Uncertain Glory Page #3

very much awake.

- What's the matter with them?

- They live too close to that bridge.

Most of the hostages

must have been taken from here.

Good evening, Father.

Oh, good evening, my son.

Could you tell us where the hotel is?

But certainly. Just across the square.

Oh, thank you.

- Good evening, Madame Maret.

Good evening.

Come in, Father Le Clerc.

The mayor's wife

is taking it very bravely.

And poor Madame Vincente

tried to poison herself.

I've just left her. She's a little better.

What will become of my son, Father?

We must put our trust in God, madame.

I've always trusted him.

There's no better Christian

in this village than I.

And now my only son

has been taken from me.

They say he's going to be shot

within four days.

Am I so unreasonable to ask why?

No.

But we must not lose faith.

In God's time, all will be answered.

Don't put me off

with pious phrases, Father.

For Jules I would question every saint

in heaven, and how could they reply?

It doesn't help us

if people call them martyrs.

Martyrs are fools who die

because they want to.

My son wants to live.

Good evening, Father Le Clerc.

Good evening, Marianne.

Did you light a fresh candle for Jules?

Yes, madame.

And one for the others too.

Marianne will be a comfort

to you now, madame, more than ever.

She is a child and no kin.

He is a man and my own blood.

Well, I must go.

I have a few more families to visit.

- Well, I'll be getting along too.

- No, don't leave us yet.

We've accomplished nothing.

No plan, no hope.

What can we do, madame?

The saboteur

has struck a blow for France.

- Would you have him give himself up?

- Is he worth more than a hundred lives?

Anything that maintains a free spirit

is worth more than life.

Good night. Good night.

- Good night, Father.

- Good night, Father.

Well, that leaves us

just where we were before...

...with folded hands,

hoping for a miracle.

That's what's wrong

with this whole country.

But why?

Why must we depend upon the saboteur?

Why cannot someone else

take the blame?

Benoit, you're old, you have no family,

your life isn't worth much to anyone.

Think of it, Benoit,

you'll be saving a hundred men.

Your own brother is one of them.

Why, they'd put up a statue of you

in the square.

But who wants a statue?

Oh, it would do no good in any case.

The Germans would never believe it.

They wouldn't believe any of us villagers.

The saboteurs always come from far away.

The Germans know that.

Who is it?

Monsieur Morin, Madame Morin

wants you to come right home.

- There's some new guests at the hotel.

- Guest?

- Who are they?

- I don't know, they're both strangers.

Good night.

- Good night.

- Good night.

- Good night.

- Good night.

Good night.

Good night, Madame Maret.

Good night, madame.

Marianne.

- It isn't possible.

- What have I done, madame?

So you feel

like singing here in this house.

Oh, madame.

- I forgot.

- Forgot that a hundred of us are living...

...who are about to die?

I don't know what came over me.

Please, forgive me.

Poor child, it's hard when you're

not even allowed to sing at your age.

Now, I'm going to put to you the questions

the Gestapo will ask you tomorrow.

And you have to give me the answers.

One slip, one little mistake,

and they'll tear your story to pieces.

- Now, are you ready?

- Uh-huh.

- What is your name?

- Jean Picard.

There, you see, wrong from the start.

Don't you suppose

the Germans know that name too?

You'll be back on the guillotine

in no time.

We want a new name.

One they cannot check against your army

record, that's the first thing they will do.

The army.

Wait a minute.

There was another thief in my regiment

called Jean Dupont.

We looked enough alike to be brothers.

Except he was a little stupid.

Well, that would not kill

the resemblance.

What happened to him?

I don't know.

He came from a place called Martinique.

I think he went back there.

Say...

It will take the Gestapo

till the end of the war to find him.

- Yes, that's perfect.

- It's not perfect.

I remember his middle name too. Emile.

Why? What's wrong with that?

What's wrong with Emile?

Can you see that on a tombstone?

Sounds like a hairdresser.

- You are Jean Emile Dupont.

- All right.

Do you know where Martinique is?

Of course I know where it is.

- Off the coast of China, isn't it?

- Off the coast of China?

What a Frenchman.

Martinique is a small island

in the West Indies.

The climate is very warm,

the chief business is rum.

Ru... Rum? Oh.

- What else?

- Fort-de-France is the capital.

- Empress Josphine came from there.

- Oh.

Rum and girls like Josphine?

What did I ever leave for?

Now, where did you land in this country?

Oh, Le Havre.

- Marseilles.

- Marseilles.

You were working on a freighter

and you jumped the ship.

Where did you get

the dynamite for the bridge?

Santa Claus brought it to me.

- Who were your companions?

- I've forgotten.

Who gave you the order?

A carrier pigeon brought it to me,

but I don't remember his name.

That's right.

You don't remember anything.

Or you just don't answer.

They will put you through the jumps,

but you simply don't answer.

Jumps? What jumps?

You've got to be prepared.

Those Germans are going to work on you.

Work on me?

Oh, no. That wasn't part of the deal.

You should've told me that before.

Well, the deal wasn't my idea.

And there's always the guillotine,

you know.

Go ahead.

Now...

I know there is something we've missed.

Some tricky little question.

Well...

We'll go through it again

on the train tomorrow.

- Aren't you going to bed?

- I will, in a minute.

I think you're afraid.

Who wouldn't be?

- Never take any chances, do you?

- Not with your kind.

I intend to enjoy my pension some day.

Always the policeman.

Here I help you dig my own grave

and you still don't trust me.

Hello.

Call to Paris?

There must be some mistake.

Wait a minute.

That's for me.

Thank you.

Hello?

Sret Gnrale, this is Bonet speaking.

Put me through to the commissioner.

Yeah, LaFarge speaking.

- Bonet?

- The escaped prisoner, Jean Picard...

...was found this morning at 2:15

near the village of Chauvigny.

I caught up with him after a chase,

but was forced to shoot him.

He refused my command to halt...

...and attempted to swim

across the River Vienne.

The body has not yet been recovered.

But I'll send word to the police of Poitiers

to watch the river. That's all.

Congratulations, old man.

Duchamps, send out a general wire,

the Picard case is closed.

Better take a vacation

for a couple of days.

Thank you, LaFarge.

Goodbye.

What's the idea?

Very simple.

Within a few hours,

every paper in France...

...will print the story that the criminal,

Jean Picard, has ceased to exist.

No one will be looking for you from now on,

except as a drowned body.

And no one

will be expecting any word from me.

Hmm. Things will go badly for you

if they ever find out, won't they?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes