House Of Strangers Page #7

- Not tonight. It can't be.

- Call it off.

- I can't. The party doesn't

even know I'm coming.

Then how do you know

they'll be there?

- I've got a feeling I'm expected.

- They don't know you're coming,

yet you think you're expected.

- That's a strange date.

- It's something new...

- even for me.

- What's it about, Max?

- Nothing to worry you.

- I'll drive you and wait for you.

No, you don't want to sit in the car.

I'll take a cab and be right over.

I'm driving you. Period.

May I come in?

- Is anyone here?

- The children. They're in bed.

You shouldn't be here.

There's lots of things shouldn't be.

If anyone found out-

Not much of a view,

especially for kids.

This is the best I can do

since my husband died.

I've never done this before.

Do you believe me?

Yes.

Sending my father to jail

isn't going to make this a better world.

What are his chances?

- I can't tell you.

- You mean you don't want to.

I'm under oath.

- You're a good woman, aren't you?

- I try to be.

- And a good mother.

- They're all I have.

- What do you make a week?

- Thirty-two fifty.

Keep it. Who will it hurt?

- I can't.

- I know you wouldn't do it for yourself.

Please go.

And take this with you.

Well, I tried.

- You must love your father a great deal.

- I'm all he's got.

You'd better not stay any longer.

Mommy.

I'm coming, darling.

Be careful with that.

You can't have the whole thing.

If I do have the whole thing-

Look, I'll talk about it later.

Listen.

Didn't I tell you

to stop coming here?

I'm not in jail yet.

I go where I please.

Your new trial starts in a week.

It isn't good for you to be seen here.

- This is a new bank.

- What do you mean it's a new bank?

Is my bank.

Let's get that very clear. This isn't

your bank. You don't own a nickel of it.

You signed it over to Ma,

Ma signed it over to us.

Well, I only give it to Ma

so there'll be nothing

in my name when the trial comes.

- She has no right to give it to you.

- We do things legally now.

Legally, she had the right.

Legally, she signed it over to us-

- Me, Tony and Pietro.

- Well, you, Tony and Pietro

are legally dirty crooks!

Is my bank. The bank is mine.

The money is mine. The name is mine.

The name we hope

to live down.

In the meantime,

you stay away from here.

You can live in the big house with Ma.

We'll pay all the bills.

You get $40 a week for spending money.

Learn to smoke cheaper cigars.

And if you ever so much

as set foot in this bank, you get nothing.

- Well, what I do? Where I go?

- You're an old man. Buy peanuts.

Go in the park. Sit on a bench.

Feed the peanuts to the pigeons.

Pietro! Pietro!

- He's crazy! Get him out of here!

- You better go, Pa.

You going to be sorry, Joe.

I promise you!

What's happened to you, Pa?

You don't look good.

You don't look like a man

who beat the rap, a free man.

What good is it to be free?

I got nothing to do.

I got nowheres to go.

How's the new bank

coming along?

Is your brothers' bank, not mine.

Oh, it's in their name, that's all.

Just a way of protecting the assets in case-

No, is a way to throw me out.

Joe say I'm an old man, no good for nothing.

"Go sit in the park," he tell me.

"Feed the pigeons. Go away, old man."

He steal the bank from me, Max.

- I'd like to sit in the park

and feed the pigeons.

- You think?

Feel the sun on my face.

Get up and walk around when I want.

Instead, you stuck in jail here

like a rat in a trap, huh?

Who put you here, Max?

The sovereign state

of New York.

No, no. Your brother Joe.

Your brother Joe go call the police.

You're mixed up, Pa.

Even Joe wouldn't do a thing like that.

When you go see the lady that night,

who knew anything about it?

You and Joe, nobody else, huh?

When you come out, the police wait for you.

Who else but Joe?

Look what he do to me.

Beside, someone tell me it was Joe.

- Someone who hear him talk.

- Who told you?

Maria ask me to give you this.

- She cry.

- I expected it.

She gonna marry Tony.

- Tony is gonna be vice president of the bank.

- How about Pietro?

Oh, he's gonna be

second vice president.

Hm. Not bad.

We don't let them do this to us, Max.

Someday you get out.

We take back the bank,

everything that they rob from us.

- You get back Maria.

- I don't want Maria.

When I get out,

I want to forget the whole thing.

Oh, no, no, no, Max. You must not forget.

You got to make them pay.

They steal from me

what I work my whole life for.

I work 16 hours a day.

All kinds of sweatshops. I save every penny.

For years, I sweat in the barbershop.

You remember.

I do without everything. I wear one pair

of shoes, one suit, save for years.

And for what? The bank.

The bank is my life,

is my blood.

They kill me, Max.

They take away my blood.

I can't live much more.

I can't fight much more.

I got nobody left.

Only got you.

You got to fix them, Max. For me.

You got to do this for me.

You got to make them pay.

Forget about it, Pa.

They'll pay.

- May I please see Mr. Monetti?

- Si.

- Yeah?

- Another letter to Max.

Yeah. They open the new bank soon.

Me, they don't invite.

They send Pietro down to say

I better keep away. I'm writing this to Max.

- Why?

- I tell Max everything.

- Why?

- Because Max, such things he's got to know.

And what do you use on your pen,

just plain poison or some special kind?

Isn't it bad enough for him

locked up for years?

Do you want to drive him crazy

with your letters?

Joe, Tony, Pietro-

Max hates them.

I want he should hate them.

I want he should never stop.

You've never wanted anything

else from any of them-

Joe, Tony, Pietro... or Max.

When you die, what a treasure you'll leave

to the world- four men full of hate.

Is my sons.

Is none of your business.

One of them is. I love him.

I want him to love me,

to be able to love me.

- Is none of your business.

- Don't write that letter.

Don't send any more.

Leave him alone. Give him a chance.

You've ruined his life up to now.

Let him have it from now on.

Stop filling him

full of poison and hate.

Nah, I don't want Max

should forget.

I write him today, tomorrow, every day.

I don't want Max should forget.

Then he'll wind up hating you too,

just like everyone else in the world hates you.

- Get out of my house!

- Tell Max about me.

Tell Max his girl hates his father.

Tell him his girl wishes his father

were rotting in jail instead.

- Now get out!

- You think of that sometimes, don't you?

That you belong up there

instead of Max.

- Let's go.

- Where?

You got a 12-hour pass

to see someone.

Who?

Max, now you make Gino happy.

Now you go back to jail happy.

You stay up nights.

You make all kinds of plans.

Smart plans.

You kill Joe, Joe kill you.

Gino very happy.

Once I have a husband.

I give him four sons.

Now I have nobody.

No husband. No sons.

Go, Max. Go away.

Well, Pa, where do we start?

On Joe, Tony or Pietro?

Ah, can't waste time with Pietro.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes