Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962): Season 5, Episode 17 - The Cure - full transcript
Living in the remote tropics are two oil explorers, one of whom is married to a very attractive woman. One night, she tries to stab her husband and he is convinced by his partner that she is sick with tropical fever. They agree that she needs to see a head shrinker. En route to the doctor however, she convinces her husband's partner to help her kill the husband. Fortunately, the husband's trusted manservant is also with them and protects his master's interests in a very unusual way.
Good evening.
No, we're not
preparing a barbeque.
I consider outdoor cooking
rather uncivilized.
Tonight we hope to revive one of the truly
inspiring ceremonies of ancient times,
the Aztec human sacrifice.
I think it's regrettable that in the
hustle and bustle of this modern age,
we've lost sight of some
of the fundamental values,
and neglected some of the
beauties of ancient times.
For this event, we thought
it would be only fair
to become an audience
participation program.
And choose the victim
from our own loyal viewers.
The winner will receive
many prizes,
including a free trip
to Hollywood, one way.
Our story begins in a moment.
But first, we present,
what I'm certain will
someday be shown
as an example of
the folk art of the 1950s,
used to drive evil
spirits out of the home.
Marie.
Honey.
Help me.
Luiz. Luiz. Luiz.
Señor?
Thanks, Luiz. That's enough.
What's going on here?
It's Marie.
What's happened?
She flipped her wig.
Came at me with a knife.
Hey, Jeff, you all right?
I'm okay. Thanks to Luiz.
Oh!
If not for him, she'd have got me. I had
no strength she came at me like a wildcat.
Must be fever.
She must have caught the fever.
Fever, yeah. That's it.
She's really out.
Come on Luiz, we better get her
back to her room. I'll tie her up.
Tie her?
Yeah.
Okay, I guess so,
but, be gentle with her.
Yeah.
I come back quick,
señor. For arm.
Never mind the arm.
How, how is she? She talk.
What did she say?
She say, "I no kill him."
Why you not let me kill her?
Because, she's sick.
She's sick.
It does things
to your head, I know.
I got it and I lay here
thinking all sorts of things.
She no good. Better I kill her.
You, Indians.
We don't kill people who are sick in the head.
We cure them, see.
We cure them, in the head.
She hurt you.
I no let anyone hurt the señor.
You'd make a wonderful mother,
if I was looking for one.
Señor, where you go?
You go bed.
You mind your own business.
Are you comfortable?
Fine.
How long do you expect to keep me like this?
The rest of my life?
Hi, honey.
You better?
Marie, what was it?
Was it a dream? Did you wake
from a bad dream or something?
I'm sick.
Sure, I know.
It's this place, it's the jungle. I
shouldn't have brought you here.
You'll be all right
in a week or so.
Do I...
Do I have to stay
like this a week?
No, baby.
You don't have to stay
like this if you feel...
Baby,
you do remember
what you done to me?
I was sick.
I didn't know what I was doing.
Sure, I know.
I'm not blaming you.
I wouldn't be sitting here if I thought
you wanted to carve me up like that.
I'll tell you what we'll do.
I'll untie your hands.
And we'll get Chita, she'll sit
with you until you're better.
Sure, that's it.
The best thing.
You're looking better already.
That look in your eye is gone.
You should've seen yourself.
I never thought I'd live
to be scared by a woman,
but you sure scared me.
That's better, huh?
All right.
You go to sleep, we'll talk in the morning.
Everything will seem better then.
You want something? Some water,
a cold drink or something?
Chita. Come here.
Oh, don't worry about it, honey. In a
couple of days we'll forget all about it.
Chita!
Oh, don't cry, baby.
Sit with her. And don't sleep.
Mike!
Sit down.
Jeff, you shouldn't be
drinking with that fever.
Why don't you go back to bed?
I got to talk to someone
before I flip, too.
Sit down. Sit down.
Well, how was she?
Quiet. I untied her.
Why'd you do that?
Chita's with her.
She'll watch her.
Mike, you got to help me.
I can't work things
out for myself.
Why me? Why me of all people?
All right, so she's got a
fever. All right, maybe.
But, there must be
something else than that.
What do you mean?
Well, Mike...
She wanted to kill
me, Mike, why?
I'm not a doctor.
Did she say anything to you when
you took her back to her room?
Yeah.
She said she was sick.
That's all, huh?
Nothing about me?
Well, she asked me
how you were.
Oh, she was worried then?
Yeah, I guess so. But she
was in a state of shock.
That makes the two of us.
Didn't she talk to you?
Not a lot.
There's gotta be a reason.
Even a dopey one, why a dame would
wanna kill a guy that she loves.
Well, one reason might be,
she doesn't love him.
Mike, you gotta help me.
What could I do?
Maybe you should have let
Luiz put his knife into her.
Don't talk like that.
I'm sorry. If that's all the help
you can be, then get out of here.
I said I'm sorry.
You always hated her,
haven't you?
No, I don't hate her.
Maybe that's the cause of it.
It's this god-forsaken place,
and you always treating her like
she was some dirty little...
From the very start
you was against her.
I was against you marrying her.
That's right.
You asked me if you
should and I said no.
Well, if you didn't want my opinion
you shouldn't have asked for it.
You never even
gave her a chance.
What kind of a chance did
she give you tonight, huh?
Where would you be now,
if it weren't for Luiz?
What are you, a saint
or something?
You don't have to be a saint to know
when someone is sick and needs help.
There's only one thing to do.
Yeah? Now what's that?
She needs to see a doctor.
A doctor?
That's 200 miles
down the river.
I don't care
if it's 1,000 miles,
I don't care about anything
except that she gets well again.
That doctor in Salona's so drunk all
the time, he couldn't cure a cough.
Yeah, I know, but he can
put us onto somebody in Belem.
She needs help in her mind.
That's a psychiatrist
you're talking about. Yeah.
She's been acting kinda strange
lately, it's this place.
Mike.
I want you to take her there.
Why me?
I'd go myself, Mike, but in my
condition, I could never make it.
Oh no. You hired me to find
oil, not act as a nurse.
Mike.
Mike.
I'm asking you a favor.
Why not Luiz? He can take her.
Luiz will go too,
but you gotta take her.
Why both of us?
One's enough.
Luiz knows the river and the people. You
can't risk anything with these natives.
Imagine him, he'd be lost in a city.
Looking for a psychiatrist.
What about Marie?
How's she going to react? What
are you going to say to her?
"We've decided you're outta your mind
and you've gotta see a headshrinker."
Huh?
Nah, she'd never go.
You don't have to mention that.
Just say she's going
to a doctor.
So I got to break the news to her, too?
Please, Mike.
If I told her, she'd think that
I was trying to get rid of her.
Did it ever occur to you, if she went
downriver, she might never come back?
Oh, no, she'll come back.
I know what you think of her.
And I know what she was.
But I pulled her out of that
place and I married her.
If I strike oil, she'll
have money to burn.
Why shouldn't she come back?
She's got no place
better to go back to.
You don't know much about
women, do you, Jeff?
I only know that she's the first one
that ever made me feel like I wasn't
something that crawled
out from under a stone.
She made me feel like somebody.
Yeah, I know. You told me.
Yeah.
You'll never know what it's like when
all you gotta do is smile at a dame,
to get a look of disgust.
Or, if you're lucky, a laugh.
Marie was different.
I know. She was paid to smile, but there
was lots of others like her that I met
and they ain't never got
get around to it with me.
You may not think much of her,
Mike, but she's all I got.
If I lost her,
I'd want to die.
Come on, Jeff, you
better get some sleep.
Look, in the morning,
after I've talked
to her and she uh...
If she feels better.
You know, sorry. Yeah.
Maybe we can forget
about the headshrinker
and give her
another chance, huh?
Sure. Sure.
You talk to her and see.
Goodnight, Jeff. Goodnight.
Goodnight, señor Mike.
Goodnight.
Hey, Luiz. What are you doing here?
Go get some sleep.
No, señor. Luiz stay here.
Sleep well here.
Are you all right?
Why wouldn't I be?
How's the ape-man?
He's still asleep.
I had a talk
with him last night.
Hmm?
Must have been fun.
Marie, what made you do it? He
loves you, don't you know that?
Mmm-hmm. Apes are very affectionate
animals, especially to other apes.
I just don't happen
to be one. That's all.
Yeah, well you should have thought
of that before you married him.
What got into you
all of a sudden?
Just feel sorry for him,
that's all.
Why'd he have to pick a girl
like you to fall in love with?
You tell me. He was right.
What about?
I do hate you,
I know.
But you haven't shown me
yet this morning.
Jeff.
No.
Relax, darling.
Oh, sweetheart,
do you feel better?
Darling, Mike told me about the doctor.
And I'll leave today.
Baby.
Not if you don't want to...
No, sweetheart, you're
right. It's the only way.
Oh, Jeff, honey, I'm so sorry. I
don't know what came over me.
The last thing I remember,
Luiz was holding me.
It all seems like
such a bad dream.
Oh...
Don't think about it.
Just come back soon...
I will, darling.
Don't talk too much, cause
you have to get well, too.
I want you to know how thankful I
am, Jeff, for you sending me away.
Take care of yourself,
will you, sweetheart?
And thank you, too, Luiz. For what you did.
I won't forget.
And I'll make it up
to you, soon.
Luiz. Sí, señor.
Take good care of her.
Sí, señor.
I watch her well.
We safe here for one night, I think.
You wait. I look.
Luiz. How long to get to
Salona in the morning?
Three, four hours, maybe.
Is easy river from now.
We'll lose him here.
How?
The same way he nearly lost me.
But why, Marie? Why kill him?
We can lose him in Belem.
Don't kid yourself.
He's like a leech.
We can get rid of him
in Belem. It's a big city.
He knows what we're trying to
do, and he's gonna stop it.
What are you talking about?
How could he know?
How could he know? In two days
he hasn't taken his eyes off us.
If it'll make you feel any better, he'd
just as soon kill us as look at us.
No. I don't like it.
If you don't, I will.
Okay, we stay.
No! No! Luiz! Please, Luiz!
Luiz, I have money in the boat, you take it.
But, let me go!
No, Luiz no kill you.
I take you like señor says.
You lucky I do what
señor wants.
Into boat. Quick, walk.
Señor! Come boat. Come Luiz.
Oh, thanks, Chita. And Marie?
Luiz alone. Huh?
That can't be. Luiz.
What happened?
Bad thing, señor.
Where's Mike?
Señor Mike dead.
Dead?
How? I kill him.
He try kill me, so I kill him.
He did? What happened?
Señor Mike no bad man.
Foolish man.
He listen to bad woman.
Poor man. He weak for women.
Weak for fight, too.
What are you trying to say?
She bad woman.
She want to go away
with señor Mike.
That's a lie.
I do what you tell me.
I take her to my people.
Best headshrinkers
in the world.
Better than Belem, señor.
Best job in the world.
Of course, there was
a bright side to all this.
For it was the beginning
of a marvelous new invention.
Instant girl.
All you do is add water.
And now, in just one minute,
I shall announce
the winner of our contest,
to select the human sacrifice.
I'm very pleased to announce
that we have chosen
our human sacrifice.
She's Mrs. Stanley K. Ladowski
of Wentfield, New Jersey.
And of course, we are already
shipping the freezer,
the automobile
and the other prizes
to our contest winner,
Mr. Stanley K. Ladowski,
who submitted
Mrs. Ladowski's name.
Our thanks to both of you.
Now, until next week,
at the same time,
good night.
No, we're not
preparing a barbeque.
I consider outdoor cooking
rather uncivilized.
Tonight we hope to revive one of the truly
inspiring ceremonies of ancient times,
the Aztec human sacrifice.
I think it's regrettable that in the
hustle and bustle of this modern age,
we've lost sight of some
of the fundamental values,
and neglected some of the
beauties of ancient times.
For this event, we thought
it would be only fair
to become an audience
participation program.
And choose the victim
from our own loyal viewers.
The winner will receive
many prizes,
including a free trip
to Hollywood, one way.
Our story begins in a moment.
But first, we present,
what I'm certain will
someday be shown
as an example of
the folk art of the 1950s,
used to drive evil
spirits out of the home.
Marie.
Honey.
Help me.
Luiz. Luiz. Luiz.
Señor?
Thanks, Luiz. That's enough.
What's going on here?
It's Marie.
What's happened?
She flipped her wig.
Came at me with a knife.
Hey, Jeff, you all right?
I'm okay. Thanks to Luiz.
Oh!
If not for him, she'd have got me. I had
no strength she came at me like a wildcat.
Must be fever.
She must have caught the fever.
Fever, yeah. That's it.
She's really out.
Come on Luiz, we better get her
back to her room. I'll tie her up.
Tie her?
Yeah.
Okay, I guess so,
but, be gentle with her.
Yeah.
I come back quick,
señor. For arm.
Never mind the arm.
How, how is she? She talk.
What did she say?
She say, "I no kill him."
Why you not let me kill her?
Because, she's sick.
She's sick.
It does things
to your head, I know.
I got it and I lay here
thinking all sorts of things.
She no good. Better I kill her.
You, Indians.
We don't kill people who are sick in the head.
We cure them, see.
We cure them, in the head.
She hurt you.
I no let anyone hurt the señor.
You'd make a wonderful mother,
if I was looking for one.
Señor, where you go?
You go bed.
You mind your own business.
Are you comfortable?
Fine.
How long do you expect to keep me like this?
The rest of my life?
Hi, honey.
You better?
Marie, what was it?
Was it a dream? Did you wake
from a bad dream or something?
I'm sick.
Sure, I know.
It's this place, it's the jungle. I
shouldn't have brought you here.
You'll be all right
in a week or so.
Do I...
Do I have to stay
like this a week?
No, baby.
You don't have to stay
like this if you feel...
Baby,
you do remember
what you done to me?
I was sick.
I didn't know what I was doing.
Sure, I know.
I'm not blaming you.
I wouldn't be sitting here if I thought
you wanted to carve me up like that.
I'll tell you what we'll do.
I'll untie your hands.
And we'll get Chita, she'll sit
with you until you're better.
Sure, that's it.
The best thing.
You're looking better already.
That look in your eye is gone.
You should've seen yourself.
I never thought I'd live
to be scared by a woman,
but you sure scared me.
That's better, huh?
All right.
You go to sleep, we'll talk in the morning.
Everything will seem better then.
You want something? Some water,
a cold drink or something?
Chita. Come here.
Oh, don't worry about it, honey. In a
couple of days we'll forget all about it.
Chita!
Oh, don't cry, baby.
Sit with her. And don't sleep.
Mike!
Sit down.
Jeff, you shouldn't be
drinking with that fever.
Why don't you go back to bed?
I got to talk to someone
before I flip, too.
Sit down. Sit down.
Well, how was she?
Quiet. I untied her.
Why'd you do that?
Chita's with her.
She'll watch her.
Mike, you got to help me.
I can't work things
out for myself.
Why me? Why me of all people?
All right, so she's got a
fever. All right, maybe.
But, there must be
something else than that.
What do you mean?
Well, Mike...
She wanted to kill
me, Mike, why?
I'm not a doctor.
Did she say anything to you when
you took her back to her room?
Yeah.
She said she was sick.
That's all, huh?
Nothing about me?
Well, she asked me
how you were.
Oh, she was worried then?
Yeah, I guess so. But she
was in a state of shock.
That makes the two of us.
Didn't she talk to you?
Not a lot.
There's gotta be a reason.
Even a dopey one, why a dame would
wanna kill a guy that she loves.
Well, one reason might be,
she doesn't love him.
Mike, you gotta help me.
What could I do?
Maybe you should have let
Luiz put his knife into her.
Don't talk like that.
I'm sorry. If that's all the help
you can be, then get out of here.
I said I'm sorry.
You always hated her,
haven't you?
No, I don't hate her.
Maybe that's the cause of it.
It's this god-forsaken place,
and you always treating her like
she was some dirty little...
From the very start
you was against her.
I was against you marrying her.
That's right.
You asked me if you
should and I said no.
Well, if you didn't want my opinion
you shouldn't have asked for it.
You never even
gave her a chance.
What kind of a chance did
she give you tonight, huh?
Where would you be now,
if it weren't for Luiz?
What are you, a saint
or something?
You don't have to be a saint to know
when someone is sick and needs help.
There's only one thing to do.
Yeah? Now what's that?
She needs to see a doctor.
A doctor?
That's 200 miles
down the river.
I don't care
if it's 1,000 miles,
I don't care about anything
except that she gets well again.
That doctor in Salona's so drunk all
the time, he couldn't cure a cough.
Yeah, I know, but he can
put us onto somebody in Belem.
She needs help in her mind.
That's a psychiatrist
you're talking about. Yeah.
She's been acting kinda strange
lately, it's this place.
Mike.
I want you to take her there.
Why me?
I'd go myself, Mike, but in my
condition, I could never make it.
Oh no. You hired me to find
oil, not act as a nurse.
Mike.
Mike.
I'm asking you a favor.
Why not Luiz? He can take her.
Luiz will go too,
but you gotta take her.
Why both of us?
One's enough.
Luiz knows the river and the people. You
can't risk anything with these natives.
Imagine him, he'd be lost in a city.
Looking for a psychiatrist.
What about Marie?
How's she going to react? What
are you going to say to her?
"We've decided you're outta your mind
and you've gotta see a headshrinker."
Huh?
Nah, she'd never go.
You don't have to mention that.
Just say she's going
to a doctor.
So I got to break the news to her, too?
Please, Mike.
If I told her, she'd think that
I was trying to get rid of her.
Did it ever occur to you, if she went
downriver, she might never come back?
Oh, no, she'll come back.
I know what you think of her.
And I know what she was.
But I pulled her out of that
place and I married her.
If I strike oil, she'll
have money to burn.
Why shouldn't she come back?
She's got no place
better to go back to.
You don't know much about
women, do you, Jeff?
I only know that she's the first one
that ever made me feel like I wasn't
something that crawled
out from under a stone.
She made me feel like somebody.
Yeah, I know. You told me.
Yeah.
You'll never know what it's like when
all you gotta do is smile at a dame,
to get a look of disgust.
Or, if you're lucky, a laugh.
Marie was different.
I know. She was paid to smile, but there
was lots of others like her that I met
and they ain't never got
get around to it with me.
You may not think much of her,
Mike, but she's all I got.
If I lost her,
I'd want to die.
Come on, Jeff, you
better get some sleep.
Look, in the morning,
after I've talked
to her and she uh...
If she feels better.
You know, sorry. Yeah.
Maybe we can forget
about the headshrinker
and give her
another chance, huh?
Sure. Sure.
You talk to her and see.
Goodnight, Jeff. Goodnight.
Goodnight, señor Mike.
Goodnight.
Hey, Luiz. What are you doing here?
Go get some sleep.
No, señor. Luiz stay here.
Sleep well here.
Are you all right?
Why wouldn't I be?
How's the ape-man?
He's still asleep.
I had a talk
with him last night.
Hmm?
Must have been fun.
Marie, what made you do it? He
loves you, don't you know that?
Mmm-hmm. Apes are very affectionate
animals, especially to other apes.
I just don't happen
to be one. That's all.
Yeah, well you should have thought
of that before you married him.
What got into you
all of a sudden?
Just feel sorry for him,
that's all.
Why'd he have to pick a girl
like you to fall in love with?
You tell me. He was right.
What about?
I do hate you,
I know.
But you haven't shown me
yet this morning.
Jeff.
No.
Relax, darling.
Oh, sweetheart,
do you feel better?
Darling, Mike told me about the doctor.
And I'll leave today.
Baby.
Not if you don't want to...
No, sweetheart, you're
right. It's the only way.
Oh, Jeff, honey, I'm so sorry. I
don't know what came over me.
The last thing I remember,
Luiz was holding me.
It all seems like
such a bad dream.
Oh...
Don't think about it.
Just come back soon...
I will, darling.
Don't talk too much, cause
you have to get well, too.
I want you to know how thankful I
am, Jeff, for you sending me away.
Take care of yourself,
will you, sweetheart?
And thank you, too, Luiz. For what you did.
I won't forget.
And I'll make it up
to you, soon.
Luiz. Sí, señor.
Take good care of her.
Sí, señor.
I watch her well.
We safe here for one night, I think.
You wait. I look.
Luiz. How long to get to
Salona in the morning?
Three, four hours, maybe.
Is easy river from now.
We'll lose him here.
How?
The same way he nearly lost me.
But why, Marie? Why kill him?
We can lose him in Belem.
Don't kid yourself.
He's like a leech.
We can get rid of him
in Belem. It's a big city.
He knows what we're trying to
do, and he's gonna stop it.
What are you talking about?
How could he know?
How could he know? In two days
he hasn't taken his eyes off us.
If it'll make you feel any better, he'd
just as soon kill us as look at us.
No. I don't like it.
If you don't, I will.
Okay, we stay.
No! No! Luiz! Please, Luiz!
Luiz, I have money in the boat, you take it.
But, let me go!
No, Luiz no kill you.
I take you like señor says.
You lucky I do what
señor wants.
Into boat. Quick, walk.
Señor! Come boat. Come Luiz.
Oh, thanks, Chita. And Marie?
Luiz alone. Huh?
That can't be. Luiz.
What happened?
Bad thing, señor.
Where's Mike?
Señor Mike dead.
Dead?
How? I kill him.
He try kill me, so I kill him.
He did? What happened?
Señor Mike no bad man.
Foolish man.
He listen to bad woman.
Poor man. He weak for women.
Weak for fight, too.
What are you trying to say?
She bad woman.
She want to go away
with señor Mike.
That's a lie.
I do what you tell me.
I take her to my people.
Best headshrinkers
in the world.
Better than Belem, señor.
Best job in the world.
Of course, there was
a bright side to all this.
For it was the beginning
of a marvelous new invention.
Instant girl.
All you do is add water.
And now, in just one minute,
I shall announce
the winner of our contest,
to select the human sacrifice.
I'm very pleased to announce
that we have chosen
our human sacrifice.
She's Mrs. Stanley K. Ladowski
of Wentfield, New Jersey.
And of course, we are already
shipping the freezer,
the automobile
and the other prizes
to our contest winner,
Mr. Stanley K. Ladowski,
who submitted
Mrs. Ladowski's name.
Our thanks to both of you.
Now, until next week,
at the same time,
good night.