Original subtitles

I'd always dreaded the thought of returning to the Devon school

because of what happened there during my last year as a student.

Now that I was back after all these years,

I was surprised to see how peaceful it looked.

'Course the Second World War was going on then,

that had made a difference, even at Devon.

As I crossed the school grounds,

I could feel myself becoming isolated from everything,

except my memories.

I knew that there was one place that I had to see.

And as I started across the field toward it,

all of the fear, the anger,

the senseless rivalries I'd lived with then, returned.

And that reminded me of Finny.

The tree.

I had to see that.

It's always loomed in my memory as a huge spike dominating the river bank.

Yet, here it was.

No giant. Hmm!

It was not only stripped by the cold season,

it seemed weary from age,

enfeebled, dry.

I guess nothing really endures.

Not a tree, not love,

not even a death by violence.

For the first time, I could remember it all.

The tree, the war,

and most of all, Finny.

Ahh!

Ho!

Wait for me!

Hey, Finny, wait for me!

Hey!

Take the high ground!

Come on!

Hey, Chet, chuck it to me.

What I like best about this tree is, it's such a cinch.

Is that what you like best?

Yup.

This is my contribution to the war effort.

Hey, come down!

Come up!

Don't do it.

Whoo!

That's the most fun I've had this week. Who's next?

All right, who's next?

Come on, Gene!

That's the way.

Let's go!

Come on, get up there!

Come on, hurry up!

Gene, come on!

Come on, Gene, jump.

Come on!

Come on, now. When they torpedo the troopship

you can't stand there admiring the view.

Jump, will ya!

That's one way!

I think that was better than yours, Finny.

All right, Brinker.

But don't start awarding prizes until you've passed the test.

Gentlemen, the tree is waiting.

Finny, I'm not going to permanently damage myself,

following your silly lead.

I detect a note of fear, Brinker.

And I am unimpressed by immaturity.

How about you, Leper?

Well, I think that jumping out of a tree is a dumb thing to do.

Trees should be looked at.

It's you, pal. Just you and me.

You were really good once I shamed you into it.

Aw, you didn't shame anybody into anything.

Oh yes, I did. I'm good for you that way.

You back away from things otherwise.

I never backed away from anything in my life.

Come on, we'll be late for dinner.

Gad! I can't get this stuff.

Hey, come on, Finny, I have a lot of work to do.

I'd appreciate it if you'd keep quiet.

Hallo, Gene.

Hallo, Gene Forrester.

I want to drink your blood.

You get all A's and I get all C's.

You are the genius and I the horse's ass.

Hey, come on, stop clowning around.

Oh, Christ!

I mean what's the use, you know?

I could keep studying forever.

Hey, gimme a break.

I'm saying my prayers just in case it turns out there is a God.

Amen.

What a beautiful day for a party,

just beautiful.

Gentlemen, lovely looking place.

Thank you very much.

Fingers were around before tongs.

How do you do?

Mr. Patchwithers, thank you very much for having us

to the party here today, sir.

You couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.

Jack, I wanted to, uh, speak to you about an incident

that happened before Pearl Harbor.

How are you ladies doing these days with Bundles for Britain?

We meet in my apartment but...

Oh hello, Mrs. Ludsbury, Mr. Ludsbury.

Good afternoon.

Well, we were talking...

Talking about the usual thing,

that man in the White House.

Oh. Well, well.

You know, you mustn't get me started on that.

Well, I understand that

people up here rather approve of him.

Well, he's my wife's cousin, you know.

Hello, Mr. Easton.

Oh, how do you do. Oh, no, sit down.

Please, sit down.

Are you one of these liberals?

We try to insist...

Would you like some of these...

Then you know Pip here. Yes, of course I do.

Pip's the older one. Yeah, rowed very well.

My friends, and indeed you are my friends...

Well, Madeline, do you remember...

We're going to put you on the impersonation radio,

Brinker, you're great at this.

I think the best thing is to take it up with the trustees.

They're meeting Tuesday.

It certainly is pleasant here.

It's nice of you to give this tea, Mrs. Patchwithers.

As I was telling Gene, I read the other day we bombed Central Europe.

As long as we don't hit any women or children or old people or hospitals,

I think it's okay, don't you?

We have to be careful about works of art too,

provided they are of permanent value.

A lot of nonsense.

How do you expect our boys to be that precise?

Thousands of feet up with bombs weighing tons.

Look what the Germans did to Amsterdam.

Look what they did to Coventry.

Oh, but the Germans are not Central Europeans, dear.

There is no permanent art in Central Europe.

A pink shirt is at best

a lapse of taste,

but the use of the school tie for a belt...

It's about time he got his ass in a sling.

I wore this, you see, because it goes with the patriotic shirt.

It all ties in with what we've been talking about,

this bombing of Central Europe?

Because when you get right down to it,

the school's involved in everything that happens in the war.

It's the same war and the same world

and I think Devon ought to be included.

Now, I don't know whether you think the same way I do on that, but...

I never heard anything so illogical as that in my life.

That's probably the strangest tribute

that Devon has had in 160 years.

I think he's gonna get away with it.

Although I must admit, I didn't think of it when I put it on this morning.

I mean, I'm glad I put on something for a belt.

I certainly would hate the embarrassment of having my pants

fall down at the Headmaster's tea.

Not to mention in front of your wife here.

Oh, outrageous!

All that talk, boy!

Yeah, it sure was boring.

Who did most of the talk, by the way?

Well, the Headmaster's pretty windy and his wife.

Yeah, and uh...

Well, you don't mean that I talk too much.

You talk too much?

How can you accuse me of accusing you of that?

Hey, let's cut class and go jump in the river.

The first person who says anything unpleasant gets a kick in the ass.

Yeah, I agree.

Listen, are you still afraid to jump out of that tree?

I would say there's something a little unpleasant about that question.

That depends how you answer it.

I expect it'd be a very pleasant jump.

Will you do me the honor of jumping out of the tree first?

My pleasure, old chap.

We'll form a society.

If a guy wants to join, he's gotta jump out of the tree.

The Suicide Society of the Summer Session.

Marvelous.

This is a secret society.

Naturally, you guys have guts so you're all members.

We have certain initiations, naturally.

You'll be the first to jump.

Here.

Okay, I got ya, take it easy. Here we are.

I changed my mind.

I'm not interested in joining.

But everyone must join. Right, Finny?

I don't want to think about it.

Well, then naturally you're out of the secret society.

- And I say good riddance. - Not necessarily.

But, Finny, you said that... Naturally,

one member is entitled to a bye.

I hardly think that's fair.

Leper's got a yellow streak a mile wide

and everyone's aware of it.

Okay. So who's the next hero?

You don't have to make allowances for me.

I don't need charity.

But we need you, Leper.

You'd be doing us a favor to stick around.

Thanks, Finny, for saying that.

You're a nice person.

Forget it, pal. A man like you is always needed.

Stroke!

Stroke!

Stroke!

Stroke!

So how does it feel to be class valedictorian?

I'll be lucky to get passing grades

if you don't stop interrupting me.

You know I saw something today

that literally stupefied me.

And in my amazement,

I decided to share it with you, old bean.

Come on.

Come on.

A. Hopkins Parker.

Who is this A. Hopkins Parker anyway?

I mean, I don't know anyone named A. Hopkins Parker.

Well, he graduated before us.

You mean that record's been up there the whole time

we've been here at Devon and no one's busted it yet?

Outrageous.

The thing is it's an insult to the class.

I mean a guy should have some class loyalty, right?

Yes.

So we'll set the bar at 13 feet.

Ooh!

You know what?

I thought I was gonna do it.

I felt as though I had a voice inside my head

raising me higher than A. Hopkins Parker.

But there aren't any witnesses.

I'm no official judge, I don't think your new record will count.

Well of course it won't count.

You can try it again and do it tomorrow.

Forget it!

Tomorrow we'll call the coach in here

and all the official track and field judges.

I'll telephone the school newspaper

to send out a reporter and a photographer.

I'm not gonna do it again.

Of course you are.

No, I just wanted to see if I could do it. Now I know.

But I don't want to do it in public.

Listen, we aren't gonna talk about this, okay?

It's just between us.

Don't tell anyone else anything about it, okay?

Not say anything? But you broke the school record.

Shh.

Jumping indoors is screwy.

So let's go swimming at the beach.

Mmm-mmm, not a chance.

I have to study, I've got an exam in Trigonometry.

Come on. Uh-uh, not me. I gotta work.

♪ How I love The kisses of Dolores

♪ Ay, ay, ay, Dolores

Ugh, that's awful. That's really awful.

What do you dislike most about my character?

Your lethargy.

I like that, I really do.

You not gonna have no bad luck in this war.

You understand, what I'm saying?

I see peace of mind, I see happiness for you.

Too many things in your heart for each other.

You'll be safe.

Beautiful day, lady, here we go.

It's a beautiful day. Come on in...

Get outta here, you kids. You're underage.

Get out of here! And stay out!

Make a wish. You're a little bit stubborn.

You don't like anyone to boss you.

I see for you two boys.

You got too much sex in your mind.

Hey, red hot, hot dogs here. Red hots.

Hot dogs here. Red hots.

Hot dogs. How many over there?

Red hots.

Red hot dogs.

Red hot. Red hot dogs here.

Can we have a couple more?

Couple more? You had five a piece already.

Get the money.

Hey, listen, you don't know where two kids

could pick up a little... Little beer?

I hope you're having a pretty good time here.

I mean, I know I dragged you away from school

when you didn't really wanna come.

After all,

you don't just come to the beach with anybody.

And you don't just go by yourself.

In this teenage period in your life,

the proper person to come to the beach with,

is your best pal.

Which is what you are.

It's time for a swim.

Wow!

Ah! Whoo!

Ah! Darn, it's cold.

Whoo! Oh!

Oh!

It's freezing.

Boy, nothing like a morning swim though.

Oh! Whoo!

You're angry at me, aren't you, pal?

No, not at all.

Ever since the beach you've been acting funny.

Really?

I mean, I thought you wanted to go. To the beach.

I'm worried about something, I suppose.

What?

When you said we were best friends,

you remember, at the beach?

Of course, I remember. You are.

When you actually said that...

You thought I was conning you, so that you'd break rules

and stay on the beach and cut class.

Forget it. I'm worried about something.

You've got a fever.

You're at death's door.

I missed an exam this morning because of the beach,

a really important one.

Trigonometry.

They give me a zero, it'll ruin my average.

Is that what's bothering you?

You'll get all A's anyway. Like always.

You can make it up.

Maybe. I'm not so sure.

It doesn't do to be so emotional.

You intellectuals are all alike.

How would you know, fatty?

Really?

A. Hopkins Parker had no flab on his tummy.

You okay, pal? Forget the test.

Now this is everything you need for sports.

All you really need is a round ball.

And I think, it's about time we got some exercise around here.

We'll start with this ball.

Let's call it something.

Let's make it have something to do with the war.

Like Blitzkrieg or something.

Well, run for Pete's sake. Get up and run!

Hurry up! No, not that way, towards the river.

Come on, come on come on, come on. Move it!

Let's get him, come on!

Come on, Brinker.

Come on, towards the river!

Hey, don't hog it. Throw it to somebody else,

otherwise now that you're surrounded

somebody's gonna knock you down!

Do what? What is this?

Blitz-ball!

Now that was illegal.

You don't use your arms when you're knocking down the ball carrier.

You don't? No, you keep them crossed

on your chest just like this and you just butt the ball carrier.

All right, Gene, start again.

Well, wouldn't somebody else have possession, I mean after...

Not after you've been knocked down illegally.

So, it's okay, you have the ball, let's go!

Throw it!

Hey, Brinker!

Throw!

Knock him down!

What, are you crazy?

Knock him down!

He's on my team.

There aren't any teams in Blitzball.

We're all enemies.

We're all enemies!

Knock him down!

Hey, Leper!

I don't want it.

Stop! Stop, stop. Gene, come back, listen.

Leper has just brought out a really important fine point of the game.

The receiver can refuse the pass if he wants to.

Because we're all enemies, we can

and will turn on each other at all times.

We'll call that the Lepellier Refusal.

Here, Gene.

The ball is, of course, still yours.

We'll go all the way back to the other end and start over.

Nobody's had the ball but me!

Naturally the use of the stiff arm is illegal.

Kicking, or rather lashing out with the feet is permitted

within 20 yards of the pine trees.

That area is to be referred to as the kicking perimeter.

Arise, O Overseer of the Super Society.

Elwin Leper Lepellier has announced

his intention to make the leap,

this very night, to qualify,

to save his face from the dreaded bye. Aw, Christ!

Hey, what's up? Studying.

You know, books? Examinations.

This is a school not a playground.

Go on.

You wouldn't know what I'm talking about. No, not you.

Okay, let's go watch Leper not jump from the tree,

it ought to be a riot.

In the meantime, I ruin my grades.

I probably won't even graduate.

Hold it, hold it, wait a minute.

You mean, you want to study?

Forget it.

Well, don't go. What the hell, Gene, it's only a game.

What? Well, I didn't know you had to study.

I thought it just came to you. Naturally.

Like sports do for me.

I don't think about sports, I just go out and do 'em.

But I need to study. How do you think I get A's?

By hard work, that's how. Even you have to study.

Me? Well, but we aren't competing.

I could study forever and never break C.

But with you, it's different.

You're good. You really are.

If I had a brain like yours I'd have my head cut open

so people could look at it.

Face it, Gene. You're gifted.

Gifted people don't have to sweat or strain or do anything unpleasant.

You're wrong. I have to work.

It doesn't come easy for me.

It's okay, I'll oversee old Leper.

I know he's not gonna do it anyway.

Hey, I'm coming.

♪ Ay, ay, ay, Dolores

♪ Not Marie or Emily or Doris

♪ Only my Dolores

♪ From a balcony above me

♪ She whispers love me and throws a rose ♪

What'd I tell you? Nobody's here.

Let's go. You and me, we'll go together.

A double jump.

Great!

Come on, let's go.

Come on, let's go. Come on!

Come on, don't take all day.

Let's go!

Come on!

Let's go, slowpoke.

We haven't got all day, Gene. Come on.

Come on! We haven't got all day! Let's go!

Come out a little way, we'll jump side by side.

He's lucky to be alive.

Although the tibia is shattered, he's improving.

But Finny'll be all right.

Well, he must still be pretty sick?

Well, it was a messy break

but we'll have him walking again.

Walking again?

Well, after a break like that of course sports are out.

We'll have to send him home to recuperate.

But he must be able to, I mean if his leg's still there.

You're not gonna amputate or anything, are you?

I mean, it must come back the way it was.

Why shouldn't it? Of course it will.

Take it easy, Finny.

See ya later, Finny.

Back Bay Station, Boston. Back Bay Station, Boston.

How was your vacation, pal?

Well, I spent most of it thinking about you.

Sure you did.

I was thinking about you and the accident.

Well, that's friendship for you,

thinking about me instead of enjoying yourself.

I was thinking about...

I mean, I made a special trip here

instead of going back to school.

I had to.

I was thinking about the accident.

Because I caused it.

Sure you did.

I jounced the limb. I caused it!

I think I deliberately jounced the limb so you'd fall out.

Of course you didn't.

Yeah, I did!

I did.

I did! I did!

I'm gonna hit you if you don't shut up.

Hit me? Hit me? You can't even get up.

You can't come near me.

I'm gonna kill you if you don't shut up.

Go ahead.

Kill me.

Now you see how it is.

I did it because I felt like that.

Now you know yourself.

I don't know anything.

Go away. I'm tired and you make me sick.

You'll be back at school in a few weeks, won't you?

Sure, I'll be back by Thanksgiving.

I've had a pretty long trip.

I never sleep much on trains.

Guess I'm not making much sense today.

Don't worry about it.

I better get back to the station.

I'm already a day late at Devon.

Well, you're not going to start following the rules, are you?

No, I wouldn't do that.

To the shoulders, hup!

Ready, hup!

You're late, Gene.

Sorry, I got hung up. Did you ever row?

No, I never did.

I rowed for two years. I wrestle in the winter.

What are you gonna do in the winter?

I don't know, manage something else I guess.

But you're a senior now, aren't you?

Starting a little late to manage teams, aren't you?

Am I?

Damn right you are.

Ah, it doesn't matter.

Yes, it matters.

I don't think it does.

Who the hell do you think you are anyway?

Quackenbush, you don't know anything about me.

Who I am, what I've done or anything!

Listen, you maimed son of a bitch...

What's going on?

The next time you call somebody maimed

you better make sure they are first!

Get out of here. You're not wanted here.

Get out! Get out of here!

Hey, Gene! There's a call for you in Ludsbury's study.

Happy first day of the academic year.

Yeah. Thanks a lot.

It's, uh, um...

It's good to hear your voice.

You sound, uh...

Stop stuttering, I'm paying for this.

Who're you rooming with?

Nobody. They didn't put anyone else in the room.

Didn't think they would. Roommates are roommates

even if they do have an occasional fight.

God, you were crazy when you were down here.

Yeah, I guess I was.

I guess I must've been.

Completely off your rocker.

I wanted to make sure you'd recovered, that's why I called up.

I knew that if you'd let them put anyone else in the room

in my place, then you really were crazy.

But you didn't.

I knew you wouldn't.

No, I didn't let them.

So I spent all my money on a long distance phone call all for nothing.

Well, it's spent on you too, so start talking, pal.

Start with sports. What are you going out for?

Well, crew.

Well, not exactly crew, managing crew.

Assistant crew manager.

Assistant crew manager!

Well, I don't think I've got the job.

Assistant crew manager. You're crazy!

Look, Finny, I don't care if I'm a big man on campus or anything.

Who said anything about that?

Well, what're you getting so worked up for?

Well, what do you want to manage crew for?

What do you want to manage for?

What's that got to do with sports?

I'm too busy for sports. Bullshit!

Now listen, pal, if I can't play sports

then you're gonna just have to play 'em for me.

Bye for now.

Well, you should see how hard we work there.

The coach, he said...

Hey, Gene! Hi, Charlie.

Hi, Brink. BRINKER: Hi.

Hey, uh, anyone got the time?

It's about five minutes of.

Five minutes of! Judas Priest, I got to get out of here.

See you later, you guys.

Take it easy. Right.

What's happening today?

Anything exciting?

Just bullshitting again, right?

Phew!

Well, there's your prisoner, boys.

I'm turning him over to the proper authorities.

What's the charge? Doing in his roommate

so he could have a whole room to himself.

Rankest treachery. Practically fratricide.

Brinker. Not a word, not a sound.

You'll have your say in court.

Brinker, you hang onto a joke longer than anybody I know.

So you killed him?

Well, not exactly.

Our poor Finny is lying at this moment, home, in the arms of his mom.

Aw, poor Finny!

I didn't do anything to Finny.

Nothing serious.

Well, a little arsenic in his morning coffee, that's all.

Ah! Trying to weasel out with a false confession.

We know the scene of the crime.

High in that funeral tree.

No poison, oh, no.

Oh, you know about that tree? Yeah, the tree.

Oh, yeah. Well, nothing much happened up there.

Nothing very exciting anyway.

Now tell us about the tree.

Well, first of all I took all his money.

Then I screwed his sister in confessional at church.

Yeah, sure you did!

Well, I got to do some French.

Enough of this shit. I'll see you all around.

Yeah, so long. Take it easy. See ya later, Gene.

Bye, Gene.

Hi, Gene. Hello, Leper. What're you doing?

Not doing anything special, just getting through Saturday.

You're doing a painting?

You might say that, I'm not very good, you know.

Can I see? No, I don't think so.

Okay.

Real paintings have emotional content.

They reflect the artist's inner feelings.

I'm not a true artist.

Have you heard from Finny?

Not for a while.

How is he?

He's okay I guess.

Things are really crummy with Finny gone.

I really like Finny.

Yeah, I know.

So do I.

He's not really a person, that Finny.

He's more of a phenomenon.

Yeah.

He's a phenomenal person.

You have a shovel across your shoulder.

You resemble the militia.

In Chapel today they asked us to shovel snow off

the railroad tracks at the station.

To help with the war effort.

I cut Chapel.

Want to help shovel?

No thanks.

I don't have any interest in the war effort.

Hey, how old are you guys?

Not old enough.

You will be.

Hey, bring me back one of those Samurai swords.

You know what you can do with that?

Finny! Hey, whaddya say?

How are ya?

That's what I like, a real hello.

Gosh!

I'm glad to be back. I'm glad too.

So what's been happening?

Well, a lot of people are talking about enlisting.

Oh, sure, the war.

Brinker wants to join the Marines. So does Bobby.

You know...

♪ From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli ♪

Hey, Gene, ready to enlist?

Ready to enlist in what?

Finny, you're back!

Hi, Brinker. What do you say?

Sorry, your little plot didn't work out after all.

What plot? Ah, you know Brinker, he's full of it.

You know what I'm talking about.

No I don't. Yes, you do.

You telling me what I know?

Damn right I am.

What's he talking about?

He wants me to enlist.

You know, run off and join the Marines.

Yeah. I suspect we're officer material.

You're gonna enlist.

You've really swallowed this war crap.

Uh, I don't think I get you.

Well, you must really think the United States of America

is at war with Nazi Germany, and Imperial Japan.

I most certainly do.

You guys ever heard of the Roaring Twenties?

Yeah, sure.

Uh-huh. Go on.

You know, they all drank bathtub gin and everyone who was young

did whatever they wanted to.

Well, the old ladies and the stuffed shirts and the preachers

didn't like that so they arranged Prohibition.

But that didn't work because everyone just proceeded to get drunker.

So they got desperate,

and they invented the Depression.

And that kept people who were young in the '30s in their place,

but they couldn't use that trick forever

so for us in the '40s they cooked up this war fake.

Who are they anyhow?

Well, you know, the fat old men

who don't want us encroaching on their jobs.

They made it all up.

There isn't any real food shortage, for instance.

They all have the best steaks delivered to their clubs now.

You've noticed they've been getting fatter lately.

First of all, you're speaking treason.

Second of all, you're insane and quite ready for the loony bin.

But, Brinker, the whole world's already in the nut house.

It's only the fat, old men who understand the joke, though.

And you? Yeah, and me.

What the hell makes you so special?

Why should you get the joke and all the rest of us stay in the dark?

Because I've suffered. God damn it!

Out of shape, aren't you, pal?

No, not really.

Look, I'm the one with the bad leg, not you.

There's no sense in both of us being out of shape.

Did I ever tell you I was aiming for the Olympics?

No, you never did.

Well, I was.

But now I'm not completely sure I'll be healed in time.

So, I guess, I'm coaching you for them instead.

But there aren't gonna be any Olympics in 1944.

I mean the war. Forget it.

We're grooming you for the '44 Olympic Team.

Twenty eight.

Twenty nine.

Thirty!

Great! In a week you'll be able to do 40.

You're not even winded.

I know.

You found your rhythm, didn't you?

That fourth time around, just into the straight part there.

Yeah, right there.

You've been pretty lazy all along, haven't you?

Yeah, I guess I have.

You didn't even really know anything about yourself.

I guess I didn't.

This time I want you to really sprint. Come on!

Beautiful! You cut five seconds off of yesterday.

Hey, isn't that Leper? Yeah.

I had no idea he was that good.

Yeah, you can train him for the Winter Olympics.

Not a bad idea. Hey, Leper!

Leper!

Leper, come here! Come on up!

Come on, Lep! Come on, Lep!

You might say I was getting good. I'd say that, Leper.

You look like a real pro. I try to.

You might even make the United States Olympic team.

This isn't for sports at all. It's for me.

What's that mean?

A recruiter from the American Ski Troops showed a film last week.

It revealed something to me.

Skiers winged down slopes, silent as angels,

chests filled with mountain air.

You're practicing for the war?

Of course.

The war is a fake.

Tell him, Gene.

I'm enlisting. I turned 18 today.

See you around. You're lucky because you're still 17.

The date might be helpful.

October 25, 1412.

And of course you will need to know.

Crispin Crispian.

What is Crispin Crispian?

That is what you shall learn from the memory passage.

Crispin Crispian.

You have one week

in which to memorize these lines.

And we still have a little time before the end of class

so perhaps we should hear these lines.

Oh, uh, Mr. Ludsbury, we know how well you read Shakespeare,

so would you read it for us?

Why don't I read it? BOYS: Yeah.

I shall do better than that.

I shall act it for you.

"He that shall live this day and reach old age,

"Will yearly, on the vigil,

"feast his neighbors and say,

"'Tomorrow is Saint Crispian.'

"Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,

"and say, 'These wounds I had on Crispin's Day.'"

"All men forget"

You know what we ought to do next Saturday?

We ought to form the Winter Carnival Committee.

Cut it out. We don't have a Winter Carnival.

We do now.

Maybe there'll be a ski jump, slalom races, track,

music and something to eat.

"As household words..." You're crazy.

Are you gentlemen quite finished?

Sorry, sir.

Exeunt omnes.

I do hope you'll be a little more attentive in Latin class.

I hereby declare these games open!

On your marks, get set...

Damn it, Phineas. Let's get this thing started.

Phineas, it's cold. I want to go inside. Oh shut up, Brinker.

Give me my prize. I want my prize.

Phineas, what's next? You are.

Give him some cider.

I've been violated!

Hey! Finny. Finny! There's a telegram!

Finny! A telegram!

Hey, shut up!

It's a telegram for Gene!

Must be the Olympic Committee. Yeah.

I knew they wanted him.

"Gene, have escaped and...

"Escaped and need help.

"I'm at the Christmas location.

"My safety depends on your coming.

"Don't let me down."

"Leper."

Your mother's probably pleased to have you home.

What's she got to be pleased about?

I'm pleasing myself.

How long you gonna be home?

How long?

What a stupid question.

Well, I mean if you're on furlough, you must know

when you have to go back.

The Army just doesn't give out passes and say,

"Come back when you've had enough."

I don't have a pass.

What?

What's the matter, you deaf? I said, I don't have a pass.

I know you said you escaped but I thought that...

I escaped, that's just what I meant.

What do you mean? Nobody escapes from the Army.

What the hell do you know about it?

Nothing, I guess.

I mean, I don't know what's normal in the Army.

What a dumb-ass word. Normal.

I can tell what you're thinking.

That I'm not normal.

That I'm some sort of psycho. Say it!

Stop it, Leper. They were gonna give me a Section Eight.

That's for the nuts in service.

It's like a dishonorable discharge, only worse.

Because you can't even get a job after that.

They want to see your discharge papers.

You're screwed for life, that's what a Section Eight means!

Come on, Leper.

That's tough shit for you, Mac. They've got you.

Nobody's got me.

Oh they've got you, all right.

Don't tell me who's got me and who hasn't got me.

Who do you think you're talking to?

Who do you think you are?

You were always the Lord of the Manor.

A swell guy except when the chips were down.

You always were a savage underneath.

I always knew that but never admitted it.

Like that time you knocked Finny out of the tree.

You stupid crazy bastard!

You crippled him for life!

You always were a savage underneath.

I'm sorry.

I forgot myself.

You said something crazy and I forgot.

Your nerves, the war, you didn't know what you were saying.

Did you come here to abuse me?

I'm sorry.

No, don't go.

Leper's absent without leave, isn't he?

Leper? I guess he just didn't like the Army.

He was too scared for it, wasn't he?

You could put it that way. He panicked.

He simply fell apart.

He must be out of his mind to do such a thing.

I'll bet he cracked up.

Well he did, in a way.

Poor dumb Leper. What's he doing with himself?

Well, he's very upset.

He's afraid they'll find him and bring him back for trial.

What's the matter with our class?

It's not even June and we already have two guys out for the duration.

Two?

Well, there's Finny here.

Yeah, there's me. Finny isn't out of it!

Of course he is.

Yeah, I'm out of it.

So what? It's a fake. The war's an invention of fat old men.

Sure.

I'd like to begin this morning

by making one thing perfectly clear.

In a few months most of you will be graduating

and at that time, it's gonna be up to you

to choose your own branch of service.

Well, I'm not here, repeat, not here

to convince you to join any one branch over any other one.

There's a call...

You've been avoiding the whole question of enlisting.

I think I know why.

It's Finny. You pity him. Pity him?

Yes, and if you don't watch out he's gonna start pitying himself.

Nobody ever mentions his leg to him except me.

You'll have him sloppy with self-pity. Face it.

He's crippled and that's that. He's got to accept it.

It's up to us to act naturally and even kid him about it.

You're wrong. I can't even hear you, you're so wrong.

Well, I'm going to anyway.

No, you're not.

I don't need your approval, do I?

He's my roommate. He's my best friend.

And you were there when it happened.

I mean, it wouldn't do you any harm if everything about Finny's accident

were cleared up and forgotten, would it?

What do you mean by that?

Nobody knows.

Unless you know.

Believe in our program. We feel the same way.

We gonna win this war.

With your help we can do it.

You better do this, pal. I'm completely lost.

Okay, let's see.

Caesar instructed him to come as quickly as possible

by long forced marches, to him.

With three legions.

He himself... Caesar that is. Yeah.

Sent cavalry to withstand any sudden attacks of the enemy.

When the Gauls learned what was going on...

Um... They sent infantry men.

They scattered a selected band of infantry men

in ambushes

who, overtaking our horsemen

after the death of Vertiscus,

uh, followed our disorganized men to our camp.

I have a feeling that

that's what Mr. Horn would call...

A muddy translation.

Well, what's it mean?

Well that there means that ole Caesar's in a lot of trouble.

Oh, Jesus!

Well, I have a sincere and personal grudge against Julius Caesar.

I absolutely refuse to believe in him.

It's a dead language and a dead empire and I say the hell with it.

Naturally, I don't believe books and I don't believe teachers

but I do believe you.

And if you tell me there's a Caesar then maybe there is.

You told me about Leper.

That he's gone crazy.

If a war can drive somebody crazy then it's real all right.

I guess, I knew it all along, I just didn't have to admit it.

To tell you the truth I wasn't completely sure about you

when you told me how Leper was.

But then I saw him myself.

You saw Leper? Mmm-hmm.

I saw him hiding in the shrubbery next to the Chapel.

He looked up at me and I went up to him, and he looked at me

but he didn't say a damn thing.

He just looked at me like I was a gorilla or something.

Then he ducked into Ludsbury's office.

He must be crazy.

There isn't a damn thing we can do about it.

I don't want to see him.

I mean there's nothing for us to do.

Maybe Doctor Stanpole could do something.

You won't talk to anyone about this because

they'd just upset Leper.

And he'd upset them.

Anyway...

That's how I knew there was a real war on.

Yeah, there's a real war on, all right.

I preferred yours a lot better.

So did I.

It's too bad you had to find out.

Why'd you have to find out?

Well, you did a beautiful job in the Olympics, anyway.

And you're the greatest coach who ever lived.

Do you realize you won every gold medal in every event in the Olympics?

No one's ever done that in history.

We're taking you out.

It's after hours, Brinker.

Get them!

What is this?

Is this one of your games? No, no, this isn't mine.

Brinker, did you cook this up? What is this?

What are we gonna do? Where are we going? Cut it out.

- Cut it out, you two. - You're full of it, Brinker.

Take them!

Hey, you guys, cut it out. A joke's a joke.

What is this?

All right, bring them in!

You see how badly Finny limps.

Sit down. Take a load off your feet.

Now the other one.

Be seated.

Gentlemen.

The country demands an inquiry into this contretemps.

There's no time to waste.

The honor of the school's at stake.

Blame must be laid immediately upon the responsible party.

Now Finny,

if you please, in your own words.

What own words?

I know you aren't very adept with words.

Use some of Gene's.

What do you want me to talk about? You?

I'm all right.

You're the casualty.

Are you crazy?

No, that's Leper, our other casualty.

Tonight we're investigating you.

What are you talking about?

There's a war on. GENE: So?

That's one soldier our side has already lost.

We've got to find out what's happened.

Just for the record. You agree, don't you, Gene?

I told Brinker this morning. I warned him. I think this is the worst.

And I said that for Finny's own good.

For your own good too, Gene.

Get this all out into the open once and for all.

We don't want any mysteries or stray rumors left in the air

once this school term is over.

What mysteries? What rumors?

Finny, just try and tell us in your own words what happened.

Humor us if you want to think of it that way.

We're not trying to make you feel bad or anything. Tell us.

There's nothin' to tell.

And that?

Oh. Well, I fell out of a tree.

Why?

I took a wrong step.

Did you lose your balance?

Yeah, I lost my balance.

But you have better balance than anyone in the school.

Thanks.

Have you ever thought...

That you didn't fall out of the tree?

It's funny, you know?

I kinda had the impression that the tree shook me out.

Someone else was in the tree, isn't that so?

No!

I don't think so.

Somebody told me Gene was there.

Finny was there, he knows better than anyone.

You were there, too, weren't you, Gene?

Yeah, I was there.

Were you near the tree?

You were down at the bottom, weren't you?

The bottom, yeah.

Did you ever see the tree shaking?

I always meant to ask you, just for the hell of it.

I don't remember.

Forget it. Nutty question.

I thought you were in the tree.

Well, of course, I was in the tree.

How the hell d'you think I broke my leg?

Oh, you mean Gene. Was he in the tree?

Well, I...

I meant Gene.

I was at the bottom or climbing rungs.

How do you expect him to remember anyway?

In all the confusion and everything.

A kid I used to play with

was hit by a car once when I was 11 years old.

When I was 11 years old.

I remember every single thing about it,

exactly where I was standing,

the color of the sky,

the sound the car brakes made!

I will never forget anything about it.

You and I are two different people.

No one's accusing you of anything.

Well, of course no one's accusing me.

Don't argue so much.

Look, we're not accusing you.

I think I remember now.

I remember seeing you standing on the bank and...

What did I say? Do you remember?

Yes, I said, "Let's make a double jump,"

because I thought if we went together

it would be something that's never been done before.

No. Uh...

I was on the ground when I said that to you.

I said that to you on the ground

and then the two of us began climbing the tree.

The two of you began climbing the tree together?

Was that it?

And he just said he was on the ground.

Or on the rungs! I said, I might've been on the rungs.

Leper was there, wasn't he?

Yes. Leper was there.

Leper always was the perfect person for details.

It's too bad he's not here, he could clear up this whole mess.

There is no mess.

Leper's here.

I saw him this morning outside the Chapel.

He ran into Ludsbury's study.

But don't go get him, please.

Go get him!

He might still be with Ludsbury.

Short recess in deference to our key witness.

Be quiet!

Anybody that's not serious can leave right now.

♪ Hitler, he only has one ball

♪ Goering has two But very small

♪ Himmler has something similar

♪ And Doctor Goebbels has no balls at all!

♪ Hitler, he only has one ball

♪ Goering has two But very small

♪ Himmler has something similar

♪ But Doctor Goebbels has no balls at all!

Once more!

♪ Hitler, he only has one ball

♪ Goering has two But very small

♪ Himmler has something similar

♪ But Doctor Goebbels has no balls at all!

♪ Hitler, he only has one ball

♪ Goering has two But very small

♪ Himmler has something similar

♪ But Doctor Goebbels has no balls at all!

♪ Hitler, he only has one ball

♪ Goering has two But very small

What can I do for you?

♪ Himmler has something similar

What can I do for you?

♪ But Doctor Goebbels has no balls... ♪

You were standing there next to the river bank,

watching Finny climb the tree.

Yeah.

I was looking up.

It was almost sunset.

I remember the way the sun was shining in my eyes.

So, you couldn't really see.

What did you see? Could you see anything?

Sure.

I just shaded my eyes a little,

like this.

Then, I could see both of them clearly enough.

'Cause the sun was blazing all around them.

The sun's rays were shooting past them,

millions of rays shooting past them like,

golden machine gun fire.

That's the way it was, if you really wanna know.

The two of them looked as black as...

As black as death standing up there

with that fire burning all around them.

Up there where?

Where were the two of them standing?

On the limb.

Was one of them ahead of the other?

Of course.

Who was ahead?

I couldn't see that. Just two shapes.

And with that fire burning all around them,

they looked as black as... You said that already!

You couldn't tell who was ahead?

No, naturally I couldn't.

Where were the two of them standing exactly?

One of them was next to the trunk of the tree.

I'll never forget that because the black trunk anchored him,

if you see what I mean, on something solid.

In all the bright fire they were standing up there.

The other one was a little further out on the limb.

Then what happened?

Then they both moved.

How?

Like an engine.

Well, I can't think of the name of the engine, but anyway,

in this engine first one piston sinks,

then the other one sinks.

The one holding onto the trunk of the tree sank,

for a second, up and down

like a piston,

then the other one sank and fell.

Then the one who moved first, shook the other one's balance.

I suppose so.

He was the one who fell.

In other words, Finny moved first or second?

I don't intend to implicate myself.

I'm not gonna tell you everything

and then have it used against me later.

You always did take me for a fool, didn't you?

Well, I'm no fool anymore.

Leper, this is very important!

So am I! You be the fool.

You be the fool now, bastard!

Wait a minute!

We haven't heard everything yet.

We haven't found out all the facts.

You get all the facts, Brinker.

You get every frigging fact in the world!

Finny!

Finny?

Finny, it's me, Gene.

Finny.

Finny, it's me, Gene.

Finny, I've come to see you.

You!

What, d'you want to break something else in me?

Is that why you came?

Hello, Gene.

Hello, sir.

How's Finny? He's fine, Gene, fine.

The break was a clean, simple one.

Say, you could bring over some of his clothes

and toilet articles.

You look a little peaked.

You're taking this thing much too hard.

Put the suitcase on the table.

Okay.

Finny, I tried to tell you before.

I tried to tell you the first time.

I know.

I remember.

I wish to God there wasn't a war.

I don't know if I can take this with a war on.

If you can take?

What the hell good are you in a war with a busted leg?

I've been writing the Army and the Navy and the Marines all winter.

Did you know that?

No. Of course, you didn't know that.

Well, they all gave me the same answer,

once they saw my medical report.

"No thanks. We can't use you."

I wrote the Merchant Marine,

and the Coast Guard,

General De Gaulle personally.

I even wrote Chiang Kai-shek,

and I was about to write somebody in Russia.

You wouldn't like it in Russia.

I'll hate it everywhere if I'm not in this war.

Why do you think I kept saying there was no war?

I was gonna keep saying it until the second I got a letter

from China or Canada or someplace.

Saying "Yes. You can enlist with us."

Then there would've been a war.

You wouldn't be any good in the war.

Even if nothing happened to your leg.

They'd get you some place at the front.

There'd be a lull in the fighting.

Next thing you know, you'd be over with

the Japanese and the Germans,

asking if they'd want to field a baseball team

against our side.

You'd be sitting in one of their front posts teaching 'em English.

You'd get things so screwed up,

no one would know who to fight with anymore.

You'd make a terrible mess out of the war.

It was some sort of a blind impulse you had in that tree there.

You didn't know what you were doing.

That was it, wasn't it?

Yeah, that was it.

But how can you believe that?

I can't even make myself pretend that you could believe that.

Then that was it.

Something just seized you.

It wasn't anything you felt against me.

It wasn't some kind of hatred you felt all along.

It wasn't anything personal.

No.

But I don't know how to show you.

How can I show you, Finny? Tell me how.

It was just some ignorance inside me.

Something crazy inside me, something blind.

That's all.

I believe you.

It's okay, because I understand.

I believe you.

You've already shown me.

Thanks, Finny.

See all those trucks?

They're for a parachute school right here at Devon.

What do you think of that, Gene?

I've got to go to the Infirmary,

they're operating on Finny's leg.

Gene, about last night... I've got to go.

Well, how is he?

This is one of those things

that I think boys of your generation are going to see a lot of.

Your friend is dead.

It was such a clean, simple break,

anyone could have set it.

Of course I didn't send him to Boston, why should I?

In the middle of it, his heart simply stopped without warning.

As I was moving the bone,

a bit of marrow must have escaped into the bloodstream

and gone directly into his heart and killed him.

It's the only possible explanation, the only one.

There are risks.

There are always risks.

An operating room is just a place

where risks are more formal than others.

An operating room and a war.

Why did it have to happen to you boys here?

Here at school.

So soon.

The feeling of the importance of commencement,

is very strong in me today.

There's the loveliness of the season,

the memories which come back to us,

the beauty of Devon, at this time of year.

The pride of parents,

the ambitions of the graduates.

I speak for the faculty as well as myself,

in congratulating you, on the receipt of your diplomas.

They stand for hard work, well done.

You have been here in difficult days,

and you've met these days like men.

Here, at Devon,

you've been trained both in body, and in mind.

We've taught you to play hard, and to win.

We've challenged your minds in the classroom,

and your bodies, in keen competition,

on the playing fields.

This war has lowered the age of responsibility,

by at least two years,

and you have responded magnificently.

In a few months from now,

you will meet a more severe challenge.

Some of your teachers and classmates

are already fighting in distant lands.

Some are already casualties.

Now, you too will be asked to fight

with guns and bombs,

against an enemy whom you have never met.

None of you has ever been asked to kill before.

I didn't cry then or ever about Finny.

I didn't even cry when

he was being lowered into the

burial ground outside of Boston.

I couldn't escape the feeling that it was my own funeral.

And you don't cry in that case.