Original subtitles

Downloaded from YTS.MX

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MAN [OVER SPEAKER]: And now, from the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway,

join Ed and his guests:

Patti Page, Topo Gigio the Italian Mouse,

8-year-old tap-dancing sensation Max Washington,

the Balinese Ballet Company and the Flying Wallendas.

But first, a word from our sponsor.

[APPLAUSE]

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

MAN: Five minutes, Mr. Washington. Your boy's on in five minutes.

WASHINGTON: Yeah, all right.

You ready, son?

BOY: I'm scared, Daddy.

Aw, don't be scared, son.

There ain't nothing to be scared of.

Don't worry about the lights or the people or anything.

All you gotta do is follow that music

and listen for the rhythm.

Now, what did I say? Listen for the rhythm.

[CHUCKLING] That's right.

Listen for the rhythm. [BREATHING HEAVILY]

Now, you repeat it again.

Listen for the rhythm.

Oh, you got it, little man.

Listen for the rhythm.

[WATER DRIPPING]

[EXHALES]

[SCATTING SOFTLY] Shoo-bop.

Hey.

Shoo-bop, ya danjajigger.

Shoo-wop, zha zha zhang.

Zoo-wop.

Zoo-wop.

Doo-wop.

[HEEL CLINKS]

Hey.

Boom bop.

[SHOES CLINKING LOUDLY ON WOOD PLATFORM]

[TAPPING ECHOING] MAN: Damn, Washington!

Will you cool it with all that noise?

MAN 2: Why don't you shut up?

MAN 2: Tryin' to sleep!

MAN 3: Do it in the yard, man!

Hey, Washington, give us a break, will ya?

MAN: Washington, chill out, man!

[MEN CLAMORING]

MAN 2: Shut up!

MAN 3: Let the man dance!

MAN 4: Sounds great.

[CLAMORING FADES]

[PANTING]

MAN 5: Yeah!

MAN 6: Yeah, do it, Washington!

MAN 7: That sounds good, baby. Take it home!

MAN 8: Come on, knock it off, Washington!

I heard enough of this. Don't give me no shit, man!

[CLAMORING RESUMES]

[♪]

[HORN HONKING]

[TAPPING]

All right, grand theft, two years.

Ah, extended vacation, huh?

Assault and battery on a prison guard.

What do we got, a bad temper there?

Is that our problem?

Punching out a prison guard. That was smart.

Are we still mad?

Hmm?

We got ourself under control yet?

I mean, we're not gonna pull

that shit in this office, are we?

Whatever we say.

All right, so we got an address. We got any physical problems?

No.

We got employment?

Nope.

We got any skills, hmm?

Can we do anything?

No.

Ah, you're just gonna go back on the street

with all your goofball friends, isn't that right?

[CHUCKLES]

I'll get a job.

Nah.

You got a job.

[CHUCKLES]

[DISHES CLATTERING]

Hey, Washington.

Someone to see you.

And bring up some garbage while you're at it.

And make it quick.

[CAT SCREECHING]

Maxie.

Howie.

Maxie.

[CHUCKLES]

Where have you been? I've been looking all over town for ya.

Yeah...

Hey.

Come on, Howie. What is this?

Howie--

No, no, this is very, very nice.

What have they got you in?

Come on, man, the parole board.

I gotta play the game with 'em for a little while.

Yeah, yeah, sure.

Listen, Francis knows you're out.

He's blaming me for not finding ya.

Now, he's having a big thing at his house tonight.

He wants you to come. Can you make it?

MAN: Washington, let's go! Yeah, all right.

I'll get in touch with him.

You gotta be there, Maxie.

Otherwise, Francis is gonna take one of those limos of his

and stick it right up my ass.

[CHUCKLING]

Nicky gonna be there?

It's a party, Maxie.

Francis doesn't want any trouble.

[LAUGHING]

That is priceless.

Don't change clothes tonight, okay?

Give a call, we'll send a car.

[ENGINE STARTS]

[TIRES SCREECHING]

MAN: Amy!

Amy!

Yo, Amy!

Amy!

Yeah, sugar?

Did you find out if that dance audition

is on or what?

I'm not real certain.

I'll-- I don't know, I'll give you a call

some time later this week when I find out, okay?

MAN: Ah, that'd be great. All right, baby. Bye-bye.

Uh-huh. Aren't they pretty?

Mm-hm.

[TAPPING]

AMY: Don't rush it!

Whoo! Diga diga dig.

Diga diga diga diga dig.

Yeah. Okay, let's add on to that, y'all.

Let's do the pullbacks.

Diga diga diga da da da.

Five, six, seven, eight.

Yeah!

All right, baby!

Yes!

Go for it, baby! Yeah!

What do you think? Yeah.

Five, six, seven, eight!

MAN: They're good. AMY: They're great.

AMY: Okay, slow it down.

Yeah.

Show this guy what we really got.

Hey!

What you staring at, man?

I'm looking at this woman.

That woman's my mama, sucker.

You stare at her ass, you gonna be missing some teeth.

What?

Yeah, that's right, turkey, come on.

Whoa, you obviously don't know who you talking to.

Hey.

Argh!

[LAUGHING]

Getting faster.

Hmm.

So how's it going, Max?

Well, good.

How 'bout yourself? Look at you. Got you behind a desk, working.

Yeah. How 'bout you? Haven't been around lately.

Yeah, well, you know how it goes.

How the cards treatin' you?

Ready for another sucker.

Oh, man. I don't know who that sucker is.

Thank you.

How 'bout I talk to your mama.

Maybe we'll take you to the Garden.

Watch the Knicks whip somebody.

She won't let me. You know that.

MAX: Your mama got a new guy?

Don't worry about him.

He's just some stupid director.

Go for it, Max.

Ahem, yeah. Well...

if you're gonna play this here, you got to have a clean deck.

Little nick here, little crease there. What can I say?

[CHUCKLES]

[PHONE RINGS]

Sonny's.

Okay. What's the name?

[WHISPERS] I'm going upstairs.

[WOMEN CHATTERING]

[TAPPING CONTINUES]

[♪]

[TOILET FLUSHING]

[UPTEMPO MUSIC PLAYING OVER SPEAKER]

Hey, who's the kid? What kid?

The kid across the hall. I don't know.

There's a kid across the hall, man.

Hey, what is he talking about? Some kid across the hall.

Nobody knows what he's doing.

I better check this out.

No, no. Not now, not with the hand I got.

Hey, Mo. Little Mo.

Mo. Mo, there's a kid on the third floor.

Hey, Mo.

MAN: Who's that guy?

MAN 2: I don't know. I don't know.

Hey, Little Mo, there's some guy in there playing your music.

I can hear him, Bunny.

Anybody know who this kid is?

Did anybody invite someone? He's good.

Would you mind? I can't even see him.

Let me get in here.

MAN 3: Somebody better find out who he is.

MAN 4: Somebody better do something. I'm gonna kick his butt out.

Don't worry about it. I'll find out who he is.

Yeah, we'll find out. Yeah, we'll find out.

Beautiful.

[CLEARS THROAT]

Uh, young man, you're on the wrong floor.

This is third floor. It's private.

You wanna dance, you gotta go down to the first

and second floor.

Hey! You got a hearing problem or somethin'?

Mo.

Sandman, how's your feet?

They all right.

Damn, why the hell you gonna ask about my feet?

They all right. Max.

Ha-ha!

I didn't recognize you.

And you're wearing your shoes. Yep.

Hey, them taps you were laying down was pretty good.

Thanks. You looking for a gig?

No, no. I just stopped by to see Amy and the boy.

Oh, that's nice of you. Hey, I got some new steps.

Uh, no, thanks.

I mean, it would go with that music you been playin'.

Yeah, thanks anyway, Mo. But I'm just exercising.

Exercising?

Exercising.

[WHISPERING]

Who was that, Little Mo?

That's Sonny's boy.

MAN: I told you that guy looked familiar.

Let's get back to the game. I got five aces.

MAN 2: I thought that boy quit his dancing.

MAN 3: He did quit his dancing. Quit it long time ago.

Then why is he dancing? MAN 3: Who the hell knows?

[CHUCKLES]

Oh, man.

Just a while ago, up on the roof,

I had this great idea, see.

I said to myself,

"That's a good idea, but the hell with it

because ain't nobody around here good enough

to pull it off."

Then I come downstairs, walk into the room and boom.

The one guy who can do it has his tap shoes back on

after all these years.

Now, you know somebody's trying to tell me something.

I don't care what nobody's trying to tell you.

You ain't got no business on your feet.

Oh, will you stop that?

The boy won't even dance with you.

That's whhe says.

But this is too good to let it go to waste,

just because he don't know what he wants to do.

Don't you worry, Sandman.

He gonna dance with me.

Somebody should dance with you.

What you looking at, Sandman?

What the hell you think I'm looking at?

Why don't you look for yourself.

[LAUGHS]

Hey.

What's going on? What do you mean?

Well, you're walking back and forth, shaking your head.

You're laughing. What's the problem?

I don't know. I ain't got no problem.

You the one with the sloppy left side.

Oh, and there's one more thing.

Ah, but there ain't no sense in getting into it.

I mean, since you only exercising.

No, no. No, please.

What? What?

Well, Max, you got no form.

[LAUGHS]

Ahem. I got no form. Listen, listen, Mo.

Now, I know you guys were good in your day,

but since you ain't got no legs, there's no reason--

Hey, hey, hey. [POUNDS CANE RHYTHMICALLY]

What do you mean? You think we ain't got no legs?

Is that what you saying?

Sandman. Come in here, come in here.

You know what this young man said?

We ain't got no legs.

That means I ain't got no legs, you ain't got no legs.

And them men in there ain't got no legs.

Now, what does that sound like to you?

A challenge.

Now, I didn't challenge nobody.

Oh, yes, you did.

Challenge!

Hey, challenge.

Challenge? Challenge!

Challenge!

What challenge?

Hot damn, let's get up there and find out--

Bring in the guys. Come on in here. Go ahead.

All right, go ahead.

SANDMAN: We got a punk saying we ain't got no legs.

I didn't challenge anybody.

A challenge is going on. Make a circle, make a circle.

Come out here and show him, Arthur,

how we get time.

Bend those legs, Arthur.

That's it, baby. Bend them.

All right, Arthur.

MEN: ...seven, eight. Yeah.

[PLAYING JAUNTY TUNE]

Yeah, man.

Come on, Arthur. Work the rhythm.

[MEN CHEERING, WHOOPING]

Ha-ha!

Go, Bunny. The typewriter.

LITTLE MO: Check it out, Bunny. Show this bum your feet.

Whoo!

All right, all right.

Can you slide? Jimmy Slyde.

Go, Jimmy.

Punk, what do you think of that slide?

You ain't never slid that far in your life.

Come on. Yeah!

Whoo!

Hey, look at that.

Shhh.

What about them legs, boy?

I'm watching him.

You need to.

ALL: Hey!

Leave it out. Leave it out.

[STOPS PLAYING]

He don't need no music, see?

Yeah!

Get down on there. Get in there.

Wait a minute. What's he doing? Wait!

ALL: Olé!

How 'bout those legs? Looking good.

Hey. Hey, wait a second. Wait a second.

I wanna take me something.

Wait a second.

You ain't gonna take nothin' out here.

Hold my glasses. You ain't gonna take nothin'.

I got to give you this.

What are you pushin'?

Hit me with something.

Go ahead, Sandman.

[PLAYING PLAYFUL SONG]

Yeah.

Louis.

SANDMAN: Dig that.

Now.

MAX: What?

Sandman? Yes?

ALL: Uh-oh!

You want some parts of this?

Well, I believe I will.

Think I'll take me a little part of this.

Give him nothing he can steal.

Yeah, Mo, put it on him.

Put it on the floor, Mo. Dig it.

Watch this. Cut it, Mo. Cut at it. Okay.

Make him answer you, Mo. Get him, Mo.

He's getting mannish, Mo. You got to clamp down on him.

Stay with him, Mo.

Stay with him. Stay with him, Mo.

[MEN CLAPPING, CHANTING RHYTHMICALLY]

Uh-oh.

Give me my cane.

What do you think you're doing?

And what are all you doing standing around here watching?

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Now, get out of here. Go on. Get out of here. Get out.

[ALL GROANING] Oh, Amy.

Gonna stay up with him all night?

Drive him to the doctor at 4 a.m.?

Get on out of here. You? What about you, Sam?

Amy, did you see that Max is back?

Hi, Amy.

AMY: You know what the doctor told you, Papa.

Stay off your feet. Take it easy.

LITTLE MO: Hmph. I'll still be dying.

I'll just be more bored doing it.

That's impeccable logic, Papa.

Damn!

Louis, follow him and find out where he's staying.

You wanna kill yourself, is that it?

Come on. We've got to talk.

[SOFTLY] Amy, Amy, Amy.

I have tried. Darling, I swear to you, I have tried.

But I just can't pull it off. I can't make it work.

I go in there and play cards with the guys.

I've tried gardening upstairs.

But I ain't good at none of them damn things.

I'm only good at one thing.

I'm a tap dancer.

And, Amy, I'm proud of that.

I got something I gotta do before I go, and Sonny's boy--

Sonny's boy.

[SIGHS]

Papa, he's not interested in your ideas.

You know what he's like.

He's got his shoes on again.

Now, when's the last time

you seen him up here with his shoes on?

And he's got his daddy's legs on top of them shoes.

I still got a few tricks left,

but I need Max to help me pull them off.

And I gotta be on my feet for that.

So that means...

no more gardening.

And if I'm gonna die...

[♪]

I wanna die with my tap shoes on.

I want you to apologize to him.

Papa...

He's staying at the Clark Hotel.

LITTLE MO: Thank you, son. Now, here's what I want you to tell him.

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

MAX: Yeah?

Hey.

Just making myself a drink. You want one?

What are you doing here?

Is that hello?

Hello.

What are you doing here at the Clark?

Well, I just got back into town. I needed a place to stay.

[SCOFFS]

What is this?

What--? Where are the slick suits and the limos?

Well, listen. What is this, Dragnet?

Huh? You interrogating me?

Yeah.

Well, I'm here to deliver a message.

You know, Pop's got some crazy idea that you've changed.

So...

tonight's Hoofers' Night.

First Tuesday of the month

we all get together over at Charlie's club.

Papa's leaving Sonny's around 7.

Now, Max...

I don't know what you're up to, but do me a favor:

Don't come. [STAMMERS]

So it's Hoofers' Night. Yeah.

Tonight.

You going?

Why?

I don't know, thought we might...

get together after, talk a little bit.

Talk a little bit?

These visits of yours aren't appreciated.

You pop in, you pop out.

What has it been now, two, three years?

Do me and Dad and Louis a favor.

Get lost. Amy.

Now, you don't mean that.

I don't, huh?

Nah.

I can tell.

You still feel something.

You're right. I still feel something.

I still feel the same way it felt when I was 17 years old,

and the curtains opened for Max Washington and Amy Simms.

And there ain't no Washington!

There ain't no Washington

'cause he's off with his buddies somewhere

robbing a liquor store or something.

Yeah, I still feel the same way, pissed.

Amy. Forget about it, Washington.

Come on-- Don't even dream about it.

I'm supposed to dream about it.

I'm right across the street from Sonny's.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[HORNS HONKING]

Those pork chops of yours are getting real nasty, Sandman.

[LAUGHS]

Don't tell it to me. Tell it to the pig.

Didn't cook himself up in no rubber.

Put that back.

Leave it alone.

The kid ain't comin'. How you know he ain't comin'?

You got a crystal ball in that frying pan of yours?

Just...get out of here. Damn!

Oh, Amy.

Harold says that Max is back in town,

and he's got his shoes on again, and he's going good.

Yeah, he's going good. I guess he is.

LITTLE MO: I tell you one thing,

when he performed...

he was somethin' to watch.

He had his daddy's style and his daddy's grace on that stage.

He ain't had his daddy's nothing.

Kid's a quitter. Always been a quitter.

Quit on his dancing. Quit on his daddy when he was sick.

Quit on everything.

All I know is, Amy arrived in town

with a brand-new baby and a runaway husband.

Max raised up Louis as if he were his very own.

That's right. And then he quit on him.

LITTLE MO: Shut up.

He came that close,

that close to being a star... before it all went down.

That's right. Mm-hmm.

When what all went down?

The work, son. When the work all dried up.

You mean, you guys used to work?

What? No, he didn't.

Get over here.

I know one kid that's gonna get hurt.

Come-- Bring him down front here.

Let me tell you somethin'.

You looking at everybody in this room, son,

was a headliner.

MAN: That's right.

LITTLE MO: Everybody headlined.

It was that rock 'n' roll that killed us.

Oh, no, no, no.

Rock 'n' roll still killing us. You wanna go dance to that junk?

Hey, Mo, Max is out there.

MAN: I've got to have a beat for my feet.

I can't be out there jumpin' up and down

on all that loud music going on...

[♪]

Can I take your plate now?

Shut up.

I told you about him, baby.

Hey, Maxie, welcome home. Come on in.

Excuse me, folks. Just a second, I'll be right back.

Taking care of some business. Have a little fun.

Get some drinks. Be right with you.

Hey, care for some food?

♪ Ooh, ain't many others ♪

♪ 'Cause you know what we got Is a rare thing... ♪

MAN: Hey. Hey, look who's here.

♪ It's everlasting This love... ♪

How's it going? Nice to see you.

You too.

Hey, Max, how you doing? Good.

All right.

♪ It's always gonna be around ♪

♪ This love is a love... ♪

MAN: It was like shooting fish in a barrel. How could you miss?

NICKY: Easy for you to say. But I had my money on the other man.

Maybe you'll take my advice next time.

Hey, Red.

How them, uh, pots and pans treatin' ya?

How's it going, Nicky?

I'm back.

And the first chance I get, Nicky,

I'm gonna tear your fucking head off.

Maxie.

Excuse me.

Maxwell!

[LAUGHS]

[CHUCKLES]

Hey!

Look at ya. Come on.

You put some muscle on in the can, huh?

MAX: Yeah, a little bit.

FRANCIS: So when'd you get out?

MAX: A couple of days ago.

Hey, guys, I want you to meet Max Washington.

He's part of my family.

You're looking at the best second-story man

in the business.

Second-story? Yeah, you know,

climbing buildings, going in windows,

coming out with the goods.

Incredible balance.

What was that you were? Juggler? Acrobat?

Tap dancer.

Yeah, tap dancer! I love that shit.

[LAUGHTER]

Hey, look, I got you an apartment all set up.

Got a nice car for you, but I got a little job--

Hey, Francis, wait a minute.

Look, I just got back in town, man.

I got a place that's good for now.

Got the parole board.

I-- I can't get too showy.

Just look the job over.

This is bacon and eggs for you. Check it out, okay?

Tell you what, you could be my consultant on this.

You know, I mean, tell me how the job can work, huh?

Consultant? Yeah.

Yeah. All right.

Nicky involved in this?

Forget about all that, Maxwell. It wasn't all Nicky's fault.

You screwed up yourself. He should've been there.

You shoulda been out on time.

He shoulda waited for me.

NICKY: And you shoulda been out on time, man!

Man, you shoulda waited!

You shouldn't have been drunk! FRANCIS: Hey!

Hey!

[CHUCKLING] Hey, come on.

What are we arguing about?

The past is the past.

Come on. You're free now.

Let's move on.

Huh?

Maxwell.

You're back.

Hey, Nicky,

you know that jewelry gig you were telling me about?

Yeah.

Let Max check it out.

You're kidding.

That's my best contact.

The man nearly got me busted last time,

lost me my best client!

I said, let Max check it out.

Why don't you two shake hands, huh?

Okay, don't shake hands.

Come on.

Hey, look at this.

I got my family back together again, huh?

Car's yours tonight, Red.

[ETTA JAMES' "BABY, WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO?" PLAYING]

Drop me off at Times Square.

♪ You got me runnin' ♪

♪ You got me hidin' ♪

♪ You got me runnin' And hidin' ♪

♪ Runnin' Any way you want it ♪

♪ Child, let it roll ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

♪ Yeah-hah ♪

♪ Well, you got me ♪

♪ Where you want me, darlin' ♪

♪ Baby, what you Gettin' ready for me to do? ♪

♪ Oh, baby ♪

♪ Honey, what's wrong With you? ♪

♪ I wanna know ♪

Man.

♪ Oh, oh, baby Oh, baby ♪

♪ Honey, what's wrong With you? ♪

♪ Whoa, no ♪

♪ I'm gonna... ♪

Yeah, you know, we had this gig at the Club Alabama.

So they closed the joint down.

We had to go to San Diego, man, all the way to Tijuana.

To go to the Long Bar, where we could dance on each other.

I'm trying to tell you about the gig. That man is clever...

♪ I gotta know ♪

♪ Pack my bags ♪

♪ And down that road I go ♪

♪ Hey ♪

♪ Hey Hey-hey-ey ♪

Get up.

What do you mean, "get up"?

Who you think you're talking to?

I am talking to you, Sandman.

Now, get up and give me the chair.

MAN [OVER SPEAKER]: Miss Etta James. All right, girl.

Shit.

What's going on, Sandman? Hey, Max.

What's going on? Take my chair? Sit down.

Harry.

Hey, Mo.

Come over here and bring the shoes with ya.

Hey, you know something?

Do you know your pop worked this place a couple of times?

Yeah. Broke it up too.

Charlie then turned it

into a rock 'n' roll place a while back.

Good to see you, Mo.

Harry, I want you to meet Max Washington.

This is Charlie's son, Harry.

Now, he's got a wild idea.

I want you to hear it. Tell him. Lay it on him.

Well, Mo and me been talking about mixing tap and rock.

I mean, nobody thinks of doing it.

Why?

Because you can't hear it, that's why.

That's the only reason.

But check this out:

I rigged up pickups underneath these taps.

I run these through my system, and, like, boom!

They're gonna hear this in Scarsdale.

I can also hook these up

to my whole stack of synthesizers.

You can change the sound of whatever you're tapping

to any sound you want.

You follow what I mean?

I gotta make this next number.

With a house band here, we can work you in any time you want.

You sing, right?

Of course the man sings.

Would I bring somebody ain't got no voice?

He got a great voice.

Cool. Talk to you later, Mo.

Wait a minute, what are you talking about? What is this?

Well, we're talking about the future.

There are kids that come in here every single night.

They pack this little joint.

But they don't know nothing about us,

what we stand for, tap dancers.

What are you talking about?

How much money do I get if I go up there, huh?

How much do you two split? Couple hundred a week? Come on!

It ain't what you make that matters, Max.

Listen, Mo--

MAN: Next up on Tap Night,

Amy Simms and the Shim Sham Girls.

Hey, Jane, let me see you dance.

Do some of the steps you stole from me.

♪ One, two Y'all know what to do ♪

SANDMAN: Okay, stay together, stay together.

Toe the line.

Yeah, like that.

That beat is good. I wish you'd dance on it.

That's my step. Now that really is my step.

That's my bestseller.

Shut up, Sandman.

What you mean, shut up? Why don't you shut up.

I know what I'm doin', I'm protecting my steps.

They're giving my steps away,

and I couldn't sell 'em. Dance!

[CHEERING & APPLAUSE]

MAN: Yeah, Amy Simms and the Shim Sham Girls.

Let's hear it for 'em. Come on.

Ah-ha!

MAN: Thank you.

Thank you.

Amy Simms and the Shim Sham Girls.

[BAND PLAYS BREEZY JAZZ SONG]

MAN: That's Boston's own Dianne Walker dancing for you.

Now, did you--? You choreographed everything?

Mm-hm.

Yeah, that's all my stuff.

All the women? Mm-hm. That's me.

Wow, that's good stuff. Now, they're a little old.

Is that who you want to show me?

Not all of them. Dorothy. She's blond.

The blond-- Yeah. She would play. She would play on-stage.

And the thing is, you know--

What? Uh...

N-nothing. It's '30s, right?

So it's a period thing, but some of the stuff--

[LAUGHS]

What? What am I doing?

Excuse me, Bob.

This is my friend Max Washington.

Max, this is Bob Wyeth.

Pleasure. My pleasure.

No, what I'm saying is, it's a period thing, but--

Excuse me, Bob.

I hate to interrupt, I really do,

but I just had to come back here and tell this woman

what a terrific performance that was.

Huh? Can this woman dance, Bob?

[CHUCKLING] Yes, she can.

Yeah. Very attractive too, wouldn't you say?

I certainly would.

Yeah.

Uh, you a hoofer, Bob? No, I'm a--

Bob's a Broadway director. I'm helping him cast his next show.

Now-- Oh, tap show?

That's right. Oh...

So let me get this straight, just for me, Bob.

You're a Broadway director directing a tap-dance show,

but you don't know how to tap-dance?

How do you do that, Bob? Max.

No, it's a valid question.

I directed a show about suicide last year.

I haven't done that either.

It's imagination, Mr. Washington.

Imagination. Yeah. Well...

Touché, Bob, touché.

Listen, you mind if I have a minute with Amy over here?

Great. Bartender, a drink for my friend Bob here.

What do you think you're doing? Let's get out of here.

There's a great Italian restaurant--

Wait, wait, wait. Am I missing something here?

I thought I made myself clear the last time we talked.

I have to be here. This isn't just for fun.

I'm working with Bob.

Bob will be fine. He can just imagine you're with him.

MAN: Let's have a big round of applause

for all our lady dancers this evening, come on.

[APPLAUSE & CHEERING]

Fabulous.

Say, Bob. Yeah?

This is gonna take a little longer than I thought.

It's just family business.

Uh, do you wanna catch a cab?

No, that's okay.

No? No.

Good night, Amy. No, wait, Bob--

No, it's all right. I'll see you tomorrow.

Nice meeting you. Bob.

Great, Max.

I've been trying to get him down here for two months

to see some real tap, and you go and scare him away, Jesus!

Hey, what--? LITTLE MO: Welcome, everybody.

I wanna thank you for being here with the tap dancers.

[APPLAUSE & CHEERING]

A lot of you young people have asked me,

"Say, where you guys get your moves from

that you do when you're tap-dancing?"

Well, I'll tell you where we got our moves.

We stole them. MAN: Yeah, that's right.

We stole steps to come up with our own style.

If you don't like Italian-- Shhh.

LITTLE MO: However, there was only one man

that no one could figure out who he stole from, see?

Because he didn't steal from anybody.

He stole his steps from the sounds he heard

on the streets of New York City.

Come on. Shhh!

He was an original.

I mean an original,

and his name was Sonny Washington.

[APPLAUSE & CHEERING]

Now, nobody can tell you about how Sonny moved.

Nobody can do it, except maybe one man

that we're lucky enough to have in the audience tonight.

Sonny's son.

MAN 2: What? Yeah. Max Washington.

[APPLAUSE & CHEERING]

LITTLE MO: Come on up here, Max. Take us outside.

What did he do?

Whoa, whoa. Hold it. Hold it.

Thanks anyway, Mo. Thanks anyway. Another time.

Oh, what do you mean, "another time"? This is Tuesday.

Yeah, I-I wish I could.

I-I ain't got my shoes. I didn't bring my shoes.

LITTLE MO: Wait. What size do you wear?

Eleven.

MAN: Uh-huh.

Who got an 11 here with some good taps?

There you go. There's another pair.

Come on, Max. Let's take everybody outside

and show them how your father got his steps.

Come on, everybody.

Do this for my old man, Max.

LITTLE MO: Let's go. Move it. Let's go outside.

All right, now, if I go up there,

it's you and me tomorrow night, 7:00, huh?

It's damp out here, it's cold out here...

Thanks a lot.

All right. So, uh...

this is it. This is the spot where my father stole his stuff.

Right out here. He'd be out here on the corner,

and he'd be trading steps with his friends.

When his friends would leave, he'd stay

and listen to the sounds of the city.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, listen.

Listen, listen.

[METAL CLANKING]

[METAL PLATE CLANKING]

There's something.

Ah!

See, that's what I'm saying. What I hear is, I hear,

"Ba-dee ah, ba-dee ah."

Eh? Ba-dee ah, ba-dee ah.

See? Now, what I'm saying is,

ba-dee ah, ba-dee ah.

You dig? Ba-dee ah, ba-dee ah.

So now I'll try it, and then you try it.

And, ba-dee ah, ba-dee ah.

CROWD: Ba-dee ah, ba-dee ah.

[HORN HONKS] Ooh, incorporate the horn.

You hear the horn, Mo? Ee-ee.

So, ba-dee ah, ba-dee ah.

[HORN HONKS]

[TAPPING]

[LAUGHTER]

[SIREN WAILING]

[THUDDING]

MAX: Come on. Follow me. Come on this way.

I wanna go down here

because I think I hear something I might want to use.

I think we got it all, yeah.

Look, we got the road, we got the time, boom.

Yes.

Yes. Uh, don't mind us.

We're just, uh, tap dancers.

[THUDDING CONTINUES]

MAX: You feel that?

[ALL GRUNTING RHYTHMICALLY]

And you give me.

ALL: Ooh!

[LAUGHTER]

MAX: Yeah. Now, this man knows what's going on.

He has taken it, and he is running with it.

Yes.

All right, you got your shoes on.

Let's try some, uh, Uncle Mo.

Do the Uncle Mo.

[GROUP TAPPING]

MAX: Together! Together!

Uncle Mo!

All right! Disperse! Disperse!

Find wood!

Find wood and express yourselves!

MAN: We're gonna jam.

[CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY]

We need a little power. Give me a break.

Right? Run this down.

[BAND PLAYING FUNKY MELODY]

[GROWLS]

Hey, Harry.

Get these guys to flow. You know, get it rolling.

Yeah. Okay. All right.

So boogie-woogie feel.

Let's do it.

All right. Uh-huh. I got it.

Oh! Yes!

[ARGUING INDISTINCTLY]

Ah!

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

Oh, that ain't nothing.

That's nothing. Shut up, Sandman.

Yes?

Thanks.

That's all right.

You want your jacket back?

I'll get it tomorrow night.

When I come pick you up.

Pick me what?

Pick you up.

[LAUGHS]

Yes!

Whoo!

HOWIE: Max, you shoulda just taken,

ugh, the place Francis got for you, you know?

We wouldn't have to drag all your stuff over here.

You ready?

I'll be right down.

[EXHALES]

Man, next time

just call a moving company or somethin', huh?

NICKY: Hey, Washington!

Let's go, man!

[TONY TERRY'S "FORGET THE GIRL" PLAYING]

♪ No way ♪

♪ No, no way ♪

♪ No way ♪

♪ Everywhere that I go Everybody wants to know... ♪

Shit.

We're wasting our time with this asshole.

HOWIE: He's checking it out.

The man is bullshitting us.

He ain't got it no more.

I saw it on that last job. He's lost it.

He ain't got the nerve.

Quiet.

So, Max, what do you think?

Yeah, man. Good.

Alley in the back. Roof access.

Shouldn't be much of a problem.

What's the take on this thing?

Uncut: 750,000.

We get 5, the owner gets the rest plus insurance.

You woulda gotten 80 grand if you coulda done it.

Yeah, so if I coulda done it,

which window would I have done it in?

The one next to the "I" in the sign.

The owner's leaving it open, giving us the combination.

[LAUGHS]

Hey, Red...

what say, uh, you and I bury the hatchet

and close a few bars tonight, like in the olden times?

Bury the hatchet, huh? Uh-huh.

Not tonight, Nicky.

Uh-huh.

See what I'm saying?

Oh, I know, I know. You got a...

A dishwashing convention to go to.

Or maybe you're gonna hang in your old place.

I mean, that's why you took

that rattrap across the street, isn't it?

Ain't that right, Red?

Well, I seem to remember a little brat and a...

A little, uh, dancing bitch.

You be careful, Nicky.

Then them old farts. What you gonna do?

Sit around and tell stories

about the golden days of tap-dancing?

HOWIE: Shut up.

What do you say, Red?

You interested in this job?

Tell Francis I'll call him tomorrow.

NICKY: Shit. I'll see you, Howie.

The man is wasting our time.

[ENGINE STARTS]

MAN: Yes, how much are these?

WOMAN: Those are two dollars...

You ladies are late.

We got a class to do, thank you very much.

[KNOCKING ON GLASS]

Hey.

Use these before I take all your money.

Look inside.

Knick tickets, 13th row, Saturday night.

Put 'em away.

Baby, my class is running a little late tonight.

Why don't we do this another night, okay?

Oh, no, no, no. A deal's a deal.

Now, you go get changed, and I'll take over the class.

You? Yeah. I'll take over the class.

[SIGHS]

Yeah, tap class. I got it. I got it.

Good.

Knick tickets.

How you doin', babe?

Uh, students, students...

Amy had to go, so I'm gonna take over the rest of the class.

Uh, step right up,

step right up and, uh, show me what you got.

Hold it, hold it, hold it.

Uh, what's going on with you back there?

Oh, that's Anthony. He doesn't dance.

His mom makes him come.

His mom.

[CLEARS THROAT]

Uh...

Anthony...

uh, as long as you're here, why don't you give it a try?

No.

Why not?

Dancing's for girls.

Anthony, don't be ridiculous.

I mean, what do I look like to you?

Be careful, Anthony.

All right, you just relax.

I'll be right back.

[MELISSA ROWAN'S "SOMEBODY LIKE YOU" PLAYING ON STEREO]

Hey, do me a favor. Go in there and show this kid a combination.

What?

I need you to go in there and show Anthony some steps.

What are you talking about?

You still got your shoes, right?

Put 'em on, go in there and show this guy some steps.

You show him. You're his age.

If he sees you do it, he'll probably dance.

Forget it. What's with you? You said it was a waste of time.

Now I'm telling you different. [PHONE RINGS]

Please.

I said, no.

Sonny's.

Uh, excuse me. Hello.

Yeah. I'm sorry. We're closed for the holidays. Yeah.

Listen. I practically raised you.

I used to change your dirty diapers.

Now, I just gave you a new deck of cards and Knick tickets.

I ain't asking you no more. I'm telling you.

Go in there and teach that kid a combination.

♪ Bring a little light, baby In my life ♪

♪ Somebody like you... ♪

Okay.

Take the cards out. We go around one time.

If I win, you take over the class.

And if I win?

I ain't worried about that.

But if that should happen...

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

It's good...

but it's raggedy.

When you dance, you want to dance clean.

Always clean, like this.

Come on. We're gonna be late for dinner.

But how did--? Oh, he's fine.

Emily, put on a record.

Jewel.

[UPTEMPO JAZZ TUNE PLAYING]

Oh, look.

[JAZZ TUNE ENDS]

[CHEERING & APPLAUSE]

Ball.

Five, six.

Five, six, seven, eight.

Stay together. Keep it clean.

I wanna hear those taps.

[PIANO PLAYING ELEGANT MUSIC]

So what ever happened to that guy you were so tight with?

What was his name? Um...

What was his name, Joe?

[GIGGLES] Odabiah, was it?

Ralph. Ralph.

Ralph, that's what it was.

Yeah, whatever happened to him? Weren't you gonna marry him?

I was thinking about it. Didn't work out.

You know, Ralph was a good enough man.

Solid, hard-working, responsible.

[SNORES]

Yeah.

Tried to make it work. Gave up some of my classes.

I couldn't do it, Max.

Dancing is too much of who I am.

What about you? What are you gonna do?

What do you mean? What?

With your dancing.

What are you talking about?

Papa thinks you're back. He wants to work with you.

Oh, right. Well, Papa's wrong.

Well, something's going on, Max. Now, what is it? Talk to me.

Because I saw you out on the street last night dancing again.

Your hoofing's strong and sharp. You've been practicing.

Maybe.

Whereabouts?

[LAUGHS]

Whereabouts?

Sing Sing.

WAITER: Your check, sir.

There you are.

Chez Sing Sing.

Prison.

Yeah.

What happened?

I screwed up.

Got a little careless.

It's my father's fault, actually.

I had to work the night of his funeral,

and I got a little drunk, and...

So they gave me a couple of years.

Jesus, Max.

Where does, uh... the dancing fit in?

Well, I was doing my time, and I was doing all right.

I was just trying to get through it.

Had my parole coming up and, uh...

But there was this one guard.

Browder.

Messed with me every chance he got.

He hated me because I wouldn't take any of his shit.

And then one day, he just went too far, and I lost it.

I jumped on him, and I just beat him.

I beat him for every time he messed with me.

I beat him till they pulled me off of him.

Then they beat me up a little bit, and...

threw me in this box they call purgatory

for about three months.

Tacked on a year to my sentence.

Oh, boy.

So there I am, in this-- In this hole.

And I knew I'd blown it.

Ahem, so...

I'm in there, you know, and-- And my head is spinning.

And my heart is pounding.

[SIGHS]

I can't breathe.

So just about the time I felt like I was going over the edge,

I started to hear these combinations.

These combinations, you know.

Shappen-de-bippity-doo, boom boom.

Ze-zap-bap, zup-be-bop-bop.

Da-wop.

And I knew that was coming from deep,

from way deep inside me.

So I got up, and I started to move with it,

started to dance.

And I felt better.

I could breathe again, you know?

[LAUGHS]

So when I got out of the hole, I put in for some shoes

and got some wood together and, uh...

After that, whenever I felt like I was going over the edge,

I'd just start to dance.

Pulled me back.

I guess I got used to it.

You know, every now and then, I needed to pound some wood.

[LAUGHS]

What's so funny?

I can't believe this.

What?

I never thought it would happen.

Is there something I should know--?

You don't even get it, do you?

I bet you don't even know why you asked me out on this date.

I was hungry. I wanted to eat. No. No.

You wanted to show me that you're back.

It took them throwing you in a hole, Max, but you're back.

Papa was right.

Amy, you got this all wrong. I ain't back to nothing.

You lie, you lie, you lie.

We in a restaurant.

You calling me names in front of the people?

You're a liar, and I can prove it. Come on.

Where are we going?

Just come on.

[♪]

So this is what you wanted to show me?

Yeah, this is the show I'm casting.

Yeah, come on over here and take a look out there, Max.

[APPLAUSE & CHEERING]

Tell me you're not a dancer.

Go ahead and tell me you don't feel that.

I didn't feel none of that.

You are such a liar.

Come on, Amy. You tried to show me Broadway tap-dancing.

Okay. But five years ago, there was nothing.

Look, baby, all I'm showing you is that there's work.

Now, Papa's got some ideas.

This company we just left is going on the road.

Tomorrow, we're putting together a whole new line, baby.

What's so funny? I got to laugh.

I can just picture me in that line.

And then what happens after that, huh?

A gig on the road? Maybe I teach a class or two?

Uh-uh, Amy. I'm not like my father.

I'm not winding up with nothing.

Your father was a good man, Max.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Good ol' Sonny Washington, huh?

Always a big smile waiting for you

on the Sonny side of the street.

Well, the man could smile. Yeah, yeah.

Even when we were flat broke, he was still smiling.

My mother, she was smart.

First guy came along with some real cash money, she was gone.

And that's what's happening. Cash money.

And where do you get the cash money, Max?

I got my ways.

What ways?

Don't worry about it.

Listen.

Somehow you were given a second chance.

But you're just too angry and stubborn

to see what's right in front of you.

Amy, Amy. Did you have a good time tonight, huh?

You like dressing up in nice things and going to nice places,

places you can't go to when you're stuck on the third floor?

I never needed any of those things, Max. You did.

All I ever needed was a place to dance, Louis,

and somebody to love me.

Good night, Max. Amy--

No. Good night.

[DOOR SLAMS]

Ahhh... Ha-ha.

[GRINDING, CLINKING]

[♪]

MAN: Hey!

Hey!

A 50-center.

Hey, butterfingers.

Hey, Washington.

[PIANO PLAYING UPBEAT TUNE]

MAN [OVER SPEAKER]: All right, people, once again, when you're tapped,

please step out of the formation right away,

and as quickly as possible move out.

And you people in the back,

step up and fill in the empty spots, okay?

Thank you.

Don't look at me like that. I'm just trying to get a job.

[PEOPLE LAUGHING]

MAN: I didn't see that. Taking it back.

I gotta see that again. It's out of sight.

Great. But I've seen it enough. Can I have that?

Stop.

Hey, is this the Sullivashow Max did?

Arthur. Yeah.

What's going on?

Max got in that show Amy's working on.

MAN 2: That's TV. That's TV.

And it's coming from the heart.

LITTLE MO: Psst.

That's what I like about it.

MAN 3: Beautiful. I mean, right through.

Oh, shit.

[MEN CONVERSING INDISTINCTLY]

Amy, can I speak to you in private just a minute?

Sure, Pop.

Come on. We'll go over here.

What's going on?

Oh, nothing much.

Amy, you wanna tell me what the hell's going on out there?

What are you talking about? I'm talking about Max.

You're supposed to be working on him for me.

Not some dumb-ass Broadway show.

It's a job, Pop. "It's a job."

I have no objections to a dancer getting a job.

But that boy is not just a dancer. He's a hoofer.

That's why he's on the third floor,

not down there on the first or second,

where they go, "five, six, seven, eight.

La-dee-da."

The boy is special, Amy.

He has to have his freedom.

He needs to have his space.

You can't keep that kind of a talent on a leash.

He went to the audition on his own.

Well, I'm gonna go and talk to him.

No, you're not gonna do a damn thing.

Max tried out for a show today.

You know how big a step that was for him?

He did something positive for a change, and it worked.

Look at him, Papa. He's feeling good about it.

Don't take that away from him.

[SWEEPING CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING OVER SPEAKER]

I can't believe this.

That you're gonna teach me how to dance.

I'm not trying to teach you how to tap-dance.

I'm teaching you the steps to this damn number.

Now, get over here.

[UPBEAT JAZZ PLAYING]

I want you to get the solo spot, Max.

So stop complaining and learn it.

Remember to use your arms, Max.

You got it. Go ahead.

Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. What are you doing?

I'm trying--

You're stomping like you wanna break through the damn roof.

Easy, light.

That's not my style.

Well, that's the way he wants it.

Bob.

Mr. Imagination.

I should show Bob how this stuff is really done.

Max, this is a set piece.

Five different dancers have done it the same...

way for three years.

You've got to do it like everyone else.

I don't do it like everyone else, remember?

[LAUGHS]

[ORCHESTRAL VERSION OF "CHEEK TO CHEEK" PLAYING]

You put this on?

It was a good routine, wasn't it?

Yeah. Yeah.

The black Fred and Ginger, huh? Mm.

Another one of my father's lame ideas.

About 40 years too late.

It wasn't lame.

It was romantic.

You looked so good in your tuxedo.

It's true. I did.

[BOTH LAUGH]

Too bad we never got a chance to perform it after all that work.

Yeah. Well... you remember any of it?

You remember any of it?

[IMITATES LITTLE MO] Sounds like a challenge to me.

It is a challenge.

Ah-ha!

[LAUGHS]

[HIGH-PITCHED] Challenge!

All right.

I certainly hope you do remember, because I do.

AMY: I remember.

They falling in love again, Mo?

Son...that ain't none of our business.

Now, come on. Pajamas are waiting for you.

Whoa. I'll get the door.

MAX: Which side?

AMY: This side, 'cause I'm on the left side.

MAX: First step. You remember the first step?

AMY: The first step. Yes, I remember.

Mo!

I'll be right there, son. Be right with you.

[MAX HUMMING "CHEEK TO CHEEK"]

Okay.

[BOTH LAUGH]

Ha!

Hey.

Ha!

[LAUGHS]

Oh, yeah.

Dance! Yah! Yah! Yah!

Dance! Come along.

No, Max.

[♪]

Hey.

[JAMES TAYLOR AND REGINA BELLE'S "ALL I WANT IS FOREVER" PLAYING]

TAYLOR: ♪ All I want ♪

♪ All I want Is forever ♪

♪ I don't want much From you ♪

♪ Just your love My whole life through ♪

♪ That's all I want ♪

♪ Yeah, that's all I want ♪

BELLE: ♪ And all ♪

♪ I need Is to be with you ♪

♪ Always ♪

♪ I don't need much You see ♪

♪ Just need eternity ♪

♪ Yeah, to be with you Yes, to be with you ♪

BOTH: ♪ Forever ♪

♪ All I want is Forever ♪

♪ Am I askin' too much? ♪

♪ Askin' for all your love Forever ♪

♪ Oh, all I know ♪

♪ Is when we're together ♪

♪ Baby ♪

♪ Time passes Much too fast ♪

♪ And I want To make it last ♪

♪ Last forevermore ♪

♪ Girl, forevermore ♪

♪ And all my life ♪

♪ I've been waiting To find ♪

♪ To find ya, baby ♪

♪ Now that you're Finally here ♪

♪ I want you alone With me ♪

♪ And to share My life ♪

♪ Yes, to share My life ♪

♪ Forever ♪

♪ All I want is Forever ♪

♪ That's all I want Is forever, baby ♪

♪ Am I askin' too much? ♪

♪ Askin' for all your love Forever ♪

♪ Forever ♪

♪ Want to keep you Forever ♪

♪ Baby, yeah, ooh ♪

♪ I'm not askin' too much ♪

♪ Askin' for all your love Forever ♪

♪ Want to keep you Forever ♪

♪ I'm not askin' too much ♪

♪ Askin' for all your love Forever ♪

♪ I just need forever ♪

♪ That's all I want Is forever... ♪

There's a guy across the hall. He wants to see you.

Okay. Thanks.

What?

[LAUGHING] What?

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

[NICKY LAUGHS]

Hey!

What are you doing up here?

I thought I'd get a few lessons.

What do you think?

You got Francis waiting on your call.

Are you gonna do this job or what?

Outside.

Outside? Yeah.

[NICKY CHUCKLES]

Hey, Pop. Don't hurt yourself with that thing, now.

[CHUCKLES]

Hey. You don't come up here. You hear what I'm saying?

You don't ever come up here!

Hey, I'm sorry.

I didn't realize this was St. Patrick's goddamn Cathedral.

All right, all right.

Come on, Maxie. What's the deal?

Francis wants to know. You in or out?

Get the fuck out of here. Aw, see, man. Now...

you got Francis eatin' your shit and givin' you money,

but as far as I am concerned,

you're more comfortable in an apron,

soapsuds, yellow gloves, this hole, old men runnin'--

What's up? Come on! Let's have it!

HOWIE: Nicky!

If you're gonna kill somebody,

you do it when I am not around.

[GASPS]

[POPS LIPS]

You dead.

[LAUGHS]

Come on, man. Let's get out of this dump.

I tell ya, the man has lost it. He's history.

He's right where he belongs. Nowhere.

[NICKY LAUGHS]

HOWIE: Shut up.

[PLAYS UPBEAT INTRO]

[PIANO PLAYS MID-TEMPO MELODY]

Max.

[MOUTHS] I'm gonna talk to them. You ready?

Okay, let's have the final person

for the second-act solo--

The next guy is Max Washington.

Okay.

Excuse me, Bob. This is my friend Max.

I remember your friend, Amy.

I let him in the line. Isn't that enough?

Come on, give him a shot.

He's the best dancer in the building.

Okay. Go ahead, Brian.

Thanks, sugar.

BRIAN: Max Washington? Next, please.

Just follow Ray. He'll--

I got it, I got it. Let's just go.

[PIANO PLAYS UPBEAT INTRO]

[PIANO PLAYS NEW MELODY]

MAN: Oh, man! Look at that!

[CHEERING & APPLAUSE]

Mike, Brian.

What is this, Ray?

The guy wanted to show you something.

I'll decide when we change the music, all right?

MAX: It's not his fault.

It's not his fault. I asked him to do it.

Stick to the routine.

I just thought you might be interested

in seeing what the real stuff looks like.

The real stuff?

And what, my friend, do you think we've been doing?

Bullshit.

This is bullshit here.

It's not even tap-dancing, man.

They didn't tap-dance like that in the '30s and '40s.

Not the good ones, anyway.

Well, I guess we're not interested in the good ones.

I guess we're interested in...

the same kind of dancing that's made this show a hit

for the past three years.

I know we all appreciate the little history lesson.

[LAUGHING]

[WHISPERS] David!

But for now...

you can either do our bullshit,

or you can do your trade out in the streets.

What'll it be, my friend?

Max Washington is my name.

The original routine this time, Ray.

[PIANO PLAYS UPBEAT INTRO]

[PIANO PLAYS MID-TEMPO MELODY]

Okay.

A little more with the arms.

This is a musical. How 'bout a smile?

A little personality.

Let's go. Smile.

How 'bout it?

One teeny-weeny smile. Is that possible?

Come on. Come on.

[CHUCKLES]

All right. Thank you.

[PIANO STOPS PLAYING]

Wrong type. Next!

Next, please. Thank you, my friend.

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

Off the stage.

I said, get off my--!

Smile!

No, Max!

Now, you smile!

You smile! Big smile! Max. Max, don't.

You--! Please, Max. Please.

MAN: Chill out, man.

You all right, Bob?

Max.

You got it? Yeah, yeah-- Whoa!

Max, it's okay. The guy's a jerk.

This is crazy. What the hell am I doing here?

Don't. It's my fault. This is the wrong--

Look, I gotta go, Amy. I got real work to do.

Go back into your show. Hey.

I don't deserve that.

You never did, Amy.

Max.

Max-- Jesus.

Max.

[PIANO PLAYING "ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET"]

BUNNY: ♪ Get your hat And get your coat ♪

♪ Leave all your worries On the doorstep ♪

♪ Life would be so sweet ♪

♪ On the sunny side Of the street ♪

♪ Can't you hear ♪

♪ That pitter-pat? ♪

♪ That happy tune is my step ♪

♪ Just direct your feet ♪

♪ On the sunny side Of the street ♪

♪ I used to walk ♪

♪ In the shade ♪

♪ With those blues on parade ♪

♪ I'm not afraid ♪

♪ Just like Rover ♪

♪ I crossed over ♪

♪ And if I never Ever said ♪

♪ I'll be rich as Rockefeller ♪

♪ Gold dust at my feet ♪

♪ On the sunny ♪

♪ I said, the sunny ♪

♪ On the sunny ♪

♪ Side of the street ♪

MAX: Be right back.

NICKY: Remember, we ain't got all night, all right?

What are you doing here?

We going to the game tomorrow?

I got some work to do. Go with Sandman.

You breaking into people's apartments now?

No. The door was open.

Max, I got a proposition for you.

You forget about

all this Broadway, happy-feet bullshittin'.

Come on back over to Sonny's

and give this dancing idea of mine a shot, huh?

[SIGHS]

Listen, Mo.

I made a mistake coming back here, you understand?

I'm leaving tomorrow.

Leaving?

Hey, you can't leave, man.

Harry got the lyrics to the song.

I think if we can put it on--

Did you hear what I said? I'm leaving.

I'm not doing your thing.

I need more than you got.

Well, what is it, Max? Is it--? Is it money?

If it's money,

you know I always keep a little "don't go" money with me.

You can have any parts of it.

That building across the street, Max, that's yours.

You got people in that building who love you.

I mean, how much is that worth, Max?

How many jobs are you gonna have to pull to get all of that?

If your daddy was here, you know what he'd say now?

Right. If my daddy was here, he'd tell me, take your offer.

Yeah, take it!

But he liked being poor. He didn't mind being a failure.

He took everything they dished out and came up smiling.

Do I look like I'm smiling to you, Mo?

Huh?

Is that what you thought?

You thought your father was a failure?

Sure, they took away the money, the fame, the jobs.

But there was one thing they couldn't take away, Max.

They couldn't take away his legs.

They couldn't take away his pride and his dignity.

You know the reason why?

Because he knew he was good.

That's why he could smile.

Because he knew he was good, Max.

NICKY: Yo, Washington! Let's go, man!

LITTLE MO: Max.

Max!

We'll start up tomorrow.

Ten o'clock.

Sharp.

All right, man. Take it easy.

[CAR ENGINE STARTS]

What took so long, goddamn it?

Let's go, man.

[♪]

Hey, you know this guy?

Come on, man, step on it. Let's get outta here.

[GRUNTS]

Okay, now, man,

I'm stuck with your ass, so don't screw up this time.

Leave him alone, Nicky.

Man, just concentrate.

Don't think about no other shit. Be professional this time.

There is lots of money up there, man.

This is the big payday.

If this works, the client gonna give me lots of other gigs.

So get yourself together, man.

Shut up, Nicky. He's got work. Leave him alone.

[METAL PLATE CLANKS]

NICKY: Red.

[METAL PLATE CLANKS]

Red.

Yo, show biz. Wake up, man. It's curtain time.

Maxie, I don't know. You, uh...?

You wanna take this?

[METAL PLATE CLANKS]

[METAL PLATE CLANKS]

Come on, you piece of shit, get up there.

That's it. Come on, that's it. Climb. That's it, go.

Oh, yeah. Go. That's it.

[BEATBOXING] Gra-diggy-da, guh. Guh, dikky-da da.

Dikky-da-da. Ga-dikky-da-da.

Ga, dikky-da da. Ga, da-da-da.

Da-dikky da-dikky dee-da da. Grrrrr.

[NICKY CONTINUES BEATBOXING]

[CAR ALARM BLARING]

[HORN HONKING]

Da-da, doo, doo-doo.

[LAUGHS]

[METAL CLATTERING]

[POPPING LIPS]

[♪]

Bop-chk-kuh kuh. Kuh-bee.

Choo-ku, bop, chk-bop bop. Bing.

Choo-ku, bing, bing. Bop-choo bop-bop.

[SIREN WAILING]

Bop, choo, bop-bop. Bing, choo-bop.

[SOUNDS CEASE]

[PANTING]

[♪]

[BREATHING BECOMING HEAVIER]

[WATER DRIPPING]

Hey. Hey.

[LAUGHS]

Come on, man. Get in the car.

Where's the stuff?

It's still upstairs. I didn't take it.

What?

You didn't take it?

I know, I know. I had it.

I had it in my hands, and I put it back.

$750,000 worth of rocks you had in your hands,

and you put it back?

I'm sorry. I-I lost it.

You were right. I-- I don't have it anymore.

Sorry, yeah.

Sorry don't make it, man.

You get back up there and get my money!

Nicky!

Put the gun away, Nicky.

This is the second time you pulled this gun on me.

You're not gonna shoot me.

Put the gun away.

[EXHALES]

[GRUNTING]

[♪]

Howie, I'm gone.

Say goodbye to Francis for me.

Where you going, Max?

I'm going home.

Ma.

Yeah, baby?

SANDMAN: Hey. Hey, take a look at this.

[LAUGHING]

Yeah.

Yes, yes.

[LAUGHS] Yes, yes!

I'd like to get this. Two dollars.

Thank you.

You staying now?

Yeah.

But you better get a new deck of cards, man.

Because I think I'm gonna need some cash pretty soon.

[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]

Come on. No. You go ahead.

You're late.

MAN [OVER SPEAKER]: We've got a big surprise for you tonight.

Let's give a great Charlie's welcome

to Max Washington.

♪ Nowhere to run away ♪

♪ You've got to Stand your ground ♪

♪ There's no place left You can hide ♪

♪ You keepin' up the pace ♪

♪ You takin' from my heart ♪

♪ That's always beatin' inside ♪

♪ And when you think you got Nothin' left to lose ♪

♪ I got news ♪

♪ The piper's gonna be paid ♪

♪ That's why I say ♪

♪ Can't escape the rhythm ♪

♪ It's been inside me too long ♪

♪ It won't break ♪

♪ It's too strong ♪

♪ Can't escape the rhythm ♪

♪ It's got me where I belong ♪

♪ Can't wait It's too strong ♪

[TAPPING PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]

WOMAN: How's he do that?

I can't believe this guy can tap like this. This guy's great.

WOMAN: Take it home!

[SONG ENDS]

[APPLAUSE & CHEERING]

[TAPPING CREATING ELECTRONIC TONES]

[CROWD CLAMORING]

Get down, brother.

Yeah, that's one of my steps. He stole my step.

MAN: Dance.

Get your hands off me, man.

Steal my step and hug me.

WOMAN: Yeah!

MAN: Now, take it home.

Take it home.

[CHEERING & APPLAUSE]

[RHYTHMIC DRUMMING BEGINS]

MAN 2: Do it, Max! Do it!

[CHEERING & APPLAUSE]

[♪]

[WHISTLING]

[CROWD WHOOPING]

MAN: Come on, Max. Do some more, one more time.

The left foot.

Yeah?

It's still a little weak.

[GWEN GUTHRIE'S "FREE" PLAYING]

CHORUS: ♪ Stand up, everybody ♪

♪ Got to get together Come together as one ♪

♪ Stand up, everybody ♪

♪ Got to come together As one ♪

♪ We've got to dance Everybody ♪

♪ Got to get together Come together as one ♪

♪ Stand up, everybody ♪

♪ Got to come together As one ♪

♪ We've got to dance ♪

GUTHRIE: ♪ You're a puppet On a string ♪

♪ I'm a bird With broken wings ♪

♪ We've lost control Of our lives ♪

♪ Like a river We are damned ♪

♪ And the flood Is close at hand ♪

♪ Time has come To take a ♪

♪ Stand ♪

♪ And we got to take it To the wire ♪

♪ For what we do believe ♪ ♪ For what we do believe ♪

♪ Your world, my world ♪

♪ One day we'll see ♪

♪ Everybody will be ♪

♪ Free ♪ ♪ Set me free ♪

♪ We live And die to ♪

♪ Let me be ♪

♪ I'll fight to ♪ ♪ I'll fight to be free ♪

♪ Set me free We sing our right to ♪

♪ Got to have ♪ ♪ The right to ♪

♪ Right to be free ♪

♪ Free ♪

♪ Free ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ We are children On our own ♪

♪ We are lost And far from home ♪

♪ In the dark Of the night ♪

♪ So together We must band ♪

♪ Take each other By the hand ♪

♪ Find a light and make a ♪

♪ Stand ♪

♪ And if you ever want To see tomorrow ♪

♪ Don't wait another day ♪ ♪ Don't wait another day ♪

♪ Oh, your world My world ♪

♪ We hold a piece ♪

♪ Everybody must be ♪

♪ Free ♪ ♪ Set me free ♪

♪ We live And die to ♪

♪ Let me be ♪

♪ I'll fight to ♪ ♪ I'll fight to be free ♪

♪ Set me free ♪

♪ We sing Our right to ♪

♪ Got to have A right to ♪

♪ Right to be free ♪

♪ Set me free ♪

♪ We live And die to ♪

♪ Let me be I'll fight to ♪

♪ Got to fight To be free ♪

♪ Set me free ♪

♪ We sing Our right to ♪

♪ Got to have A right to ♪

♪ On my way I'm on my ♪

♪ On my way I'm on my way ♪

♪ On my way I'm on my way home ♪

♪ Come and sing With me ♪

♪ On my way I'm on my ♪

♪ On my way I'm on my way ♪

♪ On my way I'm on my way home ♪

♪ On my way I'm on my ♪

♪ On my way I'm on my way ♪

♪ On my way I'm on my home ♪

♪ Everybody must be ♪

♪ Free ♪ ♪ Set me free ♪

♪ We live And die to ♪

♪ Let me be I'll fight to ♪

♪ Fight to be free ♪

♪ Set me free ♪

♪ We sing Our right to ♪

♪ Got to have The right to ♪

♪ Right to be free ♪

♪ Set me free ♪

♪ We live And die to ♪

♪ Let me be I'll fight to ♪

♪ I've got to be free ♪

♪ Set me free ♪

♪ We sing Our right to ♪

♪ Got to have The right to ♪

♪ I've got To be free ♪

[ECHOING] ♪ Free, free, free... ♪