Original subtitles

NARRATOR: This is Liberty Hill, a small freshwater town

where the streets are named for trees and heroes

and a sense of life's continuity runs in the air.

It is like a hundred other American towns,

smug and cozy and putting a special stamp upon its own.

People born and raised here, high and low, rich and poor

are neighbors in an irrevocable way.

They have all, for the space of a whole generation,

been exposed at a tender and malleable age

to the impartial justice, the inflexible regulations,

and the gray, calm, neutral eyes of the same teacher.

The terrible Miss Dove.

(CREAKING)

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, Mr. Porter.

What is that you're using on your lilies?

Sulphate of Ammonia. Best fertilizer on the market.

Except for lilies, Mr. Porter.

Particularly for lilies, Miss Dove.

They will perish.

There she goes, Jincey.

Fifteen minutes past 8:00, right on the dot. (JINCEY CHUCKLES)

I wish little "Whosit," the slowpoke,

would copy Miss Dove and develop a sense of time.

Who could stand the strain?

Imagine burping a baby that in any way resembled the terrible Miss Dove.

(CHUCKLES)

Seventeen minutes past 8:00.

Eat your oatmeal, David, dear. Miss Dove just went by.

You don't want to be tardy.

Oh, puke! The oatmeal stinks.

Excuse yourself and get off to school!

Yes, sir. Excuse me.

Go on!

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, Mr. Levine.

Our Morrie is coming home today.

To pay us a visit.

Naturally, he will want to see his old teacher.

I shall be happy to see Maurice.

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, William.

Bobsie!

Hiya, Markie! How's that left foot? (GRUNTS)

Ha-ha! Top of the morning, Peggy. How's my best girl?

Fine. Atta, girl.

Well, well, little sister.

Wow. What a pretty pink dress.

It's orange, Mr. Spivvy. My mother made it.

She did?

(INDISTINCT CHATTER, LAUGHTER)

Isn't he cute with the small fry?

He ought to have oodles and dozens of his own.

I mean, it's a shame such a family man never married.

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, Mr. Spivvy.

John, send me a fast one.

(CHUCKLES) Oh, nice try, Mr. Spivvy.

Let me caddie for you.

Oh, please don't bother, Miss Elwood.

Spring's certainly in the air.

Boys playing baseball, State proficiency tests coming up.

Say, is old Cedar Grove going after the geography pennant again this year?

The children will do their best.

I trust the results will reflect credit on all concerned.

I heard what you said about spring, Mr. Spivvy.

Isn't this just the most blood-tingling day?

Makes you want to do something utterly mad.

(LAUGHS HEARTILY)

(CHILDREN CHATTERING) (BELL RINGING)

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, Perry.

Good morning, Miss Dove. Good morning Karen.

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, Robert.

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, Mark.

I forgot my handkerchief.

First things first, Harrison.

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, Harrison.

You may provide yourself with the tissue from the box on my desk.

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, Margaret.

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning Milos.

(BLOWS NOSE)

Attention, please. (BELL DINGS)

The lesson will begin.

We will continue with our study

of the dietary habits of animals.

"Bears like honey.

"They are also fond of red ants,

"which have a flavor similar to that of pickles."

Robert.

You know what to do, Robert.

You may return to your desk, Robert.

(BELL DINGS)

We will resume.

"The camel is not a pretty beast,

"but he can go many days without water."

Margaret.

For the remainder of the class,

you will occupy the posture correction stool.

(BELL DINGS)

We will resume.

Hey! You better tank up!

"The camel is not a pretty beast

"but he can go many days without water."

Ah, who's afraid of that old...

Stick. Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, David.

The proficiency tests prepared by

the State Board of Education

will be held next Monday.

Therefore, I think it would be advisable

to utilize this period for review.

No, David.

You had ample opportunity to quench your thirst

before the beginning of class.

Take out your books, please.

I advise that you memorize the agricultural products of the Argentine Pampas.

Strange. Sharp pain.

Probably a muscular spasm.

If I tranquilize my mind, it will pass.

I will think about the Alps.

White. Clean.

Rising above Lake Lucerne.

Come back, Victoria.

(GASPS) Hellfire and damnation.

You will remain after class, David.

(SIGHS) Yes, Miss Dove.

Open your notebook to a blank page.

You will copy that sentence 20 times.

You mean, before lunch?

By the time you have finished,

the cafeteria will still be open.

David?

Yes, Miss Dove?

Is your father likely to be home?

But I'm doing the sentences, Miss Dove.

Answer my question, David.

Your father.

Does he come home for lunch?

Yes, Miss Dove. Daddy's home.

I am indisposed, David.

I...

I am ill.

Will you go and tell your father?

Ask him to call young Dr. Hurley.

Mention this to no one.

David, do not loiter.

Run.

I'll take the shortcut through the vacant lot,

where the old bank used to be!

(DOOR SLAMS)

Where the old bank used to be.

(BELL DINGS)

Oh, hello there. Home from school?

Good afternoon, Mrs. Aldredge.

I returned this morning. Good. We missed you.

Welcome home, my dear. Nice to see you.

Thank you, Dr. Hurley. It's nice to see you.

And how is young Dr. Hurley?

The lad celebrated his 45th birthday yesterday.

His 45th? Yes.

(CHUCKLES)

Look at her, John.

By Jove, hasn't she something that sets her apart?

It's like the delicate glaze

that is the difference between fine porcelain and ordinary ware.

Well, that Miss What's-Her-Name school on the Hudson

should have given her something.

It certainly cost enough.

Not half as much as it cost your father

to send you to Harrow and Oxford.

But money has nothing to do with it.

Quality can't be given nor purchased.

That girl was born to do anything at all.

Whatever she does become is certain to be remarkable.

As her father, you could be prejudiced,

but then you could also be right. (CHUCKLES)

Welcome home. Thank you, sir.

It's pleasant to see you, Mr. Porter.

The feeling is mutual.

I hope Mrs. Porter is in good health?

She is, and most anxious to see you.

Told me to find out when you and your father can come to dinner.

Course, it doesn't have to be your father.

I expect you met some dashing young men

while you were away from Liberty Hill.

(CHUCKLES) Yes, I, I met one that I like very much.

What's that?

You'd like him too, Papa.

He's an archeology major at Princeton.

Tell me about it later.

Right now, I have a surprise.

In the mail this morning from my London dealer,

after being on its trail for eight years,

that elusive edition of Marco Polo's travels.

Oh, I know how happy you are.

But you haven't even opened it.

So that I might share it with you tonight.

After dinner. (CHUCKLES)

Then let's go home.

Dinner can be early.

May we give you a ride, Mr. Porter?

Thank you, no. I still have some things to attend to. It's the first of the month.

(CHUCKLES) See you tomorrow, John.

Uh, while you're about it, send a draft for the book.

$200.

If they'd only known. (CHUCKLES) I was ready to go to five.

$200. (SIGHS)

From 13th century Venice to Old Cathay,

what a time to have lived.

Next year,

I've made up my mind,

we'll make a tour.

The grandest of grand tours.

I'll show you every corner of the world.

Last summer, Mr. Pendleton rode a bicycle all through Greece.

Mr. Pendleton? Who's Mr. Pendleton?

Oh, Papa, you never listen.

He's the young man from Princeton I told you about.

Oh, yes, the archaeologist.

His name is Wilfred Banning Pendleton III.

(PLAYING PIANO)

Lovely, my dear.

Mr. Pendleton wrote me a letter.

He asked leave to visit me this summer.

Here, in Liberty Hill.

Papa!

Henry! Henry!

Call Dr. Hurley.

Something's happened to my...

It's too late for Dr. Hurley, Miss Dove.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Yes?

Miss Dove is here, sir.

Have her come in, please.

Thank you for coming.

Won't you please sit down?

What I must tell you,

is as painful to me as it will be for you.

I should like to have put it off, but...

Tell me, Mr. Porter.

Your father availed himself of some of the bank's assets

without first observing the conventional forms.

He stole?

Are you saying that my father stole?

Let us say he borrowed.

How much, Mr. Porter?

$11,430 to be exact.

In dribbles, here and there.

No more than he could have hoped to return one day.

$11,430?

This must be repaid at once.

By whom?

By me, of course.

There's the house, the...

The rare editions, the... The paintings.

Their disposal will more than cover my father's...

indebtedness.

Unfortunately, it won't be as simple as that.

I've been going over your father's books.

The house, all his possessions, are mortgaged to the hilt.

Miss Dove.

Your father was one of my closest friends.

Were I financially able,

I would happily cover this indebtedness to the bank

before there's any scandal.

Scandal?

There must be no scandal.

I don't see how it can be avoided.

Can't the bank make over to me this deficit

as... a personal loan?

Until I can repay it?

You?

But how could you repay it?

I, I shall secure employment.

A position.

A teaching position.

A teaching position?

My dear child, what are you prepared to teach?

I know a great deal about the world.

(SIGHS)

I cannot imagine a young lady who knows less.

I should have been more explicit.

Not about the world.

The Earth.

I have read my father's books.

I could find my way through Carthage, were it to rise again.

I can point out on the map of Iowa,

every field where the corn grows tallest.

I know every turn of the Nile,

every eddy of the Mississippi.

I am not even certain,

should I put my mind to it,

that I couldn't locate the Northwest Passage.

I am superbly qualified to teach geography, Mr. Porter.

And I will teach geography.

There will be no scandal.

And I will repay my father's debt.

You are now president of this bank.

Surely you can arrange somehow a, a personal loan?

Uh...

I'll try, since you seem so determined, but...

I really can't guarantee anything.

Thank you.

Meanwhile, I...

I will make my application to the school board.

Good morning, Mr. Porter.

Is there anything you wish, Mr. Porter?

Yes.

Get me the Superintendent of Schools.

Yes, sir.

"Dear Mr. Pendleton.

"The news

"that you have been awarded a fellowship

"by the Carnegie Foundation

"is most gratifying.

"Much to my regret,

"the death of my father,

"will prevent my receiving you this summer.

Mail, Mr. Pendleton.

(GRUNTS) Thank you, Amos.

I...

I took the liberty.

I had to express my sympathy in person.

Please come in, Mr. Pendleton.

Now that I'm here, there's so little I can say...

You've said it very well, Mr. Pendleton.

Please sit down.

(SIGHS)

Wilfred's an awful name, isn't it?

But must you call me Mr. Pendleton?

My friends call me Wulf.

I, I don't suppose you'd care to though.

No.

But I should like to call you Wilfred.

Thank you.

Just what does the Carnegie Fellowship mean, Wilfred?

A full year in Tibet with the Archer expedition.

Tibet?

You'll see the Himalayas.

We'll sail down the Brahmaputra,

then Lhasa.

Lhasa.

One of the oldest cities in the history of men.

On to Shigatse and the sacred lakes.

Wait, I know their names.

Mansarovar, and Rakshas Tal.

(CHUCKLES) Right.

And then we'll follow the ancient route to, to Kashmir

and the Tarim Basin. Oh.

Mr. Pendleton... Wilfred.

How I envy you.

I don't want you to envy me.

I want you to come with me.

Come with you?

(SIGHS) I know this must seem premature,

but from the first moment we met at Ms. Kingsley's weekly tea, I...

I felt that our friendship, begun under such pleasant auspices,

might ripen into something warmer.

Remember, we, we left the others and strolled along the river.

We sat on a marble bench and you described the misty isles of Greece.

We like the same things.

Yes.

We do.

My assets are not impressive. I...

I have a $1,500 grant from the foundation

and $5,000 my grandmother left me.

But in...

In all modesty, I feel I have a future in my chosen field.

A bright future, Wilfred. An exciting future.

Share it with me.

Marry me.

Marry me tomorrow.

Today.

(TELEPHONE RINGING)

Let it ring.

Oh, it, it will only keep on ringing.

I'll be but a moment.

Hello?

Oh.

Good afternoon, Mr. Porter.

Everything's been, been arranged?

Yes, I...

I am fortunate indeed.

Will you thank the Superintendent of Schools?

And thank you, Mr. Porter.

Goodbye.

Well?

I am afraid, Wilfred, that we...

We have been premature.

That we've let ourselves be carried away by the spell of far-off places.

We have placed too much importance

on the coincidence of similar interests.

I'm asking you to marry me.

I'm sorry, Wilfred, but...

My future is here.

Here in Liberty Hill.

There is someone else?

There is something else.

I, too, am about to embark on a career.

Please wish me success in mine,

as I do you in yours.

I...

Good afternoon, Wilfred.

It was kind of you to come.

I will always be honored by your proposal.

(SOBS SOFTLY)

(BELL DINGS)

(DOOR OPENS IN THE DISTANCE)

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

David said you needed help, Miss Dove.

So, I brought Tommy.

I requested young Dr. Hurley, my personal physician.

Well, David told us that.

But Dr. Hurley is ill with the recurrence of his bronchitis.

The immoderate use of tobacco,

an enslaving habit when formed early in life.

Funny how Dr. Hurley is temporarily out of circulation,

and I happened to be at Sandy's house picking up a bath

when David came.

Thomas has had excellent training, you know.

I do know.

He told me that... I see your point, Miss Dove.

Asked for a seasoned medical man and to be offered my services is like

being sent a troop of Boy Scouts

when one has requested the militia.

Frankly, yes, Thomas.

However, since you were kind enough to come,

I should be glad of your opinion.

These are my symptoms.

A pain at the base of my spine, sharp and spasmodic,

a numbness in my right limb.

(GASPS)

That's all? Was it bad?

Yes.

And your right leg, there's a complete absence of sensation?

My limb has gone to sleep.

As soon as I move about. But, that's what I can't allow.

Did I understand you to say, "can't allow"?

TOMMY: That's right.

And pray, what is your diagnosis?

I haven't one yet.

TOMMY: We'll have to get you to the hospital and right away.

I'm sure that is quite unnecessary.

Young Dr. Hurley... is flat on his back.

Believe me, it is quite necessary.

Next week, perhaps.

At the moment, I cannot be spared.

The state proficiency test... That's next week, not even tomorrow.

Right away now.

The fifth grade is weak on the winds and the tide.

I'm afraid the decision is not yours, Miss Dove.

Yes, Thomas.

My hat, please.

My gloves and my bag.

They are in the closet.

I'll fetch them.

I always admire that watch.

Remember?

Perfectly.

I await your convenience, gentlemen.

Now...

If you'll just lean forward.

This way. Support yourself on the desk.

Easy.

Now, Sandy? Yeah?

(GRUNTS) Okay.

Sit down.

Put your arms around our necks.

That's right.

There we are.

You may go, David.

Yes, Miss Dove.

Flying straight, Miss Dove. Don't wobble about.

It is not my custom to wobble.

Low bridge.

All at march.

David, pick up my things, will you?

Yes, sir.

TOMMY: Watch your steps.

Afraid to put her in the car, it might be too much of a jolt.

I'll have to carry her.

Think you can make it?

Well, if you can, chum. After all, I'm only three months your senior.

What about Miss Dove?

She'll do so long as she keeps her spine rigid.

Being neither absent nor deaf,

and in complete command of my faculties,

I should prefer not to be discussed in the third person.

Our apologies, Miss Dove.

Then you have no objections?

I defer to your judgment.

You have defined my responsibility.

I shall keep my spine rigid.

Good.

An accident, Doc? Is she bad off?

The immediate situation's under control.

But scoot over to the hospital

and tell them I want a private room.

Say I'm not asking for it, I'm telling them.

Yes, sir.

(SIREN WAILING)

MISS DOVE: As I predicted.

What did you say, Miss Dove?

Nothing, Alexander.

I am not one to gloat over an empty triumph.

Spine rigid, Miss Dove. We're almost there.

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

(PEOPLE TALKING INDISTINCTLY)

Put her on the gurney.

MR. PRUITT: Hey, though the circumstances are regrettable,

we are honored, Miss Dove.

Thank you, Mr. Pruitt. (TOMMY SIGHS)

I have a special for tonight, in case one is needed.

A practical is the best I can do for day duty.

But Mrs. Green is one of our very best.

I try to be.

Now what, Thomas?

TOMMY: Mrs. Green knows what to do.

Just keep her quiet.

Yes, I certainly will, Dr. Baker.

TOMMY: I'll look in on you a little later, Miss Dove.

Oh, he has an appendectomy.

Now we're just going to relax,

and we're going to have a good time.

But first, I guess I better get you to your room.

That would seem advisable.

(SIGHS)

Now,

we'll take off our clothes

and then we'll feel more comfy.

The pronoun, "we", is misleading.

Unless you propose to take off your clothes, too.

(LAUGHS) Oh.

Don't you remember me, Miss Dove?

I was Billie Jean McVeigh.

Yes, Mrs. Green. I remember you very well.

Of course, I'm older now.

If you please, Mrs. Green.

I am not totally incapacitated.

Miss Dove, you are not to help or to exert yourself.

Do you want me to tell Dr. Baker that you are a naughty girl?

Something for after the bath to keep our skin soft and sweet.

Uh, your skin, I mean.

You know what I always think of when I put this on my patients?

No, Mrs. Green.

The little can of talcum you gave me for Christmas in the third grade.

It was second grade.

Girls in the third grade received thimbles.

Mine had a picture of lilacs on it.

(CLICKS TONGUE) I was some proud.

And when you gave it to me, you said something I never forgot.

You said, "This is to use after you wash your neck."

Mmm, I intended no reflection upon you, Mrs. Green.

That is what I say to all the little girls.

Oh, I didn't take it personal.

But I certainly took it to heart.

It's what I tell my baby, my little Ava.

She's going on five. She's just crazy about my Mary Snow's Country Garden.

But I tell her every time she begs for it,

I say, "First, you wash yourself good."

Well... Yes, that's exactly what I tell her.

What is my temperature?

Oh, that's, uh, confidential.

Besides, even if I told you,

you wouldn't know what it meant.

It's in centigrade or something.

It is neither in "centigrade" nor in "something".

It is Fahrenheit.

Well, hey, gee, thanks. I'd better remember that.

As to my question, it was indiscreet.

Oh, no. Not indiscreet a bit.

All patients are snoopy. But well, you know, rules.

Yes, Mrs. Green. I know rules.

Well, now I'll just stop yakking

so you maybe can take a nice little nap.

Uh, how about that Country Garden,

that perfume we were talking about?

A gentleman friend that I was going steady with up to a month ago,

he gave it to me.

He said it smelled real refined.

Mmm.

(EXHALES) I was very happy in his company.

Seemed to be mutual, but...

Well, it came to a dead end.

I've been a widow now for five lonely years.

As you no doubt have heard.

(EXHALES) I-I do not recall...

You remember when I went way out west to Detroit to work at a factory?

Well, out there, I met Mr. Green.

He, uh, he passed away shortly after.

Hmm. So when I said that about being older,

you see what I mean?

But your life must be full.

You have your work and your child.

Yeah.

Uh...

You know Bill Holloway.

Officer Holloway, I suppose I should refer to him.

William was one of my pupils.

Well, I just thought, you might like to know

how he's got you up on a pedestal.

He says you're his idea of real genteel.

I value William Holloway's opinion.

Funny how he should have ended up the type he is.

Why do you say that?

Ooh, I was just thinking about how he started out,

being raised by the old grandmother.

Now you know what she was.

Living in that leaky shack down by the gasworks.

William Holloway started out with a gift rarer

than mathematical genius or perfect pitch.

A child in whom the ethical instinct

was as innate as the function of breathing.

Oh, brother.

If anyone should ever tell him that,

you could drive a truck right between his ears.

There would be no point in apprising William.

He knows what he is.

He always knew.

(BELL DINGS)

(CHILDREN CLAMORING)

The last desk in the third row.

Oh, thank you. Come along.

(LAUGHS) Good morning, Miss Dove.

Our little Jackie.

Good morning, Jacqueline.

(WHINES) I wanna go home. Um.

Her daddy, all over again.

Awfully S-W-E-E-T when she wants to be

and awfully B-A-D when she doesn't. (CHUCKLES)

I will conduct you to your desk, Jacqueline.

Good morning, Mrs. Wood.

Well, Miss Dove, if at first we don't succeed.

Good morning, Mrs. Makepeace.

Good morning, Frederick.

Why, Freddy, where do they come from?

Pepperdine's market.

But we weren't at...

We picked them up as we passed so he could bring you a present.

It's all right, Miss Dove.

We have an understanding with Mr. Pepperdine on the way back,

I'll tell him to put them on the bill.

Thank you, Frederick.

However, I prefer that you do not make a habit of bringing me gifts.

Dear, you heard Miss Dove. She doesn't want any more of Mr. Pepperdine's apples.

Uh-huh. You may take the desk you had last year, Frederick.

It isn't that he's backward, Miss Dove.

It's only he doesn't take anything seriously.

Would you please give him your special attention?

All my pupils receive my special attention, Mrs. Makepeace.

Is that child entering Cedar Grove?

Apparently. Then I beg you, Miss Dove

Keep Freddy on the other side of the room.

Oh, I believe in democracy and all that.

But I don't want him to catch anything.

My seating arrangements are alphabetical, Mrs. Makepeace.

But Miss Dove, it's that Holloway child.

But surely, Miss Dove, you know that boy's background.

His grandmother is the most notorious...

I am not interested in my pupils' backgrounds.

I am interested in their basic traits of character.

Good morning, I am Miss Dove, your geography teacher.

I know your last name is Holloway.

But I do not know your first name.

It's Bill. Can I come to school?

Most certainly, William.

This is your desk.

Good morning.

(SPITS)

Ain't that coffee done, Billy?

I'm getting it for you now, Grandma.

It'll be a cold day when Kelly's cheap joint sees me again.

Let me tell you.

(GRUNTS) Insulting me in public.

Taking away my credit

just because I owe him a few lousy bucks,

and then threatened to call the cops

just because I give him a piece of my mind.

(LAUGHING)

I bet you could hear me in the next county.

(LAUGHING)

Where'd you get that from?

The Five-and-ten. Miss Schultz gave me a dime to go to the store.

Ain't she got a nerve.

Considering her and me don't speak.

Goodbye, Grandma. I gotta go now.

Where you're rushing to?

Now, if you can run errands for Old Lady Schultz,

who's got too fat legs of her own,

you can do a nice little job for your grandmother.

No, I'll be late.

Now, don't you stir a step.

You just take them beer bottles in the yard and dump them.

All right, Grandma.

This is the day that nosy dame from the relief

come snooping around.

(GRUNTS) (DOOR OPENS)

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, William.

Attention, please.

(BELL DINGS)

Your lunch, William.

Thank you, Miss Dove.

Drink all your milk, William.

Your work is most satisfactory.

MAN: William Holloway.

Your certificate of graduation.

And an additional honor,

the good attendance medal.

This young man has a record unique in the annals of Cedar Grove.

He has not been absent a single day

in his six years of elementary schooling.

My felicitations, William.

I-I came to thank you for my graduation suit.

It was my pleasure.

Well...

Guess I'd better be going.

I shall watch where you go with interest, William.

I have faith in you.

It was always so clean in here.

Like... Like...

Like this was where I-I really lived.

That's why I never missed a day.

Goodbye, Miss Dove.

Goodbye, William.

I do not worry about him.

He will find his way.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

WOMAN: Poor old Annie.

I wonder if she ever knew it was a beer truck that hit her.

William.

May I offer my expressions of sympathy?

Thank you, Miss Dove.

She did the best she could.

She didn't...

She didn't have my opportunities.

Her troubles are over.

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

Will you be riding with me?

Yeah.

I should like to accompany you, William.

If you wish.

Thank you, Miss Dove.

William Holloway, Private First Class.

Corporal William Holloway.

Hmm.

MR. O'NEIL: Ahh.

Sergeant William Holloway.

Thank you, Mr. O'Neil.

These sure are, uh...

They're delicious, Miss Dove. What's in them?

Only bread and butter, William.

When did you return?

On the 3:45.

I made a beeline straight from the station.

Mainly because I wanted to see you.

Also, I need your advice.

I am honored, William.

Well, this is how it shapes up, uh...

Tomorrow I'm out of the Marines.

I know it's pretty late.

What would you think if I, uh,

use my GI educational allowance for living expenses and finish school?

I should approve.

And then what, William?

Oh, this will throw you for a loop.

I mean, surprise you.

I've been thinking about entering the field of law enforcement.

I'd like to be a first rate cop.

I mean, a good police officer.

A worthy ambition, William.

I shall continue to follow your career with interest.

Thank you, Miss Dove.

(BELL DINGS)

Miss Dove.

Miss Dove?

Here's Dr. Temple, Miss Dove.

I'm Dr. Baker's house officer.

You may report to Dr. Baker that I am presently comfortable, thank you.

Excellent. That makes my task just that much easier.

Your task? I'm to take your history.

And so you can both speak more private, I'll wait in the hall.

That would be quite unnecessary.

Oh, it's custom, Miss Dove.

Dr. Hurley has provided us with your records,

childhood diseases, vital statistics, etc.

So we can get down to the immediate.

Do you suffer from periodic headaches?

No, Dr. Temple.

Are you afflicted with respiratory infections?

No, nor am I subject to common colds.

Any allergies?

None. I consider them sheer affectation.

I see. Is there a family history

of epilepsy, night blindness, eczema or melancholy?

Certainly not.

What about your emotional life?

I beg your pardon.

Well, love, you know.

Any feelings of frustration, inadequacy?

I have never felt inadequate.

Question was routine.

I'm supposing we call your emotional life satisfactory?

That would be correct.

Are you subject to fantasy?

In other words, are there occasions

when the world around you assumes an aura of unreality?

Yes, Dr. Temple.

Well, could you say approximately how long

you've been conscious of these occasions?

I can say definitely.

Since around 12 o'clock noon today.

(MUTTERS INDISTINCTLY)

Thank you, Miss Dove.

Dr. Baker will be in later, of course.

You know,

you and I are really old friends.

In a manner of speaking. I've known you all my life.

You have known me?

I'm Adams Temple.

My mother was a Liberty Hill girl.

Angela Adams, of course.

I should have known.

(CHUCKLES) Well, it's been a long time.

Mother's family moved to Maine when she was 14.

But she remembers you.

I remember her.

She, too, had an enquiring mind.

(LAUGHS) Yeah, she still has.

As a matter of fact, it's her proudest boast

that she's the only kid at Cedar Grove

whoever asked you a question you couldn't answer.

Indeed?

As she tells it, it was way back in the first or second grade.

You were reading from a book about the dietary habits of animals.

And it said that bears liked honey and were also very fond of red ants,

which have a flavor similar to that of pickles.

And Mother asked you how the man who wrote the book knew how ants tasted.

Did he eat an ant to find out?

Or did a bear tell him? (LAUGHS)

I recall the incident.

I'm writing mother tonight. She'd get a wallop out of this.

I dare say.

And I'll be looking in on you.

And if there's anything at all I can do, just buzz.

One moment, Dr. Temple.

You want Dr. Temple for something?

Yes, for the courtesy of asking him a few questions.

For all his volubility, he told me nothing of my physical condition.

Well, he couldn't. He's not in charge.

Your Dr. Baker's private patient.

Then what is it?

What is it Dr. Baker suspects?

He'll tell you what you need to know.

I see no occasion for mystery.

Don't try to see. Let us do the thinking.

You,

a-and Thomas Baker,

and Angela Adams' son will think for me?

Well, sure, we're experienced.

Oh, look, your first flowers.

Bill Holloway, uh, Officer Holloway left it at the desk.

It is very beautiful.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Good afternoon, Virginia.

I didn't know you'd been admitted.

I haven't. I came to see you.

How are you, Miss Dove?

Quite comfortable, Virginia.

And you? (CHUCKLES) Wonderful.

Except the suspense is killing me.

If nothing definite has happened by the end of the week,

Dr. Tillet's promised to give nature a nudge.

Right now, I suggest I keep walking.

I better had.

If Tommy knew I was here, he'd have a fit.

Well, I-I just came up to wish you good luck.

And good luck to you, Virginia.

Thank you.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for both of us.

Goodbye, Billie Jean.

I know you'll take good care of her.

Oh, I sure will.

You know, I used to think she was the snootiest, dumbest brat at Liberty Hill.

She's really a good kid.

In marriage and maternity, Virginia has found her vocation.

Achieved her destiny.

A year ago, I was not quite so hopeful.

(BELL DINGS)

ALL: (SINGING) ♪ Dear old Cedar Grove, to thee

♪ We pledge our love and loyalty

♪ And though peril may beset us

♪ On life's tempestuous sea

♪ Your spirit still will guide us

♪ To shore and victory ♪

(UPBEAT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

Seems only yesterday since we marched down that aisle.

You too, Jincey.

WOMAN: Come on.

(WHISTLES)

The final innings, eh, Miss Dove?

Let's not be downhearted.

There's always another season.

Another crop of fresh little rookies coming up to bat.

For six years, I pruned and polished them.

I tried to blow into them the breadth of purpose.

I do not wish them back.

I wish only to believe that they will do well without me.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, Virginia.

This was my place.

You may sit there now, Virginia.

The room is different.

Empty...

Like life.

Is that the same map?

China still orange?

It is a new map.

China is purple.

Cartographically, of course.

I liked the old map.

I liked the old world.

I felt secure in this room. I...

I felt that if I

obeyed the law and sneezed in my handkerchief and

and raised my hand for permission to speak and kept my margins neat.

That that was my oyster,

that nothing could go wrong.

Well, at first it worked out all right.

Even flunking out of the university seemed like... like fate.

I won that talent contest and got a job in New York.

Singing television commercials.

(SOFTLY) Oh, Miss Dove.

Tell me what to do.

Do your duty.

VIRGINIA: What is your duty when your world is ending?

You are 19, I believe.

Well, what difference does that make?

To understand, you've got to know how it was.

(SNIFFLES)

I met him at the Stork Club

when I'd only been in New York a week,

He spoke to the waiter in French and he wore a cummerbund.

Oh, he was everything that the paper said he was

when we announced our engagement.

Yale, a yacht...

and the skyon of a prominent family.

The word is scion.

The "c" is silent.

Yes, well, he looked just like what he was.

Most sky... sky... scions, don't.

Every night it was the Stork Club and the El Morocco

and Colony and 21.

Champagne, and the the kind of steaks that the waiter has to slice.

Did you ever drink champagne, Miss Dove?

No. Tastes just like cider.

Only the effect is different. I dare say.

The compliments that he paid to my hair

and... and my eyes and my figure. (SOBS)

Honestly, I'm almost embarrassed to repeat them.

Reticence, Virginia, is the sine qua non of gentility.

Well, anyhow, I... (SNIFFLES)

I came home to Liberty Hill to prepare for my wedding.

I wanted to be married here so all my friends could come.

I was modeling my wedding dress...

when someone turned on the radio.

And then everything went black.

(SOBS)

(VIRGINIA CRIES)

The next day I got a telegram.

It said, "Gorgeous, only you can understand".

MISS DOVE: Could you?

No, I still can't.

Can you?

Certainly.

Have you a handkerchief, Virginia?

(SHAKILY) My heart's broken, Miss Dove.

A broken heart is cumbersome baggage, Virginia.

What can I do?

I am not undecided as to how you should be answered, Virginia.

But I am not convinced that this is my province.

Oh, tell me, Miss Dove.

Very well.

First, you must return to your sister's house.

You must enter your bedroom, fall on your knees

and give thanks to your Heavenly Father.

Thanks? For what?

For preserving you from a fate worse than death.

Death? Death.

It is evident that the young man

to whom you had given your affections

discovered that his feelings for you had altered.

He had, however, an honorable avenue of escape.

He could have requested you to release him from his commitment.

Instead, he proved himself a coward

and a person of low principles.

(SIGHS)

I thought there was something wrong with me.

Your fault lay in rashness of judgment.

His lay in dishonor.

After you have expressed gratitude

to the power that kept you from a disastrous alliance,

you must consider your duty to your neighbor and yourself.

You must find a useful occupation.

Do you think I could teach?

Decidedly not.

But there are other spheres of service.

I might be a nurse?

You might.

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, Thomas.

I thought I'd drop by for old time's sake.

Jincey, I didn't expect to find you here.

Holy mackerel, kitten, you're all grown up.

May I say you've done a mighty neat job of it?

Thank you. It's nice of you to approve.

The last time I saw her was before med school.

I was being separated from the Navy and she's from Cedar Grove.

So to celebrate she shot my brother Randy with a squirt gun in the...

Virginia cannot enjoy being reminded of that, Thomas.

Oh, I think it's cute of Tommy to remember.

Does this room look different to you, Tommy?

Yes, considerably.

I expect the hospital keeps you busy, Thomas.

Oh, I'm glad you mentioned. It calls me right now.

My car's outside, if I can take you someplace.

Oh, wonderful.

Oh, goodbye, Miss Dove. And thank you. I'll remember.

I... I'll think about my nursing career.

Maybe Tommy can advise me.

I'll advise her very carefully.

I am 54.

I won't have to retire until 67.

If they don't tarry,

and from all indications I don't expect they will

I could take their first child

straight through to graduation.

That child will meet me.

(BELL DINGS)

(HOPEFUL MUSIC PLAYING)

I better be getting you ready.

For what, Mrs. Green?

Don't you remember?

For night duty, you got a special order.

Those dames like nothing better

than to throw their weight around

as far as us practicals are concerned.

The least little thing and they squawk downstairs.

No, a small town is not my cup of tea.

But I have a sister living here,

and I was between positions and needed a rest.

I only took your case as a favor to the superintendent.

I'm interested in the theory of nursing.

My extensive training, I feel I'm wasted

on the daily routine of the bedside.

Not very uplifting.

But you were napping when Mrs. Green left,

and she thought when you woke up,

you might want something to read.

Everybody to his own taste.

Can you think of an eight letter word

meaning a rare but endearing quality?

I can.

Humility.

Let's see H, U... (DOOR OPENS)

You're 100% right.

TOMMY: She always is.

The latest operating wear. Easy on the eyes.

Well, did you think I'd forgotten you?

No, Thomas.

I just dropped by to see that you're being well-treated.

Any complaints?

I am not pleased with this wall of secrecy.

I should like to ask a few questions concerning my health.

Certainly, but I'm not sure I can answer them.

What do you surmise?

I don't surmise.

Tomorrow we'll do extensive tests.

By Wednesday, I should be able to speak

with some degree of conviction.

Until then, Miss Dove,

I shall expect you to assume the virtue of docility.

Yes, Thomas.

(BELL DINGING)

Now, we're all sorry that Miss Dove is in the hospital.

But we're not going to let her down.

We're going to go right on with our geography work.

I will take her place.

(ALL LAUGHING)

Now we're all members of the same team,

and our quarterback has been injured in scrimmage

and I'm going to go in and sub for her.

I'll call the plays she would call.

Of course, I don't know these plays as well as you do.

So when I'm offsides, I want you to let me know. Okay?

EVERYONE: Okay!

And we're all in there pitching together.

EVERYONE: Yes!

(CLAPPING SLOWLY FADES)

(SIGHS)

(DOOR OPENS)

So nice of you to drop in, Dr. Baker.

I was only admitted two hours ago.

I know, kitten, but I've been pretty busy.

Really? Then don't let me detain you.

Fortunately, I have my own physician.

He'll keep you well informed of my progress.

I know Sam Till, and he will.

That's why I can put you out of my mind.

Hey, Tommy Baker, of all the callous, inhuman, heartless...

Have you forgotten that I'm in this hospital to have a baby?

Your baby. Our first baby.

No, I haven't forgotten.

I've been thinking about it all morning.

I'm the happiest, luckiest guy in the world

but by what a narrow squeak.

How much she had to do with it?

How much who had to do with it?

Miss Dove. Terrible Miss Dove.

Without her, there'd have been no Thomas Baker.

No beautiful Mrs. Baker.

No little "whosit" Baker.

What did she have to do with it?

(CAPTIVATING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)

That time in the South Pacific

after my ship was bombed,

floating for days on that raft. No food, no water.

She was right there with me all the time.

Giving me the same fishy stare she used to give me

back in the geography room when I needed a drink of water.

So to make my supply hold out,

I pretended that I was back in old Cedar Grove.

Even when the water was gone, I kept on pretending.

I'd think...

"The bell will ring in a few minutes.

"You can last a little longer."

Well, I lasted.

They picked me up and gave me a medal.

She rated that medal.

Tommy,

is anything awful the matter with Miss Dove?

I'm due back now for more tests.

We won't know till tomorrow.

Don't worry about me, Tommy.

Don't give me a thought.

I'll look after little "Whosit"

(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)

(MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)

TOMMY: Tomorrow we'll talk.

Until then, I want you to put all this

business out of your mind.

Thomas... Now, we mustn't worry about tomorrow.

We must do like Dr. Baker says. (DOOR CLOSES)

(GASPS) Goodness gracious, it's a regular greenhouse.

I am deeply appreciative,

but there are far too many.

Restraint is the better part of beauty.

I will keep the white azalea.

Please dispose of the others.

Yes, Miss Dove.

But what will I do with them?

There must be less fortunate patients who would enjoy them.

Shall I take them around to the wards?

Please do, Mrs. Green.

Okay.

(DOOR CLICKS OPEN)

I went up and down the halls

giving cheer where it was needed.

Oh, I saved the cards and I borrowed some stationery.

If you'd like me to write the thank-you notes,

I'd be glad to.

That would be obliging.

Will you dictate them?

No. Use your own discretion, Mrs. Green.

Only avoid the fulsome.

Uh, yes, well, I was going to say

the same thing to everyone.

Uh, listen and tell me what you think.

(CLEARS THROAT)

"Dear Mr. Porter,

"At the request

"of Miss Dove,

"I am advising you

"that she is

"thrilled to death

"by your floral offering.

"The sympathy of friends

"brings sunshine to lonely

"shut-ins.

"I remain graciously yours,

"Billie Jean Green, RPN."

What does RPN stand for?

Uh... Registered practical nurse.

I made that up. But how's the letter?

It is very...

very genteel.

(UNDER BREATH) Oh, gee!

Honest, Miss Dove?

You know,

Miss Dove,

I'm not really Mrs. Green.

I took the name for little Ava's sake.

I was way out there in Detroit.

Virtue knows no frontiers.

I was on the night shift.

Got me all mixed up.

I... I'd never been anywhere before.

And... and you remember, Miss Dove,

how I wasn't very mature.

I do.

All the fellows wanted to take me out.

I... I guess it went to my head.

There was this one fella.

I didn't know he was married.

He was wonderful to me.

Anyhow, before I knew it...

There is no need to elaborate.

He was so good-looking and...

and big, and I was so homesick.

You know how it is.

I do not know how it is.

But I know that right is right and wrong is wrong.

Well, anyway,

to make a long story short,

little Ava came...

way out there in Detroit.

Oh, I could have given her up for adoption, of course.

There was even a childless couple who offered me $4,000.

But well...

She was mine.

Besides...

how did I know strangers would raise her right?

Well, anyway, I... I brought her home and I...

I told that tale about my husband passing away.

And why did you confide in me?

On account of what you said about the letter.

I'm nowhere as near as genteel as you thought, Miss Dove.

And I couldn't deceive you

any more than I could Bill Holloway.

William Holloway?

He was the one I mentioned formally going steady with.

The one who gave me the Country Garden perfume.

You and...

and William Holloway?

When he bought me a ring...

an engagement ring,

it just all came out.

He's like you...

A person you tell the truth to.

That's what stopped me back there a minute ago.

He said your very words.

"Right is right.

"Wrong is wrong."

He wanted me to keep the ring,

as a gift.

But I handed it right back to him.

(SNIFFLES)

Let him keep it for...

for somebody more fitting.

Well...

Knocked me for a loop I won't ever recover from.

But I...

guess I'm one of those that

have to learn the hard way.

Just about time for Her Nibs.

Your special, I meant to say.

(DOOR OPENS)

(DOOR CLOSES)

(BELL DINGING)

From the third grade.

It's Cedar Grove.

The work is laudably neat.

You may place it on the dresser.

Well, isn't it sweet?

When do you think we may expect Dr. Baker?

Now, now. We're not to worry.

Remember, no news is good news. (PHONE RINGING)

Maybe that's him now.

(PHONE RINGING)

Miss Dove's room. Mrs. Green speaking.

Who?

I will enquire.

Two out-of-town visitors would like to pay their respects.

One telephoned to ask permission.

The other is waiting in the lobby. Who are they?

Well, they're not birds of a feather, as the saying goes.

One is Maurice Levine, the famous New York stage play writer.

The other is Fred Makepeace.

I suppose you know where he resides.

They are my former pupils.

I should be glad to see them both.

Miss Dove will see them... both.

What?

Hm.

Mr. Makepeace was so sure of his welcome

he's already on his way up.

Now, I don't hold with giving a dog a bad name,

but neither do I believe in taking chances.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

Good morning, Miss Dove.

How you doing?

How do you do, Frederick?

Do you know Mrs. Green?

Hi! (UNENTHUSIASTICALLY) Hi.

MISS DOVE: You may be seated, Frederick.

I'm not over the hill,

on the lam, or anything like that.

What I mean is,

when I read you were sick, I went to my gang boss,

I said, "Boss,

"The only teacher that ever learned me anything

"is in the hospital.

"I want the day off to go visit her."

And he gave you leave?

The green light. Just like that. (SNAPS FINGER)

"Why, sure, Fred," he says, "I know I can trust you."

I am gratified to hear that.

(SOFT KNOCK ON DOOR)

Maurice Levine. Miss Dove expects me.

Come right in, Mr. Levine.

How are you, darl... Miss Dove?

MISS DOVE: Quite comfortable, Maurice.

These are for you.

How very thoughtful. Thank you.

Recall the face, Rab?

Uh... Fred Makepeace! (FRED CHUCKLES)

Your fan, kid. You're a press agent.

And do I swell up when I hear your name

mentioned by Winchell and Ed Sullivan

and read it in all of New York Times. Well, thanks, Fred.

And do I lay it on with the guys at the joint, too.

Oh, really? Yeah.

You made it, kid.

And when I hear some commie jerk belittling this country,

I say to him,

"Just look up my pal Rab Levine and ask him,

"if he doesn't think the USA is still a land of opportunity."

The best. No doubt about it, Fred.

But I also found the Terrible Miss Dove.

(SHARP CHIME)

(DREAMY MUSIC PLAYING)

Miss Dove, this is Maurice Levine.

I am glad to know you, Maurice.

Maurice is 11 years old.

His credentials from the school he attended in Poland

would ordinarily place him in the fifth grade.

But he knows no English, and in my opinion, he would

pick it up quicker if he went through all the first grade classes.

I shall seat him in the L section.

Thank you, Miss Dove.

The class will begin.

"The tiger belongs to the cat family.

"Cats are noted for their cleanliness."

Maurice...

This is a tiger.

T, I,

G, E...

R.

(SPEAKING IN YIDDISH)

(MAURICE CONTINUES SPEAKING IN YIDDISH) (CHILDREN START LAUGHING)

MISS DOVE: Thank you, Maurice.

I am sure that was most interesting and informative.

When Maurice knows our language as well as his own,

we will ask him to repeat it.

(IN A POLISH ACCENT) "Old Mrs. Rabbit was a widow.

"She earned a living by knitting rabbit wool mittens.

"She also sold herbs and rosemary tea

"and rabbit tobacco, which we call lavender.

"When no one was looking,

"she would also smoke a rabbit cigar."

I have no recollection of Mrs. Rabbit indulging in any such vice.

Is that on the page you were reading?

No, Miss Dove. But it seemed funny to me if she did.

You will adhere to the text.

Continue, Maurice.

Yes, Miss Dove.

"She had four children

Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

Here comes that new kid!

Sicki wizicki boo!

Sicki wizicki boo!

Come on, gang!

ALEXANDER: Fred! Tom...

What's the matter, Tommy?

Why don't you let him alone.

He didn't do nothing.

KID 2: Oh, come on, Tommy. It's just for the ducks.

KID 1: Sicki wizicki boo!

(KIDS CLAMORING)

(CAR HORN HONKS)

MISS DOVE: Good morning, boys.

EVERYONE: Good morning, Miss Dove.

(DOG BARKING)

Good morning, Maurice.

Good morning, Miss Dove.

(CYCLE BELL RINGS)

I am slightly encumbered this morning, Maurice.

Would you mind carrying my books?

(MUSIC BUILDING)

(DREAMY MUSIC STARTS PLAYING)

EVERYONE: Good morning, Miss Dove.

MISS DOVE: Good morning, boys.

(MUSIC CONCLUDES)

Because of the season of the year,

we will consider the country of Palestine,

the original home of the Jews,

a country we hear much about in church,

but of whose sons and daughters we know very little.

To study a people and their customs is valuable.

But to know a people and their customs

is a privilege seldom attained without the luxury of travel.

The fifth grade is to be rarely privileged.

I have your parent's permission

to take you to a traditional Jewish feast.

Mr. and Mrs. Levine have graciously invited you.

(CHILDREN WHISPERING)

We're going to Rab Levine's house?

We are going to the home of Maurice's parents.

And may I ask Alexander,

why you refer to Maurice as Rab?

We all... we all call him that.

It's short for Rabbi.

Maurice has progressed

during the few months he has been here.

But not to that extent.

Rabbi means teacher.

It was so that Jesus was addressed by the multitudes.

(PLATES CLANKING)

This sure is a swell party.

Hey, he ate 17 of those little...

you know, they're like dumplings, only better.

(IN POLISH ACCENT) The matzo balls!

I bring more, much, much more.

For me, too! For you, too.

A most successful evening.

I feel much has been accomplished.

(BELL DINGS)

I have neglected writing you, Maurice

to thank you for the orchid and the plane ticket

and the privilege of being present

at the opening night of your play.

What happened to you?

Why didn't you come backstage?

I returned on the midnight plane.

It was imperative that I be in my classroom the next morning.

Boy, what a kick that must have been, huh?

Seeing ol' Rab's name up there

in electric lights.

I bet you was... were proud.

As Maurice's former teacher,

I was gratified by his worldly success.

Ouch. Then you didn't think too much of my play.

I am not a critic, Maurice.

But with more than 300,000 words at your disposal

in any unabridged dictionary,

it did not seem necessary for you, to permit your characters

the use of expressions that were frequently inelegant,

often profane,

and unless I misinterpreted their meaning,

occasionally improper.

Thank you, Miss Dove.

Next time I... I'll try to be more... meticulous.

MISS DOVE: Discriminating.

Yes, Miss Dove.

Well, what gives with you these days, Fred?

I guess you don't get The Courier no more.

I'm on the roads. Acting or selling?

(FRED LAUGHS)

Mostly digging with a pickaxe.

You seem fit and happy. It must agree with you.

Sure. Plenty of exercise.

Good, plain food. Twelve hour sleep each night.

Frederick Makepeace is paying his debt to society.

Oh, I see. No big caper, Rab.

I just got in a jam and had to pass a little paper to tide me over.

Which would have been nothing if I hadn't barred this convertible

from a parking lot and happened to wreck it.

Well, life could be rugged. Ah, not too.

The judge would have let me off with a fine and an SS...

A suspended sentence.

(CHUCKLES)

But I didn't know where to look for the dough

and probation never really set me.

It makes me nervous. Yeah, I could imagine.

Uh, it ties you down. You can't make plans.

So I decided to do the stretch.

I only got six months left.

Oh, how come you're on the loose?

Well... Frederick was paroled for the day

on his own recognizance.

Oh well, fine. Then you're free for lunch. As a bird.

Well, it'll be Old Home Week.

Sandy Burnham and I, we're meeting at the club.

The club? Yeah.

Oh, am I living!

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

Sorry to intrude, but it's official.

Police officer Holloway begs to intrude.

MISS DOVE: Please come in, William.

Good morning, Miss Dove. I hope you're improved.

I appreciate your good wishes, William.

Uh, excuse me, Miss Dove,

but it's getting a little crowded in here.

If you don't need me, I would greatly

enjoy breathing a fresh breath of air.

Hiya, Bill. Long time no see.

Look who's here. Rab.

How are you, Maurice? How are you, Bill?

Say, you're looking sharp.

Yeah, don't he though.

Once a Marine, always a Marine.

Say, uh, Rab, Sandy and me, are having lunch together.

A little class reunion, you might call it.

I'm afraid it'll have to be postponed, Fred.

There's a matter of conflicting business.

Is it urgent, William?

Yeah. Well, why don't you join us?

You cops eat too, don't you?

A most practical suggestion, William.

Later you can discuss your business with Fred

as you drive him back to his present habitation.

You mean? You think that's a good idea, Miss Dove?

I do, William.

It will eliminate Frederick's having to seek

other means of transportation.

Yes, Miss Dove. (SIGHS IN RELIEF)

As usual. Right on the beam, Miss Dove.

Would you go for a steak? With lobster on the side.

Goodbye darl, and thanks.

Thanks for the works.

Goodbye Maurice. Be seeing you, Miss Dove.

Oh, hey, look at me.

I almost forgot.

From the joint homegrown handpicked by me.

Then thank you, Frederick.

(CHUCKLES)

MISS DOVE: William, will you ask the floor nurse

to send Billie Jean to me, please?

Hey! Yes, Miss Dove.

Now I read the face.

Billie Jean McVeigh.

You mean, she's now a nurse?

An excellent nurse, Frederick.

Kind, courteous, efficient, genteel.

I have been most fortunate.

FREDRICK: Yeah, sure.

Oh! Gee, it's late.

Dr. Baker will be here in a few minutes. (RATTLING)

I want things to look prettified.

I'll just go out and get us some nice, cool, fresh water.

Patient is a slender, normally developed female, aged 55,

showing few of the usual senile changes.

Lying quietly in bed in no apparent distress.

Alert and collected.

I'm surprised. I trusted you.

I am guilty, but unrepentant.

What I read has restored

my sense of personal identity.

(DOOR OPENS)

Now you listen to me.

A chair for Mr. Porter.

I'm not here in a private capacity.

I represent Rotary.

Indeed. Indeed, yes.

The Liberty Hill Rotary Club has voted unanimously

to assume entire financial responsibility for your illness.

Wherever you choose to go for this operation.

Mayo's, The Johns Hopkins, The Lake Clinic. Rotary is behind you.

And if I decline this kind offer?

And, who are you to decline it?

Who gave you this right to?

To walk the world with a, with a haughty spirit.

Fighting little children, turning men to stone.

My dear sir, if you wish my attention,

you must employ a civil tone.

I am not to be bullied.

Uh, bullied? You, you talk of bullying.

She's always been a stiff neck termagant.

Do you think my pride hasn't suffered?

Seeing the daughter of my best friend, practically penniless.

Working for her bread, wearing outlandish clothes.

A civil tone, if you please, Mr. Porter.

You have forgotten yourself.

I have forgotten nothing.

I haven't forgotten that I made you

a very civil offer once.

Fifteen years ago, to be exact.

I'd been a widower for a year.

Rich, but lonely.

Even then, she was an old maid.

Lonely too, but far from rich.

The offer was generous.

But nonetheless, ridiculous.

(SIGHS)

I shall ignore that final insult.

Because it cannot blot out the memory that once,

consciously or unconsciously,

you did something that placed me in the untenable position

of being forever in your debt.

(BELL DINGS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(MUMBLING)

250, 300.

MAN: This has been going on since 10 o'clock this morning.

I don't see how far they'll last.

WOMAN 1: There was a run on the bank.

My brother was out of town.

Oh and he lost his last dollar.

WOMAN 2: Like a fool, I had put it in only yesterday.

MAN 2: Hey, look at that. They must have run out of cash.

I told you something like this would happen.

MISS DOVE: Excuse me, please.

I wish to make a deposit.

MR. PORTER: Ed, we've been friends. Excuse me.

If I can just hold out until tomorrow.

Friends, nothing. I'm withdrawing every penny

to be exact, 6,572 bucks.

And since your transaction will undoubtedly

take a little time, Mr. Prouty and mine will be brief.

I'm certain you will extend me this small courtesy.

Are you nuts? I've been here since one...

Thank you, sir.

Good afternoon, Mr. Porter. Good afternoon.

A pleasant day for February.

Yes. Miss Dove.

A distinct touch of spring in the air.

Miss Dove.

May I borrow a pen?

Mine has gone dry.

'Course.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, Mr. Porter.

By some strange coincidence, your pen seems to lack ink too.

You're looking well, Mr. Porter.

I had heard that you were suffering

from a mild case of lumbago.

Thank you.

It's been a bad month for the colds.

So much unseasonable weather might account for it.

For deposit to my account, Mr. Porter.

The entire amount. $98.

Thank you, Porter.

Thank you, Miss Dove.

(ALL EXCLAIMING)

MR. PROUTY: You can't do this, Porter. You'll not get away with it.

Mr. Prouty, do you expect Mr. Porter to violate a federal law?

This is a federal bank.

He is compelled to close at 3 o'clock.

You and I, Mr. Prouty.

All of us here in Liberty Hill

will live to see the merit of this law.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(BELL DINGS)

I am sure your Rotarians intended me no offense.

But I am not an object of charity.

It... It isn't charity,

Liberty Hill offers you.

It's... It's... It's respect.

That I shall accept with unqualified pleasure.

And, now Thomas...

Will you be more specific,

as to your findings?

Well...

You have a small growth on your spine.

Which must, if possible, be removed.

If possible? If possible.

Until we go in, we can never be certain

about the nature of any tumor.

All you have to decide,

is who shall remove it and where.

Aren't you competent?

I think so.

But there are surgeons with much more experience and reputation.

So if you decide to go elsewhere,

it won't be interpreted by me

as a reflection on my ability.

The... The club can charter a plane.

There's a very famous man at the Mayo Clinic.

Allow me to deliberate.

I remember that you had very skillful fingers, Thomas.

(BELL DINGS)

You have very skillful fingers.

Do you think you can put it back exactly as it was, Thomas?

Yes, Miss Dove.

I... I did it once before.

Then do it again.

Yes, Miss Dove.

(BELL DINGS)

I shall feel perfectly safe

in the hands of Thomas and Billie Jean.

(DOOR CLOSES)

Now that the air is clear of emotion,

we can resume our discussion.

What do you propose?

That it be done tomorrow.

As you used to tell us that...

I know what I used to tell you.

What is the procedure?

This is what will happen.

This evening at 8, you'll swallow a capsule.

You'll sleep soundly.

So soundly that the next morning,

when you're given a hypodermic, you may not even know.

Certainly you won't care or shouldn't.

You'll be taken to the operating room

and put under general anesthesia.

Because of the position of the tumor,

the operation may be lengthy.

In that event, the anesthetic will be prolonged,

and so might its after effects.

It may be well into Friday before you finally awake.

Where?

What?

Where will I awake?

I don't know, Miss Dove.

Open the top drawer of the bureau, Thomas.

Give me my bag.

My father's watch.

No, Miss Dove.

I should like you to take it now, Thomas.

It is bequeathed to you in my will.

If...

If on Friday I awaken here,

then return it temporarily to my custody.

(DOOR CLOSES)

Mmm. The battle I put up with this cuticle of mine.

You have the same trouble?

I have always considered the care of the nails

exclusively a boudoir function,

and certainly not a very stimulating topic of conversation.

Well, I beg your pardon?

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

(WHISPERS) I'm not supposed to be up,

but I simply had to know how you were feeling.

There have been some recognizable developments, Virginia.

And you? Oh! Glory.

Like the night before Christmas.

This time tomorrow we'll know what it looks like.

If it's a boy or a girl.

Well, I better go now.

Good night, Miss Dove.

Roses in your pillow.

Good night, Virginia.

Hello, Miss Dove.

Dr. Temple, would you be writing to your mother tonight?

Why, yes. Yes.

Then will you kindly inform her that red ants

have a flavor, not similar,

but exactly like sour pickles?

They do?

Did a bear tell you?

No, Dr. Temple.

I ascertained the fact for myself,

more than 30 years ago.

You did? How?

I ate one.

(CHUCKLES) Good for you.

I won't wait to write, Mother. I'll send her a wire.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

(DOOR OPENS)

I'll leave you with your pastor.

Thomas told you?

Yes.

MISS DOVE: I do not wish to die.

Life, whatever others may think,

has been for me...

I... I have been happy.

I know.

Thomas is not very hopeful, is he?

Well, there is a hope which transcends the medical.

Perhaps, if we read from this...

Do you intend to read the general confession?

Yes.

Then I must warn you that when I repeat that prayer,

I do so with reservations.

Reservations?

I have made many mistakes.

Perhaps, even sinned.

I admit my human limitations.

But I do not, in all honesty,

find the burden of my sins intolerable.

Nor Alexander, have I strayed like a sheep.

As Frederick Makepeace might say,

I have never been AWOL.

Well, I grant you that the language of the confession is archaic.

But it contains more than the core of truth.

All of us.

No, I have never spoken hypocrisy to my maker.

And now, is scarcely a propitious moment to begin.

But we can have a prayer if you like.

Silently. But together.

That I should like.

(CHURCH BELL RINGS)

(CHURCH BELL RINGS)

(THUDS)

(CHURCH BELL RINGS)

(CHURCH BELL RINGS)

The parson and the cop are in the lobby.

Potential blood donors.

Good.

TOMMY: Okay.

Okay, Tommy.

All right.

FREDRICK: Hey, you got the time, pal?

10 after 10.

But what do you care with six months added

for that stroll you took yesterday?

Would you call a friend of mine in Liberty Hill,

name of Rab, Maurice Levine?

Only cost your 4 bits,

which I'll pay you.

Then reverse the charges, Now this guy is loaded.

Get back to your digging, Makepeace.

You're fresh out of privileges.

Oh, boy, am I paying my debt to society!

I am calling a play, of which our old quarterback might not approve.

But, Cedar Grove Elementary School

is suspending classes for the day.

TOMMY: It's more extensive than I thought.

Have Holloway and Burnham standby.

She'll need blood and plenty of it.

NURSE: Yes, doctor.

W... What are they doing up there?

Oh... oh, don't they know?

Oh Mr. Porter, you know Tommy's doing his best.

Now, now, let's stay patient

and, and, full of fortitude.

You two just sit tight

and I'll take a little snoop around.

How's it going, Miss Rice?

Dr. Baker's sent a frozen section to the laboratory.

The report hasn't come back yet.

She's had one transfusion. There'll be more.

You think there's a chance?

A nurse is permitted no opinions, Mrs. Green.

(SIGHS)

Hey, hey, hey! I saw you coming.

Children aren't allowed. What do you want?

We're here on important business. A matter of life or death.

I was elected spokesman. I'm supposed to talk.

Then go ahead. We came to give blood to Miss Dove.

No, they don't do it down here.

First they lay you down. And then afterwards

they give you tomato juice.

But not to folks your age.

But we're all more than nine.

And we're real strong. KIDS: Yeah!

Aw, honeys.

We don't need you.

We got all these grown ups waiting right here.

But I'll tell you something you can do for Miss Dove.

For instance?

The state geography tests that are coming this week.

If she should hear that you flunked them, she'd be good and mad.

She'd be terrible.

Now, you go on home and study up. Go on.

We know that old junk backwards.

KIDS: Yeah.

Oh, are you sure?

KIDS: Sure.

What's the difference between longitude and latitude?

Name the Great Lakes.

What's the chief product of Kansas City?

Where is the Tropic of Capricorn?

Whatever happened to Cleopatra?

(KIDS SULKING)

There. You see?

You handled that like a seasoned diplomat, Billie Jean.

She herself, Miss Dove, I mean,

couldn't have handled it with more genteel.

(TOMMY SIGHS)

That's it.

Takeover.

(SIGHS)

Tommy, how did it go?

Oh, come on, girls, break it up.

Let's pull ourselves together.

I give up figuring out women.

Yesterday they were clawing Miss Dove apart.

There wasn't anything she ever did right.

It was a terrible Miss Dove.

(SCOFFS) And now, look at them.

Oh, shut up, Joe.

And you too. You were brought up in Liberty Hill

and she wasn't your teacher.

And if she had been, you wouldn't have

that repulsive habit of chewing your necktie,

when you have something on your mind.

Yes, she'd have broken you of that.

The way she broke me of chewing my pigtails.

And I was counting on her to break our Susie of chewing hers. (SOBS)

What comes back to me plainest is the day I told her she was nuts.

I guess you young fellas never knew she kept this town from going bankrupt.

Oh, why don't they tell us something?

That's what I like to know.

We pay taxes. We got a right to know.

Yes, sir. They say they're waiting for a report from the laboratory.

Laboratory? That's passing the buck.

If young Dr. Hurley... We just heard from the laboratory,

The report won't be completed until tomorrow morning.

CROWD: Aw! So you folks might just as well go home.

I'm sorry.

(ALL EXCLAIMING, CHATTERING)

(BERT HUMMING)

Oh cut it out, will you? Bert.

Things are spooky enough around here tonight.

No calls, no fights, no wrecks, no dogs barking, no nothing.

And you're no eye opener neither.

You don't even know her.

Sure. I know, Miss Dove.

I've been here more than two years, ain't I?

I'll be sorry to see the old girl kick off,

but if you ask me, I don't think she cares much.

She couldn't have had much of a life.

Never married. No family, no kids.

Never went nowhere.

Why, they tell me she's never been more than a couple hundred miles

from this bird since the day she was born.

That's right.

But she's been places you and I never heard of.

She's been more times around the world than you can count.

Not much of a life, huh.

No family, no kids. No kids!

Boy, you're really off your rocker.

Kids? She has a thousand of 'em.

(TELEPHONE RINGS)

(CLEARS THROAT)

Police station. Mitchell speaking.

Oh hello, Warden.

Hmm?

Fred Makepeace on the loose again?

You think maybe he's heading for Liberty Hill, huh?

Yeah, sure thing, Warden. We'll be on the lookout for him.

All right. Good night.

I wonder what's the big attraction in this bird,

for a petty thief like Makepeace.

Well, I tell you, I don't know.

(CHURCH BELL RINGS)

(CHURCH BELL RINGS)

(CHURCH BELL RINGS)

(CHURCH BELL RINGS)

(CHURCH BELL RINGS)

(WEARILY) Tell me, Thomas.

Tell me, without wasting a word.

And Virginia?

Twin boys.

My felicitations, Thomas.

Already they look like they're full of beans.

You'll have your hands full, Miss Dove.

(CHURCH BELL RINGS CONTINUOUSLY)

(CHURCH BELL RINGING)

(EXCLAIMING INDISTINCTLY)

(BELLS RINGING)

Bells?

Why are they ringing?

Is it Sunday?

Friday, Miss Dove.

For a big day for Liberty Hill.

Dr. Temple just gave the town the news.

The news?

That you're going to be all right.

BILLIE JEAN: Guys. That crowd's been waiting out there

since the crack of dawn.

There are people in the streets?

BILLIE JEAN: And more coming. Everybody and his uncle.

I never saw anything like it.

Except maybe in the movies, when a queen or some bigshot

takes a bow from a balcony.

(BELLS RINGING LOUDLY)

(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

Look, just coming up.

There's Mr. O'Neil, the mailman.

And there's Ben Gordon, the stationmaster

and young Dr. Hurley.

Oh, and there's Ed and Pete, from the service station.

Good night! Standing there, big as life,

Fred Makepeace.

Frederick Makepeace?

Oh, don't you worry, Miss Dove.

Everything's under control.

My Bill's standing right next to him.

(TOMMY LAUGHS) Look over there.

Mr. Spivvy's carrying on like he just made a touchdown.

(BILLIE JEAN LAUGHS) And every last kid from Cedar Grove.

What did you say?

The kids, Miss Dove, your pupils.

There's no school today.

No school?

But didn't you say that, this is Friday?

Yes, Miss Dove.

And the State proficiency tests will take place on Monday.

Thomas, go down at once,

and inform Mr. Spivvy that

the children must return to their classes.

The fifth grade will review the winds and the tides.

The fourth grade will memorize the products of the Argentine Pampas.

The sixth grade will study the orographic control of rainfall.

At once, Thomas.

Good morning, Miss Dove.

Good morning, Thomas.