Battle Beneath the Earth

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Battle Beneath the Earth (1967)

Another hour to go.

Looks like we've

drawn a quiet night.

Some nut will turn up

somewhere as they always do.

Control to Unit 2.

Control to Unit 2.

Unit 2, 5th and Bonanza.

Go ahead, Control.

A listening disturbance

at South Vine and Main.

Negative injuries. Investigate

and report. Urgent.

A what kind of disturbance?

A listening disturbance.

Repeat. Listening disturbance.

You've gotta be kidding.

That's what the report reads.

Investigate and report. Urgent.

See? What did I tell you?

Quiet!

You fools.

What's happening?

Listen.

What's he saying?

Over there.

Look, I can't see anything.

Just like ants.

They're crawling under

us, I tell you.

Just like ants.

- Disgraceful. Come on, Martin.

- No, wait a minute.

Listen.

I can hear them now.

Do you hear anything, lady?

What do you hear, Josie?

Must be some kind of nut.

Move along, folks.

Show's over, let's go.

Move along, everybody. That's

the lot. Nothing else to see.

Let's move, lady.

- Don't shove me, you idiot.

- On your way.

- Damn cops.

- Come along, Josie.

- Police brutality.

- Move along.

What's your problem, mister?

They're all down there.

Crawling about like ants.

If you listen closely,

you can hear them.

- Drunk?

- No.

You better come along

with us, mister.

But I tell you, they're

right beneath us.

Listen. Listen.

You can listen more

comfortably at the station.

You fools!

Don't you know what's happening?

Listen, for God's sake, listen!

Tell Jonathan Shaw.

Tell Jonathan Shaw.

He'll understand.

Tell Jonathan Shaw.

- Yeah?

- Commander Shaw, sir.

Send him in.

- Nice to see you, Jon.

- Thank you.

Sit down.

- Well, you're off the hook.

- I'm cleared?

Oh, it's not that simple.

The record still stands.

That infers I'm responsible.

The board's verdict reads,

"Due to causes unknown."

Well, that's one more

reason for going back.

- Sorry, can't be done.

- Why not?

Twenty-seven men died.

Now, they have families.

Neither you nor your underseas projects

are exactly popular right now.

Sealab VII was a

damned good design.

- Probably the best we've built so far.

- But it collapsed.

Yes, under tons of rock from

an undersea earthquake.

Look, Jon, we've been over

and over this before.

There were no traces of any

tremors or quake reports.

Then what happened down there?

I'm sorry, no diving.

I'm assigning you to the

test lab for a while.

Then you're knifing me too?

Oh, don't be stupid, relax.

When things quiet down, we'll see

about getting you back in the water.

- This needs your okay.

- Yeah, be right with you, Susan.

How are the weld-verification

people doing?

They'll be ready for the immersed

pressure sequences tomorrow.

That's good news.

Susan, what's wrong?

It's my brother.

More trouble?

- How bad is he?

- I don't know.

According to this, he's

getting the best of care.

But it's a state institution.

Jon, he's asking for you. Could

you go see him and talk to him?

I've tried that before.

But you're the only

one he'll listen to.

Please help him. Please.

Good morning,

Psychiatric Department.

Yes, doctor, that's

been taken care of.

Dr. Galissi will be

free any minute now.

Thank you.

Lemons. Nothing but lemons.

Never mind, Mr. Sparks, you

just keep right on trying.

Yeah. Yeah.

Sorry to keep you, commander.

If you'd step this way.

- That's a bit unusual, isn't it?

- Compulsive gamblers. Addicts.

I try to taper them off.

I'm glad you're here, commander.

I've failed miserably.

- I simply can't get through to him.

- You say that he keeps mentioning ants?

Yes, very puzzling.

Is he violent?

Very.

You are sure you'll

be all right?

What's your interest in Kramer?

I know he's an old friend...

He saved my life in Korea.

- Hello, Arnold.

- Jonathan.

Sorry...

...they took my chair away.

That's all right.

Thanks.

Why did they bring

you here, Arnold?

- They arrested me.

- Well, yes, I know. But why?

Why, Arnold?

They said I had a breakdown.

Out there in the streets.

What caused it?

You want my life's history?

There must have been a reason.

Dr. Galissi says that

you talked about ants.

Dr. Galissi!

That slot-machine quack.

Like ants.

Just like ants, you

can't stop them.

Who can't you stop?

They're crawling in

under us right now.

Who knows when they will strike?

I'm afraid I'm not

with you, Arnold.

Who is?

Look at these.

What are they?

Seismographic drawings

of the tunnels.

I see.

I used my latest

detection techniques.

There. That's where

they're coming in.

South of San Diego.

South of San Diego, yes, I see.

And there...

...along the Oregon coast.

But they're bound to

reveal themselves.

There'll be an

accident somewheres.

Yes, an accident

somewhere, of course.

You're just like the others.

- You don't believe me.

- Oh, now, Arnold...

You fool!

They're 20 years ahead of us!

They've got tunneling machines.

They're coming in under us.

- And you sit there like an idiot.

- Easy...

Don't you understand

they're after us?

They're going to wipe us out.

They're gonna wipe us

right off the map.

Another double, sir?

Oh, yeah, why not?

We interrupt this program to

bring you a special bulletin.

A sudden coal-mine disaster has struck

the small town of Placer, Oregon.

That's where they're coming in.

Along the Oregon coast.

When the mine collapsed a

few minutes after midnight.

Another 300 are

believed missing.

We now switch you to Jack

Ambridge in Placer, Oregon.

This is a small backwater town

near the Pacific Coast...

...but with the deepest

mines in North America.

Until today, the people of Placer

took pride in their mines...

...the most modern automated

mines in the world.

They claimed that theirs

was the safest...

They're going to wipe us out.

They're gonna wipe us

right off the map.

But now disaster has

struck this small town.

I appreciate your help.

You'll call me. All

right, thanks.

Well, the Bureau of Mines

people are still checking, Jon.

But they don't expect to

find anything unusual.

Well, what about

your equipment here?

Any warning tremors recorded

before the accident?

No, not a whisper.

Why would the mine

collapse so suddenly?

Well, they figure one of the

tunnel supports went first.

A mistake in engineering, faulty

timbers, pilot error, who knows?

- Here's that report you wanted, Vance.

- Oh, thanks, Meg.

I asked Naval Intelligence...

...to run a computer check on the

entire town, and that was asking a lot.

- Naval Intelligence?

- Yeah.

- Ever hear of sabotage?

- Yes, but...

Yeah, well, here we are.

"Of 622 regular miners, 43 have

arrest or conviction records."

"Traffic violations, drunken

driving, speeding."

Nothing special, just

the usual offenses.

Ah, take a look at this.

"Closely knit,

average community...

...indicating an unusually

loyal group of citizens."

Yeah, keep reading.

"This information, combined with our

investigation into the accident...

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