The Ray Bradbury Theater (1985–1992): Season 3, Episode 3 - The Lake - full transcript
Douglas is an artist who returns to his childhood home with his new wife, Margaret. She wants to see the lake, unaware that Douglas' childhood sweetheart Tally drowned and the artist believes he was responsible because he was afraid of the water. As children, he remembers that Tally promised she would return if he finished the sand castle they were building.
[theme music]
RAY BRADBURY
(VOICEOVER): People ask,
where do you get your ideas?
Well, right here.
All this is mine.
I'll never starve here.
I'm Ray Bradbury.
And this is--
The long hot
summers of childhood
surround me in photos
taken along the shores
of Lake Michigan.
Looking at them
many years ago, I
remembered when I built the
impossible cities out of sand
and discovered
that the lake could
be a sorrow as well as a joy.
When I finished writing
this story at the age 22,
I was in tears and knew that
at last I had become a writer.
[music playing]
[waves crash]
DOUGLAS (VOICEOVER): Across
an ocean and a gulf of time,
I return to the
haunts of childhood
and feelings both
bitter and sweet.
Though many years had
passed, memories remain.
A strange sorrow
mingled with happiness
when I came back with my
new wife to the country
where I was born and raised.
Your grandparents'
place, your place.
Hmm, that dark ravine
that frightened you.
I must see it all.
There's not that much.
There is, because it's yours.
DOUGLAS (VOICEOVER):
The visit was Margaret's
idea, her voyage of discovery.
We belonged to each
other, and she wanted
to know everything about me.
Well, some memories
could be shared.
Others remain mine alone.
Are those the daisies you
painted in Summer Image?
The very one.
Are those the stained glass
windows in St Agnes Eve?
Go up and see.
[music playing]
DOUGLAS (VOICEOVER):
She loved my paintings.
Someone else had admired
me as an artist once.
Hmm.
Yes, the same.
[bird noises]
And this is when your
brother hid at night
and jumped out at you?
Huh.
Even at noon, it
makes me afraid.
[giggles]
Now where?
Well, that's it.
That can't be it.
There must be more.
Nope.
[music playing]
Yes, lead on.
[giggles]
[car engine]
[children yelling and playing]
DOUGLAS (VOICEOVER):
The summer when
I was 10 was a fine summer, a
wondrous summer, a sad summer.
For you see, it was the summer
when for the first time,
I fell in love, a boy of 10.
Hey!
Yes, love.
And how could that be?
What happened in that particular
month on some special day?
That's the most beautiful
sand castle I've ever seen.
It's nothing.
No, it's something.
May I help?
It's all yours, of course.
I wouldn't want to spoil it.
[sand scraping]
Ah!
Hey!
[teasing laughter]
You--
No!
We'll build a better
one, together.
Get out!
[music playing]
[dog barking in distance]
You first.
I'll build half, and
then you build half.
Tally.
[sand scraping]
Douglas.
Yeah.
I think we deserve
a swim, don't you?
[ominous music]
Race you!
I don't--
Don't swim?
You'll learn, by
the end of summer.
I'll teach you.
[water splashes]
What are you afraid of?
The water, it hates people.
Why would it hate me?
Tally, it's time to go!
Will you be here tomorrow?
And the day after.
And the day after that?
And.
TALLY (VOICEOVER): We'll
build a better one, together.
[water splashing]
[laughing]
You're an artist, Douglas.
Thanks!
But even artists swim.
Come on!
DOUGLAS (VOICEOVER): All
though that wonderful summer,
we shared the castles.
But the water divided us.
[tally laughing]
Tally belonged to the lake.
But if she and it were
lovers, it remained my enemy.
MARGARET: Well?
We've seen everything.
Let's go.
Ha, nonsense,
it's a lovely place.
Just one look around.
[car door shuts]
[waves softly crashing]
[car door shuts]
[birds calling]
That's better.
You love me?
Better than all the
women in the world.
All right.
[music playing]
TALLY (VOICEOVER): I'll
be here every summer,
every single summer.
[hammering]
Summer's gone.
We're leaving in an hour.
Why didn't you tell me?
I didn't want to spoil
it, but look, we'll be
here every summer from now on.
Won't we?
I'll be here every summer,
every single summer.
Promise?
[ominous music playing]
Tally, you come back here.
Tally, it's late.
Hey, it's your last chance!
Come on!
What are you afraid of?
[water splashes]
See, it's just plain old water.
Tally, you know what happens
to children who don't obey.
[birds singing]
[music playing]
Wait here.
- Hmm?
- Just a moment.
Please wait.
But?
TALLY (VOICEOVER):
What are you afraid of?
[wave crashes]
[ominous music playing]
Oh, Tally.
[wave crashes]
Tally.
Tally!
Tally!
Tally, oh God.
[lifeguard whistle]
Do something!
I can't swim.
Oh God.
Oh please Tally, oh please God.
Wait, Tally!
Wait!
TALLY'S MOTHER: They're coming!
Wait, Tally!
They're coming!
You two, to the right.
Here, down!
TALLY'S MOTHER:
Oh please, Tally!
LIFEGUARD: You two, to the left!
Go!
Turn to the right!
No.
Down!
No.
[storm approaching]
[crying]
I build half.
You build the rest.
Yes.
Don't look.
I build half.
You gotta come build the rest.
Doug, time to come home.
Mom, I know.
Finish, finish.
Nearly done.
See, she's got to come in.
Douglas?
Mom, nearly finished half.
There, done.
Tally, OK?
[music playing]
[rain falling]
TALLY (VOICEOVER): I'll build
half, then you build half.
MARGARET: Doug!
You OK?
[music playing]
If I finish it, will you come?
[thunder]
MARGARET: Douglas?
[sand scraping]
TALLY (VOICEOVER): We'll
build a better one, together.
Finished.
It's done.
[wave crashes]
[seagull calling]
[heartbeat-like drum]
Jumpy, it just can't be.
What?
No one's drowned
here in years.
I mean, no kids,
no boys, no girls.
What's she doing here?
[music playing]
TALLY (VOICEOVER): I'll
be here, every summer,
every single summer.
[inaudible] No little girls
have drowned here for 15,
or 16--
25 years.
Yes.
A body won't last that
long in the water.
Doug?
[music playing]
[rain falling and thunder]
[birds singing]
[music playing]
[theme music]
RAY BRADBURY
(VOICEOVER): People ask,
where do you get your ideas?
Well, right here.
All this is mine.
I'll never starve here.
I'm Ray Bradbury.
And this is--
The long hot
summers of childhood
surround me in photos
taken along the shores
of Lake Michigan.
Looking at them
many years ago, I
remembered when I built the
impossible cities out of sand
and discovered
that the lake could
be a sorrow as well as a joy.
When I finished writing
this story at the age 22,
I was in tears and knew that
at last I had become a writer.
[music playing]
[waves crash]
DOUGLAS (VOICEOVER): Across
an ocean and a gulf of time,
I return to the
haunts of childhood
and feelings both
bitter and sweet.
Though many years had
passed, memories remain.
A strange sorrow
mingled with happiness
when I came back with my
new wife to the country
where I was born and raised.
Your grandparents'
place, your place.
Hmm, that dark ravine
that frightened you.
I must see it all.
There's not that much.
There is, because it's yours.
DOUGLAS (VOICEOVER):
The visit was Margaret's
idea, her voyage of discovery.
We belonged to each
other, and she wanted
to know everything about me.
Well, some memories
could be shared.
Others remain mine alone.
Are those the daisies you
painted in Summer Image?
The very one.
Are those the stained glass
windows in St Agnes Eve?
Go up and see.
[music playing]
DOUGLAS (VOICEOVER):
She loved my paintings.
Someone else had admired
me as an artist once.
Hmm.
Yes, the same.
[bird noises]
And this is when your
brother hid at night
and jumped out at you?
Huh.
Even at noon, it
makes me afraid.
[giggles]
Now where?
Well, that's it.
That can't be it.
There must be more.
Nope.
[music playing]
Yes, lead on.
[giggles]
[car engine]
[children yelling and playing]
DOUGLAS (VOICEOVER):
The summer when
I was 10 was a fine summer, a
wondrous summer, a sad summer.
For you see, it was the summer
when for the first time,
I fell in love, a boy of 10.
Hey!
Yes, love.
And how could that be?
What happened in that particular
month on some special day?
That's the most beautiful
sand castle I've ever seen.
It's nothing.
No, it's something.
May I help?
It's all yours, of course.
I wouldn't want to spoil it.
[sand scraping]
Ah!
Hey!
[teasing laughter]
You--
No!
We'll build a better
one, together.
Get out!
[music playing]
[dog barking in distance]
You first.
I'll build half, and
then you build half.
Tally.
[sand scraping]
Douglas.
Yeah.
I think we deserve
a swim, don't you?
[ominous music]
Race you!
I don't--
Don't swim?
You'll learn, by
the end of summer.
I'll teach you.
[water splashes]
What are you afraid of?
The water, it hates people.
Why would it hate me?
Tally, it's time to go!
Will you be here tomorrow?
And the day after.
And the day after that?
And.
TALLY (VOICEOVER): We'll
build a better one, together.
[water splashing]
[laughing]
You're an artist, Douglas.
Thanks!
But even artists swim.
Come on!
DOUGLAS (VOICEOVER): All
though that wonderful summer,
we shared the castles.
But the water divided us.
[tally laughing]
Tally belonged to the lake.
But if she and it were
lovers, it remained my enemy.
MARGARET: Well?
We've seen everything.
Let's go.
Ha, nonsense,
it's a lovely place.
Just one look around.
[car door shuts]
[waves softly crashing]
[car door shuts]
[birds calling]
That's better.
You love me?
Better than all the
women in the world.
All right.
[music playing]
TALLY (VOICEOVER): I'll
be here every summer,
every single summer.
[hammering]
Summer's gone.
We're leaving in an hour.
Why didn't you tell me?
I didn't want to spoil
it, but look, we'll be
here every summer from now on.
Won't we?
I'll be here every summer,
every single summer.
Promise?
[ominous music playing]
Tally, you come back here.
Tally, it's late.
Hey, it's your last chance!
Come on!
What are you afraid of?
[water splashes]
See, it's just plain old water.
Tally, you know what happens
to children who don't obey.
[birds singing]
[music playing]
Wait here.
- Hmm?
- Just a moment.
Please wait.
But?
TALLY (VOICEOVER):
What are you afraid of?
[wave crashes]
[ominous music playing]
Oh, Tally.
[wave crashes]
Tally.
Tally!
Tally!
Tally, oh God.
[lifeguard whistle]
Do something!
I can't swim.
Oh God.
Oh please Tally, oh please God.
Wait, Tally!
Wait!
TALLY'S MOTHER: They're coming!
Wait, Tally!
They're coming!
You two, to the right.
Here, down!
TALLY'S MOTHER:
Oh please, Tally!
LIFEGUARD: You two, to the left!
Go!
Turn to the right!
No.
Down!
No.
[storm approaching]
[crying]
I build half.
You build the rest.
Yes.
Don't look.
I build half.
You gotta come build the rest.
Doug, time to come home.
Mom, I know.
Finish, finish.
Nearly done.
See, she's got to come in.
Douglas?
Mom, nearly finished half.
There, done.
Tally, OK?
[music playing]
[rain falling]
TALLY (VOICEOVER): I'll build
half, then you build half.
MARGARET: Doug!
You OK?
[music playing]
If I finish it, will you come?
[thunder]
MARGARET: Douglas?
[sand scraping]
TALLY (VOICEOVER): We'll
build a better one, together.
Finished.
It's done.
[wave crashes]
[seagull calling]
[heartbeat-like drum]
Jumpy, it just can't be.
What?
No one's drowned
here in years.
I mean, no kids,
no boys, no girls.
What's she doing here?
[music playing]
TALLY (VOICEOVER): I'll
be here, every summer,
every single summer.
[inaudible] No little girls
have drowned here for 15,
or 16--
25 years.
Yes.
A body won't last that
long in the water.
Doug?
[music playing]
[rain falling and thunder]
[birds singing]
[music playing]
[theme music]