Original subtitles

Good morning, Benson.

Benson, Benson, Benson.

You look troubled.

Not now, Clayton.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

How'd your meeting with the legislature go? No, no, don't tell me. The look on

your face says it all.

Read the look on my lips. Go away.

You know, I warned you, Benson. You get tough with the legislature, they're

going to get tough with you. Why don't you ever listen to me? Why don't you

listen to me? Go away, take off, depart, hit the road, jack happy trails, how

you old Clayton awake.

That's all I am saying to you. Benson, I have a bone to pick with you. Thank

you, but I already inked it.

Just a moment, Miss Krause. I was here first.

Your turn is over. Take a walk.

You don't tell me what to do.

All right, stay.

But you'll be unconscious.

I don't have to put up with this kind of behavior.

I'll be in my office.

Benson? I want you to listen to what I have to say.

Okay, can I be unconscious?

This is serious.

Now, when I came to this country, my first big job was as head housekeeper at

the Fenley Residence Hotel.

They want you back? How wonderful.

Listen to me. They're going to tear down the Fenley. So, what is your point?

I want you to save it, old... and it's a beautiful hotel, and it is very dear

to me. I have friends living there.

Krauss, I appreciate the situation, but I cannot be responsible for every

individual in this state. I will give you the names of some people and some

agencies, and they can help. I don't want agencies. I want you. Oh, come on,

Krauss. I don't have the time. Can't you see I'm in the middle of a budget

crisis?

It's because you don't like me, isn't it?

That's the only reason you won't help. No, it's not the only reason.

It's the main reason.

But it's certainly not the only reason.

Oh, Benson, listen, I have some ideas about the budget.

Good.

I lost my innocence there, you know.

That's quite a story.

Yeah, some other time. We really should be talking about the budget. Oh, right,

right. See, it was at the Christmas party that my dad always threw for the

people that worked at the lumber mill. That's extremely interesting.

But you know we're going to have a big problem with the legislature.

Oh, yeah, that Senator Chapman's given us nothing but trouble. Yeah, he's been

against us from the start. And his ideas don't make any sense.

But anyhow, after we'd finished opening up the Christmas party, Mrs.

Robinson asked me to go upstairs and get her jacket for her.

Oh, when I got up to that room, I saw something that no innocent

five -year -old should ever have seen.

You lost your innocence when you were five. Five years.

expect me to believe that?

Yeah.

Anyhow, back to the budget.

How? Huh?

How? Oh, well, see, up until that time, I had totally believed in Santa Claus.

But there was Mr.

Robinson putting on this redded red costume and this phony white beard.

I'll tell you, I realized that from that day forward, I would never be a child

again.

You were wrong.

Uh, Benson, I just heard the state is running out of money. Is that true?

If we don't get the budget passed.

How much time do we have?

Well, according to my calculations, the state has enough money to honor its

obligations until 3 o 'clock next Thursday.

Next Thursday, huh?

Is there any chance of me getting an advance on next Friday's ticket?

No.

Never hurts to ask.

All right.

I think I'll go call up some of those bonehead legislatures and tell them that

they still work for the people. Come on, Pete. Uh, yes, sir.

Uh...

Not to put any pressure on you, but it's really going to break little Petey's

heart when he finds out that Uncle Benson can't get Daddy a paycheck.

Pete, the kid's only six months old. You can hold it.

will not take any minutes because I am going home. Now, let's vote my own.

Hey,

hey, hey, hey! Give me my coat.

Benson, you're here now.

Why don't you just take a look around?

I am not taking a look around. You tricked me.

Well, it was the only way I could think of to get you here.

Rouse, give me the jacket.

I want it and I want it now. Give it to me. Can't you just wait for a minute?

No, now, now, Rouse.

Do you two... want a room for the night?

Do I look this desperate?

It's me, Gretchen. Oh, I didn't recognize you all flushed like that.

Eddie, this is the gentleman I've been telling you about, the one who is going

to save the hotel.

Oh, you're a good man.

Let me show you around the place.

Please,

Benson.

All right.

I'll look around the lobby, but, Junior, you've got to take me to my car.

This hotel first opened its doors in 1902.

President Teddy Roosevelt himself cut the ribbon. Oh, yeah, it was a grand

occasion. Were you there?

Of course she was there. Why do you think Teddy carried a big stick?

Quite a coward.

Anyhow, back then, it wasn't called the Fenley. It was called the Promenade. Do

you know why?

I don't have the slightest idea.

It was called the Promenade because it was the only stop coast to coast of the

Promenade Special. The fanciest train to ever ride the rails. Look, Eddie, I

concede that this is a grand old hotel, and I agree that it would be a shame to

lose it.

Then you will help us. House, there are people better qualified than I to deal

with this situation. That may be true, but I don't trust strangers.

Eddie, we're not exactly frat brothers.

No matter.

I'm a good judge of character.

And if any man can save this hotel, it's you. He's right, Benson.

Don't try to flatter me. It won't work.

Come on. Let me introduce you. It's not going to change anything, Ed.

Folks, can I have your attention?

I'd like you to meet Benson, Gretchen's beau. Wait, hold on.

Now, let's get one damn thing straight right now. I am not Gretchen's anything.

These are the residents of the Fenley.

Nice to meet you. You've got a lovely home. And this is the man who's going to

save our hotel.

I did not say anything about it. Thank you, thank you very much.

Thank God there are still people like him in this world.

Really,

really, that's not necessary. So, set your fears aside.

Any man who can care as much as this man cares is not going to allow some

scallywag to toss us out into the streets.

Or have I totally misjudged you?

All right, I'll do what I can.

You want to show affection, just wag your tail.

Oh, Benson, listen.

Oh, hi, honey. Are we interrupting a meeting?

I was just trying to get Benson to sign this petition.

Oh, well, I'm glad you're taking an interest in social issues.

Is that cute?

We've got our own...

Clayton, if I were Ralph Nader, I'd have you recalled.

Well, Hudson, how's it going?

Well, I spoke to some people at the housing authority, and it looks like I'm

going to have to deal directly with the owner.

What on earth are you talking about?

I'm talking about the Findlay Residence Hotel. What are you talking about?

About the budget.

Oh, the budget. Well, forget the budget. It's all messed up.

Oh, do my... My ears deceive me, or is the great Benson Dubois admitting that

there might be a flaw in his little plan?

Give it a rest, Clayton. If Benson's right, the people will support us. Well,

I've got the latest poll.

We're not too popular with John Q. Public.

Let's not panic. It's only one person.

Pete, what are the numbers?

38 % support us.

44 % support the legislature, and 18 % cut me out because I called in the

of Dynasty.

Oh, Benson, I... Oh, never mind. I'll wait.

Okay, Clayton, come on. Let's see if we can pull the fat out of the fire.

Always ready to clean up Benson's little messes. Way to go, buddy.

See you in the bread line.

Well, I think it is just...

Terrible of them to put the pressure on you like that.

I appreciate your concern, Krause.

Now, what are you doing about the hotel?

There's the Krause that I know and despise.

I have a meeting tomorrow morning at 9 .30 with Hank Buchanan. He's the

developer. Oh, good.

What time shall I be here?

About 9 .15.

August 19th, 1996.

Ha, ha.

And don't be early.

this for me. I don't want Pete to find it.

Well, things getting that bad at home, you have to hide food.

Oh, no, no. It's a fake lettuce. You see, it's where I hide the household

so Pete can get his hands on it.

You're hiding money from Pete in food.

Well, it's safe. He usually doesn't eat lettuce.

But he's starting to get desperate.

Sure, I'll hide it for you.

Thanks, Benson.

Fake letters to hide money in.

Lord have mercy, what are white folks going to think of next?

All right, Benson, I am here. Where is Buchanan?

Oh, just relax, Krause. He'll be along any minute.

How do you plan to handle him?

Just leave it to me, sweetheart.

I'm going to talk to him, businessman to businessman.

Excuse me, Benson. Mr. Buchanan is here.

Well, show him in, Denise.

Well, here goes nothing.

Is that your pep talk?

Ah, how do you do, Mr. Buchanan? I'm Benson Dubois, and this is Gretchen

our head of household affairs. Nice to meet you both.

That remains to be seen.

Oh, we appreciate your flying in, haven't we? I don't fly. I always travel

train.

Well, you said you had some ideas to save me money. I'd like to hear them. We

certainly do.

As you know, there are some terrific tax breaks for people who restore old

buildings. I'm listening.

Well, why don't we put a few figures into the adding machine?

Yeah. Fine with me?

Okay, now.

Let's see.

Let us say we take the square footage of your hotel.

54 ,000 square feet.

All right.

And reconstruction cost of?

Approximately $125 square foot. Uh -huh. Now that comes to?

$6 ,750 ,000.

Right.

Now, the renovation cost would be... About $175 a square foot. Uh -huh.

Which comes to... $9 ,450 ,000.

Yeah, you're right.

But now you can take a 20 % investment tax credit, which is the savings of...

Less than $1 ,900 ,000. It's not enough.

Well, but don't forget there's rental income.

There's property tax.

There's convention fees.

There's insurance.

There are concessions. It needs a whole new roof.

There are stops.

The restaurant?

There's miscellaneous?

Uh -huh.

The warranty must be up.

Oh, nuts!

Look, uh, no matter how you figure it, it's cheaper to tear the old place down.

People live in that hotel. They think of it as home.

Put that in your computer head, Weisenheimer.

Time is money. The bulldozers start taking the hotel down today.

Nice to meet you. Oh, yeah.

Today?

I thought it was next week.

I changed my schedule.

Have a nice day.

So, you had all the answers.

I'm going to talk to him, businessman to businessman. Well, it didn't work.

So now we are going to do it my way.

I'm going down to that hotel, and if they're going to tear it down, they'll

to do it over my...

in this hotel right now. Forget it. If they're going to tear this place down,

they'll have to bury me in the rubble.

Kraus, if I have to put you over my shoulder and carry you out here, I will.

lay one finger on me and I will spread your nose all over your face.

You don't scare me. You don't scare me. I can take you. It's too late, Benson.

I am going to handcuff myself to this hotel.

You're what? No, you're not. Oh, yes, I am. No, you're not. Yes, I am. Come on.

Owning everything.

Oh, you'll thank me in the morning. Come on, get out of here.

Hang on. We're about to demolish this hotel. You can't... You two.

You homewrecker.

Kraus, zip it up, huh, for a minute.

Oh, she's very upset. You can't blame her. You're about to tear down this

beautiful hotel.

It's old.

It's not worth anything.

Oh, you're very... You are young, and you aren't worth diddly.

Kraus, put your mouth in neutral.

Now, look.

I want both of you out of this building.

And I want you out now.

Well, just give us a minute. Let me tell you about the hotel. It's got quite a

history. I don't care about the museum business.

That's because being in the Dumkop's business takes up all your time.

Now, look, loudmouth.

If anybody's going to call this woman a loudmouth, it's going to be me.

Now, you have to be taught some manners.

Who's going to teach me? You?

If you insist.

this woman away from me. What are you doing? Get her away from me. You can't

take prisoners.

Oh, yes, I can.

I'm going to change him to this rating.

Once that be, they can't tear down the building.

Don't just stand there, you bottom woman's crazy.

I know that.

You can't do that. Oh, yes, I can. No, you can't. No, you can't. No, you can't.

I can't do that.

Whoops.

Kraus, you have really ripped it now.

Maybe so, but at least I kept this creep from giving the order to tear down the

hotel.

You don't know anything.

My foreman gives the order to tear down the hotel. That's what I pay him for.

Kraus, give me the key.

I can't. I left it on the kitchen table.

If I could reach you now, I would squeeze the living air right out of you.

Would you at least go outside and tell the bulldozers to hold the work? These

walls are going to come down in a minute.

Move it, woman!

Nobody is going anywhere until we work this out.

with me.

It's just that so many things have happened in this hotel. So many famous

stayed here.

I only wish these walls could speak.

So do I. That wall could have said, watch out, there's a bulldozer coming.

I'll always remember the day that Clark Gable stepped down off the promenade

special. Promenade special? When did you ever see that train?

Right outside the front door.

What's he talking about? Ah, some train that used to stop here. No, no, no, no.

Some train?

Promenade Special is the greatest train that ever ran a rail in America. My

granddaddy was fireman on that train 22 years.

Well, toot my whistle.

Wait a minute.

If the Promenade Special stopped here, this must be the Promenade Hotel.

Oh, yeah.

They changed the name back in 1970. Sweet. Did I forget to mention that?

you forgot to mention that.

Well, that changes everything.

You win. I can't tear this place down and break my granddaughter's heart. Oh,

Mr. Buchanan, thank you.

I heard you youngsters were in here. Good news.

I got them to stop tearing down the hotel.

Is that so? Sure.

They were looking for the bolt cutters, so I threw them down the wishing well.

You better be able to swim, old man.

It's all right, Benson.

I have the key.

Of course, I can't believe you'd lie to me about the key.

I know, I'm so ashamed. I'll never, ever be able to look you in the face again.

Can I count on that?

Well, you have to admit my plan worked. Now all our troubles are over.

Well, maybe your troubles are over, but I've still got to do battle with the

legislature over the budget.

Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. I'd better get outside and make sure nobody

this building.

This place is a treasure!

Look, Governor Primrose solved a problem just like that back in 25.

What did he do?

His legislature wouldn't pass a budget either.

So he went down to their building and shut off all the electricity and the

By noon the next day, they had a budget.

You know what, Eddie? That is a stupid idea.

But it just might work.

Sure it will.

Politicians haven't gotten much smarter.

See you later.

Well, come on, Benson.

Let's go home.

I have one question. How come you own a pair of handcuffs?

You wouldn't want to know.

She's right.