Original subtitles

What a gorgeous, gorgeous view.

Well, we do the best we can.

Hi there.

Is Sissy ready?

Oh, she will join you in a moment.

Come in, please.

Oh, thanks.

Oh, are you Sissy's uncle?

No, sir. I'm Mr. Davis's gentleman's gentleman.

Oh.

I'm Sissy's uncle.

Oh, hi, Mr. Davis.

Hello. My name is Ronnie Oliver.

Nice to meet you. Hi. This is Miss Wilson.

Ronnie. Hi.

Sorry I'm late, Ron.

Uncle Bill, I see you've met Ron.

Yeah, yeah, we met, honey.

Sissy, this is Miss Wilson.

John, my niece.

Hi, how are you?

How do you do?

Well, we've got to run. Nice meeting you.

Yeah. Sis?

Huh?

Never mind.

Nothing.

Okay. Well, it's nice to have met you. Bye. Bye.

I thought we were going to a costume party, but I was afraid to

ask.

Sorry, Mr. French. It slipped.

Hi, French. Listen.

Are you injured, sir?

No place for this.

No, sir.

Mr. Davis, neither is the living room chair a place for cut -out bowls and

and chairs.

Well, you better check the rest of the apartment for booby traps. Miss Wilson's

going to be here at six o 'clock.

Oh, yes, sir.

And, uh...

The twins seem to have turned this apartment into an obstacle course, sir.

Yeah. Well, I'll better talk to him. Oh, I may suggest, sir, strong measures.

Yeah.

There's a gag they used to use on us in the army to keep the barracks clean.

They call it the slob box.

The what box, sir?

Slob box. You know, for guys that are slobs. Slob box.

Oh, and to whom did this slob box apply to, sir?

Well, everybody, everybody works, too.

Sorry about me.

Sounds like we're going to get it.

What for?

I don't know, but that's his we're going to get it voice.

Hi.

Hi, Uncle Bill.

Hi.

going skateboarding, Mr. French?

Most assuredly not.

Then what are you doing with my skateboard?

And that's my cutout book.

I've been looking all over the place for that. And you had it all the time.

Yes, didn't I?

I've told you both over and over to put your toys away.

We do, sooner or later.

And you, miss?

You left a pair of scissors right in the middle of the chair. Now somebody could

have got stabbed.

Oh, I forgot.

That's not a very good excuse.

Well, I couldn't think of anything else.

Now look at this room.

I know.

It's a mess.

Well, I kind of get the idea that you don't care much about your toys.

We love our toys.

Then why don't you put them away on the toy shelves?

We're going to play with them tomorrow.

Uncle Bill, we just have to take them out again.

Well... You broke it.

What is it doing on the floor?

It was parked.

This whole room looks like a cyclone.

Yeah. Now, come in here, Sissy.

It might do you some good to listen to this, too.

Well, I'm in a big hurry. I'm getting dressed for a date. Sissy, I think you

ought to hear about the slob box, too. I mean, the toy box.

What's a toy box?

Well, the toy box is going to be a closet where we're going to lock up all

toys that have been left lying around.

Uncle Bill, I don't play with toys.

I know you don't, honey, but that's going to be for everything that's left

around, like combs and hair curlers and cashmere sweaters.

It's an idea they used on us in the Army.

A toy box?

You played with toys in the Army?

When do we get our stuff back?

You don't get it back.

Now. All the things that are confiscated and put in a toy box are going to be

given to some charity where some children can enjoy them that might

them. See?

We get the message.

Yeah, we get the message.

All right.

Any questions?

I don't want anybody coming around later and saying they don't understand.

We understand.

Now, what did you want to talk to me about?

Oh, I found this. I thought you might need it tonight.

Oh, my cuff link.

Where'd you find it?

On the floor, in the hall.

Thank you.

Are you going to keep that, Uncle Bill?

Oh, sure. Why not?

Well... Yeah.

Sorry, sir.

Everybody means everybody.

Well, I'm on my way. I wanted to show you something first.

Oh, just a sec.

Don't you like long lashes?

If they're your own, yeah.

Well, I'd feel undressed without them.

I wanted to show you these pictures of Miss Wilson, see?

She's one of the top fashion models in the country.

Hey, she's beautiful.

Yeah. Now, if anybody knew the latest look, she ought to, don't you think?

I suppose so.

Hey, you know, a dress like that looks pretty good on somebody older.

It's not bad on somebody of any age.

Oh, Uncle Bill, the kids would think you were some kind of weirdo if you wore

that.

Oh, okay.

Listen, the Japanese have got a word called...

Shibui. You know what that means, by any chance?

I barely passed French 1A.

Okay. Shibui means quiet elegance.

What does that mean?

Well, let me put it this way.

They say, for instance, one miniature cypress tree planted in just the right

spot in the garden is a thing of beauty.

Huh?

Think about it.

I'll see you later.

Well, aren't you going to finish what you wanted to tell me? No, you figure it

out for yourself.

No, Mr. French, that's mine.

I'm afraid not anymore, Jody. This now belongs to the toy box.

I lifted up while I got my sailor hat.

Well, that's very unfortunate, Master Jody, but you know Mr. Davis's rules.

But, Mr. French, I need my boat. I'm going to race it.

Well, I'm afraid it's going into dry dock.

There goes my stove.

Now I won't be able to cook dinner for Mrs. Beasley.

Well, uh...

I suggest cold cuts.

Yes, Miss Sissy.

Could you come in for a second? I need your help.

Yes, Miss Sissy. Oh, Mr.

French, I'm trying to pin this hem, but I can't get it straight in the back.

Oh. Well, if I may say so, Miss Sissy, I doubt if Mr.

Davis would approve of any further shortening of the hem.

Shortening?

I'm lengthening it.

Oh.

Oh.

You look happy.

Oh, yes, sir. Good news to report, sir.

Your little talk with Miss Sissy has produced some gratifying results.

Yeah? So soon?

Yes, sir. I personally assisted at the historic lowering of the hemline, sir.

Wow. Is she home?

No, sir. Miss Sissy's out for the evening.

Long -haired kid again?

Oh, no, sir. No, sir. I took the liberty of allowing her to spend the night at

Mary Ann Travers, sir. Oh, Mary Ann Travers. Very conservative girl. Very

I thought Sissy forgot all about her. Oh, no, sir, no, sir. Quite often, sir,

brief exposure to the new and strange actually serves to make one appreciate

old and familiar.

Well, maybe you're right.

Let's go see how the twins are making out.

Yes, sir.

It was an inspiration.

Hi.

Hi, Uncle Bill.

Hi, Uncle Bill.

Gee, why the long faces?

I didn't get to raise my ball.

Oh, why not?

Mr. French put it in the toy box.

Well, I guess it must have just got left out someplace where it shouldn't have

been.

You lose something, too?

My stove.

Uncle Bill, when you were in the war, how long did you have your toy box?

For the duration.

Duration?

Duration of the war, honey.

Are we going to have ours for the duration?

Well, it seems to be working out so well, I don't see why we should give it

now.

We'll have to give it up sometime.

How come?

Because we won't have anything left to put in the closet.

Listen, Joan, I want to get Sissy some new clothes. You think you could take

shopping Saturday?

I'd be glad to, Bill, but I wouldn't know where to get her kind of thing.

Well, she makes what you like.

Oh?

Well, yesterday it seemed... Oh, she's all through with that mod stuff.

Oh. Put your foot down.

Well, I didn't exactly make a secret about how I felt, but Sissy came to her

decision.

I think that's wonderful.

Anyway, I wanted to have some new clothes.

As a reward?

No, as an incentive. Will you take her?

Of course.

You know, Bill, for an amateur parent, you certainly have a knack for getting

through to your kids.

Well, sissy's always had good taste.

I just had to remind her, that's all.

Oh, well, it isn't a party. Just a few of the kids dropped over.

Mr. French said it was okay.

Fine.

Come meet everybody.

Hey, everybody!

I want you to meet my Uncle Bill.

Ronnie was teaching us a new dance.

Yeah, it's called... The Jellyfish!

Well, uh, enjoy yourselves.

Uncle Bill?

Don't you want some fruit punch or something?

Or a sandwich or something.

No, thanks. I got to get cleaned up. I'm going to go to the theater tonight.

Ronnie. Ronnie invited me to the theater. Off Broadway, the circle in the

square. Uh -huh. My cousin is getting us the tickets. Boy, it's really wild.

Yeah.

Well, nice to have met you. Nice to have met you all.

Why don't we put the music back on? Sissy, I think we'd better cut out.

Do you have to?

It is getting late, Sissy.

Well, look, maybe you could all come back some afternoon next week.

Listen, next week we go to my apartment. My mother's still telling all of her

friends how she has more fun than any of us just watching.

Yeah, well, Sissy, tell your uncle that we all said...

Thanks. Oh, sure. And Mr. Fritch, too. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, those sandwiches were

out of sight.

Bye -bye, Ron. Bye, Sissy.

Party over so soon?

It wasn't a party, Uncle Bill.

Well, whatever you want to call it.

It was a mistake.

I'm sorry.

I never should have invited them over here.

I told you I want you to bring kids home so I can get to know them.

Well, that's what I wanted, too.

But you seemed so disappointed when you saw them.

Well, I am a little.

I thought after we talked yesterday, you weren't going to hang around with them

anymore. And then French told me you lowered your hemline. Look at you.

Well, I did.

I like the way Miss Wilson dresses.

And you spent the night with Marianne Travers last night, who was a very

sensible girl.

Oh, sure.

Marianne and I are good friends.

But I like Phil and Ronnie and Betsy, too.

It's been fun to dress like this and think that maybe I'm part of their

Honey, you can be part of any crowd you want to. I just don't think this

particular one is right for you.

But they're really nice kids, Uncle Bill.

If you'd talk to them, you'd think so, too.

Do they have to wear those tacky -looking clothes?

Oh, well, the clothes are wild, but a lot of the kids who wear them aren't.

They're just as nice as Mary Ann Travers or anybody else when you get to know

them.

I asked the kids to come over today, Uncle Bill, because I hoped that if you

talked to them and got to know them, maybe you'd feel differently.

But I don't want you to be disappointed in me ever.

If you don't want me to wear the clothes...

Well, I won't.

And I'll stop seeing Ronnie and all the other kids, too.

That's a promise.

Hey.

Listen.

You know, I always had one unbreakable rule, which was don't go by

appearances. I mean, a guy can be a...

look like an oddball and be a great engineer and a girl can look like she

stepped off a magazine cover and be some kind of a nut.

And until recently, I've done a pretty good job of living by that rule until

I came up against the younger generation.

What I'm trying to say is I'm wrong.

And, uh, see, I took one look at your friends there, and all I saw was a lot

weird clothes and too much hair, and I decided that they weren't for you.

But, uh, I don't know those kids at all. I didn't even, uh, give myself a chance

to get to know them.

So, uh, what I'd like, what I'd like to do is have another shot at it. You think

that, uh, they might drop in again sometime?

Thank you.

You think maybe occasionally just to please the old man you could, you know,

once in a while wear the other clothes too?

bridge party.

Mr. Frank says we have to wash our hands for dinner.

Mrs. Beasley never has to wash her hands.

When I grow up, I'm going to be just like her.

All right, French.

Yes, sir.

All clean, Mr. French! All clean!

Me too.

Mr. French, why are you holding Mrs. Beasley? Is she all right?

I, uh, picked her up from the floor.

But she wasn't on the floor.

She was sitting in that chair.

Okay, French.

Yes, sir.

Enough's enough.

We're not in the army.

No, sir. We are a family.

Yeah, I think the toy box has served its purpose now.

Oh, yes, sir. There's been a great improvement.

You mean the duration is over?

Yeah, it's over.

I'm glad.

Okay, now we better not start finding any more skateboards in there in the

or scissors laying on the chair.

Get that?

You won't, Uncle Bill.

We promise.

Okay.

Go on, eat your dinner. Bye, Uncle Bill. Bye -bye. Have a good time.

Thank you, Uncle Bill.

Thank you.

A difficult moment expertly handled, sir.

Well, we're still amateurs, French.

But we're learning.