Original subtitles

[Jessica] Tonight, on Murder, She Wrote.

Somebody’s gonna get killed here!

I love this moviemaking.

Your company is in Rome shooting a movie

that has nothing to do with Rome,

but it’s about a murder in Texas?

The script was an unrecognizable,

incoherent mess.

I’ve got a mutiny on my hands today.

When you walked in here,

you knew I was pushing to have you fired.

I’m going to direct every foot of this epic.

I know what I saw.

[French accent] I am signor Bonelli’s

executive assistant, Dominique.

I don’t like accidents unless I cause them.

You’ve got to stop the stunt right now.

[horn blares]

-Cut! -[bell ringing]

Great! We’re moving on to the stage.

[speaking Italian]

[Rex] Gutsiest stunt double I ever had.

Atta boy, Webb! You’re making me look braver

than Schwarzenegger and Stallone rolled into one.

Great job.

Hey, how was that, dad?

It was fine, Gary. Now back to the real world.

Wardrobe’s screaming for that fabric

you were supposed to pick up.

Oh, yeah, yeah, I’ll get on it. I’ll get right on it, okay?

Jessica.

Oh, did you get a chance to look at the new pages?

Actually, I liked the scene better in the first draft.

And I preferred the scene in my own book.

But we’re a long way

from either one of those versions now, Monte.

Jessica, please. I don’t have time for an argument right now.

-Problems? Can I help? -I don’t think so, Boyce.

We’re talking creative matters. Mario, I need a rehearsal.

Get the actors on stage,

if miss Danbury will deign to join us.

Yes, sir.

You know, I understand that Monte’s under a great deal of pressure,

but these changes that he wants...

Well, Jess, after all, you’re the one who...

I know. But when I agreed to come here

and do this rewrite for you...

I mean, the script was an unrecognizable,

incoherent mess.

But a green-light project.

Yes. Well, I thought, in my naive way,

that perhaps I could recapture

some of my book’s original flavor.

Jess, help me out here, will you? I’m swamped.

I’ve got some serious money problems,

and now some night owl

is swiping anything that isn’t nailed down.

[groaning]

Now, look, why don’t you talk to Monte when it’s quiet?

I’m sure he’ll come around.

-[girl] Hey, thanks a lot, Rex. -Hey, Rex.

Excuse me, Jess, I’ve got to talk to my leading man.

-Hey, buddy, how you doing? -Good.

Listen, Rex, I got a kind of a delicate subject to discuss.

You know that love scene that you and Kate are rehearsing?

Yeah. It’s gonna be a scorcher.

Yeah, I know, but, well, that’s the problem.

Kate asked me to talk to you.

Well, it seems that...

Well, they put a lot of garlic in the food around here and...

My breath? She said that?

Well, now, don’t take it personally, but...

-Thanks, Boyce. -Yeah.

This won’t get out, will it?

[chuckling] My lips are sealed.

-Here you go, darling. -Oh, grazie.

Grazie. Great.

Ciao! You were wonderful!

Your father, he must be proud of you, huh?

I had a good time last night.

Me, too. But the restaurant, it was so expensive.

Oh, don’t worry about it. You know, I... I got a job.

[man] Gary, look alive! I need a hand with some gear.

Yeah, I’ll be right with you, Tony.

Hey, how about a movie tonight?

Or you can go dancing with me tonight, darling,

and I can show you some moves this boy never even knew existed.

Look, why don’t you back off her, huh?

She’s just a kid.

What you gonna do about it, big boy?

[man] Signor Danbury, avanti!

Yeah, copy that. I’ll get it right away, all right?

Hey, I’ll see you later, Adriana?

-Si. Ciao. -Ciao.

That’s it, laddie, you go fetch.

I’ll take care of everything here.

[speaking Italian]

You hit on anything in a skirt, don’t you?

Not Mel Gibson.

You had to have J.R. Fletcher to rewrite,

I got you J.R. Fletcher.

-J.B. Fletcher. -Whatever.

You tell me what you want

and uncle Jake’s gonna get it for you.

Suppose I want another director?

Katie, look, this is how it is.

You need a big box office winner,

Monte needs a picture

that David Letterman’s not gonna crack jokes about,

and people line up to see Rex Toland naked from the waist up.

Don’t ask me why. So?

So it’s a marriage made in Hollywood.

Exactly.

With your artistic quality

and Monte’s commercial instincts...

And Rex’s pecs.

[knocking on door]

Oh, hey, Mr. Farber.

Mom, look, they need you on the set for rehearsal.

-They’re getting kind of ticked. -Doesn’t Gary look cute,

with his own little walkie-talkie and everything?

What do you say, kid? Ain’t making movies fun?

[scoffs] Yeah.

[Boyce] Inspector, I resent the implication.

Why blame my people?

But I’m here to investigate every possibility.

So far, the items that have been reported missing are?

There was a steadicam,

some electrical equipment,

a few personal typewriters and computers.

The kind of stuff anybody could take out in the trunk of a car.

Yeah, but the attempted break-in

at the back gate of the studio last night

was particularly alarming.

I hadn’t heard about that.

Signor Brown, I am a very simple policeman,

so perhaps you could explain a few things to me.

Your company is in Rome shooting a movie

that has nothing to do with Rome,

but it’s about a murder in Texas?

Inspector, it’s a financial thing.

Cinecitta made me a terrific below-the-line deal,

and they do have an excellent back lot.

Your movie is based on a book that I read by J.B. Fletcher.

You know, I met signora Fletcher in Genoa last year.

A grand lady.

And I particularly liked this book.

And the book is set in Chicago.

What can I say? That’s Hollywood.

It’s the only way I could raise the money.

In any case, I have to ask for a list of the names

of all the members of your film company.

Now, look, inspector,

I’d appreciate your not spreading that...

[phone ringing]

Yeah, what is it?

Boyce, you wanted to know when the Basta Pasta King showed up?

Well, the gate says he just drove in.

Papa!

Bella mia! How’s our little movie going, eh?

Oh, fantastico, papa.

Raimondo, where have you been?

I’ve been leaving messages for you all over town.

[sighing] We’ve got problems.

Dai, dai. Adriana, back to work.

My partner and I, we gotta talk business, huh?

Si, si, papa.

Ah, Boyce, mi dispiace. One of my chefs quit this morning.

So tell me, how is everything going, huh?

How is everything going? We’ve fallen another day behind schedule,

Kate’s agent flew in from Hollywood last night

to make my life miserable,

Petrizzo’s lab is threatening to cut us off

unless we pay our bill,

and the entire company is on my tail

because they haven’t been paid in the last two weeks.

Ahh! I just have come from the bank.

I give them hell. I tell them, "No, this is impossible."

They apologize. They say the computer makes a mistake.

I say, "No more apologies,

"or Basta Pasta restaurants takes their business elsewhere."

They say, "Okay, don’t worry. For sure by Thursday."

Thursday?

I’ve got a mutiny on my hands today.

[Monte] You got that camera move down?

Okay, let’s rehearse it one more time.

Rex, Rex, you look tired.

Did you get any sleep last night?

[Rex] Not much. [Monte] Makeup.

And don’t keep looking down.

Who do you think you are, James Dean?

So, according to my latest timing,

the picture’s going to come in short.

Does Monte know that?

Directors don’t listen to script girls.

Anyway, we need a couple of three-page scenes, fast.

Well, maybe I could add a scene between Rex and Troy Gorman.

They work very well together.

Think again. We closed out Gorman last Friday.

He’s back in Burbank working on his TV series.

Jessica.

Did Monte kill the new scene that you wrote me?

Well, it’s not totally dead, but...

[exclaims]

Keep up the good work, Mrs. Fletcher.

Kate, you’ve got a line change.

-[Kate and Monte arguing] -Now they’re gonna go fight again.

Your parents are famous for their world championship fights.

[sighing]

Gary, it’s not your fault.

Oh, come on, Jessica, sure it is.

[arguing continues]

Me and my ideas.

You know, I just thought it would be cool if my mom and dad

worked together again.

[Kate shouting]

Well, they’re grown-up, they’re professional...

[Monte] Don’t you understand English?

I’m an actor. I deserve an explanation.

At least, I hope so.

[sighing]

Yeah, well, now everybody’s unhappy and...

Look. Gary, the only thing that you’re guilty of

is wishing that your parents would get back together again.

And I mean, every child of a divorce

fantasizes about that.

I’m simply asking you, as director,

what is this scene all about?

-Love. It’s a love scene. -What’s my motivation?

Three million dollars and 10% of the gross, that’s your motivation.

[Kate] Monte, I have to know what I’m doing.

-I just made it worse. -[whispering] It’s not you.

[Monte] We both know what you’re doing.

You’re wasting valuable time

with a childish display of unprofessionalism!

Hey, signor Bonelli, what do you think of the fireworks?

What do you expect? They are artists.

As I used to say to maestro Fellini,

quiet people make quiet movies.

Son, do you have any idea of the energy,

the drive it takes to battle all day long with stars’ egos?

Well, mom says the same thing about directors.

I’ll bet she does.

Is that why you guys got divorced?

Ancient history. Haven’t we talked about that already?

Actually, we never did... at all.

[sighing]

See, at the end of the day, I wanted a wife, not a star.

And your mother,

she probably wanted a husband, not a director.

So I guess it was just bad casting on both our parts.

My turn. Can I ask you something?

Sure.

Now don’t take this the wrong way,

but there’s been some minor thefts around the studio, and...

And what?

Well, you did have that trouble last semester at Exeter.

You think I’m stealing stuff here?

Why, dad?

Just so I can make your job harder?

Okay, okay. Let’s forget it.

Pronto, Raimondo,

it’s Tomaso.

I tried to get the truck to the back gate last night,

but the alarms went off.

It was an accident, Tomaso.

The security system was supposed to be turned off.

I don’t like accidents unless I cause them.

I try again tonight.

Tonight?

Yes. You know we have buyers.

No, no, no, no, not tonight.

There’s going to be construction crew here.

Too many people. Perhaps tomorrow night, hmm?

Andiamo, Giovanni.

[Webb] So the heavies’ car is chasing Rex’s car.

They’re overtaking him.

He runs into a roadblock, which is this empty car carrier.

He races up the ramp, which we’ve rigged, of course,

soars through the air beyond the car accident,

which we’ve set up as an obstacle,

lands safely, and he gets away.

Nice choreography, Webb. I like it.

Pretty flashy, but basically very simple.

-How safe? -Perfectly.

As long as you maintain 60 miles an hour

up the ramp to clear the car accident.

That’s the key.

It’s an awesome stunt.

You want to do it?

-Me? -You did a good job today.

Well, I don’t know if he can do it.

You just said it was so simple.

I’m your man, Webb.

I’ll follow your instructions step by step, and...

Tell you what.

If it’s okay with your dad, it’s okay with me.

Yeah!

Yes!

[laughing excitedly]

Okay, I’ll tell you what, Hoss.

I was thinking about maybe taking a little weight

-off your shoulders here tomorrow. -How’s that?

Well, suppose you keep shooting first unit,

and you let me direct this little gag with the second unit.

There is no second unit on this picture,

so there’s no second unit director.

You’re the stunt gaffer, period.

I’m going to direct every foot of this epic.

That is not what Boyce promised me when he hired me.

Then you better take it up with your old pal Boyce.

Dad, they need you over on stage 18.

There’s a bit of a problem.

Look, Mr. Petrizzo,

if you don’t deliver that shipment of raw stock

within the hour, we’re totally out of film.

What?

Yeah, fine. I’ll have my personal check waiting.

-Okay, cash. -[dial tone]

"To Boyce, man most likely to replace the maestro,

Purdue university, 1955."

I never knew you were a musician.

What? Oh, the maestro stuff.

Oh, they mean maestro Ferrari.

I was going to design a world championship racing car.

Well, look what you did instead.

Oh, my goodness, the glory days.

Yeah. Till I was torpedoed.

A cheap B-movie frame-up.

Studio funds mysteriously turning up

in my New York bank account.

Ah, yes, but you proved that you didn’t do it.

Yeah, true. But you know Hollywood.

It’s all about perception, not reality.

They handed me a press release

announcing my resignation from the studio.

Everybody said, "well, that’s it, that’s it, he’s finished."

But you showed them.

You thought, "I’ll make a blockbuster hit

out of this picture."

Yeah. At least, was the plan until...

Look, Jess,

I asked you here because, well, I need a favor.

Ah.

Could you talk to Kate and see if you can get her

to forget about this idea of firing Monte?

Well, she brought that up when we talked.

And?

Well, she said that if Monte apologizes, she’ll hang in.

Oh, fat chance. I don’t believe it.

I mean, I’ve got a director and a star

who want to murder each other,

I’ve got a money man who’s perpetually out to lunch.

Not to mention a thief who’s walking off with our equipment.

-And to top... -[phone ringing]

Yes, sandra? What is it this time?

Fire? Flood? Earthquake?

So where’s the problem?

Over here.

Gary. I got your message. What do you...

[sighs]

Well, I suppose you’re wondering why I called you together.

I don’t have the time to waste playing games.

Wait, don’t go, dad. Mom, please.

Okay. What is it?

Well, see, it’s my birthday next month, and...

-I wanted to ask for my present now. -Gary...

And what I want is for the two of you to talk to each other.

Okay? For 30 seconds, that’s all.

Talk about what?

Anything. Everything.

Why you want dad fired from the movie.

Don’t blame your mom, Gary.

It was probably a mistake on both our parts

thinking we could ever work together again.

Well, then why did you reshape the entire project for me?

That wasn’t such a big deal.

Hey, I didn’t mean it like that.

See, in one way or another,

I guess every picture I’ve always done

has always been with you in mind.

Even when it came out Bruce Willis?

Especially then.

Kate, I shouldn’t have embarrassed you yesterday

in front of the company.

I was being a bit of a bitch.

We gotta remember, this is just a movie.

And it can be a terrific movie.

Hey, wait a minute.

When you walked over here,

you already knew I was pushing to have you fired, right?

So what?

So is that why you’re suddenly making nice?

To keep your job?

You think I need this gig?

You’re the one with back-to-back box office bombs.

My last three films grossed nearly a billion dollars.

And no one with a three-digit IQ came to see any of them.

That’s it. I’m out of here.

[sighs]

Didn’t take 30 seconds, did it?

[French accent] Ah, signor Ciurillo.

I am signor Bonelli’s executive assistant, Dominique.

We have talked on the telephone, no?

Where is Raimondo?

Oh, there was an emergency. He had to leave the lot.

[sighs] I tried to call you back immediately, but...

Did he leave any message?

Oh, just his apologies, but...

Raimondo knows better than to waste my time like this.

Oh, was it about tonight?

What do you mean, tonight?

Well, there was a small notation on signor Bonelli’s calendar.

You are his investment counselor, no?

That’s right.

I assist local businessmen to arrange short-term financing.

Oh, yes. How you call? A loan shark.

[chuckling]

Here we call it interim financing.

Oh.

Have Raimondo call me as soon as possible.

Sweetie, have you heard? Monte is bailing.

The word is out he’s going to move on to the new Travolta...

Jake, you’re fired.

Any particular reason?

There are no secrets on a movie set.

You’ve been pitching some of your clients

for Monte’s replacement.

Well, sure. Why not?

You’ve also been pitching replacements for me,

which is a bit premature.

Oh, now, that’s purely hypothetical.

Boyce asked me for some suggestions, and I was just...

Just covering all your bases, as usual.

Katie, this is a decision you are going to regret.

Hey, it won’t be the first one.

[knocking on door]

Excuse me, Kate.

It’s Gary. He wants to do the stunt.

What? Is the kid crazy?

[crewmen chattering]

You gotta be kidding. I forbid it.

Mom, I’m 18 years old. I can do this.

Webb and I have been going over it all morning, and...

You don’t have enough experience.

Am I wrong, Lucy? Your dad was a stuntman.

And he got killed doing a gag a lot simpler than this.

Oh, come on, it’s not that difficult.

Look, Monte, I don’t know

why you want to risk your own son’s life for a dumb car shot.

It’s his decision, Kate. You’ve gotta let him grow up.

Webb! Webb!

Who the hell did this? This is a bad weld.

This damn thing won’t hold.

This is typical of the workmanship around here.

These foreigners don’t understand

that almost ain’t good enough,

and that somebody’s gonna get killed here.

Well, it’s not that bad, is it?

We’re not going to lose shooting time, are we?

I can have it fixed in a couple of minutes.

I’m just glad I caught it.

That’s my point. It’s not safe enough for Gary to do.

Now, I’m asking you for the last time, Monte...

[Monte] It’s up to Gary.

I’m gonna do it, mom.

Boyce? Where’s Boyce?

Bring the torch over here.

All right, Tomaso, I got your message.

You had the stunt rigging damaged.

Just a small reminder.

I must recoup what you owe me, Raimondo.

All right. The security system will be turned off tonight,

and you still have the key to the back gate.

You know, Tomaso, someone could have been killed with your little joke.

Someone still could be killed if you’re not careful,

so don’t get any ideas about backing out now.

And I’d watch your secretary. She’s too inquisitive.

[dial tone]

-My secretary? -[knocking on window]

Avanti, avanti.

Papa, your medicine.

[sighing]

Papa, can I help?

No, no, no, no, it’s fine.

You’re such a good girl.

Don’t worry, don’t worry. It’s just business.

Rex, I think this must belong to you.

I wondered where that’d gotten to.

It was under the stunt rigging,

right where they discovered the structural weakness.

I heard about that. These riggers’ll kill you if you’re not careful.

I was working on this film in Tulsa and...

Jessica, you don’t think that I had anything to do with...

I was just passing by last night.

Why did you stop there, Rex?

Look, this is terribly important.

Did you see someone?

Well, I hate to say it, because it just doesn’t make any sense.

The person I saw last night

futzing with Webb Prentiss’ rigging was...

Webb himself.

-We ready to go? -Yes, sir.

Webb, you set?

[Webb] We’re ready whenever you are, C.B.

Tell Gary we’re ready.

Okay. Gary, ready to go.

[speaking Italian] [honking]

Action!

Where’s Webb Prentiss?

-He’s coordinating the stunt. -Well, there’s something wrong.

You’ve got to stop the stunt right now.

[tires screeching]

Cut, cut, cut!

Gary! Gary!

-Oh, no. -Gary? Well, then who’s...

It’s Webb. He did the stunt.

He’s dead.

It’s a first for me. No one’s ever been hurt on a film I’ve directed.

Monte, you ever notice

how the subject of all your conversation

is always you and your picture?

Even now.

What’s she so steamed about?

Monte, it’s time you plugged into people’s feelings.

Lucy and Webb Prentiss were...

Oh, right. Right, I forgot. But I thought that was over.

Gary! You okay?

For an awful minute there, we thought you...

Yeah, I know what you thought.

What is this, kick Monte day?

Signora Fletcher, I’ve heard you tried to stop the stunt.

Would you like to tell me why?

And this last-minute substitution,

how did it come about?

Well, that’s because of me.

Kate persuaded me, not that I didn’t agree,

that Gary was too green to do the stunt, so I had Webb step in.

And if he hadn’t, it would’ve been Gary

in that awful accident.

If it was an accident.

Mrs. Fletcher learned that Webb Prentiss himself

caused the tampering with the stunt rigging

that he later on pretended to discover.

I don’t understand.

Oh, probably just upping the ante.

Webb talked me into giving him a premium bonus

to take over the stunt.

I still don’t get it.

I mean, Webb wasn’t suicidal.

He wouldn’t have agreed to do that stunt, even for a bonus,

if he’d known it would’ve turned out like this.

I have a team of experts going over the car right now.

Inspector, I’d hate to see

a tragic, unavoidable event like this get blown up into...

We have to consider the possibility

that this was a homicide.

Who would want to murder Webb?

[sighing]

No one knew he was going to step in.

So if someone sabotaged the stunt,

they would have supposed the victim would be your son.

Why?

Perhaps as a way of getting at you.

[door closes]

It can’t be true.

I know what I saw.

Then you’ve got to tell.

You’ve got to tell someone.

How can I, Adriana?

God.

What am I gonna do?

[Jessica] Webb Prentiss made a big point

that as long as the car

maintained a constant speed of 60 miles per hour,

it was completely safe.

And obviously, signor Prentiss

would follow his own advice, right?

Yes, but how would he know that?

By watching the speedometer, of course.

But supposing the reading was wrong,

and he only thought he was going at 60 miles per hour?

Bruno, the speedometer.

See if it shows any signs of tampering.

Oh, and check the calibration for accuracy.

Signora Fletcher, your guess about signor Bonelli

seems to have paid off.

[Raimondo] Who told you this?

[cursing in Italian]

Liar! Liars who think nothing

of ruining the reputation of an honest, hard-working man!

Signor Bonelli, calm down.

The basic source of my information is your own banker.

The Basta Pasta restaurant chain

is severely overextended financially.

It’s just a seasonal drop.

Investing in this movie has eaten up all cash reserves.

You’re facing bankruptcy.

Raimondo, you swore to me

you had all the money we need to finish the picture.

Mi dispiace, amico mio.

I just wanted, for one time, to be part of the dream.

To make a movie.

But you’ve produced pictures before, lots of them,

with Fellini and Antonioni.

Fellini once come to eat in my restaurant.

That’s as close as I come to making a movie.

Till Boyce the Patsy came along.

I thought I had enough money.

I love this moviemaking,

but she’s like a mistress who cannot be satisfied.

[sighing]

That’s it. I’m finished.

Signor Bonelli, I think it’s time for you to speak the truth.

These loan sharks you’ve been dealing with...

[speaking Italian]

I tried to stop them, even to delay them,

but I was helpless.

This man, Ciurillo, un assassino.

He’s a killer.

Tell me more.

Buona sera, signor Ciurillo.

[speaking Italian]

Believe me, Jess, it’s over. I’m finished.

I’ve been begging Jake Farber to use his leverage

and make a pick-up deal for me at one of the Hollywood studios.

He says the only way he’s gonna help

is if Kate changes her mind and stays with his agency.

I mean, what can I do?

Well, you can help yourself, and stop behaving like a has-been

who’s dependent on everybody else.

Jess. Jess, you just don’t understand.

I understand that you’re here.

You’re working in one of the best studios in the world.

You have been one of the most important men

in this business, Boyce.

Now, you can find an answer.

Maybe I can.

[Jessica] Hello, Gary.

You can’t shoulder this all alone, you know.

Adriana told you, didn’t she?

No. Why don’t you tell me?

Just before the stunt,

I saw him doing something under the hood of the car.

I think my father tried to kill me.

That’s not true. That’s not what happened.

I’d never do that.

It appears you did, signor Hayes.

Your fingerprints have been identified

on the motor of the stunt car.

I can explain that.

And I’m most interested to hear your explanation.

If you would please accompany me to the police station.

All right, I did check under the hood of the car

just before the stunt went down,

but not to tamper with anything,

just to personally make sure that everything was okay,

because it was my son who was risking his neck.

That makes me a control freak, not a murderer.

Your ex-wife had taken control of your own film,

crowded you out.

You were enraged at her

to the point of forgetting everything else.

You really think I’m the kind of monster

that would kill my own son

in front of his mother’s eyes just to screw up a film?

[Amati] Yes. Because you hate her that much.

No, I don’t!

Yes, you do. You wanted to hurt her.

You wanted her to suffer as you were suffering.

-No! Never! I... -You what?

I still love her.

You’ve gotta help him, Jessica.

I think I have an idea.

Can you roll it back?

Jess, we’ve looked at this stuff

a dozen times. Are we getting anywhere?

Oh, I’m not sure.

The cops didn’t find anything wrong with the car.

Did the studio manager

happen to have a blueprint of the back lot street?

Yeah, it’s right there on the desk.

Now, it’s exactly 100 feet from the corner of this building

to the takeoff point.

[beeping]

What’s with the number crunching?

The stunt car was going at 60 miles per hour.

Now, that’s 88 feet per second,

so it should travel 100 feet in exactly 1.13 seconds.

Could we time it?

-Oh, sure. Here you are. -Thank you.

Ready?

[Jessica] One point 36 seconds.

Now, something is wrong.

Maybe you better check your arithmetic again.

One point 36 seconds

means that the stunt car was only going at 50 miles per hour.

That doesn’t make sense.

Why would Webb Prentiss

have been deliberately driving too slow

to safely make the jump?

[Kate] I feel like a prisoner.

This morning, a tabloid photographer

scaled the walls outside my hotel room

to snap a picture of me.

The paparazzi are outside the studio gates

like a wolf pack waiting to pounce.

It reminds me of when I worked as an extra on cleopatra.

It was the height of the romance

between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

You know, the press was all over them, too.

It was the time when he had given her that huge Diamond.

Diamonds...

something’s wrong, signora Fletcher?

Oh, no, inspector.

Something is finally right.

I think I know who the killer is.

Believe me, they’ll be standing in line at theaters

from Stuttgart to Munich.

I promise you, Fritz, you won’t regret it.

-[Fritz] Okay, Boyce. -Thanks, pal.

My client has a problem, Boyce.

You mean poor Monte. You know, I still can’t believe...

No, no, my new client, Rex Toland.

Now, listen, I got a new offer for him,

so since your picture’s falling apart,

why don’t you be a sweetheart and let us out?

Who said anything’s falling apart?

I’ve been hitting the phones,

and I’ve got all the additional financing I need

just by selling the German and Japanese distribution rights.

Old Boyce, the comeback kid. You’re back in business.

Yeah, my only remaining problem is Kate.

Problem?

Yeah, she refused to go back to work.

Keeps insisting that Monte is innocent,

and the real murderer is still out there.

I’m not sure I should be sharing this with you,

but Kate is cash poor lately.

So all you have to do is threaten to sue her,

and make sure she doesn’t work anywhere else,

she’s gonna stay put.

Congratulations, kiddo. You’re back there.

I knew you’d do it somehow.

Hey, can I sell you a new director?

Jake...

...and there’s been a new development in the case.

-Yeah? -Yeah.

Mrs. Fletcher found something, and it looks good for my father.

What is it?

Well, I don’t know exactly, but whatever it is, the...

-How do you say cops in Italy? -Carabinieri.

Right. The carabinieri, they’re gonna come by in the morning

and get the wrecked stunt car.

They’re gonna tow it back to the police garage

and take it apart,

till they find whatever it is they’re looking for.

[Adriana] I wonder what it could be. [Gary] I don’t know,

but wouldn’t it be great if it helped my dad?

No fair spying on young lovers, Rex.

-What are you looking for? -Oh!

Jessica, what are you doing here?

I asked you first.

I just stopped by

because one of those little fuses on my car blew out.

I didn’t know where I’d find a service station

open this time of night.

Not that I’d even know how to install a fuse.

Well, that’s not what’s in that drawer.

I guess I should have turned on the light.

Hey, you’re not going to make a federal case

out of a fuse, are you?

Next think I know, you’ll be accusing me of the murder.

I wish it wasn’t so.

Oh, come on, Jessica.

If this was a script you were writing,

you’d never come up with such a far-fetched plot line.

Why would I want to kill Gary?

Webb Prentiss was your real target.

Webb? My boyfriend?

I mean, we’d pretty much broken up, but I would never...

The tampering that killed Webb Prentiss

was done right here the other night.

The objective was to make Webb believe

that he was driving at 60 miles per hour,

when actually, he was only moving at 50.

Sounds like movie magic to me.

Someone switched one of the transmission gears

for a larger one,

and that distorted the information being sent

to the speedometer, so that the car would actually be going 50

even though the speedometer read 60.

And at 50 miles an hour,

it could never have made it over the obstacles to safety.

Well, that lets me out.

All this technical stuff.

I don’t even know why the light goes on in my refrigerator.

Oh, you’re too modest, Lucy,

for a stuntman’s daughter who grew up around car experts.

But how does that make it me?

A lot of people around here know a lot more than I do about cars.

You were wearing that jacket

when you crept under the car

to change the gears the other night.

What does my jacket have to do with it?

It’s what makes you the killer.

The other day, when we were talking about the accident...

It’s a first for me.

No one’s ever been hurt on a picture I’ve directed before.

[Jessica] You got angry at Monte for his insensitivity.

But I happened to notice

several odd-shaped diamond markings

on the elbow of your jacket.

It didn’t mean anything to me

until someone mentioned the word diamond,

and that reminded me of your jacket,

and something else I’d seen here with inspector Amati.

It was this.

The heat shield of the catalytic converter.

You see, the texture of the metal

has the same Diamond-shaped points.

You didn’t notice at the time,

but you branded the elbow on your jacket

when you were substituting the gears.

You came here tonight to replace the original transmission gear

that you’d removed and hidden here.

Basta, signora.

We have already removed

the original gear you left in the drawer.

And I imagine the gloves you’re wearing

will match the fiber traces

we found on it and on the transmission.

I just don’t know why you did it.

You said it yourself.

I’m a stuntman’s daughter.

My father was a wonderful man, so full of life and laughter.

Everyone loved him.

Webb was his protégé. Dad taught him everything.

They were together on the movie when your dad died?

Four years ago.

Everyone said it was an accident,

but then one night last week, Webb got drunk.

So drunk he could hardly recognize me.

He started babbling things.

And I realized Webb killed my father

so he could take over his job as stunt coordinator.

And you decided there would be another "accident."

I went to the motor pool that night and switched the gears.

Then you were prepared to let Gary be killed?

No, I wouldn’t have let that happen.

I was panicked when I found out Gary was driving.

But things changed.

I was with Webb when Boyce offered him a bonus

for talking Gary out of the stunt.

So it went the way I planned.

Webb was rotten.

If I had to do it again, I would.

It was perfect.

Almost.

[Jessica] Monte, have you seen the new pages?

[Monte] You ignored everything I said.

That’s probably why I liked it.

-Gary, get these pages... -I know.

Copied and distributed right away.

Jess, uh, did Monte tell you we’ve added

a new romance to the picture?

Between you and the saloon bartender?

No, between me and the director.

Well, since you both know what you want,

you don’t need a writer.

Just improvise.