Screen Two (1985–2002): Season 7, Episode 5 - Fellow Traveller - full transcript

So I think the power
of this objective is...

to build for ourselves...

a world in which each individual
human being...

shall have the opportunity to
live out his life in peace

to associate with the friends
of his choice

to think and worship freely.

Ciao, sweetie.

Oh, shit.

Okay, let's do it.

- Hello, Asa?
- Joanie?

At last!



- I finally got through.
- Thank God.

I've been trying for hours.

How are you, sweetheart?

- Just a sec, honey.
- What... Hello?

What... what's...

How's the apartment?

- My wife.
- Asa, are you still there?

Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

Joanie?

- This is a terrible connection.
- How are you, baby?

God, do I miss you and the kids.



Well, we miss you, too.

No, you won't believe
what I've landed.

- Well, what?
- "Robin Hood."

- A remake?
- No, it's a kids' show.

Yeah.

No, you gotta see this place.

What a dump!

- Listen, listen, Ace.
- For this we fought the war?

- I just got a call from Sy.
- Listen

there's an advance on Sunday,
not enough for the villa in Cannes

- Asa, please be quiet!
- but it'll see us through.

Asa, Cliff's dead.

Are you all right, darling?

How?

I just heard.

It was suicide.

Why? Does anybody know why?

No.

The funeral's Saturday.

- How did he do it?
- He shot himself.

- Come home, Asa. Please, I need you.
- Come on, honey, please

- don't do this.
- Asa.

- You know I can't.
- Please, come home.

The charge is six dollars
for a further three minutes.

Do you wish to pay for the call?

Yes, operator.

Are you going to see Sarah?

No, I told you. Look. I don't
even know if she's in town.

- Caller, do you wish to continue?
- Yes.

I miss you, Asa.
This is much harder than I thought.

It's hard for me, too, sweetheart.

Look, baby...

Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

I love you.

Most stories have a beginning,
a middle, and an end.

- Ace?
- I'm supposed to know...

about this.
I'm a screenwriter.

It's my living.

But living's not like stories.

It's not always so easy

- to finish a chapter of your life.
- Ace?

- Or to put the past behind you.
- Ace?

I see England.

- Where is he?
- I see someone's underpants.

- Well, where is he? Ace!
- Cliff!

- Hey, kids.
- Hi, Cliff.

- Hi, kids, how are ya?
- Hi!

Listen, buddy, I think
maybe you oughta wait...

- a couple more days.
- Morty, we've been through...

this a million times before.

What do you want us to do?
Wait for the subpoena?

- They'll freeze his passport.
- I think maybe...

I can talk to somebody for ya.

Morty.

Morty, Clifford Byrne is
the name above the title.

They'll pull out all the stops
for ya.

I'm nobody. I'm a Joe Schmo.
You know they won't.

Don't give me a "look".
Give me a lick.

They won't do a damn thing for me.

Boy... boychick, come on.

Please.

That's my boy.

Come on, give me a hug.

Come on. Come on, give me a hug.

Come here, princess.

That's my girl.

I love you.

Give Daddy a kiss.

Come on, come on.

Come on now, not so sad.

I love you.

I love you, too.

- Call you.
- All right.

- Bye, Dad.
- Bye.

- Bye.
- Bye, Daddy!

Bye!

Hey, boychick.

At least let me drive you
to the airport, all right?

Do me a favor.
Take care of Joanie, will you?

Hey, come on.

Hey!

Come on, it's not forever.

Yeah.

If I could have
your attention, please.

- Here we go, the man of eat.
- Yeah.

My friends.

You're here today
to dig into your pockets.

Now, of course, we'll take
the cash, the watches

items of expensive jewelry,
the combination to my agent's safe.

This sounds like
my bar mitzvah speech

- but,
- Oh, no.

- No, no, I did not write that.
- if I could be serious for a moment.

Many of you here today remember
what it was like...

to suffer abuse, insult and worse...

when we tried to do our bid
for Spain five years ago now.

We've been called Reds,
Pinks, traitors

even, and I quote,
"premature anti-fascists."

Well, now, now when the peoples...

of the Unites States
and the Soviet Union...

are at last aligned against
the forces of barbarism

now everyone knows
we were right all along.

Hear, hear!

These days it's not such a crime
to be a progressive in Hollywood.

No one has to be ashamed to be
a so-called Red

when the Red army
is saving civilization...

on the Stalingrad front
this very moment.

So, please, let's show
our solidarity with them...

in the best way we know how.
Thank you.

Hi, there.

Why don't y'all give generously now?

Hello.

Goodbye.

- You going?
- I'd love to stay, but I have to go.

Who were you dancing with?

- Boyd's assistant.
- Boyd's. Come on, have one more.

- Here you go.
- Hello!

Very good.

- Hey, what, what is this?
- Goodbye!

Hey, come on.
How bad is this dame?

She would rather go serve coffee
and doughnuts to G.I.'s...

than sip martinis with the smart set.

Don't you love her? I do.

Hey. Don't keep...

What is he doing?

Don't keep him out all night.

And bring him home sober.

- So how was I?
- Terrific.

How come it's only my lines
you screw up?

Why couldn't you act like that
in "When Heaven Sleeps"?

Hey, honey!

What, are you keeping
the Red flag flying, scribe?

Nobody's taking any pictures of me.

- I still got my red shorts on.
- Yeah?

You keeping your politics
under your pants?

Close to the core of my being,
my friend, close to the core.

That's the part of the apple
most people throw away.

Before you say anything, I thought
your speech was absolutely wonderful!

Really, darling?

Yes, really.

I love you!

- Hey, Cliff!
- I'm gonna throw up.

- Hey, Sy!
- Two minutes, baby.

I'll be right back.

Hey, Sy, how are you?

This is the man I want you to meet.

- How do you do?
- Hello.

Booked the table for the three of us,
eight o'clock tonight, Brown Derby.

Let me have him tonight, Ace.
You've been with him all day.

No, no, you can't take him
away from me.

Hey, Sarah, honey, get away
from that man.

Shame on you.
Honey, come here for a second.

Hey, Jerry, come here.

You know Sarah, right?
I want you to meet somebody.

Hey, boychick, take care of Jerry,
will ya?

He's all right. He's one of us.

Hey, how are ya?

Having a good time, everybody?
Good to see ya.

How are ya? How are ya?

Are you new in town?

I'm still finding my way around
a little.

- Where are you from?
- Chicago.

You don't look like a meat packer.

Are you an actor?

By day I peddle bourgeois fantasies
for the toiling masses

and at night I go to work...

for the inevitable forces
of their release.

I'm a member of
the Screenwriters Guild.

Sounds better than saying I'm a hack
in the script department at Fox

- doesn't it?
- Writer?

Shelley was a writer.
Flaubert was a writer.

Zola was a writer.

- It's a pretty impressive turnout.
- Yeah.

You Party?

Let's say I'm very much in sympathy.

Fellow traveller?
Maybe we'll have to work on you.

Asa Kaufman, purveyor of Band-aids
for the weary soul.

I guess we're in the same business.
I take care of people's pains, too.

But I can never guarantee
a happy ending.

What, is this a riddle or what?
Wait, wait, saw bones, right?

- I'm a psychotherapist.
- Right.

Jerome Levy. Jerry.

I'm sorry, nothing personal,
but in my book

psychoanalysis has just given
the world another excuse to hate us.

Besides, my Yiddish momma taught me
to keep my hands on my pocketbook...

- whenever I meet a shrink.
- Yeah, well

my bog Irish father
taught me to spell Leavy with an A.

I thought Irish names were with an O.

- Where, where are we going?
- Baby, that's a secret.

Oh, God, please tell me.
What shall we tell Asa?

I'll... later, all right?

Have fun!

So long!

Bye!

Get your paper!

Paper!

Get your paper here!

Daily paper! Paper!

- How much?
- A tuppence, please, gov.

- That's it. Thanks.
- Is that enough?

That's enough.

Taxi!

Taxi!

BBC, Limegrove.

Would the "What's My Line" Sam
please come to studio 2? Thank you.

- Hi, I have an appointment with...
- I'm sorry, we are in rehearsal.

Is there enough light in the dark?

Cameras in line up.
First position, please.

Right, now camera 1,
we're on you for the close-up.

Camera 2, over here.

Ready to pick them up on the cross
and pan to the model, okay?

A bit more... That's it.

Give them a brand, sugar.

- Ready?
- Right.

And, action!

Because if you don't
brush your teeth, children

you'll soon see a horrible
build-up of ugly bacteria.

Now your cue's "bacteria,"
and cut to camera 2, and pan...

and hold on the wide.

Gently!

- Gently.
- Sorry.

Let's just try it again, shall we?

Right.

And, action!

Because if you don't
brush your teeth, children

you'll soon see a horrible
build-up of ugly bacteria.

Back in fifteen, talent, please!

Count! I'm D'arcy.
We meet at last.

A pleasure to meet you, sir.

- Air raid?
- Teatime.

The TV Dentist, I ask you.

Most of the great British public
have got false teeth anyway.

I can't tell you how much
I appreciate this.

Money could be very good for you.

Get in on the ground floor.

Look, I brought over
a couple scenes I've...

A word to the wise
before we kick off, old chap.

Keep mum. She's not so dumb.

I'm sorry?

It's very early days yet...

and there's some in this building
who might be a trifle miffed...

if they thought I was about to
defect to the other side.

The other side?

National television.

Cup of cha, why don't we?

Thank you.

Thank you, Janet.

You come very highly recommended,
you know?

So, nothing personal,
but cards on the table.

What?

You've never written
a children's show, have you?

No.

But I have kids.

I know what goes with them.

Oh, well...

We have... how shall I put it?

A rather different set of values
over here.

I think I can remember that.

You'll be reminded of it
every payday.

Now, are you quite clear on
the character brief?

- Okay, Robin Hood...
- Right.

- Right? Man of the people.
- But he is an aristocrat.

Yeah, yeah, sure,
but he loves the common folk.

We don't want Fairbanks or Flynn.

Oh, no, no, no, no. No,
I wasn't thinking about that.

- A man of action, but serious.
- Quite.

I don't want to make it look as if
he's enjoying himself with all...

- those Merrie Men, if you know...
- No, no, no.

No, no, I do. I do.

I see him more as
a Battle Brick pilot type.

Capital.

Yes, he runs a tight ship.

What about Little John?

Big man.

- A little slow, perhaps, but...
- But very loyal.

You do realize he's Scottish?

Do you think you can
manage a Scottie?

Would he have been a Scot
in those days?

Yes, but it's not
a bloody documentary, is it?

Anyway, Sir Hugo's Scottish.

Good.

Now what about the friar?

Great character.

Great character.
Plenty of scope for humor.

A fat man's funny, right?

He's always eating.

Pie, a leg of ham...

I'd seen him more as
a favorite house master type.

Okay, wait, wait, just get this,
just get this.

The fight is on in The Glade.

He's up in a tree. You think
he's ducking out, you know?

Then the Sheriff's men come below.

He takes off the helmets and, pow!

Bashes them on the head with a ham.

Then he crosses himself.

Could be a running gag.

I'm not too sure about
the religious angle.

Could be a bit sensitive.

I'll work on it.

It all sounds splendid.
I think we're on the right track.

I brought these scenes.
You can look them over.

- James, we lose the dentist.
- Oh, yeah, thank you, Janet.

Well, I better get back to
the salt mine, I suppose.

If these look all right...

I'm sure they will.

Would it be possible for you to
join up with the rest of the team...

at Sir Hugo's this weekend?

Oh, yeah, yeah, that'd be terrific.
Sure, yeah.

We'll be in touch.

Okay.

A little bit of a come down
for you, I suppose.

Oh, God, no.

Believe me, I am going to love it.

Good man.

I must say things have
come to an impasse...

if a man can't work
'cause of what he thinks.

So... all the better for us,
I suppose?

Hope so.

Have you got a name for yourself yet?

No.

Can't seem to think of myself
as a character yet.

You know?

Try something Anglo-Saxon.

See yourself out.

Back to teeth then.

Right, now, would you all
check your instruments are in tune...

and then we'll have a go at
the first four bars.

Lady, what are you
feeding your fiddle, vitamin pills?

Ace!

I don't believe it!

- What...
- God, how are ya?

I'm fine.

Have you heard?

Yeah, I read it in the papers.

- God, why did he do it?
- I don't know.

I wish to God I did.

Well, what are you doing here?

Well... I guess I can't go home
for a while.

Well, how did you get out?

I left before I got the subpoena.

If I go back, though,
they'll probably...

take my passport
and make me testify.

- Where's Joan?
- In L.A.

- Oh, you're not having...
- Oh, no, no, no, no.

Though I'll tell ya,
this business is taking its toll.

- I bet.
- Yeah.

Come on, let me buy a gal a drink.

Oh, Ace, I can't.

I'm waiting for someone.

How about later?

Look, I...

I don't think it's a good idea that
you should be seen with me.

Why? What is this?

I spent most of last year
picketing your embassy...

- over the Rosenberg trials.
- Good, so did I.

Yeah, well, I've been arrested
a couple of times.

I think the police are
keeping an eye on me.

Sarah, this is England.

Yeah, well, they seem to think
I'm the Rose of Luxemburg of NW1.

Well, you are, aren't you?

Come on!

- Take the risk.
- Oh, no, no.

Too many problems already.

Socialism's contagious here,
as well, you know.

- Sorry I'm late.
- Let's go.

- Hello.
- Skates on, darling.

- Careful.
- Sorry.

Here's my address and phone number.

Right.
I'm really sorry I have to go.

- Call me, yeah?
- Okay.

So Mickey Rooney goes up to
Joan Crawford and says

"Darling, I'd sure like to
make love to you!"

Joan Crawford looks at him and says

"Honey, if you do...

- and I find out about it..."
- "and I find out about it..."

You know what I told ya.
You're a dead woman?

with America as its prime target

- Hey, hey, listen to this.
- a conspiracy moreover...

which is virtually invisible
to the unwary citizen.

Though their numbers are small

- nevertheless, they represent...
- Look at this guy.

a larger percentage
of our population now in 1947...

than did Lenin's Bolsheviks...

- in 1917,
- Jesus Christ, this is a witch-hunt.

- a beast whose head is in Moscow,
- Oh, look at these guys from D.C.

- but whose tentacles reach out...
- real true blue Americans.

to grasp at the very vitals
of this great nation.

Oh, yeah, right, right.

Why are they doing this?

Why? Because they're a group
of anti-Semitic, fascist bastards...

who want the country
for themselves, that's why.

- Oh, come on, Ace.
- Listen!

Even our great American...

- motion picture industry
- There you go.

- which provides entertainment...
- Why are they so interested...

- to millions of people.
- in the movies?

Look at us, a hotbed of subversion
at the hub of the American dream.

Come on, don't be nicking yourself.

And the purpose of
these masters of deceit...

is to establish bad treachery,
infiltration, espionage, sabotage...

- and terrorism,
- What a...

a communist totalitarian dictatorship
throughout the world.

Their evil doctrines threaten
the moral health and happiness of...

- every individual,
- Jesus Christ.

- every hearth and home,
- Hey, you know

- every small town...
- it makes a lot of sense.

- and new metropolis...
- Look at us. We're very photogenic.

- Right? Make great witnesses.
- across this land of ours.

We can stand on the courthouse steps,
flashbulbs pop, we don't blink.

We gotta organize.
Go to Washington?

- Don't get involved, Cliff.
- Obviously they're involved.

They won't win yet.
What are we gonna do? Go to jail?

Do not pass "go"?
Do not collect two hundred dollars?

What? This is still the U.S. of A.
We got rights.

They can take the committee and...

- stick it where the sun don't shine.
- and remain the land of the free...

and the home of the brave.

Robin! All yours.

What should we do with him, Robin?

Take him back to Nottingham!

Beware, my Lord Sheriff!

I'll have your head yet!

Farewell, my Lord Sheriff!

Till we meet again!

Which one is the ass?

Godspeed on the hop back
tonight, Robin.

Hop's the word in your case, Friar.

I'll drink to that!

Okay, you bums, let's... Nah.

All right.

Okay, you bums, let's do it.

Okay... All right, you bums,
let's do it.

I don't know.

- Let's do it.
- No, try again.

All right, you bums, let's do it!

I don't know.

No, wait, wait.

I don't understand
what your problem is.

Look, I just think I need
a couple more lines, you know?

I mean this is the guy's
death row speech.

Make him more of a hero,
for Christ's sake.

I hate this.

You know I really hate...

You know what the problem is?
The plot stinks.

- That's the problem.
- Oh, please.

Don't give me please.
It's artificial. It's terrible.

- I don't know why it's even...
- No, it's fine. The plot is fine.

It's your attitude.

- Oh, oh, my attitude?
- Yeah.

And you got this block
you gotta get over.

Oh, my block? My block?

Did you see this? Look at this.

Studio directive, and I quote,
"Don't smear the successful man.

Don't smear the businessman.
Don't write about the common man.

Don't write about the little people."

- No!
- What the heck we gonna write about?

- Money?
- What, what, what?

What, they blacklisted
the Munchkins now?

Oh, come on, come on. Stop it

- Oy, oy, oy, come on!
- Morty, listen, right now they...

No, no, don't you "oy" me, Morty,
okay? Listen to this.

"Little and common are
un-American kind of words.

Give the world
an American kind of hero."

Who are these people?

- What, is there an echo in here?
- Who are they?

It's exactly what I've been
telling you, my friend.

This is killing me, Morty.

Morty, you don't know
what this is doing to me.

I can't sleep. I can't write.
I'm kvetching to Joanie all day long.

Sad sack.

All this'll pass.

Let's do a couple laps?
Make you feel better. Come on!

- Morty.
- What?

Morty, don't give me a "what."

- You know what.
- Listen.

There's someone I want you
to go see.

Who you talking about?

I'm gonna give you an entrée
to my therapist.

What? What, are you kidding me?
A head-shrinker?

- For what?
- Why not?

What do you mean, "Why not?"
What... This town. You know what?

- I don't believe this town.
- Oh, please.

You're my friend. I love ya.

Hand me the towel, will ya?

Totally un-Marxist.

How do you figure that?

Marx says, "Change the world,
people will change," right?

- Right.
- And Freud says

"The problem
is with the personality.

Society can't change." Right?

- Yeah, right.
- Yeah, right. I get it.

So, incom-fuckin'-patible.

Well, I never said go see Freud.

Go see a progressive analyst,
for Christ's sake.

What, what, are you kidding me?

Go see Dr. Leavy.

- Who?
- Thanks, Charles.

You met the guy, Jerry Leavy.

Jerry?

Oh, Jesus, the pinko shrinko?

No, no, no.
No, thank you, Charles.

Look.

Paddy O'Freud, Begorrah. Yeah.

Do us all a favor.

Go see Jerry Leavy.

And write me some lines.
I gotta make a call.

Mr. Asa Kaufman?

Yeah.

Do you have a work visa?

Everything all right, Mr. Kaufman?

Yes, Mrs. Porter.
I'll take care of this.

You will remember the rules
of the house, won't you?

No visitors in the rooms.

Yeah, I'm afraid we're gonna
have to find someplace else to...

It's a pretty routine inquiry, sir.
It's nothing to get agitated about.

Oh, no.

I'm not allowed visitors.

Well, we can't stand out here
all night, can we?

There's a café around the corner.

Would you gentlemen care to join me?

Yes, it's fine.

You're on a tourist visa.

- It seems to be in order.
- Thank you.

May I ask the purpose of your visit?

I'm a tourist.

The rugby tour?

You wouldn't, of course, be thinking
of doing any paid work...

- while you're here?
- How do you like it here?

- I like it very much.
- We take a very dim view...

of that, sir.

Have some HP Sauce, sir?

You finish that sponge cake?

Oh, go right ahead.

Your interest bothered them
back home, sir?

No, I didn't.

No.

No, I don't think so, no.

The House Committee
on Un-American Activities.

I was never called to testify.

Well, I think you'll find
we handle things...

rather differently over here, sir.

Any chance of a pudding?

Look, I don't know why you have
the slightest interest in me.

I've committed no crime.

I simply have no wish to return to
the United States right now.

- That's all.
- No, no, no. No one suggested...

- you have, sir.
- Sauce for the dark days

- you spotty dick.
- Hey, look, I'm just a writer.

You see, your country and mine,
we have a very special relationship.

And we have to support...

- one another.
- Yeah, yeah, okay, fine.

I'm just a writer, though.

"The pen is mightier than
the sword."

That's what they say.

Well, we've...

We've seen you now, sir,
haven't we?

By the way, sir.

You still undergoing
psychiatric treatment?

Mommy!

Mommy?

Mommy?

Mommy, Mommy!

Mommy!

Mommy!

Mommy!

Don't shoot, G-Man.

Don't shoot!

I keep having these nightmares, Doc

but you gotta understand that
this whole thing is a waste of time.

This whole town is
full of phony acts...

that are charging twenty bucks
an hour to tell some poor schmuck...

that his problems
have nothing to do with...

the screwed up system we live in,
but because he

because he saw his father's prick
in the shower...

when he was five or something.

Twenty-five.

I charge twenty-five dollars.

Bourgeois solutions
to bourgeois problems.

Just like the movies?

That was a low blow.

Look, Doc, I come from
a family of five.

I grew up in a three-room
railroad apartment...

on the lower eastside.

You must have had
plenty of opportunities...

to see your father's prick.

This I can do without.

Then why are you here?

That is a very good question.

I went to the Party Health Committee.

They said your methods
of treating personal problems...

remain compatible with
the materialist analysis of society.

And?

And I have bad dreams.

And I fight with my wife
all the time.

And I've got a writer's block
the size of the Washington Monument.

The heat is on.

The snakes are out.

That's an interesting phrase.

Look, Doc, I realize that
in the scale of human suffering

my problems rank pretty low.

I mean, it's hardly the reality
of the concentration camps.

Nevertheless, it is my reality.

There's no need to be ashamed.

I'm not ashamed.

It's just, I gotta live with it
and I'm caught in the crossfire.

You gotta be kidding.

Look, Doc, I'm being squeezed
by the studio...

for writing Red propaganda.

My last script was criticized
by the Party Literature Committee...

for Freudian Mystifications.

Yes?

It's a western, right?

The hero decides to come back,
clean up the town.

So what's the problem?

The problem is, the Party
Literature Committee...

feels it was a choice
motivated by personal reasons...

without reference
to his class background.

So how do you expect I can help you?

I don't know that you can.

It's show time, Doc.
I got nothing to show.

Maybe you can help, maybe you can't.

Besides, I'm the only Red
in this town...

without you for a shrink.
I'm beginning to feel left out.

We'll start you at
four sessions a week.

You'll soon catch up.

Do me a favor.

Can you get "Variety"
for the waiting room?

Hi.

Hugo's house?

Yes.

Come.

There you are.

There's someone I want you to meet.

It's quite a decent effort
you put in.

Thanks, thanks.
Look, there were a few points...

- I wanna...
- Yeah.

Now

this is Tudor Hamilton.

What do you think?

What?

Your new name.

Your scripts go to his agent,
who submits them in his name.

That's bamboozling the Home Office
and the State Department...

at the same time.

How's that?

What do you get out of this?

Ten percent twixt you and me.

That's a lot of money for a name.

Well, it's not too much
for your peace of mind.

Don't write too brilliantly, boy.

You might blow my cover.

I might start being offered...
work again.

If I could have your attention
for a moment, please, gentlemen.

I won't detain you long
from the serious business at hand

but I'd like to take this opportunity
to welcome all you "Merrie Men"...

and to say how much we appreciate
your sterling efforts.

We at Independent Allied Telefusion
like to think that "Robin Hood"...

will be the flagship
of our programming

representing as it does...

the values of high-class
family entertainment.

I'm very honored to have
a man of your experience onboard

Mr. Kaufman,
or should I say Hamilton?

It's a stroke of luck
for both of us, I'd say.

I'm very proud to be here, sir.

I've heard a little bit about
your troubles...

and frankly, we won't
let that bother us.

Thank you. I appreciate that.

My brother was a communist,
you know?

Denounced a Soviet pack,
almost broke them in two.

Was the happiest day of his life
when he joined up.

The saddest of mine
when they shut him down.

I'm sorry to hear that.

It could never catch on here,
you know?

I think the mass of
the British people...

see it as a fundamentally cold creed

all those fur hats
and thick overcoats.

Well, you would know that better
than I would, Sir Hugo.

It's cold enough here as it is.

No, I think we seek our utopias
in sunnier climes.

Well, you know, to be perfectly fair

I think it's more than
a question of temperatures.

- Do me a favor, Asa.
- What?

- Make Sherwood warm.
- Sure.

Give the people some sunshine,
why don't we?

My Lord.

My Lord Sheriff is
very cheerful today.

That rascal Hood is
walking straight to his doom.

Within the week, his head shall rot
on a pole outside Nottingham Castle.

Hello.

Why haven't you called?

I'm sorry.

It's okay. I need to see you.

- I'm in the middle of a meeting.
- I'll wait.

Come in. Come on.

It's impossible,
the twenty-sixth won't work.

The twenty-seventh of the month...

- We better leave it here.
- No, it's all right.

This is Asa Kaufman.
He's an old friend and comrade.

This is Ted Sturton from the GMU.

- How do you do, sir?
- Pleased to meet you.

- Pleasure to meet you.
- And Ronnie Wilson

one of the organizers
of the disarmament conference.

- How do you do?
- Mighty fine to make...

your acquaintance, partner.
Are you an American?

These days I'm classified as
an un-American.

Well, good for you, old son.

We have our problems here, but
thank God it's not got that bad yet.

Maybe you could come up to
our conference

talk about McCarthyism?

I'm sorry, I really can't afford to
be in the public eye right now.

It's hard to get American speakers
these days.

- We managed to get one chap.
- "Freud and Socialism." Big deal.

Dr. Leavy.

Jerry? Jerry got...
How'd he get out?

He's on a European tour.

Do you think
he would know about Cliff?

The only thing he was
ever interested in...

was the contents of
his clients' wallets.

Come... Sarah, for God sakes.

- I'll put the kettle on.
- Not for me, love.

- I must be off.
- No, excuse me.

Do you know where he's staying or
where I could get in touch with him?

You'll see him at the conference.

Give us a lift to the station, Ron.

I think I'll hazard another cupper.

- All right then.
- Ted...

Thanks very much.

- Good luck, all right?
- A real pleasure meeting you.

- Bye-bye.
- Bye-bye, darling.

Till then, chap.

Look, if this is a bad time...

- for you, I can go back.
- Don't be ridiculous.

- Take your coat off.
- You sure?

You two go back a bit, I'm told.

Yeah.

Los Angeles.

Her father used to write music
for the movies.

We shan't hold that against her.

That's your line of work and all?

That's right.

Have you known her a long time?

Long enough.

- She's a great lass.
- Yep.

- Terrific worker.
- Yeah.

You working on anything?

Me? Yeah, it's a kids' show.

What's that then?

I'm doing a "Robin Hood" script.

Oh, Jesus.

I can just see it.

Another bunch of fairies in tights,
prancing around the cardboard forest?

Yeah, well, it's a job.

Robin Hood was
my first political role model.

Look, I have to eat. All right?

I don't know.

Even our bloody mythology's
being colonized by the Yanks.

Okay, look, my friend,
I have to eat shit...

and it tastes just as shitty
coming from you as it does...

from those bastards who pay me, okay?
It's what I do! All right?

- All right! Keep your shirt on!
- You know what gets me?

It's all those people
that get wired up about peace...

and brotherhood and all that.

They're exactly the same people
who can never stop fighting.

Look, here, I surrender.

Yeah, another thing
I'll tell ya, kid.

If we don't have our enemy
in the room

we just keep practicing
on one another, right?

You tell Sarah I had to go, okay?

What makes you think you can
burst into my life...

after five years,
insult my guest, and then walk out...

- without so much as a thank you?
- Sarah.

- What?
- Come in.

I'll say what I came to say
and then I'll...

If you're going to yell at me, could
you yell at me in my room? Please.

Come in.

But I think you owe me an apology.

Not so loud. I have a crazy landlady.

Come on, I'll make you some tea.

Cheers.

England.

I'm sorry. I gotta apologize.
I really acted like a schmuck.

- I know.
- Yes, you did.

It's just...

I needed to speak to you so badly.

I just... It's driving me crazy.
I cannot...

I can't figure it out,
why he did it.

God... Bloody Clifford.

Why can't he just piss off
and leave me alone?

I saw all of your films, you know.

I can always tell your stories

'cause there's invariably a man
who has to make a moral decision...

against his own self-interest.

You found me out.
Same story, different hats.

Cliff was good in those roles.

He was brilliant at
conveying outrage.

And dying?

He was great at dying.

I could never remember endings.

I hate endings.

Sometimes I walk out
before the end...

'cause I don't like
seeing things resolved.

See, I always write the ending first.
Then everything else leads up to it.

- Mr. Koffman.
- Kaufman, Mrs. Porter.

I'm sorry, but I shall have to
ask this young lady...

to vacate the premises at once.

God. I'm sorry.

Mrs. Porter, please, we...

- It's absolutely fine.
- Wait. No.

- I was going any... No, I'll leave.
- Sit down. No.

Sit, sit down.

There is a principle at stake here.

- Mr. Koffman!
- Kaufman!

Mrs. Porter, we're all...

- grown up people here.
- I keep a respectable house.

I am a respectable person.
This lady is an old friend of mine.

You know the rules
of this establishment...

and if you don't like them,
you know what you can do.

Look, Mrs. Porter,
just let's calm down.

Do not point a finger at me.

Okay.

Why don't you just calm down, okay?

I can explain this to you,
believe me.

We can be reasonable about this.

- What a night.
- That was a really impressive stand

- I must say.
- Thanks.

No, really.

- Now what are you gonna do?
- I don't know.

- Go to a hotel, I guess.
- Don't be so stupid. Come to mine.

- No, I don't want to impose on you.
- You're not.

- Are you sure?
- Yeah.

Know what I should've said?

I thought you might need this.

Oh, yeah, okay.

See you in the morning?

Goodnight.

You absolutely sure
you'll be all right?

Yes, mother.

You may as well come in with me.

You'll be much more comfortable.

Goodnight.

Asa.

I can't, shit.

I'm sorry, honey,
I'm just not up to it.

Maybe I'll feel like it
in the morning.

Yeah, well... maybe I won't.

Look, I'll go back on the couch.

No.

That's all right, stay here.

It'll be much warmer. Stay here.

Okay, you bums.

Let's do it.

The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in
green pastures.

He leadeth me beside
the still water...

Cut!

- Okay, print it!
- Is that it?

- Cliff! That was great!
- Hey!

Come on, let's move it out.

The last one out buys a round.

- So how was I?
- How was it?

Babe.

Wait a sec.
Is it... Wait, is that it?

Is that... What happened to
the speech about, you know

"You can kill me, but there aren't
enough nooses in the world...

that can throttle the human spirit?"

- Where'd that go?
- They cut it.

- It's...
- Hey, Cliff!

- Who cut it?
- Look, they said...

- it slowed things down.
- Cliff, that was...

- the entire message of the film.
- But you...

- You asked me for that.
- Look, I'm sorry. What could I do?

I'm just a face. Come on.

It's a great line: "Let's do it."

Be proud.

- That says it all.
- Morty, I wrote that for you.

You know somethin', sad sack?

Sometimes you gotta bend a little.

- Hi.
- Hi.

Robin, some scoundrel
has betrayed us!

So, a fine woodcock has
walked into my snare.

Fine feathers don't always make
fine birds, my Lord Sheriff.

Hello?

Hello!

Hi.

Let me see.

"A fine woodcock has walked...

- into my snare!"
- Snare.

- Strong meat. What's it mean?
- Strong meat?

Betrayal.

That'll be nice for the kiddies.

- It'll work out.
- I do hope so.

Hey, look what I've got.

Ace.

Now, what dya reckon?

- That's great.
- Yeah?

That... that is terrific, yeah.

They're gonna take one look at that,
pack up their bombers and go home.

The world hasn't changed
just because...

you've got on your plane
from Tinsel Town.

Time has not stood still just...

- 'Cause time stood still...
- Oh, my God.

What is it?

Sarah?

Sarah, what's wrong? What is it?

It's from Cliff.

What does it say?

What does it say?

Do all of them say this?

Hey, come on.

It's all right.

You know, this never would've
happened if he'd stuck with you.

What do you mean?

Leaving you was the stupidest thing
he ever did.

Ace.

He didn't leave me. I left him.

What?

Christ, this...

So either way, it's my fault.

Come on, what are you saying?

Come on, don't be silly.

It's your fault?

You never...

You never really knew him, did you?

- What?
- No, really knew him.

I knew Cliff better than
anybody in the world.

- No.
- What, are you kidding me?

We grew up together
on the lower eastside.

We... I knew him before
he became an actor.

Knew him before he came out to...
I knew him before he was "Cliff."

He was Morty Birnbaum
down on Rivington Street.

- What are you talking about?
- No, but... you only ever saw...

what you wanted to see in him.

Sweetheart, I knew him better than
I know my brother.

I left him because
he never loved me, not really.

He was only in love with his career.

- That's not fair.
- No, he was only in love with...

the pickin'-little hero roles
that you wrote for him.

I'm sorry.

Well, now.

I'm not saying anything
without a lawyer.

- I'm a lawyer.
- Yeah, I know that.

Okay, what do you want?

We've been easy on you so far.

Well, you should be.
I haven't broken any laws.

Good, then you got nothing
to be worried about.

You called me. What do you want?

A word to the wise is all.
Maybe we can do some business.

You want me to write you
some better lines?

You're smart.

But I have this feeling, you know?

Wouldn't surprise me if
before too long...

What?

you just might be receiving
a subpoena

to testify before the Committee.

It's all here.

Organizations, meetings,
contributions.

Who gave you that garbage?

We know everything.

Really?

To my knowledge, nobody has
named me in an open hearing.

- That is not the issue, my friend.
- Then what is the issue, my friend?

- I've got nothing to hide.
- Good.

Then you'll take the stand.

I'm prepared to testify about myself,
but I'm not gonna give you any names.

You come to me, alone.

Tell me everything you know,
all of it.

You play ball with me...

and I will personally guarantee
your job security.

I had that dream again
last night, Doc.

Yeah.

Only, get this, this time
I'm leading a meeting...

of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party.

How's that?

Starting up the stairs...

There's my momma...

getting it from
the FBI man again.

Don't shoot, G-Man. Don't shoot!

Just... I'm drowning in Jell-O here.

You know what?
I don't know what this all means.

Come on, give me some interpretation.

Make me feel like
I'm getting my money's worth, okay?

All right.

Who's the FBI man in your life?

What do you mean?

Who is the figure of authority?

Who threatened you with punishment
with this symbolic machine gun?

Let me ask you a question.
Why can't it be a real FBI man?

There's plenty of them around
these days.

Oh, yeah?

Who screwed your momma?

Screwing me.

Hello?

May I speak with Miss Aitchison?

Yeah, who is this?

You know who it is, Asa.

Joanie?

Don't sound so surprised, Asa.

It wasn't hard to figure out.
I just spoke with your landlady.

I've had it over here, Asa.

I'm telling you,
I'm really through. I'm...

I just came here
because of you and now you're...

You don't know what it's like here.

For one thing, the studio
won't renew our lease...

and so we're gonna have to move.

All right, calm down.
Just... calm down.

Just tell me where are you
and the kids gonna be staying?

My mother's.

Okay, listen.

I promise it will be soon. I'll send
the tickets soon, I promise.

So you've said.

But it's obvious that
you have made your choice and...

I wouldn't say that
it includes your family.

Joanie, that's not fair.

Now, come on, you know
I had no choice.

I'm not fair?

I am not fair?

Yes, you had a choice. You could've
talked, like Odets and Sterling.

Like Cliff talked.

What?

That's what everybody's saying, Asa.
He talked in private.

You could've.

You don't get it, do you?

Joanie, Cliff is dead.
I'm still here.

You do not understand
what is going on here!

Okay, look, you're coming over now.

Okay? I'm gonna send the tickets.

It'll be rough at first,
but it will work out.

Yeah, so what are we going to do,
move into your love nest?

Honey, you have this all wrong.

I'm just staying here
while Sarah's away.

Listen, honey, you're gonna
come over.

It's gonna be like a new beginning.
I promise you.

You really mean it?

Yes, love.
I'm gonna send the tickets.

Soon?

Yeah, soon.
Soon as I can, I promise you.

I love you.

I love you, too.

I gotta go now, honey.

- Bye-bye.
- Bye.

I don't believe it.

I don't believe it.

He must've been set up.

Why would he lie to me?

See, I know what he was thinking.

I know exactly what was...

This kid, he was
from the streets, you know?

Better he should be dead than
the world should call him a stoolie.

He should've asked me
to forgive him.

I mean, it was me he betrayed.

He didn't have to cooperate.
You didn't cooperate.

I loved him and...

I know that.

I loved him, too.

Oh, God, I thought
all that part of my life was over.

Why did you have to come
and bring it all back again?

Father.

Father.

What is it, my son?

Hear my confession, please,
Father, please!

It's very late. Come back tomorrow.

I cannot wait that long.
Please, Father.

Oh, very well.

Who dare disturb
the sanctity of this holy cloth?

- Robin.
- Aye, Friar!

I come not for absolution,
but retribution!

- But, Robin!
- Only you knew of our plans!

Oh, no, my friend, no.

It was you who told the Sheriff!

Forgive me, my friend. Forgive me.

- He made me.
- I'm not gonna kill you.

Death is too good for you.

He threatened to torture me.

I hope you'll be pleased
with your labors...

when they hang Little John tomorrow!

No.

These are real mongrel days,
Doc, real mongrel days.

Oh, God.

So what do you think I should do?

I'm gonna be called, I know it.
It's just a matter of time.

Well...

So what the hell am I gonna do?

What do you think you should do?

Hey, look, I am paying you
a hundred and fifty dollars a week.

Jesus Christ.
"What do you think you should do?"

Let's think it through.

What are your options?

You know what my options are

the same as
every other bastard's options.

I suggest you just calm down.

I can cooperate,
be a friendly witness

a stool pigeon...

- And?
- And?

And remain employable in this berg
long enough to finish this analysis.

- Or?
- Or I can take the first

the fifth, the eighteenth,
the twenty-third

the forty-fifth, and go to jail and
never work again in this industry.

Cooperate, I'm a canary.
Keep shtum, I'm a pariah.

It seems to me you know
what you want deep down.

What... what is? Just stop it.

- What is that supposed to mean?
- You tell me.

What? Take the stand?

You said yourself it's a game.

It's show time, Asa.

So what am I supposed to tell them?

I'm supposed to just give them a few
names they already heard, right?

- Public act of contrition?
- Yes.

Yeah, oh, yes.

Become a willing participant
in their degradation procedures?

I can't do that.

God, please don't let me do that.

I'm not gonna do that.
I'm not gonna name names.

Asa, you have to choose between
allegiance to the past...

and commitment to your future.

That is so fuckin' smug.

This is what I pay you for?

I can get better advice
from a fortune cookie.

It's always money with you.

You may have left the Party, but
you're still an economic determinist.

This is a waste of time.

I'm no fish peddler.

You're gonna have to
help me to help you.

Screw it.

Screw Hoover, screw the FBI,
screw Stalin.

Screw the Party!

Screw you!

I'm sorry, Gina.

God, what am I gonna do?

Let's get back to the dream.

Okay.

Let's take another route.

Let's go for some other associations.

Okay.

Okay, what do you wanna know?

Start from the beginning.

All right.

I'm leaving the Party meeting.

I'm...

And who is there?

- I don't know.
- Come on. Who's there?

I don't know.
What does it matter to you?

There must've been
someone there you knew.

Who was there, Asa?

- I don't know. I...
- See the names.

Who else was there?

Who was there, Asa?
Just give me the names.

Oh, God...

Come on, who was there?

I don't know.

Who was there?
Just give me the names.

I don't know. I don't remember.

Well, think.

Who was there?

Just give the names.

Who was there, Asa?
Say the names.

Just say the names.

Must've been someone there you knew.

Just give me the names.

Come on, who was there?

The names, Asa.

Think. Who was there?

Say the names.

Come on.

- Don't...
- Just give me the names.

Tell me.

Come on.

Who was there?

Don't shoot, G-Man.
Don't shoot!

So

this is the question we should
ask ourselves today my friends

in an era of cold war...

- and anxiety.
- Okay, let's do it.

Are the ideas of Marx and Freud,
these two great thinkers

whose works have done so much
to illuminate this century of ours

are their ideas
so terribly incompatible?

For when we have removed
the pauses of injustice, of inequity

of international tension

then no doubt many of the causes
of personal anxiety...

will in their turn pass away.

How much is he getting paid up there?

Many, but not a cure-all.

It is the role of therapy
and the duty of the therapist...

to enable his clients to face up to
their personal torments

their personal fears, thus better
to equip them for the fight...

that lies before us all today

the task of fighting for
world peace, for world freedom

for world harmony.

For there can be no peace for
mankind without peace of mind

and there can be no peace of mind
without peace for mankind.

Thank you.

On behalf of us all here today

I'd like to thank our guest
for his courageous...

and inspirational address.

Hear, hear.

Dr. Leavy has a very taxing schedule
before he returns to Los Angeles

but I think we have time
for a few questions.

Now, do any of you
have any questions?

Ted, if I may?

Hi, Dr. Leavy. Long time no see.

I was just wondering if
our English comrades...

were aware of the fact that
nobody to the left of Caligula...

can just leave the country,
get his passport stamped...

and then slip back in like
some greased zucchini in these times.

Do you have a question, comrade?

Please, does anyone have
a serious question?

Are you still charging
twenty-five bucks...

- an hour, Doc?
- Does anyone have a serious...

- question to raise?
- This is serious, all right.

It's time to talk about some of
that peace of mind. Relax, will ya?

Just relax. I know the gentleman.
We're good friends.

Friends, this man is
a former patient of mine.

Unfortunately, we were not able
to complete the analysis.

Yeah, you're damn right we weren't,
but why was that, Doc?

See, because I wouldn't
take the stand...

- to rat on my friends.
- Please stop him.

He's not a well man.

If we have any questions.
Now do we have any questions?

You killed Cliff. You know that.

This son of a bitch killed my...

You killed Cliff, you motherfucker!

I'm afraid these delusions require
professional attention.

I can recommend a good man
for you in London.

- I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen.
- Everything...

that I told this man in his office
with the diplomas on the walls

- straight to the Feds, right?
- Please, I must ask you to sit down.

All the time without me
knowing it, I...

You used me as a stoolpigeon,
you son of a bitch, right?

Tell them! Go ahead,
tell the people.

Come now, old man,
you were a couch pigeon.

It was much more
comfortable that way.

Sit down, Asa.

Yes, there's a question over there.

Are these accusations true?

I'm afraid the convictions of these
golden boys and girls of Hollywood...

didn't run so very deep.

Mostly they were lining up
to cooperate.

They needed a therapist to massage
their bruised consciences is all.

So why did Clifford Byrne
kill himself?

I'll tell you why.

Because when he got him to
go brownnose to the Feds...

in some sort of secret deal
or something...

and Cliff realized that he couldn't
live with what he had done

he put a gun in his mouth
and he blew his friggin' brains out!

Right, Doctor?

Come on, Doctor, tell them.
Go ahead.

Don't you people know
what's been happening in my country?

The hearings, the blacklist,
the internal security act?

They're all in the interest of
world socialism. What crap.

Don't you realize Joe Stalin
needed Joe McCarthy?

When all the stories about
the show trials came out

all he had to do was point to...

the land of the free
and the home of the brave and say

"Look! There's democracy...

- in action for ya!"
- Bullshit!

And if I had to set up
a few pinko intellectuals...

- who think that communism...
- You are so full of shit!

is twentieth century Americanism...

and whose only contribution to
radical culture...

consists of smuggling in a line
about a strike...

in a Warner Brothers musical,
then I'm afraid so be it!

You are a disgrace to
your profession and the country!

Why do you put up with this son...
son of a bitch!

I bet you are! What are you gonna do,
Asa, punch me in the face...

like the hero
in one of your pictures?

You're only here because you didn't
have the guts to go to jail!

Come on!

Drop it!

Get off me, all right?
I'm walking, okay?

He's actually a friend.

Outlaw.

I'll have you dancing on air.

Don't speak too soon,
my Lord Sheriff!

Halt!

You win the day,
but I will have you yet, Hood.

What makes you think you've got
another day? You bastard!

Hey, I'm an American!
You cannot do this to me!

- Robin, you...
- I want to see a lawyer!

A barrister, a solicitor,
whatever the hell you call 'em!

I know you, Robin of Loxley!

You may be a lawless wretch

but you would never kill a man
in cold blood.

I keep no mercy for tyrants!

What would you do without me,
your enemy?

It's the world we live in, Robin.

We need one another!

This is for the poor!

This is for the weak!

This is for the oppressed!

And this... is for the people.

At least answer me!

Got a lot to say for himself,
that pal of yours.

You think I could borrow your phone?

Thank you.

I quite understand that.

Leave it with me.
I'll see what I can do.

Hello?

Could you put me through
to the Chief Constable, please?

And my apologies for the early hour.

Who shall I say is calling, sir?

Sir Hugo Armstrong.

Oy, you!

Gonna send me to the tower,
drown me in malmsey?

On your way.

This is a crusade for peace.

We stand for peace on earth,
total disarmament, now.

Join us today and say yes to peace.

Which side are you on?

If you don't want your children
to grow up in the shadow...

of a nuclear mushroom

- then come inside now...
- Come on, sad sack.

This is it.

This is your life now.

And this is mine.

Let's make our country
free and safe for the future.

Say no to the A-Bomb.

Say yes to peace.

Bye, Sarah.

Total disarmament now.

Join us in our crusade for peace.

Robin! All yours!

What should we do with him, Robin?

Take him back to Nottingham!

Beware, our Lord Sheriff!

They'll never get him.

They did.

Look, he's riding his donkey
backwards!

Till we meet again!

Which one is the ax?

- Looks like Mom.
- Sure does.

Those clothes are really neat.
Look at Robin Hood.

Mum's the word in your case, Friar!

I'll drink to that!

There's Mom and Dad kissing.

Yay, Daddy!

Yay, Daddy!

We love you, Tudor!