Journey to the Unknown Ep 03 1/4
14:53
Matakitas is Coming Original Air Date — November 28, 1968
Tags: Journey to the Unknown
Added: 4 months ago
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[in the research department of the Baker Publications office building, criminal journalist June Wiley and her colleague Robert are discussing a murder case that she plans to write about]
ROBERT: You've researched probably more murders for this magazine than anybody ... Have you ever come across the perfect murder?
JUNE: Well, it depends on what you'd call the perfect murder.
ROBERT: Well, perfect for the murderer, of course. So that he got away with it, and wasn't even frightened that he might be caught.
JUNE: [pause] Yes, I supppose I have.
ROBERT: For instance?
JUNE: Well, I don't know. If I knew, it wouldn't be a perfect murder, would it? I mean, the perfect murder is something that doesn't really appear to be a murder at all ... and then there are other kinds of perfection.
ROBERT: What other kinds?
JUNE: Well, a perfectly satisfying murder, for example.
ROBERT: Satisfying? To whom?
JUNE: Well, certainly not to the victim ... although I'm sure there are those, too. It's kind of, um, an adventurer murderer. A man who gets a certain amount of thrill out of exposing himself to danger.
ROBERT: Oh, "I'm cleverer than the police." That sort of thing?
JUNE: Mmm, it's kind of like your crazy mountain climbing. I mean, you have to be a little mad to do that sort of thing.
ROBERT: Well yes, but not criminally mad ... Uh, June, there's something I wanted to ask you.
JUNE: Listen, if you're going to stand around taking up my time gossiping, the least you can do is help me sort this out.
[he starts leafing through one of the piles of paper on the desk]
ROBERT: Ooh look, female sleuths ... I thought you were the only female who was interested in murders.
JUNE: Oh, I'd say there were as many women as there are men, probably more ... Does that bother you?
ROBERT: Just doesn't seem right that women should be interested in this sort of thing ...
[he continues reading the paper]
ROBERT: Ooh, I remember this one, this was disgusting! Uh, "a macabre discovery in Stepney last night" ... Uh, "the body of Jill Farrah found in a garden shed." This is the one where they found the girl's left hand in the garage!
JUNE: Hmm no, it was her right hand, and it was in a suitcase ... in the garage.
ROBERT: Oh, it's a mere detail ... Uh, y'know, you should do an article on this. "The Harvest Murders!" Good story!
JUNE: Yes, but if you look a little further, you'll find that they found additional evidence it was a simple suicide pact.
ROBERT: Another mere detail ... And, speaking of details! Uh miss, where do you expect to be on the night of the 19th of September?
JUNE: Tonight? I expect to be having dinner and going to the cinema with my fiance.
ROBERT: Wrong.
JUNE: Wrong?
ROBERT: I have arranged for you to go to the head of the line and spend two whole hours in the research library with all the microfilm you want!
JUNE: Robert, you haven't! How clever of you! Oh, can we possibly make it tomorrow night, though?
ROBERT: I'm sorry, love, it's tonight or never. It wasn't easy to arrange, y'know, I had to give myself body and soul to a rather plain lady librarian.
JUNE: What am I going to say to Kenneth? I can't stand him up again ... Well, I'm going to be meeting him in a few minutes, and he's just gonna have to be brave. The most he can do is break our engagement.
[she gets up and starts to leave]
ROBERT: Well, that was part of my plan.
[she laughs as she gets her coat]
JUNE: And what's the other part?
ROBERT: You'll find that out if I'm not rewarded for services rendered.
JUNE: Ah, two lumps of sugar in your coffee ...
[she leaves]
[...]
[June meets her fiance Ken Talbot inside a restaurant]
JUNE: Darling, I'm terribly sorry, but I do have to get back to the library. I have a ton of things to do if I'm gonna finish these articles, I won't even have time to eat! Now, they're reserving some back newspaper files for me and I don't know if I'll ever get them again.
KEN: What about the movie? It starts at nine o'clock.
JUNE: I can be through by then. Tell you what, I'll meet you there, okay?
[he suddenly gets a cold look in his eyes, and puts his hands (gently) around her throat]
KEN: Who shall I kill? Is a knife better than a gun? I mean, a knife is quieter, but you have to come closer to your victim.
[she gets a concerned look on her face]
JUNE: What're you talking about?
KEN: Of course, a gun gives you great power. It isolates the killer from the victim, and it leaves your hands clean afterwards.
JUNE: Stop it ...
KEN: Course, there's no death penalty in England now. Not for murder, anyway. Just prison for life ... which means that you will have to visit me every weekend for twenty years.
[he smiles and kisses her, as June laughs]
JUNE: You fool, be serious!
KEN: I am serious! If I were one of your cases, I'd see you far more often than I do ...
JUNE: Now that's not fair and you know it! I have three more weeks to finish these articles, then I promise you I'll take a long vacation.
KEN: I know, darling. I just hope that it will really happen.
JUNE: See you tonight, at the Apollo, at a quarter to nine, okay?
[she gets up and leaves]
KEN: And don't be late! If you're not there, I'll go in without you ...
[cut to the inside of the library, as June is using the microfilm reader when she stops on a newspaper article with the headline "Bromford Murders - Man Held for Trial" ... she then moves on to another article with the headline "Andros Matakitas Remanded in Central Criminal Court"]
TRACY: [from off camera] Don't you ever get tired of this grisly business?
[startled at first, she smiles as the camera pans over to reveal it is the young female librarian who has been assisting her]
JUNE: What've you got?
TRACY: More blood and thunder ...
[she hands her a stack of books]
JUNE: Good!
TRACY: What're you gonna call this morbid epic of yours?
JUNE: I dunno, I was thinking "Unusual Crimes of the Past" ...
TRACY: Does it ever bother you? All this gore?
JUNE: Oh, you get case-hardened ... Did you know there was a young girl murdered right here in this library?
TRACY: No, when?
JUNE: Yes, back in the twenties. I was just reading about it.
[she points to the article in the microfilm reader]
JUNE: Look, here it is ... "Andros Matakitas was today remanded in custody for trial at the Central Criminal Court, charged with the murder of four women. Among his victims was Sylvia Hahlen, a young librarian at Bromford Central Library, where Matakitas is employed as a caretaker. Sylvia Hahlen's body was discovered by a cleaner in the early hours of the morning of September 20th. The savage mutilation of the bodies of all four women Matakitas is accused of murdering has created nationwide public outrage."
TRACY: Yuck, that's enough for me! See you later ...
[she leaves as June continues looking over the microfilm, when a shadowy figure is seen outside of the doorway ... Oblivious to its presence behind her, June looks at another article with a picture of Matakitas, then the camera cuts to the doorway to reveal that the same man is standing outside and closing the door]
JUNE: [to herself] "Matakitas To Hang ... Matakitas was found guilty by the jury on the charge of murdering Sylvia Hahlen, a twenty four year old librarian. He also stood accused of the murder of three other women."
[she turns to another article with the headline "Murderer Berates Judge and Jury"]
JUNE: [to herself] "Andros Matakitas, convicted murderer of four women, was sentenced to death today at the Old Bailey after making a chilling statement, which shocked a packed courtroom."
[cut to a flashback of the courtroom proceedings]
JUDGE: Andros Matakitas, you stand convicted of a series of crimes which must certainly rank among the most horrendous perpetrated within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court. The brutal and senseless murder of four women. I sincerely pray that I may never again be required to hear the details of such acts ... Have you anything to say before I pass sentence upon you?
MATAKITAS: These women ... These women you speak of. They were the chosen. Brides for the Prince of Darkness!
[the assembled crowd buzzes at this statement]
BAILIFF: Silence!
MATAKITAS: Now you will kill me for this? It is you who commit wrong, not I! I did nothing but obey the commands of my almight protector!
JUDGE: For the sake of your immortal soul, I beg that you do not compound the evil you have done with this blasphemy!
MATAKITAS: Blasphemy? You speak of blasphemy? Fool! You do not know what you are saying! My master has spoken to me, and I, I am his instrument on Earth!
[he looks towards the jury]
MATAKITAS: But take care ... What you are about to do to me in this court cannot be undone! For what I have done, there is the devil's dispensation!
[cut back to June in the library]
JUNE: [to herself] "The devil's dispensation" ...
[she looks at another article, with the headline "Matakitas Dies on Scaffold"]
JUNE: [whispers] "Screams defiance and the devil's revenge to the end" ...
[she suddenly hears a loud buzzing noise]
JUNE: Oh, closing time already!
[she runs out into the next room and finds a different young female librarian sitting at the desk]
JUNE: Um ... Uh, miss? Miss? I didn't realize it was closing time, would you please ask them not to lock the door until I get my things?
[the librarian nods, so June goes back and collects her things, when she hears what seem to be footsteps ... however, she simply shrugs it off and (finding the librarian no longer at her desk) makes her way to the main reading room, where she discovers that the door is locked]
JUNE: Uh, could somebody come please let me out?
[she looks around, as all the lights are out]
JUNE: Hello? Is anybody here? Hello? Is anybody here? Hello, is anybody here? Hello?
[she rolls her eyes]
JUNE: Looks like I'm late for everything ...
[she finds a flashlight, and eventually sees a female figure on the opposite wall]
JUNE: Hey ... Hey, wait a minute!
ANN: [from off camera] Oh!
[realizing that she's looking at a reflection, June shines the flashlight above her head and finds the librarian standing on the second floor]
JUNE: Oh, you're the girl at the desk.
[she nods]
JUNE: We seem to be locked in here.
ANN: Yes.
JUNE: Didn't you tell them I was here?
ANN: I couldn't find anybody.
JUNE: Oh ... Well, is there any way out, or is there a caretaker?
ANN: I don't know.
JUNE: Oh, you look around up there and see if you can find anyone. I'll use the phone, I won't be a minute.
ANN: Okay.
[she heads for a nearby desk and dials the operator]
OPERATOR: [over the phone] What number are you calling, please?
JUNE: Oh, uh ...
[she checks the phone directory on the desk]
JUNE: New Town, uh, just a minute ... 9815.
OPERATOR: [over the phone] You must have made a mistake, there is no such number.
JUNE: Well, it's right here in the book.
OPERATOR: [over the phone] I'm sorry, but that can't be listed in the directory. There is no exchange "New Town" - "N" for Newton, "E" for Edward, "W" for "William" - in this area, and we have no four digit numbers.
JUNE: Well, I-I don't understand ...
OPERATOR: [over the phone] I repeat, there are no four digit numbers.
JUNE: Well, alright, I'm trying to get the Apollo Theatre.
OPERATOR: [over the phone] Apollo Theatre, Marking Street? Just a moment, please ... That number is Brockford 639, I'll connect you.
[she waits, and a new voice answers]
BOX OFFICE ATTENDANT: [over the phone] Apollo Theatre.
JUNE: Oh yes, hello. I'm sorry to bother you, but is there a very impatient gentleman standing by your box office in a black suit? His name is Ken Talbot.
BOX OFFICE ATTENDANT: [over the phone] Just a minute ... No, I don't see anyone like that.
JUNE: Oh ... Hmm, he should be there. What time is the last showing of your Marlon Brando picture?
BOX OFFICE ATTENDANT: [over the phone] The what picture, dear? We're showing "The Four Horsemen" with Valentino and Alice Terry.
JUNE: [pause] Are you sure this is the Apollo Theatre?
BOX OFFICE ATTENDANT: [over the phone] Yes, it is, and I can't spend all night talking. I've got customers.
[the attendant hangs up, so June gets up and looks for the librarian again]
JUNE: Well, I can't seem to ... Are you there? Hello? Hello? Are you up there?
[she shines her flashlight, but can't find her, so she tries a different phone and dials the operator again]
OPERATOR: [over the phone] Emergency, which service do you require?
JUNE: Oh ... Yes, uh, emergency please. Police.
OPERATOR: [over the phone] Hold the line, please.
[she waits, and a male voice answers]
SARGEANT WALKER: [over the phone] Police, Sargeant Walker.
JUNE: Yes, sargeant. I know this sounds silly, but I'm trapped in the library and--
SARGEANT WALKER: [over the phone] Now just a minute, ma'am. Now, what's this about a library?
JUNE: Well, I-I'm locked in. I, I uh ... It's the Central Library on Castle Street, and I inadvertantly stayed past closing time, and now I can't get out.
[she laughs nervously]
SARGEANT WALKER: [over the phone] Name.
JUNE: Uh, June Wiley.
SARGEANT WALKER: [over the phone] And what's the number you're calling from?
JUNE: Um, New Town, 9896.
SARGEANT WALKER: [over the phone] What kind of a number's that?
JUNE: Well, it's uh ... It's a New Town number. It's right here--
SARGEANT WALKER: [over the phone] There's no New Town exchange around here. There never has been.
JUNE: Ah yes, well, um ... Alright. Uh, look sargeant, if you could just send somebody to get me out. Somebody to the library, my car is parked in the parking lot right out in back. It's a green 1968 sportsca--
SARGEANT WALKER: [over the phone] Did you say 1968?
JUNE: Yes.
SARGEANT WALKER: [over the phone] I see ... Now look, madam, there's quite a heavy penalty for making false emergency calls. I don't know if you're just trying to be funny, or if you've had too much to drink, but--
JUNE: I'm not trying to be funny, and I'm not drunk! I'm just trying to tell you--
SARGEANT WALKER: [over the phone] Of course, of course. Now why don't we just talk this out sensibly and calmly?
JUNE: Oh, why don't you just talk to yourself!
[she hangs up]
JUNE: No New Town numbers, no four digit numbers ... Valentino?
[she picks up the phone and dials the operator again]
OPERATOR: [over the phone] Operator. Operator.
JUNE: Uh, operator ... Uh, w-would you tell me the date, please?
OPERATOR: [over the phone] I beg your pardon?
JUNE: Would you please tell me the date?
OPERATOR: [over the phone] This is the 19th.
JUNE: Uh, of what?
OPERATOR: [over the phone] September.
JUNE: [pause] And the year?
OPERATOR: [over the phone] Is this a joke?
JUNE: No no, I know it sounds silly ... Would you please tell me what year this is.
OPERATOR: [over the phone] Last I heard, it was still '27.
JUNE: [pause] 1927 ...
OPERATOR: [over the phone] September the 19th, 1927.
JUNE: Thank you.
[...]
[June checks the microfilm reader again, and finds an article in The Morning Echo dated "September 20, 1927" with the headline "Librarian Murdered"]
JUNE: [to herself] Librarian murdered ... "Sylvia Hahlen, 20 year old librarian, was murdered last night in the Central Public Library, Bromford, where she had remained after hours working overtime."
[cut to a closeup of the article, as the paragraph includes the line "Miss Hahlen's body was discovered early this morning by Mrs. Rose Cobbett, a cleaner."]
JUNE: [to herself] "Matakitas remained unrepentant as he recounted his fourth murder, that of Sylvia Hahlen, the young librarian. 'I had been watching her a long time,' stated Matakitas."
[cut to a black and white flashback of a young librarian (her face obscured by the bookshelf) working in the library, as the POV of the camera appears to be that of Matakitas spying on her]
MATAKITAS: [in voice over] And I knew that she too must die ... She is very young and lovely. I was watching her a long time.
[another young female librarian enters]
MATAKITAS: [in voice over] Then I hear her tell other woman, "Must work late this night." Other woman say, "You'll be very lonely here by herself."
[the other librarian leaves]
MATAKITAS: [in voice over] Right then, I say to myself, "She will not be lonely."
[cut to several people (wearing 1920s style hats) leaving the library]
MATAKITAS: [in voice over] When library close, people leave ... but I stay. I watched them go.
[a night watchman walks in, as Matakitas hides on the second floor]
[cut back to the librarian, who has her back turned to the camera]
MATAKITAS: [in voice over] I see her now. She is alone.
[he reaches out and grabs her by the neck, then strangles her to death (all the while keeping her face away from camera view)]
MATAKITAS: [in voice over] It is done. I look at the clock.
[camera pans over to the clock on the wall, then cut back to June at the microfilm reader]
JUNE: Ten o'clock. Sylvia was murdered at ten o'clock ... 10 PM, September 19th, 1927.
[she rubs her forehead]
JUNE: Somehow, I don't know how, I'm in 1927 ... September 19th, 1927!
[she looks at the nearby grandfather clock, which shows that it's 9:30]
[...]
[June finds the librarian, who tries to run away in fright]
JUNE: Hey! Wait a minute! Hey, stop! What're you running for?
ANN: Oh!
[June grabs her]
JUNE: What're you running for?
ANN: I ... I couldn't find anyone! I was so frightened! I've tried to telephone my mother, there were strangers living in our house! What's happened?
JUNE: Nothing, it's a mistake! It's going to be alright!
[the librarian puts her head in her hands and starts to cry]
JUNE: There'll be somebody here to get us out soon ... My name's June, what's yours?
ANN: [pause] Ann.
JUNE: Have you worked here long?
ANN: Only a few days.
JUNE: Well, you probably don't know the place any better than I do ... but I think we'd better go together this time, and see if there are any open doors or windows.
[they look around, but all possible exits are locked tight, so they sit on the steps in frustration]
JUNE: Well, that didn't work ...
ANN: Why don't we call the police?
JUNE: Listen, Ann, I have something to tell you and I'm not sure I know how ... We've been taken back in time. It's now September 19th, 1927. How or why, I don't know. We've both tried to contact the outside, and we can't, so all we can do is sit here and wait, and try not to panic.
ANN: I can't believe it ...
JUNE: Well, you'd better believe it.
ANN: That would explain that man.
JUNE: What man?
ANN: I saw a man a little while ago, just before I ran into you.
JUNE: Go on.
ANN: I was trying to telephone, when I looked up and ... he was standing quite close to me. He looked at me so strangely. Then he moved away, that was why I was so frightened when I ran into you.
JUNE: Why didn't you tell me this before?
ANN: I didn't want to frighten you ...
JUNE: What did he look like? Try to remember exactly what he looked like.
ANN: He was dirty and unshaven. He looked a little mad.
JUNE: Okay. Okay, come on.
[they lock themselves in the microfilm room, then June shows her a picture of Matakitas]
JUNE: There ... Is this the man you saw?
ANN: Yes!
JUNE: "Devil's dispensation" ... I wonder--
[she suddenly stares at Ann]
JUNE: Come with me, I've got an idea.
[they head for the stacks, and June pulls an old book off the shelf before flipping through the pages]
JUNE: "Almight absolution and dispensation, in favor of the almight Lucifer" ... Ah, here. Wait. "Wherein it shall please the master, the all powerful Lucifer, to grant dispensation to one of his subjects, the subject must provide a plan which will exhilarate the master and cause him to grant return in such form as he was in life. But all things must be as they were. The time, the place, the subject."
[cut to a closeup shot of June's face]
JUNE: The time ... September 19th, 1927! The place, here! But the subject. Ann--
[she turns to find that the librarian has disappeared]
JUNE: Ann! Ann? Ann? Ann, where are you?
[she shines her flashlight around the room, then stops with a shocked look on her face]
JUNE: The subject!
[she frantically begins tearing through a nearby pile of papers, as the clock reads "9:42", until she finds one with the front page headline "Librarian Murdered in Bizarre Crime" ... turning the page, she finds that the picture inside is the same woman that she's been talking to all this time]
[...]
[June hears footsteps on the second floor, and cautiously climbs the stairs]
JUNE: Sylvia Ann? You're there, aren't you? Sylvia Ann! Are you trying to help me? Please! Please, show me the way out! Please? Sylvia?
[she walks into a room, when books begin falling off the shelves by themselves]
JUNE: What is it? I don't understand.
[more books fall in front of her]
JUNE: You want me to follow ... Is that it?
[more books fall, so June heads in that direction]
JUNE: Sylvia? Are you still there? Where now? Show me the way out!
[she suddenly hears music playing, and heads down the stairs]
JUNE: Where now? Where now?
[she sees a door marked "Record Library", so she enters and finds a record skipping on the record player]
JUNE: The music ... What does it mean? I don't understand, Sylvia.
[she enters the adjacent room (where the clock reads "9:50"), then hears footsteps above her ... she continues running through the library, until she twists an ankle and has to stop]
JUNE: Music ... Children! That's what you meant, Sylvia Ann! That's what you meant! Children!
[she finds a door marked "Childrens Library", then enters and (after being frightened by a giant teddy bear on a chair) Sylvia Ann opens anothe door and enters]
JUNE: You led me here, to this room ... where you died.
[she slowly nods]
JUNE: Why?
ANN: All things must be as they were before ...
JUNE: The Devil's dispensation ... All things as they were before. I have to be in the very spot where you were when you were murdered.
ANN: And you are.
JUNE: Then Matakitas was telling the truth at his trial ... They were the chosen. Brides of the Prince of Darkness. It was you who received the Devil's dispensation, not he!
ANN: Of course. Matakitas is a servant of the master. I provided the plan, and he was granted the privilege of helping me to attain it, thereby pleasing the master. But people didn't understand. That judge and the jury, they took him and tried him, and they broke his neck.
JUNE: But what do you want from me?
ANN: You read it out to me, remember? The subject must provide a plan which will exhilarate the master, and cause him to grant return. You are my gift to him, that's the exhilaration. You substitute for me, and that's the pact I made. And now it's time, time for Matakitas to take you to the master.
[June looks up and sees that there's less than a minute until ten o'clock, so she stands and puts her hands on Ann's shoulders]
JUNE: Sylvia Ann, I'm sorry you lost you life. I'm sorry you died, but I want my life, too.
[she slowly makes her way towards the door]
JUNE: Please ... Please help me to get away. Please, please!
[she opens the door, but Matakitas is waiting on the other side, so she screams]
[cut to two older women sitting in the park]
WOMAN 1: And they closed the library for a whole week, you know ... Policemen and detectives all over the place.
WOMAN 2: Mm, Frank and I were on our holiday when it happened. We came back just the day after.
WOMAN 1: My husband's friendly with one of the men on the force. He told Jack that when they found her, she was a horrible sight.
WOMAN 2: Mm, I read about it in the papers ... Must've been some kind of maniac, the man who did it.
WOMAN 1: Mm.
WOMAN 2: Haven't found him, either, have they?
WOMAN 1: No. If you ask me, I don't believe they ever will.
[cut to the two women entering the library and handing the young female librarian their books]
WOMAN 1: Thank you.
LIBRARIAN: Thank you.
WOMAN 2: Thank you.
LIBRARIAN: Thank you.
[they leave, and the librarian turns to address a co-worker off camera]
LIBRARIAN: You'll soon pick up the system, but those books need to be filed under department number.
[camera pans over to reveal the librarian is Sylvia Ann]
ANN: Yes, I know ... I've worked here before.
---
From wikipedia.org:
"Journey To The Unknown" was a British TV anthology series made in 1968, by Hammer Film Productions Ltd. It has a fantasy, science fiction and supernatural theme. It featured both British and American actors.
[...]
Season 1, Episode 3
"Matakitas is Coming"
Aired Nov 28, 1968
A researcher (Vera Miles) is transported back in time, and apparently trapped with a librarian (Gay Hamilton) inside a deserted library with a mad serial killer, Andros Matakitas (Leon Lissek).
---
From imdb.com:
Journey to the Unknown: Season 1, Episode 3
"Matakitas Is Coming" (28 Nov. 1968)
TV Episode - 60 min - Mystery | Thriller | Sci-Fi
Criminologist June Wiley is in a library researching old murder cases. She is fascinated by the case of a strange man named Andros Matakitas, hanged in 1927 for strangling women - including a librarian. He defended himself at his trial by claiming he had 'The Devil's dispensation'. When June tries to leave, she finds she is locked in, along with librarian Sylvia Ann Hahlen. Phoning the police, she discovers that it is now 1927! Smashing the glass in a barred window, she sees old cars and people in period dress outside. While the trapped women mull over their predicament, they have another awful surprise in store: Locked in with them is the madman Matakitas.
This episode and another, "The Last Visitor", were combined for "Journey to the Unknown" (1969 TV movie).
Vera Miles ... June Wiley
Leon Lissek ... Andros Matakitas
Gay Hamilton ... Sylvia Ann Hahlen
Lynn Pinkney ... Tracy (as Lyn Pinkney)
Dermot Walsh ... Ken Talbot
John Junkin ... Robert
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