Original subtitles

Thank you.

You at it again, Pete.

You want a drag?

I got my own private factory of stimulants.

Desmond Flowers' own brand.

Don't forget, I promise it for tomorrow.

Fifty, not a penny less.

It's okay, darling. I'll get it for you.

You're sure you can?

I'll have to.

Angie, you're not asking your father.

Him?

Went to Southampton last night.

Oh?

Desmond's got a new boat.

Has he?

Don't you ever want to know what I do with my life?

I'm not the inquisitive kind, I suppose.

You know, I feel pretty sure that if I were ever in any trouble, I wouldn't

come to you for help.

No, I don't suppose you would.

Employer, that bright hope of the bar, smart Alec Cheetham.

You're right.

And his name is Chetton.

Mr. Chetton.

I'm sorry, Mr.

Cheetham. Come on, dog.

You know, I remember him when he was the office boy in our chambers, a revolting

little tick.

He sat all day in the courtroom reading comics and dreaming up new ways to

pilfer tuppence from the petty cash.

So he's a barrister now.

Oh, come on. You know perfectly well he's a barrister.

Well, well.

Imagine that.

Well, at least he works for his living. Ah.

He works for his living. That's a very good defense.

It has the virtue of being equally valid for cat burglars, forgers,

embezzlers, safe blowers.

But don't worry about your Mr. Cheatham. He'll go far. He's got all it takes

nowadays to get to the very tip top.

I must get back to my room.

You're drunk again.

Yes, my darling daughter.

Again, as you say, like yesterday, the day before, tomorrow, the day after.

Don't forget to turn the light off.

Why do you hate me?

You don't give a damn about me, do you? You don't give a damn about me. Well,

you're never here, are you?

You're always off to London or Bristol or somewhere.

And you're never here with me.

It's my work, darling.

You seem to forget that.

And I'm your wife.

You seem to forget that.

No, I don't. I love you, Diana.

You know that.

Love?

Is that what you call it?

Yes, that's what I call it.

Love.

Just love. It's a funny thing.

In court, I've never been at a loss for words.

When it comes to explaining my own feelings, I... I can't do it.

I'm bored.

Can't you understand that?

One of these days when you come home, I won't be here, see?

You've always been free to do exactly what you like, Diana.

It's all the same to you.

Is that it?

My feelings don't come into it. They won't affect you one way or another.

You've always made that quite plain.

But there is someone else to consider.

Who?

Angela. What you worried about her for?

I can't help it. She's my child, too.

How do you know?

Hey!

I've tidied up the room.

It was about time, huh?

Hey!

You do look alike.

Who? Your mother and you.

I've never noticed it before.

She's much prettier.

It's the only photo of her I've got.

My father burned all the others after she ran away from him.

Lucky he never comes in here.

Not anywhere else in the house.

You know, this place is becoming more and more like a railway station.

Peter, Sue, Desmond, they all come and go as they please.

So what?

He's bound to stumble upon one of us sooner or later.

Oh, not in a million years.

He's stuck in there, doesn't let anyone come in.

Not even the daily.

Doesn't care what goes on outside.

What about your mother? Does he still care about her?

I told you, he doesn't care about anyone or anything.

We're going to pieces, aren't we, my beautiful?

Sorry, Mr Chetan.

What's worrying you?

Nothing.

Come on, there is something.

Is it your old man?

Yes. I wish I had the guts to leave him. He's such a phony. Come, come.

It's true.

Everything about him is phony. Even his limp.

Slipped in a drunken stupor and carries on as if he were a war hero.

It must be fair to the poor devil. Once upon a time he was someone.

Look.

These are all his cases.

Murders and all that.

You ought to have a look at them sometime.

No, thank you.

I must say, a touch of hanging gave an interest to the law then.

That's what we want. A good crime.

Do we?

Treason, murder, rape.

I'm sick of all this puny stuff, Angela.

Couldn't you get abducted or something?

What, in Winchester?

Nothing ever happens in Winchester.

We could always try Southampton. I'd give you the fare for the ticket.

You'd have to. I'm broke.

What, again?

Yes, as a matter of fact, I was going to ask you for another advance.

I hope you don't mind.

I don't know what you do with your money.

Mr. Sawyer?

Did you enjoy them?

I'll let you in on a little secret, Sue.

I never read them.

Well, well, isn't it, Mr. Sawyer?

I'm sorry, what?

I used to brief you, sir, when I was at Heinz and Jackson's. Don't you remember

me?

I'm retired now.

Alone.

Nothing to do but to think of the good old days.

It's very sad when nobody remembers you, sir. Don't be so silly. Of course I

remember you. The Sanders murder case. That rich little man who shot his wife's

lover. You were standing directly behind Pat Jackson when he came up to me.

You were in such a state, sir, I hardly thought you'd notice me. He came up to

me and he tried to persuade me not to go on with the defense.

Why risk a man's life, he said, when any Tom, Dick or Harry could get him off?

And I was making such a hash of it. But I went on.

And they hanged him.

Yes.

Thanks to me, they hanged the poor little beggar.

On the day of the execution, I was there to see justice done.

I should have said, members of the jury,

this man

was betrayed by the woman he loved.

A mischance.

It couldn't have happened to any one of us.

Imagine then your present feelings if such a thing had happened to you. I

don't have to strain my imagination because it happened to me yesterday.

As a matter of fact.

Very well, then, members of the jury.

Looking at it from this point of view, can a man, an ordinary man, be blamed

for picking up his old army revolver and firing it at the man who

had destroyed his life?

What's happened?

We've had a visitor, my dear.

Not for me, of course. I'm not that popular.

Who is he?

Someone had better do something.

Someone who isn't befuddled.

I know. Young Cheetham. His hour of glory.

Front page of the Express.

That's all he wants from love.

Big chance for me, too.

I can have my bit of fun.

Gentlemen, my daily work as chief constable makes me realize more and

more that what the world lacks today is discipline.

Discipline of the kind some of us learned in the army.

And I feel certain that... Clow here.

It's that brother of yours.

So, John, what on earth are you telephoning about? Please, I'm

rehearsing my speech.

What?

Discipline of the kind some of us learnt in the army. Darling, please be quiet. I

can't hear a word he's saying.

You've got a what in your attic?

Who's she talking to? It's your Uncle John.

Hang on a minute.

I think he's drunk.

He says, are you still interested in dead bodies?

I mean, I don't mind if you aren't. There's really no concern of mine. I'll

just put him out with the empties.

No, I can't imagine. Just a visitor, I suppose. Someone who just happened to

drop in.

You're coming round?

My dear Chief Constable.

That will be an honour.

Don't say a word, Angela.

There's no need to say anything at all.

I feel sure Miss Sawyer wishes to help us in every way. As Miss Sawyer's

representative, I am bound to warn her that... Eddie,

hold it there a minute.

Right.

Our guest is leaving us.

I think this calls for a drop of whiskey all round.

Be quiet, ma'am.

This is a serious business. It's probably very serious for you, but to me

it comes as the climax of a long, drawn-out farce.

Inspector? Yes, sir?

Don't expect her to open her heart to you. That much I have learned about this

young lady. She has no heart.

Or if she has, it doesn't open.

Please, Mr Sawyer, just let me handle this one.

Yes, of course, Mr Cheetham. Yes, yes. Carry on, Cheetham.

I think I ought to tell you how Barney got here.

I can't help you anymore.

But if you need me, just wake me.

But do it gently, because I'm a very delicate piece of machinery.

You see, Desmond has this boat in Southampton, and we go there from time

to time.

There's not really much to do here you know.

Nowhere to go.

You stick to your team because we've got our own.

Love is all we have to give.

And all we want to do is live.

Anything you want to.

Petting in lifeboats, the principal sport on the liner. Wow.

It looks like a spaceship.

No, no, no.

This is one of those places where they turn out those beautiful waltzes.

What's happening?

We turned these tacks.

It's stuck.

Let's get out of here. Come on.

No good, kiddies.

Shut up.

Stop. Steal that.

I'd say you were all in a lot of trouble.

We haven't done anything wrong.

Sure you haven't.

You just got lost on your way to a Christian science reading room.

Ain't that so?

But if you're smart, you'll start thinking and start thinking fast.

Because you're going to have to explain something to the cops.

Like breaking and entering.

I wonder what they give you for that.

That's a nice watch.

You know, I don't have to call the cops.

I mean, if we got to know each other a little better, then I wouldn't rather my

friends.

Ain't that so?

Name's Bonnie.

Bonnie Teal.

American, eh?

And despite the fact that I'm surrounded by a lot of water, I'm pretty thirsty.

But your English licensing, oh, that's murder.

Don't worry.

We've got a place of our own that never closes.

Once upon a time, all this was floating in a mist of cigar smoke and enticing

perfumes. And any minute now, Pete's greedy old man is going to pull it down

to sell fish fingers and deodorants.

Come again?

What he means is my father's bought this site for a new branch of the stores.

He's got all these stores, you see. Oh, the biggest around here with the highest

reputation and the lowest pay packet.

Shut up.

I get it, kiddies.

Choose your parents well.

Then you're set for life, huh?

Ain't that so?

There's nothing to it, really.

This old place has been rotting for years.

Ever since it couldn't pay its way as a cinema.

It isn't even good enough to be a warehouse.

Look.

What do you think of old Pete's heirloom?

You want the God's honest truth?

Well, now that I've seen your haven, it crosses my mind that I'd like to spend a

few days here in peace and quiet.

You see, there are those aboard that floating cat house who, well, they're

not exactly sympathetic.

Now, I won't be rushing out to sea again.

Desmond, my dear.

I'm going to stay here for a few days and get me a little rest.

Where the rent is most likely to be minimal.

Do you want to stay here in the old Alhambra? It's a bit drafty.

Well, I've slept in draftier places.

Central Park once, with the gates open.

Yes, but this place stinks.

But I like it that way.

Now, it will have to be furnished up a little bit, huh?

But we'll take advantage of our good friend and benefactor's stores.

Barney settled in the cinema.

And there, one night...

It's

no use.

I can't move.

Oh, we'll get a doctor. Laura, nothing like that.

Where I am is not for publication.

Well, you can't stay here.

They'll throw me in irons.

Put you on a ship.

You'll help old Barney out.

Won't you?

We couldn't just leave him there, all hurt and everything.

And so we thought of bringing him here.

I mean, it seemed natural at the time.

We all wander in and out of this house, and my father isn't inclined to notice

things.

And tonight? What happened tonight, Miss Sawyer? They can't make you answer.

Tonight?

I'm afraid I just can't help you about that.

Did they torture you long?

Only till about midnight, when I rang you.

You're shivering.

You're not ill, are you?

I'm all right.

Joe.

Tell me the truth.

Was it you?

What makes you think so?

Well, I was waiting for you when it all happened.

And what if it was me?

Would you give me up?

Never. I did not kill Barney.

Then why the hell are you crying?

Because I'm happy.

All this will be yours one day. And what do you do?

Get mixed up with corpses in attics.

You, the son of a magistrate. I am sorry, Father. The whole story looked

damn well in the Hampshire Chronicle, didn't it? You know what the papers are?

Papers mold the mind of the nation.

Don't just stand there. Get over to your work. Yes.

You wait till the store's open.

You'll see how all the customers will gape at us. And why?

Because of the power of the printed work. I've told you I'm sorry.

Yes, not that you weren't, Mr. Ed. I grant you that.

There are those I'm blaming even more than you.

My old man wants to see you right away.

Yeah, I thought he would.

So I'll take over for a bit.

And don't take it to heart, whatever happens, hm?

This has been a great shock to us all.

It was an opportunity for you here, Christopher Eadies.

A real opportunity of going up... and up in life, like me.

I began low, very low, but I made my own way up, and I'm proud of it.

But you disappointed me, Christopher Eadys.

You've really disappointed me.

My son treated you as one of the family.

You let him down, Christopher Eadys.

You really let him down.

And from that, there is no forgiveness.

Hazel, send his cards on after him, will you? And the holiday money as usual. He

won't be in tomorrow.

Pompous ass.

Isn't that one of the hipster skirts from our teenage boutique?

That's right, Mr Hawkins.

How terribly clever of you to know.

I don't think it's the right size for you.

Let me see.

Better get rid of it.

How did it get there?

I don't know.

We'll find out later.

I'll have a word with the old man, try to get you your job back.

Thanks, Pete. I don't know what to do to thank you.

Don't worry.

I have plenty of chances.

Must rush now. See you.

Oh, thank you.

Joe? Joe?

You will be late for work.

Not going.

You are not ill, Joe?

All right.

I'll take the day off, that's all.

Take the day off? But what will they say at the store?

Don't worry, I'll... I'll tell them I found a toothache.

You should not tell all those lies, Joe.

One day they will find you out and then you will get the sack.

So what if they do? I'll soon find another job.

Now see what you make me do. I'm sorry, Mother. Does it hurt?

No.

What hurts me is you, Joe.

The things you do. The lies you tell.

Not again, Mother.

Look, Mother, if anything ever happened to me... Oh, what can happen?

Everyone here knows you are a good boy, Joe.

No, Mother, you don't understand.

You've never understood.

What is the matter?

Are you in any sort of trouble?

Perhaps.

I have always told you not to hang around with that crowd.

They're not your sort.

Stick to your own people.

Stop it, Mother.

Mrs. Christopher, howdy.

I'll go.

You get on with your work, Mrs. Mock.

Have I not intruded on your privacy, Mr. Sawyer? No, no, certainly not. Come in.

I'd just like to have another look around.

On a case of this nature, it helps to be on the scene, to soak up the atmosphere.

I see. Are you working our case in?

You should know about that, Mr Sawyer.

Oh, yes, my unfortunate visitor.

You know, I hope this isn't going to become a house where middle-aged men

come to die. Elephants, you know, will travel for hundreds of miles to die

under the bright tree. It would be really disturbing for me if herds of

doomed ship stewards from all quarters of the globe start converging on my

attic. I wouldn't like that.

Have you seen the morning paper?

Morning paper is something that I never see.

It says that an early arrest is expected.

Well, we've made it. It's a local boy, one Christopher Eydes.

Should I know him, Christopher Eydes?

Sorry, it doesn't ring a bell.

It's an open and shut case. He tried to hide the murder weapon.

But we found it.

That's very clever of you. How did you do that?

Well, we received information.

Has he admitted committing the murder?

No, but he's made a statement.

Here it is, if you'd like to see it.

Public lavatory.

What do you know about this boy?

Nothing very much. Cypriot family.

Mother works at some drug cleaners fathered out a few years back.

I always said we shouldn't allow these foreign immigrants to come here. Nothing

but trouble.

A foreigner.

That's why you're all against him, isn't it?

Have an egg.

Oh, it's that rotten world of yours.

Killing off everyone that doesn't fit into it.

Eggs, bacon, whiskey.

That's all he had through 20 murder trials.

And they hanged them in those days.

Eat something.

Oh, I feel sick.

And I think that Joe's in prison.

Nasty places, prison.

They'll bring out the worst in you.

I wouldn't be feeling sorry for Joe by any chance.

No?

Can't say that I am.

I'm sure you'll find somebody who will be.

You're Mr Cheetham, perhaps?

Try to see it my way, please, Angela.

I'd do anything to help you, but you mustn't ask the impossible.

Why is it so impossible?

Surely you understand.

I simply can't afford to make enemies of the most important people in town.

The age of the Crusades is over.

This, darling, is the age of Lobster Thermidor.

Supreme elegance.

And I'm not going to be left behind if I can help it.

So you're not going to take on Joe's case, is that it?

Certainly not to defend him.

I'm not blotting my book. Oh, no, not me.

But you'd prosecute him, wouldn't you?

Well, now, that would be something.

Yes, I'm sure.

It would keep you in Lobster Thermidor for the rest of your days.

I've spoken to Chetton.

Oh. Well?

Oh, he's like the rest.

Hard luck.

Uh, about Joe.

I thought of something.

You?

And what could you have thought of?

If I shot a strange steward in the middle of the night in a strange

house... If you did.

Then what?

Well, I don't think that I'd take the gun I stole to do it with to work next

day, keep it in my locker just for the pleasure of dropping it into the system

of a very public, public lavatory.

Well, I don't think I'd do that, exactly.

You're right, you know.

But why didn't someone point that out?

Oh, well, they probably held him in custody anyway. It saved a lot of

embarrassment.

What would you say if... If what?

If I asked you to defend Joe.

Why me?

I've no one else to turn to.

I love Joe.

He's a killer.

He is not.

Well, the facts are all against him. You'll admit that, won't you?

Yes. And you still say he didn't do it?

He didn't.

Well, I submit that what you're telling me is a pack of lies and that you're

deliberately trying to shield a criminal.

He's innocent.

I know it.

I wish I did.

It doesn't really matter.

Oh, no, of course it doesn't.

To you, he's just someone your daughter's in love with. That's all. And

you don't care.

No, I don't.

You still want me to take the case?

Oh, I don't know.

I don't know anything anymore.

You're all against him.

Just because he's different.

Just because he's out of step with you.

But I love him.

I love him more than anything else in the whole world.

But that's beyond you, isn't it?

You don't know what I'm talking about.

You've never loved.

I'm sorry.

Oh, I don't know why I asked you to take on this case. I should have known that

you wouldn't.

Oh, but I am taking it on.

You are?

Uh-huh.

Why?

Because I know what it's like to be out of step.

I want to go in there. Do you mind?

If you go on trial, Christopher Eadies, it won't be for your morals.

Nobody cares what you get up to. You are my tender-hearted daughter. She's old

enough now to waste her time any way she pleases.

You were there that night, weren't you?

When?

Oh, come on. The night of the incident.

I saw you run out of the house like a rabbit with a ferret after it.

No.

Were you or were you not in my house that night?

Yes.

Lying is a great art, Christopher Reed, as it requires years of training in a

variety of schools, among which, unquestionably, the most effective is

marriage.

Complete mastery of the art comes only with age, so a person of your

inexperience is well advised to stick to the truth.

Now, would you be good enough to tell me how the gun came into your possession?

Bonnie was always thinking up new games. They seemed sort of comic at the time.

What, a healthy man can't live alone?

Ain't that so?

Where did you find that?

She was hanging around the back.

But you know something?

Plenty more where she came from.

Peach stores.

Only you don't want to brighten up Barney's lonely life.

I'll get you anything you need.

And it isn't that easy.

Dead easy it is.

Dead easy.

Just got to know how.

Listen.

Lots of ways to get a lot of things.

If you've got the brains.

And the guts.

Ain't that so?

Lars,

try again.

Just wanted to see if you were cheating.

Come on out!

The things that girls would do for this dance would end up to send them to

petition. Shut up! Get out!

Here you are, darling. Something to cuddle.

Hey, that lady from the Wild West show, she wasn't kidding.

This is the real McCoy.

It's a little rusty, eh?

But I bet if you massage some good rubbing oil on it...

Well, it would loosen it up, wouldn't it?

Hey, well done, Christopher Eadies.

You put your hands on a regular firearm.

Theft with intent to kill.

Ooh, you're in for a long stretch, mate.

Why?

I haven't committed any crime.

That's right.

He hasn't.

And you know why?

Because there's no such thing as crime.

I mean, not in nature, anyway.

Nature kills all the time.

Ain't that so?

And that's that.

You're happier now?

You and Angela are just the same. Neither of you would say a word if you

didn't have to.

I can't imagine what you do when you're alone together.

We talk.

But to be quite fair, Angela does most of the talking.

You... You can't stop her when she gets going.

She never opens her mouth.

Not with you.

Why not, I wonder?

Because... Yes, go on.

Because she thinks you hate her.

I don't blame her.

But it can't be true.

Why not?

Because if you hated her, you wouldn't be here now.

I'm here to get the truth out of you, if you have the guts to tell me.

Right.

I'd better tell you all about the accident, then. The accident?

You mean that the gun dropped into your hands and went off by spontaneous

combustion? No, not then. I mean when Barney had his first accident.

All right. Let's hear about Barney's first accident.

Hey, what's going on?

Final touch on the education Uncle Barney's given you.

But I've been let down.

I've been very badly let down.

Pity you weren't here.

You would have enjoyed it.

But then...

Then ain't nothing that you and that bird of yours don't know, huh?

Here.

What are you talking about, huh?

You and Angela.

Leave Angela out of it, you slut.

Well, you're a fighter then, huh?

You fancy yourself a boxer, Joe.

Now, me, me, I don't know nothing about boxing.

I've done some wrestling.

Professional, even.

Full scissors, half-butter troll, body slam, too.

Hey, you know what I played?

I mean, in wrestling, what? You gotta have a good guy and a bad guy. Ain't

that so?

Guess what I played?

I played the devil.

The guy they love to hate.

Oh, shut up.

Want me to shut up, huh?

Hey, you know what some nasty people around here say?

They say that Joe the Greek, that's you, huh?

He'll do anything for hard cash.

Ain't that so?

Know what else they say?

They say with that pretty face of his, he can get any girl he wants.

Well, I don't think so.

You know what I think?

Shut up, will you?

I think you're nothing at all.

I think you're a beginner.

Now, if Angela were my girl, huh?

Oh.

Oh, could I show her something?

I mean, I could complete her education in more ways than one.

I told you to shut up.

Didn't you hear me?

Easy Greek.

I ain't gonna break nothing off ya.

Just give you a lesson in what it is to have good manners.

You kiss my girlfriend, eh?

Go ahead, kiss her on the lips.

And I'll let you go unharmed.

Gosh, she may be a little cold, eh?

But you won't mind that.

Go ahead, Greek.

That

was

good, Kitty.

That's real good.

That's a man's game, so why don't you try it again?

Come on.

And the weakling, he'll lick the mud.

Now, I don't know if that's in a good book, but if it ain't, it sure should

be.

I'm going to punish you.

I'm going to punish the lot of you.

Especially you, you thieving Greek.

What are we going to do now?

I'll tell you what you're going to do.

You're going to find me a decent place to stay.

Because if I stay talking, you'll be in some trouble.

You're going to give me plenty of food.

Lots of drink.

I'm gonna need some money, of course.

Some money, of course.

Of course.

Your brand?

Great! Fantastic!

Marvelous!

Marvelous! That's it, baby. Hold that one.

Great. Marvellous. No, don't move. Don't move. Beautiful.

Super, baby. Super.

I say, do you mind, sir? I'm trying to get on with my work. You're in shot.

Thank you.

That's it, baby. Hold it.

Super. Super, love. Hold it.

Great. Marvellous.

Do you mind? I'm trying to work.

Thank you.

That's it, baby. Hold it. Super. Super.

Great.

Glad to meet you, sir.

Got news for you, as it happens.

The motive for the murder, we've got it cut and dried.

Marvellous!

Marvellous! Young Christopher Eadies was sending money orders to Teal's wife.

A rears of maintenance, a clear case of blackmail.

That's it, baby.

Hold that one. Great, marvellous. Don't move, don't move.

Beautiful, super baby. You're not listening, sir.

No, on the contrary, my dear fellow, I hadn't been listening to anyone for 16

years, but now I find myself listening to all and sundry. Very desponding.

All right, you were saying?

No doubt our friend Barney Teal knew about Christopher Eadie's drug-taking

and put the screws on. Drugs?

You knew about that, of course.

Mainly Peter Hawkins, to be fair, but Christopher Eadie's must have been too,

no doubt, hence the blackmail.

Reefers, keef, cannabis, hemp.

You call that drugs?

Why, the North Africans take it for afternoon tea.

They're spoonfuls of jam.

Fortunately, the magistrates aren't North Africans, sir. No, they're just

local plutocrats drugged with cigarettes and television serials.

Well, it's nice meeting you. Nice meeting you, sir.

Good morning.

John, what on earth are you doing here?

Too romantic for the likes of me, is that it?

John, you really ought to find something to do.

Occupy your mind.

What about golf?

Golf, you think? I'm glad I met you, Mr. Sawyer. In fact, I meant to come and see

you.

Oh, what for?

To tell you that, quite by chance, I'll be prosecuting in the Christopher Eadys

case. Quite by chance?

Well, let's say that I have my own ways of tempting chance.

Chance is not the only thing by the looks of it.

John. I think you're on to something.

Sex.

That's what I ought to be taking up in my middle age.

Have you been getting much of it? Please, John.

I don't mean the Colonel, of course, because he has too many

responsibilities, but from some other source, perhaps?

He looks fit.

I'll deal with him one of these days.

Don't take any notice of him, darling.

He's such a pathetic creature.

I have done my best, sir. I still do. But it is no use. He has got these

ideas, you see.

Ideas are always dangerous.

Three years at art school.

None of it has done him any good, it seems.

Of course, he will not listen to me now.

What would you tell him?

What is that?

What would you tell him if he did listen?

I would tell him that it is not all milk and honey.

That is all.

It is not all milk and honey.

That profound truth he's no doubt finding out himself.

But one thing I can tell you, sir, he's very much in love with your girl.

If you do not mind me saying so, very much.

How do you know?

He doesn't confide in you, surely?

They both do. Both?

Him and Angela.

Any time she comes here.

But then you can see for yourself.

See what?

How they feel.

When they took you away, I found this.

Why ask all these questions?

Night, Sue.

See you tomorrow. Good night.

The policeman asked me everything. I told him. Who actually slept with whom?

How should I know?

What about you?

Who with, for God's sake?

Desmond?

Desmond's frightfully handsome, of course, but... But what?

You know why people go on liners?

They put up with all the sick fancy dress balls and ping-pong on the poop

for just one thing.

Sex. Right.

Dinner at the captain's table, then down here and at it.

Right the way round the bloody world.

Beginning in Southampton.

I thought so.

Big mouth.

No, not Desmond.

I was only trying to find him out.

Not anyone, really.

And now I must go, Mr. Sawyer, or I'll be late.

I see.

Well, don't sound so disapproving.

We can't all be the way you people imagine us.

Aren't they fun, Uncle John?

Desmond.

Opium for the masses.

Used to be religion, now it's sex.

Surely you didn't come all the way down to Southampton to admire those

masterpieces. No, I came for the fresh air. What a lovely coat.

Our friend Joe, do you imagine that that was his style of reading material?

Oh, no, no, no, of course not.

Poor old Joe.

But I bet you get him off.

You've got quite a few murderers off in your time, haven't you?

Do you think he's a murderer?

Oh, good God, no.

No, he just went off the rails a bit, poor old chap.

After all, he's a foreigner.

And let's face it, they are different from us.

They're wild.

Whiskey, Uncle John?

Oh, silly of me to ask, really, isn't it? A large whiskey for my uncle and a

great big vodka tonic for me, please, Betty darling.

Thank you. You were saying?

All about Joe.

He's wild, of course. We all know that.

But then the late Barney Teal wasn't exactly a choir boy, was he?

He must have driven poor Joe raving mad.

Why?

Well, Barney was... was what he was.

The scum of the earth.

But he did pull in the birds.

I think Angela rather fancied him. In a horrible sort of way, of course. You

think so?

Well, we don't know what went on in your attic, do we?

Oh, thank you, darling.

So... Oh,

never mind.

Look at the time.

Never keep a lady waiting, as you'd have said in your heyday, Uncle John.

Excuse me, won't you?

Cheerio, Betty.

So long, Brenda.

Don't do anything I wouldn't do.

That's his change.

Well, you'd better keep it, dear.

Oh thanks!

Sorry I've been so long.

That's all right.

It's the first time I've ever ironed a man's coat.

Smells of you.

I know. I had to empty my perfume bottle on it.

You've no idea what 15 years naphthalene can do to a piece of cloth.

Nothing to what it does to a man.

Well, now we have something in common.

Is that all?

All what?

All we have in common?

I'm not much use to you, Angela.

I mean, we're worlds apart.

We're always happy.

Only because you wanted it.

Good luck.

Thank you.

The court will rise.

I think I should say that the defendant is personally known to me.

Is there any objection to my remaining on the bench?

These are merely committal proceedings.

There can be no possible objection.

We can take it that the defense, too, welcomes you remaining on the bench,

sir.

Shouldn't you object, sir?

At a preliminary hearing, one idiot is as good as another.

You may call your first witness, Mr. Chettham.

Detective Inspector Calder.

But no one has yet arrived to take over the shop, and I must leave.

Please, Mr. Greenwood, send someone.

Quick, please.

Yeah, that's the one.

You're sure?

Quite sure?

Course I am.

I know a delinquent when I see one.

No questions.

As you like.

Mr Chettham, call your next witness.

Angela Sawyer.

Angela Sawyer.

Good luck.

Take the book in your right hand and read the words on the card.

All that oath business is sheer nonsense.

Well, it might have been something once upon a time when people went to

confession and believed in the Holy Ghost, but today, still, it does make

you think twice.

And you never know.

Are you Angela Madeline Sawyer of Clifton Terrace, Winchester?

Yes.

Pull yourself together, mate.

And don't start fluffing when you see your honourable father perched on the

bench. No, of course I won't. And stick to the line.

We all liked Joe.

He wasn't one of us, but we liked him.

And if they hadn't nicked him, I'd have asked him to my party tonight.

We always did ask him.

We wanted to give him a chance.

That's it. You say just that. I will.

I've learned it all by heart.

Then you've got nothing to worry about, have you?

Come on, give me a light.

Do you recognize this gun?

I think so.

Did you ever see the gun in the defendant's hand?

Yes, but he didn't keep it. I know he didn't.

How do you know?

Because I've seen it.

In whose possession was it, then?

In Barney's.

Barney Teel's. He kept it under his pillow.

You know what Barney Teel kept under his pillow?

Were you that intimate with Mr. Teal?

No.

Barney... That's real kind of you, honey.

I can't get over it.

Honest, I can't.

I mean, why?

Why you should take such good care of a... of a bum like myself?

Well, you've got to eat, haven't you?

Sure.

Flesh is our master.

We only obey.

All slaves of the flesh. That's all we are.

Isn't that so?

Oh, come off it.

Hell, my appetite goes when I feel it.

I have no way to repay you for your kindness.

Nonsense. Come on. Eat your dinner.

You don't get me, do you?

I mean, I've never been pampered like this.

Not even by my Boston twins.

Your what?

I didn't tell you about them?

Oh,

a pair of Boston socialites they were.

Traveling for education.

Which is exactly what I provided for them on the A-deck all the way from

Naples to New York.

And then some more education in that apartment. But I told you about the

apartment.

That's what I want to give you now.

Hey, let go.

Not repay you for all that kindness?

I wouldn't be that inconsiderate.

Just relax, because you're going to thank me.

You're going to thank me when it's all over, honey.

Because it's going to be different.

You hear me?

So much different from all that shit stuff you've been wasting your youth on.

Don't fool around with that.

It's loaded.

Thank you. That will be all.

Do you imagine that you're in love with the defendant?

I don't imagine it.

I am.

Very much in love.

Is that all you're going to ask me?

That's all.

Mr. Sawyer.

Mr. Sawyer.

Are you calling your client?

I can't imagine why I should.

It isn't fair.

Please, Mr. Sawyer, let me tell my side.

All right, if you insist.

What the net's going on in there?

Steady, man, steady.

One of that jumping stuff.

He'll get us all into trouble.

That's a good boy.

I gave the gun to Barney.

What's so strange about that?

I gave it to him.

I did not kill him. Is that clear?

Perfectly clear, Mr.

Christophorides, but not proved.

What proof do you want?

I don't want any.

I have all the proof I need.

Now, let me see.

Through the kindness of Mr.

Peter Hawkins, you got a job at Hawkins' store.

How much did you make per week?

Nine pounds ten.

But what does it matter?

And how much of it did you give to your worthy, hard-working mother?

How much? I have never asked him for anything, sir. He needed it more than I

do. He's young, sir.

We are foreigners, I know, but we are respectable people.

All my life I have tried... Quite so.

The picture is now quite clear.

Jacobus Christopherides.

That's Joe's full name.

Badly needed money.

Wouldn't it explain why he, a working-class lad...

But a handsome lad, as you can see, chose to pursue one of the wealthiest

girls in the town.

That isn't true! And when Barney Teal threatened to take his place, in his

desperation, he was tempted to kill him.

Any questions, Mr. Sawyer?

What?

I'm sorry.

I said, any questions, Mr. Sawyer?

No, thank you. No questions.

Please, Mr. Sawyer, say something.

What do you want me to say to all this... bull?

Something, anything.

Just open your mouth to show that you're not dumb.

But, oh, no, not you.

Could have spoiled you a little bit of fun.

You want your revenge, huh?

Aren't you overdramatizing a bit? It was only the preliminary hearing. The main

trial is yet to come.

Oh, I know, I know.

It was only the dress rehearsal. That's right, so why worry?

Why?

Because when they take Jo to court, it will be exactly the same thing all over

again. You'll see to that, won't you?

I may not be in court by the look of things. Well, I hope to God not.

You've done enough harm as it is.

Perhaps you're right.

Well, I've had a hard day.

I'm going to have a bath.

Wash away the smell of the law

That's

why she left you isn't it because you're a fake and a coward and she was right

Come inside, darling. It's just like Paris, only better.

Blonde or dark, black or white, you name it, we've got it.

Does a Miss Brenda work here? Brenda? Sure.

Do you want to see her? Yes, please.

Come in.

Amen.

Hey. Come on.

Haven't I seen you before?

Yes, you have, in a bar with a boy called Desmond Flower.

You know him?

Why do you want to know?

Never mind. Do you know him?

He's a chief constable's son, isn't he? That has no bearing on the question.

Look, there's nothing I can tell you, nothing.

I don't want to get into trouble.

You just take your money back and then... Come on.

You're going to answer my questions.

All right.

Do you know Desmond?

Yes. And Peter?

And Joe?

Joe Christopher Eadies?

No, not him.

I don't go for criminals.

I go for anyone. I go for nice kids.

Same as Barney. Nice, rich kids.

Well, that's not a crime, is it? Well, if it is, you're not the criminal.

You're the victim, if anything. Poor little idiot.

I don't like you calling me names. I'm not calling you names. I'm just sorry

for you.

They've got everything, haven't they? The top gear suits, or whatever they

call them.

Daddy's Jaguar.

Condescending looks for everyone over 30. And still, to be introduced to life,

they have to come to some grubby hole like this, buying a girl as if she was,

I don't know, a packet of chewing gum or something.

Little bastards.

Don't go.

I'll tell you everything you want to know.

They could harm you, you know.

Not the boys, their parents.

Don't give a damn.

You're a nice girl.

I know what I am.

For he's a jolly good fellow.

For he's a jolly good fellow.

A 21st birthday is as good an occasion as any to thank my dear parents.

They've been wonderful.

They made me what I am.

Hear, hear.

He's clowning again.

All right, I'll see to this.

Please, ladies and gentlemen, please, don't take any notice.

We're all a little eccentric in our family.

Oh, Paul, you really shouldn't have bothered.

I know my way around here.

After all, this was my father's house, you know.

Ah, that's it.

That's what?

Something for your son.

It'll do him good, I assure you.

You don't mind my joining in the festivities, I hope?

Why did you let him in?

What could I do? He says he's got a present for Desmond.

Go home, Father.

Please go home.

You see, even my own daughter doesn't want me here.

Oh, please, thank you.

But then she's dead right, because the young should be left alone.

You don't like us very much, do you?

And no wonder, because we represent the future that you're afraid of.

Sometimes we hate you, too, because you're the past that we never had.

You have too much of everything, too much freedom, too much money, too much

sex.

Too many years ahead of you, Desmond.

Twenty-one.

They find it hard to forgive you.

He'd do better to save his breath for the court.

That is absolutely true, Harry.

But as you saw this morning, I'm quite incapable of opening my mouth in

courtrooms where the only language that people understand is hypocrisy.

What exactly do you want, John?

I'm sorry. I thought you would have realized by now.

I came to give my nephew a 21st birthday present. Here you are, Desmond.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. That's the

first British edition.

Quite a bibliographical rarity, I understand, nowadays.

It's gorgeous.

Thank you, Uncle John.

Have you read it, by the way?

No, I don't think I have.

But, of course, I know what it's all about.

You do?

I wonder.

Excuse me.

Crime and Punishment.

The thing I like about that book, Harry, is it shows the only court that really

matters is not to be found in some ugly great building in the center of town.

It's in ourselves.

Deep in our own conscience, you know?

Do you give much thought to your conscience, Desmond?

Should I?

We all should.

Twice a day, at least, on hygienic grounds.

Three times on Sunday.

One's conscience is like one's peristalsis.

It merits attention.

Now, Harry is always deeply concerned about his peristalsis, and I'm sure that

none of the older group is entirely insensitive to the constrictions of

conscience. You already begin to regret your pomposity and your vanity and your

sordid little escapades, don't you?

Oh, come on, now. Our children are perfectly well aware that their

respectable parents preach one set of rules and practice another.

Wait a minute.

Who do you think you are to go about censoring other people?

I?

I'm the worst of the whole bunch.

I tortured my child because I was too cowardly to torture myself. I made her

feel unwanted, unloved.

A stranger in the house of a despicable drunk. That's who I am, and I'm not

proud of it.

Stop buffooning and get out of my house.

You've, uh, you've done what you came for.

No, I haven't, Colonel.

Not yet.

Desmond, what brand of cigarettes do you smoke?

Colois. Bleu.

Put them on the table so that people can see.

Go on.

Snap. That's the empty package you left in the bar where we had our little talk.

Now, for my next trick, I have here a cigarette butt or fag end.

Would any lady or gentleman in the audience care to sniff it?

What kind of game is this?

It's a game of life and death, wouldn't you say, Desmond?

I really wouldn't know, Uncle John.

Well, anyway, this cigarette, which happens to be a gold rose...

was smoked by the murderer of Barney Teal on the night of the crime.

Would you like me to tell you where I found it, Desmond?

No.

Thousands of people smoke, all right.

I'm sure they do, but only one of them killed Barney Teal. And not content with

that, he planted the gun in Joel's locker.

And when Joel so clumsily tried to dispose of it, he followed him in his

car and informed the police. Isn't that so, Desmond?

Are you trying to imply that I killed that bum?

Now, why on earth should I have done that?

Well, now, let's think about that.

Thank you.

Are you in love with Angela?

Good Lord, no.

What makes you say that?

Would it make you sick to see Joe kissing Angela?

Not particularly.

Actually, I've never seen him kiss her. Haven't you?

Angela, in my inside pocket there's a photograph. If you've no objection, I'd

like you to show it to Desmond.

You see, there's Joe kissing Angela, and there are you watching them with a very

peculiar expression on your face which suggests jealousy.

I'm simply pulling a face.

You can't go to jail for that.

Desmond, must I go on?

Can you?

Indeed I can, but I don't want to.

It would be far better if you were to tell us the truth now.

The truth?

What do you want me to do?

Confess to a crime that I haven't committed?

You must be mad.

And this is not a lunatic asylum.

Now get out.

Very well, Desmond.

And since you're a young man of good family, you'll see me to the door, won't

you?

What good is living in a theater if you can't even put on a proper show?

Ain't that so?

Don't you worry.

Because Uncle Bonnie took care of everything, eh?

Everything.

That's a Barney special.

For your private and personal delectation, huh?

Like her?

She's quite a dish.

Desmond, ain't no ordinary strip.

That's a right.

Yeah.

An initiation right.

Just like in the old days.

Prove your manhood.

And you live happily ever after, huh?

Grab her.

Just like in the ancient days.

Right on the spot.

If you couldn't go through with it in the olden days, you were spat upon,

scorned, you were despised, huh?

You wouldn't want that to happen to you.

Ain't that so?

She's good, Dess.

Grab her.

Go ahead.

Oh, yeah, grab her.

Grab her, Dess.

Grab her, Dess. Go ahead, grab her!

Do you want them all to know what Barney knew about you?

Do you want the whole world to laugh at you the way he did?

Would you like me to put you through another initiation rite?

Look here, what's all this about?

Leave us alone!

Leave us alone!

You asked me what was the motive for this crime.

All right.

An insane hatred triggered by impotent jealousy, is my guess.

Anyhow, that's all over.

What matters now is the future.

It's going to be hard enough for you to stand up in court and confess, but later

on it'll be harder still, because no trial ends in the courtroom.

It goes on and on inside us. That's the real punishment, to be one's own judge,

one's own jailer.

And ultimately, when one has suffered deeply and terribly.

Oh.

This is where the character Sonia is reading from the Bible to Raskolnikov.

She says, Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany.

Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection.

What is going on? Don't worry, it'll be all right. I can't stand it anymore.

But these recollections scarcely troubled him now.

He knew that the new life would not be given to him for nothing, that it would

cost him great striving, great suffering.

And this is the beginning of a new story.

The story of a man's renewal and regeneration.

Those are the final words of crime and punishment.