Original subtitles

The majority of events related in this film are true.

However, the authors are not trying to do the work of historians.

They have allowed their imaginations some liberty.

They apologise to those who may share the same names

as those used for certain characters in this film.

There is, naturally, no relationship involved.

There they are!

There they are!

July 1933... CASSIS, FRANCE

I’m Chief-Inspector Gardet of the Sûreté Générale

Mr Lev Davidovich Bronstein, known as Leon Trotsky...

For humanitarian reasons, and as an exceptional measure...

the government of France hereby grants you asylum

There is one condition...

You may not intervene in the internal affairs of France

We had you disembark here at Cassis...

to avoid demonstrations

The Press is waiting in Marseilles

We want to keep your itinerary a secret

Here is a copy of the decree authorizing you to reside in France

And so a page of history is turned...

He led the October Revolution at Lenin’s side

He created the Red Army... now he is in exile again!

MEANWHILE IN PARIS

Your car, Mr Alexandre?

Yes... I’ll be right there

Baron Raoul is waiting, sir

Find out who Bonny is working for

Inspector Bonny often works on his own

I want the answer today, Boussaud!

If it’s money, I’ll pay. Just one more palm to grease!

9 tonight, Place St Georges... the back door

Thanks for coming back, Baron

I need your advice

I don’t trust Gaston to run the Empire alone

Always delighted to be of service...

Tell me about Biarritz, Baron. Is Arlette still beautiful?

Still the most beautiful, Sacha

Yesterday, in Juan Montalvo’s Hispano...

she was ravishing: a queen!

The jury was simply...

Later, Baron! Don’t spoil it for me

I’ll want all the details

I’m keeping you with me all day

What’s in the news?

Hollywood’s on strike. Wall Street’s reeling

Speicher won the Tour de France

Have you read Kessel’s article in Le Matin?

"The Call of the Blood" is the melodramatic title

And what blood does he mean? Jewish blood!

To protest against...

racial persecution in Germany...

Lord Melchett, president of the Chemical Industries Trust...

has abjured Christianity

He has returned to the faith of his forefathers

And he, Joseph Kessel, approves...

of this gesture by a rich and powerful man

Melchett reacts to adversity...

by renewing bonds from which he was otherwise liberated

We’re supposed to think: How noble!

I’m not struck by the nobility but by the stupidity!

Calling attention to one’s Jewish origins...

is a sure way to arouse animosity

Ever read leftist papers?

Never... I haven’t the strength. They’re so badly written?

"The Council Presidents and most Ministers..."

"are swine, bastards and gangsters"

"The traitors! Shove dynamite up their behinds..."

Is that well-written?

But that’s a polemic, Sacha!

The language is purposely excessive

But you’re well-bred...

How can you frequent those Radical-Socialists?

You don’t understand...

I frequent those in power!

What can I do? The Left Coalition won the elections!

If your friends win next time...

we’ll celebrate with champagne

Don’t wait till then, Sacha

I’ll introduce you to my friends whenever you like

In power or not, they have power!

Checks ready, Borelli?

Draw 50,000 cash from the La Foncière account

Have Laloy take 25,000 to Mr Véricourt

Bring me the rest at the Empire

Draw 200,000 from the C.I.C. account

Deposit it to my account at the Crédit Lyonnais

Transfer 45,000 to Biarritz and draw 100,000...

Put it in the office safe

Can I talk to you, Bonny?

Why hound Serge Alexandre?

Alexandre? Oh yes, that’s his name now...

Am I hounding him?

You’ve turned in three reports on him since May

And La Bonne Guerre keeps attacking him...

The editor’s your man

Drop it! Do I bother your informers?

That’s just it! Too much so...

I see... So Alexandre still works for you?

Put yourself in his place!

Do you want your past dug up?

Would you like anyone digging into the Volberg case?

I guess I’ll fill you in on this, after all

You see? That’s all money is...

Bits of paper for Borelli to handle

Off we go, Baron... to the Empire

Alexander’s Empire!

Now describe Arlette’s triumph for me

It was glorious, Sacha... an apotheosis!

Everything was perfect, even the weather

You would have loved the blue hydrangeas...

A nightmare? What nightmare?

She dreamed that you were both falling

It’s a very common dream, Sacha

You were in a car that had no brakes

She’s had that same dream often, lately

I must tell Dr Mezy...

Is Montalvo still courting my wife?

Nothing can discourage our Don Juan!

He put his car at her disposal again yesterday

What about his other plot?

To overthrow the Spanish Republic...

I wouldn’t know...

He’s preparing to go to Italy

To Italy? They’re contacting Mussolini...

Of course... Mussolini!

Hello, Doc

I have to see Alex for a few minutes...

I must examine him!

He’s nervous, depressed and can’t sleep

I don’t like that one bit!

Should I have told Sacha?

To say nothing is a kind of betrayal

But it wouldn’t be gallant to tell him about it...

Yesterday, after Arlette’s triumph...

Montalvo launched his final assault...

against her resistances

"All or nothing," he told me

"She’s mine tonight, or I disappear"

What’s he saying...?

Arlette seems fascinated

What can they be saying?

Something has upset them

My ancestors defeated the Arabs...

3000 acres of olive trees, vineyards...

Mine, by blood-right!

And so I raised my hand...

The Guardia Civil were ordered to fire

The peasants were shot down point-blank

In Spain... we have a long history of knowing how to die

Why won’t you ever see me alone?

Afraid you’ll weaken?

No, I’m not afraid of that, my dear Juan

I’m not virtuous and I don’t consider marriage sacred

But I belong to a man

I am his

He alone can release me from my vows

And that’s the only thing I’m afraid of...

That he might do it!

Can we stage Deux sous de fleurs modestly?

Use the decors from Katinka, for example...

The public wants new things... everything new!

Gaston’s right! With a Depression on...

people want to see extravaganzas!

They want to see all the things they haven’t got

"Life can be beautiful..."

And life can be beautiful! Right, Alex?

It’s two against one... Deux sous de fleurs it is!

How much will Deux sous de fleurs cost me?

Go on, start the auditions without me

I need Mr Grammont’s legal counsel

I’ll be needing you, too!

Sorry to keep you waiting

Here’s what I found...

It dates from 1926

Our next issue will carry the picture with the caption...

"The owner of the newspaper La Volonté

"and of the Empire Theater...

"during a surprise party"

How do you like it, Bonny?

I’ve changed my mind... Alexandre is on his guard

What’ll I do?

Go see him anyway

I have a report here, from Biarritz...

Say it’s a gossip item... just for openers

See how he reacts to a direct contact

La Bonne Guerre doesn’t worry me, Doc

I can handle scandal sheets

But Inspector Bonny is behind it

He filed reports on me May 23rd, June 17th...

and July 1st! That’s this month...

You’re well-informed

I pay enough...

The Police Fund is an expensive mistress!

Grammont, attack the root of the problem...

And the root is the Laforcade file

Get it over with, lawyer!

It’s dragged on for seven years

It’s been postponed 12 times... fine!

Now get the case dismissed and the civil suit withdrawn

Try the statute of limitations

We know judges and Ministers... find a solution!

I’ve talked to Véricourt, we have a plan

We’ll settle the civil suit out of court

I can do it with two million...

But I have to ask some questions...

Ask Dr Mezy! That’s why I had him come today

I’ve forgotten

I’ve decided to forget!

I am Serge Alexandre, financier and impresario

Newspaper and stable owner

Soon I’ll head C.A.G.T.R.I., an international trust...

Quoted shares worth 500 million, government-backed

So why ask me about that poor jerk out on bail?

That small-time con man...

Don’t mention him to me again!

Get him out of my life, Grammont!

Oh, he’s perfectly sincere

It’s a typical case of a split personality

The person that he was... is someone else!

A phantom that he despises... and fears

Well, the arrest at Marly in July 1926 is no dream

It’s rather naive...

It was a routine police operation...

Alex had been hiding for three months

A warrant was out for his arrest...

Fraud, receiving stolen goods, bad checks...

And Alex had been warned

He’s always had "friends" in the police

He had time to escape

But he wanted to give a farewell party

Alex likes parties...

I arrested him at Marly...

Two years later, I ran into him at a café

He was out of prison

Case dismissed, he said

He agreed to become one of my informers

He gave me some good tips on swindlers...

forgers and addicts

It was his world

The day after Alex’s arrest...

his father, a reputable dentist...

committed suicide

And then there were the women...

This is a police report dated April 1926...

"His means of support are vague"

"Lazy and immoral..."

"he takes advantage of women"

One episode was a determining factor, I think

You won’t find it in his file

To understand Alex, sometimes you must forget files

You have to dream about him

And imagine his dreams...

Alex was 16 years old and still in school

A woman of 30, a semi-professional...

found him attractive and took him away

She took him to Deauville... and initiated him

Alex discovered...

the worlds of luxury, gambling and pleasure

That initiation was decisive

Not at all, Doc...

Not at all!

That woman didn’t initiate me...

My grandfather had seen to that!

My father was serious and fearful...

always worrying about respectability

But not my grandfather!

When I was singing in a musical...

he came to hear me! He taught me everything...

I came to invite you to join us...

The auditions are great fun!

Miss Zambaux...

Miss Edith Boreal, please!

What have you prepared for us?

Je t’aime by Sacha Guitry... Act 5

The scene between him and her

Where is "him"?

At the last minute, he stood me up

You wouldn’t like to cue me...?

Am I the type for it?

If the young lady has a copy of the play, I’ll try

Excellent idea, Baron

"There! Like magic... you have a house"

"Oh! May I look around...?"

"What is it?"

"There’s linen in the closets... and everything!"

"May I see the dining room?"

"Make yourself at home"

"It’s so pretty..."

"Tablecloths and silverware..."

"glasses and dishes! It’s beautiful..."

"I forgot to look in the bathroom"

I’ll give you five minutes!

This item will appear in next week’s issue...

It may interest you, Mr Alexandre

You wrote it...

Read it!

"In Biarritz the other day, baccarat was played for high stakes"

"Up to 300,000 francs bet by the professional gamblers..."

"Henriet, Garcia, Serge Alexandre"

"Alexandre is Stovosky of the phony Hungarian bond issue"

Excuse the misspelling

Typographers are hopeless about foreign names

That’s enough!

Casino gossip leaves me cold! I’m covered there...

Ask your friends on the Vice Squad

And the rest is a lie!

Send him the documentation on the Hungarian bonds

And the study made by Judge Vannier...

on behalf of the government

No, your gossip column doesn’t interest me!

But your little publication does...

I have a new company, S.A.P.E.P.

My friend Borelli is in charge

The idea is to group certain publications...

around a central advertising organization

I’ve already signed up Cyrano and Le Cri du Jour...

and I’m negotiating with Le Charivari and D’Artagnan

And La Bonne Guerre?

I’m at war with La Bonne Guerre!

Your project interests me, of course

Borelli will give you the details

Give him something on account!

"Ours will be a love without any story"

"No one else will understand"

"And if a playwright were to decide..."

"to write about our love, the critics would say..."

"it’s not a play! Nothing happens..."

Miss Erna Wolfgang, please

I can sing, dance and act

I’m also a trapeze artist...

and I can walk a high-wire

But I have an accent, as you can hear

I’m Jewish

I’ve just come from Germany

Since the Nazis took power this year...

it’s hard for us to live in Germany

It has never been easy for us to live anywhere

My last role in Germany was in a play called Die Maßnahme

The police closed the theater

So, here I am!

I had prepared a monologue but after seeing that gentleman...

Would you please cue me?

If it’s not an insult to French genius...

I’d like to do a scene from Giraudoux’s Intermezzo

But I need a Specter

Let me do it, Baron!

Playing a specter should suit me

Come on, I have a copy for you

I’ve made some cuts... It starts here

What do I do?

You float behind me

Try to read your role with feeling, Alex

I’m on a bench

It’s night...

May we have some night, please?

Make it night

"No... the dead are remarkably agile"

"No, the dead are remarkably agile..."

"They never stumble into the void"

"They never trip over shadows"

"They never stub their toes on nothingness"

"And nothing ever lights up their faces..."

The simplest answer is that he was insane

Mr Chairman, an ex-convict should be invisible...

"to understand and enjoy being immortal"

"They aren’t!"

"What do you mean?"

"They die, too"

"Strange how races don’t know themselves"

"Indians think they are red, Negroes think they are white"

"The dead think they are mortal"

There... it’s finished

Why broadcast that you’re Jewish?

Because I am

Not much of an answer, Miss Wolf-track

Wolfgang means wolf-track

Would you like a more theatrical answer?

Because when I look at trees, roses, sky...

I know I’m Jewish

I hate races that don’t know themselves...

Jews who think they’re happy...

have equal rights and are safe

Where does it get you?

I can be myself... I can be different

Know what my father said?

Be average, Sacha

Being first makes enemies. Being last looks bad.

Be average so they forget you

But they don’t forget us

- You’re from...? - I’m from Russia

I’d like you to be happy

30 seconds to reach the street...

Only 30 seconds to offer you happiness

Not pleasure... pleasure takes a lifetime

Not vice-versa?

That’s a common error

Happiness is a single moment...

Sunlight on water...

At best, a long series of moments

Pleasure requires much thought

You need time, leisure... inventiveness

Pleasure is for the rich!

Who are you...?

All this is mine... my Empire!

I can offer you Paris

Thanks anyway...

I like happiness

You made me lose my head

Did I make too much noise?

"The dear was naked and, knowing my desire..."

"Wore only her jewels, to set my heart afire"

"She seemed the victor, wearing such rich attire..."

"With the secret smile slaves sometimes acquire"

Another little housewife looking for a great love

A cultivated provincial... the worst!

Just to be rude, I started with...

"Strip except for the jewel! I want to look..."

She began gurgling and quoting Baudelaire

That did it!

Luckily she adores mystery stories

I had a topic of conversation to hide my lack of desire

The little idiot sold it to me for a pittance

Her husband is a miser...

She needs money for her escapades

Alex! I’ve gone over the accounts...

It’s a disaster!

Let me speak, just this once

Then you can do what you want

We’ll compare figures...

Ready

Racing stables... 3 million francs net loss

You agree?

Empire Theater losses for one season...

6,237,378 francs... We’ll skip the centimes

I never count centimes!

600,000 distributed to scandal sheets

3,500,000 sunk into S.A.P.E.P.

Two million in "fees" to lawyers, politicians...

ex-generals, ex-police chiefs, etc.

Almost finished!

Gambling losses: 2,250,000 at Biarritz...

Five million at Cannes

22 million francs squandered in less than two years

Squandered?

No, not squandered... invested!

Money attracts money...

I operate entirely on credit!

Why do I have that credit?

Because I throw money around... as you call it

If I stop now, people will get suspicious

They’ll smell trouble and tear me apart!

But you are in trouble, Alex!

In 60 days you have to go to court

Véricourt can make a deal... We’ll settle out of court

Make a deal...!

Where will you get the money to make a deal?

Cover the Bayonne vouchers

You can’t re-pay the 3 million due last week

Five million more come due in a month

Fake vouchers! What if they audit?

I know, I need 100 million!

But in October, CAGTRI will be incorporated

500 million! I’ll cover all the Bayonne vouchers...

And we’ll be solvent!

And till then? The emeralds again?

Something much better...

The Spanish connection! "Love is blind..."

Montalvo? That polo-playing parlor conspirator!

The polo player is preparing a coup d’état

He’s buying arms from Mussolini. He must have lots of money...

I’ll offer my Swiss company as intermediary for the funds

Your excellency, gentlemen, friends...

Allow me to welcome you to the first Board meeting...

of CAGTRI, the International Construction and Finance Corp.

One question...

One big question haunts the world

How can we end the Depression?

The world’s most civilized countries...

are on the horns of a dilemma

On the one hand, stockpiles of unsold merchandise...

on the other, masses of unemployed workers

What is the cause of this situation?

Let me explain, Mr Chairman...

I wasn’t his trusted friend, as you’ve called me...

I was his trusted employee

We always knew who was boss

That’s too much!

I was promised that no one would have access to my file

And yet I saw it on Bonny’s desk

Anyway, he’s done his worst...

He informed La Bonne Guerre

He’ll try something else... unofficially

I know his plan...

He’s going to Biarritz on vacation. He’ll go to Bayonne for a loan

He’ll pawn fake jewels at the Municipal Loan Office

Did you see Boussaud go out?

Nothing suspicious?

You weren’t followed?

The Sûreté Générale is a snake pit...

As bad as Police Headquarters!

Véricourt’s in the legislature...

He ought to get a Police Reform bill passed!

Know where Bonny’s vacationing?

In Biarritz... 5 miles from Bayonne

He’s setting a trap for me...

Using fake jewels as collateral at the Municipal Loan Office

Then he can investigate officially

He’s not stupid

Let’s go wake Arlette...

in Biarritz!

Aren’t we dining with the Baron?

We’ll all go! Ready to roll all night?

Let’s buy flowers

Flowers... at 6 AM?

No matter what time it is!

I want a mountain of white flowers for Arlette

We’ll drag the florists out of bed...

Lilies, orchids, camelias, roses...

White roses are very pretty

I dreamt it again

I know

The car was rolling on grass

We were together...

Yes... I was in your arms

I heard your voice in my ear

Saying the same words?

The same words... the ermine, the orchids...

Your voice in my ear...

The car was picking up speed?

Going faster and faster... plunging down the hill

We went over a cliff

The car took off in a cloud of white feathers

No... they were snowflakes

My mouth was filled with snow

I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see your face

Snow everywhere...

There’s no snow, Arlette

There’s a July sun shining

We’re happy...

It’s lovely... Where’s it from?

Yesterday at 10 AM a lady from Angoulême was wearing it...

in the lobby of the Claridge

At 5 PM, I was in her bed

Plump, smooth-skinned, wicked... brainless!

At 7 PM, the necklace was in my pocket

You made her pay you...?

Never! But I got it for a tenth of its value

The maids will be coming in... I don’t care!

MUNICIPAL LOAN OFFICE OF BAYONNE

Three million in unpaid vouchers, Alex...

If a Tax Inspector notices that the numbers...

don’t match my accounts, I’m through!

You must reimburse, Alex

The inspector won’t notice anything!

Has he noticed anything before?

Relax, I’ll send you the money next week

Watch out for Inspector Bonny! That’s important...

How does it feel to have squandered such a fortune?

I feel quite contented, Sacha

It’s the only real contentment!

After conquering Europe for Napoleon...

my family went on to conquer a financial empire

I dissipated those ill-gotten gains in one long celebration!

Of course, it took me 40 years to do it

I envy you

I have to invent the money I squander

I had nothing

Bank is 10,000 francs, gentlemen...

9 to the bank... Baccarat!

It’s time to leave Biarritz

How’s your coup d’état coming along, Montalvo?

Will Mussolini sell you the arms?

Don’t worry, I’m silent as a tomb!

Who told you?

No one... You went to Italy so I guessed why

You’re very quick

Such a huge financial manipulation requires discretion

Funds safely blocked while you negotiate...

I happen to have a Swiss company...

and Swiss bank accounts

What a timely offer!

I’ve been trying to solve that problem...

Do you recall that American, Mrs Winters?

The one who had her face enamelled...

Surely you met her at Monte Carlo

Mirror always in hand, even in the street!

The other day, it all went to pieces

She couldn’t stand the sight

The truth of her age spilling out of the mask

She slit her wrists...

Please don’t tell Sacha about it!

Not today

It’s an anniversary

You’re his friend, I can tell you...

Seven years ago...

Sacha’s father committed suicide

A family matter...

Sacha was away... on a trip

I didn’t know! Count on me...

Baron...?

Glad you’re here... Tonight, we celebrate!

Oscar Wilde was right. Prison is the worst thing in life

No, the worst thing in life... is death!

Prison is worse than death

How can we judge?

We haven’t experienced either one

I’ve been to prison

You forget I was Chief of Police

I would know, my friend...

You don’t know!

No one knows who I am or what I’m capable of!

He caught me stealing gold fillings from his dental clinic

And he said to me...

"If you dishonor our name, I’ll kill myself’

Honor and work... that’s all he ever talked about

Did they honor his name during the Ukraine pogroms?

But he wanted to forget that

He wanted to be a nice, respected dentist

If grandfather hadn’t laughed he’d have gone to Mass!

What’s worse than a craven father?

But he had the courage to shoot himself

You must leave, I’ve let you stay too long...

Everything all right? No trouble?

Don’t you ever get any mail?

How? To Mr Leon Trotsky, c/o General Delivery...

St Palais sur Mer? Very discreet!

But Mr Trotsky has many visitors...

English and Belgian politicians...

German refugees, extreme leftists

Naturally... who else would come here?

I mean they’re active leftists

I’m sure you know...

that a condition accepted by Mr Trotsky...

when he was granted asylum...

was that he not get involved in French politics

German refugees deal with German politics

Yes, but they’re doing it in France

They need a German secretary for a few days

I mentioned you... You’ll get it

I’ll take you there later

Do you go to the villa often?

What’s it like?

Have you read Dostoyevsky?

It’s just like a Dostoyevsky novel!

Trotsky and Natalia...

lead an austere, rich, fascinating life!

And Malraux came for a visit

I wish I could have been there!

According to Rudolph...

they only discussed art, movies, Poland...

the Red Army and Christianity!

Will Trotsky succeed?

Can he influence the Party?

That’s the question...

All his activity is aimed at the Party

To influence the Party, transform it...

restructure it

Trotsky claims that Stalin has betrayed the Revolution

But the Party is behind Stalin

So how can Trotsky have any influence on it?

The Party opposes him

A contradiction...

Then why go on fighting?

Because nothing’s settled yet

No vacation, Bonny?

And you?

An appointment with the Director

at a beach... on a delicate mission!

I leave for Biarritz tomorrow

I’ll mix business and pleasure, too

Chief-Inspector Gardet... my respects

Chief-Inspector Bonny... my regards

Borelli? Gauthier here...

Tell Alex the guy came to see me

I recognized him right away, from the picture

He tried to unload the fake stones on me

No, of course not

I got rid of him without letting on I’d noticed

I simply said that the Bayonne Loan Office...

couldn’t accept any more jewels

Because we’d reached the limit set by regulation

Doctor, someone wants to come in...

Says he’s the patient’s lawyer

Tell him to wait!

Anyway, we’ve finished

What does this mean? You don’t need a lawyer here!

Yes I do... I don’t trust your diagnosis!

I know what they do...

Lock up a competitor! Best way to get rid of him

Naturally I have enemies!

I’m trying to reform the European monetary system

Are they the same enemies who stole the Eiffel Tower from you?

See? You’re trying to make me think I’m crazy...

I never said they stole the tower from me!

They stole rights I had paid a lot for...

The Eiffel Tower radio station advertising!

But I’ll get the Eiffel Tower back

Get dressed, we’ve finished

I saw your patient in April 1931...

Yes, and your first diagnosis has certainly been confirmed

Yes, a slowly evolving general paralysis...

with possible remissions

Hence the persecution complex...

Megalomania...

We’ll continue your patented malaria-therapy

If you’ll step into the waiting room...

with Mr Stavisky’s lawyer...

I’ll prepare the necessary certification

Mysterious deaths interest you?

Only the death of Loewenstein, the banker

He had a financial empire like mine

Does his suicide bother you?

You believe that fantastic suicide story?

Or that it was accidental?

Disappearing out of a plane window...

over the Channel! So easy to do...

No, it was murder

His competitors got rid of him

You scare me, Alex

I’m your doctor and your friend...

You need to take a rest

Leave Borelli and Grammont in charge

Go away with Arlette

Go away... now?

I’ve got CAGTRI all set!

SIMA, S.A.P.E.P., la Foncière, Bayonne...

all in hand!

Isn’t it too much for one man? Véricourt is worried...

Is he? Just like Dr Pierre...

It worked, lawyer!

I’m mad...

so I can’t appear in court tomorrow

But the case isn’t dismissed!

No, it isn’t

You didn’t get me the two million you promised

Véricourt could have made the deal

You’ve had since July to get the money

You know it’s been rough, Pierre

You’ve spent six million in Deauville since July!

You just throw your money away, Sacha

Deliver the envelopes, Laloy

The Board of CAGTRI is waiting, sir

It’s true, I do throw my money away!

Well...?

He won’t listen. He’s sick, Grammont

I don’t give a damn if he’s sick!

We must neutralize him! Or we’ll go under with him!

Is it that bad?

He hasn’t a cent!

Gentlemen, what is madness?

It’s not my place to define it for you

But there’s no doubt that Alexandre was sick

Very sick...

Your idea for absorbing unemployment is brilliant

Congratulations!

Mayor, we’ll set the wheels of economic expansion in motion!

When will the stock go on the market?

Our basic fund, the Hungarian bond issue...

is guaranteed by treaty

So the government decides when. A matter of days...

says the secretary-general of Foreign Affairs

I congratulate you, too, but I confess...

I know nothing about international credit

The Hungarian bonds are a mystery to me!

No need to understand, Baron. Just trust me!

But I do trust you, Sacha!

I can only give you five minutes, I’m very busy...

His madness took this form...

He wanted the world to talk about him...

he should have wanted it to forget him

I can’t buy, Van Straaten...

I should be selling

Just keep them in a safe place for me

Make the best deal you can for us both

Let’s see the merchandise

No doubt their origin...

is a secret?

Maximum discretion, yes!

A royal Oriental family...

They don’t want any publicity

The Rosenkrantz necklace!

It vanished when the seals were removed...

The heirs are searching for it

Anyone else will have to wait to dump it

And one stone at a time, even then...

But I can pawn it in London

It’s risky, Mr Van Straaten

So I’ll keep the proceeds

You won’t get a commission this time

Go to London tomorrow

My birthday...

Will I get much?

With a million, I can hold out

See? I’m still lucky...

I must see you, Mr Alexandre!

On business...

I’ve invented a revolutionary medical apparatus...

for examining pregnant women

The child’s sex and health can be determined

I call it a Matriscope

It works... it’s ready to go!

I thought you might like the exclusive distribution rights

How much do you need to start?

Maybe 10,000 francs...

10,000 francs? That’s ridiculous!

How do you expect to inspire confidence?

If the Matriscope works, it’s worth millions!

If not, your story still has to be credible

10,000 francs is... incredible!

Stop bothering Mr Alexandre

Nice name, Matriscope... I accept!

I’ll teach you how to start a business...

A charming place...

Is Sacha thinking of buying it?

It was here that Sacha’s father...

Shouldn’t I go find him?

Let him be alone...

That’s what he wants

I’m glad you’re back from Rome, Montalvo

I wanted you here for my husband’s birthday

We’re going for a little walk

The funds will be in your Swiss account by Christmas

May I ask how much of your money...

I’ll be holding?

One million pounds sterling

For a coup d’état? That’s enough for a civil war!

Why not?

I’m getting old, Baron

What a party we had at the Empire for my last birthday...

Remember?

I have no zest for anything...

Don’t I look like a shopkeeper, taking his wife out...?

Not you, Sacha... Never!

Yes, yes! Like a little shopkeeper...

I’d have a jewelry store...

at a posh resort

Why not?

At dusk, I’d stand in my doorway...

and no one would guess that I once was Alexander the Great!

Am I wrong?

Sacha, it’s that little German actress...

Don’t you remember? You read with her...

You were the Specter in Giraudoux’s Intermezzo

He’s allowed to reside in Barbizon...

so Trotsky’s feeling better. He’s working again

Know what he says?

With the forest so close...

and working with Communist League groups...

reminds him of Russia when he was young

When everything seemed possible...

you had only to invent it

But sometimes he gets discouraged

The other day he suddenly said...

"Old age is the most unexpected thing..."

"that ever happens to man"

That’s a happy thought!

Exile is never happy!

Whenever I think about this sad story...

it’s as though everyone wore masks

Like Sacha: Alexandre-of-the-thousand-names...

And I always think of that day in November 1933

Why does it haunt me?

Perhaps because on that day...

I had a premonition of Alexandre’s end

And yet, you had to know us in those years...

to know the real joy of living!

We were all Alexandre’s age...

we basked in Arlette’s beauty

It’s so painful to imagine her today...

in the sordid world of a prison

Her beauty warmed our hearts

There is a store in Biarritz, gentlemen...

whose name symbolizes that period for me...

Biarritz-Bonheur... Biarritz happiness

I must remind the witness of where he is!

This Parliamentary Committee is investigating...

a scandal that resulted in rioting and death on Feb. 6th...

leading France to the brink of civil war

Your testimony has certainly been colorful...

but what about the sordid aspects?

This is the truth as I know it

You say you are telling the truth

I remind you that you have sworn to do so

Now permit us to ask you some questions

You first met Alexandre at the Biarritz Casino in April 1931...

You met him at the Casino...

Hadn’t you ever heard that he was indexed?

Banned from every Casino in France at the time?

Never, sir!

And I find it hard to believe, even today

Because for over two years I saw him...

in Cannes, Biarritz, Deauville...

The Casino inspectors all greeted him cordially

I saw Alexandre play baccarat...

with well-known businessmen and politicians

They treated him as an equal!

That’s why it’s hard to believe!

That was in April 1931...

Exactly when he started...

the Bayonne Loan Office operation...

flooding France with fake vouchers

Did you know about it?

Nothing at all

I first heard about it three months ago...

when the scandal erupted

Try to understand, gentlemen

Life isn’t like the theater

On stage, we see everything

But I’m like Fabrice at Waterloo in Stendhal’s novel...

I only know one small piece of this Chinese puzzle

Mr Raoul, we can’t finish with your testimony today

We will notify you when to appear again

Inspector Gardet

TROTSKY SHOULD NOT BE SENT TO CORSICA

The agitator Trotsky resides only 40 miles from Paris

Staviskian crooks have a free hand

Bolshevik rabble do as they please

It is time for the Government...

to mop up this international scum

What was the date?

The end of November 1933

I was summoned by the Director of the Bureau of Investigation

I had been an another case

He handed me a note...

"Serge Alexandre, 28 Place St Georges..."

"C.A.G.T.R.I."

"Urgent that you investigate this individual..."

"per request of Foreign Affairs Minister"

I started with the Files section of our division

I established that Serge Alexandre was Stavisky

Yes, Handsome Sacha!

He’s called Serge Alexandre now?

"Alexandre, Serge... see Stavisky"

"Alexandre-Sacha, also known as Alex,

Jean Sacha, Doisy de Monty..."

"and Victor Boitel, born November 20, 1886 at Sobodka..."

"State of Kiev, Russia"

Which section has his file?

No section! It’s a very special file...

It’s kept locked up

Takes an OK from the Assistant Director to look at it

You’re in for a lot of surprises, Inspector!

I went in search of the file...

Finally I was told: "Bonny has it"

I went to see Chief-Inspector Bonny

He had the file

I told him Foreign Affairs wanted a report

Bonny knew the file well

He showed me a 1926 police report

Alexandre was already described as a crook...

a typical confidence man

Did Inspector Bonny tell you why he had the file?

Didn’t you ask him?

No, I had no particular reason to be interested

Why are you so interested in this file, Bonny?

Or rather... against whom do you want to use the information?

That depends on the next elections...

If the Right wins, this files implicates the Radical-Socialists

But if the Radicals stay in office...

two Chiefs, Sûreté and Police, are mine!

I can sink them... They’re in it up to their necks

Like Alexandre, I’m hedging my bets

Watch out, Bonny... you’re not invulnerable

Bonny must have made a report, too

But I never heard about it. I went...

to 28 Place St Georges...

I learned that Borelli was probably...

the director of C.A.G.T.R.I.

I also found out who the Board members were

Was Baron Raoul...

on the Board of Directors?

Yes he was

Then I went to the Claridge...

to see if Stavisky still lived there

I returned to the Sûreté...

I turned in my report there

I took a copy to Mr de la Salle...

at Foreign Affairs

And my mission ended there

So on November 22, 1933, the Foreign Affairs office...

was fully informed as to Alexandre’s character?

That’s right, sir

Was any action taken on your report?

I don’t know... No legal action, at any rate

That’s the last I heard of it

La Salle! What a surprise...

Let’s say that I’m here... unofficially

May I come in?

It’s Sunday... the servants are off

And the furnace has broken down

So it would be best if you quit the Board

The Government isn’t going to guarantee...

the Hungarian bonds for CAGTRI

Please don’t explain it to me...

I won’t understand. I only accepted out of friendship

You should choose your friends more wisely!

I repeat: Alexandre is not respectable

He’s not even French... He has no fixed abode

So I’m not even French!

No fixed abode!

If you don’t live in a century-old family mansion...

you’re a gypsy!

My voter’s registration...

Army discharge...

I want you to look at them!

Then tell Mr de la Salle...

Do you want to check my police record?

I’m embarrassed, Sacha...

But don’t you need the Government guarantee?

I’ll see the Minister!

Véricourt’s a friend of his...

These voucher numbers are missing... Why?

Because the vouchers are fakes!

So you must have faked them!

If I were you, Mr Tax Inspector, I’d forget it

The scandal’s too big, it’ll crush you...

Today’s Friday, Sunday is Christmas...

Think it over... Go see the Deputy-Mayor

Look at the elections in Spain!

We need a National Bloc to rule without parliament...

supported by professional people

Men of integrity, veteran soldiers, in all the key posts!

That’s what the play we’re seeing tonight is about

Did Shakespeare support the National Bloc?

Is he one of your Rightist friends?

All right, Sacha, have your fun

But Coriolanus really is a violent attack...

on parliamentary government

Arlette, that white ermine is ravishing!

You herald winter’s immaculate snows...

I go to Madrid tomorrow, the deal is closed

The million pounds will be deposited by next week

"No, take more! There where worship is double..."

"There where gentry, title, wisdom..."

"cannot conclude..."

"but by the Yea and No of general ignorance..."

"There, necessities give way to slightness"

"There... disorder reigns!"

"The multitudinous tongue mangles true judgment"

"The State is bereaved of integrity"

"Nothing is done to purpose"

"The State must needs collapse"

"You patricians and senators who love Rome..."

Bayonne is finished...

Gauthier’s in jail

He talked?

He’ll name you sooner or later

Meet Grammont and Véricourt at the Empire later

Avoid the Claridge

Burn the papers at the office

I’ll try to find Inspector Boussaud

"Abolish the people’s Tribunes!"

You have 3 days...

thanks to the Christmas Holidays

He must go!

If we keep the lid on, he’s had a vacation

If not... it’s safer

Here, he might be indiscreet... I’ll get him out of Paris

Where to?

An employee’s place near Chamonix

His name’s Laloy, Alexandre’s office messenger

He can be convinced... He’s had trouble with the law

You’ve known Alexandre longest...

What will he do?

I hardly know Serge Alexandre

I know Stavisky...

A small-time crook, a charming con man...

one of my informers

Good at laundering money...

Stavisky would leave with Arlette

He’d start all over

But Alexandre? I just don’t know...

This is mostly your own fault

I warned you...

Lately you’ve mismanaged everything

You threw money away!

I threw it away on all of you!

Where’s Véricourt? The honorable Deputy!

I financed his whole campaign last year...

He’s my deputy!

Is he letting me down?

We’re all going to let you down, Alex

We won’t know you any more

We’ll say we saw you once, in a restaurant...

Know what else we’ll say?

That it’s really not very surprising...

You should never trust foreigners...

refugees...

Jews

Isn’t that right, Baron?

I’m your friend, Sacha, no matter what happens

But you lied to me

A pity!

Anyone here?

Over here, Mr Véricourt

It’s finished, Alexandre

The show’s over...

Be in Chamonix in three days

Wait for instructions

If I stay here, I can turn the tide in a week...

I’ll have a million pounds

In a week every cop in France...

will be after you!

How can they come after me?

I’ve wined, dined and bribed them

Had them on Boards of Directors...

They wouldn’t dare!

My name’s Alexandre...

I’m not a mute, I can tell what I know!

I’m terribly sorry, Arlette

It’s Christmas... the potential customers are away

In Monte Carlo, St Moritz...

I’ll bring you the balance in a few days

So Alexander the Great ends the way little Sacha began...

Letting women get him out of trouble

He’s just getting even with me

I stung him on the Rosenkrantz jewels

Don’t leave me, Sacha!

Let’s go away together. Venezuela... anywhere!

Sure, Venezuela! We’ll open a French restaurant...

Or a dress shop: Au Chic Parisien

Or I’ll peddle your charms...

If we stay together, we’re safe

We’ll be together soon, Véricourt promised to fix it

The car’s ready, Alex

What’s that?

Mr Alexandre’s carnations

If he ever comes back here, he’ll wear handcuffs, not carnations!

Happy? Your time has finally come

But remember, Bonny...

For your own sake, proceed with caution

You know the rules...

The Stavisky scandal only incriminates the Republic

The comrades’ Republic is corrupt

You can smear the Deputies, the Cabinet members...

the Left Coalition Ministers...

But leave us out of it!

But the Chief of Police is part of it

So what can I do?

Whatever you want, Bonny!

But if you involve the Police or the Sûreté, we’ll break you!

On January 18th, the Assistant Director sent for me

By order of the Director, I was to drop the case

January 24th, I was suspended

So January 12th you report...

Police Chief Chiappe’s connection with Stavisky

The 18th, you are warned... The 24th, you are suspended

That’s right, sir

So the Police Chief s name in a Sûreté report...

is cause for suspension

No comment...

You’ll have to wait, Baron...

Ex-Inspector Bonny is testifying

WAITING FOR MR TROTSKY TO LEAVE

Until another country grants Mr Trotsky a visa...

he is ordered to move at least 200 miles from Paris

In view of the Feb. 6th riots...

the Government wishes to reduce tensions

Your proximity to Paris...

goads both Right and Left extremists

I am to accompany you

They’re going to deport Trotsky

Just when France must fight against fascism

Trotsky won’t be here...

The Left will splinter without him

And to think that it’s all Stavisky’s fault!

I don’t see that

No Stavisky... no February 6th

No fascist riots forcing Daladier to resign...

no National Union government

No National Union... no deportation of Trotsky

Therefore, without Stavisky...

You knew your husband’s psychology well...

Was he likely to commit suicide?

He had periods of depression

Long periods, sometimes...

So you did not find the idea of suicide incredible?

It was a possibility?

When I went to Chamonix, I was sure it was suicide

Now, there have been so many rumors...

I’m not sure any more

But they separated us...

They destroyed his will to live!

It’s me, boss

Got a cake... Who’ll be King?

It’s Twelfth-night

Those pious hypocrites!

La Liberté...

That "liberty" cost me plenty!

My checks didn’t hurt their scruples

That’s life, Mr Alexandre... not very pretty

Go and get tickets to Paris

Paris means prison, Mr Alexandre!

Isn’t this a prison?

We’ll take the night train

Tomorrow morning, I’ll hold a press conference

I’m going to blow the whole mess wide open!

I’ll broadcast from the Eiffel Tower! All France will be listening

But Mr Véricourt...

We’ll see what Mr Véricourt has to say!

The Minister’s office?

Ah, it’s you! Véricourt here...

Yes, I have the information... It’s Chamonix

The telephone number is 319

If he thinks it’s hopeless, he just might shoot himself

Yes... it runs in the family, as you say!

Yes, he’s armed, of course

Goodbye... My respects to the Minister

I was in a worse spot than this...

when I invented the Bayonne vouchers!

I never have understood how that worked...

Nothing to it

We duplicated vouchers...

Say there’s a real one for 100 francs...

We’d use the duplicate... same number, signed and stamped

But with a higher figure...

20,000 francs... 100,000... a million!

We were minting money...

I was the State!

I have to go down to the Village...

To get the train tickets

BAYONNE MUNICIPAL LOAN OFFICE SCANDAL

DOMINATED BY STAVISKY CASE

STAVISKY TRACKED DOWN IN CHAMONIX, SHOOTS HIMSELF

GOVERNMENT GETS RID OF STAVISKY,

HAS HIM SHOT IN CHAMONIX

STAVISKY SUICIDE... SHOT POINT-BLANK

STAVISKY’S MYSTERIOUS SUICIDE ADDS TO SCANDAL

Arlette in prison...

So many guilty ones free... That’s the real scandal!

They’ll hold her till the trial...

to keep her from talking

They think she knows Alexandre’s secrets

Alexandre’s only real secret was her

Arlette...

What I like about death...

is the lethargy

That dense and sluggish fluidity of death...

which means that there are no dead...

only the drowned

What are you saying?

It’s the Specter, in Giraudoux’s Intermezzo

Alexandre’s finest role...

Imagine how he’d laugh to see...

the passions, deaths and hatreds he’s unleashed

I understood too late...

Stavisky was the herald of death

Not only his own...

Not only those in February...

But the death of an era!