Original subtitles

Well, we're moving on up. Moving on up. Too deep down. Moving on up. To a deep.

That's it. We ain't moving no more furniture. But, George... You know what

call a woman who works her husband too hard?

What? A widow.

Quit complaining, George. The living room needs a change.

That's the same thing you said last year. And after we moved all the

you decided you liked the way we had it. Well, it doesn't hurt to experiment.

The hell it don't. My back is killing me.

George, do you know what it's like looking at the same old thing day after

Tell me about it. I've been looking at you for the past 25 years.

And you got no sense of humor, Louise?

Of course I have.

I married you, didn't I?

Mr.

Jefferson, ain't you decided where to put the furniture yet?

No, I just can't make up my mind.

Well, if you ask me. Who's asking you?

George, Florence can say what she wants. Go on, Florence.

Everything looked fine where it was.

Who's asking you?

Every time I turned around, our furniture was changed.

Well, your folks kept moving it? No, it kept getting repossessed.

George, let's try moving the sofa over there. Oh, Weezy. Oh, come on, George.

Well,

are you going to help or are you too busy holding down the floor?

He didn't ask me to help you.

Oh, okay.

Florence, dear, would you mind giving us a hand with the sofa?

Okay.

to do was ask.

You know, Weas, I think I'm going to give her a raise.

A raise?

Yeah. Maybe if we pay her enough, she can afford to quit.

Okay, George.

Ready? Ready.

One, two, three.

George!

Weasley, it ain't polite to keep people waiting.

thing in your ear, you can't hear me.

That's the idea.

Here's your cleaning. Thank you.

Man.

This place looks like it was hit by a tornado.

No wonder the tornado was Hurricane Louise.

We are redecorating, Marcus.

Oh, well, have fun.

Hey, Marcus, you finished working downstairs, ain't you?

Yeah, why?

Well, how would you like a chance to work upstairs?

You move me a store?

Uh -uh.

Who's a friend of yours?

Well, I feel it. Come on, come on, come on. It'll be more fun.

More fun than what?

More fun than me doing it by myself.

I heard that. Okay, let's start with this girl here. Okay.

Well, where do you want it?

I haven't made up my mind yet.

Well, I made up my mind. It's going back where it was.

But, George.

Look, Weegee, I just want to get it out of the way.

Okay, but it's not going to stay there.

It's going to stay there unless you move. Come on.

What was that?

I don't know. Maybe somebody blew a fuse.

Ready? Ready.

I'm scared. Where are you? Right here. Right where?

Over here, we. But I can't. Ow!

Who's dumb idea was to put this chair here? Yours.

Oh.

Oh, there you are.

Put your arm around me, okay?

Okay, as long as Mr. Jefferson don't mind.

You can't sneak nothing past, huh?

Open the drape.

The lights are out everywhere.

Are you kidding? Oh, no.

You mean we're having a blackout?

Unless everybody in New York decided to go to bed at the same time.

And we're not allowing this on the land.

As long as the electric company can rook us out of some more money, that's why

they call him Con Edison.

It's a good thing Con Edison doesn't own the moon.

Well, that would be out, too.

We need some more light. Would you get the flashlight?

It's not here.

What? How many times did I tell you to keep the flashlight where we could find

it? I will when you bring it back from the store.

Oh. Well, get us some candles, then. We need some more light.

Good idea. There's some candles in the kitchen.

Wait, I'll go with you. I want to eat some of that chicken in the

How can you eat at a time like this?

Somebody got to eat it or it'll spoil.

Too late for that, Florence. You spoiled it when you cooked it.

Greetings, Mr. J. I see you're as much in the dark about this as I am.

Mr. Bentley, would you get that light out of my face? Oh, I'm sorry. I just

wanted to make sure you were all right. Yeah, we're all right, Mr. Bentley.

Hello there, Marcus.

I am experienced when it comes to blackouts, you know.

You should be. You've been blacked out for years.

No, I mean because of the war.

I remember once when I was a lad in London, my Aunt Constance and my Uncle

Trevor gave a birthday party for their butler. It was during an air raid, and

one of the bombs fell on our local power station.

All our lights went out. It was terrible.

I never saw my aunt again.

You mean she got killed in the bombing?

No, she ran off with the butler.

I found the candles, George.

Anybody want some chicken?

Oh, splendid idea. Food and song.

Song. Yes, that's how we used to pass the time during the bombing. Oh, I just

love to sing.

Hey, they could have really used you over there in London, Florence, as an

raid siren.

Now, let's see. How about... Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream.

ain't no music. That's ear pollution.

If you want music, I can do it on my radio.

Oh, splendid idea.

They may have some news about the blackouts.

I got a store in the South Bronx.

Come on, Mark. Where we going?

Up to my store in the South Bronx. We got to get the clothes out before the

looters get there.

But, George, it'll be dangerous out there.

And besides, your store is insured, isn't it? No, it ain't.

What? I can't get insurance in the South Bronx. It's a bad risk area.

Is there anything I can do, Mr. J? Yeah, you can lend me your flashlight.

Certainly. See you later, Weed.

George! Don't worry, Weed. I'll be back in a flash.

Oh, I hope George knows what he's doing.

Probably not, but that ain't never stopped him before.

Well, in the meantime...

If we get caught about six months.

See, that's what I tell you, Marcus. It's like somebody's been here already.

Yeah, maybe we ought to come back in the morning.

Come on.

Look at this place.

There's some clothes.

What are you doing here?

This is my store.

Wrong, brother.

We was here first.

And that makes it our store.

Look, I own this place.

You own this place. That's right.

This is the Jefferson.

That's George Jefferson.

You giant.

Great night, chump.

You see the name on them credit cards?

He's right. He does own this place.

Sorry, Mr. George Jefferson.

We ain't gonna take none of these clothes.

You damn right you ain't. We just take your wallet.

And I'll be taking yours, too.

Hurry up, chump. I got an itchy trigger finger. Yes, sir.

Well, you guys look like you need the money more than we do. Right.

Hey, it was nice doing business with you, Mr. Jefferson.

Yeah. And if you're going out on the streets tonight, be careful.

This neighborhood is a jungle.

You don't need this.

we caught were original, they said they were running a delivery service.

You want me?

Yeah, sure we are.

You're under arrest.

You got a right to remain silent. If you give up that right to remain silent,

anything you say can and will be hell again.

about the accommodations, but all the private rooms are taken.

Hey, man, look, I still got all that ink all over my hand.

Oh, what a shame.

The manicures won't be until morning.

Hey, look, I'm a voter.

I'm a veteran. I'm a taxpayer.

I want to see my lawyer.

I want to see my lawyer, too. Sit down, nigga. You ain't got no lawyer.

I ain't your friend.

Oh, come on now. Ain't no need to be hostile. After all, we're going to be

spending a lot of time together.

No, we ain't. I'm leaving as soon as my wife comes to get me out of here.

You got the time, Martha?

No. I ain't got a watch.

Want to buy one?

Hey, man, how'd you cost this all in Washington?

Simple. I let them frisk the same arm twice.

First, like this.

Then, like this.

What town you got?

What city?

11 .30, chump.

You believe this, Marcus?

No. Well, they ain't getting away with it. Who?

Them cops that arrested me, that's who.

I think they already got away with it.

Hey, the life, all right.

Now.

What'd they catch you stealing? Look, I ain't stealing nothing, man. See, I own

this cleaner.

Uh -huh.

So me and Marcus was gonna go up to the store and get all the clothes out before

the looters got there.

grabbed us and took our wallets away, and one of them had a gun. A gun?

Oh, wow.

I'm telling you, man.

And then me and Marcus get up there, and we're taking the clothes out to the

trunk, and the cops catch us and arrest us because they think we've been moved.

Man, that is quite a story. Yeah, I know.

How long it take you to think it up?

Look, man, I ain't thought nothing up. I ain't stole nothing. I'm innocent.

Hey, we all innocent.

Ain't that right, brother?

Yes, indeed it is. See, we've all been framed.

That's right.

I was walking down the street minding my own business when all of a sudden this

cop comes and arrests me just because I had a brand new color TV under my eyes.

Yeah, and I got arrested for playing baseball.

Baseball? Yeah, I pitched a couple of rocks through the front window of Arch

Liquor Store.

See, we're all law -abiding citizens.

Just like you. Oh, hold, hold, hold. Look, you ain't nothing like me. I ain't

thief.

and what happens? The lights go out and people like y 'all hit the streets just

grabbing anything y 'all want to get your hands on. You got it? I just wish

hands were bigger.

You mean to tell me you don't think you did nothing wrong?

Yeah, I did something wrong.

I got caught.

I don't understand you. In fact, I don't understand none of y 'all. Of course

you don't understand.

Oh, he understands.

He understands.

Lighten up, blood. We ain't no criminals.

Oh, yeah? And what the hell you doing in jail?

What the hell you doing in jail?

I'm here by mistake, not like you.

Uh -huh.

You ever been poor?

Yeah.

I mean, real poor.

Uh, sure.

He was so poor, his folks couldn't even afford a bigger kid.

I got me a job. I got a job, baby.

Oh, yeah? What kind of job you got? Trick -or -treating, color TVs every

the lights go out?

No, man.

I work at a car wash.

Yes? Hey, I got a watch here that's waterproof.

Oh, man?

Digital? Hey, okay, okay, forget it.

If you got a job, what you doing out there looting?

You try feeding a family of five on what you can make at a car wash.

Let me tell you, Jabba Jaw, you do not eat too fancy.

So in order to put some food on my table, I bust it into an appliance

Appliance store? What are you planning on doing, feeding your family blenders?

No, man.

I was going to sell them for bread, you know, real bread.

Oh, man, that ain't no excuse.

It beats starving.

Sometimes you got to do the wrong things for the right reasons, right?

that's out there looting is doing it to keep them starved. No, man.

Now, some of them dudes out there looting just for the hell of it, you

They the kind to give looters a bad name.

George Jefferson.

Yeah!

Hey, Weasley! It's Jefferson!

Hey, mama!

Hey, watch it! Oh, hey.

This is your husband?

Oh, yeah, that's him.

Davey Face Jefferson.

Buddy Weasley. All right, come on, you two.

George, I had to walk down 12 flights of stairs in the dark.

You want to buy a watch with a lighter dial?

Sorry about the mistake, Mr. Jefferson.

Oh, yeah, you're going to be even sorrier when you hear from my lawyer.

From the way I understand it, it was a very innocent mistake.

Maybe she's right, Mr. Jefferson. I guess it could have happened to anybody.

Anybody who was dumb enough to roam around doing a blackout. Come on,

it's late.

Yeah, that's right. I got to get up early and get up to the Bronx store.

I'll go with you and help you clean it up. No, I ain't going to clean it up.

You're not?

I'm going to close it up. What?

Bye.

Looks like this place had a close encounter of the tenth kind.

They took everything.

Well, you heard what the cops said.

You got to put up steel -plated walls and iron bars to keep them out.

George, look at this.

Oh, yeah, that's the first dollar the store ever made.

That was six years ago.

I remember how happy you were when you brought this dollar home and asked me to

get a frame for it. Yeah, I'm surprised the looters didn't take that.

Hiya.

What do you want?

Are you George Jefferson?

Yeah, but it ain't gonna do you no good with clothes.

Is this your wallet?

What? It is your wallet, George.

Where'd you get it? I found it in the alley around the corner.

Anything left in it?

Just a picture of your mother.

They took everything of value.

Well, look, thanks for bringing the wallet back.

No, I don't want your bread, man.

What'd you bring the wallet back for?

Because it's yours.

You live around here?

No, I dress this way because I'm an eccentric millionaire.

How come you didn't put that with the rest of the loot?

George, not everybody around here was out looting. Oh, yeah, that's right.

people had to stay home and hide the stuff.

They really did a job on you, huh?

Yeah, they ruined my store.

I wasn't talking about your store.

What?

I'm talking about your head, man.

I guess you're going to close this place down for good now, huh?

You're damn right I am.

George, anger doesn't solve anything.

I ain't angry. I'm mad.

You really want to close down the store? It's the only thing to do, lady. See?

I mean, it's obvious that everyone in this area is a crook. Right.

Or even the people who worked here.

No, they ain't no crooks.

No.

They're just unemployed, huh?

No, they ain't on it.

Look, I'm sure I'm not the only store owner who's had enough and who's going

quit.

But, George, this store's done a good business.

You've got regular customers who depend on you.

Closing down just because of what happened last night is like throwing the

out with the bathwater.

What's this got to do with babies taking baths?

Your man's right, lady.

I mean, what's the point of providing employment down here?

What's the point of trying to help a community get back on its feet?

I can't hang around here.

I got to find myself a new cleaners.

I think there's one about 20 blocks up from here.

Hey, wait.

Look, you ain't got to do that.

There's one right here.

Just bring your clothes in tomorrow.

It'll be on me.

Jefferson, you're all right.

You are not going to close down?

Wheezy, now, why would I do a stupid thing like that? I mean, you've got to

faith in people.

Just because a few people do something wrong, you ain't got to punish

Wheezy, Wheezy, Wheezy.

You've got to learn to trust people.

Oh, George, I love you.

Now, wonder how much it's going to cost with steel -plated walls and iron bars.

Everything's back where it was.

Hey, Weasley.

Did you move all that furniture by yourself?

Yes, and it wasn't easy.

Look, if you needed somebody with muscles, why didn't you call me?

Why? You know somebody with muscles?

For your information, when I was in the Navy, I used to go into the

weightlifting room every day.

You must have felt right at home with all those dumbbells.

Yeah, just like now, except I can't lift you.

What have you got in the bag?

Just a few things in case you have another blackout.

Candles, a flashlight, earphones. No, no, no, no. They ain't earphones, Weezy.

It's a radio.

So I can listen to the news without having to listen to you in flaws in case

start that dumb thing again.

George. See?

You just turn it on and you can't hear nothing you don't want to hear.

George.

Can't hear you.

Let me try it.

Great.

Oh, by the way, the Willises will be down soon.

The Willises?

Yeah, they're coming here for dinner.

What are they coming down here for?

Because you won't go up there.

Of all the dumb reasons.

The Jeffersons was videotaped in front of a studio audience.

Repair and Synchronization by Easy Subtitles Synchronizer 1.0.0.0