Englewood, Englewood,
Anyone for Englewood,
Hello,
Mrs, Arbus?
That's right,
I'm Jack Henry,
Welcome to Camp Venus,
It's terrific to be here,
- Come on in, - Thank you,
I don't wanna be any bother,
Oh, no, not at all, We're delighted to have a photographer here,
It's simply...
I n order to get permission, you must take them off,
No one ever mentioned that,
And there are two rules,
- Yes? - The first one is:
No erections,
And no staring,
I'm sorry,
Please, go ahead and disrobe, Ms, Arbus,
- We're used to it, Aren't we, Jack? - Hm,
To tell you the truth, I need a moment to myself, if that's all right,
- I understand, - We'll leave you alone,
Oh,
How pretty,
Belonged to a friend,
Okay, boys, let's move them in,
- Jimmy, get in the back, - Okay, boss,
Mother?
Grandma and Grandpa are here,
Thank you, Gracie,
Welcome to the Allan Arbus Family Photo Studio,,,
,,, run by my son-in-law, Allan... My talented son-in-law, Allan,
- and his number one assistant, my daughter Diane,
This also happens to be their home,
So it's a real family business,
We hope you'll all become part of our family,
Look! Mommy, look!
- Macy's, Bergdorf's and all the other great stores across town,
Hello, Diane,
There must be someone moving in upstairs,
Clearly,
There was no way for me to know this would happen tonight, Mother,
Diane, we're holding the show here this year to help you and your family out,
I know, We're grateful,
Where did you get that dress?
Well,,,
,,, you gave it to me, Mother,
I gave it to you last year,
- I n the living room, please, Merta, - Yes, Mrs, Arbus,
Easy, Jim,
Easy,
There we go, Hang on,
Hang on, hang on, Set it down,
You got it?
- You okay? - All right,
Keep going, boys, all the way to the top,
Diane,
- Not now, - Come on,
Here, let me help you with that, Rose,
Your father's already driving me nuts,
I know, Allan,
- He wanted to trim it with monkey, - A monkey?
I said no,
To all the greatest fur buyers in America:
My wife, Gertrude, and I welcome you to my daughter's home,
Thank you all for coming,
She's really something,
Thank you all for taking the time to join us this evening,
As you know, for the past 30 years,,,
,,, Russeks has been the biggest buyer of pelts,,,
,,, and producers of fur garments in the world,
And like us, you all don't want to let only New York ladies,,,
- ,,, have the luxury of world-class furs, - I need gloves, Like this?
- Now, do we? - Of course not,
- So without further ado,,, - Finally!
,,, ladies and gentlemen, observe the fox,
Stealthy, luxurious, the colors of autumn,
Each individual coat truly a thing of beauty,
Lustrous, dark-hued, naturally cloud-soft,
Crafted with the distinctive flair and elegant styling,,,
,,, women of discriminating taste have come to expect from Russeks furs,
And the leopard,
The spotted and graceful dancer of the jungle,
Notice the matching hat, purse, mirror and cosmetic case,
This prestigious ensemble will be the cornerstone,,,
,,, of our fall advertising campaign, to be photographed, of course,,,
,,, by the Allan Arbus Family Photo Studio which later...
There really isn't an occasion when you can't wear leopard,
Friends, prepare yourselves,,,
,,, for the unbearably soft appeal of chinchilla,
The silkiest and most sensual fur that money can buy,
This one's jammed, Get me the Hasselblad with the wide-angle,
Okay,
- This delicate fur,,,, - Excuse me,
- and certainly,
- All set, Charlie, - Got everything?
That's it,
Good luck to you,
Diane? You got it?
- What? - The Hasselblad,
Yes, yes, I'm sorry,
Come on,
Let's go upstairs for the studio tour,,,
,,, take a look at the wonderful work my son-in-law's doing,
Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Seventeen,
My husband has... Has shot campaigns for,,,
,,, Chock full of Nuts, Sunbeam and many more,
But his main focus for the past 10 years has been the daily new Russeks ads,,,
,,, for my father's world-renowned store that run in The New York Times,
May I ask, uh, what do you photograph, Diane?
Me? Um, oh, no, I'm... I'm not the photographer,
No, my husband is,
But, uh, what do you do?
Um,,,,
Well, I,,,,
I take light readings and I, uh... I... I... iron clothes,
I, um,,,,
I provide straws for the models so that their lipstick doesn't smudge, and I, uh,,,
,,, I accessorize their clothes, I rearrange their hair,
I... It's not that much,
Diane, uh, do you have any fashion tips for a friend?
Um, as a matter of fact, yes, yes, I do,
One's, um,,,,
One's nails should, um... Should only be slightly longer than the pads of,,,,
Of one's,,,,
One's fingertips, and,,,,
For chrissake, what now?
Excuse me,
- Are you all right? - I'm sorry,
Everyone, dessert is served downstairs in the living room,
Diane?
Uh,,,,
I'm okay, Allan, I'm sorry,
Just need a moment, Okay?
Are you sure?
Yes,
Okay,
Thank you,
Diane?
Maybe you should take some time off,
- Allan, - I could hire an assistant,
I bought you that square-format camera 10 years ago,,,
,,, you haven't even used it, Diane,
Maybe you could take a class,
Is that your secret?
Yes,
My answer is no, I'm not gonna leave you during the day,
What's yours?
Come on, tell me, What's your secret?
I unbuttoned my dress on the porch tonight,
What?
Allan, I,,,,
I don't wanna be like that,
Like what?
I'm your wife, I shouldn't do that,
Dee,,,,
You know I think you're brilliant,
- No, you think I'm strange,,, - No,
,,, that I can't be normal,
I never said that,
Even our own children think I'm strange,
I love you,
Good night, sweetheart,
Good night,
What do you think?
I don't know,
I don't know, It's all so predictable,
You know we have the golf course in about 20 minutes,
With swimsuits and puppies,
The client's gonna love it,
Mm-hmm,
Mother?
- Go ahead, take it, - Okay,
What is it, Grace?
There's something wrong with the plumbing,
I need you to turn off the main water valve, the big one,,,
,,, and bring me Daddy's tool kit and a bucket,
- You're a good girl, - Okay, Mom,
Uh, Grace, tissue,
Trash,
Oh, yuck,
Oh,
Ew!
What was that?
It's nothing,
Okay, Gracie, let's go,
Taxi!
Yes?
Are you washing a dog?
Excuse me?
Do you have a large dog?
A dog?
Your dog's hair is in my pipes, It's causing problems with the plumbing,
Perhaps you should check the basement,,,
,,, Diane,
Hello,
Are you a new neighbor?
- I'm a friend of Lionel's, - Lionel?
The man who lives upstairs?
Oh, I'm sorry, I'll, uh, get out of your way,
Time to sleep now, Gracie,
Okay, Mom,
Allan,
Christ, what is that?!
I fixed my drain for you,
Thank you,
You still think I have a dog?
I have 10 dogs,
I don't think you have a dog,
I haven't seen any dogs going up the stairs,
I'm not feeling very well right now, I can't find my rabbit,
Oh, okay, Then I'll, uh,,,, I'll... I'll come back later,
You saw me the night I moved in, remember?
Yes,
I definitely saw you,
You trying to seduce me, Diane?
No,
- No, - No?
God, no,
Is that why you came up here in the middle of the night?
I, um,,,,
Well, I would like to, uh,,,,
I'd like to take a portrait of you and your,,,, Your wife,
I don't have a wife,
Well, then I would like to take a portrait of you, just you,
When?
Now,
It's not a good time for me,
Come back tomorrow night at 9,
Tomorrow?
Okay,
Do you have trouble sleeping, Diane?
Actually, it's "Diane,"
Why would you want to take a portrait of someone you've never seen, Diane?
Most nights I have trouble sleeping,
Did you get the key?
The key?
Diane, come back tomorrow night at 9,
Hey, watch it, Vern,
I forgot something,
Looks like gin rummy,
Foo-Foo, don't you bother Donald, now, you keep still for Mummy,
They're adorable, aren't they?
And such beautiful coats,
I'll be to bed soon, darling,
I,,,,
I thought I'd go for a walk,
Okay,
Be careful,
Lionel?
Hello?
Lionel?
Do not go near him, ladies and gentlemen,
He has taken lives already,
In captivity, we have the upper hand,
But isn 't Lionel a good doggie?
Drink a cup,
Turn around,
Don't look at me,
Turn around,
Take off your camera,
Just put it on the table,
Please close your eyes now,
I only wanna take your portrait,
Diane,,,
,,, please close your eyes,
Step back from the window,
Are your eyes closed?
Yes,
Don't turn around, Keep your eyes closed,
- And please disrobe, - What?
You can keep your undergarments on if you like, The bath is getting cold,
I don't want to,
I think I should go,
I'm sorry,
Hello,
Take anything in your tea?
Now, tell me something,
Tell me something about yourself,
Are you rich?
You look rich,
My parents are,
So you were a spoiled child?
Did you eat caviar? Did you have servants?
Yes,
What were their names?
Scott was my chauffeur,,,
,,, Gisela was my German nanny, and Catherine was my French nanny,
Did you ever show your nanny your tits?
Now, when you were a teenager,,,
,,, there must have been a doorman you made love to in the basement,,,
,,, or a chauffeur, a gardener, an elevator man?
Did you ever give him a blowjob on the way down to the lobby?
- No, - No?
Did he want you to?
Well, did he?
Probably,
How could you tell?
I,,,,
He used to stop the elevator between floors,
And?
And stare at me,
Did you like that?
It terrified me,
Of course, but,,,,
But did you like it?
One time I showed him my underwear,
So? Then I'm right,
Chauffeured girls don't expose themselves,
They don't show their tits,
- Don't they? - I don't know, Do they? You tell me,
Where have you been hiding?
I suppose I did, I exposed myself,
Till my father caught me,
Where did this occur?
- I n the bathroom, - To whom?
To the neighbors,
I would touch myself in front of the window,
Really?
Did you ever see anyone watching?
I saw you,,,
,,, through my window,
And right away I wanted to come into your home,
And when you were young, did anyone like me ever come to your house?
There was a little boy, He had,,,,
He had a purple birthmark across his face,
I saw him in the park and I,,,,
I followed him all the way to his front door in the Bronx,
But he disappeared before I could,,,,
Shortly after that, I dropped doing that sort of thing,
And I planned on going so many places,
Where?
All sorts of places, everywhere,
Where? Tell me,
A doll hospital,,,
,,, the city morgue,,,
,,, the insane asylum,,,
,,, dumps, flophouses, everywhere, I,,,,
And instead, I was my husband's assistant,
Join me?
Would you like to take off your slippers?
Wanna step in?
My condition is called hypertrichosis,
When I was a teenager, I woke up every morning at 5 a, m,,,
,,, to shave every part of me that stuck out from my clothing,
Grew back so quickly it was hardly worth the effort,
Besides, it made me prickly,
Would you please close your eyes again?
Can I trust you to keep them closed?
Yes,
Well, just in case, put this on,
Do you like to go swimming?
Yes,
Did you get the key?
That little boy,,,
,,, was so beautiful,
Have a cookie,
I must be brave,
I must be brave, I must be brave,
I must be brave,
Twenty, 19,
- Oh, my God! - Good morning,
I'd better go,
Sleep all right?
Lint brush,
Thank you,
Will you come back?
Do you want me to?
You still need to take my portrait,
Tell me a secret,
I wanna live in a big house someday,
Out of the city,
With a big back yard and a dog,
Leaving Manhattan gives me hives,
Tell me another secret,
I actually had a dream we were gonna have another baby,
A baby?
Huh,
Now it's your turn, What's your secret?
I think I'm ready to take some time off from the business,
Really?
What are you gonna do instead?
I'd like to take some photographs,,,
,,, of my own,
Of what?
I don't know,
Our neighbors,
Good, Yeah,
I think that sounds great,
Allan?
Is it okay?
Sweetheart, it's wonderful,
Thanks, sweetheart,
Where you going?
Just up to the neighbors, I,,,,
I thought I'd try Mrs, Rebushong first,
Eat your broccoli, Sophie,
Who is she?
She is, uh, Althea,
Oh,
Uh, she's, uh,,,
,,, an admirer,
- An admirer? - Yes,
Who does she admire?
At me, I guess,
Why isn't she your girlfriend?
Well,,,,
She doesn't touch me,
Goddamn it,
Hey,
I'm here,
Lionel?
I'm here for the picture,
I'll be right there,
Hi,
Take off your camera,
- We're going out, - Now?
Come on,
Ready or not, here I come,
Come out, come out, wherever you are,
Okay, let's play again,
- Scarlett, - Lionel,
Great to see you,
Brought a wig and a friend,
Come on,
That's a good boy,
You're a good boy,
That's it,
You're doing really, really good,
Would you like to get a bite to eat?
Now? I don't wanna go anywhere now,
This is terrific,
Look at his socks,
I thought you might enjoy it,
- Thank you for coming, - Jose, you know it's my pleasure,
You know, the fire left her with no hair,
Yes, well, you know, this is close to her natural color,
Oh, you're a genius,
Let's give it a try, huh?
It's a wonderful thing, Extraordinary,
Anytime, sincerely,
My mother made me swear I'd go through life without ever seeing a dead person,
I like it,
It's not catching,
I know,
Elliot Eldemeyer told all the kids in my school it was,
It's genetic, of course,
Do you know what you look like without it?
- Without the hair? - Mm-hmm,
I have no idea,
Mrs, Arbus,
Oh, Allan,
I'm sorry, I,,,,
Did you have fun?
Allan,,,,
That feels good,
- Does that feel good? - Yes,
What do you like about it?
It scares me,
I love you,
Lionel?
What's that?
I'd like to meet your husband,
What kind of Scotch is this?
That is Macallan, Eighteen years, I think,
Good stuff, Like it,
Well, good,
It's actually a gift from Diane's father,
The fur man,
Do you like to watch television?
Had to take a lie-detector test, it was awful,
You didn 't have to take it, What'd you tell them?
Nothing important,
Yeah, well, it's just as well,
Guess they would have got suspicious if you had refused,
What'd they ask you?
- Lf I had a boyfriend, - Well?
- Told them I didn 't, - Thattagirl, thattagirl,
I'd only do it for you, Frank,
It'll be all right, you'll see,
I love you,
And when we 're married, we 're going to forget all this, Promise,
Yeah, sure,
Sophie,
Sophie Arbus,,,,
Purple and pink,
Lionel,
This is another one for you,
Excellent work, Sophie, Thank you, Soph,
Yeah, but he likes me more,
"It's all very well to say, 'Drink me',,,
,,, but the wise little Alice was not going to do that,
'No, I'll look first,' she said,,,
,,,'and see whether it's marked "poison" or not,'
For she had read several stories about children who had gotten burnt,,,
- ,,, and eaten by wild beasts," - Hi,
Are you ready to go?
Mm-hm,
Are you coming back?
Of course,
Sleep tight,
- You're a flirt, - I like it, I like it, I like it,
- I don't think this... - Yes!
That's good, that's good, Did you like me in that show?
You are such a bad girl,
What is this?
- That's my tit, darling, - Oh,
Let me show you,
Oh!
You like them?
Lionel is just the greatest, isn't he?
He is,
Sing it, Andy,
Take me!
No, it's true, I wrote about,,,,
Cheers, baby,
If you don't mind me asking,,,
,,, why did you drop the key down?
You looked like you needed to come up to my place,
Have you ever met a woman who was also like you?
Sure, it was like white on rice,
More libations?
So you preferred other women?
I was,,,, I was always,,,,
Always looking,
What were you looking for?
A real freak,
- Medium, Shorty? - Medium, yeah,
When did you do these?
1949,
One of many exciting humiliations,
Were you the best performer at Hubert's?
That was the Albanian contortionist, but I was the biggest attraction,
- Can I ask you a question? - Please,
Where is your favorite place to go?
The ocean,
Then why haven't we been?
We will,
Is that the tooth fairy?
It's Mommy,
My tooth came out, Daddy was here,
Oh, Sophie, I,,,,
I'm sorry I missed it, I,,,,
It hurt,
I'm sorry,
I studied photography in college at Bryn Mawr,
But I also love fashion and advertising,
Great, um,,,,
My wife used to be my assistant,
Oh, and, uh, what does she do now?
- Hello, - Hello,
This is Diane,
Are you the new assistant?
I hope so,
All the way up, doctor,
Hey,
Come on,
Careful, careful,
- Hello, - Hi,
Welcome,
Just through here,
Lovely place,
Thank you for coming,
Careful there, Shorty,
Nice to see you again,
Hello,
So good to have you,
Wonderful, yes,
- Lionel, - Allan,
Sophie, Grace, this is Hank,
- Hi, - Hello,
Gracie, I'm sure that Hank would like to see your room,
You are so embarrassing,
Sophie, why don't you show Hank your collection of dolls' eyes?
Okay,
How are the portraits coming? I haven't seen any yet,
Slowly,
Aren't they neat, Hank?
Slowly, but they're coming,
You're going down, Lionel,
Oh, Satch, what do you got?
I got you this time, pal,
Satch has not much, But a full house!
It's a cocktail party,
My mother says I'm supposed to be brave, whatever that means,
All dead bodies are cold,
- Thank you, - Something to eat?
Little salmon, Scarlett?
- Is there anything else I can get you? - No, I'm good,
Drinks,
Look, um,,,
,,, I'm sorry, but I can't stay,
What?
Some of your father's clients are in from Chicago, and,,,,
I'd put them off, but I really should meet up with them for a drink,
Allan,
- I wanted you to be... - To what, Diane?
To be a part of all of this,
I need to keep the business going, you know?
I know, right,
Right,
Just,,,,
Come with me,
Let them find their own drinks,
No, I can't do that,
Okay,
I gotta go,
Dee?
Are you coming?
- I don't know, - Oh, never mind,
Mother, Father,,,
,,, this is my friend, Mr, Lionel Sweeney,
What a pleasure it is to meet you both,
How do you do?
Excuse me, everyone, Shall we have a toast?
Yes, do that,
- Come on, Allan, - Well,,,,
Uh,,,,
I remember the first time I saw her,
She was dressed all in black,,,
,,, and her hair was so thick,,,
,,, and it went all the way past her shoulders down to her waist,
She was only 15,
- Sixteen, - Fifteen,
You were the most,,,
,,, stunning,,,
,,, inexplicable creature I'd ever seen,
It was August 12th,,,
,,, Sheep's Meadow,
She kept moving back and forth as if she was dancing or something,,,
,,, but that was just the way she moved back then,
I couldn't take my eyes off you,
I still can't take my eyes off you,
Allan,
Happy birthday, Diane,
- Happy birthday, - Hear, hear,
- Thank you, - Yeah,
So, Lionel, you're Diane's first project all on her own,
Mother,
Allan tells us you're doing a little extra art project,,,
,,, a photo study of your neighbors,
Yes, sort of,
Why don't you be a little portrait photographer?
You've already got the studio, People could just drop by,
Well, Mother, maybe I will,
I mean, real art hangs in museums, doesn't it?
You know, I'm on the board at the Metropolitan,
- We know, Mother, - We'd love to see what you've done,
Well, I'm not ready to show anything to anybody yet,
It's true, She hasn't even shown me yet,
Allan, I told you I will, When I'm ready,
What is it?
Every month or so I'm,,,
,,, able to breathe about 5 percent less,
My lungs are disintegrating,
It's getting harder and harder for me to breathe deeply,
I n a matter of months, I'll drown without even swimming,,,
,,, because there'll be nothing left,,,
,,, of my lungs,
You're not dying,
Yes, I am,
No, you're not,
Come on,
You've kissed him,
No, Allan, No, I haven't,
It doesn't matter if you have or you haven't,
No,
Allan, he's dying,
Oh,
That makes it even more special, What'll happen after he dies?
- You encouraged me to do this, - I encouraged you,,,
,,, to take a few fucking pictures,
You want me to just watch my family fall apart?
Am I supposed to do all the studio work, run the business,,,
,,, buy the food, be the fucking tooth fairy?
Am I supposed to take care of the kids all alone?
What's next? Are we gonna house the circus when it comes through town?
I don't know,
I'm just a normal guy,
You know?
Now I got a hole in my ceiling and fucking freaks coming through it,
He's going to die anyway, Diane,
Goddamn it,
Okay,
I'll end it,
Close the door,
I need you to help me,
Lionel, I,,,,
Take it off,
Go on,
Keep the brush away from that,
Let's go back to shaving,
You girls go on to bed,
- Daddy, come on, - No,
Why can't we see?
What are they?
Let's go make breakfast,
I,,,
,,, blew this up for you,
Why did you want me to shave you?
Why?
So I could swim out further,
Swim out?
Yes,
What are you saying?
And I want you with me,
- What? - Diane,
- What are you talking about?
You want me to watch you die?
I want you with me,
That's all,
But is this what you did?
Made me fall in love with you to watch you,,,?
I don't see it that way at all,
I love you,
I never took your portrait,
Thank you,
Lionel wanted you to have this,
I'll see you soon,
Thank you,
- See you later, - Okay,
Hi,
You mind if I sit here?
No,
Are you gonna take my picture?
No,
Not yet,
Why don't you tell me a secret?
A secret?
Yes,
How about you tell me one first?
Okay,