Original subtitles

♪ Well, we're movin' on up ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪

♪ To the East Side ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪

♪ To a deluxe apartment In the sky ♪

♪ Movin' on up ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪

♪ To the East Side ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪

♪ We've finally got A piece of the pie ♪

♪ Fish don't fry In the kitchen ♪

♪ Beans don't burn On the grill ♪

♪ Took a whole lot of tryin' ♪

♪ Just to get up that hill ♪

♪ Now we're up In the big leagues ♪

♪ Gettin' our turn at bat ♪

♪ As long as we live It's you and me, baby ♪

♪ There ain't nothin' Wrong with that ♪

♪ Well, we're movin' on up ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪

♪ To the East Side ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪

♪ To a deluxe apartment In the sky ♪

♪ Movin' on up ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪

♪ To the East Side ♪ ♪ Movin' on up ♪

♪ We've finally got A piece of the pie ♪♪

Florence, are you busy?

Sure. I'm busy resting.

Do you mind helping me with my French lesson?

It beats working.

You read me the English

and I'll say it in French.

All right.

"How are you?"

Comment allez-vous?

That's wrong.

It's "Comment Alice vows."

No, I was right.

The French write words differently

than the way they say them.

I did the same thing in school.

Only they called it bad spelling.

Read me the next one.

How come you're so interested in learning French all of a sudden?

Well, with you working here full-time,

there's not enough for me to do.

So rather than go crazy,

I've decided to take up something.

Well, why don't you take up cleaning?

Then you could help me.

Read the next question.

Oui, oui, mademoiselle.

I'm not a mademoiselle.

I'm a madame.

Well, I sure hope Mr. Jefferson don't find that out.

I'd hate to spoil that good mood he's been in.

What's gotten into him?

Well, I think he's got some big deal cooking.

But he won't tell me what it is.

He wants to surprise me.

[DOORBELL RINGS]

Oh, I'll get that, Florence.

Oh. Thank you.

While you do the bedroom closets.

I knew there was a catch to it.

[DOORBELL RINGS]

You sure you don't want me to help you do the door?

The closets, Florence.

Yes, ma'am.

Hi, Ben.

Hello, Louise.

Well, George forgot the cleaning again,

so I thought I'd bring 'em up to you.

Ben, you shouldn't have to deliver...

Hey! I'm the manager of the store.

I can send whoever I want to.

So I sent me.

Because you know

I wouldn't let you leave without a cup of coffee.

You saw right through me.

Well, come in.

Florence!

You sure it's no trouble?

For you, never.

Hi, Ben.

Hi, Florence. How you doing?

I'm doing too much, as usual.

Would you bring us some coffee, please?

Good idea.

It's about time I had a coffee break.

And don't forget the cream and sugar, s'il vous plait.

We got the cream and sugar,

but I think we all out of s'il vous plait.

Say, when did you start talking French?

Well, I've been taking French lessons

for when George and I go to Paris.

Oh, that's funny.

George never told me anything about going there.

That's because I haven't told him yet.

That's a lot of flying and sightseeing

to cram into one day.

One day?

Well, you'll never get George to take off more than a Sunday.

He loves working better than anybody I ever knew.

And I wonder who he learned that from.

Did you know that Ben gave George his first job?

Anybody can make a mistake.

How long you known Mr. Jefferson?

Well, let's see. I'm over 60 now.

Must be more than 30 years I've known George.

Well, he was no more than 16.

I was working in this cleaning store in Harlem, see,

and one day George come running in there

with these two big bad dudes chasing after him.

What a sight.

Two big sledgehammers after one little toothpick.

Now, I wish I could have seen that.

I don't mind telling you I was scared.

Then what happened?

Well, the first thing George did

was to run behind the counter and grab hold of my hand.

Then he yelled,

"Come one more step, and my dad will cave your head in."

Then he looked at me. My soul nearly left my body.

Well, I couldn't help liking that little kid.

It was something about the way he stood there

that gave me some spine.

And before I knew it, it was us against them.

And what a battle.

Mr. Jefferson sure was lucky to have you on his side.

No, he wasn't, because they beat the hell out of both of us.

By the time I got myself up, I said, "Son,

the next time you get in trouble, don't come in here."

And George said, "Don't worry.

"The next time I get myself into trouble,

I'm going to find somebody who can fight."

And you still hired him after all that?

Well, I felt sorry for him.

His father was dead.

He'd quit school so he could find work.

So I talked the owner into letting me hire him.

You know, Ben, if it wasn't for you,

George wouldn't be where he is today.

Oh, sure he would.

[LAUGHS]

Weezy, I got me some big news.

I mean big news.

I mean big, big, big, big!

[LAUGHS]

Ben, I'm glad you're here. You can help us celebrate.

What about me?

You can help too. Get some glasses for us.

What's the big news? I'm selling out.

LOUISE: You're what?!

I'm selling out all my stores.

You ever hear of Allco Enterprises?

No.

Well, Allco Enterprises owns everything

from bowling alleys to restaurants.

They're what you call a conglomerate.

That's because they glom

onto anything they can get their hands on.

And?

And they're buying out all my stores.

Paying me cash for the stores

plus paying me a big salary to stay on and manage them.

What do you think of that? Well...

Florence, I thought I told you to get some glasses!

Wait, Florence.

George, you're your own boss now.

You may not like working for someone else.

Maybe you're moving too quickly.

And I'll tell you something else that I'm getting:

a regular paid vacation.

Four weeks a year.

Well, what are you waiting for?

Grab it!

You heard Mr. Jefferson. Get some glasses, and fast.

Yes, ma'am.

Oh, George, I'm so happy.

Will you take me to France on our first vacation?

You got it.

When can we leave?

Uh, next Friday.

Next Friday? That's wonderful!

You make all the arrangements, get a new set of luggage.

We'll fly out of here Friday night

and we won't have to come back till...

Monday morning.

Monday morning?

Oh, yeah, that's right, Weezy. I need a good night's sleep.

Make that Sunday night.

But what happened to the four weeks vacation?

Allco Enterprises is making me a vice-president.

As a big executive,

I got to work harder than anybody else.

Then what's the big deal about this big deal?

Weren't you listening? They're gonna give me a lot of money.

But we've got enough now.

They're also taking all the worries off my hands.

How?

If a machine breaks down,

they gotta take care of it.

See, they're taking care of all of my headaches.

Here you are.

Well, most of my headaches.

I got to hand it to you, George.

You sure got a good head for business.

Yeah, I couldn't have done it without you, Ben.

And I surely couldn't have done it without you, Weezy.

[LAUGHS]

Behind every successful man there stands a good woman.

Oh, that's the nicest thing you ever said about me.

George, here's to your success.

You earned all the good things that's gonna happen to you.

I'm not the only one good things are going to happen to, Ben.

You and all of my workers are going to get lots of benefits,

including medical insurance, cost-of-living raises

and paid vacations.

You got to be jiving. No, I ain't.

It says so right here in the company rules book.

Look for yourself.

No, no, I'll take your word for it.

Let me see that.

For what?

Now that you're a big executive, I'd like a few benefits too,

and there must be something in here I ain't never thought of.

Well, I better grab some lunch and get back to work.

Wait a minute, Ben.

You're gonna have lunch right here

in the executive kitchen.

Florence, get us some lunch.

Mm-hm. What'll it be?

Well, something befitting the vice president

of Allco Enterprises Dry-Cleaning Division

and his new administrative assistant.

[LAUGHS]

Two baloney sandwiches coming up.

Have some more champagne, Ben.

Well, I don't know.

Go on, go on.

It comes under executive expenses.

I'll write it off in my taxes.

Yeah, and you're gonna have plenty of those.

So what? I'll just get me a good tax shelter.

What's a tax shelter?

It's like welfare, only it's for the rich.

Ben, I'm putting you in charge of a lot of things

from here on in.

Mr. Jefferson, can I see you a minute?

Soon as you finish making our lunch, you can.

I think you want to hear this, Mr. Jefferson.

Didn't you say you was over 60?

Yeah, I'm 63. Why?

Because I just found another benefit

you gonna get from Mr. Jefferson.

Oh, yeah? What's that? He's going to fire you.

What?

Florence, what are you talking about?

It says here

when an employee reaches 60, he gets the ax.

You're going to have to fire me?

No.

I read this book.

I don't remember seeing that.

It's right there.

Oh. See, that's how dumb you are.

It don't say nothing about being axed. It says "terminated."

They ain't gonna ax me.

They're gonna kill me.

George... Hold on, hold on, hold on.

Everybody... Everybody just relax.

Now, ain't nobody going to be axed, fired or terminated.

But it says in the book...

Look, George Jefferson don't go by no book.

All I got to do

is pick up the phone for the executive vice president

and tell him, "Look,

you can't fire my main man."

Me and the VIP are just like that.

Thanks, George.

Ain't that boy something?

He's going to straighten out them big wheels.

It's the least he can do.

Hello. Mr. Sparks, please. George Jefferson speaking.

Hello, Mr. Sparks?

What?

Oh, oh, okay! Jim.

[LAUGHS]

Jim, this is George. How are you doing?

Well, look, Jim, we've got ourselves a problem down here.

Oh, no, it's got nothing to do with the deal.

Well, see, one of my employees...

well, he's over 60.

Yeah, I know what the rulebook says.

But, see, Ben is my right-hand man

and I know Allco don't want me to chop off my right hand.

[LAUGHS]

George is laying it on him.

Sure, I know that.

Uh-huh.

Uh-huh.

[SOFTLY] Uh-huh.

Uh-huh.

Bye.

I didn't like the sound of all them "uh-huhs."

A lot of "uh-huhs" usually mean "Uh-oh."

Well, what did he say? Is Ben going to get fired?

No, he ain't.

Oh, that's wonderful!

Thanks, George.

He's gonna be retired!

Uh-huh!

What's the difference between fired and retired?

Two months pay and a farewell lunch.

Look, Ben, old buddy.

As Jim was saying on the phone,

the company's got this mandatory retirement policy.

Why?

So we can make room for the bright young guys

to get to the top.

But you ain't got no bright young guys to make room for.

I know, but it ain't just that.

If we keep the older workers on,

then their health insurance goes up,

which cuts into profits.

Well... George, I'm in good shape.

George, this is plain stupid.

Can't Allco Enterprises make an exception in Ben's case?

Weezy, will you get off my back?

But it's not fair!

Well, it ain't my fault!

Wait, wait, wait.

I don't want you two fighting over me.

You see that, Weezy? You're getting Ben all upset!

Come on over here, Ben.

Whew!

Look, Ben, retirement ain't the end of the world.

It's not?

No, you'll get a chance to do some of the things

you always wanted to do,

like sleep late in the morning,

relax, play checkers in the park.

With the muggers and the winos.

Feed the pigeons.

If your heart can stand the excitement.

Well, you know, you get a chance to travel!

Go to Europe or Japan.

You don't travel to Japan on Social Security.

Okay, so there's Chinatown.

Same thing, only cheaper.

Look, all right. All right, George.

I know you're trying to make me feel good,

but really, I enjoy working.

And since Alberta passed on, I'm alone now

and there ain't much for me to be going home for.

Every morning when I wake up, I thank God for two things:

one, for letting me wake up,

and two, for having the store to go to.

That's my family now.

Oh, Ben.

Oh, that's all right, Louise.

I'll see you all later.

George!

You gonna let him go just like that?

Of course not!

Oh, you're not?

This is me, Ben. George.

You think I'm gonna let you leave like that

after all these years?

No way.

Oh, thank goodness.

You're gonna leave in style.

I'm gonna throw you the biggest retirement party

anyone ever had.

Ha, ha, ha! A party?

We'll rent a ballroom at a fancy hotel,

hire a band, get a big cake,

and you'll be the guest of honor.

Yeah, George.

That's real nice.

Aren't you forgetting the gold watch?

Okay, so we get you one of those too.

No, George.

I won't need no gold watch.

Because when I stop working,

there'll be no place I'll have to be on time.

Bye.

Oh, wait, Ben.

Aren't you going to stay for lunch?

No, Louise.

It seems like I've lost my appetite.

I guess you don't eat as much when you're old.

Oh, that's nice, George.

Give a party for good old Ben, and then we'll kick him out.

Weezy...

I think folks who are able to work

ought to be allowed to work.

I think so too. Get back to work!

How could you do this to Ben?

Pushing him out into the cold just because he's over 60.

It ain't my fault.

I didn't invent retirement. The government did.

Oh, yeah? Then why is Gerald Ford running for president?

He's 63.

Maybe he lied about his age.

Look, Weezy, if it was up to me, I'd keep Ben on.

It's Allco Enterprises that's letting him go.

It's not just Ben.

You have someone over 60 in every store,

and they're some of your best workers.

What are you getting so upset about?

Maybe they want to retire. Old folks do all right.

They get Social Security and food stamps.

Uh-huh! $200 a month and all the dog food they can eat.

That's a lie! You can't buy dog food with food stamps.

Forced retirement is terrible,

and somebody ought to do something about it.

And I think you should call off that merger.

Are you crazy? We're gonna be walking on easy street.

Is that all you can think of?

Have you forgotten all that Ben has done for you?

No!

Then what are you gonna do about it?

I'm... I'm getting outta here! That's what I'm doing.

You're just running off because you don't have a good answer.

I do have a good answer!

Okay, let's hear it.

You're wrong!

Do you come here often?

You know, you and I have a lot in common.

We're both jolly well potted.

Sorry.

Scotch on the rocks, please.

Why, Mr. Jefferson. Forgive me.

You've been sitting here all this time,

and I didn't even notice you.

I'm terribly sorry.

Yeah, I'm terribly sorry you noticed me too, Bentley.

That is all right.

You know, an hour ago I was in a state of euphoria.

Yeah, you should go back there.

Any place is better than New York.

But now I'm in the glepths of doom.

Uh, doopths of... glem?

The depths of gloom!

Do you mind, Bentley? I'm in enough gloom of my own.

Oh, good. You know the old saying: misery loves company.

Thank you.

I got another one. One's company, two's a crowd.

I've got a wonderful idea.

Hey!

Why don't you tell me your sad story

and I will tell you mine.

You go first.

Um... Aren't you drinking?

I thought I was.

Uh, this time, don't forget to bring one for my friend.

Go on.

Well, there's this big corporation

that wants to buy out all my stores,

which gives me a chance to become a big executive

and make a lot of money.

That is a sad story.

Let me tell you mine.

I met Muriel one afternoon...

Look, I didn't finished yet.

Louise is mad at me

because this company is gonna do some things

that she doesn't like.

Such as?

Well, you know Ben, the manager of my store next door?

Yeah. Salt of the earth.

Well, Ben's over 60, and...

That's a peculiar saying, isn't it, salt of the earth.

We don't say pepper of the earth.

What?

Or mustard of the earth.

The point is,

this guy has worked hard all of his life.

So don't you think a man his age

is entitled to sit back and take it easy for a change?

I understand exactly what you're saying, Mr. Jefferson.

You do? Certainly.

You're throwing Ben on the scrap heap.

No, I ain't. They're making me retire him.

See? It ain't my fault. Why should I feel guilty?

And why should I feel guilty about Muriel?

Oh, Muriel.

She's the salt, pepper and mustard of the earth

all rolled into one.

A seasoned veteran in the spicy game of love.

Ha! Do you get it? Salt and pepper, seasoned...

Bentley!

Mandatory retirement, yes? That's too bad.

I see they'll be retiring you too in 12 years time.

Say what?

Oh, yes.

The retirement program isn't limited

to employees like Ben.

It includes management too. It's right here.

Management?

You mean when I'm 60, they're gonna give me the ax?

Didn't you know that?

No, I didn't know that!

Ain't nobody throwing me out when I'm 60.

What do they expect me to do?

Well, it might be rather nice. You'll be able to sleep late.

Feed the pigeons? Play checkers in the park?

What a pleasant thought.

You gotta be kidding.

Sometimes I feel like getting away from it all myself.

Just Muriel and me.

Far from the madding crowd.

If only Muriel could understand that.

If only Muriel's husband could understand that.

Weezy, darling!

If you want lunch, you're too late.

There's more important things in life than lunch.

Well, hallelujah!

And Ben is one of them. I'm calling off the merger.

What?

I'm calling off the deal. You were right. I was wrong.

George, do you mean it?

I mean it.

What changed your mind?

I changed my own mind.

Nobody's got to tell me

the difference between right and wrong.

And taking a man like Ben, any man,

and retiring him in the prime of his life

is definitely wrong.

Oh, George, I'm so proud of you.

So I just said to myself,

how would I feel if I was in his position?

Right.

[DOORBELL RINGS]

So I'm just gonna call Jim Sparks

and tell him the deal's off.

Ah, Mr. Jefferson, you forgot your book.

Thank you, Bentley.

It's a lucky thing you did too,

because after you left, I perused it more carefully.

You did what to it?

And you know something? I was wrong.

About what?

The mandatory retirement rule does not apply to you,

only to your employees.

What? You mean they can't kick me out after I'm 60?

That's right. According... That's terrific!

Did you hear that, Weezy?

I heard it. So now...

So that's how you were able to put yourself in Ben's place.

But don't you understand, Weezy? Everything's okay now.

Is it, George?

Now, Weezy, look...

Yeah, you're right.

Nothing's changed for Ben.

Okay, I'll call off the deal.

Oh, I'm glad, George. You're doing the right thing.

If you had to retire Ben

you could never live with yourself.

No, that's where you're wrong. I couldn't live with you.

Oh, George!

ANNOUNCER: The Jeffersons was recorded on tape

in front of a studio audience.

♪ Movin', movin' on up ♪♪