Original subtitles

The only way this show is going to work is if it is a collaborative effort.

Come on!

Everybody starts believing!

The eyes are still the Benjamin I remember.

And you think they... Well, you know what I mean. You think him and her...

Danny, the man is old. He ain't dead.

Two reunions. Two reunions.

You've got big dreams.

You want fame.

Well, fame comes.

And right here is where you start paying.

Matulo, you left two people standing. Would you like to try to pick up a

Class, don't forget to fill out these forms and bring them back to me

I need to know how many parents I can expect for the show.

Leroy, Danny, come over here. Let me talk to you.

I'd like to see both of you in the office after you've cleaned up. I have a

little job for you.

How much do we get paid? We don't work cheap.

Well, I think we're talking about a couple of hundred dollars changing hands

here.

Couple of hundred, Doc? Is it for you, a hundred for me?

Prop? I don't know anything about getting any props.

Well, what better time to learn, then?

Here, if we don't spend a whole $200, do we at least get, like, to keep the rest

of the money? No, Mr. Amatulo, it doesn't quite work like that.

Besides, I don't think you're going to get everything we need with the $200

anyway. Just do the best you can. Now, look, this is the check, and both of you

fill out these forms and sign where I've marked X. What is all this stuff?

This is the receipt saying that you have the money.

And this is the form authorizing you to have it for the purposes stated.

And what's this?

Your guarantee that the money will be spent only on items approved.

Oh, trust is such a lovely thing.

And where do we get this stuff? That's your problem. But I suggest you skip

Bloomingdale's and go to second -hand stores, thrift shops.

Just get it done.

Cheap.

Speaking of money...

There's a very intriguing offer from the teacher's credit union. You all ought

to look into it.

They're offering an investment counseling service.

Too bad. I just squandered all my money on rent.

Keeping up with the jet set, dear? Only if I lived under the approach to

LaGuardia.

How are the acting students keeping up in your production number?

I'm not too sure. I've never choreographed a stampede before.

Think cheap.

Cheap, cheap.

Cheap. Chief.

I have a suggestion, Mrs. Berg.

Instead of distributing Worthland's announcement to everyone, you should

one copy and we could all ignore it more efficiently.

You really should consider this offer, Mr. Sharofsky. It's a very good time for

small investors.

Teachers don't qualify as small investors. We are serfs.

Or maybe not.

serves to have a better medical plan. Oh, I almost forgot.

This call came for you. A Frieda Grauer?

Frieda Grauer?

Are you sure?

I took the call myself.

She wants you to call her at that number.

What's the matter, Mr. Sharofsky? You look as if you've just heard from your

bill collector.

I guess I have.

In a way.

Try that again, please, from the same place.

One, two, three.

Hold it, hold it.

Isn't that supposed to be a minor chord?

Oh.

Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see the key signature.

That's better.

It's even correct.

Was that so difficult, Mr. Martelli? It's okay. I got it. Wonderful.

Haydn survives more than two centuries, and now he even survives Martelli.

The question is, will Martelli survive Haydn?

Mr. Haydn is mercifully dead, so he doesn't care.

And I may be stuck with you, but I don't care either.

To you, music isn't melody but megawatts, not Wagner but voltage.

Fine, go play in your electronic sandbox, or better yet...

I'm sorry.

You make a small joke and I react as if you're attacking something sacred.

I beg your pardon, Mr. Martelli.

It's okay, we all have a band -aid.

I apologize to you. I apologize to all of you. Play.

Leave.

From the top.

One, two, one.

Oh, I forgot.

Oh, congratulations.

All the book reports are in on time.

They say if you live long enough, you see everything.

Maybe you should declare today a holiday.

Wait till I read them.

I want to make sure none of you is trying to review heavy metal comics

All right, all right. How many of you have ever kept a diary?

A diary?

No way.

No, it's not smart to write stuff that could be held against you. But a diary

private. It's a way of communicating with yourself.

Writing down your thoughts, your dreams.

If I wrote down my dreams, I'd get arrested.

We're talking dreams, not wishful thinking.

Okay.

I want to read you something that was written by a young girl who also had

doubts about keeping a journal.

She called her diary Kitty.

Come on, Red.

One July day, she wrote, It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my

ideals because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out.

Yet I keep them.

Because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at

heart.

Less than a year later, when she was about your age, this girl died in Bergen

-Belten, a Nazi concentration camp.

Her name was Anne Frank.

Your assignment is to read her diary and to keep one for yourselves for about a

month. Does that mean that we have to show our diaries to the class?

No, of course not.

Then why do you want us to keep a diary?

Because it's just possible, Mr. McNeil, that you might learn something about

yourself.

Uh,

Miss Sherwood?

Uh -huh? How much time do we have to read for this assignment?

A couple of weeks.

Uh, I don't think me and Danny can do this.

Why not?

Because we're sort of like doing double duty. We're in the spring festival, and

we're in charge of getting all the props.

Yeah, I think we'll be too busy to finish the assignment in two weeks.

Twelve days. You said two weeks. Eleven days.

But we're going to be busy with ten days.

Oh, I get it.

The more we try to get out of it, the less time we have to complete the

assignment.

That's the message.

I still don't think it's fair that we have to do all the stuff for the show

read ancient history, too.

It isn't.

Ancient history.

Hello.

This is Sharofsky. Don't say anything yet because I'm not here.

There will be a beep.

A sharp, I think.

Then you can talk. Goodbye.

Benjamin, this is Frida.

I'm in New York to attend a banquet at the end of the week.

I took a chance and looked your name up in the phone book.

I'm staying at the New Salem house.

Please call me there.

We need to talk, you and I.

Please.

Doom.

Doom.

Hey,

Danny, check it out. They even got the floor lamp that we need.

All right.

Is this an armchair or is this an armchair?

Fantastic. You know, that should pretty much finish it for the lift.

All right, all right. Will there be anything else, boys?

That should just about do it. Now, add them up easy.

Well, it looks like quite a haul here. What are you boys doing? Furnishing a

mansion or something? No, a stage. I'm for a school show.

Oh, oh. How'd you find out about my shop? A guy that comes into the pool

where I work told us about it. He said you can beat anybody's price.

Yeah, well, he's right. You remember his name?

He calls himself Stroke.

That's right, on account of the way he played pool, you know, real smooth.

Well, see and tell your friends of stroke. Let me see.

This would be $245.

Well, let's make it $240 even, okay?

We only have $200 to spend.

Well, we're going to have to work something out here, boys. I mean, I'm

operating on a very thin margin of profit here. How about if we put a free

our program for this place? Yeah. How many people would see it?

About 200. 3 ,000.

I'll go with your estimate.

All right, I'll give you 20 off for the free program.

But we're still $20 apart.

Maybe you better put something back. Make up the difference.

How much are you charging for this chest of drawers?

$40. Take it.

I'm a tool hole.

Done.

Okay, I'll give you a change as soon as I put this thing away.

Look, Amatulo, we're not supposed to bring back no change. We're supposed to

bring back props. Yo, don't argue with me, man. I know what I'm doing. I'm 100

right. Oh, this is gonna be lovely.

If we give back a 20 -buck item, then we're one prop short, and we're out of

money. This way, we're still one prop short, but we have $20 to work with.

Amatulo, you have a weird mind.

I don't know whether it's good or bad, but for sure, it's weird.

to talk about the music for the show. There's nothing to talk about. The

orchestra will be ready as promised. Well, what about the timetable, though?

I know. You would like to hear the arrangement sooner?

I'd like corned beef in the cafeteria.

We all must shoulder our disappointments. Excuse me.

I'm sure that somewhere it is. You had another message.

Freda Brower called again.

She seemed disappointed that you hadn't returned her call.

I know it must seem silly, but somehow I get the feeling that Miss Brower is an

old flame.

Or something.

Well, I can't help wondering about her. I'm only human after all.

Be better than human.

Be quiet.

I was sort of hoping you could make it. This is like the last show of the year.

Leroy, it's not up to me.

These people I work for, if they decide to do some entertaining later on in the

month, I'd be hard put to get some time off.

And the airplane tickets aren't getting any cheaper either, you know.

But the man at the airline said that you can order your ticket in advance and

then fly for nearly half fare.

Hey, man, we about ready to go? Yeah.

No luck with your mom, huh?

Well, I mean, she's trying to make it happen, man. It's just these people she

works for.

They're talking about doing something more entertaining, and if they do,

going to need her more.

Well, I mean, it's a long shot, that's all.

Man, I know it's none of my business, but how come your mom works in Detroit?

Well, she didn't up until about four or five months ago.

See, this is the family that she works for here in New York.

The man got transferred to Detroit.

Said it would only be for like six months or so.

Offered to take my mom along and offered to take me and put me in school.

They have a school like ours in Detroit?

Nah, that's the problem.

So her and me decided that she'd go her way and I think he'd go mine.

Anyway, six months ain't a long time, is it?

Man, are you asking me or are you telling me?

I'm telling you.

And I'm lying.

Come on.

Go.

All right, let's try it again. This time with a little bit of gusto, please.

Okay?

Go on, go on. Don't stop.

Sorry to bother you, Mr.

Swarovski. Then come back after class.

No, there's a misread of growlers.

Take a number and tell our class. She's not on the telephone.

She's right outside.

Why'd you stop playing?

You said to play to letter B, and we got to letter B.

Almost all at the same time, too.

All right, fine.

Try it again, please.

She's outside.

Well, you recognized me.

Yes?

I'm not so sure I would have recognized you.

The beard.

That's new.

I had it for 20 years.

Oh, Ben Newman.

The last time I saw you, you were new to shaving a beard without a question.

But do you know something?

I think I would have recognized you anyway.

With the glasses, the white hair, the beard, the distinguished manner.

The eyes are still the Benjamin Irons.

Amatulo, are you on a different time zone than the rest of the world, or are

just better than everybody else?

The prop masters have arrived.

It's about time.

Where'd you get that watch?

At the thrift shop, and it's not a prop, and keep your hands off it.

It's guaranteed up to 450 feet.

Maybe it will help you get to class on time.

It don't come with that kind of guarantee.

We'd have been here sooner, but we had trouble hauling all the stuff up. We got

almost everything on the list. Everything? Yeah.

Did you go over budget?

Nope. And we still have $20 to spend.

All right.

Well, where's everything else?

In the lobby.

We're prop masters, not common laborers. All right, strong backs.

Weak minds. Come on, put this stuff down. Come on, y 'all. Let's go

and help them bring everything up.

Mr. Brennan.

Hold it, Bradford. I'll speak to you

for a moment. Oh, I'm sort of in a hurry right now.

Look, you all go on with... I'll be right there.

What is it, Mrs. Burke?

Do you remember that nice detective who was here a few months ago, Lieutenant

Kessler?

Yes. But he's back.

He's in the office now, and he wants to talk to you right now.

Mrs. Burke, I have a pile of props that I have to move out of the lobby.

Well, I think that's what he wants to talk to you about.

Why does a police officer want to talk to me about our props?

Well, that's why I want you to talk to him, because... I didn't quite

it all. It just seemed to me like he was paying you a compliment on the quality

of the props you obtained.

What exactly did he say?

He said, all your props are hot.

Dad, it's Leroy! Oh, wait!

Children!

Yeah, man.

Edmonton, the island is going to kill him. I think I'm going to be sick.

Can't say that I'm sick.

at the show.

Well, look, maybe it's not such a big deal. Not such a big deal.

We have unfinished music, incomplete choreography, and zilch props.

To me, this is a big deal.

Doris is right.

We'll be lucky if they don't transfer us to manual arts. At least if they've got

a wood shop, we can make our own props. Get out of here.

It's not that serious, I'm telling you. Take the props. The cops already did.

Stay off me, will you? Come on, we're in good shape.

Hold it, everybody. Now, I want to hear this.

Tell us how much good shape we're in.

First of all, the $20 we got, we wouldn't have had if I hadn't outfoxed

from the thrift shop. Don't call him the guy. Sounds so normal. Call him the

thief, which is what he is.

Wait a minute. Quiet down, Doris.

Dana's going to tell us how we can get $200 worth of props with $20.

$20 is not all we got.

It's all I know about, unless you've been hosing out or something.

The other thing we got, it's me.

We kill you for the insurance.

I like it.

No, maybe he wants to sell his body to science. I do.

Okay, that makes $22 .50. What do we do for the rest of it?

Okay, fine. Forget it.

And took the character of Danny Amatulo, whose audience eagerly awaits the

recital of his brilliant plan. He steps to the apron of the stage, turns and

says... For the past three years in the South Bronx, which is definitely majorly

territory, I haven't lost one game of nine ball.

Man, and you work in the pool hall. No one even knows who I am. And we have a

-buck steak.

Wait a minute, you talking a money game here?

If that's what you're talking, that's what we'll get. What kind of odds did

get? I don't know. He puts on that Miami Dolphins T -shirt, that white red smile

of his.

I don't know, I could get something real good probably, maybe 10 to 1.

Yep. It shouldn't be too hard to raise 20 or so bucks more to go with what we

got. That'd give us $400.

What do we need the extra $200 for?

Get Leroy's mom out of town to see the show.

Wait a minute, man.

How good are you?

I mean, don't job me or nothing. Are you really good?

I'm really good.

You better be.

Two pounds of beef.

What else?

Frida, this is ridiculous.

Let me take you someplace nice for dinner.

I'm not doing this for you.

I'm doing this for me. Don't flatter yourself, Benjamin.

But half of my time is spent traveling and eating at restaurants when I go to

pupils' concerts, so I would like to have a home -cooked meal, even if I have

cook myself.

A compromise, then. We'll eat dinner at my place, but you won't be doing the

cooking. You are going to cook? No.

I thought we'd stop on the way and pick up something to go. Pick up something to

go?

Benjamin, have you truly become so American?

Like I said, you cook.

Mr. Swarovski, do you have a minute? I need... Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting

something? This is Frida Grau, an old friend of mine, Miss Sherwood. How do

do? How do you do? Now, you two go right ahead. Never mind me. I'm just making

up a shopping list.

Yes, well, it's so pressing.

Well, I need your help.

In what?

In your music classes.

How do you make things real to the kids? Things that happened before they were

born. I don't always witness Mr. Metelli.

What are we talking about specifically?

We're doing a project.

It's the diary of Anne Frank.

Two of the kids don't want to read the book because they saw the movie. They

said it was slow.

I mean, that reality just doesn't exist for them. They react to it as if it were

a story.

Instead of trying to imagine how Anne felt, they are wondering how they would

play her.

That's part of what we teach here.

We train people to be performers.

I'm trying to train the person inside the performer.

That's a separate specialty.

I think we have a school for it in the Bronx.

Oh, come on.

Mr. Sharofsky.

Benjamin, if I'm going to get all the things I need for the cooking and do the

cooking too, I think you should leave now.

We're on our way.

You and I will talk tomorrow, okay? I'd appreciate it.

So glad to have met you. Same here. I'm sorry to have shortened your

conversation with them. Oh, that's all right.

We'll talk tomorrow.

Good.

I'm a Tulo.

How you doing? Wally's the wiki.

You want to get started?

Let's go. Good.

You want to practice?

No. Leg break?

No.

We'll shoot straight pool, okay?

First guy to get 50 balls wins.

Fine with me.

What are the stakes?

50 at 8 for 1.

Minimum wages.

I have to hustle up some more stuff after I take care of Fuzzcheek, sir.

Your man keeps score for me. My man keeps score for you, okay?

Sounds fair to me.

Good. Spot him 49 points.

You break first.

Remember, you need one to win.

Fifteen ball in the corner pocket.

Hey, man, it's okay. We only need one.

But it's the hard one.

Ten. Corner pocket.

Pour your wine. In a minute.

Here.

Taste.

Excellent.

Reminds me of home.

Isn't it odd?

Home isn't there anymore, but I still think of it as home.

Well, you took good memories with you when you left, Benjamin.

You know, I think I'll have to steal this picture. It reminds me of how old

become.

Do you think it needs more salt?

It's fine.

And you can never grow old in my eyes.

Come, enjoy your wine.

I think I'll add some salt first.

Prost. Prost.

To reunions. To reunions.

Eleven in the corner.

Eight. Other corner.

Thirty -five.

Three. In the corner.

Eleven in the side.

You know, he gets these four and we're done.

So what, man? You get one and he's done.

One's all we need. One ball, corner.

Amatulo, go do it.

What happened, Molly?

Saw it scratched.

Eight ball, corner pocket.

11 in the corner 15 cross corner twice

12

in the corner and two in the other corner for 50 bucks

nice game boys

We should have had this reunion years ago.

We nearly did.

What do you mean?

I tried to find you for years after the war.

And then one summer, after I'd given you up for dead, I was in Rome and saw your

name advertised for a concert.

That was 20 years ago.

22. I never got your message.

I never sent one.

Afraid and ashamed.

I know what you must have gone through with the war.

No, Benjamin, no, you don't.

Because you weren't there.

Do you blame me for that?

I think not as much as you blame yourself.

I had a box seat in hell, and I thank God that you were not there to share it

with me.

It was a kind of hell being helpless when I heard you were being sent to the

camps.

I think we have different ideas about hell, Benjamin.

This afternoon, when you were talking to that nice Miss Sherwood, you made a

joke about some specialty school in the Bronx, remember?

Yes. Well, you see, to me there can be no jokes in conversations relating

to anything that happened in the camps.

You don't think I made light of... No, no.

I think you were afraid that the topic... would affect my mood, and you

prevent it.

Precisely. But the topic does not affect the mood.

Moods change.

But the parts of me that were formed in the camp, they're always there. They

never change. They're always there.

When I go to concerts, when I go shopping, alone at night in bed, always

It's funny.

Here we are a few feet apart and yet a million miles away because of what life

has handed us.

It's not my fault that you were safe when so many of us weren't.

It's not your fault either.

Rita. No, Benjamin, no.

It's been too long.

Too many years.

I think I should go now.

Then perhaps you should.

About dinner tomorrow night.

Let's forget it.

I'll have one of my students escort me.

Very well.

Don't forget to turn the plane down under the table.

I'll remember.

Berg, we are not going to cancel the show. Now, let's not waste any more time

talking about that. But I do think the audience will understand.

Audiences are a lot smarter than people think. They want to be entertained, but

they want to learn something, too. Now, this is a great opportunity for us to do

both. But not using any props, leaving everything to the imagination.

Mrs. Berg, haven't you ever wanted to do something different, to defy

convention? Do something on your own?

Explore new territory?

Well, when I was in finishing school, I was the first one in my class to

incorporate a dip into my foxtrot.

Well, with that kind of impetuous nature, I am sure you're going to help

reschedule another rehearsal so I can restage these children in this show

without props.

It is exciting, isn't it?

It is.

It's just me. Don't get scared of anything.

Think I'd better... I tell you, I was out here. You might faint or something

I made a noise.

I appreciate it.

What are you doing here so early?

Well, it's quiet in here.

It's a good place to come think things out.

I agree.

Would you like part of my English muffin?

No.

Would you like some of my corn chips?

Maybe later.

Last minute homework?

No.

Well, sort of.

It's a diary. Monsieur said we all ought to keep one.

I used to keep a diary.

How are you coming?

Well, okay, I guess. I'm not sure whether I'm doing this right or wrong.

There's no right way or wrong way. It's just what you feel.

Well, I feel I should be saying it to the person I'm writing about instead of

putting it down on a piece of paper.

That's the way I always felt.

But Tally told me that your mother might be coming to the show. Is that correct?

No.

I'm a too low scratch to cue ball.

This means your plans fell through?

Yeah.

An old friend of mine was planning to come.

Our plans fell through, too.

I guess it's kind of hard being away from the people that you really care

huh?

Sometimes it's just as hard to be close to them.

Yeah, it used to be like that with my mama.

I mean, me and her used to always argue when she was home, but when she went to

Detroit, we really missed each other.

I guess that's kind of dumb, huh?

It's not smart or dumb. It's just human.

Who can say why?

We each have our own lives to lead, our own destinies to follow.

Which one, though?

I don't understand.

I mean, you said something about...

Leading a life and following a destiny, that's like two different things.

I mean, real different, lead and follow.

We can always be in total control, Mr. Johnson.

Maybe, but I once had an uncle who told me that life ain't nothing but a mean

old bear.

And either you eat the bear, or the bear is gonna eat you.

And you intend to eat the bear?

Well, Mr. Shirofsky, I'm sure I'm gonna try.

Mr. Johnson, could I trouble you for a handful of corn chips?

Yes, sure.

Room 437, please.

Good morning, Benjamin.

Good morning. How did you know it would be me?

I'm glad to see you.

Well, I packed my bags four times. I shouldn't bring myself to leave.

Not yet.

You always did need a lot of rehearsal.

I came by to ask a question.

Why didn't you call me when we were in Rome?

Really?

I guess I was afraid of being rejected again.

Benjamin, when did I ever reject you?

When I wrote and asked you to join me here.

Marry me.

I couldn't get a visa. I explained that in the last letter I sent.

I never got a letter saying that.

The last letter I got from you said you were expecting visas any day.

Oh, my God.

42 years over a letter that never arrived.

You were calling me when I came home.

Why? Because somebody told me you eat the bear or the bear eats you.

And the stew was too salty.

Yes.

I was going to give you a second chance.

Benjamin.

I think our time for second chances is gone.

Then why did you stop by to see me?

To ask you the question I did.

And to see if I could help that nice Miss Sherwood.

And it's not unthinkable it could happen again. The problem is, it's not

pleasant to think about those matters.

And it's difficult to comprehend that millions of people's men, women,

could systematically be put to death.

But we must think about it because it's happening now.

Happening now?

I mean, I realize that anti -Semitism is a very real thing. We're not just

talking about the Jews.

We're talking about oppression, about injustice.

And these two things are not limited to any race, creed, color, or country. And

it's young people like you, especially you, who must beware of it.

Why?

you are special.

You have a special gift that can make people see how glorious human beings can

be.

You can create magic which affirms the values of life.

You are the bearers of a gift of joy and because you carry the light, you must

never forget the power.

Can we have another shot at the Diary of Anne Frank book?

I think that can be arranged.

Man, I hate dress rehearsals worse than anything.

Except tech rehearsals.

Why do we got to go through this anyway?

Because you blew it in the pool game.

Oh, come on. Get off this case.

It only looks about one ball, 50 to 49.

Besides, the man is only human.

Leroy, Leroy. Look, I've never seen this number put together. Can you tell me

where you are, Mose? You know, like, upstage, left, right, center stage?

Well, what are you doing, follow spot or something? No.

Mr. Shirofsky wanted me to make sure that your mother got a good seat.

Leroy! Mama!

What are you doing here? Well, waiting to see you dance, sweetheart.

But, but... Well, now, I got this telegraph money order from somebody

Shirofsky. And the medicine said he had a debt to pay to you.

She's like Leroy.

Mr. Shirovsky, this is my mama. Mama, this is Mr. Shirovsky, the man that sent

you the money.

I am pleased to meet you.

My pleasure.

Okay, Mama, I got to go do the show. Take care.

Oh, Mr. Sharofsky, I'm going to give you your money's worth.

Are you one of my son's teachers?

No.

He's one of mine.

A

light

comes shining through.

It brightens the whole world.

She lets you know she cares.

She's never far behind.

Trust me and you'll find she's everywhere, always there

in times of trouble.

Would never hurt.

Bring yourself to leave.

That wasn't much until I finished between us. That's no longer true.

Our particular court is resolved.

I believe so.

And so do I.

I'm glad you've been in my life, Mr. Swarovski.

I'm richer for having known you.

Liegst mir im Herzen Du, du Liegst mir im Herzen Du,

du Machst mir viel Schmerzen Weißt nicht, wie gut ich dir bin

Ja, ja, ja, ja Weißt nicht, wie

gut ich dir bin