[MUSIC PLAYING - "WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS"]
[SINGING]
-Sir, collecting for the county orphanage?
Sir?
Merry Christmas, sir. Ma'am?
Collecting for the county orphanage?
-Here you are. -Thank you very much, ma'am.
Merry Christmas to you.
Ma'am, collecting for the county orphanage?
-I don't have any change, but will this do?
That's fine.
Thank you, ma'am.
Merry Christmas to you.
-It's been almost two weeks.
-Yes. Yes, I know.
I promised to speak to him, and I will.
No, I will.
But the moment has to be right, or-- if he even
knew I was talking with you now-- I'm going to be late.
-Mr. Thatcher, it means life or death to us.
-I know.
MALE SPEAKER
for the county orphanage. -Merry Christmas.
-Thank you very much, sir.
-[SINGING] Westward leading, still proceeding-- sir,
collecting for the county orphanage.
-Here you are.
Merry Christmas.
-Thank you.
Thank you very much, sir.
Merry Christmas to you too, sir.
Mr. Slade wouldn't be in by any chance, would he?
-Well, um, Mr. Slade's very busy.
That time of year.
Payments due, accounts receivable.
But if-- if you send him a letter, I'm sure--
SLADE [OFFSCREEN]: Ridiculous Thatcher.
Of course I want to see the orphanage kids.
Let them in.
Wonderful, children.
Just wonderful.
I see you've been practicing.
-Yes, sir.
On that new piano, sir. It sure is a beauty.
We won't talk about the piano right now, will we?
On the other hand, I'm sure that a holiday
gift would not be objected to.
[EXCITED MURMURS]
-Yes, right.
I had these printed at my own expense.
One for you.
And one for you.
You're going to learn how the great men of this country, self
made men, did it all on their own.
Morgan, Coolidge, Zebulon Pike-- climbed
that mountain, hand over hand, never asked for anything.
Thrift, hard work, pay your bills on time,
maybe you'll have a mountain of your own someday.
Remember, don't rest on your laurels.
It breeds decay.
Don't dawdle.
Bye bye.
Thanks for coming.
-Bye. -Bye bye.
-Thank you very much, sir.
-No, it's a pleasure.
I like to help young people.
Bye bye.
-Pfft.
-Hey, come on.
Mr. Slade thinks he's really doing us a favor, you know?
I mean, he really believes it.
So let's all show our appreciation for him, huh?
-I believe we have some visits to make.
-Yes, sir. -You have the papers ready?
-Yes, sir.
They're all here.
Here, sir.
-Truck full of gas?
-Joe checked everything out.
-Good morning, Mr. Reeves.
Chilly.
I assume I don't have to tell you why I'm here.
-No, sir.
-If we could have one more extension, Mr. Slade,
just a couple of months, I think we can make the payments.
-You think you could?
-Don't beg him Jenny.
He has come to do what the law allows.
Nothing we can say will stop him.
-Thatcher.
-Sir?
Repossession order, Merrimack County court.
-Can I help you gentlemen?
-Give this to Mr. Jessup.
He'll understand.
-Yes, sir.
[PIANO PLAYING]
[CHILDREN PLAYING]
-Memories, Mr. Slade?
Well, it would be only natural.
Place hasn't changed much since you were a boy.
-May I remind you, sir, that I lived here for a year.
-I bet you remember a lot during that year.
-A little under a year.
-Ball games at Webster Park, chestnuts at holiday meals,
and carolling on the streets.
-Yes, I know.
They came to my office this morning.
Now, can we get down to business?
-Business?
Yes.
I'm afraid our situation hasn't changed very much.
-Well, I'm very sorry to hear that, Jessup.
You shouldn't have gotten in over your head.
-But we needed a piano.
After 42 years, the old one fell apart.
We had no choice.
-Neither do I. -Thatcher.
Thatcher.
-Repossession order.
Merrimack County court.
-Oh, Chaucer mixed in with Plato and Socrates.
Can you imagine that?
-When did you change your stock?
-Change it?
-I advanced you $5,000 for university shop.
To me, that means sweaters, bow ties, ukuleles.
-To me, it means wisdom, Mr. Slade.
-With all your wisdom, have you found a way to pay your debt?
-Well, not all of it, but you can take all the money I have.
-And I will.
Plus your stock for liquidation.
A scrap paper penny a pound, huh?
Better than nothing.
Thatcher.
-Detachment order, Merrimack County court.
-Is this genuine leather?
-It's Morocco.
-Yeah, it feels good. -Oh, don't do that.
-Might be a few dollars in this after all.
Take everything that's leather.
We'll rip them apart at the warehouse.
-Yeah.
-Oh, not that one, sir.
Please, above all, not that one.
-Why not?
-Well, it's an original edition of Mr. Charles Dickens.
It was given to me by my father, who
got it from his grandfather, who was
a friend of his Mr. Dickens.
It must be protected.
-Well, Mr. Merrivale, you don't need books.
You make up wonderful stories by yourself.
Don't forget the rest in here.
-Slowly, boys.
Slowly.
This is a wonderful piece of goods.
Bring it over here.
Joe, make sure that the lock is double
locked before you go home.
-Yes, sir.
Merry Christmas, Joe.
-Mr. Thatcher, I need a little assistance with the bindings
here. Don't just stand there.
Are you having some difficulty with your hearing?
-It's Christmas, sir.
Perhaps-- can we talk a moment, Mr. Slade?
-What on earth for?
-Well, it's about the town, sir.
It's about the times that we're going through.
-I know all about the times we're going through,
so get to the point.
-Well, when there were-- where there was money to-- when
the quarry was being worked--
-Well, that couldn't possibly be the point.
The quarry has been closed for a year.
-Oh, now that's just the point, sir.
Now, the men who worked there-- now,
they've had a wonderful idea, and they've
asked me to be the spokesman.
-So what?
-Well-- well, Mr. Slade, since you own so much of the town,
if anybody could open up the quarry again, it'll be you.
Why, a man of your means?
-Why would I want to open a-- a business that's failed?
-Because there's hope for the future in it, sir.
Well, in the things that Mr. Roosevelt is doing--
new roads, new dams, new public buildings.
There's sure to be a need for granite again.
-Well, if you think that's true, Thatcher,
then why don't you open it yourself?
-You should at least hear me, sir.
These men have nothing left.
-Rebellion?
-Oh, no.
No.
If the quarry were opened up again,
sir, everyone would benefit.
There'd be more business in the town.
There-- there'd be more money to spend.
I mean, it would be prosperous for you, Mr. Slade.
Your debtors could pay you on time,
and then you wouldn't have--
-No, go on and say it.
I wouldn't have to what?
Put a gun to their heads, take their Victrolas
and their lovely couches and leave them in empty houses.
Oh, you really do hate me, don't you, Thatcher?
-No, sir.
-Yes, sir.
I see it in those eyes every time we go out in the truck,
making me out to be some kind of monster
for taking what's rightfully mine.
Let me tell you something, Thatcher,
a man who is as soft as an old shoe is generally
of little worth.
Always taking the debtors' side.
You hold on to those repossession papers
like they were stuck to your fingers.
And now you're trying to teach me business?
-Sir, I only--
-You only conspire with a gang of quarry rats
to take some money out of me.
I don't need to learn business from you.
I learned it from the best, Jack Latham,
the smartest businessman this state ever knew, until now.
Do you know what he said to me on his deathbed?
He said, Ben, never throw good money after bad.
And never pay a man one penny more than he's worth.
So you go back, and you tell your quarry workers
that their ranks of the unemployed
have just been increased by one.
-No, sir.
I didn't mean--
-I don't want to see your face anymore, Thatcher.
Get out.
-I'll just get my things.
-Yes, you do that.
-Good evening, good evening, good evening.
-Hi, honey.
Oh, I'm glad you're home.
You OK? -Yep.
Christmas tree all decorated?
-Mm-hmm.
-Well, well, well, well, well, look at this activity now.
But where's my Mr. T?
-Here's my Sarah.
-Who turned out the lights?
-And who would this be underneath my coat?
Who is underneath my coat?
-It's Jonathan Thatcher.
Hey. How you been today?
-Fine.
-Good.
-Why'd you bring these things home from the office?
-Would you excuse me a moment?
I'm going to talk to your mother.
REPORTER [ON RADIO]: --rendition of "Angels
We Have Heard on High."
Now, as a special Christmas Eve presentation--
-Please.
REPORTER [ON RADIO]: --I would like
to read you a portion of the now-famous letter
than appeared in the editorial pages of the "New York Sun"
in 1890.
-We need to talk.
-Darkness is cheap, and he liked it.
But before he shut the heavy door,
he walked through the rooms to see
that all was all right-- sitting room, bedroom, lumber room,
all as they should be.
Then there was a clanking noise deep down below,
as if some person were dragging a heavy chain
over the casks in the cellar.
He remembered that ghosts in haunted houses
were described as dragging chains.
Clap trap.
[THUNDER] -Damn.
Oh.
Operator.
Operator, this is an emergency.
I'm Benedict Slade, 429 Front Street.
I seem to have lost all of my power.
In my warehouse-- operator?
Operator?
WHISPERING VOICE: Ben--
[BREATH]
[HARP STRINGS]
-All right.
All right, come out this minute.
I know someone's here.
I've got a gun.
-Oh, come on, Ben.
You wouldn't shoot your old partner, would you?
-Who are you?
-You know damn well who I am.
-I know who you want me to think you are.
-You're on the right track.
-He's dead.
-Right again.
-There's some trick being played here.
And I know what it is.
-Shrewd as ever, eh, Ben?
-Makeup.
It took six pounds of powder and paint
to make that actor look like Frankenstein.
That's what they said in the paper.
And that's what you used-- makeup
to make yourself look like Latham, Mister Whoever You Are.
-Then if I'm not Latham, I wouldn't know things
only you and Latham knew?
-Like what?
-Like, telling the Reverend Williams his antique deacon's
bench was only a cheap reproduction,
so you could snatch it up as collateral, make a profit.
Shall I go on?
-Jack?
Jack?
But you're--
-Dead?
Don't be afraid to say it.
It's only a state of mind.
That is, two states.
I'm in a larger one.
-How-- but you don't look, uh--
-Hell's not what you think it is-- fire, sulfur, devils
with pitchforks, none of that.
-Thank god.
-It's worse.
It's living in all your past, all the time, forever.
There's a politician who sits in a room with all his speeches
blaring at the same time.
No ear plugs either.
And a king who has to keep staring
at the faces of men he sent to war.
-But you're a businessman.
A good one.
You drive a hard bargain.
But you've never done anything evil.
-Evil's not just what you do.
It's what you don't do.
Each day each man has 1,000 chances,
but they're missed forever once they put you underground.
But you, you can still make changes, Ben.
And I'm going to help you.
-Don't go out of your way for me there, Jack.
-You're going to get three more visitations.
-Ghosts?
-No.
That's storybook talk.
I think of them as conductors on the Boston mainline.
And you better go where they take you.
Look for them, Ben.
Look for them.
-Jack?
Jack?
Don't leave me now, Jack.
I've got a million questions to ask you.
Jack, where are you?
Must have been the trees.
It must have gone off when I didn't realize it.
It's just a slight touch of indigestion.
That's all.
[CHUCKLING] It's too quiet in here.
That's the problem.
[WHISTLING]
REPORTER [ON RADIO]: Ladies and gentlemen, As reported earlier,
the stock market has taken a severe plunge.
And investors seem convinced-- -Again?
REPORTER [ON RADIO]: --that the market
is headed for certain disaster.
We are standing by for a statement
from President Hoover.
He will speak to-- -Hoover?
He's not president.
It's Roosevelt, God help us.
REPORTER [ON RADIO]: --the Oval Office
of the White House, where Mr. Hoover
is about to begin his address.
Sources close to the White House say that--
-That damn announcer doesn't know what he's talking about.
REPORTER [ON RADIO]: --will attempt
to convince the American people--
[STATIC]
REPORTER [ON RADIO]: He's climbing out of the cockpit
now.
He throws back his goggles and jumps to the ground.
Listen to that crowd.
And who could blame them on this glorious day of 1927,
when Charles A. Lindbergh has become
the first man to fly the Atlantic Ocean.
-I'm certain that was six years ago.
Has everybody lost their mind.
REPORTER [ON RADIO]: --with the warmest welcome
afforded an American citizen--
[STATIC]
[CHARLESTON MUSIC]
[MUSIC OFF]
[MUSIC ON]
[MUSIC OFF]
[MUSIC ON]
[SOLO TRUMPET]
-Nice instrument.
I played the trumpet in a war a long time ago.
You should've seen those walls come down.
-How'd you get in here?
You make it sound as if I've been away.
The past is always nearby, especially in here.
-I suppose you're going to tell me now
that you are the-- the Spirit of Christmas Past.
-You said it, not I.
-It's not going to work, you know.
I know who you are.
So why don't you just go back to your little silly bookstore,
Merrivale.
-Not much of a bookstore anymore.
-I said, get out.
Outside.
-All right.
Outside.
-What are you doing?
What's going on here?
-Had enough?
-Yes, I've had enough, thank you very much.
Get me back inside.
-Sorry to be so dramatic.
But you did bring it on yourself.
-Jack said visitations, not freezing to death.
What is it you want?
-The past wants only to be remembered.
-I remember the past very well without your help, thank you.
-Do you remember it, really?
Or just those parts you pick out for yourself?
SLADE [OFFSCREEN]: Do
MERRIVALE [OFFSCREEN]: I know this place.
The county orphanage.
I guess we've come to a costume party.
-Guess again.
-Well, people haven't dressed like this for 40 years.
-You're getting warmer.
-They're coming. They're coming.
Boys, get ready.
Everyone, get ready.
SLADE [OFFSCREEN]: Ah, here comes Mrs. Tidings.
She runs the place.
No, that's impossible.
She's dead.
MERRIVALE [OFFSCREEN]: She wasn't when you were here.
-They're the best of the lot, Mr. Brewster.
Well behaved, intelligent, deserving.
-That's excellent, Mrs. Tidings.
Excellent.
Of course, whoever we choose for our apprentice
will have to be able to learn the business
from the ground up.
-Oh, I'm sure every one of these boys
will be more than satisfactory.
-Who's that, at the back of the room?
-Oh, that's Benedict Slade.
-Where?
-He hasn't been here very long.
When his parents died, he was passed around
among aunts and uncles.
Then they turned him over to us.
-So skinny.
Why didn't you feed me better?
-How is he with his hands?
-He fights a lot.
-Has he ever used tools?
-More from anger than skill.
-Well, at least that's a beginning.
-Oh, Mr. Brewster, I don't think you'd
be advised to take that boy.
-Excuse me, Mrs. Tidings.
I'd much rather do something for someone who needs
rather than someone who just wants.
Please, bring him over to us, would you?
Thank you.
-Looks like Mrs. Tidings convinced you.
-Yes, yes.
She always-- had a way with boys.
-Thank you, Roy.
Down you get, lad.
-Don't keep him here too long, Nathaniel.
Remember, dinner is 5 o'clock sharp.
-We'll be there.
Come on, boy.
Now, your job will be to look after pieces of machinery
like that, keep them cleaned, keep them oiled.
Of course, you'd have to, uh, dust
off all the furniture back there in the showroom too.
And let's see, what else?
Well, sweep up at the end of the day.
You see how much we need that.
The most important thing, every minute
you get, you watch the craftsmen,
see what it is they do and how they do it.
Before you know it, you might have a bench of your own.
Do you think you'd like that?
-Oh, I don't know.
-What do you mean you don't know?
You imbecile.
Anybody can see this is a thriving business.
-I'm trying to offer you an opportunity young man.
-Well, you can give it to someone else.
-That must have been very rough on you, Ben, and very painful
for you, losing your parents like that,
then being shifted around from relative to relative.
Every time you start feeling close to someone,
they move you on.
I guess after a while, it just seems better not
to get too close to anyone.
Then it doesn't hurt so badly when you have to leave.
-How could he look inside me like that?
How'd he know how I felt?
-If you want to be my apprentice,
you can move right in with my family,
and you'll never have to move until you want to.
-I want to leave now.
-Well, it's up to you.
Do you know what that is?
-Sure, I do.
It's a stick.
-A stick?
Is that all you see here?
Is it?
You're not as bright as I thought you were.
This is anything that I want it to be.
That could be a magician's wand for doing tricks,
or it could be the handle of a whip for taming wild lions.
I could make that into the spoke of a ship's wheel
that could lead you to all kinds of new lands
and new adventures.
I could even carve that into a flute.
Then I could play it to charm all
those folks in old Hamlin town.
Here, that could be anything you want it to be,
unless of course you're too dumb to see anything
but a stick there.
-Thank you.
SLADE [OFFSCREEN]:
how beautiful she was.
-There's quite a lot you've forgotten.
-So I said to him, I said, so what
is so high and mighty important about finishing
school in Boston?
Do you know what he said to me, Ben?
-Two coats of finish.
-What?
-Two coats of finish instead of three.
We can reduce production by a day.
-You haven't heard one thing I said.
-Sure I have. I've been listening.
-Have you?
-Yeah.
-Then you know how I was talking about the park, nature?
Do you like nature, Ben?
-Yeah.
-Would you like to get really close to it?
I mean, really close?
Would you?
-Yeah.
-Good.
-Oh!
Ow.
Oh, you're gonna pay for that.
What did your father say?
-Oh, I thought you weren't listening.
-You see? Don't underestimate me, Helen.
-Well, I told him, no finishing school for me.
No anything that would take me away from-- from Concord.
-Yeah? -Yeah.
[RAGTIME MUSIC]
[APPLAUSE]
-Ladies and gentlemen--
[CYMBAL CRASH]
-Thank you.
Well, I'm sure after all that, that you really
want to get your breath back.
So we're going to give out some gifts.
-Oh!
-Sam. Sam Perkins.
-Sam.
Sam Perkins.
There's a message, Sam.
-What every foreman needs at home.
-Essie?
Where is Essie?
Ah, thank you.
-Thank you, Miss Brewster.
Thank you very much.
-What in the world have we here?
To the Brewster family and all their employees, the future.
Let's find out.
I guess-- let's cut in and hope for the best.
I hope I'm not damaging whatever it is.
[CHUCKLING]
-Stapleton Furniture Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
I guess the joke's on me.
-That's not a joke, Mr. Brewster.
-What, did you bring this, Ben? -Yes, sir.
I did.
I believe-- I believe that chair is the future,
and I think it can help us all, if we're
smart enough to use it.
-How?
-That chair is not made the same way that we make ours.
It's made on the assembly line.
That's right, that's-- they're starting to use the assembly
line now in furniture.
Some fellow pus on one part. Another fellow puts on another.
They're all made by machinery.
They can sell that chair for one half the price of one
that we put out.
-Yeah, but look how it's made-- nails instead of pegs,
bad fittings all sloshed with glue to keep them together.
You call that a chair like ours?
There are millions of people who won't know the difference--
MALE SPEAKER [OFFSCREEN]: Yes, they will.
-Excuse me.
They'll just look at the price tag,
and that's the one that they'll buy.
-Oh, I can't accept that, Ben.
No, when the day of quality ends in this country,
we'll all be in great trouble indeed.
[APPLAUSE]
-What did you get in your gift there?
[LAUGHTER]
-Ben.
Ben, that wasn't very polite.
-Go inside, Helen. It's raining.
-So they disagreed with you.
Is that such a terrible thing?
-You think I'm angry because he disagreed with me?
That's not it, Helen. That's not it at all.
I'm sorry for your father.
I feel sorry for everyone that works for him.
They're going to be passed by, and that's
what I don't want to happen.
-Ben, then come to dinner tonight, and explain it to them
again.
Do it for me, Ben. Please.
-Did you get a look at Sam Perkins' face when he lifted
out those boxing--
-Yes.
-He almost swallowed his cigar.
-Mr. Brewster?
-Yes, son?
-I know that bringing in that chair this afternoon
was a smart aleck act, and I deeply apologize.
-Oh, Ben.
That's all right.
I know you meant well.
-I still do, sir.
Whether you like it or not, mass production is coming.
And in order to survive, you've got to start thinking about it.
-Well, I never will, Ben.
I never could.
I guess I'm, uh, too old and too stubborn to change.
-I have something to say to you-- all of you.
The day you came into the orphanage, you saved my life,
and I will never ever forget that.
Even when I leave here.
-Are you going somewhere?
-Well, say it, Ben.
Whatever it is, just get it out.
-Ed Stapleton, the man that sent the chair,
offered me a job with his company in the sales division.
It's not a very big job.
I know that I can work myself up.
-I think we need some more sweet potatoes.
-Helen, I don't think you understand.
-I hate you right now.
Talking to me about babies and rings and all the time
knowing you were going.
-I didn't know until tonight.
-Well, you must have been thinking about it.
Why didn't you say something to me.
-Because I was hoping I was going to change my mind.
I didn't want to hurt you. I love you very much.
-Then take me with you.
-I can't.
-Why not?
-Because I'm starting low out there.
I'm at the bottom rung of the ladder.
And I don't even have enough to get myself by.
-Do you think that matters to me?
I don't mind sacrificing.
-I know. I mind that you sacrifice.
I'll call you as soon as I'm ready.
I promise.
-When?
-When we can live the way I want to live,
with nice clothes and a nice car and a nice house.
When we walk down the street, Helen, they're going to say,
there go the Slades.
It's going to mean something.
We're going to be somebody.
I want to be somebody.
-Success.
I guess that means just about everything to you.
-Are you rested now?
-I will be after a good night's sleep.
But to tell you the truth, I'm not sure I'm not sleeping now.
-Now, what does that make me?
-The word that comes to mind, nightmare.
You'll forgive me if I don't say thank
you very much when you leave.
-Leave?
You really are something.
Did you think our trip was over, that I'd let you off so easily?
A lifetime, Mr. Slade-- a million moments
of giving, taking, fighting, losing.
Each moment a decision, each decision affecting others,
each to be accounted for.
-Each?
-We keep very careful inventory, as you do.
[DIXIELAND MUSIC]
[APPLAUSE]
-I have the figures for our sal of war bonds up
until 9 o'clock, this evening.
It's $24,150.
[APPLAUSE]
-The booth will be open till midnight,
so let's try and reach out goal of $25,000.
[APPLAUSE]
-Miss Brewster?
Miss Brewster, I have in my hand $850.
You've reached $25,000.
[APPLAUSE]
-Well, here it is.
[APPLAUSE]
-You're looking well, Ben.
-Well, I can certainly return the compliment.
-Oh, your money clip.
-Thank you.
-Come over here.
I'll write one up.
-You know, it's amazing.
I thought about everything that I
was going to say to you when I first saw you.
And all I can come up with is Tandy.
-My dog?
-You wrote that he was in a terrible accident.
Did he recover?
-Oh. Yes, perfectly.
That was four years ago, Ben.
-I really am sorry.
-No need to be.
I'm not even sure who stopped writing first.
-Ben, very nice to see you.
-Mr. Brewster.
Well, you're certainly looking--
-Older, I know.
But no wiser.
I've had two heart attacks, and I still
haven't the sense to quit. -They were mild injuries.
-All right.
-You know, there's a way of taking it easy
and still staying in business.
-Oh, we're easing up all right, Ben.
The men are going off to war, and their families
are spending their money on-- on bonds.
There's not that much left over for furniture.
-It doesn't matter now, because there's
a brand new way of selling.
It even works on people who don't have the price.
-What's it called, St. Patrick's miracle?
-Time payments.
-Time payments?
That's very interesting.
It's nice to see you.
[SLOW SWING MUSIC]
-Are you happy, Ben?
-Oh, success is a wonderful feeling.
People can smell it.
They sense it.
Especially when you're on the move, on he rise.
That's why I'm leaving the Stapleton firm.
-I thought you were doing so well there.
-I was, until I ran smack into the Stapleton nephews.
They were saying, you don't move any further
unless you're related.
So I'll find another mountain to climb.
-Here in Concord?
-It's very possible.
I'd love to see your home.
-All right.
-Mr. Slade.
Jack Latham, Best Western Real Estate.
-I was interested in what you were saying before,
about that new way of selling.
Could we talk some time?
-I look forward to the opportunity.
I was told that you'd be here at this party.
-Come see me just after Christmas.
-I'll check my calendar. Thank you.
-Yep, that's me.
I always moved in when the moment was good.
I could always smell a good business deal.
-So could Latham.
Look where he ended up.
-There it is.
Sometimes I find myself daydreaming about--
-Ben.
There's something i wan to say to you.
You keep saying how nothing's changed
and everything's the same.
Well, we're not the same.
We have changed.
And if-- if you stay, we're going
to have to get to know each other all over again.
-I totally agree with you.
And as a matter of fact, I think we could start right now.
-What's that?
-A lathe.
-It is.
But nobody's supposed to be in there.
-All right.
All right, you stay right here.
I'll be right back.
-I'm going with you.
-Helen, please.
-I'm going you, Ben.
-See?
Everything is still the same.
Hold your ground.
-Ben Slade?
-Good evening, Sam.
-Must be 10 years at least.
Nearly scared me to death.
-You're not the only one.
What are you doing so late here on a Christmas Eve?
-Just catching up on a bit of work.
-Does my father know you're here?
-No, he'd never allow it.
But it has to be done now that half our people are gone.
-I appreciate what you're doing, Sam,
but I want you to stop right now and go home to your family.
-Yes, and I agree.
-Just 15 minutes more.
I promise.
-You're too good to us, Sam.
-Do you need a hand?
-With a couple of table legs?
Get out of here.
-Very good to see you.
-Good night, Sam. -Bye, Ben.
Bye, hon.
-Merry Christmas, Sam.
[FIRE ALARM]
-Charlie, call the [INAUDIBLE]. We need help.
-Right away.
-Oh god.
Oh my god.
-Sorry, Mr. Brewster.
Lucky your man came out alive.
-But there was someone in there?
-Sam Perkins. He'll be all right.
Minor burns.
We took him to the hospital.
Was he-- what--
-The poor man.
He doesn't deserve it.
GHOST [OFFSCREEN]:
a little pale, Mr. Slade.
Something wrong?
-Take me back to my warehouse.
I don't want to see anymore.
-You're going to have to, Mr. Slade.
-I'll get those figures written up
for you as soon as possible then, Jack.
-Oh, there's no hurry. -Well, there is for me.
-Ben.
-I'm very sorry to hear what happened.
-Oh.
Well, I'm such a smart businessman, Ben,
that I went and let the insurance policy lapse.
Can you believe that?
Well, we'll-- we'll get the old place rebuilt again someday
with luck and the help of good friends.
-Take care of yourself, OK?
-Always, always.
Come on in. -Nice to see you.
-May I help you?
-Thank you.
-Are you all right? -Yes.
Yes.
Yes, I'm fine.
-Time payments, you called it?
-That or the installment plan.
Customer makes a down payment of maybe 10%,
goes home with the product.
Pays it off a little each month, plus interest,
for about a year or two.
By the time he's finished, you've
got 150% of the purchase price.
-What happens if he can't make the payments?
-If he's working, you attach a salary.
If not, repossess it, take it back, sell it again.
It's not unheard of that you can get 200% of the list price.
-I like it.
Well, I don't mean I'm going to invest.
A scheme like that takes a lot of capital.
-And everyone knows that you are the most powerful money
man in these parts, sir.
-That's just the trouble.
My money's spread all over the place.
Everyone making demands.
Take old man Brewster.
Banks turned him down, so he came to me.
Wants $100,000 to rebuild his shop, maybe more later.
Can't do that and finance your scheme too.
-If I might make a point, sir, Mr. Brewster's a wonderful man,
and I owe him a lot.
But he's been doing the same thing for 40 years.
He won't even look at a new idea.
And I sincerely believe that he wasn't
doing that well before his loss.
-He told me he was climbing back.
-Not to overstep my bounds, but if it were my money to invest
and I had the choice between the rigid old
and the innovative new, it would be no contest.
--I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures--
-This isn't fair, Helen.
I didn't make that decision.
Latham did.
I wouldn't hurt your father for all the money in the world.
If I'm lying-- if I am lying, then
let my eternal soul be damned.
-I didn't kill your father.
I didn't, Helen.
[CAROLERS SINGING "SILENT NIGHT"]
[CAROLERS SINGING "GOD REST YE, MERRY GENTLEMEN"]
GHOST [OFFSCREEN]: Come in, Mr. Slade.
Come in.
-You better put that down.
You break it, you'll hear from me.
Get off there.
You're wasting your time, Jessup.
This isn't going to work.
-Christmas has worked for 2,000 years.
It's working now.
-I suppose you're going to tell me
that you're some great Spirit of the Christmas Present.
-You do have an interesting way of putting things.
-Yes, well, then you put it right out of your mind,
because you-- I don't know how you got in here,
but you're not going to-- not going to leave with my piano,
repossessed by court order.
It belongs to me.
-Then you're entitled to the music you like best.
Do you have any favorite selections?
-Yes, I do-- my privacy, which I shall
enforce by calling the police.
Let me tell you something.
I'm going to close my eyes for 15 seconds,
and when I open them, you-- you best be-- gone.
Imagination.
[PLUNKING "GOD REST YE, MERRY
WHISPERING: --merry gentlemen.
Let nothing you dis--
[CAROLERS SINGING "GOD REST YE, MERRY GENTLEMEN"]
-You can't block out the Christmas spirit.
It's everywhere.
-What do you want from me?
-Only to share this beautiful holiday with you,
as someone else might have done.
-Someone else?
That child looks so familiar.
No, it's impossible.
-She should look familiar, Mr. Slade.
Like mother, like daughter, they say.
-That's Helen's child.
We're in Helen's house?
-You never kept track of her, did you?
She married a pharmacist.
Very happy too, as you can see for yourself.
SLADE [OFFSCREEN]: Oh,
GHOST [OFFSCREEN]: A woman so shriveled is always beautiful.
Come, Mr. Slade, it's a private moment for them.
-I could have had a child like that.
If only things were different.
-If?
That word can be found on dry riverbeds
and on trails long overgrown by weeds.
What's more important are the paths we follow now.
SLADE [OFFSCREEN]: I know this place.
I've never been here before.
Why does it look so familiar?
-A picture, maybe.
-On my office wall, my employee over his desk.
-Your former employee, remember?
-He deserved to be fired.
Disagrees with everything I do.
Conspires with others to pull money out of me.
Who needs someone like that around?
-There are three in here who do.
-Mom, Dad, please tell us what's wrong.
-Nothing's wrong, dear.
-I know you don't want us to feel bad,
but it's worse just trying to guess.
-We make up all kinds of things.
-My goodness, can't your father and I have a secret
without the world coming to an end?
ANNOUNCER [ON RADIO]: --radio station, WBEZ in Boston.
We continue now, our concert of marches for this Christmas Eve.
-I lost my job today.
-Is that all?
We thought it was something worse.
-That you killed somebody with an axe
and were going to be hung.
DORIS [OFFSCREEN]: There's someone
I'd like to kill with an axe.
-Now, you don't mean that, Doris.
-You'll-- you'll get another job, won't you, Daddy?
-Yes, I will.
Of course.
Eventually.
As a matter of fact, I happen to be considering one
at the very moment.
-What is it?
-I've been offered the job of exalted grand master
of the Barnum and Bailey Circus.
My only problem is, do I take it?
JONATHAN [OFFSCREEN]: Yes. -Yes?
My very sentiments exactly.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Barnum and Bailey Circus
presents the Flying Thatchers.
Bring on the tigers.
Roar.
Bring on the zebras.
[MUSIC OFF]
[SOBBING]
-If you don't get another job, will we starve to death?
-Hey Sarah, I bet I can beat you in Chinese Checkers.
-Bet you you can't.
-The boy, was he in an accident?
-If it were only that.
-I suppose the trip for Jonathan's out of the question
now.
-Australia on $128?
-Well, supposing we sold the house and the furniture
and everything.
-There's no market for houses.
And the furniture gets us as far as Columbus, Ohio.
-Does it have to be Australia?
Maybe there's some other place that--
-You heard the doctor.
Only one clinic offers any real hope-- Sister Kenny's.
Her new way of stimulating the muscles
gets them going again, so that children like John--
can lead out their normal lives.
-Well, then Australia it'll be.
You'll find--
[COUGHING]
-Jonathan, are you all right?
JONATHAN [OFFSCREEN]: I'm OK.
-He gets out of breath so easily.
You'll find some work.
Maybe in Boston.
And so will I. If we work night and day, he'll have that trip.
[COUGHING]
SLADE [OFFSCREEN]: There's
GHOST [OFFSCREEN]: What's that?
-That little boy, does he live or die?
-Is that important to you?
-Yes, it's important.
-The future's a tricky place, full of shadows,
shifting and changing, as present realities do.
-Do you see these shadows?
-As well as most and better than some.
-And what do they say to you?
-Next Christmas, I see a pair of crutches
in the corner, carefully preserved.
At this table, family, mother, father, little girl.
Between them is an empty chair.
-I had no idea, Thatcher.
I just didn't know.
[COUGHING]
[MARCH MUSIC]
[STATIC]
[ROCK AND ROLL]
ANNOUNCER [ON RADIO]: Many authorities
predict that widespread use of the new Salk vaccine
will soon wipe out the dreaded disease of polio, once known
as infantile paralysis.
Congratulatory messages have flooded in from around the--
[ROCK AND ROLL]
-Dumb old box.
You'd never replace the Victrola.
That's for sure.
GHOST [OFFSCREEN]: And who will replace you, Mr. Slade?
SLADE [OFFSCREEN]:
Hold your ground.
You can have the radio back.
It's OK.
Take it back to the farm, free of charge.
-Do I look like a farmer to you?
-Oh.
No.
No, you're modern.
-Modern?
-More than modern.
More than modern.
Uh, future.
You're the-- the spirit of Christmas future?
-You know, I, uh-- I don't think you really believe it.
-I do. I do.
Indeed I do.
-Well, you'd better, Mr. Slade.
-Yes, I do.
-The future is coming whether you like it or not.
The distant future, and a future much closer to you.
-Where are you going?
-Items 27, A and B. Bronze bookends.
Just feel the weight of those.
Their beauties.
What am I bid?
Who's going to give me $2 to start?
-$0.13. AUCTIONEER [OFFSCREEN]: $0.13.
I got $0.13 here.
-25.
AUCTIONEER [OFFSCREEN]: 25, 25.
25 is the bid. -30.
AUCTIONEER [OFFSCREEN]: 30, 30. $0.30.
$0.30. -40.
AUCTIONEER [OFFSCREEN]: Any advance on 40?
40? $0.40 is my bid here on these bronze bookends. $0.40.
-50.
AUCTIONEER [OFFSCREEN]: $0.50. $0.50.
-55.
AUCTIONEER [OFFSCREEN]: 55 I hear.
Do I hear 60?
-I beg your pardon.
Who are all these people, and what
are you doing on my property?
-It's all quite legal, I assure you.
-$1 once, $1 twice-- beyond $1?
Sold for $1.
-He's selling them very cheap.
Those bookends are worth 3.95.
-Well, he's got to get rid of everything.
Sheriff's orders.
-Oh, there's a nice bed, made of pure mahogany
with a box spring and a mattress.
Two suits of clothes, size 40, five shirts, six ties,
three pairs of shoes, a tie clasp, cuff links,
and a money clip.
And what a money clip.
What am I bid for the lot?
-Are they crazy?
This is quality merchandise.
Very much like my own possessions.
I bid $500, and not a penny less.
-He can't hear you.
-$1,000, worth every bit.
-No bids?
-I bid $0.10 for the lot.
[LAUGHTER]
-Bit high, isn't it?
-I find this very distasteful.
-It gets no better, Mr. Slade.
-Who do you think this person is?
-You can't guess?
-Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please.
I've saved one final item for this moment.
What am I bid for this?
Huh?
-$50.
I have $50.
Any advance on $50?
-$75.
AUCTIONEER [OFFSCREEN]: 75, that's the way to go.
It's up to $75 now.
-85.
AUCTIONEER [OFFSCREEN]: We have an $85 bid from the lady.
-100.
-$100 is bid.
-Now, these prices are beginning to make sense.
AUCTIONEER [OFFSCREEN]: $100 once, $100 twice, any more?
Sold for $100.
[APPLAUSE]
[CHEERING]
-That's me.
What are you doing?
What, are you crazy?
Stop!
Burn, burn, burn, burn--
-That's me.
Stop.
What do you think you people are doing?
That's me.
My portrait.
What is that?
How could you do that?
Get me out of here.
Anywhere. -Where to?
-Where it's peace and quiet.
Get me out of here.
-As you wish.
-There are times when I'm heading home that I still
expect to find him, waiting behind the doorway.
And then I remember that he's here.
My little Mr. T.
-Hard to believe that a year's gone by since he left us.
-That boy.
-That shouldn't surprise you.
Life is cause and effect.
And you were certainly no stranger to the cause.
-That hasn't happened yet.
That is not real.
The grief of those people is real.
-You can't blame me for something I didn't know.
Thatcher, tell her.
Tell her I didn't know you had a sick child.
You never said a word.
-We know there's going to be other partings among us.
A marriage.
Long voyages.
Even death again.
But when somebody's remembered with love,
their spirit never really dies.
So instead of looking for someone to blame,
let's make a promise to each other,
that no matter where we find ourselves
in years to come, together or apart,
we will always remember little Jonathan.
Now you promise.
-I promise.
-Promise?
-I assure you, if I had known, things
could have been different.
Perhaps the possibility exists that it could be different.
Is that possible?
-That's not for me to say.
We better go now.
-Wait.
Wait.
There is something about this place-- something
that draws me right to it.
The monument looks fairly new and yet neglected.
-No one visits that grave.
-Not ever?
-Not ever.
-To lie in-- the grave unloved and unremembered,
it's as if the life was never lived.
-That is the only real death.
-Who is the unfortunate person?
-Take a look.
-Oh, no.
Tell me that this can change.
I don't want to lie here in a-- in a grave, unremembered
and unloved forever.
Please tell me it could change.
I'm willing to make a change.
[SOBBING]
-It's time to go, Mr. Slade.
-You've seen the future.
-I'm willing to make a change.
I want it to happen differently.
[CHURCH BELLS]
SLADE [OFFSCREEN]: You there, boys.
What day is it?
[GIGGLING]
-What the devil is so funny about that?
Just answer the question.
-Don't you know it's Christmas?
-It's Christmas.
It's Christmas.
There's still time.
[HONKING]
-It's Mr. Slade.
-Slade?
[KNOCKING]
-Why, Merry Christmas to you, sir.
What are you doing here?
-I'm working, of course. What are you doing?
You're taking the whole day off, regardless of all the work
that has to be done?
-But I'm not your employee anymore.
-Don't you tell me who you are.
I know more about you than you could possibly dream.
Now, go out to the truck and get what I've got for you.
Come on.
Now, you and I have a very important business discussion.
-What business?
-What's on the menu for today's dinner?
-Chicken, carrots, vegetables.
SLADE [OFFSCREEN]: How big's your chicken?
DORIS [OFFSCREEN]: Five pounds. But I--
SLADE [OFFSCREEN]: Five pounds?
You call that a holiday chicken?
Heh.
Now, you try this. Put this in the oven if it fits.
If it doesn't, cook it twice.
Thank you.
These are called Christmas gifts, and to find out--
-For us?
-Is it all right if I finish first?
Thank you.
And to find out who they're for, you just
look for the name on top of the box.
-For Daddy.
-Yes.
-For Mommy.
For Mommy and Daddy.
For me!
Thank you.
-Well, there's nothing in here for Jonathan.
How could that be?
Sorry.
Oh.
What's this?
Could this possibly be a-- it's not very large.
It's not very heavy.
You like to ride on a bus?
You do?
Here's a ticket on a bus to Boston.
You like to ride on a train?
Here's a ticket from Boston to Chicago, from Chicago
to San Francisco, California.
Oh.
You like to travel on a ship?
A big boat?
You do?
Here's a ticket for the "SS Monterrey"
from San Francisco, California, to Sydney, Australia.
And in Australia, there's a clinic,
run by a Sister Elizabeth Kenny, and I have a darn good feeling
that she's going to make you feel very good.
Of course there'll be a nurse to go along with him.
You just have to get used to an empty place at the table.
That's all.
When he gets back, a boy will be sitting here
in this chair that doesn't need crutches anymore.
-Mr. Slade?
I don't know what--
-Whoops.
Yeah.
All right, that's enough of that.
That's enough. Yeah.
Uh, you got a lot of cooking to do.
At least four hours for that bird.
Four hours.
Which gives you plenty of time before dinner.
Merry Christmas. Let's go.
Get your coat.
I assume you expect to be paid for these few extra hours
of work, huh, Thatcher?
-Oh, no.
No, no, Mr. Slade.
-You should expect to be paid.
You must start thinking like an executive, Thatcher.
Vice president in charge of new projects
is nothing to sneeze at.
-New projects? -Yes.
I was thinking of opening up the granite quarry down
at Petticoat Hills, bring a few hundred jobs into this town.
And that's just the beginning.
-What's going on?
-No, Mr. Reeves, it's what's coming off.
A pot bellied stove, a rocking chair,
and a tabletop radio, repossessed by you.
Grab something.
Mr. Reeves?
Be very careful with that radio.
It's acting very peculiar.
Mrs. Reeves.
Mrs. Reeves, a very merry Christmas.
Indeed.
Thatcher, miles to go.
Tie up the truck.
[LAUGHTER]
-Now now, don't be alarmed.
There's a few bindings ripped on top,
but that's what they're in business
for in the first place.
-In business?
-Yes, the Kendall Book Binding Company of Cambridge.
I spoke to Mr. Kendall himself.
He's sending a man here on Monday,
all books to be restored, good as new, guaranteed.
Especially that book that your father gave you.
Your grandfather. Never mind.
I told him to take especially good care of that one.
And I have something for you.
A very merry Christmas, Mr. Merrivale.
-Did you read that book, Mr. Slade?
-Did I read that book?
The ghost of hell, the spirit of Christmas past, present,
and future, absolute unadulterated--
what was the word he used?
-Humbug?
-Mr. Thatcher, please.
[CELEBRATING]
[SINGING "WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS"]
-All right, what do we sing now?
Let's sing "Deck the Halls."
Do you know "Deck the Halls?"
OK.
Give us a note here.
[HUMMING]
[SINGING "DECK THE HALLS"]
-It's a wonderful thing you've done,
just in time for our Christmas party.
-It looks like it turned out that way.
Thatcher, the other item on the truck, please.
-Yes, sir.
-And what do you intend to do on your holiday?
-Oh, I'm not doing anything that special.
-Well, you're more than welcome to join us here.
-That's a very nice invitation.
Thank you.
That boy over there.
Who is he?
-That's Harry.
Harry Barnes.
We have a problem. SLADE [OFFSCREEN]: In what way?
-Well, he's been in a number of foster homes.
He always manages to have himself kicked out
for some outrageous behavior.
-Likes to get into fights.
Uses his hands a lot.
-That's right.
-Likes to work with tools.
-Yes, but always in a hostile way.
How did you know that?
-I understand that boy.
-Here we are, sir.
-Good, good, good.
Put them under the tree.
And Jessup, do me a favor, will you?
Tell that young lad I'd like to take him for a drive.
-He's been acting lately, he doesn't just--
-Just do this for me, please.
Go on and get him.
-No. No.
-He won't go.
-Of course.
Well, maybe I can persuade him.
-Now, you listen to me, my fine friend.
You've been invited to go for a ride,
and I'm bigger than you are.
So here are your choices.
You can either leave with me smiling,
or I'll pull you our of here, kicking and screaming,
which will not make a good impression on your friends.
You have 10 seconds to make the decision.
I can rebuild this place, get it humming again.
It'll take craftsmen, and I-- I know a few,
but they're getting on in years.
I need fresh blood, and that's where you come in, Harry.
I need an apprentice, someone to oil the machines,
make sure they're in working order, sweep up.
What do you think about that?
And I'm offering you a present and a future.
With a promise, Harry.
Oh, I promise they will be different.
-Can we go now?
-If you can tell me what this is.
-It's a stick.
Well, my friend, you're not as smart
as I thought you are, if all you see there is a stick.
I could make this into anything I want it to be.
To me, it is a-- a baseball bat.
It's a whip handle to tame young lions, uh?
A spoke of a ship's wheel, taking me
to new-- new lands, new treasures.
Harry, you can make this into anything you want.
Well, maybe you can't, because all you see is a stick.
Do you have a knife? -No.
-Now you do.
Hey.
What are you going to make?
-You'll see.
-Is that a towel bar?
-Chair leg.
What are you making?
-A towel bar.
Mr. Jessup invited me to the home for dinner.
How's the food?
-Pretty bad.
-Always was.
You know, when you become my apprentice,
uh, you're going to live with me,
very much like a foster son.
-Is that really a towel bar?
-Well, it will be.
-It doesn't look like a towel bar.
-Well, give me a chance, boy.
Give me a chance.