Cousin Bette Script - Dialogue Transcript

Voila! Finally, the Cousin Bette script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the movie based on the Balzac book starring Jessica Lange And Elisabeth Shue.  This script is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of Cousin Bette. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and I'll be eternally tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to drop me a line. You won't hurt my feelings. Honest.

Swing on back to Drew's Script-O-Rama afterwards for more free movie scripts!

Cousin Bette Script


   

                   

WOMAN: Dr. Bianchon?

MAN: Baroness.



 

                   

When will my suffering end?



 

                   

Soon.



 

                   

- Bless you, Doctor.

- Dear Madame.



 

                   

- Lovely... and noble creature.

- Go now.



 

                   

Yes.



 

                   

- Doctor?

- It hardly seems the time.



 

                   

However, one must, for the sake

of one's conscience...



 

                   

Your bill, Madame.



  

                   

I have squandered everything.



  

                   

All of it.



  

                   

- On Josephat.

- You were young.



  

                   

And Valerie de Marneffe.



  

                   

Took advantage

of your kind heart.



  

                   

- Mademoiselle Tarquay.

- I'm your wife, not your judge.



  

                   

I promise you now that I will

never, ever be unfaithful again.



  

                   

I shall give up Jenny Cadine.



  

                   

Jenny... Cadine?



  

                   

Cousin?



  

                   

Here... at your side.



  

                   

As always, Cousin.

Do you remember our garden?



  

                   

- At Saint-Aubin?

- The lilacs.



  

                   

- Black as plums.

- I would like some at my grave.



  

                   

You have always loved

beautiful things.



  

                   

And you craved plain muslin,

dearest Bette.



  

                   

Rooting around in the garden,

pulling up turnips.



  

                   

Never without good Saint-Aubin

soil beneath your nails.



  

                   

Countess Cabbage, we called you.

You never minded.



  

                   

A family like ours could only

push forward one girl.



  

                   

Your beauty benefited all of us.



  

                   

- You tried to drown me.

- An accident.



  

                   

How they beat you.



  

                   

I don't remember.



  

                   

[Coughing]



  

                   

I'll be gone before nightfall.



  

                   

My daughter will need you

more than ever.



  

                   

Oh... if only

I had seen her married.



  

                   

Promise me you'll

take care of them, Bette.



  

                   

I promise

I'll take care of them.



  

                   

I'll take care of them all.



  

                   

Let heavenly wings

enfold this angel...



  

                   

and take her to her reward.



  

                   

[Whistle]



  

                   

[Children laughing]



  

                   

[Thunder]



  

                   

BETTE: Poor child.



  

                   

BARON: Oh, Adeline.

BETTE: Terrible.



  

                   

BARON: Your devotion to her...

SERVANT: Monsieur de Baron.



  

                   

BETTE: Faithful Hector...

all alone.



  

                   

[Weeping loudly]



  

                   

- Perhaps I should go.

- No. Please.



  

                   

I need you here beside me.



  

                   

I hope I might speak candidly

to you on the subject of...



  

                   

- Always.

- About a matter...



  

                   

- Yes?

- A matter somewhat...



  

                   

Delicate?



  

                   

- A somewhat delicate matter.

- Don't hesitate.



  

                   

I was hoping...



  

                   

Yes?



  

                   

Well, you must agree...



  

                   

[Sobbing]



  

                   

- Mariette.

- Mademoiselle.



  

                   

- A girl alone...

- Tragic.



  

                   

Needing a mother. Who better?

Who a more logical choice?



  

                   

Well, you know I love Hortense

as if she were my own daughter.



  

                   

You don't think it

unseemly haste?



  

                   

Don't you think we should wait?



  

                   

- We should wait.

- On the other hand...



  

                   

It is what our dear Adeline

would have wanted.



  

                   

I'll tell the children.



  

                   

Hortense!

Come and join us, please.



  

                   

And bring your brother

and your sister-in-law.



  

                   

HORTENSE: We're coming, Father.

BROTHER: Oh, God, what now?



  

                   

[Man speaking indistinctly]



  

                   

BROTHER: I don't know

what's the matter.



  

                   

HORTENSE: Is Cousin Bette here?

SISTER: Quietly!



  

                   

Children, I have

something to tell you.



  

                   

Not that I could ever take

her place in your hearts, but...



  

                   

Bette has agreed to be

our housekeeper.



  

                   

Housekeeper?



  

                   

Father, we can't afford

any additional staff.



  

                   

BARON: You can keep that sewing

job of yours at the theater.



  

                   

Extra income never hurt anyone.



  

                   

- But I...

- No, no. Don't thank me.



  

                   

Don't thank me. My little girl

will be looked after.



  

                   

It is we who should be

thanking you.



  

                   

Cousin Bette...



  

                   

[Gunfire]



  

                   

I cannot comprehend

why you'd decline my offer.



  

                   

You'd be living with us,

instead of in this... hellhole.



  

                   

Whoa! Whoa.



  

                   

Whoever heard of a woman living

alone if she doesn't have to?



  

                   

Good night, Cousin.



  

                   

[Loud street conversation]



  

                   

Mm-hmm.



  

                   

WOMAN SINGING:

On the other side of heaven



  

                   

I'll be waiting for you



  

                   

Where the clouds are so soft



  

                   

And the sky's baby blue



   

                   

Stop, stop, stop, please,

Mademoiselle Cadine.



   

                   

My kitten, you're singing

about lust and corruption,



   

                   

sex and seduction.



   

                   

Put a little crocodile in it.



   

                   

[Growls]



   

                   

Like so. Ahem.



   

                   

[Music begins]



   

                   

How can I sing? I'm smothered

in pigeon feathers.



   

                   

I think we'll take supper now.



   

                   

JENNY: You expect me to wear

this stinking thing?



   

                   

I won't. It's shit.



   

                   

JENNY: What idiot dreamed up

this abomination?



   

                   

BETTE: I did, Mademoiselle.



   

                   

Who is it?



   

                   

Mademoiselle Fisher.



   

                   

- I want her fired, or I quit.

- But, Jenny, she...



   

                   

How do you think the costume

might be improved?



   

                   

You've hidden all my charms.



   

                   

Where's my bosom?

Where's my ass?



   

                   

- And what do you suggest?

- Are you the costumier or not?



   

                   

[Laughter]



   

                   

- That ought to do it.

- What have you...



   

                   

- Perfect.

- [Laughter]



   

                   

Brilliant.



   

                   

Bravo!



   

                   

JENNY: See that she gets

a raise in pay.



   

                   

We'll celebrate...

with a glass of champagne.



   

                   

You're a brave soul.

Could've lost your job.



   

                   

- I can sew it back up.

- No, it's bewitching.



   

                   

Life is so boring.



   

                   

Don't you think?



   

                   

Perhaps not for you.



   

                   

You're clever enough

to entertain yourself.



   

                   

That's because you're not

a true Parisienne.



   

                   

Nor are you.



   

                   

You're a daughter of Lorraine,

a country peasant like me.



   

                   

[Laughing]



   

                   

[Knocking on door]



   

                   

MAN: Treasure...

your admirers are here.



   

                   

My kitten!



   

                   

[Growls]



   

                   

[Man singing in Italian]



   

                   

[Thunder]



   

                   

[Door closes]



   

                   

[Footsteps approaching]



   

                   

[Thunder]



   

                   

HORTENSE: How's your sweetheart,

Cousin Bette?



   

                   

- He's not very well, poor thing.

- Delicate, is he?



   

                   

Yes. And pale.

The color of moonlight.



   

                   

- But who is he? Is he a prince?

- A prince to me.



   

                   

What imaginations

old maids have!



   

                   

Why, only last night

he had supper in my apartment.



   

                   

- What did you dine on?

- Cheese... and a sip of wine.



   

                   

- That's so little.

- He's an artist.



   

                   

- I'd like to see him.

- Turn around. Stand up straight.



   

                   

I bet he's just an awful

old bank clerk with a goatee.



   

                   

That's where you're wrong,

Mademoiselle.



   

                   

So you really have a sweetheart?



   

                   

Just as surely as you do not.



   

                   

BARON: At this rate,

Hortense will never be married.



   

                   

She's young.

She wants to be happy in love.



   

                   

Money isn't so important

to a young girl.



   

                   

She believes

she can live on air.



   

                   

Talk to her, Cousin.

Tell her to be practical.



   

                   

You've lived all these years

without love.



   

                   

Hasn't made you unhappy.



   

                   

I'll see what I can do.



   

                   

MAN: I live mostly on my estate

in the Languedoc.



   

                   

I find the presence of sheep

and cows very soothing.



   

                   

Don't you, Mademoiselle?



   

                   

My neighbor, the Count D'Artois,



   

                   

argues that the goat's "'na-a-h"'

has more character,



   

                   

but I find it disturbing.



   

                   

SECOND MAN: As I always say

to my dear friend,



   

                   

your father the Baron,



   

                   

"'Hector, a title is good,

but money is better."'



   

                   

[Sniffing]



   

                   

[Snorting]



   

                   

Yes... my dear Hortense,



   

                   

above all... reigns...

the holy... venerated...



   

                   

substantial... beautiful...

noble...



   

                   

...and all-powerful franc.



   

                   

Do you, uh... know why I've come?



   

                   

Marry me, my little butterfly.



   

                   

Get up at once, Monsieur,

or I shall ring the bell!



   

                   

- It's exquisite.

- Monsieur, get up!



   

                   

- You won't marry me?

- Never!



   

                   

I'll give you        francs for

a glimpse of your naked body.



   

                   

- Never!

- But why?



   

                   

You're... too... horrible!



   

                   

I? The wealthiest man in Paris?



   

                   

Prodigy parfumier

to the great Buritaud?



   

                   

Chevalier

of the Legion of Honor?



   

                   

Lord Mayor of Paris?



   

                   

- And I'm horrible?

- She's spoiled.



   

                   

She has no idea

what her situation is.



   

                   

Monsieur Crevel,



   

                   

it's possible I have

a more attractive proposition.



   

                   

Oh?



   

                   

You know the baron is

the protector...



   

                   

of the famous singer

Jenny Cadine?



   

                   

An arrangement that makes him

the envy of all Paris.



   

                   

- He's given her up.

- What?



   

                   

For the moment.



   

                   

If you like, I could arrange...



   

                   

I would give      

to snaffle that imperious,



   

                   

half-baked aristocrat's mistress

away from him.



   

                   

Oh, what a joke... if I got in

while he was snoozing.



   

                   

You know, if I had to choose

between you and the baron...



   

                   

I mean, Monsieur Hulot is

a clever, handsome man,



   

                   

but... you, you're...



   

                   

Solid.



   

                   

Meet me at

the Théatre des Variétés,



   

                   

Saturday evening at   :  .



   

                   

By all means.



   

                   

At your service.



   

                   

Adieu.



   

                   

HORTENSE:

The idea of substituting...



   

                   

a marriage contract for

true love makes my heart shiver.



   

                   

Is that why you never married?



   

                   

I dreamed of marrying once,

when I was very young.



   

                   

Younger than you are now.



   

                   

- Young and deeply in love.

- What happened?



   

                   

- He married someone else.

- No!



   

                   

- Did you ever see him again?

- [Baron humming]



   

                   

Never.



   

                   

[Man coughing]



   

                   

[Knocking]



   

                   

[Rattling handle]



   

                   

[Gasps]



   

                   

[Coughing]



   

                   

Oh... foolish boy,

what have you done?



   

                   

Well, we won't speak

about it now.



   

                   

BETTE: No.



   

                   

Poor thing, sleep.



   

                   

Don't be alarmed.



   

                   

It's Mademoiselle Fisher.

I live downstairs.



   

                   

Oh. Oh, with a head like that,



   

                   

there's nothing like a good

onion soup and buttered bread.



   

                   

MAN: I'm sorry. I...



   

                   

BETTE: Let's not refer to

your foolishness of last night.



   

                   

I know you're in

desperate circumstances.



   

                   

Your rat traps have kept me

alive for weeks. Did you know?



   

                   

I know what it's like

to be hungry without friends.



   

                   

I have some savings.

I could help you if you like.



   

                   

You are too generous.



   

                   

You'll give me receipts

for the money I spend for you.



   

                   

And when you are rich,

you can repay it all.



   

                   

You shall be

the whole world to me.



   

                   

I shall be your slave.



   

                   

Will you do

everything I tell you?



   

                   

Yes, of course.



   

                   

Then I shall embrace you

as my own.



   

                   

Here I have a boy...

risen from the grave.



   

                   

CHORUS SINGING: Ding dong



   

                   

Ding dong dong



   

                   

BETTE, SINGING: Ding dong



   

                   

Ding dong dong



   

                   

- You're singing.

- What?



   

                   

I've never heard you sound

so cheerful.



   

                   

[Audience applauding]



   

                   

On the other side of heaven



   

                   

I'll be waiting for you



   

                   

Where the clouds are so soft



   

                   

And the sky's baby blue



   

                   

On the other side of heaven



   

                   

All the angels will sing



   

                   

As you fly to me, fly to me,



   

                   

Fly...



   

                   

On a gossamer wing



   

                   

[Audience applauding

and cheering]



   

                   

Why are you here?



   

                   

BETTE: He has bold lips

and a sad smile.



   

                   

HORTENSE: I knew it.

And he's terribly poor.



   

                   

BETTE: Nearly starved.

HORTENSE: How romantic.



   

                   

- How old is he?

- Twenty... five.



   

                   

BETTE: Would you stop

interrogating me?



   

                   

HORTENSE: Fifteen years

younger than you.



   

                   

Now I know he can't exist.



   

                   

BETTE: You little girls think

only yourselves can have lovers.



   

                   

HORTENSE: Then prove to me

he isn't a fairy tale.



   

                   

He's a sculptor.

He made this for me.



   

                   

I've never seen anything

so beautiful.



   

                   

And there's another. The Four

Horsemen of the Apocalypse.



   

                   

An antique dealer in my

neighborhood has it in his shop.



   

                   

What's your sweetheart's name?



   

                   

- Can you keep a secret?

- Of course.



   

                   

Do you swear... on your happiness

in this world?



   

                   

I swear.



   

                   

- Wenceslas.

- Wenceslas.



   

                   

Let me keep it, please.

Just for a little while.



   

                   

It's so pretty.

It will cheer me up.



   

                   

Just for a little while, then.



   

                   

[Knocking on ceiling]



   

                   

Here, Wenceslas.

Look what I've brought you.



   

                   

Bette, you're amazing.



   

                   

Well, eat one

and stop staring at me.



   

                   

Have you been working?



   

                   

You don't seem to progress

very far.



   

                   

I'm not sure you deserve these.



   

                   

Well, you know, dear lady,

there is a saying.



   

                   

Life is more than work alone.



   

                   

Make a fortune first,

and then you may have your fun.



   

                   

And what if I die

before I get rich?



   

                   

Oh, I won't let you die.

I have life enough for two.



   

                   

By the way, Hortense thought

your bronze bird very nice.



   

                   

What did your pretty cousin say?



   

                   

- Who told you she was pretty?

- You did.



   

                   

Goodness.

Your sleeve needs mending.



   

                   

I've been neglecting you.



   

                   

I imagine she must be the most

beautiful young woman in Paris.



   

                   

To get out of your predicament,

you must spend...



   

                   

more time on your work and

less time imagining my cousin.



   

                   

Mademoiselle!



   

                   

This wax should keep you busy.



   

                   

And I've made you a schedule,

much like my own.



   

                   

You work without distraction

from sunrise until noon.



   

                   

And after a light lunch,

you resume work...



   

                   

until dinner at  :  



   

                   

except on Wednesdays,

when I dine with my cousins.



   

                   

I've written it down for you.



   

                   

If you follow this plan

and are productive...



   

                   

Your life will change

for the better.



   

                   

Sugar?



   

                   

Baron!



   

                   

Look as if

we're just taking a stroll.



   

                   

Strolling? In this neighborhood?



   

                   

WOMAN: She's too little

for you, Monsieur.



   

                   

BARON: Really!



   

                   

[Woman purrs]



   

                   

BARON: Cousin Bette

lives near here.



   

                   

HORTENSE: I know,

and she mustn't see us.



   

                   

What are you up to?



   

                   

Watch for Cousin Bette.



   

                   

If you see her, tell her you're

in the neighborhood on business.



   

                   

But, my dear...



   

                   

Baffling women.



   

                   

[Children laughing]



   

                   

From an estate

at Chelon-Sermane.



   

                   

She's bronze and quite delicate.



   

                   

I don't care for wood nymphs.

What about horses?



   

                   

Horses, Mademoiselle?



   

                   

HORTENSE: What's that there...

in the window?



   

                   

HORTENSE: Aren't those horses?

CLERK: Yes, those are horses.



   

                   

WENCESLAS:

Mademoiselle has a fine eye.



   

                   

I... I... you startled me.



   

                   

WENCESLAS:

Count Wenceslas Steinbach.



   

                   

Uh... uh...



   

                   

[Man urinating]



   

                   

I do beg your pardon.

Aah! What are you doing?



   

                   

- How... how much is it?

-      francs.



   

                   

If it were     

I'd ask you to send it to me.



   

                   

It's an antiquity, Mademoiselle.



   

                   

I happen to know

it was made this year,



   

                   

and I've come to ask you,

if we can agree on the price,



   

                   

to send us the artist.



   

                   

We might be able to arrange

important commissions for him.



   

                   

[Stumbles]



   

                   

Come an hour from now

to this address, Monsieur.



   

                   

Do not show this card or mention

my name to Mademoiselle Fisher.



   

                   

- She is my cousin.

- Bette is your cousin?



   

                   

I'm Hortense Hulot.



   

                   

[Tosses coins]



   

                   

BARON: Oh! Thank God for that!



   

                   

What were you doing in there?



   

                   

I spent my savings.

     francs.



   

                   

What could you possibly find in

there to spend so much money on?



   

                   

A husband.



   

                   

Victory!

My bronze has been sold!



   

                   

Aah! Wenceslas, put me down!

Who? Who bought it?



   

                   

You're taking the day off

tomorrow. We're going shopping.



   

                   

I'll buy you a new dress,

a new hat...



   

                   

Wenceslas, tell me...

who bought the bronze?



   

                   

The great parfumier,

Cesar Crevel.



   

                   

Completely unexpected. Stidmann

had just opened the shop...



   

                   

when the magnificent milord

pulled up...



   

                   

six matching grays

with the parfumier himself.



   

                   

He's the richest man in Paris,

you know.



   

                   

With his mistress.



   

                   

Perhaps he's furnishing

an apartment for her.



   

                   

Wenceslas,

I've never seen you so giddy.



   

                   

Come. Sit beside me

for a moment. Hold my hand.



   

                   

Now tell me about your success

all over again.



   

                   

I have to go. Crevel wants

the piece delivered immediately.



   

                   

Immediately.



   

                   

WENCESLAS: I must be frank

with you, Monsieur le Baron.



   

                   

Things haven't been easy

for me here in Paris,



   

                   

a foreigner, an orphan.



   

                   

In other words,

you're penniless.



   

                   

We all are.



   

                   

I hardly know a count

or a baron...



   

                   

who wouldn't have to beg

were it not for his title,



   

                   

no matter how he got it.



   

                   

You were born to yours, Count.

I was made baron.



   

                   

Napoleon made me a baron.

The wars made me rich.



   

                   

Hmm. What of it?

Wars can't last forever.



   

                   

Monsieur, would you mind...



   

                   

that is, would you object

if I were to pursue...



   

                   

- My daughter.

- Yes, Monsieur.



   

                   

BARON: This brandy is

twice the age of my daughter,



   

                   

and yet it is considered

a young brandy.



   

                   

It would be, yes, young.



   

                   

Hmm. You could say

that I've forced it open.



   

                   

- Hmm.

- Prematurely.



   

                   

Ah.



   

                   

Do you feel equal to undertaking

a statue nine feet high?



   

                   

- Yes, Monsieur.

- Good.



   

                   

Hortense has great faith

in your ability.



   

                   

She's asked me to obtain

a commission for you,



   

                   

and perhaps I can.



   

                   

The Imperial Guard

have subscribed a large sum...



   

                   

for a statue

of my Uncle de Forzheim.



   

                   

I hardly know what to say.



   

                   

For my daughter's sake...

I'll stick my neck out.



   

                   

Thank you. Thank you, sir.



   

                   

You have just seen

Cousin Bette's sweetheart,



   

                   

who is now mine!



   

                   

BETTE: Your note said

you were desperate.



   

                   

JENNY: Oh, I am, I am.



   

                   

Something's happened,

and there's nothing to be done.



   

                   

BETTE: What is it?

JENNY: I've become old.



   

                   

Ah.



   

                   

- Twenty-four.

- A wretched age.



   

                   

I may as well be dead.



   

                   

Look. I've brought

your new slippers.



   

                   

Don't try to console me.



   

                   

Now... you were    yesterday,

and it didn't bother you then.



   

                   

Today...



   

                   

While I was walking in the park,

I came upon a hideous old woman,



   

                   

face swollen and scratched.



   

                   

She stank of stale wine

and sweat.



   

                   

In her filthy tresses,

she had placed a beauty patch.



   

                   

One red camellia.



   

                   

- I knew at once who she was.

- You knew her?



   

                   

She was known as Carribine.



   

                   

When I was a young girl,



   

                   

she was the most famous

courtesan in Paris.



   

                   

Everyone envied her dazzling

shoulders, her milky skin...



   

                   

She had a neck so smooth, it

might've been turned on a lathe.



   

                   

Her trademark was

a beauty patch... a red camellia.



   

                   

"'Carribine?"' I said.



   

                   

"'No. Carribine is no more."'



   

                   

"'She has left me."'



   

                   

What will happen to me

when I'm no longer beautiful?



   

                   

I'm not sure.

It's never been a concern.



   

                   

I wish I were you.



   

                   

No one's ever

wished that before.



   

                   

Poor Carribine.



   

                   

HORTENSE: Are you in love

with my cousin?



   

                   

Bette? She's an angel.



   

                   

Oh, yes. I don't know

what I'd do without her.



   

                   

She's nanny, older sister,

and mother all rolled into one.



   

                   

WENCESLAS: That she is.



   

                   

I suppose I should tell her

about your visits.



   

                   

- Of course. She'd understand.

- She certainly would.



   

                   

She wants nothing more

than to see me happy.



   

                   

[Dogs barking]



   

                   

MAN: Down!



   

                   

[Bell chiming]



   

                   

[CIock chiming]



   

                   

WENCESLAS: Just imagine it,

Mademoiselle.



   

                   

Leda lies on the ground.

It is the moment she succumbs.



   

                   

BETTE: Wenceslas?

It's time for lunch.



   

                   

WENCESLAS:

The bird is close upon her,



   

                   

and if my sculptor's art

can make bronze tremble,



   

                   

then I shall depict the bird

trembling with desire...



   

                   

...poised over her.



   

                   

Wonderful!



   

                   

Wenceslas...



   

                   

Is that Cousin Bette?



   

                   

WENCESLAS: It's not.

Oh... oh... what time is it?



   

                   

I have to go, my darling.



   

                   

Well?



   

                   

Well, what?



   

                   

It's  :  .

We always have lunch at   :  .



   

                   

You weren't in your room.

Where have you been?



   

                   

- Walking.

- That's ridiculous.



   

                   

- Why were you walking?

- I was restless.



   

                   

Muddled, really. I thought

a walk would do me good.



   

                   

- Work does you good.

- I work night and day.



   

                   

You call those little red

wax figures and sketches work?



   

                   

If you lock me in a cupboard,

what good art I'll make then.



   

                   

If fine works could be

manufactured like nails,



   

                   

blacksmiths would make them.



   

                   

Well, sarcasm won't

buy the groceries,



   

                   

let alone pay what you owe me.



   

                   

Mademoiselle, I hardly need be

reminded of the debt I owe you.



   

                   

My God!



   

                   

You've snatched me from death

only to make me your slave!



   

                   

I'd rather be dead.



   

                   

- Where are you going?

- I have... to...



   

                   

Speak up.



   

                   

- I'm going away.

- No. Please!



   

                   

Wenceslas... forgive me.



   

                   

Do you know what it's like...



   

                   

to be shut up in a Ionely room

night after night,



   

                   

with only the sound of the rain

on the windows...



   

                   

to lull you to sleep?



   

                   

Now I have you.



   

                   

I can blow out my candle

when I go to bed...



   

                   

and see you in my mind...



   

                   

...imagine your wild hair,

your eyes...



   

                   

Your beautiful hands.



   

                   

It's all right. I'm here.

I'm still here.



   

                   

MAN: And in the campaign

of     ...



   

                   

I led the Grenadiers

from Vienna to Austerlitz.



   

                   

Through six feet of snow.



   

                   

BROTHER: Cutlets?!

MAN: And these were my reward.



   

                   

From the emperor himself.



   

                   

Father, I've spoken twice to the

cook about the price of cutlets.



   

                   

We can't afford them. We must

discuss our financial situation.



   

                   

Not at dinner, Victorin.

You're giving me indigestion.



   

                   

- May I be excused?

- You may not.



   

                   

Hortense, your uncle is your

most ardent admirer at present.



   

                   

Hortense has still

to be married, then?



   

                   

Time enough for that.



   

                   

That's what you say, you bad

seed that refused to blossom.



   

                   

[AII laughing]



   

                   

Oh, don't worry.

Monsieur Steinbach's in.



   

                   

He hasn't been out

even once today.



   

                   

[Coin clatters]



   

                   

- Don't squirm.

- [Giggles]



   

                   

If you'd just pay attention to

fashion, you wouldn't be plain.



   

                   

Ah, and most important...



   

                   

I think the cousin of

the legendary Adeline Hulot...



   

                   

If you want to be my friend,

don't mention her name.



   

                   

I only meant to say

she was beautiful.



   

                   

Do you understand me?



   

                   

Sorry, I didn't know.



   

                   

Of course you didn't know.



   

                   

How could you know?



   

                   

You don't know how

I was sacrificed to Adeline.



   

                   

They slapped me

and caressed her.



   

                   

I went dressed like a drudge,

she like a lady.



   

                   

I dug the garden,

peeled the vegetables.



   

                   

She never lifted a finger

except to tie her ribbons.



   

                   

You've made me look ridiculous!



   

                   

JENNY: Let's not fight.



   

                   

I need my strength.



   

                   

I have to spend two hours

with Crevel tonight.



   

                   

Where did you get that?



   

                   

The baron.



   

                   

But it was purchased

by Cesar Crevel.



   

                   

Yes. He must have

given it to you.



   

                   

Oh, how you mix up

these old men of yours!



   

                   

Crevel gave me this.



   

                   

But it can't be.



   

                   

They say the young artist

is devilishly handsome,



   

                   

and he lives with a hag.



   

                   

A dragon who won't let him

out of her sight.



   

                   

Hag?



   

                   

The baron is backing him since

he is nearly his son-in-law.



   

                   

- Oh...

- Are you all right?



   

                   

Oh, water. Water.

My head is on fire!



   

                   

[Gasping]



   

                   

I'll see them... all of them...



   

                   

...fallen in the dust.



   

                   

Fallen lower than I am.



   

                   

Give me your hands.



   

                   

You're frightening me.



   

                   

Are we not both...

daughters of the soil...



   

                   

...and blood of the Voges?



   

                   

We are.



   

                   

Do you trust me...

as you would a sister?



   

                   

Yes.



   

                   

And will you help me...



   

                   

...as you would a sister?



   

                   

- Yes.

- Then you will be the ax.



   

                   

And I'll be the hand

that wields you.



   

                   

Elizabeth.



   

                   

For whom are you making

the lovely box?



   

                   

You gave me a fright.



   

                   

Oh, Stidmann asked me

to throw it together.



   

                   

Look.



   

                   

These flowers are hortensia.



   

                   

What of it?



   

                   

Why have you never made

anything for me?



   

                   

Would it have been so difficult

to design a little box for me?



   

                   

[Wenceslas laughs]



   

                   

- And you say you love me.

- I do love you, Bette.



   

                   

Then marry me.



   

                   

No one has ever told me so

plainly before how hideous I am.



   

                   

Oh, no. I'm just shocked by...



   

                   

I have a very deep

affection for you.



   

                   

- Marry me, Wenceslas.

- That's insanity.



   

                   

Was it insanity to bring you

back from the dead?



   

                   

Was it insane to spend my nights

working beside you,



   

                   

handing over my life savings?



   

                   

Stop!



   

                   

Please, Mademoiselle...

I do love you.



   

                   

You'll always be

the mother I lost.



   

                   

Let me be happy, my good angel.



   

                   

I love a divine young girl,

and she loves me.



   

                   

May God protect you.



   

                   

MAN: Everyone knows

if the baron died tomorrow,



   

                   

Hortense would be left

to beg on the streets.



   

                   

How can he have hatched

such a wedding?



   

                   

MAN: I made him a small loan.

Seventy thousand.



   

                   

What a happy occasion, Baron.

Must've cost you a fortune.



   

                   

Yes. Amazing how you manage.



   

                   

CREVEL: Hector,

I was telling the prince,



   

                   

it seems romance counts

for everything these days.



   

                   

I've been rejected by your

daughter for a penniless artist.



   

                   

But I find myself consoled.



   

                   

I hope you don't mind.

She implored me to bring her.



   

                   

Mind? Certainly not.



   

                   

Why should two old friends like

us quarrel over a... petticoat?



   

                   

[Children shouting]



   

                   

[Music stops]



   

                   

Wicked boy.



   

                   

You should have told me

it was Hortense you loved.



   

                   

I thought you had deserted me,

but now you are my cousin.



   

                   

Thank you for being sweet,

Cousin.



   

                   

I owe my happiness to you.



   

                   

I'm sure you'll have

all the happiness you deserve.



   

                   

[Music resumes]



   

                   

[Baby crying]



   

                   

JENNY, SINGING: What is the fire

that burns forever?



   

                   

Who is the beast

that never dies?



   

                   

What is the blade

that cuts so deeply?



   

                   

Who is the god

that hears no cries?



   

                   

Nothing you do, nothing you say



   

                   

Nothing, no, nothing

can take it away



   

                   

Nothing can cure,

nothing can save



   

                   

Love is the master,

you are the slave



   

                   

You are the slave



   

                   

What is the storm

that gives no warning?



   

                   

What is the flash

of blinding light?



   

                   

Why is there darkness

in the morning



   

                   

While an inferno burns at night?



   

                   

Nothing you do, nothing you say



   

                   

Nothing, no, nothing

can take it away



   

                   

Nothing can cure,

nothing can save,



   

                   

Love is the master,

you are the slave



   

                   

You are the slave



   

                   

[Wenceslas and Hortense

laughing]



   

                   

Love is the master,

you are the slave



   

                   

You are the slave



   

                   

You are the slave



   

                   

How can one improve upon it?



   

                   

- Italian?

- Greek.



   

                   

- Intimidating.

- Not at all.



   

                   

MAN: I mean, the space.

It's larger than Medais.



   

                   

So is my talent, dear friend.



   

                   

This mountain of marble is to be

my first major work.



   

                   

It is to my future works...



   

                   

what Raphael's "'Marriage

of the Virgin"' was to his.



   

                   

Show me the plaster model.



   

                   

There isn't one.



   

                   

- You are a genius.

- Ah, it's all up here.



   

                   

You know what they say. Between

the plaster and the marble,



   

                   

a masterpiece may be ruined.



   

                   

Claude Vignon wants

a studio visit.



   

                   

Claude Vignon?



   

                   

He's lining up next season's

salon exhibition.



   

                   

Will next week do? You'll

have made progress by then.



   

                   

I intend to do nothing but work.



   

                   

I will snatch fire from heaven

like Prometheus.



   

                   

Are you sure

you don't mind taking him?



   

                   

BETTE: Going out again?



   

                   

Bette...



   

                   

You always know how to deal

with the difficulties of life.



   

                   

What is it?



   

                   

Wenceslas hasn't worked a day

since we've been married.



   

                   

A sensible girl

marries an artist...



   

                   

after he's made his fortune.



   

                   

He talks about working,

but nothing has been done.



   

                   

The committee is threatening

to take back the commission.



   

                   

[Knocking on door]



   

                   

Hello, Elizabeth.



   

                   

Will you be long?

I'll be waiting in the carriage.



   

                   

I don't want to go.



   

                   

You'd be wise

to keep an eye on him.



   

                   

An eye on Wenceslas?



   

                   

What begins as a flirtation

more often than not...



   

                   

- Is Daddy a flirt? No.

- Especially for an artist.



   

                   

You're the flirt, aren't you?



   

                   

A man with

a passionate temperament.



   

                   

- What is it, rabbit?

- Never mind.



   

                   

I'm sure there's nothing

to the talk.



   

                   

Wenceslas worships

his beautiful young wife.



   

                   

He hasn't a devious bone

in his body.



   

                   

- No.

- No.



   

                   

- Idle gossip.

- [Baby cries]



   

                   

Don't give it another thought.



   

                   

WENCESLAS: The noble soldier,



   

                   

heart and muscle bursting

the bonds of his marble prison,



   

                   

daring the enemy to meet him

on the field.



   

                   

Marble speaks to me

in a cold language.



   

                   

Bronze whispers hotly.



   

                   

I've always said

it's a question of temperature.



   

                   

WENCESLAS:

Sometimes I sit for hours...



   

                   

and listen to the murmur

of the marble.



   

                   

Champagne at once.

We're about to conquer Paris.



   

                   

- I'm not feeling very well.

- None of this is real.



   

                   

What is real is the secret

language of the stone.



   

                   

It tells me when

I'm ready to create.



   

                   

It shouts at me,

"'I am ready. I am ready now!"'



   

                   

Or..."'Not yet. Not just yet."'



   

                   

[Laughter]



   

                   

Let bankers and politicians

meet deadlines.



   

                   

Let carpenters and shoemakers

produce on demand.



   

                   

It's inspiration

I'm speaking of.



   

                   

A vision. Mystery.



   

                   

The mystery is how much longer

they'll wait for the statue.



   

                   

[Laughter]



   

                   

MAN: I have a case

of diphtheria.



   

                   

I've always said you were the

only sensible one in the family.



   

                   

Deplorable. Bottomless pit.

He'll end up in the poorhouse.



   

                   

You can always turn

to a moneylender.



   

                   

- He'd never stoop so low.

- Oh... one never knows.



   

                   

His name is Vauvinet.



   

                   

BARON, SINGING:

Nothing you do, nothing you say



   

                   

Nothing, no, nothing

can take it away



   

                   

Nothing can cure,

nothing can save



   

                   

Love is the master,

you are the slave



   

                   

VICTORIN: Father, we must speak,

or I'll do something desperate.



   

                   

Still a young devil, am I not?



   

                   

I must point out that our

financial resources are limited.



   

                   

- Oh, money. Always money.

- It's far worse than I thought.



   

                   

According to my calculations,

we need       or...



   

                   

- Go to Wissembourg.

- You owe him       already.



   

                   

- Try Nucingen, then.

- You owe him   .



   

                   

What about

your Uncle de Forzheim?



   

                   

If you don't repay him,



   

                   

he'll end up in debtor's prison

before we do.



   

                   

Now, Louis Phillipe

or Americana?



   

                   

[Violin plays]



   

                   

Last month,

they only held    francs.



   

                   

You'll make a pauper

out of me yet.



   

                   

And what coquette

has had the privilege...



   

                   

of making a pauper

out of you, Monsieur?



   

                   

[Both laugh]



   

                   

- We've reviewed your situation.

- Yes.



   

                   

- And it doesn't look good.

- No.



   

                   

But... I think we can help you.



   

                   

Your background and

your excellent credit record...



   

                   

give us confidence that...



   

                   

- Yes?

- You will make good...



   

                   

on any financial assistance

we extend.



   

                   

- Oh, certainly.

- So...



   

                   

We are pleased to inform you

we can lend the full      .



   

                   

- Oh, stupendous!

- At an interest rate of...



   

                   

Twenty-five percent.



   

                   

Baron Hulot!



   

                   

[Knocking]



   

                   

Sweetheart, it's your Hector.



   

                   

- Jenny, my darling.

- Hector.



   

                   

The sign said

you were indisposed.



   

                   

- I wasn't expecting you.

- I couldn't wait any longer.



   

                   

- Oh, my pet, my prize.

- Mmm.



   

                   

- Mmm.

- Mmm!



   

                   

- Ahh!

- Yes...



   

                   

- Yes.

- Yes!



   

                   

- Yes!

- Now!



   

                   

- Now?

- Now! Now!



   

                   

My darling, I've never seen you

so amorous. I'm speechless.



   

                   

- Then don't speak.

- No.



   

                   

God!



   

                   

[Jenny moaning]



   

                   

BARON: What?



   

                   

BARON: Good God, man!

CREVEL: Baron.



   

                   

JENNY: Hector, you know

Monsieur Crevel, don't you?



   

                   

We're going to supper.



   

                   

You may join us, old dear,

under one condition...



   

                   

that you immediately drink

two bottles of champagne...



   

                   

to catch up.



   

                   

- We're at the quacking stage.

- Quack!



   

                   

- Quack!

- Quack.



   

                   

[Jenny giggling]



   

                   

- Jenny, how could you!

- How could I what?



   

                   

He's practically a dwarf.



   

                   

Listen... have you got       

for a new house and furniture?



   

                   

Can you pay me

      francs a year?



   

                   

Oh, you're crying.

The empire is dying.



   

                   

[Laughing]

I salute the empire.



   

                   

Oh... just look how seriously

you take the thing.



   

                   

Goodness knows, you ought to be

thankful. I'd have ruined you.



   

                   

You've spent thousands already,



   

                   

and everyone in Paris knows

you haven't any money.



   

                   

I have money! I have money.

Please, I have money.



   

                   

I love you.



   

                   

Please don't leave me.



   

                   

Send in Monsieur Crevel

on your way out.



   

                   

Naturally, Mariette, who has

served us since she was a child,



   

                   

will stay on,

as will the gardener Bertron.



   

                   

The rest of you

will have references.



   

                   

So... to bring this

painful matter to a close,



   

                   

let me express my regrets...



   

                   

and pay a small amount,

on account, to each of you.



   

                   

Mademoiselle Olivier.



   

                   

- Ah... here is my father!

- Hector! Dear!



   

                   

HORTENSE: He'll know what to do.

BETTE: What happened?



   

                   

And only last week, a new pair

of boots and a green velvet...



   

                   

Stop. My dear, creatures like

that don't know what love is.



   

                   

- Oh, Cousin...

- You're lucky to be rid of her.



   

                   

And there is your honor

to think of.



   

                   

My honor?



   

                   

You're the Baron

Hector Pierre Hulot.



   

                   

Yes?



   

                   

Well, you can't let

such an affront pass.



   

                   

- N-No.

- You must have satisfaction.



   

                   

Yes.



   

                   

Yes! I must have satisfaction

from that... that... businessman!



   

                   

My pistols!



   

                   

- One!

- Crevel's as good as dead.



   

                   

He's never held a pistol before.



   

                   

- Two!

- We could all be in danger.



   

                   

- Three!

- Why won't you discuss it?



   

                   

MAN: Four!

BARON: You have dishonored me.



   

                   

- Five!

- And stolen my little songbird.



   

                   

- Six!

- But...



   

                   

MAN: Seven!

CREVEL: Baron, please!



   

                   

- Eight!

- I'm half your size!



   

                   

- Nine!

- There must be another...



   

                   

Ten! Turn... and fire!



   

                   

Hector! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!



   

                   

BARON: My knee! My knee!



   

                   

My friend! What have I done?



   

                   

Cesar, my friend.

My dear friend.



   

                   

- Who would like to be first?

- Hector.



   

                   

[Booing and jeering]



   

                   

[Applause]



   

                   

Thank you, Mayor Crevel,

for those kind words.



   

                   

This is a glorious day.



   

                   

A day that represents a double

honor for the Hulot family.



   

                   

Firstly,

the courage of my uncle,



   

                   

General Pierre Hulot

de Forzheim...



   

                   

his lifetime of service

to the Emperor Napoleon...



   

                   

and to our country as a soldier

in the grand army of France.



   

                   

And this historic occasion

also marks the debut...



   

                   

of my brilliant and talented

son-in-law...



   

                   

Count Wenceslas Steinbach.



   

                   

We have all waited with keen

anticipation for this moment.



   

                   

And so, without further ado...



   

                   

Marvelous.



   

                   

Marvelous!



   

                   

[Crowd outside gate booing]



   

                   

After all I've done for you!



   

                   

Practically bankrupted me

with this studio... for these!



   

                   

"'A poor piece of work."'

"'Decorative."'



   

                   

What have you been doing

in here?



   

                   

An artist can't always

please the rabble.



   

                   

Rabble?! Rabble?!



   

                   

These are the opinions

of the critics!



   

                   

Blockheads. Ignoramuses.



   

                   

Oh, shut up!



   

                   

Shut up, or I'll have you

thrown in jail.



   

                   

You've humiliated me, ruined me!



   

                   

You must pay back the

commission... every penny of it.



   

                   

Listen to this.



   

                   

"'Steinbach should give up

large-scale sculptures...



   

                   

"'and concentrate

on romantic groups,



   

                   

"'small figures, jewelry."'



   

                   

Jewelry!



   

                   

I'm going to the ministry.

I'll make a personal apology...



   

                   

and assure my colleagues that

all the money will be repaid.



   

                   

It's all right. We'll simply

return the commission.



   

                   

- It's gone.

- Gone?



   

                   

What do you mean?

Well, surely it's not gone.



   

                   

You can't have spent       

francs in less than a year!



   

                   

How do you think

we've been living so well?



   

                   

If by living well

you mean your imported marble,



   

                   

your restaurants,

your entertaining,



   

                   

your flashy wardrobe...



   

                   

So now it's my fault. I see.



   

                   

In all this time, I've bought

a baby's pram and a new parasol.



   

                   

WENCESLAS: Congratulations.



   

                   

Perhaps we should announce it

in the paper.



   

                   

Perhaps you'll find

a few sympathetic readers.



   

                   

Well, let me make myself

perfectly clear.



   

                   

If anyone thinks I'll take

responsibility for his debts,



   

                   

they are mistaken.



   

                   

I'm already up to my nostrils

in debt because of Father.



   

                   

I won't be left holding the bag!



   

                   

WENCESLAS: I'm sick of it...



   

                   

...of you, of your family,

of that endlessly crying baby!



   

                   

You're mean and cruel!



   

                   

If you're so holy, why don't

you go out and get the money?



   

                   

- All right. I will.

- Ha!



   

                   

You want me to get the money?

Because I can get it.



   

                   

- Do you hear me? I can get it!

- That's a joke!



   

                   

Artists should never marry.



   

                   

I know someone

who'll loan you the money.



   

                   

Oh, what imbecile

would lend me money now?



   

                   

Someone who has

a special interest in art.



   

                   

You must come

and meet her personally.



   

                   

- Her?

- Jenny Cadine.



   

                   

The baron's mistress?

Hortense would never agree.



   

                   

Then you must go

without her knowing.



   

                   

What else can you do?



   

                   

But listen, Wenceslas,

I love you both too much...



   

                   

not to warn you of the danger.



   

                   

If you go, you must hold fast

to your heart.



   

                   

The woman is a demon.



   

                   

And I would never

forgive myself...



   

                   

if you were unfaithful

to my niece.



   

                   

CREVEL: Madame!

HORTENSE: Good morning.



   

                   

Thank you for coming

at such short notice.



   

                   

Fair lady, at your service.



   

                   

My dear, kind Monsieur Crevel...



   

                   

I've asked you here for a matter

of the greatest importance.



   

                   

I've thought long and hard

about your offer.



   

                   

- My offer?

-        for a glimpse.



   

                   

- That was a year ago.

- I'm ready.



   

                   

- But why now?

- Do not ask for explanations.



   

                   

Only do this one thing for me.



   

                   

You can be sure there is nothing

my gratitude will withhold.



   

                   

- One thing?

- Well, give me... give...



   

                   

No, do not give, but lend.



   

                   

Lend to the one whom you once

called your little butterfly.



   

                   

I need        francs.



   

                   

Ah. I see.



   

                   

Get up, my dear.



   

                   

You need only ask. The daughter

of my dearest friend,



   

                   

you'll be denied nothing.



   

                   

You'll have your money

within the hour.



   

                   

Oh... thank you. Thank you!



   

                   

BETTE: Monsieur Crevel,

thank God I've caught you.



   

                   

CREVEL: Mademoiselle Fisher,

what is it? Good heavens!



   

                   

- Hortense told me everything.

- She did?



   

                   

- Your life is in danger.

- It is?



   

                   

There... across the street

behind the lamp.



   

                   

- What?

- Count Steinbach.



   

                   

- There?

- He knows about you.



   

                   

- He's in a rage.

- Surely, if I explain...



   

                   

You know these aristocrats

with their points of honor.



   

                   

- Yes.

- Go back into the bank.



   

                   

I'll deal with Wenceslas.



   

                   

But what about Hortense?

I promised her.



   

                   

Give me the money...

without him seeing.



   

                   

And you'll give it to Hortense?

Of course. Brilliant.



   

                   

[Chorus singing]



   

                   

[Singing] The eulogy is droning,

you see a reddish glow



   

                   

You hear a dreadful groaning,

and down the hatch you go



   

                   

[Chorus singing]



   

                   

[Cheering and applause]



   

                   

I look good enough to eat.



   

                   

My dear, this is my cousin,

Count Wenceslas Steinbach.



   

                   

Yes, I recognize

Count Steinbach.



   

                   

I had the pleasure of being

present at your wedding.



   

                   

How good of you to come.



   

                   

JENNY: As I see the composition,



   

                   

Samson has awakened

with his hair shorn.



   

                   

Delilah is on her knees,



   

                   

Iooking adoringly

at the man she has destroyed.



   

                   

It is her power

that I would depict...



   

                   

her passion that brings

everything to destruction.



   

                   

No one has ever spoken

to me like this.



   

                   

Can we really have been

talking all night?



   

                   

But that's not

why we're here, is it?



   

                   

Mademoiselle Bette indicated

perhaps...



   

                   

I'm happy to loan you the money.



   

                   

- On one condition.

- Yes?



   

                   

You must create

my Samson and Delilah.



   

                   

Mademoiselle would perhaps do me

the honor of posing for Delilah.



   

                   

- I must go now.

- Mademoiselle, wait.



   

                   

- Don't leave.

- Oh, yes, your money.



   

                   

WENCESLAS:

I don't care about money!



   

                   

It isn't the money,

you understand.



   

                   

It's... the principle

of the thing.



   

                   

I understand.



   

                   

- Lf you don't pay us...

- I understand.



   

                   

...we will kill you

and your wife, your baby...



   

                   

and dump your bodies

in the Seine.



   

                   

- Do you understand?

- I understand. I do.



   

                   

More cod?



   

                   

- Where is Wenceslas?

- Oh, shut up, Celestine!



   

                   

[Plate shatters]



   

                   

Come, come, dear. Things are

never as bad as they seem.



   

                   

Mademoiselle Cadine,

you are like the goddess Diana...



   

                   

fierce, yet tender.



   

                   

It breaks my heart.

They say that you are fickle...



   

                   

and out to conquer

every heart in Paris.



   

                   

I am an artist. I can look

into a block of marble...



   

                   

and see a tiger or a girl

with garlands in her hair...



   

                   

...and a moaning in her heart.



   

                   

Which am I?



   

                   

MAN: The public is waiting.

JENNY: Tell them I'm indisposed.



   

                   

Mademoiselle Cadine,

you cannot be indisposed.



   

                   

You have a performance

in ten minutes.



   

                   

In ten minutes,

I'll be with the man I love.



   

                   

You're too beautiful to be in

love with anyone but yourself.



   

                   

[Jenny sighs]



   

                   

If you're not on-stage

by curtain, I'II...



   

                   

- You're fired!

- Have you lost your wits?



   

                   

No, I've found them,

dear sister, all thanks to you.



   

                   

- You're talking nonsense.

- Is it nonsense? I think not.



   

                   

Wenceslas and I are in love.

Soon we'll be leaving Paris.



   

                   

Leaving Paris?!



   

                   

Back to the country.

Back to Lorraine.



   

                   

I'll be a peasant again...



   

                   

stink of hard work

and long nights of love!



   

                   

You a peasant! In those shoes?



   

                   

You couldn't survive a day

without Paris.



   

                   

You'll have no admirers,

no servants.



   

                   

- You can't even open a jar.

- I'll learn.



   

                   

We had an agreement.



   

                   

You were to steal Wenceslas

away from Hortense!



   

                   

And so I have.



    

                   

But you weren't supposed

to fall in love!



    

                   

Miraculous, isn't it?



    

                   

Where are you going?



    

                   

To the Rochet de Cancal, a night

of savage sex and dinner.



    

                   

Farewell.



    

                   

Remember Carribine... and what

happened after she retired.



    

                   

How will I recognize you when

I stumble over you in the park?



    

                   

Your black velvet choker,

I think.



    

                   

BETTE: Hortense! Poor thing.



    

                   

Is there no news of Wenceslas?

Have you spoken to Stidmann?



    

                   

Has he seen him?

Where can he be?



    

                   

He's never left me alone

for so long.



    

                   

I found this in his studio.



    

                   

"'I love you as I have never

loved anyone before.



    

                   

"'lf you love me

as much as you say,



    

                   

"'meet me at the Rochet de Cancal

in my private suite at  :  .



    

                   

"'A thousand kisses,

your Jenny Cadine."'



    

                   

Help me dress.



    

                   

[Sniffing]



    

                   

Jenny?



    

                   

Damn! Again, again!



    

                   

- Pull!

- Father, we've come to say...



    

                   

No, not now! Not now!

She's sent for me.



    

                   

We've got to go!



    

                   

Tighter!



    

                   

You see? She's had enough

of that fat shrimp Crevel.



    

                   

And now she expects me to drop

everything and run to her.



    

                   

Well, I won't do it.

No, I shall make her wait.



    

                   

Can't you make this thing go

any faster? Use your whip, man!



    

                   

[Moaning]



    

                   

BARON: No, I won't dissolve

in her arms the way I once did.



    

                   

I shall blow in like a...

a bitter wind. Icy.



    

                   

Brutal. Oh, sweet...

My darling Jenny, sweet girl.



    

                   

You have a heart,

and you've just revoked.



    

                   

- Ah. Excuse me.

- Hector Hulot... here?



    

                   

How can he show his face

in a place like this?



    

                   

There isn't a patron here...



    

                   

to whom he doesn't owe

      francs.



    

                   

Or more.



    

                   

Huzzah! Baron Hulot!



    

                   

What nerves of steel, man.

As fearless as ever.



    

                   

[Jenny laughing]



    

                   

BARON: Jenny, my darling!

JENNY: Oh... Wenceslas...



    

                   

[Jenny and Wenceslas moaning]



    

                   

- What the devil?

- Father!



    

                   

- Hortense?

- Hector!



    

                   

Mademoiselle!



    

                   

Oh, my God.



    

                   

WENCESLAS:

How can she have done this?



    

                   

Would I invent

something like that?



    

                   

You hurt her. She wanted to deal

an equally painful blow.



    

                   

She was leaving the studio?



    

                   

Covered... head to foot

in plaster dust.



    

                   

God... my own wife.



    

                   

I was coming to tell you

the terrible news.



    

                   

- Your father-in-law...

- No. Hector's dead?



    

                   

Would that he were. He's alive,

but as ruined as your Samson.



    

                   

WENCESLAS:

Everything I touch I destroy.



    

                   

BETTE:

All this for Jenny Cadine.



    

                   

I would sacrifice

a thousand Samsons for her.



    

                   

She is my life,

my inspiration, my...



    

                   

Whore!



    

                   

But, you see...



    

                   

She can't have you.



    

                   

No one can.



    

                   

I found you,

brought you back from death.



    

                   

You're mine.



    

                   

You will always be mine.



    

                   

Why is it, Baron, that out of

ten beautiful women...



    

                   

...at least seven

are utterly bad?



    

                   

I... shall... blow that...

rascal's... heart to...



    

                   

...kingdom... come.



    

                   

Yes. I don't doubt it.



    

                   

I wonder...



    

                   

What can a man do

to make a woman love him?



    

                   

I suppose it's ridiculous for

men like us to want to be loved.



    

                   

We can't be more than tolerated.



    

                   

A woman is

an inexplicable creature.



    

                   

[Sniffs]



    

                   

No?



    

                   

It's lovely seeing you

looking so well.



    

                   

Shall I come tomorrow?



    

                   

I think, perhaps, a spin around

the lake in your contraption.



    

                   

Very well.



    

                   

Adieu, dear friend.



    

                   

I'm going home.



    

                   

You... cut a fine figure.



    

                   

- Monsieur?

- Madame.



    

                   

- Monsieur?

- Madame.



    

                   

May I speak with you?



    

                   

I believed you to be

a man of your word, Monsieur.



    

                   

Indeed. And so I am.



    

                   

I have lost my husband...



    

                   

because you failed to fulfill

your promise to me.



    

                   

What do you mean?



    

                   

You swore to go directly

to the bank...



    

                   

for a loan of        francs.



    

                   

- I did go.

- That is a lie.



    

                   

No! I remember perfectly.



    

                   

I went immediately to the bank.

I gave the money to your cousin.



    

                   

- Where is it?

- Where is what?



    

                   

- Where is it?

- What are you doing?



    

                   

The pouch Crevel gave you!



    

                   

It was intended for me,

and you kept it!



    

                   

I want it. I want it! I want it!



    

                   

But you have it.



    

                   

I gave it to Wenceslas

that very day.



    

                   

I went directly to his studio.

He was on his way to the park.



    

                   

- The park?

- To meet you.



    

                   

No. Not to meet me.



    

                   

To meet her.

He's given it to her.



    

                   

Oh, my dear.

The devil has a sister.



    

                   

- How could he?

- For the sake of their pleasure.



    

                   

Men commit

the most appalling crimes.



    

                   

It's in their nature,

so it seems.



    

                   

- Do you want him back?

- I don't want her to have him.



    

                   

There's only one way to get

a tigress to drop her meat.



    

                   

Father.



    

                   

[Kiss]



    

                   

- My darling.

- Wenceslas.



    

                   

Why aren't you dressed?



    

                   

It took longer than

I thought it would to pack.



    

                   

I have so many things.



    

                   

None of which

you'll ever be needing again.



    

                   

Still, I couldn't part

with any of it.



    

                   

- Hurry, my love. Come.

- But I have to change, silly.



    

                   

- I have a carriage waiting.

- I'm tired. I want a bath.



    

                   

- There's no time.

- No, there isn't, is there?



    

                   

Do you love me?



    

                   

Yes. You're my first and only

love. I'll never know another.



    

                   

Never know another?

I should say not.



    

                   

Kiss me. Hold me.



    

                   

Jenny, if we don't leave now,

it will be too late.



    

                   

- Please, Wenceslas...

- Why are you behaving so badly?



    

                   

- It's just I've been thinking.

- Yes?



    

                   

Well, why can't we stay

in Paris... just a little while?



    

                   

- Stay?

- Yes.



    

                   

JENNY: Where is Bette?

She should be here.



    

                   

I need my slippers mended.



    

                   

For God's sake, Jenny,

you don't need slippers.



    

                   

Oh, but I do. I have

a performance in half an hour.



    

                   

What are you saying?



    

                   

I'm not leaving.



    

                   

I'm not leaving Paris.



    

                   

I've grown bored with you.



    

                   

Is that plain enough?



    

                   

Don't look at me like that.

It breaks my heart.



    

                   

What heart, Mademoiselle?



    

                   

- You'll have to go now.

- But we...



    

                   

Go.



    

                   

[Jenny screaming]



    

                   

- No! No!

- Oh, my God!



    

                   

- No! No!

- Wenceslas!



    

                   

- Oh!

- Somebody get a doctor!



    

                   

- Oh, Wenceslas!

- Wenceslas...



    

                   

Madame Hortense Steinbach,



    

                   

you are hereby placed

under arrest...



    

                   

for the murder of your husband,

Count Wenceslas Steinbach.



    

                   

Cousin Bette!



    

                   

My dear girl...

how shall I live without you?



    

                   

No! No!



    

                   

Life is so boring,

don't you think?



    

                   

[Piano plays]



    

                   

JENNY, SINGING:

Farewell, my friends



    

                   

Who tread the paths of glory



    

                   

Who, day and night,

are greeted by success



    

                   

My artist friends,

I tell a simple story



    

                   

And I abide

at a humble address



    

                   

But then,

I need so little from existence



    

                   

I've got my life,

a crust of bread to eat



    

                   

My eyes are dry,

I gaze into the distance



    

                   

And sing a song of freedom

in the street



    

                   

My eyes are dry,

I gaze into the distance



    

                   

And sing a song of freedom

in the street



    

                   

[Bell rings]



    

                   

[Distant explosions]



    

                   

Thank you, Mariette.



    

                   

Do be careful. It's hot.



    

                   

[Burps]



    

                   

[Loud explosions]



    

                   

[Baby crying]



    

                   

Hush, hush.

You must have your nap.



    

                   

You're going to grow up

to be a great artist one day.



    

                   

My little Wenceslas.



    

                   

My own.



    

                   

Yes, you will.



    

                   

[Women singing in Latin]



    

                   

[Bell tolls]



    

                   

[Cheering and applause]







 
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