Original subtitles

I was just saying to my friend there's a handsome gentleman who will stand us a grenadine.

You will stand us a drink,

won't you?

Yeah.

From that fountain.

George!

Don't you know me?

North Forest Tales,

the Sixth Sire.

I knew you the minute I set eyes on you.

You're all wrong.

I haven't changed,

I see.

Same old Charles.

Come along and have a drink.

I'm delighted to see you.

You're the first friendly face I've met in Paris.

How are you?

Oh, not too well.

A bad cough.

I can't get rid of it.

What'll you have?

A box?

Two.

Doctor told me I should go to the South.

It's not so easy.

I've got a job I can't run out on.

What kind of a job?

I'm on the editorial staff of the V4 stage.

Full-fledged journalist,

if you please.

A journalist?

Found it important.

Just a fancy word for a newspaper man.

Where have you been up to since you left the army?

You look prosperous enough.

I'm a rich man.

Got enough money to last me the rest of my life.

A devil you have,

providing I don't live beyond tomorrow afternoon.

How do you like that?

It's Ignorance Desirable in a Cabinet,

Minister,

by Charles Forestier.

You see,

I'm very impressed.

You've come a long way from the time we stole eight sheep and two chickens from a band of bloodthirsty Arabs.

Don't steer it.

I'm scared just to remember it.

To the Arabs.

God rest their souls.

I got pretty sick of the army,

but I can't say that Paris has been much better.

I seem to have been sent into the world merely to swell the crowd.

You didn't expect to open Paris like a oyster.

But for the last six months,

I've had a job in the office of the Northern Railway Company at 1,500 francs a year.

Eh, that's not much.

Today is the

28th of June,

and here's my total capital.

Three francs and 40 centimes to carry me to the end of the month.

I can choose between two lunches and no dinner,

or two dinners and no lunch.

I just did the most foolish thing imaginable.

I squandered the price of a breakfast on a toy that is quite inedible.

Punching in stick.

What in the world prompted you to buy this?

It occurred to me that I have need of a stout stick like that of punch to beat my way.

When I see the idiots with money in their pockets,

I'm tempted to wring their necks like we used to do with the chickens on manoeuvres.

That is a bad cough,

You've got.

I shouldn't have taken that cheroot.

How is it you couldn't get a better job than a clerk's person?

You know that the writing master's place had faded down.

I can't do that.

People in society won't receive you after you've given their children writing lessons.

One grenadine.

You make yourself at home?

It's your friend who interests me.

I think I could make a fool of myself for his sake.

Glad to see you haven't changed,

George.

You're always used to annoying me the way women went for you.

You suppose it's that devilish look you've got?

It may be.

I've noticed that women take to men who have the appearance of wickedness.

I seen you in the prom night with Pauly Bezier.

It's possible.

My name is Rachel Michaud.

My friend and I are dancers.

We don't go out until 11.

We're often in prom night between 9 and 10.

Perhaps we'll encounter your good-looking friend then.

Perhaps you will not.

Now swallow your stolen drink and be on your way.

Quickly.

You're very successful with women.

Look after that.

It might lead to something.

And Paris is through there when it gets on most quickly.

A stick like that of punch.

What's that?

Oh, nothing.

Just an idea that occurred to me.

Look here.

How would you like to try journalism?

There's a vacancy at the La Vie française

One of our reporters has got himself killed in the duel.

You know I've never written anything.

Never going to speak in?

I could get you a job in the hunt of information for me.

Make calls and inquiries.

I speak to the manager of our...

By all means.

Come and dine with me tomorrow.

The boss,

Monsieur Walter,

will be there,

and with luck we might put it over.

Haven't any dressed clothes.

I might as well go naked.

Here's a hundred francs.

You pay me when you can.

Run a dress suit,

and I'll meet you tomorrow at half past seven.

Seventeen quai dans deux.

I'll let my wife expect you.

Seventeen quai dans deux.

I've got a little long.

Well, I'll have another drink.

Read your article.

Till tomorrow,

then.

Till tomorrow.

Thanks, Owen.

Good evening,

Quintel.

Good evening,

Madeleine.

And you are George Duroy

Are you two already acquainted?

Monsieur George Duroy,

an old friend of Charles.

Madame Clotilde de Marelle

my very dear friend.

Madame.

We met quite by chance at your door.

Fate perhaps had a hand.

It's Norbert de Varenne

the blind composer.

You may have heard him at Notre Dame Cathedral.

He's organist there.

He writes about music for La Vie française

And who is that besides Charles?

Laroche-Mathieu

He's a member of the Chamber of Deputies and political editor of the paper.

Everyone says he will be a cabinet minister.

And the gentleman with the cigars,

Monsieur Walter

You'll never see him without one.

Banker and publisher.

The woman knitting is his wife.

She's always knitting.

The pretty girl at the window is their daughter,

Suzanne.

Madam Walton,

it's too fast.

There's some trouble occurring,

eh?

Perhaps.

Who's the artist?

Jacques Rival.

You've seen his characters.

He's very witty.

You'll like him.

Don't you think it is absurd,

monsieur?

I'm not allowed to go to the theater except to the classics.

I'm forbidden to read the serials in Papa's newspaper.

I must skip crime stories.

I am allowed to paint in watercolors,

but not in oils.

And then I can only paint roses.

Parents think they can keep their daughter sealed up like a letter.

Were we brought into the world to imitate our grandmothers,

to feed canaries and fill in embroidery patterns?

After all,

I'm 15 years old.

And this is the year 1880.

You must excuse my daughter,

monsieur.

She chatters like that from the moment she gets up in the morning.

If I published a newspaper fit for my daughter to read,

I'd be out of business in two weeks.

She's old enough,

in my opinion,

to read anything.

We censor our young people too much.

There's only one way to develop an immunity to the diseases of life,

and that's to be exposed to them.

What a dangerous theory.

It is not only the young people who suffer from too much censorship.

Here am I,

a widow with a four-year-old daughter.

What I would like to do more than anything

is to disguise myself as a housemaid on an outing and dance at the Reine Blanche.

But not a single gentleman of my acquaintance is willing to take me there.

They are perfectly right.

Monsieur de Varennes.

Monsieur Deroy,

who is speaking.

I believe I saw you and your wife at the puppet theatre in the Champs-Élysées yesterday.

Yes, I like that puppet show because one can still find Punch there.

I think there's a lesson to be learned from him.

Lesson is to be learned from Punch,

except bad manners.

He beats everyone who opposes him.

But his brutality is not his own.

It is imposed on him.

And what I have thought is this.

Those who surrender themselves to evil are no longer free souls.

They are marionettes of the devil.

We are all no more than puppets unless we believe in God.

Profound observation.

Don't tell me we're going to discuss the question of God and the soul of soup.

That subject doesn't usually come up until the dessert.

And by that time,

no one knows what he's talking about.

But I believe I'm quite as religious as you are,

Norbert.

I pray every morning for the stock market to go up.

Why do you think that punch has been so popular for a period of centuries?

It is because he's a scoundrel.

The human race,

it does a scoundrel.

and always crucifies its heroes.

What is your opinion of Punch,

Monsieur?

I have respect for him.

I do not think it is easy to be a successful scoundrel.

You're right.

Takes talent.

But I think what strikes me most about Punch is his amorous inclination.

Disgusting.

I find it delightful.

Please go on,

Monsieur.

You've arrived at a subject which interests me.

Love is a subject which always interests women.

Perhaps because in discussing it one passes so readily from the general to the particular.

After dinner I shall make a caricature of you as Punch,

since you admire him so much.

Thank you,

Monsieur.

Your wife tells me that you have something very important to talk to me about,

Charles.

Does it concern the paper?

It does,

but I imagine it can wait till dinner's over.

Nonsense.

We are all from the paper,

with the exception of Monsieur Duroy.

But he'll not be offended by a little shop talk.

It concerns Monsieur Duroy

You'll forgive me,

George, if I speak before everyone?

Of course.

We all remember poor Marambo,

who was killed in a duel.

I would rather have lost

20,000 francs.

Duelists are no better than murderers,

and they ought to be punished as such.

We need someone to replace Marambo.

I'd like to engage my friend.

Are you a journalist,

monsieur?

Charles had the idea to make me one.

George has just returned from Africa,

where he served in all three provinces.

He has an original turn of mind,

and I had the idea that he could do a series of articles on Algeria,

while the subject's being debated in the chamber.

Recollections of a chasseur d'Afrique.

Think I should like to read that.

Bring me an article tomorrow at three and we'll decide the matter.

Charles!

George,

what on earth are you doing here?

Waiting for you to come out.

I didn't want to go out for fear of disturbing you.

I need your help.

You're checking me up on your competitors already?

I'm giving myself an overnight course in journalism.

I see.

You mean you haven't been able to write your article?

I've been at it all night.

I haven't slept a wink.

I've made all sorts of notes,

but I can't seem to get them into shape.

I tore up all my attempts.

I'm in a bit of a hurry this morning.

If you could just take ten minutes to get me started.

I've got to make a good impression on Mr.

Walter. I'm afraid the whole thing will be off.

As far as I can see,

you've got some pretty good ideas here.

I can't seem to organize them properly.

Go and see my wife.

She'll be able to help you as well as I can.

Your wife?

I've trained her for this kind of work.

I can't call on her this time of the morning.

She's up in my study

Compiling my notes for me.

You're not going to make me climb those stairs again,

I hope?

I'll tell her that you forced me,

positively forced me,

to come to see you.

In the article,

La Vie Française is pretty rough paper

Don't worry about that.

And that,

monsieur,

is how one writes an article.

Sign it, if you please.

I haven't the words to thank you.

Nonsense.

I made the sauce,

but you provided the materials.

Excellent materials.

But sign it.

George

Duroy

I hope you're not suffocated.

I simply can't work without smoking.

What is it you want to say?

You won't be offended.

Is it so awful?

When I saw you last night,

I couldn't help thinking what a lucky devil Charles is.

She's beautiful.

No woman could be offended by such a confession.

Now I can't help thinking what a lucky devil Charles is.

She's clever.

Tell me,

what did you think of my friend,

Clotilde Marelle?

She's so young,

one could never imagine her to be a widow.

She was married to a man much older than herself.

You have no idea how original and intelligent she is.

You must go and call on her one of these days.

She wanted so much to go to the Reine Blanche.

Do you think I'd dare take her there?

Not the Reine Blanche.

But nice to see you.

Madeleine

I must introduce an old friend of Charles,

Monsieur Georges Duroy ,

our best and closest friend,

the Count de Vaudrec

Thank you again.

So many women play for him.

I'm just the woman who's for him.

If only he loves only me.

Who am I dreaming of each time I dream of love?

Who clings his glass with mine each time we're drinking wine?

My bel ami

Whose arms romance with me each time they dance with me?

It's plain to see.

Whose love is deep?

Whose love is strong?

Whose love will keep?

But not for long.

Who'll be deceiving me?

Who will be leaving me?

Bel Ami

I've had such fun.

We'll spend many such evenings.

At carnival time,

I want to dress up not as a housemaid again,

but as a young man in a full dress suit.

You've no idea what a charming young man I can be.

Haven't I?

And I've never seen that La Vie Française has other uses than spreading the news.

I heard Monsieur Walter talking about you the other day.

What did he say?

He says that you're a real find for the paper.

He thinks you'll get on.

I find journalism very much to my taste.

What I have failed to discover is how one makes money at it.

Who is the Count of Vaudrec?

He is Madeleine Forestier's oldest friend.

Oh?

I don't think so.

He dines with her and Charles twice every week.

He's very rich.

His name is amongst the noblest in France.

Madeleine is very clever.

I wish I were clever.

You're clever enough to be beautiful,

and I know no cleverness to match that.

She is keen,

clever, and intriguing,

as no one else is.

She'd be a pleasure for anyone who wants to get on.

She has a habit of moving her wedding ring up and down on her fingers if she didn't consider it very permanent.

Charles frightens me sometimes at that cough of his.

Will she marry again,

do you suppose,

if anything happens to him?

I suspect that she has someone in her eye.

A deputy,

perhaps.

Not Lois,

my dear.

Everyone says he'll be a cabinet minister.

Madeline is very ambitious.

He's far too good for that mediocrity.

Are you in love with Madeline?

Certainly not.

Are you in love with anyone?

Yes.

Liar.

I've had too much champagne.

Is she sleeping?

like an angel.

What do you think of my daughter?

isn't she an angel?

She's as adorable as her mother and more intelligent.

How do you know that?

The soldier she has at her arms is wearing the uniform of the 6th Hussars.

My old regiment.

What a wicked man you are.

I think I shall call you Bel Ami.

It's a name I shall I do my best to deserve

I've just taken a charming apartment near the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

Will you take coffee with me tomorrow afternoon?

No.

Good.

Will you take coffee with me tomorrow afternoon?

No.

tomorrow afternoon

sings in the morning

The robin sings in the day The nightingale sings in the moonlight

But my heart sings night and day

He wrote it for me,

Mommy,

for my birthday!

I love you so much!

Two grenadines!

Good evening, Monsieur.

Do you know that woman?

No, I never saw her in my life.

They can be awfully bold sometimes,

these women.

Caught me dead the swine.

He'll be well enough to have a drink with me last Thursday night.

And the Thursday before that.

And the Thursday before that.

And have all the fancy ladies he likes.

But he can at least bow to me.

I'll teach you manners the lout!

Good evening,

George.

Good evening,

are you quite well?

What, have you grown deaf since Thursday?

So you're dumb then.

Perhaps the young lady's bitten your tongue off.

What do you mean by speaking to me?

Get out or I'll have you locked up.

So that's it,

is it, you lout?

The least you can do is nod to me.

There's no reason because you're with somebody else you had to cut me today.

You only nodded to me when I met you just now.

I should have left you alone.

But you wanted to do the grand.

Well, I'll pay you out so you won't say good evening when you meet me.

Stop it! She stole my sweetheart

When we first met,

you said it was not chance,

but fate that had brought us together.

I know now that it was a fatality as inescapable as daybreak,

and as mysterious as the rising of the moon.

You went at my heart through the door of my eyes,

and I gladly made a place for you there.

Now it seems as natural for me to love you as to breathe.

What have I to reproach you with?

That you have made me love you more than you love me?

But in love there is always one who loves more than the other.

One cannot tear love from the heart as one extracts a tooth.

I love you so much that your cruelty is dearer to me than the love of others.

I love you so much that there is nothing you could do that I would not be willing to forgive.

Tonight my emotions overcame me.

For that I ask forgiveness.

Hereafter I shall hide from you the terrible jealousy that kindles in my heart.

If I must weep,

I shall hold a curtain between you and my tears.

I shall make you a thousand secret sacrifices,

including the sacrifice of my self love

It is not difficult to make the gift of love.

But there is a greater gift,

the gift of pride.

I give you my pride,

dear Bel Ami,

together with my love,

which will never change.

I think you can catch old man Walter for a raise starting tomorrow.

I think you'll have to take over some of my duties.

Don't tell me you're leaving at last

Tomorrow.

I'm going to plan the doctor's imperative orders.

About time you took care of yourself.

I should have been off a month ago.

What fools we are.

We squander our lives as though we were immortal.

What kind of talk do you call that?

It would be odd,

wouldn't it, if when I brought you here,

I were training my successor?

Nonsense.

All you need is a little sunshine and you'll be as fit as ever.

Perhaps.

Just when I'm leaving Paris,

you decide to visit me.

You prefer Clotilde.

You find time to visit her.

Or perhaps you've quarreled with her.

Is that it?

Last night,

Clotilde was angry with me,

but you know Clotilde.

Today, we're friends again.

The reason we visit you is because it's better so.

What do you mean by that?

I'm in love with you.

Only a little,

but I don't want to be head over ears.

You could have come all the same.

No man is in love with me long.

Why not?

Because it's useless.

I'll let you understand that at once.

A man in love is not only idiotic,

but dangerous.

He's like a mad dog which may have a fit of biting.

I cease all relations with people who are in love with me,

and pretend to be,

until their illness is over.

But can we command our feelings?

Look at me.

I assure you that it is absolutely useless for you to persist in this sentiment.

Now that the operation is over,

will you agree to be friends?

Good friends,

and nothing more?

I agree.

If I had found a woman like you,

how gladly I would have married her.

Can you reach that suitcase for me?

Of course.

I shall play the part of a friend at once.

May I speak plainly?

Please do.

Go and see Madame Walter and do your best to please her.

I know that you still hold an inferior position on the paper and that you're not paid enough money for your needs.

Be attentive to Madame Walter.

He'll help you to get on.

How clever you are.

I want to prove that I can be your friend.

Can I tell you an idea I've had?

An original idea for the paper?

Yes, of course.

I thought I might write a daily column made up of gossip and rumour.

Yes?

I should call it echoes.

Echoes?

I like that.

I should hint at things,

without stating them plainly,

insinuate what can either be proved or disproved,

make indiscreet revelations,

contradict in such a way as to confirm.

This is superb!

Everyone must be thought of,

all classes,

all professions,

Paris and the provinces,

the army and the art world,

the university and the law courts.

People are so full of menace they're always ready to believe gossip.

Reputations could be strengthened or weakened.

created or destroyed and La Vie Française could become a power to be feared and courted.

It will be necessary to be far-seeing,

cunning,

to judge what is good to announce and good to hide.

One can influence the stock market,

the selection of cabinet ministers.

But Monsieur Walter will be mad about your idea.

You think so?

It's magnificent.

I wish I could help you with your echoes.

I wish you could.

Remember our agreement.

We're friends now.

You have need of me for no matter what.

Do not hesitate.

Thank you.

I will,

sir. If I can be of use,

you have only to send a letter or a telegram,

and I will obey.

Goodbye,

my dear.

Goodbye,

Bel Ami.

We've all picked up Clotilde's nickname for you.

Why, Bernard,

how nice of you to come and bid me goodbye.

Madeline.

You remember Monsieur Duroy?

Monsieur

Madam Walter.

To accept a few pears which he received this morning from

Normandy.

So good of you to send us the delicious pears from Normandy.

They came from a famous orchard,

quite close to my old home.

Sometimes my daughter's actions are a little bewildering.

Oh, George,

you have come at the right moment.

We are discussing a subject on which we need your expert opinion.

A comparison has been made between the measurements of the Venus de Milo

and those considered ideal in the female form today.

I confess a preference for the living,

woman. Bravo.

When you are my age,

you may prefer a statue.

I was sure that Bel Ami would be our champion.

On behalf of French womanhood,

I thank you,

monsieur.

A woman possesses an obvious advantage over a statue.

She turns herself in the direction you desire,

while with a statue,

you have to walk around it to get the right point of view,

and that is tiring.

Bravo.

On behalf of French womanhood,

I withdraw my thanks.

I still prefer a statue.

A statue at least will never deceive you.

Human society could hardly exist without deception.

But you're too severe.

In my opinion,

there are good women.

Where?

There may be in some corner young,

pretty and good women whose existence the world doesn't even suspect.

No woman is worth what she costs,

even if she got to be found.

Is there no one here to defend us?

Monsieur?

You need no defense,

madame.

But I shall not remain and hear your virtue and your charm traduced.

If you'll excuse me,

madame.

So soon?

I'm afraid so.

Whenever Monsieur Deroy appears,

conversation takes an unwholesome turn.

I find myself welcome at many gatherings

for no better reason than that my arrival is the signal for Monsieur La Roche-Mathieu's departure.

We are waiting, Monsieur,

for your devastating reply.

No doubt he'll think of it macabre.

You are wicked,

monsieur,

to bait him so.

But it is he who invariably provokes it.

Besides,

I disapprove of hypocrisy in other people.

I've been admiring your paintings,

monsieur Walter.

Now is the time to buy.

The painters are all dying of hunger.

They've not a suit.

Not one suit.

I must get home.

My daughter will be angry with me.

May I escort you to your door?

I shall be delighted.

Suzanne.

I saw a young girl run up the stairs,

and now a young lady comes down.

It's nothing less than magic.

I suppose she's a little too big for spanking.

It's my

16th birthday,

Monsieur Bel Ami.

Do you approve of it?

My daughter finds you irresistible,

Monsieur.

Now look at me.

I want to see if you still care for me.

I have a letter here that I want you to read.

He never gives up, does he?

your gaston Rival

It's not myself I'm thinking of.

Monsieur Rival is wealthy.

He's one of the most respected citizens of Lyon.

He's a good man,

devoted and honorable.

If I marry him,

whatever may happen to me,

Laureen's future will be assured.

You will then?

Ought I to marry him?

By all means.

You know very well I have no intention of marrying him.

No problem.

Don't you understand?

It's you I want to marry.

You cannot deny that you love me.

Marriage and love are two entirely different subjects.

I don't think so.

A true marriage is the daily bread of the heart.

There's no greater happiness.

No money in happiness.

If one desires money and success too much,

it can poison his life.

Give me a cigarette case.

Have you never thought that one day you'll grow old?

You will stretch out your arms for love,

for consolation,

but no one will come.

Then there are children.

Wouldn't you like children of your own,

like little Laureen,

who is so fond of you?

What is it then,

that you want in life?

Shall I tell you?

I should like to know.

When you marry,

you want it to be in the Church of the Madeleine,

with all the wealth and fame of Paris in attendance.

We want to look from the church across the Place de la Concorde,

the Chamber of Deputies,

where your future lies.

You cannot possibly understand what Paris means to those who grew up beside it in the provinces.

We look toward Paris as the souls in purgatory look toward paradise.

It's a war in which I'm engaged.

One man against a great city.

I must conquer Paris or be conquered.

Perhaps you could fight even better with me beside you.

Perhaps.

Fits perfectly.

I had it made to the exact measurement.

I can take the measure of your cigarette case and put my photograph in it,

so that when we are not together you will be reminded of me.

By what arithmetic am I to measure you?

Who will tell me the dimensions of the heart?

I could be happy with the (mumble).

I know that.

Well then

Number 18,

monsieur.

My heart tells me that you're right.

But I haven't listened to my heart for the long time.

Do listen to it now,

Bel Ami

I am writing you this letter because you told me that I could count on you always.

When you come and help me during the last moments of my husband,

who is dying.

I can only ask such a service of you as Charles has no relatives.

You were his comrade.

He opened the door of the paper to you.

Come,

I beseech you.

I have no one else to ask.

I came just as quickly as I could.

How is he?

The priest is with him now.

He's still far gone.

I'm scarcely recognizing him.

Near all the bugle calls from the encampment.

You can see the warships in the bay.

Look through my glasses there.

You can make out the squadron.

There's the Colbert and Sopin.

The Admiral du Perret.

The Redoutable.

It's beautiful,

isn't it?

And over there is Africa.

Sounds familiar,

doesn't it?

They're always passing here.

You remember how we rode and sang,

George?

You and I and this old accordion?

The sun would be shining

The very springtime would be in the sky,

and the carriages would be passing on the street.

The breeze blows curtly.

But I,

Charles Forestier

will be here no more,

such as though I had never existed.

You're not so bad as all that.

And I can see death so near I want to reach out my arms,

push it back.

Madeline!

How clear the night is.

It's almost as bright as day.

Over there in Africa,

when we were soldiers together,

Charles risked his life every day,

and no harm came to him.

I think a cigarette might help me.

Would it be wrong to smoke?

I don't think so.

I must ask you to listen to me for a moment.

Try to understand what I want to tell you,

and do not be indignant of my speaking of such a matter at such a moment,

for you may have made some decision about your future before I have an opportunity to see you in Paris.

I think you must be aware of the feeling I have for you.

When we wrote my first article together,

when we talked about my echoes,

I had the vision of a life that brought work and sentiment together in a rare and happy collaboration.

I've dared to hope that such a prospect might be pleasing to you also.

It is not a proposal I'm making to you that time and place would render that odious.

I only wish you to know that you can make me happy with a word.

My heart and myself are yours.

Have I offended you?

No.

I do not wish you to go away without an answer.

But I'm not prepared to say yes or no.

I too have felt that our collaboration could be a happy one.

But it is necessary that you should understand what sort of woman I am.

Marriage for me is not charm but a partnership.

I must be free,

perfectly free,

as to my ways,

my acts,

my comings and goings.

I must be an equal,

an ally,

not an inferior,

or an obedient and submissive wife.

My notions are not those of everyone,

and I shall not change them.

You must consider all this carefully.

I do not wish you to change.

It is as you are that I have come to love you.

You are quite sure that you are free to make me this proposal?

You have no other attachments?

I have no attachments.

We think that love is given to us.

It is not.

It is sold to us at the cost of the most cruel torture.

Do you remember saying to me that Mud Lane would be a treasure for anyone who wanted to get on?

You said that yourself the first night we went to the Rennes Blanche.

When will you be married?

We shall go next week to Rouen,

where my father lives,

and be married in a registry office.

Madeleine didn't want a church wedding.

There will be no witnesses except my father and Madeleine's friend,

Count de Brodrech.

Tingle sings in the moonlight,

but my heart sings night and day.

The lark sings,

the morning,

I'm glad you're home early.

I've had some important news from Morocco.

I got it from La Roche-Mathieu at Madame Walter's tea.

We must work up an important article at once.

I think I know your news.

It'll be more than an article.

It'll be a campaign against the ministry.

And we'll end by making that idiot La Roche-Mathieu Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Idiot La Roche-Mathieu will end by making our fortune.

Nevertheless,

I'd be glad if our efforts were for someone less stupid.

Your ears should have been burning this afternoon.

Madame Walter is quite smitten with you.

No, I couldn't...

I tell you it's so.

She spoke of you with wild enthusiasm.

She'd like to find a husband like you for her daughter.

If you saw my answer,

Mr. Dorman would be quite willing.

The daughter's father would be quite unwilling.

Can you imagine old Walter accepting me as a suitor?

Oh, she's aiming very high.

Nothing less than a count or a marquis for

Susanne, or at the very least a baron.

The title,

however, would present no great difficulty.

How so?

There are ways of acquiring a title.

For example,

the noblest names in France are available to anyone if the family has died out.

All that is necessary is a visit to the Keeper of the Seals and an advertisement from the official journal.

Any protest must be made in writing within one year from this date.

In case someone born to the title is hidden away somewhere,

he has one year in which to make himself known and enter his objection.

After that,

it's too late.

Have you been considering something of this sort?

The time has not come for that yet.

So she pensive me,

Madame Walter.

If it were anyone else,

I should be quite alarmed.

But fortunately,

with Madame Walter,

such things are of no moment.

How of no moment?

Madame Walter has never had even the slightest whisper about her.

She's so perfect that sometimes I want to throw her out of the window.

All angels become women again,

sooner or later.

But you put an idea into my head.

I might learn something from her about old Walter's schemes.

We have more important things to talk about than Madame Walter.

I beg your pardon,

It's you I want to speak to.

It's stupid of me,

but I'm always mixing you up with poor Charles Forestier.

It's because your articles are so and funnily like his,

I suppose.

Well, Dan,

put that gentleman here,

will you?

There are all sorts of fools and envious people in this world.

Yes,

I see that I was right.

The resemblance is remarkable.

Let me a piece of your chalk,

Jacques.

Certain individuals here thought it funny some time past to call me Forestier.

I begin to find it very stupid.

However,

I have a peaceful nature and I wish to prevent matters from going to painful extremes.

It's true that I'm no longer a member of the Sixth Hussars,

but I think you'll find I've not lost my skill with firearms.

I wish it to be known that I will slap the face of the first person who makes the mistake of calling me Forestier again.

It is for Monsieur La Roche-Mathieu to decide whether his little joke is worth risking a bullet for.

You will need yellow crayons,

Jacques,

for your next caricature of La Roche-Mathieu.

How have you been doing since you last met me?

Quite well. And you,

Bel Ami?

Will you allow me to call him Bel Ami still?

I will allow whatever you please.

Then perhaps you will permit him to escort me to my carriage.

Goodbye,

Lieutenant.

How do you like your new life?

Not much,

one way or the other.

We are,

as you see,

a magnificent success.

We've overthrown the cabinet.

We've made Laroche-Mathieu minister of foreign affairs.

I'm a journalistic celebrity,

and my wife presides over the most distinguished political salon in Paris.

This turned out to be a practical partnership.

Nothing more?

Nothing more.

Wait.

Remember this.

Why should you want me to see Madeline's picture in the cigarette case?

Look under Madeline's picture.

and see how it is

you haven't changed that

not for a moment you

as if i could ever stop loving you

You'll visit us again?

My carriage doesn't seem to have come as yet.

That is my good fortune.

I shall have a moment with you.

Why do you look at me so strangely?

I want always to remember this time,

space.

Trees,

darkening street,

this moment like an island in the great stream of time.

What on earth are you talking about?

Can't you guess?

No.

What is it that makes this moment so important?

I've arrived at a great decision.

If you will look the other way,

I'll tell you what it is.

Regardless of convention or what you may think of me,

I shall declare myself.

To me.

To you.

You must be mad.

I'm sure of it,

but I'm glad I've spoken.

I wanted to say this for a very long time,

but I dare not.

They say you're so strict,

so proper.

I'm afraid that I should remember this moment also.

Then you're not offended.

No.

You understand my feeling?

I understand it.

You return it?

You do not deny it?

Where should I see you?

I dare not see you.

I must see you.

It's impossible.

You meet me tomorrow afternoon in the Parc L'Anse,

though. We encounter each other as if by chance in a public garden.

What could be more proper?

I shall be at the Cathedral of Notre Dame tomorrow afternoon at half past 3.

I ignited a fire in an old soot-filled chimney.

Madame de Varenne

you are surprised to see me here,

but do not be alarmed.

I am not a reformed character.

You're quite sure of that?

May I ask you something?

I've been puzzled about you ever since I first saw you with your husband.

You are somehow not like other women.

What are other women like,

Monsieur?

Usually women strike me as being incredibly stupid.

They can be caught by a look,

a smile,

a compliment,

anything that touches their vanity.

It is impossible not to despise them.

But you are different.

I understood at once that you were not to be taken in by such devices.

Why should you wish to take me in at all?

I could not help you to gain money or position.

You do me a little justice.

Wait.

Why do you smile?

Because you're ridiculous.

Is it ridiculous to wonder why a woman like you could marry a man who cannot even see that she is beautiful?

I confess it seems unnatural to me.

What made you waste your beauty on a man who is blind?

I always want to explain such a thing to a man like you.

Try.

I admire his mind and I love his soul.

There's a quality in him you could never comprehend.

What is that quality?

Kind of grace that comes from being gentle and good

and faith and endures in spite of men and of experience.

If he should die,

surely he'll find someone else to adore.

One moment more.

what do you think of me really?

i think you're contemptible

shall i tell you what i think of you?

it has no interest for me

I think you're probably the only really good woman i've ever known

I'm sorry for you monsieur there are millions of us

Yes, sir.

Hardly spoken a word to me.

How can you be so cold,

so cruel?

Have you forgotten our understanding?

We were carried away by our emotion.

We've been guilty of an unpardonable betrayal.

We made a solemn agreement to atone for it by burying our feelings in our heart.

But I must at least see you.

I cannot live unless...

We meet socially two or three times a week.

We see each other then,

do we not?

Does that satisfy you?

We agreed that anything more would be neither honorable nor discreet.

But I have been discreet.

I am sure that no one can suspect anything.

You call it discreet to summon me at all hours to hasty meetings on street corners,

in shops,

in public gardens?

But it is only to see you for a moment.

Discreet to write me letters full of pet names,

to wait for me in a cab with the blinds drawn at the door of my office,

to lie and wait for me outside my house?

You're right.

A kind of madness.

And now this telegram.

Must see you today.

Most important.

Meet me at 2 o'clock.

Can render you a great service.

You're still there.

I've been waiting for you,

but tell me what it is that is so important.

But it is quite true.

I came to tell you some news to put you in the way of gaining 50,000 francs or even more.

How so?

I caught by chance yesterday evening some words between my husband and La Roche-Mathieu.

They agreed not to let you in at a secret.

What secret?

They are going to take possession of Morocco.

Nonsense.

I've been writing a series of articles for La Roche-Mathieu designed to create exactly the opposite impression.

They are humbugging you in order that their plan might not be known.

What is their plan?

They are using your articles to depress the stock market,

but secretly and little by little they have been buying up the whole of the Morocco loan.

Now the expedition is to take place,

and as soon as we are there the government will guarantee the debt.

They will gain 50 or 60 million.

What scoundrels.

I do the dirty work and they leave me out of it.

Monsieur Walter is not a man.

He is a cash box.

We ought to have a profit by this.

You can still buy some of the loan.

It is only at 72 francs.

I haven't any money.

Love me a little,

and you will let me lend you some.

I can't do that.

But you don't need even to borrow.

I will invest 20,000 francs,

and you shall stand in for half.

I will do it entirely with my own money.

Walter will know nothing about it.

If it succeeds,

you will gain 70,000 francs.

If not,

you will owe me 10,000,

which you can pay when you please.

I don't like such arrangements.

But it is you who carried on the editorial campaign which has made the scheme possible.

It would be foolish not to profit them.

You have rendered them services worth a great deal more than that.

Very well,

but it is understood that if we lose,

I will repay you for ten thousand francs.

Eat your dessert before it is completely cold.

And I should tell you about a dream I had of you last night.

I was traveling in a train at night through a mysterious forest.

It was a very long train,

but I seemed to be the only person.

We stopped at a deserted station surrounded by dark trees.

I hurried to close my suitcase

and stepped down to the platform looking about for you

because I knew that you would be there to meet me.

I can't get up straight now,

but you're in my mind like it's in my life.

I dreamed that we were taking a journey together across the desert.

We were riding on two camels,

and we'd taken some sandwiches and a piece of paper and some wine in the bottle.

It annoyed me because we were too far off from each other on our separate camels,

and I wanted to get down.

I want to get down,

too.

You brought away one of Madeline's hairs.

No, it isn't Madeline.

It's too dark.

Very likely one of the maids.

You've been with a woman who has wound her hair around all your coat buttons.

Don't be ridiculous.

She loves you,

and she wanted you to take away something belonging to her.

You're being very silly.

You threw me over to marry Madeline,

and now you're not even faithful to her.

But I tell you,

I don't know anything about it.

You could have a ring made out of her hair if you like,

and all the others.

I'm sure you know enough of it.

Wait.

I love you so much that your cruelty is dearer to me than the love of others.

I love you so much that there is nothing you could do that I would not be willing to forgive.

Hereafter,

I shall hide from you the terrible jealousy that kindles in my heart.

If I must weep,

I shall hold a curtain between you and my tears.

I shall make you a thousand secret sacrifices,

including the sacrifice of my self-love.

I give you my pride,

dear Bel Ami,

together with my love,

which will never change.

I suppose you meant those words at the time you wrote them.

What a brute you are.

Well, that minister of yours,

Laroche-Mathieu

certainly let us down nicely.

He's no more my minister than he was yours.

He doesn't pay court to me.

Nor to me either?

If I had to make a choice among your admirers,

I'd still prefer that old Fossil de Vaudrec.

What would become of the Count?

I haven't seen him for weeks.

Fossil

de Vaudrec died an hour ago.

De Vaudrec?

He had a heart attack last night.

He sent for me this morning.

I've just come from his deathbed.

Having no direct heirs,

I leave the whole of my fortune,

consisting of stock to the amount of 600,000 francs,

and landed property worth about 500,000 francs.

to Madame Claire Madeleine de Rois without any charge or condition.

It is, of course,

understood,

Monsieur,

that under the law,

your wife cannot accept this legacy without your consent.

I must ask time to reflect.

Just what was the Count de Vaudrec to you?

He knew me from my childhood and my parents before me.

He was like a father to me.

You'd be more affected by his death than by that of your husband.

Charles was ill for a very long time.

In his case,

I was prepared.

But de Vaudrec died so suddenly.

Still, when a man leaves the whole of his fortune to a woman,

it cannot be ignored.

It, uh,

well, it requires some explanation.

He left his fortune to me because he had no close relatives to leave it to.

He was very fond of me.

There was nothing more.

Never.

I'm prepared to believe you.

When this legacy is announced,

you suppose anyone else will?

All the world will gossip about it and laugh at me.

I cannot accept such a situation.

Well, then,

let us not accept it.

There will be a million less in our pockets.

That is all.

Perhaps you're right.

I have the solution.

Yes?

We'll say that he's abided the money between us,

leaving half to the husband and half to the wife.

I don't see how that can be done,

since the will is plain.

Very simple.

You assign half the inheritance to me by a deed of gift.

In that way,

we stop all scandal.

The will is there,

signed by de Vaudrec.

Well, have we any need to show it?

To paste it on the walls?

We'll simply say that the Count de Vaudrec kept his fortune between us.

That is all.

Very well,

if that is what you wish.

We inherited from a friend who leaves his fortune equally to us in order to show that his feeling was purely platonic.

If de Vaudrec had thought of it,

that is what he would have done.

No doubt.

If I were you,

I should go to the notary at once.

You think so?

By all means.

Behold the millionaire.

Monsieur and Madame Walter,

beg you to honour them with your company on December 30th,

between 9 and 12 p.m.,

to view the painting by Karl Markievicz,

The Temptation of St.

Anthony,

illuminated by electric lights.

Electric lights?

it was a clever idea of his,

that painting.

All the critics have judged it to be the masterpiece of the century.

Everybody knows Walter paid 400,000 Francs for it.

You'll see all the titled hypocrites using that excuse to enter the home of the new cretaceous.

You'll see his daughter,

who's the heiress of 40 million,

pretty besides.

become one of the kings of the earth,

and I don't need to marry that little puppet.

Oh, Suzanne has already had two offers.

One from a marquis and one from a count.

The place will be infested tonight with counts and marquises.

I don't understand why are you so bitter?

We've had to set foot in the Walden house for two months.

Madame Walter has complained to me about it most critically.

It isn't Madame Walden who keeps me away.

It's your Walter and that pet dog of his,

the horseman here,

who played us a scurvy trick.

They must have cleaned up 50 million between them.

What do we get out of it?

Not a red cent.

Why make Madame Walter suffer?

no reason to be cruel to her

there's the best of reasons she bores me

we are so happy that you are able to come.

you will find a painting of sir anthony in a small drawing-room beyond the conservatory

I hope you will be able to stay for the dance

I congratulate you virginia i don't believe i have ever seen so many celebrities together all at once

I must speak to Laroche-Mathieu his defence of the african campaign

Who's the young man with Suzanne?

The Marquis de Cazorles.

Harbury's terrorist secret,

fishing for 40 million.

Here you are at last,

Bellamy.

I'm very angry with you.

Why do we never see you anymore?

I've been very busy.

It is wicked of you to neglect us,

so we adore you,

Mama and I.

When you're not here,

I'm bored to death.

Come along,

and I will take you to see our painting at St. Anthony

To wait the end behind the conservatory.

You know, when he said that,

my mother did the most fantastic thing.

She kissed his hand.

The painting seems to have cast a spell over her.

She said that no one can understand the same struggle with temptation as she can.

Can you imagine that for my mother,

who never had a temptation in her life?

She adores the painting.

She spends hours here alone,

just sitting and looking at it.

You're not listening to me at all.

Your thoughts are miles away from here.

What is it you're thinking?

I've just decided to embark on a daring and dangerous adventure.

May I come along?

Yes.

If you have the courage.

It'll take a great deal of courage.

I have a surprise for you.

Mon amour.

Yes.

I can make no such effort.

The day after tomorrow is the 1st of January.

Yeah.

It is the time for New Year's gifts.

Yes.

Here's one for you from La Roche-Mathieu.

He gave it to me tonight at the reception.

Pass it to the Legion of Honor.

It's a big thing at your age.

I should have preferred 10 million.

I said it would be possible.

You're incredible.

Nothing satisfies you anymore.

He's only paying his debt.

He still owes me a great deal.

Do you mind if I make a suggestion?

What is it?

I have an idea that Laroche-Mathieu is very much taken with you.

Nonsense.

Call it what you like,

but I think we ought to take advantage of his interest,

so that he doesn't fool us again.

What do you suggest?

Encourage him.

Yield him no failures,

mind you, but lead him on so that he confides his schemes in you.

In that way we can be sure that he won't pray any more tricks on us.

And have you no fear of me?

Do you trust me so far?

I trust you.

I did not know that you were acting against the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He'll not be that much longer.

That a man should destroy a great carry in such a way.

What a waste.

And my wife,

how did she receive you?

She denied any wrongdoing and stated that the rendezvous was made at your suggestion.

What a fantastic idea.

Yes,

it is fantastic.

Never try to tell that to the divorce court.

I shall be at your disposal,

Monsieur, whenever you have need of me.

You are even cleverer and more dangerous than I had supposed.

And when you have your freedom,

whom will you marry?

A princess,

perhaps?

Or a banker's daughter?

Not Suzanne Walter.

You will be disappointed there.

Her father needs a better name than Georges Durois to match his millions.

Do I remember now?

You told me once how one obtains a title.

Good evening,

Your Excellency.

Perhaps you and my wife will join me in a nightcap.

And to think that you wear on your coat the cross of honor that I gave you.

You were paying a debt,

but you made the mistake of not paying it in full,

so I collected it in my own way.

What do you propose to do?

My application for divorce will be filed tomorrow morning,

naming the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Tonight I shall write an article for La Vie française

Turn out the cabinet and tumble you forever from your political pedestal.

You will discover that I am not without resources.

Do not underestimate the extent of your ruin.

Your stolen money will not help you.

You are done for,

permanently.

Still, Monsieur Walter,

do you suppose...

Walter is a realist.

He wastes no time on lost causes.

He will ask and receive your resignation from La Vie française tomorrow.

There is no doubt of that.

But you will fight the case since we are innocent.

I shall not fight it.

I shall not allow your name or mine to be subjected publicly to his degrading accusation.

I applaud your discretion.

I shall offer myself as a candidate in the October elections.

From your obscurity,

you will be able to follow my career.

I shall get on.

Yes,

we will get on.

You are an unmitigated cad.

One day you will make a mistake.

Scoundrels like you end by falling into their own traps.

Bye, Madeleine

Goodbye,

Bel Ami

I should like to be announced.

Monsieur Duroy

Why have you become so formal all of a sudden?

You are, after all,

quite at home here.

You are not accustomed to having yourself announced.

I didn't come here tonight just to eat your delicious branded cherries.

My visit has a formal purpose.

You sound very dramatic.

This is perhaps the most important moment of my life.

I want to read to you a notice I had inserted in the official newspaper six months ago,

apparently it escaped your attention at the time.

Monsieur Georges Duroy is about to apply to the keeper of the field,

permitted to add to his name that of de Contalé

and will henceforth be known as George Duroy de Contalé.

Any protest?

The protest must be made in writing to the keeper of the steals within one year from the stake.

George Duroy de Contalé.

I like that.

That's very clever of you.

de Contalé is one of the oldest and noblest names in France.

I've been told that the family has completely died out,

and since no protest has yet been entered,

one may assume that in six months more the name will be legally mine.

With that name you are to make a brilliant marriage.

It will enable me in any case to follow the impulse of my heart.

The name I can now offer is nobler and more ancient than that of the Marquis de Cazorles.

And in six months,

it will be just as much mine as that is his.

The Marquis de Cazenol,

what is he to do with it?

When it belongs to your grandchildren,

no one will ever dream of questioning their right to it.

My grandchildren?

It's true,

Father.

I love Bel Ami

and I want to marry him.

He's free to marry me.

He wanted a noble name and he's acquired that too.

You're always singing his praises.

Why should you want to stand in the way of our happiness?

All this is common sense Monsieur

It was you who made her refuse the Marquis de Cazorba.

You think her dowry was trying for?

I've been sincerely in love with Suzanne for a long time.

She knows that.

If you refuse,

I swear I shall never marry anyone else.

I'm sorry,

Deeply sorry.

It is you who are responsible for this.

You were always luring him here,

flattering him,

cajoling him.

It was Bel Ami here,

Bel Ami there,

from morning till night.

This is your return for it.

I know how great a shock this is to you.

But on second thought you realize they'll make you an excellent son-in-law.

I'll be more than a son-in-law.

I'll be a collaborator.

Between us we'll build La Vie française into an empire.

Come here,

my child.

Is this what you need to make you happy?

Yes, Father.

I have a different dream for you.

But you know,

perhaps you cannot regret it.

With men of his stand,

we'll never know what may happen.

Then you consent.

I might have made a better choice as regards position,

but not as regards intelligence and prospects.

He'll be a deputy and a minister,

I consent.

I ought to talk to your mother.

I'll tell you where to find her in front of the painting of St. Anthony

spends all her time there now

Monsieur Walter has given his consent.

It's all suddenly so clear to me.

Clotilde,

Madeleine,

and now Suzanne.

You're distressed now,

but in time you will become accustomed to the idea.

You will give us your blessing.

I hate you.

I did not know that it was possible to hate anyone as much as I hate you.

You are Mr.

Poirier,

mayor of Contalé?

Yes, madame.

You are familiar with the name of de Contalé?

This whole region once belonged to the de Contalé family,

but that was long ago.

There is no one of that family alive today?

The last of them was reduced to living in the forest with the woodcutter.

Where is he now?

Disappeared four years ago.

Thought he went to Africa.

No one here knows whether he's alive or dead.

If he should return,

give him this.

Someone is stealing his name from him.

He still has a few months in which to protest.

After that,

it would be too late.

Thank you,

Monsieur.

Madame,

why do you do this for a man who's a stranger to you?

To prevent,

if possible,

a still greater wrong.

What a brilliant writer Gaultier was.

Listen to this.

A woman is merely a kind of intelligent toy which will pick itself up if you should let it fall.

I'm not in the mood for clever quotations from Gautier.

I suppose not,

but you must be reasonable.

Reasonable?

When you know that for years I've been in love with you,

waiting for you,

hoping.

What is the most difficult thing to get in this world?

The thing we pay most dearly for,

snatch from each other,

fight for,

the thing we only obtain by force of genius or by luck,

by meanness,

by privation,

by wild effort,

resolution,

energy,

audacity,

or work?

It's money.

Yet there is a way of getting it,

spate-forwardly and promptly,

without any fatigue,

without difficulty and without genius.

Quite simply,

naturally,

quickly and honorably,

and that way is by marriage.

I despise that brutal,

cynical form of marriage.

I cannot afford to despise it.

The victory in this world is to the strong.

One must be strong.

One must be above all prejudices.

Tom,

you call that strength?

Egotism is everything.

Egotism as regards ambition and fortune is better than egotism as regards woman and love.

You call it strength,

but strong men do not descend to such measures.

You are not strong,

you are sly,

cunning.

You weave plots,

invent schemes.

You are no better than a thief,

a sneak thief.

I'm not sure that I like your statement.

Yes, a thief.

You deceive everyone.

You take advantage of everyone.

You bilge money and enjoyment wherever you can.

What is that but stealing?

Be quiet.

I will not be quiet any longer.

Do you think I don't know how you robbed Madeline a path for inheritance?

Do you suppose I don't know how you wove a net about Suzanne to steal her father's fortune?

And now even your name is stolen.

Be quiet,

I tell you.

Behave toward me like a cat ever since I've known you.

And now you want to make out that I'm not to tell you so.

What have you stolen from me but my life?

My whole life?

Will you be quiet?

I'll shout it from the windows,

from the rooftops.

Let all Paris know it.

Thief!

Someone steals my name,

and because a year passes before I see the newspaper in which he warns me that he intends robbing me,

I cannot make this scoundrel give my name up again.

That is the case,

exactly.

Where can I find this thief who calls himself with a name de Contelle?

Francis the King to Gaston de Contelle,

1515.

A de Contelle would rather fight a battle than tell of it.

Where can I find him?

You'll find him at the office of La Vie Francaise on the boulevard Croissanier.

One moment,

monsieur.

I thought of a gentleman who'd be happy to take you there.

Three,

four, 25.

Ah,

we have a distinguished visitor.

26,

the ex-minister.

27,

foreign affairs.

28.

And in I?

You call yourself Durois de Cantel?

That is my name,

monsieur.

My name is Philippe de Cantel.

Cowards

find brave men to do their work for them.

I understand what you mean,

monsieur.

You think there is de Cantel too many.

I think so too.

Will you act for me,

Jacques?

Of course.

I have the honor to represent the veritable monsieur de Cantel.

I'll call on you within the hour.

Very good,

monsieur. Where can he have sprung from,

monsieur de Cantel?

They told me there were none of them left.

My lip is bleeding.

He's a regular buffalo.

You choose the sword,

I suppose.

No, not the sword.

But this fellow looks as if he lived by hunting.

He'll be accustomed to fight.

My enemies will try to make a scandal of this.

My wedding only two weeks off.

I must kill this unfortunate young man.

That is very evident.

The only way to make my position good.

I should have stopped everything by then.

All stories,

all gossip,

everything.

The sword,

I might do no more than wound him.

With a pistol,

I'm a good shot,

you know.

Hold it right there.

A lot of necessary organs there.

A case of peritonitis.

Who do you want to take with you?

Foutain?

You can count on me.

I count on your discretion,

gentlemen.

Do not let this little matter go beyond these walls.

Come along,

Foutain.

Someone mark this paper and send it to him.

You must tell me what's wrong.

Why have you brought me here?

I'm afraid we should have rain before morning.

The cabman must think we're insane.

Nothing surprises a Parisian cab driver.

I don't understand you at all.

I hardly expected to see you again after our last meeting.

Then suddenly you get me out of bed in the middle of the night and bring me to the Bois de Vézé.

I think I hate trees.

All this vegetation lives by devouring us.

What a morbid idea.

I made my will this afternoon.

But why?

What has happened to you?

I provided for my old father.

He didn't need much.

I left everything else to you and little Laureen.

What is it that threatens you?

Are you in some danger?

I had the idea in any case that I might die.

Why?

Why?

What is it, Bel Ami?

Please tell me.

I made an admission to myself tonight.

An admission that I thought I ought to make to you also,

since it concerns you.

That's why I got you up in the middle of the night,

and brought you to the Bois de Vézé.

What sort of admission?

There are two people in the world that I love.

You and little Laureen.

That last time we met.

If you could put that out of your mind and remember this instead.

What is all this talk of dying?

There's no need to be alarmed.

Quite the contrary.

It's so that one never knows what may happen in a duel with pistols.

A duel?

I do not share your anxiety,

madame,

and I shall not go to the Bois de Vézé to make myself ridiculous.

Have no fears for Bel Ami.

I've seen him shoot.

He'll come out of this affair with his skin and his honor intact.

Suzanne's interference would only embarrass him.

Now I'm going to bed,

and I recommend that you do the same.

But it is a duel with pistols,

and both men will shoot to kill.

I have such a dreadful presentiment.

If you could get him to give up this young man's name,

if you would agree to marry him without it,

then he could withdraw with honor.

He was misinformed.

He was given to understand that the name had died out.

I never cared about the name.

It was only for Father's sake.

Later on,

when this is forgotten,

you can surely find another title that will please your father.

You make me ashamed.

You love him so much,

even though he's to marry me.

There are not many who would think more of his safety than of their own pride.

Mother, if Father won't come with us,

I'll get Paul de Gazone.

Just go at once.

Hurry or you'll be too late.

But do not say who sent you.

Not to fire until the signal has been given.

The signal for firing will be the dropping of the handkerchief.

You may fire immediately upon this signal if you wish.

It is permitted,

however,

to advance ten paces to the point indicated by the walking stick before firing.

If one of you is wounded...

He is allowed one minute to fire on his antagonist from the moment he is hit.

But if he has fallen on the ground,

he will be allowed two minutes.

His adversary must stand and receive his fire.

Is everything clear?

Poutin,

will you bring the pistol?

Monsieur The principles are not to address each other directly.

Will you be so kind,

Jacques, as to offer my adversary a cigar?

A good cigar puts the nerves in order,

and I do not wish to take an unfair advantage.

Monsieur?

I have no nerve.

I suspected as much.

Nevertheless,

I am distressed to see my adversary exposed to this wretched rain.

Is he quite sure that he will not accept one of our umbrellas?

Yes,

I'm used to shooting in foul weather.

In that case,

perhaps I might be permitted to retain my umbrella.

I should not like to quit the field of honor with a bad case of sniffles.

Monsieur?

I have no objection.

The pistols were obtained at Gastine Renet's.

He loaded them himself.

and sealed the box in the presence of witnesses.

Uh,

potin.

You might suggest to Monsieur Laroche-Mathieu that he observe the encounter from behind one of these beautiful trees.

He presents an incredibly tempting target.

You will take your position,

gentlemen.

Are you ready gentlemen?

Ready.

Ready.

I'm not done for yet.

One minute and 30 seconds remaining.

One moment.

Bel ami,

it was I who brought the newspaper to you.

Do you understand,

Bel Ami?

I brought it to you.

It was a scratch.

It 's nothing

Just a scratch.

I've been scratched by an old cat.

Clotilde

I could have been happy with Clotilde

We are all no more than puppets unless we believe