All language subtitles for 32.OpportunityKnocksBut

ANNOUNCER:
With the stars...

and...

Hi, Ralph.

Oh, hiya, Fred.

Going downtown?

No, I'm waiting for Norton.

He's gonna go home with me.

Where's Breadstead?

I thought every night
you rode home with him?

Yeah, but at the last minute,
Marshall called him in.

Mr. Marshall called him in,
and wanted him

to do some special
report of some kind.

Poor guy's got tickets
for a show tonight.

Well, why didn't he tell
Marshall he had the tickets?

He did his day's work,
he can go home if he wants.

Well, you know how some guys are

when the boss asks them
to do something.

(chuckles)

You guys kill me.

When the boss asks you
to do something.

Can't you get it into your head

that the boss is a human being
just like anybody else?

The boss...
(scoffs)

Now look, Ralph,
a guy like you can do it.

I know that.

But some guys can't.

That's the way it goes.

Well, I'll see
you tomorrow, huh?

- Okay, Fred. See you later.
-Bye.

(clears throat)

Good evening.

Mr. Marshall...

Good evening.

Hey, John!

John, will you check
with the garage

and find out
what's happened to my car?

Thanks.

(stuttering)

Sure has been a nice day,
hasn't it, Mr. Marshall?

Not for me.

No. There's too much dampness.

Yeah, it was
a little damp today.

Those are the worst kind
of days, damp days.

(chuckles)

Gee, those, uh, new buses
that you put on the line--

they sure are great, boy.

I'm not happy with them.

Those transmissions
are pretty bad.

Yeah, I got to go
along with you.

Those transmissions--
they're...

That's probably why
they're so difficult to handle.

Hey, Kramden, I've got something
to talk to you about.

Look, if it's about that dent
I put on the bus,

it wasn't my fault.

What bus? What dent?

Well, I...

Oh, never mind about that.
No, no.

Mr. Gordon has informed me

that you are the best
pool player in the bus company.

I'd like you to help me.

Me, help you?

Yes. As an anniversary present,
my wife gave me a pool table.

Now, much as I've always desired

to play, I don't know
the first thing about it.

I've never played pool.

Never played pool?

You mean, you never hung out

with a bunch of kids
on the corner

and went up to the poolroom?

(chuckles):
No, no.

When I was young, I was busy
playing football,

basketball, going to school.

And when school was over,

my parents took me
for a trip around the world.

I was never in a poolroom.

Gee, that's sad
that you never had a kid life.

I was thinking, uh, Kramden,

in the light
of your great proficiency,

I might impose on you,

and you might give me
a few pointers.

Well, I'd be glad to,
Mr. Marshall.

Any time you say.

Well, if it wouldn't
be inconvenient,

could you come over tonight?

Sure, I'll be there tonight.

I'd be glad to come up...

Hey there, Ralph.

Oh, you're there.

Well...

I'm sorry I'm late, Ralph.

I'm sorry I kept you waiting.

It took me a year
to get across town

in one of those miserable buses
your company runs.

Uh, this is Mr. Marshall,
my boss.

Uh, this is my friend,
Mr. Norton.

Oh, oh. How do you do there,
Mr. Marshall?

Good.

I've heard your name mentioned

in the Kramden household
many times.

(chuckles)

As a matter of fact,

when Ralph was laid off
last year,

he talked about you constantly.

(laughs)

Uh, Mr. Marshall has
just asked me

to teach him how to play pool.

He got a new pool table.

Well, you picked
the right man, Mr. Marshall.

Kramden's his name,
pool is his game.

(laughter)

Well, I guess that means
we'll have to call off

our game for tonight.
I'll free up...

Oh, no, no, Kramden,
I wouldn't hear of it!

No. Now, you keep your
appointment with your friend.

We can make it another time.

- All right. If...
-Sure.

You don't mind if we call it off
tonight, do you?

No. Sure.

Oh, I've got a better idea.

Say, why don't both of you
come over?

I think I could learn more
about the game

by watching the two
of you play.

(car horn honks)

Oh, there's my car.

Yeah. Uh, I'll be expecting you
at 9:00.

1149 Park Avenue.

See you later.

- Yes, sir, Mister...
-Bye, Mr. Marshall.

...Marshall.

- Now, look, Norton.
-What?

Tonight is an important night
to me.

And I don't want you to ruin it.

Look, I understand
the situation.

I'll be on my
A-number-one behaviour.

I'll mind my P's and Q's.

Don't worry about it.

Boy, what an opportunity.

You know, this is
how you get places.

Socializing with the higher-ups.

Uh, don't I know it?
Don't I know it?

Boy, let me tell you.

If it wasn't for
a game of golf,

I wouldn't be
where I am today.

What are you talking about?

Well, you remember during
the Depression years,

you know, when you
couldn't get a job?

I picked up a couple of bucks,

uh, caddying at
a golf course, see?

That's how I got
my job in the sewer.

Oh, you mean you caddied
for a sewer official?

No, no, no, no.

As a matter of fact, the guy
I was caddying for

at the time was
a wholesale butcher.

He got up there
at the first tee.

What a pair of mitts on him!

You know...

Gets up there at the first tee.

Takes a whack at the ball.

Goes over the fence,
out of the course

and down the sewer.

Well, little Johnnie
on the spot--

I go scrambling down there
in the sewer, you know.

And I met the foreman.

He took a liking to me,
and, uh, hired me.

I got the job.

You ought
to send that story in

to Reader's Digest.

Hey, come on, let's get going.

Trixie's got a lasagna
dinner waiting for me.

We got to get dressed up
and cleaned up.

We're playing pool on
Park Avenue tonight!

(both chuckle)

Boy, imagine it--
a guy rich enough

to have his own pool table.

Well, you can never tell,
Norton.

After tonight, I'm liable

to have my own pool table
in my apartment.

If you do, you'll have
to stand in the sink

to make a shot.

Just make yourselves
at home, gentlemen.

Mr. Marshall will be here
presently.

He's in the library.

What?

He's in the library.

Oh, he ought to be here soon.

The library closes at 9:00.

May I take your hats, gentlemen?

- Oh.
-Certainly. Here you are.

- Thank you.
-But be careful of that.

I just had it blocked.

Whoa, ho-ho!

What a spiffy joint, huh?

Boy, how about this!

Hey, he)'-

I bet you the furniture
in here costs

a couple of hundred
bucks at least.

Easy, easy.

Hey, get a load of this thing.

Mm.

A tarpon.

"Caught by J.J. Marshall.

April, 1939. Key West, Florida."

How about that.

Look at that thing, huh?

Yeah, the funny thing--

my boss has got one of those
in his living room.

When was he in Florida?

Never. He killed it
in self-defense

down in the sewer once.

Hey, get a load of this.

What's that?

"First Prize,
International Dog Show.

Awarded to Mrs. J.J. Marshall."

Well, she might
not be attractive,

but she's a very lovely woman.

For breeding dogs.

Oh, oh, oh.

BOY-

This is beaut.

I wonder what this here is for?

Oh, well, that's to open
and shut the drapes.

Open and shut the drapes?

It don't open
and shut the drapes.

Must be stuck.

You rang for me, sir?

- No.
-No.

My mistake, sir.

Sorry.

Got to give it a good yank.

I told you nothing happened.

It don't open or shut
nothing at all there.

It's stuck. That's all.

You rang for me, sir?

- No.
-No.

He didn't ring. What?

Very good.

Must be one of those nuts.

It's got to be connected
to something.

Well, I don't
know what to do.

Oh, boy, this is
a beautiful table.

Level, level.
Beautiful!

Boy, I hope it don't
throw my game, that's all.

Now, look, no matter
what Mr. Marshall does tonight,

every shot he takes,
compliment him.

You know, encourage him.

L-I know... I know the situation
tonight, Ralph.

Don't worry about a thing.

And may I take this opportunity

to wish you a lot
of luck tonight

because this may
be the first step

up that ladder of success.

Thank you, Norton.

Good evening, Kramden.

Well, hello, Mr. Marshall.

Sorry to have kept you waiting.

Now, I want to make sure
that we are not disturbed.

Okay.

You rang for me, sir?

Yes, Roberts.

I won't take any phone calls.

Very good, sir.

How do you like that?

It was tied to the butler.

Well, Ralph,
I'm in your hands.

What do we do first?

Well, the first thing to do
is to pick out a cue.

Yup. Get the old cue stick.

- Here you are, Mr. Marshall.
-Thank you.

- Here you are, Norton.
-Thank you.

Then the next thing you do
is to chalk up. Here.

- Yes. -Just like this.
-That's it.

That's so that in case
the tip is slippery,

you chalk it up, and then
it won't skid off the ball.

That's it. Chalk up.

Say, look at how well
he did that, Norton!

Oh! He was a good chalker
for the first time.

Yeah!

Now, the next thing to do is
to learn how to stroke.

See, you put it in between...

- You have the ball there.
-That's it.

And you put the cue in between
your fingers like that.

And you have what they
call a "bridge," see?

Now you go back, easy, easy.

And the idea is to hit
the white ball into that pack

and break them all up.

That's it. When all the balls
break up there on the break,

and one of the balls, uh,
goes into each pocket there,

each one of those
is a point for you.

Oh, I see. Yes.

Now, uh, go ahead.

You take a hit at the ball.

Well, now, you'll have
to be patient with me.

Remember, I'm just a beginner.

Oh.

Come on there.

(chuckles):
Oh!

And you said
you were just a beginner!

(laughs)

But I missed the ball.

Yeah, but you came so close.

Yeah.

Go ahead, try again.

Excellent, excellent.

But I missed it again.

Yeah, but you're getting closer.

Yeah. Here, go ahead, try again.

Well, this time, I'll hit it.

Good.

Easy...

- Oh!
-Oh...

- Oh.
-Look at that.

Boy, Mr. Marshall,
if anybody had told me

that you was a pool hustler
when I met you this afternoon,

I would have laughed
right in their face.

(laughter)

Well, you're both being
very kind and encouraging,

and I appreciate it,
but I still think

that my idea of this afternoon
is the best.

I'll learn a lot
more about the game

if you two play
and I just watch.

Well, all right,
any way you want it.

You know, I want

to tell you something,
Mr. Marshall.

When you do learn this game,
it's perfect for relaxing.

You're going to like it.

I was never aware until recently
how many men play pool.

Oh, must be nine out of ten
down at the bus depot who play.

I think, Ralph,

that the average is higher
than that.

Well...

- I'll show you how to stroke.
-All right.

Now you see, in order to get
the perfect...

You know, Mr. Marshall,
I was just thinking,

I was just thinking.

You know, down
at the bus company

where you've got plenty
of room,

why don't you set up
a recreation room

and set up a couple
of pool tables,

and the-the fellows
can play pool?

Recreation room?

Well, certainly.

Most of the bus drivers
have a quick lunch,

and they got time off,
and they'd like

to shoot a couple
of games of pool.

It's a relaxing game.

I mean, to coin a phrase--

a relaxed bus driver
is a efficient bus driver.

Now, in order to stroke,
you just pull this right back...

Well, that's a very interesting
suggestion, Norton.

You know, my greatest concern
has always been

easing the strain on my drivers.

Yeah.

What with the traffic,
overcrowded buses,

trying to maintain a schedule,
they have their problems.

Oh, sure.

Now, in order to stroke,
you pull back...

You-you talk about the strain
on the bus driver, huh?

- Yeah.
-Holy...

I've just often thought
that you got

to get the right person
in the right job.

- Yeah.
-I mean, I mean...

Some fellows are easygoing,

and, uh, they're right

for the rush hour crowds
and everything.

I think the most important thing
is the temperament

and, uh, basic metabolism
of the man.

Yes.

Now, a light cue--
sometimes 19 ounces...

Well, now, that-that's very,
very interesting, Norton.

I like a man
who can think on his feet.

Thank you, Mr. Marshall.

Say, Ralph, what do you think
of that suggestion?

That's very good. Now here's
how you stroke, Mr. Marshall.

You place that,
and very slow and easy...

I don't want to be butting in
all the time,

because I don't know nothing
about your business.

You know, I mean,
I-I'm not trying

to tell you how to run...

You're talking about buses

running on a schedule
and everything.

Have you ever thought
of running odd and even buses?

Odd and even buses?

Well, certainly.

The odd buses stop
at the odd streets.

The even buses stop
at the even streets.

See? It splits up the crowd.

The buses keep rolling,
and you're on schedule.

Norton, will you please stop
bothering Mis...

Odd and even buses?

You know,
that's a very interesting,

a very, very good thought.

Thank you.

Mr. Norton, in what line
of business are you?

I work for the city.

In what capacity?

Capacity?

About 50,000 gallons a day.

I work in the sewer.

(laughs)

Well, I like a man
with a sense of humor.

Thank you.

Now, look, if you
want to ever...

Now, never mind, Ralph,
never mind.

Say, Mr. Norton,
how would you like

to come to work for me?

Me? Work for you
at-at the bus company?

Yes.

Now, for a long time,
I've felt the need

in our organization for a man

who understands
the drivers' problems,

for-for a-a bus driver
supervisor.

A man who...

A man who really
can understand their problems

and find ways
of alleviating them

and-and raise their morale.

Now, from the few things
I've heard from you tonight,

you'd fit that position
perfectly.

Why, I realize
this is rather sudden.

I don't want your answer
right away.

Why don't you sleep on it,
and get back to me tomorrow?

Mr. Marshall,
I'd like to sleep on it,

and, I, uh, I would.

L-I... I'm on the late shift
tomorrow.

It'd be all right
if I get into your office

a little before noon?

Fine, fine. You come
straight up to my office,

and if there's time,
we'll have lunch together.

Good. Good thinking,
good thinking.

Ralph, I want to thank you
for introducing me

to Mr. Norton.

Now, let's see that break shot.

Very simple.

Just put the ball down.

Calmly stroke and then hit.

Something like that!

Trixie, what time is it?

Uh, 10130.

Hey, I got to go downtown
shopping tomorrow.

There's a big sale
on men's shorts.

89 cents a pair.

Norton could sure use some.

So could Ralph.

What sizes they got?

Oh, uh,
"All sizes, 32 to 50."

Nope, nothing there for Ralph.

Oh, Alice,
would you please sit down?

Your-your coffee's
getting ice cold.

Oh, Trixie, I haven't
got the patience to sit.

Ralph was so enthused
and so hopeful

when he left here tonight
that...

Oh, I guess it's just
sort of catching.

Oh, and Alice,
wouldn't it be wonderful

if Ralph became an executive
of the company

because of tonight?

Oh, Trixie, on the strength

of spending one evening
with your boss,

you don't become
an executive, you know.

Well, I-l guess that would be
a little too much to hope for.

But I'll bet
tonight's one night

Ralph is never going
to forget.

I'm sure of that.

Well, gee, I better
get back upstairs, Alice.

You know, I still haven't made
those three corn beef sandwiches

for Norton to take
to work tomorrow.

Oh, thank goodness I don't
have to bother with that.

Ralph has his lunches
in a restaurant.

So does Ed.

Well, what are the three
corn beef sandwiches for?

That's what he eats
on the way to lunch.

Oh.

- Bye, Alice.
-Bye, Trix.

Oh, hi, Ralph.

Ralph!

I don't ever...

I don't ever want you
to see that girl again.

And I don't ever, ever want
the name of Norton

mentioned in this house again.

Well, Ralph, what happened?

That sneak.

That Benedict Arnold.

Who? Norton?

I told you never to mention
his name in this house.

Well, will you tell me
what happened, Ralph?

He talked Marshall
into giving him a job.

A job with the bus company?

Then, why are you so upset?

Because he's going
to be my boss, that's why.

- Your boss?
-That's right.

Marshall's making him
a supervisor over the drivers.

Norton?

Yes. I asked you not to mention
his name in this house.

Well, Ralph, how could Ed...?

I mean...

You know who I mean.

How could he talk Mr. Marshall

into offering him
a job like that?

Very simple. He walks
into Mr. Marshall's house,

and he starts
making idiotic suggestions.

And with every suggestion,

Marshall's going along
with him like a dope,

believing everything he said.

You mean, he offered him a job
on the basis of his suggestions?

Oh, sure he did.

If I live to be 100 years old,
I'll never forget tonight.

I can hear every word
Marshall said to him.

"Why, you'd be perfect
for the job, Mr. Norton.

"My, that's
a wonderful suggestion

"you made, Mr. Norton.

"Oh, Mr. Norton, I like a man

who can stand
and think on his feet."

Norton works in the sewer.

He's got to stand
on his feet to think.

If he sat down, he'd drown.

Ralph, sweetie, we have to face
this thing realistically.

Huh.

Now, if Mr. Marshall
offered him a job

on the basis of his suggestions,

he must have thought
pretty highly of those things.

And in that case, Ralph,
that's what's upsetting you.

It's a blow to your pride.

It is not my pride, Alice.

It is not my pride.

Well, your status
hasn't changed, Ralph.

Your job is still the same.

Let's face it, Alice.
Let's face it.

When he comes to work
for the company, I quit.

But why?

L got my pride.

Ralph, have you talked
this over with Ed?

I should say not.

We came out
of Marshall's house,

I turned my back on him,

and I walked right away
from him.

Well, Ralph, what makes you
so sure he even wants the job?

Maybe by this time
he's thought it over

and decided not to take it.

After all, Ed's very happy
at the sewer,

and he's due for a promotion.

Maybe you're right.

He likes the job he's got.

If he left the sewer, he'd be
like a fish out of water.

What am I getting
all upset about?

(chuckles)

(clears throat)

Hello, Alice.

- Oh.
-Ralph.

I know it's very late.

Excuse me for coming,
but I got to talk to you.

I figured on talking
to you on the way home,

but, uh, uh, you left me
kind of sudden-like.

(clears throat)

Excuse me, miss.

Uh, this is
a very ticklish situation.

And there are just a few things

that you and me have got
to straighten out.

Now then, uh, I know
that all the boys

down at the bus company realize

that you and me are
very good friends.

Uh, therefore,
if I get this position,

uh, uh, naturally,
they are going to think

that I am going to favour you.

Uh, that's, uh, bad for you,
it's bad for me,

it's bad for the company.

So, I figured that, uh,
for the first couple of months,

uh, you could call me,
"Mr. Norton."

Ed, I don't think
there'll be any necessity

for that, whatsoever.

It's a very informal place.

Uh, you got a point,
you got a point, Alice.

Uh, that's right.

Uh, uh, you could call me,
"E.N."

Listen, Ed,

why don't you wait
until you get the job?

And then those things will just
straighten themselves out.

Maybe you're right, Alice,
maybe you're right.

Uh, uh, Ralph,
another thing, uh, uh,

I know that, uh,
during business hours

and everything,
we can't be real buddy-buddy,

but, uh, just because
I have an executive position,

I don't want you to think

that in any way
it will alter our friendship.

And as long as I'm an executive
in that bus company,

you are sure of being a bus
driver as long as you live.

That's no way to treat...

Get out!

That settles it.
I'm quitting.

Now, listen, Ralph,
you know and I know

that you're not going
to quit your job,

but there's no sense in your
feeling this way, Ralph,

'cause you're just going to make
yourself miserable.

And then you're going
to hate your job.

And besides that, Ralph,

you're just going to let
everybody else

at the bus company
know that you're jealous of Ed.

Me jealous of him?

Jealous of him?

Jealous of what?
Jealous of what?

'Cause he's got a job
with his own office?

Behind a big desk.

(chuckles)

With a secretary
that he dictates to.

Goes out and has lunch
with Marshall.

I'm jealous of that?

(laughs)

Whoa, how I want that job!

Ralph.

There'll be other promotions
and other executive jobs.

And you just wait and see.

You're going to get one of them.

Ah... what's the use
of kidding, Alice?

You picked a loser.

I'm never going
to be any executive.

Never going to be anything
but a bus driver.

16 years,
I worked for that company.

Where am I?

Same spot I was in
when I started.

Norton meets the boss one day,
makes a couple of suggestions,

look where he gets.

What's the difference?

I just haven't got it,
that's all.

And you're right.

I'm just angry with Norton
because of my pride.

Stupid pride.

Ralph, I'm not going
to have you talk that way.

You are a very valuable man
in that company.

Yeah.

I'm going upstairs.

Why, Ralph?

Going up to tell Norton

that I... I'm sorry
I yelled at him

and that I congratulate him.

Uh, I'd like to see you
a minute, Ralph, uh...

I wanted to see you, too.

Well, uh, I owe you an apology.

An apology?

Uh, yeah.

If it hadn't been for Trixie
having such a good memory,

uh, I would have really
done you an injustice.

I was upstairs talking to her
about my idea

about odd and even buses,
you know.

And she reminded me of-of
your idea for alternate buses.

Alternate buses?

Yeah. Remember when you
was having dinner

at our house one night,
you were sounding off

about the bus schedule
and everything?

You said, "Why don't they have
alternate buses?"

Well, I said to Mr. Marshall,
odds and even buses.

You said alternate.

It was your idea, I just used
different words.

- Yeah.
-I got to...

I got to thinking, uh,
all of these suggestions

that I gave to Mr. Marshall
were yours.

I just gave them to him

in a different form
of words, that's all.

I guess the ideas were just
stuck in the back of my head

from listening to you.

Well, what about
that thing you said

about the right guy
for the right job?

Well, that goes back
to what you said

about poor old Hammermeil
when he got laid off the job.

You were sore.
You remember you said,

"Put Hammermeil on
the... on the shift

where it's not so busy,
and he'll do a good job."

Remember?

Yeah.

Your trouble is,

you tell me
all the wonderful ideas.

Instead you should be
telling them to Mr. Marshall.

And another thing,
when you get ideas,

write it down
on a piece of paper.

When you get these thoughts,
write it down.

Jot it down so you
don't forget it.

(chuckles):
Boy.

Tonight,
I was so proud of myself.

I thought I had a wonderful head
on my shoulders.

Till I found out it was yours.

I apologize, Ralph.
I'm sorry.

Norton...

I'm probably
the most fortunate guy

in the whole world
to have a friend like you.

Well, thank you.

You're one of
the nicest guys I know.

And listen, you're coming
with me tomorrow, you know.

You're coming with me right down
to Mr. Marshall's office.

And I'm going to tell him
that all the ideas

that I gave him are your ideas

and you are the man
for supervisor.

Oh, thanks, Ed.

Wow!

And-and furthermore, uh...

(chuckles)

If things pan out the way
that I think they will--

and there's no reason
why they shouldn't--

and there's an opening
in that bus company for me,

I'd be glad to work
for you... R.K.

The guy's a pretty nice guy,
ain't he?

One of the best guys
in the whole world.

You better write that down,
Ralph, before you forget it.

I'll write this down, too.

Baby, you're the greatest.