Little Dorrit (2008): Season 1, Episode 11 - Episode #1.11 - full transcript

(BELLS RINGING)

(MAN YELLING IN DISTANCE)

Amy?

Yes?

Has it ever struck you
that Papa and Mrs General

are becoming very fond
of each other's company?

What do you mean, Fanny?

I mean that Mrs General
has designs upon Papa

and he is not adverse
to being designed upon!

How should you like
Mrs General for a mama, Amy?

I...



I don't think I should
like it very much.

I shouldn't like it at all.
I couldn't bear it!

I wouldn't bear it.
I'd marry Sparkler first.

Oh, Fanny. You said
you'd never marry Mr Sparkler!

Circumstances alter cases.

Consider! You may be wrong
about Father and Mrs General.

I may be...

but I am not.

AMY: Dear Mr Clennam,
we are still in Venice

and my dear father and Fanny have
adapted themselves to our new fortune

with wonderful ease,

I, however, have not been able to do so,

Mrs General is always with us
and takes great pains to teach me,

but I find my mind wandering
to my old cares,



Then I remember
that there are no such cares left

and I feel strangely lost,

I have found great solace in Mrs Gowan 's
company during these recent times,

and I visit her almost every day
in her confinement,

(DISTRESSED PANTING)

(PET SCREAMS)

The cloth, please.

(SCREAMING CONTINUES)

(PET SCREAMS)

We have no idea what women
go through in these times, Gowan.

So I understand, yes.

Yes, I know that you feel as I do.

We wish we could bear the pain
for them, but we can't.

Absolutely, absolutely.

Fatherhood! What a potent mixture
of joy and anxiety it is.

Oh, Pet...

You'll discover that for yourself,
and it'll be the making of you as a man.

(WHISPERING) Pompous buffoon!

Sorry?

(BABY CRIES)

A little boy! And both well!

Oh, thank God! Thank God!

AMY: Mrs Gowan has had a little boy,
to be called Henry, after his father,

He is a beautiful child,
as you would expect,

Mrs Gowan likes me to be near her

and help her look after little Henry,
which gives me great pleasure,

So your Little Dorrit
is a great deal happier now

and content to still be in Italy
for the time being,

Amy!

I have a bone to pick with you.

Oh? Could it wait till this evening,
Fanny? I was just going out.

- Where, may I ask?
- To meet Mrs Gowan.

That is just what I wanted
to mention to you.

Now, you may not realise it, dear,
but you're letting us all down again.

You've turned yourself into
a nursemaid for that Gowan family

and it's reflecting upon us.

You'll have everybody thinking
you're a common servant!

- Would it be so very bad if they did?
- Yes, it would.

I am determined Mrs Merdle
shouldn't have anything to sneer about.

But Mrs Gowan
likes to have me near her.

I'm not saying
you should never go to them.

Just don't let them take advantage
of you, dear. We're ladies of leisure now.

I don't think I shall ever learn
to be a lady of leisure, Fanny.

Now, that is not the spirit, is it?!
Of course it is hard.

It's downright boring sometimes,
but one just has to work at it.

Do you not think I sometimes long
to go back to my dancing

and do my high kicks
in the grand people's faces?

Do you really, Fanny?

Do I ever?!

One, two, three, kick!

Five, six, seven, kick!

Right in their silly, astonished faces!

(SIGHS)

But it wouldn't do, so I don't do it.

So, you see,
we all have to make sacrifices.

Even Sparkler's making sacrifices.

I'm teaching him not to say,

"I'm a damn fine girl
with no biggod nonsense about me",

and he's getting a job.

What? Here, in Italy?

No, in England.
Mr Merdle's going to get him one.

Mr Merdle, he can do anything.

MAN: The first Lord ofthe Treasury,

The Lord Chancellor.

The Bishop of Southwark.

Mr Eustace Barnacle
of the Circumlocution Office.

Mr Septimus Barnacle
of the Circumlocution Office.

Mr Tite Barnacle, Principal
of the Circumlocution Office.

Lord Decimus Barnacle, First Lord
of the Circumlocution Office.

Mr Ferdinand Barnacle...

A lot of Barnacles tonight.

They all come out for Merdle.

I understand this evening
is about a little bit of jobbery.

Mrs Merdle's son by her previous
marriage, name of Sparkler.

- Do you know the boy?
- Nice young fellow.

Absolutely nothing
between the ears at all.

- A total blank.
- They're fixing him up

with something
at the Circumlocution Office.

Well, I suppose
he'll do no harm there.

No good either. Come on.

(MEN LAUGHING, CUTLERY CLATTERING)

And so we pass, gentlemen,
through various changes of life,

from Eton pears
to Parliamentary pairs!

Excellent, sir,
never heard you on such good form!

We are all sorry
not to have the pleasure

of Mrs Merdle's company
this evening.

She is in Italy, sir.

Ah, Mrs Merdle's son has been
spoken of...Mr Sprinkler?

- Mr Sparkler, sir.
- Sparkler, of course.

He was mentioned in the context
of a possible opening?

If you please, sir.

Is he here this evening?

In Italy, with Mrs Merdle.

Ah, well...

It's not indispensable that
he should actually be on the spot.

The magic name of Merdle
will suffice.

Quite so.

I think we may consider it settled.

Thank you, sir.

(STRINGED INSTRUMENTS PLAYING)

(MUSIC STOPS)

Bravo!

Yes! Dear Edmund is to be one of
the Lords of the Circumlocution Office.

I expect you may have seen
the notice in the Times.

What a pity it will take him
away from us all.

Congratulations, old fellow!

Feet under the table now, eh?
Well done!

Well, point of fact, didn't actually
do anything. Thing just happened.

It's a total mystery to me.

It will keep him in town a good deal

and he prefers the country,
don't you, Edmund?

Well, I am fond of ratting
with a couple of good terriers.

Not much ratting in Venice.
Lot of rats, though. Odd, that.

- Edmund.
- Yes?

- Be quiet.
- Right.

Still, though the Circumlocution may not
be ideally suited to Edmund's talents,

it is a position

- and not a disagreeable one.
- Quite.

And without wishing to disparage
Mr Sparkler's abilities,

I think we must see the appointment

as a compliment to Mr Merdle -
the man of the age!

Thank you, Mr Dorrit,
that may well be so.

(POLITE CHATTER)

- How we do fret about our children.
- How indeed.

I wish you joy, my dear old fellow!

There will be nothing to do
and you will do it charmingly!

There'll be a handsome salary to draw
and you'll draw it charmingly!

Eh? I'm delighted to see my dear
old donkey so admirably stabled!

Well, you know, I...

I dare say you wouldn't say no
to such a stable yourself, Mr Gowan.

Indeed, no, but my relations seem
to have sadly overlooked my talents.

Leaving you to sponge off
the in-laws you affect to despise.

I say!
You know, Fanny, draw it mild!

I'm not sure Miss Dorrit knows how
to draw it mild but I am rebuked.

I don't suppose it'll make you
change your ways, though.

No, Miss Dorrit,
I don't suppose I will.

I suppose I should congratulate you,
Mr Sparkler.

I've spent a good deal of time
at the Circumlocution Office

and I never heard one word
of sense in all that time.

They seem to me
the very epitome of how not to do it!

Well, you know,
I've not got in there yet.

It's not as if I'm up
to the mark yet.

You'll have to forgive me, but all
I've seen anyone do at that place

is pushing pieces of paper around
and giving each other jobs for life

and letting the country go to
wrack and ruin in the meantime.

Barnacles, yes, a well-named family!

Steady, Mr Meagles.

I must insist, sir, that you
do not speak disrespectfully

of a very distinguished family.

I don't mean to offend anybody,
but I speak as I find, Mr Dorrit,

and your good friend, Mr Clennam,
will say the same.

He spent day after day at that place,

trying to get some sense out of them
about your tangled affairs

and precious little good it did him,

or you, sir!

(VOICES ECHO) Private gentlemen,
Well put, You're very good, sir,

We should have made each other's
acquaintance in London society long since,

Aitchoo!

(KEYS JANGLING)

(DOOR LOCKING)

FANNY: Poor Pa, he does suffer so,

I felt sorry for
Mr and Mrs Meagles too.

The Meagleses are all very well.

They're happy, they know their place

and they don't care tuppence
for what the world thinks of them.

We, on the other hand, labour
under peculiar disadvantages.

Don't tell me you don't know
what I'm talking about.

I'm sure I shall,
after a few more words.

We're not quite the thing, are we?

Some of us look the thing.

Pa is very gentlemanly

but he's terrified of people
knowing what he once was.

And Uncle, though a dear creature,
is altogether unpresentable.

Edward is frightfully expensive
and dissipated.

He isn't even any good at it -
the, um...dissipation, I mean.

Then there's you and me.

And we don't have a mother

but we do have a Mrs General,

who goes about like a cat in gloves
and she WILL catch a mouse

and the mouse she'll catch IS Papa.

Fanny!

I refuse to be step-mothered
by Mrs General.

The sooner I become
Mrs Sparkler, the better.

He has a good position now

and I don't think a clever husband
should suit me.

I shouldn't be able
to defer to him enough.

But Fanny, if you loved someone,
that feeling would change.

I know it would.

Oh! You know that, do you?
Oh, bless me!

How much some people know
about some subjects!

Well, they say everybody has a subject,
and we've hit upon yours!

Don't tease me, Fanny.

It's only in fun, little one.

Fanny...
you do deserve someone you love.

Well...

maybe I do,

but there he is.

And as Mrs Sparkler, I shall be able
to torment his mother -

that piece of insolence -
for the rest of her life.

That little dancer
she gave her old bangle to,

she'll dance through her life.

Now, there is a face I'd like to land
a good high kick on!

Fanny, you wouldn't marry Mr Sparkler
just to annoy Mrs Merdle?

Don't look so anxious.

We've talked it over comfortably.
Now it's time for bed.

Oh, you are the best
and dearest little mouse, Amy.

Good night.

(WILLIAM DORRIT MUTTERING)

I refuse to know you, sir.

I refuse to know you.

Father?

- Not in bed yet?
- No, no, I, er...

Let me help you to bed, Father.

Help me?

- I am perfectly capable.
- I know, Father.

But I should like to help you...
as I used to.

You should say "Papa", you know.

I know. I keep forgetting.

Miss Amy Dorrit,
what are we to do with you?

I don't know, Papa.

I'm a disgrace, aren't I?

I fear you are.

But you're a good girl, Amy,
for all that.

You're a good girl.

Ah, Mr Blandois!
Very prompt. Very punctual.

Always, for you,
my dear little Flintwinch.

Let's go in here and have
a few glasses and talk it over.

They know me here.

They don't know me here.

Well, let's put that right, shall we?

(DOG BARKING)

Have you seen this, Mr Clennam?

I know that man!

Blan-doys.

Blandois, a Frenchman.

Last seen at Clennam & Co.

Surely they don't suspect
my mother of foul play, do they?

They wouldn't issue a handbill
like this if they didn't.

My God.

On your way!

How did it seem to you, Mr Clennam,

when you saw this man
at your mother's house?

- She said she had some business with him.
- Any idea what this business was?

My mother has never in her life
taken me into her confidence.

Try her again, Mr Clennam.
She's in trouble now.

The old girl will have to swallow
her pride and accept your help.

- Well, we'll see.
- Signore! Signore!

Signore! This is him! The bad man!

You know him? You know Blandois?

No, no, no, no. No Blandois!

He is called Rigaud
and he is a killer!

Good day, Constable.

Flintwinch, what's going on here?
What did the constable want to know?

No need to worry, Arthur.
We're right as rain here, we are.

Here he is.

How are you, Mother?

I am exactly as I was the last time
you called here, Arthur.

I'm relieved to hear it, after
your visit from that Frenchman.

You were right to suspect him.
He is not as he presented himself.

- And now he has disappeared?
- Yes.

And what did he want here?
What does he have to do with you?

That is not your concern. You have
severed all connections with the firm.

I am still your son, Mother.

I am concerned about you.

There is no need to be.

Monsieur Blandois,
if that is indeed his real name,

came to Clennam & Company
with a business proposition

which, after consideration,
we declined.

He left. That is all. And that
is what I told the constable.

I have been told that this man
is a notorious criminal.

I'm glad I have nothing to do with him.

Mother, this is a serious matter.

The authorities believe
this man has been murdered.

Do they indeed?

And I am suspected, am I?

Then let them produce the body
and show how a woman paralysed,

confined to this chair,
could have committed the crime.

Now, if you'll excuse me,
I'm rather tired.

Yes, of course.

Mother...I worry about you,

trapped up here in this room.

I've hardly seen you
since I got back from China.

I'd like to call on you more often,
make sure that you're well.

That won't be necessary.

I may be paralysed...

but I'm not a weakling,
like your father was.

Goodbye, Arthur.

Shut the doors.

(CHURCH BELLS RINGING)

(COUGHS SOFTLY)

- Oh!
- Oh, indeed!

I suppose you know
what this means, little sister?

You mean you...?

She's as beautiful as she's doted on

and there's no nonsense about her.
It's all arranged.

- No need to explain, Edmund.
- No, my love.

In short, we're engaged.

We just tell Papa and there's
nothing more to say about it.

My dear Fanny,
I should like to say a word to Amy.

Must you?

I think I must, my love!

Well, go on, then.

My dear Amy,
if ever there was a girl,

next to your highly endowed
and beautiful sister,

- who had no nonsense about her...
- Edmund!

-...not one atom of...
- Edmund!

I know it's a habit of mine,
for which I apologise,

but she really hasn't got
the least little bit...

What I wished to declare is that,

though I may not be up to the mark
on some subjects,

on the subject of Amy,
I am up to the mark.

And when we are at home
in London, a knife and, er...

fork and an apartment
will always be at Amy's disposal.

There...

So...

Ah. Yes.

There, there.

It'll be all right. I promise.

My dear Fanny, I am delighted.

On the arm of Mr Sparkler,

you will move in circles
at the very pinnacle of society.

Your noble ambition
finds harmonious echoes in my heart.

You are a child brimful of duty
and good principle.

Thank you, Papa.

Mark and learn, Amy.

Mark and learn.

AMY: Dear Mr Clennam,

I received some news last night
which allows me to hope

that I may soon be leaving Italy
and returning to London,

My sister Fanny and Edmund Sparkler
are to be married,

Mr Sparkler has secured a position
at the Circumlocution Office,

and as soon as they are married,

he and Fanny will travel to England
to start their new life,

It is my dearest wish
to travel with them

but I think I must wait
so that I may travel with my father,

In nomine Patris et Filii
et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

Now that your sister is married,

she and her husband
will travel to London

to take up residence
in the Merdle household.

I myself intend to travel with them.

I've some affairs to settle in London -
investments and so forth.

Indeed, I hope to consult
with Mr Merdle about them.

So we shall all go back together?

No. Edward is going to
do some exploring, I believe,

and you and your uncle,
Frederick, will stay here.

You will, of course, be under
the excellent supervision of Mrs General.

Couldn't I travel with you and look after
you on the journey and...?

Whatever makes you think
I need looking after?

(CHUCKLES)

No, no, no.
Much better that you stay here.

It is to be hoped, Amy, that one day,
you too will find a husband

but Mrs General and I agree

that you have some way to go yet
before that may be possible.

To be frank, my dear,
you're not yet quite presentable...

in society.

Mrs General has a little more...

a little more forming to do,
in your case.

Isn't that so, Mrs General?

I fear it is, Mr Dorrit.