MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY
Screenplay by
Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman
NOTE
Most of the sequences in this production are filmed using a hand-
held camera or a Steadycam. These very mobile cameras move around
the set, and get constantly closer and further from the
characters. Still, we'll be using the usual technical terms, such
as «long shot» or «full shot» or «medium shot» here and there to
give the reader an idea of the location of the camera at the
beginning of each sequence. And then we'll mention the movements
of the camera.
TRISTAR LOGO
Winged white horse flying over clouds
BLACK SCREEN
CREDITS IN WHITE LETTERS ON BLACK SCREEN
We hear jazz music during the credits.
END OF CREDITS
NEW-YORK - AERIAL VIEW - EXTERIOR NIGHT
While the camera is flying over New-York, we keep on hearing the
jazz music.
The camera reaches a round building that looks like a stadium and
starts moving around the building.
HOCKEY GAME - INTERIOR NIGHT
Long shot on the skating rink. A hockey game is in progress on the
rink. The camera follows a player, and then pans on the audience.
The camera stops on a medium shot of Larry and Carol, a couple in
their early fifties. Larry seems fascinated by the game, but Carol
seems to find it boring. She looks at the ceiling, and then puts
her hand over her mouth to suppress a yawn. Larry turns toward
her.
LARRY
Come on.
CAROL
What?
LARRY
You promised to sit through the entire hockey game without
being bored and I'll sit through the Wagner opera with you
next week.
CAROL
I know, honey, I promised. I know.
LARRY
I already bought the earplugs.
CAROL
Yeah. Well, with your eyesight, I'm surprised you can see
the puck.
The crowd starts yelling and we guess that one of the players has
done something really good. Carol mockingly claps her hands.
CAROL
Yay, hooray.
Then she raises her eyes to the ceiling, seeming more bored than
ever.
LARRY'S BUILDING - LOBBY - INTERIOR NIGHT
A nice-looking apartment building in New-York.
Full shot of the lobby. We see the street through the glass door.
An uniformed attendant is standing near a counter, on which he is
writing on a book.
Larry and Carol are coming from the street and entering the
building. He is carrying some shopping bags, and she is reading a
newspaper, the «Daily News».
LARRY
God. I can't wait to get into bed and stretch out.
CAROL
Yeah.
The attendant slightly turns around and bows to them. They bow
back to him. He goes back to his book-keeping, and the couple
keeps on walking through the lobby.
LARRY
You know, there's a Bob Hope movie on television later.
CAROL
know. Can you believe this guy in Indiana ? Killed twelve
victims, dismembered them and ate them.
LARRY
Really ? Well, it's an alternative lifestyle.
CAROL
Yeah, I'll say.
They reach the two elevators. Larry presses the call-button on the
wall between the two elevators.
LARRY'S BUILDING - ELEVATOR - INTERIOR NIGHT
Medium shot inside the cabin of the elevator. The inner door
slides open. Carol enters first, still reading her newspaper.
Larry enters behind her and presses a button on the control panel.
PAUL (voice over)
Hold the elevator.
LILLIAN (voice over)
I'm coming.
Hearing people's voices, Larry puts his hand on the edge of the
door to keep it from closing.
PAUL (voice over)
Hold the elevator.
Paul and Lilian enter the elevator. They are a middle-aged couple.
He is bald and tall, and very smily. She is small, with grey hair.
LILLIAN
That's right.
PAUL
Thank you.
Lilian has a broad smile when she recognizes Larry and Carol. The
elevator door slides shut. Lilian looks at Carol.
LILLIAN
I, uh, I see you at the gym sometimes.
CAROL
Oh, you do ?
LILLIAN
Yeah, we live in the apartment down the hall.
CAROL
Oh, well, I go whenever I have the discipline.
LILLIAN
It's important to put that time in. It does wonders.
CAROL
Oh god, yeah. I agree with you.
LILLIAN
Exercising changed my life.
CAROL
Well, geez...
LARRY
I prefer to atrophy. I'm not a very exercise person.
PAUL
We bought a treadmill last week.
CAROL
Oh, well, we had one. But you know, we got rid of it
because it was just taking up too much space.
LILLIAN
Oh, it-it-it...
LARRY
Because you have to turn it on and get on it once in a
while. That was her problem.
LILLIAN
Hey, I... exactly, I... and it's so confusing, with all
those buttons and computerized programs. I'm just never
gonna get that.
LARRY'S LANDING - HALLWAY - INTERIOR NIGHT
Full shot of a very sober and modern hallway. Creme-colored walls,
grey carpeting, dark wooden doors.
We hear the elevator door opening and Carol comes out, followed by
Lilian, Larry and Paul. They all talk together and we can hardly
understand the following dialogue.
CAROL
Oh, I know. It's late.
LILLIAN
It's so wonderful, meeting.
CAROL
Oh, well, yeah.
PAUL
It is just like New York. You have neighbors. You never
meet them... You guys...
The following line, said by Lilian, is clearer and we understand
it better.
LILLIAN
... I've seen you so many times in the hallway, you know...
and I've always wanted to come up and say hallo.
PAUL
Well, anyway... good night.
Larry and Carol walk away from Lilian and Paul, who remain near
the elevator.
CAROL (voice over)
Good night. Such a lovely couple. You know that...
Paul bends down to pick up something on the carpet. Lilian walks
one step in Larry's direction.
LILLIAN
Oh, uh, say, hello ?
Paul starts opening his apartment door, just across the hallway
from the elevator.
CAROL (voice over)
Huh ? Yeah ?
LILLIAN
Huh, listen... why don't you come in for a-a-a second and
have a drink with us ? I mean, we'd really love that.
The camera pans around toward Larry and Carol. Larry makes a
negative sign with his hand.
CAROL
Oh, oh well that'd be fine...
PAUL (voice over)
She makes great Irish coffee.
Mute conversation between Carol and Larry. Larry evidently doesn't
want to accept Lilian's invitation, but Carol wants to.
LILLIAN (voice over)
Oh, please ? Uh uh, I want you to give me a treadmill
lesson.
LARRY
There's a movie on television I want to watch.
Carol starts walking toward Lilian and Paul's apartment, followed
reluctantly by Larry.
The camera pans around during Carol's next line, and we see Carol
entering Lilian an Paul's apartment.
CAROL
Oh, about the tread... oh, well, if I can figure it out,
then believe me, anybody can.
She laughs, and Larry, entering the apartment behind her, utters a
forced laugh.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
The cosy apartment of middle upper-class people. The decoration
looks like them.
Medium shot of Lilian walking across the bedroom toward the large
double bed. She walks near the famous treadmill.
LILLIAN
Have a look at the instructions. They drive me crazy. You
know ? I don't know what I'm doing at all. Let's look...
CAROL (voice over)
No. Please, it's easy.
Lilian picks up a book on a table near the bed.
LILLIAN
Wonderful book they've given me. Now I'm at level five.
CAROL (voice over)
What ?
LILLIAN
That I know.
CAROL (voice over)
You're that advanced ?
LILLIAN
Well, yeah.
CAROL (voice over)
God, I only got to level two.
Lilian brings the book to Carol.
LILLIAN
Look at these diagrams. Do you believe this ?
CAROL
That's amazing.
She is standing near the treadmill. Lilian shows her one of the
diagram in the book.
LILLIAN
I can't understand this even.
CAROL
Let me see.
LILLIAN
Yeah, well. See this ?
CAROL
Okay.
PAUL'S APPARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
One of the wall could be a bay window, but, for the moment, it is
entirely covered by a beige drape.
Medium shot of Paul bringing a stamp book to Larry.
PAUL
Now, let me show you a mint 1933 airmail. Very rare... and
very beautiful.
Larry is seated near a small table, on which Paul puts the book
down. Paul sits down next to Larry.
LARRY
Yeah.
Paul picks up a special philatelist magnifying glass and puts it
in front of the stamp, for Larry to have a better look at it.
PAUL
Look at that. And this plate block is quite unique because
it has a flaw in the engraving. See if you can see it.
Larry, who is not interested in philately at all, scratches his
head.
LARRY
Uh, it's hard for me.
PAUL
Actually I'll give you a little hint. Right down here in
the corner.
LARRY
That tiny thing there ?
PAUL
Interesting, yeah.
LARRY
Ah, you have a really...
PAUL
That makes it quite valuable, you see. And I just got a
commemorative set of issues that are going to be quite
valuable, too.
He picks up a transparent envelope inside which are several
stamps.
LARRY
Yes.
PAUL
Look at the color, right there. All these are gonna become
a real f...
Larry stands up.
LARRY
Well, listen... we're probably keeping you up, right ?
PAUL
Oh, no-no-no. This is wonderful.
LARRY
I should be going.
PAUL
What do you do, if I may ask ?
LARRY
Me ? I'm in book publishing. I work up at Harper's.
PAUL
Are you really ?
LARRY
Yeah.
PAUL
I own an old, uh, cinema. Having it redone.
LARRY
Oh.
PAUL
Used to have a string of three, but, you know, business is
not what it used to be.
He picks up some more stamps from the table.
PAUL
Now, look at these presidentials. Look at the color work.
Even the perforations are still intact.
LARRY
Where's Carol ?
PAUL
All the...
LARRY
Because I should really be going, actually.
PAUL
Oh, really ?
LARRY
Yeah. I mean, so, we...
In the background, behind Larry, we see Carol and Lilian entering
the room.
LILLIAN
Coffee's ready !
LARRY
Oh, coffee. I forgot coffee.
He turns around to face the women.
PAUL (voice over)
Good. We can get back to this later. Come on in.
We see Paul's hand on Larry's shoulder, pushing him toward the
centre of the room.
A little later.
Full shot of the room. They are all seated around a low table,
Larry and Carol on the sofa, Paul and Lilian on two armchairs.
They've just finished their coffee.
LILLIAN
Well, we've never had any children, but it's easy to
empathize. Oh, um, uh, what college does your son attend ?
CAROL
Brown.
LILLIAN
Oh.
PAUL
Nice color.
They all laugh.
LILLIAN
Paul never attended college. He's self-made.
PAUL
Always regretted it. I think knowledge is the second most
important thing. First is health, then knowledge, then
money.
Larry puts his cup down on the low table.
LARRY
You know, it's amazing how time, we,... we'll just...
LILLIAN
And, do you work ?
Larry stands up.
CAROL
Huh ? Do I ?
LILLIAN
Yes.
Larry looks at Carol and sits back on the sofa.
CAROL
Oh, well, I actually, um, I used to work at an ad agency,
but that was many years ago.
The camera moves closer to Carol and Larry.
CAROL
But... You know, I've been seriously thinking of starting a
little restaurant. But, well, Larry, he's trying to talk me
out of it.
LARRY
Oh, she's a great cook, though, really. Her duck and fennel
omelette on a bed of scallops and Hollandaise sauce with
truffles and sweetbreads'll make you snap into a fetal
position and have you in bed screaming for a month.
CAROL
He loves to tease me, but actually, he really loves exotic
food.
LILLIAN
My weakness is any rich dessert, cream, butter, anything
with fat.
CAROL
Oh, really ? Oh well, let... listen... I'll fix you a
dessert that'll make your eyeballs roll up. You'll have to
exercise for a month to work it off.
LILLIAN
Yeah.
PAUL (voice over)
We're going to Le Cirque for our anniversary.
CAROL
No, really ?
The camera moves around, away from Larry and Carol, to Paul.
LILLIAN (voice over)
Yes. Twenty-eight years. November.
CAROL (voice over)
Really ?
PAUL
Well, what do you buy the woman who buys everything ?
The camera moves around backward, away from Paul and back to Larry
and Carol.
LILLIAN
We already have twin cemetery plots.
LARRY
Well, it's... I always think a Bentley is in good taste.
You know, or you can go the route that I went with her. On
her twentieth, I got her some very lovely handkerchiefs.
CAROL
Yeah. Oh no. But, you know, they had my initials on them.
LARRY
Yeah, it was a very, very high-class item. I didn't even
know her size. I'm going over.
Carol bursts out laughing.
Black screen. Actually, we are in :
LARRY'S APARTMENT - FRONT HALL - INTERIOR NIGHT
Carol and Larry's apartment is quite different from the one we've
just left. It is the apartment of a couple of New-York
intellectuals, with nice, artistic furniture. We hear a door
opening.
LARRY
Jesus, couldn't you keep the conversation going a little
longer in there ?
Lights are switched on.
Full shot. We see only part of the hall, the camera being in a
corridor, and the walls of the corridor concealing part of the
hall.
Carol enters the apartment, and Larry holds the door for her.
LARRY
I was signaling you frantically.
Larry closes the door.
CAROL
I was just trying to be neighborly.
LARRY
Neighborly ? If this guy showed me his stamp collection one
more time... I mean, my favorite thing in life is to, you
know, look at canceled postage.
The camera follows Larry walking in the corridor toward :
LARRY'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
Actually there are two large beds in the bedroom, the room being
divided by a partition set between the two beds. The partition is
only a half wall. There is a opening, without door, at each end of
the partition, to go from one section of the room to the other.
CAROL (voice over)
Oh, come on, Larry. It was sweet. They, you know, they're
looking forward to their anniversary.
Medium shot of Larry taking his jacket off. He puts it on a chair.
LARRY
Oh, and I'm looking forward to seeing that Bob Hope movie.
I don't know why they put it on so late.
The camera turns back to the corridor and Carol, still in the
front hall.
CAROL
You know, do you think that's gonna happen to us ?
LARRY (voice over)
What ?
Carol walks in the corridor, toward the bedroom.
CAROL
Well, that we'll become like them ? You know, just another
dull aging couple, you know, with our little walks, you
know...
She walks into the bedroom.
LARRY (voice over)
We are a dull aging couple.
CAROL
Our TV, our lox and bagels. And... and our twin cemetery
plots ?
Larry is seated on his bed. Carol looks at some pills bottles on
the night table.
LARRY
No, we should be as lucky as them. To, you know, to be in
their physical shape, at their age ? They look great. Did
you see the dumbbells this guy lifts ? If I lifted
dumbbells like those, I would get a hernia the size of the
San Andrea's Fault.
CAROL
How often do you think they make love ?
She goes out of the main part of the room, and the camera follows
her.
She sits down on the other bed and starts taking her shoes off.
LARRY (voice over)
Oh, you know, probably more than we do, in their shape. You
know, I'm sure as much as once a week.
CAROL
Larry ?
LARRY (voice over)
I'm exhausted. What ?
CAROL
Do you still find me attractive ?
LARRY (voice over)
Of course. What kind of question is that ? Of course I do.
Carol stands up from the bed and moves across the room. The
camera, still located in the main part of the room, follows Carol,
so we don't actually see her walking, but we see the partition and
the large clock on it.
CAROL (voice over from behind the partition)
Yeah, but we're not turning into a pair of comfortable old
shoes, are we ? Do you think ?
Carol reappears on the other side of the partition.
LARRY (voice over)
Never comfortable.
CAROL
No ?
Larry's head appears in the forefront of the shot. He is still
seated on the bed.
LARRY
I don't think you have to worry about that.
MARKET PLACE - EXTERIOR DAY
Long shot on a large outdoor antique market place in New-York.
The camera pans along the stands in the market, showing sellers
and customers.
LARRY (voice over)
How you guys doing ?
SY (voice over)
We're fine.
MARILYN (voice over)
We're good.
SY (voice over)
We like that. We're gonna get this one.
MARILYN (voice over)
That's very nice, actually.
LARRY (voice over)
So, actually...
MARILYN (voice over)
Listen, are we going to see you at Elaine's Thursday ?
CAROL (voice over)
Oh, no. Thursday's our Wagner opera.
Medium shot on a stand around which Larry, Carol, Sy and Marilyn
are standing. Sy and Marilyn are a couple about the same age as
Carol and Larry.
MARILYN
Uh...hum. You know... Ted's coming to Elaine's with us.
CAROL
Ted.
MARILYN
Yeah.
CAROL
How is Ted ?
MARILYN
He's... he seems to be doing well. I mean, I... I actually
think he's glad... I think he's glad he's divorced.
SY
Well, I don't think he's... no, he's not doing... Come on,
he's not doing well at all. He's not used to it.
MARILYN
Well he looks... I think he looks, you know, like he's
glad.
Sy looks at some of the antique displayed on the stand.
SY
Yeah, yeah. This.
LARRY
So what do you want to do ? you guys gonna browse, or...
SY
No, we're gonna go to a movie.
MARILYN
Yeah, we're gonna go see «Double indemnity».
CAROL
Oh, really ?
MARILYN
Yeah.
SY
Why don't you come with us ?
MARILYN
It starts in a little while.
MOVIE THEATER - INTERIOR NIGHT
Full shot of the screen of the theater, on which the film «Double
Indemnity» is shown. And under the screen, in the dark, the back
of some of the spectator's heads.
This film is a very famous 1944 film directed by Billy Wilder, and
referred by the Library of Congress as one of the hundred best
films of the Twentieth Century. The term «double indemnity» refers
to a clause in certain life insurance policies that doubles the
payout in cases when death is caused by certain accidental means.
BARTON KEYES (played by Edward G. Robinson)
I'd have the police after her so fast, it'd make her head
spin. They'd put her through the wringer. And brother, the
things they would squeeze out.
WALTER NEFF (played by Fred MacMurray)
They haven't got a single thing to go on, Keyes.
BARTON KEYES
Oh, not too much, I guess. Just twenty-six year
experience... All the percentage there is, and this hunk of
concrete in my stomach.
The third character in the sequence, Phyliss Dietrichson, played
by Barbara Stanwyck, is half-hiding behind a wall.
NEW-YORK - LARRY'S RESIDENCE STREET - EXTERIOR NIGHT
Full shot of the street, where Larry's apartment building is
located. The camera is set near the entrance of the building, and
Carol and Larry are walking toward us.
CAROL
God, that movie was great, wasn't it ?
LARRY
Yeah, I... I... it was one of my favorites.
CAROL
I loved it.
LARRY
It just... they were all so wonderful, in the picture.
CAROL
You know, who could we fix Ted up with ? I mean, there must
be somebody in your office.
LARRY
Ted ?
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
Well, I don't know. Ted... I always thought Ted had a crush
on you.
CAROL
Me ?
She laughs. They have reached their building. The camera turns
around to follows them inside the building. Larry puts his hand on
Carol's back to guide her inside the building. We see an ambulance
revolving light reflected in the glass door of the building.
LARRY
Yeah. Why are you so stunned ? I think that...
CAROL
Please. I mean, you know, I adore him, but you know, he's
like a girlfriend to me.
LARRY
Uh. Now he's divorced, you know ?
CAROL
Do I detect a note of jealousy ?
The camera is still on the sidewalk near the entrance of the
building and we see Carol and Larry walking toward the elevators.
LARRY'S LANDING - HALLWAY - INTERIOR NIGHT
A short black screen, which actually is just a close shot on the
outer door of the elevator. This door slides open, and we get a
medium shot of Larry and Carol inside the elevator.
They seem surprised by what they see on the landing. There is a
gathering of neighbors, which we don't yet see. But we hear their
voices.
NEIGHBOR (voice over)
I had to come up here and call nine-one-one.
ANOTHER NEIGHBOR (voice over)
So what's the trouble ?
ANOTHER NEIGHBOR
Oh, is that the-that the E.M.S.
ANOTHER NEIGHBOR (voice over)
That guy's so excited.
ANOTHER NEIGHBOR (voice over)
The doctor and the E.M.S.
The camera follows Larry walking toward the group of neighbors.
Paul's door is wide open.
LARRY
What's the matter ? What's going on ? What happened ?
He is answered by a tall male neighbor.
TALL NEIGHBOR
She had a heart attack.
CAROL (voice over)
Oh my God !
TALL NEIGHBOR
Sh-She's dead.
The camera turns around to show us inside the apartment. There is
a stretcher standing in the corridor. On the stretcher, a body -
Lilian's body - is covered by a white sheet. Three men are
standing near the stretcher, one of them wearing green gloves and
writing on a clipboard, another one carrying a black leather case
(he is evidently a doctor).
LARRY (voice over)
She-she's dead ?
CAROL (voice over)
Dead ?
NEIGHBOR (voice over)
They're giving Mr. House a sedative right now. He's running
around like crazy.
The camera turns back to the tall neighbor standing near the front
door. A policeman enters the apartment.
TALL NEIGHBOR
I called E.M.S. and they got here as soon as they could,
but it was too late.
LARRY
Sh-We just met her last night.
The camera turns back inside the corridor. The doctor is coming
toward the front door.
OLD FEMALE NEIGHBOR (voice over)
Awful, just awful.
LARRY (voice over)
What happened ?
DOCTOR
Well, it was a classic coronary. She just went like that.
The camera turns back toward the group of neighbors.
CAROL
Is there anything we can do ?
LARRY
Oh, my God.
DOCTOR (voice over)
You can be good neighbors. You know, we calmed him down,
uh...
LARRY
Th-Th-Th-The first time we saw them was last night. We just
met them. W-We had... They invited us in for coffee.
TALL NEIGHBOR
Such a... S... Such a nice lady.
OLD FEMALE NEIGHBOR
Nice lady.
NEIGHBOR WITH A MOUSTACHE
Sweet person.
NEW-YORK - LARRY'S RESIDENCE STREET - EXTERIOR NIGHT
Full shot on the entrance of Larry's building. Larry and Carol are
coming out. They are very elegantly dressed, Larry wearing a suit
and a necktie.
CAROL
God, okay.
LARRY
You look wonderful.
Paul is coming down the street toward the entrance of the
building. He is carrying some grocery in a paper bag.
CAROL
Oh, hallo.
PAUL
Hi.
CAROL
Hi, Mr. House, so... sorry.
PAUL
Thank you so much for those wonderful flowers.
Paul seems very relax. He smiles a lot, which could be surprising,
when we understand he put his wife in the grave only a couple of
days ago.
CAROL
Oh.
PAUL
It was quite nice of you.
CAROL
That's... sure.
LARRY
If there's anything we can do. You know, anything you need,
just tell us and we'll...
CAROL
No, anything. Anything at all. I mean, God, it's just such
a shock when anyone... It was just so sudden. I mean, she
seemed so... God, well, healthy.
LARRY
Yeah.
PAUL
She had a heart condition.
CAROL
She did ? She never mentioned it... It... that she was...
LARRY
Ah.
PAUL
She wouldn't have.
CAROL
No. Right. Well...
LARRY
If there's anything we can do.
CAROL
Yeah, anything. Really.
LARRY
You know, if you need anything, if you are lonely, come by.
You know.
PAUL
Thank you. You know, you owe me a wonderful French dessert.
CAROL
Oh, no, no, no. I know, I haven't forgotten. Believe me, I
haven't forgotten.
PAUL
Well, have a nice time. You seem all gussied up.
CAROL
Yeah. Oh, I know. We're going to the opera.
PAUL
Oh, enjoy.
LARRY
My favorite, my favorite.
PAUL
Goodnight.
He walks away toward the entrance of the building, still smiling a
lot and looking very happy. Carol looks at him with a question on
her face.
LARRY
Goodnight.
CAROL
Goodnight.
LARRY
Come, we're gonna be late.
THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE - EXTERIOR NIGHT
Long shot on the Met building.
We hear the music from Wagner's The Flying Dutchman.
The camera slowly tilts down. We don't see Carol and Larry yet,
but we hear their voices.
CAROL (voice over)
The deal was, I sit through the ice hockey game and you
watch the whole opera.
The camera is now on ground level, and we see Carol and Larry
coming out of the Met.
LARRY
I can't listen to that much Wagner, you know. I start to
get the urge to conquer Poland.
They cross the esplanade in front of the Met.
ELAINE'S RESTAURANT - INTERIOR NIGHT
Elaine's is a cosy place, like there are many around Greenwich
Village.
Carol and Larry are eating at Elaine's with Sy, Marilyn and Ted.
Ted is a quite handsome man in his forties.
We get a medium full view of the party, with a very mobile camera
moving around the table and going from one person to another,
getting closer to one person, then moving slightly away.
SY
I'll tell you something. I think it's weird. I mean, listen
to this. One night she's having coffee, and the next night
they are carrying her out in a rubber bag.
CAROL
Oh, I know, I know. And she did not look like she was ready
to go.
TED
Maybe this guy killed her, you know ? Like, he's got, like,
a young tootsie stashed someplace, or something.
LARRY
No, no, not this... you gotta, you gotta see this guy. This
guy gets his jollies from licking the back of postage
stamps. He's a-a boring old...
TED
Well, I can see that. Yeah, depending on whose picture is
on the stamp.
CAROL
She never once mentioned that she had a heart condition.
LARRY
Well, what is she gonna say ? Oh, yeah, hello, I'm Mrs.
House and I have a bad heart.
CAROL
Well, she had no problem telling me about her hysterectomy
in the first five minutes.
SY
It is much easier to talk about a hysterectomy than it is
to talk about a heart condition.
TED
You said she liked... she liked eating high cholesterol
desserts. Is that what you said ?
LARRY
So, she had one too many.
CAROL
No. No ! She wasn't on a diet. We discussed diets.
LARRY
So she wasn't on a diet. But...
TED
This would be a really great way to kill somebody.
SY
How ?
TED
You clog their arteries with whipped cream, chocolate
mousse, butter. They go like that.
Carol is laughing very heartily at Ted's joke.
SY
That's great.
LARRY
I like a... It's disgusting.
TED
you know what I mean ?
LARRY
It's disgusting, but a... It's fatal.
TED
Wouldn't that be great ?
MARILYN
I'd like to French-pastry myself to death right now.
SY
I'll help you.
MARILYN
I really would.
SY
All right.
MARILYN
In fact, I'd like another piece of pie, right after this.
Do I dare ? I like yours better than this.
TED
Are you gonna start a restaurant ? Are you serious about
that ?
MARILYN
You really should. you're a great cook.
TED
Because, if you do, count me in. I wanna be part of that.
Really.
LARRY
Really ?
MARILYN
You should.
CAROL
No. Well, I don't know. I mean, you... Are you serious ?
TED
Yeah. Oh, oh, God, it'd be wonderful.
LARRY
What are you encouraging her for ? It's so...
TED
She's great. She's a great cook.
LARRY
I know, but...
CAROL
Well, it's thanks to you, actually. I mean, it was his
idea. The cooking lessons, so I mean...
TED
Yes, I had...
SY
Yes, but a restaurant is a serious business. I mean, you
just can't take that lightly. You can't be cavalier about a
restaurant.
CAROL
I'm not being cavalier about it.
LARRY
Do you know how time-consuming it is ? Yeah. You have to be
there every night.
SY
Absolutely.
LARRY
You'd be stuck there, you know.
TED
Wait. Look, look.
LARRY
They steal from, if you're not... You gotta be hap...
CAROL
But it's bi... it's what I do. It's-It's what I do, Larry.
TED
She'll cook... She's great. She's-She's a pro. She's a pro.
She'll be cooking... She'll be cooking in the kitchen. I'll
be at the front, running the joint like Rick, you know, in
«Casablanca».
SY
It's not that easy.
MARILYN
You do it anyway. Right as well get paid for it.
LARRY
Right. Directs...
TED
I'm set, I'm serious about it. I don't... I mean, it's not
like a hobby. I mean, it's gotta be a serious thing.
SY
I'll be the first customer.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
Medium shot of Carol coming out of the bathroom. She switches the
bathroom light off. She is wearing a pink night dress.
The camera turns toward Larry's bed, in which Larry is already
lying. He has a book in his hands.
LARRY
You know, I was thinking of fixing Ted up with Helen Dubin.
You know, I figured they would just, you know, get into an
argument over penis envy, or something.
CAROL
Oh.
LARRY
The poor guy suffers from it so...
Carol puts something on the night-table on her side of the bed.
CAROL
Did he seem a little too cheerful ?
She looks at some pills bottles on the night table.
LARRY
No, he seemed like his regular self to me, but-but, uh,
when you brought up the notion of the restaurant... the guy
lit up like Mr. Glowworm.
CAROL
The restaurant ?
She picks up a hair brush.
LARRY
Yeah. He sees himself as, uh, you know, as Humphrey Bogart
in Casablanca. I-I see him more as Peter Lorre, wringing
his hands.
Carol starts walking toward the other section of the room. The
camera follows her.
CAROL
No, no, no. No, no, no. I mean, Mr. House, Mr. House.
Didn't seem a little too cheerful to you ?
LARRY (voice over)
Mr. House, our next-door widower ?
Carol stops in front of a large mirror set on the wall in one
corner of the room.
CAROL
Yes. Yes. I mean, there's... Well, you know. I mean, didn't
he seem too compose for a man whose wife just died. Don't
you think ?
LARRY (voice over)
Well, Jesus. What do you want the guy to do, walk down the
street sobbing hysterically ?
Carol starts brushing her hair.
CAROL
Well, I don't know. All I know is, they were supposedly
looking forward to their, you know... anniversary, and,
and, and, you know, uh-uh, i-i-if... I suddenly dropped
dead... wouldn't you sob for months, or-or years, if I...
You know...
LARRY (voice over)
Hey, don't make those kind of jokes, okay ? I don't like
those remarks. And, meanwhile, I'm the guy who needs a
physical check-up.
CAROL
Oh, I don't know.
LARRY (voice over)
Uh, uh.
Carol walks to a chest of drawers, on top of which she drops the
hairbrush. Then she switches the lights off in the other section
of the bedroom, and walks back to the bed.
CAROL
I mean, to me he just seemed a little too perky. You know ?
Now, suddenly he wants his French desserts, and, «Have a
nice time, you know, at the opera». And, my God, «We're
certainly dressed up». I mean, you know. This guy should be
a wreck.
She sits down on her side of the bed, and takes her socks off.
While talking, Larry puts the book and his glasses on the night-
table. Carol switches the light off on her night table and gets
into the bed.
LARRY
Right. Meanwhile, I can't get the-the Flying Dutchman theme
out of my mind, you know ? Remind me tomorrow to buy up all
the Wagner records in town and rent a chainsaw.
He switches the lights off on his bed table. The room is
completely dark, and we hear the next sentences on a black screen.
CAROL
Helen Dubin's wrong for Ted.
LARRY
Yeah ?
CAROL
She's too mousey.
LARRY
Well, he's a little mousey, too. They could have their
little rodent time. They can eat cheese together.
Carol bursts out laughing. The phone starts ringing.
LARRY
Oh, Christ.
He switches the light back on, puts his glasses on his nose and
picks up the phone.
LARRY
Hallo ? Yes. Yes, of.... Yes, of course you woke us. You
know, not everybody's up at one o'clock in the morning
watching the porn channel. I'll put her on.
He gives the phone receiver to Carol.
CAROL
Who is it ?
LARRY
Ted. For you.
CAROL
Ted, hi.
RESTAURANT - INTERIOR NIGHT
Medium shot of Ted, dressed in a night-gown, and standing near the
counter of a restaurant. The room is very dark, only lit by a lamp
on the counter.
TED
I figured out how he killed her and made it look like a
coronary. He gagged her and tied her to the treadmill, and
then he turned the exercise program up to the Olympic
levels.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
Carols bursts out laughing.
CAROL
No, no. You know, I mean, I just think this guy is too
perky. You know, I mean he's not acting like a man whose
beloved of twenty-eight years died just a few days ago.
Larry is trying to get the telephone cord, stretched from his
night-table to the handset hold by Carol, away from his face.
LARRY
Jesus, are you onto that ? My God, I thought you were just
joking.
CAROL
Yeah, I know.
LARRY
Let me speak to him, all right ?
CAROL
What? Oh. Here. Just a sec. Here's Larr...
She gives the handset to Larry.
LARRY
Hey, listen. She was not murdered. She... she had a heart
attack. It was a coronary. There was a doctor there. He
said to.... He was an old man.
RESTAURANT - INTERIOR NIGHT
Close shot on Ted, drinking from a mug.
TED
How do you know it was a real doctor ?
LARRY'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
LARRY
I'm not gonna touch that. I'm tired. I want to go to sleep.
Look...
RESTAURANT - INTERIOR NIGHT
Medium shot of Ted.
TED
Wait-wait-wait a minute, wait a minute, put Carol back on,
I called about something else. Listen, I know a great
location for a restaurant.
NEW-YORK - A YARD - EXTERIOR DAY
A yard in the middle of old New-York buildings.
The camera is located at the inner end of the passage leading from
the street to the yard. We gets a full shot of Carol and Ted
coming from the street and walking toward us and the yard.
TED
Hah, look at this. Isn't this great ?
CAROL
Well, it's dark.
TED
Aren't these walls great ? A cave, you know, like you have
to go through a little cave.
CAROL
Oh, I see.
TED
And then you come out, to this here.
They have reached the yard. The camera moves back to get a medium
shot of them both.
CAROL
Oh, look at this though. It's really so beautiful.
TED
Yeah. Isn't it great ?
CAROL
But... it's kind out of the way for a restaurant, isn't
it ?
TED
No, no... that's the appeal. That's just the appeal,
because it's... it's, I mean it's so romantic... tucked
away back in here like this.
The camera leaves Carol and Ted in the middle of the yard and
moves up and around to show us the old building around the yard.
CAROL (voice over)
Yeah.
TED (voice over)
And, you don't want street traffic. You want...
CAROL (voice over)
No.
TED (voice over)
you want a little out of the way spot that people hear
about and lovers go to.
CAROL (voice over)
Yeah.
TED (voice over)
It takes months to take a reservation, you know ? Very few
tables.
The camera moves down to ground level to give us a better view of
the yard. It does look a bit neglected, with weeds growing in
between the stones covering the ground. There are some trees and a
small out-of-order fountain with a statue on top of it.
CAROL (voice over)
You know, you've really thought this out.
TED (voice over)
Oh, well, I used to come here all the time with-with July,
when we were married.
CAROL (voice over)
Uh uh. Right.
The camera moves back to Carol and Ted.
TED
Used to walk around here. Really beautiful at night. It's
gorgeous at night.
CAROL
It's beautiful, I bet.
TED
I used to think, «What am I doing here with July ? We don't
love each other any more», you know ? It made the moment
doubly poignant.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - CORRIDOR - INTERIOR NIGHT
Medium shot of the corridor, showing the front door. Paul opens
the front door. Larry and Carol are standing in the doorway. Larry
is wearing a necktie and Carol is carrying a large tray.
PAUL
Hi. How are you ?
CAROL
Hi. How are you ?
PAUL
Oh, my...
CAROL
These are my floating islands. I hope you like meringue.
Paul takes the tray from Carol's hands.
PAUL
I love it. Come on in, come on in.
CAROL
Well, okay.
PAUL
This is unbelievable.
Carol enters the apartment, followed by Larry.
CAROL
I know, it's just...
PAUL
Did you do it ?
Larry closes the door behind him.
CAROL
I did do it. I told you. Anyway, this has got... this is
vanilla sauce here and I put little chocolate truffles.
PAUL
Well, come on in.
CAROL
Do you like chocolate truffles ?
PAUL
Would you share it with me ?
LARRY
Oh, no. She made these just for you. This is...
CAROL
Oh, well...
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
They all enter the living room.
PAUL
No, no, no, it's too much for one. I'll I make some coffee.
Please.
LARRY
They're only half a dozen.
CAROL
No, no, no. Look, I'll make the coffee. That'd be better.
Let me make it.
PAUL
Oh, you've already done so much.
CAROL
No, no. I insist, I insist. Go on, sit down, relax.
She takes the tray from Paul's hands.
PAUL
Aren't you nice.
CAROL
Enjoy yourself, you've been through enough.
She walks to the kitchen, carrying the tray.
LARRY
She worked on those for... How're you holding up ?
PAUL
Oh, I don't know. I was thinking after a while. I'd get
away from here. From this place and all its memories.
LARRY
Uh uh, so you have someone to go with, or are you...
PAUL
I have a brother in Florida.
LARRY
Oh, really ?
PAUL
I'm hoping he can get away for a while.
LARRY
Good. It's a good idea.
PAUL
Do you like snorkeling ?
LARRY
Snorkeling ? No, no. I get nervous when brightly colored
fish are staring at me face to face, you know.
PAUL
Hey, I've got some stamps I wanted to show you.
He turns to his desk to pick up a stamp album.
LARRY
Oh, stamps. Well, that's...
PAUL
Come on, look at these.
The camera pans to the kitchen.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - INTERIOR NIGHT
The conversation between Paul and Larry keeps going in the living-
room but we can't understand the words.
Carol puts water in the glass jar of the coffee machine. She puts
the lid on the jar and turns around to put the jar in the machine.
She looks in the coffee plastic container and notices there is no
coffee inside. She bends down and opens the cupboard door. Not
finding any coffee in the cupboard, she closes it, stands up and
turns around to look inside the cupboard above the sink. She
closes it, and bends down to look inside the cupboard next to the
dishwasher. She seems surprised by something and pauses. Then she
takes a copper funeral urn from inside the cupboard. She stands up
and takes the lid off the urn. She looks inside the urn and closes
it. She seems a bit shocked and bends down to put the urn back
inside the cupboard. Then she stands up and looks absently around
her.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
A little later.
Full shot of the room. Larry and Carol are sitting next to each
other on the sofa. Carol is drinking coffee from a cup, and Larry
is staring, with his arms crossed on his chest, looking a little
bored. Paul is sitting on an armchair and eating the floating
islands from a plate he is holding in his other hand.
PAUL
This is very delicious.
CAROL
Thank you.
PAUL
You are an artist.
CAROL
Well, thanks very much. Uh, was it a large... funeral ?
PAUL
Oh, no. We had... very few friends, no family.
The camera moves closer to Larry and Carol.
CAROL
Right. Just a simple affair, uh ? Well, they're the best,
aren't they ?
PAUL
Yeah.
CAROL
I guess. Anyway, then you're laid the rest, and, you know,
I was just... where, um, where are the twin cemetery
plots ? We... because, we were thinking that that was just
such a romantic idea. Weren't we, Larry ? You know ?
Larry ? You remember when we were talking about the twin
cemetery plots and, you know, how kind of romantic that
is ? Remember ?
Larry looks at his wife. He has a little difficulty to come back
into a conversation he wasn't following.
LARRY
Uh-huh. Yes, yes. We were. We were spending the eternity
with the beloved. I sound like... I sound like one of those
guys, now.
The camera pans to Paul. He has put his plate on the low table.
PAUL
Yes.
CAROL (voice over)
Yes but, I was just wondering where, um, where is the
cemetery ?
PAUL
Oh, it's... uh, in... uh, it's in Nyack. We used to summer
there occasionally.
He wipes his lips with his napkin.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - FRONT HALL - INTERIOR NIGHT
Medium shot. Larry enters the apartment, followed by Carol, who
then walks in front of him.
LARRY
What was all that stuff about twin cemetery plots ?
CAROL
Listen, Larry.
LARRY
You know ? I mean, we-we never discussed it at all, but I
knew that you were trying to tell me something, so I picked
up on it quickly.
He closes the door behind him.
CAROL
Listen.
LARRY
But I... You know, we...
CAROL
Okay, just... I was in the kitchen okay ? And I was making
the coffee. There were no beans, so, I was looking in his
cupboards, just to see, you know, and I came across this
urn, okay ? And I opened it and there were ashes in it.
LARRY
Ashes ? Funeral ashes ? Did you wash your hands ?
CAROL
Larry, he had her cremated !
LARRY
How did you know it was her, for Christ's sake ? They were
ashes. What, did they resemble Mrs. House ?
He walks into the living-room.
CAROL
Oh, and who else would it be, okay ?
Larry picks up his jacket from the back of an armchair.
LARRY
Anybody. Could it be, an associate, an old relative, his
accountant, his cat. Who knows ?
CAROL (voice over)
Right, right. Hidden, uh ? Hidden away ?
LARRY
What do you mean? Th-th-the guy didn't do anything.
The camera pans across the hall toward the kitchen. She has a box
(cereals ?) in her hand.
CAROL
Look, Larry. All I know is he lied, okay ? He lied.
She puts the box in a cupboard above the sink. Then she picks up
the phone on the wall.
LARRY (voice over)
Look. Maybe-maybe-maybe he is embarrassed. Maybe he didn't
want to spend eternity next to the beloved, so he-he told
us that-uh... You know, what's the difference ? Who are you
calling ?
CAROL
Ted !
The camera pans back to the living-room and Larry. Larry walks
behind a partition, still holding his jacket. The camera follows
his movement.
LARRY
Oh, Jesus. Leave the guy alone. You know, he-he... he's a
poor widower, he wants to go on a vacation or something.
CAROL (voice over)
Yeah. Where ? Oh, I know where, ah ah. Snorkeling, right ?
Ah ah.
Larry puts the jacket on something we don't see because it is
hidden by the partition. Then he picks up a brochure on a low
table and walks toward the kitchen. The camera follows him.
LARRY
So what ? Different strokes. You know, he has fun, uh,
sitting at the bottom of the water, face to face with
squid.
Carol is still standing in the kitchen, with the phone handset on
her ear.
CAROL
Oh, I know. I know. What about this ? What if they had a
big insurance policy, or something like that, huh ?
LARRY
Too much «Double Indemnity», you know ?
CAROL
Hu-Huh.
(speaking on the phone)
Hi. Yeah. Hi, it's me. Listen, we were just in our
neighbor's apartment, right ?
Larry walks away from the kitchen.
CAROL
Yeah. And get this. I came across an urn with ashes in
it. Only he says he had his wife buried.
TED'S APARTMENT - SITTING-ROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
Ted is lying on a large comfortable sofa, sipping beer from a
bottle.
TED
That's what you do if you don't want an autopsy. You don't
want something discovered, you know ? Like-like poison.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - INTERIOR NIGHT
Carol is still standing up, the telephone handset stuck between
her ear and her shoulder.
CAROL
Mm. Right. They'd have detected poison, wouldn't they ?
TED'S APARTMENT - SITTING-ROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
TED
Uh, I don't know. There's a lot of different kinds of
exotic poisons, you know ?
LARRY'S APARTMENT - FRONT HALL - INTERIOR NIGHT
Full shot of the kitchen, seen from the hall. Carol is still
standing up but now she holding the phone handset with her hand.
CAROL
Yeah, but why would he... Why would he be lying ? I mean,
why-why would he lie at all ?
Larry walks back into the kitchen.
LARRY
Jesus, you're up to poisons already. You guys are slipping
into a mad obsession.
CAROL
Yeah. Oh, would you do that ? Because... That'd be great.
Because, you know, I'm not good at that kind of thing,
okay ? All right. Okay. Well, I'll talk to you later. Okay,
bye.
She puts the phone back on its hook on the wall
LARRY
Let's go to bed. Could we go to bed, now ?
CAROL
Hey, I'm not tired.
LARRY
What do you mean, «You're not tired» ?
CAROL
You know, Ted's gonna check with the funeral home,
tomorrow.
LARRY
Great.
CAROL
You know what I mean ? I mean, I don't understand why
you're not, not more fascinated with this. We could be
living next door to a murderer, Larry.
LARRY
Well, New York is a melting pot. You know, get used to it.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
Later in the night.
Medium shot on the bed. Larry is asleep, but Carol is not. She
moves in the bed, and then sits up. She turns around, pats her
pillow, and tries to lie back on her side. But she sits up again,
looking around the room. Eventually, she gets out of the bed.
She walks around the bed in the dark, and switches on the lights
in the corridor. The camera follows her in the corridor.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - FRONT HALL - INTERIOR NIGHT
Carol switches the lights on in the hall, then she looks into the
peephole in the front door.
CAROL
Oh my God !
The camera turns around toward the corridor. Larry is getting out
of the bedroom, putting his slippers on.
LARRY
Hey, are you okay ?
Carol walks in the corridor toward him.
CAROL
Larry. Larry, I heard a noise. I-I-I heard a noise in the
hallway, so I just... I... You know, I-I looked and I
think... I think Mr. House was getting on the elevator.
Larry hops toward her, still trying to put his slippers on. She
backs up and they are now both in the front hall.
LARRY
Yeah ? You're sure ?
CAROL
Yeah, you know, I was... I'm-I'm... almost certain that it
was him.
LARRY
So-So-So what ?
CAROL
Just, you know... I mean, who else could it be ?
LARRY
So what ? It's not a crime. He can get on the elevator.
CAROL
I know. I know. But wh-who would it be at one-thirty in the
morning ?
LARRY
Oh, Jesus. I was in a deep sleep. What-What's the
difference ?
CAROL
But, you mean, you know how we're always complaining about
living on the geriatric floor. Do you know what I'm
saying ? A joke ?
While Larry is answering her, Carol opens the front door and peeks
into the hallway.
LARRY
All right, so it was Mr. House. So he got on the elevator.
It's not a felony. The guy pays rent. He's entitled. I
mean, what... Can you go back to bed ? This is crazy. You
woke me up out of a deep sleep. I gotta get up early
tomorrow morning.
Carol closes the door, and walks toward the kitchen. The camera
follows her.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - INTERIOR NIGHT
Carol looks through a notebook.
CAROL
I know what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna ring him up. I'm gonna
ring his apartment. I'm gonna see if he's home.
LARRY (voice over)
You're gonna ring Mr. House, now ?
CAROL
Yes, because this is really...
LARRY (voice over)
What are you talking about ?
CAROL
It's very sus...
Larry joins Carol when she already has the handset in her hand.
But she succeeds in dialing Paul's number.
LARRY
Don't ring Mr... What are you doing ? No, don't ring...
CAROL
Let me just... Larry, don't. Wait.
LARRY
Don't ring Mr. house. This is a widower. Leave the poor guy
alone. You're crazy. Stop it.
Carol listens to the phone.
CAROL
That's one ring.
LARRY
So you saw him go out. It's not a-not a crime.
CAROL
Okay, two rings. He's not there, yet.
Larry takes the handset from Carol's hand.
LARRY
Give me this. Give me this.
CAROL
What are you doing ?
LARRY
Look, if you want to find out if somebody left, just call
downstairs. Call the-the-the person at the desk.
CAROL
All right, I'll call. Just keep ringing.
LARRY
Ask if someone went out.
CAROL
Keep ringing.
LARRY
Yeah, um. Sure, I'm gonna keep ringing. You got it.
While Carol walks out of the kitchen, Larry puts the phone back on
its hook on the wall.
CAROL
Oh, man.
Carol walks into the hall. The camera follows her.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - FRONT HALL - INTERIOR NIGHT
LARRY (voice over)
This is insane. What's gotten into you ?
Carol picks up the building internal telephone handset from the
wall.
CAROL
I don't know. What is he doing ? Where is this guy at one-
thirty in the morning ? You know what I'm saying ?
LARRY (voice over)
It's not your business. He can go any place he wants.
CAROL (in the phone)
Hallo ? Yes, hallo. This is Mrs. Lipton. Yes. Did anybody
just leave the building ? I'm just... hmm. You're sure ?
You're sure no one ? No, okay. All right. Yes. Thank you.
While she was talking on the phone, the camera has moved toward
Larry, standing at the entrance of the kitchen.
LARRY
Okay. Are you happy ?
We hear the noise of the phone being put back on its hook.
CAROL
I don't believe this. Man, I don't get it.
Larry joins his wife in the hall.
LARRY
Now, can we back to bed ?
CAROL
No.
LARRY
For crying out loud, it's no big deal. You're making a
mystery where nothing exists.
CAROL
Just let me think about this a second. Okay, I got it.
Wait. I know, it... No, wait. Listen to me. Larry...
Listen. He got on the elevator, okay ?
LARRY
You know, I'm gonna...
CAROL
No, wait. No, no, listen to this. No.
LARRY
I wanna go to sleep. I don't want to be standing here in
the middle of the night.
CAROL
I know. Larry, he got on the elevator and he took it to the
basement.
LARRY
Oh, great ! Great ! So what ? Now, what've you got ?
CAROL
He has a car, right ? He's got the garage door key, he
opened... he could... he has the...
LARRY
So what ? So what ?
CAROL
What do you mean, «so what» ? He's...
LARRY
What's the big deal ? So, the next-door neighbor went out
in the middle of the night and took his car. So, he went
someplace.
CAROL
All right. So, I'm right, though.
She starts walking back to the bedroom. Larry follows her. The
camera remains in the front hall, filming them.
LARRY
That's all.
CAROL
I mean, I'm right.
LARRY
I mean, so you're right. So big deal.
CAROL
Yes, he isn't in his apartment.
LARRY
But this kind of right is gonna put us in the toilet. So,
you're right. You're suspicious.
CAROL
Yeah, that's right.
LARRY
It says more about your mind that about him.
CAROL
What about your rigidity ? How about that ?
LARRY
Get into bed. Get into bed.
CAROL
How about that point ?
LARRY
You're so... What's wrong with you ? Jesus !
They disappear in the bedroom.
NEW-YORK - LARRY'S RESIDENCE STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Long shot on the crossroad between the street where Larry's
residence is located and another street. Carol is crossing the
street. She stops walking while on the crosswalk. The camera zooms
on her and we see an expression of surprise on her face.
Reverse angle long shot on the entrance of Larry's building. Paul
comes out of the building. The camera zooms on him : he looks
around him as if afraid to be followed.
Reverse angle shot on Carol looking at him from a distance. She
enters her building. She smiles to the attendant on duty.
CAROL
Hi !
LARRY'S BUILDING - BASEMENT - INTERIOR DAY
Full shot of Carol walking down the staircase leading to the
basement. We see her through the glass panel of a heavy metal
safety door. She opens the door.
CAROL
Jack ?
The camera follows Carol to a reverse angle shot showing the
workshop of Jack, the factotum caretaker of the building. With a
screwdriver and a plier in his hands, he is working on something
we don't see.
CAROL
Jack, do you think you could come upstairs today, because I
got a leak in the kitchen ?
JACK
Well, yeah. Yeah.
CAROL
You can ?
JACK
Sure.
CAROL
Well, but, it will be this afternoon.
JACK
But I... I got...
CAROL
All right, you're not gonna go now ?
JACK
I'll be back in about a minute.
Jack walks out of his workshop and along one of the basement
corridors.
CAROL
In a minute.
JACK
Okay, just wait a second. I'll be right back.
The camera follows Jack walking away.
CAROL (voice over)
Yeah. Okay. All right. Oh, God.
The camera turns around to a reverse angle shot on Carol, still in
the workshop. She looks around, apparently looking for something.
She peeks through the door of the workshop, to make sure Jack is
not coming back too early. Carol rushes to a key-box on the wall,
into which there is a spare key for every apartment in the
building. She selects a key, takes it out of the box and puts it
in her pocket. Then she leaves the workshop toward the staircase.
LARRY'S LANDING - HALLWAY - INTERIOR DAY
Full shot of the hallway. Carol comes out of the elevator, and
looks around her. She walks back and forth in the hallway, before
coming back to Paul's apartment door, just in front of the
elevator. She opens the door with the key she has just stolen in
Jack's workshop.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - CORRIDOR - INTERIOR DAY
Full shot of the front door, seen from the living room. The front
corridor is completely dark. The door opens and Carol walks in.
She closes the door behind her.
Carol walks toward the living room, and the light coming from the
windows.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - INTERIOR DAY
Carol crosses the kitchen. She kneels down to look into the
cupboard where she had found the funeral urn. Apparently the urn
is not there anymore.
NEW YORK - A STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Long shot on a crosswalk in New-York. Paul is crossing the street.
The camera zooms on Paul. He has almost crossed the street, but he
suddenly stops a few feet from the next sidewalk. He feels his
jacket : apparently he has forgotten something in his apartment.
He turns around and starts walking back on the crosswalk.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - INTERIOR DAY
Carol is still looking in all the cupboards of the kitchen. She
gets out of the kitchen into the living-room.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
The camera pans around the room, following Carol, who looks inside
every piece of furniture in the room.
NEW YORK - A STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Medium shot of Paul walking along the sidewalk, going back toward
his apartment.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Carol has picked up a few papers from a low table, and is looking
at them. She puts her hand into her trouser pocket to get her
glasses out. She puts her glasses on to have a better look at the
documents she has found.
LARRY'S BUILDING - LOBBY - INTERIOR DAY
Through the window of the lobby, we get a full shot of Paul coming
toward the entrance of the building. An attendant rushes to open
the door for him.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Carol is sitting at the desk. She has opened the drawer of the
desk and is looking through its content. She takes an Air France
ticket folder out of the drawer and looks inside it. Then she
picks up another one.
LARRY'S BUILDING - LOBBY - INTERIOR DAY
Medium shot of Paul entering the elevator.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Carol closes the drawer of the desk. She stands up and picks up
the phone from the desk and starts dialing a number.
TED'S APARTMENT - SITTING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Full shot of the room, which is quite wide. Ted is seated at his
desk, and the shot is taken from the other side of the room,
showing Ted's back. The phone rings. Ted picks it up.
TED
Hallo ?
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Medium close shot of Carol speaking on the phone.
CAROL
Ted... I'm in his apartment.
LARRY'S BUILDING - ELEVATOR - INTERIOR DAY
Medium close shot of Paul inside the cabin of the elevator. He
gives a quick look up to the floor numbers above the door.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Same shot of Carol on the phone.
CAROL
The urn is missing. It's gone. Yeah, I think it might have
been. He had this satchel last night. He was carrying this
bag, and I think that might have been what he had in his
satchel.
TED'S APARTMENT - SITTING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Close shot of Ted's back. He is still seated at his desk and
talking on the phone
TED
Listen, I'd get out of there right away, if I were you.
The camera moves around Ted, showing the typewriter he is typing
on.
TED
No, no, no. Go, go, go. We'll do... We'll talk more from
your apartment.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Same shot of Carol on the phone.
CAROL
He's not going snorkeling with his brother. He's got two
tickets to Paris, and he's got reservations at the Georges
Cinq hotel with a woman named Helen Moss.
She turns around, because she feels she heard a noise in the
landing hallway.
LARRY'S LANDING - HALLWAY - INTERIOR DAY
One of Paul's neighbor is standing in the hallway, waiting for the
elevator. He's got some documents in his hand. The elevator dings
and the door opens. Paul comes out.
NEIGHBOR
Oh. Hi. How are you ?
PAUL
Good morning. How are you ?
Paul has his key in his hand and is ready to open his apartment
door.
NEIGHBOR
Good. You got the notice on the... Uh, maintenance
increase ?
Paul turns around to look at the neighbor.
PAUL
No. When did that happen ?
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Close shot on Carol, whispering in the phone and looking toward
the front door.
CAROL
I'm gonna look around and see what else I can dig up here,
okay ? Yeah. I'm telling you, this is just... Ted, I-I'm
just dizzy with freedom. This is just... uh, this is just
the craziest thing I've ever done.
TED'S APARTMENT - SITTING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Close-up shot on the ashtray, where a cigarette is burning slowly.
The camera pans to a close-up shot on Paul's face, still on the
phone.
TED
Yes, it's crazy. But soon, we'll be too old to do anything
crazy. Go, leave, leave, leave.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Carol puts the phone down on the desk. She stands and turns around
when she hears the front door opening.
Black screen shot on the front door in the dark of the corridor,
then the camera quickly spins around to show Carol, standing in
the living-room, with a frightened look on her face. She walks
away from the room. The camera spins back to the front door, which
opens. Paul enters and switches the lights on. He closes the front
door, and walks along the corridor to the living-room.
Carol walks into the kitchen from the living-room.
The camera pans to Paul, looking for something on his desk. He
looks through all the documents scattered on the desk.
The camera pans back to Carol, hiding in the kitchen, then back to
Paul.
Paul opens both his hands in a gesture of despair : apparently, he
hasn't found what he was looking for. He starts walking across the
room, and the camera pans back to Carol in the kitchen. She rushes
out of the kitchen.
The camera remains at the same spot, and we see Paul in the
living-room, still looking for whatever he is missing. He walks
out of the living-room through the kitchen.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Paul enters the room, looking in the inner pocket of his jacket.
He walks around the room, and opens a closet. He looks through the
hanging clothes, and finds a few documents in one of the jackets.
He closes the closet, and starts looking through the documents he
has found. He puts them inside the inner pocket of his jacket. He
starts walking out of the room, when the phone rings. He stops and
picks up the phone receiver on one of the night-tables.
PAUL
Hallo.
Medium shot of Carol hiding under the bed. We notice she doesn't
have her glasses anymore.
PAUL (voice over)
Oh, hi. Yeah. I know. I-I...Yes, I miss you, too. I did. I
made all the arrangements.
Back to Paul standing by the bed and talking in the telephone.
PAUL
Yeah, look. I... Okay, I have to run. But I'll see you
later, okay ? Okay.
He puts the phone down on its hook, and starts walking out of the
room. He stops, thinks for a couple of seconds, turns around, sits
on the bed and picks up the phone.
Back to Carol under the bed. The bed frame hits her back when Paul
sits on it. She looks up. We hear Paul dialing a number.
PAUL (voice over)
Extension five. Well, keep ringing, would you please ?
Because I just talked to her. What ? Okay. Uh, will you
tell her... yes, tell her that Tom called. Tom. Thank you.
Back to Paul sitting on the bed. He puts the phone down on its
hook, stands up and starts walking out of the room.
Back to Carol under the bed, waiting for Paul to get out of his
apartment.
NEW-YORK - A STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Starting from street level, the camera tilts up along a very
modern office building, all glass and steel. A sign, above the
main entrance, says «10 East 53». This is the building where
Larry's office is located.
LARRY'OFFICE - INTERIOR DAY
Full shot of a large office room. In the forefront, a reception
desk, with a young female receptionist talking to someone we still
don't see. Coming from the other end of the room, Larry is walking
with Marcia, a tall dark-haired lady, wearing sunglasses.
LARRY
So, I thought your rewrites were great. I really think you
helped your book, you know ? It's... It's dense a little
bit, but, uh...
MARCIA
Well, I don't want it to be too transparent, I mean...
They are now at the reception desk level, and, since the camera is
following them, we can see the young gentleman the receptionist is
talking with.
LARRY
That's... That's something you're never gonna have to worry
about, you know ? This book makes «Finnegan's Wake» look
like airplane reading, you know ? But-But it's long. It's-
It's-It's...
They are now walking along a corridor.
MARCIA
You know, you're the only editor in the world I'll take
suggestions from, but even you shouldn't push it.
LARRY
No, I'm not pushing it. I think the book is great.
Absolutely great. You know, but, uh... how much, how much
of Dorothy is you? As I was reading it, I kept thinking how
much is... you know, how much did you base it on your own
life ?
They have now reached a smaller room, actually Larry's private
room. Marcia takes her glasses off, and then her coat, and sits on
a sofa.
MARCIA
Well, I was a waitress. I lived with a poet. I was a film
critic.
LARRY (voice over)
Right, but not-not a blackjack dealer, right ?
MARCIA
No, but I put myself through school playing poker.
The camera pans to Larry, who is standing up at the other end of
the room, looking through some documents.
LARRY
Oh, really ? Do you still play ?
MARCIA (voice over)
No, but I still know how.
LARRY
Yes ? Are you good ?
MARCIA (voice over)
Yeah.
LARRY
Yeah, because maybe you could give me some pointers.
MARCIA (voice over)
I could turn your game around in two hours.
LARRY
Could you ? That's great. That's... you know, you-you have
all these skills, and you're beautiful, and you can write
so well... and now it turns out you play poker. This is,
uh, too good to be true.
Larry sits down with the pile of documents on his laps. The camera
pans back to Marcia. She has a cigarette in her hand.
MARCIA
Well, I wouldn't say beautiful.
LARRY (voice over)
Oh, I would.
MARCIA
But I do have tremendous sex-appeal.
The camera pans back to Larry, who is looking through the huge
pile of paper on his laps, perhaps a manuscript.
LARRY
Okay, you sold me. Are-are you seeing anybody ?
MARCIA (voice over)
No. Don't let my confidence fool you, it's a facade. Why do
you ask ?
LARRY
Because I have a friend who became single recently, and I-I
know he would get a big kick out of you.
MARCIA (voice over)
Oh. So, when do you want your poker lessons ?
LARRY
Uh, next week. I could take you to lunch. We could-we
could, um, I'll put you on my expense account, and you
could... teach me when to... bet and when to fold.
MARCIA (voice over)
How about a cheeseburger right now ?
The phone rings.
LARRY
Now ? That's a possibility.
Larry picks up the phone from a small table.
LARRY
You know, we could, we could do...
(talking into the telephone)
Hallo. Yes ? Where are you ?
The camera pans back to Marcia, who listens to Larry, smoking her
cigarette.
LARRY (voice over)
Is everything okay ? Really ? No, I could, sure.
The camera pans back to Larry.
LARRY
I could. Yeah. I need-I need, you know, five minutes, or
so. Okay. Yes. Yes. I know where it is. Okay, hold on.
He puts the telephone down on its hook.
LARRY
I can't do it. I have to... My wife, I have a little thing
I have to do. I'll do the cheeseburger with you next week,
or something.
The camera pans back to Marcia, who is smiling.
MARCIA
Story of my life !
She crushes her cigarette in and ashtray and stands up.
NEW-YORK - A PARK - EXTERIOR DAY
Full shot of a round concrete pond, with a fountain in the middle
pouring water. In the background, a meadow, with chairs scattered
on it. Carol is standing by the pond. Larry is talking to her,
looking very nervous.
LARRY
What do you mean, you snuck into his apartment ? Are you
nuts ?
CAROL
Oh, stop being such a fuddy-dud.
LARRY
A fuddy-dud ?
Carol starts walking around the pond. Larry follows her.
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
What are you talking about ? That's a crime. You can't do
that. You... That's-That's burglary and breaking and
entering. But... What has gotten into you lately ? For
crying out loud, save a little craziness for menopause.
CAROL
It was a cinch. I took the key and I just let myself in.
LARRY
Hey, look. Do... I don't want to... You-You'll wind up
rooming with John Gotti. You can't do that. You can't just
steal the key and then go into somebody's apartment.
CAROL
Listen. He's not going snorkeling with his brother, okay ?
Okay ?
LARRY
I don't wanna know. I don't wanna be an accessory.
CAROL
He's going to Paris, to a fancy hotel with a woman named
Helen Moss.
LARRY
Tell Ted. I don't want to know. Leave me alone.
They keep on walking around the pond, the camera following them
from a fixed location. They are now hidden by the fountain.
CAROL (voice over from behind the fountain)
I told Ted.
LARRY (voice over from behind the fountain)
You told Ted before you told me ?
CAROL (voice over from behind the fountain)
Yeah. He's more open-minded about these things.
LARRY (voice over from behind the fountain)
Yes, I know. I'm-I'm-I'm a bore. I'm-Because I-Because I
don't break the law, you know ?
CAROL (voice over from behind the fountain)
Yeah.
LARRY (voice over from behind the fountain)
I live within the Constitution, so I'm dull.
CAROL (voice over from behind the fountain)
Listen. Perhaps he got rid of the urn, okay ?
They appear back from behind the fountain.
LARRY
I-I don't wanna hear. Leave me alone. Don't tell me.
CAROL
He talked on the phone with a woman.
LARRY
How do you know ?
CAROL
Because he... Well, he came back while I was there, you
know, so...
LARRY
He did ?
CAROL
Yeah, but I hid under the bed.
LARRY
You hid under his bed ?
CAROL
He didn't see me, Larry. He didn't see me at all.
LARRY
I cannot believe this. My stomach is curdling, here I...
CAROL
He was-He was very lovey-dovey with his kind of bimbo, you
know ? He kept saying stuff like, you know, «don't worry,
it's gonna be all right. We're gonna be together.» That
kind of thing.
They keep on walking around the pond, slowly coming back toward
the camera, which moves a little to meet them.
LARRY
But what would you have done if he, if he found you out ?
CAROL
I know, listen, I-I couldn't think that far ahead.
LARRY
That far ahead ? You're talking two seconds.
CAROL
No, I c...
LARRY
He could have looked under the bed and there you are. What
do you...
CAROL
Yeah, but... Larry, listen. And then, listen to this. He-He
called this woman back. Probably this-this Helen Moss
woman, right ?
LARRY
I don't wanna know. Leave me alone.
CAROL
And when he calls her back, she's not there. And then he
leaves this message, and he says : «Tell her Tom called».
You know what I'm saying ? Tom. Tom, Larry.
They are back at the same place where we saw them first by the
pond. They stop walking.
LARRY
Yeah, yeah. I... I know, I get it, his name is Paul, but I
don't care. I don't wanna hear.
CAROL
Well, okay. Well, I'll tell you. I thought I did...
LARRY
I just don't...
CAROL
I thought I did a great job, and so did Ted. I don't think
a private eye could have done any better than me. I put
everything back where I found it, I was very careful. I
made one mistake.
LARRY
What ?
CAROL
I left my reading glasses on his table.
Larry looks at her with a very puzzled eye.
LARRY'S LANDING - HALLWAY - INTERIOR NIGHT
Medium close shot on Paul's apartment front door. We get a close
shot of the back of Carol's head. The door opens on Paul.
CAROL
Oh, hallo. Hi. I-I thought I'd bring you some chocolate
mousse. I know how much you enjoyed the last dessert.
Carol walks rapidly inside the apartment, followed by Larry. Paul
looks a bit surprised by this intrusion. He follows them along the
corridor. He doesn't even close his front door !
PAUL'S APARTMENT - CORRIDOR - INTERIOR NIGHT
The camera follows the three persons along the corridor.
PAUL
Well, thank you.
CAROL
I thought I'd-I'd give you, you know, another shot at
something really delicious. Do you want me to serve that
for you, because, you know, you should have it while it's
still fresh.
The shot becoming a bit wider, we notice that Paul is carrying the
tray of chocolate mousse that Carol gave him when entering his
apartment.
LARRY
And you can divide it up and we can all have some.
CAROL
That'd be great. That's a great idea.
LARRY
You'll really like this dessert.
PAUL
Okay, I'll get some plates for it. Wait a minute.
Paul walks out of the corridor toward his kitchen, and Carol
rushes into the living-room.
CAROL
Okay, that'd be really good.
LARRY
Yeah, that's great.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
They both start searching the room frenetically. While Larry looks
on the desk, Carol searches the rest of the room, even kneeling on
the floor.
CAROL (WHISPERING)
Come over here. I put'em... um... right here. Right in here
somewhere. The first... Wait. I should...
(to Paul, with a much louder voice)
Uh, how-How are you doing in there ? You need...
Larry drops things on the floor. With a nervous gesture, Carol
shushes him.
CAROL
You need any help ?
The camera pans to the kitchen, where Paul is preparing the
dessert.
PAUL
No, I'm fine. I'll be right in.
CAROL (voice over)
Um... Okay, great.
The camera pans back to the living room, where Larry is still
nervously messing things on the desk. Then he starts moving around
the room, looking for his wife's glasses. Carol puts things back
in order on the desk. Larry walks to her, and whisper something we
can't understand.
LARRY (to Paul, with a louder voice)
Are you okay ? Can-can-can-can we do anything for you ?
PAUL (voice over from the kitchen)
Coffee or tea ?
CAROL
Tea. It's what... I'd like to have some tea.
Paul walks into the room, with a pair of glasses in his hand.
PAUL
You know, I found your glasses.
CAROL
Mine ?
PAUL
These are yours, aren't they ?
CAROL
Yes.
LARRY
No.
CAROL
Uh, no. Yeah. Uh... No no no no no. They... They... Oh,
God.
Carol and Larry both look very nervous. Carol takes the glasses
from Paul's hand.
LARRY
No, no, those aren't yours. These are the same, actually.
They are, aren't they ? These-These-These ones, are.
CAROL
They are actually... They're mine. Honey, they're mine.
I... You know what happened ? I think the other night, I
must have left them here. It's the strangest thing.
PAUL
Did you ? I didn't notice that.
CAROL
No, no. Yeah. I know. Because, remember, you were saying
that you thought that I left them at your mother's house ?
Carol and Larry both look very embarrassed. Paul looks at them
with a slight surprised eye.
LARRY
At your mother's house.
CAROL
That's right. Of course, so...
She turns toward Paul, who has remained very calm.
PAUL
That mousse looks fabulous.
CAROL
Anyway, it's so good. I love mousse.
PAUL
Thank you very much.
CAROL
Hey, listen, are you looking forward to going snorkeling in
the Caribbean ?
PAUL
Very much. Very much.
CAROL
Uh uh.
PAUL
That's funny. I found those glasses under my bed.
CAROL
That's because I must have dropped them and they probably
got kicked under.
LARRY
Kicked under, right, because what she'll do, she'll drop...
CAROL
They were just...
LARRY
She'll always drop things and she'll kick them all around
the house.
CAROL
They f...
PAUL
The mousse ?
He walks away to the kitchen, with a strange smile on his face.
LARRY
She's always-She's always kick...
Carol looks at Larry with a meaning look, to make him stop
rambling.
CAROL
Anyway, I'd love to have some mousse.
LARRY
Yes, really ? Remember there was the time you kicked the
mousse under the bed in the house. Remember that ? It
was...
Carol walks away toward the kitchen.
CAROL
I remember.
LARRY
It took-took six months to get the...
NEW-YORK - A STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Medium full shot of Carol waiting under the awning of a place
(hotel or club) called the «Five Hundred». She hears a car
stopping and she looks at the street.
TED (voice over)
Hi. I'm sorry I'm late. The traffic's murder.
Carol runs to the car.
CAROL
I know, but where... where are we going ?
TED (voice over from inside the car)
I looked up, looked up Helen Moss in the phone book.
Carol climbs into the car and closes the door.
CAROL (voice over from inside the car)
Yeah.
TED (voice over from inside the car)
It was just H. Moss.
CAROL (voice over from inside the car)
Right.
TED (voice over from inside the car)
So I-it's on Bank Street...
The car drives away, with Ted's voice fading as the car gets away
from us.
TED (voice over from inside the car)
Bank Street... we're going to go down and do surveillance.
I got a lot whole of food. It's great. I called up this...
I called this number.
NEW-YORK - BANK STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Full view of the corner of two very quiet streets. A brick
building covered with vines. The camera pans away from the
building to Ted's car parked on the other side of the street
corner. Medium shot of the inside of the car, through the open
window on the passenger's side, Carol's side.
TED
There's her house.
CAROL
Right. So we should just sit here and wait, huh ?
TED
Yeah.
CAROL
Okay.
They look at each other and laugh.
Slightly later. Medium shot through the windshield. The view is a
little blurred by the daylight reflection on the windshield.
TED
Maybe he thought that if he, if he, if he divorced her,
she'd-she'd hit him for a ton of alimony. Or maybe she,
maybe she controls the family fortune. What do you think of
that ?
CAROL
Oh, I don't know. Yeah, maybe we're wrong, Ted. Maybe we're
just, you know... I mean, maybe she died of natural causes,
like the doctor said and we're just two people with, you
know, hyperactive imaginations whose lives need a little
shot of adrenaline.
Ted looks through the paper food-bag he has brought with him.
TED
Does yours ? I'll tell you, mine needs something.
CAROL
Yeah? What's that, there ?
TED
You want ? They're jelly doughnuts. You want a jelly
doughnut ?
CAROL (with a disgusted tone in her voice)
Ooh.
TED
Eh ? Come on. No, come on. Come on. You gotta get into it.
CAROL
Okay.
TED
Oh my God. Look, look, look, look, look !
The camera pans to the other corner of the street. Two people, a
male and a female, are coming out of the brick building.
CAROL (voice over)
What ? What ? What ? What ?
TED (yelling in voice over)
Helen ! Helen !
(Back to a normal low voice)
Duck, duck, duck !
Neither one of the couple has turned around at the sound of Ted's
yelling, and they start walking down the street, away from the
corner.
CAROL (voice over)
Ted! God, oh...Oh.
TED (yelling in voice over)
Helen !
The camera pans back to the car, looking through the open window
on the passenger's side. Carol is hiding under the dashboard. Ted
is hiding his face with his paper bag, holding a paper cup in the
other hand.
TED
It's not her.
CAROL
It's not her ?
She sits back in her seat.
TED
No, it's not her.
Carol laughs.
TED
What...
CAROL
Oh, God, you really have this worked out, don't you ?
She keeps on laughing. Ted starts laughing too.
Slightly later. It is raining. It is still the same medium shot
through the passenger's window, but the window is now closed, with
the rain pouring on the window-pane.
TED
I figured she'd come out and go to work, you know ?
CAROL
Maybe she doesn't work. Maybe she's like... you and she has
writers hours.
TED
I'm writing a play about something that happened to you and
me.
CAROL
Oh, God. Oh, dear. What ?
TED
Remember-Remember that time... you and... you and I and
Larry and Julie were all on that-that eating tour of
France ?
CAROL
Oh, God. Yeah. Yeah.
TED
And they, and then they wandered off and they forgot to
pick us up ? You remember ? We had to share that bed-and-
breakfast place.
CAROL
Right. Do you remember those wonderful cottages ?
TED
Yeah.
CAROL
And I remember... that we shared a bedroom together,
right ?
TED
Yeah, but not a bed.
The camera pans away from the car to the other corner of the
street. Someone is coming out of the brick building. It is
apparently a male wearing white pants. He opens an umbrella.
CAROL (voice over)
No, not a... Well, God. You were too gentlemanly to suggest
that.
TED
Well, it's not... Not that I didn't think of it.
The camera follows the man with white pants, while he is crossing
the street on the other side of the street from the car.
CAROL
No. Well, I knew what was going on in your mind... because
of the way you kept plying me with Chateau Margaux,
remember ?
The camera is back behind the passenger's window of the car.
Though the car-windows, we see the white-pants-man walking on the
sidewalk on the other side of the street. Ted and Carol do not
seem to notice him at all.
TED
It could have been our little secret, then you passed out.
CAROL
Well, you... Yeah, God. It seems like a long time ago,
doesn't it ?
TED
Not that long ago.
Slightly later. The rain has stopped. Same shot through the
passenger's window of the car, but the window is now open again.
A long pause. Ted and Carol seem to be both lost them in their own
thoughts. Then Ted gives a look outside and comes back to
attention.
TED
Look, look, look, look.
CAROL
Oh, what ?
The camera pans to the other side of the street. A woman is coming
out of the brick building.
TED (yelling in voice over)
Helen !
(with a softer voice)
Duck, duck, duck, duck, duck !
On the other side of the street, the woman has stopped and is
looking around her.
CAROL (voice over)
Oh, god, yeah. Right.
TED (voice over)
She didn't see us. She didn't see us.
CAROL (voice over)
No ? No. That's gotta be her.
TED (voice over)
I'll bet it's...
The woman starts walking again on the sidewalk.
CAROL (voice over)
Are you sure ?
TED (voice over)
I mean, she answered to Helen.
CAROL (voice over)
She answers to... She's pretty.
TED (voice over)
Yeah, I'll say.
The woman has reached the corner of the street and she lifts her
arm.
CAROL (voice over)
She's... What is she doing ? She's getting a...
TED (voice over)
She's getting a cab.
A yellow cab stops near the woman.
CAROL (voice over)
Okay, okay. Hold on.
TED (voice over)
Keep-Keep down.
CAROL (voice over)
Okay, don't worry. Don't worry.
TED (voice over)
I'm gonna follow her.
CAROL (voice over)
All right.
The woman opens the cab door and climbs into it.
NEW-YORK - A STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Long shot of a street covered with a metal structure. We could be
under a commuter train bridge. The yellow cab is driving toward
us. The cab stops at the corner of the street with another street.
The woman comes out of the cab, and walks away on the sidewalk of
the other street. The camera pans back to the first street and we
see Ted's car coming toward us. The camera stops at the corner of
the street and Carol walks out of the car. She runs in the
direction of Helen, and waves Ted to join her. The camera pans to
the end of the street, which actually is a dead end street with
the back door of a movie house. The woman enters the movie house.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - INTERIOR DAY
Medium shot of a door leading to an emergency stair way. Helen,
the woman we just saw coming out of the yellow cab, is coming down
the steps and through the door. She is blonde, young and pretty.
PAUL (voice over)
Watch your step. It's very steep. Be careful.
Behind Helen, Paul is coming out of the stairway. Helen has
stopped to look around her.
HELEN
Oh, this is beautiful.
PAUL
Isn't it ?
HELEN
Yeah.
The camera pans away from the couple toward the main hall of the
movie house. It is an old-fashioned movie house, with red velvet
seats, and a carved balcony.
PAUL (voice over)
Well, we only show revivals now. This week, we have Fred
Astaire. Next week, we have an Orson Welles festival.
HELEN (voice over)
Oh, yeah ?
PAUL (voice over)
Yeah, it'll be about the last thing we do before we start
renovating.
The camera keeps on panning around the room.
HELEN (voice over)
Mm. Oh, Paul, I...
PAUL (voice over)
Oh, come on, there's nobody around.
We hear moaning and kissing sounds.
HELEN (voice over)
I-I...
PAUL (voice over)
Come on.
HELEN (voice over)
Okay.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - BACKSTAGE - INTERIOR DAY
Full shot of the backstage behind the screen. In a corner, a
stairway going to the top of the backstage. Half-hidden on the
stairway, Carol and Ted.
HELEN (voice over)
I've never been behind a movie screen before like this.
PAUL (voice over)
Strange, isn't it ?
HELEN (voice over)
Yeah.
PAUL (voice over)
Used to be a first-run house when the neighborhood was
better.
The camera pans to the back of the screen, in front of which Paul
and Helen are standing.
HELEN
Oh.
PAUL
Beautiful, huh ? Look around.
HELEN
All these mirrors.
The camera pans around the room, where a lot of huge mirrors are
stacked.
PAUL
Huh ? Well, it used to be all mirrors, and it was quite
beautiful.
The camera tilts down to give us a closer shot on the mirrors.
PAUL (voice over)
I'm having all this broken glass replaced as we go along
with this renovation. You know, they used to have stage
shows, here. Now, of course, we only show old movies.
The camera tilts back up on Paul and Helen.
HELEN
It has such a lonely feeling.
PAUL
That's because I'm the only one here. And my assistant,
Mrs. Dalton. I'm gonna have this place fixed up, then I'm
gonna sell it. The money's gonna come in handy.
HELEN
It sure will.
Paul looks around, a bit worried.
PAUL
What's that noise ?
HELEN
Where ?
The camera pans to the other side of the room, where a middle-aged
woman with red curly hair has just entered. She is Gladys Dalton,
Paul's assistant. She is walking with the help of a cane.
PAUL (voice over)
Oh, Mrs. Dalton. I didn't know you were here so early.
GLADYS
Oh, uh, I-I didn't know whether an-anyone was here. I-I'm
sorry. I-I-I heard the noise and I thought...
PAUL (voice over)
It's quite all right.
GLADYS
But, but, uh...
PAUL (voice over)
It's quite all right.
GLADYS
I apologize.
PAUL (voice over)
Quite all right.
GLADYS
All right.
Gladys Dalton starts going out of the room and the camera tilts up
on the stairway, on which Ted and Carol are still hiding.
HELEN (voice over)
I'd love to really get an acting job. I had it with this
modeling.
PAUL (voice over)
Maybe you won't have to work at all.
Ted and Carol are moving away from the stairway, which remains
empty.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
Close shot on the clock on the wall : the time is just after one
o'clock. The room is completely dark and the clock is the only
source of light. The camera pans to the bed and on Carol, sound
asleep. We hear a noise, like an object dropping down. Carol
instantly wakes up. She gets up and the camera pans to Larry,
still asleep. He eventually wakes up, moves around in the bed,
takes his glasses from the night-table and put them on his nose.
CAROL (whispering in voice over)
Oh, my God.
Slowly Larry gets out of the bed.
LARRY
What's the matter ?
CAROL (voice over)
Larry, come with me, okay ?
Larry starts walking along the corridor.
LARRY
Oh, Geez, I was...
CAROL (voice over)
Come on.
LARRY
I was fast asleep. I was dreaming of round card girls.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - FRONT HALL - INTERIOR NIGHT
Larry has reached the front hall. Carol is looking through the
peephole of the front door.
CAROL
Okay. Uh, it looks like he's gone. Yeah. Yeah. He's gone.
LARRY
Oh, Christ. Not that again. Please, you know...
CAROL
Listen, Larry. I want to take another look around his
apartment. Yeah.
Carol walks along the corridor toward the bedroom. Larry follows
her.
LARRY
What are you talking about ? Where're you going ?
CAROL
Listen.
LARRY
It's-It's one o'clock in the morn...
CAROL
He'll never be back, Larry.
LARRY
What ? What ?
LARRY'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
CAROL
No, he's not coming back. Not for at least an hour, an hour
and a half.
LARRY
What-What're you doing ? You got his key ?
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
You're kidding. What are you talking about ? You can't
do... Why... because you-you followed him to the movie
house, you-you said there was nothing happening.
CAROL
No, wait a minute, look, he was with this young model type,
and they were talking about money.
Carol is putting her shoes on.
LARRY
Well, so what ? That's the...
CAROL
So, that's the motive.
LARRY
What... Hey, listen to me. Come here.
CAROL
What are you talking about ?
Carol walks back through the corridor toward the front hall. Larry
follows her.
LARRY
Come here. Wait a minute. Come here. Look, look.
CAROL
Come here. What do you mean, Larry ?
LARRY
I've been thinking about you.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - FRONT HALL - INTERIOR NIGHT
CAROL
What do you mean ?
LARRY
I think you gotta see... I gotta... You gotta, you gotta go
back to your shrink.
CAROL
What do you m...
LARRY
I want you to see Doctor Ballard again.
CAROL
Huh ? Larry, I went for two years.
LARRY
I'm s... Yeah. I know. But you...
CAROL
Just come... come on.
LARRY
You know how General Motors will recall defective cars ?
Well, you gotta go in for a tune-up.
CAROL
Larry, we'll be in and out in five minutes.
LARRY
You got... No. No.
CAROL
Five. Only five.
LARRY
I... What... I'm telling you, I'm your husband. I command
you to sleep !
He points to the bedroom.
CAROL
Well, I didn't...
LARRY
Sleep ! I command it !
CAROL
No, I...
LARRY
I command it ! Sleep !
CAROL
Larry, all I can tell you is, if this had been a few years
ago, you would have been doing the same thing. Because if
you recall, we solved a mystery. Yep, we solved a mystery
once. Remember ? It was the-it was the noises in the attic
mystery.
LARRY
Uh, yes. The country house. The bluebird. I know.
CAROL
That's right. So...
LARRY
But that, though, was a sweet mystery. This is murder.
CAROL
This... Wh... You agree, right ? It's murder, Larry ? So,
I'm right.
She opens the front door and walks out of the apartment.
LARRY
No, I... Yeah, look, no, I-I forbid you ! I forbid you to
go! It's a-a... I'm forbidding ! Is that what you do when I
forbid you ? If-If that's what you... I'm not going to be
forbidding you a lot, if you do...
LARRY'S LANDING - HALLWAY - INTERIOR NIGHT
Full shot of the landing. Carol is walking rapidly toward us and
Paul's apartment. Larry walks behind her. Carol takes Paul's key
out of her pocket and tries to open the front door. But she takes
the wrong key on the keyring.
CAROL
Oh, damn it.
Larry takes her by the shoulders.
LARRY
Don't do this. We should be asleep, now, in one of our many
cuddling positions.
CAROL
Please, stop it, will you ? Please, be quiet, Larry.
LARRY
This is wrong.
CAROL
Be quiet. You're gonna wake up the neighbors, okay ? Okay,
I got it. I got it.
She opens the door.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
Full shot of the front door, seen from the living room. A small
lamp is still lit on a low table. The door opens and Carol walks
in, followed by Larry.
LARRY
This is no good. I promise you, this could only lead to
great unhappiness.
CAROL
Listen, Larry... Relax, okay ?
She closes the front door.
LARRY
Pl... I can't relax. How can I relax ? I'm in a strange
man's apartment in my, in my T-shirt and-and pajamas.
CAROL
Oh, don't worry about it. All right, now Ted told me to try
something here... Yeah.
She rests her hands on the telephone, which is next to the lamp.
LARRY
What do you mean, Ted told you ? Who... Ted ? Ted ? What is
he, your mentor ?
The camera zooms to a close shot on the telephone. Carol picks it
up.
CAROL
Um, «Last number dialed».
The camera zooms backward to Carol with the phone handset to her
ear.
LARRY
Ted is a sick schmuck. He's-He's home, and we're in...
CAROL
Just be quiet for a second, all right ?
She listens to the phone.
CAROL
Shhh !
LARRY
I mean, I'm... What if he comes back ? I'm... My heart
is....
CAROL
Larry.
MALE VOICE OVER FROM THE PHONE
Waldron.
CAROL
Uh, who ?
MALE VOICE OVER FROM THE PHONE
Who is this ? Who do you want ?
CAROL
Um, who's this ?
She puts her hand on the phone microphone and turns toward Larry.
CAROL
Do you know anybody named Waldron ? Waldron ?
LARRY
Hang the phone up.
CAROL
Just be quiet. Okay, wait.
LARRY
Hang the phone up, now.
She puts the phone handset back to her ear.
CAROL
Oh, great. Now they-they hung up on us.
LARRY
Good, good.
He takes the handset from her hand and slams it down.
CAROL
Oh, great.
LARRY
Let's get out. I wanna go home. I want to go back to bed.
CAROL
No, just let me think for a second, now. Waldron, right ?
Helen Moss. Okay. He used the name Tom, right ? So, Tom
Waldron. We gotta run a check on that.
LARRY
Run a check on it ? What, do you want to beat it down to
the morgue ? You got all the jargon.
CAROL
Come on.
She walks away from the phone table.
LARRY
Where are you going ?
CAROL
Right.
PAUL'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
Carol enters the bedroom, followed by Larry.
LARRY
I'm not a night person. I don't wanna be... What are you...
I don't know what I'm looking for.
CAROL
Oh, oh, wait. Look.
She starts looking through the mail scattered on a table.
LARRY
What ? What do you wanna do, go through the guy's mail ?
This is insane.
He starts looking through the mail.
CAROL
What do you mean ?
LARRY
Oh, my...
As he takes some more letters, Larry hits a small porcelain
statuette, and drops it on the floor, where it breaks. He bends
down to pick up the debris.
LARRY
Jesus. Oh, Christ !
CAROL
What are you do... Well, just... Clean it up, Larry. Clean
it up.
Larry stands up.
LARRY
What do you mean, clean it up ? What am I gonna do,
vacuum ?
CAROL
Put it under the rug, or something like that, okay ?
LARRY
I can't. It's a wall-to-wall carpet. I broke his-his-his-
his... porcelain...
He looks at the porcelain pieces in his hands.
CAROL
Well then glue it. Glue it back to...
She moves around the room.
LARRY
What do you mean, glue it ? What are you talking about ?
CAROL
Oh, look. Look.
LARRY
What ?
CAROL
Look.
She shows him a pair of gloves she just picked up on a low table.
LARRY
So what ? Gloves. I have gloves. They keep my fingers warm.
CAROL
So ? I know. I know, but you keep yours out on the bureau
in this kind of weather ? Uh ?
LARRY
Let's get out of here, because this is a...
CAROL
I think something's very strange, here. I mean, he left
these out and ready. I think the whole thing is really
sinister.
LARRY
It's eye of the beholder. What you have... you've got to go
to the eye doctor, get happy glasses.
He pushes her toward the exit of the room.
CAROL
What ?
LARRY
Look, I'm gonna take the pieces with us, and we'll-we'll
get rid of them.
NEW-YORK - CLUB TWENTY-ONE - EXTERIOR DAY
Medium shot of the famous entrance of the club 21, with the line
of painted cast iron lawn jockey statues which adorns the balcony
above the entrance. The camera zooms backward to give a full shot
of the entrance of the club.
NEW-YORK - CLUB TWENTY-ONE - INTERIOR DAY
Full shot on the lobby of the club. On the right, a counter with
an attendant behind the counter. Facing us the entrance of the
main room. Carol, Larry, and their son Nick, are coming out of the
room. Nick must be in his early twenties.
CAROL
So, how did you like your birthday cake, Nick ?
NICK
I loved it, I...
CAROL
I know.
NICK
I loved... But then again, I love chocolate anything, so...
The camera moves around the three people as they walk toward the
cloakroom.
CAROL
I know.
LARRY
Right.
CAROL
I know. What-What-What are you laughing about ?
NICK
Well, I...
LARRY
If only he could stay in town-If only could stay in town
just a couple of more hours.
NICK
I know. I was going to, but I...
CAROL
Well, what about that ?
NICK
They're working us so hard at school. I can't.
CAROL
Oh.
They've stopped in front of the cloakroom.
NICK
I gotta get right back.
CAROL
Really.
LARRY
I'm gonna take him to Brooks Brothers for his present. And-
And-And, uh...
NICK
Brooks Brothers. Yeah.
LARRY
Your mother's going to a wine-tasting.
CAROL
You're going to get something from Brooks Brothers ?
NICK
Yeah. A sweater.
LARRY
She's going to a wine-tasting. Can you believe that ?
CAROL
Well, if I'm going to be a restaurant owner, I should know
something about wines. Don't you... Larry ?
Larry walks across the lobby, because he has seen someone he knows
in the sitting-room. He waves his hand and comes back to his wife
and his son.
LARRY
Hi. Hey, I want you to meet somebody.
CAROL
What ?
The camera pans around, to show us Marcia crossing the sitting-
room.
LARRY
I want you to meet somebody. This is, this is...
MARCIA
Hi, Larry.
LARRY
Hi. How are you ?
MARCIA
Good. How are you doing ?
LARRY
This is my wife.
Marcia has reached the lobby.
CAROL
Honey, I'm here. I'm right o...
LARRY
You snuck around.
CAROL
Carol. Remember me ?
LARRY
Yeah. This is Marcia Fox.
The two women shake hands.
CAROL
Oh, hi.
MARCIA
Hi.
LARRY
My son Nick. He's in town on, uh...
MARCIA
Good to see you.
LARRY
It's his birthday, so we took him to Twenty-One.
Marcia shakes hands with Nick.
NICK
Nick. How are you doing ?
LARRY
It's a tradition we have in the family.
MARCIA
That's great. Oh, your friend called me. He's taking me to
dinner in New Jersey next week. Some mafia joint.
LARRY
Oh, I fixed her up with Ted. He's going to take her...
CAROL
Oh, you did.
LARRY
Yeah. That place that we ate at.
CAROL
Well, very nice. That's lovely.
LARRY
He's a lot of fun. You'll have a very good time.
MARCIA
Great. Great.
LARRY
That's great. So.
MARCIA
Well, good to see you. Good to see you.
CAROL
Okay, you too.
MARCIA
Take care.
CAROL
Goodbye.
Marcia walks away.
LARRY
Oh, it's great. She'll have a great time.
CAROL
So, that's Marcia Fox, huh ?
LARRY
S-So, what are you making a face for ? She's great.
CAROL
Well, do you think she's Ted's type ? Is that...
LARRY
Ted's type ?
CAROL
Yeah.
Larry gives his ticket to the cloakroom attendant, whom we don't
see.
LARRY
She's anybody's type. She's brilliant, she's talented.
Yeah. I gave you...
CAROL
Thank you.
Larry gives her purse to Carol.
LARRY
You get your bag.
CAROL
You know, your pupils are dilating.
LARRY
No, she's dangerously sexual.
They start walking toward the entrance of the club.
CAROL
I just wanted to tell you that.
LARRY
Let me tell you... Listen, when you go to the wine-tasting,
honey...
CAROL
I see.
LARRY
Getting back to real life, spit it out. Okay ? When you
drink...
NICK
Yeah. Don't drink too much, Mom.
LARRY
Yeah, spit... And spit it out.
CAROL
What do you mean ? Nick.
LARRY
They spit it out at a wine-tasting, you know what I mean ?
Because, yeah. I don't want you to be lying on the bathroom
floor with your head by the bowl tonight, you know ?
They walk out of the club.
NEW-YORK - A LOUNGE - INTERIOR DAY
This is very nice lounge in New-York, very tastefully decorated.
It looks like one of those old English Club in London. Beautiful
paintings on the walls, and even stained glasses on the windows.
This is where the wine-tasting is taking place. The camera pans
around the room. We see people talking while holding wine-glasses.
We hear Ted and Carol's conversation without seeing them yet.
TED (voice over)
That Mouton 45. That was...
CAROL (voice over)
Didn't you love it ?
TED (voice over)
Oh, that was-was like, sublime, you know ?
CAROL (voice over)
Yeah.
TED (voice over)
And the inexpensive Spanish one. Wasn't that... wasn't that
a nice surprise ?
CAROL (voice over)
It was very, very...
TED (voice over)
Wasn't that great ?
CAROL (voice over)
Yeah.
TED (voice over)
Look at these paintings. Look at this.
CAROL (voice over)
So, uh...
The camera has reached Ted and Carol and follows them walking in
the room.
TED
I love the blue in that.
CAROL
So, Larry fixed you up with Marcia Fox, huh ? His, uh...
TED
Yeah, yeah, well, you know. He's...
CAROL
His favorite writer.
TED
He says she's wonderful, and I'm...
CAROL
Oh.
TED
I'm trying to do everything I can to get out and meet
people, you know.
CAROL
Sure.
We now get a medium shot of Carol and Ted walking toward us.
TED
I'm-I'm not looking forward to this.
CAROL
So, you're taking her to Vincent's out in Jersey ?
TED
Yeah.
CAROL
Is that what you're...
TED
I-I guess. She's not my first choice.
CAROL
No ? God, look at this! Oh, that park is so beautiful.
They have reach a large window, where they can get a view of the
park on the other side of the street.
TED
Yeah, it's great. Of course, I can't have my first choice.
CAROL
No ?
TED
I'm getting drunk. I don't know what I'm saying.
He sits down. She sits down on the sofa besides him. Behind them,
you see the park through the windows.
CAROL
You're getting... So am I. I don't know about this.
Ted looks at his watch.
TED
I'm gonna be late for my shrink. I've got a...
CAROL
You've got to go, huh ?
TED
Yeah.
CAROL
Okay.
TED
Well, you know, you would be my first choice.
CAROL
Me, huh ?
TED
Yeah.
Carol laughs.
CAROL
Well. Oh, boy.
TED
Well, you... Can I give you a lift ? Do you, uh, I'm gonna
go east. Do you...
CAROL
Thanks. No, I-I think I'll stick around, I need to think. I
need my... I feel a little, you know, tipsy.
TED
I didn't offend you by what I said, did I ?
CAROL
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You didn't offend
me, no, I was very, uh, flattered by this, Ted. Flattered.
Well, anyway.
TED
See you later.
He stands up and bumps into a low table in front of the sofa.
CAROL
See you. Oops, careful. Whoops.
TED
Sorry. Excuse me.
CAROL
Excuse me.
Carol looks at him walking away with a strange expression in her
eyes.
NEW-YORK - STREET IN FRONT OF THE LOUNGE - EXTERIOR DAY
Medium tracking shot of Ted walking on the sidewalk, coming from
the lounge and toward us.
Medium low-angle shot of one of the window of the lounge, seen
from the street. This shot is low-angled because the lounge is
located slightly above street level. Carol is seated in front of
the window, looking very pensive. She takes a sip of her glass of
wine. She looks absently though the window.
NEW-YORK - A LOUNGE - INTERIOR DAY
The street seen through the window, next to which Carol is seated,
but we don't actually see Carol. We see a big car, followed by a
bus. The camera zooms on the bus. Through one of the bus windows,
we see a woman, seated inside the bus. And this woman looks very
much like the deceased Lilian, Paul's wife.
NEW-YORK - STREET IN FRONT OF THE LOUNGE - EXTERIOR DAY
Close shot on the window, in front of which Carol is seated. She
looks at the passing bus, with a wide open mouth, and a surprised,
almost frightened, expression on her face. She stands up a little
and then sits back.
NEW-YORK - A LOUNGE - INTERIOR DAY
Full view of the room. In the background, Carol, still seated by
the window. She stands up, picks up her purse, and starts crossing
the room, bumping into people. She reaches the staircase, and
walks downstairs.
NEW-YORK - STREET IN FRONT OF THE LOUNGE - EXTERIOR DAY
Full view on the entrance of the lounge. Carol is walking rapidly
down the stairs leading to the entrance. She reaches the sidewalk,
and looks around her for the bus. She walks away from the lounge
and toward us, with the camera on a tracking shot in front of her.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - INTERIOR DAY
Medium shot of Larry working in the kitchen, putting things away
in the cupboards. Behind him, we see the front hall. The front
door opens and Carol walks in.
LARRY
I got a great sweater at Brooks Brothers' today for Nick,
today.
Carols closes the door and leans on the wall. But Larry doesn't
seem to understand that something is wrong with her. He walks away
to the sitting room. He keeps on talking in voice over, while
Carol is still leaning on the wall of the front hall.
LARRY (voice over)
Really beautiful. It's cashmere. Very expensive. The kid
looked so handsome in it, though. Also, I decided I'd cook
dinner tonight. My one dish tuna casserole.
Larry comes back in the kitchen and looks at his wife, but still
doesn't seem to notice that something is wrong. We follow Larry
into the sitting-room.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - SITTING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Larry is setting the table for dinner
CAROL (voice over)
Well, no wonder he had her cremated.
LARRY
What ?
CAROL (voice over)
Mrs. House.
LARRY
Oh, Jesus. You're not about Mrs. House again. I thought
we'd have a light dinner, you know, because we had a rich
lunch at Twenty-One, I thought.
The camera pans to Carol standing at the entrance of the room and
leaning on the wall
CAROL
Larry.
LARRY (voice over)
What ?
CAROL
I just saw Mrs. House.
LARRY (voice over)
What are you talking about ? The ashes ?
CAROL
No, no, no. A bus. It passed me, and she was on it.
Larry joins Carol.
LARRY
Uh, the dead woman passed you on a bus ? Which bus was
this, the bus to heaven ?
Larry walks away toward the kitchen. Carol follows him.
CAROL
No, but I'm not, I'm not joking. I mean, I'm telling you
something. I'm telling you, I really saw her. I actually
saw her.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - INTERIOR DAY
Larry is checking his cooking.
LARRY
Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
CAROL
Yeah.
Larry takes two wine-glasses out of the sink.
LARRY
You want to lie down for a while ? We'll put a cold
compress on your head, or a hot compress on your back,
or...
CAROL
No, Larry, you know, I was at the wine-tasting, right ? And
I was just... I was sitting at, you know, a bay window. I-I
happened to look out. A bus passed, and she was on it,
Larry.
LARRY
Remember I said to you ? Yes, remember I said to you, spit
it out ?
CAROL
I...
LARRY
I said don't drink it. You said you were going to a wine-
tasting ?
CAROL
But ?
LARRY
You said you were going to taste wine all afternoon ? I
said spit it out ?
CAROL
Yeah...
LARRY
I said don't swallow it ? You swallowed it. And that's why
you're this way.
CAROL
I know. I know. Okay. I-I... Yeah. I had a few drinks, but
it's-it's not... I mean, I saw her.
Larry puts the glasses away on the dinner table.
LARRY
Yeah, I 'm sure you saw her.
CAROL
I ...
LARRY
How could you see her ? She's dead. Not only is she dead,
she's been cremated. It's not even Halloween.
They walk into the sitting-room.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - SITTING-ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
CAROL
Okay. Are you telling me that you... That, that, that, that
you... That I didn't see her ? Is that what you're saying ?
LARRY
I think it's a pretty fair assumption that if a person is
dead, they don't suddenly turn up in the New York City
transit system.
CAROL
I just... I just don't know what's happening, Larry. I-I-I
don't know what's going on.
LARRY
What's going on ?
CAROL
What's... yeah.
LARRY
Let me put it this way : total psychotic breakdown. Okay ?
Is that enough ?
CAROL
I...
LARRY
Maybe, look. Maybe she's a twin. That's possible. Now
forget this.
CAROL
Why ?
LARRY
Taste my tuna casserole. Tell me if I put in too much hot
fudge.
He opens the dish he had put earlier on the table.
CAROL
Honey, you're getting so close-minded these days. I just...
The phone rings.
CAROL
Oh. Oh, God.
She picks up the phone from the wall. Larry sits at the table.
CAROL
Hallo ? Ted. Ted.
LARRY
Oh, Ted. Ted.
CAROL
Ted, you're not going to believe this, but, Ted, I saw Mrs.
House. Yes, Mrs. House. Yeah. Mrs... the murdered woman.
That's right.
Larry opens the red wine bottle and pours some wine in his glass.
LARRY
She wasn't murdered. It was a coronary. It was a coronary,
folks. It was a coronary. She wasn't murdered. I don't know
what they're talking about.
CAROL
Yeah. No, I'm sure. I'm sure I saw her. She was on a bus,
you know ? I mean, I-I saw her just moments after you left.
I was looking out the...
Larry puts the cork back on the bottle.
LARRY
He was at the wine tasting, too. Sure, why not.
CAROL
Would you ?
LARRY
They're both at the wine tasting.
CAROL
Would you really ? Oh, that would be so great. You'd just
run a check on Paul and Lillian House.
Larry stands up and walks toward Carol.
LARRY
Don't run a check. Don't run a check.
He takes the phone from Carol's hand.
CAROL
What are you talking...
LARRY
Stop.
CAROL
What are you doing ? I mean...
Larry talks to Ted on the phone.
LARRY
Listen, could you call back later, because my marriage is
falling apart.
He puts the phone down.
CAROL
Larry, what are you... But, what ?
LARRY
Forget it. Will you ? If you're gonna have an affair with
the guy, you don't need a murder to do it.
CAROL
I'm telling you, I saw Mrs. House.
Larry sits back at the table.
LARRY
Yes, I know, on the bus, the dead persons' bus. No car
fare.
CAROL
I s...Okay.
LARRY
Now, sit down. Let's...
CAROL
Now look. Just... I can tell you. I can show you the exact
spot, Larry.
LARRY
Yeah, I'm not going to see the exact spot.
CAROL
Uh ? What about lunch ? Tomorrow ?
LARRY
No, I've got a business lunch tomorrow. I got...
CAROL
On... on your, on your lunch hour ?
LARRY
No, I got a business lunch. I'm not interested.
CAROL
Oh, God. I'm telling you... I mean, this is such a shock.
LARRY
Hm ? I'm not interested. Come on, will you...
She walks away toward the front hall.
CAROL
I mean, I'm telling you, I'm just vibrating from this. I
mean, I saw this woman.
LARRY
Will you eat something ? We've got tickets to the theatre.
Carol comes back into the room.
CAROL
What ? Wh...I'm not going to the theatre.
LARRY (voice over)
What do you mean you're not go... We've been holding onto
these tickets for two months, now.
Carol walks again to the front hall and comes back toward the
sitting room, via the kitchen.
CAROL
Do you comprehend the enormity of what I'm telling you,
Larry ? Do you compr...
LARRY (voice over)
If you got a big story, tell it to the Police. Don't tell
it to me.
CAROL
What am I going to say to them ?
LARRY
Tell them your story. Tell them this whole cockamamie
story.
CAROL
What story ? I don't have a story. I mean, I got nothing.
Unless... Oh !
LARRY
That's right. That's right, you've got nothing.
CAROL
Unless... Unless I locate her.
LARRY
Yeah, okay, good. Now, will you sit down because we're
going to the theater. I don't care what you say.
She takes a drink on water in the kitchen.
LARRY'S BUILDING - LOBBY - INTERIOR NIGHT
Medium shot of Larry and Carol coming out of the lift. They cross
the lobby. Jack, the caretaker of the building in standing near
the entrance of the building.
LARRY
Oh, Jack ? Jack ? You-you were there when Mrs. House died,
right? You saw her ?
CAROL
Right. Yeah. You saw her lying there, right ?
JACK
Yes, she was lying on the floor.
CAROL
You said... Yeah, but... but you're, you-re sure it was
her, right ?
LARRY
Hey, he said it was lying on the floor. Right. Right. You
know, I... He's sure. He's sure. He's sure.
JACK
She was in that bag. Yeah.
LARRY
My-My-My wife's been having some bad dreams, and she
doesn't know what she's talking about.
CAROL
Okay, look. Yeah, yeah.
Larry gives some banknotes to Jack.
LARRY
Yeah, this is, this is for all the times I call you to fix
the faucet, and you show up six months late.
JACK
Thanks.
THEATER - AUDIENCE HALL - INTERIOR NIGHT
Full shot of the audience watching the show. We hear music. In the
forefront, Carol and Larry. Larry is taping his chin with the
program. Carol turns toward Larry and starts whispering.
CAROL
The super is a drunk. I know, but, we've seen him smelling
of Jack Daniel's, remember ?
LARRY
Yeah, but...
CAROL
I mean, I know he didn't see Mrs. House, Larry.
LARRY
If she's a twin, it's a different story. But you don't seem
to feel she is, so...
CAROL
Well, I don't know. Oh, I know. Unless he's in on it.
LARRY
Who's in on it ? The super ? The super can't change a fuse.
The lady, sitting next to Larry, just gave the couple a bad look,
and Carol taps on Larry's arm.
CAROL
Shh !... Shh !...
A short pause.
CAROL
I mean, she...
LARRY
What ?
CAROL
Well, she's alive. And my question is, who was in that bag.
I mean, somebody...
LARRY
She's not alive, unless she's a twin. Okay ? Now keep
quiet...
CAROL
Look, somebody... Somebody got cremated, Larry. Somebody.
LARRY
Shut up.
NEW-YORK - STREET IN FRONT OF THE LOUNGE - EXTERIOR DAY
Long shot of Ted and Carol walking toward us in a quiet street.
Actually it is the street where the wine-tasting lounge is
located, and, of course, the street where Carol saw the bus with
Lilian on board of it. They walk near the entrance of the
«National Arts Club». Ted is holding a small notebook and looking
at what is has written in it.
TED
Lillian House.
CAROL
Right.
TED
Uh, maiden name, Lillian Beagle. Born in Carlyle,
Pennsylvania, nineteen-thirty-five. Married Paul Richard
House.
CAROL
Right, I know.
TED
She was not a twin. Had an older sister who...
CAROL
So goes Larry's theory.
TED
Uh, went to England twenty years ago, and an older brother
who died in nineteen-eighty-seven.
Carol stops in front of the building next to the «National Arts
Club». It is the building where they had the wine-tasting session
the day before.
CAROL
Right here. This is it.
TED
This is where we were.
The camera tilts up to show the window behind which Carol was
sitting the day before.
CAROL (voice over)
This is where we were. I know. And I was sitting right
here, after you left.
The camera tilts back down to Ted and Carol.
TED
Right.
CAROL
And I was having a glass of, you kn-you know, wine, and I
looked out the window, and-and I saw the... right here.
Carol shows Ted the spot where she saw the bus.
TED
You saw her after I left ?
CAROL
Yes, I saw... her on a bus. It was passing. You... It was,
like.
She walks in the middle of the street.
TED
Wait a minute. Are you... You're absolutely sure you saw
her ? You saw her face ?
CAROL
I'm positive I-I saw her.
A car is honking. Carol, still standing in the middle of the
street, moves out of the way of the car.
CAROL
Whoo !... Excuse me. I-I'm telling you, Ted.
Ted joins Carol in the middle of the street.
TED
What was the number of the bus ?
CAROL
Uh, I don't know what the number of the bus was, but I know
that it was heading west to east, so it was... it obviously
was a cross-town bus.
TED
All right. Okay, look, look. It's a cross-town bus.
They walk to the sidewalk on the other side of the street, where
the park is located.
CAROL
Right.
TED
Okay, so look. The end of the line is a few blocks down
there.
CAROL
So, okay. So, then, it's like...
TED
So, she... She had to get off somewhere... somewhere.
CAROL
Then... Her destination was probably within the next five
or six blocks.
They start walking on the sidewalk, going the way where they first
came from.
TED
Yeah, right. So, let's, let's look around. Let's, we, we'll
see some, you know, uh, like a, like a, you know... clue,
or something. Or something. Maybe we'll see her. You're
sure you saw her face ?
CAROL
Don't, don't doubt me, okay ?
TED
Okay, okay, okay. No, no, no, no.
CAROL
I'm-I'm not kidding. Look.
NEW-YORK - A WIDE AVENUE - EXTERIOR DAY
This is not a nice area anymore. It is a wide dingy-looking
avenue, with the nearest buildings very far away and a road bridge
over the street. And it is raining.
Long shot of the avenue, with Carol and Ted walking further away.
CAROL
Oh, God. Well, I think, you know, I think we've reached the
end of the line.
TED
I think this is it.
A bus is coming toward them.
CAROL
Look. The bus.
The bus slows down.
TED
I don't think... there's noth... Watch out. Watch out.
Ted pushes Carol so she doesn't get soaked by the bus driving very
close to the sidewalk and into the pools of rain.
CAROL
Yeah, what ? Oh. Whoo !...
The bus makes a U-turn on the avenue.
TED
Yeah, look. See ? See, he's turning. That's it.
CAROL
Yeah, I know.
TED
That's all there is, here.
CAROL
Well, what do you think ?
RED
What ?
CAROL
Do you think we should retrace our steps ?
NEW-YORK - STREET IN FRONT OF THE LOUNGE - EXTERIOR DAY
They are back in the same street where the wine-tasting place is
located.
Full shot of the park across the street, seen across the thick
vertical bars of the railings that surround the park. Ted and
Carol are walking on a lane in the park.
TED
You-you wear a tie with a dress. It's a... It's a very
special...
The camera follows Ted and Carol, moving on the other side of the
railings.
CAROL
No, I don't think it looks good, and I don't even know if
it looks... I mean, I feel like it'd be to masculine if I
wore it with a pair of pants.
TED
Oh, it'd look great on you. No, no, just don't wear it with
pants.
CAROL
Oh.
TED
With pants, it's-it's... what ?
Carol has just stopped walking, and she is looking at something on
the other side of the railings.
CAROL
Ted, look.
TED
At what ? What ?
The camera pans around to a reverse angle shot of the other side
of the street. It stops on a building. On the awning above the
entrance of the building is written : «Hotel Waldron». The camera
stops on that shot and doesn't move anymore.
CAROL (voice over)
That hotel.
TED (voice over)
What about it?
CAROL (voice over)
Well, that's... the Waldron. I mean, I thou... I-I was in
his apartment, I pressed the number... «last number
dialed», and...
TED (voice over)
You're kidding.
CAROL (voice over)
And they answered the phone. And said... Waldron.
TED (voice over)
Let's-Let's-Let's get to a phone. Let's get to a phone.
Let's call up. You got a quarter ?
Medium shot of Ted talking into the handset of a pay-phone on the
street.
TED
Hallo ? Mrs. House, please ? Mrs... Mrs. House. Can you
ring her room for me, please ?
The camera pans to Carol, standing in the street near Ted.
TED
Really ?
CAROL
Well ?
TED
What. Maybe... Well, maybe she checked out. No-nobody,
nobody at all. Uh... What about...?
CAROL
Wh-What about...
TED
Yeah, what about, uh, Helen Moss, Moss. You're sure ?
Nobody... nobody at all. All-All right. All right, okay.
I'm sorry. All right. Thank you. thank you.
CAROL
Great. Oh, God. It looks like it's gonna rain again. Well ?
A RESTAURANT - INTERIOR DAY
Full shot on a restaurant. This part of the restaurant is empty.
Only two people, Larry and Marcia, are seated at a table behind a
set of crossed wooden bars, on the other side of which the camera
is located. Apparently Marcia is teaching Larry how to play poker.
Marcia wears sunglasses and has a cigarette stuck between her
lips.
MARCIA
If I get two kings, I take one. Otherwise, I fold.
LARRY
So...
MARCIA
Got it ?
LARRY
I-I never go out. I-I-I-I-I just, I can't take... I
can't...
Marcia shuffles the cards.
MARCIA
That's how you wind up on welfare.
The camera pans away from the two players to another section of
the restaurant, where a few people are still eating. It looks like
a very good restaurant, with waiters dressed with white shirt and
black vest.
LARRY (voice over)
You know, I need the action, for some reason. I-I can't...
I bet anything. Okay, just...
MARCIA (voice over)
Cut ?
LARRY (voice over)
No, no, go ahead, I trust you. Lay it on me.
The camera pans back on Larry and Marcia. This is a different
shot, with the camera in front of their table. Marcia seems very
relaxed with the cards in her hands, when Larry seems quite
nervous. He holds the card very close to his eyes, seeming afraid
that his partner will look at them.
MARCIA
You seem in a strange mood.
LARRY
No, no, no. I'm just probably just a little drunk.
MARCIA
On Perrier ?
LARRY
No. What are you talking about ? I had rum cake.
MARCIA
Want any cards ?
Larry shuffles his cards in his hand, hesitating on his next move.
LARRY
Uh, one second. Just let me, let me see, see what I,
possibilities I got here. Uh, yeah. I'm gonna have, uh...
I'll have, uh... I'm gonna have four cards.
MARCIA
Four ?
LARRY
Yeah.
She gives him his four cards.
MARCIA
Cruising for a bruising.
LARRY
Inside and outside straight.
Marcia looks at her cards. Larry keeps shuffling his cards very
nervously.
MARCIA
You're in trouble, now.
LARRY
You know, I can't escape the feeling that my-my wife is
becoming attracted to somebody else... and it's really
bothering me.
MARCIA
Really.
LARRY
Yeah. That's why I'm not playing my best. This guy is, you
know, more adventurous than I am, and for some reason they
just seem to hit it off. I'm gonna be very lonely if, uh,
you know, if this happens.
MARCIA
You must love her a lot.
LARRY
Yeah, I do. I do.
MARCIA
Um... if you want to hold on to her, you have to make some
effort. I mean, who's the guy ?
LARRY
Uh, Ted. The guy that I fixed you up with.
MARCIA
Ted.
LARRY
Yeah.
MARCIA
Well, we could always switch. Ted gets Carol, I can be your
date.
LARRY
Maybe-Maybe I should actually make a greater effort with-
with Carol.
NEW-YORK - STREET OUTSIDE THE WALDRON HOTEL - EXTERIOR DAY
Full shot of the entrance of the Waldron Hotel. The pavement is
wet but it doesn't seem to rain anymore. The camera pans to a car
parked on the other side of the street a short distance from the
hotel. This is Larry's car, with Larry seated behind the wheel and
Carol seated on the passenger's seat. Medium shot of the inside of
the car, seen through the open window.
CAROL
So, you bored ? I mean...
LARRY
Well, it's more fun than the Wagner opera.
CAROL
Yeah. Well, to me, I mean, just... I mean, it's just one of
the most exciting adventures I've ever been on.
LARRY
Would you rather be here with Ted ?
CAROL
Well-Well, he has a more enthused attitude, Larry. I...
LARRY
More enthused ?
CAROL
Yeah, enthused, yeah.
LARRY
Well, he's a fun guy. He's a light guy, I'm a heavy guy.
CAROL
Well, I...
LARRY
You know, Ted-Ted would be fun on a scavenger hunt.
CAROL
No, look. I... Larry, you used to be a lot of fun.
LARRY
You know, he's the guy you want if you have a really heavy
scavenger hunt. He's the man.
CAROL
I know, well, but, y-you know. You used to...
LARRY
Do you know that this neighborhood was where I first took
you out on a date when we-we first started going out.
CAROL
What ? I don't know. I don't know. Just for some reason,
you've gotten so stodgy in your old age, you know ?
LARRY
Hey, you remember there was a movie house right on this
corner.
CAROL
No, I know. Yes ! Yeah, I remember.
LARRY
Not to change the subject.
CAROL
You know, I...
LARRY
I took you to see «Last year at Marienbad» on our first
date ?
CAROL
Yeah, I know. I had to explain it to you for the next six
months.
LARRY
Who knew they were flashbacks ? You know.
CAROL
Look, Larry. Look. We've got plenty of time to be
conservative. You know what I'm saying ? Don't you see ?
The camera starts moving around the car.
CAROL
It's to me, it's like this-this tantalizing plum has just,
like dropped into our laps. I mean, life is just such a
dull routine and here we are, right ? I mean, we're on the
threshold of a genuine mystery. I mean, to me, the whole
thing is like. It's... Hey, no.
The camera stops moving on another medium shot, where we still see
Larry through his open window, but we see Carol only through the
wet windshield.
LARRY
Are you gonna burst into a song, here ? We're in a car.
CAROL
Just don't make fun of me, okay ? Because I'm open to new
experiences.
LARRY
Let me ask you a personal question, here.
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
Did you ever sleep with Ted ?
CAROL
Sleep ?
LARRY
Don't get nervous. Yeah. Yeah, you guys...
CAROL
What, are you nuts ?
LARRY
We were on an eating tour of France, together.
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
You two guys spent an evening, you know, together.
CAROL
Yeah, right. We sp...
LARRY
At that place, you know.
CAROL
I know... Yeah, but what about you ? Remember ? You spent
the evening with Julie. Am I right ? You spent the night,
and shared a...
LARRY
That meant absolutely nothing. She hated me. Julie despised
me.
CAROL
What ?
LARRY
You know that. She-She thought I was a low-life and a wimp
and a vermin and a roach. Just-Just jump in anytime you
want to defend me, you know.
CAROL
Hey, I mean, I'm waiting for you to say something I don't
agree with, okay ?
LARRY
Ho-ho ! Hey, you're nailing me... Jesus !...
He stops smiling because he just saw something in front of his
car, something we don't yet see, because the camera hasn't moved
from its position.
CAROL
Oh. Larry.
LARRY
Yeah.
The camera starts panning very rapidly toward the entrance of the
hotel.
CAROL (voice over)
Larry, Larry, look. It's her ! I'd say it's her !
A lady carrying a white open umbrella is entering the hotel.
LARRY (voice over)
Oh my god, it is.
CAROL (voice over)
Yeah. You see what I mean ? See, so I was right all along,
wasn't I ?
LARRY (voice over)
Can you... Are you sure ? Are you sure ?
CAROL (voice over)
I'm positive. Yes.
The camera starts panning back toward Larry's car.
LARRY (voice over)
Oh, my God.
CAROL (voice over)
Right ? Right ? I mean, I was...
Medium shot of Larry and Carol in the car, seen through Larry's
open window.
LARRY
I'm... Jesus, I'm sh...
CAROL
I know. W-Well. Come on.
LARRY
That is her. Are you...
CAROL
Yeah. I know.
LARRY
I told you so.
CAROL
What do you mean, you told me so ? What are you talking
about ? You're nuts, honey.
LARRY
Oh, Jesus. I'm flabbergasted.
CAROL
Yeah. No, look. You're white. You're completely white.
LARRY
I know. All the blood rushed to my brother.
CAROL
Larry !
LARRY
I don't know what to do.
CAROL
Let's go. Let's get out there. Let's find out what's going
on.
LARRY
No, I don't want to.
CAROL
Oh, come on. Y-You're not afraid of her, are you ?
LARRY
No, I'm not afraid.
CAROL
You're not afraid of Mrs. House.
LARRY
She's an old woman and I'm a virile male.
CAROL
I know.
LARRY
And yet somehow I am scared. I don't know why. Maybe
because she's dead. You know ?
CAROL
Let's go. You know, I tell you, I'm gonna break this thing
wide open.
LARRY
Well, how ? What do you want to do ?
CAROL
I'm... You know, I'm... God, if only Ted were here with us
now. You know what I'm saying ?
LARRY
Oh, don't give me Ted ! Wh... Let's... Let's... Wh... Let's
get out of here.
CAROL
No, wait. I got an idea.
LARRY
What ?
CAROL
I know what we should do. We should get a gift, right ?
LARRY
What ?
Carol gets out of the car.
CAROL
We'll surprise her. We'll sneak into the hotel. Come on.
LARRY
How ? How ?
CAROL
Yeah, no. Come on.
Larry gets out of the car.
HOTEL WALDRON - LOBBY - INTERIOR DAY
A modern clean lobby, with a very conventional decoration. Medium
shot of a clerk cleaning the lobby floor with a broom. She is a
woman in her forties, very casually dressed with a flowered blouse
and a beige sweater, and with uncombed hair hanging on her
shoulders.
The camera pans around toward the street door. Carol enters the
lobby, followed by Larry. Carol is holding a small present-wrapped
parcel in her hand and walks toward the clerk.
CAROL
Uh, excuse me. Hi.
HOTEL DAY CLERK
Hi.
CAROL
Um, we were just wondering. Uh, did you see a woman come
in ? She was, uh, she was a little woman, about five foot
three ? She had on a gray sweater ?
HOTEL DAY CLERK
Older woman ?
LARRY
And came in with a-with a canvas bag, and an umbrella.
CAROL
Slightly older. Not...
HOTEL DAY CLERK
Mrs. Caine ?
LARRY
Mrs. Caine ?
CAROL
Mrs. Caine. Oh, yes. Uh-huh. That's her.
LARRY
Mrs. Caine. Uh-huh.
CAROL
Yes.
Larry takes the parcel from Carol's hand.
LARRY
We-We had a present for her. We're friends. We-We wanted to
surprise her, because it's her birthday, so-so...
He gives the parcel back to Carol.
HOTEL DAY CLERK
Oh.
CAROL
Yes, that's right. What room ?
HOTEL DAY CLERK
Uh, six-eleven.
CAROL
Six-eleven. Really, thanks a lot.
HOTEL DAY CLERK
Okay. Sure.
Carols walks away, but Larry stays with the clerk. He takes a
banknote out of his pocket.
LARRY
Yeah, we-we may need some information, while we're here,
so-so, we just want you to know... I'll take very good care
of you, if you play ball with us.
He gives the banknote to the clerk, who seems a bit surprised by
Larry's attitude and present. She looks at the banknote.
LARRY
What are you making that face for ? He's the father of our
country.
CAROL (voice over)
Will you come on ?
Larry walks toward Carol, who is waiting for the elevator.
LARRY
I'm coming, I'm coming.
CAROL
Come on. What're you doing ?
HOTEL WALDRON - SIXTH FLOOR HALLWAY - INTERIOR DAY
Medium shot on the elevator door opening. Carol walks out,
followed by Larry, who closes the door. Carol starts looking
around for room numbers. The camera follows them
CAROL
Okay. Um, six-eleven. Six-oh-seven.
The camera stops at the beginning of a long narrow corridor. Carol
and Larry walk along the corridor, away from the camera.
LARRY
Huh. Very nice. I love a hotel that's got lots of blue
powder sprinkled along the baseboard.
CAROL
Six-eleven. Here, Larry. All right.
They have stopped walking at the end of the corridor, in front of
a door. Carol knocks on that door.
CAROL
Um, Mrs. House ?
LARRY
Mrs. House ?
Carol knocks louder on the door, helped by Larry. Under Larry's
fist, the door opens slowly.
HOTEL WALDRON - ROOM 611 - INTERIOR DAY
Medium close shot on the door, that opens slowly.
CAROL (voice over)
M-Mrs. House ?
LARRY (voice over)
Hallo ?
Carol enters the room, followed by Larry.
CAROL
Hallo ? Mrs. Hou...
LARRY
I don't... I don't...
CAROL
My God, I don't...
LARRY
I don't think she's...
The camera starts panning around the room, up to the window, then
starts panning back toward Carol and Larry.
CAROL (voice over)
I don't see her.
LARRY (voice over)
This may not be the right-right place.
CAROL (voice over)
Just hold on, Larry. Hold on, hold on, hold on.
The camera is back on Carol and Larry. Larry is looking inside a
closet.
LARRY
There's nothing here.
He closes the closet door. Carol yells.
CAROL
Ahhh ! Larry !
She runs to the beds and look down on the floor between the two
twin beds. She drops the parcel on the floor.
LARRY
What's the matter ?
CAROL
Oh, my God ! Wait a minute !
LARRY
Oh, Jesus.
Carol kneels down on the floor, bending on something she just saw
on the floor. The camera follows her movement and we see a human
hand resting on the floor, the rest of the body being hidden by
one of the bed.
CAROL
Oh, my God, look ! Mrs. House ? Mrs. House ?
LARRY
What's the matter ?
CAROL
Hallo ?
LARRY
What-What-What...
CAROL
Mrs...Oh, Larry.
LARRY
What? What-What's...
Carol, still kneeling on the floor, straightens up and looks at
Larry.
CAROL
I think she's dead.
LARRY
Dead ? T-T-Try-Try giving her the present.
CAROL
Yeah. Oh, my God. Mrs. House ? Mrs. House ?
LARRY
Oh, come on ! Let's get out of here !
CAROL
I think that's it, Larry. I think she's dead !
LARRY
Come on. Let's get out of here.
He helps Carol to stand up.
CAROL
Oh, my God.
LARRY
I'm thinking of running the Boston marathon.
They both start running out of the room.
CAROL
Oh, God. Okay, oh God.
LARRY
This woman is forever dying.
HOTEL WALDRON - SIXTH FLOOR HALLWAY - INTERIOR DAY
Same shot of the long corridor as before. We see Carol and Larry
coming out Room 611 and running toward us.
LARRY
Come on, come on. Move, move. Adrenaline is leaking out of
my ears.
They reach the end of the corridor, and the camera follows them as
they run around the corner of the hallway.
LARRY
Get down those stairs.
They don't use the elevator and instead run down the stairs.
CAROL
Okay, all right.
LARRY
Come on, come on. Quickly.
NEW-YORK - STREET OUTSIDE THE WALDRON HOTEL - EXTERIOR DAY
Long shot of the entrance of the hotel, seen from the other side
of the street. A blue police car is parked in front of the hotel.
Two plainclothes police officers and one uniformed policeman are
talking with Carol and Larry. They both try to explain the
situation to the police officers. But since they both talk
together, the police officers have a hard time understanding them.
While they are talking, the camera zooms forward from a long shot
to a full shot of the group.
CAROL (talking together with Larry)
And then, you see, what happened was I suspected Mr. House,
right ? He's a... He runs a movie house. But-But then what
hap... We're sit... I saw her on this bus, right ? And...
And she has... no place at all. Then we checked anyway. So
we were just sitting there, just waiting...
LARRY (talking together with Carol)
We-We-We were there. She-She was very nervous. So-So we
were going to the movies, and, and, and we were walking and
looking around the place. And then suddenly she's a... Her
hand is on the floor. You could see it on the side of the
bed. She was lying there, she was sort of... like blue in
the face. The girl was nervous. I tried to keep calm, as
best as I could.
One of the plainclothes police officers stops their talking.
FIRST POLICE OFFICER
There's nobody up there.
CAROL
There's what ?
LARRY
What do you mean, there's nobody up...
FIRST POLICE OFFICER
There's nobody.
CAROL
Wait a minute, wait...
SECOND POLICE OFFICER
There's no body there.
CAROL
We-We saw...
LARRY
We just saw her there. She's lying on the floor.
CAROL
We...
SECOND POLICE OFFICER (talking to the uniformed policeman)
Mike, check the basement with...
He starts climbing the few steps to the entrance of the hotel,
followed by Carol and Larry. The other police officer remains on
the sidewalk.
LARRY
She was totally dead.
CAROL
We... She's there.
LARRY
Wait, wait.
HOTEL WALDRON - ROOM 611 - INTERIOR DAY
Medium close shot of an uniformed policeman, different from the
one we just saw in the street.
CAROL (voice over)
She was right here. She was lying, like, right this-a-way.
LARRY (voice over)
Yeah, she was definitely laying here.
The camera pans from the uniformed policeman to the two police
officers talking with Carol and Larry in the middle of the room.
The following dialogue transcript separates what Larry says from
what Carol says, but, most of the time, they talk together at the
same time, making it quite difficult for us, or for the police
officers, to follow their conversation.
CAROL
Because, I mean, she was, she was there, do you
understand ?
The camera tilts down on one of the police officers looking under
the bed.
LARRY
The... Y-Yes. She was... It looked like she was strangled,
or something. Not-Not that I'm an expert on violent death,
because I wouldn't know.
CAROL
We're-We're two professional people.
LARRY
Right, I'm a... I-I work at Harper's.
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
I'm in publishing.
CAROL
Yeah, that's right, and I'm-I'm looking to start a little
restaurant, basically French, although international
cuisine would be fine. Not that I really have a location...
LARRY
Right, she's a fantastic cook. But, uh, I'm against the
restaurant, myself, but-but she's a wonderful cook.
FIRST POLICE OFFICER
Calm down. Calm down ! Please !
CAROL
Okay, just...
LARRY
Look, obviously what happened is, in the time it took you
guys to respond... somebody came here and removed the body.
Not that you didn't respond quickly, you know, you were
here fast. It took-took you three minutes, not-not-not
counting the half-hour that the operator 911 took to
understand what I was saying.
FIRST POLICE OFFICER
Nobody is doubting you, okay ? We're going over the whole
building, all right ?
CAROL
All right.
NEW-YORK - STREET OUTSIDE THE WALDRON HOTEL - EXTERIOR DAY
Medium shot of Carol, Larry, the first plainclothes police officer
and the uniformed policeman we first saw in the street.
CAROL
Uh, did you check...
FIRST POLICE OFFICER
Mr. House...
The second plainclothes police officer joins the group.
SECOND POLICE OFFICER
...He's been at his place of business all day.
LARRY
Any witnesses ?
CAROL
Yeah, b...
SECOND POLICE OFFICER
Uh-huh, backed up and corroborated.
CAROL
Yeah, but you didn't use our names, or anything like that,
did you ?
SECOND POLICE OFFICER
No, we didn't.
CAROL
No, okay.
SECOND POLICE OFFICER
I don't know. If you think you saw his wife, shouldn't you
tell him ?
CAROL
No, I'm... No, I mean, he's in some sort of scheme, here.
It's...
FIRST POLICE OFFICER
We think you should calm down and file a report.
CAROL
It's not... Oh !
FIRST POLICE OFFICER
This way, if anything turns up, we got it on record.
He gives his business card to Larry.
CAROL
All right.
FIRST POLICE OFFICER
Take a card, give us a call, have a good day.
CAROL
Thank you. Thanks very much.
SECOND POLICE OFFICER
Bye-bye.
The two police officers walk away with the uniformed policeman.
Larry looks at the card in his hand.
CAROL
Thanks very much. Oh, man, I don't know how we're gonna...
LARRY
Jesus, I gotta have a drink. I gotta calm myself. I need
fourteen Zanacks or something.
CAROL
Where is Ted ? I just don't understand where Ted is. I
mean, you know, all this stuff is happening.
They start walking away on the sidewalk, while the police officers
are climbing in their car.
LARRY
Ted ? Ted-Ted's, you know, he's got his date with Marcia
Fox tonight. He's probably out buying some Spanish Fly.
CAROL
Do you think Helen Moss might be in on this ?
LARRY
Helen ? I don't know and...
CAROL
I think so.
LARRY
I don't want to know about this. I think we should change
our lives.
CAROL
No, think about it.
LARRY
We should move out of that stupid apartment, you know. You
know, start over maybe in Mexico.
CAROL
No, no, no.
LARRY
You know, sell blankets. We'll work off the hood of a car
or something.
A CAFETERIA - INTERIOR DAY
Full shot of a classical New-York cafeteria. Rows of table on
either side of the room, each table surrounded by beige imitation-
leather twin seats. Another row of table in the middle of the
room, with chairs around them. Huge electrical fans hanging from
the ceiling.
The camera pans on the left to a medium shot of the table around
which Larry and Carol are seated. They are drinking beer.
CAROL
I'm just beginning to calm down.
LARRY
I'm telling you, I didn't know what's happening. It was
like one of those television shows, where you open the
door, and you see a-a dead body. You know, I always hated
those shows.
CAROL
Yeah. You know, I've never seen a dead person before in my
whole life.
LARRY
I... The only one I ever saw was my uncle Morris, who was
ninety-four years old.
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
He collapsed from too many lumps in his cereals.
CAROL
Larry, is this the most exciting thing that's ever happened
to us in our whole marriage ?
LARRY
This is too exciting. I don't need this. You know, I like
something quiet... like a fishing trip, a Father's day, you
know, or, the time we saw Bing Crosby walking on 5th
avenue. You know, I don't need a murder to enliven my life
at all.
CAROL
You know, whoever did it was probably still in the room
while we were there. Probably hiding in the closet.
LARRY
Make sure and tell me that just before I go to sleep,
tonight. That'll be good for me.
CAROL
But you know, that probably means he saw us.
LARRY
Great, I'll never get my eyes closed. You know, I mean,
what do you want me to do ? I'm petrified. Not only that,
but I'm a little drunk.
CAROL
I wonder who was cremated. Who was it ?
LARRY
Well, it was... Well... You know, obviously, it wasn't Mr.
House, because he has an alibi.
CAROL
Well, yeah, but I don't buy that.
LARRY
She doesn't buy that. She doesn't buy the alibi. Let's get
out of here. I want to go home.
NEW-YORK - STREET OUTSIDE THE WALDRON HOTEL - EXTERIOR NIGHT
Full shot of Carol and Larry walking toward us. It is very dark
and the sidewalks are wet from a recent rain.
LARRY
Jesus, it's starting to rain again. Can you believe that ?
CAROL
Oh, God. If only Ted were with us, he'd have a million
theories about this, I'll tell you that.
LARRY
Yeah, I know. I know. Ted's got a mind like a steel sieve.
CAROL
Oh, right.
The camera hasn't moved, so now we get a medium shot of Larry and
Carol. They have reached their car, and Carol walks around it to
get into the passenger's seat.
LARRY
You know what I think ? I think it's possible. That hotel
room was on the, on the ext... That end of the hall.
The camera tilts up the facade of the Waldron Hotel.
CAROL (voice over)
What ? Yeah ?
LARRY (voice over)
It's right up there. That's the room.
CAROL (voice over)
I know.
LARRY (voice over)
Well, what if they got the body out over that little roof ?
You know, that would be a possibility. Why would...
The two windows, which Larry is pointing at, suddenly get lit.
CAROL (voice over)
Ohhh !... What are the lights...
LARRY (voice over)
Oh, Jesus.
The camera tilts back down to street level. Larry and Carol are
around their car, ready to climb in.
CAROL
Larry, the lights !
LARRY
Yeah, that's eerie, isn't it ?
CAROL
My God. This gave me the chills, honey.
LARRY
Yeah, well, let's call the police.
CAROL
I mean... Oh, no, no, no. Come on. Let's go over there now.
Let's check it out. Come on. We don't have time.
LARRY
Check it out ?
CAROL
Yes.
LARRY
What, are you nuts ? No, I'm not gonna check that out.
CAROL
No, but look at it, Larry. Look at that. There's lights
going on, there.
LARRY
Yeah, I know, I know. That's crazy. Look, look. Why don't
we go home and nap, and we'll call the police, and they can
check it out while we're home in the... ?
Carol walks away from the car toward the hotel.
CAROL
Oh, no, the police are red tape. Come on. This is my case,
honey.
Larry catches up with her. The camera remains on the sidewalk,
looking at the couple walking toward the hotel.
LARRY
What do you mean, it's your case ?
CAROL
Yes, it's my case.
LARRY
Hey, come here. I don't want to do this.
CAROL
No, come on.
LARRY
No.
CAROL
Oh, God. If only Ted were with us.
LARRY
Hey, don't give me Ted. Ted would be shaking in his boots.
CAROL
Ted... Oh, God.
LARRY
I'm at least just trembling like a leaf.
They have reached the hotel and they are climbing the steps to the
entrance of the hotel.
HOTEL WALDRON - LOBBY - INTERIOR NIGHT
Medium close shot on a window set in the wall of the lobby. Behind
the window, the night clerk is sorting some paper. There is a
grill in the window, to allow people to to talk to the clerk.
Carol and Larry walk to the window.
CAROL
Um, excuse me. We're with the Police department. We'd like
to, uh, check out room, uh, six-eleven, please ?
Larry tries to play the part of the relaxed policeman doing his
job, but he overdoes it and he looks more bizarre than serious.
HOTEL NIGHT CLERK
You were here before.
CAROL
Uh, that's right. Yes. Mm-hm. Yeah.
HOTEL NIGHT CLERK
You are Police ?
CAROL
Ee... Ooh, um, just, uh-uh... Show him your card.
LARRY
My what ?
CAROL
Your-Your card. Your-Your Police identification card.
LARRY
Yeah, I-I...
CAROL
Your card, you know. Your card. He's got his card.
Larry goes through the pockets of his jacket and gets the business
card the police officer gave him. He shows it to the clerk and
then slides it through a small rectangular hole at the bottom of
the window. The clerk takes it and looks at it.
CAROL
Yeah. See ?
HOTEL NIGHT CLERK
Okay.
The clerk gives the card back to Carol.
CAROL
Thank you very much. Six-eleven ? Okay. Great.
The clerks goes and gets the key of the room. He gives it to
Carol, who drops the card on the small counter under the window.
HOTEL NIGHT CLERK
Is there any trouble ?
LARRY
No, no, no, no, no. I-m-I'm-I'm-I'm j... I'm-I'm ju...
um... I'm a detective. They-They-They lowered the height
requirements, so I... I'll take this card back. They-re,
they're...
He takes the card from the counter and puts it back in the inside
pocket of his jacket.
CAROL
Come on.
LARRY
...expensive.
Carol walks toward the elevator and Larry follows her.
HOTEL WALDRON - SIXTH FLOOR HALLWAY - INTERIOR NIGHT
As before, the camera is located at one end of the long corridor,
showing Larry and Carol at the other end of the corridor ready to
enter Room 611. Larry keeps looking around while Carol is opening
the door.
HOTEL WALDRON - ROOM 611 - INTERIOR NIGHT
Full shot of the room with the door in the background. The door is
opening slowly. Carol enters the room, followed by Larry
CAROL
Okay.
LARRY
Be careful.
CAROL
Telling me to be careful. Now, just don't upset anything.
Okay, Larry ?
Larry closes the door.
LARRY
I'm not upsetting anything. I just, you know, I'm just
gonna leave a-a set of fingerprints around, so if there's a
trial, we can get trapped.
The camera follows Carol and Larry moving around the room.
CAROL
All right, now look. The murderer must have, like, hid in
this closet, right ?
Carol opens a closet.
LARRY
I don't like this.
Carol gives a quick peek inside the closet, and then closes it.
CAROL
Right, and then he must have...
LARRY
Let's go. You know, I've got to get up early tomorrow. I've
got to be in temple.
CAROL
Okay, he must have dragged the b... The body out, really
fast. What ?
We hear a click coming from the door of the room.
LARRY
Shhh !...
Larry picks up a metal lamp from the floor and hides behind a
closet in front of the door with Carol behind him. The door opens
and the cleaning lady walks in with her bucket and things. Larry
is ready to hit her, but, when he realizes who she is, he drops
the lamp. The cleaning lady yells.
CLEANING LADY
Ahhh !... Oh, Jesus! What...
LARRY
I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm... Didn't mea... I-I, oh, it's-
It's-It's a...
CAROL
Oh, hi.
Larry opens the door and pushes the lady out of the room.
LARRY
You don't have to turn the bed out. It's not necessary. And
no-no-no croissants tomorrow for breakfast.
He takes some money out of his pocket and gives it to her.
LARRY
Here, here. Here, take this for yourself. I like the
towels. Keep the little mints coming on the pillow, uh...
He closes the door.
CAROL
Oh, Jesus. Larry. I mean, really.
LARRY
Let's go. That's why the light was on. This is crazy, we're
gonna get in trouble.
CAROL
Just a second, Larry. Let me just look around here, just a
little bit.
Larry picks up the lamp which is broken in two pieces.
LARRY
Oh, look. I did damage. I... Now. I'll be sued.
CAROL (voice over)
Oh ! Larry !
LARRY
That's what ?
Carol comes back to Larry, holding something small in her hand.
CAROL
Larry, look. Look. I thinks that's her wedding band, Larry.
LARRY
How do you know ?
CAROL
How do I know ? I saw it on her.
LARRY
You did ?
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
Jesus.
CAROL
I think so.
LARRY
So much for the police combing every inch of this place.
Where did you find it ?
CAROL
I found it behind the door, right there.
LARRY
Oh, brother. Let's get out of here, come on. And take the
ring with you. Maybe there's a pawnshop open.
CAROL
Okay. Okay.
Larry opens the door and they walk out of the room.
HOTEL WALDRON - ELEVATOR CABIN - INTERIOR NIGHT
Medium shot inside the cabin. The elevator is moving down.
CAROL
Didn't I tell you the police weren't thorough ? I mean they
probably thought we were cranks, right ? I mean, we got no
body, and... I mean, they must get fifty crisis calls a
minute. Why would they bother with us ?
LARRY
I don't know. I just know, this is very deep stuff.
CAROL
Just...
LARRY
We should not be here. I'm scared, this is creepy. You know
what I mean ? This goes... this could be... Who knows who's
involved in this ? This could go very deep, Carol. This
could be like, you know, like with the Warren commission,
or something. I don't like it.
CAROL
Oh, not the Warren Commission.
There is a loud noise and the elevator suddenly stops.
CAROL
Oh, my God !
LARRY
Jesus ! What is that ?
CAROL
Wait a minute. Okay, all right, now look. All right. The-
the elevator's probably stuck.
LARRY
Why are we stopping ? Why are we stopping ?
CAROL
Relax now, Larry.
Carol starts punching all the buttons on the control panel.
LARRY
Don't tell me to relax ! I'm-I'm-I'm a-a world-renowned
claustrophobic.
CAROL
It's okay. It's okay, everything's going to be fine.
LARRY
Stop. Hit something.
CAROL
I am hitting it.
LARRY
I don't like this, I don't, I don't...
CAROL
I know, I know. It's okay.
LARRY
It's easy for you to say, but I can't breathe, I'm phobic.
CAROL
The-the idea is, there's plenty of air, in this elevator.
Uh, Larry, relax. Now, if you just don't panic, okay ?
Don't panic, all right ?
LARRY
I'm not panicking, I'm not panicking, I'm...
CAROL
Now, just don't worry.
LARRY
I'm just going to say the rosary, now.
CAROL
Somebody'll help us. Somebody's gonna help us. Somebody'll
find us here. Hello !
She hits the door with the palms of her hands.
LARRY
Oh, I don't know, I don't like this.
CAROL
Hello !
LARRY
Say something. Stop it.
CAROL
Hallo ! Hallo !
LARRY
I don't like this.
CAROL
Oh, God, look just...
Larry is getting really hysterical, moving his hands nervously
around him.
LARRY
I'm running over a field, I see open meadows. I see a
stallion.
CAROL
Yes, it's...
LARRY
I'm a stallion.
CAROL
Shh. Shut up, Larry.
LARRY
There's-There's a cool breeze passing over me.
CAROL
Larry, just shut up and calm down. Just, okay ? You're
gonna be o...
LARRY
I see grass. I see dirt.
CAROL
Larry, shut up ! Hallo ! Hallo !
LARRY
You know, you said, you said, «Act as a policeman».
CAROL
I know, yeah.
LARRY
I said «No». You said «Pretend to be a policeman». You said
«Show him your card». I said «What card».
CAROL
Okay, wait a minute. I know what. Here, just... Larry,
boost me up.
LARRY
You know, I ca...
Carol points to the ceiling of the cabin.
CAROL
Boost me up, and we'll get out there. We're gonna do it.
LARRY
I can't get through those things.
CAROL
Yeah. Yes we can. I can do it. I can loosen it.
LARRY
It'll never open, they're painted shut.
CAROL
No, wait. No, Larry.
LARRY
They're-They're... They-They never, they... they never
open.
CAROL
Come on. All right, put your hand together. Come on. Put
your hand together.
LARRY
I'm breathing.
CAROL
No, no, it's okay.
LARRY
I can't breathe. I can't breathe.
CAROL
Larry !
LARRY
I can't breathe. I can't breathe.
CAROL
Larry, I mean, it's just... All I have to do is loosen
that, okay.
LARRY
I'm fainting because the-there's...
Carol takes Larry's hands and joins them together.
CAROL
All right, put your hand together. Put you hand together.
Now give me a boost, okay ?
LARRY
Oh, Jesus !
CAROL
All right, you ready ?
She puts a foot on Larry's hands.
CAROL
Wait a second ! Wait, wait !
Close shot on Larry's distorted face. We see Carol's body going
up.
LARRY
Oh, Jesus, you've got to cut down on those rich desserts.
CAROL
Oh, wait a minute, now ! Oh, just wait ! Wait, wait !
LARRY
Let's go, my life is passing in front of my eyes. The worst
part of it is, I'm driving a used car.
CAROL
Okay, now you'd think they'd loosen this stupid thing.
Medium close shot on the ceiling of the cabin. Carol is trying to
open a trap above the ceiling lamp.
LARRY
I'm scared.
The trap opens, and Lilian House's body comes out. Carol yells and
falls down on the floor. The upper part of the body is hanging out
of the trap, with its arms moving around.
CAROL
Oh, my God !
LARRY
Oh, my God. It's her.
The camera tilts down to floor level and Larry and Carol.
CAROL
So that's where he hid her.
LARRY
Oh, Jesus. Claustrophobia and a dead body. This is a
neurotic's jackpot.
Suddenly, the lights switch off. The cabin is now pitch dark.
CAROL
Oh ! Oh, Larry, hold on. I'm scared.
We hear the noise of the elevator starting again.
LARRY
We're going down.
CAROL
Oh, God. What's happening ?
LARRY
We're going down.
CAROL
Oh, God, press up ! Press up !
LARRY
Press up ? I can't see my hand. How can I press up ? Jesus.
CAROL
We must be heading for the basement, Larry.
LARRY
The basement. I want to get off in the mezzanine. I'm
returning shoes. It's dark in here.
We hear the noise of the elevator door opening.
CAROL
What ? What are you doing ?
Apparently Carol has come out of the elevator.
HOTEL WALDRON - BASEMENT - INTERIOR NIGHT
This shot is supposed to be in the basement of the hotel, but
since it is still pitch dark, we can't tell the difference.
LARRY
Where are you... I'm getting back on the elevator. I don't
care.
CAROL
I don't know where... Larry.
LARRY
I-I can't see anything.
CAROL
There's nothing out there. Wait a minute. What are you
doing ?
Larry lights a match, and we see his scared face lit by the flame
of the match.
CAROL
Hey, what are you doing with matches ?
LARRY
Th-Th-These are my matches. I got them at...
CAROL
Wait a minute, what... When were you at the «Café des
Artistes» ?
Larry blows the match, because it is burning his fingers.
LARRY
Look. I got... Yeah, I was with an author. An authoress.
At-at the... At...
CAROL
At the «Café des Artistes» ?
LARRY
Yeah, b... A French, a French authoress. An author.
He lights another match. We very dimly see the basement walls
around them.
CAROL
Wait. Shh ! Shh ! Shh !
LARRY
Jesus.
CAROL
Try this way.
Medium full shot of Carol and Larry walking toward us in a
corridor. Beside the light of the match, there is some other dim
light coming from somewhere in the basement.
LARRY
I like a basement with-with knotty pine and a pool table.
You know, where you can...
CAROL
Hey, look, look, look, look. Uh-huh.
They are now in close shot.
LARRY
What ? What ?
CAROL
What's this ?
LARRY
I... No, wait a minute. Not so fast. I don't like it here,
it's dank.
The camera turns around to follow them in the corridor.
CAROL
All right.
LARRY
And there's strange noises. I don't know what this is. I
don't know. This...
We hear a loud metallic bang.
LARRY
Oh, Jesus !
CAROL
Calm down.
LARRY
Calm down ? Don't tell me to calm down.
CAROL
There. Turn the light on.
Larry switches the light on. They are in a room with beige walls.
There are pots of paint stacked behind Larry.
LARRY
This... Wh-Wh... I-I don't... What do you...
CAROL
Let me see.
Carol tries to open a door near Larry, but it is locked.
CAROL
Where... There. Oh. We're locked in here. What are you
gonna do ?
LARRY
Oh, relax, relax, relax. Don't... I'll break it down. Stand
back.
Larry walks back a few steps and rushes on the door, trying to
break it open.
CAROL
Careful, now.
LARRY
Don't worry. Just-Just give me a second.
He does it another time.
CAROL
Don't hurt yourself.
LARRY
Must be one of those new doors.
CAROL
Let's try out here.
Carol points to another room opening in the one they are in.
Carol and Larry are now walking in a lit corridor.
LARRY
Oh, my god. I keep hearing noises.
CAROL
Oh. What's down there ?
Carol walks rapidly toward a dark section of the corridor. The
camera follows her.
LARRY
Where ? Where you... Where are you going ? Don't leave me.
CAROL
Let me see. It's okay. What ? Oh !
She has reached a door with a barred window showing the street
outside.
CAROL
Yeah. I think this is it. I think this is the service
entrance.
She tries to open the door, but it is a bit stuck.
LARRY
Well, come on.
CAROL
I'm trying.
LARRY
Come on, get it open.
Carol succeeds in opening the door.
CAROL
I got it. I got it.
LARRY
Go into a trot.
They rush outside.
NEW-YORK - STREET OUTSIDE THE WALDRON HOTEL - EXTERIOR NIGHT
Long shot on the dark street. At a distance, we see a man putting
a large oblong-shaped parcel in the trunk of a car. The man looks
very much like Paul.
The camera pans around to give us a reverse-angle medium shot of
Carol and Larry coming out of the basement of the hotel. They
stopped in the middle of the short staircase.
CAROL
Wait ! Wait ! Did you see that ?
LARRY
What ?
CAROL
It looks like somebody's putting a body into a car.
LARRY
Jesus.
CAROL
I swear. Look. It's got a white sheet on it.
LARRY
Yes.
CAROL
Right... Yeah. Come on.
Carol walks on to the sidewalk, followed by a very frightened
Larry.
LARRY
It is. Oh, brother.
The camera pans back around to give us a reverse-angle shot of the
car leaving the curb of the street.
LARRY (voice over)
Let's-Let's-Let's get out of here. Let's get out of here.
CAROL (voice over)
Oh, my God. Wait. No, look ! Let's-Let's follow him. Come
on.
LARRY (voice over)
No, no, no, no.
CAROL (voice over)
Yeah, no. Come on.
The camera pans back around again to give a reverse-angle medium
long shot of Carol and Larry running toward their car.
LARRY
I'm not going to follow. I'm not gonna... I don't wanna
follow him.
CAROL
No, let's follow it. I swear, there was a body in that car.
LARRY
I know, I saw that there was a...
CAROL
Larry !
LARRY
I don't wanna follow a car with a body in it.
CAROL
Come on, hurry up. Hurry up !
LARRY
It's-It's probably-It's probably a rented car.
They have reached their car and they start climbing into it, Larry
still on the driver's side.
CAROL
There ! Oh !
LARRY
And a rented body.
CAROL
Hurry up. Come on.
They slam the doors, switch the headlights on and start.
NEW-YORK - AERIAL OVERVIEW OF BROOKLYN BRIDGE - EXTERIOR NIGHT
The camera starts with the interchange at one end of the bridge,
then pans to the bridge itself. At this early hour of the night,
the bridge still has a lot of traffic moving on it. Then the
camera moves down to get a closer look of the traffic on the
bridge.
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
Oh, Jesus. I-I can't c... I can't follow his car.
The camera follows the moving traffic on the bridge, and certainly
also follows Larry's car, even though, from this height, we can't
tell which car it is.
CAROL (voice over from inside the car)
Well, he's right up ahead. He's right there.
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
Where, up ahead ? I don't know which car I'm following
here. I... You know, I'm not a good driver. I can't chase
somebody in a car. I'm gonna have an accident. I'm, you
know, I'll-I'll-I'll wind up hitting a school bus or
something.
CAROL (voice over from inside the car)
Look, it's nighttime. There's no school buses at night-
time.
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
Don't tell me that. What about night school ?
LARRY'S CAR - INTERIOR NIGHT
Long shot of the road taken from inside Larry's car. They pass the
«15W» exit.
NEW-YORK - INDUSTRIAL PARK - EXTERIOR NIGHT
Long shot inside an industrial park, somewhere on the outskirts of
New-York. Larry's car drives slowly inside the park, coming toward
us. There is no one else at this time of the night. The place is
lit by a few lampposts, and there is smoke behind Larry's car.
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
You have no sense of direction. I was...
CAROL (voice over from inside the car)
Well, not exactly. Twenty-twenty vision.
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
You have no sense of direction.
CAROL (voice over from inside the car)
Not exactly. But anyway... No, I do have a sense of
direction. He came right here.
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
Where the hell are we ? What is this ?
CAROL (voice over from inside the car)
I-I don't know why here.
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
I don't know, but...
CAROL (voice over from inside the car)
There it is !
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
What ?
CAROL (voice over from inside the car)
There's his car. Right there.
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
How do you know it's his car ?
CAROL (voice over from inside the car)
That's his car.
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
Oh, it is his car.
CAROL (voice over from inside the car)
It is his.
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
Yes. Yes. Yes.
CAROL (voice over from inside the car)
Well, of course.
The car stops.
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
Okay, let me turn the light off.
The car headlights switch off.
LARRY (voice over from inside the car)
Be careful, be careful, be careful.
They both get out of the car, and they start walking toward the
place where Carol saw the other car.
They reach the other car surrounded by huge piles of metal scrap.
The car and the scenery around it are lit by a powerful red light.
Carol and Larry run toward the place where the red light comes
from. It is inside a huge building. But they don't go inside the
building and, instead, keep on running along the building.
Medium shot on Larry and Carol. Carol stops Larry and points at
something.
CAROL
Look, look !
The camera pans to the thing Carol was pointing at. A body, half-
wrapped in a white sheet, is being lifted by a huge electromagnet.
LARRY (voice over)
Oh, my God ! It's Mrs. House's body !
Reverse high-angle shot on Larry and Carol, as if they were seen
from the magnet.
LARRY
Come on ! We gotta stop it before it gets dropped.
Larry takes Carol's hand and runs toward the magnet.
Reverse angle long shot on a group of workers in the background.
Then the camera pans to a reverse angle medium shot on Larry and
Carol coming out between rows of huge heavy-duty bags.
Reverse angle medium shot on a huge cauldron full of hot melted
metal. A huge pair of metal jaws is dropping metal scraps into the
cauldron. Among the metal scraps, we see Mrs. House's body
CAROL
Oh, my God.
The camera zooms to a close shot on the cauldron.
LARRY (voice over)
Good bye, Mrs. House.
Reverse angle shot on Larry and Carol. Then reverse angle long
shot on the cauldron. A lot of bright sparks are coming out of the
cauldron.
Long shot on the building. Larry and Carol are coming out of the
building. They start running toward the camera. The camera pans
around to a medium shot on Paul's car. Through the windshield, we
see Paul behind the wheel, lit by the red light coming from the
melted metal. He starts the car and drives away.
The camera pans around toward Carol and Larry, still running - too
late - toward Paul's car.
LARRY
That was Mr. House ! That was definitely Mr. House.
CAROL
What are we gonna do ?
They run after the departing car.
NEW-YORK - LARRY'S RESIDENCE STREET - EXTERIOR NIGHT
Full shot of Larry's car. He has just parked it, and Carol and he
are coming out of it.
LARRY
I'm gonna call the Police, now.
CAROL
Oh, Larry, and tell them what ?
LARRY
And get them...
CAROL
I mean, this guy...
LARRY
What are we...
Larry has walked around the car and joins Carol on the sidewalk.
CAROL
You know, he's got proof his wife died of a heart attack
two weeks ago. We've got no body. We've got nothing, Larry.
Larry looks away from her and puts his hand on his mouth, as if
frightened by something
LARRY
Ohhh !...
CAROL
What ? What ? What's wrong ? What? Oh !...
The camera turns around Larry and Carol and, located now behind
Larry's back, gives us a full shot of the entrance of Larry's
building.
CAROL
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
Paul and Gladys Dalton, Paul's assistant at his movie house, are
coming out of the building. Paul tuns his head around and sees
Carol and Larry.
PAUL
Hallo, there.
CAROL
Hey.
PAUL
How are you ?
CAROL
H-How are you ?
PAUL
May I introduce Gladys Dalton, my gal Friday ?
CAROL
Mrs. D... How are you ? Nice to see you.
Carol and Larry shake hands with Gladys.
PAUL
This is Larry and Carol, my neighbors.
CAROL
Yes.
GLADYS
Nice to see you.
PAUL
We were just watching Madame Bovary. Wonderful.
GLADYS
Such a sad story.
CAROL
Yeah, it is. We, you know...
LARRY
She-She-She gets cremated. She gets killed at the end.
CAROL
Yeah.
PAUL
Yeah. Listen you gotta stop up for a drink before I go on
my trip.
CAROL
Love to.
PAUL
See you later.
CAROL
See you later.
PAUL
Oh, incidentally, if you hear of anybody who needs an
apartment, I think I may be moving.
CAROL
Oh, well, it...
PAUL
See you later. Come on, Gladys.
He puts his hand on Gladys' shoulder and start walking away with
her.
CAROL
What a shame.
PAUL
Good night.
CAROL
Good night.
The camera follows the departing couple, Gladys still walking with
the help of a cane.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
Medium shot of Larry and Carol, sitting in their bed. They've
already put on their nightclothes and they have a last talk before
going to sleep.
LARRY
Oh, Jesus. What a day, huh ? I can't figure it out. It's
got to be that either he's a...
CAROL
What ?
LARRY
Either she's a twin, or he's a twin.
CAROL
He... He...
LARRY
Or they're multiple personalities, or you're a twin or I'm
a twin.
Carol laughs.
LARRY
Because I don't know what's going on.
CAROL
You're nuts.
LARRY
You know, look.
CAROL
Wait, wait, yeah.
LARRY
Let me be logical about this.
CAROL
Okay, she's not a twin. We know she's not a twin.
LARRY
Hey.
CAROL
What are you talking about, Larry ?
LARRY
Stay calm. I want to try and puzzle this out.
CAROL
I'm calm, Larry. Okay, but okay, she's a twin, she's not a
twin. I mean, now you're saying we are twins ? What are
you, nuts? Okay, I'm calm. I'm calm, okay.
LARRY
Yeah, I'm going to be logical.
CAROL
All right, all right.
LARRY
The, um, the first thing is this.
FLASHBACK SCENE
LARRY'S LANDING - HALLWAY - INTERIOR NIGHT
The door of the elevator opens. Inside the cabin, Larry and Carol
are smiling and talking.
LARRY (voice over)
We came home that night. There had been a heart attack.
Some neighbors are gathered around Paul's apartment door. Larry
asks them questions.
LARRY (voice over)
Uh, what if they induced it ? You know, some kind of
poison. We never saw the body.
The camera pans inside Paul's corridor, where Mrs. House's body,
completely covered by a white sheet, is lying dead on a stretcher
with the doctor and the emergency medical team around her.
LARRY (voice over)
You know, it had to be some other woman. You know, some-
some woman who probably had some kind of ballpark
resemblance to Mrs. House.
The camera pans around to the group of neighbors standing in the
hallway.
LARRY (voice over)
The super says he saw her, but, uh, he's a drunk, you know.
Mrs. House could have been hiding.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
Back to Larry and Carol sitting in their bed.
LARRY
But you-you remember that you heard a noise that night.
That had to be Mrs. House leaving to check into the hotel.
CAROL
Yeah. Yeah. Well...
LARRY
I can't sleep. I just, I...
CAROL
No, wait a minute, wait.
LARRY
I'm too, you know... I'm too...
CAROL
But it doesn't make any sense at all, Larry, because
suddenly, you know, he murders her. I mean, what's it all
about ?
LARRY
Let me, let me call Vincent's restaurant in New Jersey...
and why don't we go meet Ted and Marcia and get something
to eat, and talk with them.
CAROL
Wait a minute. At one in the morning ? What are you talking
about ? You mean... You wanna...
LARRY
Yeah, so what ? So what ? It's so, you know, Ted-Ted was
taking her to a show and to-to-to dinner... so they'll be
there.
CAROL
All the way out to New Jersey...
LARRY
So, hey, kid, this is the apple. This is the town that
never sleeps. That's why we don't live in Duluth. That,
plus I don't know where Duluth is.
He picks up the phone on his night table.
LARRY
Lucky me.
VINCENT'S RESTAURANT - INTERIOR NIGHT
Vincent's is a nice cosy place, with dim lights, tasteful
decorations, and light piano music.
Full shot of a table with the four customer seen in profile. Larry
is seated next to Marcia, and across from his wife. Ted is seated
next to Carol. During the following conversation, the camera moves
around the table.
TED
Uh, you really saw his face ?
CAROL
Yes. Oh, yes, I'm here to tell you...
TED
You saw, you saw what he looked like ? No question. You
know exactly who it is.
LARRY
Oh, no question about it. It was-It was Mr. House. There
was no... Not a, not a question. I mean, you could see him
because, uh, you know, there was-there was just no way that
you could avoid it. He was right there.
The camera stops on Marcia and thus stops moving around the table.
MARCIA
To me, it's obvious.
LARRY
Wh... How do you see it ?
TED
How obvious ? What do you mean ?
MARCIA
Obvious he's committed the perfect murder.
LARRY
What do you mean ?
TED
What ? How ? What do you mean ?
MARCIA
Okay, look. You have to start off with another woman who
bears some ballpark resemblance to Mrs. House.
TED
Yeah.
LARRY
That's what I said. That's exac... I used the term
«ballpark resemblance» myself.
CAROL
I know. You used the term, right.
LARRY
It was my idea. I said what she said.
MARCIA
They're with this woman.
TED
Yeah.
FLASHBACK SCENE
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
Paul and another woman, that looks like his wife, are seated
around a table, having dinner. Lilian House gives a glass of wine
to the woman, then another one to Paul, and kisses him on the
forehead.
MARCIA (voice over)
Maybe having dinner. They don't induce a heart attack,
because that's fiction bullshit.
Later. The woman has a hard attack. Paul helps her to walk to the
sofa.
MARCIA (voice over)
She has a heart attack. She drops dead spontaneously.
They had no thought of killing her. Maybe they wished she
was dead.
TED (voice over)
Why ?
MARCIA (voice over)
I don't know. Maybe they stood to gain if she died. They
see a golden opportunity.
Later. Lilian, wearing a pink night-robe, is dressing the dead
woman, lying on the sofa, into her own clothes.
MARCIA (voice over)
Mrs. House dresses her up in her clothes. She hides.
LARRY (voice over)
This is my theory. Exactly my theory.
MARCIA (voice over)
That's right. She checks into a hotel.
VINCENT'S RESTAURANT - INTERIOR NIGHT
Back to the restaurant. Long shot on the table. All the other
tables are empty. The camera zooms to a full shot of the table,
Marcia and Larry facing us, and Carol and Ted with their back to
us.
CAROL
Yeah, well, we got that far, with the exception of the
actual spontaneous heart attack.
MARCIA
Okay, you know the husband's planning to go to Paris with
this pretty young woman.
TED
Yeah.
LARRY
Yeah.
MARCIA
He's cheating on his wife.
TED
Yeah.
MARCIA
So, instead of finishing the scheme they planned, he
double-crosses her and kills her, taking her share of the
profits.
TED
Well, you think, you think Helen Moss is in on this, too,
huh ?
MARCIA
Yeah, a good chance she's aware.
CAROL
Okay, but what about Mrs. Dalton ? He claims he took her to
the movies.
MARCIA
She's his alibi. She covered for him when he strangled his
wife. She said he was at work all day.
LARRY
That's right, because he introduced her as a colleague.
Marcia lights a cigarette.
TED
Wait, why... Why would she...
MARCIA
She's a colleague who maybe loves him.
TED
Oh, wait, wait. He's cheating on her, too.
LARRY
Cheating on two women ?
TED
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's perfect. Just, it all fits.
LARRY
The guy doesn't look the part.
MARCIA
The point is, he's gotten away with the perfect murder.
There are no bodies around to prove anything. And all the
paperwork is strictly above board. He's home free.
TED
Oh, my... Oh, where did you find this woman ? She's a
genius.
LARRY
She's brilliant. She's brilliant. But the guy... He knows
that we know, so if he knows we're on him.
MARCIA
Well, he doesn't care. Why should he ? Everything's been
neatly disposed of. He's home free. Only he, and maybe his
mistress, know the truth.
CAROL
Well, j...
LARRY
She's right, there's no body.
CAROL
Hold on, hold on, for a second. We don't know this is all
true. This is just a theory.
LARRY
Yeah, but it's a great theory. Have you been paying
attention ? This is a great theory.
TED
Oh, yeah. It sounds good, it holds water. Everything fits
together in this.
CAROL
I am paying attention.
LARRY
I think it's great.
MARCIA
When I come back from the ladies room, I'll tell you how to
trap him.
She stands up and starts walking away to the toilets. Larry and
Ted stand up too. They wait for her to be gone to sit back.
LARRY
Oh, excuse me.
TED
Where-Where did you find her ? She's-She's-She's really
something.
LARRY
Her mind, it just goes.
TED
Yeah, she's got one idea after another. It's like one thing
leads to another.
LARRY
Fantastic.
Close shot on Carol.
CAROL
I'm surprised you two didn't drool yourself to death.
The camera zooms back to a medium shot on Carol and Ted.
TED
Oh, I thought we just had a nice first date. That's...
LARRY (voice over)
I knew that they would hit it off.
CAROL
Why? Uh-huh. Yeah. Him.
LARRY (voice over)
I-I-I knew this.
CAROL
Yeah, uh-huh. What about you ? You were gonna jump into her
lap. I saw you, Larry.
The camera moves around the table to a medium shot on Larry, with
Ted and Carol's backs in the foreground.
LARRY
What are you talking about ?
CAROL
Huh ?
LARRY
I'm, I'm, huh, what's wrong with you ? I'm her editor. I'm-
I'm a father figure to her, how...
CAROL
Yeah, the only thing you didn't do is rub your hands
together. That was it.
LARRY
You gotta be joking. What... are you telling me that you're
jealous of Marcia ?
CAROL
I... Well. It's not that I'm jealous.
TED
Kids, kids. People, what are we doing, here?
The camera pans to a medium close shot on Carol.
CAROL
Yeah, look who's talking. My God, I mean, you kept staring
into her eyes like she was the Dragon Lady, or something.
The camera slightly zooms back to show us Larry and Carol
LARRY
What'd wrong with you ? You're jealous because he's-he's
interested in her.
TED
I'm interested in her theory. What... I don't... What are
you...
CAROL
Well, I'd just like to know if you take all your-your
authors to lunch at the Café des...
Marcia walks back to the table.
MARCIA
Okay, I've got it.
She sits down, while Larry half-stands up and then sits back.
Close shot on Marcia
MARCIA
Here's the story. Since he's gotten away with it, all we
can do is bluff. As long as we have no body, we have no
case.
The camera pans to Ted.
TED
What... What do you mean ? What do we... We pretend that he
slipped up, and the molten steel didn't do the job ? What-
What do you mean ?
The camera pans back to Marcia.
MARCIA
Yeah, it's possible. He saw you there, he knows you're onto
him. After he ran away, why couldn't you have retrieved the
body ?
LARRY
You're kidding. I... We couldn't have gotten her out of
that. We... I would have wound up with a few toes and a
shoulder, maybe, at most.
MARCIA
Well, that's... Okay, okay, you have the body. What does he
know ? He was probably too scared to be very lucid.
The camera pans to Ted, who looks at Marcia with worshipping eyes.
MARCIA (voice over)
He's an amateur. He dumped the body and ran off, and then
somehow - who knows the details, you two dug her out. Now,
you can send him to the chair.
CAROL
Okay, okay, just...
TED
I like this woman, she's lurid.
CAROL
Let me tell you why he's not going to believe us, okay ?
The camera pans on Larry.
LARRY
Yeah, first of all, because I can't, I can't bluff or lie
without giggling, so-so...
The camera pans to Carol.
CAROL
Yeah. No, because if we really had the body, why tell him ?
Why not go straight to the Police ?
The camera pans to Marcia.
MARCIA
If you tell the cops, you can't shake him down.
Medium shot on another table, around which two middle-aged men are
seated, listening very eagerly to the conversation.
TED (voice over)
Oh, she's wicked. Oh, I-look... look how, look how this
works out. You go to the law, what do you gain ?
Medium close shot on Ted and Carol.
TED
I mean, so-so maybe they, you know, they put him in jail.
What have you got ? You haven't got anything.
LARRY (voice over)
Right.
TED
But if he wants the evidence, and he's got to pay for it,
now... Okay, now he's nervous, right ?
CAROL
Yeah, you know, wait. There's just so many fallacies in
this, I can't even count them.
The camera pans to Marcia and Larry.
TED (voice over)
What ? Name one.
CAROL (voice over)
Name one? Okay, the guy looks us straight in the eyes and
says, «What body? What the hell are you talking about ?
Prove it».
MARCIA
Well, that's when we keep bluffing.
TED (voice over)
What ? How ? What do we do ?
MARCIA
We produce the body.
LARRY
Yeah, but where are you gonna get it. Madame Tussaud's ?
MARCIA
Yeah. Say-Say we found someone to corroborate this story.
CAROL (voice over)
Oh, really. J-Just...
MARCIA
Someone he trusted.
The camera pans to Ted and Carol.
CAROL
Like who ?
MARCIA (voice over)
Like his lover. Say she called and said, «Paul, I've just
seen Lillian's body. They want a hundred thousand dollars
for it».
TED
Why-Why would she do that ?
The camera pans to Marcia and Larry.
MARCIA (to Larry)
Remember that book you recommended to me ? «Murder in
Manhattan» ?
LARRY
Oh, yes. Max Schindler's book. That's right, the phone
call.
CAROL (voice over)
I don't remember that book.
LARRY
This is perfect.
CAROL (voice over)
You never mentioned that book to me.
LARRY
No, no. Because you don't like light reading, so I never...
The camera pans to Ted and Carol.
CAROL
Since when did I not like light reading, Larry ?
TED
I don't know... I don't know this book. What is this book ?
The camera pans to Larry and Marcia.
LARRY
This book. That's fantastic ! It would be so perfect
because s-she's a, she's a-an, actress, or would-be
actress, anyhow, and you're-you-re... Jeez, we could use
his theatre. He's a playwright. This is so perfect. Your
theatre is empty all the time, anyhow.
The camera pans to Carol and Ted.
CAROL
Oh, God.
TED
Oh, yeah, thank you. That's great. What-What are we talking
about here ? What-What do you mean ? What-What is this ?
The camera pans to Larry and Marcia.
LARRY
Listen to this. What you do is, we get her in for a fake
audition, and you write some lines that don't mean
anything.
TED (voice over)
Yeah.
LARRY
And she does them, and she doesn't know what she's doing
and we tape-record it.
CAROL (voice over)
Uh...
LARRY
Listen to this.
CAROL (voice over)
I'm listening.
LARRY
And we edit it up. We edit the tape recording up, and we
make one end of a phone call...
The camera pans to Ted and Carol.
LARRY (voice over)
...and we play it into the phone to Mr. House.
TED
This is in the book ?
The camera pans to Larry and Marcia.
LARRY
This is perfect, list...
CAROL (voice over)
Oh, come on. No, that could never, ever work, in a million
years. You don't know what he's going to say.
The camera pans to Ted and Carol.
CAROL
What's he gonna say ?
The camera pans to Marcia and Larry.
MARCIA
In the book, they use several tape recorders.
CAROL (voice over)
In the book ?
MARCIA
We coordinate it.
LARRY
It's coordinated.
The camera pans to Ted and Carol.
CAROL
In the book. You mean, you're basing your plan on some dumb
paperback ?
LARRY (voice over)
This is great. This is great.
CAROL
I s... No, really.
LARRY (voice over)
I like... No, it's great.
CAROL
Oh.
The camera pans to Marcia and Larry.
MARCIA
He's gotten away with murder. Our only chance is to nab him
as he tries to kill again, cover his tracks.
Medium shot on the two waiters, standing on either side of the
counter, and listening to the conversation.
LARRY (voice over)
It's great. What happens, is... it provokes him to kill
again. They catch him the second time.
MARCIA (voice over)
Exactly. He's gotten away with the first murder.
Medium close shot on Carol and Ted.
LARRY (voice over)
You know what I'm thinking, though ?
The camera pans to Marcia and Larry.
MARCIA
What ?
LARRY
Actually, in the book what happens is, now that I think of
it, he... he kills the... the two people that are working
the scheme on him.
TED (voice over)
Yeah, that's all right.
CAROL (voice over)
But...
TED (voice over)
But you're not worried about that.
LARRY
Um, well, I don't know.
MARCIA
It's perfect.
LARRY
Either that, or I've... I've just developed Parkinson's.
The camera zooms back, to show us the four people around the
table.
TED
No, we can handle him. We can handle him. Listen, this is
incredible. This is an incredible idea.
MARCIA
It's perfect. It's perfect. He knows you're onto him. You
shake him down.
CAROL
No, no.
MARCIA
He comes after you, we nab him.
The camera stops zooming back and gives us a full shot on the
table.
TED
That's great. It's great. You're wonderful. I just... I'm
amazed.
MARCIA
Yeah.
CAROL
I... I just...
MARCIA
It's either that, or he walks.
CAROL
Yeah. Yeah, wait. I... So, what you're saying is...
TED
This is great.
CAROL
Wait, no, okay... What you're saying... Oh boy. You're
saying, you want to provoke Mr. House into trying to murder
Larry and me.
MARCIA
Yeah. It's perfect. You're not scared, are you ?
LARRY
No, no, no, no, no, I'm not scared. I'm not scared. I'm
just turning it over in my mind. I just want to check with
my clergyman before we commit.
NEW-YORK - A STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Medium shot on Helen Moss, making a phone call from an open booth
in the street. While she is talking, the camera comes closer to
her, to a medium close shot on her face.
HELEN
Hi, uh, B-twenty-four messages ? Oh, really ? Audition for
what ? Did he say ? Okay, okay. Wait, hold on.
She looks into her purse and gets her agenda out of it.
HELEN
Let me get a pencil. Okay.
TED'S THEATRE - STAGE - INTERIOR DAY
Full slightly high-angled shot on the stage. In the middle of the
stage floor, a white circle, on which there is a chair and a small
table with a telephone. Suzanne Raphael, a young woman, is
auditioning. She is seated on the chair, holding the telephone.
Behind Suzanne, which is the left side of the stage seen from the
audience, a white wall, with a doorless opening. On either side of
the wall, two red columns. And on either side of the girl, which
are the front and the back of the stage, two red metallic frames.
In front of the girl, a video camera on a tripod, with an operator
standing behind the camera. Actually, the operator is Sy, Larry
and Carol's friend, whom we have seen much earlier in the film, in
the antique market and at Elaine's restaurant. The stage is well
lit, when the audience hall is in the dark.
SUZANNE
Yeah, well, Dad, you know, I've heard just about enough of
this.
She slams the phone down. The camera pans around to show us the
right side of the stage, where there is several rows of theatre
seats and a table in front of the seats. Ted, Marcia and Marilyn
are seated in the front row. Marilyn is Sy's wife, whom we have
also seen earlier in the film. Carol is seated in the second row,
behind Marcia.
TED
Good, that's great. Thank you, Suzanne. Thank you.
MARCIA
We'll let you know. That's Suzanne Raphael, right ?
TED
Yeah. Good, thank you.
Carol taps on Marilyn's shoulder, and whispers something to her.
Ted joins them in their whispered conversation. The camera pans
back on the stage. Larry, with a clipboard in his hand, has
entered the stage, pushing Helen in front of him.
LARRY
This is Helen Moss.
HELEN
Hi, there.
CAROL (voice over)
Hi, there.
MARCIA (voice over)
Hi.
HELEN
Hi.
Medium close shot on Ted, who stands up, and walks toward the
stage. The camera follows him.
TED
Uh, have you, uh... I know, I know you just got the
material, uh, you know, just in the... last little while,
but... uh, h-have you had a chance to-to study it ? To go
over it, a little bit ?
The camera pans to a medium close shot of Helen.
HELEN
Yes, yes. Uh, I have, but, um, I have just a few questions.
TED
Sure , yeah.
The camera moves slightly, and is now located behind Ted's back,
still with Helen in medium close shot.
HELEN
Is she divorced, in this ?
TED
Uh, yes. Yes.
HELEN
Uh, recently ?
TED
Yes. Yeah. But she's, uh, very, highly emotional.
HELEN
Yeah.
TED
You know really... uh, lot of... Lot of feeling. Very
strong.
HELEN
Oh.
TED
Hm ?
HELEN
Should I just begin ?
TED
Yeah, just... Whenever, you know, whenever you feel it.
Whenever you feel into it.
Ted walks away. Helen takes a very deep breathing, sits down, puts
her hands trough her hair, takes another breathing, and picks up
the phone handset from the telephone on the table. She overdoes it
a lot, trying to act as the prima dona she is not.
HELEN
Yeah, okay.
She dials a fake number on the phone keyboard.
HELEN
Hello, Joe ? I-I was just... I...
TED (voice over)
Uh, let me stop you right there.
Helen looks in Ted's direction.
TED (voice over)
I'm sorry, I... uh, if you'll be... if you'll start out
more frightened... then that'll take you where you're gonna
go.
HELEN
Right, right.
She breathes deeply before starting again.
HELEN
Hello, Joe ? I can't talk much, now, and if I sound
strange, don't get alarmed.
Later. Helen is auditioning another scene. She doesn't have the
phone in her hand any more. She is holding a script and looking at
it. Larry is seated in front of her, and read his own script on
his clipboard.
HELEN
Give me your hand. Hold on. Try not to fall. Hold on.
LARRY
I'm trying, I'm trying.
HELEN
Quickly ! Hurry !
Later. Close shot of Helen's face auditioning another scene.
HELEN
They're asking two hundred thousand dollars for it. Yeah.
They say it's Monet, but I say it's a fake.
Medium shot of Helen, seen from behind. We see Sy standing behind
his camera on her right, and Larry standing with his clipboard in
his hand on her left. In the background, Ted, Marcia, Marilyn and
Carol listening to her. While Helen is talking, the camera moves
backward through the opening in the scenery.
HELEN
Ever since Joe came home from Vietnam, he's cast a pall on
everything. A dark cloud, a pall.
A BUILDING - EXTERIOR NIGHT.
Full shot on the upper level of a building, that could be either
Ted's theatre of Sy's workshop. The camera tilts down to street
level.
SY'S WORKSHOP - INTERIOR NIGHT
We are inside Sy's workshop. It is full of very high-tech video
and audio equipment.
Medium shot of Marilyn standing behind a computer. Close to her,
Carol is seated on a table, and Ted is standing next to her. They
are both looking at a large video monitor. On the monitor screen
and on the computer screen, we see the same picture of Helen
auditioning with the telephone in her hand.
HELEN'S VOICE
Hello, Joe ? I can't talk much, right now...
The camera pans to Marcia, seated behind Carol and also looking at
the monitor. Behind her, Sy is looking at another monitor, and
manipulating some switches on an editing machine underneath the
monitor. Larry is standing next to him.
HELEN'S VOICE
... and if I sound strange, don't get alarmed.
Sy rewinds the video tape.
HELEN'S VOICE
Hello, Joe ? I can't talk much right now.
Sy fast winds the tape.
HELEN'S VOICE
Hello, Joe ? Ever since Joe came back from Vietnam...
Close shot on Ted's face, then the camera pans to Carol and
Marcia, seated one behind the other, and behind them, Sy working
on the editing machine, with Larry standing next to him. The
camera zooms on Sy.
HELEN'S VOICE
... he's cast a pall on everything. A dark cloud, a pall.
Sy rewinds the tape.
HELEN'S VOICE
A pall.
Sy rewinds the tape.
HELEN'S VOICE
Pall.
Sy rewinds the tape.
HELEN'S VOICE
Pall.
Slightly later. Medium close shot of Ted looking at something we
don't see, with Marcia standing next to him.
HELEN'S VOICE
Hello, Joe ?
The camera pans to Carol standing up and looking at the same thing
as Ted. We hear Helen's voice distorted by Sy's editing machine.
HELEN'S VOICE (distorted)
Hello, Joe.
The camera pans back on Ted and Marcia, then it pans to a close
shot of a big high-tech tape recorder, on which Sy is working. We
see his hands cutting off a short section of the audio tape, and
gluing back the two severed ends of the tape together.
Full shot of the room. In the foreground, Sy is working on his
tape recorder. On his right, Larry is standing and looking at him.
On his left, Marilyn also looking at him. Behind him, Carol, Ted
and Marcia, all looking at him.
TED
It's so...
The camera zooms on Ted and Marcia.
Close up shot on the tape recorder. Sy starts it.
HELEN'S VOICE
Hello, Paul ? I can't talk much, right now...
The camera tilts up from the tape recorder to a medium shot on Ted
and Marcia. Ted smiles when he hears the work Sy has done with the
tape.
HELEN'S VOICE
... and if I sound strange, don't get alarmed.
MARCIA (SMILING)
Perfect.
She shakes hands with Larry.
TED
That's great.
He also shake hands with Larry, moving slightly Carol out of the
way.
MARCIA
You did great. Great.
Larry suddenly notices that Carol has been excluded from the hand-
shaking party, and he turns around toward her.
CAROL
Well, yeah, it's, excuse me, hey, don't worry, yeah, okay.
MARCIA
Fantastic.
MARCIA'S CAR - INTERIOR DAY
The camera is behind Marcia, who is driving in a street in New-
York. We see Helen walking on the sidewalk.
MARCIA
There she is.
The camera pans around, from inside the car, to get a better shot
of Helen.
TED
Where ?
MARCIA
You have to keep her busy for all afternoon.
Through the back window of the car, we see Helen entering a
restaurant called «Time».
TED
Yeah, yeah, okay. Okay, yeah. Yeah, I'll-I'll just keep
improvising, you know ?
MARCIA
Okay, well, it shouldn't be too hard. She's a hungry
actress, you're a playwright with a role.
NEW-YORK - A STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Close shot on Marcia's car, inside which Marcia and Ted are
talking together.
TED
You know what ? I'll g... I'll talk about the play, or, get
her, get her talking about the part, you know, her life.
I'll get her talking about her life, and her whole
background. Stop the car, I'm gonna get out here.
MARCIA
Good. We'll hook up later, okay ?
TED
All right. Good - Good luck with your assignment. Ok ?
MARCIA
All right, you too.
Marcia has stopped the car, and Ted is getting out of it.
SY AND MARILYN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Full shot of a large room, furnished with good taste. In the
background a large bay window, overlooking some green trees. On
the right, there is a large modern mantlepiece. On the left, a
bicycle is leaning on the wall. Under the window, a large and cosy
sofa.
Carol and Sy are standing in front of the window and talking
together. Next to them and Marcia is also standing and reading a
large album. In the foreground, Larry, who is the only one not to
be casually dressed, and is wearing jacket and necktie, is playing
with a small cassette-player in his hands. Marilyn is walking into
the room.
MARILYN
Listen, does anybody want some guacamole or anything ?
Sy walks toward her, holding another cassette player. Carol is
also holding one.
SY
Would you stop with the guacamole ? We have to get started
with this.
He looks at his watch.
LARRY
He should be back for lunch, right ?
SY
Come on, let's go.
MARILYN
Yeah. All right, let's go.
LARRY
So, everybody's got the right tape recorder and the right
tape in ?
SY
Yes, we do.
They all sit down around a low table.
MARCIA
Yeah.
LARRY
All right, one second. And then we ca... I mea... so, uh,
we're on speaker.
CAROL
This is so insane.
LARRY
Now wait, wait, wait. There's, um... I'm not nervous.
CAROL
Oh, w...
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - BACKSTAGE - INTERIOR DAY
The backstage is in the same disorder as before, with all the
mirrors scattered around. Full shot of Paul and Gladys standing in
the middle of the room
PAUL
I have the contractor come in and nobody's here ? Now you
see if you can find...
The phone rings.
PAUL
I'll get that. Uh, you go and call him.
Paul walks out of the room.
GLADYS
Oh. Yes, yes, all right.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Paul walks into a small room in a corner of the backstage. It must
have been a dressing room, but now it is full of various junk,
with a big poster, that looks like a enlarged newspaper, on the
wall. Paul picks up the phone from a small counter fixed on the
wall.
PAUL
Hallo ?
SY AND MARILYN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Full shot of the little group around the low table. Marcia and
Larry are seated next to each other in front of the camera, Sy is
seated on Larry's left and his wife on Marcia's right. Carol is
seated on the other side of the table, with her back to the
camera.
Marcia, who is seated next to the telephone, presses the «play»
button on her cassette player. Helen's voice comes out of it.
HELEN'S VOICE
Hello, Paul. I can't talk much right now. And if I sound
strange, don't get alarmed.
Marcia presses the «stop» button.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Medium close shot of Paul on the phone.
PAUL
What's the problem ?
He sits down.
SY AND MARILYN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Marcia presses the «play» button.
HELEN'S VOICE
They have your wife's body. They showed it to me.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
PAUL
Say that again.
SY AND MARILYN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Carol is shaking her head, not paying much attention to what is
going on. Marilyn and Marcia both silently point to Carol's
cassette player, to tell her it is her turn to play it. Carol
picks up her player to put it in front of the telephone and
presses the «play» button.
HELEN'S VOICE
They have your wife's body. They showed it to me.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
PAUL
Exactly who has it ? How many are there ?
SY AND MARILYN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
It is Sy's turn to switch his player on.
HELEN'S VOICE
Your neighbors. That's right. They want two hundred
thousand dollars for it.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
PAUL
Where are you calling from ? There's an echo. Are you on a
speaker phone ?
SY AND MARILYN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
The group seems surprised by a question they did not expected.
Marcia silently points to Marilyn's player. Marilyn presses the
«play» button.
HELEN'S VOICE
Hold on.
Marcia presses on the «mute» button on the telephone set.
LARRY
We don't have an answer for that. What are we gonna do ?
MARCIA
Go to a different thought.
CAROL
Mm...mmm... What thought ? Wait.
Marcia presses the «mute» button on the telephone. Sy turns to
Carol.
SY
Shhh !...
Carol puts her hand in front of her mouth. Larry gets his player
close to the telephone and presses the «play» button
HELEN'S VOICE
You've either got to pay them off, or get rid of them.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
PAUL
Look, we can't talk about this on the phone. Can you meet
me ?
SY AND MARILYN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
It is still Larry's turn to use his player.
HELEN'S VOICE (louder)
Yes! They're keeping it refrigerated.
Marcia hits Larry's elbow, to tell him it was the wrong cue.
PAUL (voice over in the speaker of the telephone)
What ? What did you say ?
Larry is very nervous all of a sudden, and puts another player in
front of the telephone.
HELEN'S VOICE
About two hours ago.
Larry drops the player.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
PAUL
Two... what ? Two hours what ?
SY AND MARILYN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Marcia points to Marilyn's player. Marilyn presses the «play»
button.
HELEN'S VOICE
Hold on.
Marcia presses the «mute» button on the telephone set. Larry just
got the cassette out of his player and can't put it back in. He is
more and more nervous.
LARRY
Jesus... we're all screwed up. I got this all screwed up.
MARCIA
Okay, let's get off as quick as possible. We've done it.
SY
All right, well, do something. Do something.
MARCIA (to Larry)
Shhh !... Um, okay. Sh !...
She presses the «mute» button on the telephone, then presses the
«play» button on her player.
HELEN'S VOICE
Hello, Paul. I can't talk much right now. And if I sound
strange, don't get alarmed.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
PAUL
Look, Helen, you're not making any sense. I know you're
upset, but you have to pull yourself together. Now, could
we meet ? The usual spot.
SY AND MARILYN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
HELEN'S VOICE
Hold on.
Marilyn, who has just been playing her player, presses the «stop»
button on it. Then Marcia presses the «mute» button on the
telephone. Meanwhile, Larry has succeeded in getting a good length
of tape out of his cassette, and tries to put it back in !
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
PAUL
Helen ? Helen, you still there ? Helen ?
SY AND MARILYN'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Larry is still trying to put the tape back into the cassette.
MARCIA
Okay, hurry up, hurry up. Okay.
LARRY
Somebody press something, come on.
Now, Larry is surrounded by a hundred feet of tape, which is
flying all around him ! Marcia points to Carol's player.
CAROL
What ?
LARRY
You can't press some... Come on.
Marcia presses the «mute» button on the telephone, and Carol
presses the «play» button on her player.
HELEN'S VOICE
You have no choice, they've got the goods. You just pay
them off, or get rid of them. I have to hang up.
Marcia presses the «off» button on the telephone.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Paul slowly puts the telephone down on its hook. He stands up and
walks back to the backstage.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - BACKSTAGE - INTERIOR DAY
GLADYS
What's the matter, Paul ? You look all shaken up.
PAUL
No, no. It's nothing.
GLADYS
I worry about you these days, Paul.
PAUL
I'm fine, I'm fine.
GLADYS
You're different.
PAUL
I said I was fine. Will you stop interfering ?
GLADYS
You never used to pull away from me.
PAUL (getting mad)
I told you to leave me alone ! I don't want to have this
conversation all the time !
He walks out and Gladys put her hands on her eyes. She slowly
walks away with the help of her cane.
NEW-YORK - STREET OUTSIDE SY AND MARILYN'S HOUSE - EXTERIOR DAY
Full shot of a nice building with short trees and wrought iron
gates in front of it. We hear voices but we don't see anyone yet.
LARRY (voice over)
Great. All right. Now, my job is to wait exactly one hour
and call Mr. House from a phone booth. Where are you...
Where are you running so fast ?
Carol runs out of the building.
CAROL
I have to go home and change.
Larry comes out of the building and closes the door. Carol turns
toward him.
CAROL
I've got an appointment with a friend of Ted's about a
location for... What ?
LARRY
What's the matter ? What are you so angry about ? What are
you so... What are you so steamed up about ?
CAROL
What do you mean ? Well, I meant... I just don't understand
how you could give a book to Marcia, and not to me.
They start walking down the street. The camera follows them.
LARRY
What are you talking about ?
CAROL
I just don't need...
LARRY
We had just a big success in there.
CAROL
What...
LARRY
Marcia likes to read what I like to read.
CAROL
Oh, right, God. Yeah, well it's true. I guess it's true. I
mean, we've got nothing in common, that's for sure. Now
that, now that Nick's grown up, I mean, you know, we're
just left facing each other.
LARRY
You got stuff in common with Ted, right ? You can cook
together with Ted, or you can take your clothes off and
baste a chicken with him.
CAROL
Oh, right. Oh, oh, well, what about you and Marcia, huh ?
What does she teach you besides poker ? That's what I'd
like to know, okay ?
LARRY
Mud wrestling. Is that what you want to hear ? Nothing, I'm
her editor.
CAROL
Look, I think the time has come for us to reevaluate our
lives.
LARRY
I reevaluated our lives.
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
I... I... I got a ten. You got a six.
The camera stops moving and just shows just the departing couple
walking down the street.
CAROL
Well, listen, I think maybe I will go back to seeing my
shrink.
LARRY
Oh. You don't have to see your shrink. There's nothing
wrong with you that can't be cured with a little Prozac and
a polo mallet.
CAROL
Just... I just would like to be alone for a while, okay,
Larry ?
LARRY
What are you talk...
CAROL
Just... just, I... I... Uh, okay ?
Long shot of Carol running away, while Larry, standing in the
middle of the sidewalk, looks at her going away.
A CAFETERIA - INTERIOR DAY
A classical New-York cafeteria, with tables and chairs scattered
all around the room. In the background the long counter, where the
food is displayed, and along which the customer are lining up at
lunchtime. Around a slightly isolated table on the left, Ted and
Helen are talking.
HELEN
So, I have this, like, really crazy father and everything.
TED
Oh, yeah ?
The camera zooms to a medium shot on Ted and Helen.
HELEN
And, yeah. He's wanted, like, in three states. He has a
terrible driving record. So we had to move from Virginia
then to New Jersey, and...
TED
So, your father is wanted in three states for driving ?
Really ?
HELEN
Yeah, for driving. Yeah. So I moved to Hackensack, and
then... Well, anyway, I was in all these different contests
and I was even, uh, Miss, uh, Teenage Passaic.
TED
Oh, how wonderful.
LARRY'S APARTMENT - FRONT HALL - INTERIOR DAY
Medium shot of the room. The front door opens and Carol walks in.
She slams the door shut and puts her purse on a table. She takes
her coat off, walks into the corridor and opens a closet to put
the coat away in it. She then chooses a new set of clothes and
shoes to go to her appointment. She closes the closet and walks
into the bathroom to change. She closes the bathroom door. The
camera remains outside the bathroom and starts moving along the
corridor back to the front door. The front door opens and Paul
walks in. He walks silently along the corridor toward the
bathroom.
A CAFETERIA - INTERIOR DAY
Same medium shot as before on Ted and Helen.
TED
Was that before or after the fourth abortion ?
HELEN
Well, after the fourth, but before the drama prize.
TED
The drama prize ?
HELEN
And... Mm... hm.
TED
I don't remember the...
HELEN
Remember ? Remember ?
TED
What ?
HELEN
«Out, out, damn spot ?» The topless «Macbeth» ?
TED
Oh, yeah. Oh, for the fraternity party, yeah, yeah.
HELEN
Yeah, yeah.
TED
Topless «Macbeth». I don't... How could I forget that ?
It's just...
NEW-YORK - A STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Larry is in an open phone booth in a quiet street. He picks up the
handset, put a coin in the slot, and starts dialing the number he
has written on a piece of paper.
LARRY
Hallo, Mr. House ? This is Larry Lipton. I... I got a... a
package I think you're gonna want. Of course it's gonna
cost you, uh, $200,000 in... in small, unmarked bills.
Or... or... or large marked ones, if... if... if you want
to go that route.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
The small disused dressing-room in the corner of the backstage.
Paul is talking into the telephone. In front of him, Carol is tied
on a chair, with a white cloth gag taped on her mouth. While Paul
is talking, the camera zooms on Carol's frightened face.
PAUL
And I have a package you might want, Mr. Lipton. If you
ever wanna see your wife alive again, you'll do as I say.
NEW-YORK - A STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Larry is still in the phone booth.
LARRY
Oh, really ? Well, I think you're bluffing. Yeah, don't...
don't ever try and bluff a bluffer. Yeah, if... if you got
Carol, put her on the phone.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Paul takes the gag off Carol's mouth and put the phone mouthpiece
in front of her lips.
CAROL (CRYING)
Larry, Larry, help me ! I'm here, Larry !
Paul puts the gag back on Carol's mouth
NEW-YORK - A STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Larry looks very frightened.
LARRY
Oh, my... Oh, my God. D... Don't hurt her !
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Paul is holding the gag in front of Carol's mouth with one hand
and the telephone with the other hand.
PAUL
I'll tell you exactly where to meet me, and you bring that
package I want. Now, once I have it and I'm safely gone,
you'll get your wife back. Otherwise, I'll kill her.
NEW-YORK - A STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Larry is now very very frightened.
LARRY
Yes, yes. Yeah, no, no, no, no. I... I... I understand. I,
uh, yes, no. I'll be there. I'll be there. I... I... Yes,
I'll b... I... I'll bring your wife's body, she... In...
in... in the trunk of my car. Yes, I'll... I... I promise.
I'll be there. I...
Larry hangs up and hold the side of the phone booth.
LARRY
I don't have his wife's body. Bluff, bluff.
NEW-YORK - A STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Long shot of a street covered with iron works. Actually, this is
the same street and the same shot as the one we saw earlier in the
film, when Ted and Carol were following Helen going to Paul's
movie house in a yellow cab.
Larry's car is coming toward us, and then turns into the dead-end
street where the back entrance of Paul's movie house is located.
DEAD END STREET BEHIND PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - EXTERIOR DAY
Larry stops the car near the entrance of the movie house. Paul is
waiting for him.
Medium close shot on Larry's car. Larry opens his door, and comes
out of the car.
LARRY
Where's Carol ?
Paul walks toward the car. He's got a gun in his hand.
PAUL
First show me Lillian's body.
LARRY
I... I got it.
PAUL
There's no way she could have survived that vat of molten
steel.
LARRY
No, no, I... I... I got...
PAUL
If you're not bluffing, where is she ?
LARRY
Why are you so nervous ? What are you so nervous about ?
PAUL
Where ?
LARRY
If I don't have her, what are you so nervous ?
PAUL
Where is she ?
LARRY
I got her in the trunk of my car.
PAUL
Open it. Come on, now.
LARRY
I... I got her.
PAUL
If she's not there, I'll put a bullet through your head.
Now, open it !
LARRY
I... I...
Larry walks around his car toward the trunk.
PAUL
Come on! Come on!
Larry opens the trunk.
PAUL
Step back!
Larry takes something in the trunk, then closes it back, but the
door of the trunk doesn't close well and opens again. Larry walks
back to Paul and shows him what he's got in his hand.
LARRY
No, no, I got her. See, if I don't have her, how come I got
her ring ? I got her ring, there. This is... This is her
ring.
PAUL
I think you're lying !
He walks to the open trunk.
LARRY
It's a... No, no, no, no. Uh.
Paul takes a bad-looking dummy out of the trunk. Apparently, it is
an amateur dummy that Larry has made himself.
PAUL
What is this ? What is this ?
He throws the dummy back in the trunk.
LARRY
I could never bluff.
PAUL
What ?
LARRY
I... I... I've lost a fortune in cards over the years.
PAUL
Listen to me.
LARRY
I'm not a bluffer.
PAUL
I'm going to put a... Get a...
They start fighting.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Carol is still tied and gagged on the chair. She tries desperately
to get free.
DEAD END STREET BEHIND PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - EXTERIOR DAY
Medium shot on Larry and Paul, still fighting. Larry succeeds in
getting away from Paul, who fires his gun. But, apparently, Larry
is not hit by the gunshot, because he runs toward the back
entrance of the movie house. The camera follows him.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - BACKSTAGE - INTERIOR DAY
Medium shot on the staircase on the side of the backstage. Larry
runs down the stairs, while we hear the sound of the «Lady from
Shangai». «The Lady from Shangai» is a 1947 film written, directed
and played by Orson Welles.
MICHAEL (Orson Welles - voice over from the film)
That's what Grisby thought. But, of course, she meant to
kill Grisby, too. After he'd served his purpose. Poor
howling idiot.
Larry has now reached the backstage. He is behind the screen, a
small part of which is seen on the side of the shot.
MICHAEL (Orson Welles - voice over from the film)
He never even did that. He went and shot Broome. And that
was not part of the plan. Broome might have got to the
police before he died.
Larry walks around the backstage, trying to find his way. We see
the black and white film on the screen, but also reflections of
the screen on the multiple mirrors scattered around the backstage.
MICHAEL (Orson Welles - voice over from the film)
And if the cops traced it to Grisby... and the cops made
Grisby talk, he'd spill everything.
Medium shot on the staircase. Paul is walking very slowly
downstairs.
MICHAEL (Orson Welles - voice over from the film)
And she'd be finished, so she had to shut up Grisby but
quick.
Back on Larry, still trying to find his way around the backstage.
MICHAEL (Orson Welles - voice over from the film)
And I was the fall guy.
Full shot on the screen, where a man is falling down a long slide,
like the one used by kids on playgrounds. We hear the film music.
Medium close shot on two mirrors, one behind the other. On the
mirrors, we see the reflection of the screen. Paul is slowly
walking from behind the first mirror, his gun in hand.
Full shot on the mirrors, with Larry walking cautiously among
them.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Medium shot on Carol in the small room. She is still trying to get
free from her bonds and gag.
ELSA (Rita Hayworth - voice over from the film)
Why don't you try to understand ?
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - BACKSTAGE - INTERIOR DAY
Back to the mirrors showing numerous reflections of the screen.
ELSA (Rita Hayworth - voice over from the film)
He was mad. He had to be shot.
MICHAEL (Orson Welles - voice over from the film)
And what about me ?
Paul walks in, his gun in his hand.
ELSA (Rita Hayworth - voice over from the film)
We could have gone off together.
Close shot of Larry half-hidden behind a large mirror.
MICHAEL (Orson Welles - voice over from the film)
One who follows his nature, keeps his original nature in
the end.
Larry inadvertently drops the large mirror on the floor. The
mirror breaks with a crashing sound.
CAROL (voice over)
Help ! Help !
The camera pans to Paul, walking slowly with his gun pointed
toward Larry.
PAUL
They can't see us behind the screen, and they can't hear us
with the sound on. Not even a gunshot.
Behind Paul, we see the film on the screen. We have now reached
the famous last scene of the film, shot in the hall of mirrors.
Rita Hayworth's face is reflected on the many mirrors in the film,
just like, in the actual scene in the backstage, Paul and Larry
are reflected on the many mirrors scattered around.
ARTHUR (Everett Sloane - voice over from the film)
I knew I'd find you two together.
Arthur's figure, walking with a cane, is reflected in the many
mirrors in the film. Just the same, Gladys, who has just entered
the backstage, walking with a cane, is also reflected on the
mirrors scattered around her. She has a gun in the hand which is
not holding the cane.
While Gladys and Paul are talking, the film keeps on showing on
the screen behind them, but we do not understand the words from
the film, because Paul and Gladys' voices are louder.
GLADYS
Hallo, Paul. Didn't you expect me ?
Medium shot on the mirrors, showing several reflections of Paul.
PAUL
Mrs. Dalton.
Close shot on Gladys' face. While she is talking, the camera pans
away from her, showing her reflection on a mirror.
GLADYS
You made a lot of promises to me, over the years. And then,
you decided to dump me for that young model.
The camera keeps on panning, showing another reflection of Gladys.
PAUL (voice over)
I never led you on.
GLADYS (with a very harsh voice)
It's late for excuses.
Medium shot on the mirrors showing several reflections of Paul.
PAUL
None of you can prove anything.
Full shot of the screen, showing Arthur and his numerous
reflections on the mirrors in the film.
ARTHUR (Everett Sloane - voice over from the film)
So you'd be foolish to fire that gun.
Low angle shot on the staircase, showing Larry going down the
stairs.
ARTHUR (Everett Sloane - voice over from the film)
With these mirrors, it's difficult to tell. You are aiming
at me, aren't you ?
LARRY
Carol ? Carol ? Carol ?
Medium shot of Gladys and one of her reflections.
GLADYS
I'm aiming at you, lover.
ARTHUR (Everett Sloane - voice over from the film)
Of course, killing you is killing myself.
GLADYS
Of course, killing you is killing myself.
ARTHUR (Everett Sloane - voice over from the film)
It's the same thing.
GLADYS
But you know, I'm pretty tired of both of us.
She fired her gun twice
Medium shot on the many reflections of Paul. He fires his gun
twice. We hear noises of mirrors being broken by the gunshots,
both in the film, and on the backstage itself.
Medium shot of Gladys and one of her reflections. She turns
around, not being sure, because of the mirrors, of Paul's exact
location.
Medium shot of Paul walking on the backstage. We still hears
noises of mirrors being broken, but we don't know if the noises
come from the film or the backstage.
Medium shot of Gladys and several of the reflections.
Medium shot of the floor of the backstage. We see the bottom of
the screen and, of course, the film projected on it, and in which
the mirrors are being broken. Paul enters from behind a mirror
frame, and falls on the floor. Gladys' reflection appears in
several mirrors. She stops and looks at Paul's body lying on the
floor.
PAUL'S MOVIE HOUSE - OLD DRESSING ROOM - INTERIOR DAY
Medium close shot of Larry entering the room. He rushes to Carol,
and takes her gag off.
LARRY
God ! Are you okay ? Are you okay ?
He hugs and kisses her.
CAROL
Oh, God, Larry ! Oh, Larry, I'm so happy to see you !
LARRY
Jesus, I was, I was never so glad to see somebody in my
life. Are you all right ?
He starts untying her hands.
CAROL
Yes, I'm all right.
LARRY
You don't know what's going on out there. I'll never say
that life doesn't imitate art again. I'm... I'm... Oh,
gee...
CAROL
We... we gotta call the police, Larry.
LARRY
Yes, and... and... and... a glazier.
CAROL
I know. Oh, God.
LARRY
Quick, quick. Dial, dial, dial.
He picks up the telephone, and Carol, whose hands are now
completely free, starts dialing.
CAROL
Larry. Oh, God, Larry. Oh, God. Oh, honey. Oh, God. Ow !
Ow ! Oh, God ! Jesus !
Larry hugs and kisses her again.
LARRY
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Oh, wife mine.
He takes the rope away, but he does it so nervously that he almost
takes Carol's head off !
CAROL
Aow ! Aow !
(talking in the phone)
Hello ?
LARRY
Wife mine.
CAROL
Oh, God.
NEW-YORK - STREET IN FRONT OF THE POLICE STATION - EXTERIOR DAY
Medium close shot on the top part of the door of the police
station. A sign says : «4th precinct 621».
The camera tilts down. Three uniformed policemen are standing on
the sidewalk near the door. Marcia and Ted come out of the
station, and stop at the entrance.
TED
God, it's... it's so complicated. I can't... Can't keep
track of it all.
MARCIA
Oh, listen. I'll give it to you one more time.
Marcia takes a cigarette, and Ted lights it with his lighter.
FLASHBACK SCENE
PAUL'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - INTERIOR NIGHT
Medium shot. It's dinner time in Paul's apartment. Paul and
Lilian's sister are seated around the table. Lilian comes in from
THE KITCHEN
MARCIA (voice over)
Mrs. House had a sister who moved to England many years
ago.
Lilian gives a glass of wine to her sister.
MARCIA (voice over)
She changed her name when she married.
Lilian gives a glass of wine to Paul.
MARCIA (voice over)
Her husband died. She moved back to New York recently, a
very, very rich widow... but a recluse.
Lilian's sister has a heart attack. Paul helps her walk away from
the table to the sofa.
MARCIA (voice over)
Mr. and Mrs. House knew they weren't in her will. They have
her over to dinner, she accidentally keels over. I guessed
right there.
Lilian's sister is lying dead on the sofa, and Lilian, wearing a
pink night-robe, is dressing her sister in her own clothes.
MARCIA (voice over)
She has a reasonable resemblance to her sister, so they
fake it... Pretend Lillian House died. They cremate the
sister.
The camera pans to Paul talking on the telephone.
MARCIA (voice over)
Lillian checks into a fleabag joint... and for several
weeks she pretends to be her sister... closing her
accounts, liquidating her assets, accumulating big money.
The camera pans back to the sofa, where Lilian is still dressing
her sister.
MARCIA (voice over)
What she didn't realize was that her husband was two-timing
her with Helen Moss, this pretty model.
NEW-YORK - STREET IN FRONT OF THE POLICE STATION - EXTERIOR DAY
Back to the entrance of the police station, where Ted and Marcia
are still talking. They start walking along the street.
MARCIA
So, he decides not to cut her in and go off to... I don't
know... With his mistress and, uh, keep all the dough. So,
he kills Lillian. He cremates her, or pours molten steel
all over her or something... and, uh, that's when we came
along and tripped him up.
Medium shot of Ted and Marcia slowly walking behind the police
cars parked near the station.
TED
He had some great alibis.
MARCIA
Yeah, that woman that worked for him ?
TED
Yeah.
MARCIA
Mrs. Dalton ? She covered for him. She loved him. Not that
she dreamed he was a murderer.
TED
What do you... What do you... I want, I want to celebrate,
or something. What do you wanna do ? You wanna... Wanna go
see what, uh, what Larry and Carol are up to ?
MARCIA
I think they wanna be alone.
TED
Oh, yeah. Uh, okay. All right. Uh, well, you have any
plans ?
MARCIA
You're taking me to dinner, right ?
TED
Yeah, right. Absolutely. Only we can't sleep together.
MARCIA
Why not ?
TED
Not... not tonight.
MARCIA
Why not ?
TED
Well, I already slept with Helen Moss once today, and I'm
not young and active like I used to be.
MARCIA
You'll do anything to catch a murderer, won't you ?
NEW-YORK - LARRY'S RESIDENCE STREET - EXTERIOR DAY
Full shot of the corner of the street where Larry's building is
located. The pavement is wet from a recent rain. Carol and Larry
are coming around the corner of the street.
LARRY
What an experience.
CAROL
Oh, really one.
LARRY
I'm... I'm still vibrating.
CAROL
I know.
LARRY
Incredible.
Carol, who was walking quite rapidly, suddenly slows down. Track
shot of Larry and Carol, with the camera in front of them
CAROL
Oh, you know, Larry, you were surprisingly brave.
LARRY
What do you mean surprisingly ?
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
You seem shocked.
CAROL
Well...
LARRY
You know, I'm a pretty good guy, you know.
CAROL
Well, you know... Yeah, I know, uh...
LARRY
Where do you wanna go for dinner tonight ? Let's not go to
any restaurant where they serve cowards.
Carol laughs.
CAROL
I don't know.
LARRY
I... What are you laughing at ?
CAROL
You know, Larry, I love you. I love you.
LARRY
How could you have ever been jealous of Marcia ? Isn't that
ridiculous ? Don't you know that I could only love you ?
CAROL
You were jealous of Ted.
LARRY
Ted ?
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
You've got to be kidding. Take away his-his-his elevator
shoes and his fake suntan and his capped teeth... and what
do you have ?
CAROL
You.
Larry laughs. They have reached their building and they enter it.
LARRY
Right. I love that.
CAROL
I...
An attendant opens the door for them. Through the glass doors, we
see them cross the lobby toward the elevator.
CREDITS
The credits are «Woody Allen style» : in white Windsor Light
Condensed typeface letters on a black background.
THE END
|
