Original subtitles

♪ Way back when in 1863

♪ Now part of the American lore

♪ A young family must leave their home

♪ Because of the Civil War

♪ Livin' their lives in a brand-new town

♪ Doing the best they can

♪ Four little women are on their own

♪ Lookin' to make their stand

♪ Fortunes of war can change their way

♪ We imagine our lives will be

♪ The March family are on their way

♪ Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy

The day after Father left us to report

back to his Union Army headquarters,

the Confederate Army marched into York

and took over the town.

They were retreating to Virginia

and had just stopped here to rest on their way

before moving on.

It was a shock being surrounded by enemy soldiers

and seeing the enemy's flag actually raised

over our own town hall.

Anything new?

Oh, only a civilian message, sir.

An order for cows.

And not a single wire has come in

for the Union Army since we arrived in town.

That means we haven't been detected, son.

I intend to keep the Union generals guessing

just as long as I can.

Yes, sir.

Stay on the wire.

I'll check with you later.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Jessup, our town mayor,

met with the community leaders to discuss the situation,

but they were powerless to do anything about it.

We were at the enemy's mercy.

Good afternoon.

Well now, gentlemen.

I've given you time to deliberate.

Do we have an agreement yet?

I think we have no other choice

but to accept your terms.

Thank you, sir.

My soldiers will be extremely grateful.

Yes, that may be so.

But one matter still worries me.

If we provide your soldiers with food and shelter,

then we must have your assurance

that no harm of any nature will come to our townspeople.

That's right, sir.

You have my word as a Southern gentleman on that.

Well, shall we have a mint julep?

My sister Jo talked Marmee into

letting her go outside so she could see

what was going on.

The sight of the enemy soldiers didn't scare Jo a bit,

and she passed right among them just as calm as you please.

If Jo had her way, she'd be in uniform herself,

fighting right alongside our father.

When she saw the size of the Rebel army

and all their heavy weapons, though,

even Jo was impressed and alarmed that the tense

situation all of us were facing.

Oh.

Uh!

Oof!

Open the door, please!

Uh, uh.

Thank you, Amy.

Well don't just stand there, Jo.

What did you see in town?

Were there any soldiers?

My goodness, Amy.

It looks like a military base out there

with Confederate uniforms everywhere you look.

Well tell us.

Mother, look, Jo's back.

I'm dreadfully worried for all of us.

Those Confederate soldiers are everywhere,

aren't they, dear?

Yes, but please don't think poorly of them.

Sure we may call them the enemy for now,

but they're really just Americans like us.

Yes, but your father's gone to war

and these soldiers are on the other side.

Oh my!

I guess I never looked at it like that.

This is all together too confusing, isn't it?

Please Jo, do tell on.

We're most anxious to hear.

Yes, how many soldiers have come?

Oh, I dare say there's far too many to count

and they've brought some big cannons with them.

Oh, but why do you suppose they've chosen

to occupy a town as small as this one?

They don't intend to occupy our town.

I think they're just resting here while

they plan their next move.

Don't you remember Father telling us

the Confederates are on their way to Washington

where President Lincoln lives?

If that's so, perhaps those soldiers

and their weapons will be gone from here in no time.

Well, I shouldn't be at all surprised.

You see, they made a frontal attack on Washington

several times and always failed.

So this time they're more than likely

planning to attack from behind.

Mercy, aren't you the jolly military expert?

Not really.

But you're able to discuss battle strategies

the very same way a man would.

I'll have you all know that I'm not putting on airs.

When Papa went to war, fatherly responsibilities

were left to me.

I suppose that makes you the man of the family.

What?

I didn't mean that, Jo.

What I really meant to say was that he...

Well actually I'm afraid I have to agree with you.

Oh?

That's enough.

You know that you're a pretty impressionable young girl,

and from now on you shan't be going outside.

Yessum.

And Hannah, I forgot to mention there were some

Negro soldiers in the Confederate Army, too.

Child, I reckon they was forced to join that army.

Has anyone told them that President Lincoln

has declared they can no longer be held as slaves?

Ever since he announced the Emancipation Proclamation,

all Negroes are free men.

And war's a pity if they're free men

and they don't even know it.

Maybe they knows, but can't do nothin' about it.

They be made to fight against their wills

like they were still slaves.

Goodness knows it had been ever so long

since there was such a flurry of activity

in our quiet, little town.

But we could only watch from the inside

and guess what was really taking place.

Do you think that the army will be moving on soon?

Yes, I'm certain of it because those messengers

have been especially active lately.

Oh, I understand.

The soldier riding on horseback is a messenger.

You know, it's quite possible that our

United States army is coming this way, Meg.

Oh my.

That would mean our town might turn into a battlefield.

After receiving our father's report,

the Union Army must be preparing to do battle

with the Confederate soldiers somewhere nearby and soon.

Does that mean you think men will soon be

fighting right here?

I shouldn't imagine that they'd meet right in town,

yet it probably won't be very far away.

Mercy, is this terrible news based on

something you definitely overheard today?

Or rather what you put together on your own, Jo,

using your active imagination?

No, I figured it out all by myself.

What could I have been thinking?

Why do I ask questions when I know the answers

will upset me so?

Should those armies meet close by

and battle as you predict,

I'm afraid it won't be safe to stay here in our home.

We should've moved to Newcord some time ago

when we were thinking about it.

Uh.

While Meg and Jo were all in a passion

over the war, elsewhere in the house Hannah

was concerned about matters closer to her own heart.

Miss Mary, I was just wondering,

do you think the Confederate soldiers

could force the colored folk in this town

to fight alongside them in the war?

No dear, I wouldn't think that would be possible.

Thanks to Mr. Lincoln,

all the Negroes are as free and independent

as any white man.

Slavery simply no longer exists.

Well, Mr. Lincoln may say so,

the fact is the whites in the South still

think Negroes are slaves and treat 'em that way.

Let them believe whatever they like, Hannah.

Nonetheless, things have changed.

And some people just can't admit that yet.

But all of your friends are free to

come and go as they please around here.

Thank you, Miss Mary.

Things will be much better in the world

when everybody's treated equal.

Mmm-hmm.

Hurry men!

It's time to move out.

Yes, sir.

Where's John?

Has anyone seen him?

Hmm.

Hey, anybody seen John?

No.

You suppose he just ran away?

Hey there, any sign of the Union Army

where you been?

Not yet, soldier.

But their bound to catch up to us

and thrown outta here soon.

No, sir.

I can't find him anywhere, sir.

That coward, he's run away.

Everybody spread out and find him.

Now do I beseech thee of everlasting grace?

Look kindly upon us in this mortal race.

Yes, Ares sprite, please do show us the way,

but still in my heart I must say,

oh, charms and potions canst thou say we need,

deliver yourself now and with elfin speed.

Jo?

I fear that something's wrong with Milky Ann.

Could she be sick like last time?

I don't think so.

She drank a lot of water.

Her tummy's just bloated, that's all.

Then you know what'll happen next.

Now quickly Beth, take her outside.

But I promise to watch her carefully.

We're not going to clean the carpet again, young lady.

Outside!

Jo can be such a cross patch sometimes,

but Beth's common sense was every bit

the equal to her fondness for Milky Ann.

She wished with all her might that the kitten

might soon take the hint, which it did.

Isn't Milky Ann the smartest little cat?

Perhaps if you filled a box with earth

and put it in the corner of the room,

you could quickly teach Milky Ann to know

it's the proper place.

That's a wonderful idea, Jo.

Where would I find a litter box?

Take a look in the work shed.

You should find something there.

Hey.

Ow!

Well, hey, that's it.

That's a good little puss.

Ow!

Hey, cut it out, kitty!

Ow, that hurt!

You've been bad.

Now come here, you little dickens, you.

Come on, puss.

That's it, I won't hurt you.

Yes, calm down.

Aren't we the fluffy little troublemaker?

Have you found the box?

Beth dear?

Milky, I wonder if something's wrong.

Beth?

Have you found a box?

Beth?

Did you hear what I said?

Hmm.

Oh Beth?

Are you in here?

Oh my.

Beth, is anything wrong?

If this is a trick of yours,

I promise I'll give you a good shaking

for being ever so wicked.

Huh?

Mmm.

Beth, good heavens!

Oh my.

Who are you, you terrible man?

Let her go right now!

Let Beth go!

What do you think you're doing?

Now don't scream, young lady.

I won't be responsible for what happens next

if you scream here.

Please, sir, I won't make a sound.

Hush up that darn cat right now.

Oh.

Yes sir, you have my word.

Just please don't harm my sister.

Now it ain't my intention to hurt nobody, miss.

Believe me, it ain't.

Then what do you want with my sister

and why are you here?

Please tell me who you are.

I's John.

I'm a slave who just now run away from

that Confederate Army, miss.

I need your help.

Uh, uh, uh, oh!

Oh, uh!

What? Huh?

Marmee, you have to come with me

right this instant!

Hurry! - Where?

To the old shed out back!

Someone's captured our little Beth.

Oh!

We've got to do something.

Oh no.

Calm down and start again at the very beginning, Jo.

I could barely understand you.

Oh, I'm sorry, but I'm extremely upset.

There's a Negro slave who's run away from

the Confederate Army just this afternoon

and he's hiding out back in our work shed.

Beth went out there to look for something

and that's when he grabbed onto her.

Oh dear, why is he doing this?

Well, the man is ever so frightened

and he doesn't want us to hand him back over

to the Confederate Army, that's all.

Beth is his hostage?

Uh-huh.

Oh, Mother.

Anyways, John says, oh yes, I forgot!

This fellow has told me his name is John.

John says that the Confederate Army will be

moving away from our town before very long

and he figures he can be free of the army forever

if he can just hide here until late this evening

because most of the soldiers should be gone by then.

Yes, but it's just not fair that he

involved Beth in this with him.

Of course not.

And soon the army will be looking everywhere for him.

That's right.

John knows they're not just going to let him go.

That shed is no place for him.

If he hides out there, he's certain to be caught

because that's the first place that they'll look.

Mother dear, you must come to a decision.

Beth's life is in danger.

She desperately needs us.

Those next few seconds seemed as if

they were an eternity.

It was perfectly maddening to think that Beth

was in the hands of some horrid man.

But Mother seemed to understand why John

was driven to such a desperate act.

I have no choice but to go out

and attempt to reason with him.

Please go tell Hannah to come here.

Yessum.

I'll fetch her right away.

She's in the kitchen.

Jo dear, I want your opinion.

Do you believe that we should help John?

Yes, Marmee, I most certainly do.

Mmm-hmm.

Ah.

Anything I can do, Miss Mary?

I'd like you to come with me.

I'm going out to the shed.

Yessum.

Meg and Amy, I want you to stay inside.

You too, Jo.

You understand?

Mmm-hmm.

It would be a big help if you keep watch,

and should the army arrive, please let me know.

I shall.

But Marmee, isn't this dangerous?

Now don't fret one bit.

Everything will be fine.

Please don't be afraid now.

I own this house and my name is Mary.

This is Hannah.

Uh.

Uh, hello.

Whatever may be bothering you now, John,

my Beth had nothing to do with.

Please let her go.

Pay attention to what she's sayin'.

This lady will make no trouble for you

if you just set her little girl free now.

Mmm-hmm.

You know what it's like to be held against your will.

Isn't that why you're here?

Well.

Uh, uh!

Um, sa, uh.

Mmm-mmm.

Well.

Thank you, mister.

Go on now, young lady.

Hmm.

Mother, I knew you'd come.

Oh-ho-ho.

Everything will be just fine now, Beth.

Ah, I'm not going to cry anymore.

I'm almost a grown up.

Beth, now go back inside.

Your sisters were worried about you.

I'm going to stay here and talk with John for awhile.

All right, Mother.

Goodbye, mister.

Marmee?

Yes, Beth?

I don't think the man intended to harm me.

He was just very scared.

Mmm-hmm.

He kept apologizing for causing me discomfort.

Mother, you ought not be too harsh with him.

Yes, I understand, Beth.

Now run along, I'll join you shortly.

Yes, Mother.

She's a fine girl.

And a perceptive one, too.

She knew you were in trouble.

Uh, please forgive me for being so rude

to your little girl.

I was just desperate.

Yes, I'm aware of that.

You're running away from the Confederates

and we're going to help you.

Um, you will?

My husband is an officer with the Union forces

and we both oppose slavery.

So let me help.

If I hadn't run away,

they'd a been forcing me to fight against

good men like your husband.

Would you like to stay here till evening?

Yessum, if you allow me to hide here till dark,

I knows I could get away.

Mmm-mmm.

John, when they come here,

this is the first place they'll look.

Well then what am I gonna do, ma'am?

Inside our home would be a better idea.

You'd be ever so much safer there.

Um, that's mighty nice of you,

but you'd be in a mess of trouble if they find me there.

This shed will be fine, Mrs. March.

You can trust our whole family.

Please, John.

I remember this is a time of

fearful excitement and confusion.

We were all relieved that no harm had come to Beth,

and at the same time we were concerned

for that poor runaway John.

We fell to work with hearty good will in the hope

that he might soon be free again.

You girls have never seen this, have you?

- Hey! - Oh!

No one will ever suspect this house has a cellar.

So few in this area were made with one.

No, Mother, I had no idea.

Me, neither.

Our very own hiding place.

It's dark as a tomb down there.

There you are, John.

It isn't very large, but at least you'll be safe.

Don't you be frettin', it looks fine.

This is more help than I deserve.

I'm much obliged to you.

Watch your step now.

I'm sorry, but you can't have a light down there, you know.

Don't worry.

We'll come and get you the very minute

the danger has passed, John.

If you're ready, son.

I'll close the trap door now.

That'd be just fine, ma'am.

And thank you.

John was now alone in the darkness.

He was mortally afraid of what might

become of him if he were to be discovered

by the Confederates.

Meanwhile, we hurried to right up the drawing room.

There should be four round indentations in the rug.

Replace the sofa carefully and no one will

suspect a thing.

I've done that.

Now the room's completely back in order.

Mercy, I couldn't stand being shut

in the dark all by myself, Jo.

Just bring that to mind the next time

you think of shirking your household duties.

Jo!

Never mind.

And now dear, I'd like you to go outside again

and try to determine if the army's started

searching for John yet.

Oh, yessum.

It's extremely important that all of you girls

behave as if nothing were different.

Please pay no heed at all to the cellar.

We understand.

Oh, Mother.

Would it be all right if I played the piano now?

Yes, you may.

John is very scared, isn't he?

And we might find that the music would

be soothing to all of us.

Indeed.

Why don't you play one of your favorite compositions, Beth?

Mmm-hmm.

It was ever so dark and dismal for John

down in the cellar, but when Beth began to play

that charming piece so splendidly,

I dare say that his spirits improved almost instantly.

Beth soon became lost in her music,

and while I lay on the carpet having a jolly time

with Milky Ann, Marmee and Meg busied themselves

with their embroidery.

Under the circumstances I shouldn't have felt

we would enjoy ourselves half as much as we did,

but while we waited for the Confederates to arrive

that afternoon, we actually forgot our cares

in that cozy little room together.

All right, please try to be nice

and be careful of my fingers now, Milky Ann.

While we portrayed anything but the topsy-tirvy

stated we truly felt,

Jo was around the neighborhood discovering

a flurry of excitement.

Baker, where do you suppose John's gone off to?

Since we've found tracks through

the cornfield leading this way,

it's my bet he headed here to find shelter until nightfall.

It's obvious he'd be spotted just walkin'

down the street, so I think he must've ducked

into one of these homes.

We'll search 'em one by one if we have to.

Collins, you take this side of the street

and Philips the other.

Report anything suspicious to me immediately.

Now move!

Milky Ann!

Uh, hmm, my embroidery is getting better.

Anything yet?

No, and so much time has past,

you think we would've heard something by now.

Well, perhaps the army isn't searching for John at all.

Oh Meg.

You're simply not being realistic.

Marmee, will the soldiers be coming

right into our home?

We just don't know yet.

It could be.

What on earth was that?

It's only Jo, Meg.

The soldiers are on their way!

Listen, the searching party is headed in our direction!

They're moving from house to house,

going inside, Marmee, and questioning everyone!

John couldn't make out any words,

but knew there was trouble because the music

had stopped so suddenly.

Girls, please be calm.

We're about to be put to the test,

so make your father proud.

And whatever you do, keep your eyes away

from the cellar.

Mmm-hmm.

Marmee, if it won't be a bother,

I have a favor to ask you.

Yes, what Meg?

Thank you.

I just don't trust myself.

I might ruin everything by casually gazing

right at the cellar.

May I go upstairs?

Yes dear, of course you may.

Don't apologize, Meg.

It's probably unnatural for all of us

to be in the same room together, anyway.

So get yourself upstairs, dear,

and don't even give it another thought.

Marmee, may I go upstairs?

Yes, you may.

And you as well?

No, I'm staying.

Mmm-hmm.

Now what would you like to do, Beth?

The piano does make me feel a little less fidgety,

so may I play?

Of course.

Thank you, Mother.

All right, men, this house is next.

Let's see if we get lucky.

Weapons at the ready now, men.

Anybody in there?

Open up in order of the Confederate Army.

Oh my!

At that instant,

the whole house tensed up.

Hannah felt it too and it disturbed her extremely.

Yet not one of us was as mortally afraid

as poor John.

The soldiers were determined to find him

and would stop at nothing.

We have reason to believe a runaway

Negro is being harbored here.

The moment we dreaded was here

and we all knew we'd soon be put to a test of courage.

♪ Fortunes of war can change their way

♪ We imagine our lives will be

♪ The March family are on their way

♪ Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy