Original subtitles

Lord of all flesh...

and in whose ever embrace all creatures live.

And whatsoever world or condition they be...

I beseech Thee to pull her hand to His name and dwell into.

And every need Thou knowest.

Thou art life and rest, refreshment...

joy and consolation and paradise and in companionship...

of the saints...

in the presence of Christ and the hands that hold...

all guide with love.

Where's Father?

He's in the pub.

- It's the little sprat again. - Poor creature.

As pale as a fish's belly. And those eyes!

She's only lost in the world.

And what would you be in a strange land without a mother's touch?

- A drunkard! - You're already that.

Jim, wake up, will ya? It's your daughter.

How are you, girl?

She's worn out. Open your eyes!

She looks as if she's raised in a tin box.

Fresh air. That's the ticket.

A little sprat like her breathing the poison fumes in this town's air.

Take her to the country.

There's no work to be had at home.

I'm never going back to the island.

That's done.

A lemon squash for you, dear.

This isn't a place to be raising a girl.

I do my best.

You try, bless you.

Why not send her to her grandfather's?

You'd like that, wouldn't ya, love?

You'd like that, living with the old people.

Grandfather!

Fiona.

- We were expecting you later. - Father put me on the morning boat.

You climbed all this way up by yourself?

It's great to see ya!

Your grandmother saw you below. She nearly had a fit.

She knew it was me?

With that head of hair? At double the distance, I'd know you were a Coneelly.

Your father and his brother the same.

All but forJamie. He's the only dark one.

You better not mention anything aboutJamie in front of Grandmother.

She's gettin' the tea ready for you now.

Oh, look at your arms, dear.

Like sticks they are.

- Eat up now. - It's the sea air she's needin'.

I hear you can't find a proper hen's egg in that city.

The ones here is nothing compared to what was laid on the island.

You and that island.

'Tis true. Didn't our own cow only give half the milk she gave in Roan Inish?

What's done is done. There's no use moaning over it.

Why did we have to leave?

It was the young people, like your father and his brothers.

They were restless on the island.

Then came the war and jobs across the sea.

Now as they have the taste of the city in their blood...

City indeed! Nothing but noise, dirt...

and people that's lost their senses.

Couldn't tell the difference between a riptide and a raindrop...

if you shoved their face in the water.

- But you and Grandmother... - Oh, no. We couldn't start from naught.

Living alone on an island.

There isn't a thing out there for us but sad memories.

Can you see it from here?

If the sky is willing, some can.

Look out there.

Do you see a lighthouse on a long flat island?

I think I do.

Then beyond there to your right...

a great island of dark hills.

There's a wee green bit of an island between them.

- She sees it! - You put it into her head!

She sees it!

Only them that's born to the islands can see it from this distance.

They say the east is our future and the west is our past.

The island's to the west of us, Hugh.

That's Roan Inish, girl. Island of the seals.

There's more of them now that the people have deserted.

- You've been out there? - Once a week if the current's right.

- God bless all here. - Eamon! Get in and sit for tea.

You remember him, Fiona? Your cousin Eamon, Uncle Patrick's boy.

Hello.

You moved back to the west. Are you pleased?

I'm well pleased.

How come you never left with your family?

I tried it for a month, then I ran back here.

I'm not clever enough to live in town. Too fast for me.

He's as good a young fella in a curragh as ever I've seen.

Love of the sea is a sickness.

You two will come to grief for it. Eat.

- She seen Roan Inish on her first look. - Is that so?

You go there, too?

I've not set foot there since the evacuation.

But Grandfather knows the shoals all about it...

and what feeds there and when.

We always come back with a full net when the rest are scared to fish it.

- Why are they scared? - Eamon.

Oh. Tales is all.

Tales of what?

If it clears up this evening, you might see the light again.

Light?

There's an end of it!

I'll not have nonsense and superstition in my house.

Here. Do your duty by those cakes.

They won't keep. Your grandfather's already filled his gullet.

The sea gives, and the sea takes away.

This...

is my father's father's father now...

a Coneelly man...

when he was only a few years older than you are now.

His name was Sean Michael.

Smart boy, dark haired. Bit of the rebel in him.

Though times weren't as hard on the island as on the mainland...

it's never easy pulling a living from the sea.

The English were still a force in the country then.

They had the schools.

It was their language and their ways that you had to learn there, or else.

There was a new schoolmaster in the school one year.

As stiff as a cat's whiskers, he was.

And Sean Michael wasn't a week in his class...

before he put the cingulum about his neck.

It was a punishment of those days for speaking irish within his earshot.

Eject! Eject!

Sean Michael stuck it out for as long as he could...

for he had a strength of character.

But the shame was too great, and he tore it from his neck...

and he went for the schoolmaster and began to beat on the man crying out...

Hugh, please!

It's a little girl.

You don't understand, do you, girl?

I don't have any Irish.

- More is the pity of it. - Aye.

Sean Michael's father had great hopes for the boy, clever as he was...

that he would learn to read the Englishman's language...

and study his laws, and grow to be a leader for his people.

But there was his son, knuckles bloody, anger in his heart...

standing before him.

"You'll need to kill me to make me go back," he says.

His father sighed then, and looked out to the sea beyond them.

You'll have nothing now, he said...

but the black rocks, the wild waves and the hard sky above you.

And wasn't it his first trip out with his father...

that a fierce storm from the north blew over them.

Sean Michael, his father, brothers, uncles and cousins...

four boats in all.

And it took them in its terrible grip...

lifted them high and turned them over...

and slapped them back down into the violent black sea...

with the scraps of their curraghs around them.

His father, caught in their net and dragged below without a whisper.

Out as far as they were, in a northern storm, an experienced fisherman...

would swallow his draught of water and swim to the bottom.

For to fight the cold sea is only to prolong your suffering.

But Sean Michael was green with it.

And he flailed and cried out...

and he beat the water with his legs and arms...

till the sea grew to hate him and refused to swallow him up.

It was a full day later...

when people gathering mussels on the strand found him.

Some was even afraid to touch him.

It was women mostly, softhearted as they are.

The boy was more dead than alive. Cold as ice to the touch.

There wasn't a fire in ireland could bring the blood of life back into him.

This is the time when the country people still lived with their beasts inside.

And the woman as owned the house they brought him to said...

Here, bind him up to my cow.

And then she brought another alongside.

And their heat went out through him.

Soon he began to shiver, and then he began to shake.

And then he slept like a Christian...

for hours and hours.

When he started to sweat, the woman cut him loose from her animals...

and they bathed him, and wrapped him in blankets warmed in the hearth.

He woke to their faces above him...

all women and girls.

Is this heaven, then?he said.

No, lad,said the woman of the house.

It's only Tech Duin.

Tech Duin is the islands where the people thought...

that the souls of all Ireland's dead were held to rest.

So Sean Michael believed he had drowned...

and come to the hereafter.

'Twas a seal that brought me here, he told them.

I was sinking under...

destroyed by the effort of keeping my head above the swell.

And a body, warm body...

came under me and lifted me up.

It was a seal from the feel of its hide.

A great dark seal that bore me along through the storm...

and i hugging its neck.

That's all i remember until i woke to your faces above me."

Now, with his father and brothers...

and uncles and cousins all gone...

there was only Sean Michael left...

to keep the Coneellys alive in these islands.

He was saved by a seal?

- And two cows. - And a woman as had her wits about her.

It's a wonderful story.

Some think so.

And some say you should never save a drowning man.

What the sea will take, the sea must have.

That's a lot of foolishness.

It's said that some that are saved turn wicked afterwards.

What happened to Sean Michael, your great-grandfather?

Jailed by the English.

Died in prison a man of 50.

Smuggling arms to the Fenians, he was.

That's enough for now.

Take the child to bed, Hugh. She's exhausted.

Aye.

Sweet dreams, dear.

Superstitious old man!

I rake this fire as the pure Christ rakes us all...

with Mary at the foot and Brigid at the head.

And may the eight brightest angels from the City of Grace...

preserwe this house and all its people till the coming of the day.

The light.

Out into the sun with you, now.

You'll find him below on the strand.

Just follow the path across.

Grandfather!

Ah, Fiona!

I was just wishing I had someone to lend me a hand.

It'd be a great help to me if you kept stirring the tar in this bucket.

I'd love it.

In the olden times people used cowhide on their curraghs.

Then it was calico.

Now we make do with canvas.

The tar is what it always was.

- Would you like some tea? - Yes, please.

She's put in an extra mug for ya.

There.

I think I saw the light last night.

Light, is it? What light might that be?

The one Eamon spoke of on Roan Inish.

There's plenty of things could be taken for a light in the dark.

And no tellin' how far off they might be.

You want me to forget aboutJamie.

We'll none of us forget him, dear.

But life goes on.

Can't even remember when we lost him.

I was already off in the ship when it happened.

It was a strange day.

Everyone on the beach for the evacuation.

The air was very still, like it is sometimes before a storm.

It was like a dream that day...

slow, terrible dream that you watch.

You can't stop it.

All the people had rode out, and most of the goods.

There was only your father and brother ashore...

and weeJamie sleeping in his cradle.

- In his cradle? - Aye.

Pulled up on the beach.

Jamie!

Wait! Help me!

Look there!

Jamie!

Jamie! he called.

We're comin', boy.

I don't know how the cradle could've made up so much speed.

The sea had taken poor weeJamie.

It was angry with us for leavin' Roan Inish.

Mind that tar, love, or it'll be stiffer than an old man on a winter's night.

- He could still be out there. - Jamie?

Alive?

And cows could have wings.

You see this?

It's a seal rent it open.

They're terrible rascals for stealin' fish.

One stared at me from the rock when I came in.

Maybe he's fell in love.

You've got to be careful 'cause one day a year...

all the seals gather to choose their new king.

And it's said whichever of the island girls he fancies most...

is taken below to live as his queen.

- That's just stories. - Some stories is true, though.

Grandfather told me aboutJamie, about when he was taken.

- Did he tell you the rumors? - About what?

There's them who claim to have seen him.

LittleJamie sailing the seas in his cradle boat.

What does he look like?

They say he's grown into a fine little gossoon...

sittin' in the stern of his cradle like a captain in his ship.

Always there's creatures about him.

Seals swimmin' in the water...

great crowd of sea gulls squawkin' overhead.

If you call out or try to come closer, he vanishes...

in a great splash in the water and wings flappin' like a phantom they say.

Where do they see him?

Comin' back from the far side of the island, close to Roan Inish.

- Grandfather! - Shh! Don't let on I told you!

What is it?

Can I go out with you sometimes in your boat?

It'll be a few days before the tar is dried.

Then?

Well, we'll have to ask your grandmother first.

She won't have you out on a boat unless the day is fine.

Grandmother!

I've lost track. Is this Roan Inish?

Quiet now, and you'll see something.

See that little fellow? It's his first year at sea.

He's the one that stared at me from the boat coming over.

I'm sure he is.

You scared 'em away with your screechin'.

He was the one I saw. He really did remember me.

Hide your face then, or he'll be takin' you for a wife.

- Don't scare the child. - Fiona's never scared.

- Are you? - His name is Jax.

- How do you know that? - It just is.

- There it is. - Roan Inish?

Aye.

Isn't it beautiful?

Do you remember it, Fiona? That was your house at that end.

- Tess and I were next door. - And ours was the one beyond.

Right. We'll set those pots and be back.

Don't wander too far.

I wish you could talk to me.

Fiona!

We better be goin' while the tide's still with us.

- Do you miss it greatly? - Roan Inish?

It's only a place, I suppose.

Mostly I miss the way of life.

You're surrounded by the sea, your whole family about you.

I'm movin' back.

When I'm a man.

You'll be a sorry sight on your own, hauntin' the island on your lonesome.

- I'll have a wife. - But will she have you?

Not many women these days see much romance in hard work and solitude.

I'm movin' back just the same.

I remember the evenings best.

We'd drop over and your mother, God rest her...

would be layin' out food.

Your father smokin', dryin' his feet by the fire.

Then you, Fiona, and poor weeJamie...

off in the corner with little pieces of dinnerware.

Tea parties, it was.

You were always a great one for the tea parties.

Someone's been in our old cottage.

- Vandals, is it? - No.

Someone is living there.

Don't be daft.

I saw a footprint, a footprint of a little boy.

- Why didn't you show it to us? - A wave destroyed it.

There's all sorts of things that can look like a footprint in the shore.

I saw it! I did!

- So you saw the island today? - Yes.

And the houses are in a terrible state, I suppose?

They weren't so bad, with a little cleaning.

Ah, if you're idle for a week, nature takes it back.

There'll be birds nestin' in the thatch and chimney.

Creepy-crawly things in every corner.

It wasn't so bad. Our old cottage looked as if we left it a day ago.

There was sand and everything, blowin' off the beach.

It was clean, though.

And the mornings...

and the mist on the water.

We could move back. Grandfather said it's the best fishing.

Oh, child, I couldn't think of it.

I've only the picture in my mind of your poor little brother floatin' away.

The only real tragedy in life is young people passin' on before their time.

I always remember his eyes.

Dark they were, with a great soul behind them.

Oh, he was here before.

Jamie.

Tess, don't start.

Right.

One and a quarter pounds to the grain.

You're a mean, penny-pinchin' creature, Flynn.

Fiona, darlin', you have my purse.

- Is this the granddaughter then? - It is.

She isn't one of the dark ones, is she?

Mind your own business.

You wait here, darlin', while I go and fetch your grandfather.

I could get him.

I'll not have a young girl exposed to the layabouts in that pub.

You call this fresh, do you? You ought to be ashamed.

She's the original tough customer, old Tess.

What's "dark ones"?

You said before that I wasn't a dark one.

- Haven't they told you? - Told me what?

Come along then.

There's an example for you.

Tadhg'd be your father's first cousin.

Once in a generation the Coneelly's spit out a dark one.

- Like my brotherJamie? - Aye!

Tadhg would be the one ahead of him.

Will he know me?

You can talk to him if you like, but there's no saying if he'll talk back.

He's a bit special, if you know what I mean.

Hello.

I'm Fiona, Fiona Coneelly. You know my father.

I know you.

You do?

- You're after something? - I am?

It's as plain as day.

Will I find it?

I've no idea of the future...

but I can see the past quite well...

and the present, if the weather's clear.

Better leave off. You're frightening the wee girl.

She's not easily frightened, this one.

Am I right?

- Do you know why I'm dark? - 'Cause his brain's leakin' shoe polish.

- That's enough! - Easy.

The Coneellys first came to Roan Inish...

when it was still only Irish spoken on the islands.

They built their meager homes on the beach...

and the seals and the birds moved aside to make room for them.

There's only a few families, and all related.

So when it came time to find a mate, it was elsewhere you had to look.

There was a boy among them, Liam...

who always preferred to be alone.

He set his own traps, built his own curragh.

He sat alone at all the family gatherings.

One day walking about the outer islands...

he saw a thing his eyes could scarce believe.

In them days, the seals was hunted for their oil and hides.

Clubbed to death, and made into coats, pouches and pampooties for the feet.

But Liam never took part in it...

for he believed as many did then...

that there was no worse luck than to harm a seal.

Liam had seen a selkie.

A creature that's half human, half beast.

Old stories told of such creatures...

luring ships onto the rocks, and pulling sailors down into the drink.

But all Liam knew...

was he had never seen a woman so lovely in all his life.

Now it was said the whoever could capture the hide of a selkie...

would have it in their power...

to command as they would.

The selkie maid had seen man before.

Fled from their fishing hooks and their spears and mattocks.

But never had she seen one as glorious handsome as Liam Coneelly.

All the islanders had seen Liam row out to sea alone.

And now all saw his return with the strange girl.

Island people is a careful lot.

Not likely to pass judgment on another person's business in public.

There was something so unearthly about the girl...

that soon set their tongues to wagging.

There was much shaking of heads when Liam married the stranger.

She hardly spoke at all, and when she did...

her Irish was queer sounding.

More ancient than their grandfather's grandfather's.

And when they asked him where he had found her...

with her great dark eyes...

and her wild black hair...

he'd only say Trabeg.

Of course this was nonsense because it was only a speck in the ocean...

that even the seals had to leave when the tide was high.

And she'd always be at the water...

Iooking out at the seals and the birds.

She'd come back each day with her hands full of shellfish and seaweed...

which she'd simmer over a driftwood fire...

in a manner all her own.

But all had to admit that she was a good wife for their Liam.

Before long, she was asking him to build a cradle for their firstborn.

It must be made of the wood of a ship that sailed the ocean, she told him.

And there'll be no need for rockers for it will rock on the motion of the sea.

It was the queerest-lookin'thing.

More of a ship than cradle.

And carved with shells, fish and seaweed.

And whenever the day was calm, they put the babe afloat on the water.

Rocking on the sea, with the ripple of the waves for a lullaby.

The years passed...

and Liam and Nuala, for that's what the selkie called herself...

was happy in their work.

And their love grew and they had many children.

With all that...

there was always a touch of sadness about Nuala.

And she spent long hours looking out at that that she had come from.

And listening to the cries of the seals on the outer islands.

One of these afternoons, it was her eldest...

who was called Fiona...

said the words to her that changed their home.

Why does Father hide a leather coat in the roof?

Later that evening...

as Liam was rowing home...

he was followed by a solitary seal.

It seemed joyous in its movements.

It rolled and dived within the waves...

joyous in the sleekness of its body.

Its eyes, as with all its kind...

held a sadness as deep as the soul.

When the seal left him at last...

Liam felt a great emptiness inside of fear!

He rowed furious for the shore even though the sea was heavy on his oars.

When he got home...

it was the faces of his children told him his fears were true.

For once a selkie finds its skin again...

neither chains of steel nor chains of love...

can keep her from the sea.

From that day on...

it was forbidden to harm a seal on the island.

And man and beast lived side by side, sharing the wealth of the sea.

And sometimes the Coneellys would see her...

out in the waves...

basking in the sun on Trabeg...

watching them...

watching her children.

And the cradle was passed on through the years...

with each new infant of the Coneellys rocked upon the waves within it.

And every so often...

there'd be one born with the dark eyes and black hair...

that the selkie had left in their blood.

And these darks ones were most at home at sea.

Great sailors and fisher folk, every one of them.

Like Tadhg here. He's an admiral in the Royal Navy.

Fiona! Get out from there! Your grandfather's ready.

Welcome back, Fiona Coneelly.

We've been waitin'.

Is he mad?

Tadhg.

Oh, no, he's not mad.

A wee bit strange, maybe. Always has been.

He was a sailor for a little while. Off to savage islands in the East.

Places a Christian man does well to avoid.

- Did he upset you? - No. He was very pleasant.

You're not to mind anything he says to you.

Poor fellow doesn't know if he's wide awake or dreaming.

Your grandfather and I have to go to Kilmurry Banks tomorrow.

To deal with the landlord. Would you like to come?

Or maybe go with Eamon?

He has to deliver a parcel for the postman among the smaller islands.

I'd like to go with him.

If the weather holds and you dress warm.

He's a troubled soul, Tadhg Coneelly.

It's as if he's caught between earth and water.

And when the sun is just four fingers above the horizon, you'll be waiting?

I promise.

And if the weather turns foul?

I'll go into the cottage and wait for you. I promise.

- You remember where there's water? - I do.

If any harm comes to you, they'll have me head.

- I'll be careful. - All right then.

Jamie!

Jamie, I found you at last!

Jamie! Come back to me!

- Right on time. - I saw him today.

- Saw who? - Jamie.

Sure you did.

I did!

I went into the cottage and made a fire.

I fell asleep and dreamed of the selkie woman.

When I woke, I climbed to the top of the island.

I saw that seal, the little one that's been watchin' me.

Then I was walkin', and he was there. Jamie, pickin' flowers!

But he ran from me. And before I could reach him, he was gone.

Gone where?

In his cradle. He sailed away around the rocks.

There's talk of spirits here.

He wasn't a spirit. He's a little boy. I saw the flowers he pulled up.

He dropped them when he ran. Can a spirit do that?

You've got to believe me. I saw him.

I do believe you. But you mustn't tell our grandparents about what happened.

- You weren't supposed to be here. - But if they knew?

They'd think you were dreaming it all.

Let me think about it. We'll come up with a plan. Agreed?

Agreed.

Good evening, Grandfather.

Grandfather?

What's wrong?

Oh, there you are, dear.

What is it?

You know, we don't own this house.

The landlord says he got a letter today from some wealthy people overseas...

who wants a place to summer in.

"A gold mine," he called it.

- Where will you go? - Inland. Nothing is available here.

It was bad enough your grandfather having to come in off the island.

But to take him away from the sea.

I'm fearin' his spirits will fail him.

They can't do that.

It isn't fair.

It's the times, darlin'.

After a war, people are always ready to cut off the past and go forward.

We're the ones left behind is all.

That's not your worry, Fiona darlin'.

Your shoulders is too narrow to be carryin' all of that.

It's not lifting at all.

The mackerel won't see us comin', then.

It's not fish I'm talkin' about.

We can't take this wee one out with dirty weather comin' up.

It'll clear, you'll see.

You're an expert now, are ya?

I'm sorry, but your grandmother would never forgive me if you took a chill.

You'll see naught but gray water on a day like this.

It's for the best.

And be careful climbing up to the house.

Wait! Your sandwiches!

Grandfather?

Eamon?

Is that you?

Jax, I can't see you.

Jax, is that you?

Are you still there?

Hello! Is anybody out there?

What's happening?

Where are we going?

Won't you come ashore with me?

Jamie!

Jamie, it's me, Fiona.

No, Jamie! Don't go!

It's your sister!

Why must you always run from me?

I know you're out there, and I know you can understand me.

Give him back! Do you hear? He's a little boy.

He belongs with his family.

I know you've taken care of him, but he has to live with people now.

I miss him so. And so does Grandmother and Grandfather.

And all the rest. Miss him terrible.

If we came back, would you give him to us?

If we came back here, to Roan Inish. Is that what you want?

Are you still there?

That you, Fiona?

We saw the fire.

Grandfather!

Christ Almighty, Fiona. We were worried sick about you.

I sat in the boat, and it broke free.

Seals came from out of the fog.

And I looked and looked, but he wasn't there. There was smoke in the chimney.

Jamie was inside havin' tea with a little seal, but then they ran away.

She's gone crazy with some kind of fever.

I'm not sick!

How did you get out here, then? And slow this time.

In the boat. It drifted.

There's no oars in it. And look at this.

He set a table inside with shells. You can see it.

Someone's playin' tricks on us, and it might be you.

I don't lie.

I believe her.

It's the madness that runs in the family.

He's in the cradle, and there's always seals about.

That's from talkin' to Tadhg, isn't it? He put all this into your head.

- But, Grandfather... - Not another word.

Get in that curragh.

I need silence to think up some likely excuse for your grandmother.

Ah, seals indeed!

- Good mornin' to ya. - Good mornin'.

Where's Grandfather?

He's already into the pub this mornin'.

And he'll be less likely to come out as it was a black mood he left with.

I gave him hard with my tongue for takin' you out yesterday.

Nothing bad happened.

Is Eamon going out in the motor boat today?

It doesn't matter whether he is. You're not goin' with him.

There's no need of the bleak ocean for catchin' a dose of fresh air.

One day ashore won't kill you, will it?

No, ma'am.

Hello.

- Have you seen him? - Why does he run from me?

- Why do you chase him? - He's my brother. He's lost.

He isn't lost at all. He's just with another branch of the family.

- Why look at me like that? - Don't know whether to believe you.

People say you're daft.

They have their reason.

Have you ever seen him? Have you ever seen Jamie?

I may be daft, girl...

but I'm not blind.

- Fisherman's bend. - Right.

We've got to get them to move back.

I don't see how.

They're going to lose their house.

Nobody's been on the island for years.

It's derelict with weeds, the cottages is fallen to ruin.

Bowline. The cottages aren't so bad.

I've been in them. Didn't you say you planned to move back?

When I'm a man.

What's to stop you now?

Grandmother will be the hard nugget.

She worries awful about Grandfather's health.

Carrick bend.

She'd move back forJamie, though. In a minute she would.

Them that's caring for him won't let him back...

until they see we've returned, I'm sure of it.

- You've been speaking with the seals? - We could start fixing the cottages.

What do you think?

- I'll meet you here in the mornin'. - I'll say we're off digging clams.

Pull this for a deal.

Granny's knot.

Help me with this.

Look at that, will ya?

It's all our food floatin' away.

We could row after it.

Not without losing half a day in the chase. Come on, then.

Look.

It could've tipped in the waves and all spilt out.

Do you think that's what happened?

Not for a moment.

- How did the mussel gathering go? - We worked wonders with them.

- Didn't we, Fiona? - It was hard work.

Be careful not to overtax yourself.

I won't. It's good for me. Look at my muscles.

It's improved your appetite anyway.

You came in here as though the hunger of the world was on you.

We should plant some things up here.

When we move back, there'll be time.

We'd better start back. The tide won't wait.

Mother?

Your mother is it?

- Where did she come from? - Hasn't your father told you that?

He doesn't like to speak of her.

She came from Balleybofey back in the mainland.

Traveling the hills in search of a meal and a place to sleep.

They was poor.

Her father with no livelihood, only his day's pay.

Seldom he had even that.

They say the only true wealth is land.

Like we own in Roan Inish.

- For all the good it does us. - Quiet, Hugh.

Jimmy, your father, was me youngest, and the dearest of me heart.

Oh, but he was an airy boy.

Bone lazy at times, and at others you'd never find a worker as keen as him.

Like night and day he was, depending on the mood that struck him.

Can't put a wise head on a young body.

She was in Donegal town for the pilgrimage on St. Brigid's day...

which was her namesake.

Sixteen years of age.

Beautiful, strong Christian girl.

Sun or stars never shone on a better one.

I loved her like a daughter, our Brigid.

- And Father was there? - We'd a run on mackerel that year.

A great patch of them shoaling up behind the island.

Our men were barely able to dip their nets in the water fast enough.

Your father and Matt Margonn had gone off to the mainland...

to sell what they had left over.

First time he laid eyes on Brigid she was leaving the church.

He was struck speechless with the sight of her.

It was the shyness of an island boy, and she wasn't a worldly girl at all.

But toJimmy, anyplace off of Roan Inish...

might have been Paris, France.

So there he is, making honey in his heart of her good looks.

Meanwhile, she's just as struck.

With him a big, handsome, powerful lad, with eyes that melted all the girls.

And she's in a hundred pieces, wondering what she could do to meet him.

Did he speak to her? What did he say?

Would you like to buy some fish, miss?

She said she'd love to. She'd never tasted fish...

from the salty ocean in all her life.

But she hadn't a shilling to her name to buy it with.

They fell into talking, great with each other immediately...

as happens with the young.

I remember the day she came. Sittin' in the back of the curragh.

I says to Tess, Look at the prize Matt Margonn brought from Donegal.

No, she says, for look how Matt's got his eyes straight ahead at the island.

OurJimmy is rowing, so he won't let her out of his sight.

From that day, Jim had the name of a steady husband...

and a hard worker.

As fine as any that ever broke bread.

She grew to love the island, our Brigid.

She was the last one to marry on to Roan Inish.

And the last one to die in it.

He always blamed himself...

for bringin' her into the life of the sea.

But life can be hard on the mainland, too.

Your hands is gettin' rough.

It's pulling mussels that does it.

Look at them clouds. Gathering for a right blow tonight.

It's going to be hell's own fury for any creature caught without shelter.

- HopeJamie comes in. - What was that you were sayin'?

I said I hopeJamie comes in out of the storm.

- What can you mean? - I've seen him, Grandmother.

She just dreamed him up sleeping one day on Roan Inish.

A wish can be a powerful thing.

I saw him. Once on a hillside picking flowers...

and once in the cottage having tea with a seal.

I'm not imagining it. I've seen him. He was without a stitch.

Then he nipped away in his little cradle boat.

The seals have been lookin' after him.

- The seals, is it? - It's the truth, Grandmother.

It is.

Oh, dear.

There's a box of biscuits on the shelf. Will you get it down for me?

Tess?

Put the chickens in their coop like a good girl.

- Is she all right? - What have you got?

You don't want to sleep out on the cold ground, do you?

Look at that sky.

I can read a sky as well as you. There's a storm comin'.

And it's no weather to be leavin' a small boy outside in.

I knew he wasn't gone from us.

Holy Mother, I felt it all along.

Hurry on, will ya? I'll get the lantern.

And they say the Coneellys is the mad ones.

Mind the bedding, Eamon.

It'll be damp enough in those wraps without a dousing of seawater.

What are you staring at now?

Where's that Fiona got to?

I need her to help gather seaweed for soup.

Tess, look what they've done.

Bless us, sweetJesus.

Now this is a soup as only the women of Roan Inish know how to make.

She learned it from my mother, Lord be good to her.

Who got it from hers, who got it from hers before that again.

All the way back to the first Coneellys.

They learned it from the dark woman, from Nuala.

Some tell it like that. Yes.

When you're out in dirty weather...

it's like the lifeblood flowin' back into your veins.

- It's part of the backbone of a whale. - Jamie brought it in.

Well.

You young ones did a great job on this thatching.

It'll have its test in a few minutes.

- It's a south wind, Grandfather. - Aye.

They're often the most fearsome.

Jamie.

Poor little soul.

It's the little seal.

Do you feel it?

- Like snuffin' out a candle. - Look!

Jamie!

Jamie, it's me, Fiona. We've come back for you.

No, Jamie, don't go. It's your family here.

Don't frighten him, dear.

Heavenly Father, look at that! They're telling him to stay.

But he's afraid. He's so afraid.

Come on, Jamie boy.

There you go, love.

We'll be staying here now.

Thank you.

Lord love his little heart. He's hungry.

How did you live out there? What did you eat?

I wouldn't think he could answer.

I'll teach you to talk, and I'll tell you stories.

Your friends who have been looking after you can see you any time they like.

Fiona's to thank for finding you, Jamie boy.

She gave me her word.

I just wouldn't believe it. Will you look at us?

Back in Roan Inish.

It's like breathing fresh air after being three years on the ground.

Do you remember me, your sister Fiona?

Fiona.

He's destroyed with the excitement.

At least he'll sleep warm tonight.

Do you happen to know where she went, Barret?

She's dining at the Whitsons'.

- The where? - The Whitsons', sir.

- The Whitsons'? - Yes, sir.

This one, sir.

Miss Sara's parents left Mr. Whitson in charge of the Farley chain.

Frankly, sir, he doesn't know his wholesale from his retail.

- Barret? - Yes, sir?

Get me a cab.

Yes, sir.

- This the Whitson residence? - Yes, sir.

- Is Miss Sara Farley here? - Who shall I say's calling, sir?

Mr. Tom-Tom Tyler, the Cinderella Man.

I�m Miss Farley's husband.

Darling.

Mr. Tom-Tom Tyler.

- It's your last chance to call it off. - No.

You'll have to excuse us. We're still on our honeymoon.

Well, dear, you might at least introduce me.

Oh. This is Mrs. Whitson, our hostess.

Oh, Mrs. Whitson. How do you do?

I understood you were too ill to accept tonight, Mr. Tyler.

Oh, he is. He's going right home, aren't you, dear?

Well, I should say not. I feel wonderful.

- My husband, Mr. Tyler. - Oh, how do you do, Mr. Whitson?

- How do you do? - Oop!

First one I�ve missed in years.

- Mr. and Mrs. Vickers. - How do you do, Mrs. Vickers?

- How do you do? - Mr. Vickers.

- How do you do? - And my favorite auntie. Hello.

- Is it true that you've given up news paper work? - Yes, dear.

I�m going in for pigeon hunting.

- Miss Clayton. - Oh, Miss Clayton, how do you do?

- Mr. Sharpe. - How do you do?

- Mr. Sharpe. - Oh, and Count Andr� de Guyon.

- Why, Andr�, how are you? - Good evening.

Mrs. Whitson, this sounds like a wonderful party.

I always have wanted to mingle with the filthy rich.

But you know, I can't afford one of those monkey suits...

and Sara hasn't bought me my trousseau yet.

Darling, you look feverish. I really don't think you should stay.

Oh, no. i feel like a million dollars.

A million dol-That's pretty good, huh? The old bean's working fine.

Ah, there. Thank you vey mu- Oh.

Get out of here.

Not unless you holler "uncle" and make a public statement that we're not married.

Not on your life. Oh!

Oh.

No. No, thanks. I�ll stick with my peanuts.

Goobers, they call'em where I come from.

And where is that, Mr. Tyler?

Oh, the hills of West Virginny. God's own county.

Yep, I grew up there as a barefoot boy with nothin' more than a green thumb...

and a natural talent for making an eight the hard way.

But I did all right. I got Sara. Ow!

His foot just happened to fit the glass slipper.

You know, it's funny. Ma always used to say, "Mary a rich girl.

Feather your nest;' she said. It can't hurt.

She was right. Guess she must still be watching over me.

- Has your mother passed on, Mr. Tyler? - Oh, no, no, no.

She's still up there in the cabin on the mountain.

The old widdy of Mount Baldy they call her.

Why, she's about 70 now. Frail and white-haired.

Yep, I can see her there now...

smoking that old corncob pipe that Dad left her.

Yes, indeed. You know, Sara?

We'll have her come and live with us. She's a wonderful gal.

Why, she chews tobacco just like Dad, only better.

She can drown a beetle at 20 paces. Oh, she's-You'll love her.

Yes, from the stories Tom tells me...

- Mother Tyler is terribly quite an independent. - Mm-hmm.

- Tell them about the time she shot the government agent. - Uh-

Oh, well, you don't have to hide anything here. We have tax trouble too.

Or do you think it would be Carrying things too far?

Why, no, no. You mean about the time that the revenuers surrounded the still...

- and Ma came out with the- - Yes, that was the time.

Why, sure. Now come on. You get over there, pretend that you're the agent-

Oh, no. Why don't you Let Mrs. Vickers be the agent?

- Well, if you insist. Uh- - Why-

- Oh! - Whoops! We busted our beads.

Well, don't worry about that. There's plenty more where those came from.

I never could resist these stories 'cause I�m mighty proud of my family's doings.

Oh. Now, Mrs. V., If you'll just step right over here...

and pretend like you're one of those government varmints hiding behind an old pine tree.

- He'd have to pick a big one just like you would. - Why-

That's all right. Just step right back here. That's fine. You stay there.

Ma was down by the cabin, standing guard with her squirrel gun.

Oh.

Ma was quite a shot, when she was sober.

Well, Uncle Porter- He's my half-wit uncle with the hives.

Uncle Porter was heating up the mash and starting in to sweat out about a 40 gallon...

Of the prettiest mountain dew that ever invited snakes to a picnic.

Well, Ma suddenly spies that government varmint.

His treasury pallor give him away.

So she throws a sight on him and-

Hey. Hey!

Not tonight, dear. Good night.

- Well, it's about time. - How did you get in here?

Where have you been since your rude exit from the Whitsons'?

- I was at the Stork Club with Andr�. - The Stork Club. A fine thing.

- Get out ofhere right now! - Shh! Remember the servants.

- What are you doing here? - I�ve been waiting for you for hours.

I made some sandwiches, I brought you some milk, and then I waited some more.

- How did I know you weren't killed or something? - You worried about me.

Well, if you'd been killed, I�d never been able to prove I wasn't married to you.

- Now will you go home? - Oh, but I am home. I live here.

I�m Mr. Farley, or you're Mrs. Tyler. Remember?

Oh, a fine wife you are.

Still a bride and already you're out with another man.

Oh!

Tsk, tsk, tsk. You gonna marry this De Guyon?

That's none of your business.

Mm-mmm. No answer. I gave all the servants the night off.

- You gave them the night off? - Sure. I�m the new man of the house.

- Oh, I�ll- I�ll call the police! - Good

Tell'em I�m not your husband, please.

Don't let me go through life with that blot on my record.

You may as well get this straight. You're not going to get out of this.

I�m going to devote my life to making you miserable-

especially after what you did at the Whitsons' tonight.

Why, I just showed pride in my family.

Have a goober?

You're going to get out of here If I have to throw you out my self

Wrong build. Nice, but wrong for the job.

Why don't you try slugging me with a few old diamonds?

Hey! Hey, no, no! Hey!

Hey, look out! Hey, look out there! Hey, put those down. Wait a minute!

Have you gone crazy?

- Look- I- - Let me go!

- Now you listen to me. I lost my job, my friends hoot at me...

my girl feels foolish, and you get playful.

Ow! Now listen.

You just listen to me for a minute, and then I�ll let you talk.

Okay? Did you hear me?

All right. Now, first of all-

- I smell like the Rose Parade. - That's your opinion.

- Let's stop being silly and get serious. - Oh, certainly.

When you get hurt it's serious.

Now, my attorneys happen to have checked on you...

and you haven't learned to make an eight the hard way.

You're a fair writer, But you're unscrupulous.

- And you're a wolf. - That's a lie.

Stella, Joan, Lucy, Martha, Tillie, Patsy, Lucille- Deedee?

Poppy, Vera, Nancy and Jessica-

a round dozen.

I see you like the athletic type too.

Deedee- a pitcher on a girls' baseball team.

Probably had quite a windup.

And Tillie, professionally known as the Titillating Twister from Tennessee.

- You gave her a fox scarf and then took it back. - She gave it back.

Oh, yes. She decided you weren't steady enough.

No sense of responsibility.

A gangster's moll too.

Don't remember Patsy?

You had to go into hiding until her boyfriend got caught, remember?

Yeah, well, I- I was just after a story.

- Anyhow, she was in hiding with me. - Don't brag.

Two F.B.I. men were with you.

According to the record, you're much worse than I am.

So where do you get the right to criticize me in print?

- Okay. You through? - Not with you.

You're going to be mud in the public eye until I change my mind, Cinderella Man.

- You sure? - Mm-hmm.

- Positive? - Mm-hmm.

Okay, darling. I give in.

I surrender. I�m your husband.

Put out the cat, dear, and let's turn off the lights.

Well, what are you so surprised about? I�m still your husband.

- Now wait a minute. - Come to your Tom-Tom.

Go away!

- You maniac! - But I love you, dear, as I have a legal right to do.

- Go away! Stop it! - Do you want this marriage to be a farce...

a travesty on conjugal bliss?

Didn't you promise to love and cherish me? Well?

All right, all right. You win.

- A signed statement that I�m not married to you, hmm? - All right.

- I�ll sign it in the morning. Now go home. - Oh, no.

We're going right down to the Chronic/e office now.

- There's plenty of time for the late edition. - But I�ve got to see my lawyer.

- I can't sign anything. - Now!

- All right. - And this better not be a gag, darling.

Hello? Hello, Duffy?

Listen, I�m bringing Sara Farley right down to the Chronic/e office.

Yeah. Meet me there. You'll get her signed statement and a story to top all Farley stories!

What are you in a huff about? I�m the injured party.

After all, other reporters wrote things About you too. Why pick on me?

Because you pried into my personal life, wormed your way into my confidence...

and then twisted everything I said.

Well, it was- it was my job.

Well, I�m still hungry.

Lt just occurred to me I could've used a sandwich myself.

And there's a lunchroom up ahead.

They say truck drivers always find the places that serve good food.

You know, in a way, this has sort of been fun.

- Well, shall we- shall we go? - Mmm, no.

Mmm, I mean, down to the paper.

I understood you. I said no.

- We've got to get there before the deadline. Duffy be waiting for us. - No!

- Sara, you're not going to start this all over again. - I�m not going.

- Shh! - Don't shush me.

- Sara, please. - I�ve changed my mind.

Fine thing. Every time I eat, you get richer.

- Come on. - Let go of me, you monster.

- Oh, no- - Don't you dare hit me!

- Why not? You're my wife. - What's up, bud?

It�s just a little family argument. She's my wife.

- I am not! - What?

Repeat that- louder. Listen, you're a witness.

- Are you going to stand there and let him hit me? - Nope.

They're married, Herman. It's legal. Don't mix in.

Who's mixin'?

You smell nice!

What you got on? I�ll get some for my wife.

Oh-

Oh, Sara, now-

Herman, I�m chairman of the local, ain't I?

- I said we don't mix in. - Just a minute.

You keep out of this. I got a right to disagree, don't I? What about the bylaws?

- Gentlemen, please. - Let's take a vote.

- What's the resolution? - Do we got a right to mix in another union's troubles?

- That's the resolution. - Get me the sheriff�s office.

- Please, gentlemen- - excuse us, Lady. It's illegal to influence the voting.

- Two-thirds vote or simple majority? - Majority.

I�d like some discussion on this subject- point of information.

- Now, gentlemen, just a minute. - He's calling you a gentleman, so answer him, stupid.

Are you a member Of the Truck Drivers Local?

- Well, I- No. - Well, then shut up!

- Oh, Sara! - Wait a minute. We ain't even voted yet.

- No, but she's going! - Wait a minute. You started this.

Now you can wait till we count the votes.

- You shouldn't have done it, Herman. - He was out of order, wasn't he?

- Well, you should have appealed to the chair. - Oh, you brute!

- Now, lady, is that parliamentary? - I warned you, Herman.

- It's purely jurisdictional, just like you said. - Oh.

Tom! You would have a glass jaw.

Tom. Wake up.

Wake up! What's the matter with you?

I won't be long.

Come on. Get up there. Here comes His Honor.

Can't see why they have to Get you up at all hours, Homer.

Gotta do my duty, Martha. A regular crime wave we've been having.

Court's in session. What's the charge, Sheriff?

Disturbing the peace, rioting, drunk and disorderly and assault.

- But this is ridiculous. - That'll be five dollars or five days.

- But it isn't true. I was merely tying- - Now it's $10 or 10 days.

- But I have a right to see a lawyer. - Now it's $20 or 20 days.

Lf you want to make it more, just keep on talkin'.

But you can't do this to her, Judge. Don't you know who she is?

Don't know and I don't care. Now it's $30 or 30 days.

- But this is Sara Farley, the grocery store heiress. - Sixty.

- She'll take this courthouse, and- - Oh, Tom, stop it, please.

I�ll pay. How much is it?

Sixty dollars, like the judge said.

Well, I haven't any money with me, but if you'll let me use the phone-

Lock her up, Dan.

- What's so funny? - I was just thinking about you and your millions.

I shouldn't think you'd laugh. Now I can't make that statement to your editor.

It�s too late for the morning papers, but I�ll bail you out tomorrow in time to sign it.

- Why, you- - None of that now. Come along.

Take her away, Sheriff. Good night, Your Honor.

- Thank you for restoring my faith in human nature. - Wait a minute.

Come here, boy.

Who? Me?

Oh, give me land, lots ofland

Neath the starry skies above

- Don't fence me in, let me ride- - Shut up!

Why, Tom. Don't you like my singing?

I am trying to sleep.

On our honeymoon?

- Tom? - What?

- I�m cold. - If I could get at you, I'd warm you up but good.

Darling, you have got a terrible disposition, haven't you?

I�ll, uh, tell you what I�ll do.

- I�ll give you my coat. - Well!

Don't tell me under that rude exterior lurks the soul of a gentleman.

That's not all that lurks there.

- Thanks, pal. - You're welcome.

You know, it could be a lot worse. Suppose we were really married.

Huh-uh. My imagination doesn't carry that far.

A lot of girls would be very glad to marry me.

Well, I suppose if a girl kept the keyholes plugged up...

- and looked under her pillow for microphones every night- - You get this straight.

This is the first time in my life I ever took an assignment like that.

Why'd you take it then?

, Well, I, uh - I like to ski and I saw a chance...

to get a vacation at Sun Valley on- on the paper.

Don't you ever do anything honestly?

- I did once. Never again. - When?

You remember that article you read in the cabin up there?

Oh, yes- the bait for your filthy little trap.

Well, I admit that's why I wrote it.

But, uh, funny part of it is that I turned it in to Duffy just the way you read it.

You're lying.

Not Ask Dum.

Listen, I�m not proud of it. No man likes it to get around that he's soft in the head.

He'd probably have fired me for it anyhow even if you hadn't given out that story.

And he'd have been right. A reporter's supposed to dish out facts, not moonshine.

You shouldn't be so self-critical, darling.

- You should leave that to your wife. - My wife?

I�ve always wanted to be Someone�s severest critic.

Listen, you're not going back on your promise. You're gonna sign that statement tomorrow.

How can I? Thanks to you, I�m stuck here for 60 days.

You won't get out of it that easily.

That lunatic of a judge will have to let us use the phone in the morning.

Then you can call that gigolo of yours.

Better yet, I could call the press. Can't you see the headlines?

Tom-Tom and heiress honeymoon in jail. Lovers' tifflands glamour couple in the clink.

- You wouldn't. - Oh, wouJdn't I?

Apparently your education hasn't been completed yet.

Could I have a cigarette, Tom?

- It's the last one. - Oh, one puff then. Please.

Well, you don't deserve it, but here.

Ah-ah! I�ll hold it.

I can't reach it there, Tom.

Here.

- Is that better? - Perfect.

Oww! Oh, you cannibalistic little- Give me back my cigarette!

- Give me that cigarette, do you hear? - Give me land, lots of land

- #Neath the starry skies above - Give me back that cigarette right-

- Don't fence me in - Oh, I should have known better than to trust you!

- Give me that cigarette! - Let me ride through the wide open county that I love

- Don't fence me in - Give me that cigarette right now!

I shouldn�t Judge

Judge!

Cut out that racket! What's going on in here?

- What's all this noise about? - Just wait'll I get my hands on you

- She bit me, Judge. - She bit you?

How in the world could she-

I don't know how you done it, but don't do it again.

Ten, 20, 30...

40, 50, 60.

- There you are, Your Honor. Is that correct? - Yep.

- And, uh, here's $20 for you personally. - Uh-

- Are you trying to bribe me? - Oh, no, Your Honor.

Attempted bribery. I fine you $20.

- Well, it's not my money. - Let's go.

Well, time's a-wasting, boys.

Right there.

- Thank you. - Now don't crowd around, fellas.

Darling, what a terrible experience.

It wasn't so bad. It reminded me a little of your ch�teau, especially the plumbing.

- How about a statement? - Is it true that you and Tom-Tom have had a fight?

We had a little disagreement. I�m sure you wouldn't want to pry into the reasons for it.

But Tom-Tom has apologized.

And now you can say we're vey, very happy.

What have you got to say?

- No comment. - Judge, how much is his bail?

- Sixty dollars. - Pay it, Andr�.

- She's going to bail you out. - I wish I had a rich wife.

- No, she's not gonna pay my bail. - Why, Tom-Tom.

I�ll stay right here in jail. You meet a better class of people.

- That's tellin'em. - How about a statement?

You want a quote from me? Okay then, take this.

Rather than accept one nickel Of her tainted money...

I�ll rot here in jail for the rest of my life.

- That's tellin'em. - Hold it. Hold it.

My poor darling.

In all my experience, I have never met a more frightful lad.

- Imagine turning down your generous offer. - Can't you imagine it, Andr�?

- Of course not. If the man were a gentleman- - He'd have accepted my money.

Yes, as a matter of simple courtesy.

It�s the first time anyone ever insulted me by turning down my money.

Well, it just shows how far he'll go to demonstrate his hatred.

Hatred?

Do you think he really hates me, Andr�?

Well, naturally. You want him to hate you, don't you?

Yes. Yes, of course.

You can't really blame him. You've made him a national laughingstock.

You're right, Andr�.

But now I -

now I think it's time to deny the story.

As you say, I�ve accomplished everything I set out to.

A very wise decision, my dear.

After all, you can't go on pretending That you're married to him...

and then marry someone else-

someone who really has something in common with you.

That's why I didn't show up with her. I got knocked out and thrown into jail.

- Every paper in town beat us to it again. - But I couldn't call you.

I was locked up.

- Yes? - Mr. Ketchell is here.

- Ask him to wait. - I�ve got a way out of this.

I�m gonna prove I�m not married to her.

I�m leaving town this afternoon. I�m going up to Maine or Canada or someplace...

and I�m really going to get married.

- Let Sara Farley charge me with bigamy. - Married? Whom are you marrying?

Jessica, of course. We'll come back with this whole thing licked.

That Farley dame will just look silly. I�ll keep in touch with you.

After the ceremony just let me write the story.

Jessica, eh? That's rather drastic, isn't it? I mean, rushing into marriage just-

There might be another way out of this.

- r Intercom Clicks J - Send Ketchell in here.

- There's the man to help us. - Ketchell? How?

- He's a lawyer. - Well, what of it?

We can sue Sara Farley and have the facts established in a court of law.

No, you're not getting me in any deeper. I�ve had enough of this.

Tyler, you've made this newspaper a laughingstock. Newsboys sneer at me as I go by.

- Why? Because every paper in town beat us on our own yarn. - They did not. It's not true.

- I�m not married to Sara Farley. - That's what you say. But can you prove it?

- No. - No. Now, you're responsible for this.

You can repay me in some small measure For what you've done to me.

- Come on in. - If mary Jess-

We can not only prove we were right and they fell for a gag, we can get an exclusive stoy...

Because you'll be the plaintiff. and you'll be covering the story for us.

- Who are we suing this morning? - Sara Farley.

- Why? Won't she give him his allowance? - Oh, vey funny. Huh!

Sara claims she's Tyler's wife, and Tyler's suing for libel.

Do you mean to imply, sir, that this beautiful specimen of American womanhood...

this veritable flower of ravishing Femininity who represents-

How much? A hundred million?

Merely claims that she's married to you, and you want to sue her for libel?

Don't make a campaign speech out of it. Now, you can sue for defamation of character...

damage to his reputation and livelihood...

holding him up to public ridicule and great mental anguish.

- How does it strike you? - I don't know.

- Why don't you sue for divorce and get a fat settlement? - Because I�m not married to her.

- Can we win? - Well, if he's telling the truth we can.

He's been damaged, all right- damaged to the tune of a million dollars.

He's been damaged, all right- damaged to the tune of a million dollars.

I don't care about the money. Just get me out of that mess.

We'll save our face, and we'll get an exclusive on a great story.

File suit right away. Draw up the papers.

- This gets you out of the nutcracker. - Maybe- and maybe it'll be worse.

More headlines about me. That's not getting me out.

A legal decision will be better than this, won't it?

I�d like to see Thomas Tyler, please.

- Name? - Sara Farley.

Freddie.

Miss Sara Farley to see Mr. Tyler.

Oh, right this way, Miss Farley.

Just a minute, Freddie. I�ll take care of this.

What are you doing here? You making a career out of hounding me?

- I just came to give your editor the statement. - You're gonna get the surprise-

- What? - I�ll sign the statement.

You mean it? It's no gag?

- What made you change your mind? - Oh, a lot of things.

Your glass jaw, and your gallanty in giving me your coat last night...

and- and sharing your last cigarette with me...

and- and it suddenly stopped being fun, Tom.

I don't want you thinking I�m hard and vindictive, because...

well, I wouldn't want anyone to think that.

Oh, I knew I was right about you. That's what I told Duffy.

- That isn't what you wrote. - No, but he didn't have a chance to run the last installment.

That was the only one that was legitimate, on the level and flattering too.

Oh, what a relief this is. You're a great girl, Sara.

Duffy won't believe this, but I told him.

I said you weren't the girl that we started to write about. I knew you'd come through.

Sit down over here. I�ll see if he's in his office and break the good news to him.

Don't go away. Oh, I could kiss you for this.

In fact, I think I will.

- Miss Sara Farley? - Yes.

Thank you.

Duffy, look at this stuff.

- Everything was going fine till you hit her with that summons. - Just bad timing, that's all.

Anyway, we've tried to explain, we've tried to apologize, and she wouldn't listen.

- Now she'll get what's coming to her. - She'll get what's coming to her_

Maybe you don't know what's happening.

- This morning an old lady hit me over the head with an umbrella. - What for?

She said she was doing it in the name of American womanhood.

Go on! Are you afraid of a few women?

There he is

And now, Mr. Tyler, I am certain that you will agree that...

you could hardly have forgotten such an important event as your marriage, could you?

- You have a good memory? - I have a very good memory, Mr. Prosecutor.

As a matter of fact, I recall that you asked me that same question about 20 minutes ago.

I am not a prosecutor, Mr. Tyler.

I am the legal counsel for the defendant, which you very well know.

The plaintiff will refrain from further sarcasm. Proceed with the examination.

You remember everything that happened at Sun Valley, for instance?

- Yes. - Do you remember falling off a dogsled...

- and being knocked unconscious? - Yes.

Memory doesn't function during an unconscious period, does it, Mr. Tyler?

I mean, if you were unconscious, you couldn't very well remember...

what happened while you were unconscious, could you?

- Nothing happened while I was unconscious. - How do you know?

Well, I- Nothing happened.

Isn't it possible that while you were in this condition...

you might have done quite a number of things you don't remember?

- I remember everything. - Isn't it possible that after the accident in the sled...

you visited the local justice of the peace?

No, it is not possible. I�ve just told you I remember everything.

I resent your attempts to make me appear an idiot.

Your Honor, do I have to stand for this?

The matter of who is or who is not an idiot has not been brought into this action.

The witness will answer the questions.

By the way, Mr. Tyler...

while you were serving as a war correspondent...

Were you ever wounded or injured in anyway?

Yes, but I assume that's no crime.

- Seriously enough to be hospitalized? - Yes.

Would you tell the court what was the nature of your injury?

I was struck on the head by shell fragments.

- Which resulted in a loss of memoy? - Yes, but it was only temporary.

Objection. This line of questioning is irrelevant and immaterial.

It seems to me that whether or not the plaintiff had a good memory...

has a great deal of bearing on this case.

- The objection is overruled. - Thank you, Your Honor.

And now, Mr. Tyler, according to your deposition...

it is your contention that you are the helpless victim of a diabolical plot...

- on the part of the defendant. - That is definitely my contention.

It is the whim of this evil and designing woman to wreck your life?

That's exactly what she's trying to do.

isn�t it just the other way around, Mr. Tyler?

Didn't you lure this young woman to a cabin in Sun Valley?

- I did not lure her. - Well, did she invite you there?

- No, but- - Then how did it happen you were there with her?

- Well, I wanted to be alone with her- - Ah, you did?

You wanted to be alone with her in the seclusion of a cabin in the woods...

- where you subsequently- - You're putting the wrong connotation on this.

Well, what other connotation could be placed upon it, Mr. Tyler?

The truth You're making it appear as though I had a personal interest...

whereas I was only collecting material for my articles, nothing else.

Now, Mr. Tyler, I ask you to look at the defendant.

In your articles, you described her rather flatteringly.

Do you still agree that she has charm?

- I do. - She's young and desirable.

- Yes, she is. - Then she'd naturally attract the attention of most men.

- I suppose she might. - And yet you maintain that while you were collecting material...

For your articles, the defendant was so overcome by your manly charms...

your magnetic personality and beauty...

that without any encouragement from you, she dreamed up a fraudulent marriage to you...

and threw her considerable fortune at your feet.

And although you had never seen him before...

you permitted him to enter the house because he said he was her husband?

Yes, sir. I gave him the room adjoining hers.

I was always put in the guesthouse.

- Was he still there when she returned? - I don't know, sir.

- He gave me the night off. - He assumed the rights of the man of the house?

- Yes, sir. - Was he still there on the following morning...

- when you brought up your mistress's breakfast to her? - No, sir.

But there were signs ofa struggle or some unpleasantness, sir.

Huh? What signs?

Broken perfume bottles, sir.

Did it look as if she had defended herself against violence?

Objection. Presumption on part Of the witness and leading question.

- I know where it's leading. - So do I, counselor.

Objection sustained.

And the plaintimcharged these purchases to the Farley account?

Sixty-seven dollars and eighty-four cents, we estimate.

And you permitted him to charge such a large amount?

Well, he said he was her husband.

- Of course, I thought it was very odd. - What was odd?

Well, he said he was married to Miss Farley.

Then he pointed to that woman there...

and introduced her as his fianc�e.

Having heard the accusations Of the plaintiff, Mrs. Tyler...

would you be kind enough to tell the jury your reaction to them?

Oh, I forgive him. He doesn't really mean it.

She forgives me_

I think you deserve a lot of credit For your forbearance, Mrs. Tyler.

- Now, Mrs. Tyler- - Objection. Defense counsel constantly addresses...

the witness as Mrs. Tyler to influence the jury.

- But she is Mrs. Tyler. - We dispute that.

We're here to prove that she's not Mrs. Tyler.

Sustained. It'll be stricken from the record.

Perhaps you may address the witness as, uh, Sara?

Yes.

Sara.

- Now, Sara, you met Mr. Tyler at Sun Valley? - Yes.

Can you tell us what happened at Sun Valley?

- Oh, it was just wonderful, because we fell in love.

- Just like that. - Just like that, eh?

Now, Sara, ordinarilyawoman has too much pride to contest a lawsuit like this.

Will you please tell the jury Why you're contesting?

Well, because I know he loves me.

After all, he came to the Whitson dinner party because he couldn't keep away from me.

And if he had no emotional interest in me, he wouldn't have wanted to... strike me.

That's why he broke into the house at 3:OO in the morning.

A woman knows about those things.

He was so jealous of the Count de Guyon.

But even though he was in a jealous rage he was so sweet.

He went down to the kitchen and got sandwiches and milk.

Well, I was hungry.

Of course, he hates rich people. He blames me for having money.

He does?

He's the only man I�ve ever met who really isn't interested in my money.

A man often reveals things without knowing it.

I guess we both fell in love before we knew it.

Well, Sara, if he isn't interested in money, and he loves you...

why do you think he's suing you?

Well, sometimes... he's a heel.

- I object, Your Honor. - Sustained.

Question led to an opinion on the part Of the witness, and was so designed.

However, it has become increasingly clear...

that there are rather unusual factors behind the testimony so far given.

The court cannot disregard certain emotional implications...

which apparently have remained undetected by opposing counsel.

Therefore, I shall ask both litigants and their attorneys to meet with me in my chambers.

Meanwhile- the court will recess.

Uh, will you be seated, please?

Be seated, please.

It�s not in the province of the court to interfere in libel actions...

but this action basically is one of domestic origin...

deriving from the marriage or non-marriage of the litigants.

Now, it's always been my policy to attempt reconciliations in the public interest...

and because I�m just an old meddler with a sentimental streak.

Now, everyone in the courtroom, including the jury...

is fully aware that you two are eminently suited to each other.

The way you look at each other.

And the- the way you-

you smile at each other.

- You've got a good marriage. - They're not married, Your Honor.

- Ask her where they were married. - This is a conference! She's not on the stand now.

Gentlemen, please. This is entirely off the record.

It�s a sort of a family affair. There's no courtroom procedure whatsoever.

It�s merely a matter of good manners and no raised voices.

Well, where were we married?

Well, off the record, at the courthouse at Three Forks, Idaho.

Three Forks, I-We can check that in about two hours, Your Honor.

Well, unfortunately for all of us, that's impossible.

You see, the courthouse burned down and the records were destroyed.

- That fire? - Mm-hmm.

- She- - Your Honor, I�d like to confer with my client.

You ma_.

- But she's- - Shh!

She's right. We can't prove a thing. We're licked.

Not yet we're not. Now listen to me.

Your Honor, we're prepared to concede that it's possible...

Mr. Tyler did in fact marry Miss Farley.

Uh, this concession, however, introduces certain other factors.

- Such as? - Oh, merely routine matters-

all to the benefit of the Farley Enterprises.

- In what way? - My client, being cognizant Of his obligations as a husband...

wishes to assume his duties in regard to the Farley interests.

He'd like to see the financial statement- uh, to protect his wife's interests, naturally.

He'd like to assume his position of authority and take active charge of the business.

- Take over the business? - I merely want to help.

- I don't need your help! - After all, Mrs. Tyler, your husband's devoted to you.

- Devoted to me! - His devotion will have you bankrupt in six months.

Your Honor, the purpose of this suit is very evident now.

This literary ne'er-do-well really wants you to validate this marriage...

so that he can establish his dower rights in the Farley fortune.

Oh, come now, Mr. Rice.

Your Honor, this suit was brought to determine whether or not Mr. Tyler married me.

He's admitted that he did, so I feel that my reputation has been cleared.

I ask just one other thing of the court, and that is to clear my name.

I want this marriage annulled.

So soon? I only admitted to being married a few seconds ago.

- Perhaps you're being a bit hasty, my dear. - Hasty?

Oh, no. I�m just not quite bright.

I really thought you were the one man who wasn't interested in money.

But you're just a little more clever than the others.

You'll-You'll cherish me, will you?

You've double-crossed and lied to me every chance you had.

At Sun Valley, when I came to your office, and now when I-

Well, you can just go cherish somebody else's checking account!

- Mr. Rice and I can discuss the terms of the divorce- - I said annulment, not divorce.

But on what grounds?

Why, yes. On the grounds that they haven't lived together as man and wife.

- Could anything be simpler? - Wait a minute. How do you know we haven't?

After all, I was there. You may have been unconscious, but I wasn't.

That has nothing to do with it. I deny the allegation. I deny everything.

- Just a minute! The procedure- - There's been trickery here.

- The law is the law! You married me, but in name only. - You can't get away with this.

- Conscious or unconscious, I�m still your husband! - Quiet. Quiet!

There's been deception and trickery throughout this trial. Bailiff

The chambers of the court are not the place to settle domestic feuds. Bailiff

Nor is it the proper place to seek an annulment of marriage. Bai-

I�m not only throwing this case out of court...

but also the plaintiff. the defendant and their attorneys.

And-And I�m vey disappointed in you two.

Hmm. Your Honor.

- Bailiff - Your Honor, please, I want some advice.

Bailiff I gave you my advice. Only fools repeat themselves.

I�m willing to take it now. But I�m being annulled. What can I do about that?

- You want her back? - Yes, sir.

You convinced me. But she wants to get that annulment.

- Well, well. So I convinced you, hmm? - Yes, sir.

My boy, I can't advise you personally, but-

If you want a judicial tip, the way to forestall a legal action is to remove the grounds.

- To remove the, uh- - Remove the grounds.

Court's adjourned. I mean, good evening.

- Did you call me, Your Honor? - Huh?

Oh, yes, Bailiff. Uh, good evening.

Miss Farley- I mean, Mrs. Tyler-

- You were right the first time, Barret. - Thank you.

- Miss Farley, I want to tell you that- - In the morning, Barret.

Good night.

- Oh, thank you. I- - Uh-

Don't be frightened. It's only me.

How dare you come in here!

Get out or I�ll- I�ll call the police!

You'll call nobody. I�m your husband.

- We haven't been annulled. - We'll see about that!

We're gonna settle this once and for all, and we're gonna settle this now.

Aah! How dare you handle me this way!

- Let me up! - Not until you listen to what I have to say.

I�m not interested in anything you have to say. Help!

Ow! You do that again, so help me, and I-

- You'll what? - I�ll tell you what I came up here to tell you.

I love you.

Well, there's no law against a man telling his wife he loves her, is there?

Oh, uh-

If there is, there shouldn't be.

Oh, Tom. I�m so glad you're not annulled.

Just a minute. There's one thing I�d like to know.

What really happened at Sun Valley? Did I marry you?

That's something you'll never know.

No, but I- I�ve got to. I mean-

Well, you know, if- if we have children, why-Well, it w-wouldn't be legal.

Oh, all right. If you're going to worry about it, we'd better settle this.

We'll get married all over again just to keep you happy.

Good idea.

It�ll keep the children happy too.