Grand Hotel Page #8

BARON:

(swings suddenly on

him)

I don't like your tone.

CHAUFFEUR:

(comes up to him --

face to face)

No --

Baron is suddenly seized with uncontrollable temper -- twists

his wrists -- backs him to door, speaks quietly.

BARON:

Get out and leave it to me... be

ready to leave on the night train

for Amsterdam...

CHAUFFEUR:

With the pearls?

BARON:

With the pearls --

The Chauffeur leaves.

The moment he is gone -- Baron looks the door -- business ad

lib.

Crosses to window.

FACADE OF HOTEL:

The Baron peeps out onto balcony -- it seems to be clear. He

proceeds along and peeps into Preysing's room. Preysing is

apparently in the bathroom. Baron skips nimbly past the room.

Working at thrill of pass through to Grusinskaya's room.

GRUSINSKAYA'S BALCONY

Baron is pretty shaken by jump.

CUT TO:

GRUSINSKAYA'S ROOM

Darkness -- light from transom and building opposite.

Business of finding key and getting pearls. INTERCUT Preysing

coming out onto his balcony, bringing out with him, loud

speaker of radio -- which announces noisily as follows:

LOUD SPEAKER:

'You are listening to the music of

the Eastman Jazz Band, in the famous

Yellow Room of the Grand Hotel.'

CUT TO:

GRUSINSKAYA'S ROOM

Baron starts suddenly -- when he hears voice and with pearls

in his hand, looks cautiously out of window -- only to see:

CUT TO:

SHOT FROM HIS ANGLE ONTO PREYSING'S BALCONY:

Preysing seating himself upon his balcony -- Radio loud

speaker seen. Possibly Preysing commences dinner scene

bullying waiter.

GRUSINSKAYA'S BALCONY

The Baron knows he is trapped, if he jumps onto Preysing's

balcony, Preysing is the man that will cause the alarm.

Quickly he moves across the room -- tries the door -- it is

locked securely. He looks for skeleton key and then remembers

refusing it from the chauffeur. He is trapped in an absurd

way.

As he moves back from the door, he knocks the telephone off

of the table. He watches it for a moment, realizing that the

operator must now know that there is someone in Grusinskaya's

room.

He picks up the telephone, replaces the receiver, wipes finger

prints off with his handkerchief.

He is moving back to window when telephone starts to ring

suddenly. The thought crosses his mind they they will want

to know who is in the room. He lets the telephone ring.

Crosses to the door again.

Above the din of the telephone we hear the chambermaid's

voice singing an absurd song.

He listens. She is coming in.

The key turns in the door.

Quickly he hides behind the curtains.

Slowly and amusingly the chambermaid, tired and dragging,

enters the room.

He is looking for an opportunity to dash through the door.

After all, this maid should be an easy person to get around.

We have a feeling he wishes to dash through the door.

The chambermaid might be singing the same tune that we hear

from Preysing's radio.

The telephone commences ringing. Chambermaid does not answer

it but continues her duties.

At last, because of the noise of the telephone, she picks it

up and speaks.

CHAMBERMAID:

No -- no -- there is no one here.

(she replaces the

receiver)

At that moment, the Inspectress, a large stout woman, appears

at the open door.

INSPECTRESS:

(to Chambermaid)

You're late... What have you been

doing?

CHAMBERMAID:

(grumbling)

Everyone -- all the time says, 'Come

back - come back.' They won't get

out of their rooms.

The Inspectress, in a very businesslike way, proceeds around

the room, coming nearer and nearer the Baron. She is looking

at ashtrays and running her fingers over the woodwork looking

for dust. She tries the door to the next room, to see if it

is locked.

Telephone bell rings again.

Inspectress picks it up quickly.

INSPECTRESS:

No, Madame Grusinskaya is not here...

The Western Theater?... No...

Suddenly, out of scene, we hear the voice of Suzette.

Suzette is calling out to the night clerk in the passage.

SUZETTE'S VOICE

Have you seen Madame?

CLERK'S VOICE

(replying)

Isn't she at the theatre?

Suzette comes in and hurries to telephone.

SUZETTE:

Hello, hello, Mr. Pimenov? Yes...

Mr. Pimenov, have they found her?...

No, she is not here... Yes, I'm at

the hotel.

INTERCUT:

With the Baron watching.

GRUSINSKAYA'S BALCONY

During this action the Inspectress has waven the chambermaid

out of the room. Business ad lib.

Meierheim enters, he has heard the word 'Pimenov' on the

telephone -- he takes the receiver from Suzette.

MEIERHEIM:

(into telephone)

Pimenov?... What's happening?... No,

I haven't found her. Is Desprez

dancing?... How is it?... Oh, all

right. Keep the show going.

(bangs down receiver)

Wait till I see her, she'll pay for

this -- this little trick is going

to cost Grusinskaya a suit for breach

of contract.

SUZETTE:

Madame is ill -- her nerves...

MEIERHEIM:

Her nerves... What about my nerves?...

Who is she anyway? Where does she

think she is -- Russia? Those days

have passed.

He turns and sees Grusinskaya standing at the door. She is

in costume, very pale, very beautiful. Her coat, over one

shoulder, is ragging, she lets it drop and moves slowly into

the center of the room. Her hair, dressed for the dance,

make-up is on her face -- she is breathless.

SUZETTE:

Madame --

MEIERHEIM:

Well?

GRUSINSKAYA:

I want to be alone.

The other women in the room draw out, leaving Suzette to

pick up the robe that has fallen to the floor.

MEIERHEIM:

Where have you been?

SUZETTE:

Should I -- Does madame wish...

GRUSINSKAYA:

Suzette, please go, I want to be

alone.

Suzette obediently crosses to door and pauses on threshold,

waiting for Meierheim.

Meierheim approaches Grusinskaya.

MEIERHEIM:

I suppose I can cancel the Vienna

engagement.

GRUSINSKAYA:

I wish to be alone.

MEIERHEIM:

You'll be very much alone, my dear

madame. This is the end.

(he stamps out)

Suzette, with a frightened look through the door, closes it

on Meierheim's exit.

DURING THIS SCENE, INTERCUT SHOTS OF BARON.

It is some time before Grusinskaya moves. She crosses to

door -- turns the key -- takes the key out of the lock and

throws it away from her -- out upon the floor. She crosses

slowly to the mirror, regards herself, silently. We hear the

strains from Preysing's radio playing a light Viennese waltz.

Grusinskaya begins suddenly to sob.

FLASH OF BARON:

Watching her.

GRUSINSKAYA:

Quite suddenly -- as if with resolution she begins to undress.

Then she becomes weary again.

With a garment in her hand, she moves slowly toward the

curtain -- where the Baron is standing.

BARON:

We see him tense himself.

GRUSINSKAYA:

She drops the garment listlessly to the floor -- moves out

of scene.

CLOSEUP OF BARON

He peeps around the curtains.

CUT TO:

GRUSINSKAYA:

She is in a thin robe. She sits before mirror -- looks

steadily at her face. Her head goes down suddenly in her

hands and we hear her say:

GRUSINSKAYA:

The end -- over -- finished --

Suddenly she moves quickly across the room. Goes to bathroom.

Baron half starts out toward door. He watches -- darts across

the room as if towards the door. He hears her coming and

darts quickly into the half open door of the closet.

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