Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, directed by Elio

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, directed by Elio

Postby admin » Tue Jul 08, 2014 11:53 pm

INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION -- ILLUSTRATED SCREENPLAY
Directed by Elio Petri
© 1970, 1996, 1998 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
© 2013 The Criterion Collection

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Re: Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, directed by

Postby admin » Sun Jun 21, 2015 2:21 am

PART 1 OF 2

Screenplay:

INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION

Restored in 4K by Colorworks in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata. Funding provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Film Foundation, and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

DANIELE SENATORE e MARINA CICOGNA presentano

Un film de ELIO PETRI

GIAN MARIA VOLONTE', FLORINDA BOLKAN in

INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION (INDAGINE SU UN CITTADINO AL DI SOPRA DI OGNI SOSPETTO)

con GIANNI SANTUCIO, ORAZIO ORLANDO

SERGIO TRAONTI, ARTURO DOMINICI

ALDO, RENDINE, MASSIMO FOSCHI, ALEKA PAIZI, VITTORIO DUSE, PINO PATTI

e con SALVO RANDONE

Architetto CARLO EGIDI

Direttore dela fotografia LUIGI KUVEILLER, TECHNICOLOR

Operatore UBALDO TERZANO, Assistente operatore: NINO ANNUNZIATA

Montaggio di RUGGERO MASTROIANNI

Direttore di produzione ROMANO CARDARELLI

Musiche di: ENNIO MORRICONE

Orchestra diretta da BRUNO NICOLAI, Edizioni Musicali BIXIO SAM - MILANO

Several scenes were filmed at the Piazzale del Caravaggio administrative complex of Beni Stabili, S.p.A.

PRODUZIONE VERA FILM

Soggetto e sceneggiatura di ELIO PETRI e di UGO PIRRO

Regia di ELIO PETRI

Any similarity to real persons or actual events is entirely coincidental.

***

JUSTICE, SCIENCE

[Augusta Terzi] How are you going to kill me this time?

[Homicide Division Chief] I'm going to slash your throat.
Hello? Hello. Police department? What took you so long? Are you sleeping or what? There's been a crime.
Yes, a crime.
Via del Tempio 1.
Not via del Tempo, idiot. Via del Tempio 1. Augusta Terzi. Apartment number 1. Did you write that down? Repeat it to me.

***

[Antonio Pace] After you.

[Homicide Division Chief] After you.

[Antonio Pace] After you.

***

[POLIZIA]

[Homicide Division Chief] Wait a minute!

[Cops] Congratulations, Chief. Congratulations.

[Cop 2] Congratulations, Chief. We finally did it. We couldn't have kept on without a sense of direction. We needed a man like you.

[Homicide Division Chief] The political situation is favorable. I have lots of ideas.
Don't worry about anything. See you later. Piantone, bring me 15 glasses. [To Biglia] What's wrong?

[Biglia] A murder, Chief.

[Homicide Division Chief] Via del Tempo 1.

[Biglia] Tempio.

[Homicide Division Chief] Mrs. Augusta Terzi. When did the call come in?

[Biglia] Ten or 20 minutes ago.

[Homicide Division Chief] Ten or 20?

[Biglia] They didn't specify.

[CAPO SEZ. OMICIDI, HOMICIDE DIVISION CHIEF]

[Homicide Division Chief] Precise. We must be precise.

[Biglia] We verified the name and address. I'm going there now.

[Homicide Division Chief] Your careless police work gives the suspects time to come up with their alibis. You'll realize that once I'm gone. "Officer Fires Shots." Who was it?

[Drammatico stamane al AGENTE SPARA, OFFICER FIRES SHOTS: WOUNDS FACTORY WORKER]

[Biglia] We don't know him.

[Homicide Division Chief] And, of course, he dropped the gun and it went off.

[Biglia] That's the most likely story.

[Homicide Division Chief] Go to via del Tempio.

[Biglia] Congratulations.

***

[Homicide Division Chief] Come on, cheer up! What's with the sad faces? Don't worry, ma'am. Your son will get off with 10 years. I've got nothing to do with it anymore. I'm done here. Mantiglia, Cascio, Mgiaracine, Del Re, let's go! All of you, let's go! You're finally free of this leech. Come on.

Panunzio! Panunzio! Let's have Panunzio break open a bottle for us. Here he is.

[Panunzi (Eyebrow Cop)] My deepest congratulations, Chief.

[Homicide Division Chief] Toruzzo! You're coming with me.

[Panunzio] Mangani!

[Homicide Division Chief] You're coming with me, got it?

[Mangani] Congratulations. It won't be easy for me to fill your shoes.

[Homicide Division Chief] Don't be ridiculous. What are you talking about? And Panunzi? Where is he?

[Panunzio] Here.

[Homicide Division Chief] There he is! Panunzio, eh?

Mangani] Should we go in?

[Homicide Division Chief] So, did you get a confession out of Proietti yet?

[Mangani] He still insists it was suicide.

***

[Homicide Division Chief] Have a drink. The champagne will help clear your mind.

[Proetti] My mind is already clear! I'm innocent.

[Cop] We understand.

[Proetti] She killed herself just to get me in trouble. Yes!

[Cop] Yes.

[Proetti] Or maybe she lost her balance. She must have been dizzy. I don't know!

[Mangani] You pushed her.

[Proetti] No, I was asleep, just like I was when you found me. I was asleep. And besides, I'm a violent type. I would've strangled the bitch!

[Homicide Division Chief] Drink up, Mr. Innocent. Drink. Everybody's innocent here.
There's only one guilty party ... and that's me.

[Cops] [Laugh]

[Mangani] Quiet, please. I'm not saying this to ingratiate myself with a superior officer, who is also a dear friend, but nobody deserves this promotion more than you. In all these years, we've investigated 102 murder cases, and only 10 have gone unsolved. I'm sure that, in this difficult time, the Political Division will become as efficient as Homicide was under your command. I wish you as much success there as you had here.
I raise my glass to your health and to your extraordinary career.
Cheers.

[Homicide Division Chief] Enough ass-kissing. The carnival is over. Let's go.

[Cop] Via del Tempio 1 is a go!

[Homicide Division Chief] Via del Tempio 1 is a go!
Mangani, Panunzio, let's go! I'll meet you there.

[Patane, Reporter] Do you have statement?

[Homicide Division Chief] It was her husband.

[Patane, Reporter] Great!

***

[Homicide Division Chief] What have you got?

[Mangani] Newspaper clippings of crime stories. There's a photo of you too. Look.

[Homicide Division Chief] Where is she?

[Biglia] Over here.

[Homicide Division Chief] Uncover her.

[Biglia] Her jewelry box is empty.

[Homicide Division Chief] And that?

[Biglia] 300,000 lire in cash. She was a real libertine, like D'Annunzio. We haven't found any undergarments in the house.
Not even underwear.

[Homicide Division Chief] What a mess.

[Biglia] They were in bed, making love.

[Homicide Division Chief] Any evidence of an orgasm?

[Doctor] Not from my initial examination.

[Homicide Division Chief] Cover her up. Collect that bottle and that glass. Did any of the tenants see or hear anything?

[Biglia] We're getting their names.
Are you feeling okay?

[Homicide Division Chief] Who lives next door?

[Biglia] A well-known surgeon. An individual above suspicion.

[Homicide Division Chief] Whose name is the apartment in?

[Biglia] The victim's.

[Homicide Division Chief] Who inherits everything? The husband?

[Biglia] They've been separated for three years.

[Homicide Division Chief] Find him. Question him.

[Mangani] Look at this. The victim was posing for fake crime scene photos. There's a whole collection of them. I think it's the work of an amateur, and quite a childish one. What do you think?

***

[Homicide Division Chief] [To Augusta Terzi] Lie down on the bed and turn over. I'll show you how we found that whore on Viale Coccia di Morto.

[Augusta Terzi] Where?

[Homicide Division Chief] That's good. Now come with me.

[Augusta Terzi] Where?

[Homicide Division Chief] A German stewardess had sex with a Turk during an intercontinental flight. We found her strangled to death in the bathroom at Fiumicino airport. Stay still! What do you want to do now?

[Homicide Division Chief] Let's do the young singer, the rising star.

[Homicide Division Chief] Yes. Parioli 1967. A young rock-and-roll singer's throat was cut. Her body was covered up with albums of polyphonic religious music. An erotic and mystical crime. The killer, a former seminary student, was found some minutes later, complacently listening to the voice of his victim in front of a jukebox.

[Augusta Terzi] Not a seminary student, stupid. He was an organist.

[Homicide Division Chief] Don't move.

[Augusta Terzi] Let's do the young revolutionary.

[Homicide Division Chief] Yes. Young student protester. Trento. She was suffocated by a tenured sociology professor with 10,000-lire bills. She was raped after she was killed. Hold still. Spread your legs. That's it. Don't move.
There.

[Augusta Terzi] Doesn't it excite you to find them like this?

[Homicide Division Chief] Sometimes. Once a particular detail excited me. A tool.

[Augusta Terzi] What kind?

[Homicide Division Chief] No, I'm too embarrassed.

***

[Homicide Division Chief] Let me through.

[Biglia] Chief.

[Homicide Division Chief] What is it?

[Biglia] I think he's a complete idiot.

[Homicide Division Chief] Who?

[Biglia] The killer.

[Homicide Division Chief] Why do you think that?

[Biglia] Not just stupid, but also superficial and conceited. He fakes a robbery by taking her jewelry but leaves 300,000 lire in the dresser. Then he gets dressed, has a shower. He dolls himself up, uses the victim's French soap.

[Homicide Division Chief] And?

[Biglia] He puts his shoes on. Then he tramps through her blood leaving footprints everywhere. Helpful for us, but what an idiot. No?

[Homicide Division Chief] He's an idiot. Let's hope it was the husband. You can wrap it up quickly.

***

[Patane, Reporter] Well?

[Homicide Division Chief] Naked.

[Patane, Reporter] Was she raped?

[Homicide Division Chief] No, she had consensual sex. She was killed afterwards. No signs of struggle in the apartment. Write this down. You breathe in an atmosphere of sex, pleasure.
It's morbid. It reeks of DAnnunzio. There's blood everywhere.

[To Cop] Get out. I'm driving.

[Patane, Reporter] Did she have a nice body?

[Homicide Division Chief] Skin like satin, like a true courtesan of the Roman Empire. Here's something for your left-wing readers.
No undergarments were found in the apartment.

[Patane, Reporter] A fetish?

[Homicide Division Chief] No. She just didn't wear them.

[Patane, Reporter] I have my headline.

[Homicide Division Chief] Do me a favor, Patane, focus on the husband. Do me a favor.

***

[Augusta Terzi] Commissioner. You don't know me. Am I speaking to the famous and powerful Chief of Homicide? No, you don't know me. You've never seen me before. I don't hang out with cops.
Who am I? I could be a thief, a maniac, a murderer, one of the 30 murderers still wandering free in this city.
What's my name? You figure it out. You're so smart. You pose for photos and give interviews. By the way, try losing some weight.
Chief, help! Someone's breaking into my house. I can hear his footsteps. They've been threatening me for months: letters, anonymous calls. It's someone who wants to possess me, rape me. He's here! He has no pants on! How awful. I'm all alone, naked. I'll be raped and killed. That's my fate. Help!
Always wearing black, always in mourning. Don't kid yourself. You don't interest me physically. You're an average Italian. You're too hairy.
You probably sweat lot. I'm sure you smell like shoe polish, don't you? All policemen do. Admit it.
A policeman is full of secrets, like a priest. It's your mind that excites me. I really admire the police. I'd love to be a snitch. What I wouldn't give to be interrogated by you.
Ask your fucking sister to do that!
Who is it?

[Homicide Division Chief] Police.

[Augusta Terzi] Who else could it have been? A thief or a cop.

[Homicide Division Chief] Who does this belong to?

[Augusta Terzi] A man.

[Homicide Division Chief] Who are you? What do you want? Why did you call me? Let's get one thing clear.
I don't pay for my women.

[Augusta Terzi] Nice.

[Homicide Division Chief] You should have called the vice squad, not Homicide.

[Augusta Terzi] Who do you think I am?

[Homicide Division Chief] What's your game?

[Augusta Terzi] Just having some fun.

[Homicide Division Chief] How did you meet all these millionaires? Did you call them too?

[Augusta Terzi] You're good. Wow, you're quite a cop. But there's a mistake here.
In '66, I was all alone, like a dog.

***

[Homicide Division Chief] On your feet! Toruzzo. How are you? How are you?

[Cop] Good.

[Homicide Division Chief] Gentlemen, I hope you appreciate the novelty of this meeting. It's American-style!
We don't have enough men for all the work in front of us.

[Cop] That's right!

[Homicide Division Chief] We need many more! Have a seat. As of today, I've been made Chief of the Political Division. You all know that up until yesterday I was catching murderers, and with a certain amount of success. There's a reason why they chose a man like me, at a time like this, to direct the Political Division. The decision was made for the following reason:
The difference between common and political felonies is dwindling more and more each day. It has almost disappeared. Memorize this rule: Inside every criminal, a subversive may be hiding, and inside every subversive, a criminal may be hiding. In this city that has been entrusted to our care, subversives and criminals have already spun their invisible web. It's up to us to tear it down. What's the difference between a gang of robbers assaulting a bank and organized, institutionalized, legal subversion? There isn't any. They both have the same objective. They just use different methods. Their objective is to overthrow the current social order.
6,000 prostitutes on file. A 20% rise in strikes and sit-ins in both public and private buildings. 2,000 known whorehouses. In one year, 30 attempts to destroy state property as an act of protest. 200 rapes in one year. 50,000 high school students demonstrating in the streets. A 30% rise in bank robberies. 10,000 new subversives on file. 600 homosexuals on file. More than 70 subversive groups operating outside the bounds of the law. A 50% rise in fraudulent bankruptcy and protests of bills of exchange.
An indescribable number of political magazines urging revolution. The exercise of freedom is threatening our traditional power structure from all sides, our established authorities.
The exercise of freedom makes every citizen think he's a judge and prevents us from executing our sacrosanct duties freely! We are the protectors of the law, and it should be immutable, carved in stone.
The populace lacks maturity. The city is sick. Let others take up the task of healing and educating. Our duty is to repress them!
Repression is our vaccine!
Repression is civilization!

[Cops] Well said, Chief! Bravo, Chief!

[Homicide Division Chief] No applause, please. I barely did anything. A little restraint, please. Let's get back to work.

***

[Canes] The Communists are in this section. Then come the partisans, Trotskyites, Maoists and anarchists.

[Homicide Division Chief] And the political parties?

[Canes] Over here. Here we have the various Catholic movements. In the back, the Social Democrats up through the right-wing opposition parties.
With progress, obviously, all of this will be destroyed, and we'll gather everything into two small rooms. This way please.

[Homicide Division Chief] Canes, come here. I'd like to take a peek at my Homicide colleagues' files, as a joke.

[Canes] For the past two weeks, we've been entering the data from the archive's files in here. That's progress for you.

[Homicide Division Chief] Let's do a test.

[Canes] Let's.

[Homicide Division Chief] Imagine that the Terzi murder was political in nature.

[Canes] What's the address, exactly?

[Homicide Division Chief] Via del Tempio 1.

[Cop] What zone?

[Homicide Division Chief] Downtown.

[Canes] We'll ask the computer if via del Tempio is home to any socially or politically dangerous individuals.

[Homicide Division Chief] How does it work?

[Canes] Like this.

[Homicide Division Chief] What's this? America has arrived! It's revolutionary!

[Canes] One of our old acquaintances lives at via del Tempio 1. A socially and politically dangerous individual.

[Homicide Division Chief] Pace, Antonio.

[Canes] Yes.

[Homicide Division Chief] Born in Ravenna, March 24, 1946. Chemistry student, student council member. Subversive, hot-blooded, fanatical, dangerous. Is his line tapped?

[Canes] Of course, Chief. Since May 1968.

[Homicide Division Chief] The face of a criminal. I'll put him away.

***

[Cop] Chief. Please come in.

[His Eminence] Until next time.

[Homicide Division Chief] Your Eminence.

[Homicide Division Chief] No, my son, better not.

[Commander] Ciao! Would you like a cigar?

[Homicide Division Chief] Thank you.

[Commander] Here. Have a seat. So, are you satisfied?

[Homicide Division Chief] Well, you know, satisfied -- In 1917, the responsibility for Caporetto's defeat fell on General Cadorna. This year's center-left party could become another Caporetto for those in charge. The country is tense. I'd feel better if I had a larger team to work with. I need 100 more men and more funding to pay my informants better.

[Commander] I'll discuss it with the minister.

[Homicide Division Chief] I would like --

[Commander] Go on.

[Homicide Division Chief] I would really like to --

[Commander] Tell me.

[Homicide Division Chief] Listen.

[Commander] Tell me.

[Homicide Division Chief] To rent one -- three apartments in a nice, quiet neighborhood like Prati for my informants so I can establish a relationship with them that's more --

[Commander] More?

[Homicide Division Chief] Informative.

[Commander] All right. But officially, I don't know anything about it.

[Homicide Division Chief] My office has prepared a new list of 630 numbers to be tapped. I don't know if you think we should request authorization.
I don't know.

[Commander] You decide. Is that all?

[Homicide Division Chief] Oh, yes. That woman who was killed three days ago --

[Commander] Who? Mrs. Terzi?

[Homicide Division Chief] Exactly. Augusta Terzi.

[Commander] Beautiful woman. I saw the photos.

[Homicide Division Chief] I knew her. Yes. I had an affair with her.

[Commander] How was it? Good? How was it?

[Homicide Division Chief] Well, you know. I wanted to ask you if you think it's necessary to inform the investigators about the situation? I really don't know. What do you think?

[Commander] Bye.

[Homicide Division Chief] Bye.

[Commander] Bye.

[Homicide Division Chief] I really don't know.

[Commander] I think it was the husband.

[Nicola Panunzio File]

[Homicide Division Chief] Send in Panunzio.

[Nicola Panunzio] Morning, Chief. I brought you a souvenir photo of the glorious Homicide squad.

[Homicide Division Chief] Sit down.

[Nicola Panunzio] Yes, I know. My cousin's a Communist and secretary of a labor union. But what can I do? He never sets foot in my house. Besides, I've never even seen him. Okay, to be honest, I do see him, but once a year, at Christmas.
Chief, I've only got two years left. Don't transfer me. I have two sons in university. I need to keep an eye on them, in every respect.

[Homicide Division Chief] How's the Terzi case going?

[Nicola Panunzio] We have an interesting lead. Underneath the victim's nail, forensics found a blue silk thread that seems to have been ripped from a tie.

[Homicide Division Chief] Wasn't the murderer naked?

[Nicola Panunzio] Yes.

[Homicide Division Chief] So you think he was naked but wearing a tie.

[Nicola Panunzio] You're right. No one even thought of that.

[Homicide Division Chief] Panunzio. Panunzio. Are you interrogating her husband?

[Nicola Panunzio] Yes, Chief. They've been questioning him since last night.

[Homicide Division Chief] Fingerprints?

[Nicola Panunzio] Nothing interesting. Only yours, Chief.

[Homicide Division Chief] Mine? Mine!

[Nicola Panunzio] Yes, on a doorknob.

[Homicide Division Chief] Panunzio!

[Nicola Panunzio] And on a coffee cup, Chief. You must have been sleepy. This one was in the shower ...
but we all went in there, even Mangani, remember? And also in the kitchen. There it is. In the kitchen too. But we all went in there too. You must have picked something up distractedly, without taking precautions. And on the telephone too. Where is it? Here. On the telephone. No doubt you must have made a call that night. I remember it clearly. And then on a glass. Here. A liquor glass. You didn't feel well that night. Remember?
You had a glass of Fernet. I poured it myself, remember? I wrote it down in my notes.
Do you feel ill, Chief?

***

[Cop] So, sir -- or should I say ma'am? Tell us when you first became a homosexual! Was it before or after you and Augusta Terzi were separated?

[Cop 2] Why'd your wife kick you out?

[Cop 3] Because he was throwing his money out the window.

[Husband] It wasn't that simple. You can't put it that way! I loved her!

[Mangani] Evening. Perfect timing.
He's done for. Two or three more questions, my way, and he'll break for sure.

[Cop 2] Are you crying?

[Mangani] Have you made up your mind, artist, hippie, queen of queers?
Are you going to talk?

[Cop 3] You'd better. We know everything.

[Mangani] Of course, it's obvious. You're a queer. She was beautiful, and you killed her.

[Cop 2] That's what happened.

[Husband] That's not true!

[Mangani] Talk. Be a good boy.

[Husband] I want my lawyer!

[Mangani] We're not in America.

[Husband] I want my lawyer!

[Mangani] As soon as the law changes, I'll send him to you.

***

[Cop 2] You're an artist, a sensitive type. Try to help us.

[Husband] Of course.

[Cop 3] Now he'll tell us the whole story, calmly. Let's start from the beginning.
The Sunday that your wife, Augusta Terzi, was killed, what time did you get back from Fregene?

[Husband] I already told you.

[Mangani] Tell us again.

[Husband] At 4:00.

[Mangani] And then?

[Husband] I picked up my car and headed out towards Rome.
There was a traffic jam, tons of people, thousands. So strange. I know it seems unlikely, but --

[Cop with glasses] He's a real faggot.

[Cop 2] The traffic jam is your alibi.

[Mangani] How convenient!

[Husband] I told you everything I know about her, myself, everyone!

[Mangani] Not everything. Or at least, not of your own accord.
You used your wife to advance your own career! If your colleague hadn't told us, you'd never have confessed that!

***

[Augusta Terzi] Want to see if I can wake you up? Interrogate me. Let's do something. Stop sleeping.

[Homicide Division Chief] Leave me alone.

[Augusta Terzi] I like it when you interrogate me. You're so suspicious. It reminds me of my father. Come on, interrogate me. Interrogate me!

[Homicide Division Chief] All right, first get off the bed. Get off the bed!
Now get on your knees. Straighten up! [Slap!] Straighten up! [Slap!]

[Augusta Terzi] I get it. The silence is intimidating.

[Homicide Division Chief] Straighten up! [Slap!] Now try to imagine that many terrible hours lie ahead of you. Cruel questions, tricks, blackmail, everything! Try to remember all the things you've forgotten. Try to recall the most shameful memories. And remember, I can find out everything about you because the government has given the means to expose an individual. [Slap!] Straighten up!

[Augusta Terzi] Bastard.

[Homicide Division Chief] I want you to think I know everything about you. That is how I will trigger the guilt-complex mechanism inside of you.

[Augusta Terzi] I've had enough. Interrogate me! Ask me some questions!

[Homicide Division Chief] You want me to interrogate you?

[Augusta Terzi] Yes.

[Homicide Division Chief] Then talk, talk! Tell me the most shameful things. Talk. Only if you confess all your weakness and shame will you obtain my forgiveness and my protection.

[Augusta Terzi] I understand. You treat them like children.

[Homicide Division Chief] Everyone becomes a child again, especially in the presence of the established authorities. In my presence, because I represent power. [Slap!] Straighten up!
The law. Sit up! [Slap!] The law. All laws, both known and unknown. The suspect becomes a child again ... and I become the father, the unassailable model.
My face becomes God's face, the face of your conscience. It's all staged to touch a deep chord in you, to expose hidden feelings. Don't be upset. Here. I'm explaining this mentality to you because -- Well, why do you think? These are the foundations the established authorities are built upon. University professors ... heads of political parties, tax attorneys, stationmasters. Here. Now I'll show you how we found that whore in Mandrione. In the end, we policemen aren't that different from criminals. Same way of speaking, same habits. Sometimes even the same gestures.

[Augusta Terzi] You're like a child, more than any other man I've ever met.

[Homicide Division Chief] You shouldn't say that, that I'm a child. You shouldn't say that, understand?
Other people are children, understand?

***

[Mangani] Will you drop the traffic jam story?

[Husband] It's true!

[Mangani] No, wait a minute. We're going to leave you alone to think things over. Think carefully about what you should say and do, okay?
We're leaving.

[Cop] Mangani, you yell too much.

[Mangani] Thanks. I yell too much. I learned it all from you. That guy's starting to get in the way. Why doesn't he go do his job?

[Cop] You're right, Chief.

[Mangani] He's impeding the investigation. Holy shit.

***

[Homicide Division Chief] Have some coffee. If I'm not mistaken, you decorated the Moroni house?

[Husband] Yes.

[Homicide Division Chief] I heard about it. You found some interesting solutions.
art Nouveau, isn't it?

[Husband] [coughs shyly]

[Homicide Division Chief] Mr. Terzi, when was the last time you saw poor Augusta?

[Husband] Three days before the murder. She was blackmailing me. I received anonymous calls, a man's voice. It was him.

[Homicide Division Chief] Who?

[Husband] The man who was with my wife. They were in cahoots. He was the one calling me. He had a certain tone of voice, like he was used to being in charge.

[Homicide Division Chief] Why would they blackmail you?

[Husband] They enjoyed watching me suffer, humiliating me.

[Homicide Division Chief] What form did this blackmail take?

[Husband] One day, the man called me and said he was going to put me on file as a transvestite. I think he's somebody important. A military man, maybe.
Or someone from the tax office. Augusta liked men with power.

[Homicide Division Chief] His name? Give me the name.

[Husband] I don't know it. If I knew it, I wouldn't be here. I think he's the murderer. It's just a feeling.

[Homicide Division Chief] You've forgotten his name?

[Husband] No. I never knew it.

[Homicide Division Chief] Don't worry. It'll be okay.

[Husband] Thank you.

***

[Mangani] Well?

[Homicide Division Chief] I think he's innocent.

[Cops] Innocent!

[Homicide Division Chief] I think he's innocent.

***

[Homicide Division Chief] At 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 24, I killed Mrs. Augusta Terzi ... with cold determination. There is one extenuating circumstance. The victim systematically mocked me. I left clues everywhere, not to sidetrack the investigation, but to prove -- to prove -- not to sidetrack the investigation, but to prove -- to prove -- to prove -- to prove -- that I am above suspicion. However -- However -- However, if you send an innocent man to prison in your place, then the fact --
then the fact that you're above suspicion has not been proven.

***

[POST OFFICE]

[Postmaster] 1.2 kilograms. 900 lire. Is this package really going to police headquarters?

[Homicide Division Chief] Can't you read?

***

[Homicide Division Chief] I'd like to talk to Patane, news desk.

[Operator] Just a minute.

[Patane] News desk.

[Homicide Division Chief] Hello? Patane?

[Patane] Who's this?

[Homicide Division Chief] I can't tell you my name. Your phone is tapped.

[Patane] What kind of joke is this?

[Homicide Division Chief] Hello? Homicide received a package containing the victim Augusta Terzi's jewels, the killer's shoe and the razor blade. This definitively exonerates the husband.

[Patane] It's no use disguising your voice. I recognize you.

***

[VIVA MAO]

[STALIN]

***

[Mistico] In 1948, we removed 2,000 instances of graffiti in favor of Stalin, 50 for Lenin, 1,000 for Togliatti.

[Cop Spock] Thirty for Marshall Tito.

[Mistico] 300 for Mussolini.

[Cop Spock] 411 for the Common Man's Front.

[Mistico] But in 1956, Stalin's fell to 100. A huge drop.

[Homicide Division Chief] And Togliatti?

[Cop Spock] Stable.

[Mistico] In 1958, we had 100 "Viva Khrushchev" ...
50 for Mao Tse, and 500 "Down with Stalin" also appeared.

[Cop] I'd like to point out we had orders not to remove those, obviously.

[Mistico] Last year, "Viva Mao" went up to 3,000. Ho Chi Minh went up to 10,000, Che Guevara, 1,000. Marcuse, 11, both for and against.

[Cop Glasses and moustache] And something new. We found a couple "Viva Sade!"

[Homicide Division Chief] The Marquis.

[Mistico] This year we expect 10,000 for Mao, 500 for Trotsky, 10 for Amendola, and maybe 500 or 600 for Stalin.

[Canes] What are those two doing?

[Homicide Division Chief] Go check them out. See if they have passes and where they're going.
Youth, youth! Writing slogans on walls! Young students and laborers prowling around at night, spouting their revolution on the phone, in their classes, at their jobs!
Using up tons of red paint just to insult us! I know what needs to be done! It'll take more than whitewashers to combat this subversive, antiauthoritarian tide!

[Canes] Pace went to the Homicide Division.

[Homicide Division Chief] Who's he talking to?

[Canes] Mangani.

[ANTONIO PACE] MURDERER

[Homicide Division Chief] We must send our young officers back to school. They must infiltrate universities, factories, grow beards and long hair, wear greasy overalls. We must know everything, control everything! We'll use our own sons if we have to.

***

[Cop] Hello, Chief. Thanks.

[Head of Wire-tapping Office] Hello, Chief.

[Homicide Division Chief] Antonio Pace's recordings.

[Head of Wire-Tapping Office] Right away.

[Mangani] The Terzi case.

[Homicide Division Chief] What happened?

[Mangani] Important new developments. I'll keep you posted.

[Cop] Hello, Chief.

[Homicide Division Chief] Hello.

[Head of Wire-Tapping Office] Chief, I need your signature please. Thanks.

[Mangani] Antonio, where have you been all day?

[Antonio Pace] The police station.

[Mangani] Is the Political Division hassling you again?

[Antonio Pace] No. I was at Homicide.

[Mangani] How come?

[Antonio Pace] It was about that woman who was killed in my building.

[Mangani] They're implicating you?

[Antonio Pace] No. They want to know if the tenants saw anything.

[Mangani] What did you tell them?

[Antonio Pace] Nothing, of course.

[Mangani] Not even that you slept with her?

[Homicide Division Chief] Bitch.

[Antonio Pace] Shut up. My phone's tapped. Actually, since I'm here, I'd like to talk to the cop that's on duty now.
Comrade, you have the degrading job of unlawfully spying on the birth of the Italian revolution, but you're being exploited too. Join us, or at least ask for a raise.

[Homicide Division Chief] Turn it off.

[Head of Wire-Tapping Office] Wait a second, Chief.

[Homicide Division Chief] What?

[Head of Wire-Tapping Office] His ideas are truly abominable except for that last one. I've been working here 30 years and still make 140,000 lire a month.

[Homicide Division Chief] So?

[Head of Wire-Tapping Office] If I didn't have culture to fall back on --

[Homicide Division Chief] What?

[Had of Wire-Tapping Office] I sell books in installments.

[Homicide Division Chief] What's that got to do with me?

[Head of Wire-Tapping Office] Nothing.

[Homicide Division Chief] I'll report you.

[Head of Wire-Tapping Office] Chief.

***

[Tape Playing] [Operator] Just a minute.

[Patane] News desk.

[Homicide Division Chief] Hello? Patane?

[Patane] Who's this?

[Homicide Division Chief] I can't tell you my name. Your phone is tapped.

[Patane] What kind of joke is this?

[Homicide Division Chief] Hello? Homicide received a package containing the victim Augusta Terzi's jewels --

[Mangani] Who does he remind you of?

[Homicide Division Chief] ... the killer's shoe and the razor blade.

[Homicide Division Chief] One of them is Patane.

[Mangani] Yes, but the other one?

[Homicide Division Chief] Did you receive this package?

[Mangani] We got it, but an hour after this article was published.

[Biglia] So it can't be the husband because we have him here.

[Mangani] He could have an accomplice.

[Biglia] I think Terzi's husband is innocent and should be released.

[Mangani] Detective, this is my case. The husband stays in jail.

[Biglia] All right.

[Mangani] All right, Biglia?

[Biglia] We'll keep him in jail.

***

[Homicide Division Chief] When will you understand? The man is innocent.

[Mangani] It's better if we hold him, at least until the public forgets this story.

[Homicide Division Chief] You're a bureaucrat. You're afraid of public opinion.

[To Biglia] Don't get upset. Don't worry.

[Biglia] He's a reactionary, a Bourbon straight out of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. He just panders to the minister and public opinion.

[Homicide Division Chief] He's like an old pair of underwear. He won't last. Don't worry.

***

[To Reporter] What do you want?

[DRAMATIC TWIST IN THE TERZI CASE]

[Patane] Here you go. What should I tell him?

[Homicide Division Chief] Tell who?

[Patane] Mangani.

[Homicide Division Chief] About what?

[Patane] He wants to know if I know who called me about the package and the jewels.

[Homicide Division Chief] Why ask me?

[Patane] It was you.

[Homicide Division Chief] Think about it. How could I have called you if the package hadn't arrived at the station yet?

[Patane] It was you!

[Homicide Division Chief] You can't go around saying that I call you.
I don't call you! I do favors for you, and you'd better be careful.

***

[Mistico] This vending machine makes great espresso.

[Cop] I know, but I can't drink espresso.

[Mistico] Get a cappuccino.

[Homicide Division Chief] You want me to get rid of that vending machine?
Mistico, get back to work. [To Patane] You too. Get out of here, please. Get out of here.

[Patane] [To Biglia] Bye.

***
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Re: Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, directed by

Postby admin » Sun Jun 21, 2015 2:22 am

PART 2 OF 2

[Biglia] [To Homicide Division Chief] I need your advice on something.

[Homicide Division Chief] What's eating you? Come along with me.
If we don't help each other --

[Cop] [To Homicide Division Chief] A message.

[Homicide Division Chief] Now what? In this city, they're not just killing prostitutes. They're killing order and social stability.
Three sit-ins in 24 hours. Homeless people, students, teachers. The teachers! Italians! In six month, 81 million hours' worth of strikes. Got an aspirin?

[Biglia] No. Chief, do you believe Terzi's husband is innocent?

[Homicide Division Chief] Of course I do.

[Biglia] There's only one way to prove Terzi's husband is innocent. We have to find the man with the blue tie.

[Homicide Division Chief] We have to find him.

[Biglia] The blue tie you wore the night of the murder -- Where did you buy it?

[Homicide Division Chief] At Cenci's, near the Pantheon.

[Biglia] He sold two of them. Yours we can rule out, and he remembers selling the other one to a woman.

[Homicide Division Chief] Augusta Terzi.

[Biglia] So the victim gave the tie to her murderer.

[Homicide Division Chief] The victim gave the tie to her murderer.

[Biglia] Given their marriage, I doubt she gave it to her husband.

[Homicide Division Chief] That seems logical. Count him out. And me? What can I do for you? How can I help you? Maybe you want my blue tie? You can stop by my place. Ask for it. My cleaning lady's there in the mornings. Do you have an aspirin?

[Biglia] I can really stop by your place?

[Homicide Division Chief] You understand, three sit-ins in 24 hours. Students, homeless people, teachers. Teachers.

[Biglia] May I go?

[Homicide Division Chief] You know what? Compared to this, I prefer Homicide.

[Biglia] Of course. Thanks, Chief.
So if I need to, I can really get the tie from your place?

[Homicide Division Chief] Yes.

[Augusta Terzi] How disgusting. Take that undershirt off.
I promise your mother will never find out. And change your shirt.
You look like a Swiss waiter. You wear short socks like a priest or a seminary student, or rather like what you are: a policeman. Don't you have any brighter suits, something happier? Something normal even?

[Homicide Division Chief] No.

[Augusta Terzi] People must change sidewalks when they see you, because they can tell you're a cop.
You stink of barracks, file rooms, jail cells. At least priests smell like incense. The authorities should hand out free deodorant to their employees.

[Homicide Division Chief] I could murder you with my bare hands.

[Homicide Division Chief] How brave. You'd lead the investigation. Who'd solve the crime?

***

[Homicide Division Chief] Would you do me a favor?

[Plumber] Yes.

[Homicide Division Chief] Would you go in there and buy me all those blue ties? The ones in the window.

[Plumber] Why don't you go buy them?

[Homicide Division Chief] They'll think I'm a competitor and take advantage of me. Do me a favor.

[Plumber] It will cost a lot.

[Homicide Division Chief] How much?

[Plumber] 50 or 60,000 lire.

[Homicide Division Chief] Okay. Take what you need.

[Plumber] Satisfy my curiosity. Why do they all have to be blue?

[Homicide Division Chief] I'm a theater impresario. Pre-show stuff.

[Plumber] I see.

[Homicide Division Chief] The name of the revue is "50 Blue Ties for 50 Babes."

[Plumber] Bravo.

[Homicide Division Chief] Do me a favor. I'll wait for you down there.

[Plumber] Where?

[Homicide Division Chief] Under the colonnade.
Hurry up.

[Plumber] Here you are. 4,000 lire is your change. You know what happened? This is good. They thought I was a cop. They gave me a big discount.
One man even called me Sergeant. Okay, here you go. Count them. I got 25.

[Homicide Division Chief] What do you do for a living?

[Plumber] What?

[Homicide Division Chief] What do you do for a living?

[Plumber] Me? I'm a plumber.

[Homicide Division Chief] A plumber.

[Plumber] I work when I feel like it.

[Homicide Division Chief] Who did you vote for?

[Plumber] Who'd I vote for? Why do you care?

[Homicide Division Chief] Tell me who you vote for!

[Plumber] For whoever I want! Why?

[Homicide Division Chief] I'll keep one of these ties. You keep the other 24.

[Plumber] What? What's the meaning of this? I want an explanation, sir.

[Homicide Division Chief] I'll explain now. Take these 24 ties to the police station immediately. Go to the Homicide Division. I'm not a theater impresario.
I'm a murderer.

[Plumber] What did you say?

[Homicide Division Chief] A murderer. A murderer. Do you read the papers? Do you remember the lady that was murdered on via del Tempio? I killed her.

[Plumber] What are you saying? A respectable man like you? You're pulling my leg, right?

[Homicide Division Chief] No, I'm not pulling your leg. You're in trouble now.

[Plumber] Why am I in trouble? I didn't do anything!

[Homicide Division Chief] Shut up for a minute! Let me tell you how it works. Anyone who comes into contact with a murderer is in trouble. Run over to the police station, Homicide Division. Give them a detailed description of me. Give them the time, the place, the way that we met.
Look at me closely. Describe me in detail. You don't stand six inches away from a murderer every day. Examine everything. Remember how I comb my hair, if I have a mustache or not, what I'm wearing, if I have a tie.

[Plumber] At least give me time to stop by my house and see my wife and son.

[Homicide Division Chief] Go to the police station. Go to the police station!

[Plumber] Give me time for a quick shave!

[Homicide Division Chief] Stop acting like an idiot! Act like a citizen!

[Plumber] Wait, listen.

[Homicide Division Chief] Go!

[Plumber] Listen!

[Homicide Division Chief] Go to the police station!

[Plumber] Wait, listen! Sir!

[Homicide Division Chief] Go to the police station!

[Plumber] Come back.

***

[Auguta Terzi] Go on, run the red light.
You're above the law.

[Homicide Division Chief] No, what are you asking me to do?

[Augusta Terzi] Go on, run it! Run the red light!

[Homicide Division Chief] You want me to run the light?

[Augusta Terzi] Yes, go! You can do whatever you want. Go on, do it.

[Homicide Division Chief] I'll do it. Watch out.

[Augusta Terzi] That's it!

[Homicide Division Chief] I'll do anything!
I'm going! I'm going! There, you see?

[Augusta Terzi] The traffic cop's coming. Show him your nifty police badge.

[Homicide Division Chief] Obviously I will.

[Augusta Terzi] Show him you're an important man. He'll be trembling! Treat him badly.

[Traffic Cop] Driver's license and registration.

[Homicide Division Chief] Police. Hurry, please.

[Traffic Cop] Sorry, Chief.

[Augusta Terzi] You can commit any crime you want. I'm telling you.

***

[Augusta Terzi] [In ocean] [Crying out again and again]

[Homicide Division Chief] Good. You reminded me of that decapitated girl in Castel Gandolfo.

[Augusta Terzi] Aquatic rape. Do you think you could kill me here without getting caught? Theme: How a policeman commits murder on a crowded beach without getting caught.

[Homicide Division Chief] The parking attendant saw me, the ticket collector, the lifeguards, and the people in the cabana next to ours. I'd say the parking attendant is the most dangerous.

[Augusta Terzi] Yeah, right. A parking attendant reporting a big shot like you? Impossible. You'd have to sign a crime with your first and last name to get caught. Otherwise, who would consider you?

[Homicide Division Chief] Augusta, don't tempt me. It would be too easy for me.

[Augusta Terzi] Come on. Come up with a nice crime.

[Homicide Division Chief] I'll cut off your head and hide it. No, I'll throw it in the sea for the fish. A lifeguard will find your body in the cabana at sunset. The magistrate, a guy from Latina, won't examine you until the next day, when you're in an advanced state of decomposition.
What the --
Bitch!

***

[Homicide Division Chief] Augusta! Augusta, stop joking around. Come out.

[WOMEN]

[Homicide Division Chief] Augusta, let's go! We need an official mandate to demolish these brothels. Augusta!

***

[Housekeeper] Use the pads, sir. Your colleague stopped by this morning, the young Neapolitan. What's his name?

[Homicide Division Chief] Who? Biglia?

[Housekeeper] That's it, Biglia.

[Homicide Division Chief] What did he want?

[Housekeeper] I don't know. He was looking for a tie, but I didn't give it to him.

[Homicide Division Chief] How could you have? I'm wearing it.

[Housekeeper] Then you must have two of them. I saw the other one stuffed in your sneakers yesterday. He wanted to look at your shoes too. I knew he was a snoop right away. He asked me loads of questions.

[Homicide Division Chief] What did he want to know?

[Housekeeper] If you ever have women over.

[Homicide Division Chief] Anything else?

[Housekeeper] If you have a girlfriend.

[Homicide Division Chief] Was that all?

[Housekeeper] What you do on Sundays.

[Homicide Division Chief] Go in there. I've got work to do.

[Housekeeper] I haven't finished, sir.

[Homicide Division Chief] Finish later.

[cuts up old tie and flushes it down the toilet.]

***

[HOMICIDE DIVISION]

[Homicide Division Chief] Good morning! Good morning!

How are you, Homicide?

[Cop] How's life in the Political Division?

[Homicide Division Chief] [To Mangani] Morning. To save you some time, I brought you my tie.
What's wrong?
What did he do?

[Cops] Murder.

[Man] I'd do it again!

[Mangani] He killed his employer.
Can you come in here for a second? There's this guy --

[Homicide Division Chief] What's going on this morning?

[Mangani] Sorry.

[Homicide Division Chief] Will you explain?

[Mangani] Nothing. He's probably a psychopathic liar.

***

This gentleman wants to ask you a few questions.

[Homicide Division Chief] Who is he? Well?

[Plumber] Excuse me. Excuse me, sir. Maybe -- What am I saying? I'm sure I've made a mistake.

[Homicide Division Chief] About what?

[Plumber] I mistook you for someone else.

[Homicide Division Chief] Who?

[Mangani] Earlier, he thought he recognized you. He says that this morning a strange man gave him some money to buy all those ties. Then he told him he was Augusta Terzi's killer. And --

[Homicide Division Chief] Let him talk.

[Mangani] Go on. Talk.

[Plumber] Thank you. Well, that's what happened.
I met this person who told me to run straight to the police station.

[Homicide Division Chief] Who was he?

[Plumber] Who knows? Some maniac. Maybe he was a theater impresario, or maybe he worked in the cinema. And I fell for it, of course. He warned me himself that I'd be in hot water.

[Homicide Division Chief] What do you do for a living?

[Plumber] Me? Well, I -- I'm a plumber.

[Mangani] A tinsmith.

[Plumber] Plumber.

[Homicide Division Chief] Plumber? Tinsmith.

[Plumber] Tinsmith is an old word.

[Homicide Division Chief] Say that you're a tinsmith.

[Plumber] Yes, I'm a tinsmith.

[Homicide Division Chief] What did you say?

[Plumber] As you just said, I'm a tinsmith.

[Homicide Division Chief] There's no reason to worry.

[Plumber] I have your word?

[Homicide Division Chief] You can relax now.

[Plumber] Thank you.

[Homicide Division Chief] You're a citizen.

[Plumber] Thank you.

[Homicide Division Chief] We respect our citizens.

[Plumber] Well said. Thank you, sir.

[Homicide Division Chief] Mangani, come with me, please.

[Mangani] At once.

[To Plumber] I'll deal with you later.

[Homicide Division Chief] You set up this confrontation ...

[Mangani] No, the tinsmith came to us.

[Homicide Division Chief] without even following proper procedure!

[Mangani] It was Biglia, not me.

[Homicide Division Chief] Mangani, I'll have your head! Watch yourself!

[Mangani] Go back into your offices! What are you doing? Go back to work.

[Plumber] This is my fault.

[Mangani] And you shut up!

[Plumber] I don't see so well anymore. It can't be him.
He's wearing blue, and the other man was in beige.

***

[Mangani] I have an idea.

[Homicide Division Chief] Let go of my arm.

[Mangani] I'm going to hold both of them, Terzi's husband and this idiot tinsmith with the ties.
What do you say?

[Homicide Division Chief] You do your job. I'll do what I have to do.

***

[Mangani] Now, my dear tinsmith, you're going to tell me the truth. You're involved in this, and I'm going to screw you!

***

[Mistico] I got the cappuccino, but it's too sweet.

[Cop] You're supposed to take half bitter coffee and half sweet milk.

[Homicide Division Chief] Mistico, I'll put you back on the beat in Piazza Navona!
Get that machine out of here!

***

If anyone asks, I'm not here.

[Homicide Division Chief] [Turns on recording machine and makes a telephone call]
Excuse me, Commander, are you alone?

[Commander] Yes.

[Homicide Division Chief] I wanted to ask if you authorized ...
the investigation of me as a suspect in the Terzi case?

[Commander] I'll request a detailed report from the officer, and you and I can talk about it over dinner tonight.

[Homicide Division Chief] That's not enough.
I demand that the entire Homicide squad be put under investigation!
I have a powder keg in my office that could blow up their entire system, their public and private lives!
I've got dirt on everyone, and you know it!

[Commander] Okay, but at your own risk.

[Homicide Division Chief] Of course. [Turns off recording machine]

***

[Homicide Division Chief] Technician! I need to withdraw three recordings. Political Division.

[Head of Wire-Tapping Office] The commissioner gave me orders not to release anything.

[Homicide Division Chief] When did you get the order?

[Head of Wire-Tapping Office] I can't tell you.

[Homicide Division Chief] Was it on paper or over the phone?

[Head of Wire-Tapping Office] Please let it go.

[Homicide Division Chief] What do you care if I borrow three tapes for a couple hours?

[Head of Wire-Tapping Office] Oh, I care! I'll lose my job.

[Homicide Division Chief] We all care about our careers.

[Head of Wire-Tapping Office] Exactly. In my small way, I care too. Be patient.

[Homicide Division Chief] Do me this favor.

[EXPLOSION]

[Cop] That was a bomb!

[Homicide Division Chief] Get out of the way!

[Cop] Down there! It was by the ventilator, Chief!

[Homicide Division Chief] Stop! Go back to your stations! Stop! Where was it?

[Cop] Down there.

[Homicide Division Chief] Please, please! Policemen only.
Everyone else, turn back. [To Head of Wire-Tapping Office] You too. Out, please!

[Cop] Over here, Chief.

[Homicide Division Chief] Be careful. Be careful!

[Cop] This way.

[Homicide Division Chief] This is a serious matter.
Let me through.

[Cop] Let him through.

[Homicide Division Chief] Don't touch anything!

[Cop] Don't touch.

[Homicide Division Chief] Don't touch anything. This time, they really messed up.

***

[Cop] Attention! They're here. They're coming.

[Homicide Division Chief] This is the last straw. It's unbelievable.
I just received the message: There were two more attacks at 6:30 p.m. One was at the American Express office, the other at the courthouse.

[Cop] Let him through, please.

[Homicide Division Chief] Yes, let him through. This is where the explosion occurred. In my modest opinion, we should act decisively. We know each and every one of them. We have to show them how resolute we are. They've gone too far!

[Commander] I'm giving you all carte blanche! Is that clear?

[All Cops] Very.

[Commander] Good.

[Homicide Division Chief] Let him through, please. Let him through! Let him through!

***

[Anarchists] Death to the man! Mao, Mao, Ho Chi Minh! Mao, Mao, Ho Chi Minh!
Death to the man!

[Canes] Chief.

[Homicide Division Chief] What do you want? Get out of here!

[ALL] [General screaming and yelling]

[Homicide Division Chief] Check all their ID's! No statements to the press for now.

[Cop] How many of them are our informants?

[Homicide Division Chief] Five. Leave them all together until tonight.

***

[Homicide Division Chief] What do you want? No, what do you want? You were looking at me.

[Man on park bench] Me? I'm half blind. I'm not looking at you.

[Homicide Division Chief] Mind your own business!

***

[Augusta Terzi] [Telephone rings] Hello? Yes, I'm alone. I'm in a hurry. What is it?
Alone. Alone! You're having a fit of jealousy over the phone? Why don't you just tap my phone? Have me followed. Hide a camera under my sheets. You are in charge of 500 men. Have me followed. Then you'll know who I see a what I do.

[Homicide Division Chief] "I think it's time to end our affair."
Augusta, you can take your sappy farewell letter ...
and shove it right between your legs!
You're running away? I'm not playing the jealous boyfriend. You can do whatever you want. You can screw whomever you want. I don't care. But you have to tell me these things. I want to see him. We have to be accomplices. You can't do this to me. I'm a respectable man.
I'm somebody. I represent power, Augusta. You should kiss the ground I walk on, got that, bitch?
Who is this Pace? Bitch!

[Augusta Terzi] He's a friend of mine who lives upstairs. Young, handsome and a revolutionary.

[Homicide Division Chief] A revolutionary! I'll hurt you!

[Augusta Terzi] Get your hands off me, idiot! You're not at the station. You're in my house!
Get out! I'm not one of those poor saps who fall into your hands, got it? You make love like a child because that's what you are! Who do you think you are?

[Homicide Division Chief] Don't yell.

[Augusta Terzi] I bet you still wet your bed! You're nobody, nobody!
You're incompetent, sexually incompetent. Do you understand?

[Homicide Division Chief] Don't hit me!

[Augusta Terzi] You're incompetent.

[Homicide Division Chief] Don't hit me!

[Augusta Terzi] You're a child, understand? You're a child!

[Homicide Division Chief] [Shakes his fists at her]

[Homicide Division Chief] Don't stand. Stay seated. Nice sunset.

[Cop] We've been on our feet for 16 hours.

[Homicide Division Chief] We'll send you back to the barracks soon.

[Cops] We're exhausted.

[Homicide Division Chief] Here. [hands the guy back his cigarette]

[Anarchists] Long live the cultural revolution!

***

[Canes] Chief, they have the same names they did 30 years ago.

[Homicide Division Chief] Revolution is like syphilis. It's in their blood.

[Cop] Good evening.

[Homicide Division Chief] Evening.

[Cop] Evening, Chief. We can't take this much longer. What a pain!

[Anarchists] Murderers! Fascists! Fascists! Fascists! Spontaneists! Spontaneists!

[Canes] Even in jail, they fight. In two hours, they've already split up into four groups. It's like a chain reaction. It's a good thing they're not united, or we'd have trouble.

[Homicide Division Chief] I want to question Antonio Pace. He has training.
But first send me the guy next to him, the one shouting a lot, with the mustache.

[Anarchist] That's what you are! Servants of the man! Servants of the man! Servants of the man!

***

[Anarchist] [On floor groaning]

[Homicide Division Chief] Hands off the floor! Your entire weight needs to be on your knees. You're not a horse who walks on all fours! You're a citizen of a democracy, not a horse. You're not a horse! What do you prefer? Another quart of salt water or staying on your knees? I don't know. You decide. If you decide to get up, you'd better drink all of it. You'd better drink all of it.
All of it. Nothing. Get back on your knees. You shouldn't have drunk any of it. You could leave here within 10 minutes and drink your fill of fresh, pure water. Clear, sweet, fresh water. Student. I don't want to put you on trial.
We're not the KGB or the SS. We are the police of a democracy. We're overjoyed when we can spare a citizen a harsh sentence. You're only a kid. I don't want to ruin your future. Sit up straight!
You can be a Marxist, an anarchist, a situationist. Mao, Lin Biao.
You can read the Little Red Book, do whatever you want.
You're not a horse! You're a citizen of this democracy, and I have to respect you. But terrorist attacks, intimidation, and bombs ...
have fuck-all to do with democracy. If you tell me who bombed the police station and the American Express office, you'd be acting like a true democrat, understand? That's logical. I know it wasn't you. But I'm sure you know the name of the guilty party.

[Anarchist] Please give me some water.

[Homicide Division Chief] We don't want you to rat out your friends. We want you to act like a true democrat. You understand me. Let's talk as modern and civilized men. What is this democracy? Let's admit it. It's the stepping-stone to socialism. I vote socialist, for example. Don't be afraid. I'm your confessor. Everybody talks here. Nothing will happen to you. I'm as silent as the grave. This whole building is one big grave! So, will you tell me the truth? Are you going to tell me? Will you tell me his name?
It was Pace! Pace!
Pace planted the bomb the day he came to the station! Did he make the bomb? [Anarchist nods his head yes.] Mattone, bring in Antonio Pace. This one's all done. Come on. Get up. It's all over. You're free. If you ever need something, just call me.

[Anarchist] I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to.

***

[Homicide Division Chief] Canes, Mattone, leave me alone. Go get a coffee. Leave me alone with the "comrade."

[To Antonio Pace] One of your friends just denounced you. You don't leave prison with a Ph.D.! Best case, you leave as a bank robber!

[Antonio Pace] Pace, Antonio. Born in Ravenna, 1946. Former chemistry student. Independent anarchist. Sentenced to three months in jail in 1968 for resisting the police.

[Homicide Division Chief] What are you saying? Do you know who I am?

[Antonio Pace] I think you were the lover of my downstairs neighbor. The one who was murdered.

[Homicide Division Chief] By whom and when?

[Antonio Pace] I think you killed her the afternoon of Sunday, August 24.

[Homicide Division Chief] What time?

[Antonio Pace] I think you must have killed her between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. That's when we met at the gate, as you know.

[Homicide Division Chief] Since you're so sure I did it, turn me in.

[Antonio Pace] You'd like that, huh?

[Homicide Division Chief] Turn me in!

[Antonio Pace] You're here and that's where you'll stay. A criminal leading the repression. It's perfect! It's perfect!

[Homicide Division Chief] Turn me in! [Slaps and hits Antonio repeatedly] You have to turn me in! I made a mistake, but I want to pay for it.
Stop yelling!

[Antonio Pace] Do your job.

[Homicide Division Chief] You have to turn me in because I'm --

[Antonio Pace] You turn me in!

[Knocks on prison door] Open up! Next time we plan something, I'll call you.
You're mine now!

[Homicide Division Chief] Come back here. You're acting like a child.
Let's discuss this. Please, let's be sensible.

[Antonio Pace] [Pounding on door which opens] I want out. Let me go.

[Canes] Stop him.

[Homicide Division Chief] It's nothing. Let him go. Let him go. It's nothing. Let him go. Let him go.
The student. "You're mine now. You're mine now."

***

[HOMICIDE DIVISION]

[Homicide Division Chief] [To cop] How are you?

[Woman] Did they call you in for the Botta case too?

[Homicide Division Chief] No, I'm here for the Terzi case.

[Woman 2] The gorgeous woman who was killed with a razor?

[Pallottella] Shut up. I told you both to shut up.
Hello, Chief.

[Homicide Division Chief] How's everything?

[Pallottella] Great.

[Baglia] Pallottella?

[Pallottella] Present.

[Baglia] It's your turn. Come in.

[Homicide Division Chief] Wait. I'll go first.

[Baglia] Pallottella, let's go.

[Homicide Division Chief] [To Baglia] Close the door.

***

[Mangani] Come on, Pallottella. Come forward, you little kiss-ass.
Move it, you son of a bitch, piece of shit.

[Homicide Division Chief] You little bureaucrat, playing cop.
You'll never understand the full significance of my actions, of my sacrifice ...
with which I hope to reaffirm, in all its purity, the concept of authority. Morons!

[Mangani] What did I do?

[Homicide Division Chief] I'm handing Augusta Terzi's murderer over to you.

[Mangani] Thank you.

[Homicide Division Chief] Starting now, I'm a justice's disposal. When you wish to interrogate me, you'll find me at home.

***

[Cop] These things happen.

[Plumber] Well, they shouldn't.

[Cop] Don't worry. You'll be back at home before the morning's out.

[Plumber] We'll see.

[Cop] This way, please.

[Homicide Division Chief] Sir. From now on, you can safely tell them you recognize me.

[Plumber] I don't recognize you. No, no, no. I don't recognize anyone! Help! I don't recognize anyone!
No! Help!

[Mangani] [To Chief] What have you done? What have you done? What about us? What about your colleagues?

[Homicide Division Chief] Do your duty.

***

[Homicide Division Chief] "Article 247: Case in which house arrest may be authorized. When the circumstances of the crime and the high moral character of the prisoner so allow, the district attorney or the judge may make the following justifiable decree.

[THE PENAL CODE]

[Homicide Division Chief] "Instead of being incarcerated in prison, the prisoner may remain temporarily under arrest in his own home."

[HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA]

[The Dean of the University of Messina hereby confers -- ]

[Homicide Division Chief] [Sleeping and dreaming]

[Baglia] Chief.
They're in the other room. Come.

[Homicide Division Chief] Sir. Excellency.

[Commander] [Gently pulls the Chief's ear]

[Homicide Division Chief] [Repentant and tearful] Excellency.
I'm sorry to have inconvenienced so many important people.

[Commander] Eat this salt.

[Mangani] Where were you, dear colleague, between 3:00 and 7:00 p.m. the day of Augusta Terzi's murder?

[Homicide Division Chief] Excellency, gentlemen, I was there because I killed her.

[Commander] Can you prove you were at her house?

[Homicide Division Chief] I have some bad news. There is a witness. Unfortunately, the student Antonio Pace, a notorious subversive, saw me enter the building.

[Mangani] That's not true. The student Antonio Pace has a watertight alibi. He wasn't in Rome that afternoon. I questioned him for hours, my dear colleague, and I did it my way!

[Homicide Division Chief] Excellency, the bloody footprints discovered in Augusta Terzi's apartment. Not to interfere in the investigation, but they came from my left shoe.

[Commander] My dear friend, there are thousands of shoes of that size and model.

[Canes] I own a pair that's identical.

[Cop] So do I.

[Homicide Division Chief] Perhaps. But I left fingerprints all over her apartment, even on the shower faucet. Because, gentlemen, Excellency, I took a shower afterwards.

[Commander] Strange. Everyone left fingerprints on the faucets, cups and door handles, except for you.

[Homicide Division Chief] Yes, but the blue thread discovered under her fingernail comes from my tie.

[Commander] So, give us the tie with the missing thread.

[Homicide Division Chief] I destroyed it.

[Mangani] Why?

[Homicide Division Chief] In that moment I was torn between confessing and putting you on my trail or using the little bit of power I had to cover up my trail.

[Commander] A split personality, dissociation. Neurosis.

[Homicide Division Chief] A disease I probably contracted from my prolonged exercise of power. It's an occupational disease ...
common to those who hold the reins of our helpless little society in their hands.

[Commander] I'm healthy.

[Cop] Enough psychology! We need tangible proof of your guilt. Not just words, but facts.

[Homicide Division Chief] I made that poor idiot we arrested buy those 25 blue ties.

[Mangani] That's not true. He didn't recognize you.

[Homicide Division Chief] Yes, but we can admit what happened, between us. He denied it out of fear when he started to realize who I was, a police officer.

[Commander] I will not tolerate these opinions and insinuations against your colleagues, the force, our institution!

[Mangani] Let's talk specifics. Your motive. What was your motive?

[Homicide Division Chief] She made fun of me! She made fun of me and our institution! Our institution! That means all of you, gentlemen!

[Commander] That's not a demonstrable motive.

[Homicide Division Chief] Please excuse me, Excellency. Gentlemen, excuse me. This is private. It won't take long. I rely on your discretion, Excellency. Every day that I was with her, my childishness and my inadequacies became more and more apparent.

[Commander] Absurd! Impossible! Science fiction!

[Homicide Division Chief] Well, then, I murdered her out of pure jealousy!

[Mangani] You didn't know her.

[Commander] Go on. Prove it.

[Canes] She wasn't your mistress. Nobody ever saw you together.

[All Cops] That's right.

[Homicide Division Chief] Just a moment, gentlemen. Just a moment. I'll bring you the evidence of my guilt. Just a moment, gentlemen.
I'll be right back.

[Augusta Terzi] You killed a worthless person. Someone else would have killed me. Sooner or later, I was destined to die that way.
Do what they tell you. Think of your colleagues.
Think of your career.

[Homicide Division Chief] Excellency, gentlemen ...
these photos prove the victim was photographed right here.
Check the furniture, the floor.
Here the victim strikes erotic poses that perversely imitate crime photos!
I exploited the situation for my love of amateur photography!

[Biglio and Patane] [Beating the Chief over the head and shoulders]

[Cop] Disgusting!

[Cop] Look what we've come to.

[Cop] I'm at my wit's end.

[Cop] He's an immature child.

[Mangani] I always said he had no team spirit. See what things have come to?

[Homicide Division Chief] I'll petition the court!

[All] [Making a toast] Here's to your health.

[Homicide Division Chief] I'll do whatever you want.

[Commander] Well done, son. Do you have anything to say?

[Homicide Division Chief] I confess to my innocence.

[Mangani] Now sign here.

[Homicide Division Chief] [Signs confession of innocence]

[Mangani] Everything's all right. Calm down.

[Homicide Division Chief] Gentlemen, colleagues, let's not forget there's still an enemy out there who knows the facts. He'll use them not only against me, but against all of us ...
against power, against God!

[Commander] That's a score we'll have to settle.

***

[All the Chiefs file into the house]

[Homicide Division Chief] Come in.
Make yourselves comfortable, gentlemen.

***

"No matter what impression he makes on us, he is a servant of the law. Therefore, he belongs to the law and does not answer to human judgment." -- Kafka

INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION

Directed by Elio Petri

Writing Credits : Elio Petri, Ugo Pirro

Cast (in credits order)

Gian Maria Volonté: Il Dottore - Former head of homicide squad
Florinda Bolkan: Augusta Terzi
Gianni Santuccio: Questore
Orazio Orlando: Brigadiere Biglia
Sergio Tramonti: Antonio Pace
Arturo Dominici: Mangani
Aldo Rendine: Nicola Panunzio
Massimo Foschi: Terzi - Augusta's Husband
Aleka Paizi: Inspector's Maid
Vittorio Duse: Canes
Pino Patti: Head of wire-tapping office
Salvo Randone: Plumber
Giuseppe Licastro
Filippo De Gara: Police Official
Fulvio Grimaldi: Patanè - 'Paese Sera' journalist
Ugo Adinolfi: Policeman
Franco Marletta
Giacomo Bellini
Giuseppe Terranova
Vincenzo Falanga: Pallottella
Roberto Bonanni: Proietti
Guido Buzzelli
Gino Usai

Rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Gianfranco Barra: Policeman Questioning Augusta's Husband (uncredited)
Ettore Geri: Officer Attending the Final Confession (uncredited)
Franco Magno: Officer Attending the Final Confession (uncredited)
Enrico Marciani: Officer Attending the Final Confession (uncredited)
Enzo Mondino: Officer Attending the Final Confession (uncredited)
Elio Petri: Policeman Sleeping During Dottore's Address (uncredited)
Mario Silvestri: Officer Attending the Final Confession (uncredited)

Produced by
Marina Cicogna: producer
Daniele Senatore: producer

Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
Luigi Kuveiller

Film Editing by
Ruggero Mastroianni

Production Design by
Romano Cardarelli

Art Direction by
Carlo Egidi

Costume Design by
Angela Sammaciccia

Makeup Department
Franco Corridoni: makeup artist
Rosa Luciani: hair stylist

Production Management
Romano Cardarelli: production manager
Hermes Gallippi: production supervisor
Alfredo Petr: production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Antonio Gabrielli: assistant director
Lorenzo Magnolia: second second assistant director

Art Department
Egidio Spugnini: assistant art director

Sound Department
Mario Amari: sound mixer
Mario Bramonti: sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Antonio Annunziata: assistant camera (as Nino Annunziata)
Sergio Coletta: head electrician
Sergio Emidi: head camera operator
Ubaldo Terzano: camera operator
Mario Tursi: still photographer

Editorial Department
Adriana Olasio: assistant editor
Andrea Gargano: final colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Bruno Nicolai: conductor

Other crew
Armenia Balducci: continuity
Enrico Lucherini: press attache
Antonio Mastronardi: financial director
Roberto Onorati: production secretary
Matteo Spinola: press attache
Corrado Gaipa: voice dubbing: Salvo Randone (uncredited)
Ileana Zezza: voice dubbing: Florinda Bolkan (uncredited)
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