Gin.
Gin!
Gin.
Here's the doc.
What's the verdict, Doc?
Can't last another 24 hours.
Any chance of us making the early edition? He'd want to.
What about some pictures, last-moment stuff?
No.
Good afternoon, Miss Thorndyke. Your father...
I heard your verdict, Dr. Crane.
That's the daughter. She's tougher than the old man.
Get out. But, Mr. Thorndyke, I...
Out! Out, I say. Stupid nurses, doctors.
Oh.
How are you feeling, Sam?
Oh, this blasted thing's eating my guts away.
Did you see that editorial in the Albany paper?
That fella won't take orders. Fire him.
I did.
That's my girl.
The White House called to ask about you.
He should call.
If those Republicans hadn't knifed me,
he wouldn't be in the White House.
I'd be dying there.
Well, well, well. What else?
Longstreet called.
Longstreet? That buzzard.
Made me an offer for the papers.
Willing to keep my name on the masthead, he says.
I'll keep it there, Sam. You don't need Longstreet or anyone else.
Kay, I used to hate you for being a girl.
I always wanted a son like me.
But you're bigger than any son.
A woman's body with a man's brains.
My brains. Use them.
You'll make the White House, Kay, one way or another.
The Republican Party owe us that. Don't forget it.
I won't forget it.
That's my girl.
Men are weak,
vain, idealistic.
Can't stand pain.
Can't stand pain any longer...
Sam. Women are the only realists.
Until they get sentimental. Don't you ever get sentimental, Kay.
I never have. Yeah.
Er...
Goodbye, girl.
I guess I'll call it a day.
You're the chief from herein.
I'm gonna miss you, Sam. Yeah, yeah.
You'll be all right. You'll be all right.
Make those heads roll.
Don't go in there. But, Miss...
Oh, good heavens! Oh, Doctor!
Doctor!
Call the police!
Congratulations. Congratulations.
Fifty-one. Oh, Doctor.
Lose your stomach, Mr. MacManus?
Mr. Hawkins' office, please. First door to your right.
Thank you.
Hi, Scylla. Hi, Charybdis.
Well, if it isn't the poor man's Drew Pearson.
Hey, new talent.
You better go in before we have a new columnist.
Wait a minute. Who's in there with the lion-tamer?
Team secret. Came in through the fire escape.
Tailored? Mmm-hmm.
Tailored politician? Hmm.
Tailored Republican politician? What else?
Tailored worried Republican politician?
All politicians are worried today.
Jim Conover. Announce me.
Spike MacManus. Send him in.
If I had your number, I'd call you and tell you
who's gonna be the next President of the United States.
I know. Truman.
You want the walls to cave in around here? I'll see you later.
Hello, boss. Hello, Jim, what's cooking?
You'll be. If one word of my being here gets out.
Hey, boss, the freedom of the press.
If you must grace your column with my name, it's Conover.
C-O-N-O-V-E-R.
You've spelt it "Canover", "Can opener", everything but Conover.
Don't squawk, I haven't spelt it "Conniver" yet.
Let's skip the jokes.
Jim, you know the Republican Convention this year can end in a deadlock.
I don't know anything.
My uncle with the two heads does. Spike.
He tells me they're following the usual Republican policy:
The Tafts, Deweys, Stassens, and Vandenbergs
may knock each other out of the running even before the Convention.
Thus providing a perfect track for a dark horse.
Which leaves you, Mr. Conover,
a fight manager looking for a good heavyweight who can punch.
Jim, I think I have your man.
Yeah, you and everybody else.
This is Kay Thorndyke, not everybody else.
I'm sorry, Kay, it's just that you have to show me. I'm from Missouri.
Ha!
If you were from Missouri, you'd have a job in Washington.
Lay off, Spike.
All right, let's have it, Kay. Who's your man?
Item one: born in Nevada.
But there's never been a western president.
There are Americans out there, too.
Item two: self-made, sold newspapers, worked his way through school.
Item three: good war record. Partisaned Lafayette Escadrille WWI,
decorated by three governments. Ancient history.
Item four: started the two-by-four airplane factory
and ran it into the biggest thing in aviation today.
Look at me when I'm talking to you.
First industrialist to introduce labor-management plant administration.
He's never even been threatened with a strike.
He'd have labor in one pocket, big business in the other. Are you interested?
No. What's Horatio Alger look like?
Women have been crazy about him all his life, if that's what you mean.
Well, that lets me out.
And men?
Part owner of a ball club.
Ever run for office?
Not even for dog catcher.
Hates politics.
Then what's given him this presidential yen?
Oh, he hasn't got it yet.
You're going to give him that.
On the newsstands tomorrow.
"Our planes have wings but not our ideas."
You could make him the next president, Jim.
Kay, I'm not terribly impressed. I never am by amateurs.
But if you and Grant Matthews happen to be in Washington,
and knock on my door to get out of the rain...
But I have been trying to make this clear all afternoon.
I don't want to be President of the United States.
Guess the job isn't big enough for him, boss.
President. Holy smoke.
Why, when I was a kid, my dad took me on a two-day trip
just to look at President Taft.
On a clear day you could see him for a couple of hundred miles.
Yeah, you sure could.
After he passed, my father slapped me right across the face.
When I asked him what that was for, he said,
"Just so you'll never forget the day you saw the President of the United States."
Well, Mr. Conover, I've listened to some pretty tall reasons around here
why I could run for president.
Self-made man, friend of labor, dark horse and all that stuff.
All very flattering, I might add.
But, could I ask you, a professional politician, to give me one good reason
why me, Grant Matthews, should run for the biggest and the best job in the world
when there are 10,000 other men... Wait a minute.
Let's understand each other. I'm not telling you you should be President.
I was under the impression that Kay Thorndyke brought you down here
to sell me on the idea, not for me to sell you.
Now let's not get childish, nobody's trying to sell anybody anything.
Kay, the man doesn't want the job, and hundreds of others do.
We're wasting our time. That's right, Kay.
He's right. We're wasting his time.
I'm not interested in politics or politicians.
And I don't like airplanes.
That makes us even.
Although I could get to like you, Mr. Conover.
Mr. Matthews, it's no skin off my nose, but just for my private files,
you made a speech in Cleveland that hit the front pages all over the country.
Even the New York Times with that stuff about,
"Either we pull together or get pulled apart."
Every Republican leader wishes he'd made it.
So? I'm trying to get it through my lame brain,
if you have no interest in politics, why did you make that speech?
Oh, now, wait a minute. I can be interested in the country
without being interested in politics.
That'll surprise Jim Conover.
I don't care who it surprises.
Don't get the idea that I'm not interested in what's going on.
I like this country, Mr. Conover.
It's been darn good to me.
I started with a screwdriver and a monkey wrench
and two years of high school, and built the Matthews Aircraft.
Did you ever fly an airplane? Oh, no, you don't like airplanes, do you?
You better not elect me President then, because I'd make it a law
for every politician to spend at least 100 hours in the air.
This year, most of us are up in the air all the time.
Well, the next time you're up there, Mr. Conover, look down.
Look down on Pittsburgh, for example, what do you see?
Smoke. That's right, smoke. From the steel mills.
Miles and miles of steel mills.
But you see something else, too, don't you?
Farms, factories, lumber, mines, railroads, business, management, labor.
Not one able to exist alone, but together, working together
with courage and imagination. That makes America.
That's a great picture from the air.
Yeah, but come down to earth and walk into one of those meetings
like that one in Cleveland, and what do you find?
Farmers, cattlemen, lumbermen, business, labor, they were all there.
All working together? In a pig's eye.
All scared to death, all fighting each other.
Each out for the biggest bite in the apple.
Well, there aren't that many bites in the apple.
That's what I was talking about in Cleveland
and that's why I'm surprised that you asked me here.
Why surprised?
Because you politicians,
instead of pulling the country together
are helping pull it apart, just to get votes.
To labor, you promise higher wages and lower prices.
To business, higher prices and lower wages.
To the rich, you say, "Let's cut taxes". To the poor, "Soak the rich".
To the veterans, cheaper housing.
To the builders, uncontrolled prices.
There's no halo around my head, Mr. Conover,
but that's what keeps men like me out of politics.
Hurray!
You didn't ask me to make this speech, did you?
You just asked me what I said. Let that be a lesson to you.
Mr. Matthews, you've just created the ideal political platform.
Drown the politicians.
Very funny.
Mr. Matthews, now, if you really believe those things
and weren't just spouting to hear yourself talk,
you've just given yourself several reasons to run.
That's my whole point.
The only way to correct those evils is to get into politics.
Get into the White House where you can do something about it.
But, Kay, you just don't get into the White House,
millions of people have to vote for you.
You're not afraid of the job, are you?
What do you mean, I'm afraid? Of course I'm not afraid
I'd make a darn good president.
What am I saying? You've got me doing it now.
I would like to pause at this moment
and take a one-man Gallup poll.
What chance do you think Mr. Matthews here really might have, Jim?
I don't know. Any native-born American over 35 has a chance.
Jim, on Tuesday Grant starts a tour of his plants.
Everywhere he's going he's been invited to speak.
Wait a minute. I'm going to be pretty busy, you know.
I've got problems in all those plants.
Grant, you've got to go along with us that far. Try it out.
At least you get a few things off your chest.
Spike, you're going along with him.
You've been telling everyone for years how to run a campaign.
Now we'll see if you can really run one.
Fine, I'll go over to the White House and tell the Trumans to start packing.
Yes, Norah, what is it?
Norah!
Do you know a man named Mac? Mac who?
He's calling from New York. He just said to say, "Mac."
Oh, Mac.
Hello? Yes, I've been waiting to hear from you.
Oh? Oh, wait a minute. I'll take this call in another room.
I'll hang up as soon as you're on.
Do you mind?
Might get a little Drew Pearson blood.
I thought it was agreed we'd all trust each other.
Only when we're in the same room.
Jim, I've been waiting for you...
Just a minute, Congressman. I've got a call to answer.
I don't get this. If he's really serious about me
as a possible candidate,
the Republican Party must be pretty desperate.
The party isn't desperate, just Conover.
If he doesn't personally select the Republican candidate this year,
he may as well turn, if you'll pardon the expression, Democrat.
Are you on? All right, I'll hang up.
Kay, put that down. Wait a minute, what?
They've had someone looking you up.
They picked up some gossip about you and me.
Uh-oh. No.
There's been some talk about Mary. Mary and some major.
Who's Mary? Mrs. Matthews.
Oh!
A major? What's his name? I can't...
What does it sound like?
A major!
Did you see what that so and so wrote about me today?
Well, isn't it true?
Hey, it's 5:00 already.
Spike, you may have trouble finding a taxi at this hour.
If you want to talk privately, why don't you say so?
I just did.
Mr. Matthews, you and I might take time to finish our drinks.
Do you mind, Miss Thorndyke?
Jim, I want you to know that Grant and I trust you implicitly.
Thank you.
I'm very happy about this, Grant. Miss Thorndyke.
You might as well wait, too. That's what I was going to talk about.
Close the door, Spike.
Do you mind being seated?
Naturally, Mr. Matthews, when your name first came up, I made some enquiries.
It seems there's been some talk about you two.
There's been that kind of gossip about every candidate except Herbert Hoover.
They didn't pull it on Hoover 'cause nobody would've believed it.
There are no grounds for talk. Mr. Matthews and I are very good friends. Period.
You see, Mr. Matthews, while Miss Thorndyke happens to be single,
you are a married man, with two children.
If you consider that a major... A vital factor.
I guess that ends it.
What's the answer, Jim? It isn't my problem.
But if it were, you two wouldn't be seen together from now on.
Now wait... You can't get to first base against a whispering campaign.
Could I get a word in here?
Perhaps Kay's friendship means more to me than all this political...
That's all I wanted to hear, Grant.
Jim's right. We don't see each other from now on.
I knew she'd feel that way about it,
and I'm sure she'll agree with me on the next step.
I think Mrs. Matthews should be down here with her husband.
And I'd like to see her make this trip with him. Now, Jim.
Brother Conover, that does it.
You have just ended the shortest political campaign on record.
If my wife knew that I was even thinking of myself
as President of these United States, you just don't know my wife.
She'd call me Nappy every other minute. "Nappy"?
Nappy. That's short for Napoleon.
That's what she calls me when I get a little too big for my britches,
which is quite often. I know what Grant means.
The world is full of wives who devote their time
to clipping their husbands' wings.
Now Kay, that isn't quite fair to Mary.
Mr. Conover, I don't want you to get the wrong impression about my wife.
She's a very attractive woman and a very bright one.
It's just, you know, a man can just take so much criticism.
If you become a candidate, you'll have to take a lot of criticism.
Yeah. Your wife might be good training for you. Toughen you up.
We've got to kill this gossip, Mr. Matthews.
The American people want to see a candidate and his wife campaign together.
It's an American tradition. Otherwise you can forget the whole thing.
I warned you I had no talent for politics.
I wouldn't think of using my wife as a smoke screen.
Would she have to know? In answer to your question, yes.
That's what I said.
You know, I haven't quite made up my mind about you.
Mr. Conover, I'm going to tell you something.
As things now stand, I'm not too sure
that my wife would go out and have dinner with me,
much less make a trip like this.
But I still say, I would've made a darn good president.
Shall we dance?
Now what? Senator Fosdick is here.
Ex-Senator Fosdick. Blast, what does that lame-duck want now?
Lame? The last election broke both his wings.
Put him somewhere. He may get elected again sometime.
My room's the only one that's not full up.
I can be out of mine in 20 minutes.
No, no, no. Give him a drink, we'll get him settled later.
Politicians seem to think
there's a law against paying hotel bills.
Getting back to your wife, Mr. Matthews, she's over 21.
Don't you think the fairest thing would be to let her decide herself?
Grant knows what's fair and what isn't.
Besides, he has a much more important call to make. Remember?
My boy's birthday! I should've phoned long ago. May I use that?
Please. Thank you.
What's the number here? District 6530. Use the private phone.
This one? That's right.
This is district 6530.
I'm calling Greatwood, Long Island.
Yeah, the number is 247. Please.
The little guy is eight today.
You'll talk to Mary, Grant.
You want me to?
I want anything that will get you where you belong.
Invite her to stay here, of course.
No way for a fellow to be elected president
without his wife knowing about it, is there?
Hello? Hello, Swenson. Hello, Buck, how are you?
Put Mrs. Matthews on.
What's all the noise? Oh, the birthday party.
Hello? Hello, Joyce! How are you, sweetheart?
It's my daughter, she's 10.
Hmm.
Hello, Butch, is that you, son? How are you?
Happy birthday!
Well, uh, I can't sing it now.
Yeah, Butch. Hello? Hello, Mary.
Mary, could you get the kids off the other phone?
Mary, I can't sing it here. Yeah.
Now don't call me Nappy.
No...
Okay, okay. You'll love this.
Happy birthday to you
Truman's gonna get the musical vote.
Happy birthday, dear Grant
Happy birthday to you
Flat? I was not flat.
Look, Mary, I'm here in Washington, D.C.,
and I'm going to make a tour of the plants.
Hello, Butch...
Look, Mary, Mary, it's a little too tough over the phone.
Could you come down here, do you suppose? Yeah.
We'll stay with Jim Conover.
Conover!
He's a sort of a ham.
I'll send you the address, Mary...
Mary, come please, will you? All right, dear.
Yes, yes, Butch. Yeah, yeah, I know.
Yes, Joyce. Goodbye, sweetheart. Goodbye.
She's coming?
Yes, yes, heaven help me.
And when she gets here, she's to be told the whole story.
If she decides to change her mind and go back home,
nobody is to interfere with her.
Is that understood? Funny world.
I want you to be President, so I go back to New York
and you tour the country with your wife.
Politics make strange bedfellows.
Come in.
Hello, Grant.
How's the people's choice?
This fantastic notion had me thinking about myself so much,
I forgot there were others.
Just talking home on the phone did that to you?
Mary and the kids can't be dismissed with a wave of the mind, Kay.
Still dragging around some of those little chains, aren't you, Grant?
What chains? Those little chains of middle-class morality
that've kept big men down, all through the ages.
Nothing's dragging me down. I just want everything out in the open.
No more hiding in the dark. No more playing both ends against the middle.
And no White House. No, Kay, no White House.
Sounded like a pipe dream, anyway.
No pipe dream to me, Grant. I believe in you.
I know you do, Kay.
And I know just what you've meant to me.
But... But, sit down.
Look, Grant. Don't you suppose I knew
what was going to happen to me if you ran for president?
Don't you suppose I knew there had to be a Mary
if there was going to be any White House?
Your knowing it doesn't make it easier.
Have I asked for it any easier?
I'm the corner of this triangle that'll take the beating.
I'm not going to let you take that beating. Yes, you are!
Go after the biggest and the best there is.
You'll make a great president.
And if somebody suffers, if I suffer, so what?
As my father used to say, "Life is war, don't count the casualties."
Look, Grant, I think I know you. And I know I love you.
If you're in the White House, I'll be in the White House,
whether I'm in New York or on the Moon.
You're a great gal, Kay.
Come in.
Oh? Conference? I'll be back. No, no, no, come on in, Jim.
I think I'll go down and inspect the plumbing at the White House.
I'll see you later.
There's a mighty big man, Jim. Yes.
Mighty big man, with a mighty small chance.
Oh?
Kay, do you mind if I let my hair down? It's your hair.
Look, with no Roosevelt to run against,
it's green pastures again for Republicans.
So I dig up enough money to rent this house for two years
and think I'll angle myself back into politics.
Do I get a bid from Dewey, Taft, Vandenberg, and Stassen to manage their campaigns?
I do not.
Harding-gang stink is still on me, they say.
So this house becomes a boarding house for political has-beens
who can't get on any bandwagon,
and you come along with your airplane builder.
And me, the best political brain in this country
outside of Jim Farley,
I'm now nursing a rank amateur like Grant Matthews.
A mixed up guy who sees ideals out of one eye and ambition out of the other.
A guy who hates politicians, you heard him.
A guy with a busted-up home that'll be poison at the polls.
Jim.
Wouldn't you like to become Chairman in the Republican Party?
I'd give my right arm up to here
to become Chairman of the Republican...
Say, are you making commitments for him?
Get that hair back up again. What's the matter with you?
You getting old or something? Keep that stomach in, chin up.
Why do you think I brought Grant to you?
Because I know you're the best politician in the country.
Kay, a stubborn rank amateur. Wilke was a stubborn rank amateur.
Get that political brain of yours working.
This is the year of the dark horse.
The best we could go into that convention
with would be a small handful of delegates.
Communists have taken over whole countries
with a small handful of delegates.
This guy worries me. The way he shoots his mouth off.
He'll make enemies.
I'm sending Spike along for just that.
Spike? I need Spike like I need a hole in the head.
Jim, The Thorndyke Press needs a new vice president,
a sort of silent partner to advise on political matters.
Good salary, expense account that might include
a four-year lease on this house.
Win or lose? Win or lose.
Well, the dark horse is getting whiter.
Kay, just so I don't stumble over things in the dark,
what's your stake in all this? I want nothing.
No. People who want nothing worry me. The price isn't right.
You know, I know about your father and the Republican Party.
You also know that they've given me
the beautiful brush-off ever since.
On occasions they've even seen fit
to describe the support of my newspapers
as the "kiss of death".
I thought if I could present the country and the Republican Party
with the next President of the United States,
it would give me more than a little pleasure to see certain heads roll.
If they're the same heads I'm thinking about...
They are.
Let's put this thing over, Jim.
He's the ideal man.
He's the rare combination of sincerity
and drive that the common herd will go for.
They think he's one of them. He thinks he's one of them.
But is he the kind of man we can handle? Will he play ball?
He's in love with me, Jim.
You can lead a dark horse to water with that love stuff, but can you make him drink?
A moment ago, you very shrewdly observed
that Grant saw ideals out of one eye
and ambition out of the other. You were dead right.
But wait till that presidential bug really bites him.
Wait till he sees the White House out of both eyes.
Then he'll drink.
And so will I.
The White House.
My, my, hallowed ground. Just think.
All of the presidents since Adams have occupied that noble edifice.
Needs painting.
I beg your pardon? I say, it needs painting.
Needs painting?
Sir, you're the kind who'd whitewash the dawn.
What colors would you add to a desert sunset
or to the cool green of the sea, or the blue of the sky?
Does the goddess of liberty need make-up?
Do you know who lives in this historic mansion?
Yeah.
The spirit of all those who fought for human dignity lives there.
Moses, Buddha, Confucius,
Christ, Paul, Saint Francis,
Thomas Aquinas, Roger Bacon, Joan of Arc,
Martin Luther, Plato, Homer,
Dante, Shakespeare, Michelangelo,
Pasteur, Newton, Galileo,
Edison, Franklin, Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson,
Crispus Attucks, Lafayette, Garibaldi,
Bolivar, Kosciusko.
The martyrs, the saints, and the poets.
Civilizations past and present.
Man's whole history.
His evolution from worm to animal to Einstein,
his long search for God,
all those things live in that noble dwelling,
but I still say it needs painting.
Sir, may I buy you a glass of beer?
With pleasure.
Could you bring my bags in for me? Thank you.
Check with Leith before you print that one. The rest of...
Jess, no more good stuff from now on, just the cheap stuff.
If that's a long-distance call, you'll pay for it yourself.
Mr. Conover, Mr. Conover, Mrs. Matthews is here. Mrs. Matthews? Already?
Jim, don't faint now, but what if she won't make this trip?
She's got to make it.
Jess, the good stuff for Mrs. Matthews
and put a bottle of champagne on ice. Yes, sir.
Where'll I put her? Put her in Mr. Matthews' bedroom.
Take care of her bag. Remember that phone call's on your own.
I'll mail everything in from now on. Right.
I hope it doesn't inconvenience you, my flying down tonight.
I'm delighted, I'm only sorry you didn't get here earlier.
Spike, this is Mrs. Matthews. Mr. MacManus.
Oh, the writer? How do you do, Mr. MacManus?
And you're very beautiful. How are you, Mrs. Matthews? I'll take this.
Where's my husband got to?
A politician's smoke-filled room's got too much for him.
Oh, you're that Mr. Conover. I'm afraid I am.
Grant went for a walk. He didn't expect you until tomorrow.
I sent him a wire.
The fact is, Mr. Conover, I was so excited about this trip,
I couldn't bear to wait.
Oh, is this my room?
No, this is Grant's room. I'm getting you another.
Leave the bags here a minute. You're moving Senator Fosdick.
Again?
Put him in the south bedroom with Mr. Godfrey.
But the Commissioner's in there with Mr. Godfrey.
Commissioner?
He can have the pool table. That's nonsense.
Don't move Senator Fosdick. Grant and I can stay here.
Here?
It's all right. We're really married.
Unless the rest of the Senate is in here with Grant.
No, no, he's in sole possession. Good, I'll stay here.
After all, Senator Fosdick was an isolationist. I think he should be isolated.
Shall I unpack for you, ma'am? Don't bother. I'll do it later.
This is very pleasant.
Now I can boast that I've really been
behind the scenes in Washington.
You certainly can.
The Republican Party has been behind the scenes for 15 years.
But that's over now.
We've won Congress and there'll be a change
in the White House after the next election.
Has Mr. Truman heard about this?
I'm gonna like you.
I'm a good Republican.
The voters do control the lease on the White House, don't they?
Not just the Republican Party.
Your husband's been lecturing me along the same lines.
Then I'd better change the subject.
Grant can be very outspoken. But not by anybody I know.
May I fix you a drink? I'm a very inexpensive guest. I don't drink.
You'll make history in this house.
Has she moved in there? She's established a beachhead.
Tell Jim it's all right to convince the world
there's nothing between me and Mr. Matthews,
but not to bother convincing Mrs. Matthews.
I thought that was the idea.
Don't be naive, Spike. I want her against me. I want her fighting for him.
That way she'll do everything possible to get him elected.
Women.
Goodbye, Mr. MacManus.
Goodbye.
Bye.
Oh, thank you.
Mrs. Matthews, I have a great admiration for your husband.
Look at that. What did you say?
I say, I have a great admiration for your husband.
I'm many years ahead of you on that, Mr. Conover.
The whole country will feel as we do after hearing the speeches
he's going to make on this trip.
Speeches? Is he gonna make speeches? Yes, in several places.
Oh, dear, I should've packed my earmuffs.
I didn't mean that the way it sounded.
Grant makes a very good speech,
but public appearances for me...
Would it be considered bad form,
if I just stayed quietly at the hotel
and listened to him over the radio?
I'm afraid it would. It would defeat the whole purpose.
Purpose? What purpose?
For a man who may become a political figure,
people like to know his wife, like to see what she looks like,
and most important of all, they like to see the two of them together.
Oh.
I see.
That explains Grant's inviting me to make this trip with him.
No, no, no, Grant wants you to go along.
These public appearances, they're my idea.
Just an old politician's habit of cashing in on an opportunity.
It all fits a little too neatly, Mr. Conover.
I don't know whether you know, or perhaps you do,
that Grant and I haven't been very close recently.
Wouldn't you prefer to create a contrary impression?
Then you do know.
Let's be open about this, Mr. Conover.
These public appearances that Grant and I are going to make,
are they designed to kill off any talk
about my husband and Kay Thorndyke?
There's that kind of talk about every important man.
If there are any rumors about your husband,
this would be a good chance to kill them. You see...
No, may I use your telephone?
Certainly. On the night table. Thank you.
I want to get back to New York tonight, if I can.
Airport... Executive 2345.
Thank you.
Mrs. Matthews?
I think any man who has a chance to become President of the United States
deserves that chance.
President of the United States?
Yes. Don't you think he'd make a good president?
Yes, I do.
A fine president.
Then you see how this goes beyond personal considerations.
We can't think of this just in terms of you and Grant.
And Kay Thorndyke.
I'm sure you'll go along with this.
You're a good citizen.
Right now, Mr. Conover, I'm not feeling like a good citizen.
I'm feeling like a woman.
All right, as a woman, then. As a woman, no, I resent being used.
This evening has been quite a kick in the teeth to me, Mr. Conover.
I was hoping that
Grant's call meant no more Miss Thorndyke.
It'd be fine to kill these rumors.
It'd be even finer to kill Kay Thorndyke.
Let's think of this in terms of the country. That's what I've had to do.
Frankly, your husband is not the answer to a politician's dream.
I've been wondering why any political party should choose Grant,
knowing the things he stands for.
I want the country to make the choice,
and I know the choice they'll make.
Take my word. Your husband is a pretty big man.
There's no argument about that.
I know he's a big man. You know he's a big man.
My bad days are when he knows he's a big man.
You don't suppose there's any way
of Grant's being elected president
and keeping it a secret from him, do you?
It wasn't as funny as all that.
Yes, it was. Your husband asked me almost the same question.
He wondered if he could be elected
without a wife knowing about it.
Poor Grant.
Is he speaking in Seattle? Yes. Why?
We were married in Seattle.
When I think of him speaking there
as a candidate for president...
He's not speaking now as a candidate. That's a deep, dark secret.
The whole idea of this trip is to create the demand.
Oh.
That clears up something you just said.
He's to be your choice first, then the people's choice.
Well, I'm a citizen. I have the right to a choice.
Long distance calling, Mr. Conover.
Thank you, Norah. May I take it here?
Am I in the way? Not at all. This will take just a minute.
Hello.
Yes. How are you?
Yes, I'm sorry, too, Joe. You should have carried that district.
Advice? My advice is to change your whole campaign this year.
How many Poles have you got down there? That many?
Tell them not to believe what they read in the papers.
Tell them we love Poland and we're going to lend them a lot of money.
Oh, they don't feel that way about it?
Well, tell them Poland won't get one red cent out of us.
The Democrats have beaten us to that?
Well, promise them something else.
They must want something, just promise them!
You swing that district and they'll have to give you that Veterans' Hospital.
Otherwise, no dice.
Call any time. Thanks.
Sorry for the interruption.
I'm grateful for it. It gave me a chance to change my mind.
I'll make this trip with Grant.
Well, that's fine.
That pleases me very much.
That's our first big campaign contribution.
To you, my dear, the loveliest plank in your husband's platform.
That's a heck of a thing to call a woman.
Still, you did say loveliest.
Think of any more words like that, don't repress them.
Don't tell me you'd fall for a politician's sweet syrup.
Mister, you're looking at a mighty dry waffle.
I don't know.
This trip may kill more than one rumor.
Is there someone I don't know about?
There have been some rumors about you.
About me?
Hmm. About you and a certain major.
That's wonderful. That's the best news I've heard in weeks.
Does Grant know? Not as far as I know.
You're going to tell him, aren't you? No.
I deserve something out of all this. I was hoping he'd told you.
No, I have a little intelligence service of my own.
I wish Grant had. The places I've dragged that poor, nice major,
just in the hopes that Grant would see us.
I'm beginning to feel like a new woman.
I think I'll put a new face on the new woman.
And I feel like a new man and I think I'll give the new man a drink.
How about it? We have even champagne here.
Don't ever tempt me that way. The results can be disastrous.
No!
Has Grant told you we haven't seen each other
in nearly four months?
No. Our last encounter was something to remember.
Kay has quite a technique with husbands.
Other women's, that is.
She's a great builder-upper.
Grant was getting the inflation treatment that night.
Which, by the way, he doesn't mind at all.
So, I inflated myself a little, too, starting with martinis.
And told her off.
Off and out of my house.
I played right into her hands. I acted like a fishwife.
It's the olive in the martinis. That's what does this.
No, things were simmering before that.
Grant needs a lot of room to stretch in.
He likes to get up on those mountain tops and slap the hurricanes down.
He can do it, too.
He began to feel that I was sort of small potatoes
and holding him back.
I was, I guess.
I'm a sort of a cozy corner person, Mr. Conover.
I like those quiet valleys.
I'm afraid I even have a weakness for small potatoes.
I've got two wonderful ones at home. Yes, happy birthday.
There we were. Grant had a bad case of the mountains
and I became stubborn about small potatoes,
and she stepped into the picture as the beautiful mountain guide.
Now I have no way of knowing how far things have gone.
How do you mean?
There are three stages in a man's,
whatever you want to call it, to Kay Thorndyke.
First he follows her with his eyes,
then with his feet, then on his knees.
My trouble is, I don't know whether Grant is still in stage two
or if the boat has sailed.
Jim.
Mary gets in tonight. I got this telegram downstairs...
Hello, Grant.
Mary.
I didn't expect you until tomorrow.
I couldn't bear to wait. I'd have met you.
How are you? Fine. You look fine.
I'm certainly glad you came. I've got a lot of things to tell you.
Have you got a room set up for her yet? I'm in here with you.
In here?
Mr. Conover, Governor Dunn has just arrived.
Ex-Governor. That old windbag didn't even carry his own county.
Where am I going to put him? He snores, too.
That's an occupational disease of governors.
Grant, I couldn't wait. I told Mrs. Matthews all about it.
Well, I'm awfully glad you came.
I said that, didn't I?
How are the kids? Fine. Anxious to see you.
Same here.
Why don't you laugh? You should. Why, Grant?
I've just been for a walk.
You know, it's a funny thing, Mary,
I've been in Washington a thousand times in the past few years,
but I never really saw it until today.
It isn't a city. It's an atmosphere.
It's alive with giants.
Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Adams. Giants, Mary.
I'm not in their league.
I'm for you, Grant. I think you'd make a wonderful president.
Do you really mean that? I've never meant anything more.
That's the nicest thing you could've said.
It isn't only that you've got the brains for it.
The important thing to me, Grant,
is that you've always tried to be honest.
Tried to be?
You've cut some corners here and there,
just to get where you wanted to.
But I will say, you've always had the decency to be unhappy about it.
Yeah, with a little help from you.
And don't call me Nappy. Yes, Nappy.
I want you to know, Mary, that I felt a little bit of a heel,
asking you to make this trip at all under the circumstances.
I told Conover that it was entirely up to you, that I wouldn't...
It's all right, Grant. I made the decision myself.
You know, Mary, you deserve something better than me.
Well, I guess, I'd better get out of these.
I'd better see Jim about getting me another room.
Haven't you heard? Even the pool table's booked.
I guess I can find a room in a hotel, all right.
In Washington?
Grant? Grant!
Huh?
We should call the kids tomorrow.
Yes, yes. Well, I'll call them around dinnertime,
then I can talk to both of them.
I had Buck pack some of your fishing things.
Oh, wonderful.
Thought maybe when we were in Seattle... Yeah, fine.
Might be able to run up to Victoria for a couple of days.
We haven't been there since our...
Not since our honeymoon.
No. That's right.
Which of the plants are we going to first? Minneapolis.
What are you speaking about there?
I'm not going to speak there. That's Stassen territory.
Conover thought I might just stir up trouble. Uh-huh.
Good politics, I suppose.
What other decisions does Conover make for you?
Wait a minute, Mary. I made that decision. I'm making all the decisions.
I've told Conover exactly where I stand.
See, the American people today face too many problems... Grant.
Huh.
Take it easy. I'm going to vote for you.
No, wait a minute. I want to straighten you out on this thing, too.
Yes?
Could I turn the bed down now? Yes, indeed. You may.
When you're ready for breakfast just press that buzzer,
I'll have it right up.
Thank you.
I've got a pretty tough day tomorrow.
I'm sorry to be so late with this.
It's all right. I'll help you with it. Thank you.
Just as I started up, we got another guest.
Gracious! Where did you put him?
He's on a cot in Mr. Conover's room.
That makes me feel very guilty.
Don't you worry, Mrs. Matthews.
A cot's good enough for most of them.
They just come down here to get something out of Mr. Conover.
Why, Norah! Not the people we put in this room.
This room is for special guests.
We even had a Democrat in this bed one night.
Oh, dear. I wish you hadn't told me that.
He wasn't a Roosevelt Democrat.
Did he leave these as a souvenir?
How did those get in here? That Miss Thorndyke hunted all over for those.
Miss Thorndyke? Yes, she forgot them when she left tonight.
I know what it is to be without glasses.
I'll mail them right back to her.
You wouldn't know her address, would you, ma'am?
Are you sure these are Miss Thorndyke's? Yes.
They're them Chinese kind. See?
What some women won't do, won't they? Yes, won't they?
Mr. Matthews will know the address.
Grant, can you come out here a minute?
Norah needs some information.
Yeah, sure. I'll be right out.
Yeah, Norah, what can I do for you?
Miss Thorndyke left her glasses.
I just wanted to know where to mail them back to her.
1276 Park Avenue. Would you like me to write it down for you?
No, I can remember it. 1276.
76, that's the year of the Revolution,
and 12, that's for the 12 Commandments.
Well...
Goodnight. Goodnight.
Now how do you suppose those got in here?
Why did she leave?
We could all have had a lovely weekend here together.
Mary, what do you think you're doing?
Mary, stop that nonsense and make up this bed again.
Now hang it all. Look here, I'm not going to have you do this.
You wouldn't get one wink of sleep down there on the floor,
and I wouldn't sleep, lying up here worrying about you.
Goodnight, Mr. President.
You mean Mr. Vice President, don't you?
Look. We put this bird across, and you know what it means to us.
We got to work fast but we've got to be smart about it.
Here's a list of guys who might play ball.
Er, Bluckner. You feel out Bluckner.
He's committed to Dewey. Go on to the second ballot.
He'd back Stalin if it'd cut the Governor's throat.
There's your long-distance call.
You work on that angle, will you?
Hello, J.L. Is your group committed yet?
Now quit worrying, I've got the man, but I'm not ready
to announce his name yet.
He's brand new. Hates politicians. What?
For those few measly Arizona delegates? I should say not.
Okay, you'll hear from me.
How about Trenley? No, you can't trust Trenley.
You can't trust Trenley? What do you think, Senator?
I don't trust Trenley and I don't like the smell of this. Why not?
I don't like anything that starts with The Thorndyke Press.
Those three papers in your state can ensure your re-election.
I'll have to take my chances on that, Jim. Goodnight.
How did he get in here? He's honest.
Let's forget about him. What about Sylvester in Philadelphia?
Fine. Good man.
What's so funny?
I was just wondering how the floors are in the White House.
I'll take the floor there. I know my place.
Grant?
Are you still in stage two
or have you made stage three now?
What do you mean?
Never mind.
Do you want a divorce?
Do you?
That's not fair. I asked you first.
The world thinks I'm a very successful man.
Rich, influential, happy.
You know better, don't you, Mary?
You know that I'm neither happy nor successful,
not as a man, a husband, or a father.
You want to know something else?
I'm glad I'm down here on the floor. It's where I belong.
I knew that tonight when we started to talk about
going back to Victoria.
Mary, you won't believe this,
but I don't know how those glasses got in here,
but I'm glad you found them.
I started to tell you, it was Kay who brought me down here,
but I lost my nerve. I guess I was afraid it would send you home.
"There are moments in the life of every man when he glimpses the eternal."
You read that to me, remember?
I've had moments like that, Mary.
A couple of them.
When I was up in a plane alone.
Moments when the earth and the sky and the plane and me
all seemed to fuse together into something that would live forever.
And I had a moment like that today, Mary,
when I was alone with all those great men.
They were happy men, Mary. Do you know why?
They had a cause.
They had a cause they could die for.
Some of them did.
I have no cause, Mary.
Beating your competitors.
No cause to die for.
Really isn't very much to live for.
Always me first and everybody else second.
But, way down deep in my gizzard, I...
Maybe this trip,
maybe this whole absurd idea of Conover's...
Well, anyway,
I'm going to stay on the floor through the whole trip.
And maybe when it's all over,
well,
one way or another,
everything should be clean and honest between us, right?
Well, you've answered one question.
What?
You're still not in stage three.
There, mon cher monsignor Matthews,
is something to gladden the heart of every citizen west of the Rockies.
What is it? The Seattle speech.
A masterpiece of rhetoric, if I do say so.
Who's going to make it? You are, of course.
Really? I thought maybe they set up a change and you were the candidate.
No, I'm saving myself for '52.
Well, you better save the speech, too.
How do you like that?
What do I do? Just sit around here with egg on my face?
I'm the expert that keeps you from climbing out on limbs.
That's where the big red apples are.
Where? Out on the limbs.
Mama. All right,
all right, if you don't want to be President.
You just line up the babies for me to kiss, son, and I'll be a cinch.
That reminds me, do I know any babies in Seattle?
Hey, boss, we got company. Huh?
Who? Joe and Rusty!
Joe Crandall, manager of our Cleveland plant.
He's a wonderful guy. Just flew up to see us.
He's hooked onto us! Rusty at the controls.
Joe and Rusty! Here's where I make some money.
I'm going to take over. You're not going to fly this thing.
You got to learn sometime, come on, shove over there. Shove over.
Aren't you going to stop him? I suggest you better strap yourself in.
What for? Just do what Mama tells you.
If you have any loose teeth, hang on to them,
Rusty's our chief test pilot. He and Grant like to play.
I'm not going to like this.
Look at those guys.
Kind of close. They came up to play.
What do we got up here? 3210.
Oh!
I got it. Okay.
How you doing, Rusty? Hi, boss.
I'm testing the new plane-to-plane radio.
It's coming along fine. What's the matter with you?
You getting scared? Can't get any closer?
Hey, boss, can you still fly?
I can pat your ears down anytime.
You got any dough?
I'm loaded.
A buck I lose you.
Put your money where your mouth is, brother.
Okay, you're on.
Hey, you're hooked up? Yes.
Hang on!
Mary, what's he doing?
You better stay away from me, I'll cut your tail off.
Hello? Where is he?
There he is.
If your husband must have a hobby,
why can't he play the piano, like any normal president?
Come on, Rusty, do something!
Uh-oh, a loop.
What's the matter, Spike, can't you take it?
Kid, you're in a rut. You're running out of stunts, aren't you?
Boss, you're not going to spin this thing?
Why not? I built it.
Hope the wings stay on. So do I.
Did they stay on?
I'm afraid to look.
Not bad for an old man.
Never mind the "old man" stuff.
That's a buck you owe me.
We're over the airfield.
Five more says I beat you down.
Make it 10 and you've got a deal.
Get your money ready.
I'll take half of it.
What's going...
Hey.
Why, the son of a gun pulled a jump on me.
Take it over.
Get me right over it.
Grant! Boy, am I glad to see you.
Sit down, pal.
What do you think of that?
Say, that was swell fun.
Enjoyed every minute of it.
Grant, don't you think it... What do you think of that, fella?
I got a $10 bet with him.
Yeah, but don't you think... Now, what?
Coming over.
Cut down that left engine.
Give my love to Conover.
Grant!
Mary, he fell out!
Did you happen to notice was he wearing a parachute?
Parachute?
You mean he did that for $10?
Did it open?
Yeah, it opened.
We're a cinch to get the screwball vote.
Well, well. The fourth estate, what goes? Another war?
Hi, Jim, stuffed any ballot boxes lately?
You're to go right in, Mr. Conover.
Could it be we're in politics, gentlemen?
Looks that way.
What's the convention out there?
My editors. I had them fly in.
But some of them recognized me. Don't worry, Jim,
we're in business.
"'Public response to my line of guff astounding.
"'If I throw my hat in rings, does my head go with it?' Grant Matthews."
Well, the bug's beginning to bite, huh?
You're so right. Now, we can really go to work.
My reports on him have been terrific.
What've you heard? Nothing.
Goes over with the mob, no doubt about that.
Who told you that? Made a big hit in the Northwest.
Los Angeles was fine, too. Of course, that's a push-over town.
It's the Mid-West that... I know.
He's in Wichita this noon, big labor rally.
Detroit tonight. Big business banquet.
That's it. Got my fingers crossed.
If he gets by those two, we are in business.
How do your political friends feel about him?
Well, now,
that's what I want to talk to you about.
Ed Lauterback wants in.
Well? Wanted to see if you'd stand for Lauterback.
We'll stand for anyone if they've got delegates.
Even Bill Hardy?
You're dragging them out from under the rocks, aren't you?
Those are the ones who do the work, the hungry ones.
Okay, Jim, Bill Hardy, too. Good.
Send them in, Helen. Yes, ma'am.
Would you come over here, Jim? Hmm.
Good morning, Miss Thorndyke. Good morning.
Sorry to have kept you gentlemen waiting.
You know Mr. Conover, our new political advisor?
Gentlemen.
First of all, I'd like to thank you all for the very fine job you've done.
You haven't always followed my advice in the past.
You've been very lenient, considering your boss is a woman and still under 60.
I've asked you all to come here today
because in this matter, at least,
there can be no deviation from my instructions.
I want the Republican Convention deadlocked.
Who are we working for, the Democrats?
You're working for The Thorndyke Press
and The Thorndyke Press will have its own candidate.
That's why that Convention must be deadlocked.
And it won't be
unless the leading candidates are so sore at each other
that they won't combine forces. Is that clear?
I want Dewey sore at Taft, Taft sore at Vandenberg, Vandenberg sore at Stassen
and all of them sore at Eisenhower and MacArthur!
Use their wives, their kids, their Aunt Marthas, but get them sore.
Dig up anything you can.
And if you can't dig it up...
Chief, I've got nothing against your candidate.
We all know who it is.
And I'll work for him in any way that I legitimately can.
But that's as far as I can go.
Mr. Bradbury,
would you feel happier working for some other newspaper?
Yes, I think I would.
I think that can be arranged.
Anyone else?
Now is the time.
On this issue, I'm quite prepared to replace all of you.
Miss Thorndyke, you're mad. You're as mad as your father.
You can accept my resignation right now.
That goes for me. That's exactly the way I feel.
All right, get out, all of you.
Editors like you are a dime a dozen.
Yes? It's for Mr. Conover, Wichita calling.
That'll be Brander. I had him fly out to hear Grant.
Hello J.B., how are you?
Wait a minute, there must be some mistake.
Take my word for it, everything'll be all right.
J.B., now, wait a minute.
He hung up. What happened?
I don't know. According to Brander,
Grant's blown his top on labor.
Yes? Mr. MacManus from Wichita.
Spike, what happened? Grant just lost the labor vote.
I sent you along to prevent just that.
I couldn't help it. He's gotten away from me.
You're a great campaign manager.
Didn't you look at that speech before he made it?
No, and I'll tell you why.
I touted him off that labor stuff in Denver.
She knew he'd change his mind, and started throwing those harpoons into him.
You mean, his wife?
I don't mean his Aunt Tilly.
You sent the wrong dame on this trip, that's all.
And I talked him into taking her along.
What's he talking about in Detroit tonight?
How would I know? I lost my Ouija board.
I told you we couldn't trust him. He's believing his own stuff.
If he blows his top on business, like on labor,
well, I'll blow mine. That woman's got to him.
She's been feeding him that "to thine own self be true" diet.
Get out to Detroit as fast as you can.
Spike, Jim's flying out. Book Cadillac Hotel.
Got it?
I'm very sorry boys, we're way behind schedule.
You can see Mr. Matthews after his speech tonight.
You need a shave, don't you? My feet.
My ears. Those police sirens.
No more motorcycle escorts, Spike. We might kill somebody.
I'll arrange that for you on the way to the banquet.
Where do you want these? Mary, pick your room.
Wonderful country.
You have to take the police along to break the speed laws.
This is a nice room. You can put those in there.
This is 2419. Send up a barber right away.
Mary, look at these.
Those can wait.
In one hour, you're on the air, coast to coast.
You have to eat, dress, shave, and interview most of Detroit in the meantime.
Oh, these are wonderful, Grant.
All about the Wichita speech.
Yeah. You never had anything like this before.
What do you want to eat? Anything but chicken.
Yeah, look, pinfeathers.
Hello, Room Service?
Hey, babe, what's with the service? You'll get your box of candy.
Here's somebody who didn't like it. Who's that?
Executive Secretary, Local 301.
I turned on the radiator, opened the window.
Oh, all right, thank you.
Hello? Room Service? Thank you.
This is 2419, will you rush up three hamburgers, please?
Wait a minute. Onions?
Onions? No!
One with onions. Two without.
Grant, who's Madman Muntz?
Don't you know? Uh-uh.
I'm expecting a lot of people for Mr. Matthews.
Will you shoot them up to 24th floor, Parlor B and tell them to wait? Right.
Want a barber?
Not at the moment. Yes!
Oh, for Mr. Matthews.
Come in. Good evening.
Good evening. Mary did you see this?
"Matthews is obvious presidential timber", you read that?
Mr. Matthews.
I knew that Wichita speech would ring the bell.
Yeah, the kid here tried to talk me out of it.
Dream on, Macduff.
I told you not to be afraid of shooting the works.
That's how they want to hear you talk.
Wait 'til you hear me on industry tonight, I'm really going to let loose.
Grant, let's not stop. Let's keep going. Let's do it all over again.
You want to know something?
I think this trip's agreed with you.
You have no right to look so pretty, a woman of your age.
Oh, Grant.
When you were standing at the airport in Denver,
I had the strangest sensation.
What sensation? Mr. Matthews,
I represent 800 members
of the League for the Abolition of Taxation.
The Government should earn its own money. Like the rest of us.
Abolish taxation.
Thank you... There is no justice in this great...
Looks a little like your brother Dick.
Go on, Grant. Hmm?
What sensation?
Oh, well, you were standing there at the airport in the moonlight.