Starsky and Hutch (1975) s03e06 Episode Script

[###.]
[TYRES SCREECHING.]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
[EXPLODES.]
[###.]
[CAR HORNS HONKING.]
Wait a second.
Aw HUTCH: Yeah, all right! What are you going to do this time? How far is this to the station? Same ten blocks it was yesterday and the day before that.
Starsky, how come your car has this propensity to stop at the same point for three days in a row? It's very simple.
See, the distance from my apartment to the station All right! Look, Starsky, I think it's about time you made a choice between this piece of junk and me.
Don't make me choose.
Walking in this heat is not my idea of a good time.
My temperature gauge went up ten degrees! Mine's going up about 20! I might blow my engine! If you do this again, you're going to blow a partner! What are you doing now? I'm going to cool off.
All right! [###.]
Big bad Blaine, we owe you.
For what? There he goes into that "Ain't nothing, partner, just doing my job.
" We busted a couple of punks.
So what? So what? You saved our act.
We owe you.
STARSKY: Name it.
OK, John, you've got the power.
Tell my partner to get rid of his so-called car, will you? You had to walk again this morning? You got it.
Tell you what, I'll buy you a drink later today at the old watering hole.
You'll buy? This I gotta see.
No, thanks.
I've got a couple of things to check out tonight.
See you guys for dinner Saturday.
You got it, captain.
See you.
Oh.
[###.]
[CHEERING AND CLAPPING.]
Oh, I love that music.
Oh, keep playing Frankie and Johnny.
Oh, they were lovers.
I think they were also hairstylists.
I'm not sure.
I feel like a million tonight, but I'll take them two at a time.
You know, I'll never forget the time I was out west, where men are men and women are women.
And everyone else is on Medicaid.
I met a very gay Indian.
A sweet Sioux.
Hi.
Hi.
Do you mind if I sit down? No.
Sit.
SUGAR: But if you do Wait, I haven't finished.
Now, just relax, let me finish this little joke.
You alone? Yeah.
Can I buy you a drink? No thanks.
I'm fine.
SUGAR: That was a good one.
Mmm, we'll do it in the second show.
Hey, Murph, a Scotch and water.
SUGAR: Thank you, thank you.
SUGAR: Before I go one more minute, I've got to I bet you played ball.
What? Football.
I bet you played, huh? Yeah, I played some.
I bet you were good, huh? Yeah, I guess I was OK.
[SUGAR SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
Salut.
Salut.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
It's all right.
No problem.
Don't worry about it.
Now, look, I've got to buy you a drink this time.
I just can't make up my mind whether to be Marilyn.
Ooh! Or Carol.
Or Bette.
[CHEERING AND CLAPPING.]
I'm going to take a break, boys.
I'll be back for showtime number two.
Thanks for the drinks.
Maybe I'll see you again.
[###.]
Is something wrong? All these drinks.
Whew.
Really hit me tonight.
I'll walk you to your car.
Where is it? It's back at the St Francis Hotel.
You're in no condition to drive.
I just don't pick up with anybody.
Neither do I, but you're still in no condition to drive.
I've got a room at the St Francis.
Come on.
[###.]
I see you got the groceries.
[BELL DINGS.]
The man wants 305.
Just a minute.
BLAINE: Corday? Thanks, Mr Lawford.
Put this in the safe, will you, and I'll pick it up tomorrow.
Take it easy.
The man said 305.
You're gonna make it, buddy.
You're gonna make it.
You're going to make it.
Thataboy.
One step at a time.
There we go.
Stand over here.
Yeah, OK.
You OK, huh? I guess so.
What's with the creep? Who, Nick? He's just picked up another trick is all.
Nick's OK? A lady last night, a man tonight.
OK, let's roll.
I don't work overtime, Casanova.
How are you doing? Are you feeling OK? Here, I'll take your jacket off.
Come on, you gotta lay down for a while.
Hey, relax.
Thataboy.
I'll get you a towel, OK? How are you doing, buddy? Huh? How you doing? Goodnight.
[###.]
MAN [ON RADIO.]
: And it is going to be a blockbuster again today, folks.
The weatherman says we should have a high of 97.
So who wants to know? As we head into our fifth day of record heat.
How about that? That happening here on this first day of the month.
Okay, I'm sorry about it all, folks, but I've got another note here that says it is going to stay that way.
No relief in sight, but we think we can refresh you with some cool music.
[###.]
Morning.
Morning.
Hot coffee and a fan, huh? The coffee's an upper.
I didn't sleep much last night.
Yeah? Where were you? Sorry I asked.
What's wrong with the air conditioning? Nothing's wrong with the air conditioning.
It's not working.
What are you doing? How about a little instant pneumonia? Morning, captain.
Morning, Cap.
What's the matter? Blaine's dead.
Who? John Blaine, dead.
What? That's, uh How? When? We were just working with him last night.
Last night, that's when it happened.
Call just came in a few minutes ago.
They found him in some funky hotel on Holloway Boulevard.
St Francis.
What was he doing? That's what you two are gonna have to find out, because he wasn't working for me.
Did you speak to Maggie? Yeah.
How did she take it? Like my wife, or any other loving wife who's been married for 22 years and finds out her husband's dead.
[###.]
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY ON RADIO.]
[SIREN WAILING.]
I was just telling Maxine that this sort of thing could give the hotel a bad name, wasn't I, Maxine? You'd better watch your clientele.
Back off.
Hey, look what's coming.
Yeah, you the manager? That's right.
I want you to stick around.
I might want to ask some questions.
This a big case for you, love? You know something I should? Yeah, she was telling me she knew the guy who was with the dead guy last night, before he got dead.
Is that right? Not personally, love.
But I do know something.
We all knew him, Starsky.
He was a good cop.
What have you got? Possible suffocation.
How do you know? Signs of cyanosis.
Blue tinge around the face, upper torso.
Also indications of petechial haemorrhage, the bloodshot eyes.
We'll know when the autopsy comes out.
Get a Polaroid.
You seen enough? Yep.
Go on, go on.
His money was missing.
They're looking for prints.
Don't know the cause of death.
Possibly suffocation.
What did you get? One of the ladies downstairs said that she saw Blaine come into the hotel last night late.
Staggering drunk with a trick.
Did you get a description? Yeah, not much to go on.
Medium height, Caucasian, black hair, male.
John was in this hotel last night with a nickel-and-dime hustler named Nick.
Wait, wait, wait a second.
What are you talking about? John Blaine was Hey.
Hey, I grew up next to his family.
You must be suffering from heat The manager of the hotel The manager in this hotel said that Blaine has had a room here for over a year.
He probably was undercover.
Until six months ago, he was in this room with the same guy.
Recently there had been others.
He could have been undercover.
Dobey says no.
I don't buy that.
Buy it or not, Blaine's dead.
And he was with another man.
There's no reason to tell her.
Are you talking as a cop or a friend of the family? "Well, Maggie, we're real sorry to inform you that John is dead.
"And we hate to inform you also that he was gay.
" I can't do that.
Well, then I'll do it.
What good would it do? Starsky, you know as well as I do we're floundering around.
We gotta get it out on the street.
We need information.
Maybe Maggie can tell us something.
Maybe she can't.
I mean, do you have any idea what this could do to her? Well, then, let's turn around.
[###.]
Looks like John's got more medals than the whole department combined.
Yes, he does.
Is that you? Yeah.
John was teaching me how to fight.
Bloody nose and all.
He was real proud of me.
I want to thank you both for coming.
Can I get you something to drink? Some coffee? No, thank you.
No, thank you, Maggie.
Nothing.
What is it, David? Maggie Maggie, John was with somebody last night.
A young man.
What do you mean? What are you trying to say? The last time that Johnny was seen alive, he was taking a young man up to his hotel room.
He was always with people like that.
That was part of his job.
You ought to know that.
Johnny had a hotel room.
He'd had that hotel room for a long time.
That's a lie.
He was on a case.
Maggie, please.
I'm sorry, David.
I know you're not lying.
I guess I've known about it for a long time.
I knew.
But there are some things better left unsaid.
Maggie, is there anything else that you can tell us that might help? For a long time, he was very close to a young man.
Do you remember the man's name? Peter Whitelaw.
It was in the papers about a year ago.
A young teacher accused of being a homosexual.
David.
John was a good man.
No matter what you find out, John was a good man.
I mean, it really blows my mind.
I always thought of John and Maggie as being the ideal couple.
His being gay doesn't change any of the other things he was.
Yeah, but how can anybody live that life? What? I mean, we were really close.
How could he have been gay without my knowing it? Well, how would you have felt about him if he'd told you? I don't know.
That's probably why he stayed in the closet.
You see two men together and think "How ugly," right? That's the stupidity.
Look, we're trying to find out why a cop is dead.
Did you and John spend any time at a hotel called the St Francis? Yeah, because John felt safe there.
How about bars? Did you have any special places out in that area? A place called The Green Parrot.
Did you know anybody down at The Green Parrot? No.
John and I were loners.
Did he mention anybody by the name of Nick? No.
You know, it's you guys.
It's society.
It's the whole attitude that made John sneak.
A man is dead, Mr Whitelaw.
I don't care if he's gay or straight.
Labels don't mean a thing.
We just want to find out why.
[TELEPHONES RINGING.]
You don't think much of all this, do you? I think that you have the right to campaign.
And run for office and get elected just like anyone else.
I don't think you have to wear your private life on your sleeve.
I don't think you have to hide it, but I don't think that you have to use it as a platform on which to campaign.
[###.]
[PIANO PLAYING.]
MURPH: Hey, hey.
Did you ever see this guy? MURPH: Oh, yeah, sure.
I know him.
That's John.
Yeah.
Sure I know him.
He comes in a lot, mostly nights.
See him last night? Yeah, he was here.
Are you talking about the guy that died over at the hotel last night? You ever seen him before? Well, I don't know.
All Johns look alike to me.
Did you see him last night? I was busy last night.
Last night? Oh, cool it, Murph.
It's too hot to play games.
Why don't you fix the policemen and me a drink? It's on me.
Something cold, no booze.
Yeah, make that two.
Let me get this straight, you were here last night? Well, of course.
Everybody was.
You know, darling, I'm the entertainment here.
I was on stage all night.
You can ask anybody.
What gorgeous hair.
I think I'll bleach mine the same.
It's not bleach.
It's natural.
What a coincidence.
So's mine.
Sugar's giving you the 8.
30 show.
Honey, they couldn't live through the 8.
30 show.
OK, look, this guy John, was he with anybody last night? I don't know.
It was crowded, a madhouse.
Well, try to remember.
It was crowded.
You just told him that, dummy.
Well, look This will take care of the drinks.
Keep the change, huh? Ooh, yeah, I remember now.
Yeah, it was Nick Hunter.
Come on, Sugar.
You know him better than I do.
Yeah, Sugar, tell us about Nick Hunter.
No big thing.
He's a pretty boy who works the streets.
He's a friend of mine.
Did John leave the bar with Nick last night? Sugar.
[###.]
[WOMAN SCREAMS.]
[TYRES SCREECHING.]
[HORNS HONKING.]
Lighten up, man! OK? Lighten up! Take it easy, sweetheart.
No one's gonna get hurt.
You Nick Hunter? Yeah, what of it? Keep your answers straight.
What's this? Any law against me having money? Where'd you get it? I inherited it.
You listen real good, buddy.
Witnesses saw you last night at the bar and at the St Francis Hotel with a man who turned up dead this morning.
Give me a break.
No breaks, punk.
The man was a cop.
Tell us about the money.
I don't know nothing! The wallet was empty.
Huh? OK, so I ripped him off, but I didn't kill him.
The dude was drunk, passed out in his bed when I split.
Yeah, well, he was found dead this morning.
His wallet was empty.
And you're holding.
[###.]
Starsky, don't come in my office.
Captain, do not "Now, Starsky" me.
That is a piece of garbage.
Hunter's out on the street because we had to let him go.
Some guy named Lawford put up the $5000 bail.
$5000? For killing a cop? The charge was possession of stolen property.
But we had witnesses.
They only put him on the scene.
Circumstantial evidence at the best.
A cop is killed and you released the prime suspect.
We don't know that Blaine was killed.
It says right here in the report.
There was alcohol and a trace of barbiturates in the blood.
That's great, captain.
Now you're suggesting the man's a junkie.
He could have been taking pills.
Everybody takes pills.
Look, I'm just reading what's in the report here.
He may even have died from a heart attack.
It also says "With signs of suffocation.
" And if you read to the end of the paragraph, it says "Victim may have had an occlusion, thereby causing a heart attack.
" Maybe, maybe.
A cop is dead, captain.
Maybe somebody helped him suffocate.
We can't hold a suspect on a maybe.
Nah.
Hunter was seen.
Going into the room.
Hunter's just a cheap nickel-and-dime and you know it.
Killing's not his MO.
OK, Cap, what's happening? Pressure, Starsky.
Pressure like you've never known.
From where? From everywhere.
The commissioner's office, the chief's office, the mayor's office.
About what? The department's under a lot of pressure right now to allow gays on the force.
So? So the department is not anxious to let the world know that one of its finest might have been a homosexual.
Mrs Blaine's handling it.
You'd think that the department could do the same.
We are not going to back off this case no matter what the department says I'm not asking you to back off.
I just don't want to know about it.
And if we come up with something? If you find something, you bring it to me and we're gonna go, regardless of the pressure.
[###.]
What are you doing? When I'm nervous, I cook, OK? What are you cooking? Custard.
You want some? You're weird.
It's 3.
00.
I called Nick at the club.
He said he's on his way over.
He might have gotten scared and taken off.
Did that ever occur to you? Look, Nick is a hungry hustler.
He smells a buck, he'll be here.
And Corday, I don't mind telling you, I don't like this any more.
When this is over, you can count me out.
As far as you're concerned, I am retired.
You got that? [KNOCKING.]
I was gonna call you if you didn't call me.
I'm glad.
I'm in a rush, so let's get down to it.
I want you to disappear.
I need $3,000 travelling money.
I was thinking more like 500.
Not for the information I got.
You and what's-his-name are dealing.
Now, you give me $3,000, or I do a John Dean.
I'm afraid we can't accommodate you, creep.
[###.]
Hunter! [TYRES SCREECHING.]
DISPATCH [ON RADIO.]
: 415.
A disturbance at the St Francis Hotel, Zebra Three, Zebra Three, respond to a 415, a disturbance of the peace at the St Francis Hotel.
Got away? He knows.
What if he talks? [GRUNTS.]
What if you talked? [KNOCKING.]
LAVERNE: Hey, Lawford, what's going on in there? We've called the cops, Lawford.
I'm a police officer.
There's been a murder here.
And I want you both to stay out here in the hall.
Don't move.
Stay there.
CORDAY: Yeah, Hotel St Francis, room 101.
CORDAY: I'll stay here.
Excuse me.
OK.
Yeah, OK.
Lieutenant Corday.
Hi.
Narco, isn't it? Yeah, Narco.
What happened? This guy's name is Lawford.
He was stabbed by a punk.
Nick Hunter.
I already called it in.
How do you know it was Nick Hunter? I was standing outside the door.
I hear Lawford yell, I open the door, Lawford is falling.
And Hunter went out that window.
He got away.
What were you doing here? Well, uh, I was supposed to have a meeting with him at 3:00.
What was the meeting about? I busted him for dealing a couple of weeks ago.
We were going to work out a deal.
If he gave me his source, he goes free.
It seems to me his source was Hunter.
Only he arrived early.
Hmm? Yeah.
[###.]
[SHAVER BUZZING.]
[HUMMING.]
[KNOCKING.]
Hold on! I'll be just as good when I get there.
[HUMMING.]
Well, we're certainly in a hurry.
You know, darling, I don't like to be rushed.
Sugar, I need some money.
How come, every time you want something, it's always money? I thought the cops busted you.
Sugar, cut the act.
They let me go.
Lawford, at the St Francis, was knifed to death.
A couple of hookers put it out on the street that a cop named Corday is trying to hang it on me.
I think Corday's the guy who did it.
I need a little money to get out of town for a while.
Well, you've got to try harder.
We don't always get what we need.
It's all too pat.
Yeah.
What do you know about Corday? Not as much as I'd like to know.
[TELEPHONE RINGS.]
You don't trust him? I don't know.
Hutchinson, yeah.
I know who killed Blaine.
Yeah, go ahead.
He's a cop.
His name is Corday and he's on Narco.
He says he killed Blaine.
[###.]
How did you get Lawford's file out of Narco? Captain, we've gone over that file word for word.
And all the evidence points to the fact Lawford was holding and Corday let him off clean.
Now, if Corday was making a deal with Lawford, why doesn't somebody in the department know about it? Some snitch calls you on the phone, you guys are ready to bust the whole Narco squad.
Are you crazy, or you just don't care about your careers? Suppose that Blaine stumbled onto Lawford and Corday dealing in the hotel? If you're gonna bust a police officer, you need more than a suppose.
That goes without saying.
Captain, first Blaine gets burned.
And then Lawford.
Those are two people that could have busted Corday.
Mmm.
They're both dead.
Disappear for 24 hours.
Get some hard evidence that's a lock.
We'll do what we have to do.
[###.]
Thank you very much, Miss Sherwood.
And please tell all your friends to register.
Hey.
Are you serious? Are you two registered? Well, no, I just moved in We've only got a day, Huggy, and we need your help.
It's always good to be needed.
Do you know Sugar, the entertainer at The Parrot Club? Does a fly know fly-paper? Does this fly know where Sugar lives? Wait a second, how did you know that so quick? Part of my great knowledge of trivia.
And don't knock it.
Oh, I'm not.
There's something else.
There's always something else.
We want you to go undercover with a friend.
Well, that's easy.
I've been undercover all my life.
As a gay dude in The Green Parrot? Hi.
What can I do for you? We're looking for Nick Hunter.
He's not here.
Will I do? Yeah, you'll do fine.
You mind if we come in? Got a warrant? Do we need a warrant? Get lost.
I don't know anything.
If you see Nick Hunter, will you tell him that we know who killed Lawford? [###.]
Hey, wait! It was me who called you.
Yeah, we figured that.
There's an APB out on you.
Now, if your friend here will let us come in, maybe we can help each other out.
[###.]
Hunter.
Hold it, Corday! Hold it, Starsky! Hold it! You, too, Hutch! Drop it or I'll put a hole right through his back.
In front of you.
Now kick it away.
Kick it! Hands over your head.
Come on! All right, Hutch, drop it.
Drop it! [THUDDING.]
Hands over your head.
Stay right where you are.
OK, Lady Jane, now, let's go.
Don't move.
All right, move! Move! Get out of the way! [GUNSHOT.]
[CROWD SHOUTING.]
Move, you pigs! Get out of the way! Don't move! Don't do it, Starsky, I'm telling you.
I'll blow his brains out.
I'll kill him! I mean it! No way, Corday! That's six.
Next time I lead.
Six? Five, six.
Oh.
You'd think in this business you'd get used to surprises.
The day that happens, we might as well throw in the towel.
Yeah, well, it's still kind of hard to believe.
Starsk, it's no big thing.
Hey, you're not that sophisticated.
I mean, a man preferring a man is not as casual as someone having a bad cold.
Is that right? Yeah.
I mean, I'm not taking a position for or against it, but it is something to contend with.
It's not your usual everyday thing.
Right.
Want to get something to eat? No.
Wouldn't mind something to drink.
Starsk, would you consider that a man who spends 75% of his time with another man has got certain tendencies? Right.
Yeah.
Sure.
Why not? I mean, that was the case between John and No, no.
That's the case between you and me.
What? Well, figure it out.
In a five-day week, there are about 80 waking hours, right? Yeah.
We work, eat and drink about 12 of those hours, right? That's 60 hours a week, 75% of the time we spend together.
And you're not even a good kisser.
How do you know that? [###.]