00:00:28Transcription by CastingWords
00:00:38CastingWords
00:01:25CastingWords
00:01:37The United States Steel Hour from New York
00:01:45Now, Cliff Robertson stars in Man on the Mountaintop,
00:01:49a drama of explosive emotions,
00:01:51co-starring Paul McGrath and Salome Jens.
00:01:54piano plays in Man on the Mountaintop,
00:02:41a film by CastingWords
00:02:48CastingWords
00:02:50I love you, I love you
00:02:53I love you, I love you
00:02:56Hello, happy housewarming
00:02:59Thank you
00:03:01Thank you very much
00:03:02And there's lots of wine and beer
00:03:05Gerda, honey
00:03:07Here baby, let me help
00:03:11This is Gerda, this is Gerda
00:03:13Charlie Simpson
00:03:14You know you're cute, but you're not singing
00:03:18Well I don't sing very well
00:03:20Everybody from Iowa sings, don't they?
00:03:22I thought it was a midwestern institution
00:03:24To be a community singer
00:03:25You come from a community, you gotta sing
00:03:28I'm an actor
00:03:29I know, Charlie told me
00:03:31Well now you're not singing, come on, let's sing
00:03:33I'll teach you how to project
00:03:35I'm very good at projecting
00:03:37Lily, you're gonna scare her
00:03:38Like, not a chance, like I'm gonna show her
00:03:41How to become like Beat in one easy lesson
00:03:43Yeah, well meantime we're out of beer
00:03:45All right, sir, would you mind going down to the dollar potest
00:03:46And getting us some beer?
00:03:47All right, sure, you come with me
00:03:49This is your chance
00:03:50Your big chance to see the village after midnight
00:03:52You can write home in the morning to the folks in Iowa
00:03:55Bet you did the whole thing
00:03:57Uh, uh, wait a minute, have you got any money?
00:03:59Oh no, I haven't, but I'll go back and get my first
00:04:01Never mind, I'll get it from your brother
00:04:12Horace
00:04:15Horace, I know you're in there
00:04:16Go away
00:04:17Horace, I've got to talk to you
00:04:20I don't want to talk
00:04:21It's about that position Dr. Wilson offered
00:04:24Horace, you must listen to me, do you understand?
00:04:27Now look, Horace, I'm trying to be reasonable
00:04:29But I'm not going to try to tell you anything
00:04:31If you won't even see me or answer my letters
00:04:34Go away
00:04:35Horace, haven't you had enough of this?
00:04:37Isn't it about time you came to your senses?
00:04:39There comes a point
00:04:41Go away
00:04:42When I feel that you are being completely foolish about this whole thing
00:04:46Now look, Horace, I'm telling you
00:04:50Don't tell me anything
00:04:52Go away or I'll kill you, do you hear me?
00:04:53I'll kill you
00:05:07They had to take up a collection, that impoverished mom
00:05:10Willie, who's that?
00:05:12Who lives in there?
00:05:13Oh, in there?
00:05:14Oh, that's the genius, you know
00:05:16The genius?
00:05:17Oh yeah, the prodigy
00:05:18Horace Mann Borden
00:05:19The great prodigy
00:05:21Some prodigy, that creep
00:05:23Come on, let's get the beer
00:05:37The trouble with your brother Charlie is a member of the what is his school of painting
00:05:40The kind you look at you say, what is it?
00:05:42Willie, we've been gone almost an hour
00:05:44He's a painter who thinks, you know
00:05:45He paints the inner man
00:05:46If I want to know what the inner man looks like
00:05:48I've got to go to the doctor
00:05:49I've got an x-ray
00:05:50Cows
00:05:51He ought to paint cows
00:05:52Willie, we should go back
00:05:53Trees, an occasional flowerpot
00:05:54And you ought to agree with me
00:05:55Because you're from Iowa
00:05:56Well, wouldn't you rather see a cow hanging on a wall than a what is it?
00:06:00You know, you think too much, you never say anything
00:06:02I think we ought to go back, the beer's getting warmer
00:06:05Don't you know it's dangerous to think too much?
00:06:06Look at that genius there, the prodigy
00:06:08You see what happens when you think?
00:06:10Shh, Willie, he'll hear you
00:06:11No, he doesn't mind
00:06:12No, you mind, prodigy?
00:06:14See, he doesn't say anything
00:06:15He lives in a world of his own
00:06:17A dark, creepy world, full of dark thoughts
00:06:19Willie, please, let's go
00:06:20Look, if we went right back, your sister-in-law would think
00:06:23What do you mean?
00:06:23When you beat, you gotta do things inconsistently
00:06:25That's what makes character
00:06:27Prodigy
00:06:28Clean up the coffee cups, will you?
00:06:31That's a good prodigy
00:06:33If you ever wanted to know what a prodigy looked like, Gerda
00:06:35That's a prodigy
00:06:36That's a real prodigy
00:06:38See what happens when you have brains and you think too much?
00:06:40You work in a crummy cafeteria
00:06:42Prodigy, say hello to your neighbor
00:06:43Well, they don't
00:06:44Wait, I'll show you
00:06:45I'll get an idea
00:06:46Prodigy
00:06:47I'll tell you what I'm gonna do
00:06:4950 cents if you give me the answer to the following question
00:06:51Within three seconds
00:06:53Gerda, listen to this
00:06:54This is the way he makes his movie money
00:06:55Because this prodigy goes to two or three movies a day
00:06:57All right, you ready, Horace Mann?
00:07:00Give me the answer in three seconds
00:07:02What is 578 times 309?
00:07:07178,602
00:07:08Just a minute, I'll check it
00:07:1028 and carry the two
00:07:11Right
00:07:12Absolutely right
00:07:14Fabulous
00:07:14Isn't it fabulous, Gerda?
00:07:16That's what you can do when you think
00:07:17Let's take the beer back
00:07:19Good night, genius
00:07:20Come on
00:07:21No, please
00:07:22Don't touch me
00:07:24Gerda, baby
00:07:25What did I do?
00:07:25You're a monster
00:07:26A vicious, horrible, little monster
00:07:30I'll take the beer back
00:07:32I told you
00:07:33You think too much
00:07:37I want to apologize
00:07:39Please don't think that
00:07:41I mean that was a terrible thing he just did
00:07:44And since we're going to be neighbors
00:07:45You see, I'm going to live with Charlie and Betty
00:07:47I think I ought to introduce myself
00:07:50My name is Gerda
00:07:52Gerda Blake
00:07:56Don't cry
00:07:57Please don't cry
00:08:04You must let me alone
00:08:07You must let me alone
00:08:09You must let me alone
00:08:34Party over already?
00:08:35Oh, leave the door open, huh Gerda?
00:08:36Let's get some air in here
00:08:37Yeah, the party's over all right
00:08:38What happened to you?
00:08:40Willie came back over an hour ago
00:08:41I figured maybe first day in New York you got lost
00:08:44I was sitting in Washington Square
00:08:46I didn't feel like coming right back
00:08:49Charlie
00:08:50What?
00:08:50I met the strangest man
00:08:52The saddest man I've ever met
00:08:53Oh, brother who?
00:08:56He lives next door
00:08:56His name is Borden
00:08:57Horace Mann Borden
00:08:58What?
00:08:59That flip?
00:09:00Charlie
00:09:01That's what he is
00:09:02He's a real flip
00:09:03Oh, I know all about him
00:09:04What do you know?
00:09:05Oh, he was famous
00:09:08Yeah, I guess you wouldn't remember
00:09:10His father had some kind of theory about kids being able to learn
00:09:13And like by the age of three months this kid was building with blocks
00:09:17And by three years he could read, he could translate Greek
00:09:21He memorized the complete works of Shakespeare
00:09:23Oh, you know, he graduated from college when he was 12
00:09:27No wonder he's so lonely
00:09:30Hey, are you?
00:09:32Now listen, Goethe, don't start feeling sorry for this character
00:09:35He's...
00:09:37Well, he's gone, you know what I mean?
00:09:39What a waste
00:09:39What a terrible waste
00:09:41Oh, look, Betty
00:09:41Will you talk to this girl?
00:09:42This is the girl who brought home the stray cats
00:09:44This is the compassionate member of the family
00:09:46So?
00:09:47I thought that's why she was your favorite sister
00:09:53Uh...
00:09:54Hi
00:09:55Charlie, leave him alone
00:09:56I'm going to ask him for a coffee
00:09:57Hey, how would you like to join us for coffee?
00:10:01Charlie
00:10:01Charlie, don't you see he's scared?
00:10:03Scared?
00:10:04What has he got to be scared of?
00:10:06Look, people have called me a genius too, you know
00:10:08Charlie, you're as bad as Willie
00:10:21Oh, here
00:10:22Do you want these?
00:10:24My, how many are there?
00:10:28Oh, Sunset Boulevard
00:10:31Isn't this from Sunset Boulevard?
00:10:33Well, sure it is
00:10:35There's William Holden in that scene with Gloria Swanson in her bedroom
00:10:38You know, I think he's one of my favorite actors
00:10:43Uh, do you collect them?
00:10:45Yes
00:10:46May I have them, please?
00:10:47Well, where do you get them?
00:10:49Some of these are from very old pictures
00:10:54Secondhand stores and, uh, movie houses
00:10:59Why are you afraid of people?
00:11:01Are you afraid of me?
00:11:03Shouldn't you get to know someone before you decide whether to be afraid of them or not?
00:11:09People make fun of you, don't they? Like that terrible Willie
00:11:11And they get angry with you like my brother Charlie
00:11:16Do you have a cigarette?
00:11:18No
00:11:20Oh
00:11:21Well, I don't smoke anyway, not as a general rule
00:11:24Just every once in a while to be sociable
00:11:29Well, there are your pictures
00:11:31Good night
00:11:32Good night
00:11:32Good night
00:11:49So after I got of college this spring, Mom and Dad wanted me to stay in Iowa and start teaching
00:11:54right away
00:11:54But I didn't think I wanted that
00:11:57So a couple girlfriends and I decided to take a crazy tour of Europe
00:12:01Where all we did was get on and off buses
00:12:04And when I was in Europe I decided that
00:12:07Maybe I'd study in New York for a while
00:12:09Take a couple of teachers courses at Columbia, you know
00:12:14Maybe even teach in New York for a while
00:12:16And then Charlie said that I could stay with him and Betty until I found a place of my own
00:12:22I have two other brothers and two sisters
00:12:25But I'm the youngest
00:12:28Are you an only child, Horace?
00:12:32Please don't call me that
00:12:34Well, what should I call you?
00:12:37I've got to call you something if we're going to talk, if we're going to be friends
00:12:42Borden
00:12:44Borden
00:12:45Well, are you an only child?
00:12:51Don't you know about me?
00:12:53No
00:12:54If you want to know about me
00:12:57You can read about me in books
00:12:58Go to the library, look under the card
00:13:01Borden, Horace Mann, cross-reference, child prodigy
00:13:07You're laughing
00:13:08Oh, no
00:13:09I was just thinking I never knew anyone before who was the subject of books
00:13:13That must mean that you're very important
00:13:16And now you're laughing at me
00:13:18I find it inconceivable that anyone could be so naive
00:13:24Important, I'm not important, I don't want to be important
00:13:27I will tell you something
00:13:30I stand here talking to you and listening to you talk and I ask myself why
00:13:33I ask myself that question because I have learned I must do without people
00:13:38That's a terrible decision
00:13:40It's the least painful, take my word for that
00:13:43But why?
00:13:44Knowing people, being friendly with people
00:13:47Liking people, how can that be painful?
00:13:53Nineteen years ago, when I was twelve, I graduated from the university, summa cum laude
00:13:59And I was asked to deliver my honor thesis before the combined physics staffs of Harvard and MIT
00:14:04The subject of my papers was Einstein's theory of the expanding universe, its meaning and application
00:14:14Do you understand what I've just said?
00:14:18Do you understand the implication of what I've just told you?
00:14:24It means that I am a freak
00:14:27A freak and a monster
00:14:29A freak and a monster cannot live in this world of normal people
00:14:39Hello
00:14:46Hello
00:15:01Oh, hi, Charley
00:15:03Oh, hi, Gutter.
00:15:05Am I late?
00:15:07Uh, dinner's almost ready.
00:15:10Uh, Willie's inside.
00:15:13Willie?
00:15:14All right, I'll be right in.
00:15:16Fine.
00:15:19Thank you for the coffee.
00:15:21It's all right, I didn't have to pay for it.
00:15:24Oh, I didn't mean that.
00:15:26Will we talk again some other time?
00:15:30Why?
00:15:32Does there have to be a reason?
00:15:37There's another book you should read.
00:15:40It's not about me, but I think you should read it.
00:15:43Philip Wiley wrote it,
00:15:45and it's about a doctor who has a serum,
00:15:47a Superman serum.
00:15:50And he injected it into his newborn child,
00:15:52his son, as an experiment,
00:15:53and sure enough, the son grew up to be a Superman.
00:15:57The serum was good, but there was one problem.
00:15:59The world, this world, we live in,
00:16:04is too small and too narrow for a Superman.
00:16:09People are afraid of Superman,
00:16:10just as they are afraid of monsters.
00:16:12Being a Superman is a beautiful fantasy
00:16:15for the tormented and tortured little people,
00:16:16but those same little people can't stand it
00:16:18when the Superman comes along.
00:16:21In this world, that Superman is crucified.
00:16:24Is that what happened to the Superman in Wiley's book?
00:16:30That poor creature
00:16:32ended up on a mountaintop,
00:16:35shouting his defiance at God
00:16:36until lightning came from the sky
00:16:38and destroyed him.
00:16:41Reduced him to nothing, absolutely nothing.
00:16:44It must be a very sad story.
00:16:46It's a true story.
00:16:50But what was there for people to fear?
00:16:53Why must everyone be afraid?
00:16:57Don't you see?
00:16:58No.
00:17:20Last night I was looking through
00:17:22the collection of my photographs
00:17:24and I came across some pictures of William Holden.
00:17:27and you said that you liked him.
00:17:32Would you
00:17:35like to come in and look at them?
00:17:46This is the United States Steel Hour.
00:17:48And now, George Hicks.
00:18:10is the United States Steel Hour.
00:18:11wanted to be right afterugs!
00:18:11I don't know.
00:18:15He's probably the best for you.
00:18:15He's just a Buick.
00:18:15He's got a good story.
00:18:15He's got a bad story.
00:18:15He's got a good story.
00:18:15And then, I'm excited.
00:18:16He's got to be the best.
00:18:16He took a good story.
00:18:16He's got a good story.
00:18:16And then, he said,
00:18:21we've got a good story.
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