Original subtitles

[theme music]

HOST: I used to keep my desires in a wooden box,

but they kept escaping.

So I wrapped the box in lead foil.

But still my desires found a way out.

I kept my desires in awooden box in a velvet pouch,

and I put the pouchinside another wooden box.

It didn't work.

It never does.

Throw the box in the river,bolt the doors, pull the blinds,

cover your head with a blanket--the desire remains inside.

SAM [VOICEOVER]: You can teach me things.

I want you.

You can teach me things.

[whispering]

[phone ringing]

[phone ringing]

[whispering]

[phone ringing]

[whispering]

[crying]

[whispering]

FRANK [VOICEOVER]: I was scaredof her right from the start--

the way a dog's scared of thunder.

She phoned again last night at 3:00 AM the way

she always does.

I can't hide much longer.

[honking]

Each night she comes closer.

[phone ringing]

OPERATOR [ON PHONE]: Ifyou'd like to make a call,

please hang up and try again.

If you need help, hang up and then dial--

[honking]

[sizzling]

Uh, you want a heater there, mister?

Oh, state secrets, huh?

[phone ringing]

WAITRESS: Birdie's.

Yeah.

Yeah, all right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I, uh-- a medium all dressed to go?

FRANK [VOICEOVER]: She waspretty, but then a lot of them

are.

I didn't even notice her in my class at first.

It was when she came to my office.

Well, hi.

Uh, come on in.

Uh, sit down.

Can I help you?

I want an apology.

Sure.

For what?

In class you said that Zelda Fitzgerald

was "one tackle short"of a combination platter.

Very funny.

Well, she was at least manic depressive and may

well have been schizophrenic.

It's well-documented.

She was a highly intelligentwoman and a great writer.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was lost without her.

There's some truth to that.

Glad to see you're thinking about it.

You should know better.

Shall we go?

I'm sorry.

Where?

Out for coffee.

I'm afraid I've got work to do, uh, Miss--

Perry.

Sam.

I thought we're going to, uh,well, you know, be together.

[inhales] Miss Perry.

Even if I weren't a happily married man,

any kind of teacher-studentfraternization

just doesn't fly anymore.

But you said, um--

FRANK: You know her?

Oh, yeah.

Samantha Perry-- diplomat's kid.

Her parents dumped her here.

She's bright, but she's out there.

Oh yeah.

They were on an excessive,glamorous, literate

downward spiral, but F. Scott needed Zelda

as much as Zelda needed him.

In fact, just like themain character in "Tender

is the Night," his fatal flawwas his need to be needed.

It caused him to assimilate weaknesses,

to allow his energy to be sapped.

But before everything disintegrated,

their public behavior, their sexual exploits,

and their writing reflected the knowledge

that they were the voice of what he called an age

of miracles, art, and excess.

SAM [VOICEOVER]: You can touch me.

I want you.

You can touch me.

[whispering]

[breathing heavily] Yes.

Listen.

You an angry little girl?

That makes me excited.

Sam.

Sam.

[inaudible] when I heard you.

Oh, yeah.

I think so.

[moaning]

So.

[whispering]

[phone ringing]

Frank, honey-- [phone ringing]

--the phone.

[phone ringing]

Goodness sake.

Hello?

SAM [ON PHONE]: Is Professor Ingram there?

Uh, yeah, just a second.

No, what is it.

Frank.

Hmm?

Frank.

It's for you.

It sounds like a student.

Yeah?

What? SAM [ON PHONE]: Hi.

It's me.

Me who?

SAM [ON PHONE]: Sam.

Sam who?

SAM [ON PHONE]: Sam Perry, you silly.

Miss Perry, lo-- look, I've got office hours.

SAM [ON PHONE]: I heard your voice.

What do you mean?

SAM [ON PHONE]: Please don't be angry.

I heard you calling me.

I didn't call you.

SAM [ON PHONE]: Yes, you did.

You were inside me, talking to me.

I heard you.

I didn't talk to you.

SAM [ON PHONE]: So nice.

Whispering.

Miss Perry--

SAM [ON PHONE]: You don't remember?

It's 3:00 AM.

SAM [ON PHONE]: I heard you, Frank.

You clearly need to talkto someone, but it isn't me.

SAM [ON PHONE]: You told me to come to you.

Look, you need to get some help.

SAM [ON PHONE]: You can teach me things.

I want you.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Go away. Don't call me.

I can't help you.

Frank?

Oh, some student.

She thinks she's got acrush on me or something.

What does she look like?

Jean, I told her to get lost.

She says she-- she heard me calling

her or something-- whispering.

She said I told her to call.

My phone number's unlisted.

I didn't give it to her.

She's a wacko.

Oh, come on.

Don't.

Don't worry.

Jean, please.

Sweetheart.

I'm here with you and our baby.

I've waited three hours for you.

That's three hours too many.

You were calling me andcalling me and calling me.

I'm only doing what you told me, Frank.

I was not calling you.

Unconsciously, you were.

I was sitting in the library.

You were concentratingyour voice inside my hand.

Please don't deny it.

It confuses me.

Yeah, security, this is Professor Ingram.

I've got, uh, a little disturbance

I'd like you to help me with ASAP.

Yes.

Second floor, Englishdepartment-- end of the hall,

near 212.

Thank you.

You looked right at me in class, remember?

And then last night.

How can you not remember?

I heard you, Frank.

You told me to come to you.

Miss Perry, I may have madeeye contact with you in class,

but you have tounderstand I try to engage

every one of my students.

You were even talking about the voices.

I may have said that every writer has

to find his own voice or the voice of an age

or a character or something.

Seriously, you should go talk to some

at the counseling department.

I've got a friend there-- Diana Laroche.

She's very good.

Hm?

Yeah don't, it's OK.

Don't pity me.

[knocking at door]

Security.

It doesn't matter.

I'm moving to California this weekend.

I see.

Maybe at Berkeley they'llbe a a bit more tolerant

of little disturbances.

It's, uh-- it's OK.

Thanks. Everything's fine.

Sure.

FRANK [VOICEOVER]: Then amonth of domestic bliss.

Sometimes a little danger makesyou cling to your well-being

even tighter.

You're doing it again.

What, love?

Frank--

Hm?

You're tickling me.

Pardon?

Stop it!

Whoa, whoa!

Well! [giggles]

Hey!

[phone ringing]

Hi, there.

SAM [ON PHONE]: Hi, there.

I've got good news.

Who's this?

SAM [ON PHONE]: I've rentedthe car like you told me,

and I'm on my way.

It's that girl--remember, with the voices?

SAM [ON PHONE]: I'm leaving Berkeley.

I'll be there soon.

And then we'll be togetheragain till death do us part.

Sam-- Sam, listen.

Uh, do you hear my voice?

SAM [ON PHONE]: Of course I do.

I hear it all the time.

There's only one voice thatyou hear right now-- mine.

And I'm telling you loud andclear-- stay in California.

Leave me alone.

SAM [ON PHONE]: You're doing it again.

What?

SAM [ON PHONE]: Lying.

You're denying everything again.

It's cruel.

God.

SAM [ON PHONE]: You're teasing me.

I really don't understand.

I told you to get help.

I told you to talk to someone.

SAM [ON PHONE]: It's you I want!

You can teach me things.

DIANA: I think love is justa chemical fantasy-- chemical

because it's all about the drive to procreate

and a fantasy because assoon as you fall in love,

you project every imaginableneed you have onto somebody

you probably hardly know.

They become like some phantom portrait

painted from your own needs.

Sometimes it turns intoattachment, and sometimes not.

What about obsessive love that's, uh, unilateral?

What do you mean?

Well, this guy in thecommunications department

has a girl that's basically stalking him.

She says she hears his voice wherever she goes.

It sounds like they were lovers.

No, he didn't do anything.

How can you be so sure?

I should know better thanto try and fool a shrink.

Uh, I just didn't want you to think I,

uh-- I asked you over hereto milk you for advice, but--

But you will anyway.

Well.

Well, if there are nothreats, it's probably harmless.

The voices thing-- worstcase-- paranoid schizophrenia.

That can be real torture for some people,

and sometimes it does lead to violence.

Chapman-- who shot JohnLennon-- Manson, Son of Sam,

they all heard voices telling them what to do.

But, listen, there are no threats.

It's just a nuisance.

Yeah.

But, um, Frank, just to be on the safe side,

don't let her anywhere near you.

If she shows up, head for a public place.

Well, if it really turns to rage,

she could see Jean and the babyas coming between you and her.

She could go after them.

FRANK: [clearing throat]

POLICEMAN: The bottom linehere is I'll check with

the authorities in Berkeley, but since

she hasn't threatenedanyone, there's-- there's not

much I can do.

There's gotta be some kind ofrestraining order or something.

Look, buddy, if I go on thebasis of a few unwanted visits

and some telephone calls,half the mother-in-laws

in town would be under restraining orders, OK?

I'm mostly worried for my wife and child.

Well, you should'vethought of that before, huh?

Before what?

POLICEMAN: Nothing. Just checking.

Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ingram.

[music playing]

[phone ringing]

[phone ringing]

SAM [ON PHONE]: Frank.

I can't wait.

I can't wait any longer.

I'm so close.

Where are you?

SAM [ON PHONE]: In bed.

In what city?

SAM [ON PHONE]: Closer than you think.

Sam, I don't wanna see you.

Turn around and go back to Berkeley.

But I don't want you to get hurt.

Samantha, please don't.

Fire or being hit by a car.

FRANK [ON PHONE]: Don't.

You couldn't bear it.

Don't threaten me!

SAM [ON PHONE]: I'm not.

It's just how things are.

JEAN: Hang up now.

SAM: We won't let get inthe way of our love, Frank--

our love that knows no bounds and seeks no ill.

Or your stupid baby underthe wheels of a car.

Don't threaten my family!

JEAN: Listen, you, stop terrorizing--

[dial tone]

There's no one there.

It's a dial tone.

[dial tone]

She hung up.

[music playing]

[dial tone]

[phone ringing]

[dial tone]

[phone ringing]

[dial tone]

[phone ringing]

[dial tone]

What's going on?

Jean, talk to me.

You're not blaming me now, are you?

You seduced me when I was a student.

Oh, hell, that was different.

Oh, yeah, vastly different.

For one, I was single.

For two, I fell in love.

I wouldn't park my bikeagainst that girl, let alone--

Listen, you must've donesomething to provoke her.

Oh, please!

Like reverse the roles here, Jean.

God, I feel like I'm in some 1950s courtroom.

Well, miss, you were raped, huh?

You were-- tell us what you were wearing.

You must've said or done something

to provoke this attack.

Don't be a smartass.

I'm just giving you a chance to confess here.

Confess?

What happened to trust?

Oh no, you lost rights to that word

when I saw you with that Baker girl.

That was two years ago!

Oh, so now it doesn'tcount anymore, is that it?

Oh, I'm sick of apologizing.

Wait, where the hell are you going?

Get back--

[doorbell ringing]

[banging at door]

[banging at door]

Stay up there.

No.

[banging at door]

POLICEMAN: Hello?

Mr. Ingram!

Chicago PD.

Police.

Officer?

I came by to tell youyour, uh, young friend isn't

gonna be a problem any more.

Well, come in.

Come on in.

What do you mean?

Well, I made a call to a friend of mine

at Berkeley Campus Security.

And he told me that one Samantha Perry--

a student at UC Berkeley--

Right.

--formerly a student atChicago University-- well, she

committed suicide two days ago.

That's impossible.

Are you sure?

Oh, yeah.

She ingested a couple of bottles of rat poison.

He said it was pretty ugly.

Two days ago? You're sure about that?

Yeah. Why?

It must've been a crank call.

Somebody's scamming you, Officer.

She just called an hour ago.

So I'm the one hearing voices?

Is that the implication here?

No.

No.

It's just been a long night.

Let's go to bed.

It's finally over.

Thank you, Officer.

POLICEMAN: All right.

Well, you don't hesitate to call if there's

any trouble, Mrs. Ingram.JEAN: Yes.

Thank you. POLICEMAN: Good night.

JEAN: Good night.

Frank, please come to bed.

No, no, I gotta get this down.

I gotta make sense of it.

JEAN: I think Barbados would be perfect.

Didn't Lester say that he stayedin some place in the South

Shore that was just great?

No.

No, I've gotta finish this.

I think it was Liz.

I should her a call, sweetheart.

[phone ringing]

Hello?

[dial tone]

It's nobody.

Just a dial tone.

SAM [ON PHONE]: I'm here.

I'm in town.

I'm just around the corner, my love.

You're torturing me.

You realize that, don't you?

This isn't love, Sam.

This is torture.

I don't want you.

I've never wanted you.

I've never-- I've never sent you messages.

SAM [ON PHONE]: Then who's gonna teach me?

Teach-- Sam--

- You're feeling guilty--- --what are--

--because of her death.

Why are you doing this?

Don't do this, Frank, she's dead.

Please put down the phone.

[dial tone]

Please.

Look, we've, uh-- we've gotta split up.

Honey, take the baby and go to your parents.

See, she'll follow me.

JEAN: Frank, I'm gonna call Diana, OK?

Where's my phone book?

We just need to take a break.

FRANK: We gotta get outta here.

JEAN: Just take some time.

[baby crying]

Where's my phone book?

Where's my goddamn phone book?

Frank!

OK, honey, we'll be back.

Frank!

Frank!

Where are you going?

Don't go!

Frank, come back!

Frank!

[phone ringing]

FRANK [VOICEOVER]: I checkedinto a motel in Dayton,

and the phone rang and it was her-- then again

in Union City, Philadelphia.

Everywhere I went, she followed me.

[dial tone]

[car horns]

[phone ringing]

OPERATOR [ON PHONE]: We're sorry.

Your call-- FRANK: No!

OPERATOR [ON PHONE]:--cannot be completed as--

FRANK: No! No!

No! No!

No!

No!

No!

No!

OPERATOR [ON PHONE]: Hang upand then dial your operator.

If you need help--

FRANK: I finally figured it out.

She hasn't called in three days.

It's over.

I've escaped.

I'm free.

[phone ringing]

HOST: Some people arelike that-- the less real

the object of their desire,the more real their obsession.

But that, of course, explains nothing.

I have no obsessions.

My desires are real.

I own them.

They do not own me.

They are at all times under my control.

By the way, will you marry me?

[music playing]

[SINGING] Love.

Obsession.

Power.

A possession.

Hunger.