Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion
The Original Scripted Ending
FADE IN
INT. AYSGARTH BEDROOM - NIGHT
LONG SHOT - The lights are dim as before. Lina is a shadowy crumpled heap against the bed back. We can hear her sobs.
SEMI-CLOSEUP - A nearer view shows the sobbing Lina crouched at the head of the bed like a child. Through the sobs we hear her muttered prayer.
LINA
Oh, God, let him do it quickly. I can't stand it any longer. I don't want to live any more. There's so little strength left in me -- don't make me wait. And, please, God -- have mercy on his soul . . . If my forgiveness means anything, then, God, I forgive him. I'm glad I'm going to die! . . . He doesn't hate me, God -- he's like a small boy who wants one thing for a while -- and then wants something else. Well, while he wanted me, I made him happy -- and I don't care to live now that I can't make him happy any more . . . If I lived, I'd lose him anyway. I'd rather lose him like this -- leaving him with money and the freedom he wants . . . And I've been happy, God -- in these few years I've had more happiness than most women in a lifetime --
Suddenly she remains silent at the sound of a door closing in the lower part of the house. She turns her head slowly toward the door of the room.
INT. AYSGARTH HALL - NIGHT
LONG SHOT - FROM ABOVE - We see Johnnie on the stairs below. He comes up with measured tread, because he is carrying a glass of milk on a small plate. He comes on up and up, He turns the stairs, getting nearer and nearer towards the camera - so close that the glass of milk fills the screen.
INT. AYSGARTH BEDROOM - NIGHT
SEMI-CLOSEUP - Lina has resumed her proper position in bed and is just wiping her eyes. She looks towards the door as we hear the click of its opening.
SEMI-LONG SHOT - from LINA'S EYELINE - Johnnie stands framed in the doorway, holding the glass of milk.
JOHNNIE
I -- here's something for you to drink, darling.
CLOSEUP - a BIG HEAD of Lina. She almost instinctively braces herself.
LINA
Bring it to me.
SEMI-CLOSEUP - Johnnie watching her, starts to move forward. His eyes drop to the glass of milk in his hands.
CLOSEUP - Lina's eyes follow the glass as it travels towards her, round the end of the bed, getting nearer and nearer. As it comes right up to her, the CAMERA PULLS BACK and shows Johnnie putting it down on the table by her.
CLOSEUP - Johnnie looks down at her with a slightly compassionate look.
CLOSEUP - Lina looks up from the glass to Johnnie's face. LINA Give it to me.
SEMI-CLOSEUP - Johnnie stretches out his hand, picks up the glass and hands it to her. Lina takes it simply and drinks it right down. As she sets the glass down, she looks up at Johnnie, who is half smiling and watching her. She takes her tiny handkerchief from under her pillow and wipes her lips. She rises, slides her feet from the bed, and stands.
CAMERA PULLS BACK. She holds her arms out to him.
LINA
Kiss me, Johnnie.
He takes her in his arms and kisses her lightly. She draws away from him.
LINA (cont'd)
Now let me be alone, Johnnie.
JOHNNIE
Monkey-face, I --
LINA
Please go, darling.
He looks down at her a little nervously then turns towards the dressing room.
SEMI-CLOSEUP - Lina watches him.
SEMI-LONG SHOT - At the door Johnnie glances back at her for a moment, then goes through. Lina subsides onto the bed once more and leans her head against the padded bed back.
SEMI-CLOSEUP - A tear trickles slowly down her cheek - she closes her eyes.
SEMI-CLOSEUP - The door of the dressing room opens slowly. Johnnie looks through into the bedroom, watching her.
SEMI-LONG SHOT - from HIS EYELINE. We see Lina's head bow, while still leaning against the bed back.
SEMI-LONG SHOT - Johnnie starts to tiptoe across towards the bed. He comes around the side, close to her. He goes down on one knee and peers into her face.
SEMI-CLOSEUP - Lina opens her eyes. She sees Johnnie kneeling there. He makes a move forward - comes and sits beside her and takes her in his arms -
CAMERA MOVES IN to the two heads -
As he holds her tightly, her head rests against his shoulder. She knows she is dying, and she is in a mood of quiet exaltations. All her love for Johnnie shines from her face.
LINA
It's all right, dearest. I know I'm dying. But it's all right.
A frightened look comes into Johnnie's face which he masters - uneasily.
JOHNNIE
Why do you say that?
Lina hushes him by putting her fingers on his lips.
LINA
Sshh . . . Don't look at me like that, dear. I didn't mean to tell you I knew. I was going to die quietly, peacefully. But when you came back -- oh, Johnnie, . . . I wanted you to know I forgive you.
JOHNNIE
(staring at her)
What are you talking about?
LINA
(wandering - in a tiny voice)
But poor Beaky -- he was so good, and kind, and trusting -- I wish it hadn't had to be Beaky --
CLOSEUP - Johnnie staring at her, alarmed.
JOHNNIE
(in a strange voice)
Beaky! . . .
CLOSEUP - Lina looks into his eyes.
LINA
Oh, Johnnie, I know you were with him in Paris --
Suddenly she breaks off bewildered.
LINA (cont'd)
Johnnie! I'm still talking to you!
CLOSEUP - the two.
JOHNNIE
Of course you are.
LINA
I'm still here! I'm lying here talking to you! I'm still alive!
Lina turns her head towards the empty milk glass. Johnnie follows her eyes.
CLOSEUP - Johnnie stares at the glass then his eyes turn to Lina again - he begins to understand her meaning.
LINA'S VOICE
Isobel said it would happen quickly.
JOHNNIE
Isobel!
(the getting the full shock)
What did you think was in that glass?
SEMI-CLOSEUP - The two. Lina stares at him wide-eyed.
JOHNNIE
There was nothing in that glass but milk.
As he speaks the realization of what it all means grows. He rises -
JOHNNIE (cont'd)
Lina! - Lina! - Lina -- you thought -- you believed that I --
LINA
I was loving you all the time -- I forgave you --
JOHNNIE
Yes - but you thought I murdered Beaky. You thought I was in Paris --- I wasn't. I was at the races. And then my curiosity about the poison -- and my interest in Isobel's books --
(pause)
You saw me as Beaky's murderer and as yours!
LINA
Yes, I did. But now I don't know why -- Johnnie, I'm so confused -- please help me to understand. Why only yesterday I saw a picture of you as a boy -- that young eager boy who deserved everything. He could never have done --
JOHNNIE
Perhaps you're right. That boy couldn't have -- but I'm beginning to understand how you came to think that I could. You see, that boy wanted everything -- every luxury in the whole world.
LINA
Of course he did, Johnnie.
JOHNNIE
But that took money, and I was broke. I didn't know how to earn my living -- my family were too well-connected to think of equipping me for that! So I made up my mind to do something about it -- I discovered the art of gambling. You could win enough -- if you were lucky -- to live like a lord, or at least so I thought. But then I started losing -- I learned that you just had to be lucky; and that there were ways of making oneself lucky.
As he speaks the realization of what it all means grows.
JOHNNIE (cont'd)
Lina!
Overwhelmed, he drops his head in his hands.
JOHNNIE (cont'd)
Oh, Lina . . . Lina, Lina . . .
Lina sits up straight - just beginning to realize how distorted her fantasy has been.
LINA
Oh, darling -- what have I said! How could I --
JOHNNIE
(to himself)
You believed -- you thought I was your murderer . . .
LINA
I didn't -- I was loving you all the time -- I forgave you --
JOHNNIE
And you thought I murdered Beaky. You thought I was in Paris . . I wasn't. I was at the races losing some more money that I didn't have . .
(turning to her)
But you saw me as his murderer, and as yours! . . .
(turning away from her)
That makes me as guilty as if I had done it!
He suddenly gets up, leaving Lina staring after him.
SEMI-LONG SHOT - Johnnie stands in the middle of the room - his back to the bed - Lina cries after him.
LINA
Johnnie, -- I don't know what to say -- I -- I'll never forgive myself. How could I -- Why, I was looking at a picture of you yesterday -- when you were a small boy -- that boy could never -- .... That lovely little boy, with his bright, eager face -- a boy who should have had everything . . . everything . .
JOHNNIE
(harshly - as to himself)
Yes -- and that boy wanted everything! Everything in the whole world! Wealth, and luxury, and fame, and excitement, and power, and love!
LINA
Why shouldn't you want it? I love you for wanting it.
SEMI-CLOSEUP - Johnnie swings 'round on her - he starts talking in a low bitter voice:
JOHNNIE
He asked himself the same question. Why shouldn't he want it? His father's name was Sir William Aysgarth -- Sir . . . That meant something. His uncle's name was Lord Middleham. Oho, Lord! -- that's a beautiful word -- there's magic in it! magic, indeed! That Lord had thousands of acres, houses like a dream, with rooms in them like pictures in a picture book. The Sir and his Lady -- they lives in a shabby flat, and occasionally they visited the Lord. And oh, they wanted to be like the Lord -- they couldn't hide that from the little boy. Oh, no -- they managed to be at the right places for the right seasons. Their clothes were always correct and fine, and there was always a butler -- and they boy went to Eton, the school where the sons of the Lords go. Then his father dies -- and the boy had to take a shabbier room at Eton. The boy didn't like the shabby room -- he didn't like it one bit. He couldn't rest until he did something about that --
In the b.g. Lina has come from the bed and approaches him.
LINA
Of course he couldn't! How I wish I had known that boy!
Johnnie continues:
JOHNNIE
Do you know what he did about it? He discovered the art of gambling. You could win enough -- if you were lucky -- to live like a Lord for the rest of the year. Then he lost -- and he learned that you just had to be lucky; and there were ways of making yourself lucky. That is, if you were clever. He invented more tricks, little lies, little cheatings -- and after a while big ones -- so that he almost never lost. And people liked him -- he saw to that. He could stand by the side of a beautiful woman and make such delicious fun if her hard-working, successful husband, that the husband would suddenly dwindle, become a dull, plodding little fellow -- and Johnnie Aysgarth, at twenty and twenty- one, was sought after by the most sought-after ladies. He laughed and loved his way through the pocketbooks of his friends and the reputations of their wives -- and suddenly . . . he fell in love.
During this the CAMERA has followed him as he paces up and down - now he stands still for a moment facing Lina.
JOHNNIE (cont'd)
He had an honest minute or two -- he knew what that girl was in for. He tried to tell her -- but he didn't try hard enough -- he did a pretty feeble job.
LINA
It didn't matter. I was so in love with you. You didn't have a chance.
JOHNNIE
(raising his voice again)
It was true about Melbeck -- that was true, do you understand? I stole that money. And I never once stopped gambling at the races -- I've been doing it all the time -- sneaking away -- borrowing right and left. And I did try to cheat Beaky. You were right about that, too! I didn't give a rap whether that land was any good or not. So long as I could draw a salary and write cheques -- what did I care about Beaky! I loved him, I'll grant myself that much. I loved him, and I loved you. Lina comes closer to him and breaks in:
LINA
Oh, Johnnie, -- I must have been insane -- to -- to . . .
JOHNNIE
You weren't insane. You were writing my story more accurately than I've lived it. You thought of it -- so why wouldn't I? . . What was to keep me from pouring that brandy down Beaky's throat if I had been in Paris with him? I might have done it. I was desperate. There was no more to be borrowed, and I had no luck at the races. What was to keep me from killing you for your insurance? Only just that I didn't think of it . . . But as the days went by, I might have thought of that.
Lina throws her arms around him -
LINA
Darling, darling! Don't say any more! I can't bear it!
JOHNNIE
(continuing ruthlessly)
I can see myself standing there, watching you drink that glass -- I look at you sadly as you drink it -- one part of me horrified, and the other part counting the insurance money.
LINA
No, no -- never ---!
She buries her head in his shoulder.
JOHNNIE
(savagely going on)
Why not? You could think of me like that -- you -- who loved me enough to -- why, you were willing to die for me -- but you never in all those days and weeks and months we lived together, you never knew the one thing about me that was true and never changed from the second I laid eyes on you -- that at any moment I would have died for you --
LINA
(tears streaming down her face)
God help me, Johnnie, I didn't -- but I do now -- I do now --
Johnnie looks out ahead - staring, Lina's face pressed against his shoulder, sobbing.
JOHNNIE
You thought of me as your murderer --
LINA
(sobbing - almost inaudible)
Don't, don't! Oh, please, darling, don't! . . .
Johnnie remains staring out into the room as we
DISSOLVE OUT
DISSOLVE IN
INSERT CLOSEUP A NOTE - in Johnnie's handwriting, it reads:
"Lina -- Please tell Melbeck I'll pay him back his money. It may take some time. As for you -- I owe you a greater debt. I'll try to find some way to pay that debt, and if I do, we'll see each other again. Johnnie."
DISSOLVE
INT. AYSGARTH BEDROOM - DAY
SEMI-CLOSEUP. Lina, in her dressing robe, is reading the note. She takes off her glasses and slowly looks about the room. She dashes over to the window - looks down - then back to the dressing room. She throws the door open - then over to the bedroom door, where we hear her calling:
LINA
Ethel! Ethel!
DISSOLVE
MONTAGE
A MONTAGE OF SHOTS of Lina searching for Johnnie. On the race track - night clubs - etc. During this we get an impression of the outbreak of War - but always the searching Lina is prominent - An insert in the Personal columns and then finally -
DISSOLVE
INT. RAILWAY CARRIAGE - DAY
SEMI-CLOSEUP. Lina seated as she was at the opening of the picture, glancing at her "Illustrated London News". Suddenly her eyes widen with excitement as she sees:
INSERT A PHOTOGRAPH of a group of R.A.F. men, lounging and laughing, perhaps half a dozen in all. Among them, in the uniform of a pilot, turned three quarters away from the camera, is a young man who might be Johnnie.
The CAMERA MOVES IN to the caption underneath:
"A typical group of our R.A.F. flyers enjoying a respite between flights over enemy territory. Reading from left to right: Gunner G. Policzki, Albery Levy, James Allen, Viscount Allerdyce, Herbert Matthews. These men are all from Unit 3, Corps 89."
BACK TO SCENE Lina is studying the picture with great excitement - then lowering the magazine for a moment, as she did in the first scene, she stares across at the empty seat opposite her, remembering with sudden nostalgia her first meeting with Johnnie. She looks quickly back at the picture again.
INSERT Lina's finger comes into the photograph and follows from the names beneath to the men from left to right - counting as she does so - when she comes to the third - JAMES ALLEN - CAMERA MOVES IN STILL CLOSER until we just have the man who is three quarters turned away - it is unmistakably Johnnie. CAMERA PANS DOWN AGAIN to the Caption until it rests on the words: 'Unit 3, Corps 89'
DISSOLVE
EXT. AIRFIELD - EVENING
CLOSEUP - a painted sign on a shed or railing - 'Corps 89'
DISSOLVE
INT. AIR COMMODORE'S OFFICE - EVENING
SEMI-LONG SHOT. The Air Commodore is stepping out from behind his desk and comes around to Lina.
CAMERA MOVES IN with them as he leads her across to another door - he pauses before opening it, hand on doorknob.
AIR COMMODORE
Perhaps I'd better tell you this -- I doubt if your husband will -- but he's one of our finest pilots.
LINA
(her eyes shining - murmurs)
Is he?
AIR COMMODORE
Only yesterday his flight fought off ten enemy fighters -- downed three himself, disabled one, and chased the rest of them halfway across the Channel.
LINA
(quietly and deeply)
Thank you.
The Commodore opens the door and they pass through.
INT. PASSAGE - EVENING
SEMI-LONG SHOT. They pass across the passage and the Commodore throws open another door.
INT. RECREATION ROOM - EVENING
SEMI-LONG SHOT. Over the shoulders of Lina and the Commodore we see about half a dozen pilots, who are resting before their next take-off, Four of them are sleeping, while two are playing cards - one of these is Johnnie. He smacks down a card just as the Commodore speaks:
COMMODORE
Time for a visitor, Allen?
Johnnie turns quickly, and seeing Lina, rises suddenly. He comes slowly towards her with a growing grin on his face. The Commodore steps back into the passage, Lina and Johnnie with him.
INT. PASSAGE - EVENING
SEMI-CLOSEUP. Johnnie half closes the door to behind him. The Commodore looks tactfully at Lina -
COMMODORE
See you later.
Johnnie and Lina stand looking at each other, neither speaking, while the Commodore goes. Then Johnnie takes both her hands in his and grips them tightly -
JOHNNIE
Hello.
Lina lays her head against his shoulder - he puts an arm around her shoulder.
LINA
Johnnie! .....
JOHNNIE
James Allen is the name.
LINA
Johnnie . . .
JOHNNIE
No. James Allen. I like him better. He may seem like a stuffed shirt, but I'm getting very fond of him.
Lina looks at him, tears starting down her cheeks.
LINA
Oh, darling, when can we be together again?
JOHNNIE
My leave starts next Tuesday -- I was planning to drop in on you.
LINA
(searching his face)
Were you?
JOHNNIE
(very tenderly - his feeling being too deep to be expressed)
Yes -- I miss home cooking. How's Ethel?
The grip of his hand around her shows all the emotion he is restraining. Lina looks at him with adoration.
LINA
Oh, Johnnie . . .
JOHNNIE
Better tell me quickly how Ethel is -- or I'll start crying myself.
LINA
(smiling through her tears)
Ethel is fine!
JOHNNIE
I'm glad to hear that.
During all this, the corridor has resounded with the trumping of feet as various pilots and mechanics are passing. We hear an occasional name called in the middle distance, like: "Lieutenant Harrison -- wanted at K-3. Sergeant Whitford -- report at G-1. Sergeant Whitford!" Now suddenly Johnnie hears:
VOICE
Lieutenant (?) Allen --
Johnnie glances down at his wristwatch -
VOICE (cont'd)
-- Report at J-9.
JOHNNIE
I have to be off now.
LINA
(anxiously)
Where are you going?
JOHNNIE
Well, darling, it's a military secret -- promise you won't tell anybody -- it's Berlin.
VOICE
Lieutenant Allen!
JOHNNIE
Got to go.
Suddenly he takes her in his arms ad kisses her fervently. As they break apart:
JOHNNIE (cont'd)
See you Tuesday --
Lina, as he starts to hurry away - takes a step after him saying:
LINA
What would you like for dinner?
JOHNNIE
(over his shoulder)
Leg of lamb!
He is gone. Lina stands a moment in the passage other airmen hurry by. Then she crosses to the door of the Commodore's office, and knocks.
INT. AIR COMMODORE'S OFFICE - EVENING
SEMI-LONG SHOT. The Commodore is busy with orders, etc. He looks across as Lina enters, and smiles. Lina indicates the window through which we can see an impression of the Airfield beyond.
LINA
May I stay here a moment?
COMMODORE
Certainly.
He watches her for a moment as she looks out of the window, and then picks up from his desk a pair of field glasses.
COMMODORE
Will these be any good to you?
CAMERA MOVES IN as he hands them to her. We can see through the widows pilots running towards their machines - and through a half open window can hear the roar of the running engines. Lina raises the glasses to her eyes.
EXT. AIRFIELD - EVENING
LONG SHOT. Through the glasses she can see Johnnie climbing into a machine. As he closes the glass top with a wave on her direction, she pans her glasses slightly along the plane, until we see painted on the side of the machine - "Monkey-face". The engine roars louder as his plane starts to taxi off, still held in the circle of the field glasses. The plane gets smaller and smaller. The whole scene blurs as though an irregular film were coming over it.
CLOSEUP - Lina lowers the glasses. We see that her eyes are filled with tears, but her face bears a look of tremendous pride.
FADE OUT
THE END
