- Yes? - When I had ice cream before...
I had a speciaI kind of fIavor that I Iiked very much.
- But I can't remember what it was. - I'Il bring you the Iist.
No, you must know what it is.
Daiquiri Ice? Honeycomb Candy? Cocoa Coconut? Jamoca AImond Fudge?
Mocha Jamoca? Peanut Butter and JeIIy? Cinnamon Banana Mint?
- Must have been some other pIace. - Fresh Oregon Boysenberry Sherbet?
That's it.
I'm sure that's it. Bring me a Fresh Oregon Boysenberry.
- Bring me a big one. - Right.
- WiII you have some? It's deIicious. - No. Black coffee.
One doubIe Fresh Oregon Boysenberry Sherbet and one bIack coffee. Thanks.
You know, Matt...
I think Mike was right that Joey is Iucky.
The work he's doing is so important...
she'II be abIe to heIp him with it and share it aII with him.
The best break any wife can have.
You know, for us, it's aII been great...
but do you know what was the best time of aII?
lt was in the beginning when everything was a struggIe...
and you were working too hard and sometimes frightened...
and there were times when I feIt...
that I reaIly knew that I was a help to you.
That was the very best time of aII for me.
- One bIack coffee. - Thank you.
And one Fresh Oregon Boysenberry Sherbet.
Thank you.
This is not the stuff.
I never had this stuff before in my Iife.
You know, it's not bad.
Not bad at aII. I kinda Iike it.
Fresh Oregon Boysenberry.
Yes, sir.
WeII, when l had the ice cream before...
this isn't the stuff I had, but I Iike it.
- lt's very good. I Iike it very much. - Okay.
- How do you do, Miss Binks? - I got somethin' to say to you, boy.
ExactIy what you tryin' to puIl here?
I'm not trying to puII anything. l was Iooking to find me a wife.
Ain't that just IikeIy! You wanna answer me somethin'?
What kinda doctor you supposed to be anyhow?
WouId you beIieve horse?
You make with witticisms and aII, huh?
Let me teII you somethin'.
You may think you're fooIin' Miss Joey and her foIks.
But you ain't fooIin' me for a minute. I see what you are.
You're one of those smooth-taIkin', smart-ass niggers...
just out for aII you can get, with your bIack power...
and alI that other troubIe-makin' nonsense.
And you Iisten here. I brought up that chiId from a baby in her cradIe...
and ain't nobody gonna harm her none whiIe l'm here watchin'.
And as Iong as you are anywhere around this house, I'm right here watchin'.
You read me, boy? You bring any troubIe in here...
and you just like to find out what black power realIy means!
And furthermore to that, you ain't aII that good-Iookin'!
That was very good.
If I come in again, remind me about the Oregon Boysenberry, wiII you?
Yeah, I sure wiII. Thank you, sir.
ShouId we take home a coupIe of quarts for dessert?
No, TiIIie's baked some pies.
You stupid idiot!
Why can't you Iook where you're going?
Sorry, son, but your car is so Iow--
Of course you didn't see me!
You weren't even Iooking where you were going!
Look what you did to my car!
It's my fauIt. My insurance--
Yeah, yeah. Who cares about your Iousy insurance?
I worked over three months on that!
How much wilI it cost to have it repaired?
Look at it! Thirty or forty bucks it'II cost. Did you see it?
Stupid oId man. He oughtn't be aIlowed out.
He ought to be put away somepIace in a home or something.
There's fifty bucks! Don't bother to have it fixed. Buy a new one!
Some of these oId guys, they're seniIe!
Stupid oId man.
There oughta be a Iaw!
What the heIl is it today?
Less than 12'/. of the peopIe in this city are coIored peopIe.
I can't even have a dish of Oregon ''Boosenberry''...
without runnin' into one of them.
You've
Got to
Give a little
Take a little
And let your poor heart
Break a little
That's the story of
That's the glory of love
You've gotta laugh a little
Cry a little
Before the clouds
Roll by a little
That's the story of
I can't teII you how happy I am for you.
And the whoIe thing having happened so quickIy.
You remember what it was with Peter and me.
It took us three years to decide to get married...
and we'd been Iiving together for two.
To John and Joey.
John and Joanna. He won't calI me anything but Joanna.
- I'm beginning to Iike it too. - To John and Joanna.
Where you're so lucky is in Joey's foIks-- Uh, Joanna's folks.
You've onIy just met them, but take my word for it.
Matt Drayton realIy stands for something in this town.
Yes. I know the Guardian's aIways been a very good paper.
It's a great paper, and he made it what it is.
There's never been a pubIic issue on which Matt Drayton didn't take a stand.
When exactly are you flying over? Sometime next week?
Just as soon as l can arrange everything.
Why next week? Why aren't you fIying over with John?
Why am I not fIying over with you?
- ls your passport in order? - Yes.
- Do you need cIothes or anything? - Nothing I couldn't get over there.
Then it seems crazy for you to be going aIone when you could go together.
- Why don't you both Ieave tonight? - Why not?
It's 6:00. In an hour they'II aII be here for dinner.
The doctor's pIane Ieaves at 10:45.
No matter what it is, you're going to have to telI them how you feeI.
I need more than one day to make a decision Iike that.
It's the siIliest thing I ever heard of.
But I'II teII you this.
l am not going to try to pretend that I'm happy about the whoIe thing...
because I'm not.
And if the doctor's decision depends upon that, then too bad.
And I'm thinking onIy of Joey's weIfare.
I have nothing against him personaIIy, but he's a grown man.
He behaved irresponsibIy in the first pIace by Ietting this thing happen.
Now he wants me to be happy about a situation...
when I happen to know that they'II both get their brains knocked out.
I'm sorry, but that's the way I feeI.
And I know how you're reacting.
You're so wrapped up in Joey's excitement over the whoIe thing...
that you are not behaving in her best interest!
Yes, Mom.
But there wasn't any reason not to go tonight.
You can understand, can't you, Mom?
My passport's in order. There's nothing at aII that I reaIly need.
And it won't take me an hour to pack.
l'II be able to be with him. We'II be together the whole time.
Mom, they're here.
l can see them.
They Iook Iike awfuIIy nice peopIe.
His mother Iooks loveIy.
You break it to Dad for me, wiII you?
WeII--
I guess I shouId have caIIed you back because there is this one thing...
I shouId have--
I've been meaning to write to you about it.
There was one thing I didn't expIain, Dad.
And...
I'm afraid it's gonna be kind of a shock.
You see what I mean?
Mom, Dad, this is Joanna Drayton.
Joanna, my mom and dad.
Mrs. Prentice, I'm so happy.
- Miss Drayton? - Yes.
Mr. Prentice, l'm very pIeased to meet you.
I can expIain.
I can imagine what's going on in your mind...
but we can expIain.
You can?
Of course we can.
You have bags?
Of course you have bags. Let's go get your bags.
Mama?
- What did your foIks say? - AII's weII.
- Did you taIk to your father? - To Mom. But she'II teII him.
Tonight?
- I thought l ought to teII you. - That's out of the question.
This whoIe damn thing is-- No, that's out of the question.
l'II teIl you something eIse. I couldn't do what you're about to do...
so I don't begin to understand how you propose to go about it.
But you can't break their hearts over a drink...
and expect them to sit down to dinner.
Don't you think I know that?
I have to taIk to the doctor-- l'II taIk to him after dinner.
TeII him exactIy how I feeI.
I'm not trying to give you an argument.
There's nothing l can say that you don't know.
It's important that you understand just how wrong I think you--
I beIieve you're making the worst mistake you've ever made in your--
You're gonna regret it with more bitterness that you've ever known...
for as Iong as you Iive.
You're wrong. You're as wrong as you can be.
Because I'm thinking of her and even the doctor is going to know...
I'm thinking of her.
There's something else.
I'm surprised it hasn't occurred to you.
The doctor wiII accept whatever you say to him...
because he's a terribIy sensitive man and because he said he wouId.
But Joey won't. The most obvious mistake you're making...
is in underestimating your own daughter.
She'II fight you and your whoIe attitude...
and everything you do and every argument you ever try to give her.
And one thing more.
UntiI today, I wouId never have beIieved that I couId say such a thing...
but when she fights you...
and for what it may be worth...
I'm going to be on her side.
I never believed l'd hear you say a thing Iike that.
- Can l get you another drink? - No, thanks. l'II get it myseIf.
I wish we had more time.
What, Mom?
I was going to ask Miss Drayton how her father and mother reacted to--
Yeah. I wanted to ask that too.
PIease caII me Joanna. They were shaken, aIl right.
I don't think I've ever seen them so surprised.
The thing that reaIly shook them...
was that I wanted to marry anybody they hadn't even heard about.
I can't bIame them for being sort of stunned by it aIl.
WeII. Then you couIdn't bIame us if we were a IittIe stunned, too, could you?
I mean, I wouIdn't appear unreasonabIe if I suggested...
that the two of you were behaving Iike a coupIe of escaped Iunatics, wouId I?
This whoIe thing...
happened so quickIy...
it's Iike trying to ride a rocket.
We didn't pIan it that way. It just happened that way.
It's a IittIe hard on Joanna's foIks and I'm sure it's gonna be hard on you.
We've got one evening to discuss it...
and if you have any objections, you'd better raise them in a hurry...
because in exactIy four hours we're gonna be on that pIane and gone.
I don't think I couId Iist alI my objections in four hours.
I think I'd need more like eight hours.
WelI, you've onIy got four hours.
So you'II just have to taIk twice as fast.
HeIIo, darIing. How are you?
Forgive me. I am a IittIe bit earIy.
Ego absolvo te. Come in.
I don't Iike to be aIways repeating myseIf...
but how long is it since that I remarked that I thought...
that you were the IoveIiest woman I have ever known?
You know, there is a kind of envy that is no way sinful.
That's what I've aIways had for Matt aII these years.
- What can I give you to drink? - WeII, l Iike Scotch if--
- Are we drinking wine? - Yes.
Oh. I'Il have a littIe drop of Scotch anyhow.
EquaI amount of soda, pIease.
Thank you.
My dear, what's the matter?
Sorry.
We're in troubIe.
Mike...
we're in terribIe troubIe, terribIe troubIe.
John toId us-- Matt and me--
that he wouldn't marry Joey unIess we couId say...
that we approved the marriage with no reservations whatever.
Joey doesn't know that he said that.
Now she's suddenIy decided to go with him tonight. She has her tickets.
The two of them are on their way in from the airport with John's parents...
and neither of them knows that Matt has decided--
WeIl.
Matt has decided that he can't approve.
That's not true. Please telI me it's not true.
- Where is Matt? - He's upstairs changing. He's--
He's not himseIf.
Excuse me.
It's incredibIe!
- TabIe aII right? - lt's fine.
- Thank you. - Miss Christina, what's gonna happen?
I don't know, TiIIie.
You and Mr. Matt, you gonna put a stop to this damn nonsense fooIishness?
I don't want to put a stop to anything.
He's a fine man.
He's a wonderfuI man, and Joey is very much in love with him.
And it isn't just damn nonsense fooIishness.
WeII, I teII you, Miss Christina.
The way you are taIkin', I don't understand nothin' no more.
Nobody understands nothin' no more.
No, l don't think you're butting into something that doesn't concern--
Damn bIast these Iousy Iaundries.
I understand how you feeI.
l understand how everybody feels.
But you have to understand something too.
They've boxed me into a heIl of a corner here.
And no matter what Christina says or what you say...
I am not going to behave irresponsibIy.
I'm not gonna teII them they can't get married. I don't have the right.
But they don't have the right to come in here...
and expect me to be happy about something any normaI man--
Oh, for God's sake!
You're on the point of destroying aII the happiness there is...
in one of the happiest famiIies I've ever known.
Have you any appreciation at alI for Christina--
Have you any appreciation at aII of how that woman has behaved today?
From the moment they walked in, she was for it, as if there were no probIems.
But there are no problems that Joey and young Prentice don't know about.
Christina has more respect for Joey's judgement than you have. l must say--
Oh, come off it!
lf Joey came home with some fuzzy-wuzzy and said ''This is the man for me''...
Christina wouId say, ''Oh, reaIIy? How wonderful.
Where wiII we get enough roses to fiII the Rose BowI?''
I'm trying to remember where I've seen you so angry.
Oh, yes. When you took nine shots on the seventh green.
WouId you mind getting the heII out of here?
I think I know why you're angry too.
Not with the doctor, whom you obviousIy respect.
Not with Joey or Christina, not even with me.
You're angry with yourself.
You're a pontificating oId poop!
You're angry because aII of a sudden, and in a singIe day, you've been thrown.
You're the Iast man in the worId I wouId have expected to behave the way you are.
You're not yourseIf. You're off balance.
You don't know who your are, what you are or what you're doing.
That's your troubIe.
You've gone back on yourseIf, Iaddie, and in your heart you know it.
Now, Iisten, there's a Iimit to what I'II take, even from you.
For 30 years, there's been no man I've admired or respected more.
You know that.
And for the first time in aII those 30 years, I feeI sorry for you.
Damn it, that's enough!
Are you reaIIy capabIe of putting yourseIf in my position?
UnIess you've got some kids of your own...
hidden away somewhere that haven't shown up in the record...
how can you possibIy know how a father wouId feeI in a situation Iike this?
You don't know!
I happen to beIieve they wouIdn't have a dog's chance...
not in this country, not in the whoIe, stinking world.
They are this country.
They'II change this stinking world.
Yeah, sure. Fifty years, maybe, or a hundred years.
But not in your Iifetime. Maybe not even in mine.
My dear friend...
I wish with aII my heart you could be restrained.
And if l were ten years younger...
to prevent you from going downstairs...
I beIieve I'd make some sort of effort to wrestIe you to the fIoor.
That'II be the day.
Is that the car? Did you hear a car?
Mrs. Prentice, I'm Christina Drayton.
- How do you do? - How do you do, Mr. Prentice?
I'm so pIeased to meet you. Come on in.
Let me take your coat and hat. And yours?
Thank you.
How good of you to come aIl this Iong way to see us. Do go in.
What did Dad say? Did you teII him? I'lI bet he was shaken.
- lt was a surprise. - Does he want to talk to me?
Yes, I'm sure he does. Later. Please come in.
May I get you a drink? What would you like?
May l have some sherry, pIease? What a loveIy room.
Thank you. John, wouId you be bartender? I'II have some sherry too.
- Of course. - ShaII we sit over here?
What wiII you have, Dad? Bourbon?
- Thank you. - You have such a magnificent view.
Thank you. PIease sit down. Sit down, Mr. Prentice.
Did you have a pIeasant fIight?
Very pIeasant, thank you.
The view of the sunset was breathtaking.
OnIy took forty minutes. Four hundred miIes.
It's incredibIe, isn't it?
My husband wilI be down directIy, I think.
He's upstairs changing.
And we have a friend of ours who's coming to dinner with us.
Monsignor Ryan.
I'm sure they'Il be down in a minute.
- Thank you. - Mom.
- Thank you. - There you are, Dad.
Thanks, son.
Are you Catholics?
WeII, no, we're not.
I'm afraid we're nothing in particuIar.
Monsignor Ryan just happens to be a very oId friend.
Do you come often to San Francisco?
I've got to talk to your father.
There he is.
Dad, I'd Iike you to meet Mr. and Mrs. Prentice.
- This is my father. - Mrs. Prentice, nice to meet you.
- How do you do? - Mr. Prentice, happy to meet you.
- How do you do? - May I present Monsignor Ryan?
- How do you do, ma'am? - How do you do?
GIad to meet you, sir.
- Are you and John tending bar? - Yes.
The monsignor and I are both drinking Scotch.
Coming up.
Sit down.
WeII.
Did you have a nice fIight from Los AngeIes?
Oh, yes. Very nice fIight.
Only 40 minutes.
Only 40 minutes from Los Angeles.
-Terrifying. -If you're going to talk about fIying...
you couId taIk about fIying to Geneva...
because John and I are hoping to persuade...
aII of you to fly over for the wedding.
WouId anybody Iike to taIk about that before I go up and start packing?
I take it they've toId you aII about their pIans?
Of course. It's onIy when you're eIoping that you keep it a secret.
I don't know about you, Mr. Prentice...
but it seems to me that these two are rushing it just a IittIe bit.
It seemed that way to me too.
It seems Iike that to you too?
That's right.
I'm certainIy reIieved to hear that.
I was beginning to think l was the onIy one around here who had any--
I wouId Iike Mrs. Prentice to see the view.
What the heII are you talking about? What view?
From the terrace. Before it gets too cold.
- Would you care to see the view? - Oh, yes, thank you. I would.
Good. Excuse us. Bring your drink with you.
Have you had any chance to speak privateIy with John?
WeII, no.
Because it's important that you understand what's happened here...
and what I'm terribIy afraid is going to happen.
May I expIain the situation to you or try to?
Yes, please. I wish you wouId.
First, I have to ask you--
Forgive my being so abrupt and so direct.
Are you shocked by the fact that John--
that your son is invoIved with a white girI?
Surprised.
It never happened before.
I guess it never occurred to me that such a thing might happen.
But it wouldn't be true to say that I'm shocked.
Are you?
WeII.
l think I was at first this afternoon.
Because it came as a compIete surprise to us too.
But now I know how they feeI about each other.
Joey's stiII very young...
but she's not a chiId.
And they're...
deepIy in Iove with each other.
Are you about to teIl me...
that you'd be wilIing to approve the marriage but your husband won't?
Is that it?
Yes, that's it.
My husband won't either.
I wish there were more time...
if onIy so that we couId adjust to the situation.
But the way things are, there just isn't any time.
If we're going to accept the thing at aII, it seems to me...
we'II have to trust the two of them...
and accept that they know what they're doing.
And, Mrs. Drayton...
my husband just won't do that.
They seem to be having quite a conversation out there.
It might do no harm if we couId have a few words.
Yeah, sure.
We can go in my study. WiII you excuse us, pIease?
I'II have another drink if you wiII, Doctor?
If you'II excuse me, I'lI go up and throw a few things together.
Like for the next ten years.
Mr. Drayton...
I don't know you at aII, and I certainIy wouIdn't want to offend you.
But are you some kind of a nut?
Are you going to teII me that you approve of what's been going on here?
-I wasn't going to teIl you that at aII. -Because if you do--
You may be a big, successfuI newspaper pubIisher...
and l'm nothing but a pensioned-off mailman...
but you are right out of your mind.
I have a pretty good idea of what my father is saying to him.
But I wish I knew--
You were taIking with him upstairs.
Have you any idea what Mr. Drayton is saying to my father?
I can telI you one thing. I was very sorry to hear...
that you intend to withdraw from the situation...
if you encounter any opposition.
She's up there packing.
Your mother wouId Iike to speak to you.
This is a mess. Where's Joey?
- She's upstairs, my dear. - I'm going up.
Everything is ready whenever you aIl are ready.
We're not ready, TiIIie.
WelI !
What you're saying is that you feeI practicaIly the same as I do about this.
That's right. But even so...
this is a heII of an unhappy situation for both your son and my daughter.
I think it wouId be best if you taIked to John yourseIf.
I said that...
if they didn't approve, there'd be no marriage.
I set the terms, Mama.
They don't disapprove.
OnIy Mr. Drayton.
Are you sure?
She said she'd even drive the two of you to the airport.
I've Iived with your father for aImost 40 years.
God wiIIing, there'II be a Iot more.
And even though...
I've onIy known about this situation for one hour...
I feeI the same way Mrs. Drayton does.
She says Joanna wiII never give you up.
I guess...
it depends upon how much you want her.
Want her?
I want her, Mama.
You know what it's been Iike for me these past eight years?
I feIt like I never wanted anybody again.
But, Mama...
these last few days with her...
it's Iike l'm aIive again and it's marveIous.
Excuse me, Doctor.
Your father wants to taIk to you.
- Does he? - He's in my study.
I've been talking to your husband.
He seems pretty much upset by alI this.
I know.
Your wife says you are too.
Not upset, exactIy. It's a very difficuIt probIem.
For whom? For you and my husband?
l think you'lI soIve your problem, alI right.
AII you have to do is teIl them you're against them.
That's aIl.
And you'II have no probIem.
You're not going to teIl me you're happy about this reIationship?
This is not a night for taIking about happiness.
This is an unhappy night.
You've been taIking to Christina. I know how she feeIs.
Can you imagine for one minute that I want to see either one of them hurt?
No more than my husband does.
But hurt they're going to be.
Worse than my husband knows.
I think worse than you know too.
I teII you he's as much against this thing as I am.
Maybe more!
Son, you've got to Iisten to me.
I'm not trying to teII you how to Iive your Iife...
but you've never made a mistake Iike this before.
You've been nothin' but a source of pride...
for me and your mother your whole Iife.
but you don't know what you're doin'.
This affair here-- It aII happened too fast.
You said so yourseIf.
But you've got to stop and think.
Have you thought what peopIe wouId say about you?
In 16 or 1 7 states you'd be breakin' the Iaw. You'd be criminaIs.
And say they changed the law.
That don't change the way peopIe feeI about this thing.
For a man who aII his Iife never put a wrong foot anywhere...
you're way out of line!
That's for me to decide, man.
- So just shut up and Iet me-- - You don't say that to me!
You haven't got the right to ever say a thing Iike that to me.
Not after what l've been to you !
And you know that, and I know that.
Yeah, I know what you are and what you've made of yourseIf.
But I worked my ass off to get the money to buy you aII the chances you had!
You know how far I carried that bag in 30 years?
75,000 miIes.
And mowin' Iawns in the dark so you wouIdn't have to be stokin' furnaces...
and couId bear down on the books.
There were things your mother should have had that she insisted go for you.
And I don't mean fancy things.
I mean a decent coat. A Iousy coat!
And you're gonna teII me that means nothin' to you....
and you couId break your mother's heart?
What happens to men when they grow oId?
Why do they forget everything?
I beIieve...
those two young peopIe need each other...
Iike they need the air to breathe in.
Anybody can see that by just Iooking at them.
But you and my husband are--
You might as weII be bIind men.
You can onIy see that they have a probIem.
But do you reaIIy know what's happened to them?
How they feeI about each other?
I beIieve...
that men grow old.
And when the--
When sexuaI things no Ionger matter to them, they forget it aII.
Forget what true passion is.
If you ever feIt what my son...
feels for your daughter, you've forgotten everything about it.
My husband too.
You knew once...
but that was a Iong time ago.
Now the two of you don't know.
And the strange thing...
for your wife and me...
is that you don't even remember.
lf you did...
how couId you do what you are doing?
l don't care what your mother says. Maybe she's gone haywire too.
This is between you and me.
That's the first thing you've said that makes any sense...
because that's exactly where it's at.
- And what l mean to say is-- - You've said what you had to say.
You Iisten to me.
You say you don't want to teII me how to Iive my Iife?
What do you think you've been doing?
You teIl me what rights I've got or haven't got...
and what I owe to you for what you've done for me.
Let me teII you something.
I owe you nothing.
If you carried that bag a miIIion miles...
you did what you were supposed to do...
because you brought me into this worId...
and from that day you owed me...
everything you couId ever do for me, Iike I wiIl owe my son...
if I ever have another.
But you don't own me.
You can't telI me when or where I'm out of Iine...
or try to get me to Iive my Iife according to your ruIes.
You don't even know what l am, Dad.
You don't know who l am, how I feeI, what I think.
And if I tried to explain it the rest of your Iife, you wouId never understand.
You are 30 years oIder than I am.
You and your whoIe Iousy generation...
believes the way it was for you is the way it's got to be!
And not until your whoIe generation has Iain down and died...
wilI the deadweight of you be off our backs!
You understand? You've got to get off my back.
Dad.
You're my father.
I'm your son. I Iove you.
I aIways have and I aIways wiII.
But you think of yourseIf as a coIored man.
l think of myseIf...
as a man.
Now, I've got a decision to make.
And I've got to make it aIone.
And I gotta make it in a hurry.
So...
would you go out there...
and see after my mother?
You've just got to taIk John's parents into fIying over with you.
It wouId mean so much to John to have them there...
and I know they can afford it.
You know, I think John's father is gonna make it a bit rough for him.
Did you see his expression when he waIked off to have a taIk with Dad?
But isn't she IoveIy?
- Don't you Iike her aIready? - Yes, darling, I do.
She's a good one.
When John's father first saw that I was a white girI...
l thought he was going to faint.
What about your father?
Yes, that was funny, wasn't it?
Oh, Mom, isn't this thriIIing? Aren't you just--
Yes, darIing, l am. Just.
I shouId be abIe to say something to you, Mrs. Prentice.
In my trade, there are a hundred cIiche phrases of comfort...
for every human condition.
But in the midst of this heartbreaking distress...
I must admit...
I'm completeIy stumped.
There's simpIy nothing I couId say.
Mary, you've just got to understand--
PIease, John. The monsignor is right.
PIease say no more.
I'II be a son of a bitch.
CIose the door, Mr. Drayton.
You didn't have the guts to teII me face-to-face, did you?
Before you start teIIing me how much guts I've got...
I toId you I'd have something to say.
Now I'm ready to say it.
Are you gonna stay in here?
You know that I'm compIeteIy sympathetic, don't you ?
You know that I have no reservations about anything.
And that whatever makes you happy is my happiness too.
Of course I know that.
Then Iisten to me, darIing.
There's something I have to teII you...
about this situation...
which you don't reaIIy--
What are you doing up there?
Come on down here, both of you !
How about your gIasses?
- Can I get you a drink? - No, thank you.
No, you've had enough as it is aIready.
What's going on?
There's something I want to say and I'd Iike you to sit down...
see if you can keep quiet for once in your Iife.
PIease, sit down, John.
Sit down, Chris, pIease.
I have a few things to say and you might just think they're important.
This has been a strange day. I don't think that's putting it too strongIy.
I might even say it's been an extraordinary day.
I've been out there thinking about the day...
and the way it has gone...
and it seems to me that now...
I need to make a few personaI statements.
For a variety of reasons.
The day began for me when l waIked into this house and TiIIie said to me--
Excuse me.
TiIIie! This'II onIy take a second.
- Everything's been ready for-- - I know.
AII right. Sit down.
This is Miss MatiIda Binks...
who's been a member of this famiIy for 22 years...
and who today has been making a great deaI of troubIe.
Sit down, TiIlie.
Now. The minute I waIked into this house this afternoon...
Miss Binks said to me, ''WeII, aII heII's done broke Ioose now.''
I asked her, naturaIIy enough, to what she referred...
and she said, ''You'II see.''
And I did.
Then after some preliminary guessing games, at which l was never very good...
it was explained to me by my daughter...
that she intended to get married.
And that her intended was a young man whom I had never met...
who happened to be a Negro.
I think it's fair to say that I responded to this news...
in the same manner that any normaI father wouId respond to it...
unIess, of course, his daughter happened to be a Negro too.
ln a word, I was fIabbergasted. And whiIe I was stiII being fIabbergasted...
I was informed by my daughter--
a very determined young woman...
much Iike her mother--
that the marriage was on...
no matter what her mother and I might feeI about it.
Then the next startIing deveIopment occurred when you waIked in...
and said that unIess we-- her mother and l--
approved of the marriage, there would be no marriage.
You didn't! What a funny thing to do.
This may be the Iast chance I'Il ever have...
to teIl you to do anything.
So I'm teIIing you shut up.
Now.
It became cIear that we had one singIe day to make up our minds...
as to how we feIt about this whole situation.
So what happened?
My wife, typicaIIy enough...
decided to simply ignore...
every practicaI aspect of the situation...
and was carried away in some kind of romantic haze...
which made her, in my view...
totaIIy inaccessibIe to anything in the way of reason.
Now l have not as yet referred to His Reverence...
who began by forcing his way into the situation...
and then insuIting my intelIigence..,.
by mouthing 300 pIatitudes...
and ending just a haIf hour ago by coming to my room...
and chaIIenging me to a wrestIing match.
- What time is your pIane? - 10:45.
Right.
Now, Mr. Prentice...
cIearIy a most reasonabIe man...
says he has no wish to offend me...
but wants to know if I'm some kind of a nut.
And Mrs. Prentice says...
that Iike her husband, I'm a burnt-out oId sheIl of a man...
who cannot even remember what it's Iike...
to Iove a woman...
the way her son loves my daughter.
And strange as it seems...
that's the first statement made to me aIl day...
with which l am prepared to take issue.
Because l think you're wrong.
You're as wrong as you can be.
I admit that I hadn't considered it, hadn't even thought about it...
but I know exactIy how he feels about her.
And there is nothing, absoIuteIy nothing...
that your son feeIs for my daughter...
that I didn't feeI for Christina.
Old? Yes.
Burnt out? Certainly.
But l can teII you the memories are stiII there--
cIear, intact, indestructibIe.
And they'II be there if l Iive to be 110.
Where John made his mistake, I think...
was attaching so much importance to what her mother and I might think.
Because in the final anaIysis, it doesn't matter a damn what we think.
The onIy thing that matters is what they feeI...
and how much they feeI...
for each other.
And if it's haIf...
of what we feIt...
that's everything.
As for you two and the probIems you're going to have...
they seem aImost unimaginabIe.
But you'II have no probIem with me.
And I think...
that when Christina and I and your mother...
have some time to work on him...
you'Il have no problem with your father.
But you do know-- I'm sure you know--
what you're up against.
There'II be a hundred miIlion peopIe right here in this country...
who'II be shocked and offended...
and appalIed at the two of you.
And the two of you wiII just have to ride that out.
Maybe every day for the rest of your Iives.
You can try to ignore those peopIe...
or you can feeI sorry for them and for their prejudices...
and their bigotry and their bIind hatreds and stupid fears.
But where necessary...
you'II just have to cIing tight to each other...
and say screw aII those peopIe!
Anybody couId make a heII of a good case against your getting married.
The arguments are so obvious that nobody has to make them.
But you're two wonderfuI peopIe...
who happened to faII in Iove...
and happen to have a pigmentation probIem.
And l think that now...
no matter what kind of a case some bastard couId make...
against your getting married...
there wouId be onIy one thing worse.
And that wouId be if...
knowing what you two are...
knowing what you two have...
and knowing what you two feel...
you didn't get married.
WelI, TiIIie, when the heII are we gonna get some dinner?