Tension Page #2

Synopsis: A mousy drugstore manager turns killer after his conniving wife leaves him for another man. He devises a complex plan, which involves assuming a new identity, to make it look like someone else murdered her new boyfriend. Things take an unexpected turn when someone else commits the murder first and he becomes the prime suspect.
Director(s): John Berry
Production: MGM
 
IMDB:
7.3
NOT RATED
Year:
1949
95 min
290 Views


- Yeah, a real guy.

Don't do this.

I'm asking you, don't do it.

There's nothing to talk about.

It was different in San Diego.

You were cute in your uniform.

You were full of laughs then.

Well, you're all laughed out now.

Look, Warren.

I been waiting a long time

to carry these bags out of here.

Okay. Okay. Okay.

You... You've been waiting a long time?

Well, go ahead.

I'm not gonna try to stop you.

But once you go, don't come back.

You hear me? Don't come back!

Hey, Mr. Quimby.

It's a beautiful day out. Come on.

I hate to see you

eat your heart out like this.

I don't like it either.

But what can I do?

I can't let go, Freddie.

Can you understand that?

Can you?

I thought... I thought maybe if I...

If I went down there, uh...

Down to Deager's place in Malibu...

Maybe if I talked to her...

...and try to talk sense to her...

Well, after all, she's my wife. She...

What's the use?

She wouldn't listen, and if she would,

Deager would start.

I'll go with you.

Ha-ha, no, no, that wouldn't do any good.

It would just start trouble...

...and there's enough of that now.

No, I'll go down there myself.

Claire will have to listen to me.

I'll make her listen. Deager or no Deager.

Claire?

Hi, Warren.

I wanna talk to my wife.

Want me to introduce you?

Hey, Claire.

Here's a guy who wants to talk to you.

Go ahead. Talk.

- Why don't you go home?

- Claire, please.

- Warren, why don't you grow up?

- Don't act that way.

- I've gotta talk to you.

- What's there to talk about?

Please.

Let go of my arm, Warren.

Doc, you're hurting her.

- Claire, listen to me. I...

- Let go of my arm, Warren.

Hey, you're hurting the lady.

Why don't you stop

and get out of here like a nice fella?

- I'm not leaving here. Not without her.

- Is that the way you want it?

- You know how I want it.

- Okay, Warren, so go on, huh?

Listen, Deager...

All right.

Now, get going.

And don't come back.

You four-eyed punk.

He hadn't figured it this way.

Not to get Claire back was one thing...

...but to take a beating,

and in front of his wife...

...was more shame

than Warren Quimby could stand.

This is what started it all.

That seems better, doesn't it?

Yeah. Yeah, that's fine.

Comfortable?

That'll be five dollars.

Would you be interested

in a pair of those?

No. No, I don't think so.

They're prescribed lenses,

same as you have there...

...except that they're

much more convenient.

They're molded

to the contour of your eye.

They're very simple to insert and remove.

Give the appearance

of no glasses at all.

- Really change your looks.

- No, I don't think so.

They're still at it, trying to find out

who owns Germany...

...who owns the A-bombs.

Floods, cyclones, earthquakes, riots.

They're loaded.

Look at this one.

A 64-year-old guy in Pennsylvania...

...found with a bullet in his head.

And I'll bet they never get the guy

that did it. Never.

Do you know

that the Giants won three in a row?

Have you any idea how many

unsolved murders there are every year?

Not much juice in these oranges.

A guy commits a murder, see?

Blows, leaves no traces, no clues, nothing.

Just commits the murder and disappears.

Drives the cops daffy.

She wouldn't come back, would she?

What happened?

He beat me up.

Beat you up.

No guy could do that to me.

I'd kill him.

I mean it, Mr. Quimby. I'd kill him.

Kill him? Yeah.

But how do you do that

and not get caught?

You become a different person. That's it.

You wipe out Warren Quimby

and in his place you put someone else.

I've had people come in here

who've worn glasses all their lives.

They get these remarkable lenses,

they throw their glasses away.

And believe me, sir...

...they get a whole new, fresh viewpoint.

Their personality changes.

How long does all this take?

Oh, we'll make a cast today...

...and in a week, no more,

you'll get your lenses.

"Paul Thomas. John... "

"Sothern. "

Sothern. James Sothern.

Jerome Sothern. Je... Paul.

Paul. Paul.

No Paul Sothern.

I'm glad to know you, Mr. Sothern.

Hmm?

Where do I live?

Yeah, where the devil do I live?

That's fine. That's just fine.

Of course, I'll require some references.

- It's customary.

- Yeah, I understand.

I've just been transferred out here.

I'm away five days a week on the road.

I only spend weekends here.

Not much wear and tear

on your apartment.

Of course, you'll...

You'll sign a lease, Mister...

Sothern. Paul Sothern.

Of course.

I'll draw up the papers

and have them ready Saturday.

- All right. Swell.

- Fine.

Goodbye.

Oh, I'm terribly sorry.

It's all right.

Oh.

- Sorry, ha.

- It's all right.

- Oh!

Oh, I'm sor...

Well, I... I guess I better get down.

Yeah. Yeah.

Gee, I'm sorry.

That's all right.

- You must be the new tenant.

- Yeah. Yeah, I am.

I'm Mary Chanler. We're neighbors.

Paul Sothern.

- How do you do, Miss Chanler?

- Hello.

I didn't mean to spoil your picture.

- I was coming around the corner there.

- I just fool around with it.

- I'm not really a photographer.

- Oh.

- I cashier over in the village.

- Uh-huh.

Yeah.

- Oh, Mr. Sothern.

- Yeah?

You forgot something.

Hmm?

- Your suitcase.

Oh. Thanks.

- Sure.

- Thanks.

You really oughtn't use

those flash bulbs because...

Well, I said I was sorry.

No, no, I didn't mean that.

I mean, there's plenty of light, you see...

...and you might even try using a filter.

You know, you know a lot about this.

Well, I just fool around with it like you.

I'm a salesman.

Cosmetics.

La Femme Beauty Preparations.

I'm on the road most of the week.

- Oh, Mr. Sothern...

- Yeah?

Welcome to the Westwood Apartments.

Thanks.

It had worked.

No one questioned he was Paul Sothern.

He was a man with a new face,

new clothes, new name, new job...

...new apartment, and new neighbors.

Now, he could kill Barney Deager.

And Paul Sothern could then vanish

as completely as he'd appeared.

For five days a week, however,

Warren Quimby retained his own identity.

He lived in the old apartment upstairs,

worked the night shift...

...and kept perfecting his plan.

Get me Malibu... Never mind.

How soon can I get this?

Let's see. That'll be about half an hour.

- I'll be back.

- All right. Thank you.

Mr. Deager's residence.

This is Paul Sothern.

Who?

- Sothern.

- Paul Sothern.

- Yes, Mr. Sothern?

I want you to tell Mr. Deager that

he's not gonna get away with what he did.

- Tell him I'll get him for it.

- What did you say, Mr. Sothern?

Hello?

Hello?

Uh...

- Probably some drunk I took a poke at.

- What's the matter?

- Nothing. Forget it. Whose trick?

- Yours.

Sothern.

You know anybody named Sothern?

Hey, Narco, if that man Sothern

phones again, let me talk to him.

Yes, Mr. Deager.

Hey. Popcorn. Two of them.

How about some peanuts, Paul?

Paul.

Paul.

Paul.

Huh?

Well, how about some peanuts?

Oh, yeah, sure, sure.

Uh. Uh, two peanuts.

Malibu 5818, please.

Hello?

Hello?

Hey, mister.

- Hmm?

You like?

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Allen Rivkin

Allen Rivkin (1903-1990) was an American screenwriter. He was one of the co-founders of the Screenwriters Guild, later the Writers Guild of America. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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    "Tension" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/tension_19511>.

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