Starsky and Hutch (1975) s02e17 Episode Script
37 - The Set-Up (2)
Do you remember, Terry? Do you remember what happened? While you were lying on your back, I was out on the phone making arrangements for Patty's funeral.
Your wife, Terry.
Who did it? You tell me, George.
Durniak.
Convinced that his wife has been the victim of a gang land execution I'm Oliver, FBI.
A man was spotted with a rifle outside.
You're gonna have to take him right through the front, okay? young man sets out on a bizarre trail of vengeance and becomes the unwilling part of a clandestine organisation that deals in assassinations.
Up there! That hotel over there.
I think there were less than who knew where Joe Durniak was yesterday, the only ones that he would trust enough to change directions that suddenly would be you two.
I think you two were paid to set up Joe Durniak.
I shot him.
I'm not ashamed of that.
You're trying to make us believe that because you believe that he killed your wife, you went ahead and you shot him? I checked with the precinct where you say your wife was shot.
They show no record of it.
That's crazy.
I don't know what to tell you, Terry.
You call us up.
You tell us that you shot a man, whom you say is responsible for murdering your wife.
You know that because your brother-in-law told you so.
We go to the apartment house where you say you live, and we find out the apartment has never been lived in.
The security guard couldn't have been where you said he was.
The hospital that you say that you spent two weeks in turns out not to be a hospital at all, but a Catholic girls' school.
The AMA doesn't show a Dr.
George Stegner registered anywhere in the country.
Your bank never heard of you.
The DMV never heard of you, Now, you tell us what we're supposed to think, Terry.
Please.
The blond man uses the name Hutchinson.
The one in the rear is Starsky.
The first man uses the name Nash.
Your brother's dead, murdered by these three men, When am I to do it? Tonight, Debra.
You must kill them tonight.
And now the exciting conclusion of "The Set-Up.
" Our bank employs the Randall-Boyd system, cameras which shoot one picture every 30 seconds.
The section of film we've given you covers the time between 10 and 11 on Monday morning, give or take a minute.
In other words, you'll be examining approximately 120 to 130 frames.
Thank you.
That's most informative.
I don't think you should have any trouble operating this.
It's really quite simple.
I'm sure it is.
Yes, well, I guess you won't be needing me.
Well, you're very welcome to stay, Mr.
Thistleman, if you like.
Thank you very much.
However, I really do have a bank to attend to, and it is nearing the close of another day, you know.
All we need to watch is the first 10 minutes, because I know I left the bank by 10:15.
I want to see them again.
You're beating a dead horse, Terry.
Forget it.
Wait a second, Starsk.
Wait a second.
Just go back to the first frame where the guy with the cigarette was in it, and advance it until he leaves.
Okay.
Okay, that's number one.
Two Three.
Okay, okay, now, go back to the first frame again.
What do you see? Just go back to the first frame.
Now what? Okay, look at his cigarette.
Okay.
He just lit it.
That's what it looks like.
Okay.
Now go on to the next one.
All right, that's 30 seconds later.
Yeah? Go on to the next one.
Uh, hit the zoom button.
Now look.
Too small, isn't it? It's nearly half gone.
And that one's about the same as the one before.
Sure 30 seconds later.
A real 30 seconds.
How much does a cigarette burn in half a minute? Not much.
Not that much.
Maybe a couple of minutes cut out? What do you think? Maybe two and a half minutes.
That's enough time for Terry to have gone into the bank and left again.
Time enough for me to know I'm not going nuts.
Liars.
Every one of them.
Liars! Shh.
We're not out of the woods yet.
You know, maybe he's right.
Why would Thistleman tamper with his film unless he had something to hide? Let's get out of here.
Sure he would.
Thistleman, good old Dr.
George, and the bank teller, and the security guard, and everyone else.
I'm alive! Do you understand that? It's like being born all over again! Yeah, we understand that, Terry, only now I want you to keep your mouth closed, you hear me? You just keep quiet and you stick very close, and we might get out of this place in three whole pieces.
We're not dealing with amateurs.
Just look stupid and embarrassed.
Got that? Well, gentlemen, what is the verdict? Mr.
Thistleman, our friend would like to apologise for the commotion he's caused.
Wouldn't you, Terry? Wouldn't you? Yeah.
Sorry.
Then we can assume it was merely an unfortunate mistake? Yeah, I'm afraid so.
A little touch of déjà vu, perhaps? Something like that.
We'd like to apologise for the trouble and inconvenience.
Considering the threats and everything.
No permanent harm done, officer.
I'd just like to think that Mr.
Nash might have learned something from this experience.
Sure he did.
After all, a little trust can go a long way.
Sure.
One more bluff and I'll stick you in the wall like a dart.
I want to go to the hospital.
Hospital? It's a girls' school.
It was a girls' school when we saw it, but I'm telling you, when I was there before, it was a hospital.
When I was getting dressed to leave, I ripped the lining of my jacket on a coat hanger.
See here, what's the meaning of this intrusion? Police, Sister.
Oh, does this have to do with the break-in? Break-in? What break-in? Oh, well, we reported it.
It was so strange.
Nothing was taken.
Just looked like some of the furniture had been moved.
Okay, we know it happened.
Now the only question left is how.
Well, what do you say? Well, it could be any number of things.
Shock, for one.
I've seen it happen wilfully.
Drugs, possibly.
Um, hypnosis.
How about plain, old-fashioned brainwashing? It's possible.
Is it possible that Terry Nash is not really Terry Nash? That's crazy.
You telling me I don't know who I am? What about your fingerprints, Terry? The doc says they were surgically removed.
Now, why? Why would someone go to that effort? Come on, doc.
Is it possible that Terry Nash is somebody who actually doesn't exist, and that the man sitting here is really somebody else? Yes or no? Is it possible? Yes, it's possible.
That is the craziest thing I've ever heard.
Wait a second.
Now, putting aside the fact that you killed a man for a murder that did not even happen, why, after that, would you run out of your hotel room with a gun in your hand, making yourself an obvious target? I don't know.
Why? Unless someone had planted a posthypnotic suggestion for you to do that, so that you'd be shot and killed before anyone had a chance to find out who you were or what you were about.
Now, what do you say, doc? Hm? Is it possible? It is, isn't it, Hank? Yeah.
Yeah, it's possible, and to tell you the truth, it scares the hell out of me.
If we're right, you've got another life somewhere, maybe even a family, a real family, alive, well, and looking for you.
Well, it's something to think about, isn't it? And Terry Nash? Never existed.
Patty Nash? It's make-believe.
It's a bunch of phoney memories made up by somebody who was willing to go to an awful lot of trouble to get Joe Durniak burned away by an expendable man, an innocent man, someone who could never really explain who he really was or why he did what he did.
You understand what we're saying? It's brilliant.
It's foolproof.
Somebody wants Joe Durniak dead, but they're afraid to take the chance that the guy who kills him might get caught and start to sing, so they find you, whoever you are, and they turn you into a guy by the name of Terry Nash, with a reason for killing.
The only thing they couldn't figure on was you bumping into a hotel thief in the stairwell and the police chasing him instead of you.
I was there, I was with Patty in the car.
Nobody's going to tell me it didn't happen.
Because it didn't happen, Terry.
It didn't happen.
It never really happened.
What do you mean? I was there.
Hello? Hello yourself.
My battery's dead.
I was hoping you could help me.
Oh, uh Sure.
Tonight, Debra.
You must kill them tonight.
A dead battery? Well, I think that's what it is.
I was going to call the Auto Club, but I didn't see any phones nearby, and I'm not too crazy about wandering around these streets at night by myself.
Well, you're absolutely right to feel that way.
Absolutely.
Well, shall we give it a whirl? Yeah, let's give it a shot.
Do you mind? Oh, please.
Why don't you check under the bonnet? Hit it, Starsk.
Battery's dead.
Uh, the battery's dead, Starsk.
That's what I just said.
You got some jumper cables in the back of your car, right? Jumper cables in your car.
Yeah.
Well, why don't you go get them? Be right back.
It's very sweet of all of you to help me.
Uh, did you happen to notice if there's a telephone in the lobby? Yeah, there's one by the elevators.
I know this is rude of me, but if I don't go and call my father and tell him I'm still among the living, he's going to be phoning the morgue in another five minutes.
Oh, why don't you go on ahead? Once we get the car started, we're gonna have to wait for it to warm up anyway.
We can wait.
Oh, you really don't mind? Not in the least.
I'll be back in a minute.
Need any change? Oh, no, I've got it.
Thank you.
My pleasure.
Lovely girl.
Did you notice? Lovely girl.
Wasn't wearing any diamond ring either.
Did you notice that too? Yeah, I sure did.
Is this gonna take a while? Patience.
Well, do you want to start it up or should I? Hm? The key, the ignition, the battery.
Oh, yeah.
You ready? Hutch? Hey? Starsk, come here a minute.
What? Come here a minute.
What? Come here.
What is it? Where do you suppose she came from? Who? What? What are you talking about? Well, look around you.
There's no stores, there's no other buildings.
There's no nothing around here.
What are you guys talking about? She would've had to come from the same building we did.
The only building.
Then why didn't she see the phones? Well, maybe she was in a hurry.
Maybe she ran right past them.
Starsky, there are half a dozen phone booths in that place.
How could anybody walk through an empty lobby and not notice half a dozen phone booths? What are you saying? We're here, and she's gone, right? For a girl who says that she's afraid to be out alone, she trusts her car with three perfect strangers.
Rigged? Let's check it out.
Shut off my engine, would you? Dynamite or plastic? What are you guys doing? What are you doing? Shh! You ever hear a battery ticking? Oh, my God! Look at my car.
Hey, Starsk.
You get the feeling we're onto something? Captain Dobey, please.
Dobey.
Yeah, Captain, this is Starsky.
Starsky, where have you and Hutchinson been all day? Captain, we're at a medical building.
Somebody just blew up my car.
Well, aren't you going to say something? I mean, from where I stand, I think we got a bit of a problem.
You got a bigger problem than that right now.
What are you talking about? Acting on an anonymous tip, Wilson got a warrant and searched your apartment.
So? The big "so" is, he found the rifle that killed Joe Durniak there, and also $10,000 sewn into your sofa.
On the strength of this evidence, a federal murder warrant was issued for you and Hutchinson this afternoon.
As of right now, you're fugitives, along with somebody named Terry Nash.
We've been set up.
Captain, you'll find them in there.
Down the first flight of steps to your left, in the boiler room.
Where are you going? I'm gonna see if I can find them something a little more private and a little less noise.
No, you're not.
Stay out here and watch that car.
Huggy? Dobey.
I know we all look alike.
You weren't followed, were you? What do you take me for, one of the rookies? Hey! We're all jumpy.
It's not the most comfortable thing to have an APB out on you.
I can appreciate that.
Of course, I know you're not guilty.
I wish I felt the same way about him.
All right.
Now, you tell me why the rifle that killed Durniak and $10,000 was found in your apartment.
I don't know.
But I got a feeling that whoever brainwashed him, set up his apartment, his family, everything else, including a phoney FBI man, whoever's able to do all that is certainly capable of planting a lousy 10 grand and a gun in my apartment.
Do you know how many people would have to be involved in a conspiracy like that? Ten, twenty, a hundred What difference does it make, captain? It doesn't make any sense, does it? And what about the guy inside? The guy who tipped them off where Durniak was? That doesn't make any sense either, does it? Why do they want to kill you two? Because Terry is still alive.
That's what we tried to tell you over the telephone.
Terry was never supposed to leave that apartment alive.
What does Terry being alive have to do with the phoney FBI man you said you saw at the hotel? Because if we hadn't seen that phoney FBI man at the hotel, we never would have believed Terry's story.
That's the second thing that went wrong with their plan.
And because they suspected that we believed Terry, then we'd have to be eliminated also, and what better way to do that than to be killed with Terry? This whole thing's crazy.
You realise of course that telling me about it makes me a target too? Ain't togetherness wonderful? All right.
What do you want to do? Just give us a couple of days to straighten this out, will you, captain? A couple? You know that warrant's federal.
I can't do anything about squashing it, and any police officer can use force if he wants to, if you resist arrest.
Doesn't look like we have much choice, does it, captain? And where are you gonna go? Bowling.
Bowling? Yeah.
Bowling.
All right, the apartment was a set-up.
Right? All they needed was a couple of guys to bring the furniture in one night and take it out the next night.
What about the guard? The tipsy one we saw together.
Well, I doubt it.
I don't think he knew anything.
He didn't have to.
What about the other guard? The one I remembered from before? He was part of the plan.
Definitely part of the plan.
I knew him, though.
I remembered his face.
Sure you did.
Just like you knew how to get from the hospital back to your apartment.
It's just another couple of phoney ideas they planted in your We got the heat.
Okay, the Catholic school we know about, right? All they needed was a few hours, a little decoration, a few stooges outside, nurse, maybe a taxi driver Brother-in-law.
Good old Dr.
George.
He's a biggie, you can count on that.
Well, you got to admit, the cuts on his back were a nice touch.
I saw film.
What film? Home movies.
When I came back from the hospital, I took out a projector and I put on a reel of film of me and Patty.
You? Yes, me No.
What do you mean, no? Maybe it wasn't me.
I only saw it from behind.
It was this little scene at the end of the reel.
We were on a skeet range.
I took a shot.
I scored.
I never saw my face.
Well, then it could have been somebody else.
You ever shoot skeet? I don't know.
I can't remember.
You know how to handle a gun, that's for sure.
Wait a minute.
The hotel and apartment: Things not there, right? The bank's still there.
So is this Mr.
Thistleman.
About-face, Mr.
Thistleman.
Come on.
What's going on here? Where are you taking me? Up the river, or down, Mr.
Thistleman.
It's up to you.
Think about it, won't you? Well, Hug, this the best you could do? What'd you expect to get for five bucks, a suite at the Waldorf? Keep him away from me! Easy, Terry.
The flower must not be plucked before it's wilted.
That's very nice.
I couldn't have put that better myself.
Well, you didn't.
I sincerely hope you all realise that kidnapping is a federal offence.
Yep, it's also against the law.
Come on, Mr.
Thistleman.
Have a chair and make yourself comfortable.
There's just two things that we're gonna ask you to do, very politely, in the following order: First of all, we want you to call your bank, tell them that you're sick.
You woke up with a cold and a fever and you just can't come in today.
Then secondly, we'd like you to tell us who the man was who wanted Joe Durniak dead.
I'm sorry, Mr.
Thistleman.
I can't hear you.
You're gonna have to speak up.
You might try lying to us, Mr.
Thistleman, but I wouldn't for a minute let you think of ignoring us.
Hello.
Who is this? Angie? It's It's Mr.
Thistleman.
I'm not coming in today, Angie.
Yes, an awful cold.
I woke up drenched.
I'm sure I have.
Yes, I will.
Thank you, dear.
Goodbye.
Thank you, Mr.
Thistleman.
We appreciate your cooperation.
Now, then, the second thing, who was it that wanted Joe Durniak put away? I don't know who you're talking about.
I swear.
You have to believe me.
I don't know who you're talking about.
Okay, who told you to cut Terry's pictures from the film you showed us? Who? Listen, Mr.
Thistleman, now, you probably already know this, but, uh, the two of us have federal warrants out for our arrest, so we really have nothing to lose.
They'll kill me if I talk.
The way I see it, you're marked off anyway, as long as they find out you're with us.
Isn't that the way your friends operate? Hm? My instructions come by telephone.
From whom? From where? I don't know.
I do not know.
You're lying, Thistleman.
You're lying.
No.
I swear to you.
Okay, he's all yours, kid.
No, no, no, wait, wait.
Please.
Now? Suit yourself.
Desert Springs.
What about Desert Springs? That's where they are.
Who? I don't know! Where in Desert Springs? A castle.
What castle? It's a castle out in the desert.
Yeah, where in the desert? I don't know.
It's It's miles from the nearest road.
You'll never find it.
Well, that depends a little on how we look for it, doesn't it? Huggy, we need a plane.
Plane? You know what a plane is.
Yeah, I know what it is, but I don't happen to know where it's at.
You dig? What about that friend you're always telling us about? The Black Baron? Mm-hm.
What's the matter with your own fly-boys? They gone on strike or something? Or you fellas suddenly gone independent? Huggy, you know we're not exactly on the best terms with the rest of the department.
You mean what you're saying is what you're doing is not exactly sacrosanct.
What? The English language is not the exclusive property of the white man.
Okay, my man, the Black Baron, will be ready and waiting.
Maybe we should drive.
Drive? Ha-ha! My good man, if the Good Lord had wanted us to drive, would he have given us this beautiful piece of work here? Nancy-six-three two-three-zero.
You are now clear for takeoff on runway three.
Roger! And may God help you.
Come on, old girl.
Now, let's show them the life you still got.
Come on, baby, now, let's pick up some speed.
Come on.
Thattababy.
A little faster.
Come on.
You can make it.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
Hey, everybody, we're gonna have to all lean back to help baby to get it up off the ground.
Baron? Yes, Mr.
Hutchinson? I hear you.
I don't think we're gonna make it.
There's too much weight.
You must have faith, Mr.
Hutchinson.
It can move mountains.
Well, it's not the mountains I'm worried about.
It's those trees up there.
Trees? Oh! Here we go.
Pick those feet off the ground, baby! Ah, there's life in the old girl yet! How nice that we lived to find out.
Do we have to be this high? Oh, is it our object to see or be seen, Mr.
Starsky? Or perhaps you feel it would hurt less if we were to crash from 500 feet than from 2000? Maybe not, but we'd get it over with quicker.
There.
What? On the right.
Baron, is there any place around here to land this thing? Around here? Are you crazy? There.
There? A piece of cake, Mr.
Starsky.
A piece of cake.
Here we go.
Come on.
Going down.
That's it.
Now, hey, this is the easy part.
I don't want you guys to lean either to the right or to the left.
You might tip me.
Just hold it perfectly still and don't worry.
Hold it.
Easy now, easy now.
Nothing like little bitty cat's feet.
Baron, you're all right, you know that? Thank you, sir.
But I think before it's all over, you'll find I'm quite a bit more than that.
Hey, Baron, you got any field glasses? Yes, sir.
My motto is to always be prepared, Mr.
Hutchinson.
One guard.
Just one? See any weapons? How about a machine gun? Thank you.
What's he got, a Howitzer? Same thing as the first one.
Are you sure? You wouldn't happen to have a corned beef on rye in that bag, would you, Baron? A corned beef on No, no, sir.
I'm sorry.
However, I do have water, salt, Vitamin-C tablets, some beef jerky freeze-dried tuna casserole with peas and mushrooms, if you wish.
I wish you had a company of Marines in that bag.
My apologies again, sir.
I think that the Marines are slightly unavailable.
However, I do think that I have something that might be a close approximation.
Do you always come equipped like this? Well, my friend Huggy told us that we might be heading toward murky waters, so he told me to look out for our honorary soul brothers here.
And I never let a soul brother down.
Good old Huggy Bear.
No, merely reciprocal, my friend.
You see, I owe him a favour.
And after the day is over, you may owe me a favour.
Oh, here.
You might need this somewhere along the way.
Well, what do you want to do? I don't know.
Think we ought to split up? Good idea.
Let's take the right flank, huh? Shall we take a stroll? See you around.
So far, so good, huh? Yeah.
Want to get a little closer? Well Come on.
The guy on the roof seems to be the key.
The question is how do we get to him? I guess you haven't noticed.
The Baron always comes prepared.
Okay, let's go.
Why don't you go around the back, and I'll go up top, huh? Mm-hm.
I'm not exactly your tap-dancing stereotype, huh? Could have fooled me.
You want to go first? Oh, no.
By my guest.
Hold it! Where's Terry? Where'd you come from? Where do you think? Outside.
No, sir, we lost track of them after the bombing incident failure.
Yes, sir, I'm aware the secretary's very upset, but I strongly recommend our safest course of action until it's over is to close down our West Coast operation.
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
I'll wait for your call.
The castle's been invaded.
At least two, maybe four men.
I think one of them's Nash.
Sound the silent alarm.
It's locked.
What is it? My wife.
I'm getting tired of all this pussyfooting around.
What do you want to do, start shooting? That's not a bad idea.
Gentlemen But there's lots of different blues.
Darkish.
Yeah, well, sure I can remember if you just give me time.
It was pretty late, wasn't it? We were in the back yard.
I said, "I love you, Carrie " Terry It's my wife.
Terry They shot my wife.
Not now.
Come on, Terry.
It's my wife! How many? Three, maybe four.
Come on home! Terry, come on! Snap out of it! It's my wife.
Terry! Terry! It's my wife! It's my wife Forget her! His wife, your wife, anybody's wife, everybody's wife! She isn't your wife, Terry! She never was! Can't you see that, Terry? She's my wife Can't you see that now, Terry? We're in a very bad place, Mr.
Starsky.
No windows.
One door.
We in a bad place.
I know that.
How we doing? What's the count? I don't know, three, maybe four, but I don't think we're going to be able to go out the same place we came in.
How about it, Terry? Are you back with us? I don't know how they did it, but they did it.
Well, that's a start.
Now I'm gonna pay them back.
Terry! Without committing suicide, right? Right.
Are we back among the living? Yeah, he's all right.
What do you want to do, huh? I don't know.
There's only one way out of here.
Maybe not.
Maybe these will help.
The wall.
Right The closet.
Terry Be my guest, Baron.
Come on, Sleeping Beauty.
Yeah? Take my gun.
You ready? Yeah.
Okay, go.
Starsk, above you! Hutch! Helicopter.
Cops? We sure as hell didn't order them.
That's him! The doctor! The guy who said he was my brother-in-law.
Baron, go.
Where the hell's he going? Baron, clip! Captain, that's not even the whole of it.
From what the local police have been able to glean from some of your survivors, your friend Terry and that girl who tried to kill you weren't their first victims.
The people who've been running this organisation have pulled this stunt more than once.
Stunt? Is that what you're calling it, a stunt? Captain, they take a man off the street, or in one case, as you well know, a woman off the street, just someone who's not likely to be missed, somebody who's unattached, single, probably unemployed, and they wipe their minds clean.
I don't know how they do it, captain, but they do it.
They wipe their minds clean, and then they start out all over again their way.
Now, somewhere in this country, there are four or five other people just like Terry Nash and that sweet young thing that tried to blow the three of us off the face of the map, walking around, in a daze, looking for somebody to kill, somebody that the head man wants dead.
Then are you trying to tell me that we haven't found the head man yet? Maybe we did, maybe we didn't.
And maybe all you've found is a bunch of goons and flunkies.
Anyway, it's going to take some time to put it together.
Well, what about me in the meantime? Are you going to put me on trial for killing Joe Durniak? That's the whole point, captain.
You can't have a trial if there's no Terry Nash, and there never was a Terry Nash.
We got a body, sure.
We got the finger that pulled the trigger, wonderful, but what we do not have is, we do not have the man that masterminded this whole thing.
He might be out there.
He might be one of the thugs that our friend here sent to the hospital, or he might be stuck in what remains of that chopper.
We don't know, but what we do know is that he's not in this room, and we do know that it isn't our friend here.
Then I'm free to go? Not yet.
Wilson and the rest of his FBI men are on the way here.
They want to ask you some questions, and then there's got to be a hearing, and maybe a trial.
I don't see how they'll find a conviction, but I'm not the judge, and you realise, of course, there's a warrant out for your arrest, and that fly-boy of yours, the African chap with the arsenal.
You, he and Terry Nash here have broken more rules than a centipede's got legs, and as far as the rest of it The future's all yours, kid.
You don't understand.
It's not the future I care about.
Your wife, Terry.
Who did it? You tell me, George.
Durniak.
Convinced that his wife has been the victim of a gang land execution I'm Oliver, FBI.
A man was spotted with a rifle outside.
You're gonna have to take him right through the front, okay? young man sets out on a bizarre trail of vengeance and becomes the unwilling part of a clandestine organisation that deals in assassinations.
Up there! That hotel over there.
I think there were less than who knew where Joe Durniak was yesterday, the only ones that he would trust enough to change directions that suddenly would be you two.
I think you two were paid to set up Joe Durniak.
I shot him.
I'm not ashamed of that.
You're trying to make us believe that because you believe that he killed your wife, you went ahead and you shot him? I checked with the precinct where you say your wife was shot.
They show no record of it.
That's crazy.
I don't know what to tell you, Terry.
You call us up.
You tell us that you shot a man, whom you say is responsible for murdering your wife.
You know that because your brother-in-law told you so.
We go to the apartment house where you say you live, and we find out the apartment has never been lived in.
The security guard couldn't have been where you said he was.
The hospital that you say that you spent two weeks in turns out not to be a hospital at all, but a Catholic girls' school.
The AMA doesn't show a Dr.
George Stegner registered anywhere in the country.
Your bank never heard of you.
The DMV never heard of you, Now, you tell us what we're supposed to think, Terry.
Please.
The blond man uses the name Hutchinson.
The one in the rear is Starsky.
The first man uses the name Nash.
Your brother's dead, murdered by these three men, When am I to do it? Tonight, Debra.
You must kill them tonight.
And now the exciting conclusion of "The Set-Up.
" Our bank employs the Randall-Boyd system, cameras which shoot one picture every 30 seconds.
The section of film we've given you covers the time between 10 and 11 on Monday morning, give or take a minute.
In other words, you'll be examining approximately 120 to 130 frames.
Thank you.
That's most informative.
I don't think you should have any trouble operating this.
It's really quite simple.
I'm sure it is.
Yes, well, I guess you won't be needing me.
Well, you're very welcome to stay, Mr.
Thistleman, if you like.
Thank you very much.
However, I really do have a bank to attend to, and it is nearing the close of another day, you know.
All we need to watch is the first 10 minutes, because I know I left the bank by 10:15.
I want to see them again.
You're beating a dead horse, Terry.
Forget it.
Wait a second, Starsk.
Wait a second.
Just go back to the first frame where the guy with the cigarette was in it, and advance it until he leaves.
Okay.
Okay, that's number one.
Two Three.
Okay, okay, now, go back to the first frame again.
What do you see? Just go back to the first frame.
Now what? Okay, look at his cigarette.
Okay.
He just lit it.
That's what it looks like.
Okay.
Now go on to the next one.
All right, that's 30 seconds later.
Yeah? Go on to the next one.
Uh, hit the zoom button.
Now look.
Too small, isn't it? It's nearly half gone.
And that one's about the same as the one before.
Sure 30 seconds later.
A real 30 seconds.
How much does a cigarette burn in half a minute? Not much.
Not that much.
Maybe a couple of minutes cut out? What do you think? Maybe two and a half minutes.
That's enough time for Terry to have gone into the bank and left again.
Time enough for me to know I'm not going nuts.
Liars.
Every one of them.
Liars! Shh.
We're not out of the woods yet.
You know, maybe he's right.
Why would Thistleman tamper with his film unless he had something to hide? Let's get out of here.
Sure he would.
Thistleman, good old Dr.
George, and the bank teller, and the security guard, and everyone else.
I'm alive! Do you understand that? It's like being born all over again! Yeah, we understand that, Terry, only now I want you to keep your mouth closed, you hear me? You just keep quiet and you stick very close, and we might get out of this place in three whole pieces.
We're not dealing with amateurs.
Just look stupid and embarrassed.
Got that? Well, gentlemen, what is the verdict? Mr.
Thistleman, our friend would like to apologise for the commotion he's caused.
Wouldn't you, Terry? Wouldn't you? Yeah.
Sorry.
Then we can assume it was merely an unfortunate mistake? Yeah, I'm afraid so.
A little touch of déjà vu, perhaps? Something like that.
We'd like to apologise for the trouble and inconvenience.
Considering the threats and everything.
No permanent harm done, officer.
I'd just like to think that Mr.
Nash might have learned something from this experience.
Sure he did.
After all, a little trust can go a long way.
Sure.
One more bluff and I'll stick you in the wall like a dart.
I want to go to the hospital.
Hospital? It's a girls' school.
It was a girls' school when we saw it, but I'm telling you, when I was there before, it was a hospital.
When I was getting dressed to leave, I ripped the lining of my jacket on a coat hanger.
See here, what's the meaning of this intrusion? Police, Sister.
Oh, does this have to do with the break-in? Break-in? What break-in? Oh, well, we reported it.
It was so strange.
Nothing was taken.
Just looked like some of the furniture had been moved.
Okay, we know it happened.
Now the only question left is how.
Well, what do you say? Well, it could be any number of things.
Shock, for one.
I've seen it happen wilfully.
Drugs, possibly.
Um, hypnosis.
How about plain, old-fashioned brainwashing? It's possible.
Is it possible that Terry Nash is not really Terry Nash? That's crazy.
You telling me I don't know who I am? What about your fingerprints, Terry? The doc says they were surgically removed.
Now, why? Why would someone go to that effort? Come on, doc.
Is it possible that Terry Nash is somebody who actually doesn't exist, and that the man sitting here is really somebody else? Yes or no? Is it possible? Yes, it's possible.
That is the craziest thing I've ever heard.
Wait a second.
Now, putting aside the fact that you killed a man for a murder that did not even happen, why, after that, would you run out of your hotel room with a gun in your hand, making yourself an obvious target? I don't know.
Why? Unless someone had planted a posthypnotic suggestion for you to do that, so that you'd be shot and killed before anyone had a chance to find out who you were or what you were about.
Now, what do you say, doc? Hm? Is it possible? It is, isn't it, Hank? Yeah.
Yeah, it's possible, and to tell you the truth, it scares the hell out of me.
If we're right, you've got another life somewhere, maybe even a family, a real family, alive, well, and looking for you.
Well, it's something to think about, isn't it? And Terry Nash? Never existed.
Patty Nash? It's make-believe.
It's a bunch of phoney memories made up by somebody who was willing to go to an awful lot of trouble to get Joe Durniak burned away by an expendable man, an innocent man, someone who could never really explain who he really was or why he did what he did.
You understand what we're saying? It's brilliant.
It's foolproof.
Somebody wants Joe Durniak dead, but they're afraid to take the chance that the guy who kills him might get caught and start to sing, so they find you, whoever you are, and they turn you into a guy by the name of Terry Nash, with a reason for killing.
The only thing they couldn't figure on was you bumping into a hotel thief in the stairwell and the police chasing him instead of you.
I was there, I was with Patty in the car.
Nobody's going to tell me it didn't happen.
Because it didn't happen, Terry.
It didn't happen.
It never really happened.
What do you mean? I was there.
Hello? Hello yourself.
My battery's dead.
I was hoping you could help me.
Oh, uh Sure.
Tonight, Debra.
You must kill them tonight.
A dead battery? Well, I think that's what it is.
I was going to call the Auto Club, but I didn't see any phones nearby, and I'm not too crazy about wandering around these streets at night by myself.
Well, you're absolutely right to feel that way.
Absolutely.
Well, shall we give it a whirl? Yeah, let's give it a shot.
Do you mind? Oh, please.
Why don't you check under the bonnet? Hit it, Starsk.
Battery's dead.
Uh, the battery's dead, Starsk.
That's what I just said.
You got some jumper cables in the back of your car, right? Jumper cables in your car.
Yeah.
Well, why don't you go get them? Be right back.
It's very sweet of all of you to help me.
Uh, did you happen to notice if there's a telephone in the lobby? Yeah, there's one by the elevators.
I know this is rude of me, but if I don't go and call my father and tell him I'm still among the living, he's going to be phoning the morgue in another five minutes.
Oh, why don't you go on ahead? Once we get the car started, we're gonna have to wait for it to warm up anyway.
We can wait.
Oh, you really don't mind? Not in the least.
I'll be back in a minute.
Need any change? Oh, no, I've got it.
Thank you.
My pleasure.
Lovely girl.
Did you notice? Lovely girl.
Wasn't wearing any diamond ring either.
Did you notice that too? Yeah, I sure did.
Is this gonna take a while? Patience.
Well, do you want to start it up or should I? Hm? The key, the ignition, the battery.
Oh, yeah.
You ready? Hutch? Hey? Starsk, come here a minute.
What? Come here a minute.
What? Come here.
What is it? Where do you suppose she came from? Who? What? What are you talking about? Well, look around you.
There's no stores, there's no other buildings.
There's no nothing around here.
What are you guys talking about? She would've had to come from the same building we did.
The only building.
Then why didn't she see the phones? Well, maybe she was in a hurry.
Maybe she ran right past them.
Starsky, there are half a dozen phone booths in that place.
How could anybody walk through an empty lobby and not notice half a dozen phone booths? What are you saying? We're here, and she's gone, right? For a girl who says that she's afraid to be out alone, she trusts her car with three perfect strangers.
Rigged? Let's check it out.
Shut off my engine, would you? Dynamite or plastic? What are you guys doing? What are you doing? Shh! You ever hear a battery ticking? Oh, my God! Look at my car.
Hey, Starsk.
You get the feeling we're onto something? Captain Dobey, please.
Dobey.
Yeah, Captain, this is Starsky.
Starsky, where have you and Hutchinson been all day? Captain, we're at a medical building.
Somebody just blew up my car.
Well, aren't you going to say something? I mean, from where I stand, I think we got a bit of a problem.
You got a bigger problem than that right now.
What are you talking about? Acting on an anonymous tip, Wilson got a warrant and searched your apartment.
So? The big "so" is, he found the rifle that killed Joe Durniak there, and also $10,000 sewn into your sofa.
On the strength of this evidence, a federal murder warrant was issued for you and Hutchinson this afternoon.
As of right now, you're fugitives, along with somebody named Terry Nash.
We've been set up.
Captain, you'll find them in there.
Down the first flight of steps to your left, in the boiler room.
Where are you going? I'm gonna see if I can find them something a little more private and a little less noise.
No, you're not.
Stay out here and watch that car.
Huggy? Dobey.
I know we all look alike.
You weren't followed, were you? What do you take me for, one of the rookies? Hey! We're all jumpy.
It's not the most comfortable thing to have an APB out on you.
I can appreciate that.
Of course, I know you're not guilty.
I wish I felt the same way about him.
All right.
Now, you tell me why the rifle that killed Durniak and $10,000 was found in your apartment.
I don't know.
But I got a feeling that whoever brainwashed him, set up his apartment, his family, everything else, including a phoney FBI man, whoever's able to do all that is certainly capable of planting a lousy 10 grand and a gun in my apartment.
Do you know how many people would have to be involved in a conspiracy like that? Ten, twenty, a hundred What difference does it make, captain? It doesn't make any sense, does it? And what about the guy inside? The guy who tipped them off where Durniak was? That doesn't make any sense either, does it? Why do they want to kill you two? Because Terry is still alive.
That's what we tried to tell you over the telephone.
Terry was never supposed to leave that apartment alive.
What does Terry being alive have to do with the phoney FBI man you said you saw at the hotel? Because if we hadn't seen that phoney FBI man at the hotel, we never would have believed Terry's story.
That's the second thing that went wrong with their plan.
And because they suspected that we believed Terry, then we'd have to be eliminated also, and what better way to do that than to be killed with Terry? This whole thing's crazy.
You realise of course that telling me about it makes me a target too? Ain't togetherness wonderful? All right.
What do you want to do? Just give us a couple of days to straighten this out, will you, captain? A couple? You know that warrant's federal.
I can't do anything about squashing it, and any police officer can use force if he wants to, if you resist arrest.
Doesn't look like we have much choice, does it, captain? And where are you gonna go? Bowling.
Bowling? Yeah.
Bowling.
All right, the apartment was a set-up.
Right? All they needed was a couple of guys to bring the furniture in one night and take it out the next night.
What about the guard? The tipsy one we saw together.
Well, I doubt it.
I don't think he knew anything.
He didn't have to.
What about the other guard? The one I remembered from before? He was part of the plan.
Definitely part of the plan.
I knew him, though.
I remembered his face.
Sure you did.
Just like you knew how to get from the hospital back to your apartment.
It's just another couple of phoney ideas they planted in your We got the heat.
Okay, the Catholic school we know about, right? All they needed was a few hours, a little decoration, a few stooges outside, nurse, maybe a taxi driver Brother-in-law.
Good old Dr.
George.
He's a biggie, you can count on that.
Well, you got to admit, the cuts on his back were a nice touch.
I saw film.
What film? Home movies.
When I came back from the hospital, I took out a projector and I put on a reel of film of me and Patty.
You? Yes, me No.
What do you mean, no? Maybe it wasn't me.
I only saw it from behind.
It was this little scene at the end of the reel.
We were on a skeet range.
I took a shot.
I scored.
I never saw my face.
Well, then it could have been somebody else.
You ever shoot skeet? I don't know.
I can't remember.
You know how to handle a gun, that's for sure.
Wait a minute.
The hotel and apartment: Things not there, right? The bank's still there.
So is this Mr.
Thistleman.
About-face, Mr.
Thistleman.
Come on.
What's going on here? Where are you taking me? Up the river, or down, Mr.
Thistleman.
It's up to you.
Think about it, won't you? Well, Hug, this the best you could do? What'd you expect to get for five bucks, a suite at the Waldorf? Keep him away from me! Easy, Terry.
The flower must not be plucked before it's wilted.
That's very nice.
I couldn't have put that better myself.
Well, you didn't.
I sincerely hope you all realise that kidnapping is a federal offence.
Yep, it's also against the law.
Come on, Mr.
Thistleman.
Have a chair and make yourself comfortable.
There's just two things that we're gonna ask you to do, very politely, in the following order: First of all, we want you to call your bank, tell them that you're sick.
You woke up with a cold and a fever and you just can't come in today.
Then secondly, we'd like you to tell us who the man was who wanted Joe Durniak dead.
I'm sorry, Mr.
Thistleman.
I can't hear you.
You're gonna have to speak up.
You might try lying to us, Mr.
Thistleman, but I wouldn't for a minute let you think of ignoring us.
Hello.
Who is this? Angie? It's It's Mr.
Thistleman.
I'm not coming in today, Angie.
Yes, an awful cold.
I woke up drenched.
I'm sure I have.
Yes, I will.
Thank you, dear.
Goodbye.
Thank you, Mr.
Thistleman.
We appreciate your cooperation.
Now, then, the second thing, who was it that wanted Joe Durniak put away? I don't know who you're talking about.
I swear.
You have to believe me.
I don't know who you're talking about.
Okay, who told you to cut Terry's pictures from the film you showed us? Who? Listen, Mr.
Thistleman, now, you probably already know this, but, uh, the two of us have federal warrants out for our arrest, so we really have nothing to lose.
They'll kill me if I talk.
The way I see it, you're marked off anyway, as long as they find out you're with us.
Isn't that the way your friends operate? Hm? My instructions come by telephone.
From whom? From where? I don't know.
I do not know.
You're lying, Thistleman.
You're lying.
No.
I swear to you.
Okay, he's all yours, kid.
No, no, no, wait, wait.
Please.
Now? Suit yourself.
Desert Springs.
What about Desert Springs? That's where they are.
Who? I don't know! Where in Desert Springs? A castle.
What castle? It's a castle out in the desert.
Yeah, where in the desert? I don't know.
It's It's miles from the nearest road.
You'll never find it.
Well, that depends a little on how we look for it, doesn't it? Huggy, we need a plane.
Plane? You know what a plane is.
Yeah, I know what it is, but I don't happen to know where it's at.
You dig? What about that friend you're always telling us about? The Black Baron? Mm-hm.
What's the matter with your own fly-boys? They gone on strike or something? Or you fellas suddenly gone independent? Huggy, you know we're not exactly on the best terms with the rest of the department.
You mean what you're saying is what you're doing is not exactly sacrosanct.
What? The English language is not the exclusive property of the white man.
Okay, my man, the Black Baron, will be ready and waiting.
Maybe we should drive.
Drive? Ha-ha! My good man, if the Good Lord had wanted us to drive, would he have given us this beautiful piece of work here? Nancy-six-three two-three-zero.
You are now clear for takeoff on runway three.
Roger! And may God help you.
Come on, old girl.
Now, let's show them the life you still got.
Come on, baby, now, let's pick up some speed.
Come on.
Thattababy.
A little faster.
Come on.
You can make it.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
Hey, everybody, we're gonna have to all lean back to help baby to get it up off the ground.
Baron? Yes, Mr.
Hutchinson? I hear you.
I don't think we're gonna make it.
There's too much weight.
You must have faith, Mr.
Hutchinson.
It can move mountains.
Well, it's not the mountains I'm worried about.
It's those trees up there.
Trees? Oh! Here we go.
Pick those feet off the ground, baby! Ah, there's life in the old girl yet! How nice that we lived to find out.
Do we have to be this high? Oh, is it our object to see or be seen, Mr.
Starsky? Or perhaps you feel it would hurt less if we were to crash from 500 feet than from 2000? Maybe not, but we'd get it over with quicker.
There.
What? On the right.
Baron, is there any place around here to land this thing? Around here? Are you crazy? There.
There? A piece of cake, Mr.
Starsky.
A piece of cake.
Here we go.
Come on.
Going down.
That's it.
Now, hey, this is the easy part.
I don't want you guys to lean either to the right or to the left.
You might tip me.
Just hold it perfectly still and don't worry.
Hold it.
Easy now, easy now.
Nothing like little bitty cat's feet.
Baron, you're all right, you know that? Thank you, sir.
But I think before it's all over, you'll find I'm quite a bit more than that.
Hey, Baron, you got any field glasses? Yes, sir.
My motto is to always be prepared, Mr.
Hutchinson.
One guard.
Just one? See any weapons? How about a machine gun? Thank you.
What's he got, a Howitzer? Same thing as the first one.
Are you sure? You wouldn't happen to have a corned beef on rye in that bag, would you, Baron? A corned beef on No, no, sir.
I'm sorry.
However, I do have water, salt, Vitamin-C tablets, some beef jerky freeze-dried tuna casserole with peas and mushrooms, if you wish.
I wish you had a company of Marines in that bag.
My apologies again, sir.
I think that the Marines are slightly unavailable.
However, I do think that I have something that might be a close approximation.
Do you always come equipped like this? Well, my friend Huggy told us that we might be heading toward murky waters, so he told me to look out for our honorary soul brothers here.
And I never let a soul brother down.
Good old Huggy Bear.
No, merely reciprocal, my friend.
You see, I owe him a favour.
And after the day is over, you may owe me a favour.
Oh, here.
You might need this somewhere along the way.
Well, what do you want to do? I don't know.
Think we ought to split up? Good idea.
Let's take the right flank, huh? Shall we take a stroll? See you around.
So far, so good, huh? Yeah.
Want to get a little closer? Well Come on.
The guy on the roof seems to be the key.
The question is how do we get to him? I guess you haven't noticed.
The Baron always comes prepared.
Okay, let's go.
Why don't you go around the back, and I'll go up top, huh? Mm-hm.
I'm not exactly your tap-dancing stereotype, huh? Could have fooled me.
You want to go first? Oh, no.
By my guest.
Hold it! Where's Terry? Where'd you come from? Where do you think? Outside.
No, sir, we lost track of them after the bombing incident failure.
Yes, sir, I'm aware the secretary's very upset, but I strongly recommend our safest course of action until it's over is to close down our West Coast operation.
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
I'll wait for your call.
The castle's been invaded.
At least two, maybe four men.
I think one of them's Nash.
Sound the silent alarm.
It's locked.
What is it? My wife.
I'm getting tired of all this pussyfooting around.
What do you want to do, start shooting? That's not a bad idea.
Gentlemen But there's lots of different blues.
Darkish.
Yeah, well, sure I can remember if you just give me time.
It was pretty late, wasn't it? We were in the back yard.
I said, "I love you, Carrie " Terry It's my wife.
Terry They shot my wife.
Not now.
Come on, Terry.
It's my wife! How many? Three, maybe four.
Come on home! Terry, come on! Snap out of it! It's my wife.
Terry! Terry! It's my wife! It's my wife Forget her! His wife, your wife, anybody's wife, everybody's wife! She isn't your wife, Terry! She never was! Can't you see that, Terry? She's my wife Can't you see that now, Terry? We're in a very bad place, Mr.
Starsky.
No windows.
One door.
We in a bad place.
I know that.
How we doing? What's the count? I don't know, three, maybe four, but I don't think we're going to be able to go out the same place we came in.
How about it, Terry? Are you back with us? I don't know how they did it, but they did it.
Well, that's a start.
Now I'm gonna pay them back.
Terry! Without committing suicide, right? Right.
Are we back among the living? Yeah, he's all right.
What do you want to do, huh? I don't know.
There's only one way out of here.
Maybe not.
Maybe these will help.
The wall.
Right The closet.
Terry Be my guest, Baron.
Come on, Sleeping Beauty.
Yeah? Take my gun.
You ready? Yeah.
Okay, go.
Starsk, above you! Hutch! Helicopter.
Cops? We sure as hell didn't order them.
That's him! The doctor! The guy who said he was my brother-in-law.
Baron, go.
Where the hell's he going? Baron, clip! Captain, that's not even the whole of it.
From what the local police have been able to glean from some of your survivors, your friend Terry and that girl who tried to kill you weren't their first victims.
The people who've been running this organisation have pulled this stunt more than once.
Stunt? Is that what you're calling it, a stunt? Captain, they take a man off the street, or in one case, as you well know, a woman off the street, just someone who's not likely to be missed, somebody who's unattached, single, probably unemployed, and they wipe their minds clean.
I don't know how they do it, captain, but they do it.
They wipe their minds clean, and then they start out all over again their way.
Now, somewhere in this country, there are four or five other people just like Terry Nash and that sweet young thing that tried to blow the three of us off the face of the map, walking around, in a daze, looking for somebody to kill, somebody that the head man wants dead.
Then are you trying to tell me that we haven't found the head man yet? Maybe we did, maybe we didn't.
And maybe all you've found is a bunch of goons and flunkies.
Anyway, it's going to take some time to put it together.
Well, what about me in the meantime? Are you going to put me on trial for killing Joe Durniak? That's the whole point, captain.
You can't have a trial if there's no Terry Nash, and there never was a Terry Nash.
We got a body, sure.
We got the finger that pulled the trigger, wonderful, but what we do not have is, we do not have the man that masterminded this whole thing.
He might be out there.
He might be one of the thugs that our friend here sent to the hospital, or he might be stuck in what remains of that chopper.
We don't know, but what we do know is that he's not in this room, and we do know that it isn't our friend here.
Then I'm free to go? Not yet.
Wilson and the rest of his FBI men are on the way here.
They want to ask you some questions, and then there's got to be a hearing, and maybe a trial.
I don't see how they'll find a conviction, but I'm not the judge, and you realise, of course, there's a warrant out for your arrest, and that fly-boy of yours, the African chap with the arsenal.
You, he and Terry Nash here have broken more rules than a centipede's got legs, and as far as the rest of it The future's all yours, kid.
You don't understand.
It's not the future I care about.