Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission behind the enemy lines, knowing that you may
never return alive?
What you have just heard is the question asked during the war of agents of the OSS.
Ordinary citizens who to this question answered, yes.
This is Cloak and Dagger.
Black warfare, espionage, international intrigue.
These are the weapons of the OSS.
Today's adventure, delay en route, the story of an American OSS agent who found himself
between two fires in fascist-held Italy is suggested by actual incidents recorded in
the Washington files of the Office of Strategic Services.
A story that can now be told.
That was a big night in Sturtzer.
We liberated the town that morning and everybody was drunk, but not on vino.
Those Italian partisans were drunk on something they hadn't tasted since Mussolini's black
shirts marched on road.
Freedom.
There were only three fascist officials left in town and all of them were down in the village
square hanging from a scaffold.
I should have been celebrating too.
After all, that was why the OSS had sent me into Italy, to help Guido Gordoni and his
partisans wipe out fascists.
But sitting there in the tavern that night with Rosa, Guido's sister, my mind was several
thousand miles away.
So Roberto, you are going to leave us tomorrow.
Huh?
What Rosa?
The PT boat comes for you tomorrow night, no?
The night after tomorrow night Rosa, just 48 hours.
It's going to pick me up below Savona.
And you are glad?
Was there ever a guy who wasn't glad to go home?
Home?
To America you mean?
But how can that be?
The war is not over.
I've got a furlough coming up, a delay en route to my next OSS assignment.
I see.
It is nice in America, eh Roberto?
Yeah.
Yeah, it's nice Rosa.
It'll be autumn when I get back to Vermont.
The trees will just be turning.
I would like to see Vermont.
Maybe you will someday.
You know what I mean Roberto.
I would like to see it with you.
Oh, sorry Rosa.
Hey Guido!
Here's your brother.
Oh yes.
Rosa, Rosa, Roberto.
Guido, more vino wait.
Well, where have you been Guido?
Looking for a fat fascist pig, Alberto Pelizo.
Pelizo, the big shipyard owner?
Why would he be in Sturtzer?
He's got a summer villa just above town.
I thought he might be hiding out there.
I took some of the boys up but the place was empty.
I've got to find him tonight.
Why tonight?
Roberto, didn't you notice?
There's still room for one more on the scaffold in the square.
Huh?
Oh, that's right.
I forgot.
You haven't been to the square, have you Roberto?
No, I haven't.
You don't like executions, eh?
Executions are all right.
It's lynchings I don't like.
Those men were civilians, Guido.
They were fascisti.
Nevertheless, they were entitled to a trial.
A trial?
If they had caught you, Roberto, would they have given you a trial?
That was the difference between Guido Gordoni and me.
He and his partisans fought fire with fire.
They'd never heard of the democratic process, but I had and I believed in it.
That was why Guido and I could fight side by side and respect each other as soldiers
and yet never become friends.
You've not lived under the fascisti, Roberto.
You've not had a wife and child murdered as I have.
Were the men you hung in the square responsible for that?
Every black shirt is responsible.
The men in the square, Alberto, Peliccio, all of them.
When Guido Gordoni finds them, they pay for their crimes.
They should pay, of course, but...
But, but, but what?
What, Roberto?
I don't like men who say yes, but...
I don't think they can be trusted.
Guido, you have no right to say that to Roberto.
That it, Rosa.
I'm leaving all of you soon.
You won't have to trust me much longer.
I got up then and pushed my way through the crowd to the door of the tavern.
I stepped outside.
The night was beautiful.
But not as beautiful, I thought, as an autumn night in Vermont.
Signor Merce.
Huh?
She touched my arm as she said it.
She'd been standing very close to me in the shadows of the tavern wall.
I'd never seen her before, but she was lovely.
You are, Signor Merce, no?
Yes, I am.
I wish to talk to you, Signor.
Will you be kind enough to come with me?
I didn't say no.
It would have been hard to say no under any circumstances.
Besides, her quick, frightened eyes told me it was something important.
Still, I kept my hand closed around my revolver as she led me down several dark, deserted streets.
This is the house, Signor.
You will please go down the steps to the basement.
Oh, you go first.
There is someone inside, but please come in.
Do not be alarmed.
I'm not alarmed.
Go ahead.
Buona sera, Signor.
The man who rose to greet me wasn't armed, and he looked too old and too tired to be dangerous.
Allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Alberto Pelizzo.
Pelizzo?
The young lady who brought you here is my daughter, Maria.
It was good of you to come with her, Signor.
But it wasn't very wise of her to bring me.
Why?
Because you might turn us over to the partisans?
Because I will turn you over to the partisans.
I think not, Signor.
No.
On the contrary, you will be careful to protect us from the partisans.
You will take us out of Italy alive.
You will see to it that we arrive safe and sound in America.
What makes you think so?
Is your government informed, Signor Mercer, of our recent experiments with radio-guided
aerial torpedoes?
I don't know.
I could inform them.
These experiments are being conducted in my own laboratories.
I know more about them than any other man in Italy.
I see.
Also, a new type of submarine capable of great underwater speed.
All right.
Also, the long-sought electromagnetic pistol for torpedoes.
All right.
I get the point, Pulizzo.
I thought you would.
You'll turn over this information to Allied intelligence if I get you safely out of Italy.
Precisely.
Well, Signor, I'll have to think about it.
Don't think too long, Signor, and don't discuss it with your parties and comrades.
I'm quite sure that bloodthirsty Guido Gordoni would not let my usefulness to the Allies
prevent him from hanging me.
He was right about that.
Not that Guido Gordoni was bloodthirsty.
He was simply an angry and bitter man.
Nothing in the world would prevent him from hanging Alberto Pulizzo.
I was pretty bitter myself as I headed back to my room above the tavern.
I didn't like keeping secrets from Guido, and I didn't like helping fascists.
But I knew already what I had to do.
I knew that when I went aboard that PT boat in 48 hours, Pulizzo and his daughter would
be with me.
The OSS would want it that way.
Hello, Roberto.
Rosa.
You were gone a long time, Roberto.
What are you doing in my room?
Waiting for you.
I, uh, I went for a walk.
Yes, I know.
I saw you.
What do you mean you saw me?
I was watching from the window when you walked away from the tavern.
Who is she, Roberto?
That's none of your business, Rosa.
I will make it my business.
Is she the one who is going with you to America?
Is that why you cannot take me?
Is it with her that you will spend the autumn nights in Vermont?
Rosa, you're a fool.
No.
You were a fool, Roberto.
You cannot conceal her from me.
I will find her before tomorrow night and when I do.
Yes.
When you do.
Life is very cheap in Storza these days, Roberto.
She meant it.
She didn't make idle threats.
She was like her brother that way.
It took me a long time to fall asleep after she was gone.
Getting Alberto Palizo and his daughter safely out of Italy was beginning to look complicated.
The next morning it looked even more complicated.
Rosa told me what you did last night, Roberto.
It was very stupid to go alone with a strange woman.
But she was a beautiful woman, Guido.
She might have led you into a trap.
You know, there is still fascisti in Storza.
No important ones, I'm sure.
The mayor, the magistrate and the prefect of police are all hanging in the square.
Who else could there be?
Alberto Palizo.
What makes you think...
You said his villa was empty.
It was.
But I don't believe he had time to escape.
I think he's hiding out somewhere in town.
I'm going to search every house room by room until I find him.
And then you'll string him up to?
Oh, with pleasure.
He might make a valuable prisoner of war.
He's a big wheel in the munitions and shipping industries.
He'd have a lot of information that would be useful to the allies.
And who would trust the information of a fascist?
Not you, apparently.
You're right, not me.
His information will not save him.
If I find him, Roberto, I'll kill him.
And that settled that.
There was no question from then on of letting Guido in on my plans.
Even if I hoped to save Palizo's neck.
And I had to save it now.
The information that Guido's scoffed at could shorten the war by weeks, months, even years.
Ten minutes later, I was knocking at the cellar door.
It was open immediately.
But not by Palizo or his daughter.
Si, senor.
Who are you?
Dominic, senor.
The owner of this villa.
There was a man and his daughter here last night.
They are still here.
Come in, senor.
Good morning, senor.
We have been waiting for you.
We expected you somewhat earlier than this.
Oh, so sorry.
I'll try not to disappoint you after this.
You already, I presume, to take us out of Italy?
I'd much prefer to turn you over to my friends.
Oh, of course.
But unfortunately, your preference is not what matters.
Unfortunately.
When do we leave, senor?
You leave Sturtza tonight, Italy tomorrow night.
Senor, we are grateful.
We knew you would not fail.
I'm not doing this for you.
Naturally.
We understand that, don't we, Maria?
Yes, father.
Still, we will reward, senor, myself.
No?
You in your way and I in mine.
Let's cut the talk, shall we?
You've got to get out of here.
Get out?
Now you mean?
But you said tonight.
You can't stay in this cellar till then.
You'll have to find a new place to hide.
Why, senor?
Because the partisans are looking for you.
They're covering Sturtza house by house.
No, they do not know where we are.
They think you might be.
They're not taking any chances on letting you escape.
They want to string you up where you belong.
Where can we go, senor?
How can we hide?
I don't know yet.
I thought maybe they'll...
Open up in there!
It is there.
Right.
We are trapped in here.
Unless there's another way out.
There is no other way, senor.
Please, senor, please.
Open it up!
Shut up!
Don't let them...
Shut up!
Dominic, what's that iron trapdoor on the wall?
The cold chute, senor.
Open it.
It looks just big enough.
Where does it lead?
To the rear of the house.
All right, all right.
Let's get going.
You first, Maria.
You want me to climb that filthy cold chute?
What about my clothes?
What about your neck?
She scrambled up the chute and police followed her.
I went last.
I didn't see what happened to Dominic the landlord and I didn't much care.
Where now, senor?
You've got to lie low someplace where they won't find you before tonight.
But there is no such place.
The best bet's your villa.
The villa?
They've already looked there.
They won't go back.
Those thieves and murderers have sacked our beautiful villa.
They're neither thieves nor murderers.
They're loyal patriots.
We have our name for them, senor.
You have yours.
And while we're together, we'll use mine.
Now beat it.
I arranged to meet them at the villa at dusk.
I watched them trudge off smeared with coal from the chute, looking like the peasants they
despised.
At least there wasn't much chance they'd be recognized.
But I wasn't exactly recognizable either, so I washed off in a little stream at the edge
of town.
Then I went back to my room.
Where have you been, Roberto?
It was Guido.
He was sitting at the table in the center of the room, and lying in front of him was
his revolver.
Where have you been, Roberto?
Out.
Out?
Where?
Just out.
Oh, just out, huh?
All right, Rico.
Bring him in.
Inside you.
Come on.
Here is a friend of yours, Roberto.
He appeared in the doorway prodded by Rico's carbine.
He was no friend, only an acquaintance, a very recent acquaintance.
He was the landlord, Dominic.
You were hiding a man in the cellar of your house, Dominic?
Si.
Who was he?
Alberto Pelizzo.
Alberto Pelizzo, huh?
And he had a caller this morning?
Si.
Who was the caller?
That man, Signor Mercer.
All right, take out the old man, Rico.
Please.
I'm sorry.
Please.
Roberto?
Well, I want Pelizzo.
You can't have him.
Where is he?
I won't tell you.
You are protecting a fascist, then?
I'm doing more than protecting him.
I'm taking him out of Italy to America.
To America?
Why?
Why, so he can have a fair trial?
No, so he can turn over information.
Information?
Yes.
You've seen it, this information?
It's not on paper, it's in his head.
And you believe him?
Yes.
And you believe he's gonna give it up once he's got to America?
It's worth the chance.
How much?
What?
How much is it worth, Roberto?
To you?
Why, you...
The whole $50,000?
$50,000?
That's how much he's got sewn in the lining of his overcoat his landlord told me.
I didn't know it.
You're lying, Roberto.
Pilito is paying you well.
And I shall have to deal with you as I would with any other traitor.
I give you one more chance, Roberto.
Where is that fascist?
His hand moved through his revolver on the table, but my hand moved too.
My fingers caught the edge of the table and it flipped it over.
Crawling back in his chair, the gun clattered to the floor and I kicked it out of his...
Sweet wife, dirty filthy traitor!
My fist caught him on the point of the chin.
His head snapped back and he slumped to the floor.
Out.
I...
Didn't like to do that, Guido.
Sorry.
You should be sorry, Roberto.
Rosa!
Maybe you will tell me where the fascist is, Roberto.
I'm not telling anyone, Rosa.
Then I will do what my brother did not have the chance to do.
I don't think you will.
Don't come near me, Roberto.
If you try to get this gun, I swear I'll kill you.
But you won't, you know, because you don't believe I'm a traitor.
You are! You are!
And even if I were, you wouldn't shoot me because you love me.
No! Not anymore!
I hate you!
Then why don't you pull the trigger?
Give me the gun, Rosa.
Take it.
Take it and go.
I went down to the street.
The car that Guido had commandeered for his use in Sturzo was parked in front of the tavern.
I went over to the driver.
Antonio!
Guido wants you.
He is upstairs, Signor Bursa?
Yes, in my room. Hurry.
Está bien, Signor.
A
You didn't talk me into putting him out.
I something I have not.
Or maybe you did, However, you did not want that.
Someone's got to be wrong about me.
You are right.
You cable man.
What do you mean cable man?
I was at Palizzo's villa 20 minutes later. Maria met me at the door. The way she was
dressed you'd have thought she was sailing for America on the Queen Mary.
Signior Mercer, how nice that you have come early.
Where's your father?
In the library, this way. We were not expecting you until tonight.
My plans have changed. Palizzo.
Ah, Signior Mercer. You have arrived just in time.
In time for what?
Maria and I have opened one last bottle of wine for Marcel. We shall be happy to have you share it with us.
No thanks.
Maria, another glass.
I said no thanks.
Come now, my dear fellow.
Here, father.
We will drink to you, Signior, our benefactor, and then we will drink to the new world where
we are going. A world where these differences between us can be forgotten. A world where we
can be friends.
There's no such world, Palizzo.
Oh, but of course there is. Your glass, Signior.
I don't drink with fascists.
You have consorted with rabble too long, Mercer. Your manners have reflected.
My manners are likely to get worse if I consort with your kind much longer, so let's get going.
You said we would leave tonight.
There's been a change of plans, father.
That's right. We're starting for the coast right away. Get your things.
Very well.
And Palizzo.
Yes?
We'll be driving through fascist-held territory most of the way. You might be tempted to make
a break for it. If you do, I promise I'll bring you back and personally hang you from
that scaffold.
We left then. I drove the car. Palizzo sat in back, but not Maria. She was beside me,
very close beside me. Her perfume was heavy and sweet.
Your thoughts are so far away, Signior.
Very far.
You do not like me, do you?
No.
You do not think I am beautiful?
Not nearly as beautiful as my thoughts.
They are of another woman?
No.
What then?
A place called Vermont.
It was night when we reached the main highway to Savona. Guido's partisans were far behind
us by then, and I thought it would be clear sailing. I was wrong.
What is the matter? Why do you slow down?
Look up ahead.
Roadblock.
Roadblock? Partisans?
No, not partisans. This time it's your friends. Remember, Palizzo, I'm waiting for you to
say just one wrong word.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Let me see your papers. You're in the back seat first.
Here they are. You will find them quite in order.
I will be the judge of that.
Alberto Palizzo.
Yes.
So, you are Alberto Palizzo, are you?
Yes, I am.
All right. Come with me. All three of you.
But why? What is the matter?
This man is lying. Alberto Palizzo is dead.
They led us to a small house down the road. The one with the rifle stayed with us while
the other one disappeared into a back room. I was still watching Palizzo. I was still
waiting for him to say that word.
Here is the man, Major. A man who calls himself Alberto Palizzo.
Let me see him, Corporal.
So, why should he not call himself Alberto Palizzo?
You recognize me then, Major?
But of course, Signor, and I am delighted to see you.
Our information was that you had been captured by partisans.
I deeply apologize for the inconvenience we may have caused you.
No, no, no. Apologies are necessary, Major.
Now, me, my daughter, and I proceed to Savona.
Certainly, Signor. And this man who is with you?
Oh, this man?
Si. You wish him to accompany you, Signor?
Uh, well, yes, of course. This man is my chauffeur.
I didn't get it. I didn't understand why he'd done it.
Not until we'd started toward the car.
The Major who escorted us walked ahead with Maria.
I dropped back to have a little private talk with Palizzo.
You, uh, could have turned me over to them, but you didn't.
It wasn't out of the kindness of your heart, I'm sure.
Why else, Mercer? You have been kind to us.
We are kind to you.
No fascist was ever kind for a reason like that.
Can you think of another reason?
Maybe. You, uh, have no way of leaving Italy without me.
You know the war's lost. If you're still here when the Allies march into Rome,
you won't have any way to save your precious skin.
You ought to get out while you can.
You're no fool, Signor Mercer. You can understand my reasoning, can't you?
Sure, I can understand it. It's an old story.
Rats always deserve a sinking ship.
Why, you insolent...
Easy, easy. Watch it. The Major.
I was just telling your charming daughter, Signor Palizzo,
that there is really no need for you to go to Savona.
After tomorrow night, you could return to your village, Sturza.
The partisans have taken Sturza, Major.
Not for long, Signor. A full division of our infantry is on its way from Genoa
to carry out a surprise attack on them.
We are going to deal with this bandit Guido Gardone once and for all.
Within 48 hours, it will be Guido Gardone himself who will be hanging
from that scaffold in the village square.
That gave me something to think about the rest of the way.
I kept on thinking about it all the next day, and I thought of Vermont, too.
Yes, I thought a lot about Vermont and how those trees would look in the fall.
To anybody who was lucky enough to see them.
The roar of the surf against a lonely stretch of beach below Savona
drowned the noise of the PT Boats motors.
We didn't hear it, but we saw it lying offshore.
The dinghy it put over its side scraped against the hard sand of the beach.
Lieutenant Mercer?
Yes?
Olsen's maid Curtis, sir.
Do these people go aboard too, Lieutenant?
Oh, yes, yes. Here's a letter. Give it to your skipper.
It explains who they are.
Yes, sir.
But aren't you coming, sir?
No.
Signor Mercer, you're not going with us. I don't understand.
I think I do, Maria.
The noble Signor Mercer is going back to warn his friends in Sturza of the surprise attack.
That's right, Palito.
Oh, no, Signor. Why should you bother with that rabble?
They happen to be my allies.
But you said they would kill you if they saw you again.
They will. I am hoping they'll listen to my warning anyway.
But that is foolish to risk your life for them. It does not make sense.
It wouldn't to you, Maria. Not yet.
Maybe after you've been in America for a while, it will.
Take them away, Curtis.
Yes, sir.
So I didn't go to Vermont. I went back to Sturza instead.
It was noon the next day when I walked into the tavern. Guido was there and Rosa.
Roberto, you've come back.
Yes, I've come back.
Well, well, the traitor returns.
Maybe you didn't believe me when I said I'd kill you.
I believed you, Guido.
Rico, take his gun.
That won't be necessary, Rico. Here's my gun.
Roberto.
Where's Rosa?
You're ready to die, traitor?
As soon as I've given you my report,
there's a full division of fascist infantry moving up from Genoa.
They're planning to spring a trap tonight.
You'd better get out of Sturza.
I don't believe you.
The fascists are too busy at Salerno to send the division here.
All right, I'll tell my best, Guido. If you don't believe me.
I believe him, Guido.
What are you doing, Rosa? Get away from him.
No.
Get out of the way. I tell you I'm going to kill him.
Then you'll have to kill me too.
Rosa, I...
I'm sorry.
Then you'll have to kill me too. Rosa, I...
Very well.
We will see if you're right about him, Rosa.
Rico, we're moving out of Sturza immediately.
Pass the order along.
Si, Guido.
But what about Roberto? What will you do with him?
We'll take Roberto with us.
If the fascists do not attack tonight,
there will be no more room on the scaffold tomorrow.
The fascists did attack that night,
but there wasn't a partisan left in Sturza.
We had evaporated into the hills.
Yes, I said we.
I went on working with Guido Gordoni,
helping to direct the campaign against the Blackshirts.
We were never friends, Guido and I,
but we did have a common enemy.
A year later, I got back to Vermont.
That was a long journey.
I was a little bit worried.
I got back to Vermont. That was a long time to wait.
But not as long as I might have waited.
Valberto Pulizzo had not given information
concerning secret weapons to the OSS.
And once again, the report of an OSS agent closes with the words...
Mission accomplished.
Listen again next week for another true adventure
from the files of the OSS on...
Cloak and Dagger.
Heard in today's Cloak and Dagger adventure
as Robert Messer was Grant Richards,
Guido, Arnold Moss,
Alberto Pulizzo, Louis Van Ruten.
Script was written by Ken Field
and music was under the direction of John Gard.
Sound effects by Max Russell and Al Finnelli.
Engineering, Don Abbott.
Today's OSS adventure was a
Today's OSS adventure was based on the book Cloak and Dagger
by Corey Ford and Alistair McBade.
This program is produced by Louis G. Cowan and Alfred Hollander
under the direction and supervision of Sherman Marks.
Three chimes mean good times on NBC.
Sunday at...