Opening titles. |
Callan (1967) The Good Ones Are All Dead Written by James Mitchell Directed by Toby Robertson |
Callan - Edward Woodward Hunter - Ronald Radd Meres - Anthony Valentine Lonely - Russell Hunter Stavros - Powys Thomas Jeanne - Linda Marlowe Avram - Tom Kempinski Berg - David Lander Secretary - Lisa Langdon |
Opening titles. |
Hunter plays Callan an old film clip of a Nazi officer during World War II. |
The Good Ones Are All Dead opens with
Hunter and Callan watching an old Wartime film of a Nazi officer. Callan insists he has left the section. Callan says he still worries about the people he killed. Hunter insists Callan does another job for him involving the Nazi, but Callan refuses. |
Callan starts to leave, but Hunter shows
Callan his file, and he is appalled to discover it has a red cover. |
Callan is appalled to discover his file has a red cover. |
Hunter threatens to have Callan destroyed. |
Hunter warns Callan that he must do the
job or Hunter will have him destroyed. Callan is angry but he gives in. |
Callan is forced to listen as Hunter talks
about Stavros. Hunter offers Callan the file, but Callan refuses to look at it. Hunter tells Callan that Stavros, a businessman coming to London, is really the Nazi with a new identity. Hunter has done a deal to hand him over to the Israelis, and he wants Callan to watch him until the Israelis arrive to collect him. Callan keeps arguing that he doesn't work for Hunter anymore. |
Hunter wants Callan to look at the dossier on Stavros. |
Callan threatens to kill Hunter. |
Callan's parents were killed by a V2 rocket
during the War, and Hunter reminds him of this. Stavros was in charge of labour during the construction of the V2s, and Hunter makes Callan watch an old film of the rockets. Stavros needs a bookkeeper and Callan will get the job. Callan tells Hunter that if Hunter orders him killed, he will get Hunter first. |
Meres recognises Callan's marksmanship at
the shooting range and questions Callan's role with the section. Meres tells Hunter he doesn't like Callan and wonders what fate is in store for Callan after the Stavros job is completed. Hunter is noncommittal. |
Hunter and Meres discuss Callan. |
Stavros introduces Callan to Jeanne. |
Stavros shows Callan, his new bookkeeper,
into his office, and introduces him to his secretary Jeanne. Stavros shows Callan to his new desk. |
Stavros refers to Jeanne as the perfect
secretary who even worries about his health. Jeanne seems reserved towards Callan. Callan is to start work the next day, and, as he is leaving, Stavros tells him to smarten himself up. A slightly perturbed Callan looks down at his clothes. Alone in the vestibule, Callan surveys the wealth on display and is also impressed with the quality of Stavros's woman, who is clearly more than a secretary to him. |
Stavros pays Jeanne compliments. |
Stavros tells Jeanne how precious she is to him. |
Jeanne tells Stavros she doesn't like
Callan, and that he dresses poorly. Stavros speculates about why Jeanne professes to dislike Callan but Jeanne is adamant that she finds something about him disturbing. |
Avram, the Israeli agent, meets Callan at a
sideshow shooting gallery where Callan is using a rifle. Callan tells Avram he is sceptical that Stavros is really the Nazi in question. Avram is unimpressed with Callan's attitude. Avram says he has brought a witness, a man who knew the Nazi very well, and who will be able to identify Stavros. Avram makes a point of rubbing Callan the wrong way. |
Callan is approached by Avram at a sideshow shooting gallery. |
Stavros pockets tickets for Covent Garden. |
Back in the office, Callan compliments
Stavros on the high standard of his bookkeeping. Jeanne gives Stavros their two tickets for box seats at a Covent Garden opera. Callan makes a mental note of the details. |
Stavros and Jeanne leave the office and
Stavros gives Callan a friendly good-bye. Stavros has to remind Jeanne to do the same but she is unfriendly towards Callan. |
Stavros and Jeanne leave Callan alone in the office. |
Callan telephones Hunter. |
Once he is sure they have gone,
Callan rings Hunter. |
Callan guesses Meres is listening in on the
line and makes a crack about Meres being out of prison. Callan tells Hunter about Stavros's box seats at the opera, and about Avram and the man who can identify Stavros. Callan tells Hunter that Avram doesn't like him and that it's bad for the job. Hunter says he will have a word with Avram. Callan is still sceptical that Stavros is the Nazi. |
Meres is rankled by a dig from Callan. |
Callan picks the lock of a jewellery box. |
Callan breaks into Stavros's bedroom which
is across the hall. He searches the room on his own account, looking for evidence to satisfy himself that Stavros is the Nazi. |
He searches a conventional closet and
wonders why Stavros seems to have so little clothing. Continuing with the search he discovers a huge vault with doors that his lock-picking tools cannot open. He looks the vault over for the name of the manufacturer and writes down the details, then leaves the bedroom. |
Callan searches Stavros's wardrobe. |
Meres meets with Avram and Berg. |
Meres enters a cafe to meet with
Avram, the Israeli agent, and Berg, the man who can identify the Nazi. |
Meres tells Avram about the arrangements for
Berg to get a chance to observe Stavros. Meres gives Avram a couple of opera tickets for the same box as the one Stavros and Jeanne will be sitting in. Avram and Berg will attend. Meres wants to know why Avram has been quarrelling with Callan. Avram tells Meres that Callan annoys him, to which Meres responds that Callan annoys everybody, but that he is a damned good operator. Meres makes the point that although he personally detests Callan, Callan is good at the job. |
Meres tells Avram about the plan for observing Stavros. |
Berg is emotional over the possibility of seeing Stavros again. |
Berg becomes emotional. He is anxious for
Stavros, if he is the Nazi, to be identified and brought to trial. It has been 23 years since Berg last saw the Nazi, and he still fears him. Meres belittles Berg's feelings. |
At the opera house, Avram and Berg enter
the box early. Stavros and Jeanne have not arrived yet. At home, Callan sits at a table working on his model soldiers. He switches his radio on to catch the broadcast of the opera, and goes back to work on his models as he listens. |
Callan works on his model soldiers. |
Berg and Avram take their seats at the Covent Garden opera. |
Berg and Avram take their seats.
Avram seems anxious. |
There is a knock at Callan's door. It is
Lonely who has responded to a message from Callan. Callan criticises Lonely's body odour and Lonely tells him the problem is psychosomatic. Callan tells Lonely to get him a gun, which makes Lonely very nervous. He mentions the Noguchi he had already obtained for Callan, but Callan says he had to get rid of it. Callan shows Lonely a picture of the vault and Lonely recognises the brand. Callan wants Lonely to get him a blank key for it. |
Callan asks Lonely to get him a blank key for a vault. |
Callan persuades Lonely to co-operate. |
Curiously, Lonely is even more worried
about getting caught with a blank key for such a vault than with a gun. Lonely is very reluctant to co-operate, but Callan threatens him and he agrees. |
Just as he is leaving, Lonely asks Callan
for £200 in advance. Callan gives him the money, and takes one more opportunity to manhandle Lonely and threaten him again. |
Lonely asks for cash in advance. |
Jeanne and Stavros listen to the opera. |
In the box at the opera, Berg and Avram,
seated behind Jeanne and Stavros, have seen enough, and they leave. The two of them arrive at Callan's flat and he lets them in. |
Berg goes straight to a chair and sits
down and Callan offers him a drink. Berg readily accepts. He pours one for Avram but Avram says he doesn't drink, so Callan has it instead. Berg has no doubt Stavros is the former Nazi officer who terrifies him. Callan is still unconvinced, which is upsetting Avram. Callan wants Berg to convince him of why he is so sure Stavros is their man. |
Callan pours Berg a drink. |
Avram makes an aggressive move towards Callan but is stopped in his tracks. |
Avram wants Callan to stop questioning Berg
and says he is giving Callan an order. Callan responds by taunting him in German, and Avram comes at him to attack. He is stopped by a quick reaction from Callan and reconsiders such a course of action. |
The doorbell rings and it is Meres. Callan
and Meres engage in some repartee at the threshold. Meres has hardly entered the room before Avram is complaining to him that Callan insulted him. Meres wants to know what's going on. Callan tells him that Berg says Stavros is the Nazi, but Callan wants to know what makes Berg so sure. He gets a chair and sits down close to Berg. |
Callan lets Meres into his flat. |
Callan wants Berg to convince him of Stavros's true identity. |
Callan, demonstrating a little more
tenderness than usual, asks Berg why he is so sure. Berg describes his involvement with the Nazi officer during the War, and it is these intimate recollections that finally convince Callan that Berg would know the Nazi if he saw him. Now Avram wants to know how they are going to get Stavros to Israel, and Meres tells him the plan. They will nab Stavros the following night and Callan is to set it up. |
Lonely meets Callan for lunch. He has
brought with him the items Callan wanted. Lonely is very nervous about providing Callan with a gun. |
Lonely joins Callan for lunch. |
Callan threatens Lonely. |
Callan warns Lonely that if he tells anyone
he got Callan a gun, Callan will kill him. |
Stavros is on the phone and Jeanne is
typing when Callan returns to work. In the process of hanging up his coat, he lifts a pocketbook from Stavros's coat, makes an impression of Stavros's key to the vault, then returns the pocketbook, with Jeanne and Stavros none the wiser. Once off the phone, Stavros enquires if Callan had a good lunch, but Jeanne snaps that Callan is late back. Stavros has to go out for the rest of the day, leaving Callan alone with Jeanne in the office. |
Stavros discusses business with a potential client. |
Jeanne attempts to strike Callan but he blocks the blow. |
There is tension on Jeanne's part, and she
tries to explain her affection for Stavros. Callan twists it into innuendo and Jeanne attempts to strike him, but he deflects it. |
Jeanne leaves the office and Callan unwraps
the parcel from Lonely. He picks up the revolver and proceeds to load it from the box of ammunition while calling Hunter on the telephone. |
Jeanne is helpless in the face of Callan's taunt. |
Meres listens in on Hunter's conversation with Callan. |
Callan speculates that Hunter is so sure
Stavros is the former Nazi because a little blonde bird told him. With Meres listening in on the conversation, Callan reminds Hunter that he will kill him if he pushes him too far, and tells him now he has the means to do it, meaning the gun. Meres thinks Callan could actually do it, and suggests to Hunter that after the current job, he should "take care of" Callan, but Hunter says no. |
At the door of the vault in Stavros's
bedroom, Callan files the key blank to fit the lock. He succeeds in opening the vault and finds a metal trunk. Breaking into the trunk, he finds photographs of the Nazi officer, the uniform, a German pistol (which he unloads), a Party card, and other items that prove Stavros is the Nazi. |
Callan shapes a key to fit Stavros's vault. |
Callan returns Stavros's trunk to the vault. |
The jackets hanging in the vault have
potassium cyanide studs at the collar so as to enable the wearer to commit suicide. Callan hears someone returning and he hurriedly packs up the trunk and returns it to the vault. He re-locks the vault and collects up his breaking and entering tools. |
Callan leaves the bedroom. He has only
just pulled the door shut when Jeanne appears behind him and asks what he is doing. He tries to cover up, but he has been caught by surprise and is not convincing. Jeanne asks him why he is here, and tells him he doesn't look much like a bookkeeper. |
Jeanne catches Callan red-handed at the door of the bedroom. |
Jeanne returns to the office to confront Callan. |
Callan returns to the office and Jeanne
goes into the bedroom. On the floor she notices one of Callan's small tools. She returns to the office and hands it to him, telling him he dropped it. |
With Jeanne perched on the edge of a couch,
Callan phones Hunter and tells him he has been rumbled by her. Hunter remarks that Callan is getting rusty, but Callan believes that Jeanne knew someone was coming, and that she was the one who put Hunter onto Stavros. Callan describes to Hunter what he found, like the books bound in skin and the gold fillings, and his descriptions visibly upset Jeanne. Hunter asks if that is all Callan found, and Callan adds the gun, but does not mention the poison studs on the jackets. |
Callan tells Hunter he has been found out by Jeanne. |
Callan orders Jeanne to stay put. |
Hunter orders Callan not to use his gun, as
they want Stavros alive, but Callan says that's up to Stavros. Callan says that Stavros will be back about six, and that they can pick him up when they like. Hunter says Meres is on his way, but Callan wants Meres to keep out of the way till he gives the signal. He wants Avram kept out of the way altogether. Callan and Jeanne have a disturbing conversation about Stavros, then Callan hears a noise and he tells Jeanne to stay where she is. |
Callan draws his gun and catches Avram
coming out of the office. Callan wants to know what the hell Avram is doing. Avram is ignoring his brief and wants to interfere. He wants to see the evidence and he demands to see Jeanne. Callan tells Avram he has had his instructions and to wait outside. |
Callan catches Avram coming out of Stavros's office. |
Avram is incapacitated by a strike from Callan. |
Avram says he is also giving instructions
and he orders Callan to let him see Jeanne, but Callan refuses. Avram attempts to see her anyway, and Callan blocks his path. He threatens Callan, then tries to push Callan aside. Callan deals him a debilitating body blow. From the window Callan sees Meres arrive in a car and tells Avram to go down and wait. Callan will flash the bedroom lights when he is ready for them to come up to get Stavros. |
Down in the street Stavros arrives in
a Black Cab, and Meres reports this to section headquarters. Avram is in the back of Meres' car. |
Meres reports to headquarters. |
Stavros finds Jeanne lying on the bed. |
Stavros finds Jeanne lying down in the
bedroom and asks if she is all right. She tells him she has a headache and he starts talking about a holiday they should take. It is plain she is in turmoil. Stavros gives her another expensive gift, but she protests. She tells him Callan is a thief, that she believes he has been in the bedroom, and that he has a gun. |
This news is bad enough, but she also makes
a confession involving her and Callan, and Stavros hits her. However, he is immediately contrite. Stavros knows something big is up, and he tells Jeanne to take her jewels and leave for the airport to get a flight to Cairo, where he will join her. |
Stavros is angry. |
Jeanne's flight is interrupted by Meres. |
Still unaware that Jeanne knows about his
Nazi past, Stavros implies people are after him because of shady business deals. He tells Jeanne to hurry. He tells her he loves her, before bundling her out of the room. After she has left, Stavros goes to his vault. In the street, Jeanne's path is blocked by Meres. |
Meres orders Jeanne to get into the car.
She takes a moment to size him up, then decides to do as she is told. |
Jeanne has little choice but to obey Meres. |
Stavros telephones Callan. |
From the window, Callan watches Jeanne get
into the back of Meres' car, then the office telephone behind him rings. It is Stavros, who asks Callan to step into the bedroom. Callan knows something is up and it takes a great effort of will for him to leave his gun behind in the office, as per Hunter's orders, but against his better judgement. |
He braces himself and goes across to meet
Stavros. Stavros, wearing one of the Nazi uniform jackets, appears behind Callan and points the gun from the trunk at him. Stavros says he must kill Callan, but when it comes to the crunch he cannot do it. Stavros allows Callan to take his gun, but then Callan reveals he had already removed the cartridges from it anyway. |
Stavros wants to shoot Callan. |
Stavros apologises. |
Callan and Stavros discuss his true identity,
and the fact that he is wanted for mass murder in several countries, although it is Israel that has claimed him. This news hardly pleases Stavros. He tries to offer Callan money, in vain. Stavros insists that for 23 years he has not harmed a living soul, man or animal, and that Strauss (his original identity) is dead, and he is now Stavros. Stavros wants them all to know he is sorry, to the depths of his soul. |
Stavros tries to bite into the poison stud
on his collar, but Callan catches him in time and stops him from killing himself. He tells Stavros "they" want him alive. Stavros begs Callan to let him do away with himself. Callan says the Israelis want Stavros alive, and it doesn't matter what he thinks. |
Callan prevents Stavros from poisoning himself. |
Callan listens to Stavros's pleading. |
Stavros makes an impassioned and convincing
case for why he is no longer the monster he was. He talks lovingly of Jeanne but Callan tells him it was Jeanne who discovered the truth about him and informed the authorities, which sends Stavros into a rage of denial. |
In a moment of madness, Stavros attacks
Callan and tries to strangle him, but he is no match for Callan, and Callan drops him, writhing in pain, to the ground. Stavros asks again about Jeanne and is devastated to discover what he has put her through. Callan gives the signal for the pick-up. Stavros speaks of his just desserts and his redemption, which finally moves Callan enough to make him betray his orders. |
Stavros speaks of his own destruction and redemption. |
Stavros dies at Callan's feet. |
Callan, his emotions highly strung, gives
Stavros another jacket from the vault. Stavros thanks him and bites into the cyanide, and, after a short cry of agony, dies almost immediately. |
Callan is dialling the section's number as
Avram, responding to the pre-arranged signal, appears in the doorway to pick up Stavros. Avram sees the body and inspects it, then begins bitterly insulting Callan. Avram storms out as Hunter comes onto the line. Callan informs Hunter that he won't want Stavros now as he has killed himself. |
Callan telephones Hunter as Avram arrives. |
A distraught Callan helps himself to the dead man's booze. |
A distraught Callan steps over Stavros's
body and closes the doors to the room behind him as he leaves. He goes to Stavros's bar and helps himself to a drink. |