Journey Into Fear

Synopsis: A Navy engineer, returning to the U.S. with his wife from a conference, finds himself pursued by Nazi agents, who are out to kill him. Without a word to his wife, he flees the hotel the couple is staying in and boards a ship, only to find, after the ship sails, that the agents have followed him.
Production: RKO Radio Pictures
 
IMDB:
6.6
Rotten Tomatoes:
75%
APPROVED
Year:
1942
68 min
157 Views


Dearest Stephanie,

If this letter is found on me,

if this ever reaches you,

I want you to believe every word of it

and try to understand.

It all began that night

we arrived in Istanbul.

Oh, there's a gentleman waiting to see you.

- Oh?...

Mr. Graham? Mrs. Graham?

Put it there.

It's a pleasure!

Kopeikine is the name.

- How do you do...

You doubt that I am Kopeikine?

- No...

You think perhaps that I am not he?

My credentials!

Stephanie,

take my word for it,

I didn't want to go out

with that fellow Kopeikine,

he's a pest!

I didn't even want him to join us for dinner,

he just talked his way into it...

Mrs. Graham,

I am going to deprive you of your husband for awhile.

Aren't we, Mr. Graham?

We got some business to talk over...

Official.

Oh, can't we talk right here?

And bother your charming wife?

Oh... Well don't mind me. If you have to talk to Mr. Kopeikine, dear...

Sure, we can go downstairs in the bar.

- The bar...

Well, go to the bar if you want to, dear.

Maybe we will have a couple of drinks, too!

Well... the sooner you go, the sooner you'll be back.

Have a good time...

It's not a good time, it's business, he says.

Time is fleeing, Howard!

The company representative!

I'll be right back.

- Be careful.

Howard, where are you going?

I thought you said we're going in the bar?

I know a much better place! Come on.

Oh, I haven't got my hat and coat.

It's just around the corner.

Kopeikine is our company's representative

in Turkey.

And I guess he thought

he ought to show me a good time...

I didn't want a good time.

I wanted to stay with you!

He just took it for granted I didn't.

He dragged me off to that nightclub.

That's how

I happened to meet that woman,

Josette.

I can't stay here very long,

I've got to get back to the hotel.

Some number, huh?

I'd better get on back to the hotel.

You might take a shine to Josette!

After all, this little girl is very stupid.

Of course Josette is stupid too, but she has it!

Pardon me, Howard, I will be back very briefly.

You give me money?

What for?

Tip.

- Oh.

You excuse me.

If you like me, I come back!

I want you to meet my friend. He's American.

Howard, I will present Josette and Gogo Martel.

- How do you do?

You will sit please?

- Thank you.

I enjoyed your dancing very much, Mamselle.

Nonsense to say that Americans are not polite.

They are so clever in business and yet so generous and sincere.

You hear that, Howard?

The champagne here is filthy.

I do not wish to leave Istanbul with a headache.

How long do you stay here Mr. Graham?

Why, he leaves here tomorrow, too.

Yes, I'm leaving on the morning train.

I'm going as far as Batoumi by boat.

Pardon me sir.

What kind of cigarettes do you smoke?

He is good, ain't he, Howard?

You, sir.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I will now present to you

an unbelievable miracle

that I learned in the mountain vastness of India.

And for this illusion, I will require

the assistance of some kind and gracious

gentleman from the audience...

Perhaps you, sir, the gentleman of the duck,

if you would be so good?

And now ladies and gentlemen,

I will join my ancestors...

Don't worry, Howard!

Ah... there you are, Howard!

That was a good trick!

What happened?

The boy didn't fire his gun,

someone else did!

The magician is dead.

I didn't admit it, Stephanie,

but I knew then that shot was meant for me...

You know how many months I spent

for the company on the Turkish navy.

Well, time counts in this war,

and now with me out of the way,

it'll take all that time and more

with somebody else out here before Turkey

can get any new guns.

That's why they're after me.

This is terrible!

You've got me involved in a dirty nightclub shooting!

I've got to call my wife.

You've got to keep this out of the paper.

Howard, you are lucky. Just think what happened to that magician, suppose the trick hadn't worked?

It's entirely beside the point!

I've got no business in here.

Howard... they are only doing their official duty for your own good.

Official duty!

The whole thing's so stupid!

I can forgive almost anything but stupidity.

Wish I'd brought my topcoat...

This is a scandal!

We have no business with the police.

Maybe we won't get our pictures in the papers.

Who's that?

That's Colonel Haki.

This is his office.

He's the head of the secret police.

- Secret police?!

He was a deputy in the Provisional Government in 1919. One of Ataturk's men.

There is a legend he can drink two bottles of whisky without getting drunk.

There is also a legend that he killed prisoners by tying them together in pairs

and throwing them in the river to save food and ammunition. But I don't believe it.

He is a great patriot!

But I wouldn't trust him with a woman...

Colonel Haki will see Mr. Howard Graham now!

That's us, Howard. Come!

You are Howard Graham?

Yes. What of it?

You are employed by a munitions company in America?

What?

You are employed by a munitions company in America?

An armament manufacturer!

Bainbridge and Sons.

- No, thank you!

This man can tell you all about it. He's the local agent.

- We know that.

- Then why ask me?

You're a naval ordinance expert.

- Expert!

- Pardon?

- I'm an engineer, and naval ordinance just happens to be my subject.

Your government has assigned you through your company to do some important work here.

- Now look...

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Joseph Cotten

Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair. He first gained worldwide fame in three Orson Welles films: Citizen Kane (1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), and Journey into Fear (1943), for which Cotten was also credited with the screenplay. He went on to become one of the leading Hollywood actors of the 1940s, appearing in films such as Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Love Letters (1945), Duel in the Sun (1946), Portrait of Jennie (1948), The Third Man (1949) and Niagara (1953). One of his final films was Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (1980). more…

All Joseph Cotten scripts | Joseph Cotten Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Journey Into Fear" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 Apr. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/journey_into_fear_11408>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.