Marvin Miller: Michael Anthony

Quotes 

• Michael Anthony : [Anthony enters the study to see Tipton, seated in a high-backed chair at a table, pouring two glasses of water from a carafe on a tray. Only Tipton's left arm is visible to viewers]  You sent for me, sir?

  John Beresford Tipton : [Indicating one of the glasses]  Drink that, will you, Mike?

  [Anthony picks up a glass and raises it to his lips] 

  John Beresford Tipton : Of course, I should warn you that it's poisoned.

  [Anthony stops] 

  Michael Anthony : Poisoned?

  [Anthony relaxes and smiles] 

  Michael Anthony : Oh, you wouldn't do such a thing, sir.

  John Beresford Tipton : If you're convinced of that, go ahead and drink it.

  [Anthony looks at the glass and mulls it over] 

  John Beresford Tipton : You realize, of course, that by refusing to drink, you're as much as saying that I'm capable of murder. Well, Mike, how about it?

  [Anthony thinks it over again, then drinks a sip. Tipton chuckles and reaches for the other glass and drinks it all down. Anthony does the same with his glass and sets it on the tray] 

  John Beresford Tipton : Sometimes, it's hard to know what to believe, isn't it, Mike?

  [Tipton hands an envelope to Anthony] 

  John Beresford Tipton : Our next millionaire.

  [Anthony accepts the envelope, bows, and turns to leave] 

• Michael Anthony : [Irene is taking down a wreath from her apartment door after the holidays when Anthony appears in the hallway]  Happy New Year, Mrs. Marshall.

  Irene Marshall : Oh, thank you. Happy New Year to you.

  Michael Anthony : My name is Michael Anthony, Mrs. Marshall. You are Irene Marshall?

  Irene Marshall : Yes.

  Michael Anthony : Could you give me just a few minutes of your time?

  Irene Marshall : Well, I have a great deal of time these days. Come in.

  Michael Anthony : [Entering and opening his briefcase]  I came to bring you this:

  [Displaying a check] 

  Michael Anthony : A cashier's check.

  Irene Marshall : A cashier's check?

  Michael Anthony : For a million dollars.

  Irene Marshall : For a million dollars?

  Michael Anthony : It's a gift, Mrs. Marshall, and the taxes have already been paid on it.

  Irene Marshall : [Accepting check]  But who would...? One million dollars?

  [Collapses onto sofa] 

  Irene Marshall : It looks so real.

  Michael Anthony : It is. Any bank will honor it.

  Irene Marshall : But I don't understand. Why anyone would...?

  Michael Anthony : The donor must remain anonymous.

  Irene Marshall : I would like to thank him, at least.

  Michael Anthony : [Offering the agreement]  I'll do it for you, if you will sign this paper agreeing never to reveal the exact amount or the circumstances under which you received it. If you do, the remainder of the money will be forfeited. You will see, there is one exception. You may tell your husband.

  Irene Marshall : [Coldly]  My husband is dead.

  Michael Anthony : ****Yes, I know. But if you should remarry...

  [Irene shakes her head emphatically] 

  Irene Marshall : Oh, when I think of what this would have meant to Eric. The expeditions we could have financed.

  Michael Anthony : Why not think of what it could mean to you, Mrs. Marshall? You're still young. You could travel, forget the past.

  Irene Marshall : Eric's job would dig into the past, unearth secrets.

  [Suddenly a thought comes into her mind] 

  Irene Marshall : Secrets? There's some secret in the past that I'd like to dig into.

• Michael Anthony : [to the viewers]  Irene Marshall had met her husband through their mutual interest in archeology. She and Eric Marshall had been married for five happy years, never separated, until he went on that ill-fated expedition into the interior of Australia.

• [first lines] 

  Michael Anthony : [to the viewers]  My name is Michael Anthony. For many years, I was executive secretary to the late John Beresford Tipton, whose practice it was the bestow gifts of $1,000.000, tax-free. I was also, you might say, the official biographer of the Tipton-made millionaires, carefully chronicling their lives. These accounts were as precious to Mr. Tipton as Silverstone itself. Silverstone - the magnificent 60,000-acre estate in the grand tradition, where he devoted the major part of his time to intellectual pursuits. Of all his varied interests, the most searching one was his preoccupation with the mystery of man.