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Okay -- weird coincidence. Yesterday, blogging the 1993 Woody Allen movie, Manhattan Murder Mystery, this dialogue went, "You know, I can't escape the feeling that my wife is becoming attracted to somebody else..."
"Can't escape the feeling" seemed like such a powerful phrase, that I chose it for the title of the January 30th post.
Then later last evening, reading in the Paris Review online, an interview with the playwright Arthur Miller --
he says, "In a short story, or any kind of prose, I still can't escape the feeling of a certain arbitrary quality."...
Woody Allen says, "I can't escape the feeling,"
and
Arthur Miller says, "I still can't escape the feeling"
but if you just start with the word "can't"
it's the exact same phrase:
"Can't Escape The Feeling".
Arthur Miller's interview in Paris Review was in 1966; Woody Allen's Manhattan Murder Mystery came out in 1993, but that script had originally been part of the Annie Hall
script for that 1977 film. Was the exact same phrase in the 1970s dialogue written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman? Probably not going to ever know that....
Arthur Miller couldn't escape a feeling; Woody Allen's character in his movie couldn't escape a feeling; I can't escape the phrase, "can't escape the feeling"... !
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"Did you ever sleep with Ted?" Larry asks his wife, sitting in their car together, watching the Waldron hotel.
CAROL
Sleep?
LARRY
Don't get nervous. Yeah. Yeah, you guys...
CAROL
What, are you nuts?
LARRY
We were on an eating tour of France, together.
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
You two guys spent an evening, you know, together.
CAROL
Yeah, right. We spent --
LARRY
At that place, you know.
CAROL
I know... Yeah, but what about you? Remember? You spent the evening with Julie. Am I right? You spent the night, and shared a...
LARRY
That meant absolutely nothing. She hated me. Julie despised me.
CAROL
What?
LARRY
You know that. She- She thought I was a low-life and a wimp and a vermin and a roach. Just-just jump in anytime you want to defend me, you know.
CAROL
(with sudden, involuntary laughter)
Hey, I mean, I'm waiting for you to say something I don't agree with, okay?
LARRY
Ho - ho! Hey, you're nailing me... Jesus!...
Then he stops smiling, because he just saw something through the windshield. He stares.
CAROL
Oh. Larry.
LARRY
Yeah.
The CAMERA starts PANNING very rapidly toward the entrance of the hotel.
CAROL
(voice over)
Larry, Larry, look. It's her! I'd say it's her!
A lady carrying a white open umbrella is entering the hotel.
LARRY
(voice over)
Oh my God, it is.
CAROL
Yeah. You see what I mean? See, so I was right all along, wasn't I?
LARRY
Can you... Are you sure? Are you sure?
CAROL
I'm positive. Yes.
LARRY
Oh, my God!
CAROL
Right? Right? I mean, I was...
LARRY
I'm... Jesus, I'm -- shaken --
CAROL
I know. W- well, come on!
LARRY
That is her. Are you...
CAROL
Yeah. I know.
LARRY
I told you so.
CAROL
What do you mean, you told me so? What are you talking about? You're nuts, honey.
LARRY
Oh, Jesus. I'm flabbergasted!
CAROL
Yeah. No, look -- you're pale. You're completely white.
LARRY
I don't know what to do.
CAROL
Let's go. Let's get out there. Let's find out what's going on.
LARRY
No, I don't want to.
CAROL
Oh, come on. You -- you're not afraid of her, are you?
LARRY
No, I'm not afraid.
CAROL
You're not afraid of Mrs. House.
LARRY
She's an old woman and I'm a virile male.
CAROL
I know.
LARRY
And yet somehow I am scared. I don't know why. Maybe because she's dead. You know?
___________________________
-30-
The CAMERA PANS back on Larry and Marcia. This is a different shot, with the camera in front of their table. Marcia seems very relaxed with the cards in her hands, while Larry appears quite nervous. He holds the cards close, protectively.
MARCIA
You seem in a strange mood.
LARRY
No, no, no. I'm just probably just a little drunk.
MARCIA
On Perrier?
LARRY
No. What are you talking about? I had rum cake.
MARCIA
Want any cards?
Larry shuffles his cards in his hands, hesitating.
LARRY
Uh, one second. Just let me, let me see, see what I, possibilities I got here. Uh, yeah. I'm gonna have, uh... I'll have, uh... I'm gonna have four cards.
MARCIA
Four?
LARRY
Yeah.
She gives him four cards.
MARCIA
Cruising for a bruising.
LARRY
Inside and outside straight.
Marcia looks at her cards. Larry keeps shuffling his hand, nervously.
MARCIA
You're in trouble now.
LARRY
You know, I can't escape the feeling that my -- my wife is, becoming attracted to somebody else... and it's really bothering me.
MARCIA
Really.
LARRY
Yeah. That's why I'm not playing my best. This guy is, you know, more adventurous than I am, and for some reason they just seem to hit it off. I'm gonna be very lonely if, uh, you know, if this happens.
MARCIA
You must love her a lot.
LARRY
Yeah, I do. I do.
MARCIA
Uhm... if you want to hold onto her, you have to make some effort. I mean -- who's the guy?
LARRY
Uh, Ted. The guy that I fixed you up with.
MARCIA
Ted.
LARRY
Yeah.
MARCIA
Well, we could always switch. Ted gets Carol, I can be your date.
LARRY
Maybe -- Maybe I should actually make a greater effort with -- with Carol....
EXT. NYC street, the Waldron Hotel - Day
FULL SHOT of the hotel's entrance. The pavement is wet, but it's no longer raining. CAMERA PANS to car parked, other side of street. Larry and Carol are in the car.
CAROL
So, you bored? I mean...
LARRY
Well, it's more fun than the Wagner opera.
CAROL
Yeah. Well, to me, I mean, just... I mean, it's just one of the most exciting adventures I've ever been on.
LARRY
Would you rather be here with Ted?
CAROL
Well... Well, he has a more enthused attitude, Larry. I --
LARRY
More enthused?
CAROL
Yeah, enthused, yeah.
LARRY
Well, he's a fun guy. He's a light guy, I'm a heavy guy.
CAROL
Well, I...
LARRY
You know, Ted -- Ted would be fun on a scavenger hunt.
CAROL
No, look. I... Larry, you used to be a lot of fun.
LARRY
You know, he's the guy you want if you have a really heavy scavenger hunt. He's the man.
CAROL
I know, well, but, y-you know. You used to...
LARRY
Do you know that this neighborhood was where I first took you out on a date when we -- we first started going out.
CAROL
What? I don't know. I don't know, just for some reason -- you've gotten so stodgy in your old age, you know?
LARRY
Hey, you remember there was a movie house right on this corner.
CAROL
No, I know. Yes! Yeah, I remember.
LARRY
Not to change the subject.
CAROL
You know, I...
LARRY
I took you to see "Last Year at Marienbad" on our first date?
CAROL
Yeah, I know. I had to explain it to you for the next six months.
LARRY
Who knew they were flashbacks? You know.
CAROL
Look, Larry. Look. We've got plenty of time to be conservative. You know what I'm saying? Don't you see?
The CAMERA starts moving around the car.
CAROL
It's -- to me, it's like this -- this tantalizing plum has just, like dropped into our laps. I mean, life is just such a dull routine and here we are, right? I mean, we're on the threshold of a genuine mystery. I mean, to me, the whole thing is like -- it's... Hey, no.
LARRY
Are you gonna burst into a song, here? We're in a car.
CAROL
Just don't make fun of me, okay? Because I'm open to new experiences.
LARRY
Let me ask you a personal question, here.
CAROL
Yeah.
LARRY
Did you ever sleep with Ted?
__________________________________________
{Manhattan Murder Mystery}
-30-
{Manhattan Murder Mystery}
Carol stops walking: she's looking at something across the street.
CAROL
Ted, look.
TED
At what? What?
CAMERA PANS around to a reverse angle shot of the other side of the street. It stops on a building. On the awning above the entrance of the building, a sign says, "Hotel Waldron."
CAROL
That hotel.
TED
What about it?
CAROL
Well, that's... the Waldron. I mean, I thought -- I -- I was in his apartment, I pressed the number, "last number dialed" -- and...
TED
You're kidding.
CAROL
And they answered the phone. And said -- Waldron.
TED
Let's-Let's-Let's get to a phone. Let's get to a phone. Let's call up. You got a quarter?
MEDIUM SHOT of Ted talking on a pay phone on the street.
TED
Hello? Mrs. House, please? Mrs. - Mrs. House. Can you ring her room for me, please?
The CAMERA PANS to Carol, standing near Ted.
TED
Really?
CAROL
Well?
TED
What. Maybe... Well, maybe she checked out. No- nobody, nobody at all. Uh... What about...?
CAROL
Wh-What about...
TED
Yeah, what about, uh, Helen Moss? Moss. You're sure? Nobody... nobody at all. All- all right. All right, okay. I'm sorry. All right. Thank you. Thank you.
CAROL
Great. Oh, God. It looks like it's gonna rain again. Well?
INT. A restaurant - Day
Larry Lipton and Marcia Fox are seated at a table, playing cards.
MARCIA
If I get two kings, I take one. Otherwise, I fold.
LARRY
So...
MARCIA
Got it?
LARRY
I -- I never go out. I-I-I-I-I just, I can't take... I can't...
MARCIA
(shuffling the cards)
That's how you wind up on welfare.
CAMERA PANS around the restaurant.
LARRY
(Voice Over)
You know -- I need the action, for some reason. I-I can't... I bet anything. Okay, just...
MARCIA
Cut?
LARRY
No, no, go ahead, I trust you. Lay it on me.
-30-
TED
You saw her after I left?
CAROL
Yes, I saw... her on a bus. It was passing. You... It was, like...
She walks into the middle of the street, to demonstrate to him the exact spot where the bus was.
TED
Wait a minute. Are you... You're absolutely sure you saw her? You saw her face?
CAROL
I'm positive I -- I saw her.
A car is honking the horn. Carol moves out of its way.
CAROL
Whoo!... Excuse me. I -- I'm telling you, Ted.
Ted joins Carol in the middle of the street.
TED
What was the number of the bus?
CAROL
Uh, I don't know what the number of the bus was, but I know that it was heading west to east, so it was... it obviously was a cross-town bus.
TED
All right. Okay, look, look. It's a cross-town bus.
They walk to the sidewalk on the other side of the street, where the park is.
CAROL
Right.
TED
Okay, so look. The end of the line is a few blocks down there.
CAROL
So, okay. So, then, it's like...
TED
So, she... She had to get off somewhere... somewhere.
CAROL
Then -- her destination was probably within the next five or six blocks.
They start walking on the sidewalk, going in the direction they first came from.
TED
Yeah, right. So, let's, let's look around. Let's, we, we'll see some, you know, uh, like a, like a, you know... clue, or something. Or something. Maybe we'll see her. You're sure you saw her face?
CAROL
Don't, don't doubt me, okay?
TED
Okay, okay, okay. No, no, no, no.
CAROL
I'm - I'm not kidding. Look.
EXT. A wide avenue - Day
This is not a nice area anymore. It is a wide, dingy-looking avenue, with the nearest buildings very far away and a road bridge over the street. Rain has begun.
LONG SHOT of the avenue, with Carol and Ted walking further away.
CAROL
Oh, God. Well, I think -- you know -- I think we've reached the end of the line.
TED
I think this is it.
A bus is coming toward them.
CAROL
Look. The bus.
The bus slows down.
TED
I don't think... there's nothing -- Watch out! Watch out.
He pulls her, and guides her to the inside of the sidewalk, away from water the bus is driving through.
CAROL
Yeah, what? Oh!
The bus makes a turn, off the avenue.
TED
Yeah, look. See? See, he's turning. That's it.
CAROL
Yeah, I know.
TED
That's all there is, here.
CAROL
Well, what do you think?
TED
What?
CAROL
Do you think we should retrace our steps?
EXT. Street in front of the lounge
FULL SHOT of the park across the street, seen across the thick vertical bars of surrounding railings. Ted and Carol are walking through the park.
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{Manhattan Murder Mystery / Woody Allen}
-30-
