I'm gonna overhaul the schedule.
You're gonna cancel a show you've never even watched?
They can't do this to me!
[Jessica] Tonight on Murder, She Wrote.
I don't ask for very much.
-Just a little loyalty. -Well, I am loyal.
But you didn't do me any favors
when you told the world
that I was the inspiration for Beat Cop.
I thought maybe you'd be pleased.
Okay, somebody stole a gun from you.
-Whose gun was it? -Bert's.
Bert Rodgers.
You can't do this to I didn't kill him!
Maggie, this is the real world.
The killers are real and so are the cops.
[cheerful orchestral music]
"The Rose huddles quietly,
"head bowed upon its nettle stalk,
"silken white petals enveloped in the darkness of night.
"And then, with the first light of Dawn,
"it peers proudly toward the first needles of sunlight,
"darting westward,
giving of itself to another newborn day."
What a beautiful thought.
It was written many years ago
by one of my high school students.
You know, of all the ones who came through my classroom,
Mary Margaret McCauley was the brightest,
and I told her so.
Talent needs to be nurtured, especially in young people.
After she graduated,
she spent several years writing her poems and essays
and even a romantic novel,
all without success.
Finally, at the age of 25,
she sold her first short story to a monthly magazine called,
I think, grizzly detective stories.
I could be wrong about that title.
I certainly hope so.
But with that minor success feeding her ego,
she wrote another crime story.
Sale number two.
Well, she wasn't exactly Emily Dickinson,
or even Emily Brontë,
but she had become a professional writer.
The years flew by and Maggie,
people always called her Maggie,
spent half of her time
writing hard-boiled gumshoe capers,
which were snapped up
like caviar hors d'oeuvre at a cocktail party,
and the other half writing
fragile little commentaries on the human condition,
short stories, novels, essays... it made no difference.
They came back in the mail, unbought,
with all of the regularity
of the swallows rediscovering capistrano.
And what is Maggie doing now?
Maybe it's not too late to catch the opening credits.
[upbeat music playing on TV]
[police siren wailing]
[gunshots]
[car tires screeching]
M.M. McCauley.
The queen of hard-boiled detective fiction.
And I keep wondering,
will we ever hear from Margaret Mary again?
Exterior alley. Night.
Hollister's car skids to a stop at the head of the alley.
He leaps out.
He hesitates momentarily,
then starts warily down the gloomy alley.
He pauses under a light.
Suddenly, the air is shattered by a woman's scream.
[woman screaming]
Hollister races forward.
[gunshot]
A shot rings out.
[gunshot]
The slug slams into the wall above his head.
[gunshot]
[telephone ringing]
Vi, I told you no more calls.
I'm trying to finish this script.
I'm sorry, Maggie, but it's the set calling.
They said it was urgent.
More trouble with the big ham hock?
I think so.
Look, there is no way
my character would make that phone call.
So why did you wait until now to talk about it, Bert?
The scene reads on paper,
but in the playing, it's artificial.
Artificial?
We're doing a TV show about a cop who fires a gun
24 times before reloading.
Ah, hope has arrived at last.
And not a minute too soon.
Good morning, Andy.
I hear he's in rare form again today.
Rare? Where'd you get that word?
Maggie.
Love the next script.
So far, you're the only one.
Al, people don't talk like this.
This whole scene is dumb. D-u-m-m,
and there is no way that I am going...
Maggie! Here you are.
Thanks for coming, babe. I'll get my script.
Listen, Al, we're paying you to handle old banana brain.
Funny, I thought you hired me as a director.
Look, Maggie, I know this is an old joke,
but just who do I have to sleep with to get off this show?
What's his problem today?
-Aside from chronic stupidity? -Here we are, Maggie.
All right now, Dana comes into the office.
She tells me that the gunrunner
has just been blown away with a Magnum 357.
Now I'm supposed to call ballistics
and order a comparison with the slug
that killed the nightclub bimbo two days before.
Right. That's how you solve the case.
But I wouldn't do that.
It would mean I'd be letting
the ballistics guy solve the case.
-What? -Look.
If he matches the bullets, he solves the case, not me.
Besides, I already know it's the same gun.
Yeah? How do you know, Bert?
In here, I know.
Wait a minute.
You're now gonna Chase a guy through the La Brea tar pits,
chop him down in a hail of lead, because of this?
I'm operating instinctively. It's part of my character.
That makes your character a knuckleheaded psychotic, Bert.
Make the phone call.
I can't find the motivation!
We pay you enough to buy a new Rolls-Royce every week.
That's your motivation.
I'm sorry. It's not enough.
So your agent keeps telling us.
Make the phone call!
Look, I am doing my best to save these scripts
you keep handing me.
And don't think I'm not grateful.
It's the same old stuff over and over.
It's blunting my artistic edges. I'm losing my topspin.
If it weren't for my contract, I'd walk in a flash.
And give up your motor home?
That's really admirable, Bert,
but meanwhile, we have a show to shoot.
How about this?
Suppose Dana makes the phone call.
You feel it in here,
but Dana goes by the book.
She double-checks the ballistics
and finds out that your gas pains
were right on the money, okay?
Well, I can live with that.
Terrific. All set? Great. See you.
Maggie!
-How's my favorite client? -Hello, Leo.
Hey, you know, you look sensational.
What is that? A new hairdo?
I forgot to wash my hair last night.
What're you doing here?
Good news, right?
Warners? They read baby cries the blues?
Read it? They loved it!
Michaelson, he said his reader cried
when she got to the ending.
Cried, kiddo.
His reader? How did michaelson like it?
He was really impressed by the coverage.
Coverage?
A 200-page script,
and he reads a one-paragraph description?
No, no. He had it read to him. By a secretary.
She really loved it, too. Maggie.
Michaelson hated it. I knew it.
No, you want me to tell you what he wants?
Something with a little more spine.
More conflict.
He wants a cop show.
I give him reality and relationships,
but is that enough? No.
Mr. Michaelson wants dirty Harry graduates
from Police Academy Six.
Well, no way, Leo. No way!
How about columbia?
They haven't turned me down in over a year.
Forget columbia. Let's talk about Beat Cop.
-What about it? -You're in trouble.
I got a star with a single-digit IQ.
Tell me something I don't know.
I'm talking network trouble.
You're kidding!
We've been first in our time slot for two seasons.
They love us.
All I know is what I hear.
And ever since Keith Carmody's been calling the signals,
nobody's safe.
I'm gonna clean house, Brian.
I'm gonna sweep out the trash.
I'm gonna slap a new coat of paint
on this tired old network.
But, Keith,
my studio's got four shows on your schedule.
Two of them are actually pretty good.
Good?
[chuckling] Oh, Brian.
Brian, old buddy.
You know, I've been down this road before.
First at the century network,
then at W.B.C., and now here at federated.
Now, look, I've had three months to assess where we are,
and the bottom line is this.
I'm going to overhaul the schedule.
If that means dropping a clunker like Beat Cop,
here's the deal:
you're out.
But the show's winning its time period.
Do you think that's all I care about?
Numbers?
Wake up and smell the demographics, bri.
I want young people.
Look.
Look, Beat Cop goes right across the board, age-wise.
Besides, you have to admit, it's pretty entertaining.
I wouldn't know. I never watch it.
-[phone ringing] -What?
I don't have time to watch that stuff we put on.
Carmody.
Is he on the phone?
Well, I'm not gonna get on the phone
until he gets on the phone.
When he gets on the phone, you let me know.
Now, look. I read the reports.
I know where the show is headed Nielsen-wise.
But you can't just wipe out a whole slate of programs.
Brian, don't sweat it.
You and your guys at monolith
get first crack at laying the new bricks.
Now, you know you can trust me on that.
Ah, this is a lot of bull, Keith.
You're gonna cancel a show you've never even watched?
I can't wait till the TV critics get a hold of that.
They may love you now, buddy boy,
but believe me, the guys who put you up on that pedestal
are just waiting for a chance to haul you down.
I'll talk to him.
Eh, save your breath.
I don't need him.
Brian?
Brian, I'm sorry.
If I'd had any idea, I would have warned you.
I mean, that's the first time I heard it.
He's out of his mind.
You can't replace an entire schedule.
I know, I know. But what can I do?
I'm just number two. He won't listen to me.
Or anybody else.
Somebody better take him
off the game board real quick, Julie,
before federated goes into the old septic tank
and you and me along with it.
-Hi, Vincent. -Maggie.
I hope you didn't come to chat. I'm on a surveillance.
Yeah, and don't you think you look a little obvious?
Maybe if you painted "cop" on the car door.
I have to talk to you. Can we have dinner tonight?
I can't. Veronica's in the school play.
What time? We'll eat early.
I got to pick Richie up from band practice.
I'll pick him up, and we'll all go out to eat.
Come on now, we talked about this.
You and me, we got to stay at arm's length.
I mean, I got enough problems.
You mean the guys at the precinct
are still busting your chops?
I love you like a sister, Maggie,
but you didn't do me any favors when you told the world
that I was the inspiration for Beat Cop.
I thought maybe you'd be pleased.
Sure, kid, I know you meant well.
And will you stop calling me kid?
You are only nine years and four months older than I am.
That is not exactly a generation gap.
Okay, I'm sorry.
And don't patronize me.
I came to let you know
that Beat Cop may be history by close of business tomorrow.
You're kidding.
The network wants to clean house,
and we're at the top of the list.
I'm sorry.
Yeah, I can tell you're all shook up.
So now you know.
Excuse me for bothering you.
Oh, Maggie! Maggie.
Maggie.
Maggie, will you knock it off?
I'm not sure what I said,
but whatever it was, I apologize.
Thank you.
Come on, you were never that crazy about the show.
It was a living, right? Okay.
So now you got a chance to write that book
you're always yakking about.
Am I right, or not?
Yeah, I guess.
Well, then, don't worry about it.
Come on, give me a smile.
Not bad.
I got to go back to work, kid.
So do you.
All right, now. The Friday night lineup.
It's a wipeout,
starting with aunt frisbie and uncle Fred,
and those six obnoxious kids,
and that toadstool that comes on afterwards,
digger and son,
high jinks in a mortuary.
Who the hell bought that one? It sure wasn't me.
I want that memoed to everybody.
[clears throat]
Sorry to interrupt. I was just leaving.
Okay, honey, I'll see you tomorrow.
Oh, Julie?
Did you take that meeting with feinberg?
-Oh, yes. -Good.
Well, actually, he had a couple of very good ideas.
What are you? Nuts?
That guy's 50 years old if he's a day.
You know, about five years ago, he kept me in a meeting.
45 minutes I had to listen to that guy's ideas.
Is this a crazy business, or what?
A guy wins two or three Emmys, a couple of Peabodys,
and he knows everything.
Look, I know you're not a very big fan of Beat Cop,
but it is doing very well for us,
and I think
maybe it's just something you ought to reconsider.
You, too?
Julie, you too, huh?
You know, I don't ask for much.
Just a little loyalty, a little support.
Well, I am loyal, I just think...
please, Julie. Don't think.
That's my job.
You just look pretty,
take dumb meetings, nod when you're supposed to.
That is your job.
Well, but I thought...
I mean, when I took the job,
you said I'd be developing some things on my own.
And you will. But not right away.
For the time being,
you just hang onto my skyrocket, kitten,
you just sit back and enjoy the ride.
[forced laugh]
[phone ringing]
Hello. Carmody.
Well, hi, Brian.
What? No.
No, Brian, I do not want to discuss Beat Cop.
Brian, read my lips. There is nothing to discuss.
Good evening, Mr. Carmody.
This is Harriet De Vol.
Oh, um...yes. Mrs. De Vol.
It's nice talking with you.
We haven't actually met.
I was disappointed to hear there is a problem
regarding the renewal of some of our programs.
Well...
ordinarily, I don't get involved at this level,
but as chief stockholder and chairman of the board
of monolith television studios,
I intend to take whatever steps are necessary
to protect my investment.
Now, Mrs. De Vol...
I also happen to own a modest number of shares
in your network, Mr. Carmody,
and at one time or another,
I have been intimately acquainted
with most of your board members.
In one or two cases, I still am.
Now what's all this garbage about canceling Beat Cop?
[phone ringing]
Hello?
Oh. Hi, Brian.
Maggie, listen. Beat Cop . We're back in business.
-They fired Keith? -No.
They promoted him?
Stop talking and listen.
Tomorrow morning, at the studio,
he's agreed to look at three episodes of Beat Cop.
Three in a row? What is he, a masochist?
You set it up. Pick the episodes.
Book the screening room. He'll be there at 9:30 sharp.
So you're gonna lay all this responsibility on me.
Thanks a lot, Brian.
I'd handle it myself, but I'm involved
in a development meeting down at La Costa.
Where, on the first tee?
Catch up with you tomorrow.
-[dial tone] -Brian!
One.
No, no, Charlie. I want three episodes.
Two three four
In the screening room by 9:30.
Five.
Vi?
Make that coffee strong enough to remove paint.
Six, seven...
Maggie!
Oh, good morning, Mr. Rodgers.
One...
-eight... -Maggie...
18-22.
Hey, it's not my idea, believe me.
I'm just the producer.
Talk to you later.
They're canceling my show.
Take it easy, Bert.
They can't do this to me!
I get letters every week, dozens of them.
Beat Cop is a national institution!
-It's a way of life. -Calm down.
Every week millions of little children
look forward to seeing me in action!
-Will you shut up? -You're right. Sorry.
You're right, Maggie. I have to maintain my composure.
Ever since my agent called me at 6:00 this morning,
I just haven't...
what happened to those "artistic edges" of yours?
Your "topspin"?
Maybe my ears are clogged, but the last I heard,
you wanted off this ferris wheel.
Who told you a stupid thing like that?
You did yesterday afternoon on the set.
On the set?
You're going to take things seriously
I say on the set?
My God, Maggie,
I gave you more credit than that.
This is my career we're talking about!
This is the part I was born to play.
Ben Hollister. Bert Rodgers. Ying, yang. Twins. Brothers.
One and the same.
If they kill off Ben,
it's the same as killing off Bert!
Well, there's no way I let this happen,
and there is no way
I let that network birdbrain take me out of the play!
Uh-uh!
And if you won't handle him, I will!
Oh, I thought you might like some coffee, Mr...
Rodgers.
No, that... that noise that you hear
is an episode of Beat Cop.
I'm placating Harriet De Vol.
-Mm-hmm. -[police siren wailing]
So, listen, Ray, where's your partner?
Where's Leo?
Yeah, well, he may be at monolith studios,
but he's not with me.
Yeah, I chased everyone out.
I mean, if I'm gonna fall asleep,
I don't want any witnesses, you know?
[coughing]
Now, listen. About Harriet De Vol.
How much...
how much muscle has she really got?
I am asking
because the old lady is not gonna tell me
how to program my network.
In case you haven't noticed, pal,
I am the guy with the ideas.
I mean, so far,
you guys represent 10% of a certified genius.
Freeze, sucker!
[gunshots]
[sirens wailing]
What do you mean, did I hear a shot?
Of course I heard a shot.
I heard about a hundred of them.
But you didn't hear or see anything
out of the ordinary?
With Beat Cop on the screen?
Look, Sir, like I told you,
the screening was just about over
when I heard this scream.
It was so real,
I knew it couldn't be coming from the film.
So I flipped on the lights,
looked down from my window up there.
There's this woman
shaking the dead guy and screaming hysterically.
Julie Pritzker.
Whoever.
I call security. End of story.
Lieutenant!
Excuse me a minute.
On the floor, Sir.
And there's something else, Sir.
There's a door back here. We found it unlocked.
Where's it go, Maggie?
First time I ever saw it.
Check it out. I want a full report.
Yes, Sir.
What do you mean I can't come in here?
Sorry, Sir.
Do you know who you're talking to?
I'm sorry, Sir, this is a restricted area.
But...but I'm the president. This is my company.
Brian.
Maggie, what the hell's going on?
Brian, come on.
He was shot. -My God.
Two slugs right through the heart--
Brian! What are you doing here?
I thought you were in La Costa for a meeting.
It got called off.
Maggie, Maggie, this is awful.
This is unbelievable. I just...
this means Julie's gonna take over the network.
I'd better call her and express my condolences.
Inside of an hour,
her phone will be ringing off the hook.
Brian, she's not at the network.
She's at the dispensary.
She's the one who found Keith's body.
She's pretty shaken up.
Oh, sure, sure. I guess she is. Poor kid.
Uh, Maggie, which way is the dispensary?
Thanks.
Maggie?
The coroner figures it happened between 10:30 and 11:00.
We got a nice set of prints on the gun.
Pretty stupid,
shooting a guy and leaving the gun behind.
Yeah, Maggie, this is the real world.
Guys that kill people
are usually not too swift upstairs.
Where are you filming today? -Stage 19.
-What time did you start? -8:30. Why?
Come on, kid, you told me yesterday
that guy in there was about to cancel your show.
Maybe this is somebody's way of changing his mind.
I mean, your people did know
what was going on here this morning.
Sure, but you honestly think
someone connected with Beat Cop
would kill to stay on the air?
Stage 19 is this way.
Keith Carmody dead.
That's right. He died in screening room one.
Of what? Boredom?
He was shot. Murdered.
Look, I know that Keith Carmody
was not a big favorite on this set,
but regardless of our personal feelings,
I want us to give lieutenant Palermo
our fullest cooperation.
Well, you can count on me, Vincent.
After all, as your onscreen alter ego,
I have learned a couple of things
over the past couple of years.
And besides, what do they say?
Two heads are better than one?
Not necessarily.
Look, lieutenant,
what is it you want from us?
Carmody died between 10:30 and 11:00.
For starters, I'd like to know
where each of you was during that time.
I was right here setting up the next shot,
along with most of the crew.
And I was in my dressing room going over my lines.
Thank you.
Uh, lieutenant, at 10:30,
I was talking on a pay phone to a producer in New York,
and after that, I ran into my agent,
Leo Kaplan, and we chatted for a few minutes.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Rodgers?
Well, I was in my motor home catching up on some reading,
and, well, there's a very interesting article about me
in the Christian science monitor.
Perhaps you caught it.
I'm sorry.
Lieutenant, you're not seriously suggesting
that one of us killed Mr. Carmody?
I think what he's saying, Andy,
is that nothing is being ruled out.
Excuse me. Lieutenant, you got a second?
You bet. Excuse me for a minute.
What you got?
I'm talking to the prop guy on the show.
It's very interesting.
Mr. Dooley, why don't you tell the lieutenant here
what you told me?
Look, I don't want to accuse anybody.
Phil, whatever it is, just tell us.
Okay.
About 10:30, I checked the prop box.
I find one of the pistols is missing.
-A 38 police special? -That's right.
I get a little nervous, because these guns we use,
they're the real thing.
I think, "jeez, maybe the actor got it from my assistant."
But no, he's not in yet.
Then I take a real good look at the box.
You see this, the bar? It was jimmied.
Okay, somebody stole a gun from you.
Whose gun was it?
Just because it's his gun doesn't mean he took it.
Whose gun, Mr. Dooley?
Bert's. Bert Rodgers.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute!
You can't do this to-- I didn't kill him!
Mr. Rodgers. Mr. Rodgers, maybe you did, maybe you didn't.
But I got to go by the book on this one.
I'll let you know as soon as your lawyer gets here.
Vin--Vincent! Wait, where are you going?
Vincent, you're locking up Ben Hollister, Beat Cop!
You... [door closes]
George, will you listen?
It's real simple.
Shoot the two scenes with Andy and Dana.
That's right.
Give all of Bert's lines to Andy.
That means that Dana and Andy go to the sex clinic
posing as the couple from Cleveland.
Meanwhile, we've got calls out to a dozen different agents.
By tomorrow, it'll be Joe shmo Beat Cop,
and the audience will never know the difference.
You'll never get away with it, Maggie.
All America loves Bert Rodgers.
Oh? Who am I? A bracero from Guatemala?
Casting says we've got a shot at Charlie Bronson.
[chuckling]
Casting is smoking funny Flowers.
Charlie's a movie star. This, he does not need.
However, if you want to talk reality,
here's a few of my clients who might be interested,
if the bucks are right.
Oh, get serious.
This guy has been canceled more times than a postage stamp.
This guy is so bad
they call his production company flophouse one.
Come on, Leo. I'm your client.
Dana is too, right?
You want to protect us, don't you?
I need somebody whose eyes don't move
when they read the cue cards.
Hey, I'm on your side, babe.
Say, didn't you and Ray also represent Keith Carmody?
For the past nine months. We got him the job at F.B.S.
that's why it hit me so hard.
I drove on the lot,
and the Gate Guard said, "Keith is dead."
Oh, my God.
He and I used to play golf at least once a month.
[buzzing]
-Yes, vi? -It's Brian Thursday, Maggie.
He's calling from his car phone.
He says it's an emergency.
What is it, Brian?
This is so dumb.
I should be back at the studio trying to put the show together.
That's what I tried to tell you.
There may not be a show.
-What? -Julie's up here.
For the time being, she's using Keith's office.
Oh, I feel so awful, Maggie,
and so terribly frightened.
This is going to be an awesome responsibility,
following in Keith's footsteps.
I'm gonna need all the support I can get.
Well, as I said, you can count on us, Julie.
It's just that, about Beat Cop,
we're kind of in a tough spot
with Bert Rodgers being charged in Keith's death.
Oh, yes, I know.
Sue, dear, please put this in a safe spot, will you?
I want Keith's widow to have it,
and I want to make sure it doesn't get lost.
[sighs] Now, about Beat Cop.
Yes.
Now, Julie, despite the name,
you and I both know that it's an ensemble format.
I've got a dozen actors I could throw in there tomorrow
and the ratings wouldn't fall a hair.
Well, I know how proud you are of your scripts, Maggie,
but, well, our research shows
that Bert is the linchpin of the show.
Not that I really believe in research.
[chuckling] No, no, no, of course not.
Still and all,
well, to be perfectly honest,
I had been hoping for several months
to star Dana in her own show.
-Dana? -A medical drama.
She'd play the head neurosurgeon
at a major, major metropolitan hospital.
Wait a minute.
Dana's barely old enough
to have graduated medical school.
Well, we'll cover that in dialogue.
Keith never liked the concept, I think mainly because,
well, it wasn't his idea.
Julie, that's great,
but the thing is, Beat Cop's a proven hit.
With Bert Rodgers.
But at the moment, you don't have Bert Rodgers.
With somebody else,
I don't think it'll play in Peoria.
-No. -You've got to.
I can't! I'm not a detective!
But lieutenant Palermo is.
Look, you know the studio, you know the people involved,
you've got that kind of mind.
Bert Rodgers is just dumb enough to be guilty.
And if he isn't? You heard what Julie said.
Without Bert, we're canceled.
No more big office, no more big salary.
I've been waiting two years
to get that fathead out of my life.
Maggie, Maggie, we're talking jobs here.
Your staff, you crew.
They'll find other jobs.
My job.
That's a problem.
Tell you what, tell you what.
You get Bert off,
and we'll make that Italian thing.
My pilot, love in Naples?
The one about the banker
and the waitress from Davenport, Iowa.
You're not just yanking my chain?
Come on, Maggie. I'm giving you my word.
Trust me.
I didn't kill him. You got to believe me.
Oh, God, how did I get into this mess?
Don't--Don't cry, Bert.
I am a policeman. I uphold the law and order.
[sobbing]
Bert, I hate it when you cry.
Oh, Maggie, I'm innocent.
I believe you.
-You do? -Yes.
-So then you'll help me? -Yes.
Oh, God, I love you.
If you'll just stop crying.
The enquirer may have hidden cameras in here.
And I'm telling you, the guy is guilty.
It's his gun.
His fingerprints were all over the handle.
Because whoever took the gun
wore gloves to leave the prints undisturbed.
Vincent, it's a frame.
He had motive.
You said yourself he stormed out of your office
threatening to kill the guy.
That was an exit line.
He doesn't know any other way to leave a room.
And, finally, he has no alibi.
From 10:30 to 11:00,
he was alone in his trailer, he says.
You know, if you keep him locked up,
that's the end of Beat Cop.
Yeah. [giggles]
I know.
Maggie, forget it.
This is the real world.
The killers are real, and so are the cops.
Go back to your typewriter, kid.
Leave homicide to me.
"The killers are real, and so are the cops."
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let me go, you greasy heap of suet.
Kramer!
The band's playing a new tune.
You got to dance with me now.
Cut!
Thanks, guys. Bring in the stunt doubles.
Listen, when you come in the door, I think--
Al, this is ridiculous.
I feel like I'm wearing a dead rat under my nose.
You look great, Andy.
And those lines, I want to gag.
It sounds wonderful, trust me.
Wally, Joe...
20 years ago, I did Shakespeare at Stratford.
Now I'm a stand-in for Bert Rodgers.
Hell of a career move.
Oh, excuse me. Maggie?
So what's going on? Are we in, are we out?
That hasn't been decided yet.
Well, decide it quick,
because I am not, that is n-o-t,
not going through this again.
My character is gruff but kindly captain Chandler.
I'm very good at playing gruff but kindly.
Especially with what you've been paying me
these past two years,
and I'd like to continue doing it.
-We're working on it. -Good.
I already had one series yanked out from under me
a few years ago,
at a time when I could have been a star
and not just a second banana.
And I would not react kindly if it happened again.
Now, please excuse me
while the rat and I take a short nap in my trailer.
[scatting]
God, you know, I'd forgotten, but I remember that show.
I was in high school. Andy was terrific.
He played, like, a college professor
or something,
but they kept moving it around the schedule.
Like the pea under the walnut shells,
defying you to locate it.
[chuckling]
Dana, why didn't you tell me about the medical show?
What medical show?
The one where you play a neurosurgeon?
The one Julie Pritzker wants you to star in.
Oh, that one. Well, what was to tell?
Julie loved it, Keith didn't. It was a dead duck.
Not any more.
Oh, wait a minute.
Are you implying that I would commit a murder
just to get my own show on network television?
When Keith was killed, you told Vincent
you were talking by phone to a Broadway producer.
That's right.
Which one?
What do you mean which one?
Who elected you Dick Tracy?
Which one was it, Dana?
[sighs] No producer.
I mean, I talked to his answering machine.
And then you ran into Leo.
-Right. -Wrong.
Leo told me that when he drove on the lot,
the Gate Guard told him that Keith was dead.
That skunk.
He was with me for almost a half an hour before that.
He was scared out of his mind.
-About what? -Keith.
Keith had called him and told him
to get his butt over to the screening room this morning.
Why?
How should I know?
Maybe he was going to fire him.
Or maybe he found out about the package proposal.
What package proposal?
Sweetie, don't the jungle Tom-toms of industry gossip
ever penetrate that head of yours?
Leo's agency was packaging the neurosurgeon show.
10% right off the top.
That meant 2.5, maybe 3 million,
in Leo's pocket.
If the network bought it.
Wait a minute. Let me get this straight.
My agent, Leo Kaplan,
was working a deal to get you off my show
to package a new show to replace my show?
Exactly.
Well, who do you think he's working for, you?
Sure, I was here when they converted
these old dressing rooms into casting offices.
That was about 10 or 12 years ago.
Burnsie, you were here
when old man Schiller built the place.
Yeah, well, soon after, anyhow.
Oh, look at that. Andy Butler.
That's from his first show. Langley hall.
Oh, that was long before your time, miss McCauley.
It was about a college.
Yeah, someone was talking about it earlier.
You made that here, huh?
Yeah, sure did.
You know, it's funny how things come around.
What do you mean?
Well, Mr. Carmody getting killed.
You know, I heard about how he threatened to cancel Beat Cop.
I guess everybody did.
Funny thing is, 15 years ago, his first network,
it was Carmody who canceled langley hall.
-Are you sure about that? -Oh, yeah.
I was working security on stage 44
when they got the news.
Hit everybody pretty hard, I can tell you.
Well, right over here, miss McCauley.
The cops have been through this passageway a dozen times.
Here, take a look.
Then you go right down here,
through the door at the end,
and you'll come out behind a curtain
in the screening room.
This is weird, Burnsie. Very weird.
Where'd it come from?
Well, I don't want to mention any names,
but a few years back, one of our big stars,
and I am talking really big,
used to like to take his female co-star
into the screening room to watch the dailies,
and then he and the lady
would slip out through here back to his dressing room.
I get the picture.
You know, it's hard to believe
what a studio will do to keep its star happy.
You think so, huh?
It seems to me it's likely that whoever did it
was someone connected with the show.
You use the word "likely," miss McCauley.
What we are most in need of is evidence.
Right!
Right. We got to have proof.
Hard proof.
Look, I'm not a detective.
But you think like one.
And I keep telling you, Brian, this is not a script.
In other words,
we are no closer to a resolution of our difficulties
than we were at noon today.
Afraid not.
That is indeed too bad
because tomorrow morning at 8:00,
the cameras are slated to turn on Beat Cop.
However, the network has informed us
that if they roll without Bert Rodgers,
they won't accept the episode.
You see my predicament, miss McCauley?
But of course you do.
Vi, what are you doing here? Why aren't you home?
Oh, I wasn't sure if you'd need me.
What I need is two aspirins, a dry martini, and a hot bath.
Go home.
And the phones have been ringing constantly
since right after lunch.
Variety and the reporter and TV guide.
Pass, pass, pass.
And casting called,
they said they had two words for you:
"not available."
-Who's not available? -Everyone.
And the editor stopped by about 20 minutes ago.
He left this for you.
He cut together a sequence from this morning's work.
There's a continuity problem.
He said, "keep your eye on the pencil."
And this is the rest of it. You sure you don't need me?
Go home, vi.
Tomorrow's gonna be a long day for everybody.
Okay, but don't work too late.
Keep your eye on the pencil.
-i don't care about gut feelings.
What I do care about is procedure.
We've got rules around here, even for Bert Hollister.
The guy should have checked in.
-captain, I don't know where he is.
-how am I gonna protect this guy?
If he's onto something, i want to know about it.
I don't want to find him belly up in some alley.
Sure he's a maverick, sure he bust a few rules,
but you want to know something?
He's my kind of cop.
If you tell him I said that, i'll deny it.
Wait a minute.
-if he's onto something, i want to know about it.
I don't want to find him belly up in some alley.
-i don't know where he is. -Now you see it.
-how am I gonna protect this guy?
I don't want to find him belly up in some alley.
Now you don't.
-Hello. -Al, it's Maggie.
Hello, dear heart.
I hope your day was better than mine.
Mine stunk, thanks.
Al, I just got a tape from the editor,
that scene you shot this morning with Dana and Andy.
Ah, yes. He sent me a copy, too.
A disappearing pencil.
What the hell happened?
What happened was
your script girl was obviously daydreaming.
When we shot the master,
the pencil was in Andy's jacket pocket.
After we relit for the closer shots,
the pencil was gone.
Al, this is very important.
When did you shoot the master?
First thing this morning.
When did you do the relighting for the close shots?
I don't know. 10:30, I think.
Took about a half hour.
And you shot the close shots right after that?
Yes, and I needn't tell you,
I'm annoyed to have to shoot it all again.
The actors have been notified of the problem.
We'll do the retakes first thing tomorrow morning.
It's one of the few things we can do without Bert.
Maggie, is there something wrong?
No, no. Everything's fine.
Night, Al.
[door opens]
Who's here?
Is there anybody in here?
Who is that?
Maggie?
Maggie!
Vincent! It was Andy Butler!
We know.
Up against the wall. Let's go. Spread them. Let's go.
Take it easy, kid. It's okay. It's okay.
It was the pencil, Brian. The yellow pencil.
Yeah. I don't get it, sorry.
Watch my lips, Brian.
Andy Butler had a yellow pencil in his jacket pocket
when they shot the scene the first time.
The big shot.
They call that a master. -Master.
Right.
When the crew was resetting the lights
for the close shots,
Andy sneaked off through the passageway
to shoot Keith.
Except he lost the pencil in the passageway.
And when he came back to the set,
the pencil wasn't in his pocket, and nobody noticed.
Oh, I get it.
When he was told he'd have to redo the scene and why,
he went back to retrieve the pencil
before anybody found it.
Only what he didn't know, and neither did I,
was that Vincent Palermo had already found it.
And when they dusted it
and found Andy's fingerprints all over it,
the solution fell into place.
Well, however it worked out, this is one terrific day.
Bert's out of jail and back to work.
And Julie's given us an order
for Betty Barker, brain surgeon,
which means we're gonna have to replace both Andy and Dana.
Maggie...
Maggie, you were great. I don't know how to thank you.
I do. Love in Naples.
Oh, gosh, yes.
Listen, Maggie, about that.
Brian, you promised!
I know and I talked to Julie but, not yet.
I mean I mean, I don't think the timing's right.
Great! "Trust me," you said.
I give you my word, Maggie.
As soon as the time is right,
I'll be right there going to bat for you.
Meantime, I got a meeting at the network
on Dana's new series.
Give me a Buzz early next week, and we'll do lunch.
[chuckles] See you.
-Oh, I'm sorry. Excuse me. -Pardon me. Pardon me.
Thanks, Brian!
Maggie, what's wrong?
You know, I used to worry that he was wrong for his job.
Shows you what I know.
Oh, hell, vi, what am I complaining about?
Today is a great day.
I mean great!
You know where I'm going tonight?
No.
Out to dinner with Vince and his kids.
And his kids? That's great! Hey, does this mean...
-i don't know what it means. -Hmm.
But it sure beats where I was yesterday.
Oh, this is terrific. He is so sexy.
I know, I know.
Two years I've been waiting for this day
and nothing, I mean nothing, is gonna spoil it.
[laughs] -Maggie!
[door slamming]
I just finished reading this new script.
What the hell are you trying to do?
Ruin my career, huh?
Who writes this drivel, anyway?
[cheerful orchestral music]