Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–1975): Season 4, Episode 7 - If You Were the Only Girl in the World - full transcript
Hazel has taken to seeing a young RFC pilot, Jack Dyson, whom she had met at the tea party Lady Prudence had arranged at 165 Eaton Place. She quits likes the young Dyson who is shy and unassuming. He also feels somewhat out of place in Belgravia, something Hazel can easily relate to. What starts out as a friendship however quickly turns to love for both of them. Hudson, who has always admonished the staff to avoid the goings on above stairs, takes note of Mrs. Bellamys frequent outings leading to an argument with Rose. Georgina meanwhile has now been assigned to a field hospital in France is doing excellent work. She gets to spend some time with James, for whom she evidently has great affection.
Subtitling by
Acorn Media (re-sync by moviesbyrizzo)
"Mix together four ounces
of prepared chalk,
two ounces each of polisher's
putty and burnt hartshorn."
Mr. Hudson,
I've run out of plate powder.
Whatever's burnt hartshorn?
Ooh, don't you worry about that,
girl.
There's some already made up.
Oh. Thanks.
I feel sad cleaning the silver.
Makes me think of my Eddie.
I wonder how many times
he cleaned that old jug.
Oh, well.
Best put away
till the war's over.
Wonder when that'll be.
Instead of indulging in
unrewarding speculation, Daisy,
I suggest you unwrap
the big teapot.
Whatever for, Mr. Hudson?
We'll be needing it tomorrow for
the wounded-officers tea party.
Wounded-officers tea party?
Means I'll have to clean it
all over again.
Why do we have to have officers
to tea?
That is no concern of yours,
Daisy.
It is part of the war effort
and sponsored by
the Countess of Berkharnstead
and Lady Prudence Fairfax.
And why does
it have to be officers?
They wouldn't ask
my Eddie to tea.
Oh, no.
Not a common Tommy.
Common Tommies do not
normally have tea
in the drawing rooms
of London houses.
- The drawing room's all shut up.
- It's to be open again.
- Oh, no.
- Oh, yes.
It'll take me all day to get the
covers off and the place clean.
Rose will give you a hand.
Give Daisy a hand?
What with?
Opening up the drawing room
for tomorrow.
Oh, I'd sooner do it meself.
Daisy's got all the laundry
to sort out.
Then I will help you.
Oh, no, you won't, Mr. Hudson.
You're doing too much as it is.
Up half the night
with your patrols.
And you don't get any
proper rest during the daytime.
There's a war on, Rose.
Yeah, and still they expect us
to open up the drawing room.
Well, I've got beds to make,
meals to serve,
the whole house to keep clean,
all the linen,
and now the bloody silver
to unwrap.
Daisy!
I need my head looking at,
staying in this house,
I really do.
I ought to have gone off
making munitions with Ruby,
that's what.
At least they got rules
against slavery in them places.
You know...
That girl is becoming
more impossible every day.
Giving cheek.
Insubordination.
Oh, in ordinary times
I would have no hesitation
but to see that she was put off.
And without a reference.
But these aren't ordinary times,
are they, Mr. Hudson?
Housemaids are
worth their weight in gold.
Oh, you should see the adverts
in the papers.
But there is a limit, Rose.
Of course.
I'll have a word with Daisy.
-[ Bell rings]
- Morning room.
I'll go.
[ Door opens ]
- Ah, Hudson.
Madam.
It's about this
Wounded-officers tea party.
I have decided after all
not to open up the drawing room.
It will put too much work
on Rose and Daisy.
But madam they're both --
Yes, I know
they're both willing, Hudson,
as you told Lady Prudence.
We could manage, madam.
I shall be the judge of that.
And my judgment is
that we shall use this room.
Now, I have ordered
a number of small tables
in addition to the gilt chairs.
And we shall just have to manage
in here.
There will be
four ladies present,
and you and Daisy
and Rose serving.
Not Rose, madam.
Not in the afternoons.
Oh.
Well, some of the officers
will help hand 'round.
At least I hope they will.
How many guests
are you expecting, madam?
It's hard to say
until they come,
but, well, perhaps 20, even 30.
I know it'll be
a bit of a crush, but...
Well, we're all
getting used to that.
I'm sure the officers
won't mind.
Better than bully beef
in the trenches, madam.
PRUDENCE:
My dear Hazel.
What a delicious array
of good things.
Reminds me of those lovely teas
we used to have
at Rumpelmayer's
before I was married.
I do hope
you've all got good appetites.
Well, I have.
Hospital food -- well, it's
hospital food the world over.
[ Laughter]
You must find it very difficult
to get about.
Oh, no. I scoot about all
over the place in this thing.
And everyone's so kind.
I'm always given the front seat.
And I'm glad to hear it.
It's the least we can do for you
brave boys back from the front.
I think one of the most
inspiring things about this war
is the way the empire
has rallied 'round
the mother country.
Well, I'm sure
We're very pleased to be here.
It's the first time
most of us have had a chance.
In fact, in a month or two
when they take off
this straitjacket,
I'll be out with my net
hunting for your butterflies.
Did you say butterflies?
- I'm a lepidopterist.
- I thought you were a gunner.
In peacetime I study bugs.
Bugs? Really?
How interesting.
I went to a new show last night.
Oh? which one?
-"Daddy Long Legs"?
- No.
"TO-Night's the Night"?
Do you know, I can't remember
a thing about it.
Except poor Miss Vanbrugh was
accused of poisoning her dog.
More tea anyone?
Well, have some more cake, then.
- Oh.
- Oh, Commander, your leg.
Oh, I'm a damn fraud.
That's all I am.
Nothing wrong with my legs --
except they're hollow,
as my brother officers
sometimes complain.
I believe you were
at Jutland, Commander.
Yes, indeed I was,
Lady Berkhamstead.
Indeed.
It must have been
a moment of triumph for you all
when the Hun fleet turned tail
and fled for home.
Well, as a matter of fact,
I have but a vague recollection
of that evening.
Being half-seas over
at the time.
Oh.
Not actually intoxicated?
Not in the least, dear lady.
But in the sea.
I was in a destroyer.
We loosed off our last torpedo
towards the enemy cruisers,
when the German battle fleet
appeared heading for us.
Well, in a very short time,
as you can imagine,
we resembled a Gruyere cheese.
I heard the captain say,
"Where are we going now?"
And someone replied,
"To heaven, I trust."
After that, we sank.
What a thrilling story.
You must be
a remarkably good swimmer.
Oh, not at all.
Can't swim a stroke.
- Oh?
- Never could.
- Most sailors can't, you know?
- Oh?
All thanks to my Miranda
lifesaving waistcoat.
Oh, I shall never enter
the army-and-navy stores again
without a small prayer
of thanksgiving.
I thought the Germans won
at Jutland.
Whoever told you that nonsense?
It was in the newspapers.
We lost more ships
than they did,
and poor Lord Kitchener drowned.
So sad.
That was not the Battle
of Jutland, Lettie dear.
But I'm sure he was drowned.
Isn't that why you're all
wearing those black armbands?
Lord Kitchener was not
in the navy, Mrs. Vowles.
I'm always such a silly Billy
about that sort of thing.
BERKHAMSTEAD: And what does your
father-in-law think about it?
He's the minister of the
Admiralty now, I believe?
He doesn't talk much about it.
At least not to me.
Well this is a very dull
government, if you ask me.
Very little better
than the last one.
No racing.
No Sunday motoring.
The Lord knows
they'll be stopping hunting
and playing tennis next.
[Man chuckles]
And it's terrible
the way prices are going up.
Oh, the war is costing
£5 million a day.
But there are still some
topping bargains at the sales.
I got this little frock
for only a guinea.
Well, at least
they've brought in conscription.
And even made a muddle of that.
Oh, I'm all for them catching
the shirkers
and making them fight.
But now the stupid fools
have taken my second footman,
who is indispensable.
And nothing, it seems,
can get him back.
Well, the way things are going,
Henry and I will have to move
into the Ritz
for the rest of the war.
- Ail by yourself over here?
-[ Indistinct talking]
- Ail by yourself over here?
-[ Indistinct talking]
Like a mouse.
More like the owl
who sat in the oak.
Oh?
The more he saw,
the less he spoke.
The less he spoke,
the more he heard.
We all should copy
this wise old bird.
PRUDENCE: They want to
save their skins, that's all.
I do hope
you're enjoying yourself.
I'm not much of a dab hand
at posh tea parties.
And butlers
frighten me to death.
Then why did you come?
I'm billeted in an officers'
hostel, waiting for my board,
and they come 'round
asking for volunteers.
Well, you know how it is.
"You, you, and you."
BERKHAMSTEAD: We should use them
as the Germans do --
drive them
in front of the troops...
You manage very well
with your wounded arm.
Mm?
Oh, this is just camouflage.
To get me free bus fares
and sympathy.
There's nothing much wrong
with me.
I smashed two machines in
a week, so they sent me home.
I was getting too expensive
for the taxpayer.
I expect you've seen
all the new shows.
No, I'm not too familiar
with London.
Most days
I pop down to Farnborough.
They're building some
ripping new planes down there.
We were just discussing
this new offensive in France.
I wonder when it will start.
I've no idea.
It's almost
the whole army's involved.
Everybody's talking about it.
Well, that should be nice
and helpful for the Germans.
No, thank you.
That's just what my husband
would have said.
He's in France.
That's him.
Oh.
Is that his sister?
No.
That's his sort of cousin.
- I like the look of her.
- Yes, she's a very sweet girl.
Yes, well, I've no time
for pretty girls nowadays.
- I don't believe it.
- Gospel.
Mind you, there was a time
when I looked 'round
the fair maidens of Wallasey.
I always rather fancied
redheads, myself.
But now it's airplanes.
It's always been airplanes.
Ever since Louis Paulhan landed
his Farman in our backyard
to win
the London-Manchester race.
That was the day I started
as an apprentice at Crosman's.
More tea, sir?
Oh, yes.
I don't mind if I do.
Three lumps, please.
I don't suppose
grand ladies like you...
...ever go rowing.
MAN: Rowing?
I used to row like the devil
when I was at Dartmouth.
The doctor suggested it.
Remedial treatment or something.
It's nice down at Maidenhead.
PRUDENCE: Or Henley.
It's awfully jolly
rowing at Henley.
I have a dear old cousin
who lives down there.
A bishop.
He got a flu.
BERKHAMSTEAD: Mrs. Bellamy.
Mrs. Bellamy.
I will have to be going.
I have a committee at 6:00.
It has been
the most delightful afternoon.
Goodbye, you dear boys.
- Goodbye.
- Thank you very much.
Oh, please sit down.
Well, look here, chaps.
I think we'd better make a move.
Mrs. Bridges is in a fury.
She said she's never seen
such a waste of good food,
not in all her born days.
And we're meant to be
tightening our belts.
I don't know.
There was
only three of them, Rose.
And they was
all talking too much to eat.
Well, you know
what I always say?
- Waste not, want not.
- Well, it won't be wasted.
Mr. Hudson's gonna drop them off
at the Union Jack Club
on his way to patrol.
Oh.
Here, there was
an ever-so-handsome
young airman there.
He talked to Mrs. Bellamy
for hours, and he winked at me.
Oh, that's nothing.
I'll get winked at and pinched
till I'm black and blue,
cheeky devils.
Go on.
Who else was there?
Oh, Lady Pru, as usual.
And that old trout,
Lady Berkhamstead.
And this woman who was so stupid
she thought Lord Kitchener
had been drowned
in the Battle of Jutland.
"I'm such a silly Billy
about these things."
That's what she said.
HUDSON: Daisy!
How many times have I told you
that you do not,
under any circumstances, repeat
what you have heard upstairs?
It is absolutely
no business of yours.
A good servant doesn't even hear
the conversation
of his or her betters.
I am ashamed at you, Rose,
conniving.
Well, you've got to have a laugh
sometimes, Mr. Hudson.
Got your key?
Yes, Rose.
Thank you.
Good night.
- Good night.
- Good night.
[ Door closes]
I'm that weary.
And my feet.
What a day.
Why, what happened
special today?
Oh, another row on my omnibus.
More of a fight, really.
- A fight?
- Mm.
See, a lot of soldiers
get on the bus --
ones that are back
from the front --
when we stop outside
the big stations.
And they're straight
from the trenches, some of them.
Not very clean.
Muddy.
Unshaven and that.
Well, what do you expect?
Well, it's nothing
to do with me.
The other passengers object
when they sit next to them, see?
And then when they get up and
move away, the men take offence.
Especially when they're drunk.
Oh, can you blame them?
Poor things have been risking
lives and limbs
for months and months and months
and then come back
and get treated like that.
I think those people ought to be
chucked off or fined
or made to go
and fight themselves.
Most of them are pacifists
and shirkers anyway, I bet.
Well, women mostly.
Housewives.
Anyhow, you wasn't so lovely
when you found out
that our Belgian refugees
was crawling with lice.
Oh, that was
altogether different.
No, it wasn't.
Do you know, all our omnibuses
have to be fumigated
when we get them back
to the depot?
Ahh.
Hope there ain't gonna be
an air raid.
Oh, so do I.
I haven't written to my Eddie.
I haven't written to my Gregory.
Be a good girl and make us
a cup of cocoa, eh?
They was saying there's gonna be
a big battle soon
out in France.
If they know it, they oughtn't
to be saying it.
That's what the airman said.
Well, he sounds as if
he's got his head screwed on
all right, any rate.
He was ever so young.
And wounded in the arm.
I bet he's ever so gallant.
Are you gonna get that cocoa
or am I?
[indistinct talking]
- Two, please.
- Two.
That's not deep enough there.
It's too shallow.
[ Laughter]
It was nice of you
to come with me, Mrs. Bellamy.
Very much appreciated.
MAN: Come on.
There's one coming in.
Thank you very much.
Come on out of it.
We was here first.
Bitch.
That's not a very nice way
to talk to a lady.
I'll pay you later.
You know, you're priceless.
You really are.
Great lady like you seeing off
a big lout like that.
I'll let you in to a secret.
I'm not a grand lady at all.
My father's a shipping clerk.
And he and my mother,
they live in Wimbledon.
Well, I don't understand.
No, I don't believe it.
If you don't, it doesn't matter.
We've both risen from the ranks.
You know, you'd make
a bit of a pilot yourself.
Oh? why?
Well, you're quick.
And you've got guts.
If you'll excuse me.
[indistinct talking]
What's it like, flying?
There's nothing like it.
Have you shot
many German machines?
Yes, one or two.
I've been lucky.
Hey!
It's all stalking.
That's the secret of it.
Potter around in a cloud,
waiting.
Then when you spot your Hun, try
and come down out of the sun.
Zoom in below him,
under his belly.
The observer
can't see you there.
Then when you're 50 yards,
give him half a drum,
aiming at the pilot's body.
That should be enough.
Don't waste bullets.
What if he sees you first?
Maneuver your tub
to meet him headfirst.
It's a point of honour with us
not to pull out before they do.
Then start firing,
aiming at his engine.
The bullets skid 'round
and get the pilot.
Do you ever mind?
About killing another man?
No.
I'm not a bloodthirsty type,
really.
It's him or you.
Another Hun gone.
Paying them back for one of
your friends that they've got.
Just like shooting a bird
or something.
Well, I mean, you have to
think of it like that.
I suppose you do.
If you don't you're in trouble.
About a month ago
I had rather a bad time of it.
I was on afternoon patrol
over Bapaume
when I saw
a white Fokker two-seater
spotting for the Boone gunners.
I came in, zoom as usual.
I don't think
he even knew I was there.
Then as I pulled out
and turned 'round to look back,
I saw that I'd missed the pilot
and hit the observer.
Sloppy shooting.
But by a fluke, I must have hit
an aileron or something,
because the two starboard wings
just fell off
like pieces of paper.
The machine went down
like a drunken leaf.
Thought to myself,
"Poor little bugger."
Excuse me.
I apologize.
Well, anyway,
I went down after him
to finish him off clean.
And when I got in close,
I s-saw he had a little dog
with him in the cockpit.
Black-and-white dog.
I felt like a murderer.
I think
I nearly cracked up, actually.
What if the same thing
happened to you?
I'd never take a dog up with me.
I don't mean that.
It couldn't happen to me.
Whyever not?
I keep my revolver loaded.
Ready.
Oi!
Hey, watch out, mate!
- Come out of it.
- Sorry!
You want to keep your mind
on your job, mate!
Go on! Clear away!
Get out of it!
HAZEL: Don't you think
you've rowed enough?
No.
No, I'm all right, really.
Could I have a try?
If you want to.
Ah.
Well, hems is up
at least three inches.
That's the latest from Paris.
Well, that's what
the papers say.
Well, are you sure
it's not too much?
Oh, absolutely sure.
Not nowadays.
Not at an evening party, anyhow.
Well, when do you want it by,
madam?
Tonight.
Can you manage it?
Oh, yes. Easy.
I've got an hour to spare now.
Thank you very much, Rose.
Of course, you won't see
the full benefit.
Not till
you slip your petticoat off.
[Laughing] Rose!
Thank you very much.
[ Mid-tempo instrumental music
playing ]
[ Mid-tempo instrumental music
playing ]
Thank you
for taking me to the show.
I did enjoy it very much.
It's very nice of you
to come out with me.
Very good of you.
It's not very good of me at all.
[ Chuckles ]
In fact, it's very bad of me.
Don't poke fun at me.
I'm not poking fun at you.
I wouldn't, ever.
Tonight is not
part of my war effort.
I don't understand you.
It's not a wounded-officers
tea party anymore.
L-..
I don't make a habit of...
Oh, I'm enjoying
every second of it.
So, please,
don't let's spoil it.
I wish...
I just wish things had been
a bit different, that's all.
It's no good, wishing.
You're right.
You were right
in the first place.
I mean, why worry who we are,
what we are,
Where we've come from,
Where we're going to?
It doesn't matter.
There's not much use
in the past,
and it's no good
worrying about the future.
No.
There's just us.
And no one to mar our joy.
I hope not.
Doesn't look much like coffee.
Taste it.
Brandy.
After 10:00,
officers may drink no alcohol.
I have to go steady, though.
I've got my board tomorrow.
I don't know what the medics
will think if I turn up
with my eyes looking like
a couple of poached eggs.
Do you think you'll pass?
Oh, yes.
No trouble.
And what then?
Fly the first tub that's ready
over to France.
How long before you come back?
They say you last six months
out there if you're lucky.
Three if you drink.
Be serious.
I thought we weren't bothered
about the future.
Tell them you're not fit.
They always give you more leave.
That'd be breaking the rules.
Then break the silly rules.
I am.
Married ladies
with husbands at the front
don't dance
with other gentleman.
That's all right.
I'm not a gentleman.
And they're not silly rules,
our rules.
And I'm breaking them already.
How?
You're not supposed to have your
heart in two countries at once.
That's what the skipper says.
Official.
What do you think he is?
Foreign spy
Oh.
I say profiteer.
Armaments manufacturer.
[ Laughs ]
Of course.
What's that?
It's the bullet
they took out of my arm.
Here, I'll see
if I can sell it back.
No!
[Slow instrumental music
Ways ]
Oh, I brought this down from the
drawing room, and I'm just off.
Rose.
- Mm?
- Is the mistress in the house?
- No, she's gone out to lunch.
And she'll probably be out
for dinner too,
but I've informed Mrs. B.
There seems to be cavorting
about all the time these days.
Well, I don't know what you mean
by that. I really don't.
Except Mrs. Bellamy's
ever so busy with her war work.
War work? Huh!
Coming back
from my period of duty,
I happened to see her
paying off a hackney cab
and opening the front door
with her key.
Well, what's so wrong
about that?
It was half past 5:00
in the morning.
Oh.
The canteens on the stations
where Mrs. Bellamy works
are open all night.
Didn't you know that?
Unusual to be serving in
a canteen in an evening frock,
a silk shawl, jewels in her
ears, and rouge on her cheeks.
Well, I don't know what
you're implying, Mr. Hudson.
Don't think
I want to know, either.
But I do know something --
There isn't a person in London
what works harder for the
war effort than Mrs. Bellamy.
And there isn't a soldier that's
got a better wife, neither.
And another thing --
What goes on upstairs
is none of our business.
Now, if I've heard you
say that once,
I must have heard it
a thousand times.
You're doing too much,
if I may say so.
And you're getting yourself into
a frazzle about nothing at all.
If by "nothing"
you mean the old moral order
breaking up all around us,
I would agree with you.
I have the witness of my own
eyes every night on my beat.
Oh, don't think I don't
turn a blind eye
to what goes on
on the top of my bus sometimes.
Not often myself travelling on
the tops of London omnibuses,
I have really no idea.
Look, Mr. Hudson.
There are thousands of young men
going out to France from this
country every day of the week,
most like to get maimed
and killed and wounded.
Now, are you gonna begrudge them
a happy memory of home
to take with them?
Of course not, Rose, but...
But that's not exactly
the point.
You're prejudiced, Mr. Hudson.
You haven't got a loved one,
and you don't understand.
Mark and Jeremy are on leave,
and they came and saw us off
at the station.
They said James was out here
with the Guards division.
- Yes, he is.
-[ Explosions]
Do we get Paris leave, Georgina?
You've only just arrived.
You might
in three or four months,
if you behave yourselves.
This is preoperative.
When we start taking in, you'll
be working in here with me.
They'll all be GSWs.
Gunshot wounds.
Gas and medical
go the other side.
Our job is to get them through
into surgery
as quick as they can take them
and keep them alive
in the meantime.
How many?
500, perhaps 1,000 a day.
Oh, last battle we had
an overflow of 300 stretchers
Waiting outside.
That was only a small show
compared to this next one.
Corporal Crow,
who drove us from the station,
said it was going to be
the biggest battle of the war.
Bigger than Verdun.
Don't listen to canteen rumours.
Willie Crow's the biggest liar
in the place.
And when they're brought in,
you take them in turn,
regardless of nationality.
If they're dead,
put a blanket over them.
One of the orderlies
will soon notice.
- How will we know?
- You'll know.
And get their clothes off
any way you can.
Use the big surgical scissors
or a scalpel if you have to.
Do we take off everything?
Everything.
Including dressings,
except for bad head or
abdominals, for obvious reasons.
You may have a bit of trouble
with the Hun officers.
They're apt to be rude,
and they wear
very elaborate steel corsets.
Personal effects, put in a
helmet or something and label.
The rest will be burned.
Give them a tetanus and wash
the wounds as best you can.
Otherwise don't touch them
unless they're maggoty.
Maggoty?
It's quite a healthy sign,
actually.
You kill the maggots with ether,
then wrap the patient
in a clean sheet
and into surgery through there.
I'm sure I'll faint
or be sick or something.
It doesn't really matter
if you are.
There's a bottle of brandy
in dispensary.
Hello, Georgina.
Major!
Congratulations.
James, I'm afraid
I'm still on duty.
Wonder who that is.
Doesn't he look ripping?
It's her boyfriend.
She's got his picture
by her cot.
It's all right, Worsley.
You can have
the rest of the day off
and a pass out till midnight.
Thank you, Sister.
I won't be a minute.
I must...
- Oh, Sister, I was --
- It's all right. Away you go.
Thank you.
It's her cousin, actually.
James Bellamy.
Life Guards.
Quite jolly.
I've met him in London.
Only a cousin.
What a waste.
I wish he was my cousin.
This is not the monkey house
at the zoo.
- What do you think you're doing?
- Sister, you see --
Can't see much
because I'm half-blind.
But one thing I can see
is that these blankets
are wrongly folded.
And there's
all the Beatrice stoves
to be cleaned and filled ready.
Yes, Sister.
Don't just stand there gaping
like a row of dummies.
- Get moving.
- Yes, Sister.
I know that we're really not
meant to talk about it, but...
Well, are you going to be
in this next battle?
[Explosions continue]
Yes, of course.
But not in the first phase.
It's a jolly big show, you know?
Two armies involved.
You see, the idea is that
once the forward divisions
have penetrated
the fixed defenses,
we'll go through the gap.
Might end anywhere.
Might even finish the war.
[Airplane engine buzzing]
I've got
my own machine-gun company.
Wonderful lot of chaps.
Trained to a tee.
New Vickers guns.
Water-cooled.
2,000 rounds a minute.
Cut a man in half
at half a mile.
And all the king's horses
and all the king's men
couldn't put Humpty
together again.
But we have to try.
Must have been
a lovely place once.
Yes.
The old lady that owns it
still lives here.
She's had an awful time.
The Germans used the chateau
as some headquarters in '14.
Looted everything, tore all the
priceless tapestries to shreds.
And then we came
and took it over.
Her beautiful garden.
She's a princess.
An old darling.
I met her down here one day
tending the graves.
"What does it matter,
my flowers, my garden,"
she said,
"when the fine flower of
the world is dying around us?"
Our poor stiffies.
That's what
the orderlies call them.
Quite a few Boche.
Yes.
Because I can speak German,
I often work
in the prisoners ward.
This one's Klaus.
He was only 16.
When he was brought in,
he had his right leg blown off
at the hip
and a penetrating wound
in his chest.
He was very polite and charming.
How they can make the effort,
goodness knows.
He told me he hated the war.
At first he thought it wonderful
to fight for the fatherland.
Did he know he was dying?
I'm not sure.
He asked me to write
to his parents for him.
He didn't understand that there
was no way of sending a letter.
I've still got it.
Maybe one day, after the war,
I'll try and deliver it myself.
I don't think I should
ever have become a nurse.
That sister said
you were a very good one.
Did she say that?
She said you were
a very brave girl.
The mistress
isn't expected back for tea.
No, Mr. Hudson.
Who's that for, then, may I ask?
There's a visitor
in the morning room.
Who?
An officer
in the Royal Flying Corps.
You shouldn't --
Goodness gracious, you know
the rules by now, girl!
I -- I recognized him.
He was very insistent.
[ Door opens ]
Oh, hello.
Good afternoon, sir.
Was Mrs. Bellamy expecting you?
No, I-l don't think so.
Sir, I'm afraid Mrs. Bellamy
is at her canteen
and is not expected back
for some hours.
Oh, that's a pity.
I -- I've got to fly an airplane
over to France.
Might I take a message, sir?
No, it, uh...
It doesn't matter.
I'll write a note.
Oh, and, uh...
No tea.
No, sir.
Well, don't worry.
I won't pinch any of the silver.
Well, everyone seems
all right at home.
Yes.
Not much news.
Oh, I had a letter from Rose.
The Australian's
turned up again,
and they're going to get married
on his next leave.
He's a sergeant in the Anzac.
We shan't have
any staff left soon.
There's always poor Daisy.
Mm?
What's poor about Daisy?
Well, Edward's out here
somewhere.
Oh, yes, yes.
He'll probably be going over
the top a few hours from now.
But we all have to take
our turn.
Jumbo, you haven't changed.
How is Hazel?
Oh, she's all right.
She writes almost every day.
Pretty boring stuff.
Tea parties
for wounded officers,
committee meetings,
endless war work.
I don't know what you women did
before there was a war
to keep you happy.
Or you men.
Poor old Hazel.
She leads a pretty dreary life,
I'm afraid.
However hard I try,
I don't seem to be exactly
the ideal husband for her.
Oh, I had hoped that the war
would change everything.
I don't exactly know how,
but it hasn't.
It's kept us apart so we can't
row so much,
we can lead our own lives,
but that's about all.
More like a truce
than a marriage.
Yes.
Oh, I blame myself, really.
- That makes a nice change.
- Hm?
Well, what exactly
do you mean by that?
Well, you usually find someone
or something else to blame
for all your troubles.
Perhaps I do.
Well, most people do,
don't they?
No, but be fair,
I don't blame Hazel.
She's been jolly unselfish
and faithful.
Too jolly unselfish
and faithful.
That's half the trouble.
She's like a doormat.
You don't need a doormat.
You want someone
who will tell you
when you're behaving
like a spoilt schoolboy.
Oh, now, that coming from
practically a schoolgirl --
I thought I'd supposed
to have grown up.
Yes, well...
From what I hear, you were
spoilt to rights by your mother,
and now it's Hazel.
- It's not fair.
- Hmm?
I mean on you.
Oh, well, how do you mean?
Well...
For instance, Hazel should never
have pushed you
back to the front.
- Well, she didn't.
- Yes, she did.
She fought like a tiger
with your colonel
and pulled every string
there was.
Oh.
Oh, I didn't know that.
I didn't at the time.
Not for sure.
I found at by chance
when your nice adjutant
took me out to dinner.
Old Philip?
Oh, well, if she did,
I respect her for it.
She did it because she knew
that it was something I wanted
very much.
I loathed that staff job.
I know you did.
But if I'd been your wife,
I'd have moved heaven and earth
to keep you in it,
to keep you safe at all costs.
Anyway, don't repeat it
about Hazel.
I shouldn't have told you.
No.
That's the difference
between us.
I'm selfish.
Selfish about people that I...
Oh, about people.
I hate and loathe this war.
I hate it
and everything to do with it.
Especially the people that go on
saying it's a holy war
and that god's on our side.
They ought to be locked up or
forced to come to this place,
see all the mutilated young men.
Crippled for life, most of them.
Oh, I'm sorry I'm
so pooh-pooh tonight, James.
I've drunk too much wine
or something.
But you still believe in god?
No, not anymore.
I don't really believe
in anything except people.
How brave and good they can be.
Sometimes I go into the little
chapel in the chateau to pray.
To keep you safe.
But it's to some god of battle
that I pray,
not to our
nice, cozy old Sunday god.
How can he exist
and let all this go on?
[Explosions]
[ Door closes]
[Speaking French indistinctly]
Alors, encore du vin?
Merci
[Whispering]
What was
all that whispering about?
He wanted to know
if we wanted a room.
The French love a romance.
Dear Mr. Bully.
Why's he called that?
Oh, well, the soldiers always
try to pay for their drinks
with tins of bully beef.
Mr. Bully always says,
"Bully beef no bon."
[ Laughs ]
Would you like a brandy?
Yes.
Monsieur Bully.
- Oui, monsieur.
- Deux cognacs.
Deux cognacs.
Tout de suite, monsieur.
[Explosions in distance]
Daisy?
- Oh.
I had a postcard from Eddie.
It's pretty, isn't it?
Oh, it is pretty.
All them coloured silks.
He says they're by the seaside
practicing mock attacks,
and they'll be for it soon.
Oh, I've got
a queer feeling tonight.
There was talking
down at the depot.
They reckon
it's the guns in France.
Oh, Rose,
I hope he'll be all right.
[Explosions]
I must go.
Goodbye.
Oh, Jumbo.
My darling, darling, James.
Please god protect you.
You're all I've got
in the world.
Dear little one.
It's so disappointing
when you'd taken
all that trouble over the food.
And hired all those chairs.
Yes.
Cynthia told Margo
to tell Lettie
that they were having
a special matinee
for wounded officers that day.
So, of course,
they all went there.
Lettie forgot,
as she always does.
Really, she hasn't a brain
in her head, that girl.
- Yes.
- What?
Oh. No.
I do agree.
Anyway, it's the thought
that counts.
I suppose so.
Would you like some more coffee?
Ah, yes, please.
[Explosions in distance]
Isn't it exciting being able
to hear the guns from France
all hours?
The big battle starts
at dawn tomorrow, you know?
Almost makes one
feel part of it.
Yes.
Hazel, my dear, you know I'm a
very old friend of this family,
and I think we know each other
well enough
for me to be able to say
something to you,
well, quite frank,
without you minding.
Of course not.
Agatha says she saw you
at the theatre the other night.
Oh, did she?
I didn't see her.
She said you were with
a young Flying Corps officer.
Yes. Jack Dyson.
You remember the one
who came to our tea party?
He took me to "The Bing Boys."
It was very jolly.
Poor boy.
He was so lost in London.
Yes, I expect he was.
Of course,
I know all sorts of people
are getting commissions
these days,
but, uh, well, he did seem to me
to be rather...
Well, you know what I mean.
Common?
Well, rough.
Well, not surprising, really.
He was an engineering apprentice
in Manchester
when the war broke out.
Oh, how interesting.
I found him quite charming.
Yes, but you know we do
all have to be so very careful.
Especially someone like yourself
with a husband at the front.
You know what I mean.
People will talk.
Now, if it had been
one of James's friends
or brother officers, well,
it would be quite all right.
Well, you needn't worry,
Prudence.
By now Jack Dyson
is back in France.
Well, there we are, then.
It was just a tiny bit of advice
from an old friend.
And now I really must rush.
No, no, don't ring.
I'll let myself out.
These democratic days.
Had you heard that Daisy Mitcham
has taken to riding a bicycle?
No.
Thank you for a lovely supper.
And don't worry
about your darling James.
The Guards aren't going in
for at least a month yet.
Cocky Danby's at GHQ -- looking
after the food or something --
and he told Bulgie he'd heard
Douglas Haig telling the king.
[ Door closes]
Subtitling by
Acorn Media (re-sync by moviesbyrizzo)
Acorn Media (re-sync by moviesbyrizzo)
"Mix together four ounces
of prepared chalk,
two ounces each of polisher's
putty and burnt hartshorn."
Mr. Hudson,
I've run out of plate powder.
Whatever's burnt hartshorn?
Ooh, don't you worry about that,
girl.
There's some already made up.
Oh. Thanks.
I feel sad cleaning the silver.
Makes me think of my Eddie.
I wonder how many times
he cleaned that old jug.
Oh, well.
Best put away
till the war's over.
Wonder when that'll be.
Instead of indulging in
unrewarding speculation, Daisy,
I suggest you unwrap
the big teapot.
Whatever for, Mr. Hudson?
We'll be needing it tomorrow for
the wounded-officers tea party.
Wounded-officers tea party?
Means I'll have to clean it
all over again.
Why do we have to have officers
to tea?
That is no concern of yours,
Daisy.
It is part of the war effort
and sponsored by
the Countess of Berkharnstead
and Lady Prudence Fairfax.
And why does
it have to be officers?
They wouldn't ask
my Eddie to tea.
Oh, no.
Not a common Tommy.
Common Tommies do not
normally have tea
in the drawing rooms
of London houses.
- The drawing room's all shut up.
- It's to be open again.
- Oh, no.
- Oh, yes.
It'll take me all day to get the
covers off and the place clean.
Rose will give you a hand.
Give Daisy a hand?
What with?
Opening up the drawing room
for tomorrow.
Oh, I'd sooner do it meself.
Daisy's got all the laundry
to sort out.
Then I will help you.
Oh, no, you won't, Mr. Hudson.
You're doing too much as it is.
Up half the night
with your patrols.
And you don't get any
proper rest during the daytime.
There's a war on, Rose.
Yeah, and still they expect us
to open up the drawing room.
Well, I've got beds to make,
meals to serve,
the whole house to keep clean,
all the linen,
and now the bloody silver
to unwrap.
Daisy!
I need my head looking at,
staying in this house,
I really do.
I ought to have gone off
making munitions with Ruby,
that's what.
At least they got rules
against slavery in them places.
You know...
That girl is becoming
more impossible every day.
Giving cheek.
Insubordination.
Oh, in ordinary times
I would have no hesitation
but to see that she was put off.
And without a reference.
But these aren't ordinary times,
are they, Mr. Hudson?
Housemaids are
worth their weight in gold.
Oh, you should see the adverts
in the papers.
But there is a limit, Rose.
Of course.
I'll have a word with Daisy.
-[ Bell rings]
- Morning room.
I'll go.
[ Door opens ]
- Ah, Hudson.
Madam.
It's about this
Wounded-officers tea party.
I have decided after all
not to open up the drawing room.
It will put too much work
on Rose and Daisy.
But madam they're both --
Yes, I know
they're both willing, Hudson,
as you told Lady Prudence.
We could manage, madam.
I shall be the judge of that.
And my judgment is
that we shall use this room.
Now, I have ordered
a number of small tables
in addition to the gilt chairs.
And we shall just have to manage
in here.
There will be
four ladies present,
and you and Daisy
and Rose serving.
Not Rose, madam.
Not in the afternoons.
Oh.
Well, some of the officers
will help hand 'round.
At least I hope they will.
How many guests
are you expecting, madam?
It's hard to say
until they come,
but, well, perhaps 20, even 30.
I know it'll be
a bit of a crush, but...
Well, we're all
getting used to that.
I'm sure the officers
won't mind.
Better than bully beef
in the trenches, madam.
PRUDENCE:
My dear Hazel.
What a delicious array
of good things.
Reminds me of those lovely teas
we used to have
at Rumpelmayer's
before I was married.
I do hope
you've all got good appetites.
Well, I have.
Hospital food -- well, it's
hospital food the world over.
[ Laughter]
You must find it very difficult
to get about.
Oh, no. I scoot about all
over the place in this thing.
And everyone's so kind.
I'm always given the front seat.
And I'm glad to hear it.
It's the least we can do for you
brave boys back from the front.
I think one of the most
inspiring things about this war
is the way the empire
has rallied 'round
the mother country.
Well, I'm sure
We're very pleased to be here.
It's the first time
most of us have had a chance.
In fact, in a month or two
when they take off
this straitjacket,
I'll be out with my net
hunting for your butterflies.
Did you say butterflies?
- I'm a lepidopterist.
- I thought you were a gunner.
In peacetime I study bugs.
Bugs? Really?
How interesting.
I went to a new show last night.
Oh? which one?
-"Daddy Long Legs"?
- No.
"TO-Night's the Night"?
Do you know, I can't remember
a thing about it.
Except poor Miss Vanbrugh was
accused of poisoning her dog.
More tea anyone?
Well, have some more cake, then.
- Oh.
- Oh, Commander, your leg.
Oh, I'm a damn fraud.
That's all I am.
Nothing wrong with my legs --
except they're hollow,
as my brother officers
sometimes complain.
I believe you were
at Jutland, Commander.
Yes, indeed I was,
Lady Berkhamstead.
Indeed.
It must have been
a moment of triumph for you all
when the Hun fleet turned tail
and fled for home.
Well, as a matter of fact,
I have but a vague recollection
of that evening.
Being half-seas over
at the time.
Oh.
Not actually intoxicated?
Not in the least, dear lady.
But in the sea.
I was in a destroyer.
We loosed off our last torpedo
towards the enemy cruisers,
when the German battle fleet
appeared heading for us.
Well, in a very short time,
as you can imagine,
we resembled a Gruyere cheese.
I heard the captain say,
"Where are we going now?"
And someone replied,
"To heaven, I trust."
After that, we sank.
What a thrilling story.
You must be
a remarkably good swimmer.
Oh, not at all.
Can't swim a stroke.
- Oh?
- Never could.
- Most sailors can't, you know?
- Oh?
All thanks to my Miranda
lifesaving waistcoat.
Oh, I shall never enter
the army-and-navy stores again
without a small prayer
of thanksgiving.
I thought the Germans won
at Jutland.
Whoever told you that nonsense?
It was in the newspapers.
We lost more ships
than they did,
and poor Lord Kitchener drowned.
So sad.
That was not the Battle
of Jutland, Lettie dear.
But I'm sure he was drowned.
Isn't that why you're all
wearing those black armbands?
Lord Kitchener was not
in the navy, Mrs. Vowles.
I'm always such a silly Billy
about that sort of thing.
BERKHAMSTEAD: And what does your
father-in-law think about it?
He's the minister of the
Admiralty now, I believe?
He doesn't talk much about it.
At least not to me.
Well this is a very dull
government, if you ask me.
Very little better
than the last one.
No racing.
No Sunday motoring.
The Lord knows
they'll be stopping hunting
and playing tennis next.
[Man chuckles]
And it's terrible
the way prices are going up.
Oh, the war is costing
£5 million a day.
But there are still some
topping bargains at the sales.
I got this little frock
for only a guinea.
Well, at least
they've brought in conscription.
And even made a muddle of that.
Oh, I'm all for them catching
the shirkers
and making them fight.
But now the stupid fools
have taken my second footman,
who is indispensable.
And nothing, it seems,
can get him back.
Well, the way things are going,
Henry and I will have to move
into the Ritz
for the rest of the war.
- Ail by yourself over here?
-[ Indistinct talking]
- Ail by yourself over here?
-[ Indistinct talking]
Like a mouse.
More like the owl
who sat in the oak.
Oh?
The more he saw,
the less he spoke.
The less he spoke,
the more he heard.
We all should copy
this wise old bird.
PRUDENCE: They want to
save their skins, that's all.
I do hope
you're enjoying yourself.
I'm not much of a dab hand
at posh tea parties.
And butlers
frighten me to death.
Then why did you come?
I'm billeted in an officers'
hostel, waiting for my board,
and they come 'round
asking for volunteers.
Well, you know how it is.
"You, you, and you."
BERKHAMSTEAD: We should use them
as the Germans do --
drive them
in front of the troops...
You manage very well
with your wounded arm.
Mm?
Oh, this is just camouflage.
To get me free bus fares
and sympathy.
There's nothing much wrong
with me.
I smashed two machines in
a week, so they sent me home.
I was getting too expensive
for the taxpayer.
I expect you've seen
all the new shows.
No, I'm not too familiar
with London.
Most days
I pop down to Farnborough.
They're building some
ripping new planes down there.
We were just discussing
this new offensive in France.
I wonder when it will start.
I've no idea.
It's almost
the whole army's involved.
Everybody's talking about it.
Well, that should be nice
and helpful for the Germans.
No, thank you.
That's just what my husband
would have said.
He's in France.
That's him.
Oh.
Is that his sister?
No.
That's his sort of cousin.
- I like the look of her.
- Yes, she's a very sweet girl.
Yes, well, I've no time
for pretty girls nowadays.
- I don't believe it.
- Gospel.
Mind you, there was a time
when I looked 'round
the fair maidens of Wallasey.
I always rather fancied
redheads, myself.
But now it's airplanes.
It's always been airplanes.
Ever since Louis Paulhan landed
his Farman in our backyard
to win
the London-Manchester race.
That was the day I started
as an apprentice at Crosman's.
More tea, sir?
Oh, yes.
I don't mind if I do.
Three lumps, please.
I don't suppose
grand ladies like you...
...ever go rowing.
MAN: Rowing?
I used to row like the devil
when I was at Dartmouth.
The doctor suggested it.
Remedial treatment or something.
It's nice down at Maidenhead.
PRUDENCE: Or Henley.
It's awfully jolly
rowing at Henley.
I have a dear old cousin
who lives down there.
A bishop.
He got a flu.
BERKHAMSTEAD: Mrs. Bellamy.
Mrs. Bellamy.
I will have to be going.
I have a committee at 6:00.
It has been
the most delightful afternoon.
Goodbye, you dear boys.
- Goodbye.
- Thank you very much.
Oh, please sit down.
Well, look here, chaps.
I think we'd better make a move.
Mrs. Bridges is in a fury.
She said she's never seen
such a waste of good food,
not in all her born days.
And we're meant to be
tightening our belts.
I don't know.
There was
only three of them, Rose.
And they was
all talking too much to eat.
Well, you know
what I always say?
- Waste not, want not.
- Well, it won't be wasted.
Mr. Hudson's gonna drop them off
at the Union Jack Club
on his way to patrol.
Oh.
Here, there was
an ever-so-handsome
young airman there.
He talked to Mrs. Bellamy
for hours, and he winked at me.
Oh, that's nothing.
I'll get winked at and pinched
till I'm black and blue,
cheeky devils.
Go on.
Who else was there?
Oh, Lady Pru, as usual.
And that old trout,
Lady Berkhamstead.
And this woman who was so stupid
she thought Lord Kitchener
had been drowned
in the Battle of Jutland.
"I'm such a silly Billy
about these things."
That's what she said.
HUDSON: Daisy!
How many times have I told you
that you do not,
under any circumstances, repeat
what you have heard upstairs?
It is absolutely
no business of yours.
A good servant doesn't even hear
the conversation
of his or her betters.
I am ashamed at you, Rose,
conniving.
Well, you've got to have a laugh
sometimes, Mr. Hudson.
Got your key?
Yes, Rose.
Thank you.
Good night.
- Good night.
- Good night.
[ Door closes]
I'm that weary.
And my feet.
What a day.
Why, what happened
special today?
Oh, another row on my omnibus.
More of a fight, really.
- A fight?
- Mm.
See, a lot of soldiers
get on the bus --
ones that are back
from the front --
when we stop outside
the big stations.
And they're straight
from the trenches, some of them.
Not very clean.
Muddy.
Unshaven and that.
Well, what do you expect?
Well, it's nothing
to do with me.
The other passengers object
when they sit next to them, see?
And then when they get up and
move away, the men take offence.
Especially when they're drunk.
Oh, can you blame them?
Poor things have been risking
lives and limbs
for months and months and months
and then come back
and get treated like that.
I think those people ought to be
chucked off or fined
or made to go
and fight themselves.
Most of them are pacifists
and shirkers anyway, I bet.
Well, women mostly.
Housewives.
Anyhow, you wasn't so lovely
when you found out
that our Belgian refugees
was crawling with lice.
Oh, that was
altogether different.
No, it wasn't.
Do you know, all our omnibuses
have to be fumigated
when we get them back
to the depot?
Ahh.
Hope there ain't gonna be
an air raid.
Oh, so do I.
I haven't written to my Eddie.
I haven't written to my Gregory.
Be a good girl and make us
a cup of cocoa, eh?
They was saying there's gonna be
a big battle soon
out in France.
If they know it, they oughtn't
to be saying it.
That's what the airman said.
Well, he sounds as if
he's got his head screwed on
all right, any rate.
He was ever so young.
And wounded in the arm.
I bet he's ever so gallant.
Are you gonna get that cocoa
or am I?
[indistinct talking]
- Two, please.
- Two.
That's not deep enough there.
It's too shallow.
[ Laughter]
It was nice of you
to come with me, Mrs. Bellamy.
Very much appreciated.
MAN: Come on.
There's one coming in.
Thank you very much.
Come on out of it.
We was here first.
Bitch.
That's not a very nice way
to talk to a lady.
I'll pay you later.
You know, you're priceless.
You really are.
Great lady like you seeing off
a big lout like that.
I'll let you in to a secret.
I'm not a grand lady at all.
My father's a shipping clerk.
And he and my mother,
they live in Wimbledon.
Well, I don't understand.
No, I don't believe it.
If you don't, it doesn't matter.
We've both risen from the ranks.
You know, you'd make
a bit of a pilot yourself.
Oh? why?
Well, you're quick.
And you've got guts.
If you'll excuse me.
[indistinct talking]
What's it like, flying?
There's nothing like it.
Have you shot
many German machines?
Yes, one or two.
I've been lucky.
Hey!
It's all stalking.
That's the secret of it.
Potter around in a cloud,
waiting.
Then when you spot your Hun, try
and come down out of the sun.
Zoom in below him,
under his belly.
The observer
can't see you there.
Then when you're 50 yards,
give him half a drum,
aiming at the pilot's body.
That should be enough.
Don't waste bullets.
What if he sees you first?
Maneuver your tub
to meet him headfirst.
It's a point of honour with us
not to pull out before they do.
Then start firing,
aiming at his engine.
The bullets skid 'round
and get the pilot.
Do you ever mind?
About killing another man?
No.
I'm not a bloodthirsty type,
really.
It's him or you.
Another Hun gone.
Paying them back for one of
your friends that they've got.
Just like shooting a bird
or something.
Well, I mean, you have to
think of it like that.
I suppose you do.
If you don't you're in trouble.
About a month ago
I had rather a bad time of it.
I was on afternoon patrol
over Bapaume
when I saw
a white Fokker two-seater
spotting for the Boone gunners.
I came in, zoom as usual.
I don't think
he even knew I was there.
Then as I pulled out
and turned 'round to look back,
I saw that I'd missed the pilot
and hit the observer.
Sloppy shooting.
But by a fluke, I must have hit
an aileron or something,
because the two starboard wings
just fell off
like pieces of paper.
The machine went down
like a drunken leaf.
Thought to myself,
"Poor little bugger."
Excuse me.
I apologize.
Well, anyway,
I went down after him
to finish him off clean.
And when I got in close,
I s-saw he had a little dog
with him in the cockpit.
Black-and-white dog.
I felt like a murderer.
I think
I nearly cracked up, actually.
What if the same thing
happened to you?
I'd never take a dog up with me.
I don't mean that.
It couldn't happen to me.
Whyever not?
I keep my revolver loaded.
Ready.
Oi!
Hey, watch out, mate!
- Come out of it.
- Sorry!
You want to keep your mind
on your job, mate!
Go on! Clear away!
Get out of it!
HAZEL: Don't you think
you've rowed enough?
No.
No, I'm all right, really.
Could I have a try?
If you want to.
Ah.
Well, hems is up
at least three inches.
That's the latest from Paris.
Well, that's what
the papers say.
Well, are you sure
it's not too much?
Oh, absolutely sure.
Not nowadays.
Not at an evening party, anyhow.
Well, when do you want it by,
madam?
Tonight.
Can you manage it?
Oh, yes. Easy.
I've got an hour to spare now.
Thank you very much, Rose.
Of course, you won't see
the full benefit.
Not till
you slip your petticoat off.
[Laughing] Rose!
Thank you very much.
[ Mid-tempo instrumental music
playing ]
[ Mid-tempo instrumental music
playing ]
Thank you
for taking me to the show.
I did enjoy it very much.
It's very nice of you
to come out with me.
Very good of you.
It's not very good of me at all.
[ Chuckles ]
In fact, it's very bad of me.
Don't poke fun at me.
I'm not poking fun at you.
I wouldn't, ever.
Tonight is not
part of my war effort.
I don't understand you.
It's not a wounded-officers
tea party anymore.
L-..
I don't make a habit of...
Oh, I'm enjoying
every second of it.
So, please,
don't let's spoil it.
I wish...
I just wish things had been
a bit different, that's all.
It's no good, wishing.
You're right.
You were right
in the first place.
I mean, why worry who we are,
what we are,
Where we've come from,
Where we're going to?
It doesn't matter.
There's not much use
in the past,
and it's no good
worrying about the future.
No.
There's just us.
And no one to mar our joy.
I hope not.
Doesn't look much like coffee.
Taste it.
Brandy.
After 10:00,
officers may drink no alcohol.
I have to go steady, though.
I've got my board tomorrow.
I don't know what the medics
will think if I turn up
with my eyes looking like
a couple of poached eggs.
Do you think you'll pass?
Oh, yes.
No trouble.
And what then?
Fly the first tub that's ready
over to France.
How long before you come back?
They say you last six months
out there if you're lucky.
Three if you drink.
Be serious.
I thought we weren't bothered
about the future.
Tell them you're not fit.
They always give you more leave.
That'd be breaking the rules.
Then break the silly rules.
I am.
Married ladies
with husbands at the front
don't dance
with other gentleman.
That's all right.
I'm not a gentleman.
And they're not silly rules,
our rules.
And I'm breaking them already.
How?
You're not supposed to have your
heart in two countries at once.
That's what the skipper says.
Official.
What do you think he is?
Foreign spy
Oh.
I say profiteer.
Armaments manufacturer.
[ Laughs ]
Of course.
What's that?
It's the bullet
they took out of my arm.
Here, I'll see
if I can sell it back.
No!
[Slow instrumental music
Ways ]
Oh, I brought this down from the
drawing room, and I'm just off.
Rose.
- Mm?
- Is the mistress in the house?
- No, she's gone out to lunch.
And she'll probably be out
for dinner too,
but I've informed Mrs. B.
There seems to be cavorting
about all the time these days.
Well, I don't know what you mean
by that. I really don't.
Except Mrs. Bellamy's
ever so busy with her war work.
War work? Huh!
Coming back
from my period of duty,
I happened to see her
paying off a hackney cab
and opening the front door
with her key.
Well, what's so wrong
about that?
It was half past 5:00
in the morning.
Oh.
The canteens on the stations
where Mrs. Bellamy works
are open all night.
Didn't you know that?
Unusual to be serving in
a canteen in an evening frock,
a silk shawl, jewels in her
ears, and rouge on her cheeks.
Well, I don't know what
you're implying, Mr. Hudson.
Don't think
I want to know, either.
But I do know something --
There isn't a person in London
what works harder for the
war effort than Mrs. Bellamy.
And there isn't a soldier that's
got a better wife, neither.
And another thing --
What goes on upstairs
is none of our business.
Now, if I've heard you
say that once,
I must have heard it
a thousand times.
You're doing too much,
if I may say so.
And you're getting yourself into
a frazzle about nothing at all.
If by "nothing"
you mean the old moral order
breaking up all around us,
I would agree with you.
I have the witness of my own
eyes every night on my beat.
Oh, don't think I don't
turn a blind eye
to what goes on
on the top of my bus sometimes.
Not often myself travelling on
the tops of London omnibuses,
I have really no idea.
Look, Mr. Hudson.
There are thousands of young men
going out to France from this
country every day of the week,
most like to get maimed
and killed and wounded.
Now, are you gonna begrudge them
a happy memory of home
to take with them?
Of course not, Rose, but...
But that's not exactly
the point.
You're prejudiced, Mr. Hudson.
You haven't got a loved one,
and you don't understand.
Mark and Jeremy are on leave,
and they came and saw us off
at the station.
They said James was out here
with the Guards division.
- Yes, he is.
-[ Explosions]
Do we get Paris leave, Georgina?
You've only just arrived.
You might
in three or four months,
if you behave yourselves.
This is preoperative.
When we start taking in, you'll
be working in here with me.
They'll all be GSWs.
Gunshot wounds.
Gas and medical
go the other side.
Our job is to get them through
into surgery
as quick as they can take them
and keep them alive
in the meantime.
How many?
500, perhaps 1,000 a day.
Oh, last battle we had
an overflow of 300 stretchers
Waiting outside.
That was only a small show
compared to this next one.
Corporal Crow,
who drove us from the station,
said it was going to be
the biggest battle of the war.
Bigger than Verdun.
Don't listen to canteen rumours.
Willie Crow's the biggest liar
in the place.
And when they're brought in,
you take them in turn,
regardless of nationality.
If they're dead,
put a blanket over them.
One of the orderlies
will soon notice.
- How will we know?
- You'll know.
And get their clothes off
any way you can.
Use the big surgical scissors
or a scalpel if you have to.
Do we take off everything?
Everything.
Including dressings,
except for bad head or
abdominals, for obvious reasons.
You may have a bit of trouble
with the Hun officers.
They're apt to be rude,
and they wear
very elaborate steel corsets.
Personal effects, put in a
helmet or something and label.
The rest will be burned.
Give them a tetanus and wash
the wounds as best you can.
Otherwise don't touch them
unless they're maggoty.
Maggoty?
It's quite a healthy sign,
actually.
You kill the maggots with ether,
then wrap the patient
in a clean sheet
and into surgery through there.
I'm sure I'll faint
or be sick or something.
It doesn't really matter
if you are.
There's a bottle of brandy
in dispensary.
Hello, Georgina.
Major!
Congratulations.
James, I'm afraid
I'm still on duty.
Wonder who that is.
Doesn't he look ripping?
It's her boyfriend.
She's got his picture
by her cot.
It's all right, Worsley.
You can have
the rest of the day off
and a pass out till midnight.
Thank you, Sister.
I won't be a minute.
I must...
- Oh, Sister, I was --
- It's all right. Away you go.
Thank you.
It's her cousin, actually.
James Bellamy.
Life Guards.
Quite jolly.
I've met him in London.
Only a cousin.
What a waste.
I wish he was my cousin.
This is not the monkey house
at the zoo.
- What do you think you're doing?
- Sister, you see --
Can't see much
because I'm half-blind.
But one thing I can see
is that these blankets
are wrongly folded.
And there's
all the Beatrice stoves
to be cleaned and filled ready.
Yes, Sister.
Don't just stand there gaping
like a row of dummies.
- Get moving.
- Yes, Sister.
I know that we're really not
meant to talk about it, but...
Well, are you going to be
in this next battle?
[Explosions continue]
Yes, of course.
But not in the first phase.
It's a jolly big show, you know?
Two armies involved.
You see, the idea is that
once the forward divisions
have penetrated
the fixed defenses,
we'll go through the gap.
Might end anywhere.
Might even finish the war.
[Airplane engine buzzing]
I've got
my own machine-gun company.
Wonderful lot of chaps.
Trained to a tee.
New Vickers guns.
Water-cooled.
2,000 rounds a minute.
Cut a man in half
at half a mile.
And all the king's horses
and all the king's men
couldn't put Humpty
together again.
But we have to try.
Must have been
a lovely place once.
Yes.
The old lady that owns it
still lives here.
She's had an awful time.
The Germans used the chateau
as some headquarters in '14.
Looted everything, tore all the
priceless tapestries to shreds.
And then we came
and took it over.
Her beautiful garden.
She's a princess.
An old darling.
I met her down here one day
tending the graves.
"What does it matter,
my flowers, my garden,"
she said,
"when the fine flower of
the world is dying around us?"
Our poor stiffies.
That's what
the orderlies call them.
Quite a few Boche.
Yes.
Because I can speak German,
I often work
in the prisoners ward.
This one's Klaus.
He was only 16.
When he was brought in,
he had his right leg blown off
at the hip
and a penetrating wound
in his chest.
He was very polite and charming.
How they can make the effort,
goodness knows.
He told me he hated the war.
At first he thought it wonderful
to fight for the fatherland.
Did he know he was dying?
I'm not sure.
He asked me to write
to his parents for him.
He didn't understand that there
was no way of sending a letter.
I've still got it.
Maybe one day, after the war,
I'll try and deliver it myself.
I don't think I should
ever have become a nurse.
That sister said
you were a very good one.
Did she say that?
She said you were
a very brave girl.
The mistress
isn't expected back for tea.
No, Mr. Hudson.
Who's that for, then, may I ask?
There's a visitor
in the morning room.
Who?
An officer
in the Royal Flying Corps.
You shouldn't --
Goodness gracious, you know
the rules by now, girl!
I -- I recognized him.
He was very insistent.
[ Door opens ]
Oh, hello.
Good afternoon, sir.
Was Mrs. Bellamy expecting you?
No, I-l don't think so.
Sir, I'm afraid Mrs. Bellamy
is at her canteen
and is not expected back
for some hours.
Oh, that's a pity.
I -- I've got to fly an airplane
over to France.
Might I take a message, sir?
No, it, uh...
It doesn't matter.
I'll write a note.
Oh, and, uh...
No tea.
No, sir.
Well, don't worry.
I won't pinch any of the silver.
Well, everyone seems
all right at home.
Yes.
Not much news.
Oh, I had a letter from Rose.
The Australian's
turned up again,
and they're going to get married
on his next leave.
He's a sergeant in the Anzac.
We shan't have
any staff left soon.
There's always poor Daisy.
Mm?
What's poor about Daisy?
Well, Edward's out here
somewhere.
Oh, yes, yes.
He'll probably be going over
the top a few hours from now.
But we all have to take
our turn.
Jumbo, you haven't changed.
How is Hazel?
Oh, she's all right.
She writes almost every day.
Pretty boring stuff.
Tea parties
for wounded officers,
committee meetings,
endless war work.
I don't know what you women did
before there was a war
to keep you happy.
Or you men.
Poor old Hazel.
She leads a pretty dreary life,
I'm afraid.
However hard I try,
I don't seem to be exactly
the ideal husband for her.
Oh, I had hoped that the war
would change everything.
I don't exactly know how,
but it hasn't.
It's kept us apart so we can't
row so much,
we can lead our own lives,
but that's about all.
More like a truce
than a marriage.
Yes.
Oh, I blame myself, really.
- That makes a nice change.
- Hm?
Well, what exactly
do you mean by that?
Well, you usually find someone
or something else to blame
for all your troubles.
Perhaps I do.
Well, most people do,
don't they?
No, but be fair,
I don't blame Hazel.
She's been jolly unselfish
and faithful.
Too jolly unselfish
and faithful.
That's half the trouble.
She's like a doormat.
You don't need a doormat.
You want someone
who will tell you
when you're behaving
like a spoilt schoolboy.
Oh, now, that coming from
practically a schoolgirl --
I thought I'd supposed
to have grown up.
Yes, well...
From what I hear, you were
spoilt to rights by your mother,
and now it's Hazel.
- It's not fair.
- Hmm?
I mean on you.
Oh, well, how do you mean?
Well...
For instance, Hazel should never
have pushed you
back to the front.
- Well, she didn't.
- Yes, she did.
She fought like a tiger
with your colonel
and pulled every string
there was.
Oh.
Oh, I didn't know that.
I didn't at the time.
Not for sure.
I found at by chance
when your nice adjutant
took me out to dinner.
Old Philip?
Oh, well, if she did,
I respect her for it.
She did it because she knew
that it was something I wanted
very much.
I loathed that staff job.
I know you did.
But if I'd been your wife,
I'd have moved heaven and earth
to keep you in it,
to keep you safe at all costs.
Anyway, don't repeat it
about Hazel.
I shouldn't have told you.
No.
That's the difference
between us.
I'm selfish.
Selfish about people that I...
Oh, about people.
I hate and loathe this war.
I hate it
and everything to do with it.
Especially the people that go on
saying it's a holy war
and that god's on our side.
They ought to be locked up or
forced to come to this place,
see all the mutilated young men.
Crippled for life, most of them.
Oh, I'm sorry I'm
so pooh-pooh tonight, James.
I've drunk too much wine
or something.
But you still believe in god?
No, not anymore.
I don't really believe
in anything except people.
How brave and good they can be.
Sometimes I go into the little
chapel in the chateau to pray.
To keep you safe.
But it's to some god of battle
that I pray,
not to our
nice, cozy old Sunday god.
How can he exist
and let all this go on?
[Explosions]
[ Door closes]
[Speaking French indistinctly]
Alors, encore du vin?
Merci
[Whispering]
What was
all that whispering about?
He wanted to know
if we wanted a room.
The French love a romance.
Dear Mr. Bully.
Why's he called that?
Oh, well, the soldiers always
try to pay for their drinks
with tins of bully beef.
Mr. Bully always says,
"Bully beef no bon."
[ Laughs ]
Would you like a brandy?
Yes.
Monsieur Bully.
- Oui, monsieur.
- Deux cognacs.
Deux cognacs.
Tout de suite, monsieur.
[Explosions in distance]
Daisy?
- Oh.
I had a postcard from Eddie.
It's pretty, isn't it?
Oh, it is pretty.
All them coloured silks.
He says they're by the seaside
practicing mock attacks,
and they'll be for it soon.
Oh, I've got
a queer feeling tonight.
There was talking
down at the depot.
They reckon
it's the guns in France.
Oh, Rose,
I hope he'll be all right.
[Explosions]
I must go.
Goodbye.
Oh, Jumbo.
My darling, darling, James.
Please god protect you.
You're all I've got
in the world.
Dear little one.
It's so disappointing
when you'd taken
all that trouble over the food.
And hired all those chairs.
Yes.
Cynthia told Margo
to tell Lettie
that they were having
a special matinee
for wounded officers that day.
So, of course,
they all went there.
Lettie forgot,
as she always does.
Really, she hasn't a brain
in her head, that girl.
- Yes.
- What?
Oh. No.
I do agree.
Anyway, it's the thought
that counts.
I suppose so.
Would you like some more coffee?
Ah, yes, please.
[Explosions in distance]
Isn't it exciting being able
to hear the guns from France
all hours?
The big battle starts
at dawn tomorrow, you know?
Almost makes one
feel part of it.
Yes.
Hazel, my dear, you know I'm a
very old friend of this family,
and I think we know each other
well enough
for me to be able to say
something to you,
well, quite frank,
without you minding.
Of course not.
Agatha says she saw you
at the theatre the other night.
Oh, did she?
I didn't see her.
She said you were with
a young Flying Corps officer.
Yes. Jack Dyson.
You remember the one
who came to our tea party?
He took me to "The Bing Boys."
It was very jolly.
Poor boy.
He was so lost in London.
Yes, I expect he was.
Of course,
I know all sorts of people
are getting commissions
these days,
but, uh, well, he did seem to me
to be rather...
Well, you know what I mean.
Common?
Well, rough.
Well, not surprising, really.
He was an engineering apprentice
in Manchester
when the war broke out.
Oh, how interesting.
I found him quite charming.
Yes, but you know we do
all have to be so very careful.
Especially someone like yourself
with a husband at the front.
You know what I mean.
People will talk.
Now, if it had been
one of James's friends
or brother officers, well,
it would be quite all right.
Well, you needn't worry,
Prudence.
By now Jack Dyson
is back in France.
Well, there we are, then.
It was just a tiny bit of advice
from an old friend.
And now I really must rush.
No, no, don't ring.
I'll let myself out.
These democratic days.
Had you heard that Daisy Mitcham
has taken to riding a bicycle?
No.
Thank you for a lovely supper.
And don't worry
about your darling James.
The Guards aren't going in
for at least a month yet.
Cocky Danby's at GHQ -- looking
after the food or something --
and he told Bulgie he'd heard
Douglas Haig telling the king.
[ Door closes]
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