Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–1975): Season 1, Episode 12 - The Key of the Door - full transcript

On the eve of her 21st birthday, Elizabeth is utterly defiant and, consequently, on the brink of a complete breach with her parents.

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[ Door opens ]

Oh, Miss Elizabeth.

Hope I ain't gonna be
in your way.

-[ Door closes]
Rose, I'm so happy.

Miss Elizabeth,
I'm trying to pack for you.

You'll squash them blouses.

I've got something
to show you, Rose.

Roberts is packing warm things
for Lady Margaret.

She says Lyme's a very drafty
house, so I thought --

- Did you say "pack"?
- Yes, Miss Lizzie.



Oh, dear. I should have told
you. I'm not going.

Not going?

Lady Marjorie know?
Mr. Hudson?

Well, nobody knows yet.

You see, I only made up my mind
this morning

to stay in London
for the weekend.

You see, Rose, dear,

I've been invited to a small,
exclusive party in Bloomsbury.

And what would a properly
brought-up young lady like you

be doing in a place
like Bloomsbury?

A friend of mine
has lodgings there,

someone I admire very much.

That's where I'm going.

Oh, stop looking so shocked,
Rose.



And you can stop packing, too,

and help me to untie
this infuriating knot.

Then I can show you what
I bought to wear at the party.

I'll fetch the scissors.

Certainly not!

One must never out string.
You always untie it.

Didn't your mother teach you
that? Nanny taught me.

Well, we didn't get that many
parcels to practice on, miss.

No, I suppose not.

How unfair the world is.

Oh, dear.

No, one cannot waste time
on these stupid conventions.

Would you fetch me
the scissors, Rose?

Snip, snip, and it's done.

I suppose one unties because

one should not appear greedy
as to know what's inside.

It's like bread and butter
before cake

and always leaving something
on one's plate.

One must never appear to be
in need, must one?

I suppose not, Miss Lizzie.

Like kissing a gentleman and not
just waiting to be kissed.

- Miss Elizabeth.
-[ Chuckling ] I'm sorry, Rose.

Just out it.

There now.
Off with the string.

Away with the paper wrappings.

Aren't you going mad
with curiosity, Rose?

You mind your fingernails,
Miss Lizzie.

And abracadabra, hocus-pocus.

Shut your eyes, Rose.
I'll tell you when to open them.

Now.

Isn't it beautiful?

- Yes, miss.
- It's from Liberty's, Rose.

Well, that don't surprise me
at all.

I'd better get on
with your unpacking.

You don't like it.

Well, it's a bit bright, miss.

It's colour, Rose.

Nothing has to be dreary
and dingy.

The world is beautiful
if only we let it be.

Well, look at it more carefully.

Hmm.

Well,
the material is quite nice.

There you are.
I knew you'd like it.

Your eyes were closed.
That's all.

All our eyes must be opened,
Rose.

All eyes shall be opened
one day.

What is it?

- well, it's a jibber.
- Oh.

- women wear them in the East.
- Oh.

And I'm going east on Saturday
evening towards Bloomsbury.

So I must dress
as the natives do.

Now, I must try it on.

Would you unlace me, Rose?

Undo me.

Horrible whalebones.

What is the use of having a body

if it's to be all twisted
out of shape?

Here, you can't wear that
downstairs.

Lady Marjorie'd have a seizure.

This time next week,
I shall be 21.

Things are going to change.

Now, come along, Rosie,
my faithful handmaiden.

Help me into my arrayment
of gold and silk.

"What's the use of having
a body," she says,

"if it's to be twisted
all out of shape?"

Talk of bodies, is it now?

We all know what that means.

Well, I'm sure I don't know
what you mean, Mrs. Bridges.

- wish I'd never mentioned it.
- The colonel's lady

and Judy O'Grady.

Mrs. Bridges,
I won't have you talk

about Miss Lizzie like that.

She's as pure
as the driven snow.

It's my belief
she's got a young gentleman.

That's right. I've heard her
singing up and down the stairs.

- That means she's in love.
Rubbish!

If she was,
we'd all know about it.

Leastways, I would,
'cause she'd have told me.

It's malicious lies.

And what is malicious lies,
Rose?

Nothing, Mr. Hudson.
We was just talking.

Miss Elizabeth's new garment,
what she's bought.

Arab and none too modest.

Well, you all know my rules.

I will not have gossip
about members of the family.

We was just saying that
Miss Elizabeth is on her way

to becoming a new woman,
that's all.

I'd like to be made a new woman.

Nobody asked for your opinion,
Doris.

New woman's right.

You want to see the young madam
hopping up and down them stairs?

Stays? Not a bone in sight,
except her own.

Edward,
I won't have talk like that.

What would you know about stays
anyway?

- You'd be surprised, Doris.
- Edward!

Might I be excused
from present company, please?

I wish I hadn't opened my mouth.
I feel quite unwell.

Oh, I don't know.

Nothing but trouble.

New woman!

I've no time for people
who want to change things.

Nothing wrong with them
as they are.

Isn't that so, Mr. Hudson?

Oh, quite so, Mrs. Bridges.

If the Almighty,
in His infinite wisdom,

has seen fit
to ordain the world just so,

how can we poor creatures, be we
high or low, seek to change it?

Consider the words of the hymn

that we all joined in
only last Sunday.

♫ The rich man in his castle ♫

♫ The poor man at his gate ♫

♫ God made them high or lowly ♫

♫ And ordered their...♫

- what's the matter with you?
- Mr. Hudson's been at the...

♫ ...all things
bright and beautiful ♫

ALL: ♫ All creatures
great and small ♫

♫ All things
wise and wonderful ♫

♫ The Lord God made them all ♫

You're with us down here now,
Rose -- not up there with them.

HUDSON:
♫ ...the rivers running by... ♫

ls Elizabeth
lunching with us today?

- So she told Hudson.
- Good.

I think I heard her come in
a few minutes ago.

Thump, thump up the stairs
three at a time.

She's too much energy.

Life and time
will soon cure that.

The Scott-Kerry boy
will be at Lyme for the weekend.

I hope she behaves herself.

I think you'd better train him
to hold his breath,

because I'm afraid
one puff of wind

would blow the Scott-Kerry boy
right over.

Oh, the fact that we're having
to scrape the barrel

for Elizabeth
is nobody's fault but her own.

She was born clever

but without the wit
to disguise it, poor child.

London's full of young men who
turn pale when she approaches.

[Chuckles softly]
Really? why?

She will lecture them
about the poor and the needy

when she ought to be listening
to what they have to say.

She'll learn in time.

It's time that worries me.
She'll be 21 next week.

She'll probably die an old maid.

I don't think
there's much chance of that.

Well, Richard,
she doesn't know how to attract,

how to walk into a room
and make heads turn.

Oh, my god!

Is it all right to wear this
for lunch?

MARJORIE:
Well, what on earth is it?

Well, I'm trying it on. It's
for a party I've been asked to.

A costume ball.
What fun.

It's not supposed
to be fancy dress, Father.

- It's the very latest thing.
- what party?

Mother, I know
it's all rather last-minute,

and I do realize it's
somewhat ill-mannered of me,

but this friend of mine,
Henrietta Winchmore,

who goes to the lectures --

Fabian Society?
- Yes.

Well, there's a group of them,
all very clever and interesting,

and they've asked me
to go to somebody's house

on Saturday evening for a party.

But we're travelling up to Lyme
for the weekend on Friday.

Well, you see,
I'm not going with you.

I'd rather go to this party.

No, it's out of the question,
darling.

Mark Scott-Kerry's been invited
specially for you.

Well, I've never met
Mr. Scott what's-His-Name,

and even if I did, I probably
wouldn't like him very much.

I've got friends of my own.

Well, who are they?
What sort of people?

Oh, they're all
very intelligent people, Mother,

who talk about things
that matter.

Ooh, I say.

Well, I feel elated
and happy when I'm with them.

And I'm very honoured
to be asked into their circle.

Oh, they're poets, mostly,
and painters

and people who write books.

MARJORIE: They're not
of your world, darling.

It's the world I want, Mother.
Please?

I beg you,
telegraph to the Mortons at Lyme

to say I'm not coming.

They won't miss me.

There are plenty of girls
up there

for Mr. Scott Thing
to bore to death.

[Clicks tongue]

I'm -- I'm sorry.
That was unkind.

Oh, please?

Let me stay in London
just this once?

Oh, Richard, what am I to do?

Well, you're her father.

Well, she's old enough
to choose her own friends.

MARJORIE:
Not if they're unsuitable.

Well, surely that's up to
Elizabeth to decide.

Well?

Well, I think I'd better send
a telegram.

[ Door opens ]

HUDSON:
Luncheon is served, my lady.

Oh, Hudson. Miss Elizabeth
will not be travelling up to Lyme

with us on Friday after all.

She's remaining in London.

Very good, sir.

[ French accent]
I am an anarchist!

[ French accent]
I am an anarchist!

But don't be frightened of me.
I'm quite bombless.

You can feed him through
the bars with buns and whiskey.

Oh, save me from nut sandwiches
and unfermented wine.

Mr. Bernard Shaw is living proof

that a teetotal vegetarian diet
produces the perfect mind.

And as bicycling
the perfect body.

The webbs frequently bicycle
40 miles.

Ah, you British Socialists.
Masochists you are.

Whose harem have you robbed
of that little odalisque?

Henrietta Newer.

Soup kitchen
somewhere in the slums.

She was a mousy-looking thing
when I met her before.

Well, now look at her.

You have this effect
upon people, my dear Evelyn.

She's good material.

Tougher than she looks.

One for the caves?

We'll see.

She's very young.

A neophyte ready
for action and unsullied.

Now, don't you corrupt her,
Perdita, my dear.

Me?

A bright little candle like that

will be chased
by all kinds of moths.

Now, where have you put
the whiskey?

Poetry is as natural as eating
or making love.

It's life.

It's a spirit of gloriousness
in things.

Do you read poetry, Elizabeth?

Oh, yes.

I admire your poems enormously,

though I don't
always understand them.

Well, my poetry's not to be
understood by the brain.

Just let it flow over you,

like the great spumy waves over
the body of the naked swimmer.

PERDITA:
All poetry is derivative.

We drink in the lessons
of Milton and Swinburne

with our mother's milk.

Tolstoy is a fraud!

STANLEY: If I thought Tolstoy
was not sincere,

then nothing
would matter anymore.

Dead, my friend.
They're all dead!

It is we who are alive.

We must lead.
We must live for art.

I myself live for art,
especially in the evenings.

In the ideal state, only the
mentally and physically perfect

should be allowed to procreate.

LAWRENCE:
Oh, nonsense, Henrietta!

My father was
a dull professor of physics

married
to the seventh dull daughter

of an even duller
Dorset baronet.

And look at me -- brilliant.

[ Laughter]

And 40 times as sensitive
as both my parents.

How are you bred,
little blackbird?

- Oh, uh...
- Oh, Elizabeth's parents

are frightfully nice.

My father's
a Norfolk parson's son.

Nothing could be duller
than that.

HENRIETTA: That is where
free love comes in.

A true friendship with a man
is not possible

Without physical intimacy
and his beloved and lover.

If a woman
has 12 brilliant men in her...

Nonsense, child.

If you think you can absorb
wisdom like hot soup

merely by sleeping
with a genius,

then I should be
the wisest woman in Christendom.

[ Laughter]

Rodin once did my torso,

but all I can remember about him
are his strong hands.

Oh. [Chuckles]

Rodin, the Michelangelo
of the common man.

Common man?!

A bourgeois cliché,
like your poetry.

That's unfair.

Well, you don't understand it.
You said so yourself.

I will teach it to you.

He will teach you
all about hunger strikes

and why having dirty fingernails
is so important.

And that butterflies aren't much
use when it comes to a fight.

Oh! what do you when they
start chucking vitriol about?

Do you suppose an umbrella
would be of any use?

Oh, protect me, my friends,

from the slings and arrows
of the Philistines!

Protect you?

If you can't look after yourself
in the jungle,

that's your lookout.

She likes to see her cubs

sharpening their claws
on each other.

[Shouts indistinctly]

They test the breeder's make
on the young bulls.

Now, how brave
is this little one?

[ Laughs ]

[ Laughter]

You're mad.

We're all a little mad,
Elizabeth.

We're special people, brought
together from a wilderness.

We've thrown off the stupid
convictions of our forefathers.

We're not shackled
by convention.

We can be utterly frank.

We're in the lead, and together
we can make a new world.

Viva la révolution!

- To the streets!
- Ah!

But there are 3 million
destitute in this country,

cradled in a gutter,
housed in a slum,

slaving in a sweater's den, and
dying in a workhouse infirmary.

Nobody loves them.
They poison society.

You won't get rid of them
by giving them soup.

But give them work,
give them hospitals,

give them boots.

Then they will increase
the wealth of the community.

We must fight commercialism not
just by words, but with deeds.

And yet behind the night
waits for the great unborn --

somewhere afar,
some white tremendous daybreak.

Oh, gosh!
I forgot!

We can't have the hall tomorrow
for Lawrence's poetry reading.

- why not?
- The beastly Bible readers

have bagged it first.

Well, we'll just
have to have it here.

What?!
In this box?!

Never. Cancel it.
I-l need space.

Elizabeth, there's
a lovely big room in your house.

Oh, but, well --

Is that possible, Elizabeth?

LAWRENCE: well, it's evidently
not a welcomed suggestion.

Well, I'd have to ask my...

Oh, well, they're away.

Yes, yes, please come --
all of you. It'll be divvy.

LAWRENCE:
Bless you, my child.

You are the true friend of us.

To commemorate the occasion,

I shall write a piece
to my lady of the casbah,

something in the style
of the "Rubaiyat."

It will consist
of seven stanzas,

each one as exquisite
and ephemeral and meaningless

as the eyelash of a gnat...

[ Laughter]

...or the first pale flush
of dawn.

It will be inscribed gloriously
with a lark's wing quill

in red ink on golden vellum.

[Light laughter]

There will be only one copy.

And you and I will read it
together a stanza each evening.

And then we shall die,
for that is our tragedy.

[Light laughter, applause]

Allow me to fill your glass.

Oh, uh, thank you.

I do find, uh, Kirbridge's style

so tediously over-florid,
don't you?

I mean, "the eyelash of a gnat."
Really?

You'd never find any
of the major Russian poets

resorting to an allegory
like that, now, would you?

Is anything the matter,
Elizabeth?

Is dear Stanley forcing Pushkin
down with the wine?

No, I was just wondering
Where Lawrence was and Evelyn.

Well, they were here
a moment ago.

Oh, I think they must have grown
tired of our company

and left us.

Oh, but I must say goodbye
and thank them.

Oh, we'll see them again --

tomorrow afternoon
at your house.

Oh, yes, of course I will.

Better not disturb them now.

I expect
they're communing with nature.

Oh.

Perhaps you'd, uh, rather stop
discussing Kirbridge

and talk about the major poets?

On the contrary.
You see, I don't agree with you.

I think Lawrence Kirbridge

writes and talks
quite beautifully.

[Church bells tolling
in distance ]

[Church bells tolling
in distance ]

What's the time, Rose?

Almost 11:00.

The church bells
have started ringing.

Oh, let them ring.

What time did you return home
last night, Miss Elizabeth?

I didn't return home last night,
Rose.

I returned home this morning
at half past 3:00.

Miss Elizabeth, your nightdress!

- It's in the drawer.
- But --

I've decided never to wear
anything in bed again.

From now on, I'm going to
dedicate my life to the truth

and to freedom for all mankind.

Well, without our clothes,
We're all alike --

rich and poor,
nobleman and peasant.

In our naked state,
We're all equal, Rose.

Do you hear me?

Equal, equal, equal.

We're all equal!

- And free!
-[ Gasps ]

Good morning, Father.

[ Smooches ]

Morning, Mother.

[ Smooches ]

Yes, I had a wonderful evening,
thank you.

Such fascinating people.

Oh, I'm sorry to be
a bit late down,

but I slept in this morning,

owing to an excess of rum punch
and intellectual conversation.

By the way,

there was a most charming
young man there -- a poet.

Such exciting eyes
and a voice like a caress.

When he looked at me

and spoke these beautiful
sonnets he's composed,

I felt as though
I were almost undressed.

Oh, I'm sorry, Mother,
but you wouldn't understand.

I don't mean
literally undressed.

I mean I felt somehow

as if he were penetrating
right through me, possessing me.

I was seized and flung across
the saddle of his white charger,

and we galloped
across the desert

to the sunset
of my maidenhood.

HUDSON:
You rang, Miss Elizabeth.

Oh, my heart!
Hudson, you made me jump.

I beg pardon, miss.

It's quite all right.

I was just memorizing
some passages from a book.

Uh, from a book
I've been reading.

Were you requiring something,
miss?

Yes, Hudson.
It was simply to say

that I've invited some people
to call this afternoon for tea.

We'll have it in here.

Very good, miss.

And how many visitors
would there be, miss?

Six.

Or possibly seven or even eight.

I'm not quite sure.

Very good, Miss Elizabeth.

And luncheon, miss?

Oh, I'm not very hungry today.

HUDSON: I think
Mrs. Bridges has prepared

some veal cutlets for you,

and Edward has laid for one
in the dining room.

Oh, well, then I'll have to,
won't I?

You can fetch in
the Brussels sprouts now, Doris,

and the Yorkshire pudding.

Yes, Mrs. Bridges.

There will be tea in the morning
room for eight today, Edward.

Eight!
Who's coming, then?

All them beggars
down in Whitechapel?

HUDSON: None of your business
who's coming.

Well, I wouldn't put it
past her.

Much more of your cheek,
young man,

and you'll find yourself
down there,

queuing up for a bowl of soup.

And glad of it.

You will serve tea as it
is normally served, Edward,

and Rose will assist you.

Just because the master
and her ladyship are away,

there will be no falling off
from the work in this house.

You'll be taking
the afternoon off, Mr. Hudson?

Oh, not today, Mrs. Bridges.

I had contemplated a wee stroll
beside the Rotten Row.

However, with Miss Elizabeth
entertaining her friends,

I shall remain on hand
just to be on the safe side.

MRS. BRIDGES:
Quite right, Mr. Hudson.

The Yorkshire's nicely browned,
Mrs. Bridges.

Where's Rose?

She's up doing
Miss Elizabeth's room.

- Tidying up after her.
- At this hour?

Well, she stopped in bed
till gone 11:00.

I'm sorry, Mr. Hudson.

I couldn't get in
to do Miss Lizzie's room

till she was up and dressed
and that.

Very well, Rose.

"When the hounds of spring
are on winter's traces,

The mother of months
in meadow or plain

Fills the shadows
and windy places

With lisp of leaves
and ripple of rain;

And the brown
bright nightingale, amorous,

ls half assuaged for ltylus,

For the Thracian ships
and the foreign faces.

The tongueless vigil
and all the pain.

Come with bows bent
and with emptying of quivers,

Maiden most perfect,
lady of light,

With a noise of winds
and many rivers,

With a clamour of waters..."

Shall I serve tea now, miss?

LAWRENCE: "...bind on
thy sandals, O thou most..."

Is it a long poem?

LAWRENCE:
"Over the splendour..."

- Yes.
- Very good, miss.

LAWRENCE:
"For the faint east quickens,

the wan west shivers,

'Round the feet of the day
and the feet of the night.

Where shall we find her,
how shall we sing to her,

Fold our hands 'round
her knees and cling?

O that man's heart were as fire
and could spring to her,

Fire, or the strength
of the streams that spring!

For the stars and the winds
are unto her

As raiment,
as songs of the harp player;

For the risen stars
and the fallen cling to her,

And the southwest wind
and the west wind sing.

For winter's rains
and ruins are over,

And all the season
of snows and sins;

The days dividing lover
and lover,

The light that loses,
the night that wins;

And time remember'd
is grief forgotten,

And frosts are slain
and flowers begotten,

And in green underwood and cover

Blossom by blossom..."

Could we have
some more sandwiches?

And where do I get a dozen
loaves on a Sunday evening?

Has anyone thought of that?

Not that I don't like to see

young people
with good, healthy appetites.

The way some of them
are gobbling it down,

you wouldn't think they'd had
a square meal for a week.

Or a bath for a month.

Cor, some of them, oh!

- Edward!
-what are they like?

Like something out of a zoo,
if you ask me.

There's one there that looks
like a mangy old parrot.

Although the boy what's reading
the poems is quite romantic.

Oh, can I go up and have a peek?

No, Doris, you cannot.

And just look at the way
you've out that bread.

You're not making crumbs
for the birds, you know.

What were they reading about?

Arms holding round bodies

-and knees and clinging.
- Oh, give over, Edward.

Oh, right.

I suppose they're all people

Miss Elizabeth's found
in the East End.

She can't resist stray dogs.
Never could.

Look at Sarah.

Oh, no, Mrs. Bridges.

No working-class person

would come into this house
dressed like that.

They'd have more respect.

They're all Socialists,
if you ask me.

I don't know
what makes Miss Lizzie mix

with those sort of people --
I don't really.

Tainted blood.

I'll not forget the night

her Aunt Helena danced naked
on the lawn at Southwold.

Bold as brass.

Now, up you get, Rose. You too,
Edward. we haven't got all day.

Well, I never used to think
Miss Lizzie was like that,

-but I'm beginning to wonder.
- well, you just wonder

if you're going to drop
those plates, my girl.

Knees clinging,
folded round bodies.

Was she stark-naked,
Mrs. Bridges?

Now, you just go
and wash your mouth out, Doris,

and then get on
with doing the dirty things.

Yes, Mrs. Bridges.

Oh, I don't know.

The wickedness
there is in the world.

Self-supporting
communities of persons

Self-supporting
communities of persons

indifferent
to material possessions.

Isn't that our aim?

I mean, I-I-I feel degraded even
stepping inside this mausoleum,

this monument
to extortion and oppression.

It should be pulled down
and chucked on the dustheap

along with its inhabitants.

HENRIETTA:
Oh, how can you be so ungrateful

after Elizabeth
has invited us here

and given us such wonderful eats
and everything?

I bet if your father

was a Conservative Member
of Parliament,

you wouldn't have the courage
to ask us to the house.

If my father was that,

I'd be too ashamed
to show my face in this country.

HUDSON: I think Elizabeth
is jolly brave and noble.

And anyway,
her parents are very nice

and support
all sorts of charities.

STANLEY: They also support
the forces of evil!

HENRIETTA:
I think it's jolly decent

to have us here like this.

It just shows how emancipated
she is, doesn't it, Evelyn?

Contributions to the cause
are always welcome.

"The full streams feed
on flower of rushes."

I love that line.

Swinburne at his most blessed.

Well, you make it
all come alive somehow.

Oh, Rose,
this is Mr. Kirbridge, a poet.

Pleased to meet you, sir.

Rose, is -- is it really "Rose"?

Yes, sir.

No, thank you.

But I am deeply,
almost profoundly grateful.

You give me sweet hope
of spring.

Thank you very much indeed, sir.

[ Indistinct conversations]

EVELYN:
[Humming]

- Oh!
-[ Clatter]

We must make poetry together,
my Elizabeth.

Oh, I couldn't possibly.
I'd be hopeless.

I've got no ear.

[Chuckles softly]
I didn't mean with our ears.

An obscene part of the body
at the best of times...

No. In your father's mansion
there are, uh...

There are many bedrooms,
n'est pas?

Well, what about Evelyn?

Evelyn?

Well, it's just
a purely ritual act.

Just paying
for my bread and butter.

Oh.

Spare your blushes, gentle
maiden, I am only teasing.

I'm incorrigibly irreverent

about all sorts of serious
things, like sex or Socialism.

Do you know I've even been known
to make a joke

about Mr. H.G. Wells?

[Chuckles softly]

How old are you,
my little fledgling?

21 tomorrow.

21 tomorrow?

Tomorrow 21.

Evelyn, our little fledgling
here is 21 tomorrow.

Do you think she'll leave
the home in sorrow?

We shall have to think
of something very special.

Chucked on the dustheap along
with all its inhabitants --

That's what he said.

Stuck-up little swine.

He nearly had the lot
in his mug, I can tell you.

They're all mad up there,
if you ask me.

And the place looks like
a pigsty.

We're gonna be up
half the night.

GUSTAVE:
[Singing indistinctly]

[ Laughs ]

Voila!
Les esclaves!

Poor slaves.

So this is the galley
Where you sweat away

your little lives
Without life, without hope.

Uh, do you --
do you require anything, sir?

I require a bomb --

to blow up this prison,
partly to let in fresh air.

You were born free, mes enfants!

Why stay forever chained
to this dark...

Fetch Mr. Hudson.

Tear off
the uniform of servitude!

Oh, boy.

One day -- One day, all
the servant slaves of London --

no, of the whole world --

will march right up into
the sun, and I will lead you!

The gutters of Belgravia

will run red
with the blood of the tyrants,

-and I --
- Excuse me, sir?

Oh, hello, old man.

Can I help you, sir?

Mais oui -- que le whiskey.

Edward.

GUSTAVE: Alors, uh...
[Mumbles indistinctly]

Mmm!

Congratulations.

Vous, monsieur,

uh, uh...et vous, madame,

et vous, mademoiselle.

It is very sad
perhaps you are too old.

One cannot teach an old dog
new tricks.

Ah!

Mais vous, mademoiselle, who is
young and strong and beautiful.

Why should you slave away
all the years

until you are
a withered old hag?

Scrubbing the floor
on your knees!

That's what I am questioning.

I am asking.

- Evelyn, come on!
-[ Mid-tempo music plays]

- Yes? Come along.
- EVELYN: Oi! For Elizabeth.

For Elizabeth.

[Humming]

Excuse me, uh, Miss Elizabeth.

There's a foreign gentleman
in the servants' hall.

He doesn't seem quite himself.
He's asking for more whiskey.

Oh, Lor!

Henrietta, it's Gustave.
He's in the servants' hall.

Oh, no.

EVELYN:
[Humming]

[Rhythmic clapping]

The day of glory
has arrived again!

-♫ Da-da da-durn... ♫
HENRIETTA: Gustave!

Oh, how could you?

No, you don't.

I'm so sorry.
I do apologize.

He doesn't mean any harm.

Being a foreigner,
he doesn't understand our ways.

Gustave, come on.

[ Chuckling ]
You see, I am a slave myself.

- On.
- well...

if anyone needed locking up...

He needs deporting.

He needs de-whiskeying.

I thought there was quite a lot
in what he said.

I'm gonna go and change
my dress.

You're going up to bed
this instant, my girl.

- Oh, Mrs. Bridges.
- Off you go.

You've seen and heard enough
nonsensical things for one night

to last your whole lifetime.

Edward,
go upstairs with her, in case.

[ Hoofbeats ]

Well, in all my born days,
I've never seen nothing like it.

That girl'll have to go.

[Bell rings]

[ Music, clapping continue]

EVELYN:
♫ Da-da ta ♫

♫ A-ta ♫

♫ A-a-a-a-ta ♫

[Humming]

Olé!

[ Slurring ] Ah,
Madame Le Marquess et Monsieur!

Entrez!

[Speaking French]

...le guillotine.

Vive le révolution!

RICHARD: Hudson,
what on earth is happening?!

Miss Elizabeth is entertaining
a few of her friends, sir.

Edward, get the luggage --
quickly.

-[ Music continues]
- Hey! Hey! Hey!

EVELYN; Olé!

[ Guitar, clapping stop]

Oh, um...

This -- my mother and father.

Mother, may I intro--

I hardly think this
is the moment for introductions.

Will you please ask your friends
to leave?

Father, why shouldn't I have
some friends to a party?

You call this a party?

It's the most disgraceful
exhibition I've ever seen.

Turning the house
into a cheap music hall --

and on a Sunday, too.

With no thought for your mother

or for the wretched servants
who have to clear up after you.

But you don't understand.

No, I do not understand.

ELIZABETH: I'm sorry, Evelyn.
Um...l feel so ashamed.

[ Crying ]

[ Door closes]

Well, there it is, Rose --
the key to my freedom,

the symbol of my independence.

Yes, Miss Lizzie.

Oh, Rose, don't be so growly.

-'Tis my birthday, after all.
- Yes, Miss Lizzie.

Well, how was I to know they
were going to come back early?

I couldn't tell Lady Cybil's
brother was going to die

-in Baden-Baden, could I?
- No, Miss Lizzie.

If I have friends to tea,

I expect my parents
to be civil to them,

as I am to their boring friends.

Well, with respect,
Miss Elizabeth,

I don't think your friends
are the sort of people

one would expect to find
in Lady Marjorie's house.

It's my house, too.
I live here.

I've got the key
to the front door.

Well, if you don't know
what I mean, Miss Elizabeth,

-you're just...
- I'm what?

You were going to say "stupid,"
Weren't you?

Well, all right then,
Miss Lizzie.

I do think you're being stupid.

Good.

You must say it if you mean it.

I shan't have you whipped
and locked in the cellar,

if that's what you're afraid of.

I'm not that cruel.

I think you are.

Cruel?

To your parents, what
you should honour and respect --

especially
on your 21st birthday.

Cruel to invite
a few of my friends

to take tea and read poetry
in my home?

Well, all I can say,
Miss Elizabeth, is,

if your idea of a refined
tea party and reading poetry

is a lot of common riffraff

laying around
on the morning-room floor,

and one of them drunk,
barging into the servants' hall,

upsetting all the staff,

not to mention the lady

what was leaping around,
dancing on the best furniture,

well, I don't belong here
no more, then.

It's not your place to comment,
Rose, and I won't have it.

Just because
I have a few friends

who aren't in smart society,

who know how to enjoy life
instead of strutting about

like stuffed turkeys
talking about the weather,

there's no need for you
to be rude about them,

or for my parents to treat them
as though they were dirt.

I shall have to go
and apologize to them

for the way they were received
in this noble house.

Apologize to them?

I should've thought
it was for them to apologize

-to your father and me.
- For what?

Turning this house into
a bear garden during our absence

and embarrassing the servants.

Mother, I am not going to lose

the few really intelligent
friends I have

simply because you and Father
refuse to move with the times.

Elizabeth, I refuse
to be spoken to like that.

You may be 21 years old,
but you're still our daughter,

and you'll kindly show us
some respect.

Oh, I do, Mother.
I always have respected you.

But I respect my friends, too.

And for that reason,
I shall go 'round

to Evelyn Larkin's lodgings
this morning

and apologize to her...
and to all of them

for the ungracious way
you received them last night.

They were under your roof
and therefore your guests.

Morning, Father.

Morning, Elizabeth.

Many happy returns of the day.

Where are you going?

I'm going upstairs
to put on my hat and coat,

-and then I'm going out.
- Mm.

Is your mother
in the morning room?

Yes, she is.

Elizabeth, you can't expect us
to be very pleased

after last night's performance.

I did hope that you at least
would understand.

You've always told me

to treat this house
as if it were my own.

Oh, don't worry, Father.

I shall be back
for my birthday tea.

"So be a dream, a wisp of fancy,

Frail, fragmented, faint.

And foolish.

Are you endorsing my genius
for alliteration,

or are you being deliberately
devastatingly damping, darling?

Deliberately devastatingly
damping, darling.

I abhor and abominate
alliteration.

Now get off my legs,
my noble genius.

- I want to get up.
- Mnh-mnh.

-[ Doorbell rings]
- Oh, there's to be no peace here

this morning, I can see.

Answer the door.

Elizabeth.

What a surprise.

A-Am I interrupting?

Oh, yes, deliciously.

Is Evelyn here?

Yes.
She's in bed.

But do come in.
She'd love to see you.

Oh, um...

On -- On second thoughts,

I think you better wait
a minute.

I'll warn her you're here.

[ Door closes]

Our wealthy, radical,
high-minded child is here,

eager to change society.

- She wants to see you.
- She bores me to death.

Oh, does she?

She, uh --
She enchants me utterly.

That has not escaped me.

Oh, the horror

of the primped-up, semi-educated
children of the rich

who wear
their newfound Socialism

like the latest hat from Paris.

She's no more a Socialist
than the Marquess of Salisbury.

Or Lord Southwold.

Exactly.

All right.
Well, I'll tell her

that you've got nothing more
to say to her,

and I'll, uh, send her away.

- EVELYN: No, bring her in.
- what?

EVELYN: Let her see me warm
in my lover's bed.

It'll be an education.

Oh, you exhibitionist.

Mentor.

Now, what is the girl to learn
from seeing you vis-à-vis

apart from the promiscuity
of poets,

which she already suspects?

I shall befriend her,
put her to a test.

A test?

Of what, her friendship?

In a sense, yeah.

A test of the strength of her
newfound political conviction.

Evelyn, dear,
she's young and tender.

You let her be.
She's not to be harmed.

Oh, not her body.

Her pride a little.

Her Imperial Highness,
the Tsarina of all Bloomsbury,

will see you now.

Come in.

I came to apologize

for what happened
yesterday evening at my house.

My parents
were guilty of incivility.

Now, who's to blame them --

entrenched as they are in their
beliefs and their traditions?

- Nevertheless --
- No more is to be said about it.

Do come and sit on my bed.

You're so splendidly tolerant,
Evelyn, so forgiving.

Well, you can't help
how you were born.

No, I suppose not.

Where did you get
your Socialist ideas from?

Not from your father, surely?

Reading, mostly.

I read German philosophy
in Dresden, and --

Oh, I don't know,
just thinking about things.

Then you agree with me
that our society could --

Oh, yes, I do agree with you.

I think the wealth of the nation

is so unfairly distributed
under the capitalist system.

More attention should be paid
to the poor and uneducated.

The Tories protect
the privileged,

and the Liberals
don't go far enough,

for all
that Mr. Asquith does his best.

Then how would you go about it?

It must be done by new laws,
by the Parliamentary system,

by intellectual persuasion.

Fabianism.

Mm.
But words are not enough.

Deeds are necessary.

Oh, yes, of course.

I'm going to the Paddington
district this afternoon

to collect some pamphlets,
and...

Would you like to come with me?

Oh, yes, please.

What could be more suitable
for my 21st birthday,

the day of my emancipation?

[Bell rings]

SUMMERS: what do you want
in here?! Go on! Get out of it!

You stay where you are, boys.

Are you the owner
of this establishment?

I have that honor, miss.

Summers the name,
Summers the nature.

EVELYN: Yes. well,
these children have no shoes.

So I see, miss.

And I'd be obliged

if they'd take their dirty feet
off my clean carpet!

I do apologize, miss.
They're everywhere these days.

These shoeless children
are with me, Mr. Summers.

With you, miss?

Oh, I do apologize.
I really had no idea.

Well. [Chuckles]
Sit down, children.

ELIZABETH: You have children's
boots upon your shelves.

They should be
on these children's feet.

SUMMERS: A-And so they shall be,
miss, at once.

Now then, uh, let me see.

Uh, boots for these children.

Yes, we have their sizes.

Of the best quality,
naturally, miss.

Of the very best quality.

In a good society, the children
get the best, not the worst.

They are our future.

Uh, what about socks, miss?

We do a very good line
in stout woolen socks.

And socks, too, since you
have them and they haven't.

Two pairs of boots each,
perhaps, miss?

ELIZABETH: If you think
that is a good idea.

Oh, I do. I do.

Coming.

Coming.

- HUDSON: Oh.
EDWARD: Oh, Mrs. Bridges.

Really lovely.
- HUDSON: Lovely.

Congratulations.

Well, Mrs. Bridges,

I think that's better than the
one what you done for Mr. James.

Well, I really believe it is.

It's not every cook can do that
frosted icing the like of that.

[ Chuckles ]

Only hope she appreciates it.

Of course she will,
Mrs. Bridges.

If I may say so, miss,
I admire your spirit.

You deserve to go to Heaven,
and I'm sure you will.

Well, these little angels
will pray for the kind lady

who bought them boots
every night of their lives.

Go along, boys.

SUMMERS: And will, I've
no doubt, tell their friends

that we sell the sturdiest
and yet the ooziest boots

this side of London.

That will be 4 pounds,
2 shillings,

and 7 pence, 3 farthings, miss.

And may God bless you for your
kindness to those poor children.

But we have no money,
have we, Elizabeth?

No.

SUMMERS:
I beg your pardon?!

Explain to our good friend
why we do not intend to pay.

You had children's boots upon
your shelves you could not sell.

The children, for their part,
could not buy them.

Now you have fewer boots
to trouble you

and the children
are properly shod.

Thus, little by little,
we proceed to the just society.

Are you going to pay
for those boots, miss,

or am I going to send
for a policeman?

No, I am not going to pay
for them,

and you are going to fetch
a policeman to arrest me --

so that I can make my protest
in a court of law.

-[ Bell rings]
- Police!

What has happened to her?

She knew tea
was at half past 4:00.

There's no point in lighting
the candles till she gets in.

Well, it's past 5:00.

Is it necessary
for Edward and Rose...

No.
Wait downstairs, will you?

I'll ring as soon
as Miss Elizabeth gets back.

Yes, milady.

It really is too much,

-whether she's of age or not.
-[ Telephone ringing ]

There! If that's Elizabeth,
I shan't speak to her.

Yes?

Yes. Yes, it is.

I see.

Where?

Where are you speaking from?

I see. Yes, yes.
I'll come at once.

[Receiver clicks]

What's happened?

It seems our daughter has been
detained by the police --

charged with stealing children's
boots from a shop in Paddington.

I'll be back
as soon as possible.

In other words, she passed
her test with flying colours?

As far as it went, yes.

I waited outside the shop long
enough to see her marched off

by a somewhat confused
young constable.

Well, congratulations.

I'm afraid her martyrdom ended
abruptly at the police station,

Where the right honourable member
for Hampstead-on-Lyme

arrived in a hansom cab and
bought his daughter's freedom.

Yes.

Which event you no doubt
witnessed from a safe distance

-with enormous relish.
-[ Chuckles softly ]

Much as a cruel child might
Witness the torture of a kitten.

Oh, what's cruel about allowing

a silly little society girl
the thrill of her first arrest?

She'll dine out on it for years.

You're full of hate,
aren't you, Evelyn?

You hate Elizabeth's class
and mine

as profoundly as some people
hate Roman Catholics

or cough mixture.

Or poverty.

Yes.
Yes, I do.

Yes, well, you're not
a very tolerant person, are you?

I've had to fight life
every inch of the way.

There's no room for tolerance
in a world of privilege.

Oh, you were born privileged,
with brains.

- Oh, thank you.
- And with a generous body.

What more do you want?

Your love.

You have my love.

But it isn't exclusive, is it?

No.

No, it's not exclusive
any more so than my poetry is.

I'm an artist. I communicate
with the whole world.

I love wheresoever
my heart takes me.

She's no good to you, Lawrence.

She's everything
you've been running away from,

ever since you left winchester
and went up to Cambridge.

She is young.

Well, she won't darn your socks
or wash your shirts.

- She listens to me.
-[ Chuckles ]

Oh, Evelyn, stop hating.

Well, stop making me hate.

[ Door slams ]

[ Door opens ]

MARJORIE:
Go upstairs, Elizabeth.

I want to speak
to your father alone.

I just wanted to say
that I regard what I've done

as totally justified,
morally and politically.

Stealing from shops, Elizabeth,

is not morally justifiable
in any circumstances.

As for
any political justification

for robbing a tradesmen,

I'd remind you
and your misguided friends

that a shopkeeper has
as much right to his livelihood

as anyone else.

There's no point
in arguing with her, Marjorie.

I compensated the shopkeeper and
managed by the skin of my teeth

to convince
the police superintendent

that Elizabeth was indulging
in a childish prank, a dare.

The man
was extremely accommodating.

He knew who I was,
and the incident is closed.

It was no childish prank,
Mother, I can assure you.

There was a social
and political point to be made,

and I made it without fear
of the consequences.

And if people aren't prepared
to suffer for their principles,

there's precious little hope
for the world.

Who says so? Your friend
Miss Larkin, I suppose?

Yes, Miss Larkin,

who's good and clever
and cares about humanity!

She's a troublemaker, Elizabeth!

A bitter young woman
out to destroy society

because she envies
other people's advantages.

Oh, that's what the Tories
always say

about people who fight
for a better society.

She's ill-mannered, common,
a thoroughly bad influence.

The sooner you give up seeing
her, the better for all of us.

I shall not give her up.
I need her now all the more.

I've proved myself to her.

I've proved that I, too,
put the common good

above private wealth
and privilege.

I'm part of it now!
I'm committed!

You haven't thought this out,
Elizabeth.

There are arguments
on both sides.

Let us talk about these things
together quietly, you and I.

No, I'm sorry, Father.
It's too late.

I've seen enough of the world
to know how I feel.

Oh, I know I'm letting you down.

I realize that you sit in
the House of Commons every day,

representing the old order
of things,

the influence of private wealth
and privilege,

the patronage of the many
by the few.

And I know that,
as your daughter,

I ought to agree
with you blindly, but I can't.

- I can't.
- Elizabeth, I will not sit here

and listen
to any more of this nonsense!

I forbid you absolutely
to see that Larkin woman

or any of her associates
ever again!

You're to leave London
immediately.

You'll travel to Southwold
by the first train tomorrow,

Where you'll remain
under your grandmother's care

till you come to your senses.

ELIZABETH: No!

I refuse
to give up Evelyn Larkin,

and I refuse to leave London.

You can't force me, Mother.
I'm 21.

You can't force me.

You will do as your mother says,
Elizabeth.

MARJORIE:
Elizabeth, go upstairs

and tell Rose to pack
your things for tomorrow.

[Sighs]

RICHARD:
Elizabeth?

Where are you going?

Elizabeth!

[ Door slams ]

Richard, we were right
to speak our minds.

Perfectly right, my dear.

Unfortunately, she's come
under stronger influences

than either yours or mine.

[Doorbell rings]

What do you want?

I've left home, Evelyn.

That's a silly thing to do.

But it was because of you.

That's sillier still.

Uh, may I come and stay?

I'll sleep on the floor,
anywhere.

No, I'm sorry.
You may not.

ELIZABETH: well, is Lawrence in?
I'd like to speak to him.

No.

Now, you run away
and find your own lodgings.

You can afford it.

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