Newspapers from 1936?
All about the Danforth murder case.
You're the private eye.
You must be the dame in trouble.
I don't think you're in any condition to drive.
Of course I can drive.
T.C.? I knew I'd find you here, buddy!
I ain't never seen you before in my life.
- You get away from us. - My father is innocent.
I don't wanna see you till they execute him.
T.C., behind you!
Someone told me once,
with the wisdom of too much beer and not enough sleep...
Always listen to your dreams,
because they're mirrors to your soul and they always tell you the truth.
Hello? Magnum.
Listen, pal, get down here right away. A client.
- Rick, what time is it? - A dame in big trouble.
She just got off the clipper and buzzed on over.
Clipper?
Number, please. Number, please.
What party do you wish, sir?
Nothing. Nothing at all.
Higgins.
Higgins! Higgins!
Lads, avert your eyes.
What the hell did you do to my house?
Magnum, old stick, isn't your attire a trifle bizarre even for you,
even for breakfast?
My underwear!
What happened to my underwear?
Another sordid night with a chorus girl at the Kit Kat Club.
Please stand downwind. I'm sure you reek of cheap rye whiskey.
What is this?
What kind of crazy practical joke...
I? I crazed?
My dear fellow, it is not I ranting about the lawn in my BVDs.
I'd suggest a shower and black coffee.
Okay, okay. Enough's enough.
I can take a joke. See? I'm smiling like a good sport!
In 25 minutes, the members of my croquet club
will arrive for practice and brunch.
Since it's our last opportunity for strategy...
Croquet?
You short-sheet my whole house and you wanna talk about croquet?
With the Depression's unemployment, despite President Roosevelt's efforts...
Sure, good old FDR! I'm with you!
...the chaps decided polo was ostentatious.
So we turned to more proletarian pursuits.
- Everybody was... - Enough, enough!
This is not funny.
Okay. Okay, you croquet your hearts out, but hear this ultimatum.
I-mmediately!
Immediately, I want my furniture,
my phone
and my shorts... back!
A lesson, lads.
Cheap whiskey in this heat can rot the brain.
I know what you're thinking, but I was ahead of you.
Higgins somehow, for some strange reason,
was playing an elaborate, expensive joke.
Since he'd set the stage, I figured I'd read enough Hammett and Chandler
to give him a good performance.
Clearly this situation necessitates a punishing but dazzling sacrifice,
not unlike the Second Battle of the Marne.
Oh, Higgins.
Excuse me just a moment.
I hope this won't be another embarrassing scene.
I, interrupt the Battle of the Marne?
Second Battle of the Marne. After your squalid display...
The Ferrari, where is it, old stick, and I'll be on my way?
What the blazes are you talking about?
You haven't forgotten the automobile?
Just gimme the keys!
Since you insist on leaving it in the ignition,
I though it only prudent to protect Mr. Masters' property.
What...?
Where is it?
It's beautiful, of course.
Well, it should be.
Freshly re-lacquered after you took that shortcut through a cane field.
This the handbrake?
Yes, precisely where it's always been.
I don't think you're in any condition to drive.
Course I can drive!
Yanks.
I could understand Higgins switching the furniture,
the phone, the clothes.
Almost.
But the whole island was different,
as if I'd made a left turn back into my dream.
Where were the highways, the high rises, the people?
Even Higgins couldn't change all that.
There were two possible explanations.
Either I was crazy, in which case I could scream,
or I was still dreaming, in which case I could lie back and enjoy this fantasy.
You're right, it wasn't much of a choice.
It was kinda fun, actually.
I had an appointment at the old King Kamehameha Club 50 years ago
with a dame just off the clipper.
The club turned out to be some kinda place,
with a manager that was vaguely familiar.
Magnum.
Hey, pal, it's about time.
Rick!
Where ya been? There's a dame in trouble.
Dame in trouble? You work here?
Oh, yeah, sure, of course you do.
- Magnum, you okay? - Rick...
do I look different to you?
You look just swell.
Brenda McCutchen, Thomas Magnum.
- You're the private eye. - Private investigator.
You must be the dame in trouble.
- Got an extra beer, Rick? - Yeah, Magnum, coming right up.
It's about my father Hank. He's been...
I know.
He's been accused of murdering Taft Danforth, the construction magnate.
The police are holding him for questioning...
while they continue their investigation.
How... How could you know all of that?
That's what I get paid for, Miss McCutchen.
Did I tell ya, baby, or did I tell ya?
One peach of a detective.
That's what took you so long to get here.
You were out checking... Hey, you okay?
I cut my...
lip.
I'll take care of that.
I'll give that bartender a two-inch neck.
Mr. Magnum, is it terribly painful?
No, it's just...
dreams aren't supposed to bleed.
Taft Danforth told your father he'd shut the company down
rather than let the union in?
Right. He called him names and then he accused him of being a communist.
Daddy was even afraid for his life.
Is that when he started carrying a gun?
I don't know anything about any gun.
Maybe Taft Danforth didn't either. He wound up dead.
Look, if you knew my father, you'd know exactly how ridiculous that is.
He reads classical Greek and he loves Mozart.
He's the gentlest man you'd ever want to meet.
Brenda,
ask yourself the same question the police have been asking your father.
What was he doing in Danforth's house that night?
He swallowed his pride
and he went to appeal to Mr. Danforth one last time.
But he was already dead, slumped there at his desk.
Two minutes later the police arrived.
The police report said your father ran for it.
Well, of course he ran for it. He was set up.
They don't have a gun.
How will they prove murder without a weapon?
Well, the police figure that...
your father hid the gun in the garden...
when they were arriving.
And then ran back inside so they could find him next to the body?
Mr. Magnum!
My father's time is running out.
The Danforths are very wealthy and powerful.
If you're not willing to take them on, I'll find someone who is.
Those of us who loved Taft Danforth in life,
admired his straightforward character
and appreciated his lively aesthetic sensibility,
feel the sharp pain of loss,
but we cannot selfishly grieve.
Not his devoted wife Marion nor his loyal son Drew,
because our God has taught us that, like His own son,
our son has found life everlasting.
Sure this isn't a mistake?
I have nothing to be ashamed of, Mr. Magnum,
and neither does my father.
And I can't let that poor woman think we are so unfeeling
that we can't go over and say how sorry we are for her and her son.
Excuse me. Excuse me, Mrs. Danforth.
I'm sorry for intruding,
but I wanted to tell you how very sorry I am about your husband.
You were acquainted with my husband?
Well, no, ma'am.
My father is Harold McCutchen.
Leave us alone. Hasn't your family done enough to us?
- Brenda, maybe we'd better go. - No, wait.
Look, I just want to make you understand.
My father is innocent.
He could never do anything like this.
Your father...
Your father came to our islands uninvited, unwanted,
and tried to destroy our business with his greedy union.
And, when he failed, he destroyed my husband instead.
He broke into our... home...
and shot my husband through the head.
Get away from us.
I don't wanna see you till the day they execute your father.
We were just leaving.
Drew, I think it'd be wise to find out who that man was back there.
I can't tolerate any problems right now.
If there are any problems, we should eliminate them.
I only wanted to make them understand.
Somehow, I get the feeling that's gonna be pretty tough.
Magnum, I managed to find the newspapers
with the salient details of this tragic story.
You will treat them with great care.
Higgins, I will be careful.
I thought you chaps gave up polo.
I said we had given up on what has come to seem like ostentatious display.
An afternoon canter is eminently civilized. Please take care of those!
I can't explain. I've got this little time problem.
I don't suppose you know the Danforth family.
On this entire island, there are only a few dozen people worth knowing.
Of course I'm acquainted with the Danforths.
Well?
You're asking me to engage in gossip?
Pernicious speculation about the private...
Yes, yes!
I am asking you to tell me everything -- every last detail.
A man's life is at stake here, an innocent man,
and that outweighs any consideration for the Danforth reputation,
living or dead.
Well, since you choose to put it so primitively.
Marion Hubbell was a 25-year-old spinster in the making.
Not an unattractive girl,
but hardly the sort to captivate a dashing rogue like Taft.
Let me guess, her father was filthy rich.
A bank, a plantation and a large construction company,
but no family except Marion.
When Taft wanted to buy the company, Mr. Hubbell accommodated him.
Marion and Taft were married.
In due course, their son Drew was born.
Some would say that's a fair trade-off.
In good conscience, I hasten to add
that no scandal ever touched the Danforths.
They are... were a perfect couple.
One more question.
Is there an air charter service round here?
One wretchedly impoverished outfit.
No doubt engaging it would instantly result in either death or mutilation.
And now, if this interrogation is over,
I have an appointment with a captivating mare.
It took me two hours to find Higgins' wretched little airport.
When I finally got there, I knew I'd never seen it before,
but somehow I knew exactly who'd be there to greet me when I arrived.
I knew I'd find you here, buddy!
Come on, let's go have a drink.
I know you, mister?
Well, sure! Hey, don't you recognize me?
Sorry, sir, I ain't never seen you before in my life.
You okay?
Well, yeah, sure.
I'm fine, I just thought you'd know.
You here to charter a plane? Cause the place is closed.
♪ Ain't nobody's business if I do... ♪
Looks like you take good care of that engine.
You the pilot?
No, I ain't the pilot.
What did you say?
I said, you know I ain't the pilot.
Us coloreds don't fly the planes, we just work on 'em.
You come up here to make fun of me?
Cause if you are, I got work to do.
No. No, I'm just interested in planes, that's all.
Hey, T.C., look,
all I'm asking is for you to have a drink with me
and I'm paying.
So as a favor, a favor for...
an almost friend, would you do this for me?
Mr...?
- Magnum. - Yeah.
Theodore Calvin. You got a place in mind?
The China Terrace.
You're gonna take me to the China Terrace?
Begging your pardon, sir, but you're crazy.
So crazy, I might just go for the fun of it.
♪ Am I blue? ♪
♪ Ain't these tears in these eyes tellin' you? ♪
♪ Am I blue? ♪
♪ You'd be too.. ♪
As it turns out, this was the hottest club in Honolulu
where only the finest people came to dance and drink.
But from the looks we got,
I had the feeling T.C. and I might not be on the A list.
- Good evening, sir. - Hello.
Will we be one tonight?
No, we will be two tonight, thank you.
I'm sorry, sir. You see, our club is...
We're exclusive.
Oh, you mean no lowlife. I should hope not.
No, sir, what I mean is... we're restricted.
I'm sure you understand.
Oh, well, I'm sure Mr. Louis would appreciate that.
He's in training for his next fight and it's essential
that his mental balance not be disturbed.
Mr. Louis? You mean, Joe...?
We'll be in the bar.
If you could steer the lowlife away from us, we'd appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
I'll have a beer. Cup of coffee for my friend here.
How do you know I don't drink?
It's my dream.
♪ Was I gay ♪
♪ Till today? ♪
Thank you.
Well, Mr. Magnum, you may be crazy, but you got style.
♪ Am I blue? ♪
I smell trouble. Come on.
Uh... what about my cup of coffee? My exclusive, restricted cup of coffee.
It can wait.
Yeah, man, but I can't.
Right. You stay here, keep an eye on things.
I'm gonna check on a friend.
For a guy who just got into town, you make friends quick.
You think she'll know who you are?
Everybody else does.
Uh...
He'll be back, friend. I'll watch it for him.
Yes?
You like fresh air?
It gets stale in this place.
This is great.
Lieutenant...
What are you? A cop?
Do I look like a cop?
You don't have flowers, so you're not a fan.
Is that what Drew Danforth was? A fan?
You don't look rich enough to be anything interesting.
You must be a cop.
I'm a private investigator.
You wanna keep your ears attached to your head, don't move.
- Right. - Where's your friend?
- Mr. Magnum. - Mr. Magnum?
He ain't no friend of mine.
I just met him two or three hours ago.
I said, where is he?
I've been working on the murder of Drew's father.
Which is why I was wondering what he was doing here.
The islands are full of rich boys who consider a singer fair game.
They come backstage thinking...
Well... you know...
I'm almost grateful you knocked on my door.
Grateful enough to tell me about... Drew?
I already have.
T.C., behind you!
Stop! I absolutely insist you stop this pugilistic display!
T.C., I can't take you anywhere.
Come on.
Even though T.C. didn't finish his coffee,
I got the feeling he enjoyed himself anyway.
Me, I was just confused.
I had no idea what the three yo-yos
from Taft Danforth's funeral were doing there,
but I'm sure Marion did.
I wished someone'd tell me.
The one thing I knew for certain was
the evening's events would give Brenda and her father
something to smile about.
Hello?
Thomas?
Brenda? What's wrong?
Marion Danforth has made a positive identification of my father's voice.
She said he was the man she heard shouting at her husband
just before he was shot.
- She was there at the house? - Yes.
The DA's decided he's going to prosecute my father
for first-degree murder.
Someone once said, "Living well is the best revenge."
If that's true, Mrs. Danforth had gotten more than her share, a lot more.
I got in by convincing a maid and two butlers I was a long-lost cousin.
I know, it's an old trick,
but 50 years ago, it was still pretty fresh.
Strange...
I don't see a family resemblance,
but then no one in my family was ever arrested for breaking and entering.
Maybe I'm here to re-finish the furniture.
Your butler said you were out.
He's so very protective.
Like your chauffeur and his two pals?
I won't even pretend to know what that means.
Thank you.
They did their best to take me apart at the China Terrace.
Their best doesn't seem to have been good enough, does it?
You're not surprised to see me?
Very surprised to see you at the funeral.
Now you're like an old friend -- an unwanted old friend.
Do you work for my husband's murderer?
Did these things work with fluid?
- I beg your pardon? - Oh, I'm sorry.
My name is Thomas Magnum. I'm a private investigator.
I just dropped by to search your garden for the missing gun.
You haven't seen it?
It's a very large garden.
Perhaps the thief took it.
While we were at the funeral, someone broke into Taft's desk.
Oh, really? What did he take?
My husband's desk was private.
And since you didn't know what was in it,
you couldn't know what was missing.
When I was at school, I was very unpopular.
For some reason, the other girls hated me.
It's given me a certain... independence later in life.
I'll come to the point.
How much is it going to cost me
to make you go away and stop this harassment?
How about $10,000?
It seems like a fair price for a wealthy widow to pay for peace of mind.
My lawyer will send you a check in the morning.
Tell him not to bother.
I just wanted to see if you'd pay it.
Take my advice.
Cut back on your smoking. Turns out it's harmful to your health.
- What's the matter? - Oh, it's my head.
I'm so tired.
Would you mind awfully if I went to bed?
No, not a bit.
Oh, gosh, I guess most of the gang is and I'm no different than any of the rest.
I think you'd know enough by now when to leave the girl alone.
It'll be hard enough getting Laura married.
- Thank you for coming. - I don't wanna get Laura married.
- Popcorn? - Shh.
Any of our children married.
It's real butter.
And you can get to your seat without your feet sticking to the floor.
I called you when I heard they'd charged that poor man with murder.
I know he's innocent.
The thought just suddenly came to you, huh?
The night Taft died, my house was broken into, torn apart.
They didn't find what they were looking for.
You just called Danforth by his first name.
We were lovers for almost three years.
He wrote me love letters, even signed papers so I'd have money.
Is that why his son came to see you?
Taft was going to divorce his wife.
Marisa...
they're always going to divorce their wives.
Taft was.
He had a reason.
I'm pregnant with his child.
Tell me about the papers that he signed.
They have a cottage at Kahana Bay.
Taft and I...
we spent time there.
That's where I hid the papers.
Can we get them?
Meet me tonight at this address. I'll take you there.
Oh, what a pity.
And the baby coming any time now.
Keep it up, old girl.
You just might have a future as an actress.
No, no, no, no.
I know you're a terrific pilot. I can tell by just looking at you.
Go on, tell me the truth. You've been flying on the sly.
Well... so what if I have, maybe once or twice?
- See, I knew it! - I haven't got no license.
You're asking me to steal a plane?
Borrow. No one will know the difference.
Fly and land on a pile of sand or rock in the middle of nowhere?
Yeah, it's better than a runway.
Just saying it makes my skin crawl.
- I know you can do it. - The cost.
Hey, gas all the way out there would cost at least a buck, easy.
Gas money.
I was just getting around to that. I'll pay for gas.
Yeah, same way you paid for that drink?
You know, something has been telling me to leave this man alone.
- This time, I'm listening. - No, no, wait, wait, wait.
Hold on a minute. I'll make a deal with you.
Just go with me to Marisa's. No obligation.
If you're not genuinely moved by her story, go home.
- No hard feelings. - No hard feelings?
None. Now, what harm can it do?
Harm? We'll get arrested for trespassing. She ain't home.
She probably just fell asleep. Come on.
What's with this "come on"?
Hey, this is as far as I'm goin'.
Hey, you hear me?
Mr. Magnum, what's going on? I'm starting to sound as crazy as he is.
Mr. Magnum, what's going... on?
She's dead, T.C. They shot her and left her for me to find.
Oh, my goodness.
Mr. Magnum, come on.
Somebody else is about to find her and us, too.
We can't just leave her. No!
Come on, come on.
You go. I'll talk to the police.
Man, can't you see you been set up?
Somebody killed her and called the cops.
They'll nail you for this as sure as daybreak.
Now, come on!
Mr. Magnum, come on, we got a plane to get ready.
The sound of that single-engine
was as sweet as T.C.'s chopper in Nam on a rescue mission.
I knew he could make the landing at Kahana Bay
just like I knew I could count on him.
Some things are timeless.
You stay here.
If I'm not back within an hour, leave without me and get some help.
Oh, and, T.C., thanks a lot... for everything.
Just like old times!
The Danforth cottage at Kahana Bay
was right out of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
I half expected to see Marisa and her lover
sipping mint juleps and enjoying the sunset.
But after what happened to Marisa,
I was just as happy not to see anyone at all.
You know, it's funny about dreams.
I'd never seen the Danforth cottage,
but somehow I knew exactly where Marisa had hidden those papers.
Magnum.
I know what you've got there. Just put it on the step... slowly.
This is none of your business, Magnum, any of it.
It's certainly not worth dying for.
Or worth killing for?
It's a family affair.
I know, it's all about family honor and dishonor.
- You don't know anything. - But I can guess.
They didn't find a gun 'cause you took it with you after you shot your father.
Your mother waited for McCutchen to show up and called the cops.
- Like you said, guesses. - You murdered Marisa.
With your father dead, there was no divorce,
but with Marisa and her baby dead,
there was no ugly scandal and no heir.
That baby... would've been a bastard half-breed, not a Danforth.
Was it your idea or did your mother talk you into it?
- Leave her out of this. - What was hardest for her?
The idea of divorce, the thought of another woman, or was it the baby?
Just put the papers on the step there, Magnum.
Don't have them.
Too bad.
Magnum!
Magnum.
Thomas, buddy, you planning on sleeping the day away?
Get right down here.
- What's going on? - Your client's looking for you.
I can't stall her forever, pal.
Magnum?
Hello in there.
Are you decent?
"Decent" probably isn't the proper word. It implies moral judgment.
"Presentable" would be more appropriate.
No bullet hole!
No bullet hole, Higgins!
I say, Magnum, are you all right?
Sneakers!
Sneakers, Higgins!
No more cream-and-tans!
No more baggy underwear!
No great white suit either, but that's okay.
- Magnum... Magnum... - I had this dream...
I came in here to pick up these newspapers which I borrowed
- from the university archives... - Newspapers?
And which you promised to treat with the respect due historic documents.
Newspapers from 1936?
- All about the Danforth murder case! - Are you all right?
I was reading these when I went to bed! By God, I did just dream it all!
You're not all right.
I have some black coffee left over from breakfast. I'll heat it up for you.
The trouble with dreams
is you can't tell what in them is reality and what's fantasy.
My subconscious had been working overtime on the case
and maybe, just maybe had figured it out... maybe.
There was only one sure way to find out.
Rick. I'm sorry.
Thomas, buddy, it's about time.
It's a long story, but I think I got good news for you, Cassie,
about your grandfather.
Thomas, look, it's okay.
You don't have to make any excuses to me.
This was probably an impossible case to solve in the time that you had.
No, wait, I mean it.
When your mother hired me to save your grandfather, I start...
- Thomas, are you okay? - I'm fine. I'm fine.
I've been so wrapped up in trying to clear Hank's name
that when I went to sleep...
You're exhausted, completely exhausted.
Thomas, I'm sorry, all of this is my fault because I pressured you into doing this
because I only had enough money to stay for a week.
What I'm trying to explain is that while I was sleeping,
my mind must've still been working on the case
because it sort of came to me who really killed Danforth.
You dreamed it? I said you were a great investigator, but you dreamed the solution?
Of course not. Well, not exactly. See, actually, I did have this dream.
Whatever it was, I know.
Who? What's your proof?
That's the only problem. I don't have the proof yet.
Mr. Danforth, Thomas Magnum.
Magnum? I'm afraid I don't know any Thomas Magnum.
I'm a private investigator, Drew.
Hank McCutchen's granddaughter hired me to help clear his name.
Well, in that case, she's wasting her money and your time.
Do you know how many left-wingers, labor people and liberals
have tried to prove that McCutchen did not kill my father?
They failed
because McCutchen was as guilty as sin.
So, if you don't mind...
Well, see, I've got something they didn't have.
Marisa.
Marisa?
The letters your father wrote her,
the papers he signed for her, I know where they are.
In the old cottage your family used to keep.
I just thought that you might be interested in buying them back.
I was certain Drew would remember the cottage.
There were things I wasn't certain about --
whether it was still standing after 40 years and, if it was,
whether the papers Taft had signed were still there.
Or more importantly, whether they'd ever been there
or anywhere except in my dream.
Down there?
You want me to take you down there? There's no place to land down there.
Yes, there is. Right over the next ridge.
- You been here before? - We both have.
You're crazy. I ain't been here before.
T.C., trust me.
This time, if I don't come back, don't you dare leave.
My heart was pounding, my hands were sweating.
My mind was telling me there was nothing there,
but my gut told me something else.
Magnum?
Hello, Drew, it's been a long time.
How do you know me? How do you know about this place?
Oh, I know a lot more about you than you think.
You want a sample?
After you murdered your father,
you searched Marisa's house for these.
When they weren't there, you broke into your father's desk looking for 'em.
Ruined the locks, scratched it all up. Too bad. Such a nice piece...
That's enough.
The papers, put them on the step.
Magnum!
Hold it.
Sorry, I only let people kill me once.
You can tell me now.
How did you know the papers would be there,
or that Danforth would come out there, or that he shot the singer?
Or that crazy old man would miss you when he shot at you?
- It was all in my... - No, no, no!
Don't start with that dreaming stuff.
- Just tell the truth. We're your pals. - Yeah, that's right.
Okay.
See, a private investigator has to take chances.
He has to rely on instincts, make gut decisions.
When I had all the facts, I realized there was only one possible decision
that could satisfy my special intuition.
Okay?
I knew it, I knew it.
You are the best.
Yeah, I know, a peach of a detective.
You bought that? Man, he ain't that good. Come on.
Maybe every dream in paradise
doesn't have a happy ending, but this one did.
For a good man, for Cassie McCutchen and for me.
The dream had been so real,
I wasn't sure I could switch back to reality,
but Higgins and the guys were the same,
the sun was shining, the wind was cool.
Things were back to normal in paradise.