Touched by an Angel (1994–2003): Season 5, Episode 6 - Beautiful Dreamer - full transcript

Well, this may not be

the most famous building
in Washington D.C.,

but it might just be
the most important.

I don't know, Sam.

It's a whole lot of them
and just one of me.

And here I thought
you loved children.

I do love children.

I'm an angel; that's what I do.

But actually talking
to the little things,

getting them to listen
and stopping them

from running
around and fidgeting



and asking question after
question after question...

- Tess, Tess!
- What?

When children stop
asking questions,

that's when you have a problem.

Mm.

Now, if you weren't the
best angel for this job,

you wouldn't be here.

But you are the perfect
angel with the perfect attitude

for that little boy.

His name is Calvin.

Children!

Children!

Anyone not in their
seats in five seconds

is gonna spend the day with
me in the principal's office.



How'd she do that?

Thank you.

Now, Mr. Burrell has
called in sick today,

so there's gonna be
a substitute teacher.

Mr. Burrell told me that
you all have to turn in

your career projects today,
so what I want you to do

is to line them up
against the blackboard.

Row one.

Row two.

Three.

And row four.

Well, at least the
children still have their...

dreams.

Oh, dear Father in heaven.

♪ When you walk ♪

♪ Down the road ♪

♪ Heavy burden ♪

♪ Heavy load ♪

♪ I will rise ♪

♪ And I will walk with you ♪

♪ I'll walk with you ♪

♪ Till the sun
don't even shine ♪

♪ Walk with you ♪

♪ Every time, I tell you ♪

♪ I'll walk with you ♪

♪ Walk with you ♪

♪ Believe me, I'll
walk with you. ♪

My name is Tess.

You may call me Miss Tess.

And whatever you've
been thinking about

to take advantage of this
situation, please believe me,

I'm way ahead of you.

Now, I understand that
you've got reports to give.

Ah, look at this.

"I want to be a teacher."

That's very good,
Tommy, very good.

You have a problem with that?

Teachers don't
make enough green.

"Mayor."

Angela, I think you're gonna
make a very nice mayor.

Huh, yeah, got to learn
to smoke that crack first.

Get up there, Calvin.

I want to hear
your report first.

When I grow up, I
want to be a hit man.

Probably for the CIA.

The pay is really good,

you get to keep all your
cash in Swiss bank accounts,

you don't ever have
to worry about going to

the same stupid
office every day,

you don't ever worry
about paying electric bills

'cause you always
stay in hotels,

and it's really exciting because
there's always somebody

from a foreign country
trying to kill you,

until you retire in a
beach in South America.

And where in the library
did you look all of that up?

I saw it on TV.

Sit down, Calvin!

What is the name of this school?

Abraham Lincoln.

And he was one of
the best presidents

this country has ever had.

He was a good man.

He was a poor man.
He... Yes, Angela?

We learned all
about him last year.

Well, that's good.

I'm glad, because he was

a man who deserved
to be learned about.

Now, this man right here,

this man was the assassin,

the hit man, Calvin,

that killed President
Abraham Lincoln.

And it's my guess that
that's all you know about him.

So I'm going to tell
you a story, a true story

that I want everybody
to listen to very carefully.

Everybody, Calvin.

Now, it was April
the 14th, 1865,

right here in Washington.

Good Friday and not
a dozen seats sold.

Ain't nobody goes to the
theater on Good Friday.

Nobody, except the president.

I'm looking for Mr. Ford.

Got a message from
the White House.

Right this way.

Right on time.

I like that in an angel.

Yes, I know.

That is why I keep
it five minutes fast.

Well, it's a very different
Washington these days, isn't it?

It's amazing what peace
can do to people's spirits.

What you feel in
this city is victory.

There's no peace here.

No.

Especially in the hearts of
the angry and the vanquished.

No, not yet.

And one heart in
particular, I presume.

Andrew, set your
clock to the correct time,

because you're gonna
need every minute.

Mr. Ford!

Is it really true?

Yes.

Miss Keene, you won't be playing

to an empty house
tonight, after all!

Andrew, there's an
angel named Monica

who works in enunciations.

Now, she won't be
dealing with you directly,

but certain messages
must be given,

certain arrangements
must be in place

in the event that you fail.

Sam, I...

I can't remember
ever failing before.

I've-I've always had
the truth on my side.

That's-that's always
seemed to be enough.

Andrew, you're one of
my very best caseworkers,

but angels do fail.

And humans fail.

But God does not fail.

And He will not fail
this time to offer the truth

to a man who desperately
needs to hear it.

Now, if this man
refuses to listen,

well, that's his choice.

But the problem is, his
choice will change the world.

Another perfumed letter.

Oh, poor Johnny.

How many hearts have
you broken this week?

You do me wrong,
dear Miss Keene.

As a matter of fact, this one
happens to be from my mother.

And what does she
say to a rascal like you?

"Heaven guard you
is my constant prayer."

Have you heard the news?

The president is coming tonight.

The president?

Here?

Promise me you will
come, too, Johnny.

I'll be here.

You can count on it.

Till then, dear lady.

Excuse me, sir.

I believe you dropped this.

And do I detect a hint of
Ole Miss in your speech?

Well, I have spent a fair
amount of time down South.

My name is Andrew.

Andrew.

It's always nice to meet
a fellow sympathizer.

My card.

"John Wilkes Booth."

You know, there's
quite a bit about dreams

in this Bible, Mr. Stanton...
Good ones and bad ones.

Mr. Lincoln, what are we to do?

About what, my dear?

General Grant and his wife

are unable to attend
the play this evening.

We simply must have a
full box if it's to be amusing.

Perhaps the Secretary
of War will join us.

But surely, Mr. President,
you don't intend

to go out in public
this evening.

Every time your husband
goes out, he risks his life.

The war is over, Mr. Secretary.

For four long years, the
president has been unable

to eat, to sleep, to
have a moment's peace.

Now, he needs... he must have
a night of rest and entertainment.

And you think a
night at the theater

will rid him of his bad dreams?

You told him of your dream?

No, no, my dear.

Not the contents.

Hello.

Come in.

Who are you?

I'm Monica.

I was sent by the dressmaker.

But where is Lizzie?

Lizzie does all my fittings.

It's a very special dress
for a very special occasion,

and I have certain experience

that Lizzie thought
could be helpful.

I don't understand,
but there's no time now.

Let's just go on upstairs.

Now, now, my
dear, you stay here.

It's much warmer in
here, and Mr. Stanton

and I have a
meeting down the hall.

Good day.

So, Monica started work
on the first lady's dress.

What is it now, Calvin?

This is stupid. Everybody
knows you can't

just walk into the
president's office.

You could then.

In fact, President
Lincoln wouldn't even

let them lock the door
to the White House.

It was a different world then.

I know it was an extravagance,
and Mr. Lincoln's sure to scold,

but do you know why
I wanted this dress?

For him.

You see, I know I'm
not young anymore.

But after all these years,
the loss of two of our boys,

this dreadful war, I wanted
to remind Mr. Lincoln

of our wedding day.

Maybe to remind myself.

Is that foolish?

No. I think it's lovely.

We had so many dreams back then.

Good dreams.

Not the kind he has now.

Oh, dear, tonight

he had the most
dreadful nightmare.

He believed

it was sent to him by
God, but I don't believe that.

- I can't.
- A dream
sent by God?

Oh, maybe he shouldn't
go to the theater.

Maybe it is a warning.

Why would God want
to punish Mr. Lincoln,

a man who puts all his
trust in the Almighty?

I'm sure that God doesn't
want to punish your husband.

Of course not.

We'll go to the
theater, and we'll laugh.

We'll finally laugh.

♪♪

"Sic semper tyrannis."

"Death to all tyrants."

State motto of Virginia.

You, sir, are a
gentleman and a scholar.

Do I know you?

Yes. We met this
morning, at the theater.

You gave me your card.

Ah, yes, my Southern friend.

No, I'm not from the South.

But you're not a Yankee.

I'm not a Yankee.

Mm-hmm. What state are you from?

I like to think that I am
from the state of grace.

State of grace.

I like that.

At least you have the
soul of a Southerner.

Join me in a little
Southern cheer.

Thank you.

I, uh... wouldn't
mind a sarsaparilla.

Peter!

A sarsaparilla for my
learned friend here.

And more brandy.

Do you know if there were
more men like you and me

Atlanta wouldn't be a
pile of Yankee rubble?

All because of
this... despot, this...

tyrant.

This Lincoln.

Tell me, sir,
what sort of tyrant

champions equal
rights for all men?

What about my rights?

The right to own
slaves... It's in the Bible.

The Bible acknowledges
that slavery existed.

God didn't make anyone a slave.

People made people slaves.

And slavery, sir,
is an abomination.

Here you are, sir.

You're a gentleman.

I'm a gentleman.

We can agree to disagree, right?

Yes.

You can go your way,
I can go mine, right?

Then why can't the
states do the same?

If the South can't
agree with the North,

why can't we all
just be gentlemen

and call it a day?

Because if every
disagreement dissolved a union,

there would be no marriage,

there would be no friendship,

there would be no
contracts, no country.

Nothing but anarchy.

And that is where
tyrants come from, sir.

Know how I pegged
you for a gentleman?

Breeding.

You obviously come
from good stock.

- The best.
- That's all I'm saying.

You come from the
best; I come from the best.

We give our best,
we expect the best...

We tolerate nothing less.

Which is why, for example,

I will not drink...

in the company of niggers!

What? -What?

Lincoln is nothing
but a tyrant, Andrew.

And we all know what
happens to tyrants.

Don't we?

I think that he just
threatened the president's life.

Well, sooner or later,
the hatred in a man's heart

finds its way into his words,

then to his hands,

until he finally becomes
a creator of evil itself.

♪♪

It certainly is nice

- to see you smiling, Mr. Lincoln.
- Ah.

Madam dressmaker.

Yes, uh...

it's my first postwar
smile, I believe.

I'm afraid my
wife has just left.

I know. It's you I've come
to see, Mr. President.

I believe you've been
having a bad dream.

Oh, it's nothing.
It's just the...

self-inflicted tortures
of a weary mind.

The dream... didn't
begin in your mind, sir.

It comes from the mind of God.

God?

He has used dreams

to speak to great
leaders in the past.

Ah. And what are you,

another one of
Mary's spiritualists?

No.

Spiritualists seek
messages from a...

mysterious beyond.

I deliver messages from God,

who is neither
mysterious nor beyond,

but with us here,
now, in this room.

You are an angel?

Yes.

Be not afraid.

Be not afraid?

The annunciation of
Abraham Lincoln, hm?

There has been many a night

during the last
four years, angel,

that I have prayed
for a visit from Heaven,

and only now
that the war is over

the Almighty has
a message for me?

He has always answered you
when you sought His counsel.

Yes, that is true.

But never so... dramatically.

The dream, Mr. President.

Tell me about it, please.

There seemed to be a...

death-like stillness
all about me.

And then I... I heard sobs,

very subdued sobbing.

So I... got up out of bed
and I wandered downstairs...

until I arrived at
the East Room.

And there I met a rather
unpleasant surprise.

Before me rested a corpse

in funeral vestments.

Around it were soldiers
and a throng of people

who were weeping pitifully.

"Who is dead in
the White House?"

I demanded of
one of the soldiers.

"The President," was his answer.

"He was killed by an assassin."

Has God sent me an angel
to prepare me for death?

I believe your faith in God

a long time ago prepared you

to leave this world
and meet your creator.

But until that day comes,

God wants to reward
your faithfulness

by... giving you some
new measure of peace now.

I want to... show you.

Each one of these
is a death threat.

My best hat.

Look at this.

A bullet hole.

Mm-hmm. Went clean through.

Missed me by a hair's whisker.

Happened last spring
while I was out riding.

I didn't tell Mary.

Didn't want to worry her.

I, uh... shouldn't have
told her my dream.

It's going to
come true, isn't it?

I-I cannot see into the future.

Only God, who loves you
very much, can do that.

But He wants you to
know this about your dream.

That no matter what happens,

what matters most
is that in your dream

you were walking the
halls of the White House,

and that for
generations to come,

children and presidents,

citizens and legislators,

average Americans
and world leaders

will walk these same halls

and listen for the
echo of your footsteps,

hoping to hear one distant,

reassuring sound of
honesty and goodness

and genuine sacrifice.

For the people of this country

in the centuries to come

will not simply honor
your memory, sir,

they will need it,

they will cling to it in the
days when the real heroes

are hard to find,

when the little boys
and little girls wonder

if there was a time
when principles

mattered more than politics,

when parents need an
example of courage to point to.

They will need you,
the men and women

of every race and religion
who continue the struggle

that you began,

who will fight for
freedom and fairness,

who will even
sacrifice their own lives,

the fighters and the dreamers

who will follow you
to the mountaintop.

♪♪

John?

What in blazes
are you doing here?

I might ask the
same of you, John.

What's the knife for?

This?

It's a prop.

I'm playing Hamlet
here next month.

Hamlet kills the king, you know?

The king.

Not the president.

Who are you, Andrew?

I'm somebody who
wants to help you, John.

Well... I appreciate
the offer, friend,

but I don't need any help.

I think you do.

I believe that you

are an interloper,
what we refer to

in the theater as "the
mysterious stranger,"

who enters to
complicate the plot.

What is the plot, Mr. Booth?

You see that portrait
of Washington there?

I do.

Washington had slaves.

You know?

So did Jefferson and
Madison and Monroe...

And it took their
revolution to allow

- for this emancipation of men
- And now this bearded gorilla,

- and of women and
children, - this butcher

- John, from being held in
slavery-from Springfield...

- and in bondage!
- He wants to emancipate the country?

I say it's time someone
emancipated the country

from Mr. Lincoln.

If you disagree so
violently with the president,

why didn't you just join
the Confederate Army

and fight for what
you believed in?

Well... they also serve...

who stand and wait...
for the right time.

Mr. Booth...

there is never a right time

for something like this.

Okay, here comes the
good part. John Wilkes Booth

sneaks into the back,
and pow! Just think

what he could've
done with a AK-47.

- Or an Uzi.
- Yeah!

Will you stop it?!

This is not a movie,

something that you can rewind
and run over and over again

till you don't feel
anything anymore.

This really happened!

Don't you understand that?

A real man lost his life!

He shed real blood!

And his child went to
bed that night crying

because his daddy
was not coming home!

Don't you understand that?

Calvin's daddy's
not coming back.

Shut up!

The president was getting
ready to go to the theater.

You must learn
to be more careful.

Good evening.

Yes, it is.

Monica, Mr. Lincoln
has lost a button.

And we've already
missed the curtain.

Oh, that hat is an eyesore!

Let me have it. Oh!

Mr. Lincoln... what is this?

- Another of your speeches?
- No, no, just a few thoughts

I was jotting down.

The only man I know

who uses his hat
as a writing desk.

Why, I can't do
anything with this.

I'll go get another.

I've been thinking about
what you said this afternoon.

I hope it brought
you some peace.

I suppose if God sends
an angel to bring you peace,

it's because you're
going to need it.

♪♪

Mr. Lincoln! Mr. Lincoln!

Give him room. Here,
here! Let him get through!

♪ ...Unto me ♪

♪ Starlight and dewdrops
are waiting for thee... ♪

You okay, Mr. Booth?

I never seen you
drink whiskey before.

Well... tonight's a big night.

It sure is.

Just think, the
president's right next-door.

Mr. Parker says he's
in a real fine mood, too.

Parker?

President's bodyguard...
He's right over there.

That's the president's
bodyguard?

Sure is.

I'll tell you what, Peter.

I'd like to set him
up with a drink.

♪ Beautiful dreamer,
awake unto me! ♪

He's gonna assassinate
the president.

I'm sure of that now.

I couldn't stop him
with words, Sam,

so I guess it's-it's time to try
to stop him some other way.

No. If you can't stop him
with the truth, Andrew,

you can't stop him at all.

Sam... Listen to me.

All the lives that were
lost during this Civil War,

the hundreds of
thousands, on both sides,

broke God's heart.

And if Abraham
Lincoln dies tonight,

then God will weep again.

Now, you know
He's perfectly capable

of sending an angel
to remove the gun

from a hand of a murderer.

He could lift the weapon
from the hands of every soldier.

He could take the angry words

out of the mouths of every
hateful person on earth.

He could do this.

But he doesn't.

God could change the
course of history every day...

but that would mean

that there'd be no
freedom left in this world.

And the last thing
Mr. Lincoln would ever want

would be to live at
the cost of freedom.

Ha-ha! What do
you say, gentlemen?

Shall we sing another round?

One more time.

♪ Beautiful dreamer ♪

♪ Wake unto me ♪

♪ Starlight and dewdrops
are waiting for thee... ♪

And there's much more
work for you to do, Andrew,

but not now.

Howdy.

Don't know the manners
of good society, eh?

Well, I guess I know enough
to turn you inside out, old gal,

you sockdologizing old man trap!

Sic semper tyrannis!

Help me.

The South is avenged.

Get back! Get back!

Hello, Mr. President.

God is with you,

and He sent His
angel to be with you

until He calls you home.

What you writing there, Cap?

It's my diary.

It's for posterity.

You don't know what
that means, do you, Davy?

How's that leg, Cap?

Shh.

Andrew... it's you!

Davy, this is our friend.

You want to help,
don't you, Andrew?

Yes, Mr. Booth.

What news do you
bring us, Andrew?

President's dead, ain't he?

We shot him.

I shot him.

President's dead.

And we will be
remembered for it, Davy!

A hundred years from now

when schoolchildren are reading
about the heroes of the South,

right next to Jefferson
Davis and Robert E. Lee

will be the names
John Wilkes Booth

and Davy Harold!

We're heroes.

♪♪

What's it say, Cap?

It says we're heroes, don't it?

Cap?

Cap, they're coming for us.

Let's get out of here.

Are you with us, Andrew?

Yes, Mr. Booth, to the end.

The bitter end!

That's lunch.

Now, after lunch

you have an art class
with Mrs. Nordstrom,

and a physical education
class with Mr. Bonato,

and then you're dismissed!

This is good-bye, so
thanks for your attention.

Will you come back and
finish your story someday?

Of course I will, darling.

Okay.

What was the "bitter end" like?

Are you sure you want to know?

It might change
your career plans.

♪ In the beauty of... ♪

It was a terrible day, Calvin.

One man pulled the trigger
and broke every heart in America.

♪ With a glory ♪

♪ In His bosom ♪

♪ That transfigures ♪

♪ You and me ♪

♪ As He died ♪

♪ To make men holy ♪

♪ Let us live ♪

♪ To make them free... ♪

My orders are to bring
this man back alive.

Is that understood?

Yes, sir!

Booth!

- Booth!
- What are we gonna do now, Cap'n?

And where'd Andrew go?
You think he went out the back?

Hunted down like a
dog, I am in... despair.

You said we'd be heroes!

Shut up!

Surrender, or we'll
set fire to the barn

and smoke you out like rats!

We'll give you five more
minutes to make up your minds!

Traitor! Oh, Captain,

here's a man who
wants to surrender!

Hold up!

Booth, surrender!

- Dear Mother...
- Dear Mother...

Andrew, my friend,
you've not forsaken us.

It's amazing, the light

from the fire i-illuminates you.

You look like some
sort of avenging angel.

It's quite theatrical, actually.

I am an angel,
John, sent by God.

No doubt God wishes
to congratulate me.

I am the instrument of
God's punishment, Andrew.

I have done just what
he wanted me to do.

No.

What you have done
was not ordained by God.

What you have done is murder
a human being in cold blood.

And yet, by the grace
of that same God,

there is still time for you to
trade that shame for mercy.

There is no shame,
and I need no mercy.

I have avenged
the glorious South!

Booth!

Your last chance!

John, you have avenged nothing.

You have achieved nothing,

except for the wrath of God.

And even now He
offers you a choice.

You can choose
forgiveness and peace...

or separation from Him forever.

Your God can keep
His forgiveness.

I have my revenge.

I got him! I think I got him!

He could still be alive.

Do you see a gun?

It won't be long now.

There's still time, John.

You don't have to die alone.

I can't.

Can't what?

My hands.

What?

Put them in front of my face.

Why?

Please.

Put his hands over there.

Useless.

Useless.

What's useless?

No. John... it's
never useless to pray,

but the time is now, before...

before it's too late.

♪♪

You did your best, Andrew.

You knew I'd fail
from the beginning.

No, not really.

A heart can
change in an instant.

And each heart must be
given that chance, but...

some hearts, well, sometimes
a heart is already dead

long before the man dies.

It's over?

For him, yes.

But there's still
something left to be done,

but that requires a
different kind of angel.

♪♪

I know it usually
happens right away, but...

the Father had a purpose,

and He has new
work for you, Andrew.

An angel of death?

It'll be a privilege.

Hello, Abraham.

My name's Andrew.

♪♪

We are not enemies, but friends.

We must not be enemies.

Though passion
may have strained,

it must not break
our bonds of affection.

The mystic chords of memory,

stretching from
every battlefield

and patriot grave
to every living heart

and hearthstone all
over this broad land,

will yet swell the
chorus of the Union,

when again touched,
as surely they will be,

by the better
angels of our nature.

So did John Wilkes
Booth go to Hell?

Well, he had to make a decision,

and he decided to separate
himself from God, and...

that's about the worst
hell you can imagine.

A lot of angry people do that.

Are you angry, baby?

I think you are.

I think you're angry
about a lot of things.

I think you're angry
'cause your father left.

I think you're angry because
your mother works nights

and there's not
always enough milk...

and your house really gets
cold every time it snows.

I think you're angry 'cause
you got holes in your shoes.

Shut up! Shut up!

And I'll tell you
something else.

I don't think you
want to be a hit man.

I think you're so angry
that's all you think you can be.

And that's not true.

What do you really want to
be when you grow up, Calvin?

Tell Tess the truth.

No!

And why not?

'Cause you'll laugh at me.

I will not.

Everybody else does.

I don't care. I
promise, whatever it is,

I will not laugh.

Okay.

When I grow up, I want to be
the President of the United States.

That's what I was gonna
do my project on at first,

but... everybody kept
making stupid jokes.

Nobody wants to be
the president anymore.

Don't you ever feel ashamed
that you want to be the president.

That's a fine goal.

Where would we be if
the little boys and little girls

stopped dreaming
of being president?

Where would this country be

if the children stopped dreaming

of how to make it a
better place to live?

So you think it's okay?

I certainly do.

Do you know that Abe Lincoln

didn't have any shoes sometimes?

And he didn't have
any heat in his cabin

or nice clothes.

He didn't even have
a school to go to.

But he worked hard...

and he believed in
himself and in God.

So, when he got angry

he didn't use a gun,
he used his brain

and his heart.

So when they called
him "Honest Abe,"

that wasn't a
spin doctor talking,

that was the truth.

There are honest people, Calvin,

who deserve to be your heroes.

Like Abe Lincoln...

and like your mama, Calvin.

And I'll tell you
something else.

God can make a hero
out of you if you let him.

Now, when you become president

and you walk into
that Oval Office,

there's gonna be an
angel there waiting for you.

And I want you to
make me a promise...

that you will
listen to that angel

and listen real hard.

Okay. Promise.

Don't tell me.

Tell Him.

♪ Glory ♪

♪ Glory, hallelujah ♪

♪ Glory ♪

♪ Glory, hallelujah ♪

♪ Glory ♪

♪ Glory, hallelujah ♪

♪ His truth is... ♪

My name's Calvin.

I'm the 50th President
of the United States.

♪ Glory, glory ♪

♪ Hallelujah ♪

Glory, hallelujah!

♪ His truth ♪

♪ Is marching ♪

♪ On... ♪