This is a true story.
How often have you seen that statement at the beginning of a picture?
It sometimes means that there was a man named Napoleon...
but that any similarity between what he did in life...
and what he's going to do in this movie is strictly miraculous.
Well, this is a true story...
about a sweet, rather baffled young housewife...
who, in 1951, in her hometown in Georgia...
suddenly frightened her husband by behaving very unlike herself.
Well, there's nothing unique in that.
We all have moods. We all have a secret yen...
to behave like somebody we particularly admire.
In fact, a modern writer has said...
that inside every fat man...
a thin man is struggling to get out.
Well, in a literal and terrifying sense...
inside this demure young woman...
two very vivid and different personalities...
were battling for the mastery of her character.
She was, in fact, a case of what is called multiple personality...
something that all psychiatrists have read about...
and very few have ever seen...
certainly not Dr. Thigpen and Dr. Cleckley...
of the Medical College of Georgia...
who one day were confronted with a woman...
who had one personality more than Dr. Jekyll.
Now, their account of the case was delivered...
to the American Psychiatric Association in 1953...
and it's already a classic of psychiatric literature.
So this movie needed no help...
from the imagination of a fiction writer.
The truth itself was fabulous enough...
and all the episodes you're going to see...
happened to this girl whom they call Eve White...
and much of the dialogue is taken from the clinical record...
of the doctor that we call Dr. Luther.
The date is August 20, 1951.
- You all right? - Yeah, I'm all right.
Come in.
- Mrs. White? - Yes, ma'am.
- Dr. Luther? - Yes?
Mrs. White is here, the lady Dr. Watkins wrote you about.
- Ask her to come in, will you? - Yes, Doctor.
Will you come in, please?
- How do you do, Mrs. White? - How do you do?
- Come in. Sit here, will you? - Thank you.
Mr. White.
Let's see.
Thank you.
Dr. Watkins is a very old friend of mine. How long have you known him?
He's the doctor we go to.
He's a very able man, very able.
Let's see. He says you've been troubled with very bad headaches.
Yes, sir. Terrible ones.
- And some sort of spells? - Yes, sir.
What kind of spell?
Why, I don't know. I'm not exactly sure.
Well, what happens when you have one?
Is it what they say, amnesia?
Well, amnesia means "loss of memory." Is that what happens to you?
Yes, I guess that's it.
- How often does this happen? - Sometimes twice a week now.
- And the headaches, what about them? - Same thing.
- They happen at the same time? - Yes, sir.
First I get this terrible headache...
and then I get this spell.
Now, when you say spell, do you mean you faint or anything like that?
No, sir. It's not like faintin'.
It's more like...
Well, it's like the other day.
I was playin' out in the backyard with Bonnie...
and all of a sudden I got this splittin' headache...
and then the next thing I knew...
I mean, the next thing I was conscious of, it was the next mornin'.
- Who's Bonnie? - That's my little girl.
- How old is she? - She's four and a half.
- Your only child? - Yes, sir.
I lost another baby about four months ago.
I see.
And you have no recollection at all of what happened...
where you were or what you did between the time...
you were playing in the backyard with Bonnie and the next morning?
No, sir, I don't.
Were you at home at the time?
I was there as soon as I come home from work.
Yes?
I didn't see much different in her.
Well, did you see any difference?
I guess not...
nothing you could say was really different.
For several weeks, Mrs. White was greatly helped
by the psychiatric treatment.
She had fewer headaches, and they were less severe.
She had no more blackout spells...
at least none that she was aware of...
but not quite a year later, several things happened...
that showed her to be in urgent need of help.
The first alarm was sounded around noontime of a spring day...
in 1952.
Anybody home?
Hey. Just a minute while I hang out the wash.
- Where's Bonnie? - Here I am.
- Hi, sugar. - I'm wearing Mommy's shoes.
Mommy will tan your britches if she finds you.
This one hurts.
- Where'd you get these? - They're Mommy's.
Where'd she get 'em?
The postman brought them today with her dresses.
- What dresses? - On the bed.
Evie?
- Let me have that. - No, I want to wear them!
Mommy said I could!
Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
What's the idea of all this?
Well, didn't you buy 'em?
What do you mean, didn't I buy 'em? Didn't you?
No, I thought you did. I thought it was sweet, but I...
It's got your name on it.
You know I wouldn't buy anything like that, Ralph.
- $218. - That's what I mean, that costs that much.
- Where'd they get your name? - I don't know. I thought you did it.
I mean, I thought you bought 'em for me...
but I was gonna make you take 'em back...
because I knew it was too much.
Well, I'll say it's too much.
You had me scared there for a minute.
I guess they just must have made some kind of mistake, that's all.
Well, I'll call 'em.
Is this the Beehive store?
Yes, sir. Is there anything I can do for you?
- Is this Miss Effie? - Who is this?
This is Ralph White, Miss Effie.
For goodness sakes, Ralph,
I thought you and Evie would be on your way to Hollywood by now.
- Hollywood? - With all those pretty things Evie bought.
You ought to be mighty proud of her...
the way she looks in those dresses, especially that lilac one.
I said to Mr. Gilmore...
I'm bringing them all back, Miss Effie, this afternoon.
Bonnie?
Come on in, honey, and wash your hands.
Not yet. Tell her not to come in yet.
- Well, what's the matter? - Tell her I'll call her.
Never mind, honey. I'll call you when we're ready.
Shut that door.
Hurry up!
Come here.
Will you come here?
I got a good mind to slap your face.
What did they say?
What kind of dope do you think I am anyway?
- I don't know what you're talkin' about. - Will you stop that lying?
What did you think I was gonna do?
Nothing? Let you get away with it? 218 bucks!
- Ralph, I didn't buy 'em. - You mean Miss Effie Blanford's a liar?
- She said I bought 'em? - She didn't say nothing else.
I don't see how she could 'cause I didn't.
You mean to tell me you didn't go into the Beehive
and try on those dresses for Miss Effie?
I haven't been to the Beehive in months.
Sometimes I don't know whether you're crazy or you think I am.
- They gonna take 'em back? - You're not kidding they'll take them back.
- I'll pack them up for you. - No, I'll do it.
- You better let me. - You heard me. I said I'd do it!
I'm hungry, Mommy!
Evie!
I got you. It's all right, baby.
It's all right, honey. It's all right.
You'll be all right. It's all right.
It's all right, honey.
Don't get up.
I'll kill you, you get up.
- I didn't do it. - But I saw her.
I didn't do it, I tell you.
How can she say a thing like that when I saw her with my own eyes?
If I hadn't been there, I don't know what she'd have done.
- You mean you don't remember doing it. - I didn't do it.
I suppose you didn't buy those clothes either.
I'd die before I'd hurt Bonnie.
Why do you suppose Ralph says things like that if they're not true?
- I love her too much. - How about you loved her so much...
you wouldn't come home from Atlanta last month?
She went up to Atlanta to visit her cousin for five days and then wouldn't come home.
She was having too big a time. And then when I went up to get her...
she cussed me out and said she never would come home.
How about how much you loved her then?
Will you let me talk to her alone for a few minutes?
She wouldn't come home to me or to Bonnie.
We'll just be a few minutes.
You didn't answer my question, Mrs. White.
That's not true, what he said.
What's not true?
I haven't been to Atlanta in nearly a year.
Well, that's what I mean.
Why do you think he says things like that if they're not true?
I don't know.
He'd have to have some reason to do it, don't you think?
Yes, sir, I suppose so.
Have you thought what that reason might be?
- I thought of one. - What was that?
Maybe he wants to get Bonnie away from me.
- You mean, by divorce? - No, sir, maybe not that...
but maybe he can make me believe I'm losing my mind.
Is that what you think he's trying to do?
I don't know what else it could be, the way he tells it. Am I?
I find no evidence of it.
But you're not positive?
Well, I couldn't be positive of anything this quickly...
but the fact you may be having spells of amnesia...
doesn't mean that you're, what you call, "losing your mind."
Doesn't mean that at all.
It's no use...
'cause I am.
You don't wanna tell me, but I know it now.
How do you know it, Mrs. White?
Because now I'm hearing voices too.
What kind of voices?
Just one voice, but that's what that means, doesn't it?
- How long has this been going on? - For months.
Why didn't you tell me this before?
- What does this voice say to you? - She tells me to do things.
A woman's voice?
- Can you recognize it in any way? - No, sir.
It sounds familiar sometimes...
but I don't really recognize it.
What does this voice tell you to do?
To do things like...
leave Ralph...
take Bonnie and run away.
All kind of terrible things like that.
That is what it means, isn't it?
- No, not in your case. - But that's what everybody says.
And in most cases, they'd be right.
It's a serious manifestation, the hearing of voices...
but the difference in your case is this...
You've been frightened by this voice...
because you recognize it as a symptom of illness.
People who are actually losing their minds...
rarely find anything extraordinary about the hearing of voices.
They almost invariably assume...
it's some sort of extra privilege that they enjoy...
like personal radio reception...
or built- in radar.
Yeah, but what if sometimes...
it sounds like my own voice?
Your own voice? Doesn't make any difference.
Yes, it does.
You just don't wanna tell me, but it does. I...
Mrs. White?
Hi.
Feeling better now?
I feel fine.
What was it, a headache?
No.
I didn't have no headache. She had one, but I didn't.
She?
Hey, you got a nice place around here.
She always gets those headaches when I wanna come out.
I think she's a real dope, don't you?
- Who are you talking about? - Eve White.
These hose! They're nylon, and I'm allergic to nylon.
I think I'll take 'em off. You don't mind, do you?
If you like.
I think you better turn around, though.
You're kind of cute, but I don't think I know you that well.
Maybe sometime, though, huh?
Hey, you like to go dancin'?
- Sometimes. - Would you like to go dancin' with me?
Okay, you can turn around now.
- So, you're not Eve White? - I certainly am not.
Hey, maybe one night this week. You can tell your wife you gotta see a patient.
- And do what? - And go dancin'.
I bet you're a real cute dancer.
I doubt if my wife would agree with you about that...
but getting back to the point, if you're not Eve White, who are you?
Now, what you trying to do, kid me?
Seems more likely you're trying to kid me.
I'm Eve Black. You know that.
You mean that was your maiden name.
That's still my name. I ain't never been married.
That's for laughs, gettin' married.
- What about Ralph? - Come on now, Doc.
You don't think I'd marry a jerk like that.
Then Bonnie isn't your child?
Not while I'm in my right mind she isn't.
Boy! What fat books.
Hey! This radio working?
You've got a back door to your office.
We could get out of here without him seeing us.
Will you excuse me for a moment?
You're not gonna tell him, are you?
No, no. I'll be right back. You wait here.
It's up too high.
Excuse me. I'll be right back.
Is that her?
Have you ever had a case of multiple personality?
No.
Do you think you'd recognize one if you saw one?
I don't know. I'm not so sure.
But I can tell you this... I'll bet you I can spot a fake as far as I can see one.
- Whom do you suspect? - Mrs. White. Mrs. Eve White.
That dreary little woman from across the river?
That's the one.
Everything all right?
Hi! You got your buddy with you, huh?
- May I turn this off? - Sure.
What'd I do, scare you?
- You remember Dr. Day? - Sure. Hi.
- How are you, Mrs. White? - That's what you think.
This is Miss Eve Black, Doctor.
How do you do, Miss Black?
How do you do?
You don't mind talking to both of us, do you?
Oh, no.
The more there are, the better I like 'em.
And you say you are not Mrs. White now?
Okay, you wanna hear it again?
I'm not Mrs. White. My name is Eve Black.
Then how does it happen that you remember meeting me?
Because I know everything that happens to her.
She don't know anything about me, but I know everything about her...
everything I want to, anyway.
There's some things about her I'm not interested in, like that jug head out there.
Mr. White, she means.
And the thing is, she don't really even care anything about him.
She just tells herself she does 'cause she thinks she ought to.
- And don't think I never told her so too. - What did you tell her?
Leave the so- and- so.
Take the kid if she wants her and beat it. What can he do about it?
- How did you tell her? - I yelled at her.
I don't know whether she heard me or not, but I really hollered at her.
Boy, I can tell you, though, I'm gonna fix his wagon.
I ain't gonna go through the rest of my life with that creep.
And you say that Bonnie's not your child.
Now, Doctor, how could I have a child if I'm not even married?
You trying to insinuate something?
You mean, Ralph never made love to you?
Boy, I'd like to see him try!
Where were you then when Bonnie was born?
It looks like to me that's your problem, Doctor, not mine.
Don't you have any fans in this office? It's hot in here.
- How are you gonna fix Ralph's wagon? - You really wanna know?
I do, indeed.
I'm gonna come out, and I'm gonna stay out.
Were you ever on a stage, Miss Black?
No, not exactly on a stage...
but I sung in nightclubs, a lot of them.
- Where? - Well, across the river's one.
- The Big Apple. You ever been there? - No, I'm afraid I haven't.
They're crazy about me at the Big Apple.
Every time I go in there, they ask me to stand up and sing.
Of course, I have to be in the mood to do it, though.
- What kind of mood? - I have to have a couple snorts first.
Can you "come out," as you call it, whenever you want to?
No. I wish I could, but I can't.
Sometimes I can, but sometimes I can't.
But I tell you one thing, though, it's getting easier...
'cause she's getting weaker and I'm getting stronger...
and one of these days, just like I tell you, I'm gonna come out and stay out.
Just you wait and see.
And can you retire, go back in when you want to?
Sure. You know what I done one night?
One night, Ralph had to go to Savannah...
so I went over to the Big Apple and I got kind of gassed up.
You know what I done the next morning? I let her have the hangover.
She's faking.
- Boy, you should have seen her face! - Listen, Mrs. White...
I regret to have to say this...
but I...
Hello, Doctor.
Mrs. White?
On May the 17th, 1952...
Mrs. White was admitted to the psychiatric section...
of the university hospital for observation and treatment.
During the first week, her behavior was excellent...
and there was nothing uneven about it...
but Dr. Luther still could not decide...
when, or even if, to confront her with the knowledge...
of the personality that she had suppressed.
"Love took up the glass of time...
"and turned it in his glowing hands.
"Every moment lightly shaken...
"ran itself in golden sands.
"Love took up the harp of life...
"and smote on all the chords with might...
"smote the chord of self...
"that, trembling, passed in music out of sight."
That's beautiful. I've never heard it before.
I don't really understand what it means. I just like to read it anyway.
It doesn't have to mean anything in particular, just so you feel it.
Good morning.
Would you like to read this one?
"Dear beauteous death..."
- Good morning, Doctor. - Morning.
- Good morning, Doctor. - How's it going?
I feel much better, thank you.
She looks better too, don't you think?
- Yes, she really does. - See you later, Mrs. White.
- Thank you. - I'll be in the office, Doctor.
Thanks, Lenny.
- Heard from Ralph? - Yes, sir.
- He came by for a few minutes yesterday. - What about Bonnie?
She's back with my mother and father now.
Tell me something, Mrs. White.
Would you say that your marriage, speaking of it as a whole...
has been a happy one?
No, sir.
Well, some of it, but not as a whole.
Don't you love Ralph?
Yes, sir.
Then why do you think it hasn't been a happy marriage?
I don't know.
I guess I just haven't been able to make him happy.
I don't know what it is I do that irritates him so much, but I do.
Well, tell me something else.
Have you ever had the feeling that somewhere...
deep down inside you...
there might be somebody you couldn't quite reach...
but that you nevertheless knew was there?
No, sir. I don't know what you're talking about.
- Good night, Doctor. - Good night, Madge.
Hey.
Come here a minute.
Come on. I ain't gonna bite ya.
- Got a cigarette? - Sure.
- Thank you. - It's all right.
Why don't you come in for a minute?
- Well, no, no. You know the rules. - Come on.
I got a poem for you.
Come on.
I can't stay long. No.
It's a limerick.
Chicken!
- Dr. Luther? - Yes?
- It's about Mrs. White. - Yes?
That lady's a whole lot healthier than you think she is, Doctor.
Can you control your emergence?
- Says which? - I want you not to come out...
even if you can.
I'm tired of this place.
- It's a nuthouse, ain't it? - No, it's a hospital.
You don't see any bars or anything like that, do you?
Is she crazy?
No, but it's quite possible you can drive her crazy if you don't behave yourself.
Why? I don't know what I have to do with it.
I haven't got anything to do with her.
You're wasting your time with that. I'm a doctor.
- You're cute, you know that? - Listen, Eve...
Hey, look, why don't you and I go out and have some fun? I can slip on somethin'.
Do you wanna be shut up in one of these places for life...
one with bars?
- What do you mean? - I mean simply this...
If you try anything like that, if you get into any trouble at all...
it'll be Mrs. White that'll be adjudged crazy...
but both of you'll be locked up.
Well, why, if I'm all right?
You're not gonna be subdivided by any court or board I've heard of yet.
Where Mrs. White goes, you go...
and that means into an asylum
if you misbehave and Mrs. White has to be committed.
An asylum, with locked doors and bars and straitjackets!
Now, is that clear?
I guess so.
Well, it had better be...
because that'd be the end of it for you too.
No more dancing. No more... snorts.
No more anything ever!
Even if I don't come out, what do you figure to do about it?
I don't know. I'm not sure.
Nobody knows too much about this...
because there haven't been too many such cases...
but for a starter...
I think I'd like to tell Eve White about you.
What do you wanna do that for?
- Do you object? - Well, won't that worry her even more?
I thought you didn't care what happened to her.
Well, I don't really, but, I mean, you know, if she worries anymore...
ain't she liable to go crazy anyway?
I'm afraid that is a possibility...
but that's a chance I think we're gonna have to take.
If we're ever gonna reunite these two personalities, to put it simply...
I'd say the first logical step to take in that direction...
would be to introduce them to each other, wouldn't you?
Introduce 'em?
Doc, you flip me, you really do.
I don't have to put on much. Let's go on out and have a little fun.
Mrs. White.
I don't underst...
I had another one, hadn't I?
A little one.
I was hopin'...
I think I'd better tell you as well as I can...
just what the situation is.
Have you ever heard of multiple personality?
Now all Dr. Luther had to do...
was to explain the situation to Ralph.
How are you, Ralph?
- Good morning, sir. How's Evie? - Much better now.
Have you found out yet what's the matter with her?
That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Sit down, will you?
It's a very unusual case...
one of the rarest, in fact, in the history of psychiatry.
- You don't say. - Mrs. White's problem...
is what is called multiple personality.
- Yes, sir. - Have you ever heard of that?
No, sir. I can't say as I ever have.
Well, what actually happens is this...
At some point in the past...
apparently when she was a little girl...
her personality became divided...
into two different personalities.
In effect, she's now two different women...
entirely different in character.
To be more specific about it...
the girl you married, Bonnie's mother...
sweet, quiet girl you fell in love with, that's one of the women.
The other is the one that scared Bonnie, the one who bought all the clothes...
the one that had that row with you in Atlanta.
You know those headaches and blackout spells?
Yes, sir.
Well, that was when this other woman...
the one who calls herself Eve Black...
was trying to get out.
Out of where?
Out of the body... Your wife's body.
Well, how do you like that?
But what I want you to understand...
is that this is an actual mental condition with Mrs. White.
It isn't pretending or faking.
She can't help it.
But that doesn't mean she's psychotic...
crazy.
Do you understand?
No, sir.
Well, let's see if I can put it to you in another way.
In the first place, no one has actually ever defined the personality...
as a psychopathological...
- I think you better come with me. - Yes, sir.
Come in.
You've got company this morning.
Hello, honey.
Hi.
- How's Bonnie? - She's all right.
I asked Ralph to come in so that I could explain the situation to him...
so he'll understand when you leave here.
You know who he is, don't you?
- You mean Ralph? - Who is he?
Well, he's my husband, of course.
And you're the mother of his child, aren't you?
Of course.
You're Mrs. White? That's your name?
- Yes, sir. - All right, now. May I speak with Eve Black?
Of course.
Eve Black?
Spit!
- You know who this is? - I sure do.
- Now just a minute there. - Your husband?
If I have told you once, I have told you 10,000 times...
I ain't got no husband!
And if I was gonna have one, it wouldn't be no lead bottom like Ralph White there.
- What'd you have to tell him for anyway? - Bonnie isn't your child?
She's her child, and you know it.
- I got a good mind to slap your face! - I'd like to see you try!
- You ain't foolin' me! - Now, don't get angry.
Just talk to her and watch her, and don't use your temper.
Use your sense about it.
May I speak to Mrs. White?
You sure can, and don't ever bring me back while that pea- picker's here.
Mrs. White?
- Did I go out again? - Just for a few minutes.
- Evie? - Eve Black?
I told you I wasn't gonna talk to him again.
Mrs. White?
After she'd been in the hospital for two weeks...
Dr. Luther and Dr. Day were satisfied...
that whether she behaved as Eve White or Eve Black...
she would do no harm to herself or to others.
So, on the 30th of May, 1952...
they discharged her.
During those two weeks, Ralph had left their daughter Bonnie...
with the grandparents and found for himself a better job...
in Jacksonville, Florida...
but Mrs. White was not to go with him...
for, on the advice of Dr. Luther...
she decided to stay in town in a furnished room...
for further and more regular treatment.
This decision caused a separation...
that was to have unexpected consequences.
I might as well get started, I guess.
- Ralph, I'm awful sorry. - That's all right. You couldn't help it.
Breaking up everything like this.
Well, he can get you well, can't he?
- I hope so. - Didn't he say?
- No. - Didn't he say anything?
He said he'd do the best he could.
That's about the only thing he could do...
and maybe...
Well, I think he will, honey.
They don't like to promise too much, you know?
- You really think so? - Sure. You know how some of 'em are.
They like to make a big thing out of it...
so's they'll look better when they knock it off.
The only trouble, though, I sure am gonna miss Bonnie.
Well, she's okay. Your folks will take care of her all right.
You don't have to worry about her.
Yeah, but if I don't get well, I might never see her again.
Now, stop that, will ya? Of course you're gonna see her again...
'cause you are gonna get well.
I mean, you ain't really crazy, you know. He told me that hisself.
I mean, I asked him confidentially, and he said no.
He said there wasn't a thing in the world the matter with you...
except this multiplied personality...
and that ain't anywhere near crazy.
Now, he told me that hisself. You gonna stop worrying now?
- I'll try. - You do that, and you'll be all right.
Good- bye, honey.
I'll send you some more money on Saturday.
You don't have to do that. I'm gonna get a job.
Well, that would help, but I'll still send you some money.
You take care of yourself, ya hear?
- I feel like singing. - So, what's stopping you?
All right!
Hey! Do you know "Hold Me"?
You got it, pretty woman. Okay, fellas, "Hold Me."
- Stand back, big daddy. - One, two.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I forgot my shoes.
Thank you.
- Let's get out of here. - No. I'm thirsty. I want a drink.
- I'll get us a bottle on the way. - On the way where?
Hey, how about a snort, tall, dark and ugly?
- I'll find a place. - What are you talking about?
This place is fine. I like it.
Look, I gotta be back to the post by 1:00. Let's go.
Are you crazy or something? I'm not going anyplace with you.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Don't give me any of that stuff, baby.
I didn't buy you all these drinks for nothing.
All right, I'll go with you some other time, okay?
Oh, no, you won't. You're going with me now if you don't want some of this.
- Stop it. That hurts. Let me go. - How 'bout that?
- See what I mean? - You hurt me. I don't like to get hurt.
You know how much I shelled out on you already? Eight bucks worth.
When I spend eight bucks on a chick, I don't just go home with the morning paper.
You understand me? So let's not have any more arguments about it.
What's the matter with you?
What kind of a gag is this?
Maybe she's sick.
Hey, look, honey, I...
Ah, for the love of...
We missed you Sunday. Where were you?
I went up on the bus to see Bonnie.
I'll bet she was glad to see you.
- Ralph? - Hi, Eve.
- Why didn't you let me know? - I wanted to surprise you.
Mr. Foxx, would you excuse us, please?
Certainly, ma'am.
Sit down, won't you?
Do you know why I come up here?
I want you to come back with me.
I can't do that, Ralph. I'm not well yet.
- Who says you ain't? - Dr. Luther. I know it's true.
I think it's even worse now.
Is he the one who told you to go out to the Big Apple every night?
Well, that's what I mean, Ralph. I didn't know about it.
Thought I wouldn't find out about it, huh?
I didn't know about it.
What do you mean, you didn't know about it?
You knew enough to go out there and get ginned up. You was well enough for that.
A fella I know saw you out there twice...
tight as a tick and dancin', throwing your dress up, you didn't care how far!
Dr. Luther explained all that to you.
He even showed you. You told me so yourself.
Look, I don't know which one of you is foolin', you or him, but somebody is.
'Cause you know what I've been doin'? I've been askin' people about it.
I asked two doctors about it. You know what they said?
They said it looked to them like somebody was kiddin' somebody.
Well, Ralph, it is somethin'. Believe me, it is.
Okay, then let it be somethin' in Jacksonville then.
Now, where are your bags? Let's get out of here.
If I don't check out of Dixie Motel by 10:00...
they'll charge me for another six hours.
Ralph, I won't leave here until I'm well again...
not till I have Bonnie back with me.
We'll get Bonnie. We'll go up there and take her with us.
I'm not gonna be alone with her, not till I'm well.
What do you mean, you're not gonna be alone with her?
She tried to hurt Bonnie once before. She scared her.
Will you cut that out? I'm sick of it! I don't wanna hear any more about it.
Ralph, please, won't you just talk to Dr. Luther, just for a few minutes?
- No. I already talked to two regular doctors. - Then I'm not going!
You know what you need? You need a darn good whippin', that's what you need...
knock some of that nuttiness out of you.
I'm not going, and that's all there is to it.
I suppose you'd rather stay around here and go to that Big Apple.
Not until Dr. Luther tells me I can leave.
And what if I don't want you by then?
Well, I can't help it. I'm not gonna leave here, not until I'm well.
You don't wanna see Bonnie again?
Not until I'm well, no.
I wouldn't count on it then either, if I were you.
If you think I'm gonna have people laughing at me, you got another thing coming.
If you were really crazy, it'd be different,
but not this multiplied thing.
So you don't come with me now, that's all there is to it. You understand?
I can't help it, Ralph.
Okay, if that's the way you want it.
Come in.
Hi.
Where did you get that dress?
Do you like it?
- Did you buy that yourself? - It's got a lot of skirt, see?
I never saw that dress before.
Because you've been away.
- Why don't you fix me one of them drinks? - You kiddin'?
Well, don't you wanna give me one?
Why, I never seen you take a drink before.
Honey, there are a lot of things you never seen me do before.
That's no sign I don't do 'em.
Are you gonna fix me one or not?
It don't look like to me you're awful glad to see me...
after comin' up all this way too.
Straight.
You ain't foolin' me, you know.
- I don't know what you talkin' about. - I know what you're tryin' to do.
What?
You're tryin' to make me think you're that other one.
- What other one? - You know what I mean.
You mean, you don't even know your own wife when you see her?
You ain't Evie.
You think not?
I never seen Evie do a thing like that in my whole life before.
- You don't like it? - That ain't the question.
Come here.
Come on. Sit down.
Come on. I'm not gonna bite ya.
You know, you're real cute.
- What are you up to? - Well, I'm not up to a thing.
I just said you're real cute. Is anything wrong with that?
No, but I...
You know, I didn't used to go for you...
but you must be getting cuter these days...
'cause you sure look cute to me now.
Are you really...
Really what?
I'll be doggone if I ever saw anything like this in my whole life.
You ain't mad, are you?
No, I guess not.
You know what you ought to do?
What?
I think you ought to ask me to go to Jacksonville with you.
- I don't think so. - Well, you asked her.
I know, but I don't know if this is the same thing or not.
You wanted her to go with you, didn't you?
Whoa, boy. You work faster than I thought you did.
You'd better be careful, or I'm gonna tell your wife on you.
What do you mean, my wife? You are my wife.
That's not what you said a few minutes ago.
You really wanna go to Jacksonville with me?
Maybe, only not tonight, I can't.
Why not tonight?
'Cause I haven't got anything to wear to Jacksonville.
We could stop by the place and pick up some things.
Them old tacky things?
This is the only really nice dress I got.
It's gettin' kind of old.
Besides, I can't go to Jacksonville with just one dress...
even if it was new.
If I buy you a dress, will you go to Jacksonville with me?
Maybe, if you buy me a pretty one.
- Will you go now? - I can't. The stores ain't open now.
- Don't you trust me? - Sure. I just want the dress first.
Okay. Give us a little kiss.
Does that mean you're gonna buy me something?
I told you I would, didn't I?
Okay, but just a little one.
Hey! Is that what you call a little one?
- Hey. - What?
Come here.
I think we'd better get started, don't you?
I'll wait for you in the car.
Don't take too long, though.
Won't you even sit close to me?
Not until you buy me something pretty.
- You didn't have to wait up for me. - Shut that door.
All I was doin' was just dancin'.
Come here.
Come here!
You ain't mad, are you?
Dear God.
No use trying to kid ourselves. We're losing.
This woman is in worse condition today
than when she walked into this office two years ago.
The divorce, you mean?
No, it's more than that.
I don't believe the divorce actually affected her seriously.
Bonnie is the only thing with her, not Ralph or marriage...
and that's the discouraging part of it.
The truth is, neither Eve Black...
nor Mrs. White is a satisfactory solution.
Neither of them is really qualified to fill the role of wife, mother...
or even a responsible human being.
A victory for either would be disastrous...
no solution whatever.
And as for memories...
infancy, childhood...
Perhaps I should say childhoods...
because she says she's been coming out since she was six...
An empty, almost abnormally normal history.
Some patients are really so inconsiderate.
They are, indeed.
It wouldn't have hurt her to have had some sort of dreadful, shocking experience...
when she was little, something rather nasty she saw in the attic.
- Yes? - Miss Black is here.
Miss Black?
- Miss Eve Black. - Tell him I'm all decked out for him.
She's all dressed up for you, very pretty, with flowers in her hair.
Miss Eve Black in person.
Wanna try hypnosis again?
You mean keep punting and wait for a fumble?
- How do you do, Miss Black? - Well, both docs.
You gonna protect him against me?
The way you look this morning, I'm not so sure he'd want me to.
Well, say,
you look pretty sharp yourself, you know that?
She's your patient, Doctor.
I'm much too old for that sort of thing.
He's pretty cute sometimes, don't ya think?
He's a living doll. Will you come in?
Maybe I'd like him better than I do you.
- What's the idea of all this? - I wouldn't let her come back.
- Why not? - 'Cause something's wrong.
- You think so? - Well, she tried to kill herself last night.
Something's wrong somewhere.
- How did she try to kill herself? - With a razor blade.
She's feeling awfully low, and when I got what she had in her mind...
it near about scared me half to death.
Because if somebody didn't stop her, I'd be gone too, you know what I mean?
Go on.
Well, there wasn't anybody else there but me...
so when she went in the bathroom and she locked the door, look.
She made one slash, and then I got out, and I made her drop the blade...
and I got it and threw it away.
It was a close call.
- Do you think she meant it? - I know she meant it.
If it'd been me, I wouldn't have meant it.
I might be trying to scare somebody or fool them or somethin'...
but I wouldn't go that far, you know what I mean?
- I understand. - But she was really leveling.
She really was gonna kill herself if I hadn't stopped her.
When you said there was something wrong somewhere...
did you mean something more than the effort to kill herself?
- I sure did. - What?
Now I'm having blackout spells too.
You mean, lapses of time when you don't remember what's happened?
Let me tell you, it scares me too.
- May I speak to Mrs. White? - Of course.
Mrs. White?
Eve Black tells me you were very low.
Yes, I was.
Would you mind going under hypnosis again?
If you say so.
All right. Now, relax... completely.
When I count to three...
you'll be in a deep hypnotic state.
You understand? All right, now.
One...
Your eyelids are getting heavy...
very heavy.
Two...
Relax.
Three.
Who are you?
- Who do you think? - I have no idea.
May I ask who you are?
I don't know that either.
- Would you excuse me for a minute? - Certainly.
How's your heart? Can you take another one?
- You're kidding? - Come on.
Do you remember Dr. Day?
- How do you do, Doctor? - How do you do?
- Well, then you must be Doctor... - Luther.
Luther. Yes, of course. I should have known.
You mean, you have heard of me?
Yes, through both Eve White and Eve Black.
Not unfavorably, I trust.
On the contrary, they think very highly of you, both of them.
Are we to understand...
This is a little awkward, but,
are we to understand that you're no longer Mrs. White?
No, I'm not.
- Nor Eve Black? - No.
Then may I ask what is your name?
I don't know.
Well, you do know Mrs. White and Miss Black, don't you?
I know them in a way. I don't think I know them very well.
You know they're...
Yes, I understand that.
It's a pretty bewildering thing too, isn't it?
I should say you are well within your rights...
in so describing the situation...
and may I add, it seems to grow no less so with the passage of time.
I wish I understood it better.
How long...
As I say, it's not easy to phrase these questions...
without sounding like an idiot, but,
how long have you,
well, been around?
I don't know, but I don't think it could have been very long.
What do you know about Mrs. White?
What about Jane?
Jane who?
No, I mean for my name. "Jane."
- Well, why Jane? - Why not?
So now Dr. Luther had three inadequate personalities...
to complicate and confuse his search...
for one stable and complete woman...
all of whom continued to live, so to speak, their own separate lives.
Which would it be, the rollicking and irresponsible playgirl?
Hey, you cut that out!
I don't even know your first name.
Ernie.
Ernie!
The defeated wife?
Hill Brothers. Hold for just a minute.
- Hold just a moment. - Hill Brothers.
- Hill Brothers. Thank you for waiting. - Hill Brothers.
What? Well, just keep your britches on, sugar foot.
I'll get your party for you.
Let me figure out which one it is.
Okay, that it? What?
Well, who are you?
Well, honey, you're not the right one.
No, get off the line. You're not...
Look, I don't care who you are. Blast off, Buster.
Or the pleasant young woman who had no memory?
What, in short, had nature in the first place...
intended this woman to be?
Not yet, Janey.
What's the use, Earl?
You did say you loved me, didn't you?
Yes, I did.
Well, then, is it fair to say you love me...
but can't marry me without telling me why not?
I just can't. I know it isn't fair. I just can't.
What is it, honey?
Because I'm not gonna let you get away with anything like this.
This means too much to me. You've got to tell me.
Please, Earl, just don't ask me anymore. Please?
I'm sorry, Janey, I've got to.
I... I can't give you up without even knowing what's the matter.
All right, then. I'll tell you.
Did you read in the newspaper about a month ago...
about a multiple personality case...
a woman that has three personalities?
- In the Chronicle? - Yes, that's the one.
- Yeah, I read it. What about it? - I'm that woman.
You're the...
That's right.
But you sound all right.
- Do I? - You sound fine.
Well, maybe I do...
but not the other two.
Other two?
Sure. There are two others, you know...
and they're very different from me...
and I don't even ever know when they're coming out.
Holy Moses.
So that's all there is to it.
Oh, no, it isn't, not by a long shot.
What I mean is...
that doesn't scare me.
I feel just exactly the same...
exactly as I felt before.
I love you just exactly the same...
maybe even more.
Whatever it is, we can handle it together.
Earl, don't you understand?
It's not you marrying me.
It's me marrying anybody.
I'm sick. I am mentally sick...
and I cannot marry anybody ever.
Then on the afternoon of September 17, 1953...
Mrs. White came to the office for her regular treatment...
and died there.
How are you, Mrs. White?
I don't feel very well.
Let's go inside and talk it over, shall we?
- You look tired. - Yes, I'm very tired.
I seem to be tired all the time now.
Has the lively Miss Black been keeping you out late?
Yes, I guess so.
Anyway, I seem to be forgettin' more than ever now.
Well, that could also be Jane, you know.
Yes, I know.
What do you think of Jane?
Well, from what you've told me...
I hope she'll be the one.
- The one to what? - To live.
Is that what you think is going to happen...
that two of you will eventually disappear?
Don't you?
Well, I have thought so at times.
Well, that's what I think...
and I think it'll be Jane...
at least, I hope so.
Did you go up Sunday to see Bonnie?
- Yes, sir. - Did you have fun with her?
I did for a while.
Then I forgot for a while.
Then I came back again before I left.
When... When I was saying good- bye to Bonnie...
she said to me...
"Don't come back that other way, Mommy.
"I don't like that other way."
- Eve Black? - I guess when I was up there last month...
she must have come out...
and she must have been cross with Bonnie...
or slapped her or somethin'.
But then she said...
"Come back this way, Mommy, the way you are now,"
so I knew that it must have been Jane...
that came out this time when I forgot, and she was sweet to Bonnie.
But then when Papa was driving me out of the yard...
I got the strangest feeling that I wasn't never gonna see her again...
that this was the last time.
And I wanted to jump out of that truck and go hug her...
and try to explain to her and try to tell her.
But I don't know. How do you explain to a little girl?
How do you make her understand that her real mommy...
isn't ever coming back...
but another woman who just looks like her?
Why do you think you'll be one of the ones to go?
Just the way I feel, I guess.
I don't really mind, not anymore.
I'm not fit for her now.
I'm not fit for anything, really. I know that.
But if it's Jane, if...
if she'll just understand...
how much a little girl needs love and understanding...
then I won't mind dying...
you know, if she'll just take good care of her for me.
May I speak to Jane now, please?
Yes, sir.
Jane?
Good morning.
It was me that came out on Sunday...
and while I was there...
a curious thing happened that I think you might be interested in.
What was that?
Well...
Well, it was this:
Bonnie and her mother were out in the backyard.
They were playing ball, you know, bouncing a ball back and forth.
Now, you ready? All right.
Here it comes.
Very good.
Do it again, Mommy.
Okay. Here we go.
Look, it's under the house.
That's all right, honey. I'll get it.
You wait here, darling. Mother will get it for you.
Can you see it?
Then when I got under there, a strange thing happened.
Suddenly I was littler.
I was a little girl under the house.
I could smell the odor of fresh earth...
like a long time ago...
and morning glories...
though there are no morning glories growing around there now.
And you still can't remember anything at all about your childhood?
No, not even of being a child.
Do you think Eve White might be able to remember something about it?
- I have no idea. - May I speak with her, please?
- Of course. - Mrs. White?
Jane tells me that when she came out up there on Sunday...
when you were playing catch with Bonnie...
the ball rolled under the house, and she went under after it.
And when she got under there...
she had a feeling of being very small...
a child...
a very curious and somehow frightening feeling, as if she'd been there before.
Now, this had some meaning for her.
Can you remember when you were very little...
any experience like that of any kind?
No, sir.
Will you think back to when you were, say, five or six or seven years old...
something like that?
No, sir. I can't remember anything like that under the house.
Perhaps under hypnosis. Would you mind?
No, sir, I don't mind.
All right, then. Will you close your eyes, please? Relax.
One...
two...
three.
Now, I want you to think back to when you were five years old...
just a little girl on the farm, a very little girl...
playing around the house in the backyard.
Sometimes you play under the house, don't you?
Yes, sir.
Did you ever go under the house for a ball?
I don't remember.
- Was it dark under the house? - Yes, sir, very dark.
- Did it scare you? - No, sir.
All right. Now you're six... six years old...
still playing around the house...
in the backyard.
Do you still go under the house sometimes?
Yes.
Now, can you remember one particular time...
when something happened to you when you were under there?
She took...
I don't want to, please.
Did a ball go under the house?
I want my cup.
Florence, give me my blue china cup!
I want my cup.
I don't want to.
I don't like all those flowers. Please, I don't want to.
Mama, please, I don't want to. There's too many people.
Please, Mama, don't make me!
Mama, please don't make...
- Mrs. White? - What were you doing to her?
- Eve? - Of course. What are you tryin' to get at?
I'll tell you what I'm trying to get at.
I'm interested in something that Jane told me...
about being under the house, your mother's house...
probably when you were about six years old.
It upset Mrs. White very much. Can you remember what it was?
No, I didn't pay much attention to anything in those days.
- You came out then, didn't you? - Yeah...
but only when I wanted to do something she didn't want to do.
Didn't she ever tell you about all those lickings she got for things she didn't do?
What are you doing out here now? I didn't call you.
Well, I don't know. I just had to, I guess.
Do you remember anything about a blue china cup?
I don't remember anything about anything like that. How long is this gonna go on?
Until we find out what's the trouble, of course.
- How long do you think that's gonna be? - I have no idea.
You know what I think?
What?
I think I'm not having much fun anymore.
Well, you're still getting out, aren't you?
Not like I used to.
Is it Jane that's doing that to me?
I don't know. What do you think?
I wish I knew more about her.
What do you want to know about her?
I don't know.
It's not like it used to be when I knew all about Eve White...
and she didn't know anything about me, and there wasn't anybody else.
That's the way I liked it.
It's all changed now, hasn't it?
Now there's Jane.
Yeah.
Do you like her?
- Very much. - More than you do me?
I don't like anybody more than I do you, really.
You never would go out and have a good time with me, would you?
A psychiatrist can't go out with a patient. That's against the rules.
Would you go out with me if you wasn't a doctor?
Anytime you'd let me.
Does she know all about what I do?
She tell you?
When I ask her.
- Like about that sergeant? - Yeah, she told me about that.
That's what I mean. Having somebody running all the time telling on you.
Well, you tell me about Mrs. White, don't you?
Yeah, but she don't do anything.
- You know somethin', Doc? - What?
You remember that red dress, the low- cut one?
How could I forget it?
I want you to have it.
A low- cut dress for me?
I want you to have it if anything happens.
What do you mean, if anything happens?
Something's the matter.
I don't know what it is, but something's the matter.
You don't think we're ever gonna get well, do ya?
Of course I do.
Well, I don't.
I think we're gonna die, all of us.
Eve.
You didn't think I could cry, did you?
You never have before.
You know, I remember the first time I ever saw you.
You was the first one I ever said who I was...
first one ever knew me.
You liked that red dress, didn't you?
Very much, indeed. I think it's a beautiful dress.
Well, I want you to have it...
'cause you're the only one that knows what it's meant to me, the only one.
I know of nothing that's gonna happen to you...
but I do appreciate the dress, believe me.
Now may I speak to Jane?
Of course.
Jane?
Good- bye, Doc.
Good- bye, Eve.
Jane?
Yes?
What do you think she meant?
I don't know.
Have you remembered about that blue china cup or under the house?
- No. - Mrs. White?
No!
No! No!
No, Mama, I don't want to!
Mama, please don't make me! Please!
Please... Please... Please don't make me, Mama! Please!
- Jane? - Please... Mama!
What happened, Jane, under the house?
She made me kiss her! She made me kiss her!
I didn't want to! Mama, please!
- I'll beat you! - I'll beat you!
- Evie!
Evie?
Come on, sugar. Time to get your clothes on.
I'll be there in a minute, Mama.
Come on, Evie. I don't wanna come in there after you.
You come on this minute, you hear?
You got to kiss Grandma good- bye.
Then you won't miss her so much if you kiss her good- bye, sugar pie.
You know that.
Please don't make me. I don't want to.
- Papa. - Evie. Evie, darlin'.
- Don't let her make me. - Evie, now, you do like your mommy says.
- Come on, now. You give her to me. - You got to, honey.
- I don't want to! - Now, baby. I know, sugar.
- All you have to do is kiss her on the cheek. - Don't make me.
- Please. I don't want to. - Then you won't miss her so much.
- I don't want to, Mama! - Now, you got to kiss her good- bye.
- Please, Mama! - Then you won't miss her so much.
I don't want to. Please, Mama.
- Please! Please! I don't want to. - Come on, sugar.
Kiss her good- bye so you won't miss her so much.
Don't make me. Don't make me.
She didn't mean any wrong by it.
It's just the way people thought in those days,
that if you kissed the dead face...
it was a sweet good- bye, and you wouldn't miss her so much.
That's all she meant.
Do you think a great deal about death now?
No.
Just that...
"Life's a city full of straying streets...
"and death's the marketplace where each one meets."
Just that. Someday it'll happen.
Who wrote that, that poem?
Shakespeare, wasn't it?
- Where did you learn it? - In high school.
Mr. Montgomery recited it to us one day.
- Who was Mr. Montgomery? - The English teacher.
Who was your first teacher...
the very first, when you first started going to school?
- That was in Fortsville. Miss Bates. - And the second grade?
Miss Bates in the first grade...
Miss Griffith in the second grade...
Miss Stewart in the third grade...
and then we moved to Richmond...
and we had Miss Patterson in the fourth grade.
Do you remember all of 'em?
- May I say 'em? - Go on.
And in Richmond...
we lived on Fifth Street.
237 Fifth Street...
right next door to the Thompsons...
Rick and Mary Lou Thompson.
And Mr. Thompson worked at the railroad in the machine shop...
because I remember one Sunday he took us all down to look at the machines...
Rick and Mary Lou and Florence and myself.
Florence is my cousin. I remember!
May I speak to Mrs. White?
- Do you have to? - Mrs. White?
She's gone.
Eve?
- They're gone. - Eve Black?
They're gone, I tell you, both of them.
They're gone, and there's nobody else here but me.
I know it. I can feel it.
And I can remember.
I can remember everything.
Mama and Papa and Bonnie and...
I can remember.
I can remember. I can remember.
That was in the fall of 1953.
On September 17, 1955...
Dr. Luther received a special-delivery air-mail letter...
from Richmond, Virginia.
"Dear Dr. Luther...
"Do you remember what today is?
"It's the second anniversary of that day in your office...
"and still no more Eve White and no more Eve Black.
"That's why we decided it was safe at last to have Bonnie with us...
"and so here we all are...
"Earl and Bonnie and me...
"going home together."