My House in Umbria

"[voice over] I was the only one who had not lost a loved one, having none to lose."

"What a strange and mysterious thing it is love. To be without it is like being deprived of oxygen. I had no love when I was a child. The people who brought me up were not my parents. I was still very young when they told me the truth. My real parents were travelling entertainers. They had no use for a child. "Not the sort of people you'd care for", said the mother who wasn't my mother. See, the people I lived with couldn't have children, they bought me. [laughs] Isn't that astonishing? bought me. like a cut priced sofa. You know, the father who wasn't my father, used to take me to the Gaiety Cinema on Sunday afternoons, there'd be a comedy short, Laurel and Hardy, or Charlie Chase, and then they'd go into the main features. Oh, I loved westerns. I loved the canyons, and the ranches, and the feathered Indians that fell one by one. The saddles that became pillows beneath the stars. For awhile, I think they were fond of me. But as I grew older, things began to change. I was ten when she told me the truth, the mother who wasn't my mother. "£20, that's what he'd give", she said. "Rough type of people", she said, "to profit from a baby". [laughs] "50 they ask. 20 he'd give". As soon as I was old enough, I ran away. I ran, and I ran, and I ran. All over the world. London, America, Egypt, Morocco."

"[voice over, on Thomas Riversmith] I felt he was in someway distressed or preoccupied. I wanted to reach across the table and touch the back of his hand. But naturally, I didn't. He hardly touched his drink, that saddened me. Alcohol in moderation can be a great loosener for a man like Mr. Riversmith."

"You're a man who always sleeps, Mr. Riversmith. You'll sleep your way to the grave. Hell is where men like you wake up, Mr. Riversmith, [tearfully] with flames curling around their naked legs."

"We all need forgiveness, Quinty."

"I maybe dead next month. The moon may have crashed into the Earth. Who knows what dreadful things may come to pass. But at the moment, I'm happy. What else matters."

"When you open your door to strangers, you never know who might come in."

"Every survivor has a story."

"Maggie Smith — Mrs. Emily Delahunty"

"Chris Cooper — Thomas Riversmith"

"Timothy Spall — Quinty"

"Emmy Clarke — Aimee"

"Ronnie Barker — The General"

"Benno Fürmann — Werner"

"Giancarlo Giannini — Inspector Girotti"

"Libero De Rienzo — Dr. Innocenti"

"Cecilia Dazzi — Rosa Crevelli"