( Horizons perdus)
Conway: Hello, Freshie. Did you make that report out yet?
George: Yes, Bob.
Conway: Did you say that we saved 90 white people?
George: Yes.
Conway: Good. Hooray for us. Did you say that we left 10 000 natives down there to be annihilated? No, you wouldn't say that. They don't count.
George: You'd better try to get some sleep.
Conway: Just you wait until I'm Foreign Secretary.
Can't you just see me with all those other shrewd little Foreign Secretaries?
The trick is to see who can outtalk the other.
Everybody wants something for nothing.
If you can't get it with smooth talk, you send your army in.
I'm going to fool them.
I'm not going to have an army.
I am going to disband mine.
I'm going to sink my battleships. I'm going to destroy every piece of warcraft.
When the enemy approaches, we'll say: "Coming in, gentlemen. What can we do for you?"
So then the poor enemy soldiers will stop and think.
And what will they think, Freshie? They'll say, "Something's wrong here, we've been duped! This is not according to form. These people seem quite friendly. Why should we shoot them?"
Then they'll lay down their arms. You see how simple the whole thing is?
Un Film de Frank Capra
Lost Horizon est le film le plus célèbre de Ronald Colman. Le personnage de Robert Conway est aussi certainement celui qui lui ressemble le plus. Il se reconnaissait pleinement dans le diplomate anglais humaniste au discours pacificiste. Le film a subi les outrages du temps car la Columbia n'a même pas préservé le négatif original et l'a ressorti en 1942 amputé de plus de 40 min! Grâce au travail des restaurateurs, on peut maintenant voir le film complet. Voici une scène qui fut coupée en 1942, on en comprend aisément la raison: l'Amérique est en guerre et ne peut laisser s'exprimer le pacifisme du scénario de Robert Riskin.
Robert Conway (Ronald Colman), diplomate en poste en Chine ravagée par la guerre, doit évacuer de Baskul les ressortissants britanniques et américains. Une fois dans l'avion qui les emmènent vers Shangaï, il se repose et converse avec son frère cadet George (John Howard). A leur insu, un mystérieux pilote a pris les commandes de l'appareil.
Conway: Hello, Freshie. Did you make that report out yet?
George: Yes, Bob.
Conway: Did you say that we saved 90 white people?
George: Yes.
Conway: Good. Hooray for us. Did you say that we left 10 000 natives down there to be annihilated? No, you wouldn't say that. They don't count.
George: You'd better try to get some sleep.
Conway: Just you wait until I'm Foreign Secretary.
Can't you just see me with all those other shrewd little Foreign Secretaries?
The trick is to see who can outtalk the other.
Everybody wants something for nothing.
If you can't get it with smooth talk, you send your army in.
I'm going to fool them.
I'm not going to have an army.
I am going to disband mine.
I'm going to sink my battleships. I'm going to destroy every piece of warcraft.
When the enemy approaches, we'll say: "Coming in, gentlemen. What can we do for you?"
So then the poor enemy soldiers will stop and think.
And what will they think, Freshie? They'll say, "Something's wrong here, we've been duped! This is not according to form. These people seem quite friendly. Why should we shoot them?"
Then they'll lay down their arms. You see how simple the whole thing is?
Horizons Perdus est aisément disponible en DVD en France.