Witness for the Prosecution Page #5

and nothing but the truth. Is that better?

- Mrs Vole, do you love your husband?

- Leonard thinks I do.

- Well, do you?

- Am I already under oath?

Whatever your gambit may be,

do you know that, under British law,

you cannot be called to give testimony

damaging to your husband?

How very convenient.

We are dealing with a capital crime.

The prosecution

will try to hang your husband.

He is not my husband.

Leonard and I went through

a form of marriage,

but I had a husband living somewhere

in East Germany, in the Russian zone.

- Did you tell Leonard?

- I did not. It would have been stupid.

He would not have married me and

I'd have been left to starve in the rubble.

But he did marry you

and brought you safely here.

Don't you think you should be grateful?

One can get very tired of gratitude.

Your husband loves you

very much, does he not?

Leonard?

He worships the ground I walk on.

And you?

You want to know too much.

Auf Wiedersehen, gentlemen.

Thank you for coming in, Mrs Vole.

Your visit has been most reassuring.

Do not worry, Sir Wilfrid. I will give him

an alibi and I shall be very convincing.

There will be tears in my eyes when I say

"Leonard came home at 9.26 precisely."

You're a very remarkable woman,

Mrs Vole.

And you're satisfied, I hope?

- I'm damned if I'm satisfied!

- Care for a whiff of those smelling salts?

That woman's up to something. But what?

The prosecution will break her down

in no time when she's in the witness box.

This case is going to be rather

like the charge of the Light Brigade

or one of those Japanese suicide pilots.

Quite one-sided.

With the odds all on the other side.

I haven't got much to go on, have I?

The fact is, I've got nothing.

Let me ask you something.

Do you believe Leonard Vole is innocent?

Do you?

Do you?

I'm not sure.

Oh, I'm sorry, Wilfrid.

Of course, I'll do my best.

It's all right, Brogan-Moore.

I'll take it from here.

I have called Dr Harrison and given him

a report on your shocking behaviour.

- Give me a match, Miss Plimsoll.

- Sir Wilfrid!

Did you hear me? A match!

Mr Mayhew. Sir Wilfrid. I'm told you are

going to represent me. I'm very grateful.

I struck a bargain with my doctors. They

exile me to Bermuda as soon as we finish.

- Thank you.

- There's hope that we'll both survive.

- Get into these. We need a photograph.

- Why?

This is what you were wearing that night.

We'll circulate a photo on the chance

that someone saw you on your way home.

Over here against the wall, please.

Hold it.

One more in profile, please.

Do we really need this? My wife knows

what time I came home that night.

A disinterested witness

may be of more value.

Yes, of course,

Christine is an interested witness.

I'll pick up the negatives later. Thank you.

I don't understand it.

Why hasn't she come to see me?

Won't they let her see me?

I mean, it's been two weeks now.

Mayhew, give me the reports.

Have you been talking to her?

Is there something the matter?

I want to read a portion of the evidence

of Janet McKenzie, the housekeeper.

"Mr Vole helped Mrs French

with her business affairs,

particularly her income tax returns."

Oh, yes, I did. Some of those forms

are very complicated.

There's also a hint you may

have helped her draft her new will.

Well, that's not true!

If Janet said that she's lying.

She was always against me,

I don't know why!

It's obvious. You threw an eggbeater into

the wheels of her Victorian household.

Now, this cut in your wrist.

You say you cut yourself with a knife?

Well, that's true, I did.

I was cutting bread and the knife slipped.

But that was two days after. Christine

was there. She'll tell them in her evidence.

Are you keeping something from me?

Is she ill? Was she shocked?

All things considered, she took it well.

Though that may be only on the surface.

Wives are often profoundly

disturbed at such a time.

Yes, it must be hard.

We've never been separated before.

- Not since our first meeting.

- How did you meet your wife, Mr Vole?

In Germany in 1945.

It's rather funny. The very first time

I saw her, the ceiling fell right in on me.

I was stationed outside Hamburg,

with an RAF maintenance unit.

I'd just installed a shower in the officers'

billet, so they gave me a weekend pass.

(music and cheers)

(woman) Come on!

[ Join the party ]

[ Have a hearty glass of rum ]

[ Don't ever think about tomorrow ]

[ For tomorrow may never come ]

[ When I find me a happy place ]

[ That's where I wanna stay ]

[ Time is nothing

as long as I'm living it up this way ]

[ I may never go home any more ]

[ Dim the lights

and start locking the door ]

[ Give your arms to me

Give your charms to me ]

[ After all that's what sailors are for ]

[ I've got kisses and kisses galore ]

[ That have never been tasted before ]

[ If you treat me right

This could be the night ]

[ I may never go home ]

[ I may never go home ]

[ I may never go home ]

[ I may never go home ]

[ I may never go home any more ]

[ I may never go home any more ]

Hey, Frulein, show us some legs.

They rob you blind

and then throw you a ruddy sailor!

- Come on, let's see 'em.

- We want legs!

Come help the cabaret out of her trousers!

All right, Frulein,

if you won't show 'em, I will.

(cheering)

(whistle)

All right, outside, everybody.

Come on, let's go.

Come on.

Bring him round to the other truck.

We'll be back, baby! We'll be back!

Gesundheit.

- What are you looking for?

- My accordion.

Oh, let me help you.

(discordant noise)

- I think I found it.

- Step on it again, it's still breathing.

(discordant noise)

I'm terribly sorry.

You better go. We've had trouble enough.

Well, it's your own fault. That costume

in the picture gave the boys ideas

- then those trousers let them down hard.

- That costume went in the first raid.

Then raid by raid, my other dresses,

and now you've bombed my trousers.

Cigarette? Gum?

You're burning my nose.

- Oh, I'm sorry.

- That's all right.

How about a cup of coffee?

I've got a tin of coffee.

How much?

I don't know.

What's the rate of exchange?

- Depends whether it's fresh or powdered.

- It's instant coffee.

Got any hot water at your place?

- Sometimes.

- Let's take a chance. Where do you live?

Nearby.

Come.

Sorry, it's the maid's night off.

This is pretty horrible.

In a gemtlich sort of way.

Oh, it's fine now.

I used to have a roommate. A dancer.

She had luck, she married a Canadian.

She now lives in Toronto.

She has a Ford automobile.

Make yourself comfortable,

the stove is slow these days.

That's all right, I've got a weekend pass.

No, not that chair. It holds up the

beam and that holds up the ceiling.

You'd better sit down on the cot.

The cot?

Getting more gemtlich all the time.

Are you married?

- Why?

- Well, the, um...

Oh, that. No, no, I'm not married.

I just wear it when I'm working.

Gives a little protection with all the men.

- Didn't work too well tonight, did it?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes