1 00:00:25,687 --> 00:00:28,146 [suspenseful instrumental music playing] 2 00:01:14,896 --> 00:01:16,854 [wind gusting] 3 00:01:56,104 --> 00:01:58,104 [sign creaking] 4 00:02:00,437 --> 00:02:01,604 [birds singing] 5 00:02:13,771 --> 00:02:15,062 [typewriter dings] 6 00:02:17,771 --> 00:02:19,062 [dog barking in distance] 7 00:02:24,312 --> 00:02:27,271 [Mank straining] It's all right. I've got this. I'm good. 8 00:02:28,312 --> 00:02:30,396 -[horse neighs in distance] -[Mank grunts] 9 00:02:36,479 --> 00:02:37,479 [man] Here. 10 00:02:37,562 --> 00:02:38,479 [Mank sighs] 11 00:02:46,604 --> 00:02:50,729 I had them set you up out here so you wouldn't feel quite so confined. 12 00:02:50,812 --> 00:02:53,187 The ladies will scandalize the neighborhood 13 00:02:53,271 --> 00:02:55,396 by occupying both bedrooms. 14 00:02:55,479 --> 00:02:58,437 I will be staying in town at a bucolic spa called, 15 00:02:58,521 --> 00:03:01,187 if you can believe it, the Shoulder Arms. 16 00:03:01,271 --> 00:03:03,229 I will do my editing there. 17 00:03:03,312 --> 00:03:04,312 As you know, 18 00:03:04,396 --> 00:03:06,646 Fraulein Freda is not only a nurse and physical therapist, 19 00:03:06,729 --> 00:03:09,187 she studied nutrition back in the old country. 20 00:03:09,271 --> 00:03:12,187 -Ja, liebes Fräulein? -Jawohl, Herr Houseman. 21 00:03:13,271 --> 00:03:14,521 It's a dry house. 22 00:03:15,187 --> 00:03:17,396 The owner of the ranch doesn't permit alcohol. 23 00:03:17,479 --> 00:03:19,687 -[Mank grunts] -[Houseman] But you're from Pennsylvania. 24 00:03:19,771 --> 00:03:21,229 You're no doubt used to it. 25 00:03:21,312 --> 00:03:24,146 [chuckles] Saved by the proverbial bell. 26 00:03:24,771 --> 00:03:26,021 Set it here, please. 27 00:03:27,146 --> 00:03:28,396 And, uh, careful. 28 00:03:28,479 --> 00:03:30,521 -Careful. Thank you. -[Mank sighs] 29 00:03:34,646 --> 00:03:35,771 [door closes] 30 00:03:35,854 --> 00:03:37,479 -Observe. -[button clicks] 31 00:03:39,604 --> 00:03:41,604 Naturally, you'll do your damnedest to get at it. 32 00:03:41,687 --> 00:03:44,979 By the time you finish the first draft, which is to say, in 90 days, 33 00:03:45,062 --> 00:03:47,646 you should be a world-class sprinter. 34 00:03:49,271 --> 00:03:50,937 Rita, come in here, will you? 35 00:03:51,854 --> 00:03:53,812 This is Mrs. Alexander. 36 00:03:53,896 --> 00:03:57,437 She types 100 perfect words a minute and takes dictation like a clairvoyant. 37 00:03:57,521 --> 00:03:59,687 Rita Alexander, Herman Mankiewicz. 38 00:03:59,771 --> 00:04:01,312 How do you do, Mr. Mankiewicz? 39 00:04:01,396 --> 00:04:03,854 Uh, that's a big question. 40 00:04:04,479 --> 00:04:08,021 Well, since you like working nights, Rita here runs on London time. 41 00:04:08,104 --> 00:04:10,646 Her husband is one of our bold lads in the RAF. 42 00:04:10,729 --> 00:04:13,896 -Flies… What is it, Rita? Spitfires? -Hurricanes. 43 00:04:13,979 --> 00:04:16,646 -My sympathy and prayers. -I beg your pardon? 44 00:04:16,729 --> 00:04:21,479 Given the speed, climb, and turning radius of the Messerschmitt Bf 109-- 45 00:04:21,562 --> 00:04:24,271 I hope we won't need your sympathy, Mr. Mankiewicz. 46 00:04:24,354 --> 00:04:26,812 We'll do the praying and the fighting. 47 00:04:26,896 --> 00:04:30,646 [Houseman] I will meet with Orson weekly. Keep him to date on our progress. 48 00:04:30,729 --> 00:04:32,687 We're expecting great things. 49 00:04:32,771 --> 00:04:36,771 What is it the writer says? "Tell the story you know." 50 00:04:36,854 --> 00:04:38,771 -[telephone ringing] -[Rita] Hmm. 51 00:04:39,271 --> 00:04:41,521 I don't know that writer. 52 00:04:44,771 --> 00:04:46,312 -Hello. -[woman speaking on phone] 53 00:04:46,396 --> 00:04:48,229 Yes. Yes, he's right here. 54 00:04:48,729 --> 00:04:52,187 Well, you should have everything. If I've forgotten, there's a clipboard. 55 00:04:55,562 --> 00:04:57,479 -Yes? Hello? -They're getting him. 56 00:04:58,146 --> 00:05:01,479 Our wunderkind does have the gift of theatrical timing. 57 00:05:02,896 --> 00:05:06,646 -Orson, hello. We just got in. -[Welles speaking indistinctly on phone] 58 00:05:06,729 --> 00:05:07,562 Oh. 59 00:05:13,021 --> 00:05:15,021 [Mank grunts and sighs] 60 00:05:16,062 --> 00:05:17,437 -Hello. -[Welles] Mank! 61 00:05:17,521 --> 00:05:20,187 Houseman tells me we have you just where we want you. 62 00:05:20,271 --> 00:05:21,521 [Mank] Lucky me. 63 00:05:21,604 --> 00:05:24,729 -How's the leg? -"Thigh bone's connected to the hip bone." 64 00:05:24,812 --> 00:05:25,646 Excellent. 65 00:05:25,729 --> 00:05:27,854 Ready and willing to hunt the great white whale? 66 00:05:27,937 --> 00:05:29,646 Just call me Ahab. 67 00:05:30,229 --> 00:05:32,729 I understand we've 90 days. 68 00:05:32,812 --> 00:05:34,187 [Welles] Let's aim for 60. 69 00:05:34,979 --> 00:05:36,854 [softly] He's just cut a month. 70 00:05:36,937 --> 00:05:40,812 I used to do it in five for you at the Mercury. This is leisurely. 71 00:05:40,896 --> 00:05:44,771 -Sixty days, and then we can noodle. -Nothing like a good noodle. 72 00:05:44,854 --> 00:05:49,312 Uh, is the reason you lopped 30 days to run it past the RKO legal? 73 00:05:49,396 --> 00:05:52,979 [Welles] I thought I told you, Mank. I have final cut, final everything. 74 00:05:53,062 --> 00:05:54,479 There are no studio notes. 75 00:05:54,562 --> 00:05:56,771 We'll have no one but ourselves to blame. 76 00:05:56,854 --> 00:05:59,437 -[Mank] Sixty days and a noodle. -[man] Mr. Welles, we're ready. 77 00:05:59,521 --> 00:06:01,604 Gotta run. I'm doing tests for Heart of Darkness. 78 00:06:01,687 --> 00:06:04,187 Oh, little that, lesser Joe Conrad. 79 00:06:04,271 --> 00:06:06,521 If anyone should ask, tell 'em you're adapting. 80 00:06:06,604 --> 00:06:09,479 [Mank] Oh, you don't know this sun-bleached sewer here, my friend. 81 00:06:09,562 --> 00:06:11,354 Break wind at Hollywood and Vine, 82 00:06:11,437 --> 00:06:14,312 and a producer in Santa Monica reports a ruptured main. 83 00:06:14,396 --> 00:06:17,271 [Welles] No, I don't know this burgh, not yet. 84 00:06:17,354 --> 00:06:20,687 I'm toiling with you in spirit, Mank. And I don't hear any typing. 85 00:06:20,771 --> 00:06:21,729 [hangs up] 86 00:06:25,062 --> 00:06:26,146 No notes. 87 00:06:27,354 --> 00:06:29,646 And then he turns 24. 88 00:06:30,729 --> 00:06:32,896 [sighs] Trapped. 89 00:06:39,271 --> 00:06:40,396 [typewriter dings] 90 00:06:43,479 --> 00:06:45,687 -[Mank grunts] -[woman] Uh-uh. 91 00:06:46,187 --> 00:06:47,687 Let me take off these clothes. 92 00:06:48,979 --> 00:06:53,687 [slurring] They let me go just as I achieved perfect equilibrium. 93 00:06:54,187 --> 00:06:57,062 I won't work with half the producers on the lot, 94 00:06:57,146 --> 00:06:59,896 and the other half won't work with me. 95 00:06:59,979 --> 00:07:01,854 What's this, a racing form? 96 00:07:01,937 --> 00:07:04,687 -You stop reading, you stop learning. -[chuckles] 97 00:07:04,771 --> 00:07:05,896 Hold still. 98 00:07:08,312 --> 00:07:09,479 Lay back. 99 00:07:09,562 --> 00:07:10,771 [grunts] 100 00:07:11,854 --> 00:07:13,729 Cigarette, please. 101 00:07:13,812 --> 00:07:15,729 Hermie, if a match gets anywhere near your breath, 102 00:07:15,812 --> 00:07:16,854 you'll burst into flames. 103 00:07:16,937 --> 00:07:19,687 Even the dog's name is awful. 104 00:07:19,771 --> 00:07:22,271 Sounds like a Japanese houseboy. 105 00:07:22,354 --> 00:07:24,146 You mark my words, Sara. 106 00:07:24,854 --> 00:07:28,729 The Wizard of Oz is gonna sink that studio. 107 00:07:28,812 --> 00:07:30,896 Sleep. You're driving to New York tomorrow. 108 00:07:30,979 --> 00:07:35,062 [exhales] Remember when you used to take the train 109 00:07:35,146 --> 00:07:36,521 from back East? 110 00:07:36,604 --> 00:07:40,812 I'd sneak aboard in Albuquerque and climb into your compartment naked. 111 00:07:40,896 --> 00:07:44,021 I also remember how I spent my honeymoon in Berlin, 112 00:07:44,104 --> 00:07:46,104 with hookers running up and down the stairs all night 113 00:07:46,187 --> 00:07:49,146 because my dashing correspondent couldn't afford a nice hotel. 114 00:07:49,229 --> 00:07:50,312 Weren't those the days? 115 00:07:50,396 --> 00:07:52,812 Yeah, yeah, and the nights weren't bad either. 116 00:07:53,562 --> 00:07:56,062 -[Mank] Schnutz. -For the last time, what? 117 00:07:56,146 --> 00:07:59,104 -What year is it? -Herman… 118 00:07:59,187 --> 00:08:02,729 -I should have done something by now. -Oh, Hermie… 119 00:08:02,812 --> 00:08:04,854 Give me a sign, oh, Lord. 120 00:08:04,937 --> 00:08:09,896 I am as your servant Moses, though I won't work half as cheap. 121 00:08:09,979 --> 00:08:11,479 Go to sleep, meshuggener. 122 00:08:14,729 --> 00:08:16,146 -[Mank] Schnutz? -What? 123 00:08:16,229 --> 00:08:18,062 Why do you put up with me? 124 00:08:20,604 --> 00:08:21,687 [sighing] I don't know. 125 00:08:22,187 --> 00:08:24,146 That bush in the front yard, 126 00:08:24,229 --> 00:08:28,771 if it catches fire tonight, you will let me know? [grunts] 127 00:08:31,521 --> 00:08:33,562 [man] I mean, you know all kinds of things. 128 00:08:33,646 --> 00:08:36,771 Iambic pentameter, the words of the great poets. 129 00:08:36,854 --> 00:08:40,021 What about the way she signed it? "Always, Ethel." [chuckles] 130 00:08:40,104 --> 00:08:43,896 Can you beat that? Not just "Ethel." "Always, Ethel." 131 00:08:43,979 --> 00:08:46,687 Tommy, if we can find civilization by sundown, 132 00:08:46,771 --> 00:08:49,812 I hope to climb out of this crate and into a cold martini. 133 00:08:49,896 --> 00:08:52,396 She's not the kind to use "always" if she didn't mean it. 134 00:08:52,479 --> 00:08:55,271 If she meant just "Ethel," she'd write just "Ethel," not "always." 135 00:08:55,354 --> 00:08:57,312 -Wouldn't you think? -Uh, the road, Tommy. 136 00:08:57,396 --> 00:08:58,229 I know. 137 00:08:58,979 --> 00:09:01,437 You read it and see what I mean. 138 00:09:03,604 --> 00:09:05,396 -[tires squeal] -[loud crash] 139 00:09:12,062 --> 00:09:14,354 [Tommy] She loves me, don't you think? 140 00:09:22,562 --> 00:09:24,771 [footsteps echoing] 141 00:09:25,854 --> 00:09:28,646 [unsettling music playing] 142 00:09:33,729 --> 00:09:37,396 [echoing] Mank? It's Orson Welles. 143 00:09:38,729 --> 00:09:42,896 -Of course it is. -[Welles] I think it's time we talked. 144 00:09:43,729 --> 00:09:45,771 I'm all ears. 145 00:09:45,854 --> 00:09:48,771 [Welles's laughter echoing] 146 00:09:52,562 --> 00:09:55,187 [Mank] Once a castle on a hill, 147 00:09:56,021 --> 00:09:58,854 now a memory of what once was. 148 00:09:59,812 --> 00:10:05,271 Alone in his unfinished, already decaying pleasure palace, 149 00:10:05,354 --> 00:10:09,229 aloof, seldom visited, never photographed, 150 00:10:10,146 --> 00:10:15,479 we see an old man in a robe, smoking a pipe, 151 00:10:15,562 --> 00:10:17,896 sitting alone by his pool… 152 00:10:17,979 --> 00:10:19,604 -[fly buzzing] -[Mank grunts] 153 00:10:19,687 --> 00:10:24,312 …um, uh, discarded pages scattered at his feet. 154 00:10:25,062 --> 00:10:26,229 Narrator, 155 00:10:27,021 --> 00:10:33,729 "An emperor of newsprint continued to direct his failing empire, 156 00:10:33,812 --> 00:10:36,687 vainly attempting to sway, as he once did, 157 00:10:36,771 --> 00:10:38,187 the destinies of a nation 158 00:10:38,271 --> 00:10:40,604 which had long since ceased to listen to him…" 159 00:10:41,104 --> 00:10:43,646 No. "Had ceased to trust him." 160 00:10:44,146 --> 00:10:49,146 We see through trees as an aide pushes this old man in a wheelchair 161 00:10:49,229 --> 00:10:51,937 across neatly groomed lawns. 162 00:10:52,021 --> 00:10:54,812 Narrator, "There, last month, 163 00:10:55,562 --> 00:10:59,396 as it must to all men, death came to--" 164 00:10:59,479 --> 00:11:01,062 -[thwacks] -[chuckles] 165 00:11:01,979 --> 00:11:04,312 -Let's have that cuppa, Mrs. A. -Oh. 166 00:11:12,104 --> 00:11:14,937 -I know who it is. -[Mank chuckles softly] 167 00:11:18,104 --> 00:11:20,854 [Rita] Or who it's meant to be. 168 00:11:22,521 --> 00:11:25,271 What makes you think it's meant to be anybody? 169 00:11:25,354 --> 00:11:26,354 Oh, come, now. 170 00:11:26,437 --> 00:11:29,187 Everyone in the English-speaking world will recognize him instantly. 171 00:11:29,271 --> 00:11:31,521 Exactly what he would say. 172 00:11:32,021 --> 00:11:34,354 -Did you know the man? -Maybe. 173 00:11:37,229 --> 00:11:38,104 I used to. 174 00:11:39,146 --> 00:11:41,854 -You wrote for one of his papers? -Oh, no, praise God. 175 00:11:41,937 --> 00:11:45,687 I met him after he started bankrolling his girlfriend's pictures. 176 00:11:47,187 --> 00:11:48,896 You knew Marion Davies? 177 00:11:49,646 --> 00:11:51,771 -If anyone did. -Really? 178 00:11:52,771 --> 00:11:54,021 What's she like? 179 00:11:54,104 --> 00:11:58,229 Why is it when you scratch a prim, starchy English schoolgirl, 180 00:11:58,312 --> 00:12:00,812 you get a swooning moving-picture fan 181 00:12:00,896 --> 00:12:03,812 who has forgotten all she ever learned about the Battle of Hastings? 182 00:12:03,896 --> 00:12:07,271 Hastings. 14 October 1066, 183 00:12:07,354 --> 00:12:08,812 ten centigrade. 184 00:12:12,896 --> 00:12:13,937 [typewriter dings] 185 00:12:19,146 --> 00:12:21,271 [upbeat music playing] 186 00:12:25,021 --> 00:12:27,021 [studio bell rings] 187 00:12:31,646 --> 00:12:32,687 [animal snarls] 188 00:12:33,854 --> 00:12:36,271 [imperceptible conversation] 189 00:12:43,937 --> 00:12:44,979 [Lederer] Mank? 190 00:12:45,854 --> 00:12:47,687 [toilet flushing] 191 00:12:51,104 --> 00:12:53,062 Sorry. Somebody told me Mankiewicz was in here. 192 00:12:53,146 --> 00:12:56,146 He is. I'm the promising brother, Joe. 193 00:12:56,979 --> 00:13:00,479 -I didn't know Herman had a brother. -Neither does anyone else. 194 00:13:01,062 --> 00:13:02,312 Let me guess. 195 00:13:02,396 --> 00:13:03,937 "There are millions to be made, 196 00:13:04,021 --> 00:13:06,729 and your only competition is idiots," stop. 197 00:13:07,437 --> 00:13:08,396 How did you know? 198 00:13:08,479 --> 00:13:11,062 I hate to tell you, anyone who can rub three words together 199 00:13:11,146 --> 00:13:13,021 and make a sentence gets one. 200 00:13:17,021 --> 00:13:17,937 Come on. 201 00:13:24,979 --> 00:13:28,396 It's after lunch, and we're on a deadline. He may be busy. 202 00:13:29,437 --> 00:13:32,771 -I promise I won't be a bother. -Not exactly what I meant. 203 00:13:32,854 --> 00:13:34,896 [men exclaiming] 204 00:13:38,146 --> 00:13:41,146 Come on! Hey. You know I'm good for it. 205 00:13:41,229 --> 00:13:44,312 -Fellas. -Shh. These are high stakes. 206 00:13:44,396 --> 00:13:45,354 [coin flipping] 207 00:13:45,937 --> 00:13:46,979 [man 1] Go on. 208 00:13:47,896 --> 00:13:51,187 -[laughing] Ooh, tails! That's it! -God damn it! 209 00:13:51,271 --> 00:13:53,937 -[man 2] Oh, Mank! -All right. Double or nothing. 210 00:13:54,021 --> 00:13:56,312 This time, banjo-eyed son of a bitch, let it hit the floor. 211 00:13:56,396 --> 00:13:57,896 -"Banjo-eyed." -[man 1] Son of a bitch? 212 00:13:57,979 --> 00:13:59,604 [man 2] Mank once bet me a five-spot 213 00:13:59,687 --> 00:14:02,646 to see how long it would take a falling leaf to hit the ground. 214 00:14:02,729 --> 00:14:05,896 -Had to go to management to cover it. -For five bucks? 215 00:14:05,979 --> 00:14:07,521 Five thousand. 216 00:14:07,604 --> 00:14:08,812 [Mank] Come on, come on. 217 00:14:09,479 --> 00:14:12,771 Heads, you bastard! 218 00:14:13,521 --> 00:14:15,271 [all] Oh! 219 00:14:15,354 --> 00:14:17,479 -[man 3] Oh, Mank! -[group chuckles] 220 00:14:17,562 --> 00:14:20,271 [man 1] Ooh! Pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen. 221 00:14:20,354 --> 00:14:22,146 Hey, Charlie. 222 00:14:22,229 --> 00:14:26,729 Yeah. You all remember the Algonquin cabin boy, Charlie Lederer, 223 00:14:26,812 --> 00:14:29,271 a poor but somewhat talented magazine writer, 224 00:14:29,354 --> 00:14:31,312 come West to join our merry band. 225 00:14:31,396 --> 00:14:33,604 -Well, you know most everyone. -Mr. Kaufman. 226 00:14:33,687 --> 00:14:34,854 George is fine, kid. 227 00:14:34,937 --> 00:14:36,521 -Mr. Perelman. -Nice to meet you, son. 228 00:14:36,604 --> 00:14:38,062 Do you prefer Sidney or SJ? 229 00:14:38,146 --> 00:14:41,146 Uh, he takes what he gets. The great Charles MacArthur. 230 00:14:41,229 --> 00:14:42,771 [Lederer] Good to see you again. 231 00:14:42,854 --> 00:14:45,271 My resident jack-of-all-trades, Shelly Metcalf. 232 00:14:45,354 --> 00:14:46,646 -Hey, kid. -Mr. Metcalf. 233 00:14:46,729 --> 00:14:48,687 Oh, save the "mister" for the anointed. 234 00:14:48,771 --> 00:14:50,812 And last, not yet among them, my brother Joe. 235 00:14:50,896 --> 00:14:54,812 Have Cyclone say, "I don't mind the heat as much as I do the humanity." 236 00:14:54,896 --> 00:14:58,604 And the one and only Ben Hecht. 237 00:14:58,687 --> 00:15:00,062 Have you been laid yet? 238 00:15:00,146 --> 00:15:01,146 [all snickering] 239 00:15:01,229 --> 00:15:03,104 [Perelman] Do you have to think about that? 240 00:15:03,187 --> 00:15:05,604 [telephone ringing] 241 00:15:06,354 --> 00:15:07,229 Hello. 242 00:15:07,896 --> 00:15:09,979 Yeah. Right away. 243 00:15:10,687 --> 00:15:13,271 Selznick, everyone. Five minutes. 244 00:15:13,354 --> 00:15:15,229 [Mank] You've arrived in the well-known nick. 245 00:15:15,312 --> 00:15:18,729 Just in time for a story conference with the great David O. 246 00:15:18,812 --> 00:15:22,354 -Once more unto the breach… -[Kaufman] Breach? Hell, unto the wire… 247 00:15:22,437 --> 00:15:23,562 Without a net. 248 00:15:23,646 --> 00:15:26,271 Keep your mouth shut and watch us for your cue, okay? 249 00:15:26,354 --> 00:15:27,687 -Cue? -[Mank sighs] 250 00:15:27,771 --> 00:15:31,854 What I wouldn't give to see that in a tight sweater. 251 00:15:31,937 --> 00:15:33,687 Herm, can I use that? 252 00:15:35,229 --> 00:15:38,312 I need a status report. Boys, come on in. 253 00:15:41,104 --> 00:15:43,437 Ah, make yourselves at home. 254 00:15:45,729 --> 00:15:47,854 Now, you all know Joe von Sternberg. 255 00:15:48,604 --> 00:15:53,062 You wanted 72 hours, you got 72 hours. Tell us what you have so far. 256 00:15:55,312 --> 00:16:00,271 -Ben, why don't you start? -Well, this was tough, David. 257 00:16:00,354 --> 00:16:03,187 In the beginning, we couldn't agree on an approach. 258 00:16:03,271 --> 00:16:04,354 Really? And why was that? 259 00:16:04,437 --> 00:16:08,312 Well, we see a different kind of Paramount picture. 260 00:16:08,396 --> 00:16:09,854 [Selznick] Different how? 261 00:16:10,354 --> 00:16:13,771 Frankenstein and The Wolf Man all rolled into one, only-- 262 00:16:13,854 --> 00:16:15,854 I don't make cheap horror pictures, Universal does. 263 00:16:15,937 --> 00:16:20,229 Uh, this is different. This is about something. 264 00:16:21,687 --> 00:16:22,646 Okay… 265 00:16:23,271 --> 00:16:24,521 Sidney. 266 00:16:26,312 --> 00:16:28,896 Imagine a mad scientist, 267 00:16:28,979 --> 00:16:33,687 touring the boonies with a mechanical freak he's fabricated. 268 00:16:33,771 --> 00:16:35,229 Now, what does he mean, "fabricated"? 269 00:16:35,312 --> 00:16:40,771 And displays it to superstitious hayseeds in a giant, silk-lined casket 270 00:16:41,271 --> 00:16:42,604 for the price of admission. 271 00:16:43,104 --> 00:16:48,896 But every full moon, the monster awakens and raises unholy hell with the villagers. 272 00:16:48,979 --> 00:16:50,937 Give it a Eastern European look, 273 00:16:51,021 --> 00:16:53,896 men in leather shorts, gals in tattered peasant blouses. 274 00:16:53,979 --> 00:16:57,146 -Let me guess. They think it's the devil? -Villagers always think it's the devil. 275 00:16:57,229 --> 00:17:00,312 And the scientist and his creation are forced to flee 276 00:17:00,396 --> 00:17:02,062 during a raging electrical storm. 277 00:17:02,146 --> 00:17:04,562 Flee from outraged peasants… 278 00:17:04,646 --> 00:17:06,187 Who pursue them mit torches… 279 00:17:06,271 --> 00:17:08,021 Overturn their creaky wagon… 280 00:17:08,104 --> 00:17:09,396 And set fire to it. 281 00:17:10,771 --> 00:17:14,229 Tell him about the finale, Charlie. 282 00:17:16,646 --> 00:17:17,562 Oh. 283 00:17:19,896 --> 00:17:20,771 Well… 284 00:17:21,979 --> 00:17:24,521 the rain turns to sleet, 285 00:17:25,104 --> 00:17:29,104 puts out the fire, and entombs the monster in solid ice. 286 00:17:31,271 --> 00:17:35,604 While nearby, an old priest weeps. 287 00:17:37,271 --> 00:17:40,146 Hmm. A weeping priest? 288 00:17:40,229 --> 00:17:44,646 Thunder, lightning, blood, fire, religion… 289 00:17:44,729 --> 00:17:45,562 All in one film? 290 00:17:45,646 --> 00:17:47,521 And with an unseasonal thaw… 291 00:17:48,354 --> 00:17:49,479 a sequel. 292 00:17:49,979 --> 00:17:52,854 I thought you said this was about something, this was different. 293 00:17:52,937 --> 00:17:55,937 Plus, the ominous futility of man playing God. 294 00:17:56,021 --> 00:17:58,937 The Faustian bargain of life everlasting. 295 00:17:59,021 --> 00:18:00,604 And the triumph of the human spirit 296 00:18:00,687 --> 00:18:04,229 over the beast incarnate in our far-too-solid flesh. 297 00:18:05,312 --> 00:18:06,521 It's director-proof. 298 00:18:06,604 --> 00:18:07,604 Joe. 299 00:18:08,396 --> 00:18:09,812 -B picture. -It's not for Joe. 300 00:18:09,896 --> 00:18:12,979 Boys, this is serious. We need your help. 301 00:18:13,062 --> 00:18:15,271 We've got to get people into theaters, but… 302 00:18:16,729 --> 00:18:17,604 how? 303 00:18:22,104 --> 00:18:24,854 -Show movies in the streets. -[clicks tongue] 304 00:18:26,729 --> 00:18:28,187 [energetic music playing] 305 00:18:28,271 --> 00:18:29,521 You okay, Charlie? 306 00:18:30,021 --> 00:18:31,854 Taken care of this weekend? 307 00:18:31,937 --> 00:18:34,979 -I'm going to see my aunt. -Oh, that sounds like fun. 308 00:18:35,062 --> 00:18:38,854 You obviously don't know my aunt. If you're not doing anything, come along. 309 00:18:38,937 --> 00:18:40,229 Careful, I just might. 310 00:18:40,896 --> 00:18:43,854 Glendale station at 7:00. Bring Sara if you like. 311 00:18:43,937 --> 00:18:46,396 -Who? -Sara, isn't that your wife? 312 00:18:46,479 --> 00:18:48,979 Oh, you mean Poor Sara. 313 00:18:49,062 --> 00:18:51,187 No, she and the kids are back East. 314 00:18:57,146 --> 00:18:59,021 [car horn tooting] 315 00:18:59,604 --> 00:19:01,687 [crowd clamoring] 316 00:19:11,479 --> 00:19:12,479 [Lederer] Herman. 317 00:19:15,979 --> 00:19:16,979 Herman. 318 00:19:22,979 --> 00:19:25,187 -Herman! -[Mank slurring] Charlie! 319 00:19:33,562 --> 00:19:36,021 -[woman screaming] -[gasps] 320 00:19:38,687 --> 00:19:39,854 [birds singing outside] 321 00:19:40,729 --> 00:19:41,729 [Mank grunts softly] 322 00:20:02,354 --> 00:20:03,354 [Mank] Ah. 323 00:20:05,062 --> 00:20:07,729 [man whistling] 324 00:20:12,229 --> 00:20:14,521 [exhales, sniffles] 325 00:20:15,854 --> 00:20:17,771 [birds squawking] 326 00:20:19,104 --> 00:20:21,396 [woman screaming] 327 00:20:29,437 --> 00:20:32,479 [indistinct chatter] 328 00:20:32,562 --> 00:20:34,021 [men vocalizing and chanting] 329 00:20:34,104 --> 00:20:37,479 [woman continues screaming] 330 00:20:38,604 --> 00:20:40,979 [director] Cut! Next setup, please. 331 00:20:43,312 --> 00:20:45,187 [indistinct chatter] 332 00:20:45,271 --> 00:20:47,271 [big band music playing on phonograph] 333 00:20:49,062 --> 00:20:50,729 What is Mank doing here? 334 00:20:51,646 --> 00:20:53,396 -Who? -Herman Mankiewicz. 335 00:20:55,396 --> 00:20:58,187 -Do I know him? -He wrote one of our Lon Chaneys. 336 00:20:58,271 --> 00:20:59,562 -Ah. -Mank! 337 00:21:01,812 --> 00:21:05,896 -Thalberg, the boy genius. -I am shocked to see you here. 338 00:21:05,979 --> 00:21:10,854 I'd be shocked to see me here, too, Irving, if only I knew where here was. 339 00:21:10,937 --> 00:21:13,687 -You wrote one of our Lon Chaneys. -[Mank] Among many. 340 00:21:13,771 --> 00:21:15,271 -Pictures? -Writers. 341 00:21:15,354 --> 00:21:19,354 -At MGM, movies are a team sport. -Which may be why I'm at Paramount. 342 00:21:19,437 --> 00:21:22,104 Since when don't Paramount use writers by the truckload? 343 00:21:22,187 --> 00:21:24,562 But all at once, not in relays. 344 00:21:24,646 --> 00:21:26,146 Helps spread the blame around. 345 00:21:26,229 --> 00:21:28,271 You remember our chairman, Louis B. Mayer? 346 00:21:28,354 --> 00:21:29,771 By reputation only. 347 00:21:29,854 --> 00:21:32,562 -Long night? -A short one. Plagued by spirits. 348 00:21:33,562 --> 00:21:36,396 A hell of a way to spend the Sabbath, fellas. 349 00:21:36,479 --> 00:21:38,021 Here in support of a friend. 350 00:21:38,104 --> 00:21:41,229 His leading lady is making a mid-career adjustment. 351 00:21:41,312 --> 00:21:45,062 Ah, I'm on my way over. Any notes from the oversight tent? 352 00:21:49,687 --> 00:21:51,771 -Who was that again? -Just a writer. 353 00:21:54,771 --> 00:21:57,187 Slumming on a Saturday, Mr. Metcalf? 354 00:21:57,271 --> 00:21:59,937 [chuckling] Mank. No, sir, helping out on B camera. 355 00:22:00,021 --> 00:22:02,771 It's a home movie, but his idea of a home movie. 356 00:22:02,854 --> 00:22:03,937 I know you. 357 00:22:04,729 --> 00:22:06,812 [Mank] Well, what's at stake here? 358 00:22:07,562 --> 00:22:11,271 We met at John Gilbert's birthday. You're Herman Mankiewicz. 359 00:22:11,354 --> 00:22:12,229 Guilty. 360 00:22:13,104 --> 00:22:15,229 And I remember you, Miss Davies. 361 00:22:15,896 --> 00:22:20,354 Regaling us with stories about dodging trolley cars in Brooklyn. 362 00:22:21,562 --> 00:22:25,021 -Your Flatbush was showing. -[gasps] 363 00:22:26,604 --> 00:22:29,937 You fractured Wally Beery's wrist Indian wrestling. 364 00:22:30,021 --> 00:22:31,146 Admittedly, a lucky break. 365 00:22:31,229 --> 00:22:33,937 Boy, was he surprised. You're stronger than you look. 366 00:22:34,021 --> 00:22:36,521 And from what I understand, you're smarter. 367 00:22:37,604 --> 00:22:39,521 That was a compliment. 368 00:22:39,604 --> 00:22:42,146 -See what I mean? -[Marion laughing] You are interesting. 369 00:22:42,229 --> 00:22:43,104 I need a favor, 370 00:22:43,187 --> 00:22:45,229 but you're gonna have to promise you won't laugh. 371 00:22:45,312 --> 00:22:47,521 Given the state of the world, a tall order. 372 00:22:47,604 --> 00:22:48,937 You're gonna. I just know you are. 373 00:22:49,021 --> 00:22:54,104 I have got such a hangover right now, there's just a fighting chance I won't. 374 00:22:54,187 --> 00:22:57,604 I'm being burned at the stake, and I am dying for a ciggie-boo. 375 00:22:57,687 --> 00:23:00,437 -[both laugh] -There. God's punishing you. 376 00:23:00,521 --> 00:23:02,729 [wood creaking] 377 00:23:02,812 --> 00:23:05,062 Watch those stairs. They're treacherous. 378 00:23:05,729 --> 00:23:08,146 [Mank] Every moment of my life is treacherous. 379 00:23:10,771 --> 00:23:12,229 Any last words? 380 00:23:12,937 --> 00:23:14,604 Welcome to San Simeon. 381 00:23:15,812 --> 00:23:16,646 I've written worse. 382 00:23:16,729 --> 00:23:20,687 -[Marion] You've never seen it? -No, but George Bernard Shaw was right. 383 00:23:21,771 --> 00:23:22,771 How's that? 384 00:23:23,396 --> 00:23:26,062 "It's what God might've built had he had the money." 385 00:23:26,604 --> 00:23:30,604 Well, as they say in the Bronx, "Make yourself to home," Mr. Mankiewicz. 386 00:23:30,687 --> 00:23:33,979 -Or shall I call you Herman? -No. Please, call me Mank. 387 00:23:34,062 --> 00:23:36,271 -Good morning, Charles. -Charlie. 388 00:23:36,354 --> 00:23:39,437 -Aunt Marion. Mank. -[Marion] You sleep well? 389 00:23:40,146 --> 00:23:42,104 Until your rather dramatic wake-up call. 390 00:23:42,187 --> 00:23:46,479 This is all Pops's idea. He wants me ready to take on the talkies. 391 00:23:46,562 --> 00:23:47,812 [director] First positions! 392 00:23:48,521 --> 00:23:49,937 Riders, ready! 393 00:23:51,021 --> 00:23:52,146 Rolling! 394 00:23:52,937 --> 00:23:55,354 -Speed. -[crew member 1] Speed! Action! 395 00:23:56,229 --> 00:23:57,854 [guns firing] 396 00:24:01,187 --> 00:24:03,187 [energetic instrumental music playing] 397 00:24:05,896 --> 00:24:09,562 Help! Please! Someone save me! 398 00:24:10,146 --> 00:24:11,146 [crew member 2 coughs] 399 00:24:13,312 --> 00:24:14,312 [crew member 3] Cut! 400 00:24:14,396 --> 00:24:15,687 [coughs] 401 00:24:21,854 --> 00:24:23,896 [horse whinnies] 402 00:24:24,521 --> 00:24:28,979 [Marion] Pops, this is Herman Mankiewicz, but we have to call him Mank. 403 00:24:29,479 --> 00:24:30,479 Mankiewicz? 404 00:24:31,729 --> 00:24:35,479 Herman Mankiewicz, New York playwright and drama critic? 405 00:24:35,562 --> 00:24:38,271 Turned humble screenwriter, Mr. Hearst. 406 00:24:38,354 --> 00:24:41,479 [Hearst] Why, no need to be humble, Mr. Mankiewicz. 407 00:24:41,562 --> 00:24:43,146 Pictures that talk are the future. 408 00:24:43,229 --> 00:24:46,437 They're gonna need people who honor words, give them voice. 409 00:24:46,521 --> 00:24:50,979 There's a golden age coming when all the world will be a stage, 410 00:24:51,479 --> 00:24:53,187 and you, perhaps, their Shakespeare. 411 00:24:53,271 --> 00:24:55,062 [Mank] Oh, I wouldn't have thought 412 00:24:55,146 --> 00:24:57,354 you'd be that keenly interested in the honoring of words. 413 00:24:57,437 --> 00:24:59,437 -[Marion laughs] -What's so funny? 414 00:25:00,562 --> 00:25:04,604 I'm just surprised that a vaunted muckraker like yourself 415 00:25:04,687 --> 00:25:07,979 sees Hollywood's future as such a shiny penny. 416 00:25:08,479 --> 00:25:09,437 [director] Back to one. 417 00:25:09,521 --> 00:25:11,521 Times are changing, Mr. Mankiewicz, 418 00:25:12,146 --> 00:25:14,437 and I'm not just referring to this Depression. 419 00:25:14,521 --> 00:25:15,396 All that bother. 420 00:25:15,479 --> 00:25:16,896 [Hearst] And when all this is over, 421 00:25:16,979 --> 00:25:20,271 picture-makers are gonna have to service this new entertainment. 422 00:25:21,062 --> 00:25:24,896 I intend to make pictures with the help of real literary minds. 423 00:25:24,979 --> 00:25:26,229 Mm, I support that. 424 00:25:26,312 --> 00:25:30,979 Instead, what do most studios give us? Gangster flicks, zanies. 425 00:25:31,062 --> 00:25:32,062 [Mank] Too true. 426 00:25:32,146 --> 00:25:35,146 Now, how many gangsters do Americans meet in a lifetime? 427 00:25:35,729 --> 00:25:38,104 How many families are like the Marx Brothers? 428 00:25:38,187 --> 00:25:39,646 You mean besides my own? 429 00:25:39,729 --> 00:25:40,771 [Hearst laughs] 430 00:25:40,854 --> 00:25:44,729 Very good. Have him seated next to me. 431 00:25:44,812 --> 00:25:47,604 [energetic music resumes playing] 432 00:25:48,687 --> 00:25:51,521 Miss Davies, Mr. Hearst would like Mr. Mankiewicz seated 433 00:25:51,604 --> 00:25:52,854 to his left at dinner. 434 00:25:54,604 --> 00:25:57,146 Oh, Pops likes you. 435 00:26:10,187 --> 00:26:11,687 [Mank sighs deeply] 436 00:26:12,687 --> 00:26:14,771 Why is it when Houseman edits, 437 00:26:14,854 --> 00:26:18,896 everyone ends up speaking like a constipated Oxford don? 438 00:26:18,979 --> 00:26:20,729 [telephone rings] 439 00:26:23,896 --> 00:26:25,604 -Hello? -[indistinct chatter on phone] 440 00:26:25,687 --> 00:26:28,396 Yes, he is. No, not at all. 441 00:26:28,479 --> 00:26:30,479 Please hold on. It's Poor Sa-- [gasps] 442 00:26:31,437 --> 00:26:33,646 I'm sorry. It's your wife. 443 00:26:40,479 --> 00:26:42,354 -Schnutz. -[Sara] I heard that. 444 00:26:42,437 --> 00:26:43,271 Hermie, 445 00:26:43,354 --> 00:26:44,687 Joe called four times in the last three days. 446 00:26:44,771 --> 00:26:47,396 -He wants your number up there. -[Mank] So give it to him. 447 00:26:47,479 --> 00:26:48,729 -[clattering] -Knock it off! 448 00:26:48,812 --> 00:26:49,937 [children laughing] 449 00:26:50,021 --> 00:26:51,229 The boys are remodeling. 450 00:26:51,312 --> 00:26:54,146 He seemed concerned about something. Is everything okay? 451 00:26:54,229 --> 00:26:56,562 If I could swim, I'd be doing swimmingly. 452 00:26:56,646 --> 00:26:58,021 And don't mind Joe. 453 00:26:58,104 --> 00:27:02,437 -He's a worrisome old woman in disguise. -Well, he wants to offer you work. 454 00:27:02,521 --> 00:27:04,729 Baby Joe offering me? 455 00:27:05,687 --> 00:27:08,896 [scoffs] Well, if he calls again, give him this number, Schnutz. 456 00:27:08,979 --> 00:27:11,646 -I've gotta run. Kiss the offspring. -[kisses] 457 00:27:16,896 --> 00:27:18,521 [in British accent] I say… 458 00:27:19,271 --> 00:27:21,937 a letter from the gallant "leftenant"? 459 00:27:22,896 --> 00:27:25,479 [in normal voice] Now, let's hope it makes more sense than the last. 460 00:27:25,562 --> 00:27:27,812 Fighters off the decks of aircraft carriers. 461 00:27:27,896 --> 00:27:30,562 -Whoever had that idea? -It's not good? 462 00:27:30,646 --> 00:27:31,771 [Mank] Not good? 463 00:27:31,854 --> 00:27:34,229 German U-boats are starting to hunt in packs, 464 00:27:34,312 --> 00:27:38,521 and a Stuka dive-bomber can drop one down your stack from 500 feet. 465 00:27:39,104 --> 00:27:42,354 [in British accent] What's our valiant laddie have to say for the cause-- 466 00:27:43,729 --> 00:27:44,896 [door opens] 467 00:27:57,396 --> 00:27:58,896 It's not from her husband. 468 00:28:00,729 --> 00:28:02,354 His ship's been sunk off Norway. 469 00:28:03,062 --> 00:28:04,729 Presumed lost at sea. 470 00:28:05,604 --> 00:28:06,604 [sighs] 471 00:28:07,396 --> 00:28:10,187 Always the smartest guy in the room. 472 00:28:12,521 --> 00:28:13,604 [exhales] 473 00:28:13,687 --> 00:28:17,062 [jazz music playing on radio] 474 00:28:17,896 --> 00:28:21,312 [woman singing on radio] 475 00:28:22,729 --> 00:28:25,021 [owl hooting outside] 476 00:28:37,312 --> 00:28:38,354 You're right, of course. 477 00:28:38,437 --> 00:28:42,437 Aircraft carriers are a shitty idea, but I don't appreciate the callousness. 478 00:28:43,687 --> 00:28:45,396 I expect more of you. 479 00:28:48,271 --> 00:28:52,812 "Presumed" means they don't know, so I choose to believe he's alive until… 480 00:28:55,312 --> 00:28:56,312 Mank. 481 00:28:58,854 --> 00:28:59,771 Mank! 482 00:29:01,104 --> 00:29:02,437 -Mr. Mankiewicz? -[thuds] 483 00:29:22,479 --> 00:29:24,562 He's all right. Just sleeping. 484 00:29:25,271 --> 00:29:26,104 Well… 485 00:29:27,021 --> 00:29:27,979 I shouldn't wonder. 486 00:29:28,062 --> 00:29:31,687 There's enough Seconal in those bottles to bring down a bull elephant in heat. 487 00:29:34,604 --> 00:29:37,021 Young Orson doesn't believe in chance. 488 00:29:43,729 --> 00:29:45,687 [snoring] 489 00:29:51,062 --> 00:29:52,146 [grunts] 490 00:29:56,396 --> 00:29:57,812 [indistinct conversation] 491 00:30:01,729 --> 00:30:05,021 [Mank] Houseman, you sly thing. You slipped me a Mickey. 492 00:30:05,104 --> 00:30:06,062 So we did. 493 00:30:06,562 --> 00:30:08,979 How you managed to reach it so early in your rehabilitation, 494 00:30:09,062 --> 00:30:09,896 I cannot imagine. 495 00:30:09,979 --> 00:30:11,354 How was it? Mother's milk? 496 00:30:11,437 --> 00:30:15,437 On balance, better than nothing. I plan to use it as a nightcap. 497 00:30:15,521 --> 00:30:17,771 As you Yanks say, "He went out like a light." 498 00:30:17,854 --> 00:30:22,521 I couldn't have put it better myself, which may be why I write for the movies. 499 00:30:22,604 --> 00:30:24,021 Will you stop? 500 00:30:24,104 --> 00:30:26,521 You write for the movies because you're super at it. 501 00:30:26,604 --> 00:30:29,729 Excuse me, you two, I've masses of typing to do. 502 00:30:31,854 --> 00:30:33,271 [Houseman] Seventy-six pages. 503 00:30:33,354 --> 00:30:35,854 By the time she translates your red chicken scratches, 504 00:30:35,937 --> 00:30:37,271 it'll be less than 40. 505 00:30:37,354 --> 00:30:38,854 At this rate, you'll never finish. 506 00:30:38,937 --> 00:30:41,604 What I wanna know is what you think of it. 507 00:30:41,687 --> 00:30:44,229 [Houseman] The writing is first-rate, but you know that. 508 00:30:44,312 --> 00:30:45,187 His lust for power, 509 00:30:45,271 --> 00:30:47,229 your exquisite evocation of his hunger for love 510 00:30:47,312 --> 00:30:49,187 from those who fear his worst side, but-- 511 00:30:49,271 --> 00:30:51,396 The dreaded yet foreseeable "but." 512 00:30:51,479 --> 00:30:54,562 You're asking a lot of a motion picture audience. 513 00:30:54,646 --> 00:30:57,604 -All in all, it's a bit of a jumble. -Did you say "jumble" or "jungle"? 514 00:30:57,687 --> 00:30:59,312 [Houseman] A hodgepodge of talky episodes. 515 00:30:59,396 --> 00:31:01,771 A collection of fragments that leap around in time, 516 00:31:01,854 --> 00:31:03,479 like Mexican jumping beans. 517 00:31:03,562 --> 00:31:05,104 Welcome to my mind, Old Sock. 518 00:31:05,187 --> 00:31:08,271 The story is so scattered, I'm afraid one will need a road map. 519 00:31:08,354 --> 00:31:09,354 You mean it's a mess. 520 00:31:09,437 --> 00:31:11,271 Would you consider simplifying? 521 00:31:11,354 --> 00:31:13,021 [Mank] As Pascal once said, 522 00:31:13,104 --> 00:31:16,521 "If only I'd had more time, I would have written a shorter letter." 523 00:31:16,604 --> 00:31:19,187 All I am saying is no one can write like that. 524 00:31:19,271 --> 00:31:22,812 But I can write like that, Houseman. I have. 525 00:31:22,896 --> 00:31:26,937 The narrative is one big circle, like a cinnamon roll, 526 00:31:27,437 --> 00:31:30,812 not a straight line pointing to the nearest exit. 527 00:31:30,896 --> 00:31:34,396 You cannot capture a man's entire life in two hours. 528 00:31:34,479 --> 00:31:36,937 All you can hope is to leave the impression of one. 529 00:31:37,021 --> 00:31:38,812 [Houseman] But nobody expects Shakespeare. 530 00:31:38,896 --> 00:31:42,812 People aren't spending their hard-earned 25 cents to see Macbeth. 531 00:31:42,896 --> 00:31:45,187 Maestro the Dog-Faced Boy did Macbeth. 532 00:31:45,271 --> 00:31:48,354 Voodoo Macbeth. Don't be fooled. He's a showman. 533 00:31:48,437 --> 00:31:50,604 Busker reveling in sleight of hand. 534 00:31:51,104 --> 00:31:53,229 Save yourself the trouble, be done in 60 days. 535 00:31:53,312 --> 00:31:55,854 He'll get this, and the audience will too. 536 00:31:55,937 --> 00:31:58,146 Stop worrying. Have a pickle. 537 00:31:58,229 --> 00:31:59,896 No, thank you. I'm not hungry. 538 00:32:00,437 --> 00:32:02,271 Haven't been since we got here. 539 00:32:03,729 --> 00:32:04,562 Cheerio. 540 00:32:07,937 --> 00:32:10,937 Write hard. Aim low. 541 00:32:11,437 --> 00:32:12,271 [laughs dryly] 542 00:32:13,521 --> 00:32:14,979 [door closes] 543 00:32:18,687 --> 00:32:19,979 Where were we, chief? 544 00:32:20,854 --> 00:32:22,146 [Rita] What are you gonna do? 545 00:32:22,229 --> 00:32:23,979 -[sighs] About what? -[Rita] He's right. 546 00:32:24,062 --> 00:32:25,812 You won't be done till Christmas. 547 00:32:25,896 --> 00:32:28,062 -What? -[Rita] You made a promise. 548 00:32:28,146 --> 00:32:30,896 -I did what? -Sixty days is two weeks from now. 549 00:32:30,979 --> 00:32:32,687 [car engine starts] 550 00:32:32,771 --> 00:32:34,312 Where were we? 551 00:32:39,187 --> 00:32:42,271 Bernstein's speech, the young woman on the ferry boat. 552 00:32:42,771 --> 00:32:44,687 Read it back, please. 553 00:32:46,062 --> 00:32:49,729 "A white dress she had on, and she was carrying a white parasol, 554 00:32:50,687 --> 00:32:55,021 and I only saw her for one second, and she didn't see me at all." 555 00:32:56,146 --> 00:33:00,896 "But I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that girl." 556 00:33:02,771 --> 00:33:04,854 A snapshot from the Mankiewicz family album? 557 00:33:04,937 --> 00:33:06,187 You might say that. 558 00:33:07,729 --> 00:33:09,771 It really is a gorgeous-- 559 00:33:09,854 --> 00:33:11,396 Spot to get stuck? 560 00:33:14,687 --> 00:33:16,479 Is Bernstein meant to be Louis Mayer? 561 00:33:17,062 --> 00:33:18,687 If form follows function. 562 00:33:18,771 --> 00:33:22,437 Mayer is the same pathetic sort of lap dog to our Charles Foster? 563 00:33:22,521 --> 00:33:25,021 Bernstein is a far nicer character. 564 00:33:25,104 --> 00:33:27,146 You don't much like Mayer. 565 00:33:27,229 --> 00:33:32,604 If I ever go to the electric chair, I'd like him to be sitting in my lap. 566 00:33:33,646 --> 00:33:34,646 [gasps] 567 00:33:38,104 --> 00:33:41,062 $750 a week? That's half what you make, Herman. 568 00:33:41,146 --> 00:33:43,646 -You're a junior writer, Joe. -So? 569 00:33:43,729 --> 00:33:46,187 So, you're only half the wit your big brother is. 570 00:33:46,271 --> 00:33:49,646 -How many half-wits make that? -Herm, how do I look? 571 00:33:50,312 --> 00:33:54,312 -You look like you. Fine. -[sighs] What should I be expecting? 572 00:33:54,396 --> 00:33:57,937 You're related to me. He already thinks you're a genius. 573 00:33:58,021 --> 00:33:59,021 Enough. 574 00:33:59,521 --> 00:34:02,229 [Mank] The job will be yours if you can do two things. 575 00:34:02,312 --> 00:34:06,146 One, don't roll your eyes. Two, try not to fall asleep. 576 00:34:06,812 --> 00:34:08,229 [Mayer] This isn't Gower Gulch. 577 00:34:08,312 --> 00:34:10,646 You want I should make a picture about a prostitute? 578 00:34:10,729 --> 00:34:11,854 [Gilbert] What's wrong? 579 00:34:11,937 --> 00:34:13,771 My mother was nothing but a whore. [grunts] 580 00:34:13,854 --> 00:34:16,437 [Mayer] You would talk about your own mother that way? 581 00:34:16,521 --> 00:34:19,104 The woman who gave you life? 582 00:34:19,187 --> 00:34:21,937 You ungrateful bastard! I ought to cut your balls off! 583 00:34:22,021 --> 00:34:25,604 Do it, you fucking junk dealer! I'll still be the better man! 584 00:34:29,354 --> 00:34:31,979 L.B., this is my brother, Joe. 585 00:34:32,062 --> 00:34:34,479 Nice to meet you, Joseph. I'm Louis Mayer. 586 00:34:34,562 --> 00:34:37,104 I can't tell you what this means to him, Louis. 587 00:34:37,604 --> 00:34:41,271 -They're all there, Mr. Mayer. -On my way. Joe, walk with me. 588 00:34:47,521 --> 00:34:50,312 My boy, there are three work rules at this studio. 589 00:34:50,396 --> 00:34:53,937 Rule number one. Ars gratia artis, art for art's sake. 590 00:34:54,021 --> 00:34:54,937 How you doing? 591 00:34:55,021 --> 00:34:58,646 One million dollars a year we spend on stories we never even film. 592 00:34:58,729 --> 00:35:02,354 Why not? I'll tell you. They don't make me cry. 593 00:35:02,437 --> 00:35:04,812 What makes me cry? Emotion. 594 00:35:04,896 --> 00:35:06,979 Where do I feel emotion? 595 00:35:07,062 --> 00:35:09,604 Here, here, and here. 596 00:35:09,687 --> 00:35:10,854 Rule number two. 597 00:35:10,937 --> 00:35:14,021 You may have heard MGM has more stars than there are in the heavens. 598 00:35:14,104 --> 00:35:15,354 Do not believe this. 599 00:35:15,437 --> 00:35:19,271 Hiya. We have only one star. That is Leo the Lion. 600 00:35:19,354 --> 00:35:20,646 Never forget that. 601 00:35:20,729 --> 00:35:23,771 Many stars have, and now they twinkle elsewhere. 602 00:35:23,854 --> 00:35:24,729 Rule number three. 603 00:35:24,812 --> 00:35:28,354 People think MGM stands for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 604 00:35:28,437 --> 00:35:29,646 It does not. 605 00:35:29,729 --> 00:35:34,396 It stands for Mayer's gantze mishpokhe, Mayer's whole family. 606 00:35:34,479 --> 00:35:35,729 Never forget that. 607 00:35:35,812 --> 00:35:37,812 You got a problem, come to Papa. 608 00:35:38,479 --> 00:35:42,687 This is a business where the buyer gets nothing for his money but a memory. 609 00:35:42,771 --> 00:35:45,562 What he bought still belongs to the man who sold it. 610 00:35:45,646 --> 00:35:49,396 That's the real magic of the movies, and don't let anybody tell you different. 611 00:35:49,479 --> 00:35:50,604 [studio bell rings] 612 00:35:53,521 --> 00:35:55,271 [crowd murmuring] 613 00:36:04,187 --> 00:36:08,271 [applause] 614 00:36:11,729 --> 00:36:17,562 I find myself in a horrendous position, and I come to all of you on bended knee. 615 00:36:19,479 --> 00:36:22,521 We are suffering, as all Americans are, 616 00:36:22,604 --> 00:36:25,021 from our country's terrible economic woes. 617 00:36:25,812 --> 00:36:29,146 Good people, everyday people, can't afford to go to the movies. 618 00:36:29,229 --> 00:36:33,146 So even our preeminent dream factory… 619 00:36:34,312 --> 00:36:36,896 is in grave financial difficulty. 620 00:36:36,979 --> 00:36:38,854 [crowd murmuring] 621 00:36:38,937 --> 00:36:44,521 I am asking everyone in the MGM family to take a painful step. 622 00:36:45,354 --> 00:36:48,896 -I am asking to roll back salaries. -[crowd grumbling] 623 00:36:48,979 --> 00:36:50,729 [Mayer] I don't want to, 624 00:36:50,812 --> 00:36:55,646 but for this hallowed place to continue to exist, I am forced to. 625 00:36:56,271 --> 00:37:00,437 I won't break up this family over something like money. 626 00:37:01,146 --> 00:37:03,646 -How long are you asking for? -Shouldn't be long. 627 00:37:04,229 --> 00:37:05,979 -How much are you asking for? -[Mayer] Half. 628 00:37:06,479 --> 00:37:07,854 -[worker 1] Half? -Could be less. 629 00:37:07,937 --> 00:37:10,312 Is everybody going to be pitching in? Are you, Mr. Mayer? 630 00:37:10,396 --> 00:37:13,979 Real families root for each other in the good times, 631 00:37:14,062 --> 00:37:17,146 take care of each other in tough ones. 632 00:37:18,021 --> 00:37:19,021 We're with you, L.B. 633 00:37:19,104 --> 00:37:20,562 You may be, Mr. Barrymore, 634 00:37:20,646 --> 00:37:23,104 but a 50% pay cut for grips and electricians-- 635 00:37:23,187 --> 00:37:26,396 Eight weeks, my friends, eight short weeks. 636 00:37:26,479 --> 00:37:31,146 As soon as FDR reopens the banks, you'll get back every penny. 637 00:37:31,229 --> 00:37:36,562 On that, you have the sacred word of L.B. Mayer. 638 00:37:44,354 --> 00:37:45,604 Well, I vote yes. 639 00:37:47,812 --> 00:37:50,396 -I do as well. -Me too. 640 00:37:50,479 --> 00:37:51,771 [all chuckling] 641 00:37:51,854 --> 00:37:53,437 [crowd murmuring] 642 00:37:58,562 --> 00:37:59,646 [murmurs] 643 00:38:10,229 --> 00:38:12,729 -How'd I do, Ben? -It was great, Mr. Mayer. 644 00:38:12,812 --> 00:38:13,729 Ah. 645 00:38:13,812 --> 00:38:15,812 [upbeat jazz music playing] 646 00:38:18,062 --> 00:38:21,229 Not even the most disgraceful thing I've ever seen. 647 00:38:28,021 --> 00:38:30,021 -[Fraulein Freda] Good. -[Mank moans] 648 00:38:30,521 --> 00:38:32,437 -[Fraulein Freda] Okay. -[Mank moans] 649 00:38:33,229 --> 00:38:35,021 -Yeah? -[Mank] Oh, yeah. 650 00:38:35,104 --> 00:38:37,396 [Fraulein Freda] Yeah? Okay. 651 00:38:37,479 --> 00:38:39,604 Maybe a little bit left? 652 00:38:39,687 --> 00:38:41,396 -Yeah? -Yeah. 653 00:38:41,479 --> 00:38:42,312 Here? 654 00:38:42,396 --> 00:38:45,437 -Ooh, yeah. -I've got to get typewriter ribbon. 655 00:38:45,521 --> 00:38:48,271 -Here are this morning's pages. -[Mank] Dreck. It's all dreck! 656 00:38:48,354 --> 00:38:50,312 Don't flagellate. At least you're writing again. 657 00:38:50,396 --> 00:38:53,104 -[telephone rings] -None of it sings. None of it. Not a note. 658 00:38:53,187 --> 00:38:54,646 You're not writing an opera. 659 00:38:56,062 --> 00:38:57,062 Hello? 660 00:38:59,062 --> 00:39:00,729 But I am writing an opera. 661 00:39:03,937 --> 00:39:04,937 It's for you. 662 00:39:07,729 --> 00:39:09,729 -Yeah? -Herman, it's Joe. 663 00:39:09,812 --> 00:39:11,771 Hey, hey, kid. What's up? 664 00:39:11,854 --> 00:39:14,979 -Checking in. How are you getting around? -Gingerly. 665 00:39:15,062 --> 00:39:17,437 -Any rest? -Haven't seen a sunrise yet. 666 00:39:17,521 --> 00:39:19,354 You've never seen a sunrise. 667 00:39:19,437 --> 00:39:22,354 -Sara said you wanted this number. -Just to hear your voice. 668 00:39:22,437 --> 00:39:26,854 Oh. She said you had some work you wanted to talk about. 669 00:39:26,937 --> 00:39:31,479 Ah. I was thinking about that old play, The Wild Man of Borneo, 670 00:39:31,562 --> 00:39:33,062 the one you wrote in the Ice Age. 671 00:39:33,146 --> 00:39:36,437 One never remembers one's disasters. It's considered gauche. 672 00:39:36,521 --> 00:39:37,812 A play is never a disaster 673 00:39:37,896 --> 00:39:39,146 till the movies say it is. 674 00:39:39,229 --> 00:39:41,687 -[Mank laughs] -I brought it to my people at the studio. 675 00:39:41,771 --> 00:39:43,146 We want W.C. Fields. 676 00:39:43,229 --> 00:39:47,562 -We want you to adapt. -I'm kind of on something right now. 677 00:39:47,646 --> 00:39:50,437 I can get you paid for the play and the adaptation. 678 00:39:50,937 --> 00:39:52,354 Sounds great. 679 00:39:52,437 --> 00:39:53,646 I'll have to think about it. 680 00:39:53,729 --> 00:39:55,521 You know how these things have their moment. 681 00:39:55,604 --> 00:39:58,187 So this isn't an offer. It's a subtle ultimatum. 682 00:39:58,271 --> 00:40:01,354 [sighs] Nobody could ever tell you what to do. 683 00:40:02,271 --> 00:40:03,979 Did Sara put you up to this? 684 00:40:04,062 --> 00:40:06,604 Not at all, but I know how things are. 685 00:40:06,687 --> 00:40:08,104 I can tell by her voice. 686 00:40:08,187 --> 00:40:11,062 -And how bad is that, baby brother? -How bad? 687 00:40:11,146 --> 00:40:12,521 I went to a party last night 688 00:40:12,604 --> 00:40:16,229 where Scott Fitzgerald referred to you as a ruined man. 689 00:40:16,312 --> 00:40:18,479 -[laughs] -That's how bad things can get. 690 00:40:18,562 --> 00:40:20,146 -That's good. I may use that. -[chuckles] 691 00:40:20,229 --> 00:40:22,479 -Hermie-- -[sighs] Please, stop, Joey. 692 00:40:22,562 --> 00:40:24,354 Just tell me what's on your mind. 693 00:40:24,437 --> 00:40:28,646 [sighs] I hear you're hunting dangerous game. 694 00:40:29,604 --> 00:40:34,229 Word on the street is radio's golden boy wants to go toe-to-toe with Willie Hearst, 695 00:40:34,312 --> 00:40:36,396 and you're helping in the kitchen. 696 00:40:39,729 --> 00:40:40,646 Oh? 697 00:40:42,062 --> 00:40:43,437 -And? -"And?" 698 00:40:45,146 --> 00:40:46,354 Herman, "And?" 699 00:40:46,437 --> 00:40:47,521 How stupid of me. 700 00:40:47,604 --> 00:40:50,979 I thought I was rejecting a humiliating handout, 701 00:40:51,062 --> 00:40:54,229 when all the time, I was nixing a respectable bribe. 702 00:40:54,312 --> 00:40:56,021 And I'm sorry I ever cared. 703 00:40:56,687 --> 00:40:57,687 [hangs up] 704 00:41:00,271 --> 00:41:01,312 Oops. 705 00:41:08,479 --> 00:41:10,312 -[Fraulein Freda] Come on. -[grunts] 706 00:41:13,146 --> 00:41:14,104 [sighs] 707 00:41:17,312 --> 00:41:18,312 [typewriter dings] 708 00:41:18,396 --> 00:41:21,896 [Hearst] Marion and I are pleased you all could come stay for the weekend. 709 00:41:22,396 --> 00:41:24,729 I hope the train ride wasn't too arduous. 710 00:41:25,854 --> 00:41:30,479 And tonight, we're celebrating our great friend's birthday 711 00:41:30,562 --> 00:41:33,646 in our little hillside home. Charlie. 712 00:41:33,729 --> 00:41:37,479 -[playing piano] -[all] ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ 713 00:41:37,562 --> 00:41:41,104 ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ 714 00:41:41,187 --> 00:41:45,646 ♪ Happy birthday, dear Louis ♪ 715 00:41:45,729 --> 00:41:48,812 ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ 716 00:41:48,896 --> 00:41:50,479 -[man] Happy birthday! -[guests cheer] 717 00:41:50,562 --> 00:41:51,979 [blowing] 718 00:41:53,021 --> 00:41:56,771 Louis, you should be joyous. You don't look a day over 48. 719 00:41:56,854 --> 00:41:58,521 I feel 35. 720 00:41:58,604 --> 00:41:59,646 [all laughing] 721 00:42:03,604 --> 00:42:06,812 Mr. Hearst, Marion, all of you, 722 00:42:07,354 --> 00:42:09,937 my heart is full to bursting. 723 00:42:10,979 --> 00:42:12,979 I can't express in words… 724 00:42:13,062 --> 00:42:14,812 [muttering] Please don't try. 725 00:42:14,896 --> 00:42:21,271 W. R., nothing is more precious to me than your friendship and sage advice. 726 00:42:21,354 --> 00:42:23,896 I am blessed to call you my friend. 727 00:42:25,437 --> 00:42:28,187 God bless William Randolph Hearst. 728 00:42:28,271 --> 00:42:30,396 -[all] Cheers. -[softly] God bless us, everyone. 729 00:42:31,479 --> 00:42:34,062 -Hear, hear. -A very happy birthday, Louis. 730 00:42:34,146 --> 00:42:37,729 Our country should be flattered you picked its birth date as your own. 731 00:42:37,812 --> 00:42:41,271 The rest of us have to be satisfied with the one we happen to be born on. 732 00:42:41,354 --> 00:42:42,687 -Mank. -[all chuckling] 733 00:42:42,771 --> 00:42:46,396 Here's to your rich Canadian imagination. 734 00:42:46,479 --> 00:42:49,521 [all] Rich Canadian imagination! 735 00:42:49,604 --> 00:42:50,937 Here's to banks reopening. 736 00:42:51,021 --> 00:42:52,896 -And to freedom. -[all] Freedom! 737 00:42:52,979 --> 00:42:55,896 I believe you've met our distinguished guest, 738 00:42:55,979 --> 00:42:57,729 Mr. Rexford Tugwell. 739 00:42:57,812 --> 00:43:00,687 Now, Rex is special assistant to President Roosevelt, 740 00:43:00,771 --> 00:43:03,937 and we're all interested in what you might share with us. 741 00:43:04,521 --> 00:43:06,562 We all wanna welcome the Thalbergs 742 00:43:06,646 --> 00:43:09,604 back from Irving's long convalescence in Europe. 743 00:43:09,687 --> 00:43:12,062 -Thank you, W.R. -[Hearst] Good to see you, Irving. 744 00:43:12,146 --> 00:43:13,521 -Thank you, Mr. Hearst. -Norma. 745 00:43:13,604 --> 00:43:16,146 [plays flourish on piano] Anybody seen anything good lately? 746 00:43:16,229 --> 00:43:20,229 I just saw 42nd Street. It blew my wig! 747 00:43:20,312 --> 00:43:22,062 You can take the girl outta Bed-Stuy. 748 00:43:22,146 --> 00:43:24,687 -When was that? -Over the weekend. 749 00:43:24,771 --> 00:43:27,562 You were in D.C. I went to the pictures in Santa Barbara. 750 00:43:27,646 --> 00:43:30,562 -We have a fine screening room here. -[Mayer] Warner's picture? 751 00:43:30,646 --> 00:43:32,312 -Why waste money on that? -[all laugh] 752 00:43:32,396 --> 00:43:34,604 -Next time, I'll go with you. -[Marion] Of course. 753 00:43:34,687 --> 00:43:38,896 I am bonkers about Movietone News. I love Lowell Thomas's voice. 754 00:43:38,979 --> 00:43:41,437 -Oh, is he single? -[both laugh] 755 00:43:41,521 --> 00:43:43,937 I sat across from him at the Brown Derby once. 756 00:43:44,812 --> 00:43:46,271 -He bought me a drink. -He didn't! 757 00:43:46,354 --> 00:43:47,521 [actress] Not technically. 758 00:43:47,604 --> 00:43:50,396 But I made sure to run into him in the parking lot after. 759 00:43:50,479 --> 00:43:53,562 -I asked him, "Do you need a lift?" -You didn't! What did he say? 760 00:43:54,146 --> 00:43:56,937 -I'll never tell. -There's a point to this, dear? 761 00:43:57,021 --> 00:44:01,687 Well, yes, they showed that Hitler giving a speech, kissing babies. 762 00:44:01,771 --> 00:44:03,187 He is creepers! 763 00:44:03,271 --> 00:44:06,271 Lederhosen and suspenders. Terrifying. 764 00:44:06,354 --> 00:44:08,729 -No, it's the mustache that's the horror. -[all laugh] 765 00:44:08,812 --> 00:44:11,479 [Hearst] Don't be alarmed, Marion. He won't be around for long. 766 00:44:11,562 --> 00:44:14,562 The Germans are a thoughtful, considerate people. 767 00:44:14,646 --> 00:44:16,354 Enough about Nazis. 768 00:44:16,437 --> 00:44:19,396 Irving, tell us about your travels. Where were you? 769 00:44:19,479 --> 00:44:22,354 -[inhales sharply] Uh… Berlin, in fact. -[all chuckle] 770 00:44:23,062 --> 00:44:24,354 But it was quite interesting. 771 00:44:24,437 --> 00:44:27,562 Thugs in brown shirts goose-stepping past our hotel all night, 772 00:44:27,646 --> 00:44:29,354 screaming anti-Semitic slogans. 773 00:44:29,937 --> 00:44:32,687 -I was terrified the whole time. -This Hitler sounds like an utter drip. 774 00:44:32,771 --> 00:44:35,437 Shouldn't the United States do something, Mr. Tugwell? 775 00:44:35,521 --> 00:44:37,146 We are weighing all options. 776 00:44:37,229 --> 00:44:40,062 Can't last. Who in the world takes a lunatic like that seriously? 777 00:44:40,146 --> 00:44:42,687 Well, the last time I looked, 40 million Germans. 778 00:44:42,771 --> 00:44:45,271 Mank! You're always so wonderfully contrary. 779 00:44:45,354 --> 00:44:47,604 "Chase & Sanborn's der coffee." 780 00:44:47,687 --> 00:44:50,146 [in German accent] "Can 40 million Nazis all be wrong?" 781 00:44:50,229 --> 00:44:53,354 I just read they've opened their first concentration camps 782 00:44:53,437 --> 00:44:54,937 and started burning books. 783 00:44:55,021 --> 00:44:57,812 -What's next? Movies? -Enough. 784 00:44:57,896 --> 00:45:00,021 -Is that true, Irving? -Yes, L.B. 785 00:45:00,521 --> 00:45:02,271 Ah, Hitler, schmitler! 786 00:45:02,937 --> 00:45:05,021 You don't turn your back on a market as big as Germany. 787 00:45:05,104 --> 00:45:08,896 Please. It's upsetting enough Marion had to endure the man in newsreel. 788 00:45:08,979 --> 00:45:10,604 What's a concentration camp? 789 00:45:10,687 --> 00:45:12,979 It was fascinating. Those people adore him. 790 00:45:14,937 --> 00:45:18,562 -I'm probably talking nonsense. -You're the first tonight that isn't. 791 00:45:18,646 --> 00:45:21,146 [Selznick] Speaking of socialists, how about Upton Sinclair's book? 792 00:45:21,229 --> 00:45:22,062 No! 793 00:45:22,146 --> 00:45:24,271 He wants to turn private enterprise over to the state. 794 00:45:24,354 --> 00:45:26,146 There's one we won't be optioning. Eh, Irving? 795 00:45:26,229 --> 00:45:27,604 Well, it's selling like crazy. 796 00:45:27,687 --> 00:45:30,562 Walter Winchell says Sinclair may run for governor next election. 797 00:45:30,646 --> 00:45:33,687 That rat Bolshevik belongs right up there with Hitler 798 00:45:33,771 --> 00:45:36,604 on the list of people not to be taken seriously. 799 00:45:36,687 --> 00:45:39,062 There's a world of difference between communism and socialism. 800 00:45:39,146 --> 00:45:41,146 [Mayer] They both want something for nothing. 801 00:45:41,229 --> 00:45:42,687 Like a workforce for free? 802 00:45:42,771 --> 00:45:44,437 Half, and only in the interim. 803 00:45:44,521 --> 00:45:47,062 I think it's safe to assume none of us here would welcome 804 00:45:47,146 --> 00:45:50,146 a crusading socialist as California's political savior. 805 00:45:50,229 --> 00:45:52,687 Certainly not FDR. Am I right, Rex? 806 00:45:52,771 --> 00:45:55,396 Off the record, President says the man bears watching. 807 00:45:55,479 --> 00:45:58,937 Especially now that Republicans seem bent on running Frank Merriam again. 808 00:45:59,021 --> 00:46:01,771 Sinclair's run twice before and got, what, 2% of the vote? 809 00:46:01,854 --> 00:46:05,562 -Good people, the man is an author. -As was Thomas Jefferson. 810 00:46:05,646 --> 00:46:09,521 Ha! Come now, Mank. Upton Sinclair as Thomas Jefferson? 811 00:46:09,604 --> 00:46:10,979 No, you're right, W.R. 812 00:46:11,062 --> 00:46:14,396 Jefferson never got federal laws passed to ban oil monopolies, 813 00:46:14,479 --> 00:46:17,562 or railroad trusts, or cleaned up the stockyards. 814 00:46:17,646 --> 00:46:20,979 -He's an angry scribe, a provocateur. -Because he provokes thought. 815 00:46:21,062 --> 00:46:22,937 You always side with the writer, Mank. 816 00:46:23,521 --> 00:46:26,646 Poor souls surviving a depression on five grand a week. 817 00:46:26,729 --> 00:46:28,146 -Commies. -L.B. is not wrong. 818 00:46:28,229 --> 00:46:29,937 [Mank] Irving, you're a literate man. 819 00:46:30,021 --> 00:46:32,771 You know the difference between communism and socialism. 820 00:46:32,854 --> 00:46:35,021 In socialism, everyone shares the wealth. 821 00:46:35,104 --> 00:46:37,479 In communism, everyone shares the poverty. 822 00:46:37,562 --> 00:46:39,062 Thank you, Mr. Mankiewicz. 823 00:46:39,146 --> 00:46:43,021 Upton just wants you to apportion some of your Christmas bonus, Irving, 824 00:46:43,104 --> 00:46:45,062 to the people who clean your house. 825 00:46:45,146 --> 00:46:46,104 [guests laughing] 826 00:46:46,187 --> 00:46:49,646 -Now that's why I always want Mank around. -[chuckles] Me too. 827 00:46:49,729 --> 00:46:52,729 Upton, Mank? Nobody's asking to hear you sing "The Internationale." 828 00:46:52,812 --> 00:46:54,271 [plays "The Internationale"] 829 00:46:54,771 --> 00:46:57,271 -What's that? -The Communist national anthem, darling. 830 00:46:57,354 --> 00:46:59,771 I would. Do you sing? 831 00:46:59,854 --> 00:47:02,229 No one should have to hear me sing. Isn't that right, Sara? 832 00:47:02,312 --> 00:47:03,479 If at all possible. 833 00:47:03,562 --> 00:47:05,646 [Mayer] As Republican state chairman-elect, 834 00:47:05,729 --> 00:47:08,271 I'm telling you, nothing's going to happen here. 835 00:47:08,354 --> 00:47:11,771 The people who count in California won't let it. 836 00:47:11,854 --> 00:47:14,646 All this talk is so much pissing in the wind. 837 00:47:14,729 --> 00:47:15,604 Nicely put. 838 00:47:15,687 --> 00:47:19,146 I heard Pops on the phone helping to pick the president's cabinet 839 00:47:19,229 --> 00:47:20,437 like casting a movie. 840 00:47:21,021 --> 00:47:22,729 They can stop a guy like Sinclair. 841 00:47:23,312 --> 00:47:24,521 Couldn't you, Pops? 842 00:47:27,187 --> 00:47:28,187 Pardon. 843 00:47:28,271 --> 00:47:30,187 [unsettling music playing] 844 00:47:30,271 --> 00:47:32,062 I don't know what I'm saying. 845 00:47:45,354 --> 00:47:46,271 Go. 846 00:47:52,437 --> 00:47:53,646 [sighs deeply] 847 00:47:58,187 --> 00:47:59,271 [gasps] 848 00:48:06,729 --> 00:48:08,271 Hello, Tokyo? 849 00:48:10,437 --> 00:48:12,021 London, you there? 850 00:48:12,937 --> 00:48:15,229 -Ah, nerts! -[Mank] What is that? 851 00:48:15,312 --> 00:48:17,854 [Marion] Oh, Pops's radio-phones. 852 00:48:17,937 --> 00:48:20,354 Never ever be out of touch with your empire. 853 00:48:20,437 --> 00:48:25,146 -No, no. What's "nerts"? -Nerts is Brooklynese for "nuts." 854 00:48:25,729 --> 00:48:26,729 Jeepers! 855 00:48:36,271 --> 00:48:38,562 What did I do that was so terrible? 856 00:48:39,271 --> 00:48:42,229 I shouldn't have said that thing about the cabinet in front of Tugwell, 857 00:48:42,312 --> 00:48:45,854 but since when does anybody care what I have to say? 858 00:48:45,937 --> 00:48:48,146 Those things just pop out of my mouth, 859 00:48:48,229 --> 00:48:51,479 and the moment they do, I feel like… 860 00:48:51,562 --> 00:48:53,562 Like you got caught, jambes en l'air. 861 00:48:53,646 --> 00:48:55,271 [gasps] No! 862 00:48:56,229 --> 00:49:01,062 Well, do you always just say whatever you think? Hmm. 863 00:49:01,146 --> 00:49:04,021 -[chuckles] -[Mank] You're blushing. 864 00:49:04,521 --> 00:49:05,854 -Am not. -Are too. 865 00:49:05,937 --> 00:49:10,271 -Am not. -Are too. I can see it even in the dark. 866 00:49:10,354 --> 00:49:13,437 Well, what can I tell you, Mank? Marion Douras… 867 00:49:14,354 --> 00:49:15,979 went to convent school. 868 00:49:16,062 --> 00:49:18,771 -Hedda! Louella! -[laughs] 869 00:49:18,854 --> 00:49:21,521 Where's a gossip columnist around this castle when you need one? 870 00:49:22,312 --> 00:49:25,354 I hate shop talk. I never know what's going on. 871 00:49:26,312 --> 00:49:29,729 The one thing you never ever talk about is Upton Sinclair. 872 00:49:29,812 --> 00:49:31,104 I noted. 873 00:49:31,187 --> 00:49:33,729 The moment he's mentioned, the evening turns. 874 00:49:33,812 --> 00:49:36,437 -It's sort of a sore subject. -Really? 875 00:49:37,687 --> 00:49:38,729 Do tell. 876 00:49:42,396 --> 00:49:44,812 [Marion] I don't even know who this Mr. Sinclair is, 877 00:49:44,896 --> 00:49:46,771 but he wrote about us for a book. 878 00:49:47,271 --> 00:49:49,396 I used to quote it word for word. 879 00:49:50,062 --> 00:49:54,396 "I saw our richest newspaper publisher keep his movie mistress 880 00:49:54,479 --> 00:49:57,771 in a private city of palaces and cathedrals, 881 00:49:57,854 --> 00:50:01,646 furnished with shiploads of junk imported from Europe 882 00:50:01,729 --> 00:50:06,771 and surrounded by vast acres reserved for use by zebras and giraffes, 883 00:50:07,271 --> 00:50:10,937 telling in jest that he had spent six million dollars 884 00:50:11,021 --> 00:50:13,187 to make his lady's reputation 885 00:50:13,271 --> 00:50:16,312 and using his newspapers to celebrate her change of hats." 886 00:50:16,896 --> 00:50:20,271 It must be hard to be on the receiving end of that. 887 00:50:20,354 --> 00:50:22,896 People think because you're on the cover of Modern Screen, 888 00:50:22,979 --> 00:50:24,021 they know you. 889 00:50:24,104 --> 00:50:26,021 -[Mank] Hmm. -Ah, nerts! 890 00:50:26,104 --> 00:50:27,687 What do I have to complain about? 891 00:50:27,771 --> 00:50:30,687 I live in a fishbowl, but anything I want is mine. 892 00:50:31,437 --> 00:50:35,271 If I could, I'd share with everyone. You know that, Mank. 893 00:50:35,771 --> 00:50:38,937 This Upton doesn't know a thing about the real… 894 00:50:39,021 --> 00:50:40,979 -[gasps] -[monkeys chattering] 895 00:50:41,062 --> 00:50:46,521 [shouting] Nobody but nobody makes a monkey out of William Randolph Hearst! 896 00:50:46,604 --> 00:50:47,729 [giggles] 897 00:50:47,812 --> 00:50:50,604 -I understand why Mayer loathes him. -Why? 898 00:50:51,312 --> 00:50:55,271 -Sinclair caught him with his pants down. -[inhales sharply] Yikes! 899 00:50:55,354 --> 00:50:59,187 He wrote that Mayer took a bribe to look the other way 900 00:50:59,271 --> 00:51:01,187 so a rival could buy MGM. 901 00:51:01,271 --> 00:51:02,312 [gasps] 902 00:51:02,396 --> 00:51:05,229 -It's complicated. -Over my head? 903 00:51:05,312 --> 00:51:08,437 No, over mine. You'd need a degree in larceny. 904 00:51:08,521 --> 00:51:11,729 -Isn't bribery a crime? -That's what Sinclair said. 905 00:51:11,812 --> 00:51:14,562 The little sausage might have gone to jail. 906 00:51:14,646 --> 00:51:16,146 Jeepers! 907 00:51:16,229 --> 00:51:17,687 [Mank] The hypocrisy. 908 00:51:18,187 --> 00:51:20,687 "Mayn gantze mishpokhe. My mishpokhe." 909 00:51:20,771 --> 00:51:24,146 -[Marion] I don't speak a lot of Jewish. -[laughs] Really? 910 00:51:24,229 --> 00:51:26,562 "My mishpokhe. My family." 911 00:51:26,646 --> 00:51:30,187 Everything he does is for family, 912 00:51:30,271 --> 00:51:32,521 except when it comes to selling his last name 913 00:51:32,604 --> 00:51:35,062 to a competitor in the middle of the night. 914 00:51:35,562 --> 00:51:38,104 Wow. He would do that to his own studio? 915 00:51:38,604 --> 00:51:41,896 He doesn't own MGM any more than Sam Goldwyn. 916 00:51:41,979 --> 00:51:44,104 They just run it for the moneyboys back East. 917 00:51:44,937 --> 00:51:49,187 And jail is not something an animal like Mayer is likely to forget. 918 00:51:49,271 --> 00:51:50,896 [elephant trumpets] 919 00:51:50,979 --> 00:51:53,021 [both laugh] 920 00:51:53,521 --> 00:51:57,562 Irving must be clean. He looks like he shaves three times a day. 921 00:51:58,146 --> 00:52:00,854 Well, there's clean, and there's clean. 922 00:52:01,604 --> 00:52:04,187 Irving bought one of Sinclair's novels. 923 00:52:04,771 --> 00:52:09,312 Sinclair demanded a guarantee that not one word could be changed, 924 00:52:09,396 --> 00:52:12,396 in writing, on the back of the purchase check. 925 00:52:12,479 --> 00:52:15,771 [gasps] He didn't want notes from Irving Thalberg? 926 00:52:15,854 --> 00:52:19,229 When Thalberg refused, Sinclair took his money 927 00:52:19,312 --> 00:52:23,687 and ran off to Mexico and financed a picture about the Russian Revolution. 928 00:52:23,771 --> 00:52:26,646 [both chuckle] 929 00:52:26,729 --> 00:52:29,437 Now, that's sticking the old neck out. 930 00:52:29,937 --> 00:52:31,104 [Marion] Oh. 931 00:52:31,187 --> 00:52:33,271 [Marion laughing] 932 00:52:38,854 --> 00:52:40,104 -[gasps] -Oh. 933 00:52:40,187 --> 00:52:42,687 I'm sorry. Instinct! 934 00:52:43,271 --> 00:52:44,271 My fault. 935 00:52:45,396 --> 00:52:47,812 I've been a little sixes and sevens recently. 936 00:52:48,812 --> 00:52:51,187 Tell me something, Mank. The truth. 937 00:52:52,854 --> 00:52:54,146 Could you see me playing 938 00:52:54,229 --> 00:52:56,604 Elizabeth Barrett Browning or Marie Antoinette? 939 00:52:56,687 --> 00:53:00,854 Irving's bought 'em both, you know, because of Pops. 940 00:53:02,146 --> 00:53:03,146 What do you think? 941 00:53:03,729 --> 00:53:05,437 And honestly. 942 00:53:07,979 --> 00:53:10,021 I see you more as Dulcinea. 943 00:53:10,604 --> 00:53:12,437 -Who? -Dulcinea. 944 00:53:12,521 --> 00:53:14,729 From the Spanish, for sweetness. 945 00:53:14,812 --> 00:53:16,687 [gasps] Ah. 946 00:53:16,771 --> 00:53:21,437 "Her hair, gold. Her cheeks, roses." 947 00:53:21,521 --> 00:53:22,562 Nice. 948 00:53:22,646 --> 00:53:25,812 -"Her lips, coral." -Mmm. 949 00:53:25,896 --> 00:53:30,104 "Her neck, alabaster. Her bosom, marble." 950 00:53:30,187 --> 00:53:31,146 Marble? [scoffs] 951 00:53:31,229 --> 00:53:32,479 Maybe once. 952 00:53:32,979 --> 00:53:37,271 "Ivory, her hands, and her whiteness, snow." 953 00:53:38,104 --> 00:53:42,229 -You wrote that? -No. A fella named Cervantes. 954 00:53:42,312 --> 00:53:43,187 [clears throat] 955 00:53:43,271 --> 00:53:45,771 "There are meters of accent and meters of tone, 956 00:53:45,854 --> 00:53:48,687 but the best of all meters is to meet her alone." 957 00:53:48,771 --> 00:53:53,437 -Ah, a poem with a message. -That's just the first verse. 958 00:53:54,062 --> 00:53:55,312 The last… 959 00:53:56,271 --> 00:54:00,687 "There are letters of accent and letters of tone, 960 00:54:00,771 --> 00:54:03,437 but the best of all letters is to let her alone." 961 00:54:03,521 --> 00:54:05,062 [Marion laughs] 962 00:54:06,146 --> 00:54:08,187 Now, those I wrote. 963 00:54:09,687 --> 00:54:10,604 [Mank chuckles] 964 00:54:12,771 --> 00:54:14,521 [Marion sighs happily] 965 00:54:23,354 --> 00:54:26,146 [coyotes howling in the distance] 966 00:54:47,229 --> 00:54:50,229 [bottles clinking] 967 00:54:51,104 --> 00:54:52,271 [gasps softly] 968 00:54:54,979 --> 00:54:56,146 [Mank sighs] 969 00:54:58,687 --> 00:54:59,729 Do come in. 970 00:55:02,937 --> 00:55:06,896 -Jesus! What is that? -Sunlight. It's nearly noon. 971 00:55:06,979 --> 00:55:09,937 Mother of God! Where did the night go? 972 00:55:11,062 --> 00:55:14,937 -Your support device is here. -Oh, good. Send it in. 973 00:55:15,021 --> 00:55:16,354 As is Mr. Houseman. 974 00:55:18,854 --> 00:55:20,479 What would you like me to do? 975 00:55:21,146 --> 00:55:22,729 Well, send him in too. 976 00:55:32,562 --> 00:55:33,771 [coughs] 977 00:55:38,312 --> 00:55:40,771 Uh, put it over there, please. 978 00:55:41,812 --> 00:55:44,771 -You're early. -I thought we should talk. 979 00:55:45,354 --> 00:55:47,771 -[Mank] Why are you wearing a coat? -I always wear a coat. 980 00:55:47,854 --> 00:55:49,396 Must be 108 degrees. 981 00:55:49,479 --> 00:55:51,812 -We're at a Rubicon moment, Mank. -[Mank] Uh-huh. 982 00:55:51,896 --> 00:55:54,812 It's not the work. That's everything we hoped it would be. 983 00:55:54,896 --> 00:55:57,354 -[Mank] Enough room there? -Oh, it should be. 984 00:55:57,896 --> 00:56:00,437 [sighs] I'm sorry, John. 985 00:56:01,771 --> 00:56:04,021 -You've only written ninety pages. -Ninety-one. 986 00:56:04,104 --> 00:56:07,062 [Houseman] In my expert opinion, you're hardly out of the first act. 987 00:56:07,146 --> 00:56:11,062 I mean, how do you hope to be done in 14… 13 days? 988 00:56:11,729 --> 00:56:14,479 We gave him our solemn word we would deliver. 989 00:56:14,562 --> 00:56:16,437 -"We"? -I don't think he's going to take it well. 990 00:56:16,521 --> 00:56:17,396 Not very well at all. 991 00:56:17,479 --> 00:56:21,604 You said 90 days. Welles said 60. I'm doing the very best I can. 992 00:56:21,687 --> 00:56:25,437 -We are surely to be axed. -Not just yet. 993 00:56:26,687 --> 00:56:27,896 I've never been fired. 994 00:56:29,021 --> 00:56:31,521 -I've never not been fired. -I don't get fired. 995 00:56:31,604 --> 00:56:33,896 It's not as unpleasant as you might imagine. 996 00:56:33,979 --> 00:56:36,021 You worry too much, John. 997 00:56:36,104 --> 00:56:38,937 -What do you do for pleasure? -[telephone rings] 998 00:56:39,021 --> 00:56:42,812 -Hello? Yes, he's here. -[man speaks indistinctly on phone] 999 00:56:43,979 --> 00:56:44,979 [softly] It's Orson. 1000 00:56:45,729 --> 00:56:47,854 [inhales sharply] Will you talk? 1001 00:56:47,937 --> 00:56:50,062 [Rita] He'd like to speak with Mr. Houseman. 1002 00:56:51,229 --> 00:56:52,146 [Houseman] Me? 1003 00:56:59,354 --> 00:57:01,812 -Orson. -[Orson speaking indistinctly] 1004 00:57:01,896 --> 00:57:04,187 I came early to see where we were with, uh… 1005 00:57:05,437 --> 00:57:08,896 No, not at all. Everything's going absolutely according… 1006 00:57:09,937 --> 00:57:12,729 Well, that's difficult to say exactly. 1007 00:57:13,271 --> 00:57:15,437 Yep. Yes, I know the clock… 1008 00:57:17,396 --> 00:57:19,729 Well, as I've told you, it's quite unique. 1009 00:57:19,812 --> 00:57:22,104 In fact, I would venture to say, one of the most… 1010 00:57:24,354 --> 00:57:27,562 Yes, well, it will absolutely need your marvelous… 1011 00:57:29,062 --> 00:57:31,687 He's on the mend, working tirelessly. 1012 00:57:32,521 --> 00:57:34,896 -[crate creaks] -[Houseman] Of course. When? 1013 00:57:36,021 --> 00:57:37,521 I'm on my way. 1014 00:57:37,604 --> 00:57:39,271 Yes. Hang on. He's right here. 1015 00:57:41,979 --> 00:57:44,479 He wants to see me right away. Wouldn't tell me why. 1016 00:57:45,271 --> 00:57:46,396 Perhaps he will you. 1017 00:57:47,187 --> 00:57:48,312 [Mank grunts] 1018 00:57:52,562 --> 00:57:55,562 -Orson. -[Welles laughs] Tell me what's up, Mank. 1019 00:57:56,146 --> 00:57:57,521 He's getting on my nerves. 1020 00:57:57,604 --> 00:57:59,687 I sensed that. I told him I had to see him at once. 1021 00:57:59,771 --> 00:58:02,104 Hopefully, I can think of a reason before he gets here. 1022 00:58:02,187 --> 00:58:04,479 I've finished my test for Heart of Darkness. 1023 00:58:04,562 --> 00:58:06,729 I'm turning my full attention to our little project. 1024 00:58:06,812 --> 00:58:08,104 [Mank] "Let there be light." 1025 00:58:08,187 --> 00:58:12,062 -[Welles] Tell me what to expect. -I thought you'd want to be surprised. 1026 00:58:12,146 --> 00:58:14,896 Ha. You're always surprising. That's why you were my only choice. 1027 00:58:14,979 --> 00:58:19,146 No one else is Mankiewicz. I can almost hear the finish line. 1028 00:58:19,229 --> 00:58:22,354 -We're about to turn a corner. -Unto the breach! 1029 00:58:23,729 --> 00:58:25,312 Slim, you may tote 1030 00:58:25,396 --> 00:58:27,229 those lovely highland beauties to the kitchen. 1031 00:58:27,312 --> 00:58:29,437 Fraulein Freda, empty the Mickeys 1032 00:58:29,521 --> 00:58:32,437 and start replacing their contents, raus schnell. 1033 00:58:35,104 --> 00:58:37,062 -Thank you, Slim. You may go. -[Mank] Slim. 1034 00:58:44,271 --> 00:58:48,146 Mr. Mankiewicz, please don't ask us to help you in this sad deception. 1035 00:58:48,229 --> 00:58:49,604 My dear Mrs. Alexander, 1036 00:58:49,687 --> 00:58:54,604 Charlie Lederer and I went to a great deal of trouble to engineer this sad deception. 1037 00:58:54,687 --> 00:58:57,646 My deadline is two weeks away and I intend-- 1038 00:58:57,729 --> 00:58:59,312 It could mean our jobs. 1039 00:58:59,396 --> 00:59:03,771 I do my best thinking before I fall asleep. 1040 00:59:03,854 --> 00:59:06,771 And I am sick and tired of having my evenings end 1041 00:59:06,854 --> 00:59:11,521 with the abrupt sensation of being struck on the head with a croquet mallet. 1042 00:59:11,604 --> 00:59:13,896 -A way to put it. -I'm not asking you to help. 1043 00:59:13,979 --> 00:59:15,354 -You're not? -I'm telling you. 1044 00:59:15,437 --> 00:59:16,271 [scoffs] 1045 00:59:17,729 --> 00:59:21,729 I'm sorry. I won't be bullied. You'll have my resignation in the morning. 1046 00:59:21,812 --> 00:59:24,646 I know Freda's been sneaking you nightcaps from the cabinet. 1047 00:59:24,729 --> 00:59:27,187 If she continues to cooperate in this cheap ruse, 1048 00:59:27,271 --> 00:59:29,104 I'll have to report the both of you. 1049 00:59:29,187 --> 00:59:31,437 -Fraulein Freda. -Ja, Herr Mank? 1050 00:59:31,521 --> 00:59:33,937 -Please do as I instructed. -Ja, Herr Mank. 1051 00:59:37,687 --> 00:59:38,896 [groans] 1052 00:59:44,437 --> 00:59:45,479 Humph. 1053 00:59:51,187 --> 00:59:53,146 Freda, you mustn't let him intimidate you. 1054 00:59:53,229 --> 00:59:54,396 [chuckles] 1055 00:59:54,479 --> 00:59:57,937 -I am not intimidated, Frau Alexander. -Then, why? 1056 01:00:00,104 --> 01:00:01,271 [Fraulein Freda sighs] 1057 01:00:02,646 --> 01:00:05,396 Herr Mank sponsored my family's entry into this country. 1058 01:00:05,479 --> 01:00:09,687 He's responsible for us getting safely out of Germany, legally and financially. 1059 01:00:10,396 --> 01:00:13,271 -Really? -Our entire village, he brought here. 1060 01:00:14,271 --> 01:00:17,479 -Entire village? -Over 100 people. 1061 01:00:19,229 --> 01:00:21,146 Joseph Goebbels, the propaganda minister, 1062 01:00:21,229 --> 01:00:24,187 will not allow his films to be shown in the Fatherland. 1063 01:00:25,312 --> 01:00:26,812 I didn't realize. 1064 01:00:27,312 --> 01:00:31,646 He wrote a picture about the Nazis, which no studio anywhere will dare make. 1065 01:00:33,021 --> 01:00:37,271 I assume if he wishes to drink, he's a grown man, a good man, 1066 01:00:37,771 --> 01:00:39,354 and should be treated as such. 1067 01:00:40,687 --> 01:00:41,812 Nicht wahr? 1068 01:00:54,187 --> 01:00:56,771 To Mank-town. Or is it Mank-ville? 1069 01:00:59,521 --> 01:01:00,979 [sighs] Dear Freda. 1070 01:01:02,021 --> 01:01:04,437 What's German for blabbermouth? 1071 01:01:04,521 --> 01:01:06,604 Either you demonstrate you can handle this, 1072 01:01:06,687 --> 01:01:08,562 or we will all end up getting sacked. 1073 01:01:08,646 --> 01:01:11,854 There's nothing like a vote of confidence from one's peers. 1074 01:01:11,937 --> 01:01:13,896 To Mank-berg. Prosit. 1075 01:01:13,979 --> 01:01:16,687 Mank-heim. Bottoms up. 1076 01:01:22,062 --> 01:01:23,229 [typewriter dings] 1077 01:01:33,229 --> 01:01:36,312 Hey, Mank, you remember me? 1078 01:01:36,396 --> 01:01:39,771 [chuckles] Oh, my God. Of course I remember you, C.C. 1079 01:01:39,854 --> 01:01:42,812 C.C. for Central Casting. How you been, Mank? 1080 01:01:42,896 --> 01:01:43,854 What happened? 1081 01:01:43,937 --> 01:01:46,479 [C.C.] What happened? The goddamn Depression happened. 1082 01:01:46,562 --> 01:01:49,354 I ain't had so much as a walk-on since Tugboat Annie. 1083 01:01:49,854 --> 01:01:51,562 Listen. I hate to, you know… 1084 01:01:51,646 --> 01:01:54,937 Uh, yeah. Ed, lend me a buck. 1085 01:02:02,604 --> 01:02:07,146 Uh, me and Grady here been thinking of bummin' east to Miami. 1086 01:02:07,562 --> 01:02:08,896 I heard it from someone who knows, 1087 01:02:08,979 --> 01:02:10,896 the Hollywood studios are movin' to Florida. 1088 01:02:10,979 --> 01:02:12,979 -Who told you that? -Oh, I can't say. 1089 01:02:13,062 --> 01:02:14,187 Somebody in the know. 1090 01:02:14,271 --> 01:02:16,521 In certain echelons, it's common knowledge. 1091 01:02:16,604 --> 01:02:18,521 Well, people in certain echelons 1092 01:02:18,604 --> 01:02:21,437 don't usually trust me with sensitive information. 1093 01:02:21,521 --> 01:02:25,854 But the studios aren't moving anywhere. That's just company-town propaganda. 1094 01:02:25,937 --> 01:02:29,021 Believe what you want, but say, you think you could spare… 1095 01:02:29,812 --> 01:02:31,604 Uh… Ed? 1096 01:02:33,062 --> 01:02:34,062 [sighs] 1097 01:02:34,729 --> 01:02:36,146 [C.C.] Bless you, Mank. 1098 01:02:36,229 --> 01:02:38,437 [Joe] The bastard reneged. You were there. 1099 01:02:38,521 --> 01:02:40,187 Yes, he reinstated salaries, 1100 01:02:40,271 --> 01:02:42,562 but he never gave back the money he promised. 1101 01:02:42,646 --> 01:02:43,854 Giant surprise. 1102 01:02:43,937 --> 01:02:47,687 Come on, Mank. We need guys like you to keep people like Mayer honest. 1103 01:02:47,771 --> 01:02:50,271 I'd refer you, for that, to the power of prayer. 1104 01:02:50,354 --> 01:02:52,187 The Writers Guild doesn't have to hit the bricks 1105 01:02:52,271 --> 01:02:54,146 for the $2,500-a-week guy. 1106 01:02:54,229 --> 01:02:56,604 We're doing it for the $250-a-week guy. 1107 01:02:56,687 --> 01:03:01,229 Joe, all the $250-a-week writers I know are getting $2,500. 1108 01:03:01,812 --> 01:03:05,437 Stop crying for your just deserts, or they're liable to give them to you. 1109 01:03:05,521 --> 01:03:07,354 Then we'll all be working for 75 bucks a week. 1110 01:03:07,437 --> 01:03:10,271 I don't know if you've ever walked a picket line. You might have to. 1111 01:03:10,354 --> 01:03:11,937 And Dave Chasen will cater. 1112 01:03:12,021 --> 01:03:15,604 "Junior writers only paid $750 a week." 1113 01:03:15,687 --> 01:03:17,896 If that happens, you'd better run 1114 01:03:17,979 --> 01:03:21,562 before real folk with real troubles stone you to death. 1115 01:03:23,021 --> 01:03:26,104 Hermie, the guild's in its infancy. 1116 01:03:26,187 --> 01:03:27,854 -It needs you. -[Mank] You're telling me. 1117 01:03:27,937 --> 01:03:29,687 What writer failed to notice 1118 01:03:29,771 --> 01:03:32,312 the Screen Writers Guild needs an apostrophe? 1119 01:03:33,021 --> 01:03:34,812 As Groucho always said, 1120 01:03:34,896 --> 01:03:36,396 "Never belong to any club 1121 01:03:36,479 --> 01:03:38,854 that would have someone like you for a member." 1122 01:03:38,937 --> 01:03:40,437 [Joe groans, sighs] 1123 01:03:40,521 --> 01:03:41,604 And look at him. 1124 01:03:42,104 --> 01:03:44,854 The most miserable bastard on God's green earth. 1125 01:03:44,937 --> 01:03:48,396 I'd tell him you said that, only he'd think you were brownnosing. 1126 01:03:58,437 --> 01:03:59,854 [grill hissing] 1127 01:04:01,729 --> 01:04:02,729 Close the door. 1128 01:04:02,812 --> 01:04:04,521 [Mank sniffs] 1129 01:04:05,479 --> 01:04:08,062 Ah… summer. 1130 01:04:08,146 --> 01:04:11,562 Inez, you are not to let the Brothers Marx wait in my office. Ever. 1131 01:04:11,646 --> 01:04:13,771 They've been grilling hot dogs again. 1132 01:04:14,937 --> 01:04:15,771 Sit down. 1133 01:04:26,104 --> 01:04:29,271 [Mank exhales] 1134 01:04:32,771 --> 01:04:33,854 You wanted to see me? 1135 01:04:33,937 --> 01:04:36,687 Not that I care, but why aren't you contributing 1136 01:04:36,771 --> 01:04:38,646 to MGM's anti-Sinclair fund? 1137 01:04:38,729 --> 01:04:41,854 Well, call me old-fashioned, Irving, but I don't like being told 1138 01:04:41,937 --> 01:04:43,937 which side of a fight I'm already on. 1139 01:04:44,021 --> 01:04:46,354 How's it gonna look if the GOP chairman himself 1140 01:04:46,437 --> 01:04:48,812 can't get unanimous support from his own studio? 1141 01:04:48,896 --> 01:04:49,854 [Mank chuckles] 1142 01:04:51,396 --> 01:04:52,604 You're serious. 1143 01:04:52,687 --> 01:04:55,104 I was taught by my parents to be straightforward, 1144 01:04:55,604 --> 01:04:59,104 to ask simply for what I want, and expect that I may have to elucidate my position. 1145 01:04:59,187 --> 01:05:01,562 Well, I was encouraged by mine to use my imagination, 1146 01:05:01,646 --> 01:05:03,979 but I taught myself to avoid the consequences. 1147 01:05:04,062 --> 01:05:05,562 It's ten bucks, Mank. 1148 01:05:06,312 --> 01:05:08,437 You piss that away between hopeless bets. 1149 01:05:08,937 --> 01:05:11,979 I hate to think what L.B. might do if he knew you were the only holdout. 1150 01:05:12,646 --> 01:05:16,104 -I am, and he doesn't? -And we're not gonna tell him. 1151 01:05:19,062 --> 01:05:22,062 -I could let you go for this. -It is a hanging offense. 1152 01:05:22,146 --> 01:05:24,437 I'll add the appropriate amount to your gambling debt 1153 01:05:24,521 --> 01:05:26,646 and forget we ever had this conversation. 1154 01:05:26,729 --> 01:05:27,562 You do that. 1155 01:05:28,437 --> 01:05:30,312 And the brand-spanking-new Writers Guild 1156 01:05:30,396 --> 01:05:33,729 might find it very interesting, not to mention the newspapers. 1157 01:05:33,812 --> 01:05:36,729 I'm not sure the guild intends to cover games of chance. 1158 01:05:36,812 --> 01:05:41,104 And you won't go to the press, because in California, that means Hearst. 1159 01:05:41,187 --> 01:05:44,896 Irving, you are the shrewdest executive in this town. 1160 01:05:44,979 --> 01:05:48,312 Why are you acting like some dumb ward heeler? 1161 01:05:51,354 --> 01:05:54,812 You don't need my donation. You don't need anybody's. 1162 01:05:55,396 --> 01:05:57,437 You have everything it takes right here. 1163 01:05:58,354 --> 01:05:59,354 Meaning? 1164 01:06:00,771 --> 01:06:05,729 [sighs] Meaning you can make the world swear King Kong is ten stories tall 1165 01:06:05,812 --> 01:06:08,146 and Mary Pickford a virgin at 40. 1166 01:06:08,854 --> 01:06:12,687 Yet you can't convince starving voters that a turncoat socialist 1167 01:06:12,771 --> 01:06:15,562 is a menace to everything Californians hold dear? 1168 01:06:16,479 --> 01:06:18,021 You're barely trying. 1169 01:06:18,646 --> 01:06:19,979 [door closes] 1170 01:06:24,896 --> 01:06:26,896 [indistinct chatter] 1171 01:06:32,521 --> 01:06:34,146 [man 1 on speaker] Millions of Californians 1172 01:06:34,229 --> 01:06:36,021 are being taxed out of their homes, 1173 01:06:36,104 --> 01:06:38,479 yet the Depression is one of abundance. 1174 01:06:38,562 --> 01:06:41,771 Fruit rots on the ground and vegetables are dumped into the ocean 1175 01:06:41,854 --> 01:06:43,437 because there are no markets for them. 1176 01:06:43,521 --> 01:06:47,229 [man 2] Aimee Semple McPherson says you're a godless commie, Upton. 1177 01:06:47,312 --> 01:06:48,146 [crowd booing] 1178 01:06:48,229 --> 01:06:52,437 [Sinclair] Too often, sir, the religion of Jesus is used by the ruling classes 1179 01:06:52,521 --> 01:06:55,812 to keep themselves in power and the poor ever poorer. 1180 01:06:55,896 --> 01:06:59,937 And that, my friends, is a sin and an error. 1181 01:07:00,021 --> 01:07:01,646 And I say with Thomas Jefferson, 1182 01:07:01,729 --> 01:07:06,979 "Truth has nothing to fear from error where reason is left free to combat it." 1183 01:07:07,062 --> 01:07:08,896 [crowd applauding] 1184 01:07:08,979 --> 01:07:11,021 [Sinclair] My friends, income in this country 1185 01:07:11,104 --> 01:07:14,604 is going to be redistributed by one of two methods, 1186 01:07:14,687 --> 01:07:18,062 legal enactment or violent revolution. 1187 01:07:18,146 --> 01:07:21,312 We haven't much longer to exercise our choice. 1188 01:07:21,396 --> 01:07:22,812 Thank you all for coming. 1189 01:07:22,896 --> 01:07:24,104 [crowd applauding] 1190 01:07:24,187 --> 01:07:26,104 [man 3] Tell us about Hollywood! 1191 01:07:26,187 --> 01:07:29,396 Are the studios moving to Florida like they've been saying? 1192 01:07:29,479 --> 01:07:30,771 [Sinclair] Absurd, sir. 1193 01:07:30,854 --> 01:07:34,021 If they were serious, why have the brothers Warner broken ground 1194 01:07:34,104 --> 01:07:36,896 on an additional 100,000 square feet of sound stages? 1195 01:07:37,479 --> 01:07:42,062 While MGM has the most contracts with stars in their history. 1196 01:07:42,562 --> 01:07:44,729 Well, he may not get Mayer's vote… 1197 01:07:44,812 --> 01:07:45,979 [Sinclair] Jobs will be here… 1198 01:07:46,062 --> 01:07:47,104 …but he gets mine. 1199 01:07:47,187 --> 01:07:48,479 …in California. 1200 01:07:48,979 --> 01:07:50,437 Thank you all for coming. 1201 01:07:50,521 --> 01:07:52,437 [crowd applauding and cheering] 1202 01:07:56,354 --> 01:07:58,854 [Houseman] Well, I have seen some miracles in my day, 1203 01:07:58,937 --> 01:08:02,229 but I have over 200 pages in 13 days. 1204 01:08:02,312 --> 01:08:03,979 I never would've thought it possible. 1205 01:08:05,104 --> 01:08:08,562 -To support devices. -Support devices. 1206 01:08:13,937 --> 01:08:17,146 [exhales] It's good, Mank. Damn good. 1207 01:08:17,229 --> 01:08:20,229 I have it on highest authority it's the best thing he's ever done. 1208 01:08:20,979 --> 01:08:22,979 [Houseman] As a moving picture, it's more than good. 1209 01:08:23,062 --> 01:08:28,479 I'm at a loss to even express how wealth and influence can crush a man. 1210 01:08:28,562 --> 01:08:31,229 It's Lear. The dark night of the soul. 1211 01:08:31,729 --> 01:08:33,521 And I was completely mistaken. 1212 01:08:33,604 --> 01:08:37,104 The shifting point of view is revolutionary. 1213 01:08:37,187 --> 01:08:40,021 I never thought one could care so much about a sled. 1214 01:08:40,604 --> 01:08:42,271 It's kind of you to say. 1215 01:08:42,354 --> 01:08:43,187 But. 1216 01:08:43,271 --> 01:08:45,646 [laughing] "But," again. 1217 01:08:45,729 --> 01:08:49,646 It's 327 pages. An embarrassment of riches. 1218 01:08:49,729 --> 01:08:53,271 When the Dog-Faced Boy gets here, there will be plenty of branches to prune. 1219 01:08:53,354 --> 01:08:57,771 "A far too long screenplay for the ages." John Houseman. 1220 01:08:57,854 --> 01:08:59,187 [chuckles] 1221 01:08:59,271 --> 01:09:03,521 I built him a watertight narrative and a suggested destination. 1222 01:09:04,187 --> 01:09:06,312 Where he takes it, that's his job. 1223 01:09:13,062 --> 01:09:16,021 I was, uh, looking to get you paid. 1224 01:09:16,812 --> 01:09:19,146 I don't know if you were aware or not. 1225 01:09:21,104 --> 01:09:24,271 You signed your rights to the Mercury. You agreed not to take screen credit. 1226 01:09:24,354 --> 01:09:27,437 -I needed the work. -You may want to reconsider. 1227 01:09:27,521 --> 01:09:33,479 All I currently want is a real shower, a cocktail, and my Sara to wake up to. 1228 01:09:33,562 --> 01:09:34,687 Are you certain? 1229 01:09:36,187 --> 01:09:37,187 It worked out. 1230 01:09:42,771 --> 01:09:46,562 Mank, if I may be so bold, why Hearst? 1231 01:09:47,771 --> 01:09:50,354 Lord knows, outside his own blonde Betty Boop, 1232 01:09:50,437 --> 01:09:52,771 you were always his favorite dinner partner. 1233 01:09:55,104 --> 01:10:01,687 John, are you familiar with the parable of the organ grinder's monkey? 1234 01:10:08,354 --> 01:10:09,271 [typewriter dings] 1235 01:10:09,354 --> 01:10:11,354 [peppy music playing over radio] 1236 01:10:19,687 --> 01:10:22,521 [melancholy music playing] 1237 01:10:27,896 --> 01:10:29,896 [peppy music resumes] 1238 01:10:34,187 --> 01:10:36,187 [indistinct chatter over radio] 1239 01:10:41,187 --> 01:10:43,104 [tuning radio] 1240 01:10:43,187 --> 01:10:44,979 [reporter] Today, our roving reporter 1241 01:10:45,062 --> 01:10:47,229 is visiting Mrs. Elsie Hammontree of Azusa. 1242 01:10:47,312 --> 01:10:51,104 Elsie, would you mind telling the folks at home why you're voting Republican? 1243 01:10:51,187 --> 01:10:53,062 [Elsie] Young man, I'm a widow, 1244 01:10:53,146 --> 01:10:56,937 and this little home may not be much, but it's all I have left. 1245 01:10:57,021 --> 01:10:59,896 -And I intend to protect it. -Poor old woman. 1246 01:10:59,979 --> 01:11:03,271 [reporter] Would you mind telling folks why you're voting for Frank Merriam? 1247 01:11:03,354 --> 01:11:07,437 [Elsie] Well, I'm voting for Frank Merriam because I wanna keep our way of life… 1248 01:11:07,521 --> 01:11:08,812 I know that voice. 1249 01:11:10,062 --> 01:11:11,104 It is familiar. 1250 01:11:11,604 --> 01:11:13,354 That's Maude Anderson. 1251 01:11:13,437 --> 01:11:16,854 -[Elsie] I don't know much… -It is. Aunt Bertha from Lonely Trails. 1252 01:11:16,937 --> 01:11:20,979 Well, she's no widow. And she's absurdly rich. 1253 01:11:21,479 --> 01:11:25,271 That "poor old woman" has got enough oil wells south of El Segundo 1254 01:11:25,354 --> 01:11:26,771 to buy us both, Schnutz. 1255 01:11:26,854 --> 01:11:29,104 -[radio tuning] -[upbeat jazz music playing] 1256 01:11:29,187 --> 01:11:33,437 I'd know that whiskey gargle anywhere. [chuckles] 1257 01:11:47,146 --> 01:11:49,396 Hey, Mank. 1258 01:11:49,479 --> 01:11:50,896 [Mank] Well, well. 1259 01:11:50,979 --> 01:11:53,271 Looks like you found work, C.C. 1260 01:11:53,771 --> 01:11:57,021 Don't nose it around, but yeah, just in the nick. 1261 01:11:58,687 --> 01:12:00,479 -Who's hiring? -MGM. 1262 01:12:01,187 --> 01:12:04,979 They cleaned out the Washington and Culver gates like a dose of Ex-Lax. 1263 01:12:05,062 --> 01:12:07,104 Grady gets a speaking part. 1264 01:12:07,187 --> 01:12:09,396 They told us to come dressed as we are. 1265 01:12:09,479 --> 01:12:13,396 I don't know who thought of it, but it keeps a lot of us off the streets. 1266 01:12:15,229 --> 01:12:16,937 Don't forget to vote. 1267 01:12:18,062 --> 01:12:20,187 [laughs] Okay. 1268 01:12:20,271 --> 01:12:22,229 [Kaufman] He's confused with Sinclair Lewis. 1269 01:12:22,312 --> 01:12:26,187 So many hicks think he wrote Elmer Gantry, it's cost him the Dust Bowl vote. 1270 01:12:26,271 --> 01:12:27,396 I'm in. 1271 01:12:27,479 --> 01:12:29,979 Poor sap. Not only has he got no money, 1272 01:12:30,062 --> 01:12:32,354 he's an idealist, for Christ's sakes. 1273 01:12:32,437 --> 01:12:34,979 Talk about political handicaps. I'm out. 1274 01:12:35,062 --> 01:12:37,104 [Perelman] Times says he'll lose by 200,000. 1275 01:12:37,187 --> 01:12:39,479 It's amazing what $10 million against him bought. 1276 01:12:39,562 --> 01:12:40,396 Raise. 1277 01:12:40,479 --> 01:12:43,021 That's what he gets for surrounding himself with amateurs. 1278 01:12:43,104 --> 01:12:44,729 They not only charge admission to rallies, 1279 01:12:44,812 --> 01:12:47,646 they pass a plate once the suckers are inside. 1280 01:12:47,729 --> 01:12:48,687 Call. 1281 01:12:48,771 --> 01:12:51,812 He's the most famous schlub after FDR, Hitler, and Mussolini. 1282 01:12:51,896 --> 01:12:53,437 That oughta count for something. 1283 01:12:53,521 --> 01:12:55,604 -Hiya, Shell, sit in. -[Hecht] The bookies know. 1284 01:12:55,687 --> 01:12:57,729 Soon as old Maude's radio spots started running, 1285 01:12:57,812 --> 01:13:01,312 the odds went from 7-5 for to 2-1 against. 1286 01:13:01,396 --> 01:13:04,896 Could you effete political snobs please shut up and play? 1287 01:13:04,979 --> 01:13:06,104 Mank, can I talk to you? 1288 01:13:06,187 --> 01:13:09,979 I'll see you guys and bump you two big ones. 1289 01:13:10,062 --> 01:13:11,146 It's important. 1290 01:13:11,229 --> 01:13:13,354 What, now, Shelly? 1291 01:13:14,146 --> 01:13:16,687 [sighs] It better be. 1292 01:13:17,687 --> 01:13:20,312 That's the first good hand I've had all day. 1293 01:13:22,354 --> 01:13:24,896 I didn't know he knew what a good hand looked like. 1294 01:13:24,979 --> 01:13:26,062 [Mank] I'm out. 1295 01:13:26,562 --> 01:13:29,104 [reporter on film] Mind telling who you favor in this election? 1296 01:13:29,187 --> 01:13:31,479 [man 1] I'm going to vote for Frank Merriam. 1297 01:13:31,562 --> 01:13:33,396 [reporter] Tell us your principal reason. 1298 01:13:33,479 --> 01:13:36,479 Well, I want Merriam because I want a job. 1299 01:13:36,562 --> 01:13:39,604 If you drive all the capital out of the country, who's gonna pay us? 1300 01:13:39,687 --> 01:13:42,354 [reporter] You think Merriam would be safest for all of us? 1301 01:13:42,437 --> 01:13:43,479 [man 1] Absolutely. 1302 01:13:44,062 --> 01:13:46,854 It's no time to trade horses in the middle of a stream. 1303 01:13:46,937 --> 01:13:49,187 [reporter] Mr. Butler, are you voting in the election? 1304 01:13:49,271 --> 01:13:51,521 -[Butler] I am. -[reporter] Who would you vote for? 1305 01:13:51,604 --> 01:13:53,604 I'm sure that I'm gonna vote for Mr. Sinclair. 1306 01:13:53,687 --> 01:13:55,729 [reporter] You must have a good reason. 1307 01:13:55,812 --> 01:13:58,937 Mr. Sinclair's got something new. He got that EPIC Plan. 1308 01:13:59,021 --> 01:14:02,396 I feel as though it's time we should try something new out again. 1309 01:14:02,479 --> 01:14:04,437 I need prosperity. 1310 01:14:04,521 --> 01:14:06,812 [man 2] Well, first of all, I'm an American, 1311 01:14:06,896 --> 01:14:08,771 and I believe that Mr. Merriam 1312 01:14:08,854 --> 01:14:13,604 will support all the foundations and principles 1313 01:14:13,687 --> 01:14:16,937 that this country has stood for in the past 150 years. 1314 01:14:17,021 --> 01:14:18,896 I have a job now, and I wanna keep it. 1315 01:14:18,979 --> 01:14:21,937 My wife and I love California, and we'd like to stay. 1316 01:14:22,021 --> 01:14:24,687 But in case we should have to leave, 1317 01:14:24,771 --> 01:14:27,271 I'd like to have at least a couple dollars. 1318 01:14:28,021 --> 01:14:28,937 [director] Cut. 1319 01:14:29,021 --> 01:14:31,729 [indistinct chatter] 1320 01:14:34,771 --> 01:14:38,312 [reporter] Mrs. Hammontree, tell the folks why you're voting for Frank Merriam. 1321 01:14:38,396 --> 01:14:41,396 Well, I'm voting for Frank Merriam because I wanna keep our way of life. 1322 01:14:41,479 --> 01:14:44,104 [reporter] A Democrat wouldn't protect your way of life? 1323 01:14:44,187 --> 01:14:46,437 [scoffs] Why, that man's a socialist. 1324 01:14:46,521 --> 01:14:50,771 I don't know much about politics, but I do know this. 1325 01:14:50,854 --> 01:14:52,937 If Upton Sinclair wins this election, 1326 01:14:53,021 --> 01:14:56,104 private ownership in California won't amount to a hill o' beans. 1327 01:14:56,687 --> 01:15:00,437 [in faux Russian accent] Well, we need complete rejuvenation of our system, 1328 01:15:00,521 --> 01:15:02,521 so I vote for Comrade Upton. 1329 01:15:02,604 --> 01:15:05,687 His system work in Russia, why not here? 1330 01:15:05,771 --> 01:15:07,271 [director] Cut. Do it again. 1331 01:15:08,396 --> 01:15:09,979 -[sighs] -What'd you think? 1332 01:15:10,937 --> 01:15:13,937 Truthfully, Shelly, if the performances were any better, 1333 01:15:14,021 --> 01:15:15,521 you'd be ashamed of yourself. 1334 01:15:15,604 --> 01:15:17,687 -Only half of 'em were actors. -[sighs] 1335 01:15:17,771 --> 01:15:21,437 It's got that raw newsreel feel, hasn't it? 1336 01:15:21,937 --> 01:15:26,521 -But it isn't news and it isn't real. -I wasn't looking for an ethical debate. 1337 01:15:26,604 --> 01:15:29,562 -When did they cook this up? -At a meeting in production. 1338 01:15:29,646 --> 01:15:33,396 They were passing around a pamphlet Sinclair wrote called "Ending Poverty in…" 1339 01:15:33,479 --> 01:15:36,187 "America's unemployed will invade the Golden State." 1340 01:15:36,271 --> 01:15:39,604 -Mayer was giddy to use it against him. -Yeah, I bet he was. 1341 01:15:40,979 --> 01:15:44,396 [sighs] It's enough to persuade me that a writer is more of a menace 1342 01:15:44,479 --> 01:15:46,896 to an unsuspecting public than a party hack. 1343 01:15:46,979 --> 01:15:49,937 -Manky-- [spills drink, inhales sharply] -You okay? 1344 01:15:51,146 --> 01:15:52,271 Just nerves. 1345 01:15:53,812 --> 01:15:56,937 If it's bothering you, Shelly, why get involved? 1346 01:15:58,146 --> 01:15:59,729 They gave me a chance to direct. 1347 01:16:03,812 --> 01:16:07,187 You don't think anyone old enough to vote is gonna buy this shit? 1348 01:16:07,271 --> 01:16:10,479 Only the ones who believe King Kong is ten stories tall 1349 01:16:10,562 --> 01:16:13,104 or Mary Pickford a virgin at 40. 1350 01:16:14,562 --> 01:16:15,812 [door opens] 1351 01:16:25,479 --> 01:16:27,146 Thanks, Cedric. These are fine. 1352 01:16:32,479 --> 01:16:35,396 I've just watched our Sinclair films. 1353 01:16:35,479 --> 01:16:38,062 Ah. What did you think? 1354 01:16:38,146 --> 01:16:41,646 With all due respect to Shelly, King Kong they ain't. 1355 01:16:43,312 --> 01:16:45,021 Though I do think footage 1356 01:16:45,104 --> 01:16:48,687 of invading hobos has a certain xenophobic power 1357 01:16:48,771 --> 01:16:52,896 when front-paged in the Times and backed by those tacky billboards. 1358 01:16:52,979 --> 01:16:57,021 Shelly got a chance to direct, and I canceled your $12,000 gambling debt. 1359 01:16:57,104 --> 01:16:59,646 I'd call that a fair return on a one-minute lecture 1360 01:16:59,729 --> 01:17:01,354 for uninspired studio chieftains. 1361 01:17:02,771 --> 01:17:05,271 Your director's been stricken with a bout of conscience. 1362 01:17:05,354 --> 01:17:07,312 I'm sure he'll tell me himself. 1363 01:17:09,687 --> 01:17:12,354 Don't do this, Irving. 1364 01:17:14,104 --> 01:17:17,354 When I was just a boy passing out socialist leaflets in the Bronx, 1365 01:17:17,437 --> 01:17:20,812 a couple Tammany goons came to show me the error of my ways. 1366 01:17:20,896 --> 01:17:22,771 And one of them crushed my testicles 1367 01:17:22,854 --> 01:17:26,354 until I volunteered to distribute my wares into the East River. 1368 01:17:26,437 --> 01:17:30,479 That's politics. I didn't invent it, I don't apologize for it. 1369 01:17:35,104 --> 01:17:36,979 Mayer's not paying for this. 1370 01:17:37,979 --> 01:17:39,646 He never pays for anything. 1371 01:17:43,187 --> 01:17:44,271 Willie? 1372 01:17:46,646 --> 01:17:50,771 -Marion might be interested. -Well, you're gonna have to hurry. 1373 01:17:50,854 --> 01:17:53,604 Mayer's over there now giving her the company kiss-off. 1374 01:17:54,687 --> 01:17:55,896 Oh, haven't you heard? 1375 01:17:57,562 --> 01:18:01,229 She's taking her playpen to Warner Bros. Permanently. 1376 01:18:02,271 --> 01:18:03,229 Warner's? 1377 01:18:03,729 --> 01:18:05,562 I wouldn't let her do Marie Antoinette. 1378 01:18:06,062 --> 01:18:07,521 Goldwyn's right for once. 1379 01:18:07,604 --> 01:18:10,062 [mimics Goldwyn] "A comedienne in that role is to laugh." 1380 01:18:10,937 --> 01:18:13,937 Besides, her pictures haven't made a dime in a decade. 1381 01:18:14,646 --> 01:18:16,396 Congratulations, Irving. 1382 01:18:17,771 --> 01:18:18,771 I know what I am, Mank. 1383 01:18:19,937 --> 01:18:22,187 When I come to work, I don't consider it slumming. 1384 01:18:22,271 --> 01:18:24,687 I don't use humor to keep myself above the fray. 1385 01:18:24,771 --> 01:18:29,812 And I go to the mat for what I believe in. I haven't the time to do otherwise. 1386 01:18:31,062 --> 01:18:32,104 But you, sir, 1387 01:18:33,021 --> 01:18:37,021 how formidable people like you might be if they actually gave at the office. 1388 01:18:38,437 --> 01:18:39,604 Close the door. 1389 01:18:41,104 --> 01:18:43,562 -[indistinct chatter] -[camera flashbulbs crackling] 1390 01:18:50,271 --> 01:18:52,479 [Mank panting] 1391 01:18:57,646 --> 01:18:59,896 [photographer] Oh, that's a beautiful shot right there. 1392 01:19:01,979 --> 01:19:03,021 [sighs] 1393 01:19:24,979 --> 01:19:27,396 Mank! Are you okay? 1394 01:19:27,979 --> 01:19:30,812 No, that almost killed me. Where's Willie? 1395 01:19:31,437 --> 01:19:32,562 Cairo, I think. 1396 01:19:32,646 --> 01:19:35,812 -Can you phone him? -I don't phone him, he phones me. 1397 01:19:35,896 --> 01:19:36,979 When's he due back? 1398 01:19:37,062 --> 01:19:39,937 After November 6th. I'm joining him in Europe next week. 1399 01:19:42,146 --> 01:19:45,354 Marion, I need a favor. It's just a little joke on Willie. 1400 01:19:45,437 --> 01:19:46,687 Sure, Mank, anything. 1401 01:19:46,771 --> 01:19:49,771 I want you to go back and tell Mayer 1402 01:19:49,854 --> 01:19:53,479 Willie wants the phony Sinclair films pulled. 1403 01:19:55,646 --> 01:19:57,479 Which phony Sinclair films? 1404 01:19:57,562 --> 01:20:00,812 There isn't time to explain. I just need you to tell him that. 1405 01:20:00,896 --> 01:20:03,271 Oh, I couldn't, not even as a joke. 1406 01:20:03,354 --> 01:20:06,187 -[Mank] Why not? -You know I don't lie. 1407 01:20:06,937 --> 01:20:09,479 And that's why he'd believe you. [chuckles] 1408 01:20:09,562 --> 01:20:12,646 Marion, please, you're not in convent school anymore. 1409 01:20:16,104 --> 01:20:20,187 -I'm sorry. I… I know it's silly, but-- -But what? Why not? 1410 01:20:20,271 --> 01:20:24,521 -Promise you won't laugh. -I promise I won't laugh. 1411 01:20:25,187 --> 01:20:27,437 -My exit. -What? 1412 01:20:28,854 --> 01:20:30,896 I already made my exit. 1413 01:20:34,687 --> 01:20:35,687 [sighs] 1414 01:20:47,312 --> 01:20:50,312 [laughing uproariously] 1415 01:21:01,187 --> 01:21:03,312 -[Rita] Manky! -Whatie? 1416 01:21:03,396 --> 01:21:07,854 -It's an ash-throated flycatcher! -Congratulations! Best kind. 1417 01:21:08,937 --> 01:21:09,937 What can I say? 1418 01:21:10,729 --> 01:21:11,729 She's my aunt. 1419 01:21:11,812 --> 01:21:15,771 -Oh, it's not about her, it's about him. -Oh? 1420 01:21:15,854 --> 01:21:19,812 -Or rather, it's him, but it's not her. -It isn't? 1421 01:21:19,896 --> 01:21:23,021 The lonely showgirl, trapped in a castle, doing jigsaw puzzles. 1422 01:21:23,104 --> 01:21:27,187 It's more, her as people who don't know her imagine her to be. 1423 01:21:27,271 --> 01:21:28,396 I see. 1424 01:21:29,646 --> 01:21:32,646 It's her as they imagine her, but it's him as you knew him. 1425 01:21:32,729 --> 01:21:35,146 -Damn it, Charlie. -You asked me out here. 1426 01:21:35,229 --> 01:21:37,396 I was honored to come and read your latest. 1427 01:21:37,979 --> 01:21:41,062 -Is this a test? -A test? Of what? 1428 01:21:41,854 --> 01:21:44,729 -Friendship? Loyalty? -Oh, come now. 1429 01:21:44,812 --> 01:21:46,979 Or just your way of avoiding responsibility? 1430 01:21:48,021 --> 01:21:49,021 What do you mean? 1431 01:21:49,104 --> 01:21:52,521 Are you hoping I might absolve you of such a personal betrayal? 1432 01:21:54,354 --> 01:21:55,521 I won't give you that. 1433 01:21:59,104 --> 01:22:01,021 Are you going to say anything? 1434 01:22:03,021 --> 01:22:04,521 [sighs] 1435 01:22:06,062 --> 01:22:09,521 -I have to think about it. -Why? 1436 01:22:09,604 --> 01:22:12,229 'Cause I haven't made up my mind how she might react. 1437 01:22:12,312 --> 01:22:14,062 What does instinct tell you? 1438 01:22:14,146 --> 01:22:15,687 [Lederer] It's mighty strong medicine 1439 01:22:15,771 --> 01:22:18,271 for a lifetime of starry-eyed self-absorption. 1440 01:22:18,354 --> 01:22:21,479 It's one of those cures that could be worse than the disease. 1441 01:22:21,562 --> 01:22:23,896 But you, of all people, should know about that. 1442 01:22:27,562 --> 01:22:29,771 [car driving away] 1443 01:22:31,354 --> 01:22:32,771 He took the script? 1444 01:22:33,354 --> 01:22:34,562 Uh-huh. 1445 01:22:35,604 --> 01:22:36,604 Will he show it to her? 1446 01:22:39,937 --> 01:22:40,979 [Mank] I don't know. 1447 01:22:42,312 --> 01:22:43,604 [Rita] Do you want him to? 1448 01:22:46,021 --> 01:22:47,021 I don't know. 1449 01:22:57,312 --> 01:22:59,229 [fast jazz drumbeat playing] 1450 01:22:59,312 --> 01:23:01,229 [electricity crackling] 1451 01:23:01,312 --> 01:23:03,312 [indistinct chatter] 1452 01:23:05,729 --> 01:23:06,812 [typewriter dings] 1453 01:23:20,646 --> 01:23:23,979 -[upbeat jazz music playing] -Sinclair is yesterday's fishwrap. 1454 01:23:24,937 --> 01:23:26,479 Never stood a chance. 1455 01:23:27,646 --> 01:23:28,646 Make up your mind. 1456 01:23:28,729 --> 01:23:31,687 Are we home licking our wounds or here making the best of it? 1457 01:23:32,687 --> 01:23:34,437 We're making the best of it. 1458 01:23:37,187 --> 01:23:39,604 -Good evening. Name? -Mankiewicz. 1459 01:23:39,687 --> 01:23:40,771 Sorry, what was that? 1460 01:23:40,854 --> 01:23:44,146 M-A-N-K-I-E-W-I-C, and outta nowhere, a Z. 1461 01:23:44,229 --> 01:23:47,312 -Table 14. -Ends of the earth. Clean exit. 1462 01:23:47,396 --> 01:23:49,187 Mankiewicz, Herman. 1463 01:23:50,354 --> 01:23:53,729 Oh, terribly sorry. Table one. Right this way. 1464 01:23:55,896 --> 01:23:58,937 If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. 1465 01:24:00,062 --> 01:24:01,396 [camera flashbulbs crackling] 1466 01:24:11,312 --> 01:24:12,854 -Table one. -[woman] Sara! 1467 01:24:12,937 --> 01:24:15,604 Good grief. Look who's here. How about that? 1468 01:24:15,687 --> 01:24:18,521 -Sara. -[Mayer] What a loyal friend you are. 1469 01:24:18,604 --> 01:24:21,437 -I never thought we would see Mank. -I'm surprised. 1470 01:24:21,521 --> 01:24:23,521 I would've imagined you in pajamas by now. 1471 01:24:23,604 --> 01:24:26,396 Mank, turns out we have the same dentist on Camden. 1472 01:24:26,479 --> 01:24:29,479 Sara, we have to plan a day of shopping and catch up. 1473 01:24:29,562 --> 01:24:32,271 Herman, I met your brother. He's a chip off the old block. 1474 01:24:32,354 --> 01:24:33,437 Quite handsome. 1475 01:24:37,354 --> 01:24:38,646 Please, sit. 1476 01:24:41,021 --> 01:24:44,062 I can't tell you how much it means. I'm touched you'd come. 1477 01:24:44,146 --> 01:24:46,312 -[voice breaking] Thank you. -[woman] Oh. 1478 01:24:48,479 --> 01:24:49,687 Why do I love you? 1479 01:24:56,854 --> 01:24:58,562 What's everyone else having? 1480 01:24:58,646 --> 01:25:00,812 -[all laughing] -[sound fades out] 1481 01:25:00,896 --> 01:25:05,312 [upbeat jazz music continues playing] 1482 01:25:12,187 --> 01:25:14,604 [speaking indistinctly] 1483 01:25:25,312 --> 01:25:27,229 [radio announcer echoing] 1484 01:25:38,854 --> 01:25:42,479 -[Mayer] What a great night. Great result. -I'll drink to that. 1485 01:25:42,562 --> 01:25:45,979 You see, if you just give people what they need to know 1486 01:25:46,062 --> 01:25:49,979 in an emotional way, you can expect they'll do the right thing. 1487 01:25:50,062 --> 01:25:51,687 I think what you mean, 1488 01:25:51,771 --> 01:25:54,146 "If you keep telling people something untrue, 1489 01:25:54,229 --> 01:25:56,771 loud and long enough, they're apt to believe it." 1490 01:25:56,854 --> 01:25:58,104 That's not what he was saying. 1491 01:25:58,187 --> 01:26:01,021 What's going on here? Are we quoting Goebbels? 1492 01:26:01,104 --> 01:26:03,854 -I'd like to debate that with L.B. -I'd like to see that. 1493 01:26:03,937 --> 01:26:05,604 Mank. Have another. 1494 01:26:05,687 --> 01:26:08,271 [Mank] It's early. Every vote counts. 1495 01:26:08,354 --> 01:26:11,271 Maybe the informed of California were late leaving work. 1496 01:26:11,771 --> 01:26:14,146 The last I heard, Irving, it's still a democracy. 1497 01:26:14,229 --> 01:26:16,312 -Of the people. -By the people. 1498 01:26:16,396 --> 01:26:18,187 What are you two talking about? 1499 01:26:18,271 --> 01:26:20,896 [Mank] I tell you what, how about… 1500 01:26:22,187 --> 01:26:23,187 double or nothin'? 1501 01:26:23,271 --> 01:26:25,062 -[Mayer] What's he saying? -Herman. 1502 01:26:26,479 --> 01:26:28,396 You really will bet on anything. 1503 01:26:29,521 --> 01:26:31,771 Keep your money. I'm happy enough 1504 01:26:31,854 --> 01:26:34,646 just to nail that utopian son of a bitch to the wall. 1505 01:26:34,729 --> 01:26:37,479 I told you. Your obligation was canceled out of gratitude. 1506 01:26:38,271 --> 01:26:39,479 Wait a minute. What? 1507 01:26:40,437 --> 01:26:44,229 He wants to wager double or nothin' on a debt he doesn't even owe us? 1508 01:26:44,312 --> 01:26:45,312 Mank. 1509 01:26:45,396 --> 01:26:48,271 It's a matter of principle, L.B. You wouldn't understand. 1510 01:26:49,896 --> 01:26:54,146 I understand plenty. I'll take that bet. 1511 01:26:55,521 --> 01:26:58,146 Okay, Mank, you're on. Twenty-four grand or nothing. 1512 01:27:02,896 --> 01:27:04,104 Excuse me. 1513 01:27:05,354 --> 01:27:06,896 I'm going to throw up. 1514 01:27:16,562 --> 01:27:20,187 [distorted radio announcer delivering election results] 1515 01:27:20,271 --> 01:27:21,312 [man laughing] 1516 01:27:23,187 --> 01:27:27,812 -[unsettling music playing] -[distorted election report continues] 1517 01:27:55,812 --> 01:27:57,812 [romantic music playing] 1518 01:28:18,687 --> 01:28:19,854 I needed some air. 1519 01:28:36,479 --> 01:28:38,229 Why do you love me? 1520 01:28:52,062 --> 01:28:54,021 Excuse me, friends. 1521 01:28:54,771 --> 01:28:55,812 [clears throat] 1522 01:28:55,896 --> 01:29:00,187 The final, incomplete, count for tonight is… 1523 01:29:01,979 --> 01:29:05,354 -Upton Sinclair, the lousy Bolshevik… -[man booing] 1524 01:29:06,521 --> 01:29:09,646 …728,653. 1525 01:29:10,687 --> 01:29:11,812 Frank Merriam… 1526 01:29:11,896 --> 01:29:13,104 [guests cheering] 1527 01:29:13,187 --> 01:29:15,562 …the good Republican, 1528 01:29:15,646 --> 01:29:18,646 -948,814. -[all cheering loudly] 1529 01:29:18,729 --> 01:29:21,896 My friends! My friends! 1530 01:29:21,979 --> 01:29:25,604 Everybody get up and sing with me! 1531 01:29:25,687 --> 01:29:28,187 Sing with me! Everybody, up and sing! 1532 01:29:29,021 --> 01:29:32,937 ♪ O beautiful for spacious skies ♪ 1533 01:29:33,021 --> 01:29:34,812 It was a team effort. Thanks. 1534 01:29:34,896 --> 01:29:39,396 ♪ For amber waves of grain ♪ 1535 01:29:40,021 --> 01:29:45,062 ♪ For purple mountain majesties… ♪ 1536 01:29:46,146 --> 01:29:48,854 Uh, Mr. Mankiewicz, I'm so sorry to bother you, 1537 01:29:48,937 --> 01:29:51,896 but there's a telephone call for you. Right back this way. 1538 01:29:52,812 --> 01:29:55,229 ♪ America… ♪ 1539 01:29:57,104 --> 01:29:59,396 -Hello. -Mank, it's Shelly. 1540 01:29:59,479 --> 01:30:00,562 It's Shelly. 1541 01:30:00,646 --> 01:30:03,771 -[slurring] He lost, Mank. -[Mank] Yeah, it's been a bad night. 1542 01:30:05,396 --> 01:30:06,271 It's my fault. 1543 01:30:06,354 --> 01:30:10,854 -Oh, easy, fella, you only voted once. -He was just on the radio. 1544 01:30:10,937 --> 01:30:15,437 He said the phony newsreels cost him the election. 1545 01:30:15,521 --> 01:30:17,229 That shows how naive he is. 1546 01:30:17,312 --> 01:30:20,229 FDR cost him the election by staying on the sidelines. 1547 01:30:20,312 --> 01:30:22,937 -Sleep it off. -I'm not at home. 1548 01:30:23,021 --> 01:30:24,937 Where are you? Let me call you a cab. 1549 01:30:25,521 --> 01:30:28,062 Never mind. I'll take the Pasadena Freeway. 1550 01:30:28,146 --> 01:30:30,562 Nobody'd be on it election night. 1551 01:30:31,354 --> 01:30:32,604 Hello? 1552 01:30:32,687 --> 01:30:33,604 Hello? 1553 01:30:36,562 --> 01:30:40,062 -[operator] How may I direct your call? -Normandie, 4761. 1554 01:30:40,771 --> 01:30:42,187 He's shit-faced. 1555 01:30:42,271 --> 01:30:44,437 -[phone rings] -Shell, is that you? 1556 01:30:44,521 --> 01:30:47,187 -It's Herman Mankiewicz. Where is he? -[sighs] 1557 01:30:47,271 --> 01:30:49,479 [wife] I don't know. I'm so worried. 1558 01:30:49,562 --> 01:30:53,479 He left here very upset, and he's got a pistol with him. 1559 01:30:53,562 --> 01:30:56,021 Don't worry, Fay. I'll find him. 1560 01:30:56,104 --> 01:30:57,854 -Eve. -What? 1561 01:30:58,521 --> 01:31:01,729 -I'm Eve. Fay was his first. -I'll find him. 1562 01:31:01,812 --> 01:31:03,104 -[sighs] -[hangs up] 1563 01:31:05,854 --> 01:31:10,271 Is Houseman coming back? I never thought I'd miss him. 1564 01:31:11,312 --> 01:31:13,979 He and the wunderkind are cutting the first draft. 1565 01:31:14,062 --> 01:31:16,937 A form of creative vivisection. 1566 01:31:17,021 --> 01:31:20,062 Vital organs are exposed, nothing is learned, 1567 01:31:20,146 --> 01:31:22,021 the patient dies on the table. 1568 01:31:22,104 --> 01:31:24,521 -[car approaching] -[dog barking] 1569 01:31:27,312 --> 01:31:29,271 What have we here? 1570 01:31:31,604 --> 01:31:36,812 Why, it's a puffed-up, sharp-tailed, red-ruffled magpie. 1571 01:31:36,896 --> 01:31:38,146 A whatie? 1572 01:31:58,687 --> 01:32:03,396 -How do you like the Mojave? -God's answer for drunks and reprobates. 1573 01:32:03,479 --> 01:32:05,437 Perfect place to dry out. 1574 01:32:05,521 --> 01:32:08,896 -How's that working? -It didn't take. Cheers. 1575 01:32:09,479 --> 01:32:10,604 L'chaim. 1576 01:32:17,312 --> 01:32:18,479 Why are you doing this, Herm? 1577 01:32:19,104 --> 01:32:21,604 -Posterity. -Posterity, my ass. 1578 01:32:21,687 --> 01:32:23,979 -From the original Latin. -Don't patronize me. 1579 01:32:24,062 --> 01:32:25,729 My Latin grades were better than yours. 1580 01:32:25,812 --> 01:32:27,646 Bibamus, moriendum est. 1581 01:32:32,646 --> 01:32:34,729 I read your little script. 1582 01:32:36,396 --> 01:32:37,729 News travels fast. 1583 01:32:37,812 --> 01:32:39,271 Even without the title page, 1584 01:32:39,354 --> 01:32:41,646 you don't need to be Philip Marlowe to know who wrote it. 1585 01:32:41,729 --> 01:32:44,146 [grunts] Have at it. 1586 01:32:44,812 --> 01:32:46,146 It's very… 1587 01:32:48,229 --> 01:32:49,062 complicated. 1588 01:32:49,146 --> 01:32:50,854 Well, thanks for coming out. 1589 01:32:51,854 --> 01:32:53,729 Herman, this is me. 1590 01:32:54,354 --> 01:32:57,479 You pick a fight with Willie, you are finished. 1591 01:32:57,562 --> 01:32:59,479 Mayer can't save you. Nobody can. 1592 01:32:59,562 --> 01:33:01,854 Especially the boy genius from New York. 1593 01:33:01,937 --> 01:33:05,896 -You're far too political, Joe. -Self-preservation is not politics. 1594 01:33:06,479 --> 01:33:07,812 Him, I get. 1595 01:33:08,562 --> 01:33:10,521 But what did Marion ever do to deserve this? 1596 01:33:10,604 --> 01:33:12,312 It's not her! 1597 01:33:13,979 --> 01:33:17,521 You know better than anyone, not all characters are headliners. 1598 01:33:17,604 --> 01:33:18,896 Some are secondary. 1599 01:33:18,979 --> 01:33:22,896 Well, that's why I'm here. On behalf of the secondary characters. 1600 01:33:25,104 --> 01:33:27,354 I thought you'd wanna know there's a rumor in town 1601 01:33:27,437 --> 01:33:28,521 you're out to get Hearst 1602 01:33:28,604 --> 01:33:30,812 because they dropped you from L.B.'s payroll, 1603 01:33:30,896 --> 01:33:32,562 that they didn't want you around anymore. 1604 01:33:32,646 --> 01:33:34,896 Don't believe everything you hear at Schwab's. 1605 01:33:34,979 --> 01:33:37,937 Hey, you made yourself court jester. 1606 01:33:40,396 --> 01:33:42,104 Someone had to say it. 1607 01:33:51,229 --> 01:33:55,812 People are speculating Rosebud is W.R.'s pet name for Marion's genitalia. 1608 01:33:55,896 --> 01:33:57,854 Now, I know you'd never stoop to that. 1609 01:33:57,937 --> 01:33:59,771 Only because I hadn't heard. 1610 01:33:59,854 --> 01:34:04,229 [both laughing] 1611 01:34:07,687 --> 01:34:08,687 [sighs] 1612 01:34:15,187 --> 01:34:18,229 [Mank] Charlie tells me you're up for Thalberg's old job. 1613 01:34:18,312 --> 01:34:20,896 -[Joe] Not anymore. -Did I bollix that? 1614 01:34:20,979 --> 01:34:24,271 Don't flatter yourself, Herman. I did it all alone. 1615 01:34:24,354 --> 01:34:25,437 Now, there's a first. 1616 01:34:25,521 --> 01:34:29,229 I exposed myself, not entirely metaphorically, in court. 1617 01:34:29,312 --> 01:34:30,187 Do tell. 1618 01:34:30,812 --> 01:34:34,479 Somebody was bitching about Mervyn LeRoy running over budget on Wizard of Oz. 1619 01:34:34,562 --> 01:34:37,354 -Goddamn movie again. -I said, "Le Roy s'amuse." 1620 01:34:37,437 --> 01:34:39,437 I was then forced to spend the next 20 minutes 1621 01:34:39,521 --> 01:34:41,146 having to explain that "Le Roy" 1622 01:34:41,229 --> 01:34:43,979 is "le roi" in French and means "the king." 1623 01:34:44,062 --> 01:34:45,979 Or to be specific, François I, 1624 01:34:46,062 --> 01:34:48,104 and his royal habit of s'amus-ing himself 1625 01:34:48,187 --> 01:34:50,604 by diddling all the ladies of his court. 1626 01:34:50,687 --> 01:34:53,979 -[both laughing] -[Mank coughing] 1627 01:34:55,437 --> 01:34:58,937 You know, Pop was right. You should've been a professor. 1628 01:34:59,604 --> 01:35:02,271 Nobody knew what the fuck I was talking about. 1629 01:35:02,771 --> 01:35:06,146 They say I was passed over because I'm not a team player. 1630 01:35:06,812 --> 01:35:07,771 But I know better. 1631 01:35:08,271 --> 01:35:10,646 It was the goddamn French pun that did me in. 1632 01:35:10,729 --> 01:35:12,271 [laughs] 1633 01:35:17,729 --> 01:35:19,229 I'm washed up, Joe. 1634 01:35:21,521 --> 01:35:23,937 [exhales] Have been for years. 1635 01:35:29,646 --> 01:35:31,729 It's the best thing you've ever written. 1636 01:35:40,146 --> 01:35:42,146 [car driving away] 1637 01:35:48,979 --> 01:35:50,479 A rare bird, that. 1638 01:35:52,854 --> 01:35:54,021 A Mankiewicz. 1639 01:36:08,187 --> 01:36:09,521 [typewriter dings] 1640 01:36:09,604 --> 01:36:10,979 [crickets chirping] 1641 01:36:17,771 --> 01:36:20,979 -You can't do it that way. -Do what? 1642 01:36:21,062 --> 01:36:24,521 Kill yourself. I've tried. It takes years. 1643 01:36:25,021 --> 01:36:28,354 I was tired of doing inserts and pick-up shots. 1644 01:36:28,437 --> 01:36:31,146 You're not the first person to trade integrity 1645 01:36:31,229 --> 01:36:33,062 for a chance in the big chair. 1646 01:36:34,146 --> 01:36:36,896 Thalberg said this was your idea. 1647 01:36:36,979 --> 01:36:40,229 Sometimes my asides are too clever by half. 1648 01:36:43,771 --> 01:36:45,729 Go home to Fay. 1649 01:36:45,812 --> 01:36:47,979 -Eve. -Eve. Sorry. 1650 01:36:50,479 --> 01:36:54,271 Look at what we did. We can't un-ring this bell. 1651 01:36:54,354 --> 01:36:56,229 We have to be vigilant. 1652 01:36:56,312 --> 01:36:57,812 In regards to? 1653 01:36:57,896 --> 01:36:59,771 People sitting in the dark, 1654 01:36:59,854 --> 01:37:02,604 willingly checking their disbelief at the door. 1655 01:37:03,104 --> 01:37:05,604 We have a huge responsibility. 1656 01:37:07,271 --> 01:37:08,146 I got it. 1657 01:37:09,312 --> 01:37:10,271 Got what? 1658 01:37:11,771 --> 01:37:13,104 Parkinson's. 1659 01:37:17,021 --> 01:37:21,021 [sighs] No, Shelly. 1660 01:37:23,354 --> 01:37:24,562 [Mank sighs] 1661 01:37:27,271 --> 01:37:28,312 I'm so sorry. 1662 01:37:29,521 --> 01:37:31,021 First, you get the tremors, 1663 01:37:32,396 --> 01:37:34,604 and your muscles begin to fail. 1664 01:37:35,937 --> 01:37:38,312 Pretty soon, you can't get out of a chair. 1665 01:37:39,521 --> 01:37:42,646 Then smiling, speaking, 1666 01:37:42,729 --> 01:37:44,021 everything goes. 1667 01:37:45,396 --> 01:37:47,771 And it keeps going till… 1668 01:37:48,521 --> 01:37:50,354 You could always produce. 1669 01:37:50,437 --> 01:37:52,646 [laughs] 1670 01:37:54,104 --> 01:37:55,396 [Mank sighs] 1671 01:37:57,562 --> 01:37:59,229 Give me the gun, Shelly. 1672 01:38:05,604 --> 01:38:06,604 [Shelly grunts] 1673 01:38:13,521 --> 01:38:14,771 [bullets rattle] 1674 01:38:23,146 --> 01:38:24,062 Take 'em, Mank. 1675 01:38:26,687 --> 01:38:29,479 Go on home. I'll be fine. 1676 01:38:38,062 --> 01:38:40,646 [unsettling music playing] 1677 01:39:09,271 --> 01:39:10,271 [knocks] 1678 01:39:11,146 --> 01:39:13,062 [footsteps running] 1679 01:39:15,021 --> 01:39:16,146 Is he with you? 1680 01:39:17,437 --> 01:39:18,771 He… He wouldn't come. 1681 01:39:18,854 --> 01:39:21,854 [sighs] Please tell me you got the gun. 1682 01:39:22,604 --> 01:39:23,812 [bullets jingling] 1683 01:39:28,271 --> 01:39:30,396 -[bullet falls to floor] -[Eve] Oh, my God! 1684 01:39:31,771 --> 01:39:35,104 -What? -He had a whole box. [breathing shakily] 1685 01:39:38,854 --> 01:39:40,937 -[gunshot] -[loud thud] 1686 01:39:49,271 --> 01:39:50,562 -Mank. -[gasps] 1687 01:39:52,146 --> 01:39:53,604 You have another visitor. 1688 01:39:55,271 --> 01:39:56,271 What? 1689 01:40:15,437 --> 01:40:16,271 [sighs] 1690 01:40:17,479 --> 01:40:21,229 [Marion] Drink it fast. In this heat, it'll flash to sugar. 1691 01:40:28,979 --> 01:40:30,812 Why the wine and dine, Marion? 1692 01:40:31,646 --> 01:40:33,104 Good cop, bad cop? 1693 01:40:33,187 --> 01:40:36,104 -How do you mean, Mank? -First Joe, now you. 1694 01:40:38,062 --> 01:40:40,396 Can't you just tell me what's on your mind? 1695 01:40:40,479 --> 01:40:41,979 [sighs] 1696 01:40:42,062 --> 01:40:45,021 Well, I read the script. 1697 01:40:45,104 --> 01:40:46,229 Who hasn't? 1698 01:40:46,312 --> 01:40:50,271 It's very grand, Mank, in its own way, and very much you. 1699 01:40:51,187 --> 01:40:53,104 I would've loved to play me ten years ago. 1700 01:40:53,187 --> 01:40:55,229 It was never meant to be you. 1701 01:40:55,312 --> 01:40:57,896 For myself, I don't care, Mank. Really, I don't. 1702 01:40:58,771 --> 01:41:02,854 But I beg you, don't kick Pops when he's down. 1703 01:41:02,937 --> 01:41:05,521 -Willie, down? -[peppy music playing on car radio] 1704 01:41:07,854 --> 01:41:09,646 I haven't told a soul this, 1705 01:41:10,354 --> 01:41:14,104 but I had to loan him a million dollars just to save San Simeon. 1706 01:41:14,187 --> 01:41:15,812 You hocked your jewels? 1707 01:41:15,896 --> 01:41:18,146 [scoffs] Of course not. Just some real estate. 1708 01:41:18,229 --> 01:41:19,812 He bought me most of it anyway. 1709 01:41:20,646 --> 01:41:22,146 Willie sent you. 1710 01:41:22,979 --> 01:41:23,979 Didn't have to. 1711 01:41:27,479 --> 01:41:28,979 That surprises you? 1712 01:41:29,479 --> 01:41:31,396 You're the most observant man I know. 1713 01:41:31,479 --> 01:41:34,604 -Then you deserve better. -That's very sweet. 1714 01:41:37,229 --> 01:41:38,479 I always wanted better. 1715 01:41:39,437 --> 01:41:40,562 Mama Rose too. 1716 01:41:40,646 --> 01:41:43,354 She made sure her daughters learned to sing and dance. 1717 01:41:44,021 --> 01:41:45,979 We were never gonna end up in Brooklyn. 1718 01:41:46,979 --> 01:41:50,521 I was only 16 when I was cast in Stop! Look! Listen! 1719 01:41:50,604 --> 01:41:52,354 [chuckling] That's some title. 1720 01:41:53,146 --> 01:41:55,854 [Marion] Willie came to the show. Same seat every night. 1721 01:41:55,937 --> 01:42:00,646 And all the other girls said to watch out. He was too old for me and too interested. 1722 01:42:00,729 --> 01:42:03,479 Come, now, he wasn't your only admirer. 1723 01:42:05,521 --> 01:42:08,062 The thing you got so right in your script… 1724 01:42:08,896 --> 01:42:11,646 was how lonely he'd been as a boy. 1725 01:42:14,479 --> 01:42:18,021 When my own mother heard he was one of the richest men in America, 1726 01:42:19,021 --> 01:42:20,812 she said, "Kick a little higher." 1727 01:42:23,354 --> 01:42:26,646 He has always been so kind to me. 1728 01:42:28,479 --> 01:42:30,021 I love the old guy, Mank. 1729 01:42:31,771 --> 01:42:36,021 Maybe I didn't always, back when he was my social security. 1730 01:42:36,687 --> 01:42:39,354 But now, there are things about us together… 1731 01:42:40,021 --> 01:42:41,812 that no one could possibly… 1732 01:42:45,562 --> 01:42:47,312 Am I persuading you at all? 1733 01:42:50,687 --> 01:42:53,604 I hope, if this gets made, 1734 01:42:55,437 --> 01:42:56,771 you'll forgive me. 1735 01:42:57,854 --> 01:43:00,937 And I hope, if it doesn't, 1736 01:43:02,521 --> 01:43:03,771 you'll forgive me. 1737 01:43:12,604 --> 01:43:13,812 [typewriter dings] 1738 01:43:13,896 --> 01:43:16,021 [rabbi] He was a modest man. 1739 01:43:16,104 --> 01:43:18,104 His name never appeared on the marquee 1740 01:43:18,187 --> 01:43:22,187 with the great stars, producers, and directors who worked alongside him. 1741 01:43:22,271 --> 01:43:23,271 [people crying] 1742 01:43:23,354 --> 01:43:26,312 But he loved moving pictures more than he loved anything. 1743 01:43:26,396 --> 01:43:29,937 And he left his impeccable taste, his incredible attention to detail, 1744 01:43:30,021 --> 01:43:32,437 on every frame he touched. 1745 01:43:32,521 --> 01:43:36,604 It is not for us to say why he was taken from us so unexpectedly. 1746 01:43:36,687 --> 01:43:38,812 Behind, he leaves his memory. 1747 01:43:39,312 --> 01:43:44,604 The memory of a great man, a talented man, a man of unblemished integrity. 1748 01:43:45,437 --> 01:43:47,771 Irving G. Thalberg. 1749 01:43:48,271 --> 01:43:50,271 [indistinct chatter] 1750 01:44:01,562 --> 01:44:02,521 Mank. 1751 01:44:03,812 --> 01:44:07,687 I haven't seen you since, what was it, Jack Gilbert's funeral. 1752 01:44:07,771 --> 01:44:10,562 Well, I haven't seen you since Shelly Metcalf's. 1753 01:44:11,396 --> 01:44:12,521 Has it been that long? 1754 01:44:14,354 --> 01:44:15,229 How you been, Mank? 1755 01:44:15,812 --> 01:44:17,062 Between pictures. 1756 01:44:18,146 --> 01:44:19,937 I thought you were still at MGM. 1757 01:44:20,479 --> 01:44:21,479 I am. 1758 01:44:23,562 --> 01:44:27,021 Well, look, come see me at International. Let's work something out. 1759 01:44:27,104 --> 01:44:28,771 I did come see you. 1760 01:44:28,854 --> 01:44:31,854 You gave me the same invitation after Shelly's funeral. 1761 01:44:32,562 --> 01:44:35,729 I couldn't get past your secretary's secretary. 1762 01:44:36,979 --> 01:44:38,271 Is that right? 1763 01:44:40,646 --> 01:44:41,979 Good to see you, Mank. 1764 01:44:52,854 --> 01:44:54,479 [Mayer crying] 1765 01:45:12,562 --> 01:45:14,187 [Mank snoring] 1766 01:45:15,437 --> 01:45:17,021 [flies buzzing] 1767 01:45:24,229 --> 01:45:26,104 [telephone ringing] 1768 01:45:27,437 --> 01:45:29,354 -[Rita] Hello. -[Welles] Mank? 1769 01:45:30,187 --> 01:45:31,271 One moment, please. 1770 01:45:38,187 --> 01:45:39,187 Mank. 1771 01:45:39,812 --> 01:45:40,854 Mank! 1772 01:45:41,479 --> 01:45:42,646 It's Orson. 1773 01:45:43,187 --> 01:45:44,896 -It's Orson. -[Mank] Hmm. 1774 01:45:53,021 --> 01:45:53,896 Hello. 1775 01:45:53,979 --> 01:45:56,937 [Welles] Mank, I've just finished your first draft and I must say 1776 01:45:57,021 --> 01:45:58,937 I'm pleased and impressed. 1777 01:45:59,021 --> 01:46:02,729 -Are ya? Good news. -It'll need work, of course. 1778 01:46:02,812 --> 01:46:05,271 But there are no problems that can't be solved together. 1779 01:46:05,354 --> 01:46:06,979 Well, I'm delighted to hear it. 1780 01:46:07,062 --> 01:46:09,021 Houseman's bringing my notes. Think about 'em. 1781 01:46:09,104 --> 01:46:11,187 Meantime, I'll run everything through my typewriter. 1782 01:46:11,271 --> 01:46:12,646 Everything will thank you. 1783 01:46:12,729 --> 01:46:15,062 I understand you're in touch with your Hollywood crowd? 1784 01:46:15,146 --> 01:46:17,146 Oh, good old Houseman. 1785 01:46:17,229 --> 01:46:20,229 So perhaps you've heard. None of the theater chains will touch us. 1786 01:46:20,312 --> 01:46:23,479 It looks like RKO will have to sue for restraint of trade. 1787 01:46:23,562 --> 01:46:25,062 They'll countersue, of course. 1788 01:46:25,146 --> 01:46:27,229 If you own that lovely home of yours, 1789 01:46:27,312 --> 01:46:30,521 it might be a good idea to put it in Poor Sara's name. 1790 01:46:31,771 --> 01:46:36,021 -You still there, Mank? -Oh, yes. Where else would I be? 1791 01:46:36,104 --> 01:46:37,521 I've saved the best for last. 1792 01:46:37,604 --> 01:46:40,146 Guess who phoned with an offer to buy out RKO's investment 1793 01:46:40,229 --> 01:46:41,812 and shelve the picture permanently? 1794 01:46:41,896 --> 01:46:44,479 -Not Hearst? -Mank, I'm surprised. 1795 01:46:44,562 --> 01:46:47,562 Would Othello snoop on Desdemona when he has Iago? 1796 01:46:47,646 --> 01:46:51,896 Ah, Mayer. What did RKO say? 1797 01:46:51,979 --> 01:46:55,021 No dice, for now, but they're on their uppers. Whether they-- 1798 01:46:55,104 --> 01:46:57,937 -You'd better drive up. -I plan to, just as soon as I'm done-- 1799 01:46:58,021 --> 01:46:59,896 Today, if possible. 1800 01:47:00,396 --> 01:47:02,771 Dear Jove, did I say something I shouldn't have? 1801 01:47:02,854 --> 01:47:04,812 I hope you haven't lost your nerve. 1802 01:47:04,896 --> 01:47:07,229 Nerve's about all I've got left. 1803 01:47:14,854 --> 01:47:17,979 [Hearst] What a year you've had, Louis. How have you weathered it? 1804 01:47:18,062 --> 01:47:23,271 Despite everything, the MGM ship, I'm happy to say, is full steam ahead. 1805 01:47:23,354 --> 01:47:28,771 We're on track with this recent slate for our most successful year ever. 1806 01:47:28,854 --> 01:47:30,104 Well, that's great news. 1807 01:47:30,187 --> 01:47:32,896 -[loud clattering] -[man 1] Would you like to go lay down? 1808 01:47:32,979 --> 01:47:34,937 [Mank slurring] I think I'd rather stay upright. 1809 01:47:35,021 --> 01:47:37,021 [man 1] Perhaps we can find you a costume. 1810 01:47:37,104 --> 01:47:39,146 [Mank] Well, why would I need a cos… 1811 01:47:41,062 --> 01:47:42,146 [Mank clears throat] 1812 01:47:42,229 --> 01:47:45,562 Hello, everyone. Better late than never. 1813 01:47:45,646 --> 01:47:47,021 [woman] Mank! Where's Sara? 1814 01:47:47,104 --> 01:47:49,771 Uh, caring for clan Mankiewicz. 1815 01:47:49,854 --> 01:47:54,937 -[man 2] And what train did you take? -[Mank] Glendale. I missed my stop. 1816 01:47:55,021 --> 01:47:57,271 Got a taxi from Morro Bay. 1817 01:47:57,354 --> 01:48:03,479 I'm confused. I thought the invitation called for circus attire, not flea circus. 1818 01:48:03,562 --> 01:48:07,479 I was cornered by a man who sold vacuum cleaners. 1819 01:48:07,562 --> 01:48:11,479 A show of hands, who knows what a vacuum cleaner is? 1820 01:48:11,562 --> 01:48:14,187 [Hearst] Martin, would you set a place for Mr. Mankiewicz, 1821 01:48:14,271 --> 01:48:16,521 somewhere where he might get some air? 1822 01:48:19,021 --> 01:48:20,771 [Martin] Follow me this way, sir. 1823 01:48:21,396 --> 01:48:22,979 [Hearst] And offer him some coffee. 1824 01:48:23,062 --> 01:48:26,104 [Mayer] Yeah. Mr. Monkeywitz could use some coffee. 1825 01:48:26,187 --> 01:48:28,437 [guests chuckling] 1826 01:48:28,521 --> 01:48:29,854 [chair being pulled out] 1827 01:48:32,896 --> 01:48:35,562 [Hearst] And how's Marie Antoinette coming together? 1828 01:48:36,396 --> 01:48:39,146 [Mayer] Previews have been a struggle for general audiences. 1829 01:48:39,229 --> 01:48:41,854 We made some trims, but I should've known. 1830 01:48:42,521 --> 01:48:45,479 Versailles, all those costumes and wigs. 1831 01:48:45,562 --> 01:48:46,896 You can't tell those stories 1832 01:48:46,979 --> 01:48:49,312 without overhauling them for a modern audience. 1833 01:48:49,396 --> 01:48:51,437 How's the performance of your leading lady? 1834 01:48:51,521 --> 01:48:53,146 [Mayer] The picture depends upon her. 1835 01:48:53,229 --> 01:48:56,271 Norma put her heart and soul into it. 1836 01:48:56,354 --> 01:48:58,937 I should've insisted she take some time. 1837 01:48:59,021 --> 01:49:00,854 It's a lot to deal with, a loss like that. 1838 01:49:00,937 --> 01:49:02,729 Marion would've made it her own. 1839 01:49:02,812 --> 01:49:05,854 -Marion would've been perfection. -[women] Aw. 1840 01:49:05,937 --> 01:49:07,271 Marion Antoinette. 1841 01:49:07,354 --> 01:49:10,312 -[Mayer] But it was Irving's picture. -Marionette. 1842 01:49:11,687 --> 01:49:14,312 I'm not interested in educating our customers. 1843 01:49:15,021 --> 01:49:17,521 You want to send a message? Call Western Union. 1844 01:49:17,604 --> 01:49:19,354 [guests laughing] 1845 01:49:19,437 --> 01:49:20,812 [Mayer] Literary pictures. 1846 01:49:20,896 --> 01:49:22,396 "Let them get cake." 1847 01:49:22,479 --> 01:49:24,271 Who needs to see that? 1848 01:49:25,479 --> 01:49:27,021 -[glass shatters] -[all gasp] 1849 01:49:28,562 --> 01:49:29,937 Joanna, come along. 1850 01:49:30,021 --> 01:49:32,604 I'll show you those horses we talked about. [grunts] 1851 01:49:33,812 --> 01:49:35,396 [both chuckle] 1852 01:49:36,812 --> 01:49:38,146 [Joanna giggles] 1853 01:49:40,229 --> 01:49:41,396 She's very pretty. 1854 01:49:42,062 --> 01:49:45,896 Also, very bright, bullheaded, and British. 1855 01:49:47,771 --> 01:49:50,146 Are you here to try your luck, too, Schnutz? 1856 01:49:50,646 --> 01:49:54,104 -[Sara] At what? -Changing my mind. 1857 01:49:55,271 --> 01:49:57,562 I never had much success with that, Herman. 1858 01:49:58,062 --> 01:49:59,562 In the end, you'll do what you need to. 1859 01:49:59,646 --> 01:50:02,521 Charlie's been here, Joe's been, Marion's been. 1860 01:50:02,604 --> 01:50:05,729 For one reason or another, all of them want me to walk away. 1861 01:50:06,521 --> 01:50:08,354 You care to hear what I've decided? 1862 01:50:09,562 --> 01:50:10,396 Not really. 1863 01:50:11,771 --> 01:50:14,146 [Mank] After 20 years of connubial bliss, 1864 01:50:14,229 --> 01:50:17,146 blind loyalty can get a little suffocating. 1865 01:50:17,229 --> 01:50:20,312 Okay. Here goes. 1866 01:50:21,104 --> 01:50:23,021 [muttering] God knows I've rehearsed it enough. 1867 01:50:23,604 --> 01:50:26,521 I've raised your kids kosher and all but by myself. 1868 01:50:26,604 --> 01:50:28,646 I've put up with your suicidal drinking, 1869 01:50:28,729 --> 01:50:31,771 your compulsive gambling, your silly platonic affairs. 1870 01:50:31,854 --> 01:50:33,437 You owe me, Herman. 1871 01:50:35,187 --> 01:50:36,771 So Joe says he can't promise, 1872 01:50:36,854 --> 01:50:40,396 but he thinks if you make nice with Mayer, you can have your old job back. 1873 01:50:40,479 --> 01:50:41,979 Is that what you want me to say? 1874 01:50:42,062 --> 01:50:43,687 I know what your answer'll be, 1875 01:50:43,771 --> 01:50:47,854 so don't ask me to give you Poor Sara's seal of approval. 1876 01:50:48,646 --> 01:50:51,354 Why do you put up with me, Schnutz? 1877 01:50:51,437 --> 01:50:54,437 My movie star looks or my diplomat's charm? 1878 01:50:55,187 --> 01:50:58,271 I suppose because being married to you, Herman, 1879 01:50:58,354 --> 01:50:59,271 I'm never bored. 1880 01:50:59,979 --> 01:51:03,104 Exhausted, yes. Exasperated, usually. 1881 01:51:03,187 --> 01:51:05,479 But having devoted so much, 1882 01:51:05,562 --> 01:51:08,021 I have to stick around to see how it all turns out. 1883 01:51:12,312 --> 01:51:13,521 And whatever you decide, 1884 01:51:16,271 --> 01:51:19,812 please be mindful of those who care about you most. 1885 01:51:24,021 --> 01:51:25,271 I'm going riding. 1886 01:51:25,854 --> 01:51:28,062 Haven't seen a horse's face in years. 1887 01:51:28,896 --> 01:51:30,187 [Mank chuckles softly] 1888 01:51:30,687 --> 01:51:32,396 Oh, and one last thing, Herman. 1889 01:51:33,729 --> 01:51:36,604 I don't want nobody calling me Poor Sara no more. 1890 01:51:45,437 --> 01:51:46,771 [Mank sighs] 1891 01:51:50,146 --> 01:51:53,396 I've got a great idea for a picture, Louis. 1892 01:51:53,479 --> 01:51:57,479 A picture I just know you're gonna love. 1893 01:51:58,521 --> 01:52:02,937 [echoing] It's a modern-day version of Quixote. 1894 01:52:06,729 --> 01:52:10,604 Now, I know none of you read, but you know what it's about. 1895 01:52:10,687 --> 01:52:15,271 A deluded old nobleman who tilts at windmills. 1896 01:52:16,646 --> 01:52:19,604 So how might we update this story? 1897 01:52:19,687 --> 01:52:21,937 -Do you want me to get-- -No, no. 1898 01:52:22,021 --> 01:52:24,312 How about we make our Quixote… 1899 01:52:25,937 --> 01:52:27,229 a newspaperman? 1900 01:52:28,104 --> 01:52:31,146 Who else could make a living tilting at windmills? 1901 01:52:31,229 --> 01:52:32,479 But that's not enough. 1902 01:52:33,604 --> 01:52:36,271 No, he wants more than readership. 1903 01:52:36,354 --> 01:52:40,687 He wants more than adulation. He wants love. 1904 01:52:42,104 --> 01:52:47,021 So, he runs for public office, and because he's notably rich, he wins. 1905 01:52:48,187 --> 01:52:49,896 No, wait, wait a minute. 1906 01:52:49,979 --> 01:52:53,229 Notably rich and powerful can't win over an audience 1907 01:52:53,312 --> 01:52:57,771 unless notably rich and powerful sees the error of his ways in the final reel. 1908 01:52:58,479 --> 01:53:00,354 Notably rich and powerful 1909 01:53:00,437 --> 01:53:05,687 and making no goddamn excuses for it is only admirable in real life. 1910 01:53:05,771 --> 01:53:07,146 Isn't that right, Louis? 1911 01:53:08,104 --> 01:53:09,021 [grunts] 1912 01:53:10,229 --> 01:53:11,604 So what do we do? 1913 01:53:14,437 --> 01:53:15,896 Anybody? 1914 01:53:18,312 --> 01:53:20,812 We give him ideals. 1915 01:53:20,896 --> 01:53:23,604 Ideals that any dirt-poor, 1916 01:53:23,687 --> 01:53:26,896 depression-weary audience can identify with. 1917 01:53:26,979 --> 01:53:29,729 Our Quixote is against crooked trusts. 1918 01:53:29,812 --> 01:53:33,604 He's for the eight-hour workday, fair income tax, better schools. 1919 01:53:33,687 --> 01:53:37,396 Why, he's even for government ownership of railroads. 1920 01:53:37,479 --> 01:53:38,396 [chuckles] 1921 01:53:38,479 --> 01:53:40,229 You know what we call those people? 1922 01:53:40,312 --> 01:53:41,604 -[man] Communists? -[woman] Anarchists? 1923 01:53:41,687 --> 01:53:46,062 No, our Quixote, he's a two-fisted muckraker. 1924 01:53:46,146 --> 01:53:50,062 In fact, someone predicts that he will one day 1925 01:53:50,146 --> 01:53:53,729 win the presidency and bring about, get this… 1926 01:53:54,979 --> 01:53:58,604 [laughing] 1927 01:53:58,687 --> 01:54:01,312 …a socialist revolution. 1928 01:54:01,396 --> 01:54:04,396 -What a bunch of bullshit! -Is it? 1929 01:54:05,521 --> 01:54:06,396 Tell him, Willie. 1930 01:54:07,937 --> 01:54:09,062 Tell him. 1931 01:54:10,104 --> 01:54:15,021 Upton Sinclair used exactly those words 1932 01:54:15,104 --> 01:54:18,021 to describe a young William Randolph Hearst. 1933 01:54:18,104 --> 01:54:20,979 -You miserable bastard! -How do you do? 1934 01:54:23,896 --> 01:54:27,021 Our Quixote, he hungers, he thirsts, 1935 01:54:27,104 --> 01:54:29,729 he lusts for voters to love him. 1936 01:54:30,312 --> 01:54:32,479 Love him enough to make him president. 1937 01:54:32,562 --> 01:54:34,937 But they won't, and they don't. 1938 01:54:35,521 --> 01:54:37,146 How do you suppose that could happen? 1939 01:54:37,229 --> 01:54:39,271 Could it be because, in their hearts, 1940 01:54:39,354 --> 01:54:42,479 they know that he values power over people? 1941 01:54:43,562 --> 01:54:46,021 Disillusioned in Congress, 1942 01:54:46,104 --> 01:54:50,479 he authors not one single piece of legislation in two terms. 1943 01:54:50,562 --> 01:54:53,687 Can you believe that? That'll take some writing. 1944 01:54:54,854 --> 01:54:57,187 Placed in nomination for president, 1945 01:54:57,271 --> 01:55:00,604 but it's too radical for the boys in the back. 1946 01:55:00,687 --> 01:55:04,354 His bid goes nowhere, but we're doing something. 1947 01:55:05,312 --> 01:55:07,604 We're building sympathy. 1948 01:55:08,604 --> 01:55:12,187 Rejected, he flees to lotusland, 1949 01:55:12,271 --> 01:55:14,979 where his faithful troll, Sancho, 1950 01:55:15,062 --> 01:55:18,104 has prepared a mythical kingdom for… 1951 01:55:20,146 --> 01:55:21,646 Wait a minute. 1952 01:55:23,146 --> 01:55:25,271 I forgot the love interest. 1953 01:55:25,937 --> 01:55:26,896 Her name… 1954 01:55:27,937 --> 01:55:29,354 Dulcinea. 1955 01:55:29,437 --> 01:55:32,854 Funny, adventurous, smarter than she acts. 1956 01:55:32,937 --> 01:55:34,146 Ah, she's a… 1957 01:55:34,646 --> 01:55:38,229 she's a showgirl, beneath his social stratum, 1958 01:55:38,312 --> 01:55:39,312 but that's okay, 1959 01:55:39,812 --> 01:55:42,854 because true love on the big screens, 1960 01:55:42,937 --> 01:55:45,312 we all know, is blind. 1961 01:55:46,437 --> 01:55:47,437 And she… 1962 01:55:48,771 --> 01:55:50,521 Yeah, she loves him too. 1963 01:55:52,229 --> 01:55:56,146 So he takes her away to his mythical kingdom. 1964 01:55:56,229 --> 01:55:57,687 Can I get a bicarb? 1965 01:55:58,771 --> 01:56:02,562 Now, along comes nemesis. 1966 01:56:02,646 --> 01:56:05,396 That's Greek for any guy in a black hat. 1967 01:56:05,979 --> 01:56:11,271 Nemesis runs for governor and he's a shoo-in to win. 1968 01:56:11,354 --> 01:56:17,812 Why? Because he's exactly what our Don used to be. 1969 01:56:17,896 --> 01:56:20,646 An idealist, you get it? 1970 01:56:21,312 --> 01:56:22,479 And not only that, 1971 01:56:23,187 --> 01:56:28,021 nemesis is the same guy who once predicted our Quixote would 1972 01:56:28,104 --> 01:56:31,812 one day preside over a socialist revolution. 1973 01:56:33,021 --> 01:56:37,812 Our Quixote looks into the mirror of his youth 1974 01:56:37,896 --> 01:56:41,312 and decides to break this glass, 1975 01:56:41,396 --> 01:56:44,979 a maddening reminder of who he once was. 1976 01:56:45,062 --> 01:56:48,687 Assisted by his faithful Sancho, 1977 01:56:48,771 --> 01:56:53,812 and armed with all the black magic at his command, 1978 01:56:53,896 --> 01:56:56,312 he does just this. 1979 01:56:56,396 --> 01:57:02,479 Destroying in the process not one man… but two. 1980 01:57:05,396 --> 01:57:06,979 Well, what do you think, Louis? 1981 01:57:07,479 --> 01:57:08,354 Hmm? 1982 01:57:08,437 --> 01:57:10,021 You think it'll play? 1983 01:57:10,604 --> 01:57:11,604 [retches] 1984 01:57:15,396 --> 01:57:16,354 [vomiting continues] 1985 01:57:16,437 --> 01:57:17,937 [guests groan and clamor] 1986 01:57:21,854 --> 01:57:24,312 [Mank sighs, chuckling] Don't worry, folks. 1987 01:57:25,312 --> 01:57:28,229 Uh, the white wine came up with the fish. 1988 01:57:30,521 --> 01:57:34,229 Who the fuck do you think you are, Mankiewicz? 1989 01:57:35,646 --> 01:57:37,896 You're nothin' but a court jester. 1990 01:57:38,812 --> 01:57:40,937 And let me let you in on a little secret. 1991 01:57:41,021 --> 01:57:44,437 Do you have any idea who pays half your salary? 1992 01:57:44,521 --> 01:57:46,771 He pays half your fucking salary. 1993 01:57:46,854 --> 01:57:48,646 Him, you fucking ingrate. 1994 01:57:49,312 --> 01:57:52,437 You didn't know that, did ya? You wanna know why? 1995 01:57:52,521 --> 01:57:54,437 Because he likes the way you talk. 1996 01:57:54,521 --> 01:57:57,896 Not the way you write, the way you talk. 1997 01:57:58,562 --> 01:58:00,604 Don't that chap your ass? 1998 01:58:18,687 --> 01:58:20,396 [indistinct conversation] 1999 01:58:22,812 --> 01:58:25,312 -[Rita] Please, follow me. -[Welles] It's very quaint. 2000 01:58:33,229 --> 01:58:35,146 Rise and shine, hombre. 2001 01:58:35,729 --> 01:58:37,771 Shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. 2002 01:58:39,354 --> 01:58:42,937 Before we buckle down, I gather you have something to get off your chest? 2003 01:58:43,021 --> 01:58:44,937 As a matter of fact, I do. 2004 01:58:45,021 --> 01:58:47,062 [Welles] Frankly, I think what I said upset you. 2005 01:58:47,146 --> 01:58:50,271 I know your health's not what it might be. I understand that comes first. 2006 01:58:50,354 --> 01:58:53,396 -Really? -[Welles] This studio fuss, this lawsuit. 2007 01:58:53,479 --> 01:58:55,437 God only knows what pressure's yet to come. 2008 01:58:55,521 --> 01:58:58,229 At your age, you'd be justified in wanting out. 2009 01:58:58,312 --> 01:59:00,396 I'm 43, but that's very understanding. 2010 01:59:00,479 --> 01:59:02,479 Mayer's buyout was rejected. 2011 01:59:02,562 --> 01:59:05,146 So, the fat's only starting to hit the fire. 2012 01:59:05,771 --> 01:59:09,187 Now, I talked to RKO, and I'll tell you what they're ready to do. 2013 01:59:09,271 --> 01:59:12,062 In recognition of the outstanding work you've done so far, 2014 01:59:12,146 --> 01:59:16,021 they're prepared to relieve you of the rewrite and still honor your full pay, 2015 01:59:16,771 --> 01:59:19,354 plus $10,000. 2016 01:59:20,187 --> 01:59:21,021 How's that? 2017 01:59:22,771 --> 01:59:24,437 That's more than generous. 2018 01:59:25,854 --> 01:59:27,854 But I don't intend to walk. 2019 01:59:29,771 --> 01:59:30,812 All right. 2020 01:59:33,187 --> 01:59:34,896 What's bothering you, then? 2021 01:59:34,979 --> 01:59:37,646 You're not going to like this, Orson. 2022 01:59:39,104 --> 01:59:40,146 [sighs] 2023 01:59:42,187 --> 01:59:43,521 I want credit. 2024 01:59:45,604 --> 01:59:46,729 Come again? 2025 01:59:47,687 --> 01:59:49,979 It's the best thing I've ever written. 2026 01:59:50,854 --> 01:59:53,187 Jack, get me some Cuban cigars. 2027 01:59:53,271 --> 01:59:55,354 -In Victorville? -Do what you can, Jack. 2028 01:59:55,437 --> 01:59:59,104 Oh, stay, Houseman. You'll miss the third act complicator. 2029 01:59:59,187 --> 02:00:01,146 Get going, Jack. Muy pronto. 2030 02:00:01,937 --> 02:00:04,146 I believe that means right away. 2031 02:00:10,479 --> 02:00:13,021 [tense music playing] 2032 02:00:21,271 --> 02:00:22,771 Mank, Mank. 2033 02:00:24,521 --> 02:00:28,396 [Mank] What I said was more in sorrow than in anger, Willie. 2034 02:00:31,479 --> 02:00:36,062 Are you familiar with the parable of the organ grinder's monkey? 2035 02:00:36,146 --> 02:00:40,104 Now, the organ grinder's monkey is tiny in stature, 2036 02:00:40,187 --> 02:00:42,062 and having been taken from the wild, 2037 02:00:42,146 --> 02:00:46,812 he's naturally overwhelmed by the enormous world around him. 2038 02:00:47,687 --> 02:00:53,854 But every morning, a sweet elderly woman dresses him in a fine suit of clothes. 2039 02:00:54,521 --> 02:00:58,812 She fits him with a red velvet vest adorned with pearl buttons 2040 02:00:58,896 --> 02:01:02,729 and a handsome red fez with a silk tassel. 2041 02:01:02,812 --> 02:01:07,479 She slips on brocade shoes that curl at the toe, 2042 02:01:07,979 --> 02:01:13,229 and he's paired with a fine gilt music box on an exquisite gold chain 2043 02:01:13,312 --> 02:01:16,687 fastened to his neck and his neck alone. 2044 02:01:17,229 --> 02:01:20,812 Whenever he ventures into the city to perform, 2045 02:01:20,896 --> 02:01:24,437 he thinks, "What a powerful fellow I must be." 2046 02:01:24,521 --> 02:01:28,354 "Look how patiently everyone waits just to watch me dance." 2047 02:01:28,437 --> 02:01:29,479 Hey, Willie-- 2048 02:01:29,562 --> 02:01:31,979 "And wherever I go," he thinks, 2049 02:01:32,062 --> 02:01:38,104 "this music box must follow, and with it, this poor downtrodden man." 2050 02:01:38,604 --> 02:01:44,312 "And if I chose not to dance, this sorry street peddler would starve, 2051 02:01:44,396 --> 02:01:48,812 and every time I do decide to dance, every time… 2052 02:01:53,562 --> 02:01:55,229 he must play." 2053 02:01:57,062 --> 02:01:58,937 "Whether he wishes to or not." 2054 02:02:00,521 --> 02:02:02,646 You've had a bit too much to drink, Herman. 2055 02:02:02,729 --> 02:02:05,604 I'll get Raymond to drive you to the station. 2056 02:02:06,896 --> 02:02:07,979 Goodbye. 2057 02:02:14,604 --> 02:02:15,687 [sighs] 2058 02:02:16,354 --> 02:02:17,979 Put aside gratitude, Mank. 2059 02:02:18,062 --> 02:02:20,146 That you've done your best work was no accident. 2060 02:02:20,229 --> 02:02:23,479 I removed any distraction, eliminated every excuse, 2061 02:02:23,562 --> 02:02:26,062 your family, your cronies, liquor. 2062 02:02:26,146 --> 02:02:27,729 I gave you a second chance. 2063 02:02:27,812 --> 02:02:30,229 And for that, I cannot thank you enough. 2064 02:02:30,312 --> 02:02:34,562 But with credit for a risky undertaking must go the weight of real responsibility. 2065 02:02:35,062 --> 02:02:37,146 Given your current health, I wonder if you're up to it. 2066 02:02:37,229 --> 02:02:39,771 Frankly, I wonder, too, but we'll find out. 2067 02:02:39,854 --> 02:02:42,271 You may never work in this town again, Mank! 2068 02:02:42,354 --> 02:02:43,979 [laughing] Orson, please… 2069 02:02:44,062 --> 02:02:46,437 Then you force me to remind you! 2070 02:02:46,521 --> 02:02:50,104 We have a contract that you understood and agreed to! 2071 02:02:50,187 --> 02:02:53,812 If you fight this, it will go to what your new guild calls arbitration, 2072 02:02:53,896 --> 02:02:57,271 and you, my friend, will lose script, money, 2073 02:02:57,354 --> 02:02:59,854 and assuming such a thing still exists in Hollywood, 2074 02:02:59,937 --> 02:03:01,937 the respect of those who honor their word. 2075 02:03:02,021 --> 02:03:04,687 How can I put this nicely? 2076 02:03:05,771 --> 02:03:07,937 I may be a loose cannon, 2077 02:03:08,021 --> 02:03:10,937 but you, my friend, are an outsider. 2078 02:03:11,021 --> 02:03:14,187 They're exasperated by me, and I've earned it, 2079 02:03:14,271 --> 02:03:17,437 but you, a self-anointed savior-hyphenate, 2080 02:03:17,521 --> 02:03:19,896 they're just waiting to loathe you. 2081 02:03:19,979 --> 02:03:23,146 Remind me never again to work with a washed-up alcoholic! 2082 02:03:23,229 --> 02:03:25,562 Duly noted. Nelson Algren, please copy. 2083 02:03:25,646 --> 02:03:28,771 All right! No doubt you'll get your credit. 2084 02:03:28,854 --> 02:03:31,646 But ask yourself, "Who's producing this picture?" 2085 02:03:31,729 --> 02:03:34,271 "Directing it? Starring in it?" 2086 02:03:37,021 --> 02:03:39,354 That's just what we need when Susan leaves Kane. 2087 02:03:40,062 --> 02:03:42,021 An act of purging violence. 2088 02:03:44,646 --> 02:03:45,604 Maybe. 2089 02:03:48,937 --> 02:03:50,396 [kicking glass shards] 2090 02:03:52,604 --> 02:03:53,521 [door slams] 2091 02:03:58,687 --> 02:04:01,854 [Rita] Mank! Mank, where are you? 2092 02:04:02,437 --> 02:04:03,937 Mank, come quick! 2093 02:04:04,021 --> 02:04:05,562 [car engine starts] 2094 02:04:09,187 --> 02:04:10,271 He's alive! 2095 02:04:11,229 --> 02:04:12,354 Ian's alive! 2096 02:04:13,062 --> 02:04:15,687 -He fetched up on the Orkneys! -The what? 2097 02:04:15,771 --> 02:04:17,854 The Orkney Islands, you idiot. 2098 02:04:18,354 --> 02:04:20,354 Oh, Mank, are you ever serious? 2099 02:04:21,396 --> 02:04:24,229 -Only about something funny. -[sighs exasperatedly] 2100 02:04:37,979 --> 02:04:40,937 [audience applauding] 2101 02:04:41,896 --> 02:04:43,146 [typewriter dings] 2102 02:04:47,771 --> 02:04:52,104 [clears throat] And the winner of the best original screenplay is… 2103 02:04:53,646 --> 02:04:57,646 -Herman J. Mankiewicz… -[audience applauding] 2104 02:04:57,729 --> 02:05:00,646 …and Orson Welles for Citizen Kane. 2105 02:05:02,854 --> 02:05:04,937 [reporter] This is the first nomination and first win 2106 02:05:05,021 --> 02:05:06,604 for Mr. Mankiewicz and Mr. Welles. 2107 02:05:06,687 --> 02:05:08,437 Neither were able to attend tonight. 2108 02:05:08,521 --> 02:05:11,229 Accepting for both is the president of RKO Radio Pictures, 2109 02:05:11,312 --> 02:05:12,896 Mr. George Schaefer. 2110 02:05:14,562 --> 02:05:18,396 -[reporter] Excuse me, Mr. Welles. -[real Orson Welles] Good morning. 2111 02:05:18,479 --> 02:05:21,187 [reporter] Good morning, Mr. Welles. You missed a big night. 2112 02:05:21,271 --> 02:05:24,146 [real Orson Welles] I was unable to attend the Academy Awards 2113 02:05:24,229 --> 02:05:28,271 because I'm here in Rio making a marvelous motion picture. 2114 02:05:28,354 --> 02:05:31,771 [reporter] Kane was nominated in nine categories, including best actor. 2115 02:05:31,854 --> 02:05:34,771 Aren't you disappointed that it only won one Oscar? 2116 02:05:35,437 --> 02:05:39,521 [real Orson Welles] Well, that, my good man, is Hollywood. 2117 02:05:39,604 --> 02:05:40,479 [men laughing] 2118 02:05:40,562 --> 02:05:43,521 [reporter] Anything you'd like to say to your coauthor, Mr. Mankiewicz? 2119 02:05:43,604 --> 02:05:47,104 [real Orson Welles] I do have a message. You may tell him from me… 2120 02:05:48,521 --> 02:05:51,562 Mank, you can kiss my half! 2121 02:05:51,646 --> 02:05:53,146 [men laughing] 2122 02:06:00,229 --> 02:06:05,021 You ask me what my acceptance speech might have been. 2123 02:06:06,812 --> 02:06:08,229 Well, here goes. 2124 02:06:08,854 --> 02:06:13,729 I am very happy to accept this award 2125 02:06:14,229 --> 02:06:17,354 in the manner in which the screenplay was written, 2126 02:06:18,104 --> 02:06:22,521 which is to say, in the absence of Orson Welles. 2127 02:06:25,229 --> 02:06:28,187 -How's that? -[reporter] How come he shares credit? 2128 02:06:29,271 --> 02:06:34,771 [sighs] Well, that, my friend, is the magic of the movies. 2129 02:06:34,854 --> 02:06:35,854 [man laughs] 2130 02:06:35,937 --> 02:06:38,854 [reporter] Hold up the Oscar, Mank. Big smile. 2131 02:06:39,437 --> 02:06:40,604 [camera shutter clicks] 2132 02:06:41,104 --> 02:06:43,562 [dulcet music playing] 2133 02:08:43,562 --> 02:08:45,562 [slow piano music playing]