Daisy Kenyon (1947) Movie Script

Wait for me.
I'll only be a minute.
- I can't wait.
- Sure you can. I do that all the time.
I don't care what you do all the time, mister.
It ain't right to hold a cab these days.
There used to be 11,811 cabs
operating in New York City.
- Now there's less than 10,000.
- Okay, you won the case.
Right now every New York cab has to take
care of 1,156 people, and that's a lot-
I said you won the case. Do you have
to convert me too? Here. Keep it.
- Hello, Mr. O'Mara.
- Evening, honeybunch.
Hello, pet.
I told you I had a date for dinner.
Anybody want a cup of coffee?
No, thanks.
But I'd like some cream.
- Uh-uh, Angelus.
- I'll definitely start my diet-
Tomorrow. I know.
Well, anyway, you finished
my upper part.
And don't forget.
This is the only place I ever eat.
When are you going to let me
come live with you, Daisy?
When you reduce your suitor traffic.
Here's the cream, honeybunch.
- All right, darling. Get up and live.
- Thank you.
That's the last of
the Eberhardt series.
It's half past time
I got dressed for dinner.
Don't girls ever die in bed
in your magazines?
Sure-suffocation,
but I don't like it.
With a pillow over my face,
I look like anybody.
How about Monday at 9:00?
We start on the Fuller job.
Swell. See you Monday.
- Have a good time, honeybunch.
- Good night, Mr. O'Mara.
- Good night, Angelus.
- Good night, Daisy.
- I've got to get dressed.
- I can't stay, pet.
I tried to call you all afternoon,
but your line was busy.
- I can't make dinner at the Latimers' tomorrow.
- Oh, honestly. Do you realize...
this is the third time we've made a date
with the Latimers and you've broken it?
- Honey, if you let me talk I-
- Why should I?
I don't intend to believe
a word you're going to say.
Once, yes.
But three times in a row.
Make it the week after next,
and I'll be there if it kills me.
I will not. You don't have
to go anywhere with me.
We just won't plan anything at all.
Come on, Tubby.
Sure you don't want some coffee?
No, thank you.
I don't want any coffee.
Going to rain.
Oh, fine.
Let's make conversation.
Do you think there'll be rain for
the entire eastern seaboard this weekend?
I hope not. I'm going to Washington. Hard
enough to get a taxi when it isn't raining.
Washington? How thrilling.
Harry S. want your advice
on atomic energy?
Now, look. Your being mad
is silly, and you know it.
I've never broken a date unless I couldn't
help it. Unless something really important-
- Thanks.
- I don't mean you're not important.
But we can go to the Latimers' next week,
and we can see each other anytime.
Do you realize in all this time, ever
since the Latimers first introduced us...
that we haven't made
a single other mutual friend?
Those stairs of yours
are driving me nuts.
Why don't you live
someplace civilized?
That apartment on 63rd Street-
I can't hold it forever.
You're determined to have
a good row, aren't you?
This is my apartment. It's been my apartment
since I started to work in New York.
I like it, and I'm keeping it.
You're making plenty
of money yourself.
I have a theory that you stay
in this hovel just to punish me.
- And another thing- - I don't think
we have time for a single other thing.
I think we won't see
each other anymore, Dan.
I think I'm through.
Do we have to go through
all this again?
No, we don't have to go
through anything again.
I have to fight to stay happy-
fight for everything.
My life's all mixed up with you every way
I turn. And what fun is it?
I've tried, and you've tried.
It isn't all your fault.
There just isn't enough.
At least for me there isn't.
You've got her,
and you've got the kids.
You've got your work
and being a big shot in Washington.
I've just got my work.
You messed that up too.
When I'm mad I can't work,
and I'm mad all the time.
You're never going to marry me, because you're
never going to be divorced for all you say.
- That's not fair- - You're never going to be
divorced, Dan, because you don't want to be.
Believe me, I'm not
being sorry for myself.
I knew it would be like this.
It's just that I'm tired.
That's all. Tired and through.
I'll get out whenever
you tell me to...
but I want you to tell me because
you mean it, not because you're angry.
Are you really telling me now?
- I said I was.
- You know I don't like scenes.
I'll get out now,
and I won't come back, if you tell me.
Darling.
Will you ever believe
I mean what I say?
That depends on what you say.
I was taking a client of mine out to dinner tonight
- Payton Ames, the novelist.
I'll call him up
and tell him to forget it.
I told you I had
a date for dinner...
and you needn't think that getting
around me is going to change my mind.
You're most of my life, Daisy-
the only part of it that matters.
- We can't stop.
- I've tried.
Honestly, I've tried.
And I will one day too.
All right, you will.
You stop sometime,
maybe next year, next week...
but not this week.
All right. Not this week.
Now go on. Beat it.
My date's due.
Good night.
Good night, Dan.
Taxi!
- Wait for me.
- Hey, taxi.!
Sorry, I'm keeping him.
Isn't right to hold
a cab these days.
Every New York cab
has to do for 1,156 people.
Anyway, Miss Kenyon won't be ready.
Oh, she's expecting you, but I'm afraid
I delayed her a little bit.
Go right up. I'll send the cab back
when I'm through with it.
He ain't paid.
That's okay. I'll take care of that
and double the rest.
- 8883 Park. Just get going.
- Okay.
- Hello, Miss Kenyon.
- Hello.
- Am I too early?
- No, I'm a very sloppy gal and never on time.
- A friend dropped in, and I couldn't start changing.
- That's all right.
I've got a whole week before I
report back, so take your time.
Come on in and mix yourself a drink,
will you?
Right there.
I won't be too long.
Well, hello, beautiful.
How do you do? Yes.
- You still here?
- I should say.
Everything seems to go wrong when
you're in a hurry. You know how it is.
Ah, it's all right.
We've become very close friends.
- You like Tubby?
- Ah, he's a beauty.
I think it's stopped raining.
Would you like the Brevoort for dinner?
I haven't been there since before the war.
I'd love it.
Where are your ribbons?
Oh, I must've left them
at the cleaners.
You must've been worse off at that party
last night than you thought you were.
I'm always worse off
than I think I am.
Don't you remember
giving these to me?
I always give them away when I find
somebody who will listen to me.
Why did you ask me 400 times
last night if I were real?
Why not?
Nothing else here is real.
When I came back from Europe
the first time after V-E Day...
they changed Sixth Avenue into something
called "Avenue of the Americas. "
It wasn't New York.
It wasn't home.
That's why I went back to Germany
with the Army of Occupation.
Hmm. Germany, where nothing
was changed, of course.
You going to be in the army
all your life?
I'd intended to, until I met you.
- Miss Angelus tells me you're a yacht designer.
- Used to be.
I remember now. You designed
the Lapham Six Meter.
There were beautiful photographs of boats
in the magazines by a Susy Lapham.
- Was that someone in your family?
- My wife.
Say, what is it with you guys?
Don't any of you ever go back to the wives
you left when you went to war?
Excuse me.
- Hello?
- Your cab, lady.
I took that party up to Park.
He said to come back, you'd be waiting.
Be down in a minute.
Seems my friend sent
his cab back for us.
They're hard to get in the rain.
He must've been lucky.
He was. He took mine.
Sure, let's go.
He can be very rude at times.
He was, I suppose.
I didn't notice.
We were talking about your wife.
You were, yes.
She's dead.
Okay, honeybunch.
Well, don't you worry. If they get you,
I promise to visit you in Leavenworth...
with flowers.
- Good night.
- Danny, darling.
The office telephoned again. There
just isn't a drawing room on that train.
They tried and tried.
You wanted it to work in, didn't you?
What did you think I wanted it for?
Oh, I'm sorry, baby.
Mervyn!
Dan, he's right behind you.
- Yes, sir?
- Mervyn, it's the 12:30 I'm taking.
Bring my bag and my briefcase down to
Penn Station and meet me at the track gate.
- Yes, sir.
- Dan, you work too hard. You know you do. Even Father thinks so.
Well, you never get a decent vacation.
- Mr. Harris.
- You're stuck here all summer. Half the time, no weekend.
- I don't see how you do it. One of these
times- - Hello, Harris. Lucille, please.
Look, honeybunch, I'm home, and I'm
relaxing, so call me in Washington, will you?
Right. So long.
Dan, what are you going
to Washington for anyway?
Officially I'm going down to present
a brief to S.E.C. on Amalgamated Gas.
- But while I'm there-
- I could never remember that. Never mind.
I don't know what you're doing, but no one
expects me to anymore, so it doesn't matter.
You think I know
what I'm doing, baby?
- Where are the girls?
- Rosamund's primping. She's terribly excited.
Danny, I do wish you'd consulted me before
you told her she could go with us tonight.
Thirteen's no age
for the Stork Club.
- What's the harm in it? Where's Marie?
- She's doing her homework.
She's getting awfully independent
too, Dan. I don't know what-
Well, how do you like?
Fifty million dollars, honey.
Rosamund, if you don't take off some of
that lipstick, you're not going with us.
- I've told you twice now.
- Dan, do you think it's too much?
Of course it is,
but it's very attractive.
Rosamund, you heard me.
Mommy, I'm not that young.
You forget my name's O'Mara...
and there's a life of
interesting crime ahead of me.
You're very mean to your mother.
You shouldn't be. She's sweet.
You laughed, Dan.
Daddy, where are we going tonight?
- Dinner at the Colony, then the Stork Club. Is that all right?
- Terrific.
Marie.!
- Right to your room. To your room this instant.!
- What's going on?
- Daddy!
- What is it, baby?
Marie has been insolent.
I told her to stay in her room...
- because she has two hours of
homework to do, but she- - What is it?
She hit me.
She hit me.
But she said things. I've never been
spoken to like that in my life...
- and by my own child, I-
- Couldn't be that bad, baby.
I've got worse from my old man for nothing but
sniffling when I didn't have a handkerchief.
- I think you've been very rude to
your mother. - But she called me-
That's one of the very worst things you
could do, talking to your mother like that.
- But, Dan, you don't unders- - Lucille,
would you straighten up those flowers, please?
That's the fourth commandment, baby.
You mustn't be rude to your parents.
The fourth.
That's how important it is.
It's up ahead of murder
and stealing.
What was it you wanted anyway?
I just- I just wanted to stay up
while you had cocktails and see everybody.
I read Mr. Ames's book,
and I wanted to meet him.
I don't see any reason
why you shouldn't meet him.
Lucille, I'm sure she'll do her best
to get her homework finished tomorrow.
All that has nothing to do with the way
she spoke to me. And look at her.
Look at yourself, darling.
Don't know what
I'm going to do with you.
Here we are
with guests arriving and-
- That's better. I'll see to the guests.
- Thank you.
Now say you're sorry
and go wash you're face.
I'm sorry.
Thank you, Dan.
Don't ever hit that child
again, Lucille.
How can you have so little control
as to let an 11-year-old child-
Control? It's easy for you.
You see them five minutes a day-
Just enough to spoil them.
- Well, if you could understand how
thankless it is for me- - Now, Lucille...
a half an hour of hero worship
is not going to hurt Marie.
And how do you know what hurts her-
what hurts anybody?
I realize what I am to you.
All right.
Only don't interfere when I try to make
better human beings of my daughters.
- Now, Lucille, dear-
- No, for once I'm going to say it!
I know exactly what I am to you,
and sometimes I wish I didn't know.
Know what? You just lost your temper with
Marie, and now you're losing it with me.
I don't get mad easily,
and I don't want to now.
Maybe I haven't been the best husband, but if
you want me to stay any kind of husband at all...
you'll never say anything again
like what you tried to say just now.
You say you know exactly
what you are to me.
Well, if you do know, you know
the good things as well as the bad.
You'll never have any less,
unless you ask for it.
And you know it isn't thankless.
We have two fine girls,
and you're to be thanked for that.
Now go powder your nose.
Lucille, honey, go on.
Daddy. Daddy, I'm so humiliated.
I asked Mr. Ames to autograph his novel
for me, and we haven't a copy in the house.
Well, I'll tell you what you do.
You go out and buy a copy tomorrow,
and I'll get it autographed for you.
And next time, don't talk so big, huh?
- Good evening.
- Good evening.
Excuse us, please.
If this is the way they do things in your
country, I'm going back where I came from.
In an hour or two,
we'll work our way to a table.
Where would you go back to?
Brittany.
Rennes, the capital.
I was in the lead tanks when we took the place.
I never felt so welcome anywhere in my life.
For three days, I listened to the bells
of Rennes, and there wasn't anything...
in the whole world
except the bells of Rennes.
Jack?
- I need to kiss your neck.
- No, you don't need to kiss my neck.
You just keep on talking.
Would you like to get out of here
and go someplace else? I wouldn't.
I like it here.
I like it fine here with you.
- Where are we anyway?
- This is the Stork Club.
And this is America.
You're welcome here too.
Yeah.
I do kind of feel welcome.
Next best thing to going to Rennes
and letting the bells support me.
That reminds me. What am I gonna
do for a living when I get out?
Well, there are a lot of beautiful sloops
waiting to be designed, I understand.
Ah, kid stuff.
I think I'm going to be
a ruthless tycoon from now on.
I need a drink,
and you, Daisy, need a drink.
You're very nice.
You're especially nice
when you need a drink.
Rosamund, this is an historic occasion.
First time at the Stork. Come in here.
That's awfully nice, Dan, really.
Excuse me. Excuse me.
- Oh, hello.
- Hello.
- No check necessary.
- Thank you, honeybunch.
- Hello, Walter.
- Hello, O'Mara. How are you?
- Your hat, Mr. Winchell.
- This is my little daughter Rosamund. Her first night here.
- Hello.
- You know Lucille.
- Have a good time.
- Thank you. Come right in, dear.
- Lucille.
- Good evening, Mr. O'Mara.
Evening, honeybunch. I'm depending
upon you to impress my daughter...
with the very best table
in the house.
Oh, hello, Leonard.
Going to Washington tonight.
- If you call me tomorrow, I might give you a story.
- Thanks, O'Mara.
Just for that, I'll let you
handle my libel business.
Uh, the lady in the corner there
with the man in uniform-
- All right, Mr. O'Mara.
- Thank you.
I have a table for you now.
I'm sorry, but we just remembered a
long-distance call we put in and then forgot.
To Rennes.
Night, honeybunch.
I had a lovely time.
Did you know it was half past 3:00?
I had a lovely time too.
No, I didn't know it was half past 3:00.
- Will you call me again soon?
- Sure.
Oh, really.
I'm not just being polite.
I wouldn't say this
if it weren't half past 3:00...
but don't ask me to call
if you don't mean it.
I have to work tomorrow,
so don't call me till Sunday.
If you're sober by Sunday afternoon,
you can take me to a baseball game.
Will you call me Sunday morning?
- I love you.
- You-What?
When you hear the tone,
the time will be 12:52.
When you hear the tone, Daisy Kenyon will have
been stood up for the first time in her life.
Hello?
- Miss Daisy Kenyon?
- Yes.
Washington is calling.
Go ahead, Washington.
Hello? Hello, baby.
How are you?
Hello, Dan. I'm fine, thanks.
Having a good time?
Terrible.
I miss you, baby.
How's your boyfriend?
Oh, you know, the fella
you went out with the other night.
I stole his taxi, but I sent it back.
Did you get it all right?
Don't try to bluff your way out of that.
I was furious, and I still am.
And that table at the Stork Club.
Really, you behaved like a-
I behaved like a cad, huh?
Are you gonna leave me for him?
I'm going to leave you, all right,
but not for Mr. Lapham.
He's nice, but a little unstable.
Oh, really?
He's got an interesting face.
Oh, baby, I just looked at my watch.
I'm 40 minutes late for a lunch.
Big, preposterous lunch out at Chevy Chase.
It'll be over by the time I get there.
Better finish my coffee
and get out of here.
I'll take the 2:00 train,
maybe the 3:00.
Do you wanna meet me at Penn Station?
Come in.
- Mr. O'Mara?
- That's right. Will you meet me at the station?
And sit around wondering
which train you took?
- Who just came in?
- A gentleman I never saw before in all my life...
who doesn't know I'm already
40 minutes late for lunch.
- Sweetie, meet me at The Savarin.
- No, I don't think so.
Oh, come on. Give. Don't make me
beat you down every time. I love you.
I love you too, I guess.
- Good. I'll see you there.
Good-bye, dear. - Bye.
I'm Will Thompson, attorney for
the Civil Rights Association.
This is the kind of pressure stunt
I don't go for, Thompson.
I have an office in New York.
I've been trying
to reach you for weeks.
I want you to work on a case, Mr. O'Mara.
I represent Suyo Noguchi.
The armyjudge advocate tells me
that he spoke to you about the case.
Oh, yes.
Well, I couldn't have been very interested,
because I don't remember anything he said.
Noguchi is a nisei Japanese.
Fought in Italy.
Wounded, decorated.
Came home to find his farm
legally stolen.
That's not my kind of case. There are
over 50 million victims of this war.
It isn't anybody's kind of case.
It's an unpleasant, thoroughly thankless
kind of case, O'Mara.
But it's representative of almost
every nisei who fought in Europe.
I used to feel a sort
of pleasant dignity...
knowing that I could always be called upon
to protect a democratic idea.
I'm a tired and angry man now,
Mr. O'Mara...
but you're an unspent
and very wealthy man.
Maybe you could use some
of that sort of pleasure.
Come along and ride with me.
- Hello, baby.
- Hi, cad.
- You have a nice Sunday?
- Oh, lovely.
Did you ever try making
one martini last an hour?
Maybe it would've been easier
if you'd drunk it.
I'm glad you're here, baby.
I need your advice.
You what?
I've just taken a case that's gonna make
you feel you've had a salutary effect on me.
If you took a case like that,
it must be on page one of the newspapers.
Ah, you're very ungracious. I took it
because it's gonna make you love me like mad.
- Do you want my advice, or do you wanna brag?
- Both.
I wanna know how I'm gonna
break this to my wife's old man.
- My law partner, you know.
- Mm-hmm.
He's gonna have a stroke
when he finds out we've taken a case...
with no fee, no publicity
and representing a Japanese.
It's a case of a veteran,
Suyo Noguchi.
He fought in Italy
with the Fourth Division.
He comes home with a Purple Heart,
Silver Star, and he was discharged.
Only there wasn't
any home to come to.
Some smart operator out on the coast
digs up a law written by Corts...
and moves his farm
right out from under him.
Well?
Love me like mad?
Mm-hmm.
I love you like mad.
- Then why don't you kiss me?
- All right, I will.
- I'm starved. Where are we going for dinner?
- Oh, honey, we aren't.
I've got to see my wife's old man
about this and a couple of other things.
Which reminds me.
There's some other advice I want from you.
Seriously, Daisy, Marie worries me.
Lucille doesn't seem
to know how to handle her.
What would you think of
boarding school for a year?
Dan, how do you expect me
to answer a question like that?
By the way, you didn't tell me that Rosamund
was getting so tall. Lucille looked very well.
You sound jealous.
Didn't it ever occur to you that I have
more reason to be jealous than Lucille has?
Here we are having a perfect time
- What the devil are you looking for in that purse?
A nickel.
Have you got one?
- Yes.
- Thank you.
Honey, what's the matter?
- Oh, Angelus? Daisy.
- Hi.
- What are you doing?
- Nothing much.
Good. I'll meet you at
my apartment in 15 minutes.
We'll throw some sort of dinner together,
then the movies, okay?
Daisy, listen. I don't have to leave for half
an hour, an hour. Please don't get mad again.
There was some picture
I wanted to see at the Greenwich.
I love you, Daisy, and you love me. Why can't
you let us be happy for one minute together?
Dan, I've had a bad day.
I've been walking around all afternoon...
three blocks north, three blocks south,
south by north.
I can't wander all my life.
I've got to be going somewhere.
Can't you understand that?
Even if it's to the movies.
Angelus, I'll see you in 15 minutes.
You cook like you paint, honey-
Fast, colorful and glib.
I'll call the theater
and see what time the picture goes on.
You'd make some selfish goon a much better
wife than he deserves, is all I can say.
That's all I can say too.
Greenwich. Greenwich.
Hello?
- Miss Kenyon?
- Yes.
Hello. How are you?
This is Pete Lapham.
- Hello?
- I'm very well, thank you.
That's good. I just happened to be in your
part of town. I don't suppose I could come by?
I'm sorry, but you caught me
as I was on my way out.
I have a cab waiting downstairs
and a whole gang of people.
- You have?
- Yes, I have.
We're on our way to a ball game,
and we're very, very, very late.
- Please, can't I come up?
- I'm afraid you can't.
Tomorrow or any other day?
No, not tomorrow or any other day.
Well, what time does
the picture go on?
Oh, how stupid of me. I'm sorry. Somebody
called, and I forgot all about it.
Thank you.
- Yes, sir?
- Uh, scotch and soda, please.
This isn't a bar. It's a restaurant,
or haven't you noticed?
Well, in that case, bring me
a steak sandwich and a glass of milk.
Who's in there, buddy?
Your wife?
I can give you the name of a guy who works
very cheap and save you all this trouble.
If I had a wife, it's when she wasn't
at the movies I'd worry, not when she was.
Steak sandwich and a glass of milk.
Door downstairs was open.
Yes?
I did something bad.
Yes, I guess you did.
You'd better tell me. It had something
to do with the ball game, didn't it?
Well, you were supposed to call me this morning
and take me out this afternoon. That's all.
- Except that I didn't.
- Except that you didn't.
I've been shot twice
for a good deal less than that.
I forgot.
Look, it's late. I'm afraid
you'd better run along.
Can I come back again sometime?
I- I don't know.
You-You mix up everything.
You don't sound mixed up.
You sound composed, certain.
- No, don't, Pete.
- I'm going.
I just want to hold you
for a minute.
The world's dead,
and everybody in it's dead but you.
How did they come to die?
Daisy, have you-
Did you ever let yourself get into a mood
you couldn't find a way out of?
What's the matter?
My wife was killed in an accident.
Driving a car down from Truro
on the cape five years ago.
That started it-
a kind of slow dying.
I fought against it,
but it happened anyway.
The war did the rest.
That's foolish,
and I think you know it.
Yes. Two times I was wounded,
I wanted like anything to live.
But when I got well,
it started again.
That's why I didn't get out
of the army after Europe.
With Susy gone
I didn't want to see any of my friends...
or go back to anything
I'd ever done before.
That was bad, wasn't it?
But I don't believe a word of it.
Oh, I believe the facts, all right...
but not the melodrama.
If everything had gone dead for you,
you wouldn't know it.
You wouldn't be sitting here
trying to sound like a case history.
And you know all about
case histories, don't you?
All right, have your tragedy,
have your melodrama. Go on.
You're using me, sort of.
Yes. Aren't you using me?
We can talk about me
but not about you?
I'm not interesting.
There's no melodrama in my life.
You're in love with a ruthless tycoon.
Isn't that melodrama?
It isn't like that at all.
You don't know.
Do you love him?
Yes, I do love him.
But it isn't enough,
or I wouldn't be here, would I?
Would you like some milk?
Gosh, no. I drank two gallons
waiting for you to come out of that movie.
In all the case histories I've read,
it seems a good idea to get a job...
find other things to think about.
The whole thing'll go
a month after we're married.
Married?
You're a south-by-north character
if there ever was one.
Y- You're exactly what I don't need.
You know you're very tender
about being proposed to?
Will you marry me?
I love you, and I want to marry you.
Please say yes.
Please? Come and meet my sister
and brother-in-law in Scarsdale...
and receive a letter
from my aunt in Cambridge.
Please?
Come live with me and be my love.
Or better still, let me come here
and live with you.
Please marry me.
Darling Daisy.
Lovely Daisy.
You have such nice ears, Daisy.
Let's- Let's start all over again.
There's a-There's a baseball game
Wednesday night.
If I'm not here Wednesday at 7:00,
I won't bother to call again.
- Good night, Miss Kenyon.
- Good night.
- Hello, Mr. O'Mara. How's California?
- Hello, honeybunch.
- Mr. O'Mara. Good to have you back.
- Hello, Frances. How are you?
- Hiya, Jack.
- Hello, Mr. O'Mara.
- Hello, darlings!
- Hi. We'd given you up for lost.
Fancy meeting you here, Dan O'Mara.
Marsha, first things first.
Get me Chelsea 2-0459.
- Nine.
- Where's Coverly and Coverly?
One foot in the grave,
the other on my neck.
Can't I go away for 18 days
without him bothering us?
Oh, hello, sugarplum.
Have you any idea
what's been going on here, Dan?
Amalgamated Gas is retaining Stevenson
because we don't give them enough time.
- The S.E.C. - - Can't I go away without
you working yourself into a state?
- Doesn't that number answer?
- It's busy.
- Keep trying, Marsha.
- The S.E.C. accuses us ofholding up the Butcher case.
How are Lucille and the kids? Check
that number and see if it's out of order.
They're fine. We're all
having dinner together.
And if you want to have it a pleasant dinner,
let's get our harsh words over with now.
Do we have to have
harsh words, Papa?
Look, Dan, it was tough enough
before you took on that ridiculous case.
When you shut yourself up
for 18 days in California-
Papa, did you or I ever object when Coverly
Sr. spent four months a year on his boat?
- Well, what's that got to do with it?
- We didn't object, did we?
A man needs his relaxation.
And I never objected when you
stood up in a trout stream...
looking like Calvin Coolidge
two months a year either, did I?
What's all this got to do with a
grandstand play defending a Japanese?
If it gives me pleasure to fight
some lucrative race prejudices...
including your own, that's my sport.
- You understand?
- All right, Dan. Only, uh-
Who brought the S.E.C. case
in here anyway?
Amalgamated Gas and National Motors.
And why do we still have to have
your papa's name on that door...
10 years after he drowned himself
in the Fastnet race?
I said all right, Dan.
Okay, dewdrop.
And now that the harsh words are over, we
can have a very pleasant dinner together.
But a little later.
I got a million things to do.
Would you be sweet enough
to call Lucille and ask her...
- if she'll meet us at the Colony at 9:00?
- All right, Dan.
Just tell her I'm back, and I'm happy,
and I'm well and that I love her.
And that you're happy and well
and that you love me.
- What about that number?
- It's busy. I had the operator listen in.
The receiver must be off the hook. There
weren't any voices, but there was music.
File these with Mobile Power,
National Motors.
All the rest of that stuff
is the Noguchi case.
- Shall I call that number again?
- No, never mind.
I'm gonna slip out for a few minutes
and see Graybove from National Motors.
Boy, did he give it
to the walking dead.
- Where'd he go now?
- Kenyon. She doesn't answer the phone.
There were a lot of wires
from her he locked in his desk.
On one of them I saw
just four words:
"Yes, something has happened. "
You're going to marry him. Is that what
you tried to warn me about in your wires?
I have married him.
I wanted to tell you to your face.
I couldn't over the telephone.
Well, this is a new twist.
The guy moves in and brings
his etchings with him.
What's his connection with boats?
He designs them,
or at least he did before the war.
- Now he's working as a compass adjuster.
- A what?
Well, it's just a temporary job
until we can save enough money...
to buy a car
and a shack on the cape.
We expect to live up there
most of the year.
I can get my magazine assignments here
and do my work up there.
After a few months,
Peter will know what he wants to do.
That is, well, he doesn't think
he wants to go back to yacht designing.
This is the Sartatia, isn't it?
Yes, Peter's father designed her.
She was a beauty.
Nice clean lines.
I used to sail her years ago
with old Pop Coverly.
I didn't know you cared
anything about boats, Dan.
A lot of things about me
you didn't know.
And a lot that I didn't know either.
Have a good life, baby.
You deserve it.
Good-bye, Daisy.
Bye.
Don't you want the cab, Mr. O'Mara?
If you hadn't planned to keep it.
I hadn't, although
it's definitely going to rain.
- Your father designed the Sartatia, I understand.
- Yes.
There was something I was never
able to figure about the Sartatia.
Oh, I used to sail her years ago.
And what amazed me was that she didn't roll
to swells like other round-bottom boats.
- Didn't do what?
- She didn't roll, even in light airs.
That's the bluenose in her.
The old Gloucester hull.
- Ever see her out of the water?
- No.
All her sections carry
displacement high.
This would be half a cross section here,
with the waterline like that-
Giving her a slick underbody
with maximum stability.
What I don't understand is, who figured out
that a few planks in the hull of a ship...
twisted a certain way would
make her behave in a planned way.
Hundreds of years
of observing seamen, logic.
It's things like this
that make people like me mad.
- Why?
- Anything logical makes me want to fight for some reason.
I've always distrusted logic.
Luckily, I never ran against it in law
courts very often, or anywhere else.
That's what makes life unexpectedly pleasant
- the illogical.
Like this moment, for instance.
Good luck, Mr. Lapham.
I won't send the cab back this time.
Peter.
Funny thing is, I like him.
He wants you to like him.
- He's good at that.
- Poor devil.
He's not a poor devil.
Do we have to sit here, Peter?
Beginning of a new era.
Bottom of stairs-
Bottom of stairs, symbolic
of starting all over again.
Lucky we're starting one flight up.
Aren't you going to kiss me?
Yeah.
I'm gonna kiss you like
nobody was ever kissed...
even before you wash your face.
Were you ever carried over
your own threshold before?
Not sober, darling.
You're still driving a Sherman tank.
We should've got here
in time to meet the boat.
Does that look like enough lumber
to build a whole bathroom?
- Half bath. That's what we ordered.
- Hey.! Peter Lapham.!
- Dino!
- Glad to see you, Pete.
Good to see you, Dino.
- Five years haven't changed you any. How's the fishin'?
- Oh, terrible.
And this is not kidding-The years,
they left you lookin' pretty good too.
And Mrs. Lapham,
she still looks very pretty.
Well, I'm another Mrs. Lapham,
but I'm glad to meet you anyway.
Oh. Glad to meet you, ma'am.
Well, you are back in
Provincetown now, Pete.
Are you gonna build some more of them
pretty boats for the summer people?
I don't know.
I just got here.
We bought a cottage up on Mill Road.
First thing I'm gonna build is it.
- The same cottage you sold before?
- No.
Hey, Pete, I got a proposition.
Look at my boat.
Why don't you build me a new baby?
Good, strong Banks schooner.
Modern. You know, streamlined.
You make her good, and the fishermen will
order hundreds of them for the whole coast...
and this is not kidding.
I don't know. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do.
When are you gonna pull her out of the water?
- Monday.
- I'll come down, take a look at her hull. See if I get an idea.
- Great! And this is not kidding?
- This is not kidding.
- So long, Dino.
- So long.
- Oh.
- Mm-hmm.
- So long, Mrs. Lapham.
- Good-bye, Dino.
Susy and I had a cottage two miles up
Mill Road from where we are.
- I didn't tell you because- - You
didn't have to tell me. I knew it anyway.
She isn't out of
your life yet, is she?
Of course she is.
I loved her. I lost her.
I don't think it's as easy as that.
Don't ever expect one person
to replace another one, Peter.
You might be disappointed.
You sure you're talking about me?
Not entirely, no.
You lost something in Susy,
and I lost something in Dan.
We've no right to expect
the same things in each other.
It's no good thinking
about what we've lost.
It's a lot more fun to find out
what we've gained.
I love you, Kenyon.
- This is not kidding?
- This is not kidding.
Great. Look who you married-
the son of Dracula.
Don't cover it up now. Get at it.
What was it, Peter?
How do I know?
Susy, Panzerlehrdivision
of the Schutzstaffel and a Welsh rarebit.
But most of all, Susy.
If you say so, Doctor,
although I don't see how you know.
I've had to work to get
Dan out of my system.
I've done it too.
Now you've got to work.
When did you write this to Susy?
The night she died.
I'd forgotten about it.
You go through my papers
often, sweetheart?
It was in
the common property drawer-
almost as if you
wanted me to see it.
I'm glad I did.
"The winds of earth
are old and sane.
"But tell me-
tell me when you know...
what happens to a hurricane
that hasn't any place to go. "
That was self-pity.
The whole nightmare was that.
Daisy, do you know
you've never told me you love me?
No, don't say it now.
I like you for not saying it.
Let it grow.
Let it grow until loving me
means loving the earth...
and all that's sweet and green and mellow
and exciting on the face of the earth...
and the face of the ocean.
Let it grow.
- Peter.
- Yes?
I love you.
Say it again.
Put my name on the end of it.
I love you, Peter Lapham.
Now you know what happened to that
hurricane that hadn't any place to go.
Yes, now I know.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Guess what?
- What?
I've hit the big time.
The office called...
and they want me for a serial
in the Thursday review.
I've got to go to New York tomorrow.
Oh, honey, I'd go with you.
I don't know what to do about Dino.
- I promised him I'd finish rigging tomorrow.
- Well, that's all right.
I've wired Angelus. She'll have
to share our apartment with me.
Oh, that came from Dan.
She forwarded it from New York.
I'd say poor Dan,
only I'm sure he loves it.
- 32 West 12th.
- All right.
- Here you go.
- Thank you, sir.
Hey, since when do you
go south for Park?
You said 12th Street, Mac.
Did I?
Take me there then.
Wait here.
- Are you alone?
- Angelus lives here. Mary Angelus.
Peter and I share the apartment with her.
We're away most of the time.
I know. I called a couple of times.
I need to talk to you.
- Take me to lunch tomorrow, will you?
- Baby, I need to see you now.
I just got off the plane from California.
I hadn't intended coming here.
I gave the driver this address
without thinking...
because you're the only person in
the world I wanted to see just now.
You haven't any right
to need anything from me.
I haven't anything to give you.
I'm sorry, Daisy.
I'm tired.
I just had some trouble.
Not family.
Not personal that way.
Just something I cared about
that blew up.
- You remember the Noguchi case?
- Yes, I remember.
We got beaten.
Noguchi lost his property.
Well, haven't you ever
lost a case before?
I don't feel that
I ever had a case before.
I'm still surprised.
I can't get used to it.
- Why is it so bad?
- Well, I don't know.
Maybe it's because it got mixed up in my
mind with you. The two lickings together-
Dan, I asked you not to come in.
I don't like seeing you this way.
I thought we were good friends.
I have thought of you many times,
but when you come in like this, I just-
I'm glad you thought of me
when you were happy without me.
Have you been happy, baby?
Yes, terribly happy.
Happier than I ever made you?
That's a very stupid question.
You never used to be stupid.
You sound clinical.
This is something new.
I thought it was about time I began
to run my life with some intelligence.
Maybe that's what sounds new.
I asked you to leave, Dan.
What right have you got to come in here...
and act like a dog in the manger
after the horse has been stolen?
What are you laughing about?
Marriage hasn't stopped you
from mixing your metaphors.
- Can I pour you a cup, baby?
- No, thank you.
I don't live here.
It isn't my coffee.
You know you're being
very rude to me?
I liked you much better
the way you used to be.
Now you're all head,
like a nurse in a mental hospital.
I think it's a pose, and I wish you'd
cut it out, and sound like Daisy Kenyon.
That's more like you.
I ought to be sorry I did that.
I could've hurt you.
Hurt an O'Mara with a stamp box?
The O'Maras, I'll have you know,
have survived steins, dornicks and bricks.
Shall I tell you what went on
between you and Peter this summer?
You convinced yourselves
that you loved each other.
That was easy.
You're both nice people.
So, logically, there was no reason
why you shouldn't love each other.
You think you know everything, don't you?
Sure. I know all about everything.
What good does it do me?
Can't even win a simple case.
I don't feel sorry for you, Dan.
Of course you got beaten.
That's not so awful.
Most people get licked every day.
Who told you
you were special?
The one time in your life you thought about
somebody else you lost. Well, that's too bad.
But if you're really
trying to do something...
that will change things for people,
you've got to be humble.
Don't tell me to be humble.
I'm so far down right now.
That's not being humble.
That's being sorry for yourself.
I liked you better before. You had friendship
in you then that met mine at the door.
Let me go, Dan.
Let me go-
Ooh!
Now get out and take
your ugly friendship with you!
If it's ugly, you made it that.
Oh!
I'll never forgive you. Never.
Daisy, please let me
talk to you. Please.
- Good evening, Mr. O'Mara.
- Good evening, Mervyn.
- Your bags, sir?
- In the hall.
Dan.! We've been waiting.!
- Sweetheart, what's the matter?
- Nothing, baby.
Daddy, they beat you.
Oh, Daddy.
Beat me?
Yes, honey, they did.
You've lost the case?
Is that all it is?
It isn't all.
He looks ill.
- Let me get you Dr. Riemer.
- I'm not ill, Lucy, just tired.
- Oh, are you sure, dear?
- I'm positive.
Now if you'll excuse me.
I'll see you in the morning, honey.
- Daddy, can-
- Marie. No, dear.
They beat him.
They nearly killed him.
He joked in his letter,
but they nearly killed him.
Nonsense, Marie.
Daddy lost the case. That's all.
The case happened to
mean a lot to him.
Now, children, go to bed, please.
It's half an hour
past your bedtime, Marie.
You have homework to do,
Rosamund. I know.
Come on, Olive Oyl.
He's all right, just tired.
The case was a lot more serious with him
than we understood.
I've seen men affected
this way before.
A hobby takes more out of you than your
regular work, like Pop and his boat.
That's the first time in 10 years
he's called me Lucy.
Oh, maybe I'm being crazy,
but please stay here tonight.
He's never been this way before.
He locked himself
in the study and he-
- He keeps his militia revolver in there.
- Now, Lucille, really.
Don't go. Please!
Hello. Is this Chelsea 2-0459?
I want Mrs. Peter Lapham.
- Hello?
- What is it?
Daisy. Daisy, will you listen
to me a minute?
Don't hang up.
Just listen.
- Daisy, are you still there?
- Yes, I'm still here.
- What is it you want now?
- I want to tell you-
I don't know how all that happened,
but it wasn't you, and it wasn't me.
Daisy, darling,
don't let it end like this.
It didn't end tonight.
It ended a long time ago.
- You make me so ashamed of both of us.
- I know.
Daisy, look.
I had to call you.
This is the worst night of my life.
I had to tell you...
I love you.
And I like you, and I always will.
You're the only thing
in my life that matters.
So what am I supposed to do about it?
Shall I say to Peter,
"Dan O'Mara's still my best friend...
"even though he betrayed
everything I thought about him?
We mustn't hold that against him. "
Shall I sit down
and write that to Peter?
Oh, no. Oh, no, Mrs. Lapham,
or should I say Daisy?
Don't you bother to write your husband.
It's none of his business, is it?
We have a lot in common,
Mr. Lapham and I.
Lucille!
He ought to know
this thing's going to go on forever.
- He ought to know you're
the only person that matters to Dan!
You're standing there,
thinking I'll calm down.
If you get me started talking,
I'll calm down.
Well, you're wrong.
For a long time, I didn't think
you were worth killing, but you are.
Daddy.
It's all right, baby. It's all right.
That was just talk.
You better go to bed, dear.
Take something to help you sleep.
I'm going to divorce him.
I can't take this any longer.
I don't think you realize
what a bitter thing divorce is.
You'll only be torturing
the children and yourself.
Go to bed, dear. You'll be able to think
about it more calmly in the morning.
After all, you don't break up a marriage just
on the evidence of a telephone conversation.
He says I treat the children as if they
were babies. All right, I won't anymore.
They're grown-up enough to learn
what kind of a father they've got.
You couldn't sleep either?
I don't see how I missed you.
I covered both waterfronts.
Don't go in yet.
Your friend Mary's seen enough of me
for one night.
Daisy, I think I'm humble now.
I wasn't before, but I am now.
I haven't started to straighten out
the mess at home yet.
I had to have a look at you first.
- Dan, don't-
- Just a look.
I couldn't go on thinking of you
with that expression in your eyes.
Oh.
I didn't know
if you were coming back.
I didn't know
you were going to stay.
Lucille thought it would be better
if I did the talking for her.
As what? Her father or her lawyer?
A little of both. She wants a divorce,
and I can't talk her out of it.
The only question is, what kind?
The best that money can buy,
I guess.
Lucille's quite bitter at the moment.
Perhaps you can understand that.
She wants to divorce you in New York
and name Mrs. Lapham.
- And what do you think?
- I might be able to persuade her to do it the easier way...
if you'd cooperate
about the children.
And what is her idea
of cooperation about the children?
Sole and absolute custody.
Of course, eventually, you'd be able to see
them when they're a little more grown-up.
But Lucille thinks there should be a clean
break now till they're adjusted to it.
Perhaps you can understand that.
Till she's sold them on the idea
that I've run out on them.
Well, come now, Papa. Let's talk sense.
Lucille knows I'd never go
for anything like that.
Then we file the suit.
There's no other choice, Dan.
You can think about it
for a couple of days and let me know.
- Well, thanks. I'll phone you.
- Oh, I'll be in the office.
But I won't.
I'm pulling out of the firm, sugarplum.
Perhaps you
can understand that.
But, Dan, there's no reason
why a purely personal conflict-
Sure, there is-
Your sensitive nature.
You'd wear a smile, I know, but deep down,
you'd be wincing every time we met.
Your humor's in rather bad taste.
Besides, it would give you something
to occupy your time.
Without me around,
you'll have to work for your income.
- This Mr. O'Mara's office?
- Yes.
- You're Mr. Lapham?
- Yes.
He's expecting you.
Go right in, please.
- Hello.
- Welcome to chaos, Mr. Lapham. Throw me my hat, sweetheart.
- Mervyn, you understand all this is to go to the new office.
- Yes, Mr. O'Mara.
- Good-bye, darlings. I'll see you in
the morning. - Good-bye, Mr. O'Mara.
Mr. Lapham,
you'll think it's strange.
I'll explain to you why I took the liberty
of asking you to come here.
Hello, honey.
What are you doing here?
C- Can I see you
in your office, Daddy?
A new client already.
O'Mara retained by O'Mara.
Please, Dan.
I'll be with you in a second, Mr. Lapham.
Now, what is it, sweetheart?
Rosamund was coming, too,
to talk to you.
She said herself
it was terribly important.
And then Millicent Harrison
asked her to go to a movie.
But, anyways, it's important to me.
What is this that's so important, honey?
I'm gonna live with you. I don't care what
Rosamund does, but I'm gonna live with you.
At the club, baby?
Ladies aren't allowed there.
All right, I'll move from the club,
just as soon as I can.
Then you and Ros can
come and live with me.
Whenever it's all right
with your mommy, that is.
It won't be all right with her.
Dan, it's awful there without you.
Why is it so awful, honey?
I was always away a lot. You'll see
me just as much, maybe even more.
When you're not there, she hates me.
Oh, no. You're wrong.
She'd never hate you.
You mustn't think because
anybody's unhappy, they hate you.
We'll talk about it again, sweetheart.
You're all wrong about your mother.
- Suppose I pick you up from school tomorrow?
- I want to talk about it today.
No, tomorrow.
I'll tell you what we'll do.
We'll go someplace and have tea-
a regular, grown-up date,
just the two of us, hmm?
- Oh, Mervyn?
- Yes, sir?
Would you take Marie
and show her the new office?
- Then see that she gets home okay.
- Yes, sir.
So long, honeybunch.
I'll see you tomorrow.
I'm not gonna
live with her. I won't.
We'll talk about that
tomorrow, baby.
I'm sorry I kept you waiting,
Mr. Lapham.
Why did you wire me, Mr. O'Mara?
Has something happened?
No, I wired you because I wanted
to tell you that nothing's happened.
Well, that's clear now.
We're meeting Daisy.
I didn't tell her you were coming down.
Well, there she is already.
- Hello, honeybunch.
- Hello, Mr. O'Mara.
- Hello, Daisy.
- Hello, darling.
Hello. Would you like a drink?
Bourbon and water, please.
- One bourbon and water and two martinis.
- Yes, sir.
Do you two get together often?
Not as often as we should.
Weren't you supposed to make
the trial run on Dino's boat today?
They're waiting for me
to fly back tonight.
Why'd you come down?
I wired him.
I have things to say
to both of you...
and there's no point
in saying them twice.
I wired you, Mr. Lapham...
because I think
misunderstandings are childish.
- We're grown-up people.
- I believe we are.
Don't you know it?
I have a hunch that when people keep
on talking about how grown-up they are...
it only means they're not very sure of it,
Mr. O'Mara.
Well, if you'll let me talk, maybe
you won't worry so much about that.
Let's simplify one thing at least.
He's called Peter, and you're Dan.
It all started on Wednesday.
I'd had a bad day.
I lost a case that-
Well, there's no point
in going into that.
But I went over to 12th Street...
and I behaved like a heel.
Your wife resisted.
I'll be frank to say
if she hadn't resisted...
we wouldn't all be sitting here now.
- Any questions about that?
- No, nothing important.
Why isn't it important?
Because it doesn't matter
what happened.
You're not getting hostile, are you?
That wasn't on the agenda.
Honeybunch, I'm not hostile.
Honest. Go on.
I want another martini.
You haven't touched
the first one yet.
Well, that's that.
If it were something that
only concerned the three of us...
we wouldn't need to say
another word about it.
But I'm asking your permission to let me
turn our private affairs into newspaper copy.
Lucille is suing me for divorce.
She wants to do it in New York,
naming Daisy as corespondent.
They figure, in order to keep Daisy's name
out of the newspaper...
I'll sign away the right
to see my children.
Oh, no, Dan.
You mustn't.
It would be terrible for them-
Marie, especially.
I'm putting it up to you.
It's not a thing to be decided
without realizing what it involves.
This is exactly the kind of copy
Sunday supplement editors are looking for.
Well, if they want a fight, we'll give
it to them. We have Mary as a witness.
I'm sure we can lick it.
I'll clear you, baby.
May I speak now, Mr. Chairman?
I suppose so.
I said it doesn't bother me, uh...
what's happened recently
between you and Daisy...
and it doesn't matter whether you
clear Daisy or don't clear her.
That nice point which is going to make so
much difference to the reading public...
won't mean a thing to me.
I'm not being hostile.
You see, I walked into this marriage
with my eyes open.
I knew what I was up against.
It was a long shot, but I thought
it was worth the chance.
- Well, wasn't it?
- I can't complain.
I pushed my way into your life, Daisy,
because I needed you.
Well, I'm fine now.
Better than either of you.
- That's all there is to it.
- That isn't all there is to it.
The only reason I was able to break in
was that he didn't love you enough then.
If I had met you now for the first time,
would I be able to break in?
I'll do my own thinking, thank you,
and my own existing.
I'm all for that.
That's why I'm leaving it up to you.
So that you can work this thing
out for yourself...
without being bothered by
the technical drawback of a husband.
That's a formality we can dispose of
any time you give the signal.
I don't want a wife on formalities.
Peter, how can you say a thing-
I didn't plan this, baby.
- You ought to know that.
- I'm almost glad it happened.
There's nothing like a crisis
to show what's really inside people.
- You don't mean that.
- Don't you tell me what I mean!
Let's go.
I don't like it here.
It was close to 8:00, wasn't it?
When you returned to the apartment...
and discovered Mr. O'Mara there?
- Yes.
- And you had been gone since a little after 4:00?
Yes, but it's hardly important,
since his plane didn't get in till 5:30.
You testified on direct examination...
that you were surprised
to see Mr. O'Mara, did you not?
You heard me.
So I did. But I found your surprise,
shall I say, surprising.
You were certainly aware that the ties
between Mrs. Lapham and Mr. O'Mara...
were more than those
of a casual acquaintanceship.
Objection, Your Honor.
Question is ambiguous...
and calls for a conclusion
on the part of the witness.
Objection sustained.
Let me put it this way. You had seen
Mr. O'Mara in Mrs. Lapham's apartment...
on several previous occasions,
had you not?
- Before she was married.
- Oh, yes, that was before she was married.
Then your surprise came
from your assumption...
- that her marriage had ended their previous relationship.
- I knew it had!
I stand corrected.
But since we must deal here with evidence,
rather than opinions...
could you tell exactly what concrete facts
made you so positive of the change?
Well, I-
I just knew it.
That's all.
Thank you, Miss Angelus.
You are a devoted friend.
- Are you through with the witness?
- Yes, Your Honor.
Uh, no further questions,
Your Honor.
Then we'll recess till 1:00.
Hold it, please, Miss Kenyon.
- Rosamund!
- Don't blame me, Dan. It's Marie.
What's the matter with your ear?
Honey, what's the matter
with your ear?
It's the cold. The minute we walked out
of the house, it started bleeding.
If you're not home in half an hour,
there'll be no fur jacket for Christmas.
And have Dr. Riemer
look at that ear.
I had him look at it this morning.
He says it's nothing.
Did she have a blow of some kind?
No. It's purely a nervous thing.
Nothing to worry about.
- All right, Lucille.
- Thanks!
Will you see that they get home,
or shall I?
I think that's up to me, don't you?
Come on, girls.
The lunchroom is a flight down.
Shall we walk?
You know, you're right. That lawyer's building
a case for the papers and nothing else.
Why, Dan O'Mara.
- I'm sorry.
- I know.
You like to build,
not destroy things.
I just remembered something
about that ear.
When Lucille
first heard about you...
she took it out on the child.
She always has ever since.
I suppose she didn't mean
to hit her so hard.
Oh, Daisy, forgive me for this.
Sure, baby, I forgive you.
You know, it's a common psychological
phenomenon in all the northern countries...
that the first snow of the year
causes acute depressions.
- That must be it.
- Yes, that must be it.
Do you deny that before
your marriage to Mr. Lapham...
you were in constant communication
with Mr. O'Mara?
- No. - And the testimony
of the real estate broker-
that Mr. O'Mara rented
an apartment in the east 60s.
If he did, I never lived in it.
The place I lived in was my own.
I had a good job. I still have it.
Do you want me to prove that too?
That won't be necessary.
But tell me this, Mrs. Lapham.
In the period of your, uh, constant
communication with Mr. O'Mara...
you can tell the court how often
you had engagements with other men.
Your Honor, I must point out again that
my direct examination of Mrs. Lapham...
was concerned solely with the events
of the evening of last September 12.
It is my purpose to prove that
the events of the past...
form a very substantial background
for what happened that evening.
Be that as it may, you are not entitled
to establish it in this cross-examination.
You testified earlier that
your marriage was a happy one.
- Was that true on September 12?
- Yes.
And on September 13?
I did not see my husband
on September 13.
Isn't it true that you and your husband
have not lived together...
since the night of Mr. O'Mara's return
from California?
Objection.! I submit this whole line
of questioning is irrelevant.
May I add something to that,
Your Honor?
I don't know if you have the legal right
to ask such questions.
But whether you have or not, I protest
them. I protest you as a human being.
That will do, Mrs. Lapham.
The objection is overruled.
Thank you, Your Honor.
I would like to ask the witness
to tell us, in her own words...
just what is the present status of her
marriage, and what brought it about.
Well, it-it is true that my husband and I
are not living together at the present time.
But it wasn't caused
by what happened that night.
At least, he said it wasn't.
Peter did-
my husband-
He said it wasn't important.
Your Honor, may I say a word?
If it is agreeable
with plaintiff's counsel.
- This is his cross-examination.
- Certainly, Your Honor.
I request a recess in this trial...
for the purpose of a private conference
with the plaintiff.
The state is always willing to grant
such a request in a divorce case.
My chambers are at your disposal.
Thank you, Your Honor.
Why did you do that?
I could've gone on.
Maybe you could, but I couldn't.
There's no need for you to wait around
here. Go home. I'll come by later.
But why did you throw in the sponge?
I learned what really matters to me
while you were up there.
What really matters?
I'll give you a hint.
It has to do with how much I love you.
Jack, have Marsha find
Peter Lapham, wherever he is.
Trace him down from the cape,
but find him.
I trust we all realize there's no sense in
carrying on with that sideshow out there.
- Dan, I-
- Please, Lucille.
- Before there's any talk of a
reconciliation, I'd like- - Skip it, Papa.
- There's not going to be any reconciliation.
- Then we'll proceed.
For what? You haven't got a prayer
on that kind of evidence.
- I think- - Let's not waste
time with what you think.
Ask someone who understands
a little law.
You can go on raising the roof, I'll
admit that. But what's the point?
I'll agree to your original terms in
exchange for a quiet divorce in Nevada.
You'll have the girls
all to yourself, Lucy.
- Give 'em a break.
- They don't want me.
They will, if you work at it. I'll be ready
to take 'em if the job gets too much for you.
Oh, Dan, it's no good.
It's no good without the two of us.
Neither of us alone
is enough for them.
Oh, Dan, I've hurt you.
I've hurt the girls, and Daisy, but-
but nobody as much as myself.
I'm sorry, honey.
This didn't start out as my idea.
You carry on with the details,
will you, Quinn?
- Hello, Mr. Lapham.
- Mr. Lapham.
- Is the boss back from court yet?
- Yes, he got back half hour ago.
I'm so glad we found you so quickly.
He's waiting for you.
- Yes?
- Mr. Lapham is here.
Show him in.
Well, hello, Peter. I'm glad I found you
in town. How long have you been here?
Some time. I'm working on plans
for a diesel fishing fleet.
I called you to see if you still meant
something you said at our last meeting.
- Oh, sit down, won't you? Have a cigar or anything?
- No, thanks.
No cigar. No anything.
What did I say?
That you would be willing to bow out of
your marriage anytime Daisy gave the signal.
Yes, I think that's
a pretty accurate quote.
Am I being signaled?
I want to marry her.
I've taken the liberty of drawing up
the necessary papers.
Naturally, Daisy doesn't want
anything from you...
and I assume you don't
want anything from her.
Where do I sign?
You know, I'm completely baffled by you.
Well, I don't pretend to be able
to explain myself in detail...
but what is it that bothers you?
I was pretty sure at one time
that you were in love with Daisy.
- Who said I wasn't?
- Well, here you are giving her up without a murmur.
The least you could do
is punch me in the nose.
I'd be happy to, if I thought
it would accomplish anything.
Suppose you give me
all the arguments in favor of it, then-
Forget it. I might be too convincing.
Right here. Three copies.
Did she prefer that I sign first?
Who? Daisy?
Well, no. Not exactly.
I'm afraid I didn't
make myself quite clear.
The fact is,
I haven't asked her yet.
Oh.
Well, don't you think
that we ought to...
go through all the formalities
in their proper order?
Sure, if you think so.
Why don't we call Daisy
and go see her?
Fine. Why don't we?
Trying to sneak out
before I pay the rent?
I've got to get out of here. That
phone's been ringing ever since I came in.
I've got to get back to work.
That's all that matters now.
I can't figure you. You've been
in love with Dan for so long...
- and now that he's stopped the trial
to save- - I can't figure myself.
That's why I'm going away.
I don't know what I want. It's about
time I found out once and for all.
Yes?
Yes, Dan?
Peter's with you?
Oh, no. No, I'm not up to
that kind of civilized nonsense.
Please, Dan, don't bring him here,
and don't come yourself.
I've just got to be alone for a few days.
My work's piled up on.
Want to tell me where you're going,
so I'll have something to lie about?
To the cape.
Hello.
Oh. I'll see if she's here.
It's Lucille O'Mara,
sounding 10 times worse than you.
Hang up on her,
or she'll be calling you all night.
Sure, baby.
- I'll help you with that.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
Can I help you with the bags, ma'am?
- No, thank you.
- Nothing else I can do?
No. No, thank you.
- Hello?
- Baby, we're here at Mills Landing.
We're on our way to face this thing out.
It's no use running away.
Don't you ever believe what I say?
I've got to be alone.
Hello, pet.
Where have you been?
It's not very smart driving around
these roads on a night like this.
I'm not very smart.
Call it off?
Better, though I would have
blitzed you.
I didn't hear the car come in.
I had kind of a crack-up.
- What happened, baby?
- You hurt?
No, I'm all right.
Car'll have to be towed in though.
It's about two miles down the road.
We can worry about that later.
Is there a doctor anywhere near?
Please believe me.
I'm all right.
Matter of fact, I feel a lot better
than I have in weeks.
Maybe that's a good way
to get clear on things.
Shock treatment.
Well, if you're sure
you're all right...
let's elect a chairman
and get on with the meeting.
The cab is due any minute
to take one of us back to the station.
Seems to me you've made a lot of plans
all on your own, you two.
Well, there isn't going
to be any meeting.
I know what I want.
You're both going back to New York.
And leave you here alone
with nothing settled?
Baby, you've got to
stop running away.
I have stopped running away.
Well, who has the floor?
- Who do you think?
- Not necessarily, honeybunch. In fact, I yield.
Well, it doesn't make
very much difference who says it.
Dan's asked me to
give you a divorce.
I didn't tell him to do that.
No, it's his own idea. But he apparently
had reason to believe you'd go for it.
Then why did you come here, Peter?
To have you ask me for it yourself.
I see.
That's our cab.
I'll be outside.
Daisy, we need a fresh start.
Let's go to Nassau.
Let's go someplace where we can relax.
We've been through a lot, baby...
but we've never
given ourselves a fair chance.
It took me a long time to realize it,
but I know now what I want.
I'd give up everything
for you, baby.
As a matter of fact, I practically have.
- The girls?
- It was the only way to end the thing.
You shouldn't have.
I could have gone on. I told you.
Yes, but I couldn't stand watching
what they were doing to you.
Nothing was so important that I could
let them tear you to pieces like that.
And in the end, it was worth it
to find out what I really wanted.
Lucille would have called off
the whole business...
- and gone back to where you were.
- But it was too late.
Can it ever be too late
for Rosamund and Marie?
Don't you understand?
It's all over, that marriage.
It can't be over as long
as the children are a part of it.
Marriage doesn't
break up that easily.
It's too late.
It's even later for us, Dan.
You said it took you a long time
to realize where you stood.
Me too.
But out there just now,
when the car went off the road...
things somehow got much clearer.
It's a funny thing
about being in love.
Sometimes it's easier to tell when you are
than when you aren't.
I stopped being in love with you
a long time ago, Dan, but the-
well, the memory kind of lingered on
and kept me mixed up.
Well, whatever you call it,
love or anything else...
it won't be over till we're dead.
We've got to kill it, for good.
I'm sorry if I let
the memory mix me up.
It mixed me up too, I guess.
I was pretty sure-
The things you put up with for my sake.
It never would have worked.
Really, darling.
Because what you called wanting me
wasn't anything more than...
wanting to run away
from responsibility...
the way you're doing now.
Good-bye, Dan.
Good-bye, Daisy.
Go ahead.
Hey, what are you doing?
Same as you, honeybunch.
Going home.
That is my house in there, you know.
And my wife.
Peter?
Yeah, that O'Mara
put up a great fight.
What do you know about fighting?
When it comes to
modern combat tactics...
you're both babies compared to me.