Never Eat Alone (2016) - full transcript

Casa Loma: Canada's castle of
ageless romance for tender years.

It's battlements rise proudly
over Toronto's skyline

and yet its foundations were dug
but 43 years ago.

Then the baronial home of
its builder, Sir Henry Pellatt,

it now is a tourist mecca, operated
by the Kiwanis Club of West Toronto,

whose proceeds serve Canadian
youth in countless ways.

It also is where young Toronto dancers
are on Friday and Saturday nights.

Young as a 1911 structure may be,

the stones in its walls
are timeless.

And tonight, with our cameras
in the castle itself

Showtime presents the Casa Loma
that just might have been



by starting with the
Casa Loma of today.

♪ I met her dancing to
the Castle Rock ♪

♪ I held her tight and
danced around the clock ♪

♪ We rocked to romance
to the Castle Rock ♪

♪ She kissed me and I kissed
my heart goodbye ♪

♪ I felt like I was drifting
'cross the sky… ♪

Well, I never thought I'd live
to see the day

that Joyce's younger sister
came in handy!

First blind date I've had
since I was 5 years old

and went to a neighbor's
birthday party!

You'll like this guy Joan,

Don Garrett-he's from
Vancouver, real western type.

- Oh, here he comes now-hi, Don!
- Hi!

And you must be Joan-



John here has told me all about you.

Well, I'm-I'm not Joan, I'm Joyce.

Well, some of the world's best
stories begin with mistaken identities.

Now that you've met Joan…

- Can I help you with your coat?
- How chivalrous!

Must be the Casa Loma influence.

Gallantry is not dead!

I can think of one gallant
who should be dead.

I wish this had happened
in the middle ages.

I would have given those squareheads
something to make the castle rock!

Ok, I'm coming.

Coming…

Oh, hi Audrey. How nice
to see you, hon.

How are you feeling?

Oh, a little better,
not quite there yet.

No, no-don't do that.
You don't want to have what I have.

- Well I brought you some juice.
- Oh, wonderful.

- Oh...
- So this is apple pear ginger lemon

- OK.
- And it should

- This is going to be…
- Once I get this off…

There you go! You are stronger
than you thought.

Oh, thank you! Thank you.
Mmm…yummy!

Interested to see your reaction to it.

- Mmm…
- Good?

Just what this bod needs!
A good strong drink.

Oh, man that's good.

That would fix anything.

Get rid of this thing in my throat, and
my head, and my chest, and,

Yeah, that's the worst,

- when your head is foggy.
- Yep.

- I hate that.
- Mmm!

You make sure that you have this
when you're not feeling well.

Yeah. No, I do.

- I was just napping a little bit.
- Mmhm.

If you're here long enough, you'll nap.

And I-It's so funny...

I think it's strange that
I should be dreaming

of something that happened
63 years ago.

- Oh my gosh.
- Oh, my goodness.

What was the dream about?

Well…

I was doing a television show-

- I used to do some singing,
- Mmhm.

- With a group called The Belle Singers.
- Mm, I remember that.

- Yeah…
- But they did a TV show?

We did, yes.
We did both radio and TV.

- And-
- When?!

- Over 60 years ago.
- Oh my god.

In the early '50s.

But the choir was started
way back in the '40s.

Yeah.
We've been around for a while.

But anyway, we
were doing this special…

and, it was done at Casa Loma.

Oh my gosh.
It was sort of like a medieval show.

Yeah-costume, all dressed up!

- So you were in costume!
- Yeah.

- And uh, we did it all in costume, and…
- Ok.

Umm…there was a young man
on the show.

He was quite a good vocalist-
he was a baritone.

And his name was Don.

And, uh…Radovich.
Something like that.

A baritone named Don Radovich-
that's very, uh, dramatic!

And, um…we were kind of
drawn to each other,

and started to date, and
see each other, and,

It was really very
very nice, and, um...

but unknown, you know,
unbeknownst to me,

my future husband was
playing in the orchestra.

Oh.

And that would have
been your pops.

Yep!

Yeah, that would have
been your pops.

But, um, I was introduced
to him casually, and um,

But then I was still seeing
this young man, but,

I know it sounds
kind of funny, silly...

- I don't think it sounds silly.
- Well...

Kind of wondering whatever
happened to him.

After we, you know, moved on.

And, uh, just curious,
you know, because he-

one thing I do know, is that
he moved out Western Canada,

and he was doing some
some jobs there,

I think he even sang in the
opera there.

Oh wow.

And he was, he was, uh, doing
very well from what I understand.

- And, uh...
- Don Radovich...

- Yeah, so...
- Did you ever see the show?

- No.
- You never saw the show?

No, because it was, it was,

- live to air.
- Oh...

Yeah, oh-that was so...

When I look back at it
now it was funny,

'cause we'd be scurrying-everybody
in the cast would be scurrying

all over the studio, and there'd be
wires and ropes and

you know, a boom here and a
boom there, and

a lot of confusion. And if you made
a mistake, you didn't stop.

- Right, of course.
- You just kept on going.

But, you know I was thinking, maybe
when you have a little bit of time,

- you could go to the CBC and look up...
- Yeah.

- The show.
- Yeah.

- Yeah, they have an archive.
- Sure.

Hopefully they might still
have that one

- and you might be able to find it.
- Wow.

- Yeah well I'll...
- Look it up...

- But Audrey, I have one stipulation.
- Yes?

You're not to tell anybody.

Becuase, I'll chase you out of town!

No, I... I'd rather-

- I was looking for a baritone named
Don Radovich.

But, this is just a little secret.

- A little thing between you and me.
- Yeah, that's fine.

- We can maybe laugh about it,
- Ok.

And, have some fun with it.

- Ok, so, what was the show called?
- It was the Canadian General Electric...

Oh, wow, alright.

Show, yeah. Howard Cable
was the conductor...

of the orchestra.

- And, um...
- What's the name...

- it was done at Casa Loma.
- Yeah.

Can you imagine?

- And it was medieval?
- It was a medieval show.

At the beginning, it was like a

couple arriving at a Friday night
dance or something like that

and then... I don't know,

there comes this transformation

between-the two girls are sisters,
but the boys are friends,

and they are our dates.

- And it goes from there, and
- Ok.

Some people aren't happy with

with who's with who, and it
takes off from there.

Anyway, if we find it...

- I hope we do.
- You'll be able to...

- I can look at that. I'm sure, um...
- Good.

And then I guess, order it,

- or something like that?
- Well you phone me first.

Don't uh, order it unless you find it.

Well, of course you're not going
to order it if you don't find it.

- But, uh...
- Leave it in my capable hands.

Yeah, ok dear.

Well, I'm going to get going.
I just wanted to bring you that juice.

Oh, well thanks for taking the time
to do that, I appreciate it.

You sound better than when I talked
to you on the phone.

Oh, yes.

- Yesterday was a different day.
- Yeah.

Well, drink lots of water,
get lots of rest.

- You're already doing that though.
- Yeah.

And, uh, before you go,

you can get a lemon loaf
out of the freezer.

- My favourite!
- One of your favourites.

- Thank you, Grandma.
- You can always use that.

Alright.

Take care-do you have your
fare for the bus?

- Yes, thank you.
- Ok.

- Ok.
- Pretty cold out?

Yep, got my grizzly bear hat.

Oh, I know you have- oh, boy.

- Ok, bye grandma.
- Love you dear, take care.

- Bye!
- Bye, be safe.

- I will.
- Ok.

- Thanks! Bye!
- Bye bye.

Dear Mr. Radovich, my name is
Audrey Benac.

My grandmother is Joan Benac.

Her maiden name was Joan Gilmore.

My grandmother told me recently

how the two of you starred in a
television program

for General Electric at
Casa Loma, here in Toronto.

She's never seen the episode,
as it was live to air,

and I'm currently trying to track
it down for her in their archive.

My grandmother's very well.
She's still very lively:

she still sings and is an avid swimmer.

Double-sided, don't forget
to turn the page, and we're ok!

That's what I always do!

In the 4th last bar, there's a
second soprano note.

Yeah, I know.

How about that!

Next week.

So that's the end of that!

Yeah, uh, could you take the
Matteo Eventi please.

Lately, she's been reflecting
on her life.

She thinks of you fondly,
and wonders how you are doing,

what your life has been since
the two of you knew each other.

I Googled you and was able to
find your address

on a website that
listed your business.

I hope you don't mind my
being in touch.

If you are interested, it would
be nice for you to be in touch with her.

Her telephone number is
647-501-1192.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Kind regards, Audrey Benac.

2, 3, and-

Sopranos, could you sing it as if
you're not scared stiff of that B there?

2, 3, and-

Ok, you've got to have the notes
sung and prepared before

in your head, and prepared
physically before you even go there.

I'm already there.

If I'm not, I'm going to be:

I'm not going to be ready for it.

Yeah, yeah, Ok.

Arriving on the pitch.

No, it's rhythmic:

From "stay" to "spritius".
Ready, and-

Right on line. Ok, "tu a".

Actually, that's a bad spot.

From, uh, "fia...".
Tenor, bass.

♪ I must try to make the
man love me ♪

♪ Make the man love me now ♪

♪ By and by, I'll make the man happy ♪
♪ I know how ♪

♪ He must see how badly
I want him ♪

♪ Want him just as he his ♪

♪ May I say, that
should the man ask me ♪

♪ I'll be his ♪

♪ Can I tell the man
just how dearly ♪

♪ Blessed we would be ♪

♪ All the beauty I see
so clearly ♪

♪ Oh, why can't he ♪

♪ So I pray to heaven
above me ♪

♪ Pray until day
grows dim ♪

♪ For I'll wait to make
the man love me ♪

♪ As I love him ♪

Hi!

I'm good, Andrew, how are you?

Where are you?

Are you stuck at Union?

Oh.

Oh, that's too bad.

How long do you have to wait?

Oh, that's not too bad.

It's 7:25 now, or something.

Oh, ok.

Yeah, I'm good, I'm good.

I'm just doing a little bit of a

stir fry vegetable here,

for some pasta.

And, uh, that's about it.

Not much today.

Alex did.

Woah...

Oh, that's very nice.

Well, invite him home more
often to cook for you.

Give you and Joanne a break.

Oh, that's nice.

And what about Andrea?

I know they went to Steve's

and they all went toboganning
on Monday.

Yeah, well that's nice.

Is, is her friend, uh...

you know, yeah, is she around?

Oh, well that's good,
she's around

so Andrea and her can
get together.

Oh, she doesn't-that's right,

she doesn't have reading week
'cause she's not...

yeah, she's still
in high school.

Yeah, I hear ya.

Oh, my gosh.

That's very funny.
That's very funny.

Yeah.

Ok.

Nothing else here.

I'm not, I'm good,
yeah, I'm good.

As far as I know, I'm good.

I'm always good.

Can't be any other way.

Call from 1-716-238-2512

Cal from 1-716-238-2512

Call from 1-716-23-

♪ Were thine that
special face ♪

♪ The face which fills
my dreaming ♪

♪ Were thine the
rhythmed grace ♪

♪ Were thine the form
so lithe, so slender ♪

♪ Were thine the arms
so warm, so tender ♪

♪ Were thine the
kiss divine ♪

♪ Were thine the
love for me ♪

♪ The love which fills
my dreaming ♪

♪ When all these charms
are thine ♪

♪ Then you'll be mine,
all mine ♪

♪ Were thine...
that special face ♪

♪ The face which fills
my dreaming ♪

Your voice!

My voice! Who's doing this?

Who thinks they can make
a fool out of-

Why that little witch!

♪ Drink to me only
with thine eyes ♪

♪ And I will pledge
with mine ♪

♪ Or leave a kiss
within the cup ♪

♪ And I'll not look
for wine... ♪

I can remember

your grandfather and I nearly didn't
make it to the altar.

What do you mean?

Well, Don showed up

shortly before, about a couple of
months before the wedding.

And, uh,

asked me to please
postpone it for a while

so that we could talk, and

think over things again,
and, um...

That doesn't sound like much
of an offer to me:

"Stop your wedding so that
we can...

talk?"

Well...

I'm sure he was very nervous

when he walked into
my office and

started this conversation with me,

because I was so surprised.

I had... I had no idea
he was coming.

I didn't have a phone call.

And I just turned around from my-

at that time it was a typewriter-
can you imagine?

I turned around at looked
at the doorway, and there-

there he was, standing there,
and just-

- I think he was very nervous.
- Yeah.

I know I started to shake, too,
at the time.

But, he wanted me to
postpone the wedding, and

try to take things in a
different direction, but

I said I couldn't do that now.

I said I couldn't do that now.

He waited too long.

And, um,

I told him that he needed to leave.

Wow.

And I-I could see that

he was doing everything
to hold himself, you know

together, and

he turned around and
walked out of the office.

And, it's a very long hallway.

And I stood and watched him.

And that's the last time
I saw him.

Monday, July 14th, 1952

on board The Scythia.

Dearest Joan,

Well here I am only a
day from Le Havre,

so I thought I'd better
do a little writing.

The trip from the onset
was a marvelous one,

just like a pleasure cruise.

We left Toronto on a mobbed
boat train 12:30 Sunday,

and that was the worst
part of our trip.

It was so warm and crowded,

and to top it off, we got
into Montreal very late.

It is a wonderful feeling
to see the tugs

pulling our ship away
from the dock

as people wave goodbye
from the wharf.

And it was a very beautiful day.

Oh, what a life.

From the time we left Quebec,

all the way up the St. Lawrence,

through the Belle Isle Straights,

north of Newfoundland,

and for Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday,

almost two quarters of the way
across the Atlantic,

the water was smooth as glass.

No sway, no rocking,

just a slight swell.

The days were warm, and
blessed by brilliant sunshine,

and the evenings were cool,
with the full moon in the skies,

for three nights.

I have never seen anything
as beautiful

as a sunset or a sunrise
on the ocean.

Are you getting bored
with my efforts?

Have you been having a
nice rest in Toronto?

Must be very warm there,
whereas here it is always fresh.

On Friday night, the pond
became an ocean,

and the boat started to
sway and swing like crazy.

But thanks to God it hasn't
had any effect on me at all.

I guess I am just an old salt.

As you can gather from the letter,
I'm quite happy and satisfied.

But there's only one
thing missing,

and that's you.

I hope that this letter will
find you in the best of health.

Best wishes to the folks.

So long for now.

Love, Andy.

Well, there are quite a few
letters in here that were

written when he was in
Switzerland, studying

with a group.

He was there for two months.

And, he was with people
that he knew

all of them were students
of music,

different instruments.

And, let's see, what-

see if I can find-

Sure!

This was-

I wrote this on July 25th, 1952.

And I say to him: Hi hon!

It was real fine to
get home last night

and find your letter there.
I certainly didn't think I'd

hear from you

until you arrived on
the other side.

By the time you read this,

you will have completed your

first crossing, and I hope without
any ill effects.

Trust that you didn't have to
use your pills.

That the time you spent on board

was enjoyed.

Since Wednesday here, the
weather has cooled considerably,

which is very welcome,
believe me.

Nothing very much has happened

since you left here, except-

that I miss you to no end already.

Went out last Monday evening,
and drove off 35 balls.

But of course, there is still
plenty of room for improvement.

I gathered my energy
afterwards, and

with a chocolate sundae

and a double malt!

How about that!

So consequently, I didn't
feel too well Tuesday morning.

I have slept so much
this past week

that I know that all of this
energy stored up in me

is going to have to
be released soon.

So I think this weekend,
I shall do some vigorous swimming.

Have been studying and
practicing quite a bit

the last few days, and
hope I can keep it up.

There was no way of

trying to get anything done,
the early part of last week.

All I could think about was:
Andy, ocean, Scythia,

continents, and more Andy.

Well, Andy, hope that
you are well,

and most of all, happy.

Please look after yourself,
while you're away because

no precaution is too great.

Am looking after myself for you

and no one else anymore.

You know exactly how I feel,
and I hope you

feel as strongly about the
situation as I do.

Hope you are comfortable
where you are staying,

and that the girls are
not too pretty.

And, did you have a haircut yet?

How's the beard?

Do you still shave every day?

Well...

Well, Andy, it's 11:30 and
I'm sleepy,

so I'll try and get some sleep.

Our apartments are terrific,

but there's nothing much
we can do about the heat.

Look after yourself,

and don't get too
stinko too often

I haven't had one at all-
strickly a lemonade girl.

God bless you, darling.

Always, Joan.

You know, after so many years,
it feels strange

to read all this.

Brings back so many memories

and thoughts, and other people

who were still around then,
and aren't around anymore.

But, anway.

This is beautiful.
You can-

it's not silk, which is great,
and you don't have to iron it.

- Wow.
- Well that's good, 'cause-

You don't want to iron!

The less maintenance,
the better.

Ok.

- Shoulder pads!
- Where'd they go?

Ok, I'll straighten them
out here.

- Ok.
- Alright.

Gives me authority, I think.

Well, it's a new look.

Shoulder pads are coming back in.

Women are rising up
in the corporate world.

At least that's what I hear.

Wearing shirts like this,
they will.

So you can wear it in,

or, if you're more casual,
you wear it out.

Or, you can belt it.

That's an 80s look, isn't it?

You're right.

- It's a great colour on you, Audrey.
- You think so?

- It really is, oh yes. I do.
- Fair skin.

Want to try this on and see?

Yeah! Lady in red.

Your tail is hanging, but that's-

There you go.

Would you put some beads on?

- Oh, I didn't-
- No, maybe you don't want this.

Well I can remember sometimes

I didn't wear a necklace,
I had a nice pin.

Oh! I can see that.

A nice gold pin, or something.

Are you sure you're not going to
miss these things

if I take them away from you?

Oh, no because I know you're
taking them, I won't miss them.

But only take it if
you're going to use it...

I mean if you have no
intentions of using them,

- No, it's really nice!
- Tell me, I won't be heartbroken.

I'd rather know it's being
used than not, ok?

Yellow is very very hard for some
people to wear,

and wear it comfortably,

- Yellow and orange–
- and enhance their looks!

Oh, you're still the same, you
always take the shortcuts.

Ever since you were a
little girl! Here-

That's so harsh! Just because
I didn't do a button.

Yeah, just a button! Save
yourself time.

Ok, take this off.

You're designing a whole
look for me.

Well, what do you think Audrey?

Do you think this is a
yes or a no?

- Yeah!
- Yeah?

- Yeah.
- Yeah yeah!

Yeah.

Ok, then you can use that bag.

Is there anything else here
do you want to try on today?

- I think-I think this is plenty.
- Ok.

Okie dokie.

Well, I'm sick of your magic.

Now you listen to me,
young lady!

Here's one for your
book of magic!

And here's one for spoiling a
perfectly good love affair!

And here's one for that
bunch of flowers!

And here's one for-

why... you're crying.

But witches don't cry!

But I'm not a witch.
I'm a girl!

So I see.

Well it took you long
enough to find out.

You're always in a bad light.

These castles.

Say, I have tickets to the
jousting tournament

- next Saturday, and I'd-
- I'd love to.

It's really incredible to
be able to see you.

You had the most beautiful voice.

Somebody else has it now.

But, um, it's

it's, in a way, it's hard
to see this now

but in another way, it's

you know, it's interesting.

And you see how far we've come,

and,

you wonder where everybody
is now,

- Grandma?
- what they're up to.

Do you think that, um,

here, hang on.

Do you think that

that man

and that man,
are the same person?

Everybody ages differently,
I guess,

I don't know. I would look
at this and

I would say,

no.

No?

No.

I think it could be. Just look
at that hairline.

And the jaw.

I mean,

Because he would have
lost weight

in this part of his face.

And he wouldn't be as-

broad.

I think it could be.

Audrey, I know you would
like it to be, but I, I-

I feel deep down that it's not.

It's not him. It's not Don.

But

Well, if this isn't your
Don Radovich,

I wonder who this guy is.

Well...

hopefully he belongs
to somebody.

Your first communion day,

I don't think started off
that smoothly.

I think that

Starting from the time
in the morning

when you had to start to prep
for church and whatnot,

you were getting

getting your beautiful dress on
that your mother had made for you

and it was so, so pretty.

And, uh, you were just-

couldn't believe it, at that
age, having a bad day.

Really bad day.

And you were putting your
mother through

all kinds of difficulty

and she wanted to fix your hair.

And, um,

you just wouldn't go along
with anything that she said.

Wouldn't stand still, so she could
get your hair done, and whatnot.

But anyway, she perservered, and

you ended up looking
quite quite pretty that day.

I won't forget it. I have
a lovely, lovely picture

of you, that day.

Actually,

it's in your bedroom, I took it

just before we left
for church, I guess.

And, of course you
looked like an angel.

And, the ceremony of
course was beautiful,

and after the ceremony,
the family and everyone, oh gosh.

And then we went back
to the house, and,

we had a lovely little party.

It was a gorgeous day, I remember
the weather was beatiful.

And, uh,

you just ran out of the house,

ran out into the garden
in the backyard like a

a bird who had just
been set free

and it was like you
were released.

Those are the kind of things
that I like to remember.