Thank you for taking it on. I owe you a great deal.Downton Abbey: A New Era · 2022 — Chapter 8 of 18 · 2'03" · B2
Molesley Pitches His Own Ending, Explained: On an impulse
The butler Molesley nervously shows the producer the scenes he has written to save the film, and describes a romantic ending of his own invention. Barber is moved almost to tears and tells him to finish the script: "please finish the script however you think best."
What happens
On the set at Downton, the servant Joseph Molesley approaches the producer Jack Barber. He explains that he has gone through all the old dialogue cards and begun writing new scenes to cover the plot. Then he describes the ending he imagines, and Barber, delighted, asks him to complete the script his own way.
Listen for
On an impulseevery last thingin ordercast someone off
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Now
Phrase of the scene
On an impulse
一时冲动
默斯利向制片人描述自己写的剧情：赌徒一时冲动，把钱夺了回来。
On an impulse, she booked a flight to Rome.
Also in this scene
- every last thing
仅剩的一切；一件不剩
- in order
妥当；就绪
- cast someone off
抛弃；甩掉（不再需要的人）
Everything marked in this scene
29 notes across 31 lines
Thank you for taking it on. I owe you a great deal.thank someone for doing
Thank you for taking it on. I owe you a great deal.- Is everything in order? - Well...Once we've recorded sound for the scenes we've already shot, we'll need new material for what's left...M-May I have a word, Mr. Barber?I-I've been through all the dialogue cards that w-would've been shown if the picture were silent,hypothetical condition
I-I've been through all the dialogue cards that w-would've been shown if the picture were silent,and I've started to sketch out scenes that would cover the needs of the plot.and I've started to sketch out scenes that would cover the needs of the plot.And if you're content, I'll do the rest.liaison
And if you're content, I'll do the rest.Am I bound by the plot synopsis?For instance, when she finally casts him off, might it not be better with a big romantic climax?For instance, when she finally casts him off, might it not be better with a big romantic climax?Well, Bill Benson's about to throw away his life on the tables.liaison
Well, Bill Benson's about to throw away his life on the tables.Alone, hollow and without hope.On an impulse, he snatches back his money.On an impulse, he snatches back his money.liaison
On an impulse, he snatches back his money.And every last thing he owns would have gone.past counterfactual
And every last thing he owns would have gone.She takes his hand, and they walk away.Mr. Molesley, please finish the script however you think best - and bring it to me. - Right.concessive clause with however
Mr. Molesley, please finish the script however you think best - and bring it to me. - Right.- You say he used to work here? - Yes.But we weren't aware of his hidden talents.But we weren't aware of his hidden talents.Molesley Pitches His Own Ending, explained
What's really going on
The scene belongs to Molesley, a servant who has spent the film hovering at the edge of the production, and who now turns out to be the best storyteller in the room. He is unsure of himself, stammering as he asks to speak with Barber, but the moment he is allowed to tell his ending he becomes fluent: "Then suddenly he lifts his face and sees Anne standing there, tall, serene, graceful, her eyes shining with unshed tears." What he has written is pure melodrama, and that is exactly why it works on the producer, who has been struggling to give the picture a finish. "I think I'm going to cry," someone says, and Barber hands him the job: "please finish the script however you think best." The quiet joke at the end is that nobody at the house knew the footman had this in him: "we weren't aware of his hidden talents."
Theme
DreamsA servant who has spent years below stairs turns out to have a storyteller's gift, and the producer lets him finish the film.
ClassThe household is shocked that the footman wrote the ending, revealing talent where rank had hidden it.
What you'll learn
- 'take on' carries more than its dictionary gloss.
- 'have a word' changes the pressure of the reply.
- The surrounding lines set the social temperature.
Listen for
- do the rest — liaison
- about to throw — liaison
- On an impulse — liaison
And if you're content, I'll do the rest.Molesley's offer to Barber: if the scenes pass muster, he will write the remaining script himself.
On an impulse, he snatches back his money.In Molesley's ending, the gambler suddenly reverses course and grabs his stake back, the turn that saves him.
For instance, when she finally casts him off, might it not be better with a big romantic climax?Molesley proposes an alternative to the synopsis: instead of a plain breakup, he would build a grand emotional finish.
Thank you for taking it on. I owe you a great deal.Barber's thanks to Molesley for agreeing to write the ending, admitting how much the rescue means to the production.
Her love, her beauty have saved him.The closing line of Molesley's ending, crediting the woman's love and beauty with pulling the gambler back from ruin.
Questions about this scene
What does Molesley want from Barber?
He wants to show the scenes he has written and, if Barber approves, to write the rest of the script himself.
How does Molesley change the film's ending?
Instead of the woman simply leaving, he gives the gambler a grand romantic rescue in which her love saves him at the last moment.
Why is Barber so pleased with Molesley's scenes?
The script was missing an ending, and Molesley's overwrought climax is exactly the emotional finish the producer needed to complete the picture.
What does "cast someone off" mean in Molesley's pitch?
It means to throw someone away or leave them behind. In his version, the woman casts the gambler off, which he wants to rewrite as a romantic finish.
Who was Molesley before he wrote the script?
He was a footman at Downton. The family did not know he had any writing talent until his scenes came to light.
Downton Abbey: A New Era · 18 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 9trouble in paradiseMary Talks About Her Marriages
Chapter 1who are we to argueViolet Gives Sybbie a French Villa
Chapter 2take a dim viewJack Barber Pitches Filming at Downton
Chapter 3wouldn't hear of itHollywood Comes to Downton
Chapter 4frighten the horsesThe Family Dines with Myrna Dalgleish
Chapter 5eye someone upDinner at the Villa of the Doves
Chapter 6in a wayTom and Lucy Inherit the Villa
Chapter 7perform miraclesMary Saves the Talkie
Watching · Chapter 8On an impulseMolesley Pitches His Own Ending
Chapter 9trouble in paradiseMary Talks About Her Marriages
Chapter 10more than capableRobert Learns Cora Is Ill
Chapter 11in your handsMyrna Walks Off the Set
Chapter 12washed upThe Maids Talk Myrna Down
Chapter 13had in mindViolet Says Goodbye to Tom
Chapter 14await developmentsGuy Offers Barrow a Hollywood Job
Chapter 15an object of desireBarber Asks to Kiss Mary
Chapter 16a fool for loveViolet Tells Mary the Truth
Chapter 17what the blazesMolesley Proposes to Baxter
Chapter 18last the courseViolet's Deathbed GoodbyesChapter 8 of 18 · about 21 min to go