Not Rated | 25min | Adventure, Drama, TV Series | Episode aired 12 May 1952
Steve is in Africa to learn the identity of the man who is stirring up trouble with the native witch doctor.
Director: Bill Karn
Writers: Adrian Gendot, Robert Ryf
Stars: Brian Donlevy, Nelson Leigh, John Warburton
Steve is in Africa to learn the identity of the man who is stirring up trouble with the native witch doctor.
Director: Bill Karn
Writers: Adrian Gendot, Robert Ryf
Stars: Brian Donlevy, Nelson Leigh, John Warburton
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00♪
00:15♪
00:45Yeah, danger is my assignment.
00:47I get sent to a lot of places I can't even pronounce.
00:49They all spell the same thing, though, trouble.
00:51This time, it's the African jungle.
00:54One of these men is a British agent.
00:56The other one's a killer. I don't know which is which.
00:59I've got to hand my gun to one of them.
01:01If I choose the wrong man, I'm dead.
01:10The job, it all sounded so easy.
01:12Get over to Africa and question a guy who's been conducting a hate campaign
01:16among the witch doctors directed against us.
01:19A campaign which has cut down the flow of vital raw materials.
01:22A British agent named Withers has captured this gent somewhere in the interior
01:26and is bringing him out.
01:28Lieutenant Butcher of the local garrison and I are supposed to meet Withers
01:31and his prisoner here.
01:35I don't like it, Mitchell. I don't like it at all.
01:37They should be here by now.
01:39You sure we got the right meeting place?
01:41Oh, absolutely.
01:43When Withers sent one of his bearers in to tell us he'd captured this chap,
01:46he specified this location as the meeting place.
01:49Is Withers alone with this guy?
01:51No, he's got another chap with him from intelligence,
01:53a chap by the name of Lifton and a native guide.
01:56We couldn't spare any troops.
01:58In the threats of uprising, I was ordered to hold them all at the garrison.
02:01Well, with three guys guarding one, what kind of trouble could they get in?
02:05Plenty.
02:07You see, we've an idea that this prisoner has a few friends in the area.
02:11Our information is that the original party who sent him to stir up the trouble
02:14numbered five men.
02:16And this prisoner is the boss?
02:18Right.
02:19What's worrying me is that this chap will undoubtedly try to rescue him.
02:23Why not?
02:25It sounds like Mungo now.
02:31Did you see them, Mungo?
02:32No, sir. I climbed one of the tallest trees and I could see for miles,
02:35but I couldn't see them.
02:37We'd better go in after them, Mitchell.
02:40Hmm.
02:47Is it always this hot?
02:48No, it's sometimes hotter.
02:52Your aim's terrific, old boy.
02:53Yeah, I'm quite a marksman.
02:55Don't let the little ones bother you, though.
02:57Wait until you run into the kind that tries to lift you off the ground.
03:00Oh, well.
03:10Come on.
03:22Any sign of them, Mungo?
03:24No sign.
03:39Juana! Juana!
03:56Trouble?
03:57I'm afraid so.
03:58These orders read for me to return with these troops to the garrison immediately.
04:02What?
04:03New threat of an uprising to the south in the big one.
04:05That chap and his friends did their work real well.
04:07What about Withers and his party?
04:09Oh, that's a good question.
04:10Hey!
04:14Someone's coming.
04:16Could be Withers.
04:23Hey!
04:33It's Lipton.
04:34He was in Withers' party.
04:35Water.
04:38Got a first aid kit, Mungo?
04:41What happened, Lipton?
04:42Last night.
04:43They attacked us.
04:46Who?
04:48Friends of the prisoners.
04:49They killed the guide.
04:51Where's Withers?
04:53He's all right.
04:54He's hiding in the jungle.
04:56With the prisoner.
04:57They sent you in for help?
04:58Yes.
04:59But on the way, they took a shot at me.
05:02Any idea how many men attacked your party?
05:04We think four men.
05:06All armed.
05:08We killed one of them.
05:09That's three men left.
05:11Probably scouring the area for Withers and his party right now.
05:15Where did you leave them, Lipton?
05:17The map.
05:26There.
05:31Oh, his pulse is strong.
05:32I think he'll be all right.
05:34Take care of him, Mungo.
05:37And rig up a stretcher.
05:47We were about here, and the attack took place up here.
05:51That's about a day and a half away through some pretty rugged country.
05:54You think Withers is headed this way with his prisoner?
05:57No, I don't.
05:58I think he realizes his chances of making it alone are pretty slim.
06:01Oh.
06:02In other words, you think he's holed in up in that territory, waiting for help?
06:05Right.
06:06Right now, that seems to be my problem.
06:09My orders are to return to the garrison immediately.
06:12Oh.
06:13You mean I'm elected, huh?
06:15Seems as if.
06:16Let me take another look at that map.
06:19Now, this is where they are?
06:21That's right.
06:22Looks like a bend in the river there.
06:24It is.
06:25It backs up to form a sort of a lagoon.
06:27There's quite a bit of good concealment there.
06:29With a bit of luck, that's where you'll find Withers and his prisoner.
06:32Yeah.
06:33With luck.
06:34That's how I keep it.
06:36Well, I guess I better get started right away.
06:38How many men can you let me have?
06:41Well, that's the embarrassing part, old boy.
06:44Now, wait a minute.
06:46What can I do?
06:47My orders are to keep all troops in the vicinity of the garrison.
06:52It's getting peachier by the minute.
06:54What am I supposed to do, sally forth all alone?
06:57Well, I...
06:59Wait a minute.
07:00Strictly speaking, Mungo is not considered one of my troops.
07:03I could let you have him.
07:05Gee, thanks.
07:06Well, orders are orders.
07:08Yeah, I know.
07:09And he's the best guide I ever had.
07:11I'll okay.
07:12All right.
07:17How is he, Mungo?
07:18He'll be okay.
07:22You take your orders from Warner Mitchell.
07:24Guide him to the bend in the river.
07:26Yes, sir.
07:27Wait a minute.
07:28I got an idea.
07:29What is it?
07:30One of the pals of the prisoner tried to stop Lipton from coming for help.
07:34Almost succeeded.
07:35Yeah.
07:36It figures they must be hiding along the trail to watch where the help goes to.
07:40They might not be very far from here.
07:42So?
07:43Well, Mungo and I wouldn't have much chance against three armed men.
07:48But if you and your boys would sort of decoy them...
07:50You mean lead them off in another direction?
07:52Yeah.
07:53Mungo and I can go along with you,
07:55and a certain spot we'll get lost and head for that bend in the river.
07:58Why, of course.
07:59We could start a gradual circle back to the garrison.
08:02And if the men followed us, that'd give you a little more time.
08:05It's worth a chance.
08:06All right, we'll do it.
08:08I'll send Lipton back along the trail with two of the soldiers.
08:10Marcy!
08:11What's that?
08:23Let's begin our circle.
08:29All right.
08:50Well, Mitchell, this is a jumping-off spot.
08:52As far as I can go. I can't risk any more time.
08:55Okay.
08:56Which trail do we take?
08:57That one.
08:59I'll continue along this one and start my circle back.
09:02Well, I hope it works.
09:04I hope so, too.
09:05I'll try to run a daily patrol out this far to meet you on the way back.
09:09Good luck.
09:10Thanks.
09:11Come on.
09:19Well, I guess there's nobody here but us chickens.
09:23Hey, where'd you pick that up?
09:25I majored in sociology at UCLA.
09:30Well, come on, Major.
09:32Let's see if our gag is sharp enough to work.
10:26Hmm.
10:29Hmm.
10:56Hmm.
11:15Mitchell and the guys are not with me.
11:17Shh.
11:25Shh.
11:50Hey.
11:51How much farther?
11:53It's too far to reach tonight. We'd better camp here.
12:24Ahh!
12:46Mongo, with his throat cut.
12:48Who killed him?
12:49Hostile natives or the rescue party?
12:52Suddenly I realize I'm making a pretty good target of myself.
13:16Here's my answer.
13:18The rescue party has figured out the decoy,
13:20and now they're back on my trail with Mongo gone.
13:22I'm really on my own.
13:24I've got to get out of here.
13:33By morning, after a wide circle and some fast travel,
13:35I figure I've given them the slip, at least for the time being.
13:38I'm a little rocky from lack of sleep,
13:41but I figure I must be getting pretty close to Withers' hiding place.
13:44Yeah, that bend in the river couldn't be very far from here.
14:03Hey, knock it off.
14:06Put your hands in the air, both of you.
14:08I say, old man.
14:09Shut up.
14:10You must be the two guys I'm looking for. Which one of you is Withers?
14:13I am.
14:16Now look.
14:18I'm Withers.
14:19You're lying. I'm Withers.
14:21I tell you I am.
14:23Oh, so you're both Withers, huh?
14:25No, he's lying.
14:27Well, that ought to be easy enough to prove.
14:29Let's see your papers.
14:30Of course. I have them.
14:33That's strange.
14:35He stole them from me.
14:36I did not. Those papers belong to me.
14:39Okay, buster. You show me the papers.
14:42Certainly I've got them right.
14:46They must have fallen into the river during the fight.
14:49Oh, sure, sure.
14:51All right. Whichever one of you is Withers must have had a gun.
14:54Where is it?
14:55He knocked it out of my hand into the river during the fight.
14:57He's lying. He knocked it out of mine.
15:00Look, for the time being, I'm going to call you guys Pat and Mike.
15:03You're Pat.
15:04All right. I don't mind being called Pat, but my name really is Withers,
15:07and I think this is all pretty silly, Mitchell.
15:09Oh, so you know my name, huh?
15:11Of course. You're Steve Mitchell, and you're supposed to meet me and my prisoner here.
15:14I see.
15:15No, you don't see, Mitchell.
15:16He overheard me and my partner mention your name before his friends jumped us.
15:20That's not true.
15:21Now, look. Mike.
15:23Well, I suppose that's the name you prefer to call me,
15:26but I'd like to be called by my own name, Withers.
15:29Wait a minute.
15:32Why, what's the matter?
15:33I don't hear anything.
15:34That's just the point.
15:36Those birds stopped all of a sudden.
15:39Get your bonnet and get out of here undercover.
16:10Nice try, but it didn't work.
16:13It was an accident.
16:14That was no accident.
16:15Those men are his friends.
16:17That's a lie.
16:18Keep quiet.
16:20Come on. Let's get out of here.
16:22Move.
16:31Just a minute, Mitchell.
16:33We can settle this right now.
16:35Now, this chap claims he's high, so let me ask him a simple question.
16:38Shoot.
16:39Who's your superior officer?
16:41Major Summersby in London.
16:43Sorry.
16:45Major Summersby was promoted three weeks ago.
16:48Major Hawkins, isn't he?
16:51Well, I've been out of touch with the Home Office for some time.
16:55Wait.
16:58All right. Two can play at that game, my friend.
17:01You say you're Withers.
17:03What's your wife's name?
17:05Helen.
17:06It's Edith.
17:09Now, look.
17:10This is no time to be standing around in the jungle playing guessing games.
17:13One of you is Withers.
17:14The other's got friends beating the bush looking for him.
17:17We're getting out of here before they catch up with us.
17:20That's an excellent idea.
17:22Right now, I don't know which one of you is which, but I'll figure it out sooner or later.
17:26In the meantime, I'm taking no chances.
17:28Get this.
17:30First one of you that tries anything gets his head blown off.
17:33Any questions?
17:39We travel all day.
17:41Back the way I came, I'm playing a little game of who's who in my mind and getting nowhere.
19:08I'm not kidding myself into thinking I've shaken off the pursuit,
19:29and the worst of it is that here in the jungle, it's hard to tell how close behind they are.
19:33I know our only chance is to keep moving.
19:48By nightfall, we're too tired to take another step.
19:51I've had no sleep in the last 48 hours, and I'm really beat.
19:54We sit there eyeing each other like sleepy vultures.
20:04This has been a rough go for you, Mitchell.
20:09All right, save the sympathy.
20:11No, I mean it.
20:13Going this long without sleep.
20:15That's a nasty word.
20:24Nothing like good old sleep.
20:55Mitchell, watch out!
20:59You can crawl back now.
21:02He was just coming over to see if I was comfy.
21:07I guess you know who's who now.
21:10I'm beginning to.
21:12And look, no more games tonight.
21:16Okay, take off your belts and toss them over here.
21:24Come on.
21:55Sweet dreams, kiddies.
22:10Hey, the last time they stopped, a guy got killed.
22:24Let's go.
22:55What happened?
22:58A scout from the rescue party.
23:01That leaves two of them on our tail.
23:03Come on, let's get moving.
23:24Come on.
23:36This is no good.
23:38I can't go on without some sleep.
23:40Don't tell me we were supposed to carry you.
23:43No.
23:45The garrison is about an hour from here.
23:47At this rate, they'd catch up with us before then.
23:50So?
23:51So I've got to make a decision.
23:53Which one of you is Withers?
23:55Give him my gun.
23:57So he can get out with the other guy.
24:00What about you?
24:02I'll find a place to hide.
24:05Until you can send somebody back for me.
24:18Congratulations.
24:19You chose the wrong man.
24:24I just got back the ten years of my life you took away a minute ago when you handed him the gun.
24:31Hey, maybe we're not out of the woods yet.
24:40You know, one thing I'm curious about.
24:43He was so clever with his answers, I was beginning to wonder whether I really was Withers.
24:47How did you find out about it?
24:49You know something?
24:51You didn't.
24:52What?
25:01Well, congratulations, Mitchell.
25:03I see you made it.
25:05Sounded like you did, too.
25:07Yes, we took care of the others.
25:09Bring a stretcher with you?
25:11Why, yes.
25:15After a breather, we hoist Mike to his feet and hit the homeward trail with him.
25:18I guess he's still trying to figure out how I got wise to him.
25:21I just haven't got the heart to tell him I didn't.
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