The Screaming Woman

It's good to have you back, Mrs. Wynant.

Pablito has really missed his morning exercise.

Martin, you better have a look at the furnace in the greenhouse.

It's not working properly.

- The greenhouse, madam? - There's some cold nights coming.

All right, Mrs. Wynant, I'll see to it.

Oh, and Mr. Howard will take care of Pablito as soon as he gets back.

Howard, why?

Anna and I are off to visit my brother in Santa Maria.

You are?

Why, yes, Mrs. Wynant, it's Sunday.

Sunday?

Oh.

Yes.

Sunday.

Good morning, Martin.

Something wrong?

Your mother has completely forgotten about that oak tree

falling on the greenhouse last year.

Well, you didn't correct her, did ya?

Oh, no, Mr. Howard, I wouldn't do that.

Thank you, Martin.

Thank you.

Where'd you come from?

Better get on home now.

Come on, scat!

No, that's for cats.

What do you say to dogs?

Well, however you got in here, you can get right out again.

What is it?

Got a bone buried there?

You hungry fella?

All right, come along.

I'm sure there's a bit of roast leftover from last night's dinner.

Ah, well, if you're going to be difficult.

- Ohh. - What?

Ohh.

Ohh.

Is...

Is someone there?

Help.

Help.

Oh. my God!

Ahh!

Help me.

Help me.

Ahh!

Martin!

Martin!

Martin!

Martin, where are you?

Martin!

Martin, I need you!

Martin!

Martin!

Howard!

Howard!

Howard!

Howard!

Howard!

Howard, where are you?

Howard...

Howard!

Howard, where are you?

- Mother, Mother! - Where are you?

- What in the world is the matter with you? - Come quickly!

- What happened? Now wait a minute! - Come, there's a woman!

- Calm down! - There's a woman... no, no, no!

- Come inside, Mother. - Come with me!

- Mother, please, Mother, get a hold of yourself! - There's a woman buried alive out there!

- Come with me, I need your help! - Mother, Mom, Mother, now calm down!

You know I'm not gonna like you getting overwrought.

Now please, Mother, please.

Take this, Laura.

Just a little sherry.

Drink it.

There.

Now will you listen to me?

There's a woman buried in the basement of the smokehouse,

and she's alive.

I know what you're all thinking, but it's true.

Mother, the smokehouse was torn down years ago.

Yes, and the basement filled in with earth.

That's where she's buried.

I see.

She's buried, but she's alive.

Don't you dare patronize me.

All right, mother, how do you know she's alive?

Because I heard her calling for help.

- From under the ground? - Yes, yes.

Mother, be reasonable, if she's alive and she's buried, how can...

Don't stand there talking, she'll suffocate!

All right, we'll go take a look.

Wait a minute, you know that George took time off on his Sunday

to come up here especially to discuss the offer

- from Harrison and Company? - George, do you believe I'm demented?

Of course not, Laura.

- Will you help me? - Certainly.

Then, come.

Couldn't be more effective if you staged it yourself.

- Effective? - Given old, square George

would have to be on our team after that display.

He's Mother's friend, Caroline.

And he's also Honest John.

He'd have to testify to what he saw and heard.

You'd call Mother's attorney as a witness against her?

Pretty rough on him, on both of them.

Can't be helped.

Dusty.

Dusty, come here.

Dusty, come here, come on.

Come here, come here.

The little dog was digging right...

Yes, Mother, right where?

I'm certain it was here.

And over there.

I brought help.

Can you hear...?

Where are you?

- Where are you? - Come along, Mother, let's go home.

- Get away from me. - Mother, please.

Don't you think I know? You can't wait to have me declared incompetent.

- Believe me, I don't wanna have to do it. - Perhaps now you think

you can have me committed so you can have your way.

Well, I'll fight you, Howard.

I won't have my house torn down, a thousand tacky shacks

- desecrating this property. - But, you won't have to do it

- if you just listen to reason! - Laura, Laura, just because you think

- you heard something, doesn't... - I did hear it, I did,

- and that little dog was digging right there. - Oh, Laura.

I brought help, listen.

I brought help.

Where are you?

Oh, please.

Where are you?

- Where are you? - Oh, come along now, let's go home.

- Come on, Ma, let's take a little nap. - Oh, please.

- Please, no. - There we go.

There, everything's fine.

- Oh, please. - You've got to take it easy, Mother.

- It's your first day out. - Where are you?

- Where are you? - You should go home and lie down.

- Where are you? - Doctor said you shouldn't be too excited.

- Where are you? - Oh, Howard.

- Just take it easy, Mother, come on. - Where are you?

There's nothing there.

Laura, it's not true what you're thinking.

Here, sit down.

There's nothing wrong with you.

Mother, why don't you just try and lie back?

Relax for a second.

A sane person doesn't hear voices and see things that aren't there.

But, an insane one doesn't question.

Well, he sees and hears whatever it is.

Precisely, and I don't, George.

So, either I'm insane, or there really is a woman buried out there.

Laura, what happened to you

could happen to anyone after the severe emotional crisis.

Now, feet up.

There.

You've just come through the most difficult period in your life.

Perhaps I haven't come through it.

Perhaps I've come home too soon.

Because I did hear it.

I did see that dog.

And that's I can do to sit here talking to you when I know that woman is suffocating.

Oh, please, please, here.

Well, when we're weak and vulnerable,

our imagination can

conjure up some very strange things.

Things that seem very real, indeed.

Dear George.

You don't mean a word you're saying.

Oh, you're just exhausted.

Little nap.

You'll see things quite differently.

Oh, I wish that were true.

But, it isn't, George, it isn't.

Now, look, just relax.

- It isn't. - There.

Damn that dog!

Shut up!

Shut up, will you shut up?

No, you can't go outside, you shut up!

Dusty, here.

Here, ya smell it, huh?

Here's mama.

Come on, come on.

Come on, come on, there's mama.

That's right, yeah.

- Hello? - Carl, I waited up half the night

for your phone call.

Look, I thought we agreed that you were never to call here.

You agreed you'd call me last night.

Did you tell her?

Yeah, yeah, I told her.

And what happened?

Well, how'd she take it, Carl?

That's a foolish question, isn't it?

What's the matter with you?