Monsieur Verdoux Page #9

Synopsis: Monsieur Verdoux is a bluebeard, he marries women and kills them after the marriage to get the money he needs for his family. But with two ladies he has bad luck.
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Director(s): Charles Chaplin
Production: Criterion Collection
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins.
 
IMDB:
8.0
Rotten Tomatoes:
97%
PASSED
Year:
1947
124 min
1,049 Views


Car number ten.

- They're leaving.

- Take down the number of the car.

I haven't got a pencil. Go get one.

Pardon me.

- Do you have a pencil?

- Try the office around the corner.

- Thank you.

Open up. Open up this door.

- Let me out.

- Help, help.

- I shall say goodbye to you.

- What are you going to do?

I'm going to fulfill my destiny.

Here's my card.

Be sure to let me hear from you,

soon.

Merci.

- Tomorrow?

- Tomorrow.

Alright, sir.

Your positions. One on each corner

and two at the back.

The rest come with me.

- Victor, you remain here.

- Yes, sir.

Here. Break it up. Around this way.

- Come on. Let these men through.

- Help! Help!

Help! Help!

- There he is.

- That's not him! That's my brother!

What have you done?

That's my witness.

Get him a glass of water.

My poor brother.

You!

- Make way, please.

- Step aside.

What is it?

- I've just seen him.

- Where?

- There.

- Don't let anyone leave.

- Jacques, Henri, guard the entrance.

- Yes, sir.

Thank you. Ah!

There he is! That's him!

- Henri Verdoux?

- At your service.

Never in the history of jurisprudence

have such deeds

been brought to light.

Gentlemen, you have before you

a cruel and cynical monster.

Look at him!

This man, who has brains,

if he had decency,

could have made an honest living.

Yet, he preferred to rob

and murder unsuspecting women.

He made a business of it.

I ask for the protection of society.

For this mass killer,

I demand the extreme penalty.

That he be put to death

on the guillotine. The State rests.

M. Verdoux,

you have been found guilty.

Have you anything to say

before sentence is passed?

Oui, Monsieur, I have.

However remiss the Prosecutor

has been,

he at least admits

that I have brains.

Thank you, Monsieur, I have.

And for thirty-five years

I used them honestly.

After that, nobody wanted them.

So I was forced to go into business

for myself.

As for being a mass killer,

does not the world encourage it?

Is it not building weapons

of destruction

for the sole purpose of mass killing?

Has it not blown unsuspecting women

and little children to pieces.

And done it very scientifically.

As a mass killer,

I am an amateur by comparison.

However,

I do not wish to lose my temper,

because very shortly,

I shall lose my head.

Nevertheless...

Upon leaving this spark

of earthly existence,

I have this to say.

I shall see you all...

very soon... very soon.

- No pictures.

- Oh, Max, how is he?

He's nuts! Talks like he's a saint.

Twist everything with half-truths.

Says you can't have good

without evil.

Evil being the shadows

cast from the sun.

- He's kidding us.

- Alright, you can go in.

- So long, Max. See you later.

- Hope you get a better break.

No pictures.

Well, well, well. Verdoux.

You'll have to admit,

crime doesn't pay.

- No, sir. Not in a small way.

- What do you mean?

To be successful in anything,

one must be well organized.

You're not leaving

with that cynical remark?

To be idealistic at this moment

would be incongruous.

What's all this talk about

good and evil?

Arbitrary forces. Too much of either

will destroy us all.

We can never have too much good.

The trouble is, we've never

had enough. We don't know.

I've been your friend all through the

trial. Give me a story with a moral.

You, the tragic example

of a life of crime.

I don't see how anyone can be

an example in these criminal times.

You certainly are,

robbing and murdering people.

- That's business.

- Others don't do business that way.

That's the history of

many a big business.

Wars, conflict,

it's all business.

One murder makes a villain,

millions a hero.

Numbers sanctify, my good fellow.

- Father Ferro to see you.

- By all means, show him in.

You'll pardon me,

but my time is limited.

Is there anything else

you'd like to say?

Yes, goodbye.

Alright, Father.

Well, Father.

And what can I do for you?

Nothing, my son.

I want to help you, if I can.

I've come to ask you

to make peace with God.

I am at peace with God.

My conflict is with Man.

- Have you no remorse for your sins?

- Who knows what sin is.

Born as it was from heaven

from God's fallen angel?

Who knows the ultimate

destiny it serves?

After all, what would you be

doing without sin?

Exactly what I'm doing now,

my son.

Trying in my humble way

to help a lost soul in distress.

They're coming. Let me pray for you.

As you wish. But I don't think these

gentlemen want to be kept waiting.

May the Lord have mercy on your soul.

Why not?

After all, it belongs to Him.

Henri Verdoux, the Criminal Court

of Justice of the French Republic,

sentenced you to die.

It is now the order of the court

the sentence be carried out.

- Merci.

- Cigarette?

Thank you.

Here.

- What's that?

- Rum.

No, thank you. Oh, just a moment.

I've never tasted rum.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Charles Chaplin

All Charles Chaplin scripts | Charles Chaplin Scripts

0 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

    "Monsieur Verdoux" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/monsieur_verdoux_13986>.

    We need you!

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

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

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


    Quiz

    Are you a screenwriting master?

    »
    What does "SFX" stand for in a screenplay?
    A Special Effects
    B Script Effects
    C Sound Effects
    D Screen Effects