The Making of 'The Silence of the Lambs'

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WOODS NEAR QUANTICO, VA

Starling!

Starling!

Crawford wants to see you in his office.

Thank you, sir.

- Clarice.

- Hey.

You looking for Crawford? He should

be back in a minute. Wait in his office.

Starling.

- Clarice M. Good morning.

- Morning, Mr Crawford.

Sorry to pull you off the course

at such short notice.

Your instructors tell me you're doing well.

I hope so. They haven't

posted any grades yet.

A job's come up and I thought about you.

Not a job, really. More of

an interesting errand. Sit down.

Yes, sir.

I remember you from my seminar at UVA.

You grilled me pretty hard, as I recall,

on the Bureau's civil rights record

in the Hoover years. I gave you an A.

A-minus, sir.

Double major:
psych and criminology.

Graduated magna.

Summer internships

at the Reitzinger Clinic.

It says, when you graduate, you wanna

work for me in Behavioral Science.

Yes, very much, sir. Very much.

We're interviewing all serial killers now in

custody for a psycho-behavioral profile.

Could be a real help in unsolved cases.

Most of them have been

happy to talk to us.

- Do you spook easily, Starling?

- Not yet, sir.

See, the one we want most

refuses to cooperate.

I want you to go after him

again today in the asylum.

- Who's the subject?

- The psychiatrist, Hannibal Lecter.

Hannibal the Cannibal.

I don't expect him to talk to you.

But I have to be able to say we tried.

So if he won't cooperate,

I want just straight reporting.

How does he look? How does

his cell look? Is he sketching, drawing?

If he is, what's he sketching?

Here's a dossier on Lecter.

A copy of our questionnaire

and a special ID for you.

Have your memo on my desk

by 0800 Wednesday.

OK.

Excuse me, sir, but why the urgency?

Lecter's been in prison for so many years.

Is there some connection

between him and Buffalo Bill maybe?

I wish there were.

Now, I want your full attention, Starling.

- Yes, sir.

- Be very careful with Hannibal Lecter.

Dr Chilton at the asylum will go over all

the physical procedures used with him.

Do not deviate from them

for any reason whatsoever.

And you're to tell him nothing personal.

Believe me, you don't want

Hannibal Lecter inside your head.

Just do your job,

but never forget what he is.

And what is that?

Oh, he's a monster. A pure psychopath.

So rare to capture one alive.

From a research point of view,

Lecter is our most prized asset.

We get a lot of detectives here, but

I can't ever remember one as attractive.

Will you be in Baltimore overnight?

Because this can be quite a fun town

if you have the right guide.

I'm sure this is a great town, Dr Chilton,

but my instructions are to talk to Dr Lecter

and report back this afternoon.

I see. Well, let's make this quick, then.

We've tried to study him, but he's much

too sophisticated for the standard tests.

Oh, my, does he hate us!

He thinks I'm his nemesis.

Crawford's very clever,

isn't he, using you?

- What do you mean, sir?

- A pretty, young woman to turn him on.

I don't believe Lecter's

seen a woman in eight years.

And are you ever his taste! So to speak.

I graduated from UVA, Doctor.

It's not a charm school.

Good. Then you should

be able to remember the rules.

Do not touch or approach the glass.

You pass him nothing but soft paper.

No pencils or pens.

No staples or paperclips in his paper.

Use the sliding food carrier. If he attempts

to pass you anything, do not accept it.

- Do you understand me?

- Yes, I understand, sir.

I'm going to show you

why we insist on such precautions.

On July 8, 1981, he complained of chest

pains and was taken to the dispensary.

His restraints were removed for an EKG.

When the nurse leaned over him,

he did this to her.

The doctors managed to reset her jaw,

more or less, save one of her eyes.

His pulse never got above 85,

even when he ate her tongue.

- I keep him in here.

- Dr Chilton.

If Lecter feels that you're his enemy,

then maybe we'll have more luck

if I go in by myself. What do you think?

You might have suggested this

in my office and saved me the time.

Yes, sir, but then I would have missed

the pleasure of your company, sir.

When she's finished, bring her out.

Hi, I'm Barney. He told you,

don't get near the glass?

Yes, he did. Clarice Starling.

Nice to meet you, Clarice. You can

hang your coat up there if you like.

Thank you. I will.

He's past the others, the last cell.

You keep to the right.

- I put out a chair for you.

- That's very good. Thank you.

I'll be watchin'. You'll do fine.

Hi.

I can smell your c*nt!

- Good morning.

- Dr Lecter, my name is Clarice Starling.

May I speak with you?

You're one of Jack Crawford's,

aren't you?

- I am, yes.

- May I see your credentials?

Certainly.

Closer, please.

Closer.

That expires in one week.

You're not real FBI, are you?

I'm still in training at the academy.

Jack Crawford sent a trainee to me?

Yes, I'm a student.

I'm here to learn from you.

Maybe you can decide whether or not

I'm qualified enough to do that.

That is rather slippery of you,

Agent Starling.

Sit, please.

Now then, tell me.

What did Miggs say to you?

Multiple Miggs in the next cell.

He hissed at you. What did he say?

He said "I can smell your c*nt."

I see.

I myself cannot.

You use Evyan skin cream.

And sometimes you wear L'Air du Temps.

But not today.

Did you do all these drawings, Doctor?

That is the Duomo

seen from the Belvedere.

- Do you know Florence?

- All that detail just from memory, sir?

Memory, Agent Starling,

is what I have instead of a view.

Well, perhaps you'd care to lend us

your view on this questionnaire, sir.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

You were doing fine. You had been

courteous and receptive to courtesy.

You had established trust, with

the embarrassing truth about Miggs.

And now this ham-handed segue

into your questionnaire.

- It won't do.

- I'm only asking you to look at this.

Either you will or you won't.

Yeah. Jack Crawford

must be very busy indeed

if he's recruiting help

from the student body.

Busy hunting that new one: Buffalo Bill.

What a naughty boy he is.

Do you know why he's called Buffalo Bill?

Please tell me.

The newspapers won't say.

It started as a bad joke

in Kansas City Homicide.

They said

"This one likes to skin his humps."

Why do you think he removes

their skins, Agent Starling?

Thrill me with your acumen.

It ex cites him. Most serial killers keep

some sort of trophies from their victims.

- I didn't.

- No. No, you ate yours.

You send that through now.

Oh, Agent Starling, you think you can

dissect me with this blunt little tool?

No. I thought that your knowledge...

You're so ambitious, aren't you?

Do you know what you look like, with

your good bag and your cheap shoes?

You look like a rube.

A well-scrubbed, hustling rube,

with a little taste.

Good nutrition's given you length of bone,

but you're not more than one generation

from poor white trash, are you?

And that accent you've tried so

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