Half Moon Street Page #3

by your statement...

at the last Opec conference.

Thank you.

But Im afraid it didn't

please too many people.

Well, the Saudis are very

sensitive about production cuts.

I didn't expect to see you here.

Just getting to know

our Arab friends better.

Which particular hat

are you wearing tonight?

Oh, you don't need to tell me.

You're supposed to be

with the wog...

in the dishcloth over there.

You see, I knew

she would be here.

This is Lauren, a dear friend.

They're very generous.

Have a nice evening.

You're from Kuwait.

Im a great admirer

of your social services there.

They're a model for

the rest of the Gulf.

And you--you're a model girl.

Having fun in the Arab

world, are we?

The famous Dr. Slaughter from...

The Middle Eastern Institute.

Not the Jasmine Institute?

You know the word

for ''jasmine'' in my country?

Yasmina.

Beautiful, isn't it?

What is your country?

I have no country.

I see. You're a Palestinian.

Let me introduce

Hugo Van Arkady.

Of the Anglo-Arab

Investment Trust.

Good to see you again.

I see you already know

my good friend Karim Hatami.

Also an investment banker?

How do I describe Karim?

He's a kind of...consultant.

I put rich people together

and make them richer.

Ah, a fixer.

Is he one of your 5,000?

Who knows? Excuse me.

Its too crowded here.

But Im with the--

He won't mind. He works for me.

Ive been wanting to meet

the beautiful Dr. Slaughter...

for a long time.

Not only is she beautiful...

but I am told she is very smart

and very talented.

I am smart, I am beautiful,

I am talented?

Aren't you rather overdoing it?

Typical Arab overkill.

Well, Im not complaining.

What do you really do?

I ran a magazine in Beirut once.

And now?

Like Arkady said,

I put people together.

Why, are they falling apart?

That's an old

Marx Brothers joke.

Are you a film freak, too?

I spend my life at the movies.

Well, you must have

a lot of time on your hands.

I am an Arab playboy.

Don't I look like one?

Well, you're not

a bit like the sheik...

in John Huston's

''Beat the Devil.''

The one who tells Robert Morley,

''No, one look is...''

''Not enough.''

Oh, Id love to see that again.

Well, by a strange coincidence,

I happen to have it on tape.

Am I supposed to say,

''Your place or mine?''

No. These days you say,

''Betamax or VHS?''

No, one look is not enough.

If you think we're the enemies

of your country...

the logical thing

is to boot us out.

How much did you find out

about the girl, Haldane?

Student activist,

but a very independent lady.

Quarrelled with

the faculty, the SDS.

Married briefly to

a British expert on China...

who's pretty left-wing.

Not on our ''K'' list, though.

Never has been.

What does that mean?

It means she's

totally apolitical.

Did good fieldwork in China.

Got a Ph.D. at Harvard

in post-Mao economics.

Oh, yeah. She nearly got

kicked out of China.

Called the American ambassador

there a sexist a**hole.

Why is she working at

the Middle Eastern Institute...

for $150 a week?

She's one of those kooky Yanks

who likes living abroad.

So she's not working for anyone.

That's right. As far as

we're concerned, she's clean.

Thank you, Haldane. Good-bye.

Bye.

Come in.

You counting your money, Doc?

Yeah...so I can buy

my ticket out of here.

Well, before you pack

your bags...

how about spending

some of it at the races?

Why not? I like horses.

This is not horses.

This is greyhounds.

The order of finish

for the second race...

What are these men doing?

They're indicating the odds.

How do they get

their information?

I wish I knew.

Its like a ballet.

That's nothing.

Wait till the show starts.

-Bill.

-Yeah?

Let's go down

and see the action.

Great.

You also want to size them up.

I just want to see them race.

Bets first.

Dr. Slaughter?

Yes. This is indeed a pleasure.

-Is it?

-Yes.

Id like you to meet an old

friend of mine--Bill Rafferty.

-Hello.

-Pleasure.

This is my friend Lindsay.

Lord Bulbeck.

-Hello.

-Hello.

So you're an American.

Where are you from?

Originally,

Evanston, Illinois...

but now I live in

Notting Hill Gate.

Notting Hill Gate?

Isn't that where they had

some riots a while back?

That wasn't a riot, man.

That was the carnival.

Sometimes it becomes a riot.

Say, where can I place

a bet around here?

Over here. Come.

I want to put some

money on number 4.

Not number 4, man. Number 5.

How's it going?

Things could be better.

I know. I read the papers.

So that's ''the''

William Rafferty, eh?

Yes.

I was showing him

the real London of my youth.

My father owned part

of a greyhound once.

A lot of doctors did.

I remember coming here

when I was 8.

''Let us go then, you and I...''

''When the evening is spread

out against the sky.''

What about the others?

What others?

Him.

Harry.

You'll make your

own way home, sir?

Yes. Good night.

Its a sensational scheme, Sam,

but it's risky as hell.

The Arabs trust Sam...

because he's delivered

the goods in the past,

and he's always dealt

fairly with the Israelis.

Its still asking a lot

to expect both sides...

to accept a permanent

peace settlement.

The timing's right.

Everyone's sick of

the Beirut mess...

and wants a breather.

No calls, Dutch.

So a peace treaty's on the cards

for the very first time.

You pull this one off,

they're going to have...

to give you the Nobel Prize.

HMG, don't think

you can do it on your own.

Its too dangerous.

The vested interests

lined up against you...

are pretty formidable, Sam.

And you're making it

easy for them.

Rafferty told me

about the dog races--

dismissing the bodyguard,

trailing around with that woman.

I call that

irresponsible behaviour.

Don't forget,

it's because Im on my own...

that I stand a chance.

lf my friends feel

that Im just a front...

for you chaps,

you can forget the whole thing.

OK. Tell us what you need.

I want you to lay on

a safe house...

but I want the Arabs

to sweep it for bugs themselves.

That's highly irregular.

That's how it's going to be.

When's all this

supposed to happen?

September the 5th.

That's my birthday.

Well, then we'll have

two reasons to celebrate.

Hopefully.

Hello.

Good evening.

Hello, Bulbeck.

You remember Alan?

Yeah. Hello, Alan.

Aren't you concerned

about your public image?

You mean, going out

with escort girls?

l couldn't care less.

Besides, we're not

living in the fifties.

So there's no such thing

as...sexual blackmail?

No. That went out

with the Cold War.

Are you sure?

You probably had me

checked out anyway.

I didn't find

the play convincing.

The ending didn't work.

How long was his wife

locked up for, anyway?

He had her put away

for the rest of her life.

Jesus. Let's hear it

for marriage.

They did horrible things

to women in those days.

Those days? They still do.

The men I see

don't want a woman.

They want an object.

I mean, literally,

they want me to be a thing.

Really?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes