The Ray Bradbury Theater (1985–1992): Season 2, Episode 1 - The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl - full transcript
A guest murders his host after an argument, then becomes increasingly worried about removing all his fingerprints from the crime scene.
[theme music]
RAY BRADBURY
(VOICEOVER): People ask,
where do you get your ideas?
From right here.
All of this is my
Martian landscape.
Somewhere in this room
is an African veld.
Just beyond, perhaps, is a small
Illinois town where I grew up.
And I'm surrounded on every
side by my magician's toy shop.
I'll never starve here.
I just look around, find
what I need, and begin.
I'm Ray Bradbury.
And this is--
Well then, right now,
what shall it be?
Out of all this, what do
I choose to make a story?
I never know where the
next one will take me.
And the trip, exactly
one half exhilaration,
exactly one half terror.
[car door shuts]
[music playing]
[panting]
What are you smiling at?
Finally, I get the last laugh.
Cheers.
And good riddance.
Damn.
Can't be too careful,
can we, Huxley?
Fits nicely in your pocket,
or I can throw in a shoulder
holster for another $10.
Mister.
Sorry.
This is fun.
I'll take it just like this.
You'll be needing
some of these.
[clatter]
Bullets?
Yeah.
Works better that way.
You know how to
use one of these?
I just wanna scare him.
Him?
Prowlers, thieves, anyone
that might steal from me.
Oh.
Right.
I just wanna scare him.
I just wanna scare him.
Guess you just got
scared to death, eh, Hux?
[laugh]
Well, you ain't gonna be making
a fool of nobody no more,
are you, old bean?
Wipe that smile off your face.
[clock chime]
Why did you lead me
on all this time?
Well, I did no such thing.
I said I wanted to read
your story, not publish it.
I spent almost a year on this.
I worked it into what
you told me it should be.
Well, it's no
good, none of it is.
It never was.
Let's face it, Acton.
You have no talent.
You never have,
and you never will.
I never would have wasted
any time with you at all.
All the promises, just lies.
And I was doing Mary a favor.
A favor?
In return for what?
Good night.
[clock chime]
You alone?
Well, isn't that
what you want?
Come in, old bean.
Close the door.
Take off your coat.
Fingerprints.
My fingerprints.
Oh my god.
I almost blew it,
didn't I, old bean?
You would've loved that.
Acting the fool.
No talent as a writer.
No talent as a murderer.
I'm wise to your tricks.
[glasses clink]
Drink?
There's a fine bottle of
scotch in the cabinet here.
Have a glass.
[glasses clink]
No clues.
Nothing.
Nice and clean.
HUXLEY: Here's to your Mary.
I warned you to stay
away from my wife.
It's all over now, Acton.
It's all over between us.
Relax, OK?
Relax?
She told me she was leaving me.
This.
This is a [inaudible].
Hm?
Here.
Here is something
from the Ming dynasty.
Feel that texture, go ahead.
Here.
This is a piece
of Pre-Columbian.
It's a great house.
You must take the grand tour.
Stop patronizing me.
This is an
extraordinary chess set.
Simply remarkable.
Touch this.
Feel this richness, huh?
Stop.
You, and your money,
and your damn things.
I didn't come here
to talk about things.
I came here to kill you.
Well, of course you did.
Of course I did.
They're everywhere.
I touched everything.
No, no.
Be methodical.
And clean.
[cloth snapping]
I never touched that.
I didn't touch that.
Better safe than sorry.
No, no, no.
[scrubbing]
Better safe.
Better safe than sorry.
[clock chime]
This is gonna take all night.
No more fingerprints.
[clap]
Gloves.
There's gotta be gloves
in here somewhere.
Don't touch.
Mary?
Gloves.
[clattering]
Gloves.
Gloves.
Yes.
You'll be free, I promise you.
[glasses clink]
No.
Yes.
Feel it.
Feel it.
Pre-Columbian.
You must see my house.
That's everything.
Isn't it?
I didn't touch anything else.
Did I?
[thud]
Take that.
[thud]
And that.
Time to go.
HUXLEY (VOICEOVER): Touch.
No.
HUXLEY (VOICEOVER): Touch.
No!
Absolutely not!
[knock on door]
Huxley, open the door.
[knock on door]
Please, Hux.
Go away.
Go away.
[knock on door]
Huxley, I know
you're in there.
[car door shuts]
[engine starting]
[car pulling away]
No, I didn't touch you.
It was--
[clattering]
Go ahead, pick it up.
Go ahead.
Take a look at it.
It's beautiful, isn't it?
Look at that lovely
design on it.
Isn't it beautiful?
Go ahead, handle
it, I don't mind.
Turn it around some.
[sobbing]
[glass shattering]
Time, Acton.
Time?
Time.
Time to kill.
Mm.
Here, take this thing.
Here, take it, take it.
Aim it at me, aim it at me.
Go on, pull the trigger, go on.
Go on, you coward,
pull the trigger!
Go on!
You stupid coward, go on!
Pull it, you stupid coward!
[shout]
[gun clicks]
My god.
[clicking]
No bullets, huh?
Not loaded.
That's just like you, to
come here ready to kill
with no ammunition, huh?
How dumb you are.
What a crumb you are.
No wonder Mary loathed
you, laughed about you.
Gutless wonder.
Ah, you spineless weasel.
What a gutless wonder, what
a spineless weasel you are.
[shout]
Shut up!
Every time she hears your
dumb name, she's choking
and laughing all the time--
[choking]
Shut up.
Shut up.
[gasping]
[death gurgle]
There.
It's done.
[clock chime]
And I didn't muddle it.
It's perfect.
It's perfect.
The fruit at the
bottom of the bowl.
It's impossible.
He couldn't have done that.
Oh, my.
Oh, my.
Every piece has a print on it.
Gotta find every piece.
Gotta find every piece.
Polish every piece.
[knock on door]
MARY: Hux, darling.
Mary.
MARY: It's me.
You want Hux,
I'll give you Hux.
Mary!
[car pulling away]
Mary!
[slam]
No.
Oh.
Must hurry.
Must hurry.
Nobody down here.
All right, upstairs.
He's up here.
Good morning.
I'm almost done.
All right, take him away.
DOCTOR: It's crazy.
DETECTIVE: What is?
DOCTOR: Well, last week, I
had to tell Huxley he probably
had less than a month to live.
DETECTIVE: Are you his doctor?
Doctor.
Neighbor.
Friend.
He had terminal cancer.
Did you know the
guy who killed him?
Acton?
Mm-hmm.
Not really.
Met him a couple of times.
Strange bird.
Writer.
Funny.
Guess in a way, he
did Hux a big favor.
Hm.
[theme music]
RAY BRADBURY
(VOICEOVER): People ask,
where do you get your ideas?
From right here.
All of this is my
Martian landscape.
Somewhere in this room
is an African veld.
Just beyond, perhaps, is a small
Illinois town where I grew up.
And I'm surrounded on every
side by my magician's toy shop.
I'll never starve here.
I just look around, find
what I need, and begin.
I'm Ray Bradbury.
And this is--
Well then, right now,
what shall it be?
Out of all this, what do
I choose to make a story?
I never know where the
next one will take me.
And the trip, exactly
one half exhilaration,
exactly one half terror.
[car door shuts]
[music playing]
[panting]
What are you smiling at?
Finally, I get the last laugh.
Cheers.
And good riddance.
Damn.
Can't be too careful,
can we, Huxley?
Fits nicely in your pocket,
or I can throw in a shoulder
holster for another $10.
Mister.
Sorry.
This is fun.
I'll take it just like this.
You'll be needing
some of these.
[clatter]
Bullets?
Yeah.
Works better that way.
You know how to
use one of these?
I just wanna scare him.
Him?
Prowlers, thieves, anyone
that might steal from me.
Oh.
Right.
I just wanna scare him.
I just wanna scare him.
Guess you just got
scared to death, eh, Hux?
[laugh]
Well, you ain't gonna be making
a fool of nobody no more,
are you, old bean?
Wipe that smile off your face.
[clock chime]
Why did you lead me
on all this time?
Well, I did no such thing.
I said I wanted to read
your story, not publish it.
I spent almost a year on this.
I worked it into what
you told me it should be.
Well, it's no
good, none of it is.
It never was.
Let's face it, Acton.
You have no talent.
You never have,
and you never will.
I never would have wasted
any time with you at all.
All the promises, just lies.
And I was doing Mary a favor.
A favor?
In return for what?
Good night.
[clock chime]
You alone?
Well, isn't that
what you want?
Come in, old bean.
Close the door.
Take off your coat.
Fingerprints.
My fingerprints.
Oh my god.
I almost blew it,
didn't I, old bean?
You would've loved that.
Acting the fool.
No talent as a writer.
No talent as a murderer.
I'm wise to your tricks.
[glasses clink]
Drink?
There's a fine bottle of
scotch in the cabinet here.
Have a glass.
[glasses clink]
No clues.
Nothing.
Nice and clean.
HUXLEY: Here's to your Mary.
I warned you to stay
away from my wife.
It's all over now, Acton.
It's all over between us.
Relax, OK?
Relax?
She told me she was leaving me.
This.
This is a [inaudible].
Hm?
Here.
Here is something
from the Ming dynasty.
Feel that texture, go ahead.
Here.
This is a piece
of Pre-Columbian.
It's a great house.
You must take the grand tour.
Stop patronizing me.
This is an
extraordinary chess set.
Simply remarkable.
Touch this.
Feel this richness, huh?
Stop.
You, and your money,
and your damn things.
I didn't come here
to talk about things.
I came here to kill you.
Well, of course you did.
Of course I did.
They're everywhere.
I touched everything.
No, no.
Be methodical.
And clean.
[cloth snapping]
I never touched that.
I didn't touch that.
Better safe than sorry.
No, no, no.
[scrubbing]
Better safe.
Better safe than sorry.
[clock chime]
This is gonna take all night.
No more fingerprints.
[clap]
Gloves.
There's gotta be gloves
in here somewhere.
Don't touch.
Mary?
Gloves.
[clattering]
Gloves.
Gloves.
Yes.
You'll be free, I promise you.
[glasses clink]
No.
Yes.
Feel it.
Feel it.
Pre-Columbian.
You must see my house.
That's everything.
Isn't it?
I didn't touch anything else.
Did I?
[thud]
Take that.
[thud]
And that.
Time to go.
HUXLEY (VOICEOVER): Touch.
No.
HUXLEY (VOICEOVER): Touch.
No!
Absolutely not!
[knock on door]
Huxley, open the door.
[knock on door]
Please, Hux.
Go away.
Go away.
[knock on door]
Huxley, I know
you're in there.
[car door shuts]
[engine starting]
[car pulling away]
No, I didn't touch you.
It was--
[clattering]
Go ahead, pick it up.
Go ahead.
Take a look at it.
It's beautiful, isn't it?
Look at that lovely
design on it.
Isn't it beautiful?
Go ahead, handle
it, I don't mind.
Turn it around some.
[sobbing]
[glass shattering]
Time, Acton.
Time?
Time.
Time to kill.
Mm.
Here, take this thing.
Here, take it, take it.
Aim it at me, aim it at me.
Go on, pull the trigger, go on.
Go on, you coward,
pull the trigger!
Go on!
You stupid coward, go on!
Pull it, you stupid coward!
[shout]
[gun clicks]
My god.
[clicking]
No bullets, huh?
Not loaded.
That's just like you, to
come here ready to kill
with no ammunition, huh?
How dumb you are.
What a crumb you are.
No wonder Mary loathed
you, laughed about you.
Gutless wonder.
Ah, you spineless weasel.
What a gutless wonder, what
a spineless weasel you are.
[shout]
Shut up!
Every time she hears your
dumb name, she's choking
and laughing all the time--
[choking]
Shut up.
Shut up.
[gasping]
[death gurgle]
There.
It's done.
[clock chime]
And I didn't muddle it.
It's perfect.
It's perfect.
The fruit at the
bottom of the bowl.
It's impossible.
He couldn't have done that.
Oh, my.
Oh, my.
Every piece has a print on it.
Gotta find every piece.
Gotta find every piece.
Polish every piece.
[knock on door]
MARY: Hux, darling.
Mary.
MARY: It's me.
You want Hux,
I'll give you Hux.
Mary!
[car pulling away]
Mary!
[slam]
No.
Oh.
Must hurry.
Must hurry.
Nobody down here.
All right, upstairs.
He's up here.
Good morning.
I'm almost done.
All right, take him away.
DOCTOR: It's crazy.
DETECTIVE: What is?
DOCTOR: Well, last week, I
had to tell Huxley he probably
had less than a month to live.
DETECTIVE: Are you his doctor?
Doctor.
Neighbor.
Friend.
He had terminal cancer.
Did you know the
guy who killed him?
Acton?
Mm-hmm.
Not really.
Met him a couple of times.
Strange bird.
Writer.
Funny.
Guess in a way, he
did Hux a big favor.
Hm.
[theme music]