We were sailing along
On Moonlight Bay
We could hear the voices ringing
They seemed to say
Wish we could stay
You have stolen her heart
What a romance it's going to be
Now don't go away
Nobody here but you and me
As We sang love's old sweet song
On Moonlight Bay
We were sailing along
On Moonlight Bay
We could hear the voices ringing
They seemed to say
You have stolen her heart
Now don't go away
As We sang love's old sweet song
On Moonlight Bay
As We sang love's old sweet song
On Moonlight Bay
Hello. What's your name?
I guess we're going to be neighbors.
Hello, Max. How do you like our new house?
Alice?
- Alice? - Here I am.
Where?
I'm in here, George.
Oh, hello. Well, how you getting along?
George Wadsworth Winfield, how could you do this to us?
- Do what? - Well, it's too big.
There are too many rooms. Nothing fits.
Now, Alice, that's no tone of voice
for the fortunate wife of the man who just bought this mansion.
Please, George, it's been a very trying day.
The drapes are too short.
The rugs are too small. I can't find a place for the piano anywhere.
You're just tired. Believe me, honey, once everything is arranged,
this will be just the kind of a house we've always dreamed of.
You've always dreamed of.
- Well... - And, as far as I'm concerned,
you can stick that sign back on the lawn and sell the house.
Now, honey, you're just upset. it's all very simple.
When you get the carpets down, put the piano over there,
a few pictures on the wall...
Who is that boy?
A neighbor's child. He lives across the street.
Well, he makes me nervous.
We were all so happy and comfortable in the other place.
You have to move us here where we're practically foreigners.
Well, it's only a mile and a half from the old house,
and I didn't notice us crossing any frontiers on the way.
A mile and a half closer to your bank. Of course, I don't mind for myself
leaving behind the friends I made over 20 years,
but I don't see how you could do this to your own children.
I'm doing it for the children.
I thought if we moved to a refined neighborhood,
some of it might rub off on them.
- George! - Well, it's true.
I'd like my daughter to become a wife, not a second baseman.
Where is she?
Marjie? Marjie? There, you see what I mean?
Marjie, put that chair down!
Good gracious, haven't you got enough muscles?
I was just trying to keep busy,
so I wouldn't have to think about what you've done to us.
You, too?
Well, all the kids I know live all the way on the other side of town, Papa.
- See? - Yeah, kids.
I thought if we moved here,
you might meet some nice, refined young man. Maybe get married.
Papa, you're so old-fashioned.
- What's the matter with him? - Max don't like this house.
Well, you don't say.
He's been hunting all morning and he can't find any rats.
Well, we'll have some installed.
George, don't be so obstinate. Why can't we move back?
I'm dead. Mr. Winfield, that kitchen's too big.
Another country heard from.
I'm telling you, it must be 30 feet from the stove to the cupboard.
I'm being paid to be a cook, not a cross-country runner.
Stella, bring me some hot coffee.
Okay, but it'll be cold by the time I hike back.
That youngster is certainly curious.
Wesley, did you notice the neighbor's boy? He's just your age.
I hate him.
You haven't even met him. Now, go on out and be friendly.
No.
Wesley. Be friendly!
Come on, Max.
My old man has a real gun.
- He has not. - He has, too.
Anyways, I bet it's a popgun.
It's only the gun that Jesse James used to hold up a train with, that's all.
- Jesse James? - Yeah.
- You're fooling me. - I am not.
Has he really got it?
He keeps it in a trunk in the attic. it's got a kick like a cannon.
It'll knock you flat on your back.
Well, how about getting it and letting me shoot it, huh?
Well, come on, how about it?
Well...
- All right. Come on. - Come on, Max.
Well, that's fine. Everything's off to a good start.
Strike!
- Strike! - Hey, fellas, he's hurt!
- Hey, help me get him up! - Well, that ends the game, I guess.
Hey, you need somebody to take his place?
- Hey, it's a girl! - No girls in the game.
Oh, let her play. We'll have some fun.
We don't want any girls.
The game's ruined anyway. We might as well, I guess. Here!
- Thanks, sport. - Let's see you hit something now.
Come on, gang!
Let's see you slug it out.
Here's the one.
That's it!
Hey! That's it!
Grab your second!
- Come on! - Come on, get over to second.
All right, now, come on, boys! Come on! Let's go for it, boys! Bring her in!
Shorten the windup, sonny, I'm going home.
Safe!
- Hey, that was good! - Great!
Let's see her.
Oh, I'm up.
I dare you to shoot her.
Not out here. it'll make too much noise.
- Well, let's go in the barn. - Okay.
She won't pull.
- Bet I can pull it. - Well, all right, you try her, then.
Well...
Wesley! What are you doing with that gun?
Why, you could kill somebody with this thing.
Watch it! it's cocked.
You don't have to tell me. I'm going to fix that right now!
Jim, Mother wants you!
All right, all right. Come on.
I know you're around here somewhere.
Imagine leaving a thing like this around where children can get their hands on it.
Marjie, be careful!
Wesley! You keep your hands off of this gun!
Jim!
Look.
It's my brother. He's dead.
It might be better for you if I were.
I'm gonna teach you kids a lesson.
Run, Marjorie! Come on!
Give me that gun, you little brat. Come here!
- Mr. Winfield? - Yes?
- I'm William Sherman. - Who?
I met your daughter in the barn.
Oh, yes, yes. We've been expecting you. Come in.
Thank you, sir.
Wesley, will you tell Marjorie she has a visitor?
I guess she knows it.
She's been watching out the window for the last half-hour.
Won't you step into the living room? She'll be right down.
Thank you.
Not bad.
- Marjie, will you stop fidgeting? - I can't wait, Mother.
You want that young man to know that you've never had on a party dress before?
And, another thing, try not to walk like a first baseman.
- I won't. Can I look now? - Yes, now.
Oh, Mother! Mother, I'm beautiful!
I know, dear.
Isn't it pretty?
- What's the matter? - Sometimes, nature needs a little help.
- Oh, Mother. - All's fair in love and war.
Hello, William.
Good evening, Marjorie.
- Mother, this is Mr. Sherman. - Good evening, Mr. Sherman.
How do you do, Mrs. Winfield?
These are for you.
Oh, they're lovely.
Thank you very much.
Well?
Well, I guess, we'd better be going.
- Yes, have a good time. - We will.
Thank you.
Oh, your hat.
- Thank you. - Night.
- I'll just put these in water. - Thanks. Good night.
- Good night. - Good night, sir.
Is that our daughter?
It's amazing what a little paint and powder will do.
Yes, isn't it?
It's no use. I've told her 1,000 times, a gentleman always walks on the outside.
I hope he doesn't try to dance with her. He's liable to get spiked.
The University of Indiana. I'm a senior.
It must be wonderful.
It's a farce.
All the fellas are interested in is playing football and baseball.
And women.
Women and more women.
Can you think of a bigger waste of time?
What's wrong with baseball?
Baseball? it's the national insanity.
At a time like this,
when civilization is crumbling beneath our feet,
our generation is playing baseball and singing songs like...
"We were sailing along
"on Moonlight Bay." isn't that silly?
I rather liked it.
You heard the rest of it?
You have stolen her heart
"Now, don't go away."
As We sang love's old sweet song
On Moonlight Bay
That must have been written by a man with a glass of beer in one hand
and a rhyming dictionary in the other.
I think it's beautiful.
- Maybe we'd better dance, huh? - Dance?
All right.
Tickets, five cents each, please.
Five cents each?
You have to buy happiness these days.
Shall we dance?
William, that's one of these new dances that I don't know.
- Well, this is just a two-step. - That's the one.
You leave everything to me.
I guess I thought you were a southpaw.
I mean left-handed.
Excuse me, miss. I think you dropped this.
- I did? - Yes.
Would you excuse me?
Pardon me, your girl dropped this.
...even better with your eyesight. Flyball is a game of accuracy.
Hiya! Hiya! Hiya! Step right up, folks.
Everyone wins at Sunny Jim's, the most popular game on the midway!
Won't you come back for just one more dance, please?
William, I just want to go home. I shouldn't have come in the first place.
It was all a horrible mistake.
Step right up, folks. it's an honest game.
You hear that? Come on, I'll win you a doll.
I love to lose, folks. I'm really a retired millionaire.
And this is how I wile away the idle hours. Here you are, son. Three balls for a nickel.
All I have to do is knock the bottles down?
Knock them off the shelf, you win a coupon.
A coupon? Well, how do you win the doll?
Three coupons and it's all yours.
So simple a child could do it. People win it everyday.
Can't keep them on the shelves.
Well, here goes.
That's one coupon.
I'm sorry, son. You weren't paying attention.
I said, "Off the table."
All right.
Well, well, well, the first loser today.
You've got lead in the bottom of those bottles.
Twenty-twenty vision, eh, son?
Step right up, folks. Everybody wins at Sunny Jim's.
He's a fake. Just like everything else in this world.
- Let's go. - Just a minute, friend.
Just to show you my heart's in the right place,
I'll tell you what I'm going to do.
I'll give three chances, absolutely free, to the young lady.
- Oh, no, I... - it's free.
Free! Free to the young lady!
Go ahead, Marjorie, it's probably the first thing he has ever given away.
It's an honest game.
- It is an honest game! - I won the doll.
Well, the young lady proved it can be done.
Too bad she wasn't paying for her turn.
Now, wait a minute, what about that doll?
Come on, William, let's go home.
No! I'm not leaving here till I get that doll.
Now, listen, move along, son. You had your turn and you lost.
The young lady had a couple of practice shots. That's all.
All right, here they are, folks. Step right up there. Three for...
I don't like grafters or cheats in high places or low.
Look, there's a soapbox around the corner, kid. Beat it, will you?
We let men like you get away with little things.
And before we know it, you've taken away our lives, our liberty and our property.
Why, in you runs the blood of Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun!
When did they let you out, kid?
Here you are, friends, three for five. Who's gonna have...
I'm not a man who believes in force, but your type should be strung up
to the nearest lamppost by the free men of the world before it's too late!
Here, take the doll and leave me alone! All right, step right up, folks!
You hear? Everybody wins at Sunny Jim's! I tell you...
William, I had a wonderful time.
So did I, Marjorie, and to think we might never have met
if you hadn't taken a shot at me.
Don't joke about that. Why, I might have killed you.
What's one life more or less when all of Europe's bathed in blood?
Won't you come in and have a nice cool glass of buttermilk?
Yeah. I guess I'd like that.
- Marjorie? - Yes, William?
In all fairness, I've got to tell you something.
What?
I don't believe in marriage.
But I just asked you in for some buttermilk.
Well, I didn't want to drink it under false pretenses.
Well, my goodness! Maybe I don't believe in marriage, either.
Now, please, don't be angry, Marjorie. it's nothing personal. it's just that...
Well, I think that marriage is slavery for the woman and prison for the man.
I think that if two people are truly in love,
they needn't be bound by convention.
Well, my goodness! So do I.
- Marjorie, I... - Yes, William?
What happened?
That's the new power plant. It breaks down regularly. Every night.
Oh, my. How long do the lights stay off?
Sometimes for hours.
Maybe I better light a match.
Well, I guess you better show me to the door.
Yes. I guess I better.
Marjorie, I'd like to call on you again.
- When? - Would tomorrow morning be too soon?
Oh, no.
I guess you better light another match.
Marjorie, I think you're the most beautiful
and the most feminine girl I've ever met.
Thank you, William. Thank you very much.
Well, good night.
Good night.
I guess you better light another match.
I don't have any more.
We don't really have any buttermilk, either.
Doesn't he ever go home?
Alice, can't you get her in here to finish her lunch?
Let her be, George. I never thought I'd see the day.
She's sitting cow-eyed in the swing and he's playing records for her.
I'll have to ask that young man his intentions.
Oh, George.
I'll do it very discreetly, but it has to be done.
Marjorie's young and very inexperienced.
All she knows about men is their batting averages.
In case you're interested, this one's batting a thousand.
- Let's play the other side, huh, William? - All right, Marjorie.
- Cuddle Up a Little Closer? - Yeah, I like that.
It's Wesley. The lattice at the front of the porch is loose
and he crawls under and comes out all bugs.
Wesley, you come out of there right now!
I said come out of there!
What are you trying to do? Choke a person to death?
I may have to sit here for the next half-hour just trying to catch my breath.
Here, Wesley, maybe this'll make you breathe a little easier.
Gee, thanks! I feel fine now!
I'm not interrupting anything, am I?
Why, Father, I thought you'd gone back to town.
No, I thought I'd like to have a little talk with William
before he leaves for college and his studies of... Law?
- No, sir, not law. - Then it must be medicine.
Well, a doctor these days can support a wife and a family very nicely.
Father.
- I major in English literature. - Oh, I see.
Well, we can find something else for you.
What do you think of banking?
Well, frankly, sir, I feel that every bank in the country should be blown up.
Tea? Would anyone care for some tea? Iced tea, Father?
What did you say, young man?
Well, I didn't mean it literally, sir.
It's just that every thinking person knows
that banks are completely unproductive and unnecessary.
Why, they're parasites on society.
I'd like some tea. Wouldn't you, William?
Unnecessary and unproductive?
- And, I can prove it. - Oh, you can?
- Yes, sir, I can. - Lemon or cream?
Do you have some money?
Yes.
Fine. A five-dollar bill.
This is the commodity in which the banks deal. Money,
the root of all evil.
Now, suppose it were all destroyed.
Has anything really been lost?
Is there any less clothing, less food, less love in the world now?
Young man...
William, Father is vice president of the First National Bank!
Holy cow! Did I do this?
Marjorie, get in the house!
Father, it's nothing serious. it's just something they teach William at college.
Well, until they teach him how to support a wife,
I suggest you find yourself another young man.
Seems to me a person wouldn't sing so loud in the morning
when they know another person's got a sick headache.
Seems to me a person always gets a sick headache on school days.
Well, you wouldn't care if I went to the hospital
and had to be operated on, I suppose.
How many times do I have to call you? Miss Marjorie, your breakfast is ready.
All right, Stella. I just want to finish this letter.
Finish it later. We're not serving é Ia carte, you know.
All right.
You, too. You're gonna be late for school.
You eat every bit of that cereal. You're a growing boy and you need it.
I hate it!
Stella, dust off the piano. Hubert Wakely is coming to call again.
Men have been buzzing around here like flies ever since you gave up baseball.
This place is beginning to look like the YMCA on a rainy afternoon.
Your father seems to think very highly of Mr. Wakely.
Why wouldn't he? Hubert is steady, reliable,
has a fine job teaching music and he's just as stuffy as Father.
- Marjie! - Well, he is.
Hey, Wesley!
- I got to go. - You haven't finished your breakfast.
You wouldn't want me to be late for school, would you?
Excuse me.
I wonder what you get for manslaughter in this state.
Hi, Jim.
- You got your letter? - What letter's that?
You know what old Miss Stevens said.
"A model letter to a friend on a subject of general interest."
Oh, no.
Well, she'll only keep you in after school two or three hours, I guess.
Oh, no, she won't. I just remembered. I got a letter all written out!
Wait for me, Jim! I'll be right out.
Excuse me.
Stella!
Now, children, it is time for English composition.
I know how hard you all must have worked on your letters for this morning,
so I have a little surprise for you.
I'm going to let you read some of them aloud before you hand them in.
Now, won't that be nice?
- Cora Claypool, you may read yours. - Yes, ma'am!
"Dear Cousin Sadie, I thought I would write you today
"on some subject of general interest, and so I thought
"l would tell you about the subject of our courthouse.
"it is a very fine building situated in the center of the city,
"and a visit to the building after school well repays for the visit.
"Upon entrance, we find upon our left the office of the county clerk,
"and upon our right, a number of windows affording a view of the street.
"And so we proceed, finding on both sides much of general interest.
"The building was begun in 1886 A.D.,
"and it was through in 1887 A.D.
"it is four stories high and made of stone, pressed brick, wood and tiles
"with a tower, or cupola, 127' 7" from the ground.
"Among subjects of general interest told by the janitor,
"we learned that this architect of the building was a man named Flanner
"and the foundation..."
Wesley Winfield, you may read your letter.
- Ma'am? - You may read your letter.
Yes, ma'am.
- Have you prepared one? - Yes, ma'am.
But you're going to find out that you forgot to bring it, aren't you?
No, ma'am, I got it.
Well! We'll listen to what you found time to prepare.
For once.
"Dear friend, you call me beautiful but I am really not beautiful,
"and, at times, I doubt if I am even pretty. Though my hair may be beautiful
"and even if it is true that my eyes are like the blue stars in heaven..."
Go on.
Oh, no.
Proceed.
"A tremor thrills my being when I recall
"your last words to me that last...
"That last..."
Go on.
"That last evening in the moonlight
"when you... You..."
Wesley, you will go on. And you will stop that stammering.
"You kissed my shoulder
"and said that you would like to love me forever and ever and..."
Wesley.
"And that if you believed in marriage,
"you would want me to. Yours Respectfully, Wesley Winfield."
May I leave the room?
Bring me that letter.
You will sit there until no more "treemors" thrill your being.
That was wonderful, Hubert! Just wonderful!
You must come again soon.
I'm in no hurry, princess.
As Shakespeare once said, "if music be the food of love, play on."
Did Shakespeare say that?
Yes, princess. I have an idea. Let's sing something together.
I would like to very much, Hubert, but I have an appointment at the dentist.
Hey, Wesley! How's your beautiful hair?
Wesley.
You stay out of the living room. Your sister is entertaining a caller.
Is he telling her her eyes are like the blue stars in heaven?
Now, where did you pick that up?
I've been around.
Well, just the same, you stay out of that living room.
I'll get even on that Marjorie.
Well, why don't you get even on her, then?
All right, I will get even on her.
Miss Winfield, would you care for another apple?
No, thanks. Hubert, really, I...
Miss Winfield, when I look into your eyes,
I recall those immortal words of Tennyson...
Anybody seen Max?
- Who? - Max, my dog.
You seen him around here anywhere?
We haven't seen him.
That's funny. Well, I guess, there's no use looking for him.
He isn't anywheres around.
Guess I'll sit down.
Kind of tired of standing up anyway.
Wesley, I just remembered,
I was looking out of the window a minute ago,
and I saw a dog run across the street and turn the corner.
Little or big?
Max is a little dog. Of course, if it was a little dog, it must have been Max.
It was little. It was a little bit of a dog.
No, couldn't have been Max. Max, he's kind of a middle-sized dog.
- By George! - Do you have to go, Hubert?
No, no, it isn't that, but, by the way,
it seems a pity to be missing the fine weather.
I wonder if I could persuade you to take a little walk.
No, Hubert, really, I...
One can talk better out in the open, don't you think?
All right. I have to get my hat.
I'll get mine, too.
Ready, Hubert?
Yes, but better hurry. I think We've given him the slip.
What kept you?
Oh, no.
My, it's a brisk day, isn't it?
It's lovely.
I believe this is our first walk together.
Oh, is it?
Do you like walking fast?
Oh, yes. You set the pace. I think I can keep up with you.
Say, what's the rush? We going to a fire or something?
Your dog is going home. Don't you think you should look after him?
Why worry about him? He's smarter than we are.
Miss Winfield, keep your head up and breathe through your nose.
Is that how it's done?
Hubert, I really enjoyed that little Walk, didn't you?
Won't you come in?
No, I think I'd better go home.
Home? What's the matter? You tired or something?
Come on! Let's go around the block again, huh?
Would you like to, Hubert?
- Good night. - Good night.
Middle-sized.
You're an angel.
One, two, three. Waltz, two, three.
Dip, two, three. Dip, two, three. Dip, two, three. Dip, two, three.
One, two, glide. One, two, glide. One, two, glide. One, two, glide.
One, two, three. Waltz, two, three. One, two, three. Waltz, two, three.
One, two, three. One, two...
My dear Mr. Winfield, young gentlemen in society
do not scratch their backs when they are dancing with a young lady.
Nobody else is itching. I do not itch.
I cannot continue with the dance if you must itch.
In heaven's name, why must you always itch?
Piano, please.
Now, everybody, take a deep breath. Inhale.
One, two, three. One, two, three.
One, two, three.
One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.
Class dismissed.
- Come on, Marjorie. - Wesley, you hurry on home now.
Why? Aren't you coming?
Wesley, I have to stay here and talk to Professor Barson about something.
Again?
Now, you go on. I'll be home later.
Professor, I'm all ready now.
Marjie, you must love that boy very much
to come here every Friday for a month
to dance with an old man.
- Am I doing any better? - Much better.
- Well, what's left for today? - The turkey trot!
The turkey trot.
Such a dance I don't blame you for wanting to learn in secret.
Better I teach you a beautiful schottische or Viennese waltz.
But, Professor, nobody waltzes anymore.
And if I'm asking a young man to come all the way from college
to take me to the charity ball,
I want to be sure that I can dance whatever the orchestra plays.
Such dances they play now. The grizzly bear! The bunny hug!
The kangaroo dip! Am I a dance teacher or an animal trainer?
Oh, all right!
Adolf, you should excuse the expression,
the turkey trot.
You start with your right foot.
Glide.
Yay, Marjorie! One, two, three, glide. One, two, three, glide.
Old Marjie can't find no dancing partner.
Come on, hit her.
Yay, Marjorie! One, two, three, glide. One, two, three, glide.
My leg. Oh, my leg.
But, Marjorie, you haven't given me one sensible reason.
Quiet, fellas. Long distance.
But why don't you want me to come?
You're not going with anybody else, are you?
Oh, no, William.
It's just that I don't feel like dancing with anyone
while all of Europe is in flames.
W/1at's Europe got to do with us?
Anyway, it's a charity ball.
It's for war relief, so you don't have to feel guilty.
I'll be there Christmas Eve.
Gosh, Marjorie, after all the trouble I went to
to square things with your father.
But I just don't think it's right, William,
with poor little Belgium and all, and...
So you might as well stay where you are,
because I'm not going to dance with anybody. Goodbye.
- Give me your arm. - Will you please hold still?
- Now, where's his head? - Give me your arm.
- You're not trying, Wesley. - I am!
Will you please hold still and put your arm through here?
Tie it up nice and tight, Marjie. Just wait one second.
It's going to belong enough.
Hey, you're choking me.
I will in a minute if you don't hold still.
Now, turn around for Mother.
What are you trying to do? Stab a person to death?
Just stand still, Wesley.
Well, hurry up. I want to go to the picture show.
You wait until we get this fitted,
and then you can take it off and go to your picture show.
What kind of thing you got on me?
Exactly what all the other children
in Hubert Wakely's group of little Christmas carolers will be wearing.
Well, let old Wakely stand out in the snow and sing Christmas carols, not me.
- Here's Mr. Wesley's wings. - Oh, they're fine, Stella.
Yeah. Careful, the gluing's still wet.
Look. They just fit.
There.
Now, hold real still.
I don't know.
Seems almost a sacrilege, dressing Wesley as an angel.
Somehow, I think he'd look more natural with horns and a tail.
Stella. He looks wonderful in this.
There's something almost spiritual about him.
Oh, it is. it's a beautiful costume. Look, Mother.
You'd never know it was our Wesley.
Darling, you're the picture of angelic beauty.
Come on. Take a look at yourself.
Marjorie's old petticoat! You've got me in Marjorie's old petticoat!
No one will recognize...
Well, everybody in town will know it's Marjorie's old petticoat.
- You can't make me wear it. - Oh, Wesley.
Stop yelling, "Marjorie's old petticoat."
Do you want all the neighbors to hear it?
Marjorie's old petticoat! I won't wear it!
- Wait. Your wings! - Grab him.
Close the door.
- Throw some water on him! Get him! - I'll get him. I'll get him.
- I'll get him! I'll get him! I got him! - No!
I wouldn't be an angel if you kill me.
Wesley, you've broken your wings. Stella, see if you can find his halo.
Halo? How about a straightjacket?
Now do you know the difference between a proper and an improper fraction?
Sometimes.
Wesley, if you don't pay attention, you'll never learn.
Wesley Winfield, you come down here this instant.
You hear me?
Come down here. Come down here right...
If you don't come down, I'll get you down.
Wesley! Wesley. Wesley Winfield.
Wesley. Wesley Winfield.
Wesley Winfield!
Oh, my goodness. Can't you keep still for a minute, you old crow?
What did you say?
What did I say?
You know very well what you said. Now, stand up.
March.
Wesley, what excuse do you have to offer before I report your case to the principal?
Well, I was just thinking.
That won't do, Wesley Winfield.
If that is your only excuse, I shall report your case this instant.
- Now, come with me. - Well, I have got an excuse.
Well, what is it?
Well, it's 'cause I didn't get any sleep last night.
Were you ill?
No, ma'am. It wasn't illness. It was lots worse than being sick.
- It was... It was just awful. - What was?
- It's about Father. - Your father?
And Mother, but the trouble was mainly Father.
Now, Wesley, I've never heard any such rumors about your family.
I've heard them about plenty of others,
but, well, your father has always struck me as a quiet and charming man.
Well, he was until last year,
when he took to running with them traveling men.
What? I don't want to hear another word of this.
Continue.
Yes, ma'am. That was what started it.
At first, he was a good, kind husband,
but those traveling men, they coaxed him into a saloon
on his way home from work, and they started him drinking beer,
and then ales, and wines, and liquors, and cigars...
- Wesley. - Ma'am?
I don't want to hear any further about your family's private affairs.
Now, I'm asking you if you have anything to say that could possibly excuse...
That's just what I'm trying to tell you, Miss Stevens, if you'd just only let me.
- You see, after we bandaged Marjorie... - Bandaged Marjorie?
Yes, ma'am. You see, her leg was all bruised up and mauled
where he'd been hitting her with his cane.
I knew Marjorie had hurt her ankle, but I didn't know your father had...
Yes, ma'am. So I had to sit up with her.
And Mother. She had some pretty big bruises, too.
But why didn't you send for the doctor?
Oh, they didn't want any doctor. We don't want anybody to hear about it.
You see, Father might reform, and then where would he be
if everybody knew he'd been a drunkard and whipped his wife and daughter?
You see, he used to be as upright as anyone. It all begun...
- "it began," Wesley. - Yes, ma'am.
It all commenced from the first day he let them traveling men
coax him into that saloon.
I said, "Why, Mother, what's the use in taking on so about it?"
And I said, "All the crying in the world won't help matters any."
And she'd catch hold of me and kind of sob and holler and...
And I'd say to her, "Mother, don't cry. Please don't cry."
Wesley, now I understand.
And you were thinking of all those dreadful things so hard
that you forgot where you were.
I was thinking how to save Father.
You brave little boy.
I know how upset you are.
Why don't you take the afternoon off and forget about the whole thing?
Thank you, ma'am.
All right, Hubert, I'll tell him. Bye.
That was Hubert Wakely on the phone.
The carolers are waiting for Wesley.
Let them wait.
I wouldn't put on that old petticoat if you paid me.
Well, since it's most unlikely you'd be paid for such a performance,
you'll go to bed right after dinner.
Eat your soup. it's good.
Marjorie, have you talked to Mary Stevens lately?
You mean Wesley's teacher?
Yes. Do you think she's a little queer these days?
No. What makes you say that?
Well, she's acquired a very odd manner. At least, she seemed odd to me.
I met her in the store this afternoon,
and after we'd said, "How do you do?" to each other,
she kept hold of my hand
and looked as though she were going to cry.
- Are you all right? - Fine.
I don't think it's so odd, Mother. I think she's just very emotional.
You know, she has relations living in England
and what with the war and everything going on...
Wait. She stood there squeezing my hand and struggling to get her voice.
Really, I was embarrassed.
And then finally she said, in a kind of a tearful whisper,
"Be of good cheer. This trial will pass."
- How queer. - Maybe she'd been drinking.
Wait. After that, she said something even queerer
and put her handkerchief to her eyes and hurried away.
Well? What was the other thing she said?
She said, "l know that Wesley is a great, great comfort to you."
- I'm afraid she's a goner. - Crazy as a bedbug.
- Did she say anything else? - No, that's all she said. Every word.
Stella, more soup.
- William Sherman! - How do you do, Miss Stevens?
Well, what are you doing in town?
Jim said you were staying at the university this Christmas.
Well, I came down to take Marjorie to the charity ball. it's a surprise.
- Marjorie Winfield? - Yes.
- You poor, poor boy. - What's the matter, Miss Stevens?
You mean she didn't write you about her father?
No. What about her father?
You come with me. Come on. Come on.
Stella, that's cold.
Nothing like an alcohol rub. Keeps the circulation going.
George.
George!
He's sleeping like a baby.
- He's been Working too hard lately. - ls the light shining in his eyes, Mother?
Oh? Oh, I'll fix that.
Isn't this cozy? A perfect Christmas Eve.
Somebody wants in.
Merry Christmas.
- Marjorie! - Bill!
Oh, Bill, I'm so glad to see you.
- It's true. - What?
Look what he's done to you. That monster.
Who?
Marjorie, I'll take you away from all this.
William, will you please be quiet?
Don't you worry, Mrs. Winfield. I'm not afraid of him.
William!
So this is what the institution of marriage has done.
Forced you to live with that drunken beast.
What?
Why, this place reeks with alcohol.
That's rubbing alcohol.
Oh, no. How low can a man sink?
What's the matter with you?
Look at him. Lying there in a drunken stupor.
- I'll sober him up. - William, no!
And if you ever lay a little finger on either of them again, I'll...
- What finger? Take your hands off of me! - Have you gone crazy?
- You don't deserve a family like this! - How did he get in here?
- Get him out of here! - Are you out of your mind?
- Stella? Stella? - Get this madman out of this house.
William Sherman, I never want to see you again as long as I live.
I'm sorry, Marjie, but they said he'd taken to drink and was beating you.
Who's they?
Miss Stevens, Wesley's teacher. I met her at the station.
How could you believe for one minute that my father...
Young man, never step foot inside this door again.
But, sir, she said that Wesley said that...
I knew it was a mistake moving into this neighborhood.
Papa, I've never seen him like this before.
Maybe, he's been studying too hard.
His mind must have snapped.
What was that he was saying about Mr. Wesley?
Wesley!
Oh, my goodness.
William! William!
- William! - Wesley?
Wesley.
Oh, William, I'm awfully sorry.
If only I had told you how I sprained my ankle.
- I'm not interested. - William, please listen to me.
I was throwing snowballs and I fell, and I didn't want to tell you because...
'Cause you think I'm so feminine.
There's nothing I wanted more than to go to the dance with you.
I even practiced the grizzly bear and the crab step and all those dances.
Won't you please come back?
I only make a fool of myself once a night.
Why, you pompous old...
Well, your little son is not in his room or anyplace else in the house.
- I hope he's all right. - So do I,
because I want him to be in good condition when I catch up with him.
Wesley.
Wesley!
Mother, I need a drink.
I'll have one with you.
- Merry Christmas, Marjorie. - Merry Christmas, Bill.
You know, it just occurred to me that, after today, I won't belong here anymore.
Why, William Sherman, I didn't know that college meant so much to you.
You used to laugh at it, you know.
I was just going through a phase.
Were you going through one about me, too?
No, that wasn't a phase.
Oh, Bill, we're going to have a wonderful time this summer.
What's wrong?
Marjie, there's something very important I've got to tell you.
What's wrong?
Come on, Bill. You want to graduate, don't you?
Or do you want to wait till next year?
Holy smokes, I've got to make a speech. Come on.
- But what were you going to tell me? - You'll know soon enough.
During our four years at college,
many of us have changed our ideas as often as our wardrobes,
and I think it's a wise thing.
A good student should have an open and inquiring mind.
As freshmen, we were radicals. As sophomores, we were freethinkers.
As juniors, we were intellectuals.
In those years past,
it had become fashionable for us to sneer at established institutions.
But now, we must outgrow our callow philosophies
and face the realities of a troubled and changing world.
Doesn't William look distinguished in his cap and gown?
Someday, Wesley will look just as distinguished.
Yeah, but it'll take more than a cap and gown.
I say to you that we must awaken
to our responsibilities
as students and citizens,
and remember that we are men and women,
not dreamers in an ivory tower.
"These are the times that try men's souls."
The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot
must do everything in their power.
Well, we are not summer soldiers or sunshine patriots.
Many of you have come to think of college students
as frivolous young men and women.
A fine boy. A little erratic, but he's straightening out.
Now that he's graduating, I suppose you've made your plans.
Plans for what, Father?
- Well, marriage. What else is there? - Bill doesn't believe in marriage.
Something else they've taught him at college,
but you'll bring him around.
- He's convinced me that he's right. - What?
...are also mature enough to recognize our responsibility...
Bill says that marriage is a remnant of a decadent civilization.
Well, this decadent family has...
Has believed in it for a good many years,
and I've never seen any cause to regret it until today.
I am taking you away from him before it's too late.
...recognize our responsibility to our generation.
It may come as a surprise to many and a shock to some,
but we realized individually and collectively
that we had no other course but to face reality
and our duty to our country.
I am very proud to be a member of this graduating class.
Bill.
I told you it was too hot for soup.
Why, at least you'd think it would cool off in the evening.
George, why don't you take off your jacket?
I think I will. It seems to be getting warmer every year.
It's 7:30.
She's probably mooning around somewhere.
She has been since you-know-What.
Someday, Marjorie's going to thank me for what I've done.
I was talking to Hubert Wakely.
She doesn't like him, George.
And Why not? I'd like to know.
He's reliable, settled, makes a good living,
and he won't have to go into the Army.
This morning he told me he had a punctured eardrum.
I punctured it last night.
Stella.
Hey, Wesley! Wesley!
- You coming? - Be right there.
- Mom, I'm not hungry. Can I go with Jim? - Where you going, dear?
Well, there's a troop train coming in,
and we thought we'd go down to the station
'cause Bill's going to be on it.
Sit down and eat your dinner, young man. You're not going anywhere.
Seems to me if Marjie can go, I ought to be able to.
Marjie knows better than to do anything like that.
Well, she was packing her bag.
And when I asked her where she was going, she said...
Packing her bag? George!
Well! I'll take care of this.
Well, it's a little too hot for dessert, wasn't it?
Hey! What are they handing out on this side of the train?
You gotta help me get on.
Wouldn't it be simpler if I got off?
Please. I'm looking for a soldier.
- You came to the right store. - Thanks.
Hey, how do I know you're not a German spy?
I'm not.
Well, maybe I'd better search you for secret papers.
Hey, Joe, wait till I tell you about the dream I just had.
Bill!
- Marjorie! What are you doing here? - I'm going with you.
But this is a troop train.
I don't care what it is or where it's going, just so we can be together.
It's going to be mighty crowded in that pup tent.
We're pulling out any minute. You've got to get off.
I'm not leaving you.
Until you ship out, I'm never going to be any farther away from you than this.
Hey, maybe this is that bonus that Congress has been promising us.
You've got to get out of here.
Say, Bill, see if she's got a friend, will you, kid?
That's the way I figure. Got it all figured out. You get off...
But I may never see you again, and if there's any way that I can...
Young lady, will you listen to me?
Please, William, I know what I'm doing.
- I've thought about this for a long... - Will you marry me?
I can get a place to stay near the camp and...
I'm asking you to be my wife.
Your married wife? Oh, Bill.
Oh, Bill.
But you don't believe in marriage.
Right this minute, I don't know anything I believe in more.
Now, look, Marjie, you get the next train. I'll meet you in Chicago.
We'll be married as soon as you get there.
Marjorie Winfield, you get off of this train.
Father.
And, as for you, young man, I ought to have you thrown in prison.
- Oh, Father... - But, Mr. Winfield...
But, Mr. Winfield, I just asked Marjie to marry me.
Yes, I expected you to say that. Now, you're coming home to grow up.
- But Father! - Running away with a soldier.
How you could let him influence you into doing such a thing.
- But it was all my idea. - Why didn't you stick to baseball?
Marjie?
Yes, Wesley?
I'm sorry.
It was a secret about you going to the train,
and I told.
- it's all right. - Well, no, it isn't.
I'm going to be 12 years old tomorrow, and I'm acting like I was a child.
We all act like we're children sometimes, Wesley.
Gee, it must be tough being a girl.
- Hello, Miss Robertson. - Hello, Stella.
Well, it's good to see you. Here, let me help you.
If I needed any help, I wouldn't have come.
Aunt Martha.
Wesley, Aunt Martha's here!
It's good to see you. You're looking younger every day.
Well, I feel younger every day.
- Hello, Aunt Martha. - Wesley! My, how you've grown.
Why, I hardly know you with your face all washed and your hair combed.
Yes, ma'am.
- Well, can't we all go inside? - No, I'll only stay a few minutes.
I just came to bring Wesley some cookies and give him his birthday present.
I guess that's all you're interested in, isn't it, Wesley?
Yes, ma'am.
Well, I hear that George really made a spectacle of himself last night
at the railway station.
Oh, shush yourself, Alice. One prude in the family is enough.
Marjorie wants to get married. Why doesn't he let her?
Well, George feels the boy isn't sincere.
You see, William doesn't believe in the institution of marriage.
Fiddlesticks.
No man believes in marriage, until a woman traps him into it.
Remember how you got George?
- Well, Wesley, how you making out? - Just fine.
- Happy birthday. - Gee, thanks, Aunt Martha.
Oh, no, Aunt Martha, not that.
Oh, let him keep it.
I suppose he will do something horrible with it.
- I'd be disappointed if he didn't. - Wesley, be careful. You'll cut yourself.
- And here's something else. - Gee, thanks again.
That isn't for you, but go ahead and open it.
I want you to give it back to your father. I think it's time.
You tell him I sent it to him because I believe I can trust him with it now.
I took that contraption away from your father 35 years ago,
one day after he'd killed my best hen with it, accidentally.
Father?
I think, if you give him that from me, he'll remember.
You look like your father, Wesley. He was anything but a handsome boy.
He'll grow out of it, Aunt Martha.
There's one more cookie left. Aren't you going to eat it?
Well, I guess, I'd better.
Go ahead and stuff yourself. You're 12 years old today
and you ought to be happy, if you're nothing else.
It's taken over 1,900 years of Christianity
and some hundreds of thousands of years of other things to produce you,
and there you sit.
Ma'am?
It'll be your turn to struggle and muss things up
for the betterment of posterity soon enough.
Eat your cookie.
Yes, ma'am.
- Stella. - Behind you.
We're not ready for the cake yet. Mr. Wakely's still singing.
Thought if I took it in, he'd stop.
Thank you. Thank you.
I know you would like me to go on and on, but I really must stop.
And now, if the little gentlemen will take the little ladies by the hand,
we shall put a record on the phonograph and you may all trip the light fantastic.
Wesley, why are you sitting here? Why aren't you dancing?
I don't want to dance. it's my birthday, so I don't have to.
Wesley.
Well, whose party is this? Hubert Wakely's or mine?
Why, it's yours, dear.
Well, then why doesn't he stop singing and go home?
- May I have this dance? - No, thank you, Hubert. Really, I...
Oh, come, come now, this is no time to be coy.
Look, he's trying to make Marjie dance with him.
Why doesn't he leave her alone?
Don't worry about it.
Your father and I had along talk last night,
and, with your approval, it's full steam ahead.
Excuse me, but Marjorie promised this dance to me.
- I did? - Sure.
Guess I can dance with my own sister at my own birthday party, can't I?
But, princess...
Well, I guess I can dance with my own brother.
Would you excuse us, Hubert?
Stella, you should be more careful.
Careful.
Well, it looks like I'm not such a bad father after all.
Wesley's behaving like a perfect little gentleman.
Even Marjorie seems to be enjoying herself.
Everything is calm once more.
Cyclone weather.
Stella, answer that. I hope it's the ice cream.
Pretty.
It ain't the ice cream.
- Come right in. - Mr. Winfield, I've got to talk to you.
I thought we were well rid of you.
I have a 24-hour pass,
and the only train back leaves in a half an hour.
Sir, I'm in love with your daughter and I want to marry her.
And how long would that last? Until you get some other crackpot ideas?
- Bill. - Marjorie.
Hold me tight. Don't let me go this time.
I don't want to. But it's up to your father.
You're making it very difficult for me, young man,
but I am sure in the long run you'll realize I'm right.
- Now, I'll thank you to leave my house. - George.
Father, Bill and I are going to be married right now,
and you couldn't stop us with an act of Congress.
I'll get my things.
Wait a minute, Marjorie. Let's be sensible about this.
I couldn't ask you to give up your family
for one Week with a soldier who's shipping out.
It wouldn't be fair to you.
But how can you be sensible at a time like this?
One of us has to be. It may be along time before I get back.
You're gonna have to live with them, not with me.
Sol guess we'd better wait.
- ls it all right if I walk him to the gate? - Certainly you can, darling.
You go right ahead.
Sometimes I don't understand you.
Well, what did you want me to do? Let my daughter become a camp follower?
George Wadsworth Winfield, you listen to me.
And I'll Write you every day I'm gone.
And I'll knit you some socks. I can't knit, but I'll knit you some socks.
Well, if I can get my shoes on over them, I'll wear them.
I know I'm supposed to be brave, William, but you're gonna be so far away.
Oh, come on, it's not as bad as all that.
You know the song all the doughboys are singing.
- "Smile the while I kiss you fond adieu." - "Sad adieu."
- "When the clouds roll by..." - "I'll come to you."
Marjie?
Don't take it so seriously. She'll get over it.
George, were you ever a young man? I can't even remember.
Alice!
After all, no man really wants to get married.
William is just more honest than most.
Now, I suppose I didn't want to get married to you.
Of course you didn't.
If you had any idea of the lengths I had to go to force you to propose...
What do you mean?
You know, it's hard to realize
you once were exactly like William Sherman.
I was not.
Oh, George. You remember the day we got engaged?
You took me for a walk in the woods near Aunt Martha's farm. We got lost.
It was hours before we got back. You knew the way home all the time.
How can you say such a thing?
Because I knew it, too.
I don't recall the incident at all.
Of course you don't.
Because you refuse to remember anything
that indicates you might have human failings.
But they're the reasons I married you.
Wesley!
See what you did to that window? You incorrigible brat.
I don't know what we're going to do with you. What do you mean?
Just 10 minutes ago, I was telling your mother how proud I was of you,
and you had to go throw a rock at me through the window.
I didn't. I was shooting at a bird, and,
well, the sun got in my eyes and the sling broke.
What sling?
This one.
Where did you get this devilish thing? Haven't I told you a thousand times...
It isn't mine. it's yours.
- What? - Yes, sir.
Aunt Martha gave it to me. She told me to give it back to you.
She said she took it away from you 35 years ago.
You killed her best hen with it, she said.
She told me some more to tell you, but I forgot.
Sorry, Pop.
It's all right, Son. Forget all about it.
A broken window isn't too important, anyway.
Hello, operator?
Would you please get me the Shermans in the 400 block on Elm Street?
Thank you.
Hello. Is Bill there?
Tell him it's the neighbor across the street
who just remembered he was young once, too.
Here's your hat.
Keep your head up and breathe through your nose.
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