(MUSIC PLAYING) Sayonara
Sayonara
Japanese goodbye
(EXCLAIMING) Just like a bird!
How many did you get, sir?
Hey, he got two more!
- (EXCLAIMS) - Four? Old Gruver got two more...
MAN: Nice going there, sir!
Mmm-hmm.
Now, let's try the other lung. Breathe.
(BREATHING DEEPLY)
- Breathe. - Hi, padre.
- Breathe. - Two more MiGs today I hear, Lloyd.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's it. You can put it on.
Okay.
Well, Ace, you've had it.
Say what?
You're through flying, for a while, anyway.
Oh, no, nothing wrong with me
a little bottle of beer isn't going to fix up.
Give him a bottle of beer and send him back out.
Look, now, just don't get yourself excited here.
Don't get pale, Gruver.
I was just giving you a rib.
But you could use some sleep.
Yeah, I could use a little nice Korean sleep.
Mmm, better than that.
You're going to Japan.
I'm going to Japan? What for?
Why not?
Wouldn't you like to tango with one of those beautiful Japanese dolls?
Well, if it's your prescription, Doc,
then I'll certainly work at it the best I can.
You're going to Kobe.
Kelly has your orders.
What in the world am I going to do in Kobe?
Well, it's a special request
of General Webster himself.
Then this has all been pre-arranged.
Pre-arranged? Demanded.
Why shouldn't a three-star general
look out for a four-star general's son?
Now, don't be getting on my back.
I ain't bucking for favors.
I know you're not. I was just kidding.
I'll see you, Doc. Thanks.
Could I have a word with you, Gruver?
Yeah, I'll bet you I know what the word is.
K-E-L-L-Y. Is that true or false?
He's got permission to go back
and marry that Japanese girl.
Well, I told him he can't take her back to the States.
I explained the law in detail myself.
But there's no law which says he can't marry her.
And he's appealed to his congressman.
His congressman?
I wish you'd talk to him.
After all, he is one of your men.
And you're the only human being he looks up to.
Now, listen, I...
You know, I'm going to tell you something.
That boy don't look up to anybody.
He has been promoted four times
and busted right back again.
Yeah, my congressman. Shocking, ain't it, Major?
Chaplain says, "Don't marry the girl."
Colonel says, "Don't marry the girl."
You say, "Don't marry the girl."
Congressman says, "You marry that girl, Kelly."
What can I do?
I'll tell you what you can do, boy.
You can go home and marry your congressman.
You'd be better off.
Give me more coffee.
Yes, sir.
Hear you bagged two more today, Major.
- Yes. - How was it up there?
Oh, it was splendid.
What's the matter? What happened?
(CLEARS THROAT)
There was a guy with a face in one of those planes today.
Well, there was a guy with a face
in all the other seven you shot down.
Yeah.
That's exactly what I've been thinking about.
Well, you can stop thinking.
You got a very well-written contract here.
General Webster's had you assigned
to the Interservice Aviation Board over there.
Which means you've got practically nothing to do
except, of course, marry the General's daughter,
who is arriving in Kobe tomorrow.
You mean, Eileen...
That's right.
General's wife and daughter both, from Tulsa.
Listen, don't fool me now.
I'm not fooling, Major.
You're not supposed to know anything about it. Big surprise.
Eileen's coming to Kobe.
Yeah.
General Webster arranges it for you to marry his daughter.
My congressman arranges it for me to marry my girl.
Generals for the officers,
congressmen for the peasants.
Listen, I'm glad you brought that up, boy.
Because I think there's a little bit
of difference that we ought to talk about.
What do you mean?
Well, now, listen.
I never did show you a picture of my girl, did I, Kelly?
No.
Well, I'm gonna show you a picture of a girl.
It happens to be my girl, but she's American.
And I want you to take a long, long look at her
because I believe that maybe you've forgot
what an American girl looks like.
And this girl I'm going to show to you
is, first of all, an American girl,
a girl with fine character,
a girl with good background,
good education, good family, good blood.
I've known this girl since I was about that high.
Our families are very close.
I've been engaged to this girl for a long time, Kelly.
Now, she's a girl of unusual character
and I'd like you to take a look at her,
a close look, and tell me what you think.
Tell me what your feeling is.
Kind of beat-up, ain't she?
I beg your pardon?
No, that... The beat-up one's her mother, you idiot. Not...
Here's Eileen now. Wait...
That's... Now, now.
Hey. Boy, she sure does something wicked to a bathing suit.
Well, she has an enormous capacity to fulfill a bathing suit.
- I can see that. - That's enough, that's enough.
Listen, I'm just, you know, showing it to you,
but all kidding aside, the reason I want to show you this girl...
Hey, you ever seen Katsumi?
Where's that?
It's not a "Where's that?"
That's the girl I'm marrying.
Oh. Well, no.
(STUTTERING) I mean, I don't know Japanese names.
That's all right. Forget it.
(JETS PASSING OVERHEAD)
- KELLY: Well? - Oh, yeah.
Looks like a bright girl.
She's a whole lot brighter than me.
Well, that ain't too hard to do, you know.
Listen, Kelly, I want to say something seriously to you.
Don't you think you're taking a risk
in marrying this Japanese girl?
Risks don't scare me any.
Look, Major, the Army and the Air Force and the State Department
have all ganged up to keep me from getting married.
Oh, hold on, Kelly.
I mean, what do you mean ganged up?
Here, look at these pamphlets.
"Think it over, Americans.
"Things you are required to know and do before marrying Orientals."
Yeah.
Here's another piece of garbage.
"But will your family accept her?"
Will they, Kelly?
I ain't got any family.
Listen, Kelly, I haven't got anything against this girl of yours.
I haven't got anything against the Japanese anymore.
I mean, not really.
But, you know, when...
I just don't understand how a normal, average American...
I mean, let's put it this way.
I think even your friends are gonna
put you down if you marry this girl.
If the friends I got are that kind,
they won't be friends of mine much longer.
Look, Major,
I'm gonna marry my girl if I have to give up
my American citizenship to do it.
Oh, Kelly, you stupid, ignorant slob!
I mean, go ahead and marry
this slant-eyed runt if you want to. It'll serve you right.
Now, wait a minute, Major!
Don't talk to me that way!
I won't take that from you or anybody else!
I'm sorry, Kelly.
I'm sorry.
I'm just blowing my stack a little today.
But, boy, I mean it. I...
I want to tell you, when you tell me
that you're gonna give up your citizenship
for a girl, I mean any girl,
I think you're nuts.
I mean, I think you're crazy.
I am crazy.
I'm in-love crazy.
I think you're going to cut your throat
and I'd just hate to see you do it.
And I mean this with all sincerity.
Maybe that's because you don't feel
as strong about your girl as I do mine.
There's your orders, Major. See you on the plane.
Okay.
Kelly.
Well, we're coming in, Major.
There's the Inland Sea. Beautiful, ain't it?
GRUVER: Yeah.
KELLY: Boy, it sure is nice scenery out there.
That's Kobe over there. You see it, with all the docks?
Oh?
KELLY: You know, what you're looking at, Major,
really is three cities, you know, all running together.
There's Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto.
They got Kabuki there.
GRUVER: What's Kabuki?
KELLY: You never heard of Kabuki theater?
- No. - All men, no dames.
That's going to be dull, isn't it?
Oh, I don't know.
Well, if it's all dames you want,
I think we're going to get there in about...
Yep. Look down there.
See that? See that little park over there with the little lakes around it?
That's Matsubayashi.
- GRUVER: Where? - Right down in there.
- You see it? - GRUVER: Oh, yeah.
KELLY: The Matsubayashi girls are the most famous girls in all of Japan.
You know, they sing, they dance,
they act all the parts, no men.
Katsumi knows all the actresses.
She's like a movie fan or something.
Listen, you're just blowing your top
about seeing Katsumi, aren't you?
Carrying on.
She's my girl, Major.
(PLANE ENGINE ROARING)
Well, GG, good to see you.
So long, Lloyd. Lots of luck to you.
Oh, good enough. Thank you. Bye-bye.
Lloyd! Lloyd, here we are!
- Lloyd! - Come on.
Hey, there!
Don't forget to act surprised.
Yeah. Hi, there! Hot dog!
Oh, won't he be surprised! (BOTH LAUGHING)
- Major? - Yeah. Huh?
How about being my best man?
Now, listen, Kelly, I told you that I'm against this marriage.
It would mean a lot to me. What do you say, Major?
Okay.
Consul's Office, 10:00, Saturday.
Well, come on, honey. Hurry up.
Well, now, hello! Come here, you!
- Ha, ha! You're good... - Bless your heart.
- Certainly good to see you. - Hi, Lloyd.
Hi, sir. Nice to see you.
You know, I was getting off the plane.
And I said, "There's General Webster standing over there.
"But who is that good-looking woman?"
Listen, tell me about Eileen. How is she?
Oh, she finds Tulsa terribly dull without you, Lloyd.
Well, you know, I think... I wish she could have come along.
Oh, now, Lloyd, you couldn't expect us to bring her out here.
Well, I know that, but...
You're registered at the hotel with us for the first few nights,
but you'll be stationed out here at the field after that.
I see.
Come on, let's go. Now, you get in first.
No, you go ahead, Mrs. Webster, honey.
- No, you get in first. - No, no, you got...
- Go on. Get in! - No, no.
Ladies first. What's the matter with you?
Hi, Lloyd.
- You devil. - (LAUGHING)
GRUVER: Come here. Mmm-mmm!
Mmm.
I'm glad to see you, darling.
I forgot what an ugly girl you got here.
Lloyd, she's not ugly. She's a beautiful girl.
What are you talking about? She's the ugliest girl I ever saw.
- Come here, you. - (CHUCKLING) Oh.
And that dress, I think it's terrible.
It just goes in and out... That's awful.
It's meant to go in and out.
I go in and out.
Well, we'll talk about that later.
Send Major Gruver's luggage up to his room, will you?
That's beautiful, isn't it?
Are there any rules against it?
Oh, no, there are no rules against it. But it's understood...
I thought the club would be honored!
Please, Mike, let's go.
What's she doing here?
Mother!
Well, isn't she with that young officer?
You know, this is a...
Kobe's a recreation center.
That's right, dear.
It degrades the uniform. It's out-and-out fraternization.
Mother, she's beautiful.
All the more reason. Mark?
- Colonel Crawford? - Yes, sir?
Let's get out of this clip joint.
Just a minute, Captain Bailey.
What's the trouble?
Oh, I didn't mean to bother you with this, General.
But Captain Bailey here is wanting to take her into the club.
General Webster, sir.
This young lady is one of Japan's most famous dancers.
She's no ordinary...
Yes, I understand.
Even so, don't you realize
this club is only for American personnel?
Now...
We've been pretty easy about fraternization in this area,
even though there are very strict orders against it.
But, when an officer who should be an example...
Am I to understand, sir,
that you personally refuse to allow me
to take this young lady into the club?
I understand how you feel, Captain, and I'm very embarrassed.
But I'm sorry.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir!
Don't you know that there's such a thing
as insolence through manner?
Thank you, sir.
Well, come on in, boys. Eileen has to change.
Oh, Lloyd, Eileen's taking you to the Kabuki tonight.
Oh, good.
We met Mr. Nakamura, the head actor,
and he invited her to come.
Now, Kabuki, isn't that the place where there are no dames
and the men play all the women parts?
Oh, that's right. The way they do at Princeton.
(CHUCKLING) Come on, Mark.
Gonna be fun. Come on, baby.
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(AUDIENCE CHATTERING)
(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
You bring your lunch?
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
Miss Eileen Webster.
(CONTINUES SPEAKING JAPANESE)
(SHOUTING IN JAPANESE)
(CHEERING)
Who'd you find there?
Oh, that's Nakamura. He's the one I met. He's very famous.
- That Nakamura? - Uh-huh.
It's about a lady who turns into a lion.
He's going... She's going to turn into a lion right here?
Uh-huh.
I want to see that.
I love you, Lloyd. I love you terribly.
I always have, and I guess I always will.
I love you, honey.
Awful glad you're here, too.
Everybody acting like nobody ever kisses a woman.
(CHEERING)
(SCOFFS)
She wouldn't be half so ugly
if she didn't stick her face in that flour barrel.
She?
Well, whatever it was.
You got me.
He's a male actress.
It says here they've been trained since childhood
to have the grace of a woman,
and yet the power of a man.
Oh, my word.
My Lord, that's my father!
Is he man enough now for you, Lloyd?
Is that the same fellow?
Uh-huh.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
All right, boy.
(CHEERING)
I am sure it must be very difficult
to enjoy theater so different from your own.
Well, we found it fascinating.
I am glad.
Kabuki is very old, isn't it?
Mmm. Some 300 years.
I find myself becoming intrigued by everything in Japan.
I should be happy to help you know my country better
if at any time I can.
You did not enjoy the evening so much, I fear, Major Gruver.
Oh, yeah, I thought it was a fine play.
I thought maybe you could use a Marilyn Monroe here and there, you know, to...
Unfortunately, Miss Monroes were barred
from Kabuki in the 17th century.
Well, I didn't mean to sound corny.
I just didn't know what to say about it.
Oh, please, do not apologize.
I am great admirer of Miss Monroe myself.
That's two of us. That's you and me, boy.
- Oh, no, don't do it to me. - Oh, no, thank you.
I did real good. Thank you very much.
- Fine art. - Let's go and see the garden.
Okay, you go on. I'll take this.
That's fine. Fine cooking. Very good.
Here you are, honey.
- No, thank you. - Don't care for any?
Sit down, darling.
Mmm, you look awful pretty.
I've been doing a lot of thinking with you away, Lloyd.
Answer me one thing.
What's that, honey?
Why aren't we married now?
Isn't that a silly question?
No, not really.
You do a lot of wondering in Tulsa.
Mmm, I suppose
the Korean War might have a little something to do with it, don't you think?
Wasn't Korea maybe convenient, Lloyd?
Convenient?
What I really mean is,
do I mean everything to you, as you do to me?
Of course you do, hon. What are you talking about?
You see, I went to visit your mother
before I came here, there in Richmond.
My mother?
I was appalled at the loneliness in which she lives
and the way your father is content to go off
and leave her walled up within a circle of friends
while he plunges off to the war...
Oh, honey, now, you just hold on a second.
You got to remember something.
My father's a general, honey.
And besides that, my mother wants to live that way.
Oh, don't be ridiculous.
What do you mean? Now, don't tell me...
No woman wants to live any way except
body and soul with the man she loves.
Lloyd, you'll never tuck me away
in the corner of some little town.
Go ahead and become the greatest general
in Air Force history, but love me, too.
But I do love you, baby, I do.
Well, I guess all I'm trying to say is that,
and I really mean this, Lloyd,
if what you want is a family like our fathers have,
and promotion in the Air Force,
and position in society like our mothers have,
and you marry me because I'm pretty and smart
and have guts and will know the ropes,
then I don't think you ought to marry me, Lloyd.
I'm sorry. I guess I've been thinking too much.
Yeah, I think you have been thinking too much.
Now. Now, quit it.
Okay.
Oh, I don't know, maybe things will turn out after all.
What do you mean maybe it's going to turn out?
Sure it's gonna turn out.
It's just all that nonsense you talk about
every time we get together.
Nonsense? I... I hadn't realized it was nonsense.
Of course it is, honey.
Listen, it's all very simple.
Now, lookit.
I want a wife and a family.
I want a home in America.
And every time I think of having a home like that,
I always think about it with a girl like you.
I mean, a girl with a good Army background like my own.
What do you mean a girl like me? I'm not a type. I'm me.
Oh, Lloyd, it's me you've got to love.
Oh, Lloyd, haven't you ever felt
(STUTTERING) like grabbing me
and hauling me off to a shack somewhere?
What's the matter with you?
You know better than that. Of course I have.
Then what's holding you back?
Oh, Eileen, are you ever going to grow up, honey?
Don't you know there's a right time
and a wrong time to do things?
Aren't you ever gonna realize
that you have responsibilities to other people,
that you have a position to fulfill,
that you're not alone in this world?
Oh, you defend yourself like a fort!
Listen, no matter how I defend myself,
hon, you've got to understand one thing,
that I am not in a position
to be hauling my fiancee away to a shack somewhere
like an alley cat or something like that.
I wasn't brought up that way.
You're going to do everything that's expected of you?
Well, I'm certainly going to try, I'll tell you that.
Well, I don't expect you to marry me
just because it's expected of you.
Listen, you know sometimes I look at you,
and I don't understand you.
I don't know what's going on in your brain.
I think sometimes I don't even know who you are
or what... Or what you're all about.
Maybe you don't. Maybe you never will.
"...so long as ye both shall live?"
I will.
Katsumi, "Wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband
"to live together after God's ordinance
"in the holiest state of matrimony?
"Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honor
"and keep him, in sickness and in health
"and forsaking all others, keep thee only unto him,
"so long as ye both shall live?"
She will.
"If any man can show just cause
"why they may not be lawfully joined together
"let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace."
Do you realize you waive all your legal rights in this marriage?
Look, I signed all the papers, didn't I?
You'll look after your wife on your own.
The Air Force is not responsible.
Yeah, I know.
Romantic, ain't it, Major?
Will you finish this ugly deed and get it over?
I now pronounce you man and wife. Sign over there.
Just a minute.
That's it, Mrs. Kelly.
Just you and me now.
Where do we sign?
May as well witness this now, Major.
Yeah, all right.
Incidentally, it was a great honor meeting you, Major Gruver.
Well, thank you.
Say, tell me, Consul,
are all these ceremonies conducted like that?
Well, we do our best to prevent as many as possible.
We make the paperwork so difficult,
a good many of them lose steam.
Uh-huh.
Well, about how many, uh...
About how many GIs have gone through this ceremony?
Oh, about 10,000.
Ten thousand? Well, then, you let a few slip by you, didn't you?
A few, yes.
Mmm-hmm.
How's your girl, Major?
Oh, Eileen?
I haven't seen her in a couple days.
I've been... You know, I've been moving in, getting my things arranged.
And she's been hightailing it with the brass, socializing.
Major,
ain't you going to kiss the bride?
Well, sure I'm going to kiss the bride!
Yeah.
Sure.
Now, listen, I want you to take good care of this boy, hear?
Now, here's your ticket, honey. Don't forget it.
Okay, boy.
Thanks, Major.
Took a lot of guts for you to come here today.
Oh, quit.
If you want anybody taken care of, or need a job done
that you West Point guys ain't allowed
to do yourselves, I'm your man.
Hold it. Now, I'm going to call on you, boy.
Come on. Let's get a belt.
All right.
- Nice to see you. - How are you, Lloyd, dear?
Fine. Just fine.
That's a pretty dress you got on.
- Thanks. - (CHUCKLING)
Lloyd, sit down, son.
All right.
Thank you for coming over so promptly, Lloyd.
Well, that's all right. I was just darning my socks.
(LAUGHS) Lloyd, um...
I don't know exactly how to put this.
It's a little embarrassing, for me, that is.
I understand you were a witness at a marriage yesterday
between one of your men and a Japanese girl.
Yeah, one man from my outfit in Korea.
Well, you realize, of course, there's an Army policy
to discourage all such marriages.
Yeah, well, I think they couldn't have been discouraged.
They're very much in love, and...
I dare say.
However, the fact that you personally
seemed to sanction the marriage...
Oh, no, no. I didn't mean to give that impression at all.
I didn't sanction it, and as a matter of fact,
I tried to talk him out of it before.
But, Lloyd, darling, you did act as his witness.
Well...
You know, as long as it's going to be inevitable,
I thought I might as well try to make it as pleasant as possible.
Don't you see the position that puts me in?
And since I'm the Area Commander here, I...
No, you didn't do anything to encourage this marriage, sir.
I believe I did all this on my own.
What do you mean on your own, Lloyd, dear?
Everything you do reflects on the General.
After all, he is Eileen's father.
I'm afraid this places me in a position of incompetence, Mrs. Webster,
when it comes to, you know, doing anything to help my own men.
Let's stop beating around the bush.
What's wrong between you and Eileen?
You haven't been to see her for several days.
(SIGHS)
Well,
you talked about being embarrassed, sir, before.
I'm embarrassed, too.
- What about? - Well, about my whole situation here.
I'm a pilot, sir. I was doing a job in Korea.
Unfinished job. Now, suddenly, I'm pulled off that job and sent over here
and plunked down at a desk at this Interservice whatever it is,
and, you know, where, as far as I can see,
there's absolutely nothing to do.
You know, all so as I can be with Eileen.
There's nothing dishonest about it.
That is, if you plan to get married.
I think I know how Lloyd feels.
Do you plan to get married or not?
- Really, dear. - Well, I'm her mother. I want to know.
Well, Mrs. Webster,
as of the moment, Eileen isn't too sure about it.
And I...
Oh, we know, Lloyd, dear. Now, look.
There's evidently been some slight strain between you two,
but don't let it become too important.
Now, this is Sunday night. Why don't you call her up later
and ask her out to dinner or something?
- Well... - (DOOR OPENS)
Mother, I found the dearest little shop at...
Hi, Lloyd.
Hello, Eileen.
Lloyd just came in to see you.
- Oh? - Oh, yeah.
Listen...
Listen, I thought Sunday night, and I thought maybe
you and I can go out and catch a movie or something.
Feel like it?
I'm sorry, Lloyd. I'm having dinner with some friends tonight.
Well,
what about tomorrow?
That's booked, too, I'm afraid.
Well, looks as though I'm holding some pretty tough cards.
What about next week?
Of course, Lloyd. Call me?
Okay.
Mrs. Webster, General.
Goodbye, Lloyd.
- Bye, Eileen. - Bye, Lloyd.
Oh, Eileen. Why did you tell him you were busy tonight?
Because I don't want to see Lloyd Gruver when you ask him to see me.
Besides,
I do have a date with that young Lieutenant
and his wife from Fort Bragg.
Whole bunch of us.
I hope you don't lose my man for me.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
Boy, give me a martini, will you?
Nope, make it lemonade.
No, dog. Give me a scotch and soda.
- BARTENDER: Scotch and soda. - Yeah.
Scotch and soda, sir.
There's such a thing as insolence through manner, you know.
Well, I hate to admit it, but I guess that's what I said.
Well, I thought it sounded kind of strange
coming from a guy who shot down nine MiGs.
Well, that's kind of a reflex action.
I'm a West Point man, you know.
I guess, it sneaks out sometimes.
Now, listen, Captain, what does a fellow do
around here after the sun goes down?
Why?
You on the loose?
Uh... Halfway.
Bring him another.
What part of the South are you from?
Almost any old place that's got an Army post on it.
I was all set to take the exams at West Point
and there was a teacher there
who made me take a part in a school play.
They were doing one of those Hungarian things by Molnar.
You never did hear a Hungarian play
played in a Southern accent, did you?
No, I'm afraid I missed that.
That's a shame, because I was awful good in it.
Anyhow, I suddenly didn't want to go to West Point
and didn't want to have anything to do with it.
And my mother come up to the school,
and she said, "We always expected you to go to the Point
"like your father and his father before him."
And I told her,
I said I had an idea about a whole different way of life.
What did she say to that?
She said something like,
"If I ever once had that idea,
"I shouldn't let anything stop me."
And she couldn't come right out and say, "Don't go to the Point."
You know, but I know what she meant.
Then, of course, my father flew up from Texas and...
He put you straight, huh?
No, he just looked at me and said,
"If you don't want to go to the Point, don't go to the Point.
"The unhappiest men I know are those
"who are forced into something they got no inaptitude for."
How did he force you to go to the Point?
That's what I'm telling you. He didn't force me. He just...
We just had a little talk, and he flew back to Texas
and I went on to the Point.
I see.
Well, uh, I'll tell you something though, Mike.
I never once had any regrets about going to the Point.
Except, just lately,
I've had some old feeling come back on me.
I don't know if I want to go on
in the Air Force and buck for a star
and get married in the Webster family
and get swallowed up by all that.
I think maybe my old lady was right.
Well, what does it all mean?
Eternal struggle, sex,
New York Yankees.
(CHUCKLES) All right. Quit, now. Come on.
GRUVER: Isn't that a nice-looking bridge?
BAILEY: Yeah, that's the Bitchi-Bashi.
Say what?
The Bitchi-Bashi.
Bashi is Japanese for "bridge."
We call this particular one the Bitchi-Bashi
because there's so much lovely stuff that goes over it.
Did you say stuff?
Brother, I said stuff.
Will you kindly tell me what we're standing in the bushes for?
- Can't touch it. - Why not?
Well, you see, these girls that go over there are the Matsubayashi girls.
They just cross over there on the way to the theater
from those cells over there, those dormitories.
GRUVER: Oh, that's right. Somebody told me about that.
(WOMEN CHATTERING)
Hey, boy, is that anything going over there now?
(WOMEN SINGING IN JAPANESE)
BAILEY: Hey, come on. The goods are on display.
Wait for me, buddy.
(CONTINUE SINGING IN JAPANESE)
There's Fumiko-san. The one you saw me with.
- Yeah. The little one in pink. - Yeah, that's the one.
You're not going over there and say hello?
What, in public? A Matsubayashi girl? Are you nuts?
Well, you take her to the officers' club.
Well, that's for Americans.
Thought I could sneak her in there without her being recognized.
GRUVER: What happens if they catch them?
BAILEY: Immediate dismissal.
- GRUVER: No fooling? - Yeah.
No Matsubayashi girl is allowed to have dates of any kind.
You were dating her, you.
Yeah, well, I'm different.
Oh, get out of here.
Well, like I told President Truman,
"Harry, you was wrong when you sold the Marines short."
See, I hate to be stuffy about this, son,
but you Air Force men just wouldn't understand.
(LAUGHS LOUDLY) Lord!
- Well, the Marines have got l'amour. - Oh, Lord.
And these girls, they got fame and wealth
- and bright lights. - (EXCLAIMING)
But they ain't got l'amour.
- Well, you got l'amour, haven't you? - Yeah, yeah.
(WOMEN SHOUTING)
What's going on there now?
- Hana-ogi's coming. - Who?
Hana-ogi. She's the top, number one.
Come on. Let's go.
Well, how come she's dressed like that?
Well, the tall ones play men's parts, mostly.
They play women's parts, too.
How do you do?
What do you say let's see the show?
Well, come on, Ace.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
(SLOW TRADITIONAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(WOMEN SINGING IN JAPANESE)
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
(WOMEN SINGING IN JAPANESE)
(SLOW MUSIC PLAYING)
- Hmm? - I say, do you follow the plot?
Yeah, nothing wrong with the plot.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
(TRADITIONAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
(MEN WHISTLING)
(AUDIENCE CHEERING LOUDLY)
(WOMEN SINGING IN JAPANESE)
Listen, are you sure they're coming back this way?
Just keep yourself in check, son.
Am I nuts, or is she the greatest thing I ever saw?
Whatever you're thinking, forget it. You ain't going anyplace.
Oh, yeah? How's this for an introduction?
She's coming along the walk and I just kind of walk on by
and slip my arm around her, just cozy style. What do you think of that?
I think we better go.
- Now, wait just... - KELLY: Major!
Hey, kiddo! How are you?
How's everything?
Saw you at the show. We been looking for you.
Listen, I want you to meet Captain Bailey.
This is Airman Kelly.
How are you, Kelly? Nice to meet you.
- How do you do, sir? - How you been, boy?
Oh, fine.
Hey. Here's Katsumi.
Hello there, Katsumi.
Say something, kid.
It is fine to see you among us tonight.
She's speaking better English than you are, boy.
She's been taking English lessons,
and I've been studying a little Japanese.
Let's hear you go.
Uh... (SPEAKS JAPANESE)
(KATSUMI GIGGLES)
Well, I hope he can get rid of it, don't you?
Means "My feet are cold." She always laughs when I say that.
Listen, how you been? How you getting along down there?
Oh, just fine, Major.
We got a wonderful house down by the canal.
Hey, Kelly, didn't you tell me
that Katsumi knows those Matsubayashi girls?
Oh, sure. She's a real fan.
Well, listen, I want you to do something for me.
I am trying in the worst way to meet this Hana-ogi,
and I want you to ask her if she won't, you know, kind of introduce me?
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
She says the rules are very strict,
but she'll go over and ask her.
Well, she will ask her?
KELLY: Oh, yeah.
'Cause you know what I said, I said to Truman when he came over to the house,
I says, "Harry," I said, "don't ever sell the Air Force short."
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
(SINGING IN JAPANESE)
All right, boy, now you're going to see something.
Here comes Fumiko-san.
(LAUGHS)
- Here comes Hana-ogi. - I know it.
You ain't going to let me down, are you? Go on.
- It's all right, Major. - Hmm?
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
(WOMEN EXCLAIMING)
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
How do, Miss Ogi?
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
You think you made the grade, Ace?
Yes. She gave me a nice little look there.
Oh, she sure did.
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
Uh, she says that Hana-ogi will not speak to an American.
Why not?
We shot her brother and killed her father with our bombs.
Oh, shoot. I didn't do it.
Sure you did, Ace.
We all did.
Come on.
Come on, Ace.
(CHATTERING IN JAPANESE)
Listen, if they're so strict with you girls over there,
how come you go out with Mike on dates and fool around?
It is very bad of me,
but I cannot help myself.
He's so tall!
Well, he's a big boy, all right.
I mean, there's no fooling about that.
But, listen,
what I really want to know is, (CLEARS THROAT)
does this Hana-ogi ever go out on dates?
You know, like you and Mike and...
No.
She is number-one girl.
Must be specially careful.
Well,
I want you to do me a favor. Now, will you do it?
When you go back to the dormitory tonight,
I want you to tell Hana-ogi
that Major Gruver would like to meet her and...
Now wait. Now wait. Just a minute.
I just want to talk to her for a little while.
Now, will you do that for me?
Never happen!
Hana-ogi-san never speak men,
and with American, never happen.
Well, honey, I am here to tell you
that it's going to (MIMICS JAPANESE ACCENT) happen.
(WOMEN SINGING IN THE DISTANCE)
Pardon me, Miss Ogi.
I wonder if I could...
If I could have your autograph?
Thank you very much.
(WOMEN CHATTERING)
How do you do, Miss Ogi?
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
(REPEATING)
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
Hi, Major.
I've been looking for you.
Hello, Mr. Kelly.
Wife says to be at the house tonight.
Now, listen, I'll tell you, boy, I've got a...
I have an engagement this evening with a friend of mine.
Be there, bub. Hana-ogi's coming.
Sir.
- Kelly! - Be there early.
Kelly!
(CAR HORN HONKING)
- Hello. - CHILDREN: Hello!
(CHUCKLING)
Hey. You know where Joe Kelly lives?
- (CHILDREN EXCLAIMING) - Over there?
Well, you show me, will you?
(CHILDREN SHOUTING)
How do you do?
(CHILDREN CONTINUE SHOUTING)
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Oh. Hiya, Ace.
Hey, Kelly, is that you? (LAUGHS)
How are you, Alice?
- How are you, Ace? Nice to see you. - Good. Fine.
Come in the house.
Wait a second. Let me just take a check here.
- Did she come yet? - No, not yet.
(HUMMING)
Katsumi.
(BOTH SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
- Okay. - What did she say?
Don't ask me, son...
Hey! Off with the shoes.
You don't wear shoes in a Japanese house.
Okay, coming off. What about the pants?
The room on your right.
- Where, here? - That's it.
Watch your head, Ace. Well, this is it.
Well, listen, this is all right, boy. This is cute. This is nice.
Sit down over here, Ace. That's the place of honor in a Japanese house.
Over there?
Listen, what's this thing?
Oh, this is an armrest.
Armrest?
Well, it'll be even better when the rest of the chair gets here.
(CHUCKLES)
Hi, Katsumi, darling. How are you?
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Yeah.
It is very nice to have you
among us.
Well, it's very nice to be among you, too.
(GIGGLES)
Listen, I brought you a little couple of things
you can stick around the house.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Yeah, flowers.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
You've made her very happy, Ace.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
What has she got here? We going to eat this or wear it? What is it?
No, this is a little towel that they serve before a meal or a drink,
just a little refresher for your hands and face.
Listen, that's a good idea.
Wash them up.
Okay, clean the ears well. Do I pass, teacher?
(KATSUMI AND KELLY CHUCKLING)
Just dump it in the basket.
Yes, sir.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
What's this, an eyecup?
- We've got to wash our eyes out, too? - (KATSUMI AND KELLY CHUCKLING)
No, that's a cup for sake. That's a wine made out of rice.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Rice? No fooling?
Yeah, no fooling.
- Okay, I'll try it. - Here, taste it, you'll see.
Feels warm.
That's right, we heat it up before we serve it.
Really? Well...
Katsumi, here's to your health.
And, Kelly, the very best to you.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
That's all right, boy. It's not bad.
Told you, it's wonderful.
- Listen, aren't you going to have anything? - Oh.
Yeah. I was just going to say, you know,
there's kind of a polite thing you do, like,
you take the cup and you swish it around in the water,
and you pour some sake in it for her.
Okay.
That's right.
(SOFTLY EXCLAIMS)
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
- It means "A little bit." - Little bit, all righty.
- (MURMURING) - GRUVER: Hold on now, wait.
- (SPEAKING IN JAPANESE) - Okay.
(SIGHS)
- See? Didn't hurt. - (CHUCKLING SOFTLY)
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Well, she's going to get me under the table here in five minutes
if she's going like this.
- She'll keep pouring all night. - How...
Katsumi, I pour for Gruver-san now.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
You excuse me? I finish cooking.
- You go ahead, darling. Go right ahead. - (SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Go right ahead.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Okay.
Present. Whiskey.
Whiskey?
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Okay.
All right, darling.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Listen, boy, she's just as cute as a bug.
You ain't going... You ain't going to lose with her.
See what I mean, Ace? I'm the happiest guy in the world.
Hey. You want to see the rest of the house?
- Yeah. - Come on, I'll show you.
This is the garden. Katsumi, I'm showing him around the house.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
KELLY: The bathroom is back there.
We got a couple of extra rooms in here.
- Would you like to see them? - Yeah.
Well, what have you got here, boy?
(THUDS) Oh, Lord.
(SIGHS)
We haven't done anything with these yet,
but maybe someday, if we expand.
Mmm-hmm.
Well, listen, it's really working out for you, isn't it, boy?
Everything perfect,
except for that rat of a colonel I'm assigned to.
You wouldn't be talking about a fellow named Crawford, would you?
That's the guy. He rides every guy around here
that's married to a Japanese girl. Extra duty, everything.
Yeah...
Well, he's a rough carver. There's no getting around that.
Ah, so what do I care? I come home to my girl and I forget it.
- Let's go. - Wait, listen, I forgot to ask you.
Does this Hana... (LAUGHS) This Hana-ogi speak any English?
Because I'm going to be...
Well, I don't know. Those girls sing in a lot of languages.
I guess she'll be able to catch your drift, Ace.
(EXCLAIMING)
- You nasty boy, you. - Come on. Let's...
Wait a minute, I've just got to take a look at my grass, now.
I want to know. Are we going to be,
you know, all four of us going to be together all evening long?
Take it easy, Ace. You're going to blow a fuse.
Well, uh...
Might be.
(THUDS)
- Lord, one of us is wrong here! - Watch your head, Ace.
You should walk in your house, Kelly...
(WATER RUNNING)
Katsumi, you ready?
GRUVER: Stoop-shouldered.
In here? You're going to have to change...
(STUTTERING) Hey, Kelly...
Hana-ogi-san.
This is a great day for our house.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
How do you do, Miss Ogi? (MUMBLING)
Hey. Where are you going?
Oh, I've got to help Katsumi with the...
Huh?
Well, it looks as though everybody just ran off and left us alone here.
It certainly was nice of you to come over here this evening, Miss Ogi.
I was just tickled to death when they told me you were coming over.
Uh...
I'll just sit down here.
Well, Miss Ogi,
let me fix you a little drink.
No, now, well...
Well, okay.
Here's to you.
Mmm!
That's good.
Now, don't tell me.
I know you've got to slosh this around in here a little bit
and get the dribble off, and give it right back to you.
See, now you take that. (SPEAKING JAPANESE)
All right.
You know, I was surprised to find that they make that stuff out of rice.
(CLEARS THROAT) We have rice back home in America.
Of course, we just...
Well, we just make rice pudding out of it. And we don't drink it.
Uh, this is the first liquid rice I ever ran into.
(STUTTERS) You know, did...
Did anyone ever tell you, Miss Ogi,
that you're a fine-looking woman?
I mean, real fine.
(STUTTERING) You're even better-looking off the stage than you are on.
That's true.
You get up there, and sing, dance, act, everything.
You're all-around great.
(SIGHS)
I wonder, where did him and Katsumi...
I'm getting kind of hungry in here.
Look, Miss Ogi, um...
I'm not up too good on Japanese ways of doing things,
and maybe I'm saying the wrong thing.
I mean, maybe my American manners are embarrassing.
But I figure, as long as you came over here tonight,
maybe you were interested a little bit in meeting me, too.
Now, maybe I'm wrong, but if I'm wrong,
then you've got to tell me.
Where do we go from here?
'Cause I don't know what to say.
I'm running out of things to say.
My father was killed
by American bomb dropped on my country.
You have been my enemy.
I have hated Americans.
I have thought they are savages.
There has been nothing but vengeance in my heart.
Miss Ogi.
There were an awful lot of Americans that were killed, too.
And I think it would be best if we forgot about that.
You have been watching me at the bridge.
Watching me dance,
watching me as I go back to the dormitory.
But I have been watching you, too,
and you have not looked like a savage.
And when Katsumi-san told me how gently you'd kissed her,
the day she became a bride,
how tenderly you kissed my sweet little friend,
I realized the hate was of my own making.
That is why I came
to ask you to forgive me
for what I have been feeling.
Gruver-san, will you forgive me?
Well, you make me feel like an awful fool, Miss Ogi.
I really feel that I ought to
ask you to forgive me for some of the things that...
I've been thinking.
I come from the north of Japan.
And my father was a farmer,
and there were nine children.
And we were very poor.
There are too many people in my crowded country.
I took the examination at Matsubayashi
and now I am first dancer of all.
When I am too old to dance,
I will become head teacher.
My life is planned.
I am dedicated to Matsubayashi
as you are dedicated to American military life.
I have never been in love.
But I have dreamed
and thought about it,
and waited.
The danger that lies ahead of us,
we must face now.
The danger of discovery for both of us,
danger of weakness
when it is over.
I will never fall in love again.
But I will love you, Ace-san,
if that is your desire.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
- Hello, how do you do? - How do you do?
Ah, Miss Webster.
Oh, hello.
Oh, Mr. Nakamura, how nice of you to come.
It is a great pleasure.
And may I say that you look especially beautiful today?
(CHUCKLES) Thank you.
I haven't been to see this month's Kabuki program.
I know. You see, I have been waiting.
MRS. WEBSTER: Eileen.
- Eileen. - Oh, Mother, you remember Mr. Nakamura.
How do you do, Mrs. Webster?
Oh, yes, of course. Now, listen, you two,
this party isn't given especially for you.
You've got to circulate around
and do more to cement Japanese-American relations.
Mother, that's exactly what Mr. Nakamura and I are doing.
- Oh, yes. - Oh, Nakamura-san,
my little girl wants your autograph.
She admires you so.
Of course.
Will you please excuse me?
- Yes, of course. - Certainly.
Has Lloyd come yet?
Oh, Mother, how many weeks are you going to keep on pretending?
Lloyd is not coming.
I'm absolutely furious at him.
How can he ignore the General's invitation?
I had it delivered personally to his office.
I'm stuck with that Farrington woman. Can you help me out?
Uh-oh. There's Crawford.
Whenever he shows up, there's always something.
(CLICKS HEELS)
Can I speak to you alone for a minute, General?
Certainly, Colonel.
- Major, do you have that list of the... - Yes, ma'am.
I want to see if the Williams have come yet...
Yes, they have.
Oh, waiter.
The reason I took this up with you personally, General,
is because it concerns Major Gruver.
Now, we think he's hooked on to a Japanese dame.
Shh! Colonel!
Well, I'm sorry, General, but this thing's gotten me all riled up.
Do you realize what it will mean
to the enlisted men in this area
if they find out that their big hero, Ace Gruver, is out with some...
I've known Major Gruver all his life.
I'm a close friend of his father's. I assure you must be wrong.
He was seen going into that house.
Now, my men have been watching a troublemaker named Kelly.
He shacked up with another native girl...
"Shacked up," Colonel?
Kelly's married to a Japanese girl. Major Gruver was the best man.
Seems quite natural to me that he'd visit them.
All right. How am I going to handle the situation?
Well, don't handle it. I trust Major Gruver implicitly.
Well, General, is it all right with you if I post an order
to keep these officers from being seen
with indigenous personnel?
Then if they are seen, there's something we can do about it.
WEBSTER: All right. All right.
(WHISPERING) Lloyd.
Look at you, Hana.
No one saw you come?
No, there's no military personnel around here,
except me.
We must go to the tea ceremony.
Yeah, I know.
I know.
GRUVER: Good afternoon.
This getting up and down likely to kill me.
(GROANS)
(TEA BOILING)
You make such a production of everything.
The pleasure does not lie in the end itself.
It's the pleasure of all steps to that end.
Oh, I see.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
(HUMMING)
KELLY: That you, Ace?
Yeah, Kelly.
Come on in here.
KELLY: I can't right now.
He'd be surprised you come in this way.
He'd faint.
Just a little lower, little lower, Katsumi.
- You always seem to be a little above it. - Oh?
Yeah. Yeah, that's it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(HUMMING)
(INDISTINCT MUMBLING)
(MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO)
(HUMMING)
Kelly-san, now you get in tub?
Okay, all right.
Is Hana-ogi coming over tonight?
Yeah, if she can get away.
We're going to cook up some fine Saint Louis goulash
with a little Memphis greens in there.
What are you doing tonight after dinner
when Hana-ogi goes back to the theater?
GRUVER: Nothing.
How about playing poker with Katsumi and me?
GRUVER: Oh, I'll be delighted to take your money and your pants.
(SIGHS IN RELIEF)
This is the life, ain't it, Ace?
(WHISTLING)
(CONTINUES WHISTLING)
(MUTTERING)
There you are.
How do you do?
(SIGHING)
Listen, I got one word for you.
What is that?
- Food. - Oh.
HANA-OGI: Sayonara
Japanese goodbye
Whisper sayonara
Lover, don't you cry
No more we stop to see
Pretty cherry blossom
No more we beneath the tree
Looking at the sky
Sayonara
Goodbye
(GRUVER TAPPING SPOON)
That's the cutest thing I ever saw, honey.
I must go.
(EXCLAIMING)
Good eating.
Bye-bye.
Are you going back to the officer's quarters tonight?
No, I think I'm going to just fool around here.
What will you do all evening?
What am I going to do? I'm going to get some beer,
some pretzels, and some girls up here.
I'm going to have a little fun for a change.
Good.
I don't like you to be lonely.
Take care.
(SIGHING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Come on in, Katsumi.
(STAMMERING) I'm sorry, Lloyd, I had to come. It's important.
Hello, Eileen.
(CLEARS THROAT) How are you?
Listen, sit down, will you?
Take this stuff out of there, just getting a little...
Go on, sit down here.
How are you?
They're after you, Lloyd.
(STAMMERS) Who's after me?
There's a colonel. His name's Crawford.
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
I know him.
He's the one that's riding Kelly. This is Kelly's house.
Yes. Yes, I know.
You want to hear this, don't you, Lloyd?
Yeah. Sure, I want to. Of course I do.
I overheard Colonel Crawford say
that he's been having this house watched,
hoping to catch Kelly at something irregular, I suppose.
Anyhow, that's how I knew where it was.
Well, then they...
They seen me coming in and out of here.
Yes.
I just felt that I had to tell you.
(SIGHS)
Eileen, uh...
(STAMMERING) There's something that I feel that...
(STAMMERS) I must go, Lloyd.
I just wanted to warn you to be particularly careful about...
(SIGHS)
About what, honey?
About sticking strictly to military regulations.
Oh, Lloyd, they'll do anything to hang something on you, to...
To keep you in line.
After all, you're the Air Force's pinup boy, you know.
Colonel Crawford sounded as if he was after blood.
(MUMBLING)
You know, more than anything else I could think of, I...
(STUTTERS) I must go now, Lloyd. Good luck.
Wait a minute, let me help you off...
(STUTTERING) Eileen, I know...
Lloyd.
Lloyd, you've really thought seriously
about what you're doing, haven't you?
Oh, yes.
I think I have.
Oh, I hope so.
You have a brilliant record in the Air Force.
More people depend upon you than you'll ever know.
Before you throw all that you've worked for away, Lloyd, be sure.
Please, be sure.
Eileen, I don't think if I had a million years,
I could tell you how all this happened.
I'd better go before I lose all my charm.
(JAPANESE FOLK MUSIC PLAYING)
Do you like this old, curious play?
Yeah, I'm beginning to get a kick out of it.
HANA-OGI: See the rope between the rocks?
Yeah.
That is a Shinto sign showing they are married.
What, the rocks?
Yes. They've been together so long,
our people thought it was time they should get married.
They look well together, don't you think?
Yeah, they make a handsome-looking couple.
Do you like my country?
Yeah. Was all these... All these funny things here before
when I came to Japan?
Yes.
(LAUGHS)
(CHATTERING)
Well, hello.
Hello there, Double Ugly. How are you?
To what do we owe the honor of this visit?
Laundry. Gonna put down the dirties and pick up the cleans.
I hope you know what you're doing.
This came in the office this morning.
Thought you might like to see it.
"This is a routine reminder of the recent orders issued by Camp Kobe."
Quote, "Any public display, whatever, of affection
"for a Japanese national by a member of this command is forbidden.
"Officers should not even appear on public streets
"accompanied by indigenous female personnel." Unquote.
Hooray for Christmas.
Come on, Ace, this is serious. Everybody got one of these things.
Oh, listen, fool, Hana-ogi and I are just as careful as we can be.
We never go anyplace where we're gonna be seen by anybody that matters.
We don't even walk down the same street.
We just go out in the country and fool around.
See, listen, you never been to the country around here, have you?
Awful pretty country around here. I mean it.
You know what I saw yesterday?
I saw two rocks that just got married.
You what?
I saw two rocks that got married.
And they looked very happy together, too.
Oh, I'll bet they did.
Oh, they did.
If you gonna be smart, I'll tell you what you do.
You get your little shoes shined, you go out tonight,
'cause tonight is gonna be Tanabata.
Okay, what's Tanabata?
You mean you're gonna sit there with your bare face hanging out
and tell me you don't know what Tanabata is?
Yeah.
Well, my word, boy.
I'm ashamed of you. I thought everybody knew what Tanabata was.
Tanabata is the night of love.
You told me all about it one time.
You were telling me about Harry Truman
and New York Yankees and sex
and New York Yankees and Harry Truman and sex.
And I'll see you...
(MUMBLING)
Sex!
What have I done to deserve such happiness?
I have seen this night of Tanabata come and go many times,
but never before have I understood what it meant.
Tanabata.
Oh, my heart is so full of love for you.
(DRUM BEATING)
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
- Miss Webster? - Yes?
Nakamura-san gets your note.
Here is reply.
Thank you.
He wishes if you will have dinner with him and his guests.
Thank you very much.
They have a rather pleasant garden here, Miss Webster.
Would you like to see it?
Yes, I think I would.
(SINGING IN JAPANESE)
EILEEN: How beautiful.
What are you really afraid of, Miss Webster?
You don't think it would enter Major Gruver's mind
to marry a Japanese girl?
I don't know.
Then permit me to reassure you.
I think Major Gruver is brave
but not brave enough to face the censure
that would result from such a marriage.
As for our famous, honored Hana-ogi,
there are many Japanese,
most of them, in fact,
who look upon marriage to an occidental with as much distaste
as your people do to one of us.
I do not feel that way.
But, then, I have had the privilege
of traveling in your country
and knowing some great people there.
And I am especially conscious at this moment
that beauty is not confined to any one race.
Do not turn away, Miss Webster.
I am not necessarily making love to you.
I am only stating a very
obvious fact.
May I see you again, Miss Webster,
and acquaint you with more Japan?
Of course.
I need to know more, much more,
about everything.
There she is.
Hello, honey.
(SIGHING)
Are you tired?
No, I just... I just been lying here
thinking about myself.
You know, I can't believe I'm really here.
It's hard to believe that...
You know, it's hard to believe me being the same Lloyd Gruver
that came over from Korea just a little bit ago.
You know, I been thinking
that all my life
I been so busy
snapping to, and giving orders, and taking orders,
and being a general's son, and doing the job
and all that, I just never took time to sit right down
and, you know, think about what my reason for living is.
And I been spending some afternoons here just
being peaceful
and easy and thinking.
And I believe for the first time,
I'm just beginning to understand
what it's all about,
what I really am, what I really want.
It's a nice feeling.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Yeah, come on in.
Ace, excuse me. I hate to bother you.
I just got the news.
You got what news?
I'm getting shipped back.
You being shipped back where?
Stateside.
I've been reassigned to a new duty station.
(SIGHS) Well...
Did you tell Katsumi yet?
No.
All right. Well, don't tell her, because maybe we can work something out.
What reason did he give you for it?
No reason. I know what it is.
Every guy on that list is married to a Japanese girl.
I'm sorry, Major. There's nothing you can do.
We're sending Kelly to the States Thursday, and that's that.
(SIGHS)
Well, what about his wife, Colonel?
Well, she stays here.
He knew he couldn't take her back with him when he married her.
Mmm-hmm.
Didn't you?
That's right.
Well, you'd be busting up his home then, you know.
I'm not busting up anything.
Oh, I admit Kelly's been a pain in my side for quite a while now.
Well, could you tell me
why he didn't have the privilege of extending his tour of duty?
Don't ask me, Major.
There are lots of reasons for these things.
Anyway, it is an order.
And there's nothing you can do about it
even if you are a four-star general's son.
(SNICKERS)
Yeah, well...
(COUGHS)
Would it make any difference if I told you my wife's going to have a baby?
Well, that's tough, I admit.
Colonel, under these circumstances,
don't you think that you'd be able to
postpone this for a little while?
Maybe I could be transferred back to Korea.
No, you're going home.
(CHAIR CREAKING)
All the boys on this list, going home.
Where is your home?
That house by the canal.
I mean your real home.
That house by the canal.
Yeah, all right.
I've taken all the insubordination from you I intend to.
Now, you listen to me, wise guy,
that house by the canal is off-limits from now on.
Whole street's off-limits.
You want a court-martial?
That mean I could stay in Japan?
Come on, Kel.
You're shipping out of here on Thursday.
And don't you try to help him.
You remember that house by the canal
is off-limits to all personnel.
Would you tell me, Colonel, just exactly
what you mean by that last remark?
Well, that's all I'm prepared to say at the minute,
except you watch your step.
So, I don't know what else to say to you, General.
I've known this boy a long time,
and if he has to go back without Katsumi, he's gonna be in trouble.
And...
Well, I mean, that's about it. That's it.
What about his wife?
- I don't know. - And the baby?
So it comes down to the fact that the Army lets them get married
and then forces them to desert their wives and babies.
That's not fair, Eileen.
A boy away from home for the first time, lonesome,
often falls in love with the first girl he touches.
In most cases, with a girl from the streets.
It's up to the service in some measure
to be fathers and mothers to these boys
and try to head off these marriages.
But after they're married why should they be sent home?
The man's being transferred to a new duty station, Eileen,
along with many others.
Now, don't ask me the reasons for changes of duty.
There are thousands of them.
But Lloyd said that most of the men on this particular list
are married to Japanese girls.
That can't be just a coincidence, Father.
Why not? It could easily be.
There have been lots of marriages.
Frankly, with some of these men,
I think they might welcome the transfer.
Why is that, sir?
There have been unfortunate aftermaths to many of these marriages.
Recriminations, regrets.
A boy gets married impulsively, then feels caught,
doesn't know how to get out of it, doesn't know what to do.
Change of duty gives them both a chance to think it over.
To cool off.
Now, I don't mean to imply that that's the reason
these men are being transferred, but...
(SIGHS) Well...
The whole thing's
a messy business.
General Webster, there is no regret in the case of Kelly and Katsumi.
You can have my word on that.
Lloyd,
three officers came to me today
with identical requests for their men.
It's not our policy to interfere with decisions
made by immediate commanding officers.
The basic structure of the whole military service would collapse
if we started doing things like that.
Your father would understand that, even if you don't.
Are you going to ask me to make an exception of Kelly
when I've refused these other men?
I am going to ask you to do that, sir.
You made an exception of me when you brought me from Korea.
(SIGHS)
I'm afraid it's a hopeless situation, Lloyd.
Well...
That's the end of Joe Kelly.
You told me yourself that Kelly's past record was against him.
I couldn't even use that, don't you see?
Why does this mean so much to you, Lloyd?
Kelly's from my outfit, Mrs. Webster. I was his best man.
And I'm planning to marry a Japanese girl myself.
Come into the other room, Eileen.
This is something for your father to handle.
No, Mrs. Webster, I don't think it's anything for anybody to handle.
(SIGHS)
I'm sorry, Eileen.
Mrs. Webster.
Good afternoon, y'all.
I don't think I'll ever love anyone again as much as I love Lloyd.
But I'll tell you something that's rather ironic.
I once asked Lloyd if he ever felt like grabbing me
and hauling me off to a shack somewhere.
That's just what he's done, isn't it?
Only it's with somebody else.
Don't go out, Eileen.
Stay and talk.
I'm sorry, Mother.
There's only one person I'd like to talk to at the moment,
and oddly enough, he's Japanese.
Ace, I've been waiting for you.
Hey, Kelly, listen.
I just came from General Webster's house
and there's a whole big mess there.
- No good, huh? - No.
He didn't... He didn't go for it.
Matter of fact, I think I even messed it up a little.
That figures.
Did you tell Katsumi yet?
No.
I'm chickening out fast.
Besides, she's got her heart set on something she planned for us tonight.
Wants us both to take the train to Osaka
and meet the girls at the puppet show.
Why spoil it?
Maybe I'll tell her late tonight when we're alone.
Kelly, don't give up on it. I think there's gonna be a way out of it.
- There's got to be. - You think so?
- Yes, I do. - I don't.
(DOOR OPENING)
- I'll see you, Ace. - Hi, hon.
Kelly-san.
Hey, tell Katsumi we'll be there with bells.
Were you able to help?
No. I wasn't.
How terrible.
(SIGHING)
I know this is hard, honey.
It's hard, but it's not gonna last long.
I mean, the Army's got to change that law next year or the next one.
I mean, it just has to be. I'm sure of it.
And, as a matter of fact,
I'm so sure of it that I went downtown today
and I signed some papers here
that mean that you and I are gonna get married.
What's the matter?
We never spoke of marriage.
I know we didn't, darling.
I know we didn't. I been going round and round with that
every day for a long time.
And I didn't feel I could speak about it until now.
Now I can.
Now, of course, I won't be able to take you back to America,
but they're bound to change that ridiculous law soon.
And until then, I'm gonna stay here with you.
I'm not stuck in the Air Force. I can resign.
Of course, I'm not trained to do anything else,
but I'd find something.
We never spoke of marriage.
I know we didn't, darling, but we're speaking of it now.
Do you remember the first night we talked?
I said there would be danger of weakness when it is over.
Over? What are you talking about?
I am tempted. With you, I could become a woman.
And a mother. And I could love you.
That's right.
Do you think I haven't thought about it?
Do you think I want to become a lonely old woman
who teaches dancing, now that I have known you?
But it is no good.
You must know it, too.
No, no. I don't know anything of the kind.
The way you talk about leaving the Air Force,
finding some pitiful way of earning living
just to be here with your Japanese wife.
Now, wait a minute. Wait a minute.
I think we're too far in this thing to be talking like that.
Matsubayashi has been kind to me, Lloyd.
I am obligated to them.
No, you ain't. You... No, no. You obligated to me.
They are my life.
I will bring shame to them, disgrace.
Lloyd, you know what I mean?
Yeah, I think I'm beginning to know what you mean.
I think you mean you simply don't love me enough to go on through with it.
That's what you mean, don't you?
Why don't you just come on out and say it?
It is not what I mean.
I'm leaving for Tokyo in six days.
Matsubayashi are sending me.
(STUTTERING) You what?
With another troupe. They have found out about us.
Any other girl, they would have dismissed, but because they like me,
because they feel I am important to them, they are being lenient.
Well, I'm not gonna be lenient with you.
I want you to tell me right now
why Matsubayashi means more to you than I do?
Lloyd, there is something about myself
I have not told you.
I have no right to marry anyone.
My father was very poor.
To save his other children,
he was forced to sell one of his daughters.
The man from the houses of Yoshiwara came to him.
Because I was the oldest,
he agreed I should go with them.
Your father sold you?
Yes, but I was saved from starting this life
by my best friend, Fumiko-san.
Her father paid money to free me
and she brought me to Matsubayashi.
There, I not only earn my living,
I brought honor back to my family.
Matsubayashi has been kind to me.
They have trusted me.
I cannot leave them.
I cannot marry anyone.
Don't you understand?
I don't know.
I don't know what to think.
(GLASS SHATTERING)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
KELLY: I'll kill you!
You ever do anything like this,
and I'll kill you, you understand?
Get that straight, now! I'll kill you!
Wait a minute. Listen. Just take it easy, now.
Ace, look at this.
- It fell out of her bag. - What is it?
She was gonna have it done, too.
Tomorrow, by that quack doctor down by the docks.
- What? - For 8 bucks, she slashes her eyelids
and sews them back up again.
Lots of these stupid little jerks have it done.
She was gonna surprise me.
Well...
(SOBBING) Then...
Then I have good eyes. I fool everybody.
I look American, like Joe.
Hana-ogi, will you tell that stupid dame I love her the way she is?
I don't want her changed.
Will you tell her I love her mouth
and her nose and her ears and her eyes
just the way they are?
Tell her if she ever does anything like that, I'll...
Wait a minute. Calm down, Kelly.
I want him be proud of me.
GRUVER: Listen, listen. Listen.
I am sorry.
Listen, if you want him to be proud of you, you got to quit this stuff.
'Cause you want to be a good wife, don't you?
You're making him very unhappy when you're doing that.
Now, tell him you're sorry and you're not going to do it anymore.
Tell him that.
Joe...
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
I so sorry.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Okay. Now, we're gonna forget about that, all right?
Now, listen. I came over here tonight,
I thought we were gonna have a fish fry.
We were gonna have some fun right here, and dancing and yelling,
and what do I find?
What's gonna happen to us?
Puppet show.
- Yeah, we had a surprise... - You like?
Sure, I do. Been looking forward to it.
I know everybody tonight.
Yeah.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
And
we will be late.
(SINGING IN JAPANESE)
Look.
The lover is leaving the city, walk to the wood.
Lloyd, don't think of anything now.
Watch the play.
It's a tender story.
When gong sound, it is done.
And then she will bind her body.
Bind her body?
So that she will not fall in an ugly position
of dishonor when she dies.
- When she dies? - Mmm.
Yes, shinju.
It is custom for lovers
to die together when they can no longer face life.
It is so beautiful.
Beautiful? They're gonna die, aren't they?
They will live in another world on a beautiful lake
floating always together
like water lily.
Sure.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
Kelly-san! Kelly-san! Kelly-san!
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Something about soldiers going through the house.
That's the MPs, boy.
- What happened? What's wrong? - Come here, come here.
- What happened? - Get in the car.
Go to Matsubayashi.
- Please, please tell me. I will not leave. - I will, I will.
Now, get in the car. I'll tell you later.
Matsubayashi.
Hey, Ed, look.
Look at that.
You're Major Gruver, aren't you?
That's right.
Sorry, Major, you'll have to come with us.
General Webster's orders.
So, what right do you have to board up this man's house?
He won't be needing it anymore, Major.
He's shipping out Thursday.
Joe?
Come on, Major.
You'll hear from me, Kelly.
Come on, kid.
We'll get in through the garden. I got something to tell you.
WEBSTER: You were seen in public with her tonight,
violating the orders of the area.
This has given me the right to put you under arrest.
And, for your own sake, I think I'd better do it.
Well,
you have anything to say?
Well, just as soon I'm out of this, I'm going to be married,
and have a house of my own.
I'm afraid not.
I'm sorry, Lloyd, but it's all settled.
The supervisor of the Matsubayashi came to see me tonight.
The girl goes to Tokyo, and you fly to Randolph Field,
day after tomorrow.
Here are your orders.
Until that time, you're under house arrest.
You're not to leave your quarters until further notice.
I'm doing this because I feel you're not responsible at the moment, Lloyd.
After all, I've known your father for years.
Well, that's all.
(CAR HONKING)
(CAR HONKING CONTINUES)
Mike...
Did you see her?
No, Ace. I couldn't even get near the place.
They've really clamped down.
I went to the stage door and I couldn't even see Fumiko-san.
Well, listen, I've got to see her. I'm being shipped out of here tomorrow.
MILITARY POLICEMAN: Major Gruver?
What is it?
Would you do something for us?
What do you want?
Airman Kelly's disappeared.
No, that's impossible. I was with him just last night.
We know.
He was scheduled to fly out in a couple days.
But a special plane came through, and Colonel Crawford told us to get him on it.
I took him to the airport at 12:50.
When the plane took off, Kelly wasn't on it.
Figured you might know where he is.
How should I know where he is? His house has been boarded up, hasn't it?
We know. Neighbors won't talk to us.
We figure maybe they're hiding him.
They'll talk with you, Major. Would you help us?
Well, would you give me one good reason why I should?
We figured we'd give him a break.
We haven't reported him as yet.
We could get him on another plane.
We might not have to turn him in for desertion.
- Desertion? - Yes, sir.
Well...
I'll go with you in a minute.
Major?
The neighbors won't talk if they see an MP.
I'll go with him.
Thank you, sir.
GRUVER: Kelly?
Kelly, Gruver out here.
I think he's in there.
Kelly?
I'm going on in.
Kelly?
Kelly, you in there?
Oh, my God.
Oh, my...
Oh...
Oh.
I'll call the police, Ace.
Oh, God.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
(CRYING)
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
(PEOPLE CLAMORING)
ALL: Go home! Go home!
Go home! Go home! Go home!
Ace, there's no police around. We'd better get out of here.
Hey, look.
Doesn't look too good, boy.
Go home! Go home!
Come on, take it easy.
(ALL SHOUTING)
BAILEY: We're getting help, Ace.
- You okay, boy? - Yeah, I'm fine.
You all right?
Yeah.
Listen, I'm going to...
I want you to take care of everything. Will you?
- Oh, yeah, I'll get it... - Okay.
I'll see you later.
(GRUVER WHISTLES)
Hey, where's Hana-ogi?
Hana-ogi's not here.
Oh, I know she's here.
She is on her way Tokyo.
No, she wasn't... She wasn't supposed to go to Tokyo till next week.
She went today.
I don't believe you.
- Mr. Gruver... - I don't believe you.
GRUVER: I don't care...
(CHATTERING)
(SINGING IN JAPANESE)
Hana-ogi?
(GIRLS GASPING)
Hana-ogi. Hana-ogi.
Hana-ogi.
Hana-ogi?
Gruver-san!
- Hey, where's Hana-ogi? - She's gone.
- Where's her room? - She's gone.
Listen, where's her room?
Come here.
Hana-ogi really gone, Major.
I don't believe you.
Hana-ogi.
I give you my word.
You go now, too, Major.
It's over.
Listen, leave me alone a minute, will you?
(INAUDIBLE)
WEBSTER: The hoodlums who attacked you weren't all your Japanese neighbors.
For the most part, they were professional troublemakers
sent to your street to create an incident specifically with you.
Now, if you're important to those who hate us,
don't you see how important you are to us?
Do you understand any of this, Lloyd?
I know how you feel.
It was...
It was dreadful about your friend Kelly and...
And his wife.
Must be hard to take.
And I...
I hate to tell you something else, because it's
almost too grotesque.
Almost unforgivable in your eyes, I imagine.
I got word today that...
There's a law being passed in a month or two
that will make it possible for men like Kelly
to take their Japanese brides back to the States.
That can't be true, General.
Well, it happens to be true, Lloyd.
Listen.
How do you get the guts to come here and tell me that?
It takes time to get laws passed, Lloyd.
(SIGHS) And a lot of people have died in this world needlessly, waiting for them.
Well, it's...
It's harder to take when it hits you personally.
Lloyd...
You're lost. You're confused.
Don't you think it's time you got back to the main stream of your life?
Back to your roots?
What you were born for, and raised for?
You'll feel better about everything when you get back home,
back to your work.
Appreciate you coming over, General.
Take me to the airport, Mike.
PHOTOGRAPHER: That must be him.
Would you hold it, so we can get a picture, General?
- Where would you like me? Right here? - What about there? Yeah.
Smile, please.
Hey, Bill, isn't that Ace Gruver?
Looks like him.
BOTH MEN: Sir?
Excuse me, aren't you Major Gruver? Ace Gruver?
Yes, that's right.
Well, we're from Stars and Stripes.
What are you doing in Tokyo?
Well, I'm just passing through, boys.
Just seeing the sights, huh?
That's right. Listen, I'm in a hurry. Do you mind if I excuse myself?
- You're excused. - Sorry.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(SINGING IN JAPANESE)
(ALL CHATTERING)
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Lloyd-san.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
GRUVER: Hello, Hana-ogi.
I'm going back to America on Friday.
And I probably won't
get back in Japan again.
And before I go, there was just...
Just one thing I wanted to know.
You remember one time you said to me...
That you could love me
and be a wife and a mother?
I remember.
You said that since you'd known me, you'd been afraid
of being a lonely old woman, teaching dancing.
Remember that?
I remember.
Did you mean that when you said it, Hana-ogi?
I meant it.
It is already happening.
Love has gone out of my work, out of me.
Oh, Lloyd, please go now.
This will only bring pain and trouble.
Hana-ogi,
you and I are going to have more trouble
than we ever thought of having in our whole lives
unless you're absolutely honest with yourself.
Please, Lloyd, can't we talk about this later?
(STAMMERS) There isn't going to be any later.
There's only going to be right now.
Oh, uh,
excuse me, Mother.
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
Excuse me.
I must return this robe.
Listen to me.
I want to know. Do you love me, or don't you?
Because if you don't,
then I'm going to have to find a way to live with it.
- And if you do, then... - Please, Lloyd.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Now, I don't want you to tell me anything more,
or anything less than you feel in the very deepest part of you.
Because what you answer to me now
is going to affect us for the rest of our lives.
Do you love me, Hana-ogi, or don't you love me?
I'm so frightened and confused.
I cannot think.
I cannot even understand your thinking.
I'm not thinking! I'm not thinking...
For the first time in my life, I'm not thinking, and I don't care.
But, Lloyd, we must do the right thing.
Oh, what are you talking about, the right thing?
We've been wasting two good lives
trying to do the right thing.
The right thing for Matsubayashi,
the right thing for my father,
the right thing for the military,
the right thing for Japanese tradition.
The right thing for the great white race.
But we have duties and obligations.
That's right, we do.
We have duties and obligations.
And the first obligation we have is to love each other.
To become man and wife, and raise some clean, sweet children.
And give them the very best that we know how.
And if we don't meet that obligation,
we ain't going to be any good to anybody.
We live in different worlds, come from different races.
Oh.
Honey, I want you to be my wife.
But what would happen to our children? What would they be?
They'd be half Japanese, half American.
They'd be half yellow and half white.
They'd be half you, they'd be half me.
That's all they're going to be.
Hana-ogi, I want you to come with me now.
I want you to come with me now, down to the American Consulate,
here in Tokyo.
We're gonna filling out those papers, 'cause we've only got a few days
to get this whole thing done, and get it out of the way.
Will you come?
I'm going to wait for you outside.
Didn't I tell you he'd be here?
- Look at this crowd! - Wow!
And look who's here, our rivals.
What do you know?
Oh, you guys heard about it, too, huh?
No secrets.
- No secrets in this country! - Well, what are you gonna do?
(ALL EXCLAIMING)
Hello, Major. Well, what a coincidence!
You got a story for us, sir?
No. As a matter of fact, I don't.
Oh, now, Major, you're not going to try to deny it, are you?
- Deny what? - Well, the story.
Why won't you give us a story? You're big news now, sir.
I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about.
Here's Hana-ogi. Maybe she'll talk.
(ALL CHATTERING)
(SPEAKING IN JAPANESE)
(REPLYING IN JAPANESE)
(ALL EXCLAIMING)
Come on, Hana-ogi, that's not fair. What did you say?
It is very difficult for a Japanese woman to speak in public.
I have never done so.
But perhaps now it is the time.
Major Gruver has asked me to be his...
His wife.
He knows there are many people in his country
who will be disturbed by this.
I know my people will be shocked, too.
But I hope they will learn to understand
and someday approve.
We are not afraid because we know this is right.
I hope I can continue as a dancer.
And I hope, when I am old,
I will be able to teach children to dance.
My own children.
(ALL EXCLAIMING)
REPORTER: Major?
The big brass are gonna yell their heads off about this.
And the Japanese aren't going to like it much, either.
Have you got anything to say to them, sir?
Yeah.
Tell them we said sayonara.
Sayonara
Japanese goodbye
Whisper sayonara
Lover, don't you cry
No more we stop to see
Pretty cherry blossom
No more we beneath the tree
Looking at the sky
Sayonara
Goodbye