Amsterdam (2022) Movie Script

1
(WHIMSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
MAN: I was working
in my office on 138th Street.
Mostly fixing up
banged-up guys,
like myself,
from the Great War.
See? Beautiful.
All from injuries
the world was happy to forget.
Fixing faces, lifting spirits,
singing songs.
ALL:
Peanuts
MAN: I left my eye in France.
And I was constantly
on probation
with the medical board
for trying to make
new medicines.
I mean, we needed medicines
that didn't exist yet
just to get through the day,
with the pain and the nerves.
I hope this is a better pill.
That's all I'm saying.
I hope you're right.
MAN: Some worked better
than others.
This is my second of the day.
(INHALES DEEPLY)
And I feel great.
Victor, you wanna try one?
Yeah. I'll try the new one
next week.
All right.
That gives you zing.
Put your pants on, Burt.
I repaired 'em for you.
Are you all right?
BURT: Because
of my war injuries,
I had a back brace I hated.
(GROANS)
They're gonna put you away
if they don't close
this place down.
BURT: That's not helpful,
Shirley.
SHIRLEY:
Experimental medicine.
(PHONE RINGS)
BURT: You look good.
How's the infection?
All right.
Good, good, good,
good, good.
And I got the message.
No need to pay yet.
SHIRLEY: Burt,
you got messages.
Your parents called.
They can't make the holiday.
Herb Getz called
about the ear drops.
And Harold Woodman called.
Meet him at this address.
Walk right in. Urgent.
(WHIMSICAL MUSIC PLAYS)
BURT: I worked
with an attorney,
my best friend from the war,
Harold Woodman.
Hey, Burt.
BURT: What is going on?
What is this place?
It's a very important case.
Yeah?
Pays very handsomely.
Nice.
We have a lot of back bills.
People depend on us,
our business.
Most importantly,
it's very meaningful
to both you and I.
Meaningful how?
Well, you care about
the annual gala,
don't you?
Yeah.
And you always say
it's important for us vets
to have reunions,
to be remembered.
It is.
And you say
it's great medicine for us
to get together and sing.
Don't you say that?
Where's this going?
It's going
to a particular procedure,
and I know how you prefer
some procedures over others.
Just tell me what it is.
What...
What kind of procedure?
What are you doing
with these flowers?
Dinner date with Beatrice.
Dinner date with Beatrice?
Yes.
So disappointing.
She's my wife.
Is he all right
to perform the procedure?
(HAROLD SIGHS)
(HESITATES) Yes.
He... He is. It's okay.
He's not gonna do it.
He's gonna do it.
Calm down.
Who is this?
This is Liz Meekins, Burt.
Meekins?
As in, relation to...
He's my father. I know
you admire him very much.
Oh, my God. Yes.
We both did. Do.
I really do.
That's why he's gonna speak
at our reunion this year.
Very nice to meet you.
Are we meeting
your father here?
Let her finish, Burt.
(IN HUSHED VOICE)
My father came back
yesterday on a boat.
Okay. He goes to Europe
on business, right?
Did he catch a bug
or something?
I'll look at him.
Where is he?
You should see him.
Yeah. Come on.
Let's go.
This place is gorgeous.
Look at it.
So, where...
where is, uh,
the good General
"Quiet and Still" Bill?
(DOOR THUDS)
(NOSE BLOWING LOUDLY)
(CONTINUES BLOWING NOSE)
WOMAN: Excuse me.
(MUFFLED) My allergies
are terrible today.
I wake up,
it's in my sinus,
and it's the whole day.
I don't know
what you're doing,
and I don't wanna know
what you're doing.
You have two hours
until the embalmer comes.
What happened? He was
gonna speak at the gala.
(DOOR OPENS)
You will help me,
won't you?
(DOOR CLOSES)
I'm not buying
that he died of
natural causes.
He was a very
healthy man.
No one in my family
agrees with me.
They're all wrong.
They're all liars.
I want an autopsy.
HAROLD: That's correct.
It is your right.
Your father died intestate.
You're the next of kin.
I read the papers.
I hate autopsies, Harold.
You know that.
We have to do it, Burt.
Bill "Quiet and Still" Meekins
is the reason we met.
He formed our regiment.
How did a man like this
end up dead?
You're telling me
it's suspicious?
LIZ: Yes, I'm telling you
it's suspicious.
Will you please
sing with me?
He said that you used
to sing with him
when you were at war.
He enjoyed it so much.
Precious memories
HAROLD:
Memories
ALL:
Unseen angels
Sent from somewhere
to my soul
(DOOR OPENS)
WOMAN: Hurry up.
You only have two hours
to do whatever it is
you're gonna do.
All right.
You have to do
the autopsy,
and immediately after,
meet me at
Minters Restaurant.
I need to know
what you find.
Why did she say two hours?
Because we're
in the mortician.
They're gonna put him
in the ground.
Minters Restaurant,
after 5:00.
You've gotta get him
out of here.
Yeah, we should
get going, Burt.
Harold? I don't know
what you think you're doin'.
Liz, excuse me. Hello.
You got a dead white man
in a box.
Not even a casket.
Important man,
in a pine box of old wood.
Doesn't even have
a top on it.
His daughter's cryin'.
(LIZ CRYING)
Who do you think
is gonna get
in trouble here?
The Black man,
that's who.
Milton.
Right now we need to get him,
our leader,
who founded our regiment,
into the truck.
Do the autopsy.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
Meet me at
Minters Restaurant
immediately after.
Got it.
I need to know.
I need to know
what you found.
Okay.
Minters Restaurant at 5:00.
Milton. Milton.
(COFFIN THUDS)
LIZ: Please be careful.
MILTON: It's got a bum wheel.
(COFFIN THUDS)
LIZ: That's not careful.
Milton.
This is why you'll
never drive my car.
The embalmer
is coming for this.
You better be here.
Two hours.
HAROLD: You remember Burt,
don't you?
Of course.
HAROLD: Irma St. Clair.
Hello, Burt.
Hello, Irma.
IRMA: Don't be nervous.
I do at least
two autopsies a month.
I've done two autopsies
my whole life.
One to prove
I didn't leave a clamp
on someone's
small intestine,
the other to remove
a clamp I did leave
on someone's
small intestine.
Now we know you're good
with small intestines, Burt.
Thank you.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
You know, you and Burt should
get coffee sometimes, Irma.
Maybe you and Irma
should get coffee sometime.
HAROLD: We're friends, Milton.
You know, Irma,
his wife wouldn't stand up
for him to her family.
They haven't lived together
in over a year.
(WHISPERS)
That is my situation.
Not now.
I just wanna
see you happy.
Dead man makes you realize
time is short
and love is real,
if you know what it is.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
(DOOR SLAMS OPEN)
What's going on here?
Autopsy. Paperwork.
The police are waiting
for this body
to return to the mortuary.
The sooner we start,
the sooner he's out.
These two men
need to leave immediately.
BURT: They're veterans.
They served their country.
Go wait at McGee's.
We'll be downstairs
at McGee's.
At McGee's.
Irma's Portuguese.
That's different.
(DOOR OPENS)
I didn't know
you were Portuguese.
I'm not.
Do you wanna start this
or shall I?
Uh, just emotional
because I knew him.
You can just sign this
if you want.
No, no, no, no, no.
That's what Harold needs.
I... I can help.
He was such a kind man.
There we go.
(GRUNTS SOFTLY)
(SNIFFS) Oh, God.
(TOOL CLATTERS)
IRMA: Mm.
(IRMA GROANS)
Um, didn't ask
how you were doing.
(GRUNTS) My man left.
(BREATHES SHARPLY)
This kind of thing
happens every day.
BURT: I'm sorry.
IRMA: It's fine.
True love is
based on choice,
not need.
Do you need your wife
or do you
choose your wife?
Well, can't it be both?
No. The second one is
the one that truly matters.
At the end of the day,
it is.
Choice matters over need.
I don't like to be alone.
Ah.
That sounds like "need."
I'm opening up the stomach.
Look at that.
BURT: Oh, yeah.
That's an unusual color.
Something...
Yeah.
Given to him
over a period of time.
Hmm.
It's hard to tell how long.
IRMA: Hmm.
He just got back
from Europe.
I'll close him up
and take more blood samples.
I'll have more news
for you tomorrow.
I take it you're still
at the same office?
Yeah.
Harold says you deserve
a better circumstance,
but you allowed yourself
to be corrupted.
He says you followed
the wrong God home.
What? "Corrupted"?
"Followed the wrong God home"?
Why doesn't he say that to me?
What does that
even mean?
I don't know.
Maybe you spent
enthusiasms and urgencies
you didn't know
you were wasting
until it was too late.
You ended up without a chair
by the time the music ends,
even in your own home.
(DOOR OPENS)
NURSE: We need this room.
IRMA: That's perfect,
'cause we were just leaving.
Liz said to meet her
after 5:00 at Minters.
Right. But I wanna
talk to you about Irma.
Oh, the reason
I pushed that, Burt,
is because
I wanna see you happy.
And I'm your friend.
My friend who thinks
I'm corrupted somehow,
yet doesn't have
the guts or decency
to tell it to my face.
You don't wanna
hear that to your face.
You've got flowers
for your wife
who won't let you live
in your own apartment.
Explain the word "corrupted"
or the term "following
the wrong God home."
It's your in-laws, Burt.
They hate that
we work together,
let alone that we're friends.
Well, I don't listen
to any of that Park Avenue
garbage from them.
Yes, you do.
You care a little bit.
And all it takes
is a little bit, Burt.
Then they got you.
Like that drop of blood
from the cut you got
from the war
before I stabbed
that German.
Those cuts
clouded your eye,
and guess what,
you lost the eye forever.
(PATRONS CHATTERING
AND LAUGHING)
Welcome to Minters, gentlemen.
Table for two?
Uh, we're actually
meeting someone...
Uh-huh.
...a tall woman, blonde...
Yes.
...serious face.
Yes. Right this way.
Wait. She was here.
I don't know what happened.
(SHOP BELL JINGLES)
She was...
Right here.
HAROLD: Miss Meekins.
MAN: There she goes, pal.
HAROLD: Miss...
Wait. Miss Meekins.
Miss Meekins. Miss Meekins.
We did what you asked.
We found something suspicious,
just like you thought.
LIZ: I can't do it. I'm sorry.
(CAR HORN HONKS)
What...
I spoke to a personal friend,
Mr... Mr. Voze.
He said I have to be careful.
Who? Did he scare you?
He said it was dangerous.
Wait. Miss Meekins,
wait a second.
I just need to drop it.
BURT: Come off the street.
Come on.
You knew my father.
Yes, yes.
And you knew my father.
We did.
We loved
your father. Yes.
And you know
what he used to say is,
he used to say
you can't run from fear.
You can't let fear
chase you around.
I know that
I seem afraid,
(SHUDDERS)
and I shouldn't be
because Mr. Voze,
he was just cautioning me.
He wasn't...
He meant well.
He's a friend of the family.
What did you find?
We believe that
he might have
been poisoned.
Do you know why?
Is somebody watching me?
I can't...
HAROLD:
It's okay. It...
I don't know
if I can talk about this.
(MUFFLED) They have interests
in an alliance,
and he knew that.
But he wasn't gonna
go along with it.
He knew something.
He saw something terrible.
He did.
And they knew
he was gonna tell.
Tell what?
What did he see?
LIZ: It's dangerous.
I think that...
(CAR HORN HONKS)
(LIZ SCREAMS)
BURT: Miss Meekins!
Oh, my God! Miss Meekins!
(TIRES SCREECH)
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
These two, they did it.
Right there.
Miss Meekins!
HAROLD: She's dead.
Ow!
MAN: They did it.
Right there.
HAROLD: You're lying!
WOMAN: These two right there.
They did.
These two guys.
Right there.
No! You did it!
You pushed her!
MAN: They killed that woman.
I saw you push her!
WOMAN: They killed her!
HAROLD: I saw you, sir!
They did it.
I saw it.
I'm an attorney.
This is a doctor.
MAN: Them two.
I saw 'em do it.
She hired us.
This is our client.
Look what he's got
in his hand.
He's got her purse!
He's got her purse.
You killed her
and took her purse!
No. I saw you.
You pushed her.
I'm an attorney...
(CLAMORING)
No, no, no! He's...
HAROLD: (GRUNTS) Get off!
MAN: Citizen's arrest!
Citizen's arrest!
We'll make a citizen's arrest!
(MEN CLAMORING)
(WOMEN SCREAMING)
(WHISTLE BLOWS)
MAN 2: Shoot 'em!
Get them!
Those two,
right there!
OFFICER: Stop!
Stop!
(GUNSHOTS)
(HAROLD GRUNTS)
(SIREN WAILING)
(WHISTLE BLOWS)
MAN 3: Cowards!
BURT: That poor girl.
Oh, God.
MAN 4: Come on.
Let's go.
MAN 5: Behind those cars!
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(BOTH PANTING)
(DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE)
That's the man.
MAN: You're not driving.
I'm driving.
We talked about this.
That's him.
MAN: Stay organized.
We're an organization.
Stay organized.
HENCHMAN:
They won't get away.
We'll keep an eye out
for 'em right here.
How the hell did they
follow us over here?
(CAR ENGINE STARTS)
(METAL CLATTERS)
(MAN SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY)
(DOG BARKING)
Come on, come on.
(BURT GROANS)
BURT: God, this brace.
HAROLD: Hey, hey!
Hey!
I think they're
still watching us.
You think?
I think so.
BURT: Holy shit.
What fresh hell is this?
You don't get here
without things
starting a long time ago.
(CLOCK TICKING)
You want me to go
to our favorite tree...
and get bark
in the Argonne Forest
where they are
blowing people up?
It will be honorable,
glorious.
Good for the family.
But it...
it's good, Burt.
It's good.
You'll fit in better
when you have more medals.
MAN: You'll fit in
on Park Avenue.
People respect
military service.
I could be killed.
OLDER WOMAN:
We cannot think that way.
Of course you
won't be killed.
BURT: Ah, Beatrice.
I didn't come
all the way over here
to be talked to
like a damn dog.
It's a crime
against the flag.
I don't think they have
the ability to possess
the admiration
or the confidence
to wear the uniform.
Who are we talking about?
One of these crackers
get in my way,
I'mma shoot 'em
in the back.
Well, we know you even
like this even more.
I was done
talking to you.
You'll never be done
talking to me.
MAN: That's enough, Sergeant.
Yes, sir,
General Meekins.
You don't need to be
involved anymore.
Attitude doesn't help.
That's why I wanted
to bring you on
as a medical officer,
Bernstein.
Berendsen, sir.
I'm sorry.
This is Mr. Woodman.
Got a situation here
that I thought
you might be able
to help with.
What situation, sir?
GENERAL MEEKINS:
Mr. Woodman,
why don't you tell him
why you're here
in the stockade.
Why are we in a stockade?
Insubordination.
Were you insubordinate?
HAROLD: Yes.
Why?
They gave us Jim Crow officers
like that knucklehead.
But we refuse
to continue
till they've replaced him
with somebody good.
Someone decent
and respectful.
Is that supposed
to be me, sir?
GENERAL MEEKINS:
That is you, Berendsen.
BURT: I mean,
the people you meet
in these circumstances
of tremendous stress
are bonded to you for life.
Are you the kind of doctor
that's gonna leave me
bleeding out
and I'll have to shoot
in the back?
Because let me tell you,
the officers that they had,
they didn't care
whether we lived or died.
I am not gonna
let anybody bleed out,
and I do not wanna
get shot in the back.
I am the son of a mechanic
from Elmira.
I am married.
I'm half Catholic,
half Jewish.
I'm a doctor.
I have a practice
on Park Avenue.
And I think that my in-laws
sent me here to get rid of me.
Well, that all sounds
pretty good, except that...
in-laws part, but maybe
that's why I can trust you.
(THUNDER RUMBLES)
So, we'll make a pact.
You see to it
that we won't die.
And I'll make sure
you won't get killed.
We'll look out
for each other.
Harold Thaddeus Woodman.
Bertram Berendsen.
Welcome to the 369.
Thank you.
Finally, that's what
I've been looking for.
Just some respect.
Now let's go deal
with this unfortunate
uniform situation.
Yeah, let's go
deal with this
uniform shit.
HAROLD: Welcome to my army.
Why are we wearing
French uniforms?
The American soldiers,
they don't wanna
be seen with us.
It's disgraceful.
I fought to create
this regiment
in the spirit
of kindness and unity.
Hope to see you
on the other side of
the Argonne in good shape.
God be with you.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(PAINED SCREAMING)
BURT: I saved Harold.
He saved me.
And there was this French lady
saving both of us.
(SCREAMING CONTINUES)
(HAROLD GASPING)
(HAROLD CRYING)
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
NURSE 1: Et vous ne portez pas
de bonnet en plus!
Comment?
Vous ne portez
pas de bonnet!
(GASPS)
NURSE 1: Oh la la!
(DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES)
(HAROLD SHUDDERING)
Croyez-moi.
(GRUNTING)
(HAROLD GROANS)
(DOOR SLAMS OPEN)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
CHURCH OFFICIAL: Oui.
Oui.
Merci.
CHURCH OFFICIAL: Quoi?
Merci.
(RESUMES IN FRENCH)
Vous voyez! Allez.
Allez.
Tout le monde!
Tout le monde!
CHURCH OFFICIAL:
Du calme! Du calme!
Take it easy, Harold.
NURSE 2: Il a raison!
Vous voyez!
HAROLD: Vous voyez!
Allez. Allez.
(ALL SQUABBLING)
CHURCH OFFICIAL: Ca suffit.
I don't know
what is happening.
(GIGGLES)
NURSE 2:
Liberte pour nous tous.
Arretez de mentir!
BOTH:
Liberte pour nous tous.
Arretez de mentir!
Liberte...
(LAUGHS)
(PATIENTS CHATTERING)
Mr. Woodman,
I believe I owe you
my gratitude.
Oh, you speak English?
Yes.
I thought you were French.
I'm Valerie Bandenberg.
You're not French?
No.
May I buy you a drink?
(HESITATES) Yes. We...
We can do that here?
I can.
We can...
We can drink here?
Harold!
What the hell are you doing?
Young man!
Where you goin'?
VALERIE: Oh, he's in
safe hands with me.
If those Mississippi crackers
could see you now...
What happened to the pact?
I lost an eye here.
A woman who smokes a pipe.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
Are you intimidated?
A little bit right now.
(BOTH LAUGH)
VALERIE: When you see someone,
and you really see them,
you see the kid
that used to be them.
You see the part of them
that's vulnerable.
Harold and I had that kind
of seeing each other
right from the start.
Well, now that the war
is over...
I just want to be a person.
You know?
I just want to walk around
free...
VALERIE: Mm.
...as a person. Just...
Just living my life.
Here in Europe.
That's the ticket.
Just live and be free.
I highly recommend it.
I've walked around Europe.
It's done wonders for me.
HAROLD: Without even
too many words,
I mean, she's looking
right into your soul.
Yeah, you wear it well.
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
Both our lives
were in the balance
before God. Right there.
Can I ask you something?
VALERIE: Mm.
What do you do with
the bloody shrapnel
that you take from our bodies?
I can't give you
that for nothing.
You have to trade me
something.
You don't get that for free.
Trade you?
Okay. What does it cost?
Something beautiful.
Something to live for.
I'm looking at that right now.
I already gave you pieces of
metal shrapnel from my body.
You know, actually,
I took a lot more metal
from your friend's body.
What's his name?
BURT: His name
is Burt Berendsen.
Oh, boy.
BURT: And he is hobbling
along here,
remembering something
about a friendship pact.
Do you remember that?
Remember me? Here I am.
Good to see you, Burt.
Hello.
My apologies,
Burt Berendsen.
Never again
shall I pour two
without a third.
Hey, Burt,
you gotta help me...
Very good.
...trade something beautiful,
and in return,
she's gonna show us
what she does
with all the metal
she took from our bodies.
Her name is Valerie.
What do you do with
all that shrapnel,
Valerie?
If you want to know,
you have to trade me
something.
She told me the same thing.
I got nothing.
Nonsense song.
That's a good idea.
How about that?
What's a nonsense song?
All right.
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
HAROLD: Um...
(ALL SINGING IN FRENCH)
(CONTINUES SINGING IN FRENCH)
(ALL LAUGHING)
(BOX THUDS LOUDLY)
(WHIMSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
I've taken all
these pieces
out of people's bodies.
Look. This is more primitive,
this stuff.
Look, I'm having a tea party.
This is made
out of gun powder.
And shrapnel.
The height of civilization.
(WHIMSICAL MUSIC CONTINUES)
(IN DEEP VOICE)
Welcome to my world.
(IN POSH ACCENT)
Oh, I'm doing my makeup.
Oh, do I only have
half a face?
How did that happen?
As long as I have my lipstick.
(IN NORMAL TONE) Pretty.
You got to know what you love.
And you got to get
a real kick out of it,
or there's too much
damn trouble in it
to spoil this affair of living
from beginning to end,
if you let it.
Why not live it
for the beautiful things,
even if you were a bit broke?
(BURT SIGHS)
What will my Beatrice think
about the missing eye
business,
and the scars, and the scars
on my back and everything?
Can we do anything
about that, Valerie?
I know benefactors
in a hospital in Amsterdam.
They'll give you a new eye.
Amsterdam?
When I was first going through
France a couple of years ago,
okay, things were
a little more difficult.
I had to stab a guy.
I had to hit a lady
with a brick one time.
What?
Wow.
Yeah, it's a long story.
But with you two,
it will be a cakewalk.
And besides, I'm far better
at forging documents now.
Come on, Burt.
Let's go to Amsterdam.
Okay.
HAROLD: Merci mes freres.
BURT: Courage!
Nous avons l'ordre officiel
de transfert pour Amsterdam.
Regarde ca. Merci.
Merci Madame.
Mais attendez!
Mais qu'est-ce
que vous faites?
Mais... Mais...
Messieurs dames...
Mais... vous rigolez?
Oui, oui Madame.
C'est tres important.
Mais Madame
remettez les cles.
Merci.
Bonjour mes amis.
Ah!
Bonjour.
VALERIE: Bonjour. Ca va?
Mwah. Ca va.
Paul Canterbury.
Canterbury Glass.
London, England.
We make the finest
prosthetic glass,
industrial glass,
top-secret glass,
military glass,
every kind of glass
except window glass...
Unless, of course,
it's bulletproof.
Have no fear.
A friend of Miss Valerie
is a friend
of Paul Canterbury,
who offers you
a lifetime supply
of Canterbury glass eyes.
Not too bad.
As you can see, I've got
the same injury as you.
Or perhaps you can't see
due to the fine craftsmanship
of Canterbury Glass.
Let me see.
I believe you are a...
Yes, a dark hazel-green.
Am I correct, sir?
You're correct.
Huzzah. This is my American
colleague, Henry Norcross.
How do you do?
We've been friends
of Valerie's family
through international business
for many years.
We've kept her safe
on her adventure,
and in return,
she's helped serve
the good of the world.
How did she
do that exactly?
By attending
various dinners
and functions,
and telling us what
she's learned about banks
and troop movement,
so on and so forth.
HAROLD: Uh-huh.
You're spies.
(PAUL CHUCKLES)
No. No, sir.
He, uh, works
for a glass company,
and I work for
the Department
of the Treasury.
VALERIE: They're old friends.
They've helped me out,
and I've helped them out.
Now I think
they'll help you out.
HENRY: Even Paul
and I have found
some time to do
a little birding here.
We're avid birders.
Yes. It's an exquisite
hobby, really.
HENRY: Yes.
This is, uh, the African
gray crowned crane.
PAUL: Yep.
These are extinct.
Yes, we have
the last two.
HENRY: The Nicobar,
uh, pigeon.
PAUL: Yes.
They were alive
at one point.
And this is the
North American pheasant.
It's a North American
pheasant,
which I like to call
the peasant of pheasants.
They're so common,
you see.
But they are beautiful.
HENRY: Yes.
The plumage
is really outstanding.
So, you know, we're happy
to pay for the faces,
whatever cosmetic healing
you might need, uh...
Top-shelf,
nothing but the best.
Yes, yes.
As well as a good life
here in Amsterdam,
where you deserve a rest
and some freedom after
what you've been through.
We'll come a-calling
sometime in the future
when we need
you good people
to help us out.
Yes.
Because there will
come a time
to say "enough"
to these madmen
who create this war
we cannot make
any sense of.
Well, how could
this monstrosity
repeat itself?
It's supposed to be
the war to end all wars.
Right.
Because the dream
repeats itself
since it forgets itself.
That's why it
repeats itself.
This is the good part.
But the bad part
will come again one day.
But for now,
this is the good part,
in Amsterdam.
(WHIMSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
These are the lights
right here.
They can be a little tricky.
You gotta go up, down,
up, down, up.
They'll flicker
for a little bit. See?
Lumiere.
I mean, it's a big place.
Paul and Henry organized it
for me, but it's a wreck.
BURT: She was right.
This was the good part.
And this tap...
BURT: It was fantastic.
I mean,
don't let it scare you.
When you use the water...
(FAUCET SQUEAKS, RATTLES)
...it will do that.
BURT: The world
was suddenly our oyster
and it was glorious.
That's normal.
(WHIMSICAL MUSIC CONTINUES)
(PEOPLE LAUGHING)
BURT: Yeah. Amsterdam
is in the heart,
and was there all along.
Go on!
(VALERIE LAUGHING)
HENRY: Paul, show them
the sand dance!
(PAUL GRUNTING)
BURT: The sand dance.
The crazy British Empire
sand dance.
(PEOPLE CHEERING)
(MAN WHISTLING)
(CHEERING)
BURT: She was brilliant
and nuts.
But she was our kind of nuts.
And so the pact now had three.
I stayed in Amsterdam
for a while
because it was glorious there.
He was steady and strong.
She was bold and luminous.
It was what the French call
a coup de foudre.
Love at first sight.
She made her art.
I was their best friend,
with my new eye.
(GLASS EYE CLINKS)
We helped vets
passing through town.
Okay. That works.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)
BURT: We went dancing
all the time.
It was magnificent.
These tango parlors,
you really feel like
you're flying.
(DREAMY MUSIC PLAYING)
You can't go. I...
It's terrible over there
right now.
What are you talking about?
I have to see my wife.
Burt, I have a very
bad feeling about this.
I... I think
it's a bad omen
if you leave.
Please don't go.
(SOFTLY) I became a doctor
on Park Avenue.
VALERIE: Park Avenue.
I'm married.
We can... We can figure
it out, right? We can...
VALERIE: I know a thing or two
about Park Avenue.
Please don't go.
Valerie.
(CHUCKLES)
Let's be realistic.
This can't last forever.
How are we supposed to live?
I missed Beatrice,
even though she and her family
sent me off to war.
BEATRICE'S FATHER:
Serve your country.
BURT: When I first met her,
I was at a charity event
at medical school.
And I see this woman,
the most beautiful woman
I've ever seen.
Oh, my God.
You should've seen her.
And we danced all night.
We were giddy.
We were laughing.
We were in love.
I had no idea
that she was the daughter
of the guy who gave me
the scholarship.
In his eyes,
this half Jew,
he was like,
"You can have the scholarship,
but my daughter,
"uh-uh, off-limits."
VALERIE: Sounds bad.
BURT: You can choose
your friends.
You can't choose your family.
And I choose you. And this...
I'm getting embarrassed,
because you might not
feel the same way.
But this relationship,
probably the most important
thing in my life.
(LAUGHS) Yeah.
VALERIE: We do agree. So stay.
But I can't quit Beatrice.
I love her.
Sure, they say
you'll have medals.
You'll fit in on Park Avenue.
Well, this was
the hero's welcome I received.
No, I've told you before,
you cannot treat
these patients here.
It's just completely
inappropriate.
The only reason
I know these patients
is because you made me
go to war.
BEATRICE'S FATHER:
You understand,
this does not happen
on Park Avenue.
And you've been taking
too much morphine.
You stay away
from my daughter.
You are blacklisted.
Go. Leave. You must leave.
You must leave here.
Don't go to the apartment.
I'll... I'll send you clothes.
Bertram, stay!
I'm sorry.
(MELLOW MUSIC PLAYING)
Hey. Hey.
Hey, hey, hey.
How can I not help
the veterans?
Hey.
I had relocated my practice
to an alley
off Great Jones Street.
(BIRDS FLUTTERING)
It got a little out of control
with the pain medicine.
And I was given
an enforced rest,
courtesy of the State
of New York.
OFFICER: Come on, buddy.
BURT: Wrote my friends
to help get me out.
Had no idea
what it would do to them.
If your family has
the kind of influence
that can help Burt
get out of jail,
I think you should do it.
I mean, the pact
is the pact, Valerie.
I told you I ran away
from something, didn't I?
That's all you need to know.
But, yes, my family
could possibly help him.
But if I contact them,
they'll know where I am.
And if they know where I am,
they will find a way
to possibly drag me back.
And they're very persuasive.
All he was doing
was trying to help
the regiment.
I hear those guys
have it rough back at home.
I think we both knew where
this was headed anyway.
Yeah.
What do you mean by that?
Well, I mean, we...
we only exist
in Amsterdam.
You know,
and you've spoken
a lot about
the things that you plan
on doing back in America.
Maybe it's time.
I said I wanted
to become a lawyer.
To fight for people.
People like those soldiers
back at home.
I wanted to fight
for people like that
who couldn't fight back,
who couldn't fight
for themselves,
to use the law.
You also said that you wanna
live in Amsterdam with me.
Yes.
I wanna do both. I wanna
go back home and fight.
And I wanna
stay here with you.
And I wanna live.
I wanna truly live.
How do you have
both those things?
There's a way.
But right now
we have to help Burt.
(SENTIMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
What will happen to us?
I love you.
We gotta help Burt.
Okay.
Get dressed.
(MELANCHOLY MUSIC PLAYING)
BURT: She vanished,
one day soon after,
without a word to Harold,
except a note.
I was suddenly released
from jail.
Never heard from her.
Harold came back to New York.
Got his law degree.
You have a claim.
BURT: We worked together
over 10 years.
The good doctor and I
will take good care of you.
BURT: All kinds of trouble
we got people out of,
until the Meekins case.
(CAR HORN HONKS)
(LIZ SCREAMS)
(TIRES SCREECH)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS)
This was trouble that
now we were in, ourselves.
And we may
very well not survive.
Oh, my God.
That poor girl.
I can't bear this.
Something... Something
is very wrong, Harold.
What's that thing
that you always say to me?
We'll fight through it.
We'll find a way,
no matter what.
Thank you.
I need that.
Where...
Where you going?
BURT: It's safer
if we can get off the street.
Oh...
I know where we are.
I know where we are.
Not that woman, Burt.
The lights are off.
Is it a surprise dinner?
(WHISPERING) She knows people
from Liz Meekins's world.
HAROLD: The place
looks the same.
Smells of mothballs,
like your marriage.
Thanks, pal.
What are friends for
if not honesty?
That burns.
How we looking?
(TAPPING)
Good?
Help me.
Is that straight?
HAROLD: Yeah.
Oh, I see.
You're really putting it on
nice for her, huh?
(DOOR OPENS)
BEATRICE: Bertram?
BURT: Sit down. Relax.
(WHISPERS) Hey, Burt,
don't be too long.
BURT: Do me a favor.
Try to be optimistic.
BEATRICE: Bertram? Bertram?
Oh, look at you.
There is no dinner. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. It was a mistake.
Why did you invite me?
Because it was...
I had a moment of weakness.
That's what we've become?
A moment of weakness?
And my father can't even know
that I'm doing this
because he'll take away
all kinds of privileges.
What's wrong here?
Do you remember
when we would have nights,
just Emily Dickinson poetry,
and singing together
and just staring
at each other?
What happened?
I remember, yeah.
That's why I love you.
Did you fall?
Did you hurt your back?
Let me take a look at it.
BURT: My back has been
killing me all day.
This is not the right time.
BEATRICE: Just a glimpse.
Come on.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
You were once so beautiful.
BURT: Oh, for God's sakes.
And now you're just hideous
and grotesque.
You're so ugly and deformed.
(SIGHS)
It's so hard to look at you.
And you wear a corset
like a woman.
You're helpless.
BURT: Beatrice,
I can't do this anymore.
This deviance that you've come
to have about my scars.
(SHUDDERING) Do you choose me
or do you need me?
What kind of a question
is that?
I was talking
to someone today
and they said that love
is choosing someone,
not needing them
for some other reason.
Did you need me when we met,
or did you choose me
as a person?
Was it the people around me?
The prestige of my family
in medicine
when you were
a scholarship student
from Upstate New York?
Or did you choose me?
Just me?
I asked Burt
the exact same question
just a little while ago.
BEATRICE: Harold Woodman.
Why do you have
a woman's purse?
Bill Meekins's
daughter, Liz,
was pushed under
a truck tonight.
What, are you serious?
HAROLD: She hired me because
we were close to her father.
That's why she trusted us.
Somehow, they think
that we did it.
And we need somebody.
We need something.
We need someone
to help us.
What about the name "Rose"?
That's the last thing
Liz Meekins said
before she died,
that a Mr. Rose
could help her.
Liz would never
have known a Rose.
That's a Jewish name.
Oh. Thank you, Beatrice.
You're only half.
Harold, you misheard.
Why?
Because it has
to be "Voze"
with a "V."
That's a prominent family
in the Social Register.
The Vozes
are at the top of it.
Burt, this is what
I'm talking about.
This is your world that
we're in trouble in, not mine.
(BANGING ON DOOR)
What's that?
(DOOR OPENS)
How dare you come in here?
(DOOR CLOSES)
MAN: The door was unlocked.
This is still your
listed address, right?
BURT: Apparently so.
Detective Getweiler,
what brings you here
at this hour?
You need more pills, Lem?
I know you have
the same brace as I do,
not like Mr. Hiltz.
Your flat arches
stopped the Germans
from seeing you
in the Rhineland.
You know
why I'm here, Burt.
You and Woodman
fled the scene
after you pushed
the Meekins woman
under a truck.
Why would you
possibly think
that was us?
Well, there's not
too many people
that fit the description of
a doctor looking for his eye
on the ground
with his Black attorney.
The woman who died
hired Harold
to look into
her father's death.
I did an autopsy on him
this afternoon.
He was the general
of the regiment
we served in, Lem.
Witnesses say
you pushed her.
No, we had to get out
of there. It was chaos.
A fight broke out.
The killer pointed at us.
He's very good
at being a criminal.
Well, I know one thing.
I need to give
my captain answers.
And at the moment,
you two are the suspects.
Can you prove you have
an employment contract
with Liz Meekins?
That she hired you
to be her attorney?
Absolutely.
I can get that to you.
Plus, I can get you
the preliminary
autopsy report
and the Bill Meekins
estate papers.
Good.
DETECTIVE HILTZ:
No, we gotta...
we gotta take you in...
Get your hands off of me.
Hiltz. Hiltz, Hiltz.
I'm a part
of the Bar Association.
Don't touch me.
I don't even like that
this man is a lawyer.
Columbia Law School.
Maybe those flat-ass
arches of yours
make that hard for you
to comprehend.
Don't talk to me
about my flat arches.
I'll crack
your head right...
Hiltz, no, you won't.
Knock it off!
What if we got someone
to vouch for us?
Someone from
the Social Register?
Would that get
your captain's attention?
Someone like
Mr. Voze,
who knew Bill Meekins.
Bertram...
Beatrice.
BEATRICE: My family
are long-standing members
of the state medical board.
And I can attest to the fact
that both of these men
are horrible liars,
to each other,
let alone to the police.
If you take them in
before giving them the chance
to give you everything
that they've offered,
I'm afraid it might
cost you your job.
My father has
a lot of friends
at City Hall.
(DETECTIVE GETWEILER SIGHS)
Get us everything
you promised.
Understand, you and me,
we got something in common.
We served, not like this guy.
What about
the missing purse?
Where did that go?
This could...
This could be evidence.
What are you doing with that?
Put that down.
DETECTIVE GETWEILER:
Put that back.
DETECTIVE HILTZ:
What's in here?
What's this?
BURT: Put it down.
I'm just saying...
Put that back.
(OBJECT SHATTERS)
Oh-oh.
(GASPS IN DISBELIEF)
DETECTIVE HILTZ: I'm sorry.
I was being careful.
What is the matter with you?
He's learning, Burt.
He, uh...
He can be a good detective.
(BEATRICE SCOFFS)
And when you spoke to Voze,
you let me know right away.
I'm not gonna
wait that long.
You hear me, Burt?
Yes.
I'll give you a few days.
But if I have to,
I'll bring you in myself.
I understand.
And I need some pills too.
I got it.
I'll be seeing you
in your office pretty soon.
BURT: Yes.
But it's a bad situation.
It's very bad.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
Well, that was exciting.
Go and get your things,
but don't get killed
on the way home.
(DOOR CLOSES)
(DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
(CAR HORN HONKS)
Committee of the Five,
stay alive.
Keep your mouth shut.
BURT: Why not just drive up
and shoot us?
Committee of the Five,
always alive!
BURT: What else did this guy
have in mind for us?
MAN: We're everywhere.
(TIRES SCREECH)
So now we have to lie
to get into this guy's house.
Doesn't matter how.
We are gonna see Mr. Voze.
What is this charity?
Okay,
that's the Episcopal one.
The door opens
and you say?
I say, "Hello..."
My name is
Dr. Burt Berendsen.
This is Harold Woodman,
Esquire,
Medal of Honor recipient.
HAROLD:
It's the Croix de Guerre,
not the Medal of Honor,
and you know that.
BURT: Croix de Guerre, yes.
Sorry.
(AMUSING MUSIC PLAYING)
We know how the Episcopalians
love Mr. Voze.
He'll be sorry to have
missed you. He's not in.
BURT: Well, when do you think
he'll be back?
I don't know.
But perhaps you could
leave that letter with me?
HAROLD: We need to hand this
directly to Mr. Voze.
On orders
from the Bishop.
Right. Well, then,
you can leave a card.
I'm sorry to disappoint you,
gentlemen.
However, do you mind?
I'm looking at this cabinet,
and I... I couldn't help
but recognize
these crafts.
Are these made
in a hospital,
over here?
See? Yes.
HAROLD: Looks like the works
of veterans. Yes.
WOMAN: All by veterans.
Right.
Mr. Voze's primary charity.
They send them
all the time as thanks.
That, uh, is very kind.
And we, in fact...
(DOOR OPENS)
...uh, are veterans...
Libby, can I have
the remedy, please?
I've got that numbness
in my hands,
and the chills in the nerves
and shooting pains.
Please?
LIBBY: Valerie,
please go into your room
or go back upstairs.
Can't you see
we have company present?
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
What are you doing here?
What are you doing here?
No. Don't talk to her.
She's not well.
Valerie,
don't talk to these men.
I'm not a hemophiliac, Libby.
I can talk to people.
LIBBY: Yes,
you're not a hemophiliac,
but you are epileptic,
and you have
a nervous disorder. No!
We talked about the doll.
I'll bite your ears off.
No! I told you
not to do that
with the doll.
Mrs. Moran! Carlton...
(HIGH-PITCHED) Carlton!
You know that disturbs me,
Valerie.
How dare you! Carlton!
VALERIE: (IN DEEP VOICE)
Carlton.
LIBBY: Valerie, honestly.
We spoke about
leaving me alone with her.
(IN NORMAL TONE) Come in here.
We can talk in here.
(WHISPERS INDISTINCTLY)
(LOCKS DOOR)
(DREAMY MUSIC PLAYING)
How is this coincidence
even possible?
Because it's not
a coincidence.
I told Liz Meekins
to hire you two.
What do you mean, you told
Liz Meekins to hire us?
She's a friend of mine.
She needed someone
she could trust.
Someone outside
our social circle.
This is so strange.
I never really told you
my real last name.
Bandenberg
was a traveling name.
But that was our deal
in Amsterdam.
Nothing about the past.
Right?
You live in New Jersey?
This whole time?
Yeah.
HAROLD: This is a big house.
This is how you live?
Yeah.
(HESITATES) No letter.
Not a phone call.
VALERIE: I was embarrassed.
This is not who I once was.
It's not who you met
in Amsterdam.
HAROLD: What's wrong
with your balance?
(SIGHS)
I have a nerve disorder.
You never had that before.
No, she never had that before.
We are here for a reason.
Harold, let's not forget,
it's pretty urgent.
Valerie,
do you know Tom Voze?
Of course I know Tom.
HAROLD: We're in a lot
of trouble, Valerie.
We need him to vouch for us.
VALERIE: He's a good guy,
but I don't know
if he's gonna vouch for you.
He avoids controversy.
He doesn't like that.
He's easily intimidated.
Is he your husband?
LIBBY: Carlton's on his way!
No, he's not my husband.
He's married
to the woman out there
screaming to have you
kicked out right now.
He's my brother.
After everything we had
in Amsterdam,
turns out Burt and I
have no idea who you are.
You know exactly who I am.
I know exactly who you are.
All three of us. Burt too.
We know each other
the way it counts.
And if you two
still have an arrangement,
then I'm still part of it.
Maybe not after 12 years.
VALERIE: Yes,
after 12 years. Yes.
Because I ended up here.
And I came back
because of you and you.
That's true.
I told you
when you left Amsterdam,
something bad would happen.
I said it would be
the bad part of the dream.
Did I not say that?
It's true.
(KNOCK ON DOOR)
And here we are.
LIBBY: Valerie,
Carlton's on his way.
(KNOCKING CONTINUES)
Open the door.
We can get out of it.
(DOOR BANGS)
Well, it's different here,
so I don't know about that.
(DOOR RATTLING)
LIBBY: Carlton is coming,
Valerie.
I have a feeling
this is Carlton.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
VALERIE: Oh, no.
No. Oh, no, no, no.
(BURT GRUNTS)
Ah...
(BURT GROANS)
Carlton. Carlton. Please.
Wait. Wait...
Oh!
(BODY THUDS)
Valerie, do you see
what happens?
How do you possibly know
any of these men?
There he is.
The brandy, Mrs. Moran.
(BURT MUMBLES)
BURT: No, thank you.
I don't drink.
Well, I don't think
I trust a man
who doesn't like a drink,
especially at a time
like this.
Where is my eye, Harold?
HAROLD: Right here.
Thanks.
I never expected
two decorated soldiers
to get knocked out
in my own home.
No, just one, sir.
Oh, that's right, Mr. Woodman.
You were too fast for Carlton.
HAROLD: I was.
They started
talking to Valerie,
and she's not well.
And please,
darling girl,
stop crying.
It's only natural
for her to cry, Libby.
She just found out
her friend is dead.
We couldn't keep it
from her for forever.
I'm not so ill that
I can't talk to people.
LIBBY: You leave me here
with this invalid
when you know very well
that I think
she should be hospitalized.
TOM: Libby.
It's for her own good.
If you ever say that
to me again...
I can't handle...
It will be
a better place
for you.
...I'll put you
in a hospital.
I'll send you
to a witch trial.
(LOUDLY)
Ladies, please.
Ladies. Stop.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry
I had to raise my voice.
She was talking
to these men like
she knows them.
That terrified me.
(VALERIE SCOFFS)
(VALERIE SIGHS)
Do you know one another?
VALERIE: Yes.
LIBBY: No.
Yes.
HAROLD: We do, indeed.
Europe.
From Amsterdam.
VALERIE: The hospital.
They said they were
from the Episcopal charities.
Is there any truth
to that at all?
Uh, absolutely.
In part.
LIBBY: In part?
Hey, the gala
is coming up.
Mostly a veteran event.
But there might be
Episcopalians there.
And Bill Meekins
was our featured speaker.
But we find ourselves
in this terrible situation
where we're accused
of killing Liz Meekins,
which is not true in any way.
Liz mentioned
the name "Voze,"
and so we thought
you might know
who was after her
and can help
clear our names.
We're veterans.
We're respectable.
We wouldn't be involved
in any of this,
except to help.
Bill Meekins was
a graham cracker of a man.
Not a mean bone in his body.
Then why...
Why did I have
to help her?
Why did I have
to encourage her
to go around
everyone we know
and hire these two?
TOM: I did help her, darling.
I told her to come to me
before it got bad.
Now look what happened.
Yes. Look what you did,
Valerie.
I'm sorry,
it's unfortunate,
but you shouldn't have
gotten involved.
It's not her fault.
It's not her fault.
Tom.
How is this not her fault?
It's not...
Some things are her fault.
(VOICE BREAKING) Tom. Tom.
Oh, Tom.
TOM: (WHISPERS) She's sick.
(VALERIE SNIFFLES)
We can find
who killed Bill Meekins.
It's probably the same people
who killed his daughter.
We're looking into it.
And, uh, that information
will clear our names.
Now, the autopsy indicated
that he was
possibly poisoned
by too many medicines
while he was in Europe.
Do you know who
he was traveling with,
who sent him?
I can help you find out,
but I can't get
personally involved.
You're a coward, Tom.
Don't you dare
call him a coward.
You know that's
what he was called
by those
prep-school kids.
It's cruel, Valerie,
and you know that.
They want me
to get involved
in all these committees,
clubs.
Do you know
what I do instead?
I'm a bird watcher.
(VALERIE SCOFFS)
(VALERIE SCOFFS)
That's what I do.
Mm, it must be good,
get you outside.
You're a bird watcher.
He's ridiculous.
He's no more ridiculous
than you are
with your movies,
razor blades, teacups,
the horrid things
you make.
Honestly, Valerie,
they're demented.
Excuse me.
You said that
you could help us find
who traveled
with him to Europe.
Who would know?
Gil Dillenbeck would know.
Do you know him?
The whole country
knows him.
He's the most decorated
Marine in US history.
Yeah.
Yes, he is.
Dillenbeck was friends
with Meekins.
They were both generals.
I never got involved
in the military.
I just ran
the family's textile company.
Dillenbeck can tell you who
was traveling with Meekins.
I wouldn't trust anyone else.
And I don't have access
to that kind
of information myself.
Okay, okay.
We met him twice.
Yeah.
Took a picture with him once
in Belgium and another...
D.C.
...at the Bonus Army march
in summer '32.
Right.
We still have
those pictures,
Mr. Voze.
Yeah. Right.
He's very particular
about who he'll speak to.
If you've met him,
and you're soldiers
he respects,
your chances
are far better than mine.
Yeah, he distrusts
people of means.
If you meet him,
please do let us know.
I would love
to shake his hand.
Libby saw Dillenbeck
in the newsreel,
and she has
a crush on him.
Don't be ridiculous, Valerie.
VALERIE: You have talked
about that newsreel.
He's a very
impressive man.
Yes, he is.
And I happen to like
that newsreel. (GASPS)
Don't play it.
Don't play it, Tom.
Oh, we should play it
before they go.
Valerie,
Gil Dillenbeck is perhaps
the one hope your friends have
of getting out
of all this trouble.
Would you like
to see the newsreel?
Oh, good.
(ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING)
NARRATOR:
The veterans who marched
last summer for benefits
remain under the leadership
of General Gil Dillenbeck.
The veterans' benefits
are still unpaid,
though the brave general
remains their spokesperson.
Look, look,
it makes me so damn mad.
A whole lot of people
speak of you as tramps.
"Tramps! You men are tramps."
Who are these people
who dare call you that?
You're soldiers.
You sacrificed your lives,
your limbs.
You've suffered that
for your country.
(VETERANS AGREEING)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
NARRATOR:
The government burned them
out of the nation's capital.
Veterans never got
one benefit.
Who in the hell has done
all the bleeding
for this country,
and for this law, and
this Constitution anyhow,
(DISTORTED) but you fellows?
LIBBY: Tom,
it ruined the newsreel.
TOM: I'm so sorry, darling.
I will replace that.
VALERIE: Libby's
precious newsreel.
BURT: We were there.
We took pictures
with the general.
LIBBY: Such a handsome man.
Such a strong man.
Now that is true character
in a man.
Tom is also
of excellent character.
And, yes,
he prefers birding
to politics.
But it's meaningful.
You said you'd come back.
Why? So you could leave me?
I didn't know if I was
a fleeting adventure
or if you even thought
about me at all, Valerie.
I never thought
of anyone else.
Not really.
What about you?
No. Not really.
Really?
Yes.
And what did you mean,
"embarrassed"?
What did you mean by that?
Embarrassed to contact me
all these years?
Just seeing me
like this. I...
It's not who I was
in Amsterdam.
And for what?
For what?
We can't be together
in this country.
(VALERIE SIGHS)
You see that garden?
I spend at least an hour
out there every day.
Oh, that's great.
Mm.
See a rose-breasted
grosbeak,
a dark-eyed junco,
reminds me
of God's green earth.
BURT: Hmm.
Yeah, I don't know
those birds. But...
There's this man from England
who has violated
every sacred rule of birding
by going into 24 nests
of a near-extinct species
of bird
to take 24 eggs.
All for one man's
selfish glorification
to get his name in a bird book
for some
meaningless discovery.
And that
is the type of person,
I think, who very likely
did something awful
to Bill Meekins
and his daughter.
I'm trying
to follow you here, sir.
You're saying that man,
the bird thing,
England, the nest,
and the book,
that he killed Bill Meekins?
I'm trying to make a point.
Yeah?
That type of man.
Okay. I'm still not certain.
What do you mean?
Dr. Berendsen,
you seem like a good person
with your medicines
and your veterans.
You shouldn't be hindered.
You should be helped.
But I'm only one person.
Sir,
we didn't do anything,
and we need the police
to know that.
Maybe Dillenbeck.
(DOOR THUDS)
(VALERIE SIGHS)
Tomorrow?
Tomorrow?
Can you come back tomorrow?
The house will be empty.
(FALTERS)
They'll be at the other house
for one of Libby's
culture talks, please.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Shush.
What do you mean, "shush"?
What are you guys doing?
I've been discussing crimes
of the bird society
of England.
Your brother's
a little kooky.
Burt, I don't know
what's happening,
but it's far beyond
Meekins and his daughter.
And I don't trust
my medications now either.
We just have
to get Dillenbeck.
That's it.
Great, take me with you.
BURT: Valerie.
I can come. I can help.
She can. It's true.
Burt.
The three of us,
we were inseparable.
We did things,
we got things done,
and most of all,
we lived.
Harold?
I have to get out of here,
please!
HAROLD: She's right.
Burt. She could help us.
I can help.
LIBBY: Valerie?
What are you doing?
It's time to get
your friends to the door.
Dr. Malin's coming.
Thank you for coming.
Sorry for the trouble.
BURT: Thank you.
This turned out very helpful.
Looking forward to this.
Please say goodbye
to Carlton for me.
Thank you.
Talk to you soon.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Valerie?
Dr. Malin will be here
with the remedies
you asked for,
remember?
HAROLD: Are you Dr. Malin?
Yes. Yes, I am.
Oh, I'm a doctor.
If you don't mind my asking,
in your professional opinion,
what is her condition?
Hereditary
nervous disorder.
Affects her blood pressure,
her balance,
her nerves and movement.
No, she never had
that before, Doctor.
It advances with age.
Thank you.
Thank you, Doctor.
(MUFFLED FOOTSTEPS ON GRAVEL)
HAROLD: My God.
I can't believe
we saw Valerie.
BURT: First thing tomorrow...
She looks great.
BURT: First thing...
HAROLD: Such bad luck,
she got that ailment.
BURT: ...we go
to Dillenbeck's,
and we hope
we get in.
(PHONE RINGING)
Dillenbeck said no, Burt.
Dillenbeck said no?
What do you mean, he said no?
Did you talk to him?
I talked to his wife.
She said no.
They get too many visitors.
We... We have to keep trying.
Uh, did you send,
uh, the... the...
the photographs
of when we met him?
No, because you have to bring
the pictures yourself.
All right, where is Harold?
He was supposed to take me
to Dillenbeck's.
He was meant to be here
hours ago.
I don't know.
But the police are here,
and they wanna talk to you.
Okay. (SIGHS) All right,
everything all at once.
SHIRLEY: Irma St. Clair
is waiting, also.
Oh, God! All right.
Uh...
PATIENTS:
Peanuts
Not now. Not now.
(LA CONGA BLICOTI
BY JOSEPHINE BAKER PLAYING)
Oh, come on.
Are you sure
this is safe, Valerie?
Yes, it's safe.
It's fine.
They're at the other house.
They'll be there all day.
Remember this?
(CAMERA WHIRRING)
You look perfect.
That's you.
That's you.
(LA CONGA BLICOTI
BY JOSEPHINE BAKER CONTINUES)
Pourquoi?
(HAROLD LAUGHS)
Amsterdam.
Say, "Amsterdam."
Amsterdam.
Amsterdam.
MAN: This pill
has gotta be better.
SHIRLEY: Of course.
BURT: Morty,
it's for the pain
and the nerves.
Detective Getweiler,
you want the medicine.
Let me do that for ya.
Come on.
This hip is killing me.
No, no, no.
Come on. Come on.
Give it to me.
Give that to me.
DETECTIVE GETWEILER:
(GROANING)
My hip is killing me.
(DETECTIVE GETWEILER GRUNTS)
BURT: There you go.
DETECTIVE GETWEILER:
So painful.
BURT: Please, please, please.
Let me do that next time.
What are friends for?
DETECTIVE GETWEILER: I think
there will be no next time.
Listen to me.
We might have to
close down your office.
Lem, close down the office?
Yeah, close down
your office, yeah.
We need hard evidence.
Detective Hiltz, look,
you don't understand.
Me and Lem, this and this.
Tell him, Lem.
DETECTIVE GETWEILER: Exactly,
we got metal in our blood,
in our brain.
Imagine that.
You have flat arches.
You couldn't serve.
We understand.
You're still
our chief suspects.
BURT: Why?
Why? You know,
you know we didn't do this.
No, everyone says you did it.
Everyone says? Every...
There was one man.
Yeah.
He did it.
Now my captain
needs to know why you did
that, uh, hush-hush autopsy
on the father.
There was nothing
hush-hush about it.
Liz Meekins authorized it.
Completely legal.
Harold can verify that.
Let's see
the autopsy results.
Yes, let me get the autopsy
from Irma St. Clair
right in here.
Excuse me, Doctor.
Overseas, I understand
that they have medicines
for strength.
Do you got anything here
for strength?
What?
Power? Power.
Can I get
the autopsy report...
Yeah, but...
...from Irma St. Clair...
Hiltz, wait.
...one of the best autopsy
nurses in the city?
DETECTIVE GETWEILER:
Thank you.
Yes, thank you.
BURT: Optimism.
I understand we both had
a very unusual time
since last we saw each other.
What happened?
Why is your coat
over your shoulder?
That's what I wanted
to tell you.
I was filing
the autopsy results
when this red-faced man
with an angry face...
Oh, God.
...and this other man...
What happened?
They threw me down,
they broke my wrist,
and they took
the autopsy results.
They took everything.
But it wasn't...
That's not well done.
I know.
That is angulated.
That needs to be reset,
or else that is
gonna be very bad.
(IRMA SIGHS)
Uh...
Can I?
Okay.
Let me take your coat.
Let me sit down. Thank you.
IRMA: Are you all right?
(PHONE RINGING)
BURT: No, this is not...
not a good job.
That's it.
Hold on. Two more.
One time, you were telling me
whether you like
the Spanish melody...
What?
...or was it classical?
Classical...
(BONES CRACK)
(GROANS LOUDLY)
(SHUDDERS)
BURT: That's it. That's it.
All done. It's okay.
(SOBS)
It's okay. All right now.
(EXHALES DEEPLY)
Okay?
Yes.
That's it.
I gotta get a sling.
Just keep that supported.
Yes.
I'm so sorry that
you got mixed up in all this.
I'm an autopsy nurse.
I get mixed up
in all sorts of things.
Besides, brought me closer
to you and to...
They're waiting for us.
Let them wait.
(RADIO TUNES)
(DOUCEMENT, DOUCEMENBY HENRI SALVADOR PLAYING)
(WHISPERING)
Why is he playing music?
(WHISPERING) He likes music.
I don't know why
he's playing it now.
Do you like this music?
Me? I don't know.
(DOUCEMENT, DOUCEMENBY HENRI SALVADOR CONTINUES)
Beatrice.
What are you doing here?
Who is this woman?
This is Irma.
We work together.
BEATRICE: Mm-hmm.
She's, uh...
(TURNS OFF MUSIC)
She's an autopsy nurse.
BEATRICE: Don't give me that.
Come home.
I'll defy my family
so we can be together.
BURT: Is this real?
Why are you here now,
of all times?
Like, you never come here.
'Cause Shirley's on my side,
and she calls me and tells me
when to protect my husband.
My father controls
your medical license.
You know that.
Can you get your parents
to put their names
on the committee
for the gala
for the veterans,
so we can get respect
and dignity,
and you can
tell your parents
that Tom Voze might,
uh, get involved?
Well, uh, yes.
But how will you get him?
You won't get him.
I already met him.
I introduced you.
Well, you didn't introduce us.
You told us about him,
and then me and Harold,
we met him.
BEATRICE: Really sorry, Burt.
I think you should think
about who you are
and what you want to be.
BURT: Shirley. Not helpful.
We need a sling!
DETECTIVE GETWEILER:
Where are
the autopsy results?
She was rolled, Lem,
quite possibly
by the same man
who pushed Liz Meekins.
SHIRLEY: I got the sling.
I can give you
a description.
He was about...
You mean, they're stolen?
Yes, they were stolen.
So, what about the results?
I can tell you the results.
I remember them.
I found mercury,
luminol, and somnifene
in his stomach,
and they were
in high amounts.
I believe
they were given to him
the last week
of his life.
Last week, which means
probably on the boat.
So, we don't have anything
to give our captain, right?
She just gave you
the evidence.
I can give you an affidavit.
I do them all the time.
I'm bonded by the city.
How about that? Right?
I mean, we are doing...
And certified.
Yes. We're doing
your job for you.
What about
the dead daughter?
Throw this guy in jail.
Let me handle this.
Let me handle this.
Lem. Lem, Lem.
What's this...
BURT: Please
do not touch that.
...degenerate tea set?
That is art.
You gotta get rid of this.
It's obscene.
That's art.
No, that's not art.
Art is beautiful, lovely,
evokes thoughts.
That's what that is.
That's what that is?
Yes.
Why would you
take a tea set,
a lovely tea set,
and turn it into
an instrument of violence?
That's a good question.
It makes no sense.
Perhaps, Lem,
the question
of the century.
(DETECTIVE GETWEILER SIGHS)
BURT: Don't think
about it too much.
Lem.
DETECTIVE GETWEILER: Burt.
Lem, where is the camaraderie?
We were in the Argonne.
Let's live.
Voulons vivre.
New pill. Remember this.
Souviens-toi.
You owe me.
Okay.
But you owe me too.
Get me Harold's contract
with Liz Meekins.
I will.
Truth is possible.
And I think that love, maybe,
is even possible.
And this pill is working.
(GLASS EYE CLATTERS)
Truth, love, what?
BURT: Harold has the car.
I only got one eye.
They don't let me drive.
We'll find them.
It's okay.
MEN:
Lady of Spain, I adore you
Right from the night
I first saw you
My heart has been
yearning for you
What else could
any heart do?
Lady of Spain, I love you
Oh, my God.
(IRMA CHUCKLES)
This sounds terrific. Larry.
LARRY: (LAUGHS)
It's not canceled, right?
MAN: It's not canceled, is it?
Definitely not canceled.
MAN: Oh, thank you.
BURT: The reunion is a gem,
and you're gonna sing.
We are going to perform!
You be careful.
You be careful.
Milton!
Harold was supposed to be
at my office hours ago.
You okay?
You don't look good.
Things have gotten more
complicated, haven't they?
You know, my grandfather
shot a guy in the face.
And he got shot in the face.
Separate occasions.
Separate occasions.
Not the same guy.
And it all worked out.
Good.
Let's go.
Dr. Burt. Burt.
I got a pinched nerve.
No, I'm... I... I don't know
what to do with that yet.
We can be right there.
Okay, good.
Where have you been?
I've been worried sick.
We went on a drive
and found out a lot of things.
Well, you're not supposed
to go for a drive,
when you're supposed
to meet Gil Dillenbeck.
And the police
are waiting on papers
that you promised them.
Did someone
slap you, Burt?
'Cause you have
a red mark
on your face.
I fell,
I got slapped, I got...
Carlton punched me.
Yeah, I was there
for that one.
We got roughed up too.
We were in
quite a situation.
Please, not now.
In the car.
Milton, get these
to Detective Getweiler.
All right?
This is Liz Meekins's
employment contract.
Did I mention
that I predicted
extreme trouble
from a white man
in a box?
Then added to
(SHOUTS) by a white woman
under a truck.
BURT: The point, Milton?
MILTON: You know,
I'd rather be on trial
for killin'
five white men
than one white woman.
'Cause this can lead
to one Black man
or more dead
in a box.
BURT: Please,
let's get going.
We should've left
for Dillenbeck's hours ago.
That's the only hope
that we have
to get out of
this situation
with the police.
BURT: Why are we
stopping here?
This is not Bucks County.
This is not even
out of the city.
VALERIE: We're making
a quick stop at the Waldorf.
BURT: Is Dillenbeck
at the Waldorf?
HAROLD: We're not here
to see Dillenbeck.
BURT: What are you
talking about?
What are we doing here?
Harold, Valerie!
Unbelievable!
Welcome to
the Waldorf Astoria, sir.
How long will...
We're not staying
at the Waldorf.
We had one thing
to do today, Harold.
One thing. Try to talk
to Gil Dillenbeck.
And maybe have an event
with a modicum...
This is my situation...
...of dignity and...
...from my past that
we saw today, Burt.
And it's my peace of mind
that's been twisted, Burt.
Dillenbeck
can't help us
until we know
what's really going on.
Well, what is going on?
I don't know,
but we're gonna find out.
Give me the keys.
Give me the keys.
Absolutely not.
Give me the keys.
You're not driving.
You can't drive,
you one-eyed nut.
Harold, this is not smart.
BURT: At least, just tell me
who we're seeing here.
Paul Canterbury.
Paul Canterbury?
Yeah. Yeah.
The glass-eye guy?
From Amsterdam.
The benefactor?
She still talks to them, Burt.
(PATRONS CHATTERING)
Hello, Paul.
Oh, Valerie, how are you?
There you are.
Harold.
Paul Canterbury.
PAUL: Berendsen,
how are you?
Here you go.
Dark hazel green.
Eh.
PAUL: Box of six.
Very kind of you.
Thank you.
(TUNE PLAYS ON SPEAKERS)
PAUL: Ah!
It's teatime.
Is it just me
who fancies claret?
I like to have it
going in one hand
and tea in the other.
We're in a bit
of a predicament, Paul.
Thank you for taking
the time to see us.
Valerie, we're prepared
to do anything we must
as gentlemen.
MAN: You bounder!
(GRUNTS)
(PATRONS EXCLAIM)
You cheat!
You disgust me!
History will redeem me.
Like hell it will.
PAUL: Sorry, everyone. (SIGHS)
It's all right.
Drinks on me.
(CHUCKLES) Literally.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS)
PAUL: Hello.
This way, please.
(TYPEWRITERS CLACKING)
You remember
Henry Norcross?
He's the American...
HENRY: Federal employee
they don't need
to talk about, or I trust
they wouldn't be here.
What does all of this
have to do with
a "glass business" in England
and, uh,
financing in Washington?
Well, they overlap.
Lots of things overlap,
Berendsen.
The whole world
overlaps in its most
treacherous way
if you pay attention.
And hello, Burt,
Harold, Valerie.
Hello, Henry.
You're looking good, Henry.
It's good to see you too
as we gather here once more
on the right side
of history. Huh?
Paul, I understand you had
a drink thrown in your face
in the tea court just now.
PAUL: Yes.
Just some old business
from England, Henry.
No, no, no.
A drink in your face
is a drink in my face.
I'd like to hear
about it, please.
Then we'll get on
to new business.
It was someone from
the Ornithological Society
of Great Britain.
Ah, one of those
rotten bastards, huh?
Yeah.
(CHUCKLES)
What?
I was told a story
about a misdeed
in the bird society
of England.
And I'm starting to wonder
if that story is about you.
Our discovery
was hardly trivial.
Yes, we proved
that the cuckoo
lacks the capacity,
the civility,
the character
to build its own nest.
BURT: Wow.
How is that
possibly significant
or interesting
to anybody or anything?
PAUL: Because it shows
that the cuckoo
is a parasitic bird.
It tricks better birds
who build nests.
Cuckoo destroys
the host's eggs,
and then destroys
the nest itself.
Berendsen,
the cuckoo doesn't
give a damn. Okay?
I'd say
it's a profound statement
on the parasitic
destructive behavior
of nature,
including humans.
Hear, hear.
That is especially true
after what we saw today.
HAROLD: Burt,
it's the story about
what happened to us.
Listen up.
We have been trying
to tell you, Burt.
And I think Paul and Henry
should hear this too.
But we ended up at
a very strange clinic today
and we found this.
Those symbols were everywhere.
HAROLD:
Have you seen it before?
The Committee
of the Five.
I went to see Valerie
as we'd arranged,
but then we noticed
somebody was watching us.
VALERIE: Someone was watching
us through the curtains.
That's the man
who pushed Liz Meekins.
And he must've got
bored waiting
because he started
to leave,
and then we decided
to follow him.
And he led us
to Rockland County.
HAROLD: To an unmarked
brick building.
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
(GLASS SLAMS)
They assumed that we were
patients for a procedure.
VALERIE: To be sterilized.
BURT: Ah,
a forced sterilization clinic.
HAROLD: Then I saw the man.
This red-faced man.
The man who pushed
Liz Meekins.
He looked right at me,
and he said...
This is your moment
to end your inferiority.
You're gonna
have that procedure.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(BOTH GRUNTING)
Don't move!
(GUN CLICKS)
Shit.
(GUN FIRES)
MAN 1: Somebody
call the captain!
Come on.
MAN 1: Stop those people!
MAN 2: Help! We need help!
MAN 1: Call the captain!
HAROLD: Well, when Valerie's
gun finally went off,
it hit a glass,
and we got out of there
and headed back to the city.
BURT: My God.
Well, I'm glad
you're all right.
But if you didn't get
the red-faced killer's
identification,
then it's of no help,
whatsoever.
What are you
talking about, Burt?
It has everything to do
with everything.
Today, that
what happened,
has to...
How?
It starts with me.
Well, it starts with me.
I told some friends
in Longview, Texas,
not to visit this
very horrifying clinic,
a lot like the one
we saw today.
A mob. A mob of
white men chased me.
They harassed me.
They tried to kill me.
They were unsuccessful.
They were very unsuccessful.
I left Longview, Texas,
and I never looked back.
It's not just about you
and Texas,
nor today in Rockland.
There is an organization
that wishes to do this
all over the world.
What does it mean?
It means there's a cabal
in this country
tied to another in Germany
who supports these clinics,
who want to rule the world.
Rule the world?
Exactly correct.
Who's in the cabal?
HENRY: Maybe who
is the wrong question to ask.
Instead ask why.
Go see Dillenbeck.
Ask him why his fellow,
General Meekins,
was murdered.
Dillenbeck, he's been
leading on this cabal
to find out who they are,
what they plan.
Committee of the Five.
The organization named
Der Funf.
Committee of the Five.
Trying to figure out
who they are.
Committee
of the Five.
HENRY: Yeah.
Yeah.
I think it would be wonderful
if Dillenbeck was the speaker
at your reunion.
Seems your event's becoming
rather important, Berendsen.
If you can get
Dillenbeck to speak,
perhaps it might attract
more influential members
of the cabal.
Yeah, the killer
from the street
or the higher-ups
paying for it all.
BURT: Wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait.
No. I don't want our event,
Harold's and my event,
to be used like this
by anybody.
Used? No.
Think of it as protecting
what you love.
Okay?
We told you in Amsterdam
we'd come a-calling,
and here we are.
And here you are.
(ROUSING MUSIC PLAYING)
Well, we done here?
Or you wanna talk more
about birds?
You know, a lot of people
assume that it's about
the, uh... the tranquility
or the communion with nature.
But I find bird-watching
so fascinating
because it forces you
to decide
what you are looking at.
I am honing
my art of discernment.
And I want you to trust me
that I believe now is
the time to intervene.
We get Gil Dillenbeck to be
the speaker at this event,
he will be the magnet
that draws
all the nails out of the wood
and brings this house
of treachery
down to the ground.
So what do you say, Burt?
Please.
PAUL: Please try, Burt.
I don't like to say,
"I told you so,"
but this is all
turning out to be
a lot larger than
any of us imagined.
Yeah.
If the gala is
used by Paul...
Are you okay?
You good?
Mm-hmm. Fine.
It comes and goes.
I'm fine.
Yeah?
You feel fine,
then all of a sudden,
vertigo, you get dizzy...
It comes and goes.
First, they told me
that I had epilepsy.
I'd never had a seizure,
but they said I had epilepsy,
and the seizures would come
sooner or later.
But that could be avoided
if I took medication.
And so I did.
And then I started
having other symptoms,
more symptoms,
and they said,
"That's hereditary.
"That's from
your mother's side."
So they gave me
new medications,
and I kept taking that.
And now years and years
have gone by
and I'm barely
leaving the house,
and I feel like
I'm a patient,
and I can't live,
and I... I'm starting
to question all of it.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
(HAROLD AND BURT EXCLAIM)
HAROLD: You okay?
VALERIE: Mm-hmm.
No, don't touch me.
Don't hold me.
I'm fine. I can do this,
and I just need...
I just need a minute here
to rest, just...
(PANTING)
Oh, God.
You good?
Bitch.
Valerie.
Oh, yes.
I'm fine.
Look, I'm doing stairs.
I can go up stairs
with no vertigo.
No vertigo.
I'm fine. I can run.
Oh, my...
Valerie!
Valerie!
(BODY THUDS)
Collect that drunk woman
and go!
BURT: We know the general.
We have pictures.
VALERIE: I'm all right,
damn it.
MRS. DILLENBECK: There,
I don't want the pictures.
Go, now!
I'm a doctor.
Go now.
And I am a veteran.
You're gonna need a doctor...
Thank you.
...when I'm through with you.
Breathe. Just breathe.
Now, go or I'm gonna
call the police.
BURT: Just a few minutes...
No, I've got it. I do.
...of your husband's time.
MRS. DILLENBECK: No.
VALERIE: I have to fight
through these symptoms
at some point.
BURT: There goes...
VALERIE: I'm not getting
depressed about it.
BURT: ...our one chance
to clear our names.
You have to change
your medicine
and your doctor.
Son of a bitch.
I was fine.
Maybe it's time for me
to leave anyway.
VALERIE: What do you mean,
leave?
HAROLD: Well, even
if we solve Meekins
out of the three of us,
I'm the one
that's going to jail.
The system's rigged.
BURT: Harold.
I told you from the get-go,
this job was a bad idea.
Milton told you
this job was a bad idea...
but she had
to get us hired.
Oh, "she"?
"She had to get..."
"She" also got you
out of jail,
which you seem
to forget a lot.
You can't turn your backs
on me now.
You broke the pact, remember?
I broke the pact? When?
We told you
not to leave, Burt.
At least you found love,
even if you can't get it.
I've never been lucky enough
to even know
what the hell it is.
And that's
a terrible affliction
I don't wish on anyone.
I wish I never did find it.
Because it hurts too much.
MRS. DILLENBECK: Wait!
The general wants to meet you.
(HOPEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
Don't screw this up.
Straighten up.
MRS. DILLENBECK: Come on!
Help me walk.
MRS. DILLENBECK:
I'm sorry about the
misunderstanding before.
Never mind.
Never mind.
MRS. DILLENBECK: We get
so many uninvited guests here.
Of course.
People we don't want to see.
I'm sorry.
Thank you.
I'm not drunk.
MRS. DILLENBECK:
Uh, young lady,
what is wrong with you?
Are you all right?
It's a touch of vertigo
and a couple of other...
I'm coming off
some medication
at the moment.
I had vertigo once
and the world
just keeps moving.
I'd offer you a drink,
but we don't keep
alcohol in the house.
Oh, that's fine.
(SIGHS) You can put your
hat and coats over there.
You're going up
this way.
Are we jumping ahead
of another visitor?
Oh, Mr. Maguire
comes every month
to discuss something
my husband can never get
a clear answer about.
Right, Mr. Maguire?
BURT: Ah.
(MUFFLED MUSIC PLAYING
ON SPEAKERS)
MRS. DILLENBECK:
(SIGHS) What do I know?
I'm just trying
to make bouillabaisse
because the general
had it once in France.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
General?
Your visitors are here.
You call your husband
"General"?
Only on the weekdays.
What do you call him
on weekends?
That's a very
personal question.
Were you taught
no manners?
Don't blame me
for getting us
kicked out.
I didn't mean anything by it.
Are you nervous?
She's pulling everybody's leg
half the time.
That's why I love her.
What an honor, sir.
Um, was it the pictures
that made you
change your mind
about seeing us?
How can I know
this is you, really,
in the picture?
BURT: Uh, yes, sir.
So, well,
I'm the doctor.
She's the nurse.
He's the attorney.
We all met in Belgium,
which, if you recall,
is where we met
for the first time.
As well as Washington,
last summer,
at the B.E.F. March.
I'll tell you one thing that
I can remember quite clearly.
You did something that...
You sang a song, I believe.
Which...
Which one, sir?
DILLENBECK: Well,
that's for you to remember.
I met thousands of people.
You just met me twice.
So, you should
remember the song.
I'd like you to sing it now,
then I'll know it's you.
Sing a song.
Did you ever
see a dream
Dream walking?
Walking?
Well, I did
Yes...
Did you ever hear a dream...
Talking?
See... Right.
Then I did
Oh, no, no. That's...
That's not it.
Um... Was it in French?
I'll know it when I hear it.
Yes. That was it.
That's right.
We made it up. (CHUCKLES)
Well, it's not supposed
to make sense.
It's just a nonsense song.
But it makes
us feel good.
(CHUCKLES)
And you're the doctor?
BURT: That's right, sir.
And you evacuated
4,000 men in one day.
You're very famous.
Different doctor.
That's the social guy
from San Francisco.
Story of my life.
Not you?
Burt and I
did evacuate
a couple of thousand men
in one day, though, sir.
And you, sir, you stabbed
30 Germans with your knife,
and they called you
"Black Death"?
No, sir, that
was Black Death
Henry Johnson.
But I did get
12 of 'em
before they gave me this.
DILLENBECK: Oh.
I also saved
a lot of lives.
DILLENBECK: You did?
Yeah.
Well, that's something
to be proud of.
It's shameful they made you
wear those French uniforms.
You should wear
your own country's uniform.
From your mouth
to God's ears, sir.
Thank you.
So, uh, General?
Bill Meekins.
Well, Bill Meekins
was a friend of mine,
and it's a tragedy
what happened to him
and his daughter.
And it's a disgrace
that no one cares.
Oh, we care.
Indeed.
The late Elizabeth Meekins
hired us, actually.
She hired you? Why?
She didn't believe
that her father died
of natural causes.
On his way back
from Europe.
The last time
I spoke to my friend,
he called me from Rome.
Called me from the hotel.
Told me of something monstrous
that he had seen.
Disturbed him greatly.
That was why Bill was killed.
You see the man downstairs
when you came in?
Every couple of weeks,
he comes and he brings...
Did you see a bag?
VALERIE: Mm-hmm.
A bag of money
he offers to me.
Money for what?
To give a speech.
He won't tell me
who's behind him.
I ask him.
And say, "Who's this from?"
And he doesn't
give me an answer.
They're paying you
to be their mouthpiece.
DILLENBECK:
That's right, exactly.
And they know
the veterans will follow.
HAROLD: The Committee
of the Five.
Well, somebody is trying to do
something dark
and treacherous.
Come here.
(WHISPERS) Ask him
if he'll speak at the gala.
Push it further.
Like Henry said.
Sir, um,
if these guys
are meeting you...
Hmm.
...and you wanna find out
who's behind it all,
why not go further
and lead them
to our reunion
gala event?
They might show themselves
in some fashion.
(DOOR OPENS)
Maguire, can you tell me,
why do you come every month?
Well, General,
I can't speak about it
in front of other people.
Well, why not?
I mean, you say
there's nothing to hide.
And it's in the name
of a good cause.
Well, yes, sir. But not
everyone understands it.
DILLENBECK:
What I don't understand
is who or what you represent.
Can you tell me?
Well, I'm not at liberty
to say who I represent, sir.
Uh, but they are
very important people,
and they have a very
important organization
that's gonna change everything
for the better.
The purpose,
as I've told you, sir,
is to lead
this nation properly
in this time
of economic crisis.
There's a cripple
in the White House.
Roosevelt is weak.
We'd like you to speak
on behalf of the veterans
and new leadership.
Well, that's what elections
are for, Maguire.
Don't you believe
in the Constitution?
Of course, but we feel that
action is urgently needed now.
From a retired general
before the election?
Do you want me
to be a dictator?
Is that what
your big sponsors want?
Uh, a... A dictator?
No, it doesn't
have to be said like that.
Okay, chancellor?
Does that make it better?
It still violates
the Constitution.
MAGUIRE: They did this with
veterans in Germany and Italy.
Very successful.
18,000, sir,
from the Committee
of the Five.
Uh, Committee
for a Sound Dollar.
From who?
BURT: Committee of the Five?
Committee for a Sound Dollar.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
The nation needs
your leadership.
Do you see
where I'm going, sir?
DILLENBECK: Mr. Maguire,
I've changed my mind.
I've decided
I will do the speech.
This is very exciting.
I'll choose the event.
I'm most comfortable
speaking with the veterans
Bill Meekins knew
from the regiment he created.
I'll speak at their reunion.
MAGUIRE: Of course, but...
DILLENBECK:
Because I want to see
the men who put the money
in that bag.
And I wanna
look them in the eye,
and I wanna
shake their hand.
Given that we're partners now,
I can guarantee that
you will meet
the distinguished gentlemen
on the Committee
for a Sound Dollar.
They will be there
to meet you personally,
although we might need to be
in a private room.
Okay.
MAGUIRE: Thank you.
This is wonderful.
This is the speech.
DILLENBECK: Mr. Maguire,
take that bag.
MAGUIRE: Yes, sir.
So, you still won't tell me
who they are.
Is that true?
At the event, sir.
(DOOR OPENS)
Whoever offers me more money
and tells me what to say...
(DOOR CLOSES)
...and what not to say
in my speech
very likely killed
Bill Meekins and his daughter.
And is behind all this.
BURT: And so,
two soldiers and a nurse
found ourselves in league
with the great honorable,
decorated General Dillenbeck.
General, you should
really speak to Tom Voze,
Valerie's brother.
(MELLOW JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)
(PA BUZZES)
WOMAN: (ON PA)
Production Room 7, please.
Production Room 7,
mechanic needed.
Never saw that.
Maybe it's...
Maybe it's modern art.
Kinda wanna go over there
and take a look at it.
I would like to try again
in Amsterdam.
You would?
Yes.
Well, let's hope
this goes well.
(DOOR OPENS)
BURT: Mr. Voze.
Burt.
BURT: May I call you Tom?
Of course.
BURT: Mrs. Voze.
Let me introduce you
to General Dillenbeck.
General.
General Dillenbeck,
it is such a pleasure
to meet you.
I think you are a man
of such honor
and strength,
and such a...
Such a...
(SIGHS IN AWE)
Truly just so dignified
and wonderful,
and I truly believe
everything that you say.
Uh...
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Libby.
LIBBY: Such a...
Uh, su...
Such a...
str... strong...
(EXHALES)
She's so excited.
Very excited.
Inappropriately excited.
Have you ever broadcast
live on the radio?
The gala?
No, never.
Well, can you imagine?
Think of
your veteran friends
in Cheboygan, Michigan,
or Carbondale, Illinois,
sitting at home,
listening to the radio,
hearing your songs, Burt.
Wow.
And your speech, General.
The speech Maguire gave me?
No. No, no, no, no, no.
Your speech.
The speech you want to give.
I... I don't know
who Maguire is.
But I want you
to speak from your heart
to vindicate Bill Meekins.
And all those
voiceless veterans
who've been abandoned.
Yes.
TOM: You lead the way.
And the rotten apples,
whatever they did
to Bill Meekins,
will reveal themselves.
I'll give the speech my way.
I wanna tell the truth.
BURT: The trick was to let
the Committee of Five
and Maguire think...
(ROUSING MUSIC PLAYING)
...the general
would give their speech
for new leadership
in the White House.
Immediately. No election.
Conning the veterans
into supporting it.
(CALL BELL BUZZES)
And Tom, as promised,
had gotten us off the hook
with the police
who now,
to our great surprise,
were together with us,
united in this plan
to stop it.
And we all supported
the general.
He was using himself as bait.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
(ROUSING MUSIC CONTINUES)
MAN: (ON SPEAKERS)
Good evening, America.
This is Wilkin Hartsdale
broadcasting to you
live from the annual
Veterans Reunion Gala.
(MUFFLED APPLAUSE)
Paul, Henry.
He's here for you.
He has questions.
Norcross, Canterbury.
I've never seen, uh,
such a big picture
of George Washington.
Let me ask
a very simple question.
Whose side are you guys on?
We're on your side,
of course.
Same God,
different church.
Same lady, different dress.
We're on the exact same side.
Do me a favor.
Explain this to me
very carefully
'cause I'm about
to do something
that could cost me my life.
HENRY: The trick
with all this is,
is to wait
till the absolute
very last second
to expose as much
of the criminality
as we are
able to capture.
At my expense?
No, sir,
never at your expense.
No, God. No, no, sir.
No, sir.
HENRY: Never at your expense,
please.
There's a lot of people
I care about here tonight.
Trust our powers
of discernment, General.
Yes, the cuckoo
is in the nest,
and the cuckoo
is about to be trapped.
Cuckoo?
And please,
let us have our gala.
Let us celebrate our lives.
Get the son of a bitch
who killed Meekins
and those bastards
who wanna hijack
our government.
Yes?
(AUDIENCE CHEERS)
I hope this
son-of-a-bitch
thing works.
Or else we're fucked.
Hmm.
BURT: Welcome
to the 14th annual gala
for the 369th, 42nd,
and the 33rd
New York regiments.
(BAND PLAYING
UPTEMPO JAZZ MUSIC)
(ALL CHEERING)
(TRUMPET TRILLS)
(APPLAUSE)
WILKIN: This evening's
entertainment continues
with Dr. Berendsen,
the medical officer...
BURT:
Peanuts
This looks promising.
PAUL: Very promising, Henry.
BURT:
Peanuts
If you haven't got bananas,
don't be blue
Peanuts in a little bag
are calling you
Don't waste them
No tummy ache
You'll taste them
When you awake
BURT:
Peanuts
I mean, he is good.
He's a little bit flat.
Well, you do it.
BURT:
Peanuts
(HAROLD SINGS ALONG)
(SONG CONCLUDES)
Yeah, bravo!
BURT: Thank you,
Wayne Katowski
and Victor Barnes!
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
Oh, my God!
Yes, Burt! Whoo!
Yeah. So, there's
Detective Getweiler.
PAUL: Yeah.
HENRY: Harold.
And Dillenbeck's right there.
What's your name?
WILKIN: Dr. Berendsen
says he believes
music is medicine...
Tony! (LAUGHS)
...for each and every one
of these wounded veterans.
Fred! Larry!
Wow!
What's your name?
Alfred, sir.
Is that the Vandenheuvels?
WILKIN: In just a moment,
music will continue.
Yes.
That's Dr. Vandenheuvel
and his wife,
and that's Beatrice
over there too.
WILKIN: Coming up later
on in the program...
Oh!
We're very proud of you.
BURT: Wow! (CHUCKLES)
What a difference
a day makes.
Should I move
my shaving kit back in?
That Hebrew sense of humor.
Father.
I think it's time
that the medical board
reassessed
your situation, son.
I can make that happen.
I'd be happy to.
Whoa.
Did you hear that?
(CHUCKLES)
(WHISPERS)
It's a perfect evening!
This is happening,
finally.
(BEATRICE CHUCKLES)
It would mean so much
if you would introduce us
to General Dillenbeck.
It means so
much to you,
or it means so much
to your family?
(FRANTIC JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)
We're so very proud
of Bertram.
It's quite the coup
he's been able to pull off.
Very proud.
BOTH: Mm.
Oh, have you
met the general?
He truly is
the most wonderful
specimen of a man.
Clammy, already.
Truly clammy.
(LAUGHS)
She never gets
that clammy for me.
Perhaps I should
travel more
on business.
Oh, Tom.
(BEATRICE LAUGHS)
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
I wanna tell you
what a fine veteran he is
and a wonderful doctor.
And he deserves love.
Thank you, sir.
VALERIE: Hi, Burt.
BURT: Hi.
Oh, Valerie.
Please, darling,
could you stop filming people?
We're documenting
the night, Libby.
It could be
a historical event,
you know.
Yes, but some people
appreciate their privacy.
VALERIE: You don't mind,
do you, General?
No, no.
VALERIE: Burt?
We should go see those guys.
All right?
Yes. Yes, we should.
Valerie and her
home movies.
It's art.
(CHATTER AND LAUGHTER)
(MELLOW JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)
Beatrice,
will you dance with me?
BEATRICE: My darling.
My darling.
That is
Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Mother?
MRS. VANDENHEUVEL:
Yes, darling.
Mother, that is
Cornelius Vanderbilt,
and he's standing
right next to Alice Marble.
She might win
the US Open.
My parents have
to meet them.
They've wanted to meet
Alice Marble the whole time.
Can you just wait
for two seconds
and we'll come back?
Did you hear
what Father said
about you moving in?
Isn't that exciting?
No, thank you.
What? What do you...
What do you mean?
No, thank you.
What does
"No, thank you" mean?
I've waited too long
for the wrong thing.
It turned into something
very different
than it ever once could be.
I think terrible things
might happen to you.
What a thing
to say to anyone...
let alone your beloved.
BEATRICE: Mother,
there's Cornelius Vanderbilt
and Alice Marble.
Let's go meet them.
(CLASSICAL GUITAR MUSIC PLAYS)
(SINGING FADO PORTUGUES)
It's okay, Burt.
Yeah, you still have us.
Thank God. I'm running
out of people, fast.
(HAROLD AND VALERIE LAUGH)
TOM: Some important men
who, uh,
I believe you
wanted to meet.
Is that right?
Yeah. Yes, I would like
to meet them.
Berendsen, we can meet these
people that we talked about.
Valerie, you looked
so lovely dancing.
Maybe you should stay here
with your friends.
There's Tom Voze
talking to the general.
Oh, yes.
I spent my whole life
avoiding these people.
I feel the exact
same way, General.
These might be some
of the better ones
worth giving a chance.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS)
General Dillenbeck,
this is Mr. Nevins
of Nevins Telecommunications.
Mr. Belport,
Belport Chemicals,
Mr. Jeffers
of Jeffers Newschain.
We wanted to have
Mr. Tomlinson,
legendary auto inventor,
but he couldn't
be here tonight.
He has a fantastic
operation in Munich.
Gil, may I call you Gil?
No. You can call me General.
He prefers General.
Gil, I understand.
We understand.
He prefers
to be called General.
How's it going, Gil?
I'm Andrew Nevins.
You can call me Andy.
Well, I'll call you Andy.
You call me General.
I'm here to reckon
for the death
of my friend Bill Meekins.
Oh, who's that?
Bill Meekins?
We're honoring him tonight.
Ran the bond exchange.
Of course,
I'm terribly sorry
about what happened.
I almost forgot.
MR. BELPORT:
Tragedy with the daughter.
MR. JEFFERS: Terrible tragedy.
I look forward
to speaking
with you tonight
about business
opportunities overseas.
Our plant in Munich
is getting fantastic returns
because of
strong leadership.
Knowing how
to get things done.
TOM: Let's have a toast.
Yes, all right. Good.
We are the three.
Tom, you could be the fourth,
like we're playing golf.
And for good luck,
we need a proper fifth.
General?
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
Won't you please step in?
TOM: To the general.
MR. BELPORT: The general.
MR. JEFFERS: To the general.
MR. NEVINS: To General.
BURT: Talk about following
the wrong God home.
What's more un-American
than a dictatorship
built by American business?
TOM: There are two properties,
General,
if you should
ever want to use them.
You or your family.
Pioneer Point
in Maryland,
the home state
of Belport Chemicals.
A great retreat for you
or the veterans.
And another one
out in East Hampton.
You and your family
might like it.
I'll think about it,
though the wife and I enjoy
a little place
on the Jersey Shore.
Maybe you need a larger
imagination, General.
That's how
we all ended up here.
Never mind these men, General.
They think they own the world.
It's time to be getting on
with your speech.
We're looking forward
to your speech.
(TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(CAMERA WHIRRING)
WILKIN: And now, a featured
star of the 369th, Auggie,
on the glasses.
(APPLAUSE)
(PLAYING MELODY)
What is that?
This is one of the finest
innovations from Zurich.
Removes all pain,
all anxiety.
LIBBY: Hmm?
All needless thoughts
that occupy the mind.
BURT: My back is killing me.
Now, normally, guys like me,
we have to turn to booze
and morphine,
and that can lead
to addiction...
Oh, that's fast.
That is advanced.
(TOM AND LIBBY LAUGHING)
Oh, that is
tremendous energy.
I feel no pain.
TOM: It's good, isn't it?
That is good.
There's more where
this came from, Burt.
I wanna know
more about this.
I would love to have
the chemical compound.
When I get together
with my sisters
at the Vril Society,
we hold a seance
where we let our
hair down,
and it acts
as a kind of antenna.
It allows us to communicate
with the greater race.
Honestly, they come
from a different galaxy.
It's truly fascinating.
WILKIN: And now,
the Hinson Brothers.
(BAND PLAYING UPBEAT MUSIC)
Lady of Spain,
I adore you
Right from the night
I first saw you
I wanted to say,
for your speech tonight,
General,
some friendly advice.
BURT: Oh, please,
please, please,
don't give him
any friendly advice.
Oh, yeah, well,
what's the friendly advice?
Tonight, people will be
listening to you on the radio.
You'll never have
a bigger audience
with more
excited attention
from everyone.
They'll be looking to you
for inspiration.
Remember the veterans
who have bled and died
on our behalf,
and remember Bill Meekins
and honor him
respectfully.
If you improvise
and get lost in the woods
of some complicated
criminal situation
over Meekins's death,
it will reflect badly on you,
and we don't want that
for you, General.
The general was very clear
about that he was gonna
honor Bill Meekins
and tell the truth.
Well, that's exactly
what I mean.
Focus on the good qualities
Meekins had.
His quietness
and his kindness.
That's what I intend to do
in my own way.
What is that?
TOM: Feel this.
This is walrus.
BURT: Oh, that is soft.
A walrus was killed for this?
No, sir, he died of old age.
He lived a long, happy life
because he made smart choices.
It's a contribution
for your foundation.
I don't have a foundation.
TOM: Well, maybe
you should start one.
I can help you.
$36,000, General.
Think of everything
you can do
with Dr. Berendsen
and his medical innovations.
LIBBY: So much
to be accomplished.
You have to take the money.
What do you mean,
I have to take it?
Listen to me.
Someone, not me,
they will take your face
and your name,
put it in the
New York Times,
and wipe
their dog's ass with it.
(LIBBY SIGHS)
Think of everything you've
accomplished in your life.
It'll be forgotten, erased.
You'll be treated
like an old kook
and buried by history.
That's what they can do.
Make the right speech.
Or they'll turn you
into a martyr
and say an anarchist did it.
Don't make the mistake
like Bill Meekins.
That was a tragic theft
of a life.
HINSON BROTHERS:
Lady of Spain, I love you
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
MILTON: That was
the Hinson Brothers.
The Hinson Brothers,
they were great.
Don't you agree? Yes.
Hinson Brothers.
Doing, uh, Lady of Spain.
Yeah, Lady of Spain.
I met a lady of Spain once
and she turned me into
a gentleman of pain.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
Yes.
Now, the gentleman I'm about
to bring out right now
is a doctor of our regiment
and a man
I like to call "friend."
Please welcome Burt Berendsen.
Come on, Burt.
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
Time to give your speech,
Burt. Burt?
Dr. Burt Berendsen.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
My name is Burt Berendsen.
Most of you know me.
I am the son of a mechanic
from Elmira.
As a child,
we love the world, naturally.
And we hope
the world loves us.
As my friend Harold
said sometimes
I might have followed
the wrong God home.
Well, not this man.
He always followed
the right God home.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING
AND CHEERING)
AUDIENCE: (CHANTING)
Dillenbeck! Dillenbeck!
Dillenbeck! Dillenbeck!
BURT: Dillenbeck!
AUDIENCE: Dillenbeck!
Dillenbeck! Dillenbeck!
MEN: (CHANTING)
Drecksgesicht! Drecksgesicht!
Drecksgesicht! Drecksgesicht!
(GROUP CHANTING INDISTINCTLY
IN GERMAN)
Listen to those
Bund bastards.
Shower of bleeders,
rotters.
If you people shouting at me
in German had any courage,
you would behave with dignity.
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
MAN: Yes! General Dillenbeck!
I fought in five wars
on three continents.
People shot at me
my whole life.
My whole life.
I know fear,
and I know facing fear.
But the one thing
I truly detest,
the one thing I truly,
truly detest,
is cruelty.
(SCATTERED APPLAUSE)
I've been offered money
to become
the self-appointed leader
of the veterans,
veterans like you,
to be put in the White House
without an election
as some sort of advisor
by popular demand
of you.
These same people
want me to emulate
a certain European leader
named Mussolini.
(AUDIENCE GASPS)
They think
he's the type of leader
that this country needs.
The type of leader
who ran over a child
and never stopped his car.
The type of leader
whose excuse was,
"What's one person
in the affairs of the state?"
(AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS)
General Bill Meekins
was in that car.
He was a friend of mine.
He was a good person.
But when he told that story,
when he intended to tell it
again here on this stage,
he became another person
whose life was worth nothing
in the affairs of the state.
He was murdered.
(AUDIENCE GASPS)
Yes, he was murdered
and dishonored,
as I might be murdered
or dishonored
for telling that story
here tonight.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
What kind of country does this
become when that happens?
I became a Marine
to serve the Constitution,
which intends
for us all to be equal
in the brotherhood of mankind.
But what good is it
when powerful people
make exceptions for the people
who stand in their way?
Some people of influence
and power
like it when regular folks
are fired up by hatred
because it distracts us from
the fairness and kindness.
They don't want us
to think about too much
just so they can get
more and more
of what they already have,
which is vast wealth.
This is your country.
This is your country.
Don't let the big men
take it away from you.
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
AUDIENCE: (CHANTING)
Dillenbeck! Dillenbeck!
Dillenbeck! Dillenbeck!
Look, it's that guy.
DILLENBECK:
I'm the son of a banker.
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)
I'm a Republican.
Where's Paul and Henry?
Not here.
DILLENBECK:
I'm a conservative.
What about the detectives?
Do you know where they are?
Also not here.
DILLENBECK:
That's what it's like
when people who have money
only think about
wanting much more of it.
That's all that
they think about.
And they forget that you
are the ones who went out
and protected them.
You lost an eye
or you lost your life,
and your family had to suffer,
though they
were the heroes
who sent you off to war.
(HAROLD AND VALERIE GRUNT)
(AUDIENCE GASPS)
Whoever's shooting at me
is a coward.
I've been shot at
all over the world.
VALERIE: Get his gun!
I am not intimidated.
I am not afraid.
You all right?
Burt, are you all right?
Lem, I'm fine. I'm fine.
(ALL GRUNTING)
(MAN SCREAMS)
(AUDIENCE GASPS)
MAN: Sic semper tyrannis!
Dillenbeck's a traitor!
Stop that man.
MAN: Tom Voze is a great man!
Tom Voze is a great man!
You have...
(MAN GROWLING)
Keep that man down.
Sinful and legal.
Ask Mr. Voze!
(AUDIENCE PANICKING)
(ALL CHANTING INDISTINCTLY
IN GERMAN)
My country
'Tis of thee
Sweet land of liberty
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
Of thee I sing
DETECTIVE HILTZ:
Polizei. Polizei.
Break it up! Break it up!
Come here.
I'm a veteran and a patriot,
you fool.
You killed Liz Meekins,
you son of a bitch.
And for all I know,
her father too.
United States Treasury!
Everyone, leave!
Are you okay?
LIBBY: This is terrible.
We never meant for
anything like this
to happen.
This is an outrage.
You're gonna be charged.
You're gonna be charged, Tom.
You. Yes, you.
TOM: No, sir.
You are confused.
DILLENBECK:
No, I'm not confused.
BURT: Between my own pill
and getting shot,
these eye drops are
the only reason I'm standing
and I feel no pain.
And holy shit! Look what's
happening in this room.
Everything.
PAUL: ...gun from
the Committee of the Five.
He called you by your name,
Tom, with pride.
I don't know that man.
We just fought that man
for our lives.
HAROLD: Burt and I saw him
push Liz Meekins.
He's the killer.
HENRY: There is
enough evidence.
I am sorry to say
that the man who took a shot
at General Dillenbeck
on that stage tonight
was the same man
on the boat with Meekins,
on a ticket purchased
by your foundation.
LIBBY: There is no need
to raise your voice.
HENRY: Yours, Mr. Voze.
VALERIE: Tom,
what's happening?
LIBBY: What are the charges?
PAUL: The charges
are against you
and the guests you invited.
The Committee of the Five.
TOM: For what?
Committee of the Five.
Conspiracy to bribe
a United States general.
Attempted assassination.
Conspiracy to overthrow
the US government.
Trading with dictators,
Italy, Germany.
Two murders your foundation
apparently seems to be
responsible for,
Meekins and his daughter.
Tom, did you do this?
I felt it was wrong
that Meekins died.
That was a tragic theft
of a life.
But something
had to be done
because he didn't see
the opportunity
of the new ways to live.
He didn't understand.
Meekins didn't understand.
Do you understand that?
All right.
You need to slow it down.
Tom, please tell me
you didn't have
anything to do
with my medication.
Tom influenced
your doctor, Valerie,
as he had done
with your mother before.
(VALERIE GASPS)
Is that true?
A little.
A little?
I did it for your own good.
You poisoned me?
If that's what
you want to call it,
fine.
I was looking after you,
your best interests.
You're reckless,
like a child.
Listen to me. You're running
around all over Europe
and saying bad things
about the war?
(WHISPERS)
Consorting with
a Black man.
(SIGHS)
MILTON: Consorting with a man,
a free man,
in Amsterdam,
that fought for you!
Like the clinics, Tom?
TOM: What clinics?
Committee of the Five.
You know what clinics
I'm talking about, Tom.
PAUL: Forced sterilization.
We'll see about that.
We saw the Committee
of the Five symbol
there.
Stop lying!
BURT: That Tom had an angle
was no surprise,
but the horror of it...
My God.
Right under Valerie's nose.
They kept her distracted
with the invented condition.
Goering,
Hitler's right-hand man,
and Hitler himself.
(CHUCKLES)
Most people didn't even know
who he was yet.
Tom even paid Goering
to write a column
in the Jeffers papers
about the new
Aryan government.
Whatever that was.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
Tom had just finished
the topiary with the symbol.
You couldn't see it
except from above.
I mean, you gotta be some
kind of super-fanatic believer
to make your bushes like that.
Don't you look at me
like that, Libby.
Valerie, darling.
All great societies
are built this way.
You live in a dream world
with your strange sculptures.
And that's fine.
You can have that.
But it won't make
the world go round.
I'm very happy
to be unimportant
and live in a place
that has love and beauty.
Art and love,
that's what makes the life
worth living,
while you're building
this big,
gigantic, terrifying future.
What a waste
of your imagination.
I made plenty, for us,
rebuilding Germany.
I wanted to stand with
the strongest leaders
in the world.
But I'm also happy
to go to war against them.
BURT: Another war?
But we just did all that.
You mean to tell me
these rich guys
will support dictators
or fight them?
They believe in nothing
but making money.
And that's why
Meekins was killed,
because he wouldn't go along
with that or support it?
Insanity!
And we have
walked right into it.
No. Oh, no, no, no.
VALERIE: Ah...
BURT: Tom quickly saw us
as his best chance
to get the general.
If you got someone
like Gil Dillenbeck
involved with your event,
it would help me
to get involved.
So, you need someone?
You always...
He always
needs someone...
Valerie,
would you give it a rest?
...in front of him.
You thought you'd use
these men to get me.
But I used them
and their event
to reveal you
and stop your plan
for at least a decade.
Maybe two or three more,
hopefully.
BURT: We did stop the plot.
This is true.
The Committee of the Five
didn't get
their American dictator.
I appeared before
the congressional committee,
the highest representation
of the American people,
under subpoena
to tell what I knew of...
BURT: The general
testified to Congress,
and they agreed he was right.
What do powerful people want?
Is it never enough?
They do the craziest things.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
(GUNSHOT)
Oh, my God!
What's the matter
with you?
HENRY: What the hell
did you do?
Oh, my God!
Valerie, what have
you done?
What's the matter
with you?
What did you do?
We had everything
we needed to prosecute,
and now it's all
out the window!
PAUL: It's a huge problem now.
Yes, well done.
Tom, my face.
She ruined my face! (SIGHS)
I couldn't help it.
They're so awful.
PAUL: Woman,
have you lost your mind?
MILTON: I told you
she was trouble.
LIBBY: Yeah, that was
rather stupid, Valerie.
TOM: You could go to jail,
Valerie.
Tell them
the truth, Harold.
Are you all right,
Valerie?
You're shaking.
Oh, I'm fine.
I was just thinking about
shooting Tom and Libby
in the face.
TOM: Hmm.
I won't do it.
Don't worry.
Well, that's
a good decision.
Thank God.
Yes, it would've bollocksed
everything. We'd have no case.
BURT: You have to stand up
to them, as we had done.
And you have to live
your truth.
I love Harold.
He's given me the greatest
happiness of my life,
as has Burt.
(DREAMY MUSIC PLAYING)
BURT: There it is.
Look at that.
That's how you face
such a world.
You must have love
in your heart for your life.
It is love versus hate.
I love my life
and the people in it.
Even Beatrice.
And clear, not Portuguese,
I'm-in-love-with-her Irma.
Milton.
Shirley at the office
with Morty.
The tapestry.
Everything in it.
Even my glass eye.
Dillenbeck's dog
and the bouillabaisse
we didn't get to have.
Each one of us
is given a tapestry,
our own opera.
This person and this person.
Thinking about it.
Love is not enough.
You got to fight
to protect kindness.
You get attached
to people and things.
And they might
just break your heart.
But that's being alive.
My back brace
that I so disliked
had saved me from this bullet.
You lucky bastard.
BURT: And we three
had helped stop
this terrible plot.
I can't believe that.
BURT: Burt Berendsen,
Harold Woodman,
and Valerie Voze.
Jerks, Nevins...
BURT: Tom would not
stay arrested long.
Those people never do.
Talk to my lawyer.
You'll see.
BURT: Committee of the Five
never faced any charges.
They disappeared,
as they can do.
Tom and his friends
smeared the general.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
It was a warning
of what they were capable of.
Maguire died mysteriously
at the age of 37.
He knew too much.
Valerie and Harold
were no longer safe
in this country.
(SEAGULLS CALLING)
(SHIP HORN BLARING)
Friends for life
means friends for life.
You do whatever it takes.
We had to get them on a boat
that very night.
Woodman,
you should...
HAROLD: Thank you, Henry.
I'm way ahead of you.
I made my decision.
Harold's coming with me.
No, you're coming with me.
No, you're coming with me.
HAROLD: You'll be seeing
me again, Dr. Berendsen,
because history
repeats itself.
Goodbye, old friend.
We'll see you in Amsterdam.
HENRY: Oh, no.
You're not going
to Amsterdam.
BURT: What?
It's only a matter of time
before the Gestapo
kicks down your door.
HENRY: Mm.
What's the Gestapo?
PAUL: Oh.
Yeah, you don't wanna know.
We'll, uh, send you
somewhere safer.
Beautiful weather
this time of year.
And the blue-headed
vireo migration to boot.
Yes.
It's spectacular
bird country.
Isn't it, though?
Really.
Yeah.
I'm jealous.
(CHUCKLES)
HAROLD: Burt.
Burt, why don't you
come with us?
I choose to stay.
Who knows?
Maybe I'll find a new life
and a new love.
VALERIE: I hope so.
Because when it comes to love,
there's nothing
quite so good as clarity.
I agree.
BURT: I stayed to stand up
for my country
so that one day,
my best friends
could come back.
VALERIE: Goodbye, Burt.
HAROLD: Au revoir,
my good friend.
VALERIE: Be happy, Burt!
Henry. Paul. General.
Thank you.
Farewell for now.
HAROLD: Milton.
BURT: Part of me wished
I did run with my friends.
(DREAMY MUSIC CONTINUES)
(BURT GROANS)
But I didn't.
You want for your heart
and for your people
to follow the right God home.
(DREAMY MUSIC CONTINUES)
Amsterdam.
Amsterdam.
(DREAMY MUSIC CONCLUDES)
(WHIMSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
I appeared before
the congressional committee,
the highest representation
of the American people,
under subpoena to tell
what I knew of activities,
which I believe
might lead to an attempt...
BOTH: ...to set up
a fascist dictatorship.
The plan as outlined to me
was to form
an organization of veterans,
to use as a bluff
or as a club,
at least to intimidate
the government
and break down
our democratic institutions.
(DREAMY MUSIC CONTINUES)
(BALLAD SONG PLAYING)
(SONG ENDS)
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
(UPBEAT MUSIC CONCLUDES)
(FRANTIC JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING)