The Conversation Page #3

Mr Caul,

I'm Jim Storey.

How do you do?

Come in and take a look

at the system.

This is for

the surveillance...

of telephone

communication systems.

I see.

Now available.

Here's the new LT 500.

If you're in surveillance,

you belong into the LT 500.

You can hear...

and know exactly which door

has been violated.

And you got your local alarms

on the doors...

which I'm sure you've heard.

It's quite noisy.

It has a Super 8mm

camera in here...

and the dot, the 10:00 dot...

will show exactly what

the camera sees on the back.

It's a magazine-loaded camera.

Super 8mm...

William P. Moran.

William P. Moran

of Detroit, Michigan.

House courtesy telephone,

please.

That's your automatic

recorder actuator.

It undetectably

starts the recorder...

when the phone is lifted...

and shuts it off

when the receiver is put back.

What?

It's real nice, you know.

It's not your old-fashioned

voice actuator...

you know,

always starting the recorder...

when nobody was talking...

or shutting it off

in the middle...

of an important conversation.

Is it like the Moran actuator?

The Moran E-27 is a copy.

I won't let him even

smell my equipment any more.

You in surveillance?

Yeah.

Law enforcement

or private operator?

Private.

You mind if I take

your name and address...

for our mailing list?

Harry Cau... Harry Caul?

I didn't recognize you.

Say, I wonder,

would you take a Model 510-A?

Free of charge. Just to test it.

You know, say, in return for...

that we could print

in our flier that you use it.

I build all my own equipment.

Thank you.

Maybe we could take a picture

of you by our booth.

It would be a great honour

for Spectre.

This is not helping crime.

It's helping justice...

That may be affixed to

the subject's automobile--

Slide.

and will transmit

a pulsating tone signal--

Slide.

which is highly detectable.

Harry, good to see you.

Beautiful suit.

You like it? It's French.

Oh.

Let's go get a drink and talk.

Requiring no knowledge

or skill in electronics.

Come on. It's a bore.

The TA-30 may be

installed and concealed...

under the dash

in a matter of seconds.

Hey, come on. There's somebody

I want you to meet...

a competitor of yours.

Hey, Bernie, old buddy.

Yeah, Paulie, what's up?

This is Harry Caul.

William P. Moran.

Harry Caul, my pleasure.

My friends call me Bernie.

I heard a lot about you.

Bernie just moved in

from Detroit.

He's the fella

that let Chrysler know...

Cadillac was

discontinuing its fins.

I heard.

You're a tough man

to get ahold of.

I've been wanting

to talk to you for a long time.

Take five. We'll get a drink.

Maybe in a couple minutes.

Honey, sweetheart,

show time, all right?

I'd appreciate if you stuck around

for the demonstration.

Um, ladies and gentlemen.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Ladies and gentlemen,

what we have here...

is the Moran S-15

harmonica tap.

This electronic marvel

can be installed...

in a matter of two minutes.

Notice here it has its own

nickel cadmium power source...

so it cannot be detected

on the line.

Once installed,

it can be phoned...

from any telephone

in the world...

Singapore, Karachi, even Moscow.

I say Moscow 'cause

you look Russian, sir...

with the beard.

Just dial the target's

phone number...

pause before the last digit...

blow the harmonica tone

into the phone...

press the last digit.

The phone will not ring

in the target's house.

Instead, the receiver...

will be turned into

an actual room microphone...

thus enabling surveillance

to take place.

And now, by way of

an actual demonstration...

we've installed one of these units

in my very own home.

I will now dial that number.

Thank you.

I pause before the last digit.

Harmonica.

I dial the last digit.

You will note the phone

does not ring.

Can we get away?

I don't know. Maybe I can.

Where's your husband?

He's out at a convention.

When will he be back?

Not until late.

April Fool.

Just a little joke, folks.

That shows you

the possibilities...

Larry Peterson Burns.

Telephone call.

Thank you. The demonstration

is concluded.

I'd like you to take some

literature on your way.

What did you think of that?

You like it?

That's a good item.

Good for

the catalogue suckers, huh?

Here you go, Harry.

Have a free pen.

You, too, Paulie.

I'd rather have a free drink.

Hey, me, too.

Stanley, do me a favour, huh?

Mind the booth, all right?

That's what I pay you for.

Just a couple of minutes

to get a drink.

Hi, Harry.

Hi, Stan.

That's right.

You two used to

work together, huh?

That son of a b*tch

stole my latest idea.

A lot of nice ladies

are here tonight.

Forget it.

She's a part-time nun.

Hey, Harry, where you going?

Go on without me.

I'm going to talk to Stan.

We'll meet you at

the chrome-dome exhibit.

Don't be long, Harry.

Since when are you

working for Moran, Stanley?

Since yesterday.

Mm-hmm.

Listen, that wasn't serious.

That was just

a stupid argument.

That wasn't it, Harry.

It's just time I moved up.

I don't want you

telling him about my things.

It's not ethical.

There's not much you

ever let me in on.

Okay. I'll show you

some of the stuff.

You won't show me anything.

You'll keep it to yourself.

You know damn well you will.

No, really, Stan, wait a while.

Will you think about it?

Don't do this to me now.

Some guy's following me.

Who?

I don't know.

It has something to do

with the assignment last week.

I don't know what it's about,

but I don't like it.

Okay, all right.

Thanks, Stan.

This is junk.

You have reached

a disconnected number.

Will you please make sure you...

Information.

Number for

Amy Fredericks, please.

It's a new listing.

One moment, please.

Sir, I see no listing

for Amy Fredericks.

Thank you.

What are you doing here?

Take it easy.

I'm just a messenger.

I brought you a drink.

Why are you following me?

I'm not following you.

I'm looking for you.

There's a big difference.

How'd you know I was here?

It's a convention

of wiretappers...

Oh, excuse me... surveillance

and security technicians.

It was a snap.

I'm not giving those tapes

to anybody but the director.

I know what you told me.

All right, what's the message?

We want you to deliver

the tapes on Sunday, 1:00.

The director will be there.

He'll accept the tapes

from you, in person.

You tell him

I'll think about it.

Hey, Paulie!

Come on!

Come on, let's go!

Lurleen and Millard,

get in the back there.

Stanley, get in front!

I'm trying to dress up

the boss, okay?

Take one out here.

Bernie, it's a

come-as-you-are party.

Wait a minute!

All the girls up front!

I think you take a right...

then a left...

Sons of b*tches!

Those smart asses!

Who the hell they think

they're tangling with?

Easy, we're going

to have a party.

Millard, make them stop.

Relax, honey.

Paul's the best tail man

in the country.

Meredith, do you hear that?

Ha ha.

Make-4, 111.

I'm driving east on Lombard.

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