Crimes and Misdemeanors Page #8

Synopsis: Judah Rosenthal is an ophthalmologist and a pillar of the community who has a big problem: his mistress Dolores Paley has told him that he is to leave his wife and marry her - as he had promised to do - or she will tell everyone of their affair. When he intercepts a letter Dolores has written to his wife Miriam, he is frantic. He confesses all to his shady brother Jack who assures him that he has friends who can take care of her. Meanwhile, filmmaker Cliff Stern is having his own problems. He's been working on a documentary film for some time but has yet to complete it. He and his wife Wendy have long ago stopped loving one another and are clearly on their way to divorce. He falls in love with Halley Reed who works with a producer, Lester. Cliff soon finds himself making a documentary about Lester and hates every minute of it.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director(s): Woody Allen
Production: Orion Pictures Corporation
  Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 21 nominations.
 
IMDB:
8.0
Metacritic:
77
Rotten Tomatoes:
93%
PG-13
Year:
1989
104 min
4,810 Views


You know, show business is dog-eat-dog.

It's worse than dog-eat-dog. It's dog

doesn't return other dog's phone calls.

Which reminds me,

I should check my service.

Though I haven't had a message

in seven years.

I call up and I hear the girls giggling.

- How's Halley?

- She's great.

I'm gonna make my move there, I think.

But I have this ethical dilemma cos I'm

married. You shouldn't know about that.

Clifford Stern. Any messages?

Can you check, please?

My heart says one thing.

My head says another.

Very hard to get your heart and head

together in life. Let me teach you that.

Mine aren't even friendly.

Yes.

Really?

No.

OK, thank you.

What's wrong?

Professor Levy

committed suicide.

But we must always remember

that we, when we are born,

we need a great deal of love

in order to persuade us to stay in life.

Once we get that love

it usually lasts us.

But the universe is a pretty cold place.

It's we who invest it with our feelings.

And, under certain conditions,

we feel that the thing

isn't worth it any more.

I came as soon as I heard.

I thought you might not wanna be alone.

God, it's been terrible. You know?

I called... The guy was not sick at all.

And he left a note, a simple note:

"I've gone out the window."

This is a major intellectual, and this is

his note. What the hell does that mean?

This guy was a role model.

You'd think he'd leave a decent note.

Did he have family or anything?

No. They were all killed in the war.

That's what's so strange.

He's seen the worst side of life.

He always was affirmative.

Always said yes to life. Yes, yes.

Now today, he said no.

Can you imagine his students?

How shattered they're gonna be?

I don't know from suicide.

Where I grew up in Brooklyn,

nobody committed suicide.

Everyone was too unhappy.

Boy, this will put a damper on the show.

I got 600,000 feet of film on this guy

and he's telling how great life is,

and now what am I gonna do?

I'll cut it up and make it into guitar picks.

I was thinking. No matter how elaborate

a philosophical system you work out,

in the end, it's gotta be incomplete.

I've been so annoyed all day.

I'm sorry for seeming cranky.

- I understand.

- This was such a blow.

I just thought

you might want some company.

No, don't do that.

It's something that

I've wanted to do now for weeks.

- You must know that.

- You're married.

Yes, I'm married,

but that's not gonna... last.

- I mean, you know...

- Well, you know, I'm... I'm not ready.

Is there something you're not telling me?

- No.

- Is there anybody else?

- I just don't want you to say it's Lester.

- It's me. It's just me.

I... I guess I haven't

gotten over my divorce yet.

And also, I feel unsettled about my career.

You don't know this

but I'm very ambitious,

and that's an area

that I'd like to get consolidated.

I just feel, you know, unsettled.

- Don't confuse me.

- I'm not trying to confuse you.

I don't know what I'm doing.

I better go. I should just leave.

- You just got here.

- I know, but I... you know.

- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...

- No, that's OK. It's not... I'll see you soon.

I'll just... I'll be seeing you.

Please come in.

We read about it in the paper.

It's a terrible thing.

She'd been coming here for years.

- Please sit down.

- Thank you.

Just a couple of questions, Doctor.

The record shows that she phoned you

here and at your home a number of times.

She was worried about her eyes.

- What was she suffering from?

- Nothing serious. She...

She had light flashes

and they alarmed her.

I could never find

anything very wrong with her.

And I told her that

it's just a common occurrence.

- She was a hypochondriac?

- No, I wouldn't say that but

she was concerned.

And there's nothing she ever said

that might be relevant to the case?

Personal life? Friends?

No. Not really.

How did she come to you?

You know, I honestly can't remember.

- Possibly another patient.

- Can I get that name?

Well, it was a while ago

and I... I treat so many patients.

Might it be in your records?

No. No, I... I doubt it very much.

- Well, I'm sorry to take up your time.

- That's all right.

If you remember anything,

will you give me a call?

Sure.

- Thank you.

- Pleasure.

Judah, you're having a breakdown.

The police know she phoned me.

I lied, but they saw through it.

- I can't take this, Jack.

- Pull yourself together or you'll blow it.

I did it, and it's irrevocable,

and now I'm gonna pay.

I had to fight an urge to confess

to the police. I want this off my mind.

Listen. I'm in this with you. I helped you

out and I don't wanna go to jail for it.

You may not care if you drag me down

with you, but I'm not letting that happen.

- What the hell is that? A threat?

- Just be a man. You're in the clear.

- You'll rub me out, too?

- Don't talk nonsense.

What did you mean by saying

you won't let it happen?

You're my brother.

You've helped me out financially.

I did you a favour when you needed it.

Now all of a sudden you want to confess?

The time to confess was to Miriam,

about your mistress. Not about this.

This is murder. You paid for it,

I engineered it. It's over. Forget about it.

One sin leads to a deeper sin.

- Now you sound like Papa.

- Adultery, fornication, lies, killing.

- Shut up already.

- Or you'll have your friends shut me up?

One phone call,

like pushing a button, right?

Judah, I don't know what's wrong with

you these days. You're a different person.

I believe in God, Miriam.

I know it... because without God

the world is a cesspool.

You're drinking steadily and every day.

You never used to. It's something new.

- God, it's hot in here.

- Well, maybe we should go.

- Don't tell me what I should do, dammit!

- Judah, will you calm down!

I don't feel well. I'm gonna get a little air.

No, you stay here.

Look, this story on the homeless,

it's too long.

I want five pages. Make sure

he gets five real pages out of it.

He tells the secretary to type it tighter.

He doesn't take anything out.

I want Joe Hanson off the show.

He doesn't write funny. If he has cancer,

I'll send him flowers. I want him off.

Jesus! Doesn't anybody

know how to write funny any more?

Am I supposed to write it myself?

Direct it myself? Produce it myself?

I can't believe this! Look at those people

out there! Look out the window at them.

These people are lookin'

for something funny in their lives!

You're givin' 'em straight lines!

They're waitin' for something funny!

This is terrible.

What are you doing to me?

This is supposed to be

the profile of a creative mind.

It's tough for a woman in this profession.

I can make it easier for you.

What is this? When did you shoot that?

I was lurking around the corner.

I couldn't resist.

I don't wanna do it in kind of a vulgar way

and just take it off what I see here.

I wanna find out what's in here,

so I gotta spend some time with you.

We'll have a little dinner together, just...

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote

Woody Allen

Heywood "Woody" Allen is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright, whose career spans more than six decades. more…

All Woody Allen scripts | Woody Allen Scripts

4 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Crimes and Misdemeanors" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Dec. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/crimes_and_misdemeanors_6058>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    Crimes and Misdemeanors

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.


    Quiz

    Are you a screenwriting master?

    »
    In screenwriting, what does "FADE IN:" signify?
    A The end of the screenplay
    B The beginning of the screenplay
    C A transition between scenes
    D A camera movement