Julie Page #6

Taxi instructions.

Amalgamated

36, clear to runway 28 right.

Roger.

Fasten your seat belt,

please.

Please fasten

your seat belt.

Amalgamated Airlines.

This is the police.

What time

does your next flight leave?

Our only flight tonight,

sir, is flight 36,

11:
45

from International.

International, 11:45. Can you connect

me with flight operations?

No, sir, but the

number is Juno 3-5997.

Juno 3-5997. Thank you.

It's almost 11:
50,

Lieutenant.

Well, let's hope

these non-skeds

aren't too particular

about leaving on time.

Amalgamated Airlines,

flight operations.

Has flight 36

taken off yet?

It's taxiing the runway

now, sir.

This is Lieutenant Pringle

of homicide.

Do you have a stewardess

aboard named Julie Benton?

Just a minute.

I'll check the board.

Gear up.

O.K., thanks a lot, fella.

Let's go.

She's on it, huh?

Yeah. The plane

just took off.

Well, that's a relief-

Or is it?

No, it's too far-fetched.

That same idea

occurred to me.

They keep those hostesses pretty busy.

Maybe he got by her,

without her seeing him. It is possible.

If he knew

about the flight.

Well, if he didn't

about that flight, where is he?

All kinds of things could have held him up.

He could have had

car trouble.

Well, he's not going to

show up now...

It's almost an hour late.

Look, why can't we play it safe?

Call the car and have them alert the pilot.

What can it cost us?

It can cost us 60 lives.

If that guy's on board, it's dynamite.

It's not something

you fool with

through an intermediary,

not with a shipload

of passengers, you don't.

Any new dope

on Henderson yet?

They can't talk

to him yet,

but he's going

to be all right.

Stay here in case

that guy shows up.

International Airport, wide open.

Give the company

the time off.

Roger.

Uh, San Francisco tower,

Amalgamated 36.

Uh, San Francisco,

Amalgamated 36,

Off at 54. Climbing VFR.

Hello?

Oh, yes. Right away, captain.

The captain wants

to see you.

Thanks.

Julie, San Francisco

wants to talk to you.

It's a Lieutenant Pringle

of homicide.

Hello?

I don't quite know

how to break this to you.

What happened,

Lieutenant?

It's about your husband, he

just shot a man.

Oh, no.

First, I want you to know

he'll definitely pull through.

It was

Clifford Henderson

Cliff.

Of course, the chances are

he's not aboard, it's a longshot,

but we can't let the

plane leave the state

until we make sure.

We're nearly

at the border now.

Ease back

to San Francisco.

Keep the plan over the desert

where there are no

lights that he can identify.

Lieutenant, if he had

reached the airplane,

wouldn't he have tried something? Wouldn't

he have tried to kill me or-

No, not necessarily.

That might make it

too easy for you.

Take over.

All right, what do we do about it?

I'm going back and look.

That's what to do about it.

Please, Mrs. Benton, don't you realize that once

he knows you've seen him, you're done for.

At least, if he is on board, it will

get it over with.

What do you think's liable to happen,

if that guy starts taking pot shots

in a cabin

full of people?

How about keeping Julie up here with us?

If he suspected

something was up,

he'd break the door in.

Nothing is going to stop him.

Look, I've been gone too long.

I've got to get back.

You keep a revolver there, don't you?

Yes.

Well, have it ready.

Remember, this guy's shot one man.

He doesn't care

what he does now.

This is it for him.

Oh... if only this is

a false alarm.

Suppose Julie describes

the man, and I go back and look.

That's too dangerous.

We found that out the hard way-

too many guys fit a general description.

Lieutenant, this is the first officer.

Would it make any sense if I concealed

the pistol and went back there with Julie?

So she spots the guy, then what?

Well, if he went for his gun,

I could shoot first.

You hope.

O.K., O.K., so it was a pretty dumb idea.

We better settle on something pretty quick.

Jack.

Lieutenant, the trick is my getting

a look at all the passengers' faces

without being obvious,

right?

Think you

can do it?

I have to, that's all.

Just one flicker

of recognition,

and it's sure death,

you know that, don't you?

No. It's

too risky.

Sitting here, doing nothing

is worse.

What if he

breaks in here?

I guess you're right.

All right, then.

Now, everything must

appear normal,

completely normal.

You go straight to

the back of the plane,

stall a minute, then

ease your way forward,

row by row from behind.

Good luck.

O.K. Thank you.

Here, Jack.

Rough job, Julie.

It's like asking you to be casual

with a time bomb

in your hand.

If only my heart

would stop pounding.

Silly, isn't it?

He probably

isn't even there.

Well, here goes.

Stewardess, may I

please have a pillow?

Thank you.

Pardon me, miss.

Two coffees, please.

Yes. Right away.

What on earth were you

doing up there so long?

The boys were in a

very talkative mood.

Your hands are shaking.

What's wrong?

I'm so jittery.

It's one of those days.

I know what you mean, honey,

some of these characters can get you down.

See what I mean? Probably wants a

drink of water, no less.

Oh, thank you.

Miss.

Miss, would you please tell me the time?

It's 2:
20.

He's here.

What do we do?

Hold it.

I'll buzz you back.

All right.

Apparently he doesn't

realize she spotted him.

Phone your top brass.

Explain it's

a critical emergency.

Get 'em over here, fast.

Furnish a police escort.

Anything to hurry it up. Minutes count.

Call your top-level

C.A.A. boys.

They might as well

be in on this, too.

The field manager - where is he?

Get him here on the double,

and anybody else

you can think of.

One decision has to be made, and made now-

should I leave Julie

in the cabin

or bring her up here?

That's a tough decision.

Either way,

you're running a risk-

a fearful risk.

Just a matter of balancing degrees.

Well, it's my ship.

I've got the ball.

Shifting to automatic pilot

Here, Jack.

Excuse me.

Hello?

Can Valerie overhear?

No.

Come up at once.

Be casual. Everything depends upon it.

I'll bring a tray

to cover up.

Good. The door

will be unlocked.

Slip through it quickly.

Speed may be vital.

The ship's

on automatic pilot.

We're ready for anything.

All right.

The captain's just ordered

her up. She's on her way.

This waiting

can drive you nuts.

Stewardess.

Why don't you try to take it?

Why those were shots,

and they came from up here.

Please, there's nothing to be alarmed about-

just one of the motors backfired.

It happens now and then.

I never heard a motor backfire before.

It could happen if the

mixture was too lean.

Nothing serious. Please don't worry.

Amalgamated 36,

come in!

You made a mistake,

Julie.

I told you

you made a mistake.

If you're going

to shoot me,

get it over with!

No.

I have a better idea.

I promised you

it wouldn't be easy.

You're going to be

in this airplane...

high in the air...

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes