Black Scorpion, The (1957) Movie Script
For centuries the prayers
of Mexico's peasants...
...have been their only shield
against the devastating furies...
...that have wrecked their homes
and destroyed their lives.
And so today, again, they kneel...
...terrified and helpless
as a new volcano is created...
...by the mysterious
and rebellious forces of nature.
The earth has split a thousand times.
Whole acres of rich farmland
have cracked and dropped from sight...
...and millions of tons of molten lava
are roaring down the slopes...
...in a quake recorded on the seismograph
of the University of Mexico...
...as the most violent of modern times.
To the benighted citizenry
of this remote countryside...
...the most alarming aspect
of the phenomenon...
...is the fact that its unabated hourly
growth is without precedence...
...having reached a towering height
of 9000 feet within a few days...
...and with each added foot, it spreads its
evil onslaught into a wider circumference.
But what is now most feared is that
rescue work will be severely hampered...
...by the hazardous inaccessibility
of the terrain.
Well, there she is.
Yeah.
How much further
do you suppose, doc?
Three days on this washboard and that
volcano looks as far away as it ever did.
Nobody stuck a gun in your back
to make you become a geologist.
Yeah, but you don't have to rub it in.
"San Lorenzo, 12 kilometers."
If there was any other village
within 50 miles...
...a sign like this could confuse people.
It looks like somebody else has been here.
Yeah, army truck, maybe. Police.
Don't get me wrong, doc.
I love this Mexico of yours...
...but up around here,
I think I could stand a little company.
For my information, Hank,
how did you get permission so fast?
From my group, I mean.
After all, red tape and that sort of thing.
Simple. I just told them the truth:
That you needed me along as an interpreter.
That may be true, but I think
the language you really spoke best...
...was with our secretary who
secured all the documents for you.
I didn't use Spanish with her.
That was sign language.
Incredible. Truly, isn't it?
If these estimates are right, this quake
may be as severe as Mount Pele...
...Vesuvius, San Francisco.
Lucky there are so few people up here.
Well, there were enough.
- Hello.
- Hi.
- How far you come, fellas?
- Mexico City.
- We left on Monday.
- Where do you want to go?
San Lorenzo. How far is it?
Do you know?
Who knows how the bridges are.
Maybe a couple of hours.
A police car went by just before sundown.
They didn't come back,
so maybe they got through okay.
Was San Lorenzo hurt badly?
Who knows? The telephone lines
are down since the earthquake.
- Thanks a lot. See you later.
- Take it easy.
- What the devil was that?
- I don't know.
Ordinarily, I've got nothing
against moonlight nights...
...but I'll be glad to get by this one.
It looks like a farmhouse up ahead.
Maybe we can get some water up there.
I hope so. I'd like to save
those last two bottles of beer.
Well, no gas station ever looked better.
- Hello?
- Anybody home?
I'll see if I can find a well.
Hey, hello in there.
I wonder if we can have
some water for our jeep.
- Hey, Hank!
- Yeah?
Come here!
Look at this.
Over here too.
What do you suppose...?
Look at that!
What do you make of it?
It must be that patrol car
those telephone men saw...
...but I certainly have no idea
what could have happened or why.
What could do this to a car out here?
You don't suppose they're trying
to walk to San Lorenzo?
511. Calling 511. Do you read me?
Sergeant Vega, do you read me?
This is headquarters calling 511.
Hello. Hello, do you read me?
511, I read you, Sergeant Vega.
What's your location? Sergeant Vega?
Here, you better take this.
You're head man down here.
- Hello.
- Go ahead, please.
This is Arturo Ramos,
professor of geology from the university.
My associate and I came upon
this patrol car. There has been an accident.
I believe we're a few kilometers south
of the village of San Lorenzo.
- Where's Sergeant Vega?
- He's not here. No one is here.
The car is badly damaged,
but there's no blood.
- Did the car run off the road?
- No. Frankly it...
Didn't the sergeant
make a report after the accident?
- The radio's working.
- We have heard nothing.
Thank you, professor.
Leave the patrol car as it is.
We shall order military intelligence
to send a unit to San Lorenzo immediately.
We will.
Well, we're not doing any good here, pal.
Hank, some of my countrymen
may like rattlesnakes in the house.
- I can do without them.
- Let's take a look.
That rattlesnake
is the worst kind of them all.
Come on, fella. There you go.
You've had practice, Mr. Scott?
I guess so, with four brothers
and two sisters.
What do you suppose caused this wreck?
That police car out there?
It could've been a bull.
If it was, it had to be the grandpappy
of the biggest bull that ever was.
Hank?
You did notice the beans
were still hot on the stove?
- Yep.
- So?
When I've already got a dozen questions
I can't answer...
...I try to ignore any new ones.
Do you think we ought to radio them
about the kid?
Nope, I think we ought to get to
San Lorenzo as quick as we can.
Look at that kid.
Not a peep out of him.
If I ever have any of my own,
I'll feed them beans and tortillas too.
Then I'll be able to get some sleep nights.
Hey, wait a minute.
Every cartridge has been fired.
Hello. Hello? We only found
Sergeant Vega and the baby.
I have that, professor. Right. You said
Vega's revolver had all chambers fired.
Yes. All.
- At what?
- We wish we knew too.
Thank you again. The emergency unit
will be in San Lorenzo tomorrow.
- Right.
- That's all.
We're from Mexico City. We're from Mexico
City. We're scientists. Is the mayor here?
Hernando, rest for a day or two.
Rosa, don't let him try to do too much.
Father! Father! They come.
Padre Delgado, the road is open.
- Help is here.
- From Mexico City.
At last, thank God.
Ask them in Spanish.
Welcome to San Lorenzo.
I am Father Delgado.
Arturo Ramos, of the university.
Dr. Henry Scott, from the United States.
- I'm afraid I can't introduce this one.
- Manuel Tiburcio! And the parents?
They weren't there. I think it might
be better if we discuss this inside, Father.
Dead! They were dead!
And now, Father, do you believe
there is a demon bull...
...killing us all one by one?
- Perla!
I'll take Manuel. I'll take him with me.
But I will not protect him
from the devil just by lighting candles!
Gentlemen, I know you are weary
after your journey.
Can I offer you what hospitality
the village may provide?
Thank you, Father.
That car, Father, just pushed in
as though it were paper.
And finding the sergeant with a look
of death none of us had ever seen before.
- Then this isn't the first time?
- The first Sunday after the eruption...
...various of the congregation
were not in church.
This is understandable, you realize,
travel might have been impossible.
Then the Tiburcio family
simply vanished.
The farm, as you have described,
ravished as by some giant being.
- But there were no bodies.
- None until last Thursday.
Since then, a young girl.
She was crossing the field
to spend that night...
...with cousins, was found in the morning.
Horrible.
And the Dominguez brothers, ranchers...
...were discovered in a gully with
that look of horror on their faces...
...and no blood.
It's small consolation, Father, I admit...
...but as a scientist, I know where
the effects are so similar...
...there must be a simple, logical cause.
I wonder how simple, Dr. Ramos,
or how logical.
Father, what about that story
about the demon bull?
That seems like a strange superstition.
Oh, the demon bull is a symbol of evil
among many ancient civilizations.
About two days ago, all the workmen
on the big Miraflores ranch...
...that's a huge estate on
the other side of the foothills...
...decided to leave their work
and come here to San Lorenzo.
Now, these men,
usually frightened of nothing...
...said they wouldn't work there
a day longer.
- They brought the tale of the demon bull.
- Has Miraflores been attacked also?
Cattle had been found dead
in various areas of the ranch.
They hadn't been rounded up yet this year.
And for miles around, cowboys came upon
one dead steer after another.
One of them had heard the tale
of the demon bull of the Maricopa.
Now, gentlemen, I do not believe it, but it is
as good an explanation as any other one.
Well, I'd like to think that our research
up here might be of some help.
As do I, but this is no time to begin.
I know you're exhausted
from your journey and listening to me.
Tonight you'll stay here, and maybe in the
morning, things won't seem so mysterious.
Indeed, I hope so.
Here we are isolated,
almost cut off from civilization...
...having lost family or friends
to something absolutely unknown.
We could be in another world.
- Good night, Father.
- Good night.
Thank you for everything, Father.
- We really appreciate it.
- That's all right.
See you later this afternoon.
Dr. Ramos, Dr. Scott...
...I will ask you one more time
not to begin this unnecessary expedition.
Major Cosio, we have answered
all your questions.
- I don't see how we can be of any service.
- No, I don't require you for my work here.
I only know that if you start for that crater
and find yourself in any difficulties...
...men who are much more badly needed
here will have to go find you.
I'm sorry.
So that's why you must come back safely,
and before sundown...
...with all the answers
to your questions and mine.
Now you've got me.
What do you say, doc? Shall we try
around over that side, or over here?
Neither one of them looks
exactly like a Pan-American highway.
Everyone's always said that
the best fissures are on the eastern slope.
You can see the lava there.
Maybe we can get close enough to get
some pictures and plan our best approach.
You see a trail up around those rocks?
I don't know about that, but I've found
something a lot more interesting.
- So?
- So?
S, s, seor. Here, have a look.
It'll do you more good
than that bottled water.
Ah, yes. Now I see him.
Doc, you haven't got that thing in focus.
They're focused...
...and it's a handsome horse,
and I'd like to get started.
Horse?
There was a girl on that horse!
Come on, we've gotta get started
and find her.
Now, don't move too much.
I said don't move.
We've got to find out if you're all right first.
Oh, I'm all right, really.
Except I could have been more graceful
if I'd known spectators were around.
- Don't worry about that.
- Gently, now.
No broken bones, seorita? No sharp pains?
No, really, I'm all right.
I've fallen off Lucero before.
Not for many years, but...
I really can ride, gentlemen.
I'm Teresa Alvarez, of Miraflores.
Hank Scott.
Dr. Arturo Ramos.
The luck of the Alvarez. Tumble off a horse
and land right next to a doctor.
Doctors of geology. We operate only
with little hammers on rocks.
How about the horse?
I saw him gallop off.
Oh, don't bother.
Lucero always goes back to Miraflores...
...but, the saddle, I don't know...
- I'll get it.
- You're very kind.
- No bother at all.
- Do you happen to have a canteen?
- Oh, sure. Right on the jeep. Come on.
- There's a mirror you can use.
- Great.
Well, we'll be here several weeks at least.
We're conducting a sort of
preliminary survey...
...and then the other boys
will join us here next month.
You make it sound like
a very intriguing occupation.
Oh, it is. You meet
such interesting volcanoes.
Hey, Hank!
Thank you, doctor.
I ought to thank you.
I found this near the saddle.
- Oh, is that good?
- I'll say it is. It's obsidian.
That's lava that's cooled.
Well, I wouldn't know.
Cattle, yes, but rocks...
- Could I ask another favor of you?
- Well, sure.
Would you mind taking me
back to San Lorenzo?
- Be glad to.
- Thank you.
I must get there today.
The telephone isn't working, and I have
to hire some riders to help with my cattle.
That old volcano is really causing
a lot of trouble this time.
Yeah, we heard in the village
about your cowboys.
Well, if I lose my cattle, I lose everything.
- How are things in San Lorenzo?
- Oh, so-so.
I don't know what's gotten
into my vaqueros at Miraflores.
So there was an earthquake...
...and the cattle started eating some
poisonous weed we haven't learned of yet.
Is that any reason
to act like frightened children?
I don't think it's just
a poisonous plant, seorita.
You don't grow them that can push in
the side of a building and wreck a car.
Oh, don't forget. You've promised
to use Miraflores as your headquarters.
It will be a great convenience, seorita.
- Then we'll meet later?
- Right.
Chamoco, Felipe, Jose.
All of you.
Let me ask you this.
If your patron, my father,
were alive today...
...would you be frightened of sounds in the
night and run like children to the village?
- Seorita Teresa, I understand you need us.
- I say only this, muchachos.
I have known you all for all my life.
We have always worked together.
- Many of you were born at Miraflores.
- That's right.
If you don't wish to return just
to help me save my cattle for me...
...then return to save Miraflores.
- We'll return.
- Gracias.
Dr. Ramos. Dr. Scott.
- Major Cosio wants to see you.
- Where is he?
- In the laboratory with Dr. Delacruz.
- Laboratory?
You'd be surprised at the experiments
that go on there.
- Where is it?
- This way.
Doctor, is that the patrolman?
Yes, Sergeant Vega...
...who lived doing his duty
and who may perform a greater one now.
Please.
Well?
Looked like subcutaneous cells
that had just burst or run rampant.
My analysis also, Dr. Scott.
Not from any poison I can identify
with this equipment.
Lopez, your help again, please.
In this, pure alcohol.
In this, distilled water.
In this, tequila.
In this, water with so much salt.
- You think it is a poison, then?
- I do.
Not a chemical poison, doctor?
No, but I believe for many reasons
that this is an organic poison.
I have had a little experience with them:
The venoms of the snakes,
the wasps, the spiders.
But I will prepare the slides
and the specimens...
...and take them to a man in Mexico City
who will be sure to know.
- Velasco?
- You know Velasco?
Who doesn't, doctor?
Well, as you say, if it's an organic poison...
...anything from nature,
the great Velasco will identify it.
You said for many reasons.
What other reasons?
Well, there was only one wound. Here.
But no blood.
Then the situation of the tissues,
the strange bacteria...
...bacteria I think, found in
the soil samples near the footprints.
- Footprints?
- Footprints?
You are amazed.
Where something knocks down dwellings,
flattens corn fields...
...it would be amazing
if there were no footprints.
I never saw a moulage of a print this size.
Whatever it is, my friends...
...I don't believe anyone has ever seen
a foot, a claw this size...
...except those poor unfortunates
who wish they never had.
- One question, doctor.
- I hope I can answer it.
Well, the alcohol, the distilled water,
the salt solution, I can understand that...
...but what's the tequila for?
Well, in your country,
I believe you call it a coffee break.
- There's the hacienda.
- Hey, that really looks like quite a place.
It looks like you were pretty lucky.
That thing really came close.
Yes. We were blessed
that it didn't go any further...
...or our plantation would have been
ruined like the rest of the land.
Seorita, thank heaven you're safe.
When Lucero came back to the stables
without you, I began to search the hills.
Oh, Pio, I'd already been found
by someone else.
This is Dr. Scott and Dr. Ramos.
- This is my foreman, Pio.
- Hi, Pio.
This way.
Not only comfortable, but cool too.
Yes, sometimes I think being cool is by far
the most important on days like this.
Well, I know you'll want showers.
Florentina, show Dr. Ramos
to the Blue Room.
S, seorita.
And Juanito, you show Dr. Scott
to the left wing.
I'll take care of them.
Well, I'll see you later, and you can
tell me all about your expedition.
Not bad, doc.
For half a day's work, Chamoco, not bad.
- Tell the boys.
- Yes, Pio, yes.
We get them all brought in by Thursday.
Why put on such a face?
We will do it if I have to stay
in the saddle without sleep myself.
Pio, don't you understand?
Can't you see the cattle know that
something evil is carried in the wind.
- Let us wait, Pio.
- Old women, Chamoco.
Now let us have a good supper
and forget these superstitions.
Would you like some brandy, sir?
- Yes, thank you.
- Just a minute.
Juanito, hurry with the brandy.
- Would you like some too?
- Please.
I'll take care of them.
Muchas gracias.
May I make a complaint, Teresa?
Oh, I'm sorry. What was not done suitably?
Well, that's just it.
Everything was done beautifully.
You know, you're making it very difficult
to think about settling down to work.
- Well, is that so bad?
- That all depends.
It might be very bad if I stopped thinking
about work altogether...
...and just started concentrating
on pleasure.
Hank, those volcanoes have been there
for hundreds of years.
I'm sure they wouldn't mind
waiting just a little longer.
I didn't expect you two
to be discussing volcanoes.
I've got something to show you.
I noticed it last night at the village.
See anything? Hold it up against the light.
That's fantastic, doc.
Why, there's a scorpion trapped in there.
I think so. A few hundred years old,
but there he is.
I wanted to show it to you
before I broke it open.
Alive!
Lmpossible! Juanito, bring a jar.
- Life enduring for centuries like this.
- And under all that heat!
Velasco will certainly be interested in this.
Here, Juanito.
Pardon me, seores.
Do you like to keep scorpions?
I know a place where there are millions.
Not like this one, Juanito.
Pancho.
Pancho, if you don't know how to behave,
I have to send you out.
I want a magnifying glass
to watch this little monster.
I could throw this scorpion out the
window, and we'd really be alone.
It's simpler than that.
Why don't we go outside?
Why don't we?
Oh, excuse me, the line's been fixed.
- Hello. Hello.
- Hacienda Miraflores? Just testing the line.
- Oh, is the line all fixed?
- All clear, ma'am.
Miraflores was the last one, seora.
- Gaetano!
- What?
What's under the bridge?
No, in the arroyo!
Hank, come here.
Listen to this.
Hello. Hello.
- Hello, what's wrong?
- Look out!
Run, Gaetano. Get to the truck.
- Where's the arroyo bridge?
- I'll show you.
Pancho, what's happening
to you tonight? Keep quiet.
Doc, we have to go to the bridge.
There's some trouble.
And you be a good boy.
Come back here! Pancho!
Pancho, come back here.
Pancho! Pancho! Pancho, come back here!
Pancho, what's the matter
with you tonight?
Pancho, come back!
I'll get you.
Seorita.
- What's wrong with the cattle, Pio?
- I cannot say.
- Help, Mr. Hank!
- That's Juanito.
Run, Juanito!
Give me your gun. Call for help.
- It's a gigantic scorpion.
- Where is Juanito?
He's safe.
Operator. Operator. Operator!
Please, hurry, operator!
- I shot at that thing a dozen times.
- Must be after the cattle.
- Mr. Hank.
- Juanito, come on, quick.
Teresa, Florentina, come on
into the jeep. Quick.
- Dr. Velasco.
- Dr. Ramos, I hoped I'd find you here.
This is fantastic.
- Dr. Velasco...
- Thank God, Father.
We thought you were all dead.
This is all that remains.
Even the animals.
I cannot speak of this night.
Eaten. Devoured.
I have been sent here
in charge of emergency arrangements.
- All that are left will be moved to safety.
- Certainly.
Tell everyone to be ready
to leave San Lorenzo.
Father, they may only take
what they can carry in their arms.
- Very well.
- Where is the laboratory?
It's over there.
As soon as I received the samples,
I identified the poison...
...as that of a scorpion, but I had
no concept of the creature's size...
...until I saw this.
And this.
This specimen found by Dr. Ramos...
...is of a species thought to be extinct
since the Triassian era.
We have known it in a fossil state,
but never alive.
Now from the bowels of the earth, it has
come forth again to plague the earth.
What can we do? I emptied
the machine gun at one of them.
I beg of you all, not to lose your head...
...in any sense of the word. But we have
a few advantages against this enemy.
First, they come out to eat only at night.
Thus we have the daylight hours
to try to find and destroy them.
Secondly, they are somewhat
slow and lethargic...
...until inflamed by the smell of blood.
- I still ask one question, sir.
- Yes?
- What weapon do you intend to use?
- Gas. Poison gas.
It has been proved effective
against normal species.
Let us pray it works against
the Scorpionida rex.
If it does not...
...may God help all of you.
- Be ready at dawn.
- Is that all of them, lieutenant?
I want to do what I can too.
Seorita Alvarez,
I understand your emotions.
Believe me,
I'm not trying to be emotional.
- I wouldn't ask if I couldn't help.
- You don't know the hardships.
Dr. Velasco, Major Cosio, I know
this area like the palm of my hand...
...better than any man here.
I'm a good shot.
You said yourself, you needed
all the help you could get.
Seorita Alvarez, I think
you have found yourself a job.
Gentlemen...
...Major Cosio and I are planning this.
Note where the various
incidents have occurred.
I want to go with you.
I want to do a job.
Don't worry, Juanito.
We'll get together again.
That's a promise.
See if you can find
my boots for me, will you?
I know where they are.
- Here they are.
- Oh, good.
They are very, very fine boots.
You kind of like those, huh?
Tell you what, Juanito...
...when you get to be a big man,
I'll get you a pair just like these.
- I thank you, Mr. Hank.
- You like that, huh?
I know how to ride very good.
I know how to shoot very good.
I'm 7 and 1/2 years old.
That's almost a half a man.
"A half a man"?
Oh, Juanito, you know
sometimes even a half a man...
...has a lot of different jobs to do.
The most important job for you to do
is to take care of your grandmother.
She can take care of herself.
I know, but you've got plenty of time
to do more exciting things.
And you. You be very careful
and don't get hurt, won't you?
Don't worry, I promise.
And a full man never break his promise.
Okay.
Oh, I don't see a thing, Dr. Velasco.
Might as well go on.
All right.
Major.
- Yes.
- Tell your captain to hold...
...all the heavy equipment
until we call for it.
Okay, doctor.
- Here it is, a great big opening.
- I guess he found it, Dr. Velasco.
Yes.
Look, there's something wrong
with his horse. He's falling in!
Let's hurry up there, Hank.
Come on, let's go.
We must get down to the lower level.
This crevice is new. It must have opened
during one of the earthquakes.
- This looks like a job for us, doc.
- Of course.
No chance for Mendoza?
How deep do you say it is?
Doc and I have been
down many a cave...
...but there's no way of really telling
until you actually hit bottom.
The only way we can find out
is to go down there ourselves.
- What do you say, doc?
- Right.
Will that poisonous gas
work in a crevice this big?
I could not anticipate such a void as this.
It may dissipate.
Major, I think you better bring all your
heavy equipment up here:
Crane, tanks and all.
Captain, bring the crane
and all the heavy equipment.
You want my men to go down there?
- It's suicide.
- Don't worry about it.
Doc and I haven't had a decent
elevator ride in a long time.
Hank, please, no.
- What are you doing here?
- I'm a stowaway.
Juanito, do me a favor, will you,
and just stay out of the way?
- Yes, Mr. Hank.
- Good.
And just sit in the jeep
like a big boy, okay?
- Put these in the cage.
- Why the birds, professor?
If the birds stop singing,
that means there's poison gas in the cave.
Hank, you don't have to do it.
Neither of you. It's not your responsibility.
Whose responsibility is it?
The police, the army,
the people who live here.
Now, look, doc and I know more
about caves than anyone else here.
- Why did you do that?
- Maybe I just wanted to see what you'd do.
- What did I do?
- You did all right.
Seorita...
...you can help keep
the log of the descent.
How many meters down,
the reports which are made...
Sure, keep yourself busy. That's my theory.
Oh, and don't forget
to take care of little Juanito.
All right, take it down.
Doc, look down there.
Stop. Stop the cage a minute.
Stop.
Hank, are you all right?
It's the head of a scorpion in the wall.
Hold on a second.
- Okay, I got a picture of it. Lower on.
- All right, lower them down.
We've just hit bottom.
We're in a huge cavern.
I've never seen a cave so big in my life.
- Can you see any signs of Mendoza?
- No, not from here.
We'll take a look around.
- Well, the birds seem all right.
- Yeah.
Are you there, Hank?
Hank, answer.
Are you there, Hank?
Dr. Ramos. Dr. Ramos.
Hello. Hello.
Hello.
- Hello.
- Yes.
Mendoza's dead.
- We just saw a worm 30 feet long.
- Hank, please come up.
- Hank.
- No, we wanna look around a little more.
Hey, doc.
Over here.
- There must be a nest full of them.
- Yeah.
- It doesn't even penetrate it.
- Try another one.
No, wait.
That must be the
granddaddy of them all.
That's how they kill each other,
that spot in the throat.
That must be it.
Mr. Hank!
Help! Help!
Help!
Help!
Mr. Hank!
- It's Juanito.
- Help!
Help.
Mr. Hank, help!
Help!
Mr. Hank!
Stay back in the cave, Juanito.
All right. Come on, Juanito.
I told you to stay in the jeep.
What are you doing down here?
- I came to help you.
- To help us.
Oh, come on.
Mr. Hank. Mr. Hank, look.
- What's causing that?
- Dr. Ramos, are you there?
Are you there? Are you there, Dr. Ramos?
Hank, answer me.
- Block the crane, or it'll be pulled in.
- Throw some blocks under that crane.
There goes our cage, gas tanks, everything.
There's no weight on the cable.
Oh, no.
Take the cable, and send it
back down as fast as you can.
Bring it in slow.
- Maybe they are on it.
- Oh, pull it up. Please.
Keep bringing it in.
- Keep going, doc.
- Hang on, doc. You can make it.
- Keep going.
- Come on, hold on.
- What happened to Hank?
- Hank and Juanito are down there.
- Get a loop on the cable. Send it, quick.
- Make a loop on the cable.
Oh, Juanito.
Oh, Juanito, why did you do it?
I tried to help them.
It'll be dark in an hour, and
those scorpions'll come out again.
- You couldn't use the gas?
- No, we lost it in the molten lava.
There must be 50 of those
things down there.
Can't we close and seal
that opening with dynamite?
You have no idea as to the size of that
place. Wait till you see these pictures.
I want those pictures.
I even hoped to get a specimen.
Why, you couldn't get one of those things
out even with this crane.
Major, we must try to seal it shut with
an explosion. We must try before nightfall.
I thought you said scorpions could go
for months without food.
The giants don't last long. They eat
their own weight every three or four days.
But suppose they find another way?
Those passages down there.
This is the only place they have appeared.
This probably is their only exit
from the cavern.
- Major.
- Yes, doctor.
Let's close it.
Ready?
Let her go.
I guess that does it.
Midnight, and everyone goes back
to what he was before.
This isn't the end of anything,
not for us. It's the beginning.
Hank, all of us have done our work now...
...and thank heaven it can be done
without any more tragedy.
You have your survey
of the volcanoes to make.
Well, that's fine.
I'll be home every night for dinner.
I have to leave at once.
I should have left for the States
two months ago to buy cattle for the herd.
- You'll be in Mexico City for a week first?
- Yes.
Then I'll finish up my work here
with doc.
I'll meet you there,
and you can show me the town.
Oh, but even if we do have,
what, a day, two days...?
I don't want to settle
for just two days, Hank.
I don't want just two days either.
I don't fool people.
I don't want them to fool me either.
I'm not, darling.
I like you very much indeed.
And I want you very much.
- Dr. Scott.
- Hello, I can hardly hear you.
This is Dr. Velasco.
Oh, Dr. Velasco. How are you, sir?
Well, we're just getting started, finally.
Yeah, right now.
I regret to have to complicate the plans
you and Dr. Ramos have made for so long...
...but some of my colleagues here in Mexico
are very anxious to talk to you both at once.
I don't really think there's anything we can
add to what you already know, Dr. Velasco.
I'm with the director of civilian defense
and high army officers right now, Hank.
It is imperative you both return here
at once to complete your report.
I don't like to say
that you can be ordered.
What's the trouble?
Everything is under control, isn't it?
There's no cause for alarm, not at all.
But a request for cooperation
has been made by...
By a good neighbor of the South,
and we feel that...
Well, if you put it like that...
Look, we've already postponed the trip
five times. I guess once more won't matter.
What? Oh, a plane?
Yeah, sure, that would help a lot.
Oh, Dr. Velasco, do you suppose
there'd be room for three on that plane?
Of course there will.
All right, sir. Yes, sir, I understand.
Right, see you then.
- Did he suspect?
- No, I don't think so.
- He assumes that the danger is over.
- That's fine.
You seemed willing
to postpone our trip...
...once you learned Teresa
could ride on the plane.
Well, at least it was
some sort of an inducement.
My friend, remember, this is not the balcony
of the neighborhood movie theater.
This is Mexico. When a man shows
as much attention to a girl as you have...
...suddenly, he's in a cathedral
and wondering how he got there.
So? What have you got against marriage?
I try to remember
what my father told me one time.
He said, "Arturo, every child
in the world is born single.
Please try to profit more than
I did by the experience."
- Dr. Ramos, Dr. Scott.
- Yes?
I am Victor Esteban. Dr. Velasco
has asked me to take you to him at once.
Right away?
But what about Seorita Alvarez?
I have orders to take her
wherever she wishes.
But you gentlemen must then
accompany me to the university.
All right.
Follow me, please.
Gentlemen, we are grateful that you have
given up your own plans to help us.
And we must apologize for bringing
you here under false pretenses.
It is not a neighboring country which
needs your help. It is our government.
Seor Moreno, of course there's
always a possible danger again.
Twenty years from now,
another earthquake.
It is not a potential danger, gentlemen.
We feel it is all too real, and not 20 years
from now. Perhaps in less than a month.
- You better fill us in from the beginning.
- Yes, of course.
I'm in charge of an aerial mapping project
for our government.
Recently our planes were photographing
the area near San Lorenzo.
Gentlemen, perhaps if you would sit down
and take a look.
Turn off the lights.
No. Not near the city.
It is one of them.
Now you're convinced our fears
are justified?
I don't like to disagree...
...but merely because a dead scorpion
was found coming to the surface...
...doesn't mean we didn't destroy
them all when we dynamited.
This scorpion may be one that...
Excuse me, sir. Naturally, the same
thought had occurred to us.
We rechecked our photographs.
On the 21 st, two days after the earthquake,
the scorpion was not there.
He was not there until the day
after you exploded the dynamite.
And you thought you destroyed
the scorpions.
It is obvious at least one survived
that explosion...
...and almost succeeded
in reaching the surface.
Switch the lights on.
And gentlemen, we must
proceed as if there are more of them left.
Exactly where is this area
where it was photographed?
Southwest of the volcano.
Almost directly across from the fissure
where you and Dr. Scott descended.
You will see, here, is the fissure.
This is San Lorenzo.
It was here, exactly here,
that the photograph was taken.
I think you're making a mountain
out of a molehill.
Dr. Velasco knows how that mountain
went when we blew it up.
Nothing could live
under those tons of rock.
- Not if they were under the rocks.
- I don't follow you.
From your description,
what Dr. Velasco told us...
...it is obvious that the cavern
into which you two men descended...
...is part of Chamilpa Caves...
...huge tunnels that run under the earth
at depths up to five miles...
...many of which have been mapped
in the region around Mexico City.
Some are flooded, parts
of the underground lakes.
Yes, I've heard of them.
Here they are. Notice how
this large fissure here...
...is directly above this arm
of the system.
This large pocket, here, is exactly the place
where you took your photographs.
Now, also note that here...
...where the scorpion
was photographed from the air...
...is also part of the connecting system.
The scorpions could have fled underground
to one of many underground shelters.
As you thought at the time
could happen, Hank.
What is that long arm there?
That is a cavern which extends southward
to within 20 miles of Mexico City...
...there, where it lies under the railroad.
This is what we wonder. How many of the
scorpions might have decided to rush here?
And when will they decide to come
to the surface after blood?
So that is why we brought you here.
The day after tomorrow,
we want you to address a group...
...of scientific and military experts
so that we may plan for any emergency.
What kind of rifles were you using?
How powerful?
The cartridges I was using are supposed to
penetrate two inches of steel.
But they didn't stop the scorpions!
How do they kill each other?
The throat. There's a small spot right here
that has no armor. That's its weak point.
When they attack each other, they have
poison to inject into their enemy's throat.
- Can you duplicate the poison?
- Nope. Not without a giant scorpion.
What we need is something that'll
penetrate that small area exactly...
...and then send some sort of poison
into the circulatory systems.
What it could be, I have no idea.
We're all in the same dilemma.
With the meeting on Friday,
I'm sure we'll reach a solution.
Gentlemen, I do not have
to tell you that...
...everything we have discussed here
is absolutely secret.
This is a city of four million people.
If word of this leaks out...
...the panic of the population
would be worse than the scorpions.
Nice dress, nice girl.
Well, thank you.
I'm glad you could see me in something
besides the clothes I wear at the ranch...
...for two days at least.
- So am I.
Hank, what's the meeting
on Friday about?
Oh, some geophysical conference
Dr. Velasco roped us in on. Cigarette?
Not right now.
After you finish that,
where am I taking you for dinner?
Hank, it's only 9:00.
That's what I mean.
Do you realize this is Mexico City?
And no one has dinner before 11:00
at night. Sometimes midnight.
Why, it's practically afternoon right now.
Lots of men are just leaving their offices.
Am I going to have trouble with you.
Well, you work on it, teacher.
I think you can solve me.
Nice work.
Caviar. Aren't you overdoing it
a bit, Hank?
Well, I've gotta make an impression on you
in 48 hours that'll last for two months.
Don't you like caviar?
Oh, I love it, but I must say I could never
understand why it's so expensive.
Well, it's a whole year's work
for a sturgeon.
It's been wonderful these past two
days. I wish they'd never end.
They don't have to.
For a while, they do.
I wish you'd change your mind.
You don't have to go away.
That volcano can wait.
No, you'll get through with your speech
tomorrow and your silly expedition...
...and I'll do everything I have to do.
When we come back
we won't have a worry in the world.
We interrupt this program
to bring you a news bulletin.
The train from Monterrey
was derailed outside of Mexico City.
Early reports indicate
an appalling loss of life.
Eyewitness accounts state
that monstrous scorpions...
...have swarmed around the wreckage.
One moment, please, we're trying to get
through to the emergency area.
Reports to this moment from available
hospital and emergency field units...
...indicate many of the victims are so badly
injured there is little hope of their survival.
All ambulances, cars, trucks
and other vehicles...
...have been commandeered
by the authorities in this emergency.
We've received a report from the scene
confirming that 129 persons...
...are killed and hundreds missing.
Survivors report...
...a giant black scorpion killed the smaller
scorpions and is headed for Mexico City.
We were trying to find you.
- What can we do?
- You can help us soon enough.
We're not sure how many of them are left,
but the largest may be the only one.
With the lust for blood after the wreck,
the scorpions went mad.
The largest killed four of them,
and may have killed the rest of them.
- Where is the scorpion?
- We lost it in the hills 10 miles out of town.
But it's approaching the northwest area
of the capital.
Yes. Yes.
It has been seen. Let's go.
Attention. Attention.
The city is under martial law.
All inhabitants living north of Tacubaya and
west of Guadalupe must leave their homes.
Follow the orders of the police.
Listen, darling, you get in that building
and stay there!
The scorpion has not reached the city.
It has been verified that only
one giant black scorpion is alive.
The public is warned that the city
will have a blackout.
A defense ring is being set up surrounding
the area where it was seen.
Authorities are taking all protective
measures. Observe safety precautions.
Protect your homes from fire hazards.
Sections of the community are
in a state of panic...
...adding to the burden
of the authorities and threatening...
...to disrupt communications
vital to the defense of the city.
If rifles and cannon won't stop it...
- Major Cosio here.
- Yes.
We have narrowed the ring one mile along
Insurgentes. Operation is proceeding.
That's fine. Have Major Ortega meet us
in front of the stadium with the weapon.
Major Ortega, Major Ortega.
Meet us in front of the stadium
with the weapon and generator.
With what kind of weapon?
I hope it is a weapon.
Just now it is only a prayer.
- Dr. Velasco?
- Yes?
Tell Col. Sanchez to move
the heavy equipment into the stadium.
Col. Sanchez, Col. Sanchez.
Dr. Velasco here.
Move all the heavy equipment
into the stadium right away.
The projectile enters the throat.
If I'm lucky, Dr. Velasco, but I have
never used a weapon like this before.
Attached to the projectile
is the copper wire...
...then the insulated wire which leads
to the cable and the generator.
It should give 600,000 volts.
- This meat should bring him in here.
- I hope so.
It's about the only way we can corner it.
You might need more than one shot, major.
- Seor Moreno.
- Yes, yes.
The scorpion is following
the meat wagon.
There it is.
The throat, major. Remember,
the white area on the throat.
The head comes back just
before it strikes.
Right.
You missed!
I won't miss this time!
Turn it off! Turn it off!
Turn the switch on!
Turn it off!
Now we can secure some of the actual
poison from the Scorpionida rex...
...analyze it and create a simple protection
against them if ever again...
- Hank, Velasco wants to...
- Gentlemen, we must not waste any time.
If we could all meet tomorrow
at my laboratory for a recapitulation.
Hank, Seorita Alvarez!
We have not yet finished.
Neither have we.
[Rip by Talorg]
of Mexico's peasants...
...have been their only shield
against the devastating furies...
...that have wrecked their homes
and destroyed their lives.
And so today, again, they kneel...
...terrified and helpless
as a new volcano is created...
...by the mysterious
and rebellious forces of nature.
The earth has split a thousand times.
Whole acres of rich farmland
have cracked and dropped from sight...
...and millions of tons of molten lava
are roaring down the slopes...
...in a quake recorded on the seismograph
of the University of Mexico...
...as the most violent of modern times.
To the benighted citizenry
of this remote countryside...
...the most alarming aspect
of the phenomenon...
...is the fact that its unabated hourly
growth is without precedence...
...having reached a towering height
of 9000 feet within a few days...
...and with each added foot, it spreads its
evil onslaught into a wider circumference.
But what is now most feared is that
rescue work will be severely hampered...
...by the hazardous inaccessibility
of the terrain.
Well, there she is.
Yeah.
How much further
do you suppose, doc?
Three days on this washboard and that
volcano looks as far away as it ever did.
Nobody stuck a gun in your back
to make you become a geologist.
Yeah, but you don't have to rub it in.
"San Lorenzo, 12 kilometers."
If there was any other village
within 50 miles...
...a sign like this could confuse people.
It looks like somebody else has been here.
Yeah, army truck, maybe. Police.
Don't get me wrong, doc.
I love this Mexico of yours...
...but up around here,
I think I could stand a little company.
For my information, Hank,
how did you get permission so fast?
From my group, I mean.
After all, red tape and that sort of thing.
Simple. I just told them the truth:
That you needed me along as an interpreter.
That may be true, but I think
the language you really spoke best...
...was with our secretary who
secured all the documents for you.
I didn't use Spanish with her.
That was sign language.
Incredible. Truly, isn't it?
If these estimates are right, this quake
may be as severe as Mount Pele...
...Vesuvius, San Francisco.
Lucky there are so few people up here.
Well, there were enough.
- Hello.
- Hi.
- How far you come, fellas?
- Mexico City.
- We left on Monday.
- Where do you want to go?
San Lorenzo. How far is it?
Do you know?
Who knows how the bridges are.
Maybe a couple of hours.
A police car went by just before sundown.
They didn't come back,
so maybe they got through okay.
Was San Lorenzo hurt badly?
Who knows? The telephone lines
are down since the earthquake.
- Thanks a lot. See you later.
- Take it easy.
- What the devil was that?
- I don't know.
Ordinarily, I've got nothing
against moonlight nights...
...but I'll be glad to get by this one.
It looks like a farmhouse up ahead.
Maybe we can get some water up there.
I hope so. I'd like to save
those last two bottles of beer.
Well, no gas station ever looked better.
- Hello?
- Anybody home?
I'll see if I can find a well.
Hey, hello in there.
I wonder if we can have
some water for our jeep.
- Hey, Hank!
- Yeah?
Come here!
Look at this.
Over here too.
What do you suppose...?
Look at that!
What do you make of it?
It must be that patrol car
those telephone men saw...
...but I certainly have no idea
what could have happened or why.
What could do this to a car out here?
You don't suppose they're trying
to walk to San Lorenzo?
511. Calling 511. Do you read me?
Sergeant Vega, do you read me?
This is headquarters calling 511.
Hello. Hello, do you read me?
511, I read you, Sergeant Vega.
What's your location? Sergeant Vega?
Here, you better take this.
You're head man down here.
- Hello.
- Go ahead, please.
This is Arturo Ramos,
professor of geology from the university.
My associate and I came upon
this patrol car. There has been an accident.
I believe we're a few kilometers south
of the village of San Lorenzo.
- Where's Sergeant Vega?
- He's not here. No one is here.
The car is badly damaged,
but there's no blood.
- Did the car run off the road?
- No. Frankly it...
Didn't the sergeant
make a report after the accident?
- The radio's working.
- We have heard nothing.
Thank you, professor.
Leave the patrol car as it is.
We shall order military intelligence
to send a unit to San Lorenzo immediately.
We will.
Well, we're not doing any good here, pal.
Hank, some of my countrymen
may like rattlesnakes in the house.
- I can do without them.
- Let's take a look.
That rattlesnake
is the worst kind of them all.
Come on, fella. There you go.
You've had practice, Mr. Scott?
I guess so, with four brothers
and two sisters.
What do you suppose caused this wreck?
That police car out there?
It could've been a bull.
If it was, it had to be the grandpappy
of the biggest bull that ever was.
Hank?
You did notice the beans
were still hot on the stove?
- Yep.
- So?
When I've already got a dozen questions
I can't answer...
...I try to ignore any new ones.
Do you think we ought to radio them
about the kid?
Nope, I think we ought to get to
San Lorenzo as quick as we can.
Look at that kid.
Not a peep out of him.
If I ever have any of my own,
I'll feed them beans and tortillas too.
Then I'll be able to get some sleep nights.
Hey, wait a minute.
Every cartridge has been fired.
Hello. Hello? We only found
Sergeant Vega and the baby.
I have that, professor. Right. You said
Vega's revolver had all chambers fired.
Yes. All.
- At what?
- We wish we knew too.
Thank you again. The emergency unit
will be in San Lorenzo tomorrow.
- Right.
- That's all.
We're from Mexico City. We're from Mexico
City. We're scientists. Is the mayor here?
Hernando, rest for a day or two.
Rosa, don't let him try to do too much.
Father! Father! They come.
Padre Delgado, the road is open.
- Help is here.
- From Mexico City.
At last, thank God.
Ask them in Spanish.
Welcome to San Lorenzo.
I am Father Delgado.
Arturo Ramos, of the university.
Dr. Henry Scott, from the United States.
- I'm afraid I can't introduce this one.
- Manuel Tiburcio! And the parents?
They weren't there. I think it might
be better if we discuss this inside, Father.
Dead! They were dead!
And now, Father, do you believe
there is a demon bull...
...killing us all one by one?
- Perla!
I'll take Manuel. I'll take him with me.
But I will not protect him
from the devil just by lighting candles!
Gentlemen, I know you are weary
after your journey.
Can I offer you what hospitality
the village may provide?
Thank you, Father.
That car, Father, just pushed in
as though it were paper.
And finding the sergeant with a look
of death none of us had ever seen before.
- Then this isn't the first time?
- The first Sunday after the eruption...
...various of the congregation
were not in church.
This is understandable, you realize,
travel might have been impossible.
Then the Tiburcio family
simply vanished.
The farm, as you have described,
ravished as by some giant being.
- But there were no bodies.
- None until last Thursday.
Since then, a young girl.
She was crossing the field
to spend that night...
...with cousins, was found in the morning.
Horrible.
And the Dominguez brothers, ranchers...
...were discovered in a gully with
that look of horror on their faces...
...and no blood.
It's small consolation, Father, I admit...
...but as a scientist, I know where
the effects are so similar...
...there must be a simple, logical cause.
I wonder how simple, Dr. Ramos,
or how logical.
Father, what about that story
about the demon bull?
That seems like a strange superstition.
Oh, the demon bull is a symbol of evil
among many ancient civilizations.
About two days ago, all the workmen
on the big Miraflores ranch...
...that's a huge estate on
the other side of the foothills...
...decided to leave their work
and come here to San Lorenzo.
Now, these men,
usually frightened of nothing...
...said they wouldn't work there
a day longer.
- They brought the tale of the demon bull.
- Has Miraflores been attacked also?
Cattle had been found dead
in various areas of the ranch.
They hadn't been rounded up yet this year.
And for miles around, cowboys came upon
one dead steer after another.
One of them had heard the tale
of the demon bull of the Maricopa.
Now, gentlemen, I do not believe it, but it is
as good an explanation as any other one.
Well, I'd like to think that our research
up here might be of some help.
As do I, but this is no time to begin.
I know you're exhausted
from your journey and listening to me.
Tonight you'll stay here, and maybe in the
morning, things won't seem so mysterious.
Indeed, I hope so.
Here we are isolated,
almost cut off from civilization...
...having lost family or friends
to something absolutely unknown.
We could be in another world.
- Good night, Father.
- Good night.
Thank you for everything, Father.
- We really appreciate it.
- That's all right.
See you later this afternoon.
Dr. Ramos, Dr. Scott...
...I will ask you one more time
not to begin this unnecessary expedition.
Major Cosio, we have answered
all your questions.
- I don't see how we can be of any service.
- No, I don't require you for my work here.
I only know that if you start for that crater
and find yourself in any difficulties...
...men who are much more badly needed
here will have to go find you.
I'm sorry.
So that's why you must come back safely,
and before sundown...
...with all the answers
to your questions and mine.
Now you've got me.
What do you say, doc? Shall we try
around over that side, or over here?
Neither one of them looks
exactly like a Pan-American highway.
Everyone's always said that
the best fissures are on the eastern slope.
You can see the lava there.
Maybe we can get close enough to get
some pictures and plan our best approach.
You see a trail up around those rocks?
I don't know about that, but I've found
something a lot more interesting.
- So?
- So?
S, s, seor. Here, have a look.
It'll do you more good
than that bottled water.
Ah, yes. Now I see him.
Doc, you haven't got that thing in focus.
They're focused...
...and it's a handsome horse,
and I'd like to get started.
Horse?
There was a girl on that horse!
Come on, we've gotta get started
and find her.
Now, don't move too much.
I said don't move.
We've got to find out if you're all right first.
Oh, I'm all right, really.
Except I could have been more graceful
if I'd known spectators were around.
- Don't worry about that.
- Gently, now.
No broken bones, seorita? No sharp pains?
No, really, I'm all right.
I've fallen off Lucero before.
Not for many years, but...
I really can ride, gentlemen.
I'm Teresa Alvarez, of Miraflores.
Hank Scott.
Dr. Arturo Ramos.
The luck of the Alvarez. Tumble off a horse
and land right next to a doctor.
Doctors of geology. We operate only
with little hammers on rocks.
How about the horse?
I saw him gallop off.
Oh, don't bother.
Lucero always goes back to Miraflores...
...but, the saddle, I don't know...
- I'll get it.
- You're very kind.
- No bother at all.
- Do you happen to have a canteen?
- Oh, sure. Right on the jeep. Come on.
- There's a mirror you can use.
- Great.
Well, we'll be here several weeks at least.
We're conducting a sort of
preliminary survey...
...and then the other boys
will join us here next month.
You make it sound like
a very intriguing occupation.
Oh, it is. You meet
such interesting volcanoes.
Hey, Hank!
Thank you, doctor.
I ought to thank you.
I found this near the saddle.
- Oh, is that good?
- I'll say it is. It's obsidian.
That's lava that's cooled.
Well, I wouldn't know.
Cattle, yes, but rocks...
- Could I ask another favor of you?
- Well, sure.
Would you mind taking me
back to San Lorenzo?
- Be glad to.
- Thank you.
I must get there today.
The telephone isn't working, and I have
to hire some riders to help with my cattle.
That old volcano is really causing
a lot of trouble this time.
Yeah, we heard in the village
about your cowboys.
Well, if I lose my cattle, I lose everything.
- How are things in San Lorenzo?
- Oh, so-so.
I don't know what's gotten
into my vaqueros at Miraflores.
So there was an earthquake...
...and the cattle started eating some
poisonous weed we haven't learned of yet.
Is that any reason
to act like frightened children?
I don't think it's just
a poisonous plant, seorita.
You don't grow them that can push in
the side of a building and wreck a car.
Oh, don't forget. You've promised
to use Miraflores as your headquarters.
It will be a great convenience, seorita.
- Then we'll meet later?
- Right.
Chamoco, Felipe, Jose.
All of you.
Let me ask you this.
If your patron, my father,
were alive today...
...would you be frightened of sounds in the
night and run like children to the village?
- Seorita Teresa, I understand you need us.
- I say only this, muchachos.
I have known you all for all my life.
We have always worked together.
- Many of you were born at Miraflores.
- That's right.
If you don't wish to return just
to help me save my cattle for me...
...then return to save Miraflores.
- We'll return.
- Gracias.
Dr. Ramos. Dr. Scott.
- Major Cosio wants to see you.
- Where is he?
- In the laboratory with Dr. Delacruz.
- Laboratory?
You'd be surprised at the experiments
that go on there.
- Where is it?
- This way.
Doctor, is that the patrolman?
Yes, Sergeant Vega...
...who lived doing his duty
and who may perform a greater one now.
Please.
Well?
Looked like subcutaneous cells
that had just burst or run rampant.
My analysis also, Dr. Scott.
Not from any poison I can identify
with this equipment.
Lopez, your help again, please.
In this, pure alcohol.
In this, distilled water.
In this, tequila.
In this, water with so much salt.
- You think it is a poison, then?
- I do.
Not a chemical poison, doctor?
No, but I believe for many reasons
that this is an organic poison.
I have had a little experience with them:
The venoms of the snakes,
the wasps, the spiders.
But I will prepare the slides
and the specimens...
...and take them to a man in Mexico City
who will be sure to know.
- Velasco?
- You know Velasco?
Who doesn't, doctor?
Well, as you say, if it's an organic poison...
...anything from nature,
the great Velasco will identify it.
You said for many reasons.
What other reasons?
Well, there was only one wound. Here.
But no blood.
Then the situation of the tissues,
the strange bacteria...
...bacteria I think, found in
the soil samples near the footprints.
- Footprints?
- Footprints?
You are amazed.
Where something knocks down dwellings,
flattens corn fields...
...it would be amazing
if there were no footprints.
I never saw a moulage of a print this size.
Whatever it is, my friends...
...I don't believe anyone has ever seen
a foot, a claw this size...
...except those poor unfortunates
who wish they never had.
- One question, doctor.
- I hope I can answer it.
Well, the alcohol, the distilled water,
the salt solution, I can understand that...
...but what's the tequila for?
Well, in your country,
I believe you call it a coffee break.
- There's the hacienda.
- Hey, that really looks like quite a place.
It looks like you were pretty lucky.
That thing really came close.
Yes. We were blessed
that it didn't go any further...
...or our plantation would have been
ruined like the rest of the land.
Seorita, thank heaven you're safe.
When Lucero came back to the stables
without you, I began to search the hills.
Oh, Pio, I'd already been found
by someone else.
This is Dr. Scott and Dr. Ramos.
- This is my foreman, Pio.
- Hi, Pio.
This way.
Not only comfortable, but cool too.
Yes, sometimes I think being cool is by far
the most important on days like this.
Well, I know you'll want showers.
Florentina, show Dr. Ramos
to the Blue Room.
S, seorita.
And Juanito, you show Dr. Scott
to the left wing.
I'll take care of them.
Well, I'll see you later, and you can
tell me all about your expedition.
Not bad, doc.
For half a day's work, Chamoco, not bad.
- Tell the boys.
- Yes, Pio, yes.
We get them all brought in by Thursday.
Why put on such a face?
We will do it if I have to stay
in the saddle without sleep myself.
Pio, don't you understand?
Can't you see the cattle know that
something evil is carried in the wind.
- Let us wait, Pio.
- Old women, Chamoco.
Now let us have a good supper
and forget these superstitions.
Would you like some brandy, sir?
- Yes, thank you.
- Just a minute.
Juanito, hurry with the brandy.
- Would you like some too?
- Please.
I'll take care of them.
Muchas gracias.
May I make a complaint, Teresa?
Oh, I'm sorry. What was not done suitably?
Well, that's just it.
Everything was done beautifully.
You know, you're making it very difficult
to think about settling down to work.
- Well, is that so bad?
- That all depends.
It might be very bad if I stopped thinking
about work altogether...
...and just started concentrating
on pleasure.
Hank, those volcanoes have been there
for hundreds of years.
I'm sure they wouldn't mind
waiting just a little longer.
I didn't expect you two
to be discussing volcanoes.
I've got something to show you.
I noticed it last night at the village.
See anything? Hold it up against the light.
That's fantastic, doc.
Why, there's a scorpion trapped in there.
I think so. A few hundred years old,
but there he is.
I wanted to show it to you
before I broke it open.
Alive!
Lmpossible! Juanito, bring a jar.
- Life enduring for centuries like this.
- And under all that heat!
Velasco will certainly be interested in this.
Here, Juanito.
Pardon me, seores.
Do you like to keep scorpions?
I know a place where there are millions.
Not like this one, Juanito.
Pancho.
Pancho, if you don't know how to behave,
I have to send you out.
I want a magnifying glass
to watch this little monster.
I could throw this scorpion out the
window, and we'd really be alone.
It's simpler than that.
Why don't we go outside?
Why don't we?
Oh, excuse me, the line's been fixed.
- Hello. Hello.
- Hacienda Miraflores? Just testing the line.
- Oh, is the line all fixed?
- All clear, ma'am.
Miraflores was the last one, seora.
- Gaetano!
- What?
What's under the bridge?
No, in the arroyo!
Hank, come here.
Listen to this.
Hello. Hello.
- Hello, what's wrong?
- Look out!
Run, Gaetano. Get to the truck.
- Where's the arroyo bridge?
- I'll show you.
Pancho, what's happening
to you tonight? Keep quiet.
Doc, we have to go to the bridge.
There's some trouble.
And you be a good boy.
Come back here! Pancho!
Pancho, come back here.
Pancho! Pancho! Pancho, come back here!
Pancho, what's the matter
with you tonight?
Pancho, come back!
I'll get you.
Seorita.
- What's wrong with the cattle, Pio?
- I cannot say.
- Help, Mr. Hank!
- That's Juanito.
Run, Juanito!
Give me your gun. Call for help.
- It's a gigantic scorpion.
- Where is Juanito?
He's safe.
Operator. Operator. Operator!
Please, hurry, operator!
- I shot at that thing a dozen times.
- Must be after the cattle.
- Mr. Hank.
- Juanito, come on, quick.
Teresa, Florentina, come on
into the jeep. Quick.
- Dr. Velasco.
- Dr. Ramos, I hoped I'd find you here.
This is fantastic.
- Dr. Velasco...
- Thank God, Father.
We thought you were all dead.
This is all that remains.
Even the animals.
I cannot speak of this night.
Eaten. Devoured.
I have been sent here
in charge of emergency arrangements.
- All that are left will be moved to safety.
- Certainly.
Tell everyone to be ready
to leave San Lorenzo.
Father, they may only take
what they can carry in their arms.
- Very well.
- Where is the laboratory?
It's over there.
As soon as I received the samples,
I identified the poison...
...as that of a scorpion, but I had
no concept of the creature's size...
...until I saw this.
And this.
This specimen found by Dr. Ramos...
...is of a species thought to be extinct
since the Triassian era.
We have known it in a fossil state,
but never alive.
Now from the bowels of the earth, it has
come forth again to plague the earth.
What can we do? I emptied
the machine gun at one of them.
I beg of you all, not to lose your head...
...in any sense of the word. But we have
a few advantages against this enemy.
First, they come out to eat only at night.
Thus we have the daylight hours
to try to find and destroy them.
Secondly, they are somewhat
slow and lethargic...
...until inflamed by the smell of blood.
- I still ask one question, sir.
- Yes?
- What weapon do you intend to use?
- Gas. Poison gas.
It has been proved effective
against normal species.
Let us pray it works against
the Scorpionida rex.
If it does not...
...may God help all of you.
- Be ready at dawn.
- Is that all of them, lieutenant?
I want to do what I can too.
Seorita Alvarez,
I understand your emotions.
Believe me,
I'm not trying to be emotional.
- I wouldn't ask if I couldn't help.
- You don't know the hardships.
Dr. Velasco, Major Cosio, I know
this area like the palm of my hand...
...better than any man here.
I'm a good shot.
You said yourself, you needed
all the help you could get.
Seorita Alvarez, I think
you have found yourself a job.
Gentlemen...
...Major Cosio and I are planning this.
Note where the various
incidents have occurred.
I want to go with you.
I want to do a job.
Don't worry, Juanito.
We'll get together again.
That's a promise.
See if you can find
my boots for me, will you?
I know where they are.
- Here they are.
- Oh, good.
They are very, very fine boots.
You kind of like those, huh?
Tell you what, Juanito...
...when you get to be a big man,
I'll get you a pair just like these.
- I thank you, Mr. Hank.
- You like that, huh?
I know how to ride very good.
I know how to shoot very good.
I'm 7 and 1/2 years old.
That's almost a half a man.
"A half a man"?
Oh, Juanito, you know
sometimes even a half a man...
...has a lot of different jobs to do.
The most important job for you to do
is to take care of your grandmother.
She can take care of herself.
I know, but you've got plenty of time
to do more exciting things.
And you. You be very careful
and don't get hurt, won't you?
Don't worry, I promise.
And a full man never break his promise.
Okay.
Oh, I don't see a thing, Dr. Velasco.
Might as well go on.
All right.
Major.
- Yes.
- Tell your captain to hold...
...all the heavy equipment
until we call for it.
Okay, doctor.
- Here it is, a great big opening.
- I guess he found it, Dr. Velasco.
Yes.
Look, there's something wrong
with his horse. He's falling in!
Let's hurry up there, Hank.
Come on, let's go.
We must get down to the lower level.
This crevice is new. It must have opened
during one of the earthquakes.
- This looks like a job for us, doc.
- Of course.
No chance for Mendoza?
How deep do you say it is?
Doc and I have been
down many a cave...
...but there's no way of really telling
until you actually hit bottom.
The only way we can find out
is to go down there ourselves.
- What do you say, doc?
- Right.
Will that poisonous gas
work in a crevice this big?
I could not anticipate such a void as this.
It may dissipate.
Major, I think you better bring all your
heavy equipment up here:
Crane, tanks and all.
Captain, bring the crane
and all the heavy equipment.
You want my men to go down there?
- It's suicide.
- Don't worry about it.
Doc and I haven't had a decent
elevator ride in a long time.
Hank, please, no.
- What are you doing here?
- I'm a stowaway.
Juanito, do me a favor, will you,
and just stay out of the way?
- Yes, Mr. Hank.
- Good.
And just sit in the jeep
like a big boy, okay?
- Put these in the cage.
- Why the birds, professor?
If the birds stop singing,
that means there's poison gas in the cave.
Hank, you don't have to do it.
Neither of you. It's not your responsibility.
Whose responsibility is it?
The police, the army,
the people who live here.
Now, look, doc and I know more
about caves than anyone else here.
- Why did you do that?
- Maybe I just wanted to see what you'd do.
- What did I do?
- You did all right.
Seorita...
...you can help keep
the log of the descent.
How many meters down,
the reports which are made...
Sure, keep yourself busy. That's my theory.
Oh, and don't forget
to take care of little Juanito.
All right, take it down.
Doc, look down there.
Stop. Stop the cage a minute.
Stop.
Hank, are you all right?
It's the head of a scorpion in the wall.
Hold on a second.
- Okay, I got a picture of it. Lower on.
- All right, lower them down.
We've just hit bottom.
We're in a huge cavern.
I've never seen a cave so big in my life.
- Can you see any signs of Mendoza?
- No, not from here.
We'll take a look around.
- Well, the birds seem all right.
- Yeah.
Are you there, Hank?
Hank, answer.
Are you there, Hank?
Dr. Ramos. Dr. Ramos.
Hello. Hello.
Hello.
- Hello.
- Yes.
Mendoza's dead.
- We just saw a worm 30 feet long.
- Hank, please come up.
- Hank.
- No, we wanna look around a little more.
Hey, doc.
Over here.
- There must be a nest full of them.
- Yeah.
- It doesn't even penetrate it.
- Try another one.
No, wait.
That must be the
granddaddy of them all.
That's how they kill each other,
that spot in the throat.
That must be it.
Mr. Hank!
Help! Help!
Help!
Help!
Mr. Hank!
- It's Juanito.
- Help!
Help.
Mr. Hank, help!
Help!
Mr. Hank!
Stay back in the cave, Juanito.
All right. Come on, Juanito.
I told you to stay in the jeep.
What are you doing down here?
- I came to help you.
- To help us.
Oh, come on.
Mr. Hank. Mr. Hank, look.
- What's causing that?
- Dr. Ramos, are you there?
Are you there? Are you there, Dr. Ramos?
Hank, answer me.
- Block the crane, or it'll be pulled in.
- Throw some blocks under that crane.
There goes our cage, gas tanks, everything.
There's no weight on the cable.
Oh, no.
Take the cable, and send it
back down as fast as you can.
Bring it in slow.
- Maybe they are on it.
- Oh, pull it up. Please.
Keep bringing it in.
- Keep going, doc.
- Hang on, doc. You can make it.
- Keep going.
- Come on, hold on.
- What happened to Hank?
- Hank and Juanito are down there.
- Get a loop on the cable. Send it, quick.
- Make a loop on the cable.
Oh, Juanito.
Oh, Juanito, why did you do it?
I tried to help them.
It'll be dark in an hour, and
those scorpions'll come out again.
- You couldn't use the gas?
- No, we lost it in the molten lava.
There must be 50 of those
things down there.
Can't we close and seal
that opening with dynamite?
You have no idea as to the size of that
place. Wait till you see these pictures.
I want those pictures.
I even hoped to get a specimen.
Why, you couldn't get one of those things
out even with this crane.
Major, we must try to seal it shut with
an explosion. We must try before nightfall.
I thought you said scorpions could go
for months without food.
The giants don't last long. They eat
their own weight every three or four days.
But suppose they find another way?
Those passages down there.
This is the only place they have appeared.
This probably is their only exit
from the cavern.
- Major.
- Yes, doctor.
Let's close it.
Ready?
Let her go.
I guess that does it.
Midnight, and everyone goes back
to what he was before.
This isn't the end of anything,
not for us. It's the beginning.
Hank, all of us have done our work now...
...and thank heaven it can be done
without any more tragedy.
You have your survey
of the volcanoes to make.
Well, that's fine.
I'll be home every night for dinner.
I have to leave at once.
I should have left for the States
two months ago to buy cattle for the herd.
- You'll be in Mexico City for a week first?
- Yes.
Then I'll finish up my work here
with doc.
I'll meet you there,
and you can show me the town.
Oh, but even if we do have,
what, a day, two days...?
I don't want to settle
for just two days, Hank.
I don't want just two days either.
I don't fool people.
I don't want them to fool me either.
I'm not, darling.
I like you very much indeed.
And I want you very much.
- Dr. Scott.
- Hello, I can hardly hear you.
This is Dr. Velasco.
Oh, Dr. Velasco. How are you, sir?
Well, we're just getting started, finally.
Yeah, right now.
I regret to have to complicate the plans
you and Dr. Ramos have made for so long...
...but some of my colleagues here in Mexico
are very anxious to talk to you both at once.
I don't really think there's anything we can
add to what you already know, Dr. Velasco.
I'm with the director of civilian defense
and high army officers right now, Hank.
It is imperative you both return here
at once to complete your report.
I don't like to say
that you can be ordered.
What's the trouble?
Everything is under control, isn't it?
There's no cause for alarm, not at all.
But a request for cooperation
has been made by...
By a good neighbor of the South,
and we feel that...
Well, if you put it like that...
Look, we've already postponed the trip
five times. I guess once more won't matter.
What? Oh, a plane?
Yeah, sure, that would help a lot.
Oh, Dr. Velasco, do you suppose
there'd be room for three on that plane?
Of course there will.
All right, sir. Yes, sir, I understand.
Right, see you then.
- Did he suspect?
- No, I don't think so.
- He assumes that the danger is over.
- That's fine.
You seemed willing
to postpone our trip...
...once you learned Teresa
could ride on the plane.
Well, at least it was
some sort of an inducement.
My friend, remember, this is not the balcony
of the neighborhood movie theater.
This is Mexico. When a man shows
as much attention to a girl as you have...
...suddenly, he's in a cathedral
and wondering how he got there.
So? What have you got against marriage?
I try to remember
what my father told me one time.
He said, "Arturo, every child
in the world is born single.
Please try to profit more than
I did by the experience."
- Dr. Ramos, Dr. Scott.
- Yes?
I am Victor Esteban. Dr. Velasco
has asked me to take you to him at once.
Right away?
But what about Seorita Alvarez?
I have orders to take her
wherever she wishes.
But you gentlemen must then
accompany me to the university.
All right.
Follow me, please.
Gentlemen, we are grateful that you have
given up your own plans to help us.
And we must apologize for bringing
you here under false pretenses.
It is not a neighboring country which
needs your help. It is our government.
Seor Moreno, of course there's
always a possible danger again.
Twenty years from now,
another earthquake.
It is not a potential danger, gentlemen.
We feel it is all too real, and not 20 years
from now. Perhaps in less than a month.
- You better fill us in from the beginning.
- Yes, of course.
I'm in charge of an aerial mapping project
for our government.
Recently our planes were photographing
the area near San Lorenzo.
Gentlemen, perhaps if you would sit down
and take a look.
Turn off the lights.
No. Not near the city.
It is one of them.
Now you're convinced our fears
are justified?
I don't like to disagree...
...but merely because a dead scorpion
was found coming to the surface...
...doesn't mean we didn't destroy
them all when we dynamited.
This scorpion may be one that...
Excuse me, sir. Naturally, the same
thought had occurred to us.
We rechecked our photographs.
On the 21 st, two days after the earthquake,
the scorpion was not there.
He was not there until the day
after you exploded the dynamite.
And you thought you destroyed
the scorpions.
It is obvious at least one survived
that explosion...
...and almost succeeded
in reaching the surface.
Switch the lights on.
And gentlemen, we must
proceed as if there are more of them left.
Exactly where is this area
where it was photographed?
Southwest of the volcano.
Almost directly across from the fissure
where you and Dr. Scott descended.
You will see, here, is the fissure.
This is San Lorenzo.
It was here, exactly here,
that the photograph was taken.
I think you're making a mountain
out of a molehill.
Dr. Velasco knows how that mountain
went when we blew it up.
Nothing could live
under those tons of rock.
- Not if they were under the rocks.
- I don't follow you.
From your description,
what Dr. Velasco told us...
...it is obvious that the cavern
into which you two men descended...
...is part of Chamilpa Caves...
...huge tunnels that run under the earth
at depths up to five miles...
...many of which have been mapped
in the region around Mexico City.
Some are flooded, parts
of the underground lakes.
Yes, I've heard of them.
Here they are. Notice how
this large fissure here...
...is directly above this arm
of the system.
This large pocket, here, is exactly the place
where you took your photographs.
Now, also note that here...
...where the scorpion
was photographed from the air...
...is also part of the connecting system.
The scorpions could have fled underground
to one of many underground shelters.
As you thought at the time
could happen, Hank.
What is that long arm there?
That is a cavern which extends southward
to within 20 miles of Mexico City...
...there, where it lies under the railroad.
This is what we wonder. How many of the
scorpions might have decided to rush here?
And when will they decide to come
to the surface after blood?
So that is why we brought you here.
The day after tomorrow,
we want you to address a group...
...of scientific and military experts
so that we may plan for any emergency.
What kind of rifles were you using?
How powerful?
The cartridges I was using are supposed to
penetrate two inches of steel.
But they didn't stop the scorpions!
How do they kill each other?
The throat. There's a small spot right here
that has no armor. That's its weak point.
When they attack each other, they have
poison to inject into their enemy's throat.
- Can you duplicate the poison?
- Nope. Not without a giant scorpion.
What we need is something that'll
penetrate that small area exactly...
...and then send some sort of poison
into the circulatory systems.
What it could be, I have no idea.
We're all in the same dilemma.
With the meeting on Friday,
I'm sure we'll reach a solution.
Gentlemen, I do not have
to tell you that...
...everything we have discussed here
is absolutely secret.
This is a city of four million people.
If word of this leaks out...
...the panic of the population
would be worse than the scorpions.
Nice dress, nice girl.
Well, thank you.
I'm glad you could see me in something
besides the clothes I wear at the ranch...
...for two days at least.
- So am I.
Hank, what's the meeting
on Friday about?
Oh, some geophysical conference
Dr. Velasco roped us in on. Cigarette?
Not right now.
After you finish that,
where am I taking you for dinner?
Hank, it's only 9:00.
That's what I mean.
Do you realize this is Mexico City?
And no one has dinner before 11:00
at night. Sometimes midnight.
Why, it's practically afternoon right now.
Lots of men are just leaving their offices.
Am I going to have trouble with you.
Well, you work on it, teacher.
I think you can solve me.
Nice work.
Caviar. Aren't you overdoing it
a bit, Hank?
Well, I've gotta make an impression on you
in 48 hours that'll last for two months.
Don't you like caviar?
Oh, I love it, but I must say I could never
understand why it's so expensive.
Well, it's a whole year's work
for a sturgeon.
It's been wonderful these past two
days. I wish they'd never end.
They don't have to.
For a while, they do.
I wish you'd change your mind.
You don't have to go away.
That volcano can wait.
No, you'll get through with your speech
tomorrow and your silly expedition...
...and I'll do everything I have to do.
When we come back
we won't have a worry in the world.
We interrupt this program
to bring you a news bulletin.
The train from Monterrey
was derailed outside of Mexico City.
Early reports indicate
an appalling loss of life.
Eyewitness accounts state
that monstrous scorpions...
...have swarmed around the wreckage.
One moment, please, we're trying to get
through to the emergency area.
Reports to this moment from available
hospital and emergency field units...
...indicate many of the victims are so badly
injured there is little hope of their survival.
All ambulances, cars, trucks
and other vehicles...
...have been commandeered
by the authorities in this emergency.
We've received a report from the scene
confirming that 129 persons...
...are killed and hundreds missing.
Survivors report...
...a giant black scorpion killed the smaller
scorpions and is headed for Mexico City.
We were trying to find you.
- What can we do?
- You can help us soon enough.
We're not sure how many of them are left,
but the largest may be the only one.
With the lust for blood after the wreck,
the scorpions went mad.
The largest killed four of them,
and may have killed the rest of them.
- Where is the scorpion?
- We lost it in the hills 10 miles out of town.
But it's approaching the northwest area
of the capital.
Yes. Yes.
It has been seen. Let's go.
Attention. Attention.
The city is under martial law.
All inhabitants living north of Tacubaya and
west of Guadalupe must leave their homes.
Follow the orders of the police.
Listen, darling, you get in that building
and stay there!
The scorpion has not reached the city.
It has been verified that only
one giant black scorpion is alive.
The public is warned that the city
will have a blackout.
A defense ring is being set up surrounding
the area where it was seen.
Authorities are taking all protective
measures. Observe safety precautions.
Protect your homes from fire hazards.
Sections of the community are
in a state of panic...
...adding to the burden
of the authorities and threatening...
...to disrupt communications
vital to the defense of the city.
If rifles and cannon won't stop it...
- Major Cosio here.
- Yes.
We have narrowed the ring one mile along
Insurgentes. Operation is proceeding.
That's fine. Have Major Ortega meet us
in front of the stadium with the weapon.
Major Ortega, Major Ortega.
Meet us in front of the stadium
with the weapon and generator.
With what kind of weapon?
I hope it is a weapon.
Just now it is only a prayer.
- Dr. Velasco?
- Yes?
Tell Col. Sanchez to move
the heavy equipment into the stadium.
Col. Sanchez, Col. Sanchez.
Dr. Velasco here.
Move all the heavy equipment
into the stadium right away.
The projectile enters the throat.
If I'm lucky, Dr. Velasco, but I have
never used a weapon like this before.
Attached to the projectile
is the copper wire...
...then the insulated wire which leads
to the cable and the generator.
It should give 600,000 volts.
- This meat should bring him in here.
- I hope so.
It's about the only way we can corner it.
You might need more than one shot, major.
- Seor Moreno.
- Yes, yes.
The scorpion is following
the meat wagon.
There it is.
The throat, major. Remember,
the white area on the throat.
The head comes back just
before it strikes.
Right.
You missed!
I won't miss this time!
Turn it off! Turn it off!
Turn the switch on!
Turn it off!
Now we can secure some of the actual
poison from the Scorpionida rex...
...analyze it and create a simple protection
against them if ever again...
- Hank, Velasco wants to...
- Gentlemen, we must not waste any time.
If we could all meet tomorrow
at my laboratory for a recapitulation.
Hank, Seorita Alvarez!
We have not yet finished.
Neither have we.
[Rip by Talorg]