"The majority of events related in this film are true." "However, the authors are not trying to do the work of historians." "They have allowed their imaginations some liberty." "They apologise to those who may share the same names as those used for certain characters in this film." "There is, naturally, no relationship involved." "There they are!" "There they are!" "July 1933..." "CASSlS, FRANCE" "I'm Chief-lnspector Gardet of the Sûreté Générale" "Mr Lev Davidovich Bronstein, known as Leon Trotsky..." "For humanitarian reasons, and as an exceptional measure... the government of France hereby grants you asylum" "There is one condition..." "You may not intervene in the internal affairs of France" "We had you disembark here at Cassis... to avoid demonstrations" "The Press is waiting in Marseilles" "We want to keep your itinerary a secret" "Here is a copy of the decree authorizing you to reside in France" "And so a page of history is turned..." "He led the October Revolution at Lenin's side" "He created the Red Army..." "now he is in exile again!" "meanwhile in paris" "Your car, Mr Alexandre?" "Yes..." "I'll be right there" "Baron Raoul is waiting, sir" "Find out who Bonny is working for Inspector Bonny often works on his own I want the answer today, Boussaud!" "If it's money, I'll pay." "Just one more palm to grease!" "9 tonight, Place St Georges..." "the back door" "Thanks for coming back, Baron l need your advice I don't trust Gaston to run the Empire alone" "Always delighted to be of service..." "Tell me about Biarritz, Baron." "is Arlette still beautiful?" "Still the most beautiful, Sacha" "Yesterday, in Juan Montalvo's Hispano... she was ravishing: a queen!" "The jury was simply..." "Later, Baron!" "Don't spoil it for me I'll want all the details I'm keeping you with me all day" "What's in the news?" "Hollywood's on strike." "Wall Street's reeling" "Speicher won the Tour de France" "Have you read Kessel's article in Le Matin?" ""The Call of the Blood" is the melodramatic title" "And what blood does he mean?" "Jewish blood!" "To protest against... racial persecution in Germany..." "Lord Melchett, president of the Chemical Industries Trust... has abjured Christianity" "He has returned to the faith of his forefathers" "And he, Joseph Kessel, approves... of this gesture by a rich and powerful man" "Melchett reacts to adversity... by renewing bonds from which he was otherwise liberated" "We're supposed to think:" "How noble!" "I'm not struck by the nobility but by the stupidity!" "Calling attention to one's Jewish origins... is a sure way to arouse animosity" "Ever read leftist papers?" "Never..." "I haven't the strength." "They're so badly written?" ""The Council Presidents and most Ministers..."" ""are swine, bastards and gangsters"" ""The traitors!" "Shove dynamite up their behinds..."" "is that well-written?" "But that's a polemic, Sacha!" "The language is purposely excessive" "But you're well-bred..." "How can you frequent those Radical-Socialists?" "You don't understand... I frequent those in power!" "What can I do?" "The Left Coalition won the elections!" "If your friends win next time... we'll celebrate with champagne" "Don't wait till then, Sacha I'll introduce you to my friends whenever you like" "In power or not, they have power!" "Checks ready, Borelli?" "Draw 50,000 cash from the La Fonciére account" "Have Laloy take 25,000 to Mr Véricourt" "Bring me the rest at the Empire" "Draw 200,000 from the C.l.C. account" "Deposit it to my account at the Crédit Lyonnais" "Transfer 45,000 to Biarritz and draw 100,000..." "Put it in the office safe" "Can I talk to you, Bonny?" "Why hound Serge Alexandre?" "Alexandre?" "Oh yes, that's his name now..." "Am I hounding him?" "You've turned in three reports on him since May" "And La Bonne Guerre keeps attacking him..." "The editor's your man" "Drop it!" "Do I bother your informers?" "That's just it!" "Too much so... I see..." "So Alexandre still works for you?" "Put yourself in his place!" "Do you want your past dug up?" "Would you like anyone digging into the Volberg case?" "I guess I'll fill you in on this, after all" "You see?" "That's all money is..." "Bits of paper for Borelli to handle" "Off we go, Baron... to the Empire" "Alexander's Empire!" "Now describe Arlette's triumph for me lt was glorious, Sacha..." "an apotheosis!" "Everything was perfect, even the weather" "You would have loved the blue hydrangeas..." "A nightmare?" "What nightmare?" "She dreamed that you were both falling lt's a very common dream, Sacha" "You were in a car that had no brakes" "She's had that same dream often, lately I must tell Dr Mezy... ls Montalvo still courting my wife?" "Nothing can discourage our Don Juan!" "He put his car at her disposal again yesterday" "What about his other plot?" "To overthrow the Spanish Republic... I wouldn't know..." "He's preparing to go to Italy" "To Italy?" "They're contacting Mussolini..." "Of course..." "Mussolini!" "Hello, Doc" "I have to see Alex for a few minutes... I must examine him!" "He's nervous, depressed and can't sleep I don't like that one bit!" "Should I have told Sacha?" "To say nothing is a kind of betrayal" "But it wouldn't be gallant to tell him about it..." "Yesterday, after ArIette's triumph..." "Montalvo launched his final assault... against her resistances" ""all or nothing, " he told me" ""She's mine tonight, or I disappear"" "What's he saying...?" "Arlette seems fascinated" "What can they be saying?" "Something has upset them" "My ancestors defeated the Arabs... 3000 acres of olive trees, vineyards..." "Mine, by blood-right!" "And so I raised my hand..." "The Guardia Civil were ordered to fire" "The peasants were shot down point-blank ln Spain... we have a long history of knowing how to die" "Why won't you ever see me alone?" "Afraid you'll weaken?" "No, I'm not afraid of that, my dear Juan I'm not virtuous and I don't consider marriage sacred" "But I belong to a man I am his" "He alone can release me from my vows" "And that's the only thing I'm afraid of..." "That he might do it!" "Can we stage deux sous de fleurs modestly?" "Use the decors from Katinka, for example..." "The public wants new things..." "everything new!" "Gaston's right!" "With a Depression on... people want to see extravaganzas!" "They want to see all the things they haven't got" ""Life can be beautiful..."" "And life can be beautiful!" "Right, Alex?" "It's two against one..." "deux sous de fleurs it is!" "How much will deux sous de fleurs cost me?" "Go on, start the auditions without me I need Mr Grammont's legal counsel" "I'll be needing you, too!" "Sorry to keep you waiting" "Here's what I found... lt dates from 1926" "Our next issue will carry the picture with the caption..." ""The owner of the newspaper La Volonté" ""and of the Empire Theater..." ""during a surprise party"" "How do you like it, Bonny?" "I've changed my mind..." "Alexandre is on his guard" "What'll I do?" "Go see him anyway I have a report here, from Biarritz..." "Say it's a gossip item..." "just for openers" "See how he reacts to a direct contact" "La Bonne Guerre doesn't worry me, Doc I can handle scandal sheets" "But Inspector Bonny is behind it" "He filed reports on me May 23rd, June 17th... and July 1st!" "That's this month..." "You're well-informed I pay enough..." "The Police Fund is an expensive mistress!" "Grammont, attack the root of the problem..." "And the root is the Laforcade file" "Get it over with, lawyer!" "It's dragged on for seven years lt's been postponed 12 times... fine!" "Now get the case dismissed and the civil suit withdrawn" "Try the statute of limitations" "We know judges and Ministers..." "find a solution!" "I've talked to Véricourt, we have a plan" "We'll settle the civil suit out of court I can do it with two million..." "But I have to ask some questions..." "Ask Dr Mezy!" "That's why I had him come today I've forgotten I've decided to forget!" "I am Serge Alexandre, financier and impresario" "Newspaper and stable owner" "Soon I'll head C.A.G.T.R.l., an international trust..." "Quoted shares worth 500 million, government-backed" "So why ask me about that poor jerk out on bail?" "That small-time con man..." "Don't mention him to me again!" "Get him out of my life, Grammont!" "Oh, he's perfectly sincere lt's a typical case of a split personality" "The person that he was..." "is someone else!" "A phantom that he despises..." "and fears" "Well, the arrest at Marly in July 1926 is no dream" "It's rather naive..." "It was a routine police operation..." "alex had been hiding for three months" "A warrant was out for his arrest..." "Fraud, receiving stolen goods, bad checks..." "And alex had been warned" "He's always had "friends" in the police" "He had time to escape" "But he wanted to give a farewell party" "alex likes parties... I arrested him at Marly..." "Two years later, I ran into him at a café" "He was out of prison" "Case dismissed, he said" "He agreed to become one of my informers" "He gave me some good tips on swindlers... forgers and addicts lt was his world" "The day after Alex's arrest... his father, a reputable dentist... committed suicide" "And then there were the women..." "This is a police report dated April 1926..." ""His means of support are vague"" ""Lazy and immoral..."" ""he takes advantage of women"" "One episode was a determining factor, I think" "You won't find it in his file" "To understand Alex, sometimes you must forget files" "You have to dream about him" "And imagine his dreams..." "alex was 16 years old and still in school" "A woman of 30, a semi-professionaI... found him attractive and took him away" "She took him to DeauvilIe..." "and initiated him" "alex discovered... the worlds of luxury, gambling and pleasure" "That initiation was decisive" "Not at all, Doc..." "Not at all!" "That woman didn't initiate me..." "My grandfather had seen to that!" "My father was serious and fearful... always worrying about respectability" "But not my grandfather!" "When I was singing in a musical... he came to hear me!" "He taught me everything... I came to invite you to join us..." "The auditions are great fun!" "Miss Zambaux..." "Miss Edith Boreal, please!" "What have you prepared for us?" "Je t'aime by Sacha Guitry..." "Act 5" "The scene between him and her" "Where is "him"?" "At the last minute, he stood me up" "You wouldn't like to cue me...?" "Am I the type for it?" "If the young lady has a copy of the play, I'll try" "Excellent idea, Baron" ""There!" "Like magic..." "you have a house"" ""Oh!" "May I look around...?"" ""What is it?"" ""There's linen in the closets..." "and everything!"" ""May I see the dining room?"" ""Make yourself at home"" ""lt's so pretty..."" ""Tablecloths and silverware..."" ""glasses and dishes!" "It's beautiful..."" ""l forgot to look in the bathroom"" "I'll give you five minutes!" "This item will appear in next week's issue... lt may interest you, Mr Alexandre" "You wrote it..." "Read it!" ""ln Biarritz the other day, baccarat was played for high stakes"" ""Up to 300,000 francs bet by the professional gamblers..."" ""Henriet, Garcia, Serge Alexandre"" ""Alexandre is Stovosky of the phony Hungarian bond issue"" "Excuse the misspelling" "Typographers are hopeless about foreign names" "That's enough!" "Casino gossip leaves me cold!" "I'm covered there..." "Ask your friends on the Vice Squad" "And the rest is a lie!" "Send him the documentation on the Hungarian bonds" "And the study made by Judge Vannier... on behalf of the government" "No, your gossip column doesn't interest me!" "But your little publication does... I have a new company, S.A.P.E.P." "My friend Borelli is in charge" "The idea is to group certain publications... around a central advertising organization I've already signed up Cyrano and Le Cri du Jour... and I'm negotiating with Le Charivari and D'Artagnan" "And La Bonne Guerre?" "I'm at war with La Bonne Guerre!" "Your project interests me, of course" "Borelli will give you the details" "Give him something on account!" ""Ours will be a love without any story"" ""No one else will understand"" ""And if a playwright were to decide..."" ""to write about our love, the critics would say..."" ""it's not a play!" "Nothing happens..."" "Miss Erna Wolfgang, please" "I can sing, dance and act I'm also a trapeze artist... and I can walk a high-wire" "But I have an accent, as you can hear" "I'm Jewish l've just come from Germany" "Since the Nazis took power this year... it's hard for us to live in Germany lt has never been easy for us to live anywhere" "My last role in Germany was in a play called Die Massnahme" "The police closed the theater" "So, here I am!" "I had prepared a monologue but after seeing that gentleman..." "Would you please cue me?" "If it's not an insult to French genius... I'd like to do a scene from Giraudoux's Intermezzo" "But I need a Specter" "Let me do it, Baron!" "Playing a specter should suit me" "Come on, I have a copy for you" "I've made some cuts..." "It starts here" "What do I do?" "You float behind me" "Try to read your role with feeling, Alex I'm on a bench" "It's night..." "May we have some night, please?" "Make it night" ""No... the dead are remarkably agile"" ""No, the dead are remarkably agile..."" ""They never stumble into the void"" ""They never trip over shadows"" ""They never stub their toes on nothingness"" ""And nothing ever lights up their faces..."" "The simplest answer is that he was insane" "Mr Chairman, an ex-convict should be invisible..." ""to understand and enjoy being immortal"" ""They aren't!"" ""What do you mean?"" ""They die, too"" ""Strange how races don't know themselves"" ""Indians think they are red, Negroes think they are white"" ""The dead think they are mortal"" "There... it's finished" "Why broadcast that you're Jewish?" "Because I am" "Not much of an answer, Miss Wolf-track" "Wolfgang means wolf-track" "Would you like a more theatrical answer?" "Because when I look at trees, roses, sky... I know I'm Jewish l hate races that don't know themselves..." "Jews who think they're happy... have equal rights and are safe" "Where does it get you?" "I can be myself..." "I can be different" "Know what my father said?" "Be average, Sacha" "Being first makes enemies." "Being last looks bad." "Be average so they forget you" "But they don't forget us" " You're from...?" " l'm from Russia I'd like you to be happy" "30 seconds to reach the street..." "Only 30 seconds to offer you happiness" "Not pleasure..." "pleasure takes a lifetime" "Not vice-versa?" "That's a common error" "Happiness is a single moment..." "Sunlight on water..." "At best, a long series of moments" "Pleasure requires much thought" "You need time, leisure..." "inventiveness" "Pleasure is for the rich!" "Who are you...?" "All this is mine... my Empire!" "I can offer you Paris" "Thanks anyway... I like happiness" "You made me lose my head" "Did I make too much noise?" ""The dear was naked and, knowing my desire..."" ""Wore only her jewels, to set my heart afire"" ""She seemed the victor, wearing such rich attire..."" ""With the secret smile slaves sometimes acquire"" "Another little housewife looking for a great love" "A cultivated provincial... the worst!" "Just to be rude, I started with..." ""Strip except for the jewel!" "I want to look..."" "She began gurgling and quoting Baudelaire" "That did it!" "Luckily she adores mystery stories I had a topic of conversation to hide my lack of desire" "The little idiot sold it to me for a pittance" "Her husband is a miser..." "She needs money for her escapades" "Alex!" "I've gone over the accounts... lt's a disaster!" "Let me speak, just this once" "Then you can do what you want" "We'll compare figures..." "Ready" "Racing stables..." "3 million francs net loss" "You agree?" "Empire Theater losses for one season... 6,237,378 francs..." "We'll skip the centimes I never count centimes!" "600,000 distributed to scandal sheets 3,500,000 sunk into S.A.P.E.P." "Two million in "fees" to lawyers, politicians... ex-generals, ex-police chiefs, etc." "Almost finished!" "Gambling losses:" "2,250,000 at Biarritz..." "Five million at Cannes 22 million francs squandered in less than two years" "Squandered?" "No, not squandered... invested!" "Money attracts money... I operate entirely on credit!" "Why do I have that credit?" "Because I throw money around..." "as you call it lf l stop now, people will get suspicious" "They'll smell trouble and tear me apart!" "But you are in trouble, Alex!" "In 60 days you have to go to court" "Véricourt can make a deal..." "We'll settle out of court" "Make a deal...!" "Where will you get the money to make a deal?" "Cover the Bayonne vouchers" "You can't re-pay the 3 million due last week" "Five million more come due in a month" "Fake vouchers!" "What if they audit?" "I know, I need 100 million!" "But in October, CAGTRl will be incorporated 500 million!" "I'll cover all the Bayonne vouchers..." "And we'll be solvent!" "And till then?" "The emeralds again?" "Something much better..." "The Spanish connection!" ""Love is blind..."" "Montalvo?" "That polo-playing parlor conspirator!" "The polo player is preparing a coup d'état" "He's buying arms from Mussolini." "He must have lots of money... I'll offer my Swiss company as intermediary for the funds" "Your excellency, gentlemen, friends..." "Allow me to welcome you to the first Board meeting... of CAGTRl, the lnternational Construction and Finance Corp." "One question..." "One big question haunts the world" "How can we end the Depression?" "The world's most civilized countries... are on the horns of a dilemma" "On the one hand, stockpiles of unsold merchandise... on the other, masses of unemployed workers" "What is the cause of this situation?" "Let me explain, Mr Chairman... I wasn't his trusted friend, as you've called me... I was his trusted employee" "We always knew who was boss" "That's too much!" "I was promised that no one would have access to my file" "And yet I saw it on Bonny's desk" "Anyway, he's done his worst..." "He informed La Bonne Guerre" "He'll try something else..." "unofficially" "I know his plan..." "He's going to Biarritz on vacation." "He'll go to Bayonne for a loan" "He'll pawn fake jewels at the Municipal Loan Office" "Did you see Boussaud go out?" "Nothing suspicious?" "You weren't followed?" "The Sûreté Générale is a snake pit..." "As bad as Police Headquarters!" "Véricourt's in the legislature..." "He ought to get a Police Reform bill passed!" "Know where Bonny's vacationing?" "In Biarritz... 5 miles from Bayonne" "He's setting a trap for me..." "Using fake jewels as collateral at the Municipal Loan Office" "Then he can investigate officially" "He's not stupid" "Let's go wake Arlette... in Biarritz!" "Aren't we dining with the Baron?" "We'll all go!" "Ready to roll all night?" "Let's buy flowers" "Flowers... at 6 AM?" "No matter what time it is!" "I want a mountain of white flowers for Arlette" "We'll drag the florists out of bed..." "Lilies, orchids, camelias, roses..." "White roses are very pretty" "I dreamt it again I know" "The car was rolling on grass" "We were together..." "Yes..." "I was in your arms I heard your voice in my ear" "Saying the same words?" "The same words... the ermine, the orchids..." "Your voice in my ear..." "The car was picking up speed?" "Going faster and faster..." "plunging down the hill" "We went over a cliff" "The car took off in a cloud of white feathers" "No... they were snowflakes" "My mouth was filled with snow I couldn't breathe, couldn't see your face" "Snow everywhere..." "There's no snow, Arlette" "There's a July sun shining" "We're happy... lt's lovely..." "Where's it from?" "Yesterday at 10 AM a lady from Angoulême was wearing it... in the lobby of the Claridge" "At 5 PM, I was in her bed" "Plump, smooth-skinned, wicked... brainless!" "At 7 PM, the necklace was in my pocket" "You made her pay you...?" "Never!" "But I got it for a tenth of its value" "The maids will be coming in..." "I don't care!" "municipal LOAN office OF BA YONNE" "Three million in unpaid vouchers, Alex... lf a Tax Inspector notices that the numbers... don't match my accounts, I'm through!" "You must reimburse, Alex" "The inspector won't notice anything!" "Has he noticed anything before?" "Relax, I'll send you the money next week" "Watch out for Inspector Bonny!" "That's important..." "How does it feel to have squandered such a fortune?" "I feel quite contented, Sacha lt's the only real contentment!" "After conquering Europe for Napoleon... my family went on to conquer a financial empire I dissipated those ill-gotten gains in one long celebration!" "Of course, it took me 40 years to do it I envy you I have to invent the money I squander I had nothing" "Bank is 10,000 francs, gentlemen... 9 to the bank..." "Baccarat!" "It's time to leave Biarritz" "How's your coup d'état coming along, Montalvo?" "Will Mussolini sell you the arms?" "Don't worry, I'm silent as a tomb!" "Who told you?" "No one..." "You went to Italy so I guessed why" "You're very quick" "Such a huge financial manipulation requires discretion" "Funds safely blocked while you negotiate... I happen to have a Swiss company... and Swiss bank accounts" "What a timely offer!" "I've been trying to solve that problem..." "Do you recall that American, Mrs Winters?" "The one who had her face enamelled..." "Surely you met her at Monte Carlo" "Mirror always in hand, even in the street!" "The other day, it all went to pieces" "She couldn't stand the sight" "The truth of her age spilling out of the mask" "She slit her wrists..." "Please don't tell Sacha about it!" "Not today lt's an anniversary" "You're his friend, I can tell you..." "Seven years ago..." "Sacha's father committed suicide" "A family matter..." "Sacha was away... on a trip I didn't know!" "Count on me..." "Baron...?" "Glad you're here..." "Tonight, we celebrate!" "Oscar Wilde was right." "Prison is the worst thing in life" "No, the worst thing in life..." "is death!" "Prison is worse than death" "How can we judge?" "We haven't experienced either one I've been to prison" "You forget I was Chief of Police I would know, my friend..." "You don't know!" "No one knows who I am or what I'm capable of!" "He caught me stealing gold fillings from his dental clinic" "And he said to me..." ""lf you dishonor our name, I'll kill myself'" "Honor and work..." "that's all he ever talked about" "Did they honor his name during the Ukraine pogroms?" "But he wanted to forget that" "He wanted to be a nice, respected dentist lf grandfather hadn't laughed he'd have gone to Mass!" "What's worse than a craven father?" "But he had the courage to shoot himself" "You must leave, I've let you stay too long..." "Everything all right?" "No trouble?" "Don't you ever get any mail?" "How?" "To Mr Leon Trotsky, c/o General Delivery..." "St Palais sur Mer?" "Very discreet!" "But Mr Trotsky has many visitors..." "English and Belgian politicians..." "German refugees, extreme leftists" "Naturally..." "who else would come here?" "I mean they're active leftists I'm sure you know... that a condition accepted by Mr Trotsky... when he was granted asylum... was that he not get involved in French politics" "German refugees deal with German politics" "Yes, but they're doing it in France" "They need a German secretary for a few days I mentioned you..." "You'll get it I'll take you there later" "Do you go to the villa often?" "What's it like?" "Have you read Dostoyevsky?" "It's just like a Dostoyevsky novel!" "Trotsky and Natalia... lead an austere, rich, fascinating life!" "And Malraux came for a visit I wish I could have been there!" "According to Rudolph... they only discussed art, movies, Poland... the Red Army and Christianity!" "Will Trotsky succeed?" "Can he influence the Party?" "That's the question..." "All his activity is aimed at the Party" "To influence the Party, transform it... restructure it" "Trotsky claims that Stalin has betrayed the Revolution" "But the Party is behind Stalin" "So how can Trotsky have any influence on it?" "The Party opposes him" "A contradiction..." "Then why go on fighting?" "Because nothing's settled yet" "No vacation, Bonny?" "And you?" "An appointment with the Director at a beach... on a delicate mission!" "I leave for Biarritz tomorrow I'll mix business and pleasure, too" "Chief-lnspector Gardet..." "my respects" "Chief-lnspector Bonny..." "my regards" "BoreIli?" "Gauthier here..." "tell alex the guy came to see me" "I recognized him right away, from the picture" "He tried to unload the fake stones on me" "No, of course not I got rid of him without letting on I'd noticed" "I simply said that the Bayonne Loan Office... couldn't accept any more jewels" "Because we'd reached the limit set by regulation" "Doctor, someone wants to come in..." "Says he's the patient's lawyer" "Tell him to wait!" "Anyway, we've finished" "What does this mean?" "You don't need a lawyer here!" "Yes I do..." "I don't trust your diagnosis!" "I know what they do..." "Lock up a competitor!" "Best way to get rid of him" "Naturally I have enemies!" "I'm trying to reform the European monetary system" "Are they the same enemies who stole the Eiffel Tower from you?" "See?" "You're trying to make me think I'm crazy... I never said they stole the tower from me!" "They stole rights I had paid a lot for..." "The Eiffel Tower radio station advertising!" "But I'll get the Eiffel Tower back" "Get dressed, we've finished" "I saw your patient in April 1931..." "Yes, and your first diagnosis has certainly been confirmed" "Yes, a slowly evolving general paralysis... with possible remissions" "Hence the persecution complex..." "Megalomania..." "We'll continue your patented malaria-therapy" "If you'll step into the waiting room... with Mr Stavisky's lawyer... I'll prepare the necessary certification" "Mysterious deaths interest you?" "Only the death of Loewenstein, the banker" "He had a financial empire like mine" "Does his suicide bother you?" "You believe that fantastic suicide story?" "Or that it was accidental?" "Disappearing out of a plane window... over the Channel!" "So easy to do..." "No, it was murder" "His competitors got rid of him" "You scare me, Alex I'm your doctor and your friend..." "You need to take a rest" "Leave Borelli and Grammont in charge" "Go away with Arlette" "Go away... now?" "I've got CAGTRl all set!" "SlMA, S.A.P.E.P., la Fonciére, Bayonne... all in hand!" "Isn't it too much for one man?" "Véricourt is worried... ls he?" "Just like Dr Pierre... lt worked, lawyer!" "I'm mad... so I can't appear in court tomorrow" "But the case isn't dismissed!" "No, it isn't" "You didn't get me the two million you promised" "Véricourt could have made the deal" "You've had since July to get the money" "You know it's been rough, Pierre" "You've spent six million in Deauville since July!" "You just throw your money away, Sacha" "Deliver the envelopes, Laloy" "The Board of CAGTRl is waiting, sir" "It's true, I do throw my money away!" "Well...?" "He won't listen." "He's sick, Grammont I don't give a damn if he's sick!" "We must neutralize him!" "Or we'll go under with him!" "is it that bad?" "He hasn't a cent!" "Gentlemen, what is madness?" "It's not my place to define it for you" "But there's no doubt that Alexandre was sick" "Very sick..." "Your idea for absorbing unemployment is brilliant" "Congratulations!" "Mayor, we'll set the wheels of economic expansion in motion!" "When will the stock go on the market?" "Our basic fund, the Hungarian bond issue... is guaranteed by treaty" "So the government decides when." "A matter of days... says the secretary-general of Foreign Affairs i congratulate you, too, but I confess... I know nothing about international credit" "The Hungarian bonds are a mystery to me!" "No need to understand, Baron." "Just trust me!" "But I do trust you, Sacha!" "I can only give you five minutes, I'm very busy..." "His madness took this form..." "He wanted the world to talk about him... he should have wanted it to forget him" "I can't buy, Van Straaten... I should be selling" "Just keep them in a safe place for me" "Make the best deal you can for us both" "Let's see the merchandise" "No doubt their origin... is a secret?" "Maximum discretion, yes!" "A royal Oriental family..." "They don't want any publicity" "The Rosenkranz necklace!" "It vanished when the seals were removed..." "The heirs are searching for it" "Anyone else will have to wait to dump it" "And one stone at a time, even then..." "But I can pawn it in London lt's risky, Mr Van Straaten" "So I'll keep the proceeds" "You won't get a commission this time" "Go to London tomorrow" "My birthday..." "Will I get much?" "With a million, I can hold out" "See?" "I'm still lucky... I must see you, Mr Alexandre!" "On business... I've invented a revolutionary medical apparatus... for examining pregnant women" "The child's sex and health can be determined I call it a Matriscope" "It works... it's ready to go!" "I thought you might like the exclusive distribution rights" "How much do you need to start?" "Maybe 10,000 francs... 10,000 francs?" "That's ridiculous!" "How do you expect to inspire confidence?" "If the Matriscope works, it's worth millions!" "If not, your story still has to be credible 10,000 francs is... incredible!" "Stop bothering Mr Alexandre" "Nice name, Matriscope..." "I accept!" "I'll teach you how to start a business..." "A charming place... ls Sacha thinking of buying it?" "It was here that Sacha's father..." "Shouldn't I go find him?" "Let him be alone..." "That's what he wants I'm glad you're back from Rome, Montalvo" "I wanted you here for my husband's birthday" "We're going for a little walk" "The funds will be in your swiss account by Christmas" "May I ask how much of your money... I'll be holding?" "One million pounds sterling" "For a coup d'état?" "That's enough for a civil war!" "Why not?" "I'm getting old, Baron" "What a party we had at the Empire for my last birthday..." "Remember?" "I have no zest for anything..." "Don't I look like a shopkeeper, taking his wife out...?" "Not you, Sacha..." "Never!" "Yes, yes!" "Like a little shopkeeper... I'd have a jewelry store... at a posh resort" "Why not?" "At dusk, I'd stand in my doorway... and no one would guess that I once was Alexander the Great!" "Am I wrong?" "Sacha, it's that little German actress..." "Don't you remember?" "You read with her..." "You were the Specter in Giraudoux's Intermezzo" "He's allowed to reside in Barbizon... so Trotsky's feeling better." "He's working again" "Know what he says?" "With the forest so close... and working with Communist League groups... reminds him of Russia when he was young" "When everything seemed possible... you had only to invent it" "But sometimes he gets discouraged" "The other day he suddenly said..." ""Old age is the most unexpected thing..."" ""that ever happens to man"" "That's a happy thought!" "Exile is never happy!" "Whenever I think about this sad story... it's as though everyone wore masks" "Like Sacha:" "AIexandre-of-the-thousand-names..." "And I always think of that day in November 1933" "Why does it haunt me?" "Perhaps because on that day... I had a premonition of Alexandre's end" "And yet, you had to know us in those years... to know the real joy of living!" "We were all Alexandre's age... we basked in Arlette's beauty" "It's so painful to imagine her today... in the sordid world of a prison" "Her beauty warmed our hearts" "There is a store in Biarritz, gentlemen... whose name symbolizes that period for me..." "Biarritz-Bonheur..." "Biarritz happiness" "I must remind the witness of where he is!" "This Parliamentary Committee is investigating... a scandal that resulted in rioting and death on Feb. 6th... leading France to the brink of civil war" "Your testimony has certainly been colorful... but what about the sordid aspects?" "This is the truth as I know it" "You say you are telling the truth I remind you that you have sworn to do so" "Now permit us to ask you some questions" "You first met Alexandre at the Biarritz Casino in April 1931..." "You met him at the Casino..." "Hadn't you ever heard that he was indexed?" "Banned from every Casino in France at the time?" "Never, sir!" "And I find it hard to believe, even today" "Because for over two years I saw him... in Cannes, Biarritz, Deauville..." "The Casino inspectors all greeted him cordially I saw Alexandre play baccarat... with well-known businessmen and politicians" "They treated him as an equal!" "That's why it's hard to believe!" "That was in April 1931..." "Exactly when he started... the Bayonne Loan Office operation... flooding France with fake vouchers" "Did you know about it?" "Nothing at all I first heard about it three months ago... when the scandal erupted" "Try to understand, gentlemen" "Life isn't like the theater" "On stage, we see everything" "But I'm like Fabrice at Waterloo in Stendhal's novel... I only know one small piece of this Chinese puzzle" "Mr Raoul, we can't finish with your testimony today" "We will notify you when to appear again" "Inspector Gardet" "TROTSKY SHOULD NOT BE SENT TO corsica" "The agitator Trotsky resides only 40 miles from Paris" "Staviskian crooks have a free hand" "BoIshevik rabble do as they please" "It is time for the Government... to mop up this international scum" "What was the date?" "The end of November 1933" "I was summoned by the Director of the Bureau of Investigation" "I had been an another case" "He handed me a note..." ""Serge alexandre, 28 place St Georges..."" ""C.A.G.T.R.l."" ""Urgent that you investigate this individual..."" ""per request of Foreign Affairs Minister"" "I started with the Files section of our division" "I established that Serge alexandre was Stavisky" "Yes, Handsome Sacha!" "He's called Serge Alexandre now?" ""Alexandre, Serge... see Stavisky"" ""Alexandre-Sacha, also known as Alex," "Jean Sacha, Doisy de Monty..."" ""and Victor Boitel, born November 20, 1886 at Sobodka..."" ""State of Kiev, Russia"" "Which section has his file?" "No section!" "It's a very special file... lt's kept locked up" "Takes an OK from the Assistant Director to look at it" "You're in for a lot of surprises, Inspector!" "I went in search of the file..." "finally I was told: "Bonny has it"" "I went to see Chief-Inspector Bonny" "He had the file" "I told him Foreign Affairs wanted a report" "Bonny knew the file well" "He showed me a 1926 police report" "AIexandre was already described as a crook... a typical confidence man" "Did Inspector Bonny tell you why he had the file?" "Didn't you ask him?" "No, I had no particular reason to be interested" "Why are you so interested in this file, Bonny?" "Or rather... against whom do you want to use the information?" "That depends on the next elections... lf the Right wins, this files implicates the Radical-Socialists" "But if the Radicals stay in office... two Chiefs, Sûreté and Police, are mine!" "I can sink them..." "They're in it up to their necks" "Like Alexandre, I'm hedging my bets" "Watch out, Bonny..." "you're not invulnerable" "Bonny must have made a report, too" "But I never heard about it." "I went... to 28 Place St Georges..." "I Iearned that BoreIli was probably... the director of C.A.G.T.R.l." "I also found out who the Board members were" "Was Baron Raoul... on the Board of Directors?" "Yes he was" "Then I went to the CIaridge... to see if Stavisky still lived there" "I returned to the Sûreté..." "I turned in my report there" "I took a copy to Mr de Ia SalIe... at Foreign Affairs" "And my mission ended there" "So on November 22, 1933, the Foreign Affairs office... was fully informed as to AIexandre's character?" "That's right, sir" "Was any action taken on your report?" "I don't know..." "No legal action, at any rate" "That's the last I heard of it" "La Salle!" "What a surprise..." "Let's say that I'm here..." "unofficially" "May I come in?" "It's Sunday... the servants are off" "And the furnace has broken down" "So it would be best if you quit the Board" "The Government isn't going to guarantee... the Hungarian bonds for CAGTRl" "Please don't explain it to me... I won't understand." "I only accepted out of friendship" "You should choose your friends more wisely!" "I repeat:" "Alexandre is not respectable" "He's not even French..." "He has no fixed abode" "So I'm not even French!" "No fixed abode!" "If you don't live in a century-old family mansion... you're a gypsy!" "My voter's registration..." "Army discharge... I want you to look at them!" "Then tell Mr de la Salle..." "Do you want to check my police record?" "I'm embarrassed, Sacha..." "But don't you need the Government guarantee?" "I'll see the Minister!" "Véricourt's a friend of his..." "These voucher numbers are missing..." "Why?" "Because the vouchers are fakes!" "So you must have faked them!" "If I were you, Mr Tax Inspector, I'd forget it" "The scandal's too big, it'll crush you..." "Today's Friday, Sunday is Christmas..." "Think it over..." "Go see the Deputy-Mayor" "Look at the elections in Spain!" "We need a National Bloc to rule without parliament... supported by professional people" "Men of integrity, veteran soldiers, in all the key posts!" "That's what the play we're seeing tonight is about" "Did Shakespeare support the National Bloc?" "is he one of your Rightist friends?" "All right, Sacha, have your fun" "But CorioIanus really is a violent attack... on parliamentary government" "Arlette, that white ermine is ravishing!" "You herald winter's immaculate snows... I go to Madrid tomorrow, the deal is closed" "The million pounds will be deposited by next week" ""No, take more!" "There where worship is double..."" ""There where gentry, title, wisdom..."" ""cannot conclude..."" ""but by the Yea and No of general ignorance..."" ""There, necessities give way to slightness"" ""There... disorder reigns!"" ""The multitudinous tongue mangles true judgment"" ""The State is bereaved of integrity"" ""Nothing is done to purpose"" ""The State must needs collapse"" ""You patricians and senators who love Rome..."" "Bayonne is finished..." "Gauthier's in jail" "He talked?" "He'll name you sooner or later" "Meet Grammont and Véricourt at the Empire later" "Avoid the Claridge" "Burn the papers at the office I'll try to find Inspector Boussaud" ""Abolish the people's Tribunes!"" "You have 3 days... thanks to the Christmas Holidays" "He must go!" "If we keep the lid on, he's had a vacation lf not... it's safer" "Here, he might be indiscreet..." "I'll get him out of Paris" "Where to?" "An employee's place near Chamonix" "His name's Laloy, Alexandre's office messenger" "He can be convinced..." "He's had trouble with the law" "You've known Alexandre longest..." "What will he do?" "I hardly know Serge Alexandre I know Stavisky..." "A small-time crook, a charming con man... one of my informers" "Good at laundering money..." "Stavisky would leave with Arlette" "He'd start all over" "But Alexandre?" "I just don't know..." "This is mostly your own fault I warned you..." "Lately you've mismanaged everything" "You threw money away!" "I threw it away on all of you!" "Where's Véricourt?" "The honorable Deputy!" "I financed his whole campaign last year..." "He's my deputy!" "is he letting me down?" "We're all going to let you down, Alex" "We won't know you any more" "We'll say we saw you once, in a restaurant..." "Know what else we'll say?" "That it's really not very surprising..." "You should never trust foreigners... refugees..." "Jews" "Isn't that right, Baron?" "I'm your friend, Sacha, no matter what happens" "But you lied to me" "A pity!" "Anyone here?" "Over here, Mr Véricourt" "It's finished, Alexandre" "The show's over..." "Be in Chamonix in three days" "Wait for instructions lf l stay here, I can turn the tide in a week... I'll have a million pounds ln a week every cop in France... will be after you!" "How can they come after me?" "I've wined, dined and bribed them" "Had them on Boards of Directors..." "They wouldn't dare!" "My name's Alexandre... I'm not a mute, I can tell what I know!" "I'm terribly sorry, Arlette lt's Christmas..." "the potential customers are away ln Monte Carlo, St Moritz... I'll bring you the balance in a few days" "So Alexander the Great ends the way little Sacha began..." "Letting women get him out of trouble" "He's just getting even with me I stung him on the Rosenkrantz jewels" "Don't leave me, Sacha!" "Let's go away together." "Venezuela... anywhere!" "Sure, Venezuela!" "We'll open a French restaurant..." "Or a dress shop:" "Au Chic Parisien" "Or I'll peddle your charms... lf we stay together, we're safe" "We'll be together soon, Véricourt promised to fix it" "The car's ready, Alex" "What's that?" "Mr Alexandre's carnations lf he ever comes back here, he'll wear handcuffs, not carnations!" "Happy?" "Your time has finally come" "But remember, Bonny..." "For your own sake, proceed with caution" "You know the rules..." "The Stavisky scandal only incriminates the Republic" "The comrades' Republic is corrupt" "You can smear the Deputies, the Cabinet members... the Left Coalition Ministers..." "But leave us out of it!" "But the Chief of Police is part of it" "So what can I do?" "Whatever you want, Bonny!" "But if you involve the Police or the Sûreté, we'll break you!" "On January 18th, the Assistant Director sent for me" "By order of the Director, I was to drop the case" "January 24th, I was suspended" "So January 12th you report..." "Police Chief Chiappe's connection with Stavisky" "The 18th, you are warned..." "The 24th, you are suspended" "That's right, sir" "So the Police Chief s name in a Sûreté report... is cause for suspension" "No comment..." "You'll have to wait, Baron..." "Ex-lnspector Bonny is testifying" "waiting FOR MR TROTSKY TO LEA VE" "Until another country grants Mr Trotsky a visa... he is ordered to move at least 200 miles from Paris" "In view of the Feb. 6th riots... the Government wishes to reduce tensions" "Your proximity to Paris... goads both Right and Left extremists I am to accompany you" "They're going to deport Trotsky" "Just when France must fight against fascism" "Trotsky won't be here..." "The Left will splinter without him" "And to think that it's all Stavisky's fault!" "I don't see that" "No Stavisky... no February 6th" "No fascist riots forcing Daladier to resign... no National Union government" "No National Union..." "no deportation of Trotsky" "Therefore, without Stavisky..." "You knew your husband's psychology well..." "Was he likely to commit suicide?" "He had periods of depression" "Long periods, sometimes..." "So you did not find the idea of suicide incredible?" "It was a possibility?" "When I went to Chamonix, I was sure it was suicide" "Now, there have been so many rumors... I'm not sure any more" "But they separated us..." "They destroyed his will to live!" "It's me, boss" "Got a cake..." "Who'll be King?" "It's Twelfth-night" "Those pious hypocrites!" "La Liberté..." "That "liberty" cost me plenty!" "My checks didn't hurt their scruples" "That's life, Mr Alexandre... not very pretty" "Go and get tickets to Paris" "Paris means prison, Mr Alexandre!" "Isn't this a prison?" "We'll take the night train" "Tomorrow morning, I'll hold a press conference I'm going to blow the whole mess wide open!" "I'll broadcast from the Eiffel Tower!" "All France will be listening" "But Mr Véricourt..." "We'll see what Mr Véricourt has to say!" "The Minister's office?" "Ah, it's you!" "Véricourt here..." "Yes, I have the information..." "It's Chamonix" "The telephone number is 319" "If he thinks it's hopeless, he just might shoot himself" "Yes... it runs in the family, as you say!" "Yes, he's armed, of course" "Goodbye..." "My respects to the Minister" "I was in a worse spot than this... when I invented the Bayonne vouchers!" "I never have understood how that worked..." "Nothing to it" "We duplicated vouchers..." "Say there's a real one for 100 francs..." "We'd use the duplicate..." "same number, signed and stamped" "But with a higher figure... 20,000 francs..." "100,000... a million!" "We were minting money... I was the State!" "I have to go down to the Village..." "To get the train tickets" "BA YONNE municipal LOAN office SCANDAL" "dominated BY STAVlSKY CASE" "STAVlSKY TRACKED DOWN in chamonix, SHOOTS himself" "GOVERNMENT GETS rid OF STAVlSKY," "HAS him SHOTlN CHAMONlX" "STAVlSKY suicide..." "SHOT POlNT-BLANK" "STAVlSKY'S mysterious suicide ADDS TO SCANDAL" "Arlette in prison..." "So many guilty ones free..." "That's the real scandal!" "They'll hold her till the trial... to keep her from talking" "They think she knows Alexandre's secrets" "Alexandre's only real secret was her" "Arlette..." "What I like about death... is the lethargy" "That dense and sluggish fluidity of death... which means that there are no dead... only the drowned" "What are you saying?" "It's the Specter, in Giraudoux's Intermezzo" "Alexandre's finest role... lmagine how he'd laugh to see... the passions, deaths and hatreds he's unleashed" "I understood too late..." "Stavisky was the herald of death" "Not only his own..." "Not only those in February..." "But the death of an era!"