All language subtitles for Copy.1981

What are you trying to do, Walter?

Nothing tricky, dear.

Just husband and wife stuff.

Oh, you make me feel so used.

Why can't you do what
considerate husbands do?

What do considerate husbands do?

They jog.

I'm 41 years old, Vivian.

Who knows when the magic
will leave my body,

then will be the time to start jogging.

You have no right to force me, Walter.

The Bible says, woe unto
the wife who turneth her back

on a horny spouse.

The Bible doesn't say that, Walter.

It did a long time ago.

It was edited out by a lesbian translator.

Vivian, I want you.

Walter, you're scaring me!

Nothing to be afraid of, sweet baby.

It's just an old friend
coming for a visit.

Open the door.

Walter!

I said open the door!

Would you get off?

Buenos dias, Bianca.

Buenos dias, Senora Whitney.

Gracias.

Who the hell was that?

That was Bianca, the new housekeeper.

New housekeeper, where's Estelle?

Walter, I had to fire her.

But I liked her.

She kept forgetting her place.

Bianca just arrived from Guatemala.

Everyone's importing them from
Central America these days.

They don't resent being
treated like servants.

Why don't you import a husband

who doesn't mind being
treated like a servant!

That's what I feel like,
like I don't really belong.

Walter, you know how uncomfortable I get

when you just barge into the bathroom.

What are you ashamed of Vivian?

What is there to see that
I haven't already seen?

Whether you want to admit it or not,

I've seen you naked, Vivian.

I've even laid you, Vivian.

Must you use that language
in the bedroom, Walter?

This is not some cheap bar!

I could get more action in a cheap bar

than I get here!

Good morning, Mother.

Good morning, darling.

Mwah.

Morning, Walter.

Mary Ann.

Mother, is it alright if
I go shopping this morning?

Of course, darling, as
long as you're home by 6:00.

Shopping, you don't need new clothes.

Walter says I don't
need any new clothes.

Of course you do, darling.

I'll talk with him later.

You committed a moral
crime this morning!

Vivian!

That's why we're having all this trouble

in the country today.

We're a nation of
sex-starved, frustrated men,

so we jog and vote for the death penalty!

I was shocked, Walter.

Shocked.

I did not try to rape my wife

in front of the housekeeper, Nelson.

Whatever my faults, I don't lack a sense

of the theatrical.

I majored in theater arts.

Now if I try to rape the
housekeeper in front of my wide,

that's drama.

My daughter was
in tears when she called me.

She had no right to call you.

Vivian's concern is your career, Walter.

Her upbringing has stressed
the importance of that career.

Beware the wife who places
the bed ahead of the office.

I've seen a dozen careers ruined

because of sexually aggressive wives.

A wise man can always make
discrete arrangements.

I'm not the type of man who
goes out cheating, Nelson.

Not cheating, Walter.

Not cheating.

Think of it as easing the
pressures on someone you love.

You're a lucky man, Walter.

Then why don't I feel lucky?

Vivian, Mary Ann.

There's something wrong, Nelson.

I feel like I've blown
up a beautiful balloon,

but I'm on the inside.

I'm lonely.

Learn to trust unhappiness, Walter.

You and I have shared many secrets.

I'll share today's
secret by forgetting it.

Go throw yourself into your work.

I've never seen a
happily married executive

that was worth a damn.

Thank you.

Hold on please, I'll see if he's in.

Oh, Mr. Whitney, there's
a young man at reception

who wants to see you.

A Roger Porter.

I don't know a Roger Porter.

Mr. Whitney, he says to tell you

he's Lorraine Porter's son.

Have him sent up.

Lorraine Porter's son.

Lorraine.

Lorraine Porter.

Yeah.

Mr. Whitney, he's here.

Have him come in.

Lorraine Porter's son?

Yeah.

Yeah, this is cool.

Nothing ratty-tatty about this place.

And that's the way it should be up here

where the hog is fat.

No meat scraps.

We're talking T-bone steak here, huh?

And man, you're it, huh?

The big ace in the card deck.

Mmm-whee!

I'm sure glad our zodiac signs crossed.

It's like my horoscope said,

Capricorn, baby, consolidate
your financial future today.

Here I was, thinking I
was just another little

poor black orphan boy going to freeze

in the cold white world.

Lorraine...

Your mother's dead?

Gone.

Oh, I can't tell you how sorry...

I'm truly and deeply sorry.

Uh huh.

She was a very special person.

A dear friend.

Uh huh.

What about your father?

Oh, Mom never got married.

You know it is with us colored folks.

We ain't much for marrying.

What the hell kind of
thing is that to say?

You don't talk that way about your mother.

Of course not being
married didn't make my mother

less of a woman.

It just made my father less of a man.

I don't like you, Mr. Porter.

I've tolerated your incredible display

of bad manners because your
mother and I were friends.

Dear friends.

Someone I knew very well.

No, you lived with her.

But you didn't know her.

Come on, let's lay it
on each other straight.

Let's tell it like it was.

I don't believe it.

Lorraine was a lovely person.

Intelligent, cultured...

It's just too much of a shock for me

to accept you as her son.

Well, if that's too
much of a shock for you,

you're liable to go into a
coma when you get behind this.

Hi, Daddy.

Hey!

Your son?

There's things about me
I never told you, Victor.

And you're my dearest friend.

I guess that's how we
keep our dearest friends.

By only telling them the things
that make us dear to them.

You didn't know about Lorraine,

or about me changing my name.

Changing your name?

From Weisenthal to Whitney.

Weisenthal.

What sort of name is that?

It's Jewish.

You better have a drag.

You'll feel better.

It's too late.

Too late!

Oh come off it, you're
not in that kind of trouble.

I'm Jewish, my son is black,
and my lawyer smokes pot.

Don't tell me I'm not in trouble.

Hey, it makes me feel better

and does not affect my judgment.

I delivered the valedictorian speech

at Harvard completely stoned!

Okay, okay!

Get me out of this spot,
Victor, and I'll keep you

in grass the rest of your life.

You provide the facts,

I'll provide the solution.

Now who knows you changed your name?

Just Vivian and her father.

It was his idea.

And who knows about Lorraine?

Just Vivian's father.

After I got out of the Army,
I went to Northwestern.

I met Lorraine in my sophomore year.

We lived together almost three years.

After I graduated, I
came here to Unilectron

as a copywriter.

It was gonna be temporary
until I made enough

so that we could get married.

Married?

Oh, yeah.

The only problem was, I made
an instant smashing success.

I was kidding around
one day, and I came up

with this idea for fun, the
biggest lie I could think of.

Unilectron, the Company That
Puts People Ahead Of Profit.

Was that yours?

Yeah.

That's a biggie.

Two weeks later, I
was a junior executive.

And then, like everything
else, Vivian's father

found out about Lorraine.

Oh no.

Oh yeah.

What'd he do?

He had a father-to-son talk with me.

No, it was more like the Pope

talking to a parish priest.

Someday you will sit
in this chair, Walter.

He promised
the priest the Vatican.

I'm only showing the
concern your mother and father

would show if they were alive.

He slipped
on my parent's ghosts

like you would an overcoat.

As your mistress, yes.

But not marriage.

He moralized.

She would never be
accepted by the right people.

The fear of the unknown.

As the wife of a
plumber, a garage mechanic,

an elevator operator, fine.

A veiled threat
to my future employment.

We wouldn't want to lose you.

A direct threat.

I am not a bigot.

He believed.

But I am a realist.

From that day I've
never known the difference

between those words.

I am your friend.

He insisted.

There might be a child.

The image we leave of ourselves
on this earth after death.

Think about that, Walter.

I said nothing.

You're in love,

but not for the last time.

That's what makes man superior.

He can love, forget, then love again.

Write to her.

Tell her that getting
married at the moment

would not be practical.

She'll understand.

They're a very understanding people.

I wrote the letter.

She never answered.

After she died, Roger found
all the letters I'd written.

How could a dude write
all these pretty words?

Just dripping with honey!

Man, they could make a nun pack a suitcase

and blow the convent.

I think you showed damn little respect

for your mother by reading these letters.

Not as little as you
showed by writing them, Dad.

And stop calling me Dad.

Who told you that I'm, that we're related?

After I found the
letters I asked Aunt Clara.

You remember Mom's sister, Aunt Clara.

Yeah, I remember Aunt Clara.

Well, Mom went to stay with
Aunt Clara when she got...

that way.

And you know Aunt Clara would never lie,

not with her husband being
a preacher, the highest...

Okay, okay.

I won't argue the fact that you're my son.

You're a good sport, Dad.

This is a moment that
calls for total honesty.

Nothing but the truth.

We both agree that this
is a delicate situation.

I think we would both agree to keep

this delicate news to ourselves.

Oh, you mean now we found each other

we're not going to tell anyone?

Who would we tell?

Well, I guess first your wife.

Stop following me.

Isn't a son supposed to
follow in his dad's footsteps?

Why are we walking by the ocean anyhow?

In case I decide to throw myself in.

When do we go home and
tell the family about me?

Do you really expect
to come and live with us?

Are you ashamed of me, Dad?

And stop calling me Dad!

Well, what am I supposed to call you?

Well, I don't know.

Whitey.

Honky.

Mr. Charlie.

Anything, but not Dad!

Not right now.

It's something I'm gonna
have to get used to.

Slowly.

If ever.

Good morning, Whitey!

Hi there, Honky.

No, that's no way for a
boy to talk to his father.

It sounds disrespectful.

And whatever else I may
feel, I respect you.

Mr. Charlie.

It has a certain dignity.

Makes me still feel like your
son, flesh of your flesh,

blood of your blood.

Mistake of my mistakes.

You'll feel different after adopt me.

Adopt you?

Yeah, I'm 17.

It's time I became legal.

No way, no how.

I know I'm not everything
you want in a son.

That's a keen observation.

We'll become buddies.

We'll go to games.

We'll go fishing and hiking.

We'll wrestle on the floor together

We'll become pals.

You can teach me how to
build a model airplane.

I'll show you how to pick a lock.

You take me to a Chamber
of Commerce meeting.

I'll take you to a third-world
liberation meeting.

Why are you doing this to me, God?

There's this boy who
claims to be your son.

He is my son.

I think a judge is better
qualified to make that decision.

I can't deny it.

Not because he's my son but
because Lorraine was his mother.

I loved her, but I really can't remember

what she looked like.

We used to laugh a lot,

but I can't remember what about.

There were so many moments.

It was so long ago.

Oh God.

To be young again

with a lover that says yes.

Well unfortunately, you're in San Marino

with a wife who says no.

Now, you may not love Vivian,

but a husband owes his wife some loyalty.

Well, what does a father owe his son?

You know what I mean.

Vivian, my wife, all those women.

They're social animals whose
jungle ends at the city limits.

Now, you want to toss those
tigers this kind of raw meat?

That's it.

That's the answer.

They're animals.

Don't appeal to their intellect.

Appeal to their instinct!

Their instinct is to kill.

Their basic instinct is to kill.

What about their baser instincts?

Envy, ego, false pride?

What are you talking about?

Let Vivian adopt without ever knowing.

Let it be her victory, not my defeat.

Take in a colored orphan for the summer?

It's an experimental program

to show underprivileged
kids a better way of life.

But if they see a better way of life,

they're gonna want it permanently.

Why give them false hope?

It seems so cruel

No more cruel than busing.

And you accepted that.

Only because it didn't affect Mary Ann.

Oh, Walter why us?

Why must you get us involved in this?

We owe it to them, Vivian.

When will we stop owing?

They already have
welfare, low rent housing,

special job programs,

and four of their own television series.

When will we stop owing and be even?

Vivian, it's just for
the summer vacation.

We'll be the only family
in San Marino to have one.

That's what disturbs me.

Disturbs you?

Cynthia Robbins will be so green with envy

She'll probably go out and adopt one.

That's true, isn't it?

What about Gloria Pitcan,
and Elizabeth Webner?

You think they'll let you and Cynthia

get a step ahead of them?

Even if they all go out
and adopt colored orphans

for the summer.

It won't diminish the fact
that you did it first.

Like the heart transplant.

No matter how many
doctors do it afterwards,

it's always Dr. Christian
Barnard who will take the credit.

You'll be the Christian
Barnard of compassion.

You can even start an organization.

Call it Human Transplant.

To take people with no hope
and give them new life.

Human Transplant. ah.

I'll bring him over and
you can see for yourself

what a fine boy he is.

He could sleep in your
workshop in the garage

until we decide.

Just in case it doesn't work out.

Good idea.

It's easier to ask someone
to leave your garage

than it is your home.

I just don't dig it, Mr. Charlie.

I mean, the way you're
getting me to be family,

this whole adoption bit.

Me sleeping in the garage.

I told you, it's just temporary.

Well it just don't seem right,

making believe I'm an orphan.

You are an orphan.

No, I ain't.

I got a daddy.

Don't I, Mr. Charlie?

Get your feet off the seat.

This is a Rolls Royce, not a bus.

Hey, will I get the Rolls when you die?

It belongs to the company.

It will probably go to Mary Ann.

Oh, you like Mary Ann
more than you like me.

Far, far more, and I'm
not very fond of her.

Will you stop playing with that telephone?

Are you going to high school, Roger?

Uh-uh.

When did you leave?

About a year ago.

Have you ever thought of
going back and graduating?

Don't need to.

You don't need to, huh?

How far are you gonna get
with an attitude like that?

I'll make out.

You'll make out.

You know where you'll make
out without a diploma?

On the unemployment line.

I mean, outside of waiting for me to die,

you have no future.

Stop playing with the glove compartment.

You belong to a golf club, don't you?

What about my golf club?

Well, I can join it, can't I?

Only as a caddy.

Oh, you mean they don't
have no black members.

None.

Makes you proud,
doesn't it, Mr. Charlie?

What makes me proud?

That the first black to join
the club will be your son?

Do I have to wear these square clothes?

Yes, you have to wear them.

Why, if the brothers ever saw me,

they'll think I sold out.

Relax Roger.

There are no brothers in San Marino.

Mmm-mm!

So this is going to be my new home?

All right.

Just the garage.

I said, just the garage.

So this is Roger.

Mr. Whitney has told me so much about you.

Welcome to our home, Roger.

Thank you, ma'am.

It's an honor.

My, what a fine looking boy.

You were right, Walter.

I was worried over nothing.

You're just in time for dinner

Walter, will you tell Mary
Ann that we're expecting her?

Roger?

We're having chicken for dinner.

I just love chicken, ma'am.

I know you do.

I had Bianca prepare
it especially for you.

We want you to enjoy
your stay with us, Roger.

Thank you, ma'am.

You don't have to call me, ma'am.

Just Mrs. Whitney.

Mrs. Whitney?

Thank you.

It's an exciting experiment.

When Mr. Whitney first
broached it, I'll admit,

I was a little dubious.

But then I realized
that I'd be giving a boy

a second chance in life, a
chance to improve himself.

And you will try to improve
yourself, won't you Roger?

Oh, yes, ma'am.

Mrs. Whitney.

We want to be proud of you, Roger

We'll see if we can't get our church

to accept you as a member.

You'll be a Presbyterian,
Roger, isn't that nice?

Well, I was raised to
be a Baptist, and I...

You'll be a Presbyterian.

About your schooling, Roger.

How far along are you in high school?

I don't go to high school.

We'll give him remedial schooling

and then a job training program.

Excellent.

This is going to be an
exciting summer, Roger.

Well, what do you think, Mary Ann?

Shall we adopt Roger for the summer?

Have you ever been arrested?

That's an offensive question, Mary Ann.

Yes, little sister, I've
been busted by the pigs.

Roger, in our community,

the pigs are known as police officers.

Well, where I come from,
they're always known as...

Police officers.

Police officers.

Why were you arrested, Roger?

Well, I was walking
along in a protest march

against the Klan,

singing the second verse
of We Shall Overcome,

We know the song, Roger.

And then this man stepped off the sidewalk

and hit me over the head with a lead pipe.

Well, needless to say, I fell down,

and he started kicking me,

and then the...

police officers arrested me.

Roger you must promise to never go on

one of those protest marches again,

or sing that Overcome song again.

Never?

Well, if you feel the
urge, you may sing it

in the privacy of your room.

Well, Mary Ann, do you approve of Roger?

I think we should ask Dennis first.

Yes.

Who's Dennis?

Dennis Erkle.

He's captain of the lacrosse team.

Why do we need Dennis Erkle's approval?

His father is Judge Erkle.

He's going to run for Superior Court.

And his chances might be jeopardized

if his son's fiancee has
him living in the house.

Fiancee?

Mary Ann and Dennis are going together,

sort of unofficially engaged.

Mary Ann, don't you think you should

inform your father about something

as important as an engagement?

I did.

I called Daddy in Westport,

and he gave me his blessing.

Not that father, me, your
legal father Walter Whitney,

who's clothed, fed and housed you,

while that drunk hasn't even bothered

to visit you in two years.

Mother, I will not sit here

and have Walter slander my father!

I just knew he'd cause trouble!

We're all a bit upset.

I think perhaps it's best we wait

until morning before taking a vote.

Vote? What vote?

On whether to take Roger into our home.

We discussed all that, Walter.

I never agreed to a vote.

It's our decision, just yours and mine.

Please, Walter I don't
want to argue the point.

I didn't take a vote
when I adopted Mary Ann.

She is my natural child.

It was the only decent thing to do.

By that logic, if he
were my natural son,

I'd have every right to expect
you, my wife, to accept him.

Don't make ludicrous parallels, Walter.

No, I mean it, Vivian.

If Roger were my son, you'd accept him?

Yes Walter, if he were
your son, of course.

All right, Vivian, I will let
you be as good as your word.

Roger is my son.

I don't find that very amusing, Walter.

Neither do I, but it
happens to be a fact.

That can't be.

He's.

And so was his mother

This is really your son?

Yes.

Your natural son?

Yes.

Oh, my God!

And to think I was going
to let him live here!

You promised to accept him
just as I accepted your child!

You tricked me!

- Vivian, listen!
- Don't touch me, Walter!

Don't ever touch me again.

You're getting hysterical!

God will never forgive you
for having a black child!

How do you know, Vivian?

Maybe he'll be pleased.

Maybe God is black?

You will burn in hell
for saying that, Walter.

Will you stop singing that song?

Mr. Charlie?

I got a feeling you better
start learning the words.

Where's the boy?

In the garage.

And Vivian?

Upstairs, with Dr. Bristol
and Reverend Hayworth.

How is she?

She's under sedation.

Reverend Hayworth is praying with her.

I even had to give Mary Ann tranquilizers.

I've been the Longhurst
family doctor for 40 years.

I delivered Vivian.

And to see her in this
state of shock is...

You must be a sadist to flaunt
a black son in front of her.

I didn't flaunt him.

And he's not black.

He's what interior decorators
call hickory bronze.

The same color as your new car.

I would just as soon you
did not compare that boy

to my new car.

I no longer consider myself
your personal physician.

And I would advise you not to get sick

in San Marino, Mr. Whitney.

Your father-in-law wants the family

to spend the night at his house.

I don't see God's book around, Walter.

I'm sorry.

Sorry is for those seeking forgiveness.

Are you seeking forgiveness, Walter?

Forgiveness for what, Reverend?

Vivian said you told
her that God is black.

I simply posed it as a possibility.

We don't speculate
on God's color, Walter.

If you ever want her
to speak to you again,

go upstairs and tell
her that God is white.

But we're really not sure!

I mean, the Hindus don't believe it.

The Moslems, the Buddhists.

God is white!

It's simple logic.

His Son is white.

That's not proof.

I'm white, my son is black!

I'll pray for you, Walter.

Walter, this is the most
critical night of your life.

I was beginning to get that feeling.

But one which you can easily survive,

provided we proceed with
delicacy and good taste.

And Roger is not good taste?

Someday, perhaps, but not at the moment.

Well when does Roger become fashionable?

Who makes those decisions?

People.

Me, you.

Me?

Have I been wrong all these years

in interpreting your silence as approval?

Ah, it's human.

People lean any way the wind blows.

The wind blows white, not black.

It blows Whitney, not Weisenthal

You must not legally recognize the boy.

As long as he is considered illegitimate,

society is not threatened.

Someday the torch of leadership, of power

will be passed to you.

We must feel confident
that when your turn comes

to pass on the torch,

you won't put it in the hands of someone

who'd burn down the country with it.

Pass on the torch to him?

I don't think of Roger as my future.

I even resent his being here.

But I have a serious problem, Nelson,

a flaw in my character.

I don't have the sense of commitment,

or strength, or courage
to look at him and say,

Go away, you never happened.

Walter, you were like a son to me.

But as you well know,
having a son can turn out

to be a bitter disappointment.

Mr. Charlie, hey, where you going?

To work.

If you're hungry, there's
food in the kitchen.

Otherwise, stay in your room.

Can I go swimming in the pool?

Maybe tomorrow.

Just stay in your room and read.

And if you can't read, just...

sit and draw pictures.

Mr. Charlie,

I want you to know that
no matter what happens,

I'm behind you 100 percent.

You can even rub my head for good luck.

I don't believe in superstitious myths.

There's no myth about black
people changing your luck.

Well you only met me yesterday,

and already your luck
has changed, hasn't it?

I never thought of it like that.

Get your hand off the car.

Sorry, Mr. Whitney, we can't let you in.

Can't let me in?

Orders from the man upstairs.

I'm the man upstairs.

Mm-mm.

Mr. Longhurst gave the order?

Yes, sir.

We also got orders to confiscate your car.

My car?

Yes sir, it's company property.

This is outrageous!

Hello.

I'd like to call my secretary.

You don't have a secretary anymore, sir.

Wardlow, executive security.

May I have your credit cards.

My credit cards?

Article 7 of your company contract.

Unilectron shall reserve the right

to revoke all issued
credit cards at any time.

May I have your credit cards, please?

Thank you, sir.

Have a nice day.

And then he took out these
scissors and cut me in half.

You don't know what it's
like to see yourself

lying there on the ground.

Roger, Mr. Charlie.

Has anyone been around this morning?

Man, have I been trying to reach you.

I called your office, and
they said you didn't even

work there anymore.

As soon as you left, the
whole family came back.

Cops, moving men, and everything.

It's a wild scene, Mr. Charlie.

All your suitcases are on the lawn.

They're putting my
suitcases on the lawn?

Not putting them, throwing them.

What about my golf clubs?

My fishing gear?

My dobro?

What's a dobro?

It's like a guitar.

Yeah, well they just threw
that on the lawn, too.

I've got feeling you ain't
welcome here, Mr. Charlie.

All right, now listen.

Call a cab, put everything in it,

and come down here to my lawyer

242 Comstock.

Got that, 242 Comstock.

She's throwing my things out of the house.

Yes, I know.

I advised her to do so.

Your dossier, Walter.

Tax returns, bank statements,

investments, insurance.

Everything.

You advised her?

You, my dearest friend?

My lawyer?

I'm still your dearest friend,
but no longer your lawyer.

I agreed to represent
Vivian in the divorce.

You agreed to represent vivian?

Oh dammit Walter, do you
think I like doing this?

You sold out.

I'm recommending an
attorney, Bob Garvey.

Because of the uniqueness of the case,

I think he's eminently
qualified to represent you.

I don't object to him
recommending you, Mr. Garvey.

I object to the reason he recommended you.

They're not gonna get away with this.

I'm gonna fight.

Fight, Mr. Whitney?

Fight with what?

Money, I've got money.

You mean have other funds
that aren't listed here?

Of course not, everything
I have is in there.

Where is the boy now?

Downstairs, waiting in the cab.

Is the meter running?

I mean, with a financial
statement like this,

I'd watch every nickel

There must be some
mistake, some misprint.

Your salary has gone
into a stock option plan,

which is in Vivian's name.

There's trust fund which
is in Mary Ann's name.

Your bank account is in Vivian's name.

Man, you don't even
have a checking account.

But I didn't need checks.

I had credit cards.

All right.

Cutting through all the talk,
Mr. Garvey, what am I worth?

How much have you got in your wallet?

$68.

You mean that's it?

That's it, baby.

I'm worth 68 dollars?

I know it's a very old
cliche, Mr. Whitney, but,

you've still got your health.

For 68 dollars, who wants it?

Well until we get them into court,

you can always collect unemployment.

I can't.

Not unemployment.

That's what they want to do, break me.

Well I'm not gonna give
them the satisfaction.

They're never going to
make me crawl, never!

And stop smiling!

Even you're beginning irritate me.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean that.

Oh, you don't have to apologize.

Social menopause is a
difficult time for a man.

Social menopause?

Yes, you're going through a
change of color, Mr. Whitney.

You don't want to play the
game as a white man, so...

they're gonna let you
watch it as a black man.

This is it?

It's got no swimming pool

Maybe they got a
tennis court in the back.

Stop complaining.

They got TV and free ice.

That'll be 22 dollars.

And checkout time is noon.

There'll be no dope, no
parties, no fighting.

Only people in the room
is them that paid for it.

Sounds fair enough.

Here you are.

Okay, room 13.

And if I give three short
rings on the telephone,

that means the vice squad is here.

The vice squad?

He happens to be my son.

I've heard them all, mister,
but that's cute.

Hey Daisy, fella out here says,

Wait till I tell you.

Hey, you have to put a
quarter in it to make it work.

They only promised free ice cubes.

I don't like ice cubes.

Stop whining and eat them.

Will you stop banging that set?

I gotta watch Starsky and Hutch.

We can't afford them.

Well, maybe some quarters will come out.

Roger, we do not steal.

It ain't stealing. I'll put
the quarters right back in.

We do not steal, Roger.

Sorry, Mr. Charlie,

just seemed like the natural thing to do.

Then we will have to
control our natural instincts.

Who told you to take that bed?

I can't sleep on a narrow bed.

Neither can I.

Well I don't get enough sleep,
I wake up with a headache.

Your health is expendable?

I'm the one that we gotta keep alive.

That bed is mine!

I got it first.

All right.

We'll let reason prevail.

We'll split the room in half.

The space between the beds
should be the dividing line.

Each man's half shall be his,

where he can do as he pleases,

and into which the other cannot
cross without permission.

Call it.

Heads.

Tails.

Take that bed and I'll take this.

I sure hope you get a good job

so we can find a decent place to live.

Don't worry about me.

I'll get a job, I've got friends.

Hey Walter come in, come in.

Sit down, sit down.

Where is he?

Where's who, Freddie?

Your son.

Who told you?

Vivian called Helen this morning.

Is he really as black as she says?

How does it feel, Walter?

Uncomfortable.

Freddie, I got to talk to you.

Vivian told Helen that

she threw you out of the house.

Yeah.

Look, I've got a favor to ask you.

Where are you and your son staying?

In a motel.

Freddie, I'm not with
Unilectron anymore.

Vivian told Helen they
took your Rolls Royce away.

Freddie, I need a job.

Nelson called the old
man this morning, Walter.

No chance, huh?

Your name is shit around here.

I appreciate that, Freddie, I mean it.

There's nothing worse than
being left up in the air.

I can loan you some money.

Vivian told Helen they
took everything you had.

Oh thanks, old buddy, but I'm fine.

I'm just fine.

Well, see you around.

See me around where, Walter?

That's true.

Where?

You want me to okay a
loan without collateral?

I'll pay it back, Tubby,
soon as I get a job.

2,000 dollars, that's a lot of money.

I said I'd pay it back.

No house, no car, no jewelry, no stocks.

You must have something

you can put up for security.

I'm putting up our friendship, Tubby.

15 years of friendship
guarantees I'll pay you back.

I'm giving you the ultimate collateral,

Walter Whitney's word.

But your name isn't Walter Whitney.

7.65 for food.

25 cents for the paper.

Bus fare, phone calls, lunch,
22 dollars for the room.

We're down to 30 bucks.

22 dollars again for the room tomorrow.

Phone calls, buses,

and it's caput.

Eat, enjoy!

This may become known as
the Second Last Supper.

What's this?

Cream cheese, bagel and lox.

Oh, what's lox?

Smoked fish.

I don't dig smoked fish.

Shut up and eat it.

It's soul food.

This is soul food?

To my group, yes.

You know, you're not the
only people who have soul.

That sandwich is the result
of 6,000 years of suffering.

I don't understand.

Don't understand what?

Well, if you're that
loyal to a sandwich,

how come you change your last name?

None of your business, Roger.

Oh being that your name is my name, too,

I just wanted to know
what I should call myself.

I mean, after you make me legal,

will I still be Roger Porter?

Whatever makes you happy.

Roger Whitney.

Yeah, that's style.

Sounds like I belong.

Roger Weisenthal.

No, it don't feel right.

I can just see everybody saying,

You don't look like no Weisenthal.

Hey, where you going?

Out.

You coming back?

Unless I get hit by a
car or struck by lightning.

But knowing my luck, I'll be back.

Here we go.

Get set.

Good shot.

Throw me the ball.

You cut underneath the
basket and I'll pass to you.

There you go, go!

No no no no.

Here, Dad.

Try one more.

I'll get it.

Throw it here.

What?

Cut underneath the basket.

- Okay, right now?
- Okay, here we go.

- Okay.
- Here you go.

Here you go.

Okay, here, I'm gonna throw,

and go in your corner and cut out here.

You want me to throw it to you

and then you shoot it?

Yeah.

I'll get it, Dad,
don't worry about it.

It's all right, I'll get it.

Is that your boy?

Yeah.

What is he, he's about 17, right?

Uh huh.

Pretty good ballplayer.

Not bad.

I got a son about that age, too.

You want to play a game?

You and your son against me and my son?

Three baskets win.

We'll play for five dollars.

Okay, you're on.

Be back in five minutes.

Okay!

Hey, where are we going?

To pick up an easy five bucks.

Just hope those two
turkeys haven't left yet.

Okay, first team scores three
baskets wins five dollars!

Hey, wait a minute, wait
a minute, wait a minute.

It's supposed to be my
son against your son.

He is my son.

Come on, let's play.

You take it out first.

Come on, son.

You didn't tell me we
were gonna play basketball.

Don't slam dunk it right
away, it'll scare them.

Listen, Mr. Charlie...

Roger, just do what comes naturally.

Come on fellas, let's play!

Here we go, here we go, here we go!

Come on, Dad!

Come on, Roger, stop kidding around.

That's one.

Will you stop clowning around?

But I didn't even get a chance.

Come on!

Ready son?

Now dad!

Okay!

Shoot, shoot!

What the hell kind of shot was that?

It's the best I could do, Mr. Charlie.

That's the best you could do?

Five bucks.

We blew five big ones.

I have to be the father
of the only black kid

who can't play basketball.

You didn't have much
luck finding a job, huh?

Look, jobs at my executive level

are not just floating around.

But don't worry, I'll get work somewhere.

I heard about a place
today at Lincoln and Seco

where there's jobs for
hardcore unemployables.

I am not a hardcore unemployable.

You go there in the morning,

and guys come by on
trucks lucking for dudes

to do odd jobs.

Mowing lawns, painting houses,

cleaning stables, picking grapes.

Cleaning stables, where
did you even hear about

a job like that?

This afternoon, when
I gave this guy a lift.

How could you give
someone a lift, Roger?

In the car I was driving.

Car, whose car?

My car.

Car, you have a car?

Yeah, I picked it up
second hand to come out here.

You have a car and you didn't tell me?

You let me blow all my
money on cabs and buses?

I didn't have a chance to tell you.

I mean everything happened so fast.

You dragged me to the car.

You drove me to the ocean,
then to the store, then the...

Okay okay, forget it, forget it?

Where is it?

It's over there.

It's the red one.

Should have guessed.

Cost me 14 dollars and a record player.

You were overcharged.

You drove this 2,000 miles?

You could have been arrested
for littering the highway.

Do you hear that engine?

Needs a tune-up.

It's a menace!

Beats walking.

No, it doesn't.

Hey, there's gas fumes in here.

That means the engine's still running.

Open the window.

It's stuck, it won't open.

Well, bang on it a few times.

Hey, what are you doing to my car, man?

Your insurance will cover it, won't it?

What the hell was that?

I don't know.

We may be on fire.

On fire?

That dude on the bike.

Yell for him to get out of the way,

'cause once I get rolling,
I can't slow down.

Blow your horn!

Don't have one.

Don't have one?

That's it.

Out of the way!

Out of the way!

We've got no brakes!

Out of the way!

We've got no brakes!

Good morning, officer

Get the hell out of here.

85 cents.

That's what we're down to.

85 cents.

You can sign up for unemployment.

Never.

That's what they want me to do.

Well how 'bout welfare?

Lots of black families are on welfare.

We are not a black family.

Well, what's going to
become of us, Mr. Charlie?

I don't know.

Oh.

I never thought it would end up like this.

Eating sandwiches in a cheap motel.

I came to California figuring
I'd live in a mansion.

Look where you dragged me me.

Where I dragged you?

I thought you'd take better
care of me, that's all.

I'm doing the best I can!

I've been turned down by
every corporation in town.

So we're talking wall here.

We're doing what?

I mean, they really got
you up against the wall.

Oh yeah.

That's it!

What's it?

The wall.

What wall?

The money's in the wall safe

behind the picture of Vivian's mother.

Right.

Who is it?

Who's there?

Don't hurt me.

Take what you want.

I know what you're going to do.

I know I can't talk you out of it.

I can't stop you.

I'm alone.

My husband isn't here, I'm defenseless.

All right, go ahead.

Do what you're going to do and leave.

Just go ahead and...

get it over with.

Well, what are you waiting for?

Go ahead!

Do it!

Seventeen years of marriage,

and the only memorable night with my wife

was the night I came in as a burglar.

She was like a wild woman.

And you know, if she'd
have known it was me,

she would've gotten had a headache.

Roger, Mr. Charlie.

Roger, remember that place you mentioned?

The place for the hard-core unemployables?

Yeah, it's on the corner
of Lincoln and Seco.

But it's not that easy to
get a job there either.

I mean, there's lots of competition.

Stop worrying.

I can hold my own with any misfit.

Come on, you guys.

Let's go, move it.

After Roger registers, tell him

to pawn my golf clubs and find
a cheap furnished apartment.

I'll meet him in front of
your office when I'm done.

Are you sure you know what you're doing?

They're not going to
beat me, Mr. Garvey.

Any of you know how to load scrap iron?

- Over here.
- Over here.

Here I am, boss.

All right, you in the blue cap

across to the white cap.

Hop in the back of the truck.

You want a drink, buddy?

Five cents.

I only drink after work.

Hey, any of you turkeys
ever worked in a rock quarry?

Yeah, all right, get on.

You, yeah, you,

Come on, get on.

Alright, sit down and hang on!

Everybody in?

It's just you and me, buddy.

Either of you stiffs
know how to clean stables?

Yes, sir I can.

I'm available.

Okay, you, dummy.

I think he means you.

Yeah, you dummy.

Come on, get your butt in the back!

On the double!

You shovel each and every
one of these real clean.

Then come on over here to this other barn.

Then you clean all of these.

You start all the way
down there at that end,

clean all these up to here.

Then go back down there and
clean all those on that side.

You load it all in this wheelbarrow here,

clear up to the top.

Now you got that?

Come on, then.

Come on.

Then you walk it over here
to the pile and unload.

Got it, dummy?

Yes, sir

Then you go over there
to that barn over there,

and start over again.

Now go!

Go back to number one, and
don't stop till I tell you.

Go ahead, go!

Move it, move it!

Move it, dummy!

32 stalls.

You're okay, dummy.

Mr. Charlie!

Mr. Charlie?

Hey, I went to wait for you
down at Mr. Garvey's office,

but when you didn't show up, I came here.

I hocked the golf clubs, and
found us a furnished apartment.

Wasn't easy, but I found one.

Had a rough day, huh?

Where are we, Roger?

Watts, Mr. Charlie.

Watts?

What are we doing in Watts?

Well, it's not the fanciest apartment,

but at least it's home.

This is home?

This is home.

Jimmy Dean, get
down to that store, boy!

Your momma will be home
from work in a minute.

Hope we don't have to pay for that.

I don't mind living in Watts, but do we

have to live in the poor section?

The lock sometimes gets stuck.

Which in a way is good,

'cause you can hear
anyone trying to break in.

Who'd want to break in?

This is a furnished apartment?

This is terrible.

Terrible!

The better places wanted
first and last month's rent.

I only got 35 dollars for the golf clubs.

35 dollars?

That was a complete
set of MacGregor clubs!

Where's the bedroom, Roger?

It pulls out.

One of us can sleep on the couch.

I thought that was the bathroom.

Yeah, I did too, at first.

Where is the bathroom, Roger?

It's down the other end of the porch.

No, never.

I'm not sharing a communal bathroom.

It's unhygienic.

That's exactly how the other
tenants feel, Mr. Charlie.

That's why every apartment
has its own toilet seat.

Now it wasn't easy to get
you in here, Mr. Charlie.

I mean, they weren't too happy about

having a white person in the building.

You're here on a trial basis.

Well, I don't want to
lower the standard of living.

I registered at
a job training center today.

The only opening they had was
a class for short-order cooks.

Short-order cook.

That's a good trade.

You can always get a job.

Yeah, and you can save money
with me doing the cooking.

Now, you just sit down and relax.

What?

I can feel the springs.

Hey who's talking?

Turn off the goddamn radio!

What's the carton?

Ah, just something I brought from home.

What's in it?

Just a lot of stuff
that must belong to you.

To me?

Yeah, I found it in my
mom's closet after she died.

Oh.

It's yours, ain't it?

It's mine.

It'd be pretty
embarrassing if it belonged

to some other dude, huh?

Mom was great for saving things.

I mean, if a bird left some
crumbs on a windowsill,

she'd leave them there
like she expected the bird

to come back or something.

It never entered her mind that the bird

had forgotten where she lived.

Hey, it's...

it's like Cinderella.

You know, like the slipper fit,

and you were once the prince.

But it's midnight, and it's too late,

and the prince has turned
back into a pumpkin.

Aside from mangling
a beautiful fairy tale,

the reason the slipper doesn't fit

is that the prince's feet are swollen

from shoveling horse manure all day,

so he can support the
pretender to the throne.

I cleaned 32 stables.

I've been following the horses all day,

picking up the pieces of my life.

In a couple of weeks, you're
going to have a trade.

You'll get a job.

Then each of us goes his own way.

Until that time,

I'll shovel it.

I'll live in it.

But I won't take it.

Think I'll go take a walk, huh.

Uh huh.

Where is that welfare check?

Welfare check, what check?

You know goddamn
well what check I mean!

Hey, woman you
better get off my back!

I'm gonna get off your back

and get right on your ass!

Woman have you got
a death wish or something?

We had difficulty finding you.

Forgive me for not getting up,

but I hard day at the stables.

I got the job without
a character reference.

Walter, many strong words
were said in the heat of crisis.

But what you said was true.

The wind does blow white, not black.

It does blow Whitney, not Weisenthal

When you're shoveling manure,

you really find out which
way the wind is blowing.

I admire you, Walter.

I mean that.

You've shown a determination and an...

ingenuity which I admire.

I thought you would
break, but you only bent.

I respect that ability to survive.

The company misses you, Walter.

Vivian misses you.

Come back.

Come home to the people you belong with.

What about Roger?

Provisions will be made.

A good military academy
to strengthen character.

A tour of duty overseas in
the service of his country.

And if by chance he survives?

In that case, he will
be sent adequate funds

to permit him to live comfortably.

It's the solution that will
preserve your integrity,

your sense of obligation,

and most important, the quality of life

you've worked so hard to create.

I think Vivian would like
to say something in private.

Peace with honor, Walter

Why peace at all, Nelson?

I'm a deserter.

You execute deserters.

Only as a last resort.

You're one of us, Walter.

And there are so few of us.

We are the true minority.

Those tiny wheels that keep
the one big wheel turning.

If we vanish, that wheel stops,

and it rusts into chaos,
anarchy, nihilism.

All Power to the People.

They had it once.

It was called the Stone Age.

I had a long talk with Mary Ann, Walter.

And she's agreed to call you father.

Oh, Walter, I know that
I have, on occasion,

failed you as a woman.

But I assure you, I am a woman capable

of great warmth and passion.

But only for burglars.

Oh Walter, I knew
that was you all along!

Come home, Walter.

I'll be waiting.

They're after me, Mr. Charlie!

What'd you do?

What did I do?

Nothing.

I'm just walking down the street, right?

These dudes come up, break a store window,

grab some stuff, and took off!

Yeah.

Well, the police pulled
up, and I started running.

Innocent people don't
run from the police.

Yeah, maybe not in
San Marino, Mr. Charlie.

They were probably just trying
to find out what happened.

Yeah, when a cop yells,
"Freeze your ass, nigger,"

he's made up his mind what happened.

Open up, police!

Help me, Mr. Charlie!

The bed!

What?

Quick!

Hide in here!

They'll find me there!

No, they won't!

Do as I say!

Why?

Because I'm your father and I say so!

Open up!

Coming!

Open up!

Shove off, pigs!

What's a
white guy doing in here?

Let's get him!

How you doing, Mr. Charlie?

Not too good, Roger.

You get points today.

Got yourself arrested for me, roughed up.

Finally starting to
act like a father, huh?

Enough so I'll get off your back?

I didn't want anything
from you, Mr. Charlie.

No adoption, no trust fund.

Nothing.

I just came out here because every kid

wants to see what his dad is like.

I didn't want you to like me

because I was your son.

I wanted you to respect me
because I was Mom's son.

But I looked in your eyes,
and you didn't see Mom.

You saw black.

And Mom deserved better than that.

You owed her more than that.

I looked at you in that big office,

and I kind of went crazy inside.

I said to myself, "This is the
man who broke Mama's heart.

The man she spent her whole
life loving and waiting for.

And she died loving you, Mr. Charlie.

I think you ought to know that.

You walked away from a great lady.

There's no woman in the
world could love a man

more than she loved you, Mr. Charlie.

And she'd have made you happy.

She knew how to make people happy.

I wanted to hurt you like you hurt Mom.

I wanted to insult you so bad

that you'd get angry
and take a swing at me,

then I'd have an excuse
for punching you out.

Isn't that terrible?

A son wanting to hit his own father.

And I was glad when
things went wrong for you.

Then I realized no matter
how mach bad happened to you,

that couldn't make any
good happen to Mama.

She's dead, Mr. Charlie.

We'll never see her again,

hear her again, touch her again.

She deserved a better life.

You should have given her a better life.

I should have given her a better life.

Did you love my mom, Mr. Charlie?

This is very important.

Did you love my mom?

Yeah, I loved her

I loved her very much.

Wow.

Black and white together.

That's a lot to overcome.

You go on back to your
family, Mr. Charlie.

I got a feeling they'll
be a lot nicer to you now.

You're really not a bad guy.

I mean, if you weren't my father,

we might have become friends.

Walter.

Just in time for the board meeting.

Then lunch with the
common market delegation.

It's as though these
past days never happened.

Nothing's changed!

Everything changes.

Constantly.

That's why we have to adapt.

So we can always come out on top.

Being on top means
somebody's on the bottom.

Well, you can't have winners
if you don't have losers.

Why can't we all win, Nelson?

No losers?

That's what life is all about.

Even death has heaven and hell.

Winners and losers.

It's hard to hate you, Nelson.

You have just enough logic

to give your sickness respectability.

You've sentenced whole races of people

to be born losers,

and as the father of one, I object.

Not that he was born
with two strikes on him,

but that you won't give him
a third pitch to swing at.

Goodbye, Nelson.

You walk out this time,
and I'll destroy you.

When I'm through with you,
you'll think shoveling horseshit

is a step up!

I just don't understand.

Why is he going back there?

He was gonna learn a trade.

What's he gonna do back there?

Well, the new college semester

starts in a couple of weeks.

Well, what's that got to do with him?

He said left high school when he was 16.

That's when he graduated, Mr. Whitney.

Graduated?

He made me
promise not to tell you.

He goes to college?

Roger received a
scholarship from Northwestern.

That's where I went.

He's in his second year of pre-med.

He was right, Mr. Garvey.

I looked at him and I saw black.

I didn't see Lorraine, what she was,

what she would have
brought up our son to be.

I looked at him and I didn't
see a college student.

I saw a high school dropout.

I didn't see a doctor.

I saw a short-order cook.

Ah, look, there he is.

Roger!

Yeah.

Just wanted to wish you a good trip.

Thanks.

If you need something, I mean,

if you need money or anything,

I can always be reached
through Mr. Garvey.

Well, if you need anything, I mean,

if you run short or something, I mean,

I'll be at Aunt Clara's.

Well, have a good trip, Roger.

So long, Mr. Charlie.

You know, Mr. Charlie
doesn't sound right.

Not when you're saying goodbye.

Well, so long, Dad.

I have this friend back
in Evanston, Bernie Levin.

Every time he'd come out
here, he'd try and talk me

into coming back there
and working for him.

I thought I might just go there

and take him up on it.

It's not far from the university.

Might give us a chance to see one another

every once in a while.

Have dinner, talk,

maybe take in a ball game.

Get to know one another.

I mean, maybe we'll never
get to be friends, but then,

maybe we will.

I mean, it's worth a try.

Yeah.

Well, have a good trip, son.

Hey, listen.

If I'm gonna go back there,

I might as well start now.

Wouldn't hurt to have someone along.

I'm a pretty good mechanic.

Good idea.

You can send the rest of this stuff

to me at his Aunt Clara's.

Well, all right, all right!

Hey, I almost forgot.

This picture of Mom.

I think she'd like you to have it.