"DOUBLE INDEMNITY"
Screenplay by
Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler
Based on the novel
"Double Indemnity In Three Of A Kind"
by
James M. Cain
CHARACTERS
WALTER NEFF
PHYLLIS DIETRICHSON
BARTON KEYES
LOLA DIETRICHSON
MR. DIETRICHSON
NINO ZACHETTI
MR. NORTON
MR. JACKSON
SAM GORLOPIS
SEQUENCE "A"
FADE IN:
A-1 LOS ANGELES - A DOWNTOWN INTERSECTION
It is night, about two o'clock, very light traffic.
At the left and in the immediate foreground a semaphore
traffic signal stands at GO. Approaching it at about thirty
miles per hour is a Dodge 1938 coupe. It is driven erratically
and weaving a little, but not out of control.
When the car is about forty feet away, the signal changes to
STOP. Car makes no attempt to stop but comes on through.
A-2 A LIGHT NEWSPAPER TRUCK
is crossing the intersection at right angles. It swerves and
skids to avoid the Dodge, which goes on as though nothing
had happened. The truck stops with a panicky screech of tires.
There is a large sign on the truck: "READ THE LOS ANGELES
TIMES". The truck driver's infuriated face stares after the
coupe.
A-3 THE COUPE
continues along the street, still weaving, then slows down
and pulls over towards the curb in front of a tall office
building.
A-4 THE COUPE
stops. The headlights are turned off. For a second nothing
happens, then the car door opens slowly. A man eases himself
out onto the sidewalk and stands a moment leaning on the
open door to support himself. He's a tall man, about thirty-
five years old. From the way he moves there seems to be
something wrong with his left shoulder.
He straightens up and painfully lowers his left hand into
his jacket pocket. He leans into the car. He brings out a
light-weight overcoat and drapes it across his shoulders. He
shuts the car door and walks toward the building.
A-5 ENTRANCE OF THE BUILDING
Above the closed, double-plate glass doors is lettered:
"PACIFIC BUILDING". To the left of entrance there is a
drugstore, closed, dark except for a faint light in the back.
The man comes stiffly up to the doors. (CAMERA HAS MOVED UP
WITH HIM). He tries the doors. They are locked. He knocks on
the glass. Inside, over his shoulder, the lobby of the
building is visible: a side entrance to the drugstore on the
left, in the rear a barber shop and cigar and magazine stand
closed up for the night, and to the right two elevators. One
elevator is open and its dome light falls across the dark
lobby.
The man knocks again. The night watchman sticks his head out
of the elevator and looks toward entrance. He comes out with
a newspaper in one hand and a half-eaten sandwich in the
other. He finishes the sandwich on the way to the doors,
looks out and recognizes the man outside, unlocks the door
and pulls it open.
NIGHT WATCHMAN
Hello there, Mr. Neff.
Neff walks in past him without answering.
A-6 INT. LOBBY
Neff is walking towards elevator. Night watchman looks after
him, relocks door, follows to elevator. Neff enters elevator.
A-7 ELEVATOR
Neff stands leaning against wall. He is pale and haggard
with pain, but deadpans as night watchman joins him.
NIGHT WATCHMAN
Working pretty late aren't you, Mr.
Neff?
NEFF
(Tight-lipped)
Late enough.
NIGHT WATCHMAN
You look kind of all in at that.
NEFF
I'm fine. Let's ride.
Night watchman pulls lever, doors close and elevator rises.
NIGHT WATCHMAN
How's the insurance business, Mr.
Neff?
NEFF
Okay.
NIGHT WATCHMAN
They wouldn't ever sell me any. They
say I've got something loose in my
heart. I say it's rheumatism.
NEFF
(Scarcely listening)
Uh-huh.
Night watchman looks around at him, turns away again and the
elevator stops.
NIGHT WATCHMAN
(Surly)
Twelve.
The door opens. Across a small dark reception room a pair of
frosted glass doors are lettered: PACIFIC ALL-RISK INSURANCE
COMPANY - FOUNDED 1906 - MAIN OFFICE. There is a little light
beyond the glass doors.
Neff straightens up and walks heavily out of the elevator,
across reception room to doors. He pushes them open. The
night watchman stares after him morosely, works lever,
elevator doors start to close.
A-8 TWELFTH FLOOR INSURANCE OFFICE
(Note for set-designer: Our Insurance Company occupies the
entire eleventh and twelfth floors of the building. On the
twelfth floor are the executive offices and claims and sales
departments. These all open off a balcony which runs all the
way around. From the balcony you see the eleventh floor below:
one enormous room filled with desks, typewriters, filing
cabinets, business machines, etc.)
Neff comes through the double entrance doors from the
reception room. The twelfth floor is dark. Some light shines
up from the eleventh floor. Neff takes a few steps then holds
on to the balcony railing and looks down.
A-9 THE ELEVENTH FLOOR FROM ABOVE - NEFF'S POINT OF VIEW
Two colored women are cleaning the offices. One is dry-mopping
the floor, the other is moving chairs back into position,
etc. A colored man is emptying waste baskets into a big square
box. He shuffles a little dance step as he moves, and hums a
little tune.
A-10 NEFF
Moves away from the railing with a faint smile on his face,
and walks past two or three offices (CAMERA WITH HIM) towards
a glass door with number twenty-seven on it and three names:
HENRY B. ANDERSON, WALTER NEFF, LOUIS L. SCHWARTZ. Neff opens
the door.
A-11 INT. NEFF'S OFFICE - DARK
Three desks, filing cabinets, one typewriter on stand, one
dictaphone on fixed stand against wall with rack of records
underneath, telephones on all three desks. Water cooler with
inverted bottle and paper cup holder beside it. Two windows
facing toward front of building. Venetian blinds. No curtains.
Waste basket full, ash trays not emptied. The office has not
been cleaned.
Neff enters, switches on desk lamp. He looks across at dicta
phone, goes heavily to it and lifts off the fabric cover. He
leans down hard on the dictaphone stand as if feeling faint.
He turns away from dictaphone, takes a few uncertain steps
and falls heavily into a swivel chair. His head goes far
back, his eyes close, cold sweat shows on his face. For a
moment he stays like this, exhausted, then his eyes open
slowly and look down at his left shoulder. His good hand
flips the overcoat back, he unbuttons his jacket, loosens
his tie and shirt. This was quite an effort. He rests for a
second, breathing hard. With the help of his good hand he
edges his left elbow up on the arm-rest of the chair, supports
it there and then pulls his jacket wide. A heavy patch of
dark blood shows on his shirt. He pushes his chair along the
floor towards the water cooler, using his feet and his right
hand against the desk, takes out a handkerchief, presses
with his hand against the spring faucet of the cooler, soaks
the handkerchief in water and tucks it, dripping wet, against
the wound inside his shirt. Next, he gets a handful of water
and splashes it on his face. The water runs down his chin
and drips. He breathes heavily, with closed eyes. He fingers
a pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket, pulls it out, looks
at it. There is blood on it. He wheels himself back to the
desk and dumps the loose cigarettes out of the packet. Some
are blood-stained, a few are clean. He takes one, puts it
between his lips, gropes around for a match, lights cigarette.
He takes a deep drag and lets smoke out through his nose.
He pulls himself toward dictaphone again, still in the swivel
chair, reaches it, lifts the horn off the bracket and the
dictaphone makes a low buzzing sound. He presses the button
switch on the horn. The sound stops, the record revolves on
the cylinder. He begins to speak:
NEFF
Office memorandum, Walter Neff to
Barton Keyes, Claims Manager. Los
Angeles, July 16th, 1938. Dear Keyes:
I suppose you'll call this a
confession when you hear it. I don't
like the word confession. I just
want to set you right about one thing
you couldn't see, because it was
smack up against your nose. You think
you're such a hot potato as a claims
manager, such a wolf on a phoney
claim. Well, maybe you are, Keyes,
but let's take a look at this
Dietrichson claim, Accident and Double
Indemnity. You were pretty good in
there for a while, all right. You
said it wasn't an accident. Check.
You said it wasn't suicide. Check.
You said it was murder. Check and
double check. You thought you had it
cold, all wrapped up in tissue paper,
with pink ribbons around it. It was
perfect, except that it wasn't,
because you made a mistake, just one
tiny little mistake. When it came to
picking the killer, you picked the
wrong guy, if you know what I mean.
Want to know who killed Dietrichson?
Hold tight to that cheap cigar of
yours, Keyes. I killed Dietrichson.
Me, Walter Neff, insurance agent, 35
years old, unmarried, no visible
scars --
(He glances down at
his wounded shoulder)
Until a little while ago, that is.
Yes, I killed him. I killed him for
money -- and a woman -- and I didn't
get the money and I didn't get the
woman. Pretty, isn't it?
He interrupts the dictation, lays down the horn on the desk.
He takes his lighted cigarette from the ash tray, puffs it
two or three times, and kills it. He picks up the horn again.
NEFF
(His voice is now
quiet and contained)
It began last May. About the end of
May, it was. I had to run out to
Glendale to deliver a policy on some
dairy trucks. On the way back I
remembered this auto renewal on Los
Feliz. So I decided to run over there.
It was one of those Calif. Spanish
houses everyone was nuts about 10 or
15 years ago. This one must have
cost somebody about 30,000 bucks --
that is, if he ever finished paying
for it.
As he goes on speaking, SLOW DISSOLVE TO:
A-12 DIETRICHSON HOME - LOS FELIZ DISTRICT
Palm trees line the street, middle-class houses, mostly in
Spanish style. Some kids throwing a baseball back and forth
across a couple of front lawns. An ice cream wagon dawdles
along the block. Neff's coupe meets and passes the ice cream
wagon and stops before one of the Spanish houses. Neff gets
out. He carries a briefcase, his hat is a little on the back
of his head. His movements are easy and full of ginger. He
inspects the house, checks the number, goes up on the front
porch and rings the bell.
NEFF'S VOICE
It was mid-afternoon, and it's funny,
I can still remember the smell of
honeysuckle all along that block. I
felt like a million. There was no
way in all this world I could have
known that murder sometimes can smell
like honeysuckle...
A-13 EXT. DIETRICHSON HOME - ENTRANCE DOOR
Neff rings the bell again and waits. The door opens. A maid,
about forty-five, rather slatternly, opens the door.
NEFF
Mr. Dietrichson in?
MAID
Who wants to see him?
NEFF
The name is Neff. Walter Neff.
MAID
If you're selling something --
NEFF
Look, it's Mr. Dietrichson I'd like
to talk to, and it's not magazine
subscriptions.
He pushes past her into the house.
A-14 HALLWAY - DIETRICHSON HOME
Spanish craperoo in style, as is the house throughout. A
wrought-iron staircase curves down from the second floor. A
fringed Mexican shawl hangs down over the landing. A large
tapestry hangs on the wall. Downstairs, the dining room to
one side, living room on the other side visible through a
wide archway. All of this, architecture, furniture,
decorations, etc., is genuine early Leo Carrillo period.
Neff has edged his way in past maid who still holds the door
open.
MAID
Listen, Mr. Dietrichson's not in.
NEFF
How soon do you expect him?
MAID
He'll be home when he gets here, if
that's any help to you.
At this point a voice comes from the top of the stairs.
VOICE
What is it, Nettie? Who is it?
Neff looks up.
A-15 UPPER LANDING OF STAIRCASE - (FROM BELOW)
Phyllis Dietrichson stands looking down. She is in her early
thirties. She holds a large bath-towel around her very
appetizing torso, down to about two inches above her knees.
She wears no stockings, no nothing. On her feet a pair of
high-heeled bedroom slippers with pom-poms. On her left ankle
a gold anklet.
MAID'S VOICE
It's for Mr. Dietrichson.
PHYLLIS
(Looking down at Neff)
I'm Mrs. Dietrichson. What is it?
A-16 SHOOTING DOWN FROM UPPER LANDING
Neff looks up, takes his hat off.
NEFF
How do you do, Mrs. Dietrichson. I'm
Walter Neff, Pacific All-Risk.
A-17 PHYLLIS
PHYLLIS
Pacific all-what?
A-18 NEFF
NEFF
Pacific All-Risk Insurance Company.
It's about some renewals on the
automobiles, Mrs. Dietrichson. I've
been trying to contact your husband
for the past two weeks. He's never
at his office.
A-19 PHYLLIS
PHYLLIS
Is there anything I can do?
A-20 NEFF
NEFF
The insurance ran out on the
fifteenth. I'd hate to think of your
getting a smashed fender or something
while you're not fully covered.
A-21 PHYLLIS
She glances over her towel costume.
PHYLLIS
(With a little smile)
Perhaps I know what you mean, Mr.
Neff. I've just been taking a sun
bath.
A-22 NEFF
NEFF
No pigeons around, I hope... About
those policies, Mrs. Dietrichson --
I hate to take up your time --
A-23 PHYLLIS
PHYLLIS
That's all right. If you can wait
till I put something on, I'll be
right down. Nettie, show Mr. Neff
into the living room.
She turns away as gracefully as one can with a towel for a
wrapper.]
A-24 ENTRANCE HALL
Neff watches Phyllis out of sight. He speaks to the maid
while still looking up.
NEFF
Where would the living room be?
MAID
In there, but they keep the liquor
locked up.
NEFF
That's okay. I always carry my own
keys.
He goes through the archway. Maid goes off the other way.
A-25 LIVING ROOM
Neff comes into the room and throws his briefcase on the
plush davenport and tosses his hat on top of it. He looks
around the room, then moves over to a baby grand piano with
a sleazy Spanish shawl dangling down one side and two cabinet
photographs standing in a staggered position on top. Neff
glances them over: Mr. Dietrichson, age about fifty-one, a
big, blocky man with glasses and a Rotarian look about him;
Lola Dietrichson, age nineteen, wearing a filmy party dress
and a yearning look in her pretty eyes. Neff walks away from
the piano and takes a few steps back and forth across the
rug. His eyes fall on a wrinkled corner. He carefully
straightens it out with his foot. His back is to the archway
as he hears high heels clicking on the staircase. He turns
and looks through the arch.
NEFF'S VOICE
The living room was still stuffy
from last night's cigars. The windows
were closed and the sunshine coming
in through the Venetian blinds showed
up the dust in the air. The furniture
was kind of corny and old-fashioned,
but it had a comfortable look, as if
people really sat in it. On the piano,
in couple of fancy frames, were Mr.
Dietrichson and Lola, his daughter
by his first wife They had a bowl of
those little red goldfish on the
table behind the davenport, but, to
tell you the truth, Keyes, I wasn't
a whole lot interested in goldfish
right then, nor in auto renewals,
nor in Mr. Dietrichson and his
daughter Lola. I was thinking about
that dame upstairs, and the way she
had looked at me, and I wanted to
see her again, close, without that
silly staircase between us.
A-26 STAIRCASE (FROM NEFF'S POINT OF VIEW)
Phyllis Dietrichson is coming downstairs. First we see her
feet, with pom-pom slippers and the gold anklet on her left
ankle. CAMERA PULLS BACK SLOWLY as she descends, until we
see all of her. She is wearing a pale blue summer dress.
PHYLLIS' VOICE
I wasn't long, was I?
NEFF'S VOICE
Not at all, Mrs. Dietrichson.
CAMERA PULLS BACK WITH HER INTO THE LIVING ROOM.
PHYLLIS
I hope I've got my face on straight.
NEFF
It's perfect for my money.
PHYLLIS
(Crossing to the mirror
over the fireplace)
Won't you sit down, Mr. -- Neff is
the name, isn't it?
NEFF
With two f's, like in Philadelphia.
If you know the story.
PHYLLIS
What story?
NEFF
The Philadelphia story. What are we
talking about?
PHYLLIS
(She works with her
lipstick)
About the insurance. My husband never
tells me anything.
NEFF
It's on your two cars, the La Salle
and the Plymouth.
He crosses to the davenport to get the policies from his
briefcase. She turns away from the mirror and sits in a big
chair with her legs drawn up sideways, the anklet now clearly
visible.
NEFF
We've been handling this insurance
for three years for Mr. Dietrichson...
(His eyes have caught
the anklet)
That's a honey of an anklet you're
wearing, Mrs. Dietrichson.
Phyllis smiles faintly and covers the anklet with her dress.
NEFF
We'd hate to see the policies lapse.
Of course, we give him thirty days.
That's all we're allowed to give.
PHYLLIS
I guess he's been too busy down at
Long Beach in the oil fields.
NEFF
Could I catch him home some evening
for a few minutes?
PHYLLIS
I suppose so. But he's never home
much before eight.
NEFF
That would be fine with me.
PHYLLIS
You're not connected with the
Automobile Club, are you?
NEFF
No, the All-Risk, Mrs. Dietrichson.
Why?
PHYLLIS
Somebody from the Automobile Club
has been trying to get him. Do they
have a better rate?
NEFF
If your husband's a member.
PHYLLIS
No, he isn't.
Phyllis rises and walks up and down, paying less and less
attention.
NEFF
Well, he'd have to join the club and
pay a membership fee to start with.
The Automobile Club is fine. I never
knock the other fellow's merchandise,
Mrs. Dietrichson, but I can do just
as well for you. I have a very
attractive policy here. It wouldn't
take me two minutes to put it in
front of your husband.
He consults the policies he is holding.
NEFF
For instance, we're writing a new
kind of fifty percent retention
feature in the collision coverage.
Phyllis stops in her walk.
PHYLLIS
You're a smart insurance man, aren't
you, Mr. Neff?
NEFF
I've had eleven years of it.
PHYLLIS
Doing pretty well?
NEFF
It's a living.
PHYLLIS
You handle just automobile insurance,
or all kinds?
She sits down again, in the same position as before.
NEFF
All kinds. Fire, earthquake, theft,
public liability, group insurance,
industrial stuff and so on right
down the line.
PHYLLIS
Accident insurance?
NEFF
Accident insurance? Sure, Mrs.
Dietrichson.
His eyes fall on the anklet again.
NEFF
I wish you'd tell me what's engraved
on that anklet.
PHYLLIS
Just my name.
NEFF
As for instance?
PHYLLIS
Phyllis.
NEFF
Phyllis. I think I like that.
PHYLLIS
But you're not sure?
NEFF
I'd have to drive it around the block
a couple of times.
PHYLLIS
(Standing up again)
Mr. Neff, why don't you drop by
tomorrow evening about eight-thirty.
He'll be in then.
NEFF
Who?
PHYLLIS
My husband. You were anxious to talk
to him weren't you?
NEFF
Sure, only I'm getting over it a
little. If you know what I mean.
PHYLLIS
There's a speed limit in this state,
Mr. Neff. Forty-five miles an hour.
NEFF
How fast was I going, officer?
PHYLLIS
I'd say about ninety.
NEFF
Suppose you get down off your
motorcycle and give me a ticket.
PHYLLIS
Suppose I let you off with a warning
this time.
NEFF
Suppose it doesn't take.
PHYLLIS
Suppose I have to whack you over the
knuckles.
NEFF
Suppose I bust out crying and put my
head on your shoulder.
PHYLLIS
Suppose you try putting it on my
husband's shoulder.
NEFF
That tears it.
Neff takes his hat and briefcase.
NEFF
Eight-thirty tomorrow evening then,
Mrs. Dietrichson.
PHYLLIS
That's what I suggested.
They both move toward the archway.
A-27 HALLWAY - PHYLLIS AND NEFF GOING TOWARDS THE ENTRANCE
DOOR
NEFF
Will you be here, too?
PHYLLIS
I guess so. I usually am.
NEFF
Same chair, same perfume, same anklet?
PHYLLIS
(Opening the door)
I wonder if I know what you mean.
NEFF
I wonder if you wonder.
He walks out.
A-28 EXT. DIETRICHSON HOME - (DAY)
Shooting past Neff's parked car towards the entrance door,
which is just closing. Neff comes towards the car, swinging
his briefcase. He opens the car door and looks back with a
confident smile.
NEFF'S VOICE
(Over scene)
She liked me. I could feel that. The
way you feel when the cards are...
A-29 ENTRANCE DOOR, DIETRICHSON HOME
In the upper panel the peep window opens and Phyllis looks
out after Neff.
NEFF'S VOICE
falling right for you, with a nice
little pile of blue and yellow chips
in the middle of the table. Only
what I didn't know then was that I
wasn't playing her. She was playing
me -- with a deck of marked cards --
and the stakes weren't any blue and
yellow chips. They were dynamite. I
went back to the office that afternoon
to see if I had any mail. It was the
same afternoon you had that Sam
Gorlopis on the carpet, that truck
driver from Inglewood, remember,
Keyes?
A-30 NEFF
He sits in his car, presses the starter button, looking back
towards the little window in the entrance door.
A-31 ENTRANCE DOOR
The peep window is quickly closed from inside.
A-32 STREET
Neff makes a U-turn and drives back down the block.
DISSOLVE TO:
A-33 LONG SHOT - INSURANCE OFFICE - TWELFTH FLOOR - (DAY) -
CAMERA HIGH
Activity on the eleventh floor below. Typewriters working,
adding machines, filing clerks, secretaries, and so forth.
Neff, wearing his hat and carrying his briefcase, enters
from the vestibule. He walks towards his office. He passes a
few salesmen, etc. There is an exchange of greetings. Just
as he reaches his office a secretary comes out. She stops.
SECRETARY
Oh, Mr. Neff, Mr. Keyes wants to see
you. He's been yelling for you all
afternoon.
NEFF
Is he sore, or just frothing at the
mouth a little? Here, park these for
me, sweetheart.
He hands her his hat and briefcase and continues right on,
CAMERA WITH HIM, to a door lettered:
BARTON KEYES - CLAIMS MANAGER
Keyes' voice is heard inside, plenty loud. Neff grins as he
opens the door and goes in.
A-34 KEYES: OFFICE - (DAY)
A minor executive office, not too tidy: large desk across
one corner, good carpet, several chairs, filing cabinet
against one wall, a dictaphone on the corner of the desk.
Keyes is sitting behind the desk with his coat off but his
hat on. A cigar is clamped in his mouth, ashes falling like
snow down his vest, a gold chair and elk's tooth across it.
On the other side of the desk sits Sam Gorlopis. He is a
big, dumb bruiser, six feet three inches tall -- a dirty
work shirt and corduroy pants, rough, untidy hair, broad
face, small piggish eyes. He holds a sweat-soaked hat on his
knee with a hairy hand. He is chewing gum rapidly. As Neff
opens the door, Keyes is giving it to Gorlopis.
KEYES
Wise up, Gorlopis. You're not kidding
anybody with that line of bull. You're
in a jam and you know it.
GORLOPIS
Sez you. All I want is my money.
KEYES
Sez you. All you're gonna get is the
cops.
He sees Neff standing inside the door.
KEYES
Come in, Walter. This is Sam Gorlopis
from Inglewood.
NEFF
Sure, I know Mr. Gorlopis. Wrote a
policy on his truck. How are you,
Mr. Gorlopis?
GORLOPIS
I ain't so good. My truck burned
down.
He looks cautiously sideways at Keyes.
KEYES
Yeah, he just planted his big foot
on the starter and the whole thing
blazed up in his face.
GORLOPIS
Yes, sir.
KEYES
And didn't even singe his eyebrows.
GORLOPIS
No sir. Look, mister. I got twenty-
six hundred bucks tied up in that
truck. I'm insured with this company
and I want my money.
KEYES
You got a wife, Gorlopis?
GORLOPIS
Sure I got a wife.
KEYES
You got kids?
GORLOPIS
Two kids.
KEYES
What you got for dinner tonight?
GORLOPIS
We got meat loaf.
KEYES
How do you make your meat loaf,
Gorlopis?
GORLOPIS
Veal and pork and bread and garlic.
Greek style.
KEYES
How much garlic?
GORLOPIS
Lotsa garlic, Mr. Keyes.
KEYES
Okay, Gorlopis. Now listen here.
Let's say you just came up here to
tell me how to make meat loaf. That's
all, understand? Because if you came
up here to claim on that truck, I'd
have to turn you over to the law,
Gorlopis, and they'd put you in jail.
No wife. No kids --
GORLOPIS
What for?
KEYES
(Yelling)
And no meat loaf, Gorlopis!
GORLOPIS
I didn't do nothin'.
KEYES
No? Look, Gorlopis. Every month
hundreds of claims come to this desk.
Some of them are phonies, and I know
which ones. How do I know, Gorlopis?
(He speaks as if to a
child)
Because my little man tells me.
GORLOPIS
What little man?
KEYES
The little man in here.
He pounds the pit of his stomach.
KEYES
Every time one of those phonies comes
along he ties knots in my stomach.
And yours was one of them, Gorlopis.
That's how I knew your claim was
crooked. So what did I do? I sent a
tow car out to your garage this
afternoon and they jacked up that
burned-out truck of yours. And what
did they find, Gorlopis? They found
what was left of a pile of shavings.
GORLOPIS
What shavings?
KEYES
The ones you soaked with kerosene
and dropped a match on.
Gorlopis cringes under the impact.
GORLOPIS
Look, Mr. Keyes, I'm just a poor
guy. Maybe I made a mistake.
KEYES
That's one way of putting it.
GORLOPIS
I ain't feelin' so good, Mr. Keyes.
KEYES
Sign this and you'll feel fine.
He puts a blank form in front of him and points.
KEYES
Right there. It's a waiver on your
claim.
Gorlopis hesitates, then signs laboriously.
KEYES
Now you're an honest man again.
GORLOPIS
But I ain't got no more truck.
KEYES
Goodbye, Gorlopis.
GORLOPIS
(Still bewildered)
Goodbye, Mr. Keyes.
He stands up and goes slowly to the door and turns there.
GORLOPIS
Twenty-six hundred bucks. That's a
lot of dough where I live.
KEYES
What's the matter, Gorlopis? Don't
you know how to open the door? Just
put your hand on the knob, turn it
to the right, pull it toward you --
GORLOPIS
(Doing just as Keyes
says)
Like this, Mr. Keyes?
KEYES
That's the boy. Now the same thing
from the outside.
GORLOPIS
(Stupefied)
Thank you, Mr. Keyes.
He goes out, closing the door after him. Keyes takes his
cigar stub from his mouth and turns it slowly in the flame
of a lighted match. He turns to Neff.
KEYES
What kind of an outfit is this anyway?
Are we an insurance company, or a
bunch of dimwitted amateurs, writing
a policy on a mugg like that?
NEFF
Wait a minute, Keyes. I don't rate
this beef. I clipped a note to that
Gorlopis application to have him
thoroughly investigated before we
accepted the risk.
KEYES
I know you did, Walter. I'm not
beefing at you. It's the company.
The way they do things. The way they
don't do things. The way they'll
write anything just to get it down
on the sales sheet. And I'm the guy
that has to sit here up to my neck
in phony claims so they won't throw
more money out of the window than
they take in at the door.
NEFF
(Grinning)
Okay, turn the record over and let's
hear the other side.
KEYES
I get darn sick of picking up after
a gang of fast-talking salesmen dumb
enough to sell life insurance to a
guy that sleeps in the same bed with
four rattlesnakes. I've had twenty-
six years of that, Walter, and I --
NEFF
And you loved every minute of it,
Keyes. You love it, only you worry
about it too much, you and your little
man. You're so darn conscientious
you're driving yourself crazy. You
wouldn't even say today is Tuesday
without you looked at the calendar,
and then you would check if it was
this year's or last year's calendar,
and then you would find out what
company printed the calendar, then
find out if their calendar checks
with the World Almanac's calendar.
KEYES
That's enough from you, Walter. Get
out of here before I throw my desk
at you.
NEFF
I love you, too.
He walks out, still grinning.
A-35 EXT. OFFICES - TWELFTH FLOOR
Neff comes out of Keys' office and walks back along the
balcony. Activity of secretaries going in and out of doors,
etc. Neff enters his own office.
NEFF'S VOICE
(Over scene)
I really did, too, you old crab,
always yelling your fat head off,
always sore at everyone. But behind
the cigar ashes on your vest I kind
of knew you had a heart as big as a
house... Back in my office there was
a phone message from Mrs. Dietrichson
about the renewals. She didn't want
me to come tomorrow evening. She
wanted me to come Thursday afternoon
at three-thirty instead. I had a lot
of stuff lined up for that Thursday
afternoon, including a trip down to
Santa Monica to see a couple of live
prospects about some group insurance.
But I kept thinking about Phyllis
Dietrichson and the way that anklet
of hers cut into her leg.
A-36 INT. NEFF'S OFFICE
Anderson, a salesman, sits at one of the desks, filling out
a report. Neff enters, goes to his own desk. He looks down
at some mail. On top there is a typewritten note. He reads
it, sits down and leafs through his desk calendar.
A-37 INSERT - CLOSEUP - CALENDAR PAGE
Showing date: THURSDAY 23 May and five or six appointments
penciled in tightly on the page.
DISSOLVE TO:
A-38 DIETRICHSON HOME - ENTRANCE HALL - (DAY)
THE CAMERA PANS with Phyllis Dietrichson's feet and ankles
as she comes down the stairs, her high heels clicking on the
tiles. The anklet glistens on her leg as she moves. THE CAMERA
PANS ON. Phyllis has reached the entrance hall, and as she
walks toward the front door her whole body becomes visible.
She wears a gay print dress with a wide sash over her hips.
She opens the door. Outside is Neff, wearing a sport coat,
flannel slacks. He takes his hat off.
PHYLLIS
Hello, Mr. Neff.
He stands there with a little smile.
PHYLLIS
Aren't you coming in?
NEFF
I'm considering it.
He comes in.
PHYLLIS
I hope you didn't mind my changing
the appointment. Last night wasn't
so convenient.
NEFF
That's okay. I was working on my
stamp collection.
She leads him toward living room.
A-39 DIETRICHSON LIVING ROOM
Phyllis and Neff come through archway. She heads toward a
low tea table which stands in front of the davenport, with
tall glasses, ice cubes, lemon, a pot of tea, etc.
PHYLLIS
I was just fixing some iced tea.
Would you like a glass?
NEFF
Unless you have a bottle of beer
that's not working.
PHYLLIS
There might be some. I never know
what's in the ice box.
(Calls)
Nettie!...
She pours herself a glass of tea.
PHYLLIS
About those renewals, Mr. Neff. I
talked to my husband about it.
NEFF
You did?
PHYLLIS
Yes. He'll renew with you he told
me. In fact, I thought he'd be here
this afternoon.
NEFF
But he's not?
PHYLLIS
No.
NEFF
That's terrible.
PHYLLIS
(Calls again,
impatiently)
Nettie!... Nettie!... Oh, I forgot,
it's the maid's day off.
NEFF
Don't bother, Mrs. Dietrichson. I'd
like some iced tea very much.
PHYLLIS
Lemon? Sugar?
NEFF
Fix it your way.
She fixes him a glass of tea while he is looking around. He
slowly sits down.
NEFF
Seeing it's the maid's day off maybe
there's something I can do for you.
She hands him the tea.
NEFF
Like running the vacuum cleaner.
PHYLLIS
Fresh.
NEFF
I used to peddle vacuum cleaners.
Not much money but you learn a lot
about life.
PHYLLIS
I didn't think you'd learned it from
a correspondence course.
NEFF
Where did you pick up this tea
drinking? You're not English, are
you?
PHYLLIS
No. Californian. Born right here in
Los Angeles.
NEFF
They say native Californians all
come from Iowa.
PHYLLIS
I wanted to ask you something, Mr.
Neff.
NEFF
Make it Walter.
PHYLLIS
Walter.
NEFF
Right.
PHYLLIS
Tell me, Walter, on this insurance --
how much commission do you make?
NEFF
Twenty percent. Why?
PHYLLIS
I thought maybe I could throw a little
more business your way.
NEFF
I can always use it.
PHYLLIS
I was thinking about my husband. I
worry a lot about him, down in those
oil fields. It's very dangerous.
NEFF
Not for an executive, is it?
PHYLLIS
He doesn't just sit behind a desk.
He's right down there with the
drilling crews. It's got me worried
sick.
NEFF
You mean a crown block might fall on
him some rainy night?
PHYLLIS
Please don't talk like that.
NEFF
But that's the idea.
PHYLLIS
The other day a casing line snapped
and caught the foreman. He's in the
hospital with a broken back.
NEFF
Bad.
PHYLLIS
It's got me jittery just thinking
about it. Suppose something like
that happened to my husband?
NEFF
It could.
PHYLLIS
Don't you think he ought to have
accident insurance?
NEFF
Uh huh.
PHYLLIS
What kind of insurance could he have?
NEFF
Enough to cover doctors' and hospital
bills. Say a hundred and twenty-five
a week cash benefit. And he'd rate
around fifty thousand capital sum.
PHYLLIS
Capital sum? What's that?
NEFF
That's if he got killed. Maybe I
shouldn't have said that.
PHYLLIS
I suppose you have to think of
everything in your business.
NEFF
Mr. Dietrichson would understand.
I'm sure I could sell him on the
idea of some accident protection.
Why don't I talk to him about it.
PHYLLIS
You could try. But he's pretty tough
going.
NEFF
They're all tough at first.
PHYLLIS
He's got a lot on his mind. He doesn't
want to listen to anything except
maybe a baseball game on the radio.
Sometimes we sit all evening without
saying a word to each other.
NEFF
Sounds pretty dull.
Phyllis shrugs.
PHYLLIS
So I just sit and knit.
NEFF
Is that what you married him for?
PHYLLIS
Maybe I like the way his thumbs hold
up the wool.
NEFF
Anytime his thumbs get tired --
PHYLLIS
I want to ask you something, Mr.
Neff. Could I get an accident policy
for him -- without bothering him at
all?
NEFF
How's that again.
PHYLLIS
That would make it easier for you,
too. You wouldn't even have to talk
to him. I have a little allowance of
my own. I could pay for it and he
needn't know anything about it.
NEFF
Wait a minute. Why shouldn't he know?
PHYLLIS
Because I know he doesn't want
accident insurance. He's superstitious
about it.
NEFF
A lot of people are. Funny, isn't
it?
PHYLLIS
If there was a way to get it like
that, all the worry would be over.
You see what I mean, Walter?
NEFF
Sure. I've got good eyesight. You
want him to have the policy without
him knowing it. And that means without
the insurance company knowing that
he doesn't know. That's the set-up,
isn't it?
PHYLLIS
Is there anything wrong with it?
NEFF
I think it's lovely. And then, some
dark wet night, if that crown block
fell on him --
PHYLLIS
What crown block?
NEFF
Only sometimes they have to have a
little help. They can't quite make
it on their own.
PHYLLIS
I don't know what you're talking
about.
NEFF
Of course, it doesn't have to be a
crown block. It can be a car backing
over him, or he can fall out of an
upstairs window. Any little thing
like that, as long as it's a morgue
job.
PHYLLIS
Are you crazy?
NEFF
Not that crazy. Goodbye, Mrs.
Dietrichson.
He picks up his hat.
PHYLLIS
What's the matter?
NEFF
Look, baby, you can't get away with
it.
PHYLLIS
Get away with what?
NEFF
You want to knock him off, don't
you, baby.
PHYLLIS
That's a horrible thing to say!
NEFF
Who'd you think I was, anyway? A guy
that walks into a good-looking dame's
front parlor and says "Good afternoon,
I sell accident insurance on husbands.
You got one that's been around too
long? Somebody you'd like to turn
into a little hard cash? Just give
me a smile and I'll help you collect."
Boy, what a dope I must look to you!
PHYLLIS
I think you're rotten.
NEFF
I think you're swell. So long as I'm
not your husband.
PHYLLIS
Get out of here.
NEFF
You bet I will. You bet I'll get out
of here, baby. But quick.
He goes out. She looks after him.
A-40 EXT. DIETRICHSON HOME - (DAY)
Neff bangs the front door shut, walks quickly to his car and
drives away.
DISSOLVE TO:
NEFF'S VOICE
(Over scene)
So I let her have it, straight between
the eyes. She didn't fool me for a
minute, not this time. I knew I had
hold of a redhot poker and the time
to drop it was before it burned my
hand off. I stopped at a drive-in
for a bottle of beer, the one I had
wanted all along, only I wanted it
worse now, to get rid of the sour
taste of her iced tea, and everything
that went with it. I didn't want to
go back to the office, so I dropped
by a bowling alley at Third and
Western and rolled a few lines to
get my mind thinking about something
else for a while.
A-41 DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT - (DAY)
Shooting past Neff sitting behind the wheel of his car The
car hop hangs a tray on the door and serves him a bottle of
beer.
DISSOLVE TO:
A-42 INT. BOWLING ALLEY
Neff bowling. He rolls the ball with an effort at
concentration, but his mind is not really on the game.
DISSOLVE TO:
A-43 EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE - (DUSK)
It is late afternoon. The apartment house is called the LOS
OLIVOS APARTMENTS. It is a six-story building in the Normandie-
Wilshire district, with a basement garage. THE CAMERA PANS
UP the front of the building to the top floor windows, as a
little rain starts to fall.
DISSOLVE TO:
NEFF'S VOICE
(Continuing)
I didn't feel like eating dinner
when I left, and I didn't feel like
a show, so I drove home, put the car
away and went up to my apartment.
A-44 INT. NEFF'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - (DUSK)
It is a double apartment of conventional design, with kitchen,
dinette, and bathroom, squarecut overstuffed borax furniture.
Gas logs are lit in the imitation fireplace. Neff stands by
the window with his coat off and his tie loose. Raindrops
strike against the glass. He turns away impatiently, paces
up and down past a caddy bag with golf clubs in it, pulls
one out at random, makes a couple of short swings, throws
the club on the couch, paces again.
NEFF'S VOICE
(Continuing)
It had begun to rain outside and I
watched it get dark and didn't even
turn on the light. That didn't help
me either. I was all twisted up
inside, and I was still holding on
to that red-hot poker. And right
then it came over me that I hadn't
walked out on anything at all, that
the hook was too strong, that this
wasn't the end between her and me.
It was only the beginning.
The doorbell rings.
NEFF'S VOICE
(Continuing)
So at eight o'clock the bell would
ring and I would know who it was
without even having to think, as if
it was the most natural thing in the
world.
Neff goes to the door and opens it.
PHYLLIS
Hello.
Neff just looks at her.
PHYLLIS
You forgot your hat this afternoon.
She has nothing in her hands but her bag.
NEFF
Did I?
He looks down at her hands.
PHYLLIS
Don't you want me to bring it in?
NEFF
Sure. Put it on the chair.
She comes in. He closes the door.
NEFF
How did you know where I live?
PHYLLIS
It's in the phone book.
Neff switches on the standing lamp.
PHYLLIS
It's raining.
NEFF
So it is. Peel off your coat and sit
down.
She starts to take off her coat.
NEFF
Your husband out?
PHYLLIS
Long Beach. They're spudding in a
new well. He phoned he'd be late.
About nine-thirty.
He takes her coat and lays it across the back of a chair.
PHYLLIS
It's about time you said you're glad
to see me.
NEFF
I knew you wouldn't leave it like
that.
PHYLLIS
Like what?
NEFF
Like it was this afternoon.
PHYLLIS
I must have said something that gave
you a terribly wrong impression. You
must surely see that. You must never
think anything like that about me,
Walter.
NEFF
Okay.
PHYLLIS
It's not okay. Not if you don't
believe me.
NEFF
What do you want me to do?
PHYLLIS
I want you to be nice to me. Like
the first time you came to the house.
NEFF
It can't be like the first time.
Something has happened.
PHYLLIS
I know it has. It's happened to us.
NEFF
That's what I mean.
Phyllis has moved over to the window. She stares out through
the wet window-pane.
NEFF
What's the matter now?
PHYLLIS
I feel as if he was watching me. Not
that he cares about me. Not any more.
But he keeps me on a leash. So tight
I can't breathe. I'm scared.
NEFF
What of? He's in Long Beach, isn't
he?
PHYLLIS
I oughtn't to have come.
NEFF
Maybe you oughtn't.
PHYLLIS
You want me to go?
NEFF
If you want to.
PHYLLIS
Right now?
NEFF
Sure. Right now.
By this time, he has hold of her wrist. He draws her to him
slowly and kisses her. Her arms tighten around him. After a
moment he pulls his head back, still holding her close.
NEFF
How were you going to do it?
PHYLLIS
Do what?
NEFF
Kill him.
PHYLLIS
Walter, for the last time --
She tries to jerk away but he holds her and kisses her again.
NEFF
I'm crazy about you, baby.
PHYLLIS
I'm crazy about you, Walter.
NEFF
That perfume on your hair. What's
the name of it?
PHYLLIS
Something French. I bought it down
at Ensenada.
NEFF
We ought to have some of that pink
wine to go with it. The kind that
bubbles. But all I have is bourbon.
PHYLLIS
Bourbon is fine, Walter.
He lets her go and moves toward the dinette.
A-45 THE DINETTE AND KITCHEN
It contains a small table and some chairs. A low glass-and-
china cabinet is built between the dinette and kitchen,
leaving a space like a doorway. The kitchen is the usual
apartment house kitchen, with stove, ice-box, sink, etc. It
is quite small.
Neff goes to the ice-box and Phyllis drifts in after him.
NEFF
Soda?
PHYLLIS
Plain water, please.
NEFF
Get a couple of glasses, will you.
He points at the china closet. He has taken a tray of ice
cubes from the refrigerator and is holding it under the hot-
water faucet.
NEFF
You know, about six months ago a guy
slipped on the soap in his bathtub
and knocked himself cold and drowned.
Only he had accident insurance. So
they had an autopsy and she didn't
get away with it.
Phyllis has the glasses now. She hands them to him. He dumps
some ice cubes into the glasses.
PHYLLIS
Who didn't?
NEFF
His wife.
He reaches for the whiskey bottle on top of the china closet.
NEFF
And there was another case where a
guy was found shot and his wife said
he was cleaning a gun and his stomach
got in the way. All she collected
was a three-to-ten stretch in
Tehachapi.
PHYLLIS
Perhaps it was worth it to her.
Neff hands her a glass.
NEFF
See if you can carry this as far as
the living room.
They move back toward the living room.
A-46 LIVING ROOM
Phyllis and Neff go toward the davenport. She is sipping her
drink and looking around.
PHYLLIS
It's nice here, Walter. Who takes
care of it for you?
NEFF
A colored woman comes in twice a
week.
PHYLLIS
You get your own breakfast?
NEFF
Once in a while I squeeze a
grapefruit. The rest I get at the
corner drugstore.
They sit on the davenport, fairly close together.
PHYLLIS
It sounds wonderful. Just strangers
beside you. You don't know them. You
don't hate them. You don't have to
sit across the table and smile at
him and that daughter of his every
morning of your life.
NEFF
What daughter? Oh, that little girl
on the piano.
PHYLLIS
Yes. Lola. She lives with us. He
thinks a lot more of her than he
does of me.
NEFF
Ever think of a divorce?
PHYLLIS
He wouldn't give me a divorce.
NEFF
I suppose because it would cost him
money.
PHYLLIS
He hasn't got any money. Not since
he went into the oil business.
NEFF
But he had when you married him?
PHYLLIS
Yes, he had. And I wanted a home.
Why not? But that wasn't the only
reason. I was his wife's nurse. She
was sick for a long time. When she
died, he was all broken up. I pitied
him so.
NEFF
And now you hate him.
PHYLLIS
Yes, Walter. He's so mean to me.
Every-time I buy a dress or a pair
of shoes he yells his head off. He
won't let me go anywhere. He keeps
me shut up. He's always been mean to
me. Even his life insurance all goes
to that daughter of his. That Lola.
NEFF
Nothing for you at all, huh?
PHYLLIS
No. And nothing is just what I'm
worth to him.
NEFF
So you lie awake in the dark and
listen to him snore and get ideas.
PHYLLIS
Walter, I don't want to kill him. I
never did. Not even when he gets
drunk and slaps my face.
NEFF
Only sometimes you wish he was dead.
PHYLLIS
Perhaps I do.
NEFF
And you wish it was an accident, and
you had that policy. For fifty
thousand dollars. Is that it?
PHYLLIS
Perhaps that too.
She takes a long drink.
PHYLLIS
The other night we drove home from a
party. He was drunk again. When we
got into the garage he just sat there
with his head on the steering wheel
and the motor still running. And I
thought what it would be like if I
didn't switch it off, just closed
the garage door and left him there.
NEFF
I'll tell you what it would be like,
if you had that accident policy, and
tried to pull a monoxide job. We
have a guy in our office named Keyes.
For him a set-up like that would be
just like a slice of rare roast beef.
In three minutes he'd know it wasn't
an accident. In ten minutes you'd be
sitting under the hot lights. In
half an hour you'd be signing your
name to a confession.
PHYLLIS
But Walter, I didn't do it. I'm not
going to do it.
NEFF
Not if there's an insurance company
in the picture, baby. So long as
you're honest they'll pay you with a
smile, but you just try to pull
something like that and you'll find
out. They know more tricks than a
carload of monkeys. And if there's a
death mixed up in it, you haven't
got a prayer. They'll hang you as
sure as ten dimes will buy a dollar,
baby.
She begins to cry. He puts his arms around her and kisses
her.
NEFF
Just stop thinking about it, will
you.
He holds her tight. Their heads touch, side by side, THE
CAMERA SLOWLY STARTS TO RECEDE as we
DISSOLVE TO:
A-47 INT. NEFF'S OFFICE - (NIGHT)
Neff sits in the swivel chair, talking into the dictaphone.
He has hooked the wastebasket under his feet to sit more
comfortably. As he talks, a little cough shakes him now and
then.
NEFF
So we just sat there, and she kept
on crying softly, like the rain on
the window, and we didn't say
anything. Maybe she had stopped
thinking about it, but I hadn't. I
couldn't. Because it all tied up
with something I had been thinking
about for years, since long before I
ever ran into Phyllis Dietrichson.
Because, in this business you can't
sleep for trying to figure out the
tricks they could pull on you. You're
like the guy behind the roulette
wheel, watching the customers to
make sure they don't crook the house.
And then one night, you get to
thinking how you could crook the
house yourself. And do it smart.
Because you've got that wheel right
under your hands. And you know every
notch in it by heart. And you figure
all you need is a plant out in front,
a shill to put down the bet. And
suddenly the doorbell rings and the
whole set-up is right there in the
room with you... Look, Keyes, I'm
not trying to whitewash myself. I
fought it, only maybe I didn't fight
it hard enough. The stakes were fifty
thousand dollars, but they were the
life of a man, too, a man who'd never
done me any dirt. Except he was
married to a woman he didn't care
anything about, and I did...
DISSOLVE TO:
A-48 INT. NEFF'S APARTMENT LIVING ROOM
CAMERA MOVES SLOWLY towards the davenport again. Neff sits
in one corner with his feet on the low table. He is smoking
his cigarette and staring at the ceiling. Phyllis has been
sitting fairly close to him. She gets up slowly and crosses
to her rain coat, lying over a chair.
PHYLLIS
I've got to go now, Walter.
Neff does not answer. He keeps on staring at the ceiling.
She starts to put the rain coat on.
PHYLLIS
Will you call me, Walter?
Neff still does not answer.
PHYLLIS
Walter!
He looks at her slowly, almost absently.
PHYLLIS
I hate him. I loathe going back to
him. You believe me, don't you,
Walter?
NEFF
Sure I believe you.
PHYLLIS
I can't stand it anymore. What if
they did hang me?
NEFF
You're not going to hang, baby.
PHYLLIS
It's better than going on this way.
NEFF
-- you're not going to hang, baby.
Not ever. Because you're going to do
it the smart way. Because I'm going
to help you.
PHYLLIS
You!
NEFF
Me.
PHYLLIS
Do you know what you're saying?
NEFF
Sure I know what I'm saying.
He gets up and grips her arm.
NEFF
We're going to do it together. We're
going to do it right. And I'm the
guy that knows how.
There is fierce determination in his voice. His fingers dig
into her arm.
PHYLLIS
Walter, you're hurting me.
NEFF
There isn't going to be any slip up.
Nothing sloppy. Nothing weak. It's
got to be perfect.
He kisses her.
NEFF
You go now.
He leads her towards the door.
NEFF
Call me tomorrow. But not from your
house. From a booth. And watch your
step. Every single minute. It's got
to be perfect, understand. Straight
down the line.
They have now reached the door. Neff opens it. Phyllis stands
in the doorway, her lips white.
PHYLLIS
Straight down the line.
She goes quietly. He watches her down the corridor. Slowly
he closes the door and goes back into the room. He moves
across the window and opens it wide. He stands there, looking
down into the dark street. From below comes the sound of a
car starting and driving off. The rain drifts in against his
face. He just stands there motionless. His mind is going a
hundred miles a minute.
FADE OUT:
END OF SEQUENCE "A"
SEQUENCE "B"
FADE IN:
B-1 INT. NEFF'S OFFICE - (NIGHT)
Neff sits slumped in his chair before the dictaphone. On the
desk next to him stands a used record. The cylinder on the
dictaphone is not turning. He is smoking a cigarette. He
kills it then lifts the needle and slides off the record
which is on the machine and stands it on end on the desk
beside the other used record. He reaches down painfully to
take another record from the rack beneath the dictaphone,
looks at it against the light to make sure it has not been
used, then slides it into place on the machine and resets
the needle. He lifts the horn and resumes his dictation.
NEFF
The first thing we had to do was fix
him up with that accident policy. I
knew he wouldn't buy, but all I wanted
was his signature on an application.
So I had to make him sign without
his knowing what he was signing. And
I wanted a witness other than Phyllis
to hear me give him a sales talk. I
was trying to think with your brains,
Keyes. I wanted all the answers ready
for all the questions you were going
to spring as soon as Dietrichson was
dead.
Neff takes a last drag on his cigarette and kills it by
running it under the ledge of the dictaphone stand. He drops
the stub on the floor and resumes.
NEFF
A couple of nights later I went to
the house. Everything looked fine,
except I didn't like the witness
Phyllis had brought in. It was
Dietrichson's daughter Lola, and it
made me feel a little queer in the
belly to have her right there in the
room, playing Chinese checkers, as
if nothing was going to happen.
DISSOLVE:
B-2 A BOARD OF CHINESE CHECKERS CAMERA WITHDRAWS AND
GRADUALLY REVEALS THE DIETRICHSON LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The checker-board is on the davenport between Phyllis and
Lola. Mr. Dietrichson sits in a big easy chair. His coat and
tie are over the back of the chair, and the evening paper is
lying tumbled on the floor beside him. He is smoking a cigar
with the band on it. He has a drink in front of him and
several more inside him. In another chair sits Neff, his
briefcase on the floor, leaning against his chair. He holds
his rate book partly open, with a finger in it for a marker.
He is going full swing.
NEFF
I suppose you realize, Mr.
Dietrichson, that, not being an
employee, you are not covered by the
State Compensation Insurance Act.
The only way you can protect yourself
is by having a personal policy of
your own.
DIETRICHSON
I know all about that. The next thing
you'll tell me I need earthquake
insurance and lightning insurance
and hail insurance.
Phyllis looks up from the checker-board and cuts in on the
dialogue. Lola listens without much interest.
PHYLLIS
(To Dietrichson)
If we bought all the insurance they
can think up, we'd stay broke paying
for it, wouldn't we, honey?
DIETRICHSON
What keeps us broke is you going out
and buying five hats at a crack. Who
needs a hat in California?
NEFF
I always say insurance is a lot like
a hot water bottle. It looks kind of
useless and silly hanging on the
hook, but when you get that stomach
ache in the middle of the night, it
comes in mighty handy.
DIETRICHSON
Now you want to sell me a hot water
bottle.
NEFF
Dollar for dollar, accident insurance
is the cheapest coverage you can
buy, Mr. Dietrichson.
DIETRICHSON
Maybe some other time, Mr. Neff. I
had a tough day.
NEFF
Just as you say, Mr. Dietrichson.
DIETRICHSON
Suppose we just settle that automobile
insurance tonight.
NEFF
Sure. All we need on that is for you
to sign an application for renewal.
Phyllis throws a quick glance at Neff. As she looks back she
sees that Lola is staring down at her wrist watch.
LOLA
Phyllis, do you mind if we don't
finish this game? It bores me stiff.
PHYLLIS
Got some thing better to do?
LOLA
Yes, I have.
She gets up.
LOLA
(To Dietrichson)
Father, is it all right if I run
along now?
DIETRICHSON
Run along where? Who with?
LOLA
Just Anne. We're going roller skating.
DIETRICHSON
Anne who?
LOLA
Anne Matthews.
PHYLLIS
It's not that Nino Zachetti again?
DIETRICHSON
It better not be that Zachetti guy.
If I ever catch you with that ---
LOLA
It's Anne Matthews, I told you. I
also told you we're going roller
skating. I'm meeting her at the corner
of Vermont and Franklin -- the north-
west corner, in case you're
interested. And I'm late already. I
hope that is all clear. Good night,
Father. Good night, Phyllis.
She starts to go.
NEFF
Good night, Miss Dietrichson.
LOLA
Oh, I'm sorry. Good night, Mr. --
NEFF
Neff.
LOLA
Good night, Mr. Neff.
PHYLLIS
Now you're not going to take my car
again.
LOLA
No thanks. I'd rather be dead.
She goes out through the archway.
DIETRICHSON
A great little fighter for her weight.
Dietrichson sucks down a big swallow of his drink.
Neff has taken two blank forms from his briefcase. He puts
the briefcase on Mr. Dietrichson's lap and lays the forms on
top. Phyllis is watching closely.
NEFF
This is where you sign, Mr.
Dietrichson.
DIETRICHSON
Sign what?
NEFF
The applications for your auto
renewals. So you'll be protected
until the new policies are issued.
DIETRICHSON
When will that be?
NEFF
In about a week.
DIETRICHSON
Just so I'm covered when I drive up
North.
Neff takes out his fountain pen.
NEFF
San Francisco, Mr. Dietrichson?
DIETRICHSON
Palo Alto.
PHYLLIS
He was a Stanford man, Mr. Neff. And
he still goes to his class reunion
every year.
DIETRICHSON
What's wrong with that? Can't I have
a little fun even once a year?
NEFF
Great football school, Stanford. Did
you play football, Mr. Dietrichson?
DIETRICHSON
Left guard. Almost made the varsity,
too.
Neff has unscrewed his fountain pen. He hands it to Mr.
Dietrichson. Dietrichson puts on his glasses.
NEFF
On that bottom line, Mr. Dietrichson.
Dietrichson signs. Neff's and Phyllis' eyes meet for a split
second.
NEFF
Both copies, please.
He withdraws the top copy barely enough to expose the
signature line on the supposed duplicate.
DIETRICHSON
Sign twice, huh?
NEFF
One is the agent's copy. I need it
for my files.
DIETRICHSON
(In a mutter)
Files. Duplicates. Triplicates.
Dietrichson grunts and signs again. Again Neff and Phyllis
exchange a quick glance.
NEFF
No hurry about the check, Mr.
Dietrichson. I can pick it up at
your office some morning.
Casually Neff lifts the briefcase and signed applications
off Dietrichson's lap.
DIETRICHSON
How much you taking me for?
NEFF
One forty-seven fifty, Mr.
Dietrichson.
Dietrichson stands up. He is about Neff's height but a little
heavier.
PHYLLIS
I guess that's enough insurance for
one evening, Mr. Neff.
DIETRICHSON
Plenty.
Dietrichson has poured some more whisky into his glass. He
tries the siphon but it is empty. He gathers up his coat and
tie and picks up his glass.
DIETRICHSON
Good night, Mr. Neff.
Neff is zipping up his briefcase.
NEFF
Good night, Mr. Dietrichson. Good
night, Mrs. Dietrichson.
DIETRICHSON
Bring me some soda when you come up,
Phyllis.
Dietrichson trundles off towards the archway.
PHYLLIS
(To Neff)
I think you left your hat in the
hall.
Phyllis leads the way and Neff goes after her, his briefcase
under his arm.
B-3 HALLWAY DIETRICHSON RESIDENCE - (NIGHT)
Phyllis enters through the living room archway with Neff
behind her. She leads him towards the door. On the way he
picks up his hat. In the BACKGROUND Dietrichson begins to
ascend the stairs, carrying his coat and glass. Phyllis and
Neff move close to the door. They speak in very low voices.
PHYLLIS
All right, Walter?
NEFF
Fine.
PHYLLIS
He signed it, didn't he?
NEFF
Sure he signed it. You saw him.
Phyllis opens the door a crack. Both look at the stairs,
where Dietrichson is going up. Phyllis takes her hand off
the doorknob and holds on to Neff's arm.
NEFF
(Looking up)
Watch it, will you.
Phyllis slowly drops her hand from his arm. Both look up as
Dietrichson goes across the balcony and out of sight.
NEFF
Listen. That trip to Palo Alto When
does he go?
PHYLLIS
End of the month.
NEFF
He drives, huh?
PHYLLIS
He always drives.
NEFF
Not this time. You're going to make
him take the train.
PHYLLIS
Why?
NEFF
Because it's all worked out for a
train.
For a second they stand listening and looking up as if they
had heard a sound.
PHYLLIS
It's all right. Go on, Walter.
NEFF
Look, baby. There's a clause in every
accident policy, a little something
called double indemnity. The insurance
companies put it in as a sort of
come-on for the customers. It means
they pay double on certain accidents.
The kind that almost never happen.
Like for instance if a guy got killed
on a train, they'd pay a hundred
thousand instead of fifty.
PHYLLIS
I see.
(Her eyes widen with
excitement)
NEFF
We're hitting it for the limit, baby.
That's why it's got to be a train.
PHYLLIS
It's going to be a train, Walter.
Just the way you say. Straight down
the line.
They look at each other. The look is like a long kiss. Neff
goes out. Slowly Phyllis closes the door and leans her head
against it as she looks up the empty stairway.
B-4 EXT. DIETRICHSON RESIDENCE - (NIGHT)
Neff, briefcase under his arm, comes down the steps to the
street, where his Dodge coupe is parked at the curb. He opens
the door and stops, looking in.
Sitting there in the dark corner of the car, away from the
steering wheel, is Lola. She wears a coat but no hat.
LOLA
Hello, Mr. Neff. It's me.
Lola gives him a sly smile. Neff is a little annoyed.
NEFF
Something the matter?
LOLA
I've been waiting for you.
NEFF
For me? What for?
LOLA
I thought you could let me ride with
you, if you're going my way.
Neff doesn't like the idea very much.
NEFF
Which way would that be?
LOLA
Down the hill. Down Vermont.
NEFF
(Remembering)
Oh, sure. Vermont and Franklin. North-
west corner, wasn't it? Be glad to,
Miss Dietrichson.
Neff gets into the car.
B-5 INT. COUPE - (NIGHT) - (TRANSPARENCY)
Neff puts the briefcase on the ledge behind the driver's
seat. He closes the door and starts the car. They drift down
the hill.
NEFF
Roller skating, eh? You like roller
skating?
LOLA
I can take it or leave it.
Neff looks at her curiously. Lola meets his glance.
NEFF
Only tonight you're leaving it?
This is an embarrassing moment for Lola.
LOLA
Yes, I am. You see, Mr. Neff, I'm
having a very tough time at home. My
father doesn't understand me and
Phyllis hates me.
NEFF
That does sound tough, all right.
LOLA
That's why I have to lie sometimes.
NEFF
You mean it's not Vermont and
Franklin.
LOLA
It's Vermont and Franklin all right.
Only it's not Anne Matthews. It's
Nino Zachetti. You won't tell on me,
will you?
NEFF
I'd have to think it over.
LOLA
Nino's not what my father says at
all. He just had bad luck. He was
doing pre-med at U.S.C. and working
nights as an usher in a theater
downtown. He got behind in his credits
and flunked out. Then he lost his
job for talking back. He's so hot-
headed.
NEFF
That comes expensive, doesn't it?
LOLA
I guess my father thinks nobody's
good enough for his daughter except
maybe the guy that owns Standard
Oil. Would you like a stick of gum?
NEFF
Never use it, thanks.
Lola puts a stick of gum in her mouth.
LOLA
I can't give Nino up. I wish father
could see it my way.
NEFF
It'll straighten out all right, Miss
Dietrichson.
LOLA
I suppose it will sometime.
(Looking out)
This is the corner right here, Mr.
Neff.
Neff brings the car to a stop by the curb.
LOLA
There he is. By the bus stop.
Neff looks out.
B-6 CORNER VERMONT AND FRANKLIN - (NIGHT)
Zachetti stands waiting, hands in trouser pockets. He is
about twenty-five, Italian looking, open shirt, not well
dressed.
B-7 INT. COUPE - (NIGHT) - LOLA AND NEFF
LOLA
He needs a hair-cut, doesn't he.
Look at him. No job, no car, no money,
no prospects, no nothing.
(Pause)
I love him.
She leans over and honks on the horn.
LOLA
(Calling)
Nino!
B-8 ZACHETTI
He turns around and looks towards the car.
LOLA'S VOICE
Over here, Nino.
Zachetti walks towards the car.
B-9 THE COUPE
Neff and Lola. She has opened the door. Zachetti comes up.
LOLA
This is Mr. Neff, Nino.
NEFF
Hello, Nino.
ZACHETTI
(Belligerent from the
first word)
The name is Zachetti.
LOLA
Nino. Please. Mr. Neff gave me a
ride from the house. I told him all
about us.
ZACHETTI
Why does he have to get told about
us?
LOLA
We don't have to worry about Mr.
Neff, Nino.
ZACHETTI
I'm not doing any worrying. Just
don't you broadcast so much.
LOLA
What's the matter with you, Nino?
He's a friend.
ZACHETTI
I don't have any friends. And if I
did, I like to pick them myself.
NEFF
Look, sonny, she needed the ride and
I brought her along. Is that anything
to get tough about?
ZACHETTI
All right, Lola, make up your mind.
Are you coming or aren't you?
LOLA
Of course I'm coming. Don't mind
him, Mr. Neff.
Lola steps out of the car.
LOLA
Thanks a lot. You've been very sweet.
Lola catches up with Zachetti and they walk away together.
B-10 INT. COUPE
Neff looks after them. Slowly he puts the car in gear and
drives on. His face is tight. Behind his head, light catches
the metal of the zipper on the briefcase. Over the shot comes
the COMMENTARY:
NEFF'S VOICE
She was a nice kid and maybe he was
a little better than he sounded. I
kind of hoped so for her sake, but
right then it gave me a nasty feeling
to be thinking about them at all,
with that briefcase right behind my
head and her father's application in
it. Besides, I had other problems to
work out. There were plans to make,
and Phyllis had to be in on them...
DISSOLVE TO:
B-11 EXT. SUPER MARKET - (DAY)
There is a fair amount of activity but the place is not
crowded. Neff comes along the sidewalk into the shot. He
passes in front of the fruit and vegetable display and goes
between the stalls into the market.
NEFF'S VOICE
(Continued)
...but we couldn't be seen together
any more and I had told her never to
call me from her house and never to
call me at my office. So we had picked
out a big market on Los Feliz. She
was to be there buying stuff every
day about eleven o'clock, and I could
run into her there. Kind of
accidentally on purpose.
B-12 INT. MARKET
Neff stops by the cashier's desk and buys a pack of
cigarettes. As he is opening the pack he looks back casually
beyond the turnstile into the rear part of the market.
B-13 ROWS OF HIGH SHELVES IN MARKET
The shelves are loaded with canned goods and other
merchandise. Customers move around selecting articles and
putting them in their baskets. Phyllis is seen among them,
standing by the soap section. Her basket is partly filled.
She wears a simple house dress, no hat, and has a large
envelope pocketbook under her arm.
B-14 INT. MARKET
Neff has spotted Phyllis. Without haste he passes through
the turnstile towards the back.
B-15 THE SHELVES
Phyllis is putting a can of cleaning powder into her basket.
Neff enters the shot and moves along the shelves towards
her, very slowly, pretending to inspect the goods. A customer
passes and goes on out of scene. Phyllis and Neff are now
very close. During the ensuing low-spoken dialogue, they
continue to face the shelves, not looking at each other
PHYLLIS
Walter.
NEFF
Not so loud.
PHYLLIS
I wanted to talk to you, Walter.
Ever since yesterday.
NEFF
Let me talk first. It's all set. The
accident policy came through. I've
got it in my pocket. I got his check
too. I saw him down in the oil fields.
He thought he was paying for the
auto insurance. The check's just
made out to the company. It could be
for anything. But you have to send a
check for the auto insurance, see.
It's all right that way, because one
of the cars is yours.
PHYLLIS
But listen, Walter ---
NEFF
Quick, open your bag.
She hesitates, then opens it. Neff looks around quickly,
slips the policy out of his pocket and drops it into her
bag. She snaps the bag shut.
NEFF
Can you get into his safe deposit
box?
PHYLLIS
Yes. We both have keys.
NEFF
Fine. But don't put the policy in
there yet. I'll tell you when. And
listen, you never touched it or even
saw it, understand?
PHYLLIS
I'm not a fool.
NEFF
Okay. When is he taking the train?
PHYLLIS
Walter, that's just it. He isn't
going.
NEFF
What?
PHYLLIS
That's what I've been trying to tell
you. The trip is off.
NEFF
What's happened?
He breaks off as a short, squatty woman, pushing a child in
a walker, comes into sight and approaches. She stops beside
Neff, who is pretending to read a label on a can. Phyllis
puts a few cakes of soap into her basket.
WOMAN
(To Neff)
Mister, could you reach me that can
of coffee?
(She points)
That one up there.
NEFF
(Reaching up)
This one?
She nods. Neff reaches a can down from the high shelf and
hands it to her.
WOMAN
I don't see why they always have to
put what I want on the top shelf.
She moves away with her coffee and her child. Out of the
corner of his eye Neff watches her go. He moves closer to
Phyllis again.
NEFF
Go ahead. I'm listening.
PHYLLIS
He had a fall down at the well. He
broke his leg. It's in a cast.
NEFF
That knocks it on the head all right.
PHYLLIS
What do we do, Walter?
NEFF
Nothing. Just wait.
PHYLLIS
Wait for what?
NEFF
Until he can take a train. I told
you it's got to be a train.
PHYLLIS
We can't wait. I can't go on like
this.
NEFF
We're not going to grab a hammer and
do it quick, just to get it over
with.
PHYLLIS
There are other ways.
NEFF
Only we're not going to do it other
ways.
PHYLLIS
But we can't leave it like this.
What do you think would happen if he
found out about this accident policy?
NEFF
Plenty. But not as bad as sitting in
that death-house.
PHYLLIS
Don't ever talk like that, Walter.
NEFF
Just don't let's start losing our
heads.
PHYLLIS
It's not our heads. It's our nerve
we're losing.
NEFF
We're going to do it right. That's
all I said.
PHYLLIS
Walter maybe it's my nerves. It's
the waiting that gets me.
NEFF
It's getting me just as bad, baby.
But we've got to wait.
PHYLLIS
Maybe we have, Walter. Only it's so
tough without you. It's like a wall
between us.
Neff looks at his watch.
NEFF
Good-bye baby. I'm thinking of you
every minute.
He goes off. She stares after him.
DISSOLVE TO:
B-16 NEFF'S OFFICE - (DAY)
He is wearing a light grey suit and has his hat on. He is