 The Adventures of Frank Race, starring Tom Collins. The war changed many things, the face of the earth and the people on it. Before the war, Frank Race worked as an attorney. But he traded his law books for the Cloak and Dagger of the OSS. And when it was over, his former life was over too. Adventure had become his business. The Adventures of Frank Race. Now we join Frank Race for the adventure of the reckless daughter. The night brooded over the city, and its streets seemed quiet. But you could sense the bitterness that lay beneath the apparently placid surface. This was a section of the European continent. And here the scars of war showed jagged and ugly. With a healing, not a happy process. Oh, brother, talk about dead towns. Everybody here must be between the quilts. That's late. In New York, things would just be getting started. I'm afraid it's different here, Mark. Yeah, I'll say it's different. Every guy you meet gives you the door guy. You all seem to think that I'm... Oh, bro, look, I'm kind of close. Listen, hey, I say this town was dead. I'm not munching on my wife. Well, now that you're standing here, let's go. Look, what are we doing in this town, Race? You never did get around to tell me. Yeah, you have to see a man by the name of McDonald. Well, I can see it as much. Hey, that one just about took off my ear. Stay back against this wall under in the shadow. Look, what goes here anyway? Wait a second. I thought I heard someone call. Hey, it's a dame. The doorway over there. Come on. Yes, and thanks for the suggestion. Oh, I could not leave you there, could I? Not when those bullets are really meant for me. Yeah, who's on the other side of them? Probably the police. And leave us not stay here. There's no future in it. Well, I don't see much future out here either. Please throw in lead, if they are the police. Oh, you don't believe me. Yeah, I wish it weren't so dark. If the rest of you goes with that voice. You must not strike a light. We would draw the fire. Which brings up the question of getting out of here. There is a little cafe in the next square. We could perhaps make a break for you. Well, not all of us together. But I have an idea. Which way is the cafe? To our right. We could dash to the left. While you and my friend here leg it for the cafe. We'll meet there. Look, let me do it a solo act, Grace. You stay with the lady, huh? No sale, it was my thought. Yeah, but I'm used to driving a cab. Which makes me better at dodging things. Go ahead, get going. I'll see you later. He was gone before I could protest. With two shots reaching out for him as the girl and I took the other direction. The cafe in the next block turned out to be pretty much like the rest of the city. Not much light, not much glitter. Very little sound. Well, do I match my voice? You witch. You knew you'd knock me over, didn't you? You were sure of it. I'm surprised too. Very pleasantly surprised. Red hair and brown eyes and all the accessories. And I mean all of them. A woman at home somewhat fires bullets. Remember? You're gay. You laugh when so many of these around are grim and unsmiling. Why? Don't waste life on anything but laughter is foolish. Who are you? Stephanie. Just Stephanie? That seems to be it. Would it do me any good to ask you the why of the bullets? Not at the moment because we're going to be intruded upon. I object to that word, Stephanie. You make it sound too personal. You had the look that spelled blood harm. And I sensed that because of the girl it was going to be my enemy. Race, this is Gregor Savas. What do you say, Don? You will pardon me if I do not. Sit down, Gregor. It will ease that temper of yours. You have a companion, I believe, Mr. Race. Yes, I... He is quite all right. But we will have to charge him with resisting a race. You know, Race, Savas is a policeman. A highly-placed policeman to be sure, but a policeman nevertheless. Gregor, do sit down and have something to drink with us. It will lighten your spirits. I am not anxious to lighten my spirits. There are other things to think about. Savas, if Mark Donovan is guilty of anything, then I am equally so. And I? If I thought I could make use of such a situation, believe me, your companion was guilty of physical resistance. In this country, that is serious. In this country, everything is serious. Let the man go, Gregor. He was only trying to help me. If I have my way, and I think I will, he shall pay a full penalty. And that, for your information, Mr. Race, is quite severe. This was his parting shot with that he left us pausing only a moment or so to say something to a man beside the door. I'm sorry, Race. I'd better start doing something about Mark. Of course. I wish I could help. Will I see you again? Why not? I'm staying with a friend, a country woman of yours. Find the church of San Sebastian and walk through its graveyard. Unusual directions. Geraldine Carr is an unusual woman. I'm very fond of her. I headed for the door, but halfway there, I got my eye full of trouble. The lad to whom Zavazet spoke him had a knife in his hand. So I jammed my way past a side door into a small room that offered exit in the shape of a window already open. I went through this and landed on the pavement outside. I told Mark that we'd come to the city to see a man by the name of McDonald. And I was to this person that I went now. It was after midnight, but I found him still up, reading the latest blurb on the condition of Europe. I never seemed to sleep well in a hotel. Silly, isn't it? No, sit down, Ray. I came this hour because I have a friend who's just been thrown in jail on a petty charge. I thought you might be able to help us. How long is it since you arrived? About nine hours. Nine hours and you already have a problem. Problems. This country is full of them. I know I'm in business here. I could probably do something for your friend. I'm wondering if you can do something for me. I'll try. I want to trigger a big expansion program here, Ray. My syndicate is willing to spend millions because we know the industrial record of this nation. It's great. Naturally, to keep such a development sound, we must have insurance. But the underwriters are balking. Too much instability of government. Too many factions, cross purposes. I can imagine that. You're censored just from walking the streets of the city. There's one man who ties the nation together. He's done it before and he can do it again. Anton Vendine. Yes, you know him. It's largely because you know him that you're here. Now, if we can persuade Vendine to again become prime minister, the insurance companies are willing to restore protection of business. That's the most important thing that can happen to this country. I want you to talk to Vendine, Ray. I want you to persuade him to accept the post that people want him to take. If he'll say yes, President Layton will appoint him tomorrow. I'm surprised that he hasn't already accepted. What's the impasse? Well, for some reason, he's become a recluse. He doesn't talk to anyone. That's why your name was mentioned, you know. I understand you once held a cellar with him. Kept a full detachment of Nazis at bay for almost two days. Yes. He's a lion, that Vendine. Ah, yes. Say nothing of yourself. Will you see him? Yes, only as possible, tomorrow. I found Anton Vendine working in his garden. I remembered him with dark grey striked hair. Now, his hair was almost white. But the look of him was the same. Rugged, fighting features in the eyes of a child running to receive a toy. His eyes had always carried that expression, even in battle. Ray, I can't believe it. I'm so happy to see you. It seems a long time, Anton. Yes, a long time. We saw some hectic days, didn't we? And now, I cultivate roses. Anton, we've always been strong friends. We've always been frank with one another. I can recall that with pleasure. So you can understand why I'm puzzled. The people of this country want you for their prime minister. The post has been vacant for weeks, waiting for your acceptance. Politics. I no longer have an interest there, Ray. In your case, I prefer the word statesmanship. In my case, it's all the same. There's something else bothering you. No man can change as much in five or six years. Yes, there is something else. Do you remember my daughter? You must. In 43, she was 17. Yes, I remember. I recall that you were very close to each other. Yes. We were close, weren't we? She was not only a daughter, she was a companion in arms, a child to make a man proud of himself. Anton, did something happen to her? I thought I had done all the proper things with my daughter. Psychologically, educationally, she saw some very bad times like the rest of us, but I felt it to be sound inside. I've always admired the women in my country race, admired them for their strength and vitality. My daughter has both of those attributes in abundance. And now she insists on turning them to the pursuits of vandalism and violence. Philosophy, she thinks is new and different. Be gay and seek enjoyment no matter what the cost to others. This has become her only aim in life. I see. But you can't let this affect you, Anton. Race, when a man cannot influence his own child, a girl to whom he has given all his talents the best of his efforts, how can he expect to lead a nation? Anton, if my memory serves me correctly, your daughter's name is Stephanie. That's right, Race. And she was always very fond of you. And if my memory serves me still further, Stephanie has red hair. Stephanie Vendine. No wonder I hadn't recognized her. I remember what she'd been like five years before, thin from lack of nutrition. A young girl who seemed all eyes. She'd changed. And how she'd changed. I kept walking. Thought of Stephanie Vendine's beauty couldn't quite dispel the feeling of depression I developed in talking to her father. Because of my preoccupation, I didn't notice the car until I'd almost reached it. It stopped so as to block my passage across the intersection. There was the driver, a man sitting in back. Another man stood alongside the car leaning slightly on a cane. Mr. Race. So us. You may be interested to know that your companion was set free about an hour ago through the request of a rather influential person. Oh, that's gratifying. I resent meddling, particularly on the part of foreigners. And I consider you and your companion to be a disturbing influence here. So I am making a suggestion. Get out of the country. If you remain here after noon tomorrow, either of you, you will be haunted down and shot. We'll return to the Adventures of Frank Race in just about one minute. Back to the Adventures of Frank Race. The overall picture had become clearer now. The country had turned within itself out of dissatisfaction. And the Corps was assuming the old pattern, dictatorship. Already it had become a semi-police state. There was a possibility that Savas had the drive to make it his party, the flame that would twist the country into his grip. There was only one remedy. Anton Vendine must return to the post of Prime Minister, which meant that I had to see his daughter. I think we could have got here a little faster. We could have done a looking-by-day life. Well, this must be it. You said a choice on one side and a graveyard on the other, didn't you? No, this is it all right. And we go through the graveyard in the dark. Well, I'm proud of our routine. The girl is living with Bohemians. I thought you said she was staying with an American then. By Bohemian, Mark, I mean autumn. They like to do things in an unusual way. Well, they're doing it. What's the matter with that flashlight? It seems to be getting dim. You go walk into a graveyard at night. Hey, Mark, where are you? His light went out. Must be the batteries. Wait a second. There it is. Well, I'll be done. Why are you laughing at me? Lucky thing I didn't break my neck. Marcus, you're in a grave. I'm in a what? You're kidding. An open grave. Yes, me, that's Russian things a little. Yeah, let me help you out. This way in, they bury him deep in his gut. Here, grab. I got it. All right, I'll dig in with your feet. That's it. There we go. Oh, that does it. Well, let's see if we can find those women without any more mishaps. Place turned out to be the loft over a barn. Barn and loft had been decorated quite fetchingly. We found no one there, but a note had been tagged to the door. I'm not asking any callers to go in and wait. Very cosy. I never would have thought it. Look, what's the pitch on all this, Rayson? A beautiful girl who thinks that tearing around and involving herself in madcap escapades is fun, even though it threatens to ruin her father's career. Ah, dames. And when they're beautiful, it makes it all a tougher. Oh, you sound so cynical, the pair of you. Well, hello, Stephanie. What you come for? I have a backdoor, too. Hello, Ray. Why didn't you tell me who you really were? Oh. You've seen my father. Yeah, I saw him. I couldn't resist it, Ray. I was so mad about you when you were here before. I was only 16 then. Remember? I remember a girl who could think of nothing but her country's freedom. A girl who adored her father. I adored you, too, Ray. I think I could steal it, are you? With a little encouragement. Yeah. Maybe I ought to stroll down by the graveyard and commune with the spirits. Not on my account, Mark. Meaning you have no such romantic inclination, is that it, Ray? Stephanie, why do you insist on placing your father in such a bad position? Do you mean because I refuse to wave the flag any longer? Maybe I suffered from war nerves, too. Maybe I want a little fun. When I'm gathering your fun gets pretty rough. Bandalism. Be quite a crowd you're travelling with. I like them. They know how to live. All I ever really knew before I met them was how to die. This is probably Geraldine now. And Ted. Oh, darling, we missed you. I thought, oh, I'm sorry. Because she's got another man here? Well, I'm not sorry. He's too good-looking. This must be your other American, Stephanie. Not as much my American as I had hoped. Lace, this is Geraldine Carr and Ted Lamson. Ted Lamson looked like all America in 1948. His slacks and shoes had been yellowed by mud. But his attitude was completely casual. Geraldine Carr had the look of a nightclub hostess. And the attitude to go with it. You mean he's given you trouble, Ducky? He thinks I'm being a silly, willful female. Why, Lace? Because she refuses to moan about the probability of the next war? Because she's sensible enough to know that heaven funds the most important thing in life? That's quite a breezy philosophy. Good thing it hasn't been the creed of all mankind. And why not? We'd still be peering out of caves. It's our idea that you could be happy and still do things, Lace. Well, I understand you do things, all right. Not very constructive, though, are they? Do come in, Gregor, even without knocking. I am not here socially, Stephanie. This time I visit his official. Then I'm sure it concerns me. I am sure it concerns you, my dear. The Church of Saint Sebastian has just been robbed. And the custodian murdered. His body is lying in the graveyard at this moment with a knife in its side. What was taken, Savas? A gold statue worth a lot of money. Gregor, if you think I had anything to do with this... What else can I think? The way you have been acting, the things you have been doing... The things I've been doing have never included thievery or murder. I'm sorry, Stephanie. I must place you under arrest. A place? Mr. Race is leaving the country. He has less than 24 hours. I trust he is keeping that in mind. I could think of nothing else but to head for the home of Anton Vendine. Where the immediate reaction to my news was one of hopelessness. You see, Race, this finishes it. I can see it will finish a lot of things if we don't act quickly, including the freedom of this country. What are the mechanics of your taking over the Premiership? Well, I could simply be sworn in at any time. But, with what has happened, I'm afraid the present has been no longer be considering my appointment. Let's go to him, Anton, before it's too late. President Latour, a grey little man with furrows of trouble latched across his forehead, shook his head dubiously. The papers all have it by now, Anton. I am afraid the feeling is going to run high. Yesterday, you were the hero of the people. Tomorrow, they may think of you only as the father of a madras. Under the circumstance... I understand. Will you excuse me, John? He left us to answer his phone. When he came back, his expression looked even more trouble than before. What is it, Nikolai? Gregor Savas. He insists that I summon him to the post of Prime Minister. If you do, Mr. President, it'll be a move you'll gravely regret. I'm afraid I'm going to have no other alternative. I have held the post open too long as it is waiting for you, Anton. And Mr. Vendine's ready to accept it. But this is a scandal, the race would may as well give up. We are a religious people, Mr. Race, and that statue had great importance to us. Suppose we find it. Suppose we prove that Stephanie Vendine had nothing to do with its theft. Oh, I should be most happy. Then I'd like you two gentlemen to meet me at the side entrance to the Church of San Sebastian in about an hour. I think I know where to find that statue. See anyone yet, Mark? No, nobody. But it's a good thing that Moin come out and behind those clouds, they wouldn't be able to see nothing. You want the President and Mr. Vendine to come first, don't you? Yes. And if I have time to drive, that's a way to work. If I have time to drive. There's so much that can go wrong with this, Mark. Hey, it comes a couple of guys now, right? Yeah, let me look. The ones you want? Yes. It's the President, Anton Vendine. We're in this door, we're gentlemen. Oh, all right, Race. Oh, Mr. Race, whatever you are going to do, you must do it quickly. I have only a short time in which to make a decision. If I have time to drive, Mr. President, you shouldn't have too long to wait. In fact, there's someone now. Where? Coming through the graveyard. Who is it, Race? A countryman of mine, I'm ashamed to say. But something's wrong. She doesn't have company. He's gone. One moment he was there, and now he's gone. Come on. All right, Lamson. You can stop digging, come out of there. That is the one all right, same grave I fell into. Climb out, Lamson. But this is nothing but an empty grave. Not entirely empty, Mr. President. Morty, Lamson. You sneak, you're trapping into coming out here. Don't talk about sneaks, Lamson. You've been letting Stephanie Van Dean think you were a friend. Well, you won't get away with it. I'm not alone in this, I... Go ahead, Lamson. Tell us who else is in it with you. I think I can answer that best, Race. Sebas. Yes, Sebas. And with this there's a present for all of you. Sebas! I'm in here too, watch out for me. You are a bungling pool. Kill me too. There seems to be others with him. Surely. Sebas has set right now to make his first push. Yeah, with us is the kind Coslins. Wait. Let's give them something back. Mr. Race, what is going on here? I'm afraid our friend Sebas intends to assume control of this country. To do that, he knew he'd have to discredit Anton Van Dean. So he took advantage of Stephanie's apparent way-witness and framed this theft and murder. That's the way of it, isn't it, Lamson? Yes, yes, that's the way of it. He'd have made it stick too. Mark Donovan hadn't fallen into this grave. Oh, it looks as though he may win even so. They're pinning us down while they come closer. It's just a matter of time. Just a matter of time. Let them come closer. I welcome it. You know, I still can't see how you figured this one out, Race. You notice this grave now, Mark. It's just about six feet deep, isn't it? Yeah, but when I fell into it, it was a lot deeper. Six feet has always been the proper depth for a grave. But if you wanted to hide something in it, which they did, they went right down to the yellow soil that Lamson had on his shoes. Race, I think they're coming. Stand back a moment, Race. What was that? Anton, you wiped them out with a hand grenade. We did it once before, Race. Remember? Against the same kind of people. Let's get out of here, Anton. So we can have you sworn in as prime minister for the second time you've earned it. The Adventures of Frank Race, starring Tom Collins with Tony Barrett as Mark Donovan, comes to you from Hollywood. Others heard in tonight's cast were Gene Bates, Evelyn Scott, Jack Krushen, Wilms Herbert, Joe Duvall and Harry Lang. This series is written and directed by Buckley Angel and Joel Murkunt. The music is composed and played by Ivan Dittmarz. Be sure to be with us again this same time next week for another dramatic chapter in The Adventures of Frank Race. Art Gilmore speaking. This is a Brucell's production.