Taste of Fear (1961) Movie Script
Yes.
You're going to break a sweat, my dear.
Yes.
Hello! Hoffmann!
Five meters to the left.
To the left!
- What did he say?
- Five meters to the left.
Oh, left, right, up, down,
there's always something else.
- What is it?
- Come on! Help me.
- Yeas, yes.
- Help me.
Miss appleby? Yes.
My name's Robert.
I'm your father's chauffeur.
I'm afraid your father
couldn't come.
- On va Porter les bagages, mademoiselle?
- Merci.
J'espere que vous avez fait
un tres bon voyage, mademoiselle.
Merci. Vous tiez tres gentil.
Dans le coffre.
Oh, I'll do that.
Do you know why my father
didn't come to meet me?
- Ah, he's away, miss.
- He's not at the house?
No, miss.
He went away four days ago.
Where to?
I didn't even know he was going until
your mother told me he'd already left.
She's my stepmother.
I've never met her.
No, you haven't.
What's she like?
- Well, miss, it's hardly my position...
- Please.
- She's my employer's wife, miss.
- What's she like as a person?
I don't know her as a person.
You must know something about her.
You drive her, don't you?
Only occasionally. She usually drives
herself, or has dr Gerrard drive her.
- Who's he?
- He's your father's doctor.
- He's always up at the house.
- I didn't know my father was ill.
- I'm sorry, I shouldn't...
- What's wrong with him?
- I thought you'd have known that.
- No, I didn't know anything.
Oh, he's been ill for some time now.
That's what surprised me when...
- When what?
- Oh, it doesn't matter, miss.
You haven't been to France
for a long time, I understand.
Ten years.
What's wrong with my father?
Don't know, miss. But whatever
it was, it must be all right now.
Otherwise, he wouldn't
have gone away.
When will he be back?
Mrs appleby didn't say.
Hello, penny. Welcome home.
- Jane?
- You sound surprised.
- Aren't I as you imagined?
- I'm sorry. I must sound rude.
Not a bit. Oh, take it through
to the hall, Robert,
and then come back
for miss appleby.
- Was your journey terribly tiring?
- Not very.
It must've been quite a strain.
You haven't travelled much, have you?
- No, I haven't. But it was exciting.
- Good.
Careful, Robert.
The steps are quite
a problem, I'm afraid.
But we put ramp things
down wherever we can.
I didn't think you'd want
to use the front door much.
We've put you
in one of your father's rooms.
He uses it as a sitting room
and a study.
Fetch the cases, Robert.
It's very convenient, though.
It has its own bathroom.
- Up we go.
- Oh!
It looks nice.
I made your father buy new curtains
and a couple of extra chairs.
You've no idea how
dark everything was.
Men always want to furnish their
studies like victorian mausoleums.
Jane, where is father?
Oh, I'm terribly sorry, darling.
It was unavoidable.
He simply had to go away on this
business deal that he's working on.
I tried to stop him,
but you know what your father is.
No, I'm afraid I don't.
I haven't seen him for ten years.
I don't know if I'd
recognise him if I saw him.
Well, I've taken care of that.
Look, taken a month ago.
- Yes, I would've recognised him.
- Of course you would.
Oh, bring the cases in, Robert.
- Where do you want them, darling?
- On the bed, please.
Would you like me to unpack for you?
No, I can manage myself, thank you.
Is there anything more, madam?
No, that will be all, thank you.
I shan't need you again.
Well, I expect you want
to be alone now.
Dinner's at eight.
I'll come and fetch you.
Oh, and, penny, if you want anything,
this bell here rings
down to the kitchen,
and up to my room as well.
Wonderful having you here.
Means so much to me.
Penny: Then when mother died,
there was only Maggie frensham.
I know she was just my nurse, but
she was much more than that really.
We were the same age,
like sisters.
People said we even looked alike.
I think I loved her as much
as I did my mother.
Is that why you didn't come
home after your mother died?
This isn't my home.
I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound rude.
It's just that...
Well, I'd never met you, and
I hadn't seen father for ten years,
ever since mother took me to Italy
to live after they were divorced.
Italy was my home.
I was brought up there.
As long as Maggie was with me,
I was happy.
And what actually happened?
She drowned.
Nobody knows how.
She was a good swimmer.
They said she must have
gotten cramp.
I nearly killed myself, Jane.
I didn't know what to do,
who to turn to.
For two years since mother died,
Maggie was all I had, everything,
and then suddenly she
just wasn't there anymore.
It seems like yesterday
it all happened.
These things take time
to sort themselves out, darling.
After all, it was only three weeks.
You can't have got over it yet.
No, of course not.
Then, when father wrote asking
me to come here to live, I...
But of course he did.
You're his daughter.
But this is your house,
and I wasn't sure if you...
But it was I who suggested
that he write to you, darling.
Believe me, having you here
makes me very happy.
- You're very kind.
- Nonsense.
Did you expect me to be like the
wicked stepmother in the fairy stories?
Honestly, I don't know
what I expected.
It's a pity father couldn't be here.
I was so cross when he
said he had to go away.
He was ill.
The chauffeur, Robert,
he said that father was ill.
I wonder why he said that?
There was nothing wrong
with him, nothing at all.
He said something
about a doctor. Doctor...?
Oh, yes, he meant Pierre Gerrard.
Er... he's the doctor in the village.
He comes up and plays chess
with your father.
Er... I must speak to Robert.
He shouldn't...
Oh, no, please, Jane. Don't let him
get into trouble on my account.
All right, darling.
If you want it that way.
- Do you want some more coffee?
- No, thank you.
Jane, would you excuse me
if I went to bed now?
Of course. You must be dead.
Look at me, behaving like an
old hen with one of her chicks.
Jane, thank you.
Thank you for everything.
I hope you can sleep, penny.
The crickets make rather a noise.
- That's all right, I like crickets.
- Sometimes they're deafening.
Father?
Penny: Help! Help! Help!
Help!
- My darling, how do you feel?
- You're all right now.
Relax, young lady,
there's nothing to get excited about.
- Pierre. Pierre.
- It's all right, Jane.
Now, penny, you've had a fright,
but you must realise that everything
is all right. You are perfectly safe.
What were you doing out there,
darling? How did you fall in?
I... I fell into the swimming pool.
Yes, Robert heard you.
He managed to get there in time.
- Father!
- Father's away, darling. You know that.
He isn't. He's in the
summer house. I saw him.
- But he can't be, penny.
- He was dead.
Penny, you had an accident,
but you really must try...
- Who are you?
- Dr Gerrard, darling.
He was dead. He was in the
summer house, sitting in the chair,
and I... I went in,
and I spoke to him.
I'm going to give you
a sedative, young lady,
and then in the morning,
when you wake up,
everything will be all right.
But don't you understand
what I'm trying to say?
My father is dead.
His body's in the summer house.
Jane: Please, penny, darling.
Please, you must...
Don't treat me as if I were
a mental defective.
What are you doing?
I want to go to the
summer house now.
Very well, if that makes
you feel better.
Where's my chair?
Well, it's still at the bottom of the pool.
Robert will get it out in the morning.
Would you carry me, please?
- Go on, open it.
- But it's always kept locked.
- But it was open.
- It's always locked, penny.
There was a candle.
Jane: There's no need
for a candle here, penny.
Take me back now.
We won't want you any more
tonight, thank you, Robert.
- Robert: Good night, doctor.
- Good night.
- Well, how are you feeling now?
- I'm sorry.
The imagination is a very
funny thing, you know.
It plays very unkind
tricks at times.
It was probably the strain
of the journey.
Now I'm going to
give you a sedative.
- Sleep is the best cure for your trouble.
- If you say so.
You take this one now,
and in one hour, if you still
can't sleep, this one. All right?
Mmm.
- Good night.
- Good night.
There.
- I'm sorry, Jane.
- Don't worry, darling.
Try and get some sleep, hmm?
Good night, penny.
Good night.
Come in.
- Bonjour, mademoiselle.
- Bonjour.
I'm bringing you some petit dejeuner.
My name is Marie.
I don't think I saw
you here last night.
I do not live here, mademoiselle.
I have a house in the village.
Would you please see
what's happening to my chair?
- Your chair, mademoiselle?
- My wheelchair.
Oh, oui. Tout de suite.
Good morning, darling.
How did you... get from the bed?
I crawled.
You crawled, penny?
What on earth for?
I couldn't sleep.
Well, did you take the other
pill that Pierre gave you?
- No, I didn't.
- Why not?
I didn't want to.
Jane, when will my chair be ready?
I'll find out, shall 1? Mmm.
Garage. Oh, good morning, madam.
Er... yes, ma'am.
In about, er... ten minutes?
Thank you, Robert.
He's cleaning it up now.
He'll bring it round when it's ready.
Thank you, Jane.
Are you feeling better
this morning, darling?
A little tired.
I was so worried.
- Your father told me...
- Told you what?
- Oh, nothing.
- Please, Jane.
Well, he told me how you were
when you were a little girl.
Imaginative, fanciful, slightly, um...
Neurotic?
No, I didn't mean that.
I was, though.
I was afraid of everything.
Dark, wind, thunder, lightning.
- Most children are.
- They grow out of it.
Jane, what is that
summer house used for?
Penny, darling, whatever
you thought you saw last night,
you must realise
that you imagined it.
Oh, I know that.
I'm just curious what it's used for.
Well, we keep old furniture there.
It's not used for anything nowadays.
Penny, darling,
I've got to go out this morning,
and I've... I've asked Robert
to show you round.
Won't you need him?
No, I can drive myself. We can't
leave you alone your first day here.
- Oh, Jane, I'll be all right.
- No, nonsense.
Well, I...
I've got to go and get dressed now.
- Jane?
- Mm-hmm?
Did father say
when he was coming back?
Not exactly, but I don't think
it'll be today, darling.
It's lovely here.
It's so peaceful.
Yeah, it's my favourite spot.
We swim from here in the summer.
I don't swim.
Because of your legs?
- Have you tried?
- No.
You'd probably find
you could manage very well.
Hey, you're not one of those characters
who can't talk about their, um...
- Their afflictions, I think they call it?
- I don't think so.
Meaning that other people don't
talk about it in case it upsets you.
I guess you're right.
Oh, why do people have
to make a big thing out of it?
- How long have you been like that?
- Nine years.
- You were on a horse, weren't you?
- The horse was on me!
You know, I bet that's the first
time you've joked about it.
I think it is.
Why do you hide behind
those things?
- Hide?
- Well, that's why you wear them, isn't it?
Like a person who sits with his back
to the sun while he's talking to you.
- Is that what it looks like?
- It's true, isn't it?
I don't know.
I never really thought about it.
I feel more secure
when I'm wearing these.
I can watch people's eyes
and I know that they can't see mine.
Well, why should you feel insecure?
My legs, I suppose.
Being physically dependent
on other people
doesn't exactly build up
your self-confidence.
You seem a pretty self-reliant
person to me.
My behaviour last night
wasn't very self-reliant.
- Too much wine at dinner.
- Hmm.
- Beginning to think you're right.
- Of course I am.
Alcoholic hallucination?
I didn't thank you
for last night, did I, Bob?
- What for?
- You pulled me out of the pool.
All part of the service.
How long have you worked
for my father?
- Oh, two years.
- Do you like it?
Well, it's the only way I get to drive
expensive cars and live on the riviera.
- Do you like working for my father?
- Oh, I don't see much of him.
Mrs appleby uses the car
most of the time.
He hardly ever goes out.
It's funny he didn't use you
to drive him.
When he went away, I mean.
Mmm, that's not the only funny thing.
He used the small car.
- What's funny about it?
- He doesn't like the small car.
- Maybe the other one wasn't there.
- It was.
They were both in the garage
the night he left.
I wonder why he left at night?
Bob?
Would you take me
back up now, please?
Back to the house?
Summer house.
- Bob: Well, what are you looking for?
- Penny: Something, anything.
I thought you agreed that
last night was just your imagination?
Perhaps I did, but there
must be something
that will tell me why my imagination
acted the way that it did.
Like a dead body?
Oh, I'm sorry, penny.
Jane: Penny!
Come into the house, penny.
I've got a surprise for you.
- Penny: What is it?
- Come and see.
I'll take it, Robert.
- Penny: What kind of surprise?
- Jane: Wait and see.
It's for you.
Hello?
Man: Penny, this is your father.
Penny, can you hear me?
What's the matter, darling?
Penny? Yes?
Oh, I thought you'd gone.
Can you hear me all right?
Yes.
I'm sorry I wasn't there
when you arrived.
Jane told you I was
away on business?
Yes.
I'll be a couple more days yet.
Look after yourself and have fun.
All right. Thank you.
Let me speak to Jane, will you?
Yes? Hello.
- Is penny all right?
- Yes, she's fine.
- Tell her I'll be back soon.
- Yes, I'll tell her.
- Do you miss me?
- Yes. See you soon.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
There. That makes you feel better
about last night, doesn't it?
Oh, penny, I...
I shouldn't go to
the summer house again if I were you.
It was a horrible experience.
We don't want to repeat it, do we?
I can manage now, Jane.
Oh, darling, dr Gerrard is coming
to lunch. You don't mind, do you?
No, of course not.
May I come in? Yes.
It's about what I said just now
in the summer house.
- Am I forgiven?
- Yes, of course.
- Well, what was the big surprise?
- My father.
He wanted to talk to me
on the phone.
- No more worries, then?
- LI suppose not.
Shall I take you for another walk
this afternoon?
Dr Gerrard's coming for lunch,
and he may stay the afternoon.
- Oh, then I'd better get dressed.
- Why? You have to go out?
Well, if the doctor's coming,
I've got to go and pick him up.
- Doesn't he have a car of his own?
- He has, but it's in dock.
He smashed it up last week.
He's a terrible driver.
- Did you bring him out here last night?
- I was to, but...
No, I didn't.
I took him home, though.
- How did he get out, then?
- I don't know.
I was only unconscious
twenty minutes, wasn't I?
Yeah, about that.
He just seemed to be here.
I didn't think anything of it.
- Was he here to dinner?
- No.
Anyway, if he had been,
you would have had to pick him up.
Yeah, that's funny.
I don't understand
what's happening here.
One minute I think I was
imagining everything last night,
and the next
I'm just not sure anymore.
Even now that I've talked
to my father, I'm still not sure.
What, do you mean it wasn't him?
I haven't talked to my father for
nine years. It could've been anyone.
- But why?
- I don't know. I just don't know.
Now I'm gonna tell you something.
You said last night there was a candle
burning in the summer house, right?
Everybody says, nonsense, there's electric
light over there, why use a candle?
Penny: What is it?
Robert: I scraped it off the floor just now
when mrs appleby brought you indoors.
It's candle grease.
Merci.
No, thank you.
- You haven't eaten anything, penny.
- I'm not hungry.
You really should try
to eat something, penny.
You're a little run-down, you know.
Why do you say that?
A normal, reasonably healthy person
would never have experienced
what you did last night.
- You should be particularly careful.
- Why me?
Your father said that when you were
a child, you were over-imaginative,
and inclined to be frightened
of your own shadow.
Then, your accident,
and all those weeks in hospital,
it's hardly surprising that your mind
is a little confused, is it?
You must be very careful.
Shocks, such as the one
that you had last night,
whether the cause is real
or imaginary,
can deal the mind
a very serious blow.
A blow which could
affect it permanently.
You mean I could go mad?
Please, penny, I didn't mean to
imply anything as drastic as that.
What did you mean to imply?
Well, it's just that if the
imagination starts to wander,
one has to try and drag it
back to reality before...
Before it becomes permanent,
you said, dr Gerrard.
- Pierre meant...
- Penny: I know what he meant.
He meant that I'd better
watch myself or I'll go insane
and have to be locked up.
Penny: Bob?
Miss penny?
Would you get that
key down for me, please?
Ah, I can't.
Mrs appleby's got it.
I thought it was always
kept up there on the ledge.
It was, but she asked me
for it just before lunch.
- Why?
- I'm sorry, I don't know.
Well, Bob, that candle grease
that you were telling me about...
I shouldn't have mentioned it.
It doesn't tell us anything.
Well, it helps prove
what I was saying last night.
I don't think it does, miss penny.
All it proves is a candle's been burned
in there. Could have been months ago.
- The place is never used.
- L1 saw it last night.
Yes, miss. So you said.
You don't believe me either,
do you?
I believe you...
You think you saw something.
First dr Gerrard and Jane.
And now you.
Now, listen, miss penny. Believe me, I'd
like to help, but can't see what I can do.
Jane: Robert?
I'm ready, Robert. Will you
bring the car around to the front?
Sure you don't want
to come, darling?
The drive will do you good.
Put colour in your cheeks.
No, thank you.
Can I bring you anything
from cannes?
No.
All right.
Er... i'I be back just after dark.
Come in.
If there is nothing else,
mademoiselle,
I should like to go now.
- Oh, is mrs appleby back yet?
- No.
Robert told me she had
shopping to do in cannes.
They will not be back
until half an hour more, I think.
All right. Thank you.
Good night, Marie.
Bonsoir, mademoiselle.
Bob?
Bob? Is that you?
Bob?
Father?
Jane:
Bring the things in here, Robert.
Hello, darling. Why didn't you tell me
that you wanted to use the sitting room?
Marie could have lit the fire.
Jane, who uses the piano?
Your father. Nobody else
in the house can play.
He keeps it locked. He doesn't
like people tinkling with it.
Says it ruins the tone.
- What kind of car is the small car?
- What do you mean, darling?
The small one.
The one father went away in.
It's a white simca.
He's come back.
It's in the garage.
Robert: Miss penny, I just...
That'll be all, thank you, Robert.
You can go.
I saw the car.
It was in the garage.
But we've just come
from the garage, penny.
There was no car there.
But I saw it.
I was there and I saw it.
But you couldn't have, darling.
Otherwise...
Leave me alone.
Penny...
Allo?
Le docteur Gerrard, s'il vous plait.
Bob?
There wasn't any car.
There was a small
white sports car here.
How did I know my father had that
kind of a car if I didn't see it?
You didn't. I just told you
in the living room.
But I saw it, I tell you.
It was there. I... I heard it arrive.
And someone
started playing the piano.
- The piano is locked.
- I know, and there was no-one there.
But someone was
playing that piano.
I know it... it doesn't
make any sense, but...
Garage.
Ah, yes, madam, she's here.
Mrs appleby asked me to tell you
that supper will be in half an hour.
Look, try not to worry too much.
There's bound to be a reasonable
explanation for all this.
We'll try and work something
out together, shall we?
Thank you. Good night, Bob.
Good night, miss penny.
Bob!
Bob!
Bob!
Bob!
Bob! He was there.
Penny, what is it? In my room.
What is it?
What is all the noise about?
It's miss penny. She came out on the terrace
screaming about something in her room.
- Jane: Poor child. Where is she now?
- I'm here.
What happened, darling?
What frightened you?
I'm... I'm sorry.
I thought I saw something.
But what? What did you see?
I seem to have caused
a lot of fuss about nothing.
- My imagination again.
- You frightened me to death.
Are you sure you're all right now?
It won't happen again.
I hope not, because your poor head
won't stand many more shocks.
Would you like me to bring you your
dinner in here? Would you like that?
I'll be all right now.
Good.
Oh, penny, I hope you don't mind,
I've asked dr Gerrard to dinner.
Why?
Well, I could put him off
if you'd rather.
Don't bother because of me.
That'll be all, thank you, Robert.
Well, good night, ma'am.
Miss penny.
- Good night. I'm sorry if I...
- Don't mention it.
Penny, you're sure you're all right?
Please, Jane, I feel
badly enough as it is.
- Don't make it any worse.
- No, of course not.
Well, I'll see you at dinner
in about twenty minutes, hmm?
Thank you.
Bob.
I was hoping you'd come back.
You weren't imagining things,
were you?
No.
Tell me what you saw.
My father.
He was sitting there,
in that chair.
And he was dead.
And...
He moved his head.
It was horrible.
You were outside the room?
[... I went to the summer house
to see a light.
The same light
that was there last night.
That was very brave of you.
I had to know what it was.
And when I was there,
I saw a light go... go off in here,
so I came rushing back, and...
And, Bob, he was
sitting there waiting.
What is it?
It's wet.
Soaking wet.
What does it mean, Bob?
Your father's a very
rich man, isn't he?
- Yes.
- Any idea what's in his will?
- How do you mean?
- If he dies, who gets the money?
I do. All of it?
What about mrs appleby?
There's a... a trust fund.
She gets the interest.
Are you sure of that?
Couldn't the will have been changed?
After all, you haven't seen
your father for a long time.
It couldn't have been changed because
the money was originally my grandfather's,
and he didn't approve
of second marriages.
Any conditions?
Well, if I'm dead or incapable,
Jane gets the money.
Incapable?
You know,
unable to handle the estates,
legally incompetent, insane...
They want you safely out of the way before
it's discovered that your father's dead.
That way, you won't collect the money.
Jane will.
Bob, that... that means
that they killed my father.
They may have done,
but it's not likely.
If they had, they'd have no qualms
about killing you, too.
No, the trouble they're going to
to drive you insane...
Makes it look as though your
father's had an accident, perhaps,
and all they're doing
is keeping quiet about it.
Then, when they can get you out
of the way, they'll rig the accident
so it looks as if it's just happened.
What can we do?
We're only guessing.
We'd better look round
for some sort of evidence.
But what?
It's not very pleasant, I know, but
somewhere around here
is your father's body.
We've got to find it.
Bob, I'm frightened.
I'll have a look round after
your stepmother's gone to bed.
Penny: I wanna go with you.
All right. Look, draw
your curtains when I go.
When she's gone to bed,
open them up again.
I'll be watching for the light, okay?
Bob?
Thank you.
- Pierre?
- Thank you.
Penny?
- Penny...
- What do you want?
- Pierre only wants to help you, darling.
- Please, Jane.
If it's about my mental health,
I'd rather not hear about it.
It's about your legs.
When was the last time
that you saw a specialist?
- Penny: Why?
- Tell me, please.
Three years ago.
Mm-hmm.
Well, that's just why I want you
to see another one now, in Zurich.
I have seen specialists
all over the world,
- and they all said the same thing.
- Yes, I know.
But the last time
was three years ago.
Penny, do you know what is meant
by hysterical paralysis?
Well, it happens when,
because of a fright or an accident,
a person can lose the use
of a muscle or a limb.
There is no tissue pathology
to account for this.
There are no physical symptoms
to account for this,
but the fact is inescapable.
The person is completely unable to...
Well, for example, to walk.
The reasons for this are mental.
They're not physical.
There's no physical reason at all why
this person should not get straight up
out of her chair
and walk with the rest of us.
It's only this... this self-created
mental block that prevents her.
You're trying to tell me
that I'm not a cripple?
- That it's all in my mind?
- I'm saying that could be the case.
Was the horse that fell on me
in my mind too? Did I imagine that?
No. No, that was the
basic cause, I admit.
But since then the physical damage
could have been repaired.
It is only the mental side
that refuses to accept this.
That is why I'm... well, seriously
worried about your mental state.
After all, with all this
confusion going on,
you can hardly expect your
mind to behave rationally.
Dr Gerrard,
I am a cripple.
My back was broken in two places.
If you want the technical diagnosis,
I sustained a multiple fracture
of the first lumbar vertebra
and a simple fracture
between the fifth and sixth cervical.
I can show you the x-rays
if you'd like.
But I didn't imagine it,
and I'm not imagining it now.
Do you think that I like
being tied to this chair,
dependent on anyone
who can spare me a moment?
Do you... do you think that
I like not being able to...
To dance, and swim, and ride,
or just walk like anyone else?
I don't like it. I hate it.
I loathe and hate and despise it.
You say that my mind
is affecting my legs. You're wrong.
It's my legs that are affecting
my mind.
I'd rather not talk about it anymore.
- I think what Pierre meant, penny...
- Penny: I said no more, Jane. I mean it.
Is she in bed?
She went up about
twenty minutes ago, but...
I thought it'd be better
to wait a little longer.
Good. Then we've got the place
more or less to ourselves.
Where are we going to look?
I've been thinking since we talked.
The weather's not very cold.
The body...
Well, I mean, it's not going to keep.
There's only one place it could be.
Where?
Deep freeze.
A week ago, mrs appleby asked me
to fit a new lock on it.
Shall we go?
Okay?
Yes.
What will we do now?
Keep looking. Where?
I don't know.
Well, we can't do any more tonight.
I'd better take you back to your room.
- What about the lock?
- Oh, I'll fix it later.
I don't see why we just can't go
and tell them what we know.
But that's just it, penny.
We don't know anything.
We can't just
march into a police station
and say we think your father's
met with a fatal accident
and that your stepmother and
dr Gerrard are trying to conceal it.
- Why not?
- Well, because without proof
they wouldn't believe us.
No, we've got to find the body.
But where?
You yourself said that a body won't...
Won't keep. Where could it be?
Somewhere close to the house.
It has to be.
I'm not much help to you
there, I'm afraid.
I can't even get up the stairs.
Well, that's how it should be.
I don't want you wandering around.
Anything might happen.
You just leave it to me.
I'll think of something.
I'll get you back to
the house for lunch.
Why are you doing
all this for me, Bob?
Because I don't like to see anybody
getting the sharp end of the stick.
Because I liked your father. I don't like
your stepmother or that Gerrard character.
Because you're pretty.
It's not sympathy?
Sure, there's sympathy there.
But not for the reasons you think.
You're a nice person who's in trouble.
I sympathise with you for that.
Not because of these?
Like I told you before,
it's hard luck.
There's plenty of people
worse off than you are.
There's another reason too.
Shall I tell you what it is?
I didn't mean to do that
until all this was over.
I'm glad you did.
Hey, if I keep you out any longer,
I shall be looking for a new job.
Jane: Penny, you're not getting
too friendly with Robert, are you?
Too friendly?
Well, I've been watching you when
you're together, and you seem...
Cheerful is the word, Jane.
We want you to be happy, darling.
Don't misunderstand me.
But not Robert.
How would you like me to give a party
and ask some of the local people?
- Like dr Gerrard?
- Don't you like him?
Not especially.
Well, you must talk to
your father about that.
Because he's his friend, not mine.
No, I was thinking of monsieur gaston.
He lives on the other side of the bay.
He has two sons about your age.
Then there's John blakeman...
Please, Jane, thank you,
but I'd rather not.
All right, penny.
I know it can't be much fun
for you at the moment, darling.
But in the summer, it's lovely here.
We might get the pool cleaned out,
and then perhaps you could swim.
Entrez!
Oh, qui est-ce, Marie?
Madame latour, madame.
Jane: Oh, j'avais oublie.
C'est bien.
My dressmaker. I should have
seen her in cannes this morning.
I won't be long.
Jane: What's the matter, penny?
Matter? Nothing.
You looked strange for a moment.
Darling, I've got to go out this afternoon.
I won't be back till ten tonight.
- Will you be all right?
- I'd rather not be alone.
No, of course not. I'll ask
Marie if she can stay with you.
Don't bother. If I know that Robert's
in his room, I won't be worried.
I can drive myself.
A bientt.
Are you sure you want to?
Oh, it's just the cold.
Let's get it over with.
Well, here we go.
Anything?
No, it's black
as pitch down there.
Maybe it would be better if...
He's there, isn't he?
What shall we do?
- Go to the police.
- Now?
Well, there's no point in waiting.
We've found what we were looking for.
- What about...?
- We must leave him there, penny.
We'll fetch the police back
and show them.
I'll come with you.
Okay. I'll go and get dressed,
and meet you round the front.
Can you manage?
Five minutes?
- You don't want your chair, do you?
- No, I suppose not.
What if they find the chair?
It doesn't really matter, does it?
Once you get back,
nothing matters anymore.
How long will it take to get there?
It's no good going to
the village police station.
The old chap there is useless
even when he's awake.
We'll go straight through to cannes.
It'll only take us half an hour.
- It'll all be over soon, penny.
- I was thinking about my father.
I never knew him really, not as a
daughter, but I know that he was kind.
Even after mother divorced him,
he was always doing things for her.
Little things, like...
He always remembered
my birthday.
How could this have
happened, Bob? How?
- Greed.
- She was his wife.
She must have loved him once.
Can it die so completely?
Not die, no.
But it can be killed by...
By another love.
By somebody else.
Dr Gerrard.
I suppose so.
What's that?
- It's your stepmother!
- Don't stop, Bob. I'm frightened.
She'll recognise the car.
I'll have to stop.
You sit tight. I'll speak to her.
Jane: Will she... be dead?
She's a cripple, isn't she?
She's dead.
It worked, Bob. It worked.
Yes, the accident will be discovered.
There'll be the coroner's inquest.
- But it'll be all right?
- Yes, it'll be all right.
Turn it off, Bob, please.
I rather like it.
It makes a good requiem.
Please, Bob.
To us.
What's the matter?
Having to kill her.
But we agreed we'd have to
if it didn't work the other way.
If only we could have
done it without killing.
I thought when her
father had the accident,
everything would be all right.
It seemed that things...
Well, what is it, Bob?
Why are you smiling?
You never believed your husband
had an accident, did you?
- Did you?
- Bob, don't.
- Did you?
- Don't, Bob. Don't.
The old man could swim
like a fish, and you know it.
Do you know what I did?
I dragged him under
and I held him there.
Bob, don't.
I watched his stupid face
while he tried to hold his breath.
Please, don't.
Then there were a lot of bubbles.
And he stopped struggling.
Officer: Your telephone
call reached me this morning
at the same time as this report.
A break in the cliff fence.
An automobile upside down
in thirty feet of water.
It is likely that the two things
are the same. I am sorry.
Your stepdaughter had not been
with you long, I understand.
Er... four days.
- And monsieur appleby?
- He arrived home last night.
They went for a drive together
because they wanted to
get to know one another again.
They hadn't seen each other
for ten years.
I was an outsider, really.
It must have been difficult for you.
It was, a bit. But it would have been
all right. I... I know it would.
And now this.
You have my deepest
sympathies, mrs appleby.
You will be at the house
if we want you?
- Want me?
- The bodies will have to be identified.
- Oh, do I have to?
- I'm afraid so. It's the law.
Your husband's solicitor
has been informed of the accident.
He will be coming out
from London this morning.
He will go straight to the house.
No doubt there will be
a number of things to attend to.
Your husband was rich,
wasn't he?
- II suppose so.
- And now everything comes to you.
I believe so.
It would have gone to penny.
Quite so.
You'll ask the solicitor
to contact me?
Yes, I will. Thank you, inspector.
You've been very kind.
I will arrange for a car
to take you home.
Oh, mrs appleby has her own car.
I know. But I'd like you to accompany
me to the scene of the accident.
We'll need you to identify
the automobile.
- It's all right, Robert.
- Well, if you say so, ma'am.
- Goodbye, inspector.
- Good day, mrs appleby.
- I'll wait for you outside, inspector.
- Thank you.
Apres ce que peux voir
le numro de la voiture?
On attendra I'homme-grenouille.
- Ou en tes vous, Marcel?
- Ca avance.
On attend toujours I'homme-grenouille.
You can identify the
automobile from here?
Well, hardly, inspector.
Of course not.
The frogman will attempt
to ascertain
the colour, the make
and the number of the car.
Then we will know.
I shall go down
to talk to the frogman.
Oh, there's plenty of time.
You will wait here, please.
Spratt: You have my deepest
sympathy, mrs appleby.
- Such a tragedy.
- Thank you, mr spratt.
I've tried to keep the papers
down to a minimum,
but you must understand
that in such cases
there is a certain amount of legal
work which must be taken care of.
- Yes, of course.
- Now, before anything becomes official,
we must wait
for the verdict of the coroner.
But if in the meantime
there's anything, anything at all,
that you require,
please let me know.
Your husband's will is
most clear and explicit.
Everything he has is to go to you
with no attachments
or codicil whatsoever.
Now if you'll please just sign...
On the papers where I have
left a cross in pencil.
You'll find the will allows you to draw
money from the estate pending settlement.
There's just one thing,
mr spratt.
I understand in a case of common accident
when both parties die together,
there's sometimes a dispute
as to who legally was the first to die.
Oh, that's quite so. But I fail to see that
it has any bearing on the matter in hand.
Well, this was a common accident.
What was?
Both my husband and my stepdaughter
were in the car together.
Your stepdaughter,
miss Penelope?
Oh, didn't they tell you?
I thought the police...
I'm sorry, mrs appleby.
I just don't understand you.
Well, both my husband and penny
were in the car. They...
They were killed together.
No, that's quite impossible.
I don't know why you say that,
mr spratt. It's a fact.
They went for a drive together and...
Mrs appleby, surely
you must know.
Your stepdaughter,
miss Penelope appleby
committed suicide three
weeks ago in Switzerland.
Are you all right, mrs appleby?
Can I get you anything?
- Mrs appleby?
- I'm sorry.
Obviously your husband
didn't tell you.
His daughter went for a holiday
with her companion, a miss frensham.
She drowned herself, apparently.
She was always
of a delicate mental state.
It was due to her paralysis,
I understand.
Really, you must allow me
to get you some Brandy.
Inspector:
Come down here a moment, please.
My apologies for asking you
to come down all this way.
It was easier than for me to go up,
seeing that we'd only have to
come down again immediately.
Climbing I do not find agreeable.
- Is it the car?
- It is a Rolls-Royce, silver and black,
with the number 278emog6.
- Is it the car?
- Yeah, that's it.
- Are you sure?
- Of course I'm sure.
Strange.
There's only one person inside.
- A man.
- The girl? The daughter?
Of her, I'm afraid, there's no sign.
Spratt: I shall have to leave you
now, mrs appleby.
I must report to the local police
for news of the recovery.
Yes, of course.
Are you quite sure
you're all right?
- I'm all right, thank you.
- Ishall show myself out.
Friend?
The young lady.
Spratt: Good day, mrs appleby.
Good morning, Jane.
Why so silent?
- Who are you?
- Maggie frensham.
Frensham? The companion.
That's right. Penny's friend.
But I... I don't understand.
I spent three years watching
penny die, mrs appleby.
Little by little.
When her mother died,
she was all alone.
For a girl like penny,
that was unbearable.
Finally I couldn't stand it any longer,
so I wrote to her father.
You wrote to him here? Yes.
And he answered. He said that she
couldn't come here just then
because something strange
was happening.
But he didn't say anything to me.
He'd hardly have told you,
mrs appleby.
It was you
that he was disturbed about.
Penny finally stopped
struggling against life.
She... she slipped out of the cabin
one night and drowned herself.
Two weeks later,
I opened a letter that arrived for her.
Please come home, penny.
I have always wanted you here.
Signed, father.
Penny was dead, mrs appleby.
And her father knew it.
But how did he know?
I told him myself. I spoke to him on
the phone the night that penny died.
You spoke to him here?
Yes. That's when he told me
about his friend.
What friend? Who?
Can't you guess, mrs appleby?
- Pierre.
- That's right. Dr Gerrard.
Then when this letter arrived
with your husband's signature on it,
I knew that something must be wrong
because he knew that penny was dead.
So I contacted dr Gerrard,
and he and I decided what to do.
- You are not crippled.
- No.
I'm not.
That's why I'm still here.
I opened the car door last night
and jumped out.
It was Robert.
He... he told me to...
- What are you going to do?
- Need you ask that, mrs appleby?
Is it money?
No, no, I don't want money.
I have more than enough.
Penny and I were very close.
She left me well provided for.
- Are you Robert, the chauffeur?
- Yes, sir.
I'm spratt, mr appleby's solicitor.
I've just left mrs appleby.
She's not feeling too well.
Perhaps you could
keep an eye on her.
There doesn't seem to be
anyone about except the girl.
- The girl?
- The cripple in the wheelchair.
I'll be at the grand hotel
if anyone wants me.
Please, isn't there anything...?
There's nothing, mrs appleby.
Oh, Bob.
Bob!
Inspector: Monsieur Robert,
will you come with me, please?
Come away, Maggie.
There's nothing more for you here.
You're going to break a sweat, my dear.
Yes.
Hello! Hoffmann!
Five meters to the left.
To the left!
- What did he say?
- Five meters to the left.
Oh, left, right, up, down,
there's always something else.
- What is it?
- Come on! Help me.
- Yeas, yes.
- Help me.
Miss appleby? Yes.
My name's Robert.
I'm your father's chauffeur.
I'm afraid your father
couldn't come.
- On va Porter les bagages, mademoiselle?
- Merci.
J'espere que vous avez fait
un tres bon voyage, mademoiselle.
Merci. Vous tiez tres gentil.
Dans le coffre.
Oh, I'll do that.
Do you know why my father
didn't come to meet me?
- Ah, he's away, miss.
- He's not at the house?
No, miss.
He went away four days ago.
Where to?
I didn't even know he was going until
your mother told me he'd already left.
She's my stepmother.
I've never met her.
No, you haven't.
What's she like?
- Well, miss, it's hardly my position...
- Please.
- She's my employer's wife, miss.
- What's she like as a person?
I don't know her as a person.
You must know something about her.
You drive her, don't you?
Only occasionally. She usually drives
herself, or has dr Gerrard drive her.
- Who's he?
- He's your father's doctor.
- He's always up at the house.
- I didn't know my father was ill.
- I'm sorry, I shouldn't...
- What's wrong with him?
- I thought you'd have known that.
- No, I didn't know anything.
Oh, he's been ill for some time now.
That's what surprised me when...
- When what?
- Oh, it doesn't matter, miss.
You haven't been to France
for a long time, I understand.
Ten years.
What's wrong with my father?
Don't know, miss. But whatever
it was, it must be all right now.
Otherwise, he wouldn't
have gone away.
When will he be back?
Mrs appleby didn't say.
Hello, penny. Welcome home.
- Jane?
- You sound surprised.
- Aren't I as you imagined?
- I'm sorry. I must sound rude.
Not a bit. Oh, take it through
to the hall, Robert,
and then come back
for miss appleby.
- Was your journey terribly tiring?
- Not very.
It must've been quite a strain.
You haven't travelled much, have you?
- No, I haven't. But it was exciting.
- Good.
Careful, Robert.
The steps are quite
a problem, I'm afraid.
But we put ramp things
down wherever we can.
I didn't think you'd want
to use the front door much.
We've put you
in one of your father's rooms.
He uses it as a sitting room
and a study.
Fetch the cases, Robert.
It's very convenient, though.
It has its own bathroom.
- Up we go.
- Oh!
It looks nice.
I made your father buy new curtains
and a couple of extra chairs.
You've no idea how
dark everything was.
Men always want to furnish their
studies like victorian mausoleums.
Jane, where is father?
Oh, I'm terribly sorry, darling.
It was unavoidable.
He simply had to go away on this
business deal that he's working on.
I tried to stop him,
but you know what your father is.
No, I'm afraid I don't.
I haven't seen him for ten years.
I don't know if I'd
recognise him if I saw him.
Well, I've taken care of that.
Look, taken a month ago.
- Yes, I would've recognised him.
- Of course you would.
Oh, bring the cases in, Robert.
- Where do you want them, darling?
- On the bed, please.
Would you like me to unpack for you?
No, I can manage myself, thank you.
Is there anything more, madam?
No, that will be all, thank you.
I shan't need you again.
Well, I expect you want
to be alone now.
Dinner's at eight.
I'll come and fetch you.
Oh, and, penny, if you want anything,
this bell here rings
down to the kitchen,
and up to my room as well.
Wonderful having you here.
Means so much to me.
Penny: Then when mother died,
there was only Maggie frensham.
I know she was just my nurse, but
she was much more than that really.
We were the same age,
like sisters.
People said we even looked alike.
I think I loved her as much
as I did my mother.
Is that why you didn't come
home after your mother died?
This isn't my home.
I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound rude.
It's just that...
Well, I'd never met you, and
I hadn't seen father for ten years,
ever since mother took me to Italy
to live after they were divorced.
Italy was my home.
I was brought up there.
As long as Maggie was with me,
I was happy.
And what actually happened?
She drowned.
Nobody knows how.
She was a good swimmer.
They said she must have
gotten cramp.
I nearly killed myself, Jane.
I didn't know what to do,
who to turn to.
For two years since mother died,
Maggie was all I had, everything,
and then suddenly she
just wasn't there anymore.
It seems like yesterday
it all happened.
These things take time
to sort themselves out, darling.
After all, it was only three weeks.
You can't have got over it yet.
No, of course not.
Then, when father wrote asking
me to come here to live, I...
But of course he did.
You're his daughter.
But this is your house,
and I wasn't sure if you...
But it was I who suggested
that he write to you, darling.
Believe me, having you here
makes me very happy.
- You're very kind.
- Nonsense.
Did you expect me to be like the
wicked stepmother in the fairy stories?
Honestly, I don't know
what I expected.
It's a pity father couldn't be here.
I was so cross when he
said he had to go away.
He was ill.
The chauffeur, Robert,
he said that father was ill.
I wonder why he said that?
There was nothing wrong
with him, nothing at all.
He said something
about a doctor. Doctor...?
Oh, yes, he meant Pierre Gerrard.
Er... he's the doctor in the village.
He comes up and plays chess
with your father.
Er... I must speak to Robert.
He shouldn't...
Oh, no, please, Jane. Don't let him
get into trouble on my account.
All right, darling.
If you want it that way.
- Do you want some more coffee?
- No, thank you.
Jane, would you excuse me
if I went to bed now?
Of course. You must be dead.
Look at me, behaving like an
old hen with one of her chicks.
Jane, thank you.
Thank you for everything.
I hope you can sleep, penny.
The crickets make rather a noise.
- That's all right, I like crickets.
- Sometimes they're deafening.
Father?
Penny: Help! Help! Help!
Help!
- My darling, how do you feel?
- You're all right now.
Relax, young lady,
there's nothing to get excited about.
- Pierre. Pierre.
- It's all right, Jane.
Now, penny, you've had a fright,
but you must realise that everything
is all right. You are perfectly safe.
What were you doing out there,
darling? How did you fall in?
I... I fell into the swimming pool.
Yes, Robert heard you.
He managed to get there in time.
- Father!
- Father's away, darling. You know that.
He isn't. He's in the
summer house. I saw him.
- But he can't be, penny.
- He was dead.
Penny, you had an accident,
but you really must try...
- Who are you?
- Dr Gerrard, darling.
He was dead. He was in the
summer house, sitting in the chair,
and I... I went in,
and I spoke to him.
I'm going to give you
a sedative, young lady,
and then in the morning,
when you wake up,
everything will be all right.
But don't you understand
what I'm trying to say?
My father is dead.
His body's in the summer house.
Jane: Please, penny, darling.
Please, you must...
Don't treat me as if I were
a mental defective.
What are you doing?
I want to go to the
summer house now.
Very well, if that makes
you feel better.
Where's my chair?
Well, it's still at the bottom of the pool.
Robert will get it out in the morning.
Would you carry me, please?
- Go on, open it.
- But it's always kept locked.
- But it was open.
- It's always locked, penny.
There was a candle.
Jane: There's no need
for a candle here, penny.
Take me back now.
We won't want you any more
tonight, thank you, Robert.
- Robert: Good night, doctor.
- Good night.
- Well, how are you feeling now?
- I'm sorry.
The imagination is a very
funny thing, you know.
It plays very unkind
tricks at times.
It was probably the strain
of the journey.
Now I'm going to
give you a sedative.
- Sleep is the best cure for your trouble.
- If you say so.
You take this one now,
and in one hour, if you still
can't sleep, this one. All right?
Mmm.
- Good night.
- Good night.
There.
- I'm sorry, Jane.
- Don't worry, darling.
Try and get some sleep, hmm?
Good night, penny.
Good night.
Come in.
- Bonjour, mademoiselle.
- Bonjour.
I'm bringing you some petit dejeuner.
My name is Marie.
I don't think I saw
you here last night.
I do not live here, mademoiselle.
I have a house in the village.
Would you please see
what's happening to my chair?
- Your chair, mademoiselle?
- My wheelchair.
Oh, oui. Tout de suite.
Good morning, darling.
How did you... get from the bed?
I crawled.
You crawled, penny?
What on earth for?
I couldn't sleep.
Well, did you take the other
pill that Pierre gave you?
- No, I didn't.
- Why not?
I didn't want to.
Jane, when will my chair be ready?
I'll find out, shall 1? Mmm.
Garage. Oh, good morning, madam.
Er... yes, ma'am.
In about, er... ten minutes?
Thank you, Robert.
He's cleaning it up now.
He'll bring it round when it's ready.
Thank you, Jane.
Are you feeling better
this morning, darling?
A little tired.
I was so worried.
- Your father told me...
- Told you what?
- Oh, nothing.
- Please, Jane.
Well, he told me how you were
when you were a little girl.
Imaginative, fanciful, slightly, um...
Neurotic?
No, I didn't mean that.
I was, though.
I was afraid of everything.
Dark, wind, thunder, lightning.
- Most children are.
- They grow out of it.
Jane, what is that
summer house used for?
Penny, darling, whatever
you thought you saw last night,
you must realise
that you imagined it.
Oh, I know that.
I'm just curious what it's used for.
Well, we keep old furniture there.
It's not used for anything nowadays.
Penny, darling,
I've got to go out this morning,
and I've... I've asked Robert
to show you round.
Won't you need him?
No, I can drive myself. We can't
leave you alone your first day here.
- Oh, Jane, I'll be all right.
- No, nonsense.
Well, I...
I've got to go and get dressed now.
- Jane?
- Mm-hmm?
Did father say
when he was coming back?
Not exactly, but I don't think
it'll be today, darling.
It's lovely here.
It's so peaceful.
Yeah, it's my favourite spot.
We swim from here in the summer.
I don't swim.
Because of your legs?
- Have you tried?
- No.
You'd probably find
you could manage very well.
Hey, you're not one of those characters
who can't talk about their, um...
- Their afflictions, I think they call it?
- I don't think so.
Meaning that other people don't
talk about it in case it upsets you.
I guess you're right.
Oh, why do people have
to make a big thing out of it?
- How long have you been like that?
- Nine years.
- You were on a horse, weren't you?
- The horse was on me!
You know, I bet that's the first
time you've joked about it.
I think it is.
Why do you hide behind
those things?
- Hide?
- Well, that's why you wear them, isn't it?
Like a person who sits with his back
to the sun while he's talking to you.
- Is that what it looks like?
- It's true, isn't it?
I don't know.
I never really thought about it.
I feel more secure
when I'm wearing these.
I can watch people's eyes
and I know that they can't see mine.
Well, why should you feel insecure?
My legs, I suppose.
Being physically dependent
on other people
doesn't exactly build up
your self-confidence.
You seem a pretty self-reliant
person to me.
My behaviour last night
wasn't very self-reliant.
- Too much wine at dinner.
- Hmm.
- Beginning to think you're right.
- Of course I am.
Alcoholic hallucination?
I didn't thank you
for last night, did I, Bob?
- What for?
- You pulled me out of the pool.
All part of the service.
How long have you worked
for my father?
- Oh, two years.
- Do you like it?
Well, it's the only way I get to drive
expensive cars and live on the riviera.
- Do you like working for my father?
- Oh, I don't see much of him.
Mrs appleby uses the car
most of the time.
He hardly ever goes out.
It's funny he didn't use you
to drive him.
When he went away, I mean.
Mmm, that's not the only funny thing.
He used the small car.
- What's funny about it?
- He doesn't like the small car.
- Maybe the other one wasn't there.
- It was.
They were both in the garage
the night he left.
I wonder why he left at night?
Bob?
Would you take me
back up now, please?
Back to the house?
Summer house.
- Bob: Well, what are you looking for?
- Penny: Something, anything.
I thought you agreed that
last night was just your imagination?
Perhaps I did, but there
must be something
that will tell me why my imagination
acted the way that it did.
Like a dead body?
Oh, I'm sorry, penny.
Jane: Penny!
Come into the house, penny.
I've got a surprise for you.
- Penny: What is it?
- Come and see.
I'll take it, Robert.
- Penny: What kind of surprise?
- Jane: Wait and see.
It's for you.
Hello?
Man: Penny, this is your father.
Penny, can you hear me?
What's the matter, darling?
Penny? Yes?
Oh, I thought you'd gone.
Can you hear me all right?
Yes.
I'm sorry I wasn't there
when you arrived.
Jane told you I was
away on business?
Yes.
I'll be a couple more days yet.
Look after yourself and have fun.
All right. Thank you.
Let me speak to Jane, will you?
Yes? Hello.
- Is penny all right?
- Yes, she's fine.
- Tell her I'll be back soon.
- Yes, I'll tell her.
- Do you miss me?
- Yes. See you soon.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye.
There. That makes you feel better
about last night, doesn't it?
Oh, penny, I...
I shouldn't go to
the summer house again if I were you.
It was a horrible experience.
We don't want to repeat it, do we?
I can manage now, Jane.
Oh, darling, dr Gerrard is coming
to lunch. You don't mind, do you?
No, of course not.
May I come in? Yes.
It's about what I said just now
in the summer house.
- Am I forgiven?
- Yes, of course.
- Well, what was the big surprise?
- My father.
He wanted to talk to me
on the phone.
- No more worries, then?
- LI suppose not.
Shall I take you for another walk
this afternoon?
Dr Gerrard's coming for lunch,
and he may stay the afternoon.
- Oh, then I'd better get dressed.
- Why? You have to go out?
Well, if the doctor's coming,
I've got to go and pick him up.
- Doesn't he have a car of his own?
- He has, but it's in dock.
He smashed it up last week.
He's a terrible driver.
- Did you bring him out here last night?
- I was to, but...
No, I didn't.
I took him home, though.
- How did he get out, then?
- I don't know.
I was only unconscious
twenty minutes, wasn't I?
Yeah, about that.
He just seemed to be here.
I didn't think anything of it.
- Was he here to dinner?
- No.
Anyway, if he had been,
you would have had to pick him up.
Yeah, that's funny.
I don't understand
what's happening here.
One minute I think I was
imagining everything last night,
and the next
I'm just not sure anymore.
Even now that I've talked
to my father, I'm still not sure.
What, do you mean it wasn't him?
I haven't talked to my father for
nine years. It could've been anyone.
- But why?
- I don't know. I just don't know.
Now I'm gonna tell you something.
You said last night there was a candle
burning in the summer house, right?
Everybody says, nonsense, there's electric
light over there, why use a candle?
Penny: What is it?
Robert: I scraped it off the floor just now
when mrs appleby brought you indoors.
It's candle grease.
Merci.
No, thank you.
- You haven't eaten anything, penny.
- I'm not hungry.
You really should try
to eat something, penny.
You're a little run-down, you know.
Why do you say that?
A normal, reasonably healthy person
would never have experienced
what you did last night.
- You should be particularly careful.
- Why me?
Your father said that when you were
a child, you were over-imaginative,
and inclined to be frightened
of your own shadow.
Then, your accident,
and all those weeks in hospital,
it's hardly surprising that your mind
is a little confused, is it?
You must be very careful.
Shocks, such as the one
that you had last night,
whether the cause is real
or imaginary,
can deal the mind
a very serious blow.
A blow which could
affect it permanently.
You mean I could go mad?
Please, penny, I didn't mean to
imply anything as drastic as that.
What did you mean to imply?
Well, it's just that if the
imagination starts to wander,
one has to try and drag it
back to reality before...
Before it becomes permanent,
you said, dr Gerrard.
- Pierre meant...
- Penny: I know what he meant.
He meant that I'd better
watch myself or I'll go insane
and have to be locked up.
Penny: Bob?
Miss penny?
Would you get that
key down for me, please?
Ah, I can't.
Mrs appleby's got it.
I thought it was always
kept up there on the ledge.
It was, but she asked me
for it just before lunch.
- Why?
- I'm sorry, I don't know.
Well, Bob, that candle grease
that you were telling me about...
I shouldn't have mentioned it.
It doesn't tell us anything.
Well, it helps prove
what I was saying last night.
I don't think it does, miss penny.
All it proves is a candle's been burned
in there. Could have been months ago.
- The place is never used.
- L1 saw it last night.
Yes, miss. So you said.
You don't believe me either,
do you?
I believe you...
You think you saw something.
First dr Gerrard and Jane.
And now you.
Now, listen, miss penny. Believe me, I'd
like to help, but can't see what I can do.
Jane: Robert?
I'm ready, Robert. Will you
bring the car around to the front?
Sure you don't want
to come, darling?
The drive will do you good.
Put colour in your cheeks.
No, thank you.
Can I bring you anything
from cannes?
No.
All right.
Er... i'I be back just after dark.
Come in.
If there is nothing else,
mademoiselle,
I should like to go now.
- Oh, is mrs appleby back yet?
- No.
Robert told me she had
shopping to do in cannes.
They will not be back
until half an hour more, I think.
All right. Thank you.
Good night, Marie.
Bonsoir, mademoiselle.
Bob?
Bob? Is that you?
Bob?
Father?
Jane:
Bring the things in here, Robert.
Hello, darling. Why didn't you tell me
that you wanted to use the sitting room?
Marie could have lit the fire.
Jane, who uses the piano?
Your father. Nobody else
in the house can play.
He keeps it locked. He doesn't
like people tinkling with it.
Says it ruins the tone.
- What kind of car is the small car?
- What do you mean, darling?
The small one.
The one father went away in.
It's a white simca.
He's come back.
It's in the garage.
Robert: Miss penny, I just...
That'll be all, thank you, Robert.
You can go.
I saw the car.
It was in the garage.
But we've just come
from the garage, penny.
There was no car there.
But I saw it.
I was there and I saw it.
But you couldn't have, darling.
Otherwise...
Leave me alone.
Penny...
Allo?
Le docteur Gerrard, s'il vous plait.
Bob?
There wasn't any car.
There was a small
white sports car here.
How did I know my father had that
kind of a car if I didn't see it?
You didn't. I just told you
in the living room.
But I saw it, I tell you.
It was there. I... I heard it arrive.
And someone
started playing the piano.
- The piano is locked.
- I know, and there was no-one there.
But someone was
playing that piano.
I know it... it doesn't
make any sense, but...
Garage.
Ah, yes, madam, she's here.
Mrs appleby asked me to tell you
that supper will be in half an hour.
Look, try not to worry too much.
There's bound to be a reasonable
explanation for all this.
We'll try and work something
out together, shall we?
Thank you. Good night, Bob.
Good night, miss penny.
Bob!
Bob!
Bob!
Bob!
Bob! He was there.
Penny, what is it? In my room.
What is it?
What is all the noise about?
It's miss penny. She came out on the terrace
screaming about something in her room.
- Jane: Poor child. Where is she now?
- I'm here.
What happened, darling?
What frightened you?
I'm... I'm sorry.
I thought I saw something.
But what? What did you see?
I seem to have caused
a lot of fuss about nothing.
- My imagination again.
- You frightened me to death.
Are you sure you're all right now?
It won't happen again.
I hope not, because your poor head
won't stand many more shocks.
Would you like me to bring you your
dinner in here? Would you like that?
I'll be all right now.
Good.
Oh, penny, I hope you don't mind,
I've asked dr Gerrard to dinner.
Why?
Well, I could put him off
if you'd rather.
Don't bother because of me.
That'll be all, thank you, Robert.
Well, good night, ma'am.
Miss penny.
- Good night. I'm sorry if I...
- Don't mention it.
Penny, you're sure you're all right?
Please, Jane, I feel
badly enough as it is.
- Don't make it any worse.
- No, of course not.
Well, I'll see you at dinner
in about twenty minutes, hmm?
Thank you.
Bob.
I was hoping you'd come back.
You weren't imagining things,
were you?
No.
Tell me what you saw.
My father.
He was sitting there,
in that chair.
And he was dead.
And...
He moved his head.
It was horrible.
You were outside the room?
[... I went to the summer house
to see a light.
The same light
that was there last night.
That was very brave of you.
I had to know what it was.
And when I was there,
I saw a light go... go off in here,
so I came rushing back, and...
And, Bob, he was
sitting there waiting.
What is it?
It's wet.
Soaking wet.
What does it mean, Bob?
Your father's a very
rich man, isn't he?
- Yes.
- Any idea what's in his will?
- How do you mean?
- If he dies, who gets the money?
I do. All of it?
What about mrs appleby?
There's a... a trust fund.
She gets the interest.
Are you sure of that?
Couldn't the will have been changed?
After all, you haven't seen
your father for a long time.
It couldn't have been changed because
the money was originally my grandfather's,
and he didn't approve
of second marriages.
Any conditions?
Well, if I'm dead or incapable,
Jane gets the money.
Incapable?
You know,
unable to handle the estates,
legally incompetent, insane...
They want you safely out of the way before
it's discovered that your father's dead.
That way, you won't collect the money.
Jane will.
Bob, that... that means
that they killed my father.
They may have done,
but it's not likely.
If they had, they'd have no qualms
about killing you, too.
No, the trouble they're going to
to drive you insane...
Makes it look as though your
father's had an accident, perhaps,
and all they're doing
is keeping quiet about it.
Then, when they can get you out
of the way, they'll rig the accident
so it looks as if it's just happened.
What can we do?
We're only guessing.
We'd better look round
for some sort of evidence.
But what?
It's not very pleasant, I know, but
somewhere around here
is your father's body.
We've got to find it.
Bob, I'm frightened.
I'll have a look round after
your stepmother's gone to bed.
Penny: I wanna go with you.
All right. Look, draw
your curtains when I go.
When she's gone to bed,
open them up again.
I'll be watching for the light, okay?
Bob?
Thank you.
- Pierre?
- Thank you.
Penny?
- Penny...
- What do you want?
- Pierre only wants to help you, darling.
- Please, Jane.
If it's about my mental health,
I'd rather not hear about it.
It's about your legs.
When was the last time
that you saw a specialist?
- Penny: Why?
- Tell me, please.
Three years ago.
Mm-hmm.
Well, that's just why I want you
to see another one now, in Zurich.
I have seen specialists
all over the world,
- and they all said the same thing.
- Yes, I know.
But the last time
was three years ago.
Penny, do you know what is meant
by hysterical paralysis?
Well, it happens when,
because of a fright or an accident,
a person can lose the use
of a muscle or a limb.
There is no tissue pathology
to account for this.
There are no physical symptoms
to account for this,
but the fact is inescapable.
The person is completely unable to...
Well, for example, to walk.
The reasons for this are mental.
They're not physical.
There's no physical reason at all why
this person should not get straight up
out of her chair
and walk with the rest of us.
It's only this... this self-created
mental block that prevents her.
You're trying to tell me
that I'm not a cripple?
- That it's all in my mind?
- I'm saying that could be the case.
Was the horse that fell on me
in my mind too? Did I imagine that?
No. No, that was the
basic cause, I admit.
But since then the physical damage
could have been repaired.
It is only the mental side
that refuses to accept this.
That is why I'm... well, seriously
worried about your mental state.
After all, with all this
confusion going on,
you can hardly expect your
mind to behave rationally.
Dr Gerrard,
I am a cripple.
My back was broken in two places.
If you want the technical diagnosis,
I sustained a multiple fracture
of the first lumbar vertebra
and a simple fracture
between the fifth and sixth cervical.
I can show you the x-rays
if you'd like.
But I didn't imagine it,
and I'm not imagining it now.
Do you think that I like
being tied to this chair,
dependent on anyone
who can spare me a moment?
Do you... do you think that
I like not being able to...
To dance, and swim, and ride,
or just walk like anyone else?
I don't like it. I hate it.
I loathe and hate and despise it.
You say that my mind
is affecting my legs. You're wrong.
It's my legs that are affecting
my mind.
I'd rather not talk about it anymore.
- I think what Pierre meant, penny...
- Penny: I said no more, Jane. I mean it.
Is she in bed?
She went up about
twenty minutes ago, but...
I thought it'd be better
to wait a little longer.
Good. Then we've got the place
more or less to ourselves.
Where are we going to look?
I've been thinking since we talked.
The weather's not very cold.
The body...
Well, I mean, it's not going to keep.
There's only one place it could be.
Where?
Deep freeze.
A week ago, mrs appleby asked me
to fit a new lock on it.
Shall we go?
Okay?
Yes.
What will we do now?
Keep looking. Where?
I don't know.
Well, we can't do any more tonight.
I'd better take you back to your room.
- What about the lock?
- Oh, I'll fix it later.
I don't see why we just can't go
and tell them what we know.
But that's just it, penny.
We don't know anything.
We can't just
march into a police station
and say we think your father's
met with a fatal accident
and that your stepmother and
dr Gerrard are trying to conceal it.
- Why not?
- Well, because without proof
they wouldn't believe us.
No, we've got to find the body.
But where?
You yourself said that a body won't...
Won't keep. Where could it be?
Somewhere close to the house.
It has to be.
I'm not much help to you
there, I'm afraid.
I can't even get up the stairs.
Well, that's how it should be.
I don't want you wandering around.
Anything might happen.
You just leave it to me.
I'll think of something.
I'll get you back to
the house for lunch.
Why are you doing
all this for me, Bob?
Because I don't like to see anybody
getting the sharp end of the stick.
Because I liked your father. I don't like
your stepmother or that Gerrard character.
Because you're pretty.
It's not sympathy?
Sure, there's sympathy there.
But not for the reasons you think.
You're a nice person who's in trouble.
I sympathise with you for that.
Not because of these?
Like I told you before,
it's hard luck.
There's plenty of people
worse off than you are.
There's another reason too.
Shall I tell you what it is?
I didn't mean to do that
until all this was over.
I'm glad you did.
Hey, if I keep you out any longer,
I shall be looking for a new job.
Jane: Penny, you're not getting
too friendly with Robert, are you?
Too friendly?
Well, I've been watching you when
you're together, and you seem...
Cheerful is the word, Jane.
We want you to be happy, darling.
Don't misunderstand me.
But not Robert.
How would you like me to give a party
and ask some of the local people?
- Like dr Gerrard?
- Don't you like him?
Not especially.
Well, you must talk to
your father about that.
Because he's his friend, not mine.
No, I was thinking of monsieur gaston.
He lives on the other side of the bay.
He has two sons about your age.
Then there's John blakeman...
Please, Jane, thank you,
but I'd rather not.
All right, penny.
I know it can't be much fun
for you at the moment, darling.
But in the summer, it's lovely here.
We might get the pool cleaned out,
and then perhaps you could swim.
Entrez!
Oh, qui est-ce, Marie?
Madame latour, madame.
Jane: Oh, j'avais oublie.
C'est bien.
My dressmaker. I should have
seen her in cannes this morning.
I won't be long.
Jane: What's the matter, penny?
Matter? Nothing.
You looked strange for a moment.
Darling, I've got to go out this afternoon.
I won't be back till ten tonight.
- Will you be all right?
- I'd rather not be alone.
No, of course not. I'll ask
Marie if she can stay with you.
Don't bother. If I know that Robert's
in his room, I won't be worried.
I can drive myself.
A bientt.
Are you sure you want to?
Oh, it's just the cold.
Let's get it over with.
Well, here we go.
Anything?
No, it's black
as pitch down there.
Maybe it would be better if...
He's there, isn't he?
What shall we do?
- Go to the police.
- Now?
Well, there's no point in waiting.
We've found what we were looking for.
- What about...?
- We must leave him there, penny.
We'll fetch the police back
and show them.
I'll come with you.
Okay. I'll go and get dressed,
and meet you round the front.
Can you manage?
Five minutes?
- You don't want your chair, do you?
- No, I suppose not.
What if they find the chair?
It doesn't really matter, does it?
Once you get back,
nothing matters anymore.
How long will it take to get there?
It's no good going to
the village police station.
The old chap there is useless
even when he's awake.
We'll go straight through to cannes.
It'll only take us half an hour.
- It'll all be over soon, penny.
- I was thinking about my father.
I never knew him really, not as a
daughter, but I know that he was kind.
Even after mother divorced him,
he was always doing things for her.
Little things, like...
He always remembered
my birthday.
How could this have
happened, Bob? How?
- Greed.
- She was his wife.
She must have loved him once.
Can it die so completely?
Not die, no.
But it can be killed by...
By another love.
By somebody else.
Dr Gerrard.
I suppose so.
What's that?
- It's your stepmother!
- Don't stop, Bob. I'm frightened.
She'll recognise the car.
I'll have to stop.
You sit tight. I'll speak to her.
Jane: Will she... be dead?
She's a cripple, isn't she?
She's dead.
It worked, Bob. It worked.
Yes, the accident will be discovered.
There'll be the coroner's inquest.
- But it'll be all right?
- Yes, it'll be all right.
Turn it off, Bob, please.
I rather like it.
It makes a good requiem.
Please, Bob.
To us.
What's the matter?
Having to kill her.
But we agreed we'd have to
if it didn't work the other way.
If only we could have
done it without killing.
I thought when her
father had the accident,
everything would be all right.
It seemed that things...
Well, what is it, Bob?
Why are you smiling?
You never believed your husband
had an accident, did you?
- Did you?
- Bob, don't.
- Did you?
- Don't, Bob. Don't.
The old man could swim
like a fish, and you know it.
Do you know what I did?
I dragged him under
and I held him there.
Bob, don't.
I watched his stupid face
while he tried to hold his breath.
Please, don't.
Then there were a lot of bubbles.
And he stopped struggling.
Officer: Your telephone
call reached me this morning
at the same time as this report.
A break in the cliff fence.
An automobile upside down
in thirty feet of water.
It is likely that the two things
are the same. I am sorry.
Your stepdaughter had not been
with you long, I understand.
Er... four days.
- And monsieur appleby?
- He arrived home last night.
They went for a drive together
because they wanted to
get to know one another again.
They hadn't seen each other
for ten years.
I was an outsider, really.
It must have been difficult for you.
It was, a bit. But it would have been
all right. I... I know it would.
And now this.
You have my deepest
sympathies, mrs appleby.
You will be at the house
if we want you?
- Want me?
- The bodies will have to be identified.
- Oh, do I have to?
- I'm afraid so. It's the law.
Your husband's solicitor
has been informed of the accident.
He will be coming out
from London this morning.
He will go straight to the house.
No doubt there will be
a number of things to attend to.
Your husband was rich,
wasn't he?
- II suppose so.
- And now everything comes to you.
I believe so.
It would have gone to penny.
Quite so.
You'll ask the solicitor
to contact me?
Yes, I will. Thank you, inspector.
You've been very kind.
I will arrange for a car
to take you home.
Oh, mrs appleby has her own car.
I know. But I'd like you to accompany
me to the scene of the accident.
We'll need you to identify
the automobile.
- It's all right, Robert.
- Well, if you say so, ma'am.
- Goodbye, inspector.
- Good day, mrs appleby.
- I'll wait for you outside, inspector.
- Thank you.
Apres ce que peux voir
le numro de la voiture?
On attendra I'homme-grenouille.
- Ou en tes vous, Marcel?
- Ca avance.
On attend toujours I'homme-grenouille.
You can identify the
automobile from here?
Well, hardly, inspector.
Of course not.
The frogman will attempt
to ascertain
the colour, the make
and the number of the car.
Then we will know.
I shall go down
to talk to the frogman.
Oh, there's plenty of time.
You will wait here, please.
Spratt: You have my deepest
sympathy, mrs appleby.
- Such a tragedy.
- Thank you, mr spratt.
I've tried to keep the papers
down to a minimum,
but you must understand
that in such cases
there is a certain amount of legal
work which must be taken care of.
- Yes, of course.
- Now, before anything becomes official,
we must wait
for the verdict of the coroner.
But if in the meantime
there's anything, anything at all,
that you require,
please let me know.
Your husband's will is
most clear and explicit.
Everything he has is to go to you
with no attachments
or codicil whatsoever.
Now if you'll please just sign...
On the papers where I have
left a cross in pencil.
You'll find the will allows you to draw
money from the estate pending settlement.
There's just one thing,
mr spratt.
I understand in a case of common accident
when both parties die together,
there's sometimes a dispute
as to who legally was the first to die.
Oh, that's quite so. But I fail to see that
it has any bearing on the matter in hand.
Well, this was a common accident.
What was?
Both my husband and my stepdaughter
were in the car together.
Your stepdaughter,
miss Penelope?
Oh, didn't they tell you?
I thought the police...
I'm sorry, mrs appleby.
I just don't understand you.
Well, both my husband and penny
were in the car. They...
They were killed together.
No, that's quite impossible.
I don't know why you say that,
mr spratt. It's a fact.
They went for a drive together and...
Mrs appleby, surely
you must know.
Your stepdaughter,
miss Penelope appleby
committed suicide three
weeks ago in Switzerland.
Are you all right, mrs appleby?
Can I get you anything?
- Mrs appleby?
- I'm sorry.
Obviously your husband
didn't tell you.
His daughter went for a holiday
with her companion, a miss frensham.
She drowned herself, apparently.
She was always
of a delicate mental state.
It was due to her paralysis,
I understand.
Really, you must allow me
to get you some Brandy.
Inspector:
Come down here a moment, please.
My apologies for asking you
to come down all this way.
It was easier than for me to go up,
seeing that we'd only have to
come down again immediately.
Climbing I do not find agreeable.
- Is it the car?
- It is a Rolls-Royce, silver and black,
with the number 278emog6.
- Is it the car?
- Yeah, that's it.
- Are you sure?
- Of course I'm sure.
Strange.
There's only one person inside.
- A man.
- The girl? The daughter?
Of her, I'm afraid, there's no sign.
Spratt: I shall have to leave you
now, mrs appleby.
I must report to the local police
for news of the recovery.
Yes, of course.
Are you quite sure
you're all right?
- I'm all right, thank you.
- Ishall show myself out.
Friend?
The young lady.
Spratt: Good day, mrs appleby.
Good morning, Jane.
Why so silent?
- Who are you?
- Maggie frensham.
Frensham? The companion.
That's right. Penny's friend.
But I... I don't understand.
I spent three years watching
penny die, mrs appleby.
Little by little.
When her mother died,
she was all alone.
For a girl like penny,
that was unbearable.
Finally I couldn't stand it any longer,
so I wrote to her father.
You wrote to him here? Yes.
And he answered. He said that she
couldn't come here just then
because something strange
was happening.
But he didn't say anything to me.
He'd hardly have told you,
mrs appleby.
It was you
that he was disturbed about.
Penny finally stopped
struggling against life.
She... she slipped out of the cabin
one night and drowned herself.
Two weeks later,
I opened a letter that arrived for her.
Please come home, penny.
I have always wanted you here.
Signed, father.
Penny was dead, mrs appleby.
And her father knew it.
But how did he know?
I told him myself. I spoke to him on
the phone the night that penny died.
You spoke to him here?
Yes. That's when he told me
about his friend.
What friend? Who?
Can't you guess, mrs appleby?
- Pierre.
- That's right. Dr Gerrard.
Then when this letter arrived
with your husband's signature on it,
I knew that something must be wrong
because he knew that penny was dead.
So I contacted dr Gerrard,
and he and I decided what to do.
- You are not crippled.
- No.
I'm not.
That's why I'm still here.
I opened the car door last night
and jumped out.
It was Robert.
He... he told me to...
- What are you going to do?
- Need you ask that, mrs appleby?
Is it money?
No, no, I don't want money.
I have more than enough.
Penny and I were very close.
She left me well provided for.
- Are you Robert, the chauffeur?
- Yes, sir.
I'm spratt, mr appleby's solicitor.
I've just left mrs appleby.
She's not feeling too well.
Perhaps you could
keep an eye on her.
There doesn't seem to be
anyone about except the girl.
- The girl?
- The cripple in the wheelchair.
I'll be at the grand hotel
if anyone wants me.
Please, isn't there anything...?
There's nothing, mrs appleby.
Oh, Bob.
Bob!
Inspector: Monsieur Robert,
will you come with me, please?
Come away, Maggie.
There's nothing more for you here.