Dead Weight - Recap

Mr. Landau goes to the docks to meet with Bullivant, an elderly exporter who promises that he can get Landau out of the country for $15,000. Landau wants assurances, noting he’ll be on Death Row if he doesn’t escape, and Bullivant says that he has an unsullied reputation during his 47 years in the “business.” In all that time, he hasn’t had one customer complaint. He insists that he has high ethical principles, and he would enter some other type of work if he couldn’t keep his promises. Landau wants to be sure that he can go anywhere in the world that he wants, and Bullivant assures him that his clients always end up exactly where they want to go. The killer wants to go to South America, and Bullivant suggests Buenos Aires.



When Landau hesitates, Bullivant says he can always take his business somewhere else, but the killer says that time is running out and he has nowhere else to go. The exporter reads an article on Landau, which reports that he killed a bank guard, a teller, and a six-year-old boy while stealing $250,000. Landau insists the boy got in the way, but Bullivant appears less than sympathetic. However, the exporter tells him that he has to put the machinery in motion, and Landau pays him the $15,000. Bullivant offers Landau a glass of sherry to complete the transaction with a toast. He asks Landau to indulge him, and Landau drinks it. The killer starts to talk about the boy running into his line of fire, and then collapses.



Later, the delivery boy comes to pick up a crate of dog food that Bullivant has ready to go to Buenos Aires. Bullivant says that it’s for export only, very expensive, and that it has a secret ingredient. He insists that the delivery boy get it onto the plane so it will arrive on time, just as the exporter promised. And in 47 years, he’s always kept his pledge.



Share this article with your friends