The Bad Seed (1956) - full transcript

Be right out,

sergeant.

Yes, sir.

The car's here,

sweetheart.

All right, darling.

Rhoda.

Rhododendron, pal.

That's a mighty

pretty piece.

It's au clair

de la lune, daddy.

In english,

that means

"by the light

of the moon."

Well, i hate

to tune you off,

but have

you got time

to come and say good-bye

to your old man?

Of course, daddy.

Will you write mother every day?

I'll write both my girls every day.

Will you put in a special page just for me?

Oh, she has to have

a very special page

all her own,

you know.

A special page

with lots of xs.

Oh, monica.

How nice.

Yes. Here's your

effusive landlady

from upstairs,

darlings,

come

to say good-bye.

No life of my own,

so i need

other people's.

I speak for my brother emory as well as myself.

He had to go

to the train

to meet

reginald tasker.

He's the speaker at our psychiatry club this evening.

But then,

my brother emory

never gets a chance to speak when i'm around.

I've talked enough.

You say something, colonel.

It'll have to be good-bye.

I'm taking off.

Do something about

not having a war.

I'm not ready

to be turned into a piece of chalk just yet.

Well, by--

by gum, i'll try.

You said "by gum"

because i'm here.

You're right, i did.

Don't worry about

your two darlings.

If either of them

begins to look peaked,

i'll send up

smoke signals.

Thanks,

monica.

Rhoda, dear,

let's stay here

so mommy and daddy can say good-bye by themselves.

Besides, i have

a surprise for you.

Presents?

Rhoda!

All right.

I'll take my good-bye present here.

Now, what

will you give me

if i give you a basket of kisses?

I'll give you

a basket of hugs.

I'll miss

your hugs.

I'll miss

your kisses, daddy.

You're so big

and strong.

See my effect

on girls?

Good-bye now,

sweetheart.

Take care

of mommy?

I will, daddy.

Good-bye,

monica.

Good-bye.

Come on, darling.

What have you got

for me, aunt monica?

Let's see

if you can guess.

Good morning,

sergeant.

Good morning,

mrs. Penmark.

Thanks, sergeant.

Darling, when you see

daddy in washington,

will you have him come

and pay me a visit?

Sure, i will.

Oh, kenneth.

We've lived

through this before.

Oh, i know.

I'm just not

in any mood

to shout hooray,

that's all.

Smile, girl.

My girl?

Oh, yes...

forever and ever.

Bye, darling.

Look, mommy!

Oh, monica. What have you

given her now?

It's a pair

of dark glasses

to keep the sun out of those pretty blue eyes,

and the rhinestones

to frame them in.

My, my.

Who is this glamorous hollywood actress?

Ooh, i like them.

Where's the case?

Here it is, dear.

Didn't you ever hear

about spoiling people?

Nonsense!

Now here's

something else.

This was

given to me

when i was

8 years old.

It's a little young for me now.

Ha ha!

But it's still just right for an 8-year-old.

Monica, monica.

I just don't know what

i'm going to do with you.

However, there's a garnet set in it,

so we'll have to change that for a turquoise

since turquoise is your birthstone.

Could i have

both stones?

The garnet, too?

Rhoda!

Rhoda, what

a way to behave!

Why, certainly

you may.

Of course.

How wonderful

to meet

such a natural

little girl.

She knows

what she wants,

and she asks for it.

Not like these overcivilized little pets

that have to go

through analysis

before they can choose an ice-cream soda.

Ha ha!

Aunt monica.

Dear, sweet aunt monica.

Darling, i know i'm

behind the times,

but i thought children wore blue jeans

or playsuits

to picnics.

Now, you, my love,

look like a princess

in that red-and-white dotted swiss.

Aren't you afraid

you'll get it dirty

or that you'll fall and scuff those new shoes?

Uh-uh.

Oh, she won't

soil the dress,

and she won't

scuff the shoes.

Rhoda never gets

anything dirty,

although how she

manages it, i don't know.

I don't like

blue jeans.

They're not--

you mean blue jeans are not quite ladylike,

don't you,

my darling?

Oh, you sweet old-fashioned little dear.

Am i to keep

this now?

You're to keep it

until i can find out

where to get

the stone changed.

I'll put it

in my treasure drawer.

Rhoda, we'll be leaving

in a few minutes.

Is your room

all straightened?

Yes, mother.

Unnecessary question.

Leroy.

Leroy.

Yes, miss breedlove?

What on earth do you think you're doing?

I'm just trying to hurry with my chores, ma'am.

Well, ring first

and wait.

If nobody answers,

then use your key.

Morning,

mrs. Penmark.

I left my chamois

and pail

doing the inside

windows yesterday.

Very well, leroy.

They're

in the bathroom.

Does he always

crash in that way?

Only when we're

up and about, i think,

trying to prove

his individualism.

Leroy doesn't mean

any harm.

He has the mind

of an 8-year-old,

but he's managed

to produce a family,

so i keep him on.

Monica!

Oh, you.

Morning,

miss uppity.

When i was

in school,

we didn't have

no picnics.

I don't care

what you didn't have.

Oh, we'll go

right along, dear.

I just want to write

this tuition check

for miss fern.

Yes, mother.

Excuse me.

You sound

like fred astaire

tap-tapping

across the room.

What have you got

on your shoes?

I run over

my heels,

and mother had these iron pieces put on them

so they'd

last longer.

I'm afraid i can't

take any credit.

It was rhoda's idea

entirely.

I think they're

very nice.

They save money.

Oh, you penurious

little sweetheart.

You think

of everything,

take everything

so much to heart.

That's one reason

why i thought

you should have

some presents today.

You wanted to win that penmanship medal very much,

didn't you?

It's the only gold medal miss fern gives,

and it was

really mine!

Everybody knew i wrote the best hand,

and i should

have had it.

Rhoda...

i just don't see how claude daigle got the medal.

Oh, rhoda, rhoda.

These things happen to us

all the time,

and when they do,

we simply accept them.

Now, i've told you,

darling,

try to forget it.

I'm sorry.

I know you don't like people pawing over you.

It was mine!

The medal

was mine!

It was mine!

The medal was mine!

Hey!

Leroy, have you completely lost your senses?

Look at rhoda's shoes.

I'm sorry,

mrs. Breedlove,

but she had to come running out here just as i was--

sorry, ma'am.

Leroy, i own this apartment house.

I employ you.

I've tried to give you

the benefit of every doubt

because you have

a family.

I've thought of you

as emotionally immature,

torn by irrational rages,

a bit on

the psychopathic side.

But after

this demonstration,

i think my diagnosis

was entirely too mild.

You're definitely

a schizophrenic

with paranoid overtones.

I've had quite enough

of your discourtesy

and surliness,

and so have the tenants

in my building.

My brother emory

has wanted to discharge you.

I've been on your side,

though with misgivings.

I shall protect you

no longer.

Monica, he

didn't mean it.

It was

an accident.

He meant

to do it.

I know

leroy.

It was no accident,

christine.

It was deliberate,

the spiteful act

of a neurotic child.

He meant

to do it.

You watched out of the corner of your eyes.

You made up your mind in one second!

I never. I never.

I'm just clumsy!

Leroy, my patience

is at an end,

and you might

as well know it.

Get about your work!

Oh! Ha ha!

It's much too lovely

a morning for such tirades.

Now, don't forget our luncheon

with reggie tasker.

Dear me. I haven't

put in my order yet.

What do you feed

a criminologist?

Prussic acid, blue vitriol,

ground glass.

Hot weather things,

huh?

Nothing

would hurt reggie.

He thrives

on buckets of blood

and sudden death.

Good-bye, dear.

Have a wonderful,

happy day.

Good-bye,

aunt monica.

Ahh...

that know-it-all

monica breedlove.

Don't think nobody knows

anything but her.

Well, she ain't got

long to go anyway.

Old heifer's about ready

for the canners.

But that young,

trough-fed mrs. Penmark...

she might get

kind of lonesome

with that soldier boy

of hers gone.

Yes, sir!

She might.

Yeah, that rhoda's

a real smart one.

That's a smart

little gal.

She's almost

as smart as i am.

She sees through me,

and i see through her.

Swallow me a frog,

but she's smart, huh?

Jenny furst,

you come back here!

But i want

to see the--

you're not to

go near the water.

Now, remember,

everybody--

you are not to go

out on that pier

or near the boathouse!

There's miss fern.

Oh, why,

mrs. Penmark.

How splendid.

Good morning,

miss fern.

Good morning,

miss fern.

Good morning,

rhoda.

That was a perfect curtsy.

Thank you,

miss fern.

Darling, you run along

with the others now.

I want to speak

to miss fern

for just

a little minute.

That is,

if you have a minute.

Well, we're rather rushed this morning,

but, of course,

mrs. Penmark.

Shall we talk while i place the favors

on the tables?

Oh, yes, of course.

Oh, by the way,

miss fern,

i, um... i have

the check here

for

the last quarter.

Oh, why, thank you.

Now, about rhoda,

naturally...

uh... tell me

frankly, miss fern.

Is she always as perfect in everything

as she was

in her curtsy?

Oh, she does everything

extremely well,

as you must know

better than i.

And as a person,

does she fit in well

at the school?

Let me think.

In what way,

mrs. Penmark?

Well,

rhoda's been...

i don't quite know

how to say it,

but there's a mature quality about her

that's disturbing

in a child,

and my husband

and i thought

that a school

like yours

where you believe

in discipline

and the old-fashioned

virtues might, well,

perhaps teach her

to be more of a child.

Yes. Yes, i know

what you mean.

Do the other

children like her?

Is she popular?

The other children?

Oh, of course,

mrs. Penmark.

Um...

well, i really should

get things started.

Will you

excuse me, please?

Oh, yes, of course,

and thank you.

But i did

meet him.

Oh, ha ha!

But i did

meet freud!

Nobody ever

believes me

when i tell them that i met sigmund freud.

They just don't believe

that you're old enough,

little sister.

Anyway, it wasn't

dr. Freud who analyzed me.

It was dr. Kettlebaum

in london.

Monica's been spread out on couches

from new york

to los angeles.

Ha ha ha!

Ha ha ha!

And what was kettlebaum's verdict?

He said

my whole trouble

was associating ideas with words and names.

My marriage to fred breedlove,

for example.

He said

i married fred

because of the combination of ideas

suggested

by his name.

The last syllable,

love--

romantic, eternal--

and the first

syllable...

hmm. That is rather obvious,

isn't it?

Ha ha ha!

Ha ha ha!

And the result

of the analysis?

Well, it broke up

my marriage.

When i explained it

to mr. Breedlove,

he became so confused

between his first syllable

and his last syllable

that he just gave up.

Well, let's sit

over there,

where we can

get away from analysis.

At least

be comfortable.

Yes.

Come on, reggie.

Entertain us with

your latest work.

What is your bloodthirsty scribbling

about

to disclose now?

I've been making a collection of data on mrs. Allison.

News budget wants

an article on her.

You mean

that practical nurse

who killed

all those people?

My, yes.

That simply fascinating

paranoidal female.

Listen, christine.

Oh...

oh, yes.

Mrs. Allison was a quite definite personality.

She did away

with nine patients

for their

life insurance

with almost as many

different poisons.

But you read about her

in the papers,

didn't you,

mrs. Penmark?

Oh, only hastily,

i must say.

I'm afraid

i shy away

from reading

about such things.

Now, that's an interesting

psychic block.

Why would christine dislike

reading about murders?

I don't know.

I just have

an aversion

to violence

of any kind.

I even hate

the revolver

kenneth keeps locked in the house.

Oh? Do you dislike

the revolver

more than the poison?

Ooh, i just

hate them both.

Maybe if you try saying

the first thing

that comes into your mind,

we can get

at the root anxiety.

Just say it no matter

how silly it seems to you.

Tell your story,

reggie,

and christine

will associate.

What do you mean, "associate"?

Just speak up,

because any idea

that comes into your mind

will be

an associated idea.

Oh.

Well, they finally caught on to mrs. Allison

when she poisoned

her 80-year-old father

with arsenic

in his buttermilk.

There. Say

anything quickly.

Well, but what?

Well, i'll be a middle-aged

mongoloid from memphis.

Sweetsie, little lovebird.

Now, you play

your little cards right,

and instead of a piece

of cuttlebone,

uncle emory will get you a piece of dr. Kettlebaum.

Emory, shh.

Go on, christine,

no matter how silly.

Oh, well,

what i was thinking

at that very moment

was that outside

of kenneth,

my father is the dearest man in the whole world.

Is that silly?

No. Certainly not.

Isn't your father

richard bravo?

Yes. Uh-huh.

There's a man

can write for you.

Those pieces from the pacific

during the war.

I'm very proud

of him.

The whole country is,

but we've disclosed

nothing yet.

Go on with

your story, reggie.

I think we can afford

a change of subject.

All right, then.

There.

What does that

suggest to you?

Well, it doesn't really suggest anything to me

because i'm still thinking about my father.

What about him?

Oh, well, monica--

no editing,

no skipping.

Well, what i was

thinking that time

was even sillier.

I...

i've always

had the feeling

that i was

an adopted child

and that the bravos weren't my real parents.

Oh, you poor,

innocent darling.

Don't you know that the changeling fantasy

is the commonest

of childhood?

Why, i once believed

that i was a foundling...

with royal blood.

Ha ha ha!

Plantagenet,

i think it was.

And emory--

let's see.

Emory was, um...

i was a chipmunk.

Ha ha ha!

You really always

have had this suspicion

that you were adopted?

Yes. Always.

But no evidence.

Only that

i dream about it.

What kind of dream?

Oh, monica, really.

Do i have to tell

my dreams, too?

It's all so silly,

i haven't even mentioned it to kenneth.

The gal that really

took the prize

was that one

you wrote about

in that first book

of yours--

the one that pulled

all those jobs,

and they couldn't

convict her.

Oh, you mean bessie--

bessie denker.

Most amazing woman in all the annals of homicide.

She was beautiful,

she had brains,

she was ruthless,

and she never used the same poison twice either.

Her father, for example,

died of rabies,

supposedly contracted

from a mad dog.

It just happened

that--

did you--

all his money

went to bessie.

Did you say

bessie denker?

Yes.

There. Now we might

have struck something.

Murderess, poisons,

et cetera ad infinitum.

Oh, monica. This

really is nonsense.

Here.

Let's clear some of these things away.

Say, by the way,

you still planning

on hanging around

for a few days'

fishing?

I'd sure like to,

but i don't want

to bother you any.

Listen, any excuse

with me for fishing.

We'll get the weather for tomorrow,

and if the channel reflects a good deep blue--

...but says that nothing

more important has happened

for many years in the field

of foreign affairs.

That's all the international

news for the moment.

Now let's look at

the local weather forecast.

For tomorrow and--

hmm? Hmm?

I interrupt

this program to--

i have been asked

to announce

that one of the children

on the annual picnic

of the fern country

day school

was accidentally drowned

in the bay early this noon.

The name of the victim

is being withheld

until the parents

are first notified.

More news

of this tragic affair

is expected momentarily.

Monica!

It was not rhoda.

Rhoda is too

self-reliant a child.

It was some timid,

confused youngster

afraid

of its own shadow.

It was certainly

not rhoda.

Emory, please!

To continue with

the weather, locally...

what

am i standing...

we now have the full story

on the fern school

drowning.

We are now authorized

to give you

the name of the victim.

It was 8-year-old

claude daigle,

the only child

of mr. And mrs. Henry daigle

of 126 willow street.

He appears to have fallen

into the water

from the abandoned pier

on the fern property.

It is a mystery how

the little boy got on the pier,

for all the children

had been forbidden

to play near or on it,

but his body was found

off the end of the landing,

wedged among the pilings.

The guard who

brought up the body

applied artificial respiration,

but without result.

There were bruises

on the forehead and hands,

but it is assumed

that these were caused

by the body washing

against the pilings.

And now to continue with the report of local weather,

scattered showers--

oh, that poor

little boy.

That poor child.

They'll send the children home immediately.

They must be

on their way now.

I don't know

what to say to her.

Rhoda is 8.

I remember i didn't know anything about death

or it didn't

touch me closely

until i was

much older.

A teacher

i adored died.

My whole world

changed and darkened.

Monica, here comes

the bus now.

I don't know

what to say to her.

Well, this is between you and rhoda now.

Nobody else

can help.

I suppose.

I would come

with you, dear,

but i think

mother and child

are better alone

at a time like this.

Oh, darling.

Mother, we didn't

really have our lunch

because claude daigle

was drowned.

I know.

It was

on the radio.

He was drowned,

so then they were

all rushing

and calling

and hurrying

to see if they could

make him alive again,

but they couldn't,

so then they said

the picnic was over

and we

had to go home.

Well, i'm glad

you're home.

So could i have a peanut butter sandwich and milk?

Rhoda,

did you see him?

Well, yes,

of course.

Then they put

a blanket over him.

No. Did you

see him...

taken

from the water?

Yes. They laid him

out on the lawn

and worked and worked,

but it didn't help.

Sweetheart, i want you to try to get these pictures

right out

of your mind.

I don't want you

to be worried

or frightened

one little bit.

These things happen

to us sometimes,

and when they do,

we simply

accept them.

Oh, but i thought

it was exciting.

Can i have the peanut butter sandwich?

Why, yes, darling.

I'll get it ready

for you.

Leroy.

Well, just doing my baskets, mrs. Penmark.

Good.

I thought i'd go out

and skate after.

Very well, dear.

Mighty awful event at the fern school this morning,

huh, mrs. Penmark?

Uh, yes, leroy.

It was very sad.

They say when they found that little boy--

yes, mrs. Penmark.

Now, rhoda...

you're behaving

very well, dear,

but still,

it's a terrible thing to see and remember.

I understand

how you feel, darling.

I don't know what you're talking about.

I don't feel

any way at all.

Have you

been naughty?

Why, no, mother.

What will you give me

for a basket of kisses?

I'll give you

a basket of hugs.

I want to finish

my sandwich

while i skate,

mother.

Well,

then you should.

How come you go skating

and enjoying yourself

when your poor little schoolmate's still damp

from drowning

in the bay, huh?

It look to me like you'd be staying home,

crying

your eyes out.

Either that

or be in church,

burning a candle

in a blue cup.

You ask me,

and i say

you don't even feel sorry about what happened

to that

poor little boy.

Why should

i feel sorry?

It was claude daigle

got drowned,

not me.

Ain't scared

of nothin', huh?

I'll find a way

to scare you.

"Now, the knight

had not gone

"more than

a dozen paces

"before he saw

beside the path

"a beautiful lady

"who laid out a fair damask cloth under an oak

"and set thereon

cakes and... dainties

and a..."

"and a flagon with...

two silver cups..."

mommy...

what?

Why aren't

you reading?

Oh, i--

i was just

thinking, i guess.

About what--

the accident?

Mm-hmm, partly.

And my telephone call.

The circuits

were busy.

What are cakes

and dainties?

Oh, um, they're like little cakes,

you know.

Oh.

"Cakes and dainties

"and a flagon

with two silver cups.

"Knight, she called,

come eat and drink with me,

"for you are hungry

and thirsty,

and i am alone."

Did you take

your vitamins, dear?

Yes. I took one

before.

This

is my second.

I was

saving them

because i like

the juice.

I'll close my eyes,

but i won't be asleep.

I know.

"And then the knight

answered her,

"i thank you,

fair lady,

"for i am not only

hungry and thirsty,

"but i'm lost

within the forest.

"And then he let palfrey

graze nearby,

"and he feasted with the lady

who gave him loving looks,

"sweeter than the wine

from the flagon,

"though the wine

was sweet and strong.

"And in this fashion,

the time passed,

"until the light was gone

out of the wood

"and it was dark.

"And he was aware

"that the pavilion had not been there in the daylight,

"but had been created

out of darkness...

by magic."

Rhoda.

May i come in,

mrs. Penmark?

Yes, of course,

miss fern.

I was going to come

and see you.

I got your note.

We're in

such distress,

all of us

at the school.

We've suffered

such a blow,

losing one of

the children that way.

Yes, i know.

I'm sure

you'll forgive us

for going over

and over things.

I think everyone

has been worried

and puzzled

and saddened.

I don't think

i've ever known any happening

to puzzle so many people

in so many ways,

and i can help

so few of them.

I've just come from

seeing mrs. Daigle.

Oh, dear.

Of course,

our first thought was of her.

The rest of us are touched only lightly by this tragedy.

She'll have to live with it

the rest of her days.

I know.

I've seen her

several times,

and each time she's asked me to find out from you

if you had

any possible clue

to where the penmanship medal might be.

It was lost?

Yes. It wasn't found

with the body

and has completely

disappeared.

I didn't know

about this.

Good morning,

miss fern.

Good morning, rhoda.

Mother, could i sit under the

scuppernong arbor for a while

and read my book?

Of course, rhoda.

It's so shady there,

and i can see

your window,

and you can watch me

from the window,

and i'd like to be

where you can see me.

Is it a new book?

Mm-hmm.

It's elsie dinsmore,

the one i got for a prize

at sunday school.

Well, i'll be here.

I'll be right there

all the time.

Good-bye, miss fern.

It occurred to me that

rhoda might have told you

a detail or two

that she hadn't remembered

when she talked with me.

You see, she was the last

to see the little

daigle boy alive.

Are you sure

of this?

Yes.

Well,

i hadn't realized.

Several times

during the morning,

rhoda had to be stopped

from following claude around

and trying to take

the medal away from him.

She kept snatching at it,

and he finally became

very upset

and started to cry.

Oh, i'm--i'm terribly

sorry to hear this.

When you say that rhoda might have been the last one

to see the little

daigle boy alive--

yes. Shortly before

claude's body was discovered,

the beach guard saw rhoda

coming off the wharf.

He shouted a warning,

but by then

she was on the beach

and walking back to join

the main activity,

so he decided

to forget the matter.

The guard didn't identify

the girl by name,

but she had blond pigtails

and was wearing

a red dress, he said.

Rhoda was the only girl

who wore a dress that day.

At 1:00 the lunch bell rang,

and claude was missing

when the roll was called.

You know the rest of it.

Well, yes,

but this is very serious.

If rhoda

was on that wharf--

not serious,

really.

Children conceal things

from adults.

Suppose rhoda did follow the

daigle child onto the wharf.

So many things

could have happened,

quite innocently.

He may have concealed himself in the old boathouse,

and then when discovered,

may have backed away

from rhoda

and fallen in the water.

Yes, that could have happened,

but i don't--

later on, when it was

too late to do anything,

she was afraid to admit

what had happened.

Oh, well, then,

you do think

that rhoda knows something

that she isn't admitting.

Yes. I think that

like many a frightened soldier,

she deserted

under fire.

This is not

a serious charge.

Few of us are courageous when tested.

Yes, but she has

lied, though.

Is there any adult

who hasn't lied?

Smooth the lines from your brow,

my dear.

You're so much prettier when smiling.

Well,

i'll question rhoda.

I wish you would,

though i doubt

you'll learn

more than you know.

Miss fern, there's something

i've been wanting to ask you.

There was a floral tribute

at the daigle boy's funeral

sent by the children

of the fern school.

Now, i assume that the children

helped share the expenses,

but i haven't been asked

to pay my part.

No, my dear.

We thought

you'd like

to send flowers

individually.

Why should i want to send flowers individually?

Rhoda wasn't friendly

with the boy,

and my husband and i haven't even met the daigles.

Well, i don't know,

my dear. I really--

there are three of us,

you know.

In the hurry of making--

you make excuses for rhoda,

and yet at the same time

you admit to me

that you didn't ask me to pay my share of the flowers.

The reasons you give me

for not asking

are obviously specious.

Does this mean

that in your mind

and in the minds

of your sisters

there's some connection

between

the daigle boy's death

and rhoda's presence

on the wharf?

I refuse to believe

there is any connection.

But you've acted

as if there were.

Yes, perhaps we have.

Perhaps you--

miss fern,

this has been

a terrible tragedy

for mrs. Daigle,

as you say.

She's lost

her only child,

but if there's

any shadow over rhoda

because of

what has happened,

then i have to live

under it,

and my husband

does, too.

And as for rhoda,

she would not be happy

in your school next year.

No, she would not.

And since

she would not,

it would be as well to make up our minds now

that she will not

be there.

Well, then, there is

some shadow over her,

and you've already

decided

not to invite her back.

Yes, we've made

that decision.

And you can't

tell me why?

I think her behavior

in the matter

of the medal

would be sufficient

explanation.

She has no sense

of fair play.

She's a poor loser.

Surely you're not saying

that rhoda had anything...

to do with

the daigle boy's death.

Of course not.

Such a possibility

never entered our minds.

I'll have to

answer that.

Of course, my dear.

Yes?

Thanks.

We're mrs. Daigle and mr. Daigle.

You didn't have to

let us in.

You realize

we followed you.

We shouldn't have done it.

I'm a little drunk.

I guess you never get

a little drunk.

You're very welcome,

both of you.

Don't pay

no attention to him.

He's all for good breeding.

He was trying

to stop me.

How are you, mrs. Penmark?

You've always had plenty.

You're a superior person.

Oh, no, i'm not.

Oh, yes.

Father's rich.

Rich richard bravo.

I know. Famous.

Me? I worked

in a beauty parlor.

Miss fern used to come there.

She looks down on me.

Please, mrs. Daigle.

I was that frumpy blond.

Now i've lost my boy,

and i'm a lush.

Everybody knows it.

We're worried about

mrs. Daigle.

She's under

a doctor's care.

She's not herself.

But i know what i'm about,

just the same.

Just the same.

May i call you

christine?

Oh, i'm quite aware

you come from

a higher level

of society.

You probably made

a debut, all that.

I always considered

christine a gentle name.

Hortense sounds fat.

That's me.

Hortense.

"My girl hortense,"

they used to sing of me,

"hasn't got much sense.

Let's write her name

on the privy fence."

Children can be nasty,

don't you think?

Please,

hortense.

You're so attractive,

christine.

You got exquisite taste

in clothes,

but, course,

you got amplesome money to buy them with.

What i came

to see you about--

i asked miss fern what happened to claude's medal,

and she wouldn't

tell me a thing.

I don't know,

mrs. Daigle!

You know more

than you're telling.

You're a sly one

'cause of the school.

You don't want the school

to get a bad name,

but you know more than

you're telling,

miss butter

wouldn't melt fern.

There's something funny

about the whole thing.

I said so over and over

to mr. Daigle.

He married

quite late, you know,

in his 40s.

Of course, i wasn't exactly

what the fella calls

a spring chicken, either.

We won't have

any more children.

No more.

Please, hortense.

Let me take you home

where you can rest.

Rest? Sleep?

When you can't sleep

at night,

you can't sleep

in the daylight.

I just lie

and i look at the water

where he went down.

Christine,

there is something funny

about this whole thing.

I heard

your little girl

was the last one

to see him alive.

Would you ask her about

those last few minutes

and tell me

what she says?

Maybe she remembers

some little thing.

Oh, i don't care

how small it is.

No matter how small.

You know something?

Miss fern dyes her hair.

She knows something,

and she won't tell me.

Oh, my poor little claude,

what did i do to you?

Christine, somebody took

that medal off his shirt.

It couldn't have

come off by accident,

'cause i pinned

it on myself,

and it had a little lock

with a clasp in the back.

It was no accident.

You can wear such simple things,

can't you?

I never could

wear simple things.

I couldn't even buy them.

When i got them home,

they didn't look simple.

He was such a lovely,

dear little boy.

He used to say

i was his sweetheart

and he was going to marry me

when he grew up.

I used to laugh

and say, "oh...

"you'll forget about me

long before then.

You'll find a prettier girl,

and you'll marry her,"

and you know what

he said then?

"No, i won't,

"'cause there's not a prettier girl in the whole world

than you are."

If you don't believe me,

you ask the lady

who comes in and cleans.

She was present

at the time.

Why'd you put

your arms around me?

You don't give

a hoot about me.

You're a superior person

and all that.

I'm just--

god forgive me.

There were bruises

on his hands

and that peculiar crescent-shape mark on his forehead

that the undertaker

covered up.

He must have bled

before he died.

That's what

the doctor said.

And where's the medal?

Who took the medal?

I have a right to know

what happened

to the penmanship medal!

If i knew, i'd have

a pretty good idea

what happened to him.

I know why you

put your arms around me.

I'm as good as you are.

Claude was better

than your girl.

He won the medal.

She didn't.

I'm drunk.

It's a pleasure

to stay drunk

when your little boy's

been killed.

Maybe i better lay down.

We'll go home.

You can

lie down there.

Why not?

Why not go home

and lay down?

Good-bye, all.

Sorry.

Oh, who cares

what they think?

I drank a half a bottle of bonded corn,

so i'm drunk

as i can be.

Poor woman.

I'll be getting back.

Thank you for bearing with her and with me.

I'll, um,

i'll talk to rhoda.

I know there isn't

anything

that will help

that poor creature,

but i'll do

what i can.

We both have to do

what we can.

Good-bye, mrs. Penmark.

Good-bye, miss fern.

She'll have to live

with this until she dies.

Yes,

until she dies.

Thank you.

Rhoda!

Yes, mother?

Will you come in

a moment, please?

May i just finish

this last page?

Very well, but then

i want to talk to you.

Yes, mother.

Hello.

Yes. Speaking.

Kenneth?

Oh, darling.

I am so glad you called.

Honey, what was the accident

at rhoda's school,

the one where

the little boy was drowned?

The little boy

who was drowned?

Well, has it affected

rhoda any?

Oh, no.

No. Rhoda's

her usual self.

She's right outside

where i can see her.

I just

talked to her.

I miss you both

and love you both so much.

Do you really, darling?

I hope it won't be

too much longer.

Well, it'll be

at least four weeks.

Oh.

Four weeks is

a long, long time.

Well, write to me

as of--

kenneth...

yes, darling?

I love you.

Colonel penmark,

the general is waiting, sir.

I'll be right there.

Honey, the general

just buzzed for me.

All right, dear.

Then don't

keep him waiting.

Good-bye, darling.

Give my love to rhoda.

Bye.

Oh, monica!

Don't be alarmed,

dear.

I'm just in and out.

This is not another

psychiatric session.

Come on in, please.

It's rhoda's locket

i'm using for an excuse.

I've actually

found a place

where they'll

change the stone

and clean it in one day.

I'll get the locket.

I know where

she keeps it.

They didn't agree to this

without a little pressure.

I had to threaten them.

Oh, not really!

You don't know

the old busybody.

She uses pressure, influence, bribery, blackmail,

and i had to pull them all

on old mr. Finchley.

He said this little job

would take

at least two weeks.

But i told him

straight--

i'm handling the community chest again this year.

Oh, you found it.

The darling.

She keeps her treasures

so carefully.

It's a kind of

miserly delight.

Shall i wrap it?

No, darling.

I'll just drop it in my purse.

My horoscope says

that today is the day

for paying attention

to small objects

and getting things done.

I take to the air,

dear christine,

only do forgive me for bursting in and rushing out.

No ceremony, please.

No, no, darling.

Be seeing you.

What did you want

to see me about, mother?

So you had the medal

after all--

claude daigle's medal.

Where did you find it?

How did

the penmanship medal

happen to be hidden

under the lining

in the drawer of

your treasure chest?

Now,

i want the truth.

Mother, when we move

into our new house,

can we have

a scuppernong arbor?

Can we?

Oh, it's so

shady and pretty,

and i love sitting

under it.

Answer my question!

And remember,

i'm not quite as innocent

about what went on at the picnic as you may think.

Miss fern has told me a great deal,

so don't make up any stories for my benefit.

What was claude daigle's medal

doing

in your drawer?

It didn't get there

by itself.

I'm waiting for

your answer.

I don't know how

the medal got there, mother.

How could i?

You know very well

how the medal got there.

Did you go on the wharf

at any time

during the picnic?

Yes, mother.

I went there once.

Was it

before or after

you were

bothering claude?

I wasn't bothering

claude, mother!

What makes you

think that?

Why did you go

on the wharf?

It was real early,

when we first got there.

Why did you go

on the wharf?

You knew

it was forbidden.

One of the big boys said there were little oysters

that grew

in the pilings.

I just wanted to see

if they did.

One of the guards said he saw you coming off the wharf

just a little

before lunchtime.

I don't know why

he says that.

He's wrong,

and i told miss fern

he was wrong.

He hollered at me to come off the wharf,

and i did.

I went back to the lawn,

and that's where

i saw claude,

but i wasn't

bothering him.

What did you say

to claude?

I said if i didn't

win the medal,

i was glad he did.

Oh, rhoda, please!

I know you're

an adroit liar,

but i must have

the truth.

But it's all true,

every word!

I was told that you were seen trying to--

i was told

that you were seen

trying to snatch the medal off claude's shirt.

Is that all true,

every word?

That was one of

the monitors,

that big girl,

mary beth musgrove.

She told everybody

she saw me.

Even leroy knows

she saw me.

You see,

claude and i

were just playing

a game we made up.

He said if i could

catch him in 10 minutes

and touch the medal

with my hand,

it would be like

prisoner's base.

He'd let me wear

the medal for an hour.

How can mary beth say

i took the medal?

I didn't.

She didn't say

you took the medal.

She said you tried

to grab at it

and that claude ran away

down the beach.

Now, did you have

the medal even then?

No, mother, not then.

Rhoda, how did you get the medal?

Oh, i got it

later on.

How?

Well, claude went back

on his promise.

Then i followed him

up the beach.

Then he stopped

and said i could wear

the medal all day...

if i gave him 50 cents.

Stop that!

Is that the truth?

Why, yes, mother!

I gave him 50 cents,

and he let me wear the medal.

Then why didn't you

tell this to miss fern

when she questioned you?

Oh, mommy, mommy!

Miss fern

doesn't like me at all.

I was afraid she'd think bad things of me

if i told her

i had the medal.

Oh, rhoda. Rhoda.

Now, listen to me.

You knew how much mrs. Daigle wanted that medal,

didn't you?

Yes, mother,

i guess i did.

Well, then why didn't you give it to her?

She's lost her little boy, rhoda.

She's heartbroken

about this.

She may never

get over it.

It may have

destroyed her.

Well, do you know

what i mean?

Yes, mother,

i guess so.

No, you don't know

what i mean.

But it was silly

to want to bury the medal

pinned on claude's coat.

Claude was dead.

He wouldn't know

whether he had

the medal pinned on him

or not.

Oh, i've got

the prettiest mother.

I've got the nicest mother.

That's what

i tell everybody.

I say i've got the sweetest mother in the world.

If she wants

a little boy that bad,

why doesn't she take one

out of the orphans' home?

Rhoda!

Get away from me.

Don't talk to me.

We have nothing to say to each other.

O.k., mother.

O.k.

rhoda, when we lived

in wichita,

there was an old lady

who lived upstairs--

mrs. Clara post.

She liked you

very much.

And every afternoon

you used to go upstairs

to visit the old lady,

and she used to show you

all her treasures.

The one

that you admired most

was a crystal ball

in which

a little fish floated.

Old mrs. Post promised this to you when she died.

And then one afternoon,

when her daughter was out

shopping at the supermarket

and you were alone

with the old lady,

she managed somehow to fall

down the spiral back stairs

and break her neck.

You said she heard

a kitten meowing outside

and went to see

what was the trouble

and accidentally

missed her footing

and fell five flights

to the courtyard below.

Yes, it's true.

Then later,

you asked her daughter for the crystal ball,

and she gave it to you.

It's still sitting on

your treasure chest.

Yes, mother.

Rhoda, did you

have anything--

i don't care

how small it was--

did you have

anything to do

with the way claude

got drowned?

What makes you

ask that, mother?

Now, look me in the eye,

and tell me the truth,

because i must know!

No, mother,

i didn't!

You're not

going back

to the fern school

next year.

They don't want you

anymore.

O.k.

i'm going to go

and call miss fern

and have her

come over here.

No! No! No!

She'll think

i lied to her!

You did lie to her!

But not to you, mother!

Not to you!

Oh!

Hello, fern school?

Miss claudia fern,

please.

No. No message.

Well, she--

she isn't home yet.

Mother, what are you

going to do with the medal?

It's really mine.

Rhoda, come here to me.

Oh...

it can't be true.

It can't be true!

50, 75, 5,

and 5 are 10.

Thank you very much,

colonel.

And here's the card

to go in it.

Yes, colonel.

None of it will get broken

in the mailing, will it?

No, sir.

It will be

specially packed

in excelsior

for that.

Good. Thank you.

Look! A tea set!

I guess we know a daddy

who loves somebody,

all right.

What does the card say?

"For no reason

"except she's

the sweetest little girl

in the world.

Daddy."

Oh, look!

It's got a pot and everything!

Mother, could i take it out

under the arbor for a while?

I want to pretend

i'm giving a garden party.

Yes, dear.

Oh, and by the way,

unpack it while

you're out there,

will you, dear?

This excelsior is just

getting over everything.

And don't put it down

the incinerator

because it's much

too large.

Leave it

by the cellar door

for leroy to dispose of.

Yes, mother.

A garden party.

Isn't she the perfect

old-fashioned girl?

By the way,

miss emily post,

do you know

you're having supper

with me tonight?

Really, aunt monica?

Is it a special reason?

No. Just that

i've invited

reginald tasker

for cocktails.

You remember, rhoda.

Granddaddy's

coming tonight.

I'm going to have

dinner with him.

That's much too late

for you to eat.

Wasn't that nice

of aunt monica?

Of course.

Aunt monica's sweet.

And i'll be glad

to see granddaddy.

He's sweet, too.

I wish she were mine.

Every time

i look at her,

i wish i had

just such a little girl.

There she is

at her little table,

playing with

her little dishes,

looking cute

and innocent,

looking like she

wouldn't melt butter--

she's that cool.

Well, she can fool

some people

with that innocent look

she can put on and off

whenever she wants,

but not me.

Not even part way

she can't fool me.

Don't want to talk

to nobody smart, huh?

Like to talk to people

she can fool,

like her mama

and mrs. Breedlove

and mr. Emory.

Here's some

excelsior for you.

You talk silly

all the time.

I know what you do

with the excelsior.

You made a bed

of excelsior

down in the basement

behind

that old furnace,

and you sleep there,

where nobody

can see you.

I've been way behind

the times heretofore,

but now i got

your number, miss.

I've been hearing things about you that ain't nice.

I've been hearing

you beat up

that poor little boy

in the woods,

and it took all three of the

fern sisters to pull you off him.

I heard you run him

off the wharf--

he was that scared.

If you tell lies

like that,

you won't go to heaven

when you die.

I heard plenty.

I listen

when people talk,

not like you--

gabbing all the time,

won't let nobody get

a word in edgewise.

That's why i know what people

are saying and you don't.

People tell lies

all the time,

but you tell them

more than anybody else.

I know what you done to that little boy on that wharf.

You better listen to me

if you want to stay

out of bad trouble.

What did i do

if you know so much?

You picked up a stick,

and you hit him with it

because he wouldn't

give you that medal

like you told him to.

I thought i seen some mean little gals in my time,

but you're the meanest.

You want to know how

i know how mean you are?

'Cause i'm mean.

I'm smart, and i'm mean.

And you're smart,

and you're mean.

And you never

get caught,

and i never

get caught.

I know what you think.

I know everything

you think.

Nobody believes

anything you say.

You want to know

what you done

after you hit him?

You jerked the medal

off his shirt,

and then you rolled

that sweet little boy

off that wharf

among them pilings.

You don't know anything.

None of what you said is true.

You know i got it

figured out.

You figured out something

that never happened,

and so it's all lies.

Now take your excelsior

down to the basement

and put it where

you can sleep on it

when you're

supposed to be working.

You ain't no dope--

that i must say.

That's why you didn't leave that stick around

where nobody

could find it.

Oh, no. You got

better sense than that.

You took

that bloody stick

and you wash it off

real good,

and you threw it in the woods

where nobody could find it.

You know, i think

you're a very silly man.

It was you was silly--

thinking you could wash off blood,

and you can't!

Why can't you

wash off blood?

Because you can't...

and the police know it.

You can wash,

and you can wash,

and there's always

some left.

Everybody knows that.

I'm going to call

the police

and tell them

to start looking

for that stick

in the woods.

They got what they call

stick bloodhounds

to help them look,

and them

stick bloodhounds

can find

any stick there is

that's got blood on it.

When they bring in that stick you wash off so good,

the police are going to sprinkle

some special blood powder on it,

and that

little boy's blood

is going to show up

on that stick...

going to show up

a pretty blue color,

like a robin's egg.

You're scared about

the police yourself.

What you say about me

is all about you.

They'll get you

with that powder.

Rhoda, it's time

to come in now.

It's time to get

ready for supper.

Yes, mother.

Getting up this excelsior.

Messing up my lawn here.

What were you saying

to rhoda?

Why, nothing,

mrs. Penmark.

We was just talking about

her little play dishes.

Well, you're not to

talk to her again.

If you do,

i'll report you.

Is that

entirely clear?

But, ma'am, i...

i started it, mother.

It wasn't leroy's fault.

Very well,

but you're not to talk to her again.

Do you understand?

Yes, ma'am.

Mother?

Hmm?

Is it true that when blood

has been washed off anything,

a policeman can still find

if it's there?

If he sprinkles

some powder on the place,

will the place

really turn blue?

Who's been talking to you about such things, leroy?

Oh, no, mommy,

it wasn't he.

I heard some men

talking about it

when i was out front

this morning.

I don't know how

they test for blood,

but i could ask

reginald tasker...

or miss fern.

She would know.

No! Don't ask her!

Oh, mommy, mommy,

nobody helps me.

Nobody believes me.

I'm your little girl.

All right, rhoda.

It is not

a very good act.

Now, you may

perfect it enough

to convince someone

who doesn't know you,

but right at present,

it is quite easy

to see through.

Maybe i'd better go up to monica's and have dinner.

Yes. She said anytime.

Good evening,

mr. Tasker.

You can't renege on the invitation now.

I showed up.

I'm very glad

you could come.

This is my daughter

rhoda.

Hello, rhoda.

Well, isn't she

a little sweetheart?

Thank you.

That's the kind of thing

that makes an old bachelor wish he were married.

Oh, you like little girls

to curtsy?

The best thing left

out of the middle ages.

I'm having dinner

upstairs.

The loss is ours...

all ours.

You may go now,

rhoda.

Yes, mommy.

It's been a pleasure

to have met you, mr. Tasker.

Now, there's a little ray

of sunshine, that one!

Ooh, i've

seen her stormy.

No doubt.

But she's going to make some man very happy--

just that smile!

Since i spoke to you,

i've had a wire from my father.

He's coming here

tonight.

It's a whole year

since i've seen him.

Richard bravo's

coming here?

Now, there's a man

i've always wanted to meet.

Well, he may be here

before long.

He said possibly

for dinner.

Good! By the way,

dear lady,

if you want advice

on writing anything,

you don't need me,

not with richard bravo on the scene,

especially if it's

a mystery story,

as you said.

Your father was a real authority on crime and horror

in his early career.

I know.

He covered every

famous case there was.

Well, i'm afraid

he wouldn't listen to me.

You're always an office boy

to your city editor.

Ha ha!

What will it be?

Uh, gin and tonic.

Good!

I'll have that, too.

The, uh...

question that

i wanted to ask you

is a psychological one.

I doubt that it's been

asked or answered,

if it has,

until recently.

Well, i may not know

all the answers.

Well,

perhaps no one does,

but this... story that

i'm thinking of writing

made me wonder.

Tell me...

do children

ever commit murders,

or is crime something

that's learned gradually

and grows

as the criminal grows,

so that only adults do

really dreadful things?

Oh, yes, children

often commit murders...

and quite

clever ones, too.

Some murderers,

particularly

the distinguished ones

who are going to make

great names for themselves,

start amazingly early.

In childhood?

Oh, yes,

like mathematicians and musicians.

Poets develop later.

Pascal was a master

mathematician at 12.

Mozart showed

his melodic genius at 6.

And some of

our great criminals

were topflight operators

before they got out of

short pants and pinafores.

Yes, but they grew up in the slums,

among criminals,

and learned

from their environment.

I wonder if

that could be father.

Daddy!

Hi, darling.

You're here.

You're

actually here!

Ha ha!

Told you i'd come.

You said you wanted to see me,

and i

wanted to see you.

Oh, i'm so glad.

Oh, um...

father, this is

reginald tasker.

Reginald tasker.

Writer fella?

Afraid i stand

convicted.

One of my favorites.

Put you to sleep

regularly, hmm?

Mostly

keeps me awake.

Also, i'm not forgetting that impressive research

you've done for the classic crime club.

Not half as good as the papers they used to publish

by richard bravo.

That old dodo?

No, he's written himself out

and talked himself

out.

Now he just hobbles

around the country

working for a second-rate news service.

I took time out

because i wanted to see

my long-lost daughter.

Mmm!

Mmm.

Where's

my granddaughter?

Oh, she's upstairs

having dinner, daddy.

She'll be down

in a few minutes.

That's fine.

Oh, sit down, huh?

Say, any reason

i can't have

one of those

wicked-looking mixtures

mr. Tasker's

consuming?

Oh, daddy, i'm sorry.

You're about ready for another one, too,

aren't you?

Thank you.

Haven't you ever considered coming back

into the criminology

racket?

There's been nobody like you since you left.

Well, all compliments

aside,

my last books didn't sell

as well as my early ones,

and the war came along,

and now i write filler.

You've written

some things

that will never

be forgotten.

Let's hope.

Now your daughter

tells me

she's going to

try her hand.

At writing?

She can't even spell.

Ha ha!

Oh, it gets lonely here

with kenneth away.

I thought i might try

a murder mystery

during the evenings.

Are you encouraging

this energetic competition?

Well, i must admit,

i didn't quite know how to answer her first question.

She was asking me whether criminal children

are always a product

of environment.

There's nothing difficult about that little one.

They are.

Mmm, i always

thought so, too.

Always.

Well, i couldn't prove you're wrong,

of course, sir,

but some

fellow criminologists,

including some

behavior scientists,

have begun

to make me believe

we've all been putting

too much emphasis

on environment

and too little

on heredity.

They cite

a type of criminal

born with no capacity

for remorse or guilt,

no feeling

of right or wrong,

born with

a kind of brain

that may have been

normal in humans

50,000 years ago.

Nonsense.

If you encounter a human

without compassion

or pity or morals,

he grew up where these things

weren't encouraged,

or at birth,

he received

some pitiable physical injuries to the brain tissues.

Certainly not

inherited.

That's final

and absolute for me.

The rest is hogwash.

And with

that outburst,

i terminate

for a refill.

Oh, no more ice.

Oh, daddy,

i'm sorry.

It's in the kitchen.

Would you mind?

Certainly not.

Do you

really mean to say

that nice family surroundings and advantages

could make

no difference at all?

Yes. It's as if

these children

were born blind,

permanently,

and you just

couldn't expect

to teach them

to see.

Well, would you notice any broodish

expressions on their faces?

Sometimes,

but more often,

they present a more convincing picture of virtue

than normal folk.

But that's horrible.

It's just that

they are bad seeds,

plain bad

from the beginning,

and nothing

can change them.

This... this favorite

murderess of yours,

the one you were telling us about the other afternoon,

is she an instance?

Bessie denker?

Was bessie

a bad seed?

Well, yes,

i should say so,

because

when the full story

of her career

came out,

it was realized that she must have started

at the age of 10.

Then she started

young, huh?

Oh, yes.

Isn't that so,

mr. Bravo?

What's so?

We were talking about bessie denker.

I know you covered

all her trials

because i read

your famous essay

listing her methods.

Oh, i've forgotten all about those gloomy cases.

Put them

out of my mind.

I'm full up with

my present prosaic series

on offshore oil.

How did she end?

Sweetheart, you don't

want to probe

into these

nonsensical graveyards.

Oh, sweetheart,

yes, i do.

Say, kenneth and i saw the

senators play the yankees sunday.

Daddy, please.

Mr. Tasker,

would you tell me

the rest

of the story?

Did she ever

use violence?

She ended

in mystery.

Just when

the authorities

thought they had her

dead to rights,

she disappeared,

just...

just vanished.

She had quite

a fortune by then.

There was a rumor that she went to australia.

A similar beauty

turned up

in melbourne.

Her name was...

beulah demerest.

So if it was

the same person,

she didn't have to

change her initials

on her linen

and silver.

How could she

kill so many

and leave no trace?

Every time

she was indicted,

she just took off

for parts unknown,

leaving absolutely

no tra--

wait a minute!

Wasn't there

a child,

a little girl?

Never heard of one.

Must be a recent

addition to the myth.

There's one more question

i'd like to ask.

Wasn't she ever

found out here?

Not in this country.

Three juries looked at that lovely dewy face

and heard that melting cultured voice

and said she couldn't have done it.

She wasn't convicted?

Not guilty

three times.

Well, do you think

that she was

one of these poor,

deformed children

born without pity?

Did she...

did she have

an enchanting smile?

Dazzling,

from all accounts.

She was doomed?

Absolutely.

Doomed to commit

murder after murder,

until somehow

or other,

she was found out.

Huh!

She'd been better off

if she'd died young.

You've been talking

tommyrot, tasker,

and you know it.

Well, on this not too merry but disputed point,

i'll take my leave.

It's been a great

pleasure, sir,

but i've been

lecturing,

so i'm afraid i was the only one to enjoy it.

Oh, not at all.

Don't go to any major-league

doctor with that heredity theory.

They'll shoot it

full of holes.

We'll stay off the subject next time we meet.

I'll study up

on my baseball.

Good night.

Good night.

Good night.

And again, thank you,

mrs. Penmark.

Good night.

Well, it's nice to be

alone again with my girl.

Are you really planning

to write something?

Oh.

I was just

asking questions.

You saw kenneth

in washington, huh?

Yes.

He's looking well...

as well as possible when a

fella's hot and sticky and tired

and most of all

lonesome.

Well, we had planned to go somewhere this summer,

but then this sudden change of orders came through,

and...

am i looking

too close,

or is there something heavy on your mind?

Does something...

show in my face?

Everything shows

in your face.

It always did.

Well, i don't know

if i'm worried

about anything

now that

you're here.

I always felt so...

safe and comfortable

when you were

in the room,

and you have that

same effect now.

To tell you

the truth,

you did a magic

for me.

I'd always wanted

a little girl,

and you were

everything lovely

a little girl

could possibly be

for her dad.

But, christine,

tell me,

what did you want

to ask me?

Oh.

Let me think

a minute.

Would you like

another drink?

Yes, i guess

i would.

Can i fix you

something?

No. No, thank you.

I don't want any.

Well, speak up,

darling.

It's between us,

whatever it is.

Well...

my, uh...

my landlady here

is a kind of amateur

psychiatrist,

a devotee of freud's--

constantly analyzing.

I know the type.

You'll meet her,

by the way.

Her name is breedlove.

She's offered

a wonderful room

for you to stay in

while you're here.

Rhoda's upstairs having dinner with her right now.

You, uh, were going to

come out with something.

Yes, well, what i was

going to ask

reminded me of her.

I...

i confessed to her

the other day

that i'd always

been worried

about being

an adopted child

and that...

that i was afraid

that mommy wasn't

really my mother

and that

the daddy that i...

that i love so much

wasn't really mine.

Well, what did she say?

Oh, she said

that it was

the commonest of

childhood fantasies,

that she'd had it

herself.

Well, it certainly

is common.

Yes, but that

doesn't help me

because, you see,

i still feel that

old fear that...

that you're

not really mine.

Has something made you

think about this lately?

Yes.

What is it?

My little girl

rhoda.

What about her?

Oh, daddy,

i'm terrified.

I'm afraid for her.

I'm... afraid of

what she might have

inherited from me.

What could she possibly

have inherited?

Nothing

but sweetness and--

daddy!

Father...

whose child am i?

Mine.

Oh, no, daddy,

please don't lie to me now.

It's gone

beyond the time

where

that will help.

I've told you about

a dream i have,

but i'm not sure

it's only a dream.

Whose child am i?

Are you my father?

Oh, i know this is a strange question to greet you with

after having been

so long away from you,

but for rhoda's sake

and my sake,

i must know!

What has rhoda done?

I don't know, but...

i'm afraid.

Christine, even if

it were true, well...

just remember, all this

inheritance stuff

is pure rubbish.

All thumbs

and webbed feet.

I'm sorry.

I won't ask

any more questions.

Right, darling.

Let's just...

close the book.

Besides...

i know the answer now.

Answer?

Yes.

Christine, i've been a very fortunate man.

If it hadn't been

for you

becoming

part of my life,

all these years

would have been

empty and lonely

and...

unbearable.

The greatest piece

of luck i ever had

was a little girl

named christine.

You were the only child i ever had.

As i said,

you were magic for me.

I was happy and proud to keep going

just for you.

You don't have to

say any more.

I don't, do i?

No.

You found me

somewhere.

Yes.

In a very strange

place...

in a strange way.

Oh, daddy,

i know the place.

I don't think

you could have.

You were less than

2 years old.

Well, then, if

i don't know it,

i guess i must have

dreamed it.

What kind of dream?

Oh, daddy, i...

i dream of a bedroom

in a farmhouse

in a countryside

where there are orchards.

And i share the room

with my brother,

who's older than i am,

and then one night,

somebody--is it my mother?--

she comes

to take care of him,

and...

she's a lovely lady.

She's... beautiful,

like an angel.

And then later, i guess

my brother must have died,

because i'm alone

in the room.

And then one night,

i'm terrified

to be in that room

another minute.

Somehow, i get out of bed--

it's moonlight--

i get out the window

and drop to the ground below

and hide myself

in the deep weeds

beyond the first orchard.

I don't remember

very much else

except that towards morning,

i'm thirsty,

and i begin to eat

the yellow pippins

that fall from the...

from the trees.

And then when

the first light comes up

on the clouds...

i can...

i can hear

my mother's voice

calling to me

from the distance,

and i don't answer her

because i'm afraid!

Now, is that a dream?

Is that only a dream?

What name

did she call?

It isn't christine.

Could it be ingold?

You remember

that name?

Yes, yes, yes,

daddy.

It's coming

back to me now.

Ingold... ingold...

ingold denker!

She's call--

denker!

Oh, daddy.

You've kept this from me

all these years.

I came out of that

terrible household.

That's where

you found me?

The neighbors

found you

after your mother

disappeared.

I discovered you

with them

before anybody--

the most astonishingly sweet and beautiful little thing

with the most enchanting smile i've ever seen.

As tasker said,

i was there covering the case

for a chicago newspaper.

I wired my wife,

and she joined me.

We... we couldn't

resist you.

Oh, daddy!

Oh, god, help me.

God, help me!

Why didn't you

just leave me there?

Why didn't i die

in the orchard

and end the agony there?

It was the neighbors who found you and saved you.

Would you rather

have stayed with them?

No! You...

you've been

a wonderful father.

It's...

it's that awful place

and that evil woman!

My mother!

There are places and events

in every man's life

he'd rather not

remember.

Don't let it

hurt you now.

Daddy, i wish...

i wish i had died

then. I wish it!

It hasn't mattered

where you came from.

You've been sound

and sweet and loving.

You've given me more

than i ever gave

or could ever repay.

If you'd been

my very own,

i couldn't have

hoped for more.

You've known nothing but love and kindness from us,

and you've given nothing but love

and kindness and sweetness

all of your life.

Kenneth loves you,

and you've made him infinitely happy,

and rhoda's a sweet,

perfectly sound little girl.

Is she, father?

Is she?

What has she done?

It's as if she'd

been born blind!

It doesn't happen.

It cannot happen!

Excuse me, please,

but rhoda has tired

of her puzzle,

finished her dinner,

and now she wants

a book.

Well, we haven't

even started yet.

And i haven't

met mr. Bravo.

I'm mrs. Breedlove,

the oversized analyst.

I'm going to

put you up,

and i promise

not to annoy you.

You know what newspapermen are like--

crusty, bitter,

irascible.

If you can put up with me,

you're a saint.

Granddaddy!

Isn't she perfection?

Ha ha!

Next to daddy,

you lift me up best.

Why do you

look at me?

I just want

to see your face.

You know, mr. Bravo,

these penmarks are the most

enchanting neighbors i've ever had.

Now i'll want rhoda

for dinner every night.

Thank you,

aunt monica.

Tell me, mr. Bravo,

didn't you write

the fingerprint series?

I'm afraid i was guilty of that about 20 years ago.

I read the first volume

to pieces

and wept over it

till the parts i loved most

were illegible,

then bought another.

Well, i finally met

my public.

I don't

disappoint you?

Anyway, i'm large.

I like people who read books to pieces.

It's good

for royalties.

It's, uh...

it's time i began

to get our dinner.

Maybe i better

find my room.

I'll take you up.

If you'll

be so kind.

It's the next

floor above.

Good night, christine.

Nah.

What are you doing?

Nothing.

Is that

for the incinerator?

Yes.

What is it?

It's... just some things you told me to throw away.

Let me see

what's in the package.

No! Give me it!

Give me it!

Let me see

what's in the package.

Give me it!

Give me!

Let me see

what's in the package.

Give me it!

You hit him with the shoes,

didn't you?

You hit him

with the shoes.

That's how he got

those half-moon marks

on his forehead

and on his hands!

Answer me, rhoda.

Answer me!

I hit him

with the shoes.

I had to hit him

with the shoes!

What else

could i do?

Do you realize

that you murdered him?

But it was his fault!

If he gave me the medal

like i told him to,

i wouldn't have

hit him!

All right.

All right,

now, we're going to...

we're going to start

at the beginning,

and you're going to

tell me the truth.

I know you killed him,

so there's

no sense lying.

Rhoda, i want you

to tell me the truth!

I can't tell you,

mother.

I want you to--

i'm waiting

for your answer.

He wouldn't

give me the medal

like i told him to,

that's all.

So then he ran

away from me

and hid on the wharf,

but i found him there,

and i told him

i'd hit him with my shoe

if he didn't give me

the medal!

But he shook his head

and said no.

So i hit him

the first time.

Then he took off

the medal

and gave it to me.

And then what happened?

He tried

to run away from me,

so i hit him

with my shoe again!

But he kept on crying

and making a noise,

and i was afraid

somebody would hear him,

so i kept on

hitting him, mother!

I hit him harder

that time,

and he fell

in the water.

Oh, my god.

My god.

What are we

going to do?

What are we

going to do?

Oh, i've got

the prettiest mother.

I've got the nicest

mother.

How did the...

how did the marks get

on the backs of his hands?

He tried to pull himself

back on the wharf

after he fell

in the water.

I wouldn't have hit him

anymore,

only he kept saying

he was going

to tell on me.

Oh, mommy, mommy!

Please say you won't

let them hurt me!

I won't let them

hurt you.

I don't know

what must be done now,

but i promise you

nobody will hurt you.

I want to play the way

we used to, mommy.

Will you play with me?

If i give you

a basket of kisses--

oh, rhoda.

Rhoda, please.

Please.

Can't you give me

an answer, mother?

If i give you

a basket of kisses--

rhoda,

i want you to--

i want you to go in your bedroom now and read

because i have to think about what to do.

Promise me you won't tell anyone what you've told me.

Do you understand?

Why would i tell

and get killed?

Rhoda!

What happened to old mrs. Post in wichita?

There was ice

on the steps,

and i slipped

and fell against her,

and that was all.

That was all?

No. I slipped

on purpose.

Rhoda,

get the shoes.

Get the shoes,

and put them in the incinerator.

Hurry, rhoda, hurry!

Put them in the incinerator and burn them!

What will you do

with the medal, mother?

I'll think of

something to do.

You won't give it

to miss fern!

No, i won't give it

to miss fern.

So your grandpappy

finally left, huh?

My mother and i just came from taking him to the plane.

That's really

none of your business.

Maybe he don't

like you so much.

Maybe he sees

through you like i do.

You know so much.

His editor called

from long distance,

and he had to go

to work,

and you better do yours!

And i found out about

one lie that you told!

There is no such thing

as a stick bloodhound.

I ain't supposed to talk to little miss goody-goody.

Then don't.

Where's your ma?

She had to go back

to the grocery store,

and that's none of

your business, either.

And i'm busy

with my puzzle.

Puzzle, huh?

Well, you

don't puzzle me none,

little miss

sweet-looking.

Just for your own sake,

i'll tell you something.

There may not be

any stick bloodhound,

but there's a stick,

all right,

and you better find that stick before they do,

because they're

going to turn blue.

Then they're going to fry you in the electric chair.

There isn't any stick any more

than there's a stick bloodhound.

You know the noise the electric chair makes?

It goes "zzzt."

And when that juice

hits you,

it parts your hair

neat. Zzzt.

Like lightning

struck you.

Oh, go on with

your lawnmower.

They don't put little girls

in the electric chair.

They don't?

They got a little blue

chair for little boys

and a little pink chair

for little girls.

I just remembered

something.

Just the morning

of the picnic,

i wiped off your shoes

with the cleats.

You used to go

tap, tap, tap

on the walk.

How come you don't

wear them anymore?

You're silly.

I never had

a pair of shoes like that.

You used to go tap, tap,

tap on the walk.

I squirt water on them

and wiped them off.

They hurt my feet,

and i gave them away.

You know something?

You didn't hit that little boy with no stick.

You hit him with

them shoes.

Ain't i right

this time?

You're silly.

You think i'm silly

'cause i said

about the stick.

All i was trying

was to make you say,

"no, it wasn't no stick,

it was my shoes,"

'cause i know

what it was.

You lie all the time,

all the time.

How come i got

those shoes, then?

Where did you get them?

Just walked right into

the apartment,

right into your room

and took them!

It's just more lies,

'cause i burned those shoes.

I put them down the incinerator and burned them.

Nobody's got them.

I don't say that ain't smart,

'cause it is.

Only suppose i say

i heard something

come rattling down

the incinerator

and i says

to myself,

"sounds to me like a pair of shoes with cleats."

I don't say

you didn't burn them

a little,

but you didn't burn them all up like you wanted to.

Yes?

You listen,

then figure out

which of us

is the silly one.

I'm working

down the cellar,

and i hear them shoes

come clattering down

that incinerator.

I open the door quick,

and there they is--

sitting on top

of the coals,

only smoking

the least little bit.

I pull them out.

They're scorched.

Sure, they're scorched,

but there's plenty left

to turn blue

and show where that

little boy's blood was.

Plenty left to put you

in the electric chair.

Give me

those shoes back!

Oh, no.

I got them shoes hid

where nobody but me

can find them.

You better give me

those shoes!

They're mine!

Give them

back to me!

I ain't giving them shoes back to nobody.

You'd better

give them back to me, leroy!

I'm keeping them shoes!

Ha ha ha!

Who says i got anybody's shoes except my own?

You did!

You get them

and give them back!

I'm fooling you.

I'm teasing you.

I got

nobody's shoes.

I got work to do.

Give me back my shoes!

I got nobody's shoes.

Don't you know when

anybody's teasing you?

You bring them back!

Play with your puzzle.

I got no shoes.

You bring them back!

I believe you did it.

I was fooling before,

but now i believe

you killed him.

You killed

that little boy

with your shoes.

You've got them hid,

but you'd better get them

and bring them back here!

Right here to me!

What is leroy

saying to you?

Nothing.

I heard you yelling,

"bring them back here."

He said he had

my shoes.

I got nobody's shoes,

miss penmark.

You may go, leroy.

Yes, ma'am.

There you are.

May i come down a minute?

I have that present

i promised

a certain precious

somebody.

Yes, of course, monica.

I'll be right down.

Rhoda, i thought

i told you

not to discuss this

with anybody!

Yes, mother,

but he said he had my--

we'll talk about it later.

Now, get upstairs.

Rhoda! Rhoda!

Ah! Look what

i have for you.

What is it?

The locket!

My smart little darling, exactly.

And here's the garnet, too.

In there.

Oh, how pretty!

Will you help me

fasten it, aunt monica?

Yes, i will,

darling.

Come over here.

Now... now you're

going to look

just like

a little princess.

Oh!

It's the ice cream man!

Mommy, can i have

a popsicle?

What?

Can i have

a popsicle?

Oh, uh, yes.

Take the money

from my purse.

Rhoda!

What have you got

those for?

I just wanted some

to play jackstraws with.

Well, put them down

this minute.

You know we have

a rule about that.

Yes, mother.

Oh, it's so hot today!

Christine...

christine,

you won't mind

if i'm nosy

and perhaps ridiculous,

but you haven't been

yourself lately.

It's as if something

is dragging you down.

Does it show

to other people?

Then there is

something wrong.

Uh, no, monica,

not really.

I'm--i'm just tired,

i guess.

Do you take vitamins

regularly?

No. No, i don't.

Well, you should,

darling.

That's one of the things we do know.

I have an awfully

good combination.

I'll bring some down

if i may.

And now you must

really forgive me,

but have

you and kenneth

come to a parting

of the ways?

His being transferred to washington

didn't mean that?

Oh, no.

Well, it can happen

in marriage, you know.

That restlessness

in cycles

of seven or eight years,

they say.

Something to do

with hormones.

I can't speak from

experience, of course,

because i always doubted

if mr. Breedlove

had any.

Oh, no.

No, monica, it isn't

anything like that.

I wish i were as sure

of other things

as i am of kenneth.

Do you sleep enough?

No, not always.

You must have

some sleeping pills.

That much

we can do.

Monica, i really don't like sleeping pills.

I'm afraid of them.

I'm not going to bully you anymore,

dear christine.

I'm only going to say that i love you

truly and deeply.

Oh, please.

Please, please,

tell me what it is.

I can't, monica.

You can trust me.

I can't tell anyone.

Oh, dear,

dear christine.

You

feel better now?

Perhaps you can

get some rest.

Perhaps--

there, there,

now, dear.

I'll get rid of

whoever it is.

Wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

Well, mrs. Breedlove...

hi.

I know you don't

want me here,

and i don't want

to be here,

but i can't

stay away,

so i got a little drunk and came over.

Excuse it, please.

You're very welcome.

Like a skunk, i know.

Mrs. Breedlove

knows everyone.

Knows even me.

How are you,

mrs. Daigle?

Well, i'm half-seas over.

I just want to have a talk

with your little girl.

She was one of the last

to see my claude alive.

I know.

Where do you keep

the perfect little lady

who was the last

to see claude?

I thought

i'd hold her in my arms

and we'd have

a little talk

and maybe she'd remember

some little thing.

She's out playing,

i think.

I'm unfortunate,

that's all.

Drunk and unfortunate,

ladies and gentlemen.

Well, she isn't there now.

I don't see her.

She's a perfect

little lady.

That's what i heard.

Never gives any trouble.

Christine, have you got anything in the house to drink?

Any little thing at all.

I'm not the fussy type.

I prefer

bourbon and water,

but any little thing

will do.

Oh, ain't we swank?

Really plaza and astor.

I want to have

a little talk with rhoda

'cause she knows

something.

I called that miss fern

on the telephone

a dozen times.

She just keeps giving me

the brush-off.

She knows something,

all right.

Oh, are you

all right there?

I'm not intoxicated

in the slightest

degree.

Kindly don't talk down to me, mrs. Penmark.

I've been through

enough without that.

I brought back

change, mother.

Very well.

Mrs. Daigle

would like to see you.

So this is

your little girl.

Oh, claude spoke of you

so often,

and in such high terms.

You were one of his

dearest friends, i'm sure.

He said you were

so bright in school.

So you're rhoda.

Yes.

Well, rhoda, you just come

right over here and see me.

Come give your aunt hortense

a big kiss.

Aw... you're

the little girl

who was with claude

when he had his accident,

aren't you, darling?

You're the little girl

who thought she was going to

win that penmanship medal

and worked so hard,

but you didn't win it, did you?

Claude won it,

didn't he?

Now, you tell me this,

would you say he won it

fair and square

or he cheated?

These things are

so important to me

now that he's dead.

Would you say he

won it fair, darling?

'Cause if he did

win it fair,

then why did you

go after him for it?

I want

my popsicle!

If you're going shopping with me,

you'll have to

come now.

Mr. Finchley's going to show us his collection.

Right now?

Yes. Take your

popsicle, dear.

Well, i must say--

they really did have

an appointment.

I'm sure they did.

Practically sure.

I didn't know

rhoda had

all these

social obligations.

Thought

she was just like

any little girl

that stayed home

and minded her mother

and didn't go traipsing

all over town

with important

appointments.

I'm sorry

that i interfered

with rhoda's

social life.

I offer you my deepest

apologies, christine.

I'll apologize

to rhoda, too,

when i can have

an interview with her.

You haven't interfered

at all.

I was not going to

contaminate rhoda

in the slightest degree,

i assure you!

Hello.

Oh, uh, yes,

mr. Daigle, i know.

She's here.

No, not at all.

Did you tell him

i was drunk

and making a spectacle

of myself?

Did you tell him to call out

the patrol wagon?

No. No. You heard

what i said.

I said only

that you were here.

Your husband is at the drugstore at the corner.

I was only going to

hold her in my arms

and ask her

a few simple questions.

Well, perhaps another time would be better.

You think

because i'm lit.

Well, i'm not lit!

Rhoda knows

more than she's told,

if you don't mind

me being presumptuous!

I had a long talk with that guard since i saw you last.

He said he saw

rhoda on the pier

just before claude was found

among the pilings.

She knows something,

all right!

Oh, i know what

you're thinking.

You're thinking, "how can i

get rid of this pest?"

You may fool some

with that mealy mouth.

You look like

ned in the primer to me.

Well, then,

perhaps you'd better not come here anymore.

I wouldn't come here again

for a million dollars

laid on the line.

I wouldn't have

come here this time

if i'd known all about

rhoda's social obligations.

I am going home.

I'm not going to wait

for mr. Daigle.

I know where

i'm not wanted,

and i'm not wanted

anyplace

where people have all these

social obligations,

if you get what i mean.

Say, you're looking

kind of sick and sloppy.

Why don't you

come up to my house

and i'll give you

a free beauty treatment?

If you're hard-pressed

for ready cash,

it won't cost you

a nickel.

Thank you,

mrs. Penmark.

Come, hortense.

It's time

to go home.

Oh, my god. My god.

It's time to go home.

Christine,

you know something!

You know something

you won't tell me!

Operator, i want to call...

washington, d.c., please.

Oh, kenneth,

my darling, my love!

What am i

going to say to you?

That our baby is a...

never mind it,

operator.

Cancel the call.

Good. She's gone.

Sweetie, i know i shouldn't take things

into my own two

capable hands,

but i couldn't let her paw rhoda any longer.

Well, mr. Daigle

came for her.

And i fear i've loosened the discipline

just a little.

I let rhoda go out for another popsicle.

Oh, she wanted a second.

That's unusual.

She seemed quite eager,

and since she's

not one of these fat,

self-indulgent

little blobs,

i doubt that

it will do any harm.

Here are

and the vitamins,s

both plainly marked.

Ica.

I'll keep them separate.

Emory and reggie just got back from fishing.

Reggie's having

dinner with us

before he leaves

tonight.

Wouldn't you like

to eat with us,

you and rhoda, too?

No, monica.

Thank you very much.

Really, i'd rather not.

You poor girl.

I do bully you,

and i promised not to.

What was that?

It sounded like somebody shouting for help.

It sounded close by.

Rhoda, who was that

shouting?

Oh, i don't know, mother.

It sounded as if

there were a fire.

No, i don't think so.

Aah! Aah! Aah!

No, reg!

It's back here!

Look!

Aah!

Give me that shovel.

Get the hose!

Help me! Help me!

Aah!

It's too late.

Somebody call

an ambulance!

He's lying still.

Whatever can be done

will be done.

Oh, yes, monica.

But now, you see...

i should have known that this was going to happen.

I should have known it.

How could i be

so blind?

Thank god

rhoda was in the den

playing the piano.

The fire was in the basement

where leroy was!

This time i saw it.

I saw this with my own eyes.

Make them stop screaming,

because it isn't

going to help.

And make her stop

that music, monica,

because that man

is still screaming,

and the piano is going on and on while he's dying.

Monica! Monica!

I don't want to see

anybody now.

It's emory, dear.

There was a flare-up

in the basement.

Tasker and the rest

are putting it out now.

I'm afraid

poor leroy is--

never mind.

I saw him.

I saw him

run down the path and die.

Can it be any worse

than that?

Seems he fell asleep

on a bed he'd made

out of excelsior.

I suppose a cigarette

set fire to the stuff.

Please.

Monica. Monica!

Monica, i just simply

cannot bear it!

Now she is

driving me mad!

How could she play now?

Rhoda!

What is it?

Monica,

i can't stand it!

How can she play

that music now?

Rhoda! Rhoda, stop

playing that music!

Stop that music!

Mommy!

Don't let me get

my hands on her!

You didn't see it,

did you?

No.

You could turn away and play the piano!

Christine! Christine,

what has she done?

It isn't

what she's done.

It's what i've done.

What does

she mean, monica?

I don't know, rhoda.

She'd better go

upstairs with me.

She'll stay

till you're calmer.

Yes, monica.

Would you take her, please?

Will you be

all right, dear?

I'll be all right!

It just that

that screaming got louder!

We'll come down

for you later.

Come, rhoda.

She killed him...

but she's my little girl,

and i love her.

Oh, my baby.

My baby. My baby. My baby.

"Polly put one toe

out from under the covers

"to find out

how cold it was,

"and it was

nipping cold.

"She remembered why

she'd wanted to wake up

"and got out of bed

very softly,

"shivering and pulling on

her dress and her stockings.

"She'd never seen

a christmas tree

"decorated and lighted

the way they are at christmas

and houses

where children have..."

"where children have fathers

and it isn't hard times.

She'd promised herself

that she would see one."

You have some new vitamins

to take tonight.

New ones?

Mm-hmm.

Are those

the vitamins?

Yes.

May i see them?

Why, yes, of course.

They're some

that monica sent down.

Oh?

You know, i think

monica likes me.

I'm sure she does.

Swallowing pills

is just a trick.

You're very good at it.

Do you love me,

mommy?

Oh, yes.

Do you know

about leroy?

Yes.

You told me to put my shoes in the incinerator,

didn't you?

Yes.

Well, what did you do

with the medal?

I can have it now,

can't i?

I drove out to

the playground alone,

and i went out on the pier

when it was dark

and no one

could see me,

and i dropped the medal

by the pilings

in the water there.

Mommy, leroy had

my shoes,

and he said he was going to give them to the police

and then tell them

about me,

and they would put me in the electric chair.

Shh. You don't

have to say any more.

Will you

read more now?

Yes, but first

you have to take these.

So many?

Oh, they're a new kind.

I'm to take them, too.

I like

apricot juice.

It doesn't even

need ice.

Mommy...

i saved a couple

of matches,

and i lit the...

the excelsior

and locked the door,

but it wasn't

my fault, mommy.

It was

leroy's fault.

He shouldn't

have said

he'd tell the police

about me

and give them

my shoes.

I know.

There. That's all.

Don't let them

hurt me, mommy.

I won't let them

hurt you.

Good night.

Good night, mommy.

Now will you read?

Yes.

"When polly

was all dressed,

"she found her shawl

"and crept quietly

out of the front door.

"The door creaked,

and she waited and listened,

"but nobody woke up.

"She closed the door

carefully

"and looked at

the bright moon

"and the shining cold snow.

"The carters

must have a tree.

"They live

two blocks away.

"If they left

the curtains open,

"you could look in

and see it.

"Polly walked carefully

on the hard snow

"on the walk,

"keeping the warm shawl

close around her.

"It was further

than she remembered,

"but she could see that there

were lights in the windows.

"She came near it,

"only making a little

creaking noise on the snow,

"and stood for a while

in front of the house

before she dared

go near."

"Then...

she gathered all her courage

"and walked

across the yard,

"her shoes sinking

through the crust.

"The christmas tree

was right in the front window,

"and the lights were on

in the house,

"so she could see

the fruits and the bells

"and the strings

of popcorn and candy

"and the silver star...

at the top."

Rhoda...

rhoda, you're mine,

and i carried you,

and i can't

let them hurt you.

I can't let them take you away and shut you up.

They'd stare at you

and make a show of you,

and nobody

can save you from that

unless i save you.

So sleep well...

and dream well,

my only child

and the one i love.

I shall sleep, too.

Yes, doctor.

Is she...

has anything

changed?

Her condition

is still the same.

But can't i--

please, colonel.

Everything possible is being done for mrs. Penmark.

But it's been

two days.

You mustn't

go in there.

The doctor will

be out soon.

Nothing.

Why did she do it?

Again, that's what

i can't understand.

Why did she do

such a thing?

She wasn't unhappy

when i left.

Maybe

a little bit down

about us being

separated for a while

because

we were in love.

Don't you see?

She proved that to me.

Christine and i

were in love,

and suddenly,

she doesn't want to live anymore.

She did seem

a bit upset

over the accident

to the daigle boy.

Yes, but she met that perfectly well.

Oh, no.

A thing like that

wouldn't unbalance her

to the point of--

dick... dick,

you must have had

a good heart-to-heart

get-together

when you were down

for your visit.

Did she say anything,

mention anything?

You've got to

be frank with me.

Ken, there's nothing i can

say that will help at all.

Monica, you know,

she was quite hysterical

at the death of leroy.

And it was that same night

it happened?

Yes. We heard

the shot

and ran down.

She had done it

after giving rhoda

that lethal dose

of sleeping pills.

Why, i don't know,

but...

she had obviously

planned

that they should

go together.

If she doesn't live...

i don't think i can.

Kenneth, my dear,

you mustn't talk

like that.

Even if the worst

does happen,

you still have something to be grateful for.

You still

have rhoda.

If we hadn't

heard the shot

and gotten

the doctor quickly,

rhoda would be gone.

♪ Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm ♪

♪ mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm ♪

♪ mmm mmm mmm mmm

mmm mmm ♪

♪ mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm ♪

♪ mmm mmm

mmm mmm mmm mmm ♪♪

there she is.

Is mommy better

yet, daddy?

We're-- we're waiting, darling.

Come here,

sweetheart.

The same

lovely smile.

She'll always

live in you.

Oh, i love you,

daddy.

Sorry, colonel.

There's nothing really definite to report.

She's still

in a coma.

I have been

successful

with this type

of operation,

but it can

go either way.

Her brain, i feel,

definitely

is not damaged.

It's mainly shock

and loss of--

well, we've been

all over that.

The best thing you can do is to go home.

A certain

young lady here

looks rather tired.

She's had quite an ordeal herself,

you know.

I really think

it would be best.

I won't leave

mrs. Penmark

until...

until we know.

Very well.

Let's go home

now, rhoda.

Oh, i, uh...

forgot my lighter.

Be right back.

Give me a few

seconds, doctor?

Certainly.

Smoke?

Thanks.

I meant

to ask you,

during

my daughter's--

while she's been

unconscious,

did she

say anything,

mutter anything

at all?

Yes. Come to

think of it, she did.

For a while there,

she kept muttering

something about...

yes. A bad seed,

a bad seed.

Does that give you

any clue?

Not particularly.

Oh, yes.

She was starting to write a book,

something around the theory-- let me see--

that a child

can inherit

criminal tendencies

in the blood.

If you'll forgive me,

that's a pretty

specious theory.

That's what

i told her myself.

It's all a matter of environment,

isn't it?

Of course.

Oh, now and then,

we get a twisted brain chemistry

born to healthy,

enlightened parents,

but that's one

in a million.

I was sure

of that.

If we were foolish enough to swallow

that other

venal belief,

nobody would ever

either adopt a child

or even have children

of their own,

like that sweet little girl she has,

for example.

Thanks.

I mean, well,

thank you very much, doctor.

Good night.

Good night.

There now.

Daddy, will mommy

get well?

We just prayed

for it, didn't we?

Yes.

What made me sick the night mommy hurt herself?

Oh, uh...

everybody gets tummy trouble now and then.

Ready to turn out

the lights now?

What will you give me

for a basket of kisses?

Basket of kisses?

I'll give you

a basket of hugs.

Good night,

my sweetheart.

Good night, daddy.

Daddy...

hmm?

Aunt monica

likes me.

Everybody loves you.

She said if she ever died or anything or went away,

she'd give me sweetsie,

her lovebird.

That's nice, honey,

but aunt monica isn't going to die or go away

for a long, long time.

A long time?

That's right.

Go to sleep now.

Daddy...

how long

do lovebirds live?

Oh, i don't know.

As long as people?

No. Not that long.

Oh, well.

I'll find out for sure tomorrow

when aunt monica takes me for my sunbath.

Where's that?

Aunt monica

promised me

she'd take me

for a sunbath.

She fixed up

a place on the roof

way up high where

no one can see us.

Isn't that nice?

That's wonderful.

Good night, sweetheart.

Good night, daddy.

Yes.

Colonel penmark?

Yes, doctor.

I have somebody here who wishes to talk with you.

Can't handle her

unless she does.

But don't talk but very little, colonel.

On your honor now.

Kenneth...

kenneth, darling.

They said i'm going

to be all right.

Christine, dearest,

just to hear you,

but don't talk

anymore.

Kenneth, i've-- i've committed a dreadful...

dreadful sin,

and i know that i'm going to have to pay for it

in some way, but...

just to know...

that i have

your forgiveness.

Sweetheart, please

don't talk anymore.

Whatever it is,

not now.

We'll solve it

together.

Oh, kenneth...

i love you.

I love you.

One moment, please.

And now,

ladies and gentlemen,

our wonderful cast--

mr. Gage clarke

as tasker.

Mr. Jesse white

as emory.

Miss joan croyden

as miss fern.

Mr. Bill hopper

as kenneth penmark.

Mr. Paul fix

as richard bravo.

Mr. Henry jones

as leroy.

Miss evelyn varden

as monica.

Miss eileen heckart

as mrs. Daigle.

Miss patty mccormack

as rhoda.

And miss nancy kelly

as christine penmark.

And as for you...

no! No!

Captioning made possible by

warner bros.

Captioning performed by the

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