Wait till they see these.
If they like the others, they'll be crazy about these.
Like to look at them?
I'll see them at the show.
This is the best day of my life.
I have my first exhibition, and I have you.
Cecile, will you marry me when I'm a big success?
Let's give ourselves a little time.
Cecile!
Aren't you interested in anything?
Yes. In going someplace else.
- Where? - I don't know.
- Alone? - Yes, alone.
- There. We're engaged. - I don't want that.
All right.
Then we're engaged.
It's going to be a small wedding, but you may come.
- Will I see you later? - Yes.
Where?
I don't know.
I'll be ready in three seconds.
Any zipping or buttoning to do?
No, thanks, darling. It's all done.
Are we calling for Yvette?
Yvette is no longer with us. We're calling for Denise.
- Model? - Actress, aspiring.
Rather appetizing. She's talented, too, she says.
The usual trinket?
Not quite this time. It's pretty, though. Like to see it?
I'll see it later...
on Denise.
Jacques, there she is now. Cecile?
- Cecile! - Hello.
- I'm so glad to see you. - I love your dress.
Oh, thank you. You look adorable.
- How beautiful you look. - Thank you.
And this is Denise- Denise.
How do you do? Good evening.
Cecile, this Jacques, who's been dying to meet you.
- Hello. How are you? - I'm fine.
- Have a drink? - I'd love one.
Do you know I've been waiting for a long time to meet you?
Now, I'm going to sit here.
Um, Denise? Denise, you sit there.
Leann there, Paulette here, Cecile.
- That's not going to work. - Let's dance in the meantime.
May I take you to the races tomorrow?
I'd love to go. Thank you, Jacques.
And after the races he'll take me to dinner and dancing again,
and on Thursday to the tennis matches, and on Sunday to the country.
What a waste of time, dear Jacques.
What a hopeless waste of time.
♪ I live with melancholy
♪ My friend is vague distress
♪ I wake up every morning
♪ And say, “Bourbon Priestess” ♪
He's attractive, and he's nice,
and I'd like to warn him, but he wouldn't understand,
that I can't feel anything he might be interested in
because I'm surrounded by a wall,
an invisible wall made of memories I can't lose.
♪ The street I walk is sadness
♪ My house has no address
♪ The letters that I write me
♪ Begin, “Bonjour Tristesse”
♪ Love's other lover is pain
♪ Sharp and bitter to recall
♪ I've lost no casual lover
♪ I have no pain from which to recover
♪ I've lost me
♪ That is all
♪ My smile is void of laughter
♪ My kiss has no caress
♪ I'm faithful to my lover
♪ My bittersweet
♪ Priestess ♪
Hey, how about a dance?
Half a dance.
Better than none.
He likes you.
He's very charming.
- How's Denise? - Oh, great girl.
- This is going to be a fun evening. - Yes, wonderful.
Oh, it's wonderful luck having you for a daughter.
The luck runs both ways, sir.
But even with my father, it isn't the same anymore.
Nothing is.
Will I ever be happy again,
as I was at the beginning of that wonderful summer on the Riviera
just a year ago?
Seven was my magic number.
I was very superstitious then, and loved it.
Seven and three.
The seven came out of my age, 17,
and the three from the three members of our very happy household.
Good morning, Albertine. My coffee, please.
Albertine has the sunstroke. I'm her sister, Leontine.
So you are. Good morning, Leontine. Is she very ill?
- You know how it is. - I know how it is.
Good morning, Alber.
Albertine has the sunstroke. This is her sister, Leontine.
I thought I felt a change.
Forgive me, Leontine, and good morning.
My sister told me what to expect.
Good morning, monsieur.
I don't think she approves of our little household.
They lack imagination down here.
More likely they have too much.
- Good morning, Cecile. - Good morning, Raymond.
- Did you sleep well? - Mm.
Did you wake well?
I never do, and you always do. It's repulsively unfair.
Just wait till you're my age.
- How's Elsa? - She's asleep.
And look at that wonderful sea. High time we threw ourselves in.
All that vitality.
Elsa?
- Twice more. - Why?
Three times is good luck.
- Pebbles and all? - Of course.
Elsa? Elsa!
If you really want it to work, you should do it seven times.
If I really want it to work, I'll go and pull her out by the hair.
Wait.
Let's smell the day.
Good morning, Cecile.
Good morning, Raymond.
I'm up now.
Two letters for you. One's from your office.
Throw it away. It's vacation time.
It doesn't say who this one's from.
Look. Not bad. Another week, it'll be ﬂatter than yours.
- But you're tempting the devil. - Why?
Looking in the mirror before noon.
Do I look that much fatter in the morning?
It has nothing to do with the way you look. You always look wonderful.
- It's bad luck, that's all. - Why?
It just is. You'll see.
Elsa?
- I'm asleep. - Then wake up.
- It's the middle of the night. - No, it's the middle of a glorious morning.
It's raining.
It isn't.
It is. Great big drops. I heard them on the door.
How do you feel?
As if I were swimming in sizzling oil.
- You do look rather like a lobster. - Raymond!
All because you were too lazy to move out of the sun.
If you really adored me, you would have moved the sun.
I adore you, all right.
- Good morning, Elsa. - Good morning, Raymond.
Up.
Don't make me move. I'll crack.
But you can't lie here all day.
Why not?
Good morning, Elsa.
Good morning.
I wish you would explain to your father.
Is that my new pin?
- Pretty, I think. - Off with it.
- I thought we were friends. - So did I.
But then you let him come in here before I've washed my face.
Ooh. I am going to crack.
Curiously enough, you look very appetizing, even with an unwashed face.
Thank you, darling.
Ooh! I have cracked.
- Where? - Here.
Oh, now I'm getting peely.
I'll be ugly. You'll hate me.
I can't stand that moaning.
- Where do you think you're going? - To sleep in the sea.
Brilliant. You sleep there, I'll sleep here.
- You can't go back to sleep. - Raymond, no.
You be careful. She is sunburned.
Raymond?
Oh!
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10,
96, 97, 98, 99, a hundred.
Now the rain from heaven, if you please.
None left. You'll have to go in yourself.
It's marvelous, Raymond.
It's like swimming in cool velvet.
Velvet's always hot.
Cool silk, then.
You know where I'd like to be right this minute?
Exactly where you are.
You are exactly right.
Hey, out of my way. There's work to be done.
Look. The lobster lady approaches.
Guess who?
Marvelous. She really is a good sport.
She is.
I'm glad you like her.
It's easy. She's fun and she's unpretentious.
I'm glad you scuttled Yvonne Marie before summer.
I never would have brought Yvonne Marie here.
If you met her in April instead of November, you would have.
Yvonne Marie is a winter girl. That's why I met her in November.
I would kiss you for the umbrella, Raymond, but you are in the sun.
I mixed three of those lotions in one jar, Elsa.
Brilliant.
I don't guarantee they'll stop you from peeling.
I'm in no condition to ask for a guarantee on anything.
All the way down here, I've been brain-rattling.
- Seriously? - Yes.
Cecile, which would you rather have, jewels or furs?
Neither.
Jewelry is supposed to be a good investment,
and, of course, you can wear it all year round,
but furs feel so good under bare feet.
Elsa, dear, are you planning another birthday?
No, and I'm not being hinty, either.
I was just wondering.
You see, when we go to the casino Friday night.
Oh, I look like a piece of old wallpaper.
And I win a lot of money again.
Where is my comb?
There might be one in the pocket of this shirt.
After all, I won quite a bit last Friday,
and if I win quite a bit this Friday-Thank you.
You still haven't opened your letter, Raymond.
Well, I was wondering what I ought to give myself for a present.
What happens if you lose?
But I never lose, Raymond. You know that.
I can't.
That horoscope Cecile got for me says I was born lucky and...
Where is she going?
Will he drown?
No, of course not, darling.
What makes you think it's a he?
Why else would she run?
- You all right? - I'm fine, thanks.
- My, but you're polite. - Oh, I'm sorry.
Need some help?
- May I tie her onto your float? - Sure. I'll help.
- My mother has a house on the other side of the rocks. - Oh?
I'm spending my vacation there.
- Vacation from what? - Law school.
Oh.
Do you really mean to be a lawyer?
Why else go to law school?
Well, one has to do something until one reaches a certain age.
One has to prepare for the future.
- Oh, I'm preparing. - How?
By learning how to have a good time.
But that's not a very...
You're a terribly serious person, aren't you?
Yes, I am serious.
How marvelous.
Why?
I don't know any serious people.
How peculiar.
That's my father there with a friend... of ours.
- Yes, I know. - You do? How?
- Oh, you've seen us at the casino. - No.
No, you're too serious to go there. In the village?
No. I've never seen any of you.
You've heard about us. That's it, isn't it?
You've heard about those wicked people from Paris.
- I'm from Paris. - You heard and were intrigued.
You're corruptible.
I'm just interested in people, that's all.
Well, it was very nice of you to help me.
I didn't mean to embarrass you.
You didn't.
Or shock you.
- If you'd like to come sailing someday, I- - I'd love it.
- But I don't know how to sail. - I'll teach you.
I should think you could do with a lesson yourself.
I'm an excellent sailor. The mast broke.
- Come on. - Where?
Don't you want to meet the wicked people from Paris?
Do you think I upset him?
You hop from one subject to another like a roulette ball.
- Upset who? - That sailor boat boy.What's his name?
Oh, Philippe.
Oh, it's torture to wear clothes with a sunburn.
I think I did upset him.
Was I too open about us?
I don't think he needed quite so much help in adding one and one.
Anyway, he's brilliantly cute.
Why didn't Cecile ask him to dinner?
She did. For tomorrow night.
I would have asked him for tonight.
I'm sure you would have.
Why waste time?
Monsieur, this was found in the pocket of your shirt.
Oh, thank you.
- Could I have more coffee, please? - Yes, mademoiselle.
Poor dear thinks she's being insulting with that “mademoiselle”
I love it.
I'm not old enough to be madam, am I?
- Cecile. - I'm listening to the crickets.
But they only say the same thing over and over.
I read they make that noise by rubbing their legs together.
What a thought.
I have a surprise. Company is coming.
Brilliant. Anybody I know?
Anne Larsen.
This dress is one of her designs.
- Corning here? When? - Next week.
Raymond, is Anne Larsen married?
She's divorced. Why?
- How old is she? - She's older than you are.
She was my mother's best friend.
Oh. She must be a very lovely lady.
Elsa, your thoughts are so hard to follow.
Be careful of my back.
Oh, I just have to get out of this dress.
Your, um, crickets are having a cocktail party.
- Raymond... - Now, please don't bawl me out.
- May I ask a question? - No.
- What made you invite Anne down here? - I thought you liked Anne.
I do, very much, but we hardly ever see her anymore.
I see her all the time.
Occasionally, and at large parties.
The last time we had a nice long chat at a comparatively small cocktail party.
Oh.
What does that mean?
I know you and the invitations you hand out at cocktail parties.
To be absolutely honest, I completely forgot I'd invited her.
You're awful. How did you happen to ask her, anyway?
Well, she was looking particularly attractive,
and she's always seemed so aloof and self-assured.
I should think the last thing Anne would want is to spend her vacation with us.
How did you get her to accept?
Hasn't anyone ever told you that I'm charming?
- Everyone but Anne. - Well, you should ask her now.
I started off by reminding her that she's practically your godmother and hasn't seen you for two years.
I can hear it all.
“You know, Anne, Cecile is no longer a child.
She's a young girl now.
I try to be both parents to her,
but she needs the help of a woman, Anne,
and the women I know...”
That's marvelous. I should be taking lessons from you.
Raymond? Did you tell her about Elsa?
Elsa?
Oh, Raymond.
I don't think I knew Elsa was coming when I asked Anne.
Anyway, Anne said she'd think it over and let me know and-Oh, dear.
Raymond! Which room is Anne going to have?
I thought I'd give her mine.
- That's all right. I'm going to sleep in the bathhouse. - No, I'll sleep there.
No. The three ladies up here. The gentleman down there. It's much better.
It's surprising for you to worry about appearances. I'm a bundle of surprises tonight.
You're impossible, and so is the situation.
Anyway, she's arriving Monday, so you can either spank me, walk out on me, or help me pull it off.
- You know I'll help you. - I suspected you might.
You're such a fake.
Oh, it's such wonderful fun to have you for a daughter.
Mmm.
Hey, what's the matter?
I don't want it to stop. Even.
But suddenly, somehow, I knew it would stop, that our happy days were numbered.
That was a Tuesday. Anne was due the following Monday.
Six more days.
I remember thinking seven would have been lucky.
It was very hot the day Anne was to arrive.
My father and Elsa went to meet her at the station.
They're back.
Anne!
Welcome.
Thank you, Cecile.
Oh... Are you that grown up?
- Really welcome. - And, really, thank you.
- Which way? - Terrace first, so you can see the view.
- How did your new collection go? - Extremely well.
But I wish I could have found some material the color of this water.
Do you know I spent my honeymoon by the sea 12 years ago?
Did you like it? I mean the place.
Yes, I liked both it and the place,
although it wasn't nearly as lovely as this.
Do you know I had quite a debate with myself before coming down here?
I'm delighted I lost.
I'll fetch your things.
What's the matter, Cecile?
Nothing. Why?
- You're embarrassed. - There's nothing, Anne.
All right. May I take a guess?
You're annoyed that Raymond isn't on hand to spread a red welcome carpet.
Oh, he's spreading it, with ﬂowers,
only he's spreading it at the station.
- But I wired I was driving. - You wired?
Oh, yes. You know I wouldn't decide to drive and not send word.
Now, where do you suppose that telegram is?
In one of his pockets, unopened.
Albertine I mean, Leontine.
Slight maid problem. Some weird sisters rotate working for us.
Weird? How?
Every week, one or the other is suddenly stricken with some odd malady.
Maybe it's us.
- Yes, mademoiselle? - Oh, Leontine.
Leontine has a bad liver. I am her sister, Claudine.
Oh. Well, Claudine, did a telegram come today?
I handed it to monsieur myself.
Didn't he read it?
Do you know him, madam?
There are some bags by my car. Would you please take them to my room?
Yes, madam.
- Where is my room? - We can go this way.
Poor Raymond.
For once, he's the victim of his own irresponsibilities.
- It serves him right. - Oh, no. Not on such a hot day.
Oh, how I'd love to be able to resist opening telegrams,
to not answer phones,
to just do exactly what I intend to do here.
- What? - Nothing.
Oh, what a lovely room.
Raymond picked the ﬂowers himself, and cut them himself, and even arranged them himself.
Isn't he sweet?
Oh, he can be very endearing, can't he?
Huh. At least the weird sisters clean well.
You're looking wonderfully well.
I'm surprised and pleased.
Why surprised?
From Raymond's description, I thought
That was in Paris. I was worn out from studying.
How did you do with your examinations?
Flunked.
- Flunked? - Flunked.
Would you like me to unpack for you, madam?
No, thank you, Claudine.
- The box is for you. - Oh, Anne.
- Are you studying now? - During vacation?
Well, you're going to take your examinations again in October.
Why? Raymond never got a diploma.
Yes, but he worked hard, made quite a bit of money.
Well, if it's all gone I'm sure there'll always be a man to take care of me,
and you don't need a diploma for that.
I don't like vulgarities, Cecile, even when they're funny.
I'm sorry.
The dress is marvelous.
It's really marvelous, Anne.
But?
No. The style is too.
Everything you design is perfect. Everyone says so.
But you think that's too young for you, hmm?
- Well... - You're wrong, you know.
A more sophisticated style would only make you look younger, more of a child.
I'm not a child.
Anne, you're not going to make me study, are you?
I didn't know I could.
Well, you could.
Don't be so afraid of me. I'm not here as your governess.
I'm not going to make you do anything,
although I might try to influence you a little.
Oh, even a scale...
Well, that's going to ruin my appetite.
Oh, that's Raymond's.
Did Raymond give up this room for me?
I offered to move out of my room, but he wouldn't have it.
It seems odd in a villa this size there are only two bedrooms.
- Oh, there are three. - Three?
Yes, this one, and two upstairs. Mine and Elsa's.
Elsa Mackenbourg.
I think you met her. Not too bright, but a lot of fun.
Just what does he think I am?
He sleeps in the bathhouse down at the beach.
He can sleep here tonight, because I won't...
Or any other place else that he...
Cecile, would you mind leaving me alone?
No.
Cecile?
Yes, Raymond.
She wasn't there.
Do you suppose she fell out of the train?
She's here. She drove.
You see? I told you Philippe didn't have an American car.
Must have been a cool 190 degrees in the shade. I'm as limp as a piece of spaghetti.
Oh, my pathetic feet.
- Where is Anne? - In her room.
- Do you think there's any point in my taking these to her now? - I wouldn't disturb her now.
- Oh? - Yes.
- Is she, uh... - Very.
Very what?
You two don't even need words. The perfect marriage.
- How bad? - Breakage.
Really bad.
Do you suppose the setup...?
No. She's too sophisticated.
Maybe the discovery of occupied territory...
- Couldn't care less. - So you think.
- So I know. - Know what about Anne?
Anne is fine, and delighted to be here.
Please forgive me.
I stood on that platform for hours waving these things like an idiot child.
It was my fault. I should have telephoned.
What's the difference? You're here, I'm here. Cecile's here. We're all here.
I'm here. I'm Elsa Mackenbourg.
- Sorry. I thought you knew each other. - Not nearly as well as I'd like to.
- What a pretty dress. - Oh, thank you.
It's not as pretty as some of yours I've got.
They are just brilliant.
Well, you are very kind, but the line of that suits you well.
The color is good when I'm not half-human, half-peely.
- I have some wonderful lotion that will help you. - Oh, brilliant.
Yes, it's on the dressing table.
If you'll all excuse me, I'm going to sink in that water and drown in the sun.
I'll show you the way, Anne.
I can see the way, Raymond.
Straight down.
I'm going to put that lotion on right this minute.
If that woman says it will help, it will help. She's brilliant.
- Amazingly good figure. - Never mind that now.
- I thought you said... Said what? - I thought she said...
Said she was leaving. She started packing.
- What is going on? - I haven't a clue.
We'd better find out.
Anne...
What's so funny?
Oh, your face.
I could almost see you figuring out something to say.
It's not too easy. I can assure you.
You see, when I invited you, I had no idea that Elsa was...
Oh, Raymond, please, no explanations.
- No, but I want to explain. - Well, don't.
Explanations only make everything much more complicated.
- They certainly do. Thank you very much. - You're welcome.
- I'm sorry, darling. - Oh, as long as you're staying...
I don't know that I am.
- Well, I don't know where we are again. - I'll tell you.
I got stupidly angry before and decided to leave,
and then the prospect of packing again
and looking for a hotel room after that long drive was just too much.
- So you decided to stay. - Mm-hmm. Overnight.
Then I thought well, if I'm going to stay overnight...
- Then you might just as well spend your whole holiday here. - Yes, if I find that I like it.
She'll be gone in two days.
No. She'll stay.
How can you be so sure?
I know women. I know how to make them like it.
Oh, you want her to stay?
Yes. Yes, I want her to stay.
She has an amazingly good figure.
Anne stayed, and we liked it, all three of us,
and the maids as well.
She ran them.
She ran the house.
She ran us.
- This is my dance. - It doesn't seem to be.
She made everything so easy for us
that we wondered how we had ever managed without her,
and we made everything such fun for her.
We did have fun then,
and everyone was so nice to everyone else.
Anne...
Anne!
We thought you deserted us. Never.
We ordered for you.
- Where's Elsa? - She's dancing with Pierre Shube.
Pierre Shube? Ugh.
Oh, he's a marvelous dancer.
Or as Elsa would say: “Brilliant.” “Brilliant.”
How can you all just sit with that brilliant music?
It's even made me forget the last of my sunburn.
Where's your friend? Leading the band.
Come on, let's get with it.
Oh, no, Elsa.
Oh, it's so easy, Raymond. Really. Just wiggle.
Put it out here and put it back there and put it out here and put it back there.
Oh!
Oh, look at them. It's wonderful.
Come on, then.
Come on, Philippe.
- Oh, no, it's useless. - If you can teach me to sail, I can teach you to wiggle.
Put it out here and put it back there.
Wiggle.
Brilliant.
Wiggle, wiggle.
Oh, I'm getting dizzy.
- Better? - Better.
Oh, it should have been someone's birthday tonight.
- It was. - Whose?
Anne's.
I feel as if it was.
What a lovely, lovely, lovely evening.
- I thank you. - And we thank you.
Oh, it seems as though you're always having birthday nights here.
Well, not always. It's really rather recent.
- Cecile, isn't it time you were in bed? - Oh...
I think it's time we were all in bed.
Oh, Anne...
- Good night, darling. - Good night, Anne.
- Good night, Raymond. - Good night.
Good night, darling.
Very funny.
Why do they fall off so much?
Anne never skied before this summer.
I'm beginning to think he makes her fall off.
All that fooling around in the water...
Even I could get back up on skis quicker.
And this sudden interest he has in going to the market.
Every time she goes, he goes.
Yesterday, it took all afternoon to buy two chickens.
Now, don't you tell me it takes one whole afternoon to buy two chickens.
They weren't even very good chickens, either.
Elsa, they've known each other 15 years.
With your father, nobody's safe.
Anne could never be seriously interested in a man like Raymond.
I know Raymond, Cecile,
and if a man finds the right way at the right moment...
Look.
No, I'm going to...
My horoscope knows more than your law books.
It says tonight is my night, and I'm going to win at the casino like something demented.
Bravo.
There is a new moon, and the casino is starting a new game tonight-the craps.
Oh!
When did your eager little fingers learn to hold dice?
Well, there was this American named Lucky something...
I can see it all.
I don't know. There isn't a three or seven in today's date.
Seven times two is 14.
- But today is the 15th. - Not in China.
Oh!
There's nothing like this Chinese champagne.
Or French laundry.
- You're getting giggly. - Yes.
If we don't go to the casino now, you'll fall fat on your ﬂaces.
Fat on your “ace, my dear.
Oh, no, {at on your “ace, my dear.
- After you. - After you. Oh, come on.
You must have driven like a maniac.
Eleven!
Seven. You won, madam.
- My dear, may I ride on you? - Tonight is my night. Ride away.
Baby needs shoes.
- Seven again. - Oh!
Cecile, it's jewels and furs for everybody.
Jewels, jewels.
- One card. - Three and one.
- Have none of you any sporting blood? - Mother.
Hello, Philippe. Cecile, my dear.
What are you doing here, Mother?
I found a new game, and it enchants my blood.
And this vital little friend of yours- Or is she a friend of your father's?
It doesn't matter. She's brilliant.
Marvelous mind. Brain of a mathematical genius.
- Who, Elsa? - She never loses.
You see?
Here and here, and this part here,
and here and here and here.
Victory. Victory.
Brilliant. Brilliant.
A very old friend, Pablo de L'Amo.
Hello, querida.
Hello, querido. Hello from America.
Not North America, South America.
Drinks, querido. Drinks and champagne. Champagne and drinks.
He's a wee bit tipsy-poo.
He is very drunky-poo.
Very drunk because I'm very rich.
Very rich because I'm very smart.
Very smart because I made it all myself in... in...
My beautiful Elsa, what did I make it in?
Money!
Money.
He's drunk on champagne, lam drunk on gambling.
You two aren't drunk on anything. That's not very brilliant.
Not brilliant at all.
- Where is Raymond? - Dancing, probably.
Brilliant girl, brilliant. And very right.
You two are not drunk on anything.
Very bad.
To live, you must be drunk on something.
Love, money, success, failure, even whiskey, but something.
You may be drunk, but you're right.
Of course, I'm right. I'm rich.
Or maybe it's the other way around.
- Do you always have such a good time? - Always.
Except when I'm home in America.
Not North America.
South America.
You tell someone you're rich and from America,
and they always think you are from Texas.
They are not dancing.
They are not dancing anywhere.
My beautiful girl.
You are very beautiful.
Also, you are very sunburned.
Also, you are very peeling.
Oh, be quiet, Pablo.
I couldn't find them anyplace.
Drink your champagne, Elsa.
Drink my champagne, Elsa.
Lucky in cards, unlucky in...
Oh, no, you're too beautiful to be unlucky.
- Shall I go look for them? - Stay with Elsa. I'll look.
Anne isn't used to so much champagne. She probably needed air.
Stop worrying, Elsa.
Isn't used to so much champagne?
She can drink like a man.
Then I want to meet her.
Oh, be still, Pablo.
But it is summer, Raymond,
and I am as suspicious of summer as I am of you.
You said I behave like a little boy.
How can you be suspicious of a lost little boy?
Easily. He likes to play with girls too much.
That's perfectly true... until now.
Oh, now you're serious, I suppose?
From the moment you arrived, I've been serious.
No, from the moment I arrived, you've been campaigning.
- Well... - And what about Elsa?
- Elsa? - Mm-hmm.
You know how I think of Elsa.
- As a playmate for Cecile? - Exactly.
- And I could never think of you as just a playmate. - Not even for you?
No, the moment I stop joking, you start.
Yes, but that's what you want though, isn't it?
A playmate? Someone to have fun with?
I do have fun with you, and that's a long way from being all I want.
And we've been over and over this.
I know.
Raymond, I cannot be casual.
I've never been less casual in my life.
Then why am I still so frightened?
I don't know.
I'm often frightened when I want something very badly.
And I want you.
I've never wanted any woman the way I want you.
Oh...
No, Raymond.
Raymond, no.
Part of me was angry. Part of me was happy.
All of me was excited.
Raymond had brought a blond girl to the seashore,
made her go out in the sun,
and then when she was a mess of peeling,
dropped her like a hot lobster.
It was unfair, yet even while I was angry at him,
I was proud that he had gotten the unattainable Anne.
How long would it last?
Well, how long did Elsa last?
How long did any of them last?
Anne wasn't feeling well.
My father had to take her home.
They have gone?
Yes. How about a drink?
- No, thank you. - No, thank you.
Would you like to dance?
No, thank you.
She was awfully sick, Elsa. She ruined that beautiful dress.
It was a horrible, frumpy dress.
We were all so happy.
So happy-
We can still be happy, Elsa.
- No, we can't. - No, we can't.
Oh, be still, Pablo.
Come on, Elsa. We'll take you home.
I have no home. I'm not going back there.
Elsa, be reasonable.
I will not be treated like a wife.
Pablo will find me a hotel.
I'll buy you a hotel.
Good-bye, Philippe. You liked me, didn't you?
I still do, Elsa.
We were good friends, weren't we?
I'll see you, Elsa.
Never.
Never again.
Poor Elsa. I feel as though I were losing a good friend.
I am confused.
- You know what I'd like to do? - What?
I'd like to go someplace alone with you and get very drunky-poo.
Philippe, you'll be a credit to your mother yet.
Good morning, mademoiselle.
Good morning, Albertine.
Oh...
Holy Buddha!
You are Albertine.
Come and sit with us.
Well... appearances would indicate that you stopped off for a nightcap.
A whole hat.
Is that ice cream?
- It's vanilla. Her hangover cure. - Oh.
- It works. - Good morning, Cecile.
Good morning, Raymond.
Good morning, Cecile.
Good morning, Anne.
You both look so mysterious, as if you had a secret.
- Well... - Well...
- Have you got a cigarette, darling? - I'll get one.
No, no, don't bother, because I don't really want one.
We would like to ask you something.
If it's about Elsa, she's in a hotel.
Some South American was taking care of her.
- Well, no, no, it's not that. - What, then?
Well...
your father and I would like to get married.
We'd like it very much.
Oh.
Well, it's a good idea. It's a very good idea.
Whew. I'm glad that's over.
- I told you she'd be pleased. - Of course I am.
I wasn't sure.
- But you never believe me. - Yes, I do. I do. I do.
Now that the approval's official, we'll celebrate.
Champagne? Or would you rather have more ice cream?
May I have both?
You can have anything you want.
You are pleased?
Yes.
But confused?
No, it's just hard for me to smile too much with this head.
- Is that really all? - Yes.
Does our getting married seem strange to you, or just ridiculous?
Not ridiculous at all.
But strange?
A little.
Why?
Oh, I...
Say it. Say anything, Cecile. I want you to.
I have to kind of push everything around to think of Raymond married.
You mean you didn't want him to marry again?
No, I mean I didn't think he wanted to.
But if he does, I do. If he's glad, I'm glad.
Oh! That makes me so happy.
You know, I was rather frightened of you.
Of me? Why?
I was afraid of your being frightened of me.
I was, until just this minute.
- Well, never be again. - I won't.
I've told Albertine the news.
That is Albertine, isn't it?
Yes.
Anyway, I told her the news, and she's happier than we are.
I think we've seen the last of her sisters.
You see, you make everybody happy.
- Doesn't she, Cecile? - Yes.
Did I really believe that?
Well, at least I tried to,
and I tried to live as though it were true,
as though the subtle, but swift changes Anne made in our daily life
made me happy too.
It isn't that I don't believe your father has changed.
It's that I want too much to believe it.
What possible difference could a change in Raymond mean to you?
If he changes, you change. If he can be happy with one person, then maybe...
Raymond is happy with Anne.
It's different than it was with Elsa or with...
He loves Anne, and he does want the kind of life she wants.
You've seen them. You know.
Belonging to one person can make you terribly happy.
Anne is different, too.
She looks softer.
She moves easier.
In the morning, she seems...
Seems how?
As though she...
had the most wonderful secret in the world.
I wish I walked the way she walks now.
I wish I had the look she has.
I wish...
You said we weren't to do this anymore.
I don't care.
Cecile!
I think perhaps you had better go, Philippe.
I'm afraid you got the wrong impression. There wasn't...
I think you'd better go.
You should realize that such diversions can end up in a hospital.
We were only kissing, Anne. That won't end up in any hospital.
Please don't see him again, Cecile.
What if I say I love him?
I don't think you do, darling.
Love doesn't depend on that sort of thing, nor is it the only way to express it.
But I enjoy Philippe and I want to see him.
And I feel a great responsibility towards you now,
and I cannot allow you to ruin your life.
Are you ruining yours?
Your father and I are going to be married.
Also, I am not 17.
Seventeen now isn't what it was when you were 17.
I'm not a child, Anne, and I won't be treated like one.
I don't want you to see Philippe again, Cecile.
Anyway, you will have your studying to do,
and that will keep you busy in the afternoons.
My father tells me what to do, not you.
I suppose she told you.
Oh, she's constantly telling me and I adore listening.
- You know what I mean. - Everybody's so full of meaning, I never know what anybody means.
Stop joking.
I'm sorry.
We were only kissing, and Anne thought...
Oh, darling, I didn't.
I simply feel it would be a good idea if she stopped seeing Philippe for a time
and studied for her philosophy examination instead.
Couldn't she do both?
I mean, Philippe is a well-behaved boy and...
Not too good a sense of humor, but he's nice. I like him.
Well, Cecile is nice and I like her, but they have absolute freedom and nothing to do.
We have a great deal to do.
We play tennis and go sailing and swimming and skin-diving.
- Healthy things. - Physical things.
If anything should happen, you couldn't really blame them.
Yes, I see what you mean.
You do?
But, darling, you really should do some work.
You don't want a failure in philosophy and have to take the whole thing over again.
I couldn't care less, and neither could you.
Cecile, would it be so hard to study just for a few weeks?
Yes. Very hard.
Cecile...
Are you siding with her or with me? It's not a question of sides.
Isn't it?
I want to see Philippe, and I don't want to be cooped up studying.
Anne wants me to study and not see Philippe.
Which shall it be?
Darling, because I love Anne, it doesn't mean that I love you any the less.
That's not an answer.
Well, I... I think for the next few weeks,
you should study and not see Philippe.
She's prim and prissy
and a prude and a know-it-all and I hate her.
She's changed him.
She'll change me.
She'll change everything.
I hate her.
I hate her. I hate her.
No, it isn't her fault he doesn't love you anymore.
It's yours.
You're spoiled and willful and arrogant and lazy.
A mean little monster.
Anne had made me look at myself for the first time in my life,
and that turned me against her, dead against her.
I'll be with you in a moment, jacques.
I'm sorry.
I'm not angry.
Then why are you leaving?
I don't really know.
You go to a place, you leave a place.
He... He's not for you.
Who is?
Not him, at any rate.
Where do you live, Hubert?
Where do I live?
You know where I live.
You know where live?
Limbo, with my father.
Oh, there's Jacques.
What happened? I thought you weren't going to show up.
You know better than that.
Not this evening. This evening, you're very peculiar.
Well, I'm a very peculiar girl.
Well, you're my girl, aren't you?
Yes, Raymond. I'm your girl.
We have great fun, don't we?
Yes, we have great fun.
Does he really still have fun?
I know he wants to desperately,
and I knew he wouldn't have very much with Anne,
which was probably another reason I decided to get rid of her.
How carefully, how seriously I went about that decision.
What a little beast.
While pretending to study,
I actually spent days comparing the contestants for my father,
comparing Anne and me,
all our good points against all our bad ones.
I meant to be fair,
but the score was against me... definitely.
Anne was out.
How to get her out might have been difficult
if the way, the trap, had not been opened for me.
Come in, Albertine.
Elsa! What's happened to you?
I'm tan all over.
- Don't I look brilliant? - Absolutely.
And a new dress?
Several new dresses and shoes and bags.
From your gambling money?
No, from Pablo, for my birthday.
I thought you had that birthday three months ago.
I did, but he was in America then.
South America. Ole'!
Pablo said to leave my old things here, but I'm sentimental.
I packed everything myself.
- How is Raymond? - Miserable.
Really?
Well, he is, but he doesn't know it yet.
She doesn't give him a chance to know it.
She's very clever, Elsa.
Brilliant.
You don't know how clever. She's got him to agree to marry her.
Marry?
- Raymond is going to marry? - Yes.
- Well, it serves him right. - How can you say such a thing?
- He threw me out. - You walked out.
He dumped me at the casino, and no lady goes home alone.
Elsa, you had me and Philippe.
- I have my pride. - And Pablo.
Oh, Pablo. He just drinks and laughs and drinks and...
Elsa, it's fate.
I hate fate. That stupid horoscope!
Listen. I mean, it's fate that you walked in here when you did.
- I was just thinking about you. - Really? What?
I was thinking how Raymond still loves you.
Oh, Cecile.
Deep down, he still loves you and you know it.
Yes, he loves me so madly he's going to marry Anne.
It's the idea of marriage that appeals to him, not Anne.
You think so?
You know how he always wants to try something new.
But he has been married.
Yes, but so long ago he's forgotten he didn't like it,
and if he marries again, he's ruined.
- So are you. - I know.
I wish you wanted to help.
What can I do? It's too late.
I walked out when I should have stayed.
- Where are you going? - Back to Cannes.
- Must you? - No.
Do you want to?
No. I love Raymond.
And I'd still be here if it weren't for that scheming adventuress.
Elsa, ask Philippe's mother if you can stay with them.
I know I can. She thinks I'm brilliant.
- But why? - Say you don't have a place to stay.
Yes, but why go at all?
I have an idea.
It isn't completely worked out yet, and there isn't time to explain.
But, Cecile...
- Do you want Raymond back? - You know I do.
Then hurry to Philippe's.
- Do you have a car? - Yes. Pablo was sweet enough-
You drive, and I'll walk through the woods and meet you there.
Why don't you come with me now?
I don't want them to see us together.
Besides, I have to work out my plan.
That means concentration, and that means being alone.
Now, hurry. Go the back way.
All right.
Oh, Cecile?
What now?
I feel so good.
Cecile...
Where are you going?
For a walk in the woods.
You've been working so hard. Why don't you relax? Go and take a swim.
- No, thank you. - I'll come with you.
The water's very watery today.
I have to concentrate.
I'm working out a problem in philosophy.
Oh, now, surely philosophy can wait.
Not Pascal. He's very demanding.
And you want me to meet his demands, don't you?
I am sure any man would wait while you took a swim.
Not this one.
- Did Elsa tell- - Yes!
Let's get married.
- It's an epidemic. - I'm serious.
You're only a boy.
I only look like a boy. I'm 25.
Where's Elsa? Did your mother...
I'm telling you I love you. I'm proposing.
I heard you the first time.
Well, then, you didn't answer because the answer is no.
I didn't answer because Anne would answer for me, and her answer would be no.
Can't we get rid of Anne?
Philippe, that's exactly why I sent Elsa down here.
Then you do love me?
I don't quite get the connection, but, yes, I do.
- Now, where's Elsa? - She's over there watching Mother play bridge.
You know, she told Mother she was an orphan.
Why?
She said she thought it was a good touch.
Everybody always feels sorry for orphans.
But, you know, as a matter of fact, I feel rather sorry for Elsa.
Why the change?
Well, I didn't realize that Anne was such an adventuress
or that Elsa had so much sensitivity.
So much imagination, you mean.
Collect your tiny brain and try and do better this time.
One small diamante.
Two clubs.
- Pass - Pass?
Pass.
Two hearts.
Three diamantes.
Pass.
- Three hearts. - Three hearts, huh?
Now, my duck, we're on the brink of a tantalizing abyss.
Do I jump or not?
Three hearts, huh?
- What? What? - Tune that thing up, Clamont.
- She's only repeating your pathetic bid. - Elsa. Elsa!
Stop semaphoring, Philippe. Either come in or out.
I say jump.
I'm with you. Come back at 5:00, darling. My partner has to go.
- You and I will sweep the field. - Okay.
- Where can we talk? - My room.
I can't wait to hear your plan, Cecile.
I'm all goose pimply.
- I don't like intrigue. - I'm hot for it.
You talk about wanting to marry me.
What's that have to do with your plan?
- Would Anne let me marry you? - No.
The plan concerns getting rid of Anne, and Anne concerns us.
- All right, but I still don't like it. - I love it.
- You haven't even heard it yet. - Will you two be still?
Now, the basic idea is wildly simple.
The details may take a bit of working out.
- Is that your room? - Yes.
You two must pretend to be madly in love with each other,
and we have to arrange that my father sees you together, and often.
Jealousy, the green-eyed monster.
- Now, wait, Cecile. - You wait, and let me explain.
Krishnamara, aid me.
Concentration is the secret.
Exhale deeply.
Exhale from the mind.
Exhale from the soul.
Now, then, suppose I tell Elsa.
No, suppose I tell Philippe.
- - Go away, Albertine.
It isn't Alber...
Yoga. Hindu philosophy.
I wasn't aware that Yoga was part of your examination.
All those discussions about your paper on Pascal
and how difficult Spinoza was for you...
Cecile, have you actually done any studying at all?
Well, of course, in the end, it's your own affair if you fail your examinations,
but it is another matter when you lie to your father and to me.
Why did you lie?
I really don't understand you at all.
And you never will.
I would like to apologize.
I sometimes forget that you're still a child.
Now, please don't let that word offend you, Cecile.
It's merely a short way of saying...
well, that you're still young enough
to pattern your behavior after people older than you.
You mean I'm not to blame for behaving like Raymond?
No, you're not,
or for being inﬂuenced by the way he used to live or the friends he-
Well, I hope won't see very much of from now on.
The Lombards, for instance.
They telephoned from their yacht, by the way, while you were out.
They're taking us to dinner and a nightclub on Tuesday.
We have to go.
He's your father's business partner.
I think they're very amusing.
At least, they always make me laugh.
There will be risque stories deliberately in front of you,
and Helen Lombard will make sly and bitter jokes about her friends,
and then compare Raymond's muscles with her newest young chauffeur,
who is by way of being a nephew,
and Henri will confide in Raymond about his latest girl, perhaps a model,
while he rubs your knee under the table,
your knee being younger than mine.
And in a few years, the newest nephew-chauffeur will make off with the car,
and the latest model will be wearing Helen’s jewelry,
and the friends will laugh at the Lombards rather than at their jokes.
At least they're having a good time now.
Are they?
Then why do they drink so much and so often?
Why are then never alone with each other?
In the end, their only memories will be of hangovers.
I have another moral, Anne.
If you can't accept people as they are, give them up.
Don't try to change them.
Besides, it's usually too late.
Why, you're almost as strong as Rene.
Rene...
Darling, Rene is Helen's new chauffeur.
And nephew.
- On which side? - On the left side. It's an American car.
Wicked, but sweet. Don't you think they're sweet, Henri?
Young love in late fall... Thank you.
And how does little Cecile feel about her naughty father getting married?
Little Cecile feels like having a great big drink.
Of course. That's what we're here for.
Waiter.
We were at a party the other night.
- Fantastic. - Who's going to tell this story?
I am.
Waiter.
You'll never believe the amount of liquor that was consumed.
Raymond.
Isn't that Elsa Mackenbourg over there?
Hasn't she grown into a beautiful trick?
Who is the boy?
Her nephew.
Cecile...
He's young enough.
Do you realize everywhere we've been, there they are?
She's deliberately ﬂaunting her achievement.
I prefer to rise above it.
It's all so unimportant, Raymond.
It's disgraceful.
That boy has such a good face.
And he's such a good driver.
You're well rid of him.
As a matter of fact, it's indecent.
Anne...
You look particularly lovely tonight.
Thank you.
This is fun. We ought to go for walks more often.
- Those days are over. - Nonsense.
And your days with the Lombards are over too.
Are you putting me out of business?
I meant socially. Anne doesn't like them.
Oh, she will in time.
No, she won't. You know Anne.
- Why don't you like her? - I do.
You may like her, but you're always squabbling with her.
You know, you're a little bit like a mother-in-law.
Well, mother-in-law will just marry a little earlier,
and that will solve all the problems.
You don't have to go that far.
I exaggerate, and you know it,
but the truth is, Anne's way of living is better than ours, and I have to face it.
Good. Then face it.
It has depth and stability and wholesomeness.
Hey, you're deliberately making the whole thing sound like a terrible bore.
It's the good life.
Oh, come down off the pulpit.
Now, we both know that your life with me has not been suitable for your age or mine.
We've never been bored.
Well, we're not going to be bored now.
Anne's not asking us to go into a convent.
I just came out, and you couldn't get in.
That's your opinion, but you know what I mean.
All right, but if you want to make her completely happy...
I do.
Then you have to give up our old life completely.
Don't you think that after a while we can sort of gradually ease into a...
Don't.
Come on.
- That little tramp. - Raymond...
Well, she is.
You threw her out. She walked out.
You behaved abominably to her and you know it.
Did you enjoy seeing her like that with Philippe?
- I don't love him anymore. - I don't love her anymore. That's not the point.
- What is the point? - The point is, well, it doesn't make any sense.
With a boy, Cecile? With a baby.
- I found him attractive too. - Attractive!
- If I wanted her back... - You couldn't.
No?
Well, it's out of the question anyway.
But you think I couldn't get her back just because he's a few years younger.
What's this sudden enchantment with these woods?
Anne, how old am I?
Old enough to marry me next month, but just barely.
Yoo-hoo!
Elsa, what are you done up as?
Shh.
Stop shushing. Honestly, you're behaving like an amateur spy.
You could have telephoned instead of sending this.
I didn't want anyone to recognize my voice.
“All's well. Come.” What does it mean?
It means your plan worked brilliantly.
Raymond telephoned me last night to say he was madly sorry for what happened,
and that he had behaved like an absolute monster cad.
Oh, it was heaven.
He sort of rumbled a lot of divinely sweet things in that way of his.
You know, quietly, in a low, deep voice as if he was suffering.
Mmm. It was shivery.
I'm sure.
And he asked me to meet him after lunch today
to show I had no hard feelings or anything.
- Meet him where? - He said not to tell a soul.
He meant Philippe, not me.
I don't know.
Of course, he doesn't know that you know that I...
Elsa, where are you supposed to meet him?
- He said not to tell. - Oh. Then, don't.
But should I go?
Meet him, don't meet him.
Do whatever you want, only don't ask me.
- Cecile... - It's getting out of hand.
I just wish I were a lot older or a lot younger.
Oh.
Pig, pig, pig- I ate like a pig.
Sleepy?
In a way.
No. I have to work.
Well, I have to go and meet Lombard, anyway.
Lombard? Where are you meeting him?
His yacht's anchored just around the point.
Why don't we all go? It'd be fun.
Because I simply must get at those sketches.
I thought you were going to stop work.
After the wedding.
Today is father and daughter day. You two go.
Bye.
Can I go with you?
Oh, darling, no. You've got to study.
Besides, Anne doesn't think the Lombards are a very good influence on you.
She suggested I go.
That's very generous of her, but I mustn't take advantage of her generosity.
Good-bye, darling.
What a fake. What an incredible fake.
But I love him.
Don't study too hard, Madame Pascal Spinoza.
It's gone too far. I must tell her.
I must tell her right away that this is all my doing.
There's no question. I must tell her.
But how? What can I tell her?
She'll never forgive me,
and she'll have a weapon against me forever.
Oh...
Where's she going?
Maybe she wants to join him at the Lombards' yacht.
I can't let her go. I must stop her.
No, maybe I won't stop her.
I'd like to see what she'll do.
Now, Raymond, stop that.
Why?
You're really very nervy.
You think you can pick up right where we left off?
Not at all. You were sunburned.
I've got a brilliant tan now, haven't I?
Lovely.
Lovelier than Anne's?
Much. But, then, a young girl's skin is always much lovelier.
You didn't seem to think so a few weeks ago.
Will you stop punishing me because I had to satisfy my curiosity?
You weren't curious. You were greedy.
And why were you ready to marry her?
With a woman like Anne,
you had to say a thing like that and you know it.
Raymond!
Anne...
Wait.
It's a mistake. It's my fault.
Please, Cecile, let go.
Anne, we need you.
No, you don't need anybody. Either of you.
- We do. - No.
But wait. Forgive me.
No. You forgive me.
Been trying to write to her.
Where? To Paris?
I suppose that's where she's gone.
What can I say?
“Dear Anne, I'm sorry I went to the woods with Elsa.”
Meaning, “I'm sorry you caught me.”
“Dear Anne, it meant nothing to me.
That sort of thing never does.”
She'll never understand that.
“Dear Anne, a man says silly things to a silly woman,
particularly if he's a vain, silly man.”
You know, it was bound to have happened sooner or later.
If not with Elsa, with somebody else.
Oh, I'm a very silly man.
Don't talk that way.
At least I'm aware of it.
We can get her back.
We'll both write and tell her how much we need her and ask her to forgive both of us.
- Why both of us? - You, then.
No, me too. I wasn't very nice to her, either.
Come on, where's that pen?
If we put our silly heads together, we can think of something to say.
Maybe we won't have to write at all.
Hello?
Yes.
Where?
May I have that, please?
She was a friend of ours.
Later, they told us that was the seventh accident at that spot
since the beginning of summer.
Seven, my lucky number.
Anyone else would have left my father a note
that would have ruined his sleep for the rest of his life,
but Anne gave both of us a magnificently considerate present.
She allowed us to believe her death was an accident.
My father never mentions the word “suicide” to anybody,
not even to me.
Why don't we have dinner together tomorrow after the races?
- Fine. - And spend the evening.
- There's a new club near the Tremoille. - Yes, I've been.
- Fun? - Great fun.
Well, good night.
I never heard from Philippe again.
I suppose he finished law school.
Elsa, she's living in South America.
And my father and me?
We still share this apartment,
our evenings, our friends.
This summer, we're going south again for his holiday,
only this time to the Italian Riviera...
for a change, we say to each other.
But we don't say why we want a change,
nor do we ask.
We have an unspoken agreement never to mention last summer.
Come in.
You're checking in early.
Denise is a bore.
So soon?
Well, there's no time limit on bores.
By the way,
did you notice Yvonne Marie at that cocktail party?
Yes.
She didn't look bad at all.
No, I should say not.
Not bad at all.
Will you be taking her south?
I'll let you know at the end of the week.
If you do,
perhaps you'd rather I didn't come.
You have to come. You have to.
Then I'll come.
Besides,
you need the rest.
You're tired.
Yes. I'm tired.
Good night, darling.
Good night, Raymond.
So here I am, surrounded by my wall of memory.
I try to stop remembering,
but I can't.
And so often I wonder...
when he's alone,
is he remembering too?
I hope not.