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 case?

The first 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, I do.

And that a woman's life was the tragic cost

of an accident in which your car was involved?

That especially, I'm afraid.

Excuse me.

Thank you.

I have 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 you.

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 don't suppose I can really say.

Vanity of the species, I guess.

A man's married for 10 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 10 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.

(doorbell ringing)

Oh, that's Carmody.

This late?

Yes, he's been investigating that surprise witness

they think they're going to spring on us

in the hit-and-run case next month.

Gonna cost that boy's father a lot of money.

Hello, Arnold.

Oh, good evening, Mrs. Shawn.

Hope I didn't keep anybody up.

That's quite all right, I'm sure, Arnold.

I think Al and I'll 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 mean.

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 citizens.

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 than a beanbag

and as dead as a pork chop,

the traffic light was against him.

Now we can't deny that he hit Mrs. Thompson,

because the police traced the car to the garage

where he'd taken it 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 gonna be expensive.

It usually is.

So, start digging up

everything you can find on him,

from the day he was christened

to the moment he walks into that courtroom.

Oh, Mr. Carmody.

Hmm?

Oh, thank you.

*

*

*

I call Henry Babcock.

What do you think about it, Dad?

I don't know what to think.

If Shawn could make an All-American boy out of you,

he'll 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 Purness Road

and strike Mrs. Agnes Thompson, the deceased.

Is that correct?

Yes, sir.

And you further testified

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 faith,

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--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, and I submit--

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, hello, 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 the office,

so, I went over to see Dan Irwin.

He's got a legal action

on that new magazine he's publishing.

You're a liar.

Hmm, oh.

You 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.

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

Did you have professional help?

I didn't need any rubber-soled Al Carmody,

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.

Just 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?

Will you come off it, I warned you, Naomi!

-Just answer my question. -Take it easy!

Why?

For a lot of reasons!

Practical and otherwise!

You want me to list them for you?

All of them, every one!

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 10 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.

Yes.

*

*

One thing we know, Mr. Babcock,

is that Mrs. Thompson approached the intersection

from the south.

How do you account for not having heard her

approach that intersection, Mr. Babcock?

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

Oh, you mean then that you did hear her?

Well, no...

What I mean is that I don't really remember.

I was tired. I'd just come from work.

At the Chichi 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 2:00 in the morning?

Yes, sir.

And one hour later,

after completing your chores at the Chichi Club,

you were seated on this bench.

Now where did you say you lived?

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 Chichi 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 slyly suggestive and without relevance.

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 favors

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, Mr. Shawn.

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?

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 ladies' dressing rooms,

for instance?

I object, Your Honor!

Objection sustained.

I direct that the last remarks of Counsel

be stricken from the record

and that 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 he could have turned his head

to observe a traffic light

without seeing the witness approaching the crosswalk?

Proceed, Counselor.

Mr. Babcock, how long have you been employed

at the Club Chichi?

About 10 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 as

an 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!

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'm... -I have in my possession

a report from an ophthalmologist,

which states that at the time of surgery,

your vision was 85% impaired

and furthermore, you are color-blind.

It isn't fair this way.

My glasses, please.

If it pleases the court.

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 in a court of law.

That isn't true!

You'll have to let me speak!

(crowd murmuring)

Arnold, I have to talk to you.

Congratulations, Arnold.

I managed to catch some 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've waited this long,

I'm sure you could spare me a minute...

It can wait till I speak to the judge, can't it?

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

Arnold, I went to see George Vogel this morning.

I'd appreciate it if you'd sign 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 is 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.

Keep your voice down.

Is this what George Vogel recommended?

The decision is my own.

I never asked his opinion.

Well, 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.

(coin rattling on sidewalk)

"1947, In God We Trust."

Mr. Babcock, please...

I was in the courtroom today, and I...

I couldn't help but notice...

I can see very well with my glasses,

if that's what you mean.

Now that the cataracts are completely cured,

I'd hoped 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?

I'm sure no one believed me by the time he was through.

Thank you for your kindness, ma'am.

Are you parked here?

I'm parked here, yes.

Well, good, I can't find a cab.

I wonder, would you mind dropping me off

at 6th and Fern?

I think I could manage that.

Well, fine, I'll be right here.

I just want to pick up a paper.

You don't mind, do you?

Boy.

*

*

*

(engine starting)

*

(tires squealing)

Look, 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 I'm 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. Shawn'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.

Thank you very much.

You know, 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.