Consider Fritz Lang's M.
M
M
A large white M on a dark, shadowy screen.
MUSIC ("In the Hall of the Mountain King") and TITLES BEGIN. As the TITLES
END, a child's voice is heard CHANTING.
FADE OUT
EXT. COURTYARD - CITY BLOCK - BERLIN, GERMANY - 1930 A.D. - DAY
FADE IN on a HIGH ANGLE - A group of children, standing in a circle, play a
game. In the center of the circle, a LITTLE GIRL points her finger from one
child to another in rhythm with the chant.
LITTLE GIRL
(chants)
Just you wait a little while,
The evil man in black will come.
And with his little chopper,
He will chop you up.
The LITTLE GIRL stops in front of one of her playmates and gestures for her
to leave the circle.
LITTLE GIRL
You're out.
The child leaves the circle and the game continues.
LITTLE GIRL
(chants)
Just you wait a little while,
The evil man in black will come.
And with his little chopper,
He will chop you up.
During the chant, we PAN OFF, past two coal-bunkers (revealing that we are in
the courtyard of a block of flats), and CLIMB the face of the tenement block
to show an outdoor balcony with washing hanging out to dry. A PREGNANT WOMAN
appears, carrying a basket of laundry; she pauses when she hears the
chanting, then leans over the balcony and shouts down to the children.
PREGNANT WOMAN
Will you stop singing that awful song...?!
But the chanting continues --
PREGNANT WOMAN
... Can't you hear?
The chanting stops.
PREGNANT WOMAN
(mutters to herself)
Always that awful song.
She walks off, carrying her basket. After a moment, the chant continues.
LITTLE GIRL
(chants, o.s.)
Just you wait a little while,
The evil man in black will come.
And with his little chopper...
We hold on the empty balcony for a long moment and then
CUT TO:
INT. TENEMENT BLOCK - DAY
The FRONT DOOR of one of the flats. The PREGNANT WOMAN with her basket of
laundry RINGS the bell. The door opens and a tired, haggard, middle-aged
woman appears. It is MRS. BECKMANN. Behind her, we see a KITCHEN. The
PREGNANT WOMAN hands the basket to MRS. BECKMANN and wearily wipes her brow.
PREGNANT WOMAN
(sighing)
Oh, dear!
MRS. BECKMANN
What's the matter?
PREGNANT WOMAN
I'm always telling those kids to stop singing
that terrible murderer's song ... and they do
nothing but sing it at the top of their voices
all day ...
(pause)
As if we hadn't heard enough of that killer.
MRS. BECKMANN
Oh, leave them alone. As long as they're
singing, at least we know they're still there.
PREGNANT WOMAN
Yes, I suppose you're right.
The pregnant woman shuts the door for MRS. BECKMANN, leaving her alone in her
flat with the laundry. MRS. BECKMANN puts the basket in a corner of her poor
but clean kitchen, then bends over a bowl of water and continues with her
washing. A cuckoo-clock STRIKES. MRS. BECKMANN looks up at the clock, which
shows midday. The RINGING of a church bell mingles with the cuckoos. MRS.
BECKMANN smiles, straightens up, and wipes her hands.
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREET - DAY
A group of parents waits on the pavement outside the main entrance to the
local school. Cars pass. The bell stops ringing as the children come out; one
little girl waves and goes off in a direction different from her friends. It
is ELSIE BECKMANN; she wears a satchel on her back and carries a string bag
with a ball in it. When she comes to cross the road she steps off the curb
without looking, a car HONKS at her and she hurriedly steps back onto the
curb. A policeman stops the traffic and escorts her across.
CUT TO:
INT. MRS. BECKMANN'S KITCHEN - DAY
MRS. BECKMANN sets the table for Elsie's lunch.
CUT TO:
EXT. ANOTHER CITY STREET - DAY
ELSIE walks along the pavement of a busy sidewalk, bouncing her ball. She
stops by a circular pillar of the sort used as a billboard and starts
throwing her ball against it. We FOLLOW the ball and MOVE IN to show one of
the posters:
10,000 Marks Reward
WHO IS THE MURDERER?
Since Monday, 11th June this year, the
following have disappeared: the school-children
Klaus Klawitsky and his sister Klara, who live
at 470 Müller Street. Various evidence leads us
to believe that the children were victims of a
similar crime to that committed last autumn
against the Doering sisters.
As the ball continues to bounce against the poster, the shadow of a man in a
hat falls across the pillar: it is the shadow of the MURDERER.
MURDERER (o.s.)
What a pretty ball.
The shadow bends down.
MURDERER (o.s.)
What's your name?
ELSIE (o.s.)
Elsie Beckmann.
CUT TO:
INT. MRS. BECKMANN'S TENEMENT - DAY
KITCHEN - MRS. BECKMANN peels potatoes and puts them into a tureen. The clock
reads 12:20. MRS. BECKMANN puts the lid on the tureen. She hears footsteps,
goes to the door, opens it and looks up the stairs.
STAIRCASE - Two LITTLE GIRLS are going up.
MRS. BECKMANN
Elsie didn't come with you?
1ST LITTLE GIRL
No.
2ND LITTLE GIRL
(simultaneously)
No, she didn't come with us.
MRS. BECKMANN watches from the doorway, as the GIRLS go on up the stairs;
then she leans over the bannisters and looks down into the empty staircase
well. MRS. BECKMANN shakes her head and goes back into her flat.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET CORNER - HIGH ANGLE - DAY
A BEGGAR -- with a card hung around his neck reading "BLIND" -- stands on a
corner selling balloons. A paper windmill is stuck in his battered hat. The
MURDERER and ELSIE stand in front of him, examining the balloons. The
MURDERER WHISTLES, loudly and and a little off-key, the first bars of "In
the Hall of the Mountain King" from Grieg's 'Peer Gynt.' He buys a balloon in
the shape of a huge doll and hands it to ELSIE who thanks him with a little
curtsy.
ELSIE
Thank you very much.
The MURDERER and ELSIE walk off as the BLIND BEGGAR pockets his money.
CUT TO:
INT. MRS. BECKMANN'S KITCHEN - DAY
MRS. BECKMANN puts the tureen into a steaming saucepan. The doorbell RINGS.
Visibly relieved, she rushes to open the door. On the doorstep stands the
PAPERMAN.
PAPERMAN
Good morning... A thrilling new chapter, Mrs.
Beckmann!
(hands her the paper)
Passionate, moving, sensational ...
MRS. BECKMANN
(very wearily)
Good -- thank you.
(pause)
Oh... just a moment, Mr. Gehrke.
She takes the paper and moves away. We STAY ON the PAPERMAN.
MRS. BECKMANN (o.s.)
Tell me, Mr. Gehrke...
PAPERMAN
Yes?
MRS. BECKMANN (o.s.)
Have you seen Elsie?
PAPERMAN
Didn't she just come up the stairs?
MRS. BECKMANN comes back to the door to pay the PAPERMAN.
MRS. BECKMANN
No, she's not back yet.
PAPERMAN
Well, she won't be long now.
He touches the peak of his cap and turns to go.
PAPERMAN
Good-bye, Mrs. Beckmann.
MRS. BECKMANN
(not reassured)
Good-bye, Mr. Gehrke.
She hesitates for a moment, then goes onto the landing and leans once again
over the bannisters to peer down into THE EMPTY STAIRCASE WELL.
MRS. BECKMANN
(o.s., her voice echoing)
Elsie! Elsie!
MRS. BECKMANN, looking worried, goes back to her flat, and closes the door.
THE CUCKOO-CLOCK - It's now 1:15. The cuckoo strikes once.
WIDE ANGLE - MRS. BECKMANN'S KITCHEN
MRS. BECKMANN is alone. She opens the window and leans out, calling anxiously.
MRS. BECKMANN
Elsie! Elsie!
CUT TO:
THE EMPTY STAIRCASE WELL
MRS. BECKMANN (o.s.)
Elsie!
CUT TO:
THE ATTIC LOFT OF THE BLOCK OF FLATS
Empty except for some washing hanging in the shadows.
MRS. BECKMANN (o.s.)
Elsie!
CUT TO:
THE KITCHEN TABLE
Elsie's empty chair, her clean plate, her spoon, and her folded napkin.
MRS. BECKMANN (o.s.)
Elsie! Elsie!
CUT TO:
FAR AWAY - A PATCH OF SCRUBBY GROUND
From out of the undergrowth rolls ELSIE'S ball. It rolls to a stop.
CUT TO:
THE BIG, DOLL-SHAPED BALLOON
It floats up into the air and catches momentarily in some telegraph wires,
until the wind shakes it free and carries it away.
FADE OUT
EXT. CITY STREET - EARLY EVENING
FADE IN on A HIGH ANGLE of a sidewalk. A CAR sits parked at the curb. A
PAPERSELLER rushes by, waving the latest edition.
PAPERSELLER
Extra! Extra! Extra!
A passer-by stops him and buys a paper.
CUT TO:
ANOTHER HIGH ANGLE of ANOTHER STREET where ANOTHER PAPERSELLER can be seen,
surrounded by a crowd that urgently wants to buy his papers.
PAPERSELLER
Extra! Extra! New crime! Who is the murderer?
Who? Who is the murderer?
CUT TO:
INT. THE MURDERER'S ROOM - NIGHT
The MURDERER sits at the windowsill, his back to us, writing. He holds a
cigarette in his left hand and still whistles the tune from 'Peer Gynt.'
INSERT - THE MURDERER'S LETTER
The handwriting is a childish scrawl.
'Since the police haven't published my first
letter, I am writing today straight to the
NEWSPAPERS. Keep up your investigations.
Everything will happen just as I have predicted.
But I haven't yet FINISHED.'
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT
A POLICE POSTER - Affixed to a brick wall. In large letters, we can read...
10,000 Marks Reward
WHO IS THE MURDERER?
The lettering of the rest of the poster is too small. We slowly PULL BACK
over the heads of a crowd gathered around the poster. General hubbub.
VOICES OF CROWD
Good God, here we go again ... It's terrible!
10,000 Marks ... The lettering is too small,
we can't read it all! ... Hey, read it out
loud, you, there in front ... Yes, read it ...
out loud ...
(reading)
'The unknown murderer'... Let him read. Oh,
hey! ... Quiet! ... Shut up! ...
(reading)
'The terror in our town has found a new'...
Oh, that's enough ... Stop it! ...
(reading)
'victim'... Louder, we can't hear a thing.
The sound of the crowd CROSSFADES to the voice of a RADIO ANNOUNCER.
RADIO ANNOUNCER
Certain evidence leads us to believe that the
murderer is the same as the one who has already
killed eight children in our city. We must once
more draw your attention to the fact...
CUT TO:
HIGH ANGLE - CAFÉ TABLE
A group of middle-class men sit around it, smoking and drinking. One of them,
an OLD MAN, reads aloud from a newspaper. His voice takes over from the RADIO
ANNOUNCER. In the middle of the table, stands a little embroidered nag, the
insignia of the club to which these gentlemen belong.
OLD MAN
(reading)
'...that the first duty of every mother, of
every father, is to warn their children of the
danger which always threatens them. Moreover,
because the danger is often hidden under an
attractive disguise, some sweets, a toy, fruit,
can be the murderer's weapons...
THE OTHER MEN
Very true. Of course.
The OLD MAN stops reading to take a gulp of beer. His neighbor, a fat civil
servant in a stiff collar, impatiently stuffs a huge cigar into a cigar-
holder.
MAN WITH CIGAR-HOLDER
Go on ...
(nervously)
Come on now. Read on.
OLD MAN
Right, right ...
(reading)
'...The anxiety of the general public is all
the greater, because police enquiries...'
As the OLD MAN continues to read, we see two of the other men at the table. A
BALD MAN wearing pince-nez; beside him, a FAT MAN twirls a glass of wine in
his hand.
OLD MAN (o.s.)
'... have not yet finished. But the police find
themselves faced by an almost impossible
problem.'
The BALD MAN nudges his neighbor and they whisper to one another. The BALD
MAN points his cigar at the MAN WITH CIGAR-HOLDER opposite him. The OLD MAN
continues to read.
OLD MAN (o.s.)
'The guilty man has left no trace. Who is the
murderer?'
The MAN WITH CIGAR-HOLDER opposite listens attentively. On his cigar-holder,
we see the design of a naked woman.
OLD MAN
'What is he like? Where is he hiding? No one
knows. And, yet, he is one of us. Your neighbor
could be the murderer.'
He lowers the paper. The BALD MAN and his companion stare with contempt at
the MAN WITH CIGAR-HOLDER. On the table, the newspaper 'Tempo', with the
headline: '10,000 Marks reward'. The BALD MAN grabs his glass of beer.
BALD MAN
Yes, that's right.
HIGH ANGLE of the whole group.
MAN WITH CIGAR-HOLDER
Why do you look at me, when you say that?
BALD MAN
You know very well.
MAN WITH CIGAR-HOLDER
What do I know very well?
The BALD MAN, behind his glass of beer, leans forward and stares at his
companion through his pince-nez.
BALD MAN
All right ... think a bit. You'll find out.
MAN WITH CIGAR-HOLDER
What are you insinuating?
BALD MAN
That I saw you going up the stairs, behind the
little girl from the fourth floor.
MAN WITH CIGAR-HOLDER
(jumps up, shouting angrily)
What?! You're crazy, you dirty swine!
BALD MAN
(also jumps up, shouting)
Who's a swine? Me? Me? Or the man who chases
little girls?
In the excitement, he loses his pince-nez.
HIGH ANGLE of the whole group.
MAN WITH CIGAR-HOLDER
(mad with rage)
You slanderer!
BALD MAN
Murderer!
As the MAN WITH CIGAR-HOLDER tries to punch his opponent, two FRIENDS and a
waiter intervene. General confusion.
OLD MAN
But, gentlemen! ... Gentlemen! Gentlemen!
They are separated.
MAN WITH CIGAR-HOLDER
I'll see you in court.
BALD MAN
I'll see YOU in court.
WAITER
(intervening)
Now then, gentlemen ... calm down.
ANOTHER CLIENT
I didn't mean to ...
The HEAD WAITER, a CLIENT and the three FRIENDS go out. The SMALL MAN has
been watching the row with fiendish glee. The BALD MAN continues to shout at
his departing enemy.
BALD MAN
Slanderer ... ruining my reputation.
CUT TO:
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
In a comfortable bourgeois flat. The drawers of a chest have been pulled out
and the contents scattered everywhere. Through the door we see a sitting-room.
THE HUSBAND (o.s.)
What a slanderer! What an awful man!
A WOMAN appears at the doorway, in tears.
THE HUSBAND (o.s.)
And the police listened to him! ... They're
searching my house!
A POLICEMAN and THE HUSBAND come through the door into the sitting room.
THE WOMAN
(weeping)
How awful! ... Oh, what shame!
THE HUSBAND
Searching an honest man's flat, because of an
anonymous letter. It's... it's...
POLICEMAN
(calmly)
Mr. Jäger, calm down. We're only doing our
duty.
THE HUSBAND
When we never have a minute's peace?
Frightened about the children ...
POLICEMAN
Look, it's for that very reason, that the
police have to follow every lead... Any man in
the street...
CUT TO:
EXT. THE STREET - NIGHT
POLICEMAN (o.s.)
... could be the guilty man.
In the street, a little OLD MAN of about sixty, wearing a bowler hat and
spectacles with round, metal rims stops under a street lamp to read his
paper. A LITTLE GIRL comes up to him, pushing a scooter.
LITTLE GIRL
Could you tell me what time it is, please?
OLD MAN
(very friendly)
Yes, my child ...
He takes out his watch. A few yards away, in front of a furniture shop, two
shoppers, laden with parcels, look on. A WORKMAN with huge wide shoulders,
wearing a cap, comes out of the shop.
The LITTLE GIRL stands with the OLD MAN. In the background, the big WORKMAN
approaches, menacingly, as the OLD MAN puts his watch away and bends down to
the LITTLE GIRL.
OLD MAN
Now, my child, you must go home ... Where do
you live?
As the LITTLE GIRL goes off on her scooter, the WORKMAN interrupts.
WORKMAN
What business is it of yours, where the kid
lives?
OLD MAN
(looking up, terrified)
Excuse me?
The OLD MAN looks up anxiously, through his pebbled-glasses, with great,
round, scared eyes. The WORKMAN, enormous, rises on his toes.
WORKMAN
What did you want with the kid?
OLD MAN
(startled)
But ... but ... nothing at all! And you, what
do you want with me!
The WORKMAN seizes his arm. Some people stop and gather round.
WORKMAN
(seizing the OLD MAN)
Just you wait and see.
OLD MAN
(struggling)
Let go ... Let me go. It's a ... a ... an
impertinence!
FIRST PASSER-BY
(to the OLD MAN)
What's going on?
OLD MAN
(to PASSER-BY)
It's an outrage!
SECOND PASSER-BY
(to the WORKMAN, off the OLD MAN)
What does he want?
WORKMAN
(to OLD MAN)
Don't get on your high horse.
(to SECOND PASSER-BY)
First, he accosts children ...
ANOTHER BYSTANDER
Punch his face in!
WORKMAN (continues)
... and then, he comes on all high and mighty.
OLD MAN
(struggling)
Let me go, can't you? I didn't start the
conversation with the child.
WORKMAN
You wanted to get off with her, didn't you?
FEMALE PASSER-BY
(violently)
Yes ... and then kill her like all the others
... huh?
Everyone joins in and starts shouting.
CROWD
It's the murderer! ... It's him! ... Hold
onto him. Call the police ... Of course, no
cops when you need them ... Oh, officer! ...
Officer! ...
Everyone hangs onto the OLD MAN. The crowd jostles and calls for a policeman.
CROWD
Officer! ... Officer!
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREET - STAIRS OF A PARKED DOUBLE DECKER BUS - NIGHT
A crowd tries to board the bus. The CONDUCTOR comes down the stairs pushing
people out of the way.
CONDUCTOR
Move along, please ... move along now ... stop
blocking the way.
Behind the CONDUCTOR, comes a POLICEMAN, leading a THIEF.
THE THIEF
(insultingly, to the policeman)
You're good at catching pickpockets, that's all
you know how to do ... You'd do better to go
after the child murderer.
The dense crowd presses against the bus. They've heard the thief mention the
child murderer.
VARIOUS VOICES
What? The child murderer? The murderer ...
(off the THIEF)
That's him ... the murderer!
POLICEMAN
Move along now.
(to the thief)
Come on now ... get a move on.
Hysterical cries rise from the crowd. Fists are raised. The POLICEMAN and his
prisoner have difficulty forcing their way through and become separated by
the angry mob.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. MINISTER'S OFFICE - DAY
CLOSE - HEADLINES
The daily paper, 'General Anzeiger' -- the 'Tempo' section: 'THE MURDERER
WRITES TO THE PAPERS.' Underneath, the MURDERER'S letter is reproduced:
'Since the police haven't published my first
letter, I am writing today straight to the
NEWSPAPERS. Keep up your investigations.
Everything will happen just as I have predicted.
But I haven't yet FINISHED.'
A hand nervously holding a monocle spreads out the paper.
WIDER ANGLE - MINISTER'S OFFICE
The MINISTER sits at his desk, the newspaper spread out before him. He speaks
into a white telephone, emphasizing his points with wooden gestures.
MINISTER
It's an unheard-of scandal ... What a
deplorable effect this will have on public
opinion, Inspector. It is a serious error, very
serious.
CUT TO:
INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS - DAY
In THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE, the CHIEF OF POLICE, an elegant man,
sits at his desk. In one hand, he waves a pen; in the other, he holds the
telephone.
CHIEF OF POLICE
But, Minister, we've no power to prevent the
murderer from writing to anyone he wants to!
The MINISTER'S reply is inaudible. A male SECRETARY passes some letters to
the CHIEF OF POLICE and starts to leave. The CHIEF OF POLICE signs to him
that he should read an entry in his engagement book. The SECRETARY does so
and exits.
CHIEF OF POLICE
(into phone)
The guilty man is a mental case. He must get
pleasure out of seeing his actions reported in
the papers. We immediately got in touch with
the editors to obtain the original letter. The
laboratory is already busy on it.
CLOSE - A SET OF FINGERPRINTS
In the Police laboratory. The dossier of a certain Richard Ernst, known as
'Four-Fingered Ernst.' PAN ACROSS the dossier to show the prints of the left
hand, next to the right.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
Of course, it is almost impossible to find
usable fingerprints on a postcard that has been
through so many hands.
CLOSE - HAND WITH MAGNIFYING GLASS
Moving across a dossier.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
But we must try everything ...
IN ANOTHER ROOM...
... of the police laboratory, a fingerprint is projected onto a large screen.
Silhouetted against it, a police research assistant, using a magnifying
glass, compares the projection with the dossier.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... to find in our archives a clue or a trail
that will lead us nearer a solution.
OFFICE OF THE POLICE ARCHIVES
An employee paces up and down dictating a report.
CUT TO:
[INT. THE MURDERER'S ROOM - DAY
The MURDERER looks at himself in the mirror and makes terrible faces,
spreading his lips and lifting his eyebrows with his fingers.
CUT TO: ]
INT. THE MINISTER'S OFFICE - DAY
THE MINISTER speaks into the phone.
MINISTER
Yes, yes, Inspector ... certainly. I don't
doubt your keenness ... the efforts of your
men ... But, all the same ... the results.
(annoyed)
We must have results ... results.
The sound of the MINISTER'S VOICE continues as we CUT TO the CHIEF OF
POLICE'S OFFICE. During the following conversation the frustrated CHIEF'S
VOICE continues as images illustrate his words.
EXT./INT. SEARCH MONTAGE - DAY/NIGHT
CHIEF OF POLICE
Minister, my men are only getting twelve hours'
sleep a week....
POLICE STATION
Several tired policemen slump on benches. As two come in off their beats
another two start to get up to go.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... as well as searches on the spot, Minister.
VARIOUS ANGLES - SUBURBAN GARDENS
Plainclothes men search everywhere. In the background are two photographers.
A flash-gun goes off. Behind a hedge, one of the policemen finds a ball of
paper.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... We find, for instance, behind a hedge in
a thicket a little tissue-paper bag ...
CLOSE - A PAIR OF TWEEZERS...
... carefully lifting the paper bag on which can be read the word SWEETS.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... clearly it held cheap candy ... In a corner
we found tiny crumbs of acid drops and some
grains of colored sugar. Within a radius of
twelve kilometres, we have ...
CLOSE - MAP OF BERLIN
The gardens where the bag was discovered are circled and dated 21-6. A
compass draws a second larger circle dated 22-6; the same compass starts a
third circle.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... searched in all the sweet-shops, cake-shops,
to find out where the bag came from ... In vain
... every day we widen the area of the search ...
SWEET-SHOP COUNTER
A detective questions a salesgirl who shakes her head insistently and shrugs.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... but, of course, no one remembers
anything... or, at least not clearly enough ...
ICE CREAM KIOSK
A detective questions a salesman, without success.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... In spite of all these negative replies we
are keeping up the search, stepping more and
more into an area of uncertainty ...
GROCERY STORE
A detective questions a grocer and his wife, without success.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... without much hope of finding any solution.
Our men...
THE MINISTER'S OFFICE
The MINISTER crashes his palm violently against his desk, his other hand
holding the telephone.
MINISTER
(furious)
What good is that to me, Inspector? I know
you're not sleeping ... but those are the
facts: an unknown murderer terrorizes the
city ... a city of four million people ... And
... and ... the police, your police, are
helpless. I want results!
THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE
CHIEF OF POLICE
(irritated)
Minister, you don't really seem to appreciate
the incredible difficulties which face us...
CUT TO:
INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS - OFFICE - DAY
A DETECTIVE questions two witnesses. One is large and fat; he wears a little
beard and pince-nez. The other witness is stunted. In the background is a
typist, taking down the exchange.
1ST WITNESS
(indignantly to 2ND WITNESS)
You don't know anything.
2ND WITNESS
(leaps from his chair)
More than you, sir.
DETECTIVE
But, gentlemen, gentlemen ... Could you at
least come to some agreement on what color
bonnet the little girl was wearing, when you
saw her this morning, talking to an unknown
man?
1ST WITNESS
But, of course, Inspector, the bonnet was red.
2ND WITNESS
Inspector, the bonnet was green.
1ST WITNESS
(rising)
It was a red bonnet.
2ND WITNESS
It was a green bonnet.
1ST WITNESS
(shouting)
Red!
2ND WITNESS
(shouting)
Green!
1ST WITNESS
(in an absolute fury)
Red!
2ND WITNESS
(in as great a fury)
Green.
The WITNESSES try to shout one another down. The DETECTIVE looks on amazed.
INTERCUT extreme CLOSE-UPS of both WITNESSES.
1ST WITNESS
Red.
2ND WITNESS
Green.
1ST WITNESS
Red.
2ND WITNESS
Green.
1ST WITNESS
Red.
2ND WITNESS
Green.
GROUP SHOT - The typist gets up.
DETECTIVE
Stop, stop! ... It's hopeless. Thank you,
gentlemen.
[1ST WITNESS
Of course, Inspector, if you are prepared to
listen to a socialist ...]
CUT TO:
INT. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE - DAY
The CHIEF is still on the telephone.
CHIEF OF POLICE
The police have followed up, as of today, more
than fifteen hundred clues in this case. The
dossiers we have collected fill sixty thick
volumes. We have put all our men onto it ...
CUT TO:
INT./EXT. ANOTHER SEARCH MONTAGE - DAY/NIGHT
Several policemen beating through the undergrowth of a WOOD. The voice of the
CHIEF OF POLICE continues over the following scenes.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
...to systematically comb all the areas every
thicket, every piece of undergrowth, every
clearing is carefully examined, because behind
each bush ...
Several policemen searching a wooded PIT.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... in every hole, we might find something that
would put us at last on the right track ...
A police dog as he picks up a scent and follows it to the edge of a LAKE,
barking. A policeman follows him, holding him on a long leash. Other handlers
and their dogs appear.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... We have sent out police dogs. The best
trackers have been put onto the weak scents we
have found ... without any result. Since this
murderer's first crime ...
Detectives checking the papers of down-and-outs in a scruffy dormitory of a
DOSSHOUSE, where rows of beds face one another and old clothing hangs from
the walls.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... the police have inspected all the
dosshouses every night and checked the
identity of every vagrant. Of course, these
steps don't increase the popularity of the
police, nor do they calm the nerves of the
general public...
A smoky RAILWAY STATION. Detectives are checking everyone's papers.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... nevertheless, we are keeping up our watch
on all railway stations. But these checks are no
more successful than our nightly raids ...
A deserted STREET at night lit by street lamps. A plainclothes detective is
accosted by a whore, but he goes on his way. Further on, under a street lamp,
another girl talks with a client.
CHIEF OF POLICE (o.s.)
... of the various underworld hangouts.
HIGH ANGLE - A dark STREET, still wet from recent rain. A couple disappear
into a seedy HOTEL. A detective, beneath a street lamp opposite, looks on.
VARIOUS SHOTS - The headlights of a car light up the walls. Two plainclothes
detectives leap from the car while it is still moving. They abruptly walk the
sidewalk nonchalantly as the car drives off. Their footsteps ECHO. Two cars
full of men drive up and SQUEAL to a halt at the curb. A dozen or so
policemen jump from cars and station themselves rapidly in various doorways.
Three detectives wait in one doorway. One of them looks at his watch and
gestures at the others. They move out of sight.
On the dark, wet STREET, a detective walks to the middle of the street and
gives a signal -- a whistle BLOWS. Up the street, uniformed policemen,
waiting by their parked vehicles, spring into action, rushing off. A group of
plainclothes detectives march down the street, past the hotel, followed by
uniformed men drawn up in two ranks. A few prostitutes exiting the hotel are
rounded up and forced back inside. But it is not the hotel that the police
have targeted... they march past it, down the street.
HIGH ANGLE - looking down over the roofs at a line of uniformed policemen and
a group of detectives as they march down the street.
CUT TO:
INT. 'THE CROCODILE' - NIGHT
Down the spiral staircase which leads from the street, a young PROSTITUTE
rushes into a sordid basement bar. It is an underworld hangout known as 'The
Crocodile'. A stuffed crocodile hangs from the ceiling.
PROSTITUTE
THE COPS!
Without wasting a second, the clients, criminals and whores, rush for the
exit, scrambling over the tables and chairs. The LANDLADY rapidly lowers a
metal grille which shuts her off behind the bar. Everyone rushes for the
stairs.
HIGH ANGLE - looking down the empty staircase: general chaos and confusion.
The young prostitute appears first, followed by a thief who gives a sudden
start and, furious, turns back. Others pass him to be turned back in their
turn. Police whistle. Car horns. A line of policemen, advancing steadily,
pushes the fleeing crowd back down into the room.
[ON THE STREET - two plainclothes men lead away a prostitute.]
INT. 'THE CROCODILE' - NIGHT
POLICEMAN'S VOICE
Police. Get back there.
YOUNG PROSTITUTE'S VOICE
(among other cries)
Let me go, you bastard! Let me go! Eh,
Inspector, let me go!
A policeman descends the stairs carrying the YOUNG PROSTITUTE in his arms. We
TRACK with them till they stop at the bottom of the stairs, beneath the arch
of the entrance.
YOUNG PROSTITUTE
Let me go, won't you! ... you beast, Let me go,
let me go!
THIEF
Let the girl alone, dirty pig.
The prostitute is released and exchanges words with the cop -- punctuated
by her spitting on him. General hubbub rising to a crescendo.
POLICE
Silence ... silence!
Over the heads of the crowd, a SERGEANT appears.
SOMEONE IN THE CROWD
Ah, the head cop.
Laughter. With a gesture, the SERGEANT commands silence.
SERGEANT
Quiet.
A VOICE
That'd suit you, wouldn't it?
On the stairs, in the dim light of the cellar, with the crowd of thieves and
whores in the background, stands the dark silhouette of the SERGEANT.
SERGEANT
Police orders. Nobody leaves this place ... Get
your papers ready.
Cries of protest and whistles from around the room. The SERGEANT stands in
the entrance flanked on either side by police. An inspector comes down the
stairs with one of his men. It is the heavyish INSPECTOR LOHMANN. He pauses,
his face still in darkness.
A VOICE
Let's see you, let's see you!
He moves forward and stops a few steps from the bottom.
LOHMANN
(cheerfully)
Come on now, children. Let's not do anything
silly.
A THIEF
(raising his hat)
It's 'Fatty' Lohmann!
A VOICE
(chanting)
Loh-mann, Loh-mann, Loh-mann.
ANOTHER VOICE
Pop Lohmann!
Several wave their hats.
EVERYONE
(in chorus)
Loh-mann! Loh-mann! Loh-mann!
The chanting ends in whistles. INSPECTOR LOHMANN comes down to the last step
and enters the light. A strong looking man, about forty, he gives the
impression of shrewd efficiency.
LOHMANN
Quiet!
A VOICE
Get out!
LOHMANN
You'll wear yourself out.
A WOMAN'S VOICE
(hysterically)
It would be better if you caught the child
murderer.
ANOTHER WOMAN'S VOICE
Yeah ... much better!
The CROWD whistles.
LOHMANN
Quiet! Quiet! Be reasonable!
He steps forward. Several policeman follow him.
LOHMANN
Spread out ... spread out all of you. All of you
... spread out. Come on, come on now. Get your
papers out.
More detectives come down the stairs.
A VOICE
I haven't got any.
LOHMANN (o.s.)
Show me your papers.
A GIRL
(o.s., begging)
Let me go, please, Inspector.
[One of the criminals hides at the back of the CLOAKROOM. He tries to get out
through a skylight, but suddenly starts back. Through the grille of the
skylight which gives onto the street, he sees: a policeman stands outside.
The thief resignedly turns away.
In the ladies' TOILET, a policeman enters, hesitates, then pulls back a
curtain. A thief, embarrassed, comes out of his hiding place.]
In the MAIN CELLAR, LOHMANN and two of his men are installed behind two
tables. In front of him stands a young prostitute. Uniformed police form a
corridor leading to the exit. In the background, the various occupants of the
club stand about.
LOHMANN
Have you got any papers?
THE GIRL
But, Inspector, I can't go around everywhere
with my date of my birth on me. That's asking
too much.
LOHMANN
(indifferent)
Let's not beat around the bush, darling.
Between LOHMANN and one of his assistants, THE GIRL stands beside an enormous
THUG, with a black eye, wearing a cap, a fag-end in his mouth, hands in
pockets. A row of police lines the wall.
THE GIRL
(indignantly)
That's really asking too much, Inspector.
LOHMANN
(severely)
Alex.
Alex is short for Alexanderplatz, the headquarters of the Berlin police. In
other words, she's going downtown.
THE GIRL
Look here, it's disgusting.
She goes off to the right. Pushed by the others, the THUG steps forward. He
takes out a wallet and, very sure of himself, hands his papers to LOHMANN.
LOHMANN flicks through the papers. Skeptically, he examines their owner. A
policeman searches the THUG. LOHMANN whistles the song: 'Where did you get
your beautiful blue eyes?' and gives the THUG an understanding wink. Behind
them stand a group of thieves, surrounded by police. The policeman finishes
searching and goes out. The THUG puts his hands back in his pockets and looks
at LOHMANN triumphantly. LOHMANN smiles and holds the papers up to the light.
LOHMANN
(commiserating)
Poor workmanship, my friend...
The THUG, surprised, takes the cigarette butt out of his mouth.
LOHMANN
You've been had.
A pause. LOHMANN signals to a policeman.
LOHMANN
Alex. Next.
The THUG furiously throws his butt to the floor.
A THIEF
(insolently)
Better luck next time, Willi.
THUG
(moving off)
Oh ... you ... Shut your face.
LOHMANN
Next.
A greasy Mediterranean type steps forward, very smooth. He wears a sumptuous
fur-collared overcoat. Taking off his bowler, he tips his hat to LOHMANN
obsequiously and presents his papers.
ANOTHER THIEF
(admiringly)
Fancy boy.
Another whistles.
LOHMANN looks at the papers and gives them back. FANCY BOY raises his hat
again and prepares to leave. We TRACK with him. Suddenly LOHMANN, using the
handle of his walking stick, snags FANCY BOY's arm and pulls him back to the
table.
FANCY BOY
(astonished)
What's the matter?
A THIEF
Pop Lohmann has got him.
SEVERAL VOICES
He's got him.
LOHMANN grabs a newspaper jutting out of the pocket of FANCY BOY'S fur coat,
unfolds it, and looks it over:
INSERT - the front page of the newspaper dated 21st November, 1930. An
illustrated article, circled in pencil, reads: 'Unsolved burglary at a
furrier's shop.
LOHMANN puts down the paper.
LOHMANN
Well ... I think I had better take you down to
headquarters.
FANCY BOY
(horrified)
But, after all, my ... my papers are in order.
While he protests, his papers are taken from him.
LOHMANN
Next.
Next in line is a LITTLE FAT MAN, cheerful and very friendly.
LITTLE FAT MAN
(off FANCY BOY)
No luck, huh?
The LITTLE FAT MAN comes up to LOHMANN and clumsily takes off his hat.
LOHMANN
Next.
(holds out his hand)
Papers.
LITTLE FAT MAN
(in a friendly tone)
I haven't got any.
LOHMANN
Alex.
LITTLE FAT MAN
(shrugs his shoulders)
No luck.
LITTLE FAT MAN leaves.
LOHMANN
Next ... come on, let's keep it going.
Two policemen search a corner of the room. They look under the tables, tip up
the chairs and go through the pockets of the coats in the cloakroom. One
finds a revolver, then a leather briefcase. INSERT of the briefcase as it is
opened: inside, a complete housebreaking kit.
Things that have been confiscated are piled up, a jimmy, a saw, revolver
bullets, etc. A hand adds the empty briefcase to the pile. The LANDLADY
stands behind her bar talking to a SERGEANT, who takes out a cigarette.
LANDLADY
This is ruining our business, Sergeant ...
Every night there's interference. No one can
have ten minutes in peace anymore. Give us a
chance!
She goes to the back of the bar and pours herself a drink. The SERGEANT
lights his cigarette at a gas lamp.
SERGEANT
It's no joke for us either, out every night.
LANDLADY
Of course ... but you're drivin' away my
clientele ... And the guy you're looking for
isn't here.
(she drinks)
You can't imagine how mad everyone is about
this guy who's causing a raid every night.
Especially the girls ... okay, they walk the
streets ... but, believe me, every one is a
a little mother at heart.
The SERGEANT tries to keep a straight face as he leans on the bar, surrounded
by clouds of cigarette smoke.
LANDLADY
I know plenty of crooks who get kinda tender
when they see kids playing. If they catch that
bastard ...
(makes a short, sharp gesture)
... they'll wring his neck. Believe me.
Another policeman comes up and salutes the SERGEANT.
POLICEMAN
Ready to go, Sergeant?
The SERGEANT touches the peak of his cap and leaves with the policeman.
SERGEANT
(to the LANDLADY)
Good night.
The LANDLADY watches them leave with a gesture of disgust.
CUT TO:
INT. THE UNDERWORLD MEETING ROOM - NIGHT
A man in plus-fours stands by the window of a comfortably furnished middle-
class room; he looks at the street through binoculars. He is a PICK-POCKET.
In the street, two police vans drive past, full of crooks. LOHMANN follows in
an open car.
The PICK-POCKET still looks through his binoculars.
PICK-POCKET
So, it's 'The Crocodile' tonight.
(lowers the binoculars)
Two trucks full again.
He turns around. On the sofa, smoking a cigarette, sits a tall, thin CON-MAN,
dressed impeccably but a little pretentiously. He wears a dark jacket, a
waistcoat and light trousers, and has a thin moustache. Lounging beside him,
a BURGLAR, tough but not very bright, also smoking. The CON-MAN gets up
impatiently.
CON-MAN
What's keeping Schränker?
A moustached SAFE-BREAKER sits at the table in the center of the room,
doctoring playing cards.
SAFE-BREAKER
Isn't it three o'clock yet?
PICK-POCKET
I'll find out.
He puts down the binoculars and walks from the window to the telephone in the
middle of the room. He dials a number.
PICK-POCKET
Hello ... The exact time, please, Miss.
(sits at the table)
Two minutes to three. Thank you.
He hangs up and, from various pockets, takes out a series of watches. He
compares the time they show and places them on the table. The CON-MAN has sat
down beside him and does card tricks.
PICK-POCKET
(setting one of the watches)
Two minutes to three.
CON-MAN
(disgusted)
There are more police on the streets than
whores.
The BURGLAR sits in an armchair, a bag under his arm. In front of him, a
small low table, with an ashtray on it overflowing with butts.
BURGLAR
Wherever you spit ... nothing but cops.
The SAFE-BREAKER, chewing on his cigarette holder, comes up to the table. He
wears a white waistcoat and a white bow-tie. A 1900-style chandelier hangs
above everyone.
PICK-POCKET
Even when you're with a doll, they don't leave
you in peace ... And they've gone nuts too ...
All they can think about is that murderer ...
(to the SAFE-BREAKER)
... Mine ... she's got a little six-year old
girl, and, every night, I have to waste time
searching under the bed and in the cupboards to
make sure the murderer isn't hiding there.
The CON-MAN spreads three cards out on the table. The SAFE-BREAKER indicates
a card with the look of an expert. The CON-MAN turns it up: an ace. The PICK-
POCKET takes out a handkerchief and spreads it out beside the watches.
PICK-POCKET
You can't even get on with your job. Everywhere
you come across the police. There's no privacy
any more ... I'm fed up.
The SAFE-BREAKER walks around the table, looking at the time as he passes.
CON-MAN
(bored)
What else is new?
He puts the cards in his pocket. The PICK-POCKET arranges his watches in the
handkerchief and slips them into his pocket. The SAFE-BREAKER sits down
again.
CON-MAN
What's keeping Schränker?
PICK-POCKET
Maybe he's been caught.
BURGLAR
(laughing)
Not him.
(rejoins the others)
He did a bank job in London and Scotland Yard
set a trap for him ... there he was, hands up,
back to the wall, millions of cops all round
... and two seconds later there were two bodies
on the ground and he'd beat it!
The BURGLAR has sat down, his bag on his knee. The SAFE-BREAKER lights
another cigarette from the stub of the first.
SAFE-BREAKER
(with respect)
The best man between Berlin and San Francisco.
BURGLAR
They've been looking for him for six years and
they haven't caught him.
PICK-POCKET
Haven't caught him ... But dogs can kill
wolves.
SAFE-BREAKER
Shut up.
The PICK-POCKET tries to calm the SAFE-BREAKER. They are all nervous and
worried, and smoke heavily. The CON-MAN looks at the time again.
CON-MAN
The suspense is killing. He's usually right on
time--
On these last words, the door bell RINGS four times. Relieved, they look at
one another.
PICK-POCKET
Thank God!
BURGLAR
At last!
The door opens. SCHRÄNKER appears in leather overcoat, bowler hat and
carrying a walking stick. He immediately shuts the door, but doesn't come
into the room.
ALL
Good afternoon ... You've got here at last.
Good afternoon.
SCHRÄNKER
Are you mad? Close the curtains.
At the window, the curtains are half-drawn. [Next to it is the table where
the SAFE-BREAKER is sitting. The PICK-POCKET creeps along the wall to the
window to avoid being seen from the street.] The PICK-POCKET returns to his
place at the table in the middle of the room. SCHRÄNKER, at the central
table, has taken off his overcoat to reveal a chalk-stripe suit, dark tie and
black leather gloves. He removes his hat, putting it on the table with his
curved-handled walking stick (very similar to Lohmann's).
SCHRÄNKER
Gentlemen, the meeting can now begin.
He sits down to preside over the meeting.
SCHRÄNKER
According to the regulations, I confirm with
pleasure that the leadership of every
organization in our Union is represented.
He grasps his stick.
SCHRÄNKER
I assume that you all have full powers ...
The SAFE-BREAKER nods. The PICK-POCKET, who is cracking a nut, nods too. The
CON-MAN, while lighting a cigarette, also nods. Finally, the BURGLAR, still
bent over the bag, also gives his assent.
SCHRÄNKER
... authorizing you to vote for your members.
Good ... let's not be held up by procedure.
We all know why we are here.
(vehemently)
Someone who is not a member of the Union is
threatening our rackets. The new measures taken
by the police, the daily raids in our areas to
find this child murderer, interfere with our
business activities in an unbearable way.
We can put up no longer with the endless
pressure from the police, in every hotel, café,
or flat.
SAFE-BREAKER
That's for sure.
PICK-POCKET
Mm hmm!
SCHRÄNKER
This state of affairs must not be allowed to
continue. We'll have to put things right again
or we'll be destroyed.
The BURGLAR stubs out his cigarette. As SCHRÄNKER continues to talk, the
BURGLAR takes out another cigarette and strikes a match. Now and again
SCHRÄNKER'S gloved hand, playing with his stick, passes across frame.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
The funds of our organization are exhausted.
Unless I make use of the funds put aside to
support the wives of our colleagues who are
being looked after by the state, I just don't
know where I'll find the funds needed for the
preparation and execution of our various
projects. What is more, our reputation is
suffering. The cops are looking for the
murderer in our ranks, gentlemen ... When I
come up against a cop while carrying on my
business, he knows the risk he runs ... and I
do, as well. If one of us dies ... okay ...
that's a risk one must take. It can happen:
but we are not on the same level as this man
they're looking for now.
SCHRÄNKER underlines these last words with a wide gesture.
SAFE-BREAKER
Exactly.
SCHRÄNKER
There is a chasm between him and us.
BURGLAR
Of course.
PICK-POCKET
(at the same time)
No comparison.
SCHRÄNKER
We're doing our job because we have a living to
make. But this monster has no right to live. He
must DIS - APP - EAR. He must be exterminated,
without pity ... without scruples. Gentlemen,
our members must be able to carry on their
business normally, without being handicapped by
the growing nervousness of the police. I'm
appealing to you ...
With a gesture, he invites comments; on the gesture, we CUT TO
INT. THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE - NIGHT
The CHIEF continues SCHRÄNKER'S same gesture. A meeting is also in progress
at his office. Policemen and high-ranking detective inspectors are sitting
at a long conference table, littered with brandy glasses and coffee cups.
Cigar-smoke fills the air. The CHIEF stands at the head of the table and
finishes SCHRÄNKER'S line:
CHIEF OF POLICE
... for advice.
He sits down and a police OFFICER rises. Beside him, a bespectacled man in
plainclothes listens attentively.
THE OFFICER
(in a military tone)
I suggest a closer watch on I.D. cards, a
systematic search of the the whole city,
police raids...
The bespectacled man looks dubious.
THE OFFICER
... more numerous raids, and certainly tougher
ones.
He sits down. We now CUT BACK AND FORTH between the meetings of the police
and the underworld.
AT THE UNDERWORLD MEETING...
...the CON-MAN gets up.
CON-MAN
Spies ... We need spies in the ranks of the
police to give us plenty of warning of new
measures.
BURGLAR
The girls've got to take a little more notice
of the cops. We're always getting into trouble
because one of the girls has snitched to her
cop boyfriend.
The PICK-POCKET agrees; the CON-MAN sits down satisfied.
BURGLAR
Now, it's up to the girls to snitch for us!
The SAFE-BREAKER rises.
SAFE-BREAKER
What we must do ... And after all, we've all
got contacts ... What we must do is make a
statement to the Press ourselves, tell them
that we, the Organization, members of the Union
-- we condemn the bastard just as much! We
ought to make it known that the police should
quit looking for him in the underworld.
AT THE POLICE MEETING...
... an elderly bespectacled detective, with a small beard and a stiff collar,
speaks. Another detective sits on his right; on his left, a police officer
with a monocle.
ELDERLY DETECTIVE
I'm sure it's a man who looks like a peaceful
little family man, who wouldn't harm a fly,
except when he has his fits, of course!
LOHMANN listens with interest.
ELDERLY DETECTIVE
Perhaps in his normal state, he even plays
marbles with the concierge's children.
LOHMANN nods agreement.
ELDERLY DETECTIVE
Or perhaps plays cards with his wife. Without
this appearance of, let's say inoffensiveness
in private life, it would be impossible to
believe that murderers like Grossmann or
Haarmann were able to live for years in large,
busy blocks of flats without their neighbors
suspecting them in the slightest.
An OFFICER with a moustache, smoking a pipe, agrees; beside him a plain-
clothes man takes notes.
THE OFFICER
That's what we must get across to the public.
They must help.
LOHMANN, clearly annoyed, rises to his feet.
LOHMANN
Don't talk to me about help from the general
public. It disgusts me just to hear them talk.
He bows towards the CHIEF OF POLICE.
LOHMANN
Sorry, Chief ...
The CHIEF, smiling, makes a gesture accepting the apology.
LOHMANN
Sorry, but that is the truth. Good God! Has
help from the public brought us one useful
clue?
Furiously, he stubs out his cigar.
LOHMANN
Just a pile of letters full of the most
incredible accusations!
Two INSPECTORS at the end of the table concur.
FIRST INSPECTOR
How true.
LOHMANN
Calls to the police as soon as a garbage
man steps on their lawn.
SECOND INSPECTOR
Exactly.
LOHMANN
But when we want really accurate information ...
they can't remember anything, they've seen
nothing. That's help from the public for you.
CHIEF OF POLICE
(smiling)
I think you exaggerate a little, Lohmann.
AT THE UNDERWORLD MEETING...
...great clouds of smoke drift over the table. All present are deep in
thought. The PICK-POCKET breaks the silence.
PICK-POCKET
I've got an idea! There's a magician, no, a
tele ... telepa ... or is it radiologist?
Anyway, I don't know what you call them ...
one of those guys who finds handkerchiefs and
wallets that have been hidden...
The BURGLAR turns away skeptically.
AT THE POLICE MEETING...
... also full of smoke, a uniformed OFFICER speaks.
OFFICER
I also think the reward isn't high enough.
His neighbor, an INSPECTOR, gestures in disagreement and gets up.
OFFICER
Chief ... we must offer a real fortune for
catching the murderer.
The INSPECTOR, standing, pushes his chair up to the table.
INSPECTOR
(irritably, as he leaves)
None of this is getting us anywhere.
AT THE UNDERWORLD MEETING...
...clouds of cigarette smoke hang around the fringed lampshade.
SAFE-BREAKER
That won't do any good.
CON-MAN
Well, what do you suggest?
The BURGLAR gets up, moves behind his armchair and leans on the back of it.
BURGLAR
Well, we can't just wait until the police make
up their minds to arrest this guy.
AT THE POLICE MEETING...
An INSPECTOR with long disorderly white hair leans over the back of his chair
towards the CHIEF OF POLICE, continuing the movement of the BURGLAR. The
POLICEMAN with the monocle sits on his left; on his right in the foreground,
another INSPECTOR sits.
THE INSPECTOR
The difficulty of solving this type of crime
is increased by the fact that the wrongdoer and
the victim are only connected by a chance
meeting. An instantaneous impulse is the
killer's only motive.
THE CHIEF
(impressed)
Hmm... Hmm...
THE INSPECTOR
We find the victim; we identify her; we find
out when she was last seen ... And then, and
then, nothing more. The children disappear.
AT THE UNDERWORLD MEETING...
...the SAFE-BREAKER stands. In the background, the rest sit round the table.
The BURGLAR perches on the back of his chair.
SAFE-BREAKER
The police have been looking for this murderer
for eight months now. Now it's got to the point
where they'll only catch him by luck.
BURGLAR
We can't wait for that ...
CON-MAN
We'll be ruined before then.
SAFE-BREAKER
What are we going to do then?
HIGH ANGLE - THE POLICE MEETING
The room is misty with thick clouds of smoke. The meeting has come to a full
stop and some of the officers have got up and are pacing around the room.
HIGH ANGLE - THE UNDERWORLD MEETING
The PICK-POCKET has made a huge question mark with the shells of his nuts on
the table. The SAFE-BREAKER and the BURGLAR both pace restlessly up and down.
HIGH ANGLE - THE POLICE MEETING
Most people have left their places and are wandering around the room.
HIGH ANGLE - THE UNDERWORLD MEETING
Only the PICK-POCKET and SCHRÄNKER sit. The CON-MAN stands by the table, and
the SAFE-BREAKER has moved into the background by the window. SCHRÄNKER
slowly lifts his bowed head and, finally, deliberately, breaks the silence.
SCHRÄNKER
(decisively)
We'll have to catch him ourselves.
Astonished, the others slowly gather round him.
SCHRÄNKER
Yes ... we must. This is what we must do...
THE POLICE MEETING
Abandoned chairs around the conference table -- most of the delegates wander
up and down. But gradually their attention is drawn to what LOHMANN is saying
and one or two nod their heads in agreement.
LOHMANN
There's still one possible way. The guilty man
or the possible suspects must already have a
record somewhere. Such a person, deeply
disturbed, must already have fallen foul of the
law. We've got to contact every clinic, every
prison, every lunatic asylum.
Noise of general agreement.
LOHMANN
We'll have to make enquiries about everyone who
has been freed as 'harmless' but who has the
same pathological condition as the killer.
THE UNDERWORLD MEETING...
The crooks look down at a map spread across a map of Berlin.
SCHRÄNKER
Every square yard must be permanently watched.
From now on no child must take a step without
us being warned.
CLOSE - SCHRÄNKER'S BLACK-GLOVED HAND
... placed over the map.
CON-MAN (o.s.)
Okay, but how do we do it?
SAFE-BREAKER (o.s.)
Yes ... how?
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
There must be people ...
WIDER - The shadow of the group is silhouetted on the wall, SCHRÄNKER'S
shadow in the center.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
... who can go anywhere without being noticed
... who can follow anyone on the streets
without arousing suspicion ... who can follow
the children right to their front doors without
anytrouble. In fact, people no one would
suspect of being guilty.
THE OTHERS (o.s.)
But who? ... Who? People like that don't exist
... Who could do it? ... Who? ... Who?
SCHRÄNKER pauses and then rises so that his shadow on the wall swells up.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
The beggars. The beggars' union.
CUT TO:
INT. THE BEGGAR'S MARKET - DAY
A notice reads: NO MORE CREDIT. We PAN OFF this and TRACK TO a table where
two beggars lay out bits of bread and slices of sausage. We TRACK to a CLOSE
SHOT of their hands with the bread and sausage.
1ST BEGGAR (o.s.)
Sausage going up.
2ND BEGGAR (o.s.)
God, this cheese smells good.
PAN TO another table where a game of cards is in progress. Only the players'
hands and the cards are visible.
3RD BEGGAR (o.s.)
That finishes you.
PAN UP TO show a grizzled tramp, who has brought in a caged live chicken. He
finishes a glass of wine, toasting his chicken. We TRACK past a grille in
front of a cloakroom to find another tramp, snoring. Beside him, two others
take the fillings out of sandwiches.
4TH BEGGAR
Stop snoring! You'll wake the lice.
We TRACK TO the counter where the fat BOSS OF THE BEGGARS' MARKET takes a
steaming sausage out of a pot and takes a bite. Then he counts a packet of
sandwiches a tramp has brought him.
THE BOSS
(counting)
Two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen,
sixteen, eighteen, twenty, twenty-two,
twenty-four, twenty-six ...
As he continues, we MOVE towards a huge blackboard fixed to the wall behind
him. On it is written: 'PRICES FOR THE EVENING OF THE 16th,' and then a list
of every sort of sandwich, classified according to filling and the quality of
the bread. The BOSS gets up on a stool and alters certain prices, murmuring
to himself.
THE BOSS
Sandwiches: Friday, bad day for cold meat ...
No go.
His voice continues, as we PAN UP to the floor above and PUSH THROUGH a
window to a strange sort of office. A vulture's skeleton is on the left in
the foreground. At the back of the room, beggars form a queue. We MOVE
towards the office where two men from the Beggar's Union are working. One
studies a map of the town, the other writes names into a huge register.
1ST MAN
Now we must deal with the back yards.
2ND MAN
Yes, from number one to number forty-eight.
We MOVE towards SCHRÄNKER who leans against the wall watching the work. PAN
TO a door with a glass panel on which can be read: 'ACCOUNTS. Please give
your name to the outside office.'
In the corridor, as in the office, beggars wait behind a small barrier.
2ND MAN (o.s.)
Next.
The barrier is briefly raised and a beggar enters the office, taking off his
cap. Another beggar stands in front of the TWO MEN who give him a small slip
of paper. The 2ND MAN keeps a carbon copy of it.
2ND MAN
You are responsible for the courtyards of every
block of flats from 1 to 81 High Street.
BEGGAR
Right.
The BEGGAR goes out. Another comes up.
2ND MAN
Next.
INSERT - a street map marked with the places where the children have
disappeared or been murdered.
CLOSE - the 1ST MAN's pencil follows one of the streets.
1ST MAN (o.s.)
89 to 196 High Street ... Okay?
WIDER ANGLE - OFFICE
One tramp stands before the TWO MEN and two more tramps join him. The 2ND MAN
notes down the first one's particulars.
2ND MAN
(writing)
89 to 196 High Street ... What's your union
number?
TRAMP
(after some thought)
Three, seven, ninety-five. Emil Dustermannn...
CLOSE - a hand writing the name and number in the register.
2ND MAN
Three ... seven ... ninety-five ... Emil
Dustermann ...
The hand tears a slip from the register.
WIDER ANGLE - the line of BEGGARS with DUSTERMANN in the foreground: he has a
wooden leg and leans on a stick.
2ND MAN
There you are, Emil.
He gives him the paper.
2ND MAN
Maybe, you'll win the fifteen thousand.
DUSTERMANN
Maybe I will.
(taps his leg)
Knock wood.
ANOTHER ANGLE - ANOTHER PART OF THE MARKET
An assorted collection of second-hand goods and junk is on display. A line of
metal grilles form a cash desk, and there are violins and accordions spread
out on a long table. In the background there are several barrel organs, and
on a shelf a stack of old shoes and boots. A constant murmur of voices
reaches us from other parts of the market. The junk dealer demonstrates one
of the barrel organs to a beggar, but it is very out of key and only plays a
few screeching NOTES.
The BLIND BEGGAR -- the one who sold the doll-like balloon to the MURDERER --
sits at a nearby table drinking a beer, balloons floating above him. Putting
down his glass, he covers his ears to blot out the screeching. Immediately,
the excruciating noise from the barrel organ stops; but as he lowers his
hands, it starts up again. After a moment, another organ starts to play a
charming polka. The BLIND BEGGAR lowers his hands and is delighted. He
begins to conduct an imaginary orchestra. The music continues over as we
CUT TO:
EXT. THE COURTYARD OF A TENEMENT BLOCK - DAY
HIGH ANGLE - Early evening. The setting sun casts long shadows across the
tarmac. In the gloom, a few children stand in twos and threes watching a
BEGGAR playing a barrel organ. Coins are thrown from windows above.
CLOSER - the barrel organ.
The music stops and the last coin rolls along the ground.
BEGGAR (o.s.)
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, thank you.
CUT TO:
EXT. BEGGARS' MONTAGE - DAY
The next day.
SIDEWALK - The legs of a ANOTHER BEGGAR, seated on the curb, his hat upturned
beside him. A man and a little girl pass but only their legs are visible. The
little girl throws a coin into the hat.
BEGGAR
Thank you.
CLOSE - the BEGGAR wears dark glasses and a notice round his neck saying
'BLIND'. A German sheepdog sits beside him.
The two shadows of the passers-by draw away. The BEGGAR lifts his glasses to
take a sly look after them and, on cue, the dog comically turns its head in
the same direction. From the BEGGAR'S POV, we see the man and the little girl
walking off arm-in-arm.
We TRACK with them, past a poster advertising 'West-front 1918'. The man goes
with the little girl as far as the entrance to a SCHOOL. He kisses her and
leaves here there. Beside the school entrance, another BEGGAR, with two white
pigeons, is on the look-out.
SWEET SHOP
Two little girls looking into the shop window. EMIL DUSTERMANN stands beside
it, keeping watch.
TOY SHOP
In the shop window, a windmill and other mechanical toys are turning. Two
children stop to watch while their nurse runs into a friend and walks off,
unconsciously abandoning the kids. Other children join the first two at the
window. A legless beggar, squatting on a little cart, looks on with concern.
The nurse returns and retrieves her kids.
CUT TO:
INT. INSPECTOR LOHMANN'S OFFICE - DAY
LOHMANN sits at his desk, smoking a cigar and reading a letter in his
typewriter.
INSERT - the letter.
'When searching their homes, we must above all
look for any clue by which we could establish
where the murderer's letter to the papers
originated. If there is an old wooden table on
which the letter could have been written, if
there is a red pencil or any tiny pieces from
sharpening such a pencil, or writing paper of
the same type. The inquiries must be made as
discreetly as possible.
LOHMANN'S hand comes into shot holding a pen. He underlines the words 'old
wooden table' and corrects a typing error.
LOHMANN
(off the typo, muttering)
Idiot.
He also underlines the words 'red pencil '. A KNOCK on the door.
LOHMANN
Come in.
WIDER ANGLE - OFFICE
LOHMANN signs the letter. An ASSISTANT comes in and passes him a file.
THE ASSISTANT
Here's the list of mental patients who have
been let out as cured or harmless in the last
five years.
INSERT - the file as LOHMANN sorts through it. It contains reports from 'Dr.
Goll's Psychiatric Institute,' from 'Professor Emil Lebbowitz's private
clinic for mental patients,' from 'The Protestant Hospital of Nazareth,' from
'The Elizabeth Clinic.' from 'St. Hedwig's Hospital.' etc.
ASSISTANT (o.s.)
Reports from every institute, private and
public.
LOHMANN picks up another file ...
ASSISTANT (o.s.)
And that's a list of their present addresses.
LOHMANN opens the file and flicks through it.
CUT TO:
EXT. LOWER MIDDLE CLASS ROOMING HOUSE - DAY
Early afternoon. The MURDERER, coming out into the street from the rooming
house, moves off to the left. LOHMANN'S ASSISTANT immediately appears from
the right. He hesitates an instant, then throws down his cigarette and goes
in.
CUT TO:
INT. ROOMING HOUSE - ENTRANCE HALL - DAY
INSERT - a name plate above a bell. It reads: ELIZABETH WINKLER.
CLOSE - the ASSISTANT'S hand ruffles through a notebook full of addresses.
All except the last three have been crossed out. His finger stops at 'HANS
BECKERT, c/o E. WINKLER. Gleder St. 15, 2nd Floor.'
WIDER - The ASSISTANT stands by a door on the landing. He rings and puts his
notebook away. A small frightened old lady named MRS. WINKLER answers the
door. A large key-ring is fixed to her apron. The ASSISTANT greets her.
MRS. WINKLER
(very softly)
Morning.
ASSISTANT
Does a Mr. Beckert live here?
MRS. WINKLER
What?
ASSISTANT
(louder)
Does Mr. Beckert live here?
MRS. WINKLER
I'm afraid I can't hear you ... I'm a bit hard
of hearing.
ASSISTANT
(to one side)
As if I couldn't tell.
(shouting)
Does a Mr. Beckert live here?
MRS. WINKLER
(a little worried)
Oh. Mr. Beckert? Yes... yes, of course. Yes,
Mr. Beckert Lives here. I'm afraid he has just
gone out.
ASSISTANT
Too bad ... I wanted to see him.
MRS. WINKLER
(very softly)
Oh yes.
She shrugs her shoulders.
ASSISTANT
(loudly)
I'm from the Income Tax Office.
MRS. WINKLER
(startled)
Oh, good God! The tax people! Yes... yes. Would
you like ... would you like to wait?
She gestures to him to come in. He bows.
ASSISTANT
Yes, thank you.
MRS. WINKLER
Not at all.
The ASSISTANT enters.
CUT TO:
INT. THE MURDERER'S ROOM - DAY
Moments later, MRS. WINKLER unlocks the door to the room and allows the
Assistant to enter.
MRS. WINKLER
Please take a seat.
The ASSISTANT puts his hat on the round central table and sits down in an
armchair beside it. She goes out. As soon as the door closes, he jumps up to
examine the room, but he hears MRS. WINKLER coming back and only just has
time to sit down again. She hands him a newspaper.
MRS. WINKLER
Perhaps you'd like something to read?
ASSISTANT
(loudly)
Thank you. You're most kind.
MRS. WINKLER
Not at all.
He takes the paper.
INSERT - the front page of the 'General Anzeiger' for 24th November, 1930.
WIDER - The ASSISTANT and MRS. WINKLER.
ASSISTANT
Tell me, Mrs. Winkler, does Mr. Beckert take
this paper?
MRS. WINKLER, already at the door, turns around.
MRS. WINKLER
(astonished)
Mr. Beckert?
(laughs)
No, he always borrows mine.
ASSISTANT
Ah...
(beat)
Thank you.
MRS. WINKLER nods and leaves the room. As soon as she has closed the door
again, the ASSISTANT gets up and looks at the table where he put his hat. He
throws the hat on the chair and carefully raises the cloth.
HIGH ANGLE - the ASSISTANT bends over the table and scratches the wood with
his fingernails.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - DAY
A fruit-seller's barrow, piled high with apples, oranges and bananas. From a
strut hang some superb pineapples. The MURDERER stands behind the barrow
dolefully eating an apple, at the same time gesturing to the fruit-seller to
put another in the bag being filled for him.
CUT TO:
INT. MURDERER'S ROOM - DAY
HIGH ANGLE - the ASSISTANT finishes his inspection. Disappointed by the
negative search, he slowly replaces the cloth.
NEW ANGLES - the ASSISTANT beside the table. Above his head, hangs a Tiffany-
style glass lampshade, and beyond him a large pottery stove stands against
the wall. As the ASSISTANT carefully surveys the room, we PAN across from the
bedside table to the double windows. A bowl of fruit and other foodstuffs are
stored in the space between them. We recognize the same wide windowseat where
the MURDERER wrote his letter to the press. We PAN back to the ASSISTANT
again. He leans over a wicker waste-paper basket from which he extracts an
empty cigarette packet, a publicity hand-out for cigars and a postcard, which
he lifts up and studies carefully.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - DAY
The MURDERER eats an apple and looks at a window display in a cutlery and
silverware shop. We see him from inside through the glass, his face framed in
the reflection of a diamond-shaped display of knives. The reflections of
other cutlery form geometric patterns around him. We see the street behind
him and his VIEW of the shop window: the knives are arranged around a
diamond-shaped mirror on the screen at the back of the window.
The MURDERER munches his apple. Suddenly he stops chewing. Reflected in the
mirror he can see a little girl leaning against the railings on the other
side of the street, the image framed with knives. The MURDERER stands
transfixed, staring at her. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand,
eyes bulging. The little girl leans nonchalantly on the railings, obviously
waiting for someone. The MURDERER'S arms fall limply to his side, he gasps
for breath and his eyes close as he sways forward against the shop front.
Then the fit subsides and he recovers slightly. Seen in reflection, the
little girl leaves the railings and goes out of sight. The MURDERER slowly
turns around and follows her with his eyes. He lowers his head and sets off
slowly, whistling the 'Peer Gynt' theme.
CUT TO:
INT. MURDERER'S ROOM - DAY
The ASSISTANT picks up an empty sweet carton from the bedside table, examines
it and makes a note.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - DAY
A bookshop window, in which hangs a spinning cardboard circle with an
endlessly spiral design near a huge cardboard arrow bobbing quickly up and
down. The little girl stares fascinated by the continual motion, until she
turns away distracted by something else. Just as the 'Peer Gynt' theme begins
to accompany her -- WHISTLED piercingly by the MURDERER o.s. -- the girl
wanders on past other shop windows and delightedly flings her arms around a
smart young woman who approaches her.
LITTLE GIRL
Hello, mummy!
The whistling stops abruptly.
The woman and the little girl walk off, arms around each other. We FOLLOW
them along the pavement as they pass the MURDERER who has ducked into the
bookshop doorway, pretending to look at some books displayed there. He looks
around furtively and eventually steps out into the street to watch them go,
his eyes drooping and his mouth partly open. Behind him the arrow continues
to fly up and down, its shadow appearing to pierce the revolving spiral at
every descent, as if stabbing at the MURDERER's heart. He puts his hands
together on his chest, nervously scratching them. The MURDERER turns to see:
A NEARBY CAFÉ...
...with tables outside, screened from the street by a trellis of climbing
plants. The MURDERER enters and sits at a table to the left of the entrance,
his face just visible in profile through the foliage. A WAITER comes out to
serve him even though the café's not open yet.
WAITER
Good evening ... What would you like?
MURDERER
Coffee. Sorry.
The WAITER starts to withdraw.
MURDERER
(abruptly)
No! ... a vermouth ... No, a brandy.
The WAITER bows and withdraws.
MURDERER
(exhausted)
Brandy ... brandy ...
We TRACK in towards the foliage. The MURDERER starts to intensely whistle his
theme, then stops. He takes out a cigarette as the WAITER arrives to pour a
brandy.
WAITER
There you are.
The MURDERER drinks the brandy in a gulp.
MURDERER
(in a broken voice)
Another one.
The WAITER'S hand pours another glass.
WAITER
There.
The MURDERER swallows the second glass, leans forward and stares fixedly in
front of him. With a mechanical gesture he puts a cigarette in his mouth and
immediately takes it out again. He presses his two bunched fists into his
eyes and starts to whistle again. Then he covers his ears. In the background
the lights of the café come on and faintly light up the table. He immediately
stops whistling and gets up. We TRACK away from him rapidly.
MURDERER
The bill.
WAITER
(coming up)
Two brandies. One sixty-five please.
Coins CLINK on the saucer.
WAITER
Thanks very much.
The MURDERER departs, whistling, his hands in his pockets.
CUT TO:
INT. INSPECTOR LOHMANN'S OFFICE - DAY
LOHMANN, an enormous cigar in his hand, sits at his desk thinking. Beside
him, his ASSISTANT makes his report.
ASSISTANT
Number 24: Beckert. He does not take the
Stadtischer Courier. A walnut table with a
cloth. No red pencil, nor any traces of such a
pencil. No writing paper. In the wastepaper
basket, a printed advertisement and a colored
postcard ...
LOHMANN thinks; behind him we see a map of the city.
ASSISTANT
... of a bunch of flowers, written on it:
'Regards, Paul.' No address of sender. An empty
cigarette packet, Ariston brand. A bag of
sweets with the name of a sweet shop ...
LOHMANN
(interrupts)
Wait ... wait a moment.
He screws up his eyes and thinks.
LOHMANN
Ariston, did you say? A ... ris ... ton.
We TRACK IN on LOHMANN'S face. Deep in thought, he writes the name in the
air. We TRACK IN closer.
LOHMANN
That rings a bell ... Ariston.
We TRACK IN even closer. Suddenly, LOHMANN seems to have got it. He grabs the
telephone.
LOHMANN
(into phone)
Hello. I want the file on the Marga Perl
murder. Right away.
He hangs up.
CUT TO:
EXT. BALLOON SELLER'S KIOSK - DAY
The BLIND BEGGAR has just sold two balloons to a woman who pays and goes off.
BLIND BEGGAR
Thank you very much.
From far off, we hear the MURDERER'S whistling approach. His shadow passes.
The BLIND BEGGAR lifts his head.
BLIND BEGGAR
(to himself)
That's funny... I've heard that somewhere
before.
We TRACK IN closer.
BLIND BEGGAR
(to himself)
It was ... it was ...
Some passers-by watch with concern as the BLIND BEGGAR walks forward, away
from his kiosk, tapping with his stick. Near some PLANKS, half covering a
hole in the road, the BLIND BEGGAR, still holding his balloons, waves to
someone -- to the surprise of some passers-by.
BLIND BEGGAR
Hey, hey, Henry!
HENRY, a young man in a cap, rushes to join him.
HENRY
What is it?
HENRY takes the BLIND BEGGAR'S hand.
BLIND BEGGAR
Listen a moment. There's someone whistling.
Can't you hear him?
HENRY shakes his head, no. The BLIND BEGGAR turns his face in the direction
of the whistling. HENRY looks and listens.
BLIND BEGGAR
There.
HENRY cranes his neck. But the whistling suddenly stops.
BLIND BEGGAR
He's just stopped ... Did you see him, the guy
who was whistling?
HENRY
Yes, yes. I can still see him.
BLIND BEGGAR
Yes?
HENRY
Sure. He's talking to a little girl as he walks
down the street with her.
BLIND BEGGAR
After him, and don't let him go.
HENRY
But why?
BLIND BEGGAR
The day Elsie Beckmann was killed someone
bought a balloon off me. He was with a little
girl ...
HENRY understands and rushes off.
BLIND BEGGAR
... and the fellow whistled just like that!
CUT TO:
EXT. THE QUIET STREET - DAY
HENRY runs to the end of the roadworks and looks around. The MURDERER is
nowhere in sight. We FOLLOW a concerned HENRY as he enters the quiet street
running at a right angle to the previous one. In a basement, a greengrocer's
shop is lit up. He approaches and looks through the window.
HENRY'S POV - The MURDERER and the LITTLE GIRL are being served by an old
woman. She hands them a big paper bag and some sweets for the GIRL, who
thanks her as the MURDERER pays.
HENRY IN THE STREET - in front of the window; he stands up quickly, then
hesitates for a moment. Taking one last look through the window, he runs off.
HENRY hides in a corner of the roadworks between a tar boiler and a great
roll of cable. He watches the street.
The MURDERER and the LITTLE GIRL come out of the shop. She curtsies and
offers him the bag of fruit. He takes an orange. Anxiously, he looks right
and left, but there is no one in sight. Then he sweeps back his coat and puts
his hand into his trouser pocket.
CLOSE - he takes out a switchblade knife and flicks it open. The blade glints
and flashes in the gloom.
ANGLE ON HENRY - ready to jump out.
CLOSE - the blade peeling an orange.
ANGLE ON HENRY - he searches his pockets; he takes out a piece of chalk.
CLOSE - the palm of HENRY's left hand on which he draws a large letter M,
heavy with chalk dust.
ANGLE ON the MURDERER, facing the girl. He finishes peeling his orange and
throws the peel onto the ground. HENRY walks up, quickly but casually. As
though by mistake, he knocks against the MURDERER and so gets a chance to
slam his left hand against the back of the MURDERER'S left shoulder.
Terrified, the MURDERER backs away, dropping the knife.
HENRY
(feigning annoyance)
Damn it, are you crazy, throwing your peel on
the ground!
HENRY gestures at the peel and walks off.
HENRY (o.s.)
I might have broken my neck. Unbelievable.
CLOSE - the knife on the ground.
HENRY (o.s.)
I should report you to the police ... You're a
danger to the public.
The LITTLE GIRL bends over and picks up the knife. PULL BACK to a WIDER SHOT
as she rises and tries to hand the knife to the MURDERER. But he is still
staring at HENRY. The LITTLE GIRL gives the still shaken MURDERER a little
nudge.
LITTLE GIRL
Uncle.
The MURDERER is startled by the nudge but quickly recovers. He takes her
hand, with the knife in it, and presses it to his chest as we CIRCLE AROUND
behind him, to discover -- high on his back and unbenownst to him -- a ragged
letter 'M' outlined in chalk.
CUT TO:
INT. INSPECTOR LOHMANN'S OFFICE - DAY
LOHMANN sits at his desk, his ASSISTANT standing beside him. LOHMANN studies
a dossier, following the lines with his finger. Suddenly he raises his head.
LOHMANN
There ... that's it. They found three cigarette
stubs where the crime took place -- Aristons.
ASSISTANT
Yes, the cigarettes are the same, but there is
no old wooden table.
Nervously, LOHMANN waves away the objection and plunges back into the dossier.
ASSISTANT
(thoughtfully)
Of course ... he could have written the letter
somewhere else, but ...
The ASSISTANT's eyes turn to LOHMANN'S office window. He glances at the sill.
ASSISTANT
(suddenly leaning towards LOHMANN)
... Heavens, the windowsill!
CUT TO:
INT. MURDERER'S ROOM - DAY
CLOSE - The windowsill. A hand holds a magnifying glass through which we see
the grain of the wood on the sill.
WIDER - LOHMANN and his ASSISTANT closely examine the sill. LOHMANN holds the
magnifying glass and we see them in profile.
LOHMANN
You're right!
ASSISTANT
(opening one of the windows)
Just a minute!
He bends over the gap between the double windows, licks his finger, and
pushes the wet finger into the gap. He examines his finger, then turns to
show it to LOHMANN.
CLOSE - his dirty finger.
ASSISTANT
Red pencil shavings!
WIDER - LOHMANN and his ASSISTANT stand in front of the window.
LOHMANN
(with great satisfaction)
Good God ... At last, we are getting somewhere!
CUT TO:
INT. UNDERWORLD MEETING ROOM - DAY
SCHRÄNKER sits, wearing his bowler. The SAFE-BREAKER is on the telephone
opposite him. The BURGLAR and the PICK-POCKET stand beside him. They all wear
overcoats.
SAFE-BREAKER
(into the phone)
Yes... yes ... What?
The doorbell RINGS.
SAFE-BREAKER
(to the others)
They're on his trail.
CON-MAN
(enters and joins the group)
They've found him?
PICK-POCKET
The beggars found him.
BURGLAR
He was talking to a little girl.
CON-MAN
Tell me more.
PICK-POCKET
They put a mark on him.
SAFE-BREAKER
(to the others)
Can't you be quiet?!
(into the phone)
What's that?
CUT TO:
INT. TELEPHONE BOOTH - DAY
HENRY's on the line.
HENRY
(into the phone)
They're following the sign. They're not
letting him out of their sight for a second.
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREETS - SURVEILLANCE MONTAGE - DAY
The MURDERER walks slowly down a street with the LITTLE GIRL. A passer-by
throws down a cigarette butt. A tramp comes up, accompanied by a colleague
with one leg, picks up the stub, and follows the MURDERER.
NEW ANGLE - the MURDERER and the LITTLE GIRL, as they reach a column covered
with posters. The two BEGGARS follow close behind. The ONE-LEGGED MAN
disappears behind the column and a MAN IN A CAP takes his place.
DISSOLVE TO:
NEW ANGLE - STREET
Seen from a half-open door. Behind the door is the outline of a MAN ON WATCH.
The MURDERER and the LITTLE GIRL cross the road, followed warily by the MAN
IN A CAP and his partner. The MAN ON WATCH takes over for the partner.
DISSOLVE TO:
ANOTHER ANGLE - the MURDERER and the LITTLE GIRL passing in front of a cheap
café. The two beggars are still following. The MAN IN A CAP taps on the
window of the café. Immediately, a man comes out and takes over trailing the
MURDERER.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. TOY SHOP - DAY
The window display of a toy shop, seen from the inside, full of dolls, teddy
bears, and all kinds of toys. A lot of traffic in the street. The MURDERER
and the LITTLE GIRL stop in front of the window. He talks to her
enthusiastically and she eagerly points out a toy to him. The MURDERER nods
his head.
NEW ANGLE - the entrance of the shop from the street. The MURDERER is just
about to go in when the LITTLE GIRL sees the chalk mark and grabs his sleeve.
LITTLE GIRL
Uncle.
MURDERER
What is it?
LITTLE GIRL
You're all dirty.
MURDERER
Where?
He looks at himself in a mirror beside the doorway.
LITTLE GIRL
There, on your shoulder.
CLOSE - the MURDERER'S reflection in the mirror. He turns and sees the M
reflected. His eyes bulge.
CLOSER - the letter M.
WIDER - the LITTLE GIRL and the MURDERER together.
LITTLE GIRL
Here, I'll clean it off...
She tries to rub off the letter with her handkerchief. The MURDERER stares at
it in the mirror. Suddenly frightened, he turns nervously towards the street.
MURDERER'S POV: a BEGGAR, hiding behind a beer truck.
RESUME on the panicking MURDERER and the LITTLE GIRL.
LITTLE GIRL
(astonished)
Whatever's the matter?
MURDERER
Come on ... let's go.
He takes her hand and is about to leave when he hears someone WHISTLE
sharply. Terrified, he lets go of the LITTLE GIRL and runs away.
RESUME on the BEGGAR, looking around, distraught. Then he WHISTLES through
his fingers.
ANOTHER ANGLE - a street corner with a street lamp, with a pawnbroker's shop
in the background. The MURDERER runs to the corner, where he startles easily
at the sound of more shrill WHISTLES.
Uncertain, he moves first one way and then the other, before finally deciding
to turn down a side street. We PAN WITH him to reveal a man standing nearby,
pressed tensely against the wall of a building, watching the MURDERER. Is he
one of the beggars? Or just an innocent bystander? They regard one another
for a long, agonizing moment. Nervously, the MURDERER hesitates a moment, is
about to tip his hat to him, but then walks off briskly. The man watches the
MURDERER depart, then, after a long moment, begins to follow him.
HIGH ANGLE - the MURDERER in an empty street, trying to shake off his
pursuers. He turns sharp left and crosses the road, but at the far end two
beggars appear. The MURDERER retraces his steps and stops undecided in front
of the covered entrance GATE to a huge block of offices. In the foreground, a
pursuer blocks the middle of the street.
GATEWAY - The gate, a geometrical structure, leads to the inner courtyard of
an office building. We TRACK rapidly with him as the MURDERER frantically
runs in and hides behind a buttress. Anxiously, he watches the gateway.
MURDERER'S POV - An open gate on the other side of the courtyard leading to
another street. A policeman passes across it.
RESUME on the MURDERER in his hiding-place; he presses back against the wall
as the policeman passes in the background.
TWO BEGGARS - They appear in the gateway which the MURDERER came through.
RESUME on the MURDERER, poking his head out to look at the street.
THREE BEGGARS - A third beggar arrives and join the other two. They take
stock of the situation. The FIRST BEGGAR gives a signal and the two others go
off right and left to circle the building. The siren of a fire engine BLARES
in the distance.
WIDE ANGLE - From the street we see the gateway where the MURDERER, a tiny
figure, hides behind a pillar. Two fire engines ROAR past, sirens BLARING and
lights flashing -- and blocking the remaining beggar's view. By the time the
fire engines have passed, the MURDERER has disappeared. The FIRST BEGGAR
quickly crosses the road and goes through the gateway arch, searching vainly
for the MURDERER. The two other BEGGARS return and join him in the courtyard.
THE THREE BEGGARS - They confer.
2ND BEGGAR
Anyway, he hasn't come out. We would have seen
him.
3RD BEGGAR
Impossible.
1ST BEGGAR
He must be in the courtyard, then. He didn't
come out this way either.
2ND BEGGAR
He must be somewhere.
The BEGGARS peer around.
BEGGAR'S POV - PAN ALONG the face of the office building. The sun is now very
low and the windows are lighted.
1ST BEGGAR (o.s.)
Maybe he's gone to hide inside the building.
A clock STRIKES six o'clock.
2ND BEGGAR
Hell! The offices will be closing.
1ST BEGGAR
As long as he doesn't get out with all the
people coming out.
The 2ND BEGGAR rushes off to look through the other gateway.
2ND BEGGAR
(coming back)
Hell! Here come the first ones already.
1ST BEGGAR
Let's go out into the street.
He starts to rush off. Office workers begin to exit the building.
1ST BEGGAR
Keep a sharp look out.
The other two run towards the other entrance as the office workers start
streaming out, some riding bicycles. The 2ND BEGGAR, pretending to sell
matches, watches them carefully.
VARIOUS VOICES
Excuse me, I just want to light my cigarette
... My holidays start tomorrow ... First I'm
going to Konigsberg ... With my ulcer, I can't
eat things like that ... The boss came and saw
me today...
In the foreground, a car passes, HOOTING.
CUT TO:
INT. THE MURDERER'S ROOM - NIGHT
LOHMANN'S ASSISTANT sits on the windowsill. Two other plainclothesmen sit in
the foreground.
ASSISTANT
Put out the light, otherwise he'll suspect
something when he gets back.
A PLAINCLOTHES MAN rises and switches the light off, the ASSISTANT looks out
of the window.
PLAINCLOTHES MAN
What's the time?
ASSISTANT
(checks his watch)
Nearly six-thirty.
CUT TO:
EXT. OFFICE BUILDING - NIGHT
A uniformed watchman finishes closing and locking the imposing security gate
that goes right across the gateway entrance. He greets a passing policeman
and goes back into the building. We HOLD on the empty courtyard for a beat
or two. Where is the murderer?
CUT TO:
INT. TELEPHONE BOOTH - NIGHT
The 1ST BEGGAR talks to the underworld bosses.
1ST BEGGAR
He must still be in the building. Anyway, he
didn't come out with the others.
CUT TO:
INT. THE UNDERWORLD MEETING ROOM - NIGHT
The SAFE-BREAKER, a cigarette-holder in his mouth, is on the telephone in the
crooks' MEETING ROOM. Standing beside him, SCHRÄNKER, still wearing overcoat
and bowler, plays with his stick.
SAFE-BREAKER
(into the phone)
Okay ... yes ... yes ... no, just a moment.
He covers the mouthpiece with his hand and turns to SCHRÄNKER.
SAFE-BREAKER
The beggars have gone for reinforcements to
search the whole area. They say the murderer must
still be in the building.
SCHRÄNKER
Hmm ...
(thoughtful pause)
What kind of building is it?
SAFE-BREAKER
(into the phone)
What kind of building is it?
CUT TO:
INT. TELEPHONE BOOTH - NIGHT
BEGGAR
(into the phone)
Nothing but offices. I don't know what's in the
cellar. There's a branch of the Savings Bank on
the ground floor, and from the first to the
fifth, nothing but offices, and above that,
lofts.
CUT TO:
INT. OFFICE BUILDING - THE TOP FLOOR - NIGHT
Over bannisters on a top floor landing, we see the half-open door of an attic
loft. To the right of the door is the NIGHT WATCHMAN'S time-switch. The
WATCHMAN comes up and stops, astonished, in front of the door.
WATCHMAN
(to himself)
Look at that. It's not possible.
We TRACK WITH him as he pushes open the door and looks into the attic.
WATCHMAN
(shouting)
Anyone there?
He turns on the light and enters.
VARIOUS ANGLES - In the attic. The WATCHMAN walks down a corridor.
WATCHMAN
Hello! Hello! Hello!
In the foreground, various compartments, all filled with a jumble of old
furniture and bric-a-brac, cut off from the passage by fence-like partitions.
The WATCHMAN passes behind them. We TRACK WITH him past several compartments.
WATCHMAN
Anyone there?
He checks one of the doors by shaking it to see whether it is firmly closed.
He goes to the next one, where he does the same.
NEW ANGLE - In the gloom of the attic, we can just make out the MURDERER,
hiding in a corner. We hear the disappearing FOOTSTEPS of the WATCHMAN and
the rattle of doors.
WATCHMAN
(o.s., quietly, to himself)
Whatever next!?
(shouting again)
Anyone there?
RESUME on the WATCHMAN seen through the fence-like partitions. He shakes a
door, looks once more along the corridor, then turns away.
WATCHMAN
Bah! Damn carelessness ... All that trouble for
one door.
He goes out.
RESUME on the MURDERER as the attic light goes out. He stands up,
tremendously relieved. We hear the door that leads out onto the landing
close and a key turn in the lock. The MURDERER stands alert, breathing
heavily, realizing he's trapped.
CUT TO:
INT. UNDERWORLD MEETING ROOM - NIGHT
SCHRÄNKER, the PICK-POCKET, the CON-MAN, the BURGLAR and the SAFE-BREAKER are
grouped around the table. SCHRÄNKER, standing, looks down superciliously,
holding his cane handle down on the table. The SAFE-BREAKER is on the
telephone.
SAFE-BREAKER
(into the phone)
Yes ...ah! Good.
He covers the receiver and turns to the others.
SAFE-BREAKER
It looks as if the guy is really cornered now.
I think we'd better tell the police straight
away.
CON-MAN
I agree.
The BURGLAR and the PICK-POCKET also agree. The SAFE-BREAKER starts to talk
into the telephone again.
SAFE-BREAKER
(into the phone)
Now then, listen carefully ...
SCHRÄNKER violently grabs the receiver from him.
SCHRÄNKER
(into the phone)
Hello. Just a moment ... What? ... Okay ... and
call me back.
He hangs up.
SAFE-BREAKER
What is it? What's got into you?
SCHRÄNKER
(grimly)
Are you mad or something?
SAFE-BREAKER
Why?
SCHRÄNKER
The police? No ... we're going to get the guy
ourselves ... Listen ... now, the time is ...
Clumsily, everyone fumbles for a watch.
CON-MAN
Eight o'clock.
SCHRÄNKER
Good ... Then, at ... nine ... ten ... eleven
o'clock... !
CUT TO:
EXT. OFFICE BUILDING - GATEWAY - NIGHT
The gateway of the office block. From the street outside, we can see through
the sliding gates across the courtyard to the lighted windows of the
WATCHMEN'S OFFICE. Somewhere a clock STRIKES eleven, as a uniformed policeman
walks up to the gates and stops. He RINGS the bell. One of the watchmen comes
out into the courtyard.
WATCHMAN'S POV reveals the empty street through the gates and the policeman
saluting behind them.
POLICEMAN
Good evening. Did you know your gates ...
CLOSE - THE GATE
...it is locked tight.
POLICEMAN
... weren't closed?
WATCHMAN (o.s.)
What? But that's impossible...
He comes forward, but only his hands holding a lamp are visible.
WATCHMAN (o.s.)
I've only just ...
CLOSE - WATCHMAN'S HAND - shaking the gate.
WATCHMAN (o.s.)
... But it is ...
He stops suddenly. We PAN to his shocked face.
SMASH CUT - the POLICEMAN'S gloved hand points a revolver through the
ironwork.
POLICEMAN (o.s.)
Open up and no noise!
CLOSE - THE WATCHMAN - stunned, behind the gate.
REVERSE SHOT - THE POLICEMAN - who turns out to be SCHRÄNKER in disguise. He
points two revolvers.
SCHRÄNKER
Are you going to open up, then?
(a pause; then, brutally)
Come on ... get it open!
The WATCHMAN slides back the gate. SCHRÄNKER goes through and with the barrel
of one of his guns pushes the WATCHMAN towards his office. The gate stays
open.
SCHRÄNKER
Get a move on!
ANGLE ON THE GATE - which has been pushed open just wide enough to let one
person through at a time. The key ring swaying from the key in the lock of
the gate. O.s. SCHRÄNKER whistles a few bars of the song, 'Be faithful and
honest.' Someone else echoes his whistling.
The SAFE-BREAKER appears and signals to a group of colleagues to follow him.
They pass through the gate, loaded with bags and suitcases. They all gather
in front of ...
THE WATCHMEN'S OFFICE. Over the heads of the whole group, through the glass
partition and half-open door, we see the WATCHMAN sitting terrified on a
chair with SCHRÄNKER and the CON-MAN standing over him.
SCHRÄNKER
How many other watchmen are there in the
building?
The WATCHMAN does not move.
SCHRÄNKER
Okay then, so you don't want to answer, huh?
The WATCHMAN shakes his head. The CON-MAN grabs him by the waistcoat.
SCHRÄNKER
(ironically)
Okay, then. Okay.
He shuts the door from the inside. Through the glass panes of the door, we
see SCHRÄNKER saying something to the WATCHMAN who still refuses to reply. At
a sign from SCHRÄNKER, the CON-MAN reaches over the seated WATCHMAN'S
shoulders and pulls back the WATCHMAN'S arms. The crowd of crooks press
forward to watch the torture through the glass, thus partially blocking our
view. After a second's silence, there is a sharp SCREAM. SCHRÄNKER opens the
door and speaks to the crooks standing outside.
SCHRÄNKER
(matter-of-fact)
Two more watchmen, guys.
CUT TO:
INT. OFFICE BUILDING - NIGHT
HALLWAY - One of the other watchmen comes through and resets a time switch on
the wall and then moves on out of sight.
THE ATTIC - where the MURDERER, seen through the slatted partitions, tries to
force the lock of the main attic door with his knife. He swears in a low
voice.
CLOSE - the lock over the MURDERER'S shoulder. He removes one of the screws
around the lock and rattles the lock furiously -- but it won't open.
MURDERER
Damn it!
He examines the lock from underneath. On his back the chalked letter M is
still visible.
HUGE CLOSE-UP - he slips the blade of his knife between the lock and the
door, trying to pry open the catch, but the blade snaps and the point falls
to the ground.
WIDER - the MURDERER half-standing, half leaning on the door.
MURDERER
Damn it!
He raises his arm to throw the knife handle away.
MURDERER
(muttering)
Hell!
He freezes abruptly, arm up and eyes rolling wildly. He hears something on
the other side of the door and listens intently.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR - a WATCHMAN passes. He resets the time-switch.
FOURTH FLOOR LANDING - Two crooks work on the lock of a door; one makes an
impression, the other passes him the appropriate skeleton key. A third man
comes up the stairs carrying a case.
FIRST FLOOR LANDING - SCHRÄNKER stands on the steps. Two crooks pass him
carrying suitcases.
SCHRÄNKER
Careful with the lights. And don't walk like
elephants.
The PICK-POCKET arrives from the basement wearing a raincoat and cap.
SCHRÄNKER
What's up?
PICK-POCKET
He isn't in the basement. We've been through it
with a fine comb and found nothing.
SCHRÄNKER
Hmm!
PICK-POCKET
Fried and Auguste are still going through the
boiler rooms.
The PICK-POCKET starts back down the stairs when SCHRÄNKER calls him back.
SCHRÄNKER
Wait.
Two crooks carrying an unconscious watchman pass by in the background.
CROOK
(to SCHRÄNKER)
That's the last one.
SCHRÄNKER
(to PICK-POCKET)
Go up and join Emile. He needs help.
PICK-POCKET
Okay.
SCHRÄNKER
Go on, get a move on!
The PICK-POCKET hurries up the stairs.
WATCHMEN'S OFFICE - Dressed rather incongruously in a smart overcoat, silk
scarf, and bowler, the SAFE-BREAKER pores over a plan on the table. Another
time-switch is on the wall behind him. Propped up against the desk, the
second watchman lies bound and unconscious. The two crooks carry the third
watchman in, followed by the PICK-POCKET.
PICK-POCKET
Schränker sent me.
SAFE-BREAKER
Good. Listen carefully.
He points to a time-switch.
CLOSE - THE TIMESWITCH
The SAFE-BREAKER'S gloved hand points at the alarm with his cigarette holder.
SAFE-BREAKER (o.s.)
It's a new type of time-switch.
CLOSE - BLUEPRINT
The gloved hand points to a plan of the building.
SAFE-BREAKER (o.s.)
Here is a general plan of the lay-out. If the
time-switches are not reset at exactly the right
time, they automatically set off an alarm at the
nearest police station. Get it?
RESUME on the time clock.
PICK-POCKET (o.s.)
Sure.
The SAFE-BREAKER'S hand puts a key into the lock and turns it.
SAFE-BREAKER (o.s.)
Like that.
WIDER - the two of them stand in front of the switch. The PICK-POCKET looks
at the plan.
SAFE-BREAKER
Have you got it?
PICK-POCKET
What do you think I am, some kind of idiot?
SAFE-BREAKER
Could be.
He hands him the key. The PICK-POCKET sets off at a run to make his rounds.
STAIRCASE - SCHRÄNKER stands, listening to the report of two more of his men.
1ST CROOK
He isn't in the boiler room either.
SCHRÄNKER
Fine.
Two men pass with cylinders of gas and an oxy-acetylene cutter.
2ND CROOK
We moved all the coal.
SCHRÄNKER
(shouting up to an upper floor)
Hey!
On the landing above, the BURGLAR sets up the acetylene cutter in front of a
door.
SCHRÄNKER
Are you crazy?
The BURGLAR stops his work and straightens up. SCHRÄNKER and the other two
men look up at him.
SCHRÄNKER
What if that door's wired up already? Do you
want to get the police out here right away?
BURGLAR
Okay. But we've got to get in if we're going to
search the whole building.
SCHRÄNKER
(exasperated)
But not by the door, you fool!
He taps his temple.
SCHRÄNKER
The office on the floor above ... go through
the ceiling.
HIGH ANGLE - three crooks coming out of a hallway onto the fourth floor
landing. They move towards the bannisters. One of them, wearing a beret
pulled down over his ears, leans over and shouts.
CROOK
Nothing!
OFFICE - SECOND FLOOR
The BURGLAR again. He drills with some difficulty through the floor with a
power-drill. The SAFE-BREAKER'S legs can be seen next to him where he stands
holding a torch. The BURGLAR'S tool bag lies open on the floor beside him.
THE LOFT
The MURDERER, using the broken knife, tries to lever a nail out of one of the
wooden uprights of a partition.
CLOSE - THE BROKEN BLADE
WIDER - as he struggles to remove the nail by hand.
CLOSE AGAIN - the blade levers the nail out.
OFFICE - SECOND FLOOR
The BURGLAR and the SAFE-BREAKER have now managed to make a decent-sized hole
in the floor. The BURGLAR throws down a rope ladder.
BURGLAR
Right ... let's go.
He lowers himself through the hole. The SAFE-BREAKER leans over and watches
him climb down.
TOP FLOOR
The PICK-POCKET, still studying the plan of the building, has now reached the
time-switch outside the main door to the attics. He is just about to put the
key in the lock when he hears a faint sound of BANGING. Glancing around
nervously, he stops to listen.
IN THE ATTIC, the MURDERER, squatting behind the door, hammers something.
CLOSE - he flattens one end of the nail with the handle of his knife.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR, the PICK-POCKET creeps nearer to the door,
listening carefully. The BANGING continues. Wildly excited, he makes for the
stairs; but he suddenly remembers the time-switch and turns back on his heels
and quickly resets it. He pauses for a second to listen again, and then
rushes downstairs.
TOP FLOOR - the PICK-POCKET, plan in hand, races down the stairs from the
sixth floor landing.
ON THE FIFTH FLOOR
Some crooks force a door on the fifth floor landing. As the PICK-POCKET races
past, one of them turns round.
5TH FLOOR CROOK
Hey, what's up?
The PICK-POCKET doesn't stop.
5TH FLOOR CROOK
Hey, can't you answer me? What's happening? Oy,
Paul, you might tell us.
FOURTH FLOOR
A man in a beret runs out into the hallway, torch in one hand, revolver in
the other. He leans over the bannisters to get a better view of the PICK-
POCKET.
CROOK IN BERET
What's going on?
PICK-POCKET
(breathless)
I heard someone banging!
Another crook emerges into the hallway. The PICK-POCKET races past.
SECOND CROOK
What did you say?
CROOK IN BERET
What's the hurry?
OFFICE - SECOND FLOOR
The SAFE-BREAKER who leans over the hole in the floor, shining his torch to
light up the room below. Hearing the shouting, he jumps up.
He emerges into the HALLWAY and grabs at the PICK-POCKET as he passes.
PICK-POCKET
(shaking free)
I must see Schränker!
FIRST FLOOR
The PICK-POCKET as he hurls himself towards SCHRÄNKER, pointing frantically
upwards.
PICK-POCKET
(out of breath)
In the attic ... he's in the attic. I heard him
knocking.
The SAFE-BREAKER joins them.
PICK-POCKET
In the attic ... he's in the attic!
TOP FLOOR
IN THE ATTIC, the MURDERER has succeeded in bending the nail and tries to use
it as a skeleton key. He puts it into the key-hole and feels around with it.
IN THE HALLWAY, the metallic sound of the nail inside the keyhole can still
be heard, as SCHRÄNKER and the others arrive. They stop to listen and the men
nudge one another expectantly.
SCHRÄNKER
Shhhhhh ... keep quiet!
The noise of the HAMMERING can be heard clearly.
IN THE ATTIC, the MURDERER, crouched behind the door, HAMMERS at the nail. On
the floor, he studies his crude skeleton key. He turns back to the door and
is about to push the key into the keyhole when the handle moves very
slightly. The MURDERER backs away and presses himself against the wall, eyes
bulging with terror and staring fixedly at the door-handle.
IN THE HALLWAY - CLOSE - THE LOCK - Two hands are testing a skeleton key
selected from an assorted bunch on a large key ring.
IN THE ATTIC, the MURDERER presses his ear against the door to listen and
then slips off down the corridor. Halfway down, he turns back to switch off
the light, plunging the place into darkness except for the illumination
filtering in around the edges of the door. His shadow disappears into the
recesses of the attic. A moment later, the door bursts open and SCHRÄNKER
appears in silhouette against the hallway light.
Behind him three flashlights click on.
SCHRÄNKER
Get on with it, then.
Flashlight beams pass across the wooden partitions.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
He must be there.
OTHER VOICES (o.s.)
There's the switch.
The lights come on. The men see the corridor with the numerous compartments,
piled high with old furniture.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
Force the locks.
Some crooks pass down the corridor.
VOICES
Come on. Hurry up! Get a move on! Come on. Off
with it.
Two crooks force a partition door.
WATCHMAN'S OFFICE
The CON-MAN sits by the window. The PICK-POCKET comes in, excited.
PICK-POCKET
We've got him!
CON-MAN
(getting up)
What?
PICK-POCKET
He's in the attic!
CON-MAN
Yeah?
While the two crooks are talking, the FIRST WATCHMAN moves. Though still
lying tied up on the floor, he makes an effort to haul himself onto his knees
and reach the nearby alarm.
PICK-POCKET (o.s.)
Yes, I heard someone hammering ...
CON-MAN (o.s.)
Who?
PICK-POCKET (o.s.)
... and immediately told Schränker ...
CON-MAN (o.s.)
What did he say?
PICK-POCKET (o.s.)
He's already up there with eight men.
CON-MAN (o.s.)
That's good.
PICK-POCKET (o.s.)
They'll get him any moment.
CON-MAN (o.s.)
You think so?
The two crooks are face to face.
PICK-POCKET
I just came down to tell you.
CON-MAN
Great.
PICK-POCKET
(importantly)
If I hadn't been on the alert we might have been
looking for him for hours.
The CON-MAN rises quickly and grabs the PICK-POCKET by the shoulder. The
WATCHMAN, on his knees, lifts his handcuffed hands towards the alarm bell.
CON-MAN (o.s.)
Look out! ... the watchman!
The WATCHMAN'S hands snatch awkwardly at the alarm, connected directly to the
local police station. A bell RINGS...
CUT TO:
INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT
A ticker-tape machine starts to operate by unrolling a punched tape. A
POLICEMAN approaches and leans over to read the tape.
POLICEMAN
Three ... one ... four.
CLOSE - the machine with the punched tape emerging.
POLICEMAN (o.s.)
Three, one, four.
CLOSE - a filing cabinet. A hand flicks through some cards and takes one out.
ANOTHER POLICEMAN
Three, one, four.
CUT TO:
INT. OFFICE BUILDING - NIGHT
IN THE ATTIC - The PICK-POCKET bursts in to warn the men searching there. He
shouts something incomprehensible.
A CROOK
Are you crazy?
General hubbub.
PICK-POCKET
Yes, the cops'll be here any minute. The
watchman gave the alarm.
CROOK
Let's get out of here!
They make for the door.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
Stop! Quiet!
SCHRÄNKER approaches.
SCHRÄNKER
We've five minutes more and six more
compartments to search. Carry on. Get on with
it. Only hurry! Come on, now!
The CROOKS start work again. One of them fiddles with the lock on a door.
SCHRÄNKER pushes him aside.
SCHRÄNKER
Out of the way. You can't do it like that.
He CRASHES against the door with all his weight to break it open.
IN ONE OF THE COMPARTMENTS, the MURDERER hides, weak with fear. Light feebly
penetrates a skylight behind him. The sound of doors being forced open comes
gradually closer.
VOICE (o.s.)
He's not in here.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
Next door!
NOISE of splintering wood and tearing hinges.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
Come on. Quicker.
The NOISE draws nearer and the MURDERER ducks down further and further into
his corner.
VOICE (o.s.)
Not here either.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
Come on. Keep it up! Next door.
As we hear the noise of another breaking door, the MURDERER disappears
completely behind the bric-a-brac. Only his hat is visible.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
Quick. We've only three minutes left.
VOICE (o.s.)
Hurry up. Quickly!
SEVERAL VOICES (o.s.)
This one hasn't got a padlock ... he must be
here ... go on, open it ... it's locked from
the inside ... let me do it!
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
Hurry up. Only one minute left!
Deafening NOISE as the door is forced down and furniture crashes to the
floor. Panic-stricken, the MURDERER leaps to his feet, spot-lit by a powerful
flashlight beam, his face grotesquely twisted with fear. Backing away, he
stumbles against a grandfather clock.
VOICE (o.s.)
Here he is ... here he is... the bastard!
CUT TO:
EXT. THE COURTYARD - NIGHT
A parked car in the street behind the gates which are still pulled back. The
SAFE-BREAKER, on guard by the opening, checks on the men as they stream
silently through, loaded with equipment which they throw into the car before
slipping out of sight down the street.
SAFE-BREAKER
Get going. Hurry up!
(whistles through his fingers)
Everybody out!
The CON-MAN runs past, pulling his overcoat on over a WATCHMAN'S jacket. The
SAFE-BREAKER pushes him outside.
SAFE-BREAKER
Go on! Move!
Other crooks pass through.
SAFE-BREAKER
Come on, hurry up. Quick!
The CON-MAN goes back inside.
CON-MAN
Christ! Get out while you can, you fool!
The CON-MAN makes for the door as the SAFE-BREAKER runs past the WATCHMEN'S
OFFICE. A few stragglers come out of the building.
SAFE-BREAKER
Anybody left?
CROOK
A few up top ... they're on their way.
SAFE-BREAKER
No reason for you to wait for them. With or
without the guy, it doesn't matter, get away.
He throws up his arms in despair.
SAFE-BREAKER
What are they up to, for Christ's sake ...
He goes back into the building.
SAFE-BREAKER
At last. Thank God!
A final group leaves the building and the SAFE-BREAKER follows them. Two men
carry the MURDERER down the steps, tied up and struggling inside a carpet.
SCHRÄNKER, still in his policeman's uniform, and the SAFE-BREAKER are the
last to leave. An ominous silence.
CUT TO:
INT. OFFICE BUILDING - NIGHT
A few minutes later.
IN THE WATCHMEN'S OFFICE, the FIRST WATCHMAN lies unconscious, wrists
handcuffed together. The two other watchmen, slumped together in a corner,
lie tied up and unconscious.
HIGH ANGLE - SECOND FLOOR
A flashlight beam sweeps across the floor of the room below and rises towards
the hole in the ceiling.
BURGLAR (o.s.)
Hey! He's not down here.
No reply.
BURGLAR (o.s.)
Oh! Who's pulled up the ladder?
The BURGLAR'S face comes into view, looking up from below.
BURGLAR
Who's pulled up the ladder?
Someone throws the ladder down into the hole.
BURGLAR
(irritably)
Bunch of morons.
As his head and shoulders emerge from the hole, a flashlight clicks on and
shines straight into his face.
BURGLAR
Hello.
A second flashlight lights him up.
A VOICE
Hands up.
BURGLAR
(curtly)
How can I put my hands up when I'm trying to
hang onto the ladder?
THE VOICE
Out of there.
PULL BACK as the BURGLAR climbs out of the hole, sits on the edge, and raises
his hands. PULL FURTHER BACK to reveal that he's surrounded by policemen.
BURGLAR
(jokingly)
For once I'm innocent ...
CUT TO:
INT. INSPECTOR GROEBER'S OFFICE - NIGHT
The voice continues.
BURGLAR
... as a new born babe.
The BURGLAR sits by INSPECTOR GROEBER'S desk. A lamp shines into his face.
GROEBER is a distinguished, well-groomed man of about fifty. Behind them sits
a secretary, a little old man who looks over the top of his spectacles at the
BURGLAR with mild surprise and then over to GROEBER. GROEBER cuts a cigar
and, from behind the lamp, leans towards the BURGLAR.
GROEBER
This will surprise you, Franz, but I believe
you.
BURGLAR
(not altogether reassured)
Hmmm.
(laughs nervously)
Then everything is in order, Inspector.
(gets up)
I can leave then ...
GROEBER'S hand comes into shot and gestures to him to sit down.
GROEBER
One minute!
GROEBER picks up a packet of cigarettes and offers them to the BURGLAR.
GROEBER (o.s.)
Cigarette?
BURGLAR
Oh, boy.
Crestfallen, the BURGLAR slumps back into his chair and takes a cigarette.
GROEBER
I'll take your word for it.
GROEBER leans back, rocking his chair.
GROEBER (o.s.)
On condition you tell me ...
He pauses. The BURGLAR waits, holding an unlit cigarette in one hand and a
burning match in the other.
GROEBER
... who the man was you were looking for ...
and found in the building.
On these last words, he lets himself fall forward, while the BURGLAR puts out
the match and lays the cigarette on the table, feigning surprise.
BURGLAR
I don't understand, Inspector. A man, you said?
No, I don't know anything about that,
Inspector. There must be some mistake. I don't
know anything. Nothing at all.
GROEBER
Of course.
(slyly)
Only I don't understand why you are covering up
for the gang who left you in the lurch.
GROEBER relights his cigar.
GROEBER
Funny friends! Leaving you right in it and
running off. Bah!
BURGLAR
(smiling maliciously)
That won't wash with me, Inspector.
GROEBER takes some notes. The SECRETARY takes the opportunity to sharpen some
pencils. The BURGLAR looks around worriedly. He tries to read what GROEBER
is writing but can't make it out.
BURGLAR
After all ...
Not very sure of himself, the BURGLAR pauses; then, after a moment, he begins
again ...
BURGLAR
After all, I'm not risking very much.
INSERT of the hole in the office floor.
BURGLAR (o.s.)
Maybe a little bit of damage. But nothing was
stolen.
RESUME SCENE
GROEBER
Of course, something was stolen. In fact a good
deal ...
The BURGLAR leans forward, surprised.
BURGLAR
What?
He is rising to the bait.
BURGLAR
Stolen? How much?
GROEBER
If you talk, I'll tell you.
BURGLAR
I've already told you. I don't know anything.
GROEBER
All right.
He gets up.
GROEBER
Well, think about it. It's amazing what one
remembers ...
(turning on the ceiling light)
... when one's left alone for an hour or two.
A door opens.
GROEBER
Take him away.
Someone places a hand on the BURGLAR'S shoulder. He rises and leaves the
room. We TRACK IN on GROEBER, who watches him go thoughtfully.
GROEBER
(to the SECRETARY)
Get the night watchman sent in.
He sits down and opens a dossier.
SECRETARY (o.s.)
Get the night watchman, Damowitz.
GROEBER raises his eyes and looks towards the door. We FOLLOW his look: the
SECRETARY shows the WATCHMAN in.
GROEBER (o.s.)
Sit down.
The WATCHMAN sits in the chair in front of the desk. GROEBER continues to
study the dossier.
GROEBER
Now then, you said in your statement ...
He raises his eyes to the WATCHMAN.
GROEBER
Listen carefully...
The SECRETARY'S hand turns off the light on the desk and picks up a pencil.
GROEBER
... you may have to repeat it under oath...
He reads from the dossier.
GROEBER
... that you clearly heard ...
The WATCHMAN'S right cheek is swollen.
GROEBER
... that one of the burglars said to another:
'We've found him ...'
The WATCHMAN nods his head, winces with pain, and holds his cheek.
GROEBER
'... I've discovered the guy. He is in the
attic.' Is that correct?
WATCHMAN
Yes, Inspector ... ooooh.
(grimaces with pain)
Yes, Inspector ... I'd swear to that whenever
you wish.
GROEBER closes the dossier.
GROEBER
Right. You may go home and rest now. But please
keep yourself at the disposal of the police.
The WATCHMAN gets up.
WATCHMAN
Of course, Inspector ... oooh.
(painfully)
Good day, Inspector.
He goes out, holding his jaw.
GROEBER
Good day.
GROEBER remains for a moment, deep in thought. We TRACK IN as he picks up the
telephone.
GROEBER
(into the phone)
Tell me, is Inspector Lohmann in the building?
... Oh, good . .. He's talking to somebody? No,
it doesn't matter. I'll come up.
CUT TO:
INT. LOHMANN'S OFFICE - NIGHT
LOHMANN sits at his desk smoking a cigar, framed against the large map of the
city on the wall behind him. Now he is in shirt-sleeves, his collar open and
tie loosened, and he looks tired and harassed. He is on the telephone, and
with one hand pours out coffee from an enamel coffee pot.
LOHMANN
(into the phone)
What? Good. Hasn't come in yet ... You're
watching the old girl, that Mrs. Winkler, eh?
A KNOCK on the door.
LOHMANN
Come in.
NEW ANGLE - LOHMANN sits in his chair. From this angle, the size of his
stomach is enormously exaggerated and we can see that his trousers are
unbuttoned at the waist; chewing at his cigar, he hangs up.
LOHMANN
Hell!
GROEBER enters, a dossier under his arm, and sits on the edge of the desk.
LOHMANN adds some milk to his coffee from a carton.
LOHMANN
What do you want?
GROEBER
I wanted to ask you ...
LOHMANN drinks his coffee.
GROEBER
... a favor.
LOHMANN
(drinking)
Ugh . .. what muck.
GROEBER
I wanted to ask you ...
GROEBER places the dossier on the table.
GROEBER
Anyway, read a bit of that.
LOHMANN takes a bite from a biscuit and picks up the dossier, marked REPORTS.
LOHMANN
Reports?
GROEBER
Yeah...
LOHMANN opens the dossier. The first typewritten sheet carries the date 25th
November, 1930.
GROEBER (o.s.)
... Burglary in an office block.
The page is turned.
DISSOLVE TO:
POLICE STATION
The ticker-tape machine and the punched tape.
DISSOLVE TO:
THE OFFICE BUILDING
A map of the office building at Bennastrasse 29-33 and Ostend-allee 114-117.
LOHMANN (o.s.)
Bennastrasse?
DISSOLVE TO:
CLOSER - OFFICE BUILDING
The main entrance of the building with gates half-open and the WATCHMEN'S
office illuminated.
LOHMANN (o.s.)
That's a very quiet neighborhood.
DISSOLVE TO:
THE WATCHMAN'S OFFICE
The WATCHMAN lies unconscious on the floor of his office.
LOHMANN (o.s.)
... Perhaps it's not as quiet as all that ...
DISSOLVE TO:
THE WATCHMAN'S OFFICE
The other bound watchmen lie in the corner.
LOHMANN (o.s.)
Hell, this is getting serious.
DISSOLVE TO:
AN OPEN WOODEN DOOR
On the landing, with the lock sawed out of it.
DISSOLVE TO:
ANOTHER DOOR
Also forced.
DISSOLVE TO:
THE DOSSIER
In LOHMANN'S hands. Another page is turned.
DISSOLVE TO:
ANOTHER DOOR
A drill still sticks in a hole and all around the lock there is a circle of
holes.
LOHMANN (o.s.)
Did they intend to empty the whole place, then?
DISSOLVE TO:
THE BASEMENT
The door to the coal-hole has been smashed.
LOHMANN
(o.s., amazed)
What can they have been looking for in the
coal?
DISSOLVE TO:
THE BOILER ROOM
As seen through a shattered door.
LOHMANN (o.s.)
Look at that. It's incredible.
DISSOLVE TO:
THE DOSSIER
In LOHMANN'S hands. Another page is turned.
DISSOLVE TO:
THE ATTIC
The door of every compartment has been forced.
LOHMANN (o.s.)
Good Lord.
DISSOLVE TO:
REAR OF ATTIC
The last few doors are completely smashed to pieces.
LOHMANN
(o.s., clicks his tongue)
This is madness!
DISSOLVE TO:
ATTIC COMPARTMENT
All the furniture turned upside down.
DISSOLVE TO:
CLOSE - HOLE IN THE CEILING
On the second floor, with the rope ladder and the abandoned drill.
LOHMANN (o.s.)
Ah, now it makes sense. They were after the
safe.
DISSOLVE TO:
CLOSE - AN OLD SAFE
Untouched.
LOHMANN (o.s.)
Good God. What's that all about?
DISSOLVE TO:
CLOSE - ANOTHER SAFE
Also unharmed.
LOHMANN (o.s.)
I don't understand it at all.
DISSOLVE TO:
CLOSE - ANOTHER SAFE
Also intact.
LOHMANN (o.s.)
They haven't even attacked that one. Were they
all crazy or something?
DISSOLVE TO:
THE DOSSIER
The last pages turn.
CUT TO:
RESUME - LOHMANN'S OFFICE
LOHMANN and GROEBER at LOHMANN'S desk.
LOHMANN
(lifts his head)
Well, I'll be damned!
GROEBER
Well, what have you got to say? Nothing stolen,
but a man was taken away. God knows where.
LOHMANN
Fantastic!
LOHMANN puts his cigar-holder down on a plate and prepares another cigar.
GROEBER
And Franz -- the burglar we arrested -- isn't
talking. Frightened evidently. Actually I know
him well ... he's one of those burglars who
would rather jump from the fifth floor than get
mixed up in a murder.
LOHMANN finishes cutting his cigar and starts to suck it.
GROEBER
If we could ... set a trap for him...
A huge smile spreads across LOHMANN'S face.
GROEBER
Could you help me out, Lohmann?
LOHMANN
(raising his cigar)
I see what you are getting at ... well then,
let's take a look at this Franz.
CUT TO:
INT. PRISON CELL - NIGHT
The BURGLAR stretches out on a bed, his legs in the foreground. The cell door
opens and a DETECTIVE appears.
DETECTIVE
For questioning.
FADE OUT
INT. LOHMANN'S OFFICE - NIGHT
FADE IN on the BURGLAR examining a plaque on the wall. The DETECTIVE who
brought him in stands in the background.
CLOSE - THE PLAQUE
It's a list of the members of the Homicide Department, with names, addresses
and telephone numbers. Under 'Head of Department,' we can read: 'Karl
Lohmann.' followed by an address and telephone number.
WIDER
The BURGLAR stares at the list.
BURGLAR
(unhappily)
Inspector Karl Lohmann ...
A door opens. The BURGLAR turns. LOHMANN has come in, hands in pockets,
sucking a cigar. The BURGLAR moves towards him.
BURGLAR
(frightened)
What do you want with me? What does Homicide
want with me?
After a moment, LOHMANN stops in front of the BURGLAR.
LOHMANN
Yes... your case has been passed over to me
now.
The BURGLAR, very worried, wrings his hands. LOHMANN stands in front of him.
BURGLAR
But ... but why? What for?
LOHMANN
You did your work a little too well.
The BURGLAR nervously unbuttons his collar.
BURGLAR
(in a choked voice)
Yes?
LOHMANN
(meaningfully)
One of the watchmen ...
INSERT - DAMOWITZ, THE WATCHMAN
He sits at a table, in his home, an enormous plate of sausage and cabbage in
front of him. He drinks some beer, wipes his moustache and digs into another
sausage.
RESUME on LOHMANN and the BURGLAR in LOHMANN'S OFFICE.
BURGLAR
(in a choked voice)
Dead?
LOHMANN paces round his office.
LOHMANN
Planning and assisting with a murder ... That's
a bad scene, Franz.
BURGLAR
(choking)
I can't go on with it. I don't want to have
anything to do with that.
LOHMANN picks up a dossier and flicks through it.
BURGLAR
(breaks down)
I'll tell you everything ... everything I know.
LOHMANN
(casually)
Very wise, but unfortunately too late.
The BURGLAR moves nearer and pleads with LOHMANN who turns his back on him.
BURGLAR
Inspector, it can't be too late ... please,
Inspector ... But, it isn't possible. Listen,
I'm going to tell you everything ...
everything. Even who we were looking for in
that damn building.
LOHMANN straightens up, triumphant and interested, but does not turn around.
LOHMANN
Well, then...
BURGLAR
The murderer ... the child murderer.
LOHMANN'S mouth drops open in amazement, and his cigar falls out onto the
table. A pause. Dumbfounded, LOHMANN, without thinking, raises a shaky hand
to remove the cigar from his lips. He looks confused for a moment, but
quickly recovers his composure and picks it up from the dossier where it had
fallen.
LOHMANN
(dawning realization)
What? What? ... Who?
BURGLAR
(distraught)
The child murderer, Inspector.
LOHMANN puffs out a great cloud of cigar smoke which completely obscures his
face. He strides across the room flapping a hand to disperse the smoke-screen
around him.
LOHMANN
Wait a minute.
LOHMANN quickly exits out a door which he closes behind him.
NEW ANGLE - LOHMANN'S PRIVATE BATHROOM
LOHMANN leans against the basin and puts his head under the cold tap.
RESUME on LOHMANN'S OFFICE
The BURGLAR waits in total despair.
BURGLAR
(sighs, to himself)
This had to happen to me! Of all people.
A door opens behind him. He turns. LOHMANN comes back in, looking happy and
satisfied. He has his jacket on and, rubbing his hands, sits down behind his
desk. After a moment, LOHMANN takes out a cigar and cuts it, with a pair of
scissors.
LOHMANN
Right ... Now, we're going to have a little
talk.
BURGLAR
(hopelessly)
If you want to, Inspector.
LOHMANN
And, mind you, don't lie.
(beat)
Okay, let's start. What have you got to do with
the murderer and where have you taken him?
BURGLAR
Well now, Inspector, you know the old ....
CUT TO:
EXT. FACTORY - DAY
The battered façade of an empty factory, almost a ruin.
BURGLAR (o.s.)
... distillery of Kuntz and Levy ...
CUT TO:
A CORNER OF THE BUILDING
LOHMANN (o.s.)
The one that went bankrupt?
CUT TO:
INT. FACTORY - DAY
WORKSHOP
In the gloom of an abandoned workshop inside the factory is a shadowy
staircase. In the distance, inarticulate cries gradually draw nearer. TWO MEN
come down the steps and disappear into the gloom.
MURDERER (o.s.)
What do you want with me? Let me go ... let me
go!
A VOICE
(roughly)
Go on ... keep moving ... go on.
The TWO MEN reappear, pushing the MURDERER up the stairway. He struggles
furiously although his jacket has been pulled over his head. At the top of
the steps, a third MAN comes to open a door for them.
MURDERER
(struggling)
I've done nothing to you ... Let me go, you
swine.
ANOTHER FLIGHT OF STEPS
An iron door is flung open. A foot appears on the top step, but no one
appears for a moment as there is obviously a scuffle going on at the top of
the stairs. The third MAN enters and stands on the steps.
MURDERER (o.s.)
Let me go.
The two others push the MURDERER down the steps.
MURDERER
Bastards!
The MURDERER has fallen to the bottom of the steps.
MURDERER
Bunch of bastards!
One of the men exits, closing the iron door behind him as he goes. The
remaining two men stand on the top of the steps and look down at the MURDERER
as he drags his coat off his head.
MURDERER
What do you want with me? Bastards! What do you
want?
He turns and stops dead in his tracks.
WIDE - HUGE FACTORY CELLAR - MURDERER'S POV
Assorted members of the underworld stare at him. We PAN ALONG the entire
length of the cellar to reveal that a vast crowd has assembled -- crooks and
their wives, whores, pimps, and beggars -- most of them standing, with the
older members seated on boxes and crates. There is absolute silence and no
one moves. PAN continues until it reaches a trestle table set up in front of
them. Behind it sit the PICK-POCKET, the CON-MAN and the SAFE-BREAKER, on
either side of SCHRÄNKER -- obviously a crude form of tribunal and, as usual,
SCHRÄNKER is in charge.
MURDERER (o.s.)
Help!
RESUME ON MURDERER...
... and the two men on the stairs.
MURDERER
Help! Let me go. I want to get out ...
He tries to climb up a few steps.
MURDERER
I want to get out. Get out.
WIDE - CELLAR
A general view of the tribunal, lit only by a single bulb hanging from the
ceiling.
MURDERER (o.s.)
Let me out!
SCHRÄNKER
(firmly)
You will not get out of here.
The two men on the staircase block the MURDERER'S way. He turns back to face
the crowd.
MURDERER
But gentlemen ...
His hair falling over his face, he comes down the stairs.
MURDERER
(appeals to them)
Please, I don't even know what you want me for.
He takes a few hesitant paces forward.
MURDERER
I beg you. Set me free. There must be some
mistake ...
A hand reaches above the MURDERER'S head, feeling around in the air.
MURDERER
... A mist--
The hand falls on the MURDERER'S shoulder. The MURDERER'S voice breaks off.
BLIND BEGGAR (o.s.)
No ... No ... No mistake ... Impossible.
There's no mistake.
PULL BACK to show the MURDERER and the BLIND BEGGAR. The MURDERER turns
towards him. The BLIND BEGGAR withdraws his hand.
BLIND BEGGAR
No, no mistake.
MURDERER
But ... what do you mean?
We PULL FURTHER BACK so that the BLIND BEGGAR'S other arm comes into view. He
holds a doll-shaped balloon. He shows it to the MURDERER.
BLIND BEGGAR
Do you recognize it? It is a balloon like the
one you gave to little Elsie Beckmann.
The MURDERER stiffens with fear at the mention of that name. The BLIND BEGGAR
holds the string of the balloon and lets it rise up as far as the string will
go.
HIGH ANGLE
The MURDERER follows the balloon's ascent with horrified eyes. It sways
gently very close to the camera. The faces of the crowd are a confused blur
in the background.
BLIND BEGGAR (o.s.)
A balloon like that ...
MURDERER
(gibbering)
El ... El ... Elsie ... El ... Elsie.
He backs away, terrified by the balloon, until he stumbles against the table.
The MURDERER'S voice grows more and more high-pitched:
MURDERER
No, no, no ...
NEW ANGLES - The MURDERER, near the table.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
Where did you ...
On SCHRÄNKER'S first words, the MURDERER turns to a threatening SCHRÄNKER who
has a photograph in front of him on the table of a little girl.
SCHRÄNKER
(leaning forward ominously)
... bury little Martha?
Behind the MURDERER, we see the BLIND BEGGAR and the staircase guarded by the
two men. As one of the men leads the BLIND BEGGAR away, the MURDERER walks
toward SCHRÄNKER, pleading.
MURDERER
But ... but I never ... I never even knew her.
SCHRÄNKER
(sarcastically)
Oh yes, very good. You didn't even know her.
SCHRÄNKER waves another photograph.
SCHRÄNKER
And what about this one?
The MURDERER backs away, now helpless with fright.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
And this one?
The MURDERER chews at his fingers. SCHRÄNKER'S gloved hand shows a third
photograph. We recognize ELSIE'S face.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
... and this one, you didn't know this one
either, eh?
The MURDERER is now crazy with fright. Panic-stricken, he spins around in a
mad dash for the exit. One of the men who brought him in sits at the foot of
the stairs; he jumps up to bar the way as the crowd begin to jump up and
SHOUT hysterically.
VOICES
Stop him ... Stop him ... don't let him escape!
The crowd surges forward. Only SCHRÄNKER remains calmly seated.
VOICES
Stop him ... he can't get away!
The MURDERER rushes the crook on the stairs, pushing him violently out of the
way, and then climbs desperately towards the iron door.
VOICES
Quick, stop him ... Hold him ... Look out ...
the door!
At the top of the stairs, the MURDERER tries to open the door but a crook
grabs him by the collar.
A VOICE
Hold him ... hang onto him.
The MURDERER hangs onto the door handle with both hands. The crook holds him
from behind. Two others come to his aid.
A VOICE
Go on ... Go on . .. Hit him ... Belt him!
CLOSE - the MURDERER'S convulsed face. A hand seizes him by the throat.
MURDERER
(in a strangled voice)
Let me go ... Let me go!
(almost in tears)
You have no right to treat me like this!
VOICES
We'll show you what right we have!
WIDER - The three men try to make the MURDERER loosen his grip. A fourth
crook comes up the stairs to help them. One of them kicks him on the shins.
The general shouting gets louder as more people crowd on the steps.
CLOSE - The crook kicks the MURDERER. The MURDERER'S hand still grasps the
iron door's handle.
A VOICE
Go on ... on his shins.
CLOSE - The MURDERER receives another violent kick in the shins.
WIDER - the struggle at the door. A crook tries to hit the MURDERER'S hands.
VOICES
Heave ... ho. Heave ... ho.
CLOSE - the crook's fist violently striking the MURDERER'S fingers. The shock
makes him let go.
WIDER - the group draws back from the MURDERER and throws him down the stairs.
The MURDERER falls heavily to the ground, banging his head sharply against
some old timbers lying against a wooden barrier. He lies twisting with pain
while the crowd CHEERS and HOOTS triumphantly.
MURDERER
(groaning)
You have no right to hold me here.
A prostitute gets up furiously.
PROSTITUTE
(screaming fanatically)
Right? Someone like you doesn't have any rights!
(roaring)
Kill him!
A MAN
(next to her, rising)
Yes, kill him!
PROSTITUTE
Crush him like a mad dog!
The crowd grows very animated.
A VOICE
Crush him!
SCHRÄNKER turns impatiently to the crowd.
SCHRÄNKER
Quiet!
A VOICE
Kill him! ... Kill him!
SCHRÄNKER
(shouts)
Shut up!
An imperious gesture from SCHRÄNKER and the crowd calms down. When the noise
dies down completely, he turns towards the MURDERER.
SCHRÄNKER
You talk of rights ... You will get your rights.
PAN ACROSS the attentive faces of the crowd, as SCHRÄNKER continues:
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
We are all law experts here, from six weeks in
Tegel, to fifteen years in Brandenburg...
SCHRÄNKER gestures to the crowd.
SCHRÄNKER
You will get your rights ... you will even have
a lawyer.
(ironically)
Everything will be done according to the rule
of law.
The MURDERER crouches against the wooden barrier like a toad.
MURDERER
(screaming)
A lawyer? ... A lawyer! ... I don't need a
lawyer ... Who is accusing me? You, maybe?
You?
A hand reaches down and taps him on the shoulder. The MURDERER turns around.
A fairly old, ill-shaven man leans towards him across a wooden barrier. He is
the LAWYER. In front of him, on a chest, a pile of Criminal and Civil law
books.
LAWYER
Eh ... just a moment ... If I were you, sir,
I'd keep quiet. Your life's at stake ... in
case you didn't know.
The MURDERER rises and leans towards the LAWYER seated behind his chest. He
stares at him in amazement.
MURDERER
And who are you?
LAWYER
(greets him with a
wave of his hat)
I have the dubious honor of being your defense
counsel. But I am afraid it won't be much use
to you.
The LAWYER superciliously blows some dust from his notebook.
MURDERER
(to the LAWYER)
But ... but... do you want to kill me then?
(horrified)
Murder me, just like that!
SCHRÄNKER
We just want to render you harmless. That's
what we want ... but you'll only be harmless
when you're dead.
MURDERER
(begging)
But, if you kill me, it'll be cold-blooded
murder!
Derisive LAUGHTER echoes around the cellar. The LAWYER sighs and shakes his
head sadly.
MURDERER
I demand that you hand me over to the police.
The LAUGHTER increases. The MURDERER raises his voice.
MURDERER
I demand to be handed over to the jurisdiction
of the common law!
Loud LAUGHTER from the crowd. SCHRÄNKER and the CON-MAN watch, unconcerned;
behind them, the crowd rocks with LAUGHTER.
A VOICE
Quite a performance ... That's not bad, that,
ha, ha, ha!
SCHRÄNKER
(to the MURDERER)
That would suit you, wouldn't it?
CON-MAN
(ironic)
Anything else you'd like?
SCHRÄNKER
So that you can invoke paragraph fifty-one...
A VOICE
That's it.
SCHRÄNKER
... And spend the rest of your life in an
institution at the state's expense ... And then
you'd escape ... or else there'd be a pardon
and there you are, free as air, with a pass,
protected by the law because of mental illness.
Off again chasing little girls.
The crowd LAUGHS.
SCHRÄNKER
No, no. Very dry. We're not going to let that
happen.
A VOICE
(echoing)
No, no, no.
SCHRÄNKER
We must make you powerless. You must disappear.
A VOICE
Bravo ... he must disappear.
The MURDERER sobs with fear.
MURDERER
But -- I can't help what I do!
He falls to his knees and miserably hides his face in his hands.
MURDERER
I can't help it ... I can't ... I can't ... I
can't help it.
In the front row of the crowd, a crook rises to his feet and waves
dismissively.
CROOK
(with contempt)
The old story.
A long pause as the MURDERER, on his knees, helplessly lowers his hands.
MURDERER
(in complete despair)
What do you know about it? What are you saying?
If it comes to that, who are you? What right
have you to speak?
He turns his head to look at them all.
MURDERER
Who are you? ... All of you? ... Criminals!
Perhaps you're even proud of yourselves? Proud
of being able to break safes, to climb into
buildings or cheat at cards ... Things you
could just as well keep your fingers off ...
You wouldn't need to do all that if you had
learnt a proper trade . .. or if you worked. If
you weren't a bunch of lazy bastards ... But I
...
His hands clutch at his chest.
MURDERER
I can't help myself! I haven't any control over
this evil thing that's inside me -- the fire,
the voices, the torment.
A skeptical SCHRÄNKER sits at the table; behind him the crowd listens
intently.
SCHRÄNKER
You mean to say you have to murder?
MURDERER
(agonized)
Always... always, there's this evil force
inside me ... It's there all the time, driving
me out to wander through the streets ...
following me ... silently, but I can feel it
there... it's me, pursuing myself, because ...
An old man in the crowd nods thoughtfully, moved by the MURDERER'S genuine
anguish.
MURDERER
I want to escape ... to escape from myself!
Two other crooks. One of them seems very moved.
MURDERER
... but it's impossible. I can't. I can't
escape.
(panting)
I have to obey it. I have to run ... run ...
streets ... endless streets. I want to escape.
I want to get away.
Two prostitutes, one of them nervously twisting a handkerchief.
MURDERER
And I am pursued by ghosts. Ghosts of mothers.
And of those children ... They never leave me.
(shouts desperately)
They are there, there, always, always! Always
... except ... !
(lowers his voice)
... except when I do it ... when I ...
He raises his hands towards his neck, as though he were about to strangle a
victim, then he lets them fall limp at his sides. He shakes his head.
MURDERER
Then I can't remember anything ... And
afterwards I see those posters and I read what
I've done ... I read ... and ... and read ...
Did I do that? But I can't remember anything
about it ... But who will believe me? Who
knows what it feels like to be me? How I'm
forced to act ... How I must ... Don't want to,
but must ... Must ... Don't want to ... must.
And then ... a voice screams ... I can't bear
to hear it.
He puts his head against the wooden barrier in a paroxysm, covering his ears
with his hands.
MURDERER
(at the height of his fit)
I can't ... I can't go on. Can't go on ...
Can't go on ... Can't go on ...
SCHRÄNKER and the SAFE-BREAKER sit, the crowd behind them. SCHRÄNKER rises to
his feet as the MURDERER'S voice dies away.
MURDERER
I can't go on ...
SCHRÄNKER
(to the crowd)
The accused has said that he cannot help
himself. That is to say: he has to murder. As
this is the case, he has pronounced his own
death sentence.
VOICES
Hurrah ... that's true ... Hurrah.
SCHRÄNKER
Someone who admits to being a compulsive
murderer should be snuffed out. Like a candle.
A VOICE
Hurrah.
SCHRÄNKER
(louder)
This man must be wiped out, eliminated.
APPLAUSE and SHOUTS. The MURDERER, on his knees, rubs his head against the
barrier, his hands still over his ears. The NOISE continues. Behind
SCHRÄNKER and the SAFE-BREAKER, the crowd is in a frenzy.
VARIOUS VOICES
Hurrah ... Perfect, just what I think ...
Hurrah!
The LAWYER gets up. Beside him, the MURDERER cringes.
LAWYER
I wish to speak.
SCHRÄNKER (o.s.)
The defense lawyer will speak.
The crowd quiets down.
LAWYER
(ironically, off SCHRÄNKER)
Our very honorable President who is, I believe,
wanted by the police for three murders ...
SCHRÄNKER
(very angry)
That's got nothing to do with it!
LAWYER
(continuing)
... claims that because my client acts under an
irresistible impulse, he is condemned to death.
A VOICE
That's exactly it ... Yes... He's right.
LAWYER
(shakes his head)
He is mistaken ... because it is that very fact
that clears my client.
Members of the crowd look puzzled: a one-eyed crook, a prostitute, an older
man who looks like a wrestler.
THE ONE-EYED CROOK
Hey, just a moment, that's enough.
Other faces in the crowd look on sternly. In the foreground sits a crook with
a moustache, a hat and a bow-tie.
CROOK
Are you mad, you drunken old sot?
LAWYER
It is this very fact of obsession which makes
my client not responsible ... And nobody can be
punished for something which he is not
responsible for.
WHISTLES and CAT-CALLS.
VOICE
That's ridiculous.
PROSTITUTE
(furious, jumps to her feet)
Do you want to suggest by any chance that this
brute should get off?
A CROOK
(bitterly)
That he should stay alive?
LAWYER
I mean that this man is sick. And a sick man
should be handed over, not to the executioner,
but to the doctor.
SAFE-BREAKER
Could you guarantee he'd be cured?
LAWYER
What use are asylums, then?
CON-MAN
And what would happen if he escaped?
SCHRÄNKER
Yes ... or if they released him as harmless?
And what if the compulsion to kill returns? Yet
another man-hunt for several months. Paragraph
fifty-one again. Into the asylum again and then
another escape or release. And then the
compulsion all over again. And so on and so on
till doomsday!
LAWYER
No one has the right to kill a man who is not
responsible for his actions. Not the state, and
certainly not you. The state must take care that
this man becomes harmless and ceases to be a
danger to his fellow citizens.
During this plea, the crowd becomes excited and they begin to SHOUT and BAWL
at the top of their voices. His last words are almost lost in the general
LAUGHTER. A PROSTITUTE gets up.
PROSTITUTE
You've never had children, eh? So you haven't
lost any either. But if you want to know what
it's like to lose one of your kids ...
Another woman tries to calm her.
PROSTITUTE
... then go and ask the parents of those
children he got at.
Amid the different groups of onlookers, an enormous thug listens, close to
tears.
PROSTITUTE
Ask them what those days and nights were like
when they didn't know for sure what was up ...
and about the ones when they finally knew what
happened.
(screaming)
Ask the mothers!
The MURDERER still crouches against the barrier, his hands over his ears.
A WOMAN
She's right!
The MURDERER crouches ever lower.
PROSTITUTE
Ask the mothers!
VOICES
Yes, the mothers ... the mothers ... ask them
... Do you think they'll have mercy on a
child-murderer?
In the crowd, the fever rises.
A CROOK
She's right.
ANOTHER
And how.
PROSTITUTE
No mercy ... No pardon ...
A CROOK
Give him to us, the murderer.
2ND CROOK
Kill him, the monster.
A PROSTITUTE in the front row screams her rage. Behind her, a crook in a cap
is also worked up.
YOUNG PROSTITUTE
Crush him, the brute.
MAN
(simultaneous)
Kill him.
WRESTLER
Bleed the beast.
ONE-EYED CROOK
Hang him.
A VOICE
Beat him down.
A LITTLE MAN
Kill him.
ANOTHER
Kill him.
The whole furious mob rages on.
VOICES
To the gallows ... Finish him ... Kill him ...
Kill him
LAWYER
All that shouting won't silence me!
The noise dies down. The crowd waits, but not appeased.
LAWYER
I will not allow a crime to be committed in my
presence. I demand that this man ...
A VOICE
(interrupting)
He isn't one!
LAWYER
(carries on)
... that this man be granted the protection of
the law, which is everybody's right.
A VOICE
To hell with that ... to hell with it.
WHISTLES and SHOUTS from the crowd.
LAWYER
(very loud)
I demand that this man be handed over to the
police.
The crowd and the leaders of the tribunal are in uproar.
A WOMAN
(hysterically)
To the police!
CON-MAN
(furious)
Filthy stooge!
The frenzy has reached its height. Everyone SHOUTS, WHISTLES and SCREAMS at
the same time. From every side, crooks and prostitutes throw themselves
towards the MURDERER ... then, suddenly, everyone freezes, and all eyes fix
on the iron door of the cellar. Shrill police WHISTLES and VOICES fill the
air.
VOICE
Police ... Hands up!
Taken by surprise, the crooks and women all stand stock still -- and slowly
raise their hands. Only SCHRÄNKER remains seated. He tips back his chair
arrogantly. After casting a long look around the assembled crowd and seeing
that there is no hope, he gets up abruptly and raises his hands.
The MURDERER still crouches against the barrier. He rises slowly and looks in
confusion at the frozen crowd before him. TRACK IN on him as a lawman's hand
is placed firmly on his left shoulder.
A VOICE
In the name of the law ...
FADE OUT
From the black screen, the voice of MRS. BECKMANN can be heard:
MRS. BECKMANN (o.s.)
We, too, should keep a closer watch on our
children.
A concluding burst of MUSIC (the last moments of "In the Hall of the Mountain
King") and we reach.
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