The Execution (1985) - full transcript

* [Multicom Entertainment
Group jingle] *

* [music]

[indistinct greetings]

[indistinct greetings]

[Man in car] I'll send
the car for you later.

Maybe you will win
some money tonight?

Why, do we need it?

No, just kidding.

Have a good time.

Hey, counselor. How goes
the legal battle?

Oh, justice prevails, Wil.



See you later.

Teddy, How do I look?

Wonderful. Beautiful,
sweetheart.

You busy later, handsome?

I'll be around.

-Be around. Be around...
-[door bell]

Oh, put the food on the
side board for me would
you love?

Don't I always.

[mahjong tiles clanking]

Of course, if he sells the
building we can all expect
our rents to go up sky high!

-Whoo!
-Why don't you buy it yourself?

-Ayi, yi, yi!
-What, do you know
what he is asking?

Eleven Hannah?

I only have the shop just
breaking even. Let me catch
my breath, will you?



Six.

[Hannah] Well, I didn't mean
necessarily alone

-maybe a limited partnership.
-Elsa...

[indistinct]

Does this mean you're
gonna let me play?

-[laugh]
-I'm not too young.

-Yuh!
-Ah, ha! Three.

-Ah, I'm out. -[indistinct]

All right then,
who's turn this is?

Hannah, Marysia, Sophie,
you are playing.

Couple of games and this
old box will be full.

I wonder how much money
we have given away after
all these years--

Eight hundred dollars for every
year we have been playing.

-Eight?
-Just play ladies! Play, for
God's sake, please!

-Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!
-Play.

[television playing]

Hi, Ted.

Hi Elsa.

[ladies talking in other room]

[TV announcer] the food's
both fresh and clean.

Meet owner, Walter Grossman.

[Walter] Hello, George. Yes.

[TV announcer]
Walter, tell us...

what would you recommend

for the ideal
romantic tete a tete?

We might begin perhaps,
with a lobster salad...

[Elsa] Ted, I'm sorry, uh,
what are you watching?

-What program is this?
-[television indistinct]

[Ted] I don't know Elsa. Do
you want to look it up in the
t.v. listings? Here.

It's channel, uh, 3.

baby vegetables and finally for
the grand finale chocolate
fondue for two. Ha! Ha!

[Television George]
Well, there you have it.

The air is fresh.
The ambiance casual.

And it is romantic in a
way that is peculiarly
Southern California.

I highly recommend
you'll come here soon.

* [music]

-[indistinct]
-It is a one crack.

-[indistinct]
-It is a one dot.

[Hannah] Five.

uh, uh dragon.

Four crack...

Oh Elsa, could we have the
ice bucket over here, like
a sweetheart?

Oh, me too.

Elsa,

is something wrong?

I just saw Wilheim Gehbert...

on the television.

A movie, about Birkenau, huh?

[Sophie] Ah! Not again.

Why can't they just
leave us alone?

No, it wasn't a movie.

What then?

It was a show called um...

[Elsa] L.A. Report on L.A.

And uh, they were reviewing
some restaurant and...

there he was.

[Elsa] He had something to
do with the restaurant.

Wilheim Gehbert. In Los Angeles?

What restaurant?

I don't know.

I-I did not hear the name.

And he was just standing
there saying, "Hello,
I'm Wilheim Gehbert?"

No. The interviewer
called him Walter.

The Beast of Birkenau is in
Los Angeles called Walter?

No it was just somebody
who looked like him Elsa.

-Yeah.
-No.

It was him.

[Elsa] I saw him.

And eh, I know it was him.

Elsa. How long did
you see him on T.V.?

[Hannah] Few seconds, yes?

Five seconds. I don't know.

Five seconds. Ladies,
please. Shall we play?

[Marysia] No. Wait a minute.
Elsa saw something.

What if it was him?

She's right.

What if it really is Gehbert?
Right here in L.A.?

Haa!

So, what if it is?

[Gertrude] So, what if it is?!

This is the man who raped us!

Who did terrible things to us.

None of us have ever
been able to have

children because of the things
this man did to us.

Maybe we should find out.

Just to be sure.

What for?

He should be reported
to the authorities.

They should know.
Shouldn't they?

-But eh, know what?
-That a man is living here under
an assumed identity.

Elsa. Elsa.

You saw Wilheim Gehbert
for the last time.

Thirty years ago.

If he is alive, he's not
going to look the same.

This man has burned
himself into our memories

because of what he did to us.

But it is a memory that
is thirty years old.

By now it's distorted
and twisted and

has nothing to do
with the present.

Yah.

[phone rings]

Hello.

[Elsa on phone] Marysia.

I couldn't get it out of mind.

Uh, seeing him I mean.

[Elsa] Maybe Hannah is
right. I don't know.

But I called the T.V.
station and they told me

[Elsa] the name of restaurant
is um, Deer Trails.

It's in Malibu.

Will you uh, go out there
with me tomorrow?

Yes. I will go with you.

[Elsa] Ah, good.

Good. Good bye.

* [music]

Hello. Two for lunch?

Yes.

Would you like to sit
inside or outside?

Outside?

-Outside.
-Follow me.

Excuse me. Is Mr.
Grossman here today?

Oh, I'm sorry. Mr. Grossman
often doesn't come in until
the dinner hour.

We saw him last night
on the television--

[Waitress] Yes. I guess a lot
of people saw that show.

Well, enjoy your lunch.

Marysia, what should we do now?

Eat lunch I guess.
It's a long drive.

Something from the bar today?

Just some mineral water
with a twist, please.

I would like uh, a glass of
white wine, thank you.

White wine.

What is this?

Read it.

Do you have Vashem?

Are you going to send it?

I don't know.

I want to find out what
happened to Gehbert,

but I showed this letter to Gil.

And uh, he doesn't
want me to send it.

He's afraid that it will upset
and depress me.

But I what think he's afraid
that it will upset him.

I'll also send a letter to
the Simon Wiesanthal Center.

They'll know what happened
to Gehbert, don't you think?

Send it Elsa. Then you will
know and you'll feel better.

I, I owe Gil so much.
You'll understand?

[Marysia] Elsa...

[Elsa] He's always wanted
children so badly.

And his family never thought
that I was good enough for him.

Just some orphan,
plucked off the streets

of Frankfurt, and uh,
damaged goods at that.

Oh, Elsa. It's been
twenty-five years.

What ever debt you have to
kill, I think it's paid
now. Don't you think so?

Yes.

Yes. Maybe, but...

Lately, things have not been
the same between us.

You mean in bed?

-Yes.
-Mineral water and
uh, white wine.

Enjoy.

Maybe these things change.

Maybe but it was never
good from the start.

No. Never.

But that was different.

It wasn't him.

[Marysia] It was me.

Such feelings of desire in me
are long since dead, Elsa.

Maybe because of what happened
back then, in the camps,

terrible things happened.

You never found anyone else?

No. No. I don't expect

[Marysia] I have
no such feelings.

[Gehbert] I understand you
ladies were asking for me?

* [music]

We saw you on the
television last night.

Your place sounded so charming.

I hope we don't disappoint you.

I'm Walter Grossman.

Well, uh, this is Marysia.

I'm Elsa Spahn.

Marysia. Elsa.

Well, I'm glad my brief
moment on t.v. attracted
such a delightful clientele.

Are you looking for a,
er, light lunch today?

Or something a little
more uh, substantial?

Oh, uh, avocado and shrimp?

Good. Our shrimp are
excellent today.

Madame?

Um, the goat cheese and
wild mushroom omelet
sounds good to me.

That's one of my favorites. Ha!

And to drink?

Iced tea.

I will have the same.

If you will allow me, I'd like
to provide you with another
mineral water and chablis.

And I would count this meeting
as a great success. Ha ha.

Well, thank you.

The pleasure is mine. Thank you.

* [dramatic music]

[Gertrude] I say it's him.

[Hannah] How can you
say that, Gertrude?

If you hadn't been prepared

to see Wilheim Gehbert,

would you honestly have
seen him in that picture?

Yes! My God, yes,
I know that face.

Look at the eyes.

I don't know.

Those are not the
eyes that I remember.

[Sophie] Too soft.

But you were there.

You saw him. What do you say?

I say, yes.

Elsa says no.

Ah. Now you say no?

[Elsa] I just don't know now.

Seeing him up so
close like that,

he just doesn't
look as much like

Gehbert as he did when I
saw him on the television.

Of course, he doesn't.

Because that is not
Wilheim Gehbert.

Why is it so important to
you that it not be him?

Because I think it's
time for us to stop

torturing ourselves
about old memories

and get on with life.

Well, it seems to me,

that we just got to find
out for sure, that's all.

Why can't we let
sleeping dogs lie?

[Sophie] What is the use?

How can you say that?

But how can we find out
for sure that it is him?

There is a way.

If we can see him with his
shirt off, we can tell.

Ah, that scar.

On his left shoulder...

No, no, it was his
right shoulder.

No, Marysia. That was his left.

Wait, wait, wait. I'm thinking.
I'm thinking, uh, uh,

Marysia is right.
It was his right.

Hannah, what do you recall?

Do you recall was it his right
or his left shoulder?

Huh, the man was right-handed.

He covered my mouth with
his right hand when uh...

it was his right shoulder.

How can we find out?

I'll get him to take
his shirt off.

Ahh. How could you even
think such a thing?

You have a better idea?

Maybe I can invite him for a
barbecue and push him in the
pool by mistake.

[laughter]

No. No.

If this is to be done,
it must be private.

No barbecues. No one must know.

This is crazy.

-Crazy!
-Hmmm, You're telling me, huh.

Five Jews sitting around
playing a Chinese

game that not even the
Chinese understand.

[laughter]

Mmm-mmm. These are a lot
better than the dinner I
made. I'll tell you that.

-[laughter]
-Four Jews and a Gentile.

Well, by birth maybe,
but a Jew by osmosis!

[laughter]

-[Max Langbein] Bye dear.
-Goodbye. Goodbye.
Have a good time.

[Max Langbein] You too.

[door closes]
So?

I will do it.

There is no one in my life
that can be hurt by this.

Marysia, you are
serious about this?

It shouldn't be too difficult.

We all know how he
loves the ladies.

* [music]

* [music]

[car door closing]

[laughter]

* [piano playing]

Is Dr. Harrington here yet?

-Harrington for two?
-Yes.

No. Dr. Harrington
hasn't arrived yet.

Would you like to be
seated? Or would you
like to wait at the bar?

I will wait at the bar.

Would you tell Dr. Harrington
when he comes, please.

Certainly.

-[laughter]
-* [piano music]

Scotch and water, please.

Excuse me a moment.

Good evening.

Oh...

Marysia, isn't it?

You have a very good memory.

I remember what is
important to me.

I'm so pleased you have come
back here again so soon.

You approve?

My friend and I, uh, we

wanted something a
little private and I

remembered your place.

Ah, you're waiting
for someone? I see.

I'm a bit concerned. He's
usually very prompt.

And I was fifteen minutes late.

I'm certain he will be here,

unless he is very foolish.

I think I will telephone
him, excuse me.

Oh wait, be my guest.

Thank you.

Excuse me a moment.

Charlie, let me have two
martinis with a twist.

[phone rings]

[answering machine] This is La
Boutique. We are open 10-6.

Monday through Saturday.

You may leave a brief
message after the beep.

[beep]

uh, Is Dr. Harrington
there, please?

Oh. Do you know if he
is going to Malibu?

Oh. Oh. I see. Well uh,
thank you very much.

-Got bad news? I hope not.
-Oh, he was called
to the hospital.

Oh. A medical man.

A doctor's life belongs to
his patients, they say.

Well, it's up to us to make
certain that this trip of
yours is not wasted.

Will you be my guest
for dinner, please?

Oh. You are very kind.

I'll take full responsibility
for the menu.

Seat.

Well, you enjoy.

Perhaps, you can join me.

I don't see how
you keep me away.

Because, this is my place.

[nervous laughter]

Bottle of wine?

[Behgert] France, blanc de
blanc. Two glasses, please.

* [music]

Beautiful evening.

[clink of glasses]

You are not very
far from the beach.

No. Not far.

Let's go for a swim.

Ha ha ha. We are not that close.

But the beach would
be very deserted.

[snorts]
The water is very cold
this time of year.

[Gehbert] Perhaps in the
morning, when the sun is
shining.

You're doing that again.

Huh, what am I doing?

Ha! You're staring at me.

Oh, no. I was just trying
to place the accent.

Ah, Cologne.

You're not German, are you?

I'm Polish.

[Polish dialect]

So...

Were you in the war?

Oh, yes. Very much so.

If you consider being bombed
by your own country being in
the war.

My family, fortunately,
was very well off.

And when the trouble
began, we fled.

First to Belgium,
then to England.

I was educated there.

You are Jewish?

My father was Jewish.

You?

Me?

[laughs] Excuse me.

You were just a child. How
could you remember the war?

Yes, I was young.

I was very young.

It's all right. I don't
want to know about it.

[laughs]
That's a lie. I want to know
everything about you.

[Gehbert] I don't want
to frighten you away.

I just wish, you could be here,

like this for a
long, long, time.

This man you were waiting
is very important to you?

Oh, You've been so
kind. I feel I...

I feel you're entitled
to know, I'm married.

Yes. I know.

My husband is very
much older than I.

And um...

our relationship is one of
respect and companionship.

And he's uh, rather feeble.

So you see the man meant--

I understand. I just want
to know if there's room
for me in your life.

Ha! You've only just met me.

It doesn't feel
that way does it.

Marysia...

I want to know you for
a long, long time.

I can't tell you how long it's
been since I felt this way.

Don't you feel it too?

Surely what I sense
I feel from you,

can't be entirely wrong.

Oh...

I feel it too.

* [music]

Ahh!
Ahh!

[crying]

What is it?

Are you alright?

-Please, we don't
have to talk, do we?
-* [music]

Marysia? What's the matter?

I've never been so happy.

[squawking bird]

What is that?

It's just Hines! I keep
him in the kitchen so he
won't create mischief.

You want to see him?

Hmmm?

[squawking]

Hines, Was ist los?

Was ist los, Hines?

[squawking]
[laughter]

* [music]

[squawking]

I say, "Hines,
What's happening?"

He says, "My
cold-blooded doctor."

[laughs]
Ahhh!

Doctor?

My father was a doctor.
This was his bird.

They live to over a
hundred you know.

[squawking]

Danke. Herr Doctor.

* [piano music]

[crying]

Wie heibt du?

Marysia. Herr Doctor.

[squawking]

* [music]

[crying]

[screeching tires]

[gagging]

[answering machine]
Marysia, this is Walter.

I was expecting
you to call today.

When you get this message,
call me at the restaurant.

I will be there all evening.

I miss you Marysia.

[Beep]

This is Walter, Marysia.

Call me when you
get this message.

It's important that
I talk to you.

-[Beep]
-Marysia.

The letter from Yad Vashem
came Saturday morning.

And the one from Wiesenthal,

just before I called you.

Yad Vashem can only record.

Uh huh.

And Wiesenthal doesn't take
cases already adjudicated.

[sigh]

It would take entirely
new evidence.

New witnesses.

After all these years,
where would you find them?

Yeah. Yeah.

[Hannah] So, you see. It's over.

There is nothing more we can do.

Nothing is over.

For participation
in 5,450 murders!

Four years imprisonment.

[Marysia] 18 months
served with Treas...

[indistinct]

What does that mean?

Term is not explained.

The term is not explained!

It's nothing! Nothing!

Marysia.

Right or wrong, in the eyes
of the law. He has paid his
debt to society.

What about his debt to me?

To us?

Is he allowed to go on?
Is there no finish to it?

I know. I know!

I know my dear friend, please.

We must forget about this.

Forget about it?

* [music]

[knock at door]

[Banging on door]

[Male voice] Marysia!

[knocking]

Who is it?

It's Walter, Marysia.

Will you let me in?

Walter.

How did you find me?

[Banging on door]
You're going let me...

stand out here yelling
through a door?

Marysia

Please...

let me in. Open the door.

No. No. This is not good.

[Marysia] We can not go on.

This is too, too difficult.

[Gehbert] Marysia, just give
me the courtesy of talking
to me about it.

-[banging on door]
-Marysia, open
the door!

[banging on the door]

[knocking]

I found you.

How did you find me?

Hmm.

First time you came to the
Deer Trail with your friend,

you used your
business credit card.

I checked on the
address. Here I am.

You have a vase?

Walter, uh, this
is not possible.

This can not go on.
It has to end right now.

You said that, yes...

[Marysia] To go on it would
just create a problem.

Something important
happened the other night.

It happened to you too.
Don't deny it. I felt it. We
can't just throw that away.

Yes. But you see, I'm
a married woman--

Yes, and I don't
want to hear this.

We can conduct ourselves

in such a way that
no one need know.

I know you hesitate because
of your sense of duty

and I know you want
this as much as I do.

You're entitled to this small
measure of happiness

and so am I.

We don't want to hurt
anyone. We won't.

I'm going to kiss your eyes.

* [music]

Beautiful eyes.

What is it?

I just uh, I just, the
keys to the bathroom.

I need a moment to get ready.

Excuse me.

* [music]

[phone dialing]

[phone rings]

I will get it.

La Boutique.

Oh. Yes. I see.

I will be right there.

I'm very sorry but I must go.

It was my husband. He's
having an emphysema attack

and, uh, sometimes
they can be very bad.

Is there medication
or a nebulizer

Oh, yes. Yes. Of course. But he
needs me. Please, I must go.

When will I see you again?

Uh, I will call you.

[singing in Hebrew]

Thank you Cantor Harben.

[Lady speaker] Welcome,
members, and friends...

of the 38 Club.

Welcome.

[Sophie] Where were you?

He came to the shop! Gehbert!

He wants to see me!
He's very insistent!

On the ninth of November, 1938,

the streets of
Germany and Austria,

resounded with the sound
of breaking glass.

As windows of thousands
and thousands of Jewish

shops and synagogues
were smashed.

Leaving behind them what
has been described as

rivers of broken glass.

Kristallnacht.

The Night of Broken Glass.

The beginning of the horror.

But more than Jews were victims.

Millions of Catholics,
Protestants, and Gypsies

followed us to the camps.

We witnessed...

countless murders
and obscenities.

We are the survivors.

And our memories of
the Kristallnact,

remains as sharp as the
shards of breaking glass

that blanketed the streets
on that infamous night!

Now, is another time.

A better time.

But we remember.

And each year,

one of you is chosen to
memorialize that event.

Sophie Langbein.
[whispers]

-Yes, dear. Go on.
-No! No!

No, I don't want to do it.

Go! Go! Go!

* [music]

[Boom]

[Boom]

[Boom]

[Crowd] Never again.

Never again.

Never again.

Never again.

Never again.

Never again.

Never again.

Nine...

Seven. Six...

Noooo!!!! I say no!

-[Hannah] Gertrude!
-I figured it out.
That degenerate served

one day for every
three murders! One day!

I wonder how did he get
in this country? Who was
it that allowed him in?

We did. We allowed him in.

What difference does it make?

There is nothing we can do.

[Hannah] So let's stop beating
our heads against the wall.

There is something we can do.

Ladies, I don't think this
merits any further discussion.

We can kill the bastard.

Of course, we would all
like to punish him somehow.

I didn't say punish him somehow.

I said kill him.

[Gertrude] All right. If nobody
else is up for it, I will do it.

Gertrude, there's no sense--

Let's drop the subject. We
don't have to discuss it

anymore. I know what I have
to do. That's all. Hitman!

I think we should call it a
night. We are all playing
miserably anyway.

So next time when we have cooled
off, we can put this behind us.

I don't think we should
uh, leave just now.

Marysia... I don't
think this kind of talk

will do any good for any of us.

Oh but I think Gertrude is
serious and I don't think we
should be leaving right now.

Gertrude is serious,
now. But eventually,

she will realize what something
like this could do to her life,

to Ted and your marriage!

It won't do anything.

I'll do it right.

You really mean it?

You bet your sweet life,
I really mean it.

[Sophie] Well, I don't think
we can let you do that.

You can't stop me.

No, what I mean is we
can't allow you to, um,

take on all that by yourself.

[Sophie] If you are
going to do it,

then we should all...

do it.

Sophie! What in God's name
are you talking about?!

Hannah, be honest, we
all want Gehbert dead.

Gertrude is just willing
to do our job for us.

Our job?

Since when is it
our job to kill?!

[Hannah] To murder?!
That's Gehbert's job not ours!

Then let's see that he
gets paid for his job.

-Gert--
-I say we do it the way
they did it in the camp.

I say we draw lots.

[Sophie] That way it will be
our secret, no one will know
who drew the swastika

and no single one of us
will be responsible. We
will all be responsible.

This is madness.

I'm leaving. I, I
cannot believe this.

Do you people realize what
it is you are saying here?

There's no need for this! I'm
the best one for it. I'll do it.

I don't know why you are
making it so complicated.

No. Sophie is right. If
this thing is to be done,

we must all do it.
Equal responsibility.

Elsa?

I don't...

Elsa, come with me.
They will come to
their senses...

on their own. Come with me.

Yeah. Maybe you should go.
You have much to lose.

No. I will stay.

This is, Sophie! I don't
believe what I'm seeing.

-What has gotten into you?
-I don't think the
law is always right.

[Sophie] In fact, I think this
is a chance, to put things
right, for a change.

I, I don't mind doing
something like that.

Am I the only one then,
that hasn't gone crazy?

Am I the only one
that understands...

the monstrous thing you
are talking about!

[Hannah] Well, if I thought
you would really do it,

I would call the
police and tell them.

I really would.

[door slams]

* [music]

[Gertrude] [indistinct]
I know how to do it too.

* [music]

One thing.

We must not speak of this again.

When it happens, if it happens.

-Then, we read it in the papers.
-[Sophie] Yeah.

And if the one who drew the
swastika changes her mind
and doesn't do it for

some reason, then, that will
also be the end of it.

Yeah? We never mention it again.

[Sophie] And that way,
no one is to blame...

and uh, no one has
to feel, guilty.

Yeah, that sounds fine to me.

Yeah. It's good.

I'm not worried.

[whispers] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

* [music]

[restaurant noise]

Who is it?

[phone] It's Marysia.

Ah. I knew you would call.

[night sounds]

[thud]

[thud]

Walter?

[car engine]

Darling, Ha! Ha! Ha! Forgive me.

I tried to call you. We had
a fire at the restaurant.

-[Marysia] Oh.
-The kitchen. Nothing serious.
But I had to close up

and send everyone home.

-Are you all right?
-[Gehbert] I'm just
a little soiled.

I hope you have not been waiting
long. I tried to call you.

Anyway, you see,

I couldn't very well bring back
anything from the restaurant
for our dinner.

I'm so glad you are here.

Let's go to Malibu. Couple
of nice places there for
dinner.

Oh. Couldn't we just

stay here and eat something?

You must have something
in the 'fridge.

[Gehbert] Nothing. Not a thing.

Some eggs?

I want to take you out.
I want to show you off.

Oh. Yes. I know that but, um...

I don't like hiding
you from the world.

[Marysia] I understand.
But I don't think--

It's your husband...

I'm growing weary about the
story of the invalid husband!

What do you mean story?

I called your phone
this evening, twice.

The phone rang, rang,
rang and no one answered.

If your husband's so
sick he can't go out,
why doesn't he answer?

He very often doesn't answer.

I told you. He is very feeble.

If he's so feeble, why doesn't
someone stay with him?

It's very difficult to explain
to someone who has never cared
for an older person that...

There are degrees, you see...

Degrees of feebleness?

[Marysia] You could say that.

Yeah. I see.

-Why are you lying to me.
-[Marysia] Ugh!

I'm not lying to you.

All right. When you first came
out to the Deer Trails with
your woman friend,

you were not wearing
a wedding ring.

When I meet a beautiful woman,
I check things like that.

And yet, you were wearing the
ring, the night you were to meet

your gentleman friend,
Dr. Harrington.

I just find this odd.

It's the opposite that you would
expect from an intelligent woman

anxious to avoid compromising
herself in public.

I'm not so expert
in these things.

Heh, it's not my
everyday behavior.

[laughs]

That's right.

I'm sorry.

Hey? What's in here? Huh?

-It's for the shop.
-What, this? Huh?

I have been robbed once.
I have license for it.

[Marysia] I was robbed once.

Yeah. I'm sure.

[sliding door slams]

What do you expect to do
with this little thing?

This is what you need.

Here.

This is yours.

7.65 mm, that is, if
you are interested in
protecting yourself.

It's reasonable that this
one will stop someone

with the first shot

and light enough for the purse

Now it's ready.

You know how to use this weapon?

They are all the same, no?

Is a spinach the same
as a grand piano?

Safety off.

[Gehbert] I say...

why don't you fire?

-Go ahead.
-* [music]

Now is your chance.

It's what you came
here for isn't it.

-It's why I came here.
-[Gehbert] To kill me.

To kill you.

Murderer!

-[Gehbert] Well go ahead, then.
-Butcher!

Go ahead!

[Gehbert] Go on.

Do it!

[Marysia] I can't You're not
going to make me as bad as you!

-That's it! 'cause
you're a coward!
-Murderer!

-No! No! Butcher!
-Which one of my girls are you?

Which one?

Tell me. I remember all of you.

-Ahh!
-[gunfire]

-[squawking bird]
-[Marysia] Ahhh!

[crying]

Look at you. You wouldn't
be alive today if it
weren't for me.

[Gehbert] If I had to
do it again, I would
do exactly the same

but this time, I would
be more thorough!

Less a pawn of my own
foolish compassion.

God!

Ugh!!

Uh, uh,

-Ugh!!!
-[squawking bird]

[crying]

-[Marysia] Ahhh!
-[Gehbert] Argh!!!

-[crying]
-* [music]

[car engine]

-[squawking]
-* [music]

-[crying]
-[whispering]

[television playing]

-Can you be a little
late to class?
-Oh, please

I'm already a little late.

You got me all interested
this morning and then off
to the shower.

Because it was 8:30,
I thought it was 7:30.

-It is all your fault.
-Oh, yeah? Well, I'm
not that good anyway.

I'll be the judge of that.

-Who are you comparing
me to? Hmmm?
-No one.

I've had a few others
but uh, you're the best.

You got me didn't you?

I sure did. And I'm sorry
I must tear myself away

because I have a meeting at
4:00 and I'll be back at 6:30.

Okay. Okay, professor, you
go to school and leave me
here all by myself.

[Television Reporter] residents
are requested to take alternate
routes where possible

and to allow ample
time for delays...

and now for an update on the
killing of restauranteur,
Walter Grossman

who was found shot in his
Malibu home a few days ago.

With no apparent motive, police
are now speculating that a love
quarrel may have been the blame.

The investigation, of
course, will continue.

-We'll be right back
after these messages.
-Oh my God!

It's done. We did
it. It's over with.

And that's that.

[doorbell rings]

Elsa?

You are expecting someone?
Gil is away isn't he?

Good evening, Stella.
They are in there?

-Good evening.
-[Elsa] Hannah.

We weren't really
expecting to see you again.

[Hannah] Why not?
It's Wednesday night.

You want to play?

Yes.

When I saw Saturday's papers,
I thought, my God, they have
gone and done it.

[Hannah] They have
really gone and done it.

Please, forgive me.

I should have known
my friends better.

What are you saying?

Well, now that I know you
had nothing to do with
Gehbert's death,

I feel like a complete idiot.

What are you talking about?

[sighs] Well, it's probably
on the news by now.

I heard about at the court
house this afternoon.

They have picked up the
man that killed Gehbert.

* [music]

The police theory is that
he broke into Gehbert's house,

and apparently the killing
occurred when Gehbert
confronted him.

After which, he had an accident
in his car, a pretty bad one.

And when the sheriff
arrived, this man claimed

that he lost his memory,

even though they found a map in
his car with Gehbert's neighbor
circled and marked, WG.

So do they know who
this person is?

Martin Renner.

Name ring a bell?

No. I've never heard
that name before.

Name's probably fake.
His driver's license was.

[Elsa] Why did it uh, take
them so long to come forward
with this man.

They found Gehbert's
body a day later.

I guess they just didn't put
it all together, until now.

Ladies, it's that time again.

What do you mean, Gertrude?

We have to find out if
this, Renner could have
done our job for us.

-[Elsa] How do we do that?
-[Hannah] What are
you talking about?

That night at Marysia's
house, we agreed to do it.

As far as I know, we did do it.

If you didn't do it,
write a zero.If you
did do it, write an X.

-Anybody need a pencil?
-[Sophie] Yah, Yes! I do.

I, I can't believe it. Of
course, this man did it.

My friends are not murderers.

My God! How long have
we known each other?

Elsa.

Shh! Shh! Shh!

Silly...

-Silly?
-Here. You look at them.

Gertrude, they have the killer.

Look at them.

Zero.

Zero.

Zero.

X?

* [music]

What are, are we going
to do about this?

Yes. We have to do something.

What is there to do?

Who is this man?

What difference does it
make? He's innocent.

We can't just stand by and
watch an innocent man go
to prison, or worse.

Wait a minute, Wait!

[indistinct]

We don't know what kind
of case the D.A. office
has against him.

So?

It may never to to trial.

We must wait and see
what happens at the
preliminary hearing.

Wait?

Hannah. I thought you were
going to call the police.

How can I?

I don't know which
one of you did it.

[Prosecutor] If the defendant's
amnesia prevents him from
remembering

that he killed Walter Grossman.

Then it also prevents him from
remembering that he didn't
kill Walter Grossman.

And the evidence presented here
today clearly indicates that he
is guilty.

That's all I have.

Mr. Renner, I am ordering
you be bound over to the
Superior Court,

eight weeks from
today without bail.

[Judge] Next case.

* [music]

I have an idea of
what we can do.

If anybody is interested.

Sure. Uh, huh.

Who ever killed him,
will write a confession

-Oh, no!
-[indistinct talk at once]

Wait. Please.
Please hear me out.

The killing. How it was
done. Everything. Will
be outlined in detail.

Then copy's of the confession
will be mailed to all of us

including the writer herself.

We will then all memorize it.

We will all five of us know,
down to the tiniest detail

how Wilheim Gehbert was killed.

Five?

What?

You said five.

Yeah.

-You said all five
of us will know.
-Mm hmm.

Does that mean that,
eh, you, you...

When I read the paper,

and realized he had been
murdered, the lawyer in
me had been appalled.

But a little girl,

shivering in a white room

in Birkenau prison camp

wept tears of joy.

Knowing Wilheim Gehbert
had been killed.

[crying]
Uh-hum.

[sniffing]

Shall I go on?
Which we must.

After we have all
memorized every detail,

of the killing. We
will then, meet again.

Make sure the confessions
are exactly the same.

[typing]

* [music]

[Sophie] She went
to bed with him.

[Hannah] No, Sophie. You
went to bed with him.

I went to bed with him.

We have to start thinking
about it that way.

Everything in this
letter. We all did it.

All of it!

I knew that Grossman
was Gehbert.

Contact with him touched
off feelings of desire

that I had assumed
were long since dead.

Which I came to
realize gave me a

sexual power over him.

A power which I employed by
refusing his req-requests...

for another assignation,

until the night I went to his
house in Malibu to kill him.

feelings of desire that I had
assumed were long since dead.

-[Hannah] So. Everyone
has memorized it, yeah?
-[Gertrude] Yeah!

Now we destroy all the copies.

Now is the time we go public.

[Hannah] This is when your
husbands will have to know.

It will be difficult.

We should tell them together.

[Sophie] We did it together and
we should tell them together.

Gertrude?

Oh. Yeah. I was just
thinking about Teddy.

How he will take it...

Hell, he'll be fine!

Will they understand? Uh,
Do you think? I wonder?

It will be easier together.

Yeah. But, um, who will begin?

I mean, who will tell about
s-s-sleeping with him?

I will Elsa.

-I'll start.
-No. Hannah, you can't.

You must stay out of this.

You are a lawyer, and you
will have to help us.

Even with the husbands?

Yes. I think so.

[Gertrude] Marysia, is right.

Sophie?

Yeah. Yeah.

All right. All right.

I will help you
explain it to them.

Yeah.

We'll do it.

[Hannah] We have to tell you the
real story of what happened to
Wilheim Gehbert.

You have seen in the news
that he was murdered by a
man named Renner who

was trying to break
into his house.

We know this is not true.

The reason we know is
because we, that is

Elsa, Sophie, Marysia,
and Gertrude murdered
Wilheim Gehbert.

What?

I conspired with my friends here

but I did not actually
participate.

I will assist in
defending them in court.

[Max Langbein] What! Court?
What are you talking about?

Max. Max.

So, uh, what happens now?

Well, I'm not sure.

You go to the police?

Yes, I will give them
my confession, and, eh,

and they will let Renner go.

Your confession.

Never in a million could I
guess this could happen.

And the others, they'll go too?

I'm not going to ask
you if you did it.

If you were the one who
killed him, he was human
garbage, remember that.

When people tell you
differently, don't listen.

Garbage!

You got guts, Sophie.

You've got guts.

Teddy.
[knocks on door]

Teddy! Don't shut me out!

Please, Teddy open the
door! Please talk to me!

Just tell me, that
you didn't do it!

You all confessed. You
didn't all sleep with him.

I had to sleep with him
Teddy. It was the only
way I could do it.

You couldn't find another way!

The man is dead. I executed
Dr. Wilheim Gehbert. The
Beast of Birkenau.

-That's what's important!
-[Teddy] No!

It's how you did it! That's
what important! You're a whore!

Everything you ever wanted
in your life, you used your
body to get it.

-Including me!
-[Gertrude] Oh, yeah!

I don't remember a
complaint until now.

You were a bookworm when I met
you, Teddy, pottering around
with your dissertation.

And now look at you, you're
an associate professor.

Why? Because I made you, Teddy.

-This whore made you.
-That's enough!

Where are you going?
Your mother's?

Yes, for now!

You know what it is, Teddy?
You have no courage!

I'm too much woman for
you! I always have been!

-Go!
-[door slams]

Go on! Get out! Get out! I
don't need you! And don't
bother to come back!

[door slams]

Teddy. Oh. Teddy.

You expect me to believe this?

That Walter Grossman was
really Wilheim Gehbert.

And you lured him to
bed and killed him?!

It's true.

No. El, it is not true!

Maybe one of you killed him.
Maybe. But it wasn't you!

I killed him. He
deserved to die.

The police have the
man who killed him.

He's the wrong man.

I cannot let him suffer
for what we did.

But it's all right if
I suffer? Is that it?

Yes.

You will suffer
and I will suffer.

We will all have
to pay for this.

But Wilheim Gehbert is dead.
He deserved to die and we
killed him.

That's all.

[Prosecutor] Thank you, Lisa.

You want to check this over?
If it is all right.

Oh, uh, it was 8:35 when
I arrived Gehbert's
house not 8:45.

Now that's not really
substantive. We can change that.

-Is that all?
-Umm...

-Yes. That seems to be all.
-[Prosecutor] Thank you.

You know, I keep asking myself
why are you doing this?

-You don't believe me?
-Oh, no. Sure. I believe you.

You have one of the best motives
I have ever come across. And you
mentioned his washing.

Police report mentioned
there was still a strong
scent of soap on

Gehbert's hands and face.

Yes, um...

Sandalwood.

Hmmm. So you said.

[Prosecutor] Well we
can check that out too.

Mrs. Langbein, I
want you to know

that I have a job to do and I
take that job very seriously.

And one of the rules I
work under is that murder

is the ultimate crime, no
matter who the victim is.

Yes. I know.

So maybe on a....

on a personal level I should
have sympathy with you.

But on a professional level,
I still have my job to do.

You understand what I am saying?

I don't expect any special
treatment, Mr., uh,

Ferraro.

Good. 'Cuz you're not gonna
get it. I can't afford it.

Now, have you ever
been in jail before?

Um, sorry. That was
a stupid question.

Well, I'm afraid you're gonna
have to go to jail again.

[buzzing intercom]

I'll let you know if I
find out anything new.

[Prosecutor] Sanders, will
you find a cell for Mrs.
Langbein, please.

I'm going now.

If you do this,

if you walk into the police
station and tell the world

you murdered Wilheim Gehbert,

it'll destroy our lives, Ellie.

-Now you said that Sophie went.
-Yes.

And I can not let her be in
the jail alone. I cannot.

When the media gets a hold
of this, it will destroy
my business.

Don't you care about that?

Oh, yes.

But this is something that
I have to do. I have to.

Everything. Everything that I
have worked for. For us.
It will all be gone.

Oh I can't believe
this is happening.

Why didn't you say something
to me? I could have helped.

You've always come to me
before with everything.

But this, no. You
choose to ignore me.

Ellie, can't you understand
that this could destroy my
life, my business...

I'm doing this for me.

I do this for me.

My friends are counting on me.

I love you...

but I have to do this.

Who are you?

I don't even know you anymore.
You're not my Ellie.

Maybe.

Maybe, I think...

I'm not the same girl you
brought home from Germany
25 years ago.

But, I still love you.

Then don't do this.

I, I, what can I do?

What can I do to
make you understand?

What?

I'm begging you,
Ellie. Don't do it!

I have to go.

I have to go.

I won't be here.

If you come back,
I won't be here.

I killed Wilheim Gehbert.

What about your friend
Sophie Langbein?

I killed him.

Heh. Well, somebody killed
him, that's for sure.

But I'd like to know why
I have two confessions.

Is there something
that I could sign?

Mrs. Spahn, why don't we save
the taxpayers' time and money.

Okay?

What are you doing here?

I killed him and I'm here
to give you my confession.

[typewriter]

Excuse me.

Excuse me.

I'm Gertrude Simon and I would
like to see Mr. Ferraro, please.

He's busy right now.

What's this about?

I have information he'll
want about the Wilheim
Gehbert murder.

You believe me don't you?

Believe you?

I believe you had
something to do with it.

Along with your friends, Mrs.
Spahn and Mrs. Langbein.

I got confessions coming
in here every 15 minutes.

I believe you.

Then you'll let Renner go?

Oh sure. We got
plenty of killers.

Lady...

I'm holding you and both your
friends on a conspiracy
charge until I find out

what the hell is going
on around here!

-[cell door clanks open]
-[Officer] Okay,
Renner let's go.

[Officer] Your lucky day.

Come on.

* [music]

Free Sophie and free Gertrude!

[Crowd] Free Elsa! Free
Sophie! Free Gertrude...

* [music]

The accused will rise.

Sophie Langbein.

Elsa Spahn.

Gertrude Simon.

I'm ordering to be bound
over to the Superior Court,
on the 18th of this month,

on the charge of conspiracy to
commit murder, Section 182 of
the state penal code.

-[gavel pound]
-[Officer] Court is
adjourned. Please rise.

[court murmurings]

-Let's go ladies.
-[Max] It's okay. It's okay.

Ma'am, please.

-Let's go ladies.
-[Max] You will be all right.

Mr. Ferraro...

Yes.

I'm the one you are really
looking for. My friends
are innocent.

I'm the one who really
killed Wilheim Gehbert.

-[knock]
-[Alton] Come in.

[Alton] Sid.

Polygraph report.

[Alton] And?

What it boils down to is that
they are all telling the truth

or they are all lying.
Take your pick.

This is turning into a
circus. Have you read this?

I don't read the papers.

[Alton] Yeah? Well I do.

And so does the police
commissioner, the ACLU
and everybody else.

[Alton] And we look like a
bunch of incompetent bozos

persecuting four harmless ladies
who struck a blow for humanity.

Hey! What are you saying?

Sid, face it.

No jury on Earth's
going to convict them.

What the jury does is their
business. My business is
building a case.

-[buzzing]
-Yep.

-[telephone] Mr. Ferraro?
-He's here.

You.

Yeah.

[telephone] Mr. Ferraro?

Yes.

This is Hannah Epstein.
I'm an attorney. I think
we may have met.

-Uh huh.
-I'm here at the 38
Club on Wilshire Blvd.

Do you know where that is?

Yes, I do.

Well I think it would be worth
your while to stop by here in
the next hour or so.

The four women you have in
custody for the Gehbert killing

are members here.

Is that so?

Yes. That's right. And um, I
have some information that
may be useful to you.

-[knock]
-Excuse me.

-[secretary] Oh. Mr. Ferraro.
-Ms. Epstein?

No, she is at the auditorium.
Please, come with me.

Mr. Ferraro.

-Ms. Epstein.
-Yes.

I'm glad you could come.

Ladies, this is Mr. Ferraro.

He is the assistant District
Attorney who is prosecuting
the case against

Sophie, Elsa, Marysia
and Gertrude.

And I'm sure he can use our help
in determining who actually
killed Wilheim Gehbert.

Ladies, who did kill
Wilheim Gehbert?

* [music]

I don't care if there
are 600 of 'em.

I will investigate them all.
One of them is a killer.

[Alton] Ah, but which
one, huh? Huh?

You'll never find
out. You know why?

Because they all killed Gehbert.

[Alton] All of them together as
one. How many people are you
prepared to prosecute?

-As many as I have to.
-Oh come on, Sid!
What's bothering you?

That the ladies got
the better of you?

We can't let them go.
A murder has been
committed here.

Of course we can't let them go.

We can release them for lack of
evidence while we continue the
investigation.

Lack of evidence! I got four
signed confessions here.

Correction my friend,
a hundred and fifty-four.

Is that what you want?

-That's what I want.
-That's an order.

Yeah. And if you don't do
it, I'll do it myself.

[applause]

Coming through. Coming through!
Let me through! Let me through!

-[laughing]
-Ohh, how are you!

-[laughing]
-Ohh, how are you!

* [music]

Missed me?

Love me?

You really had me worried.

Elsa, he's not coming.

He called said he's going to
be away for awhile, and eh,

and he wants the best for
you. He says you should, eh,

stay in the house
until it's sold...

I'm sorry.

What do you plan to
do now, Mrs. Walenka?

Huh, what do I plan to do now?

Forget. Forget.

[Hannah] Sophie, it's your turn.

[Sophie] I, I, don't know.

I have nothing.

Uh! I'm out!

This is our fourth game without
a Mahjong. Let's take a break.

Are you okay?

Yes. I think so.

I just signed up for uh,
two classes at UCLA.

Poetry?

No. Philosophy of Law and
Introduction to Legal Ethics.

Whoo! Whoo!

-Elsa, you may wind
up in law school.
-Maybe.

Girls...

I'm tired. I'm going to go home.

Gert.

It's over isn't it?

Just isn't the same anymore.

That's it then.

[Hannah] After all these years?

[doorbell rings]

-Who's that?
-I have no idea.

Mr. Ferraro has come
to pay us a visit.

This is not exactly
a social call.

Well then perhaps I should be
asking you for a search warrant.

No. No. No. There are some
things I want to show you.
Things that were sent to me.

May I come in.

Yes. Please do.

What is it?

I think this belongs to
one of you ladies here.

I also have a tape I
want you to listen to.

It came in the same package.

It's from Martin Renner.

He sent it to me, but I
think it's really for you.

[tape recorder] My real
name is not Martin Renner.

I am far away now and
you will never find me.

I'm sending this tape because I
want to ease the minds of the
women who saved my life.

It's the least I can do.

Our lives have been
inextricably linked.

Through you, I have
fulfilled my life

and I am eternally grateful.

My story starts when I
was eight-years-old.

My parents were in the
German Underground.

I am not Jewish, but I
saw my father murdered

and my mother raped
before my eyes

by Wilheim Gehbert.

It was my life's
work to find him.

One day I am inquiring
about Gehbert,

at the Simon Wiesenthal
Center in Vienna,

when you letter
about him arrived.

So finally I find
him, in Los Angeles.

I had already
parked my car

and had broken into
Gehberts' house

on the night you
arrived Mrs. Walenka.

Then, Gehbert came,
I concealed myself.

Hid out on the terrace.

I was witness to
the whole scene.

I saw you lose the
courage to shot him.

I saw him discover your
gun and throw it away.

I saw him give you his gun
and pretend to instruct you.

And then reveal himself.

I saw you struggle for the gun.

I saw Gehbert fall.

I saw you smother
him and then leave.

Stopping long enough to get
your gun from the bushes.

When I came close to him,

he started to move.

I realized he wasn't dead,

so I finished the job.

I picked up the same
pillow you had used

and smothered him
'til he was gone.

The rest you know.

One thing before I go,
as far as I'm concerned.

You planned it. And you are
all guilty. Attempted
murder. Murder.

It's all the same to me.

Good night, ladies.

[crying]

You don't have to
live with it anymore.

I just wish I hadn't
heard about it like that.

Up until now it's been
like a kind of dream.

A dream of our own making.

But just now hearing Renner
describe it like that,

all at once, I realized
that we killed a man.

Not a man. A thing. A beast.

Damn him. He's not dead.

-* [music]
-Look at us.

He has scarred us forever.

For what he did to us and
what we've done to him.

[crying]

[Hanna] Sophie.
Where are you going?

Oh. I- I just thought that I
would go to the temple.

Oh. Can I come with you?

Marysia, you are Catholic.

I don't think God will mind.

What about the game?

I think the game is over.

* [music]

* [somber music]

* [Multicom Entertainment
Group jingle] *