IT TAKES A THIEF: WHO'LL BID TWO MILLION DOLLARS (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramas in which sophisticated burglar Alexander Mundy donates his talents to the S.I.A. in exchange for a pardon from prison.
The story begins as Alexander is enjoying the company of wealthy Italian socialite Jeanette Martine on a beach in Italy. They met the previous week on a plane and she already seems to know about his reputation as a master thief. He gets up to get her a drink and is kidnapped and brought before several criminals: a Pakistani named Indrahan, an unidentified Frenchman, and a woman of indeterminate nationality known only as the Duchess. They refer to him as “George” and believe that he is in possession of a shipment of plutonium, and that he is late with the delivery. Alexander, highly confused, knows nothing about the matter, and the Duchess announces that they have taken the wrong man. They drug him and have their henchmen take him out of the bay on a speedboat. They sabotage the vehicle to kill him in a crash, making it seem like an accident. Alexander regains limited consciousness and is able to jump out and swim for shore before the boat crashes.
He reaches the shore and lapses into unconsciousness. Later he is awakened by a group of schoolchildren and their teacher, a young woman named Varina. He reports the attempt on his life to Wallie, who says that George has been responsible for several high-profile crimes but has yet to be identified. He orders Alexander to look into the matter further. He tracks down his previous location with Jeanette, who seems confused and worried about his recent disappearance. Indrahan and his associates plan to try to eliminate Alexander once again. He meets with Alexander at a café and offers to have them work together to locate George and his merchandise, reasoning that Alexander might be cooperative since he didn’t go to the police. He explains that there are a number of potential buyers for the plutonium shipment, but that he wants to limit buyers to himself, the Duchess, and the Frenchman. Alexander flatly refuses to cooperate.
Later, Alexander and Jeanette enjoy some alone-time together. He continues to evade her questions about what he’s getting involved in, and she leaves. One of the Frenchman’s minions tries to ambush and murder Alexander, but he fights him off. The man dies when he accidentally hurls himself off of a cliff trying to attack Alexander. Wallie calls Alexander with further information: several grams of plutonium were stolen from a Spanish research institute that morning, and he wants Alexander to steal it before it comes into port. The police arrive to arrest Alexander for the apparent murder of the henchman; Varina is the one who reports him. He tells them that the death was accidental and he was acting in self-defense, but the police chief decides to keep him in custody, concerned that if the story got out it would impact the city’s tourism. However, Alexander soon uses a ploy to escape from prison, and tracks down Varina. She reveals that the man who died was her brother, and although she didn’t approve of his lifestyle and decisions, she felt obligated to report Alexander. They decide to work together to make his employers, Indrahan and his associates, pay for what they’ve done.
Meanwhile, Indrahan and company decide to allow Alexander to steal the plutonium for them, hoping to secure it without a bidding war. They run into Jeanette, who claims she is working for George, and that she can bring them to him. Alexander and Varina extract information from an odd man at the local harbor records building to determine what ship will be carrying the plutonium. They head out to intercept the ship, and Varina creates a distraction to allow Alexander to sneak aboard undetected. He sees Jeanette having dinner with the three bidders and makes his way towards the plutonium storage compartment, where he slowly and carefully extracts it from the casing in a special container. However, he is caught by Jeanette before he can return to Varina’s boat. Alexander deduces that Jeanette was actually “George” the entire time. She threatens to shoot him but he counters with a threat to drop the plutonium into the ocean, where it would be irrecoverable. They agree to allow him to go free if he leaves the plutonium with them. However, Alexander tricks them by affixing fishing line to the container, dragging it along as Varina drives off with him. He and Varina part ways, and Alexander flees before the local police can arrest him again. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: October 2, 1969 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:51:09
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:85858
- GENRE: Drama, action/adventure
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, action/adventure; Drama, mystery/suspense; Crime and criminals
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1968-1970
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jack Arnold … Executive Producer
- Jeannot Szwarc … Producer, Director
- Mort Zarcoff … Associate Producer
- Glen A. Larson … Associate Producer
- Roland Kibbee … Created by
- Robert I. Holt … Writer
- Benny Golson … Music by
- Dave Grusin … Theme Music by
- Robert Wagner … Cast, Alexander Mundy
- Edward Binns … Cast, Wallie Powers
- Paola Pitagora … Cast, Jeanette Martine
- Peter Sellers … Cast, Man in Harbor Records Office
- Jacques Herlin … Cast, The Frenchman
- Nicoletta Machiavelli … Cast, Varina
- Niké Arrighi … Cast, The Duchess
- Kalam Shamsuddin … Cast, Indrahan
- Callisto Callisti … Cast, Police Lieutenant