Hans Brinker (1969) - full transcript
Based on the beloved children's story, Hans Brinker is a fun-filled musical sprinkled with fantasy and excitement.
(upbeat music)
(crowd cheering)
(orchestral music)
(soft orchestral music)
♪ Will I ever know ♪
♪ Holland, Holland ♪
♪ You are home ♪
(orchestral music)
- [Woman] Don't go near
the water, Frederica.
Did you hear me?
- [Worker] Get that
thing right over there.
- [Man] Easy, careful.
- I need your help.
- I'm coming.
- Here it goes.
- Keep it coming.
Keep it coming.
- I'm watching it.
- [Man] Careful.
- Carl, give Peter a hand, will you?
I'm getting hungry.
I wish my wife would
get here with the food.
- [Carl] Better hurry
up, the men are hungry.
- [Wife] I hope I didn't forget anything.
- [Concerned Wife] Does that taste good?
- Raff, look at your daughter.
♪ In a paradise for tooling fields ♪
- Gretel!
♪ Water comes from too much water ♪
- Gretel!
Hans.
Hans.
Go get your sister.
♪ In an anchored land ♪
♪ Where the sea flows in
and other lakes a lot ♪
- Oh, can't get there now.
- Not too hard.
♪ On water ♪
- Pull it, pull it.
- Watch out, Raff.
- Raff.
- Oh, how terrible.
(sweet music)
- Good, Papa?
Do you like it?
He liked it, Hans.
Fills the stomach huh, Papa?
It'll make you fat.
Hans, he smiled.
- [Hans] Don't be silly, Gretel.
Come here a minute.
- No, he did, he did.
You just don't see it when he does things.
Hans, he knows.
I'm sure he knows.
And he's trying to tell us.
- Stand still.
- But he did, he...
Look.
(melodic music)
- That watch again.
- I wish he could tell us where he got it.
I think--
- [Hans] Stop thinking and stand still.
- Oh, I wish he'd--
- I wish you'd let me fit this skate.
- But if he were cured...
How long would it take you
to become a doctor, Hans?
- And what makes you think anyone's
gonna give Hans Brinker the
chance to become a doctor?
- You'd do it.
I know you will.
And you're gonna cure Papa.
- Maybe after that I can do something
about that empty head of yours.
- My head's not empty.
(Hans exhales)
You can't help it.
The female brain is much
smaller than the male.
It's a medical fact.
- See?
Already you know more about such things
than any boy in Holland.
- [Hans] Ah, here comes Mama.
It's a good thing, I'm starving.
- Guess what we're having for supper.
Sausages.
- [Hans] Who told you that?
- Mama.
The money from the sewing.
And she's going to save up
and buy you a pair of
real skates for Christmas.
And you're gonna enter the
race on New Year's Day.
And you're gonna win the silver skates.
- Yes, and the fairy princess
is gonna turn this cottage into a castle.
- Did you get the sausage, Mama?
- He had a bowl of soup.
- Good.
- He smiled, Mama.
Did you get the sausage, Mama?
- Supper will be ready in a few minutes.
- Where's the sausage?
- Stew is better on such a cold night.
- Mama, the money from
the sewing, you said.
- Madam Boumer hired a
kitchen girl from Haarlem
who does very nice sewing.
- So there'll be no more sewing money?
And no skates for Hans?
- I like my wooden skates.
I wouldn't enter the silly race anyway.
- [Gretel] You would.
And you'd win.
- Easy, my darling, you'll upset Papa.
- Gretel, you dream too much.
- It's all right, boys must
plan and girls must dream.
(somber music)
- Hans is right.
I fool myself.
Nothing good will come to us.
No sausage, no real skates,
no Papa, no anything.
- You must never believe that.
Good things take time.
It takes time, it takes patience.
♪ There is a way ♪
♪ If you know there's a way ♪
♪ The way is clear ♪
♪ You have nothing to fear ♪
♪ Not for naught ♪
♪ Mother Nature has taught ♪
♪ First we crawl, then we walk ♪
♪ First we cry, then we talk ♪
♪ The glistening road may be long ♪
♪ Every turn may seem wrong ♪
♪ But your heart and your soul ♪
♪ Lead you straight to your goal ♪
♪ Once you know ♪
♪ There is a way ♪
♪ The glistening road may be long ♪
♪ Every turn may seem wrong ♪
♪ But your heart and your soul ♪
♪ Lead you straight to your goal ♪
♪ Once you know ♪
♪ There is a way ♪
(dramatic music)
(pleasant music)
(upbeat orchestral music)
- Mijnheer.
Mijnheer.
Good morning, Mijnheer,
can you use any coal today?
- What, what is it?
- Coal, would you like to buy some coal?
- Gold?
What kind of gold?
What are you talking about?
- No, Mijnheer, not gold.
Coal.
Coal.
- That's coal, that's what
that is, you young fool.
Gold is yellow.
(orchestral music)
(dogs barking)
(door knocking)
- Good morning, Mijnheer.
Would you care to buy
some coal for the stove?
Nice, hard coal.
Very cheap.
- Where did you get it?
- Well, I just found it.
By the railroad tracks.
- Just as I thought.
Railroad property.
Stolen coal.
- No, Mijnheer, it was just lying there.
It falls off the trains, you know.
- [Mijnheer] Do you think the
railroad paid for the coal?
- Well, yes.
- Did you pay for it?
- No, Mijnheer, but--
- [Mijnheer] Did the
railroad give it to you?
- Well, no.
- Then, it's stolen.
We don't buy stolen goods.
(orchestral music)
(people chattering)
- Good morning.
- Good morning, Hans.
Want to buy some cheese today?
- No, thank you.
- [Salesman] Lovely fresh
cheeses, cheeses, nice and fresh.
- [Fish Saleswoman] Fish, come and buy
some fresh fish today.
- [Flower Saleswoman] Tulips,
just cut, just this morning.
- [Salesman] Cheese,
chicken, healthy chickens.
- [Fish Saleswoman]
Fish, fresh fish today.
- [Flower Saleswoman]
Daffodils, fresh cut today.
- [Cheese Salesman] Cheese,
lovely array of cheese.
- [Chicken Salesman] Chickens,
live, healthy chickens.
- Good morning, Mijnheer Vosten.
- Good morning to you, Hans.
- Do you have any work today?
Any cleaning to be done?
- Do you have any work for a poor butcher
who can hardly make a living at this rate?
- Business not good these days, Mijnheer?
- Business?
Business is good.
Business is always good.
But I'm not getting any of it.
- Hello, Hans.
- Oh hello, Carl.
- Good morning, Master Schummel.
And how may I serve you?
- I don't suppose you have any beef today.
- Beef, no, I'm sorry.
But I have some excellent venison.
- Give me two pounds.
- Two pounds.
- You know, as far as I'm concerned,
the worst thing about living
in this back wood village
is that you can get so little
of that good Scottish beef,
but you wouldn't know
about that, would you now?
How's your father, any better?
- The same.
- Oh listen, my grandmother's
looking for a maid.
You might tell your
mother to go and see her.
- My mother is not a maid.
- Just trying to be helpful.
You know, it's Holland, your family living
in a place like this.
You'd really be far
better off in Amsterdam.
All kinds of jobs in a city like that.
And a lot of charity organizations.
- You really are a big-hearted fellow
to worry so much about the Brinkers.
I can't tell you how grateful it makes me.
- Just trying to be helpful.
- Two pounds and a little over.
No extra charge.
- My mother will weigh it at home.
She'll pay you later.
Oh, do you have any bones?
- You mean for the dog?
No, I don't.
Not today, I'm sorry.
- It's all right.
I was asking for Hans.
Well, I knew you wouldn't
ask for yourself.
- I pray you, mademoiselle, said Antoine.
His voice, trembling.
Ask that I leap from yonder window.
Ask that I plunge this
dagger into my breast.
Gladly will I do thy bidding.
But ask me to absent myself
from thy sweet presence.
Far more easily could I die.
Angela's lips parted.
She was about to speak.
Her luminous eyes, indeed, were already
an eloquent spokesman for
her impassioned heart.
Then suddenly, engulfed
in a tide of passion,
Antoine swept her into his arms.
His lips hungrily seeking hers.
Angela's supple form grew
limp in his powerful arms
as she swooned with the
rapture of his kiss.
- All they ever do in that book is kiss.
- I think you only swoon
from Frenchmen or Italians.
I don't think it happens with Dutch boys.
- I wouldn't want to swoon anyway.
What good's that?
I'd rather know what's going on.
- I'll bet Annie would swoon
if your brother Hans
kissed her on the lips.
- Be quiet, Hilda.
(door knocking)
- Annie?
- My father.
- I've got to go home now.
- So do I.
- Come in, father.
- Goodbye, Mijnheer Bouman.
- Goodbye, Mijnheer Bouman.
- Goodbye, girls, my
regards to your parents.
Sit down, dear.
(orchestral music)
(people chattering)
- [Irritated Boy] I
don't know what you want.
- [Carl's Friend] Carl, Carl?
- [Carl] Yes?
- [Carl's Friend] Who's
gonna lead the snake today?
- [Carl] Why don't you?
- [Boy] Hey, watch out.
- Oh, they're wonderful, Hans.
Just like real ones, thank you.
- You know, it's amazing
the way those skates work.
- They're all right until the
water soaks into the wood,
makes them stick to the ice.
- You haven't been around for a few days.
- I've been in town looking for work.
- [Friend] Any luck?
- Yes.
None of the doors that were slammed
in my face broke my nose.
- You know, there's one good
thing about those skates.
If the ice breaks, the rest of us will go
right to the bottom of the river
while Hans goes floating along the water.
- Hello, Hans.
- Hello, Jacob.
- Come on, Peter, you said
you wanted to lead the snake.
- Wait until Hans gets his skates on.
- Oh come on, those wooden
skates slow everybody down.
- Go ahead, Peter, I
don't feel like it anyway.
(people chattering)
- Why aren't you joining the snake?
- We didn't feel like it.
- [Hilda] Look, there's Annie.
(orchestral music)
- Hello, Hilda.
- Hello.
- Hello, Annie.
- Oh, is that new?
It's beautiful.
- You really like it?
- [Hilda] Come on.
(cheerful orchestra music)
♪ Do do do do do-do-do-do-do-do
do do-do-do-do-do-do do ♪
♪ Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do ♪
♪ Do do do do do-do-do-do-do-do
do do-do-do-do-do-do do ♪
♪ Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do ♪
♪ Do do do do do-do-do-do-do-do
do do-do-do-do-do-do do ♪
♪ Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do ♪
♪ Free ♪
♪ Following wherever feelings
that I fantasize will be ♪
♪ Wonderful and full of wonder
all the ways that I can be ♪
♪ Skating swiftly beside a dancing ship ♪
♪ To sail in deep blue sea ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ Marvel at the marvelous
maid that I finally met ♪
♪ And married me ♪
♪ Gently on the ice that glistens riding ♪
♪ With the friends I see ♪
♪ Happiness can happen when
two happy people happen to be ♪
♪ Free ♪
♪ The people I remember ♪
♪ The mother and the father ♪
♪ The poor grandmeister and the children ♪
♪ The lord who watches over ♪
♪ The joyful Holland nation ♪
♪ He knows which children love him ♪
♪ And he cares ♪
♪ Do do do do do-do-do-do-do-do
do do-do-do-do-do-do do ♪
♪ Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do ♪
♪ Do do do do do-do-do-do-do-do
do do-do-do-do-do-do do ♪
♪ Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do ♪
♪ The people I remember ♪
♪ The mother and the father ♪
♪ The poor grandmeister and the children ♪
♪ The lord who watches over ♪
♪ The joyful Holland nation ♪
♪ He knows each children love him ♪
♪ To ♪
♪ Be ♪
♪ Free ♪
♪ Free ♪
- [Boy] Come on.
♪ Free ♪
♪ Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do do ♪
- [Carl] Stop it, stop it.
Stay there, Jacob.
- People notice, people always
notice things, you know?
And then they say, hm,
I wonder what's going on
with those two.
- That's the most foolish
thing I've ever heard.
The most foolish.
- Yes, but that's the way people are.
And we must pay attention,
even to foolish people.
- Why?
- Because you must live in this world.
And the wise person must learn
to take some foolish
things very seriously.
So, even though Mrs.
Bouman and I both know
that you and Annie are
only very casual friends,
we think it would be
best if you didn't spend
so much time together because
of the foolish people.
That's all.
- I like Annie very much.
I like to talk to her.
She's not like the other girls.
And she likes to talk
to me, I know she does.
I don't see what's wrong with that.
- Hans, when your father brought me
to this house, I was very happy.
It was just like the house I grew up in
with my parents and my brothers.
And I knew just what
to do with this house.
I'd been doing it for a long time.
When I was Annie's age,
my hands were red and rough and strong,
not at all like Annie's hands.
- Mother, I don't like this.
What do people's hands have to do with it?
- I don't like it either,
but there are some
things you should be told
because to find them out for yourself
can be very painful, Hans.
- [Gretel] Mama, Hans.
Look what Annie gave me.
- Oh my goodness, such elegance.
- Isn't it beautiful?
- [Dame Brinker] Oh yes, real fur.
- [Gretel] Hans, isn't it beautiful?
- Oh, what do boys know
about these things?
- He doesn't like me to take
clothing from the other girls.
But I don't see anything wrong with it.
Do you, Mama?
- No, what's wrong with giving
the poor Brinkers your cast-off clothing?
It's better than throwing
it away with the garbage.
- Hans, this was given by Annie with love.
And what is given with love
should be taken with pride.
- [Annie] Gretel.
- Well, why didn't she come in?
- She doesn't think Hans likes
her to come into the house.
- I was wondering if you were home.
- It's a very pretty
jacket you gave Gretel.
- It's much too small on me.
Are you going to Hilda's party tonight?
- I don't think so.
You know I'm really not
very much for parties.
- I know.
You and Gretel are coming
to my house St. Nicolas Eve, aren't you?
- Well--
- You'll like it.
It's really not like a party at all.
I mean, nobody dresses up or anything.
- Well, if I'm not busy.
- [Annie] What's wrong?
- Nothing.
- Something is wrong.
Are you angry about the sweater?
- [Hans] No, I'm just very busy.
- Has somebody been
saying something to you?
- Saying something to me?
What are you talking about?
- My mother and father want me
to spend less time with you.
- [Hans] Yes, I know.
- It's so foolish.
- A wise person takes
foolish things seriously.
- Why?
- I don't know.
I can never understand
wise people, can you?
- I should very much like for you
and Gretel to come to my
house St. Nicolas Eve.
- Well, maybe it would be all right
if we don't spend too much
time together in the meantime.
- All right, Hans.
Hans.
Can you fix this clamp for me?
- Look, Papa.
Look at my new jacket.
Isn't it beautiful?
I think he likes it, Mama.
- Yes, your father likes pretty clothes.
Don't you, Raff?
He brought me my blue
velvet gown from Amsterdam.
He used to love to take me dancing in it.
Didn't you, Raff?
You remember.
- He remembers, Mama.
- Oh, he used to love to dance.
Didn't you, Raff?
- He's dancing, Mama, he remembers.
Oh, Mama, that's so nice, I've never...
No.
- Raff.
- No.
- Raff.
- Papa, no.
- Oh, Raff.
- No.
No, Papa.
- Raff.
- Hans!
Hans, quick, he's killing her, quick!
Hans, quick!
- [Hans] Stop it.
Stop it, please.
- I'm fine, darling, he didn't hurt me.
He wouldn't hurt me.
- What happened?
- It was my fault.
I got him excited.
It was my fault.
It was nothing.
It was nothing at all.
- [Hans] Close the door,
please, it's very cold in here.
(orchestral music)
(pleasant music)
- Careful.
Will you build a fire for me?
- I've been here too long already.
Your mother will worry.
- She's not here.
And besides, we don't
have to talk or anything.
Oh look, Hans, it's a
drawing of the silver skates,
the prizes for the race.
Oh, look at that, the skates
have got little bells on them.
- Well, that's a clever idea.
Now the fishes swimming under the ice
will know when somebody's
skating by up above.
(Annie giggles)
- Well, they may be
silly, but they're pretty.
Don't you think so?
- They're very pretty.
- [Annie] What is it?
- Dr. Boekman.
- What about him?
- Dr. Lars Boekman, famous
surgeon formally of this town,
for the past 10 years, resident
of Sweden, is in Amsterdam
at the bedside of Mayor
Van Meer of that city,
where he's been called upon
to perform a most delicate operation.
Dr. Boekman is staying
at The Golden Eagle Inn.
- You're thinking of--
- Oh, it's silly.
- Hans, Peter Van Holp and the other boys
are skating to Amsterdam to get
in condition for the big race.
What would you have to lose
going to Dr. Boekman and asking him?
- Wouldn't I be something to
see, trying to get to Amsterdam
on my wooden skates.
Goodbye, Annie, I'm going home now.
- Thank you, Hans.
(pleasant music)
I'd try, but I'm sure he
wouldn't take it from me.
But you could do it.
- I don't know, that pride of his.
- [Annie] Look, there he is now.
Here, please.
- Hello, Hans.
- What can I do for you?
- [Peter] It's a business proposition.
You know that necklace you carved
for Annie for her birthday?
- Yes.
- Could you make two for
me by St. Nicolas's Eve?
- [Hans] Well, I might.
- I want one for my mother
and one for my aunt, Inge.
I'll pay you seven guilders.
- Oh, I couldn't charge you.
- And what do you think?
That I would accept your work for nothing?
Don't you think I have any pride?
Peter Van Holp pays his way, in advance.
- I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.
You must have known him.
Even 10 years ago, he was famous.
They say he moved to Sweden
because his son ran away
from home one day without a word.
It made him very sad.
He's known all over the world
for his marvelous operations.
- Who are you talking to?
- Talking?
Nobody was talking.
- [Gretel] Hm?
- Do you think you two
females could take care
of the house for a couple of days
while I'm away in Amsterdam?
- Amsterdam?
- Whose are those?
- [Hans] Mine, of course.
- How did you get them?
- In the usual way.
I bought them.
- Hans, now you can be in the big race.
- What do you mean you bought them?
How?
- Oh yes, I forgot to tell you.
I'm doing a little job of
carving for Peter Von Holp.
Necklaces for Christmas gifts.
Seven guilders, paid in advance.
- Mama, seven guilders.
- I see.
So you bought ice skates.
- Well, Mama, how else
could I go to Amsterdam
to see Dr. Boekman
about operating on Papa?
- Of course.
You're right, of course.
- Oh, Papa, do you hear?
You're going to be well.
You're going to have an operation.
It won't hurt him, will it?
- Who knows if we can
even get Dr. Boekman.
- We mustn't be carried away by our hopes,
we don't know if Dr. Boekman
will want to do this.
And even if he does, if it will work.
It's a long time Papa's been sick.
A very long time.
- [Peter] What did you say, Carl?
- Here comes Mr. Wooden Skates.
- [Peter] Not today.
- Oh, Hans, you've got real skates.
What happened?
- St. Nicolas.
I've been such a good boy.
He didn't want me to wait
till St. Nicolas Eve.
(Peter chuckles)
- All right, you men,
this is your captain.
Attention, fall in.
(militaristic music)
Carl Schummel.
- Here.
- Jacob Boot.
- Here, Your Worship.
- Hans Brinker.
- I'm here too, sir.
- Ludwig Van Holp.
- Here.
- Voostenwalbert Shibilpennig.
Where's Voostenwalbert?
- Here I am.
Here I am.
Here I am.
- All right, men, onto Amsterdam.
(exciting music)
- Hey look, let's get a ride.
- I wonder if he'll take us.
- He will.
- Let's go.
(cheerful music)
Don't push.
- Get out of my way, Ludwig.
- Don't push.
- Come on, Jacob, hurry up.
- Thank you.
- Wait, oh, hey.
- Hey, Jacob's got food.
- Who, me?
- Come on, Jacob.
- Give us something too.
- You're holding out.
- We're hungry too.
- I thought we were friends.
(Jacob laughing)
- [Ludwig] That'll teach you a lesson.
- Excuse me, Amsterdam,
how far is Amsterdam?
- Straight ahead.
- Ah, pretty.
- Very pretty.
- Amsterdam.
- Isn't she beautiful?
- Eh.
♪ There she is ♪
♪ Here am I ♪
♪ There is nothing can keep me
away from lovely Amsterdam ♪
♪ Time can't stop ♪
♪ Falling sands ♪
♪ She is queen ♪
♪ Where she stands ♪
♪ There she is, with her arms open wide ♪
♪ Here am I, coming close to her side ♪
♪ With her ribbons of water that
pour into everyone's heart ♪
♪ Filled to brim ♪
♪ That's what I am ♪
♪ With a love that will be yours forever ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ There she is, there she is ♪
♪ Here am I, here am I ♪
♪ There is nothing can keep me
away from lovely Amsterdam ♪
♪ Time can't stop, time can't stop ♪
♪ Falling sands, falling sands ♪
♪ She is queen, she is queen ♪
♪ Where she stands ♪
♪ There she is, with her arms open wide ♪
♪ Here am I, coming close to her side ♪
♪ With her ribbons of water that
pour into everyone's heart ♪
♪ Everyone's heart ♪
♪ Filled to brim ♪
♪ That's what I am ♪
♪ With a love that will be yours forever ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
(pleasant music)
- Look at that old house.
- It must be 200 years old.
- [Voostenwalbert] Don't.
Will you stop that?
I can't see anything.
- Well?
- Dr. Boekman is away.
He'll be back tomorrow.
- All right then, so will we.
- What happened?
- He'll be back tomorrow.
- Do you think he'll see you?
- I hope so.
- I know you don't like
to have your face washed.
Well, that's too bad.
Maybe you think this is fun for me.
I only do it, you know,
because every now and then
I get to wondering if my
handsome husband is still there
under all that dust.
Anyway, we've got to be good
and clean for the famous doctor.
Hm, I can just hear him now.
Madam, you expect me to
operate on such a dirty fellow?
Did you see how happy
Hans was with his skates?
How long he's dreamed of real skates.
I hope soon we can get
some for Gretel too.
Although, it doesn't
matter so much to her.
She will see how quickly
she's become a woman.
(sighs)
You know what's silly?
Sometimes, it makes me sad,
the way they're changing, growing.
You watch them, you
cannot see them change.
Suddenly, they're not the same.
Don't stiffen up so.
It won't be long before you'll
be giving her away in church.
You will.
You will.
Yes.
Dr. Boekman may be too busy this week.
Next week.
But there will be a doctor.
Oh, there will be a medicine.
You will see.
And then, my lazy fellow, you'll
have to wash your own face.
Sorry, but that's the way it is.
The vacation will be over.
(orchestral music)
♪ Golden tomorrows ♪
♪ Those golden tomorrows ♪
♪ Harboring in our yesterday ♪
♪ In searching for treasure ♪
♪ Remember the pleasure ♪
♪ Is dreaming the dreams of today ♪
♪ Don't wake the night ♪
♪ Don't break the dream ♪
♪ And in the morning ♪
♪ The golden horizon ♪
♪ Pours sun through the shadows ♪
♪ Just open your eyes ♪
♪ Be astonished to view ♪
♪ The golden tomorrows ♪
♪ That we all pursue ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ How they're waiting for you ♪
♪ If ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ Only ♪
♪ Knew ♪
- I wonder what's going on.
- I'm getting awfully hungry.
- Well, we're all right, men.
He'll take us up for
lodging, five guilders.
- That's too much.
- He says it's the best he can do.
- That sounds fair enough.
- We brought along five
guilders for expenses.
- I see I'll have to give
you boys a little lesson
in financial negotiating.
Come with me and see how it's done.
My dear sir.
- Yes, master?
- [Carl] As you can see, my
friends and I are all gentlemen
and used to nothing but the best.
- [Innkeeper] Yes, I can see.
Very distinguished company.
- And your inn, without
meaning to hurt your feelings,
it could hardly be called first class.
- There are fancier places in Amsterdam.
- And we would ordinarily stay at one.
- I wish you wouldn't.
- We thought,
just for the change, it might be fun
to try one of the shabbier inns.
- You do me too much honor, I'm sure.
- Yes.
And I imagine you will be more than happy
to feed and lodge us
overnight for four guilders.
- Oh no, master, you and your friends
are far too elegant for my shabby place.
They'd make it look all
the shabbier by comparison.
And as you yourself point out,
it's already shabby enough.
- Now, just a minute--
- I don't think I can afford
to take you here and have
you here at any price.
- Carl will be Carl.
- Thanks for the lesson, Carl.
Very educational.
What do we do now?
- Yes?
- I want you to notice,
we're not all well-dressed and elegant.
In fact, a fellow such as
myself makes your place
seem luxurious by
contrast, don't you think?
- How did such an ordinary duck get in
among all the peacocks?
- They're all fine fellows.
And the truth is we only brought
along five guilders for expenses.
And if you don't take us in,
we'll have to sleep in the streets.
We throw ourselves upon your mercy.
- I don't know.
My establishment's been insulted.
I'm a very sensitive person.
- Carl insults everybody.
He means no harm.
He'll apologize, wait a minute.
- Yeah, go on.
- Go on.
Go on.
- Please, go on.
- Mijnheer Kleef.
Mijnheer Kleef, I apologize.
Your inn is very attractive.
- In its shabby fashion?
- Yes.
No, it's not shabby at all.
- Very well-furnished?
- Very.
- Comfortable?
- Oh yes, very.
- All right, lodging for
one night and one meal.
Five guilders.
Boys who lie as well as you do
end up in the gallows, you know?
(boys chattering)
- One moment.
In your chair.
Manners, gentlemen.
Very important thing for civilized people.
Now say after me, proper manners.
- [Boys] Proper manners.
- You all will want to be
gentlemen someday, don't you?
- [Boys] Yes, sir.
- Now it's time to start, innit?
- [Boys] Yes, sir.
- Then eat like little gentlemen.
Up.
Up!
(dramatic music)
(pleasant music)
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Rule number one to follow ♪
♪ Rule number one to learn ♪
♪ Elbows off the table ♪
♪ Fingers off the food ♪
♪ Wait until the food's passed ♪
♪ Even if you're fed last ♪
♪ Reaching's very rude ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Things to know when
you are breaking bread ♪
♪ Never forget your proper manners ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Remember what the mother always said ♪
(dramatic music)
(orchestral music)
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Rule number one to follow ♪
♪ Rule number one to learn ♪
♪ Napkins must be opened ♪
♪ Spread upon on the knees ♪
♪ Watch your pepper spout ♪
♪ If you pour it out ♪
♪ Someone's bound to sneeze ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Things to know when
you are breaking bread ♪
(Kleef sneezes)
♪ Never forget your proper manners ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Remember what the mother always said ♪
(dramatic music)
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Elbows off the table ♪
♪ Fingers off the food ♪
♪ Wait until the food's passed ♪
♪ Even if you're fed last ♪
♪ Reaching's very rude ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Remember what the mother always said ♪
♪ Never forget your proper manners ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Things to know when you are breaking ♪
♪ Bread ♪
(dramatic music)
(boys snoring)
(bell chiming)
(dog howls)
- That's a dog, I guess.
- I guess so.
It couldn't be a wolf right
in the middle of Amsterdam.
- No, that's right.
- I'd bet my mother's worried about me.
I never stayed away from
home all night before.
- [Ludwig] I'll bet mine is too.
- [Voostenwalbert] I mean, you'd think
we were babies or something.
- [Ludwig] That's the
way they are, I guess.
I mean, a wolf would be dumb
to come right into a city.
He'd get shot.
- [Voostenwalbert] That's right.
- Peter, Carl, Jacob, wake up.
One false move and you die.
- What's he doing here?
- Who's that you're sitting on?
- He was going through our pockets.
- Ludwig, go wake up Mijnheer Kleef.
- Where am I?
What am I doing here?
Who are you gentlemen?
Don't tell me I've been
walking in my sleep again.
- Where's Jacob?
- He's asleep.
- Get him up, Hans.
- As usual.
- [Peter] How about some
assistance, gentlemen?
- [Ludwig] Wake up, Jacob.
- What's that you say?
A thief, boy?
Go and fetch a policeman.
- Thank goodness, a grown-up voice.
Come help me, please.
I think these little
savages have broken my back.
- Back?
It's a wonder they didn't eat you.
(pleasant music)
(upbeat music)
(door knocking)
- [Boekman] Don't open it
anymore than you have to.
And shut it quickly.
- Dr. Boekman?
- Come here, come here.
Ah, no.
Don't move too fast,
you'll set up a breeze.
Your name is Brinkman?
- Brinker, Mijnheer Boekman.
Hans Brinker.
- Mm.
And it's a matter of life and death.
(chuckles)
That's all I ever hear.
Life and death will be the death of me.
Sit down.
Well?
- It's my father.
He fell from the dike in Broek.
It's 10 years now.
He doesn't speak.
He doesn't move.
- You live in Broek?
- Yes, sir.
- Do you know how busy I am?
Do you know how many
people are waiting for me
to save their fathers and
their sisters and their sons?
- When my father gets well,
he'll tell us where he buried the savings
and we can pay you.
- The savings?
- Over a thousand guilders.
- What makes you think
that's enough to pay my fee?
- My father will make more.
He's one of the best
stonemasons in Holland.
(Boekman chuckles)
- I'm expected in Munich on
Thursday, life and death.
I was supposed to go
to Copenhagen tomorrow,
also life and death.
How old are you?
- 17.
- And how old's your father?
- 37.
- Ah.
So the accident happened
how long ago, 10 years?
- Yes, sir, 10 years.
- Get me some more hot water, please.
Oh, not on me.
In the water.
- I'm sorry.
- Good, empty it.
Where in Broek do you live?
- On the mill road, near the river.
- Mm-hmm.
I used to live in Broek myself.
- I know, sir.
- 10 years, that's a long time.
Uh.
I can't perform miracles, you know?
Only God can perform
miracles and I am not God.
It pains me to admit it.
Does he move at all?
- Yes, sir.
- His hands?
- Yes.
- Does he move his head?
- A little.
- This much, from side to side?
- Not quite that much.
- Can he walk?
- Yes, sir.
- 10 years.
Now, I left Broek 10 years ago myself.
- I know.
- Well, then you know why.
- Yes, sir.
- He was just about your
age when he ran away.
10 years, that's a long time.
Is he strong?
- Very strong.
- I'm expecting a message.
If I'm not needed in Copenhagen,
I may drop by and see your father.
- Yes, sir.
Thank you.
- [Boekman] Hm.
- He tried to kill my
mother the other day.
- I am not God.
- Thank you, sir.
(orchestral music)
- Really, I'm surprised at you fellows.
Only one bandit with a knife.
Why not a whole gang of
pirates with swords and axes
or even African savages with spears?
- Well, it's all true, Jacob.
- That's right.
You should have seen the knife.
- I was thinking about that
thief with his ferocious friends
who were going to hunt us down.
- [Carl] And cut off our ears.
- Listen, you don't suppose...
- Ridiculous.
- [Peter] Impossible.
(orchestral music)
- [Voostenwalbert] We better
hurry up, it's getting dark.
I wanna get home before dinner.
- [Ludwig] You would.
- [Voostenwalbert] Will
you stop picking on me?
- How was Amsterdam?
- Marvelous.
I saw Dr. Boekman.
- I know, I saw Peter.
How are the skates?
- Marvelous.
I'm very busy.
People are waiting for me
in Munich and Copenhagen.
I finally told him, forget about it.
- [Annie] Oh, you weren't rude.
- No, just firm.
Felt kind of sorry for him.
- Well...
- Well?
Goodnight.
- Goodnight.
I wonder what time it is.
- 12 minutes and 14
seconds past eight o'clock.
If the old moon isn't running slow again.
Come on, I'll walk you to the bridge.
Maybe I can work up an
appetite for supper.
- Oh, Hans, let's sit
and talk for a minute.
I always have an appetite.
My mother says the way I eat,
it's a wonder I'm not
as a big as an elephant.
(Hans chuckles)
- I ate a lot in Amsterdam.
You should've seen that food.
First, they brought potato salad
and pickles and the best bread I ever ate.
And there was some kind of fish.
♪ When he speaks ♪
♪ I don't hear a thing ♪
♪ I don't hear a thing ♪
♪ But the sound of my heart singing love ♪
♪ How I love you ♪
(romantic orchestral music)
- [Hans] Otherwise you'll fall down
and we'll never be able to pick you up.
- What?
- Peter said to Jacob--
- Yes, never be able to pick you up.
The best food I ever had was
when my father took me to Leyden.
There was this Greek family my father
had some business with.
They invited us to dinner.
Talk about food.
There were funny little black
olives and something with--
♪ When she speaks ♪
♪ I don't hear a word ♪
♪ I don't hear a word ♪
♪ But the sound of my heart singing love ♪
♪ How I love you ♪
(romantic orchestral music)
♪ Can it be ♪
♪ She ♪
♪ Loves ♪
♪ Me ♪
♪ Can it be ♪
♪ She ♪
♪ Loves ♪
♪ Me ♪
- Dr. Boekman.
- Hans.
He's going to your house.
- Yes.
Yes, he is.
Goodbye, Annie.
- Goodbye, Hans.
- There's a piece of bone
pressing on the man's brain.
I don't think the brain is
damaged, but I can't tell.
It's a very difficult
operation, very dangerous.
- You've done it before.
- If everybody's skull
was the same thickness
and every man fell on his
head from the same height
and the same way, then all
operations would be the same.
But they are not.
There's a chance I can
bring back your father.
The chance is just as
good that he will die.
The chance that he will
die may be a little better.
Do you want to take the risk?
It's up to you.
- No, they'll kill him.
- My husband wants to take the risk.
- Now, you two in the other room, please.
- I stay with my husband.
You go stay with Gretel, she's frightened.
- [Boekman] I order you to the other room.
I order you to the other room.
- I stay with my husband.
- At an operation, the
doctor is never disobeyed.
I order you to the bedroom.
- I stay with my husband.
- No, not the, the little one, quickly.
That's it.
Don't get in my light.
More ether.
(dramatic music)
- Papa's gonna be angry when he sees
they've shaved off some of his hair.
- Doesn't require as much
physical effort as taking a bath.
Why does it always exhaust me so?
(sighs)
He'll be unconscious for several hours.
Well, it's St. Nicolas Eve.
Are you expecting a visit
from the old gentleman
or doesn't St. Nicolas
know about the Brinkers?
- Before their papa's accident,
St. Nicolas came every year.
- And this year you had Dr. Boekman.
- Uh, Hans, why don't you take Gretel
to Annie Bouman's house?
They'll be expecting you.
- I don't want to leave.
- Neither do I.
- I order you to go to Annie Bouman's.
Your father needs only me
now and I will be here.
Your mother and I will be here.
(pleasant orchestral music)
♪ Christ has risen, heavenly light ♪
♪ Angels reflecting in the snow ♪
♪ Neighbors wandering
brought us this day ♪
♪ For olden words ♪
(people chattering)
♪ That his love was born for you ♪
♪ That his love was born for you ♪
♪ And his love is born anew ♪
♪ Each Christmas Day ♪
♪ Oh holy ♪
♪ Day ♪
♪ Christ child bathed in heavenly light ♪
♪ Angels reflecting from above ♪
♪ Little Jesus born Christmas Day ♪
♪ Filling the earth ♪
♪ With love ♪
(door knocking)
(people chattering)
(people applauding)
- Children.
I greet ye all.
Good children ye have been
in the main since I last accosted ye.
Diedrich was rude at the
Haarlem Fair last fall,
but he has tried to atone for it since.
Mayken has failed of late in her lessons.
And too many sweets and
trifles have gone to her lips
and too few stivers to our charity box.
Now Diedrich, I trust,
will be a polite, manly boy in the future.
And Mayken will endeavor
to shine at her studies.
Young Kathy has been cruel
to the cat more than once.
Oo hoo hoo, St. Nicolas
can hear the cat cry
when his tail is pulled.
Now, I'll forgive her.
If she remember from this hour
that even the smallest
dumb beasts have feelings
and must not be abused.
Master Broom, I warned ye that boys
who were in the habit of putting snuff
upon the foot stove of the school mistress
may one day be discovered
and receive a flogging.
Hans and Gretel Brinker
have been courageous
and helpful to their mother
in times of great trouble.
Their father's life is
in the hands of God.
May the new year find
all treading the paths
of obedience, wisdom, and love.
Tomorrow, you shall find
more substantial proofs
that I have been in your midst.
Farewell.
(orchestral music)
(people chattering)
- You can come tomorrow morning
and see what St. Nicolas has left you.
Hans?
Gretel?
- What?
I'm sorry.
- Nothing.
But I do feel it's a good
sign that your father
is having his operation
on St. Nicolas Eve.
(Boekman sighs)
- His color is better.
Also his breathing.
- Well, you're very observant.
You sound like a medical man.
- I want very much to be a doctor someday.
- So did my son at your age.
You know why he ran away?
- I have heard.
- It's that he caused the death
of one of my patients by mistake.
He thought he had.
Patient's death was not his fault at all
but he thought it was.
And he was not strong enough to face me.
Or himself, I suppose.
To be a doctor, you must not
only be good enough to cure,
you must be strong enough to kill.
- Mijnheer Boekman, doctors don't kill.
- If your father gets well,
I'll be Dr. Boekman, the genius.
But if he dies, to your
mother, your sister, and you,
I'll be Dr. Boekman, the murderer.
- We would never think that.
- You would never say it,
but you would think it.
Well perhaps, perhaps it
is I who would think it.
- I think a man is blessed to be a surgeon
such as you, Mijnheer, no matter what.
(sweet music)
- Has he--
- Not yet.
- But shouldn't he--
- I would like it better
if he'd regain consciousness by now.
- It'll be as God wills.
(Boekman chuckles)
Don't you believe in God, Dr. Boekman?
- Oh yes, he's helped me very often.
Other times, when I've needed
him, he's been on vacation,
which I don't begrudge him.
- Mama, Hans, his lips moved.
Papa's lips moved.
- Well, it looks the town of Broek
is going to get back its best stonemason.
- Thank God.
- You see, Hans?
When they live, he gets the credit.
But when they die, you get the blame.
- Welcome home.
(pleasant music)
- 10 years.
10 years.
- Is that Papa talking?
What a beautiful voice you have, Papa.
- How have you managed?
- We've managed.
We worked.
- You can see by the look
of us we haven't starved.
- Your brother and you
are strangers to me.
And your mother is...
I don't remember her being so beautiful.
- Oh, you made me drop a stitch.
- I'm sorry.
How long did the savings last?
- The savings?
We never--
- We never went hungry.
The savings lasted a long time.
- Oh, I had a bad dream last night
that you didn't know
where the savings were.
I was trying to tell you
and you couldn't hear me.
I was shouting in the roots of the tree,
in the roots of the tree.
You couldn't hear me.
- There are no savings in
the roots of this tree.
(loud thumping)
(dramatic music)
Oh, Raff.
Raff.
Oh.
- I wanted to see if I could stand up.
- Do you want to hurt yourself.
In time, everything comes in time.
- Good morning.
- Good morning, Dr. Boekman.
- [Raff] Good morning, doctor.
- [Dame Brinker] What is this?
- That's for you.
- How nice.
Thank you.
Oh, Raff, sausages.
Wine.
Caviar, chicken, cheese.
- I hope to repay you soon, Dr. Boekman.
- Why is your heart working so hard?
- Ah, he tried to get up and walk.
- I'm as weak as a baby.
- Mm-hmm.
Your brain is sending
messages to your body
for the first time in 10 years.
Now, your muscles long
ago gave up any hope
of hearing from that brain.
They went out of business, you understand?
They've forgotten how to do their job
and they don't want to go back to work.
Now, they'll fight for a long time.
And you must let them fight it out.
The brain and the muscles,
all by themselves.
If you step in, they'll both
turn on you and kill you, hm?
By New Year's Day, you'll
watch The Silver Skates Race.
All this providing they remain very quiet.
(melodic music)
May I?
Where did you get this?
- He had it when he fell.
- [Raff] Somebody gave it to me.
A boy.
- A boy, tall and thin?
- Yes.
Yes, a boy.
- [Dame Brinker] You know this watch?
- It belonged to my son.
I gave it to him on his 16th birthday.
I haven't seen it for 10 years.
- Ah.
- Well, what did he say?
- Easy, Raff, it's all right.
- Forget it.
Don't upset yourself.
May I keep this?
- Yes, yes, of course.
- And tomorrow you will sit
by the window for one hour.
You and Hans will help him.
Oh, by the way, you just paid my fee.
(window tapping)
- Mama, Papa, Hans.
Look what I've got.
- [Dame Brinker] Real skates.
- [Hans] What happened?
- Hilda.
Her grandmother sent them from Denmark.
And she already had a new
pair for St. Nicolas Day,
so she gave them to me.
Look, Papa.
- Now both the Brinker children will be
in The Silver Skates Race.
- And both the Brinker parents
will be there to watch.
- I'm going to practice on them.
- [Hans] Yes, they're a little different
from the wooden ones.
- What happened to the old dead tree?
- We've cut it down for firewood.
- That's it.
The old dead tree.
I got to go somewhere.
Now remember, Papa's only
allowed to sit up for one hour.
- That was a very friendly tree.
It kept us warm and now it
gives us a thousand guilders.
- Now?
- Oh, did I say now?
(chuckles)
Raff Brinker, when you
get a little stronger,
we have a surprise for you.
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Don't wake the night ♪
♪ Don't break the dream ♪
♪ And in the morning ♪
♪ The golden horizon ♪
♪ Pours sun through the shadows ♪
♪ Just open your eyes ♪
♪ Be astonished to view ♪
♪ The golden tomorrows ♪
♪ That we all pursue ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ How they're waiting for you ♪
(ominous music)
- [Lawrens] Tell my father,
give him this watch.
Tell my father I'll be
in Manchester in England.
I'll be using the name Lawrens Beggs.
Manchester, England.
Lawrens Beggs.
(upbeat marching band music)
(people chattering)
- So I sold them at 13 guilders 50.
- You could've got 14.
- Yes, I know.
But wait till they see the bowl.
(organ music)
- As usual, she is.
(gasps)
Look.
- They're just children.
- I say, disgraceful.
- [Annie] Good luck, Hans.
- [Hans] Oh look, here come your parents.
Look, watch out for the dog for me.
- [Annie] Hello, Mother, Father.
- Go ahead, hurry now.
- Goodbye.
- Good luck, good luck, Hans.
- I'll see you soon.
Goodbye, Mama.
Easy now.
- Hans, I want to win for Papa.
(bell ringing)
- Girls, will you please
move to the starting line
for the first mile?
- First the girls and then the boys.
Oh, do you remember they race
until somebody's won twice?
- I remember.
- Take your marks.
(drum rolling)
Go!
(crowd cheering)
(pleasant music)
- Hurry up.
- Come on, Gretel, come on.
Come on, Gretel, you'll make it.
- Oh, Dr. Boekman, happy new year.
- Happy new year.
- I was wondering if we'd see you.
- Oh, I wouldn't miss it for anything.
I'd like you to meet my son, Lawrens.
- How do you do?
- How do you do?
- Dame Brinker, Mijnheer Brinker.
- We have met once before, I believe.
- [Lawrens] I was so sorry
to hear about your accident.
- Oh, so was I.
And I must apologize for taking so long
delivering your long-delayed message.
(upbeat music)
- This is going to be a happy new year.
(crowd shouting)
(crowd cheering)
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
(crowd applauds)
- [Announcer] The winner
is Gretel Brinker.
- Hans, I won, I did it.
- You did it, I told you.
She did it.
I knew she could do it,
I knew she could do it.
- [Announcer] Boys first mile.
- Oh, Hans, hurry or
you'll miss your race.
- They save their favors
for their pets, don't they?
If I'd have been this late,
they would've started without me.
- Carl, that's not fair.
- Please, Peter.
- Take your marks.
Go!
(crowd cheering)
(upbeat music)
(Dame Brinker chuckles)
- He's falling behind.
- Don't fall behind, Ludwig.
- [Onlooker] Hurry up, Peter.
- Come on, Jacob, come on, hurry up.
(crowd cheering)
(crowd shouting)
- Oh.
- The winner, Peter Von Holp.
(crowd cheers)
- Mom, you got my ear.
- Wait until I get you home
and wait until your
father hears about this.
Oh, good thing he didn't see you do it.
- Girls third mile.
Take your marks.
Go!
(upbeat music)
(crowd cheering)
- Hans, my strap.
- It's been cut.
- Carl's skate when he tripped me.
It cut into the leather.
(upbeat music)
I've been cheated of my last
chance for the silver skates.
Hans, what are you doing?
- No, please, Peter.
I want to.
- But what about you?
- It's not right for
you to lose your chance
because of someone else's unfairness.
- But--
- And when you win the silver
skates, I want my strap back.
(upbeat music)
- [Kid] Hurry up, hurry
up, come on, hurry up.
(crowd cheers)
(Dame Brinker laughs)
- Boys second mile.
Take your marks.
Go!
(upbeat music)
(crowd cheering)
(orchestral music)
- Peter's strap was cut.
- [Bystander] Hurry up,
hurry up, come on, hurry up.
- [Child] Hurry up, Peter.
(crowd cheers)
- The winner, Peter Von Holp.
(crowd cheers)
(triumphant music)
The winners of the silver skates,
for the girls, Greta Brinker,
for the boys, Peter Von Holp.
(crowd cheers and applauds)
- Why did you give Peter your strap?
No, why?
- Why?
Maybe because he needed it.
And it seemed to me, at
that moment, that I didn't.
That I'd won enough prizes this week.
- You're right.
It's not necessary to have
silver skates to be a doctor.
Hans, if he wants to, is
is joining my son and me
as an apprentice in
the medical profession.
- Hans is really going to be a doctor.
- Yes, Gretel, the son of a laborer.
- I bet you've heard, my father
was a dried herring dealer.
(all chuckling)
- You have made this the
proudest day in Papa's life.
- [Hilda] Gretel, Annie,
come on, The Grand March.
- Oh come on, Hans, The Grand March.
- You go.
I'll be with you in a minute.
(marching band music)
(romantic orchestral music)
- This is a happy new year isn't it, Hans?
- It's more than a new year, Annie.
It's a new future.
For both of us.
(marching band music)
(romantic orchestral music)
♪ Don't wake the night ♪
♪ Don't break the dream ♪
♪ And in the morning ♪
♪ The golden horizon ♪
♪ Pours sun through the shadows ♪
♪ Just open your eyes ♪
♪ Be astonished to view ♪
♪ The golden tomorrows ♪
♪ That we all pursue ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ How they're waiting for you ♪
(crowd cheering)
(orchestral music)
(soft orchestral music)
♪ Will I ever know ♪
♪ Holland, Holland ♪
♪ You are home ♪
(orchestral music)
- [Woman] Don't go near
the water, Frederica.
Did you hear me?
- [Worker] Get that
thing right over there.
- [Man] Easy, careful.
- I need your help.
- I'm coming.
- Here it goes.
- Keep it coming.
Keep it coming.
- I'm watching it.
- [Man] Careful.
- Carl, give Peter a hand, will you?
I'm getting hungry.
I wish my wife would
get here with the food.
- [Carl] Better hurry
up, the men are hungry.
- [Wife] I hope I didn't forget anything.
- [Concerned Wife] Does that taste good?
- Raff, look at your daughter.
♪ In a paradise for tooling fields ♪
- Gretel!
♪ Water comes from too much water ♪
- Gretel!
Hans.
Hans.
Go get your sister.
♪ In an anchored land ♪
♪ Where the sea flows in
and other lakes a lot ♪
- Oh, can't get there now.
- Not too hard.
♪ On water ♪
- Pull it, pull it.
- Watch out, Raff.
- Raff.
- Oh, how terrible.
(sweet music)
- Good, Papa?
Do you like it?
He liked it, Hans.
Fills the stomach huh, Papa?
It'll make you fat.
Hans, he smiled.
- [Hans] Don't be silly, Gretel.
Come here a minute.
- No, he did, he did.
You just don't see it when he does things.
Hans, he knows.
I'm sure he knows.
And he's trying to tell us.
- Stand still.
- But he did, he...
Look.
(melodic music)
- That watch again.
- I wish he could tell us where he got it.
I think--
- [Hans] Stop thinking and stand still.
- Oh, I wish he'd--
- I wish you'd let me fit this skate.
- But if he were cured...
How long would it take you
to become a doctor, Hans?
- And what makes you think anyone's
gonna give Hans Brinker the
chance to become a doctor?
- You'd do it.
I know you will.
And you're gonna cure Papa.
- Maybe after that I can do something
about that empty head of yours.
- My head's not empty.
(Hans exhales)
You can't help it.
The female brain is much
smaller than the male.
It's a medical fact.
- See?
Already you know more about such things
than any boy in Holland.
- [Hans] Ah, here comes Mama.
It's a good thing, I'm starving.
- Guess what we're having for supper.
Sausages.
- [Hans] Who told you that?
- Mama.
The money from the sewing.
And she's going to save up
and buy you a pair of
real skates for Christmas.
And you're gonna enter the
race on New Year's Day.
And you're gonna win the silver skates.
- Yes, and the fairy princess
is gonna turn this cottage into a castle.
- Did you get the sausage, Mama?
- He had a bowl of soup.
- Good.
- He smiled, Mama.
Did you get the sausage, Mama?
- Supper will be ready in a few minutes.
- Where's the sausage?
- Stew is better on such a cold night.
- Mama, the money from
the sewing, you said.
- Madam Boumer hired a
kitchen girl from Haarlem
who does very nice sewing.
- So there'll be no more sewing money?
And no skates for Hans?
- I like my wooden skates.
I wouldn't enter the silly race anyway.
- [Gretel] You would.
And you'd win.
- Easy, my darling, you'll upset Papa.
- Gretel, you dream too much.
- It's all right, boys must
plan and girls must dream.
(somber music)
- Hans is right.
I fool myself.
Nothing good will come to us.
No sausage, no real skates,
no Papa, no anything.
- You must never believe that.
Good things take time.
It takes time, it takes patience.
♪ There is a way ♪
♪ If you know there's a way ♪
♪ The way is clear ♪
♪ You have nothing to fear ♪
♪ Not for naught ♪
♪ Mother Nature has taught ♪
♪ First we crawl, then we walk ♪
♪ First we cry, then we talk ♪
♪ The glistening road may be long ♪
♪ Every turn may seem wrong ♪
♪ But your heart and your soul ♪
♪ Lead you straight to your goal ♪
♪ Once you know ♪
♪ There is a way ♪
♪ The glistening road may be long ♪
♪ Every turn may seem wrong ♪
♪ But your heart and your soul ♪
♪ Lead you straight to your goal ♪
♪ Once you know ♪
♪ There is a way ♪
(dramatic music)
(pleasant music)
(upbeat orchestral music)
- Mijnheer.
Mijnheer.
Good morning, Mijnheer,
can you use any coal today?
- What, what is it?
- Coal, would you like to buy some coal?
- Gold?
What kind of gold?
What are you talking about?
- No, Mijnheer, not gold.
Coal.
Coal.
- That's coal, that's what
that is, you young fool.
Gold is yellow.
(orchestral music)
(dogs barking)
(door knocking)
- Good morning, Mijnheer.
Would you care to buy
some coal for the stove?
Nice, hard coal.
Very cheap.
- Where did you get it?
- Well, I just found it.
By the railroad tracks.
- Just as I thought.
Railroad property.
Stolen coal.
- No, Mijnheer, it was just lying there.
It falls off the trains, you know.
- [Mijnheer] Do you think the
railroad paid for the coal?
- Well, yes.
- Did you pay for it?
- No, Mijnheer, but--
- [Mijnheer] Did the
railroad give it to you?
- Well, no.
- Then, it's stolen.
We don't buy stolen goods.
(orchestral music)
(people chattering)
- Good morning.
- Good morning, Hans.
Want to buy some cheese today?
- No, thank you.
- [Salesman] Lovely fresh
cheeses, cheeses, nice and fresh.
- [Fish Saleswoman] Fish, come and buy
some fresh fish today.
- [Flower Saleswoman] Tulips,
just cut, just this morning.
- [Salesman] Cheese,
chicken, healthy chickens.
- [Fish Saleswoman]
Fish, fresh fish today.
- [Flower Saleswoman]
Daffodils, fresh cut today.
- [Cheese Salesman] Cheese,
lovely array of cheese.
- [Chicken Salesman] Chickens,
live, healthy chickens.
- Good morning, Mijnheer Vosten.
- Good morning to you, Hans.
- Do you have any work today?
Any cleaning to be done?
- Do you have any work for a poor butcher
who can hardly make a living at this rate?
- Business not good these days, Mijnheer?
- Business?
Business is good.
Business is always good.
But I'm not getting any of it.
- Hello, Hans.
- Oh hello, Carl.
- Good morning, Master Schummel.
And how may I serve you?
- I don't suppose you have any beef today.
- Beef, no, I'm sorry.
But I have some excellent venison.
- Give me two pounds.
- Two pounds.
- You know, as far as I'm concerned,
the worst thing about living
in this back wood village
is that you can get so little
of that good Scottish beef,
but you wouldn't know
about that, would you now?
How's your father, any better?
- The same.
- Oh listen, my grandmother's
looking for a maid.
You might tell your
mother to go and see her.
- My mother is not a maid.
- Just trying to be helpful.
You know, it's Holland, your family living
in a place like this.
You'd really be far
better off in Amsterdam.
All kinds of jobs in a city like that.
And a lot of charity organizations.
- You really are a big-hearted fellow
to worry so much about the Brinkers.
I can't tell you how grateful it makes me.
- Just trying to be helpful.
- Two pounds and a little over.
No extra charge.
- My mother will weigh it at home.
She'll pay you later.
Oh, do you have any bones?
- You mean for the dog?
No, I don't.
Not today, I'm sorry.
- It's all right.
I was asking for Hans.
Well, I knew you wouldn't
ask for yourself.
- I pray you, mademoiselle, said Antoine.
His voice, trembling.
Ask that I leap from yonder window.
Ask that I plunge this
dagger into my breast.
Gladly will I do thy bidding.
But ask me to absent myself
from thy sweet presence.
Far more easily could I die.
Angela's lips parted.
She was about to speak.
Her luminous eyes, indeed, were already
an eloquent spokesman for
her impassioned heart.
Then suddenly, engulfed
in a tide of passion,
Antoine swept her into his arms.
His lips hungrily seeking hers.
Angela's supple form grew
limp in his powerful arms
as she swooned with the
rapture of his kiss.
- All they ever do in that book is kiss.
- I think you only swoon
from Frenchmen or Italians.
I don't think it happens with Dutch boys.
- I wouldn't want to swoon anyway.
What good's that?
I'd rather know what's going on.
- I'll bet Annie would swoon
if your brother Hans
kissed her on the lips.
- Be quiet, Hilda.
(door knocking)
- Annie?
- My father.
- I've got to go home now.
- So do I.
- Come in, father.
- Goodbye, Mijnheer Bouman.
- Goodbye, Mijnheer Bouman.
- Goodbye, girls, my
regards to your parents.
Sit down, dear.
(orchestral music)
(people chattering)
- [Irritated Boy] I
don't know what you want.
- [Carl's Friend] Carl, Carl?
- [Carl] Yes?
- [Carl's Friend] Who's
gonna lead the snake today?
- [Carl] Why don't you?
- [Boy] Hey, watch out.
- Oh, they're wonderful, Hans.
Just like real ones, thank you.
- You know, it's amazing
the way those skates work.
- They're all right until the
water soaks into the wood,
makes them stick to the ice.
- You haven't been around for a few days.
- I've been in town looking for work.
- [Friend] Any luck?
- Yes.
None of the doors that were slammed
in my face broke my nose.
- You know, there's one good
thing about those skates.
If the ice breaks, the rest of us will go
right to the bottom of the river
while Hans goes floating along the water.
- Hello, Hans.
- Hello, Jacob.
- Come on, Peter, you said
you wanted to lead the snake.
- Wait until Hans gets his skates on.
- Oh come on, those wooden
skates slow everybody down.
- Go ahead, Peter, I
don't feel like it anyway.
(people chattering)
- Why aren't you joining the snake?
- We didn't feel like it.
- [Hilda] Look, there's Annie.
(orchestral music)
- Hello, Hilda.
- Hello.
- Hello, Annie.
- Oh, is that new?
It's beautiful.
- You really like it?
- [Hilda] Come on.
(cheerful orchestra music)
♪ Do do do do do-do-do-do-do-do
do do-do-do-do-do-do do ♪
♪ Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do ♪
♪ Do do do do do-do-do-do-do-do
do do-do-do-do-do-do do ♪
♪ Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do ♪
♪ Do do do do do-do-do-do-do-do
do do-do-do-do-do-do do ♪
♪ Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do ♪
♪ Free ♪
♪ Following wherever feelings
that I fantasize will be ♪
♪ Wonderful and full of wonder
all the ways that I can be ♪
♪ Skating swiftly beside a dancing ship ♪
♪ To sail in deep blue sea ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ Marvel at the marvelous
maid that I finally met ♪
♪ And married me ♪
♪ Gently on the ice that glistens riding ♪
♪ With the friends I see ♪
♪ Happiness can happen when
two happy people happen to be ♪
♪ Free ♪
♪ The people I remember ♪
♪ The mother and the father ♪
♪ The poor grandmeister and the children ♪
♪ The lord who watches over ♪
♪ The joyful Holland nation ♪
♪ He knows which children love him ♪
♪ And he cares ♪
♪ Do do do do do-do-do-do-do-do
do do-do-do-do-do-do do ♪
♪ Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do ♪
♪ Do do do do do-do-do-do-do-do
do do-do-do-do-do-do do ♪
♪ Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do ♪
♪ The people I remember ♪
♪ The mother and the father ♪
♪ The poor grandmeister and the children ♪
♪ The lord who watches over ♪
♪ The joyful Holland nation ♪
♪ He knows each children love him ♪
♪ To ♪
♪ Be ♪
♪ Free ♪
♪ Free ♪
- [Boy] Come on.
♪ Free ♪
♪ Do-Do-Do-Do-Do-Do do ♪
- [Carl] Stop it, stop it.
Stay there, Jacob.
- People notice, people always
notice things, you know?
And then they say, hm,
I wonder what's going on
with those two.
- That's the most foolish
thing I've ever heard.
The most foolish.
- Yes, but that's the way people are.
And we must pay attention,
even to foolish people.
- Why?
- Because you must live in this world.
And the wise person must learn
to take some foolish
things very seriously.
So, even though Mrs.
Bouman and I both know
that you and Annie are
only very casual friends,
we think it would be
best if you didn't spend
so much time together because
of the foolish people.
That's all.
- I like Annie very much.
I like to talk to her.
She's not like the other girls.
And she likes to talk
to me, I know she does.
I don't see what's wrong with that.
- Hans, when your father brought me
to this house, I was very happy.
It was just like the house I grew up in
with my parents and my brothers.
And I knew just what
to do with this house.
I'd been doing it for a long time.
When I was Annie's age,
my hands were red and rough and strong,
not at all like Annie's hands.
- Mother, I don't like this.
What do people's hands have to do with it?
- I don't like it either,
but there are some
things you should be told
because to find them out for yourself
can be very painful, Hans.
- [Gretel] Mama, Hans.
Look what Annie gave me.
- Oh my goodness, such elegance.
- Isn't it beautiful?
- [Dame Brinker] Oh yes, real fur.
- [Gretel] Hans, isn't it beautiful?
- Oh, what do boys know
about these things?
- He doesn't like me to take
clothing from the other girls.
But I don't see anything wrong with it.
Do you, Mama?
- No, what's wrong with giving
the poor Brinkers your cast-off clothing?
It's better than throwing
it away with the garbage.
- Hans, this was given by Annie with love.
And what is given with love
should be taken with pride.
- [Annie] Gretel.
- Well, why didn't she come in?
- She doesn't think Hans likes
her to come into the house.
- I was wondering if you were home.
- It's a very pretty
jacket you gave Gretel.
- It's much too small on me.
Are you going to Hilda's party tonight?
- I don't think so.
You know I'm really not
very much for parties.
- I know.
You and Gretel are coming
to my house St. Nicolas Eve, aren't you?
- Well--
- You'll like it.
It's really not like a party at all.
I mean, nobody dresses up or anything.
- Well, if I'm not busy.
- [Annie] What's wrong?
- Nothing.
- Something is wrong.
Are you angry about the sweater?
- [Hans] No, I'm just very busy.
- Has somebody been
saying something to you?
- Saying something to me?
What are you talking about?
- My mother and father want me
to spend less time with you.
- [Hans] Yes, I know.
- It's so foolish.
- A wise person takes
foolish things seriously.
- Why?
- I don't know.
I can never understand
wise people, can you?
- I should very much like for you
and Gretel to come to my
house St. Nicolas Eve.
- Well, maybe it would be all right
if we don't spend too much
time together in the meantime.
- All right, Hans.
Hans.
Can you fix this clamp for me?
- Look, Papa.
Look at my new jacket.
Isn't it beautiful?
I think he likes it, Mama.
- Yes, your father likes pretty clothes.
Don't you, Raff?
He brought me my blue
velvet gown from Amsterdam.
He used to love to take me dancing in it.
Didn't you, Raff?
You remember.
- He remembers, Mama.
- Oh, he used to love to dance.
Didn't you, Raff?
- He's dancing, Mama, he remembers.
Oh, Mama, that's so nice, I've never...
No.
- Raff.
- No.
- Raff.
- Papa, no.
- Oh, Raff.
- No.
No, Papa.
- Raff.
- Hans!
Hans, quick, he's killing her, quick!
Hans, quick!
- [Hans] Stop it.
Stop it, please.
- I'm fine, darling, he didn't hurt me.
He wouldn't hurt me.
- What happened?
- It was my fault.
I got him excited.
It was my fault.
It was nothing.
It was nothing at all.
- [Hans] Close the door,
please, it's very cold in here.
(orchestral music)
(pleasant music)
- Careful.
Will you build a fire for me?
- I've been here too long already.
Your mother will worry.
- She's not here.
And besides, we don't
have to talk or anything.
Oh look, Hans, it's a
drawing of the silver skates,
the prizes for the race.
Oh, look at that, the skates
have got little bells on them.
- Well, that's a clever idea.
Now the fishes swimming under the ice
will know when somebody's
skating by up above.
(Annie giggles)
- Well, they may be
silly, but they're pretty.
Don't you think so?
- They're very pretty.
- [Annie] What is it?
- Dr. Boekman.
- What about him?
- Dr. Lars Boekman, famous
surgeon formally of this town,
for the past 10 years, resident
of Sweden, is in Amsterdam
at the bedside of Mayor
Van Meer of that city,
where he's been called upon
to perform a most delicate operation.
Dr. Boekman is staying
at The Golden Eagle Inn.
- You're thinking of--
- Oh, it's silly.
- Hans, Peter Van Holp and the other boys
are skating to Amsterdam to get
in condition for the big race.
What would you have to lose
going to Dr. Boekman and asking him?
- Wouldn't I be something to
see, trying to get to Amsterdam
on my wooden skates.
Goodbye, Annie, I'm going home now.
- Thank you, Hans.
(pleasant music)
I'd try, but I'm sure he
wouldn't take it from me.
But you could do it.
- I don't know, that pride of his.
- [Annie] Look, there he is now.
Here, please.
- Hello, Hans.
- What can I do for you?
- [Peter] It's a business proposition.
You know that necklace you carved
for Annie for her birthday?
- Yes.
- Could you make two for
me by St. Nicolas's Eve?
- [Hans] Well, I might.
- I want one for my mother
and one for my aunt, Inge.
I'll pay you seven guilders.
- Oh, I couldn't charge you.
- And what do you think?
That I would accept your work for nothing?
Don't you think I have any pride?
Peter Van Holp pays his way, in advance.
- I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.
You must have known him.
Even 10 years ago, he was famous.
They say he moved to Sweden
because his son ran away
from home one day without a word.
It made him very sad.
He's known all over the world
for his marvelous operations.
- Who are you talking to?
- Talking?
Nobody was talking.
- [Gretel] Hm?
- Do you think you two
females could take care
of the house for a couple of days
while I'm away in Amsterdam?
- Amsterdam?
- Whose are those?
- [Hans] Mine, of course.
- How did you get them?
- In the usual way.
I bought them.
- Hans, now you can be in the big race.
- What do you mean you bought them?
How?
- Oh yes, I forgot to tell you.
I'm doing a little job of
carving for Peter Von Holp.
Necklaces for Christmas gifts.
Seven guilders, paid in advance.
- Mama, seven guilders.
- I see.
So you bought ice skates.
- Well, Mama, how else
could I go to Amsterdam
to see Dr. Boekman
about operating on Papa?
- Of course.
You're right, of course.
- Oh, Papa, do you hear?
You're going to be well.
You're going to have an operation.
It won't hurt him, will it?
- Who knows if we can
even get Dr. Boekman.
- We mustn't be carried away by our hopes,
we don't know if Dr. Boekman
will want to do this.
And even if he does, if it will work.
It's a long time Papa's been sick.
A very long time.
- [Peter] What did you say, Carl?
- Here comes Mr. Wooden Skates.
- [Peter] Not today.
- Oh, Hans, you've got real skates.
What happened?
- St. Nicolas.
I've been such a good boy.
He didn't want me to wait
till St. Nicolas Eve.
(Peter chuckles)
- All right, you men,
this is your captain.
Attention, fall in.
(militaristic music)
Carl Schummel.
- Here.
- Jacob Boot.
- Here, Your Worship.
- Hans Brinker.
- I'm here too, sir.
- Ludwig Van Holp.
- Here.
- Voostenwalbert Shibilpennig.
Where's Voostenwalbert?
- Here I am.
Here I am.
Here I am.
- All right, men, onto Amsterdam.
(exciting music)
- Hey look, let's get a ride.
- I wonder if he'll take us.
- He will.
- Let's go.
(cheerful music)
Don't push.
- Get out of my way, Ludwig.
- Don't push.
- Come on, Jacob, hurry up.
- Thank you.
- Wait, oh, hey.
- Hey, Jacob's got food.
- Who, me?
- Come on, Jacob.
- Give us something too.
- You're holding out.
- We're hungry too.
- I thought we were friends.
(Jacob laughing)
- [Ludwig] That'll teach you a lesson.
- Excuse me, Amsterdam,
how far is Amsterdam?
- Straight ahead.
- Ah, pretty.
- Very pretty.
- Amsterdam.
- Isn't she beautiful?
- Eh.
♪ There she is ♪
♪ Here am I ♪
♪ There is nothing can keep me
away from lovely Amsterdam ♪
♪ Time can't stop ♪
♪ Falling sands ♪
♪ She is queen ♪
♪ Where she stands ♪
♪ There she is, with her arms open wide ♪
♪ Here am I, coming close to her side ♪
♪ With her ribbons of water that
pour into everyone's heart ♪
♪ Filled to brim ♪
♪ That's what I am ♪
♪ With a love that will be yours forever ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ There she is, there she is ♪
♪ Here am I, here am I ♪
♪ There is nothing can keep me
away from lovely Amsterdam ♪
♪ Time can't stop, time can't stop ♪
♪ Falling sands, falling sands ♪
♪ She is queen, she is queen ♪
♪ Where she stands ♪
♪ There she is, with her arms open wide ♪
♪ Here am I, coming close to her side ♪
♪ With her ribbons of water that
pour into everyone's heart ♪
♪ Everyone's heart ♪
♪ Filled to brim ♪
♪ That's what I am ♪
♪ With a love that will be yours forever ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
♪ Amsterdam ♪
(pleasant music)
- Look at that old house.
- It must be 200 years old.
- [Voostenwalbert] Don't.
Will you stop that?
I can't see anything.
- Well?
- Dr. Boekman is away.
He'll be back tomorrow.
- All right then, so will we.
- What happened?
- He'll be back tomorrow.
- Do you think he'll see you?
- I hope so.
- I know you don't like
to have your face washed.
Well, that's too bad.
Maybe you think this is fun for me.
I only do it, you know,
because every now and then
I get to wondering if my
handsome husband is still there
under all that dust.
Anyway, we've got to be good
and clean for the famous doctor.
Hm, I can just hear him now.
Madam, you expect me to
operate on such a dirty fellow?
Did you see how happy
Hans was with his skates?
How long he's dreamed of real skates.
I hope soon we can get
some for Gretel too.
Although, it doesn't
matter so much to her.
She will see how quickly
she's become a woman.
(sighs)
You know what's silly?
Sometimes, it makes me sad,
the way they're changing, growing.
You watch them, you
cannot see them change.
Suddenly, they're not the same.
Don't stiffen up so.
It won't be long before you'll
be giving her away in church.
You will.
You will.
Yes.
Dr. Boekman may be too busy this week.
Next week.
But there will be a doctor.
Oh, there will be a medicine.
You will see.
And then, my lazy fellow, you'll
have to wash your own face.
Sorry, but that's the way it is.
The vacation will be over.
(orchestral music)
♪ Golden tomorrows ♪
♪ Those golden tomorrows ♪
♪ Harboring in our yesterday ♪
♪ In searching for treasure ♪
♪ Remember the pleasure ♪
♪ Is dreaming the dreams of today ♪
♪ Don't wake the night ♪
♪ Don't break the dream ♪
♪ And in the morning ♪
♪ The golden horizon ♪
♪ Pours sun through the shadows ♪
♪ Just open your eyes ♪
♪ Be astonished to view ♪
♪ The golden tomorrows ♪
♪ That we all pursue ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ How they're waiting for you ♪
♪ If ♪
♪ You ♪
♪ Only ♪
♪ Knew ♪
- I wonder what's going on.
- I'm getting awfully hungry.
- Well, we're all right, men.
He'll take us up for
lodging, five guilders.
- That's too much.
- He says it's the best he can do.
- That sounds fair enough.
- We brought along five
guilders for expenses.
- I see I'll have to give
you boys a little lesson
in financial negotiating.
Come with me and see how it's done.
My dear sir.
- Yes, master?
- [Carl] As you can see, my
friends and I are all gentlemen
and used to nothing but the best.
- [Innkeeper] Yes, I can see.
Very distinguished company.
- And your inn, without
meaning to hurt your feelings,
it could hardly be called first class.
- There are fancier places in Amsterdam.
- And we would ordinarily stay at one.
- I wish you wouldn't.
- We thought,
just for the change, it might be fun
to try one of the shabbier inns.
- You do me too much honor, I'm sure.
- Yes.
And I imagine you will be more than happy
to feed and lodge us
overnight for four guilders.
- Oh no, master, you and your friends
are far too elegant for my shabby place.
They'd make it look all
the shabbier by comparison.
And as you yourself point out,
it's already shabby enough.
- Now, just a minute--
- I don't think I can afford
to take you here and have
you here at any price.
- Carl will be Carl.
- Thanks for the lesson, Carl.
Very educational.
What do we do now?
- Yes?
- I want you to notice,
we're not all well-dressed and elegant.
In fact, a fellow such as
myself makes your place
seem luxurious by
contrast, don't you think?
- How did such an ordinary duck get in
among all the peacocks?
- They're all fine fellows.
And the truth is we only brought
along five guilders for expenses.
And if you don't take us in,
we'll have to sleep in the streets.
We throw ourselves upon your mercy.
- I don't know.
My establishment's been insulted.
I'm a very sensitive person.
- Carl insults everybody.
He means no harm.
He'll apologize, wait a minute.
- Yeah, go on.
- Go on.
Go on.
- Please, go on.
- Mijnheer Kleef.
Mijnheer Kleef, I apologize.
Your inn is very attractive.
- In its shabby fashion?
- Yes.
No, it's not shabby at all.
- Very well-furnished?
- Very.
- Comfortable?
- Oh yes, very.
- All right, lodging for
one night and one meal.
Five guilders.
Boys who lie as well as you do
end up in the gallows, you know?
(boys chattering)
- One moment.
In your chair.
Manners, gentlemen.
Very important thing for civilized people.
Now say after me, proper manners.
- [Boys] Proper manners.
- You all will want to be
gentlemen someday, don't you?
- [Boys] Yes, sir.
- Now it's time to start, innit?
- [Boys] Yes, sir.
- Then eat like little gentlemen.
Up.
Up!
(dramatic music)
(pleasant music)
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Rule number one to follow ♪
♪ Rule number one to learn ♪
♪ Elbows off the table ♪
♪ Fingers off the food ♪
♪ Wait until the food's passed ♪
♪ Even if you're fed last ♪
♪ Reaching's very rude ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Things to know when
you are breaking bread ♪
♪ Never forget your proper manners ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Remember what the mother always said ♪
(dramatic music)
(orchestral music)
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Rule number one to follow ♪
♪ Rule number one to learn ♪
♪ Napkins must be opened ♪
♪ Spread upon on the knees ♪
♪ Watch your pepper spout ♪
♪ If you pour it out ♪
♪ Someone's bound to sneeze ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Things to know when
you are breaking bread ♪
(Kleef sneezes)
♪ Never forget your proper manners ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Remember what the mother always said ♪
(dramatic music)
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Dutch boys should act like Dutchmen ♪
♪ Gentlemen wait their turn ♪
♪ Elbows off the table ♪
♪ Fingers off the food ♪
♪ Wait until the food's passed ♪
♪ Even if you're fed last ♪
♪ Reaching's very rude ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Remember what the mother always said ♪
♪ Never forget your proper manners ♪
♪ Proper manners ♪
♪ Things to know when you are breaking ♪
♪ Bread ♪
(dramatic music)
(boys snoring)
(bell chiming)
(dog howls)
- That's a dog, I guess.
- I guess so.
It couldn't be a wolf right
in the middle of Amsterdam.
- No, that's right.
- I'd bet my mother's worried about me.
I never stayed away from
home all night before.
- [Ludwig] I'll bet mine is too.
- [Voostenwalbert] I mean, you'd think
we were babies or something.
- [Ludwig] That's the
way they are, I guess.
I mean, a wolf would be dumb
to come right into a city.
He'd get shot.
- [Voostenwalbert] That's right.
- Peter, Carl, Jacob, wake up.
One false move and you die.
- What's he doing here?
- Who's that you're sitting on?
- He was going through our pockets.
- Ludwig, go wake up Mijnheer Kleef.
- Where am I?
What am I doing here?
Who are you gentlemen?
Don't tell me I've been
walking in my sleep again.
- Where's Jacob?
- He's asleep.
- Get him up, Hans.
- As usual.
- [Peter] How about some
assistance, gentlemen?
- [Ludwig] Wake up, Jacob.
- What's that you say?
A thief, boy?
Go and fetch a policeman.
- Thank goodness, a grown-up voice.
Come help me, please.
I think these little
savages have broken my back.
- Back?
It's a wonder they didn't eat you.
(pleasant music)
(upbeat music)
(door knocking)
- [Boekman] Don't open it
anymore than you have to.
And shut it quickly.
- Dr. Boekman?
- Come here, come here.
Ah, no.
Don't move too fast,
you'll set up a breeze.
Your name is Brinkman?
- Brinker, Mijnheer Boekman.
Hans Brinker.
- Mm.
And it's a matter of life and death.
(chuckles)
That's all I ever hear.
Life and death will be the death of me.
Sit down.
Well?
- It's my father.
He fell from the dike in Broek.
It's 10 years now.
He doesn't speak.
He doesn't move.
- You live in Broek?
- Yes, sir.
- Do you know how busy I am?
Do you know how many
people are waiting for me
to save their fathers and
their sisters and their sons?
- When my father gets well,
he'll tell us where he buried the savings
and we can pay you.
- The savings?
- Over a thousand guilders.
- What makes you think
that's enough to pay my fee?
- My father will make more.
He's one of the best
stonemasons in Holland.
(Boekman chuckles)
- I'm expected in Munich on
Thursday, life and death.
I was supposed to go
to Copenhagen tomorrow,
also life and death.
How old are you?
- 17.
- And how old's your father?
- 37.
- Ah.
So the accident happened
how long ago, 10 years?
- Yes, sir, 10 years.
- Get me some more hot water, please.
Oh, not on me.
In the water.
- I'm sorry.
- Good, empty it.
Where in Broek do you live?
- On the mill road, near the river.
- Mm-hmm.
I used to live in Broek myself.
- I know, sir.
- 10 years, that's a long time.
Uh.
I can't perform miracles, you know?
Only God can perform
miracles and I am not God.
It pains me to admit it.
Does he move at all?
- Yes, sir.
- His hands?
- Yes.
- Does he move his head?
- A little.
- This much, from side to side?
- Not quite that much.
- Can he walk?
- Yes, sir.
- 10 years.
Now, I left Broek 10 years ago myself.
- I know.
- Well, then you know why.
- Yes, sir.
- He was just about your
age when he ran away.
10 years, that's a long time.
Is he strong?
- Very strong.
- I'm expecting a message.
If I'm not needed in Copenhagen,
I may drop by and see your father.
- Yes, sir.
Thank you.
- [Boekman] Hm.
- He tried to kill my
mother the other day.
- I am not God.
- Thank you, sir.
(orchestral music)
- Really, I'm surprised at you fellows.
Only one bandit with a knife.
Why not a whole gang of
pirates with swords and axes
or even African savages with spears?
- Well, it's all true, Jacob.
- That's right.
You should have seen the knife.
- I was thinking about that
thief with his ferocious friends
who were going to hunt us down.
- [Carl] And cut off our ears.
- Listen, you don't suppose...
- Ridiculous.
- [Peter] Impossible.
(orchestral music)
- [Voostenwalbert] We better
hurry up, it's getting dark.
I wanna get home before dinner.
- [Ludwig] You would.
- [Voostenwalbert] Will
you stop picking on me?
- How was Amsterdam?
- Marvelous.
I saw Dr. Boekman.
- I know, I saw Peter.
How are the skates?
- Marvelous.
I'm very busy.
People are waiting for me
in Munich and Copenhagen.
I finally told him, forget about it.
- [Annie] Oh, you weren't rude.
- No, just firm.
Felt kind of sorry for him.
- Well...
- Well?
Goodnight.
- Goodnight.
I wonder what time it is.
- 12 minutes and 14
seconds past eight o'clock.
If the old moon isn't running slow again.
Come on, I'll walk you to the bridge.
Maybe I can work up an
appetite for supper.
- Oh, Hans, let's sit
and talk for a minute.
I always have an appetite.
My mother says the way I eat,
it's a wonder I'm not
as a big as an elephant.
(Hans chuckles)
- I ate a lot in Amsterdam.
You should've seen that food.
First, they brought potato salad
and pickles and the best bread I ever ate.
And there was some kind of fish.
♪ When he speaks ♪
♪ I don't hear a thing ♪
♪ I don't hear a thing ♪
♪ But the sound of my heart singing love ♪
♪ How I love you ♪
(romantic orchestral music)
- [Hans] Otherwise you'll fall down
and we'll never be able to pick you up.
- What?
- Peter said to Jacob--
- Yes, never be able to pick you up.
The best food I ever had was
when my father took me to Leyden.
There was this Greek family my father
had some business with.
They invited us to dinner.
Talk about food.
There were funny little black
olives and something with--
♪ When she speaks ♪
♪ I don't hear a word ♪
♪ I don't hear a word ♪
♪ But the sound of my heart singing love ♪
♪ How I love you ♪
(romantic orchestral music)
♪ Can it be ♪
♪ She ♪
♪ Loves ♪
♪ Me ♪
♪ Can it be ♪
♪ She ♪
♪ Loves ♪
♪ Me ♪
- Dr. Boekman.
- Hans.
He's going to your house.
- Yes.
Yes, he is.
Goodbye, Annie.
- Goodbye, Hans.
- There's a piece of bone
pressing on the man's brain.
I don't think the brain is
damaged, but I can't tell.
It's a very difficult
operation, very dangerous.
- You've done it before.
- If everybody's skull
was the same thickness
and every man fell on his
head from the same height
and the same way, then all
operations would be the same.
But they are not.
There's a chance I can
bring back your father.
The chance is just as
good that he will die.
The chance that he will
die may be a little better.
Do you want to take the risk?
It's up to you.
- No, they'll kill him.
- My husband wants to take the risk.
- Now, you two in the other room, please.
- I stay with my husband.
You go stay with Gretel, she's frightened.
- [Boekman] I order you to the other room.
I order you to the other room.
- I stay with my husband.
- At an operation, the
doctor is never disobeyed.
I order you to the bedroom.
- I stay with my husband.
- No, not the, the little one, quickly.
That's it.
Don't get in my light.
More ether.
(dramatic music)
- Papa's gonna be angry when he sees
they've shaved off some of his hair.
- Doesn't require as much
physical effort as taking a bath.
Why does it always exhaust me so?
(sighs)
He'll be unconscious for several hours.
Well, it's St. Nicolas Eve.
Are you expecting a visit
from the old gentleman
or doesn't St. Nicolas
know about the Brinkers?
- Before their papa's accident,
St. Nicolas came every year.
- And this year you had Dr. Boekman.
- Uh, Hans, why don't you take Gretel
to Annie Bouman's house?
They'll be expecting you.
- I don't want to leave.
- Neither do I.
- I order you to go to Annie Bouman's.
Your father needs only me
now and I will be here.
Your mother and I will be here.
(pleasant orchestral music)
♪ Christ has risen, heavenly light ♪
♪ Angels reflecting in the snow ♪
♪ Neighbors wandering
brought us this day ♪
♪ For olden words ♪
(people chattering)
♪ That his love was born for you ♪
♪ That his love was born for you ♪
♪ And his love is born anew ♪
♪ Each Christmas Day ♪
♪ Oh holy ♪
♪ Day ♪
♪ Christ child bathed in heavenly light ♪
♪ Angels reflecting from above ♪
♪ Little Jesus born Christmas Day ♪
♪ Filling the earth ♪
♪ With love ♪
(door knocking)
(people chattering)
(people applauding)
- Children.
I greet ye all.
Good children ye have been
in the main since I last accosted ye.
Diedrich was rude at the
Haarlem Fair last fall,
but he has tried to atone for it since.
Mayken has failed of late in her lessons.
And too many sweets and
trifles have gone to her lips
and too few stivers to our charity box.
Now Diedrich, I trust,
will be a polite, manly boy in the future.
And Mayken will endeavor
to shine at her studies.
Young Kathy has been cruel
to the cat more than once.
Oo hoo hoo, St. Nicolas
can hear the cat cry
when his tail is pulled.
Now, I'll forgive her.
If she remember from this hour
that even the smallest
dumb beasts have feelings
and must not be abused.
Master Broom, I warned ye that boys
who were in the habit of putting snuff
upon the foot stove of the school mistress
may one day be discovered
and receive a flogging.
Hans and Gretel Brinker
have been courageous
and helpful to their mother
in times of great trouble.
Their father's life is
in the hands of God.
May the new year find
all treading the paths
of obedience, wisdom, and love.
Tomorrow, you shall find
more substantial proofs
that I have been in your midst.
Farewell.
(orchestral music)
(people chattering)
- You can come tomorrow morning
and see what St. Nicolas has left you.
Hans?
Gretel?
- What?
I'm sorry.
- Nothing.
But I do feel it's a good
sign that your father
is having his operation
on St. Nicolas Eve.
(Boekman sighs)
- His color is better.
Also his breathing.
- Well, you're very observant.
You sound like a medical man.
- I want very much to be a doctor someday.
- So did my son at your age.
You know why he ran away?
- I have heard.
- It's that he caused the death
of one of my patients by mistake.
He thought he had.
Patient's death was not his fault at all
but he thought it was.
And he was not strong enough to face me.
Or himself, I suppose.
To be a doctor, you must not
only be good enough to cure,
you must be strong enough to kill.
- Mijnheer Boekman, doctors don't kill.
- If your father gets well,
I'll be Dr. Boekman, the genius.
But if he dies, to your
mother, your sister, and you,
I'll be Dr. Boekman, the murderer.
- We would never think that.
- You would never say it,
but you would think it.
Well perhaps, perhaps it
is I who would think it.
- I think a man is blessed to be a surgeon
such as you, Mijnheer, no matter what.
(sweet music)
- Has he--
- Not yet.
- But shouldn't he--
- I would like it better
if he'd regain consciousness by now.
- It'll be as God wills.
(Boekman chuckles)
Don't you believe in God, Dr. Boekman?
- Oh yes, he's helped me very often.
Other times, when I've needed
him, he's been on vacation,
which I don't begrudge him.
- Mama, Hans, his lips moved.
Papa's lips moved.
- Well, it looks the town of Broek
is going to get back its best stonemason.
- Thank God.
- You see, Hans?
When they live, he gets the credit.
But when they die, you get the blame.
- Welcome home.
(pleasant music)
- 10 years.
10 years.
- Is that Papa talking?
What a beautiful voice you have, Papa.
- How have you managed?
- We've managed.
We worked.
- You can see by the look
of us we haven't starved.
- Your brother and you
are strangers to me.
And your mother is...
I don't remember her being so beautiful.
- Oh, you made me drop a stitch.
- I'm sorry.
How long did the savings last?
- The savings?
We never--
- We never went hungry.
The savings lasted a long time.
- Oh, I had a bad dream last night
that you didn't know
where the savings were.
I was trying to tell you
and you couldn't hear me.
I was shouting in the roots of the tree,
in the roots of the tree.
You couldn't hear me.
- There are no savings in
the roots of this tree.
(loud thumping)
(dramatic music)
Oh, Raff.
Raff.
Oh.
- I wanted to see if I could stand up.
- Do you want to hurt yourself.
In time, everything comes in time.
- Good morning.
- Good morning, Dr. Boekman.
- [Raff] Good morning, doctor.
- [Dame Brinker] What is this?
- That's for you.
- How nice.
Thank you.
Oh, Raff, sausages.
Wine.
Caviar, chicken, cheese.
- I hope to repay you soon, Dr. Boekman.
- Why is your heart working so hard?
- Ah, he tried to get up and walk.
- I'm as weak as a baby.
- Mm-hmm.
Your brain is sending
messages to your body
for the first time in 10 years.
Now, your muscles long
ago gave up any hope
of hearing from that brain.
They went out of business, you understand?
They've forgotten how to do their job
and they don't want to go back to work.
Now, they'll fight for a long time.
And you must let them fight it out.
The brain and the muscles,
all by themselves.
If you step in, they'll both
turn on you and kill you, hm?
By New Year's Day, you'll
watch The Silver Skates Race.
All this providing they remain very quiet.
(melodic music)
May I?
Where did you get this?
- He had it when he fell.
- [Raff] Somebody gave it to me.
A boy.
- A boy, tall and thin?
- Yes.
Yes, a boy.
- [Dame Brinker] You know this watch?
- It belonged to my son.
I gave it to him on his 16th birthday.
I haven't seen it for 10 years.
- Ah.
- Well, what did he say?
- Easy, Raff, it's all right.
- Forget it.
Don't upset yourself.
May I keep this?
- Yes, yes, of course.
- And tomorrow you will sit
by the window for one hour.
You and Hans will help him.
Oh, by the way, you just paid my fee.
(window tapping)
- Mama, Papa, Hans.
Look what I've got.
- [Dame Brinker] Real skates.
- [Hans] What happened?
- Hilda.
Her grandmother sent them from Denmark.
And she already had a new
pair for St. Nicolas Day,
so she gave them to me.
Look, Papa.
- Now both the Brinker children will be
in The Silver Skates Race.
- And both the Brinker parents
will be there to watch.
- I'm going to practice on them.
- [Hans] Yes, they're a little different
from the wooden ones.
- What happened to the old dead tree?
- We've cut it down for firewood.
- That's it.
The old dead tree.
I got to go somewhere.
Now remember, Papa's only
allowed to sit up for one hour.
- That was a very friendly tree.
It kept us warm and now it
gives us a thousand guilders.
- Now?
- Oh, did I say now?
(chuckles)
Raff Brinker, when you
get a little stronger,
we have a surprise for you.
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Don't wake the night ♪
♪ Don't break the dream ♪
♪ And in the morning ♪
♪ The golden horizon ♪
♪ Pours sun through the shadows ♪
♪ Just open your eyes ♪
♪ Be astonished to view ♪
♪ The golden tomorrows ♪
♪ That we all pursue ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ How they're waiting for you ♪
(ominous music)
- [Lawrens] Tell my father,
give him this watch.
Tell my father I'll be
in Manchester in England.
I'll be using the name Lawrens Beggs.
Manchester, England.
Lawrens Beggs.
(upbeat marching band music)
(people chattering)
- So I sold them at 13 guilders 50.
- You could've got 14.
- Yes, I know.
But wait till they see the bowl.
(organ music)
- As usual, she is.
(gasps)
Look.
- They're just children.
- I say, disgraceful.
- [Annie] Good luck, Hans.
- [Hans] Oh look, here come your parents.
Look, watch out for the dog for me.
- [Annie] Hello, Mother, Father.
- Go ahead, hurry now.
- Goodbye.
- Good luck, good luck, Hans.
- I'll see you soon.
Goodbye, Mama.
Easy now.
- Hans, I want to win for Papa.
(bell ringing)
- Girls, will you please
move to the starting line
for the first mile?
- First the girls and then the boys.
Oh, do you remember they race
until somebody's won twice?
- I remember.
- Take your marks.
(drum rolling)
Go!
(crowd cheering)
(pleasant music)
- Hurry up.
- Come on, Gretel, come on.
Come on, Gretel, you'll make it.
- Oh, Dr. Boekman, happy new year.
- Happy new year.
- I was wondering if we'd see you.
- Oh, I wouldn't miss it for anything.
I'd like you to meet my son, Lawrens.
- How do you do?
- How do you do?
- Dame Brinker, Mijnheer Brinker.
- We have met once before, I believe.
- [Lawrens] I was so sorry
to hear about your accident.
- Oh, so was I.
And I must apologize for taking so long
delivering your long-delayed message.
(upbeat music)
- This is going to be a happy new year.
(crowd shouting)
(crowd cheering)
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
(crowd applauds)
- [Announcer] The winner
is Gretel Brinker.
- Hans, I won, I did it.
- You did it, I told you.
She did it.
I knew she could do it,
I knew she could do it.
- [Announcer] Boys first mile.
- Oh, Hans, hurry or
you'll miss your race.
- They save their favors
for their pets, don't they?
If I'd have been this late,
they would've started without me.
- Carl, that's not fair.
- Please, Peter.
- Take your marks.
Go!
(crowd cheering)
(upbeat music)
(Dame Brinker chuckles)
- He's falling behind.
- Don't fall behind, Ludwig.
- [Onlooker] Hurry up, Peter.
- Come on, Jacob, come on, hurry up.
(crowd cheering)
(crowd shouting)
- Oh.
- The winner, Peter Von Holp.
(crowd cheers)
- Mom, you got my ear.
- Wait until I get you home
and wait until your
father hears about this.
Oh, good thing he didn't see you do it.
- Girls third mile.
Take your marks.
Go!
(upbeat music)
(crowd cheering)
- Hans, my strap.
- It's been cut.
- Carl's skate when he tripped me.
It cut into the leather.
(upbeat music)
I've been cheated of my last
chance for the silver skates.
Hans, what are you doing?
- No, please, Peter.
I want to.
- But what about you?
- It's not right for
you to lose your chance
because of someone else's unfairness.
- But--
- And when you win the silver
skates, I want my strap back.
(upbeat music)
- [Kid] Hurry up, hurry
up, come on, hurry up.
(crowd cheers)
(Dame Brinker laughs)
- Boys second mile.
Take your marks.
Go!
(upbeat music)
(crowd cheering)
(orchestral music)
- Peter's strap was cut.
- [Bystander] Hurry up,
hurry up, come on, hurry up.
- [Child] Hurry up, Peter.
(crowd cheers)
- The winner, Peter Von Holp.
(crowd cheers)
(triumphant music)
The winners of the silver skates,
for the girls, Greta Brinker,
for the boys, Peter Von Holp.
(crowd cheers and applauds)
- Why did you give Peter your strap?
No, why?
- Why?
Maybe because he needed it.
And it seemed to me, at
that moment, that I didn't.
That I'd won enough prizes this week.
- You're right.
It's not necessary to have
silver skates to be a doctor.
Hans, if he wants to, is
is joining my son and me
as an apprentice in
the medical profession.
- Hans is really going to be a doctor.
- Yes, Gretel, the son of a laborer.
- I bet you've heard, my father
was a dried herring dealer.
(all chuckling)
- You have made this the
proudest day in Papa's life.
- [Hilda] Gretel, Annie,
come on, The Grand March.
- Oh come on, Hans, The Grand March.
- You go.
I'll be with you in a minute.
(marching band music)
(romantic orchestral music)
- This is a happy new year isn't it, Hans?
- It's more than a new year, Annie.
It's a new future.
For both of us.
(marching band music)
(romantic orchestral music)
♪ Don't wake the night ♪
♪ Don't break the dream ♪
♪ And in the morning ♪
♪ The golden horizon ♪
♪ Pours sun through the shadows ♪
♪ Just open your eyes ♪
♪ Be astonished to view ♪
♪ The golden tomorrows ♪
♪ That we all pursue ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ How they're waiting for you ♪