And the incredible fact. There you were—really the greatest movie actor. I say this because I believe it and also I have heard many people of standing in your business say it. From Olivier to Lee Strasberg to David Lean. You name it. You could do it. And you could do it with that glorious simplicity and directness: you could just do it. You couldn't enter your own life, but you could become someone else. You were a killer, a priest, a fisherman, a sportswriter, a judge, a newspaperman. You were it in an instant.
再说说你了不起的事。看看你──你真是最好的电影演员。我这么说,因为我的确这么认为,而且我听业内许多声名显赫的人也这么说。从奥利弗到李·斯特拉斯伯格(Lee Strasberg),再到大卫·里恩(David Lean),举不胜举。你可以做到。你可以用神乎其技的简单与直接做到──你就是可以。你无法走进自己的生活,但你却能走进别人的生活。你是杀手、牧师、渔夫、体育记者、法官、新闻编辑。你瞬间就能成为他们。
You hardly had to study. You learned the lines in no time. What a relief! You could be someone else for a while. You weren't you—you were safe. You loved to laugh, didn't you? You never missed those individual comics: Jimmy Durante, Phil Silvers, Fanny Brice, Frank McHugh, Mickey Rooney, Jack Benny, Burns and Allen, Smith and Dale, and your favorite, Bert Williams. Funny stories: you could tell them—and brilliantly. You could laugh at yourself. You enjoyed very much the friendship and admiration of people like the Kanins, Frank Sinatra, Bogie and Betty, George Cukor, Vic Flemming, Stanley Kramer, the Kennedys, Harry Truman, Lew Douglas. You were fun with them, you had fun with them, you felt safe with them.
你几乎不用背台词,一会儿工夫就能记住。真是一大解脱!你可以暂时做别人。你不是你──你安全了。你爱笑,对吧?你从不错过那些喜剧演员:吉米·杜兰特(JimmyDurante)、菲尔·西尔沃斯(Phil Silvers)、范妮·布莱斯(Fanny Brice)、弗兰克·麦休(Frank McHugh)、米基·鲁尼(Mickey Rooney)、杰克·本尼(Jack Benny)、伯恩斯和艾伦(Burns&Allen)、史密斯和戴尔(Smith&Dale),还有你的最爱──伯特·威廉姆斯(Bert Williams)。你很会讲好笑的故事,并讲得十分拿手。你还可以拿自己取乐。你十分享受别人对你的欣赏和与你的友谊,比如卡宁斯(Kanins)、弗兰克·辛纳屈(Frank Sinatra)、博吉和贝蒂(Bogie&Betty)、乔治·丘克(GeorgeCukor)、维克多·弗莱明(Vic Flemming)、斯坦利·克莱默(Stanley Kramer)、肯尼迪家族、哈里·杜鲁门(Harry Truman)、卢·道格拉斯(Lew Douglas)。和他们在一起时你很有趣,和他们在一起时你很开心,和他们在一起时你感到安全。
But then back to life's trials. Oh hell, take a drink—no-yes-maybe. Then stop taking the drink. You were great at that, Spence. You could just stop. How I respected you for that. Very unusual.
再回来说生活的磨难。哦,该死,喝一杯吧──好还是不好呢?那就别喝了。你擅长这个,斯宾塞。你可以说停就停。我多钦佩你这一点,很不寻常。
Well, you said on this subject: never safe until you're seven feet underground. But why the escape hatch? Why was it always opened—to get away from the remarkable you?
嗯,你说过这件事:你被深埋在地下七尺,才会觉得安全。可为什么有这样的逃生出口?为什么它总是开着呢──你就这样抛弃那个卓越非凡的你吗?
What was it, Spence? I meant to ask you. Did you know what it was?
怎么了,斯宾塞?我原想问你的。你知道怎么了吗?
What did you say? I can't hear you…
你说什么?我听不到……