A Matter of Life and Death Page #7

Even more important,|is she in love with him?

(Dr Reeves)|Why stress their nationalities?

Very important, sir. Extremely important.

- Why?|- Because we are talking of love.

(Reeves) It can happen between|an Englishman and an American girl.

And... er... vice versa.

Possibly.

But what are these love affairs,|Dr Reeves?

Men and women thousands of miles|away from home,...

.. away from the love they left behind.

Minute sparks|instead of scorching flames,...

.. fading, shabby wigs instead of|the rich gold of a woman's hair.

The love of the moment, Dr Reeves.

Do I call it love?

Once in a thousand times, perhaps.

And how many end in lasting marriage?

One in ten thousand.

- My case, sir!|- That, sir, is for you to prove.

When our men and women came|to your country as your allies,...

.. it was not to become your prisoners.

May I bring you up to date? We're living|in the 20th century, not the 18th.

May I bring you up to date, sir?

We are not alive at all.

Good point.

And I am up to date, sir.

I've been watching you English|from upstairs.

Your wars, your politics, your busyness.

From the tax on tea in 1766...

.. to a certain report...

.. on England by five members|of the United States Senate in 1944.

The defendant has nothing to do|with tea or senators.

But other Englishmen had, sir.

Is Peter D Carter|what you'd call a good Englishman?

Yes, sir.

Do you see this glass?

Out of it Benedict Arnold drank|the health of King George lll.

Does it break because it is faulty|or because it is glass?

Can I tear this paper because it is|defective or because it is paper?

We are all as God made us, sir,...

.. but our ancestors had a deal to do|in shaping us as well.

I quite agree.

The jury will please note that.

My lord, may I ask where|Mr Farlan's grandfather was born?

- The question is irrelevant.|- Could it have been England?

You need not answer that question.

I prefer to answer, Your Honour.

Grandfather left England, sir,|because he didn't like it.

Granddad would've liked it|even less today.

Listen.

"Well, here we are at Lord's... "

The voice of England in 1945.

"And here let me say that the weather...

.. is more like cricket weather -|it's stopped raining. "

"Play has been resumed and|the crowd of about 50,000 people...

.. have discarded their macs|and umbrellas...

.. and settled down to enjoy the game|which to people all over the world...

.. more truly represents all that's English|than anything else. "

Do you admit that this is|an English voice, sir?

(Commentator laughs)|"Wally Hammond played a delightful... "

(radio off)

The voice of America in 1945.

# Shoo, shoo, shoo, baby

(girls shriek)

# Shoo, shoo, shoo, baby

- (girls shriek)|- # Bye, bye, bye, baby

# Your papa's off to the seven seas

# Don't cry, baby

# Don't...

- #.. sigh, baby|- (girls shriek)

# Bye, bye, bye, baby

# When I come back|we'll have a life of ease...

I don't understand a word.

Nor do I.

(turns radio off)

But for England I'm ready to call|John Donne, Dryden, Pope,...

.. Wordsworth, Coleridge,|Shelley and Keats,...

.. Tennyson, Bridges...

And Milton and Shakespeare.|I concede your point.

You've already called Peter Carter.

- Is he a poet?|- He will be if you give him time.

- We are here to decide that, sir.|- I can't deny it.

(Farlan) Can the new world|return to the old?

Should the vibrant humour|of a young American girl...

.. be stifled in the pages of Punch?

Should the swift tempo of her life...

.. be slowed to the crawl|of a match of cricket?

Should her accustomed native comfort...

.. perforce conform to England's|warm drinks, cold rooms,...

.. draughty windows, smoky chimneys,|faulty plumbing?

Two million houses have no windows,|frequently no roof or walls.

This court is concerned with|the life and death of Peter Carter,...

.. not with past history|or present plumbing.

- Hear, hear!|- Peter Carter's character, sir,...

.. like every other human being was|formed by a chain of circumstances.

As Benjamin Franklin said,|for want of a nail, the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe, the horse was lost.

For want of a horse, the rider was lost.

For want of a rider, the message was lost.

For want of a message, the kingdom|was lost. All for want of a nail!

You've heard of Benjamin Franklin, sir?

In George Washington's words,...

"Labour to keep alive in your breast...

.. that little spark of celestial fire|called conscience. "

That could not have been said|by an Englishman.

What was George Washington?

Conscience, Mr Farlan.

Are you insinuating that something|is wrong with my conscience?

- I am.|- Your Honour, I protest.

I am trying to give a full picture|of this case to the jury.

You are trying to prejudice the jury, sir.

I see that they've been selected from|many races, creeds and nationalities.

I cannot believe them interested|in ancient grudges...

.. nor in present grumblings|about draughty windows.

I don't need to prejudice the jury.

They're already prejudiced|and with good reason!

You can't pick one that isn't.|Look closely at the members of the jury.

- The first member is...|- Jean-Marie Barault, French!

Has a century passed without war|between England and France?

- The second member is...|- Gregorius Johannes Bund, sir.

The Boer War, Dr Reeves.|The third member is...

- Ivan Berdei, Russki.|- What?

I am Russian.

The Crimean War, Dr Reeves.|And you, sir?

Chang Chi Min, Peking.

Don't forget England's attack|on China in 1857.

Occupying unprotected Peking.

And you, sir?

Raha Tejpalal from the Punjab.

Think of India, Dr Reeves.

Think of India.

And you, sir, you are...?

James Monaghan, Irish.

Choose a new jury anywhere, Dr Reeves.

It will always be prejudiced|against your country.

My lord, I wish to take counsel|for the prosecution's advice.

I challenge the jury and request|that a new one be chosen.

Chosen from where, Dr Reeves?

- Mr Farlan said anywhere.|- Except England.

Why not? Where else have the rights|of the individual been held so high?

In America, sir, where these rights|are held to be inalienable!

I doubt if you have more freedom|than England.

An Englishman thinks as he likes|in religion and politics.

It isn't what a man thinks and says,|it's when and where and to whom.

A man with a flint and steel striking|sparks over a wet blanket is one thing,...

.. but striking them|over a tinderbox is another!

An American baby sucks in freedom with|the milk of the breast at which he hangs.

A man can see further, sir,|from the top of Boston State House,...

.. and see more worth seeing than from|the pyramids, turrets and steeples...

.. of all the places of the world.

No smoke, sir,...

.. no fog, sir,...

.. and a clean sweep from|the outer light and the sea beyond...

.. to the New Hampshire mountains!

Yes, sir, there are great truths...

.. higher than mountains|and broader than seas...

.. that people look for|from the tops of our hills!

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