The Paper Chase Page #6

I can't work

and I can't sleep.

I didn't come here because

you bought me flowers.

I can always

buy flowers.

Hart, I could buy you.

Maybe I already have.

Eat sh*t.

I like you.

I really do.

You can't buy me.

Show me something in

Langdell I can't buy.

Show me one person

who doesn't kiss my father's ass.

I don't kiss

your father's ass.

I'm not afraid of him

anymore.

I can really understand

what he is saying.

I've read everything

he's written.

My mind is really in his.

I know what he is saying

before he says it.

I am three questions ahead.

I am having a true

Socratic experience.

Three questions

ahead, Hart?

You're only three

answers ahead.

And I think

we'd better go...

to the Cape

this weekend.

And you don't talk about my father

or the law school...

and I'll try

and be a lot nicer...

and I'll give you

lots of sustenance.

Next weekend?

Yes.

Okay.

All right, next weekend.

The Cape.

I think these dead man

statutes are unfair.

They don't

give the plaintiff...

a chance to testify.

Why shouldn't a person

be allowed to testify...

against a dead person?

Take Proctor vs. Proctor,

for example.

That girl worked for

her aunt for 10 years...

because her aunt had promised

to leave her the house.

I say she should

get the house...

because she worked

for it.

It's just a crummy

technicality...

that says

she can't testify.

That's not justice.

Your name is Bell?

Bell, yes, sir,

as in Liberty Bell.

Did it ever occur to you,

Liberty Bell, was it?

Did it ever occur to you

that the courts did not write

the dead man statutes...

the legislature did...

and that the courts are bound

to follow the legislature?

I think I shall have

to dispense with the privilege...

of ringing you further,

Mr. Bell.

Mr. Kingsfield.

Yes.

Mr. Bell was right.

There are

at least 17 ways...

of getting around

the dead man statutes.

You wrote an article

showing that in 1936.

If I wrote an article

in November 1936...

showing that

there were 17 ways...

to get around

the dead man statutes...

I hardly need to be told now

that Mr. Bell is correct.

Anything else?

No.

Your name?

Hart.

Mr. Hart, I can understand

your wanting to ride...

to the rescue

of the unfortunate Bell...

but aren't you

a little late?

You had your chance in class.

Nobody inhibits you

from expressing yourself.

Mr. Hart.

I need a student

to do some research...

for the supplement

to my treatise.

Interested?

Sure.

Come around to my office

this afternoon.

My secretary will give you

the basic material.

You can get started.

It doesn't have to be long.

You can do it over

the weekend. Around 10 pages.

I'll expect it

bright and early Monday.

Hello.

Hi.

Hi.

Your father asked me...

to do some research

for him.

And he needs it bright and early

Monday morning...

so I can't go to

the Cape this weekend.

I understand.

Oh, good, good.

Hello.

Susan?

Come in.

What do you want?

I couldn't finish the paper.

I need more time.

I've done

all the basic work.

As you can see, I just need

to condense it. It won't be hard.

When your paper wasn't in

bright and early Monday morning,

as promised...

I had someone else do it...

a third-year student.

So, you see, your contribution

to the supplement of my treatise...

is no longer necessary.

My contribution.

Condensed or uncondensed

isn't necessary.

Thank you.

What?

I'm sorry.

Thank you.

You ought to

get some sleep.

Yes, sir.

Thank you, sir.

We could

go to the Cape next weekend.

We aren't

going anywhere.

Excuse me.

Christ.

I, uh, wish you wouldn't

treat me like this.

I haven't had a decent meal

in four days. I...

I haven't had any sleep.

Susan.

Look, he tested me.

I failed.

I worked so hard

on that goddamn paper.

Well, he may flunk me!

They finally got you,

didn't they, Hart?

They sucked all

that Midwestern charm...

right out of you.

Look it, he's got you

scared to death.

Oh, you're gonna pass...

because you're the kind

the law school wants.

You'll get

your little diploma...

your piece of paper that's

no different than this...

and you can stick it

in your silver box...

with all the other

paper in your life.

Your birth certificate,

your driver's license...

your marriage license,

your stock certificates...

and your will.

Excuse me.

You don't even care.

I wish you would flunk.

There might be

some hope for you.

Susan.

Susan, you... You really

don't mean that.

I certainly do, Hart.

Leave me alone.

I don't want

to see you anymore!

Susan.

O'Connor, why don't

the federal courts...

use the same civil procedures

as the state courts?

Well, they used to,

but the Supreme Court...

overruled

that former ruling.

And what is the famous case

in which that ruling was changed?

Come on.

You have 10 seconds.

Piss off, Bell!

You lose.

What happened

to O'Connor?

I'm afraid O'Connor

decided to cut back...

and cut out the study group.

Needless to say,

his loss is our gain.

What are we gonna do

about his outline?

I'm way behind

in civil procedures.

It's already

the middle of March.

Calm down, Kevin.

I don't give a sh*t

about his outline.

He's just a little pimp.

I wasn't gonna share

my outline with him anyway.

You what?

You got wax in your ears?

Listen, we've got to

stick together.

That's the whole point

of this group.

The whole point of this group

is to learn the law.

We all made a contract

with each other.

We can all do some

of O'Connor's work.

We'll divide up his course.

Let's not get softhearted.

O'Connor's out, and that's it.

We don't get his outline

at the end of the year...

and he doesn't get ours.

Do you do this often?

Don't flatter yourself.

Do you need some help?

No, it's all right.

Here.

Who's that?

That is Philip.

Philip is back.

Europe, it seems, wasn't

the answer, either.

We've just been

with my father.

We filed for divorce

before Philip left...

and of course,

father is handling it.

The most expensive...

legal advice

in the country.

It's gonna cost you a fortune

to Xerox that, Bell.

Maybe I'm not

going to Xerox it.

What does that mean...

maybe you're not

going to Xerox it?

This is a great outline.

Fantastic.

If yours doesn't stack up,

you won't get a chance to look at it.

Bell's going to have his outline

Xeroxed just like the rest of us.

Maybe Bell is,

and maybe Bell isn't.

The outline

is a tool, Bell.

A tool,

not an end in itself.

I'm going to publish

that outline.

The casebook's already

been published, Bell.

My outline is better

than the casebook.

Anyway,

it's gonna be longer.

I think you're all

a bunch of pimps.

You're on

a suicide course, Bell.

I don't have to sit here

and be insulted.

One more word

out of you, Anderson...

and I'll lock your head

in your attach case.

How is your

outline coming?

Well, I have not yet

reached the stage...

where my outline is

reducible to a single word.

Yet, at 50 pages, if I may

pat myself on the back...

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