As One Flew Out, One Flew In is the first episode in the fourth series of the BBC crime drama Hustle, which was broadcast for the first time on 3 May 2007.
Synopsis[]
With Mickey heading to Australia to help pull off a major con, Danny feels it's time for him to take the lead. To make his mark, he comes up with an ambitious plan to sell the Hollywood sign to Texan movie memorabilia fanatic Anthony Westley (Robert Wagner).
Once in LA, Danny convinces Westley that the sign is being put up for sale to be replaced with a brand new one. Westley's willing to pay big money to get his hands on the sign and will stop at nothing to ensure he wins the bid. But how will the gang get the cash if they can't deliver the sign itself? First episode to not feature Eddie
Full Plot[]
At a movie theater, Danny is disappointed by the lack of work the crew have at the moment, after Mickey leaves them to assist some fellow grifters to pull off a major con in Australia. During the conversation, Danny questions Albert about a potential mark the crew had planned before Mickey's departure, but is told that their leader believed it to be a lost cause. As he begins to make a stink about the whole affair, Albert takes a moment to leave the theater to make a call, whereupon Ash and Stacey escort Danny out of the screening room when he kicks up a fuss. Outside, they find Albert grinning, unaware he has decided they should pursue the mark.
Danny accompanies Albert to meet the mark in a hotel near to the River Thames, revealing their target is a Texan businessman named Anthony Westley (Robert Wagner) - a man who made his money in steel fastenings, before selling the company for a fortune. Anthony is revealed to be a memorabilia fanatic of Hollywood films, and that Danny is a contact of Albert's who specializes in finding such items and securing them for his customers. At the meeting, Danny converses with the mark, and begins making offers to secure various items, mostly from modern films, as well as attempting to chance on selling something that has little hope of succeeding. When Albert steers the conversation towards what Anthony prefers, the mark reveals he is in to classic Hollywood memorabilia - stuff like Charlie Chaplin and Marylin Monroe. Danny swiftly attempts a few items, before desperation leads him to strike on one possible item - the Hollywood Sign.
To the horror of the other two, Danny's idea is considered unrealistic due to the fact the mark is set to head out to Los Angeles the next day, and that the con would require them to be there themselves to arrange it. Danny decides that is what the crew shall do, whereupon, after securing a limo, he directs them to different tasks: Ash learns more about the item they intend to sell; Stacey secures a hotel for them to work from; and Albert works to learn more about their mark to ensure they do not overlook anything. Furthermore, Ash and Stacey pretend to have sex, in order to get photographs of their action. When the crew meet up, they learn Anthony is corrupt - he sold his business to buyers who he knew would close it down; whilst running it, he secured lucrative contracts by bribing people, and blackmailing those who were not swayed so easily. Ash reveals the sign is the not the original one, having been replaced throughout the course of its history. This gives Danny the idea that they propose to Anthony that the sign is set to be replaced, and a private auction is to be held to find someone to buy it.
Meeting with Anthony at his hotel, Danny and Albert spin their tale, having him read a phony magazine story about it that they claim got leaked out to the press. The mark is told that the pair intend to bribe the head of the Sign Commission - Richard Hamilton (Steve Hytner) - as they will be in charge of sealed bids from the Sign's potential buyers. Anthony, slightly hesitant, nonetheless agrees to meet Richard. Following the meeting, Danny remarks how he believes this con will lead on to greater things, proclaiming that he is their new leader in Mickey's absence. The others reject the notion, with Albert stating he needs to be elected first to the role. When Stacey and Ash suggest they work as a democracy, Danny states they can't per grifter rules, which Albert affirms by stating the crew must have a leader to co-ordinate them. Stacey thus decides that Danny leads temporarily, but becomes their leader fully if the con succeeds.
The next day, Stacey poses as a BBC journalist who has come to Los Angeles to do a story on the sign and the commission's work, luring away the real Hamiliton from his office with a lunch date for a TV interview; meanwhile, Ash poses as Hamiliton at the commission's office, to chat with Anthony and to prove hardball in their conversation about the bids. Following the meeting, Anthony suspects Danny has something on "Hamiliton", to which he is shown pictures of him having an affair with another woman - the very same photos Ash and Stacey staged. Danny reveals he intends to blackmail Hamiliton, having used Stacey to set him up, and that for their troubles he and his associates want a percentage of Anthony's bid as a finder's fee. The mark agrees, but asks to get permission to see the Sign up close to assess what he needs to do to transport it to his memoribilia museum in Texas. Stacey arranges for Hamiliton, humiliated by her absence at their lunch date, to give her another chance - on claims her schedule got messed up by her bosses. The commissioner agrees for passes to be provided the next day to allow her "film crew" to set up near the Sign.
The following morning, Ash is sent to intercept Hamiliton and keep him occupied, while Danny, Stacey and Albert head to the meeting spot to await Anthony. When he arrives, he keeps the group preoccupied until a van arrives, driven by an associate. At this point, he reveals he intends to double-cross them, having had his associate steal the photos and the negatives, with intentions to use them; he makes clear how ruthless he is with bribing and blackmailing others. After he leaves, Stacey assumes the con is bust, but Danny is not so sure; he believes Anthony hasn't planned for himself to be conned, realizing he intends to conduct the blackmail on Hamiliton himself. Knowing they have a slim chance to prevent this, Ash is quickly called to intercept Anthony at the Commission's offices, posing as Hamiliton, and make certain the blackmail angle won't work on him; Ash manages to do so in time, claiming the photos can no longer work because his "affair" has been exposed. As Anthony prepares to leave, the real Hamiliton arrives, humiliated after being left with a ton of makeup on his face.
At their hotel, Albert commends Danny for keeping his cool and regaining control of the situation, after Ash returns. Believing Anthony can be conned still, but not wanting anything else to go wrong, Danny instructs Stacey to call Anthony for a meeting with her at a seedy, low-key motel. At the meeting, she tells the mark that Hamiliton's life has fallen apart after her associates planned in advance to prevent Anthony double-crossing them, but that the commissioner can still be persuaded to tamper with the bids if given an incentive. Ash soon arrives, looking like a man without a wife, and declares he will do his part if he is paid 10% of Anthony's bid - roughly $500,000, of the $5million he needs to put down on his bid. Anthony is dubious about this, and only agrees if he and his associate ensure Ash does his part and doesn't attempt to escape with the bribe money.
Danny, shocked to learn Anthony is proving hardball, begins to doubt himself, to which Stacey reaffirms his doubt by pointing out how badly the con has been going since it began. Emotionally hurt, Danny walks out on the group, with Stacey remorseful for being harsh on him - she learns that he is eager to live up to Mickey's expectations, but has known he is out of his depth as the team's leader. Stacey reassures him he is still a good grifter, and that he can save the con and prove himself to the crew. The following morning, Anthony and his associate arrive at the Sign Commission offices, prepared to keep watch on all exits. After Stacey arrives, Ash turns up to collect his money and Anthony's bid in a briefcase, and enters the office. A short while after he enters, a police cruiser turns up and two officers enter the building. Ash is soon taken out, ranting that he was set up; Stacey departs, while Anthony, when called out by name by Ash, denies knowing him as the officers take him and Anthony's money away.
A while later, Danny recovers him from the Hollywood Police Station, under claims Ash had forgotten his medication that morning, revealing his arrest had been planned. Danny had realized the only way to get the money out was to make it seem it had been taken away as evidence of corruption by the police, knowing the mark wouldn't attempt to claim it back. Danny and Albert snuck into the Commission in disguise, awaited for Ash to meet them (with him avoiding being identified by staff), and switched the money in the briefcase with magazines. Given a bottle of alcohol, Ash then pretended to be drunk, and when the police arrived, began ranting about Danny and Albert being not who they seemed to be and one of them being called Anthony.
As the group travel through the city towards the airport, Albert reveals Anthony left the city, meaning the con has gone off without a hitch. At this point, Danny declares the vote matter needs to be resolved, but is teased by the others over him becoming their leader. When they reveal unanimously to be led by him, Danny cheers, as the group make their way home.
Trivia[]
- The mark of the episode is Anthony Westley.
Gallery[]
