All language subtitles for DMagnificent Doll (1946),Eng

Why are you doing this?
- Because I love him. I love him very deeply.

I'm sorry, but...
- You're sorry!

That's very touching, widow Todd,

but you'll be more sorry as time
goes on. - Aaron, you're hurting me.

Think I'll fail? Have you lost
faith in me? - No, please, Aaron...

Let me go.

You'll never forget me, Dolly,
if you marry a dozen Madisons.

And I'll never forget you.

Never.

James Madison and I were married.

After the election, when our friend Tom
Jefferson lost the presidency to John Adams,

my husband and I moved to Virginia,

where James was a
member of the Virginia legislature.

We spent four wonderful and
happy years on his family estate.

Dolly!
- Yes?

Look, we have some visitors.
- Look, they can get their eyes open.

You know what
his name is? - No.

John Adams.
- Why?

Well, look at him.

Mr Madison, sir.
- Oh, yes, fella.

This came by courier
from Washington, sir.

Oh, good. Thank you.

It's from Tom Jefferson.
- Oh, I hope he's coming to visit us.

He's one person I'd love to see.

He wants us to visit him.

He's going to run for
president again. - That is good news.

He says, "You must come to
Washington and help me campaign."

I could close the house
in a very few days.

"...going to be an exciting campaign."

He has Aaron Burr
running for his vice president.

He says that should ensure
New York and Massachusetts.

But Tom and Aaron seem to
be such strange running mates.

Yes, old Tom's probably swung
Burr around to his way of thinking.

This last paragraph is for you.

"Dolly, I'm counting on you
to keep things running smoothly."

Now what are you thinking up?

I was just thinking how happy we've been
here in Montpelier these past four years.

Oh, we'll come back
here after the election.

Jefferson will make our country
a model for every nation on earth.

He has to win this election, Doll.

And you want to help
him, don't you, James?

Yes, I do. All I can.

And I want to help you, all I can.

We had moved to Washington,

and now that
the campaign was over,

we were spending our
fifth wedding anniversary alone,

as we had planned.

James!

That's the most
beautiful fan I've ever seen.

Why not? It's for the most
beautiful woman I've ever seen.

Yes, very useful things, fans.

Open your present.
- Oh, yes.

Yes. Now let me...

A snuff box?

Well, Dolly, you're really trying
to make a dandy out of me, aren't you?

Don't you like it?
- Oh, I certainly do.

Oh, you'd better. I had to go
all the way to New York for it.

Well, it's overwhelming.

I'm going to make a point of
offering snuff to everybody in the capital,

so they can...
admire it.

And I shall blush modestly
behind my fan at your elegance.

Which reminds me, I must have a new gown
and turban made to match my beautiful gift.

Of course now I have to have new
Waistcoats to house this beautiful object.

You'll be the centre of
attraction, my dear husband.

Mr Madison, please, sir.

Mr Wilson and Mr Quinnan,
some other gentlemen, to see you.

Tell them to come in, please.

This is the evening we
were going to spend alone.

Public life and private
plans seldom walk together.

They may not stay very long.

Don't ask them
for supper. - I won't.

They probably came by to tell us about
the electoral college vote. Gentlemen?

Mr Madison, we've
been tricked. - Tricked?

Jefferson and Burr are tied.

Seventy-three votes for
each. Here's the calculation.

You mean the election will go to the
House of Representatives for a decision?

It will indeed, ma'am.
- And there is danger there for us.

We're about to sit in council with
Mr Jefferson on this matter tonight.

Gentlemen, I'll see
you in a few moments.

I'm sorry, Doll.

This is a poor end
to our little celebration.

Maybe we should've stayed in Virginia.

James, you must not let
Aaron Burr be named president.

I feel this is my fault in a way.

I wrote the election law.

Burr found a loophole.

I didn't write a very good law, Doll.

I tell you, I have a feeling about it.

When the House votes,
we'll defeat Jefferson two to one.

Two to one, gentlemen!
I swear it won't be less than that, Aaron.

Or should I say Mr president?

All we need is nine more votes.

Nine votes, and Jefferson buried
in the vice presidency once again.

A fate he richly deserves.

Mr Alexander Hamilton, sir.

Tell him I'm not here.

Mr Burr?

I hope you'll pardon my
presence, but my business is urgent.

And private.

No, please stay, gentlemen.

Yes, Mr Hamilton?

I'm here to ask you again to
stop this folly and end this farce

and to notify
the House of Representatives

that you ran for the vice
presidency, not for the presidency.

And why should they believe me
any more than they believe you?

Your claim to the presidency, Mr Burr,

is distasteful, dishonest, and
personally repugnant to decent men.

And how do men like
yourself feel about it?

Aaron Burr,

whatever influence I have,
I shall use against you at this time.

And any time in the future that you are
presumptuous enough to run for public office,

I shall oppose you.

Have you all heard enough?
- Mm-hmm.

So have I. Jason, show Mr Hamilton
to the door and then open the window.

Won't you all join me?

You turned him out!

And you did it beautifully,
Mr president, beautifully.

I don't think he'd never swing
the federalist vote for Jefferson.

I don't know. He may be
meddlesome, but he's clever.

We must find a way to offset him.

Let me think now.

Aaron, if I were you, I would go to the
city of Washington as soon as possible.

I'd talk to every
congressman down there.

This thing needs just
a little horse-trading,

and I think you can trade
horses better than Hamilton.

My, oh my, oh my,
why didn't I think of that?

I'll sleep on it and let
you know in the morning.

A trip to Washington this
time of year might be very pleasant.

Hamilton will try to swing New York
and may pick up a few votes.

The Federals will hold the line,
they hate Jefferson.

Everyone hates him.

They hate Madison, too.

What about John Marshall?

Do you mind if we discuss this
in the morning instead of tonight?

Oh, certainly.
- Certainly, Mr president.

Jason will show you to the door.
- Yeah, we were just leaving.

Aaron, I don't know what you'll
think of me for coming here like this,

but I had to see you for a few minutes.
- I dreamt of you in every room in this house.

I know what you think of
a woman meddling in politics.

But I can't let you go on
doing what you're doing

without pleading with
you to change your course.

You look exactly the same.

What course?

This pretention to the presidency.

Pretention?

Madison send you here?
- No, Aaron.

Don't tell me you're running
errands for Mr Jefferson.

No one knows I'm here.
- Why did you come then?

Aaron,

once you told me
that you loved me.

Once?

I thought I told you
more often than that.

I also told you I was gonna become
the President of the United States,

and as I recall, you were very happy to
know the man who might gain that high office.

Now you're here to gain
political advantage for your husband.

I'm here because this is more important
than my husband or Mr Jefferson or you or me.

Speak for your own side, madam.
It's very important for me.

So important, in fact, that I'm going to
Washington tomorrow to ensure its success.

To influence the House vote by
trading and truckling with men you despise.

Aaron, that's sneaking into
the presidency by the back door.

Serve your four
years as vice president.

Mr Jefferson did it. Mr Adams did it.

You can only add to your
political strength by doing the same.

At this moment, I'm
stronger than Mr Jefferson.

I'm stronger than
Madison and Hamilton, too.

Then why do you cheapen yourself by
going to Washington to buy and beg votes?

Cheapen myself?

Dolly,

to prove to you that this is my
destiny, I won't go to Washington.

I won't lift a finger
to further my own cause.

Does that make you happier?

Thank you, Aaron.

I know why you're here.

You won't admit it
to yourself right now.

You keep saying,
"That's all over, that's done with."

But it will never be over
between us, Dolly, never done with.

Aaron, I don't want
you to say these things.

I'll always say them.

And when my day comes,

I'll find some way
to have you at my side.

Goodbye, Aaron.

Aaron Burr did yield,

and Thomas Jefferson was
inaugurated President of the United States.

He appointed my
husband Secretary of State.

Mr Jefferson asked
James and me to go with him

on his first official
inspection of the president's house.

To my astonishment,
he said he had a job for me, too.

He was a widower
and wanted me to become

the official hostess of
Washington City and the president's house.

I was delighted, of course, but in
no way prepared for what I was to find

when Mrs John Adams
opened the front door for us.

The contractor had promised to finish
the president's house many months before,

but materials were
scarce, good workmen hard to find,

and through somebody's bad judgement,

the house had been
built in the midst of a swamp.

Mrs Adams led us to the kitchen

to show us the three
feet of water covering the floor.

The East Room, the great and magnificent
ballroom for entertaining European royalty,

was unfinished, unpainted,

with an enormous line of wash
hanging from one end to the other.

Standing in the midst of all this
confusion, Mr Jefferson gave me my assignment.

I was to make the president's
house warm, beautiful and friendly,

so that every American
would feel it was his unofficial home.

It was the most difficult
assignment I had ever had,

but Mr Jefferson
was not a man you failed.

It was not too long
before the work was done,

and we were giving lovely parties.

Oh, Dolly.

I was just telling Jonathan,

the four of us ought to try and arrange
a little trip Virginia right after the session.

I'd love it.
Wouldn't you, James?

James can't take
any trips to Virginia.

Jefferson won't let him
get out of Washington.

There's plenty of reason
to stay here right now,

especially for the man
Jefferson's picked to succeed him.

Jonathan, don't say things like that.

James has no ambition
to succeed Mr Jefferson.

That is the truth.

Now, don't try to pull the
wool over my eyes, James.

Any man in the United States
would like to be president.

Mr Aaron Burr!

The Vice president
of the United States.

Excuse me. Excuse me.

Mr President.

Mr Burr.
- Mr Vice President.

Mr Secretary.

Now, if you'll excuse me,
Mr President, I'd like to look around a little.

Certainly, Mr Burr.

I might even find a friend here.

Aaron Burr. At last you
come to one of my parties.

Hostess to the president.

What a magnificent
title for you, widow Todd.

Well, it is a rather difficult
task at times, but I manage to...

But an easy one to get, I'm sure.

All you had to do is to
persuade me to step aside for Jefferson

and tell him and be rewarded.

I stepped down
and you stepped up.

Aaron,

no one, not even my husband,
knows I went to New York to see you.

I'll never tell him, madam.

I wouldn't want him to
know how big a fool I've been.

Did you come here
tonight just to humiliate me,

to say things you
know are not true?

I came here to tell you that what you
and Jefferson and Madison robbed me of,

I'll get myself.

You may plan,
and Madison may dream,

it will do you no good.

Thomas Jefferson will be the
last President of the United States.

That's irresponsible, Aaron.

You must end this
suspicion, this madness.

This madness?

You know me better than that, Dolly.

What I start out to do, I do.

When it's done,
you'll be the first to know.

Till then, Mrs Madison.

This is a tragic circumstance, James.

With your permission, sir.
- Certainly.

Did Burr tell you about his
duel with Alexander Hamilton?

Duel? No, what happened?

Courier just brought
word they fought with pistols.

Burr killed him.

Oh, no!
- Yes.

Well, Ned, have you
come along for the fun?

Well, colonel,
I always did want to see Mexico.

You'll see plenty of it
if you follow me, soldier.

They still think we're going to
attack Mexico. - That's all they talk about.

Blennerhassett's learning Spanish,
the fool.

He won't have much
opportunity for that in Washington.

It'll come in handy
at the embassy dinner.

I thought he'd catch on by now.

You know, Jedson, you and
I are the only ones who know

that we're going to war
with the United States.

Now, our advisors are waiting.

That's agreed then.

We move down the river to the
great gulf and then west and on to Mexico.

To Mexico, empire and glory.

But are you sure the United States
army will be at war with Spain before then?

I'm quite sure. I'm also certain that we
shall pick up followers by the tens of thousands.

It's government troops.
They're on their way here.

Hear that? It's government troops.
- Wait till the old man hears this!

Sounds like bad news.
Might be trouble.

Colonel, government troops are
headed this way under a forced march.

Government troops?

Who wants the honour
of firing the first shot at them?

But Colonel Burr,
he said they're government troops.

Politicians troops. Politicians
who are trying to spoil our plans.

The hour has come.

We'll give them more than they
bargained for, won't we, men?

We'll meet them on road tonight.

One good ambush, and they'll
scatter like leaves in the storm.

Company commander, sound assembly.

Colonel Burr.

Yes, captain, didn't
you understand my order?

Yes, colonel. But I joined
you for foreign conquest,

not to fight the United States.
Nor did my men.

And I'll not order them to ambush any
soldier under the flag of my own country.

Captain, we pick no fight with
them, they've come here to fight us.

But colonel, couldn't
we parley with them,

get an explanation or give one?

The only explanation they
understand is hot lead and plenty of it,

and we're the ones to give
it to them, aren't we, men?

That's treason you're talking.

Treason, is it?
- Yes, sir. Treason and rebellion.

Soldier, I'll tell you one thing,
and the rest of you, listen to me.

You here with the thousands
who have flocked to our banners

can beat these troops
of the government

if you have the courage to do so.

Follow where I lead,
and in one month,

you and I, all of us here,

will be the rulers of the United States.

If we win this first battle,
we can win them all.

Listen to me.

Hold these men.
They must listen.

We can win.

Come back, you must hear me.

I have a plan. A plan to
take all the southern states.

And I have friends, powerful friends.
Friends who are waiting for us to march in.

Listen to me!

Come back and listen, you cowards!

You're throwing away an empire.

You're a good barber, Jenks.

Thank you, Mr Burr.
Thank you.

They don't really think I'm
going to commit suicide, do they?

Well, some do, you know?

A fellow about three years ago did
on the day they were going to hang him.

I done his hair the night before.

Done it real pretty, too.
- They're a long way from hanging me.

Mr Burr, you're gonna have
a new barber from now on.

Why? Are they gonna hang you?

No, I'm getting out.
Out of jail, and out of Richmond, too.

Going back up to
New Jersey, where I belong.

Jenks.

Do you go through
Washington on your way home?

I suppose so. It's just as
close that way as any other.

I have a letter
I want you to deliver for me.

I'll give you $100 in gold.

$100?

And enough for
your stage fare besides.

Mr Burr, I'm your man.
- Good.

Deliver it to no one but
the lady herself. - Yes, sir.

I told the gentleman you
got scores of letters every day,

and they was delivered
right in my hands.

But he said this
is something different.

I'm Mrs Madison. - A gentleman
in jail gave me a letter for you.

He asked me to give it to you
personally, right in your own hand.

Thank you very much.

It's been a pleasure,
ma'am, a real pleasure.

Oh, Doll.

I have a meeting
with Tom. I won't be late.

James.

May I have a word with you?

Of course, darling.

That man just brought me this note.

From Aaron Burr.

Want me to read it?

I wish you would.

"Dear Dolly, I need
a friend in this hour."

"You're the only one I can turn to."

"Will you... will you
come to Richmond"

"if I ask you in the name of
what we once meant to each other?"

"Hopefully, Aaron Burr."

Yes.

Do you think I should go?

I don't know, Doll.

Would it hurt you,
politically I mean, if I did?

That wouldn't stop me
if I wanted to do something.

I don't see why
it should stop you.

People may talk.

That wouldn't bother
either of us, would it?

It never has, James.
- No.

I don't know what to do.

His letter is so full of humility.

It's so unlike him.

This is a bitter
hour for him, James.

I don't doubt it.

If they find him guilty of
treason, the penalty is death.

He could've been a great man.

He had such a brilliant mind.

I wonder what
led him to this folly.

Please tell me what to do.

I wish I could,
but I... I can't, Doll.

This is one of those times when no
one can tell you what to do but yourself.

You'll find the answer.

Your decision be my decision,
no matter what happens.

Forgive me.

I'll go on to the meeting.

Miss Dolly, you still in
here, sitting in the dark?

I was just gonna
put this night light here.

I didn't realise it
was so late, Amy.

Is there something I can do
for you before you go to sleep?

Yes, pack a box for me
to take in the carriage.

We're leaving for Richmond tonight.

I don't hold with us
traipsing down here all alone.

You going to the
jailhouse to see Mr Burr.

Never thought I'd live to see
my Miss Dolly doing a thing like this.

Mr Burr once did a
great favour for me.

Now it's my turn to repay him.

Anytime he crooked his
little finger, you'd go along.

You was that way
the day you met him.

Is it so strange that I should
pity a man who's facing death?

I have to do it. If I didn't,
I'd regret it all the days in my life.

Well, I just hope
it turns out all right.

You pray for me, Amy, and it will.

It's taking 'em a long
time to reach a verdict.

Well, Burr's lawyers managed
to throw dust in the judges eyes.

Mr Williams, you're a lawyer.

What did they mean when they said
the traitor had committed no overt act?

Well, that's his defence.
Under the law, that's pretty strong.

Didn't seem very strong to me.

His counsel claims that Burr
committed no act of treason

and that his troops didn't fire
on government troops at any time

and that his campaign was against
Mexico and not against the government.

Well, everyone knows he
planned to overthrow the government.

But what you know and what
you can prove in a court of law...

ls the trial over, sir?
- Huh?

Is the trial over?
- Oh, yes, the trial is over,

but we're still waiting
for the verdict of the court.

Where would I find
the jailor's office, please, sir?

Right around the corner of
the building. - Thank you, sir.

Now, Miss Dolly,
please be careful.

Yes, Amy, I will.

I saw him when he was a
senator. I heard him make a speech.

I don't care if you saw him
every day in your life. I say he's guilty.

He's innocent.
- I'll bet you another dollar.

The verdict is to hang him.

It's a bet.

That's the easiest $3 I ever made.

Yes, ma'am?
Something I can do for you?

I'd like permission to see Mr Aaron Burr.
- Well, a lot of people would.

What's your name?
- Mrs James Madison.

Uh, Mrs Madison, unless I
can get a pass from the court, I...

Mrs James Madison?
- Yes.

Mrs James Madison,

wife of the Secretary of State?
- Yes.

Well, in that case,
I think it'll be all right.

Come right this way.

Aaron.

Dolly, you're here. I knew you'd come.
- Oh, I wish there was something I could do.

You're here, that's all that matters.

I've thought of every
moment we spent together,

the rides we used to take,
the times we danced,

and those wretched little inns you
went to. - I've thought of those times, too.

And that time you came
to my house in New York.

I should never
have let you leave.

You did a fine thing for
your country that day, Aaron.

I did that for you, Dolly. It's the only thing
you ever asked of me, and I couldn't refuse.

Now you're here because
you can't deny me anything.

Please understand, I came
here to give you my sympathy.

Sympathy?

That's very touching, dear Dolly,
but I don't need your sympathy,

yours or anybody else's.

The penalty for
treason is... - ...death!

I met that bony old beggar once
before, and now he's missed me once again.

The verdict of the court.
"Not guilty."

I bribed the bailiff
to listen to the vote.

Well, aren't you going
to tell me you're happy?

lam.

I hope all of this has made
you think, Aaron. - It has.

I'll never make the
same mistakes again.

Then I am glad.

That's why I sent for you.
Because we love each other.

And I wanted you here
to see me triumphant.

Do you realise that this verdict of "not
guilty" may not be popular with the people?

Popular? I should hope not.

I want them to hate me.

I want them to hate the laws that
let me loose, the court that set me free.

I want to sow hate and
reap a harvest of power.

But you just said that all
of this had made you think.

It has.

It made me think of
the power, fear and hate.

Don't you realise, Dolly,
what this verdict will mean?

When they hear the news,
when they hear I am free,

I'll walk out of this jail bigger than the
whole government. Then you'll see their fear.

Oh, they'll try to attack me. They'll
forget their famous laws and turn into a mob

and be shot down by
their own soldiers. And then...

Then the weak,
the greedy, the suspicious,

the evil men from all over the
country will flock to my banner.

This time, I'll offer you the crown.

Mr Burr, better get your coat on.

The court's reconvening, and
they're about ready to read the verdict.

If you please, Mrs Madison.

And this time,
Mrs Madison, I won't fail.

He very nearly was president.

He's a brand new man, but you
can't skin a fox before he's caught.

They'll skin him all right
at the end of a rope!

Why are they wasting time? They
should a shot him the day they caught him.

This is one hanging
I'm not going to miss!

Arthur, I want you to wait here, please.
- You don't want to stay around here.

I've got to hear what happens.

Court's dismissed.
Ring the bell.

What's the verdict?
- Not guilty.

Not guilty?
Did you hear that?

Stop that bell!
Stop that bell! Stop it!

Listen to me, everybody.

In there, they just
pronounced Aaron Burr innocent.

I say he's guilty!
- Yeah!

And I say Aaron Burr
is a traitor! - Yeah!

The law states plain
what happens to traitors.

Those judges know he's guilty.

Honest men stood up before
them and told the truth about him.

I say, where's justice when
such a man can get off scot-free?

If those judges are too lily-livered
to hang a traitor, we can do it ourselves.

Yeah!

We can show 'em that a
good hemp rope in a high oak tree

is better than all them law books.

Yeah!

We'll show 'em here today
what a free man thinks of traitors.

Clem, go get that rope
out of my wagon. - Yes!

And if he won't come out,
we'll go in and drag him out.

Yeah!

Stop it! Stop it!

What is that, ma'am?
- You must not do this, you must not.

Maam, don't you believe in justice?

Justice? Justice was
never done by a mob.

Was that justice what those
judges did in that court today?

Ma'am, you got a
queer sense of justice.

She can tell about the
traitor. Can't you, ma'am?

Tell him who you
are, ma'am. Go ahead.

I'll tell him then.

This lady is Dolly Madison.
- What?

The wife of the bigwig in
Washington, James Madison.

And I charge her with bringing
orders from the politicians in Washington,

orders for the judges
to set Aaron Burr free.

That is not true.

Well, you might have
saved his life in there, ma'am,

but you ain't gonna
do it out here. - No!

I did not save his life.

I came to see Aaron Burr, but I
brought no messages from Washington,

and I have not seen the judges.

So you've just
come to see Aaron Burr?

All the way from Washington!

I came to give what comfort I could to a
man I thought would be condemned to death.

Well, you haven't
come in vain, Mrs Madison.

Here's the kind of justice
a free man has for a traitor.

We'll show those judges what
we think of their laws and courts.

Stop it! Stop it!

Please listen to me.
- Go back to your husband!

If you follow that man
and hang Aaron Burr,

you will put an end
to freedom here today.

That's where you're wrong, ma'am.
We're gonna put an end to Aaron Burr.

Yeah!

If you hang Aaron Burr
in defiance of your laws,

you will right here prove
those laws worthless, meaningless,

and you fought for blessed
freedom to make those laws.

We made 'em,
and we can break 'em.

You must not break them!

When you made those laws, you
agreed to live by them and obey them.

If they're not strong
enough to protect you,

strengthen them in orderly processes,

but never take them into
your own hands in mobs like this.

This is not freedom.

But we're free men!
We do as we like.

Freedom is something
you live under law.

Your law says a man may be tried
and judged by other men like himself,

according to the laws
they've made together.

And if that man is
found innocent by the law,

he shall be held
innocent by the people.

What about Burr?
ls he innocent? - Yeah!

Aaron Burr has
already been tried, sir.

This is your trial, your testing time,

and the whole world is
watching you here today.

Are you going to
tell the watching world

by an act of violence
and disobedience to your laws

that you're a people to weak
to rule yourselves under law,

that you need the despotic
hand of a tyrant, an emperor,

to rule you by force and fear?

Had Aaron Burr
succeeded in his plan,

he would have abolished your
laws, your courts, and your rights,

and you want to
hang him for that,

yet here you are
abolishing them all yourselves.

Oh, my countrymen, Aaron Burr is
but the first to challenge your freedom,

he will not be the last.

Then we'll hang Aaron Burr
and discourage all the rest!

That will not discourage them.

You and I must live the
example of a free people.

We must prove to
any man or set of men

who believe themselves cunning
enough to destroy our freedom

that with clean
hands and united hearts

we are able to deal with traitors
as a people under law and with order.

Here he comes now,
surrounded by your soldiers.

And remember, he's a
free man under your laws,

and those are your soldiers
under oath to protect your laws,

and if you try to take Aaron Burr from
them, your soldiers will be forced to fire on you.

Mr Burr wants you to do just that.

He wants you to
spill your blood here.

He wants you to hate him.

He needs your hate, he needs your fear,
your fear and your hate will make him strong,

so that other traitors like himself
will join him and again attack your freedom.

That is his plan,
he told me that tonight.

Have him deny that if he can.

Come on!

If you truly want
to destroy Aaron Burr,

don't try to hang him,
don't make a martyr of him,

turn away from him!
Let him pass among you in peace!

Turn your backs on
him and let him pass,

on into the oblivion
he has chosen for himself.

Mr Madison,

I love you very much.