Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983) s01e14 Episode Script
Dead Ringer
AMANDA: You know, this is my first real embassy party.
LEE: That's why Billy had me use you in this operation.
You're unknown on Embassy Row.
Well, I have been to a couple of teas Hello, hello.
- And maybe a reception or two, but never anything like this.
Hi.
If I'd known, I would have borrowed a better dress.
Amanda, you're a messenger.
Well, that's not exactly the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.
What's the matter with you? - Nothing.
- You look fine.
- We're right back in the entryway.
- I know it.
It's almost 9:00.
Look, if you would tell me what she looks like I could help you look for her.
All I know is that she's Hungarian.
She's 5'7", she has dark hair, she's wearing a black dress.
- Excuse me.
AMANDA: Sure.
[SPEAKS IN ITALIAN.]
AMANDA: Hmm? I saw you across the room.
I can't believe it.
Do you know II Vecchio's Contessa di Cesare? - Uh, no, I don't believe we've met.
LUPO: Ah.
The same, uh, curve of the cheek.
The same, uh, aristocratic bearing.
A 14th-century masterpiece come to magnificent life.
- Oh.
- I must know you.
Ah.
Hmm.
I see this, uh, vision.
My name is Ludvichio Lupo.
- And you are? - Uh, I'm - Engaged for the evening.
- Yes, I am.
- Scusa.
- You're excused.
- Amanda, this isn't a social occasion.
- I didn't do anything.
All right, all right.
There she is.
You'll have to move fast.
Follow her into the powder room and say - I thought I'd find you here.
- Uh, Phyllis.
Hmm.
That's right.
Phyllis.
- I'm back from Gstaad.
LEE: Ah.
You usually send flowers.
First thing in the morning, hmm? Amanda? Amanda King, this is Phyllis Pratt.
How do you do? Uh, Amanda is just recovering from a nasty bout of dengue fever.
Excuse me.
Why did you tell her I had dengue fever? Will you just listen to me, huh? - Just listen.
Time is running out.
- I'm listening.
Follow her into the powder room, engage her in conversation.
Ask her if she's been to the botanic gardens.
She will say no.
Tell her not to miss the display of Camptosorus rhizophyllus.
- What? - Camptosorus rhizophyllus.
The display opens tomorrow at noon.
You got that? Noon.
- Yes.
- All right.
The, uh, botanical gardens, tomorrow at noon, she's gotta [SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE.]
Oh, I don't speak whatever it is you're speaking.
[SPEAKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE.]
BOTH: Camptosorus rhizophyllus.
Got it.
[SIGHS.]
Excuse me.
Francine.
- I'm afraid you must be mistaken.
- Of course, I can see that.
You have brown eyes, she has blue eyes, you have dark hair and she has light hair but I'm telling you, the resemblance is just absolutely uncanny.
I had always heard that everybody has a double somewhere in the world but I'd thought it was just an old wives' tale.
- Uh, you will excuse me.
- No.
Uh, no, I'm sorry, I just Sometimes when I get excited, I babble.
I just wondered if you had had a chance to see the botanic gardens.
No.
Oh, well, they're having a wonderful exhibit of, um Camptosorus rhizophyllus and you could probably catch it tomorrow around noon, if you were interested.
Thank you.
I will put that on my agenda.
Yes.
- Well? - She's putting it on her agenda.
- Oh, great.
- The funny thing is that woman looks exactly like Francine.
You didn't say anything about the resemblance? - I mentioned it - Damn it.
- What's the matter? - Ahem, hello.
Hello.
How do you do? - Was anyone with you? - The attendant.
- What'd she look like? - The attendant? - Yes.
- I don't know.
She was, like, medium height, medium build.
Listen, if I'm not supposed to say something I think you ought to tell me.
You operate on a need-to-know basis, but I needed to know.
- Did I ruin everything? - I hope not.
Oh, I'm sorry.
We can't afford to lose her at this stage.
Everything is in motion.
- I'm sorry.
- No, no, look, it's all right.
- You delivered your message.
- Yes.
Yes, and we will take it from there.
- I'm really sorry.
All right.
- Don't worry about it, all right? But, look.
Amanda, in the future, just say what you're told to say.
Don't ad-lib.
- I won't.
- All right? - I promise.
- Okay.
Now, I will find you a cab What? Are we going home? Well, this isn't a date.
[LEE CLEARS THRO AT.]
[BOTH CHUCKLE.]
I know this isn't a date.
Of course it isn't a date.
- All right.
- It's just, you know, I was wondering what I was gonna tell my mother when I get back to the house half an hour after I left for a party, ha.
That's all.
DOTTY: I have absolutely nothing to say on the subject.
- You're angry.
DOTTY: I am not angry.
- Do you know where the vitamin C is? - In the cabinet.
It's not.
I looked there first.
I wish people wouldn't move things.
You're angry because I won't tell you who I went out with.
I'm not angry, dear.
Well, then you're hurt, and that's even worse.
[SIGHS.]
Mother, I know that I've lied to you before.
In the past I have.
But I don't wanna do it anymore, because it makes me feel just awful.
Course it does.
It's totally against your nature.
I mean, you were never a secretive child.
You always came to me with your little confidences, and I always understood.
- I don't think you'd understand this one.
- Oh, but I already do.
I mean, he is married to an impossible woman.
They have not lived under the same roof for at least eight months.
- Bud Marcher.
- Bud Marcher? Mother, Bud Marcher is a married man.
You think I went out with a married man? This wasn't a date, this was business.
And I can't say anything else about it.
Amanda, I am not pressing you, am I? I mean, that's just not my way.
If you say it's business, it's business.
AMANDA: I never dreamed things would get so complicated.
Well, they usually do.
I cannot find the vitamin C anywhere so I am going to boil a grapefruit.
- That's what your grandmother always did.
- Mother, what is dengue fever? Oh, my God.
Is that going around? I thought I was just getting a head cold.
No, no, no.
I don't think it is.
At least I hope not, anyway.
Look, I'm going to bed.
I hope you feel better.
- I do love you.
Good night.
- Good night, love.
Business.
What kind of business is she in that she can't tell me about? BILLY: This has to be timed.
I don't want anybody to foul up.
LEE: Will you relax, Billy? - When we've got Magda Petrak, I'll relax.
- We won't get a second chance.
- Not going to need one.
FRANCINE: You figure she has the information she claims? It could be a setup.
I mean, say we help her defect and she says, "I don't know what the Hungarian mission was up to.
I just answered the phones.
" She is top level, Francine.
Believe me.
I checked all of that out when she first made contact with us.
Oh, she's not gonna jeopardize the safety of her mother and her sister.
Getting them out of Hungary and relocating them was all part of the deal.
- She's looking forward to the good life.
- Just asking.
You sure you know what you're going to do? We've been over this a dozen times.
Francine will be fine.
- Won't you? - I'll be sensational.
I just love playing dress-up.
My mother and my sister? Safe.
Right now they're somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean in a U.
S.
Military plane.
Excuse me.
Could you tell me where I might find the display of Camptosorus rhizophyllus? Uh, yes, I believe they're right over there in that greenhouse.
Thank you.
BILLY: Give me the hat and the coat.
- Sandor is right behind me.
- We have him covered.
BILLY: Come on, Francine, let's go.
Careful of the eye.
Hurry up.
Come on, get the wig on.
Quickly.
Well, at least she has decent taste in clothes.
I thought all those Iron Curtain women wore little cotton housedresses.
Hurry up.
Here's the hat.
Looking good.
- Go.
- Okay.
[BRAKES SCREECH.]
SANDOR: Vylos, stop her.
VYLOS: Wait! Stop, wait! Wait! SANDOR: Get in the car! Don't let them get away.
What's going on? Three cars, four cars.
They all look alike.
What do you think is going on? Which car is she in? - The first, isn't it? - The left or the right, I don't know.
[BRAKES SCREECH.]
- Which one, that one? - No, that one.
[BRAKES SCREECH.]
SANDOR: Damn.
We lost her.
[DOORBELL RINGS.]
DOTTY: Darling? - Yes, Mother? - Is that the doorbell? - Yes, Mother.
- Will you see who it is? - I'm going, Mother.
- Amanda.
- I'm on the way, Mother.
[WHISPERING.]
Oh, wait a minute, you can't come in here.
What are you doing? LEE: We have to come in here.
DOTTY: Is it the drugstore? - [IN NORMAL VOICE.]
Uh, no, Mother.
[WHISPERING.]
My mother's home.
She has a very bad cold.
It'll keep her out of the way until we're finished.
[IN NORMAL VOICE.]
Finished with what? Just a minute.
You cannot stay.
Is this your typical American house? I thought something larger.
Well, it's three bedrooms with a convertible den.
[CHUCKLES.]
Philip and Jamie will be home from school at 3:30.
We'll be out of here long before that.
Now, look, Amanda, I wouldn't be here if I had any other choice.
I need a safe house for Magda.
The one we had arranged was burned.
Somebody find out about it? No, I mean burned down.
Faulty wiring or something.
- Some coffee, yes? - No.
I'm sorry.
I don't mean to be rude.
You know I don't mean to be uncooperative and I'm sure what you're doing is very important but I have to think of the safety of my mother and my children.
I can't have you in my house.
Their safety is not being compromised, okay? Trust me, I have no place else to put her.
I can't drive around with her in my car.
What are you talking about? There are Hungarians looking for her.
- They're gonna find her here.
- No, not here.
Now, they're gonna be combing the air terminals, train stations, hotels.
They'll be combing the streets of Washington.
You're not gonna find them cruising down a modest neighborhood.
It's not that modest.
Amanda, now, we have made a deal with Magda.
We're getting her mother and sister out of Hungary.
We're giving them new identities, a whole new life.
She's giving us information.
Information that could be vital to the strategic defense of the United States.
Oh, I wish you wouldn't put it that way.
DOTTY: Amanda? - Yes, Mother? DOTTY: Is anything wrong? - No, Mother, everything's just fine.
I am not gonna lie to her anymore.
Tell her the truth.
She won't believe you.
DOTTY: Amanda? Who's there? Nobody special, Mother.
Just a defecting Hungarian refugee.
She bought it.
Mother doesn't wanna eat in bed.
She wants to come downstairs.
- Well, stop her.
- How? She lives here.
- Can't you read to her or something? - She knows I have company.
Her curiosity is killing her.
She's gonna be down here any minute.
Well, you're gonna have to find some way to stall her.
We can't be interrupted.
I am getting some great stuff out of Magda.
More than I hoped for.
And we need some more coffee.
Oh.
Well, for a communist, she certainly is into room service.
What's the matter? You want me to make it? No, no.
Oh, no.
I'll make it.
No.
Coffee's too weak, sandwiches are too dry, house is too small.
She's different from any communist I've ever seen on the news.
They all wear boots and drive tractors and work in factories.
I bet they wouldn't dare complain about a thing.
The information I am getting is invaluable.
- Oh.
Can I just ask you one thing? - What? Are you sure they want her back? BROBICH: Magda Petrak must be found.
How it happened, that we address ourselves to when we have the luxury of time, and why it was not anticipated.
Her party record has always been impeccable, Comrade Brobich.
Exactly.
Making her privy to the most highly classified information.
She is in a position where she can compromise a network of operatives that has taken us months to put in place.
She is in a position where she can expose our cultural mission for what it is, an intelligence operation.
With all respect, comrade, no one could have foreseen such a thing.
I could foresee it.
You recall my objection when she was first proposed.
Those objections are still on the record.
We were with her constantly.
It should not have been possible for her to have made contact with the Americans.
- Obviously, it was possible.
SANDOR: But why? We travel freely.
Restrictions have been lifted, rules relaxed.
There is plenty of food.
Sometimes it is wiser to keep a few wrinkles in the belly of the people.
They hesitate to ask for more.
Magda Petrak has enjoyed her stay in this country too much.
You haven't noticed.
And now she's asking for even more.
There are reasons why a woman has never achieved the inner circle of the Politburo.
Do you know what those reasons are? There is an innate softness and corruptibility in women.
They're easily seduced by the decadent luxuries of the West as Magda Petrak has been seduced.
She was assigned to this project over my objections.
You have allowed her to defect and you will find her.
Is that understood? You will find her.
Brobich travels under a diplomatic passport.
He cannot be arrested.
No, but we can sure kick his buns out of this country and break up the information network he set up.
Heh, it will be reestablished by somebody else.
They never stop.
- Neither do we.
DOTTY: Amanda? Uh, yes, Mother? [WHISPERING.]
Mother's coming down.
Get out of here.
- What? - You've gotta leave, now, quickly.
Oh, no, not that way, not that way.
Out the back porch.
- Come on, quick.
Just go on, go on.
- What about? - All right.
- Miss Petrak? Miss Petrak, please? Aah, I cannot go outside.
I might be observed.
No, no, you don't understand.
If you stay inside, you'll definitely be observed.
You're a defector and your picture's gonna be in the newspaper and my mother will see it and she'll know everything.
There will be no picture.
My country never admits to things like defection, internal problems.
DOTTY: Amanda? - Yes, Mother? - I'll have that sandwich now.
- I'll make it.
You know, I really feel that Oh.
Ha, ha.
Well, I'm sorry.
I didn't know you had company.
- Yes, Mother, this is Miss Petrak.
- Magda Petrak.
- Yes, and this is my mother, Mrs.
West.
- Oh.
Well, aren't you two having a cozy time? I hope I'm not interrupting anything.
Are you plants or animals? Plants, I'd say.
You don't look like the animal type.
[DOTTY CHUCKLES.]
Amanda does have the most interesting clients.
- You are a client, aren't you? - No.
- No? A friend? - No.
Oh.
Uh, Mother, I think you should probably get back in bed.
Oh.
It's all right, dear.
[DOTTY SIGHS.]
Well, I hope you'll forgive my appearance.
I mean I just have a head cold.
I know they make you look and feel miserable.
I mean, Amanda thinks that I might have dengue fever but I know it's just a cold.
I was feeling absolutely wonderful yesterday and then it just hit me last night.
- Then you are contagious.
You should confine yourself for the good of the others.
Oh, I suppose you're right.
It's just so boring up there.
This is your house too, and you have a right to be any place in it that you'd like to be.
Oh, ha, ha.
Thank you, dear.
JAMIE: Hey, Mom, guess what, guess what.
PHILIP: Hey, Mom, I won.
Oh, look at that, sweetheart.
He won second place for his volcano.
- I helped.
- No, you didn't.
Yes, he did.
Okay, I'll tell you what, why don't you, uh, go upstairs and you can watch television.
- But I'm hungry.
I'll make you a sandwich and I'll bring it up.
I won second prize.
I probably would have won first, only Bill Geisman, he always wins it ever since preschool.
Winning can only be first place.
They don't teach you that? We've got first place and second place.
And we've got third place and runners-up, and I think this is just sensational.
In my country, first place is winning.
Everything else is losing.
Philip.
Hey, I am very proud of you.
Give me a hug.
Get upstairs and I'll be there in a minute.
- Go on.
Scoot, scoot, scoot.
JAMIE: Come on, Philip, let's go.
I think I'll go to my room too.
- How could you say that to a little boy? - One has a responsibility to children.
They should be realists.
You don't want your son to be a winner? [CHUCKLES.]
My son is a winner.
Please excuse me.
[DOOR OPENS.]
Do you know what she did to Philip? - Are the kids home? - They live here.
Now listen, Lee, you know that I will do anything that I can within reason to help my country, but this has gotten out of hand.
Now, I was supposed to take a message to her and to bring you back the answer.
All right, I did that.
But now, not only is she in my home she has firmly planted herself in my living room and she has driven my mother and my two small boys upstairs into their bedrooms.
I know she is a little abrasive, but she's under a strain.
Who isn't? I had a happy home this morning.
A few minutes, we'll wrap it up and she'll be out of your way.
That's what you said when you got here.
Now, listen.
I'm gonna go upstairs and see what I can do about Philip.
I will give you 10 minutes.
And there can be no further complications, right? - Nothing can go wrong? - Oh, Amanda.
This operation has been like a walk through the park.
- What could possibly go wrong? - Back against the wall.
[CHUCKLES.]
Francine? Francine.
- Has anybody out there seen Francine? - She's at lunch.
I'm surprised she didn't eat in today.
I mean, she must be really exhausted from taking all those bows.
She did good, Billy.
Yeah, she did very well.
Unfortunately, we'll never hear the end of it.
DRIVER: She's out of Washington by now.
SANDOR: Probably.
Or undercover.
I wonder which agency she sold out to.
Military intelligence, CIA, what's the difference? She was with us when it happened.
You know where the blame will go.
How long do we keep up this charade? We're not gonna find her, you know that.
Comrade Brobich knows.
- We'll both be recalled.
- I know.
- Are you hungry? - No.
I eat when I'm nervous.
Sandor, look, look.
It's Magda.
SANDOR: Where? DRIVER: There, there.
Coming towards us, the blond.
She changed her hair, she's changed her appearance, but it's Magda.
BROBICH: An extraordinary likeness.
A wig, contact lenses, and you would be Magda Petrak.
Look, I don't know who Magda Petrak is.
But I can tell you you are in great trouble.
Kidnapping is a federal crime.
- Do you know what this is, Miss? - Desmond.
Francine Desmond.
Do you know what this is, Miss Desmond? It is a diplomatic passport.
Do you know what it means? It means that your laws on kidnapping, murder even, are of no concern to me.
Whatever I choose to do to you at the most, I could get deported.
Wouldn't that be an embarrassment to your country? Ah, my country is accustomed to embarrassments.
So we understand each other.
With what agency are you affiliated? Look, I don't know what you're talking about.
The games that were played this afternoon.
The only game I played this afternoon was at the market.
I'm having people over for dinner and so I decided to take my lunch hour to stop to buy some rosemary a couple bottles of blanc de blancs [SIGHS.]
and some fish.
Do you have any idea what is happening right now with that Dover sole in the trunk of my car? The games I'm talking about are those with the limousines.
Very effective.
Magda Petrak would not have arranged that by herself.
Heh.
It's possible, but she didn't do it with my help.
I called Budapest.
Comrade Petrak's mother and sister have disappeared.
It is presumed they left the country.
That, too, could not have been done without help.
Now, what agency are you affiliated with? We can get this information with or without your help.
We know which of your agencies operate internationally.
We have only to call them all.
[PHONE BUZZES.]
Roger Blye.
They gave you the wrong extension.
What? Hold on a minute.
Where is Francine? They're putting her calls on my line.
- Isn't she back from lunch yet? - No.
Some guy on the phone.
Says it's important.
I'll take it.
Miss Desmond isn't in at the moment.
May I help you? BROBICH [O VER PHONE.]
: You have Petrak, we have Francine Desmond.
BROBICH: Prepare to make a trade.
[DOORBELL RINGS.]
DOTTY: Doorbell, Amanda.
- Yes, Mother.
- Don't let anybody in.
- It's a little late for that, isn't it? - Sir.
BILLY: I need Scarecrow, fast.
Oh, yes, sir.
He and Miss Petrak were just leaving.
DOTTY: Is it the drugstore? - No, Mother, it isn't.
Maybe you can all talk in the car.
Billy? What's the matter? We just got a call.
They have Francine.
- Who has Francine? - Brobich.
- How could you let this happen? - I didn't let it happen.
Everything was working according to plan.
Francine got back to the office, then she went to lunch.
- They must have spotted her on the street.
- They want a trade? - Yes.
- That is completely out of the question.
If we could all just lower our voices a little bit and explain to me what is going on? You mentioned Francine's resemblance to Magda? - Yes.
LEE: She's a ringer for her.
- Dead ringer.
- Oh, my gosh.
How'd they leave it with you? They gonna call back? - We have some plans to make.
- Lf you agree to this trade they will kill me.
If we don't, they'll kill Francine.
You're gonna have to trust me on this.
I'm gonna go back to the agency with Billy.
You stay put.
You'll be safe here.
Lee, could I speak to you for just a second please? Sir? Excuse me, you can't go out the front.
Mother can see you from her bedroom and she heard you ring the bell.
- I'll pick you up down the block.
- All right.
- Tell her I'm from the phone company.
- Sir? I'm not lying to her anymore.
Tell her I said I'm from the phone company.
- Snap to it, Scarecrow.
- Yep.
[SIGHS.]
Could I see you in the kitchen for a moment, please? Yeah.
Shh.
- Amanda, I know I promised I would - Shh.
[WHISPERING.]
I know I promised I would have her out of here, and I will.
It won't be more than a couple of hours.
See, the plan was, was to get her to a safe house which turned out to be here, through nobody's fault.
We were going to get our information, sneak her out and relocate her with her mother and sister.
- But it's too hot to move her now.
- Now, look.
It's not just that.
It's this Brobich person.
If he's prepared to kill Magda and even Francine then what about Jamie and Philip? They're just boys.
And Mother has a cold, and we don't even have any protection here.
You don't need any.
[SIGHS.]
Would I leave if I thought you were in danger? No, of course not.
You wouldn't do that.
All right, if it will make you feel any safer Put that away.
I'd rather have the whole Hungarian army in my house than that.
- I don't even know how to use it.
- Well, maybe it's time you learned.
I don't want to shoot anyone.
You won't have to.
And that is a promise.
LEE: It's cleaned out.
They didn't forget a thing.
BILLY: It was a long shot.
The location of these offices has never been a secret.
We know they're not stupid enough to have been waiting.
They're taking their time about making contact.
- You sure that beeper is working? - It's working.
It's gonna be one of those last-minute calls.
No time for a countergambit.
We're supposed to be able to think and move at the same time.
Billy.
When they call, I hope you can get them to put Francine on.
I am not taking their word for anything.
She has a temper.
I'm not saying she isn't a good agent.
She's terrific, but she has a temper.
- She'll be all right, Lee.
- We don't know that.
Like I said, they're not stupid.
Excuse me.
I hope to God you're right.
More coffee? No.
- You have veal? - Veal? Veal? You mean like veal, as in $ 14-a-pound veal? No.
I'm sorry.
We don't have any veal.
That's a little rich for this household.
[AMANDA CHUCKLES.]
Hungarians are very good cooks.
You know, I could make, uh veal paprikash for dinner.
- Oh, you won't be staying for dinner.
Well, I don't mean.
I just mean that uh, Mr.
Stetson said, uh, you know, one hour, maybe two, and you'll be [MUMBLES.]
I thought to have blender one day.
Toaster oven.
- You have microwave? - No.
I thought to have microwave one day.
Things are very different here from what we have at home.
Or what we don't have at home.
- I like these things.
- Oh.
Well, were they planning to send you back to Hungary? Yeah.
I found out and, uh, I decided not to go.
L I like America.
But now Brobich knows I've talked and he will be devising a proper way to kill me.
Oh, no.
No, no.
That won't happen.
No.
Nobody's gonna get killed around here.
Mm-mm.
- You don't know Brobich.
- You don't know Lee Stetson.
[WHISPERING.]
Ah, we really shouldn't be talking about this with Mother and the children right upstairs, okay? You have an admiration for Mr.
Stetson, no? Perhaps more than an admiration.
I don't know why you would say that.
We have a professional association and, uh, that was really just a fluke.
It's only part-time, uh, a matter of being in the wrong place at the right time or the right place at the wrong time.
- He's very attractive.
Hmm? - What? You don't? You don't find him attractive? Oh, uh What, you mean feature for feature? Uh, sure.
Well, yes, he's, uh, got nice hair.
It's not great hair, but it's nice hair.
He's tall Straight nose, and beautiful, beautiful, beautiful eyes.
Pretty eyes, really.
You know, that phone is gonna ring any minute.
Any minute, that phone is gonna ring.
I can feel it.
[RINGS.]
That's gotta be it, Billy.
They're only ringing through for Brobich.
- Hello.
- The exchange will take place in exactly 30 minutes.
You will bring Miss Petrak to the area reserved for private jets at Dulles International.
[O VER PHONE.]
Our plane will be on the runway.
Miss Desmond will be returned to you at the time if you do not interfere with our departure.
Should you interfere in any way, then Miss Desmond will be killed.
In fact, many lives may be lost.
Dulles Airport, 30 minutes.
- Oh, that's impossible.
- I know.
It's half an hour from Amanda's to the airport.
It would take us 15 minutes from the agency to her house.
This is gonna work if we go direct.
Without Magda? Come on.
They'd have that plane halfway to Hungary with Francine in it if we show up without her.
- Amanda will have to bring her.
Amanda? Come on, Billy.
She is not equipped for this kind of operation.
It's bad enough we got Francine and Magda but you throw Amanda into this, you have a disaster.
I don't have time to argue with you, Scarecrow.
This is the way it's going to be.
Now we have 29 minutes.
Call her, or start thinking about what you're gonna tell Francine's next of kin.
How about we line things up right there on the runway? - We come up the old road - Don't get creative, Scarecrow.
Just do what I tell you to do.
Billy, if we don't come up with a plan, Amanda's not going to have a prayer.
Here, wear this over your head.
And don't worry about a thing.
Lee's very good at spur-of-the-moment planning.
- He didn't mention plans.
- There wasn't time.
What I'm supposed to do is take you out the, uh, old road to Dulles Airport.
There won't be much traffic and not many people know about it, it's a shortcut.
Along the way, an agency vehicle will intercept us.
That's it.
- Philip.
Jamie.
JAMIE: Okay, Mom, here we come.
Amanda, where are you going? I'm gonna take Miss Petrak to the airport.
- She's leaving? - Yes, she is, sweetheart.
Don't I get a kiss? Mwah.
Amanda, I think we ought to change drugstores.
I called first thing this morning and they haven't delivered the vitamin C.
All right, Mother, we'll do that.
We'll change drugstores.
- Mom? - Yes, sweetie? Second place isn't losing.
You don't get a red ribbon for losing.
You bet your life, sweetheart.
All right, you be good.
Argh! - See you, kid.
PHILIP: You too, Mama.
- Why do you risk your life for me? - I am not risking my life for you.
At least I hope I'm not.
What about you? You don't even know Francine.
It is different.
It was I who approached the agency and asked for help.
If I don't cooperate now, what would happen to my mother and my sister? - They might be sent back to Hungary.
- The agency wouldn't do that.
You really don't trust anyone, do you? - I know human nature.
- I don't think you do.
I think you think you know human nature the same way you think you know how to make coffee and you think you know how to make veal paprikash which I'd like to see you do with that hamburger I've got in the refrigerator.
- You're angry.
Yes, I'm angry.
I'm sorry.
I took you into my house.
I didn't have to do that.
In fact, I swore I never would.
And I must have made enough coffee to keep the town of Buffalo awake for two weeks and that's not even to mention the 14 sandwiches which I am told my sandwiches are very, very tasty however, from you, I haven't heard thank you, not once.
- Thank you.
- And that's not the worst.
I've made sandwiches before and I've made coffee before and I've done dishes before but what you did to Philip was inexcusable.
That little boy worked morning and night for a month to make that volcano.
Have you got any idea how much that meant to him? Hmm? And it was perfect too.
Inside and out.
And he won second place for it.
Won.
And I don't know what that means in Hungary, but in America, heh it's pretty darn good.
I am sorry.
Our ways are different.
- I guess they are.
- I have much to learn, if I have the time.
Don't talk like that.
You'll have the time.
- Who is that ahead of us? - The station wagon? BROBICH: Pull up, I want to see.
- Magda.
- Brobich.
[TIRES SQUEALING.]
AMANDA: Hang on.
MAGDA: What are you doing? AMANDA: I haven't the faintest idea.
MAGDA: They're following us.
AMANDA: Still? MAGDA: Watch out.
Watch out, you're losing control.
AMANDA: Miss Petrak, I'm doing the best I can.
Will you please stop telling me how to drive? Hold on.
[MAGDA GRUNTS.]
AMANDA: Over this way.
Go around quickly.
They're getting away.
MAGDA: There they are.
AMANDA: Over here.
Come on, get down.
SANDOR: Come on, Vylos.
Let's get them.
AMANDA: Oh.
VYLOS: They've got to be here somewhere.
- Look over there.
They can't be far.
[HELICOPTER WHIRRING.]
[BOTH YELLING INDISTINCTLY.]
[GUNFIRE.]
Come on, come on! Come on, that's it, that's it.
Hurry up.
There you go.
Come on.
Francine, come on.
Come on.
Hurry up.
That's it.
Take it up! Amanda! Come on, come on.
Amanda, hold on.
- Here we go.
AMANDA: Oh, no.
LEE: That's it.
Get us out of here.
[AMANDA YELLS.]
[AMANDA COUGHS.]
Have I said a word? Said a word about the condition of the station wagon after a simple trip to the airport? - No, Mother, you haven't said a word.
- And I won't.
If I were the type to ask questions I might ask how a simple trip to the airport could result in at least $800 worth of body work.
Mother, I thank you very much for not asking.
Could you pass me a tissue, please? - You're not getting my cold, are you? - Oh, no, no.
Are you kidding? With my immune system? Mm-mm.
I suppose I'm also not supposed to ask who Magda Petrak was.
- Mother, I don't wanna lie to you.
- I know you don't wanna lie.
- I have my own theories.
- Oh, you do? Yes, you see, I haven't read Agatha Christie for 30 years for nothing.
I don't have one theory.
I have at least six.
- Good night, Mother.
- Good night, love.
- Give my best to Bud Marcher.
- Mother! AMANDA: If they have these parties every night, it must get awfully expensive.
- Yes, it does.
- You really didn't have to bring me.
- Oh, come on, I owe you one.
- Oh, you don't owe me anything.
I mean, you know, I'm really glad that I helped Magda and, well, I wasn't so glad at first but I'm glad now that she has her freedom and her new identity and she's with her mother and her little sister and she has her - Excuse me.
- Uh-huh.
- New microwave.
I think it's very nice.
Yeah.
It worked.
We were able to get Brobich and his Hungarian goon squad deported too.
You know, they set up quite an intelligence network here.
You know, uh these things go on sometimes for hours.
- What things? - These embassy things.
- Oh.
- Hmm.
Well, you really didn't have to bring me.
I hustled you out of here in a hurry the other night and you said you'd never been to one and I guess, uh you did have to put up with a lot from Magda.
I wanted to ask you a question and it will have nothing to do with Ahem.
Excuse me.
With our professional relationship, but - What? - Well, in the helicopter first you saved Magda, then you saved Francine and then almost as an afterthought, you saved me.
- It was not an afterthought.
- I just, you know, I felt It was the first time that you were in the clear.
See? I knew you would explain it perfectly.
How did you find us? I saw somebody try to drive a station wagon through a swamp.
- And you knew it was me.
- I figured it'd be you, yes.
Lee, I know you think you owe me something but, um I think I'm catching Mother's cold.
I wanna go home.
Oh.
[COUGHS.]
- Excuse me.
- You too? Yeah.
- Excuse me.
- That's all right.
- Guess what.
- What? If it'll make you feel any better Magda's got it too.
[BOTH LAUGH.]
Heaven.
[BOTH COUGH.]
LEE: That's why Billy had me use you in this operation.
You're unknown on Embassy Row.
Well, I have been to a couple of teas Hello, hello.
- And maybe a reception or two, but never anything like this.
Hi.
If I'd known, I would have borrowed a better dress.
Amanda, you're a messenger.
Well, that's not exactly the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.
What's the matter with you? - Nothing.
- You look fine.
- We're right back in the entryway.
- I know it.
It's almost 9:00.
Look, if you would tell me what she looks like I could help you look for her.
All I know is that she's Hungarian.
She's 5'7", she has dark hair, she's wearing a black dress.
- Excuse me.
AMANDA: Sure.
[SPEAKS IN ITALIAN.]
AMANDA: Hmm? I saw you across the room.
I can't believe it.
Do you know II Vecchio's Contessa di Cesare? - Uh, no, I don't believe we've met.
LUPO: Ah.
The same, uh, curve of the cheek.
The same, uh, aristocratic bearing.
A 14th-century masterpiece come to magnificent life.
- Oh.
- I must know you.
Ah.
Hmm.
I see this, uh, vision.
My name is Ludvichio Lupo.
- And you are? - Uh, I'm - Engaged for the evening.
- Yes, I am.
- Scusa.
- You're excused.
- Amanda, this isn't a social occasion.
- I didn't do anything.
All right, all right.
There she is.
You'll have to move fast.
Follow her into the powder room and say - I thought I'd find you here.
- Uh, Phyllis.
Hmm.
That's right.
Phyllis.
- I'm back from Gstaad.
LEE: Ah.
You usually send flowers.
First thing in the morning, hmm? Amanda? Amanda King, this is Phyllis Pratt.
How do you do? Uh, Amanda is just recovering from a nasty bout of dengue fever.
Excuse me.
Why did you tell her I had dengue fever? Will you just listen to me, huh? - Just listen.
Time is running out.
- I'm listening.
Follow her into the powder room, engage her in conversation.
Ask her if she's been to the botanic gardens.
She will say no.
Tell her not to miss the display of Camptosorus rhizophyllus.
- What? - Camptosorus rhizophyllus.
The display opens tomorrow at noon.
You got that? Noon.
- Yes.
- All right.
The, uh, botanical gardens, tomorrow at noon, she's gotta [SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE.]
Oh, I don't speak whatever it is you're speaking.
[SPEAKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE.]
BOTH: Camptosorus rhizophyllus.
Got it.
[SIGHS.]
Excuse me.
Francine.
- I'm afraid you must be mistaken.
- Of course, I can see that.
You have brown eyes, she has blue eyes, you have dark hair and she has light hair but I'm telling you, the resemblance is just absolutely uncanny.
I had always heard that everybody has a double somewhere in the world but I'd thought it was just an old wives' tale.
- Uh, you will excuse me.
- No.
Uh, no, I'm sorry, I just Sometimes when I get excited, I babble.
I just wondered if you had had a chance to see the botanic gardens.
No.
Oh, well, they're having a wonderful exhibit of, um Camptosorus rhizophyllus and you could probably catch it tomorrow around noon, if you were interested.
Thank you.
I will put that on my agenda.
Yes.
- Well? - She's putting it on her agenda.
- Oh, great.
- The funny thing is that woman looks exactly like Francine.
You didn't say anything about the resemblance? - I mentioned it - Damn it.
- What's the matter? - Ahem, hello.
Hello.
How do you do? - Was anyone with you? - The attendant.
- What'd she look like? - The attendant? - Yes.
- I don't know.
She was, like, medium height, medium build.
Listen, if I'm not supposed to say something I think you ought to tell me.
You operate on a need-to-know basis, but I needed to know.
- Did I ruin everything? - I hope not.
Oh, I'm sorry.
We can't afford to lose her at this stage.
Everything is in motion.
- I'm sorry.
- No, no, look, it's all right.
- You delivered your message.
- Yes.
Yes, and we will take it from there.
- I'm really sorry.
All right.
- Don't worry about it, all right? But, look.
Amanda, in the future, just say what you're told to say.
Don't ad-lib.
- I won't.
- All right? - I promise.
- Okay.
Now, I will find you a cab What? Are we going home? Well, this isn't a date.
[LEE CLEARS THRO AT.]
[BOTH CHUCKLE.]
I know this isn't a date.
Of course it isn't a date.
- All right.
- It's just, you know, I was wondering what I was gonna tell my mother when I get back to the house half an hour after I left for a party, ha.
That's all.
DOTTY: I have absolutely nothing to say on the subject.
- You're angry.
DOTTY: I am not angry.
- Do you know where the vitamin C is? - In the cabinet.
It's not.
I looked there first.
I wish people wouldn't move things.
You're angry because I won't tell you who I went out with.
I'm not angry, dear.
Well, then you're hurt, and that's even worse.
[SIGHS.]
Mother, I know that I've lied to you before.
In the past I have.
But I don't wanna do it anymore, because it makes me feel just awful.
Course it does.
It's totally against your nature.
I mean, you were never a secretive child.
You always came to me with your little confidences, and I always understood.
- I don't think you'd understand this one.
- Oh, but I already do.
I mean, he is married to an impossible woman.
They have not lived under the same roof for at least eight months.
- Bud Marcher.
- Bud Marcher? Mother, Bud Marcher is a married man.
You think I went out with a married man? This wasn't a date, this was business.
And I can't say anything else about it.
Amanda, I am not pressing you, am I? I mean, that's just not my way.
If you say it's business, it's business.
AMANDA: I never dreamed things would get so complicated.
Well, they usually do.
I cannot find the vitamin C anywhere so I am going to boil a grapefruit.
- That's what your grandmother always did.
- Mother, what is dengue fever? Oh, my God.
Is that going around? I thought I was just getting a head cold.
No, no, no.
I don't think it is.
At least I hope not, anyway.
Look, I'm going to bed.
I hope you feel better.
- I do love you.
Good night.
- Good night, love.
Business.
What kind of business is she in that she can't tell me about? BILLY: This has to be timed.
I don't want anybody to foul up.
LEE: Will you relax, Billy? - When we've got Magda Petrak, I'll relax.
- We won't get a second chance.
- Not going to need one.
FRANCINE: You figure she has the information she claims? It could be a setup.
I mean, say we help her defect and she says, "I don't know what the Hungarian mission was up to.
I just answered the phones.
" She is top level, Francine.
Believe me.
I checked all of that out when she first made contact with us.
Oh, she's not gonna jeopardize the safety of her mother and her sister.
Getting them out of Hungary and relocating them was all part of the deal.
- She's looking forward to the good life.
- Just asking.
You sure you know what you're going to do? We've been over this a dozen times.
Francine will be fine.
- Won't you? - I'll be sensational.
I just love playing dress-up.
My mother and my sister? Safe.
Right now they're somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean in a U.
S.
Military plane.
Excuse me.
Could you tell me where I might find the display of Camptosorus rhizophyllus? Uh, yes, I believe they're right over there in that greenhouse.
Thank you.
BILLY: Give me the hat and the coat.
- Sandor is right behind me.
- We have him covered.
BILLY: Come on, Francine, let's go.
Careful of the eye.
Hurry up.
Come on, get the wig on.
Quickly.
Well, at least she has decent taste in clothes.
I thought all those Iron Curtain women wore little cotton housedresses.
Hurry up.
Here's the hat.
Looking good.
- Go.
- Okay.
[BRAKES SCREECH.]
SANDOR: Vylos, stop her.
VYLOS: Wait! Stop, wait! Wait! SANDOR: Get in the car! Don't let them get away.
What's going on? Three cars, four cars.
They all look alike.
What do you think is going on? Which car is she in? - The first, isn't it? - The left or the right, I don't know.
[BRAKES SCREECH.]
- Which one, that one? - No, that one.
[BRAKES SCREECH.]
SANDOR: Damn.
We lost her.
[DOORBELL RINGS.]
DOTTY: Darling? - Yes, Mother? - Is that the doorbell? - Yes, Mother.
- Will you see who it is? - I'm going, Mother.
- Amanda.
- I'm on the way, Mother.
[WHISPERING.]
Oh, wait a minute, you can't come in here.
What are you doing? LEE: We have to come in here.
DOTTY: Is it the drugstore? - [IN NORMAL VOICE.]
Uh, no, Mother.
[WHISPERING.]
My mother's home.
She has a very bad cold.
It'll keep her out of the way until we're finished.
[IN NORMAL VOICE.]
Finished with what? Just a minute.
You cannot stay.
Is this your typical American house? I thought something larger.
Well, it's three bedrooms with a convertible den.
[CHUCKLES.]
Philip and Jamie will be home from school at 3:30.
We'll be out of here long before that.
Now, look, Amanda, I wouldn't be here if I had any other choice.
I need a safe house for Magda.
The one we had arranged was burned.
Somebody find out about it? No, I mean burned down.
Faulty wiring or something.
- Some coffee, yes? - No.
I'm sorry.
I don't mean to be rude.
You know I don't mean to be uncooperative and I'm sure what you're doing is very important but I have to think of the safety of my mother and my children.
I can't have you in my house.
Their safety is not being compromised, okay? Trust me, I have no place else to put her.
I can't drive around with her in my car.
What are you talking about? There are Hungarians looking for her.
- They're gonna find her here.
- No, not here.
Now, they're gonna be combing the air terminals, train stations, hotels.
They'll be combing the streets of Washington.
You're not gonna find them cruising down a modest neighborhood.
It's not that modest.
Amanda, now, we have made a deal with Magda.
We're getting her mother and sister out of Hungary.
We're giving them new identities, a whole new life.
She's giving us information.
Information that could be vital to the strategic defense of the United States.
Oh, I wish you wouldn't put it that way.
DOTTY: Amanda? - Yes, Mother? DOTTY: Is anything wrong? - No, Mother, everything's just fine.
I am not gonna lie to her anymore.
Tell her the truth.
She won't believe you.
DOTTY: Amanda? Who's there? Nobody special, Mother.
Just a defecting Hungarian refugee.
She bought it.
Mother doesn't wanna eat in bed.
She wants to come downstairs.
- Well, stop her.
- How? She lives here.
- Can't you read to her or something? - She knows I have company.
Her curiosity is killing her.
She's gonna be down here any minute.
Well, you're gonna have to find some way to stall her.
We can't be interrupted.
I am getting some great stuff out of Magda.
More than I hoped for.
And we need some more coffee.
Oh.
Well, for a communist, she certainly is into room service.
What's the matter? You want me to make it? No, no.
Oh, no.
I'll make it.
No.
Coffee's too weak, sandwiches are too dry, house is too small.
She's different from any communist I've ever seen on the news.
They all wear boots and drive tractors and work in factories.
I bet they wouldn't dare complain about a thing.
The information I am getting is invaluable.
- Oh.
Can I just ask you one thing? - What? Are you sure they want her back? BROBICH: Magda Petrak must be found.
How it happened, that we address ourselves to when we have the luxury of time, and why it was not anticipated.
Her party record has always been impeccable, Comrade Brobich.
Exactly.
Making her privy to the most highly classified information.
She is in a position where she can compromise a network of operatives that has taken us months to put in place.
She is in a position where she can expose our cultural mission for what it is, an intelligence operation.
With all respect, comrade, no one could have foreseen such a thing.
I could foresee it.
You recall my objection when she was first proposed.
Those objections are still on the record.
We were with her constantly.
It should not have been possible for her to have made contact with the Americans.
- Obviously, it was possible.
SANDOR: But why? We travel freely.
Restrictions have been lifted, rules relaxed.
There is plenty of food.
Sometimes it is wiser to keep a few wrinkles in the belly of the people.
They hesitate to ask for more.
Magda Petrak has enjoyed her stay in this country too much.
You haven't noticed.
And now she's asking for even more.
There are reasons why a woman has never achieved the inner circle of the Politburo.
Do you know what those reasons are? There is an innate softness and corruptibility in women.
They're easily seduced by the decadent luxuries of the West as Magda Petrak has been seduced.
She was assigned to this project over my objections.
You have allowed her to defect and you will find her.
Is that understood? You will find her.
Brobich travels under a diplomatic passport.
He cannot be arrested.
No, but we can sure kick his buns out of this country and break up the information network he set up.
Heh, it will be reestablished by somebody else.
They never stop.
- Neither do we.
DOTTY: Amanda? Uh, yes, Mother? [WHISPERING.]
Mother's coming down.
Get out of here.
- What? - You've gotta leave, now, quickly.
Oh, no, not that way, not that way.
Out the back porch.
- Come on, quick.
Just go on, go on.
- What about? - All right.
- Miss Petrak? Miss Petrak, please? Aah, I cannot go outside.
I might be observed.
No, no, you don't understand.
If you stay inside, you'll definitely be observed.
You're a defector and your picture's gonna be in the newspaper and my mother will see it and she'll know everything.
There will be no picture.
My country never admits to things like defection, internal problems.
DOTTY: Amanda? - Yes, Mother? - I'll have that sandwich now.
- I'll make it.
You know, I really feel that Oh.
Ha, ha.
Well, I'm sorry.
I didn't know you had company.
- Yes, Mother, this is Miss Petrak.
- Magda Petrak.
- Yes, and this is my mother, Mrs.
West.
- Oh.
Well, aren't you two having a cozy time? I hope I'm not interrupting anything.
Are you plants or animals? Plants, I'd say.
You don't look like the animal type.
[DOTTY CHUCKLES.]
Amanda does have the most interesting clients.
- You are a client, aren't you? - No.
- No? A friend? - No.
Oh.
Uh, Mother, I think you should probably get back in bed.
Oh.
It's all right, dear.
[DOTTY SIGHS.]
Well, I hope you'll forgive my appearance.
I mean I just have a head cold.
I know they make you look and feel miserable.
I mean, Amanda thinks that I might have dengue fever but I know it's just a cold.
I was feeling absolutely wonderful yesterday and then it just hit me last night.
- Then you are contagious.
You should confine yourself for the good of the others.
Oh, I suppose you're right.
It's just so boring up there.
This is your house too, and you have a right to be any place in it that you'd like to be.
Oh, ha, ha.
Thank you, dear.
JAMIE: Hey, Mom, guess what, guess what.
PHILIP: Hey, Mom, I won.
Oh, look at that, sweetheart.
He won second place for his volcano.
- I helped.
- No, you didn't.
Yes, he did.
Okay, I'll tell you what, why don't you, uh, go upstairs and you can watch television.
- But I'm hungry.
I'll make you a sandwich and I'll bring it up.
I won second prize.
I probably would have won first, only Bill Geisman, he always wins it ever since preschool.
Winning can only be first place.
They don't teach you that? We've got first place and second place.
And we've got third place and runners-up, and I think this is just sensational.
In my country, first place is winning.
Everything else is losing.
Philip.
Hey, I am very proud of you.
Give me a hug.
Get upstairs and I'll be there in a minute.
- Go on.
Scoot, scoot, scoot.
JAMIE: Come on, Philip, let's go.
I think I'll go to my room too.
- How could you say that to a little boy? - One has a responsibility to children.
They should be realists.
You don't want your son to be a winner? [CHUCKLES.]
My son is a winner.
Please excuse me.
[DOOR OPENS.]
Do you know what she did to Philip? - Are the kids home? - They live here.
Now listen, Lee, you know that I will do anything that I can within reason to help my country, but this has gotten out of hand.
Now, I was supposed to take a message to her and to bring you back the answer.
All right, I did that.
But now, not only is she in my home she has firmly planted herself in my living room and she has driven my mother and my two small boys upstairs into their bedrooms.
I know she is a little abrasive, but she's under a strain.
Who isn't? I had a happy home this morning.
A few minutes, we'll wrap it up and she'll be out of your way.
That's what you said when you got here.
Now, listen.
I'm gonna go upstairs and see what I can do about Philip.
I will give you 10 minutes.
And there can be no further complications, right? - Nothing can go wrong? - Oh, Amanda.
This operation has been like a walk through the park.
- What could possibly go wrong? - Back against the wall.
[CHUCKLES.]
Francine? Francine.
- Has anybody out there seen Francine? - She's at lunch.
I'm surprised she didn't eat in today.
I mean, she must be really exhausted from taking all those bows.
She did good, Billy.
Yeah, she did very well.
Unfortunately, we'll never hear the end of it.
DRIVER: She's out of Washington by now.
SANDOR: Probably.
Or undercover.
I wonder which agency she sold out to.
Military intelligence, CIA, what's the difference? She was with us when it happened.
You know where the blame will go.
How long do we keep up this charade? We're not gonna find her, you know that.
Comrade Brobich knows.
- We'll both be recalled.
- I know.
- Are you hungry? - No.
I eat when I'm nervous.
Sandor, look, look.
It's Magda.
SANDOR: Where? DRIVER: There, there.
Coming towards us, the blond.
She changed her hair, she's changed her appearance, but it's Magda.
BROBICH: An extraordinary likeness.
A wig, contact lenses, and you would be Magda Petrak.
Look, I don't know who Magda Petrak is.
But I can tell you you are in great trouble.
Kidnapping is a federal crime.
- Do you know what this is, Miss? - Desmond.
Francine Desmond.
Do you know what this is, Miss Desmond? It is a diplomatic passport.
Do you know what it means? It means that your laws on kidnapping, murder even, are of no concern to me.
Whatever I choose to do to you at the most, I could get deported.
Wouldn't that be an embarrassment to your country? Ah, my country is accustomed to embarrassments.
So we understand each other.
With what agency are you affiliated? Look, I don't know what you're talking about.
The games that were played this afternoon.
The only game I played this afternoon was at the market.
I'm having people over for dinner and so I decided to take my lunch hour to stop to buy some rosemary a couple bottles of blanc de blancs [SIGHS.]
and some fish.
Do you have any idea what is happening right now with that Dover sole in the trunk of my car? The games I'm talking about are those with the limousines.
Very effective.
Magda Petrak would not have arranged that by herself.
Heh.
It's possible, but she didn't do it with my help.
I called Budapest.
Comrade Petrak's mother and sister have disappeared.
It is presumed they left the country.
That, too, could not have been done without help.
Now, what agency are you affiliated with? We can get this information with or without your help.
We know which of your agencies operate internationally.
We have only to call them all.
[PHONE BUZZES.]
Roger Blye.
They gave you the wrong extension.
What? Hold on a minute.
Where is Francine? They're putting her calls on my line.
- Isn't she back from lunch yet? - No.
Some guy on the phone.
Says it's important.
I'll take it.
Miss Desmond isn't in at the moment.
May I help you? BROBICH [O VER PHONE.]
: You have Petrak, we have Francine Desmond.
BROBICH: Prepare to make a trade.
[DOORBELL RINGS.]
DOTTY: Doorbell, Amanda.
- Yes, Mother.
- Don't let anybody in.
- It's a little late for that, isn't it? - Sir.
BILLY: I need Scarecrow, fast.
Oh, yes, sir.
He and Miss Petrak were just leaving.
DOTTY: Is it the drugstore? - No, Mother, it isn't.
Maybe you can all talk in the car.
Billy? What's the matter? We just got a call.
They have Francine.
- Who has Francine? - Brobich.
- How could you let this happen? - I didn't let it happen.
Everything was working according to plan.
Francine got back to the office, then she went to lunch.
- They must have spotted her on the street.
- They want a trade? - Yes.
- That is completely out of the question.
If we could all just lower our voices a little bit and explain to me what is going on? You mentioned Francine's resemblance to Magda? - Yes.
LEE: She's a ringer for her.
- Dead ringer.
- Oh, my gosh.
How'd they leave it with you? They gonna call back? - We have some plans to make.
- Lf you agree to this trade they will kill me.
If we don't, they'll kill Francine.
You're gonna have to trust me on this.
I'm gonna go back to the agency with Billy.
You stay put.
You'll be safe here.
Lee, could I speak to you for just a second please? Sir? Excuse me, you can't go out the front.
Mother can see you from her bedroom and she heard you ring the bell.
- I'll pick you up down the block.
- All right.
- Tell her I'm from the phone company.
- Sir? I'm not lying to her anymore.
Tell her I said I'm from the phone company.
- Snap to it, Scarecrow.
- Yep.
[SIGHS.]
Could I see you in the kitchen for a moment, please? Yeah.
Shh.
- Amanda, I know I promised I would - Shh.
[WHISPERING.]
I know I promised I would have her out of here, and I will.
It won't be more than a couple of hours.
See, the plan was, was to get her to a safe house which turned out to be here, through nobody's fault.
We were going to get our information, sneak her out and relocate her with her mother and sister.
- But it's too hot to move her now.
- Now, look.
It's not just that.
It's this Brobich person.
If he's prepared to kill Magda and even Francine then what about Jamie and Philip? They're just boys.
And Mother has a cold, and we don't even have any protection here.
You don't need any.
[SIGHS.]
Would I leave if I thought you were in danger? No, of course not.
You wouldn't do that.
All right, if it will make you feel any safer Put that away.
I'd rather have the whole Hungarian army in my house than that.
- I don't even know how to use it.
- Well, maybe it's time you learned.
I don't want to shoot anyone.
You won't have to.
And that is a promise.
LEE: It's cleaned out.
They didn't forget a thing.
BILLY: It was a long shot.
The location of these offices has never been a secret.
We know they're not stupid enough to have been waiting.
They're taking their time about making contact.
- You sure that beeper is working? - It's working.
It's gonna be one of those last-minute calls.
No time for a countergambit.
We're supposed to be able to think and move at the same time.
Billy.
When they call, I hope you can get them to put Francine on.
I am not taking their word for anything.
She has a temper.
I'm not saying she isn't a good agent.
She's terrific, but she has a temper.
- She'll be all right, Lee.
- We don't know that.
Like I said, they're not stupid.
Excuse me.
I hope to God you're right.
More coffee? No.
- You have veal? - Veal? Veal? You mean like veal, as in $ 14-a-pound veal? No.
I'm sorry.
We don't have any veal.
That's a little rich for this household.
[AMANDA CHUCKLES.]
Hungarians are very good cooks.
You know, I could make, uh veal paprikash for dinner.
- Oh, you won't be staying for dinner.
Well, I don't mean.
I just mean that uh, Mr.
Stetson said, uh, you know, one hour, maybe two, and you'll be [MUMBLES.]
I thought to have blender one day.
Toaster oven.
- You have microwave? - No.
I thought to have microwave one day.
Things are very different here from what we have at home.
Or what we don't have at home.
- I like these things.
- Oh.
Well, were they planning to send you back to Hungary? Yeah.
I found out and, uh, I decided not to go.
L I like America.
But now Brobich knows I've talked and he will be devising a proper way to kill me.
Oh, no.
No, no.
That won't happen.
No.
Nobody's gonna get killed around here.
Mm-mm.
- You don't know Brobich.
- You don't know Lee Stetson.
[WHISPERING.]
Ah, we really shouldn't be talking about this with Mother and the children right upstairs, okay? You have an admiration for Mr.
Stetson, no? Perhaps more than an admiration.
I don't know why you would say that.
We have a professional association and, uh, that was really just a fluke.
It's only part-time, uh, a matter of being in the wrong place at the right time or the right place at the wrong time.
- He's very attractive.
Hmm? - What? You don't? You don't find him attractive? Oh, uh What, you mean feature for feature? Uh, sure.
Well, yes, he's, uh, got nice hair.
It's not great hair, but it's nice hair.
He's tall Straight nose, and beautiful, beautiful, beautiful eyes.
Pretty eyes, really.
You know, that phone is gonna ring any minute.
Any minute, that phone is gonna ring.
I can feel it.
[RINGS.]
That's gotta be it, Billy.
They're only ringing through for Brobich.
- Hello.
- The exchange will take place in exactly 30 minutes.
You will bring Miss Petrak to the area reserved for private jets at Dulles International.
[O VER PHONE.]
Our plane will be on the runway.
Miss Desmond will be returned to you at the time if you do not interfere with our departure.
Should you interfere in any way, then Miss Desmond will be killed.
In fact, many lives may be lost.
Dulles Airport, 30 minutes.
- Oh, that's impossible.
- I know.
It's half an hour from Amanda's to the airport.
It would take us 15 minutes from the agency to her house.
This is gonna work if we go direct.
Without Magda? Come on.
They'd have that plane halfway to Hungary with Francine in it if we show up without her.
- Amanda will have to bring her.
Amanda? Come on, Billy.
She is not equipped for this kind of operation.
It's bad enough we got Francine and Magda but you throw Amanda into this, you have a disaster.
I don't have time to argue with you, Scarecrow.
This is the way it's going to be.
Now we have 29 minutes.
Call her, or start thinking about what you're gonna tell Francine's next of kin.
How about we line things up right there on the runway? - We come up the old road - Don't get creative, Scarecrow.
Just do what I tell you to do.
Billy, if we don't come up with a plan, Amanda's not going to have a prayer.
Here, wear this over your head.
And don't worry about a thing.
Lee's very good at spur-of-the-moment planning.
- He didn't mention plans.
- There wasn't time.
What I'm supposed to do is take you out the, uh, old road to Dulles Airport.
There won't be much traffic and not many people know about it, it's a shortcut.
Along the way, an agency vehicle will intercept us.
That's it.
- Philip.
Jamie.
JAMIE: Okay, Mom, here we come.
Amanda, where are you going? I'm gonna take Miss Petrak to the airport.
- She's leaving? - Yes, she is, sweetheart.
Don't I get a kiss? Mwah.
Amanda, I think we ought to change drugstores.
I called first thing this morning and they haven't delivered the vitamin C.
All right, Mother, we'll do that.
We'll change drugstores.
- Mom? - Yes, sweetie? Second place isn't losing.
You don't get a red ribbon for losing.
You bet your life, sweetheart.
All right, you be good.
Argh! - See you, kid.
PHILIP: You too, Mama.
- Why do you risk your life for me? - I am not risking my life for you.
At least I hope I'm not.
What about you? You don't even know Francine.
It is different.
It was I who approached the agency and asked for help.
If I don't cooperate now, what would happen to my mother and my sister? - They might be sent back to Hungary.
- The agency wouldn't do that.
You really don't trust anyone, do you? - I know human nature.
- I don't think you do.
I think you think you know human nature the same way you think you know how to make coffee and you think you know how to make veal paprikash which I'd like to see you do with that hamburger I've got in the refrigerator.
- You're angry.
Yes, I'm angry.
I'm sorry.
I took you into my house.
I didn't have to do that.
In fact, I swore I never would.
And I must have made enough coffee to keep the town of Buffalo awake for two weeks and that's not even to mention the 14 sandwiches which I am told my sandwiches are very, very tasty however, from you, I haven't heard thank you, not once.
- Thank you.
- And that's not the worst.
I've made sandwiches before and I've made coffee before and I've done dishes before but what you did to Philip was inexcusable.
That little boy worked morning and night for a month to make that volcano.
Have you got any idea how much that meant to him? Hmm? And it was perfect too.
Inside and out.
And he won second place for it.
Won.
And I don't know what that means in Hungary, but in America, heh it's pretty darn good.
I am sorry.
Our ways are different.
- I guess they are.
- I have much to learn, if I have the time.
Don't talk like that.
You'll have the time.
- Who is that ahead of us? - The station wagon? BROBICH: Pull up, I want to see.
- Magda.
- Brobich.
[TIRES SQUEALING.]
AMANDA: Hang on.
MAGDA: What are you doing? AMANDA: I haven't the faintest idea.
MAGDA: They're following us.
AMANDA: Still? MAGDA: Watch out.
Watch out, you're losing control.
AMANDA: Miss Petrak, I'm doing the best I can.
Will you please stop telling me how to drive? Hold on.
[MAGDA GRUNTS.]
AMANDA: Over this way.
Go around quickly.
They're getting away.
MAGDA: There they are.
AMANDA: Over here.
Come on, get down.
SANDOR: Come on, Vylos.
Let's get them.
AMANDA: Oh.
VYLOS: They've got to be here somewhere.
- Look over there.
They can't be far.
[HELICOPTER WHIRRING.]
[BOTH YELLING INDISTINCTLY.]
[GUNFIRE.]
Come on, come on! Come on, that's it, that's it.
Hurry up.
There you go.
Come on.
Francine, come on.
Come on.
Hurry up.
That's it.
Take it up! Amanda! Come on, come on.
Amanda, hold on.
- Here we go.
AMANDA: Oh, no.
LEE: That's it.
Get us out of here.
[AMANDA YELLS.]
[AMANDA COUGHS.]
Have I said a word? Said a word about the condition of the station wagon after a simple trip to the airport? - No, Mother, you haven't said a word.
- And I won't.
If I were the type to ask questions I might ask how a simple trip to the airport could result in at least $800 worth of body work.
Mother, I thank you very much for not asking.
Could you pass me a tissue, please? - You're not getting my cold, are you? - Oh, no, no.
Are you kidding? With my immune system? Mm-mm.
I suppose I'm also not supposed to ask who Magda Petrak was.
- Mother, I don't wanna lie to you.
- I know you don't wanna lie.
- I have my own theories.
- Oh, you do? Yes, you see, I haven't read Agatha Christie for 30 years for nothing.
I don't have one theory.
I have at least six.
- Good night, Mother.
- Good night, love.
- Give my best to Bud Marcher.
- Mother! AMANDA: If they have these parties every night, it must get awfully expensive.
- Yes, it does.
- You really didn't have to bring me.
- Oh, come on, I owe you one.
- Oh, you don't owe me anything.
I mean, you know, I'm really glad that I helped Magda and, well, I wasn't so glad at first but I'm glad now that she has her freedom and her new identity and she's with her mother and her little sister and she has her - Excuse me.
- Uh-huh.
- New microwave.
I think it's very nice.
Yeah.
It worked.
We were able to get Brobich and his Hungarian goon squad deported too.
You know, they set up quite an intelligence network here.
You know, uh these things go on sometimes for hours.
- What things? - These embassy things.
- Oh.
- Hmm.
Well, you really didn't have to bring me.
I hustled you out of here in a hurry the other night and you said you'd never been to one and I guess, uh you did have to put up with a lot from Magda.
I wanted to ask you a question and it will have nothing to do with Ahem.
Excuse me.
With our professional relationship, but - What? - Well, in the helicopter first you saved Magda, then you saved Francine and then almost as an afterthought, you saved me.
- It was not an afterthought.
- I just, you know, I felt It was the first time that you were in the clear.
See? I knew you would explain it perfectly.
How did you find us? I saw somebody try to drive a station wagon through a swamp.
- And you knew it was me.
- I figured it'd be you, yes.
Lee, I know you think you owe me something but, um I think I'm catching Mother's cold.
I wanna go home.
Oh.
[COUGHS.]
- Excuse me.
- You too? Yeah.
- Excuse me.
- That's all right.
- Guess what.
- What? If it'll make you feel any better Magda's got it too.
[BOTH LAUGH.]
Heaven.
[BOTH COUGH.]