Laura
- NOT RATED
- Year:
- 1944
- 88 min
- 2,361 Views
A silver sun burned through the sky
like a huge magnifying glass.
It was the hottest Sunday
in my recollection.
I felt as if I were the only human being
left in New York.
For with Laura's
horrible death, I was alone.
I, Waldo Lydecker...
was the only one
who really knew her...
and I had just begun
to write Laura's story when...
another of those detectives
came to see me.
I had him wait.
through the half-open door.
I noted that his attention
was fixed upon my clock.
There was only one other
in existence...
and that was
in Laura's apartment...
in the very room
where she was murdered.
Careful there.
That stuff is priceless.
Come in here, please.
Mr. Lydecker?
Ah, you recognize me.
How splendid.
Sit down, please.
Nice little place
you have here, Mr. Lydecker.
It's lavish,
but I call it home.
I suppose you're here
about the Laura Hunt murder.
Yesterday morning,
after Laura's body was found...
I was questioned
by Sergeants McAvity and Schultz...
and I stated...
"On Friday night, Laura had a dinner
engagement with me...
"after which she was ostensibly
going out of town.
"She phoned and canceled
our engagement at exactly 7:00.
- After that I...''
- You "ate a lonely dinner...
then got into the tub to read.''
Why did you
write it down?
Afraid you'd forget it?
I am the most widely
misquoted man in America.
When my friends do it,
I resent it.
From Sergeants McAvity and Schultz,
I should find it intolerable.
Hand me that washcloth,
please, Mr....
Mr....
McPherson.
McPherson. McPherson.
Mark McPherson-
the siege of Babylon, Long Island.
The gangster with the machine gun.
Killed three policemen.
I told the story over the air
Are you the one
with the leg full of lead...
- the man who walked right in and got him?
- Yeah.
Well, well.
Hand me my robe, please.
You have a pretty good memory,
Mr. Lydecker.
with the silver shinbone.
Thanks. I hope you won't have any reason
- Have you any more questions?
- Yeah, just one.
Two years ago,
in your October 17 column...
you started out
to write a book review...
but at the bottom of the column, you
switched over to the Harrington murder case.
Are the processes of the creative mind
now under the jurisdiction of the police?
You said Harrington was rubbed out with
a shotgun loaded with buckshot...
the way Laura Hunt was murdered
night before last.
- Did I?
- Yeah.
But he was really killed
with a sash weight.
How ordinary.
My version was obviously superior.
I never bother
with details, you know.
I do. Well, so long.
Mind if I go with you?
- What for?
- Murder is my favorite crime.
and I know you'll have to visit everyone
on your list of suspects.
I'd like to study
their reactions.
- You're on the list yourself, you know.
- Good.
To have overlooked me
would have been a pointed insult.
You're not the sort of man
one would insult, Mr. Lydecker.
- Yes.
McPherson, if you know anything
about faces, look at mine.
How singularly innocent
I look this morning.
Have you ever seen
such candid eyes?
Something you confiscated
in a raid on a kindergarten?
Takes a lot of control.
Would you like to try it?
No, thanks.
Were you in love
with Laura Hunt, Mr. Lydecker?
Was she in love with you?
Laura considered me
the wisest, the wittiest...
the most interesting man
she'd ever met.
I was in complete accord
with her on that point.
She thought me also
the kindest...
the gentlest...
the most sympathetic man
in the world.
Did you agree
with her there too?
McPherson,
you won't understand this...
but I tried to become
the kindest, the gentlest...
the most sympathetic man
in the world.
Have any luck?
Let me put it this way.
I should be sincerely sorry to see my
neighbors' children devoured by wolves.
Shall we go?
- Good morning, Lieutenant.
- Good morning, Mrs. Treadwell.
- Waldo.
- Good morning, Ann.
- I've just taken over the Laura Hunt case.
- Won't you sit down?
Thanks. I have
all the reports...
but there are a few more questions
I'd like to ask.
Certainly. I'll do anything
I can to help.
You were fond of your niece,
Mrs. Treadwell?
Why, I adored her.
Cigarette?
No, thanks. You collapsed when
you identified the body.
I can quite understand that. A shotgun
loaded with buckshot, close range.
- It's not very nice to look at.
- It was horrible.
Her maid Bessie, I suppose
she was devoted to Miss Hunt?
Oh, she worshipped her.
Laura had had her for years.
when she saw Laura lying there.
Did you approve of Miss Hunt's coming
marriage to Mr. Carpenter?
Why? Shouldn't I approve?
I don't know. What is your relationship
with Mr. Carpenter?
What do you mean?
What I mean is, he's been
a frequent guest in your home.
Is he an acquaintance? Friend?
Are you in love with him?
This is beginning to assume
fabulous aspects.
Oh, shut up, Waldo!
What are you driving at?
The truth, Mrs. Treadwell.
Are you in love with him?
Why, no. I'm- I'm very fond
of Mr. Carpenter, of course.
- Everybody is.
- I'm not. I'll be hanged if I am.
Oh, don't be
so annoying, Waldo!
Did you give
Mr. Carpenter money?
- What do you mean?
- A couple of checks went through your account endorsed by him.
One on May 15 for $250.
One on May 22 for $400.
Oh, that. I-
I asked him to do
some shopping for me. That's all.
Shelby's a very obliging fellow.
For some time, also, you've been
withdrawing various amounts in cash.
Sometimes 1,500.
Sometimes 1,700 at a clip.
Yes. I needed that money.
The day you took out $1,500,
Mr. Carpenter deposited 1,350.
When you withdrew 1,700,
he deposited 1,550.
Maybe they were shooting crap.
Oh, must I be insulted like this?
I'm sorry, Mrs. Treadwell, but I have
to find out about these things.
Shelby needed some money, and I lent it to
him. That's all. After all, it is my money.
- I suppose I can do as I please with it.
- Sure. Of course.
Now, on Friday night, Mrs. Treadwell,
you stayed home alone all evening?
- Yes.
- Why didn't you go to the concert with Shelby?
Because he didn't ask me.
We were just talking
about you, Carpenter.
- What a coincidence to find you here.
- This is Lieutenant McPherson.
- Oh, how do you do, Lieutenant?
- I didn't know you were here, Mr. Carpenter.
As a matter of fact,
I was just lying down here.
My hotel room was so hot, and then all
the people and reporters and telephone.
You know how it is,
Lieutenant.
since it happened.
Is that a sign of guilt or innocence,
McPherson?
I'm at your disposal, Lieutenant. I'm as
eager to find the murderer as you are.
But what possible motive
could I have for killing Laura?
Miss Hunt and I were going to be married
this week, you know.
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"Laura" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/laura_12319>.
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