1
00:00:25,666 --> 00:00:28,125
[suspenseful instrumental music playing]
2
00:01:14,875 --> 00:01:16,833
[wind gusting]
3
00:01:56,083 --> 00:01:58,083
[sign creaking]
4
00:02:00,416 --> 00:02:01,583
[birds singing]
5
00:02:13,750 --> 00:02:15,041
[typewriter dings]
6
00:02:17,750 --> 00:02:19,041
[dog barking in distance]
7
00:02:24,291 --> 00:02:27,250
[Mank straining]
It's all right. I've got this. I'm good.
8
00:02:28,291 --> 00:02:30,375
- [horse neighs in distance]
- [Mank grunts]
9
00:02:36,458 --> 00:02:37,458
[man] Here.
10
00:02:37,541 --> 00:02:38,458
[Mank sighs]
11
00:02:46,583 --> 00:02:50,708
I had them set you up out here
so you wouldn't feel quite so confined.
12
00:02:50,791 --> 00:02:53,166
The ladies will scandalize
the neighborhood
13
00:02:53,250 --> 00:02:55,375
by occupying both bedrooms.
14
00:02:55,458 --> 00:02:58,416
I will be staying in town
at a bucolic spa called,
15
00:02:58,500 --> 00:03:01,166
if you can believe it, the Shoulder Arms.
16
00:03:01,250 --> 00:03:03,208
I will do my editing there.
17
00:03:03,291 --> 00:03:04,291
As you know,
18
00:03:04,375 --> 00:03:06,625
Fraulein Freda is not only
a nurse and physical therapist,
19
00:03:06,708 --> 00:03:09,166
she studied nutrition
back in the old country.
20
00:03:09,250 --> 00:03:12,166
- Ja, liebes Fräulein?
- Jawohl, Herr Houseman.
21
00:03:13,250 --> 00:03:14,500
It's a dry house.
22
00:03:15,166 --> 00:03:17,375
The owner of the ranch
doesn't permit alcohol.
23
00:03:17,458 --> 00:03:19,666
- [Mank grunts]
- [Houseman] But you're from Pennsylvania.
24
00:03:19,750 --> 00:03:21,208
You're no doubt used to it.
25
00:03:21,291 --> 00:03:24,125
[chuckles] Saved by the proverbial bell.
26
00:03:24,750 --> 00:03:26,000
Set it here, please.
27
00:03:27,125 --> 00:03:28,375
And, uh, careful.
28
00:03:28,458 --> 00:03:30,500
- Careful. Thank you.
- [Mank sighs]
29
00:03:34,625 --> 00:03:35,750
[door closes]
30
00:03:35,833 --> 00:03:37,458
- Observe.
- [button clicks]
31
00:03:39,583 --> 00:03:41,583
Naturally,
you'll do your damnedest to get at it.
32
00:03:41,666 --> 00:03:44,958
By the time you finish the first draft,
which is to say, in 90 days,
33
00:03:45,041 --> 00:03:47,625
you should be a world-class sprinter.
34
00:03:49,250 --> 00:03:50,916
Rita, come in here, will you?
35
00:03:51,833 --> 00:03:53,791
This is Mrs. Alexander.
36
00:03:53,875 --> 00:03:57,416
She types 100 perfect words a minute
and takes dictation like a clairvoyant.
37
00:03:57,500 --> 00:03:59,666
Rita Alexander, Herman Mankiewicz.
38
00:03:59,750 --> 00:04:01,291
How do you do, Mr. Mankiewicz?
39
00:04:01,375 --> 00:04:03,833
Uh, that's a big question.
40
00:04:04,458 --> 00:04:08,000
Well, since you like working nights,
Rita here runs on London time.
41
00:04:08,083 --> 00:04:10,625
Her husband
is one of our bold lads in the RAF.
42
00:04:10,708 --> 00:04:13,875
- Flies… What is it, Rita? Spitfires?
- Hurricanes.
43
00:04:13,958 --> 00:04:16,625
- My sympathy and prayers.
- I beg your pardon?
44
00:04:16,708 --> 00:04:21,458
Given the speed, climb, and turning radius
of the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
45
00:04:21,541 --> 00:04:24,250
I hope we won't need your sympathy,
Mr. Mankiewicz.
46
00:04:24,333 --> 00:04:26,791
We'll do the praying and the fighting.
47
00:04:26,875 --> 00:04:30,625
[Houseman] I will meet with Orson weekly.
Keep him to date on our progress.
48
00:04:30,708 --> 00:04:32,666
We're expecting great things.
49
00:04:32,750 --> 00:04:36,750
What is it the writer says?
"Tell the story you know."
50
00:04:36,833 --> 00:04:38,750
- [telephone ringing]
- [Rita] Hmm.
51
00:04:39,250 --> 00:04:41,500
I don't know that writer.
52
00:04:44,750 --> 00:04:46,291
- Hello.
- [woman speaking on phone]
53
00:04:46,375 --> 00:04:48,208
Yes. Yes, he's right here.
54
00:04:48,708 --> 00:04:52,166
Well, you should have everything.
If I've forgotten, there's a clipboard.
55
00:04:55,541 --> 00:04:57,458
- Yes? Hello?
- They're getting him.
56
00:04:58,125 --> 00:05:01,458
Our wunderkind
does have the gift of theatrical timing.
57
00:05:02,875 --> 00:05:06,625
- Orson, hello. We just got in.
- [Welles speaking indistinctly on phone]
58
00:05:06,708 --> 00:05:07,541
Oh.
59
00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:15,000
[Mank grunts and sighs]
60
00:05:16,041 --> 00:05:17,416
- Hello.
- [Welles] Mank!
61
00:05:17,500 --> 00:05:20,166
Houseman tells me
we have you just where we want you.
62
00:05:20,250 --> 00:05:21,500
[Mank] Lucky me.
63
00:05:21,583 --> 00:05:24,708
- How's the leg?
- "Thigh bone's connected to the hip bone."
64
00:05:24,791 --> 00:05:25,625
Excellent.
65
00:05:25,708 --> 00:05:27,833
Ready and willing
to hunt the great white whale?
66
00:05:27,916 --> 00:05:29,625
Just call me Ahab.
67
00:05:30,208 --> 00:05:32,708
I understand we've 90 days.
68
00:05:32,791 --> 00:05:34,166
[Welles] Let's aim for 60.
69
00:05:34,958 --> 00:05:36,833
[softly] He's just cut a month.
70
00:05:36,916 --> 00:05:40,791
I used to do it in five for you
at the Mercury. This is leisurely.
71
00:05:40,875 --> 00:05:44,750
- Sixty days, and then we can noodle.
- Nothing like a good noodle.
72
00:05:44,833 --> 00:05:49,291
Uh, is the reason you lopped 30 days
to run it past the RKO legal?
73
00:05:49,375 --> 00:05:52,958
[Welles] I thought I told you, Mank.
I have final cut, final everything.
74
00:05:53,041 --> 00:05:54,458
There are no studio notes.
75
00:05:54,541 --> 00:05:56,750
We'll have no one but ourselves to blame.
76
00:05:56,833 --> 00:05:59,416
- [Mank] Sixty days and a noodle.
- [man] Mr. Welles, we're ready.
77
00:05:59,500 --> 00:06:01,583
Gotta run.
I'm doing tests for Heart of Darkness.
78
00:06:01,666 --> 00:06:04,166
Oh, little that, lesser Joe Conrad.
79
00:06:04,250 --> 00:06:06,500
If anyone should ask,
tell 'em you're adapting.
80
00:06:06,583 --> 00:06:09,458
[Mank] Oh, you don't know
this sun-bleached sewer here, my friend.
81
00:06:09,541 --> 00:06:11,333
Break wind at Hollywood and Vine,
82
00:06:11,416 --> 00:06:14,291
and a producer in Santa Monica
reports a ruptured main.
83
00:06:14,375 --> 00:06:17,250
[Welles] No,
I don't know this burgh, not yet.
84
00:06:17,333 --> 00:06:20,666
I'm toiling with you in spirit, Mank.
And I don't hear any typing.
85
00:06:20,750 --> 00:06:21,708
[hangs up]
86
00:06:25,041 --> 00:06:26,125
No notes.
87
00:06:27,333 --> 00:06:29,625
And then he turns 24.
88
00:06:30,708 --> 00:06:32,875
[sighs] Trapped.
89
00:06:39,250 --> 00:06:40,375
[typewriter dings]
90
00:06:43,458 --> 00:06:45,666
- [Mank grunts]
- [woman] Uh-uh.
91
00:06:46,166 --> 00:06:47,666
Let me take off these clothes.
92
00:06:48,958 --> 00:06:53,666
[slurring] They let me go
just as I achieved perfect equilibrium.
93
00:06:54,166 --> 00:06:57,041
I won't work
with half the producers on the lot,
94
00:06:57,125 --> 00:06:59,875
and the other half won't work with me.
95
00:06:59,958 --> 00:07:01,833
What's this, a racing form?
96
00:07:01,916 --> 00:07:04,666
- You stop reading, you stop learning.
- [chuckles]
97
00:07:04,750 --> 00:07:05,875
Hold still.
98
00:07:08,291 --> 00:07:09,458
Lay back.
99
00:07:09,541 --> 00:07:10,750
[grunts]
100
00:07:11,833 --> 00:07:13,708
Cigarette, please.
101
00:07:13,791 --> 00:07:15,708
Hermie, if a match gets
anywhere near your breath,
102
00:07:15,791 --> 00:07:16,833
you'll burst into flames.
103
00:07:16,916 --> 00:07:19,666
Even the dog's name is awful.
104
00:07:19,750 --> 00:07:22,250
Sounds like a Japanese houseboy.
105
00:07:22,333 --> 00:07:24,125
You mark my words, Sara.
106
00:07:24,833 --> 00:07:28,708
The Wizard of Oz
is gonna sink that studio.
107
00:07:28,791 --> 00:07:30,875
Sleep. You're driving
to New York tomorrow.
108
00:07:30,958 --> 00:07:35,041
[exhales] Remember
when you used to take the train
109
00:07:35,125 --> 00:07:36,500
from back East?
110
00:07:36,583 --> 00:07:40,791
I'd sneak aboard in Albuquerque
and climb into your compartment naked.
111
00:07:40,875 --> 00:07:44,000
I also remember
how I spent my honeymoon in Berlin,
112
00:07:44,083 --> 00:07:46,083
with hookers running up and down
the stairs all night
113
00:07:46,166 --> 00:07:49,125
because my dashing correspondent
couldn't afford a nice hotel.
114
00:07:49,208 --> 00:07:50,291
Weren't those the days?
115
00:07:50,375 --> 00:07:52,791
Yeah, yeah,
and the nights weren't bad either.
116
00:07:53,541 --> 00:07:56,041
- [Mank] Schnutz.
- For the last time, what?
117
00:07:56,125 --> 00:07:59,083
- What year is it?
- Herman…
118
00:07:59,166 --> 00:08:02,708
- I should have done something by now.
- Oh, Hermie…
119
00:08:02,791 --> 00:08:04,833
Give me a sign, oh, Lord.
120
00:08:04,916 --> 00:08:09,875
I am as your servant Moses,
though I won't work half as cheap.
121
00:08:09,958 --> 00:08:11,458
Go to sleep, meshuggener.
122
00:08:14,708 --> 00:08:16,125
- [Mank] Schnutz?
- What?
123
00:08:16,208 --> 00:08:18,041
Why do you put up with me?
124
00:08:20,583 --> 00:08:21,666
[sighing] I don't know.
125
00:08:22,166 --> 00:08:24,125
That bush in the front yard,
126
00:08:24,208 --> 00:08:28,750
if it catches fire tonight,
you will let me know? [grunts]
127
00:08:31,500 --> 00:08:33,541
[man] I mean,
you know all kinds of things.
128
00:08:33,625 --> 00:08:36,750
Iambic pentameter,
the words of the great poets.
129
00:08:36,833 --> 00:08:40,000
What about the way she signed it?
"Always, Ethel." [chuckles]
130
00:08:40,083 --> 00:08:43,875
Can you beat that?
Not just "Ethel." "Always, Ethel."
131
00:08:43,958 --> 00:08:46,666
Tommy, if we can find civilization
by sundown,
132
00:08:46,750 --> 00:08:49,791
I hope to climb out of this crate
and into a cold martini.
133
00:08:49,875 --> 00:08:52,375
She's not the kind to use "always"
if she didn't mean it.
134
00:08:52,458 --> 00:08:55,250
If she meant just "Ethel,"
she'd write just "Ethel," not "always."
135
00:08:55,333 --> 00:08:57,291
- Wouldn't you think?
- Uh, the road, Tommy.
136
00:08:57,375 --> 00:08:58,208
I know.
137
00:08:58,958 --> 00:09:01,416
You read it and see what I mean.
138
00:09:03,583 --> 00:09:05,375
- [tires squeal]
- [loud crash]
139
00:09:12,041 --> 00:09:14,333
[Tommy] She loves me, don't you think?
140
00:09:22,541 --> 00:09:24,750
[footsteps echoing]
141
00:09:25,833 --> 00:09:28,625
[unsettling music playing]
142
00:09:33,708 --> 00:09:37,375
[echoing] Mank? It's Orson Welles.
143
00:09:38,708 --> 00:09:42,875
- Of course it is.
- [Welles] I think it's time we talked.
144
00:09:43,708 --> 00:09:45,750
I'm all ears.
145
00:09:45,833 --> 00:09:48,750
[Welles's laughter echoing]
146
00:09:52,541 --> 00:09:55,166
[Mank] Once a castle on a hill,
147
00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,833
now a memory of what once was.
148
00:09:59,791 --> 00:10:05,250
Alone in his unfinished,
already decaying pleasure palace,
149
00:10:05,333 --> 00:10:09,208
aloof, seldom visited, never photographed,
150
00:10:10,125 --> 00:10:15,458
we see an old man in a robe,
smoking a pipe,
151
00:10:15,541 --> 00:10:17,875
sitting alone by his pool…
152
00:10:17,958 --> 00:10:19,583
- [fly buzzing]
- [Mank grunts]
153
00:10:19,666 --> 00:10:24,291
…um, uh,
discarded pages scattered at his feet.
154
00:10:25,041 --> 00:10:26,208
Narrator,
155
00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:33,708
"An emperor of newsprint
continued to direct his failing empire,
156
00:10:33,791 --> 00:10:36,666
vainly attempting to sway, as he once did,
157
00:10:36,750 --> 00:10:38,166
the destinies of a nation
158
00:10:38,250 --> 00:10:40,583
which had long since ceased to listen
to him…"
159
00:10:41,083 --> 00:10:43,625
No. "Had ceased to trust him."
160
00:10:44,125 --> 00:10:49,125
We see through trees as an aide
pushes this old man in a wheelchair
161
00:10:49,208 --> 00:10:51,916
across neatly groomed lawns.
162
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,791
Narrator, "There, last month,
163
00:10:55,541 --> 00:10:59,375
as it must to all men, death came to..."
164
00:10:59,458 --> 00:11:01,041
- [thwacks]
- [chuckles]
165
00:11:01,958 --> 00:11:04,291
- Let's have that cuppa, Mrs. A.
- Oh.
166
00:11:12,083 --> 00:11:14,916
- I know who it is.
- [Mank chuckles softly]
167
00:11:18,083 --> 00:11:20,833
[Rita] Or who it's meant to be.
168
00:11:22,500 --> 00:11:25,250
What makes you think
it's meant to be anybody?
169
00:11:25,333 --> 00:11:26,333
Oh, come, now.
170
00:11:26,416 --> 00:11:29,166
Everyone in the English-speaking world
will recognize him instantly.
171
00:11:29,250 --> 00:11:31,500
Exactly what he would say.
172
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,333
- Did you know the man?
- Maybe.
173
00:11:37,208 --> 00:11:38,083
I used to.
174
00:11:39,125 --> 00:11:41,833
- You wrote for one of his papers?
- Oh, no, praise God.
175
00:11:41,916 --> 00:11:45,666
I met him after he started bankrolling
his girlfriend's pictures.
176
00:11:47,166 --> 00:11:48,875
You knew Marion Davies?
177
00:11:49,625 --> 00:11:51,750
- If anyone did.
- Really?
178
00:11:52,750 --> 00:11:54,000
What's she like?
179
00:11:54,083 --> 00:11:58,208
Why is it when you scratch
a prim, starchy English schoolgirl,
180
00:11:58,291 --> 00:12:00,791
you get a swooning moving-picture fan
181
00:12:00,875 --> 00:12:03,791
who has forgotten all she ever learned
about the Battle of Hastings?
182
00:12:03,875 --> 00:12:07,250
Hastings. 14 October 1066,
183
00:12:07,333 --> 00:12:08,791
ten centigrade.
184
00:12:12,875 --> 00:12:13,916
{\an8}[typewriter dings]
185
00:12:19,125 --> 00:12:21,250
[upbeat music playing]
186
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:27,000
[studio bell rings]
187
00:12:31,625 --> 00:12:32,666
[animal snarls]
188
00:12:33,833 --> 00:12:36,250
[imperceptible conversation]
189
00:12:43,916 --> 00:12:44,958
[Lederer] Mank?
190
00:12:45,833 --> 00:12:47,666
[toilet flushing]
191
00:12:51,083 --> 00:12:53,041
Sorry.
Somebody told me Mankiewicz was in here.
192
00:12:53,125 --> 00:12:56,125
He is. I'm the promising brother, Joe.
193
00:12:56,958 --> 00:13:00,458
- I didn't know Herman had a brother.
- Neither does anyone else.
194
00:13:01,041 --> 00:13:02,291
Let me guess.
195
00:13:02,375 --> 00:13:03,916
"There are millions to be made,
196
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,708
and your only competition
is idiots," stop.
197
00:13:07,416 --> 00:13:08,375
How did you know?
198
00:13:08,458 --> 00:13:11,041
I hate to tell you,
anyone who can rub three words together
199
00:13:11,125 --> 00:13:13,000
and make a sentence gets one.
200
00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:17,916
Come on.
201
00:13:24,958 --> 00:13:28,375
It's after lunch, and we're on a deadline.
He may be busy.
202
00:13:29,416 --> 00:13:32,750
- I promise I won't be a bother.
- Not exactly what I meant.
203
00:13:32,833 --> 00:13:34,875
[men exclaiming]
204
00:13:38,125 --> 00:13:41,125
Come on! Hey.
You know I'm good for it.
205
00:13:41,208 --> 00:13:44,291
- Fellas.
- Shh. These are high stakes.
206
00:13:44,375 --> 00:13:45,333
[coin flipping]
207
00:13:45,916 --> 00:13:46,958
[man 1] Go on.
208
00:13:47,875 --> 00:13:51,166
- [laughing] Ooh, tails! That's it!
- God damn it!
209
00:13:51,250 --> 00:13:53,916
- [man 2] Oh, Mank!
- All right. Double or nothing.
210
00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,291
This time, banjo-eyed son of a bitch,
let it hit the floor.
211
00:13:56,375 --> 00:13:57,875
- "Banjo-eyed."
- [man 1] Son of a bitch?
212
00:13:57,958 --> 00:13:59,583
[man 2] Mank once bet me a five-spot
213
00:13:59,666 --> 00:14:02,625
to see how long it would take
a falling leaf to hit the ground.
214
00:14:02,708 --> 00:14:05,875
- Had to go to management to cover it.
- For five bucks?
215
00:14:05,958 --> 00:14:07,500
Five thousand.
216
00:14:07,583 --> 00:14:08,791
[Mank] Come on, come on.
217
00:14:09,458 --> 00:14:12,750
Heads, you bastard!
218
00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:15,250
[all] Oh!
219
00:14:15,333 --> 00:14:17,458
- [man 3] Oh, Mank!
- [group chuckles]
220
00:14:17,541 --> 00:14:20,250
[man 1] Ooh! Pleasure doing business
with you, gentlemen.
221
00:14:20,333 --> 00:14:22,125
Hey, Charlie.
222
00:14:22,208 --> 00:14:26,708
Yeah. You all remember
the Algonquin cabin boy, Charlie Lederer,
223
00:14:26,791 --> 00:14:29,250
a poor
but somewhat talented magazine writer,
224
00:14:29,333 --> 00:14:31,291
come West to join our merry band.
225
00:14:31,375 --> 00:14:33,583
- Well, you know most everyone.
- Mr. Kaufman.
226
00:14:33,666 --> 00:14:34,833
George is fine, kid.
227
00:14:34,916 --> 00:14:36,500
- Mr. Perelman.
- Nice to meet you, son.
228
00:14:36,583 --> 00:14:38,041
Do you prefer Sidney or SJ?
229
00:14:38,125 --> 00:14:41,125
Uh, he takes what he gets.
The great Charles MacArthur.
230
00:14:41,208 --> 00:14:42,750
[Lederer] Good to see you again.
231
00:14:42,833 --> 00:14:45,250
My resident jack-of-all-trades,
Shelly Metcalf.
232
00:14:45,333 --> 00:14:46,625
- Hey, kid.
- Mr. Metcalf.
233
00:14:46,708 --> 00:14:48,666
Oh, save the "mister" for the anointed.
234
00:14:48,750 --> 00:14:50,791
And last, not yet among them,
my brother Joe.
235
00:14:50,875 --> 00:14:54,791
Have Cyclone say, "I don't mind the heat
as much as I do the humanity."
236
00:14:54,875 --> 00:14:58,583
And the one and only Ben Hecht.
237
00:14:58,666 --> 00:15:00,041
Have you been laid yet?
238
00:15:00,125 --> 00:15:01,125
[all snickering]
239
00:15:01,208 --> 00:15:03,083
[Perelman]
Do you have to think about that?
240
00:15:03,166 --> 00:15:05,583
[telephone ringing]
241
00:15:06,333 --> 00:15:07,208
Hello.
242
00:15:07,875 --> 00:15:09,958
Yeah. Right away.
243
00:15:10,666 --> 00:15:13,250
Selznick, everyone. Five minutes.
244
00:15:13,333 --> 00:15:15,208
[Mank] You've arrived
in the well-known nick.
245
00:15:15,291 --> 00:15:18,708
Just in time for a story conference
with the great David O.
246
00:15:18,791 --> 00:15:22,333
- Once more unto the breach…
- [Kaufman] Breach? Hell, unto the wire…
247
00:15:22,416 --> 00:15:23,541
Without a net.
248
00:15:23,625 --> 00:15:26,250
Keep your mouth shut
and watch us for your cue, okay?
249
00:15:26,333 --> 00:15:27,666
- Cue?
- [Mank sighs]
250
00:15:27,750 --> 00:15:31,833
What I wouldn't give
to see that in a tight sweater.
251
00:15:31,916 --> 00:15:33,666
Herm, can I use that?
252
00:15:35,208 --> 00:15:38,291
I need a status report. Boys, come on in.
253
00:15:41,083 --> 00:15:43,416
Ah, make yourselves at home.
254
00:15:45,708 --> 00:15:47,833
Now, you all know Joe von Sternberg.
255
00:15:48,583 --> 00:15:53,041
You wanted 72 hours, you got 72 hours.
Tell us what you have so far.
256
00:15:55,291 --> 00:16:00,250
- Ben, why don't you start?
- Well, this was tough, David.
257
00:16:00,333 --> 00:16:03,166
In the beginning,
we couldn't agree on an approach.
258
00:16:03,250 --> 00:16:04,333
Really? And why was that?
259
00:16:04,416 --> 00:16:08,291
Well, we see a different kind
of Paramount picture.
260
00:16:08,375 --> 00:16:09,833
[Selznick] Different how?
261
00:16:10,333 --> 00:16:13,750
Frankenstein and The Wolf Man
all rolled into one, only...
262
00:16:13,833 --> 00:16:15,833
I don't make cheap horror pictures,
Universal does.
263
00:16:15,916 --> 00:16:20,208
Uh, this is different.
This is about something.
264
00:16:21,666 --> 00:16:22,625
Okay…
265
00:16:23,250 --> 00:16:24,500
Sidney.
266
00:16:26,291 --> 00:16:28,875
Imagine a mad scientist,
267
00:16:28,958 --> 00:16:33,666
touring the boonies
with a mechanical freak he's fabricated.
268
00:16:33,750 --> 00:16:35,208
Now, what does he mean, "fabricated"?
269
00:16:35,291 --> 00:16:40,750
And displays it to superstitious hayseeds
in a giant, silk-lined casket
270
00:16:41,250 --> 00:16:42,583
for the price of admission.
271
00:16:43,083 --> 00:16:48,875
But every full moon, the monster awakens
and raises unholy hell with the villagers.
272
00:16:48,958 --> 00:16:50,916
Give it a Eastern European look,
273
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,875
men in leather shorts,
gals in tattered peasant blouses.
274
00:16:53,958 --> 00:16:57,125
- Let me guess. They think it's the devil?
- Villagers always think it's the devil.
275
00:16:57,208 --> 00:17:00,291
And the scientist and his creation
are forced to flee
276
00:17:00,375 --> 00:17:02,041
during a raging electrical storm.
277
00:17:02,125 --> 00:17:04,541
Flee from outraged peasants…
278
00:17:04,625 --> 00:17:06,166
Who pursue them mit torches…
279
00:17:06,250 --> 00:17:08,000
Overturn their creaky wagon…
280
00:17:08,083 --> 00:17:09,375
And set fire to it.
281
00:17:10,750 --> 00:17:14,208
Tell him about the finale, Charlie.
282
00:17:16,625 --> 00:17:17,541
Oh.
283
00:17:19,875 --> 00:17:20,750
Well…
284
00:17:21,958 --> 00:17:24,500
The rain turns to sleet,
285
00:17:25,083 --> 00:17:29,083
puts out the fire,
and entombs the monster in solid ice.
286
00:17:31,250 --> 00:17:35,583
While nearby, an old priest weeps.
287
00:17:37,250 --> 00:17:40,125
Hmm. A weeping priest?
288
00:17:40,208 --> 00:17:44,625
Thunder, lightning, blood, fire, religion…
289
00:17:44,708 --> 00:17:45,541
All in one film?
290
00:17:45,625 --> 00:17:47,500
And with an unseasonal thaw…
291
00:17:48,333 --> 00:17:49,458
A sequel.
292
00:17:49,958 --> 00:17:52,833
I thought you said this was
about something, this was different.
293
00:17:52,916 --> 00:17:55,916
Plus, the ominous futility
of man playing God.
294
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,916
The Faustian bargain of life everlasting.
295
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:00,583
And the triumph of the human spirit
296
00:18:00,666 --> 00:18:04,208
over the beast incarnate
in our far-too-solid flesh.
297
00:18:05,291 --> 00:18:06,500
It's director-proof.
298
00:18:06,583 --> 00:18:07,583
Joe.
299
00:18:08,375 --> 00:18:09,791
- B picture.
- It's not for Joe.
300
00:18:09,875 --> 00:18:12,958
Boys, this is serious. We need your help.
301
00:18:13,041 --> 00:18:15,250
We've got to get people
into theaters, but…
302
00:18:16,708 --> 00:18:17,583
How?
303
00:18:22,083 --> 00:18:24,833
- Show movies in the streets.
- [clicks tongue]
304
00:18:26,708 --> 00:18:28,166
[energetic music playing]
305
00:18:28,250 --> 00:18:29,500
You okay, Charlie?
306
00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:31,833
Taken care of this weekend?
307
00:18:31,916 --> 00:18:34,958
- I'm going to see my aunt.
- Oh, that sounds like fun.
308
00:18:35,041 --> 00:18:38,833
You obviously don't know my aunt.
If you're not doing anything, come along.
309
00:18:38,916 --> 00:18:40,208
Careful, I just might.
310
00:18:40,875 --> 00:18:43,833
Glendale station at 7:00.
Bring Sara if you like.
311
00:18:43,916 --> 00:18:46,375
- Who?
- Sara, isn't that your wife?
312
00:18:46,458 --> 00:18:48,958
Oh, you mean Poor Sara.
313
00:18:49,041 --> 00:18:51,166
No, she and the kids are back East.
314
00:18:57,125 --> 00:18:59,000
[car horn tooting]
315
00:18:59,583 --> 00:19:01,666
[crowd clamoring]
316
00:19:11,458 --> 00:19:12,458
[Lederer] Herman.
317
00:19:15,958 --> 00:19:16,958
Herman.
318
00:19:22,958 --> 00:19:25,166
- Herman!
- [Mank slurring] Charlie!
319
00:19:33,541 --> 00:19:36,000
- [woman screaming]
- [gasps]
320
00:19:38,666 --> 00:19:39,833
[birds singing outside]
321
00:19:40,708 --> 00:19:41,708
[Mank grunts softly]
322
00:20:02,333 --> 00:20:03,333
[Mank] Ah.
323
00:20:05,041 --> 00:20:07,708
[man whistling]
324
00:20:12,208 --> 00:20:14,500
[exhales, sniffles]
325
00:20:15,833 --> 00:20:17,750
[birds squawking]
326
00:20:19,083 --> 00:20:21,375
[woman screaming]
327
00:20:29,416 --> 00:20:32,458
[indistinct chatter]
328
00:20:32,541 --> 00:20:34,000
[men vocalizing and chanting]
329
00:20:34,083 --> 00:20:37,458
[woman continues screaming]
330
00:20:38,583 --> 00:20:40,958
[director] Cut! Next setup, please.
331
00:20:43,291 --> 00:20:45,166
[indistinct chatter]
332
00:20:45,250 --> 00:20:47,250
[big band music playing on phonograph]
333
00:20:49,041 --> 00:20:50,708
What is Mank doing here?
334
00:20:51,625 --> 00:20:53,375
- Who?
- Herman Mankiewicz.
335
00:20:55,375 --> 00:20:58,166
- Do I know him?
- He wrote one of our Lon Chaneys.
336
00:20:58,250 --> 00:20:59,541
- Ah.
- Mank!
337
00:21:01,791 --> 00:21:05,875
- Thalberg, the boy genius.
- I am shocked to see you here.
338
00:21:05,958 --> 00:21:10,833
I'd be shocked to see me here, too,
Irving, if only I knew where here was.
339
00:21:10,916 --> 00:21:13,666
- You wrote one of our Lon Chaneys.
- [Mank] Among many.
340
00:21:13,750 --> 00:21:15,250
- Pictures?
- Writers.
341
00:21:15,333 --> 00:21:19,333
- At MGM, movies are a team sport.
- Which may be why I'm at Paramount.
342
00:21:19,416 --> 00:21:22,083
Since when don't Paramount
use writers by the truckload?
343
00:21:22,166 --> 00:21:24,541
But all at once, not in relays.
344
00:21:24,625 --> 00:21:26,125
Helps spread the blame around.
345
00:21:26,208 --> 00:21:28,250
You remember our chairman, Louis B. Mayer?
346
00:21:28,333 --> 00:21:29,750
By reputation only.
347
00:21:29,833 --> 00:21:32,541
- Long night?
- A short one. Plagued by spirits.
348
00:21:33,541 --> 00:21:36,375
A hell of a way to spend
the Sabbath, fellas.
349
00:21:36,458 --> 00:21:38,000
Here in support of a friend.
350
00:21:38,083 --> 00:21:41,208
His leading lady is making
a mid-career adjustment.
351
00:21:41,291 --> 00:21:45,041
Ah, I'm on my way over.
Any notes from the oversight tent?
352
00:21:49,666 --> 00:21:51,750
- Who was that again?
- Just a writer.
353
00:21:54,750 --> 00:21:57,166
Slumming on a Saturday, Mr. Metcalf?
354
00:21:57,250 --> 00:21:59,916
[chuckling] Mank.
No, sir, helping out on B camera.
355
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,750
It's a home movie,
but his idea of a home movie.
356
00:22:02,833 --> 00:22:03,916
I know you.
357
00:22:04,708 --> 00:22:06,791
[Mank] Well, what's at stake here?
358
00:22:07,541 --> 00:22:11,250
We met at John Gilbert's birthday.
You're Herman Mankiewicz.
359
00:22:11,333 --> 00:22:12,208
Guilty.
360
00:22:13,083 --> 00:22:15,208
And I remember you, Miss Davies.
361
00:22:15,875 --> 00:22:20,333
Regaling us with stories
about dodging trolley cars in Brooklyn.
362
00:22:21,541 --> 00:22:25,000
- Your Flatbush was showing.
- [gasps]
363
00:22:26,583 --> 00:22:29,916
You fractured Wally Beery's wrist
Indian wrestling.
364
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:31,125
Admittedly, a lucky break.
365
00:22:31,208 --> 00:22:33,916
Boy, was he surprised.
You're stronger than you look.
366
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,500
And from what I understand,
you're smarter.
367
00:22:37,583 --> 00:22:39,500
That was a compliment.
368
00:22:39,583 --> 00:22:42,125
- See what I mean?
- [Marion laughing] You are interesting.
369
00:22:42,208 --> 00:22:43,083
I need a favor,
370
00:22:43,166 --> 00:22:45,208
but you're gonna have to promise
you won't laugh.
371
00:22:45,291 --> 00:22:47,500
Given the state of the world,
a tall order.
372
00:22:47,583 --> 00:22:48,916
You're gonna. I just know you are.
373
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:54,083
I have got such a hangover right now,
there's just a fighting chance I won't.
374
00:22:54,166 --> 00:22:57,583
I'm being burned at the stake,
and I am dying for a ciggie-boo.
375
00:22:57,666 --> 00:23:00,416
- [both laugh]
- There. God's punishing you.
376
00:23:00,500 --> 00:23:02,708
[wood creaking]
377
00:23:02,791 --> 00:23:05,041
Watch those stairs. They're treacherous.
378
00:23:05,708 --> 00:23:08,125
[Mank]
Every moment of my life is treacherous.
379
00:23:10,750 --> 00:23:12,208
Any last words?
380
00:23:12,916 --> 00:23:14,583
Welcome to San Simeon.
381
00:23:15,791 --> 00:23:16,625
I've written worse.
382
00:23:16,708 --> 00:23:20,666
- [Marion] You've never seen it?
- No, but George Bernard Shaw was right.
383
00:23:21,750 --> 00:23:22,750
How's that?
384
00:23:23,375 --> 00:23:26,041
"It's what God might've built
had he had the money."
385
00:23:26,583 --> 00:23:30,583
Well, as they say in the Bronx,
"Make yourself to home," Mr. Mankiewicz.
386
00:23:30,666 --> 00:23:33,958
- Or shall I call you Herman?
- No. Please, call me Mank.
387
00:23:34,041 --> 00:23:36,250
- Good morning, Charles.
- Charlie.
388
00:23:36,333 --> 00:23:39,416
- Aunt Marion. Mank.
- [Marion] You sleep well?
389
00:23:40,125 --> 00:23:42,083
Until your rather dramatic wake-up call.
390
00:23:42,166 --> 00:23:46,458
This is all Pops's idea.
He wants me ready to take on the talkies.
391
00:23:46,541 --> 00:23:47,791
[director] First positions!
392
00:23:48,500 --> 00:23:49,916
Riders, ready!
393
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:52,125
Rolling!
394
00:23:52,916 --> 00:23:55,333
- Speed.
- [crew member 1] Speed! Action!
395
00:23:56,208 --> 00:23:57,833
[guns firing]
396
00:24:01,166 --> 00:24:03,166
[energetic instrumental music playing]
397
00:24:05,875 --> 00:24:09,541
Help! Please! Someone save me!
398
00:24:10,125 --> 00:24:11,125
[crew member 2 coughs]
399
00:24:13,291 --> 00:24:14,291
[crew member 3] Cut!
400
00:24:14,375 --> 00:24:15,666
[coughs]
401
00:24:21,833 --> 00:24:23,875
[horse whinnies]
402
00:24:24,500 --> 00:24:28,958
[Marion] Pops, this is Herman Mankiewicz,
but we have to call him Mank.
403
00:24:29,458 --> 00:24:30,458
Mankiewicz?
404
00:24:31,708 --> 00:24:35,458
Herman Mankiewicz,
New York playwright and drama critic?
405
00:24:35,541 --> 00:24:38,250
Turned humble screenwriter, Mr. Hearst.
406
00:24:38,333 --> 00:24:41,458
[Hearst] Why, no need to be humble,
Mr. Mankiewicz.
407
00:24:41,541 --> 00:24:43,125
Pictures that talk are the future.
408
00:24:43,208 --> 00:24:46,416
They're gonna need people who honor words,
give them voice.
409
00:24:46,500 --> 00:24:50,958
There's a golden age coming
when all the world will be a stage,
410
00:24:51,458 --> 00:24:53,166
and you, perhaps, their Shakespeare.
411
00:24:53,250 --> 00:24:55,041
[Mank] Oh, I wouldn't have thought
412
00:24:55,125 --> 00:24:57,333
you'd be that keenly interested
in the honoring of words.
413
00:24:57,416 --> 00:24:59,416
- [Marion laughs]
- What's so funny?
414
00:25:00,541 --> 00:25:04,583
I'm just surprised
that a vaunted muckraker like yourself
415
00:25:04,666 --> 00:25:07,958
sees Hollywood's future
as such a shiny penny.
416
00:25:08,458 --> 00:25:09,416
[director] Back to one.
417
00:25:09,500 --> 00:25:11,500
Times are changing, Mr. Mankiewicz,
418
00:25:12,125 --> 00:25:14,416
and I'm not just referring
to this Depression.
419
00:25:14,500 --> 00:25:15,375
All that bother.
420
00:25:15,458 --> 00:25:16,875
[Hearst] And when all this is over,
421
00:25:16,958 --> 00:25:20,250
picture-makers are gonna have
to service this new entertainment.
422
00:25:21,041 --> 00:25:24,875
I intend to make pictures
with the help of real literary minds.
423
00:25:24,958 --> 00:25:26,208
Mm, I support that.
424
00:25:26,291 --> 00:25:30,958
Instead, what do most studios give us?
Gangster flicks, zanies.
425
00:25:31,041 --> 00:25:32,041
[Mank] Too true.
426
00:25:32,125 --> 00:25:35,125
Now, how many gangsters
do Americans meet in a lifetime?
427
00:25:35,708 --> 00:25:38,083
How many families
are like the Marx Brothers?
428
00:25:38,166 --> 00:25:39,625
You mean besides my own?
429
00:25:39,708 --> 00:25:40,750
[Hearst laughs]
430
00:25:40,833 --> 00:25:44,708
Very good. Have him seated next to me.
431
00:25:44,791 --> 00:25:47,583
[energetic music resumes playing]
432
00:25:48,666 --> 00:25:51,500
Miss Davies, Mr. Hearst would like
Mr. Mankiewicz seated
433
00:25:51,583 --> 00:25:52,833
to his left at dinner.
434
00:25:54,583 --> 00:25:57,125
Oh, Pops likes you.
435
00:26:10,166 --> 00:26:11,666
[Mank sighs deeply]
436
00:26:12,666 --> 00:26:14,750
Why is it when Houseman edits,
437
00:26:14,833 --> 00:26:18,875
everyone ends up speaking
like a constipated Oxford don?
438
00:26:18,958 --> 00:26:20,708
[telephone rings]
439
00:26:23,875 --> 00:26:25,583
- Hello?
- [indistinct chatter on phone]
440
00:26:25,666 --> 00:26:28,375
Yes, he is. No, not at all.
441
00:26:28,458 --> 00:26:30,458
Please hold on. It's Poor Sa... [gasps]
442
00:26:31,416 --> 00:26:33,625
I'm sorry. It's your wife.
443
00:26:40,458 --> 00:26:42,333
- Schnutz.
- [Sara] I heard that.
444
00:26:42,416 --> 00:26:43,250
Hermie,
445
00:26:43,333 --> 00:26:44,666
Joe called four times
in the last three days.
446
00:26:44,750 --> 00:26:47,375
- He wants your number up there.
- [Mank] So give it to him.
447
00:26:47,458 --> 00:26:48,708
- [clattering]
- Knock it off!
448
00:26:48,791 --> 00:26:49,916
[children laughing]
449
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:51,208
The boys are remodeling.
450
00:26:51,291 --> 00:26:54,125
He seemed concerned about something.
Is everything okay?
451
00:26:54,208 --> 00:26:56,541
If I could swim, I'd be doing swimmingly.
452
00:26:56,625 --> 00:26:58,000
And don't mind Joe.
453
00:26:58,083 --> 00:27:02,416
- He's a worrisome old woman in disguise.
- Well, he wants to offer you work.
454
00:27:02,500 --> 00:27:04,708
Baby Joe offering me?
455
00:27:05,666 --> 00:27:08,875
[scoffs] Well, if he calls again,
give him this number, Schnutz.
456
00:27:08,958 --> 00:27:11,625
- I've gotta run. Kiss the offspring.
- [kisses]
457
00:27:16,875 --> 00:27:18,500
[in British accent] I say…
458
00:27:19,250 --> 00:27:21,916
A letter from the gallant "leftenant"?
459
00:27:22,875 --> 00:27:25,458
[in normal voice] Now, let's hope
it makes more sense than the last.
460
00:27:25,541 --> 00:27:27,791
Fighters off the decks
of aircraft carriers.
461
00:27:27,875 --> 00:27:30,541
- Whoever had that idea?
- It's not good?
462
00:27:30,625 --> 00:27:31,750
[Mank] Not good?
463
00:27:31,833 --> 00:27:34,208
German U-boats
are starting to hunt in packs,
464
00:27:34,291 --> 00:27:38,500
and a Stuka dive-bomber can drop one
down your stack from 500 feet.
465
00:27:39,083 --> 00:27:42,333
[in British accent] What's our
valiant laddie have to say for the cause...
466
00:27:43,708 --> 00:27:44,875
[door opens]
467
00:27:57,375 --> 00:27:58,875
It's not from her husband.
468
00:28:00,708 --> 00:28:02,333
His ship's been sunk off Norway.
469
00:28:03,041 --> 00:28:04,708
Presumed lost at sea.
470
00:28:05,583 --> 00:28:06,583
[sighs]
471
00:28:07,375 --> 00:28:10,166
Always the smartest guy in the room.
472
00:28:12,500 --> 00:28:13,583
[exhales]
473
00:28:13,666 --> 00:28:17,041
[jazz music playing on radio]
474
00:28:17,875 --> 00:28:21,291
[woman singing on radio]
475
00:28:22,708 --> 00:28:25,000
[owl hooting outside]
476
00:28:37,291 --> 00:28:38,333
You're right, of course.
477
00:28:38,416 --> 00:28:42,416
Aircraft carriers are a shitty idea,
but I don't appreciate the callousness.
478
00:28:43,666 --> 00:28:45,375
I expect more of you.
479
00:28:48,250 --> 00:28:52,791
"Presumed" means they don't know,
so I choose to believe he's alive until…
480
00:28:55,291 --> 00:28:56,291
Mank.
481
00:28:58,833 --> 00:28:59,750
Mank!
482
00:29:01,083 --> 00:29:02,416
- Mr. Mankiewicz?
- [thuds]
483
00:29:22,458 --> 00:29:24,541
He's all right. Just sleeping.
484
00:29:25,250 --> 00:29:26,083
Well…
485
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:27,958
I shouldn't wonder.
486
00:29:28,041 --> 00:29:31,666
There's enough Seconal in those bottles
to bring down a bull elephant in heat.
487
00:29:34,583 --> 00:29:37,000
Young Orson doesn't believe in chance.
488
00:29:43,708 --> 00:29:45,666
[snoring]
489
00:29:51,041 --> 00:29:52,125
[grunts]
490
00:29:56,375 --> 00:29:57,791
[indistinct conversation]
491
00:30:01,708 --> 00:30:05,000
[Mank] Houseman, you sly thing.
You slipped me a Mickey.
492
00:30:05,083 --> 00:30:06,041
So we did.
493
00:30:06,541 --> 00:30:08,958
How you managed to reach it
so early in your rehabilitation,
494
00:30:09,041 --> 00:30:09,875
I cannot imagine.
495
00:30:09,958 --> 00:30:11,333
How was it? Mother's milk?
496
00:30:11,416 --> 00:30:15,416
On balance, better than nothing.
I plan to use it as a nightcap.
497
00:30:15,500 --> 00:30:17,750
As you Yanks say,
"He went out like a light."
498
00:30:17,833 --> 00:30:22,500
I couldn't have put it better myself,
which may be why I write for the movies.
499
00:30:22,583 --> 00:30:24,000
Will you stop?
500
00:30:24,083 --> 00:30:26,500
You write for the movies
because you're super at it.
501
00:30:26,583 --> 00:30:29,708
Excuse me, you two,
I've masses of typing to do.
502
00:30:31,833 --> 00:30:33,250
[Houseman] Seventy-six pages.
503
00:30:33,333 --> 00:30:35,833
By the time she translates
your red chicken scratches,
504
00:30:35,916 --> 00:30:37,250
it'll be less than 40.
505
00:30:37,333 --> 00:30:38,833
At this rate, you'll never finish.
506
00:30:38,916 --> 00:30:41,583
What I wanna know is what you think of it.
507
00:30:41,666 --> 00:30:44,208
[Houseman] The writing is first-rate,
but you know that.
508
00:30:44,291 --> 00:30:45,166
His lust for power,
509
00:30:45,250 --> 00:30:47,208
your exquisite evocation
of his hunger for love
510
00:30:47,291 --> 00:30:49,166
from those who fear his worst side, but...
511
00:30:49,250 --> 00:30:51,375
The dreaded yet foreseeable "but."
512
00:30:51,458 --> 00:30:54,541
You're asking a lot
of a motion picture audience.
513
00:30:54,625 --> 00:30:57,583
- All in all, it's a bit of a jumble.
- Did you say "jumble" or "jungle"?
514
00:30:57,666 --> 00:30:59,291
[Houseman] A hodgepodge of talky episodes.
515
00:30:59,375 --> 00:31:01,750
A collection of fragments
that leap around in time,
516
00:31:01,833 --> 00:31:03,458
like Mexican jumping beans.
517
00:31:03,541 --> 00:31:05,083
Welcome to my mind, Old Sock.
518
00:31:05,166 --> 00:31:08,250
The story is so scattered,
I'm afraid one will need a road map.
519
00:31:08,333 --> 00:31:09,333
You mean it's a mess.
520
00:31:09,416 --> 00:31:11,250
Would you consider simplifying?
521
00:31:11,333 --> 00:31:13,000
[Mank] As Pascal once said,
522
00:31:13,083 --> 00:31:16,500
"If only I'd had more time,
I would have written a shorter letter."
523
00:31:16,583 --> 00:31:19,166
All I am saying is
no one can write like that.
524
00:31:19,250 --> 00:31:22,791
But I can write like that, Houseman.
I have.
525
00:31:22,875 --> 00:31:26,916
The narrative is one big circle,
like a cinnamon roll,
526
00:31:27,416 --> 00:31:30,791
not a straight line
pointing to the nearest exit.
527
00:31:30,875 --> 00:31:34,375
You cannot capture a man's entire life
in two hours.
528
00:31:34,458 --> 00:31:36,916
All you can hope
is to leave the impression of one.
529
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:38,791
[Houseman] But nobody expects Shakespeare.
530
00:31:38,875 --> 00:31:42,791
People aren't spending
their hard-earned 25 cents to see Macbeth.
531
00:31:42,875 --> 00:31:45,166
Maestro the Dog-Faced Boy did Macbeth.
532
00:31:45,250 --> 00:31:48,333
Voodoo Macbeth.
Don't be fooled. He's a showman.
533
00:31:48,416 --> 00:31:50,583
Busker reveling in sleight of hand.
534
00:31:51,083 --> 00:31:53,208
Save yourself the trouble,
be done in 60 days.
535
00:31:53,291 --> 00:31:55,833
He'll get this,
and the audience will too.
536
00:31:55,916 --> 00:31:58,125
Stop worrying. Have a pickle.
537
00:31:58,208 --> 00:31:59,875
No, thank you. I'm not hungry.
538
00:32:00,416 --> 00:32:02,250
Haven't been since we got here.
539
00:32:03,708 --> 00:32:04,541
Cheerio.
540
00:32:07,916 --> 00:32:10,916
Write hard. Aim low.
541
00:32:11,416 --> 00:32:12,250
[laughs dryly]
542
00:32:13,500 --> 00:32:14,958
[door closes]
543
00:32:18,666 --> 00:32:19,958
Where were we, chief?
544
00:32:20,833 --> 00:32:22,125
[Rita] What are you gonna do?
545
00:32:22,208 --> 00:32:23,958
- [sighs] About what?
- [Rita] He's right.
546
00:32:24,041 --> 00:32:25,791
You won't be done till Christmas.
547
00:32:25,875 --> 00:32:28,041
- What?
- [Rita] You made a promise.
548
00:32:28,125 --> 00:32:30,875
- I did what?
- Sixty days is two weeks from now.
549
00:32:30,958 --> 00:32:32,666
[car engine starts]
550
00:32:32,750 --> 00:32:34,291
Where were we?
551
00:32:39,166 --> 00:32:42,250
Bernstein's speech,
the young woman on the ferry boat.
552
00:32:42,750 --> 00:32:44,666
Read it back, please.
553
00:32:46,041 --> 00:32:49,708
"A white dress she had on,
and she was carrying a white parasol,
554
00:32:50,666 --> 00:32:55,000
and I only saw her for one second,
and she didn't see me at all."
555
00:32:56,125 --> 00:33:00,875
"But I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since
that I haven't thought of that girl."
556
00:33:02,750 --> 00:33:04,833
A snapshot
from the Mankiewicz family album?
557
00:33:04,916 --> 00:33:06,166
You might say that.
558
00:33:07,708 --> 00:33:09,750
It really is a gorgeous...
559
00:33:09,833 --> 00:33:11,375
Spot to get stuck?
560
00:33:14,666 --> 00:33:16,458
Is Bernstein meant to be Louis Mayer?
561
00:33:17,041 --> 00:33:18,666
If form follows function.
562
00:33:18,750 --> 00:33:22,416
Mayer is the same pathetic
sort of lap dog to our Charles Foster?
563
00:33:22,500 --> 00:33:25,000
Bernstein is a far nicer character.
564
00:33:25,083 --> 00:33:27,125
You don't much like Mayer.
565
00:33:27,208 --> 00:33:32,583
If I ever go to the electric chair,
I'd like him to be sitting in my lap.
566
00:33:33,625 --> 00:33:34,625
[gasps]
567
00:33:38,083 --> 00:33:41,041
{\an8}$750 a week?
That's half what you make, Herman.
568
00:33:41,125 --> 00:33:43,625
- You're a junior writer, Joe.
- So?
569
00:33:43,708 --> 00:33:46,166
So, you're only half the wit
your big brother is.
570
00:33:46,250 --> 00:33:49,625
- How many half-wits make that?
- Herm, how do I look?
571
00:33:50,291 --> 00:33:54,291
- You look like you. Fine.
- [sighs] What should I be expecting?
572
00:33:54,375 --> 00:33:57,916
You're related to me.
He already thinks you're a genius.
573
00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:59,000
Enough.
574
00:33:59,500 --> 00:34:02,208
[Mank] The job will be yours
if you can do two things.
575
00:34:02,291 --> 00:34:06,125
One, don't roll your eyes.
Two, try not to fall asleep.
576
00:34:06,791 --> 00:34:08,208
[Mayer] This isn't Gower Gulch.
577
00:34:08,291 --> 00:34:10,625
You want I should make a picture
about a prostitute?
578
00:34:10,708 --> 00:34:11,833
[Gilbert] What's wrong?
579
00:34:11,916 --> 00:34:13,750
My mother was nothing but a whore.
[grunts]
580
00:34:13,833 --> 00:34:16,416
[Mayer] You would talk about
your own mother that way?
581
00:34:16,500 --> 00:34:19,083
The woman who gave you life?
582
00:34:19,166 --> 00:34:21,916
You ungrateful bastard!
I ought to cut your balls off!
583
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:25,583
Do it, you fucking junk dealer!
I'll still be the better man!
584
00:34:29,333 --> 00:34:31,958
L.B., this is my brother, Joe.
585
00:34:32,041 --> 00:34:34,458
Nice to meet you, Joseph. I'm Louis Mayer.
586
00:34:34,541 --> 00:34:37,083
I can't tell you
what this means to him, Louis.
587
00:34:37,583 --> 00:34:41,250
- They're all there, Mr. Mayer.
- On my way. Joe, walk with me.
588
00:34:47,500 --> 00:34:50,291
My boy,
there are three work rules at this studio.
589
00:34:50,375 --> 00:34:53,916
Rule number one.
Ars gratia artis, art for art's sake.
590
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:54,916
How you doing?
591
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:58,625
One million dollars a year
we spend on stories we never even film.
592
00:34:58,708 --> 00:35:02,333
Why not? I'll tell you.
They don't make me cry.
593
00:35:02,416 --> 00:35:04,791
What makes me cry? Emotion.
594
00:35:04,875 --> 00:35:06,958
Where do I feel emotion?
595
00:35:07,041 --> 00:35:09,583
Here, here, and here.
596
00:35:09,666 --> 00:35:10,833
Rule number two.
597
00:35:10,916 --> 00:35:14,000
You may have heard MGM has more stars
than there are in the heavens.
598
00:35:14,083 --> 00:35:15,333
Do not believe this.
599
00:35:15,416 --> 00:35:19,250
Hiya. We have only one star.
That is Leo the Lion.
600
00:35:19,333 --> 00:35:20,625
Never forget that.
601
00:35:20,708 --> 00:35:23,750
Many stars have,
and now they twinkle elsewhere.
602
00:35:23,833 --> 00:35:24,708
Rule number three.
603
00:35:24,791 --> 00:35:28,333
People think MGM
stands for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
604
00:35:28,416 --> 00:35:29,625
It does not.
605
00:35:29,708 --> 00:35:34,375
It stands for Mayer's gantze mishpokhe,
Mayer's whole family.
606
00:35:34,458 --> 00:35:35,708
Never forget that.
607
00:35:35,791 --> 00:35:37,791
You got a problem, come to Papa.
608
00:35:38,458 --> 00:35:42,666
This is a business where the buyer
gets nothing for his money but a memory.
609
00:35:42,750 --> 00:35:45,541
What he bought
still belongs to the man who sold it.
610
00:35:45,625 --> 00:35:49,375
That's the real magic of the movies,
and don't let anybody tell you different.
611
00:35:49,458 --> 00:35:50,583
[studio bell rings]
612
00:35:53,500 --> 00:35:55,250
[crowd murmuring]
613
00:36:04,166 --> 00:36:08,250
[applause]
614
00:36:11,708 --> 00:36:17,541
I find myself in a horrendous position,
and I come to all of you on bended knee.
615
00:36:19,458 --> 00:36:22,500
We are suffering, as all Americans are,
616
00:36:22,583 --> 00:36:25,000
from our country's terrible economic woes.
617
00:36:25,791 --> 00:36:29,125
Good people, everyday people,
can't afford to go to the movies.
618
00:36:29,208 --> 00:36:33,125
So even our preeminent dream factory…
619
00:36:34,291 --> 00:36:36,875
Is in grave financial difficulty.
620
00:36:36,958 --> 00:36:38,833
[crowd murmuring]
621
00:36:38,916 --> 00:36:44,500
I am asking everyone in the MGM family
to take a painful step.
622
00:36:45,333 --> 00:36:48,875
- I am asking to roll back salaries.
- [crowd grumbling]
623
00:36:48,958 --> 00:36:50,708
[Mayer] I don't want to,
624
00:36:50,791 --> 00:36:55,625
but for this hallowed place
to continue to exist, I am forced to.
625
00:36:56,250 --> 00:37:00,416
I won't break up this family
over something like money.
626
00:37:01,125 --> 00:37:03,625
- How long are you asking for?
- Shouldn't be long.
627
00:37:04,208 --> 00:37:05,958
- How much are you asking for?
- [Mayer] Half.
628
00:37:06,458 --> 00:37:07,833
- [worker 1] Half?
- Could be less.
629
00:37:07,916 --> 00:37:10,291
Is everybody going to be pitching in?
Are you, Mr. Mayer?
630
00:37:10,375 --> 00:37:13,958
Real families root for each other
in the good times,
631
00:37:14,041 --> 00:37:17,125
take care of each other in tough ones.
632
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:19,000
We're with you, L.B.
633
00:37:19,083 --> 00:37:20,541
You may be, Mr. Barrymore,
634
00:37:20,625 --> 00:37:23,083
but a 50% pay cut
for grips and electricians...
635
00:37:23,166 --> 00:37:26,375
Eight weeks, my friends,
eight short weeks.
636
00:37:26,458 --> 00:37:31,125
As soon as FDR reopens the banks,
you'll get back every penny.
637
00:37:31,208 --> 00:37:36,541
On that,
you have the sacred word of L.B. Mayer.
638
00:37:44,333 --> 00:37:45,583
Well, I vote yes.
639
00:37:47,791 --> 00:37:50,375
- I do as well.
- Me too.
640
00:37:50,458 --> 00:37:51,750
[all chuckling]
641
00:37:51,833 --> 00:37:53,416
[crowd murmuring]
642
00:37:58,541 --> 00:37:59,625
[murmurs]
643
00:38:10,208 --> 00:38:12,708
- How'd I do, Ben?
- It was great, Mr. Mayer.
644
00:38:12,791 --> 00:38:13,708
Ah.
645
00:38:13,791 --> 00:38:15,791
[upbeat jazz music playing]
646
00:38:18,041 --> 00:38:21,208
Not even the most disgraceful thing
I've ever seen.
647
00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:30,000
- [Fraulein Freda] Good.
- [Mank moans]
648
00:38:30,500 --> 00:38:32,416
- [Fraulein Freda] Okay.
- [Mank moans]
649
00:38:33,208 --> 00:38:35,000
- Yeah?
- [Mank] Oh, yeah.
650
00:38:35,083 --> 00:38:37,375
[Fraulein Freda] Yeah? Okay.
651
00:38:37,458 --> 00:38:39,583
Maybe a little bit left?
652
00:38:39,666 --> 00:38:41,375
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
653
00:38:41,458 --> 00:38:42,291
Here?
654
00:38:42,375 --> 00:38:45,416
- Ooh, yeah.
- I've got to get typewriter ribbon.
655
00:38:45,500 --> 00:38:48,250
- Here are this morning's pages.
- [Mank] Dreck. It's all dreck!
656
00:38:48,333 --> 00:38:50,291
Don't flagellate.
At least you're writing again.
657
00:38:50,375 --> 00:38:53,083
- [telephone rings]
- None of it sings. None of it. Not a note.
658
00:38:53,166 --> 00:38:54,625
You're not writing an opera.
659
00:38:56,041 --> 00:38:57,041
Hello?
660
00:38:59,041 --> 00:39:00,708
But I am writing an opera.
661
00:39:03,916 --> 00:39:04,916
It's for you.
662
00:39:07,708 --> 00:39:09,708
- Yeah?
- Herman, it's Joe.
663
00:39:09,791 --> 00:39:11,750
Hey, hey, kid. What's up?
664
00:39:11,833 --> 00:39:14,958
- Checking in. How are you getting around?
- Gingerly.
665
00:39:15,041 --> 00:39:17,416
- Any rest?
- Haven't seen a sunrise yet.
666
00:39:17,500 --> 00:39:19,333
You've never seen a sunrise.
667
00:39:19,416 --> 00:39:22,333
- Sara said you wanted this number.
- Just to hear your voice.
668
00:39:22,416 --> 00:39:26,833
Oh. She said you had some work
you wanted to talk about.
669
00:39:26,916 --> 00:39:31,458
Ah. I was thinking about that old play,
The Wild Man of Borneo,
670
00:39:31,541 --> 00:39:33,041
the one you wrote in the Ice Age.
671
00:39:33,125 --> 00:39:36,416
One never remembers one's disasters.
It's considered gauche.
672
00:39:36,500 --> 00:39:37,791
A play is never a disaster
673
00:39:37,875 --> 00:39:39,125
till the movies say it is.
674
00:39:39,208 --> 00:39:41,666
- [Mank laughs]
- I brought it to my people at the studio.
675
00:39:41,750 --> 00:39:43,125
We want W.C. Fields.
676
00:39:43,208 --> 00:39:47,541
- We want you to adapt.
- I'm kind of on something right now.
677
00:39:47,625 --> 00:39:50,416
I can get you paid for the play
and the adaptation.
678
00:39:50,916 --> 00:39:52,333
Sounds great.
679
00:39:52,416 --> 00:39:53,625
I'll have to think about it.
680
00:39:53,708 --> 00:39:55,500
You know how these things
have their moment.
681
00:39:55,583 --> 00:39:58,166
So this isn't an offer.
It's a subtle ultimatum.
682
00:39:58,250 --> 00:40:01,333
[sighs]
Nobody could ever tell you what to do.
683
00:40:02,250 --> 00:40:03,958
Did Sara put you up to this?
684
00:40:04,041 --> 00:40:06,583
Not at all, but I know how things are.
685
00:40:06,666 --> 00:40:08,083
I can tell by her voice.
686
00:40:08,166 --> 00:40:11,041
- And how bad is that, baby brother?
- How bad?
687
00:40:11,125 --> 00:40:12,500
I went to a party last night
688
00:40:12,583 --> 00:40:16,208
where Scott Fitzgerald
referred to you as a ruined man.
689
00:40:16,291 --> 00:40:18,458
- [laughs]
- That's how bad things can get.
690
00:40:18,541 --> 00:40:20,125
- That's good. I may use that.
- [chuckles]
691
00:40:20,208 --> 00:40:22,458
- Hermie...
- [sighs] Please, stop, Joey.
692
00:40:22,541 --> 00:40:24,333
Just tell me what's on your mind.
693
00:40:24,416 --> 00:40:28,625
[sighs]
I hear you're hunting dangerous game.
694
00:40:29,583 --> 00:40:34,208
Word on the street is radio's golden boy
wants to go toe-to-toe with Willie Hearst,
695
00:40:34,291 --> 00:40:36,375
and you're helping in the kitchen.
696
00:40:39,708 --> 00:40:40,625
Oh?
697
00:40:42,041 --> 00:40:43,416
- And?
- "And?"
698
00:40:45,125 --> 00:40:46,333
Herman, "And?"
699
00:40:46,416 --> 00:40:47,500
How stupid of me.
700
00:40:47,583 --> 00:40:50,958
I thought
I was rejecting a humiliating handout,
701
00:40:51,041 --> 00:40:54,208
when all the time,
I was nixing a respectable bribe.
702
00:40:54,291 --> 00:40:56,000
And I'm sorry I ever cared.
703
00:40:56,666 --> 00:40:57,666
[hangs up]
704
00:41:00,250 --> 00:41:01,291
Oops.
705
00:41:08,458 --> 00:41:10,291
- [Fraulein Freda] Come on.
- [grunts]
706
00:41:13,125 --> 00:41:14,083
[sighs]
707
00:41:17,291 --> 00:41:18,291
{\an8}[typewriter dings]
708
00:41:18,375 --> 00:41:21,875
{\an8}[Hearst] Marion and I are pleased
you all could come stay for the weekend.
709
00:41:22,375 --> 00:41:24,708
I hope the train ride wasn't too arduous.
710
00:41:25,833 --> 00:41:30,458
And tonight, we're celebrating
our great friend's birthday
711
00:41:30,541 --> 00:41:33,625
in our little hillside home. Charlie.
712
00:41:33,708 --> 00:41:37,458
- [playing piano]
- [all] ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
713
00:41:37,541 --> 00:41:41,083
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
714
00:41:41,166 --> 00:41:45,625
♪ Happy birthday, dear Louis ♪
715
00:41:45,708 --> 00:41:48,791
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
716
00:41:48,875 --> 00:41:50,458
- [man] Happy birthday!
- [guests cheer]
717
00:41:50,541 --> 00:41:51,958
[blowing]
718
00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:56,750
Louis, you should be joyous.
You don't look a day over 48.
719
00:41:56,833 --> 00:41:58,500
I feel 35.
720
00:41:58,583 --> 00:41:59,625
[all laughing]
721
00:42:03,583 --> 00:42:06,791
Mr. Hearst, Marion, all of you,
722
00:42:07,333 --> 00:42:09,916
my heart is full to bursting.
723
00:42:10,958 --> 00:42:12,958
I can't express in words…
724
00:42:13,041 --> 00:42:14,791
[muttering] Please don't try.
725
00:42:14,875 --> 00:42:21,250
W. R., nothing is more precious to me
than your friendship and sage advice.
726
00:42:21,333 --> 00:42:23,875
I am blessed to call you my friend.
727
00:42:25,416 --> 00:42:28,166
God bless William Randolph Hearst.
728
00:42:28,250 --> 00:42:30,375
- [all] Cheers.
- [softly] God bless us, everyone.
729
00:42:31,458 --> 00:42:34,041
- Hear, hear.
- A very happy birthday, Louis.
730
00:42:34,125 --> 00:42:37,708
Our country should be flattered
you picked its birth date as your own.
731
00:42:37,791 --> 00:42:41,250
The rest of us have to be satisfied
with the one we happen to be born on.
732
00:42:41,333 --> 00:42:42,666
- Mank.
- [all chuckling]
733
00:42:42,750 --> 00:42:46,375
Here's to your rich Canadian imagination.
734
00:42:46,458 --> 00:42:49,500
[all] Rich Canadian imagination!
735
00:42:49,583 --> 00:42:50,916
Here's to banks reopening.
736
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:52,875
- And to freedom.
- [all] Freedom!
737
00:42:52,958 --> 00:42:55,875
I believe you've met
our distinguished guest,
738
00:42:55,958 --> 00:42:57,708
Mr. Rexford Tugwell.
739
00:42:57,791 --> 00:43:00,666
Now, Rex is special assistant
to President Roosevelt,
740
00:43:00,750 --> 00:43:03,916
and we're all interested
in what you might share with us.
741
00:43:04,500 --> 00:43:06,541
We all wanna welcome the Thalbergs
742
00:43:06,625 --> 00:43:09,583
back from Irving's long convalescence
in Europe.
743
00:43:09,666 --> 00:43:12,041
- Thank you, W.R.
- [Hearst] Good to see you, Irving.
744
00:43:12,125 --> 00:43:13,500
- Thank you, Mr. Hearst.
- Norma.
745
00:43:13,583 --> 00:43:16,125
[plays flourish on piano]
Anybody seen anything good lately?
746
00:43:16,208 --> 00:43:20,208
I just saw 42nd Street. It blew my wig!
747
00:43:20,291 --> 00:43:22,041
You can take the girl outta Bed-Stuy.
748
00:43:22,125 --> 00:43:24,666
- When was that?
- Over the weekend.
749
00:43:24,750 --> 00:43:27,541
You were in D.C.
I went to the pictures in Santa Barbara.
750
00:43:27,625 --> 00:43:30,541
- We have a fine screening room here.
- [Mayer] Warner's picture?
751
00:43:30,625 --> 00:43:32,291
- Why waste money on that?
- [all laugh]
752
00:43:32,375 --> 00:43:34,583
- Next time, I'll go with you.
- [Marion] Of course.
753
00:43:34,666 --> 00:43:38,875
I am bonkers about Movietone News.
I love Lowell Thomas's voice.
754
00:43:38,958 --> 00:43:41,416
- Oh, is he single?
- [both laugh]
755
00:43:41,500 --> 00:43:43,916
I sat across from him
at the Brown Derby once.
756
00:43:44,791 --> 00:43:46,250
- He bought me a drink.
- He didn't!
757
00:43:46,333 --> 00:43:47,500
[actress] Not technically.
758
00:43:47,583 --> 00:43:50,375
But I made sure
to run into him in the parking lot after.
759
00:43:50,458 --> 00:43:53,541
- I asked him, "Do you need a lift?"
- You didn't! What did he say?
760
00:43:54,125 --> 00:43:56,916
- I'll never tell.
- There's a point to this, dear?
761
00:43:57,000 --> 00:44:01,666
Well, yes, they showed that Hitler
giving a speech, kissing babies.
762
00:44:01,750 --> 00:44:03,166
He is creepers!
763
00:44:03,250 --> 00:44:06,250
Lederhosen and suspenders. Terrifying.
764
00:44:06,333 --> 00:44:08,708
- No, it's the mustache that's the horror.
- [all laugh]
765
00:44:08,791 --> 00:44:11,458
[Hearst] Don't be alarmed, Marion.
He won't be around for long.
766
00:44:11,541 --> 00:44:14,541
The Germans
are a thoughtful, considerate people.
767
00:44:14,625 --> 00:44:16,333
Enough about Nazis.
768
00:44:16,416 --> 00:44:19,375
Irving, tell us about your travels.
Where were you?
769
00:44:19,458 --> 00:44:22,333
- [inhales sharply] Uh… Berlin, in fact.
- [all chuckle]
770
00:44:23,041 --> 00:44:24,333
But it was quite interesting.
771
00:44:24,416 --> 00:44:27,541
Thugs in brown shirts
goose-stepping past our hotel all night,
772
00:44:27,625 --> 00:44:29,333
screaming anti-Semitic slogans.
773
00:44:29,916 --> 00:44:32,666
- I was terrified the whole time.
- This Hitler sounds like an utter drip.
774
00:44:32,750 --> 00:44:35,416
Shouldn't the United States
do something, Mr. Tugwell?
775
00:44:35,500 --> 00:44:37,125
We are weighing all options.
776
00:44:37,208 --> 00:44:40,041
Can't last. Who in the world
takes a lunatic like that seriously?
777
00:44:40,125 --> 00:44:42,666
Well, the last time I looked,
40 million Germans.
778
00:44:42,750 --> 00:44:45,250
Mank! You're always
so wonderfully contrary.
779
00:44:45,333 --> 00:44:47,583
"Chase & Sanborn's der coffee."
780
00:44:47,666 --> 00:44:50,125
[in German accent]
"Can 40 million Nazis all be wrong?"
781
00:44:50,208 --> 00:44:53,333
I just read they've opened
their first concentration camps
782
00:44:53,416 --> 00:44:54,916
and started burning books.
783
00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:57,791
- What's next? Movies?
- Enough.
784
00:44:57,875 --> 00:45:00,000
- Is that true, Irving?
- Yes, L.B.
785
00:45:00,500 --> 00:45:02,250
Ah, Hitler, schmitler!
786
00:45:02,916 --> 00:45:05,000
You don't turn your back on
a market as big as Germany.
787
00:45:05,083 --> 00:45:08,875
Please. It's upsetting enough
Marion had to endure the man in newsreel.
788
00:45:08,958 --> 00:45:10,583
What's a concentration camp?
789
00:45:10,666 --> 00:45:12,958
It was fascinating.
Those people adore him.
790
00:45:14,916 --> 00:45:18,541
- I'm probably talking nonsense.
- You're the first tonight that isn't.
791
00:45:18,625 --> 00:45:21,125
[Selznick] Speaking of socialists,
how about Upton Sinclair's book?
792
00:45:21,208 --> 00:45:22,041
No!
793
00:45:22,125 --> 00:45:24,250
He wants to turn private enterprise
over to the state.
794
00:45:24,333 --> 00:45:26,125
There's one we won't be optioning.
Eh, Irving?
795
00:45:26,208 --> 00:45:27,583
Well, it's selling like crazy.
796
00:45:27,666 --> 00:45:30,541
Walter Winchell says Sinclair may run
for governor next election.
797
00:45:30,625 --> 00:45:33,666
That rat Bolshevik
belongs right up there with Hitler
798
00:45:33,750 --> 00:45:36,583
on the list of people
not to be taken seriously.
799
00:45:36,666 --> 00:45:39,041
There's a world of difference
between communism and socialism.
800
00:45:39,125 --> 00:45:41,125
[Mayer] They both
want something for nothing.
801
00:45:41,208 --> 00:45:42,666
Like a workforce for free?
802
00:45:42,750 --> 00:45:44,416
Half, and only in the interim.
803
00:45:44,500 --> 00:45:47,041
I think it's safe to assume
none of us here would welcome
804
00:45:47,125 --> 00:45:50,125
a crusading socialist
as California's political savior.
805
00:45:50,208 --> 00:45:52,666
Certainly not FDR. Am I right, Rex?
806
00:45:52,750 --> 00:45:55,375
Off the record,
President says the man bears watching.
807
00:45:55,458 --> 00:45:58,916
Especially now that Republicans
seem bent on running Frank Merriam again.
808
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:01,750
Sinclair's run twice before
and got, what, 2% of the vote?
809
00:46:01,833 --> 00:46:05,541
- Good people, the man is an author.
- As was Thomas Jefferson.
810
00:46:05,625 --> 00:46:09,500
Ha! Come now, Mank.
Upton Sinclair as Thomas Jefferson?
811
00:46:09,583 --> 00:46:10,958
No, you're right, W.R.
812
00:46:11,041 --> 00:46:14,375
Jefferson never got federal laws
passed to ban oil monopolies,
813
00:46:14,458 --> 00:46:17,541
or railroad trusts,
or cleaned up the stockyards.
814
00:46:17,625 --> 00:46:20,958
- He's an angry scribe, a provocateur.
- Because he provokes thought.
815
00:46:21,041 --> 00:46:22,916
You always side with the writer, Mank.
816
00:46:23,500 --> 00:46:26,625
Poor souls surviving a depression
on five grand a week.
817
00:46:26,708 --> 00:46:28,125
- Commies.
- L.B. is not wrong.
818
00:46:28,208 --> 00:46:29,916
[Mank] Irving, you're a literate man.
819
00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:32,750
You know the difference
between communism and socialism.
820
00:46:32,833 --> 00:46:35,000
In socialism, everyone shares the wealth.
821
00:46:35,083 --> 00:46:37,458
In communism, everyone shares the poverty.
822
00:46:37,541 --> 00:46:39,041
Thank you, Mr. Mankiewicz.
823
00:46:39,125 --> 00:46:43,000
Upton just wants you to apportion
some of your Christmas bonus, Irving,
824
00:46:43,083 --> 00:46:45,041
to the people who clean your house.
825
00:46:45,125 --> 00:46:46,083
[guests laughing]
826
00:46:46,166 --> 00:46:49,625
- Now that's why I always want Mank around.
- [chuckles] Me too.
827
00:46:49,708 --> 00:46:52,708
Upton, Mank? Nobody's asking
to hear you sing "The Internationale."
828
00:46:52,791 --> 00:46:54,250
[plays "The Internationale"]
829
00:46:54,750 --> 00:46:57,250
- What's that?
- The Communist national anthem, darling.
830
00:46:57,333 --> 00:46:59,750
I would. Do you sing?
831
00:46:59,833 --> 00:47:02,208
No one should have to hear me sing.
Isn't that right, Sara?
832
00:47:02,291 --> 00:47:03,458
If at all possible.
833
00:47:03,541 --> 00:47:05,625
[Mayer] As Republican state
chairman-elect,
834
00:47:05,708 --> 00:47:08,250
I'm telling you,
nothing's going to happen here.
835
00:47:08,333 --> 00:47:11,750
The people who count
in California won't let it.
836
00:47:11,833 --> 00:47:14,625
All this talk
is so much pissing in the wind.
837
00:47:14,708 --> 00:47:15,583
Nicely put.
838
00:47:15,666 --> 00:47:19,125
I heard Pops on the phone
helping to pick the president's cabinet
839
00:47:19,208 --> 00:47:20,416
like casting a movie.
840
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:22,708
They can stop a guy like Sinclair.
841
00:47:23,291 --> 00:47:24,500
Couldn't you, Pops?
842
00:47:27,166 --> 00:47:28,166
Pardon.
843
00:47:28,250 --> 00:47:30,166
[unsettling music playing]
844
00:47:30,250 --> 00:47:32,041
I don't know what I'm saying.
845
00:47:45,333 --> 00:47:46,250
Go.
846
00:47:52,416 --> 00:47:53,625
[sighs deeply]
847
00:47:58,166 --> 00:47:59,250
[gasps]
848
00:48:06,708 --> 00:48:08,250
Hello, Tokyo?
849
00:48:10,416 --> 00:48:12,000
London, you there?
850
00:48:12,916 --> 00:48:15,208
- Ah, nerts!
- [Mank] What is that?
851
00:48:15,291 --> 00:48:17,833
[Marion] Oh, Pops's radio-phones.
852
00:48:17,916 --> 00:48:20,333
Never ever be out of touch
with your empire.
853
00:48:20,416 --> 00:48:25,125
- No, no. What's "nerts"?
- Nerts is Brooklynese for "nuts."
854
00:48:25,708 --> 00:48:26,708
Jeepers!
855
00:48:36,250 --> 00:48:38,541
What did I do that was so terrible?
856
00:48:39,250 --> 00:48:42,208
I shouldn't have said that thing
about the cabinet in front of Tugwell,
857
00:48:42,291 --> 00:48:45,833
but since when does anybody care
what I have to say?
858
00:48:45,916 --> 00:48:48,125
Those things just pop out of my mouth,
859
00:48:48,208 --> 00:48:51,458
and the moment they do, I feel like…
860
00:48:51,541 --> 00:48:53,541
Like you got caught, jambes en I'air.
861
00:48:53,625 --> 00:48:55,250
[gasps] No!
862
00:48:56,208 --> 00:49:01,041
Well, do you always
just say whatever you think? Hmm.
863
00:49:01,125 --> 00:49:04,000
- [chuckles]
- [Mank] You're blushing.
864
00:49:04,500 --> 00:49:05,833
- Am not.
- Are too.
865
00:49:05,916 --> 00:49:10,250
- Am not.
- Are too. I can see it even in the dark.
866
00:49:10,333 --> 00:49:13,416
Well, what can I tell you, Mank?
Marion Douras…
867
00:49:14,333 --> 00:49:15,958
Went to convent school.
868
00:49:16,041 --> 00:49:18,750
- Hedda! Louella!
- [laughs]
869
00:49:18,833 --> 00:49:21,500
Where's a gossip columnist
around this castle when you need one?
870
00:49:22,291 --> 00:49:25,333
I hate shop talk.
I never know what's going on.
871
00:49:26,291 --> 00:49:29,708
The one thing you never ever talk about
is Upton Sinclair.
872
00:49:29,791 --> 00:49:31,083
I noted.
873
00:49:31,166 --> 00:49:33,708
The moment he's mentioned,
the evening turns.
874
00:49:33,791 --> 00:49:36,416
- It's sort of a sore subject.
- Really?
875
00:49:37,666 --> 00:49:38,708
Do tell.
876
00:49:42,375 --> 00:49:44,791
[Marion] I don't even know
who this Mr. Sinclair is,
877
00:49:44,875 --> 00:49:46,750
but he wrote about us for a book.
878
00:49:47,250 --> 00:49:49,375
I used to quote it word for word.
879
00:49:50,041 --> 00:49:54,375
"I saw our richest newspaper publisher
keep his movie mistress
880
00:49:54,458 --> 00:49:57,750
in a private city
of palaces and cathedrals,
881
00:49:57,833 --> 00:50:01,625
furnished with shiploads
of junk imported from Europe
882
00:50:01,708 --> 00:50:06,750
and surrounded by vast acres
reserved for use by zebras and giraffes,
883
00:50:07,250 --> 00:50:10,916
telling in jest
that he had spent six million dollars
884
00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:13,166
to make his lady's reputation
885
00:50:13,250 --> 00:50:16,291
and using his newspapers
to celebrate her change of hats."
886
00:50:16,875 --> 00:50:20,250
It must be hard
to be on the receiving end of that.
887
00:50:20,333 --> 00:50:22,875
People think because you're
on the cover of Modern Screen,
888
00:50:22,958 --> 00:50:24,000
they know you.
889
00:50:24,083 --> 00:50:26,000
- [Mank] Hmm.
- Ah, nerts!
890
00:50:26,083 --> 00:50:27,666
What do I have to complain about?
891
00:50:27,750 --> 00:50:30,666
I live in a fishbowl,
but anything I want is mine.
892
00:50:31,416 --> 00:50:35,250
If I could, I'd share with everyone.
You know that, Mank.
893
00:50:35,750 --> 00:50:38,916
This Upton doesn't know
a thing about the real…
894
00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:40,958
- [gasps]
- [monkeys chattering]
895
00:50:41,041 --> 00:50:46,500
[shouting] Nobody but nobody makes
a monkey out of William Randolph Hearst!
896
00:50:46,583 --> 00:50:47,708
[giggles]
897
00:50:47,791 --> 00:50:50,583
- I understand why Mayer loathes him.
- Why?
898
00:50:51,291 --> 00:50:55,250
- Sinclair caught him with his pants down.
- [inhales sharply] Yikes!
899
00:50:55,333 --> 00:50:59,166
He wrote that Mayer took a bribe
to look the other way
900
00:50:59,250 --> 00:51:01,166
so a rival could buy MGM.
901
00:51:01,250 --> 00:51:02,291
[gasps]
902
00:51:02,375 --> 00:51:05,208
- It's complicated.
- Over my head?
903
00:51:05,291 --> 00:51:08,416
No, over mine.
You'd need a degree in larceny.
904
00:51:08,500 --> 00:51:11,708
- Isn't bribery a crime?
- That's what Sinclair said.
905
00:51:11,791 --> 00:51:14,541
The little sausage
might have gone to jail.
906
00:51:14,625 --> 00:51:16,125
Jeepers!
907
00:51:16,208 --> 00:51:17,666
[Mank] The hypocrisy.
908
00:51:18,166 --> 00:51:20,666
"Mayn gantze mishpokhe. My mishpokhe."
909
00:51:20,750 --> 00:51:24,125
- [Marion] I don't speak a lot of Jewish.
- [laughs] Really?
910
00:51:24,208 --> 00:51:26,541
"My mishpokhe. My family."
911
00:51:26,625 --> 00:51:30,166
Everything he does is for family,
912
00:51:30,250 --> 00:51:32,500
except when it comes
to selling his last name
913
00:51:32,583 --> 00:51:35,041
to a competitor
in the middle of the night.
914
00:51:35,541 --> 00:51:38,083
Wow. He would do that to his own studio?
915
00:51:38,583 --> 00:51:41,875
He doesn't own MGM
any more than Sam Goldwyn.
916
00:51:41,958 --> 00:51:44,083
They just run it
for the moneyboys back East.
917
00:51:44,916 --> 00:51:49,166
And jail is not something
an animal like Mayer is likely to forget.
918
00:51:49,250 --> 00:51:50,875
[elephant trumpets]
919
00:51:50,958 --> 00:51:53,000
[both laugh]
920
00:51:53,500 --> 00:51:57,541
Irving must be clean.
He looks like he shaves three times a day.
921
00:51:58,125 --> 00:52:00,833
Well, there's clean, and there's clean.
922
00:52:01,583 --> 00:52:04,166
Irving bought one of Sinclair's novels.
923
00:52:04,750 --> 00:52:09,291
Sinclair demanded a guarantee
that not one word could be changed,
924
00:52:09,375 --> 00:52:12,375
in writing,
on the back of the purchase check.
925
00:52:12,458 --> 00:52:15,750
[gasps] He didn't want notes
from Irving Thalberg?
926
00:52:15,833 --> 00:52:19,208
When Thalberg refused,
Sinclair took his money
927
00:52:19,291 --> 00:52:23,666
and ran off to Mexico and financed
a picture about the Russian Revolution.
928
00:52:23,750 --> 00:52:26,625
[both chuckle]
929
00:52:26,708 --> 00:52:29,416
Now, that's sticking the old neck out.
930
00:52:29,916 --> 00:52:31,083
[Marion] Oh.
931
00:52:31,166 --> 00:52:33,250
[Marion laughing]
932
00:52:38,833 --> 00:52:40,083
- [gasps]
- Oh.
933
00:52:40,166 --> 00:52:42,666
I'm sorry. Instinct!
934
00:52:43,250 --> 00:52:44,250
My fault.
935
00:52:45,375 --> 00:52:47,791
I've been a little
sixes and sevens recently.
936
00:52:48,791 --> 00:52:51,166
Tell me something, Mank. The truth.
937
00:52:52,833 --> 00:52:54,125
Could you see me playing
938
00:52:54,208 --> 00:52:56,583
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
or Marie Antoinette?
939
00:52:56,666 --> 00:53:00,833
Irving's bought 'em both,
you know, because of Pops.
940
00:53:02,125 --> 00:53:03,125
What do you think?
941
00:53:03,708 --> 00:53:05,416
And honestly.
942
00:53:07,958 --> 00:53:10,000
I see you more as Dulcinea.
943
00:53:10,583 --> 00:53:12,416
- Who?
- Dulcinea.
944
00:53:12,500 --> 00:53:14,708
From the Spanish, for sweetness.
945
00:53:14,791 --> 00:53:16,666
[gasps] Ah.
946
00:53:16,750 --> 00:53:21,416
"Her hair, gold. Her cheeks, roses."
947
00:53:21,500 --> 00:53:22,541
Nice.
948
00:53:22,625 --> 00:53:25,791
- "Her lips, coral."
- Mmm.
949
00:53:25,875 --> 00:53:30,083
"Her neck, alabaster. Her bosom, marble."
950
00:53:30,166 --> 00:53:31,125
Marble? [scoffs]
951
00:53:31,208 --> 00:53:32,458
Maybe once.
952
00:53:32,958 --> 00:53:37,250
"Ivory, her hands,
and her whiteness, snow."
953
00:53:38,083 --> 00:53:42,208
- You wrote that?
- No. A fella named Cervantes.
954
00:53:42,291 --> 00:53:43,166
[clears throat]
955
00:53:43,250 --> 00:53:45,750
"There are meters
of accent and meters of tone,
956
00:53:45,833 --> 00:53:48,666
but the best of all meters
is to meet her alone."
957
00:53:48,750 --> 00:53:53,416
- Ah, a poem with a message.
- That's just the first verse.
958
00:53:54,041 --> 00:53:55,291
The last…
959
00:53:56,250 --> 00:54:00,666
"There are letters of accent
and letters of tone,
960
00:54:00,750 --> 00:54:03,416
but the best of all letters
is to let her alone."
961
00:54:03,500 --> 00:54:05,041
[Marion laughs]
962
00:54:06,125 --> 00:54:08,166
Now, those I wrote.
963
00:54:09,666 --> 00:54:10,583
[Mank chuckles]
964
00:54:12,750 --> 00:54:14,500
[Marion sighs happily]
965
00:54:23,333 --> 00:54:26,125
[coyotes howling in the distance]
966
00:54:47,208 --> 00:54:50,208
[bottles clinking]
967
00:54:51,083 --> 00:54:52,250
[gasps softly]
968
00:54:54,958 --> 00:54:56,125
[Mank sighs]
969
00:54:58,666 --> 00:54:59,708
Do come in.
970
00:55:02,916 --> 00:55:06,875
- Jesus! What is that?
- Sunlight. It's nearly noon.
971
00:55:06,958 --> 00:55:09,916
Mother of God! Where did the night go?
972
00:55:11,041 --> 00:55:14,916
- Your support device is here.
- Oh, good. Send it in.
973
00:55:15,000 --> 00:55:16,333
As is Mr. Houseman.
974
00:55:18,833 --> 00:55:20,458
What would you like me to do?
975
00:55:21,125 --> 00:55:22,708
Well, send him in too.
976
00:55:32,541 --> 00:55:33,750
[coughs]
977
00:55:38,291 --> 00:55:40,750
Uh, put it over there, please.
978
00:55:41,791 --> 00:55:44,750
- You're early.
- I thought we should talk.
979
00:55:45,333 --> 00:55:47,750
- [Mank] Why are you wearing a coat?
- I always wear a coat.
980
00:55:47,833 --> 00:55:49,375
Must be 108 degrees.
981
00:55:49,458 --> 00:55:51,791
- We're at a Rubicon moment, Mank.
- [Mank] Uh-huh.
982
00:55:51,875 --> 00:55:54,791
It's not the work.
That's everything we hoped it would be.
983
00:55:54,875 --> 00:55:57,333
- [Mank] Enough room there?
- Oh, it should be.
984
00:55:57,875 --> 00:56:00,416
[sighs] I'm sorry, John.
985
00:56:01,750 --> 00:56:04,000
- You've only written ninety pages.
- Ninety-one.
986
00:56:04,083 --> 00:56:07,041
[Houseman] In my expert opinion,
you're hardly out of the first act.
987
00:56:07,125 --> 00:56:11,041
I mean,
how do you hope to be done in 14… 13 days?
988
00:56:11,708 --> 00:56:14,458
We gave him
our solemn word we would deliver.
989
00:56:14,541 --> 00:56:16,416
- "We"?
- I don't think he's going to take it well.
990
00:56:16,500 --> 00:56:17,375
Not very well at all.
991
00:56:17,458 --> 00:56:21,583
You said 90 days. Welles said 60.
I'm doing the very best I can.
992
00:56:21,666 --> 00:56:25,416
- We are surely to be axed.
- Not just yet.
993
00:56:26,666 --> 00:56:27,875
I've never been fired.
994
00:56:29,000 --> 00:56:31,500
- I've never not been fired.
- I don't get fired.
995
00:56:31,583 --> 00:56:33,875
It's not as unpleasant
as you might imagine.
996
00:56:33,958 --> 00:56:36,000
You worry too much, John.
997
00:56:36,083 --> 00:56:38,916
- What do you do for pleasure?
- [telephone rings]
998
00:56:39,000 --> 00:56:42,791
- Hello? Yes, he's here.
- [man speaks indistinctly on phone]
999
00:56:43,958 --> 00:56:44,958
[softly] It's Orson.
1000
00:56:45,708 --> 00:56:47,833
[inhales sharply] Will you talk?
1001
00:56:47,916 --> 00:56:50,041
[Rita] He'd like to speak
with Mr. Houseman.
1002
00:56:51,208 --> 00:56:52,125
[Houseman] Me?
1003
00:56:59,333 --> 00:57:01,791
- Orson.
- [Orson speaking indistinctly]
1004
00:57:01,875 --> 00:57:04,166
I came early
to see where we were with, uh…
1005
00:57:05,416 --> 00:57:08,875
No, not at all.
Everything's going absolutely according…
1006
00:57:09,916 --> 00:57:12,708
Well, that's difficult to say exactly.
1007
00:57:13,250 --> 00:57:15,416
Yep. Yes, I know the clock…
1008
00:57:17,375 --> 00:57:19,708
Well, as I've told you, it's quite unique.
1009
00:57:19,791 --> 00:57:22,083
In fact,
I would venture to say, one of the most…
1010
00:57:24,333 --> 00:57:27,541
Yes, well,
it will absolutely need your marvelous…
1011
00:57:29,041 --> 00:57:31,666
He's on the mend, working tirelessly.
1012
00:57:32,500 --> 00:57:34,875
- [crate creaks]
- [Houseman] Of course. When?
1013
00:57:36,000 --> 00:57:37,500
I'm on my way.
1014
00:57:37,583 --> 00:57:39,250
Yes. Hang on. He's right here.
1015
00:57:41,958 --> 00:57:44,458
He wants to see me right away.
Wouldn't tell me why.
1016
00:57:45,250 --> 00:57:46,375
Perhaps he will you.
1017
00:57:47,166 --> 00:57:48,291
[Mank grunts]
1018
00:57:52,541 --> 00:57:55,541
- Orson.
- [Welles laughs] Tell me what's up, Mank.
1019
00:57:56,125 --> 00:57:57,500
He's getting on my nerves.
1020
00:57:57,583 --> 00:57:59,666
I sensed that.
I told him I had to see him at once.
1021
00:57:59,750 --> 00:58:02,083
Hopefully, I can think of a reason
before he gets here.
1022
00:58:02,166 --> 00:58:04,458
I've finished my test
for Heart of Darkness.
1023
00:58:04,541 --> 00:58:06,708
I'm turning my full attention
to our little project.
1024
00:58:06,791 --> 00:58:08,083
[Mank] "Let there be light."
1025
00:58:08,166 --> 00:58:12,041
- [Welles] Tell me what to expect.
- I thought you'd want to be surprised.
1026
00:58:12,125 --> 00:58:14,875
Ha. You're always surprising.
That's why you were my only choice.
1027
00:58:14,958 --> 00:58:19,125
No one else is Mankiewicz.
I can almost hear the finish line.
1028
00:58:19,208 --> 00:58:22,333
- We're about to turn a corner.
- Unto the breach!
1029
00:58:23,708 --> 00:58:25,291
Slim, you may tote
1030
00:58:25,375 --> 00:58:27,208
those lovely highland beauties
to the kitchen.
1031
00:58:27,291 --> 00:58:29,416
Fraulein Freda, empty the Mickeys
1032
00:58:29,500 --> 00:58:32,416
and start replacing
their contents, raus schnell.
1033
00:58:35,083 --> 00:58:37,041
- Thank you, Slim. You may go.
- [Mank] Slim.
1034
00:58:44,250 --> 00:58:48,125
Mr. Mankiewicz, please don't ask us
to help you in this sad deception.
1035
00:58:48,208 --> 00:58:49,583
My dear Mrs. Alexander,
1036
00:58:49,666 --> 00:58:54,583
Charlie Lederer and I went to a great deal
of trouble to engineer this sad deception.
1037
00:58:54,666 --> 00:58:57,625
My deadline
is two weeks away and I intend...
1038
00:58:57,708 --> 00:58:59,291
It could mean our jobs.
1039
00:58:59,375 --> 00:59:03,750
I do my best thinking
before I fall asleep.
1040
00:59:03,833 --> 00:59:06,750
And I am sick and tired
of having my evenings end
1041
00:59:06,833 --> 00:59:11,500
with the abrupt sensation of being
struck on the head with a croquet mallet.
1042
00:59:11,583 --> 00:59:13,875
- A way to put it.
- I'm not asking you to help.
1043
00:59:13,958 --> 00:59:15,333
- You're not?
- I'm telling you.
1044
00:59:15,416 --> 00:59:16,250
[scoffs]
1045
00:59:17,708 --> 00:59:21,708
I'm sorry. I won't be bullied.
You'll have my resignation in the morning.
1046
00:59:21,791 --> 00:59:24,625
I know Freda's been sneaking
you nightcaps from the cabinet.
1047
00:59:24,708 --> 00:59:27,166
If she continues
to cooperate in this cheap ruse,
1048
00:59:27,250 --> 00:59:29,083
I'll have to report the both of you.
1049
00:59:29,166 --> 00:59:31,416
- Fraulein Freda.
- Ja, Herr Mank?
1050
00:59:31,500 --> 00:59:33,916
- Please do as I instructed.
- Ja, Herr Mank.
1051
00:59:37,666 --> 00:59:38,875
[groans]
1052
00:59:44,416 --> 00:59:45,458
Humph.
1053
00:59:51,166 --> 00:59:53,125
Freda, you mustn't let him intimidate you.
1054
00:59:53,208 --> 00:59:54,375
[chuckles]
1055
00:59:54,458 --> 00:59:57,916
- I am not intimidated, Frau Alexander.
- Then, why?
1056
01:00:00,083 --> 01:00:01,250
[Fraulein Freda sighs]
1057
01:00:02,625 --> 01:00:05,375
Herr Mank sponsored
my family's entry into this country.
1058
01:00:05,458 --> 01:00:09,666
He's responsible for us getting safely
out of Germany, legally and financially.
1059
01:00:10,375 --> 01:00:13,250
- Really?
- Our entire village, he brought here.
1060
01:00:14,250 --> 01:00:17,458
- Entire village?
- Over 100 people.
1061
01:00:19,208 --> 01:00:21,125
Joseph Goebbels, the propaganda minister,
1062
01:00:21,208 --> 01:00:24,166
will not allow his films
to be shown in the Fatherland.
1063
01:00:25,291 --> 01:00:26,791
I didn't realize.
1064
01:00:27,291 --> 01:00:31,625
He wrote a picture about the Nazis,
which no studio anywhere will dare make.
1065
01:00:33,000 --> 01:00:37,250
I assume if he wishes to drink,
he's a grown man, a good man,
1066
01:00:37,750 --> 01:00:39,333
and should be treated as such.
1067
01:00:40,666 --> 01:00:41,791
Nicht wahr?
1068
01:00:54,166 --> 01:00:56,750
To Mank-town. Or is it Mank-ville?
1069
01:00:59,500 --> 01:01:00,958
[sighs] Dear Freda.
1070
01:01:02,000 --> 01:01:04,416
What's German for blabbermouth?
1071
01:01:04,500 --> 01:01:06,583
Either you demonstrate
you can handle this,
1072
01:01:06,666 --> 01:01:08,541
or we will all end up getting sacked.
1073
01:01:08,625 --> 01:01:11,833
There's nothing like
a vote of confidence from one's peers.
1074
01:01:11,916 --> 01:01:13,875
To Mank-berg. Prosit.
1075
01:01:13,958 --> 01:01:16,666
Mank-heim. Bottoms up.
1076
01:01:22,041 --> 01:01:23,208
{\an8}[typewriter dings]
1077
01:01:33,208 --> 01:01:36,291
Hey, Mank, you remember me?
1078
01:01:36,375 --> 01:01:39,750
[chuckles] Oh, my God.
Of course I remember you, C.C.
1079
01:01:39,833 --> 01:01:42,791
C.C. for Central Casting.
How you been, Mank?
1080
01:01:42,875 --> 01:01:43,833
What happened?
1081
01:01:43,916 --> 01:01:46,458
[C.C.] What happened?
The goddamn Depression happened.
1082
01:01:46,541 --> 01:01:49,333
I ain't had so much
as a walk-on since Tugboat Annie.
1083
01:01:49,833 --> 01:01:51,541
Listen. I hate to, you know…
1084
01:01:51,625 --> 01:01:54,916
Uh, yeah. Ed, lend me a buck.
1085
01:02:02,583 --> 01:02:07,125
Uh, me and Grady here
been thinking of bummin' east to Miami.
1086
01:02:07,541 --> 01:02:08,875
I heard it from someone who knows,
1087
01:02:08,958 --> 01:02:10,875
the Hollywood studios are movin'
to Florida.
1088
01:02:10,958 --> 01:02:12,958
- Who told you that?
- Oh, I can't say.
1089
01:02:13,041 --> 01:02:14,166
Somebody in the know.
1090
01:02:14,250 --> 01:02:16,500
In certain echelons,
it's common knowledge.
1091
01:02:16,583 --> 01:02:18,500
Well, people in certain echelons
1092
01:02:18,583 --> 01:02:21,416
don't usually trust me
with sensitive information.
1093
01:02:21,500 --> 01:02:25,833
But the studios aren't moving anywhere.
That's just company-town propaganda.
1094
01:02:25,916 --> 01:02:29,000
Believe what you want,
but say, you think you could spare…
1095
01:02:29,791 --> 01:02:31,583
Uh… Ed?
1096
01:02:33,041 --> 01:02:34,041
[sighs]
1097
01:02:34,708 --> 01:02:36,125
[C.C.] Bless you, Mank.
1098
01:02:36,208 --> 01:02:38,416
[Joe] The bastard reneged. You were there.
1099
01:02:38,500 --> 01:02:40,166
Yes, he reinstated salaries,
1100
01:02:40,250 --> 01:02:42,541
but he never gave back the money
he promised.
1101
01:02:42,625 --> 01:02:43,833
Giant surprise.
1102
01:02:43,916 --> 01:02:47,666
Come on, Mank. We need guys like you
to keep people like Mayer honest.
1103
01:02:47,750 --> 01:02:50,250
I'd refer you, for that,
to the power of prayer.
1104
01:02:50,333 --> 01:02:52,166
The Writers Guild
doesn't have to hit the bricks
1105
01:02:52,250 --> 01:02:54,125
for the $2,500-a-week guy.
1106
01:02:54,208 --> 01:02:56,583
We're doing it for the $250-a-week guy.
1107
01:02:56,666 --> 01:03:01,208
Joe, all the $250-a-week writers I know
are getting $2,500.
1108
01:03:01,791 --> 01:03:05,416
Stop crying for your just deserts,
or they're liable to give them to you.
1109
01:03:05,500 --> 01:03:07,333
Then we'll all be working
for 75 bucks a week.
1110
01:03:07,416 --> 01:03:10,250
I don't know if you've ever walked
a picket line. You might have to.
1111
01:03:10,333 --> 01:03:11,916
And Dave Chasen will cater.
1112
01:03:12,000 --> 01:03:15,583
"Junior writers only paid $750 a week."
1113
01:03:15,666 --> 01:03:17,875
If that happens, you'd better run
1114
01:03:17,958 --> 01:03:21,541
before real folk
with real troubles stone you to death.
1115
01:03:23,000 --> 01:03:26,083
Hermie, the guild's in its infancy.
1116
01:03:26,166 --> 01:03:27,833
- It needs you.
- [Mank] You're telling me.
1117
01:03:27,916 --> 01:03:29,666
What writer failed to notice
1118
01:03:29,750 --> 01:03:32,291
the Screen Writers Guild
needs an apostrophe?
1119
01:03:33,000 --> 01:03:34,791
As Groucho always said,
1120
01:03:34,875 --> 01:03:36,375
"Never belong to any club
1121
01:03:36,458 --> 01:03:38,833
that would have someone like you
for a member."
1122
01:03:38,916 --> 01:03:40,416
[Joe groans, sighs]
1123
01:03:40,500 --> 01:03:41,583
And look at him.
1124
01:03:42,083 --> 01:03:44,833
The most miserable bastard
on God's green earth.
1125
01:03:44,916 --> 01:03:48,375
I'd tell him you said that,
only he'd think you were brownnosing.
1126
01:03:58,416 --> 01:03:59,833
[grill hissing]
1127
01:04:01,708 --> 01:04:02,708
Close the door.
1128
01:04:02,791 --> 01:04:04,500
[Mank sniffs]
1129
01:04:05,458 --> 01:04:08,041
Ah… summer.
1130
01:04:08,125 --> 01:04:11,541
Inez, you are not to let the Brothers Marx
wait in my office. Ever.
1131
01:04:11,625 --> 01:04:13,750
They've been grilling hot dogs again.
1132
01:04:14,916 --> 01:04:15,750
Sit down.
1133
01:04:26,083 --> 01:04:29,250
[Mank exhales]
1134
01:04:32,750 --> 01:04:33,833
You wanted to see me?
1135
01:04:33,916 --> 01:04:36,666
Not that I care,
but why aren't you contributing
1136
01:04:36,750 --> 01:04:38,625
to MGM's anti-Sinclair fund?
1137
01:04:38,708 --> 01:04:41,833
Well, call me old-fashioned, Irving,
but I don't like being told
1138
01:04:41,916 --> 01:04:43,916
which side of a fight I'm already on.
1139
01:04:44,000 --> 01:04:46,333
How's it gonna look
if the GOP chairman himself
1140
01:04:46,416 --> 01:04:48,791
can't get unanimous support
from his own studio?
1141
01:04:48,875 --> 01:04:49,833
[Mank chuckles]
1142
01:04:51,375 --> 01:04:52,583
You're serious.
1143
01:04:52,666 --> 01:04:55,083
I was taught
by my parents to be straightforward,
1144
01:04:55,583 --> 01:04:59,083
to ask simply for what I want, and expect
that I may have to elucidate my position.
1145
01:04:59,166 --> 01:05:01,541
Well, I was encouraged by mine
to use my imagination,
1146
01:05:01,625 --> 01:05:03,958
but I taught myself
to avoid the consequences.
1147
01:05:04,041 --> 01:05:05,541
It's ten bucks, Mank.
1148
01:05:06,291 --> 01:05:08,416
You piss that away between hopeless bets.
1149
01:05:08,916 --> 01:05:11,958
I hate to think what L.B. might do
if he knew you were the only holdout.
1150
01:05:12,625 --> 01:05:16,083
- I am, and he doesn't?
- And we're not gonna tell him.
1151
01:05:19,041 --> 01:05:22,041
- I could let you go for this.
- It is a hanging offense.
1152
01:05:22,125 --> 01:05:24,416
I'll add the appropriate amount
to your gambling debt
1153
01:05:24,500 --> 01:05:26,625
and forget we ever had this conversation.
1154
01:05:26,708 --> 01:05:27,541
You do that.
1155
01:05:28,416 --> 01:05:30,291
And the brand-spanking-new Writers Guild
1156
01:05:30,375 --> 01:05:33,708
might find it very interesting,
not to mention the newspapers.
1157
01:05:33,791 --> 01:05:36,708
I'm not sure the guild
intends to cover games of chance.
1158
01:05:36,791 --> 01:05:41,083
And you won't go to the press,
because in California, that means Hearst.
1159
01:05:41,166 --> 01:05:44,875
Irving, you are the shrewdest executive
in this town.
1160
01:05:44,958 --> 01:05:48,291
Why are you acting
like some dumb ward heeler?
1161
01:05:51,333 --> 01:05:54,791
You don't need my donation.
You don't need anybody's.
1162
01:05:55,375 --> 01:05:57,416
You have everything it takes right here.
1163
01:05:58,333 --> 01:05:59,333
Meaning?
1164
01:06:00,750 --> 01:06:05,708
[sighs] Meaning you can make the world
swear King Kong is ten stories tall
1165
01:06:05,791 --> 01:06:08,125
and Mary Pickford a virgin at 40.
1166
01:06:08,833 --> 01:06:12,666
Yet you can't convince
starving voters that a turncoat socialist
1167
01:06:12,750 --> 01:06:15,541
is a menace
to everything Californians hold dear?
1168
01:06:16,458 --> 01:06:18,000
You're barely trying.
1169
01:06:18,625 --> 01:06:19,958
[door closes]
1170
01:06:24,875 --> 01:06:26,875
[indistinct chatter]
1171
01:06:32,500 --> 01:06:34,125
[man 1 on speaker]
Millions of Californians
1172
01:06:34,208 --> 01:06:36,000
are being taxed out of their homes,
1173
01:06:36,083 --> 01:06:38,458
yet the Depression is one of abundance.
1174
01:06:38,541 --> 01:06:41,750
Fruit rots on the ground
and vegetables are dumped into the ocean
1175
01:06:41,833 --> 01:06:43,416
because there are no markets for them.
1176
01:06:43,500 --> 01:06:47,208
[man 2] Aimee Semple McPherson says
you're a godless commie, Upton.
1177
01:06:47,291 --> 01:06:48,125
[crowd booing]
1178
01:06:48,208 --> 01:06:52,416
[Sinclair] Too often, sir, the religion
of Jesus is used by the ruling classes
1179
01:06:52,500 --> 01:06:55,791
to keep themselves in power
and the poor ever poorer.
1180
01:06:55,875 --> 01:06:59,916
And that, my friends,
is a sin and an error.
1181
01:07:00,000 --> 01:07:01,625
And I say with Thomas Jefferson,
1182
01:07:01,708 --> 01:07:06,958
"Truth has nothing to fear from error
where reason is left free to combat it."
1183
01:07:07,041 --> 01:07:08,875
[crowd applauding]
1184
01:07:08,958 --> 01:07:11,000
{\an8}[Sinclair] My friends,
income in this country
1185
01:07:11,083 --> 01:07:14,583
{\an8}is going to be redistributed
by one of two methods,
1186
01:07:14,666 --> 01:07:18,041
{\an8}legal enactment or violent revolution.
1187
01:07:18,125 --> 01:07:21,291
{\an8}We haven't much longer
to exercise our choice.
1188
01:07:21,375 --> 01:07:22,791
{\an8}Thank you all for coming.
1189
01:07:22,875 --> 01:07:24,083
{\an8}[crowd applauding]
1190
01:07:24,166 --> 01:07:26,083
{\an8}[man 3] Tell us about Hollywood!
1191
01:07:26,166 --> 01:07:29,375
Are the studios moving
to Florida like they've been saying?
1192
01:07:29,458 --> 01:07:30,750
[Sinclair] Absurd, sir.
1193
01:07:30,833 --> 01:07:34,000
If they were serious,
why have the brothers Warner broken ground
1194
01:07:34,083 --> 01:07:36,875
on an additional
100,000 square feet of sound stages?
1195
01:07:37,458 --> 01:07:42,041
While MGM has the most contracts
with stars in their history.
1196
01:07:42,541 --> 01:07:44,708
Well, he may not get Mayer's vote…
1197
01:07:44,791 --> 01:07:45,958
[Sinclair] Jobs will be here…
1198
01:07:46,041 --> 01:07:47,083
…but he gets mine.
1199
01:07:47,166 --> 01:07:48,458
…In California.
1200
01:07:48,958 --> 01:07:50,416
Thank you all for coming.
1201
01:07:50,500 --> 01:07:52,416
[crowd applauding and cheering]
1202
01:07:56,333 --> 01:07:58,833
[Houseman] Well, I have seen
some miracles in my day,
1203
01:07:58,916 --> 01:08:02,208
but I have over 200 pages in 13 days.
1204
01:08:02,291 --> 01:08:03,958
I never would've thought it possible.
1205
01:08:05,083 --> 01:08:08,541
- To support devices.
- Support devices.
1206
01:08:13,916 --> 01:08:17,125
[exhales] It's good, Mank. Damn good.
1207
01:08:17,208 --> 01:08:20,208
I have it on highest authority
it's the best thing he's ever done.
1208
01:08:20,958 --> 01:08:22,958
[Houseman] As a moving picture,
it's more than good.
1209
01:08:23,041 --> 01:08:28,458
I'm at a loss to even express
how wealth and influence can crush a man.
1210
01:08:28,541 --> 01:08:31,208
It's Lear. The dark night of the soul.
1211
01:08:31,708 --> 01:08:33,500
And I was completely mistaken.
1212
01:08:33,583 --> 01:08:37,083
The shifting point of view
is revolutionary.
1213
01:08:37,166 --> 01:08:40,000
I never thought
one could care so much about a sled.
1214
01:08:40,583 --> 01:08:42,250
It's kind of you to say.
1215
01:08:42,333 --> 01:08:43,166
But.
1216
01:08:43,250 --> 01:08:45,625
[laughing] "But," again.
1217
01:08:45,708 --> 01:08:49,625
It's 327 pages.
An embarrassment of riches.
1218
01:08:49,708 --> 01:08:53,250
When the Dog-Faced Boy gets here,
there will be plenty of branches to prune.
1219
01:08:53,333 --> 01:08:57,750
"A far too long screenplay for the ages."
John Houseman.
1220
01:08:57,833 --> 01:08:59,166
[chuckles]
1221
01:08:59,250 --> 01:09:03,500
I built him a watertight narrative
and a suggested destination.
1222
01:09:04,166 --> 01:09:06,291
Where he takes it, that's his job.
1223
01:09:13,041 --> 01:09:16,000
I was, uh, looking to get you paid.
1224
01:09:16,791 --> 01:09:19,125
I don't know if you were aware or not.
1225
01:09:21,083 --> 01:09:24,250
You signed your rights to the Mercury.
You agreed not to take screen credit.
1226
01:09:24,333 --> 01:09:27,416
- I needed the work.
- You may want to reconsider.
1227
01:09:27,500 --> 01:09:33,458
All I currently want is a real shower,
a cocktail, and my Sara to wake up to.
1228
01:09:33,541 --> 01:09:34,666
Are you certain?
1229
01:09:36,166 --> 01:09:37,166
It worked out.
1230
01:09:42,750 --> 01:09:46,541
Mank, if I may be so bold, why Hearst?
1231
01:09:47,750 --> 01:09:50,333
Lord knows,
outside his own blonde Betty Boop,
1232
01:09:50,416 --> 01:09:52,750
you were always
his favorite dinner partner.
1233
01:09:55,083 --> 01:10:01,666
John, are you familiar with the parable
of the organ grinder's monkey?
1234
01:10:08,333 --> 01:10:09,250
[typewriter dings]
1235
01:10:09,333 --> 01:10:11,333
{\an8}[peppy music playing over radio]
1236
01:10:19,666 --> 01:10:22,500
[melancholy music playing]
1237
01:10:27,875 --> 01:10:29,875
[peppy music resumes]
1238
01:10:34,166 --> 01:10:36,166
[indistinct chatter over radio]
1239
01:10:41,166 --> 01:10:43,083
[tuning radio]
1240
01:10:43,166 --> 01:10:44,958
[reporter] Today, our roving reporter
1241
01:10:45,041 --> 01:10:47,208
is visiting Mrs. Elsie Hammontree
of Azusa.
1242
01:10:47,291 --> 01:10:51,083
Elsie, would you mind telling the folks
at home why you're voting Republican?
1243
01:10:51,166 --> 01:10:53,041
[Elsie] Young man, I'm a widow,
1244
01:10:53,125 --> 01:10:56,916
and this little home may not be much,
but it's all I have left.
1245
01:10:57,000 --> 01:10:59,875
- And I intend to protect it.
- Poor old woman.
1246
01:10:59,958 --> 01:11:03,250
[reporter] Would you mind telling folks
why you're voting for Frank Merriam?
1247
01:11:03,333 --> 01:11:07,416
[Elsie] Well, I'm voting for Frank Merriam
because I wanna keep our way of life…
1248
01:11:07,500 --> 01:11:08,791
I know that voice.
1249
01:11:10,041 --> 01:11:11,083
It is familiar.
1250
01:11:11,583 --> 01:11:13,333
That's Maude Anderson.
1251
01:11:13,416 --> 01:11:16,833
- [Elsie] I don't know much…
- It is. Aunt Bertha from Lonely Trails.
1252
01:11:16,916 --> 01:11:20,958
Well, she's no widow.
And she's absurdly rich.
1253
01:11:21,458 --> 01:11:25,250
That "poor old woman" has got
enough oil wells south of El Segundo
1254
01:11:25,333 --> 01:11:26,750
to buy us both, Schnutz.
1255
01:11:26,833 --> 01:11:29,083
- [radio tuning]
- [upbeat jazz music playing]
1256
01:11:29,166 --> 01:11:33,416
I'd know that whiskey gargle anywhere.
[chuckles]
1257
01:11:47,125 --> 01:11:49,375
{\an8}Hey, Mank.
1258
01:11:49,458 --> 01:11:50,875
{\an8}[Mank] Well, well.
1259
01:11:50,958 --> 01:11:53,250
{\an8}Looks like you found work, C.C.
1260
01:11:53,750 --> 01:11:57,000
{\an8}Don't nose it around,
but yeah, just in the nick.
1261
01:11:58,666 --> 01:12:00,458
{\an8}- Who's hiring?
- MGM.
1262
01:12:01,166 --> 01:12:04,958
{\an8}They cleaned out the Washington
and Culver gates like a dose of Ex-Lax.
1263
01:12:05,041 --> 01:12:07,083
{\an8}Grady gets a speaking part.
1264
01:12:07,166 --> 01:12:09,375
{\an8}They told us to come dressed as we are.
1265
01:12:09,458 --> 01:12:13,375
I don't know who thought of it,
but it keeps a lot of us off the streets.
1266
01:12:15,208 --> 01:12:16,916
Don't forget to vote.
1267
01:12:18,041 --> 01:12:20,166
[laughs] Okay.
1268
01:12:20,250 --> 01:12:22,208
[Kaufman] He's confused
with Sinclair Lewis.
1269
01:12:22,291 --> 01:12:26,166
So many hicks think he wrote Elmer Gantry,
it's cost him the Dust Bowl vote.
1270
01:12:26,250 --> 01:12:27,375
I'm in.
1271
01:12:27,458 --> 01:12:29,958
Poor sap.
Not only has he got no money,
1272
01:12:30,041 --> 01:12:32,333
he's an idealist, for Christ's sakes.
1273
01:12:32,416 --> 01:12:34,958
Talk about political handicaps. I'm out.
1274
01:12:35,041 --> 01:12:37,083
[Perelman] Times says
he'll lose by 200,000.
1275
01:12:37,166 --> 01:12:39,458
It's amazing
what $10 million against him bought.
1276
01:12:39,541 --> 01:12:40,375
Raise.
1277
01:12:40,458 --> 01:12:43,000
That's what he gets
for surrounding himself with amateurs.
1278
01:12:43,083 --> 01:12:44,708
They not only charge admission to rallies,
1279
01:12:44,791 --> 01:12:47,625
they pass a plate
once the suckers are inside.
1280
01:12:47,708 --> 01:12:48,666
Call.
1281
01:12:48,750 --> 01:12:51,791
He's the most famous schlub
after FDR, Hitler, and Mussolini.
1282
01:12:51,875 --> 01:12:53,416
That oughta count for something.
1283
01:12:53,500 --> 01:12:55,583
- Hiya, Shell, sit in.
- [Hecht] The bookies know.
1284
01:12:55,666 --> 01:12:57,708
Soon as old Maude's
radio spots started running,
1285
01:12:57,791 --> 01:13:01,291
the odds went from 7-5 for to 2-1 against.
1286
01:13:01,375 --> 01:13:04,875
Could you effete political snobs
please shut up and play?
1287
01:13:04,958 --> 01:13:06,083
Mank, can I talk to you?
1288
01:13:06,166 --> 01:13:09,958
I'll see you guys
and bump you two big ones.
1289
01:13:10,041 --> 01:13:11,125
It's important.
1290
01:13:11,208 --> 01:13:13,333
What, now, Shelly?
1291
01:13:14,125 --> 01:13:16,666
[sighs] It better be.
1292
01:13:17,666 --> 01:13:20,291
That's the first good hand
I've had all day.
1293
01:13:22,333 --> 01:13:24,875
I didn't know he knew
what a good hand looked like.
1294
01:13:24,958 --> 01:13:26,041
[Mank] I'm out.
1295
01:13:26,541 --> 01:13:29,083
[reporter on film] Mind telling
who you favor in this election?
1296
01:13:29,166 --> 01:13:31,458
[man 1] I'm going to vote
for Frank Merriam.
1297
01:13:31,541 --> 01:13:33,375
[reporter] Tell us your principal reason.
1298
01:13:33,458 --> 01:13:36,458
Well, I want Merriam because I want a job.
1299
01:13:36,541 --> 01:13:39,583
If you drive all the capital
out of the country, who's gonna pay us?
1300
01:13:39,666 --> 01:13:42,333
[reporter] You think Merriam
would be safest for all of us?
1301
01:13:42,416 --> 01:13:43,458
[man 1] Absolutely.
1302
01:13:44,041 --> 01:13:46,833
It's no time
to trade horses in the middle of a stream.
1303
01:13:46,916 --> 01:13:49,166
[reporter] Mr. Butler,
are you voting in the election?
1304
01:13:49,250 --> 01:13:51,500
- [Butler] I am.
- [reporter] Who would you vote for?
1305
01:13:51,583 --> 01:13:53,583
I'm sure
that I'm gonna vote for Mr. Sinclair.
1306
01:13:53,666 --> 01:13:55,708
[reporter] You must have a good reason.
1307
01:13:55,791 --> 01:13:58,916
Mr. Sinclair's got something new.
He got that EPIC Plan.
1308
01:13:59,000 --> 01:14:02,375
I feel as though it's time
we should try something new out again.
1309
01:14:02,458 --> 01:14:04,416
I need prosperity.
1310
01:14:04,500 --> 01:14:06,791
[man 2] Well, first of all,
I'm an American,
1311
01:14:06,875 --> 01:14:08,750
and I believe that Mr. Merriam
1312
01:14:08,833 --> 01:14:13,583
will support all the foundations
and principles
1313
01:14:13,666 --> 01:14:16,916
that this country has stood for
in the past 150 years.
1314
01:14:17,000 --> 01:14:18,875
I have a job now, and I wanna keep it.
1315
01:14:18,958 --> 01:14:21,916
My wife and I love California,
and we'd like to stay.
1316
01:14:22,000 --> 01:14:24,666
But in case we should have to leave,
1317
01:14:24,750 --> 01:14:27,250
I'd like to have
at least a couple dollars.
1318
01:14:28,000 --> 01:14:28,916
[director] Cut.
1319
01:14:29,000 --> 01:14:31,708
[indistinct chatter]
1320
01:14:34,750 --> 01:14:38,291
[reporter] Mrs. Hammontree, tell the folks
why you're voting for Frank Merriam.
1321
01:14:38,375 --> 01:14:41,375
Well, I'm voting for Frank Merriam
because I wanna keep our way of life.
1322
01:14:41,458 --> 01:14:44,083
[reporter] A Democrat
wouldn't protect your way of life?
1323
01:14:44,166 --> 01:14:46,416
[scoffs] Why, that man's a socialist.
1324
01:14:46,500 --> 01:14:50,750
I don't know much about politics,
but I do know this.
1325
01:14:50,833 --> 01:14:52,916
If Upton Sinclair wins this election,
1326
01:14:53,000 --> 01:14:56,083
private ownership in California
won't amount to a hill o' beans.
1327
01:14:56,666 --> 01:15:00,416
[in faux Russian accent] Well, we need
complete rejuvenation of our system,
1328
01:15:00,500 --> 01:15:02,500
so I vote for Comrade Upton.
1329
01:15:02,583 --> 01:15:05,666
His system work in Russia, why not here?
1330
01:15:05,750 --> 01:15:07,250
[director] Cut. Do it again.
1331
01:15:08,375 --> 01:15:09,958
- [sighs]
- What'd you think?
1332
01:15:10,916 --> 01:15:13,916
Truthfully, Shelly,
if the performances were any better,
1333
01:15:14,000 --> 01:15:15,500
you'd be ashamed of yourself.
1334
01:15:15,583 --> 01:15:17,666
- Only half of 'em were actors.
- [sighs]
1335
01:15:17,750 --> 01:15:21,416
It's got that raw newsreel feel,
hasn't it?
1336
01:15:21,916 --> 01:15:26,500
- But it isn't news and it isn't real.
- I wasn't looking for an ethical debate.
1337
01:15:26,583 --> 01:15:29,541
- When did they cook this up?
- At a meeting in production.
1338
01:15:29,625 --> 01:15:33,375
They were passing around a pamphlet
Sinclair wrote called "Ending Poverty in…"
1339
01:15:33,458 --> 01:15:36,166
"America's unemployed
will invade the Golden State."
1340
01:15:36,250 --> 01:15:39,583
- Mayer was giddy to use it against him.
- Yeah, I bet he was.
1341
01:15:40,958 --> 01:15:44,375
[sighs] It's enough to persuade me
that a writer is more of a menace
1342
01:15:44,458 --> 01:15:46,875
to an unsuspecting public
than a party hack.
1343
01:15:46,958 --> 01:15:49,916
- Manky... [spills drink, inhales sharply]
- You okay?
1344
01:15:51,125 --> 01:15:52,250
Just nerves.
1345
01:15:53,791 --> 01:15:56,916
If it's bothering you, Shelly,
why get involved?
1346
01:15:58,125 --> 01:15:59,708
They gave me a chance to direct.
1347
01:16:03,791 --> 01:16:07,166
You don't think anyone old enough
to vote is gonna buy this shit?
1348
01:16:07,250 --> 01:16:10,458
Only the ones who believe
King Kong is ten stories tall
1349
01:16:10,541 --> 01:16:13,083
or Mary Pickford a virgin at 40.
1350
01:16:14,541 --> 01:16:15,791
[door opens]
1351
01:16:25,458 --> 01:16:27,125
Thanks, Cedric. These are fine.
1352
01:16:32,458 --> 01:16:35,375
I've just watched our Sinclair films.
1353
01:16:35,458 --> 01:16:38,041
Ah. What did you think?
1354
01:16:38,125 --> 01:16:41,625
With all due respect to Shelly,
King Kong they ain't.
1355
01:16:43,291 --> 01:16:45,000
Though I do think footage
1356
01:16:45,083 --> 01:16:48,666
of invading hobos
has a certain xenophobic power
1357
01:16:48,750 --> 01:16:52,875
when front-paged in the Times
and backed by those tacky billboards.
1358
01:16:52,958 --> 01:16:57,000
Shelly got a chance to direct,
and I canceled your $12,000 gambling debt.
1359
01:16:57,083 --> 01:16:59,625
I'd call that a fair return
on a one-minute lecture
1360
01:16:59,708 --> 01:17:01,333
for uninspired studio chieftains.
1361
01:17:02,750 --> 01:17:05,250
Your director's been stricken
with a bout of conscience.
1362
01:17:05,333 --> 01:17:07,291
I'm sure he'll tell me himself.
1363
01:17:09,666 --> 01:17:12,333
Don't do this, Irving.
1364
01:17:14,083 --> 01:17:17,333
When I was just a boy passing out
socialist leaflets in the Bronx,
1365
01:17:17,416 --> 01:17:20,791
a couple Tammany goons came
to show me the error of my ways.
1366
01:17:20,875 --> 01:17:22,750
And one of them crushed my testicles
1367
01:17:22,833 --> 01:17:26,333
until I volunteered to distribute
my wares into the East River.
1368
01:17:26,416 --> 01:17:30,458
That's politics. I didn't invent it,
I don't apologize for it.
1369
01:17:35,083 --> 01:17:36,958
Mayer's not paying for this.
1370
01:17:37,958 --> 01:17:39,625
He never pays for anything.
1371
01:17:43,166 --> 01:17:44,250
Willie?
1372
01:17:46,625 --> 01:17:50,750
- Marion might be interested.
- Well, you're gonna have to hurry.
1373
01:17:50,833 --> 01:17:53,583
Mayer's over there now
giving her the company kiss-off.
1374
01:17:54,666 --> 01:17:55,875
Oh, haven't you heard?
1375
01:17:57,541 --> 01:18:01,208
She's taking her playpen
to Warner Bros. Permanently.
1376
01:18:02,250 --> 01:18:03,208
Warner's?
1377
01:18:03,708 --> 01:18:05,541
I wouldn't let her do Marie Antoinette.
1378
01:18:06,041 --> 01:18:07,500
Goldwyn's right for once.
1379
01:18:07,583 --> 01:18:10,041
[mimics Goldwyn]
"A comedienne in that role is to laugh."
1380
01:18:10,916 --> 01:18:13,916
Besides, her pictures
haven't made a dime in a decade.
1381
01:18:14,625 --> 01:18:16,375
Congratulations, Irving.
1382
01:18:17,750 --> 01:18:18,750
I know what I am, Mank.
1383
01:18:19,916 --> 01:18:22,166
When I come to work,
I don't consider it slumming.
1384
01:18:22,250 --> 01:18:24,666
I don't use humor
to keep myself above the fray.
1385
01:18:24,750 --> 01:18:29,791
And I go to the mat for what I believe in.
I haven't the time to do otherwise.
1386
01:18:31,041 --> 01:18:32,083
But you, sir,
1387
01:18:33,000 --> 01:18:37,000
how formidable people like you might be
if they actually gave at the office.
1388
01:18:38,416 --> 01:18:39,583
Close the door.
1389
01:18:41,083 --> 01:18:43,541
- [indistinct chatter]
- [camera flashbulbs crackling]
1390
01:18:50,250 --> 01:18:52,458
[Mank panting]
1391
01:18:57,625 --> 01:18:59,875
[photographer] Oh,
that's a beautiful shot right there.
1392
01:19:01,958 --> 01:19:03,000
[sighs]
1393
01:19:24,958 --> 01:19:27,375
Mank! Are you okay?
1394
01:19:27,958 --> 01:19:30,791
No, that almost killed me.
Where's Willie?
1395
01:19:31,416 --> 01:19:32,541
Cairo, I think.
1396
01:19:32,625 --> 01:19:35,791
- Can you phone him?
- I don't phone him, he phones me.
1397
01:19:35,875 --> 01:19:36,958
When's he due back?
1398
01:19:37,041 --> 01:19:39,916
After November 6th.
I'm joining him in Europe next week.
1399
01:19:42,125 --> 01:19:45,333
Marion, I need a favor.
It's just a little joke on Willie.
1400
01:19:45,416 --> 01:19:46,666
Sure, Mank, anything.
1401
01:19:46,750 --> 01:19:49,750
I want you to go back and tell Mayer
1402
01:19:49,833 --> 01:19:53,458
Willie wants
the phony Sinclair films pulled.
1403
01:19:55,625 --> 01:19:57,458
Which phony Sinclair films?
1404
01:19:57,541 --> 01:20:00,791
There isn't time to explain.
I just need you to tell him that.
1405
01:20:00,875 --> 01:20:03,250
Oh, I couldn't, not even as a joke.
1406
01:20:03,333 --> 01:20:06,166
- [Mank] Why not?
- You know I don't lie.
1407
01:20:06,916 --> 01:20:09,458
And that's why he'd believe you.
[chuckles]
1408
01:20:09,541 --> 01:20:12,625
Marion, please,
you're not in convent school anymore.
1409
01:20:16,083 --> 01:20:20,166
- I'm sorry. I… I know it's silly, but...
- But what? Why not?
1410
01:20:20,250 --> 01:20:24,500
- Promise you won't laugh.
- I promise I won't laugh.
1411
01:20:25,166 --> 01:20:27,416
- My exit.
- What?
1412
01:20:28,833 --> 01:20:30,875
I already made my exit.
1413
01:20:34,666 --> 01:20:35,666
[sighs]
1414
01:20:47,291 --> 01:20:50,291
[laughing uproariously]
1415
01:21:01,166 --> 01:21:03,291
- [Rita] Manky!
- Whatie?
1416
01:21:03,375 --> 01:21:07,833
- It's an ash-throated flycatcher!
- Congratulations! Best kind.
1417
01:21:08,916 --> 01:21:09,916
What can I say?
1418
01:21:10,708 --> 01:21:11,708
She's my aunt.
1419
01:21:11,791 --> 01:21:15,750
- Oh, it's not about her, it's about him.
- Oh?
1420
01:21:15,833 --> 01:21:19,791
- Or rather, it's him, but it's not her.
- It isn't?
1421
01:21:19,875 --> 01:21:23,000
The lonely showgirl, trapped in a castle,
doing jigsaw puzzles.
1422
01:21:23,083 --> 01:21:27,166
It's more, her as people
who don't know her imagine her to be.
1423
01:21:27,250 --> 01:21:28,375
I see.
1424
01:21:29,625 --> 01:21:32,625
It's her as they imagine her,
but it's him as you knew him.
1425
01:21:32,708 --> 01:21:35,125
- Damn it, Charlie.
- You asked me out here.
1426
01:21:35,208 --> 01:21:37,375
I was honored
to come and read your latest.
1427
01:21:37,958 --> 01:21:41,041
- Is this a test?
- A test? Of what?
1428
01:21:41,833 --> 01:21:44,708
- Friendship? Loyalty?
- Oh, come now.
1429
01:21:44,791 --> 01:21:46,958
Or just your way
of avoiding responsibility?
1430
01:21:48,000 --> 01:21:49,000
What do you mean?
1431
01:21:49,083 --> 01:21:52,500
Are you hoping I might absolve you
of such a personal betrayal?
1432
01:21:54,333 --> 01:21:55,500
I won't give you that.
1433
01:21:59,083 --> 01:22:01,000
Are you going to say anything?
1434
01:22:03,000 --> 01:22:04,500
[sighs]
1435
01:22:06,041 --> 01:22:09,500
- I have to think about it.
- Why?
1436
01:22:09,583 --> 01:22:12,208
'Cause I haven't made up my mind
how she might react.
1437
01:22:12,291 --> 01:22:14,041
What does instinct tell you?
1438
01:22:14,125 --> 01:22:15,666
[Lederer] It's mighty strong medicine
1439
01:22:15,750 --> 01:22:18,250
for a lifetime
of starry-eyed self-absorption.
1440
01:22:18,333 --> 01:22:21,458
It's one of those cures
that could be worse than the disease.
1441
01:22:21,541 --> 01:22:23,875
But you, of all people,
should know about that.
1442
01:22:27,541 --> 01:22:29,750
[car driving away]
1443
01:22:31,333 --> 01:22:32,750
He took the script?
1444
01:22:33,333 --> 01:22:34,541
Uh-huh.
1445
01:22:35,583 --> 01:22:36,583
Will he show it to her?
1446
01:22:39,916 --> 01:22:40,958
[Mank] I don't know.
1447
01:22:42,291 --> 01:22:43,583
[Rita] Do you want him to?
1448
01:22:46,000 --> 01:22:47,000
I don't know.
1449
01:22:57,291 --> 01:22:59,208
[fast jazz drumbeat playing]
1450
01:22:59,291 --> 01:23:01,208
[electricity crackling]
1451
01:23:01,291 --> 01:23:03,291
[indistinct chatter]
1452
01:23:05,708 --> 01:23:06,791
[typewriter dings]
1453
01:23:20,625 --> 01:23:23,958
- [upbeat jazz music playing]
- Sinclair is yesterday's fishwrap.
1454
01:23:24,916 --> 01:23:26,458
Never stood a chance.
1455
01:23:27,625 --> 01:23:28,625
Make up your mind.
1456
01:23:28,708 --> 01:23:31,666
Are we home licking our wounds
or here making the best of it?
1457
01:23:32,666 --> 01:23:34,416
We're making the best of it.
1458
01:23:37,166 --> 01:23:39,583
- Good evening. Name?
- Mankiewicz.
1459
01:23:39,666 --> 01:23:40,750
Sorry, what was that?
1460
01:23:40,833 --> 01:23:44,125
M-A-N-K-I-E-W-I-C, and outta nowhere, a Z.
1461
01:23:44,208 --> 01:23:47,291
- Table 14.
- Ends of the earth. Clean exit.
1462
01:23:47,375 --> 01:23:49,166
Mankiewicz, Herman.
1463
01:23:50,333 --> 01:23:53,708
Oh, terribly sorry.
Table one. Right this way.
1464
01:23:55,875 --> 01:23:58,916
If you can't say something nice,
don't say anything at all.
1465
01:24:00,041 --> 01:24:01,375
[camera flashbulbs crackling]
1466
01:24:11,291 --> 01:24:12,833
- Table one.
- [woman] Sara!
1467
01:24:12,916 --> 01:24:15,583
Good grief. Look who's here.
How about that?
1468
01:24:15,666 --> 01:24:18,500
- Sara.
- [Mayer] What a loyal friend you are.
1469
01:24:18,583 --> 01:24:21,416
- I never thought we would see Mank.
- I'm surprised.
1470
01:24:21,500 --> 01:24:23,500
I would've imagined you in pajamas by now.
1471
01:24:23,583 --> 01:24:26,375
Mank, turns out we have
the same dentist on Camden.
1472
01:24:26,458 --> 01:24:29,458
Sara, we have to plan
a day of shopping and catch up.
1473
01:24:29,541 --> 01:24:32,250
Herman, I met your brother.
He's a chip off the old block.
1474
01:24:32,333 --> 01:24:33,416
Quite handsome.
1475
01:24:37,333 --> 01:24:38,625
Please, sit.
1476
01:24:41,000 --> 01:24:44,041
I can't tell you how much it means.
I'm touched you'd come.
1477
01:24:44,125 --> 01:24:46,291
- [voice breaking] Thank you.
- [woman] Oh.
1478
01:24:48,458 --> 01:24:49,666
Why do I love you?
1479
01:24:56,833 --> 01:24:58,541
What's everyone else having?
1480
01:24:58,625 --> 01:25:00,791
- [all laughing]
- [sound fades out]
1481
01:25:00,875 --> 01:25:05,291
[upbeat jazz music continues playing]
1482
01:25:12,166 --> 01:25:14,583
[speaking indistinctly]
1483
01:25:25,291 --> 01:25:27,208
[radio announcer echoing]
1484
01:25:38,833 --> 01:25:42,458
{\an8}- [Mayer] What a great night. Great result.
- I'll drink to that.
1485
01:25:42,541 --> 01:25:45,958
You see, if you just give people
what they need to know
1486
01:25:46,041 --> 01:25:49,958
in an emotional way,
you can expect they'll do the right thing.
1487
01:25:50,041 --> 01:25:51,666
I think what you mean,
1488
01:25:51,750 --> 01:25:54,125
"If you keep telling people
something untrue,
1489
01:25:54,208 --> 01:25:56,750
loud and long enough,
they're apt to believe it."
1490
01:25:56,833 --> 01:25:58,083
That's not what he was saying.
1491
01:25:58,166 --> 01:26:01,000
What's going on here?
Are we quoting Goebbels?
1492
01:26:01,083 --> 01:26:03,833
- I'd like to debate that with L.B.
- I'd like to see that.
1493
01:26:03,916 --> 01:26:05,583
Mank. Have another.
1494
01:26:05,666 --> 01:26:08,250
[Mank] It's early. Every vote counts.
1495
01:26:08,333 --> 01:26:11,250
Maybe the informed
of California were late leaving work.
1496
01:26:11,750 --> 01:26:14,125
The last I heard, Irving,
it's still a democracy.
1497
01:26:14,208 --> 01:26:16,291
- Of the people.
- By the people.
1498
01:26:16,375 --> 01:26:18,166
What are you two talking about?
1499
01:26:18,250 --> 01:26:20,875
[Mank] I tell you what, how about…
1500
01:26:22,166 --> 01:26:23,166
Double or nothin'?
1501
01:26:23,250 --> 01:26:25,041
- [Mayer] What's he saying?
- Herman.
1502
01:26:26,458 --> 01:26:28,375
You really will bet on anything.
1503
01:26:29,500 --> 01:26:31,750
Keep your money. I'm happy enough
1504
01:26:31,833 --> 01:26:34,625
just to nail
that utopian son of a bitch to the wall.
1505
01:26:34,708 --> 01:26:37,458
I told you. Your obligation
was canceled out of gratitude.
1506
01:26:38,250 --> 01:26:39,458
Wait a minute. What?
1507
01:26:40,416 --> 01:26:44,208
He wants to wager double or nothin'
on a debt he doesn't even owe us?
1508
01:26:44,291 --> 01:26:45,291
Mank.
1509
01:26:45,375 --> 01:26:48,250
It's a matter of principle, L.B.
You wouldn't understand.
1510
01:26:49,875 --> 01:26:54,125
I understand plenty. I'll take that bet.
1511
01:26:55,500 --> 01:26:58,125
Okay, Mank, you're on.
Twenty-four grand or nothing.
1512
01:27:02,875 --> 01:27:04,083
Excuse me.
1513
01:27:05,333 --> 01:27:06,875
I'm going to throw up.
1514
01:27:16,541 --> 01:27:20,166
[distorted radio announcer
delivering election results]
1515
01:27:20,250 --> 01:27:21,291
[man laughing]
1516
01:27:23,166 --> 01:27:27,791
- [unsettling music playing]
- [distorted election report continues]
1517
01:27:55,791 --> 01:27:57,791
[romantic music playing]
1518
01:28:18,666 --> 01:28:19,833
I needed some air.
1519
01:28:36,458 --> 01:28:38,208
Why do you love me?
1520
01:28:52,041 --> 01:28:54,000
Excuse me, friends.
1521
01:28:54,750 --> 01:28:55,791
[clears throat]
1522
01:28:55,875 --> 01:29:00,166
The final, incomplete, count
for tonight is…
1523
01:29:01,958 --> 01:29:05,333
- Upton Sinclair, the lousy Bolshevik…
- [man booing]
1524
01:29:06,500 --> 01:29:09,625
…728,653.
1525
01:29:10,666 --> 01:29:11,791
Frank Merriam…
1526
01:29:11,875 --> 01:29:13,083
[guests cheering]
1527
01:29:13,166 --> 01:29:15,541
…the good Republican,
1528
01:29:15,625 --> 01:29:18,625
- 948,814.
- [all cheering loudly]
1529
01:29:18,708 --> 01:29:21,875
My friends! My friends!
1530
01:29:21,958 --> 01:29:25,583
Everybody get up and sing with me!
1531
01:29:25,666 --> 01:29:28,166
Sing with me! Everybody, up and sing!
1532
01:29:29,000 --> 01:29:32,916
♪ O beautiful for spacious skies ♪
1533
01:29:33,000 --> 01:29:34,791
It was a team effort. Thanks.
1534
01:29:34,875 --> 01:29:39,375
♪ For amber waves of grain ♪
1535
01:29:40,000 --> 01:29:45,041
♪ For purple mountain majesties… ♪
1536
01:29:46,125 --> 01:29:48,833
Uh, Mr. Mankiewicz,
I'm so sorry to bother you,
1537
01:29:48,916 --> 01:29:51,875
but there's a telephone call for you.
Right back this way.
1538
01:29:52,791 --> 01:29:55,208
♪ America… ♪
1539
01:29:57,083 --> 01:29:59,375
- Hello.
- Mank, it's Shelly.
1540
01:29:59,458 --> 01:30:00,541
It's Shelly.
1541
01:30:00,625 --> 01:30:03,750
- [slurring] He lost, Mank.
- [Mank] Yeah, it's been a bad night.
1542
01:30:05,375 --> 01:30:06,250
It's my fault.
1543
01:30:06,333 --> 01:30:10,833
- Oh, easy, fella, you only voted once.
- He was just on the radio.
1544
01:30:10,916 --> 01:30:15,416
He said the phony newsreels
cost him the election.
1545
01:30:15,500 --> 01:30:17,208
That shows how naive he is.
1546
01:30:17,291 --> 01:30:20,208
FDR cost him the election
by staying on the sidelines.
1547
01:30:20,291 --> 01:30:22,916
- Sleep it off.
- I'm not at home.
1548
01:30:23,000 --> 01:30:24,916
Where are you? Let me call you a cab.
1549
01:30:25,500 --> 01:30:28,041
Never mind.
I'll take the Pasadena Freeway.
1550
01:30:28,125 --> 01:30:30,541
Nobody'd be on it election night.
1551
01:30:31,333 --> 01:30:32,583
Hello?
1552
01:30:32,666 --> 01:30:33,583
Hello?
1553
01:30:36,541 --> 01:30:40,041
- [operator] How may I direct your call?
- Normandie, 4761.
1554
01:30:40,750 --> 01:30:42,166
He's shit-faced.
1555
01:30:42,250 --> 01:30:44,416
- [phone rings]
- Shell, is that you?
1556
01:30:44,500 --> 01:30:47,166
- It's Herman Mankiewicz. Where is he?
- [sighs]
1557
01:30:47,250 --> 01:30:49,458
[wife] I don't know. I'm so worried.
1558
01:30:49,541 --> 01:30:53,458
He left here very upset,
and he's got a pistol with him.
1559
01:30:53,541 --> 01:30:56,000
Don't worry, Fay. I'll find him.
1560
01:30:56,083 --> 01:30:57,833
- Eve.
- What?
1561
01:30:58,500 --> 01:31:01,708
- I'm Eve. Fay was his first.
- I'll find him.
1562
01:31:01,791 --> 01:31:03,083
- [sighs]
- [hangs up]
1563
01:31:05,833 --> 01:31:10,250
Is Houseman coming back?
I never thought I'd miss him.
1564
01:31:11,291 --> 01:31:13,958
He and the wunderkind
are cutting the first draft.
1565
01:31:14,041 --> 01:31:16,916
A form of creative vivisection.
1566
01:31:17,000 --> 01:31:20,041
Vital organs are exposed,
nothing is learned,
1567
01:31:20,125 --> 01:31:22,000
the patient dies on the table.
1568
01:31:22,083 --> 01:31:24,500
- [car approaching]
- [dog barking]
1569
01:31:27,291 --> 01:31:29,250
What have we here?
1570
01:31:31,583 --> 01:31:36,791
Why, it's a puffed-up,
sharp-tailed, red-ruffled magpie.
1571
01:31:36,875 --> 01:31:38,125
A whatie?
1572
01:31:58,666 --> 01:32:03,375
- How do you like the Mojave?
- God's answer for drunks and reprobates.
1573
01:32:03,458 --> 01:32:05,416
Perfect place to dry out.
1574
01:32:05,500 --> 01:32:08,875
- How's that working?
- It didn't take. Cheers.
1575
01:32:09,458 --> 01:32:10,583
L'chaim.
1576
01:32:17,291 --> 01:32:18,458
Why are you doing this, Herm?
1577
01:32:19,083 --> 01:32:21,583
- Posterity.
- Posterity, my ass.
1578
01:32:21,666 --> 01:32:23,958
- From the original Latin.
- Don't patronize me.
1579
01:32:24,041 --> 01:32:25,708
My Latin grades were better than yours.
1580
01:32:25,791 --> 01:32:27,625
Bibamus, moriendum est.
1581
01:32:32,625 --> 01:32:34,708
I read your little script.
1582
01:32:36,375 --> 01:32:37,708
News travels fast.
1583
01:32:37,791 --> 01:32:39,250
Even without the title page,
1584
01:32:39,333 --> 01:32:41,625
you don't need
to be Philip Marlowe to know who wrote it.
1585
01:32:41,708 --> 01:32:44,125
[grunts] Have at it.
1586
01:32:44,791 --> 01:32:46,125
It's very…
1587
01:32:48,208 --> 01:32:49,041
Complicated.
1588
01:32:49,125 --> 01:32:50,833
Well, thanks for coming out.
1589
01:32:51,833 --> 01:32:53,708
Herman, this is me.
1590
01:32:54,333 --> 01:32:57,458
You pick a fight with Willie,
you are finished.
1591
01:32:57,541 --> 01:32:59,458
Mayer can't save you. Nobody can.
1592
01:32:59,541 --> 01:33:01,833
Especially the boy genius from New York.
1593
01:33:01,916 --> 01:33:05,875
- You're far too political, Joe.
- Self-preservation is not politics.
1594
01:33:06,458 --> 01:33:07,791
Him, I get.
1595
01:33:08,541 --> 01:33:10,500
But what did Marion ever do
to deserve this?
1596
01:33:10,583 --> 01:33:12,291
It's not her!
1597
01:33:13,958 --> 01:33:17,500
You know better than anyone,
not all characters are headliners.
1598
01:33:17,583 --> 01:33:18,875
Some are secondary.
1599
01:33:18,958 --> 01:33:22,875
Well, that's why I'm here.
On behalf of the secondary characters.
1600
01:33:25,083 --> 01:33:27,333
I thought you'd wanna know
there's a rumor in town
1601
01:33:27,416 --> 01:33:28,500
you're out to get Hearst
1602
01:33:28,583 --> 01:33:30,791
because they dropped you
from L.B.'s payroll,
1603
01:33:30,875 --> 01:33:32,541
that they didn't want you around anymore.
1604
01:33:32,625 --> 01:33:34,875
Don't believe everything
you hear at Schwab's.
1605
01:33:34,958 --> 01:33:37,916
Hey, you made yourself court jester.
1606
01:33:40,375 --> 01:33:42,083
Someone had to say it.
1607
01:33:51,208 --> 01:33:55,791
People are speculating Rosebud
is W.R.'s pet name for Marion's genitalia.
1608
01:33:55,875 --> 01:33:57,833
Now, I know you'd never stoop to that.
1609
01:33:57,916 --> 01:33:59,750
Only because I hadn't heard.
1610
01:33:59,833 --> 01:34:04,208
[both laughing]
1611
01:34:07,666 --> 01:34:08,666
[sighs]
1612
01:34:15,166 --> 01:34:18,208
[Mank] Charlie tells me
you're up for Thalberg's old job.
1613
01:34:18,291 --> 01:34:20,875
- [Joe] Not anymore.
- Did I bollix that?
1614
01:34:20,958 --> 01:34:24,250
Don't flatter yourself, Herman.
I did it all alone.
1615
01:34:24,333 --> 01:34:25,416
Now, there's a first.
1616
01:34:25,500 --> 01:34:29,208
I exposed myself,
not entirely metaphorically, in court.
1617
01:34:29,291 --> 01:34:30,166
Do tell.
1618
01:34:30,791 --> 01:34:34,458
Somebody was bitching about Mervyn Leroy
running over budget on Wizard of Oz.
1619
01:34:34,541 --> 01:34:37,333
- Goddamn movie again.
- I said, "Le Roy s'amuse."
1620
01:34:37,416 --> 01:34:39,416
I was then forced to spend
the next 20 minutes
1621
01:34:39,500 --> 01:34:41,125
having to explain that "Le Roy"
1622
01:34:41,208 --> 01:34:43,958
is "le roi" in French
and means "the king."
1623
01:34:44,041 --> 01:34:45,958
Or to be specific, François I,
1624
01:34:46,041 --> 01:34:48,083
and his royal habit of s'amus-ing himself
1625
01:34:48,166 --> 01:34:50,583
by diddling all the ladies of his court.
1626
01:34:50,666 --> 01:34:53,958
- [both laughing]
- [Mank coughing]
1627
01:34:55,416 --> 01:34:58,916
You know, Pop was right.
You should've been a professor.
1628
01:34:59,583 --> 01:35:02,250
Nobody knew
what the fuck I was talking about.
1629
01:35:02,750 --> 01:35:06,125
They say I was passed over
because I'm not a team player.
1630
01:35:06,791 --> 01:35:07,750
But I know better.
1631
01:35:08,250 --> 01:35:10,625
It was the goddamn French pun
that did me in.
1632
01:35:10,708 --> 01:35:12,250
[laughs]
1633
01:35:17,708 --> 01:35:19,208
I'm washed up, Joe.
1634
01:35:21,500 --> 01:35:23,916
[exhales] Have been for years.
1635
01:35:29,625 --> 01:35:31,708
It's the best thing you've ever written.
1636
01:35:40,125 --> 01:35:42,125
[car driving away]
1637
01:35:48,958 --> 01:35:50,458
A rare bird, that.
1638
01:35:52,833 --> 01:35:54,000
A Mankiewicz.
1639
01:36:08,166 --> 01:36:09,500
{\an8}[typewriter dings]
1640
01:36:09,583 --> 01:36:10,958
{\an8}[crickets chirping]
1641
01:36:17,750 --> 01:36:20,958
- You can't do it that way.
- Do what?
1642
01:36:21,041 --> 01:36:24,500
Kill yourself. I've tried. It takes years.
1643
01:36:25,000 --> 01:36:28,333
I was tired of doing inserts
and pick-up shots.
1644
01:36:28,416 --> 01:36:31,125
You're not the first person
to trade integrity
1645
01:36:31,208 --> 01:36:33,041
for a chance in the big chair.
1646
01:36:34,125 --> 01:36:36,875
Thalberg said this was your idea.
1647
01:36:36,958 --> 01:36:40,208
Sometimes my asides
are too clever by half.
1648
01:36:43,750 --> 01:36:45,708
Go home to Fay.
1649
01:36:45,791 --> 01:36:47,958
- Eve.
- Eve. Sorry.
1650
01:36:50,458 --> 01:36:54,250
Look at what we did.
We can't un-ring this bell.
1651
01:36:54,333 --> 01:36:56,208
We have to be vigilant.
1652
01:36:56,291 --> 01:36:57,791
In regards to?
1653
01:36:57,875 --> 01:36:59,750
People sitting in the dark,
1654
01:36:59,833 --> 01:37:02,583
willingly checking
their disbelief at the door.
1655
01:37:03,083 --> 01:37:05,583
We have a huge responsibility.
1656
01:37:07,250 --> 01:37:08,125
I got it.
1657
01:37:09,291 --> 01:37:10,250
Got what?
1658
01:37:11,750 --> 01:37:13,083
Parkinson's.
1659
01:37:17,000 --> 01:37:21,000
[sighs] No, Shelly.
1660
01:37:23,333 --> 01:37:24,541
[Mank sighs]
1661
01:37:27,250 --> 01:37:28,291
I'm so sorry.
1662
01:37:29,500 --> 01:37:31,000
First, you get the tremors,
1663
01:37:32,375 --> 01:37:34,583
and your muscles begin to fail.
1664
01:37:35,916 --> 01:37:38,291
Pretty soon, you can't get out of a chair.
1665
01:37:39,500 --> 01:37:42,625
Then smiling, speaking,
1666
01:37:42,708 --> 01:37:44,000
everything goes.
1667
01:37:45,375 --> 01:37:47,750
And it keeps going till…
1668
01:37:48,500 --> 01:37:50,333
You could always produce.
1669
01:37:50,416 --> 01:37:52,625
[laughs]
1670
01:37:54,083 --> 01:37:55,375
[Mank sighs]
1671
01:37:57,541 --> 01:37:59,208
Give me the gun, Shelly.
1672
01:38:05,583 --> 01:38:06,583
[Shelly grunts]
1673
01:38:13,500 --> 01:38:14,750
[bullets rattle]
1674
01:38:23,125 --> 01:38:24,041
Take 'em, Mank.
1675
01:38:26,666 --> 01:38:29,458
Go on home. I'll be fine.
1676
01:38:38,041 --> 01:38:40,625
[unsettling music playing]
1677
01:39:09,250 --> 01:39:10,250
[knocks]
1678
01:39:11,125 --> 01:39:13,041
[footsteps running]
1679
01:39:15,000 --> 01:39:16,125
Is he with you?
1680
01:39:17,416 --> 01:39:18,750
He… He wouldn't come.
1681
01:39:18,833 --> 01:39:21,833
[sighs] Please tell me you got the gun.
1682
01:39:22,583 --> 01:39:23,791
[bullets jingling]
1683
01:39:28,250 --> 01:39:30,375
- [bullet falls to floor]
- [Eve] Oh, my God!
1684
01:39:31,750 --> 01:39:35,083
- What?
- He had a whole box. [breathing shakily]
1685
01:39:38,833 --> 01:39:40,916
- [gunshot]
- [loud thud]
1686
01:39:49,250 --> 01:39:50,541
- Mank.
- [gasps]
1687
01:39:52,125 --> 01:39:53,583
You have another visitor.
1688
01:39:55,250 --> 01:39:56,250
What?
1689
01:40:15,416 --> 01:40:16,250
[sighs]
1690
01:40:17,458 --> 01:40:21,208
[Marion] Drink it fast.
In this heat, it'll flash to sugar.
1691
01:40:28,958 --> 01:40:30,791
Why the wine and dine, Marion?
1692
01:40:31,625 --> 01:40:33,083
Good cop, bad cop?
1693
01:40:33,166 --> 01:40:36,083
- How do you mean, Mank?
- First Joe, now you.
1694
01:40:38,041 --> 01:40:40,375
Can't you just tell me
what's on your mind?
1695
01:40:40,458 --> 01:40:41,958
[sighs]
1696
01:40:42,041 --> 01:40:45,000
Well, I read the script.
1697
01:40:45,083 --> 01:40:46,208
Who hasn't?
1698
01:40:46,291 --> 01:40:50,250
It's very grand, Mank, in its own way,
and very much you.
1699
01:40:51,166 --> 01:40:53,083
I would've loved to play me ten years ago.
1700
01:40:53,166 --> 01:40:55,208
It was never meant to be you.
1701
01:40:55,291 --> 01:40:57,875
For myself, I don't care, Mank.
Really, I don't.
1702
01:40:58,750 --> 01:41:02,833
But I beg you,
don't kick Pops when he's down.
1703
01:41:02,916 --> 01:41:05,500
- Willie, down?
- [peppy music playing on car radio]
1704
01:41:07,833 --> 01:41:09,625
I haven't told a soul this,
1705
01:41:10,333 --> 01:41:14,083
but I had to loan him a million dollars
just to save San Simeon.
1706
01:41:14,166 --> 01:41:15,791
You hocked your jewels?
1707
01:41:15,875 --> 01:41:18,125
[scoffs] Of course not.
Just some real estate.
1708
01:41:18,208 --> 01:41:19,791
He bought me most of it anyway.
1709
01:41:20,625 --> 01:41:22,125
Willie sent you.
1710
01:41:22,958 --> 01:41:23,958
Didn't have to.
1711
01:41:27,458 --> 01:41:28,958
That surprises you?
1712
01:41:29,458 --> 01:41:31,375
You're the most observant man I know.
1713
01:41:31,458 --> 01:41:34,583
- Then you deserve better.
- That's very sweet.
1714
01:41:37,208 --> 01:41:38,458
I always wanted better.
1715
01:41:39,416 --> 01:41:40,541
Mama Rose too.
1716
01:41:40,625 --> 01:41:43,333
She made sure
her daughters learned to sing and dance.
1717
01:41:44,000 --> 01:41:45,958
We were never gonna end up in Brooklyn.
1718
01:41:46,958 --> 01:41:50,500
I was only 16
when I was cast in Stop! Look! Listen!
1719
01:41:50,583 --> 01:41:52,333
[chuckling] That's some title.
1720
01:41:53,125 --> 01:41:55,833
[Marion] Willie came to the show.
Same seat every night.
1721
01:41:55,916 --> 01:42:00,625
And all the other girls said to watch out.
He was too old for me and too interested.
1722
01:42:00,708 --> 01:42:03,458
Come, now, he wasn't your only admirer.
1723
01:42:05,500 --> 01:42:08,041
The thing you got so right in your script…
1724
01:42:08,875 --> 01:42:11,625
Was how lonely he'd been as a boy.
1725
01:42:14,458 --> 01:42:18,000
When my own mother heard
he was one of the richest men in America,
1726
01:42:19,000 --> 01:42:20,791
she said, "Kick a little higher."
1727
01:42:23,333 --> 01:42:26,625
He has always been so kind to me.
1728
01:42:28,458 --> 01:42:30,000
I love the old guy, Mank.
1729
01:42:31,750 --> 01:42:36,000
Maybe I didn't always,
back when he was my social security.
1730
01:42:36,666 --> 01:42:39,333
But now,
there are things about us together…
1731
01:42:40,000 --> 01:42:41,791
That no one could possibly…
1732
01:42:45,541 --> 01:42:47,291
Am I persuading you at all?
1733
01:42:50,666 --> 01:42:53,583
I hope, if this gets made,
1734
01:42:55,416 --> 01:42:56,750
you'll forgive me.
1735
01:42:57,833 --> 01:43:00,916
And I hope, if it doesn't,
1736
01:43:02,500 --> 01:43:03,750
you'll forgive me.
1737
01:43:12,583 --> 01:43:13,791
{\an8}[typewriter dings]
1738
01:43:13,875 --> 01:43:16,000
{\an8}[rabbi] He was a modest man.
1739
01:43:16,083 --> 01:43:18,083
His name never appeared on the marquee
1740
01:43:18,166 --> 01:43:22,166
with the great stars, producers,
and directors who worked alongside him.
1741
01:43:22,250 --> 01:43:23,250
[people crying]
1742
01:43:23,333 --> 01:43:26,291
But he loved moving pictures
more than he loved anything.
1743
01:43:26,375 --> 01:43:29,916
And he left his impeccable taste,
his incredible attention to detail,
1744
01:43:30,000 --> 01:43:32,416
on every frame he touched.
1745
01:43:32,500 --> 01:43:36,583
It is not for us to say
why he was taken from us so unexpectedly.
1746
01:43:36,666 --> 01:43:38,791
Behind, he leaves his memory.
1747
01:43:39,291 --> 01:43:44,583
The memory of a great man, a talented man,
a man of unblemished integrity.
1748
01:43:45,416 --> 01:43:47,750
Irving G. Thalberg.
1749
01:43:48,250 --> 01:43:50,250
[indistinct chatter]
1750
01:44:01,541 --> 01:44:02,500
Mank.
1751
01:44:03,791 --> 01:44:07,666
I haven't seen you since,
what was it, Jack Gilbert's funeral.
1752
01:44:07,750 --> 01:44:10,541
Well, I haven't seen you
since Shelly Metcalf's.
1753
01:44:11,375 --> 01:44:12,500
Has it been that long?
1754
01:44:14,333 --> 01:44:15,208
How you been, Mank?
1755
01:44:15,791 --> 01:44:17,041
Between pictures.
1756
01:44:18,125 --> 01:44:19,916
I thought you were still at MGM.
1757
01:44:20,458 --> 01:44:21,458
I am.
1758
01:44:23,541 --> 01:44:27,000
Well, look, come see me at International.
Let's work something out.
1759
01:44:27,083 --> 01:44:28,750
I did come see you.
1760
01:44:28,833 --> 01:44:31,833
You gave me the same invitation
after Shelly's funeral.
1761
01:44:32,541 --> 01:44:35,708
I couldn't get past
your secretary's secretary.
1762
01:44:36,958 --> 01:44:38,250
Is that right?
1763
01:44:40,625 --> 01:44:41,958
Good to see you, Mank.
1764
01:44:52,833 --> 01:44:54,458
[Mayer crying]
1765
01:45:12,541 --> 01:45:14,166
[Mank snoring]
1766
01:45:15,416 --> 01:45:17,000
[flies buzzing]
1767
01:45:24,208 --> 01:45:26,083
[telephone ringing]
1768
01:45:27,416 --> 01:45:29,333
- [Rita] Hello.
- [Welles] Mank?
1769
01:45:30,166 --> 01:45:31,250
One moment, please.
1770
01:45:38,166 --> 01:45:39,166
Mank.
1771
01:45:39,791 --> 01:45:40,833
Mank!
1772
01:45:41,458 --> 01:45:42,625
It's Orson.
1773
01:45:43,166 --> 01:45:44,875
- It's Orson.
- [Mank] Hmm.
1774
01:45:53,000 --> 01:45:53,875
Hello.
1775
01:45:53,958 --> 01:45:56,916
[Welles] Mank, I've just finished
your first draft and I must say
1776
01:45:57,000 --> 01:45:58,916
I'm pleased and impressed.
1777
01:45:59,000 --> 01:46:02,708
- Are ya? Good news.
- It'll need work, of course.
1778
01:46:02,791 --> 01:46:05,250
But there are no problems
that can't be solved together.
1779
01:46:05,333 --> 01:46:06,958
Well, I'm delighted to hear it.
1780
01:46:07,041 --> 01:46:09,000
Houseman's bringing my notes.
Think about 'em.
1781
01:46:09,083 --> 01:46:11,166
Meantime, I'll run everything
through my typewriter.
1782
01:46:11,250 --> 01:46:12,625
Everything will thank you.
1783
01:46:12,708 --> 01:46:15,041
I understand you're in touch
with your Hollywood crowd?
1784
01:46:15,125 --> 01:46:17,125
Oh, good old Houseman.
1785
01:46:17,208 --> 01:46:20,208
So perhaps you've heard.
None of the theater chains will touch us.
1786
01:46:20,291 --> 01:46:23,458
It looks like RKO will have to sue
for restraint of trade.
1787
01:46:23,541 --> 01:46:25,041
They'll countersue, of course.
1788
01:46:25,125 --> 01:46:27,208
If you own that lovely home of yours,
1789
01:46:27,291 --> 01:46:30,500
it might be a good idea
to put it in Poor Sara's name.
1790
01:46:31,750 --> 01:46:36,000
- You still there, Mank?
- Oh, yes. Where else would I be?
1791
01:46:36,083 --> 01:46:37,500
I've saved the best for last.
1792
01:46:37,583 --> 01:46:40,125
Guess who phoned with an offer
to buy out RKO's investment
1793
01:46:40,208 --> 01:46:41,791
and shelve the picture permanently?
1794
01:46:41,875 --> 01:46:44,458
- Not Hearst?
- Mank, I'm surprised.
1795
01:46:44,541 --> 01:46:47,541
Would Othello snoop
on Desdemona when he has Iago?
1796
01:46:47,625 --> 01:46:51,875
Ah, Mayer. What did RKO say?
1797
01:46:51,958 --> 01:46:55,000
No dice, for now, but they're
on their uppers. Whether they...
1798
01:46:55,083 --> 01:46:57,916
- You'd better drive up.
- I plan to, just as soon as I'm done...
1799
01:46:58,000 --> 01:46:59,875
Today, if possible.
1800
01:47:00,375 --> 01:47:02,750
Dear Jove, did I say something
I shouldn't have?
1801
01:47:02,833 --> 01:47:04,791
I hope you haven't lost your nerve.
1802
01:47:04,875 --> 01:47:07,208
Nerve's about all I've got left.
1803
01:47:14,833 --> 01:47:17,958
{\an8}[Hearst] What a year you've had, Louis.
How have you weathered it?
1804
01:47:18,041 --> 01:47:23,250
Despite everything, the MGM ship,
I'm happy to say, is full steam ahead.
1805
01:47:23,333 --> 01:47:28,750
We're on track with this recent slate
for our most successful year ever.
1806
01:47:28,833 --> 01:47:30,083
Well, that's great news.
1807
01:47:30,166 --> 01:47:32,875
- [loud clattering]
- [man 1] Would you like to go lay down?
1808
01:47:32,958 --> 01:47:34,916
[Mank slurring] I think
I'd rather stay upright.
1809
01:47:35,000 --> 01:47:37,000
[man 1] Perhaps we can find you a costume.
1810
01:47:37,083 --> 01:47:39,125
[Mank] Well, why would I need a cos…
1811
01:47:41,041 --> 01:47:42,125
[Mank clears throat]
1812
01:47:42,208 --> 01:47:45,541
Hello, everyone. Better late than never.
1813
01:47:45,625 --> 01:47:47,000
[woman] Mank! Where's Sara?
1814
01:47:47,083 --> 01:47:49,750
Uh, caring for clan Mankiewicz.
1815
01:47:49,833 --> 01:47:54,916
- [man 2] And what train did you take?
- [Mank] Glendale. I missed my stop.
1816
01:47:55,000 --> 01:47:57,250
Got a taxi from Morro Bay.
1817
01:47:57,333 --> 01:48:03,458
I'm confused. I thought the invitation
called for circus attire, not flea circus.
1818
01:48:03,541 --> 01:48:07,458
I was cornered by a man
who sold vacuum cleaners.
1819
01:48:07,541 --> 01:48:11,458
A show of hands,
who knows what a vacuum cleaner is?
1820
01:48:11,541 --> 01:48:14,166
[Hearst] Martin, would you set a place
for Mr. Mankiewicz,
1821
01:48:14,250 --> 01:48:16,500
somewhere where he might get some air?
1822
01:48:19,000 --> 01:48:20,750
[Martin] Follow me this way, sir.
1823
01:48:21,375 --> 01:48:22,958
[Hearst] And offer him some coffee.
1824
01:48:23,041 --> 01:48:26,083
[Mayer] Yeah.
Mr. Monkeywitz could use some coffee.
1825
01:48:26,166 --> 01:48:28,416
[guests chuckling]
1826
01:48:28,500 --> 01:48:29,833
[chair being pulled out]
1827
01:48:32,875 --> 01:48:35,541
[Hearst] And how's Marie Antoinette
coming together?
1828
01:48:36,375 --> 01:48:39,125
[Mayer] Previews have been
a struggle for general audiences.
1829
01:48:39,208 --> 01:48:41,833
We made some trims, but I should've known.
1830
01:48:42,500 --> 01:48:45,458
Versailles, all those costumes and wigs.
1831
01:48:45,541 --> 01:48:46,875
You can't tell those stories
1832
01:48:46,958 --> 01:48:49,291
without overhauling them
for a modern audience.
1833
01:48:49,375 --> 01:48:51,416
How's the performance
of your leading lady?
1834
01:48:51,500 --> 01:48:53,125
[Mayer] The picture depends upon her.
1835
01:48:53,208 --> 01:48:56,250
Norma put her heart and soul into it.
1836
01:48:56,333 --> 01:48:58,916
I should've insisted she take some time.
1837
01:48:59,000 --> 01:49:00,833
It's a lot to deal with, a loss like that.
1838
01:49:00,916 --> 01:49:02,708
Marion would've made it her own.
1839
01:49:02,791 --> 01:49:05,833
- Marion would've been perfection.
- [women] Aw.
1840
01:49:05,916 --> 01:49:07,250
Marion Antoinette.
1841
01:49:07,333 --> 01:49:10,291
- [Mayer] But it was Irving's picture.
- Marionette.
1842
01:49:11,666 --> 01:49:14,291
I'm not interested
in educating our customers.
1843
01:49:15,000 --> 01:49:17,500
You want to send a message?
Call Western Union.
1844
01:49:17,583 --> 01:49:19,333
[guests laughing]
1845
01:49:19,416 --> 01:49:20,791
[Mayer] Literary pictures.
1846
01:49:20,875 --> 01:49:22,375
"Let them get cake."
1847
01:49:22,458 --> 01:49:24,250
Who needs to see that?
1848
01:49:25,458 --> 01:49:27,000
- [glass shatters]
- [all gasp]
1849
01:49:28,541 --> 01:49:29,916
Joanna, come along.
1850
01:49:30,000 --> 01:49:32,583
I'll show you those horses
we talked about. [grunts]
1851
01:49:33,791 --> 01:49:35,375
[both chuckle]
1852
01:49:36,791 --> 01:49:38,125
[Joanna giggles]
1853
01:49:40,208 --> 01:49:41,375
She's very pretty.
1854
01:49:42,041 --> 01:49:45,875
Also, very bright,
bullheaded, and British.
1855
01:49:47,750 --> 01:49:50,125
Are you here
to try your luck, too, Schnutz?
1856
01:49:50,625 --> 01:49:54,083
- [Sara] At what?
- Changing my mind.
1857
01:49:55,250 --> 01:49:57,541
I never had much success
with that, Herman.
1858
01:49:58,041 --> 01:49:59,541
In the end, you'll do what you need to.
1859
01:49:59,625 --> 01:50:02,500
Charlie's been here,
Joe's been, Marion's been.
1860
01:50:02,583 --> 01:50:05,708
For one reason or another,
all of them want me to walk away.
1861
01:50:06,500 --> 01:50:08,333
You care to hear what I've decided?
1862
01:50:09,541 --> 01:50:10,375
Not really.
1863
01:50:11,750 --> 01:50:14,125
[Mank] After 20 years of connubial bliss,
1864
01:50:14,208 --> 01:50:17,125
blind loyalty
can get a little suffocating.
1865
01:50:17,208 --> 01:50:20,291
Okay. Here goes.
1866
01:50:21,083 --> 01:50:23,000
[muttering] God knows
I've rehearsed it enough.
1867
01:50:23,583 --> 01:50:26,500
I've raised your kids kosher
and all but by myself.
1868
01:50:26,583 --> 01:50:28,625
I've put up with your suicidal drinking,
1869
01:50:28,708 --> 01:50:31,750
your compulsive gambling,
your silly platonic affairs.
1870
01:50:31,833 --> 01:50:33,416
You owe me, Herman.
1871
01:50:35,166 --> 01:50:36,750
So Joe says he can't promise,
1872
01:50:36,833 --> 01:50:40,375
but he thinks if you make nice with Mayer,
you can have your old job back.
1873
01:50:40,458 --> 01:50:41,958
Is that what you want me to say?
1874
01:50:42,041 --> 01:50:43,666
I know what your answer'll be,
1875
01:50:43,750 --> 01:50:47,833
so don't ask me to give you
Poor Sara's seal of approval.
1876
01:50:48,625 --> 01:50:51,333
Why do you put up with me, Schnutz?
1877
01:50:51,416 --> 01:50:54,416
My movie star looks
or my diplomat's charm?
1878
01:50:55,166 --> 01:50:58,250
I suppose because being
married to you, Herman,
1879
01:50:58,333 --> 01:50:59,250
I'm never bored.
1880
01:50:59,958 --> 01:51:03,083
Exhausted, yes. Exasperated, usually.
1881
01:51:03,166 --> 01:51:05,458
But having devoted so much,
1882
01:51:05,541 --> 01:51:08,000
I have to stick around
to see how it all turns out.
1883
01:51:12,291 --> 01:51:13,500
And whatever you decide,
1884
01:51:16,250 --> 01:51:19,791
please be mindful of those
who care about you most.
1885
01:51:24,000 --> 01:51:25,250
I'm going riding.
1886
01:51:25,833 --> 01:51:28,041
Haven't seen a horse's face in years.
1887
01:51:28,875 --> 01:51:30,166
[Mank chuckles softly]
1888
01:51:30,666 --> 01:51:32,375
Oh, and one last thing, Herman.
1889
01:51:33,708 --> 01:51:36,583
I don't want nobody
calling me Poor Sara no more.
1890
01:51:45,416 --> 01:51:46,750
[Mank sighs]
1891
01:51:50,125 --> 01:51:53,375
I've got a great idea
for a picture, Louis.
1892
01:51:53,458 --> 01:51:57,458
A picture I just know you're gonna love.
1893
01:51:58,500 --> 01:52:02,916
[echoing] It's a modern-day version
of Quixote.
1894
01:52:06,708 --> 01:52:10,583
Now, I know none of you read,
but you know what it's about.
1895
01:52:10,666 --> 01:52:15,250
A deluded old nobleman
who tilts at windmills.
1896
01:52:16,625 --> 01:52:19,583
So how might we update this story?
1897
01:52:19,666 --> 01:52:21,916
- Do you want me to get...
- No, no.
1898
01:52:22,000 --> 01:52:24,291
How about we make our Quixote…
1899
01:52:25,916 --> 01:52:27,208
A newspaperman?
1900
01:52:28,083 --> 01:52:31,125
Who else could
make a living tilting at windmills?
1901
01:52:31,208 --> 01:52:32,458
But that's not enough.
1902
01:52:33,583 --> 01:52:36,250
No, he wants more than readership.
1903
01:52:36,333 --> 01:52:40,666
He wants more than adulation.
He wants love.
1904
01:52:42,083 --> 01:52:47,000
So, he runs for public office,
and because he's notably rich, he wins.
1905
01:52:48,166 --> 01:52:49,875
No, wait, wait a minute.
1906
01:52:49,958 --> 01:52:53,208
Notably rich and powerful
can't win over an audience
1907
01:52:53,291 --> 01:52:57,750
unless notably rich and powerful sees
the error of his ways in the final reel.
1908
01:52:58,458 --> 01:53:00,333
Notably rich and powerful
1909
01:53:00,416 --> 01:53:05,666
and making no goddamn excuses
for it is only admirable in real life.
1910
01:53:05,750 --> 01:53:07,125
Isn't that right, Louis?
1911
01:53:08,083 --> 01:53:09,000
[grunts]
1912
01:53:10,208 --> 01:53:11,583
So what do we do?
1913
01:53:14,416 --> 01:53:15,875
Anybody?
1914
01:53:18,291 --> 01:53:20,791
We give him ideals.
1915
01:53:20,875 --> 01:53:23,583
Ideals that any dirt-poor,
1916
01:53:23,666 --> 01:53:26,875
depression-weary audience
can identify with.
1917
01:53:26,958 --> 01:53:29,708
Our Quixote is against crooked trusts.
1918
01:53:29,791 --> 01:53:33,583
He's for the eight-hour workday,
fair income tax, better schools.
1919
01:53:33,666 --> 01:53:37,375
Why, he's even
for government ownership of railroads.
1920
01:53:37,458 --> 01:53:38,375
[chuckles]
1921
01:53:38,458 --> 01:53:40,208
You know what we call those people?
1922
01:53:40,291 --> 01:53:41,583
- [man] Communists?
- [woman] Anarchists?
1923
01:53:41,666 --> 01:53:46,041
No, our Quixote,
he's a two-fisted muckraker.
1924
01:53:46,125 --> 01:53:50,041
In fact, someone predicts
that he will one day
1925
01:53:50,125 --> 01:53:53,708
win the presidency
and bring about, get this…
1926
01:53:54,958 --> 01:53:58,583
[laughing]
1927
01:53:58,666 --> 01:54:01,291
…a socialist revolution.
1928
01:54:01,375 --> 01:54:04,375
- What a bunch of bullshit!
- Is it?
1929
01:54:05,500 --> 01:54:06,375
Tell him, Willie.
1930
01:54:07,916 --> 01:54:09,041
Tell him.
1931
01:54:10,083 --> 01:54:15,000
Upton Sinclair used exactly those words
1932
01:54:15,083 --> 01:54:18,000
to describe
a young William Randolph Hearst.
1933
01:54:18,083 --> 01:54:20,958
- You miserable bastard!
- How do you do?
1934
01:54:23,875 --> 01:54:27,000
Our Quixote, he hungers, he thirsts,
1935
01:54:27,083 --> 01:54:29,708
he lusts for voters to love him.
1936
01:54:30,291 --> 01:54:32,458
Love him enough to make him president.
1937
01:54:32,541 --> 01:54:34,916
But they won't, and they don't.
1938
01:54:35,500 --> 01:54:37,125
How do you suppose that could happen?
1939
01:54:37,208 --> 01:54:39,250
Could it be because, in their hearts,
1940
01:54:39,333 --> 01:54:42,458
they know
that he values power over people?
1941
01:54:43,541 --> 01:54:46,000
Disillusioned in Congress,
1942
01:54:46,083 --> 01:54:50,458
he authors not one
single piece of legislation in two terms.
1943
01:54:50,541 --> 01:54:53,666
Can you believe that?
That'll take some writing.
1944
01:54:54,833 --> 01:54:57,166
Placed in nomination for president,
1945
01:54:57,250 --> 01:55:00,583
but it's too radical
for the boys in the back.
1946
01:55:00,666 --> 01:55:04,333
His bid goes nowhere,
but we're doing something.
1947
01:55:05,291 --> 01:55:07,583
We're building sympathy.
1948
01:55:08,583 --> 01:55:12,166
Rejected, he flees to lotusland,
1949
01:55:12,250 --> 01:55:14,958
where his faithful troll, Sancho,
1950
01:55:15,041 --> 01:55:18,083
has prepared a mythical kingdom for…
1951
01:55:20,125 --> 01:55:21,625
Wait a minute.
1952
01:55:23,125 --> 01:55:25,250
I forgot the love interest.
1953
01:55:25,916 --> 01:55:26,875
Her name…
1954
01:55:27,916 --> 01:55:29,333
Dulcinea.
1955
01:55:29,416 --> 01:55:32,833
Funny, adventurous, smarter than she acts.
1956
01:55:32,916 --> 01:55:34,125
Ah, she's a…
1957
01:55:34,625 --> 01:55:38,208
She's a showgirl,
beneath his social stratum,
1958
01:55:38,291 --> 01:55:39,291
but that's okay,
1959
01:55:39,791 --> 01:55:42,833
because true love on the big screens,
1960
01:55:42,916 --> 01:55:45,291
we all know, is blind.
1961
01:55:46,416 --> 01:55:47,416
And she…
1962
01:55:48,750 --> 01:55:50,500
Yeah, she loves him too.
1963
01:55:52,208 --> 01:55:56,125
So he takes her away
to his mythical kingdom.
1964
01:55:56,208 --> 01:55:57,666
Can I get a bicarb?
1965
01:55:58,750 --> 01:56:02,541
Now, along comes nemesis.
1966
01:56:02,625 --> 01:56:05,375
That's Greek for any guy in a black hat.
1967
01:56:05,958 --> 01:56:11,250
Nemesis runs for governor
and he's a shoo-in to win.
1968
01:56:11,333 --> 01:56:17,791
Why? Because he's exactly
what our Don used to be.
1969
01:56:17,875 --> 01:56:20,625
An idealist, you get it?
1970
01:56:21,291 --> 01:56:22,458
And not only that,
1971
01:56:23,166 --> 01:56:28,000
nemesis is the same guy
who once predicted our Quixote would
1972
01:56:28,083 --> 01:56:31,791
one day preside over
a socialist revolution.
1973
01:56:33,000 --> 01:56:37,791
Our Quixote looks
into the mirror of his youth
1974
01:56:37,875 --> 01:56:41,291
and decides to break this glass,
1975
01:56:41,375 --> 01:56:44,958
a maddening reminder of who he once was.
1976
01:56:45,041 --> 01:56:48,666
Assisted by his faithful Sancho,
1977
01:56:48,750 --> 01:56:53,791
and armed
with all the black magic at his command,
1978
01:56:53,875 --> 01:56:56,291
he does just this.
1979
01:56:56,375 --> 01:57:02,458
Destroying in the process
not one man… but two.
1980
01:57:05,375 --> 01:57:06,958
Well, what do you think, Louis?
1981
01:57:07,458 --> 01:57:08,333
Hmm?
1982
01:57:08,416 --> 01:57:10,000
You think it'll play?
1983
01:57:10,583 --> 01:57:11,583
[retches]
1984
01:57:15,375 --> 01:57:16,333
[vomiting continues]
1985
01:57:16,416 --> 01:57:17,916
[guests groan and clamor]
1986
01:57:21,833 --> 01:57:24,291
[Mank sighs, chuckling]
Don't worry, folks.
1987
01:57:25,291 --> 01:57:28,208
Uh, the white wine came up with the fish.
1988
01:57:30,500 --> 01:57:34,208
Who the fuck do you think
you are, Mankiewicz?
1989
01:57:35,625 --> 01:57:37,875
You're nothin' but a court jester.
1990
01:57:38,791 --> 01:57:40,916
And let me let you in on a little secret.
1991
01:57:41,000 --> 01:57:44,416
Do you have any idea
who pays half your salary?
1992
01:57:44,500 --> 01:57:46,750
He pays half your fucking salary.
1993
01:57:46,833 --> 01:57:48,625
Him, you fucking ingrate.
1994
01:57:49,291 --> 01:57:52,416
You didn't know that, did ya?
You wanna know why?
1995
01:57:52,500 --> 01:57:54,416
Because he likes the way you talk.
1996
01:57:54,500 --> 01:57:57,875
Not the way you write, the way you talk.
1997
01:57:58,541 --> 01:58:00,583
Don't that chap your ass?
1998
01:58:18,666 --> 01:58:20,375
[indistinct conversation]
1999
01:58:22,791 --> 01:58:25,291
- [Rita] Please, follow me.
- [Welles] It's very quaint.
2000
01:58:33,208 --> 01:58:35,125
Rise and shine, hombre.
2001
01:58:35,708 --> 01:58:37,750
Shoot-out at the O.K. Corral.
2002
01:58:39,333 --> 01:58:42,916
Before we buckle down, I gather you have
something to get off your chest?
2003
01:58:43,000 --> 01:58:44,916
As a matter of fact, I do.
2004
01:58:45,000 --> 01:58:47,041
[Welles] Frankly,
I think what I said upset you.
2005
01:58:47,125 --> 01:58:50,250
I know your health's not what it might be.
I understand that comes first.
2006
01:58:50,333 --> 01:58:53,375
- Really?
- [Welles] This studio fuss, this lawsuit.
2007
01:58:53,458 --> 01:58:55,416
God only knows
what pressure's yet to come.
2008
01:58:55,500 --> 01:58:58,208
At your age,
you'd be justified in wanting out.
2009
01:58:58,291 --> 01:59:00,375
I'm 43, but that's very understanding.
2010
01:59:00,458 --> 01:59:02,458
Mayer's buyout was rejected.
2011
01:59:02,541 --> 01:59:05,125
So, the fat's only starting
to hit the fire.
2012
01:59:05,750 --> 01:59:09,166
Now, I talked to RKO, and I'll tell you
what they're ready to do.
2013
01:59:09,250 --> 01:59:12,041
In recognition of the outstanding work
you've done so far,
2014
01:59:12,125 --> 01:59:16,000
they're prepared to relieve you of
the rewrite and still honor your full pay,
2015
01:59:16,750 --> 01:59:19,333
plus $10,000.
2016
01:59:20,166 --> 01:59:21,000
How's that?
2017
01:59:22,750 --> 01:59:24,416
That's more than generous.
2018
01:59:25,833 --> 01:59:27,833
But I don't intend to walk.
2019
01:59:29,750 --> 01:59:30,791
All right.
2020
01:59:33,166 --> 01:59:34,875
What's bothering you, then?
2021
01:59:34,958 --> 01:59:37,625
You're not going to like this, Orson.
2022
01:59:39,083 --> 01:59:40,125
[sighs]
2023
01:59:42,166 --> 01:59:43,500
I want credit.
2024
01:59:45,583 --> 01:59:46,708
Come again?
2025
01:59:47,666 --> 01:59:49,958
It's the best thing I've ever written.
2026
01:59:50,833 --> 01:59:53,166
Jack, get me some Cuban cigars.
2027
01:59:53,250 --> 01:59:55,333
- In Victorville?
- Do what you can, Jack.
2028
01:59:55,416 --> 01:59:59,083
Oh, stay, Houseman.
You'll miss the third act complicator.
2029
01:59:59,166 --> 02:00:01,125
Get going, Jack. Muy pronto.
2030
02:00:01,916 --> 02:00:04,125
I believe that means right away.
2031
02:00:10,458 --> 02:00:13,000
[tense music playing]
2032
02:00:21,250 --> 02:00:22,750
Mank, Mank.
2033
02:00:24,500 --> 02:00:28,375
[Mank] What I said was more
in sorrow than in anger, Willie.
2034
02:00:31,458 --> 02:00:36,041
Are you familiar with the parable
of the organ grinder's monkey?
2035
02:00:36,125 --> 02:00:40,083
Now, the organ grinder's monkey
is tiny in stature,
2036
02:00:40,166 --> 02:00:42,041
and having been taken from the wild,
2037
02:00:42,125 --> 02:00:46,791
he's naturally overwhelmed
by the enormous world around him.
2038
02:00:47,666 --> 02:00:53,833
But every morning, a sweet elderly woman
dresses him in a fine suit of clothes.
2039
02:00:54,500 --> 02:00:58,791
She fits him with a red velvet vest
adorned with pearl buttons
2040
02:00:58,875 --> 02:01:02,708
and a handsome red fez with a silk tassel.
2041
02:01:02,791 --> 02:01:07,458
She slips on brocade shoes
that curl at the toe,
2042
02:01:07,958 --> 02:01:13,208
and he's paired with a fine gilt music box
on an exquisite gold chain
2043
02:01:13,291 --> 02:01:16,666
fastened to his neck and his neck alone.
2044
02:01:17,208 --> 02:01:20,791
Whenever he ventures
into the city to perform,
2045
02:01:20,875 --> 02:01:24,416
he thinks,
"What a powerful fellow I must be."
2046
02:01:24,500 --> 02:01:28,333
"Look how patiently
everyone waits just to watch me dance."
2047
02:01:28,416 --> 02:01:29,458
Hey, Willie...
2048
02:01:29,541 --> 02:01:31,958
"And wherever I go," he thinks,
2049
02:01:32,041 --> 02:01:38,083
"this music box must follow, and with it,
this poor downtrodden man."
2050
02:01:38,583 --> 02:01:44,291
"And if I chose not to dance,
this sorry street peddler would starve,
2051
02:01:44,375 --> 02:01:48,791
and every time
I do decide to dance, every time…
2052
02:01:53,541 --> 02:01:55,208
He must play."
2053
02:01:57,041 --> 02:01:58,916
"Whether he wishes to or not."
2054
02:02:00,500 --> 02:02:02,625
You've had a bit too much
to drink, Herman.
2055
02:02:02,708 --> 02:02:05,583
I'll get Raymond
to drive you to the station.
2056
02:02:06,875 --> 02:02:07,958
Goodbye.
2057
02:02:14,583 --> 02:02:15,666
[sighs]
2058
02:02:16,333 --> 02:02:17,958
Put aside gratitude, Mank.
2059
02:02:18,041 --> 02:02:20,125
That you've done your best work
was no accident.
2060
02:02:20,208 --> 02:02:23,458
I removed any distraction,
eliminated every excuse,
2061
02:02:23,541 --> 02:02:26,041
your family, your cronies, liquor.
2062
02:02:26,125 --> 02:02:27,708
I gave you a second chance.
2063
02:02:27,791 --> 02:02:30,208
And for that, I cannot thank you enough.
2064
02:02:30,291 --> 02:02:34,541
But with credit for a risky undertaking
must go the weight of real responsibility.
2065
02:02:35,041 --> 02:02:37,125
Given your current health,
I wonder if you're up to it.
2066
02:02:37,208 --> 02:02:39,750
Frankly, I wonder, too,
but we'll find out.
2067
02:02:39,833 --> 02:02:42,250
You may never work
in this town again, Mank!
2068
02:02:42,333 --> 02:02:43,958
[laughing] Orson, please…
2069
02:02:44,041 --> 02:02:46,416
Then you force me to remind you!
2070
02:02:46,500 --> 02:02:50,083
We have a contract
that you understood and agreed to!
2071
02:02:50,166 --> 02:02:53,791
If you fight this, it will go
to what your new guild calls arbitration,
2072
02:02:53,875 --> 02:02:57,250
and you, my friend,
will lose script, money,
2073
02:02:57,333 --> 02:02:59,833
and assuming such a thing still exists
in Hollywood,
2074
02:02:59,916 --> 02:03:01,916
the respect of those who honor their word.
2075
02:03:02,000 --> 02:03:04,666
How can I put this nicely?
2076
02:03:05,750 --> 02:03:07,916
I may be a loose cannon,
2077
02:03:08,000 --> 02:03:10,916
but you, my friend, are an outsider.
2078
02:03:11,000 --> 02:03:14,166
They're exasperated by me,
and I've earned it,
2079
02:03:14,250 --> 02:03:17,416
but you, a self-anointed savior-hyphenate,
2080
02:03:17,500 --> 02:03:19,875
they're just waiting to loathe you.
2081
02:03:19,958 --> 02:03:23,125
Remind me never again
to work with a washed-up alcoholic!
2082
02:03:23,208 --> 02:03:25,541
Duly noted. Nelson Algren, please copy.
2083
02:03:25,625 --> 02:03:28,750
All right!
No doubt you'll get your credit.
2084
02:03:28,833 --> 02:03:31,625
But ask yourself,
"Who's producing this picture?"
2085
02:03:31,708 --> 02:03:34,250
"Directing it? Starring in it?"
2086
02:03:37,000 --> 02:03:39,333
That's just what we need
when Susan leaves Kane.
2087
02:03:40,041 --> 02:03:42,000
An act of purging violence.
2088
02:03:44,625 --> 02:03:45,583
Maybe.
2089
02:03:48,916 --> 02:03:50,375
[kicking glass shards]
2090
02:03:52,583 --> 02:03:53,500
[door slams]
2091
02:03:58,666 --> 02:04:01,833
[Rita] Mank! Mank, where are you?
2092
02:04:02,416 --> 02:04:03,916
Mank, come quick!
2093
02:04:04,000 --> 02:04:05,541
[car engine starts]
2094
02:04:09,166 --> 02:04:10,250
He's alive!
2095
02:04:11,208 --> 02:04:12,333
Ian's alive!
2096
02:04:13,041 --> 02:04:15,666
- He fetched up on the Orkneys!
- The what?
2097
02:04:15,750 --> 02:04:17,833
The Orkney Islands, you idiot.
2098
02:04:18,333 --> 02:04:20,333
Oh, Mank, are you ever serious?
2099
02:04:21,375 --> 02:04:24,208
- Only about something funny.
- [sighs exasperatedly]
2100
02:04:37,958 --> 02:04:40,916
[audience applauding]
2101
02:04:41,875 --> 02:04:43,125
{\an8}[typewriter dings]
2102
02:04:47,750 --> 02:04:52,083
[clears throat] And the winner
of the best original screenplay is…
2103
02:04:53,625 --> 02:04:57,625
- Herman J. Mankiewicz…
- [audience applauding]
2104
02:04:57,708 --> 02:05:00,625
…and Orson Welles for Citizen Kane.
2105
02:05:02,833 --> 02:05:04,916
[reporter] This is the first nomination
and first win
2106
02:05:05,000 --> 02:05:06,583
for Mr. Mankiewicz and Mr. Welles.
2107
02:05:06,666 --> 02:05:08,416
Neither were able to attend tonight.
2108
02:05:08,500 --> 02:05:11,208
Accepting for both
is the president of RKO Radio Pictures,
2109
02:05:11,291 --> 02:05:12,875
Mr. George Schaefer.
2110
02:05:14,541 --> 02:05:18,375
- [reporter] Excuse me, Mr. Welles.
- [real Orson Welles] Good morning.
2111
02:05:18,458 --> 02:05:21,166
{\an8}[reporter] Good morning, Mr. Welles.
You missed a big night.
2112
02:05:21,250 --> 02:05:24,125
{\an8}[real Orson Welles] I was unable to attend
the Academy Awards
2113
02:05:24,208 --> 02:05:28,250
{\an8}because I'm here in Rio
making a marvelous motion picture.
2114
02:05:28,333 --> 02:05:31,750
{\an8}[reporter] Kane was nominated
in nine categories, including best actor.
2115
02:05:31,833 --> 02:05:34,750
{\an8}Aren't you disappointed
that it only won one Oscar?
2116
02:05:35,416 --> 02:05:39,500
{\an8}[real Orson Welles]
Well, that, my good man, is Hollywood.
2117
02:05:39,583 --> 02:05:40,458
{\an8}[men laughing]
2118
02:05:40,541 --> 02:05:43,500
{\an8}[reporter] Anything you'd like to say
to your coauthor, Mr. Mankiewicz?
2119
02:05:43,583 --> 02:05:47,083
{\an8}[real Orson Welles] I do have a message.
You may tell him from me…
2120
02:05:48,500 --> 02:05:51,541
{\an8}Mank, you can kiss my half!
2121
02:05:51,625 --> 02:05:53,125
{\an8}[men laughing]
2122
02:06:00,208 --> 02:06:05,000
You ask me what
my acceptance speech might have been.
2123
02:06:06,791 --> 02:06:08,208
Well, here goes.
2124
02:06:08,833 --> 02:06:13,708
I am very happy to accept this award
2125
02:06:14,208 --> 02:06:17,333
in the manner
in which the screenplay was written,
2126
02:06:18,083 --> 02:06:22,500
which is to say,
in the absence of Orson Welles.
2127
02:06:25,208 --> 02:06:28,166
- How's that?
- [reporter] How come he shares credit?
2128
02:06:29,250 --> 02:06:34,750
[sighs] Well, that, my friend,
is the magic of the movies.
2129
02:06:34,833 --> 02:06:35,833
[man laughs]
2130
02:06:35,916 --> 02:06:38,833
[reporter] Hold up the Oscar, Mank.
Big smile.
2131
02:06:39,416 --> 02:06:40,583
[camera shutter clicks]
2132
02:06:41,083 --> 02:06:43,541
{\an8}[dulcet music playing]
2133
02:08:43,541 --> 02:08:45,541
[slow piano music playing]