Chapter 10 of 18 · 2'23"
While the doctors and reporters crowd around the condemned man for a joint interview, Hildy Johnson says her goodbyes to the press corps. Then comes the shout "It's a jailbreak!" and the cry "Williams went over the wall!" — the story everyone was waiting for happens live.
❝ Monologue · 7 lines Hildy's Goodbye to the Press
The Jailbreak Breaks Out
The scene opens at the county jail before the execution. A doctor interviews Earl Williams about who is responsible, and reporters push for a joint interview and pictures. Meanwhile Hildy Johnson, quitting the newspaper, makes a farewell speech to the press corps — then a jailbreak is announced and Williams escapes over the wall.
The official concern here is procedure, not the man. The doctor reminds Williams he is going to be executed and asks who is responsible; Williams can only answer "I am innocent. It wasn't my fault." Around him, the real business is publicity: "Publicity's the thing," and a joint interview with photographs is arranged with more care than the hanging itself. The reporters complain that the execution should be scheduled at their convenience. Hildy's farewell as a "wage slave" is the one honest note, but even her big exit is upstaged — before she can finish, Williams is over the wall, and every good line is instantly worth a phone call.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“It is hardly ethical. All statements are supposed to come from me.”
He wraps a power grab in propriety, which is what makes the protest ring false.
Formal
“That doesn't matter. Publicity's the thing.”
A flat judgement swaps a life for a headline, and the trade's values stand exposed.
Informal
“Don't worry, I'm on the job.”
In a few words she claims the scoop and sounds completely in control.
Neutral
“They wanted me to hang Williams at their convenience.”
Scheduling an execution around deadlines, the coldness stated without comment.
Neutral
“I am innocent. It wasn't my fault.”
The simplest defense, and all the helplessness of a man swept along.
Neutral
Next time you see me, I'll be in a Rolls Royce... ...giving interviews on success. So long, you wage slaves. When you're climbing fire escapes, getting kicked out front doors... ...and eating in one-armed joints... ...don't forget your pal, Hildy Johnson. And when the road beyond unfolds, and the work...
Up next · 11tear it out of someoneThe scene: Hildy Sells Her Scoop for $450She is leaving the newspaper business. She jokes that the next time they see her she will be riding in a Rolls Royce giving interviews about success, and asks them not to forget their old pal Hildy Johnson.
During the interview and the farewells, a shout goes up that there has been a jailbreak. Williams went over the wall, the reporters cry, and the phone calls start almost at once.
No. Told that he is going to be executed and asked who is responsible, he says only, "I am innocent. It wasn't my fault." He refuses to accept the blame.
The reporters, the officials and the condemned man all treat the execution as a story to sell. "Publicity's the thing," one line runs, and the promised joint interview with photos is treated as more important than the man about to die.
She calls the Post and asks for Walter Burns, announcing herself as Hildy Johnson. She tells him Earl Williams has just escaped from the county jail.
