Unearthly Stranger (1963) Movie Script
John".
In a little while,
I expect to die...
to be killed...
by something...
you and I know is here.
Visible -
yet moving unseen, amongst us all,
each moment of the day and night.
There were times when
you thought I was insane -
but listen to this tape, I beg you,
so that you know what
it is you have to fight.
Or is it too late?
Even if I'd known what I know now,
could I - or anyone - have
held back... the terror?
- Morning, Professor.
- Good morning, Alec.
- Good morning, sir.
- Morning.
- Morning, Miss Ballard.
- Good morning, Professor Munroe.
Did you take the lift?
- Certainly not.
- You'll strain your heart, you know.
Baloney.
You'll let me know the
moment the Director gets here?
And ask Dr Davidson to come in
and see me as soon as he arrives.
He's
on holiday, Professor.
But I'll call him in Switzerland
if you like... if it's important.
If it's important?
I have solved the first
part of the formula.
So you get on that phone right away!
- I'm terribly glad. That's marvelous.
- Well, let me know the moment the Director gets here.
I can't wait to see his face.
The autopsy report called
it haemorrhage of the brain,
but it seemed to me as if an explosion had
taken place right in the middle of his head.
Blood vessels on the base of the
spine completely destroyed. Hm.
Is this all the report consists of
- these isolated facts?
- Would you like a sweet?
- No, thank you.
No marks on the skin, no bruising?
Here are those red marks like blotches that Miss
Ballard mentioned, but they quickly disappeared.
It seems to me, and, er...
I'm no medical man...
but it seems to me that the damage was caused by
some electrical force giving off a tremendous heat.
But what from?
Well, it couldn't have
been the lamp, could it?
You mean the lamp he knocked over?
If it was anything electrical, the amount
of power involved was enough for that lamp,
and every lamp in London.
You will find there must
be some logical explanation.
Well, we haven't found it yet.
We really haven't, you know.
Tell me, what are you really up to here?
Our experiments are directed towards the
attempt to harness the power of concentration,
so that we'll be able to project one's
mind with such force, such intensity,
that Man can be where he wants to be
just by using the power of thought.
We believe it will be possible to travel
across time and space simply in one's mind,
and arrive, as poor Munroe used to
say, in the world beyond the stars.
And once you're there, you
believe you can keep yourself safe,
become what you need to become to live in
space, simply through the power of concentration?
Certainly.
By applying the energy from a hitherto unknown source that
lodges in the back of all our minds; the force we call TP 91.
Who discovered that we possess this
"energy force"? Us, or the Americans?
In this kind of work
it's impossible to say...
and, in fact, the formula Munroe was
working on was a small piece of the whole.
We exchange all our information.
Not altogether, you don't.
What do you mean?
Well, I don't suppose I should
tell you this, but I will.
In America in the past few months, somethings
happened that's only known to my department.
Two scientists, both working
on the same problems as you;
both died under the same circumstances
and conditions as Professor Munroe.
Brain blown out of existence,
and this fusion of the neck vertebrae.
But why haven't I been told this before?
We decided to keep quiet about it.
If there's any information,
I have the right to know -
especially where the safety
of my staff is concerned.
You've absolutely no right to
take such a high-handed attitude.
Lancaster, we're both doing a similar
job here, looking after the staff.
I do mine by seeing that they're safe, and what
they're working on doesn't fall into the wrong hand.
And what else do you know?
Are my staff in danger
from the other side?
Was Professor Munroe killed by
something they have and we haven't?
We've had a report from Russia, too.
At least one of their scientists, and possibly
more, have died from the same unknown causes.
They suspect us.
Marvelous. And where do we go from here?
I don't know, except I have orders to
set up all the security measures here.
Oh, no... more identity cards, more
guards, double locks on double locks.
Where's it going to stop? Why we can't just be allowed
to get on with our jobs is beyond my comprehension.
Shall we go and have a word
with your new chief, Dr Davidson?
After all, he had more to gain here than
anyone else by Professor Munroe's death.
He had no idea he'd be my choice.
And I've known Mark for fifteen years.
What a lovely view you have here!
He recently got married,
didn't he? What's she like?
- I've never met her.
- Really?
After fifteen years of friendship? I should've thought
you'd have been amongst the first to kiss the bride.
Shall we have Dr Davidson in now?
I think not.
Let's surprise him. I like to take people off
their guard. Gives them less time to think.
Are you coming?
Hope we're not disturbing you, Mark, but Major Clarke
wants to ask some questions about your new wife.
My apologies, Dr Davidson, but for the sake of red
tape, without which I should be extremely unemployed...
it's my fault. I've been meaning to ring you but
I've been terribly busy taking over, you know.
Not to worry.
I'm sorry, I should have notified
you officially about my marriage.
Is this her photograph?
Well, it's not my mother.
Have you another photograph? It
would brighten up my files considerably.
Very beautiful.
She's a... alien, isn't she?
She was born in Switzerland.
How are you managing?
Well, I don't know which is more unnerving -
working on this projector being a brand-new husband.
As a confirmed bachelor
I'd rather face the unknown
than a face covered in cold cream at
night and pin curlers over breakfast.
As a confirmed bachelor you
seem to know a lot about it.
When you're less busy, perhaps you could let
me have the details of your wife's background.
Well, I don't suppose I'll be able to help very much.
I only met her a couple of weeks ago in Switzerland.
Oh. Well, perhaps you could get her to give me her parents' name, and so on
- you know the drill.
Tomorrow some time?
Oh, by the way, my department has finished with Professor
Munroe's room, so you're free to move in when you please.
I'll have a word with you, Lancaster.
Lancaster, the information I
gave you about the American...
I've put the, er, minutes of that
meeting on your desk, Professor.
Oh, thank you.
...about the American
and Russian scientists...
who died under the same
circumstances as Professor Munroe;
I must ask you not to pass this on
- especially to Dr Davidson.
If his life is in any kind of
danger he has the right to know.
When the right time comes he'll be told.
- And did you tell Professor Munroe?
- No.
Hadn't the right time come?
No one regrets Professor
Munroe's death more than I do.
If he could've been warned, if his life
could've been saved, it would've been.
And what about Mark?
Am I just to sit here each clay knowing he
may be killed, and just forget about it'?
No one's suggesting he was going to be killed
- except you.
What chance is there of the
Russian reports being false?
Deliberately planted to mislead us?
Every chance in the world.
But I can tell you the
American scientists died.
And were they murdered?
Their bodies showed that they died from
the same shock, but what that was, nobody knows.
And until we do, there will be
the utmost security, otherwise...
-That's all that matters to you,
isn't it? Security. No one must know.
You're all the same.
You lose sight of the
important things...
...because the endless chase to keep things
secret makes you blind to what really matters.
What matters to me is the
safety of this country.
What matters to me is the
safety of the individual.
You put the State first, and the
word "democracy" becomes meaningless.
If you put the safety of the individual before
the State there'll be no democracy anyway.
Now, look, I must ask you not to disclose
any of the information I've given you.
When the time comes to let Dr
Davidson know, I'll tell you.
He is now in charge of the project.
He has the right to withdraw.
There is no reason at all for him to be in total
ignorance of the kind of danger he may be in!
I'll see if I can get you an appointment
with the Director, but he's terribly busy right now...
Have you got the
schedule ready for the next series?
Yes, I've
got it right here, sir.
And we've
got the names of posted?
- Yes.
- That's good... good.
Amazing how this stuff
accumulates over the years.
Yes.
Mark, would you like me to give you a hand
putting all this in the drawers, and so on?
Er, no, thanks. I think I'd better do it myself,
otherwise I'll never know where everything is.
Well, thank you!
Oh, I didn't mean it
like that, honestly!
- What's going on in here?
- Just changing offices, Professor Lancaster.
I thought you might be superstitious.
Oh, what? Sitting in dead men's chairs?
- There's nothing wrong in being superstitious.
- Well, I'll do that.
That's all we need, Professor Lancaster.
Here she is, working for two scientists,
and does she rely on facts? Oh, no.
She relies on the unknown...
what she can't see but
can only fear, deep down.
Excuse me.
- Look after that, will you?
- Yes, Professor.
She's funny, isn't she?
- Who do you mean -
Miss Ballard? - Yes...
She's like a lot of women.
Not like my woman, she isn't.
You know, if I were in Security I might wonder why you're
keeping your wife hidden away from all your friends.
- Are you afraid we'll steal her away from you?
- Well, you could try, but you wouldn't succeed.
No, it's just that... Julie's lived a
sheltered life and she's a bit shy, that's all.
It's all very new to her
- England, and things.
She needs to get used to our ways a
bit before she meets the likes of you.
Ah, I see.
- I'm not ashamed of her. She's no fool.
- I'm sure she's not.
And I haven't just fallen for her
body, if that's what you were thinking.
Look, I haven't suggested any
such thing. it's only that...
- As a matter of fact, she's
an extremely brilliant girl.
Look, Mark, you don't have
to defend her. Calm down.
When you think the time's right I hope
you'll ask me over. Let's drop it now.
Oh, we'll fix up a time next week.
Come in.
I'll talk with her
when I get home tonight.
You're a lucky man. A very lucky man.
- You left these behind, sir.
- Oh, thank you.
Is there anything wrong, Mark?
All seems so unreal,
moving in like this.
Yes... Hey,
look, this book's mine.
Any news of what caused
Professor Munroe's death?
Did the Major have
anything of interest to say?
You know the cause. He
died from a heart attack.
John, everyone who
dies, dies from a heart attack.
But what made that strong heart
of his suddenly stop beating?
What makes you think
he had a strong heart?
You know and I know that every morning
he came up those stairs like a man half his age,
so don't let's play
games with each other.
If the Major doesn't want you to tell
me anything, that's perfectly all right.
It isn't all right.
The secrecy surrounding the whole thing's
absolutely beyond my understanding.
Well, at least they haven't
kept it secret from you.
They most certainly have.
But why?
Oh, they're probably working
on some theory or other.
But they must have finished examining the body by now
- after all, the funeral's tomorrow.
They won't bury him tomorrow.
What do you mean?
All the arrangements have been made.
Oh, there'll be a funeral all right, and
his widow will be crying over his coffin.
Only she'll be crying over
a coffin-load of bricks.
What are you talking about?
What I say. Someone is
keeping the body safe and sound,
and I think we ought to know why.
This is it.
Here it is.
Look at this.
Yes.
Have you found
what you're looking for?
I'm slipping.
I should've taken your set of
keys this morning, shouldn't I?
Now we're all in danger
of losing our jobs.
Or shall we all keep quiet about this?
This was entirely my idea.
Dr Davidson is in no way responsible.
It says here that traces of Triemorphinide
were found in Professor Munroe's arteries.
What is it?
It's a powerful and totally immediate
sedative, a part of the morphine group of drugs.
Traces of which were found clinging to
the inside of certain space capsules,
which had been in outer space
and returned again to Earth.
- But how could this Triemphin...
- Triemorphinide.
...be found in Professor Munroe's body when the only other
place it's been found is the inside of a space capsule?
You're telling me this stuff's all around us
- like radioactive dust?
It's doubtful it would
appear in that form.
It certainly doesn't respond
to any Geiger counter.
Then what are you saying?
I don't know.
But I'm beginning to think we're up against something
more powerful and destructive than either of you realise.
Triemorphinide...
Julie?
"Couldn't stay awake any longer. Hope
you're not too tired. Love, Julie. "
John.
Yes, Mark?
- Are you free at the moment?
- Is it urgent? I'm dictating.
Yes. Well, I think so.
If you could leave it
till later, I won't be long...
No, I can't.
Oh - er - put them
on my desk, please.
Make three copies
of that, Miss Ballard.
Oh, er, you'd better make it six...
and you'd better send the top copy to
the Ministry. You know how fussy they are.
Yes, I do, Professor.
Thank you.
D'you know something? I
think I'm going raving mad.
Oh? Not more than usual, I hope.
Last night, when I got home,
I went upstairs to see Julie.
- She was in bed by the time I got home.
- Sensible girl.
I thought she was dead.
- What did you say?
- I'm telling you, I thought she was dead.
She was lying on the bed,
with her eyes wide open.
I've never been so scared in
my life. I felt for her pulse...
there was nothing. Nothing at her
wrist, or at her temple. Nothing.
What are you telling me?
A few moments later she woke
up; sat up and kissed me.
I suppose you think I imagined it all.
No, how could I possibly say?
I do know that there are people
who can sleep with their eyes open.
What about the pulse?
Well, if you were in that
state, thinking she was dead,
it's not surprising
you couldn't find it.
I'm telling you, she has no pulse.
And I'll tell you another thing:
she doesn't blink her eyes at all.
Not at all.
Now, look, now
you are imagining things.
It's quite impossible for that to happen
without the eyes becoming ulcerated.
I'm not interested whether
you think it's impossible.
I watched her, and after last night's
little episode I watched her even more,
and at no time either then or this
morning did she blink her eyes at all!
My dear boy, come and sit down.
Oh, go to hell!
John!
- Is the Director still here?
- Yes, he's on the phone.
But I don't expect he'll
want to be interrupted.
Garth and I will
get you that, Major...
Do you mind waiting outside a
moment, Mark? There's a good chap.
What I have to say can't wait. Tell him
you'll ring him back. Come in the other office.
Look, do you mind if I
ring you back? All right?
I think I'm entitled to an apology.
Uh...?
- For this morning...
- Oh, for heaven's sake, don't let's be ridiculous.
This morning you told me to go to hell.
That's just exactly where I've been for
the whole of this afternoon and evening.
In my own nasty, private little hell.
What are you talking about?
How long do you think it'll take
before we really find the answer?
- To the project?
- Mm.
Oh, I don't know. I suppose
it could be years yet.
Generations.
Especially now that our work's been
put back by Munroe's notes being burnt.
Yes, that was an accident we
could well have done without.
It was no accident.
It was done deliberately,
to stop us getting there.
Sabotage? By whom?
We're trying to find a way of projecting ourselves
into another world through the power of thought;
to land, without having to use the conventional
means of travel, on the surface of another planet.
What if they've already done it?
Mark. I've known you a long time,
and in all those years I've
never doubted anything you said
because I knew that you were the last
person to have extravagant theories.
You think this is, do you?
I suppose you're going to tell me that I'm
tired, that I've been working too hard...
That's exactly what
I'm going to suggest.
If ever a man needed a rest,
believe me, you're that man.
You drag me away from an important
telephone conversation this evening,
just to tell me about this wild theory.
This morning you moon around my office
telling me about your wife not blinking.
You wait till I see her.
Are you doing anything tonight?
Well... I was going to
work late, that's all.
I have had one or two interruptions.
Come home with me and meet Julie.
- Won't she mind?
- I doubt it. Will you come?
Yes. And I'll make sure
she keeps an eye on you.
An ever-open eye, at that.
How did you meet Julie?
It sounds as if it was a pick-up.
In a way, I suppose, it was.
At the end of what must've been
my fourth day in Switzerland,
I was about five or six
miles from the hotel...
when I heard what I thought was the
sound of the wind in the mountains...
a sort of humming sound... you
know, like the noise that...
telephone wires make when the wind whistles
through them...
...it was very much like that,
only it was a hundred times louder
and it was getting louder all the time.
Then, suddenly, the car stopped.
It wouldn't start.
Then the headlamps began to dim.
Then suddenly the door
opened, and there she was.
Can you give me a lift? Can you?
Then what?
I said "Yes, of course" -
and you'll see why when you meet her.
She jumped in, and when I pressed
the starter it worked first time.
What about that humming
sound, by the way?
Did you ever discover what that was?
No, I didn't.
I asked Julie if she'd heard it, you know, just
for something to talk about, but she hadn't.
Must've been something to do
with the car, or something...
Frankly, I forgot about it.
So would you, if you'd found yourself
sitting next to such a beautiful creature.
- There we are.
- Ah, thanks.
Just bung it down there.
Julie! Got a surprise for you.
Julie?
- Darling...
- Hello, my lovely.
You're Dr Lancaster. I'm
so pleased to meet you.
You're our very first
guest and I bid you welcome.
And I'm very glad to be here.
Your husband spoke in such glowing terms about
you, and I'm happy to say he wasn't exaggerating.
Well, who wants a drink?
Not for me, I'm still busy in
the kitchen. Yours are here.
Oh, don't bother about laying the table.
The firm of Lancaster and Davidson will
oblige as soon as they are fortified.
Thank you.
- Cheers.
- Mm. This is very nice.
- It's quiet.
- Not too quiet? Julie doesn't get too lonely?
- No, she likes it.
- Hm...
What are you two up to?
If you feel strong enough
yet, I'd be glad of some help.
Ah, allow me.
I've been hearing about how you two met.
Yes, it was very romantic.
This "thing" was staying in the same
hotel. So we had breakfast next morning,
spent the day together, and the next...
...and the next, until it became obvious
that the only thing to do was to get married.
Which we did.
I'm very glad to say.
Mm, something smells good.
It's been in the oven for the last
three hours. I hope it hasn't dried up.
Ah, thank you.
Oh, don't burn yourself.
Please be careful.
Where do you keep the corkscrew, Mark?
Er, in the sideboard drawer. No
- it's in the kitchen drawer.
Alright.
Are you feeling all right, John?
Well, who's hungry?
How about you, John?
Ahh...
Why are you staring at me?
Oh, um... I'm sorry.
I was just thinking what
very beautiful eyes you have.
"Why, thank you, kind sir", she said...
"As she waved her wooden leg. "
Good morning, Major.
I'm going to see Professor Lancaster...
I'll see if... just one moment...!
- Major Clarke.
- Thank you.
I believe that the interest of security may
best be served if Dr Davidson is removed,
for the moment, from his position
as head of the department.
And what possible grounds have you for
suggesting something as outrageous as that?
I can't tell you.
Well, I'm very much
afraid you'll have to tell me.
That will not be possible.
Then I cannot do as you ask.
And, in any case,
have you any idea what it would mean to his
career if it got out that he'd been removed?
There's no reason why
anyone should know.
He can continue to occupy
Professor Munroe's office...
while being engaged on
some less dangerous work.
I want a reason from you.
I demand a reason from you.
- I'll give you half the answer.
- I want the whole answer.
I think even you will be satisfied
with the half I'm going to give you.
You see... it's about his wife.
Oh? What about her?
In every area of our check-up,
there's no record of the girl anywhere.
Hello, my darling.
Aren't you a beautiful baby?
Mark! Mark! Mark!! Ohh...
Good morning, Miss Ballard.
Good morning, Dr Davidson.
The Director wants to see you.
Splendid.
Where've you been?
Shopping, if you want to know.
Want to see what I've bought?
Only, er, don't take too much of a fancy to
it, 'cause - er - I don't think this'll fit you.
Matter of fact, it's for someone with
a much more interesting shape than you.
- What d'you think of it?
- Put it away.
- Or would madame like me to take it to the light...?
- Put it away!
What's wrong with you this morning?
I'm going to send you on leave.
Well, thank you very much indeed, but
I've only just come back off my holiday.
This is not a holiday.
I'm sending you on leave because I cannot allow
you to work on this project for the time being.
- You're joking!
- I'm not joking.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I'm telling you in the
plainest possible terms.
You're not allowed to work on
this project for the time being.
However, so that this will only
be known between the three of us...
What do you mean, "the three
of us"? Who's the other one?
- The Major.
- Oh, really? And why, exactly, is...
...so that this will only be
known between the three of us,
you're permitted to continue
to have the use of your office,
but you'll only be allowed to work
on material which is in no way secret.
Why do you have to talk to me in that stupid,
pompous, ridiculous, civil-service jargonese?
We've known each other for... oh, I don't know
- fifteen years?
- And you have to come
out with that tripe.
Why can't you say what you mean?
What's behind all this, anyway?
You know what's behind all
this. Security is not satisfied.
You mean the Major's not satisfied.
The Major is not satisfied about the
information he has on your wife's background.
Well, I've told him all I know!
- Well, it's not enough.
- Has he been nosing around?
Now, look
- he's made enquiries and he's not satisfied.
He hasn't, by any chance, been checking
up on your wife too, has he, I suppose?
Oh, no, he wouldn't have to, would he?
She's from a nice, respectable
English family, isn't she!
Now listen, Mark, I don't
want to row about this.
But you must admit that the whole
circumstance of how you met your wife...
well, it was so extraordinary, and you
really know so very little about her.
Well, you must accept that in a
government department such as this,
we have to put up with
this kind of performance.
Meanwhile, I'm to sit here
and play noughts and crosses
whilst everyone else believes I'm still
working my scientific fingers to the bone.
Now look, it'll only
be for a few days...
It won't even be for
a few minutes. I'm off.
What do you mean?
If you want me, I'm at home!
Well, I'm very sorry about this. But it'll
only be for a week at the most, I'm sure.
That's perfectly all right.
Perfectly all right.
It'll give me a chance
to paint the bathroom.
You know, they talk about these emulsion paints being
waterproof but they're not, old boy, they're really not...
once the steam gets under that paint
it comes off like a huge blister.
I know how you feel. I'd
feel exactly the same.
But, my dear Major, you
told me you were a bachelor.
Don't tell me you're keeping
a secret wife somewhere?
It's very unpleasant to have this kind of
investigation into someone who's close to you,
someone you love very dearly.
But as far as my department's
concerned, as far as our files show...
Oh, yes, the files, the files...
So far as we know, your
wife may come from anywhere.
I mean, she may even come
from out there.
Oh, Miss Ballard.
Yes, Dr Davidson?
If anybody wants me, I'm in
the bathroom with a paintbrush.
- Yes.
- And if they want to speak to me on the phone,
tell them to whisper...
'cause you never know who's listening.
Miss Ballard. Yes, Major Clarke?
How do you find it working for these
temperamental scientific fellows?
Major Clarke. I enter this office
at nine o'clock every morning.
I have been doing this
for a number of years now.
I do my job and I get paid for my job.
How would you like to do a
little job for me, Miss Ballard?
- What kind of job?
- Keeping an eye on things?
Well, I'd like to, but I think I would
find it rather... dull... working for you.
Now, if you were a little
more temperamental...
Thank you, Miss Ballard.
Well, how did he
take it, coming from you?
Not very well. But I'm not surprised.
Well, I trust it will all be cleared
up to all our satisfaction very soon.
So do I.
By the way, I hope when he gets
home he takes his wife to the doctor.
Do you know, there seems to be
something wrong with her eyes.
She seems to have burnt
the skin just under here,
and all the time I was talking to
her she didn't blink her eyes at all.
Julie...
Julie?
Julie.
Why are you home so early?
Oh! I thought you were asleep.
- Are you all right?
- Yes, I'm fine.
Then what are you doing
home at this time of the day?
Don't ask stupid questions.
- Have you had a row with somebody?
- Leave me alone.
- Can I get you something to eat?
- I'm not hungry.
Is this because of me?
Why should it be?
A man was here, asking questions.
The Major.
Would you like me to go
away until all this is over?
It might make it easier for you.
It was all so simple when we
were in Switzerland together.
None of this would have happened
to us if old Munroe was still alive.
How long are you going to be home for?
They've put me on indefinite leave
until all this business is cleared up.
Marvelous.
Yes. So we should have
some days together.
And I think we ought to make
the most of them, don't you?
Mm...
Poor, sweet Julie.
We didn't spend much time together
during the days I was at home.
Although I was forbidden
to work on the project,
it still filled my head during
the days and nights that followed.
I wanted so much to find out just how far
my old chief had got before he was killed...
all his notes destroyed with him.
My mind went back to the last time I saw him...
just before I went on holiday to Switzerland.
I tried to remember
everything we discussed.
I went over and over my
notes, hour after hour...
until, one night, I felt sure that
I'd come to the same point he had.
Hello?
- John?
- Yes.
- It's Mark.
- Now, look here...
Yes, I know what time it is...
and I'm not going to
apologise for disturbing you.
I think I've made the breakthrough
and solved the first part of the formula,
just as Munroe had before he died.
Are you sure?
Yes, I thought you'd be interested.
Shall I come round to the office in the morning
- or won't I be allowed in the door?
What about now?
What do you mean, now?
Do you know what time it is?
See you at the office.
All right, I'll be
there as quick as I can.
- I'll ring the Major.
- Why must you ring the Major?
Well, you know the regulations, Mark...
I suppose so. I'll see you both there.
- Right.
- In about an hour or so.
What time is it?
It's all right, it's all right.
I'm just off to the office.
But it's the middle of the night.
Yes, but I've just got to drop some
work in to John. I'll be straight back.
What work? Why can't it
wait until the morning?
I think I've managed to catch up
on the first part of the formula.
I've been working on copies of Munroe's
notes, and my own, and I think I'm there!
Don't go.
Just you turn over and go to sleep.
I'll be there and back so quickly
you won't even know I've gone.
You mustn't go!
Snuggle down and get your beauty sleep.
Not that you need it,
because you're very beautiful.
Mark! Mark!
See you soon.
I'll be as quick as I can.
Oh... Mark! Mark!
Mark...!
John?
Where's John? He said he'd be here.
He will, I'm sure.
I hear you have some good news for us.
Is that it? I'll have it, if you don't mind.
Oh, it's no use to you
- you wouldn't understand it from one end to the other.
I'm sure I won't.
But I'll take care of it,
if it's just the same to you.
I can hold on to it just as
well as you till John arrives.
I don't intend to hold onto it.
I intend to lock it in the safe.
There's no need to shut the door.
I know the combination.
I work here, you know.
Thank heavens for the bureaucratic mind.
Did you really think that I was
responsible for the Major's death?
Well, you were kneeling
over the body, weren't you?
And you were the first
to find poor old Munroe.
As a matter of fact, I wasn't -
not that I have to explain myself
to you. Miss Ballard found him first.
But what difference does
it make who found him?
You know very well from the...
...autopsy report the condition of the
brain, the blood vessels and the spine,
that everything was hit with such a...
cataclysmic force that no human being
could possibly have been responsible.
So what are you suggesting?
I'm not suggesting anything
- yet.
- But let's assemble our facts.
- Look, we should be telephoning the police.
Now, look, let's
- let's forget the police for the moment. They're the least of our worries.
I don't think you quite realise the danger you're in
- and Julie, for that matter.
Julie?
You see, if the Major was killed like Munroe, it
must be because he had the formula in his hands.
Isn't that so?
The formula has again been
destroyed, but only on paper.
It's still in your head.
How does Julie come into all this?
Whilst you were at home,
working on the formula,
I've had further information about the deaths
of those scientists in America and Russia,
and in at least three cases the
wife of each of them has disappeared,
in circumstances that
simply can't be explained.
Then she must be given
police protection.
From what?
And that's exactly what
I've been asking myself.
Look at it another way:
the only connection between the deaths of Munroe and
the Major, and the scientists both in America and Russia,
is that in each case
the formula was involved.
Now, the Russian
reports may be false.
You mean, they may be responsible,
and want us to think they're not?
It's possible.
But even so, it leads me
to only one conclusion.
Now, one day you said to
me something I scoffed at.
You said that whilst we were only in the early
stage of projecting our minds through space,
it may already have been done,
but not by anybody on this earth.
Well, now I happen to
think that you're right.
What kind of...
creatures... can they be?
And nothing's been seen...
Are we to suppose it's an invisible force,
like electricity is? Like magnetism is?
Well, if our theory about this
kind of mind projection is correct,
then when we get to another planet
and, say, the air is entirely toxic,
we would have to become different creatures
- without lungs, a different bloodstream -
which would make it possible
for us to live there.
So, if they have come here, they in turn
must also be able to move, able to breathe...
even able to think.
And the only creature that we know
that can think is a human being.
Yes. And if our
theory is proved correct,
to make ourselves equipped
to exist on another planet...
our method involves being able to measure the
amount of concentration that will be needed.
And we can be pretty sure that there must be times
over a period when our concentration will weaken,
when our voltage, as it were, will drop.
And if they have come here and are
projecting themselves as human beings,
they also couldn't possibly keep up
that enormous power of concentration...
all the time, every minute of the day.
No, they couldn't.
In small ways they'd have to, at times,
revert to their true selves, whatever that is.
There must be weaknesses
in their structure.
- They're bound to reveal themselves.
- What do you think the signs would be'?
Well, they may not be able
to sweat when it's hot.
They may not be able to grow their nails.
They may have some special deformity.
Their eyes may not be able
to blink. They may even...
As you say... they may
not be able to blink their eyes.
Are you saying Julie's
one of these... illusions?
Let's confine ourselves to what we know.
You, yourself, were very
concerned about her not blinking.
That she slept with her eyes
open. That she had no pulse.
But you've been to our
house. You've met her.
What I didn't tell you
was what I saw for myself.
What's that?
I saw Julie take out the red-hot casserole
from that 275-degree oven with her bare hands.
Any normal person would
have had third-degree burns.
You're out of your mind.
You're talking about my wife!
All right. Let us, for the
moment, forget she's your wife.
Forget...?!
Now, listen. If you and I were given certain information
- and remember,
we both have the kind of mind that's
trained not to jump to conclusions -
what would your reactions
be to all the facts?
What facts?
Well, the fact that she knew who I was
when we met the night I came home with you.
I telephoned her we were coming.
You didn't. She'd no
idea we were coming.
What I saw... her
bare hands inside that oven,
the non-blinking of her eyes that you, yourself,
told me of, and that the Major also saw...
the burn marks under her eyes...
What burn marks?
The Major told me about them
after he'd been to see Julie.
As if she'd been crying and the
tears had literally burnt her cheeks.
He was lying.
Rubbish. What possible reason
could he have for lying?
When I got home after being sent on my indefinite
leave, there was nothing wrong with her eyes.
No, I don't suppose there was.
She could've put that right simply
by wanting to be complete again.
Look, let me ask you this:
if they... whoever they are...
if they can't keep up this
illusion of being a human being,
do you agree with me that we ought to be
able to reduce their power of concentration?
I don't follow you.
What makes you and I lose our grip on things?
What makes a human being lose consciousness...?
There are all sorts of things. Loss
of blood to the brain, a blow, shock...
And anesthetics.
Yes.
Suppose we came across one of these...
creatures, whatever you want to call them.
Suppose we were - by using an anesthetic like ether, say
- able to make them lose their power of concentration.
Would they, in fact, cease to
exist once that had happened?
Would they lose their human form, and
if they did, what would they turn into?
Are you prepared to find out?
Would you allow me to come to your home,
and in your presence anesthetize your wife...
so that we could see, once and for all,
whether she is a real human being...
or an illusion?
You get whatever anesthetic you like -
as strong as you like -
and get over to our house
as quick as you like.
I'll be there first, to tell
her you're coming and why.
And when you walk out of our front door, having
seen how devastatingly wrong your thinking has been,
I want you to know here and now that from that
moment you and I will never see each other again.
Why are you up? What's wrong?
I was just thinking
about how we first met...
That's a fine thing
to get depressed about.
...and how to tell you
that I have to go away.
What are you talking about? Go where?
When I sat beside you in your car that first
night, I didn't think about you very much -
I was more concerned
with what I had to do.
You mean, get back to the hotel
before they locked up for the night?
Why do you think we met?
Why do any two people
meet and fall in love?
I waited in the night
for your car to come.
Did You?
I waited. I was sent to search you out
because of your work... to kill you.
From behind the Iron Curtain?
Because I have failed, my
life here must come to an end.
But this is nonsense!
You don't have to go.
No one can force you
to leave the country.
We have each other
- no one can harm us.
There've been lots of cases where British
subjects have married women from Russia.
We just have to ask
for political asylum.
What do you mean, Russia?
I'm not from Russia.
Then... where?
Don't you know'? Don't you really know?
And isn't John coming
here to prove it to you?
I don't care where you've come from.
You are what I love! I've only seen
you as a woman, not as anything else!
But I am something else.
And now I'm involved with human
emotions; involved with loving you...
with wanting children.
But if you love me - if you're
happy - why do you have to run?
Because I know we can't ever be
together the way we want to be.
Wherever we went they
would search us out.
Look... you came hereto
kill me because of my work.
I can give it up. I don't care
about the project. I care about you.
It isn't enough.
I can't bear to see
you come to any harm.
But they won't harm me if I
give up working on the project.
We'll be safe, won't we? I'm telling you,
We'll be safe! They'll leave us alone!
- What is it?
- Don't you hear it?
Hear what?
You must get away from me... from this house.
I don't want you to see me die.
But you're not going to die.
Mark, I beg you. If you
love me, get away from here.
Otherwise you will be killed,
too, like Munroe and the Major.
How do you know they were killed?
But anyway, you couldn't have killed them because you
were with me in Switzerland, and here at home tonight.
No, I didn't kill them.
You mean... there are others?
Julie...!
Julie!
Come back.
If we're together they can't touch us.
Don't move!
Julie! Julie!
Get away from me!
I don't want you near me.
Please. Please...
I told you they couldn't harm us.
I told you if we'd love each
other they would leave us alone.
It's all right, my
darling. it's all right...
Julie!!
That I saw this beautiful
creature become...
nothing.
And whatever destroyed her
is coming here to kill me...
Dr Davidson, can I help?
You don't know what a relief
it is to see you walk through that door.
I'm glad, because I really
am very sorry about Julie.
Yes, we've been here for twenty years.
And so far we have stopped
you moving into outer space,
and we will continue to
stop you with every means.
Including killing men like
Munroe and Major Clarke?
Unfortunately, yes. And now you.
You can't go on killing.
We found this was the way
back, not the way forward.
But if you threaten us, we
in turn will have to destroy.
And we will win, because you are weak.
You will always reveal yourselves.
There are too many of us,
and few as weak as Julie was.
You call it "weak" to love'?
You call it strong to give yourself to
someone else for this so-called "love"?
You talk a lot about
love; love of freedom, for example.
But do you have it?
Do you really have it'?
It's an illusion, and we have
learned to live without illusions.
You saw what happened.
We have no time for mistakes to be made.
You progress fast.
The dangers of your reaching us make it
imperative that our powers are never diminished...
not for one moment of any day.
In a little while,
I expect to die...
to be killed...
by something...
you and I know is here.
Visible -
yet moving unseen, amongst us all,
each moment of the day and night.
There were times when
you thought I was insane -
but listen to this tape, I beg you,
so that you know what
it is you have to fight.
Or is it too late?
Even if I'd known what I know now,
could I - or anyone - have
held back... the terror?
- Morning, Professor.
- Good morning, Alec.
- Good morning, sir.
- Morning.
- Morning, Miss Ballard.
- Good morning, Professor Munroe.
Did you take the lift?
- Certainly not.
- You'll strain your heart, you know.
Baloney.
You'll let me know the
moment the Director gets here?
And ask Dr Davidson to come in
and see me as soon as he arrives.
He's
on holiday, Professor.
But I'll call him in Switzerland
if you like... if it's important.
If it's important?
I have solved the first
part of the formula.
So you get on that phone right away!
- I'm terribly glad. That's marvelous.
- Well, let me know the moment the Director gets here.
I can't wait to see his face.
The autopsy report called
it haemorrhage of the brain,
but it seemed to me as if an explosion had
taken place right in the middle of his head.
Blood vessels on the base of the
spine completely destroyed. Hm.
Is this all the report consists of
- these isolated facts?
- Would you like a sweet?
- No, thank you.
No marks on the skin, no bruising?
Here are those red marks like blotches that Miss
Ballard mentioned, but they quickly disappeared.
It seems to me, and, er...
I'm no medical man...
but it seems to me that the damage was caused by
some electrical force giving off a tremendous heat.
But what from?
Well, it couldn't have
been the lamp, could it?
You mean the lamp he knocked over?
If it was anything electrical, the amount
of power involved was enough for that lamp,
and every lamp in London.
You will find there must
be some logical explanation.
Well, we haven't found it yet.
We really haven't, you know.
Tell me, what are you really up to here?
Our experiments are directed towards the
attempt to harness the power of concentration,
so that we'll be able to project one's
mind with such force, such intensity,
that Man can be where he wants to be
just by using the power of thought.
We believe it will be possible to travel
across time and space simply in one's mind,
and arrive, as poor Munroe used to
say, in the world beyond the stars.
And once you're there, you
believe you can keep yourself safe,
become what you need to become to live in
space, simply through the power of concentration?
Certainly.
By applying the energy from a hitherto unknown source that
lodges in the back of all our minds; the force we call TP 91.
Who discovered that we possess this
"energy force"? Us, or the Americans?
In this kind of work
it's impossible to say...
and, in fact, the formula Munroe was
working on was a small piece of the whole.
We exchange all our information.
Not altogether, you don't.
What do you mean?
Well, I don't suppose I should
tell you this, but I will.
In America in the past few months, somethings
happened that's only known to my department.
Two scientists, both working
on the same problems as you;
both died under the same circumstances
and conditions as Professor Munroe.
Brain blown out of existence,
and this fusion of the neck vertebrae.
But why haven't I been told this before?
We decided to keep quiet about it.
If there's any information,
I have the right to know -
especially where the safety
of my staff is concerned.
You've absolutely no right to
take such a high-handed attitude.
Lancaster, we're both doing a similar
job here, looking after the staff.
I do mine by seeing that they're safe, and what
they're working on doesn't fall into the wrong hand.
And what else do you know?
Are my staff in danger
from the other side?
Was Professor Munroe killed by
something they have and we haven't?
We've had a report from Russia, too.
At least one of their scientists, and possibly
more, have died from the same unknown causes.
They suspect us.
Marvelous. And where do we go from here?
I don't know, except I have orders to
set up all the security measures here.
Oh, no... more identity cards, more
guards, double locks on double locks.
Where's it going to stop? Why we can't just be allowed
to get on with our jobs is beyond my comprehension.
Shall we go and have a word
with your new chief, Dr Davidson?
After all, he had more to gain here than
anyone else by Professor Munroe's death.
He had no idea he'd be my choice.
And I've known Mark for fifteen years.
What a lovely view you have here!
He recently got married,
didn't he? What's she like?
- I've never met her.
- Really?
After fifteen years of friendship? I should've thought
you'd have been amongst the first to kiss the bride.
Shall we have Dr Davidson in now?
I think not.
Let's surprise him. I like to take people off
their guard. Gives them less time to think.
Are you coming?
Hope we're not disturbing you, Mark, but Major Clarke
wants to ask some questions about your new wife.
My apologies, Dr Davidson, but for the sake of red
tape, without which I should be extremely unemployed...
it's my fault. I've been meaning to ring you but
I've been terribly busy taking over, you know.
Not to worry.
I'm sorry, I should have notified
you officially about my marriage.
Is this her photograph?
Well, it's not my mother.
Have you another photograph? It
would brighten up my files considerably.
Very beautiful.
She's a... alien, isn't she?
She was born in Switzerland.
How are you managing?
Well, I don't know which is more unnerving -
working on this projector being a brand-new husband.
As a confirmed bachelor
I'd rather face the unknown
than a face covered in cold cream at
night and pin curlers over breakfast.
As a confirmed bachelor you
seem to know a lot about it.
When you're less busy, perhaps you could let
me have the details of your wife's background.
Well, I don't suppose I'll be able to help very much.
I only met her a couple of weeks ago in Switzerland.
Oh. Well, perhaps you could get her to give me her parents' name, and so on
- you know the drill.
Tomorrow some time?
Oh, by the way, my department has finished with Professor
Munroe's room, so you're free to move in when you please.
I'll have a word with you, Lancaster.
Lancaster, the information I
gave you about the American...
I've put the, er, minutes of that
meeting on your desk, Professor.
Oh, thank you.
...about the American
and Russian scientists...
who died under the same
circumstances as Professor Munroe;
I must ask you not to pass this on
- especially to Dr Davidson.
If his life is in any kind of
danger he has the right to know.
When the right time comes he'll be told.
- And did you tell Professor Munroe?
- No.
Hadn't the right time come?
No one regrets Professor
Munroe's death more than I do.
If he could've been warned, if his life
could've been saved, it would've been.
And what about Mark?
Am I just to sit here each clay knowing he
may be killed, and just forget about it'?
No one's suggesting he was going to be killed
- except you.
What chance is there of the
Russian reports being false?
Deliberately planted to mislead us?
Every chance in the world.
But I can tell you the
American scientists died.
And were they murdered?
Their bodies showed that they died from
the same shock, but what that was, nobody knows.
And until we do, there will be
the utmost security, otherwise...
-That's all that matters to you,
isn't it? Security. No one must know.
You're all the same.
You lose sight of the
important things...
...because the endless chase to keep things
secret makes you blind to what really matters.
What matters to me is the
safety of this country.
What matters to me is the
safety of the individual.
You put the State first, and the
word "democracy" becomes meaningless.
If you put the safety of the individual before
the State there'll be no democracy anyway.
Now, look, I must ask you not to disclose
any of the information I've given you.
When the time comes to let Dr
Davidson know, I'll tell you.
He is now in charge of the project.
He has the right to withdraw.
There is no reason at all for him to be in total
ignorance of the kind of danger he may be in!
I'll see if I can get you an appointment
with the Director, but he's terribly busy right now...
Have you got the
schedule ready for the next series?
Yes, I've
got it right here, sir.
And we've
got the names of posted?
- Yes.
- That's good... good.
Amazing how this stuff
accumulates over the years.
Yes.
Mark, would you like me to give you a hand
putting all this in the drawers, and so on?
Er, no, thanks. I think I'd better do it myself,
otherwise I'll never know where everything is.
Well, thank you!
Oh, I didn't mean it
like that, honestly!
- What's going on in here?
- Just changing offices, Professor Lancaster.
I thought you might be superstitious.
Oh, what? Sitting in dead men's chairs?
- There's nothing wrong in being superstitious.
- Well, I'll do that.
That's all we need, Professor Lancaster.
Here she is, working for two scientists,
and does she rely on facts? Oh, no.
She relies on the unknown...
what she can't see but
can only fear, deep down.
Excuse me.
- Look after that, will you?
- Yes, Professor.
She's funny, isn't she?
- Who do you mean -
Miss Ballard? - Yes...
She's like a lot of women.
Not like my woman, she isn't.
You know, if I were in Security I might wonder why you're
keeping your wife hidden away from all your friends.
- Are you afraid we'll steal her away from you?
- Well, you could try, but you wouldn't succeed.
No, it's just that... Julie's lived a
sheltered life and she's a bit shy, that's all.
It's all very new to her
- England, and things.
She needs to get used to our ways a
bit before she meets the likes of you.
Ah, I see.
- I'm not ashamed of her. She's no fool.
- I'm sure she's not.
And I haven't just fallen for her
body, if that's what you were thinking.
Look, I haven't suggested any
such thing. it's only that...
- As a matter of fact, she's
an extremely brilliant girl.
Look, Mark, you don't have
to defend her. Calm down.
When you think the time's right I hope
you'll ask me over. Let's drop it now.
Oh, we'll fix up a time next week.
Come in.
I'll talk with her
when I get home tonight.
You're a lucky man. A very lucky man.
- You left these behind, sir.
- Oh, thank you.
Is there anything wrong, Mark?
All seems so unreal,
moving in like this.
Yes... Hey,
look, this book's mine.
Any news of what caused
Professor Munroe's death?
Did the Major have
anything of interest to say?
You know the cause. He
died from a heart attack.
John, everyone who
dies, dies from a heart attack.
But what made that strong heart
of his suddenly stop beating?
What makes you think
he had a strong heart?
You know and I know that every morning
he came up those stairs like a man half his age,
so don't let's play
games with each other.
If the Major doesn't want you to tell
me anything, that's perfectly all right.
It isn't all right.
The secrecy surrounding the whole thing's
absolutely beyond my understanding.
Well, at least they haven't
kept it secret from you.
They most certainly have.
But why?
Oh, they're probably working
on some theory or other.
But they must have finished examining the body by now
- after all, the funeral's tomorrow.
They won't bury him tomorrow.
What do you mean?
All the arrangements have been made.
Oh, there'll be a funeral all right, and
his widow will be crying over his coffin.
Only she'll be crying over
a coffin-load of bricks.
What are you talking about?
What I say. Someone is
keeping the body safe and sound,
and I think we ought to know why.
This is it.
Here it is.
Look at this.
Yes.
Have you found
what you're looking for?
I'm slipping.
I should've taken your set of
keys this morning, shouldn't I?
Now we're all in danger
of losing our jobs.
Or shall we all keep quiet about this?
This was entirely my idea.
Dr Davidson is in no way responsible.
It says here that traces of Triemorphinide
were found in Professor Munroe's arteries.
What is it?
It's a powerful and totally immediate
sedative, a part of the morphine group of drugs.
Traces of which were found clinging to
the inside of certain space capsules,
which had been in outer space
and returned again to Earth.
- But how could this Triemphin...
- Triemorphinide.
...be found in Professor Munroe's body when the only other
place it's been found is the inside of a space capsule?
You're telling me this stuff's all around us
- like radioactive dust?
It's doubtful it would
appear in that form.
It certainly doesn't respond
to any Geiger counter.
Then what are you saying?
I don't know.
But I'm beginning to think we're up against something
more powerful and destructive than either of you realise.
Triemorphinide...
Julie?
"Couldn't stay awake any longer. Hope
you're not too tired. Love, Julie. "
John.
Yes, Mark?
- Are you free at the moment?
- Is it urgent? I'm dictating.
Yes. Well, I think so.
If you could leave it
till later, I won't be long...
No, I can't.
Oh - er - put them
on my desk, please.
Make three copies
of that, Miss Ballard.
Oh, er, you'd better make it six...
and you'd better send the top copy to
the Ministry. You know how fussy they are.
Yes, I do, Professor.
Thank you.
D'you know something? I
think I'm going raving mad.
Oh? Not more than usual, I hope.
Last night, when I got home,
I went upstairs to see Julie.
- She was in bed by the time I got home.
- Sensible girl.
I thought she was dead.
- What did you say?
- I'm telling you, I thought she was dead.
She was lying on the bed,
with her eyes wide open.
I've never been so scared in
my life. I felt for her pulse...
there was nothing. Nothing at her
wrist, or at her temple. Nothing.
What are you telling me?
A few moments later she woke
up; sat up and kissed me.
I suppose you think I imagined it all.
No, how could I possibly say?
I do know that there are people
who can sleep with their eyes open.
What about the pulse?
Well, if you were in that
state, thinking she was dead,
it's not surprising
you couldn't find it.
I'm telling you, she has no pulse.
And I'll tell you another thing:
she doesn't blink her eyes at all.
Not at all.
Now, look, now
you are imagining things.
It's quite impossible for that to happen
without the eyes becoming ulcerated.
I'm not interested whether
you think it's impossible.
I watched her, and after last night's
little episode I watched her even more,
and at no time either then or this
morning did she blink her eyes at all!
My dear boy, come and sit down.
Oh, go to hell!
John!
- Is the Director still here?
- Yes, he's on the phone.
But I don't expect he'll
want to be interrupted.
Garth and I will
get you that, Major...
Do you mind waiting outside a
moment, Mark? There's a good chap.
What I have to say can't wait. Tell him
you'll ring him back. Come in the other office.
Look, do you mind if I
ring you back? All right?
I think I'm entitled to an apology.
Uh...?
- For this morning...
- Oh, for heaven's sake, don't let's be ridiculous.
This morning you told me to go to hell.
That's just exactly where I've been for
the whole of this afternoon and evening.
In my own nasty, private little hell.
What are you talking about?
How long do you think it'll take
before we really find the answer?
- To the project?
- Mm.
Oh, I don't know. I suppose
it could be years yet.
Generations.
Especially now that our work's been
put back by Munroe's notes being burnt.
Yes, that was an accident we
could well have done without.
It was no accident.
It was done deliberately,
to stop us getting there.
Sabotage? By whom?
We're trying to find a way of projecting ourselves
into another world through the power of thought;
to land, without having to use the conventional
means of travel, on the surface of another planet.
What if they've already done it?
Mark. I've known you a long time,
and in all those years I've
never doubted anything you said
because I knew that you were the last
person to have extravagant theories.
You think this is, do you?
I suppose you're going to tell me that I'm
tired, that I've been working too hard...
That's exactly what
I'm going to suggest.
If ever a man needed a rest,
believe me, you're that man.
You drag me away from an important
telephone conversation this evening,
just to tell me about this wild theory.
This morning you moon around my office
telling me about your wife not blinking.
You wait till I see her.
Are you doing anything tonight?
Well... I was going to
work late, that's all.
I have had one or two interruptions.
Come home with me and meet Julie.
- Won't she mind?
- I doubt it. Will you come?
Yes. And I'll make sure
she keeps an eye on you.
An ever-open eye, at that.
How did you meet Julie?
It sounds as if it was a pick-up.
In a way, I suppose, it was.
At the end of what must've been
my fourth day in Switzerland,
I was about five or six
miles from the hotel...
when I heard what I thought was the
sound of the wind in the mountains...
a sort of humming sound... you
know, like the noise that...
telephone wires make when the wind whistles
through them...
...it was very much like that,
only it was a hundred times louder
and it was getting louder all the time.
Then, suddenly, the car stopped.
It wouldn't start.
Then the headlamps began to dim.
Then suddenly the door
opened, and there she was.
Can you give me a lift? Can you?
Then what?
I said "Yes, of course" -
and you'll see why when you meet her.
She jumped in, and when I pressed
the starter it worked first time.
What about that humming
sound, by the way?
Did you ever discover what that was?
No, I didn't.
I asked Julie if she'd heard it, you know, just
for something to talk about, but she hadn't.
Must've been something to do
with the car, or something...
Frankly, I forgot about it.
So would you, if you'd found yourself
sitting next to such a beautiful creature.
- There we are.
- Ah, thanks.
Just bung it down there.
Julie! Got a surprise for you.
Julie?
- Darling...
- Hello, my lovely.
You're Dr Lancaster. I'm
so pleased to meet you.
You're our very first
guest and I bid you welcome.
And I'm very glad to be here.
Your husband spoke in such glowing terms about
you, and I'm happy to say he wasn't exaggerating.
Well, who wants a drink?
Not for me, I'm still busy in
the kitchen. Yours are here.
Oh, don't bother about laying the table.
The firm of Lancaster and Davidson will
oblige as soon as they are fortified.
Thank you.
- Cheers.
- Mm. This is very nice.
- It's quiet.
- Not too quiet? Julie doesn't get too lonely?
- No, she likes it.
- Hm...
What are you two up to?
If you feel strong enough
yet, I'd be glad of some help.
Ah, allow me.
I've been hearing about how you two met.
Yes, it was very romantic.
This "thing" was staying in the same
hotel. So we had breakfast next morning,
spent the day together, and the next...
...and the next, until it became obvious
that the only thing to do was to get married.
Which we did.
I'm very glad to say.
Mm, something smells good.
It's been in the oven for the last
three hours. I hope it hasn't dried up.
Ah, thank you.
Oh, don't burn yourself.
Please be careful.
Where do you keep the corkscrew, Mark?
Er, in the sideboard drawer. No
- it's in the kitchen drawer.
Alright.
Are you feeling all right, John?
Well, who's hungry?
How about you, John?
Ahh...
Why are you staring at me?
Oh, um... I'm sorry.
I was just thinking what
very beautiful eyes you have.
"Why, thank you, kind sir", she said...
"As she waved her wooden leg. "
Good morning, Major.
I'm going to see Professor Lancaster...
I'll see if... just one moment...!
- Major Clarke.
- Thank you.
I believe that the interest of security may
best be served if Dr Davidson is removed,
for the moment, from his position
as head of the department.
And what possible grounds have you for
suggesting something as outrageous as that?
I can't tell you.
Well, I'm very much
afraid you'll have to tell me.
That will not be possible.
Then I cannot do as you ask.
And, in any case,
have you any idea what it would mean to his
career if it got out that he'd been removed?
There's no reason why
anyone should know.
He can continue to occupy
Professor Munroe's office...
while being engaged on
some less dangerous work.
I want a reason from you.
I demand a reason from you.
- I'll give you half the answer.
- I want the whole answer.
I think even you will be satisfied
with the half I'm going to give you.
You see... it's about his wife.
Oh? What about her?
In every area of our check-up,
there's no record of the girl anywhere.
Hello, my darling.
Aren't you a beautiful baby?
Mark! Mark! Mark!! Ohh...
Good morning, Miss Ballard.
Good morning, Dr Davidson.
The Director wants to see you.
Splendid.
Where've you been?
Shopping, if you want to know.
Want to see what I've bought?
Only, er, don't take too much of a fancy to
it, 'cause - er - I don't think this'll fit you.
Matter of fact, it's for someone with
a much more interesting shape than you.
- What d'you think of it?
- Put it away.
- Or would madame like me to take it to the light...?
- Put it away!
What's wrong with you this morning?
I'm going to send you on leave.
Well, thank you very much indeed, but
I've only just come back off my holiday.
This is not a holiday.
I'm sending you on leave because I cannot allow
you to work on this project for the time being.
- You're joking!
- I'm not joking.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I'm telling you in the
plainest possible terms.
You're not allowed to work on
this project for the time being.
However, so that this will only
be known between the three of us...
What do you mean, "the three
of us"? Who's the other one?
- The Major.
- Oh, really? And why, exactly, is...
...so that this will only be
known between the three of us,
you're permitted to continue
to have the use of your office,
but you'll only be allowed to work
on material which is in no way secret.
Why do you have to talk to me in that stupid,
pompous, ridiculous, civil-service jargonese?
We've known each other for... oh, I don't know
- fifteen years?
- And you have to come
out with that tripe.
Why can't you say what you mean?
What's behind all this, anyway?
You know what's behind all
this. Security is not satisfied.
You mean the Major's not satisfied.
The Major is not satisfied about the
information he has on your wife's background.
Well, I've told him all I know!
- Well, it's not enough.
- Has he been nosing around?
Now, look
- he's made enquiries and he's not satisfied.
He hasn't, by any chance, been checking
up on your wife too, has he, I suppose?
Oh, no, he wouldn't have to, would he?
She's from a nice, respectable
English family, isn't she!
Now listen, Mark, I don't
want to row about this.
But you must admit that the whole
circumstance of how you met your wife...
well, it was so extraordinary, and you
really know so very little about her.
Well, you must accept that in a
government department such as this,
we have to put up with
this kind of performance.
Meanwhile, I'm to sit here
and play noughts and crosses
whilst everyone else believes I'm still
working my scientific fingers to the bone.
Now look, it'll only
be for a few days...
It won't even be for
a few minutes. I'm off.
What do you mean?
If you want me, I'm at home!
Well, I'm very sorry about this. But it'll
only be for a week at the most, I'm sure.
That's perfectly all right.
Perfectly all right.
It'll give me a chance
to paint the bathroom.
You know, they talk about these emulsion paints being
waterproof but they're not, old boy, they're really not...
once the steam gets under that paint
it comes off like a huge blister.
I know how you feel. I'd
feel exactly the same.
But, my dear Major, you
told me you were a bachelor.
Don't tell me you're keeping
a secret wife somewhere?
It's very unpleasant to have this kind of
investigation into someone who's close to you,
someone you love very dearly.
But as far as my department's
concerned, as far as our files show...
Oh, yes, the files, the files...
So far as we know, your
wife may come from anywhere.
I mean, she may even come
from out there.
Oh, Miss Ballard.
Yes, Dr Davidson?
If anybody wants me, I'm in
the bathroom with a paintbrush.
- Yes.
- And if they want to speak to me on the phone,
tell them to whisper...
'cause you never know who's listening.
Miss Ballard. Yes, Major Clarke?
How do you find it working for these
temperamental scientific fellows?
Major Clarke. I enter this office
at nine o'clock every morning.
I have been doing this
for a number of years now.
I do my job and I get paid for my job.
How would you like to do a
little job for me, Miss Ballard?
- What kind of job?
- Keeping an eye on things?
Well, I'd like to, but I think I would
find it rather... dull... working for you.
Now, if you were a little
more temperamental...
Thank you, Miss Ballard.
Well, how did he
take it, coming from you?
Not very well. But I'm not surprised.
Well, I trust it will all be cleared
up to all our satisfaction very soon.
So do I.
By the way, I hope when he gets
home he takes his wife to the doctor.
Do you know, there seems to be
something wrong with her eyes.
She seems to have burnt
the skin just under here,
and all the time I was talking to
her she didn't blink her eyes at all.
Julie...
Julie?
Julie.
Why are you home so early?
Oh! I thought you were asleep.
- Are you all right?
- Yes, I'm fine.
Then what are you doing
home at this time of the day?
Don't ask stupid questions.
- Have you had a row with somebody?
- Leave me alone.
- Can I get you something to eat?
- I'm not hungry.
Is this because of me?
Why should it be?
A man was here, asking questions.
The Major.
Would you like me to go
away until all this is over?
It might make it easier for you.
It was all so simple when we
were in Switzerland together.
None of this would have happened
to us if old Munroe was still alive.
How long are you going to be home for?
They've put me on indefinite leave
until all this business is cleared up.
Marvelous.
Yes. So we should have
some days together.
And I think we ought to make
the most of them, don't you?
Mm...
Poor, sweet Julie.
We didn't spend much time together
during the days I was at home.
Although I was forbidden
to work on the project,
it still filled my head during
the days and nights that followed.
I wanted so much to find out just how far
my old chief had got before he was killed...
all his notes destroyed with him.
My mind went back to the last time I saw him...
just before I went on holiday to Switzerland.
I tried to remember
everything we discussed.
I went over and over my
notes, hour after hour...
until, one night, I felt sure that
I'd come to the same point he had.
Hello?
- John?
- Yes.
- It's Mark.
- Now, look here...
Yes, I know what time it is...
and I'm not going to
apologise for disturbing you.
I think I've made the breakthrough
and solved the first part of the formula,
just as Munroe had before he died.
Are you sure?
Yes, I thought you'd be interested.
Shall I come round to the office in the morning
- or won't I be allowed in the door?
What about now?
What do you mean, now?
Do you know what time it is?
See you at the office.
All right, I'll be
there as quick as I can.
- I'll ring the Major.
- Why must you ring the Major?
Well, you know the regulations, Mark...
I suppose so. I'll see you both there.
- Right.
- In about an hour or so.
What time is it?
It's all right, it's all right.
I'm just off to the office.
But it's the middle of the night.
Yes, but I've just got to drop some
work in to John. I'll be straight back.
What work? Why can't it
wait until the morning?
I think I've managed to catch up
on the first part of the formula.
I've been working on copies of Munroe's
notes, and my own, and I think I'm there!
Don't go.
Just you turn over and go to sleep.
I'll be there and back so quickly
you won't even know I've gone.
You mustn't go!
Snuggle down and get your beauty sleep.
Not that you need it,
because you're very beautiful.
Mark! Mark!
See you soon.
I'll be as quick as I can.
Oh... Mark! Mark!
Mark...!
John?
Where's John? He said he'd be here.
He will, I'm sure.
I hear you have some good news for us.
Is that it? I'll have it, if you don't mind.
Oh, it's no use to you
- you wouldn't understand it from one end to the other.
I'm sure I won't.
But I'll take care of it,
if it's just the same to you.
I can hold on to it just as
well as you till John arrives.
I don't intend to hold onto it.
I intend to lock it in the safe.
There's no need to shut the door.
I know the combination.
I work here, you know.
Thank heavens for the bureaucratic mind.
Did you really think that I was
responsible for the Major's death?
Well, you were kneeling
over the body, weren't you?
And you were the first
to find poor old Munroe.
As a matter of fact, I wasn't -
not that I have to explain myself
to you. Miss Ballard found him first.
But what difference does
it make who found him?
You know very well from the...
...autopsy report the condition of the
brain, the blood vessels and the spine,
that everything was hit with such a...
cataclysmic force that no human being
could possibly have been responsible.
So what are you suggesting?
I'm not suggesting anything
- yet.
- But let's assemble our facts.
- Look, we should be telephoning the police.
Now, look, let's
- let's forget the police for the moment. They're the least of our worries.
I don't think you quite realise the danger you're in
- and Julie, for that matter.
Julie?
You see, if the Major was killed like Munroe, it
must be because he had the formula in his hands.
Isn't that so?
The formula has again been
destroyed, but only on paper.
It's still in your head.
How does Julie come into all this?
Whilst you were at home,
working on the formula,
I've had further information about the deaths
of those scientists in America and Russia,
and in at least three cases the
wife of each of them has disappeared,
in circumstances that
simply can't be explained.
Then she must be given
police protection.
From what?
And that's exactly what
I've been asking myself.
Look at it another way:
the only connection between the deaths of Munroe and
the Major, and the scientists both in America and Russia,
is that in each case
the formula was involved.
Now, the Russian
reports may be false.
You mean, they may be responsible,
and want us to think they're not?
It's possible.
But even so, it leads me
to only one conclusion.
Now, one day you said to
me something I scoffed at.
You said that whilst we were only in the early
stage of projecting our minds through space,
it may already have been done,
but not by anybody on this earth.
Well, now I happen to
think that you're right.
What kind of...
creatures... can they be?
And nothing's been seen...
Are we to suppose it's an invisible force,
like electricity is? Like magnetism is?
Well, if our theory about this
kind of mind projection is correct,
then when we get to another planet
and, say, the air is entirely toxic,
we would have to become different creatures
- without lungs, a different bloodstream -
which would make it possible
for us to live there.
So, if they have come here, they in turn
must also be able to move, able to breathe...
even able to think.
And the only creature that we know
that can think is a human being.
Yes. And if our
theory is proved correct,
to make ourselves equipped
to exist on another planet...
our method involves being able to measure the
amount of concentration that will be needed.
And we can be pretty sure that there must be times
over a period when our concentration will weaken,
when our voltage, as it were, will drop.
And if they have come here and are
projecting themselves as human beings,
they also couldn't possibly keep up
that enormous power of concentration...
all the time, every minute of the day.
No, they couldn't.
In small ways they'd have to, at times,
revert to their true selves, whatever that is.
There must be weaknesses
in their structure.
- They're bound to reveal themselves.
- What do you think the signs would be'?
Well, they may not be able
to sweat when it's hot.
They may not be able to grow their nails.
They may have some special deformity.
Their eyes may not be able
to blink. They may even...
As you say... they may
not be able to blink their eyes.
Are you saying Julie's
one of these... illusions?
Let's confine ourselves to what we know.
You, yourself, were very
concerned about her not blinking.
That she slept with her eyes
open. That she had no pulse.
But you've been to our
house. You've met her.
What I didn't tell you
was what I saw for myself.
What's that?
I saw Julie take out the red-hot casserole
from that 275-degree oven with her bare hands.
Any normal person would
have had third-degree burns.
You're out of your mind.
You're talking about my wife!
All right. Let us, for the
moment, forget she's your wife.
Forget...?!
Now, listen. If you and I were given certain information
- and remember,
we both have the kind of mind that's
trained not to jump to conclusions -
what would your reactions
be to all the facts?
What facts?
Well, the fact that she knew who I was
when we met the night I came home with you.
I telephoned her we were coming.
You didn't. She'd no
idea we were coming.
What I saw... her
bare hands inside that oven,
the non-blinking of her eyes that you, yourself,
told me of, and that the Major also saw...
the burn marks under her eyes...
What burn marks?
The Major told me about them
after he'd been to see Julie.
As if she'd been crying and the
tears had literally burnt her cheeks.
He was lying.
Rubbish. What possible reason
could he have for lying?
When I got home after being sent on my indefinite
leave, there was nothing wrong with her eyes.
No, I don't suppose there was.
She could've put that right simply
by wanting to be complete again.
Look, let me ask you this:
if they... whoever they are...
if they can't keep up this
illusion of being a human being,
do you agree with me that we ought to be
able to reduce their power of concentration?
I don't follow you.
What makes you and I lose our grip on things?
What makes a human being lose consciousness...?
There are all sorts of things. Loss
of blood to the brain, a blow, shock...
And anesthetics.
Yes.
Suppose we came across one of these...
creatures, whatever you want to call them.
Suppose we were - by using an anesthetic like ether, say
- able to make them lose their power of concentration.
Would they, in fact, cease to
exist once that had happened?
Would they lose their human form, and
if they did, what would they turn into?
Are you prepared to find out?
Would you allow me to come to your home,
and in your presence anesthetize your wife...
so that we could see, once and for all,
whether she is a real human being...
or an illusion?
You get whatever anesthetic you like -
as strong as you like -
and get over to our house
as quick as you like.
I'll be there first, to tell
her you're coming and why.
And when you walk out of our front door, having
seen how devastatingly wrong your thinking has been,
I want you to know here and now that from that
moment you and I will never see each other again.
Why are you up? What's wrong?
I was just thinking
about how we first met...
That's a fine thing
to get depressed about.
...and how to tell you
that I have to go away.
What are you talking about? Go where?
When I sat beside you in your car that first
night, I didn't think about you very much -
I was more concerned
with what I had to do.
You mean, get back to the hotel
before they locked up for the night?
Why do you think we met?
Why do any two people
meet and fall in love?
I waited in the night
for your car to come.
Did You?
I waited. I was sent to search you out
because of your work... to kill you.
From behind the Iron Curtain?
Because I have failed, my
life here must come to an end.
But this is nonsense!
You don't have to go.
No one can force you
to leave the country.
We have each other
- no one can harm us.
There've been lots of cases where British
subjects have married women from Russia.
We just have to ask
for political asylum.
What do you mean, Russia?
I'm not from Russia.
Then... where?
Don't you know'? Don't you really know?
And isn't John coming
here to prove it to you?
I don't care where you've come from.
You are what I love! I've only seen
you as a woman, not as anything else!
But I am something else.
And now I'm involved with human
emotions; involved with loving you...
with wanting children.
But if you love me - if you're
happy - why do you have to run?
Because I know we can't ever be
together the way we want to be.
Wherever we went they
would search us out.
Look... you came hereto
kill me because of my work.
I can give it up. I don't care
about the project. I care about you.
It isn't enough.
I can't bear to see
you come to any harm.
But they won't harm me if I
give up working on the project.
We'll be safe, won't we? I'm telling you,
We'll be safe! They'll leave us alone!
- What is it?
- Don't you hear it?
Hear what?
You must get away from me... from this house.
I don't want you to see me die.
But you're not going to die.
Mark, I beg you. If you
love me, get away from here.
Otherwise you will be killed,
too, like Munroe and the Major.
How do you know they were killed?
But anyway, you couldn't have killed them because you
were with me in Switzerland, and here at home tonight.
No, I didn't kill them.
You mean... there are others?
Julie...!
Julie!
Come back.
If we're together they can't touch us.
Don't move!
Julie! Julie!
Get away from me!
I don't want you near me.
Please. Please...
I told you they couldn't harm us.
I told you if we'd love each
other they would leave us alone.
It's all right, my
darling. it's all right...
Julie!!
That I saw this beautiful
creature become...
nothing.
And whatever destroyed her
is coming here to kill me...
Dr Davidson, can I help?
You don't know what a relief
it is to see you walk through that door.
I'm glad, because I really
am very sorry about Julie.
Yes, we've been here for twenty years.
And so far we have stopped
you moving into outer space,
and we will continue to
stop you with every means.
Including killing men like
Munroe and Major Clarke?
Unfortunately, yes. And now you.
You can't go on killing.
We found this was the way
back, not the way forward.
But if you threaten us, we
in turn will have to destroy.
And we will win, because you are weak.
You will always reveal yourselves.
There are too many of us,
and few as weak as Julie was.
You call it "weak" to love'?
You call it strong to give yourself to
someone else for this so-called "love"?
You talk a lot about
love; love of freedom, for example.
But do you have it?
Do you really have it'?
It's an illusion, and we have
learned to live without illusions.
You saw what happened.
We have no time for mistakes to be made.
You progress fast.
The dangers of your reaching us make it
imperative that our powers are never diminished...
not for one moment of any day.