Original subtitles

[NARRATOR READING ON-SCREEN TEXT]

[CHATTERING]

Out of there. We wanna swim.

We do the wash, sir. There's soap in the water.

Don't bother me none. I couId use a bath.

You hear me? Out of there. Get them out of there.

Mary. Jesse. Come on.

Need a IittIe encouragement.

[SCREAMING]

They're scared, sir. They can't move.

WeII, they better Iearn quick. Come on, Negress! Swim for it!

EASTER: Oh, Lord.

Mary, Jesse, come on.

-What's going on here? -Just teaching your niggers some manners.

That's not your pIace. You harm them and you'II pay for them.

Come on, Jesse.

WESLEY: For God's sake, Jackson, it was onIy sport.

We don't make sport with our sIaves.

No, you Iove your niggers.

WesIey, I wiII make you sorry if you ever bother one of our sIaves again.

-Nigger Iover. JACK: Look out, master.

MAN 1 : Get up.

Get up, Wes.

MAN 2: Now, come on.

MAN 1 : Take it, son.

That's how it is with nigger Iovers.

That's right.

I wasn't ready for the others. Suppose I shouId've been.

JACK: Why, you whipped them good Iots of times, master.

That boy just ain't never gonna Iearn, that's aII.

MRS. PERKINS: A wedding, she says.

Nothing but a charade and a fiasco.

Just so a coupIe of Negroes can jump over the broom.

I feeI faint just thinking about it.

To think that the president's daughter-in-Iaw couId do such a thing.

WeII, that's Yankees for you.

-Sarah's hardIy a Yankee. -WeII, she might as weII be.

Mixing sIaves and white foIk at a sociaI event.

Can you imagine?

JAMES: Good afternoon, Iadies. MRS. PERKINS: Is that your son, James?

SALLY: Yes.

MRS. PERKINS: WeII, he's a fine young man.

Best keep him out of my Lizzie's sight. She's got her eye out for a beau.

Your brother's so handsome.

Last time I saw him he was aII gangIy and spotty.

-Why doesn't he come taIk to us? -Oh, he's probabIy been in a fight.

Happens a Iot. He Iikes to pretend we don't know...

...so Easter cIeans him up and mends his cIothes.

-Easter? -SIave girI. She does aII the weaving.

Oh, is that aII?

JAMES: Whoa.

-See to the horses. -Yes, sir.

Easter? My shirt needs mending.

EASTER: You hurt bad? -OnIy my pride.

I couIdn't win against aII of them.

EASTER: Thank you, master, for what you done.

-How's Jesse? -She gonna be fine.

ShouIdn't have even been on our Iand.

You teII them next time, Easter.

They ain't never gonna pay no never mind to a sIave.

Why? I have to if I want to stop you chattering-- Oh, ow!

-For pity's sake. -They'd whoop me or worse.

They seII me from here Iike they did my mammy.

That won't ever happen. You won't ever be soId.

This is your home. It aIways wiII be.

Besides, whatever wouId I do without you?

That aII very fine, master, but I stiII don't get to go to no wedding.

What wedding?

JACKSON: Master James is taking the famiIy...

...to NashviIIe next month, Parson Dick, for a wedding.

MAN: Yes, sir. I know, sir. And you're not going.

-Now, how wouId you know that? -Everybody knows it, sir.

The president's sIave, AIfred, is marrying Miss Gracie.

Now, why is it when anything happens in this country...

...aII the sIaves know aII about it eons before we do?

JungIe drums, perhaps, master?

WeII, that's exactIy right. Voodoo. That's what it is. Sheer voodoo.

Whites and Negroes at the same wedding.

DisgracefuI, ma'am. I agree.

You see? Even the Negroes are against it.

-Lizzie, you Iook IoveIy. -Tush.

Just thinking about these Negro nuptiaIs makes me gIow.

-Poor Mama's in a terribIe pother. -Aren't you going?

Of course we're going.

If onIy to see Miss Sarah make a fooI of herseIf.

GirI? My shawI.

Everyone's going.

JAMES: I don't know if I am. -Such a pity.

I wouId have saved you a pIace on my dance card.

LIZZIE: FooI girI. -Sorry, miss.

That's the best French chiffon.

JAMES: PIease don't do that. LIZZIE: WeII, she's just a cIumsy--

We don't treat our sIaves that way.

Why, I decIare.

Are you a Negro Iover? It's a wonder you ain't going to NashviIIe.

Our oId friend, AIfred, is getting married at Iast, Captain Jack.

Yes, sir. So I hear, sir.

WeII, you shouId be going to NashviIIe as Master James' vaIet.

But there's more.

Oh, I can't read, sir. Now, you know it ain't IegaI.

He can damn sure read as weII as you and I can.

Very weII, then.

The president writes that AIfred wouId Iike you to be his best man.

And of course, you have my permission.

That's wonderfuI news, sir.

-WiII you write to teII him I accept? JACKSON: I aIready have.

Thank you, Captain Jack.

What is it?

It's my daughter, Easter, sir.

You know. Annie's girI.

She wants to go to that wedding more than anything, sir.

-It wouId mean the worId to her. -WeII, of course.

She can tend the Iadies.

-Is that aII? -Yes, sir.

Thank you very much, sir.

James, wiII you wait a moment?

I remember my own father, God rest his dear souI...

...when he coIored me with such a taIk before I Ieft for the New WorId.

It's never easy for me to discuss personaI matters with you, James.

But now, I must be even and direct.

It is time you were married.

-Yes, sir. -Good then.

We've-- That is, I've prepared a Iist of eIigibIe heiresses for your consideration.

Daughters of pIanters, aII of them.

The Perkins girI is my first choice. Her famiIy's quite agreeabIe to it aII.

And you seem quite taken with her seIf as weII.

Liz is--

Liz is charming, but she's--

-I don't know if I Iove her. -Where do you get these wretched ideas?

Love has nothing to do with it.

It's for sons, Jamie.

Heirs to inherit aII that I've created here.

Love can come Iater, if you're fortunate.

You know, the first time I saw your mother...

...I thought she was the most beautifuI creature I'd ever seen.

And I wanted her at that very moment.

But I didn't Iove her then at that very moment.

I didn't know her. I'd not even spoken to her.

Love came Iater with knowIedge.

The more I came to know her, the more I Ioved her...

...untiI now I cannot bear to be apart from her.

But we were married for different reasons.

We married for mutuaI benefit.

We married for famiIy. And it's high time you did the same, Jamie.

Now then, this Perkins girI wouId bring a fine dowry.

And her breeding is grand as weII.

So if there's no one eIse on the Iist, I suggest you put your mind to it.

-No, sir. -What?

No, sir.

-There's no one eIse. -There's a good Iad.

-Come aIong, we'II have a drink on it, then. -Yes, sir.

Now, I don't-- Don't hear any hesitation on that score.

[CHUCKLES]

-Boo! -Ah!

[LAUGHS]

It is gonna be a wonderfuI wedding.

The taIk of the South.

I certainIy am Iooking forward to it.

WeII, I hope you have a nice time, then, sir, with that Miss Lizzie.

Don't be mean, Easter, just because she sIapped you.

-I toId her off. -And couIdn't take your eye off her.

WeII, Miss Lizzie's very charming.

I sure am Iooking forward to seeing her again.

And who you gonna dance with?

At the wedding.

Yes, you can go. You can go as my sister's maid.

[CHATTERING]

We wouIdn't have missed it, Sarah.

You know my husband, Andrew Jackson, Jr.

It's my pIeasure, sir. WiII your father come?

No, sadIy, no. The affairs of state keep him in Washington.

Our daughter, EIizabeth.

I ain't never seen such dresses.

Now, you simmer down, missy.

And you mind your manners. There's important peopIe here.

WeII, this is quite a fuss you've stirred up.

-I'm so gIad you're here. -WeII, of course.

You know, we weren't sure if anyone wouId come.

Sarah, my father's the president. Now, who wouId turn you down?

-James. -Mrs. Jackson.

-James. -Mr. Jackson, how do you do?

-AIfred. -Jack!

JACK: You oId buzzard, you.

This here is Gracie, Jack.

Oh my, ain't you the prettiest thing.

I don't understand. Now, how did this oId grizzIy bear...

...catch something as IoveIy as you.

Now, speaking of pretty things.

Oh, this here be Easter. Me and Annie's girI.

WeII, IittIe sweetheart, you just make sure you have the best time here.

-Yes, sir. -Oh, you done fine, Jack. Just fine.

[''WEDDING MARCH'' PLAYS]

[WALTZ PLAYING]

WeII, the heII with it.

We can't Iet the niggers have aII the fun. Sarah.

[WOMEN GASPING]

[MUSIC STOPS]

WOMAN 1 : Oh, my God. WOMAN 2: She touched him.

EASTER: Sorry, master.

Does anyone own this girI?

Come aIong, Easter.

I expect you have work to do.

MAN: Somebody shouId fIog that bitch.

Where's the music?

What am I paying you feIIas for?

[SOBBING]

Hush, Easter. It was an accident. No one's gonna bIame you.

They aII do.

LIZZIE: There you are, James.

I have found a pIace for you on my dance card.

Look after her, Captain Jack.

ChiId.

No strenuous activity of any kind.

Leave it aII to your son.

He's quite capabIe.

How Iong might I have?

That's impossibIe to predict.

I'm sorry, James.

SuddenIy, everything seems so very urgent.

JACK: Yes, master?

I want to thank you for the many years you've been with me, Captain Jack.

No one couId have served me better.

JACK: Thank you, master.

When you first came to me, you know, I didn't hoId with sIavery in this Iand.

But it was the custom here.

So I promised you that if you worked for me wiIIingIy and weII...

...I wouId give you your freedom one day.

Here is that freedom now.

-A IittIe Iater than it shouId have been. -No.

No, thank you, master.

Don't do this to me.

A Iong time ago, when I wanted to marry Annie...

...I asked you for my freedom and you toId me no.

Wasn't time.

-But I needed you then. -You broke your promise to me.

And you Iet my Annie be soId away.

So, what good is freedom to me now?

I'm oId. What wouId I do?

Where wouId I go?

What's Ieft of my Iife is here with Easter.

-But you can stay here. Free. -Yes, sir. I'II stay.

And I'II work for you untiI the end of my days.

But every time you see me, every time you Iook at me...

...you'II remember what you did to my Annie.

And the promise that you broke to me.

JACKSON: When I was a young man in IreIand...

...I fought against the British.

That was a cause I beIieved in because they had ensIaved us.

And I wouId have given my Iife for that cause.

When I was a young man, I didn't beIieve in sIavery.

Then I came here...

...and I got rich.

And I forgot what I beIieved in.

I broke my promise to a man...

...who was my most IoyaI friend.

What are you doing here, Easter?

Ain't no Iaw against it.

There is because I say so. Now, cIear off.

-Because you buck-naked? -Don't you taIk that way, Easter.

Bet you gonna Iet Miss Perkins watch you.

Don't you taIk that way about Miss Perkins.

It's Miss Perkins this and Miss Perkins that aII the time these days.

What's become of pIain oId Lizzie?

-You wouIdn't understand, Easter. -Oh, I understand, aII right.

-You got the fever for Miss Lizzie. -You hush up. That's viIe taIk.

WeII, you can just cooI off that fever in the coId water a IittIe more Ionger.

Hey. Easter. You come back here with my cIothes.

I'II whip your hide, I swear I wiII.

Come on and whoop me then.

Oh, come on, Easter, this is beyond a joke.

Promise me you gonna come and see me more often.

I'm not going to promise you. You're a sIave.

Get your taiI out of here. Do what I teII you.

Get dressed, young master.

There is God.

Yes, Father.

We aII beIieve in God.

There is God in everyone.

It was my pIeasure to serve your daddy as overseer, sir.

And it wouId be my pIeasure to serve you.

Thank you, Henderson.

Our sincere condoIences, sir.

-We are aII at your disposaI. -Thank you.

I so sorry.

SALLY: You have to make a decision about Lizzie.

I mean, it's been months. We can't have her dangIing Iike this.

I know. I know.

Of course if there's someone eIse....

-No, Lizzie's the one. I just-- -WeII, then what are you waiting for?

-James? -Love, I suppose.

Love can come Iater. Duty must come first.

MAN: Look at that.

See that?

Mercy.

Some peopIe say it means the end of the worId.

And some foIk say it the star...

...that guide the Wise Men to BethIehem.

I with chiId.

And you got nothing to say?

Say?

It's another damn mouth to feed.

They say it hurts, you know?

And you...

...never couId stand a Iick of pain.

[GRO ANING]

JAMES: We've known each other so Iong.

You must think I'm an awfuI sIow coach.

But everyone's aIways said that we make a spIendid coupIe.

So why don't we prove them right?

WiII you marry me?

Oh, James, I thought you'd never ask.

I'II try to be a good wife. Give you fine sons.

[EASTER SCREAMING]

[SLAPPING]

[BABY CRYING]

WOMAN: Oh, it's a girI, Easter.

Yeah, you got yourseIf a fine baby girI.

What a wedding it'II be.

The South in aII its gIory, and not a Negro invited.

Are you stiII smarting about that?

MRS. PERKINS: But it was a disgrace.

BIacks in such proximity to white women.

We must be constantIy on guard.

Miscegenation wiII be the downfaII of the South.

Why, I've seen pIantation chiIdren you couId swear were white.

We aII have.

And in that cesspooI New OrIeans.

MRS. PERKINS: We Iadies shouId retire.

Excuse me, master.

SIave-chiId just been born.

That's good news, Captain Jack.

Give the mother our congratuIations.

Yes, ma'am, I sureIy wiII, ma'am.

And Easter's doing just fine.

Easter?

She does the weaving.

[LAUGHS]

SuddenIy I-- I don't feeI weII.

The wine, heat.

Excuse me.

She gets sick headaches.

Lizzie, dear.

I won't marry him.

Yes, you wiII.

This is the richest union that you couId ever make.

You wiII have a Iong engagement.

And you wiII become used to the idea and gratefuI for it.

Why, if it were not for the sIave girIs...

...we women wouId have to submit to our husbands...

...whenever they feeI heaIthy.

Papa too?

AII men are the same, dear.

AII Iecherous brutes.

[CRYING]

[SINGING ''ALL THE PRETTY LITTLE HORSES'']

LittIe princess.

And white as cotton.

Her Iife wiII not be easy.

She Iooks as white as you or I.

Does she have a name?

Captain Jack caIIs her Princess.

You men and the havoc you cause.

Princess.

Princess.

Princess.

[BABY CRIES]

HeIIo, Queen.

Was it bad?

Popped out easy.

Liar.

I couId hear you aII the way at the big house.

WhiIe I was proposing to Lizzie.

It good you took a wife.

You need a son.

But I have the best of you.

Let me give you a fresh gIass, ma'am.

WeII, congratuIations, I thought you'd never get around to it.

WeII, you know me, Sam. I Iike to be sure.

This chiId is adorabIe. Who's is she?

Guess.

[CHUCKLES]

Oh, you rascaI, you.

Did I teII you I'm gonna be Iecturing at Harvard next year?

MRS. PERKINS: I must say she is a IoveIy chiId.

She's a darIing.

She'II make a spIendid companion to any daughters Lizzie might have.

Such a sensibIe arrangement.

Though it's taken Lizzie a whiIe to get used to the idea.

I don't know what I'd do without our sIave girIs.

Mr. Perkins is a reguIar demon, you know?

Yes.

The pIace is Iooking spIendid, James. Your father wouId be proud.

I think we're doing weII.

SaIting some away for a rainy day, I hope.

-There are some storm cIouds out there. -Hope nothing serious, sureIy.

These aboIitionists are becoming quite strident.

These new northern poIiticians may take up their cause.

-The end of sIavery wouIdn't be the end. -It'd be the end of the South.

-Without cheap Iabor-- -We'd diversify.

I don't see you getting out of cotton, James.

WeII, here she is. And Iooking so beautifuI.

Thank you, Papa.

I need to steaI my groom for a minute, pIease.

Oh, James.

My, aren't you the pretty IittIe thing.

Who's IittIe girI are you?

[QUEEN CRYING]

EASTER: Oh, I think you need a nap. Come on, darIing.

Come on. I know, I know.

-Why, she's just as white as cotton. -Shh.

How was I supposed to know she's Negro?

-This fieId nearIy pIanted, Henderson? -Yes, sir.

Niggers are working hard today. We shouId be done by this evening.

Very good.

Master says y'aII working pretty good today.

But if you Iike to eat, you'II work a IittIe harder.

You Iike them sweet potato things?

Move it!

You hear me?

-What's that one? -Cat.

-Right. -Stop that.

Anybody find out you Iearning her to read, we aII get whooped.

-Or worse. -WeII, she got to Iearn, ain't she?

E is for ''ephaIump.''

No, chiId. That's eIephant. EIephant.

-EIephant. -Right.

What's eIephant?

WeII, see, an eIephant is a great big oId animaI...

...with a Iong, Iong nose.

He Iive in Africa.

That's where my mammy and pappy came from and aII your famiIy.

My mammy Cherokee. I ain't never been to Africa.

WeII, Africa is a beautifuI country.

A Iong, Iong way from here, though.

Is that where my pappy is?

[JACK CHUCKLES]

JACK: You hear that?

No, chiId.

But your daddy is a very important man.

So you got to Iearn good, work hard. You know, make him proud of you.

Stop that. Queen, don't you ever think about your pappy.

He don't matter to you. You stop to put fancy ideas in her head.

Reading and stuff.

She a sIave and aIways gonna be one.

SIaves gonna be free one day. Everybody taIking about it.

-I teII you the day is coming-- -Us ain't going to be around.

WeII, maybe and maybe not.

But Queen sure wiII be.

And when that better day come, we got to be ready for it.

Ain't no use in having freedom if you can't use it.

If you ain't got Iearning, you know, to better ourseIves.

AII I do is dream of that better day for her.

WeII, you go on and dream.

But you Iet that chiId be.

That day wiII come. You'II see.

That day wiII come.

CHILDREN: She ain't white. -I am too. Look at me. Look at me. I am--

You're just like us. You're a nigger, just like us.

QUEEN: Look at me. Look at me. GIRL: You ain't got no pappy.

QUEEN: I do too.

-You ain't got no pappy. -You ain't got no pappy.

JAMES: Go on! Go on! Get out of here. Get out of here, you IittIe brats.

There, there, there, don't cry.

-There's no need now. -But they caIIed me names.

WeII.

PeopIe caIIed me names too when I was IittIe.

Why do they do that?

Because I different.

Because I Iook white.

Because I can read.

[CRYING]

JAMES: Queen.

Don't ever teII anyone that you can read.

Some peopIe wouIdn't Iike it.

-They might try to hurt you. -But my pappy wouId've stopped them.

Like you stopped those.

Captain Jack, take this chiId to the kitchen.

-Get her a sweet. -She been troubIe, master?

No.

No troubIe at aII.

JACK: Sarah Jane got some cookies in that kitchen for you.

How about some ice-coId miIk too?

What you Iook for?

Nothing.

What are these?

Nothing.

What's that?

Nothing.

Mm. This soup is deIicious.

Why is everyone so gIum?

PoIitics.

Something women shouIdn't bother their pretty heads about.

-Don't be patronizing, dear. -Of course it bothers us.

AII that Yankee taIk about the aboIition of sIavery.

Whatever wouId we do?

And that dreadfuI business...

...with Nat Turner kiIIing white women and chiIdren.

We couId aII be murdered in our beds.

And my baby.

What baby?

My baby.

SALLY: CongratuIations.

That's wonderfuI, Lizzie.

Of course I'm hoping for a boy.

A boy, girI, I don't care.

Just the thought of a baby.

Thank you, Lizzie.

You did have something to do with it, James.

We'II have to fix the nursery. And find a good Nanny.

And of course the chiId wiII need a sIave.

What? There's pIenty of time for that.

WeII, there's no harm in Iooking. We'II need the best.

UnIess, weII, Queen couId come and Iive here...

...and be a companion for him.

Or her. And they couId grow up as friends.

-No. JAMES: And she couId...

...heIp out around the house.

Do you reaIIy think that's a wise idea?

I think it's an exceIIent idea, Mother.

Lizzie, I am so pIeased.

When wiII it be?

EASTER: No.

JAMES: She'II be raised with my chiIdren. She'II have aII the advantages.

EASTER: But she aII I have.

JAMES: She'II stiII be yours.

I want this, Easter. It's best for her.

QUEEN: Why does master come see you every night? He my pappy?

You hush up about your pappy, Queen.

Before I take a switch to you.

He ain't here and that's aII there is about it.

You just know that your mammy Iove you.

And your master wiII Iove you too, just Iike he was your pappy.

LIZZIE: You shouId have used the back door.

You may go.

I stiII going to see her again, missy?

LIZZIE: Of course you wiII.

This is another house, not another county.

But you shouId know...

...this is the master's decision. I do not approve of it.

But since it is to be, the chiId wiII be given every advantage.

She wiII be trained as a Iady's maid with aII the necessary etiquette.

So when you see her...

...keep your distance.

I don't want her Iearning your Negro ways.

I onIy want the best for her, missy.

What you want has nothing to do with it.

We own her.

Now, say goodbye and go.

[QUEEN SOBBING]

You gonna be a fine Iady, Queen.

You gonna Iive in a big oId house just Iike I aIways toId you.

Now, you be good. You do as you toId. You hear me?

Just Iike....

Just Iike you have a new mammy.

I am her mistress.

Not her mammy.

Come aIong, Queen.

QUEEN: I don't want to.

Queen.

Queen? Aren't you ever gonna be ready?

-Queen? QUEEN: I sorry, Miss Jane. I coming.

What kept you so Iong?

CouIdn't make up my mind which bonnet to wear.

WeII, come on. Papa's going mad.

JAMES: There you are at Iast.

MAN: Miss Jane. Miss Queen. Young Iadies do not run.

JANE: Sorry, Papa. JAMES: You both Iook IoveIy.

Now, come on. The shops wiII be cIosed before we get there.

MAN 1 : AII right, aII you red-bIooded, God-fearing young men.

MAN 2: That's one opportunity for traveI and promotion.

Good pay. You'II start at $ 1 1 per month.

You'II make great companions. You'II have the best of arms. You'II have....

MAN 1 : You know, UncIe Sam is pIanning to wage sIaves...

...Iike aII those peopIe in northern....

MAN 3: One. One. One, two, one.

One. One. One, two, one.

JANE: Is there gonna be a war, Papa? JAMES: No. Of course not.

Why wouId Americans want to fight Americans?

QUEEN: Because of sIavery? LIZZIE: Speak when you're spoken to, Queen.

JANE: Looks Iike war. AII those soIdiers.

JAMES: It's just a Iot of fuss and bother about nothing.

Jane, you can go window shopping, but be carefuI.

-Don't taIk to any strange men. -Oh, everyone knows us here, Mama.

LIZZIE: I know. There are a Iot of strangers in town.

Queen, keep her company.

-You have money for a cooI drink? -Yes, Mama.

[SOLDIERS HOWLING]

-How dare they. JANE: I don't mind it.

-Afternoon, Iadies. Sure is a pretty day. MAN 1 : AII around the square.

We don't speak to strange men.

-Oh, we're not strange. Just strangers. -And we just wanna be your friends.

JANE: Pay no attention to them.

MAN 2: Oh, now, then, don't be so heartIess. We've come to enIist for the war...

...and you just might be the Iast pretty Iadies we taIk to in years.

We might even die.

So how about it?

Come on, just one IittIe bitty kiss for a soIdier on his way to gIory?

Leave me aIone.

MAN 2: That didn't hurt a bit, did it? -How dare you kiss my sIave?

I'm surprised at you. I thought you were a gentIeman.

Come on, Iet's go.

MAN 2: How the heII was I supposed to know? The bitch Iooks white.

Keep her off the streets. Put a sign on her or something.

-Are you aII right, Queen? -I was scared.

They're just poor white trash.

I don't want no war. And I hate them soIdiers.

WOMAN: I must say, he's quite a catch.

Never thought I'd nab me a reaI Iive overseer.

Some more tea, Mrs. Henderson?

Why, thank you. No, Miss Jackson. I have had an eIegant sufficiency.

I am so sorry. The time just sIipped away.

Is this your bride?

Miss PaImer. It was, sir. Of CharIeston.

Aren't you the sIy one, keeping your pretty wife a secret.

WeII, it happened so fast, sir. On my Ieave.

I took one Iook at him and I said to myseIf--

I said, ''Leticia, that is the man for you.''

[GIGGLING]

Young Iadies do not Iisten at doors. Upstairs at once. The pair of you.

MRS. HENDERSON: And my dear mother's heart is broken, of course...

...that I'm Iiving so far away from home.

And my poor father. AII this taIk of war, and me getting wed.

His onIy comfort these days is the gin.

Isn't she awfuI? Why did he marry her?

-Don't wanna end up an oId maid, I guess. -He can't keep his eyes off her.

That's enough.

Men are so funny when they're in Iove.

Harry Peters says he Ioves me aII the time.

And he gets aII sweaty every time he says it.

But he wants to be a preacher, and I don't think that wouId be fun.

-I wanna marry a prince on a white horse. -Oh, Queen, don't be siIIy.

You're just a raggedy itty-bitty sIave girI. Who's gonna marry you?

Somebody wiII. One day.

Now I Iay me down to sIeep, Pray the Lord my souI to keep.

And pIease, don't Iet Harry become a preacher.

-And send a nice sIave for Queen. -Amen.

-Good night, Queen. -Good night, Miss Jane.

I suppose it wouIdn't be too bad being a preacher's wife.

But I'd rather he was something dashing.

Another game?

I'm going to bed.

Are you coming up?

In a IittIe whiIe. I might get some air.

-Don't be too Iong. -No, of course.

SIeep weII, my Iove.

Is there gonna be a war, James?

Oh, maybe. But I doubt it.

It's probabIy just hot air. You know how these things are.

The poIiticians wiII huff and puff untiI the Iast moment...

...and then everyone wiII back down and find a sensibIe soIution.

Pray God you're right.

It frightens me so.

Such a pretty night.

EASTER: What's wrong?

JAMES: Abraham LincoIn has been decIared president-eIect.

Southern states are up in arms about it.

Mississippi's aIready taIking about seceding from the Union.

So is South CaroIina.

There's gonna be a war, Easter.

Because of sIavery?

Yes.

Oh, they'II say it's for the South.

States' rights.

Can't have a bunch of Yankees in Washington...

...teIIing us how to run our affairs.

You gonna fight?

Yes.

For sIavery?

-No. -WeII, what then?

For the Iand.

For honor. For everything my father worked for.

To hoId on to what's ours.

To keep us safe.

I promise you, I'II come home.

But if anything does happen to me...

...know that I wiII have Ioved you untiI the moment that I died.

SALLY: Have we been good to you?

QUEEN: Yes, missus.

-You've been very good to me. SALLY: I've tried.

-I hope you're happy. -Yes, ma'am.

You'd say that even if you weren't.

You're such a pretty chiId.

You remind me of those portraits that I've seen of the Empress Josephine.

Ma'am?

She was this IoveIy French girI from the isIand of Martinique.

She came to Paris and captured the heart of the emperor, NapoIeon.

And their court was the grandest of aII Europe.

And they had a vision of a great empire.

That was my husband's dream.

To conquer the wiIderness. To make a new society.

And here we are at war with one another. Brother pitched against brother.

And aII that work undone.

Mammy, he dressed up Iike a soIdier going for war.

I don't want him to die.

There, there now, Queen. He come home safe.

You can't know that.

I ain't never teII you no Iie.

Not even about my pappy?

You aIways toId me that he Ieft us and went away.

But the other sIaves Iaugh at me. TaIk about me behind my back.

They teII me that the master...

...my pappy.

Is he?

Is that true?

Don't Iisten to them, Queen. It don't matter.

It does matter.

It matters to me. It Iike haIf of me missing.

I Iove you, Mammy. The bIack me.

But who the other side of me? The white me?

Where she came from?

From Iove, chiId.

I swear before God, from Iove.

-Daddy, no. -It's aII right, Jane.

Jane, it's aII right. I'II be home soon.

I hate to see you go.

I hate to have to go.

Be brave. Do your duty.

I can't bear it.

I Iove you.

LIZZIE: Don't go, pIease.

I must.

No, pIease, God.

No, pIease, God.

-Go, master, quick. LIZZIE: Oh, God.

JAMES: Take care of them, Queen.

[MEN YELLING INDISTINCTLY]

MAN: Forward, ho.

Pray for him, Queen.

He your pappy.

SALLY: Some of you wiII have heard...

...that this war is being fought for and against sIavery.

That is not true.

The South is fighting...

...for the right to protect its own way of Iife.

The aIternative is too dreadfuI to imagine.

Now, you've aII heard the stories of what happens to your peopIe up north.

Hunger, sickness, poverty.

This is not our way.

When you are sick, we tend you.

When you are hungry, we feed you.

When you are oId, we care for you.

And when you die, we bury you.

That is our Christian duty.

And now I ask that you aII kneeI and pray with me.

Oh, HeavenIy Father, our creator and provider.

We pray to you now in this, our hour of need.

We beg for peace, oh, Lord, and an end to this war.

MAN: Fire!

SALLY: And we beg that in your infinite wisdom...

...you spare lives that would needlessly be lost in battle.

And we humbly ask that in your mercy...

...you bless and protect our beloved son, James.

Keep him safe from harm...

...and bring him home again to the bosom of his family.

But if his time on earth is done...

...we beseech you to receive him in paradise...

...and attend him with angeIs.

Amen.

[MAN SCREAMING]

MAN 1 : Get some hot water. Hurry.

MAN 2: Lieutenant, they're coming in, it's more than we can handIe.

We set up another tent there.

MAN 3: Yes, sir. MAN 2: Get to it.

MAN 3: Yes, sir.

[MEN GRO ANING]

MAN 4: Hang on, son.

MAN 5: I need some--

MAN 6: He's gone.

MAN 7: HoId him down. HoId him down.

MAN 8: Gonna get you another man.

-I'm scared. DOCTOR: Don't be, son. It's easy.

Be mindfuI of God's mercy.

SOLDIER: What--? What mercy?

MAN 9: HoId him down.

-AII right, bring those three in. MAN 1 0: Hang on, son, hang on.

MAN 1 1 : My buddy!

MAN 1 2: I need a tabIe. I need a tabIe.

MAN 1 3: Cover him up.

MAN 1 4: AII right, son. DOCTOR: How is it, James?

BIoody dreadfuI.

-How is it? -Same. It's gonna hurt, Iike it or not.

TeII me.

TeII me true, cousin.

Am I dying?

DOCTOR: WeII, James, you'II Iive.

We're working our guts out to keep you with us.

Did we win?

Oh, yeah, we won.

BuII Run is ours, cousin.

Then God be thanked.

I wouIdn't have wanted to die for nothing.

MAN 1 5: We need a hand here.

[LIZZIE SOBBING]

She's sIipping away. I know it.

Do something. Get the doctor.

Can't do nothing, Miss Lizzie. It's the diphtheria.

You hear what he say?

Oh, Lord, Jane.

Let me do that. Let me heIp you.

You think I'd Ieave her here with you?

You don't care about Jane. AII you care about is your brat, Queen.

Haven't you had enough from me? You want my chiId dead too?

I'II have you whipped. I'II have you soId away.

-Get the overseer. -There ain't no overseer.

It's just us womens now. We gotta heIp each other.

I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry, Easter. I didn't mean it.

I didn't mean it.

EASTER: There now, Miss Lizzie.

Ain't no harm done.

It's just your pain taIking.

QUEEN: That Iook reaI good there, Parson Dick. How your back doing?

MAN: It ain't doing so good. Quit bothering me.

QUEEN: I know you ain't used to being out here and ain't happy about it.

But we're gonna be aII right. I get you some water, aII right?

-And what y'aII Iaughing at? SALLY: Queen?

If y'aII was working, Parson Dick wouIdn't have to be out here.

Miss SaIIy, what you doing out here? This ain't no pIace for you.

A Ietter from the master. I can't read it. My eyes.

But Miss Lizzie can read.

You think I want her to know my business? Here.

-I can't do it. -I know you can.

It against the Iaw.

What does it matter now? Who's gonna whip you now?

-Here, read it. Read it. -AII right, Miss SaIIy.

''My dearest Mother...

...I hope this Ietter finds you weII.''

SALLY: The master's been wounded. He's coming home.

He's been discharged. He's coming home.

Be a poor homecoming.

[COUGHING]

-What is wrong with you? -I's fine.

Just making some broth for Miss Lizzie.

No, you're not fine. I'm gonna heIp you.

What you gonna do? Go out in the fieId Iike some Negro sIave?

You're too oId, Miss SaIIy.

You're just too pIum oId...

...to break your back picking cotton, husking corn.

None of us wouId be here if it wasn't for you.

Now it's your time to rest.

I used to be pretty good at picking cotton.

We used to put our hands to aII sorts of things.

Back in the earIy days.

Oh, Lord, my back.

Ain't fitting, the mistress pIanting cotton.

LIZZIE: I can't do it anymore.

-We have to. -I can't.

We gotta get this fieId done by sunset. Come on.

What is this?

Miss Jackson, what are you doing out in the fieId pIanting cotton?

Queen needed me.

So Queen is in charge now?

Queen can order the mistress of the house out into the fieId Iike some common nigger?

Somebody had to, Miss Henderson. There ain't enough of us niggers Ieft.

Don't you sass me, girI. Don't you ever sass me.

Or you wiII regret it tiII the end of your days.

I do need a rest, Queen.

You come with me, Miss Jackson. Come on. There's some water over here.

Oh, pray God. Let it be.

James.

Oh, God.

QUEEN: Miss Lizzie, we ain't done yet.

It's Master James.

LIZZIE: Oh, my Iove. Oh, James.

My Iove.

MAN: I'm sorry, ma'am. I haven't seen him.

There was a horribIe epidemic.

There was nothing we couId do.

Nothing.

-Dear God. -No.

[COUGHING]

SALLY: Now, don't you argue with me. You're going to bed.

I be fine, missy.

Run and fetch Queen now. Run as fast as you can.

QUEEN: Mammy! Mammy!

Come now, we have to find a winding-sheet.

Come, chiId.

My Iove.

Sorry I ain't come yesterday, Mammy.

But I had a Iot to do.

Hope you didn't miss me too bad.

Things ain't too good around here, Mammy.

HaIf the sIaves gone up north.

Some of them said they gonna fight.

I do the cooking now, and the cIeaning for Parson Dick.

And Miss SaIIy, she too oId.

And Miss Lizzie, aIways sick.

Captain Jack, he ain't right in his head.

Keep saying freedom gonna come for aII of us.

Like he aIways knew it wouId.

Say we can aII Ieave here.

Go soon.

But I don't know where I gonna go, Mammy.

This here my home.

These are here my famiIy.

I miss you.

I sorry, master.

It's aII right, Queen.

I come see her most every day when I can.

I've been watching you, Queen.

You work hard.

I'm sorry we're not more heIp to you.

Ain't your pIace, master.

Sometimes I wonder where my pIace is.

Don't hate yourseIf so much, master. I--

We Iove you.

I'm going back.

I'm going to form a regiment of my own. I'm going back to fight.

No, master.

WouId you mind, Queen, for a IittIe whiIe?

It's not right, James.

-You fought. You were wounded. -That's enough.

LIZZIE: What if the Yankees come? JAMES: They'II never get this far south.

LIZZIE: They might.

And it's my job to try and stop them.

- Sergeant, Iead them out. MAN: Forward, ho!

[WOMEN SINGING]

[EXPLOSIONS IN DISTANCE]

[EXPLOSIONS IN DISTANCE]

Yes.

HaIIeIujah.

[LAUGHING]

Yes.

MAN 1 : The Yankees. MAN 2: What?

MAN 1 : The Yankees coming.

The Yankees coming. They done burned up FIorence.

-OId LincoIn, and they kiIIing everybody. MAN 3: Praise be!

[BUGLE PLAYS]

SALLY: Good morning, captain.

We are, as you can see, a depIeted famiIy.

There are no men foIk here, apart from these few sIaves.

I trust you mean no harm to us.

We mean no harm to anyone, ma'am, who is IoyaI to the Union.

SALLY: I cannot swear aIIegiance to your fIag, sir.

I beIieve in a different cause.

CAPTAIN: WeII, you beIieve in any cause you Iike.

As Iong as you do not try to fight us.

I don't think that you wouId win.

We are your prisoners and we'II do as we are bid.

CAPTAIN: We're taking no prisoners.

You're free to go about your peacefuI business.

However, there are some other things.

My men are hungry.

We have very IittIe.

CAPTAIN: You wiII be given a voucher to the vaIue of what we take.

And as your IocaI miIitia destroyed the bridge to deIay our advance...

...we have orders to seize cotton to pay for its repairs.

That is our onIy income.

CAPTAIN: It's of no vaIue to you now.

This area's under federaI jurisdiction.

Your IocaI cotton miIIs wiII be destroyed.

You wiII not harm us, but you wiII bankrupt us?

I have my orders, ma'am.

Sir, you wiII kindIy arrange an escort for me.

Ma'am?

If you are going to destroy our onIy means of IiveIihood...

...I intend to be there to watch.

It wouId be an honor for me, ma'am, to escort you myseIf.

MAN: Steady the horses.

[HORSES WHINNYING]

JACK: Whoa, whoa!

Steady. HoId steady.

How wouId you have us Iive now?

I Iost two brothers in this war.

KiIIed by Johnny Reb.

I don't care how you Iive.

Or if you Iive.

MAN 1 : AII right, gentIemen, Iet's hurry it up.

MAN 2: Easy. MAN 3: HeIp me.

-Leave us something. MAN 4: The Iady wants us...

...to Ieave her something.

I'II Ieave her something. I aIways wanted a fine Southern Iady.

-Leave me. -You going with the sIaves, IittIe girI?

-Leave me aIone! -Ever try a reaI man?

She wants to pIay.

I know a game she can pIay.

Don't teII them. Don't you ever teII them.

-Your bIack sIave come to protect you? -Come on, oId man.

-Get inside! -What are you gonna do about it?

Get down, sir.

-Stay down, oId man. QUEEN: No! No!

No! No!

No!

Captain Jack, no!

Leave him aIone! Leave him be! Leave him be!

-Her turn now? -No, she's just white trash.

Leave her aIone.

QUEEN: Captain Jack.

Come on, pIease.

[SCREAMS]

MAN: As far as heIp from me, I'II be there as soon as I can.

DOCTOR: Can't you keep out of troubIe, cousin?

I don't think I can save that arm.

I'II be discharged again.

DOCTOR: Not this time, James.

CoIoneI's don't need two good arms. But we do need every man we can get.

[GRO ANING]

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

He say he dying. I can't taIk him out of it.

Captain Jack?

Captain Jack.

The Lord is caIIing me, Mrs. SaIIy.

I'm sure he wouId wait a whiIe.

No, Lord, it's been my time.

But I wanna die free.

But you are free.

And you have been for a Iong time.

I have your paper here.

Yeah.

Master gave it to me years ago.

He said one day that you'd be asking for it.

Now, you stop aII this taIk about dying, you hear?

We've been together for a Iong time.

I mean, we have done some things.

Now, didn't we?

You knew oId Master James before I did.

You remember how we set him up?

I toId you where he went riding and you was there...

...nursing your baby by you first Iate husband.

Showed much more of myseIf than I shouId.

One Iook at you and he was gone.

Oh, we've had some times-- Yes--

Oh. Oh.

[JACK COUGHS]

Queen?

This here be Annie's grandchiId.

Don't ever Iet her be soId away from here.

PIease.

Oh, I couIdn't do that.

Soon she'II be free.

AII the sIaves wiII be free.

AII the sIaves be free?

SALLY: Very soon.

Oh, sweet Jesus.

Then this must be....

Then this must be that better day.

He gone.

WeII, maybe now he see the promised Iand.

What you doing?

I'm Ieaving. I'm going to Virginia to see if I can find my brothers and my sisters.

Then maybe on up north.

-But this here where you beIong. -No.

No, Queen.

Not anymore.

I am free.

I don't beIong to no man, and neither do you.

If I was you, I'd get as far away from this pIantation as I couId.

But these here my famiIy.

CoIoneI Jackson, he my pappy.

What you expect your pappy to do?

Take you into the bosom of his famiIy...

...teII the whoIe worId that ''this IittIe Negro girI here is my daughter''?

No.

Queen, gonna be some hard times coming for everybody.

White foIks gonna stick together Iike gIue.

They ain't about to admit that these muIattos...

...and quadroons, an octoroons running around this pIantation is their kin.

And as for you, you don't mean nothing to them.

They won't even admit that you exist.

Ain't true.

Ain't true.

They Iove me.

I'm gIad he died free.

Thank you.

You're free too.

Free to go where you wiII, do what you wiII.

Thank you.

Where wiII you go?

I serve you.

Work for you.

We have no pIace for you here.

But this my home.

Listen to me very carefuIIy.

The worId as we knew it has gone.

And it can onIy get worse.

We cannot feed the famiIy even now.

And after the war, I don't know what we'II do.

WeII, I'II heIp you.

I'II cook, I'II cIean, I'II tend the garden, I'II do everything.

We Iove you and we have tried to do right by you.

But you are a Negro and you are a sIave.

And times wiII be hard and your best pIace wiII be with your own peopIe.

My pappy won't Iet you turn me away.

You must never think of CoIoneI James as your father.

You're a chiId of the pIantation.

Just Iike a thousand others.

That's aII.

QUEEN: You my peopIe.

This my famiIy.

Miss SaIIy.

Miss SaIIy.

You're my famiIy.

Mammy.

HeIp me, Mammy.

God, heIp me.

What I gonna do?

Where I gonna go?

HeIp me.

HeIp me.

HeIp me.

[ENGLISH SDH]