Changeling

Walter, honey.

Time to

wake up.

Just 10 more minutes.

Oh, I'm sorry, sport.

You can sleep in tomorrow.

That's what

Saturdays are for.

Up against the wall.

Come, come, come.

All right.

Got it. Got it.

Look, look!

All right, sit down.

Your breakfast

is getting cold.

It's cereal.

It's supposed to be cold.

Sweetheart, we're here.

Okay.

Here's your books.

Go ahead.

Yes, ma'am. If you hold just a moment,

I'll get a supervisor for you.

Yes,

she's coming right now.

Just a second,

she'll be with you.

Just one second, please. You deal

with this one. I'm not going near it.

Hello, this is the supervisor.

How can I help you?

I can see you're

on a party line...

Unfortunately, some people do

listen in on party lines. We...

Well, what is he doing?

Oh, my...

Everything all right?

Yes, sir, it's fine. A lady was

having trouble with the connection.

Hey, sport.

- Hey, Mom.

How was school?

Okay.

- Yeah?

We learned

about dinosaurs.

And I got in a fight

with Billy Mankowski.

What happened?

He hit me.

Did you hit him back?

Good.

Rule number one,

remember?

Never start a fight,

always finish it.

Why'd he hit you?

Because I hit him.

You hit him first?

Why?

He said my dad ran off

because he didn't like me.

Honey, your father

never met you,

so how could he

not like you?

Then why did he leave?

Well, because the day

you were born,

something else

arrived in the mail.

And it was in a box a

little bit bigger than you.

You know what was in it?

Something called

responsibility.

And to some people,

responsibility is the

scariest thing in the world.

So, he ran away because he was

scared of what was in that box?

Uh-huh.

That's just dumb.

That is exactly

what I thought.

Did I miss Amos 'N Andy?

I'm afraid so, sport.

Come now, time for bed.

Are we still going

to the movies tomorrow?

Uh-huh. I hear there's

a new Charlie Chaplin picture

and a new serial called

The Mysterious Airman.

Who's that?

I don't know.

Nobody does.

That's what makes him

so mysterious.

Oh.

Am I too heavy

for you to carry?

Oh, no,

not for years.

Not for years.

Hello?

- This is Margaret.

Hi, Margaret.

So, how are you?

Fine.

Listen, Jean can't come in today

and now we're a little shorthanded.

When did she call in sick?

About half hour ago.

I'm having a hard time

trying to find someone.

Well, what about Myrna?

I know she could use

the extra hours and...

She's busy.

Can't you come?

No. No, no, no.

I just...

I promised Walter that I'd take

him to the movies, is all, and...

Well, it's just until 4:00.

All right.

Just...

Just until 4:
00.

I'll see you then.

There's a sandwich

and milk in the fridge,

and I've asked Mrs. Riley

and her daughter

to stop in

in a couple of hours.

I can take care of myself.

I know you can.

They're checking on the house, not you.

Tomorrow we will

go to the movies.

And then we'll ride Big Red to Santa

Monica and take a walk on the pier.

How does that sound?

Does that sound good?

I'll be home

before it gets dark.

I'm not afraid

of the dark.

I'm not afraid

of anything.

I know.

I know.

Be good.

I love you.

We've got lines jammed

from here to Ohio.

He says he needs to speak

to somebody in charge.

I need your signature here

for a supply requisition.

Number, please.

- Number, please.

Go ahead, please.

All right, get me

the Omaha routing station.

See if we can put our calls

through their switchers.

Let's get this

console running, now.

Christine. Good, I was

hoping to catch you.

Look, I've been following

your work reports,

and I just want to let you

know that I am very impressed.

When I first suggested

hiring female supervisors,

my superiors weren't

big on the idea.

But you have held your own as well

as any of your male counterparts.

Thank you, Mr. Harris.

Oh, Ben, please.

Listen, I...

Listen, the point is,

we're looking to take on a manager

for our new Beverly Hills office.

And if you're interested in the

job, I could write a report, or...

That would be wonderful.

Thank you so much, sir.

Okay, good,

so maybe we could...

Could we speak about it Monday?

- Yeah, absolutely.

Would that be all right?

Thank you so much, sir. Thank you.

Please!

Please.

Walter.

Honey?

Walter.

Walter!

Honey?

Walter?

Honey!

Walter!

Walter, it's time

to come in, honey.

Suzie?

Have you seen Walter?

No, Mrs. Collins.

Sorry.

Walter?

Walter.

Number, please.

May I please have

the police station?

I'll connect you.

Lincoln Heights Division.

Hello, my name is

Christine Collins.

I live at 210

North Avenue, 23.

And I'm calling

to report a missing child.

Missing child.

What's your relation

to the child, ma'am?

It's my son.

How long has he been gone?

I'm not sure.

I just got home from work.

It could be

since this morning

or it could be

just the last hour.

Have you checked

around the neighborhood?

Yes, of course I did.

Well, maybe

he's lost track of time.

No. No, no.

He always stays around the

house when it gets dark.

Would you please send

someone down here?

I'm sorry,

but our policy is that

we don't dispatch units

on missing child cases for 24 hours.

What?

Look, 99 times out of 100,

the kid shows up by morning.

We don't have the resources to go chasing

every kid who runs off with his pals.

No, no, no.

No, that's not Walter.

He doesn't do that.

With all due respect, ma'am,

every parent who calls says the same thing.

Please, please.

Look, there's

nothing I can do.

I'll take your name

and your information,

but that's all until the morning,

at the earliest.

I'm sure he'll show up by then.

They always do.

Are you Mrs. Collins?

Our thoughts go out

again today to Mrs. Christine Collins

of Lincoln Heights,

whose young son,

Walter Collins,

disappeared

nearly two weeks ago.

Though she is not

a member of our congregation,

we pray for her today

as we have every day,

since we learned

of her plight.

On the radio and

in the newspapers

we are told that

the Los Angeles Police Department

is doing its very best to

reunite mother and child,

and I'm sure

that that is true.

But given its status

as the most violent, corrupt

and incompetent

police department

this side

of the Rocky Mountains

I am not sure

it's saying a great deal.

Every day, new bodies

appear along Mulholland

and in the ditches

of our cities,

the work of Police Chief James Davis

and his aptly named Gun Squad.

Every day, the needs

of honest citizens

are put second to greed

and personal gain.

Every day,

this city sinks deeper into a cesspool

of fear, intimidation

and corruption.

Once the City of Angels,

Los Angeles has become

a place where our protectors

have become

our brutalizers.

Where to be the law is

to be above the law.

I understand.

Thank you.

I will call back

in a few weeks.

Thank you very much.

Las Vegas Missing

Persons Department?

Hello, this is

Christine Collins.

I'm calling to see if you've

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