The Go-Between Page #4

Synopsis: Summer 1900: Queen Victoria's last and the summer Leo turns 13. He's the guest of Marcus, a wealthy classmate, at a grand home in rural Norfolk. Leo is befriended by Marian, Marcus's twenty-something sister, a beauty about to be engaged to Hugh, a viscount and good fellow. Marian buys Leo a forest-green suit, takes him on walks, and asks him to carry messages to and from their neighbor, Ted Burgess, a bit of a rake. Leo is soon dissembling, realizes he's betraying Hugh, but continues as the go-between nonetheless, asking adults naive questions about the attractions of men and women. Can an affair between neighbors stay secret for long? And how does innocence end?
Genre: Drama, Romance
Director(s): Joseph Losey
Production: Columbia Pictures
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 10 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.4
GP
Year:
1971
116 min
241 Views


They're all grown up, you see.

Except Marcus.

He's in bed.

Marian talks to me. Miss Marian.

Ah, does she ?

She often talks to me.

She talks to me most.

- When her hair was wet...

- Are you ever alone with her ?

I mean just the two of you in

a room with no one else.

Well, sometimes.

Sometimes we sit together on the sofa.

On a sofa ?

Could you give her a letter ?

Without anybody else seeing.

Of course I could.

But can I trust you ?

To keep your mouth shut ?

Because, you see...

It's a secret.

All right ?

I'll trust you.

There.

- Is this his ?

- Yes.

He said he wouldn't want it back.

Shall I throw it on the rubbish dump ?

Oh, I don't know.

Perhaps I'll wash it out.

Seems a quite good handkerchief.

Wait.

He asked me to give you this.

It's a bit crumpled.

This dress is.

Now, the bandage.

You've put it on.

Oh, yes.

Now I'll put on your stocking.

- I can do that.

- No, no. I'll put it on.

You won't tell anyone about

this letter, will you ?

You wouldn't, would you ?

Of course I wouldn't.

There.

Shall you be going to Goodworth ?

I think I shall go to Goodworth.

Shall you ?

Yes.

Are you referring to Gussy Tom ?

- Gussy Tom... ?

- Hello. There's Mercury.

Why do you call him Mercury ?

'Cause he takes messages.

You took your message for me,

didn't you, old child ?

To this young lady here on

the way from church.

You didn't fetch a very warm response.

Do you know who Mercury was ?

Mercury is the smallest of the planets.

Ah, but before that he was

the messenger of the gods.

He went to and fro between them.

Do you know Ted Burgess ?

Ted Burgess ? We all know

Ted Burgess.

He's a bit of a lad, Ted Burgess.

What do you mean by a lad ? I should

have said he was a full grown man.

Enjoying yourself ?

Oh, yes thank you, sir.

Miss your mother ?

Yes, sir.

I mean, no, sir.

A little, sir.

Pretty hot today.

Is it a record ?

I shouldn't be surprised.

I'll have to look it up.

- Hot weather suit you ?

- Yes, sir.

Hi ! Mercury !

Come here. I want you.

Trying to sneak past in dead ground.

Where were you off to ?

Nowhere.

Ah, nowhere. Well, would you

like to go somewhere ?

Yes, where ?

It's up to you.

I want you to find Marian.

We need her to make a four at croquet.

No idea where she is.

Can you find her ?

- I don't know.

- Well, no one else could.

But you can.

- Will you do that ?

- Yes.

You must bring her back

dead or alive.

What are you doing here ?

- Hugh asked me to find you.

- Why ?

He wants you to play croquet.

He said I was to bring you

back dead or alive.

Well, which am I ?

I'm going to luncheon with some

neighbors tomorrow.

They're very old and mossy. I don't

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Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a Nobel Prize-winning British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party (1957), The Homecoming (1964), and Betrayal (1978), each of which he adapted for the screen. His screenplay adaptations of others' works include The Servant (1963), The Go-Between (1971), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), The Trial (1993), and Sleuth (2007). He also directed or acted in radio, stage, television, and film productions of his own and others' works. Pinter was born and raised in Hackney, east London, and educated at Hackney Downs School. He was a sprinter and a keen cricket player, acting in school plays and writing poetry. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art but did not complete the course. He was fined for refusing National service as a conscientious objector. Subsequently, he continued training at the Central School of Speech and Drama and worked in repertory theatre in Ireland and England. In 1956 he married actress Vivien Merchant and had a son, Daniel, born in 1958. He left Merchant in 1975 and married author Lady Antonia Fraser in 1980. Pinter's career as a playwright began with a production of The Room in 1957. His second play, The Birthday Party, closed after eight performances, but was enthusiastically reviewed by critic Harold Hobson. His early works were described by critics as "comedy of menace". Later plays such as No Man's Land (1975) and Betrayal (1978) became known as "memory plays". He appeared as an actor in productions of his own work on radio and film. He also undertook a number of roles in works by other writers. He directed nearly 50 productions for stage, theatre and screen. Pinter received over 50 awards, prizes, and other honours, including the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005 and the French Légion d'honneur in 2007. Despite frail health after being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in December 2001, Pinter continued to act on stage and screen, last performing the title role of Samuel Beckett's one-act monologue Krapp's Last Tape, for the 50th anniversary season of the Royal Court Theatre, in October 2006. He died from liver cancer on 24 December 2008. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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