The Night Porter (1974) - full transcript

- Good evening.
- You're early.

I want to get off early
tomorrow morning.

Ah. Here are the flowers,
the newspaper...

and the cigarettes
that the countess asked for.

Thank you.

- Has she called down?
- I don't know.

You're always sending only me out
to buy things for her.

You get tipped, don't you?

Oh!

- Here you are.
- Thank you.

Without water?



- The water's finished.
- But they —

They will stick in my throat.

They won't do any harm.
Get on.

I'm still cold, Max.

I really can't think of anything —

Max, dear.

You don't have any imagination.
Mmm?

And neither do you, Countess.

Silly, silly, silly.

Do you want the usual assistance?

Hmm.

Go up to 42.
She's waiting for you.

Go to hell. I want to sleep.
I'll go up later.

- You'll go now!
- Besides, I'm fed up with her, damn it.



You asked for a month's wages
in advance.

All of it.

I like people
who honor their contracts.

Okay, okay.

Damn her.

And that perfume
she wallows in is muck.

Look, it may be some fancy brand,
but it makes me vomit. Really.

At least she doesn't
smell of fried food, like you do.

Or, uh, mouthwash.

I don't smell of mouthwash.

I'm dripping with Helena Rubinstein's
eau de cologne for men.

For men of distinction.

Ah!

Thanks.

Some other time.

How do you do?

Good-bye. Thank you.
See you soon. Good-bye.

My keys, please. Room 25.

Your husband is so talented.

- My key, please. Number 32.
- I'm sorry.

Thirty-two, please.
I think it was —

- What?
- Thirty-two.

Don't you remember?
We had just come back from —

He's a conductor.
He's conducting at the opera.

- So?
- Oh, nothing.

Hello?

Uh, yes, a bottle
of mineral water, please.

Very cold. Thank you.

- No, don't call!
- Why? What's the matter?

I'm sorry.

You'll be all right?

Yes.

Yes, I'm fine.

Come in.

- Good evening, sir.
- Good evening.

- Will there be anything else?
- No, thank you.

- Good night.
- Good night.

- Religion?
- Lucia?

Yes, I'm coming.

Greetings.

Did you expect me?

Of course.

- Would you have the same room?
- Always.

You seem strange.
Are you worried about Thursday?

No.

If you're worried, you're foolish.

Your case is easy.

After all, there are no witnesses
to testify against you.

You should be pleased. At the moment,
we're only thinking about you.

The professor says
you're a special case.

- He should be here shortly. Show him up.
- Of course.

- Name, date of birth.
- Emanuel Strauss.

Address?

- Religion?
- Catholic.

Next.

- Name?
- Hansard, Wilhelm.

- Date of birth?
- Seventh of March, 1920.

Address?

- Religion?
- Lutheran.

Next.

- Name?
- Klein, Paul.

- Date of birth?
- March 4, 1918.

Address?

- Religion?
- Jewish.

Next.

Name?

Date of birth?

Address? Religion?

- Were you trying to sleep?
- No.

- Leave me alone, for God's sake.
- Excuse me.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.
I have my worries too.

Of course.

Would you do me a favor?

If I can.

Would you stand in for me
tomorrow night?

- Where?
- Here.

You'll have to wear my jacket...

and just be polite
to all the guests.

- Well, will you or won't you?
- Of course I will.

Thank you.
It's just for one hour.

Good evening, Max.

- Good evening, Herr Professor.
- Is he in the same room?

- Yes.
- Good.

I've managed,
don't ask me how...

to find what the spies know
exactly about Max.

Here.

Maximilian Theo Aldorfer.

"Had a career in the entourage
of Karlton Bruener.

Operated in Hungary
in a section of the office 4-B.

Lives under an assumed name —"
Et cetera, et cetera.

"In the Nuremberg archives,
see file number —"

Oh yes, at the head of the page
there's a number three...

which means a small fry,
not worth bothering about.

However, there's a note which says...

"was very friendly
with some very important people."

So it may be
that they are looking for him.

Max had imagination.

He had fun passing himself off
as a doctor...

to have a chance at making sensational
photographic studies.

Hmm.

It's obvious that not one
of Max's patients survived.

But perhaps one did.

Do you recognize anybody?

Yes, perhaps I remember.

Who knows if she survived?

I thought that Mario might
know something about her.

- Who is Mario?
- Mario, that Italian. Try to remember.

He was spared because
he was an excellent cook.

After the war, he married Greta Heller.
They run a restaurant out on the river.

Ah, yes, yes.

We called him up once to testify.

Yes, and he's coming
to the next meeting.

If he knows anything,
he'll tell us.

Good.

Have you seen Max?
He seems upset.

I thought you'd forgotten. Hmm.

- Have I ever forgotten?
- Well, never mind.

Arrange the lights.

What shall I use?

Aluminium.
Otherwise, I won't sleep.

Bert, you should read a book.

Oh yes, I've tried, Max.

If I read, I think,
and that's worse.

Get up and go out,
and you know how it always ends.

You need a bodyguard.

I'd like to have you.

If I were rich...

I'd hire you
to do everything for me.

Would you?

Yes, of course.

You say that because you know I can't.

- No.
- You don't really want to.

You don't want to wipe anybody's ass.

Be careful.

You're very good at it.
You never hurt.

"An interpretation of great elegance.

This will be remembered
as a considerable event...

in the lyric season
at the Volksoper." Et cetera.

"I must say that inasmuch
as I had no idea...

what to expect
from Maestro Atherton...

who comes to Vienna on a wave of acclaim
which he shows is fully merited —"

Aren't you listening?

You don't give a damn about them.

But still, I would like
to hear your opinion.

I'd like some peace.

What's the matter? You've always
wanted to hear the reviews.

We've always
gone over them together.

- I want to go.
- What did you say?

I told you I am leaving.
I want to leave this place now.

I hope you realize what a disaster
we have in the first violinist.

Coreline Hader plays along
all on her own like a perfect idiot.

I told you I am leaving!

Lucia, you're out of your mind.
I have to be at the opera tonight.

All right.
So I'll go alone.

Where do you want to go?

Away from this hotel,
away from this city.

And away from this country.

I understand what you feel.

But you seemed so happy
to come here with me. Hmm?

Lucia, what's come over you?

Anyway, it's a question
of a few days more.

Tomorrow we go to Frankfurt.
In three days, Berlin, Hamburg and that's it.

You're absolutely incredible.

Incredible.

- Don't open.
- Why? It's the porter with other newspapers.

- Don't open, please.
- Thought all of them had been delivered.

Come in.

- Good morning.
- 'Morning. Thank you.

Thank you.

We've planned everything
for one of these evenings.

You can prepare the room.
They are all coming.

Oh, I think I found a witness.

You remember Mario the cook?
He knows something.

Couldn't you wait
a little longer?

No. I prefer to close your case
as soon as possible.

But you haven't come
to see the place.

What is it?
Has something happened?

It's the trial.

Klaus is being a little... hasty.

Sooner or later he had to call you up,
as he has for everybody else.

Be sure to keep your eyes open.
You often read of somebody being turned in.

Yes, you do.
Especially by collaborators like yourself.

I want everything clear in my head.

Will you eat with us?

Yes, Greta. Thank you.

How's business? Going well?

Thanks to him.
He runs the kitchen.

Go on, Greta.
We want to talk.

Yes. See you later.

- Did you see Klaus?
- Mm-hmm.

- Did he say anything to you?
- I saw Klaus.

He was asking me about that girl
you had with you then.

The daughter of a socialist.
She was —

She was Viennese, right?

Certainly you are a strange lot.

I won't go to the police.
It's all water over the dam.

Klaus showed me —

He showed me a photograph
of that girl...

so I explained I had no memory.

I said I didn't recognize her.

I want to live in peace,
and Greta feels the same.

Thank you, Mario.

I-I never told anybody how, uh...

you saved your skin.

Sometimes to save one's skin...

there is no price too high.

You can't compare me with you.

I know, I know.

Still, i-it would be nice...

to talk in peace and quiet.

We could go fishing,
perhaps, if you like.

Sure. If we're not too long,
it's fine with me.

- What about Sunday?
- Okay.

Okay, Mario.

- The car has come, sir.
- Oh, thank you.

I'll be right there.

Well? The day after tomorrow
at the Weber Hotel.

If you take the plane as you said...

I'll send a car
to pick you up at the airport.

You're such a strange creature.

Now you wish you were
coming with me, right?

Don't you want to do that shopping
you told me about?

- No.
- I can't wait now.

Take the plane tonight,
or just come with me now.

We can have them
send everything to Frankfurt.

No, I'm so silly. Come on.
You'll miss your plane.

At the Weber Hotel
the day after tomorrow.

I'll miss you.

Good morning, sir, madam.

Have you made a reservation?

No sign of a fish here.

A client said he caught
a four-kilo pike just here.

We didn't believe him.
The water's too fast for pike.

A trout maybe,
but not a pike.

What is it, Max?

What are you doing?

No!

- How much?
- One hundred shillings.

...about 200 were accused
by eyewitnesses...

and the other 100 reported
by the Allies' War Crimes Commission.

Another organization
extremely dangerous for us...

is the War Documentation Center
here in Vienna.

They have files on the SS leaders,
some 80,000 names.

But I'll see to it
that I get my hands on that file too.

In the meantime, I want you to take
a look at the evidence against Max.

This constitutes documentation
which could be damaging.

This is all due to Max,
on his orders.

He himself transmitted
the orders for execution.

As always, we must find out if all this
is already known to our enemies...

or if I have managed to get
into the archives before them.

And Max can remain in the shadow...

which is what he wants.

We have decided to delve together
to the very bottom of our personal histories.

We have decided to confront them,
speaking without reserve...

without fear.

Remember. We must try to understand
if we are victims of guilt complexes or not.

If so, we must be freed of them.

A guilt complex is a disturbance
of the psyche, a neurosis.

Let's not delude ourselves.

Memory is not made of shadows...

but of eyes which can stare straight
at you and fingers which point at you.

Information on existing witnesses
we have from Mario the cook.

We all know him. In particular, Kurt.
He was very useful.

I wanted him here tonight and sent word to him.
Instead, he disappeared.

- Any of you know anything?
- What do you want witnesses for?

Hans, you know all about my life.
Why do you want to rake everything up again?

That's my profession. And you accepted
to take part in this group analysis.

I know, I know.
Somebody speaks and the others listen.

But in the end,
something happens within one's self.

Something does.

First we were all afraid. Now we're not.

And something else happens, Max.

I play the devil's advocate in all this...

and to do so I seek and I find...

dangerous documentary evidence...

which I'll give to our colleague when everything
is over so he can make a nice bonfire.

I also have a nice list
of witnesses I keep an eye on.

And I keep a most
particular eye on them...

because they're not as manageable
as a pile of papers.

Max, you must
have faith in Klaus.

Remember when we had
my trial here?

I felt as awful as you feel now.

It did me good to speak,
to confess, to defend myself.

It did me good to clash with Klaus
when he accused me pitilessly.

Remember?

When it was over, however...

I felt a great relief.

Perhaps, also, because Klaus
burned some 30 documents concerning you.

Just as he burned yours, Kurt.

Naturally. And now there's no trace of us
in any military archive. Right, Klaus?

It will be the same for you, Max.

Klaus?

Klaus, perhaps there are
no living witnesses.

But if there are,
can't we leave them in peace?

Let them forget?

Even if it says
1,000 persons on paper, 10,000...

it still makes less impression than one witness
in flesh and blood staring at you.

That is why they are so dangerous, Max.

My task is to seek them out,
wherever they are...

and to see that they are filed away.

Max, our trials are held in private.

They're also therapeutic, right?

And the more shock value they have,
the more effect they have.

Only eyewitnesses can provoke this...

because they go into details,
they blurt out everything. They —

You've seen it, haven't you?

Only confronted with their accusations...

can we discover how far
we're able to defend ourselves.

We have to defend ourselves.
The war is not over.

If you want to live hidden away
like a church mouse, then go ahead!

But we want back the ranks we held.

So we have never given up.
Never given up!

But I haven't given up!

I'm still here with you.

And you must be pleased, Max.

I, Klaus, Kurt, Dobson, Bert,
we're all clean.

All evidence has vanished.

I never thought it was quite enough
just to burn all the papers.

I want to be left alone to —

Just to live in peace,
to live like a church mouse.

Now I would like to get back to the point.

It's important that
I find the witness...

whom Mario thinks he recognized.

Who is it?

So far, I only know it's a woman.

I-I-I don't know anything
about a woman.

Yes, I want to call Frankfurt,
the Hotel Weber.

Number? Just a minute.

347-229.

Right away, please.

The-The-The number I just
gave you for Frankfurt.

Frankfurt. 347-229.

Yes. Cancel.

Cancel.

Yeah.

Hello? Hello?
What about my call to Frankfurt?

There are no lines to Frankfurt.

Why did you come here?

Hmm?

Why did you come?

Why did you come?

Have you come to give me away?
Have you?

Did you? Answer!

Did you? Why'd you come? Why'd you come?

Why, why, why?

Stupid slut!

You —

Let me get out!

Come on.

Ah, no, no. Too fast, too fast.

Too long. Too long.

- Tell me. Tell me!
- I want you!

Tell me what to do. Tell me what to do.
Tell me what to do!

No!

I love you so.

Shh.

My little girl.

No. Nobody's here.

No. He's gone upstairs.

- He has gone up.
- Where?

Well, they called him.

Will he be gone long?

Depends on the lady.

- What lady?
- The American.

The American.

The conductor's wife.
Probably wanted to be cheered up.

- And the — the husband?
- He left.

Telegram, from your husband.

If you want to call Frankfurt...

just pick up the phone.

- What are you doing here?
- Work, excellency.

- At this time of night? What are you doing?
- I told you.

Get downstairs.

It all seems lost.

Something unexpected happens.

Ghosts take shape in the mind.

How can one pull away from it?

This phantom.

With a voice and a body.

This part of one's self.

Amen.

Greta doesn't believe
that Mario's death was an accident.

She has consulted Moritz the lawyer
but I know him, so I can speak to him.

Don't speak to anybody.

I want to have a talk
with Greta's doctor.

Let's go.

- Are you sure?
- Yes, sir.

- Are you leaving right away, madam?
- Mm-hmm.

- Shall I call a taxi?
- Thank you very much.

- And a telegram form, please.
- Certainly.

Here you are, madam.

Can't join you in Berlin either.

Will meet in New York.

Please don't worry.

All is well.

- Will you send it right away, please?
- Of course.

Good evening, Max.
I'm not too late, I hope.

I still have to prepare the show.

Stravinsky, The Firebird, as we planned.

No show tonight, Bert.

I, um, can't leave the desk.

Only postponed, right?

I will dance better
with a few more rehearsals.

Too bad about the flowers.

It's only postponed.

Oh.

Don't. Leave it. Leave it.

You always break your fingernails.

- There.
- Thank you.

And so, there is a woman, hmm?

No.

Thank you.

Max, you don't trust me anymore.

You have changed. Thank you.

I met her again.

My little girl.

You mean, the little girl from then.

I found her again.
I found her again.

And no one must touch her.

Who'd dream of touching her?

Oh, Max, be careful.

Before she could testify against you...

you should file her away.

Oh. Oh, no.

- But —
- No.

I love her.

What a madman.

She was my little girl.

She was very young.

And now she's not.

Yes. Yes, she —

She's exactly the same
as she was for me.

- Oh, Max.
- As she was then.

I've never seen you
so much in love.

I thought she was dead.

What a romantic story.

No.

No, it's... not romantic.

- No?
- It's not romantic.

It's a biblical story.

Yes? Well, tell me.
Tell me what it's about.

Well —

It's a story from the Bible.

- Shall I tell you?
- Please.

It's not very pleasant.

Go on.

Well, it was a long time ago.

- Well, you remember how long —
- Yes.

Johann was a prisoner
who used to torment her.

She just asked me
to have him transferred.

I-I —

I don't know why...

but suddenly...

the story of Salome
came into my head.

I couldn't resist it.

So you see...

it was a biblical story.

- Poor Max.
- Hmm.

I told her I'd done exactly what she asked me,
or else I'd misunderstood her.

You were always insane,
and you still are.

Sane, insane then.

Hmm. Who's to judge?

And just you remember...

we're both in the same boat.

Ah.

So we leave you this possibility.

You fix the date for the next meeting
and try to observe the rules.

I always observe the rules.

Tell that to the others,
Max, not to me, hmm?

You don't trust me
and I don't trust any of you.

That's where you're wrong.

Can't you understand that the investigation we're
making serves to liberate you from the past?

- We must help each other, right?
- Yet you have me followed and watched.

Then give us
the necessary information.

For example, where can I find
that witness Mario told me about?

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

What time would you like
to be called in the morning?

Why?

- So they can't take you away.
- Who?

Klaus.

Bert, Hans.

It's nothing to laugh about.

And if they come with a file?

Then you fight.

Don't laugh!

Now —

Excuse me.

Listen. The police came.

They're looking for Frau Atherton,
the conductor's wife.

You remember.
She paid the bill to me.

They're coming to question you too.

I'm only here to ask you some questions
on behalf of myself and the others...

and to have a look at you.

Look, I could have come
at another time to see him too...

but I don't need to speak to him.

I don't need to speak to him
in front of you. Useless.

With this business of the trial,
he's become too diffident.

- He's right.
- What do you mean?

Because then for the first time
he saw you all clearly.

Nothing's changed, has it?

You're wrong.
We've all had our trials.

Now we are cured
and live in peace with ourselves.

- There's no cure.
- It is you who are ill.

Otherwise, you wouldn't be
with somebody who made you —

- That's my affair.
- Very well.

But, nevertheless,
your mind is disturbed.

That's why you're here,
fishing up the past.

Max is more than just the past.

Listen. Why don't you go to the police?

If you want to, I'll take you.

Hmm?

Dr. Fogler, I remember you so well.

You gave a lot of orders.

Then you can't have forgotten that
your Max was an obedient Sturmbannführer.

Remember?

I don't remember.

I certainly can't oblige you to remember
if you don't want to.

I'm only here to ask you
to testify to find out...

if the situation in which you find yourself
is entirely of your own choice.

- I'm all right here.
- Yes.

You both want to live in peace, right?

One lives in peace...

when one is in harmony
with one's close friends...

when one respects an agreement.

Tell Max that.

We could have denounced him
to the police for the murder of Mario.

But we didn't. Max is ill.

He mustn't be too far away from us.

He's locked you up here.
We could go to the police about that too, no?

I'm here of my own free will.

This chain is because of you
so none of you can take me away.

If we wanted to carry you off,
would this chain stop us?

You poor fool.
A chain can be cut.

None of us is thinking of violence.

Hmm. I know how
your-your witnesses end up.

Max told me.

Max doesn't know
what he's saying or doing.

His mind is disordered.

Get out.

Go away. Go away!

If you change your mind...

if the chain grows heavy, call me.

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

I wanted to tell you
I heard some noises last night.

I know you work at night.
That's why I was worried.

- Did they force the lock?
- No, it's nothing.

Oh, but there was somebody.
I didn't have the nerve to look outside.

It's not safe any longer...

you know, when you live alone.

It's your imagination, Frau Haller.

They were here, weren't they?

- Who was it?
- Hans.

What did he want?

- Tell me!
- I'm tired and I'm hungry.

Tell me!

- Nothing.
- Tell me what you talked about.

What you said to each other!

I sent him away.

Why were you trying
to go away from me?

It hurts.

I —

I love you.

Max, the police are looking for your witness.

So is her husband.
When they find her, she'll begin to talk.

They'll never find her
as long as Stumm and Adolph keep quiet.

Oh, they won't talk.
It's your friend that concerns us.

- And so?
- And so, in the meantime...

we have to hold our breath
and hope that your love lasts for eternity.

Max, you promised
to go on with your trial.

- You must bring your witness.
- Never! Never!

I don't give a damn about this trial.
It's a farce.

- The trial is not a farce.
- Yes, it is! It's a farce.

It's a game — a game for freaks.

- The freaks are you and your whore.
- You b —

Max, stop.

Why did we have to meet up here?
The elevator doesn't come up this far.

It's deserted up here.
No one can hear us.

Why this unexpected meeting?

Max is hiding a dangerous witness
in his apartment...

and he won't conclude his trial.

It will be concluded.
Max, answer me honestly.

It'll simplify everything.
Have you become a Communist?

Oh, God. The usual accusation,
even for the newly born.

I know you're not a Communist.
You're not a defeatist.

- You're one of us.
- Which means I'm rotten and I stay rotten.

You bastard!

Max, we all want the same thing,
to live as peaceful citizens.

Each of us
has a respectable profession.

Even I have some honorable duties.

If you had wished,
you could have had another career.

Look, Bert.
If I choose to live like a —

like a church mouse,
I have a reason.

I have a reason
for working at night.

It's the light.

I have a sense of shame in the light.

We are proud...

of having been officers
of the finest corps of the Third Reich.

And if I were born again,
I would do exactly what I did.

- Sieg Heil!
- Sieg Heil!

Here. Just put it there.

- And, uh, bring up the rest.
- All right.

The police are looking for you.

Your husband sent them.

They questioned us all.
When did you leave? Who saw you last?

Endless, endless questions.

They don't suspect me.

Klaus convinced them
that I was above suspicion.

They were very polite.

Klaus.

My God.

And I left my job.

I left the hotel.

I don't want to leave you alone.

- Your order, sir.
- Thank you. Here you are.

- Remember, the same thing tomorrow. All right?
- Yes.

Of course.

You've changed your lock?
I have to change mine too.

- No, mine — mine had to be changed.
- Oh, Kiki.

- Kiki.
- Just a moment.

Would you please take your dog?

- But —
- Thank you.

Why all this food?

Well, i-i-it's better
if we don't go out for a bit.

Not even to look out the window.

Are you afraid?

How long is it going to last?

Well, it can end for you at once...

if you go to the police.

- Ah, you're late.
- Are we punching a clock?

Shut up, you two.

Jacob, the order I gave you yesterday.
It hasn't arrived yet.

I sent the boy over.
Your doorman said you'd left.

I'm here.
I'm still here.

Send the boy directly
to apartment 15, will you?

All right. All right.
I'll send him over again.

- Thank you, Jacob.
- My duty.

- What did you say you want?
- I think I'd like some wurst, please.

Certainly, sir. There's a choice.

I'm a lawyer. Tell me what's wrong.
Perhaps I can be of help to you.

My son Ernst, killed in Africa in '43.
He had the Iron Cross.

The Iron Cross, eh?
You must be proud.

- I'm still waiting for his pension.
- Fine looking boy.

We've got to start rationing...
what we have left.

It's 10 days now.
No food has reached him.

- Nobody in the building has noticed anything?
- Everything's under control.

I think we should move now, Hans.

How is Greta?

Not too bad.
She's getting along just fine.

Don't touch!

- Hello?
- Hello, Max? It's Oscar.

- You called me?
- Oscar, thank you, yes.

Are you calling from the hotel?

No. You see, I can't call.

Oscar...

uh, listen.

I'm desperate.

I'm sorry, I —

I've got an appointment.
Uh, I can't come.

Are you frightened of something?

You see, I don't want —

I don't want to get mixed up in —

You know what I mean.

Max, I'm still waiting
for my war pension.

Oh.

Thank you, Osc —
Thank you, Oscar.

Yes?

Hello. Yes?

Your little girl doesn't know
how to use the telephone?

What do you want?

I want to help you.
What can I do?

Send me a box of chocolates.

Listen, Max.
Our friends are not joking.

- Leave everything and —
- Erica —

My little girl — You-You remember
my little girl, don't you?

My little girl is waiting for me. Bye.

Hungry.

Excuse me, Frau Holler.
I can't leave my apartment.

Can you get me some food?
Anything.

Why don't you go out?
Are you ill?

- Someone here is ill.
- Listen. I'm not really going out.

- We're hungry.
- I told you. I'm not going out today.

- But I implore you —
- If you please —

I'm waiting for you.

Adolph, will you get me
some food, please?

Right away,
if you give me the lady.

Please! Please!

- Well?
- He doesn't answer.

It's off the hook.

Tell me, Bert.
How long have you known Max?

Let's not talk about it.

You don't, uh,
dance for him anymore?

I've lost him.