Original subtitles

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

[ship horn blowing]

[Eddie] It sure has been a nice day, dad.

[Tom] I'm glad you like it, Eddie.

- It's fun to be with you. - Ditto, Eddie, ditto.

[Eddie] It's different than being with kids of my own age.

[Tom] Mm-hmm, it's different for me, too

with kids of my own age.

[laughing]

Well, we should be heading home, sport.

[Eddie] Let's just stay a little bit longer.

Okay.

It's not every kid that can

be friends with his dad.

I mean, besides lovin' him.

[Tom] Well, I think that's got a lot to do with you.

[Eddie] And I think it has a lot to do with you.

- Ditto. - Ditto.

- Ditto. - Ditto.

- Ditto. - Yeah.

[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 talking 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]

Good evening, Mr. Eddie's Father.

Hi, Mrs. Livingston. Where's Eddie?

In his room, cleaning up.

Oh, cleaning up what?

Eddie and his friends played

football in his room this afternoon.

Uh-huh. I think I better go look in.

- Hi, dad. - Hello, Eddie.

Did Mrs. Livingston tell you about our football game today?

Yes, she did.

May I ask what your blackboard is doing

upside down in the middle of the room?

We use that for kickin' our field goals.

Oh, you do, huh? I see.

Well, you see, we really wanted to play, dad

and you won't allow me to play in the street.

And I didn't feel like going all the way down to the park.

- But, Eddie, you should have. - I know, dad.

Okay.

♪♪

- Eddie. - Yeah?

Uh, you wanna pull up the bike here for a second?

Sit down, and we'll have a little talk, huh?

Okay.

- Sport. - Yeah?

I, uh...

I've been thinking about something.

Yeah, what?

Oh, you're gonna be a pretty big boy now.

And I think you could probably use a little more room to play.

Yeah, especially outside.

And, you know, I could use a den

sort of as a, a home office

when I have to bring so much work home.

Are you trying to tell me something, dad?

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I'm trying to tell you that it occurred to me that

we could use more room around here.

Maybe, a house.

Hey, yeah. That'd be great.

Yeah, and if we had a house of our own

we could do anything we wanted.

Could I have my room blue and orange?

Alright.

Why don't we look?

Wow. That'd be neat.

Blue and orange, huh?

You see any good houses, dad?

Well, if you can believe the ads, Eddie

each one is more marvelous than the next.

Then how come people wanna move?

Hey, we have a great place here.

- Don't we? - Yeah.

Well, we're thinking of moving, aren't we?

- Yeah, that's right. - Yeah, that's right.

Boy, these ads sure are complicated.

Really? Like, what do you mean?

Well, here. I'll read you this one just like it is.

Okay.

"45 BR, 3 BA, 2 FRPs and FRML dine."

Yeah, why don't show that one to me, huh?

- Okay, here it is. - Yeah.

"Two ACS."

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

"Two ACS", that means two acre estate.

Yeah, they do that to save space.

If they have two acres, why do they need to save space?

No, no, I mean in the ad, silly.

- Oh. - Oh.

Well, for example, okay. Here's one.

"45 BR" that means 4 or 5 bedrooms.

"3 BA" means three bathrooms. Hmm?

"2 FRPs". Now what do you think that means?

- Mm... - That means two fireplaces.

And "FRML Dine", that means a formal

or separate dining room, you see.

Gee, dad, you're great.

I bet you that you could break

any enemy code just by lookin' at it.

Well, you really think so, huh?

Yeah, Billy Gruber and I broke a enemy code the other day.

- You did? - Yeah.

Who was the enemy?

There wasn't really even one, it was made up.

- Oh. - So was the code.

Oh, I see. Well, let's get going, huh?

And get to some of these house before

someone buys 'em all up from us.

You think they will?

Well, they will if they're like they're advertised.

For example, look at this. It says

"Everything that you've ever wanted

"and had been afraid to buy.

Newer than new, country club cutie."

"Country club cutie." Is that a house?

Not always.

Well, what do you think of the BR's, the BA's, the FRP's

and the FRML dines so far, huh?

- I like ours better. - Yeah, me, too.

Well, maybe we'll like this house, huh?

That one? Is that the one that's supposed to be

"almost a mansion?"

- Yeah, that's what it says. - Yeah. Is it?

Hah! Looks more like a country club cutie to me.

- Yeah. - Well, let's look at it.

Okay.

♪♪

And if you tell anyone else that the pipes in the house leak

or the toilets overflow, I will personally...

- Oh, hello. - Hello, hello.

- Hi. - We, uh...

We came to see the, the property.

- Of course, I'm Irma Handily. - Oh.

- Handily Real Estate. - Well, how do you do?

[Tom] My name is Tom Corbett and this my son, Eddie.

- Ah, delighted to meet you. - Hi.

This is Bruce. He lives here.

His family went out for the day and left him with me.

Now, we've been having fun, haven't we, Brucie?

No.

Well, let me show you around.

Alright, but first may I, may I ask you, um... Is...

Is this the "huge entrance hall" you have here in the article?

Yes, but--

You won't like the rest of the house either.

Bruce!

[phone ringing] Oh, excuse me.

Uh, Bruce, why don't you go out and play?

There's a snake in the backyard.

Bruce!

He has the most marvelous imagination. Excuse me.

Uh, yes, yes, yes.

Uh, uh-uh, there's a snake in the backyard?

There's lot's of 'em in this area.

- Any kids? - Nope. No kids, just snakes.

Doesn't sound too good, huh, dad?

No, no, it doesn't, it doesn't.

It's a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't wanna live here.

Well, now, shall we look around?

Uh, well, I don't think so.

Yeah, it's just not the right place for a boy.

I see.

Bruce has also mentioned the neighbors, the police

his room, the fire hazard?

- He didn't mention that. - He would have.

Actually it wouldn't have made any difference

what Bruce had said because, well, we just don't

think that this is the, the right house, uh, for us. Right?

It doesn't feel right.

Well-well I have lots of other houses.

If you could just tell me what you're looking for.

- Well, uh, alright. - Oh, j-just a minute.

Why don't you boys go out and play?

- Okay! - Is it safe?

- I think so. - Don't push!

I feel sorry for you. Having to live in such a terrible place.

Nothing's the matter with it. It's really swell.

Then how come you said all those things about it?

I don't wanna move.

- Hey, look at this. - What is it, Norman?

It's my idea for a new feature, the castles of England.

Hey, that's not a bad idea at all.

Yeah, inspired by your looking for a house.

Ha-ha, boy, wish I could buy this. How about that?

Yeah, well, what are you looking for?

Well, you know, something that has some style to it

and particularly some space

where Eddie and I can spread out.

- Hmm, what have you seen? - Everything but.

It's unbelievable how many houses are for sale

that you wouldn't wanna buy.

And how expensive they all are.

- Do you have a good agent? - Well, I suppose so.

I met so many of them, they all seem like the same woman.

- They are. - Yeah.

Hmm, now I could live in that, huh?

Yeah, it's gracious and solid and marvelous and old. Hey.

- Maybe I have the right idea. - About what?

Maybe you oughta buy one of those.

A castle in England? Oh, come on, Norman.

I couldn't do that. Why, the commuting alone...

No, no, no. I mean an old house right here.

A real fixer-upper.

Come on.

I'm serious, an old house is cheaper.

An old house has character. An old house has space.

Old house has problems.

An old house is an awful lot of fun to fix up.

- An old house has dignity. - Uh-huh.

An old house has stature.

- An old house has charm. - Yeah, get me an old house.

No, I mean, will you please get me Irma Handily?

- Who? - Irma Handily.

Handily Real Estate.

- Beverly Hills. - Yes, sir.

How many times have I asked you not to do that

while I'm on the phone?

I have picked out some perfectly marvelous houses to show you.

You're not cancelling, are you?

An older house? Oh, well, of course, of...

Uh, j-just a minute. Older house, older house...

Uh...

[hammer pounding]

Let's see, space, charm...

Mr. Corbett...

I've got one.

Tom, I get the feeling this is the old house for you...

Oh, Norman, now, relax, will you, please?

I'm serious. Let me go along with you.

Let me help negotiate.

- Let me see the house first. - Tom.

Norman, go back to your dark room.

You never let me have any fun.

Alright Norman, I'll tell you what.

If I do buy an old house, I will let you be the first one

to personally hammer, saw, plaster, paint and shingle

and any other renovations you wanna do.

- Hi, dad. - Oh, hi, sport.

- What happened today? - What happened today?

- Yeah. - Well, let me see.

First, well, I cleared off my desk of everything.

And I answered a big stack of mail.

And then I approved a couple of articles.

No, I mean about the house. What did you do about it?

- The house? What house? - Oh, come on, dad, you know.

- Oh, the house. - Yeah.

Well, funny you should say that

because I did talk to Mrs. Handily today.

And as a matter of fact, we saw about a dozen

houses together, but I'm afraid none of them

are really what we were after.

We're much better off here.

- They weren't very good. - No, not at all.

- Hmm. - Except for one house.

- What was that like? - Well.

I think you'd be better off seeing it with your own eyes.

- Instead of through mine. - When can I see it?

Well, tomorrow being Saturday, I thought we might take Tina

and get the woman's point of view.

But, how can I wait till tomorrow?

Well, we'll have to wait until tomorrow.

And then you can tell us how you did it.

Okay.

- Wow. - Yeah.

You can get closer. It's alright. Come on.

It may be big, but it's old.

Come on, Tina, I'll like to get your opinion

just to have a woman's point of view.

You mean as far as cooking and-and cleaning and everything?

Yeah, as long as woman's lib isn't around. Mm-hmm.

- It's very big. - Big?

Tom, it's a showplace!

Well, at least it's a great house. Come on in and see it.

♪♪

- Now, this is an entry hall. - Ha-ha-ha.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

It's very big.

I'll bet you can get a real neat set of trains over there.

Your room is big enough to hold real trains.

- Hello! - Oh, hello, Mrs. Handily.

And who are these lovely people?

Well, I sorta brought my architectural committee.

May I introduce my real estate lady, my secretary Tina Rickles.

My art director, Norman Tinker. You've met my son.

- Yes. How are you? - Hey, dad.

- Yeah. - Could we have a pool table?

Oh, yeah. It'll go right in the den.

- Could I use it? - Uh-huh.

As long as you don't hurt the felts.

I wouldn't.

This is an entry hall that says, "Welcome."

Oh, come and see a living room that says, "Welcome."

Wow.

Space! The age of graciousness has returned.

It's very big.

Well, you think this is big, I'm gonna knock out those two doors

down there and add two more, make it all glass

so you can see out of the patio.

That' a great idea, Tom.

Now, I wanna show you the den, but first I'll take you

to the back of the house and show you the kitchen.

Hey, you can put a great chandelier on that stairwell.

[Tom] Well, I was really thinking of putting a mission bell up there

and have it wired as light.

- Terrific. - Outrageous.

[Tom] Thank you.

Safe!

This is or will be the kitchen. Heh.

It's very small.

Yeah, well, it, it won't be once we knock out this wall

and widen the kitchen and breakfast room

to be even bigger than the den.

Hey, make this place bigger, I'm gonna be over here

for breakfast everyday.

- Big pride. - Mm-hm.

Hey, dad, the house is real far out.

Thank you, it's pretty far out from the city, too.

You know, it, it just feels sorta closed in.

Well, uh, it won't.

Once we, uh, widen all these windows

so you get a beautiful view of the garden.

It needs a little landscaping. but, uh, hey, that's nothing.

Wow, what a great place to play.

Yeah, well, that's what it's for.

- Can I go out there right now? - Right through that door.

Tom, I'm really proud of you.

You have imagination, talent and courage.

This old house has a future.

Yeah, it's also gonna take a lot of work.

Might be kind of expensive, too.

[Tom] But Tina, you know, the cost of this property is so reasonable

I mean, considering the prices of property today, I...

...almost can't afford not to buy it.

And I gotta say something, Norman, I never would've

thought of a, of a house, especially one

as big as this if it hadn't been for you.

It's really your idea and I thank you for it.

Hey, you know what this place really needs?

A bathroom right over there that leads into the entry hall

that becomes a powder room.

[Tom] Hey, I hadn't thought of that.

Look here, I have the original plans to the house.

And I've been making some, uh

some mental alterations here.

Uh-huh, uh-huh, there it is.

That's where we put the powder room.

Norman, that's the entrance to my kitchen.

No, but you can put that over there

if you're gonna move out this wall.

Well, now, wait a minute. Uh, well, yeah, but...

Well, that's good. Then I can put the, the breakfast room

over here where the utility room is.

Right, and the freezer and refrigerator right there.

Well, then we could use this whole area for cooking.

What do you think, Tina?

For just cooking? It's very big.

Tom, if you didn't buy this house for yourself, I'd buy it.

Hey, if Eddie moves, he'll have to go to another school.

- Won't you? - Yeah.

I like our school.

I wouldn't wanna have to go to some other dumb school.

But you said a couple of days ago

that you didn't even like our school.

Well, alright.

But I like it better than some other dumb school.

When are gonna move?

Oh, my dad's gonna sign some papers tonight.

So, pretty soon I guess.

- That's tough. - Yeah.

You know, we've had a lot of hassles

but we're gonna miss you, Eddie.

Yeah, I'll miss you guys, too.

Well, I guess I could get somebody to drive me down here.

Yeah, maybe.

Hey, if Eddie's gone

we'll have to get another full back for our team.

Yeah. Who do you think we should get?

How about that new kid? Jeff Debin--

- Debinsky. - Debinsky?

- Yeah! - Yeah! He'd be good.

- Let's go talk to him. - Okay.

- See ya, Eddie. - So long, Eddie.

Yeah, see ya.

♪♪

You wanna come with us?

- Maybe watch us play? - No.

Meet any of the guys in your new neighborhood yet?

I only been there once.

I lived in a neighborhood once. All they had was girls.

Phew.

[Norman] 'Hey, look, it's still a great opportunity.

Yeah, I-I can't make a mistake like that everyday.

Hey, listen, just because one architect calls you up

and gives you a big bid for renovation

another one will call you up and give you a lower one.

Or a higher one...

Hey, you loved the whole idea.

I still love the whole idea.

But, Norman, I just don't know how practical it is.

Look, everybody is very nervous and uncertain before they make

the big decision.

You want my best advice?

Go ahead.

- Mrs. Livingston. - Yes?

If we move, will you still come and take care of us?

- Oh, yes, I'd like to. - Even if the house is far away?

Far away? Well, that might be a little problem.

Eddie, you must remember.

Things cannot always stay exactly the same.

But I like things to stay the same.

And I want things to stay the same with you.

But Eddie loves the place. The yard, his room.

Yes, I think he does, Norman.

Look, you don't have to fix it up all at once.

Uh, a little at a time.

One door at a time. One wall at a time.

It's gonna take a long time, but think

of what you're gonna have when you're through.

Yeah, and how old will I be?

Hey, you're still a young man.

Your future's in front of you.

Harvey Screely said, "Go West, young man."

Now, we all know he stayed in the East and made a fortune.

But, he did have a point.

What's the worst that can happen?

Mrs. Livingston won't be able to go with you?

It'll cost more than you figured?

Eddie'll have to make new friends?

Think of the challenge and experience Eddie'll have

facing a new kid on the block and saying

"Hi, I'm Eddie. Wanna play?"

Thomas Wolfe said "You can't go home again."

You don't wanna argue with a great writer, do you?

To quote my old marine sergeant when we were stuck in the mud...

Move!

♪♪

- Hi, dad. - Hey, hi, sport. How are you?

- Okay. - Good. Hey, listen.

Did Mrs. Handily call saying when

she'll be about with the papers?

- No. - Oh.

- She just came here. - Oh.

Good evening, Mr. Corbett.

I just thought that I could save some time if I stopped by

on my way home from the office.

Oh, that very nice.

Eddie's been showing me his marvelous fish.

- Do you have any fish? - Oh, no, I'm sorry to say.

I don't have any fish. Just Mr. Handily.

Uh, are these the papers?

All terms as you stipulated, of course.

Most of it is just standard.

Oh, I, I see. And, and you think that they'll accept my offer?

No question.

Well, the owner does feel it is a little low.

- But still, quite fair enough. - Oh. Oh, thank you, uh...

Well, once I sign--

You are practically the owner of a magnificent house.

- Right there. - Uh-huh.

Of course, it's a big step, you know.

Oh, well, I have never known a client buying a house

who didn't feel a little excited, a little nervous.

The best thing for you to do is just go ahead.

[chuckles] Yeah, right in, huh?

Uh, Eddie, uh, would you check on Mrs. Livingston

and see if dinner is ready, huh?

- Okay. - Okay.

Well, ahem...

If you sign right there, I can be on my way.

Right on that little spot there, huh?

Yeah, it's right on that little bitty spot right there.

- Dad? - Uh-huh.

Mrs. Livingston said that the dinner'll be ready pretty soon.

- I see. - She can hold it a little bit.

If you want her to.

Yeah, well, tell her to hold it a minute, will you?

Hold it a minute, Mrs. Livingston!

Um...

Mrs. Handily would you mind, uh

going back to Eddie's room, please

and just looking at the fish again for a minute?

- Oh. Oh, of-of co... Of course. - Thank you.

Uh, Eddie...

Now... before I sign these papers

I think we ought to ask ourselves that question

one more time.

Do we want to live in this house?

[Eddie] Well, at least it doesn't have any snakes in the backyard.

[Tom] Yeah, that's there.

But it doesn't have a lot of other things either.

Yeah? What, for instance?

Well, you know, like, the school I go to now

and the friends I have.

And then there's Mrs. Livingston.

She might not even come with us.

It's so far away from her house.

That's a very good point.

I haven't even talked it over with her yet.

That's my answer to the question. What's yours?

Well, my answer is if you wanna have a house like this

you'd better have an awful lot of money.

Or you'd better know how to use power tools

and be very creative with your hands.

I did, uh, get a little carried away, I'm afraid.

But, I think moving is a good idea.

Not so fast though.

I'm not in that much of a hurry to move.

And I like it here.

And when I wanna go play football

I'll just go to the park with the guys.

As you know, I'm the fullback.

Oh, I know that, but...

I thought you wanted to paint your new room orange and blue.

What's so great about blue and orange?

Yeah.

Okay. Okay, then I guess we'd better tell Mrs. Handily.

- Hmm? - Okay.

- Mrs. Handily. - Yes?

Uh...

I'm afraid not.

Well, I have lots of other houses.

Perhaps a, a newer one.

Well, not at this particular time.

And I do apologize for having taken so much of your time.

Think nothing of it. Let me leave you my card.

Just in case.

Thank you.

- Beverly Hills Heels? - Oh, wrong card.

Oh. Yes, well, thank you so very much.

And again, I'm sorry to have kept you so long.

Well, goodnight. Goodnight, thank you.

Goodnight.

Nice place you have here.

- You know something? - What?

- She's right. - What do you mean?

It is a nice place we have here.

Yeah.

[Eddie] Is there a heaven?

[Tom] Mm-hm.

[Eddie] Some people say it's here on the Earth.

- Well, what do you think? - I don't know.

It feels pretty good right here now.

- Okay. - Is there any other place?

[Tom] You mean the four letter word beginning with "H" place?

[Eddie] Yeah, you know, where it's hot

and it's full of fire and pitchforks.

[Tom] Well, Eddie, if you believe that there's one

then you have to believe that there is the other.

[Eddie] Well, how do you know what is?

I mean, compared to what you believe.

[Tom] Well, Eddie, what is...

...is what you believe.

[Eddie] That's not the way it works on my report card.

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

♪ Pa pa ra 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 talking son to son♪

♪ Cause he's my best friend ♪

♪ La la pa ra ra pa ra ♪♪