Original subtitles

Mr. French, are you sure you don't want to play farmer in the dill with us?

We promise you you won't have to be the cheese who stands alone.

Well, that's most considerate of you, Buffy, but I'm afraid I'm a still

Let's go, Buffy.

Will you hold Mrs. Beasley? She doesn't feel like playing children's games

either.

Oh, Turner.

Miss Murdoch, may I?

Mr.

French, you just do a marvelous job with those twins. So well -mannered. Oh,

thank you, Miss Tanner. We try, we try.

Giles!

Giles French!

But, Lorna Frazier!

Oh, excuse me, ladies.

Lorna, is it really you?

Oh, Giles, it's been such a long time.

For a fleeting moment, you've turned Central Park into Kensington Gardens.

But what in the world are you doing here?

The Duke and Duchess are here on holiday.

We're all staying at the plaza.

Oh, and how are they? I hope they're still in the best of health.

Indeed they are.

Giles, they remember you most fondly.

Oh, excuse me. I was forgetting you'd left us before. There was an Elizabeth

a Jonathan.

Oh, Miss Elizabeth, Master Jonathan.

Children, this is our Mr. French.

At least he used to be our Mr. French.

Oh, Buffy, I'd like you to meet Miss Frazier and Elizabeth and Jonathan

Glenmore. May I present Miss Buffy Davis.

Would you like me to tie the bow for you, Miss Buffy?

Thank you very much, but Mr. French does it just right.

Oh, dear me, you see, I've acquired some new talents since last we met.

There, Buffy.

Would you two kids like to play farmer in the dell?

We'd like to very much.

But we don't know how.

I'll teach you.

It's real fun.

You two could even be the cheese.

Come on.

But, Giles, I thought you were employed by a bachelor.

Not quite, but last year we acquired some extra dividends. Three of them, to

precise. Buffy has a twin, Jody, and we also have a lovely teenager, Sissy.

How very nice.

And I suppose their nanny has the afternoon off today.

Well, not... Quite. You see, I have the honor of being the entire staff.

Hi, kids.

Good afternoon, sir. You've just returned from the park.

Guess who we played with today?

Rumpelstiltskin. No.

There's no white in the seven dwarfs. No.

A real Duke and Duchess.

Oh.

Yeah, not quite, Buffy. The parents hold the title.

Then I guess we played with a Duke and Duchess Junior.

My former employer, sir. The Duke and Duchess of Glenmore.

They're at present on holiday in New York.

Oh, that's nice.

And so is Miss Fraser, and she's pretty, too.

And was she glad to see Mr.

French.

That will do. Get ready for your bath, children.

Okay, if we have to. If you have to.

Miss Fraser, huh?

Got a little something going there for you?

Quite so, sir.

She's the Glenmore nanny, sir.

Yes, and, well, we're old friends.

We once were... Well, I suppose that was a long time ago, sir.

The word's out that she's pretty, too.

Oh.

Lorna's... Every bit as lovely as the first day we met, sir.

Now, Lorna and I took to each other the first day she came to work.

Just being in her presence, I found most exhilarating, sir.

Boy, why'd you let her get away?

Well, I suppose if truth were out, I was the one who got away.

You see, sir...

I had my heart set on coming to America, and Lorna, Miss Frazier, preferred to

stay in England.

We had made plans, but... You know what it is, sir.

Sure.

Listen, why don't you just take some extra time off this week?

Go ahead, whatever you need.

Thank you, sir. I must admit, there was still a spark there this afternoon in

the park. On my part, anyway, sir. Yeah.

And, uh... Oh, but, by the way, sir... Could I ask you a question?

Sure. Well, sir, if a young lady who couldn't possibly have known a

address made inquiries and discovered that he frequented a certain park and

deliberately sought him out, would you say that constituted encouragement, sir?

Encouragement? People get married, unless... Oh, why may we expect them,

Well, I don't know exactly. I'm supposed to have a cocktail date, but the young

lady put it this way. She said, if I'm not there by five o 'clock, don't wait,

which is the kind of encouragement I get.

Ted and Ethel?

That broke up two days ago.

Of course, as far as I'm concerned, Wally's the best dancer of all.

Yona! Please forgive the intrusion, but I've been trying to reach you on the

telephone.

I'm sorry, but we have a teenager now.

When I told his grace that I found you, he suggested that you drop in this

afternoon, about tea time.

That is, if you can get away.

Oh, I think that can be arranged.

I'd better call you back on my own phone.

Oh, excuse me. Miss Sissy, I'd like you to meet Miss Frazier.

Hi, how are you?

Mr. French, will you do me a favor?

Of course.

If Ted calls, tell him I'm not in, because I might get a call from Charlie.

Charlie Cooper?

But if Wally calls first, tell him to call back at seven.

That's in case that Ted and Charlie don't call.

I see. Now, let me see. You are out to Ted.

We'll speak with Charlie.

Wally must call back at seven. Right. Perfect. Thank you. Nice meeting you. My

pleasure, Miss Sissy.

Among my various duties, I also run a teenage telephone answering service. So

see.

I must say, you gave me quite a start when you came in, French.

The resemblance to your late father's quite amazing.

Oh, thank you, Your Grace. I consider that a compliment.

Splendid, chap, your father.

You know, we were both thinking, first time in four generations we haven't had

French on the staff.

I hope you haven't been completely Americanized, French.

You do still have tea, don't you?

Oh, yes, madam, at each and every coffee break.

Oh, you're great.

I wonder if you'd accord me the pleasure of serving.

Why, by all means.

Thank you.

Just like old times, eh, French?

McClane! McClane!

Don't start on the I -beam till I get up there, you hear?

Hello?

No, I didn't forget you.

Well, look, how am I going to give you the go -ahead till the inspector gives

one?

Well, yeah, I'll call you back. Come in. Oh, he's here now.

Yeah, I'll call you back. Keep your rivets hot.

I'm just talking about you. Look, on these changes in the specifications,

don't want you to think I'm cutting corners. See, this is strictly a safety

factor, so if you want to give us a quick okay... Oh, I'd be glad to give

okay without even looking at them, but you've got the wrong man.

Huh? I'm Peter Glenmore.

You are Bill Davis.

Yeah, yeah. Oh, Glenmore, the Duke of Glenmore. Well, sit down, sit down. What

can I do for you?

Mr. Davis, you can convince French to come back to England with me.

Again? We're most anxious to have him manage our household staff.

Oh.

Well, look, I'm all in favor of hands across the sea and all that, but not

you make a grab for my butler.

Well, suppose we consider what's best for French, eh?

Well, he's a big boy. He ought to be able to decide that for himself.

I'm offering him an executive position.

He has the talent and the training for it.

I'm sure his duties for you could be performed by any competent housekeeper.

Okay, I'll feel him out. And if I kind of get the message that he honestly

to leave, why, I'll do something about it.

Well, that's fair enough.

Thank you.

Oh, come in.

Oh, Mr.

Davis, sir.

Oh, get up. Am I interrupting something?

No, sir. I'm just strolling down memory lane, as it were, sir.

Oh. Can I look, too? You've got secrets in your checkered past.

No, sir. All these Scotland Yard mug shots have been removed.

Oh, no.

Oh, yes. Guilty, sir. It is I.

I always wondered what you looked like under that.

Oh.

That's a very handsome couple.

Yes, well, that was a memento of my more frivolous years. It was taken to

Brighton.

That's Miss Frazier.

Pretty.

Oh, and this is the Duke's country estate, sir, High Ridge.

I was born in that corner room there.

You ever get the urge to go back?

Well, the thought has crossed my mind on occasion, sir, but I'm very happy here.

Crossed your mind recently, like yesterday, maybe?

I beg your pardon, sir?

The Duke came to my construction shack and he told me all about the offer.

But, sir, I declined most definitely.

Now, look, French, it goes without saying that you're appreciated here very

much.

But I don't want you to get an exaggerated sense of loyalty and let

influence your decision, you see.

Well, thank you, Mr. Davis. That's most thoughtful of you.

It's okay to be sentimental about the past, but we've got to be practical

the future, right?

Quite true, sir.

In fact, I might reconsider the Duke's offer.

Well, at least I can think about it, huh?

Yes.

Ah, I guess you could call this sort of a family meeting.

Why isn't Mr. French here?

Well, because the meeting's about him, see?

Because, uh...

See, he's thinking about going back home to England.

Mr. French going away?

These people that he used to work for, they're the Duke and the Duchess of

Glenmore, and they offered him a real good job.

And he'd be living right back in the old castle where he was born.

His father was born there, too. And his father before him.

I didn't know Mr.

French would want to leave us.

Well, he didn't come right out and say that he wanted to, but that's because he

feels that we need him here, see?

Well, don't we? He's very good at tying bows in the back.

And being Indians.

And telling bedtime stories and stuff.

Well, kids, we do need somebody here, but it doesn't have to be Mr.

French.

So... If we love him, we're going to have to make it easier for him to break

away and go home. If that's where he belongs.

How do we do that?

Well, I think we could start by doing things for ourselves a little.

Right. If Mr. French feels that we don't depend on him so much, then he'll feel

free to go.

But we don't want to go.

We love him.

I know you do. But if you love somebody, you want them to be happy, right?

So if you love Mr. French, you'll do this for him.

Okay. If you say so, Uncle Bill.

What about you, Buffy?

All right.

But it sure is going to be hard tying all those bows in the back.

Okay. Now, let's not be too obvious about it, huh?

We'll start out by just being a little bit independent.

You try to tie those bows.

Davis residence here.

Oh, Master Clarence.

Oh, I'm so sorry. Miss Sissy is out.

Yes. Goodbye.

Mr. French, I wanted to talk to Clarence.

Oh, but I thought you said that you were out to Master Clarence and in to

Masters Ted and Charles.

I should have told you. I'll be taking my own calls from now on, so you won't

have to worry about it.

Yes, as you wish, Mr. C.

Now.

Oh, I thought perhaps your gray pinstripe suit for tomorrow, sir... No,

bother, French.

Sorry.

Why, have I been remiss, sir? No, sometimes when I get up in the morning,

a different mood, and, um...

I better just start looking after myself.

As you wish, sir.

Good night, sir. Good night.

Follow Fox, followed Foxy Woxy into the dark cave.

Well, children, what would you like to hear tonight?

Winnie the Pooh or Wind in the Willows?

You don't have to tell us a bedtime story, Mr. French. We've got one of our

You don't want to hear a story?

Things just the same, Mr. French. But we're big enough to read our own.

We're growing up in a hurry.

Yes, of course.

I'll be back in a moment to tuck you in.

I'm sure I'm going to miss your stories.

Yeah.

How come trying to do something good for someone makes you feel so bad?

Oh, uh, Mr. Davis.

Yeah.

Sir, I've, uh, given the matter considerable thought, and I've made my

sir.

It's with the deepest of regret that I would like to tender my resignation.

Oh.

Well, I guess you can't turn down an opportunity like that.

Thank you, sir.

It's a nice fringe benefit, too, isn't it?

Pardon, sir?

What's her name? Mrs. Frazier?

She was a decisive factor, sir.

And then there were the efforts of you and the children.

Made me realize that you could get along without me.

As, of course, you intended.

Hmm. You know, acting was that bad.

Well, it was a trifle overstated, as it were.

But, uh, thank you, sir.

Thank you, French.

Hi. Hi, Mr. Smith.

Oh, hello.

We brought you something.

A going -away present.

Military brushes.

The man at the store said you don't have to be a soldier to use them.

It's time for bed, you little guys.

Come on, kids.

I hate to say goodbye when it's really goodbye.

Well, listen, I'll come down to the dock tomorrow and we'll have a bon voyage.

Thank you, sir.

Mr. Davis, have you ever had the feeling that you made a horrible mistake?

Lots of times.

I find myself wondering whether if I hadn't given my word to the Duke, I...

course, it's too late now, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah, well...

Duke's dependent on you anyway, and besides, like he says, all we need is a

housekeeper.

Precisely, sir.

Ah, good evening, Mr. Davis. Good evening.

Did the inspector ever come around and approve those plans of yours?

Oh, yes, he did. I just told him that the Duke of Glenmore okayed them, and he

said, well, that's good enough for him.

Sit down.

Thank you.

You said this was important.

Yes. Well, frankly, I came to ask you to let French out of his commitment.

But I thought it was all settled.

Well, so did I, but I don't think he wants to go now.

Well,

I'm sure he'll come to me and say so.

No, he wouldn't. You see, he's got a very great sense of honor, and he gave

his word.

He's also got a big heart.

And I think he realizes that he loves our three children too much to leave

Three children?

Not even blood relatives?

I find it very difficult to understand.

I wonder.

Partings are never easy, Mr. Davis.

One's emotion may overrule one's better judgment.

Granted.

But I'm just asking you what you ask me.

See? Just give him a chance to get out if he wants to.

I wish I could find something unfair in your proposal, but for the life of me, I

can't.

Agreed. Thank you.

All right, kids, now, here we go again. This is, uh...

There'll be another family meeting.

I hope it's better than the last one.

How can it be with Mr. French leaving?

We'll never find another Mr.

French.

Yeah, well, this is an official meeting, see, and the reason I called it is I

want you to meet the person that's going to take care of you from now on, see?

Well, come on. Let's have some big smiles. This has got to be a cordial

Okay.

When?

Mr. French!

You're going to stay? You're not going away?

Exactly. I'm going to stay. I am not going away.

Oh, well, um... Well, you know, those castles are drafty over there. It's

Yeah, exactly, exactly. Would have played havoc with my sinus and the

of much too demanding, you know. Sure, running a castle and a townhouse at the

same time. It's not easy, right? Oh, quite, quite, sir. I mean, and

these days with company help so hard to get, you know.

And you would have missed us, too, wouldn't you, Mr. French?

Missed you?

Well, didn't you, Mr. French?

Well, now that you've come to mention it, I suppose I'd have missed you all

much.

Oh, it's getting late.

I suppose I should be going back to the hotel. Yes, I suppose so. You know, it's

been wonderful, Lorna.

I've enjoyed every moment of it.

It's almost as though there hadn't been those dozen years between.

A dozen years?

Oh, Giles, we can recapture those memories, but we cannot relive them, can

No, no, I'm afraid not, Lorna.

Although, you know, for a fleeting moment, I was hoping.

And so was I.

Well, goodbye, Lorna.

Goodbye.

Goodbye and bon voyage.