Shockproof Page #2

Take him to headquarters.

Twenty years. Twenty years. I ain't going!

Joe Wilson's stuff.

They've taken him to the hospital,

but he won't live.

All right.

- What did the girl have to say?

- I don't know. I haven't talked to her yet.

She's still in there. Sprained her ankle.

Excuse me.

What have you got to say for yourself?

Look, I feel it's all my fault.

That's why I came along.

You're a fool, Wesson.

You know those places are raided

for parole violators.

Why did you take her there?

Did you get hurt?

- I sprained my ankle.

- Officer.

- Yes, sir.

- Take her down to Dr. Daniels.

- You wait here.

- Dr. Daniels?

You heard me.

This way, miss.

Hello. Give me Dr. Daniels, please.

Hello, Doc? This is Griff Marat.

I'm sending a girl named Jenny Marsh

down to your office.

Yeah, she's got a sprained ankle.

See what you can find out, will you?

How old is she, Griff?

Well, what does she look like?

Blonde?

Delicate features.

Brown eyes.

I see.

Well, she just saw a man

jump off the balcony.

She's pretty shaky and upset.

Ought to be easy to work on.

Okay.

Okay for sound?

- Echo.

- Okay for sound?

Yeah, okay here.

Now, play it cagey, Doc. This one's smart.

- What are you trying to prove?

- I'm not sure yet.

Maybe that the girl has character.

They all have when they're caught.

Never should have been paroled.

Over here.

- Can you make it?

- I think so. Take it easy.

It's her ankle, Doc.

- I'll be right outside.

- Take off your stocking.

So...

- I feel sick.

- Really hurt that bad?

I just saw a man jump off the balcony.

What did he do that for?

They were sending him back for good.

I guess if I had the nerve,

I'd do the same thing.

No, you wouldn't.

You wouldn't.

Well, you know,

you remind me of my daughter.

You even look like her.

Why, because we're both female?

That's about the only resemblance

between her and me.

- Is your mother still living?

- My mother? Yes.

- How long were you in prison?

- Five years.

Five years. Must have broken her heart.

She's still in the hospital

in the alcoholic ward.

- And your father?

- He was no good.

I guess like father, like daughter.

It's heredity.

- It's environment.

- It's a joke.

There were nine of us. I was the oldest.

Blew their noses for them, scrubbed them,

doctored them,

everybody living in the one room.

Swill pile, that's what it was.

- Where'd you get hurt?

- In a raid on a bookie joint.

I broke parole. That means I'm going back.

Don't you think you were pretty silly

to go to a bookie joint

when you were out on parole?

I went with a friend who had business there.

Fine friend. Got you in a big jam.

He's the one who didn't forget me

when they sent me to prison.

Love him?

He waited five years for me. For me.

A man with a college education,

nice manners, money,

everything I never had in a man before.

Put that in your test tube, Doc,

and what do you see?

- What does he do?

- Gambles in a refined sort of way.

- It feels better now.

- It'll be all right in a day or two.

- Officer.

- Yes, Doc?

- You can take her back now.

- Okay.

Doc, I just bought this outfit.

If your daughter wears a size 12,

she can have it.

I guess I won't be needing it anymore.

My feeling is that she's sensitive,

confused and angry.

But Griff's right. I don't think

Jenny Marsh is an habitual criminal.

Well, then,

you think she'll straighten out okay, Doc?

- I mean, if somebody gave her a break?

- I think so, Griff.

- You do?

- Yes, I'm sure of it.

Well, I still don't trust her, but go ahead.

She's your case.

Thanks, Sam. You'll see I'm right about her.

I don't say she's a hardened criminal.

- What is a criminal, Sam?

- Yeah, I've often wondered.

I see them every day, but I still don't know.

A criminal is somebody

who commits a crime.

Griff, she's in your office.

And, Griff, throw a scare into her.

Okay.

Thanks, Doc.

This'll help you know the score.

Twenty years later, a lifer.

She looks 60. She's 40.

Same girl 10 years later. Here's another one.

I've seen enough.

All right, you're sending me back,

but you don't have to torture me first.

Send me back and shut up!

Ask Wesson to come in.

Now, take it easy.

- Feel better?

- Thank you.

Sit down.

Maybe you've got something smart to say.

- Whatever you may think of me, Marat...

- Let's not go into that.

Well, as I said before, it's all my fault.

It would be unjust to make Jenny suffer

for my thoughtlessness.

Now, look here, Wesson.

I know you think you're pretty smart,

smarter than a dumb parole officer.

Well, maybe you are.

But you're up against an organization

that's too big for you.

- You can't beat the whole parole setup.

- I don't intend to try.

All right, if you care about Jenny

as much as you seem to,

you'll cooperate from now on,

or it's going to be just too bad.

- What am I expected to do?

- Leave her alone!

Has it occurred to you that you're making

the conditions unnecessarily difficult?

Jenny cares for me.

You're setting up a situation

full of hazards and temptations.

I'm aware of that.

But I think the hazards

will be greater if she sees you.

You'll invite her to break rules,

because you look on rules

as things invented for suckers.

You think the guy who gets away

with things is smart.

What if I do stay away?

She'll start seeing me again when she's free.

She'll be as badly off as ever

by your standards.

Well, I'm counting on her forgetting you.

I'm counting on her meeting some normal,

decent people.

And I'm counting on her

getting over a feeling of gratitude to you,

- of loyalty, of...

- You mean of love, don't you?

She didn't get over it in five years.

Then you can wait another couple of years.

I'll do everything I can

to get her released sooner.

Now, I'll give you three minutes

to say goodbye.

Then you go, and you don't see her

until I say so. Agreed?

Have we any choice?

- Agreed?

- Okay.

I'll be back in three minutes.

- How's your ankle, darling?

- It's all right.

When I was leaving the doctor's office,

I noticed the dictograph key was up.

She's really a psychiatrist. It's a parole trick.

Darling, I'll see you tomorrow night

about 7:
00.

- Hello, Jenny.

- Why, hello.

- Almost missed you. Where are you going?

- Just to get a bite of dinner.

Great. Get in.

- Well, I...

- Come on, get in.

- It's better than eating alone, isn't it?

- Of course. Thanks.

When I laid out that $6 for your rent,

I thought you'd blown all your money

on that first outfit.

I didn't know you had a private gold mine.

- Like it?

- Yeah.

- I bought it today.

- Yeah, it's swell.

Harry's money?

Yes.

Well, I suppose there's no reason

why you shouldn't use

what's left of it as long as you have it.

I looked to see if there was a rule against it,

but there wasn't.

Look, if you'll just drop me

at a restaurant, I'II...

No, you're eating with me.

Do you often take parolees to dinner?

Are you married?

I'm Italian, over 21... What do you expect?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes