The Lineup

An international drug-smuggling racket plants heroin on American tourists traveling from Asia to pass through customs. Dancer, Julian, and their driver McLain then collect the contraband. Lt. Ben Guthrie leads the police hunt as the mastermind known only as The Man remains unseen.

An American tourist disembarks in San Francisco from a Hong Kong cruise. A porter steals his bag and tosses it into a cab, which speeds away. The cab hits and kills a police officer, and investigators learn the cabbie was a heroin addict working for the smugglers.

Dancer and Julian are instructed to retrieve the heroin from the unsuspecting tourists and deliver it to a drop point at Sutro's Museum. The bag containing the heroin must be left inside an antique ship's binnacle, and they must be gone before 4:05 pm.

To secure the heroin, Dancer kills a seaman who demands a share and a suspicious servant who refuses to hand over a drug container. These killings clear the path for the criminals to collect the contraband. The ruthlessness underscores the stakes of the operation.

Dorothy Bradshaw and her daughter Cynthia unknowingly dispose of a large portion of the heroin. Realizing a drop could be incomplete, Dancer and Julian recognize that their lives may be in danger if they leave with a short shipment. The plan becomes increasingly precarious.

Confronted with the risk, Dancer decides to stay and meet The Man to explain why the shipment is short. He chooses not to depart by the 4:05 pm deadline, shifting the operation's tempo. Julian carries on with the mission but the balance of power changes.

Dancer and Julian kidnap Dorothy and Cynthia and bring them to Sutro's so they can back up the false story. The captives become pawns in the cover story, heightening the danger for everyone involved. The police are closing in as the plot tightens.

Dancer meets The Man in the museum, who sits in a wheelchair and claims that nobody ever sees him. Because Dancer has seen him, The Man declares Dancer dead and slaps him with the bag. In a fit of rage, Dancer pushes The Man off a balcony, killing him.

San Francisco police spot the getaway car with Julian, McLain, and the kidnapped Dorothy and Cynthia. Dancer exits Sutro's as the pursuit begins to close in on the criminals. Tension mounts as officers converge on the scene.

A high-speed car chase ensues around the Embarcadero as the criminals attempt to flee. The getaway car becomes trapped at a barrier on the Embarcadero Freeway. Dancer holds the girl hostage as the situation escalates.

Dancer shoots his accomplice to death and tries to flee while still holding the girl. Police close in, turning the escape into a final confrontation.

The pursuit ends when police shoot Dancer and he falls into the water from the Embarcadero bridge. The immediate plan collapses with his death, and the case reaches its climactic end.