13 Rue Madeleine Page #3

The plan must have a logical way

for him to escape.

It's got to be cleverly staged.

We're dealing with a very smart man.

Mm-hmm.

When do we start?

As soon as we get to London.

- We're leaving tomorrow.

- Right.

Simpson will follow with the group.

We'll be ready.

[Narrator] Upon the arrival

of orders for overseas duty...

the Secret Intelligence

candidate becomes at last

a Secret Intelligence agent.

No more textbooks.

Less than 24 hours away

are the grim theaters of war.

[Engines Rewing]

London:

War-racked, battle-worn...

a grim reminder of the power of

destruction of a ruthless enemy.

Here were concentrated

the multiple activities

of Allied intelligence operations.

But top-secret groups like O77...

were billeted in remote,

country estates where they

were held in complete isolation...

while awaiting specific assignments.

[Engine Stops]

[Buzzer Rings]

- Your identification, sir?

- Sharkey, O77.

Yes, sir.

- O'Connell?

- He's in his quarters.

- I'll be glad to get him for you.

- No, I'd rather see him there.

- [Knocking]

- Come in.

- Bill...

- Hello, Mr. Sharkey.

You stay where you are.

I'll sit here.

Bill, uh, how well

do you know Holland?

- I've lived there many years.

- But how well do you know it?

I don't mean just Amsterdam.

The coast and inland.

- I know it very well.

- Good.

- Bill, things have changed.

- How do you mean?

You read the papers.

Full of talk about a second front.

- Everybody knows there's gonna be one.

- You think Holland?

Well, what I think doesn't count.

That's somebody else's job.

- We just obey orders.

- Yeah, sure.

Bill, I've been given a job, and

I need help... help of the right kind...

from people I know whose backgrounds

match the assignments...

and able to come through

in the clinches.

- Want a job?

- I didn't go through

all that training...

- to become an English country gentleman.

- Good.

Pack your gear. You're going to London

to work there in tight security.

- That security begins now. Clear?

- Clear.

No good-byes, nothing.

Not a word to anybody

about anything I've said to you.

You've got a job. That's all.

- I understand.

- I think you'll like it.

- I'm sure I will.

- We start early in the morning.

Good night.

Good night.

[Door Opens, Closes]

[Narrator]

This undistinguished building...

housed the undercover activities

of the Netherlands section

of Allied intelligence.

Here were coordinated thejoint efforts

of all agents operating in the Lowlands.

- Identification, please.

- O77.

Very good.

Show us, please.

All right.

You may go.

- Colonel Van Duyvil?

- Oh, yes, he's expecting you,

Mr. Sharkey.

Thank you.

- Hello, Sharkey.

- Colonel.

- Colonel Van Duyvil, chief of

Dutch Intelligence. Bill O'Connell.

- How do you do?

- O'Connell is my chief assistant

on the Dutch project.

- I understand.

It'll be his responsibility to

coordinate all of our circuits

in Holland.

- That is a tremendous job.

- He'll need every scrap

of information you can give him.

You will have

my complete cooperation.

- Thank you.

- We will begin immediately.

[Lock Rattling]

There are a great many details.

These maps cover only one

small phase of the project...

known to us as Plan B.

To invade and penetrate Germany

through the Lowlands.

Exactly.

These are messages from agents

already operating in Holland.

This one concerns bridges

and lines of communication.

Here you can see how we have tied this

information in with the operation.

You can find it here

in index number 15.

[Van Duyvil]

That's it.

[Paper Rustling]

[Narrator] Hidden away

in a remote corner of London...

was the headquarters of

combat operations of O77.

- My head's still swimming.

- There's a lot to absorb

in so short a time.

- How long do we have?

- Not long.

- It's a great plan.

- It had better be.

A great many lives depend on it.

- I've arranged six planes

at your disposal.

- Yes.

You'll be sending new agents in.

The teams already

there will be needing supplies,

so keep in touch with Van Duyvil.

Gonna be a great many problems.

Don't worry. I'll work them out.

I'm sure you will.

That's why you have the job.

A thankless one too.

No rewards, payoffs.

Just the satisfaction of doing

a job for your country.

- [Buzzes]

- We're depending on you.

- You won't be sorry.

- I know.

- Would you show Mr. O'Connell

to his office?

- Yes, sir.

All right.

[Narrator]

As plans for the impending invasion...

of Europe were speeded up...

agents of Operation 77

were broken up into combat teams...

and given their final briefing.

They are trying to help me

locate my husband.

Could I stop by the

communication section for a moment?

Later, Suzanne.

Mr. Sharkey said 0600, and Mr. Sharkey

is a singularly punctual gentleman.

[Knocking]

- Captain Ferraro, checking in.

- Captain Ferraro?

Threats of Hitler's secret weapon

are not idle. It's no longer a secret.

It's called V-2.

It's a self-propelled, pilotless bomb...

with a warhead said to contain

one ton of explosives.

Well-camouflaged launching platforms

such as these have been springing up...

along the French coast

for the past six months.

Our air force is

bombing them continuously,

but that's just expediency.

The enemy is building faster

than we can knock them out.

- We have to find them first.

- Why haven't they used them?

We think we know why.

The greatest concentration

is through here, and every

one of these launching platforms...

is pointed toward, and zeroed in to,

one specific target...

- [Simpson] London?

- No, not yet.

Southampton. The enemy knows

there's going to be an invasion.

He doesn't know where or when.

He does know that the invasion

base is in Southampton...

and he's building up

a tremendous supply of these rockets.

When he launches his attack, it's going

to be a sustained barrage on this area.

- When do you think it'll start?

- When Eisenhower makes his move.

The Germans know they can't win the war.

They're hoping for a stalemate.

They've got to prevent an invasion.

That's why we're here...

to help the Allied High Command

gain the preciously needed time...

to complete

the invasion buildup.

Lassiter, you've got a job.

- You're going to France.

- Right.

You, too, Suzanne,

as Lassiter's communicator.

Simpson, I want these agents briefed and

equipped to jump in one week's time.

- Righto.

- Their cover stories are now in work.

Follow through immediately on the forged

documents and proper wardrobe. Right?

Now the mission.

The most closely guarded area

in all of France is right here.

Every civilian in this area

is virtually a prisoner.

A main assembly and supply depot

feeds rockets to all these

launching platforms.

The depot's location

is about... here.

To destroy this target we have to know

every detail of its construction.

Even the French Resistance...

the Maquis... have been unable

to get this information.

All of the workmen...

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes