I’m not a number! I’m…ah…[looks at badge]…DZ/015…
This was the first movie I bought on Laserdisc. I had taped it on a movie channel back in '85, but got the longer version and the “Love Conquers All” crapfest as well as a documentary of the movie.
She had moved out…what with there being a (metric) hole in her floor and all. But Sam wasn’t really thinking clearly at that point. The following snippet is from the shooting script. I tried to bold the salient points…
CUT TO Sam hesitantly walking into the semi-derelict lobby
of the big block of flats. Graffiti, vandalism are in
evidence everywhere. He walks up to the lift. Pushes the
button. Nothing happens. He pushes again. This time the
lift door shudders and sparks. Sam tries to pull the doors
apart. They jam open with a three-inch gap between them
still shuddering and grinding. In the sparking light, Sam
can make out an interior crammed with garbage, junk, old
furniture, dead cats. **Yechhhh. **Resignedly, he turns towards
the stairs.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
CUT TO Sam coming breathlessly out of the stairwell. On
the wall next to it is the number 37. Walking down the
corridor he looks at the number and starts to knock, but
then notices that the door is cracked open. Sam tries to
knock on the door, but it keeps edging open and he settles
for knocking on the door frame a bit feebly.
SAM
Mrs. Buttle
(silence)
Uh, Mrs. Buttle?
(silence)
Sam stands not knowing what to do.
Sam pushes the door a bit more
open gingerly and puts about 65
per cent of his body into the hall
of the flat. CUT TO SAM'S POV of
darkish hall. Mrs. Buttle...
INT. BUTTLE SITTING ROOM - DAY
CUT TO Sam entering extremely tacky sitting-room shrouded
in half-darkness. This is the same flat from which the
FATHER was taken at the beginning of the film: the hole is
still in the ceiling. Sam becomes aware of a woman sitting
absolutely still at a small table by the only (still broken)
window in the room.
SAM
Are you Mrs. Buttle?
The woman nods very slightly without looking at him.
SAM
My name is Lowry Sam Lowry. I'm
from the Ministry of Information.
(no response)
I've come to give you a cheque.
Sam takes the cheque out of his pocket and puts it on the
table to tempt Mrs. Buttle into a flicker of interest but
she fails to notice it or him for that matter. Sam pushes
the cheque a little way towards Mrs. Buttle but she does
not respond.
SAM
(indicting cheque)
It's a refund... I'm afraid there
was a mistake.
MRS. BUTTLE
Mistake?
SAM
(encouraged)
Yes. Not my department... I'm only
records. It seems that Mr. Buttle
was overcharged by Information
Retrieval. I don't think they
usually make mistakes... but, er...
I suppose we're all human.
Sam looks around and sees the hole in the ceiling.
SAM
Oh... what happened to the...?
He gets nothing back.
Actually, my bringing this here is rather unorthodox...
Usually any payments are made through the central
computer... but, er... there were certain difficulties,
and rather than cause delay, we thought you might appreciate
this now... it being Christmas.
MRS. BUTTLE
My husband's dead, isn't he?
SAM
Er... I assure you Mrs. Buttle,
the Ministry is always very
scrupulous about following up and
eradicating error. If you have any
complaints which you'd like to
make, I'd be more than happy to
send you the appropriate forms.
MRS. BUTTLE
What have you done with his body?
SAM
Um...
Mrs. Buttle starts to cry.
SAM
Look, I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid
I don't know anything about it...
I'm really just delivering the
cheque. Er... If you wouldn't mind
signing these receipts
(producing blue and
pink receipts)
I'll go and leave you in peace.
Sam picks up the cheque and gives it to Mrs. Buttle together
with the receipts. Mrs. Buttle tears them up and throws
them in his face.
SAM
Uh...
MRS. BUTTLE
He hadn't done anything... He was
good... What have you done with
his body?
Sam looks around for an escape and sees a Young Buttle
standing in the doorway. The Boy is looking at him with a
blank tearful face. Suddenly the Boy launches himself at
Sam with terrible ferocity. Sam is knocked against the
wall. A mirror falls off the wall and smashes on the floor.
The Boy is all over Sam kicking and pulling his hair. Mrs.
Buttle's reaction, however, is to try and pull the Boy
away from Sam. By the time she succeeds, **Sam is on his
hands and knees, in pain.**The Boy is crying and shouting,
and Mrs. Buttle is loudly trying to quieten the Boy. From
SAM'S POV, a piece of broken mirror lying on the floor
reflects the hole in the ceiling... with Jill's head and
shoulders framed in the hole. **The moment is unreal for Sam
in his dazed condition. The vision seems unreal too. Jill
is staring at Sam out of the piece of mirror and. she's
very much the Girl from his dream now.**
JILL
Are you alright?
SAM
(mumbles)
It's you... it's you...
JILL
Mrs. Buttle, are you alright?
Sam grabs at the image, i.e. at the mirror, shifting the
angle so that the vision disappears. He looks for the vision
on the floor but can't find it. Then he begins to realise
the reality of what he has seen. He stands up, dazed and
battered. Mrs. Buttle has been looking up at the ceiling.
Sam looks up at the ceiling but there is now only the empty
space of the hole.
SAM
Wait! Stop! Come back!!
Mrs. Buttle is shouting. Sam rushes out of the flat.
INT. BUTTLE'S CORRIDOR - DAY
Sam looks both ways and heads for the stairs.
INT. BUTTLE'S STAIRCASE - DAY
Sam runs up the stairs to the floor above and finds himself
in
EXT. SIMILAR CORRIDOR - DAY
He runs along the corridor but has omitted to count the
doors downstairs and now doesn't know which door to knock
at. He hesitates. He rings the bell on what he hopes is
the right door. The bell doesn't work. He bangs on the
door. The door opens a crack. A malevolent eye looks at
him.
SAM
Girl... fair hair...
The door shuts firmly. Sam rushes to the next door.
INT. JILL'S FLAT - DAY
**Sam bursts into Jill's flat. He sees the hole in the floor.
The place looks derelict. He hears an explosion and looks
out of a window to see his car in flames. Jill is apparently
retreating from it across the forecourt. She is carrying a
suitcase and bundles.**
INT. STAIRCASE - DAY
Sam rushes down the stairs.
EXT. BLOCK OF FLATS - DAY
Sam charges out into the open air. Jill has disappeared.
The Messerchmidt, however, is in flames. Sam doesn't know
which way to turn. Spotting an old mattress lying by the
building he grabs it and throws it over the car in an
attempt to smother the flames. The group of CHILDREN watch
him silently. Suddenly with a great roar, Jill's lorry
comes round the corner at speed. Sam sees that Jill is at
the wheel. Sam runs after the lorry.
SAM
(shouting)
Wait! It was nothing to do with
me!
The lorry roars away. Sam dashes back to his smoldering
three-wheeler. He flings himself into it and starts it up.
He also roars away, except that he doesn't move... all
three wheels have been removed. He turns round in despair
and sees the group of children regarding him
expressionlessly.
They include the little Girl Buttle.
Defeated, he slumps down against his charred vehicle. A
shadow passes across his face. Looking up he sees Girl
Buttle standing over him.
SAM
Go away.
GIRL BUTTLE
Her name is Jill.
SAM
What?... Jill? Jill who? Jill who?
GIRL BUTTLE
Layton.
SAM
Jill Layton...
(getting up)
You're a very good little girl.
What are you doing here?
GIRL BUTTLE
I'm waiting for my daddy.
**SAM
(uncomprehending)
He will be pleased when he comes
home.
Girl Buttle doesn't answer and Sam starts to walk away.
After a few yards, the thought strikes him: he turns back
to look at the little Girl Buttle who stands alone patiently
in the vandalised wilderness.**
And your memory is correct, he does try to get her address…
SAM
(taking print-out
on Jill from his
pocket)
Alright. There's someone I want to
check out. A woman called Gillian
Layton.
LIME
(leering)
A woman eh? I see.
SAM
(trying to ignore
this)
I know her age and distinguishing
marks. But **I need an address or a
place of work or something**
LIME
(continuing to leer)
This is your dream girl, is it?
Trivia: Lime is one of the screen writers Charles McKeown.
Gilliam is the mysterious man that puffs out smoke when Sam runs into him on the stairs.
