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RUBY: Can I take your cup, Mr. Hudson.
HUDSON: No, no, Ruby.
Fetch Mrs. Bridges at once.
I have something I want to read out to you, all of you.
Frederick, sit over here, will you?
MRS. BRIDGES: What's this about then, Mr. Hudson?
HUDSON: Sit down please, Mrs. Bridges, and you will hear.
You listen too, Ruby.
Lily.
It's from the correspondence page
of this morning's Times.
It begins "Dear sir, I have recently heard of a story which
fills me with horror, dismay and shame --
the case of a former Sergeant of the King's Royal Rifle Corps
unable to find employment who has been reduced to living
for the past nine months with
his wife and four children in a patchwork shack
made up of tarpaulins and old army groundsheets."
MRS. BRIDGES: Oh!
"The total space in which the family
must live, eat and sleep is ten feet by six feet."
RUBY: How big is that, Mr. Hudson?
HUDSON: You can measure it out for yourself later, Ruby.
"Nor is this an isolated incident.
I am informed that there are thousands of ex-servicemen of
all ranks in a similar plight all over the country."
MRS. BRIDGES: Oh.
HUDSON: "Men who fought so gallantly and endured horrors
and deprivations in the worst war mankind has ever known.
Men whose welfare now should be the top priority
of any government, but what is the government doing?
The pledges given at the last election to re-house
and re-employ returning soldiers
are already shown to be pitifully inadequate.
Can we truly claim to be building a land
fit for heroes to live in?
From Major the Honourable James Bellamy MC,
the Guards' Club, London, west One."
Splendid. Splendid.
It's monstrous!
I'm referring to the letter, Mrs. Bridges.
MRS. BRIDGES: I was referring to the contents, Mr. Hudson.
- HUDSON: Indeed it is shocking. - MRS. BRIDGES: Oh!
LILY: That poor man.
However can it be allowed to happen?
HUDSON: Well, it's a question of money and priorities, Lily.
You see, the government has recently devoted
all its energies to securing world peace.
MRS. BRIDGES: Never mind about the peace.
It's the soldiers that should come first,
just like the Major says.
Ruby, what are you at?
RUBY: Measuring, Mrs. Bridges.
From here to that fireplace, it's just six foot that hut.
Well, that's not enough to kneel down
and say your prayers in even.
MRS. BRIDGES: Oh, well, there, there.
HUDSON: You're very silent, Frederick.
What do you think about it?
I can't find the words, Mr. Hudson.
I'm just proud the Major Wrote that letter, that's all.
I'm not to take it, am I,
that you disapprove of the letter?
Of course not. The letter was admirable.
People have been congratulating me for the past two days.
Members of the government?
Not all of them, no, though one or two
have privately expressed their approval.
No, I am simply saying that one heartfelt letter
from a gallant ex-officer doesn't turn him overnight
into a peacetime politician.
Geoffrey, have the Central Office
sent you here?
GEOFFREY: Good heavens, no.
I've no official connection with Central Office.
But one or two people have let it be known
that they're interested in James.
I'm surprised no one's spoken to you about it.
Oh, the subject has been mentioned,
though I dismissed it right away.
VIRGINIA: Isn't that being a little hasty?
No, my darling, I am not being hasty.
I know what's behind all this and so does Geoffrey.
The boy's young, intelligent,
served in a fine regiment, won a good MC,
now that carries its own aura.
The Conservative Party knows this.
They simply want him to enhance their own prestige.
But what happens when he gets in?
He has no knowledge of government affairs,
wouldn't know how to make a speech,
he won't survive.
He's survived worse.
He's an amateur.
That's what I mean.
No training for the life.
Sorry, Richard, but James has lived in
an atmosphere of politics in this house all his life.
Isn't that sufficient training?
As to his heart being in it, I honestly don't think that...
[James speaking]
Well, don't you think you should let him
answer that one for himself?
JAMES: Oh, hello, Sir Geoffrey.
What's -- what's this?
Not financial troubles, I hope?
GEOFFREY: No, James, I just called in
to congratulate you on your letter.
JAMES: Oh, thank you.
Remarkable story.
Richard's just been telling me
you got it from a doorman at the Guards' Club.
Yes, the fellow was his brother-in-law.
We just passed the hat round for him, poor fellow.
Well, it's a start, I suppose.
GEOFFREY: A very healthy one.
JAMES: Is that all you called in about?
You look conspiratorial.
GEOFFREY: May I tell him, Richard?
If you must, Geoffrey. I can't stop you.
James, have you ever seriously thought of going into politics?
[Chuckles] Me? Good Lord, no, why?
RICHARD: There you are, you see.
JAMES: What is this?
RICHARD: Geoffrey has received what amounts
to a proposition from the Conservative Central Office.
GEOFFREY: Nothing of the sort.
VIRGINIA: They want to know if you'd be interested
in standing for Parliament.
You father doesn't think you would.
[James scoffs]
On the strength of one letter, scribbled in haste?
Oh, they must be hard up for candidates.
They are, of the right sort.
Young men who fought and who can truly represent the interests
of ex-servicemen and their families.
Isn't that right, Sir Geoffrey?
In a nutshell, yes.
JAMES: Yes, but my letter was supposed to be
attacking the government.
The coalition government, not the Conservative Party.
The coalition won't last forever.
JAMES: No. No, thank heavens.
Well, you see, it's an intriguing idea.
Tell me, would I be tied to the party line
or could I speak my mind?
I imagine, you'd be free to say whatever you like.
I take it you support the basic principles of the party.
Well, the principles, yes.
But not always the way they go about things.
Hmm, this needs thinking about.
Well, it's true I have been looking for something to do
with my idle life.
What do you think, father?
RICHARD: I am strongly against the idea.
I made it quite clear to Geoffrey and Virginia,
politics is a serious business not meant to be taken idly.
JAMES: Oh, am I giving that impression?
RICHARD: You are rather when you talk of filling your idle life.
I'm delighted you're well again and ready to do something,
but not politics.
I beg of you, James, not for you.
JAMES: Oh, I do believe you're jealous, father.
GEOFFREY: If you found the life was not to your taste...
JAMES: Or if I failed to get in.
RICHARD: Of course he'll get in somewhere, that's not in doubt.
The question is what does he do afterwards?
He'll put himself in an entirely false position.
Handling constituency problems, making speeches,
it's a job for a professional.
Yes, thank you, father. I take your point.
But if I have an opportunity
I must be allowed to decide for myself.
If I do agree, Sir Geoffrey, how do I go about it?
Well, there'll be a by-election quite soon. Rotherhithe.
Old Harry Wetherell, who contested the seat
unsuccessfully for years, died last month.
He was 73.
RICHARD: Rotherhithe?
JAMES: Oh, that's Dockland, isn't it?
I don't know much about docks.
VIRGINIA: Well, you could soon learn.
GEOFFREY: Enough to get by, anyway.
It's a cast iron Labour seat. He doesn't stand a chance.
If he really wants to get in, for heaven's sake
let us find him something safe.
No, no, father, I wouldn't want that.
GEOFFREY: Plenty of ex-servicemen homeless,
unemployed in Rotherhithe, I'm afraid.
Interesting to see what sort of impression could be made.
RICHARD: Not very much, I should think.
JAMES: Yes.
Well, you've been very quiet, Virginia.
Tell me, what do you think about all this?
VIRGINIA: Oh, I'm not sure that my opinion counts for very much.
JAMES: Oh, it counts for a great deal.
VIRGINIA: Very well.
I think you should do it, James, if you want to.
I don't want to seem disloyal to you, Richard,
but quite frankly I find your objections impossible to fathom.
Well, there's no great mystery to politics.
It's not some exclusive club,
unless those inside choose to make it one.
Well, if a man from any walk of life has a sincere
and honest wish to serve his fellow men,
then we should encourage you all we can.
That's what a democracy means, I've always thought.
GEOFFREY: Perhaps I should leave you to talk it over.
JAMES: No, no, Sir Geoffrey, don't go.
Tell me, when -- when must I let them know?
The sooner the better.
The local association are vetting applicants this week.
Are they?
Father, I promise you, I'm not going to take this lightly.
But I believe I might have started something with this
damn letter that I have an obligation to see through.
RICHARD: James, there are other ways.
JAMES: Now, what other ways?
This is the way you've always chosen.
So why shouldn't I?
I've got politics in my blood, on both sides of the family,
I'm feeling fit now, energetic.
Maybe, I've just been waiting for the right moment.
GEOFFREY: May I tell them that you're interested?
JAMES: Well, you can do more than that, Sir Geoffrey,
you can tell them if they want me,
I'm game.
GEOFFREY: Splendid. Splendid.
Well, Virginia, I really must go.
Richard.
Do I detect a new influence in the house?
You've had this room redecorated, haven't you?
VIRGINIA: Oh, Oh, that.
Yes. Do you approve?
Well, we must all move with the times, I suppose.
I should hope so.
EDWARD: Come on, Daisy.
DAISY: Oh, let's go home, Eddie, I can't face them.
EDWARD: Come on. It's your idea.
DAISY: It isn't. You can't blame me.
EDWARD: Come on, We're here now, love.
[Knocking]
EDDIE: Oh, hello, Frederick.
Daisy and I were just in the neighbourhood
so we thought we'd pop in and see how -- see how you are.
FREDERICK: Come in.
MRS. BRIDGES: Hello, Daisy! Oh, how lovely to see you.
Oh.
And Edward.
DAISY: How you keeping?
MRS. BRIDGES: Oh, I'm all right, but my goodness, you two --
You're soaked to the bone.
Here, put the kettle on, Ruby, quickly.
Now you go in there, take your coats off,
dry yourselves by the fire.
I'll bring you a nice cup a tea.
EDWARD: Thanks, Mrs. Bridges. Shocking weather out.
MRS. BRIDGES: Oh, shocking.
DAISY: Hello, Lily.
LILY: Hello, Daisy. Hello, Edward.
EDWARD: Hello, Lily.
Darning the lady's socks are you, Frederick?
Hmm, never did that in my days, always left that to the girls.
FREDERICK: Yeah?
Well, there was rather a shortage
of girls where we were at the front.
EDWARD: Yeah. I didn't mean that, actually.
LILY: Shall I take that coat for you?
DAISY: Oh, thanks very much, Lily.
It's soaking wet.
EDWARD: Lily, can you take mine, as well?
LILY: Yes.
EDWARD: Ta.
Come on, Daisy, warm yourself up.
Oh, hello, Mr. Hudson.
HUDSON: What are you both doing here?
DAISY: Oh, just passing really, Mr. Hudson.
EDWARD: Yeah, we were in the neighbourhood
so we thought we'd pop in and see how you all was.
DAISY: Actually it was Rose we really come to see,
wasn't it, Eddie?
EDWARD: Yeah.
Daisy thinks she left a pair of winter shoes here,
so she thought she'd pop in
and pick them up if Rose has still got them.
Ha, no point in splashing out on a new pair, is there?
No, indeed.
Well, Rose isn't here, I'm afraid.
She's gone down to Southwold.
Her aunt has passed away.
Oh, oh, lam sorry. When's she coming back?
We don't know for certain,
but Lily can look out the shoes for you.
Oh, no. No, no, don't trouble, Lily,
they're probably lost after all this time.
LILY: Excuse me.
EDWARD: Oh, sorry, oh, well,
we'll just have a cup of tea
and then we'll have to catch the tram back to Camberwell.
Oh, no you won't. You're stopping to supper.
Aren't they, Mr. Hudson?
Are they?
Richard, darling, may I present
the prospective Tory member for Rotherhithe East.
RICHARD: So they've adopted you?
JAMES: That's right, father.
RICHARD: Well, I suppose they know what they're doing.
JAMES: Yes.
VIRGINIA: Aren't you going to ask him what they said?
RICHARD: Yes, yes, of course. What did they say?
JAMES: What? what they usually say, I suppose.
Hmm, they're a pretty rum lot.
Very complacent and fatalistic, if you want my frank opinion.
I went there armed with my full battery
of limited Dockland knowledge
and they didn't ask me a single question on the subject.
All they wanted to know was my state of health, whether I was
RC or not and how much I was prepared to give to party funds.
I said £200, their faces lit up,
handshakes all round and I was in.
Not a sign of any other contender.
Well, they've no need to reassure themselves
with your ability.
JAMES: Hmm, tipped off by Central Office, you mean?
Oh, father, I know that you see me as an enthusiastic amateur,
but I shall have a damn good stab at proving you wrong.
I met the agent, by the way, Arthur Knowles.
He, at least, seems to be on my side.
We took a walk round the constituency.
Very depressing -- rotten campaigning weather.
RICHARD: Hmm.
JAMES: Is that -- that pot still warm?
I think we need champagne, don't we, Richard?
Yes, yes, of course.
The servants will be so pleased.
Standing for Parliament?
Well, that's marvellous. I'd vote for him.
I'm sure we all would, Edward, if we lived in Rotherhithe East.
LILY: He wrote this letter to the papers, you see,
about the plight of unemployed servicemen.
DAISY: It's about time someone stuck up for them, poor devils.
EDWARD: Daisy.
FREDERICK: Heard any more about that furniture job, Edward?
That one you was after Romford way?
EDWARD: Yeah, well, no, I didn't get that one actually.
It fell through.
Still selling brushes then?
EDWARD: Yeah, that's right.
FREDERICK: Going all right, is it?
Well, you know, up and down.
Weather doesn't help much.
Rain and all that, eh?
Yeah.
I get some funny stories knocking on people's doors.
Do you know what?
There was an old lady the other week,
she wanted a nice soft brush for her cat.
So I go in -- there's the cat all right, sitting on the bed,
but do you know what?
It was stuffed, dead.
She wanted a brush for her dead cat.
DAISY: Can I help, Mrs. B?
MRS. BRIDGES: Oh, no, thank you, my dear.
Ruby and Lily can manage.
You're looking pale, Daisy.
Getting enough to eat?
DAISY: Oh, yeah, plenty, thanks.
RUBY: Daisy, what happened to your baby?
Ruby.
Oh, it's all right, you'll have to know sometime.
I lost it. Miscarriage, six months.
Oh, my dear.
I am sorry.
So am I, Daisy. That's a great shame.
DAISY: Yeah, well. I was disappointed,
especially for Eddie, but the doctor said
I'd be able to have another one.
There's plenty of time.
Well, of course there is, plenty of time, yes.
Well, are we ready for supper then, Mrs. Bridges?
Just coming, Mr. Hudson.
You go in and sit down, my dear.
Ruby, come and help me dish up.
For what we are about to receive
may the Lord make us truly thankful.
Amen.
ALL: Amen.
Well, it certainly looks and smells delicious,
Mrs. Bridges.
MRS. BRIDGES: Oh, thank you, Mr. Hudson.
Well, I hope everybody's hungry.
You still stopping at the same place, Daisy?
EDWARD: Yeah, Number 9 Stockwell Road, Mrs. Bridges.
You'll have to come and visit us sometime, won't she, Daisy?
Oh, I'd like to do that.
DAISY: This house don't seem to have changed much, not one bit.
HUDSON: Apart from the children,
who make for a lot of extra work.
Ask Frederick and Lily.
EDWARD: Children, here?
Yes. Lady Bellamy's children.
Master william and Miss Alice.
Quite reasonable, as children go.
EDWARD: Oh.
LILY: Have you got any regrets, giving up service, Daisy?
EDWARD: No, no, no. No regrets, Lily.
Just happy memories.
DAISY: Yeah. We live on them.
What do you mean, Daisy?
Oh, nothing, Mr. Hudson.
She, er, just gets a bit depressed,
misses the company, that's all.
FREDERICK: With you out at work all day, eh, Edward?
EDWARD: Yeah.
Well, you do get depressed after losing babies.
What?
They know about it.
Oh.
HUDSON: We're very sorry to hear about it, Edward.
EDWARD: Yeah, well, thanks.
Ruby's right. That's all it is though.
We can't keep our Daisy down for long, can we, eh?
Why do you have to keep this pretending, Eddie?
Why don't you tell them the truth?
EDWARD: Truth? - DAISY: They aren't fooled.
What are you talking about, the truth?
I think we've guessed the truth, haven't we, Edward?
Tell them, for pity's sake.
EDWARD: Well, I think what Daisy wants me to say is
that brush selling didn't work out.
Well, I'm out of a job at the moment,
but I'll get something else.
I mean, I'm not downhearted.
Daisy, come on.
DAISY: Oh, I'm sorry.
They're so cruel to people like my Eddie.
I get so angry.
Stupid hoity-toity women
and butlers shouting rude things,
slamming the door in his face.
Don't they know what he did for them out there?
What he went through?
Daisy, shut up, they don't want to hear about that.
They should hear about it, they're our friends.
They're the only friends we've got.
HUDSON: We do sympathize, believe me, Edward.
It's a strange, cruel world.
But you did make your own beds, the both of you.
Well, what do you mean by that, Mr. Hudson?
I know what he means, Mrs. Bridges.
He means it's our fault.
HUDSON: I didn't say that, Edward.
EDWARD: No, you meant it, though.
You see I've never forgotten what you said
to me and Daisy when we left here.
You wanted us to stop when in service, like Rose,
for the rest of our lives but...
me and Daisy, we wanted something different
because I reckon we'd earned it.
Only Daisy's right, you don't know what it's like out there
in this rotten world because you've never tried it,
and until you do try it you've got no right --
Eddie, don't!
Well, he hasn't, he wants to try
looking for work and supporting a wife
and -- in a miserable little room with the rain coming in.
That's why she lost our baby!
Because it wasn't possible!
It wasn't bloody possible the way we're living!
Please, Eddie.
No, let me finish, I'm not frightened of him.
He's just a self-satisfied, smug old man
who did nothing in the war except serve bloody sherry!
Go on! Go!
MRS. BRIDGES: Oh, Daisy, Daisy, if there's any winter shoes
or anything you want, I'm sure we could find something for you.
Thanks very much, Mrs. Bridges, but we don't want charity.
Come on.
- So, is this a good spot? - Yes.
They'll come through those gates in a moment
on their dinner hour.
The pension office is just round the corner
so we ought to draw the servicemen.
And the women will come out of the tenement building.
JAMES: Am I preaching to the employed or the unemployed?
MAN: Preaching?
JAMES: Well, it does seem a bit like
a revivalist meeting, doesn't it?
Well, do I just, er, start?
MAN: Yes.
Here, Major.
Have a drop of this, loosen your voice.
Mr. Wetherell always used to like to take a nip
before he started to speak.
JAMES: Good morning.
I am...
MAN: Major, try this.
Good morning. Good morning.
I am your Conservative candidate, James Bellamy,
and I'm here today to ask for your support
in the coming by-election.
Good morning, madam.
But first of all I want to introduce myself
and to try and explain why I'm standing here today.
Now, most of my life I have been a professional soldier.
I know that it is often said that soldiers should stick
to what they know and shouldn't meddle in politics.
Well, I used to believe that once myself.
But these times We're living through,
the aftermath of this most terrible war
in which we have all suffered,
have caused me to change my mind.
The gallant working men of this country, with whom I fought
in the trenches and for whom I gained an undying respect,
I believe... I believe deserve a better deal
than they're getting at the moment --
decent housing, proper employment, higher wages.
Now, the coalition government,
Mr. Lloyd George and his mixed band of helpers,
claim that this is being done.
But I say it is not being done fast enough
nor with a true understanding of your needs.
There are too many arguments, too much time is being wasted.
Now a single party, united and pulling together
can do the job in half the time.
That party is the Conservative Party.
Now, during the weeks to come I shall be holding open meetings
and issuing pamphlets which lay down our proposals.
And also, I hope, during my campaign in the constituency,
to meet many of you to discuss your individual prob--
To discuss your individual problems.
FREDERICK: From Mrs. Bridges.
She would have come herself only the weather's so bad.
She apologizes for old age
but they're good quality, she said.
Try them on, see if they fit.
DAISY: Yeah.
EDWARD: You're not accepting them, Daisy.
DAISY: Well, I need them, Eddie.
EDWARD: Take them back and thank Mrs. Bridges very kindly.
But we don't need them, we've got some.
She won't believe you. Besides, she'll be upset.
DAISY: Give them here, I'm gonna try them on.
You do, Daisy, I warn you, I'll walk out of here.
Well, go on then, walk out.
I don't care, I need them shoes.
FREDERICK: She could do with them, Edward.
EDWARD: Shut up!
DAISY: They do fit. They're comfortable.
EDWARD: Daisy!
DAISY: Thank her very much for me, will you, Frederick?
Yeah, I will.
She said to say she felt bad about the other day.
EDWARD: Just leave us alone, will you, Frederick?
FREDERICK: And she said be sure to drop in, you know,
any time you're passing.
EDWARD: Come on, out, please, leave us alone!
FREDERICK: All right, Edward, I'm leaving.
[Baby crying]
See you, Daisy.
RICHARD: Concern? what concern? What do you mean, Geoffrey?
GEOFFREY: I am only repeating what I've been told, Richard.
VIRGINIA: Surely they haven't been spying on him.
GEOFFREY: They've been keeping an eye on things, naturally.
RICHARD: This agent, Knowles, has he been...?
GEOFFREY: No, no, no, no,
it's the local association mainly, I gather.
RICHARD: He's been criticized to Central Office
and you've been sent here to tell us.
I see.
There were even cries of "communist"
at one of his Tory club meetings.
Ironical, I hasten to add, but the feeling
is growing that he's getting out of his depth.
Well, Geoffrey, you did rather push him into this.
You can hardly blame the boy now.
There is no question of blame, Richard.
All I want to suggest is that he needs a little advice.
VIRGINIA: Thank you for coming and telling us, Geoffrey.
RICHARD: Well, we'll see what we can do, but I rather feel
I'm the last person he'll listen to.
Yes, quite.
Well, I thought you ought to know.
Hello, Sir Geoffrey. Just leaving?
Oh, yes, I'm afraid so, James. Excuse me, won't you?
I can see myself out.
What did he want, the old fox?
Oh, he wanted to know how you're getting on.
And what did you tell him?
Only what you tell us. How did it go today?
Oh, not too badly.
Beginning slowly to break through
the barriers of apathy.
Arthur still insists we keep doing the rounds
of the Tory clubs.
They're a pretty stuffy lot for the most part.
But at least I'm getting them to shout back at me now.
I caught a glimpse of my Labour opponent, trades union
fellow called Harry Shadbolt -- ho, ho, dreadful looking fellow,
no charm at all.
So, I must stand a chance.
Hmm, I also discovered that he didn't fight in the war --
lung trouble or something.
So, they won't listen to him.
No, I'm having, I'm having a big open meeting
on wednesday night, the day before polling, a sort of
final rallying call in the Seamen's Mission Hall.
VIRGINIA: Can we come?
If you felt it would help, I'm prepared to speak.
JAMES: Yes, thank you, father, but l...I'd rather you didn't.
I don't want to draw any more attention to my background
than the press are doing already.
Doesn't help much.
RICHARD: We'll find someone else.
JAMES: No, no, I'll do this on my own, thank you, father.
RICHARD: My dear boy, do consider no one's ever
fought a campaign entirely on his own.
Father, I don't wish to sound churlish or ungrateful,
but I don't think there's a single person
in the Tory party who'd be
any use to me at all, not down there.
Oh, nonsense, we can find Austen Chamberlain,
Stanley Baldwin --
Father, please, let me decide.
Well, it's been a long day.
I've got a lot of work to do later.
Well, Virginia and I are going to the theater.
Will you come and change, my dear?
Yes, darling, in a moment.
JAMES: Can't he realize? Doesn't he understand?
They're all the same.
They're old men hanging on to pre-war notions,
assuming they still have something to say
to those people out there.
Don't they know the gulf?
Yes, they know the gulf very well and they use
all their wisdom and experience to bridge it.
Sorry, James, but you can't expect me to side with you
against Richard all the time.
I know what his feelings were to begin with,
and you can't blame him for that.
But ever since your nomination, all these past weeks,
he's done everything he can to support you.
[Scoffs] He offers me the kind of advice
that would be very helpful if I was fighting
a safe seat in Gloucestershire.
You don't know that, you haven't listened to him.
He's been here every night, longing for you to discuss
the problems with a lifetimes experience to give
and you shut him out.
Then you have the gall
to accuse him of being a meddling old man.
Well, quite apart from the hurt you're causing,
I also think you're being very pig-headed.
Oh, I see.
Well, I, um, I admire your loyalty, Virginia.
Oh, don't be so --
No, I understand how things must seem to you.
But you don't know everything that's been going on.
I have to fight the local Tory association,
my own damn people, every day.
Yes, we know that.
JAMES: No, no, you can't know.
VIRGINIA: We do. James, we hear things.
JAMES: Who from? Sir Geoffrey?
It doesn't matter. We hear them.
And it seems to me that you need help.
And your father is the best friend that you've got.
So just. . .think about it.
You all right, Angus? You look rather tired.
HUDSON: Yes, yes, I am a wee bit tired.
I didn't sleep very well last night, that's all.
Oh, thank you, Mrs. Bridges.
MRS. BRIDGES: Nothing on your mind, is there?
HUDSON: No, no. Why should there be?
MRS. BRIDGES: I didn't sleep very well, neither.
I was worrying about poor Daisy and Edward.
And then by this afternoon's post
I had ever such a nice letter from Daisy.
It did cheer me up.
Would you like to read it?
Why should I read it, if it was written to you?
Oh, I think you should.
Frederick took them round on his afternoon out,
very kindly.
Oh, I'm so glad they fit her.
I am surprised she accepted them, after what happened.
Oh, I don't think she had much choice,
judging by the ones she was wearing.
Poor thing.
Anyway, that's all finished and forgotten.
Edward's not the one to bear a grudge.
If anyone should bear the grudge,
it's me, Mrs. Bridges.
I've never been spoken to like that in my life before.
I know, Mr. Hudson, of course you haven't.
But, you see, Edward was upset.
His pride was hurt in front of you,
who he's always looked up to so much.
Anyway, I was thinking of inviting them
to tea next Tuesday.
That is, if you have no objection.
No, I have no objections.
Who you ask to tea is your own affair, Mrs. Bridges.
They're ever so comfy, Mrs. B.
MRS. BRIDGES: Oh, lam glad, my dear.
RUBY: They look a bit old fashioned.
MRS. BRIDGES: Ruby!
Go in and put the kettle on.
Even if they are comfortable, there's no need
not to take your weight off them.
So come and sit by the fire.
FREDERICK: Still shocking Weather, eh, Edward?
Yeah. Yeah, it is.
[Bell rings]
FREDERICK: I'll go.
Mr. Hudson about, Mrs. Bridges?
MRS. BRIDGES: Oh, yes, somewhere, Edward.
Hello Lily. What you doing, eh?
LILY: Oh, I'm making a frock from a pattern.
EDWARD: Oh, it's the latest style, is it?
It's a nice blue. Suits your eyes.
LILY: Oh, thank you.
EDWARD: You ought to try making one of these sometime, Daisy.
Hello, Mr. Hudson.
HUDSON: Hello, Edward, Daisy.
EDWARD: Mrs. Bridges asked us to tea, Mr. Hudson.
HUDSON: Did she? Yes.
She very kindly give me a new pair of shoes.
I'm wearing them.
Well, they're certainly an improvement
to your last pair.
EDWARD: Mr. Hudson, please, I'd just like to say...
HUDSON: I know what you're going to say, Edward.
I think the subject is best left alone, don't you?
If you say so, Mr. Hudson.
MRS. BRIDGES: Well, now, come along, Lily.
Clear away your sewing things, We're going to have tea now.
Ruby, hurry up with that kettle.
And come and lay the tea.
RUBY: I'm coming as fast as I can, Mrs. Bridges.
MRS. BRIDGES: Don't you eat none of them cakes.
FREDERICK: Mr. Hudson, her ladyship would like
to see Edward and Daisy before they leave.
EDWARD: Us? what for?
I suggest you both go up now, before your tea,
rather than keep her ladyship waiting.
[Knock on door]
You wanted to see us, my lady?
Ah, yes, come in.
It must be over a year since you left, isn't it?
EDWARD: Yes, my lady.
DAISY: Fourteen months, my lady.
VIRGINIA: Ah. Where are you living now?
Oh, we've got a nice room in Camberwell, my lady.
Yes.
It occurred to me, the flat above the garage is empty.
It seems ideal for a married couple.
We need a chauffeur. Can you drive, Edward?
Yes, my lady. I learned during the war.
VIRGINIA: Oh, good.
We also need another housemaid, Daisy,
with Rose away, and when she returns she will be
my personal maid so that wouldn't affect you.
Lily would be under you.
DAISY: Thank you, my lady.
Frederick would continue as footman
and also valet his lordship,
but the Major needs a valet so it would be helpful
if you could combine your duties, Edward.
Yes, my lady.
[Edward and Daisy whispering]
As to salary, I suggest £40 a year for you, Edward,
and £35 for you, Daisy.
Does that seem all right?
Oh, more than satisfactory, my lady!
Good.
Hmm, now, can you start quite soon?
Oh, as soon as possible. We're so grateful.
Honestly, you don't know. We'll work ever so hard.
Yes, well I expect you'd like to go and tell them downstairs.
Edward and Daisy are willing to come back into service.
HUDSON: Very good, my lady.
That was a good suggestion, Hudson.
Thank you.
HUDSON: My lady.
Oh, good morning.
JAMES: Oh, good morning, father.
RICHARD: Have you seen Virginia?
- JAMES: No. - RICHARD: Oh, well I'll --
JAMES: Sorry.
RICHARD: I expect she's in the nursery.
Um, Edward and Daisy are coming back, have you heard?
Yes, Hudson told me this morning.
I'm delighted.
Well...
JAMES: Father.
I'm -- I'm sorry if I've seemed in any way offhand
these last weeks.
It wasn't meant or directed at you, personally.
It seems that I, quite wrongly,
associated you with certain party attitudes.
RICHARD: Yes, well you don't have to apologize, James.
JAMES: I had to prove myself, you see.
RICHARD: Oh, yes, I quite understand.
You wouldn't like to come to this meeting today, would you?
Well, Virginia and I were going to the Leicester Galleries
to see the Epstein sculptures.
Oh, I would have liked you to come.
Both of us?
Both of you.
It would be a pleasure.
JAMES: Oh.
LILY: I'm relieved, really.
Well, it'll take the load off us anyway.
FREDERICK: Yeah.
But there's no need to make their bed for them, Lily.
EDWARD: Oh, no, that's all right, Lily.
Leave that, we'll finish it.
DAISY: Oh, oh, thanks, Lily.
LILY: That's all right.
DAISY: Oh, Eddie!
Look at it!
Comfy bed at last!
Well, cheer up.
EDWARD: Oh, I'm sorry, Daisy, but it's...
it's a step back, can't you see that?
I mean, I don't want to be in service
for the rest of my life.
DAISY: Well, I know. I don't want you to be.
But we must be grateful.
EDWARD: Yeah, but who to? Mr. Hudson?
I still cannot see why --
DAISY: No, it was Mrs. Bridges, it must have been.
She knew you didn't mean what you said.
EDWARD: But I did. I meant every word of it.
DAISY: Oh, it's a lovely little kitchen in here.
EDWARD: And look where it got us --
straight back into bloody uniform.
DAISY: A chauffeur's uniform. Step up.
Better than the last one you had.
And look at mine -- head house parlour maid.
I'm going to get straight into it.
[Edward laughs] [Daisy gasps]
- DAISY: Eddie, not now. EDWARD: Why not?
DAISY: Oh, Mr. Hudson said we've got to get straight to work.
EDWARD: You don't take any notice of Mr. Hudson.
- DAISY: It's soon yet. EDWARD: Give us a kiss.
Mmm. Love you.
DAISY: Yeah, I know that but.
EDWARD: We can have babies here.
DAISY: Oh, no, we can't. We'd lose our job.
You aren't half daft, Eddie.
EDWARD: No, I'm not. You are, Mrs. Barnes.
[Laughing]
- DAISY: Oh, oh, look at... EDWARD: What?
FREDERICK: Sorry, but the Major wants you with the car, Edward.
Sharp.
[Horn honks]
EDWARD: Sorry about the journey, sir.
It might be a bit bumpy.
JAMES: No, it was fine, Edward, fine.
[Scattered applause]
JAMES: You'd better wait.
EDWARD: With your permission, sir, I'd like to come and watch.
JAMES: Very well.
Ah, this is my step-mother, Lady Bellamy,
my father, Lord Bellamy -- Arthur Knowles.
ARTHUR: How do you do, my lady?
How do you do, my lord?
RICHARD: What sort of turn out?
ARTHUR: Oh, quite good. More than we'd hoped for.
Will you go that way, my lord?
Oh, very good.
[Scattered applause]
WOMAN: Boo!
[Crowd boos]
ARTHUR: Quiet!
Your Conservative candidate
and prospective member of Parliament,
Major the Honourable James Bellamy MC.
[Mixed cheers and boos]
JAMES: Thank you.
Now, during my two weeks among you,
I have been impressed by many things --
the industry and dedication of the dock workers,
striving to get his country back on its feet.
MAN: It'll never get on its feet with the Tories.
JAMES: And the fortitude of those of you...
WOMAN: The Tories are the enemies
of the working classes!
JAMES: And the fortitude of those of you unemployed,
many of you ex-servicemen.
MAN: Hear, hear!
JAMES: In what must be the most disheartening circumstances.
MAN: Why don't they do something about it, then?
ARTHUR: Quiet! Let him speak.
JAMES: I mean to do something about it, sir, if elected.
Now many of you, I hope, will have read this pamphlet.
MAN: It's rubbish!
JAMES: In which I lay down...
WOMAN: Upper class propaganda.
JAMES: In which I lay down our proposals for re-housing.
WOMAN: Down with the class system!
CROWD CHANTING: Down with the class system!
ARTHUR: Please, let him speak.
I am sorry for the interruptions by a few of you.
Most of you, I know, have come here to listen.
WOMAN: The workers are the wage slaves of their employers!
We want common ownership!
MANI Shh!
WOMAN: Abolish the social classes!
JAMES: Madam.
Madam, the spirit of
co-operation and fellowship that was built up during the war
between people of all classes must be maintained.
MAN: Why, tell us why!
It's your sort that's keeping us down.
You're the aggressors now.
First the Huns and now the Capitalists.
WOMAN: It's the Tories!
JAMES: Sir, the Tory program is patriotically
dedicated to the cause of national prosperity.
How can we be bleeding prosperous
when the prices keep going up?
Even if we are employed, we can't afford to live.
MAN: Yeah!
MAN: They have to do some work.
JAMES: Higher prices are an international problem,
the direct result of the war.
MAN: That's just an excuse, that is.
You all say that to keep us quiet.
MAN: Oy, oy, just a minute.
If you get in, are you gonna raise our wages then?
MAN: Yeah!
JAMES: Now look, I know, I know you want higher wages.
But higher wages lead to less employment.
MAN: True, true.
JAMES: Now, if we keep wages steady
it will mean more employment for the servicemen.
MAN: Hear, hear!
[Cheers and applause]
JAMES: The servicemen who fought in the mud in France.
MAN: Hear, hear!
JAMES: We owe it to them to help them back on their feet,
to make Britain a country fit for heroes.
[Cheers and applause]
MAN: Were you a hero, was ya? MC?
[Crowd laughing]
MANIA country fit for you to live in.
Where did you get your bleeding medal?
Sitting in some chateau behind the lines?
MAN: Shh.
I risked my life for you to say that.
We don't want to hear about the war.
We've had enough of that bloody war, that's just excuses.
No, no, you can't...
You can't ignore the war as if it never happened.
WOMAN: Here! Don't you accuse us.
I had two fine sons, a husband,
what died for this rotten country.
MAN: Aye.
JAMES: For this great country.
MAN: Great for you, maybe.
MAN: Yeah, upper class shirker.
When you ever done a day's work?
You're not one of us.
JAMES: No man under my command
in the trenches ever said that.
[Crowd laughing]
MAN: Who does he think he is? Douglas bloody Haig?
Get back to your nice warm fireside,
you bloody Tory toff.
You bloody amateur.
JAMES: Now, now, now, one of the most important issues
in this pamphlet is housing.
MAN: You gotta nice house, have you?
MAN: How many rooms has it got and how many bleeding servants?
MAN: Yeah.
JAMES: I want more houses for you, for the people.
MAN: That's what the bloody government said,
and what did they do about it?
[Crowd yelling]
ARTHUR: Let him speak, please.
WOMAN: He's got nothing to say.
MAN: Let him speak.
WOMAN: There's only one way to save this country,
and that's by revolution!
Follow the lead of Russia! Smash the greedy Capitalists!
Send them back to their cages Where they belong.
Vote for MacNeal. Socialist Labour Party!
[Mixed cheers and boos]
VIRGINIA: You don't want Communism,
you've had enough of fighting.
And that is what a Bolshevik revolution would mean.
MAN: Hear, hear.
Now is the time for unity,
for working together, not disruption, not strikes.
WOMAN: Listen to her, swathed in furs.
How does she know about our suffering?
VIRGINIA: They are the enemies of this country.
MAN: Hear, hear.
VIRGINIA: Peace and prosperity.
Vote for Bellamy.
[Mixed cheers and boos]
RICHARD: Get the car round the back of the building.
Quick, look smart.
[Shouting]
[Police whistle]
HUDSON: Quiet.
Quiet, please, pay attention, everyone.
Before we begin our breakfast, I should like to read out
the results of the Major's by-election.
HUDSON: Bellamy, Conservative, 7,369 votes.
DAISY: Oh, that's good.
HUDSON: MacNeal, Socialist Labour party, 1,043 votes.
EDWARD: He's done it.
FREDERICK: He's done it.
HUDSON: Shadbolt, Labour...
18,928 votes.
MRS. BRIDGES: Oh!
HUDSON: Mr. Shadbolt is duly elected to Parliament.
MRS. BRIDGES: They ought to be ashamed of theirselves.
LILY: He'd have made a lovely MP.
FREDERICK: He can always try again, Lily.
DAISY: Yeah, somewhere safe next time.
RUBY: Where they won't chuck things at him.
HUDSON: Ruby, that's enough. Pass the cruet.
EDWARD: Bloody fools.
GEOFFREY: Thank you.
No cause for despondency, James.
In the eyes of Central Office,
you fought a good campaign.
You handled the rowdy elements with dignity and courage.
You did well.
JAMES: I did not do well. I failed.
GEOFFREY: No, no.
You held the support old Harry Wetherell had.
And nothing more was expected, after all.
JAMES: I failed.
VIRGINIA: James.
RICHARD: It's good experience, James.
That's the important thing.
You proved to me, and a great many other people,
you have the makings of a politician.
We're lunching here, Geoffrey, would you join us?
GEOFFREY: I should be delighted.
Unless you feel it should be a family occasion?
RICHARD: Not at all.
JAMES: Well, it's not the result that upsets me.
That's the least of it.
It's what I saw with my own eyes.
I believe there was one spark of hope, just one
that came out of the hideous waste of that war,
and that was the courage, the fellowship,
the sheer bloody good sense that chaps like me saw
for the first time in the working man.
And I believed if we could just...just hold onto
that common ground, keep trusting each other,
that we could build something in peace time.
But what happens? We become two nations again.
Back to the old, entrenched positions.
It seems without officers they become an undisciplined,
ignorant, greedy rabble,
content with all the sham ideas of trade union socialism
that hangs on to the traditional baiting of the ruling classes
and offers nothing in return.
Or else they drift into the destructive hands
of the Bolshevist agitators.
Communists are the curse of everyone at the moment.
Hmm, well, it's a bloody tragedy.
And what do we have to offer them, father?
Our party.
Well, what a pathetic lot we are --
skulking behind Lloyd George, complacently biding our time.
Well, I tell you, father, I tell you, if ever that time comes
there won't be a country left worth governing.
All decency, all tradition, all values will be gone,
vanished without a trace.
Now, Sir Geoffrey, you can, you can tell Central Office,
if they're interested, that I shan't be standing again.
If you'll excuse me, father, I don't think I can face lunch.
If anyone wants me I'll be at the club.
Ah, Hudson, I shall be lunching out today.
HUDSON: Very good, sir.
Sir...
might I, on behalf of the staff, offer you our sincere
congratulations on reducing the Labour majority.
Did I?
By 639 votes, sir, from the general election.
JAMES: Oh.
HUDSON: It was a notable achievement, sir.
Hmm. Thank you, Hudson.
Luncheon is served, my lady.
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