Original subtitles

MAX: This is my boss Jonathan Hart.

He's a millionaire, self made.

And this is his wife Jennifer.

She's quite a lady.

Oh, and that's me. My name is Max.

I take care of them which ain't easy.

'Cause when they met, it was murder.

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

♪♪♪

ELEANOR: I knew they were up to something.

♪♪♪

Charlie!

My God, you scared me half to death.

Half to death, half to death.

You know, I never could understand exactly what that meant.

Now you shouldn't be out in this weather.

Like to catch my death, huh? There's another one, catch my death.

Charlie, Charlie, that's enough, that's enough now, go on home.

What about you?

I'll be all right, now I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Bye, Eleanor.

[ENGINE STARTS]

♪♪♪

Message to Jeremy.

[TIRES SQUEALING]

[GROANS]

[THUDS]

[EXPLOSION]

♪♪♪

JENNIFER: Oh, isn't this is a great way to start the day?

There's only one thing better.

Jonathan.

Would you, uh...

Would you rub my back, please?

Oh.

Ah.

Oh, yes.

Oh, you never finished telling me what happened to Roger's ranch?

Well, you remember the problems he was having with the geological reports?

No, not really.

He ended up having to redesign the whole layout.

He did?

It may have turned out better than the original plans.

Oh.

You remember where the rise in the main house is?

Vaguely.

Well, let's say that, uh, right here is the rise and the main house.

-Oh. -And, uh...

on down the road, there's the stables on the right.

I can't imagine a better location for them.

Oh, wait, we haven't even gotten to the good part yet.

[LAUGHS]

That's what you think.

MAX: Freeway, Freeway, where are you?

Freeway, Freeway, go.

Freeway, go.

Those obedience lessons really paid off.

Would you go?

MAX: Your kibble's gonna get cold.

[WHISTLES]

How did you do that?

Uh, it's a male thing.

Now, where were we?

I think we were at the rise at Roger's ranch.

Ooh.

-Good morning, Max. -Good morning, Max.

A telegram for your, Mrs. H.

A telegram? I didn't think people send telegrams any more.

Like an old movie when you get a wire that someone close to you has...

Something wrong, darling?

Eleanor Biddlecomb died.

An automobile accident.

I'm sorry, darling.

Eleanor Biddlecomb? Isn't that the woman you used to work for

back at the newspaper in what's his face?

Kingman's Ferry.

She was more than just someone I used to work for, Max.

She was my teacher, my mentor.

I learned more from Biddy in one year

than I learned from six years in college.

You've met Eleanor, Max, don't you remember?

When Jennifer's book was first published at the signing?

Oh, yeah, that good looking, feisty broad at the front of the line

-who demanded a free copy. -[LAUGHS]

JENNIFER: I remember that.

She said she shouldn't have to pay because she invented me.

I tried to get her telephone number, couldn't score.

I can't believe she's gone.

Every time I sit down to write, I feel Biddy looking over my shoulder,

pushing me, cajoling me, encouraging me.

Well, that won't change. She'll always be there for that.

I just wish I had a chance to look her in the eye one more time.

Maybe a chance to say goodbye is the next best thing?

Oh, darling, Kingman's Ferry's a long way away.

I know, but Eleanor isn't.

Thanks.

♪♪♪

JENNIFER: Oh, Jonathan, it's just as beautiful as I remember.

♪♪♪

JENNIFER: What happened?

Oh, do you know what this is?

JONATHAN: Klayman's Bridge.

How did you know that?

Says so right there, "Klayman's Bridge 1892".

Oh.

This used to be the main route into the town,

I wonder why they haven't kept it up.

Well, after a hundred years I guess it turned into the main route

leading down in the river.

Wood gets old, cars are heavier than horse drawn wagons.

But this bridge used to be a legend.

Isn't there a lot of legends in this part of the world?

Oh, but this was a romantic legend.

[CHUCKLES]

The man who built this bridge was someone called Jeffrey Klayman

and the morning he finished it, the sun was coming up over those hills.

One of the girls in town snuck out of the house at sunrise,

ran right over here and kissed him

in the middle of the bridge, to congratulate him.

I guess they didn't know about rock stars then, huh?

-Do you wanna hear this? -Oh, yeah, sure.

-Are you sure? -Yes.

All right, anyway, supposedly the couple was inseparable.

Eventually they married and they lived together for 70 years,

and they even died together, in the same bed on the same day.

They were supposedly as much in love as the day they were married.

That must have been a hell of a kiss.

Heh, well, that's the legend.

If two lovers kiss in the middle of Klayman's Bridge at sunrise, their love will last forever.

Hmm.

JONATHAN: Does the legend say anything about two people standing

at the entrance of Klayman's Bridge

with the sunlight still shining on them during the day?

I don't think so.

-I don't think we should risk it. -Huh?

[LAUGHS]

Think it'll work?

It ought to last us through dinner.

-Hmm? -[LAUGHS]

♪♪♪

Heya, hoya, welcome to Kingman's Ferry, you're gonna love it.

Heya, hoya, welcome to Kingman's Ferry, you're gonna love it.

JENNIFER: Darling, pull over, right here, pull right in front of him.

Heya, hoya, welcome to Kingman's Ferry, you're gonna love it.

Hi, Charlie.

You know me?

Do you remember me? Jennifer?

Yeah, that's it. Jennifer Edwards. Ha, ha. You're right, that's you.

Yes.

Well, how's it going? How's it flowing?

It's flowing just great, Charlie.

Good, I like to hear good news, good for the intestines,

good for the liver, good for the heart.

Good for you, Miss Edwards.

Ah.

-Hey, Miss Edwards, you know what? -What?

Welcome to Kingman's Ferry, you're gonna love it.

-Gotcha, Charlie. Bye. -Bye.

[JENNIFER LAUGHS]

I don't believe he's still around, Charlie Loomas.

He's a sort of unofficial town greeter.

-Interesting character. -Isn't he?

In high, out low, something's up, don't you know?

Hmm.

Heya, hoya, welcome to Kingman's Ferry, you're gonna love it.

♪♪♪

JONATHAN: How does it look to you? -I don't know, different.

[SIGHS]

Really different.

It's always a little surprising when you come back to a place.

I suppose so.

[CHUCKLES]

I guess people and places always stay the same in your memory, don't they?

I don't know. Something's not right.

-Has it changed that much? -Yeah.

This place was full of life once, it was bustling.

Oh, maybe it's just because Biddy's gone.

She was Kingman's Ferry to me.

JACK: Though Eleanor is no longer with us,

the dream she had remains as alive today as ever.

That dream is Kingman's Ferry,

the town, it's people, it's future.

But Eleanor only planted the seeds.

If we are ever to see her dream in full bloom,

it is up to us, people who live, work and raise families here,

to nurture and feed what Eleanor started.

A rich harvest follows a season of hard work,

and what we reap of Eleanor's dream will be more than a well worth effort.

Eleanor,

while your spirit moves on to a gentle peace,

part of it will always remain

in the hearts and dreams of your friends.

In high, out low,

makes you wonder what I know.

Jennifer Edwards.

Oh, Captain Jack.

Only it's not Edwards anymore, it's Jennifer Hart.

Well, your name may have changed

but you are as beautiful as though I just saw you yesterday.

Ha, ha. Captain Jack is our neighborhood ladykiller.

I can certainly see why.

-My husband, Jonathan. -How do you do?

-Clinton Jackson, nice to meet you, Mr. Hart. -Thank you.

For a while, we weren't sure you two were going to make it.

JENNIFER: Uh...

♪♪♪

What did he mean he didn't think we'd make it.

Did you tell anyone we were coming?

No, not a soul.

If you don't mind my asking, Mrs. Hart,

they've been promising a middle school around here for years,

what I want to know is when is it going to happen,

how much longer do we have to wait?

Probably as long as it's gonna take to redo the cannery.

Or is that just another empty promise, Mr. Hart?

Still ain't a decent sewer on my block.

If you can't dig a hole, I mean maybe you ought to just hand out row boats, huh?

[ALL CHATTERING]

Please, people, this is not the time.

Answer the question.

I would if we understood.

If you don't understand it, take a drive down Pike Lane.

Garbage's not been picked up in two weeks.

My daughter has to share her classroom with sixth graders.

Least you could is put a tax on those truckers

been tearing up the road down by the interstate.

MAN 1: Exactly. MAN 2: That's right.

I have a car. Let them go now.

They can answer all your questions later.

[ALL CLAMORING]

♪♪♪

Thanks for the rescue.

You looked like you needed some help.

I'm Jeremy Sennet.

Jonathan Hart.

-Mrs. Hart. -Yes.

Well, I am glad to meet the both of you at long last.

What do you mean at long last?

Well, this is a small town, Mrs. Hart, word gets around quickly.

Word of what?

I think I can explain a little better down at my office.

[BIRDS SQUAWKING]

Oh, so you were Eleanor's attorney.

Oh, I'm everyone's attorney, Mrs. Hart.

This is what you classify as a one horse town.

There is not much room for competition. I'll be right back.

I take it from your reaction to the crowd out there,

you weren't aware of Eleanor's status in Kingman's Ferry?

JENNIFER: Her status?

I was aware that she was a respected citizen

and that she owned the newspaper.

Oh, you weren't aware that Eleanor Biddlecomb owned Kingman's Ferry?

She owned the town? I didn't know that.

Oh, yes, Mrs. Hart, from sea to shining sea, every last piece of it.

Come on in.

You see Kingman's Ferry was never incorporated by the state.

Sit down.

The Army requisitioned the land

and, uh, that was from Eleanor's great, great, great and so forth grandfather.

They built a fort on it and won a war.

Eventually, uh, somebody reminded the Army of the Biddlecomb

and, uh, they returned the property.

Yeah, by that time, of course,

a small community had grown up around the fort,

though the fort was no longer in existence

but the property always remained in private hands.

So Eleanor was responsible for everything that happened around here?

Oh, yes, and no.

I mean we have general elections just like everyone else.

Yeah, we have a mayor, we also have a chief of police

but, yes, when you come to the bottom line,

if everything else failed,

people went to Eleanor to bail them out.

I think I feel an and coming on here.

And here it comes.

So about a year ago, Eleanor asked me to draw up a new will.

She was getting along in years, she had no children, none of the family were left.

Her main concern was the future of this town.

She wanted to hand it over to somebody who was capable and fit and honest.

And?

And that is why, as of last Friday,

Mrs. Hart, you became the new owner of Kingman's Ferry.

♪♪♪

Me?

Things really have changed so much.

Not for the better I'm afraid.

Fishing was the life's blood of this place,

sometimes I'd come down here in the morning

and watch the fishermen's work with their nets.

There were tons of boats, it was really, really busy.

Unfortunately except for Captain Jack and a couple of hangers on,

the fishing business is practically non-existent here.

Really?

Eleanor wanted to bring it all back,

a complete restoration of the entire downtown area,

-the museum, the cannery, the docks. -[SCOFFS]

The town square looks brand new.

Oh, that was Captain Jack's doing.

The square, the park, the restoration of the original gas lamps,

that was his gift to the town.

Very generous.

So when Eleanor died, she not only left me the town and all the people,

she left me her hopes and dreams along with it.

That about sums it up.

[CHUCKLES]

Ought to be a cinch.

I don't know how owning a town works, Jeremy, did Eleanor collect taxes, rent?

Oh, Eleanor couldn't legally and didn't collect taxes,

but you see she was sort of chief cook and bottle washer around here,

so if people could afford to pay their rent, they usually paid it to her.

I take it that's a past tense?

You take it right, sir.

Eleanor's heart was somewhat larger than her pocket book.

Uh, Mrs. Hart, there is one other thing I should tell you.

You see there is a codicil in the will,

-you do not have to accept Kingman's Ferry. -I don't?

Well, if I don't, what happens to the town?

It will probably revert to the county,

and seeing the county is broke, they'll probably kick it back to the state.

And then?

Most likely the state will reapportion the lands,

you know, divide it up between the different townships

and Kingman's Ferry will quietly fade into the sunset.

♪♪♪

[JENNIFER SIGHS]

What do you think, darling?

-I think it's your decision. -Oh. I knew that's what you'd think.

Did you say there was a mayor in town?

Oh, yes.

Well, maybe we should go see him.

I've a thousand and one questions.

He's probably the only one who could clear them up.

Well, we do have a mayor,

but, uh, he and the word clear are rarely mentioned in the same sentence.

[SNORING]

Excuse me, Mayor Trout?

[CONTINUES SNORING]

Uh...

Mayor. Mayor Trout.

[CONTINUES SNORING]

-[BOOKS CLATTER] -What was that?

Sorry, Mayor, didn't mean to disturb you.

"Why Say Yes When What You Mean Is No",

something I wonder about all the time.

You?

Eh, you know, if you folks would just take a peak at the calendar,

you'd notice that today is Sunday.

We're closed.

Uh, of course, if you got business,

you can always make an appointment with my secretary.

[GROANS]

And now if you'll excuse me, I like to do my morning in private.

[GROANS]

Um, Mayor, my name is Jennifer Hart.

Jennifer Hart.

This is my husband, Jonathan Hart.

Jonathan Hart.

Hart. Hart.

That kind of rings...

Hart!

Oh! Oh!

-You... You're Eleanor's friend. - Yes.

[LAUGHS]

Ah, she said you were a pip, she sure knew how to pick them.

-And Mr. Hart. -Jonathan Hart, yeah.

Jonathan Hart, yeah. Uh...

Forgive the disarray, it's Sunday, you know.

Oh, I missed that one. Unh.

-No problem. -Oh.

[GROANS]

Terrible business all this. Ugh.

All this?

Let me give you a piece of advice, huh?

Why don't you go get a souvenir,

one of those nice little "gone fishing" signs, they're cute.

Then get in your car and go on back home.

Mayor, as you must know, Eleanor Biddlecomb left Kingman's Ferry to my wife.

If she takes your advice, this town is gonna die.

Uh, I don't know how to break this to you.

But haven't you noticed a funny smell around here?

The corpse has already got rigor mortis, they just forgot to bury it.

Sorry, I missed some of your campaign speeches,

they must have been very inspiring.

♪♪♪

Folks, take the advice of an old drunk, go on home,

you don't wanna end up like Eleanor.

JENNIFER: Maybe he's right, darling,

maybe things have gone too far to bring back?

JONATHAN: Is that the I don't know if I can do this part of you talking?

JENNIFER: No, that's the

I don't know if I can live up to Eleanor's dream part of me talking.

What did he mean when he said he hoped I wouldn't wind up like Eleanor?

I think Mayor Trout is a man who has a lot of pain and a lot of heart.

And I think he suffers in his own way

and I think he probably understood how Eleanor suffered in hers.

Well, it's still a very peculiar thing to say.

[GASPS] Oh, my God.

What is it?

Oh, Jonathan, it's my old office.

[SIGHS]

Oh, look, it hasn't changed at all, let's go in.

-On Sunday? -Uh-huh. -I'm sure it's all locked up.

Not if you know the secret.

[LAUGHS]

Hell of a secret.

Look at that.

Is that the Kingman Ferry equivalent to breaking and entering?

I'm entering but I am not breaking a thing.

Oh, Jonathan, my old desk.

[LAUGHS]

What do you think?

Well, I think a lot of men must have stopped out there on the sidewalk

and done some window shopping.

Oh, look, look, my old waste basket.

I must have thrown away thousands of papers.

Heh, it was amazing how much I didn't know.

Knowing what to throw away is part of getting the job done right.

I wonder.

[GASPS]

[LAUGHS]

-"CB and JE forever." -Mm-hmm.

I know about the JE, it's the CB I never heard of.

Must be quite memory.

[LAUGHS] Yes, it was.

Oh, but, darling, that was a long time before I met you.

Um, that's Eleanor's desk over there.

Hmm.

♪♪♪

-Anything interesting? -No.

Nothing.

This used to be one of the best small town newspapers in the country.

Eleanor was ferocious about pursuing the truth.

We had subscribers in most of the major cities

and some of our stories even went national.

Now it's just full of ads and wedding announcements, not a single editorial.

[GIRL] Mom.

Lunch.

-Hi. -Hi.

Well, are you supposed to be here?

Somebody's gotta get lunch.

Mom's been stuck in the dark room for over an hour.

Dark room.

[DOOR OPENS]

I swear it's easier putting on eye make up in the dark than... Oh.

Oh, my goodness, I'm sorry. Hi.

-Uh... -Oh. -Oh.

[LAUGHS]

Sorry, Claire Stinson, my daughter Abi.

Jennifer Hart, my husband, Jonathan.

Oh, I know who you are, it's such a pleasure to meet you.

We weren't sure you two were coming.

Oh, uh, forgive the mess back here, we're just getting settled.

Are you living here?

No, I mean it's only temporary.

You see Jim had to, um... Oh, that's Abi's father.

He had to sort of, uh... Well, sort of leave.

As soon as we get enough money together,

we're gonna move right back into our old place. It shouldn't take too long.

Anyway I figured since I was working at the paper

and seemed to spend most of the day here,

I figured what the heck, it was a short commute.

Mom, you might wanna eat this before it gets cold.

Um, sweetheart, it only takes two seconds, right? I mean to reheat.

I'll be right back, baby.

Okay, but don't blame me if it gets cold.

[CLAIRE LAUGHS]

It's tough, having an 8-year-old mother.

[CHUCKLES]

You know, Mrs. Hart, Eleanor... Well, she talked about you all the time.

She did.

She said you were the best reporter she ever had.

When I needed a job, she hired me,

I think she was just doing me a favor,

especially since I've never taken a photograph

or worked for a newspaper before,

but secretly, I don't know, I think she hoped I might turn out like you.

Claire, when you came to work here,

was Eleanor running the paper all alone?

Gosh, before I came to work here,

there really wasn't a paper any more.

It was just a bunch of wanted ads, that kind of thing.

Eleanor was working on a story though

and when it was ready, she was gonna put the paper back up on its feet.

She made it sound like something big.

I guess, um...

I guess we won't know now.

Especially since most of the pages

have been torn out of her notebook.

Can I see that?

"Kingman's Ferry, a struggle to regain the past."

At first look Kingman's Ferry is just another small town

suffering along with many others the difficult transition into the present.

But have we looked below the surface here?

Is there more impeding this town's survival than meets the eye?

Has someone or something" And then it's torn out?"

Is that what Eleanor was working on?

I guess so, I really didn't ask too many questions.

I noticed some more questions here.

"Problems regarding the cannery, the museum is on shaky ground."

♪♪♪

JONATHAN: This is an interesting place.

JENNIFER: It certainly is.

Eleanor would have had her hands full trying to restore this.

The whole place seems pretty shaky.

The people certainly seem to have lost faith in Kingman's Ferry.

[CAT MEOWS]

[CLATTERS]

♪♪♪

JONATHAN: It's a shame about this place. It certainly is beautiful.

I think I have to do this, Jonathan.

-It's not just the town, it's the people. -I know.

There must be dozens of families struggling to make ends meet just like Claire's.

Jennifer, why do you finish Eleanor's article and print it.

Yeah.

If I could get the story out

then people all over could find out what's going on with towns like this.

Who knows maybe someone would even be motivated to help.

I had a paper round, I'll pitch in.

[LAUGHS]

I knew you would.

♪♪♪

[PEOPLE CHATTERING]

[LAUGHING]

If Eleanor were watching right now, she'd be very happy.

There will be some papers for you to sign, some legal dirty work,

but I'll try and make it as painless as possible.

-We can do it in the morning. -All right.

-Congratulations. -Thank you.

These concerts are wonderful.

Yeah, they are another gift from our benefactor, Captain Jack.

Every weeknight.

They are nice though.

Is something wrong?

No, uh, just something familiar, something in the air, brought back memories.

There are lots of things about towns like this

that have that effect on people well,

Well, I'm going to turn in and I'll see you in the morning.

Good night and welcome aboard.

-Thank you. -Good night.

Night.

JENNIFER: When you really look at a place like this,

you realize that it's towns like these

that people grow up thinking about.

You mean half expecting to see Huck Finn running down the block,

his fishing rod flapping over his shoulder trying to catch up with Tom Sawyer?

Something like that.

We used to be proud of towns like this where everybody knew each other,

you didn't have to lock your door at night

and you knew where your children were.

Maybe that's the way I'll start the article.

The feeling of warmth, the genuine sense of welcome.

Yes, that's it, that's what I'll...

♪♪♪

♪♪♪

Other than the artwork, anything else, nothing stolen?

No, just what you see.

Well, I wouldn't put much stock in it,

more than likely it's a kids prank, a little vicious vandalism.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Kids prank?

Whatever happened to phony phone calls and Prince Albert in the can.

Times have changed, Mrs. Hart,

even in a little burgh like this,

fun can get pretty damn near to nasty.

Well, I'll let you know if I come up with anything.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Hart, Mr. Hart.

I wish we could be of more help but unfortunately nobody saw a thing.

In any case, will get this cleaned up first thing in the morning.

Thanks very much.

You don't believe that kid's prank either, do you?

No, I don't.

I also, uh, didn't think I could score any points

with the local constable by offering up theories.

How about scoring some points with me?

Well, it's pretty clear that everyone is not too thrilled

with you taking up where Eleanor left off.

-Which doesn't make any sense at all. -Exactly.

Why would anyone wanna stop Kingman's Ferry from getting back on its feet?

All right, why?

Well, I don't have any answers. I have a theory.

Which is?

Which is that whoever did this wasn't any happier when Eleanor was at the helm.

What are you suggesting?

I'm suggesting that if I'm right that the new owner of the town is probably in danger too.

Am I scoring any points with you?

You sure are.

[DOORBELL BUZZES]

He did say to come by this morning, didn't he?

Yeah, that's what he said.

♪♪♪

JONATHAN: Jeremy?

JEREMY: Over here.

Well...

I expected to find you behind a bunch of legal books.

[LAUGHS]

Ah, I told you it was a small town, I double as a sign painter.

Tonight isn't it a little late to advertise?

Oh, well, that's the hazards of double duty.

Anyway, everybody already knows about the dance,

the sign, it's merely a tradition.

Oh.

By the way, I heard you had a little trouble over at the hotel?

We thought it was trouble

but your police chief didn't seem to be too concerned.

Force of habit.

There's usually very little around here to be concerned about.

Do you think there was more to it?

Not my department, Mrs. Hart. I am an attorney.

I create trouble, I do not explain it.

Oh, I guess you're here to sign the papers.

Yes, but if you don't mind, with a pen.

Oh, right, give me a minute.

Red paint.

WALTER: All right, enough, I'm swallowing this stuff.

JONATHAN: It's water, it's good for you.

Oh, come on.

All right, now what do you want from me?

-I wanna talk to you. -Why?

Put some dry clothes on, I'll make you some coffee, meet me downstairs.

What a nice guy.

-There you go. -Okay, thank you.

I missed that one. Uh...

Hope you had a good reason for clearing my head back there.

Everything looks so good through the haze.

[GROANS]

Yeah.

[SPITS]

-That's coffee. -Good, you're alert.

Yeah, but it's only coffee.

No, I gotta... I gotta lighten this up a little bit.

-Mayor, mayor. -Huh? -Sit down, sit down.

Let's talk about Eleanor.

I've got a feeling that she meant a lot to you, right?

Well, like a heartbeat, breathing air.

What about it?

Well, you said something yesterday.

You didn't want Jennifer to end up like Eleanor.

What did you mean by that?

[SCOFFS]

I gotta fix this coffee.

Uh, there's some cream right here on the table, here you go.

You're not gonna get invited to a lot of my parties, you know.

Mayor, what did you mean

when you said you didn't want her to end up like Eleanor?

Look, open your eyes, look around.

You don't see Eleanor sitting here enjoying a cup of coffee with us, do you?

She had an accident.

Accident.

And I am walking straight lines.

You don't think it was an accident?

Something funny's going on around this town.

Crazy things, really strange things.

What kind of strange things?

People coming and going at all hours, dancing, prancing, shaking, quaking.

It's...

I don't know, something smells around here, it's stinking up the whole road.

Well, Mayor, I like to help you but I can't unless you tell me what you're talking about.

I don't understand it either.

But I can show you.

Good, finish your coffee and we'll go.

Oh, hold just a minute, backup, hold your horses.

Nothing's gonna happen in the daytime.

Everything goes on at night.

Well, there's a barn dance tonight

and from what I understand, everybody in town will be there.

Yeah, well, there'll be a lot of dancing and prancing,

this whole town is turning downright musical.

Can you show me tonight?

Meet me at the dance.

I'll slip out around 10:00.

Yeah, we'll end up like Eleanor.

Meet me tonight.

10 o'clock?

And, uh, try to stick with the coffee.

You're hard, really hard.

♪♪♪

CLAIRE: She's exhausted.

Sometimes I think she works harder than I do.

Tough to be a single mom, huh?

Oh, but I'm not a single mother, it's nothing like that.

Oh, but I thought that you and Jim had--

That Jim had to leave?

I didn't mean me and Abi, he had to leave to find work.

Oh, I'm sorry, I misunderstood the whole thing.

You see my husband's in construction,

only the last few years there hasn't been any business.

He finally had to leave town just to find work.

How often do you get to see each other?

He was down about four months ago,

spent a three-day weekend with me and Abi,

that lion she's got a death grip on, he gave her that,

now she doesn't go to sleep without it.

It's hard on her him being away. It's hard on both of us.

Gosh, what am I doing, I didn't mean to ramble on like that.

Oh, no, that's all right.

Here, this is for you.

-For me? -Uh-huh. -Heh.

Abi wanted you to have it.

Oh, look at this, it's beautiful.

Jim makes them in his spare time.

JENNIFER: Oh, it's lovely.

He sent it to her and she wanted you to have it.

Oh, that's so sweet, I have to thank her when she wakes up.

I made her take a nap 'cause of the dance tonight.

Hey, you and Mr. Hart, you are gonna go, aren't you?

Oh, I think so.

Tell me something, Claire, what do people round here wear to a barn dance?

♪♪♪

[ALL LAUGHING AND CHATTERING]

Darling.

JONATHAN: I'll take over, Jeremy. -Okay.

-Bye, see you later. -Thank you.

Nobody ever told me that two stepping was like country aerobics.

-The price of popularity. -Mm.

We haven't had a chance to talk, did you find out anything?

The way you look in the jeans, it may have to wait.

I cannot go home tonight

and miss the chance to dance with the prettiest girl at the dance.

-Ah, well... -Thank you.

Oh, we just heard.

No, you're not getting off that easy, Mr. Hart, come on.

[LAUGHING]

Can we talk?

You may have to clear it with my partner.

[LAUGHING]

[SIGHS]

Come on over here. Let sit a spell.

Oh, thank God.

You're turning into a dancing fool.

Not for long, I am absolutely exhausted. Oof.

With all your dance partners, did you manage to find out anything from anyone?

Nothing, not a thing.

It was a review of Eleanor's funeral.

Every time I got close to somebody,

they wanted to know when I was gonna fix the sewers.

I think we should have come in disguise.

With that face?

They'd have seen right through you.

[CHUCKLES]

Are you sweet talking me, honey?

-Are you buying? -Hmm, yes, I'm buying.

Well, then I'm sweet talking you.

Oh, good, how did you do?

Except for Mayor Trout,

who was supposed to meet me here, about the same as you.

Loose lips sink ships.

Well, if no one's gonna open up to us,

how are we gonna find out what's going on?

That's why I called Bilgewater Bill,

friendly face, kindly manners, maybe they'll talk to him.

Bilgewater Bill?

I'll explain in the morning.

Why not now?

-Well, I've got trout to fry and your public awaits you. -Ha, ha.

I wish I could get a massage tonight.

Oh.

Be careful what you wish for, might come true.

Promise?

[GIGGLES]

[CHURCH BELL TOLLING IN DISTANCE]

♪♪♪

-Hey, Charlie. How's it going? -Slow night.

I know the feeling.

You haven't seen Mayor Trout around, have you?

Walter, yeah, sure.

Went into the museum, about 20 minutes ago.

Thanks.

Mayor Trout?

I couldn't find him, Charlie,

is there any chance he came out of the museum while you were here?

Unless there's a backdoor I didn't know about,

hard to know how he could do that.

There's something going on down by the water though.

♪♪♪

What's going on, chief?

Well, looks like our mayor had one too many,

walked himself off the end of the pier into the water.

-Is he all right? -No, he's not, Mr. Hart, he's dead.

Missed that one.

[INDISTINCT POLICE RADIO CHATTER]

Well, I suppose that just blows your kid's prank theory.

Why is that? I don't know what one thing has to do with the other.

You're assuming there is a connection

between what happened in your hotel room in the mayor's death.

Well, I think it's a lot more than an assumption, chief.

I was with the mayor earlier.

He said he had something to show me,

something he thought was important concerning Eleanor's accident.

Now we were supposed to meet tonight.

As you can see, that meeting never took place.

CHIEF: Even if I follow your theory, Mr. Hart,

what you're saying is that we've got a string

of murders and vandalism here in Kingman's Ferry

and it took your presence to uncover it.

[SCOFFS]

It's more than theory, chief.

What I do know is Eleanor was working very hard

to get this town back on its feet.

She died and turned that job over to my wife.

Suddenly someone doesn't want us here

and the only person willing to help just rode out of here in a plastic bag.

I just don't think we're dealing with coincidence here.

I'll make a note of that, Mr. Hart.

File it under H.

-[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS] -Ooh.

Oh, sorry.

Take my advice, folks, leave the police work to the police,

it's healthier for everyone involved. Excuse me.

Diving gear? Is that standard department issue?

Strictly personal. In the Navy I did it for a living,

it's recreational, you dive?

Yeah, little bit. The Red Sea.

Well, take my word for it

if you haven't seen the local shelf, you've missed something.

It's not the Red Sea, but it's worth seeing.

I'll see you later.

Can I fire him?

I don't think so.

-He's elected. -Oh, too bad.

I'm beginning to think that my story goes well past the human interest angle.

You might check out the hall of records.

You might find that someone wants to see this place stay the way that it is,

tax reports, city records, whatever you can come up with.

Darling, a town this small doesn't have a hall of records.

Well, an alcove of records then.

They've got to keep that stuff someplace.

[GASPS]

Town hall.

JEREMY: Mr. and Mrs. Hart.

Jeremy, what are you doing here this late.

I just had something to give you, I've been knocking on your door.

Oh, this is a terrible business about Mayor Trout.

Terrible business, that seems to be the party line around here.

Well, anyway, I left something by your phone.

I asked the desk clerk to let me in.

I told him you wouldn't mind.

Why didn't you just leave it downstairs?

Well, it's something very personal.

Fewer hands, less people to blame when something goes wrong.

See, I was going through some of Eleanor's things

and I found she'd left something for you.

So I thought you should have it as soon as possible.

Oh, thank you very much.

-Oh, good night. -Good night.

I wonder what this is all about. By the phone, by the phone.

It's a letter.

Is this the present that Claire gave you?

-Oh, it's broken. -Yeah.

It must have slipped off the edge of the table.

Oh, what a shame.

What's in the letter?

Oh...

Uh...

It's from Eleanor.

"Dear Jennifer, by now you either resent me terribly

for the position that I've put you in,

or you've already been back to the office,

blown the dust from your old desk,

rolled up your sleeves and are now well into the job at hand.

If you're as obstinate as I believe you to be,

and hopefully encouraged,

you're up to your pretty ankles by now.

Dreams don't come easily. We both know that.

Between you and me,

you're the only one who could see this thing through.

Truth and courage. Eleanor."

[SIGHS]

WAITRESS: Sunny side? -Me.

WAITRESS: That makes you the over easy with hash.

This is your idea of local color?

Oh, come on, it's great.

I think my local color is gonna end up on the green side.

Darling, when in Rome.

When in Rome, I usually eat at the GG Fodsi.

Ah, but at GG...

[SPEAKING ITALIAN]

[LAUGHS]

Mangia.

[SCOFFS]

What do you think?

Don't tell my arteries, it's terrific.

[LAUGHS] I told you so.

MAX: Dasvidania.

♪♪♪

Bilgewater Bill.

Hey, Mrs. H.

And his dog.

How did you know it was me?

Because no one else would call me Mrs. H.

[JENNIFER LAUGHS]

Take a picture, it'll last longer.

You're having a hearty breakfast?

I'll have a hearty breakfast too.

Bring hearty breakfast.

Maybe it would be a good idea if you went to the Queen's English.

Long live the Queen.

WAITRESS: Anything else?

Yeah, I'll have what my comrades are having too.

They're having the check, matey, you want one too?

And your telephone number.

Yeah, it seems pretty fishy to me.

And I don't mean in a seafaring way, Mrs. H.

Yeah, it doesn't hold water on our end either, Max.

I was supposed to meet Mayor Trout at the museum.

A man called Charlie Loomis saw him go in, but never saw him go out.

So how did he end up drowned in the bay half a mile away?

That's a good question, Mr. H. How?

I don't know, Max, I was hoping you could put together some of the pieces around here.

MAX: Good, what you want me to do?

I thought you could talk to some of the locals

and, uh, Max, go easy on the Russian lingo, will you?

Oh, gee.

Maybe they'll open up to you, tell you something they haven't told us.

Just charm them and gain their confidence then?

JONATHAN: Yeah, something like that.

I think we'll start with Charlie Loomis,

he's the man I was telling you about.

JENNIFER: Jonathan.

Charlie?

Darling, we have to start somewhere

and Charlie does a lot of skulking around.

At least if he doesn't know anything,

he sees everything that's going on.

Charlie acts like he's the town crazy,

but there's a lot more going on there than meets the eye, I think.

Do you want me to call you at your hotel?

No, Max, we'll keep in touch with you,

I'm gonna go down to the docks, poke around

and see if anybody saw anything going on around there last night.

Jennifer's gonna go over to City Hall and go over the town records.

We'll keep in touch with you.

[SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN]

Uh, Max?

I mean, sure thing, Mr. H.

♪♪♪

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]

Yeah, right down, yeah.

[SEAGULLS SQUAWKING]

Hello, anybody in there?

♪♪♪

What are you doing here?

I'm looking for Morrisey.

Morrisey?

Yeah, a man named Morrisey. You know him?

Nobody here by that name.

What's going on out here? Mr. Hart.

What's going on?

We heard someone moving around out here.

We, uh, didn't realize who it was at first.

Sorry, Mr. Hart, we've been having a lot of problems with theft here lately.

Brock?

Sorry, Mr. Hart.

You to go finish up in the Susan, I'll take care of Mr. Hart.

Sorry about that.

The boys there are a little overzealous sometimes.

Been kind of rough on them the last few years,

business is bad, they lost their mom three-three years ago.

I guess they tend to be pretty protective over what they got left.

[CHUCKLES]

I apologize for the bad manners.

Apologies accepted.

Now, Claire, are you sure you won't come with us? I can't give you a ride.

-No, no, no, I left Abi back in the office. -All right.

-I'll see you later. -See you later.

Bye.

[CAR HORN HONKS]

What did you find out?

What would you say if I told you

that the electrical bill for the museum was nearly $4000 a month.

I say that they ought to check out that lightbulb.

[CHUCKLES] And that's not all.

I decided it would be a good idea to check the gas bill

with all those new lamps in town.

And?

There was no gas bill.

There's no gas bill?

No, so what's lighting the lamps?

Gas. But where are they getting it?

Let's take a drive over to waterfront.

Check with gas and electric. Maybe they can clear things up.

Good idea.

♪♪♪

Jonathan.

-You got that belt on tight? -Yes.

I can't stop.

[TIRES SQUEALING]

♪♪♪

[SIGHS]

You okay?

No.

♪♪♪

JENNIFER [ON PHONE]: Unfortunately we never got to waterfront, Max.

Jonathan did some following up on the telephone.

I'm telling you, Mrs. H, Mr. H may be onto something.

This Charlie guy goes around snooping a little too much for a crazy guy.

JENNIFER: I find it so hard to believe.

Charlie's always been so harmless.

Well, you know what they say about these quiet, harmless types, Mrs. H.

Jonathan wants you to stick by Charlie, unless you come to a dead end,

and then you could go down to the waterfront,

and find out if anybody saw anything last night.

Got you, Mrs. H. What's Mr. H up to?

Uh, I don't know, he's staring. Bye, Max.

Shaking and quaking, and prancing and dancing.

[BARKING]

MAN 3: Shut up, Tiger.

Well, the transmission's all shot to hell.

I don't know she's even worth fixing.

Well, we'll let the rental company make that decision.

That's probably best. Tiger, shut up.

Do you do a lot of salvage?

No one else around to do it, parts mostly, decent money in it.

Saves time when my customer's in a hurry.

You wouldn't by any chance have Eleanor Biddlecomb's car here, would you?

74 Plymouth, round the back.

Mind if we take a look?

Well, it ain't worth much.

Take a look though if it makes you happy.

-Thanks. -Thanks.

JONATHAN: Easy, Tiger.

[BARKING]

Shut up, Tiger!

Darling, what are you looking for?

Well, maybe what happened to our car wasn't just bad luck.

Someone may have figured that if it worked on Eleanor's, it may have worked on ours.

Did you find anything?

Uh...

-Yep. There it is. -What?

Clean and clear.

The brake lines, they've been cut right through.

[BARKING]

I think he likes candy.

Here, boy.

[SIGHS]

♪♪♪

JEREMY: This is very disturbing news, Mr. Hart.

If what you're saying is true...

Well, there are no ifs, Jeremy, Eleanor Biddlecomb was murdered.

Jeremy, why wasn't there an investigation?

Why did everybody just assume it was an accident?

In Kingman's Ferry, heh, who would be expecting such a thing?

Well, maybe that's exactly what the murderer was counting on.

Mr. Hart, if you know something concerning Eleanor's death, I really should know about it.

Well, when I do, you will, Jeremy.

Come on, darling.

♪♪♪

Chief Carson?

Great, what do you think, Junior?

[BARKS]

I thought so.

CHARLIE: If you wanna live, you'll stay right there.

Living is a good idea.

Looks like you and me have reached the end of the line, pal.

JONATHAN: Is this it?

JENNIFER: He said the rocks behind Charlie's shack.

Max.

Hey, Max.

♪♪♪

JENNIFER: Max.

-Max. -Max.

MAX: Over here, Mr. H.

JONATHAN: Hey, Max, you okay? What did you find out?

You better see for yourself.

Oh, my God, Max, what is this?

CHARLIE: Tunnels, Miss Edwards.

Rum-running tunnels,

only I don't think it's rum they're running through this, baby.

Heya, hoya!

You guys aren't the only ones that think that something's up here.

Charlie said there's been funny things been going on

for the last eight or nine months.

What have you got, Charlie?

I haven't put it all together yet, sir.

It took me all this time to get this far,

but you can take it to the bank and made it home.

It's got something to do with these tunnels.

Have you followed them back inside?

Tried, tried, too many channels going into many directions.

Besides, I had a little interruption when Maxy here showed up.

Maxy?

For a moment, I thought he was playing for the other team.

Strike three, you're out.

In-in a minute, I'm sure this is all gonna become extremely clear,

but what are you talking about, Charlie?

Don't know as I know enough to fill you in the, Miss Edwards.

I'm conducting a sort of an official investigation into Mrs. Biddlecomb's murder.

You knew that Eleanor was murdered?

Had a hunch, followed it.

[MUMBLING]

This is where it got me.

Charlie was a Fed, Mrs. H.

FBI?

CHARLIE: 1943 to 1968, seen a lot of things go down in my time.

I bet you have, Charlie, I bet you have.

JENNIFER: Look at this.

That's a commendation from Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Good man, FDR, maybe one of the last of the great ones.

Hail to the Chief.

Charlie, this is wonderful.

I don't understand.

Why I hang out in the park, acting like a crazy man?

Yes.

CHARLIE: I am a crazy man, Miss Edwards.

I seen more than I'd care to remember about things I'd like to forget.

Getting a little old for it though.

What do you know about those tunnels, Charlie?

It's funny.

I completely forgot about them tunnels being there.

[WHOOSHES] Out of sight, out of mind.

Then one night, I saw Ele... Uh, Mrs. Biddlecomb,

she was poking around down by the museum.

I followed her down to the water and that's when I remembered it.

Hoya.

How did you know about those tunnels in the first place?

Guy who trained me, Gus Doomas.

He used to work this neck of the woods

during the Coolidge administration.

He talked my ear off about it so darn much,

I decided when I retired, I'd come up here

and check the place out for myself.

He's the guy who told you about the tunnels?

Gus used to bust rum-runners back during the prohibition days.

Seems they used these tunnels

to run their moonshine from the waterfront into the town.

As I understand it, the tunnels go back to 1700's.

Used to be a fort here once upon a time.

What does all of this have to do with Eleanor?

I can't tell you for sure, Miss Edwards.

Only she seemed really interested in those tunnels.

In high, out low, you know how it goes.

I had no idea you and Eleanor were so close.

I just thought you were someone who stood on the edge of town and said hello to everyone.

There's some things a man doesn't talk about, Miss Edwards.

Some things are private.

She seemed to be getting into trouble.

I thought I might be able to keep an eye on her.

♪♪♪

I thought wrong.

Oh, boy.

Well, you, uh, still might be able to help her, Charlie.

How?

Do you know where I can find any old maps of the area

going back to the early settlement?

I can help you with that, Mr. Hart.

♪♪♪

This is the town square, Maple Street, the hotel, the fort was built right here.

Right where, Mr. H?

Right here, Max.

Right where we're standing right now.

So the tunnels must go out from here to the ocean.

That would explain how Mayor Trout ended up in the water

without ever leaving the museum.

Eleanor's note said something about looking beneath the surface

to find out what was impeding the survival of the town.

She also said the museum was on shaky ground.

What's this all about, Mr. H?

My best guess, Max? Oil.

-Yowzer, that's it. -That's what?

The boats. Captain Jack's boats.

In high, out low, hot dog.

What's he talking about?

The boats are going out low on the water line but coming back high.

So instead of bringing fish, someone is taking something out.

It's all beginning to make sense.

You remember the first night when we were in the park.

-I smelled methane gas. -Methane.

Yes, someone is pumping oil out of Kingman's Ferry onto those fishing boats.

A by-product is methane gas.

If they're pumping gas underground

then they have to exhaust it some way.

So, the street lamps. Ha, very clever.

[APPLAUSE]

Mayor Trout said this town is becoming downright musical.

Those concerts are covering up the pumping, and who puts on the concerts?

Captain Jack. Heya.

♪♪♪

[JONATHAN GRUNTS]

I'm sure pipes go through the caves

right to where we found Charlie and Max.

All they have to do is hook up some flexible hose

and pump the oil out of their fishing boats.

Darling, don't you think we ought to call the police?

Now you and Max stay here and hold down the fort, have Charlie call the police.

I'm gonna go down and check out that pump.

Be careful.

♪♪♪

I'm gonna bring back the heat. You folks hold tight.

[DOOR OPENS]

CHARLIE: Stand aside. -Put it down, Charlie.

I said stand aside.

[GUNSHOT]

Charlie! Charlie! Oh, Charlie!

ELDON: Let's go. Party's over. I said move.

Move!

♪♪♪

[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]

[RUMBLING]

[SHIP HORN BLOWS]

♪♪♪

JONATHAN: Jennifer? Jennifer? Where are you?

[WHINING]

Oh, Junior, come on.

Jennifer?

Charlie.

-What happened? -[CHARLIE GROANS]

Captain Jack's boys took Maxy and Miss Edwards.

Where?

I'm not sure, down to the boats probably.

-You all right? -Yeah, I'm all right, Mr. Hart.

I haven't been shot in almost 40 years.

I'll get you a doctor.

No, no, no, no, you go after Maxy and Miss Edwards.

I'll take care of myself.

Okay, Charlie.

One more time, Mrs. Hart, where's your husband and how much does he know?

-Ow! -Max.

I don't know how much more of your silence this guy can take.

All right.

He knows about the oil.

In fact he's at the hotel right now calling the police.

We have someone at the hotel. Mr. Hart's not there.

-Ow! -Stop.

[SHIP HORN BLOWS]

He went into the tunnel.

It's no use, Eldon. Too many people know about this.

Well what's too many, Mrs. Hart?

Two, three, four?

We took care of the others, two or three more shouldn't be a problem.

Brock.

♪♪♪

Do you have any idea how we're gonna deal with three of them?

When we head out tomorrow morning,

just drop them over the side, little extra weight, they'll go down.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]

[BARKS]

Hey, Junior, what are you doing here?

[THUDS]

♪♪♪

[GRUNTING AND GROANING]

[SIGHS]

-You all right? -Oh, we're fine.

Get his legs, darling.

MAX: Nice going, Mr. H.

JONATHAN: Thanks, Max.

Let's get out of here. Oh.

Okay, up, there we go, there we are.

[GUNFIRE]

People, people, can't we get along?

Well, if it isn't Captain Jack.

Why don't you give it up?

I don't think that's what you say

to the man who's holding the gun, Mr. Hart.

You gonna kill all three of us?

For 11 million dollars a year? What do you think?

But it's not your oil.

JACK: That's right, it's not, is it?

Actually I suppose it's your oil, Mrs. Hart.

Doesn't look like it's gonna do you any good though.

[GROANS]

Come on, Brock, get up. Get up, Brock!

Take them down to the holes, slit them from the belly up.

They'll be good food for the sharks.

-[GROANS] -[GUNSHOT]

[GROANS AND THUDS]

I thought you folks might do with a little back up.

♪♪♪

CHIEF: I didn't mean to be rude, Mr. Hart,

but we been on to this since shortly after Eleanor's murder.

Eleanor's plans for tearing down the museum

and rebuilding the waterfront would have exposed the whole operation,

so I thought if you got too close.

It's all right, chief, we're glad you showed up.

All right, you're hired again.

What's that?

Well, I fired you the other day.

Uh, thanks, but I'm elected.

I know that.

CHARLIE: Things have sure picked up

around these past the last few weeks.

Looks like a boom town.

Kingman's Ferry has a whole new source of income, in part, thanks to you, Charlie.

Hoya.

Are you sure we can't convince you to stay?

Uh, no, weather's starting to turn

and my bones are telling me it's time to travel on.

Well, in light of the fact that we can't convince you to stay, Charlie,

the town of Kingsman's Ferry would like to show appreciation for all you've done.

[APPLAUSE]

Congratulations!

Congratulations, what do you think, Charlie?

Oh, it's great, heya!

[ALL LAUGH]

Oh, your bus.

[SIGHS]

Gotta go now, folks.

-Bye-bye, Charlie. -Bye-bye.

CHARLIE: Like I said, got a whole world to see.

Good luck, Charlie.

Hoya!

[ALL LAUGH]

Don't forget to write.

Bye!

♪♪♪

JEREMY: Goodbye, Charlie.

Bye.

I think he really appreciated that, Jeremy.

Well, I have something for you, Mrs. Hart.

-A receipt for the entire town. -[LAUGHS]

Well, you didn't have to go through all that trouble.

Well, you sold it back to us for $1,

you are going to have to declare that as income.

It is much better to have the paperwork on hand, you know, just in case.

Well, it's the greatest dollar I ever earned.

And one other thing.

Claire wanted you to have this.

"Kingman's Ferry, A Second Chance by Jennifer Hart."

But this wasn't ready.

-Jonathan, did you-- -Darling, it's terrific,

if you'd have rewritten it one more time, you'd have worn out the paper.

[CHUCKLES]

So when are we gonna shovel off, folks.

First thing in the morning, Max, crack of dawn.

-Crack of dawn? -Crack of dawn?

Not a second later.

♪♪♪

Darling.

I checked the airplane tickets, we're not leaving until 3:00 in the afternoon.

-Just get in the car. -Why are we having to get up so early?

-Just get in the car. -Okay.

Come on, Junior. Up. Attaboy.

JONATHAN: You got your eyes closed?

-You can't see anything? JENNIFER: I can't see anything.

JONATHAN: Promise? JENNIFER: I promise.

JONATHAN: Okay, now just a minute.

JENNIFER: What is this?

-Come on. -Okay, okay.

-Now? -Yeah, take them down.

[BOTH LAUGH]

Oh, Jonathan, you didn't.

No, I didn't.

No?

Jim did.

Jim?

Claire's husband.

Oh.

I called him last week

and told him that there was a lot of building to be done up here,

he was delighted.

Not as much as me.

Oh, it's so beautiful.

What a romantic thing to do.

-Well, uh, I only wanted the legend to come true. -[LAUGHS]

...and we can't leave town without putting it to the test.

Oh, okay.

Okay, now, where shall we stand?

Let's see now, what do you think about here?

Well, I don't know, it's your legend.

Well, I don't know either. I've never done this with anyone else.

Well, if the legend comes true, you never will.

Mm.

♪♪♪

♪♪♪