"Liggett." "Liggett?" " Good morning, Mr. Liggett." " Morning." "Butterfield 8?" "Hi, it's Gloria." "Any messages?" "Johnny." "George." "Listen a Mr. Liggett will call sometime today." "He might use Mr. L." "Find me wherever I am." "This is one call I want to take personally and immediately." "Okay, bye-bye." "Taxi!" "38 Horatio Street, please." "Double your tip for a cigarette." "What's the matter, you crazy?" "You're in good voice this morning." "I'm from the Census Bureau." "Good morning." "How many persons do you have living here?" "Just one." "Me." "Well, that's not nearly enough." " You working?" " Trying to." "Tomorrow's arrangements." "Tribute." " To what?" " Your faith, hope and charity." "Sunday morning and scotch on your breath?" "Well, it's good scotch." "Twenty years old." "And cigar smoke?" "I always said I'd try anything once." "Ever try common sense?" "Only in desperation." "Notice anything unusual about me this morning?" "I wish I could." "Look." "Well, look!" "You're panting to tell me where you got it." "I stole it." "Sure you did." "It figures." "Oh, not for real." "Just long enough to get even with somebody." "Even for what?" "Somebody made me so damn mad." "He left me money." "He actually left me money." " What would you have done?" " I don't know." "My work is designed so people will leave me money." "This wasn't work." "Besides, my dress was torn." "I had nothing to wear so I borrowed something spiteful and elegant." "Liggett." "Weston Ansbury Liggett." " Do you know him?" " Heard of him." "He's very social." "And very Yale." "What's with you and Yale?" "Always Yale." " It's the last college left." " Why?" "I started with Amherst, and I worked my way through the alphabet to Yale." "I'm stuck there." "Of course, I could work backwards again." "Did he tell you about his wife?" " IHilljoy." " I hear he's a lush." "A rumor of little mind." "We did have a drink last night." " One?" " A dozen maybe." "And this morning you stagger out of his apartment." "Charming." "Funny thing, I don't even remember going there." "Better than sleeping pills." "Can I help with anything?" "Could I help you with anything?" "Housework?" "You put that coat back on." "Why?" "Half-dressed women make it difficult to concentrate." "Well, then don't." "Don't think of me as a woman." "After all, we're just like brother and sister." "Remember?" "You're mad at me this morning." "Put the coat on!" "Why this morning?" "Because I'm sick of seeing you boozed up, burned out and ugly!" "Sick for me or sick for you?" "For you." "For everything you're wasting." "Why do you come here like this?" "Where have I always come, Steve?" "At least I can be honest with you." "Start being honest with yourself." "You're making a mess out of your life and forcing me to watch it." " Do you want me to go?" " Yes!" " For good?" " Yes!" "No." "It's terrible, isn't it?" "I say "yes" too much when I shouldn't." "And you say "no" too much when you shouldn't." "But you're not nearly as mad as you pretend to be." "I try to be." "Hungry?" "Ravenous." "Now, the problem is, how do I get home?" "Car's outside." "You drive." " By the way, thanks for the use of it." " Anytime." "What I mean is, what's my mother gonna think if I show up dressed like this?" "Your mother knows everything about you." "That may be so, but we never admit it." "I'm still her innocent little girl." "And she's my dear, sweet cookie-baking mother." "So go home, give her an innocent smile and have a cookie." "And tell her the truth." "If I tell her the truth, I'll have to move out." "That's what normally happens when people grow up." "If I left, she'd be lonesome." "I'm all she has, so we have to lie to each other." "What does your analyst say about all this?" "I only tell Dr. Tredman what I think he ought to hear." "That's very intelligent." "If I were intelligent, I wouldn't need a psychiatrist." "Listen, where am I gonna find a dress to wear on Sunday?" "How would I know?" "Your girlfriend, Norma, is almost my size." "You expect me to ask Norma to bring her clothes over here to put on you?" "It would certainly get me out of a jam." "And put me in one." "Listen to old Gloria." "The greater the sacrifice you ask a woman to make the more she knows you love her." "Honestly." "Hello?" "Hello, Norma?" "Problems, Liggett?" "You haven't said a word since we left the city." "Bing you know three of the most overrated things in this world?" "Home loving, home cooking and security." "That should be over the doorway of The Stork Club." "It should be over the doorway of my apartment." "Oh, come on, Ligg." "You've got everything." "Lots of people would envy you." "But am I happy?" "Obviously not." "Ever wonder why?" "I have." "Can you take it from an old fraternity brother?" "You're a heel." "A low-down, rotten heel." "Anything doesn't go your way, anything you can't have, you destroy." "I've known you all these years and I never realized you despise me." "If I really despised you, I could never tell you what I think of you." "Tell me." "You married a lovely woman, and you mistreat her because you blame her for your life." "Drinking, letching and lying." "You won't face the truth." " And what is this so-called truth?" " You find it out yourself." " Tell me." " It wouldn't be any good." "Go out and earn it the way everybody else does." "The offer is still open." "You could come back as a law partner with me anytime." "I wouldn't join the Foreign Legion with you." "Pull!" "Emily." "Yes, darling?" "How's your mother?" "She's doing well, thank you." "She's getting much stronger." "When are you coming back to town?" "Soon as I can." " Why?" "You getting lonesome?" " Sometimes." "The question was more one of curiosity than passion." "Pull!" "I have to get back to town after lunch." "But I invited the Farleys for dinner tonight." "My apologies to the Farleys." "Cliff Holbrook's in town." "And the court jester of the chemical industry has to keep him laughing." "Pull!" "As vice president in charge of nonsense I have to keep a $6 million customer happy, don't I?" "Why don't you send someone less important in the company?" "There isn't anybody less important than me." "Pull!" "Darling?" "Will you be charming at the country club today?" "I know you're always charming, but will you be especially so?" "Why?" "I was asked if you'd consider being elected to the board of governors." "Why me?" "Nobody on that board is under 60." "Isn't that where aging, useless executives go to die?" "Maybe they want to get some young blood on it." "Or maybe they see me as just another aging, useless executive." "Why do you say such cruel things about yourself?" "To beat everybody, including you, to the punch." "Pull!" "Somebody at the cleaners seems to have left a pin in it." "I know how embarrassed you must be." "I'll speak to them." "Really, this is terribly sweet of you." "Just remember that suit has led a sheltered life." "It shocks easily." "Then it's time it had a little adventure." "By the way, just for the record, what did happen to your dress?" "Well, it's a funny thing." "One minute it was there and the next minute it wasn't." "Much like your virtue, I presume." "Am I wrong?" "Somehow I get the feeling that you don't like me." "And I tried so hard to conceal it." "Why?" "You're Steve's girl." "I'm just an old friend." "Well, listen, old friend, it's about time..." "Are you decent?" "I am." "You can speak for yourself." "Come on in." "I hate to drink and run." "To the three of us." "One for all, and all for one." "The question is, which one?" "Where are the keys to my car?" "Right there, on the mantel." "Oh, darling, don't forget to feed junior regularly." "Bye, now." " What're we gonna do?" " About what?" "Me." "You." "Her." "Three mixed-up musketeers." "I don't understand." "How are you fixed for honesty?" "Do you know how old I am?" "Twenty-seven." "How long have we been, what they call, going together?" "Three years." "And four months." "It's a lot of time to put in on a man who can't make up his mind." " What are you talking about, marriage?" " I didn't say that." "But it's Gloria or me." "Are you telling me who I can have for friends?" "I'm only telling you that you can't kiss me, wishing I were Gloria anymore." " That's the stupidest..." " Call me when you make up your mind." "Shall we set a deadline?" "New Year's Eve?" "Wait a minute!" "Let me get this straight." "You're handing me an ultimatum?" "The first ultimatum is always the hardest." "Goodbye and good luck." "Gloria, don't go like this." "My name is Norma." "Here's Gloria now." "From where?" "Girl Scout camp?" "Do I look all right?" "Do you have to?" " Hi, girls!" " Oh, darling!" "You're getting circles under your eyes." "Too much reading." "Dear Mrs. Thurber." "How's church?" "Why don't you go sometime and find out?" "Coffee." "Just what I need." "Not bad." "Now, Frances, you know Gloria's always been a big coffee drinker ever since she was little." "That's a perfectly lovely suit, dear." "Have I seen it before?" "I picked it up at the designer's last week." "Had it in the trunk of the car." "Must be hard changing clothes in one of those foreign car trunks." "The model agency sent some dresses." "One of them they want you to wear to three different places." "The Salvation Army, the public library and the PTA in Brownsville." "Frances, don't joke about Gloria's work." "It's very important to her." "She's one of the few girls of her kind in the city." "I pass." "Did Butterfield 8 call?" "Not today." "Any mail?" "Oh, just act like I'm not here." "You mean I haven't been?" "There's a card from the finance company." "You're two weeks late on your car payments." "Oh, it completely slipped my mind." "Listen, I've only got about $40." "Could I borrow the $35 until I'm paid?" "Of course, darling." "I don't know what I'd do without you." "Thank you, darling." "I'll go get cleaned up and do my nails." "Yeah, sharpen them!" "For you, Mrs. Thurber, I would." "In case you forgot, your room is the first one on the right." "Thank you." "Exactly where did you stay last night?" "Oh, the penthouse at the YWCA." "Oh, Annie." "Please don't tease Gloria." "My daughter and my best friend should appreciate each other." "Mama, don't be upset." "Every time I'm separated from Mrs. Thurber I learn to appreciate her a little bit more." "I return the sentiment." "Enjoy them in good health." "Thank you, Frances." "I spent the night with Steve's girlfriend, Norma." "Now isn't that nice?" "She knows a boy whose girlfriend is that unselfish." "That's a girlfriend that won't have a boyfriend long." "A compliment from you, Mrs. Thurber?" "I must have said it wrong." "See you later." "Hello." "He's on the line?" "Let me speak to him." "Mr. Liggett, I didn't think you'd be foolish enough to call today." "But since you have..." "Wow!" "I haven't heard that since I was in Marine boot camp." "But you're way out of line, honey." "Okay, no "honey."" "I tore your dress last night and felt I owed you a new one." "After all, only a fool would offer pennies for a Renoir." "Suppose we meet again at the o/d trading post?" "I might be in the neighborhood." "If I am, what time will you be there?" "About 8:30?" "I'm getting cold in my skin." "Goodbye." " IH eep the change, honey." " Here you are, sir." "Thank you." "May Yale go bankrupt." "That will take a while." "But here's to it." "We didn't talk much last night." "Hardly." "But be grateful for small favors." "I'm sorry about the money." "Forgotten!" "Hey, you're with me, kid." "Remember?" "By choice, only." "You're all alike, aren't you?" "Play tough." " I'm not like anyone." "I'm me." " That's right." "I shouldn't knock it, should I?" "You know last night you were great company." "I've spent time around and about." "I didn't ask for your credits last night." "I don't need them now." " But you're something different." " I got the world by the tail." "That's what I wanted to talk to you about." "What do you want?" "Just what I'm getting." "Oh, now, come on, dollface." "You must go to some very bad plays." "Okay." "Gloria..." "Now, look you have a price." "We all have, and I can go pretty high." "So hold out for all you can get." "You may hit it pretty big." "On the other hand, if you try for too much, you may end up with nothing." "Good night." "You've got a great act." "Go ahead, rub your wrist." "I know it hurts." "Not if it killed me." "I wanna take you in my arms and carry you away." "That was a lesson pal, not a treatment." "I won't talk about money again." "But think." " A big apartment, charge accounts..." " Mr. Liggett put your assets away." "You don't have enough." "Try me." "You couldn't match what I've already turned down." "180-foot yacht in the French Riviera." "Van Goghs in every room, genuine-type Van Goghs." "Paid for by this man with pocket money." "Annuities for life, jewelry..." "You turned this down?" " Flatly!" " Why?" "I earn my living modeling clothes like this." "I wish I had a tape recorder." "Command performances leave me quite cold." "I've had more fun in the back of a '39 Ford than I ever would inside the Chase National Bank." "Now I get it." "You pick the man." "He doesn't pick you." "Finally!" "Why I'm not teaching logic at Columbia, I'll never know." "One moment." "Postgraduate course." "You also drop the man when you want to?" "And without a parachute." "Oh, I'm with you, kid." "And very grateful to be up there for the trip." "That's the first nice thing you've said since I met you." "Drink up before you're too busy to reach for it." "And then it's go, go, go." " Slowly, friend." "I have work to do." "Namely?" "I have three elegant bistros where I'm obliged to be photographed in this dress." "Besides, you'll enjoy seeing my good side first." "This time, let's take my car." "You mean the one with that crazy back seat?" "The same." "Excuse me, darling." "I'll be back." "Gloria." "I called you three times today." "I sent you a telegram." "I guess you didn't get it." "I think I'm getting it now." "I've got some fellows from New Haven over there, and you're what we need." "Yeah." "But you see, I'm working." "And besides, I'm with somebody." "I see." "Aren't you Weston Liggett?" "No, I'm Whistler's father." "There's nothing I love better than a great kidder." "Oh, it's a lost art." "But he's one of the greatest." "El Morocco's right around this corner." "You drove right by it!" "That's right." "Now, look!" "Now, you look." "I'm tired of looking and listening." "Nobody treats me like this." "Oh, you mean big Weston Liggett, the wealthy." "I mean, me." "Weston Liggett, the man." " There was such a person?" " In spades, honey." "I wasn't cut out to be a chauffeur a rented escort a straight man for your nightclub repartee." "Now, you mustn't run yourself down like that." "And the next time you get angry, sweetheart just remember, you sent for me." "I didn't send for you." "Take one of these out for me, will you?" "Like hell, you didn't send for me." "Now what?" "Are you going to drag me off to your cave?" "My apartment is three minutes away." "Oh, no." "Not your apartment." "Absolutely not." "It was all right for you last night." "But last night my sense of direction was slightly impaired by gin." "Okay, I've got caves all over the place." "You can straighten up now." "We've made the curve." "But I don't want to." "Hello." "Hello." "Happy?" "Happy!" "Good evening!" "Good evening." " Good evening." " Lf it isn't Mr. Liggett." "I see you're all filled up." "Oh, well, I wouldn't be Happy if I wasn't." "We always have room for two more weary travelers." "If you'll excuse me, I need rest." "Oh, sure." "I know, I know." "Hey, I've got a new joke for you!" " It's crazy and there's some words..." " Now, please!" " But there were these two old maids..." " Some other time." "Later." "A man's got to get his rest." "He's got to get it regular." "Honey, there was a time I could've worn that coat." " Happy was in vaudeville once." " In vaudeville?" "I was vaudeville." "You should see my scrapbooks!" "You're liable to end up psychologically famous." "A case history in a medical book." " You writing it?" " No." "But I tell my psychiatrist everything." "Even down to the smallest darkest details." "That's a set of notes I'd like to read." "But why do you need a psychiatrist?" "I've never met anyone as direct and uninhibited as you." "You know that Latin motto, sic transit g/oria?" "I'm the g/oria, and in my case the sic is for real sick." "I'm not too sure about the transit." "I think it's about my car." "Gloria..." "You're wonderful." ""Wild" is the word." "First genuine wildness I've come across in a woman." "Have you stopped to think that perhaps you bring out the wildness in me?" "With you, who has time to think?" "Take five." " Waitress, some more french fries?" " Coming up." "Gloria, where do we go from here?" "That's a good question." "Why don't we go on a long trip to faraway places exploring?" "Exploring what?" "What else?" "Each other." "Here's the overture." "Theme." "Where's the theme?" "I'll get it." " You're working." "I'll drop by later." " No, come on in." "We've finished." "Sit down." "I'll have the last 16 bars and the tag for you tomorrow." " About noon." " See you, Steve." "Now..." "I found your message and came over." "I wanted to thank you for the birthday gift." "It was ordered a long time ago." "They sent it automatically." "And a few days early at that." "I've missed seeing you." " This place is a wreck." " I guess so." "I've been busy." "Here, let me take your coat." "Thank you." " The story of my life." " What is?" "My simple cloth coat hanging in your closet, next to Gloria's mink." " At least mine's paid for." " This is not her coat." "She borrowed it." "I don't know where she is." "I've been calling Butterfield 8." "They don't know either." " I do." " Where?" "She's way out in another world." "Give me my coat." "I'll be on my way." " You just got here." " It was a mistake." " Norma." " I thought when I found your message that you'd made up your mind, but you haven't." "No, thanks!" " Norma, sit down." " I don't want to." "Norma, sit down and listen." "Every time we see each other, we fight about Gloria." "Without raising our voices let me explain Gloria to you once and for all." "That's quite a job." "We grew up in the same area." "I've known her all my life." "We went to the same school." "Her father died when she was little." "Her mother went to work." "So I sort of became her family." "I have to look after her." "I'm gonna do it for as long as it takes." "Will you try to understand?" " I understand." " I knew you would." "I understand that it's much worse than I thought." "You're in love with her, and you don't even know it." "Steve is she not a tramp?" " I never liked that word." " She's the biggest tramp in the city." " I don't like to hear you use it." "Suppose you make up your mind to marry me someday?" "We marry and have kids." "Do you want her hanging around, babysitting?" "Nipping brandy in the morning and telling them the story of Red Riding Hood and the Three Lecherous Bears in a hotel?" "Do we keep a room where she can sleep off her hangovers?" " All I know is, I worry about her." " But does she worry about you?" " Does she?" "!" " I don't know or care!" "This is something I'm gonna do whether you like it or not!" "Steve I withdraw my ultimatum." "This fight is far too important for me to run away." "If I'm going to lose it's only gonna be because I'm thoroughly beaten." "If you don't kiss me, I'm going to kiss you." "That's where I was born." " Right behind that window up there." " It's not what I pictured." "It isn't what my mother pictured either." "We couldn't even afford a doctor." "My father delivered me." " He must have been a courageous man." " He was an inventor." "Can you think of anything more useless in a small town like this?" " Not if he invented a way to get out." " He did." "Oh, with some gimmick or other." "And he made money." "Not a lot, but enough to set us up comfortably." "He was very proud of me when I graduated law school." "He was certain I'd go a long way in this world." "And you did, didn't you?" " The head of a big chemical company." " I'm just another hired hand." "The company belongs to my wife's family." "My wife is a fact that I can't avoid." "She's the center of a spiderweb of family, money country clubs and time-killing childish employments." "Fall into it once..." " What will the neighbors think?" " The worst." "You know, that's exactly what I'm thinking now." "I want to kiss you right here on Chestnut Street at noon in the worst possible way." "You know, I'm glad you're in chemicals." "Annie?" " Annie." " Did you play?" "Quite a while ago." "There!" "You can't be out of clubs." "Well, what did I play?" "Your heart." "And I can hear yours pounding right across the table." "I'm sorry, Franny." "Let's forget the game." "No, no, no." "I'll pay attention." "Now, let's play." "I'd rather you put your troubles on the table." "I don't wanna burden you with them." "So what am I your friend for?" "Your money?" "Or maybe I want to steal your husband?" "You think I don't know you haven't heard from your daughter in six days?" "She's never done such a thing before without calling." "Something terrible must have happened." "Why does it have to be bad?" "Good things happen too." "Frances, you're my best friend, but I can't talk to you, frankly." " Why not?" "There are things you don't know about." "Nobody should." " Yes, they should!" " Her father died when she was so little." "If only she'd had a wise father and strong enough to keep her on the right path!" "Once, there was a man I almost married." "The major." "Major Hartley?" "Somehow or other, Gloria didn't like him." "It might have been good for her if I had." "Anne." "Gloria's a good girl." "Don't worry about her." "But you always say such impolite things to her." "I say the same to everybody." "I'm a born critic." "There's bad in everything, but there's good too." "Her good far outweighs the bad." "If she was that bad, you wouldn't have heard from her in six years." "Do you mind if I kiss you?" "You do, and I'll spread an ugly rumor all around the neighborhood." "She's a real rust bucket." "But she's mine." "A yacht!" " You didn't tell me." " It doesn't have any Van Goghs in it but I do have two original copies of P/ayboy magazine." "Let's go aboard and "sail away for a year and a day to the land of the bong trees."" " The Ow/ and the Cat." "Come aboard, mate, and sign on." "But I warn you the crew hasn't seen a woman for three months." "Crazy." "Where are you bound for, captain?" "Out of frustration bound for ecstasy." "I've heard a lot about ecstasy." "It's everything they say and more." "If you'd kindly show me to my quarters, you can lift anchor anytime." "Emily?" "Mother!" "You should be in bed." "And you should not be in bed." "At least alone." "Now, I can take care of myself." "Which seems to be more than you can do." "I want to tell you about our family." " It's 11:00, and I know all about..." " I'll tell you anyway." "Sit down." "I want to make a point." "All right." "We've had sacrifice and cowardice honor and infidelity courage, love deception, confusion, brilliance tragedy." " Why not just bring the dictionary?" "You know what we've never had in the family since its history's been recorded?" "Privacy." "There's not one single, solitary divorce." "It's my opinion, after 150 years, we've earned a divorce with a clear conscience." "Tomorrow, I want you to call Mr. Robinson and instruct him to draw up the necessary papers and to have them served forthwith on that worthless, absentee husband of yours." " He is not worthless." " Then why isn't he with you?" "Mother, you were ill." "I wanted to look after you." "You wanted to hide from unpleasantness and the truth." "Somewhere, at this very minute, he's probably lifting a glass in a bar or some woman's skirt." "And you know it." "Oh, Mother, don't be vulgar!" "Vulgarity has its uses." "Anyway, your marriage is over." "Divorce him without delay and start out fresh." " No." "Never." "This is not pride speaking, but because I know Wes is good." " And I love him." " Oh, nonsense!" "Now, Mother you listen to me." "If there's anything wrong with Wes, we brought it about." "Explain." "Instead of my living his life, we brought him here to ours." "We handed him a gift-wrapped package and said:" ""Here." "Here's your life." "Don't bother to live it yourself."" "You presented him with a meaningless job, all title and no work." "He woke up with energy to burn, and he started burning it." "But in all the wrong directions:" "Liquor, women, defiance." "The more he did it, the more he had to go on to justify it." "You're not running a mission for lost egos." "Mother, I'm running a marriage." "Not just through the good days, but through the bad days too." "Someday Wes is going to find himself." "When he does, I want to be there." "In the meantime?" "All I need is patience." "How much have you got left?" "I don't know, Mother." "That's what scares me." "I don't know." "You're a magnificent woman, Emily." "Magnificent." "But why don't you fight for him?" "A knock-down, drag-out kind of fight." "And give him all the more reason to run away from me?" "Emily where did you ever learn all this wisdom?" "From you, you fool!" "That attaché case, a man would love that, wouldn't he?" "Any man." "Especially if the right woman gave it to him." "I know the right woman and the right man." "Let's buy it." "Good morning." " Good morning." " I'd like to see that attaché case." " The one in tan." " This one?" " Very nice." "Can you gift-wrap it?" " Yes, of course." "Would you care to have the initials put on it in gold?" "Excuse me." " We have a machine that can do it." " Fine." "Thank you." " What initials, please?" " S.C." " S.C. Thank you." " S. C?" "Who's S. C?" "Steve Carpenter." " And who's Steve Carpenter?" " A friend of mine." "Out of nowhere." "Completely out of nowhere comes a friend called "Steve."" "It's his birthday." "Every birthday, for 12 years, I've bought him a present." "Oh, that's grand." "I'm all choked up." "Liggett?" "I'm going to have to leave you today and go see Steve." "Now, look." "I know. "You're with me, kid." "Remember?"" "Lt'll be only a moment, ma'am." "Oh, clerk?" "I'm Gloria Wandrous." "I called to see if something would be ready today." " Do you know if it is?" " I have it right here." "Miss Wandrous." "Here it is, miss." "Thank you." " Do you mind?" " Go right ahead, sir." "Gloria I'm afraid it's your turn to act like a fool because there's something I have to tell you." "You act like a man who's expecting his wife back in town." "How did you know?" "Today?" "I always knew." "Someday." "Here I was, trying to find a way to..." "Look, Gloria, I have to spend at least tonight with her." "A good night's sleep will be the best thing for you." "I have Steve to keep me warm." "Don't say things like that." "Mr. Liggett, I can hardly wait for your call tomorrow." "You won't forget the number?" "I'll do my best." "And, Liggett thank you for not calling me "honey" and "babe" and "dollface" anymore." "I couldn't." "I don't think of you like that anymore." "Mama?" "Darling." "I've been so worried about you." "I know you have been, darling, and I'm sorry." " Are you hungry?" " No." "Mama, I want to tell you what I've been doing." " No, dear, you don't have to." " I do." "I've been with a man a whole week." "Let me tell you the truth for once in my life." "No, please." "Please." "We both know what kind of a girl I've been." " No, I don't want to hear about it." " Mama, you have to!" "Unless I am honest about yesterday, how can you believe me today?" "Believe what?" "I'm different!" "Mama, I am different." "Yesterday, it was men, a whole world full of men..." "Let me go!" "You're hurting me!" "Mama, face it!" "I was the slut of all time!" "If only you'd done that before." "Long ago every time I came home all soaked through with gin." "I'm sorry." "It's not your fault, Mama." "It never has been." "It was in me but it isn't there anymore." "It's no longer just men for me." "There's only one man." "One." "Just one." "Maybe it's too late for marriage but it's not too late for love." "Now by some miracle, I'm like everybody else." "I'm in love." "You can look at me, Mama without wishing I'd never been born." "Hi, Bing." "Hi, Ligg." "Well?" "Is that offer still open?" "Yes or no?" "So you finally came to your senses." "Well, what brought this on?" "Something just woke me up." "I won't ask what it was because I wish it had happened five years ago." " You prepared to work hard?" " Harder than you." "We keep regular hours." "Law and liquor don't go together." "It'll take six months of study to catch up." "I'll catch up in three." "All right, Ligg, old friend." "Let's go." "She's here, doctor." "Good afternoon, Dr. Tredman." "I don't know if I care to talk with you, Miss Wandrous." "Then why did you let me in?" "Don't try to analyze me." "You don't have the training." "Not in books, perhaps." "You missed three sessions in a row, and you're late for this one." "I have only so much time a day." "If you don't need the time, there are people who desperately do." "Now, let's get to work without anymore nonsense." "I'm sure after all that, we'll have no rapport." "But if you get mad enough, I might find something." "Doctor Tredman, are you hard of hearing?" "No." " I'm trying to tell you something." " What?" "I don't need you anymore." "I have no problems anymore." "I'm in love." "I am in love." "I am really in love." "I'm delighted to hear it." "Goodbye, Dr. Tredman." "Thank you for everything." "While it is sometimes possible that love can solve many things love is not so simple that you can rely on it as a complete solution." "So if it isn't all that you hoped it would be if it doesn't work out, don't hesitate to come back quickly." "But it will work out." "And I'm gonna make it work." "But if it doesn't..." "But it will." "It has to." "Happy birthday, Steve!" "Come on in." "Norma's on the phone." "Give her my best." "Sorry, Norma." "Yeah, that place sounds fine." "I'll pick you up in a half-hour." "What?" "That was just a studio messenger." "See you later." "Bye." "What are you trying to do to me?" "Drive you wild with desire!" "Where have you been all this time?" "I've been chained to the wall in a sanitarium to keep away from you." "Indifference." "You can't drive me away this time with indifference." "Norma's waiting." "I gotta..." "Flesh and blood can only stand so much voluptuous torture." "You have 30 seconds, buddy-boy." "Have you gone on the needle?" "I am hooked." "I am hooked." " I'm hooked on you." " Cut it out." "You have 20 seconds." "19 18 17..." "The coat!" "Oh, Lord, the coat!" "She's coming back to town today!" " What am I gonna do?" " 16 15, 14..." " You're crazier than I am." "...13, 12..." " Bye." "Happy birthday!" "...11 10, 9, 8, 7..." "Mrs. Liggett." "Welcome home." "It's good to have you back." " How nice of you, George." " How is Mrs. Jescott?" "She's coming along fine, out of danger." "Darling, I didn't even hear you come in." " You been standing there long?" " A minute." "Welcome home." "Thank you, Wes." "Thank you." "I must say, you're looking surprisingly youthful." "I'm far from being an old man, as yet, I hope." "I didn't mean that you ever were old." "It's just that there's a certain aliveness about you." "I don't know what I mean." "Is your mother feeling better?" "Yes." "Much." "Well, that's nice." "I'm glad." " Emily, there's something..." " I know." "Missing." " What?" " I noticed it as soon as I came in." " What are you talking about?" " My coat." " What coat?" " My mink." " Your mink is missing?" " Didn't you know it was gone?" "Of course not." "See?" " You must have misplaced it." " I checked every closet." "Maybe you left it out at Long Island." "Just to make certain, I called Mother." "But it's not there." "How could it be gone?" "I don't know." "I've been here every day and nobody else has been in here but me." "None of our friends nobody." "Wes?" "Have you thought of something?" "Yes, I was thinking..." "Yes?" " You know, those...?" " What?" "Those magazine salesmen and people who solicit for charities?" "I've heard some are fronts for burglaries." "You sound like a Park Avenue Sherlock Holmes." "Go ahead and laugh." "Stranger things have happened." "The best thing to do is call the police." "No!" "Why not?" " The cheap publicity and all." " Expensive fur isn't cheap publicity." "And the insurance companies." "If something's stolen, you're labeled a bad risk and your premium goes up." "You're ridiculous." "I don't understand it." "Well, I do!" "I'll get a private detective." "I know a good one." "Private detective?" "This is real life, not a television serial." " Mother lost a diamond..." " Let me do it without your mother." "I didn't mean it that way." "Which way did you mean it?" "I don't know." "Wes, I'm your wife." " I wanna do things your way, even if..." " Think they're stupid?" "I'll see you later." "Tom you know Gloria, dark-haired, this high..." "You don't have to describe Gloria to me." "I'd know her with my eyes closed, in a coal mine during an eclipse." " Has she been here tonight?" " Not for over a week." "Let me tell you something." "Without her, this place is dead." "She's like catnip to every cat in town." " Give me a scotch and water." " Liggett!" " Haven't seen you around." " Make that a double." " How are you?" " Two brandies." "That's right." "I've been kind of busy." "I heard." "That's the business I wouldn't mind having again." " What're you talking about?" " Come on, Liggett." "Come on." "Gloria!" "Sure." "She's frantic, isn't she?" "Like a rocket right off the Earth." "Who should know better than yours truly?" "Mother, help me." "I'd have left home for that." "She's got a traveling itch like a flea." "Hop, hop, hop." "One dog to another." "She picks you up, and she drops you." "Well, welcome to the fraternity." "We meet once a year in Yankee Stadium." "Now, listen, Butterfield 8 I've called her hundreds of times." "I'm her closest friend." "You've got to tell me where she is." "It's a matter of life and death!" "You're liars." "Liars, all of you!" "Thieves and liars!" "Now tell me!" " Do you know the speed limit here?" " No." "40 miles an hour, posted every half-mile." " Do you know how fast you were going?" " No." "65 miles an hour." "Let me see your license, please." "Thank you." "Turn your face around toward me." "Now breathe out." "Thank you." "You got troubled?" " Yes." " I thought so." "Let me give you some advice." "Don't try to drive your troubles away." "First, you're gonna be mad at the world." "You push your foot down on that gas pedal, and then you go." "Tomorrow, the sun will come out like it did this morning." "Take it easy." "Cookies." "So what was I saying?" "So she said to herself, "You get in solid with the director." "He puts you in solid with the producer." "You wind up with a big partnership."" "So two days, or should I say, two nights later she was in, butt solid." "Yeah, with the director, with his cousin..." "She was so busy being in solid with every Tom, Dick, Harry and George she wouldn't recognize a producer if one was under her pillow." "Do you take sugar?" "So now time passes, and our heroine is very big." "Yeah, but not in the theater." "No, in all the wrong places." "In 500 little black books 28 divorce cases two police blotters and one restraining sheet in Bellevue's ward." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, she hit it big." "From a size 12 dress to a size 44." "She went from looking like an orchid to a face like a pan of worms." "And all because she said, "With only a rag, a bone, a hank of hair I will move the world my way!"" "What's the matter?" "I'm boring you?" "You live it up." "You kick up your heels." "You grab everything you can get." ""You light the candle from one end to the other," like they say." "And then one day, you too can be the proud proprietor of a very heavily mortgaged, roadside brothel and wish you were dead." "Good morning, darling." " What time did you get in last night?" " Late." "Did the private detective have any...?" "Detective?" " The man you'll see about the coat." " Oh, him." "He was on a job." "I'm gonna see him again today." "I've seen you drink many times, but never in the morning like this." "Don't worry, Emily." "It's not alcoholism." "It's just a kind of medicine." "Why don't you go back to bed?" "I can't." "I have to go and look for your fur coat." "Why do you feel so responsible?" " It disappeared while I was here." " No one's blaming you." " That's not the point." " What is?" "I could tell you things about people, but never mind." "You have enough problems of your own." " Is there anything I can do?" " Yes." "When I come back with that coat, which I will, I want you to throw me out." " Hi, Mama." " Hello, darling." "That looks pretty." " You might like it for your bathroom." " I would." "I'm sorry I didn't come home last night." "That's all right." "I spent the night in a motel." "Alone." "I had some thinking to do." "I saw a woman." "Utterly proper, utterly conventional utterly beautiful." "You're beautiful too, dear." "I have a face." " That's not the kind of beauty I mean." " What kind of beauty?" "The kind that comes from self-respect, I guess." "It shines." "I've seen that kind." "It takes a lifetime to find." "I'm going to find it." "I think you will." "Butterfield 8 called." "Any messages?" "Mr. Liggett says he has to see you." "It's a matter of life and death." "Did he say when or where?" "I've written it down." "So you did take it." "Yes." "And I'm sorry, Liggett." "May I sit down?" "That's up to you, honey." " Would you care to order something?" " No, the lady's not going to order." "Why did you bother to bring it back?" "Because it isn't mine." "Because you're scared, you mean." "Because you know I'm not an ordinary Joe on your sleigh ride." "Because you know, while I might have given you the world I'd tear your head off if you stole as much as a nickel from me." "Isn't that it?" "No." "So you pick up the man when you want and drop him like a bomb when you want." "Get lost!" "We're talking!" "People don't mean anything to you, do they?" "The way they feel in here." "Not down where you live." "I care about some people." "For an hour or a day or a week." "Till you've had your kicks." "Then you slither off to the next one." "I'll talk to you tomorrow." "There isn't gonna be any tomorrow." "And for once, somebody's going to drop you." "Go ahead, try that heel trick again." "The one that gets the boys hot." "And I'll rip this arm right out!" " May I say something?" " Sure honey, babe, dollface, kid." "Say something sexy!" "Something that always got the boys headed for the motel." "You can't have everything in life." "Be grateful for the few things you do get, no matter where they come from." "The pornographic philosopher!" "Now, you just sit there like a good tramp should until I get out of your sight." "I can't stomach being seen in public with you." "Liggett." "And don't you dare mention my name again!" "You're a dirty joke, from one end of this town to the other!" " That will be enough of that." " Mind your own business!" " Now, look." " Take it easy." "There's other women in this place, including my wife." "Hey!" "Take it easy, pal!" "Come on!" "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I just must have gone berserk, I guess." "He's gonna be all right." "I'm awfully sorry, miss." "Can I help you?" "Mr. Liggett!" " Good heavens, what happened?" " Get away." "Liggett?" "For a lousy fur coat, you'd do this?" "You want me to give this back to my wife after you touched it?" "Leave me alone." "Do you want a doctor?" "Yes, and tell him to make me unconscious before I can think." "Who is it?" "Who is it?" "It's me." "Can I get you anything?" "Ask me about the coat, Steve." "Ask me." "I see you still have it." "Because it's mine." "Every skin." "Every thread." "Every hair is mine." "And do you know why?" "Why?" "Because I earned it." "Pretty good pay for one week." "$ 1000 in fur a day." "You and Liggett couldn't make it?" "That isn't the important thing now." "The important thing is, Steve I took money." " Do you know what that makes me?" " Baby, don't." "Let me cry." "Let me cry!" "Like all the times I should have and never could." "I have to tell you something." " I know all about you, Gloria." " You don't know this." "Nobody knows this except a certain man somewhere who I'd like to think of as standing in a lake filled with burning gasoline." "Please, listen." "I was 13." "My father was dead." "All older men seemed like fathers to me." "But I wanted one of my own to sit in his lap to hug him and have him say I was beautiful." "Do you remember Major Hartley?" "I remember him." "Major Hartley." "My mother's friend." "He came down to Grand Central Station one day to pick me up from camp." "Mother was away visiting." "He took me home." "He let me sit on his lap." "He let me hug him." "He told me I was beautiful." "He stayed in that house for one week and taught me more about evil than any 13-year-old girl in the world knew." "Don't." "You haven't heard the worst of it yet!" "I loved it!" "Every awful moment of it, I loved!" "That's your Gloria, Steve!" "That's your darling Gloria!" "I made a way of life out of it." "The deep shame of it didn't hit me until it was too late." "I couldn't go back to 13 again." "I had one chance to stop it." "One last chance." "And I I threw it all away for 32 animals sewn together in a coat." "It's not all over." "Give it another chance." "Where you going?" " It doesn't matter." " Wait!" "It matters a great deal, what you do." "You've got to decide what you're gonna do next." "I do too." "Stay here tonight." "Thank you, Steve." "Anything you need?" "There is." "A divorce." "There's no call for such remorse over last night." "Let's face it, Emily." "I'm a failure as a husband and as a man." "Wes, I love you!" "I know you do." "That makes the divorce all the more necessary because I can't go on disappointing you." " Couldn't you try?" " No." "Do you love her?" " That woman you were with." " I seem to." "But you fought over her and sent her away in a rage." "Yes, I did." "I was sick because I was afraid I was going to lose her." "I hated her unreasonably because I couldn't stand losing her." "Just as you hate me now." "Good morning." "Good morning, sweetheart." "Open your eyes good and make sure you know who you're talking to." " Norma, isn't it?" " Shrewd guess." "I wanna marry you today." "I haven't anything else to do." "Good." "I'll be ready in a minute." "Fine." "Thank you very much." "Okay." "Bye." "I've just called Butterfield 8 to shut off the service and to send me a bill." "As soon as I have an address in Boston, will you forward it to me?" "Yes, dear, I will." "Take care of Mama." "I've got plans for her." "My cousin Harry." " Oh, Frances!" " I'm a born matchmaker." "10%, of course." "Naturally!" "I don't want to be a nosy neighbor, but why Boston?" "That's where the Pilgrims made a fresh start." "If it's good enough for them, I can take it." "Can Boston take you?" "What will you do in Boston, dear?" "Well, I'll buy a paper." "Look up the want ads." "Same as any girl without a job." "Before we all start crying, let's get the luggage in the car." "This is as close as I'll ever get to heaven." "Do you like it?" "Of course not." "I'm only faint from not eating in three days." "It's yours." "No." "Wear it in good health." "Oh, no." "You can't bribe me with this." "I could never say a mean word about you ever again." "I'd die of boredom." "Well, then just keep it warm for me." "Goodbye, Mama." "I don't want you to go." "I have a feeling you'll never come back." "I never will come back, Mama." "But I'll send for you as soon as I can." "Did she leave any forwarding address or number?" "Now, look this is the most important telephone call of my life." "You must tell me, please." "Boston?" "You're certain?" "Thank you, Butterfield 8." "Thanks." "Don't be frightened, Gloria." "Please." "I can only think of one apology." "Will you marry me?" "I've arranged for a divorce." "Wait for me and I'll make you forget every word I uttered last night." "You can't." "I'm left with those words." "I'm branded with them." "Thank you for asking me to marry you." "If only you'd done it yesterday, it might have meant something." "But not today." "But I only did what I did last night because you were so much in my blood that I exploded." "But you were right last night." "No man could marry me and not keep remembering." "You'd have to explode at my life, past and..." "You couldn't help but explode." "I can think of a dozen apologies." "Oh, I know." "And I'd accept." "But then look." "Look at all the thousands of explosions ahead and the thousands of apologies and acceptances until we both got so disgusted." " I love you." "I love you." "And I love you." "It's no use." "It's no damn use." "Let's go someplace to talk." "Over at Happy's." "Just talk." "Just so that we can be together and alone." "So that I can tell you what I want to do." "If I get in a room with you together, alone I know what will happen." "It'll be the same thing all over again." "We started this whole thing together." "We're obligated to solve it together." "Please." "Hello, Mr. Liggett." "You brought another weary traveler." "Hi, honey." "Welcome home." " Give me a key, Happy." " IH eys, that's my business." " Here pass the most beautiful..." " Give me a key." "Yeah, yeah." "Right away." "You saw the accident?" "Yes." "Your name, please." "Weston Liggett." "1038 Fifth Avenue, New York City." "I stopped that same girl for speeding." "I wish I'd put her in jail then." " They didn't make her name yet?" " No." " Gloria Wandrous." " You knew her?" "We were traveling north together." "You're going to read about it in the newspapers tomorrow." "The family name your picture, my picture everything." "I'm sorry." "I don't understand." " What's happened?" "Tell me." " She's dead." "She lived for an hour unconscious." " But she's dead." " Who?" " That girl?" " Yes." " Terrible." " Automobile accident." "She was trying to get away from me." "I'm sorry." "So sorry." "I don't suppose that anybody would think that she was a good person." "But, strangely enough, she was." "On the surface, she was all sex and devil-may-care." "Yet everything in her was struggling toward respectability." "She never gave up trying." "I'm going out looking for my pride." "Alone." "When I find it, if you're here, I'll come back." "And we'll see if it still has any value to either of us."