Slightly Dangerous (1943) Movie Script
"One of the dullest towns in America..."
"Is the dreary community of Hotchkiss
Falls in the Mid-Hudson valley."
"The odds are 1,000-1 against us finding
anyone there with an interesting story."
"However, that's where we are.
So, let's take a look around."
So I told him.
Joe I says, life is a matter of give
and take. You got to learn to share.
50/50. Not 80/40.
He had to admit I was talking sense.
Wait a minute. I dropped a penny.
Let me pick it up.
- Too late.
Anyhow, it will bring good
luck to the guy who finds it.
[ Whistling ]
We're all of us lucky indeed to be
employed by such a beneficent firm...
As the Coast to Coast Small Change Mart.
This morning there is one among us...
Who is going to realize her luck
even more than the rest of us.
It gives me great pleasure to present
Merit Award number 4 to that lucky girl.
Miss Peggy Evans.
Please step forward, Miss Evans.
Peggy Evans.
You are the first employee
in the entire chain...
To arrive at your work 1,000
consecutive mornings on time.
I therefore present you with
Merit Award number 4.
Redeemable for two dollars
and fifty cents in merchandise.
Thank you, sir.
And remember.
Another 1,500 punctual arrivals
brings the 10-dollar award.
Keep your eye on it.
Yes, sir.
To your stations everyone.
The 4th of July. Labor day.
Thanksgiving. Christmas.
Fourteen days vacation.
290 working days a year.
Congratulations, honey.
What a break, huh?
Two and a half fish out of the blue.
Three years and four months.
Then in another five years
I'll get ten dollars more.
In merchandise.
- Yeah. Wholesale too.
I'll be twenty-six.
What's the beef, honey? In five years
you are going to be twenty-six anyway.
Is it bad if they give you ten
bucks of velvet? Is it an insult?
And I'll have such a
nice set of memories.
Three thousand mornings on time.
Those will be something
to tell the children about.
Except if I have a child, it might
make me late that morning.
Bound to.
Besides, you ain't even married.
No, I am not. And I'm not likely to be.
Where can I meet a man?
Anywheres. Where did I meet Hobart?
Don't tell me. Under a rock?
Oh, Hobart will do until
Johnny comes along.
Who is Johnny?
Nobody. Johnny is what I call him.
Call who?
Whoever he is.
Bill. Joe. Charlie. Chuck. Jimmy.
I call him Johnny.
Well, what about him?
Look, honey.
I know lots of girls who have
the same kind of job you've got.
And they love it.
Why? Because they got their Johnny.
That makes everything
wonderful, I suppose?
It sure does.
You just keep laughing
at nothing all the time.
That's the way it is when
you meet up with Johnny.
Well, I don't know any Johnny and I'm
not likely to meet one around here.
Unless it's the drip who whistles at
me in front of Cutler's drugstore.
Oh. So that's what's got
you all worked up.
No. Mitzi.
It's just that I'm so fed up.
They played a dirty trick on me.
Be yourself, will you.
Nobody played any tricks on you.
Oh yes they did.
When they were sitting around
deciding who was going to be who.
When they came to me they said:
Now, let's make this one a nobody.
Let's not give her any
family, any home. Anything.
Let's just give her one thing. A job.
The dullest little job we could find.
Take it easy, honey.
Your job isn't as bad as all that.
You meet a lot of people and
do a lot of interesting things.
Like waiting on them.
- Stop it, Mitzi.
I could do my job blindfold.
No you couldn't, honey.
There's a lot more to it than you think.
So I couldn't, huh?
I certainly could.
Absolutely blindfolded.
Watch me.
Peggy, don't do that.
You will get into trouble.
Yes, ma'am? Order please.
What's the matter, dearie?
Hurt your eyes?
No. This is a new company rule.
It improves efficiency.
It does, huh?
What will they think of next.
You can get me a small grape juice.
That's too easy, ma'am.
Don't you want something hard?
Why?
Why not?
We have a special on
jumbo banana splits today.
They are delicious.
I'm on a diet.
That's wrong, ma'am.
You should never diet.
No?
- No.
You should force yourself to eat.
More and more. All the time.
Then you get to hate eating.
And then you get thin
without any trouble at all.
I never thought of it in that way.
Good. One jumbo coming up.
Slice it down the middle. Just so.
Ice cream.
Chocolate on the right.
Strawberry on the left.
And vanilla in the middle.
Chocolate sauce.
Pineapple preserves.
Whipped cream.
Nuts.
And a cherry on top.
There you are. Now you
are starting on your diet.
A strawberry ice-cream soda, babe.
I bet you can't make that one though.
- A strawberry ice-cream soda coming up.
Good morning, Mr Stuart.
- Morning.
Welcome to our new manager.
Thanks. All running smooth this morning?
- Just as smooth as silk.
That's fine. That's fine.
One up.
I don't see how she does it.
- Neither does she.
Excuse me, Miss.
- Yes, sir. Your order please.
Doesn't that blindfold
handicap your work?
Well, order something and see.
I'm sorry to spoil your fun, but...
I must ask you to take it off.
And I must ask you to leave
that stool if you don't order.
The management doesn't allow lounging.
Look, Number 122. I am the management.
I am the new general manager.
Well.
I suppose you're very proud of yourself
sneaking up on me when I wasn't looking.
You've nothing to squawk about anyway.
I was doing my job.
I doubt it. No-one does their best
work with their eyes closed.
No? Well, what about the basket weavers?
Stop arguing. You're not a basket
weaver. You are a soda squirt.
Don't you call me a squirt.
Take the blindfold off and report
to my office immediately.
Go on, honey. Tell him you
are sorry before it's too late.
I'm not sorry. I am glad.
Another jumbo banana
split please, dearie.
Well. Here I am.
Now look here, Number 122.
I...
Won't you sit down?
I don't want to sit down.
Why not go ahead and fire me?
That's the last thing I...
- In fact you can't fire me.
No. Of course not.
- Because I quit.
You mustn't do that, Miss...
The name is Peggy Evans.
That's a nice name.
It isn't a nice name.
It isn't a name at all.
Just a label that works in a store.
A machine on a track that rolls along
and along and comes out nowhere.
I hate my name.
Someday you'll get married
and change your name.
I won't get married.
I won't ever get married.
Why, of course you will.
An attractive girl like you.
I will not.
Well, then you'll be
Peggy Evans until you die.
Wait a minute.
I'll be Peggy Evans until I die.
That's an idea.
What?
I'm not going to be
Peggy Evans until I die.
I'm going to be Peggy
Evans until she dies.
No... you mustn't say things like that.
Look, Miss Evans.
Take the day off. Tomorrow...
I won't be here then.
This is the end of Number 122.
Miss Evans.
The end of Peggy Evans too.
- No. Wait a minute.
Please let go of me.
- I can't let you go. You're hysterical.
Did you see that? The new manager
is making a pass at Peggy.
I knew he was a wolf the
minute he looked at me.
Miss Evans.
Mr Stuart.
The limb.
Sonny, can you tell me where
I can find Peggy Evans?
Who wants to know?
I do. I'm her boss.
That's all I wanted to know.
But she was such a sweet girl.
So nice and refined.
And now, if this story gets around I'll
never be able to rent this room again.
Did she have any relatives you know of?
The poor lone orphan didn't
have a soul in the world.
What do you want?
I'm looking for Peggy Evans.
- What for?
Well.
What goes on here?
What happened to Miss Evans?
Mr Innocent, huh? What's your name?
- Robert Stuart.
What's your business with Peggy Evans?
- I'm Peggy Evans' boss.
I'm Peggy Evans' boss.
- Aha.
He drove her to it.
Should be laws against skunks like you.
Will someone tell me
what this is all about?
Read him the note, DeWitt.
Let him know what he's done.
Sure.
'This is to tell whoever cares
not to bother looking for me'.
'I know I'll be happier
wherever I am going'.
'I can't go on being
Peggy Evans any longer'.
'I'd rather jump in the river'.
'Mitzi can have my clothes'.
'For the last time. Peggy'.
That's awful.
You said it, brother rat.
- Yep.
Wait a minute. You got me all wrong.
I didn't drive her to this.
I only did my duty.
I just told her to remove her blindfold.
I had to. I'm Peggy Evans' boss.
Could you tell me how much one of
those new personalities would cost?
You can't afford that.
Come on now. Move on. Move on.
But...
No, no.
Well, it couldn't be
more than 150 bucks.
Nothing could.
Your car, Mademoiselle?
Miss Mademoiselle to you.
"Oh, That's me alright."
"That is Peggy Evans."
"No. That's me."
"But thank heavens it's not
Peggy Evans anymore."
"That's finished."
"Well, let me see. Who shall it be?"
"Hmm. Sounds like a song."
"Let me see. Who is going to be me?"
"Let me see. Who shall it be?"
"Diane?"
"Dionne?"
"Dionne."
"Well. Dionne what?"
"Dionne Watt."
"Oh no. That's silly."
"Dionne Park."
"Dionne Tilford."
"Not so hot."
"Dionne Abercrombie."
"Dionne Fitch."
"No. It's the Dionne that's wrong."
"Suzanne."
"Suzanne."
"Ah, that's nicer."
"Suzanne Vanderbilt?"
"No. That's too common."
"That isn't a bad idea."
"Now let's see how much I've got left."
"One dollar."
"Well, that's enough for the Ad."
"And I've still got my lucky penny."
"So I can't lose."
"Well."
"Here goes."
Hey, look out!
Holy Moses.
Help.
Are you hurt, Miss?
- Can't you see? She's out cold.
Hey. Somebody give me a hand.
Come on. Take her inside.
What happened to her?
- Put her over there.
Is she dead?
Give her air. Give her air.
Stand back.
Look at all that blood.
That ain't blood, lady. That's paint.
Four bucks' worth.
What's happened here?
He brained her with a can of paint.
It wasn't my fault. It slipped.
Do you work for me?
Yes, sir.
I was changing the sign out there.
I guess we're in for it.
Mack, take her into my office.
- Okay, boss.
And call a doctor. Quick.
How is she, Doc?
- She'll be alright.
Just as soon as she
recovers from the shock.
Will you be able to testify she's
not seriously injured in any way?
I think so.
That ought to keep down the damages.
Oh, Doc.
Where am I?
You're in safe hands and you
are going to be alright now.
Just relax.
- My head.
Her head.
Don't do that.
Ah, my clothes.
Look what's happened to my clothes.
Now, don't you worry.
We'll buy you a whole new outfit.
Get me a waiver of damages.
- Yes.
Now, please don't get excited.
Just try and relax.
That's it.
Now then. What's your name?
Peg...
No.
My name is Dionne.
I mean it is Sue.
It's Abercrombie.
No, no. That isn't it either.
I don't know it yet.
Well, surely you can tell us your name.
No, I can't. Leave me alone.
I don't know.
Dear. Dear.
Where do you live?
I don't know. Look at me.
This is much more
serious than I thought.
She's suffering from a
temporary loss of memory.
Why does everything
have to happen to me?
Shall I call the police?
No. You imbecile.
Do you think I want every other
paper in town building up her case?
And spreading the story
that I am an assassin?
Look.
It's on my hat too.
Oh, don't whine.
I mean, don't cry my dear.
We'll take care of everything.
I think the only way to handle this is
to notify the bureau of missing persons.
She's only been missing ten minutes.
Baldwin.
Look in her purse.
- I did. Nothing in it.
No identification?
- Not a shred.
What will I do?
What will I do?
It's on my hair.
Now here, Miss.
Now, whatever your name is.
Now, you stop worrying.
We'll find out who you are.
We put your picture in the paper.
And whoever you belong to
will come and claim you.
Won't that be nice?
No. You don't understand.
I don't belong to anybody.
Ah, nonsense.
A fine-looking girl like you.
Wait until you see the big, beautiful
picture we're going to take of you.
But I tell you it's no use.
Nobody will come.
Yes they will.
We'll take care of you until they do.
You will?
Of course we will. And we'll ask you
to remember how nice we were.
I'll be leaving now.
- Yes.
Baldwin.
Have Miss King take her and get
her spruced up for a picture.
Use my private expense account.
You know.
You might have to take care
of me for a long time.
That would be a great pleasure.
But I'm afraid you'll be off our hands
when your picture appears in the paper.
I didn't kill her. I didn't.
I didn't.
Oh, this is awful.
I did not.
Take that body away.
[ Telephone ]
Yeah?
"Mr Stuart? This is Quill."
"You must come down to the store now.
Something terrible is happening."
What is it?
Hello?
Hello?
Help yourselves. Help yourselves
everybody. Take anything you want.
Nobody cares.
The clerks are all blindfolded.
Say, what is going on here?
A strike. A blindfold strike.
I'll have to notify the duty
manager immediately.
I've already called Mr Snodgrass.
I called him just the minute they
started putting on those blindfolds.
I thought there may be trouble.
Nice work, Quill.
You'll probably get my job for that.
We mustn't count our chickens
before they're hatched, must we.
Here is Mr Snodgrass now.
Come with me, Stuart.
This may look like I haven't
made a very good start sir.
This way, boys. It's all free.
Free.
In 48 hours, you've driven
one of our girls to suicide.
You incited a new kind of strike.
You let the place be looted.
You've blackened the store's
good name. You have...
Have I overlooked anything, Mr Quill?
- I can't think of anything else now.
It's enough. Quite enough.
Do you think removing Mr Stuart
will settle the strike?
Yes indeed, sir. Once and for all.
How soon can we contact the
employees bargaining committee?
Any time, sir.
Any time we indicate a willingness
to meet their demands.
Hey.
This looks like her.
Like who?
Peggy Evans. Look.
But, nonsense.
I fear we're indulging
in some wishful thinking.
Stuart, in the interests of efficiency,
out of consideration for our customers.
And to save our business I'll
have to ask you to resign.
Quill. I'm going to put you in
Stuart's place temporarily.
I shall try to make it permanent, sir.
I don't care what you say.
I will never forget her face.
I tell you this is her.
Oh, don't be irrational, Stuart.
How could it be?
This is how. It explains it here.
She has got amnesia.
I fail to see the connection.
Suppose she did jump in the river.
Suppose the shock made
her lose her memory.
Dear, dear. We're grasping at straws.
Suppose she forgot she was
going to commit suicide.
Suppose she swam ashore
and then forgot who she was.
And suppose she just
wandered down to New York.
Suppose you collect your things
and get out of this office.
But she isn't dead. I know she isn't.
Alright. I'll find her.
And bring her back and prove to all
of you I didn't drive her to suicide.
Do you think I want to spend the rest
of my life with that on my conscience?
What's more, I'm going to make her
tell the truth and get me back my job.
If you can bring back the dead, Stuart,
you can certainly get back your job.
I'll hold you to that, Mr Snodgrass.
Come in.
Good morning.
- Hello.
I just thought I would drop
by on my way to the office.
To see how your memory was doing.
It's fine, thanks.
I remember you perfectly.
What do these make you think of?
- Roses.
Oh, darn. I was hoping they
might remind you of someone.
Well, from now on they
will remind me of you.
You know, the incredible
thing about your case is...
You weren't carrying a
single bit of identification.
The only clue we had was
a label in your clothes.
Did it help any?
- Not a bit.
Nobody at Gravets had
ever seen you before.
You paid cash. And to top everything...
They followed your instructions
and threw away your old clothes.
Oh my.
That's too bad.
I've been thinking.
There may be a lot more
to this than we imagined.
Maybe you didn't get amnesia yesterday.
Why do you say that?
It may be you've had it a long time.
Maybe since you were a little child.
You know, in a way I almost envy you.
Envy me?
Why, whatever for?
Just think of the exciting
possibilities ahead of you.
You might be almost anyone in the world.
A whole new life waiting for you.
Readymade.
Family. Friends.
A husband maybe. Maybe even children.
I doubt that.
Why, you may even be a missing heiress.
An heiress?
- Why not?
There's quite a few heiresses among the
missing cases in the last twenty years.
And you might be any one of them.
I think I'll write a feature about that.
Well, I must be going.
Don't forget.
You are to be at the paper at noon.
Let me see her.
I tell you she is my cousin.
She's not. I used to
know her in Milwaukee.
She ran away with a tree surgeon.
They're keeping me from my daughter.
Yeah. She's my sister. I ought to know.
I ought to know my own
first wife, oughtn't I?
Where will you have her, McGraw?
- Over there. Right over there.
Fine. Right in here now.
- Mr Durstin.
Before I see anyone I
must tell you something.
Alright. Let's get started.
What was that?
I have remembered something.
- You have?
What is it?
Baba.
Go on. Go on.
Baba.
What's the matter?
Did you forget it again?
No. That's it.
Baba.
What in blazes is the sense
in remembering Baba?
It doesn't mean a thing.
But it must mean something.
I've a feeling it's terribly important.
How could it be?
Baba.
It doesn't make sense.
Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?
Shut up!
Hey, you!
I've seen you trying to sneak in here.
- But I've been waiting for hours.
Back out there before I brain you.
- But I must see this girl. I know her.
Oh, yeah? I suppose she's
your long-lost mother.
Get out!
I suddenly remember
something else besides...
Baba.
Well?
I see a circus.
Holy Ike.
Hold on a minute, boss.
Hey, Hiller. What have you
got in your files on Baba?
Baba?
That's right. B-a, B-a.
Call me right back.
Andy.
Get me the files on Baba.
B-a-b-a. And make it snappy.
I've got a feeling this
may lead to something.
A circus.
Baba.
Don't you start doing that.
Circus.
Baba.
Baba. Circus.
- Baba.
Baba.
- Oh no.
Yeah, Hiller?
I've got three Babas.
There's a Turkish mind reader who
cut up his assistant with an axe.
"He claimed he read her mind and..."
That's no good.
Then there is...
Baba the gorilla that was brought
over from Africa for the Bronx zoo.
What is the third?
There's a nurse called Baba.
Who was in the Burden case.
That's it. I thought I remembered it.
The Burden case.
Burden.
Burden.
Yeah, The nurse took the Burden
kid to the circus and lost it.
They never found...
- Bring me that file.
Well, my dear. It was a lucky
thing you remembered Baba.
Is it important?
- Important?
Baldwin.
Tell them to hold that
front page for a re-plate.
Now we've got a real story.
What time did Burden's
secretary say he'd be here?
"Any minute now, sir."
- Good.
Frankly, gentlemen.
I'm as excited as a little boy.
Reunited after seventeen long years.
The rich but lonely old man.
And the wandering waif
with the golden curls.
I'm a little nervous.
- I wonder what he'll say.
Why, he won't say a word.
He will look at her
and hold out his arms...
And his voice will break.
As the tears stream down his
weather-beaten old cheeks.
Why weather-beaten?
- Why not?
Shut up.
You don't have to be a
rewrite man all the time.
"Mr Cornelius Burden is here, sir."
Good. Send him in.
Get that camera ready.
Gentlemen, this is a great moment.
A sacred moment.
Now, which one of you
muckraking buzzards is Durstin?
He is.
You are Durstin, huh?
Well, Durstin.
I broke Benell of Amalgamated Copper.
I turned Burrell of the SL&V
into a shaking old man.
And by everything that's holy,
I'll break you like a dry twig.
You won't need me
anymore will you, boss?
No, no.
Get out of here.
Durstin.
I will put you in jail.
Come, Mr Burden.
Don't try appealing to my mercy.
I've got none.
Hold on, Mr Burden.
I don't think you understand.
I understand. You've been part of
a criminal conspiracy to defraud.
But Mr Burden, all I've done is to try
to help you recover your daughter.
All you've done Mr Durstin is to
print a story without verification...
Without substantiating evidence
and without consulting my client.
But I've got evidence.
I've got proof.
This girl has amnesia.
And the only thing she
remembers is... Baba.
Baba.
What kind of proof do you call that?
There must be forty thousand nurses
in this country named Baba.
But she remembers the circus too.
Circus.
What do you think of that?
Well, you got me there.
I forgot that my child was the only one
in the world who'd ever seen a circus.
You beer barrel.
If you had the decency
to consult Mr Burden...
He'd tell you he has a method
of identifying his daughter.
He has?
You have?
- Certainly.
My child's nurse Baba.
Still lives with me.
She's interviewed hundreds of these
phony girls in the last 15 years.
And exposed every one of them.
And she will expose this one too.
And when she does I promise you...
I'll prosecute you to the
full extent of the law.
Then I'll find out who
this girl really is.
And I'll put her in the penitentiary
too under her real name.
Well, let's get started.
Wait.
He's not my father.
For heaven's sake, Miss Burden.
And don't call me Miss Burden.
But you don't remember anything.
Remember?
- That's right.
Then what makes you say
that he's not your father?
Well.
His face.
What about my face?
If I'd ever seen a face like that
before I know I'd remember it.
It's the kind of face
you couldn't forget.
Especially if you've been
exposed to it as a child.
Now you don't want to go home
with Mr Burden, do you?
I don't want to and I'm not going to.
Well young lady, in my opinion that
constitutes an admission of guilt.
If you wish to prefer charges of
conspiracy in this I think they'll hold.
Shall I phone the district attorney?
By all means.
- Now wait a minute.
Look, my dear. You can't do this to me.
Unless you cooperate Mr Burden has
the right to think you hide something.
Some guilty plan.
In which you share.
- I do not.
Don't you understand?
You have to go with him.
District attorney's office?
Hold on please.
Well?
Alright.
I'll go.
But if I turn out to be your daughter...
I'm going to run away from home.
And I'll help you.
Good luck, my dear.
- She needs more than luck. So do you.
Jimmy, see she doesn't try to get away.
- Who are you?
He is my bodyguard but I'm lending
him to you for the time being.
Peggy.
Peggy.
Mamie. Mamie.
What do you mean, Mamie you drip?
Why, Mamie is the only
girl I ever loved.
Take this lady to my study
and see she stays there.
I'll take your things.
She is here, Baba.
I brought her with me.
Well, let's get it over with.
- There's no need to be in such a tizzy.
Here.
Turn around.
Oh.
Keep still, Master Cornelius.
For heaven sakes, this is no time for...
- Well, you are getting fatter.
I am not.
- You are.
I shall have to add some more stitches.
Alright.
You can do that any time.
- You need a sweater.
You're always catching cold.
Will you please forget about
me and concentrate on her?
There's no need for shouting,
Master Cornelius.
I'm not deaf. Yet.
Well.
What's this amnesia victim like?
She's prettier than the others but...
Of course, she's more of a problem.
Folderol.
I'll soon show her up.
Come on.
Quit that yapping.
Hey.
Uhuh.
Come here.
Well.
This is Baba.
How do you do.
- Remember this room?
I don't remember anything.
- Hah.
Shush.
Carol Burden had a toy in this room
which she loved more than any other.
Always carried it around with her.
All day long.
Even slept with it at night.
Which one was it?
I don't know.
Didn't he tell you? I have amnesia.
Amnesia or no amnesia.
If you don't get the right toy...
I'm going to hammer away at you
until I find out who you really are.
That's unreasonable.
Sure it is.
Hold your tongue, Master Cornelius.
Look around you.
Take your time.
"Well. This is the end alright."
"What chance have I got of
picking out the right toy?"
"Why, the odds are about a 100-1."
"Well, I guess I might as well
confess and get it over with."
"Wait a minute."
"If I confess I'll go to jail."
"Oh, I wish I were back
in Hotchkiss Falls."
"Think. Think."
"Whatever that toy is..."
"They must have just taken it out of
that little safe behind the picture."
"That means it couldn't
be any of the big ones."
"Well, that's something."
"But gosh, at least half of them are
small enough to fit in the safe."
"I wish I were back in Hotchkiss Falls."
"Say."
"All the toys in the window."
"They're faded from
standing in the sun."
"Which means it couldn't be there."
"It wouldn't get faded lying in a safe."
"The odds are going down.
They are going down."
"But I still wish I were
back in Hotchkiss Falls."
"Gosh, that's hot."
"Hot."
"That means the toys must be hot too."
"Unless."
"Unless one of them was just put there
and hasn't had time to warm up yet."
[ Squeak ]
"Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot."
"Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot."
"Golly, they're all hot."
"The right one is not here."
"Too big. Too big. Too big."
"Too big."
"Anyway, the odds are lower."
"There is only this bunch
of the darned things left."
"What was it Baba said?"
"She even slept with that toy at night."
"If she slept with it then
it can't be that car."
"Or the tin soldiers."
"Or that merry-go-round."
"They wouldn't let her take those to bed
with her. She would scratch herself."
"And it couldn't be the violin."
"Or the Easter egg."
"Or the doll's house.
It would be all broken."
Well, young lady.
It seems to me you have had
more than enough time.
Just one minute more please.
I seem to remember something.
"The only two left.
These two little dolls."
"I can't choose."
"It's got to be one of them, but ..."
"Which?"
"Well, I've got to take a chance."
"A 50/50 chance is as good a chance
is as any gambler could ask for."
"And I've got to gamble."
"That one."
"No. That one."
"No. That one."
"No."
"That one."
"Oh, make up your mind."
Carol.
My baby.
My little baby.
My darling.
How can you ever forgive me?
What is it, darling?
Tell Baba.
Nothing.
It's just that it's so frightening
to suddenly have a father you...
You don't even know.
Listen, honey.
I've always been afraid that if
I ever did find you I would...
You'd be such a stranger
that you wouldn't...
Want me and need me.
But now that you don't remember
anything that's happened to you...
You are like a little child.
And you do need me.
Oh, honey.
It's been a lot more than finding the
little girl who used to be my girl.
I really found my kid again.
Open her up.
Just like that, huh?
This is the Burden residence, isn't it?
Yeah. And this iron
contraption here is a gate.
Look.
I've important business
with someone in here.
I know. But they don't want
any vacuum cleaners.
It only takes a minute if you open up.
All appointments are made by letter.
No appointment, no dice.
Now, go on and beat it.
- Have a heart, will you?
The Star was right after all.
I wonder how they knew
she was Carol Burden.
They identified her with a toy.
- I wish I'd a picture of it.
Picking out a toy after 17 years.
Quite a memory.
- That's normal.
A favorite toy is a thing you remember.
- Yeah. I guess so.
Allow me, General.
Hey, I thought said to get
that thing out of here.
Look at that.
Hey. You can't do this to me.
Let me in. I must see
Carol Burden immediately.
Just a moment.
Hold on to that guy, Derek.
Jimmy. Jimmy.
Let me go.
How did he get here?
What did you say, dear?
Oh. Nothing.
I think somebody is trying to get in.
It's probably some crazy reporter.
Jimmy will take care of it.
Come on, dear.
What if he should come back?
- Now don't worry. He won't.
You mustn't be frightened.
It is all over.
I can't wait for this.
I'm so excited and happy.
Happy, are you?
For the first time in seventeen years
I think I know what you really mean.
You are an angel.
"Gosh."
"If Mitzi could only see me now."
"Wanting me to stay in Hotchkiss
Falls the rest of my life."
"To wait for a guy called Johnny who
would make me laugh at nothing."
"Well, I got better things
to laugh at than nothing."
"I wish Mr Burden hadn't
turned out to be so nice."
"That's what makes me feel so bad."
"I have got to stop that."
"Why, I'm the luckiest
soda-jerk who ever lived."
Can I borrow your glasses for a moment?
Peggy Evans.
Peggy Evans.
Peggy Evans!
What's the matter, Carol?
I thought I heard someone calling.
The acoustics in here are wonderful.
Peggy Evans.
Cut out that racket and
give me back my glasses.
He is going to fall.
No, he isn't.
No. I think they got him.
Are you alright?
There's a bar in the lobby.
What did it feel like
hanging from the gallery?
Hurry up with that double Scotch.
Does that answer your question?
Say, if you had fallen off that thing.
I bet you'd have crushed a
few people in the orchestra.
Yeah. If I had been in the mood.
You got it?
I beg your pardon.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you.
Bartender, another double
Scotch for the gentleman.
Thanks.
- Not at all.
I merely wanted to ask you...
Did you really hang from
the gallery? And if so, why?
I got restless.
Quite. A pity I missed it.
I've attended concerts for years.
And never found anyone
to resent them properly.
In the next act I hang by my teeth.
I wish you would. I hate music.
And like acrobats.
Aha.
There she is.
Oh yes. That is the Burden girl.
A charming little thing.
They say she has a spot of amnesia.
That can't be Carol Burden.
Yet now I look at her...
Oh gosh.
Cheer up, old boy. It is Carol Burden.
No. I can't go through that again.
Not sleeping. Not eating.
My dear fellow, it is Carol Burden.
- Don't say that.
How would you feel if you suddenly found
a girl you thought you hadn't drowned...
Turned out to be drowned after all?
Awkward.
I should imagine.
I don't believe it.
I won't believe it.
She can't fool me with
her blond hair and...
Everything.
And I'll prove it isn't.
- Isn't what?
I say, come back.
And a lemonade.
- Right away, sir.
Peggy.
I didn't kill her.
I didn't kill her.
The man is mad.
- Peggy.
Peggy.
Do you know this person?
- Well...
Why, I haven't the
faintest idea who he is.
Jimmy.
You are lying, Peggy. You know you are.
I scarcely know him.
Are you alright, dear?
Yes. Yes, I am alright.
I ought to have him arrested.
I think I will.
- No, no.
No. Don't do that.
Let's not make any more of a scene.
Did you see what she did?
She hit me below the belt.
- No, old boy.
I may be wrong but it seems to
me he's the one who hit you.
While of course should
know where he hit you.
It didn't look low to me.
- She lied. She knows me.
I know by how she reacted.
Don't brood about it, old boy.
Lots more fish in the sea.
She isn't drowned. She never was.
I didn't mean it like that.
Really I didn't.
She's a phony. That's what she is.
Carol Burden, my eye.
She hasn't any more amnesia than I have.
Are you sure you haven't
got amnesia or something?
How about a spot to eat? Waiter.
There you are, Cornelius.
I've looked all over for you.
We must get back, Amanda.
My dears, just don't move.
Stay right where you are.
Yes.
Yes. She is the image of you.
Isn't she, Reggie?
- Yes, indeed.
Only much prettier.
I'll have a chicken sandwich on
rye and a double Scotch and soda.
And what will you have?
- I'll take the rubber plant.
You mean eggplant, sir?
- I mean 'rubber' plant.
That one.
You can't eat a rubber plant, sir.
I wouldn't put it past him. Not at all.
I don't want to eat it.
It has got her fingerprints on it.
- I know exactly how you feel.
Now, how about a nice chicken sandwich?
- I want that plant.
Here.
I say. Don't leave me.
A pencil.
Pencil, pencil, pencil.
I say, what are you up to?
I'm going to take these
fingerprints one by one.
And wrap them around
her lilywhite throat.
Got it.
A wonderful fellow.
Hurry.
- Wait a minute.
There you are, my dear.
Oh... it's beautiful.
Much too beautiful.
Not for you, Carol.
Don't go messing up her
hair, Master Cornelius.
Not a hair out of place.
Baba, fix my tie please.
- Let me do it.
Nervous?
- Well.
A little excited I guess.
I've never been given a party before.
I mean, I don't think I have.
Stuff and nonsense I call it.
Giving her a dance.
Keeping her up long after her bedtime.
She isn't a child any longer Baba.
After all, it's high time she
met young men in her own set.
We can't be selfish and try
to keep her all to ourselves.
You spend seventeen years looking for
her and now you want to get rid of her.
That's a foul lie.
Don't you swear at me, Master Cornelius.
Or you'll spend the
evening in your room.
Now stop it you two.
Nobody is going to get rid of me.
I'm going to stay right here.
There.
That's not going to be easy, Carol,
once the young men get a look at you.
I'll have something to say about that.
- Why, of course you will.
Dance with all of them.
Look them all over.
Don't go putting ideas into her head.
Don't worry Baba. I promise you
faithfully I won't get married.
Until I find someone as nice as father.
Thanks, honey.
Well if you do, I hope you find
someone with more sense.
Thanks, buddy.
Why don't you watch where you are going?
Come on, come on. Get busy.
Me?
Yes, you. Fill these up.
Then pass them around.
And hurry.
- Yes, sir.
Right away, sir. Coming up, sir.
I'm afraid you're not going to be able
to keep Carol very long, Cornelius.
Why shouldn't I keep her?
The men are buzzing around
her like bees round a hive.
That's the fourth time she's
danced with young Loring.
The fourth time? It is?
Maybe it's the fifth.
Excuse me.
I've got to talk with Dickie.
Growing up in Brooklyn.
Excuse me.
Scram, brother wolf. Scram you.
- Why, you...
It's my father.
I'm terribly sorry, sir.
I thought it was the other wolf.
I am terribly sorry.
I thought it was the other...
That's alright, but you can
give the other boys a chance.
Oh, I just love champagne.
Oh, thank you so much.
Hey.
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
Ah, you do remember me.
- Jimmy.
You know who I am now?
- Jimmy.
Don't you?
- Go away. He's crazy.
Don't you?
I thought you were going to do that.
What's going on here?
- It's that madman again.
Throw him out.
I don't leave without my wife.
- Your wife?
Yes, Mr Burden. She is my wife.
- You're crazy.
You know as well me I'm not your...
What were you going to say, Carol?
Do you remember?
No, father. I don't.
That's the heaviest part about it.
For all I know, it might be true.
Of course it's true.
Excuse me. I'll take her
home where she belongs.
Just a minute, young man.
Come with me please.
When I got home she'd disappeared.
I was desperate until I saw
her picture in the paper.
I left Hotchkiss Falls immediately.
When I went to claim her,
she'd left with you.
Since then, I think you know
how hard I tried to get to her.
If it hadn't been for the publicity
I'd have gone to the police.
And that's the whole story.
Now dear, get your things
and we'll trot along.
Thanks Mr Burden for
taking good care of her.
Never mind that, young man.
And take your hands off my daughter.
But she is my...
- I know. She's your wife.
But If you don't mind we won't
just take your word for it.
We'd like a little proof.
Proof?
- Yes. Proof.
That's right. Let's see your proof.
If you have any.
Oh, proof.
Our marriage certificate.
Marriage certificate?
Sad, isn't it? All her
beautiful memories gone.
She doesn't even remember
our marriage certificate.
She was so excited when she signed it...
She poked her finger in the
inkwell instead of the pen.
Look.
There. Doesn't that
bring it all back to you?
No, it doesn't. And I don't
believe I ever saw it before.
You claim this is her fingerprint?
- Yes. I just told you.
In that case we settle this immediately.
We'll compare your fingerprint
with the one on the certificate.
Oh, that's a wonderful idea.
I never thought about that.
- I'll bet you didn't.
Right forefinger I presume?
- That's right I think.
You're sure I wasn't left-handed
when I was married to you?
Quite sure.
Why...
This is awful.
These prints are identical.
A lucky thing for me, that fingerprint.
You folks were sure hard to convince.
This doesn't seem fair. I only had one
daughter and now I've lost her twice.
Sorry, Mr Burden. It had to come out
sometime. Peggy is not your daughter.
What do you mean, she isn't my daughter?
Why, of course she is.
This proves she married you but
doesn't prove she's not my daughter.
But...
She is Peggy Evans.
This girl is my daughter
whatever her name was.
I couldn't be mistaken about that.
But how did she get the
name of Peggy Evans?
That's the question.
I don't know.
The people who raised her know.
Where are they?
I don't know exactly.
How could he know? The whole thing
is a fake and a frame-up. It must be.
Darling, don't get excited.
You know it affects you.
She breaks out in a rash. All over.
Oh.
You mean to say you don't know
anything of your wife's background?
Well. You see...
She had amnesia when I met her.
What's more, it recurred.
It kept happening on and off.
Why, once I came home late at night.
I got into bed and kissed her.
She gave me a friendly
smile and then said...
Who are you?
It was the friendly smile
that burned me up.
Oh, how can you?
I'm sorry, darling. But Mr Burden
has a right to know all about you.
Then one time I was taking a bath and...
- Spare us the details, Mr Stuart.
What town did you meet Carol in?
Hotchkiss Falls. Where we go now.
Come, lamb chop.
- Let me alone.
I'm going with you.
- What for?
Don't you realise what all this means?
At last we have a clue to your past.
We return to Hotchkiss Falls...
And trace what happened
since the day I lost you.
Oh no.
Of course we can.
We... we can find all the
people who knew you.
I want to find out all about your
past so I can protect your future.
Bob.
I want to speak to my father alone.
I'll bet you do.
Will you wait outside?
Out there for me. Please.
Alright.
Hurry though, dear.
You know we've a long ride ahead of us.
Father. That man is not my husband.
Call it women's intuition if you
want but somehow I know.
But what about the marriage
certificate and the fingerprints here?
Can't fingerprints be faked?
Maybe. But how would he get your
fingerprints if he never saw you before?
Why would a man make up such a story?
I don't know.
All I know is what I've told you.
Believe me. He's lying.
In that case I phone the police.
- No, no.
Let's not do that.
I've a better plan.
I'll go to Hotchkiss
Falls with Mr Stuart.
But you mustn't come along.
Just the two of us.
And then I can find out
what this is all about.
Do you think I'm insane?
To let you go away alone with a man
who you feel isn't your husband?
Don't you see, if I'm alone with him...
I can find out everything.
I can trap him.
Because he won't suspect anything.
But it would be different if you were
along because he would be on his guard.
But Carol, if I were to let you go and
something happened to you, why...
Why, I would kill myself.
But nothing will happen. I promise you.
Well, then. Maybe...
- Thank you, darling.
I knew you would understand.
Well, don't forget one thing.
If anything happens.
If he bothers you in any way...
You phone me immediately.
I'll sleep with my clothes on.
Alright, father.
And do be careful.
Please.
I will.
And father.
- Yes, dear?
I love you so much.
I'll be ready to go
with you in a minute.
What about Mr Burden?
- He isn't coming.
Oh?
That's too bad.
Please don't hate me.
I didn't mean to be a runaway wife.
I'll try to make up for all
the trouble I caused you.
And I'm sure I...
I'll learn to love you again.
Soon.
Hello. Long distance.
I want to get Hotchkiss Falls
information please.
When I think what I've gone
through on account of you.
Well, would you feel better
if you told me about it?
Don't worry about my feelings. I feel
fine now I have you where I want you.
Where do you want me?
- Hotchkiss Falls.
So they see you're not drowned.
- Drowned?
I don't remember being drowned.
I mean...
Why should I be drowned?
On account of the phony
suicide note you left.
Everybody at the store
thought I drove you to it.
My, that must have been awkward.
Not at all. It was a pleasure.
Not being able to sleep
night after night.
Tortured into thinking myself a...
A murderer.
I did all that to you?
No. That's only half of it.
Then you lost me my job.
So, you're taking me back to Hotchkiss
Falls just to get your job back, huh?
Just for that. Selfish of me, isn't it.
You sound as if you don't even like me.
- I don't like you.
Well, if that's the way you feel, I...
I suppose we had better get divorced.
Divorced?
Oh, I get it.
You are still trying to make
that amnesia gag stick.
I guess it is... your best out at that.
Out? Out of what?
Okay. We will play it your way.
You have got amnesia
and you are my wife.
You mean...
You mean I'm not your wife?
Now whatever put the idea
in your pretty little head?
I am hungry.
Me too, come to think of it.
Look. There's a place.
Alright. If it doesn't take too long.
Be sure to hurry back.
We're always happy to...
Good evening, folks. Come right in.
Always open. Always ready to serve.
Let's remove our coats.
- I only want a sandwich.
That's alright.
Make yourselves right at home.
There you are.
Order me a hamburger and coffee.
Like I always have, dear.
No onions. I'll be right back.
And what will yours be?
It's just that it's so embarrassing.
Suppose you didn't
remember me at all and...
Suddenly you found you
were married to me?
Wouldn't you be scared?
I think you know pretty well there
is nothing to be scared about.
I don't believe you.
I think you are scared right now.
Me? Ha-ha.
You haven't even kissed me yet.
Kissed you?
- Kissed me.
You want me to?
Well, isn't it customary
among husbands and wives?
Not at all.
It might help us to
get better acquainted.
Yes. It ought to do that.
Why it...
Does sort-of scare you, doesn't it.
Well, I feel better acquainted now.
Don't you?
I just feel better.
Tell me about us, Bob.
Were we very happy?
I think we must have been.
Bob.
Was I a good wife?
Ideal.
What is your ideal?
Well, she's to think I'm smarter
than anybody else in the world.
And stronger and better looking.
And she has to love to dance with me.
What else?
She has to be happy
with what we have got.
Instead of discontented
with what we haven't got.
And what do you do
in return for all of that?
Nothing.
That's what makes it so ideal.
Well, I can't imagine any
girl living up to that ideal.
She could if she loved me.
Well, I guess I've a lot
to learn about love.
It's possible.
You are going to teach me, aren't you?
Everything I know is at your disposal.
Where do we begin?
First, we dance.
There is our food.
- Let's not sit down.
Alright. We'll have a picnic dance.
- Right.
What are you laughing at?
Nothing. Nothing.
Look at me. I am laughing at nothing.
You don't feel dizzy do you?
Johnny.
Bob.
I'm not Johnny.
No.
I guess not.
It isn't reasonable.
It certainly isn't.
You had better finish your sandwich.
Yeah.
Let's dance.
Why don't you look where you are going?
I'd better get us where we're going.
Hotchkiss Falls. Come on.
Oh.
You sure you still want
to go to Hotchkiss Falls?
You bet.
Of course.
I forgot you want your job back.
That's right.
- Well, let's go.
[ Engine not starting ]
That's silly of me.
I forgot to turn the key on.
I guess it's a little cold.
That's funny.
There's plenty of gas.
Are we having trouble
with our car, folks?
Yes. Is there any place around
here I can get this thing fixed?
Well, there's an all-night garage.
There is?
- Yep.
But it closed at twelve.
Well, we'll have to sleep
right here I guess.
Make a pillow for me, Bob.
I don't think that will be very
comfortable. For either of us.
Sure it won't.
I got just one room left at the motel.
Motel? What motel?
Right over there. I run that too.
That is wonderful.
We couldn't stop there.
- Why not, darling?
We'll be ever so much more
cosy than in the car.
But we can't do that.
Of course we can, dear.
I'm sure it won't be expensive.
You see, it's sort-of our wedding night.
Now ain't that something.
I'll take care of your baggage.
Thank you. Come on, Bob. It's late.
Bobby.
Coming, dear.
I'm just going to lock up.
Well, it's beautiful.
There you are.
How much will it be?
I'll pay in advance.
$3:50. Use all the water you want.
Isn't it cosy, Bob?
I've done a terrible thing.
What's the matter?
I haven't any more money.
No money?
Have you looked in your pockets?
I can't figure it out. I had a couple of
bucks right here but now they're gone.
Come, darling. I guess we'll have
to sit in the car all night after all.
Oh dear.
That won't be much like
a wedding night, will it.
Now ain't this a crying shame.
Yep. It is certainly tough.
Wait. Come back.
You can have the room tonight.
But that's wonderful.
We haven't any money.
- Oh, forget it.
I'll charge a little to
building maintenance.
A little to overheads.
The rest to Mr Popper in bungalow 5.
We couldn't accept anything like that.
You've got to.
I couldn't sleep right if you didn't.
Well, you're a darling.
Yeah.
You are a sweetheart.
Look at me.
Just standing here.
Well, goodnight.
Don't hurry off, old man.
Yes, yes. We've kept you up long enough.
Goodnight.
Goodnight.
Isn't this better than spending
the night in the car, Bobbykins?
I think I'll get into
something comfortable.
Peggy.
- Yes?
Do you know how to play cribbage?
No. I don't.
You must teach me.
Sometime.
Look. Don't you think this
has gone far enough?
Far enough for what?
- Under the circumstances.
Maybe I'd better go.
Tell you what, I'll take another room.
- There are no other rooms.
Besides, I doubt
Mr Popper can afford it.
Yes, but...
- I'll only be a minute.
She can't bluff me.
What am I, a man or a mouse?
Mouse.
Man.
I think I'll get into
something comfortable too.
You have to answer me one question.
In the the concert bar, when I called
you Peggy, you were frightened to death.
Weren't you? Answer me.
Yes. Yes.
- Why?
Well, you sneaked up behind
me and shouted in my ear.
You would be frightened too.
But you recognised me. Don't deny it.
You knew me when you saw me.
How do you explain that?
I had seen you before.
So you admit it.
Sure. It was that day at father's.
You were with the reporters
and Jimmy punched you.
I saw you from the hall.
I thought you were crazy. So when I
saw you again naturally I was scared.
You don't remember me
from Hotchkiss Falls?
No.
But what's the difference?
Come to bed, darling. It's late.
Oh.
I made a terrible mistake.
I'm not your husband.
I don't understand.
That's all there is to it. I am...
Not your husband at all.
But.
But you must be. That...
That marriage certificate.
That was a forgery. A fake.
I thought you were a fake too.
Ah!
I'll take you home to your
father in the morning.
Just one more thing.
You are Carol Burden alright.
You are not Peggy Evans.
How do you know?
- Because Peggy Evans was a...
Whining little coward
afraid to face life.
She was hysterical and selfish.
You are the finest and bravest
girl there ever was.
You were willing to accept me,
a complete stranger, as your husband.
You left your home and your father to
come with me as you felt it was right.
You're the most wonderful
girl I ever knew.
That's all.
"Last month she left a suicide note
and evidently drowned herself."
"She had a run-in with
the boss at the store."
"A man named Robert Stuart."
"Anything else, Mr Burden?"
- No.
No. That's all I wanted to know.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I'll mail you a check for your trouble.
Have you heard anything?
Master Cornelius.
Answer when you're spoken to.
Have you heard anything?
Hello?
Hello. Yes.
Yes. This is the Burden residence.
Who?
What?
Well, what have you done with Carol?
Where is she?
At Swade's Motel. About six miles past
Huntsville on the Albany Post road.
Will Mr Burden come for her right away?
No. She's perfectly alright.
I'll explain everything
when he gets here.
I must get Carol. Right away.
Something has happened.
I know it is something awful. Come on.
What's the matter, Master Cornelius?
It is your daughter I'm speaking about.
She's with that fiend in a motel.
Do you ever want to see your
daughter again or don't you?
Yes. I want to see her alright.
I want to see her very much indeed.
Did I wake you?
No. I wasn't asleep.
Just thinking with my eyes closed.
What time is it?
- Six-thirty.
Well, what woke you up so early?
I haven't been sleeping either.
I was thinking with my eyes open.
Bob.
You'll feel better when
your father gets here.
Why should he come here?
I phoned your house after
I left you last night.
I thought you'd want to get rid
of me as soon as possible.
He ought to be here in a minute.
Please don't do that.
I know I did a terrible
thing to you but...
I can't stand seeing you cry.
That isn't why I'm crying.
No?
I'm crying because I'm never
going to see you again.
You want to keep on seeing
me after what I've done?
Yes. I do.
Why?
Because I'm crazy about you.
You can't be. That's impossible.
It is not.
It isn't?
No.
Gosh. That's what I've been
thinking about all night.
Thinking how it could
never happen. Thinking...
What a fool I was to
even think about it.
But now you...
- No. Don't touch me.
Sorry. I guess I'm hearing things.
But you said you're crazy about me.
I did say it.
Well, I am right. You did say it.
Carol, will you please hold still.
Here.
What do I want that for?
I took this off your car last
night when we arrived.
That's why you mustn't touch me.
Ever.
What's that got to do with us?
Carol, can't you see that...
You took that off my car last night?
Why?
Answer me. Why?
Because...
I am Peggy Evans.
I couldn't go on cheating you.
I know what you'll think of me.
That I'm a whining little
coward afraid to face life.
But I had to tell you all the same.
Take your hands off that thing.
Well, I was only trying to help.
Go away.
Not until you've heard
what I have to say.
Bob.
I am not asking you
to even like me again.
I just want you to know that
I am not what you think.
I didn't mean to make you lose your job.
How could I have known about that?
I didn't mean to steal
anything from Mr Burden.
Honestly.
I am...
I'm not a cheat or a crook.
I was... just lonesome.
And I didn't have sense enough
to wait until you came along.
How could I have known that you...
You were what I was lonesome for.
You are right.
I'm not even worth listening to.
Every instinct I have tells me I
ought to beat you over the head.
Every instinct but one.
I couldn't hate you, darling.
Unless you turned out to
be a female impersonator.
And I'll bet you my bottom
dollar you are not.
Oh, Carol.
Peggy. Whatever your name is.
Darling.
- Yes, Bob?
You've got grease all over your face.
Bob.
I'm so sorry.
So terribly sorry.
It's not your fault.
I put it there. Hold still.
But I don't mean the grease.
I mean for everything I've done.
How could I have done it?
How could I have done it?
- Don't be unhappy, darling.
I forgive you.
Of course you forgive me.
If you love someone,
what else can you do?
Bob.
You are going to wait
for me, aren't you?
Why? Where are you going?
To jail.
To jail? That's silly.
You don't know Mr Burden.
He's sweet but he has a terrible temper.
If I tell him the truth he won't rest.
No. You're wrong. I won't let you.
I won't let him see you.
I'll keep him out.
- Keep who out?
My baby.
Are you alright?
Yes... I'm fine.
- Shut up.
I mean, shut up dear.
She hasn't been feeling well. Perhaps if
you came back later? Tomorrow sometime?
Don't listen to him. I'm alright.
- She's had a spell or something.
It isn't serious.
Nothing to worry about.
My poor angel. What's he done to you?
Nothing really.
He just says that because
he loves me and I love him.
He is trying to protect me.
The poor crazed thing.
Oh, be quiet. Let her talk.
No, no. I'm not trying to protect her.
She's trying to protect me.
I forged the marriage certificate and
made a rubber stamp of her fingerprints.
I'm not her husband at all.
- You fiend.
Why'd you do it?
I thought she was someone else.
A girl I once knew. Peggy Evans.
But she's dead.
- When did you discover that?
I always knew it.
I was responsible. I mean...
It's no use, Bob. You can't stop me.
I...
I...
I don't know how to start.
Whatever she says, it's a lie.
Go on.
I can't even believe myself that
I could have been as rotten.
And as contemptible and
as heartless as I have.
I know you won't forgive me.
That's out of the question.
I would rather die than
hurt you like this.
I know you won't believe it.
But I do love you.
You're an angel.
And I would give anything in
the world if you were my father.
But you are not.
I am not Carol.
I never was.
I am Peggy Evans.
Please. Please, both of you.
I'm telling the truth.
You must believe me.
Bob, tell them I am Peggy Evans.
Why should I? I don't believe you are.
Neither do I.
But...
I guess I ought to know my own daughter.
We're going to Hotchkiss Falls.
- No, my dear. We're going home.
I'll get your things.
But I can't go on lying
the rest of my life.
I can't go on cheating.
Carol, wash your mouth out with soap.
Now is as good a time as any.
Now come along.
Please. You must believe me.
Now listen to me.
Stop the snivelling, Peggy Evans.
Then you do believe me, Baba?
- Of course I do.
Then you will tell father.
I mean, Mr Burden.
I'll tell your father nothing.
Besides, he knows it anyway.
But he's not my father.
What do you mean, he knows it anyway?
I can read Master Cornelius like a book.
Now I look back.
I think he knew it before
he came over here.
What?
Why didn't he just say so?
- Two reasons.
It would kill him to admit
that he'd been fooled.
And it would kill him to give you up.
He wants me to go on being his daughter?
If you had a lick of
sense you'd see that.
You'd know what he said out there
was just his way of forgiving you.
Someday he'll come right out
with it. But don't try to force it.
He can be awfully stubborn sometimes.
But how can he want me?
I don't belong.
- Stuff and nonsense.
You've made him happier than
he's been for seventeen years.
That is belonging.
I'm gone. Show him what you are made of.
If I can just believe that...
- You can.
Get.
Do you hate me, Baba?
Don't be silly.
Do you still want me
to go home with you?
Of course I do if you want to come.
Do you?
Well.
I'd like to see anybody try to stop me.
Hey, what about me?
Yeah. What about him?
I love him.
Well, that's a fine how-do-you-do.
I can't help it.
- Well...
If I've got a daughter I might as well
saddle myself with a son-in-law.
Just one big happy family.
Well, if you're going to start
building a family at your age...
You'd better get going.
I'll give you just three minutes.
Oh, Johnny.
The name is 'Bob', Carol.
The name is 'Peggy', Johnny.
Maybe we had better just
call each Mr and Mrs?
Maybe talking about all this
is just a waste of time.
..f-s..
"Is the dreary community of Hotchkiss
Falls in the Mid-Hudson valley."
"The odds are 1,000-1 against us finding
anyone there with an interesting story."
"However, that's where we are.
So, let's take a look around."
So I told him.
Joe I says, life is a matter of give
and take. You got to learn to share.
50/50. Not 80/40.
He had to admit I was talking sense.
Wait a minute. I dropped a penny.
Let me pick it up.
- Too late.
Anyhow, it will bring good
luck to the guy who finds it.
[ Whistling ]
We're all of us lucky indeed to be
employed by such a beneficent firm...
As the Coast to Coast Small Change Mart.
This morning there is one among us...
Who is going to realize her luck
even more than the rest of us.
It gives me great pleasure to present
Merit Award number 4 to that lucky girl.
Miss Peggy Evans.
Please step forward, Miss Evans.
Peggy Evans.
You are the first employee
in the entire chain...
To arrive at your work 1,000
consecutive mornings on time.
I therefore present you with
Merit Award number 4.
Redeemable for two dollars
and fifty cents in merchandise.
Thank you, sir.
And remember.
Another 1,500 punctual arrivals
brings the 10-dollar award.
Keep your eye on it.
Yes, sir.
To your stations everyone.
The 4th of July. Labor day.
Thanksgiving. Christmas.
Fourteen days vacation.
290 working days a year.
Congratulations, honey.
What a break, huh?
Two and a half fish out of the blue.
Three years and four months.
Then in another five years
I'll get ten dollars more.
In merchandise.
- Yeah. Wholesale too.
I'll be twenty-six.
What's the beef, honey? In five years
you are going to be twenty-six anyway.
Is it bad if they give you ten
bucks of velvet? Is it an insult?
And I'll have such a
nice set of memories.
Three thousand mornings on time.
Those will be something
to tell the children about.
Except if I have a child, it might
make me late that morning.
Bound to.
Besides, you ain't even married.
No, I am not. And I'm not likely to be.
Where can I meet a man?
Anywheres. Where did I meet Hobart?
Don't tell me. Under a rock?
Oh, Hobart will do until
Johnny comes along.
Who is Johnny?
Nobody. Johnny is what I call him.
Call who?
Whoever he is.
Bill. Joe. Charlie. Chuck. Jimmy.
I call him Johnny.
Well, what about him?
Look, honey.
I know lots of girls who have
the same kind of job you've got.
And they love it.
Why? Because they got their Johnny.
That makes everything
wonderful, I suppose?
It sure does.
You just keep laughing
at nothing all the time.
That's the way it is when
you meet up with Johnny.
Well, I don't know any Johnny and I'm
not likely to meet one around here.
Unless it's the drip who whistles at
me in front of Cutler's drugstore.
Oh. So that's what's got
you all worked up.
No. Mitzi.
It's just that I'm so fed up.
They played a dirty trick on me.
Be yourself, will you.
Nobody played any tricks on you.
Oh yes they did.
When they were sitting around
deciding who was going to be who.
When they came to me they said:
Now, let's make this one a nobody.
Let's not give her any
family, any home. Anything.
Let's just give her one thing. A job.
The dullest little job we could find.
Take it easy, honey.
Your job isn't as bad as all that.
You meet a lot of people and
do a lot of interesting things.
Like waiting on them.
- Stop it, Mitzi.
I could do my job blindfold.
No you couldn't, honey.
There's a lot more to it than you think.
So I couldn't, huh?
I certainly could.
Absolutely blindfolded.
Watch me.
Peggy, don't do that.
You will get into trouble.
Yes, ma'am? Order please.
What's the matter, dearie?
Hurt your eyes?
No. This is a new company rule.
It improves efficiency.
It does, huh?
What will they think of next.
You can get me a small grape juice.
That's too easy, ma'am.
Don't you want something hard?
Why?
Why not?
We have a special on
jumbo banana splits today.
They are delicious.
I'm on a diet.
That's wrong, ma'am.
You should never diet.
No?
- No.
You should force yourself to eat.
More and more. All the time.
Then you get to hate eating.
And then you get thin
without any trouble at all.
I never thought of it in that way.
Good. One jumbo coming up.
Slice it down the middle. Just so.
Ice cream.
Chocolate on the right.
Strawberry on the left.
And vanilla in the middle.
Chocolate sauce.
Pineapple preserves.
Whipped cream.
Nuts.
And a cherry on top.
There you are. Now you
are starting on your diet.
A strawberry ice-cream soda, babe.
I bet you can't make that one though.
- A strawberry ice-cream soda coming up.
Good morning, Mr Stuart.
- Morning.
Welcome to our new manager.
Thanks. All running smooth this morning?
- Just as smooth as silk.
That's fine. That's fine.
One up.
I don't see how she does it.
- Neither does she.
Excuse me, Miss.
- Yes, sir. Your order please.
Doesn't that blindfold
handicap your work?
Well, order something and see.
I'm sorry to spoil your fun, but...
I must ask you to take it off.
And I must ask you to leave
that stool if you don't order.
The management doesn't allow lounging.
Look, Number 122. I am the management.
I am the new general manager.
Well.
I suppose you're very proud of yourself
sneaking up on me when I wasn't looking.
You've nothing to squawk about anyway.
I was doing my job.
I doubt it. No-one does their best
work with their eyes closed.
No? Well, what about the basket weavers?
Stop arguing. You're not a basket
weaver. You are a soda squirt.
Don't you call me a squirt.
Take the blindfold off and report
to my office immediately.
Go on, honey. Tell him you
are sorry before it's too late.
I'm not sorry. I am glad.
Another jumbo banana
split please, dearie.
Well. Here I am.
Now look here, Number 122.
I...
Won't you sit down?
I don't want to sit down.
Why not go ahead and fire me?
That's the last thing I...
- In fact you can't fire me.
No. Of course not.
- Because I quit.
You mustn't do that, Miss...
The name is Peggy Evans.
That's a nice name.
It isn't a nice name.
It isn't a name at all.
Just a label that works in a store.
A machine on a track that rolls along
and along and comes out nowhere.
I hate my name.
Someday you'll get married
and change your name.
I won't get married.
I won't ever get married.
Why, of course you will.
An attractive girl like you.
I will not.
Well, then you'll be
Peggy Evans until you die.
Wait a minute.
I'll be Peggy Evans until I die.
That's an idea.
What?
I'm not going to be
Peggy Evans until I die.
I'm going to be Peggy
Evans until she dies.
No... you mustn't say things like that.
Look, Miss Evans.
Take the day off. Tomorrow...
I won't be here then.
This is the end of Number 122.
Miss Evans.
The end of Peggy Evans too.
- No. Wait a minute.
Please let go of me.
- I can't let you go. You're hysterical.
Did you see that? The new manager
is making a pass at Peggy.
I knew he was a wolf the
minute he looked at me.
Miss Evans.
Mr Stuart.
The limb.
Sonny, can you tell me where
I can find Peggy Evans?
Who wants to know?
I do. I'm her boss.
That's all I wanted to know.
But she was such a sweet girl.
So nice and refined.
And now, if this story gets around I'll
never be able to rent this room again.
Did she have any relatives you know of?
The poor lone orphan didn't
have a soul in the world.
What do you want?
I'm looking for Peggy Evans.
- What for?
Well.
What goes on here?
What happened to Miss Evans?
Mr Innocent, huh? What's your name?
- Robert Stuart.
What's your business with Peggy Evans?
- I'm Peggy Evans' boss.
I'm Peggy Evans' boss.
- Aha.
He drove her to it.
Should be laws against skunks like you.
Will someone tell me
what this is all about?
Read him the note, DeWitt.
Let him know what he's done.
Sure.
'This is to tell whoever cares
not to bother looking for me'.
'I know I'll be happier
wherever I am going'.
'I can't go on being
Peggy Evans any longer'.
'I'd rather jump in the river'.
'Mitzi can have my clothes'.
'For the last time. Peggy'.
That's awful.
You said it, brother rat.
- Yep.
Wait a minute. You got me all wrong.
I didn't drive her to this.
I only did my duty.
I just told her to remove her blindfold.
I had to. I'm Peggy Evans' boss.
Could you tell me how much one of
those new personalities would cost?
You can't afford that.
Come on now. Move on. Move on.
But...
No, no.
Well, it couldn't be
more than 150 bucks.
Nothing could.
Your car, Mademoiselle?
Miss Mademoiselle to you.
"Oh, That's me alright."
"That is Peggy Evans."
"No. That's me."
"But thank heavens it's not
Peggy Evans anymore."
"That's finished."
"Well, let me see. Who shall it be?"
"Hmm. Sounds like a song."
"Let me see. Who is going to be me?"
"Let me see. Who shall it be?"
"Diane?"
"Dionne?"
"Dionne."
"Well. Dionne what?"
"Dionne Watt."
"Oh no. That's silly."
"Dionne Park."
"Dionne Tilford."
"Not so hot."
"Dionne Abercrombie."
"Dionne Fitch."
"No. It's the Dionne that's wrong."
"Suzanne."
"Suzanne."
"Ah, that's nicer."
"Suzanne Vanderbilt?"
"No. That's too common."
"That isn't a bad idea."
"Now let's see how much I've got left."
"One dollar."
"Well, that's enough for the Ad."
"And I've still got my lucky penny."
"So I can't lose."
"Well."
"Here goes."
Hey, look out!
Holy Moses.
Help.
Are you hurt, Miss?
- Can't you see? She's out cold.
Hey. Somebody give me a hand.
Come on. Take her inside.
What happened to her?
- Put her over there.
Is she dead?
Give her air. Give her air.
Stand back.
Look at all that blood.
That ain't blood, lady. That's paint.
Four bucks' worth.
What's happened here?
He brained her with a can of paint.
It wasn't my fault. It slipped.
Do you work for me?
Yes, sir.
I was changing the sign out there.
I guess we're in for it.
Mack, take her into my office.
- Okay, boss.
And call a doctor. Quick.
How is she, Doc?
- She'll be alright.
Just as soon as she
recovers from the shock.
Will you be able to testify she's
not seriously injured in any way?
I think so.
That ought to keep down the damages.
Oh, Doc.
Where am I?
You're in safe hands and you
are going to be alright now.
Just relax.
- My head.
Her head.
Don't do that.
Ah, my clothes.
Look what's happened to my clothes.
Now, don't you worry.
We'll buy you a whole new outfit.
Get me a waiver of damages.
- Yes.
Now, please don't get excited.
Just try and relax.
That's it.
Now then. What's your name?
Peg...
No.
My name is Dionne.
I mean it is Sue.
It's Abercrombie.
No, no. That isn't it either.
I don't know it yet.
Well, surely you can tell us your name.
No, I can't. Leave me alone.
I don't know.
Dear. Dear.
Where do you live?
I don't know. Look at me.
This is much more
serious than I thought.
She's suffering from a
temporary loss of memory.
Why does everything
have to happen to me?
Shall I call the police?
No. You imbecile.
Do you think I want every other
paper in town building up her case?
And spreading the story
that I am an assassin?
Look.
It's on my hat too.
Oh, don't whine.
I mean, don't cry my dear.
We'll take care of everything.
I think the only way to handle this is
to notify the bureau of missing persons.
She's only been missing ten minutes.
Baldwin.
Look in her purse.
- I did. Nothing in it.
No identification?
- Not a shred.
What will I do?
What will I do?
It's on my hair.
Now here, Miss.
Now, whatever your name is.
Now, you stop worrying.
We'll find out who you are.
We put your picture in the paper.
And whoever you belong to
will come and claim you.
Won't that be nice?
No. You don't understand.
I don't belong to anybody.
Ah, nonsense.
A fine-looking girl like you.
Wait until you see the big, beautiful
picture we're going to take of you.
But I tell you it's no use.
Nobody will come.
Yes they will.
We'll take care of you until they do.
You will?
Of course we will. And we'll ask you
to remember how nice we were.
I'll be leaving now.
- Yes.
Baldwin.
Have Miss King take her and get
her spruced up for a picture.
Use my private expense account.
You know.
You might have to take care
of me for a long time.
That would be a great pleasure.
But I'm afraid you'll be off our hands
when your picture appears in the paper.
I didn't kill her. I didn't.
I didn't.
Oh, this is awful.
I did not.
Take that body away.
[ Telephone ]
Yeah?
"Mr Stuart? This is Quill."
"You must come down to the store now.
Something terrible is happening."
What is it?
Hello?
Hello?
Help yourselves. Help yourselves
everybody. Take anything you want.
Nobody cares.
The clerks are all blindfolded.
Say, what is going on here?
A strike. A blindfold strike.
I'll have to notify the duty
manager immediately.
I've already called Mr Snodgrass.
I called him just the minute they
started putting on those blindfolds.
I thought there may be trouble.
Nice work, Quill.
You'll probably get my job for that.
We mustn't count our chickens
before they're hatched, must we.
Here is Mr Snodgrass now.
Come with me, Stuart.
This may look like I haven't
made a very good start sir.
This way, boys. It's all free.
Free.
In 48 hours, you've driven
one of our girls to suicide.
You incited a new kind of strike.
You let the place be looted.
You've blackened the store's
good name. You have...
Have I overlooked anything, Mr Quill?
- I can't think of anything else now.
It's enough. Quite enough.
Do you think removing Mr Stuart
will settle the strike?
Yes indeed, sir. Once and for all.
How soon can we contact the
employees bargaining committee?
Any time, sir.
Any time we indicate a willingness
to meet their demands.
Hey.
This looks like her.
Like who?
Peggy Evans. Look.
But, nonsense.
I fear we're indulging
in some wishful thinking.
Stuart, in the interests of efficiency,
out of consideration for our customers.
And to save our business I'll
have to ask you to resign.
Quill. I'm going to put you in
Stuart's place temporarily.
I shall try to make it permanent, sir.
I don't care what you say.
I will never forget her face.
I tell you this is her.
Oh, don't be irrational, Stuart.
How could it be?
This is how. It explains it here.
She has got amnesia.
I fail to see the connection.
Suppose she did jump in the river.
Suppose the shock made
her lose her memory.
Dear, dear. We're grasping at straws.
Suppose she forgot she was
going to commit suicide.
Suppose she swam ashore
and then forgot who she was.
And suppose she just
wandered down to New York.
Suppose you collect your things
and get out of this office.
But she isn't dead. I know she isn't.
Alright. I'll find her.
And bring her back and prove to all
of you I didn't drive her to suicide.
Do you think I want to spend the rest
of my life with that on my conscience?
What's more, I'm going to make her
tell the truth and get me back my job.
If you can bring back the dead, Stuart,
you can certainly get back your job.
I'll hold you to that, Mr Snodgrass.
Come in.
Good morning.
- Hello.
I just thought I would drop
by on my way to the office.
To see how your memory was doing.
It's fine, thanks.
I remember you perfectly.
What do these make you think of?
- Roses.
Oh, darn. I was hoping they
might remind you of someone.
Well, from now on they
will remind me of you.
You know, the incredible
thing about your case is...
You weren't carrying a
single bit of identification.
The only clue we had was
a label in your clothes.
Did it help any?
- Not a bit.
Nobody at Gravets had
ever seen you before.
You paid cash. And to top everything...
They followed your instructions
and threw away your old clothes.
Oh my.
That's too bad.
I've been thinking.
There may be a lot more
to this than we imagined.
Maybe you didn't get amnesia yesterday.
Why do you say that?
It may be you've had it a long time.
Maybe since you were a little child.
You know, in a way I almost envy you.
Envy me?
Why, whatever for?
Just think of the exciting
possibilities ahead of you.
You might be almost anyone in the world.
A whole new life waiting for you.
Readymade.
Family. Friends.
A husband maybe. Maybe even children.
I doubt that.
Why, you may even be a missing heiress.
An heiress?
- Why not?
There's quite a few heiresses among the
missing cases in the last twenty years.
And you might be any one of them.
I think I'll write a feature about that.
Well, I must be going.
Don't forget.
You are to be at the paper at noon.
Let me see her.
I tell you she is my cousin.
She's not. I used to
know her in Milwaukee.
She ran away with a tree surgeon.
They're keeping me from my daughter.
Yeah. She's my sister. I ought to know.
I ought to know my own
first wife, oughtn't I?
Where will you have her, McGraw?
- Over there. Right over there.
Fine. Right in here now.
- Mr Durstin.
Before I see anyone I
must tell you something.
Alright. Let's get started.
What was that?
I have remembered something.
- You have?
What is it?
Baba.
Go on. Go on.
Baba.
What's the matter?
Did you forget it again?
No. That's it.
Baba.
What in blazes is the sense
in remembering Baba?
It doesn't mean a thing.
But it must mean something.
I've a feeling it's terribly important.
How could it be?
Baba.
It doesn't make sense.
Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?
Shut up!
Hey, you!
I've seen you trying to sneak in here.
- But I've been waiting for hours.
Back out there before I brain you.
- But I must see this girl. I know her.
Oh, yeah? I suppose she's
your long-lost mother.
Get out!
I suddenly remember
something else besides...
Baba.
Well?
I see a circus.
Holy Ike.
Hold on a minute, boss.
Hey, Hiller. What have you
got in your files on Baba?
Baba?
That's right. B-a, B-a.
Call me right back.
Andy.
Get me the files on Baba.
B-a-b-a. And make it snappy.
I've got a feeling this
may lead to something.
A circus.
Baba.
Don't you start doing that.
Circus.
Baba.
Baba. Circus.
- Baba.
Baba.
- Oh no.
Yeah, Hiller?
I've got three Babas.
There's a Turkish mind reader who
cut up his assistant with an axe.
"He claimed he read her mind and..."
That's no good.
Then there is...
Baba the gorilla that was brought
over from Africa for the Bronx zoo.
What is the third?
There's a nurse called Baba.
Who was in the Burden case.
That's it. I thought I remembered it.
The Burden case.
Burden.
Burden.
Yeah, The nurse took the Burden
kid to the circus and lost it.
They never found...
- Bring me that file.
Well, my dear. It was a lucky
thing you remembered Baba.
Is it important?
- Important?
Baldwin.
Tell them to hold that
front page for a re-plate.
Now we've got a real story.
What time did Burden's
secretary say he'd be here?
"Any minute now, sir."
- Good.
Frankly, gentlemen.
I'm as excited as a little boy.
Reunited after seventeen long years.
The rich but lonely old man.
And the wandering waif
with the golden curls.
I'm a little nervous.
- I wonder what he'll say.
Why, he won't say a word.
He will look at her
and hold out his arms...
And his voice will break.
As the tears stream down his
weather-beaten old cheeks.
Why weather-beaten?
- Why not?
Shut up.
You don't have to be a
rewrite man all the time.
"Mr Cornelius Burden is here, sir."
Good. Send him in.
Get that camera ready.
Gentlemen, this is a great moment.
A sacred moment.
Now, which one of you
muckraking buzzards is Durstin?
He is.
You are Durstin, huh?
Well, Durstin.
I broke Benell of Amalgamated Copper.
I turned Burrell of the SL&V
into a shaking old man.
And by everything that's holy,
I'll break you like a dry twig.
You won't need me
anymore will you, boss?
No, no.
Get out of here.
Durstin.
I will put you in jail.
Come, Mr Burden.
Don't try appealing to my mercy.
I've got none.
Hold on, Mr Burden.
I don't think you understand.
I understand. You've been part of
a criminal conspiracy to defraud.
But Mr Burden, all I've done is to try
to help you recover your daughter.
All you've done Mr Durstin is to
print a story without verification...
Without substantiating evidence
and without consulting my client.
But I've got evidence.
I've got proof.
This girl has amnesia.
And the only thing she
remembers is... Baba.
Baba.
What kind of proof do you call that?
There must be forty thousand nurses
in this country named Baba.
But she remembers the circus too.
Circus.
What do you think of that?
Well, you got me there.
I forgot that my child was the only one
in the world who'd ever seen a circus.
You beer barrel.
If you had the decency
to consult Mr Burden...
He'd tell you he has a method
of identifying his daughter.
He has?
You have?
- Certainly.
My child's nurse Baba.
Still lives with me.
She's interviewed hundreds of these
phony girls in the last 15 years.
And exposed every one of them.
And she will expose this one too.
And when she does I promise you...
I'll prosecute you to the
full extent of the law.
Then I'll find out who
this girl really is.
And I'll put her in the penitentiary
too under her real name.
Well, let's get started.
Wait.
He's not my father.
For heaven's sake, Miss Burden.
And don't call me Miss Burden.
But you don't remember anything.
Remember?
- That's right.
Then what makes you say
that he's not your father?
Well.
His face.
What about my face?
If I'd ever seen a face like that
before I know I'd remember it.
It's the kind of face
you couldn't forget.
Especially if you've been
exposed to it as a child.
Now you don't want to go home
with Mr Burden, do you?
I don't want to and I'm not going to.
Well young lady, in my opinion that
constitutes an admission of guilt.
If you wish to prefer charges of
conspiracy in this I think they'll hold.
Shall I phone the district attorney?
By all means.
- Now wait a minute.
Look, my dear. You can't do this to me.
Unless you cooperate Mr Burden has
the right to think you hide something.
Some guilty plan.
In which you share.
- I do not.
Don't you understand?
You have to go with him.
District attorney's office?
Hold on please.
Well?
Alright.
I'll go.
But if I turn out to be your daughter...
I'm going to run away from home.
And I'll help you.
Good luck, my dear.
- She needs more than luck. So do you.
Jimmy, see she doesn't try to get away.
- Who are you?
He is my bodyguard but I'm lending
him to you for the time being.
Peggy.
Peggy.
Mamie. Mamie.
What do you mean, Mamie you drip?
Why, Mamie is the only
girl I ever loved.
Take this lady to my study
and see she stays there.
I'll take your things.
She is here, Baba.
I brought her with me.
Well, let's get it over with.
- There's no need to be in such a tizzy.
Here.
Turn around.
Oh.
Keep still, Master Cornelius.
For heaven sakes, this is no time for...
- Well, you are getting fatter.
I am not.
- You are.
I shall have to add some more stitches.
Alright.
You can do that any time.
- You need a sweater.
You're always catching cold.
Will you please forget about
me and concentrate on her?
There's no need for shouting,
Master Cornelius.
I'm not deaf. Yet.
Well.
What's this amnesia victim like?
She's prettier than the others but...
Of course, she's more of a problem.
Folderol.
I'll soon show her up.
Come on.
Quit that yapping.
Hey.
Uhuh.
Come here.
Well.
This is Baba.
How do you do.
- Remember this room?
I don't remember anything.
- Hah.
Shush.
Carol Burden had a toy in this room
which she loved more than any other.
Always carried it around with her.
All day long.
Even slept with it at night.
Which one was it?
I don't know.
Didn't he tell you? I have amnesia.
Amnesia or no amnesia.
If you don't get the right toy...
I'm going to hammer away at you
until I find out who you really are.
That's unreasonable.
Sure it is.
Hold your tongue, Master Cornelius.
Look around you.
Take your time.
"Well. This is the end alright."
"What chance have I got of
picking out the right toy?"
"Why, the odds are about a 100-1."
"Well, I guess I might as well
confess and get it over with."
"Wait a minute."
"If I confess I'll go to jail."
"Oh, I wish I were back
in Hotchkiss Falls."
"Think. Think."
"Whatever that toy is..."
"They must have just taken it out of
that little safe behind the picture."
"That means it couldn't
be any of the big ones."
"Well, that's something."
"But gosh, at least half of them are
small enough to fit in the safe."
"I wish I were back in Hotchkiss Falls."
"Say."
"All the toys in the window."
"They're faded from
standing in the sun."
"Which means it couldn't be there."
"It wouldn't get faded lying in a safe."
"The odds are going down.
They are going down."
"But I still wish I were
back in Hotchkiss Falls."
"Gosh, that's hot."
"Hot."
"That means the toys must be hot too."
"Unless."
"Unless one of them was just put there
and hasn't had time to warm up yet."
[ Squeak ]
"Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot."
"Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot."
"Golly, they're all hot."
"The right one is not here."
"Too big. Too big. Too big."
"Too big."
"Anyway, the odds are lower."
"There is only this bunch
of the darned things left."
"What was it Baba said?"
"She even slept with that toy at night."
"If she slept with it then
it can't be that car."
"Or the tin soldiers."
"Or that merry-go-round."
"They wouldn't let her take those to bed
with her. She would scratch herself."
"And it couldn't be the violin."
"Or the Easter egg."
"Or the doll's house.
It would be all broken."
Well, young lady.
It seems to me you have had
more than enough time.
Just one minute more please.
I seem to remember something.
"The only two left.
These two little dolls."
"I can't choose."
"It's got to be one of them, but ..."
"Which?"
"Well, I've got to take a chance."
"A 50/50 chance is as good a chance
is as any gambler could ask for."
"And I've got to gamble."
"That one."
"No. That one."
"No. That one."
"No."
"That one."
"Oh, make up your mind."
Carol.
My baby.
My little baby.
My darling.
How can you ever forgive me?
What is it, darling?
Tell Baba.
Nothing.
It's just that it's so frightening
to suddenly have a father you...
You don't even know.
Listen, honey.
I've always been afraid that if
I ever did find you I would...
You'd be such a stranger
that you wouldn't...
Want me and need me.
But now that you don't remember
anything that's happened to you...
You are like a little child.
And you do need me.
Oh, honey.
It's been a lot more than finding the
little girl who used to be my girl.
I really found my kid again.
Open her up.
Just like that, huh?
This is the Burden residence, isn't it?
Yeah. And this iron
contraption here is a gate.
Look.
I've important business
with someone in here.
I know. But they don't want
any vacuum cleaners.
It only takes a minute if you open up.
All appointments are made by letter.
No appointment, no dice.
Now, go on and beat it.
- Have a heart, will you?
The Star was right after all.
I wonder how they knew
she was Carol Burden.
They identified her with a toy.
- I wish I'd a picture of it.
Picking out a toy after 17 years.
Quite a memory.
- That's normal.
A favorite toy is a thing you remember.
- Yeah. I guess so.
Allow me, General.
Hey, I thought said to get
that thing out of here.
Look at that.
Hey. You can't do this to me.
Let me in. I must see
Carol Burden immediately.
Just a moment.
Hold on to that guy, Derek.
Jimmy. Jimmy.
Let me go.
How did he get here?
What did you say, dear?
Oh. Nothing.
I think somebody is trying to get in.
It's probably some crazy reporter.
Jimmy will take care of it.
Come on, dear.
What if he should come back?
- Now don't worry. He won't.
You mustn't be frightened.
It is all over.
I can't wait for this.
I'm so excited and happy.
Happy, are you?
For the first time in seventeen years
I think I know what you really mean.
You are an angel.
"Gosh."
"If Mitzi could only see me now."
"Wanting me to stay in Hotchkiss
Falls the rest of my life."
"To wait for a guy called Johnny who
would make me laugh at nothing."
"Well, I got better things
to laugh at than nothing."
"I wish Mr Burden hadn't
turned out to be so nice."
"That's what makes me feel so bad."
"I have got to stop that."
"Why, I'm the luckiest
soda-jerk who ever lived."
Can I borrow your glasses for a moment?
Peggy Evans.
Peggy Evans.
Peggy Evans!
What's the matter, Carol?
I thought I heard someone calling.
The acoustics in here are wonderful.
Peggy Evans.
Cut out that racket and
give me back my glasses.
He is going to fall.
No, he isn't.
No. I think they got him.
Are you alright?
There's a bar in the lobby.
What did it feel like
hanging from the gallery?
Hurry up with that double Scotch.
Does that answer your question?
Say, if you had fallen off that thing.
I bet you'd have crushed a
few people in the orchestra.
Yeah. If I had been in the mood.
You got it?
I beg your pardon.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you.
Bartender, another double
Scotch for the gentleman.
Thanks.
- Not at all.
I merely wanted to ask you...
Did you really hang from
the gallery? And if so, why?
I got restless.
Quite. A pity I missed it.
I've attended concerts for years.
And never found anyone
to resent them properly.
In the next act I hang by my teeth.
I wish you would. I hate music.
And like acrobats.
Aha.
There she is.
Oh yes. That is the Burden girl.
A charming little thing.
They say she has a spot of amnesia.
That can't be Carol Burden.
Yet now I look at her...
Oh gosh.
Cheer up, old boy. It is Carol Burden.
No. I can't go through that again.
Not sleeping. Not eating.
My dear fellow, it is Carol Burden.
- Don't say that.
How would you feel if you suddenly found
a girl you thought you hadn't drowned...
Turned out to be drowned after all?
Awkward.
I should imagine.
I don't believe it.
I won't believe it.
She can't fool me with
her blond hair and...
Everything.
And I'll prove it isn't.
- Isn't what?
I say, come back.
And a lemonade.
- Right away, sir.
Peggy.
I didn't kill her.
I didn't kill her.
The man is mad.
- Peggy.
Peggy.
Do you know this person?
- Well...
Why, I haven't the
faintest idea who he is.
Jimmy.
You are lying, Peggy. You know you are.
I scarcely know him.
Are you alright, dear?
Yes. Yes, I am alright.
I ought to have him arrested.
I think I will.
- No, no.
No. Don't do that.
Let's not make any more of a scene.
Did you see what she did?
She hit me below the belt.
- No, old boy.
I may be wrong but it seems to
me he's the one who hit you.
While of course should
know where he hit you.
It didn't look low to me.
- She lied. She knows me.
I know by how she reacted.
Don't brood about it, old boy.
Lots more fish in the sea.
She isn't drowned. She never was.
I didn't mean it like that.
Really I didn't.
She's a phony. That's what she is.
Carol Burden, my eye.
She hasn't any more amnesia than I have.
Are you sure you haven't
got amnesia or something?
How about a spot to eat? Waiter.
There you are, Cornelius.
I've looked all over for you.
We must get back, Amanda.
My dears, just don't move.
Stay right where you are.
Yes.
Yes. She is the image of you.
Isn't she, Reggie?
- Yes, indeed.
Only much prettier.
I'll have a chicken sandwich on
rye and a double Scotch and soda.
And what will you have?
- I'll take the rubber plant.
You mean eggplant, sir?
- I mean 'rubber' plant.
That one.
You can't eat a rubber plant, sir.
I wouldn't put it past him. Not at all.
I don't want to eat it.
It has got her fingerprints on it.
- I know exactly how you feel.
Now, how about a nice chicken sandwich?
- I want that plant.
Here.
I say. Don't leave me.
A pencil.
Pencil, pencil, pencil.
I say, what are you up to?
I'm going to take these
fingerprints one by one.
And wrap them around
her lilywhite throat.
Got it.
A wonderful fellow.
Hurry.
- Wait a minute.
There you are, my dear.
Oh... it's beautiful.
Much too beautiful.
Not for you, Carol.
Don't go messing up her
hair, Master Cornelius.
Not a hair out of place.
Baba, fix my tie please.
- Let me do it.
Nervous?
- Well.
A little excited I guess.
I've never been given a party before.
I mean, I don't think I have.
Stuff and nonsense I call it.
Giving her a dance.
Keeping her up long after her bedtime.
She isn't a child any longer Baba.
After all, it's high time she
met young men in her own set.
We can't be selfish and try
to keep her all to ourselves.
You spend seventeen years looking for
her and now you want to get rid of her.
That's a foul lie.
Don't you swear at me, Master Cornelius.
Or you'll spend the
evening in your room.
Now stop it you two.
Nobody is going to get rid of me.
I'm going to stay right here.
There.
That's not going to be easy, Carol,
once the young men get a look at you.
I'll have something to say about that.
- Why, of course you will.
Dance with all of them.
Look them all over.
Don't go putting ideas into her head.
Don't worry Baba. I promise you
faithfully I won't get married.
Until I find someone as nice as father.
Thanks, honey.
Well if you do, I hope you find
someone with more sense.
Thanks, buddy.
Why don't you watch where you are going?
Come on, come on. Get busy.
Me?
Yes, you. Fill these up.
Then pass them around.
And hurry.
- Yes, sir.
Right away, sir. Coming up, sir.
I'm afraid you're not going to be able
to keep Carol very long, Cornelius.
Why shouldn't I keep her?
The men are buzzing around
her like bees round a hive.
That's the fourth time she's
danced with young Loring.
The fourth time? It is?
Maybe it's the fifth.
Excuse me.
I've got to talk with Dickie.
Growing up in Brooklyn.
Excuse me.
Scram, brother wolf. Scram you.
- Why, you...
It's my father.
I'm terribly sorry, sir.
I thought it was the other wolf.
I am terribly sorry.
I thought it was the other...
That's alright, but you can
give the other boys a chance.
Oh, I just love champagne.
Oh, thank you so much.
Hey.
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
Ah, you do remember me.
- Jimmy.
You know who I am now?
- Jimmy.
Don't you?
- Go away. He's crazy.
Don't you?
I thought you were going to do that.
What's going on here?
- It's that madman again.
Throw him out.
I don't leave without my wife.
- Your wife?
Yes, Mr Burden. She is my wife.
- You're crazy.
You know as well me I'm not your...
What were you going to say, Carol?
Do you remember?
No, father. I don't.
That's the heaviest part about it.
For all I know, it might be true.
Of course it's true.
Excuse me. I'll take her
home where she belongs.
Just a minute, young man.
Come with me please.
When I got home she'd disappeared.
I was desperate until I saw
her picture in the paper.
I left Hotchkiss Falls immediately.
When I went to claim her,
she'd left with you.
Since then, I think you know
how hard I tried to get to her.
If it hadn't been for the publicity
I'd have gone to the police.
And that's the whole story.
Now dear, get your things
and we'll trot along.
Thanks Mr Burden for
taking good care of her.
Never mind that, young man.
And take your hands off my daughter.
But she is my...
- I know. She's your wife.
But If you don't mind we won't
just take your word for it.
We'd like a little proof.
Proof?
- Yes. Proof.
That's right. Let's see your proof.
If you have any.
Oh, proof.
Our marriage certificate.
Marriage certificate?
Sad, isn't it? All her
beautiful memories gone.
She doesn't even remember
our marriage certificate.
She was so excited when she signed it...
She poked her finger in the
inkwell instead of the pen.
Look.
There. Doesn't that
bring it all back to you?
No, it doesn't. And I don't
believe I ever saw it before.
You claim this is her fingerprint?
- Yes. I just told you.
In that case we settle this immediately.
We'll compare your fingerprint
with the one on the certificate.
Oh, that's a wonderful idea.
I never thought about that.
- I'll bet you didn't.
Right forefinger I presume?
- That's right I think.
You're sure I wasn't left-handed
when I was married to you?
Quite sure.
Why...
This is awful.
These prints are identical.
A lucky thing for me, that fingerprint.
You folks were sure hard to convince.
This doesn't seem fair. I only had one
daughter and now I've lost her twice.
Sorry, Mr Burden. It had to come out
sometime. Peggy is not your daughter.
What do you mean, she isn't my daughter?
Why, of course she is.
This proves she married you but
doesn't prove she's not my daughter.
But...
She is Peggy Evans.
This girl is my daughter
whatever her name was.
I couldn't be mistaken about that.
But how did she get the
name of Peggy Evans?
That's the question.
I don't know.
The people who raised her know.
Where are they?
I don't know exactly.
How could he know? The whole thing
is a fake and a frame-up. It must be.
Darling, don't get excited.
You know it affects you.
She breaks out in a rash. All over.
Oh.
You mean to say you don't know
anything of your wife's background?
Well. You see...
She had amnesia when I met her.
What's more, it recurred.
It kept happening on and off.
Why, once I came home late at night.
I got into bed and kissed her.
She gave me a friendly
smile and then said...
Who are you?
It was the friendly smile
that burned me up.
Oh, how can you?
I'm sorry, darling. But Mr Burden
has a right to know all about you.
Then one time I was taking a bath and...
- Spare us the details, Mr Stuart.
What town did you meet Carol in?
Hotchkiss Falls. Where we go now.
Come, lamb chop.
- Let me alone.
I'm going with you.
- What for?
Don't you realise what all this means?
At last we have a clue to your past.
We return to Hotchkiss Falls...
And trace what happened
since the day I lost you.
Oh no.
Of course we can.
We... we can find all the
people who knew you.
I want to find out all about your
past so I can protect your future.
Bob.
I want to speak to my father alone.
I'll bet you do.
Will you wait outside?
Out there for me. Please.
Alright.
Hurry though, dear.
You know we've a long ride ahead of us.
Father. That man is not my husband.
Call it women's intuition if you
want but somehow I know.
But what about the marriage
certificate and the fingerprints here?
Can't fingerprints be faked?
Maybe. But how would he get your
fingerprints if he never saw you before?
Why would a man make up such a story?
I don't know.
All I know is what I've told you.
Believe me. He's lying.
In that case I phone the police.
- No, no.
Let's not do that.
I've a better plan.
I'll go to Hotchkiss
Falls with Mr Stuart.
But you mustn't come along.
Just the two of us.
And then I can find out
what this is all about.
Do you think I'm insane?
To let you go away alone with a man
who you feel isn't your husband?
Don't you see, if I'm alone with him...
I can find out everything.
I can trap him.
Because he won't suspect anything.
But it would be different if you were
along because he would be on his guard.
But Carol, if I were to let you go and
something happened to you, why...
Why, I would kill myself.
But nothing will happen. I promise you.
Well, then. Maybe...
- Thank you, darling.
I knew you would understand.
Well, don't forget one thing.
If anything happens.
If he bothers you in any way...
You phone me immediately.
I'll sleep with my clothes on.
Alright, father.
And do be careful.
Please.
I will.
And father.
- Yes, dear?
I love you so much.
I'll be ready to go
with you in a minute.
What about Mr Burden?
- He isn't coming.
Oh?
That's too bad.
Please don't hate me.
I didn't mean to be a runaway wife.
I'll try to make up for all
the trouble I caused you.
And I'm sure I...
I'll learn to love you again.
Soon.
Hello. Long distance.
I want to get Hotchkiss Falls
information please.
When I think what I've gone
through on account of you.
Well, would you feel better
if you told me about it?
Don't worry about my feelings. I feel
fine now I have you where I want you.
Where do you want me?
- Hotchkiss Falls.
So they see you're not drowned.
- Drowned?
I don't remember being drowned.
I mean...
Why should I be drowned?
On account of the phony
suicide note you left.
Everybody at the store
thought I drove you to it.
My, that must have been awkward.
Not at all. It was a pleasure.
Not being able to sleep
night after night.
Tortured into thinking myself a...
A murderer.
I did all that to you?
No. That's only half of it.
Then you lost me my job.
So, you're taking me back to Hotchkiss
Falls just to get your job back, huh?
Just for that. Selfish of me, isn't it.
You sound as if you don't even like me.
- I don't like you.
Well, if that's the way you feel, I...
I suppose we had better get divorced.
Divorced?
Oh, I get it.
You are still trying to make
that amnesia gag stick.
I guess it is... your best out at that.
Out? Out of what?
Okay. We will play it your way.
You have got amnesia
and you are my wife.
You mean...
You mean I'm not your wife?
Now whatever put the idea
in your pretty little head?
I am hungry.
Me too, come to think of it.
Look. There's a place.
Alright. If it doesn't take too long.
Be sure to hurry back.
We're always happy to...
Good evening, folks. Come right in.
Always open. Always ready to serve.
Let's remove our coats.
- I only want a sandwich.
That's alright.
Make yourselves right at home.
There you are.
Order me a hamburger and coffee.
Like I always have, dear.
No onions. I'll be right back.
And what will yours be?
It's just that it's so embarrassing.
Suppose you didn't
remember me at all and...
Suddenly you found you
were married to me?
Wouldn't you be scared?
I think you know pretty well there
is nothing to be scared about.
I don't believe you.
I think you are scared right now.
Me? Ha-ha.
You haven't even kissed me yet.
Kissed you?
- Kissed me.
You want me to?
Well, isn't it customary
among husbands and wives?
Not at all.
It might help us to
get better acquainted.
Yes. It ought to do that.
Why it...
Does sort-of scare you, doesn't it.
Well, I feel better acquainted now.
Don't you?
I just feel better.
Tell me about us, Bob.
Were we very happy?
I think we must have been.
Bob.
Was I a good wife?
Ideal.
What is your ideal?
Well, she's to think I'm smarter
than anybody else in the world.
And stronger and better looking.
And she has to love to dance with me.
What else?
She has to be happy
with what we have got.
Instead of discontented
with what we haven't got.
And what do you do
in return for all of that?
Nothing.
That's what makes it so ideal.
Well, I can't imagine any
girl living up to that ideal.
She could if she loved me.
Well, I guess I've a lot
to learn about love.
It's possible.
You are going to teach me, aren't you?
Everything I know is at your disposal.
Where do we begin?
First, we dance.
There is our food.
- Let's not sit down.
Alright. We'll have a picnic dance.
- Right.
What are you laughing at?
Nothing. Nothing.
Look at me. I am laughing at nothing.
You don't feel dizzy do you?
Johnny.
Bob.
I'm not Johnny.
No.
I guess not.
It isn't reasonable.
It certainly isn't.
You had better finish your sandwich.
Yeah.
Let's dance.
Why don't you look where you are going?
I'd better get us where we're going.
Hotchkiss Falls. Come on.
Oh.
You sure you still want
to go to Hotchkiss Falls?
You bet.
Of course.
I forgot you want your job back.
That's right.
- Well, let's go.
[ Engine not starting ]
That's silly of me.
I forgot to turn the key on.
I guess it's a little cold.
That's funny.
There's plenty of gas.
Are we having trouble
with our car, folks?
Yes. Is there any place around
here I can get this thing fixed?
Well, there's an all-night garage.
There is?
- Yep.
But it closed at twelve.
Well, we'll have to sleep
right here I guess.
Make a pillow for me, Bob.
I don't think that will be very
comfortable. For either of us.
Sure it won't.
I got just one room left at the motel.
Motel? What motel?
Right over there. I run that too.
That is wonderful.
We couldn't stop there.
- Why not, darling?
We'll be ever so much more
cosy than in the car.
But we can't do that.
Of course we can, dear.
I'm sure it won't be expensive.
You see, it's sort-of our wedding night.
Now ain't that something.
I'll take care of your baggage.
Thank you. Come on, Bob. It's late.
Bobby.
Coming, dear.
I'm just going to lock up.
Well, it's beautiful.
There you are.
How much will it be?
I'll pay in advance.
$3:50. Use all the water you want.
Isn't it cosy, Bob?
I've done a terrible thing.
What's the matter?
I haven't any more money.
No money?
Have you looked in your pockets?
I can't figure it out. I had a couple of
bucks right here but now they're gone.
Come, darling. I guess we'll have
to sit in the car all night after all.
Oh dear.
That won't be much like
a wedding night, will it.
Now ain't this a crying shame.
Yep. It is certainly tough.
Wait. Come back.
You can have the room tonight.
But that's wonderful.
We haven't any money.
- Oh, forget it.
I'll charge a little to
building maintenance.
A little to overheads.
The rest to Mr Popper in bungalow 5.
We couldn't accept anything like that.
You've got to.
I couldn't sleep right if you didn't.
Well, you're a darling.
Yeah.
You are a sweetheart.
Look at me.
Just standing here.
Well, goodnight.
Don't hurry off, old man.
Yes, yes. We've kept you up long enough.
Goodnight.
Goodnight.
Isn't this better than spending
the night in the car, Bobbykins?
I think I'll get into
something comfortable.
Peggy.
- Yes?
Do you know how to play cribbage?
No. I don't.
You must teach me.
Sometime.
Look. Don't you think this
has gone far enough?
Far enough for what?
- Under the circumstances.
Maybe I'd better go.
Tell you what, I'll take another room.
- There are no other rooms.
Besides, I doubt
Mr Popper can afford it.
Yes, but...
- I'll only be a minute.
She can't bluff me.
What am I, a man or a mouse?
Mouse.
Man.
I think I'll get into
something comfortable too.
You have to answer me one question.
In the the concert bar, when I called
you Peggy, you were frightened to death.
Weren't you? Answer me.
Yes. Yes.
- Why?
Well, you sneaked up behind
me and shouted in my ear.
You would be frightened too.
But you recognised me. Don't deny it.
You knew me when you saw me.
How do you explain that?
I had seen you before.
So you admit it.
Sure. It was that day at father's.
You were with the reporters
and Jimmy punched you.
I saw you from the hall.
I thought you were crazy. So when I
saw you again naturally I was scared.
You don't remember me
from Hotchkiss Falls?
No.
But what's the difference?
Come to bed, darling. It's late.
Oh.
I made a terrible mistake.
I'm not your husband.
I don't understand.
That's all there is to it. I am...
Not your husband at all.
But.
But you must be. That...
That marriage certificate.
That was a forgery. A fake.
I thought you were a fake too.
Ah!
I'll take you home to your
father in the morning.
Just one more thing.
You are Carol Burden alright.
You are not Peggy Evans.
How do you know?
- Because Peggy Evans was a...
Whining little coward
afraid to face life.
She was hysterical and selfish.
You are the finest and bravest
girl there ever was.
You were willing to accept me,
a complete stranger, as your husband.
You left your home and your father to
come with me as you felt it was right.
You're the most wonderful
girl I ever knew.
That's all.
"Last month she left a suicide note
and evidently drowned herself."
"She had a run-in with
the boss at the store."
"A man named Robert Stuart."
"Anything else, Mr Burden?"
- No.
No. That's all I wanted to know.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I'll mail you a check for your trouble.
Have you heard anything?
Master Cornelius.
Answer when you're spoken to.
Have you heard anything?
Hello?
Hello. Yes.
Yes. This is the Burden residence.
Who?
What?
Well, what have you done with Carol?
Where is she?
At Swade's Motel. About six miles past
Huntsville on the Albany Post road.
Will Mr Burden come for her right away?
No. She's perfectly alright.
I'll explain everything
when he gets here.
I must get Carol. Right away.
Something has happened.
I know it is something awful. Come on.
What's the matter, Master Cornelius?
It is your daughter I'm speaking about.
She's with that fiend in a motel.
Do you ever want to see your
daughter again or don't you?
Yes. I want to see her alright.
I want to see her very much indeed.
Did I wake you?
No. I wasn't asleep.
Just thinking with my eyes closed.
What time is it?
- Six-thirty.
Well, what woke you up so early?
I haven't been sleeping either.
I was thinking with my eyes open.
Bob.
You'll feel better when
your father gets here.
Why should he come here?
I phoned your house after
I left you last night.
I thought you'd want to get rid
of me as soon as possible.
He ought to be here in a minute.
Please don't do that.
I know I did a terrible
thing to you but...
I can't stand seeing you cry.
That isn't why I'm crying.
No?
I'm crying because I'm never
going to see you again.
You want to keep on seeing
me after what I've done?
Yes. I do.
Why?
Because I'm crazy about you.
You can't be. That's impossible.
It is not.
It isn't?
No.
Gosh. That's what I've been
thinking about all night.
Thinking how it could
never happen. Thinking...
What a fool I was to
even think about it.
But now you...
- No. Don't touch me.
Sorry. I guess I'm hearing things.
But you said you're crazy about me.
I did say it.
Well, I am right. You did say it.
Carol, will you please hold still.
Here.
What do I want that for?
I took this off your car last
night when we arrived.
That's why you mustn't touch me.
Ever.
What's that got to do with us?
Carol, can't you see that...
You took that off my car last night?
Why?
Answer me. Why?
Because...
I am Peggy Evans.
I couldn't go on cheating you.
I know what you'll think of me.
That I'm a whining little
coward afraid to face life.
But I had to tell you all the same.
Take your hands off that thing.
Well, I was only trying to help.
Go away.
Not until you've heard
what I have to say.
Bob.
I am not asking you
to even like me again.
I just want you to know that
I am not what you think.
I didn't mean to make you lose your job.
How could I have known about that?
I didn't mean to steal
anything from Mr Burden.
Honestly.
I am...
I'm not a cheat or a crook.
I was... just lonesome.
And I didn't have sense enough
to wait until you came along.
How could I have known that you...
You were what I was lonesome for.
You are right.
I'm not even worth listening to.
Every instinct I have tells me I
ought to beat you over the head.
Every instinct but one.
I couldn't hate you, darling.
Unless you turned out to
be a female impersonator.
And I'll bet you my bottom
dollar you are not.
Oh, Carol.
Peggy. Whatever your name is.
Darling.
- Yes, Bob?
You've got grease all over your face.
Bob.
I'm so sorry.
So terribly sorry.
It's not your fault.
I put it there. Hold still.
But I don't mean the grease.
I mean for everything I've done.
How could I have done it?
How could I have done it?
- Don't be unhappy, darling.
I forgive you.
Of course you forgive me.
If you love someone,
what else can you do?
Bob.
You are going to wait
for me, aren't you?
Why? Where are you going?
To jail.
To jail? That's silly.
You don't know Mr Burden.
He's sweet but he has a terrible temper.
If I tell him the truth he won't rest.
No. You're wrong. I won't let you.
I won't let him see you.
I'll keep him out.
- Keep who out?
My baby.
Are you alright?
Yes... I'm fine.
- Shut up.
I mean, shut up dear.
She hasn't been feeling well. Perhaps if
you came back later? Tomorrow sometime?
Don't listen to him. I'm alright.
- She's had a spell or something.
It isn't serious.
Nothing to worry about.
My poor angel. What's he done to you?
Nothing really.
He just says that because
he loves me and I love him.
He is trying to protect me.
The poor crazed thing.
Oh, be quiet. Let her talk.
No, no. I'm not trying to protect her.
She's trying to protect me.
I forged the marriage certificate and
made a rubber stamp of her fingerprints.
I'm not her husband at all.
- You fiend.
Why'd you do it?
I thought she was someone else.
A girl I once knew. Peggy Evans.
But she's dead.
- When did you discover that?
I always knew it.
I was responsible. I mean...
It's no use, Bob. You can't stop me.
I...
I...
I don't know how to start.
Whatever she says, it's a lie.
Go on.
I can't even believe myself that
I could have been as rotten.
And as contemptible and
as heartless as I have.
I know you won't forgive me.
That's out of the question.
I would rather die than
hurt you like this.
I know you won't believe it.
But I do love you.
You're an angel.
And I would give anything in
the world if you were my father.
But you are not.
I am not Carol.
I never was.
I am Peggy Evans.
Please. Please, both of you.
I'm telling the truth.
You must believe me.
Bob, tell them I am Peggy Evans.
Why should I? I don't believe you are.
Neither do I.
But...
I guess I ought to know my own daughter.
We're going to Hotchkiss Falls.
- No, my dear. We're going home.
I'll get your things.
But I can't go on lying
the rest of my life.
I can't go on cheating.
Carol, wash your mouth out with soap.
Now is as good a time as any.
Now come along.
Please. You must believe me.
Now listen to me.
Stop the snivelling, Peggy Evans.
Then you do believe me, Baba?
- Of course I do.
Then you will tell father.
I mean, Mr Burden.
I'll tell your father nothing.
Besides, he knows it anyway.
But he's not my father.
What do you mean, he knows it anyway?
I can read Master Cornelius like a book.
Now I look back.
I think he knew it before
he came over here.
What?
Why didn't he just say so?
- Two reasons.
It would kill him to admit
that he'd been fooled.
And it would kill him to give you up.
He wants me to go on being his daughter?
If you had a lick of
sense you'd see that.
You'd know what he said out there
was just his way of forgiving you.
Someday he'll come right out
with it. But don't try to force it.
He can be awfully stubborn sometimes.
But how can he want me?
I don't belong.
- Stuff and nonsense.
You've made him happier than
he's been for seventeen years.
That is belonging.
I'm gone. Show him what you are made of.
If I can just believe that...
- You can.
Get.
Do you hate me, Baba?
Don't be silly.
Do you still want me
to go home with you?
Of course I do if you want to come.
Do you?
Well.
I'd like to see anybody try to stop me.
Hey, what about me?
Yeah. What about him?
I love him.
Well, that's a fine how-do-you-do.
I can't help it.
- Well...
If I've got a daughter I might as well
saddle myself with a son-in-law.
Just one big happy family.
Well, if you're going to start
building a family at your age...
You'd better get going.
I'll give you just three minutes.
Oh, Johnny.
The name is 'Bob', Carol.
The name is 'Peggy', Johnny.
Maybe we had better just
call each Mr and Mrs?
Maybe talking about all this
is just a waste of time.
..f-s..