Secret Beyond the Door...

Synopsis: In this Freudian version of the Bluebeard tale, a young, trust-funded New Yorker goes to Mexico on vacation before marrying an old friend whom she considers a safe choice for a husband. However, there she finds her dream man -- a handsome, mysterious stranger who spots her in a crowd. In a matter of days they marry, honeymoon and move to his mansion, to which he has added a wing full of rooms where famous murders took place. She discovers many secrets about the house and her husband, but what she really wants to know is what is in the room her husband always keeps locked.
Director(s): Fritz Lang
Production: Universal Pictures
 
IMDB:
6.8
Rotten Tomatoes:
54%
NOT RATED
Year:
1947
99 min
408 Views


I remember, long ago I read a book

that told the meaning of dreams.

It said that if a girl dreams of a boat or a ship

she will reach a safe harbor.

But if she dreams of daffodils,

she is in great danger.

But this is no time for me to think of danger,

this is my wedding day.

Something old, something new,

something borrowed, something blue.

Something old is this church -

four centuries old.

Mark says it's a felicitous structure.

Baldings, pilasters, walls...

...its altars, its chandeliers,

tuned to a perfect harmony.

Built so that here

only events of joy can happen -

four hundred years of joy.

And something new is Mark himself.

And love is new for me.

My heart is pounding so...

the sound of it drowns out everything.

It's said that when you drown your whole life

passes before you like a fast movie.

Here it is in twelve point bold.

My young, gaudy sister has

broken another engagement.

Darling, I never dreamed of marrying him!

Trombone player - heaven forbid!

I'd sooner see you marry that

witchdoctor of yours!

- Curtis? He's a brilliant psychoanalyst.

Chit chat aside, what are you holding out for?

I still have time, Rick -why should

I tie myself down?

I'm not trying to rush you but, you know,

being mother and father

and check signer for you has its

worrisome moments.

Today, New York's a bull market for you

in good, solid, eligible men.

Are there any as good as you, Rick?

- I wasn't proposing a miracle.

But I won't be around as long as you, Celia.

They don't make spare parts for this

and mine has a lot of milage on it.

I'm... I'm terribly sorry, Rick.

Your secretary said I could...

Hey, hey. Come in, Bob. This is strictly legal.

Speak of the devil, Celia: Here is a

thoroughly eligible man

and a top lawyer - Bob Dwight.

My sister, Celia.

My brother Rick. That was the last time we were

close -and when you died, Rick, life was lonely.

Rick was a cagey investor, but now that it's your

money I've set up a trust fund.

No-one but you can touch the capital,

unless you revoke the trust - not even

your husband.

Has a fortune-hunting husband popped up?

- The woodwork is crawling with them, you know

that.

I wasn't looking.

L... I like you very much, Celia.

And when you're settled I'm going to

ask you to marry me.

Dear Bob. I'm settled now.

Believe me, I'm dead tired

being the darling of the stag line.

I don't want an answer now, Celia. You're

depressed about Rick.

It's only been two months and...

...Celia I want you to be sure.

But I...

- Potter's asked you to go to Mexico with him.

Why don't you take him up on it?

Find some sun.

Will you come too?

- No. Call it your last fling.

I'll still be here when you come back.

It's awfully commercial.

- My dear, it's perfect for Bob.

Alright. The initials are R.D.

I nearly married a man once who was the

image of Bob -

only he broke our engagement simply

because he found out that I...

Celia, let's get out of here.

I don't want to be an innocent bystander.

Celia, come on, come on.

What's wrong with you?

There was nothing wrong with me,

but I was strangely held.

I'd seen fights before - nightclub brawls,

a fist-fight over a cigarette girl.

When one man was knocked down,

the fight was over. But this was different:

A woman and two men

who may have known her an hour or less

fighting for her with naked knives.

Death was in that street

and I felt how proud she must be.

Suddenly I felt that someone was watching me.

There was a tingling at the nape of my neck

as though the air had turned cool.

I felt eyes touching me like fingers.

There was a current flowing between us...

warm and sweet... and frightening, too,

because he saw behind my make-up

what no-one had ever seen.

Something I didn't know was there.

Let's go.

When you finally snapped out of your trance you

looked as though you'd seen death himself.

That's not how he looked to me.

- What?

Weren't you going to 'phone

the hotel about Arthur?

Oh, good heavens, yes! He's a lamb up to a point,

but one drink too many and he's a raging beast!

Waiter! Where's the telephone?

There, seorita.

- Oh yes, thanks.

I sent Edith away because I'd planned my strategy.

I wanted to meet him on my own grounds -

not his.

The fight finished just after you left.

How did it end?

The big gypsy had the knife.

What did the woman do?

To the victim belong the spoils.

The last I saw she was hanging on his arm.

Oh, by the way, I don't think that R.D. Will like that

wallet if he's anything like me.

He's not a bit like you.

- And you're not a bit like you.

I mean you aren't what you seem to be.

There's something in your face I saw once before

- in South Dakota,

in the wheat country, in cyclone weather.

Just before the cyclone

the air has a... stillness,

a flat, gold, shimmering stillness.

You have it in your face - the same hush

before a storm

and when you smile it's like the first

breath of wind bending down the wheat.

I know that behind that smile

is a turbulence that...

I heard his voice and then I didn't hear it any

more, because the beating of my blood

was louder. This was what I'd hunted

those foolish years in New York.

I knew before I knew

his name or touched his hand

and for an endless moment I seemed to float like a

feather blown to a place where time had stopped.

Strange.

I thought then of daffodils.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Silvia Richards

Silvia Richards was a screenwriter who worked on a number of films in the 1940s and 1950s, including the film noir Ruby Gentry and the Western Rancho Notorious. She also wrote for television in the 1950s and early 1960s. more…

All Silvia Richards scripts | Silvia Richards 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

    "Secret Beyond the Door..." Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/secret_beyond_the_door..._17694>.

    We need you!

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

    Watch the movie trailer

    Secret Beyond the Door...

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

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