Original subtitles

What shall we do with Douglas Motors?

I'd die in now more.

Mr. Franklin, can you confirm that you are trying to suppress a biography of

yourself that you personally commissioned?

No comment.

Is it true you brought British minerals PLC, sir, because you're fond of metal?

Yes, I am very fond of metal.

It has charm.

Oh, how dull.

Specifically,

Stephen, please, time is short.

You and me, you see, Jimmy.

We've got one of those things. Have we? How nice.

A special relationship.

It'd be really silly to spoil it.

We've got the goods on each other, but we can't use them.

Mutual assured destruction, as they say. In some circles, I'm sure.

Surely you remember pouring half a million into Douglas Motors at just the

moment. Vividly.

Just when that nice Mr Franklin wanted to buy it cheap.

Almost as vividly as your creation of the...

strangely insubstantial JXB properties.

What do you want, Stephen?

Just keep Franklin out of Douglas for me. It's going so well.

Dear boy, if only I could.

Lamentably, Franklin's enthusiasm for the company has long passed into

obsession. And, of course, he loathes you. He wants your head, quote, on a

plate.

Researchers. Sir?

Who's best?

Warner, I think. He seems to be the quickest.

I'll put Warner on to Stephen Crane. C -R -A -N -E.

Any particular angle to the profile?

Every angle.

Also, remind me to stir the waters a little at Douglas Motors. I want to see

what rises to the surface.

Sir?

Mr. Franklin, is that it?

That's what it seems.

I've got three things to suggest which I've discussed with Robert.

Number one, I'd like to have an open day next weekend. Get the press along.

Two, PR.

I suggest we make Penny responsible for setting up and running a completely new

department at an appropriate salary.

What? Yeah, yeah, agreed.

I can't.

I mean... I know everybody's been terribly encouraging and so on and

things to do, but I can't. I've never been so insulted in my entire life.

Go on. I think it'd suit you.

Give me a bit of time to think about it.

Three.

We're running without a sales director.

That's suicidal.

Now, whether Gavin's coming back or not, forgive me, Penny, I say we appoint

someone new as quickly as possible.

That's why I went shopping today.

I bought myself a nice Marcus Wharton.

Couple of careless owners, but a modern classic.

I take it he has a criminal record.

I take it he has a criminal record.

Long as your arm.

I must say, I do find him engaging. How did you manage to entice him, though?

Well, he didn't really need a great deal of enticing, actually.

Oh.

What was all this, by the way?

Oh, West Side Story.

That one's a dramatic sort of boy.

A word.

Beer. No, I give you a word.

Joe.

What's happened?

Well, I had a drink with her a couple of nights ago.

Her old man had just faxed her a load of grief from Hong Kong.

Why? Because he found out about JXB. But she's got nothing to do... Her name's

on the paper.

She was in such a state about him coming back.

Well, it just occurred to me... That it was my responsibility.

Yeah, it is.

Well, it is.

So what are you going to do about it?

Are you playing?

No, sir.

Come in.

All right, we'll do that.

Don't give me that crap, please. Just come in.

Please. My father and I having one of those rounds I told you about, you might

find it quite amusing.

Joanna. The story so far. He has just recited to me the full canon of my

crimes, which, obviously, my only motivation was a desire to hurt him.

Smoking at B -Dales, not getting a scholarship to Durham, not wearing a bra

my sister's 18th, getting myself sacked from First Tokyo, now, of course, best

of all, masterminding JXB properties with Stephen Bloody Crane.

Your daughter had no idea what Crane was up to, Mr Franklin.

Jimmy Scattermite, with a preposterous name.

Garfield Ward, sir.

Leave us, please.

Yes, sir.

Are you all right?

Am I what?

Are you all right?

I'm fine, thank you, Beard. How are you?

OK, I'll talk to Franklin.

He wants your ass.

Too bad.

Not available.

Also, you can never get to see him without an appointment.

And you can never get an appointment with him.

That's a bugger, man.

Lorraine.

Could you spare me five minutes in my bedroom?

Of course.

Oh, Stephen.

Mr. Franklin's office.

Who's secretary?

Sorry. Mr. Goodfellow.

Martin Goodfellow Enterprises.

11 o 'clock tomorrow morning.

Well, I'm sorry. There's no record of an appointment tomorrow or any other day.

11 o 'clock.

I'm looking at it now.

Mr. Swanson from Carlton International.

Sorry, I couldn't help.

Swanson of Carlton International.

Yes? He doesn't really want to see Mr Franklin, does he?

Some streamlined fighting machine you are.

I've been sitting here for ten minutes.

Want a bite?

What's in it?

Marmalade.

Marmalade and broken glass.

My favourite.

Remember that time we built a little aircraft carrier for the ducks?

No.

What I do remember is watching you snogging with Oliver Blower's dress

Never.

I never snogged. Every time I touched you, you went, ooh, Ollie, that tickles

me.

I went to get my tape recorder when I came back. You've gone.

You horrible little perv.

So, tell me about the Legion.

Boring.

What's that for?

Stay or go.

Which is which? You tell me.

No.

A choice like this is meaningless.

I just stay.

Tales. Well, well.

My hero.

What an exotic car.

You must have a very small willy, Piers. A car like this, you don't really need

a willy.

Hope you're not going to do anything irresponsible.

You know me.

Hence my anxiety.

There's a misunderstanding about Joe, JXB and me.

It needs clearing up.

I don't think you quite understand the nature of the beast, Stephen. I tried to

talk to Franklin about this.

And? And the veins stood out on his neck. He started to shake.

It was appalling.

Shit.

I don't see what you can possibly do, Stephen, except make it worse.

I think this possessive attitude towards Joe had to change.

Is that what you think?

Hands off, Dean, all right?

Go home.

Time.

11 o 'clock.

Swanson.

Unfortunately, I remember the man Swanson.

And here's not you.

Who are you? What do you want?

I hear you want to see a man called Stephen Crane.

I want to see Stephen Crane's head on a plate.

That's exactly what I've heard.

You can arrange this.

For the right price.

Which is?

Your acceptance of a truth.

It would involve you taking an interest in apologies, actually.

Making them.

To whom?

Your daughter.

She had no idea that Crane was using her name for JXB.

No idea at all.

This price is fair.

Proceed.

You dare to come to me and do this?

She deserves your respect.

Witty, Crane, witty.

Also dangerous.

Oh, no.

Ella, my car.

Come with me.

What are you doing out here, eh?

Oh, uh, nothing. Just reading.

Now we are six.

Looks like this has seen some action.

It has, actually. I read it one time in an aircraft.

Waiting to jump out over New Caledonia, to be exact.

Mum used to read it to me.

Yes, yes, I remember that.

I used to read it to you too.

Puberty is when it all starts falling apart.

You get that feeling of... dissatisfaction for the first time.

All the magic starts leaking away.

I remember I couldn't play soldiers anymore.

Suddenly felt silly.

Childish.

Feels a lot bloody sillier when you're 21.

When I was your age, I used to think that anything you could actually have

wasn't worth having. You know what I mean?

Yes, of course I do.

And then, well, this sounds feeble.

Later, I began to value the things I already had.

You, for instance.

We shall not cease from exploration.

And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the

place for the first time.

Brilliant.

Yes.

Yes, that's right.

The magic doesn't come back.

That's it.

He was a doctor.

I thought he was an engineer.

My father was many things.

To me, as a child, he was mostly a dead Jew.

Soon after I was born, he was appointed chief surgeon of the state hospital in

Berlin.

One night, a young man was brought in.

crashed his motorbike. His chest was split from here to here. He needed a

massive transfusion of blood.

My father took the patient and found his group was rhesus negative.

There was no such blood in the hospital.

My father was rhesus negative.

He lay down on a stretcher, connected himself to the boy, and fed him many,

pints of blood.

This action almost killed my father.

That it saved the boy.

A few days later, my father was arrested.

There was no charge, but the crime was explained to him.

He had deliberately fouled the bloodstream of the Aryan boy with his

filth.

He was taken to Sachsenhausen and later executed.

The point of the story, Mr. Crane,

The world is slow to notice what it does not want to believe.

I know this.

I know when to run, when the world says remain, and vice versa.

It is the only secret of bleeding money.

That wasn't the point of the story.

Jimmy Blake, of course, has no such intuition.

He pretends it, but it is false, and it tires me.

Invested in Douglas Motors.

When I needed the company to be poor, now he runs about like a headless

trying to stop me finding out.

You know all this?

Of course I know.

I continue to let him do it because the man deserves to be punished.

He's lazy.

I want Douglas Motis, of course.

But I can be patient.

And what do you know about me?

I recently bought a chain of international hotels. They're

Or Jimmy would hate them.

Which is why I've arranged to have lunch with him in one of them today.

I intend to make this the British headquarters.

I also intend to make you the managing director.

The salary is, of course, astronomical.

If you say I need time to consider this, Stephen, I shall withdraw the offer.

Help yourself to chips, Jimmy.

Uh, yes.

Douglas Motors, Jimmy.

That young fellow, what was his name?

Yes. What was his name?

Crane.

Yes, Crane.

I asked you to dispose of him, I think.

The Douglas business really is becoming terribly dreary.

You are dissatisfied with your investment?

Huh?

I think honesty is the best policy. Do you? Oh, this is unusual.

Garfield Ward presented the Douglas Motors investment for my approval.

No one signs so many checks.

One has to trust one's executives not to make monumental blunders, but...

Well, a boy, of course, will have to move on.

No career for him in clay boats.

When I met Crane this morning, he said nothing of this.

This morning?

Crane showed a willingness to confront me that I found refreshing.

His reluctance to tell tales is, I suppose, very British.

What else did Crane say?

Yes.

I'm sorry?

I offered him directorship of these hotels, and he said yes.

Drink your wine.

I just wanted you to be the first person to know.

What you want, Stephen, is absolution.

Can't even spell it.

You want me to forgive you in advance for the money you're going to make?

For the anxiety you're going to cause my father?

Marcus can do everything I can do.

Not everything, Stephen.

Look, can I just spoil everything for a minute or two and talk about me and you

without pretending to be talking about something else?

That's uncivilised. I'm a barbarian.

There hasn't been one single moment where I felt in control of this.

Help me with the words.

Friendship.

Friendship.

You need that, Dean.

You need to feel in control.

I don't know what I need.

I only know what I'm used to. And I'm not used to someone like you.

We've kissed.

We've also shaken hands.

Now, one of those experiences was more memorable than the other.

It would be a bad mistake, Stephen.

Do you suppose I'm going to sleep with you because you're going away to London?

Oh, for God's sake.

For God's sake, nothing.

It's written all over you.

It's so insulting.

Look, all that I'm trying to say is that when I'm with you, I don't know whether

I'm coming or going.

I think you're fine.

You're going.

What's all this, then?

Your sister has just become a fully -fledged gauleiter of Douglas Motors.

Oh?

I'm going to do the PR.

That's fine.

So, what are you going to do?

Actually, I was thinking of going away for a bit.

Oh, God, you're not going to join the bloody Legion again, are you?

No.

No way.

Oh, good.

No, I promise you I won't leave the country.

So, where are you going to go?

I don't know.

Seriously, I just know it's not working out here anymore, Dad.

Perhaps it's a culture shock.

You know, the lads at the factory think I'm clocking in from another planet,

don't they?

So do you. Oh, come on, Jamie.

I need to get out of this, Dad.

I owe you money.

Forget about the money.

It's just that this time... It's just that this time I want to leave here

with your blessing.

I think it'd be easier for both of us, really.

Well, I trust you to know what's right for you.

Is that your blessing, Dad?

I want your blessing.

Yes.

That's my blessing.

What's the point of doing it, Stephen?

What's the point of doing what?

It.

Anything.

What's the point of not doing it?

Well, there's the difference between you and me.

Well, you know as well.

It's not a big deal, you know.

Life has a trick to it.

Yeah, and you've got it and I haven't. That's not what I meant.

It's what I meant.

Anyway, I don't really think you need my help.

Yeah.

Have you spoken to Sonia?

No.

Any?

I'm on it.

Tell me when you come back.

I want to speak to you.

Me especially.

Why?

I don't know.

Jamie's party down by the water.

Well, what about it?

Why do you think I did that?

Attacked the demon.

Shit.

I don't know.

You were drunk.

It was a sort of proprietorial jealousy, like an Italian with his little

sister. Yeah.

Nobody's good enough for him.

There was nothing proprietary about it.

I fell in love with you.

But then I met you.

Jesus.

What?

You just strolled in.

Strolled into the house of my heart.

And you nicked all the silver.

Penny knew it.

I didn't know. Gavin.

I married her because I wanted you.

I was too bloody pathetic to do anything about it.

Isn't it amazing the way people end up in situations that are totally wrong for

them?

There's so much ending up going on.

But, um, it's finished now.

Of course, my obsession.

I wouldn't be able to say any of this if it wasn't.

You know, we'd get to here and then stick like a bug.

What do you want?

I don't know.

You must know.

You must know what it was you wanted when you came to tell me this.

I want it all to be all right again.

I want Penny to love me again.

And I want my body to be peeled away and cleaned.

So it fits the hair.

Clean.

And I want to keep Sonia.

Rejoice, peers.

Fun, frolic, junketing and jollity.

What's the matter with you?

A personal matter, Jimmy. Nothing.

That bloody girl.

I bring you tidings to mess with gladness.

My grandfather, as a matter of fact, he died.

Sir Lawrence?

His funeral was this morning.

I read nothing in the Times.

It was in the telegraph.

Is it inconvenient when people die in the telegraph?

How is one expected to know anything?

Oh, dear boy, if there's anything I can do.

Thank you, Jimmy.

Anything at all.

Speeches that have to be made. Of course. I'm your man.

Now, let me distract you with my good news.

Franklin knows everything about the entire Douglas Motors fiasco.

What? And he doesn't give a damn.

He thinks it's funny.

The man clearly suffers from a mental disorder.

How did he find out?

Crane. He met with him this morning.

Is Stephen still able to walk?

Stephen, my dear, is king of the castle.

Frankton offered him a job.

He took it.

Douglas Motors can go hang.

I don't understand.

Stephen evidently...

Charmed the acrylic knickers off the silly old sod.

One can only shake one's head in bemusement and pass on.

Jimmy. Hmm?

Did you tell Franklin I was responsible for Claver's investment in Douglas?

I just want to know, for future reference.

Piers,

your self -absorption never ceases to appall me.

I didn't know such thing. What a mean, spirited... And on such a day,

you should bow your head in shame.

Get into bed, then.

In what sense?

In the sense that you take your clothes off and put your body under the duvet.

Right.

Why is this happening? You don't have to answer that.

I met someone today.

who made me wonder about mutability.

And I thought about you, and I said to myself, OK.

OK?

OK.

Nothing, nothing to be sorry about. Do you understand?

Nothing is ruined, Victoria.

It's all right.

Hey.

Hey, come on.

It's all right.

I promise you.

Today's going to be a real cracker, Robert. I understand you're leaving us.

Again.

Victoria told me.

Why did she do that? Well, she turned up at the house at the crack of dawn

looking very upset, so I asked her what the matter was. Oh?

She said you'd accepted a fantastically well -paid job with the Franklin Empire.

Well, thank you.

I tried to tell you about it last night.

I don't seem to remember you trying very hard.

Never mind, all good things come to pass.

When do you start?

As soon as possible.

Meaning what, today?

I just didn't think... Look, Stephen, if you've made up your mind to go, I don't

want you hanging around here like a lemon.

Your timing is not brilliant, but I wish you ever success.

I shall always be very grateful for everything you've done here.

There, now, I'll give you my blessing.

Well, this is unexpected.

It is unwelcome.

Colin's mum's made some lovely little fairy cakes.

How delightful.

Hello?

I'm sorry, I can't hear you at all.

Look, I'll hang up and you ring back, all right?

Penny, it's me.

What do you want?

I just wanted to say...

I just wanted to know, really.

Know what?

How the children were getting on.

Where are you?

Blackpool.

What are you doing there?

Came here for the illuminations.

Hoping a bit might rub off.

So, what about the kid?

I'm sorry, Gavin.

What do you mean?

Are you all right?

Yes.

Yes. Sure?

I've just had a rather strange phone call. Robert, somebody here would like

meet you.

My name is Franklin.

How do you do?

How do you do?

Very nice to meet you, Mr. Franklin.

Well, this is a machine shop.

Ah, yes.

This is beautiful.

Yes, there are many beautiful things here.

A leopard is a motor piece.

Yes, I think so. I would be proud to make such a motor car. Mr. Franklin, I

understand that you're motivated by the very best of intentions, but the company

is mine.

You can have Stephen.

If that's what he wants. But the mark stays with me.

I'm a patient man, Mr. Douglas.

So am I.

Can we talk?

I don't think there's a lot of point in doing that, really.

Look, last night... Last night, didn't you feel close to me?

I mean, if I've got that wrong, then I've got everything wrong.

Yes, you felt close to me.

Ever since I threw my virginity down the drain, my first term at Oxford...

Every boyfriend I've ever had has set himself on this crusade. Victoria.

To bring me sexual enlightenment.

Never happened.

Stephen, it's just humiliating and depressing.

And I don't want to go through it all again with you, okay?

When you go to London this time, Stephen...

I'd prefer it if you didn't come back.

When are you going to London?

Today.

Start your new job today.

As soon as I get free.

Franklin's turned up.

He's offered me a lift back.

Well, you're free now.

True that Stephen's leaving today.

Oh, darling.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

I do wish, Twiddle, that you would do something about the long grass in the

garden. It looks so very untidy.

Mrs Twiddle said this almost every day.

Mr Twiddle sighed.

He knew he would have to cut that grass in.

Well, at night and day, you might as well do it and get it over.

Very well, my love, he said.

I'll take the scythe and blow it down.

Anything to beat you.

Now put on your garden trousers.

You don't want to spoil your nice life.

People went upstairs, found his garden trousers.

They were old grey flannel ones, which he liked.

They were big and comfortable.

Put them on.

and then took everything out of the pockets of his other trousers and put

into the pockets of his garden trousers.

In went his money, his keys, his handkerchief.

Sir.

So.

Don't be a stranger.

Now we go.

Mr. Douglas, a wonderful evening. Look after Stephen for me.

Shall endeavor.

You wish to get out with the entertainment?

The door is unlocked.

Let's go, Mr.

Franklin.

Something new, please.

Temporary outcomes.

Haven't you got anything with a bit more space?

Yes.

I'd quite like to stay here for a while, if that's all right.

Until tomorrow, then.

There's champagne.

Thank you.

Be happy.

It's the old bill.

So it is.

Probably can't be next even.

Mr.

Robert Douglas.

Stephen, wake up.

Joe? Try to wake up.

I'm wide awake.

Have you got an appointment?

I've just had Marcus on the phone.

He asked me where you were.

I had a feeling you might have stayed here.

Oh, God, he hasn't stuffed it up already, has he?

What's the name of the son?

Robert Douglas' son.

Jamie, why?

Joe?

He killed himself.

This afternoon.

What?

In a car.

Gassed himself.

Oh, God, that's awful.

Poor Robert.

Marcus thought it might be an idea if you went back for a while.

You didn't really want a chain of hotels, did you?

Thank you.

I owe you, Jo.

You owe me anyway.

That's true.

Diva, I think it was very brave of you to go and see my father.

Thank you.

One more thing before I never see you again.

Who are you coming back for?

Robert or Victoria?

I'm coming back for me.