Original subtitles

How will you make it on your own?

This world is awfully big.

Girl, this time you're all alone. But it's time you started living.

It's time you let someone else do some giving.

Love is all around, no need to waste it. You can have it down, why don't you

take it?

You might just make it after long.

You might just make...

What do you say we go out and buy ourselves a nice lunch?

Oh, gee, I'd love to, Murray, but I just don't think I can afford it.

Oh, well, maybe I could lend it to you. Ah, no, no, I still owe you $5 from last

Friday. Oh, do you?

Yeah. Don't you remember we had lunch at Quo Vadis? I'm afraid I... And I

ordered lobster sermador. Lobster newborn.

And so you lent me some money, remember?

No, I completely forgotten.

We having the old Friday luncharino gang?

How about it, Mayor?

Well, I'm afraid it's going to have to... Just be you and Murray, Ted. I'm a

little short this week.

Oh, well, if you need to borrow any money, I'm sure Murray here would be

lend it to you.

Newsroom, Mary Richards.

Bob Freelander here, general manager of WKS.

Yes, sir. Just a moment. I'll put Mr. Grant on.

No, I want to talk to you.

To me?

I'm interviewing several young women for a producer's job. I'd like to talk to

you about it.

You're considering me for a producer's job?

Yes, on a new talk show for ladies.

We're calling it...

The ladies' talk show.

Certainly is catchy.

How soon can you get in here so we can talk?

Well, I don't see how I can during, you know, working hours.

Then we'll do it today on your lunch hour. We can have lunch and chat right

in my office. Let's say 12 .30?

Well, all right. 12 .30 will be fine.

I'll see you then.

Wait a minute. I'd like to order some lunch. What would you like?

Oh, a hamburger and coffee.

If you're ordering lunch, get me a ham sandwich, a glass of milk.

I'm going to get a glass of milk and a side of fries.

I'll have pastrami on rye and a vanilla shake. Pastrami on rye.

Is it good news or bad news, Mary?

Phyllis, since when do you read bad news with champagne?

a women's talk show at another television station. Mary, produce!

Producer!

That's terrific!

It means a lot more money, it means my own office, and a private secretary, and

you'll meet new guys, and you'll be able to afford a whole new wardrobe. Right?

And I don't want to do it.

Oh, yeah.

Money, guards, glamour, who wants that?

If you don't want the job, then why the champagne?

Because I'm going to have to take this job. I can't afford not to.

trying to convince myself that I'm really happy about it. So why don't we

some champagne and celebrate my new job? Why don't we? Because I don't want a

new job.

I mean, I will be leaving a lot of people that I love, and I feel like a

to Mr. Grant.

Oh, that's ridiculous.

Your only loyalty should be to yourself.

But, Phil, Mr. Grant took a big chance on me. I mean, when he hired me, I was

completely inexperienced.

That's like saying that...

something for marrying me because I was completely inexperienced.

Mary, take the job. You owe it to yourself.

I just don't know.

Mary, look, if you don't want to leave, go into Lou Grant and demand a raise.

Oh, Rhoda, I could get a raise.

What I need is a raise.

It's painfully simple. There are two choices here.

A, Lou Grant meets your price, or B, you quit.

You're right, it is. It's painfully simple. Thankfully simple.

Well, I guess we don't need this yet.

Hey, Mary, next time you throw a party, would you let us know beforehand if you

can open the bottle?

You know, Murray, maybe I don't need a raise after all. I mean, I'm going over

my budget here, and I figure that on my salary, I can't possibly make it. But

somehow, this month, I did.

It's fantastic. It came out even, right down to the penny. Well, almost.

Did I pay you back that $5?

raised, don't I?

Newsroom, Mary Richards.

Oh, hello, Mr. P.

Uh,

no, I, uh, I haven't made that decision yet.

$20 a month for gasoline, that's not bad.

Uh, yes, sir, I understand that you'd like an answer soon.

Hey, Murr, this girl throws away more money on food than I spend on booze.

It's just that it's not quite as easy to come to a, you know, there are other

factors to consider here.

$25 a month for dry cleaning? Well, that includes my laundry.

Listen, I'll try to get back to you this afternoon.

Would ten minutes be all right?

All right, I'll talk to you then.

Goodbye.

Never make it. I know.

Mr. Grant?

Could I speak to you for a minute? Sure, come on in.

Mr. Grant?

that I have been going over my budget is I have been offered a new job. It's

over at WKS to produce a ladies' talk show called the Ladies' Talk Show.

You knew.

Well, the broadcasting industry in this town is like a big family.

Everybody knows what everybody else is doing. For example, Bob Freelander

undoubtedly knows that this morning I went to our general manager and told him

wanted to give you a raise.

Oh, Mr. Grant, that's just wonderful. It would have been, but he turned me down.

Now, before you get on the phone and try to tell Freelander that you'll take his

job, let me give you a word of advice.

Don't. Give me a good reason not to, please.

Mary, it's cold out there.

Everyone's jockeying for position, ready to cut each other's throat. Is that

what you want?

You guessed it, Mr. Grant.

I want to go out there and scratch and claw for power. I'll stop at nothing in

my ruthless fight for the top.

Mary, it's dog -eat -dog in this business.

That's what I'm trying to tell you. I thought you said the broadcasting

was like a big family.

I didn't say it was a nice family.

Mr. Grant, we both know what has to be done here, and it would make it a whole

lot easier for me if you would be the one to say it.

Mary, you are going to have to quit me.

Couldn't you just have said quit the station or just plain quit?

Well, I guess I said that because I hired you.

Not the station, me.

But just because I went out on a limb for you, I certainly wouldn't want any

sense of loyalty to me to interfere with a better deal for you.

I'm sure glad that you're not putting this on any kind of, you know, personal

basis. The reason I am is because I don't want you to go.

I'll miss you.

Well, I'll miss you, too.

When does Freelander want you to start?

He said as soon as you can find a replacement for me. Oh, don't worry

that.

Oh.

Well, then I guess I'll clean out my desk on Friday.

Hey, I want to give you a going -away party.

Who usually arranges for those things?

I do.

It's Rhoda. Come on in.

Is that you, Rhoda? Yes, Phyllis, yes. I am going into Mary's apartment, yes.

She hasn't missed a thing that goes on in this entire building.

I just washed my hair. Can I borrow your dryer? Oh, I'm sorry, Rhoda. It's

broken again.

Listen, soon the money will start pouring in from your new job, and we'll

able to afford a new one.

Can I borrow your stove?

Yeah, sure.

It beats trying to dry your hair over a hot plate.

Hey, Mary. Were you in bed? I'm sorry. No, listen, I tried to go to sleep, but

just couldn't. I guess it's because of the new job.

Possibly because it's only 8 .30.

Yeah, but I was sitting around here thinking about...

leaving the newsroom tomorrow. I got myself so depressed, I decided I'd just

to bed.

Yeah.

You know what hot milk tastes like?

Hot milk.

I'm an expert on the stuff.

Did you know that the first man to drink hot milk invented the word yuck?

Hey, come on, kid. Let's just talk, huh? Yeah, good. Anything. I just don't want

to think about that new job.

What do you want to talk about?

They showed me my new office today.

Outside it, there was this bunch of girls all laughing and giggling, having

There I was, inside my private cubicle, practicing, sitting behind this big

desk, looking like an executive.

Felt like Rosalind Russell.

It's going to be tough trying to find you a tweed suit with padded shoulders.

Hey, wait. No, it isn't. I just remembered.

I've got one.

Oh!

Why didn't you tell me you're having a pajama party?

Phyllis, I'm not wearing pajamas.

Oh. With you, it's always so hard to tell, Rhoda.

So, what did I miss?

Nothing much. I was just telling Rhoda how hard it's going to be to leave my

job tomorrow.

Oh, Mary.

Dear, funny Mary.

There are some lessons that I've learned in my life.

that I would like to share with you right now.

Mary, you know that trouble you've been having tonight about sleeping?

This ought to do it.

Good night. Good night.

Life, as I see it, is a long trail of leaving.

What I mean is, you leave school.

You leave home.

You leave jobs.

Leave me alone.

What you're getting at, but it's not going to help me. Yes, it will, Mary, it

will, if you just let me explain it to you the way I explained it to Beth. But

Phyllis, I'm not 12 years old.

Last year, she had this marvelous opportunity to go to camp, but she was

miserable about having to leave, just as you are. I mean, the situations are so

analogous, it's, well, it's astounding.

But I explained to her the... fun she'd have doing new things, making buttons

out of walnuts, short -sheeting the counselor's bunk.

Mary,

not only that, but making new little friends. An adventure.

It'll be the same with you, Mary. An adventure.

What are you doing out of bed at this hour?

Well, Murray asked me to come in early.

Yeah, I wrote a farewell speech to Murray to close the show with tonight,

figure if Ted studies it all day, maybe he can do it on the air tonight without

a goof.

I'm still not here. I'm going to have to make these party arrangements myself.

Murray, you're going to have to help me make some phone calls.

Anything at all I can do, Lou. Ted, I've been asking myself that same question

about you for years.

Who do you want me to call?

Let's see. I want this to be a party to remember.

Get a large punch bowl and get me a distillery and two lemons.

I want this to be big.

By the way, Ted, you haven't kicked in yet.

How much is this going to cost? It's going to be up there, maybe into two

figures. Two figures?

I don't know why every time we turn around we have to throw our hard -earned

money away on some frivolous party. What about flowers?

Flowers, too.

Let's see, distillery.

punch bowl lemons. What time would you like the Minneapolis Symphony to arrive?

Here's five dollars, Murr. Take Christine out of that and give me the

later.

This desk will never be the same.

Yeah, I know.

Mary's old desk.

Maybe we should retire it.

You know, like they do football players' jerseys.

Where is she, anyway? Isn't she even going to show up on her last date? Well,

the girls from sales took her out to a farewell champagne breakfast, and at

noon, the guys from promotion are buying her a farewell drink and lunch. And

she's got to be snockered before the party. Yeah.

Newsroom.

No, Miss Richards isn't here.

Who's calling?

Oh, hi, Freelander.

Lou Grant?

Yeah, I'll have her call you.

Maybe. Hey, Freelander.

You got yourself a good girl.

You'd think Mary would be back from lunch by dinner time.

I'm beginning to get worried.

It's all right. The whole production department hasn't come back from lunch

either. Well, if she doesn't hurry, she's going to miss Ted doing the

speech I wrote.

Don't do that. You'll dent the dip.

My stomach is growling. Well, take a drink.

Why do you think my stomach's growling? I had a drink.

I gotta have some food, man. This punch Lou made is gonna eat right through my

stomach. Well, you can't eat. I want everything to look perfect for Mary when

she gets here.

Lou. Huh?

What is that shriveled up little thing doing in the punch?

Five minutes ago, that was a fresh gardenia.

Hey, here it is. Oh, Mary's gonna miss it. Hey, everybody, here's the farewell

speech. Gather round.

Tonight, for my sign -off in place of my usual droll anecdote, I'd like to get

serious for a moment. The associate producer of our 6 o 'clock news is

our friendly fold for greener pastures.

And it is with mixed joy and sadness that we view her exodus.

So all of us here at WJM wish a bon voyage through the ocean of life and the

best of luck to our own Mary Rickards.

Richard!

It's my fault.

It's all my fault. Why your fault? Well, I wrote the whole speech out

phonetically except for Mary's name.

How did it sound, boys?

Rickards! You said Rickards!

I don't get your point, Murr.

Her name is Richards.

Now I get your point.

the servers must have been rotten. You've been gone for over six hours.

Is there anything new around here that I should know about?

Not much.

Your new boss called.

Hey,

hey, hey. Try to keep it down. Everybody's looking.

Give me a moment alone.

Don't worry.

I will not embarrass you.

Good old boss.

It's going to be some party, baby.

I'm nothing, Gertie.

All I've got are looks and a voice.

I'm just of no talent.

Somebody put truth serum in the punch.

So, Murray, you might as well hear this, too.

I do a good job of hiding it, but I'm a lousy newsman.

That's not true, Ted.

You don't do a good job of hiding it.

Get yourself together, man. You're being too hard on yourself, Ted. No, he's

not.

Oh, just a wonderful bunch of wonderful guys.

Mm -hmm.

She really picks up a party, doesn't she?

I should have stayed with what I started out to be.

The only thing I ever really wanted to be... a male

fashion model.

Well, if he wants to be a model, I guess that's the best kind to be.

I used to look at glossy pictures of those guys in the ads.

Standing there like this.

How do I look?

Sober? Sober.

I think it's happened.

What's happened?

I've built up an immunity to booze.

Lou?

I am in the presence of men, real men, and I know I can trust you.

Yeah, uh -huh. Well, now, I have been happily married to the same woman for

years, you know that, but every once in a while... Hold it, Murray.

I've been here a few times, in bars, at various parties.

People sometimes say things at times like this that they later wish they

Yeah. So I'd like to stop you right now from mentioning any names. Marie

McGuire.

That's right.

I didn't hear it. Marie McGuire.

She was a pom -pom girl in college.

Boy, was she something.

Blonde hair, blue eyes.

Blonde hair, blue eyes.

Marie... That's your wife.

Yeah, I know.

Isn't it terrific?

It's going to be one of those big parties.

Where are you going?

Well, it's getting late, and I just thought I really couldn't face any final

goodbyes, so I was planning to call everybody individually, you know, next

Well, I figured if I stayed any longer, somebody would probably start singing...

For she's a jolly good fellow.

For she's a jolly good fellow.

For she's a jolly good fellow.

I can't sing either.

I

don't

know what to say to tell you how I feel.

I'll never forget any of you. Of course you won't. We'll be seeing each other

all the time.

Oh, that's right. We will. We'll be seeing each other all the time. Lunch

together? Lunch together. We will. Every week? Every week. We will have lunch

together.

I don't know who I'm trying to kid.

I've been to enough of these things to know that people say they'll get

together, but they never do.

The minute I walk out that door into your doggy dog world, that's...

Last time I'll probably ever see any of you.

Well, except for Ted on the news.

Or in a fashion magazine.

So, anyway, I just want to say thank you and... Bye.

So, uh... Come on, everybody.

This is a party.

Everybody's supposed to be having a very good time.

I know I am.

Larry, come into my office.

Excuse me.

Sit down.

Mr. Grant, I'm awfully sorry. You gave me this beautiful party and I put a

damper on it. You didn't put a damper on it. You dropped a bomb on it.

But I don't care about that.

I'm going to meet Freelander's offer.

Come on, Mr. Grant.

The general manager already turned you down once.

Yeah, but I didn't threaten to quit yet.

Quit for me?

No.

Well, the general manager doesn't know that.

So, let's call Mr.

Freelander and tell him to find somebody else for that job.

You mean right now?

Of course now.

interesting little development here.

Listen, I know I haven't actually started to work for you yet, but I quit.

I think she's going to stay.

Well, Mr. Grant has met your offer, so I've decided to stay right here.

Oh, that was just some friends of mine.

Yes, sir, I do realize what I'm doing.

Yes, sir. Mr. Freelander, I have given the matter a great deal of serious

thought.

Hiya,

Ted. Oh, hi, Mer.

Oh, Mer.

I just want to personally tell you how pleased I am that you decided to stay.

Oh, thank you, Ted.

It was a lovely party, wasn't it? The best.

We all chipped in, you know.

Well, I was thinking that since it was a going -away party for you, and you

actually did not go away.

I mean, you were there enjoying the party like everyone else.

Ted, are you suggesting that I chip in? Well... How much?

Five.