Original subtitles

[Music]

going once

going twice sold to mr charles whitley

this beautiful antique christmas clock

our next day about the bid this

magnificent chez lounge

perfect for the home we'll start the

bidding at ten dollars

do i see ten dollars ten twenty twenty

twenty dollars yes ma'am up front thirty

dollars

thirty dollars the gentleman in the

house well done that's a one of a kind

piece

40 40 yes true love will find you soon

certainly you've already found true love

you have a beautiful fiance in miss

eliza parker indeed

and it is to be her christmas gift very

romantic with me i'm surprised you

didn't try to steal it off from under me

man that is your preferred method of

operation i believe now now

it's almost christmas can't we let

bygones be bygones

i hear through the grapevine you're

having trouble with this new modern

milling system you're working on

why don't we team up i wouldn't work

with you if you were the last engineer

on the planet lauren

30 charles you and i are cut from the

same clock surely we can find some

common ground

i've seen the way you look at my fiance

it appears you're already trying

but i can assure you you will fail on

all counts

merry christmas to you sir 40 do i hear

40.

40. yes you know i don't believe you

means that

do i hear 50 dollars

[Music]

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

welcome home sir how was the city

[Music]

it was the city

two raids fredericks it's not a bit

excessive

rosie's idea sir you know how people are

during the holidays

they do like to celebrate i assume

you've already arranged the annual

christmas eve party for the household

staff here to be in the kitchen as usual

you're always welcome to join us of

course huh

well i appreciate the invitation every

year frederick's i'm afraid merrymaking

is a luxury i can't afford with

so much work to do and so little time to

do it now where have i heard that excuse

before

eliza fredricks didn't tell me you were

here don't blame fredericks i wanted to

surprise you

well the smiling face of my fiance is

the perfect welcome home gift

i'm afraid my visit isn't entirely

innocent

do i hear an ulterior motive in your

voice it's about my mother and father's

christmas party

you know it's the social event of the

season all of the most important people

are going to be there

won't you please just reconsider eliza

i'm sorry

but i just can't i simply have too much

to do to go parading off to manhattan

for a party

christmas or otherwise is it the party

charles

or is it me you know i've been busy

modernizing them now i have an entirely

new system to put into place and i need

it operational by next year

um next year next year

you're always living for the future

charles and why not

the future's an exciting place it's full

of possibilities and new ideas and new

inventions

i've even heard a rumor of two brothers

in north carolina who are working on a

flying machine

what about the present what about being

here with me now

i am here with you now oh you're not

with me here

pardon me mr whitley i took the liberty

of making you both some hot cocoa it's

terribly cold outside and i thought

thank you rosie but i'm afraid i'm not

really in a hot cocoa mood today

if you need me charles i'll be at my

parents townhouse in the city

[Music]

that is if you have the time

[Music]

so

[Music]

so

[Music]

mr whitley come in rosie

fredericks has retired for the evening

i'm about to do the same myself

will there be anything else oh no

that'll be all thank you rosie

oh that's lovely sir you think so mm-hmm

it's for eliza for christmas

foolishly i didn't check to make sure it

was working at the auction house i was

too distracted by that imbecile moran

it's broken that's what i thought at

first but it appears that one of the

springs has been cut

like someone deliberately wanted to

stomp the clock

oh you've had it engraved wind once at

christmas moon

true love will find you soon a very

sweet sentiment

mr whitley what you know me well enough

to know i didn't have engraved myself

rosie it came that way

i don't even know what a christmas moon

is well one can always hope

i hope that i can have it fixed in time

eliza certainly deserves

something that works as do you sir

is this about to become one of your

infamous lectures

no no sir i wouldn't dare i'm just a

maid

those of you have been in my employ

nearly 10 years you are anything but

just a maid

you're my friend well forgive me sir

you're both such fine people but

if i may say a more mismatched pair i've

never seen

well i think eliza and i get along very

well but sir there's more to marriage

than just

getting along and i would hate to see

both of you make a mistake

well that's no mistake to make i have

considered the situation

from all possible vantage points and the

truth of the matter is that a man of my

age and position is expected to be

married by now

but sir don't you think that true love

is worth waiting for

maybe it is maybe it isn't

either way i always wanted to know when

it shows up

[Music]

time will tell mr whitley time will tell

good night sir

[Music]

wow

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so

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so

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[Music]

and this of course is the owner of the

mansion and

my employer mr charles whitley he was

born in 1870.

when he was 14 his parents died and he

was sent to work at a steel mill

fortunately mr whitley was a very smart

inventor so by the time he was 21 he was

a millionaire

then 10 years later he just disappeared

where'd he go nobody really knows

a week before christmas december 18 1903

mr whitley just mysteriously vanished

and nobody has been able to figure out

the mystery of where he went

or why

[Music]

um

[Music]

oh rosie what was in that sherry

[Music]

what the deuce would any of our guests

care

for a homemade cookie freshly baked from

our kitchen

fredericks you are indeed the finest

butler in this county

i don't know what mr whitley would do

without you well let us hope he never

has cause to find out

um fredericks oh miss eliza i do believe

you're teasing me

[Laughter]

[Music]

rosie rosie

rodriguez what is all this

and who are all these lovely people

these are some very special visitors

who've come to see the mansion at

christmas

time they're hoping to catch a glimpse

of mr whitley himself

oh i'm sorry i'm afraid my fiance is

unable to be here today

he was called away on business

no he wasn't he's standing right there

excuse me

what are you people doing in my house um

i would appreciate an answer please

well hello mr whitley

uh we didn't expect you today you

weren't expecting me in my own home

who are you oh

you're having fun with me sir you know

i'm your maid rosie

you most certainly are not oh charles

you're such a tease

you know this is rosie just as you know

i'm your fiance

eliza parker i'll forward my goodness

control yourself

kenny never told me about a new charles

he looks just like him

it does where did all these christmas

decorations come from

i did not authorize this expenditure

frederick's

fredericks thank you already oh

who's this guy i mean good morning mr

whitley

this is madness what have you done with

frederick's hey can i get a selfie

i beg your pardon thanks

enough i demand that you people leave my

home or i will inform the authorities

you're all right everyone if you'd like

to follow me

we have some lovely christmas ornaments

for sale

in the gift shop

let's go get kenny

[Music]

[Music]

when did this arrive uh that painting

has been here

over 100 years i most certainly has not

i just sat for it last week

okay just between you and me you're

coming on a little strong with the

visitors

why don't you just uh relax a bit i come

downstairs to find my home full of

strangers and i am told to relax you

know you've already put so much on my

plate

i haven't got time for this today megan

wow yeah the resemblance is amazing

where did you find him

i didn't find him the agency must have

sent him over here

last minute well they could have given

us a heads up he completely ruined my

timing

what are you people talking about didn't

they tell you our last charles whitley

quit

your last the actor who played him the

one you're replacing why not replacing

anyone

we've all been there no shame in

recasting unless you're the one being

recast

i've had enough of this madness where

are you going the tour is not over yet

i am going to find my driver and we are

going to find the sheriff

what are these what what is this

you mean the cars the what

flying machine don't think he's from the

agency

of course i'm not from the agency then

who are you

i am charles whitley

[Music]

we wish you a merry christmas we wish

you a merry christmas

we wish you a merry christmas and a

happy

[Music]

thank you so much for coming oh don't

forget about our christmas eve party

thank you well he's definitely not from

the talent agency

they just called me the guy they had

lined up for us had to cancel

well so who is he no idea

i think i should call the sheriff oh we

can probably just ask him to leave

he seems harmless he also seems

convinced that he's the real charles

whitley

[Music]

dan honey you were a little slow on your

entrance

need to pick up the pace a bit amber

it's not shakespeare

and these run on some form of

electricity

and the bulbs they're not edison they

don't generate any heat

i got to hand it to the guy he is

committed to the part

well that's because i'm not playing a

part whatever you say

charles well that costume you're wearing

is

absolutely perfect look at all the

detail work all hand sewn

well i did have it made by the finest

tailor in new york city what is that

sound

my tea

and it's hot this device it heats things

with some form of radiation

yeah makes pretty good popcorn too

remarkable have i really traveled

through all this

uh excuse me excuse me

hi it looks like there was some sort of

a misunderstanding here so

i think it'd be best if you just leave

why would i leave my own house

um well maybe because it's not your

house look

who exactly are you people i'm megan

turner i'm the museum director

that's amber and this is her husband dan

frederick's at your service

he's still here and this is

my assistant director kenny i'm also

operations manager call the sheriff

i think i left the front door open

excuse me

and so all of this is some sort of

performance

we do a reenactment of christmas at the

whitley mansion

just like it was back in 1903

megan is actually related to the real

rosie

you in fact she was my

great-great-grandmother

she was

may i ask what year is it exactly

[Music]

what year do you think it is

[Music]

and it's certainly about 1903.

[Music]

um excuse me where are you going to my

study

your study yes my study if i retrace my

steps i can figure out how i went to

sleep last night and woke up 100 years

later

wait you actually think you're from the

past well i don't think so

i know so i hate to break it to you but

you're not charles whitley

he vanished december 18th 1903 and was

never seen again

oh i'm very flattered that you think you

know so much about me i wrote my phd

dissertation about you

about him

and you're really kidding to rosie yes

we're

kin on my mom's side

well then you're very lucky to come from

such a family she's a very wonderful

lady

was a very wonderful lady

look the thing is i have

responsibilities waiting for me back in

1903 i have people counting on me and i

have a business to run

you know how this sounds right of course

i know how this sounds that doesn't stop

it from being the truth

i was right here at my desk trying to

repair a clock that i bought for eliza

for christmas

rosie brought me some sherry and then

she left and then i started to feel very

dizzy it was probably the sherry and

then i fell

and that's the last thing i remember

before waking up here

you don't believe me well it just seems

kind of impossible don't you think i

know that

i feel like i'm in that book the time

machine i love h.g wells

well you wouldn't love him if you met

him he's a great writer but he has

terrible table matters

[Music]

wait you met h.g wells um

just uh wait hi megan

uh look who dropped by

sheriff conway merry christmas megan

sheriff good you're here i'm sure you

were called to my account a strange man

shows up claiming to be charles whitley

claims that this is his home

i'm sure you have questions we may as

well take care of that now there's one

thing i hate it's wasting time

shall we

[Music]

okay then

[Music]

thank you for your cooperation mr

whitley we really appreciate you coming

down to the station

oh wait oh

it's cold out here thank you

you uh you still don't believe me do you

you said that most of the house has been

preserved i think so

why under the rug beneath my desk

there's a hidden compartment in the

floor

look inside uh mr whitley

you might find your proof

[Music]

so what's gonna happen to the new

charles whitley

i don't know it was pretty cute huh

i hadn't really noticed megan

how long has it been since you broke up

with your ex

six months don't you think

it's time you started noticing again

[Laughter]

[Music]

[Music]

so

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

name charles james whitley

birth date june the 6th 1807

[Music]

i appreciate your cooperation here but

it's not going to do you any good to

falsify an official county document well

i'm not falsifying anything so i'm

telling you the truth

so you expect me to believe that you're

150 years old oh excuse me

sheriff i think i can help with that

[Music]

so why didn't you people just tell me he

was an actor in the first place

well uh we didn't know that he was from

the talent agency

at first but then after that later

we found out he was from the dallain

agency

why didn't you say anything because it's

an immersive

theater experience part of the program

we offer at the museum

you see he was hired to portray charles

whitley and he has to remain in

character throughout the day no matter

what happens

his real name is chuck charles

garland is this true

every word of it

did you make up that ridiculous story

because if i tried to tell them the

truth they would have locked us both up

i thought you didn't believe me i didn't

at first but then i saw the scar in your

hand

charles whitney got into an accident he

was 18 years old at a steel mill and

left a horseshoe-shaped scar in his hand

but he didn't want anybody to know about

it so he didn't show up in any pictures

or paintings of him

you really did study me didn't you

then i found this what happened to my

notebook

i think it looks pretty good for

something that's been under the floor

for 100 years

i realize it's crazy and i cannot

believe i'm saying this but

it is very nice to meet you charles

whitley

[Music]

what is the name again of this fantastic

dish we've just eaten

oh pizza it's delicious

you know this establishment used to be

the blacksmith

except my horse is here um maybe just

keep that between us for now

until we figure out what happened the

fewer people who know the truth about

you the better

i suppose you're right no one would

believe me anyway

actually i'm afraid they would your

disappearance is one of the

greatest mysteries of cutter springs i

mean the last thing you want is a bunch

of employers chasing you around or

a scientist taking you in a lab to find

out what makes you tick

i shall be the very picture of

discretion

23 this is highway robbery ah

don't worry no it's my treat no no no

please please i insist the gentleman

always pays

[Music]

it appears that i have come away without

my billfold

honestly it's okay times have changed

i certainly have i should thank you

you've been very kind to me a total

stranger

oh you're not a stranger to me i've read

all of your journals and your letters

all of them i had to be thorough for my

dissertation

come on you must certainly have an

affection for history

actually i'm going to teach it at the

university i have my final interview for

the position next week

you're not happy at the museum oh no i

love my job at the whitley

it's so rewarding you know making

history come to life for people

may i oh yeah thank you

so then why leave well i come from an

academic family

both my parents were teachers my

grandfather was a professor at the

university

so i guess it's just always been part of

the plan

for them are for you

thank you

[Music]

all this electric lighting must cost a

fortune actually most of it is

solar-powered

you mean someone finally figured out how

to harness the power of the sun mm-hmm

that's amazing they decorated the

streets like this back in 1903 didn't i

i suppose to be honest i never paid much

attention

most of christmas was quite a bit of

bother for just a few weeks of the year

eliza loves it though

[Music]

what is it mr whitley i was just

thinking of the

the last time i saw eliza we had a bit

of a row

what about inconsequential really

her parents christmas party she wanted

me to attend i said no of course

i hope she's all right i hope

she was all right i feel strange to

speak of her in past tense

you studied my life you know what

happened to her

after i disappeared

i don't know exactly

[Music]

i recognize this street

come on

what is this

my building the whitley steel building

was right here what what happened to it

it's been gone for years when you

disappeared there were no instructions

for your financial holdings

i plan to leave it all to allies of

course is my wife but

you weren't married and you had no

errors

your company went to receivership and it

closed

what the building and all your assets

were liquidated

the city even took your mansion and

turned it into a museum

[Music]

so i have nothing you have your name

charles whitney means something here in

cutter springs

you said i can't tell anyone who i

really am

i can't let this happen i have to go

back to 1903 and stop this

let's turn around i need your help

i have to find a way back

[Music]

[Music]

what's happened to my bedroom it was

renovated a few years ago

we use a couple of the rooms for

weddings and overnight visitors

excuse me that's uh what's wrong well i

i'm not sure that it's entirely

appropriate for me to be alone

in my bedroom with a young lady on

chaperone it's okay

times have changed

so you keep telling me

how am i supposed to see myself in this

mirror and that is

not a mirror that's a television a what

i'll explain it to you tomorrow is there

anything else i can get for you

oh no thank you i found my toiletry case

in a display cabinet downstairs

oh i don't think you want to use

this um

100 year old toothpaste oh

there's a fresh tube and soap and towels

in the bathroom down the hall

thank you you're welcome

welcome to the 21st century

i just hope i can learn to navigate it

don't worry mr whitley there there's got

to be a way to get you back to your time

all we have to do is find it well in the

meantime

i would ask a favor sure

please stop calling me mr woodley my

friends call me charles

okay only if you call me megan

agreed good night i'm megan

good night charles

[Music]

oh

[Music]

the christmas eve party is our most

important

fundraiser of the year the day of i'm

gonna need

fresh pine boughs here here and here

two wreaths there and two wreaths there

i'm also going to need

a champagne pyramid well actually

let's make it two champagne pyramids i

want this to be the best christmas eve

party the whitley mansion has ever seen

[Music]

good morning good morning oh what are

you doing here

i was just going to get a bit of

breakfast kitchen is still this way or

has that been moved as well

good morning megan

what's going on ah turns out you were

right

mr garland is from the agency

mr garland yes it was all just a

misunderstanding

these things happen he's from out of

town so i told him he could stay in the

guest room

how nice for mr garland

well people do seem to enjoy your take

on the role they really like it when you

get all worked up over having strangers

in the house the first

tour is at 11. be ready by 10 45.

in costume please

[Music]

what did you mean by that think

you just became the new mr whitley are

you telling me that i'm to be a part of

the show

i can't do that i don't have time for

that i have to figure out my

situation if these cookies need just a

little more icing

well what better place to do that than

here where nobody's gonna ask you any

questions about who you really are

and besides couldn't you use the 21st

century money

well what would i have to do just

be yourself

merry christmas welcome to christmas at

the whitley mansion

[Music]

this wing has been kept exactly as it

was for 120 years

ever since the mysterious disappearance

of mr whitley in december

1903 a week before christmas no one has

been able to figure out the puzzle of

where he went

or why but he's with us today

so maybe we'll get to ask him ourselves

mr whitley come in

[Music]

we have some visitors to see you sir

hello

they've come a very long way to meet you

mr whitley

that's very nice

so what are you working on

uh a new milling system

that sounds very interesting would you

like to tell us more about that

well it's um

it's for the mill

okay i can see you're

very busy so we will be on our way and

maybe next time

you'll have more to say

oh and by the way don't believe a word

that she says

i beg your pardon mr whitley oh you

heard me rosie she'll tell you all that

she deserves all the credit for my

success

i've said no such thing nonsense you're

always telling me how helpless you think

i am

well i wouldn't say completely helpless

she thinks i can't even put on my shoes

in the morning

of course you can sir especially after i

wrote on the soul's

left foot right foot

[Music]

follow me everyone

[Music]

well the christmas eve party was

originally frederick's idea

but over the years it's taken on a life

of its own

all right i think we have time for one

more question for mr whitley

hey i've got a question who is smarter

you or harold moran

that's not even a question harold moran

is a thief he steals ideas he's a

rapscallion on a rogue and he doesn't

have an ethical bone in his body

so how did you feel when you found out

he married okay

i think we have bothered mr whitley

enough for today what do you say we all

go to the gift shop

[Music]

right this way follow me

thank you for coming

well how did i do

i have to say you are the best charles

whitley i've ever met

[Music]

me

[Music]

oh i'm sorry oh please i love me

thank you i've got it i really am sorry

i'm afraid where i come from actors are

not held in very high esteem

just a horse thief that might have been

a better choice

you don't enjoy it oh i love acting

but this isn't quite the career i'd

hoped for

of school oh dan and i met in a show in

summerstock and

after we got married the work kind of

dried up

we saw an ad for this museum looking for

performers for the christmas season and

well

here we are not exactly broadway

more like off off off broadway

well you're still an actor and they do

say all the world's a stage no matter

where it is

you really think so not in the habit of

lying to complete strangers

sorry i think you're both quite good

hello hi

what is this a computer

like a calculating device kind of

i'm checking on the rsvp list for the

evite we sent out for the christmas eve

party

and what is an invite

it's a digital invitation i sent it out

in an email blast

i'm sure i understood much of that but

i'm guessing it doesn't mean an

engraved note on the house stationary

afraid not

it's unfortunate i always took a special

pride in our invitations to whitley

house

people kept them as a valued souvenir

times have changed yes they have

unfortunately not always for the better

we've been getting some great reviews on

the website

beautiful mansion love the bye play

between charles and rosie

and this one the new charles whitley is

a hunk

the hunk of what exactly

anyway whatever you're doing keep it up

thank you thank you what is this

uh money from the tip jar the cast

splits it at the end of the day

oh well

in that case would you care to join me

for a meal of delicious pizza

this time it will be my treat that would

be my pleasure

charles but first you and i have

something

very important to do

[Music]

oh you really didn't have to do this

megan but i will pay you back when i can

consider an early christmas gift

besides we can't have you walking around

like you're in the road company of hello

dolly

i don't mean to sound ungrateful but are

you absolutely sure that these dungarees

are

appropriate attire they would be

acceptable in one of my steel mills but

public street if the fashion police stop

us i will tell them it was my idea

wait there's such a thing as that now

[Music]

so how did you like playing charles

whitley today yeah i must say i enjoyed

it

especially our banter i don't recall

ever having that kind of rapport with a

young lady before

not even eliza oh no eliza wasn't the

sort to enjoy even a well-intentioned

driving

oh she must have had many good qualities

you two are engaged to be married

when one achieves a certain financial

status there are

expectations around the house a fine

haberdashery and a young lady like eliza

by your side

you did love her didn't you i was very

fond of eliza

but our marriage was to be one of a

certain

social purpose she deserved more than i

could give her and i'm afraid love is

something i never really had much time

for why would you say that

you know my history as well as anyone

when my parents died

i was left pretty much entirely alone

since then i've just never really let

myself get too close to anyone

why not

this wouldn't hurt so much if i lost

them

you can't let the past control your life

[Music]

exactly which is why i live for the

[Music]

future

[Music]

well i've talked more than enough about

myself today tell me about you

you have a suitor a suitor yes

i've been courted well i don't know that

i would call it courtship

we broke up about six months ago

you know what i always say that but

that's not exactly true

what actually happened was that he left

me for somebody else

that must have been difficult

well let's just say i'm not in any rush

to start dating anytime soon

[Music]

rosie always used to say true love is

worth waiting for

how do you know when it shows up

time will tell sterner time will tell

all right everyone it's fine come on

they're about to light the christmas

[Music]

tree

on

thank you well i still think it's a lot

of bother

oh i think it's a really special

tradition you said you wanted to live

for the future

maybe your future has christmas in it

and besides

thank you candy canes are good for the

christmas spirit

merry christmas cutter springs and

welcome to the annual

christmas tree lighting ceremony i'm so

glad to see all of you here

so without further ado five four

[Applause]

three

merry christmas you a merry christmas

and a happy new year

[Applause]

thank you again for these oh and for

showing me the tree

it wasn't a lot of bother

i've just never been one for tradition

and it's like i said i don't hold on to

the past

well i don't think it's about holding on

to the past at all i think it's about

honoring our history and celebrating the

passage of time

and then sharing that celebration with

the people we love

that's what christmas traditions mean to

me

[Music]

all of them

[Music]

we better get going we've got a big day

tomorrow

we do another tradition

christmas shopping and you're going to

help

i am

[Music]

thank you how does one person have so

many nieces and nephews

here smile

that's amazing so that's a portable

telephone device and a camera

that has internet access too keep

hearing about this internet what exactly

is it oh the internet is

um roof the world wide web um

it connects everything like a roadway

well yeah that was the idea we have

access to

all the world's information but we

mostly use it to

argue with strangers and send each other

pictures of cats

the future's a very interesting place

[Music]

megan prepare yourself my parents

hi yeah

are we interrupting something meg i told

you we shouldn't butt in great for

goodness sakes it's christmas time

just the season to butt in are you gonna

introduce us megan i i've been trying

hi i'm sharon i'm megan's mom you must

be the new charles whitney we keep

hearing about

mrs turner a pleasure to meet you

such manners mr trump i hear the

museum's christmas reenactment this year

is

terrific i must admit that's all thanks

to megan's talent

now meeting her parents so i can see

where she gets in front of me

can we have him bottled

[Music]

so you say you're from cutter springs

that's funny because we know almost

everyone in town but we've never bumped

into you

charles travels a lot uh

yes i've actually traveled quite a great

distance to be here today

oh so megan any word from the university

not yet my final interviews this week oh

well honey i wouldn't worry about it

with your phd

you're a shoe-in i'm just not so sure

i'm ready to leave the museum

well you've done a wonderful job there

but don't you feel like it's time to

spread your wings

turner's have always been teachers kind

of a family tradition

so i've heard we better get going still

have a lot of planning to do for the

christmas party

oh well we'll be there and it's gonna be

even more special this year because of

the christmas moon i'm very important

did you say

a christmas moon you know when there are

two full moons in the same month they

call it a blue moon

well when it happens in december it's a

christmas moon

and it's happening on christmas eve just

in time for your party

i'd better be going merry christmas to

you both okay i

love you was it something i said

charles what's wrong a telephone device

of yours can they look updates

uh-huh december 18th 1903

the day you went missing it was a full

moon that night

was it the second one in the same month

on christmas moon

and once at christmas moon true love

will find you soon

i was engraved on the clock i was fixing

for eliza do you think the clock had

something to do with how you got here

i know it makes absolutely no sense but

none of this does

i have a theory i think if i'm to make

it back to my own time i have to do

exactly the same thing again on the

night of the christmas moon

that's christmas eve that's only four

days away i know

i need to find that clock

[Music]

i don't see it anywhere are you sure

it's in here yes

absolutely it was right there on the

mantle the night of the christmas moon

rosie must have

moved it for cleaning or something well

that was

over a hundred years ago i know

and i and i also know how ridiculous all

this sounds

the magic moons and time travel clocks

i have lived my whole life according to

logic and science and things that you

can actually hold in your hands

sorry i would hate to lose you

got great news tomorrow's tour is sold

out

kenny we were looking for something

should i ask if i can help

we were looking for this

a clock it belonged to charles whitley

it was in this room

[Music]

you mean it's missing oh this is

terrible when did you last see it

1903.

okay we've got alarm clocks shelf clocks

weather clocks grandfather clocks and

cuckoo clocks but i don't see anything

about a christmas

clock are you sure kenny maybe you're

overlooking it

megan i don't overlook

my first job here was cataloging the

contents of the mansion

i spent almost a whole year in this

basement but

you're welcome to look around if you

want

[Music]

why all the excitement about this clock

now anyway is it that valuable

um it is part of the whitley legacy and

i thought it might be nice to have it on

display at the christmas eve party

well it's not here now and if it ever

was here it probably got liquidated in

one of those auctions years ago

trust me if it's not in my database that

clock

is history

[Music]

charles come in

better get dressed the tour starts in a

few minutes and it's a full house

you'll have to do it without me what

i've already wasted too much time i

should have been focused on the task at

hand which is getting myself back to

1903

but you heard kenny that the clock is

probably long gone

well then there has to be some other way

[Music]

the time machine

christmas carol a connecticut yankee in

king arthur's court

they're all books on time travel maybe

they know something that i don't

[Music]

would it really be so bad if you stayed

megan i can't stay here

i i have a fiance i have a business

i don't belong here and and all the

christmas trees and candy canes in the

world

i'm not gonna change that that's the

silliest thing i've ever heard

i beg your pardon this isn't the charles

whitley i studied

the charles whitley i studied he didn't

care about where he belonged

because he made everywhere belong to him

he was

fearless he was an adventurer he took on

the world by the time he was 14 years

old

story's in a history book and every

story starts somewhere all of those

started with you

[Music]

and for the record i think you do belong

here

if for no other reason than i i like

having you around

so if you want to sit here and worry

about how to get back to the past

you go ahead but i have to live in the

present and

i have a museum i'm pretty proud of so

i'm gonna go show it off

[Music]

so

[Music]

so

merry christmas merry christmas welcome

to christmas at the whitley mansion

unfortunately mr whitley won't be able

to join us today

i know i'm sorry it's just that he's

feeling a bit under the weather

now rosie shouldn't be fibbing to these

nice people

and if it is a fiddle and ready to play

now i know you're related to rosie

she's the only person on the planet that

spoke to me like that

[Music]

shakespeare

[Music]

okay so we have the game soup cranberry

dressing

hi and the plum pudding great looks good

thanks what is all this uh this is a

test run for the christmas eve party

here tell me what you think about

this gravy

not too thick i've

never tasted anything like it sure you

have

it's one of your chef's original

christmas recipes he used to serve it

every year at your christmas eve party

i uh i never went what

frederick's always invited me but i

always came up with an excuse

i'm not any good at parties i don't know

what to do or or what to say

so you don't even know your own

christmas traditions

no i'm going to share one of my

favorites with you

please come here

you're here merry christmas

oh hello come in

hey everyone look who's here

[Music]

[Applause]

merry christmas i hope you enjoy the

wine

i still had one or two bottles left that

no one found am i reading this right

18.99 do i smell gingerbread

oh yeah

so they're really wagering on a

christmas one uh-huh

it's a christmas tradition everybody

pays for a chance to go and whoever

actually puts the topper on the tree

gets to choose which charity the money

goes to time's up

you my sister's fred you want to give it

a go

yeah uh no i really shouldn't come on

it's christmas have some fun i insist

all right

oh he's such a gentleman it's like he's

from a different time

all right you could say that

nice to see that smile again

so i am charles the thing

it's more complicated than that well do

you like him

i do well then it's not that complicated

[Music]

i did it first try too

new champion treats offer

cool

[Laughter]

oh uh thank you pardon

me to be so forward i know it wasn't it

wasn't that bored

[Music]

i did it

[Music]

twas the night before christmas and all

through the house not a creature was

stirring

not even a mouse the stockings were hung

by the chimney with care in hopes

that saint nicholas soon would be there

the children were nestled all snug in

their beds

while visions of sugar plums danced in

their heads

and mama in her kerchief and i in my cap

my parents read this to me when i was a

boy

for a long winter's night where did they

live

when out of the lawn i passed on such a

clatter

very long time ago i'm sorry

it's all right thank you

for inviting me into your home

you're always welcome here son now

prancer and vixen

on comet on cupid on donner

and blitzen to the top of the porch

to the top of the wall now dash away

dash away dash away all

and this was the christmas nathan broke

his leg to bargaining

that tree came out of nowhere

sorry this must be so boring for you on

the contrary

it's like time travel without having to

leave the sofa now here's a bit of

history

this is megan's great great grandmother

rosie this was at the wedding of harold

moran who you've all probably heard of

at one time he owned half the town where

was rosie at harold moran's wedding

oh my mother said she became very close

to the bride she worked for her for

years after charles whitley disappeared

who was the bride

the young lady who had been engaged to

whitley

her name was eliza

[Music]

charles charles wait you knew this whole

time and you didn't tell me

i just didn't think you needed to know

my fiance marries my business rival my

my sworn enemy and you think i didn't

need a doe

you said yourself you don't hold on to

the past it's a figure of speech of

course i hold on to the past everybody

holds on to the past then you should be

happy for eliza that she forgot me and

married somebody else

she didn't forget you charles when i

studied you i studied her too

she waited for you she spent a fortune

trying to find you but finally she had

to give up

she had to move on with her life she and

harold moran

were happily married for 66 years they

had four children together and 11

grandchildren and by the time harold

retired they had

traveled the world and they lived to a

very healthy old age together

so yes you should be happy for her

if you ever felt anything for eliza you

should be happy that she got to live

this full and a wonderful life filled

with happiness

and love

[Music]

i'll go for a walk to clear my head

charles thank you

for what telling the truth

[Music]

i'll be home for

christmas

[Music]

you can count on me

[Music]

please have snow

[Music]

merry christmas and to you christmassy

looks like you got your work cut out for

you but a beautiful christmas tree makes

so many people happy doesn't seem like

work at all

can you do it bo uh sure

[Music]

so how long have you been at this sort

of thing well since i retired it's been

40 years with moran steele

moran you have my deepest sympathies

no why is that looking for a cat like

harold moran couldn't have been easy oh

he'd been long gone by the time i got

there

did you say cad it's not a word you hear

every day i think the shoe fits

i don't know about that i heard he was a

decent generous guy

generous yeah apparently made a whole

lot of money from some uh

milling technique uh that he invented

that he invented

yeah mr moran was famous for his charity

work we have

uh moran community center moran

university moran medical center he did a

whole lot of good for this town

in fact we're standing on some of it now

he and his wife donated a land for this

park

[Music]

so i don't know what you've heard but

i'm afraid you're wrong about harold

moran

for christmas

if only in

my dreams

if only

[Music]

hey dan hey charles

may i join you

[Music]

can i ask you something sure

have you ever found yourself somewhere

where you never thought you would be

more than you could imagine see amber

and i we

took this museum job for a season

thinking it

may lead somewhere and now i'm thinking

maybe we just give it up

go to the museum quit acting

i mean i studied strasbourg she went to

juilliard

we've been having a long time we gave it

our best shot but maybe it's just

time to try something else

all i know is we're not happy where we

[Music]

are

well i think that sometimes where we end

up

is out of our hands but who we end up

with

that's another matter

[Music]

i think that almost any journey can have

a happy ending if you're with someone

you love

what about your journey been a very long

trip

and i have a feeling that it isn't over

yet

[Music]

hey it's pretty quiet around here

most of the students have gone home for

the holidays

so you'll be joining faculty i hear i

hope so

i'll let him know you're here thank you

[Music]

so

[Music]

mind once at christmas moon true love

will find you

soon he'll just be a couple more minutes

excuse me where did that clock come from

oh the christmas clock oh that's been

here as long as i have

i think it was donated to the university

years ago by someone who worked

at the whitley mansion apparently if you

wind that clock just right

you'll find true love i've won that

clock every week for years

nothing

i wonder can i ask you a favor

megan i'd like to apologize

megan please accept my heartfelt apology

megan i'm sorry

come in tour starts in 10 minutes

i'll be right there

nine

[Music]

i hope that's the one where did you find

this

rosie gave it to the university maybe

she thought we'd need it someday

reagan i should have told you the truth

all along i guess this is

my way of saying i'm sorry no no i'm the

one that needs to apologize

you were only trying to protect me

it's the christmas moon tonight so if

you're right

this will take you back to 1903. maybe

it's only a theory

i know you charles you'll never forgive

yourself if you don't try

i'm not sure i'll ever forgive myself if

i do

the tour is about to begin

i i'd like to stay uh for a little while

tonight

come all this way i would hate to miss

my first whitley mansion christmas party

you're the guest of honor megan

tour

just one thing if you do leave tonight

make sure to say goodbye before you go

[Applause]

[Music]

so

[Music]

so

[Music]

have you seen charles yet he isn't down

here

no and he's supposed to give a speech in

five minutes he'll throw off my whole

schedule

[Music]

sorry i'm late i'll leave you with a tie

here

thank you it was like i haven't worn

this suit in over 100 years

how does it look like it was made for

you

champagne sir

[Music]

shall we

[Music]

champagne man thank you

on behalf of museum director megan

turner i'd like to bid you welcome to

the whitley museum's christmas eve party

hope you're all having a wonderful time

tonight as you know

this is our museum's biggest fundraiser

of the year

and thanks to a successful campaign led

by our director

megan turner i'm happy to announce that

we

have broken last year's record

and with your generous help this is

going to be the whitley museum's

best year ever

and now it gives me great pleasure to

introduce

to you the host of tonight's party

the owner of the whitley mansion and the

master of the house

mr charles whitley

thank you very much and thank you all

for being here tonight

and making this a very special party at

whitley mansion

you know for many years members of my

household staff held a christmas eve

party of their own

and every year i was invited and every

year i never went

frankly i didn't know what i was missing

but now i do

i even discovered a few things this

christmas season for example did you

know that people can actually

change it's true

some of us most of us

okay me hold on to things from their

past

that keep us from moving on with our

life

old rivalries jealousies

disappointments sometimes even things

that are just too painful to remember it

all

but maybe christmas is about forgiving

forgiving each other

forgiving ourselves and maybe the only

thing that's really truly important is

where we are now

friends and family old and you

people we love cherishing christmas

memories we have

making new ones to share together and so

my christmas gift to you is just this

one thought

remember your past because it's what

brought you here

but don't be afraid to embrace your

present

because if you live in it with hope and

kindness

and love it's a great place to be

and now as is the tradition here at

whitley mansion

mr whitley will dance with his fiance

miss eliza parker

why mr whitley

[Music]

foreign

[Music]

you were great out there ah thanks

this is such a wonderful party megan oh

i thought charles was with you oh um

i haven't seen him excuse me

she's right you know you were great out

there

well it's not shakespeare it is when you

do it

what are you talking about look i know

that

this isn't exactly what we set out to do

with our lives and i know that sometimes

i make fun of what we're doing

but the truth is when i'm with you

it always feels like opening night oh

dan

just thought you should know you're my

favorite leading lady

and i love you

oops hope none of the guests saw that

[Music]

hello

[Applause]

hi happy holidays merry christmas

[Music]

oh honey oh hi

hi merry christmas meg

merry christmas oh what a wonderful

party sweetheart thank you

so how did it go did they offer you the

job

at the university yes they did

oh congratulations honey i didn't accept

what it's not what i want to do with my

life ted

[Music]

i love this museum i love being part of

the living history of this place

i know it's not your type of education

but i

i think i can really make a difference i

have so many ideas for the future here

at

interactive exhibits holographic

characters from history

honey are you sure about this i am

and i know i'm disappointing you and i'm

sorry but i just pointing

hardly this is the best gift

you could have given us our daughter

happy

doing exactly what she wants no parent

could ask for more

besides we've got enough teachers in the

family as it is

oh but we still get a discount on

tickets right always mom

[Music]

enjoy the party she looks beautiful

charles

[Music]

i thought you were gonna say goodbye

[Music]

why

but i thought i finally figured out why

that clock was broken in the first place

whoever had it before must have found

their true love

and decided to stay put sounds like a

good idea to me

kind of insurance policy

i have to think of the future you know

[Music]

oh and before i forget

traditionally you're not supposed to

open christmas presents

until midnight then i've never been much

for tradition

oh charles really

[Music]

it sounds like harold and eliza had a

very good life together

she must have found a love with him that

if i'm being honest

she never would have found with me

if i'd gone back i might have taken that

from them

and that's not fair they deserve their

[Music]

happiness

so we

[Music]

you're not gonna believe this our agent

called and we're booked to play the

leads in the road company of taming of

the shrew

this spring congratulations what do you

know

it is shakespeare shall we dance

he's a pretty good charles whitley isn't

he you know

i'm the one that found

no now that i'm gonna stay i'll have to

find some kind of way to make a living

what about a portable telephone

if you're gonna invent a better one or

your computing device i could make it

work faster

you can't help yourself can you charles

what do you mean

always thinking about your future ah but

there's a difference now

not just my future anymore it's ours

that is if you'll share with me

mr whitney that's very forward of you

you're right let's just take it one step

at a time

what do you do in new year's eve

[Music]

you