"Well, Mrs Linden, and how do you find England?" "Like France." "There are cows in the field." "And sheep in the meadows." "Who is Meadows?" "Oh, Paul, you are terrible!" "People will expect confetti to fly out of my hair." "Oh, of course." "Most undignified for an old married couple, isn't it?" "Well, five days is long enough to..." " To cool down?" " Paul, don't be vulgar!" "And don't dare cool down." "Tickets, please." "How long should we be?" "London in 20 minutes." "Oh." "Are you worried about something?" "I'm just wondering." "About Jennifer?" "I want to love everything that is yours." "Your work, the houses you build, the cities you plan." "But most of all I want to love your daughter." "Do you think Jennifer will like me?" "How can she help it?" "Well, a stepmother, an intruder, it is not so easy for her." "Nor, perhaps, for you either." "Nichole, I'll be perfectly frank with you." "I find Jennifer a puzzle." "A puzzle?" "How do you mean?" "Well, I don't understand her anymore." "When she was a baby we were such good friends, but now we..." " Well, she's not a baby anymore." " Well, she's only 16." "She needs the understanding and affection of another woman." "Well, I'm sure you'll be wonderful for her." "She'll absolutely adore you." "Oh, Paul, I am a lucky woman, so lucky." "All at once I have a husband, a family, a home." "Here we are, sweetheart, your new home." "Oh, darling!" "How nice." "I'm glad you like it." "It's been waiting for you since the day I built it." "Six and six, sir." "Thank you very much, sir." "You know, your house is like you." "How do you mean?" "Austere?" "With a twinkle behind the façade." "Come and meet your new family." "Thank you, sir." "Thank you." " Well, hello, Martha." " Oh, Mr Linden." "Welcome back." "And this is Mrs Linden." "Oh, Mrs Linden, ma'am." "Welcome home." "I should kiss you for that." "You see?" "I am very French." "Oh, Mrs Linden, ma'am, you are most welcome." " But where's Jennifer?" " Oh, she was just getting dressed, sir." "Yes, I can hear that." "Jennifer?" "She must have heard us come in." "Jenny?" "She's probably shy of meeting me, thinking I am some sort of dragon." "Then she's got a big shock coming." "I'll go and fetch her." "Jenny..." "Hello, Jenny, darling." "You look wonderful." "Three months, the longest I've ever been away." " Seemed like years." " Yes, it did." "Well... how's the art school?" " It's school." " Studies going well?" "Fine." "Congratulations on your marriage." "Thank you, Jenny." "Come and meet her." "Admire my taste?" "Perhaps now the house won't seem so..." "What was the word?" "Dreary." "Dreary, yes." "Perhaps now it will seem more fun for you." "Hm?" "Do you think so, Jennifer?" "Nichole, this is Jennifer." "I am so happy to see you at last, Jennifer." "Hello." "I am sure you two will have a lot in common." "I hope we have everything in common, Jennifer." "Everything?" "That's a lot, isn't it?" "Oh, what I mean is, you won't be so lonely any more." " How does that sound?" " Fine." "When would you like dinner, sir?" "Oh, from now on you'll have to ask Mrs Linden questions like that, Martha." "What do you think, Jennifer?" "In half an hour?" "That's OK." " Would that you be all right for you?" " Oh, yes, ma'am." "Well, what about a drink?" "There's ice in the sitting room and I put out the champagne." "Wonderful idea." "See?" "I told you, she thinks of everything." "After all, it's a special occasion." "Oh, Martha, you are making me feel really at home." "How about your having a glass, Martha?" "Oh, not if you want any dinner!" "Come on, darling." "Well?" "What do you think of it?" "It's wonderful, very impressive." "This is the living room." " Living room?" " Ah, but it hasn't been lived in yet." "It needs the feminine touch." "We call it organised disorder." "Yes, it would help." " Don't you think, Jennifer?" " Maybe." "Well, you've made a good start." "Looks human." "I like it." "I only use this place for the hi-fi." "It's a morgue." "We'll soon deal with that between us." " Champagne?" " I don't drink." "I'm too young." "16?" "Of course you're not." "Is she, Paul?" "Well... as Martha says," "it is a special occasion." "Very special." "There you are, Jenny." "To us, all three of us." "To us." "What are you reading, Jennifer?" "It's all about jazz, not your stuff." "But it is." "Let me see." "Let's look at it." "This is all double Dutch to me." ""Blue Blues  Dixie" by Buller Montgomery." "Oh, I know him." "He was the father of it all." "But who is this?" "She's beautiful." "Hm?" "Where did you get this from?" "What are you trying to do?" " It's a picture of..." " It's my mother." " She's beautiful, isn't she?" " I suppose so." "I don't remember her." "That is where you get your looks from." "Not from this monster." " Jennifer, why can't you sit up properly?" " I like floors." "You know, I think Martha's really quite taken to you." " Don't you, Jenny?" " I suppose so." "Hadn't thought about it." " What is the name of your school?" " Saint Martin's." " One of the best, isn't it?" " Rumour has it." "Jenny's always had a talent for illustration." "She really draws very well indeed." "It must be fun, doing something you like and are good at." "Fills in the time." "Darling, what is in that huge box over there?" " A body?" " That's just about it." "Only that's more like a skeleton in the cupboard." "It's my toy, and Jennifer's jealous of it." "Jealous?" "Of a stupid city?" " A city?" " Super mad stuff." " And then some." " What are you both talking about?" "Well, now, you wouldn't say I was exactly old-fashioned, would you?" " But Jennifer thinks I'm too modern." " Strictly as an architect." "In every other sense, a square." "A square?" "A little while ago, I was a creep." " Show me the city, please." " You'll be sorry." "She may be right, you know." "If I get my city out, you'll be up till dawn." "It's my life's work." "It's meant more to me than anything in the world." "Hasn't it, Jenny?" "Yes, that's true." "Come, I'll show it to you." " But what is it?" " Ah." "It's a model." "I call it City 2000." "Grime, filth, poverty, noise, hustle and bustle, these things will be unknown." "An almost silent place, soundproofed with the use of flying, bevelled walls of concrete, which also serve to cut wind and rain." "Jennifer says it will be like living in a tin can, but..." "I don't think that's really true." "You know, psychologists think that most human neuroses come from too much contact with other humans." " In my city, a man can be as alone..." " Darling as if he were 10,000 miles from anywhere in the country." " Paul." " Hm?" " I'd like to see Jennifer to bed." " Oh, she can put herself to bed." "I'll be right back." "I want to know every street by heart." "All right, darling." "Don't be long." "What is it?" "I came to say good night." "Good night." " You've been crying." " Crying?" "I should think not." "Jennifer, what is it?" "Why have you taken such a dislike to me?" "I'm not to blame for your father's divorce." "It was long before he ever met me." "I didn't say I didn't like you." "Don't be childish." "Why not?" " I am a child." " You know perfectly well what I mean." "Your father calls your behaviour deplorable." "I prefer to think you're just upset." "Naturally I'm upset." "All young girls are upset when their father brings home a new wife." "Now, if you don't mind, I..." "Jennifer." "A juvenile delinquent's first vice." "Other adult vices, sex and the like, are disapproved of." "Or perhaps you even disapprove of this." "I started smoking when I was 14." "Jennifer, I could not help falling in love with your father." "Love!" "That's the gimmick that makes sex respectable, isn't it?" "I've brought you some things from Paris." " Dresses and..." " We don't wear dresses very often." " We're different." " Not so different." "Most young people in Paris prefer slacks and sweaters." "I wear them myself in the house." "You can see if you like any of mine." "I've got everything." "And if there's anything else I want..." "I just have to ask for it." "Anything you'd like to borrow?" "Go ahead, help yourself." "We're about the same size." "A new cardigan?" "I have 19 I never wear." "See?" "But if I feel like 20... cardigan number 20 coming up." "Now, if you don't mind, I've got a life class in the morning." "What's the matter?" "Embarrassed?" "Why?" "I've got a nice figure." "Well?" "Good night." "Do you want the full treatment?" "Sleep well..." "Stepmother." "Good night, Jennifer." "And don't kid yourself he's in love with you." "He's in love with City 2000." "You know, Paul?" "I love your city." "Well, it's just the way a city ought to be." "Not a hotchpotch of littered-up archaicism, of century piled upon century," "but something for modern men, starting from scratch." "They're going to build this one in South America." " Paul?" " Hm?" " I love you." " Yes, I know, darling." " What?" " I love you, Paul." "Oh, darling!" "And I'll never let City 2000 keep us up till dawn, tonight or any other night." "Hey, you!" "Take a place, daddio." " You and your phoney beatnik friends!" " I said, take a place." "OK, there are other dolls." " So you made it, granny?" " Gave them the slip?" "Well, well!" "First night the old man's home." " You're bright an' all." "You're the most." " You're a real catch." " Yeah, the light-footed kind." " Easy stuff." "Hey, what's she like, this big, bad Frenchie?" "She's French." "Yack, yack, yack." "Strictly zees and zats." "Yeah?" "Dig me, I'm a captain of the Cancan Kennel Club." "A real-life Parisian poodle pompadour." " Is she old?" " Ancient. 24." " You're at it again." " Well, it helps." " I got it from the chemist's." " Sure there's nothing in it?" " No kicks or nothing?" " Course not." "It's strictly for coughs." "Hey, Jen, 24's not too bad." "How can she be so square if she's French and only 24?" "How can you be so square when you're only 18?" "Because it rubs off you onto me." "Tell us, Jen, what does she say?" "Nothing to tell." "Pure lonely hearts routine." "Oh, well." "Not this time." "Come on, Dave." "Make the banshee." "I'm music-minded." "Well, I did just what you told me" "You told me to forget" "To take some other baby just as though we'd never met" "Well, I did what you told me" "I did what you told me" "I can't forget" "I'm crying yet for you" "Well, I threw away your photo" "Just like you told me to" "I put your letters in the fire and got one back from you" "Well, I did" "What you told me" "Yes, I did" "What you told me" "I can't forget" "I'm crying yet for you" "Hang on, fellas, one time" "Well, I still go to the dance hall" "Listen to the noise" "I try to kid myself I'm having fun there with the boys" "Yes, I did" "What you told me" "Yes, I did what you told me" "I can't forget" "I'm crying yet for you" " Well done, Dave." " Well done, Dave!" "Hey, the band's in, if you kids wanna jive." "Say, baby, you feel terpsichorical?" "Let's go downstairs and fly, eh?" " Come on, Dave." " No, I'm staying here." "Come on!" "That broad's got it coming to her." "Jennifer, for goodness sake, hurry up!" "She knows how important my conference is." "She's just coming, darling." "Her school is right on the way to the conference." "Don't fuss." "You won't be late." "What should I ever do without you, darling?" "What about including Jennifer in the dinner tonight?" "You want help with the South American tycoon?" " She's pretty young, you know." " But very pretty." "And the Foreign Office man too." "You'll be busy flirting with his wife." "You know, the contract for City 2000 should be signed this morning." "It will be like a sort of celebration tonight." "I'd rather like Jenny to share it with us." "Oh, where is that child?" "She'll have to go by bus." "Oh, Paul, please!" "Jennifer, hurry up!" "Jennifer, I'll pick you up at lunchtime." "Lunch?" "Don't tell me you're letting me down." "I forgot." "Bye, darling." "I'll collect you at school." "Oh, excuse me." "Do you know Jennifer Linden?" "Linden?" "Yes, about your age." "Blonde, round face, with long hair." "Oh, yes." "Jennifer, the crazy one." "Part of that beatnik crowd." " Beatnik?" " It's a gimmick from America." " Hopeless and soapless." " Where could I find her?" "In a cafe in Soho called the Off Beat." "She's always there." "The Off Beat?" "Thank you." "Bark, bark." "It drives me nuts!" "Keeps me running round." "Oh, wrap up, will you?" "This will take care of it." "That crazy juice don't help." "Why don't you just see a quack?" " Oh, drop dead." " You sound like you're going to." " I wish my old man would." " Run him nervous like I did mine." " He'll fall." " What, him?" "An army-type general?" " They don't fall, man." " They only write memoirs." "Yeah. "My War On Three Fronts."" "Five editions and still going strong." " Creep." " Still, he's good for the green." "Show us what you got today." "That will do me." "Keep him on his feet for another few years." "Hey, Tone." "Hey, gasser, you looking for me?" "Fall down, juvenile." "Not bad, not bad." "Ah, you're such a notch, aren't you?" "I'm relaxed." " Man, she's on the button." " I'll say." " What's she doing here?" " Are you kidding?" "I bet she's meeting that guy that runs a strip joint across the road." " He's always looking for new talent." " What's new about that?" "They're all the same shape." "More or less." "That's a pound, treble, in the 2 o'clock, 2:30 and 3 o'clock." "All right?" "Yeah." "Now, Pontefract, I want Blazing Wood in the 3 o'clock..." "Some walk!" "Now, that's what I call material." "We were going to have lunch together." "So we were." "I called at one, as I said I would." "Lunch wasn't my idea." "I realise that." "Hey, listen to that fractured English." "It's the Paris poodle." "More like a bloodhound." " May I sit down?" " Oh, I'm so sorry..." "Please do." "A swinging cat like you is always welcome." "How do I get a stepmother like you?" "Simple." "Have a father like Jennifer's." "Oh, I've got a father but he's weighed down by medals." "Rows and rows." "He's so old, he's a General." "Old and dull too." "Jennifer's father is neither." "He's still a young man." "Hey, Jen, you told us she was robbing the grave, marrying your old man." " I said she was square and anti-us." " Anti-us, that's what you said." " What about jazz?" "You dig?" " Rock is all right, but I prefer modern." " East or west coast?" " West." " Which one?" " Dave Brubeck for me." "She's crazy too." " You are a musician?" " Somewhat." "I'd like to hear you." "That's easy if you can hear at all." "He can play it cool, and he sings too." "He sends me over and out." "Please sing." "Doll, for you, anything, anytime or anywhere." " But I'm gonna rock it." " All right, I'm listening." "Stop it, Dave." "Why did you come here and embarrass me like this?" " Embarrass you?" " Don't I have a right to my own life?" " I stay out of your business." " We are family now." "Coming here, making as if you know the score." "East coast, west coast, Dave Brubeck." "You got that out of my book." "Wouldn't you rather I tried to share your life?" "I won't be spied on." "That's the last thing I meant to do." "I know why you married my father." "It's because he's famous and he's rich." "He can give you the things you want." "Play it down, doll." "Relax." "Thank you." "You're good." "I mean, the most." "But Stepmother, you've only just arrived." "In a moment the dance begins." "You've got the stepmother mixed up with Cinderella." " Paul told you about dinner?" " Not sure I can make it." "Will you try?" "So we can discuss my report card with Daddy?" "There won't be any report." "Nichole!" "Hey, do you dig that one?" " Kenny's waiting for you." " Who's the pal?" "She's no pal, just a bitch with a short memory." " What's that you're drinking?" " Fruit juice." "Are you mad?" "That's Greta." "They call her the Duchess." "When she peels, she makes like she's doing you a favour." " Peels?" " Come on now, pigeon." "She strips across the street in Les Girls club." "17 shillings." "That's what the suckers pay for seeing her in her birthday suit." "Just imagine wicked old Frenchie knowing a broad like that." "Yes, just imagine!" "Daddy will be most interested." "I owe you a great deal, Your Excellency." "I never thought you'd get it through." "The opposition had to oppose or they would be out of business." "That is politics, part of the game." "But I can tell you, now that the contract is signed and sealed, they will be very pleased." "As HM's counsellor on the spot," "I can tell you the opposition leader confirmed that." "Not a man I care to deal with." "My brother, you know." "He went in for politics." "Slippery customer." "The ambassador and your husband are just having a nightcap." " Can I get something for you?" " No, thank you." "It's a shame to leave so early but we fly back at the crack of dawn." "Oh, I'll hurry them up." " You're fond of music?" " If it's beat." " Jazz, you know." " Of course." "I hear they're dancing the Charleston again." " Shades of my youth." " Only deads, not the real cats." "That's what I call Jenny's expressive language." " Afraid I must be very silly but..." " Coffee bars." "I must confess, I've never been in a coffee bar." " No, neither have I." " Nichole has." "We had lunch in one today." "Yes, it was fun." "I believe some of those places can be awful." "This was charming, full of young people." " Art students." " And dancers." "One was an old friend of Nichole's." "Yes, somebody I knew years ago." "I don't even remember her name." "Her name is Greta." "Oh, of course." "They call her the Duchess." "That's very mysterious." "Is she really a duchess?" "Hardly." "She's a dancer, of sorts." " Your Excellency, may I suggest..." " Yes, yes, we must go." "It has been a delightful evening." "I hope we shall see you and your husband more often in my country." "Cooper?" "What shall I tell the press?" " I leave it to your discretion." " Thank you." " Good night." " Good night." "You look very pretty tonight, Jennifer." "I stayed and talked to your friend Greta." "Really?" "She remembered you all right." "She said you were a bitch." "Jennifer, did I hear right?" "Who is this woman?" "What did you talk about?" " We talked about striptease." " You talked about what?" "Striptease." "Can I help it if that's what she does?" "She's Nichole's friend." "I haven't seen her for years." "She works at Les Girls." "It's quite a dump." " She must be pretty low." " That's enough." "They call her the Duchess." "Imagine, a stripping duchess!" "Poor Greta." "I had no idea she had sunk so low." "Just imagine it, Daddy, every time Nichole's friend strips over 100 dirty old men crowd into a little room to watch her." "And they pay 17 shillings each." "That's a lot of money, isn't it?" "Where did you learn all this?" "This is terrible, terrible." "Greta used to be so talented, so ambitious." "All she ever talked about was her career." "We began in the ballet together." "Ballet?" "Do you mind?" "If either of you were ever on your points, then I'm a tightrope walker." "Jennifer!" "Did you tell her I'd been a dancer?" "No, we..." "We haven't had much time to discuss things yet." "You must teach me some steps one day, Nichole." "I doubt there is much I could teach you." "You could always try." "Take it off, take it off" "Said the boys in the rear" "And she unzipped her zipper..." "Well, Nichole, what is this all about?" "Nothing." "Darling..." " You don't like her, do you?" " I don't like her?" "I can't understand her." "She hates me." "She's hated me ever since I set foot in this house." "Oh, I don't think so, darling." "Why won't you face it?" "That's what I'm trying to do." "So let's get back to this old friend of yours." "The one that told Jennifer about striptease." "I told you about her." "Yes, but there's more, isn't there?" "Isn't there, Nichole?" "I told you, we were in the ballet together." "Now she has altered her way of life." "I am not responsible for what she has become." "Look, I didn't say that." "There are lots of things that happened to us before we met." "Can't we talk about them sensibly?" "It's the same all over the world, Paul." "Girls start off together, have the same chances." "Some go straight, others go bad." "Greta wasn't lucky." "With me, it was different." " I met you and I fell in love." " As simple as that?" "Just as simple as that." "Darling." "Go on." "I'll be there in a minute." "OK, be exclusive." "Come on, she's in a mood." "Looks nice, doesn't she, kid?" "Like to go in with me and see her?" "Creep!" "Shove off." "Now, girlie, is that a nice way to talk?" " For grown-ups, kid." " I've got money." "Here." "You could be the Bank of England, you're still not old enough." "Now, why not go home to Mum, eh?" "I've got to see Greta." "We have a date." " I have to see her." " Oh?" " What's your name?" " Nichole." "Well, just a minute." "Call Greta." "Greta?" "A young lady here says she's got a date with you." "Name of Nichole." "OK." "This way, Miss." "Now, gentlemen, a thrill both sides of the footlights." "The first of our amateur talent competitors, a lovely little child of nature..." "Now, just take your time, baby." "Begin slowly, you know what I mean?" "Build it up, make 'em wait, keep 'em on the end of that G-string." "Tease 'em." "It's easy." "Just don't look at 'em, Annie." " Get it over first." " Ah, shut up." "Now, all right, you're on." "Now, remember, a fiver for the day and a job if you really send 'em." "Just you watch, they'll fall right off their seats." "She's too young, Simon." "It's a shame." "When did you join the Salvation Army?" "Cut it out, Mavis." "Get back to your bar." "Now, you... really know how." "Went all right." "Not bad, not bad at all." " I'm glad you approve." " You certainly know how to pick them." "A real madame." "I ought to set you up in a house." "I'm not ready for that kind of work yet." "Promising." "Greta, please!" "These days anyone would think you loathed the sight of me." "Kenny, what's the matter?" " There's a girl outside to see you." " All right, show her in." "No, it's for me." "The tickets, last plane Saturday night." "Why you want to go to Paris, I don't know." "It's corny." "Brighton's corny too, but it's nearer." "Yes, but Paris does things for a girl." "Why blame Paris?" "Out there with Greta, quite the dish." "Oh?" "Careful, it's jailbait." "You've got a filthy mind, haven't you?" "I know." "Nauseating, isn't it?" "You'll have to divorce me, darling." "The name "Nichole" made me think you were somebody I knew." "Nichole married my father." "Oh." "Well, there's more than one Nichole in the world." "I was with her in the Off Beat this afternoon." "What does that prove?" "Where do I come into this?" "She told me you once worked together." "I don't know what you're talking about." "Was it a joint like this?" "Now, look, kid, don't bother me." "I'm busy." "How did you like it when she cut you dead?" "Oh, barge off!" "Go on, clear off!" "What's she so frightened of?" "Is it of you or is it...?" "Now, look here, kid." "Forget all this Nichole business." "I made a mistake." "We all make mistakes." "I don't know any Nichole." "Now, clear out while you've got the chance." "What's the hurry, Greta?" "Bring the little lady into my office and we'll all have a nice little chat, hm?" "Look..." "I can see out, but they can't see in." "That's the only way I can tell if the girls are earning their money." "Now, you just sit down there and tell me all about it." "Sounds as if maybe Greta's been holding out on you." "I wanted to know about a friend of hers called Nichole." "Hm-hm?" "Well, supposing you put me in the picture." "Nichole's my stepmother." "Oh." "Did you know her, Greta?" "Well, did you?" "We used to work together in Paris." "Was it so hard to tell the child that?" "Or maybe you worked in a strip club." "Did you strip?" "All dancers do something like that sometime or other." "Well, what else did you do in gay Paree?" "What about the gentlemen, hm?" "Oh, we had friends." "I have a friend in you, lover boy." "Friends?" "You mean customers, don't you?" "The nearest I came to a brothel was when I came here with you." "Get out." "Get out!" "You'd better come back tomorrow and Greta will tell you some more." " Do you think there's more?" " Oh, yes." "When Greta sets her mind to it, she'll tell you anything you want to hear." "Well, goodbye for now." "Wait a minute." "Looks easy, doesn't it?" "But it isn't." "Takes a long time to learn." "Interested?" "25 quid a week for yourself." " I don't need money." " You're so right." "It isn't everything." "But there's a thrill in this work." "All the girls say so." "A real thrill." "Besides, it's a shame to waste a nice figure." "See you tomorrow maybe." "Maybe." "Any explanations, Jennifer?" "What about?" "It happens to be three o'clock." "No, it's not, it's five to and I'm tired." "Come in here." "Well?" " Where have you been?" " Out." "Jennifer..." "I'm trying to keep my temper, but I'm finding it very difficult." "I've been with friends, dancing." "When I found you weren't in your room, I was worried to death." "These clothes and all this muck on your face, they may make you feel grown-up but you're still a little girl, you know." "To you I am." "And if the rest of your friends are like this dancer Greta you told me about..." "She's no friend of mine." "Ask Nichole about her." "Leave Nichole out of this." "That couldn't suit me better." "But you've been to this café again, haven't you?" "Oh, are we going through that corny hearts and flowers routine?" ""Don't stay out late, dear." ""Little girls get into serious trouble if they mix with strangers." ""Men are not to be trusted."" "Jennifer..." "I'm trying so hard to understand you, but we seem to be out of touch with each other." "That's no news to me." "But you're my daughter, my own flesh and blood." "I do really love you, you know." "You don't love me." "You think you do." "You said it so often you made yourself believe it." "You don't really ever look at me, not really." "None of you squares ever do." "You see what you want to see." "A bunch of teenagers lumped together under one label." "But we're us, nothing to do with our parents." "I am me, Jennifer Linden, a complete, whole, independent living person." "At one time or another, all of us need to be dependent on someone." "Our trouble is, we haven't been a complete unit." "But now things are different." "Why don't you give it a chance?" "I prefer it this way." "I've been pretty lonely, Jennifer." "Well, look what it's done to you, dried you up, so you only get a kick out of that crazy city of yours." "What's this got to do with me and my life?" "And where do you get your kicks from?" "Sitting around in cafés, listening to gramophone records?" "Jiving in underground cellars and caves?" "You are a real square, aren't you?" "This language, these words, what does it mean?" "It means us, something that's ours." "We didn't get it from our parents." "We can express ourselves and they don't know what we're talking about." "It makes us different." "Why do you need to feel so different?" "It's all we've got." "Next week, voom." "Up goes the world in smoke." "And what's the score?" "Zero." "So now, while it's now, we'll live it up, do everything, feel everything, strictly for kicks." "You'll find there's more to life than kicks, as you call it." "Oh, please." "Cut out the message." "People like you build cities, but you don't understand the first thing about us who'll have to live in them." "You'd better go to bed now, Jennifer." "I'm not going to try to argue with you anymore tonight." "But remember this." "If you're not going to try, I'm afraid I can't." "It's up to you." "Heads you win, tails I lose." "It's always the same thing." "I hate the lot of you." "I hate you!" "I hate you!" "Well, this is a bit too much." "The old creep downstairs and now you up here." "I wanted to talk to you." "And the same dialogue too." "Go on, why don't you ask me where I've been to?" "That's easy." "The Off Beat club." "Guess again." "Somewhere much more interesting." "Jennifer, what is all this for?" "Oh, listen, before you break my heart, I'd like to go to bed." "Do you think I want to sit up half the night?" "I should have thought you'd be used to it." "What do you mean?" "Most strip joints are open till early hours, aren't they?" "Especially in Paris." "What is this striptease nonsense?" "You're not still sticking to that old ballet story, are you?" "Your chum Greta has quite a different angle." "You haven't been to that club, have you?" "Ah, you're with me at last, Stepmother." "Les Girls, the sultry, saucy Soho striptease," "Starring Greta de Paris, la Reine du Striptease." "Streep, streep, wah!" "How do you like my French?" "I had a French governess." "Greta and I had a long chat." "She told me how you worked together in Paris." "And what else?" "That's funny." "Those are the same words her boyfriend Kenny used." ""What else?" he said." ""What else did you both do in Paris?"" "Is there more?" "Jennifer, what are you trying to find out?" "What have I done to you?" "Dig this and dig this real." "I won't have you spying on me." "Keep out of my life and I keep out of yours." "Spying?" " I wanted to be friends." " And dig this too." "I am no part of my father's life and he is no part of mine." "And that goes for you too." "We can't live like strangers under the same roof." "It's all wrong." "Why can't we be friends?" "I'm warning you." "Take it off, take it off, said the boys in the rear" "La la la, la la la..." "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean it." "Forgive me." "I wasn't going back to Greta to find out the rest." "I was just warning you to keep out of my life." "Now I've changed my mind." "Take it off, take it off, said the boys in the rear" "And she unzipped her zipper..." "For the audition?" "OK." "Good luck." "That was very, very nice what you did last night, darling, but it isn't quite what we want in a club like this." "Now, tease, will you?" "Try it again." "Tease, darling, tease." " How about Brighton, Sunday?" " I don't like winkles." "What do I do with this?" "Try it again." "Tease, will you?" "Tell Greta there's an old friend here." "If she's in." "I'll see." "Nichole!" "Well!" "Greta, I'm sorry about the coffee bar." "I was so surprised to see you." "That's all right." "I understand." "I was angry at first, but..." "Oh, well, that's life." "So, you're married?" " Is he nice?" " I love him." "I hope he's worth it." "Greta, a girl came here." "Jennifer, my husband's daughter." "Yes, I told her I knew you." "Kenny made me." " Kenny?" " Yeah, he runs this place, and me." "He's a bastard but I love him." "You see?" "I haven't changed." " What else did you tell her?" " Nothing." "Nichole, keep her away from here." "It's Kenny." "He..." "You wanted to see me?" "There was a young girl in here last night, seeing Greta." "And?" "Leave her alone." "Oh." "May I ask who you are?" "Her stepmother." "So that's what Nichole looks like." "You've come up in the world, haven't you?" "I can come down to your level if I have to, Mr King." "So just listen to me." "If that child comes in here again, you're going to send her home." " And if I don't?" " I'll tell my husband." "He'll go straight to the police." "To begin with, the girl's underage." "And with an expert like you, I'm just not taking the risk." "Do we understand each other, Mr King?" "Perfectly." "And will your husband also understand when he finds out what his wife and her good friend Greta got up to while they were in Paris?" "Kenny, please." "And how they managed between jobs?" "Why did you tell him, Greta?" "For goodness sake, why did you tell him?" "Your stepdaughter will be very welcome here, anytime." "Jennifer?" "Jennifer?" "Jennifer?" "Jennifer?" "Hey, looks like it's quite a ball." "Daddio!" "I'm over and out." "Play it down, doll." "Well, you've got to live for the kicks." "It's all you've got." "Ah, live!" "Dave, sing that number and sing it cool." " Ah, don't play wife." " Wife?" " I said cool." " I'll wait." "Sing, dad." "Sing." "Well, I saw you sitting there so cool" "Like you'd just come out from school" "Looking such a pretty sight" "Like a stick of dynamite" "Sitting on a coffee-bar stool" "You're a gasser, that's a fact and I never can relax" "Till I've... made you" "Baby" "Come on" "Well, I feel such a crazy clown" "You're the biggest thing in our town" "Come on, honey, it ain't fair, never getting anywhere" "How do I melt you down?" "Well, you're a gasser, that's a fact, and I never can relax" "Till I've made you" "Yeah, make with it now, fellas" "I'm not giving up this chase" "I don't wanna lose the case" "Every time I make a play, baby, you just run away" "I never made first base" "You're a gasser, that's a fact and I never can relax" "Till I've made you" "Great, dad, great." "Straight from the fridge." "I'm way out." "Ah, this group's not so hot." "Let's go and listen to the other one." " Put it away, creep." " Look, leave me alone." "You heard me." "Hey, look, cut it out!" "If you wanna fight, go and join the army." "That's the place for squares." "Hey, your medicine's neat gin." "Got any more?" "So that's what the cough was in aid of?" "Crum." " You'll have to do better than that." " Where do you get it?" "I pinch it from the sideboard." ""Have a dry martini, General." ""Or is yours a pinkerton, me old lemon?"" "What's the matter with you, boy?" "Why do you need that?" "Drink's for squares, man." "Kids' stuff." "Oh, some dump this is." "It's like the war, way down in the Underground." "There she was, my old lady, snug as a bed bug." "In the dark on the floor." "That's where she had me." "She was bombed out so that's where we lived, like a bunch of scared rats underground." "That's the first home I ever had." "My mother came up to London to be with the old man on his leave." "Crazy." "One day a doodlebug." "The house just went voom!" "She went with it." "The old man, of course, was a hero, a live one." "The desert, Italy, with D-day to come." "Stiff upper lip and all that." ""Don't cry for your mother, boy." "It's not manly."" "When it was over, I played on the bomb sites, down in the cellars, amongst the rats." "I tell you, man, this is a home from home for me." "From then on, it was strangers, morning, noon and night." "Strangers." "I know about strangers too." "Oh, we're like rats in a hole, that's us." "The Rat Race Rock." "I belong here." "I feel good." "This is my life." "That's because you're a number one female rat." "They'll never understand." "Look, whatever you want to do, it's always, "You're too young, son."" "You want to neck in the park." ""Oh, go home, son."" "Home?" "With the General and his whisky and soda and his, "Those were the days!"" "Who wants to neck at home?" "Gives me the screaming habdabs." "We could neck here." " He doesn't mean necking." " Yes, I do." "I do." "That's just what I mean." "Lips to lips, hips to hips" "You keep me horizontal with your big, big love for you..." "Ah, nuts!" "What did you stop for?" "It was great." " I was swinging." " Oh, fade out." "You know, Dave, maybe you're right." "Maybe this place does give me the flying heebie-jeebies." " Let's have a party." " What?" "Party, at my place." "The old man's out and there's lots of records." "Hey, Cinderella, what about the wicked stepmother?" "She can fly away on her broom." "Hey, nutcase!" " Feel like a run?" " To where?" " Jen's place." " Where's that?" "22 Exeter Street." "Do you hear that, slum-dwellers?" "That's Kensington." "Ooh, swank." "I feel a race coming on." "Oh, boy!" "I feel a big wind coming, man." "I'm in the mood." " Can I drive?" " Oh, sure." "It's all yours." "What's the matter with you?" "Put your foot down." " Faster, Dave." "Faster." " Have you got the handbrake on?" "Come on, make this car go, boy." "Go on!" "Go, go!" "Ha, ha!" "Come on, slow boy!" "You'll be late for Christmas." "Go, go!" "What's holding you back?" "You're dragging." "Come on, pass them." "Shut your face!" "I could pass them if I wanted to." "But you don't cos you're chicken." "Watch it, doll." "Chicken, chicken, chicken!" "Chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken!" "What'll you pay for screaming, Jennifer?" " I won't scream." " You wanna bet." "I won't." "Pass them." "If you scream, you'll play for real, OK?" "You're on, man." "Come on, man!" "Yeah!" "Go on, man." "Get that truck back!" "Go on, man." "Faster!" "Come on, make it go, man." "Hey, watch it, man." "There's a bridge!" "Watch it, you bastard!" " You wanna pay me now?" " More action and less talk." "Back!" "Back, I say!" "He'd better chicken cos I won't." "Come on!" "You'll never make it." "Stop!" "Slow down!" "I didn't make a sound, man." "Not the tiniest sound." " Not the tiniest." " You'll flip your lid next time." "Try me, daddio." "You didn't win your bet." "It isn't over yet." "Hey, there's a train coming." "Let's play chicken on the rails." "You still didn't win your bet." "Ah, who wants their arms round an iceberg, anyway?" "Iceberg?" "Stop it, you idiot!" "This is a Paris model, a present from the French poodle." "Come on, Dodo." "Darling, hold me close to you" "There ain't a thing that they can do" "It's legal" "When you look at me that way" "It's dangerous but strange to say" "It's legal" "It's legal" "I won't be wicked again" "I'll never be bad no more" "Just think of the things that we can do" "Without even breaking the law" "Oh, darling, let me never fear" "We're definitely in the clear" "It's legal" "I won't be wicked again" "I'll never be bad no more" "Just think of the things that we can do" "Without even breaking the law" "Darling, let me never fear" "We're definitely in the clear" "It's legal" "It's legal" "You're phoney, just like an iceberg." "Am I?" "Perhaps the ice is melting." "Go, girl, go." "You're warming me." "Go on, Jen." "Go, go, go." "Strip like a Frenchie." "Strip, strip!" "Melt, melt, melt." "Jennifer!" "Idiots!" "Get dressed." "And you, get out of here." "Frenchie, darling, you're getting stroppy." "Don't claim you haven't seen a doll peel." "Be a nice Paris poodle." " I said, get dressed." " Hey, hey, Godiva." "Cut out the watch committee routine and show us a trick or two in French." "That was a liberty, lady." "Quite a liberty." "Now, when I slap, it's no brush with a chicken's claw." " Come off it, Dave." " Get him out before I call the police." "Out you go." "Out!" "Nobody's leaving." " I say the party's over." " Drop dead." "It's my house and I'll do as I please." "It's your father's house." "I'm his wife and you'll do what I say." "Now, put on your blouse and get away from that door." " I said, get away from that door." " I'll kill you." "What the devil's going on here?" "They're having a party." "So it seems." "Jennifer, get your things on." "Who are these people?" "Jennifer's friends, Paul." "Well, get out of it, all of you." "Go on, get out of my house." "Go on, get out of it, you jiving, drivelling scum." "Get out of it!" "Put on your clothes." "And take that muck off your face." "Bringing riffraff here." "What sort of place are you turning this into?" "That's a big laugh." "Why didn't you ask yourself that when you brought her here?" "The ballet!" "Ask her what she and Greta were up to in Paris." "Get her to show you how she stripped for the customers." "You and Greta, your boyfriends." " Tell him how much you were paid." " Jennifer!" "And if she doesn't know that much English, go and ask Greta." "Don't, Paul." "Jenny, I..." "It isn't true, is it?" "None of it." "It's a lot of nonsense." "Nichole!" "Tell me it isn't true." "All that striptease business is childish." "Greta and I did dance some cabaret..." "I don't mean that." "You know I don't mean that." "The boyfriends?" "Customers." "If you prefer." "Yes, that is true." "You?" "My wife?" "But why?" "How?" "You lied to me." "How have I lied to you?" "Did I tell you I was a virgin before I married you?" "Did I tell you I'd never been to bed with another man?" "But you never told me..." "That I accepted the rent money instead of a bunch of roses?" "All right, I never told you." "Is that lying?" "No." "Maybe it isn't." "But you've got to tell me the truth now." "Oh, yes, I'll tell you." "I rowed with my father." "I walked out." "I was angry, but I was too proud to go back." "Greta showed me the way." "It is not easy to stay respectable on an empty stomach." "Poor Greta." "I was the lucky one." "You came along." "You came along, all I ever wanted." "I love you." "That's all I know." "I love you." "Taxi!" "Oh, man." " Ah, send for the body snatchers." " The joint's dead all right." "Everything's so dreary." "I'm bored." "Come on, live dangerously." "Come on, Jen, dance with me." "Let's live it up." "All right." "What's your hurry, baby?" "Where did you pick up that rubbish inside?" "She saw 'em in the light and took off." "On your way, kid." "You're underage." "Take another look." "Remember me?" "OK, you win." "In you go." "Well?" "How's tricks?" "Nearly run off my feet I am." "Got to keep the girls at home these days, eh?" "Why did they change the law just when I'm doing so good?" "I tell you, there's no justice." "Who says?" "Jennifer?" "Nichole, she's not in her room." "She's gone!" "Well, somebody down there likes me." "I'd quite given you up." " I didn't say for certain." " I'm not making any complaints." "It's a woman's privilege to change her mind, especially if she's beautiful." "Don't look so surprised." "Is it news to you that you are beautiful?" "Sit down." "Oh, yes, I forgot." "You're underage, aren't you?" "It could mean quite a bit of trouble for me." " How?" " Your coming here in business hours." "Who says?" "Your stepmother." "Oh, yes, she made quite a scene, threatened me with your father." "Well, forget them." "They drive into me like a big headache." "In any case, I'm on my own." " I just walked out." " And came here?" "No, thank you." "The gang gave me the heebies." "I felt flat." "Well, naturally." "What could those children possibly do for you?" "You need a little help, don't you?" "One way and another, I think I can offer you quite a future." "What the hell?" " Having fun, you lousy teds?" " Any complaints?" "You think you own the bloody streets." "I'm not fighting." "Fighting's for squares." "It's not worth a bundle." "Come on." "Simon, what are those tickets doing on Kenny's desk?" "Have you been going through Kenny's private papers?" "Is that nice?" "Who's going to Paris and when?" "Kenny feels he needs a change." "Change?" "Let's face it, Greta." "This is it." "You got your cards and your coppers." "A replacement's arrived." "Didn't even have the guts to tell me himself." "Well, Kenny's got a lot on his mind." "He's got his hands full, as you might say." "I see." "And now I've done his dirty work, I'm no more use." "Is that it?" "I might have known he never cared a damn for me." "That's right, girl." "Be sensible about it." "Come to think of it, what else can you do?" "What else?" "I should get out there and get one of those suckers to buy you a drink." "Good idea." "They were in the café." " When we first went in." " Yes." "Look." "That's some of Jenny's crowd, isn't it?" " Where's Jennifer?" " I don't know." "She walked out on us." "All right, Alice in Wonderland." "Tease." "You see?" "I'm not such a dangerous man, am I?" "Two tickets." "Paris, last plane, Saturday night." "You could forget all about those cheap thrills." "Might even have your name up in lights on the Champs-Élysées." "Does the idea appeal to you?" "Kenny's been knifed." "Get the police, quick." "Murder!" "Call the police!" "Officer, there's been a murder." "In our place." "My god!" "Jennifer!" "I didn't do it!" "I didn't do it!" "I didn't do it." "I didn't do it!" "Who said you did?" "I reckon I did us all a favour." "Here, get hold of her, quickly." "Stop her." "For goodness sake, stop her!" "I know she's in there." "I know it." "Just a minute." "There must be a back entrance somewhere." "Daddy!" "Nichole!" "Come back!" "Help me!" " Come back!" " Jennifer!" "It's all right, Officer." "It's my daughter." " So you're her father, are you?" " Yes." "If it weren't for my pension, I'd wallop her." "You'd better take over." "Meanwhile I'll have some particulars." "You'll find us here if you want us." "Thank you, Mr Linden." "It's all right, Jenny." "Funny, only squares know where to go."