The Barefoot Contessa Page #2

Maybe you went off

the wagon. Who knows?

The majors aren't wanting you anyway

And if I can't afford you

as an independent, who can?

All that, just to meet a new face

All that, because I

want you to do what I say

even if it's picking up

my hat when I tell you to

Give me some money,

Oscar, to get back to Rome

I'll ad-lib the rest of the way

Why don't you come too, Harry?

You might as well put whisky in

that. And don't worry about your soul

You must have lost it at

some preview, a long time ago

Um...

Seorita Vargas?

Gracias

Seorita, your bare feet are showing

Now, I don't speak Spanish,

you don't speak english

so the only way we can

make any progress is to...

- I did not say to come in

- You did not say to stay out

- You did not actually say nothing

- Anything

Your English is very good

Where'd you learn it?

- This man, he is my cousin

- This man, he is your cousin

Did you come for the same reason

as the man with sweat on his face?

Yes. But, as you see, I

have no sweat on my face

Mr Edwards thought I

might persuade you...

I do not mingle with the customers

Only your cousin?

The man with the

sweat was more pleasant

Not really. Do you know

who Mr Kirk Edwards is?

I have heard of him.

He is the owner of Wall Street

That is correct. Recently, however,

he decided to produce motion pictures

and for that purpose he's

just bought California, too.

- And now he wants to buy me?

- Not exactly

Mr Kirk Edwards is looking

for somebody... like you

to play in his first production

and he wants to talk to you about it

- Who are you?

- Oh, I'm not important

I'm writing the film and I'll

direct it. My name is Harry Dawes

Harry Dawes

Harry Dawes

Did you not once direct Jean

Harlow and Carole Lombard?

You must have seen movies

when you were very little

How did you know my name? Only

one out of 10,000 moviegoers...

Oh, I can name to you Lubitsch and

Fleming and Van Dyke and La Cava

- You didn't think I was

dead too, did you? - Maria!

My cousin, he plays in the orchestra

- He had to go back to work

- Through the window?

That's a funny way

for a cousin to leave

In Hollywood, it is not

easy to become a star

Ah, where is it easy?

In Madrid, here at

least I'm a little star

Why should I take the

chance that I lose it?

- Do you know what a screen test is?

- Yes

We could make it in

Rome. Nobody would know

If it doesn't work out,

you'll have lost nothing

It can't hurt you

to meet Kirk Edwards

Nobody could accuse you of mingling

A business conference with one

of the richest men in the world

Could you teach me to act, Mr Dawes?

If you can act, I can help you

If you can't, nobody can teach you

Why did not Mr Kirk Edwards

come to ask me himself?

I'm sure he would

have been delighted

But since I'm the director...

Do all directors come

to ask young women

to sit with their producers?

Um... Not... not all

I think a man who

can write something

and can help someone to act

is worth much more than

a man who only has money

If and when you become an actress,

don't ever say that in public

You never know who's listening. Hm?

Seorita, this is Oscar Muldoon,

whom I'm sure you recognise

Meet Kirk Edwards.

Don't get up, Mr Edwards

Sorry we got here too

late to see you dance

We certainly are, seorita, because

we understand you got a lot of talent

And that's the one

thing that could make

Mr Edwards fly all the way from Rome

All the way from California. Talent.

And where other men go for a

pretty face or a pair of legs

talent is what Mr

Kirk Edwards worships

It's his religion, you might almost say

Something to eat, seorita? Waiter!

"Mangiare? Poco di vino," seorita?

- Do you speak Spanish, seor?

- Just a couple of words

Not even that. One

of them was Italian

Speak only English, please

A whisky for me, like before

Now, did Mr Dawes have

a chance to tell you

what Mr Edwards has in mind?

Oh, you wouldn't know, of course

who Mr Harry Dawes

is, in his own name

He is only one of

the top two or three

writers and directors

in the whole world

I only want to indicate to you

by this how Mr Edwards does things

Only the top, the class,

the finest money can buy

all the way up and down the line

Mr Edwards doesn't have to

watch the pennies. You know that?

I don't want to

throw Oscar off pitch

but I told Seorita

Vargas what this was about

I said we could

shoot the test in Rome

Seorita... Miss Vargas...

We'll have to change

that name. Maria

Naturally, Mr Edwards will pay

your expenses while you're tested

and if it works out, you'll be put

under contract to him personally

And you'll be paid in dollars.

Not pesetas, but dollars

- Maybe $100 a week to start with

- How much is that in pesetas?

Maybe $200 a week. We

can work that out later.

The point is, Mr Edwards is

going to leave no stone unturned

to develop your talent

and make you happy

Afraid you'll be lonely,

far away in Hollywood?

There's no reason why, after a

time, we can't send for your mother

After all, a girl likes to

have her mother with her. Right?

I would not like to

have my mother with me

Why not?

- Because I do not like my mother

- I'm sure you don't mean that

- Every mother should be loved

- If they deserve it

We can work all that out later too

The point is, the miracle has

happened and a great career is yours

No strings attached, no jokers

All Mr Edwards wants

is for the world

to enjoy your talent

and for you to be happy

And what does he get out of it?

Just your gratitude

What does he ever get out of the

things he does? Money? Power? Fame?

Nah. He's got all those

All that he can look forward

to is the honest gratitude

of the little people that he

helps, like you and me and Mr Dawes

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

I... have to telephone somebody

Please excuse me, Mr Dawes

Ah, Muldoon, you're a charmer

The little birds

right out of the trees

Signor Edwards, we're checked and

are ready whenever you are, sir

Oscar, go hurry her up. She

can buy what she needs in Rome

Right

Right now, Kirk, I wish my bankroll

was about one million dollars

- What would you do with them?

- I'd bet you the whole million that

this time, Oscar charmed the

little bird right back into the tree

He'll come up empty, Kirk

The trouble with you is you never know

where scripts leave

off and life begins

Ah, Muldoon, you're a charmer

You'd be so much more charming

if only you didn't sweat so much

She's gone. She never even went

back to the room. Nobody knows where

- I can't understand it

- We're leaving right now

Without you, Harry

We'll take off in one hour. You

find her and bring her with you

Don't show up without her

Just cable your agent collect...

if you've still got an agent

This is for the check

Kirk was wrong when

he said I didn't know

where scripts left

off and life began

A script has to make

sense, and life doesn't

Any self-respecting script would

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