Original subtitles

The latest

recon photos, sir.

Let's have a look.

These are the infrareds made last night at

Anjou.

Runways.

Long enough for MiGs.

Set up a special recon mission right away.

Might have a better look at these by

daylight.

Oh, another marriage request.

Who's requesting this time, a girl or her

father?

Father.

He's the head of the Society for the

Preservation of Japanese Shrines.

Seems he considers his daughter in the nature

of a shrine and he wants to preserve

her.

From whom?

Cosgrove.

One of our best crew chiefs.

Obviously.

Has the father complained to the Provost Marshal

yet?

If he had, Cosgrove would be in the

guardhouse.

I'll try and negotiate.

We can't afford to lose a good crew

chief.

There's a female reporter outside.

She's been waiting quite some time.

All right.

Have her come in.

Thank you.

General Hale, this is Miss Jane Carter of

the United Syndicate.

How do you do, Miss Carter?

You're very nice to give me your time,

General Hale.

Colonel Eckert told me how busy you are.

I'm always busy, so far as Colonel Eckert's

concerned.

Won't you sit down?

Thank you.

Now, I suppose you're going to ask me

a great many questions that security won't permit

me to answer.

Well, I hope not.

Of course, I can tell you all about

Operation Strangle, even the commies know about that.

Well, I...

Here, let's take a look on the map.

Here's the enemy.

Blow up the bridge, there's no way to

cross it.

Destroy the marshalling yards, the trains can't run.

Clobber the highways, the rivers, the harbors.

Keep supplies, ammo, food, and replacements from reaching

the front line troops.

You, uh, you strangle them.

That's fascinating, and it's wonderful, but men can

report that much better than I.

What's your angle?

The women, the wives of your palates.

Women who kiss their husbands goodbye in the

morning and wait for them to come home

at night.

Only their men haven't had a hard day

at the office, they've had a hard day

at war.

That story needs to be told.

I understand there's a gate where the women

assemble to greet them?

I'll show you.

There it is.

There's Helen Daniels, she's always the first.

Well, she's going to have a baby.

What's wrong with that?

What kind of security will that baby have?

What kind of security would it have under

the Communists?

I get your point.

Well, here comes Susan Crenshaw.

Betty Flanagan, her best friend's in the hospital

having a baby.

Sounds like an epidemic.

My wife will introduce you to all of

them.

Wonderful.

I thought I'd call my story, I waited

at the gate at Izuki.

Oh, I see, and have one of these

girls sign it.

No, that won't be necessary.

You called me Miss Carter a minute ago?

Yes.

Well, that's just my byline.

I'm really Jane Manton, Mrs. Gilbert Manton.

You're not married to Gil Manton.

Well, didn't he brief you on me?

Well, sure, I knew he had a wife

back in the States somewhere, but, well, you

know Gil, old close mom.

Well, there's no secret about it.

My job's in New York, his job is

here.

So when my editor wanted this story, naturally

I chose this base.

I didn't even have a chance to notify

Gil I was coming.

Gil's in one of those jalopies, come on.

All right, Colonel Lecker, would you please take

Miss Carter down to the flight line to

see if the Sabres come in?

Of course.

And after the pilots have been debriefed, I'm

sure she'd like to see them meet their

wives at the gate.

Thank you, General Hale.

Goodbye, Miss Carter.

Sergeant Klinger.

Yes, sir.

This is Carter's, Colonel Manton's wife.

Yes, sir.

They'll need quarters.

How about Major Goldman's house, sir?

Isn't there anything else available?

That's the only vacancy, sir.

Isn't Mrs. Goldman still there?

She's booked out tonight with the Major's body.

Well, if there's nothing else.

Yes, sir.

Fifteen.

I get one short.

What's your count?

One.

Here was my story.

Here were the young women who had followed

their young husbands to war in a strange

country.

What were they like?

What made them do it?

How did they live?

What did they think about?

Were they happy?

Were they miserable?

This is what I had to find out.

And here were their husbands, home from a

hard day and

a hot day.

Babs.

Bill.

Honey.

I'll bet you've forgotten what day this is.

I have not.

It's our anniversary.

One month today.

I'd have bought you a present if we

drove past the store too fast.

Susan!

Susan?

Any news from your father?

Betty promised she wouldn't have the baby until

you got home.

I think you'd better hurry.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, that's right.

I've seen this a hundred times before.

Westport, New Rochelle, Great Neck.

Wives waiting at little stations to pick up

their husbands.

There's Gil.

Do you know him?

Slightly.

I'm his wife.

And he doesn't know you're here?

No.

Well, then I'll let you surprise him.

Thank you, Colonel.

Colonel!

Where's Jim?

He isn't here.

Helen, calm down.

He's being picked up.

Where?

Air Rescue's got him in the channel.

He had to ditch.

We had a call this morning.

I know I shouldn't.

But I didn't say goodbye.

Helen, he's all right.

Come on, honey.

Let me walk home with you.

I'm sorry, Colonel.

Hello, darling.

An important assignment.

Sir?

General Hale wants to see you right away.

Right.

I'm going to take Mrs. Mantler and Mrs.

Hales and tell you your quarters are ready.

Quarters?

What quarters?

Major Mrs. Goldman, sir.

I'll see to your things are moved over

as soon as possible.

I'll speak to General Hale about this.

I wouldn't if I were you, Colonel.

My story's very close to General Hale's heart.

Did you tell him anything about us?

I can be close-mouthed, too.

I'm ready, Sergeant.

Yes.

All right.

It's heaven, then.

The girls are all in a tizzy at

having you immortalize them in print.

And me?

I love a party.

Would it be out of line for the

Colonel's lady to tell the General's lady that

she's a doll?

Thank you, Jane.

Won't you sit down?

Thanks.

These girls are darlings.

Of course, they're really just kids.

I feel like an old mother hen.

Yes, Fuji?

Hello, sir.

Commissary said wrong thing again.

Oh, well, never mind.

Just cook that roast beef for dinner.

No cook roast beef.

But why?

Not roast beef.

Commissary send lamb.

All right, then.

Cook the lamb.

General no like lamb.

Like roast beef.

General say break Fuji's neck next time Fuji

cook lamb.

Well, don't worry, Fuji.

I'll explain to the General so he won't

break neck.

Only wanted to tell so General won't break

neck.

No sweat.

Hello, sir.

Bobby.

You're dead.

Why do I always have to be a

commie?

Why can't he get killed once?

Bobby.

Gary.

Mother has a guest.

Speak nicely to Mrs. Madden.

Hello, sir.

They picked that up from Fuji.

You're a rat.

I'm going to get you.

Why do I always have to be a

commie?

Somebody has to be.

Why?

Because.

Because.

How do you stand it?

Oh, you get used to boys.

They're noisier than girls.

But I wouldn't trade.

No, no.

You don't understand.

I mean your boys playing that game.

It's one thing to see it in Scarborough.

Pretending war, pretending death.

But here, when their own fathers.

Your bags are in our room.

I know you'll want a shower.

And I'm dying to see what they're wearing

stateside.

So I walk in with my little notebook.

And 15 minutes later, he tells me that

if I wait six months.

I can be wife number 12.

I just don't get it.

Who would want 12 wives?

You'd be surprised.

I don't blame you for staring, Colonel.

How long have you been separated?

What?

I mean, how long since you've seen each

other?

Two years, two months, 21 days.

Well, Bill and I have never been separated.

Well, I just die every day.

Well, I reckon now that Colonel Matton's wife

is here.

Honestly, your husband is the meanest man.

What dastardly thing have you been up to,

Gil?

Go on, Gil.

Tell her what a hornet's nest you stepped

into.

I'm still not admitting I had anything to

do with it.

Oh, yes, you did.

I know you did.

Well, Colonel Eckert and some of the others

thought it best the wives go back home.

And they're still here.

What happened?

These girls wanted to be with their husbands.

So they got up a petition and sent

it to General Stratton himself.

Every woman signed it, including me.

Now you know who the real Brad is.

Oh, I have some new records if anyone's

interested.

Besides, married couples shouldn't sit together all evening.

Shouldn't they?

Well, that's why I married Bill.

Don't you think you should go home, darling?

Bill'll understand.

No, I'm fine.

Shouldn't you?

There's nothing wrong with me that three more

months won't cure.

Why, Captain Flanagan.

Won't you come in?

Bert.

Bert, what was it?

A baby.

Congratulations.

Is it a candidate for West Point or

Vassar?

How do you mean, sir?

What the General wants to know is, is

it a boy or a girl?

I forgot to ask.

Hello.

Yes, George.

Would you repeat that, please, George?

All right, I'll tell him right away.

Come on.

Colonel Eckert is waiting in your office, sir.

Thank you, Sergeant.

Must be a big deal to get Sergeant

Klinger out of the sack.

What's up, George?

Here are your runways loaded with MiGs and

Yak-9s.

Must be 60 or more.

When were these taken?

Early tonight.

I wish you could see this by daylight.

We tried this afternoon.

They didn't get back.

If we allow MiGs to operate south of

the border, the 8th Army better learn to

swim.

Do you mind if I stick my neck

out, sir?

No, go ahead.

Well, if it were my show, I'd move

the F-80s to Kimpo to give them

more range.

B-29s with heavy demolition bombs.

Sabres from here to fly cover.

One big concentrated mission and we clobber them.

Could be expensive.

Too expensive.

But it must be a maximum effort, sir.

We lost four reconnaissance planes last week.

They flew with 30,000.

Something sawed them, something got them.

Here's your answer to that, MiGs.

I'll get on a teletype to General Stratton

right away.

Maximum effort strike requires coordination between Supreme Headquarters

and Far East Air Force.

It would take a week to put it

together.

The time is running out on us, sir.

The rainy season.

All right, take this, Sergeant.

May I remind you?

The rainy season starts next week.

We must wipe them out before they get

more MiGs in there.

I'll take it under advisement.

You'll have a new directive tomorrow.

Well, I guess all we can do is

wait.

I understand you're applying missions again.

You're running an operational command.

You are not to fly missions unless it's

absolutely necessary.

Is that clear?

Yes, sir.

Unless...

Absolutely necessary.

Now what, Sergeant?

Besides, you're too old, Sergeant Stratton.

Yes, I am.

Well, call me and I'll give you the

recipe.

Thanks.

Good night.

Good night.

Oh, it was a lovely party, Marge.

Thanks a lot.

They're nice people.

Strange.

They seem so happy.

I've been to a lot of suburban parties.

And this is a suburban community, if you

ever saw one.

There always seems to be at least one

couple that has a knock-down, drag-out

fight.

It's usually because some husband gets tight and

starts making somebody else fight.

Or somebody else's wife in the pantry.

Nobody got tight.

The moments together are too precious to waste

with dull senses.

And as for quarreling, you don't want to.

If you did want to, you wouldn't dare.

We have a slogan here.

Keep them happy.

And those jet fighters, if their judgment should

falter, you thought you were anyway to blame.

What called General Hale and Galloway?

I don't know.

I'll never know.

Oh, won't you ask the General when he

comes home tonight?

All I know is it must be something

very important.

But you're a woman.

Aren't you curious?

Of course I'm curious.

Not asking questions was the hardest thing I

had to learn.

No.

Not the hardest.

Come on, let's eat.

You sit down.

I'm sure Bob and Gil will be back

soon.

Is it true that most of the pilots

wear good luck charms?

Most of them.

Bob wears a bracelet.

The children gave it to him.

You mean an intelligent man like General Hale

is superstitious?

I suppose you could call it superstition.

Haven't you ever seen Gil's good luck charm?

No, I haven't.

I'm sure he has one.

We women have our little beliefs, too.

For example, it's bad luck to look at

them as they take off.

And as for mentioning the number of missions

your man still has to fly before he's

sent back to the States, well, we just

don't do it.

That's fascinating.

Wonderful copy.

I wasn't talking to a reporter, Jane.

I was briefing a wife.

Sorry we had to duck out.

Jane and I had a nice talk.

May I fix you some coffee?

No, Gil has to go home.

Is that an order, General?

It's an order, and it isn't top secret.

There are my bags, darling.

Thanks again, Marge.

This evening has been great for me.

It has just begun.

The real story is no party.

Thank you, darling.

Good night, General Hale.

We'll be seeing a lot of you from

now on.

Good night, Marge, Bob.

Good night.

Tired?

Little.

Kid's okay?

Fine.

Fix a drink?

You know, you were beautiful tonight.

I felt like an old frump besides Jane.

Wasn't that the most stunning dress?

You look beautiful to me in anything.

Which just goes to show you never look

at me.

I'm a habit.

Nice habit.

Say, it's a wonder you haven't lost this.

We better get it fixed.

Tell me something, Marge.

Do you worry much?

No.

Not more than I should.

But sometimes when you're flying, flying over that

big, big world out there...

Your world isn't very big, is it?

Why, it's the biggest world there is.

You and the boys, and our home.

Good party tonight, wasn't it?

Yeah, what I saw of it.

You know, we'll see a big change in

Gil now that his wife's here.

Maybe he'll come out of that shell.

Nice girl, isn't she?

Very.

But there's something wrong.

With her?

No, with the marriage.

Honestly, Marge, the things you can dream up.

Well, it was a lot of little things.

They just didn't act like people who were

glad to see each other.

And then when she and I were alone,

well, it was things she didn't say.

You know something?

You're cute.

You take my word for it.

The Mantons are a very happy couple tonight.

All right, all right.

But why did you have to come to

this particular place?

There are wives like these all over Japan.

But I don't have husbands all over Japan.

Are you going to give them the background

of our so-called marriage?

I won't embarrass you.

I was embarrassed a long time ago.

What do you mean by that?

It's embarrassing, wouldn't you say, to find you

have a marriage only when it doesn't interfere

with your wife's career.

Oh, Gil, that's not getting us anywhere.

Nothing ever gets us anywhere together.

That's not fair.

We used to have fun together.

Remember our honeymoon in Lake Placid?

Don't blackmail me.

And the miles we danced at the Waldorf?

That was a long time ago.

And that wonderful Italian food in that little

place in the village.

What was it called?

Luigi's.

Oh, yes.

You stood me up there on our second

wedding anniversary, remember?

Darling, I was sent out on some rush

assignment.

You remember the assignment?

No, to tell you the truth, I don't.

I do.

You interviewed a Mrs. Anna Crum.

Her husband was dying in the electric chair

that night.

You came into Luigi's afterward.

Your eyes all shiny.

You'd gotten a wonderful story.

You had probed and prodded to see just

how that poor pitiful creature felt.

That was a terrific story.

Great woman's angle.

I remember now.

Some angle tearing a woman's heart out.

Oh, Gil, that's my job.

The job's all right.

It's the way you take it, as if

you were insulated against all emotion yourself.

You never feel anything unless it happens to

somebody else.

What are you doing?

Making some notes on some things that marched

home.

I'm going to call my story.

I'll wait it at the gate.

Was that yours?

Something left by the former tenant.

How didn't you get the divorce?

You were in the service.

Now, that wouldn't look good, would it?

So now it's paid off.

I waited at the gate.

What's the use of quarreling?

Besides, Marge said we shouldn't if you're flying

tomorrow.

Good night.

Gil!

Don't be childish.

There's no reason to play the happy married

couple when we're alone.

Suit yourself.

I'm going to bed.

Gil?

If I'd known my coming here would make

you so unhappy...

I was thinking about us in this house.

The couple that used to live here.

Last time I saw them together, you were

sitting there, she was over here.

Ernie Goldman rigged that up because without it,

it was so fair she couldn't take the

son.

They...

I don't know.