben.
We'll make it next week.
- That's a promise.
- I'll pick you up.
Someday, he'll buy a car of his own.
- Or walk.
- Oh, thank you!
Hey, what kept you all
so late tonight?
- Our job.
- Well, we'll see you later. Bye.
- Goodbye.
- See you at the club.
- Been waiting long?
- Well, patiently.
He was finishing up a report.
He won't be long. I'll see ya.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Let's wait until morning.
It's been a long day.
I think it'll work out all right.
Good night, Doctor.
Good night.
You got it?
It's right alongside of you,
in my pocket.
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- What? What do you mean?
- We have a warrant for your arrest.
Hello.
Please hurry one of your best condolence
cards to my nephew, Mr Gregory Anders.
Yes, a terrible tragedy.
Goodbye.
Danzig's message created an emergency
for which Lazchenkov
was prepared,
an alternative plan to be launched
with haste but with precision.
Hello?
This is Albert Kafer.
Overseas?
From Berlin?
Anna! Anna, come quickly!
Yes, yes, I am ready.
Samuel, my boy.
You are well?
Yes. Yes, I will listen.
Yes, Samuel.
I will try.
You urge me.
I understand.
Mama is here.
Samuel?
Yes.
Oh, Albert...
Albert, they've cut us off.
Oh, get him back.
Hello. Hello? Hello?
That is all he could say.
During the night,
Lazchenkov impressed more members
of the Boston underground
into helping him
carry out his mission.
Oh, that must be the furnaceman.
He's come for his money.
- We owe him three dollars.
- I paid him myself yesterday.
Good morning.
Your son telephoned?
Ja, just last night.
I have an urgent message.
- Open the door.
- You want the papers I promised.
Just one moment,
and I will get them.
No.
You're coming with me.
Please, if we go like this,
my wife will not understand.
I must caution her to say nothing.
Never mind!
Yes?
Yes, sir.
Thanks, Nick.
That's great.
The professor's son was taken
into West Berlin.
They forced him to telephone his father
to co-operate with friends in Boston.
Army counter-intelligence
acted on our leads.
The Kafer boy is safe.
Jim, Boston police are on the wire.
The professor has disappeared.
- He's what?
- Agents are getting the details
and we're broadcasting
Kafer's description.
New activity
at the camera shop, Inspector.
I wanna see that.
Come on with me, Charlie.
Make sure that all of our cars
get a description of Kafer.
- Gino.
- You've been told not to come here.
It's okay.
Someone named Alex phoned.
- Alex? Why don't he call me?
- Let me finish.
He says,
"Tell Gino, Millie's in the hospital."
Uh... You and me to wait near the barn
on the South Shore Road 3A.
South Shore 3A?
You're crazy, Helmuth.
I'm telling you what he said.
Why did he change everything?
The old plan was to head north,
Route One.
Let's get going, eh?
The description of this new subject
is going out now.
Mr Frank Torrance.
Mr Frank Torrance, there is a call
for you at the telephone desk
in the main waiting room.
- Who were you paging?
- Mr Torrance.
- Who?
- T-O-R-R-A-N-C-E.
- I'm Mr Torrance.
- Booth seven, please.
Thank you.
At two o'clock, Michael Dorndoff learned
how and where
to obtain his instructions,
and was cautioned
to avoid possible FBI surveillance.
Why are you so interested
in what I'm doing? Are you FBI?
Gee, mister,
you're really in bad shape.
Attention all FBI cars.
Watch for Michael Dorndoff,
who has become surveillance conscious.
Do not apprehend.
Believe Dorndoff or anyone he contacts
may lead to Professor Kafer.
Michael Dorndoff had come to Boston
for an eventuality
such as Lazchenkov now faced.
Da.
...Marvin's Fishing Villa.
Da.
They're breaking up.
We're dropping the sailor
to develop a new contact.
Send car to pick up film.
We interrupt this programme
to bring you
an important news bulletin.
Law-enforcement agencies
co-operating with the FBI
in a five-state search for the kidnapped
scientist, Professor Albert Kafer,
have set up roadblocks on all
main highways leading out of Boston.
I don't know what you're talking about.
This is the wire recorder
in the Falcon conference room.
This the intercom by Dr Wincott's place
at the conference table,
which he uses for dictation.
This is the instrument
on Miss Allen's desk,
which records Dr Wincott's dictation
and this a picture of Dr Kafer's report,
which is locked in a safe at Falcon.
Now, correct me, Wilben,
if I'm wrong.
You rigged the switches on Dr Wincott's
dictating machine and intercom
so that a duplicate copy
of Dr Kafer's report could be made.
That's ridiculous.
You almost got away with it, Wilben.
- Try to prove it!
- That's all. Take him out.
You can't pin anything on me!
Where did you get this?
From a fortune-teller.
And who sent you to Washington
to get the recording?
I'm not gonna tell you anything.
For every one of us you arrest,
there are a lot of others,
trained and waiting to take over.
Listen and try to understand.
I hate everything about you.
From your double-breasted suits
to your smooth, arrogant faces.
You're nothing but a bunch
of pussyfooting, well-paid gangsters!
Mrs Wilben, who's the leader
of your section?
I am!
The Coast Guard found a Russian trawler
in US territorial waters.
They are escorting her
back to Boston.
She was picked up
just off Cape Cod,
and Gino and the undertaker
are parked near the Cape Road,
twenty-two miles from Weymouth.
Got a walkie-talkie planted alongside it.
McLaughlin, no change in instructions.
Keep your post
and call in as scheduled.
- Has anyone spotted the sailor?
- Not yet, Jim.
But the man he contacted
was a florist, Luther Danzig.
Yeah, I wish we knew
what they said to each other.
Charlie, if you were gonna kidnap
a famous scientist from Russia,
would a trawler
be of any use to you?
It sure would, especially if it had
a powerful radio
and could refuel a submarine.
The Coast Guard's put its cutters
and small craft at our disposal.
Just a minute.
The Plummer School is ready.
Good.
If Washington calls, say that
Inspector Belden and Mr Reynolds
have gone to the movies.
The ones taken at the public garden.
Professor Kafer has been seen
in New Haven
by five hysterical Americans.
I recognise your voice.
It is you, sir, who said
my son would telephone.
Your methods are efficient.
I must congratulate you.
We are trained to do our work.
As professionals, our small group
can accomplish more for the Party
than millions of members.
I am sure.
But, in my case,
I think there has been an oversight.
I was not permitted
to warn Mrs Kafer
that my strange absence
must not be reported.
She does not know
of our arrangement.
Not an oversight, Kafer.
Simply a risk we had to take.
You will return with me
to Moscow.
Your final report will be written there,
under our supervision.
There were certain essential details
missing in the first material you sent us.
It was worthless, Kafer.
Worthless!
Not more so than your promise
to release my son.
Oh, he will be permitted
to live quite comfortably
so that he can develop for us the theory
you have so masterfully proven.
My Samuel will disappoint you.
When men's bodies are enslaved,
so are their minds.
That is why you have no men of genius.
Their talents are in chains.
So now... Now you have to steal
the creations of free men.
If you're quite finished, we'll go.
Quiet, please.
We are going to show you
a silent film.
These gentlemen
are from the FBI.
They are very anxious to know the language
the men in this picture are speaking.
- Lights.
- All right, Lundy.
He is saying, "Make sure
you are not being followed."
Then, "Get an auto,
"meet Alex and the others at..."
The next, I cannot be sure.
It is not Romanian.
It must be some other language.
Run the last part through again,
as slowly as you can.
I wonder if they could fit sounds
to the lip movements.
It's worth a try.
All together, you will say
what you think they are saying.
All together now.
Get an auto.
Meet Alex and the others at...
Marvin's.
Fishing. Villa.
Marvin's Fishing Villa.
- You ever heard of it?
- No, sir.
- See if you can find out where it is.
- Right.
- Thank you very much, Director.
- You're welcome.
And thank you,
ladies and gentlemen.
Lundy, bring the film.
No information's been developed
aboard the Russian trawler, Inspector.
Just a pleasure cruise, huh?
Jim, subjects left Marvin's Fishing Villa
near Hampton, New Hampshire,
one hour ago aboard cabin cruiser
with small skiff in tow.
Right here, Inspector.
I'd like to go aboard that cutter.
How long will it take us to get there?
Ten minutes.
There's a seaplane ready.
- It's waiting at the base.
- Thank you very much, Commander.
Tell the office to raid the flower shop.
Pick up the photographer
and the undertaker.
Yes, sir.
Have the BIB ready
to receive passengers from the plane.
This way, Inspector.
Inspector Belden's chief concern now
was for the safety of a man
whose courage
as much as his achievement
entitled him to the full protection
of the United States.
- We'd like to see your charts, Mr Jacobs.
- Yes, sir.
There's seventy-nine craft in the area,
pleasure boats to fishermen.
We're keeping a continuous plot
of everything picked up on our radar.
Submarine surfaced.
Bang 083, range 120-00.
- A submarine?
- Yes, sir.
There are several operating areas
for submarines off Portsmouth.
Will you ask the Navy
to check to see if it's one of theirs?
- Roger.
- Inspector Belden, a message.
Thank you.
The cabin cruiser's been identified
as the Speedwell.
The best she can make
is ten knots.
Only ten knots, sir?
Then she must be one of these three.
Unless our people have transferred
to a faster boat.
Or to a sub.
- Are any of these towing a skiff?
- The radar won't show that.
At ten knots, she couldn't
very well get away from us.
The Navy reports no US submarines
operating in the Portsmouth area.
We've got to take the Speedwell
before anybody aboard
knows what's hit 'em.
I'll have all our vessels
converge on that point.
Have 'em do it fast as possible.
Thank you very much, sir.
You're welcome.
- Notify the bridge, Mr Jacobs.
- Aye, aye, Captain.
Forty-footer ready.
BIB! Hold everything
until Speedwell's distance is 1,000.
Look out for our signal!
Attention, FBI.
All cars in the vicinity
of Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
keep close watch on shoreline.
Speedwell, dead ahead.
Range 1-0-00.
- Stand by.
- All units. Stand by.
PBM, make your approach.
PBM, make your approach.
- Execute.
- Execute.
Port searchlight.
In the dark waters
off the New Hampshire coast,
one of many missions conceived
by Moscow came to its end.
And one more FBI investigation
would soon be closed.
The Lazchenkov case
is but a brief chapter
in the long history
of the FBI's continuing war
against the hidden enemies
of the nation.
None knows better
than John Edgar Hoover
and the men of the FBI
that there are others in secret alliance
with communism,
and that they can only be exposed
with the help of citizens
who themselves subscribe to the words
which form the Bureau's motto,
"Fidelity. Bravery. Integrity.
Professor Kafer.
I said this gamble
I must take alone.
Why did you follow me?
Now my son will be dying.
Professor,
you asked for this photograph.
- You found the woman?
- Yes, sir.
And we've got better news
than that for you.
Your son will be
on Pan American flight number 101.
He'll be in Boston to meet you.
Please...
Please send word to his mother.
Yes, sir, we will.