Original subtitles

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

And welcome to Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

I am busy getting ready for tonight's play, which is a courtroom drama and is

called Your Witness.

Before court convenes, however, we have our usual one -minute recess.

Good afternoon, Mrs. Shawn.

Oh, good afternoon.

Can you tell me in which of the courtrooms my husband is trying his

turn to the left, Mrs. Shawn. He has his client on the stand right now.

Thank you.

Do you understand the full gravity of the charges against you? Yes, Mr. Shawn,

do.

And that a woman's life was the tragic cost of an accident in which your car

involved? That especially, I'm afraid.

Excuse me.

Thank you.

I've raised this point once again only because the prosecution's references to

it might suggest that Mrs. Thompson's death was a matter of indifference to

Kenneth, let me ask you what you really thought when you learned that Mrs.

Thompson had been killed.

There's no pressure on you now. Just tell us in your own way.

I'm not sure that I can describe it.

How would anyone feel?

I couldn't believe it when the police first told me.

I kept telling them there had to be a mistake.

Why, Kenneth? Why did you keep insisting that there'd been a mistake?

Because I had no recollection of hitting anyone.

As I said, the light in the intersection was green.

And when I heard a thud against the side of the car, I thought it was just an

empty crate.

The road behind me was littered with junk that had fallen from a truck.

Did you tell the police the truth when they first questioned you?

Yes, I did.

But they didn't believe me.

Now, one more thing, Kenneth.

A very important thing.

If you're talking about the truth, Arnold, it is important.

But difficult to recognize it when you use it the way you do.

I suppose I love you still.

In my unreasoning way.

But what is the truth concerning us?

How much of it did you manage to obscure when we talked a month ago?

Well, any marriage is apt to spring a small leak sometime.

Trouble is, you can't save the boat by throwing away the oars.

Why don't we just try to be sensible?

Sensible?

Arnold, you talk like a man who's being nagged by his wife for staying out too

often with the boys or betting the grocery money on a horse.

I'm talking about what's happened to our marriage.

About the woman you've been seeing.

But that's done with.

Why did it happen, Arnold?

I suppose I can really say.

Vanity of the species, I guess.

A man's married for ten years, he suddenly finds himself admired, and he's

flattered.

At least for a little while, he can feel like he's the king of the barnyard.

Oh, Naomi, I'm really sorry.

That girl doesn't mean anything to me.

I told you, it's over, finished.

How can I know that, Arnold?

I don't suppose you can.

There really isn't anything to endorse a good intention, is there?

Nothing except the ten years we've already had.

They're pretty good collateral, aren't they?

Wouldn't you bet on those again?

Wouldn't you?

Oh, please.

Arnold, don't.

Oh, that's Carmody.

This late?

Yes, he's been investigating that surprise witness they think they're

spring on us in the hit -and -run case next month.

It's going to cost that boy's father a lot of money.

Oh, Arnold.

Oh, good evening, Mrs. Shawn.

Hope I didn't keep anybody up. It's quite all right, I'm sure.

Arnold. I think Al and I will be busy for a while, dear.

Want a drink, Al?

Yeah, sure.

Bourbon if you got it.

I always fly better with fuel in the tank, Mrs. Shawn, if you know what I

I'll get it.

Thanks, dear.

Now, this witness, Arnold, he won't be no bed of lilacs.

He's a volunteer, one of those I -will -do -my -best -sir kind of good

What's his name?

Babcock.

Henry Babcock.

Uh -huh.

And he's going to be a tough one, huh?

This Henry Babcock's prepared to testify that when young Jerome's pretty sports

car knocked a nice old lady looser in a beanbag and as dead as a pork chop, the

traffic light was against him.

And we can't deny that he hit Mrs. Thompson because the police traced the

the garage where he'd taken to be repaired.

I got a complete rundown on Babcock, Arnold, like you wanted.

Seems he's addicted to bursts of good citizenship.

Well, I haven't seen a model citizen yet I couldn't hang crepe on.

Well, it's going to be expensive.

It usually is. So start digging up everything you can find on him from the

he was christened to the moment he walks into the courtroom.

Oh, Mr. Carmody.

Oh, thank you.

Call Henry Babcock.

What do you think about it, Dad?

I don't know what to think.

If Sean could make an all -American boy out of you, he'd probably turn this poor

clown into a toad.

I'm paying him enough.

The witness has already been sworn.

You may be seated, Mr. Babcock.

Mr. Babcock, you've previously testified under oath that you saw my client's car

drive heedlessly and illegally through a red light on Furness Road and strike

Mrs. Agnes Thompson, the deceased.

Is that correct?

Yes, sir. And you further testify that you saw my client back his car for

approximately 50 yards, take one callous look at the body, and then drive on. Is

that correct?

Yes, sir, it is.

Thank you, Mr. Babcock.

It's a help to me to have you reaffirm these things.

And if I were to believe what you may well have testified to in all good

I would wash my hands of the defendant now. I would have no other choice in the

simple service of justice.

Mr. Babcock, the prosecution assures us that you're a volunteer witness.

I'm sure this was meant to imply that you have come forward through a highly

developed sense of civic duty.

People do that, you know.

It's not my intention to quarrel with public spirit.

However, it is my intention as well as my duty to remind this court and jury

that there are people who will come forward for the sheer thrill and

satisfaction of escaping from the frustrations of their own dull lives.

This is not the pursuit of truth, Mr. Babcock, but a wild bid for personal

attention. I object, Your Honor.

Objection sustained.

The line of questioning is improper, as counsel should be aware.

Your Honor, this man has made a solemn promise to tell the truth. It's not my

intention to accuse him carelessly.

You've always had this talent for making the innocent seem guilty.

Right or wrong, I've never succeeded in my arguments with you.

And least of all, last night.

Oh, I didn't think you'd be up so late.

Did you have a pleasant time?

Pleasant?

I don't know. It was pretty much routine.

Al Carmody had some new notes on this Henry Babcock, and I was late leaving

office, so I went over to see Dan Irwin.

You got a legal action on that new magazine he's publishing.

You're a liar.

Oh.

He went to that girl's apartment, the same girl you promised me so solemnly

you'd never see again.

I have absolute proof of it, Arnold, so don't bother lying to me anymore.

Well, I hadn't realized I'd been that careless.

Did you have professional help?

I didn't need any rubber -soled alchemy, if that's what you mean.

Well, don't you think you're being a little old -fashioned and prudish about

this, dear?

Prudish?

You don't really care, do you, Arnold?

Oh, I don't know. That's stating it a little severely. Do you care?

I didn't say.

I merely said I thought your attitude old -fashioned, which is a polite way of

saying ridiculous.

Now, I have a full day in court tomorrow, Naomi, so if you don't mind...

wait a minute, Arnold.

I saw her today.

Oh, you did?

Well, she's attractive, isn't she? Now, will you excuse me?

Why did you marry me in the first place? Well, you'll come off what I warned

you, Naomi. Take it easy.

Why?

For a lot of reasons, practical and otherwise. You want me to list them for

Follow them, everyone.

Go on.

Well, for one thing, your father was an extremely influential man a dozen years

ago, and he had a very attractive daughter also a dozen years ago.

Now, I think that combines the practical and the physical rather well, don't

you?

After all, it's been ten long years since you were 25.

And frankly, your type of sweet pea and assorted chocolate sentiments have never

appealed to me. Does that explain it well enough for you?

I think so, Arnold.

One thing we know, Mr. Babcock, is that Mrs. Thompson approached the

intersection from the south.

How do you account for not having heard or approached that intersection, Mr.

Babcock?

I didn't say that I didn't hear.

Oh, you mean then that you did hear?

Well, no.

What I mean is that I don't really remember. I was tired. I'd just come

work. At the Chi -Chi Club?

Yes, that's where I'm employed. You're employed there as a porter, aren't you?

Well, you could call it that. I tidy up after the place is closed.

At two o 'clock in the morning? Yes, sir.

And one hour later, after completing your chores at the Chi Chi Club, you

seated on this bench.

Where did you say you live?

I live in Candlewood. I have a small apartment there.

You live alone?

Yes, sir, ever since my wife died three years ago.

Well, it must be pretty lonely coming home nights to an empty apartment.

It can be very lonely.

I was happily married for many years.

But you do have friends, don't you?

Friends?

Well, yes, not that I find much time to see them now.

I mean friends at your place of employment.

The Chi -Chi Club, specifically.

They do have entertainers there, don't they, Mr. Babcock?

Among them some extremely youthful and beautiful young ladies. I object to this

line of questioning, Your Honor. It's slightly suggestive and without

Objection sustained.

I'm sorry, Your Honor.

I'm confident that my questions will prove relevant. However, I shall try to

rephrase them.

Let's put it this way, Mr. Babcock. Isn't it true that you frequently do

for these young ladies, such as taking coffee and sandwiches to their dressing

rooms? Objection! We're not here to examine the social side of this witness,

Shaw. Neither is it our business to delve into his personal affairs. And why

isn't it?

The witness has testified in direct contradiction to sworn statements by my

client. One of them is obviously a liar or mistaken.

Your Honor, I respectfully submit that this entitles me to establish the

credibility of the witness.

Proceed, Counselor.

Mr. Babcock, let's get back to an item that we both agree on.

This rectangular mark does represent the bench on which you were seated while

waiting for the bus.

Yes, it's where I was seated.

And it was also from this position the time the accident occurred that you saw

that the traffic light was red.

Yes, I saw the light was against him.

Isn't there a street lamp on that corner?

Isn't it indicated there?

Well... I guess it is, but still I... Well, stop guessing and stick to the

facts, Mr. Babcock.

Wouldn't Mrs. Thompson have been obliged to pass within the arc of that light?

I want to be truthful, but I don't know.

Maybe she came too fast for me. Possibly she was running.

Running?

Running, Mr. Babcock?

Now, why would a woman of Mrs.

Thompson's age, already tired from nursing a sick child, why would she be

running? I didn't say that she was running, but she could have been.

She could even have been afraid.

Afraid? Afraid of what?

Give me a reason why she should have been afraid.

Was there someone else in the vicinity at the time? No.

Well, then what could have frightened Mrs. Thompson?

How would I know?

Except that she was elderly. Things happen to women is what I mean. You read

about it all the time. I read about it?

What do I read about it? I don't mean you. I mean anyone.

Things you read in the paper.

Oh, do you read about it?

After you've left the young lady's dressing rooms, for instance?

I object, Your Honor.

Objection sustained.

I direct that the last remarks of counsel be stricken from the record and

the jury disregard them.

Your Honor, I'm sorry if my remarks have raised a prejudice against the witness.

If I have overreached myself, it's only been to try to solve a riddle that still

remains.

How could he have turned his head to observe a traffic light without seeing

witness approaching the crosswalk?

Proceed, Counselor.

Mr. Babcock, how long have you been employed at the Club, Chi -Chi?

About ten months.

I don't suppose the salary they pay you is very substantial, is it?

I manage my needs are small.

But it isn't comparable to, for instance, the salary that you received

instructor of mathematics for 14 years at Freeman High School, is it?

No, sir, it isn't. Now, why did you give up a dignified position like that that

you held for so many years to work in a cheap honky -tonk? Why should a man with

your background be reduced to running errands for showgirls?

That isn't fair.

The reason is... I'll tell you the reason, Mr. Babcock.

The reason is this. My glasses! It's not your glasses, Mr. Babcock. Your eyes.

Isn't it true that you gave up teaching for the simple reason that you were

going blind? I did have cataracts, but now that I have them... I have in my

possession a report from an ophthalmologist, which states that at

surgery, your vision was 85 % impaired, and furthermore, you are colorblind. It

isn't fair this way. My glasses, please!

If it pleases the court. Of course.

Your Honor, I move in simple justice that the testimony of this witness be

stricken entirely from the records.

It's obvious that he is incompetent to testify to anything of a visual nature

a court of law.

That isn't true.

You'll have to let me speak!

Arnold, I have to talk to you. Congratulations, Arnold. I managed to

of the last act, anyhow.

You like that, huh? Listen, you had that ex -mathematician tied up in knots that

Einstein couldn't have figured out.

Arnold, if I waited this long, I'm sure you could spare me a minute. Wait till I

speak to the judge, can't I?

I'd like to see the judge if he's free, Dan.

Arnold, I went to see George Bogle this morning.

I'd appreciate it if you signed the preliminary papers he prepared for me.

Don't you think we've had enough whipped -up emotional nonsense for a while?

I'm divorcing you, Arnold.

Nothing's going to change my mind.

I'm not sophisticated enough for the kind of marriage you seem to prefer.

You'll save us both a lot of unnecessary recrimination by signing the papers

now.

Your voice, Don.

Is this what George Vogel recommended?

The decision is my own. I never asked his opinion.

Will you tell George I'll send him a check?

for his modest labors, but I'm not interested in a divorce right now.

A divorce might be rather clumsy, professionally awkward.

Besides, it could leave me vulnerable to other romantic women, and it's much

more comfortable the way it is.

You can't mean that.

You might even find our arrangement a little less depressing if you try to

develop a few romantic attachments of your own.

You could still be an attractive woman if you tried.

The judge will see you now, Mr. Shawn.

Oh, excuse me. It's all right.

1947.

In God we trust.

Mr. Babcock, please.

I was in the courtroom today and I couldn't help but notice that.

I can see very well with my glasses, if that's what you mean.

Now that the cataracts are completely cured, I'd hope to get back to teaching,

but I'm afraid after today there's no chance.

You know, I tried so hard to explain my case, but that man was much, much too

clever, wasn't he?

And sure no one believed me by the time he was through.

Thank you for your kindness, ma 'am.

You parked here?

I'm parked here, yes.

Oh, good. I can't find a cab. I wonder, would you mind dropping me off at Six

and Fern?

You think I could manage that?

Oh, fine. I'll be right here. I just want to pick up a paper.

You don't mind, do you?

Boy.

Officer, I don't know how it happened, except that he stepped right in front of

the car.

And when I tried to apply the brake, I somehow jammed the accelerator.

Well, it's got me, George, I'm telling you.

Nobody seems to have seen what happened except this one fellow here.

He was waiting for a bus.

Would you mind giving me your version of how it happened, sir?

Well, it must have been just as the lady described it.

You're going to have to take her word for it because it's a legal fact that

not a competent witness.

I think that we have once more pointed out that behind every great man there is

a woman.

So men, watch out.

Sadly enough, the police quickly saw through Mrs. Sean's story, and the

community gave her a rousing vote of thanks and a 99 -year sentence.

And speaking of long sentences, I shall be back after this one.

I thought there was something peculiar about those girls.

Now I'm ready, but I'm afraid the trial is over. Perhaps I can use this costume

next week when we shall return with another story. Until then, good night.