The Paradine Case Page #6

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someone administered to Paradine

a murderous dose of poison.

At half past 9, he was heard

calling for help...

and a few minutes later

he died painfully...

before he could be reached by

his faithful servant...

Andre LaTour.

You'll hear that on the night

of May 6th a quarrel took place...

between Coronel Paradine...

Mrs Paradine

and Andre LaTour.

The Coronel, in an agitated state,

shut himself up in his bedroom alone.

The butler took

him his dinner...

a dinner of roast chicken,

roast potatoes...

and cauliflower au gratin.

Later...

he asked for a glass of burgundy

to be put by his bed...

so he would know exactly

where to feel for it.

A glass of burgundy,

ladies and gentlemen.

Farrell's off

to a good start.

You're aware

of the Coronel's character.

He was a man cast

in a heroic mould.

One looks back on his life

with humility and pride.

He was like a reincarnation from the

spacious days of Queen Elizabeth.

Incredibly daring,

inimitably adventurous...

and this man, this man

of dynamic energy...

is doomed suddenly to darkness

and the life of a helpless invalid.

Members of the jury, we must

surely pity this woman...

chained to a ruined giant, who was

burning with a dreadful resentment.

One could forgive an occasional

demonstration of impatience from her.

But the odd thing is that outwardly

this woman was a model of patience.

Heaven knows what sultry fires

were banked within.

It would've been a strain to any

ordinary woman, no doubt.

But this woman...

is no ordinary woman.

She had patience.

She could wait.

This was indeed...

no ordinary woman.

Leakin, after you served dinner to

Colonel Paradine in his bedroom...

he asked you for

a glass of burgundy.

- Is that correct?

- Yes, sir.

Would you call that a suitable

bedtime drink? You as a butler?

No sir, I would not.

But the Colonel...

Answer my questions, please.

Had he ever asked for a burgundy

to be put by his bedside before?

- No sir, not that I can remember.

- Did he usually drink burgundy?

It usually didn't

agree with him...

- but sometime...

- That will do.

He's building

a suicide motive.

One moment, Leakin.

You told the jury that the Colonel

didn't usually take burgundy...

because it disagreed with him.

Did he dislike burgundy?

Oh no, my lord.

On the contrary.

- But seldom dared take it.

- Yes, my lord that is correct.

- Hawfield's killed that point.

- How? What do you mean?

By making it clear there's nothing

strange about his drinking burgundy.

I was anxious that the point

should be clear, Mr Keane.

Well, thank you, my lord.

I'm obliged to your lordship.

No questions, my lord.

Call Andre LaTour.

Andre LaTour.

Take the testament in your

right hand and repeat the oath.

"I swear by Almighty God...

that the evidence I shall give, shall

be the truth, the whole truth...

and nothing but the truth."

- Your name?

- Andre Etienne LaTour.

- Your age?

- Thirty.

You were born in Montreal, Canada and

you served in the war with Paradine?

Yes, sir. I was

his manservant before the war...

and later I had the honour

of serving under his command.

You won the Distinguished Conduct

Medal for gallantry in the field?

That is so, sir.

At the time of Paradine's death...

you were again employed as his valet

and confidential companion.

- Yes.

- Speak up, so that we can hear you.

You were very attatched to

Colonel Paradine, were you not?

He was the best man I ever knew

in all my life.

Very well then. At about 8 o'clock

you heard the bell ringing violently.

You went upstairs

to the Colonel's room.

You saw the Colonel and

Mrs Paradine facing each other.

What happened then?

He looked at me for a minute, in his

blind way and burst out with it.

Try to give us his exact words.

He said:
"Do I understand

you're going to leave me?

Now, when I need you most?"

I asked him who had told him

such a thing.

He said:

"She did."

- Did he say anything else?

- He was very angry.

He used strong language.

- Did you intend to leave him?

- No, sir.

Do you know

why Mrs Paradine...

would tell her husband

you were leaving him?

She wanted to get rid of me.

You told us yesterday that when you

went back up to see the Colonel...

you saw Mrs Paradine in the hallway

outside the bedroom.

- You're certain of that?

- Yes, sir.

Where's that plan?

I have here a plan of the house.

The upper floor.

Do you think she was passing directly

from Colonel's bedroom to her own?

- Yes, sir.

- Thank you.

That will be all for

the time being.

LaTour lied about the quarrel.

He's keeping something back.

Does the name of Margaret Wells

convey anything to you?

- Yes, sir.

- And what does it convey to you?

I must try to help your memory.

I put it to you that some years ago

you were engaged...

to Margaret Wells

of Three Rivers, Quebec.

On your wedding day, she left you

at the church and went off...

- with a saddler named Richard Truman.

- That is finished! It's in the past.

Your question may be relevant,

Mr Keane:
Its relevance escapes me.

My lord, the witness has shown

in his evidence and behaviour...

an almost pathological bias, against

not only my client, but all women.

I may be stupid, but I can't see what

this jilting has to do with the case.

After seeing the witness,

his appearance and bearing...

I'm inclined to regard the lady's

conduct as pathological, not his.

Silence.

Proceed to your next question.

Very good, my lord. If I'm

not allowed to show a reason...

for his hostile

attitude to my client.

Were you aware that Paradine made

a will bequeathing you 3500 pounds?

Come, come.

It's a simple question of fact.

Colonel Paradine told me he might

leave me a little something.

But I didn't

know about the will.

He told you he was going to leave you

this legacy, but you doubted his word?

- No, sir, I did not doubt his word.

- Then you believed it?

Yes, sir.

Then you knew and believed you would

receive such a legacy on his death.

- Please answer the question.

- I don't know what you ask.

You're being asked if you knew

you'd inherit...

We never discussed it.

I didn't think about it.

Yes, I knew.

You don't remember very

easily, do you, LaTour?

Now please think carefully

before you reply to this.

And remember

you are on your oath.

When you were in London,

did you or did you not...

repeatedly hear Colonel Paradine

say that he wished to be dead?

- That he wished he was dead, sir?

- That he wished to be dead.

Andre LaTour, do you deny

having heard Paradine say...

again and again, to you

and within your hearing...

that he was sick of life

and wished to be dead?

He said a lot of things when he

was angry about his blindness...

I got so accustomed to them

I didn't take much notice.

You didn't take much notice.

You did not take much notice.

Very well. Would you tell the court

exactly what happened about...

You mean you want me to

go over my evidence again?

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