"Mr. Knowles," Brackman said suddenly, "would you say that a screenplay is similar to a stage play?"
"No, sir."
"They both deal with the spoken word, do they not?"
"Yes, sir."
"And with a visual arrangement of scenes?"
"Yes, sir."
"With actors portraying parts created for them?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then you would agree that there is at least some similarity between a screenplay and a stage play? At least the similarities we have just enumerated?"
"Yes, but they are really very different. I've adapted several Broadway plays to the screen, and it's an enormously difficult job. If they were as similar as you seem to think they are, the job wouldn't have been nearly so difficult."
"You have adapted plays to the screen?"
"Yes."
"Stage plays?"
"Yes."
"In addition to adapting novels?"
"Yes. I've also adapted short stories and television plays. If the material is good, it doesn't matter what form it's originally written in. It must all be translated to the screen, anyway."
"So I understand. But before you begin these screen translations, do you always engage in additional research?"
"I do."
"As you did with The Paper Dragon?"
"As I do with every project."
"We're concerned here with The Paper Dragon."
"My career did not suddenly begin with The Paper Dragon, you know. I had written and directed a great many successful movies before that one."
"And for each of these you engaged in thorough research?"
"Correct."
"Such as visiting Army bases?"
"For The Paper Dragon, yes."
"You said you went to Fort Bragg, and Fort Benning, and Fort Dix."
"Yes."
"Did you visit any Army bases in Korea?"
"No, sir."
"Even though the novel was set in Korea?"
"Correct."
"Why did you go to these bases in the United States?"
"To catch up on the language of the men, the slang, their conversation, little things they might be doing, little things that caught my eye and remained in my memory during the shooting of the film."
"At any of these Army bases, Mr. Knowles, did you witness a man being shot out of a tree?"
"No, sir."
"Did you witness an American soldier crying because his buddy had been killed?"
"No, sir."
"Did you see a nurse using a mess kit as a mirror?"
"No, sir."
"You certainly didn't see a bayonet charge?"
"No, sir."
"Or a man killed by a bayonet?"
"No, sir."
"Mr. Knowles, you said you were a fighter pilot during World War II."
"Yes, sir."
"What kind of plane did you fly?"
"I flew most of the aircraft in use during World War II, sir. Fighter planes, that is."
"Like what?"
"I flew the P-51 Mustang, and the P-38 Lightning and P-39 Airacobra. On one occasion, I even flew a Navy fighter plane, the Hellcat, sir, the F6F."
"You had very little opportunity then, while you were flying, I mean, to witness ground troops in action."
"I witnessed them from the air."
"But never on the ground. You were never on the ground during combat?"
"I flew forty-three cambat missions, sir."
"On any of these combat missions, did you ever witness a man being shot out of a tree?"
"No, sir."
"Did you ever witness a bayonet charge?"
"No, sir."
"Then these 'little things that caught your eye and remained in your memory' — I think I'm quoting accurately — were things you saw neither during your time in the Air Corps nor during your subsequent visits to Army bases in the United States. They must have come from somewhere else, isn't that so, Mr. Knowles?"
"I've already told the Court where they came from."
"What does a story editor do, Mr. Knowles?"
"At a motion picture studio, do you mean?"
"Yes."
"I'm not sure I know."
"Well, there must be story editors at API."
"Yes."
"Do you know what they do?"
"I think they look over material that's published or produced and then make recommendations to the front office."
"What sort of recommendations?"
"As to whether the material should be considered for purchase."
"Do you think The Paper Dragon was seen by story editors?"
"The novel? I would guess so."
"Story editors employed by API, I mean."
"I'm not too sure of their function, so I can't say whether this would be a routine thing or not. I simply can't answer that question."
"Do you know a man named Joseph Edelson?"
"He's dead."
"Did you know him when he was alive?"
"Yes, I did. He was the head of API's story department."
"Did he work in any capacity on The Paper Dragon?"
"No, he did not. I wrote the screenplay without any assistance, and I directed—"
"I want to know if he worked in any capacity on the film."
"Not to my knowledge."
"Do you know Miss Iris Blake?"
"Not personally."
"Have you ever heard of her?"
"Yes. She's in API's story department too."
"Did she work in any capacity on The Paper Dragon?"
"No, sir."
"You said you began working at API in — what was it?"
"In August of 1954."
"Were Joseph Edelson and Iris Blake working there at the time?"
"Joe was because that's when I met him. I don't know Miss Blake, so I couldn't tell you about her."
"Had you ever been to the studio before August of 1954?"
"Yes, I had been there for consultations on a property of mine — the radio play — which they were turning into a movie."
"Were you ever at the studio before April of 1954?"
"Yes, I believe so."
"Did you ever meet Mr. Constantine on any of your visits to the studio?"
"Never."
"He was working for API until April of 1954. Is it conceivable that you may have met him and perhaps forgotten…"
"I remember everyone I've ever met in my life," Ralph said flatly.
"But you did know two of the people to whom Mr. Constantine showed his play in the time he was working for the studio."
"Which two people would they be?" Ralph asked.
"Mr. Edelson and Miss Blake."
"I knew Mr. Edelson. I have never met Miss Blake, though I understand she is a charming and a beautiful woman."
"And you insist they had nothing to do with the filming of The Paper Dragon?"
"That's correct."
"Do you know Mr. Andrew B. Langford?"
"I do not."
"He is the secretary of Artists-Producers-International."
"I can't be expected to know every secretary at—"
"You misunderstand me, Mr. Knowles. He is the secretary of API."
"Whatever he is, I don't know him."
"You've never met?"
"Never."
"We asked Mr. Langford, on May 16th, to supply us with a list of anyone who had worked on The Paper Dragon either before or during its production. As Script Writer and Director he listed 'Ralph Knowles, under employment to the studio.' You are that same Ralph Knowles, are you not?"
"I am."
"As Story Editors he listed 'Joseph Edelson and Iris Blake, under employment to the studio.' Mr. Langford swore to the truth of his responses, so we have good reason to believe they were accurate. Yet you seem to disagree with him."