Room at the Top (1959) - full transcript

Town hall, please.

Very good, sir.

It's valuation,
but it's kind of complicated

because part of the property
is outside the boundary.

Is it type one or type two?

- Oh, Mr Barnes.
- I thought it would be Mr Barnes.

- Yes, love?
- My name is Lampton, Joe Lampton.

Oh, yes, you're coming to work here,
aren't you?

One moment, please.

I'm sorry, sir,
what were you saying?

Mr Hoylake will see you right away.



My name's Young.
Thanks very much.

Come in.
We didn't expect you until Monday.

Sit down.

We're not accustomed
to such an excess of zeal.

Well, it's not exactly that,
Mr Hoylake. I...

I'm not surprised that you wanted
to leave Dufdon as soon as possible.

You'll find big differences here,
you know? Not only the work.

You'll meet a different class of people.

We pride ourselves on being civilised
here in Warnley.

Dufdon's not much of a place, but...

we're not exactly savages there,
you know, Mr Hoylake.

You think not?

Well, what did you come
to see me about?

Well, I thought perhaps...



You see, I have to get fixed up in digs.

You shouldn't have any difficulty.

- Soames.
- 'Yes, sir?'

- You might come in.
- 'Right, Mr Hoylake.'

You'll be working with Soames,
internal audits.

He's got digs somewhere near Top.

Top's the fashionable district.

He's very comfortable, I believe.

Come in.

Charles Soames, Joe Lampton.
Lampton's the new man.

- How do you do?
- How do you do?

He hasn't got anywhere to live.
Can you help him?

Oh, I think so.

I'll leave it to you, then.

We'll have a long session later on.

I'll keep an hour
on Monday morning for you.

This is it.
And that's your desk.

Well, he didn't keep you long
in the firing line.

Joe, this is Miss Samson,
better known as June.

Joe Lampton, latest addition
to Treasurer's Department chain gang.

I think I'm going
to enjoy my sentence.

I don't mind you enjoying it,
but you don't have to smack your lips.

Got a hot tip, Charles.
Dog in the second race tonight.

- Interested?
- No! But hold on a minute.

Meet new boy Joe Lampton.
Teddy Merrick.

God help you. I got to run.

Well, Charles?
How about those reports?

Oh, aye, Stampton reports.
Now, where did I put them?

Somewhere in here. Have you tried
looking under your skirt?

- What do you mean?
- You're sitting on them, love.

Oh, what a thing
I have to put up with!

Be seeing you.

She belong to us?

Where did you get
that proprietorial plural?

I meant the Treasurer's Department.

No, she's Health's typist.
We have our own talent.

Now... digs.

Mabel, would you get me
an outside line?

No, dear, it's not a personal call.

Look, Mabel,

I don't want to argue with you,
just get me an outside line

or I'll put tuppence in your moral
little slot next time I'm passing.

Constipated bitch! You'd think
she had shares in the corporation.

Warnley 4-3-1-5.

That's not for you, lad.

- But I can look, can't I?
- Not like that, you can't.

There's a law against
undressing women in the street.

Hello, is that you, Mrs Thompson?
Charles Soames here.

I was wondering if I might bring
a Mr Lampton to see you?

We'll be at the house long before that.
Thank you, Mrs Thompson.

Well, that's as good as fixed,
and at the best digs in Warnley, too.

Is that what you really want?

A clerk's dream?
A girl with a Riviera tan and a Lagonda?

That's what I'm going to have.

Come on, let's go.

Nobody ever goes to Dufdon.

They just pass through it.

A Sunday treat of fish and chips,

wrapped in a greasy
"News of the World".

And for chaps like me,

prospects as appetising
as yesterday's fish-paste sandwich.

You know, when I was a POW,

at least there was a limit
to the time that you serve,

but Dufdon, that seemed
like a lifetime sentence.

You shouldn't be so nostalgic

on your first day away
from the home fires, you know?

I was looking at your river.

Kids fishing and swimming in it.

In Dufdon the canal's like a sewer.

Kids never had a chance
to fish or swim, and the people...

well, I suppose
they never had a chance either.

And somehow here,

well, it's so different.

You wouldn't believe it, Charles.

But you make Warnley sound
so special, Joe, so very special.

It is special. It's not Dufdon.

Not everybody admires
the view from here.

Look, Joe, there's the Top.
That's where the money is.

Lots of lovely houses up there,
you know, Joe.

I'll have one of those.

- I'm going to have the lot.
- Oh, no, you're not!

Not in local government you're not.
Did you ever work it out, brother?

In 20 years' time
you could be sitting in Hoylake's chair.

That's as high as you can go.

And that means £1,000 a year,

a semi-detached downtown,
a second-hand Austin

and a wife to match,
if you know what I mean.

I know damn well what you mean.
That's why I'm going to have the lot.

Oh, no.

Oh, by the way, what do you do
for entertainment around here?

Well, there are the flicks, of course.

Teddy Merrick and I play snooker
on Friday nights.

- Do you play?
- Badly.

Oh, and then we have our amateur
dramatic society, the "Thespians".

- Are you interested in the theatre?
- Yes.

Look, it's only two weeks away.

And Charlie Soames here,
being a power among the Thespians,

can probably still get
you a ticket for opening night.

- And then he went back to bed?
- Yes.

- To his own bed?
- Val, what's wrong with you?

Did you really think I wouldn't know
the minute I saw you two together?

There's nothing to know.

Val, I've no idea
what you're talking about.

You're all upset.

I certainly am upset!
I happen to be...

Who is she?

You should have seen her
in "The Playground".

Sex, terrific.

Alice Aisgill. She's French.

That's her husband, lucky devil,
at the end of the front row.

- Val, let's stop this.
- I'll stop it when I get the truth.

Till then I refuse to go to the courtroom.

You can't do that to him.

But she's not married,
she couldn't be.

He means Susan.

- Oh, Susan Brown.
- Yeah.

She's the daughter
of old millionaire Brown.

He owns most of Warnley.

- Have a jujube.
- Thanks.

Joe, don't waste your time.

Susan's out of your reach,
way up in the top drawer.

Speaks as if she had a couple
of hot potatoes in her mouth,

as if her finishing school
hadn't quite finished with her.

Hello, June. Hello Teddy.
Didn't you think she was super?

I don't know who you're talking about,
but I thought she was super.

This is Joe Lampton. Didn't you think
she was absolutely super?

- Oh, absolutely super.
- I thought you were all absolutely super!

Well, children?
What was it like out front?

- Where's June?
- There she is, talking to Bernard,

the foolish virgin.

- What did you think, Joe?
- It wasn't bad.

Oh, damning us with faint praise!
Come and meet some of the company.

I want you to meet Alice Aisgill,
our leading lady.

- Alice, this is Joe Lampton.
- How do you do?

How do you do?
You're new here, aren't you?

I've been here a couple of weeks.

- He's in our department.
- It's Susan Joe wants to meet.

- He's got a thing for Susan.
- Hey, Bernard!

Come and meet Bernard,
our producer.

Bernard, this is Joe Lampton.
Hello, June.

How do you do?

What did you think
of Charles's dawn effect, June?

It came up like thunder.

That's the trouble
with these literal minds.

The playwright's instructions said
"crack of dawn".

That's exactly what we got.

It was a damn good dawn.
You both know it.

Says you!

Come on, Joe.

Hello, Charles. Was I terrible?

You were very good, as a matter of fact.
I want you to meet a friend of mine.

Joe Lampton, Susan Brown.
He liked the show very much.

- How do you do?
- How do you do?

- Where's Jack?
- Oh, he went to fetch his car.

Oh, Charles, you know that scene,
the love scene?

I tried to remember what Bernard said.
Do you think I did it any better?

You were fine.

Jenny, you don't have to take that home.
We might need it again tomorrow night.

- Why don't you just leave it for Tilly?
- You know, if I'd only known...

- If you'd known what?
- If I'd known you'd be so beautiful,

I would have brought you some flowers.

- There you are, Jack.
- Here I am.

You coming for a drink, darling?
We haven't been properly introduced.

I'm Eva, Eva Kent.
And you're Joe, aren't you?

We're going up to the Clarence.

Jack and I have to go home for dinner.

- Oh, what a pity. Cyril!
- Yes?

Joe this is Cyril.
He's my husband, believe it or not.

Cyril, this is Joe.

- Hello.
- Hello again.

Teddy was telling me about you,
Teddy Merrick.

I hope you're gonna like it here.

I know I am.

You don't beat about the bush, do you?
I should look out if I were you, Jack.

I think you'll find you have a rival
for Susan's lovely hand.

Joe, this is Jack Wales.

Jack, this is Joe something
from the Treasurer's.

Lampton, Joe Lampton.

You two ought to have a lot in common,
both being intrepid birdmen.

Oh, that. What outfit?

- Wellington's.
- Ah.

- Sergeant Observer, eh?
- Yes, how did you know?

Oh, I can tell.
Didn't you ever get beyond Wellington's?

No, I was shot down early,
spent most of the war in a prison camp.

Mm, is that so?
Must have been rough.

- Well, as a matter of fact...
- Come on, Sue.

22:40 precisely.
Operation Supper to begin.

What a stink.
I don't know how you stand it.

- Come on, Sue.
- Do come and have a drink with us first.

We'd love to,
but you know Papa Brown.

He likes you there on the dot.
Some other time.

Good night, all.
Good night, Sergeant.

You must tell me about
your POW experiences,

but some other time.

I'll remember the flowers next time.

Good night... sir!

Fricking officer.

Jack Wales was a POW, too.

He escaped.

- Are you nearly ready, darling?
- Mm-hmm.

Hello, Sergeant.

Shopping for lingerie?

What size are you? 44?

Listen, do me a favour, will you?

I know all about you now.

I know you were a squadron leader
with a distinguished war record,

the DSO and all the rest of it,
but just do me a favour:

the war's over,
stop calling me Sergeant!

I'll try to remember.

But, Sergeant,
you're selling me short.

Didn't anyone tell you about my DFC?

He just stood there,
the chinless wonder,

gloating over her
like a bloody watchdog.

All phony accent, putting on
the squadron-leader act with me.

He even threw the DFC at me.

If we'd done whatever it was he did,
we'd have only got the DFM.

- Just medals, no crosses for us.
- Different brands of courage!

Oh, there's Charlie Sales.
I'll see what he's on.

Here, isn't that Susan's father's works?

Joe, you're wasting your time.

These two families,
the Browns and the Waleses,

they've as much brass
as the rest of Warnley rolled together.

Hey, what do you think of that one?

Mm, not bad,

but not grade one.

What do you mean by that?

Time I filled you in
on the Lampton report on love.

I've got a foolproof method
for grading women.

Partly money, partly background,
partly J. Lampton's instinct.

- Now, take Susan Brown.
- Are you offering her to me?

No, seriously, Susan is grade one
on every count.

- You just have to look at her to know.
- Susan's not for you, lad.

- It just so happens that I like her.
- You lust after her, you mean.

No, no, no.
It's not that at all.

Well, it's partly that,
but not just that.

You see, she's so, well...
she's so wholesome.

Do you think
you'd find her as wholesome

if her old man didn't have
a million in the bank?

There are plenty of other
wholesome girls in Warnley.

Like who? Like June?

Yes, like June.

Have you got you some kind
of understanding with her?

Me? Lord, no!

June's a good kid,
but she's got an invalid mother.

And they live off June's salary

so whoever marries June
marries an invalid mother, too.

What you and me should be looking for
is a nice girl with no ties

and a nice family business
in the background, a shop even.

Joe! Two, track two.
We got four to one.

What are you on?

Grade one. I put my two bob
on grade one every time.

Two number two to win, please.

How about that baby?

That one? She's grade ten.

Grades nine and over only indulge
on Saturday nights.

You want to keep
miles away from them.

Hello. Four to win, please.

Now, grades one like my girl,
they're something really special in bed.

They've almost nothing else to do.

- One to win, please.
- Come on, Joe, there's the bell.

That Brown, he must coin it, you know?

All those chimneys, that's money.

Beautiful, beautiful brass, belching out
every minute of the day and night.

- Come on.
- You know, Charles, I've been thinking.

- About that dramatic club.
- Well?

Remember you said you needed men,
fresh blood and all that?

- Did you mean it?
- I certainly did.

Well, I don't know
if I'll be any good, mind,

- but I'd like to try.
- Oh, I get it.

You're not interested in dramatics,
it's Susan.

Oh, I know.
"You're wasting your time, Joe."

- Do you want to bet on it?
- Did somebody say bet?

I'll bet you never get
the length of a date with her.

- A dollar on it then.
- Right, then. Cut it.

Hello, Susan.

Hello.

You know, I never seem
to get a chance to speak to you.

And, well, I only joined the club
because of you

and now, well, I hear
you're not even in the new play.

Somebody else has to have a chance.
It's only fair.

- Gwen is awfully good.
- Quiet, please!

- Damn!
- Quiet, everyone.

- What are you doing after rehearsal?
- We've got a party at home tonight.

Jack's coming to collect me.
He'll be here any minute.

- I thought he was back at Cambridge.
- Oh, he came for the weekend.

Come on, Joe.

Now, er... Same positions.
Come on, Joe, we're wasting time.

Take your coat off.

Come on, Joe, speed it up.
Up to the top of the sofa.

Alice, love, I want to go from the scene
where you defend your lover.

It's the top of page 12.
Now, stand there.

There we are.
"I don't see why..."

Don't forget, love, there's the audience.
Push it right out.

Now, from when I say go.

Ready?

Right!

I don't see why.

He didn't even know my late husband.

I assure you, Inspector,
he has nothing to do with it.

He's something to do
with you, though, hasn't he?

- Really?
- Just what do you mean by that?

I meant you're a friend of hers, sir.
You are, aren't you?

I tell you, I didn't see anything.

It was pitch dark
and the only sign of life

was this old workman
or nightwatchman

sitting by his brassiere.

B-Brazier.

What a wonderful thought.
Erotic vices among the working class.

Let me tell you,
I am working class.

- I didn't mean...
- Working class and proud of it!

You're nothing of the sort!

You're a stockbroker and Alice's lover
and suspected of murder in the play.

Now, shut up, the lot of you.
We'll start again.

When you come to say,
"What's the point?"

I want you to make a turn,
a half-turn towards the window.

Yes, it was funny.

- I didn't mean to snap at you.
- Oh, forget it.

- Will you have a coffee with me?
- No, but you may buy me a drink.

- Can you drive?
- Yes, oddly enough.

Of course, I never owned a car,
but I learned to drive in the RAF.

Here.

You're very touchy, aren't you?

- Where to?
- To the St Clair. It's quiet.

That's the Browns' place.

Yes, I know. I walked past it.

Hmm, they seem
to have something on tonight.

Susan told me
they were having a party.

What a place! It's like a castle.

Charles tells me
they've even got a swimming pool.

They've got just about everything,
haven't they?

I wouldn't say that.

I thought you were coming
the lady of the mansion over me.

My father didn't own
an engineering works or a mill.

He never even owned his own house.

But that doesn't mean I can't drive a car
or pronounce bra... brazier.

But who cares about these things?

Some people do.

It's Susan, isn't it?

That's what's bothering you.

It's Jack Wales really.

That type, they make me mad.

The boys with the big mouths
and the silver spoon stuck in them.

They think they can take everything
worth having by a sort of divine right.

Calling me Sergeant!

It is Susan.

- Alf, can we have the same again?
- Right, Mrs Aisgill.

You're jealous.

I suppose I am.

Well, why don't you phone the girl
and ask her to go out with you, then?

Why don't you?

You feel inferior to Jack Wales?

No, I don't.

I've a feeling, and I know I'm right.
I know she doesn't want him.

I suppose you think I'm conceited.

Young and terribly inexperienced.

But not conceited.

Well, if that's the way
you really feel about her,

then you must be right.

Your trouble is
you don't believe enough in yourself.

I'll tell you something, Alice.

I like you.

I don't mean sex, I mean "like" you.

I like to talk to you.

I just like you.

You look about 18 sometimes.
Do you know that?

You remind me of a boy I used to know
at the university in Paris.

It must be funny being French
here in Warnley.

No.

It's not funny.

Are you very unhappy, Alice?

Not very.

Come on.

- Susan, there's a telephone call for you.
- Oh, damn. Who is it?

It's a gentleman.
I think he said Mr Lampton.

What will I tell him?

- Oh, it's all right, Mary. I'll take it.
- Very well, Miss Susan.

Hello? Susan Brown.

Oh, hello, Joe.
I didn't know it was you.

Saturday evening?
I'd love to, but...

Hold on a minute.

Hello, Joe?
I've just looked up in my book

and I've got another engagement
on Saturday.

Yes, I'd love to some other time.

Gosh, here's Mummy. Bye!

- Who was that telephoning, Susan?
- Joe Lampton.

- I met him at the Thespians.
- What did he want?

He wanted to take me
to the cinema on Saturday.

But we don't know him, do we?
Socially, I mean.

Oh, I don't suppose so.
He works at the town hall.

Really!

Oh, it's all right, Mummy,
I told him I had a previous appointment.

But only because I had.
He's very nice really.

- What did you say his name was?
- Lampton, Joe Lampton.

Curious names
some of these people have.

Listen, Alice, tell me,

well, supposing you were a girl,
I mean a young girl,

and I asked you out,
I mean, would you hang up in a hurry

just because your mother
came into the room?

Look, Joe,
if I had a mother like Mrs Brown,

I would hang up in a great hurry
whenever she came into the room.

Aren't you two coming?
Where's Charles?

He'll be over in a minute.

I still think she was trying
to give me the brush-off.

Well, supposing she was?
Keep trying, call her again.

- Do you really mean it?
- Of course.

Why not?

Oh, while I'm handing out advice,

do you mind if I tell you
about our last scene,

the bedroom one?

Oh, I know, I...
I made a muck of it.

You're not frightened of me, are you?

No.

Well, you must take hold of me
as if you meant it.

I'm not fragile, you know?
I won't break.

I'll try, Alice.

Is it so difficult?

Another bitter, a gin and tonic
and two gins and lime.

- Have you got any crisps?
- I think so, sir.

Hello, Alice.
I was just telling them about Gwen.

Bernard and I were talking to her
after the rehearsal the other day

and she said, "I'd take him on myself,
but I can't bear bandy-legged men."

Good evening.
Bernard said you'd be here.

Hello, George.
This is a surprise.

It's not a social call.

- I think you know everybody.
- I think so.

And of course this is Joe Lampton,
my lover in the play.

The war hero.

Well, I'm always glad
to meet one of Alice's lovers.

Let me have the keys, will you?
I've got to take the Citroën.

- Why?
- My ignition's gone

and I've got to get
over to Leeds tonight.

So late?

Something cropped up unexpectedly.

I'll be away a couple of days.

But, er...

What about the car for tomorrow?

What about it?

You know I was going to take Elspeth
to Manchester to the ballet.

You know I arranged it weeks ago.

Well, you'll just have to make it
some other time, won't you?

Enjoy yourselves, everybody.

Good night, dear.

I thought you said you were going
to be word-perfect tonight.

- I thought I were till I got on stage.
- Bernard...

You know what that means?

A couple of days'
hard labour with his secretary.

Yeah. Darn shame.

Shall I see you home?

No.

Alice, I hate to see you hurt.

I'm not hurt.

You sure you don't want me
to take you home?

I'd like to.

I'd rather not.

Good night, Joe.

- Joe!
- Shh!

What are you doing here?
I was just thinking about you.

You were?

I was thinking about you
when I passed the town hall

and the thought stuck on.

Like a hangover?
What were you thinking about me?

Nothing exactly.
What are you doing here?

Oh, I often come down here
to do the library accounts.

You know, Susan...

...you're looking very pretty.

Thank you kindly, sir.

Do you think this is any good?

I wanted the new Bates,
but there's a waiting list.

If you could wait for about ten minutes,
we can go and have coffee together.

I can't, I'm meeting my mother for lunch.

Oh, well... they tell me
there's a very good film on at the Regal.

The musical? Super!

- Have you seen it?
- No.

- Would you like to go?
- Yes.

When?

- Oh.
- You know, Susan...

...you're not only pretty,
you're beautiful.

Tonight, then.

Oh, tonight will do
like no other night has ever done.

I'll pick you up at your house,
at seven o'clock.

No, I'd rather meet you there.

Seven o'clock at the Regal.

Seven o'clock, then, at the Regal.

- Charles!
- Yeah?

- Charles, lend me a quid.
- What for?

- Come on, I'm late. I'll explain later.
- All right.

Hurry up, man! Thank you.

By the way, do you remember
that bet I made you the other day?

- Which one?
- At the dog track, remember?

Well, you've lost,
so I only owe you 15 bob.

- No!
- Yes!

You know, you're the sort of girl
I like to take out.

- Why?
- Well...

there's your shape
and your size and...

the sheen in your hair,

a sort of light in your eyes.

Oh, but... most important
because I think you're a dear kipper.

- A what?
- A dear kipper.

What a lovely word!
What does it mean?

My mother called me that
every time I asked her for something

that cost more than she could afford.

I'd like to meet your mother.
She sounds fun.

She's dead.

I'm sorry.

My mother and my father
were both killed in an air raid.

I don't even know
if it was an air raid.

The only bombs ever
to have dropped on Dufdon.

Probably by mistake.

Anyhow, they...
they had to fall on our house.

Joe, how awful for you!

I'm terribly sorry.

It's all right.

It happened a long time ago.

- Evening! Aren't you gonna offer me a drink?
- Jack!

I thought you were washing
your hair tonight. Waiter!

You're not a hairdresser, too?

No, I'm not a hairdresser
and I'm not your bloody batman.

A large Scotch for me, please.

- Don't let us keep you.
- Not at all, it's a pleasure.

As a matter of fact, I've wanted
to have a chat with you for a long time,

about your acting actually.

I think you have
distinct comic possibilities.

Don't you agree, Susan?

If you'll excuse me...

If I live to be 100, Jack,
I'll never forgive you for this.

I thought you were going
to wash your hair tonight.

Well, I don't know
who you think you're dealing with,

but you can take that away for a start.

I want to build an administration block,
not a ladies' lavatory.

We make machine tools at Brown's,
remember? Not silk stockings.

You should never have let
this young man get so far with it.

I only saw a sketch, Mr Brown.
It looked very handsome.

You come back tomorrow
with some designs that I can use

or don't bother to come back at all,
either of you.

Go on, get out!

Miss Fisher!
What's happened to that London call?

- 'It's engaged, sir.'
- Will you try the other number?

- I must get those shares on the market.
- 'Very good, sir.'

- Hello. What are you two doing here?
- Susan's just told me she's going out.

- I want you to tell her not to.
- Oh, why?

For one thing, we have guests
and it will upset my table.

For another,
it's that Joe Lampton again.

Can't you put him off for once, Susan,
just to please your mother?

No, I can't.

It isn't just tonight.

Mother doesn't like him.
She doesn't think he's suitable.

Do you?

I don't know about suitable,
but I like him.

He calls me "a dear kipper".

A what?

You explain to Mother, Daddy.
I'm sure you know.

Goodbye, I'm late, and don't be cross.
You know I love you both.

That doesn't get me anywhere
with my dinner party.

Why didn't you stop her?

Stopping her from seeing this young man
isn't the way to put an end to it.

Then what is?

Or don't you mind her getting mixed up
with a small-town nobody?

Small-town nobodies
sometimes do well enough.

You saw nought wrong
with one once, Mother.

I happen to be Susan's mother,
not yours.

Now, listen,

will you stop bothering your head
about Joe Lampton

and just leave it to me?

Get me the town hall.

I have a minute or two.
I thought we might have a little chat.

You've picked up the work very quickly.

- Six months now, isn't it?
- Not quite.

You're a bright lad, Lampton,
and you've also a lot of sense.

Sense enough, I'm sure, not to resent
what I'm going to say to you.

This is a small town, Lampton.
I've lived in it all my life.

I know the people,
I know their business.

Councillor Brown, for instance,
I went to school with him.

You know, of course, he's chairman
of the establishment committee.

- Yes, but I don't quite see...
- He's a powerful man, Lampton.

That engineering works of his,
built it up from nothing.

Now it's the biggest
of its kind in Warnley.

Ruthless!

Well, I suppose you've got
to be ruthless in business.

He knows what he wants
and he gets it.

He can drive a coach-and-four
through that committee

anytime he wants.

Every council's the same.

There's always one strong man,

a danger man
as far as the officials are concerned.

Mind you, no matter how influential
any councillor may be,

he can't touch our jobs,
he can't downgrade us.

But when it comes to promotion,
there's the rub.

That's a different matter.

- You follow me, Joe?
- I follow you.

I thought you would.

Do you mind if I give you
a word of advice, Joe?

It's this.

- Find a girl, a girl of your own...
- Class? Is that what you mean?

A girl of my own class?

Well, let's say background.

Plenty of nice girls in Warnley,
pretty ones, too.

You find the right kind of girl, Joe,
you'll go a long way here in Warnley.

You wouldn't believe it!
Who the hell he thinks he is,

sitting there like Al Capone
putting the finger on me!

Oh, I got the works, the chairman
of the establishment committee.

As neat a job of blackmail
as you ever saw.

"You follow me, Joe?"
Yes, he even called me Joe.

"If you don't leave Susan alone,
there will be no promotion."

I told you months ago,
I warned you, she's not for you!

Another couple of minutes,
I would have taken his promotion

and shoved it up his... waistcoat.

- Fares, please.
- Two to Warnley Theatre, please.

What's the matter?

Nothing.

Just mood.

I have bad moods sometimes.

- Don't you?
- Damnable moods.

Take today for instance.

Here.

You need a drink.

No.

You want me to drive you home?

No.

- I'd like to go to Sparrow Hill.
- It's cold up there.

That's what I want.

Somewhere cold and clean.

With no people, no dirty people.

- Something going on there?
- Well, you know Alice.

Don't be catty, darling.

Alice is a very charming
and very long-suffering person.

Alice is all woman.

George is away for the weekend.

He is often away for weekends.

- How did you meet him?
- I was a teacher,

what you call an exchange teacher.

I came over for one year in '37
and I met George.

Can't imagine you as a teacher.

I was a good teacher.

Oh, Alice!

Don't say anything.

This is a very moral kind of a girl.

Morning, Charles.

I don't understand this.
I hardly know the man.

Hmm, seems a good job,
and in Dufdon.

- What are you gonna do about it?
- I don't know. See him, I suppose.

Chances are, my days at the Treasurer's
Department are numbered anyway.

Oh, don't be daft!

Why don't you look at it
as a free trip home.

Home? My home's a bombsite.

This is my house.

It's my house.

It used to be mine, too.

I lived here once upon a time.

A bomb fell from the sky.

I know.

Do you want to see my garden?

Aye.

Look!

Oh, they're pretty.
What are they called?

Flowers. They're called flowers.

Ethel? Ethel, come here at once.

My mother.

At once, Ethel.

Come here at once.

If I've told you once,
I've told you a dozen times.

- You must be new here.
- No.

But you weren't here
in the old days.

- I was just looking at the house.
- Go on, into the house!

I just don't like her
talking to strangers, that's all.

But I'm not really a stranger.

- Vera!
- All right, all right.

- Uncle Nat.
- Is that you, Joe?

Yes, Auntie.

Come and tell us all about it.
Did you see Mr Darnley? Was he nice?

I haven't seen him yet.
My appointment's for four.

Oh, well, that's fine.
I've just made tea.

It's nice to have you back,
just like old times.

Nat can move in with Ruben.

Then you can have
your own room back.

Window's all right.

Your cousin finally stirred himself
and mended that broken pane.

Here, we've...
we've missed you, lad.

It's right grand
to have you back home again.

I'm not sure if I'm going
to take that job, Auntie.

Why ever not?

Well...

- It isn't that I wasn't happy here.
- I know that.

Good and thick.

Aye, so that the spoon stands up in it.

Well, it's just that...

Warnley's a different kind of a town.

There's a different sort of people.

Got a girl, Joe?

- Aye, I have.
- Go on.

Hear that, Nat?

Her name's Susan, Susan Brown.

Go on, you great lummocks!

She's... Well, she's sort of special,
you know?

Her father owns a factory.
He's on the council.

Warnley Council, that is.

Sounds like lot of brass.

Aye, he's rolling in money.

You know, this is the first right cup of tea
I've had since I've left here.

I asked you about the girl

and all you tell me
is about her father and his brass.

Joe, you wouldn't sell yourself
for a handful of silver.

You know I wouldn't do that.

Money marries money, lad.

What's the good of a girl like that to you?
She'll only break your heart.

Stick to your own people, Joe.

Oh, that's old-fashioned,
all that class stuff.

Things have changed since the war.

If I want her, I'll have her.

You sure it's the girl you want, Joe,
not the brass?

What's wrong with wanting both?

I'm as good as the next man.

I'm entitled to be in love with any girl.

You may or you may not.

I don't know about that.

But you're not entitled
to be in love with her money, lad.

Where are you going?
You haven't finished your tea.

If I don't hurry, I'll be late.

I haven't made up me mind yet.

If the money's good...

well, I'll see
what Mr Darnley has to say.

Well, I daresay
this automation is a good thing,

but I must have it proved to me.

I must break even within four years.

Aye, but that's your problem.
Well, lad, what do you say?

I'd like to think about it, Mr Darnley.

You staying here in Dufdon?

Just for the weekend, at my aunt's.

Aye, well, 24 hours should be enough.

Ring me tomorrow.

I remember your father well.
He was a good man was Lampton.

Worked here for 35 years.

Ey, that meeting. Late already.

- Harry will show you out.
- Goodbye, sir.

Kind of old Darnley
to think of me for that job.

Well, lad, let's say
you come highly recommended.

Oh?

You've got a powerful friend in Mr Brown.
He's praised you to the skies, I'm told.

We do a lot of business
with his firm in Warnley.

Something wrong?

No.

Tell your boss
I've gone back to Warnley.

- Yes, but I'm afraid she's not...
- Who is it, Mary?

It's that Mr Lampton, madam.

Oh, I'll take it.

- Yes, madam.
- Thank you.

Hello, this is Susan's mother.

Oh, can I speak to Susan, please?

No, I'm afraid you can't.
She's in the south of France.

Can you tell me
where I could write to her?

I'm afraid I can't give you her address.
You see, she's touring.

- 'But thank you for calling, Mr...'
- Lampton!

And thank you again
for being so very kind to Susan.

- 'Goodbye.'
- Goodbye!

Charles, you wouldn't believe it.
They're playing right into my hands.

They've sent her away
and they're scared of me.

Watch out! Do you want me to drop
these unspeakably delicious sausages?

Me!

- Who has sent who away?
- Susan of course! Susan's parents.

How can people get to be so stupid?

All I have to do now is sit under the tree
and wait for the apple to drop.

For a chap who's been separated
from his lady love

you don't seem
to be taking it very hard.

Why should I care?
I've got compensations

Come on, eat.

Oh, darling, it's late.

And Elspeth will be here in a minute.

Come on.

Put that on.

Oh, you are...

- What's that Yorkshire word?
- Insattable.

That's it.

That's what you are.

Old Man Insattable.

- You want coffee?
- Tea.

Poor Elspeth.

She lends us her flat
and we pinch all her food.

You know, I hate you
to put your clothes on.

It's very sweet of you, honey,
but I'm too old to walk about in my girdle.

- Oh, you're not old.
- Oh, yes, I am.

Much older than you.

I wish you wouldn't talk like that.

I'm 25 and I've had
a lot of experience.

I'm sure you have.

Well, my love,
you're very old and very mature.

You know, I...

I never dreamed
it could ever be like this.

So good.

There never was anyone
so good to me before.

I'm alive now.

All of me is alive.

It hurts sometimes,

but I don't care.

Why did you marry him?

Let's not talk about that.

- You hungry?
- I'm always hungry.

Iron Guts they used to call me.

Well, take these through,
will you, Iron Guts?

- And the pickles.
- Oui, madame.

I'll cut some bread.

Oh, I cut my finger.

I'm all right.

I like you doing things for me.

I like doing things for you.

Anything.

- I'll go and get the tea.
- No.

It's so good for me.

Is it good for you, too?

I can't tell you how good.

Elspeth!

Don't be so bourgeois!

- Hello, Elspeth.
- Oh, hello, dears.

I hope I haven't disturbed you.

I do try and be discreet,
but I had to come in.

- It was cold outside.
- I've made you some tea.

- Hello, Elspeth.
- What an afternoon I've had.

Voice production, my goodness!

Some of those girls...

I don't know why they ever went in
for this sort of thing, I don't, really.

♪ Don't put your daughter on the stage,
Mrs Worthington... ♪

If you're gonna give us a concert,
you'd better have some food.

Oh, lovely, dear.

You're a lucky young man, Joe.

Alice is an angel, a perfect angel.
Heart of gold.

Cigarette?

Of course, I don't blame her.
You're the sort of man I like.

Too many pansies about these days.

I knew a lot of real men once.

They're all dead now
and a little mess like me carries on.

Do you love Alice?

Yes.

I thought so.

She's crazy about you.
You know that, I suppose.

She doesn't know it herself yet.

Don't hurt her, Joe.

Don't ever hurt her.

No, I wouldn't hurt her.

I hope not.

- It's for you, Joe.
- Thank you, Charles.

Come on!

- We've made it.
- Aye!

"Having a wonderful time.

"Missing Warnley a lot."

Huh!

Dear Susan!
Imaginative, isn't she?

You know what that means?
Missing you.

And she's put the address on again.

That can only mean one thing:
she wants you to write to her.

- Well, I'm not going to.
- Why not?

Well, one reason is
because she expects me to.

Second, because
I wouldn't know what to write.

You're getting pretty keen
on Alice, aren't you?

You worry me, Joe.
You can't do it.

You can't run two women,
not in a town this size.

Do you ever think of George Aisgill?

- No. Why should I?
- Because he's dangerous.

Dangerous? Aisgill? Come on!

If he ever goes after you,
well, God help you, that's all I say.

Come on.

Darling...
Will you tell me something?

- Will you?
- What, love?

Supposing you had met me
when I was ten years younger,

would you have taken me seriously?

You know I would.

Imagine me as I was ten years ago

and you as you are now.

There were no lines then.

Would you have loved me
and wanted to marry me?

Yes.

- But I'll tell you something.
- What?

I like you the way you are now.

You'd like me much more
when I was your age.

I've never known anyone like you.

Oh, I'd like to sleep with you.

I mean, truly sleep

and wake up beside you
in the morning.

How's the time? Mm.

Alice, you're beautiful.

I'd like a picture of you like that.

There is a picture of me
in the nude somewhere.

- You're joking.
- No, there really is.

I was at university at the time

and I met an artist at a party.

He wanted a model. I don't suppose
it was even a good painting.

- How often did you do this?
- Only once.

Are you sure?

Of course I'm sure.

I don't tell lies, you know that.

You never told me.
Why didn't you tell me?

Because I had forgotten about it.

Oh, darling, what a fuss.

I didn't sleep with him
if that's what you're thinking.

But why?

Why did have to do it?

There are millions of women
a lot poorer than you ever were

who'd rather die than expose themselves
for a few lousy, rotten shillings.

Damn you to hell.
I feel I'd like to beat you black and blue.

But what's it to do with you?

It was long before I met you.

I must remember your beastly little
provincial mind doesn't like nudity.

You stupid bitch, it isn't that at all.

It's the idea of other people
looking at your nakedness that I hate.

It's not decent. Don't you see?

Oh, I understand now
what makes men kill women like you.

Oh, you're very brave and very moral
all of a sudden.

That's what you like, isn't it?

Leg-show and lingerie.

It isn't decent
for me to pose for an artist

who sees me as an arrangement
of light and colour,

but it's perfectly OK
for you to kiss me all over

and lie for an hour
just looking at me!

I suppose it gave you a thrill.

A dirty little thrill.

I suppose you see me
as your own private dirty postcard.

You can't imagine that a man
could look at a naked woman

without wanting
to make love to her, can you?

If you want to know, I can't.

Elspeth isn't rich, you know?
You needn't drink all her gin.

Give that to her
and tell her I broke the bottle.

To think I ever let you touch me.

Now, listen,

I own my own body,
and I'm not ashamed of it.

And I'm not ashamed
of anything I've ever done.

If you'd mixed with intelligent people,

you wouldn't be glaring at me
as if I had committed some crime.

Oh!

Some of the things
you told me about yourself.

I can just see you in Dufdon now,

looking at nudes in a magazine,

drooling over them,

saying you wouldn't mind
having a quick bash.

That's one of your words, isn't it?
But blackguarding the girls,

- calling them shameless whores.
- Oh, shut up!

You make a great to-do
about your humble beginnings,

but you've never really been hard up.

- You've never gone hungry.
- What do you think a POW gets to eat?

Mm...

Even then you didn't starve.

There's always been somebody
to take care of our Joe.

Got extra.

You told me yourself.

Because you got along so well
with the guards.

Why didn't you have the guts to escape?

Like Jack Wales.

Don't mention that swine's name to me.

It was all right for him to escape.

He had a rich father to look after him
and buy him an education.

Those three years were
the only chance I'd get to be qualified.

Let those rich bastards
who have all the fun be heroes.

Let them pay for their privileges.

If you want it straight
from the soldier,

I was bloody well pleased
when I was captured.

I didn't like being a prisoner,

but it was a damn sight better
than being dead.

Come to that,

what did you do 50 years ago
back in the Great War?

You want some tea?

I don't want anything.

It was good while it lasted.

I mean that.

I'm sorry it had to end like this.

I'm sorry, too.

Goodbye, Alice.

Goodbye.

- Ah, Cinderella's arrived.
- Hello, Charles.

Yes, he's impossible!

He's always interfering.
Always interfering.

- Whisky, please.
- Yeah, whisky for the gentleman.

Oh, here, that reminds me,
did you hear about the chap

who asked a girl
if she wanted a whisky and sofa?

She said, "I don't want one of them,

"but I'll have a gi...

"I'll have a gin and platonic."

Whisky and sofa, gin and platonic!

It's a play on words.

Oh, well, you don't understand it.

Ooh, I wet you there.
Sorry about that.

Harry, have you heard this one?

This chap and this girl,
and he says...

Whisky and sofa!

"I don't want
a whisky and sofa."

So, she said,
"I'd like a gin and platonic."

Good evening, Susan.

I hope you had a nice holiday.

Hello, Joe.

Have you met my father and mother?

- This is Mr Lampton, Mother.
- How do you do, Mr Lampton?

I've seen you at the town hall, lad.

You know His Worship the Mayor,
the Mayoress?

One of our bright young men
in the Treasurer's Office.

Well, what are you drinking?

- Scotch, please.
- Make it a large one.

- By the way, weren't you at Mildenhall?
- Yes, 551 Squadron.

- I had a good friend in that squadron.
- I remember the Steppes all right.

My trouble is
to know when to take 'em!

Well, give me the Lancers every time.

Darrow. Chick Darrow.

He was a nice chap.
I went to school with him.

No, I don't remember him.

But you must remember Chick!
Old Chick, why, you couldn't miss him.

No, no, I've never met him.

You come from Dufdon, don't you?

- It was Dufdon, wasn't it?
- Yes, sir.

Yes. Must be quite a change for you.

How's Cannon Jones?

I haven't seen him in...
oh, must be nearly two years.

Oh, you'll know Cannon Jones,
won't you?

Leddersford.

No, I'm afraid, I don't.

Charming wife and terribly like
Lucy Saunders, don't you think?

You'll know J.C. Brotherton,
I'm sure of that.

I know him in much in the same way
as I know the Prime Minister.

My father used to work in one of his mills
as an overlooker.

Now, that's nice, don't you think?

I've noticed with this orchestra,
year after year,

the older the piece,
the happier they are with it.

Well, speaking of Dufdon,
extraordinary chap, that Clevely.

Chucking his money around all right.
He's well on his way to his knighthood.

He drove Father to a meeting last month.
He's got a large Mercedes.

Father said he drove like a maniac.
You know him, don't you?

I don't know any tallymen.

- Oh, come now.
- I don't follow you, old man.

A tallyman is...

Well, he sells clothes on credit,

money-lending
at fantastic high interest rates.

It's business.
You wouldn't refuse the profits.

It's dirty business.

Henry, I don't know if you're aware of it
or not, but this is our dance.

Good night, Mr Lampton.

- Elsie, are you gonna risk it with me?
- Yes, of course.

Come on, Sue.

See you later, Sergeant.

Don't worry about the way
the world's run, lad.

Enjoy it while you're young.

Hmm.

Joe...

If you're free, I could see you
the dance after next.

Joe, why didn't you write?

You didn't write either,
only postcards.

I was waiting for you to write.

A girl can't write first.

Well, she can't
if she has any pride.

Why did you go away
without letting me know?

I had to. They sent me away.

- Don't you believe me?
- Oh, I believe you.

But that's why I didn't write.

Because I knew how hopeless it was.

- Why?
- You know it's hopeless, Susan.

Tell me, Joe. Please.

You saw them in there
when I met your parents,

the way they were needling me,
and you couldn't do anything about it.

- I wanted to, really I did.
- One day they'll say,

"You mustn't see
that vulgar person again."

They wouldn't dare.

I won't ever let them come between us.

It's useless, Susan.

You know it is.

Let me kiss you.

Just this once.

Don't you care about me?

Maybe... it's because I care too much.

I love you, Joe.

I love you.

I love you, too.

Do you really?

Oh, Joe, how much?

Very much.

No!

I'm sorry, Joe.

Really I am.

Gosh, I'm hot!

You shouldn't feel hot.

You've nothing on.

Is that better?
Is that what prim Joe wants?

No, that's not what Joe wants.

You know what Joe wants.

It's what all the Joes want.

Oh, Joe.

You know, sometimes when you kiss me,
I feel as if you weren't really there.

I'm here all right, and I can prove it.

Seriously, Joe,
there's something wrong, isn't there?

- Don't you like the way I make love?
- Oh, I like it very much.

It reminds me of a good set
of mixed tennis.

- That's not a very kind thing to say.
- I sometimes don't feel very kind.

- Why?
- Well, your mother and father,

were they kind to me the other night?

I can just see your mother now,

saying, "You mustn't see
that vulgar Lampton boy again,

"the one with the bulging shirt
and the chromium cufflinks."

Then there's you. You lead me on so far
and then you stop me.

What do you think I'm made of?

It's not that I don't want to.

It's just...

well, I suppose I'm scared.

I do love you, Joe, I do!
I'd do anything for you, Joe, anything!

Except what any girl would do
for the man she loves.

Joe, how much do you love me?

Very much.

About a million pounds' worth.

Joe, be gentle with me.

♪ Out in the pale moonlight

♪ It wasn't your pa

♪ It wasn't... ♪

Oh, let's face it, darling,
he was a brute, a coarse brute!

Oh, I know it's hell right this minute,

but the way I look at it,
he's the loser.

Come on, Susan.
I think we'd better be going now.

I don't want to go.

I don't ever want to go.

Isn't it super, Joe?

Now we really belong to each other.

Really and truly, till death do us part.

Wasn't it wonderful?

Wasn't it absolutely
the most wonderful thing

that ever happened to you?

- Wasn't it, Joe?
- Yes.

Come on, let's go.

Oh, must we really go?

You know we must.
Besides, your mother...

Poor Mummy, if only she knew.

That's quite a thought.

Joe, do you know
I don't really feel any different?

I thought I'd feel terribly different
and I don't.

Joe, do you feel different?

You don't really want
to talk about it, do you?

You're not very sentimental, are you?

No, I'd rather not talk about it.

Joe, do you know something?
I do believe you're a prig.

You're really shier than I am, aren't you?
Aren't you really?

I expect I am.

Do I look different?

- Do I, Joe?
- No.

I don't feel different.
I feel just the same, only better.

I thought I'd feel so terribly different.

It's funny.

Are you sure
I don't look different, Joe?

Just the tiniest bit? Really sure?

Hey! Come on, Joe,
what are you waiting for?

I think I'll hang on for a bit.
I've got some work to do.

- But it's Friday!
- You can get along without me.

The last few days
you've been lower than a snake's belly.

- What's the matter?
- Nothing.

You ought to be sitting pretty. You said
Susan was your tenner on the pools.

Well, you're home, lad. You won
first dividend or near as damn it.

- Everything's going my way.
- Ready, chaps?

You go ahead.
I don't think I'll come tonight.

What's the matter with him?
What's wrong?

Nothing's the matter.
I just don't happen to feel like boozing.

Come along, Teddy.

Call in later, Joe, if you feel like it.

Nothing has changed.

Nothing at all.

Oh, I don't care about them.

I don't either.

I couldn't do without you.

I love you, Alice.

I love you.

Remember...

What was it you once said?

"Loving friends", you said.

"Let's be loving friends."

I didn't want to fall in love with you.

I tried to fall in love with Susan.

What are we gonna do?

I don't know.

It's been hell these last weeks.

I want you all the time.

Not just stolen meetings.

Oh, Alice.
Listen, couldn't we...?

Well, I have a fortnight
starting next month on the 15th.

Charles says he knows of a cottage,
belongs to a friend of his.

We could have it for a few days
for next to nothing.

And there'd be nobody
for miles around.

Just us.

Together.

Oh, Alice, couldn't we?

No!

I've never done this before.

The next time I do it,

I tell you, woman,
it's going to be legitimate.

Darling, you sound like a lawyer.

I feel more like a Billingsgate porter.

Hmm!

Not very flattering.

Oh, it's nice here.

There.

Thank you.

- You know something?
- Hmm?

I feel quite shy suddenly.

As if I really were a young bride.

I feel rather shy myself.

Oh, but it's a good feeling.

Yes.

No.

No, I don't want to smoke
and I don't want to drink.

Because cigarettes and drink,
they dull you.

I want every minute of these four days.

And I want them sharp and clear.

Alice?

You and George, do you still...?

Tell me, I want to know. Do you?

Very well.
The answer is yes, sometimes.

But...

Joe...

You don't know about these things.

They are not as simple as that.
It's all mixed up.

- You don't love him.
- No.

You and him, it's...

Well, it's not like us, is it?

No, it's not.

You're such a honest person.

Why the hell do you have
to be so honest?

Darling, I'm glad you're so honest.

I love you for it.

Do you have to go tomorrow?

You know I have.

You know...

I used to think it was
a lot of romantic nonsense,

one man, one woman.

Not long ago I'd have said...

...a man could be happy
with any one of a hundred women.

Now I know you're my woman, Alice.

My rush. All the love
I'll ever get now or evermore.

And you've got all the love
I'll ever have to give.

You've changed so much, Joe.
You know that?

So have you.

Yes, I've no more defences.

How have I changed?

Oh, I don't know how to say it.

You're... You're stronger now,

more sure of yourself.

I was so angry with you at first
when you wanted Susan.

You seemed to want things
for all the wrong reasons.

And you didn't see how you were
damaging yourself as a person.

You weren't proud to be you,
just to be yourself.

But you're proud now, aren't you?

Oh, yes.

Right now I'm the proudest man
in the world.

You've got so much, Joe.

Everything.

You don't ever have to pretend.

You just have to be yourself.

"This above all:

"To thine own self be true.

"And..." And...

- And?
- I've forgotten the rest.

"And it must follow,

"as the night the day.

- "Thou then canst..."
- "Thou canst not then..."

"Thou canst not then
be false to any man."

You're an educated and moral witch, Alice,
and I love you.

Oh, I've something for you.

Oh, no, it's much too nice for me.

I want you to have it.

To remind you
of the happiness we had.

You talk like a requiem.

This is only the beginning.

Are you sure?

I can't live without you.

I've tried and I can't.

I need you.

Do you really mean it?

Do you want me to divorce George?

Yes.

But would you?

- What's so funny?
- You.

I'm frightened.

Nobody was ever meant
to be as happy as I am now.

It can't last.

It's like... like a bubble
that's going to burst

when I get on that train tomorrow.

Mm... That train.

Change your mind, Joe,
and come with me.

No, it's best as we arranged.
I'll take the next train

and see you when I get back
from Dufdon at Elspeth's.

It's only ten days.

It's only a lifetime.

We'll work it out so that we can spend
the rest of our lives together.

Give me a cigarette, darling.

I have a feeling
that this is all we're gonna have.

This is only the beginning.

Please walk away now, darling.

Walk away and don't look back.

Think of me.

Yes?

- Mr Aisgill, what can I...?
- Sit down.

What can I do for you?

Cigarette?

Nice case you have there.

You know why I'm here.

Alice tells me she wants to divorce me.

- Well, I'm not agreeable.
- You haven't any choice.

She's my wife and she's going
to remain my wife.

I want to make this quite clear to you.
She has no grounds for divorce.

Everybody knows the way you treat Alice,
about you and your women.

But nobody can prove anything.

The difference between you and me
is that I haven't been indiscreet enough

to leave evidence lying around.

- Meaning what?
- Just this.

If she brings an action for divorce,
I'll fight it.

I'll smear you both across the headlines.

It will make fine reading.

Elspeth's flat,

the naked bathing in Dorset
and all the rest of it.

- How did you know?
- I make it my business to know.

It'll break you because you can't stand
a scandal like that, and you know it.

And you won't get Alice either,
because I still won't let her go.

You can't hold her.

Maybe she can't divorce you,
but she can leave you.

- You can't stop her from leaving you.
- Can you keep her?

I can keep her
because I love her.

She's ten years older than you
and she hasn't a penny of her own.

If she leaves me,
I'll sue you for enticement.

Then you won't be able
to support even yourself.

You've got everything
pretty well worked out, haven't you?

I have. There are no loopholes.

Get it clear: from now on
you leave Alice alone.

- Understand me?
- Why won't you let her go? Why?

Because she's my wife, that's why.

Are you trying to tell me
you still love her?

I'm not trying to tell you anything.

I've let you off lightly.

There will be no more warnings.

Say that again.

June and I have decided to go steady.
I wanted you to be the first one to know.

- That's just wonderful.
- Oh, Joe, show some enthusiasm.

Well, I seem to remember
you wanted a girl with no responsibilities

and a small family business
in the background.

That don't seem
to matter much anymore.

Oh, and what about the invalid mother?

Oh, I get it!

She's died and left you
a large insurance policy.

Oh, Joe!

No, seriously,
what about her invalid mother?

That don't seem to matter much either.

June's a fine kid.
You couldn't have done better, Charles.

As a matter of fact,
I'm thinking of settling down myself.

That might be June.
I'll be right with you, Joe.

Hey, Joe.

It's for you. Mr Brown.

Who?

God almighty! Brown, that's who.

He wants to talk to you.

Tell him my mother sent me
touring on the Riviera.

Oh, no, Joe.
Come on, quick. He's waiting.

- Well, let him wait.
- Joe, what's got into you lately?

- I've had enough threats for one day.
- Well, come on!

Oh, all right, I'm coming.

Yes?

Are you sure it's me
you want to speak to, Mr Brown?

Oh...

Yes, sir.

What did he want?

He wants me to lunch with him
at the Conservative Club at one o'clock.

Sit down. You're late.

He'll have the game soup.

It's the first time
you've been in this club, is it?

This or any other Conservative Club.

My father would turn in his grave
if he could see me now.

So would mine,
but we're not bound by our fathers.

Now, I've got a proposition for you.

You're a clever young man.

You don't want to stay in the town hall
the rest of your life, do you?

Now's the time that accountants
can do well for theirselves.

Now, I'm willing
to set you up in business,

buy you a partnership.

Well, what do you say?

There's a catch somewhere.

Not a catch, but a condition.

I'll set you up on condition
that you never see Susan again

or communicate with her.

Now, just what's so funny
about that, young man?

Nothing I could explain.

If you agree,
I'll make you a rich man.

You'll be a damn sight better off
than you'll ever be in local government.

Well, what do you say?

Are you trying to buy me off?

That's right.

I'm buying you off
and I'm paying a damn fine price for it.

Come on, now, use your head.

You want to improve yourself,
you want to get in among the money.

All right, I don't blame you for that.

But you're not getting
at my brass through Susan.

You wouldn't talk to me like that
if I were Jack Wales

and had a rich daddy behind me.

I don't give a damn for Jack Wales.

A nice little business merger
between the two families.

I don't barter my daughter.

- You're trying to barter her now.
- That's enough!

I told you my offer.
It's the best chance you'll ever have.

Now, take it or leave it,

but get this into your head:

if you refuse it,
I'm going to break you.

And what's more,
I shall run you out of Warnley!

Everybody wants to run me
out of Warnley.

Let's say you kick me out
and I take Susan with me.

She's in love with me, you know?

Susan's too young
to know her own mind.

She'll do as I tell her.

If she disobeys me,
I shall cut her off without a penny.

You mean throw her out?

If necessary.

I thought that might interest you.

No!

I say "nah" to your bloody rotten offer!

Wait a minute!

Now I'll tell you
what you're going to do.

Sit down.

You're marrying her
with my consent, right quick.

- Am I?
- That's right.

But I... I don't understand.

Don't you?
The reason's very simple.

Yes, I'm glad
you have the grace to blush.

But... but why didn't she tell me?

Chicken again?
I'll be turning into one soon.

- We'll have the pie.
- I'll have a scotch, please, a large one.

She didn't tell you

because she didn't want you
to wed her out of her sense of duty.

And I didn't tell you
because I wanted to try you out.

- Hmm.
- No need to laugh like that, young man.

This isn't the way I planned
to have my daughter wed.

Now, listen, you're gonna throw up
your job at the town hall.

I need somebody
to reorganise the office.

I want some efficiency
in that side of the business.

Well?

How about salary?

Thousand a year to start with.

Nought if you don't make a success of it.

And there's just one other matter
to be cleared up.

If you don't, it's all off.

You've been too ruddy long
about it already.

Leave off Alice Aisgill.

Now!

I'm not gonna have my daughter
hurt anymore,

and I'm not gonna have my son-in-law
in the divorce courts either.

Not on account
of an old whore like that.

There's no need
to talk about her in that way.

I use words that fit.

Now, get done with her.
I'll not have it put off anymore.

Bring coffee for two.

I'm driving over to Leddersford.

I'll drop you off at the house,
Susan wants to talk to you.

But... I've got to get back
to the office.

I told Hoylake you were taking
the afternoon off.

You can fix just about anything,
can't you?

Just about.

I'll tell Miss Susan you're here.

Joe!

Joe, isn't it wonderful?

I'm so happy.

Now we're really going to be married.

Why didn't you tell me
about the baby?

Oh, I don't know,
you've seemed so strange lately,

as if you didn't like me very much.

But it's all right now, isn't it, Joe?

Yes.

Yes, it's all all right now.

Joe?

People have told me,
even Daddy said that you were...

that you were having an affair
with Alice Aisgill.

How could you?

She's so... old!

Just an old whore like her?
That's what you mean, isn't it?

Well, it's all over now,

so just forget about it.

- How do I know that?
- Because I'm telling you.

Listen, Joe,

if you so much as look at her again,
we're through.

I don't care about the baby
or anything. I mean it.

I won't be second best!

Promise me
you'll never ever see her again.

I can't do that.

I'm going to see her just one more time
and tell her about us.

- You could write to her.
- I'm going to see her!

Joe...

You do love me, don't you?

May I come in?
Oh, hello, Mr Lampton.

I suppose now I'd better call you Joe.

Well, the sooner we get on
with the arrangements, the better.

We've decided on a white wedding
in spite of the circumstances.

The first thing I'll require from you
is a list of the guests.

Darling, I thought you'd never come.
You're so late.

Come on.

I've got a surprise for you.

Come on, open it.

Oh...

Don't like it?

Yes, I... I like it very much, but...

If you don't like it,
you can change it for another colour.

What's wrong?
You look so serious.

No, I... I like the colour.

Alice...

Alice, sit down.

You won't be hurting my feelings.

I'm not touchy about things like that.

I'm going to marry Susan.

Everything's fixed, even the date.

I'm going to marry her.

I've put her in the family way.

Well, what did you expect me to do?
Run away?

No, but that doesn't mean
you have to marry her.

I've got to marry her!

- You'll be telling me next you love her.
- Look, Alice, please.

Please don't let's have a scene.

We were loving friends, remember?

Right from the start you said
we were only loving friends.

It wasn't possible anyway, you and me.
You know it wasn't.

Well, George wouldn't let you go.

If you'd have taken him to court,
he'd have thrown more muck at us

than either of us could stand.

I would have lost my job.

What could we have lived on?

You're a timid soul, aren't you?

I suppose you are going
to work for Brown.

Yes.

You've done very well
for yourself, Joe.

Finally, you've got
everything you wanted.

Haven't you?

There is something
you have never understood, Joe.

These people at the top,

they are the same as anybody else.

But you had it inside of you
to be so much bigger than any of them.

You just had to be yourself.

That was all.

With me you were yourself.

Only with me.

Don't you understand
what you've done?

Look, Alice...

I'm going to marry Susan.

All right, maybe I do love you,

but I'm going to marry her.

Now, please don't make it
any more difficult for us both.

Oh, to hell with you!

Do you think our love
is just like a layer of dirt?

That I can wash it off?

I believe in our love.

What else have I got?

It's all I have to believe in.

You ask me not to make it difficult.

But I'm not like your aunt in Dufdon.
Why shouldn't I make it difficult for you?

Because it won't do you any good,
that's why.

- I'm going to marry Susan.
- Don't say it again.

Please don't say it again.

I think we need a little drink.

Look, Alice,

I wish you'd face facts.

I'll never love anyone else,

but there just isn't any future
for us together.

What a pretty speech.

I suppose you worked that out
before you came, didn't you?

I'm never going to see you again.
That's what I came to tell you.

I'm going now.

No!

Goodbye, Alice.

Are you all right, Mrs Aisgill?

- She's had a skinful.
- I've never seen her like that before.

She'll be all right.
She knows her way around.

Good morning.

- Good morning.
- Good morning, Mr Lampton.

Oh, Miss Beth?

I'd like to get everything outstanding
settled as soon as possible,

starting with the gas.

How about the profit and loss
appropriation account?

Oh, it can wait.

Mr Lampton, I would like
to congratulate you.

Mr Hoylake told Gladys and...

Well, you know
how these things get about.

- I hope you'll be very happy together.
- Thank you very much.

- Did you hear about the accident?
- Have you set the date of the wedding?

- No, not definitely.
- Alice Aisgill. She's dead.

It will be the wedding of the year,
I'm sure.

- Who's dead?
- Alice Aisgill.

- I hope so.
- And Miss Brown,

if you don't mind my saying so,
will make a lovely bride.

She ran her car
into the cliff at Sparrow Hill.

Heard she was drunk.

What's that?

Alice Aisgill, Mr Lampton.

They say that the car was bent like that
and blood all over the place.

What was she doing
up on Sparrow Hill anyway?

Oh, goodness knows.
She'd been drinking all right.

Probably didn't know where she was.

- There he is!
- Joe!

Congratulations, lad. It couldn't
have happened to a nicer chap.

He was trying to tell me the other night.
Weren't you, Joe?

Come on, bring that through now.
We've got a surprise for you, Joe.

Come on, lad, quick!

Well, unwrap it!

Oh, come here!
Look, Joe, champagne!

♪ Here comes the bride

♪ All dressed in white

♪ Da, da, da-da, da,
da-da-da-da-da, da-dee... ♪

It's the real stuff, you know?

Hello! There you are, Joe.

So, you're to be leaving us, are you?
Marrying into big business.

Well, well, congratulations.
What's the matter?

We were just talking
about the accident, Mr Hoylake.

- What accident?
- Alice Aisgill's dead.

Her car crashed last night.

- No!
- Nasty business.

I met Dr Everett. He told me.
You knew her well, didn't you, Joe?

Yes, I knew her.

Wouldn't have been so bad
if she'd died outright.

Good-looking woman, too.
It's hard on Aisgill.

Is it true they didn't find her
till this morning?

I'm afraid so.
She was terribly mutilated.

I heard it was
a farm labourer found her.

She was crawling about the road
in her own blood.

It doesn't bear thinking about.

Apparently she'd been struck
by the steering wheel.

What is it? What's the matter?

You low, rotten chiseller!
You murdering little fancyman!

Are you happy now, you swine?

- You got rid of her nicely, didn't you?
- You don't understand.

You bastard! You bastard!

You dirty, filthy bastard!

She was in your way, wasn't she?

Get out of here,
you filthy little bloodsucker!

Oh, Joe, how could you do it?

She loved you so.

How could you do it?

- I said, what's your name, dear?
- Eh?

- What's your name?
- Jack Wales.

And what do you really sell?

I told you,
I specialise in ladies' underwear.

Ooh, you're a devil, Jack.
Ooh, you really are.

Come along, Mavis. Let's go.

Oh, go away.
We were all right till you came.

Look, I couldn't help being late.

You see, I was working
over at the factory, love.

Look, you bloody well stop that.
You're coming along with me.

Leave her alone!

Look here.

You stick to your own class!

You come moaning in here,
you and your money,

think you can buy the place.

Look, I've seen your type before,
you know.

- Now, just you keep out of this!
- I've told you, leave her alone!

Look, I warned you.
I'll slit your bloody gizzard.

Take your hands off her!

He's not really my boyfriend.
Not really, Jack.

Just because he's taken me out
a couple of times,

thinks he owns me, he does.

But he don't know
how to treat a girl proper.

He's not like you, Jack.

Here! Oi, same again.

You don't want any more to drink,
really you don't.

Don't I?

What you need is some fresh air.

Come on.

Alice.

Oh, Alice...

It's Mavis is my name.

Oh, you're wonderful.

Oh, you really are.

Oh, you've such lovely hands.

- Like a gentleman.
- Oh, shut up!

Jack...

I've always wanted
to meet someone like you.

I always have.

Here, you wouldn't pass out on me?

You mustn't go to sleep.

Jack. Come on, Jack.

No.

Are you all right now, Jack?

I...

Now, you turn left, remember,
and go straight on down the canal.

Have you enough for a taxi?

Oh, God, they've woken up.

Good night, Jack.

It's been lovely.

Really it has.

That's enough.

Joe! Joe!

Time to come home, Joe.

It's all right, love.

Everything's all right now.

I've...

- ...murdered her.
- Oh, shush!

I've killed her.

- Everybody knows I've killed her.
- Don't take on so.

I wasn't there, but I killed her.

Nobody's blaming you, Joe.

You don't see it now,
but she'd have ruined your whole life.

Oh, no, nobody will ever blame you, Joe.

Nobody but... me.

That's the trouble.

I require and charge you both,

as ye will answer
at the dreadful Day of Judgement

when the secrets of all hearts
shall be disclosed,

that if either of you know any impediment

why ye may not be lawfully
joined together in matrimony,

ye do now confess it,

for be ye well assured

that so many as are coupled together
otherwise than God's words doth allow

are not joined together by God,

neither is their matrimony lawful.

Joseph,

wilt thou have this woman
to thy wedded wife,

to live together after God's ordinance

in the holy estate of matrimony?

Wilt thou love her, comfort her,
honour and keep her

in sickness and in health

and, forsaking all other,

keep thee only unto her

so long as ye both shall live?

I will.

Good luck, Joe.

Joe, wasn't it absolutely
the most wonderful wedding?

Now we really belong to each other,

"till death us do part".

Darling, you're crying.

I believe you really are
sentimental after all.