Original subtitles

Good night, sweetheart.

All my prayers are for you. Good night, sweetheart.

I'll be watching over you.

Tears and parting may make us alone.

But with the coming, a new day is coming.

First sale of the day.

20 quid? 20 quid for an old newspaper?

No, that wasn't just any old newspaper, Ron. That was the Daily Express, 8th of

December, 1941.

Japs attack USA.

That man was buying a little piece of history.

And I'm down to my last half dozen. Pity.

Still, never mind.

It's Malta getting its George Cross next month. That is bound to be a seller.

Reckon I can make a bomb out of that.

Hardly an appropriate choice of phrase.

Considering the bombardment which led to that plucky little island's award.

What was it? A thousand raids?

Seven a day?

The capital devastated and the population forced to live underground.

That's right.

Sell like hotcakes.

You're a deeply caring individual, aren't you, Gary?

I like to think so, Ron.

Just a thought, but don't you ever suffer from qualms of conscience?

You know, nipping back into World War II, bulk -buying newspapers and then

selling them for an extortion of profits on your return.

What?

The guilty finger points to you, Gary Sparrow, admit to making money out of

other people's misery.

Well, only if you, Ron Wheatcroft, plead guilty to the same charge for printing

bankruptcy sale notices and promotional leaflets for the latest Take That tour.

Well, that's different.

No, it's not.

What happened in the war wasn't my fault.

I'm just the messenger.

What I bring back doesn't change the message.

I'm forging a link with the past, keeping it alive, so as future

will never forget what happened all those years ago, how all those people

suffered, and... You're making a cheap book out of it.

I've got to do it, Ron.

I need to show a profit with this place.

If I do that, I keep Yvonne off my back, because she is still going on at me

about getting a job at her place, you know, Sim Yong or Dim Sun or whatever

called. How are you, everybody?

What?

Well,

yes, if you're implying that Yvonne wants me to get a job with her Korean

employers, you're absolutely right.

You don't want to.

It's going to mess things up, isn't it?

I'm doing OK at the moment. Life, just for once, is going according to plan.

If I get a job at Yvonne's place, I've got to work nine till five, I'll never

able to see Phoebe, and I won't be able to... Be able to make the occasional

sojourn into that fun -filled pleasure dome we have come to call World War II.

So what do you want me to do?

Go back to 1942, work my way to Berlin, find the bunker and shoot Adolf?

It's an idea. Why not? Because we know it didn't happen wrong. That's why not.

Read the books. There's enough of them.

As far as the publishing world is concerned, World War II is still a

seller than the Princess of Wales.

And with that, our time -travelling Rupert Murdoch is off again.

Yes. I haven't seen Phoebe all week. And it's March the 11th. Meaning?

Surrender of Java.

That old rib -tickler!

When after some of the bloodiest jungle fighting in the whole of World War II, a

small group of British AK -AK gunners turned infantrymen fought to the last

in a vain attempt to save the airfield.

Ron, if not buying newspapers would bring back one of those people, I

touch them.

Just lighten up, will you?

Go on, do the voice again.

Hurrah, lovely body!

Yeah, well, while I'm gone, just remember...

It was racial stereotyping that started World War II off.

I said they'll be in tomorrow!

You daft old... Ah, morning, sir.

I had a feeling we'd be seeing you today.

As soon as I saw Jarver had gone, I said to the missus, our mystery man will be

in, I said.

Really? The missus was wondering who you was. But I said, it's none of ours, is

it? And she said, well, there is a war on and you can't be too careful about...

I took the precaution of putting up the usual quantities.

Hope that's in order.

Perfectly. Thank you. Will you be wanting an acne gazette?

I've only got a couple left this week. Been selling like hotcakes they have.

Not that you can get hotcakes nowadays, of course.

Never known such a rush on them.

Must be page three.

Page three?

A bit about the local hero escaping the eye ties.

Donald Bamford. You know, from the Royal Oak.

Hey!

Oi!

Your papers, sir!

If he's intelligent, God help us.

I repeat, for the hard of hearing and the mentally impaired, Donald has come

back. Donald?

Phoebe's Donald?

Phoebe's husband, Donald?

What Donald do you think I was talking about? Donald Trump?

Donald Beaton? Donald Duck?

Keep your hair on.

Well, as Uncle Ron sees it, who's Donald Baton?

It's a bloke I went to school with.

All right.

Well, as Uncle Ron sees it, a spanner of rather immense proportions has been

thrown into what we have come to call the works.

You figured that one out all by yourself, did you, Ron? I have my

I thought he was in a prisoner of war camp. He was.

He escaped.

Ah.

Talking vaulting horses, are we?

Bags of dirt concealed in the trousers.

Mass choirs of British Tommies rending the air to disguise the sound of

underground digging.

It's the Great Escape.

Do you remember that bit with Steve McQueen on his motorbike?

I'm afraid the truth is a tad more prosaic than that, Ron.

They were transferring Donald to one of the islands and his ship got torpedoed.

The Royal Navy picked him up.

What, no forged papers?

No Donald Pleasance going blind and trying to pick a pin -up from the other

of the room?

Ron, we're talking about real life here.

Yes, yes, I do have a tendency to forget that sometimes.

Still, we are talking about a hero.

Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely.

A bloke who got called up, went away and fought for his country, got captured,

escaped.

Hmm, yeah, please fill the blank. I mean a working -class bloke.

He gets called up, separated from his wife and family, goes away to fight,

captured. Gets put in a prisoner of war camp here and I wish he'd bloody well

stayed there.

God, what a terrible thing to say.

Do I detect a note of bitterness?

Ron, I love Phoebe so much.

And now it's all gone, hasn't it?

It's over.

Not at all.

Come on, pal, look at the facts.

You love Phoebe and Phoebe loves you, right?

Yeah, so?

Well, the only problem, glitch, let's call it a glitch.

And a glitch is better than a problem? Oh, absolutely.

The only glitch, the only glitch on the horizon is that Phoebe's husband has

come back and will want to resume married life with her.

We can get round that.

Yeah? How?

All we need is a plan.

A plan.

Yeah, yeah, that sounds good. Yeah, so what sort of plan?

Two years in a prisoner of war camp.

It's a long time to go without.

Go without what?

Well, you know, he'll want to make up for lost time. Yeah, but get round it,

Ron. You said we could get round it. Yes, yes, yes, we can.

Well, that's a fascinating... What would you call one of these? Ron, Ron, the

plan. Yes. It's a bit tricky, really.

You see, there's you in 1996, married to Yvonne, and there's Phoebe and her

husband in 1942.

Yeah, right, so how do we get round that?

Wasn't The Great Escape a brilliant film?

That bit when James Coburn's in the cafe and the French resistance come.

Ron, you don't know how to get round this, do you? Yes, I do.

I just need to work on the details.

Tiny things.

I'll see you later.

9 .30 tomorrow morning.

Have you got that, Gary?

9 .30.

9 .30. Tomorrow morning at Hatfield. I've got it. I've got it. What time?

7 .30 next Thursday.

Oh, Gary. 9 .30 tomorrow morning at Hatfield.

And I'll put your best suit over the back of the sofa. And don't use that

aftershave your mum bought you for Christmas.

I like that aftershave. Gary, you're going for an interview with a top Korean

company. If you get this job, you'll be working amongst men who wear Armani and

Paul Smith.

Men who exude a certain air of sophistication.

Now, haven't you walked into that reception area smelling like a Turkish

brothel? Who's Paul Smith?

You're wearing his boxers.

Am I?

Well, does he know? Shouldn't we tell him?

Be serious.

Think. If this works out, we will be living together, working together,

good money.

We might be able to save up enough to have a baby.

Yeah.

Tell me again, how much do they cost these days?

For once in our lives, Gary, we'll be ahead of the game.

You do want this job, don't you?

Well... Oh, you're not going to chicken out on me now, are you? No, it's just...

Well, the shop's doing OK, you know. All right, so it's never going to be the M

&S of memorabilia, but it's paying its way.

And, well, he's working together such a good idea.

You know, in each other's pockets the whole time.

Mr and Mrs Corporate. Nothing to talk about over dinner except who said what

who. Look.

Look, Gary, the stuff that you're selling in the shop, it's not going to

forever, you know. It's old stuff. It's going to run out.

I mean, you can't just pop back in time and buy some more when you need it.

Come on, Gary, this is a chance into management with a very go -ahead

It's a gold -plated ladder to the top. I know, I know. I've heard it all before.

Well, obviously you weren't listening.

This is for us, Gary.

You and me.

Doesn't that mean anything anymore?

Yeah, yeah, I suppose you're right.

Got to think about the future, eh?

No good living in the past.

Tom, have you been standing yet? Just now, just got up.

Sorry I slept in.

Oh, no, that's all right.

You need it after what you've been through.

Yeah, you shone a bit of light just then up on that ladder.

Well, you're my husband.

Seen my legs before.

A lot more besides.

Yeah.

Please be, I'm sorry about last night, you know, when I couldn't, when I was

tired. It's all right, Donald.

These things take time, there's no rush.

After all, it's two years. A lot can happen in two years. I mean, things

Yeah, yeah.

Do you mind if I run a bath? I dreamt about lying in that bath for ages.

Tried to picture every crack in the ceiling.

When I was in a prison or war camp, we had to make do with showers.

Showers? How horrible.

These backward countries, eh, darling?

Well, I'll see you in a bit then, eh?

You've got to spruce yourself up for your big night and all your family's

to be here.

Be all right, knees up.

Yeah.

Look at you two lovebirds.

Can't keep your hands off each other.

Making up for lost time, eh? You said it, Reg. That's right, isn't it,

sweetheart? Yeah.

Here, I think I might go for that bath. I need to relax.

Relax? I bet you need to relax. I should have another kip if I was you.

Say, another kip.

Yeah, yeah, that's right, Reg. Yeah, never close my eyes.

I think we might have to buy another bed. The old one's worn out.

It's all right.

You are my wife, aren't you?

Buy another bed.

There's a good one.

Reg.

Oh, well, I mean, you've got to expect it of the bloke. It's only natural,

it? Reg. I mean, two years.

It's a long time for a bloke to wait for his conjugal rights.

Don't I know it? Reg.

Could you please bring me up some more light ales? Right, yo.

So it's true?

You've heard?

Gary, I'm so confused. I don't know what's going to happen.

I mean, we were all right before, but... Reg!

I know, I know. More like ales.

Phoebe, listen.

It's no good.

It's all wrong now. We can't make this work.

Of course we can. We can't.

Look, Donald is your husband, right?

And he's come home.

Yes.

Donald's my husband and he's come home.

There's nothing more to say, is there?

Yeah, but he's only on leave, Gary.

He won't be here forever.

But he's still your husband, Phoebe. We can't change that.

It's his home.

It would be wrong.

This is goodbye then, isn't it, Gary?

Reg. I'm all finished in the cellar.

All right.

Well, goodbye then, Gary.

Phoebe.

Hello. It's the boys off the echo.

Phoebe, what a bitter place. I will always remember you.

Come on, Phoebe girl. All hands to the pumps. Yeah, I'm doing it. I'm doing it.

Gary. What?

Look, we can't say goodbye like this.

Oh, shut up.

Look, come tonight. We can say goodbye properly.

Don't you even think about it.

Oh, well, it's goodbye then, darling.

Yes, darling.

Hello?

Hi, darling.

You all right? Oh, God, what a day. I sent the bathroom to our cell office.

30 minutes later, they sent me a fax saying, when are we going to get the fax

were expecting?

Of course, I had to do the whole thing again.

Right, I'm off to my gym class. There's a shepherd's pie in the fridge. You

can't microwave it. Put it in the oven on gas mark four for 30 minutes.

Right, I'm off. See you about nine. Bye, Gary.

Gary, are you OK?

Gary!

Go on.

Sorry.

Could do at work.

We've just talked about that.

Have you?

I think so.

Yes, I'm sure I have.

What's the matter?

Nothing.

I've just been sitting here thinking about life and stuff.

Stuff? What sort of stuff?

The future.

Oh, you're not worried about this interview tomorrow, are you?

No, no.

You do want this job, don't you?

I went to a lot of trouble to set it up. I'll look really bad if you let me

down. No, I do want the job. That's what I was thinking about.

The future.

Just you and me, isn't it?

Well, it's always been that way, hasn't it?

Just the two of us.

Yeah, of course.

Right. I'll be back about now.

We'll have an early night when I get back.

Well, I'm not really that tired, so... Oh, that sort of early night. Yeah, you

got it in one.

Yeah, yeah, I like that sort of early night.

So do I.

And it's going to be a great future, Gary.

For the two of us.

Oh, darling.

Oh, darling.

Oh, shut up.

Right, and then, according to the plan, what you do next is... Sorry, Ron,

getting a little bit confused here. Can we just backtrack?

Now, according to the plan...

I go to the Royal Oak and tell everybody that I'm from the planet Zircon, which

is 300 light years away.

200. 200 light years away.

It's more believable.

And then you say, I've come to claim Phoebe as my rightful bride so that we

roam the universe together for the rest of our lives.

And then what do I do?

Then you grab Phoebe's hand, run out of the Royal Oak and get into your

spaceship and off you go.

I never said it was going to be a good plan.

That is a fascinating object.

Keep it.

Keep the lock.

I'm getting rid of the shop, Ron.

I'll burn all this stuff when I come back.

I could try and flog it, I suppose, but... No.

Too many memories.

Hey, come on, pal.

Ron, you cannot expect me to sit in there every day knowing that Phoebe is

yards away.

It's a bit of a blow here. There's no football.

We hit the odd friendly at Wembley, but there's no league games. They've been

cancelled till the war's over.

Yeah. Well, when I was in the camp, me and the lads used to make up league

tables. You know, we thought the season was going. Still, you're back home now.

Yeah. Yeah, we played some great football in the camp.

D -Block, that was my block, right? We was champions, two years running.

Don't you worry.

All that's behind you. You're back with Phoebe now.

Soon be here in a pack of her tiny feet, eh?

Plenty of time for that. I've just got back, haven't I?

You're a hero, son.

That's what you are.

A hero.

Hello.

All right, mate, you want a pint? Come on, yeah.

Uh, no, thanks, I'm not staying.

Fair enough.

Here we had some great boxing matches in the camp.

There was this bloke from Seablock, right? Huge, great big bloke he was.

See anything, Riz? I didn't think you'd show your face tonight.

Meaning? Meaning it's not your night, is it?

It's Donald's night. Donald and Phoebe.

Oh, come on, Gary.

I like you. I really do. You know that.

We've had some interesting chats.

Yeah, yeah, of course we have.

Yeah, do you remember the time I told you about my water heater packing up?

1932 model it was, and a bloke down the depot said the particular part I needed

to fix it was a D37 stroke 940. I remember, Reg, I remember.

Yeah, of course you do.

Funny.

What? I was in the middle of telling you about it, I was just getting at the

interesting bit, and you shouted out something about an air raid, and went

running out into the street. Reg.

I'm going back.

What, to Mrs Blossie's?

A bit further than that.

Oh.

So, this is goodbye, then.

Well, it's all for the best.

Yeah, you've been a good friend to me.

And you've been a good friend to Phoebe.

Er, forget my dress.

Oh, come on, Gary, it's all for the best. Got your hair, got a nice pair of

shoulders on you, got your music.

You'll find someone else.

Yeah. And a farewell drink.

This one is on me. You have whatever you want.

As long as it's not a short, and the bit that's running out, so I'll be obliged

if you have half a mile.

I'll have half a mile then.

Sure, because you can have whatever you want, apart from... No, no, half a mile

will be fine.

Half a mile coming up.

Where's Phoebe?

She'll be out in a minute.

Putting on her face upstairs.

Making herself look pretty for Donald.

Right, Donald, ready for that pint of bitter? Ready when you are, Reg.

Don't get me wrong. I love Phoebe. I'm glad to be back and everything.

It's just I had some good times in the camp.

You know, football, boxing, talking.

I miss the talking most.

It weren't like women talking about clothes and cooking and stuff like that,

know. Men's talk.

That's right, Reg.

Men's talk. Proper talk.

Important issues.

Yeah.

Meaningful issues.

Got it in one, Reg. Stuff that women just wouldn't understand.

Here, I'll shine you my tattoo.

in that dress.

Donald will be proud of you.

I'm not wearing this for Donald.

So you've come to say goodbye?

Phoebe, I'm going to miss you so much. Come on, Gary.

I mean, there must be some way around this. Couldn't I come and see you?

That's impossible.

You just take care of yourself, Gary Sparrow.

Send me a letter or a postcard now and then. Let me know how you're getting on,

yeah?

Yeah, I will.

I'll really try.

And just remember, eh?

Just remember.

Phoebe, please don't get upset.

Well, you're upset. Why can't I get upset?

All right.

All right, we'll both be upset.

Look, you've got Donald now.

Oh, will you shut up about Donald?

I love Donald, and he doesn't love me, and you know it.

If his auntie hadn't kept chickens, none of this would have happened.

Pardon me?

Donald's got his auntie used to keep chickens in her backyard, right? And my

used to send me round there to buy eggs off her.

Still not much clearer for you.

round there and Donald's sitting there having his tea and he's got his shirt

and his auntie says to me, sit down, Phoebe. Say hello to Donald, Phoebe.

slice of carrot cake, Phoebe. And to be absolutely honest, Gary, I am not a big

fan of carrot cake.

I prefer a slice of Battenberg. Yeah, well, to cut a long story short. Yeah,

well, to cut a long story short, Donald's family thought we'd make a good

match and I wanted to get away from Dad.

And before either of us knew it, we were walking down the aisle together.

And then the war started.

Donald volunteered.

Got captured.

And I could have gone through with it, Gary. I could have.

I may need to come home. We'd have had kids.

We'd have gone to Margate every year.

We'd have had our little arguments, but... But then I turn up. Yeah.

And I am ever so glad you did, Gary.

Oh, God, Reg, please, not now.

Phoebe.

Go on, please. Get out there.

Now.

All right, all right.

So you're going to beat me up.

But you better know first that Phoebe and I love each other and there is

you can do about that.

You can break my legs, you can break my arms, or you could give me a black eye.

Yeah, a black... Or a really nasty flap, you know, that would really sting.

Donald?

I can't do it, mate.

I can't do it.

It's not our fault.

I had this auntie, you see.

The one who kept chickens?

Yeah, yes, sir.

But we didn't have any say in the matter.

She told me.

I had plans, you know.

Before I had to get married, me and my mate Steve, we was going to go to

Australia.

Yeah, they've got kangaroos there, you know.

Yeah? Yeah, they have, honest. I read about them in the library.

They've got these farms that go on forever.

That's what we was going to do.

Me and Steve, before I got into this marriage lot, was going to work on one

them farms.

Probably could have stayed there for the rest of our lives.

What happened to Steve?

His mum wrote me a letter when I was in the PRW camp.

He got killed in the North Africa campaign.

Got a bit broken up about that, I don't mind telling you, mate.

Hard work.

Hard work getting over that one.

Funny.

I was coming here on the train.

Pulled into a station, there's this big crowd there.

I thought I saw him.

Just for a second, his face. I thought I saw his face.

But it couldn't have been him, could it?

I wouldn't have thought so.

No.

No, I thought not.

I thought not.

So, you love Phoebe, do you?

Yes, I do.

Phoebe.

When I was in the camp, I used to lay awake at night and think of her face.

I do that.

You are serious?

You're not messing her about?

Absolutely.

Good.

Because if you were, I'd have to come back and kill you.

Where are you going?

Back to my regiment.

Got a couple of weeks' leave left, but I don't know.

I'm not one for city street.

And all this marriage lark, I just can't get the hang of it.

Look, clear it with Phoebe, will you?

It's not that I don't love her. I do.

I really like her.

It's just me.

Maybe there's something wrong with me.

No.

No, there's not.

Listen, Donald, um... Will you take care now, yeah?

Yeah.

Yeah. What's the matter?

Some sort of pansy or something?

Just mind how you go.

Come on, please. I've been meaning to talk to you.

Give it a couple of minutes, will you, mate?

It's all right.

It's a good nut, that bloke.

Yeah, he is.

He'll take proper care of you and everything.

What?

Come on, Phoebe.

It's never going to work out, is it?

Brother and sister.

That's what me and you should have been.

I don't know, Donald.

You're only in a bloom of chickens, eh?

He's gone.

He's got a bit on the side, hasn't he, Gary?

No.

If ever he loved a woman, it was you.

So where does that leave us?

Back the way we were, I suppose.

Oh, yeah.

What with me not knowing when you're going to show up and you're dashing off

of a sudden.

It won't be like that forever.

No? No.

But I do have to go now.

Look, Phoebe, tomorrow morning I have to be in Hatfield at 9 .30.

It's a very important... briefing.

Yeah, well, that is in the morning, Gary.

It's hours away.

I've never asked you this before, but I really need you to stay with me tonight.

Especially now. Now it's... Now it's what?

Well, now it really is just the two of us, isn't it?

in a clock.

Good

night,

sweetheart. Sleep will banish sorrow.

Good night, sweetheart.

Till we meet tomorrow.

Breathe and hold you.

In memory I'll hold you.

Good night, sweetheart.