Original subtitles

♪ People let me tell you 'bout my best friend ♪♪

[Eddie] Is it true, elephants never forget?

[Tom] I don't really know, Eddie, but that's what they say.

[Eddie] I suppose, that's why they're so big

because they have to remember so much.

Do birds stay up at night?

[Tom] Some do. There's a night owl.

[Eddie] Must be pretty dull when everything is closed.

[Tom] I-I suppose.

[Eddie] I heard that the world some day will come to an end.

[Tom] Yeah, well, scientists have predicted

that the world will blow up in about a billion years.

[Eddie] Wow, that's good news.

I thought it was a million years.

[Tom] Oh!

[theme song]

♪ People let me tell you 'bout my best friend ♪

♪ He's a warm hearted person who'll love me till the end ♪

♪ People let me tell you 'bout my best friend ♪

♪ He's a one boy cuddly toy ♪

♪ My up my down my pride and joy ♪

♪ People let me tell you 'bout him he's so much fun ♪

♪ Whether we're talkin' man to man ♪

♪ Or whether we're talkin' son to son ♪

♪ 'Cause he's my best friend ♪

♪ Yeah he's my best friend ♪

♪ La la pa ra ra pa ra ♪

♪ Pa ra ra ra pa ra ♪

♪ Pa ra ra pa ra ♪♪

[scatting]

Ah, Tina, a man's sketches

are only as sharp as his pencils. Thank you.

Did you use up all the other ones already?

No, no, I gave 'em to Eddie.

It's funny, since I started taking art classes

he's now very interested.

Aw, you must be very pleased.

Yeah, I am.

Of course, it's, uh

it's a little too early to tell if he's gonna be

another Rembrandt or not

but, uh, you know, he could turn out to be another Corbett.

Well, he could do a lot worse.

Not in the art world, he couldn't.

Now Mr. Corbett, that sounds like

false modesty.

I'll bet you're very good.

Well, I am graduating from fruit.

Graduating from fruit?

Yes, I, uh, I signed up for a live class.

I just thought, d-drawing people

would be lot more interesting. That's all.

Um, is-is that the kind of class

we use live models?

Yeah, that's right.

Who, uh, don't wear any clothes?

Well, hah...

You know, you have to see what you're drawing.

Will you be using, uh, male or female model?

Uh, female, I suppose.

You suppose?

Alright, female without clothes.

Female without... A lady without clothes.

Well, you certainly are trying

to relieve your executive tensions, aren't you?

No, no, no, Tina, it, um...

It's just that it's very hard to draw an apple.

Oh, I understand, Mr. Corbett.

I'm just, uh, wondering what Eddie's going to say.

What do you mean?

About you drawing naked ladies.

Well, I, uh, uh, hah

I haven't told him yet, but I just can't imagine

that it'd be any problem.

Suppose, Eddie finds out

that when men like Eisenhower and Churchill wanted

to relax, they painted landscapes.

- Tina. - Yes, Mr. Corbett.

Ike and Winnie...

...didn't have a magazine to get out every week.

They ran countries.

And countries...

...are landscapes.

Oh.

[door opens]

Good evening, Mr. Eddie's father.

Hi, Mrs. Livingston.

How was your art class tonight?

Oh, it was very interesting.

I, uh, I enjoyed it.

- Oh, that's good. - And I must be improving.

The teacher paid me a compliment.

- Oh, what did he say? - That I was improving.

- Oh. - He-he. Uh, Eddie asleep?

- Yes. - No, I'm not. I woke up.

Would you come in and say goodnight, dad?

Um-hm. Back to bed.

I am very sorry, Mr. Eddie's father.

I thought he was asleep.

You're right. He was.

- Goodnight. - Goodnight.

♪♪

Well, how'd things go today, sport?

- Pretty good. - Good.

Mrs. Livingston told me today

that, um, there's a new young lady

that moved into the building, huh?

- Yeah, Gretchen. - Gretchen?

Well, what's she like?

Not bad for a girl.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Well, the older you get

the more you're gonna come to that conclusion.

Dad, you know I'm gonna get married

to some girl someday.

I hope so.

But between now and then

please stop trying to get me fixed up, okay?

Yeah. Okay.

What'd you draw tonight?

- Tonight? - Yeah.

Oh, nothing much.

You told Mrs. Livingston that it was interesting

and you really liked it.

And that your teacher said you're improving.

Yeah, I did say that, didn't I?

- Draw any apples? - No, no.

[clearing throat] Tonight, we, uh, we did a couple of subjects.

Lemons and pears.

- More like arms and legs. - People?

Did you ever see lemons and pears with arms and legs?

Well, is it harder to draw people than fruit?

Oh, yeah, little harder, I think.

But it's a lot more fun.

Can I see what you did?

Well, it's a little late tonight, sport. Here we go.

But, dad, you always let me see your work.

Yeah, we will talk about that. Down you go.

- Tomorrow? - Tomorrow, yes.

- We'll talk about it. - But, dad--

We'll talk about it. Goodnight.

Goodnight.

Mr. Corbett, what's the matter?

Oh, nothing.

Eddie, uh, asked me what I was drawing.

Um-hm.

And I ducked the question.

You mean, you told him apples.

- No, I did not. - Huh!

Nope.

I just told him. I'll tell him tomorrow.

- Uh-huh, that's today. - I know that, Tina.

Now, I don't know what to tell him.

You mean, uh, you're afraid that Eddie's not mature enough

to understand that it's perfectly natural

for a whole room full of people to sit around

drawing pictures of one person in that room

who doesn't have any clothes on?

If you put it that way, Tina, I'm not quite sure

that anyone would understand.

- You know what I mean? - Yeah, I know what you mean.

The question is, will Eddie know what I mean?

I mean, not only the circumstances

as you have so eloquently described them

but the fact that, uh, his father takes part

in such, uh... ceremonies.

Oh, boy, is it hard sometimes as a parent to know...

[sighs] ...when to bring things up.

Yeah.

I remember my cousin and her husband

had this sort of a decision to make once.

- Really? - Yeah.

Their little boy used to crack his knuckles all the time

and it drove 'em crazy.

But they didn't wanna make him more nervous

and so they didn't know whether to bring it up or not, you know?

But finally, they just sat down

and discussed it with him very openly.

What happened?

He still does it.

Oh, yeah, it's what I think, I'll, uh...

think I'll bring it up but anyway.

Hmm.

- Hey, that's pretty good. - Thanks.

Well, I just can't get the tail right.

Can't get the tail right. Want me to help you a little bit?

- Alright. - Okay.

Let's see the plane. Atta boy.

Alright. Extend the fuselage like this, alright?

And like phu-phu-phu-phu...

Wow, you're good.

Thank you very much.

Would you like to see what I did last night?

- Okay? - Okay. Come on over here.

Well, now, this is all the old stuff, remember.

[Eddie] Wow, you have a whole orchard.

[Tom] Yeah, well, I think, those days are over.

Now, ah, well, there you are.

♪♪

That's what you did the other night.

Yeah, that's... Well, there's other ones like that

but that's-that's it.

Hmm, that's far out.

- How'd you do it? - Just drew it.

No, I mean, like when I draw motorcycles

and you draw fruit and things like that

I mean you have to have it right out in front of you.

'Cause you have to see what you're drawing, right?

That's, that-that-that's right. That's right.

Well, then how do you draw a lady like that?

Well, she, uh, she comes into the classroom

and she's right there in front of you.

No, I, oh, how do you get the lines of her body in?

Well, uh...

She has no clothes on.

- Really? - Yeah, really.

Why would anybody wanna do that?

Well, Eddie, because, uh, she is a model, she gets paid for.

It's a job.

Now, that's kind of a job I never heard of before.

Yeah, well, all the great artists always use models.

Eddie, now, think of the times you and I've been in the museum.

Think of those paintings, right?

You've seen all those naked people.

Well, yeah, but they usually

have a lot of angels flying around

and guys blowing horns and things like that.

That's right, but still they had to use models for that.

Well, I mean, how come it isn't against the law?

I mean, you just can't walk down the street

without any clothes on.

No, because, uh, there's no legitimate purpose

for that you see, but, Eddie, an artist has to draw

what, what he feels and what he sees

as being beautiful.

And, Eddie, the human body is a very beautiful thing.

- What's that like? - Hm?

What's it like?

Oh, you mean, uh, to-to-to draw

a lady like this?

It's no big deal.

It's a lot different from airplanes.

What's this?

Oh, that's my sketch pad.

I'm learning how to draw.

That's a pretty good orange.

That's a peach.

Oh! It's not bad for a peach.

Hey, I've got an idea.

- I'll surprise my dad. - How?

I'll draw you.

Can you draw a person?

Well, sure I can try.

Just stand over there.

Okay.

No, Gretchen, not like that, no.

Just stand like you always stand.

That's better.

Gretchen?

Yes?

Would you be willing to take off your clothes?

♪♪

Okay and a memo to Norman.

You never write memos to Norman.

I know that. He was complaining about it the other day.

So I thought I would sit down

and send him a memo, okay?

Alright. To Norman Tinker from Tom Corbett.

Subject, memos.

Dear Norman, being an artist and living

in a rather rarefied atmosphere

you may not understand some of the fundamental problems

of a working business to it the memo.

The memo requires a great deal of time and effort

on behalf of the executive who sends it.

Not to mention the secretary that transcribes it.

To say nothing of the person who receives the memo

and must read it.

Very often, the person that receives the memo

doesn't understand it and he has to sit down

and write a memo to the memo sender

asking the memo sender what the original memo meant.

So, I think if you take this all into account

you will understand why I never send you a memo.

But should the situation change

I will send you a memo to that effect.

I'll get this out right away, sir.

Wait. I, now, have something for you.

Yeah?

I'd like you to know that I told Eddie

all about my class

and he didn't mention Eisenhower or Churchill once.

Hmm. What did he say?

Nothing.

And if I say so myself

I handled it very well.

And he understood what it was all about.

[telephone buzzing]

Mr. Corbett's office.

Pardon?

Oh, Mrs. Livingston. I didn't recognize your voice.

No, it sounded a lot, a lot different.

A lot higher.

Just a minute.

Yes, hello.

Hi, Mrs. Livingston.

Eddie, what?

He did?

She did?

You're kidding.

No, no, Mrs. Livingston, I wasn't doubting your word.

Uh, lo-look, uh, you, you calm down

and I'll be home as soon as I possibly can.

What happened?

Uh...

Well, uh, ahem, Eddie was, uh...

...sketching picture of this little girl...

in his room

and then Mrs. Livingston, uh... came in

and, and, uh... and there she was.

Naked?

She would've been.

♪♪

You didn't put any water in it, Mrs. Livingston.

Thank you, Eddie.

I'm sorry if you're upset.

I am as upset at myself as I am with you, Eddie.

I don't see why you should be upset at yourself

Mrs. Livingston.

I mean, you didn't do anything.

And also in a way, I feel like I didn't do anything either.

But at least I did something.

And I cannot approve of what you were doing, Eddie.

Oh, Mrs. Livingston

you know what, in Japan, people even take baths together.

That is a very different thing, Eddie.

I don't see how it's that different.

I would rather your father discussed it with you.

What did he say on the phone?

He will be home as soon as possible.

That's all?

That is all he said on the phone.

Hello.

Good evening, Mr. Eddie's father.

- Hi, sport. - Hi, dad.

Did you know that the Stegosaurus

has one of the smallest brains

for one of the biggest animals of its time?

No, no, I didn't realize that.

Oh, yeah, you can even do an article

about that in your magazine.

And I'll bet you that's a thing

that a lot of people don't know.

Um-hm. Well, I, I'm-I'm glad you told me about that.

It's a good idea and I will, uh, I'll keep it in mind.

Uh, Eddie, you and I have something to talk about I think.

Tsk. I guess so.

Okay. Why don't we do it over dinner?

Now, let us begin at the beginning.

What happened this afternoon?

Well, Gretchen came over to play after school.

So far, so good.

But we couldn't think of anything to do.

Um-hm. It could happen to anybody.

Well, then she saw my sketch pad

and I told her about my drawing and stuff.

I see. She's interested in art, is she?

Well, she was beginning to get interested

but now I don't even know.

Eddie, whose idea was it to sketch Gretchen?

Mine.

Whose idea was it to, uh

to sketch her... without her clothes on?

Mine.

Well, yours too.

'Cause I got the idea from you.

Well, now, Eddie, now I know I told you about my art class

but I don't think it's the right thing for you to do.

But you said there's nothing wrong with it.

That's right, that's right.

If you are a serious student of the arts.

But, dad, I paid her 25 cents.

You can't get any more serious than that.

You mean she posed for money?

Well, yeah.

After she found out that models got paid.

That was it.

Eddie, why were you so anxious

to draw her

that you would give up some of your money?

So I could surprise you

if my drawing was any good.

And she was there.

I see.

But then Mrs. Livingston came in.

Yes, what'd she have to say?

Something Japanese.

But then her English came back.

Eddie, I appreciate your wanting to draw a sketch for me

but nevertheless I don't think you should've done it.

You mean it's wrong?

Well, uh, Eddie, I don't know that "Wrong" is the right word

but it will have to do.

Yes, it was wrong

for you at your age.

- Oh. - Oh.

Mr. Buckner is at the door.

Who's Mr. Buckner?

- He must be Gretchen's father. - Oh.

[Mrs. Livingston] I told him you are having dinner.

I bet he didn't go away.

- No. - No.

Well, I'll see him.

Sport, you, go ahead and finish your dinner.

♪♪

Hello.

I'm John Buckner, Gretchen's father.

Tom Corbett, Eddie's father. Won't you come in, please?

Thank you.

I, uh, understand I'm interrupting your dinner.

No. As a matter of fact, we were just finishing.

I haven't had mine yet.

Ah, even during times of crisis, you have to eat.

Look, I'll come right to the point, Corbett.

I'm here to find out what action you intend to take

as a result of what happened this afternoon.

Well, I am discussing it with my son

but I don't intend to take any action.

None at all?

It depends on what you mean by "Action."

An engagement at this point would be a little premature.

Corbett, I think you're taking this thing much too lightly.

Yes, I can see that.

I think you're taking it much too seriously.

Do you realize what happened this afternoon?

Yes, practically speaking, nothing.

Oh, come on.

If I took your view, Corbett

I would make an appointment for my daughter

to pose for your son every afternoon.

Now, is that what you're suggesting?

No, in the first place, my son couldn't afford it.

And in the second place

I have asked him not to do it again.

[Buckner] And do you think that's enough?

[Tom] Yes, I think that's plenty.

Alright, you leave me no choice, Corbett

but to insist that your son

never be allowed to see my daughter again.

Um, Mr-Mr. Buckner.

Please, we're talking about

two children and something done

in complete innocence.

I think to blow it up in anything

more than that would be a big mistake.

But you can't just let these things go by now--

Now that I agree with.

It's different for you. You're the father of the boy.

I'm the father of the girl.

I feel that I have to be stronger about this.

And if it being stronger means you go further out on a limb.

Alright, fine, then I'd go out on a limb.

And what happens later

when you have a real problem?

Do you think I'm making a mistake?

Yes, I think you're making a mistake.

Can I have a drink, please?

Sure.

- Uh, scotch on the rocks. - Fine.

You know, I, eh, I... I don't know how to say.

It's, it's just, it's too much for me.

It's, it's all too much for me.

What are you talking about?

I'll tell you something, Corbett.

When it comes to being a father

I am never, I'm never sure of myself.

Do you realize what that means?

I-I live in a state of perpetual uncertainty

knowing only one thing for sure

that whatever I do

whatever I say is probably wrong.

Well, now, uh

don't you think you're exaggerating a little bit?

No, no, that's the truth.

I-I-I never know whether to say to or yes

or no, or-or-or maybe.

Oh, say maybe. It's always safe.

You know, I'll tell you something.

When I was a kid

fathers knew what to do

and the kids did it.

Today it's all, it's all different.

You know, historically, this is no time to be a parent.

Well, historical timing is something you can't just pick.

But, you know, for all the problems

it's an experience that I would never wanna miss.

That's because you have confidence.

Because you know what to do.

You know, it seems to me, Corbett, that, well, somehow...

Somehow you've got all the answers.

No. Nobody has all the answers.

Look... as parents

we both have an awful lot of problems

and difficulties ahead of us.

But we're really in the same boat.

Nine years old.

You know, I mean, my Gretchen is nine years old.

This is just the beginning.

When I think of the crisis ahead...

C-Corbett, do you think we'll make it?

I mean, do you really think

that we're gonna make it?

I think we're gonna make it.

I think we're gonna make it.

♪♪

Uh, thank you very much, Mrs. Livingston.

You're welcome, Mr. Eddie's father.

It's not easy for some people to be fathers, huh, dad?

It's not easy for anybody to be a father.

Well, I don't wanna make it any harder on you, dad

but there is just one thing that I don't understand.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, when you and I talked before

you said that I was wrong with Gretchen

but it sounded like you were telling Mr. Buckner

that he was wrong.

No, I was telling Mr. Buckner

that you had made a mistake

and that he was making a mistake getting upset about it.

Well, if what I did was wrong

why shouldn't he get upset?

Because in my opinion, it was the wrong thing to do.

But he could've been right.

In his opinion, yes.

I guess, it's all just a matter of opinions.

I guess, you could say that.

Maybe you were wrong to say that I was wrong today.

Maybe, but not in my opinion.

Huh, dad.

Look, sport, what it amounts to is this.

There are many questions to which

there are no clean-cut yes or noes

because some people think one way

other people think another way, right?

But custom depends on what most people think.

Now, in the case of a child

what counts most is what your parents think.

And in this case, you know what I think.

Yeah, I know.

Do I make it hard to be a father?

You make it beautiful to be a father.

[Eddie] Why do we have little toes and little pinkies?

[Tom] Oh, well, I guess, when people were made

the design was to give them all different kinds of equipment

to get along with.

[Eddie] But little pinkies and little toes

they're not very much important.

[Tom] Sure, they are.

You couldn't play "This Little Piggy Went To Market"

without the Little Piggy that ran all the way home.

And in some places

when you drink tea, it's very nice to just

raise your pinkie a little.

[Eddie] How about if I was off thumbs?

[Tom] Eddie, that'll be a terrible disaster

to your building career.

[Eddie] Yeah, but I sure could hitchhike terrific.

♪ People let me tell you 'bout my best friend ♪

♪ La la pa ra ra pa ra ♪♪

♪ People let me tell you 'bout my best friend ♪

♪ He's a warm hearted person who'll love me till the end ♪

♪ People let me tell you 'bout my best friend ♪

♪ He's a one boy cuddly toy ♪

♪ My up my down my pride and joy ♪

♪ People let me tell you 'bout him he's so much fun ♪

♪ Whether we're talkin' man to man ♪

♪ Or whether we're talkin' son to son ♪

♪ 'Cause he's my best friend ♪

♪ La la pa ra ra pa ra ♪♪