The Crucible Page #6

Synopsis: A small group of teen girls in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts caught in an innocent conjuring of love potions to catch young men are forced to tell lies that Satan had invaded them and forced them to participate in the rites and are then forced to name those involved. Thrown into the mix are greedy preachers and other major landowners trying to steal others' land and one young woman infatuated with a married man and determined to get rid of his innocent wife. Arthur Miller wrote the events and the subsequent trials where those who demanded their innocence were executed, those who would not name names were incarcerated and tortured, and those who admitted their guilt were immediately freed as a parable of the Congressional Communist witch hunts led by Senator Joe McCarthy in 1950's America.
Genre: Drama, History
Director(s): Nicholas Hytner
Production: Fox
  Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 27 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.8
Rotten Tomatoes:
68%
PG-13
Year:
1996
124 min
13,453 Views


Aye, and God's icy wind will blow.

Now, Martha Corey,

how did you know beforehand...

that Goody Worford's pigs were to die

the night of your visit to her?

As you know well, Mr. Hathorne...

I have kept pigs all my life...

and pigs that is not fed properly

is very likely to die!

I had suspicions.

Suspicions? You predicted the pigs

would die, Martha Corey.

How came you to know that?

Mr. Hathorne,

I am innocent to a witch!

I know not what a witch is.

If you know not what a witch is...

how do you know you are not one?

- Excellency.

- Beware that man.

We have evidence for the court.

The girls are frauds!

Mary Warren has come back to tell

the truth.

She's a liar!

- Who is this man?

- Giles Corey, and a more contentious...

I'm old enough to answer!

I am Giles Corey. I have

written a deposition...

which will open up your eyes, sir.

This is John Proctor.

He has 300 acres.

And Francis Nurse... 500 acres.

The court is in recess!

Your Excellency...

I never called my wife a witch.

I only said she were reading

strange books.

We mean no disrespect, sir.

Disrespect?

This is disruption, mister!

This is the highest court of the supreme

government of the province.

Do you know it?

Who is this man?

His wife's Rebecca Nurse,

that were condemned this morning.

Nurse... indeed.

I have only

good report of your character, sir.

I am amazed to find you in this uproar.

Excellency, we have proof for your eyes.

The girls are frauds.

Mary Warren...

we were told you were sick.

What are you about here?

She has been striving with her soul,

Mr. Parris...

and she would speak with His Excellency.

Beware this man! This man is set

and bound to destroy my ministry.

Judge Sewall,

I think you must hear this child.

We must do nothing but what

justice bids us do, Mr. Hale.

What would you tell us, Mary Warren?

She never saw no spirits, sir...

and she will swear to you...

that none of the other girls ever saw

them neither.

And you intend to spread this lie

in open court before the whole village?

We were sure His Excellency

would welcome the truth...

as we can prove it, sir.

Have you ever seen the devil, Mr. Proctor?

No.

And there is no desire lurking in

your heart...

to undermine these investigations?

No, sir.

I come only to save...

my innocent wife and my friends.

What do you make of this?

God help me, I cannot say...

but I'm sure the child

must be heard, Thomas...

or it will surely spread that you

silenced her.

Is this the one?

Aye, she's the one.

Your wife, Mr. Proctor,

sent me a claim...

that she is pregnant now.

There be no sign of it.

We have examined her body.

But if she says she is pregnant,

she must be.

That woman will never lie, Mr. Danforth.

- She will not?

- Never, sir. Never.

You say you have no other purpose...

than to safeguard her.

Very well.

The law

forbids harm to the innocent child.

So if I tell you now that

your wife will be safe...

until she has delivered...

will you drop this charge?

She is saved, at least this year...

and a year is long.

Your purpose is accomplished, mister.

Or is your design somewhat...

larger?

These are my friends.

Their wives are all...

There you have it!

He comes to overthrow the court!

- Sir, I am no lawyer.

- The pure in heart need no lawyers, Mr. Proctor.

Proceed as you will... and quickly.

This is a sort of testament signed

by 91 people...

and if you will notice, they declare...

they've known our

wives over many years...

never seen no sign they had dealings

with the devil!

This is a clear attack upon the court.

Is every defense an

attack upon the court?

All innocent and Christian people

are happy for the courts in Salem.

These are gloomy for it.

I think you must wish to know why.

Mr. Cheever, have warrants

drawn for all of these...

Arrest for examination.

These are God-fearing men.

I have brought trouble on these people.

Not if they are of good conscience,

Mr. Nurse.

You misunderstand, sir.

A person is either with this court

or against it.

There be no road between.

This is a new time...

a precise time.

We live no longer in the dusky

afternoon...

when evil mixed itself with good...

and befuddled the world.

Now, by God's grace...

the good folk and the

evil entirely separate.

I hope you will find your place with us.

Mr. Herrick...

find Mr. Putnam...

and bring him here to me.

This is...

Very well phrased.

You have no legal training?

I have the best, sir.

I am 33 time in court in my life...

and always plaintiff too.

You know,

your father tried a case of mine once.

Might be 35 year ago, I think.

Did he?

He never spoke to you of it?

No. I'm afraid I cannot recall it.

Well, that's strange.

He give me 5 damages.

Did he? Well done.

Mr. Putnam.

We have an accusation by Mr. Corey

against you.

He states that you prompted your

daughter to cry witchery...

upon George Jacobs so

that you might buy up...

his forfeited land.

It is a lie.

This man is killing his neighbors

for their land.

- But where is your proof?

- My proof is there.

The day his daughter cried out on

Jacobs...

he was heard to say he bid her do it.

I have it from an honest man...

who was there when he said it.

And the name of this man?

Why...

I cannot give you his name.

Then I shall have no choice...

but to arrest you for contempt of court.

Do you know that?

This is a hearing.

You cannot clap me for contempt

of a hearing.

Oh?

It is a proper lawyer.

Very well.

Mr. Corey...

the court is now in session.

Oh, my God.

No!

Your Honor, if what he says is true...

why will he not tell us this man's name?

Excellency, it is understandable

that he conceals the man's name.

There is prodigious fear of this court

in the country.

No uncorrupted man may fear this court.

None.

Giles Corey,

you are under arrest in contempt.

Now decide.

Either you give me the man's name

who accuses Mr. Putnam...

or you will sit in jail until you

be forced to answer our questions.

- Mr. Proctor...

- I'll cut your throat, Putnam!

Remove him.

Fear them all, John!

He means to hang us all!

Have no fear, Giles!

This will bring you home!

Mary Warren's deposition, sir.

She swears upon her immortal soul...

she lied and her friends lie now.

They never saw Satan,

and no witch ever hurt them.

That is the truth, sir.

Excellency, clearly this goes...

to the heart of the matter.

In God's name, sir, a claim so weighty

cannot be argued by a farmer.

Send him home and let him return...

- with a lawyer.

- Now, look you, sir...

I have signed 17 death warrants!

This argument you must let lawyers

present to you!

For a man of such terrible learning...

you are most bewildered, Mr. Hale.

Do forgive me.

I have been 42 year at the bar...

and were I called to defend these

people...

I promise you,

I should be confounded.

Consider now.

In an ordinary crime,

witnesses are called...

to prove guilt or innocence...

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Arthur Miller

Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist, and figure in twentieth-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953) and A View from the Bridge (1955, revised 1956). He also wrote several screenplays and was most noted for his work on The Misfits (1961). The drama Death of a Salesman has been numbered on the short list of finest American plays in the 20th century alongside Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night and Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire.Miller was often in the public eye, particularly during the late 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. During this time, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee; and was married to Marilyn Monroe. In 1980, Miller received the St. Louis Literary Award from the Saint Louis University Library Associates. He received the Prince of Asturias Award and the Praemium Imperiale prize in 2002 and the Jerusalem Prize in 2003, as well as the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Lifetime Achievement Award. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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