LITEROTICA PODCAST
LIT CAMS (200 Free Tokens)ADULT TOYSVOD MOVIES

Blobfucker

Can't see what you said BRABITCH! Your all MOTHAFUCKIN DEAD TO ME!
 
Last edited:
The Magyar chews on his sandwich, notices Prideaux is
ignoring his.
MAGYAR
I’ll take you to him. Not eating?
Prideaux pushes his sandwich across the table, his manner
still easy, but his eyes flick after the Waiter, who stands
at the entrance to the coffee shop, arguing with another
man. He looks around the Galeria again, looking low -
checking the feet of the other customers? Then raising his
gaze, he checks the windows of the apartments above which
look down into the arcade.
PRIDEAUX’S P.O.V. - An OLD WOMAN stands in the shadows by a
window above. She is watching him. Catching his gaze she
shrinks back into the darkness and disappears.
2.
Prideaux’s expression doesn’t change but he sets his coffee
cup down and casually stands. The Magyar looks up in
surprise.
JIM PRIDEAUX
Would you excuse me a moment?
He starts to walk towards the exit of the Galeria. Behind
him his chair teeters for a moment, then slowly falls back
and lands with a CRASH, sending pigeons fluttering up to
the domed ceiling.
The WAITER starts, turns, sees Prideaux leaving. Panic
flashes across his face, he draws a GUN from the back of
his belt, aims after Prideaux and FIRES - the shot echoing
in the cavernous space.
The shot misses, RICOCHETING off the tiled wall and
Prideaux keeps walking, fighting down the impulse to run,
as behind him, out of focus - an image from a surreal
NIGHTMARE: the other CUSTOMERS stop what they are doing,
like actors at the end of a scene, and begin to rise, some
drawing guns. We hear a muffled voice shouting distantly in
Russian.
KGB MAN
No firing!
Ahead of Prideaux more figures appear, blocking the exit.
He looks over his shoulder just as another SHOT rings out -
this one catching him above the shoulder blade and sending
him flying out of frame.
From around a corner a tall, over-coated man - KGB -
strides towards the scene, still bellowing in Russian.
KGB MAN (CONT’D)
Who told you to fire? Who told
you to fucking fire?
THE JAZZ BAND have stopped playing and are staring at the
ground, arms at their sides, anxious not to see anything.
In the TOP WINDOW - the OLD WOMAN slips back into sight.
HER P.O.V. - Prideaux lies face down in the arcade below.
As we watch one of his arms slides out, leaving a slick of
blood. Then he’s still.
BELOW - The KGB Man has grabbed the Waiter and started to
beat him.
KGB MAN (CONT’D)
Fucking Hungarian amateur! We
wanted him alive!
3.
Behind him we can see the breast-feeding MOTHER. She’s
dead, a bullet hole in the centre of her forehead from the
ricochet. The baby continues to suckle on, undisturbed.
Through the cafe window we can see a MAN, partly obscured
by the crowd in front of us, the only man still seated. He
lights a cigarette.
CLOSE ON THE LIGHTER as he replaces it. We can make out an
inscription: “To George, from Ann. All my love.”
In the Galeria the KGB Man continues to bellow at the
Waiter. The baby begins to WAIL.
FADE TO BLACK.
FADE IN:
4A EXT. HQ OF BRITISH INTELLIGENCE - “THE CIRCUS” - DAY 4A
A bird’s eye view of the Circus.
4B INT. CIRCUS - FIFTH FLOOR - - “MOTHERS” OFFICE - DAY 4B
A woman, CONNIE SACHS, a face that’s seen it all, leans
against a wall, smoking. A middle-aged woman, one of the
secretaries or “MOTHERS” walks past, pushing a trolley of
documents. She nods at Connie mournfully. Connie looks
stricken. The Mother walks on into...
5 INT. CIRCUS - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY 5
A long conference table. We are looking at an ELDERLY MAN
at the head of the table. He’s sitting on a rather ornate
carving chair - a little like a throne - and he looks ill.
He is signing documents, his signature a simple “C,”
scrawled in GREEN INK, aware all eyes are on him. A
cigarette burns away in an already loaded ashtray.
This is the head of the Circus - known as CONTROL.
Around him are four lieutenants - the inner circle of the
intelligence service - PERCY ALLELINE, TOBY ESTERHASE, ROY
BLAND and BILL HAYDON.
Beside him, his right-hand man - GEORGE SMILEY.
From the thick and embarrassed atmosphere we might guess we
are at the end of a coup, the final ousting of a King. All
we hear is the ticking of a loud clock and the scratch of
the pen.
Smiley looks up to find Alleline’s gaze fixed on him.
Alleline quickly looks down at his hands.
4.
CLOSE ON SMILEY - as he examines the others, gauging the
SHIFT OF POWER occurring in the room.
- Bill Haydon - handsome, urbane, frowning with tension,
pulls on his cigarette.
- Roy Bland - heavy set and moustached, flicking a guilty
look up at Smiley and away.
- Toby Esterhase - immaculate hair and suit, eyes on
Alleline, watching for a cue, like a dog told to ‘stay’.
No-one will look at him.
ON SMILEY - realising there is no hope.
Control finishes, puts the pen back in his pocket. He hands
the file to the MOTHER who, red-eyed, walks with it out of
the room.
PERCY ALLELINE
(Scottish accent)
I wish I could have done more,
Control.
CONTROL
(Coolly)
You did all you could, Percy.
(Beat) Well, a man should know
when to leave the party.
Beat. The clock suddenly gives a discordant chime as it
sounds the hour. A hint of bitter amusement on Control’s
face, as though he’s been waiting for this wrong little
note to make his move. He grinds his cigarette out.
Toby can’t wait any longer.
TOBY ESTERHASE
What about Smiley?
Control looks at Smiley. His gaze impersonal...
ON SMILEY - the faintest flicker in his eyes as he tries to
prepare himself for the shock of dismissal.
CONTROL
Smiley is leaving with me.
6 OMITTED 6
7 INT. CIRCUS - FIFTH FLOOR - DAY 7
PUSHING Control and Smiley as they walk down the corridor.
5.
Alleline and the Lieutenants are waiting for them. A
horribly awkward moment. Toby pulls open the cage lift
doors for them, as if to hasten the eviction. Haydon looks
at him with contempt.
BILL HAYDON
You little prick Esterhase.
Control sweeps past them and the lift, determined to walk
every step of the way. Smiley follows.
8 INT. CIRCUS - STAIRCASE - DAY 8
Control and Smiley, begin their descent through the rigid
hierarchy of the Circus. As we TRACK with them, we see that
each floor is its own WORLD. The two men walk past the
fourth floor REGISTRY - the vast archive of intelligence,
staffed by RESEARCHERS.
Smiley and Control pass down another flight and along the
third floor - INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS - heads poking out of
offices, amongst them JERRY WESTERBY.
Down to the second floor - SCALPHUNTERS - the muscle of the
Circus. The boredom of an air-port lounge, a sunken sofa
and pool-table. The Scalphunters watching them go in
respectful silence.
On down to the first floor TYPING POOL - staffed by pretty
young society girls - the DEBS - who watch open-mouthed, as
their Chief passes them for the last time. And finally
down to...
9 INT. CIRCUS - GROUND-FLOOR LOBBY - DAY 9
An ancient doorman - BRYANT - feeling the moment must be
marked in some way - leaves his sentry box and opens the
main door for Control. Control acknowledges the salute with
a flick of his eyes and we push through the doors...
10 EXT. CIRCUS - ROOF OF THE CIRCUS - DAY 10
Alleline and Bland stand smoking, watching Control and
Smiley emerge onto the pavement.
11 EXT. CIRCUS - DAY 11
CONTROL and SMILEY stand on the street. They stare at each
other for a moment. This is goodbye. They shake hands.
Perhaps there’s a little reserve in Control’s manner, a
lack of warmth. From the expression on Smiley’s face we see
that he is pained by this.
6.
Control puts his collar up and walks away. Smiley stands
forlornly as Control disappears into the crowd.
TITLES OVER A MONTAGE
12 EXT. HAMPSTEAD POND - AUTUMN DAY 12
THE WATER OF THE POND - still, glassy.
A MAN’S head breaks the surface - Smiley swimming through
his retirement.
He takes a breath and submerges again. Beyond him we see a
straggled diagonal line of elderly heads, bobbing through
the water.
13 EXT. HAMPSTEAD POND - DAY 13
Smiley dries himself under the trees, pink and raw in the
cold fresh air. He smooths his hair down, feeling a little
less ridiculous. He looks over to where a VERY ELDERLY
SWIMMER is being helped into the water - little more than
trembling bones.
Is this his world now?
14 INT. CIRCUS - FIFTH FLOOR - DAY 14
A MOTHER unloads a stack of files from a LIFT shaft and
places them into her wheeled safe. A piece of CHRISTMAS
TINSEL is wound along the trolley. We track with her
through the HIVE-LIKE atmosphere of the fifth floor, behind
her the conference room - a glimpse of Alleline in
Control’s chair, surrounded by his lieutenants - smoke and
whiskey - engaged in the business of the world.
She pushes on into Alleline’s OFFICE - loads the new files
into the LARGE SAFE there, locks and spins the combination.
15 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - WINTER DAY 15
Smiley stands frying an egg in his small kitchen.
16 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 16
Smiley sits eating his solitary lunch, reading a volume of
Grimmelshausen. He turns a page, examines the illustration
of a knight and a dragon - holds it at arms length, trying
to focus on it.
7.
16A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT 16A
Smiley lies in the double bed, a conspicuous empty space next
to him. He leans over and turns the light out.
17 INT. CIRCUS - FIFTH FLOOR - ALLELINE’S OFFICE - NIGHT 17
A HAND removes files from the LARGE SAFE.
ON A BRIEFCASE - as the files - marked TOP SECRET - are
slipped inside.
18 INT. CIRCUS - FIFTH FLOOR - EVENING 18
P.O.V. MYSTERY MAN
... TRACKING through the near-empty offices. All the
drawers of the desks are OPEN. BINS on the tables. A few
mothers working late, illuminated by their desk lamps. One
of them is applying lipstick, prior to leaving. She doesn’t
react as we track by.
19 EXT. OPTICIANS - SPRING DAY 19
We are looking at large blurred LETTERS. A lens is slotted
into our frame and the letters leap into BOLD.
Smiley is in a chair, being fitted for spectacles.
20 INT. OPTICIANS - DAY 20
Smiley is selecting frames from a display. He tries on a
pair, watched by a bored shop assistant, used to the
pedantic ways of the retired.
21 INT. CIRCUS - GROUND-FLOOR LOBBY - EVENING 21
TRACKING with the BRIEFCASE as the mystery man walks
towards the main entrance. The ELDERLY PORTER- BRYANT -
nods respectfully.
22 INT. LONDON UNDERGROUND - EVENING 22
A packed train - Businessmen in bowler hats, long-haired
seventies youth - the old and the new bumping underneath
the city. We track low level until we find our MYSTERY MAN,
the BRIEFCASE clutched in his hand.
8.
23 EXT. SAFE HOUSE - EVENING 23
Tracking with the BRIEFCASE as it is carried towards the
house...
24 INT. SAFE HOUSE - GROUND FLOOR - NIGHT 24
An elderly lady - MRS McCRAIG - stands at the sink. Through
the window she catches a glimpse of the Mystery Man’s legs
passing, the briefcase in his hand as he walks up the steps
towards the front door. Calmly she dries her hands as the
doorbell rings and her DOG begins to bark furiously.
25 INT. SAFE HOUSE - GROUND FLOOR - NIGHT 25
Mrs McCraig opens the door and the figure passes her and
the barking dog without a word and begins to walk up the
stairs...
26 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DRAWING ROOM - DAY 26
Smiley adds a LETTER to a pile on the mantelpiece. We see
the letters are all addressed to ANN SMILEY.
He straightens up, finds himself staring at a PAINTING on
the wall - a muddy abstract.
27 INT. SAFE HOUSE - MEETING ROOM - NIGHT 27
The room is almost bare - two chairs at a small table on
which stands two desk lamps and a CAMERA. The Mystery Man
has crossed to the wall by the window and opens the GRILL
on an AIR DUCT.
28 EXT. SAFE HOUSE - NIGHT 28
From across the street a tall good-looking man - POLYAKOV -
watches as the opened duct spills a star pattern of light
out into the night air. He walks towards the house...
29 INT. SAFE HOUSE - MEETING ROOM - NIGHT 29
The Mystery man settles at the table, sorting through the
contents of the briefcase as, from down below, we hear the
sound of the door bell, the dog barking and footsteps on
the stairs. Polyakov walks into the room and joins the
Mystery Man at the small table. He picks up the camera with
a smile.
POLYAKOV
(In Russian)
Shall we begin?
9.
END OF TITLES
30 EXT. LACON’S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING 30
Lights glowing in the early morning gloom, an ultra-modern
cube of a building sits in rather traditional grounds. This
is the unlikely home of Oliver Lacon, Permanent undersecretary.
30A INT./EXT. LACON’S HOUSE - MORNING 30A
As we watch a young girl - JACKIE LACON - appears at the
living room window in her night-dress, playing with a toy. As
we watch her we hear stealthy footsteps approach. Then a MAN
steps into frame, his back to us, watching the girl through
the window. He taps on the glass with one hand. Jackie looks
up, surprised.
As we pull back a little we see the man has his other hand
behind his back.
And in it is a long, bone-handled KNIFE.
Behind Jackie we see a string bean of a man, OLIVER LACON,
tying his silk dressing gown as he cautiously approaches the
window. On the other side, the intruder stands, smoking.
LACON
(through glass)
This is private property. Who are
you?
He takes in the man before him - filthy and bearded, you
could mistake him for a tramp. But beneath the grime he’s
tanned and his eyes have a dangerous, feral edge. This is
RICKI TARR.
RICKI TARR
Minister Lacon.
He smiles.
LACON
What do you want?
RICKI TARR
I want to talk to Control. And I
want breakfast.
30B OMITTED 30B
30C OMITTED 30C
10.
30D OMITTED 30D
31 OMITTED 31
32 OMITTED 32
33 INT. CIRCUS - SCALPHUNTERS - DAY 33
PETER GUILLAM walks down a corridor. Handsome, boyish,
bored. He hears a TRING behind him. It’s Haydon, one foot
up on his pedal, scootering along the corridor. Guillam
waits for him. He likes this man.
PETER GUILLAM
(of the bike)
Has that been cleared?
BILL HAYDON
I’m not bloody chaining it
outside. Mind you, probably no
safer in here, with you bunch of
cut-throats.
They arrive at a half-paned office cubicle. Inside is a
very pretty GIRL, a new DEB, being shown the ropes by an
older woman.
HAYDON
Thought I’d get a glimpse of the
new girl. Before Bland gets to
her. He seen her yet?
GUILLAM
Oh yes. Down first thing.
GIRL’S P.O.V. -
... as Haydon and Guillam pass, staring in at her, cropped
above the waist. Haydon appears to be gliding
supernaturally by. He gives a little wave.
BACK ON HAYDON:
HAYDON
You may fuck me, Belinda, but you
still have to call me sir in the
morning.
Guillam grins. Haydon glides off, hand raised in farewell
as Guillam turns into the Scalphunters arena.
11.
34 INT. CIRCUS - SCALPHUNTERS - GUILLAM’S OFFICE - DAY 34
Guillam sits at his desk over a pile of paper-work, slowly
falling asleep.
BANG! A pool ball thwacks the window, cracking it. At the
same moment the PHONE begins to ring. Guillam jerks
upright, looks over at the pool players, too bored to be
angry.
POOL PLAYER (O.S.)
Sorry Peter.
Guillam answers the phone.
PETER GUILLAM
Peter Guillam...
He listens to the voice on the other end. After a moment he
turns away from his colleagues, his former drowsiness
abruptly gone.
35 EXT. LONDON STREET - EVENING 35
Smiley in his NEW GLASSES, towel rolled under his arm,
walking down the street. He stops for a moment, feeling
himself watched.
36 EXT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - EVENING 36
Smiley on the steps to his home, stops, examines the door,
removing a WEDGE from the top of the door frame.
37 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - EVENING 37
Smiley walks into the hallway, stopping to pick up post.
38 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - EVENING 38
Smiley places the wedge and the letters on the mantelpiece,
where a BUNDLE of LETTERS already sits, addressed to ANN
SMILEY. Unopened.
38A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - KITCHEN - EVENING 38A
Smiley frying an egg.
There’s a knock at the door.
38B INT./EXT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - EVENING 38B
Smiley opens the door to PETER GUILLAM.
12.
SMILEY
(Surprised)
Hello, Peter.
They stare at each other. Smiley takes in his expression -
this is not a social call.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
Have I time to change?
Guillam nods, following Smiley into the house. He glances at
a painting on the wall - a muddy ABSTRACT. He crosses to
examine it and then notices the bundle of Ann’s unopened
letters.
39 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - EVENING 39
Guillam enters the kitchen, notes the single place set for
dinner. It dawns on him that he really has invaded Smiley’s
privacy.
Smiley appears in a coat behind him, taking in Guillam’s
awkwardness. He gives a thin smile.
SMILEY
Are we going far?
39A INT. GUILLAM’S CAR - EVENING 39A
Smiley and Guillam sit in silence, as Guillam drives through
London. It’s a Citroen DS, all sleek leather and mahogany
interior.
40 OMITTED 40
40A INT. LACON’S HOUSE - EVENING 40A
CLOSE UP ON:
A half eaten bacon SANDWICH, sitting on a table.
We pan up and through the open window see an anxious Lacon is
leading Guillam towards the house. Smiley follows, talking to
Lacon’s daughter.
LACON
How’s your mother?
PETER GUILLAM
Very well.
(referring to the window)
Is this where he got out?
13.
LACON
Mmm, I came back in and it was wide
open.
(beat)
Do send her my love. Apologies for
singling you out, but... very
sensitive matter...
He gives an uncomfortable bark of laughter.
LACON (CONT’D)
If one can’t trust one’s own
nephew... You know who he was?
PETER GUILLAM
Ricki Tarr, sir. One of my scalphunters.
He’s been on the wanted
list for a year. Last job was
Istanbul, bit of coat-trailing for
a Russian convention.
LACON
Why is he on the wanted list?
PETER GUILLAM
(beat)
He killed our man in Istanbul. Cut
his throat. Been on the run since
then.
If possible, Lacon looks even more shaken.
LACON
My God. In my own home... my
family... The bloody animals you
people employ!
41 INT. LACON’S HOUSE - NIGHT 41
PULLING OLIVER LACON as he leads Smiley and Guillam down
the hall, gesturing for his WIFE to take Jackie away. He
attempts some social niceties, but his tone is strained.
LACON
And how are you George? Missing
one’s work, one’s buddies?
SMILEY
Oh, I think I manage pretty well,
thank you.
They reach a large room, minimalist apart from a grand piano
framed by vast glass windows. A tall, well built young man -
FAWN - stands on guard. Lacon gestures to him and Fawn opens
the french windows and he and Guillam walk out onto the
terrace beyond.
14
 
loquere said:
The Magyar chews on his sandwich, notices Prideaux is
ignoring his.
MAGYAR
I’ll take you to him. Not eating?
Prideaux pushes his sandwich across the table, his manner
still easy, but his eyes flick after the Waiter, who stands
at the entrance to the coffee shop, arguing with another
man. He looks around the Galeria again, looking low -
checking the feet of the other customers? Then raising his
gaze, he checks the windows of the apartments above which
look down into the arcade.
PRIDEAUX’S P.O.V. - An OLD WOMAN stands in the shadows by a
window above. She is watching him. Catching his gaze she
shrinks back into the darkness and disappears.
2.
Prideaux’s expression doesn’t change but he sets his coffee
cup down and casually stands. The Magyar looks up in
surprise.
JIM PRIDEAUX
Would you excuse me a moment?
He starts to walk towards the exit of the Galeria. Behind
him his chair teeters for a moment, then slowly falls back
and lands with a CRASH, sending pigeons fluttering up to
the domed ceiling.
The WAITER starts, turns, sees Prideaux leaving. Panic
flashes across his face, he draws a GUN from the back of
his belt, aims after Prideaux and FIRES - the shot echoing
in the cavernous space.
The shot misses, RICOCHETING off the tiled wall and
Prideaux keeps walking, fighting down the impulse to run,
as behind him, out of focus - an image from a surreal
NIGHTMARE: the other CUSTOMERS stop what they are doing,
like actors at the end of a scene, and begin to rise, some
drawing guns. We hear a muffled voice shouting distantly in
Russian.
KGB MAN
No firing!
Ahead of Prideaux more figures appear, blocking the exit.
He looks over his shoulder just as another SHOT rings out -
this one catching him above the shoulder blade and sending
him flying out of frame.
From around a corner a tall, over-coated man - KGB -
strides towards the scene, still bellowing in Russian.
KGB MAN (CONT’D)
Who told you to fire? Who told
you to fucking fire?
THE JAZZ BAND have stopped playing and are staring at the
ground, arms at their sides, anxious not to see anything.
In the TOP WINDOW - the OLD WOMAN slips back into sight.
HER P.O.V. - Prideaux lies face down in the arcade below.
As we watch one of his arms slides out, leaving a slick of
blood. Then he’s still.
BELOW - The KGB Man has grabbed the Waiter and started to
beat him.
KGB MAN (CONT’D)
Fucking Hungarian amateur! We
wanted him alive!
3.
Behind him we can see the breast-feeding MOTHER. She’s
dead, a bullet hole in the centre of her forehead from the
ricochet. The baby continues to suckle on, undisturbed.
Through the cafe window we can see a MAN, partly obscured
by the crowd in front of us, the only man still seated. He
lights a cigarette.
CLOSE ON THE LIGHTER as he replaces it. We can make out an
inscription: “To George, from Ann. All my love.”
In the Galeria the KGB Man continues to bellow at the
Waiter. The baby begins to WAIL.
FADE TO BLACK.
FADE IN:
4A EXT. HQ OF BRITISH INTELLIGENCE - “THE CIRCUS” - DAY 4A
A bird’s eye view of the Circus.
4B INT. CIRCUS - FIFTH FLOOR - - “MOTHERS” OFFICE - DAY 4B
A woman, CONNIE SACHS, a face that’s seen it all, leans
against a wall, smoking. A middle-aged woman, one of the
secretaries or “MOTHERS” walks past, pushing a trolley of
documents. She nods at Connie mournfully. Connie looks
stricken. The Mother walks on into...
5 INT. CIRCUS - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY 5
A long conference table. We are looking at an ELDERLY MAN
at the head of the table. He’s sitting on a rather ornate
carving chair - a little like a throne - and he looks ill.
He is signing documents, his signature a simple “C,”
scrawled in GREEN INK, aware all eyes are on him. A
cigarette burns away in an already loaded ashtray.
This is the head of the Circus - known as CONTROL.
Around him are four lieutenants - the inner circle of the
intelligence service - PERCY ALLELINE, TOBY ESTERHASE, ROY
BLAND and BILL HAYDON.
Beside him, his right-hand man - GEORGE SMILEY.
From the thick and embarrassed atmosphere we might guess we
are at the end of a coup, the final ousting of a King. All
we hear is the ticking of a loud clock and the scratch of
the pen.
Smiley looks up to find Alleline’s gaze fixed on him.
Alleline quickly looks down at his hands.
4.
CLOSE ON SMILEY - as he examines the others, gauging the
SHIFT OF POWER occurring in the room.
- Bill Haydon - handsome, urbane, frowning with tension,
pulls on his cigarette.
- Roy Bland - heavy set and moustached, flicking a guilty
look up at Smiley and away.
- Toby Esterhase - immaculate hair and suit, eyes on
Alleline, watching for a cue, like a dog told to ‘stay’.
No-one will look at him.
ON SMILEY - realising there is no hope.
Control finishes, puts the pen back in his pocket. He hands
the file to the MOTHER who, red-eyed, walks with it out of
the room.
PERCY ALLELINE
(Scottish accent)
I wish I could have done more,
Control.
CONTROL
(Coolly)
You did all you could, Percy.
(Beat) Well, a man should know
when to leave the party.
Beat. The clock suddenly gives a discordant chime as it
sounds the hour. A hint of bitter amusement on Control’s
face, as though he’s been waiting for this wrong little
note to make his move. He grinds his cigarette out.
Toby can’t wait any longer.
TOBY ESTERHASE
What about Smiley?
Control looks at Smiley. His gaze impersonal...
ON SMILEY - the faintest flicker in his eyes as he tries to
prepare himself for the shock of dismissal.
CONTROL
Smiley is leaving with me.
6 OMITTED 6
7 INT. CIRCUS - FIFTH FLOOR - DAY 7
PUSHING Control and Smiley as they walk down the corridor.
5.
Alleline and the Lieutenants are waiting for them. A
horribly awkward moment. Toby pulls open the cage lift
doors for them, as if to hasten the eviction. Haydon looks
at him with contempt.
BILL HAYDON
You little prick Esterhase.
Control sweeps past them and the lift, determined to walk
every step of the way. Smiley follows.
8 INT. CIRCUS - STAIRCASE - DAY 8
Control and Smiley, begin their descent through the rigid
hierarchy of the Circus. As we TRACK with them, we see that
each floor is its own WORLD. The two men walk past the
fourth floor REGISTRY - the vast archive of intelligence,
staffed by RESEARCHERS.
Smiley and Control pass down another flight and along the
third floor - INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS - heads poking out of
offices, amongst them JERRY WESTERBY.
Down to the second floor - SCALPHUNTERS - the muscle of the
Circus. The boredom of an air-port lounge, a sunken sofa
and pool-table. The Scalphunters watching them go in
respectful silence.
On down to the first floor TYPING POOL - staffed by pretty
young society girls - the DEBS - who watch open-mouthed, as
their Chief passes them for the last time. And finally
down to...
9 INT. CIRCUS - GROUND-FLOOR LOBBY - DAY 9
An ancient doorman - BRYANT - feeling the moment must be
marked in some way - leaves his sentry box and opens the
main door for Control. Control acknowledges the salute with
a flick of his eyes and we push through the doors...
10 EXT. CIRCUS - ROOF OF THE CIRCUS - DAY 10
Alleline and Bland stand smoking, watching Control and
Smiley emerge onto the pavement.
11 EXT. CIRCUS - DAY 11
CONTROL and SMILEY stand on the street. They stare at each
other for a moment. This is goodbye. They shake hands.
Perhaps there’s a little reserve in Control’s manner, a
lack of warmth. From the expression on Smiley’s face we see
that he is pained by this.
6.
Control puts his collar up and walks away. Smiley stands
forlornly as Control disappears into the crowd.
TITLES OVER A MONTAGE
12 EXT. HAMPSTEAD POND - AUTUMN DAY 12
THE WATER OF THE POND - still, glassy.
A MAN’S head breaks the surface - Smiley swimming through
his retirement.
He takes a breath and submerges again. Beyond him we see a
straggled diagonal line of elderly heads, bobbing through
the water.
13 EXT. HAMPSTEAD POND - DAY 13
Smiley dries himself under the trees, pink and raw in the
cold fresh air. He smooths his hair down, feeling a little
less ridiculous. He looks over to where a VERY ELDERLY
SWIMMER is being helped into the water - little more than
trembling bones.
Is this his world now?
14 INT. CIRCUS - FIFTH FLOOR - DAY 14
A MOTHER unloads a stack of files from a LIFT shaft and
places them into her wheeled safe. A piece of CHRISTMAS
TINSEL is wound along the trolley. We track with her
through the HIVE-LIKE atmosphere of the fifth floor, behind
her the conference room - a glimpse of Alleline in
Control’s chair, surrounded by his lieutenants - smoke and
whiskey - engaged in the business of the world.
She pushes on into Alleline’s OFFICE - loads the new files
into the LARGE SAFE there, locks and spins the combination.
15 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - WINTER DAY 15
Smiley stands frying an egg in his small kitchen.
16 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 16
Smiley sits eating his solitary lunch, reading a volume of
Grimmelshausen. He turns a page, examines the illustration
of a knight and a dragon - holds it at arms length, trying
to focus on it.
7.
16A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT 16A
Smiley lies in the double bed, a conspicuous empty space next
to him. He leans over and turns the light out.
17 INT. CIRCUS - FIFTH FLOOR - ALLELINE’S OFFICE - NIGHT 17
A HAND removes files from the LARGE SAFE.
ON A BRIEFCASE - as the files - marked TOP SECRET - are
slipped inside.
18 INT. CIRCUS - FIFTH FLOOR - EVENING 18
P.O.V. MYSTERY MAN
... TRACKING through the near-empty offices. All the
drawers of the desks are OPEN. BINS on the tables. A few
mothers working late, illuminated by their desk lamps. One
of them is applying lipstick, prior to leaving. She doesn’t
react as we track by.
19 EXT. OPTICIANS - SPRING DAY 19
We are looking at large blurred LETTERS. A lens is slotted
into our frame and the letters leap into BOLD.
Smiley is in a chair, being fitted for spectacles.
20 INT. OPTICIANS - DAY 20
Smiley is selecting frames from a display. He tries on a
pair, watched by a bored shop assistant, used to the
pedantic ways of the retired.
21 INT. CIRCUS - GROUND-FLOOR LOBBY - EVENING 21
TRACKING with the BRIEFCASE as the mystery man walks
towards the main entrance. The ELDERLY PORTER- BRYANT -
nods respectfully.
22 INT. LONDON UNDERGROUND - EVENING 22
A packed train - Businessmen in bowler hats, long-haired
seventies youth - the old and the new bumping underneath
the city. We track low level until we find our MYSTERY MAN,
the BRIEFCASE clutched in his hand.
8.
23 EXT. SAFE HOUSE - EVENING 23
Tracking with the BRIEFCASE as it is carried towards the
house...
24 INT. SAFE HOUSE - GROUND FLOOR - NIGHT 24
An elderly lady - MRS McCRAIG - stands at the sink. Through
the window she catches a glimpse of the Mystery Man’s legs
passing, the briefcase in his hand as he walks up the steps
towards the front door. Calmly she dries her hands as the
doorbell rings and her DOG begins to bark furiously.
25 INT. SAFE HOUSE - GROUND FLOOR - NIGHT 25
Mrs McCraig opens the door and the figure passes her and
the barking dog without a word and begins to walk up the
stairs...
26 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DRAWING ROOM - DAY 26
Smiley adds a LETTER to a pile on the mantelpiece. We see
the letters are all addressed to ANN SMILEY.
He straightens up, finds himself staring at a PAINTING on
the wall - a muddy abstract.
27 INT. SAFE HOUSE - MEETING ROOM - NIGHT 27
The room is almost bare - two chairs at a small table on
which stands two desk lamps and a CAMERA. The Mystery Man
has crossed to the wall by the window and opens the GRILL
on an AIR DUCT.
28 EXT. SAFE HOUSE - NIGHT 28
From across the street a tall good-looking man - POLYAKOV -
watches as the opened duct spills a star pattern of light
out into the night air. He walks towards the house...
29 INT. SAFE HOUSE - MEETING ROOM - NIGHT 29
The Mystery man settles at the table, sorting through the
contents of the briefcase as, from down below, we hear the
sound of the door bell, the dog barking and footsteps on
the stairs. Polyakov walks into the room and joins the
Mystery Man at the small table. He picks up the camera with
a smile.
POLYAKOV
(In Russian)
Shall we begin?
9.
END OF TITLES
30 EXT. LACON’S HOUSE - EARLY MORNING 30
Lights glowing in the early morning gloom, an ultra-modern
cube of a building sits in rather traditional grounds. This
is the unlikely home of Oliver Lacon, Permanent undersecretary.
30A INT./EXT. LACON’S HOUSE - MORNING 30A
As we watch a young girl - JACKIE LACON - appears at the
living room window in her night-dress, playing with a toy. As
we watch her we hear stealthy footsteps approach. Then a MAN
steps into frame, his back to us, watching the girl through
the window. He taps on the glass with one hand. Jackie looks
up, surprised.
As we pull back a little we see the man has his other hand
behind his back.
And in it is a long, bone-handled KNIFE.
Behind Jackie we see a string bean of a man, OLIVER LACON,
tying his silk dressing gown as he cautiously approaches the
window. On the other side, the intruder stands, smoking.
LACON
(through glass)
This is private property. Who are
you?
He takes in the man before him - filthy and bearded, you
could mistake him for a tramp. But beneath the grime he’s
tanned and his eyes have a dangerous, feral edge. This is
RICKI TARR.
RICKI TARR
Minister Lacon.
He smiles.
LACON
What do you want?
RICKI TARR
I want to talk to Control. And I
want breakfast.
30B OMITTED 30B
30C OMITTED 30C
10.
30D OMITTED 30D
31 OMITTED 31
32 OMITTED 32
33 INT. CIRCUS - SCALPHUNTERS - DAY 33
PETER GUILLAM walks down a corridor. Handsome, boyish,
bored. He hears a TRING behind him. It’s Haydon, one foot
up on his pedal, scootering along the corridor. Guillam
waits for him. He likes this man.
PETER GUILLAM
(of the bike)
Has that been cleared?
BILL HAYDON
I’m not bloody chaining it
outside. Mind you, probably no
safer in here, with you bunch of
cut-throats.
They arrive at a half-paned office cubicle. Inside is a
very pretty GIRL, a new DEB, being shown the ropes by an
older woman.
HAYDON
Thought I’d get a glimpse of the
new girl. Before Bland gets to
her. He seen her yet?
GUILLAM
Oh yes. Down first thing.
GIRL’S P.O.V. -
... as Haydon and Guillam pass, staring in at her, cropped
above the waist. Haydon appears to be gliding
supernaturally by. He gives a little wave.
BACK ON HAYDON:
HAYDON
You may fuck me, Belinda, but you
still have to call me sir in the
morning.
Guillam grins. Haydon glides off, hand raised in farewell
as Guillam turns into the Scalphunters arena.
11.
34 INT. CIRCUS - SCALPHUNTERS - GUILLAM’S OFFICE - DAY 34
Guillam sits at his desk over a pile of paper-work, slowly
falling asleep.
BANG! A pool ball thwacks the window, cracking it. At the
same moment the PHONE begins to ring. Guillam jerks
upright, looks over at the pool players, too bored to be
angry.
POOL PLAYER (O.S.)
Sorry Peter.
Guillam answers the phone.
PETER GUILLAM
Peter Guillam...
He listens to the voice on the other end. After a moment he
turns away from his colleagues, his former drowsiness
abruptly gone.
35 EXT. LONDON STREET - EVENING 35
Smiley in his NEW GLASSES, towel rolled under his arm,
walking down the street. He stops for a moment, feeling
himself watched.
36 EXT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - EVENING 36
Smiley on the steps to his home, stops, examines the door,
removing a WEDGE from the top of the door frame.
37 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - EVENING 37
Smiley walks into the hallway, stopping to pick up post.
38 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - EVENING 38
Smiley places the wedge and the letters on the mantelpiece,
where a BUNDLE of LETTERS already sits, addressed to ANN
SMILEY. Unopened.
38A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - KITCHEN - EVENING 38A
Smiley frying an egg.
There’s a knock at the door.
38B INT./EXT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - EVENING 38B
Smiley opens the door to PETER GUILLAM.
12.
SMILEY
(Surprised)
Hello, Peter.
They stare at each other. Smiley takes in his expression -
this is not a social call.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
Have I time to change?
Guillam nods, following Smiley into the house. He glances at
a painting on the wall - a muddy ABSTRACT. He crosses to
examine it and then notices the bundle of Ann’s unopened
letters.
39 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - EVENING 39
Guillam enters the kitchen, notes the single place set for
dinner. It dawns on him that he really has invaded Smiley’s
privacy.
Smiley appears in a coat behind him, taking in Guillam’s
awkwardness. He gives a thin smile.
SMILEY
Are we going far?
39A INT. GUILLAM’S CAR - EVENING 39A
Smiley and Guillam sit in silence, as Guillam drives through
London. It’s a Citroen DS, all sleek leather and mahogany
interior.
40 OMITTED 40
40A INT. LACON’S HOUSE - EVENING 40A
CLOSE UP ON:
A half eaten bacon SANDWICH, sitting on a table.
We pan up and through the open window see an anxious Lacon is
leading Guillam towards the house. Smiley follows, talking to
Lacon’s daughter.
LACON
How’s your mother?
PETER GUILLAM
Very well.
(referring to the window)
Is this where he got out?
13.
LACON
Mmm, I came back in and it was wide
open.
(beat)
Do send her my love. Apologies for
singling you out, but... very
sensitive matter...
He gives an uncomfortable bark of laughter.
LACON (CONT’D)
If one can’t trust one’s own
nephew... You know who he was?
PETER GUILLAM
Ricki Tarr, sir. One of my scalphunters.
He’s been on the wanted
list for a year. Last job was
Istanbul, bit of coat-trailing for
a Russian convention.
LACON
Why is he on the wanted list?
PETER GUILLAM
(beat)
He killed our man in Istanbul. Cut
his throat. Been on the run since
then.
If possible, Lacon looks even more shaken.
LACON
My God. In my own home... my
family... The bloody animals you
people employ!
41 INT. LACON’S HOUSE - NIGHT 41
PULLING OLIVER LACON as he leads Smiley and Guillam down
the hall, gesturing for his WIFE to take Jackie away. He
attempts some social niceties, but his tone is strained.
LACON
And how are you George? Missing
one’s work, one’s buddies?
SMILEY
Oh, I think I manage pretty well,
thank you.
They reach a large room, minimalist apart from a grand piano
framed by vast glass windows. A tall, well built young man -
FAWN - stands on guard. Lacon gestures to him and Fawn opens
the french windows and he and Guillam walk out onto the
terrace beyond.
14
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:loser
 
MAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam MAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveand the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
MAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
MAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INTMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could have. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveWhich means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could havePrideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could have
 
MAN’S MAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
EstMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - PMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveoorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveerhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveVOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen mMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - MAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could havePoorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveany of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could have
 
out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveS VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUXMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’MAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - PoorMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - PoMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Haven’t seen many of the boys and
girls for a while, matter of
fact.
156 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - DAY 156
Smiley, Guillam and the genial JERRY WESTERBY are sat at a
blackjack table. The casino is empty, a cleaner vacuums in
the background.
JERRY WESTERBY
But that’s the way it is, George,
isn’t it? When you’re out, you’re
out. Too much of this stuff.
He points to a drink on the table before him.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
(An old joke between them)
Too much wampum not good for
braves. How.
SMILEY
(Obliging)
How. (Beat) I need to talk to you
about the night Jim Prideaux was
killed, Jerry. You were duty
officer, weren’t you?
Westerby looks at them both.
JERRY WESTERBY
Yes. Control asked me to man the
phones that night. Said someone was
doing a special job for the
service. He wanted someone from
outside he could trust. If anything
came in, I was to tell him and only
him.
157 INT. CIRCUS - EVENING - PAST 157
Westerby walks down the corridor. We pass OFFICES - drawers
pulled open, waste paper bins standing on desks - the end
of day ritual.
158 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 158
Westerby is following a horse race on the radio. A dirty
plate in front of him. He drinks from a can of beer.
77.
159 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 159
Westerby is asleep. The Circus is deathly quiet, nothing
stirring. Then...
A PHONE BEGINS TO RING.
160 INT. CIRCUS - CONTROL’S OFFICE - NIGHT 160
Control sits surrounded by files. A dim green lamp on his
desk the only illumination. He looks ill, tense with
waiting. Cigarette stubs piled in the ashtray.
He listens to the solitary PHONE below him in the building.
Then it is joined by a SECOND. Then a THIRD...
Control listens, nerves stretched to their limit. From just
outside - the sound of someone running up the wooden
staircase. A knock.
JERRY WESTERBY
(Entering)
Been a bit of a panic, sir.
Control raises his head.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
From the FO resident clerk... A
Hungarian news bulletin, sir.
(Reading) British spy, work-name
Ellis, travelling with false
Hungarian papers, has attempted
to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian
general in Budapest. He’s been
shot, other arrests imminent...
Control stares at him, stands unsteadily, begins to put on
his coat.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Can I have a brief, please? Sir?
Do you want me to deny it?
Controls stares at him, lost.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
I have to have a brief sir?
161 INT. CIRCUS - DUTY OFFICERS ROOM - NIGHT 161
Westerby is on the phone.
JERRY WESTERBY
Ann? I’m sorry to bother you. Is
George back yet?
78.
162 INT. CASINO - CASINO FLOOR - NIGHT - PRESENT 162
Westerby and Smiley sit opposite each other.
SMILEY
You rang my house?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just on the off chance you were
back from Berlin.
SMILEY
What did you say?
JERRY WESTERBY
Just that there’d been a bit of a
crisis. She said you weren’t back
yet. That was it.
SMILEY
Go on.
JERRY WESTERBY
All hell broke loose - military
yelling about Hungarian tank
movements on the border, Lacon
and the Minister baying at the
door. Thank Christ Bill Haydon
turned up when he did.
163 INT. CIRCUS - NIGHT - PAST 163
PUSHING BILL HAYDON as he walks up the corridor towards the
duty room, cutting a swathe through the people gathered
outside.
BILL HAYDON
Get out.
The room clears.
Bill sits down. He pulls out all the phone lines, decisive,
taking charge. Kicks the door shut.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
I tried to get hold of you...
BILL HAYDON
I just picked up half a story on
the ticker-tape at my club...
Tell me.
JERRY WESTERBY
Jim Prideaux’s been shot.
79.
Haydon goes white.
HAYDON
Get me the Hungarian Embassy.
JERRY WESTERBY
(With relief)
Yes sir...
LATER:
Haydon is on the phones.
BILL HAYDON
You go and tell your Masters what
will happen if one hair on Jim
Prideaux’s head is damaged...
He covers the receiver, turns to Westerby.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell
him to pull in the Hungarian
agents, anyone we’re onto. Tell him
to get down to the London School of
Economics, sandbag some bloody
students and put them on ice at
Sarratt.
LATER:
Westerby watches Haydon on the phone from the door. Haydon
listens to a voice for a moment, then hangs up. He stands,
his back to Westerby.
JERRY WESTERBY
Any more news on him?
Haydon doesn’t turn around, head bowed.
JERRY WESTERBY (CONT’D)
Bill? (Beat) Oh God, is he...?
For a moment it looks like Haydon won’t answer but then he
seems to master his emotions.
BILL HAYDON
We need to go to his flat. Clear
out anything linked.
164 INT. PRIDEAUX’S FLAT - NIGHT 164
Haydon walks around the neat rooms. A bike up on the wall,
a pair of muddy climbing boots on a newspaper, waiting to
be cleaned. Haydon walks past a shelf - photographs and
books. He stops, picks up an unframed black and white snap
from the shelf. It’s a picture of HIMSELF.
80.
Haydon stands with his back to us, possibly crying. Westerby
turns thoughtfully away.
165 OMITTED 165
166 OMITTED 166
167 INT. LONDON - WIMPY - NIGHT 167
Smiley and Guillam sit eating side by side at a bar, Smiley
examining the hamburger - his first - doubtfully. Guillam
is thinking about what he’s just been told.
PETER GUILLAM
Haydon heard the news at his
club?
Smiley is distant...
SMILEY
The Saville.
PETER GUILLAM
At one-thirty? The ticker-tape
wouldn’t be running.
Guillam sits, mind racing.
PETER GUILLAM (CONT’D)
So how did he know? Oh Jesus,
George...
SMILEY
Peter...
PETER GUILLAM
Jesus Christ. Haydon? How could
he have known?
SMILEY
It’s not him, Peter.
PETER GUILLAM
Then how did he know?
SMILEY
(gently)
Because he was at my house that
night. With Ann.
Guillam doesn’t know what to say. They sit in a hideously
awkward silence.
81.
SMILEY (CONT’D)
(of the Hamburger)
I quite like this.
167A INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - PAST 167A
The phone on the nightstand starts to ring. A woman’s hand
reaches into frame and picks it up.
WOMAN’S VOICE (O.S.)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh hello Jerry. No I’m afraid
George isn’t back yet.
In the bed beside her we see Bill Haydon.
168 EXT. LONDON STREETS - NIGHT 168
A black Cab pulls up at the lights. Another black cab pulls
alongside it. The two drivers acknowledge each other,
chatting as the lights change to RED, but in no hurry to
move.
An impatient woman passenger flicks a look at the passenger
in the opposite cab, wanting to share this moment of
passenger outrage.
We see ALLELINE’S profile staring stonily ahead.
We follow his cab as it peels off into a FAMILIAR street,
driving towards the house where we met Polyakov.
169 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 169
Smiley slips into the water. It’s late afternoon. Very
still and calm. Very few swimmers. Smiley’s head breaks the
surface, dips in, breaks the surface...
170 EXT. HAMPSTEAD PONDS - DAY 170
Smiley sits on a platform with his back to us, drying off
from his swim, looking out over the water. A MAN’S HEAD
appears, swimming up to the platform through the reeds. An
old QUEEN, his face almost purple with the cold. He clings
to the edge of the platform for a moment.
OLD MAN
Just in case it’s of interest,
dear. We are observed. Old Filth
in the bushes. Not very subtle
but there you are...
82.
He swims away. The wind lifts up a little, rustling the
trees and bushes around the pond. We stay on Smiley,
watched and alone.
171 OMITTED 171
172 OMITTED 172
173 OMITTED 173
174 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 174
Smiley walks into his hallway, picks up the MAIL piled on
the floor. He crosses to the drawing room, still looking at
the mail.
The door is a little ajar and through the opening we catch
a FLASH of movement in the room beyond - a COUPLE in a
passionate embrace, glimpsed for a moment before they
disappear out of sight. We can hear what may be their lovemaking.
And a RECORD IS PLAYING. The same CHARLIE RICH
track Smiley reacted to in the Islay Hotel.
Smiley stares at the mail in his hand as if unwilling to
look up.
He pushes open the door and moves into...
175 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 175
... which is EMPTY. He sits in an armchair, starts opening
some letters.
A FIGURE walks past Smiley abruptly. Smiley doesn’t look
up.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Good flight?
Smiley looks up.
BILL HAYDON sits in the armchair opposite in shirt and
trousers, SOCKS, NO SHOES. He sips a cup of tea. No sense
of having been caught in an act of adultery.
176 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY - PAST 176
BACK ON SMILEY
... who is now wearing a raincoat and we realise we are in
fractured memories of...
83.
THE PAST
SMILEY
Yes. Pleasant enough.
BILL HAYDON
I was just passing, thought I’d
call in. Ann was in bed but she
insisted on getting up. She said
she’ll be down in a minute.
Smiley glances at a half-wrapped oil painting lying against
a chair.
BILL HAYDON (CONT’D)
That’s what I’m dropping off.
177 INT. SMILEY’S HOUSE - DAY 177
Smiley stands in front of the muddy-looking abstract
painting we saw earlier. It’s now on the wall.
BILL HAYDON (O.S.)
Awful daub really but Ann
expressed a liking... What’s
keeping her?
We hold on Smiley but hear Haydon leave the room, a
WHISPERED CONFERENCE in the hall between Haydon and Ann.
P.O.V. - FROM THE DOOR - George with his back to us, staring
fixedly at the picture, listening to the whispers behind his
back.
178 OMITTED 178
178A INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - EVENING 178A
Prideaux lies on his bed. There is a tap at the door.
ROACH (O.S.)
Sir?
JIM PRIDEAUX
Come in, Roach.
Roach walks in.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
Thought you were in sick bay? What
are you...
He stops, seeing the anxiety on the boy’s face.
84.
JIM PRIDEAUX (CONT’D)
What is it, Jumbo?
ROACH
Sir there’s a stranger parked down
on the road. He’s just sitting
there.
He dissolves into tears. Prideaux crouches beside him.
PRIDEAUX
(Gently)
It’s alright, old fella. Don’t cry.
Nobody ever watched like you, did
they? Off you go, now.
ROACH
Are you going to have to leave?
Prideaux stares at him.
JIM PRIDEAUX
I’ll be fine. You get back to bed.
Roach wipes his eyes and leaves. As soon as the door is
closed Prideaux crawls under the little chest of drawers,
grimacing with pain, working an arm further in...
There is a FAINT SOUND - SOMEONE ON THE STEPS OUTSIDE.
With a final effort Prideaux rips his RIFLE free from its
hiding place, still trailing tape, and rolls to face the
door, gun in hand. Silence. Then...
A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. Prideaux aims the gun...
The door opens...
179 OMITTED 179
180 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT - PAST 180
... to reveal Control peering out at us. He steps aside and
allows a PRE-INJURY Prideaux to enter.
181 INT. CONTROL’S FLAT - NIGHT 181
The flat Smiley visited. Control leads Prideaux into the
same room - the green armchair, surrounded by mounds of
files and papers, over-flowing ashtrays, the detritus of an
obsession. The FIVE PHOTOGRAPHS of FACES fixed to the CHESS
PIECES before him.
Control, a walking corpse, lowers himself into the
armchair, motions Prideaux to take another seat.
85.
CONTROL
You weren’t followed?
Prideaux sits, presuming the question is rhetorical.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Trust no-one, Jim. Especially not
in the main stream. What
Hungarian identities do you still
have running?
PRIDEAUX
Andras Benedek, Hungarian
journalist based in Paris.
Control nods thoughtfully. Then...
CONTROL
If you’re caught, you keep me out
of it. You were acting alone, bit
of Private Enterprise.
Understood?
Prideaux watches him, very still.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’ve had an offer of service. A
Hungarian General. Wants to come
over. I want you to meet him. He
has information I need, Jim.
PRIDEAUX
What information?
CONTROL
Rocketry. Ballistics. Bit of
politics.
Something in his manner alerts Prideaux.
PRIDEAUX
What else?
CONTROL
(Beat)
Treasure. He has treasure. The
name of the Mole Moscow Centre
has planted at the top of the
Circus.
Prideaux’s face doesn’t change, but he’s wondering if the
rumours could be true and Control really has gone mad.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
There’s a rotten apple Jim and we
have to find it.
Laboriously he leans forward to the CHESS SET.
86.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
I’m so close I can almost feel
his heart beating. I know it’s
one of five men. All I want from
you is one word.
He points to the PHOTOGRAPH of PERCY ALLELINE.
CONTROL (CONT’D)
Alleline - Tinker. (Points at the
next photo) Haydon - Tailor.
Bland - Soldier. We drop Sailor,
it’s too close to Tailor.
(Pointing at next photo)
Esterhase - Poorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveorman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveman.
182 INT. PRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveS CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could have’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could haveRIDEAUX’S CARAVAN - NIGHT - PRESENT 182
Prideaux sits with his visitor - Smiley - recalling the
meeting. He’s drinking vodka.
SMILEY
Which means I was...?
PRIDEAUX
You were Beggarman.
Smiley nods. Just a flicker of the eyes shows us that this
is painful for him to hear.
SMILEY
What did you make of it, Jim?
Control’s theory?
PRIDEAUX
(Stiff)
I thought it was madness. To
think any one of you could have
 
wooooow, somebody can pitch a hissy and copy and paste at the same time........wooooow.:D
 
BLOBFUCKER your were on my ignore list from yesterday so FUCK OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Bigtitsbitch1000x
A point about libel
Replies
2
Views
161
Bigtitsbitch1000x
Bigtitsbitch1000x
girlsmiley
What’s the go with men in cars with women?
2
Replies
44
Views
2K
GuySLut
G
N
1920s erotica
2 3 4
Replies
92
Views
3K
NikolasMann
N
SmokingFap
Masturbuddies?
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
anyone4greek
anyone4greek
Y
Looking for my lost Irish Lass
Replies
0
Views
205
YEGDowntown55
Y
Back
Top