|
Lady in a Cage (1964)
This is the Radio Tabernacle
to ask this question: Have we an anti-Satan missile? While we've been conquering polio and space... ... what have we done about the devil? Darling? You downstairs? I'll be right down. - Mother! - Don't shout, love. I'm right here. I don't know why I don't keep this in my room. I simply adore it. - Well, you better wash it first. - Really? I don't think too much washing is good for Lowestoft. In cool water. I'll do it. - I have to get my breakfast things. - Oh, I'll get them. You start on down. - Go on now, darling. Go ahead. - Did you leave me a note? - What? - One of your little love notes. Like you used to. Well, yes, but I don't want you reading it until I've left. Go ahead. Start down. Is that new shaving stuff? - Marvellous scent. - Guaranteed to make me irresistible. You better get a move on. - The radio says traffic's fierce already. - Okay. Oh, you go ahead. I don't have patience for that contraption. I don't blame you. I'll be glad when I don't have to use it anymore. It's really gonna be hot today. It's warm right now. American or Russian... The expected death toll from highway accidents as well as swimming and boating mishaps may well exceed last year's record high. They always sound so sort of pleased. - What? - Drive very, very carefully, love. I always do. "Careful" Malcolm they call me. "Un-Headstrong" Hilyard. I do wish you could try to cut down on your smoking. I'll try. Who are your guests going to be this weekend? - Peggy and Paul? - Oh, just the three of us. I'm cook, Paul's butler and Peggy gets to be waited on. We'll miss you. Perhaps we can go up together in the fall. I should be through with this wretched thing by then. Although I keep dreaming that maybe the stock market will go zooming up, and we can go to Paris. London and Paris. All this war talk in the papers, maybe we should go into armament stocks again. It seems such a terrible way to make money though, don't you think? You're gonna be all right now? Nellie's available? I'll call Nellie if I need her, you if I need you, ice company if I need ice, the coal company if I need coal, and the happiness people if I need happiness. Yes, dear, I'll be fine. I squeezed some fresh orange juice for you. I'll get something to eat on the road. I read an article about blood sugar and hot days. Orange juice is highly recommended. How about that other article you read last month, that it's actually healthier to keep your blood-sugar level low? What? No, I'm kidding, darling. Though your health hints do sort of overlap sometimes. Tease me all you want, but drink it. That's a good boy. I'll be back by... Oh, lunchtime, Tuesday. Maybe right after lunch. Such a large suitcase for one small weekend? Why not? I don't have to pay excess baggage to the car. Oh, Lowestoft, cool and pure Passion remote and beauty secure Who wrote that? Come to think of it, it's a line of mine. That's getting old, forgetting your own work. - What? - I was just wondering who wrote a bit of verse and then remembered it was I. Darling, you really had better get started, or it'll just be traffic, traffic, traffic. Goodbye. - Give my love to Peggy and Paul. - I will. Have a good time, love. Now, what the hell's the matter with you? lt'll be all right in a minute. I suppose all the electricity in the neighbourhood is off. I'm sure people are calling up like mad. Hello? Hello? Hello? I never felt so idiotic in my life. Happy weekend! The movement to the mountains, lakes and beaches continues. Everybody is heading for the great outdoors. Here in the city, the nude, decapitated body of a woman has been found in a cistern... Dear workmen, wherever you are, please hurry and fix everything. Please? I'm really being absurd. My mind has me dying of thirst. Really. Oh, my. Well... ...this is what it's for. How many times I've passed bells ringing. Just walked on. Well, I never will again. At least not for several days. I'm here in my own house, a few feet from cars and people. Or is this panic? Hello! Well, I'm not going to stay here half the morning. I don't care how much racket I make. How does that poem go? Here in this city This busy place Here in Cleveland, Paris, Des Moines, Babylon We have conquered fear Have we not? We have not. Without light... ...this would really be a tomb. Really be a tomb. Save the batteries. Nellie, is that you? Whoever is out there, I am trapped in here. You see, I broke my hip last April, and we had an elevator... Hello? Hello? In here! In front. In the elevator. Whoever it is, I will build a small shrine to you. Hello! I was afraid I'd be trapped in this miserable cage till my son gets back Tuesday. Why won't you answer me? Answer me! Oh, boy. Graven images! Repent! Help! Repent! Help! Help! - Help! - Repent! Help! Help! Help! Help! - Help! Help! - Repent! Repent! Help! Repent! Where does he get that toaster? An old wino? A 40, $50 toaster. A bottle of good wine, cigarettes in his pockets? An old wino? Lady and gentlemen, do you have some business with Mr. Paul? On account of the holiday, he will be closing earlier today. Step up or step out. I wonder where he's going. - Don't you wonder where he's going? - Yeah. He must have found something real good, all right. Don't you think? Yeah. Turn. Turn. Turn. Turn. Turn. We'll save you, dear. Reach. Ring, somebody. Nellie... Nellie, please. Call... ...me... ...up! Malcolm, love... ...call me up. He's dialling. It's getting ready to ring. Now! Malcolm, baby... Call me up. Call. What the hell? What? What? Who? What the hell? Two bucks? Who'd be giving me two bucks? Oh, my God. Old "Repent, Repent, Repent." What are you doing down there on your knees? You praying at my door? You gave me two bucks a while back, and I says it's a loan, and you says, like, you didn't think you'd ever get it back. - Well, you did. - Yeah. Repent, repent, repent. Yeah, I remember you. I told you my name. It's George L. Brady Jr. Yeah, well, it's early as hell, honey. What time is it? It's 12:04. Saturday. All day. You can keep it. - Why? - Well, I thought maybe I could tell you about something. We can make money. - I don't work with nobody no more. - No, nothing like that! - So come on in. - Yeah? What's the deal? There's this house, and she's stuck in an elevator, the lady, till probably Tuesday, she says. I need somebody with a suitcase to help me out. We could do real good, clean out the whole house probably. You had two bucks, you could've got a suitcase. Oh, there's a lot of wine. There's a room full. Wine, huh? Yeah. And you want somebody to keep you away from the wine long enough? - Yeah. - Nursemaid, huh? Me? What kind of stuff in that house? Oh, everything. It's three stories high, a private elevator, and you could see the things all around. - Yeah? - Yeah. I thought maybe, you and me, we could take a trip. - You wanna have a piece of toast? - No, I don't eat much. Maybe that's the trouble. Oh, okay. Hands off in the morning or you'll repent for real sure. Alouette, gentille alouette Alouette, je te plumerai I'll write a poem in my head. Oh, I haven't written anything but letters in so long. Oh! I have worshiped thee, False god For thou art false, electricity Ye gods, what a rhyme. Kilowatt is his name And we did burn incense to his power But lo, one day Our god Kilowatt left us Could we then go back To the gods of our childhood? To reindeer, Santa Claus? Almost, almost got it. Almost... ...almost... ...almost got it. Wow! Wow! Wow, honey, I never saw nothing like this, not even in magazines, not even in advertisements. How much you think it's worth, like, this spoon? Not even in advertisements. I'm right in the sun, and I'm sticky and sweaty. What's happening? Must have been some kind of alarm bell. How about we go look in some windows? Two minutes. What's that, now? It's a cup, like for babies, but it's... I think it's a gold one. I heard of silver ones, but a gold one! "Baby Malcolm Cornelius Hilyard. Weight 7 pounds, 3 ounces." - Gold. - Let's go look what's upstairs. What's the matter? George is your name? George. Yeah. George. I told you, George L. Brady Jr. The L is for Luckman, that's my mother. German. George, this is big. This thing you found us here is big, real important, and I'll always be grateful, but let's not lose it out of being greedy. - What do you mean? - Suppose somebody comes, - you could handle him? - I don't want no other man. I just don't. Okay, George. Let's look at the rest of the house. You just can't make up your mind, can you? Repent one minute, slobber the next. Slobber, slobber. Here's the... A lot of wine. Close that door. Close it. Close that door! My whole future is at stake! Close it yourself. Get out! You want some other man here instead of me, go on, get out! Call your butler, why don't you, and have him escort me to the door. Stop her. Take it off the hook or something. Help! Help! Please help. 1132 Lenko. Emergency. Help! This is Mrs. Hilyard. I am trapped, address is 1132 Lenko! Help! Help! Please. I am trapped in small, private elevator. 1132 Lenko Street. 1132 Lenko Street. Help! Please help. I... This is my house. My son's and mine. I broke my hip a few months ago, and I am somewhat incapacitated. I need help. Haven't you ever needed help? Perfume? Isn't that perfume? A woman? Are you a woman? Listen. Hello. My name is Hilyard. I am Mrs. Hilyard. What's your name? Won't you answer me? Please answer me. Let me alone! Leave me alone! Somebody! Run! Somebody! Arriba. Did you think you could keep this to yourselves? An old wino and a fat hustler? What is this? What are you doing here? Oh! I cut my rear. I think I'm cut bad. If you're cut in your rear, muchacha, you ain't cut near nothing delicate. I'm bleeding all over my dress, all over the floor. I think I'm bleeding to death. I think I cut a main vessel. I gotta find a place to stop the bleeding. Now, you better tell me what you're doing here with these things on your faces. What are you afraid of? Afraid of being identified, dad. She see you, the lady in the elevator? Oh, no, no, she didn't see me. Hey, how about this big old flop-flop! We really got ahold of something super! - I can't see good with this thing on. - Leave that on your head. Randall's always talking about holding up a bank money truck or something. - Keep the mask on. - Okay. This is so you won't be recognized either, wino. I know who you are. You followed me here. This is my place I found, now, you leave here. What's happening? On your knees, dad. Hey, cut it out. Cut it out. Cut it out, cut it out. "Cut it out." It is hot in here. What did you do to him? Is he alive? What did you do? Oh, his breath is moving. He ain't dead. Hey, look at that tub! Look at the size of that tub. There's room for two. Three. Four, maybe. A ball. Elaine. I... I did tell you, leave your shirt on? Okay, load her up. Let's get to work. Oh, you're hard. I never... I never seen people as hard as you people. Somebody taking a bath? You're our pickup truck, our little old pickup truck. I ain't toting for you. Pickup trucks, they don't answer back. Elaine. - You come out and carry too. - Drop down dead. Wait a minute. Please listen. Take it all. You can have anything you want. Take anything you want, take anything you want, but in the name of humanity, help me get out of this horrible cage. Couldn't you let me out of this cage? Please. Please. Please! What...? Who...? What monsters. Do your stealing and get out. Steal and get out. What sort of creatures are you? Oh, even animals would have more simple compassion than you. What? You're something holier than thou? You're something...? You ain't no animal? I am a human being. A thinking, feeling creature. Well, me, I'm an animal. Right now I am all animal. A lot of time I can't even make animal. A lot of time I'm just what they call "inmate." Animal is better. What do you mean, inmate? Asylum? You're from some asylum? Asylum? Oh, no, you don't. Reformatory, work farm. I been inside every way there is to be inside. I been some kind of inside since I was 9 years old. Oh, I see. You're one of the many bits of offal produced by the welfare state. You're what so much of my tax dollars goes for the care and feeding of. Well, I don't know from "offal." But yeah. Yeah. And I sure do wanna thank you, ma'am, for all them tax dollars. The food is lousy though. Hey, you got another load of stuff? We're piling it on the back porch. Yeah, come on up. The world must have ended. Someone on one side or the other must have pushed the button, dropped the bomb. Ladies and gentlemen... ... here before us stands... ... the man of tomorrow. We made us cities and towns and thought we had beat the jungle back, not knowing we had built the jungle in. I suppose every hospital room's a jungle... ... every neat little room where somebody's having his body opened... ... or lies dying. Every marriage bed... ... love bed... ... lust bed. Elaine. Elaine! Put this over your face. That's it, hand it to me, come on. Help me, somebody! I missed that. Help me! Help! Why hast thou blinded me? Oh, God! Blind! - Why hast thou blinded me? - He thinks he's blind. - Oh, God, Lord God. - That ain't so funny. Who is it? Who is it? Who's...? Who's laughing? He has blinded me. Am I so much guiltier than others? You ain't blind, honey, now, take it easy. - You ain't blind. See? See? - What is it? Who is it? It's Sade, it's Sade, just old fat Sade, honey. Now, take it easy. You're all right. Which one of you knocked me out? I did, pop. Wanna fight? Come on, get your dukes up. He just wants to go home and so do I. Yeah, I'm tired, and I'm fed up with this thing on my head. She can't see us up here. Why can't we take them off? Essie... ...lock the back door good. Elaine's gonna take a bath. Oh... ...we'll decide about you going home. Gee, thanks so much. I'll be back. They have took everything, everything you could hock. All the silver, all the jewellery, everything. I could just... Just break their necks. Who are you calling? I told you you couldn't handle this alone. Hello, Mr. Paul speaking. Mr. Paul, this is Sade. Remember? I live in that building Mr. Zimmer owns. I'm sort of plump? I'm onto a real hot deal, Mr. Paul, real hot. I'm closed now for the holiday weekend. I'm taking my wife and her mother out now. No, listen! There's a whole great big house here. A private-elevator type of house, and we are being cut out. There's silver like you've never seen. 1132 Lenko. - Solid silver spoons, gold, everything. - Randall, let go. Locking us all in. Now what? Ouch! Randall, you trying to boil me? It's hot. You get used to it. Sure is better than an old shower, ain't it? Guess so. Just gonna lie here and soak. Essie. All right, Essie, dear. Get a good look. You seen my feet. Well, come on in, dear. Sure is a big tub, all right. You gonna get in with her? Sure. What the hell. What I been thinking is... ...we wore the stockings and all... ...but she heard our voices and she sounds real smart to me. So, what I've been thinking is, why leave her around when we go? Kill her? Scared? You're both chicken, ain't you? What they got in this state? They got the hot hot seat? Practically killed the wino anyway. Just luck I didn't. Yeah, they got the hot hot seat. The hot hot seat. I mean, if you don't mind that, then there's nothing to mind. I mean, that's the worst they got. Why don't we kill all three of them. - What is it? What's the matter? - Nothing. Just dirty talk. I never heard such dirty-talking people. I'm gonna see... Maybe I can sneak out and get help. Get help right back. Dirt. Dirt everywhere. We all ought to be punished. - I'm so glad you feel that way. - Right. What do you mean? Come on. That's it. Get him wet. That's the way. Duck him again. Come on. Hey, Randall, look at the red lips on him, isn't he pretty? Don't kill me, I'm not the lady. You're rich. - Aren't you good? - Hold him still, Randall. Oh, so pretty. We'll put a little red... ...and some mascara... Hold still. Oh, you're such a pretty girl. Oh, God. Oh, Jesus God. I ain't Jesus, honey. Fact. I just work here. Now, pick them up, put them back. We're going inside. Why? What do you want me for? I think we're gonna kill you. Come on. Pick it up. Come on, come on! Okay, Elaine, he got her. Hey, pop. Can't we trust you either? I told her not to run away. I told her. You gonna let us keep some of this stuff, huh? You know, I found the house. We're gonna kill you, pop. All of you. You... ...and the pig. And the human being. A joke, right? Well, why? What have we done? Why us? What have we done? You're here. - Get dressed, Elaine. - I am. You're here, pop. That's what you done. "You're here, pop. That's what you done." That's what we all have done. We're here. Stone Age, here I come. Hustle, baby, hustle. Hustle, baby. I gotta sit down. I'm a heavy woman. I just gotta sit down. We're not covering our faces no more. On account that we trust you. Now, Mr. Wino... ...would you like to sit over here next to the other witness? I believe you know her. Good day, ma'am. My name is Randall Simpson O'Connell. Now, it's too bad that you're not gonna live to identify me. I think I'm going to be sick. Elaine. Come and watch the human being be sick in a cage. Come on and look. Don't start nothing, I'm coming. "Don't start nothing," she says. Human being, don't you start nothing. I do not want to die among laughter. Death is... ...solemn. You. Mr. Randall, you let me go, huh? I never done no harm. The only person I hurt is myself. You... You're just kidding, ain't you? You... You ain't gonna kill nobody. Kill the wino, Essie. - Now? - Now. No, not with no praying, no cleaning of my dirty soul. Now, wino. Hot seat... ...here we come. Come on, pop. Wave to the human in the cage, pop. He's... ...dead, just like that. That's all. She expected bugle music. We're going to have a party We're going to have a party We're going to have a party We're gonna have a party Oh, you missed the short subject. But we're coming to the main feature now. Have your met our human being? Con permiso, Senor Doctor. - Scalpel, doctor. - No, thank you, doctor. Like we always say at the Mayo Clinic... ...fingers got made before knives. Stop right there. I'm just a hustler. I ain't even a user. I'm just a hustler. No. No. She'll be there when we're ready for dessert. She doesn't want to die, that poor woman. I don't blame her. I don't want to die either. I'll pay you to stop this animal orgy, $10,000 in cash. Ten thousand? Ten grand? What's this? I smell me a trick. A foxy trick, ain't it? We'll go downtown together Tuesday morning, when the banks open, and I'll make arrangements. "Arrangements," huh? - Now, where was I? - Randall, that's real money. What would you do with real money? Well, we could sit around and have kids or something. Go away and have kids, what the hell? Kids of yours and mine, I wouldn't trust them with a dull kitchen knife. They'd cut us up the minute we closed our eyes, right? Okay. Let's do her together. Maybe we gonna sit in the hot seat all right, but I got relatives that can use ten G's pretty well. Let's... Look, there ain't no ten G's. Fox... Foxy here is just trying to stay alive till Tuesday. - Ain't that right, Foxy? - On that desk of hers up there, I've seen bankbooks and like that. Now, I wanna go and look and see if I can tell. Ten G's! If she's got it, Randall, I wanna try for it. Oh, you two would believe anything. Help! Help! Police! Get police! Help! Help! Get help! Get police! Police! Help! H...! Police! Get police! Help! Must have just been kids. There's nobody there. Some crazy little firecrackers, that's all. Kept old Foxy here alive a couple minutes more, didn't it, Foxy? Come on, everybody. Randall? - Not yet. - Now. - I wanna do her now. - Essie! What are you calling Essie for? - I'll get him, Randall. That's ten G's. - Come back. Come back! You two are the original suckers. She is smart. She is... Die! Die! D...! What is it? What's the joke? She made herself two real cute little knives. Only they bent. I can't tell by the bankbooks up there. But listen to this. It was on her desk upstairs. It's from her son. It says, "Darling Mom..." Hey, how about that. This whole letter, he sounds real, what you might say, gay. Is your little boy married? What is it you're holding? - Where did you get it? - What am I holding? A letter that was in the desk upstairs. You wanna hear it? Oh, let her die curious. Warm them up nice, mummy. I'll bet you had him at it till he was about 12, didn't you? Kept him sucking. - Okay. - Randall. There's something important in this letter. Something maybe more important than ten G's, right here in this house. What is in that letter? There's a living room safe. Read it. "Darling Mom. I'll be 30 next Wednesday... ...and I won't have many more chances in life." What? What? "Every time I try to leave you... ...you add a room... ...or dress up the house... ...or charm me." No. And I thought you only had him at it till he was 12. You still got him at it, haven't you? How do you charm him, baby? Read further on about the safe. I had a holier-than-anything old crow of a grandmother. She tried to keep me at it too. Oh, I'd have killed her if she hadn't died. Like she was trying to kill me. Like you kill this what's-his-name... - Malcolm. - No. No. This is his studio. He decorated it himself. Complete freedom to come and go. He wanted to stay here. Why would he write me a letter? A letter? We were as close as... - He's not married, is he? - What? Doesn't even have a girl, does he? He has many fine women friends. Oh, yeah, women friends he met in the public shower rooms, I bet. "Give me my half of what's in the living room safe." - What safe? - What? "Give me my half of what's in the living room safe. Release me from your generosity. Release me from your beauty. Release me from your love." Oh, love. Love, you could've had your half anytime you wanted it. My half too, for that matter. Read her the P.S. That's got what you might call buckshot in it. - A real load in it. Read it to her. - "P.S. Think it over. I'll call in a little while. Please make it yes. Or quite simply... ...l'll kill myself." - You didn't kill her? - No. Fainted. Lying on the floor like a pile of old clothes. Well, I'm going to look for the safe. Elaine, how about you looking over there? Old crow. Old crow baby. Randall! Mr. Paul's out in the back. - I saw him through the window. - Who? Mr. Paul, the junkman, the fence. What's he doing here? There are four or five of them. They're taking the stuff out of our car. That old wino must have tipped them off. What? Malcolm. Malcolm, love. Oh, my God. Lakeville... ...two, five... ...seven... No. Lakeville... Something... Seven, fi...? Oh, no. Operator? Operator? I can't dial. Operator, a number out at the lake. I've forgotten it. It's a Lakeville number. Malcolm C. Hilyard. Please dial it for me. Operator, ask information. Can you hear me? This is an emergency, operator. My son may have killed himself. Do you hear me? Do you understand what I'm saying? I may have killed my son. Operator! Hurry up. Let's go. Let's go. Help. Police. Police. Police. Police, police, police, police. Police, police, police. Well. Look who almost nearly got away. Almost nearly. Help! - "Help!" - Damn you! Damn you! She stuck me in the eyes. I can hardly see. Go get her. Go drag her in here, that old crow! Are you blinded, Randall? No, I ain't "blinded, Randall"! What do you think I am, that old wino? He who unleashes the terror reaps the terror. Shut her up. Shut her up! - He who unleashes the terror... - Shut her up! Knock it off. You shut up too. Are you blinded, Randall? We are going into that living room and we are gonna find that safe. Now, today ain't gonna be a total loss. We are going in there and look! - Okay. Let us go look. - All right. All right. Essie, you look over there. Elaine, you look that side. - What are you going to do? - I am gonna look too! Now, let's go. Well, you find it? Come on, did you find anything? Malcolm. Malcolm. You're all right. You're all right. Malcolm, where are you going? You're not going away again. You... Malcolm. That letter. You didn't mean it. It's just being cooped up here all these months. Listen, we'll take a trip together. London, Paris, Rome. Just you and me, all the places you love. We... Release me from your love. Release me from your generosity. It's all true. I'm a monster. A monster. - I'm... - Essie! Elaine! Essie! This ain't no time for jokes. I'm hurt. I'm hurt! I need a little help. I admit it, I need a little help! All right. All right. I hear you. I'm hurt. I'm hurt! I admit it. I need a little help! Hear me? I hear you, Elaine. - Someone... - Essie! - Help. - Elaine! Someone... Where's the safe? I want the safe. - Are they dead? Are they dead? - Gotta get help. Murderers! Neanderthals! Monsters! Monsters! Take it easy. Stop them! They must be arrested! Stop them! - Hey, can you drive? - Sure I can drive. What do you think? Don't you hear me? - Leave her alone. Don't touch her. - Don't touch her. - Murderers! - Somebody call a doctor. Get them out in back! All right. Come on. Get out. |
|