[¶]
How many times am I going to tell you?
Papa.
How many times?
Banging on pots and pans
and garbage can covers
wasn't enough noise for you,
and driving us all crazy
by playing on the washboard
with Mother's thimble,
that was not enough noise either.
But it doesn't have to be noise.
There's music in drums, Papa, I know there is.
I don't know how to tell you.
Well, sometimes, it can be real quiet music too.
Listen.
[SOFT DRUMMING]
Papa, did you know
that drums were the first instrument
man ever played?
It's true. Did you know that?
I've been too easy
with my baby son.
Papa, I'm 18 years old. Why do you treat me like a kid?
Why do you act like one?
At your age,
I was already working for eight years,
but I wanted you to be somebody...
But I think I can be somebody as a drummer.
Somebody fine, a priest, maybe.
But I want to be a drummer.
Why?
Papa, if I told you why, I'd be lying, I don't know why.
Now, listen to me, my son.
In one month from now,
you are graduating from high school.
It is time that you understood
that there are men walking the streets
begging for work,
and you...
Where did you get this thing with drums?
From the devil himself?
No, Papa.
Then get rid of them.
Didn't you hear me?
I can't, Pop.
Didn't you hear me?
How many times am I going to tell you?
And tell you, and tell you,
and tell you,
tell you?
Why don't you kick me too, Pop.
You might just as well.
Don't talk, Eugene. It's no use.
No, that's right,
because I'm gonna get me another set of drums.
I don't know how, but I will,
and if you break those,
I'm gonna get me another set, and another after that,
because you're right, I'm not a baby anymore.
I'm getting a chance to play with a bunch of guys
at Austin High.
They formed a band, and they play jobs for money,
Pop.
That's what I'm gonna do.
Oh, can't you see, Pop? I gotta.
Yeah, crazy, man.
Man, and I was worried about
who was gonna fill in for Davey Tough
when he cuts out for New York,
but the good Lord never closes one door
without opening another.
Hi.
Oh, hi.
We met last week.
Yeah, I know.
Oh.
Would you like some?
Oh, thanks.
What?
I was just trying to remember
if I thanked you for the gum.
You're funny.
I'm not.
Who were you beating
on those drums?
Well, that's how you were playing just now,
like there was some kind of devil
in those drums
you just had to beat out of there.
There is.
His name is Nobody, Mr. Nobody,
and he wants me to be just like him, see?
Hey, Eth, how do you like that, huh?
He sure tore things up, didn't he?
Yeah.
All right, you guys, come on.
That's enough playing for ourselves.
Let's rehearse for the job before my folks get home, huh?
Come on, Gene.
Hi, new boy. Where have you been?
One, two...
Don't knock yourself out.
We're having a weenie roast and swim party
at my house next Saturday,
and... you're my date.
¶ Let there be you ¶
¶ And let there be me ¶
¶ Let there be oysters ¶
¶ Under the sea ¶
¶ Let there be wind ¶
¶ An occasional rain ¶
¶ Chile con carne ¶
¶ And some sparkling champagne ¶
¶ Let there be birds ¶
¶ To sing in the trees ¶
¶ And someone to bless me ¶
¶ Whenever I sneeze ¶
¶ Let there be cuckoos ¶
¶ A lark, and a dove ¶
¶ But first of all ¶
¶ Please let there be love ¶
¶ Let there be love ¶
¶ Ah, let there be love ¶
What'll you have?
Oh.
One of those.
[CHUCKLES]
Hey, do you think drummers ever get
to live like that?
Not by playing at marathons,
or that dime- a-dance palace
you played last night.
You know, I'll bet
everyone even has his own room up there.
Do you?
I'm an only child.
Oh, that's nice.
Is it?
Well, I always thought
having brothers and sisters
was the nicest.
Are they all like you?
Shy and so quiet,
until you get behind those drums,
then boom! "Look out, I'm coming at you,
so hear me good."
It's like... It's like drums must have been
when they began,
back there in the jungle.
Voodoo drums making black magic,
getting everybody all shook up, like--
Do you say those things to surprise yourself?
I'll shut up.
No, no, I... I like the way you talk.
Hey, I bet you could write a book.
I'll bet I couldn't.
Besides, I'd much rather write music.
You father, doesn't he mind?
No.
Does yours?
Uh... He wants me to be a priest.
You love him, don't you?
Like he was God.
Uh... Hey, listen,
what are you doing after graduation?
Well, I know what I'd like to do.
Go to New York and study
at the Juilliard School of Music,
and maybe one day, if God is good to me,
I'd-- I'd hear a symphony of mine played
at Carnegie Hall, and...
I'd get married
and have a house full of kids with--
Hey, drummer boy,
come quick, I need your help.
Come on, hurry.
Hey, hey.
Can I bite you lower lip?
I thought you needed help.
Oh, I do, baby, I do.
Mm, with that moon and that music. Mm...
Don't you want it?
Hey!
Stop it, stop it!
Stop it.
Thanks.
[HONKING]
Hey, thanks for the ride. Nice seeing you.
Bye. Bye.
I'll see you, fellows.
...do thy will, Jesus.
[GROUP MURMURING IN PRAYER]
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and bless the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
[GROUP MURMURING IN PRAYER]
Papa.
Papa...
Papa?
Papa.
Papa!
Papa, don't die!
[ORGAN MUSIC PLAYING]
Pray for me, Father, because something is wrong.
I...
I thought I had it made, but... the rain drips,
and somebody walks a certain way, and--
The rhythm beats everything else out of my head.
I hear "Ave Maria,"
and my mind takes off on a syncopated version of it.
Father, I know I'm profaning something that's holy, I know.
I just can't help it.
I tried, I tried, I really have.
I know you have,
but becoming a priest is a fulfillment,
not a penance.
If you feel certain
that it wasn't meant to be
and you wish to leave--
No, I can't.
I promised them.
I'll make it.
In six weeks,
summer vacation will be here.
You'll go home, get some rest and peace.
Fat? What do you mean, fat? How can you tell I'm fat, huh?
Hey, come on.
Hey, Ed, how come you guys
are putting out in a speakeasy like this, huh?
Oh, we're lucky.
Boy, the kind of places
that'll let us play our music,
you can count on your nose,
so here we play it the way we like.
Hey, Gene?
Huh?
Boy, you know, we could sure use you around here.
What do you say, huh?
What's to say, Ed?
A guy's going to be a priest, he can't...
Well, you know. Yeah.
Sure, I know.
What are you gonna do all summer?
Oh, I don't know, my mother's...
I don't know, Eddie.
Gene, well, look, maybe she wouldn't mind
if you just played for the summer, huh?
Maybe?
Well, she...
Maybe.
Yeah? Boy, that's it.
You really put me on the sunny side.
Hey, hey, did you hear about Davey Tough?
He went to New York
and made it with Paul Whiteman.
No kidding.
[THUMP]
Hey, hey, what's she doing here?
Oh, it's...
We've been-- We've been dating kind of steady, you know.
Yeah, I tell you, it's crazy.
I just look at her, and she knocks me apart.
I'll tell you something even crazier.
I'm going to marry her.
Well, I haven't asked yet,
so don't say anything, all right?
Hi.
Oh, no, no. All right.
Hi, Eth.
Hello, Gene.
Hello.
Eddie told me you might be around today,
and I-- I just had to come and say hello
and catch some of that scary drumming.
Scary?
It always scared me.
Didn't you know that?
Are my eyebrows off
or something?
You've changed.
It's been a year, almost.
No more gum, huh?
I haven't changed that much.
You remembered.
I tried not to.
Thanks.
Didn't you write to anybody?
Well, it was better that way.
You look good, Eth.
I feel good.
It shows.
Excuse me.
[BUZZING]
Hey, Eddie, hey, what's that?
Oh, they're just testing.
See, in case of a raid,
the light blinks a warning from the front door,
that is, unless you blow out the man's fuse box...
if you remember how.
[¶]
Yeah, come on, come on.
Hiya, Padre.
I asked you not to call me that.
Okay, Padre.
You know I love you too.
Come on, I'll even buy you a drink
to prove it.
You know I don't drink.
Even if I did,
I wouldn't drink with a big noise.
Hey, hey. Huh?
What do you keep tangling her for?
She's only trying to get a rise out of you.
Every time she comes in--
She's nothing but a big noise.
Look, just because one of her boyfriends owns this joint--
Whoa, he not only owns the place,
but he's liable to open up your head
to see why you don't use your brains
while you've still got them.
Mr. Krupa.
Huh?
[VOICES AND LAUGHTER IN BACKGROUND]
Hello, Mama.
Ted.
Eugene.
Mom, would you like to come in
and sit down, huh? Come on in.
¶ I love my baby ¶
¶ My baby loves me ¶
What are you looking for, Mama?
I wanted to know where my son is working
and with what kind of people.
Thank God that soon you will be going back
to the seminary.
Mama, I'm not going back. I can't.
Don't say that.
I've got to, Mama.
Don't say it.
Mama, I can never be a priest.
I wish I could be, but I just don't have it in me.
Mama, come on,
don't look at me that way. I...
I tried, Ma,
I really tried, for a whole year, but...
That life is just not for me.
And this life is for you?
In dark cellars filled with smoke?
Shameless men and women drinking alcohol,
breaking the law, while you entertain them.
This is the life you have chosen?
This filth?
Compliments of Miss Corregio, sir.
Take it away!
Listen, Mama, if the whole world wants to drink and to go crazy,
how is that my fault?
All I want to do is make my kind of music,
and I'm doing that.
Mama, did you hear the waiter?
"Sir," he called me,
not, "Hey, kid," "Hey, squirt," but "sir."
That's what I am around here, Mama,
and I like that.
I have a job, money, friends.
Mama, why are you crying?
Being a musician doesn't have to be bad.
Ma, where are you going?
Aren't you at least
going to listen to me play?
Here? Your father was right.
Mama.
Mama, why don't you tell me
what you used to say about Papa.
Don't you dare to mention his name
in this place.
You said it didn't matter what a man did,
but what he-- but what he was.
If I was meant to be a priest, Ma--
You are worse than they,
because your father taught you to know better.
¶ We never worry ¶
¶ 'Cause we're just Yes, we're having fun ¶
I didn't think I could ever tell her.
You had to.
Yeah, I know, I know,
and the way she left...
I guess she knows she can't stop you.
No one can.
How do you mean?
Well, your music's all that matters to you.
Why can't she understand?
Still, she's right, you know.
Oh, you-- Don't get mad.
She is,
about you not belonging in dives like this.
Music like yours is being played in theaters
and high-class hotels--
Sure, in New York.
Then that's where you belong.
Well, that's easy for you to say.
Not easy at all, Gene,
because if you go, Eddie goes with you,
and... and then there'd be two of you to miss.
Hey, Eddie.
Eddie.
Yeah.
Listen...
Did you ever think of making New York?
Well, Davey Tough connected.
Yeah, man, but...
Listen, maybe she'll come too.
Well, she always wanted to make that Juilliard
and Carnegie Hall. [BEEPING]
MAN: A raid!
[SCREAMING]
Come on, Eth, let's get out of here.
[CYMBAL CLASHING]
[¶]
[SCALES BEING PLAYED ON PIANO]
Cooking is not allowed in the room.
No practicing after midnight,
and, uh, that'll be
one week's rent in advance,
and don't try to sneak your buddies in here
to sleep on the chairs.
I'm wise to that.
Well, welcome to the big city.
You know,
I think we should've gone to the Y
like Ethel did.
What for?
Ah, we won't be living in this joint
long enough for it to matter.
Hello, big town. Are you ready?
[GENE HUMMING]
[WHISTLING]
Ethel sure mends a fine collar.
Yeah,
she does pretty good with the socks too.
From rags to rags in one generation.
Hey, Gene?
Yeah?
How about packing this town
and then going home, huh?
Never.
Not until we've made it.
But it's been over three months.
If there are no jobs for us, what are we going--
Oh, there will be. Don't worry about it.
Yeah, if we live long enough.
Look, look, I'm no mental giant,
so sometimes I'm a little slow on the upbeat,
but you would rather hock your drums
than play bread-and-butter jobs.
Look, we didn't come here to play at polka parties
or to whoop it up on a truck at election rallies.
We came here to make a certain kind of music.
And that's what we're-- And nobody wants us?
Well, they do.
They just don't know about it.
Tell me something.
Tell me what it is with you,
pride or something?
Look, I know you're a hard-head,
but don't you understand something?
That they want it strictly from the cob,
Ted Lewis, and "Waltz Me Around Again, Willie."
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
The manager.
Ow!
[KNOCKING CONTINUES]
Aah...
Okay.
Hi--
Hi.
Hi, Eth.
Hi. Any luck today?
Yeah, plenty. All bad.
Seems like every jazz man in town
has more experience than us.
Why, where'd all this come from?
The market.
Well, what did you use for money?
Money. I got a job.
Switchboard operator at the Hotel Edison.
[NASAL VOICE] Good evening, Hotel Edison.
One moment, please.
I'll connect you with room service.
Good evening, sir... No, sir.
There's nobody cooking food
in this room.
Ain't nobody here but us chickens.
What about Carnegie Hall
and all of the symphonies
you came here to write?
Well, I can do both.
Ethel, what did you do a thing like that for?
I mean, sometimes I just don't understand you, Eth.
[SIGHS]
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to jump all over you.
Did you?
Well, it's just that you've been washing and...
and sewing and ironing for us
and now you want to feed us.
Ah, what's the matter with us
that you have to go out and work for us?
Wouldn't you do as much for me?
Or Eddie?
Of course you would.
I just found a job first, that's all.
I... I got to run.
Talk to you later, huh?
Hotel Edison. One moment, please.
Hey, Eth.
I'll make it up to you.
You don't have to.
Oh, I do, I do.
You're a wonderful gal, Eth. You know that, don't you?
Oh, that's just a rumor I started,
and besides, I think you're wonderful too,
so we're even.
Good night, Gene.
Good night...
Cold Hands.
Are they?
Hold me, Gene.
Close.
So close that nothing can ever come between us.
Don't look at me.
Eth, what are we getting ourselves into?
Eddie's expecting to marry you.
No, he's not. Not anymore.
He knows how I feel about you.
Oh, I wish I understood you.
I wish you did too.
Eddie's one of the nicest and best-looking guys.
Why-- He's a wonderful guy.
I'm no good for anybody else but you, Gene. I never was.
Please never let me go.
Whew. Man, watch me make a slob of myself.
I'm so tired
of those salt and pepper sandwiches.
Where'd you go?
Out. Looking the natives over.
I don't want to be in the way.
Listen, Eddie, I, uh...
Look, I want you to know I never tried to cut you out,
or make time or anything like that--
No, I know you didn't. You didn't have to.
That girl looks at you like she's just sighted land.
You know, even while you were at the seminary,
she was carrying a torch for you
like the Statue of Liberty.
I figured maybe she'd have to get over it, but...
Look, I never really stood a chance.
I don't know
how you feel about her, but I--
Oh, I'm going to marry her.
On the level?
First job I get.
She could die an old maid that way.
Hey, guess who I met in the lobby.
Who did you meet in the lobby?
Davey Tough. Remember?
Yeah, sure. I remember.
He said to say hello
and how come
we didn't make a dee-dee some night.
All right, I'll bite. What's a dee-dee?
Oh, I don't know, a session at Dorissa Dinell's place?
The Lady Dee. Huh.
That's where all the big guys drop in after hours.
Dorsey, Teagarden, Red Nichols.
Dorsey, Teagarden, Red Nichols?
Did you get the address?
Yeah.
Then what are you waiting for?
Come on, let's go.
[¶]
[APPLAUSE]
Hey, Eddie.
Hey, man, long time.
Hi, Dave. You remember Gene. Sure. How are you?
Ethel, Davey Tough. Nice to know you.
Hello.
Come on.
[CHATTER FROM CROWD]
Man, somebody wake me up.
How about this?
Oh, what a way to live.
I'm going to have a place just like this, and soon...
way up high, with--
There goes Red Nichols...
and there goes Dorsey.
[WARMING UP]
And here goes Krupa.
With them?
Careful with those drums, sonny.
[PLAYING "BACK HOME AGAIN IN INDIANA"]
[SONG ENDS]
[APPLAUSE]
Dorsey's the name, Tommy.
And this is my brother, Jimmy.
How do you do?
I'm Red Nichols.
Wow, you kick a lot of drums, Jack.
Uh, Gene.
Gene Krupa.
Hey, Eth. Guess what?
Red Nichols asked me to hang around.
He wants to talk to me
about working in his band
for the new George Gershwin show
"Strike Up the Band."
Isn't that wild, Eth?
Oh, Eth, I'm on my way.
My luck is changing, Eth.
I'm on my way.
This is no time to be sleeping, Cinderella.
Yeah,
we're all going up to Harlem for some barbecued spareribs,
which Nichols says is the most.
Yeah.
No, no.
No, honey, that was last time.
No, no, I know, honey, but this is a different place.
Yeah, and listen,
and then we're all going up to Charlie Sims' after that
to play some--
Oh, darn it, I... Gee, I forgot.
You've got school in the morning.
Yeah.
Oh, I'm sorry, Ethel.
Hey, you should have been
to the party we went to
after we got through with the club.
Oh, very, very, uh, high society,
and you know what it got us?
Huh?
A record date with, uh, Dorissa Dinell.
Huh?
Only she'd never done real jazz before,
so keep your fingers crossed.
A week from Tuesday.
Hey, wonderful. That's my birthday.
Hey, that's right.
Well, that'll give us two things to celebrate.
Oh, Ethel, Ethel, I'm telling you,
more things are happening.
I'm really beginning to move now.
What with the...
Oh, darn it.
Honey, I'm... I'm not going to have time
to take you to lunch today.
I have this interview with Down Beat magazine.
They're doing a thing on Chicago jazz,
and after that, I'm meeting Red with some friends for cocktails,
and then I've got to meet
the man who runs the Jack of Clubs,
and-- and then...
Honey, I'm sorry.
How about dinner at the club?
How about a nice, quiet sandwich somewhere,
just the two of us?
When?
You say when.
I'll call you later, huh?
Say, uh, wish me luck, huh?
¶ ...street ¶
¶ Can't you hear The pitter-pat? ¶
¶ And that happy tune Is your step ¶
¶ Life can be so sweet ¶
¶ On the sunny side Of the street ¶
¶ I used to walk in the shade ¶
¶ With those blues on parade ¶
¶ But I'm not afraid ¶
¶ This rover crossed over ¶
Hold it. Hold it.
Is this what you meant by real jazz backing?
Because it sounds
more like a razor fight in the dark to me.
All that racket.
And those drums.
I'm sure all that boom-boom
would knock the needle to hell and gone.
The technicians will take--
I said I'm sure.
Dee-Dee, that's what rehearsals are for.
I know what they're for.
I'm not sure that they do.
I'm sorry.
I'll try to hold it down--
Well, you ought to be.
Do we need these pots and pans?
Now--
After all, I am not a cooch dancer
and we're not doing "The Zombie's Mating Call,"
you know,
which may come as a big shock to you.
Got a better idea.
There.
Now you can bang your pretty head off,
just to show you my heart is in a good place.
Your what?
Snow again, junior.
I didn't quite get your drift.
I said, "Thank God I'm not a mink."
Aren't you, though?
Can we try it once again.
Tempo, Jackson.
She'll tear your ears off
just for souvenirs.
Laying her pussycat on my bass. Just who--
Gene-o.
¶ Grab your coat And get your hat ¶
¶ Leave your worries ¶
¶ Leave 'em on the doorstep ¶
¶ Just direct your feet ¶
¶ To the sunny side Of the street ¶
¶ Can't you hear A pitter-pat? ¶
Yeah, I'd love to, Tom,
but it's my girl's birthday,
and I promised I'd take her to a late show,
you know, and some supper,
and, well, I wouldn't want to disappoint her.
Okay, Gene-o.
Tell her happy birthday for me.
See you, Tom.
Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?
[PLAYS WITH VIGOR]
[DOOR SLAMS]
Oh, man, did you put her down.
Time somebody did.
My compliments, maestro.
What are we giving away here?
The most.
One sip and you're gone from the vale of tears.
Reefers?
Reet, the tender weed,
or as the peasants say, "tea," and I don't mean oolong.
So that's what they look like, huh?
Don't give me that, Daddy-o.
How else would you get
that crazy kick on your drums?
Oh, come off it, Jack.
Do you think I need anything like that
to get me out there?
Stand up, Dad.
They're going over your head.
Drummer boy.
Do you have a minute?
Half a minute?
Haven't I heard what you've got to say?
I'm trying to apologize.
Yes, sir.
Anything else, sir?
If I let you go away mad,
you'd spook me the longest day I lived.
That's how I am,
and I don't like to eat alone, so...
Why don't we have supper or breakfast
or both
and get to like each other?
We ought to
if you're going to do all my record dates.
I'm not going to bite you.
I'm not worried about you biting me.
There happens to be a girl.
There always is.
Does that mean
we can't have a drink and talk for an hour or so?
It's her birthday
and we're celebrating it tonight.
And you're afraid she won't wait, huh?
And I thought it was just me you were scared of.
Maybe if you called her and asked,
"Pretty please?"
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
DORISSA: Don't answer it, doll.
[RINGING STOPS]
Good.
Come and scrub my back.
[WATER RUNNING]
Hmm. What a night.
Do you know
how much champagne you put away?
[TELEPHONE RINGING]
Gene?
Where are you? At home?
Uh...
No, I'm uptown.
Yeah, I...
I had to call and apologize
for not seeing you last night or...
or telephoning.
That's all right.
Eddie explained
that you'd gotten hooked into some extra work
and that you'd be busy most of the night.
You must be exhausted with all--
Oh, never mind me. What did you do?
I waited...
like the foolish girl I am.
Gee, I... I'm sorry, Eth.
I... Listen, Eth, I got to go now.
Can I see you tonight?
Can you?
At the club... All right.
And, oh, listen, Eth. Happy birth--
Thanks, Gene. Goodbye.
[¶]
[APPLAUSE]
Hey, Gene-o.
Hey, something wrong?
My mother.
I invite her to come and visit
and stay at the new apartment, and...
I know she'd like to see how well I'm doing.
Sure.
She says she can't.
But she won't.
She says she prays for me
and she's happy for me if I enjoy this life.
I wanted her to enjoy it. I...
I wanted to see her face get happy for me.
Take it easy.
Okay, fellows. Come on. "Cherokee."
One, two...
Go, Gene, go.
MAN: Go, Gene, go. Go, Gene, go.
Go, Gene, go! Go, Gene, go!
Can you hear that, Mama?
They're yelling for your boy.
Mama, they approve.
Go, Gene, go! Go, Gene, go!
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
Gene-o! Gene-o!
Oh, you were wonderful.
Hi.
Honey...
That was Dorissa Dinell,
the singer,
and sitting next to her
is Mark Hellinger,
the columnist,
and next to him is Speaker Willis,
the top agent in the business,
and they want me to join them.
I see.
Oh, come on.
Don't say it that way.
Well, you have to, don't you?
Nah. It's not that. It...
Well, you know how important it is
for me to meet people like that.
And?
And I may get Speaker Willis
to handle me.
And you don't want me there.
Well...
You can say it, Gene.
Okay. If you want me to stay, I will.
If you really want--
No, I don't. Not like that.
After all, I'm not your wife.
I'm just...
What am I, Gene?
I'm...
Uh, I'm sorry.
I just don't want to be in the way.
Ethel, you're not.
Good night, Gene. It's just...
Hey, Eth.
Okay, let me get you a cab.
Thanks. I can manage.
Honey, you...
You do understand, don't you?
I think I do.
How do you do, Mr. Willis?
My pleasure.
Using the drums as a solo instrument.
I don't know how anybody who looks
like his mama's own angel-child
can explode like that and...
and... and knock everybody's plaster loose.
[PLAYING "INDIANA"]
But I did try to reach you all last night.
Well, how sick is she?
Not very,
but she is my mother, and, well,
I haven't been home in a long time.
Yeah.
I'm sorry, Eth.
It's funny. I...
I miss you already.
That's an improvement already.
[¶]
[WOMEN SCREAMING]
[HORN HONKING]
Well, like I told you.
It took a little longer than I figured,
but I made it.
Ah, you talk about class.
Hey, you haven't seen anything yet.
Just wait until you see the view. Come on, Eddie.
I'm telling you, you haven't seen anything like this
except at Dee-Dee's, only this is better.
Look.
Seventeen floors up
and all of Central Park for your ashtray.
Huh. Not mine. I can't afford it.
Well, you don't have to. You're my buddy, aren't you?
I don't understand something.
Last month, you moved to that beautiful place--
That was last month.
Eddie-boy, we gotta try real hard
to be satisfied with the best.
Well, that's what making money is for,
to have a good time
before it all caves in on you.
Yeah, like the mine shaft did
on my old man's leg.
Hey, we've got a lot of fun to catch up on,
and this is the place for it.
Hey, I can't wait until I see Ethel's face
when she gets back from Chicago.
Yeah, if she gets back.
I thought her mother was getting better.
I don't think she went just because of her mother.
Do you?
Anyway, I got a letter from her yesterday.
Oh?
Yeah, she asked me whether I thought
she ought to come back or not.
How come she asked you?
Because I'm her friend.
And what am I, her enemy?
Well, don't get hot.
You know, she wasn't exactly happy around here--
Yeah, I know, I know, but whose fault is it?
We were hardly ever awake at the same time.
Well, you know what it is for jazz-blowers.
If it isn't the job six nights a week,
it's a rehearsal or a benefit--
Yeah, or a new girl.
You know, you even had me fooled for a while.
I really thought you were going to marry that girl.
I am gonna marry her. Yeah? Like when?
You want me to tell you when? Do you want me to tell you?
Gene, don't you understand something?
That she's not going to stand still for all that goop?
That you're gonna have to make a choice?
Why? Eddie, what good is making good
if you can't have everything that goes with it?
The parties, the kicks...
Oh, those gals mean nothing to me.
You know that.
Well, why can't she understand that?
I think she does, Gene.
Well, it isn't much, but he calls it home.
But why?
This must take every dollar he earns.
Yeah, and some he hasn't earned yet.
Hey, Eth!
Hey, you know something?
Every time I see you, you're looking better,
only this time,
you're looking like the next time.
Welcome back, Eth.
Gee, I'm sorry I couldn't meet you at the station, but I--
Gene-o!
Lookit who I brung.
Hey, Bunny!
Uh, excuse me.
Bunny, baby.
Nice to see you. You know Bunny Berrigan.
And Frankie Trumbauer... Frankie.
Bix Beiderbecke...
Bix Beiderbecke. How are you?
And me. And me.
Come on in, everybody.
Come on. Come on.
Drinks for everybody.
Hello, Gene.
How are you? Hello, pal.
Beautiful, marvelous party.
Look who I brought.
A couple of Ziegfeld Follies rejects.
I got one more to show you.
A little card trick. A little card trick.
Watch this one, Gene.
Four of hearts. Seven of diamonds.
Queen of spades. Nine of clubs.
Nine of diamonds. Ace of spades.
Four of hearts. Queen of clubs.
Nine of diamonds. Ace of spades.
Four of hearts. Queen of clubs.
Where's the cards? What?
Where's the cards.
I can't do it with the cards.
This one is an imitation of a, uh...
of an airplane that is...
Pow!
[BLOWING]
Pow!
[LAUGHTER]
Hey, uh, tell me, you seen Eddie?
Sirota? Yeah.
Saw him leave with your girl. Why?
That's a good question.
Why?
All right, come on. What gives?
She wanted to leave, so I put her in a cab.
Alone?
Well, that's how she wanted it.
She's a funny girl, Gene.
Yeah, hilarious.
Where'd she go?
Uh, to the Edison.
Smile like you're glad to see me.
I am.
It doesn't always show.
Aren't you going to invite me in?
No, Gene.
Huh.
It's just a room.
A small room without a view.
Oh, I get it.
You're mad at me
because I didn't meet you at the station, huh?
That would have been nice.
Well, didn't Eddie explain?
You think I should have blown the whistle
on the whole party,
sent all of my friends packing, the greatest names in jazz--
No.
Then why did you walk out?
Because, all of a sudden,
I could.
Once, I...
I didn't think I could ever stop
hearing those drums in my head
or wondering where you were
and what you were doing
and whom you were doing it with.
No, Gene, let me finish.
I don't know what happened
to that boy I knew in Chicago, but--
He grew up, all the way up,
only you don't approve.
What I don't approve of is...
is my being a sometime thing, Gene,
a convenience.
Not even yours.
I tried to be,
but it made love a dirty word, messy.
Don't talk that way.
How'd you like me to talk?
Pretend that...
I'm going to stone you out of my life, Gene,
even if it kills me.
I know nobody ever died from that,
but it sure feels like I may be the first.
Ethel, Ethel, what is it you want?
Too much.
I know. Marriage.
You want us to live locked up in each other's pockets,
like we--
I want you to say good night.
Then why did you come back?
Because hope can be very foolish.
Good night, Gene.
["MEMORIES OF YOU" PLAYING]
¶ Waking skies ¶
¶ At sunrise ¶
¶ Every sunset too ¶
¶ Seems to be ¶
¶ Bringing me ¶
¶ Memories of you ¶
¶ Here and there ¶
¶ Everywhere ¶
¶ Scenes that we once knew ¶
¶ And they all ¶
¶ Just recall ¶
¶ Memories ¶
¶ Memories of you ¶
¶ How I wish ¶
¶ I could forget ¶
¶ Those happy yesteryears ¶
¶ That have left ¶
¶ A rosary of tears ¶
¶ Your face beams ¶
¶ In my dreams ¶
¶ In spite of all I do ¶
¶ And, and, and ¶
¶ Everything ¶
¶ Seems to bring ¶
¶ Memories of you ¶
¶ Your face beams ¶
¶ In my dreams ¶
Where you been?
Out.
Way out.
¶ Everything ¶
Who's the snake charmer?
Anita O'Day.
Not bad, if you like talent.
¶ Oh, memories of you ¶
[APPLAUSE]
Speaker...
Look, Speaker, I've been thinking,
and that's not easy for me.
I want to front my own group.
I think I'm ready.
That'd take a lot of money, Gene, and--
Well, what doesn't?
Set it up
with a long tour to break it in right.
Well, Gene, I'm not sure I can.
If you can't,
I'll have to get somebody who can.
You're pretty young for a...
You know what she said?
She said she didn't want to see--
Can we talk about something else?
Telling me she was going to stone me--
I said, can we talk about something else?
Hey, wait a minute.
Since when can't I talk without checking you first?
Since you decided to discuss her, that's when.
Like this. I don't want her name kicked around here--
You don't want? That's right, I don't want.
So let's talk about something else, all right?
Well, let's not, Eddie, buddy,
because I don't have to talk to you at all.
Yeah, well, that's all right too.
What's with Mother Sirota?
Oh, what's with everybody?
Who's the girl you were--
Shut up and give me a cigarette.
[¶]
Don't diddle it.
[SUCKS AIR IN]
Go on.
Be somebody, Gene-o.
Put your miseries out to pasture
and nobody gets you.
Do you hear that, everybody?
Nobody gets me!
Nobody gets me at all!
[PLAYING "INDIANA"]
[SOLO]
[BAND PLAYS A FEW NOTES]
[DRUM STICK DROPS, ROLLS]
[BAND CONTINUES]
[CROWD CHEERING]
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
Oh, hey, listen, Eddie, Eric here tells me
there's this crazy bongo joint downtown
where the natives really kick it in.
Want to come?
Sure, if I can drive.
Translate, please?
Last week you almost got us pulverized
in that car.
[CHUCKLES]
So? That was last week, and "almost" doesn't count.
Hey, what's the matter? You want to live forever?
Okay, Eric, that's enough.
Nope. Just as long as I can.
You're in no shape to handle that buggy.
Half the time you're not tracking,
the other half the time you're not caring
or you'd be plenty worried
about not being able
to hold onto those sticks.
Who can't?
What's the matter?
Didn't you ever have an accident?
Gene, you've got to come down.
The way you've been going, you're...
you're going to wind up in a hospital.
That's the only way to go
if you're going to go at all: big.
No, not big. Bigger.
Everything's got to be bigger for you.
Bigger, bigger,
then bigger than that, until--
Oh, wow. My buddy's been on the full moon.
Now you want to tell me success is bad?
No, success is when you can stop worrying about it.
Success is when you can handle it,
and you can't, not even nearly.
You're like all wonder boys who stop--
Where are you preaching next Sunday, Daddy?
Because I want to be sure and miss it.
All I did was invite you to a bongo session--
All right, all right. So don't get hot.
Then don't go telling me what to do!
Yeah, wouldn't that be something?
Anybody telling you anything.
Look, if you're gonna break your neck,
that's fine, but you do it without me,
because this is where I'm getting off.
Oh, come on. What is this, a threat?
No, it's just something
I should have done a long time ago, Gene.
He'll change his mind.
No, he won't.
Not this time.
Tough tiddlywinks.
He keeps raining all the time.
Now, you know I don't mess with that stuff anymore.
That's what's wrong with you.
I thought I got you off of it too.
You did, but...
[DRUMS POUNDING]
[CROWD CHEERING]
[PLAYING "INDIANA"]
[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]
[PEOPLE SHOUTING]
Later. We'll get it later.
Wow.
This your coat?
Yeah, sure. Why? What's--
Hey, what is this?
An arrest.
Now, look, fellows, if this is your idea of a gag--
These two envelopes,
one of them containing 37 marijuana cigarettes,
reefers,
the other containing two, one of them half-smoked.
Found in your coat pocket.
In my pocket?
Now I know this is a gag.
Your man here was a witness.
Sure, I've messed with some reefers.
Don't ask me why, because I don't know.
Maybe I had to see
what everybody was talking about.
Maybe I was low and I thought it might be kicks,
like somebody drinks too much
or gambles more than he meant to...
Or messes with a woman he thinks is poison,
because that's exactly what it is.
That stuff not only threw my timing off,
but it made my... my sticks kind of slippery, and...
All right, so if there's a rap
for having messed with the stuff once,
I guess I've got it coming to me,
but those reefers were not mine!
Miss Dinell can testify to that.
Whoa, hey, hold it.
Let's not drag little old me into this.
That's why we have Mr. Harlock here,
who is only the best lawyer in town,
and he says
possession of marijuana is only a misdemeanor.
You plead guilty, and--
To what?
Listen, I'm telling you the truth.
I know you are.
Otherwise you'd have been caught in the act
or they'd have been found on you,
but the fact is, they did find them.
I talked to your valet.
It could look very bad in court.
But who would want to frame me?
Well, could be anybody.
A jealous woman, a musician you fired,
a peddler,
a vice crusader
hipped on musicians.
You're a sitting duck.
Of course, we'll have Miss Dinell on the stand.
No, you won't.
You get me up there
and I'm one dead duckling.
You are our key witness,
Miss Dinell--
The hell I am.
I'd never get rid of the smell.
It's very important-- Forget it.
Now, if you'll excuse me,
I've got a town I'd better get out of.
[DOOR SLAMS]
Boy, there are smells and smells, huh?
[TELEPHONE RINGS]
Yes?
Who?
Just a moment, please.
It's for you.
I'm not here.
It's your mother.
Mama?
Ma, don't cry. There's nothing to worry--
No, I don't want you to come.
Because you'd only get yourself hurt
by all the news--
I know that doesn't matter to you, Ma, but...
And I love you for it, but what good would it do?
I want to see you too,
but not now, not this way.
Ma, why didn't you want to see me
when things were going good?
Why now, when--
No, Ma.
No.
I needed you more then.
Why didn't you ever understand that?
Yeah, I will.
Yeah, on my way back to New York.
Now, you take care of yourself, you hear me, Ma?
Please try not to worry.
You see, I got myself a real great lawyer. Yeah.
Thanks, Ma.
I do too.
Goodbye.
Well, for a man who just took a bum rap,
you're doing--
What rap, Mr. Harlock?
Look, it's all over and done with,
and as soon as I pay you the rest of the tab
and blow this town,
it'll be like it never was.
only I, uh...
Look, I can't pay it now.
I'm kind of broke,
but, uh, only until I get to New York.
Gene!
Gene Krupa! Kenny!
Long time no see.
Nice to see you.
Gee, when'd you get back?
You're looking great.
It's about three or four weeks. Fine.
Listen, uh, did Willis talk to you about me?
No. No. About what?
About your drum spot. Do I hear an offer?
For you?
Oh, marone, what I wouldn't give
to have you on those drums.
Well, here I am.
Yeah, but Gene, how could I?
That pressure's worse than ever.
Do you know what would happen to me
if I was to give a job to an addict--
Is that what you think I am?
No, of course not, Gene.
I know you're not,
but they don't know it.
They think you are.
Kid, they'd crucify me
with my head hanging down,
and then we'd both be out of the business.
You mean I can't even work for you, huh?
It'd be like cutting my own throat, kid.
I'm sorry.
I'll see you, Kenny.
What's going on, Speaker?
Because something sure is, and let's not waltz me around.
Well, the heat's still on, Gene.
If a musician
so much as smiles on a bandstand,
he's suspected of being a dope fiend.
So?
So nobody's exactly anxious
to stick his neck out,
not even for you.
You should have told me.
Letting me walk around,
embarrassing everybody like I was a two-headed beggar.
Come on. It'll pass, Gene.
Six months or so, after the election,
then all these reformers will be back in--
And just what do I do for those six months or so, huh?
Go nuts banging away on my practice pad,
too ashamed to look at anybody in the face?
Because that's what I am, Speaker,
and it's not a good feeling.
Something may turn up.
Yeah, sure. Sure...
If I beg long enough or crawl long enough.
Well, I'd rather cut my tongue out.
Dope peddlers stop me in the street,
call me up at home and...
Give me anything at all.
Well, anything at all
is liable to be pretty far out of town.
It can't be far out enough,
because this town is like it died and left me,
and good riddance.
If you're sure, Gene.
How many watches do you think
I have left to hock, huh?
[PLAYING STIFF SWING MUSIC]
You missed the tempo change,
Mr. Jones.
Didn't you mark it?
Oh, I got it.
I hope so.
This is my eighth year with this hotel
and nobody's going to compromise my standards.
Well, nobody's going to compromise mine, either.
Look, you may not know who you're talking to.
Ha.
I know precisely who I'm talking to, Mr. Jones.
I owed Willis a favor,
which is why I took the chance with you.
Now, you just behave
and play my music precisely as it--
Your what?
I've heard better music
coming from a squeaky floorboard.
Much better.
[¶]
[PLAYING A SLOW BLUES]
[CROWD HOOTING]
On the house... Krupa.
All right, all right.
I'll go quietly.
When I tell you to.
With your name up in lights,
this joint'll be mobbed.
Gene Krupa in person.
The champ himself on the comeback trail.
Well, not me. I'm no freak in a sideshow.
Okay.
You're a great star.
Let's do it my way, cookie, huh?
Anguish and absurdity, that's all it is,
so get tall, man.
Get tall, and to hell with them all.
Just...
Open up the Golden Gate.
Get off of me.
Well, how else you going to stand it?
Get off of me, I said!
I'm sorry.
You see what I mean?
Look at those hands.
Shaking like they were waving goodbye.
No wonder you can hardly hold onto those sticks.
[SMASH]
[BROKEN GLASS DROPS ON FLOOR]
Now, who's going to believe it?
Here I am, a million miles from nowhere,
locked up in a dead letter office, and...
and you drop in.
What are you doing in a joint like this?
How are you, Gene?
Surprised, mostly.
I guess I could do
with a couple of shaves and a pressing, huh?
You look good, Eth.
I spent all day trying.
What brought you to Philly?
A train.
[CHUCKLES]
I finally found out where you were,
so I thought I'd come down
and catch some of that scary Krupa drumming.
You shouldn't have.
Oh, you don't belong in a dump like this.
Neither do you.
How long has it been?
Oh, eight months... Years.
I don't know. I forget.
What are you doing about it?
Like I do when it rains.
I... I let it rain.
Pretty clever of me, huh?
It's only a matter of time
and I'll be right back on top again.
Bigger than ever.
Oh, great, because, well,
when I heard that you'd been playing
in chop-suey parlors and strip joints, I...
I sort of began to wonder.
What else have you heard?
Tommy Dorsey's
forming a band.
Where'd you hear that from? Eddie?
How is he?
Fine.
If you're planning to see Dorsey about getting a job--
About eating some more crow? Nah, no thanks.
He knows where to find me.
Would you mind very much if I got to Dorsey
and talked to him about you?
Because I don't have that kind of pride,
or I could get someone else
to find out how he feels about you--
I can tell you how he feels about me!
Number one, there's the blacklist,
and even if there wasn't, his men have to read music,
and I mean read.
And you still haven't learned?
You knew that and didn't do anything about it.
All this-- Did what?
Go to school like a kid,
learning how to play the tom-toms?
And from whom?
Jokers who wouldn't know
it was "The Star Spangled Banner"
unless everybody was standing up.
Hey, I'm Gene Krupa, remember?
The Gene Krupa I remember
would never have let anything or anyone stop him.
Not for long.
Go home, Eth.
Look, if Speaker sent you here, I--
Nobody sends me.
You ought to know that, Gene.
All right, he asked you to come.
He asked me not to.
Said I was a very foolish girl...
As if I didn't know that.
Because he thinks that success for you is,
well, is like whisky to an alcoholic.
Then why do you bother?
Because I can't sit by
while you let yourself disappear, Gene.
That's what's happening.
I wish I understood you.
I wish you did too.
When I had everything,
I mean everything-- money, jobs, friends--
you brushed me.
You gave me the rap for making it big, and now--
Not for making it big, Gene.
For not being big enough to handle it,
because if you could make a solo instrument out of drums
and, without a single lesson,
set millions of people on fire with them,
what couldn't you do
once you got your mind around to it?
Didn't they scream, "Go, Gene, go"?
And you went
and took them with you
like nobody'd ever done before,
not on drums.
If you tried,
you could.
What do you think I've been trying to do--
Not enough. Otherwise--
Oh, since when do you know everything?
As if learning how to read music
was the whole, almighty answer.
It'd be better than nothing and a lot better than hiding,
because that's what you're doing, Gene.
Hiding. From what?
What could be worse than this?
Or don't you even care anymore?
You don't leave me very much of myself to like.
I wasn't trying to.
["LET THERE BE LOVE" PLAYING]
¶ And some sparkling champagne ¶
¶ Let there be birds ¶
¶ To sing in the trees ¶
¶ And someone to bless me ¶
¶ Whenever I sneeze ¶
[MUSIC STOPS]
Gene.
Hi, Eddie.
Aw, it's good to see you.
It's good to see you too, Ed.
Been a long time, huh?
Yeah, too long.
How have you been?
Fine, fine.
You know...
Well, what am I going to tell you?
What's to tell me?
It's good to see your ugly puss again.
So what are your plans?
Plans?
Oh, I just thought I'd drop down
and say hello, you know,
and just in case
somebody was having a hard time
reading these flyspecks.
You know, I...
I kind of like this change you got here, Eddie.
This D-flat chord against the B-flat...
What's the matter?
Didn't you know even kids could learn how to read music?
Especially if their coach
is from the New York Philharmonic.
You want to see the scars?
You took lessons, huh?
Yeah, yeah. Quite a few.
Hey, Gene!
Good to see you.
It's good to see you too, Tom.
How are you?
Available.
Do I hear an offer?
Look, Gene-o,
I'd love to use you in the tubs,
but I'll tell you, I just--
No, let me tell you.
It's a new band, see?
And the pressure is still on, and the--
And you're all wet.
I'm a music man.
What I care is whether a man
can make music good enough
and you're more than good enough,
but I have a drummer.
You must know Davey.
Oh, sure.
Well, they... they don't come any better.
I'm sorry, Gene.
Oh, come on, don't be sorry.
Nice to see you again, Tom,
and, uh, good luck, huh?
You too.
MAN: Hey, Mr. Dorsey.
Can I see you a minute?
Excuse me a moment.
Ah, it's just as well.
Why? What are you talking about?
Ah, I don't know. They...
They probably wouldn't accept me out there.
I'm not sure I can make it, Ed.
I'll see you, Ed.
No, now, wait a minute.
Don't go away. Stay here a minute, huh?
Hey, Tommy? I've got an idea.
[SWING MUSIC PLAYING]
Mr. Krupa?
Good luck, Mr. Krupa,
and don't worry about the crowd.
No matter what they do, you're--
MAN: Places, Mr. Krupa.
Right away, please.
[APPLAUSE]
DORSEY: And now, ladies and gentlemen,
back after too long an absence,
Gene Krupa!
Let's give him a great big welcome.
Let's hear it.
[SCATTERED APPLAUSE]
MAN: Hey, Krupa, got a reefer?
WOMAN: Smoke one for me.
MAN: Hey, jailbird!
[DRUM STICK DROPS]
[AUDIENCE LAUGHTER]
[SOLO]
[BAND PLAYS]
MAN: Go, Gene, go!
MAN: Attaboy, Gene! Go, go, Gene!
[CHEERING]
Go, Gene, go! Go, Gene, go!
[CHEERING]
There he goes again,
and there they go after him.
[SONG ENDS]
[WILD CHEERING]
You always knew he'd make it again.
You also know
this is the surest way to lose him?
He never was mine to lose.
I'll tell you something, Gene.
It's nice to see you
back in the old groove again, Daddy.
Man, it was just like old times. Just like old times.
Yeah, man. Remember those parties?
Yeah, they were the wildest. Used to go on for days.
I knew a guy who was never heard from again.
[LAUGHING]
Hey, hey, where are you going, man?
Ain't you coming to our party?
Ah, thanks, man. I've been to that party.
See you, fellows. Thanks a lot, huh?
Hey, Gene.
Hey, Gene, where are you going?
Oh, you know where I'm going.
Hey, uh...
Now, where do you think you're going?
Away.
Without me?
Some chance.
What's the matter? Didn't you think I'd ever learn?