The Shadow of the Eagle - The Eagle Strikes - Chapter 03 - Drama - Film-Noir

Mysterious warnings written on the sky by an unknown flyer who calls himself the Eagle are part of a blackmailing plot against the directors of an airplane factory. They have reason to believe that the Eagle is a former member of the flying squadron to which they belong during the war. Nathan Gregory, the man they suspect, is now owner of a small carnival show. Agents of the Eagle have kidnapped Gregory and are holding him prisoner to make it look as if he is hiding from justice. Gregory's daughter Jean, accompanied by the strong man of the carnival show, has discovered her father's whereabouts and is trying to rescue him. Meanwhile, Craig McCoy, stunt flyer with the carnival, is rushing to Jean's aid, pursued by the directors of the airplane company who suspect him of being an accomplice of the Eagle. Quick, Jean, let's beat it. Oh, we can't. Dad's in here. It's locked. Look, we can reach him along the scaffold. Well, that finishes McCoy. Now we'll get Gregory. See if you can squeeze through there, Billy. You'll have to make it a little bigger, Craig. You two bring her along. I'm going to get out with Gregory. Okay. Now what's all this about? These are the men that are holding my father prisoner. He's in that room. Not so fast. You two men come along. We'll look into this mess. Oh, he's gone. The other men must have taken him. Well, Gregory certainly has been here, as she said. Of course he's been here, held prisoner by these two men and another one. Why were you holding Gregory? We were trying to hold him for you. For us? What? What do you mean? We're private detectives. This girl and her father came to us with a scheme that sounded crooked. That's a lie. What was the scheme? They wanted us to help decoy you gentlemen here, so Gregory could trap you. It isn't true. They... Quiet. We've heard your story. Go on. Well, we let the girl phone you, then jumped them, but Gregory got away. It's a mess of lies from beginning to end. My father was brought here a prisoner. I found out where he was and came here with the hope of rescuing him. He's only stunned. You stay here and bring him too. I'll go see what's going on upstairs. I spent half of my life taking care of this thing, Palooza. Well, once more won't hurt you. I swear my story's true, but I have no proof. No more than these men have. Both stories seem to check up, but I don't know which to believe. Come in here. Look what I found. Look at that. Well, this seems to clinch the case against you and your father, Miss Gregory. Where is he? I tell you I don't know. These men have him hidden away to make him appear guilty. Very well. Since you won't talk, I think we'd better call the police. Wait a minute. So you'd cause this girl's arrest on the word of two thugs you've hired to railroad her father to prison? Why, you... Ah, easy, Evans. You're not dealing with a girl now, nor a crippled old man. Why, that's ridiculous. Why should we want to railroad Mr. Gregory? Because you're afraid of what he can tell about you. Afraid he'll tell how you crippled him and stole his invention. You dare accuse me of... Is this for Mr. Evans? For me? Well, that's strange. No one knew I was here. Well, I guess this settles all doubts. It's signed a friend and reads, I dare not tell my name, but Miss Gregory knows where her father is hiding. Is there any answer? The answer is that this young lady is going to police headquarters. Quick, Gene, make a run for it. I'll try and hold them. How are you, Pat? I think I'm all right. Ah, you would be, you big beluga. Hey, Mr. Gregory, wait for us. Frank's in trouble upstairs. Go help him. Well, you're not my father. Help! Help! He's kidnapping Gene. Give me that mortar. Keep those men from following me. Hey, bring that block. A cinch. Well, heave to it. Just haul out a minute. Something's wrong with the car. Maybe a brake's on. Have you got it in gear? Yes, the gear's all right. What's the matter, mister? Won't your car start? Go pen your papers, little boy. Hear those gears all right. Ladies and gentlemen, the Grimes' Miss Gregory Show is now open to the public. You may as well come through, Clark. We know you're the Eagle, and you're not going to get out of here until you clear Mr. Gregory. Clark, he's somewhere. Scatter and search for him. You're not the Eagle. Why are you wearing his disguise? It was the only way that I could get Miss Gregory out of the hands of those men. Why should you want to get her away from them? Because I wanted to compare notes with her, check up on what I myself know about the Eagle. What do you know about the Eagle? I know all about him. I know that he's committing these crimes and lying them on to Gregory. But unfortunately, I can't prove it. Who is it? Whom do you suspect? If I told you, I'd be putting my life in your hands. We won't give you away, Clark. Who is the Eagle? I've seen enough to know that it's a member of our own firm. And the last one that you would suspect, it's, it's Mr. Okay, Major Ellis. Is he? Well, they're trying to frame it on Craig to get him out of the way. He didn't do it. I can prove it. Oh, you can't prove nothing. Your word don't count. If he goes to prison, both he and my father will be convicted. We've got to save him some way. I know, I know. Let me think. What's the meaning of this? Well, what does it look like? She got me to the right and I ain't squat. I done it and I ain't sorry. Where's the gun you shot him with? She's got it. I laid it down so I could frisk him and she slipped up behind me and grabbed it. This seems to clear you. Come on. And miss, you better come to station with me and make a report. Come on. Jane, what does this mean? I know Kelly didn't do it. Your eyes gave you away. He knew they were framing you and did it to clear you. Well, I can't let him make that sacrifice for me. We can prove him innocent whenever necessary. If you go to jail, who will fight father's battle? I don't know, but I certainly can't let... You and I are going to have a talk together privately and you're going to tell me plenty. You can't scare me. You ain't got any gun in that pocket. Are you sure enough to take a chance? Don't forget, I know you tried to hang that killing on me. Okay, you win. Where would we go for the compound? Over there where there's no chance of eavesdroppers. Begins to look as if we've been misjudging Gregory, doesn't it? Why, what do you mean? Clark disguised in Gregory's clothes. It certainly looks as if he is the eagle. I'm trying to make Gregory appear guilty. Well, I... I hate to admit it, but I'm afraid you're right. Yes, Clark was the eagle. Get in there. Start the wheel, Jerry, and keep it going till I tell you to stop. Clark was not the eagle. Why? Why, he's filling Clark's name. I wonder what that means. It means that Clark's been wiped out and he's asking who will be next. You may have something in your pocket that'll tell me the truth. Working for the eagle. Don't go to jail. Message from the eagle. Look, Major Evans. Why, it's McCoy fighting with that stranger. That's no stranger to us. It's our boss. Your boss?