"(suspenseful theme playing)" "(car engine starts)" "Murderers." "For in his mercy, he gave Tony one last chance." "Thanks be to God, Tony did not miss that chance." "He died repentant." "So we have helped Tony." "But we can help him even more by praying for the two he left to us, his wife and his son." "Whatever Tony did, whatever Tony was to cause another man to murder him, we cannot judge him." "I remember one day," "Tony stood right here in front of me, with Rose..." "May God's blessings go with you." "PRIEST:" "...the remission of all his sins... ( wedding dance music plays )" "( guests hum along with music )" "PRIEST:" "...of thy divine justice and punishments in the world to come..." "You're not sorry you came over?" "A dream comes true, you don't feel sorry." "I'm in that dream?" "You are the one who has to make it come true... more." "Um, Tony, we won't live in that one room too long, huh?" "Pretty soon, we will have a whole house." "Oh, I can't wait." "How I am going to furnish it, top to bottom, everything new and beautiful." "And it's got to have lots of closets and a private garage and" "Rose." "Yes?" "Well, we may have to wait a while for that." "PRIEST:" "Nobody made Tony become the kind of man he became." "Every man chooses his own road." "The worst tragedy here is, he took two innocents with him when he went down that road." "For Rose Bianco and her son and for Tony, let us pray." "O God, the creator and redeemer of all the faithful, hear our supplications, and through thy infinite love..." "( upbeat piano music plays )" "( children chatter indistinctly )" "Rose." "You worked overtime again, huh?" "I took work home as well." "At least with overtime, you make a little extra money." "God knows you could use it." "That insurance company should have gave you the money." "You know, natural or unnatural, dying is dying." "Those companies, they don't care how you pay the policy, but to collect, you gotta die their way." "You gotta sit here and work all night by yourself?" "Rose, take this stuff." "Come over to my house." "We'll sit and talk, instead of each of us being alone." "You got two grown daughters and a son-in-law and a husband." "That's being alone?" "Friday night, they play cards." "Frank Valente comes over." "You know Frank Valente?" "The widower?" "Poor Frank." "He's got this one child, Mary." "She's going to get married next month." "She's going to leave Frank all alone." "Her husband-to-be has a business in Atlantic City." "That's how come she's moving there." "Poor Frank, all alone." "Just like you." "You know what I think?" "I think he likes you." "Who?" "Frank, the widower." "Last week, he said," ""Don't nobody take out that beautiful widow lives next door?"" "You forgot to tell him I'm in mourning?" "He knows." "He sees you all the time in black." "You know what he said?" "You remind him of black orchids." "Giulia." "He's coming to play cards tonight." "Rose, come over." "Be there when he comes." "Stop making romance." "Tell him, "Go find somebody who ain't got a murdered husband in the grave and a son in a work farm."" "Tell him, "Go find somebody who's still got a piece of heart left," huh?" "He'll be there from 8:00 on." "Okay, Papa." "Five of hearts to you." "Here's my four." "Eight." "( guests laugh )" "Come on, Frank." "Stop joking and play." "Come on, Paul, let's play serious." "Henry's getting mad." "You should have married a poker face like your father." "HENRY:" "Frank, please." "Three of diamonds." "Looks pretty safe." "I can get under that." "And to you, Papa, the six of spades." "I give up." "Any better?" "Ace of spades." "PAUL:" "Hey, look." "I'm sorry, Henry." "Queen of spades." "( hysterical laughing )" "Come on." "Yeah, queen of spades." "The only card you got." "We're playing Hearts." "Only one card he gets." "Look, that's the only spade I had." "HENRY:" "Only spade you had." "Rose." "Come on over." "This time I laugh, my friend." "All right, now we're even." "You see, Pa." "Laughing makes you lucky." "Especially when you got the cards that this guy..." "She'd rather work out there in the dark than be with me." "Who, the widow?" "GIULIA:" "You try to help somebody." "The whole neighborhood tries to be nice to her." "She won't even return a smile." "She acts like she murdered her husband." "Giulia, shut up." "Everybody saw how she made her husband get mixed up with those..." "Everybody feels sorry for her anyway." "But, no." "She's gotta hide like..." "HENRY:" "Giulia, go sit in the parlor there." "You know, I got a funny taste in my mouth." "It must have been the fish tonight." "I think I'll go out in the yard and get a piece of mint to chew on." "Now, wait a minute." "I'll go..." "No, that's all right." "I know where it is." "Right out in the yard." "I know, but..." "What he wants out there, he's got to get for himself." "Papa, don't think about it." "( soft accordion music plays )" "You're going to kill your eyes in that light." "Oh, I'm Frank." "I'm the Gallos' friend." "I'm eating some mint." "Do you want some?" "I'm working." "In that light?" "By now, I could do this in the cellar with the light out." "You know, I'm glad you don't mind company while you work." "When my cousin was in mourning for her husband, she wouldn't talk to nobody for over a year." "I think she was afraid they'd see the relief in her face." "That's what you see in my face?" "What's the matter?" "I don't hear insults inside." "Who's insulting?" "I'm just getting some mint." "Then get it and go in." "Go back and laugh some more." "Oh, you heard me laughing, huh?" "All right, I'll go." "Don't bother." "I'll go." "Gee, those flowers look real." "I thought you were going." "Well, you said you didn't mind company." "That's what you said." "Well, just so it got said." "What are you mad at?" "Hey, what's the matter?" "Hey, you afraid to laugh?" "Look at that." "I got 35, 40..." "I won 72 cents tonight." "I'm a very big winner." "All right, all right." "But tomorrow we play a game of bocce, huh?" "Yeah, if it's not too hot." "Frank, can you do me a favor?" "What?" "I'm still mad she didn't come over tonight, but I think she didn't have any dinner." "You give her this, huh?" "All right." "What are you going to do, stand there and watch?" "Go on in." "See you tomorrow." "( buzzer rings )" "You." "I nearly had a heart attack." "I'm sorry." "I only rang the bell." "All the bad news of my life came when the bell rang at night." "What do you want?" "Nothing." "Just Giulia sent some dinner." "Hey, this is a nice place." "What are you doing in here?" "I hardly know you." "Sure you hardly know me." "You no sooner start getting warm, you start yelling." "Why are you bothering me like this?" "Because I like you." "Hey." "Hey, you still making flowers, huh?" "Yes, now go home." "You know, it strikes me funny." "What's so funny?" "You making flowers at night." "You know, even God don't make flowers at night." "To make money, people do a lot of things God don't do." "Hey, look at that." "Orange blossoms." "Hey, these are nice." "You know, Mary..." "That's my only child." "She's getting married." "Yeah, Giulia told me." "Oh, yeah?" "Yeah." "I'm having a tuxedo made to walk her up the aisle." "Of course, I'll probably never wear it again, but I figure a man should have a tuxedo hanging in the closet." "That way, the moths have more respect for him." "You know, in my town in Italy, men who laughed like you were always the ones with a dozen kids." "Yeah?" "Well, after Mary was born, my wife, she got sick." "You're right." "I should have had a lot more, at least a boy." "By now, the house would be a noise factory with him running in and out." "I got a boy." "Oh, you have?" "Yeah, he's in a work farm." "Oh, a work farm, huh?" "You visit him a lot?" "Every Sunday." "It's a long bus ride." "Well, that doesn't sound too bad." "Four times so far, he ran away." "They said once more, and they'll have to put him in a real prison." "Now please go away." "You know, uh..." "You know, Sundays are nice for a long bus ride." "Maybe this Sunday, maybe I could come along with you?" "You want to go with me to that place?" "I'd like to very much." "Why?" "Well, I'd just like to." "You want to see how crying makes me look ugly?" "Aw, come on, now." "Tears for somebody else don't make you look ugly." "I'd like to come with you, if you'd let me." "I can't make you out." "What do you want with me?" "Look." "Now, what time is the bus?" "It's supposed to leave at 11:00." "It's never on time." "All right, I'll meet you at the station." "Is that the one on 13th Street?" "All right, I'll be there at 10:30, huh?" "Look, I didn't say yes." "Look, I'm going to be there at 10:30." "I didn't say yes!" "You know, one of these days, you're going to break your throat with all that yelling." "Thanks for the flower." "I" " I'm going to leave now." "Oh, no, no, please don't bother." "I'll see myself to the door." "( melancholy theme plays )" "( door closes )" "( humming )" "Papa, I polished those before we went to church." "Yeah?" "Well, those pews are too narrow." "You know, I got stepped all over." "Look." "It's a sin to criticize a church." "What do you mean, the church?" "It's the builders who skimp on the pews." "Come on in and have breakfast." "Come on." "All right, all right." "( continues humming )" "Hey, that helps your digestion?" "What?" "That hat." "Oh, Papa." "You know, you looked so hungry when we came home," "I started rushing, and I forgot all about it." "That hat." "Stop." "( humming )" "Papa, come on and eat." "Oh, honey, I'm not hungry." "Besides, I gotta go out." "What do you mean, go...?" "But Noble's coming." "We're all going for a ride in his new car." "You forgot." "Some other time, baby." "It's imported from Italy." "Your future husband, he's supposed to be so modern, he buys a car from the old country." "Where are you going?" "Out." "What do you mean, "out"?" "Well, just" " Just out." "Papa." "Hey, uh..." "Hey, Mary, you know the widow lives next door to the Gallos?" "Rose Bianco?" "Well, her son's in a..." "Well, it's like a farm." "Well, anyway, she invited me to ride with her on the bus and go visit him." "The truth of the matter is," "I kind of invited myself." "Why, Papa?" "Why?" "Well, because she's a nice-looking woman, and I like her." "A gangster's wife?" "Now, if you don't mind, Mary." "Come on, now." "Come on, will you take that look off your face?" "Well, how am I supposed to look when I hear my father's going out with a woman like that?" "What's the matter?" "You don't want me to have a nice time with a nice woman?" "Gee, honey, ain't it better, now you're getting married," "I find company for myself?" "Gee, all these years we been like, like two hermits living in a cave." "Come on, honey." "Ain't it-- Ain't it better?" "All right." "But I didn't know that when a girl gets married she's supposed to stop caring about her father." "Oh, baby." "What do you mean, "stop caring," honey?" "I love you to care about me, Mary." "Oh, look." "Come on, now." "Don't spoil the day for you and Noble, and for me." "Come on, huh?" "Come on." "Come..." "( car horn honks )" "Hey, Noble." "Hey, Pa." "How are you?" "How are you?" "Hey, what do you think, huh?" "Hey, what is it, a lady's pocketbook?" "What do you mean?" "That's what you call an Italian sports car." "Hey, that's pretty fancy." "( honks horn )" "Don't forget." "Hey, we're all going to go for a drive later." "Look, on a day like today, you don't want "three's a crowd."" "Besides, um, I got a date." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "See you, huh?" "Yeah, see you." "Mary!" "Hey, baby?" "( bells toll in distance )" "Mary?" "MARY:" "I'm in here, Noble." "Hi." "Hi." "Shall I kiss you first, or can't you wait to see the car?" "Well, now, I think I can wait." "Mm." "Ooh." "Hey." "Come on, help me put some things away, huh?" "Go in there and clear the table?" "I think your father's got a touch of spring in his head today." "You know what he said?" "You and me should be alone today." ""No, three's a crowd."" "Hey, Noble, did you find a house in Atlantic City yet?" "Not yet." "I looked at eight houses." "You know what I saw?" "Doghouses." "I told this agent," ""When you come up with something good enough for me and my future wife, then call me."" "Well, honey, maybe we shouldn't rush into buying." "If you ever lived in a furnished room, you wouldn't say that." "But I mean, till we find something we really want, we could stay here." "Where?" "With my father." "Now, that's crazy." "There's a hundred houses in Atlantic City." "I'm going to look at more this week." "I'll find one that'll just be perfect for us." "So you'll find." "Hey." "What's bothering you?" "Noble, you're looking at this only from our point of view, but, well, I'm thinking of my father too." "Thinking what?" "What about him?" "Well, just how's his life going to be when he's here in this house all by himself?" "Noble, for him, can't we live here?" "I don't mean that we have to stay" "Now, wait." "How are we going to live here, when my store's on the boardwalk in Atlantic City?" "Now, Mary, you don't make sense." "All right." "Excuse me for mentioning it." "He'll be all right." "You worry too much." "If he knew how much you worry, he'd have a fit." "I'm sorry, Noble." "But I just can't help it." "Hey, come on, smile." "( suspenseful theme plays )" "You know, lately I can't stand being away from you." "Honest." "I wish I could find a house right on top of my store." "Every ten minutes, I'd come in, and I'd look at you." "It never used to bother me, seeing you only on weekends." "Now the closer the wedding gets, what ideas come into my head." "VOICE OVER P.A.:" "Attention, please." "Upstate special for Poughkeepsie, Albany..." "Hey." "Hey, Rose." "You know what?" "Hey, watch out." "Watch out." "I went to the wrong station." "Boy, of all the times to make a mistake." "Hey, Rose." "Come on, you wanna yell at me?" "I thought you came to your right senses and stayed home." "Yeah, but you were saving my seat for me though, huh?" "It's fruit for Ralphie." "Oh, gee, and I thought you were saving my seat." "What are they waiting for?" "I don't know." "Hey, Rose." "Hm?" "Come on, you were saving this seat for me, huh?" "Have you got to make a song and dance out of it?" "Yes." "Yes, I saved it." "( engine starts )" "( phone rings )" "GUARD:" "I have the keys, card here." "Yes, sir." "That's correct." "Yes, sir." "You don't smoke, do you?" "I'm kind of anxious to see your boy." "Does he look like you?" "GUARD:" "Mrs. Bianco." "Mrs. Bianco, please." "Yes?" "Mr. Harmon wants to talk with you." "Hey, Rose." "Hey, Rose." "I'll wait for you here, huh?" "He ran away?" "Come and sit down, Mrs. Bianco." "He ran away or not?" "Tell me." "Ralphie didn't run away." "Oh, thank God." "Thank the boy who warned me in time to stop him." "Warned you what?" "Ralphie was all set to run away last night." "And you take the word of one of these boys?" "One of these boys saved him from being transferred to the reform school." "I'm sorry." "It's just that I get so scared." "I understand." "He promised he wouldn't do it again." "But he can't help himself." "Listen, why don't you let him come home." "You think he's going to steal again from those parking meters?" "He got the key from his father." "Now the cops have got the key, and his father's dead and buried." "And the crowd that Ralphie was mixed up in, they buried too?" "Mrs. Bianco, we're not protecting society from Ralphie." "We're trying to protect Ralphie from society." "Where is he now?" "Confined to his room." "I can see him?" "It isn't permitted, so..." "don't get caught." "Oh, Rose, is something wrong?" "You look worried." "I've got to talk with Ralphie." "Oh, Rose, will you ask Ralphie if I could meet him some Sunday?" "I'd like to very much." "All right." "(children playing outside)" "Yell and get it over with." "I didn't come to yell." "What did Harmon say?" "He covered up for you." "Ralphie, why do you keep running away?" "Where does it get you?" "Out." "You got to stop running." "Don't give me advice." "Just get me out of here." "( sobs )" "Don't cry." "I'm sick of seeing you cry." "Ma, I'm sorry I said that." "Please, Ma." "All right." "See, I'm not crying." "Ma..." "I try and stand it here." "But at nights," "I lie in bed and I sweat." "And I think about Papa." "Don't think of him." "Forget him." "Maybe I don't want to." "Put him out of your head." "He did you enough harm while he was alive." "He did me harm?" "( children chatter indistinctly outside )" "You know, Mr. Harmon is really a good man." "I'm beginning to see there are a few good men in this life." "Just the other night, for instance," "I'm sitting in the yard making flowers, and this man starts laughing and" "What man?" "Oh, Frank Valente." "The Gallos' friend." "Ralphie, honest, if there was a law against making people like you, this man would be in the electric chair." "Do you like him?" "He's the first person made me laugh in years." "Coming here on the bus today, he was" "You took him here?" "But, Ralphie, he's dying to meet you." "And besides, I need you to decide if I should see him again." "I want you to okay him." "She brings a guy to the state farm to be okay'd by a juvenile delinquent." "Next Sunday's all right?" "It's your funeral." "Take care." "Bye." "Goodbye." "You like the country, Rose?" "It reminds me of home." "Yeah." "Italy." "You don't wanna go back, huh?" "To what?" "They're all dead over there." "If I liked visiting graves," "I could do it right here." "Yeah." "You know, I've got a cousin who just lives for visiting graves." "Every Sunday, he's in some cemetery." "One week, a tombstone fell on him and broke his collarbone." "That's very funny." "Hey, Rose, when we get home, why don't you come have supper with Mary and me, huh?" "At my house?" "Frank, don't be so quick." "I feel quick." "All right." "Next Sunday," "I'll meet Ralphie, and you meet Mary." "You sure Ralphie said it was all right, huh?" "Oh, yes, I'm sure." "But do you think Mary--?" "Ah, don't worry about Mary." "She's all up in the clouds, with the wedding and all." "A girl about to get married, the world's like a diamond for her." "Mary, will you listen to me, please?" "But Noble, why do we have to eat here?" "Why can't we all go down to my place, and I'll fix some sandwiches and coffee?" "I want egg rolls." "Well, you don't have to yell." "You know, you're ruining the whole date for Alma and Joe, not just us." "Who's ruining?" "Noble, don't you want me to cook for you?" "Now, what do you mean, me?" "It's not me you're thinking about." "You're worried about your father." "So we'll come home starving." "Mary, do me a favor, will you?" "Just once today, consider me." "What do you mean, "just once"?" "Mary, I want you to stay here and have egg rolls with me." "Okay?" "Alma?" "Hey, listen, I'm going." "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" "So long, Joe." "They're not even married yet." "And they fight better than my mother and the old man." "Noble, go after her." "Eh, I'm going home." "Good night, Alma." "I'll see you, Joe." "Friday night, I'm giving her the wedding shower." "Try to come, huh?" "Yeah, sure." "And you want me to get married." "What do you want from me?" "(chattering)" "Try this side." "This side?" "( buzzer rings ) Is that Mary?" "No, no." "It's okay." "It's only Joanne." "Oh, good." "Oh, hi, Joanne." "She's not here yet." "( chattering indistinctly )" "We're both in pink." "Oh, it looks lovely." "Mom, did you remember to invite Rose?" "No, but I do it right now." "Good." "Girls, coffee's ready." "Rose?" "Hey, Rose!" "Hey, what?" "Come on over here." "I gotta talk to you." "I have to go out." "I can't stop here." "See, I invite you to a party, and you have to go out." "You didn't invite me to a party." "I'm doing it now." "Alma's giving Mary the wedding shower tonight." "She told me to invite you." "Who, Mary?" "No, Alma." "How could Mary invite you?" "It's gotta be a surprise for the bride." "Well, I can't come." "I've got an appointment." "Tomorrow, go confess to the priest how you tell lies." "I'm not lying." "Then you'll come?" "I told you, I've got a date." "After the date, you come and have coffee." "You and Frank." "Why didn't you wear a jacket?" "I'm not cold." "(rings buzzer)" "All right, baby, have a nice time, huh?" "But aren't you coming in?" "No, you tell everybody hello for me." "You're not playing cards tonight." "I got something else to do." "Mary, come in." "GIRLS:" "Surprise!" "(excited chattering)" "Hi." "Hey." "Hey." "Gee, you look beautiful." "It's not bad enough I have dates, it has to be in front of a church." "You know, you're really beautiful." "Hey, Rose." "Yeah?" "Let's go to a movie, huh?" "But I am in mourning." "Well, we'll see a sad movie." "And thanks again." "Good night, Ruthie." "Well, did you enjoy the shower?" "Oh, it was lovely, Alm." "And I really was surprised." "Kid, what's the matter?" "Nothing." "Oh, look, I know you since grammar school." "Honey, everything will be all right with Noble." "I guess it's just nerves, Alm." "You know, over the wedding and getting the gown made." "You know, most girls act like it's going on a picnic when they get married." "You?" "You get a nervous breakdown." "Well, wait till you're the bride." "Wait is right." "Especially if it's Joe I'm waiting for." "I guess Papa will come and help me pick up the gifts later, so..." "Oh." "Good night, Alma." "Thank you." "Night." "(suspenseful theme plays)" "(cat meows)" "(upbeat dance music plays)" "All right." "We'll have cherry vanilla for both of us, huh?" "You want something on it?" "Maybe hot fudge or something?" "No, no, just plain." "Yeah?" "Just plain for the lady." "Hey, put a lot of jimmies on mine, though." "I mean, whipped cream, marshmallows, the works." "Oh, what was I saying?" "Your wife." "(music stops)" "Oh, yeah." "Well, after the baby was born, my wife, she, um..." "She got sick." "Sick of what?" "You know, sick." "Gee, for ten years, she was like that." "Always locking herself up in the room." "Never talking to me or even looking at the baby." "You know, sometimes I..." "You know, it's a long time since I talked to anybody about inside things." "I don't know." "I'm always afraid who has to listen will get sick of hearing." "I won't get sick." "Thank you." "Gee, you see, when you don't yell, you can be so... so nice." "What's the matter?" "Oh, nothing." "The marble is cold." "Oh, well, here." "Here, use this." "Thank you." "I'll do it." "All right." "So between the wife and..." "No, go on." "Go on, like this." "Between the wife and..." "Hey." "You know, you always remember where I dropped off." "Well, anyway, between her and the depression and trying to raise a baby by myself, one day at work, I just keeled over." "What, your heart?" "Oh, no, no." "Just a strain." "So I ask the boss for a few days off, and he says" "He says, "Take the rest of your life off."" ""In a few days," he says," ""I'll be in the street selling apples if those spring orders don't come in."" "So, you know, when I hear that," "I says to him" " I says "How would you like to go in partners with a man who has $1,000?" And he says, "Okay."" "So that very morning, we signed the papers, and I became half-owner." "And that afternoon, the spring orders came in." "And the strain?" "The boss, he got it." "Well, now." "Now we've got a store here and a factory in Summerville." "Rose, have you ever been around Summerville?" "No." "Oh, it's very nice, very nice." "You know... right near the factory, there's this, uh..." "Well, this wonderful house, and it's..." "Well, it's empty now, and it's for sale." "You know, if I were starting all over again," "I'd sell my house here, and I'd buy that one near Summerville." "It would be nice starting again." "You could maybe not make the same... mistakes." "Hey." "You know, I bet if those people at the farm knew that Ralphie had a nice house to come home to, you know, in the country, like..." "Well, like Summerville..." "You know, Rose, that..." "That one little house could make the three of us, kind of..." "I don't know... get ahold of life again." "You mean this, Frank?" "I'm saying it." "You know, Rose, you would do me a great honor." "Hey, I'll tell you what." "Sunday, we'll go to the farm, and I'll ask Ralphie for your hand." "Maybe... you'd like to wait." "You know, after all, we..." "we hardly know each other." "Gee, the way I'm rushing you, you'd think somebody was chasing me." "I'm sorry, Rose." "I mean, if you're not sure..." "I'm sure, Frank." "I'm sure." "You" " You are?" "What..." "Well." "Well." "Hey, well." "Well, uh, Sunday we'll tell Ralphie." "Monday morning, uh, City Hall License Bureau." "Rose." "( upbeat dance music plays )" "Hey." "Did I order that?" "Yeah, you did." "You'd better eat it." "Oh, no, no." "I can't eat it." "Rose." "It doesn't fit." "Honest, Mary." "My feelings are hurt, the way you criticize the gown." "Oh, it's not the gown." "It's the fit." "Well, just look how it bunches in the waist." "You want it to fit like the skin of a sausage?" "Go." "Go take it off." "I will fix the waist." "I should have stayed in Rome." "I was going to join the Church." "By now I would be Mother Superior." "( rings buzzer )" "I'm too busy, but come in." "Yes?" "I wanted to ask." "You make wedding dresses?" "What do you mean, do I make?" "Twenty years in this country alone." "But I mean plain dresses, you know?" "Not gowns." "You are going to get married in church, no?" "Why?" "I don't make no dresses for City Hall." "It makes a difference to you?" "Hey, what are you so angry about?" "Here, do me a favor." "Write your name." "I am busy getting a nervous breakdown from criticizers." "MARY:" "Will you have this fixed by Monday morning?" "Dear God, spare me." "All right!" "And Monday night, you come and view me in my coffin." "I ask you, who can read your writing?" "What is your name?" "There." "Rose Bianco." "Well, I'm too busy now to take your measurements and decide on style." "All right." "But if you want the job," "I've got to come for fittings at night." "No nights." "If you work, you come in the morning before you go." "Oh, another thing." "The man I'm marrying, he insisted he wants to pay for the dress." "He said to send the bill to him." "How do I know he will pay?" "He's a friend of yours, Frank Valente." "CONSUELO:" "How the world is changing." "No more white gowns, no more veils." "Hey, Mary." "Look, I ain't got all day, eh?" "Give the dress to..." "Oh..." "I did not connect." "It is your father." "Mary, is it going to be a double wedding?" "Oh, watch..." "Oh, Dio mio, che peccato!" "Mary, what a shame." "( whistling )" "( door slams )" "Mary?" "Mary, is that you?" "Mary." "Mary." "Hey!" "( door slams ) Mary!" "( knock at door )" "FRANK:" "Mary." "( sobs )" "Mary..." "Hey." "Hey, baby..." "What's the matter, honey?" "Papa, what are you doing?" "What do you mean?" "I heard her, brazen as sin." ""Send the bill to Frank Valente."" "Oh." "Oh, honey, you're just upset because it wasn't me that broke the news to you." "You see, I was waiting till you..." "Papa, you mean you're really going to marry that woman?" "If you ever say "that woman" like that again," "I'm going to smack you right across the mouth." "Papa" "How can you talk about her like that?" "Mary, you" " Mary, you-- You don't even know her." "Look." "Mary." "Mary, Rose has had a lot of trouble in her life." "She's..." "Look, if God is good to me, he'll let me make her happy for a change." "Mary." "You were going to Atlantic City tomorrow to see the house Noble found, right?" "Baby, why don't you go today, huh?" "You can stay at my cousin's hotel." "You'll rest, and you'll feel better." "Come on, huh?" "I'll take you to the bus." "I can go myself." "I'm not a child." "Mary." "Look, Mary, listen to me." "Mary, it doesn't have to change anything between us." "Honest." "Honey, uh..." "Do you need some money?" "No." "ALMA:" "Mary." "Hey, Alma." "Where's Mary?" "She's upstairs." "Mary!" "Mary, come and hear!" "Alma, what's the matter?" "Oh, listen, I could die!" "Well, what happened?" "Alma?" "Me and Joe, we're getting married!" "Oh, that's wonderful." "Hey, Mary, isn't that great?" "Hey Alma, what can I buy you for a present?" "Look, never mind presents." "Just come." "It's next Saturday." "Oh, kid, almost overnight." "Really?" "I can't show up empty-handed, you know." "Look, I love you." "Get what you want." "Oh, Mary, let me tell you what happened." "Okay, come on." "Tell me." "Come on, tell me." "Last night after your shower," "Joe came over, and I put it to him plain." "I said, "Joe, listen." "You're working, I'm working." ""Either we set it definitely now, or it's ended altogether."" "He said, "Now."" "And then he started to cry." "Honest, he started to cry." "And then he said..." "He said, "Alm, baby, I'm scared."" "Well..." "Then I started to cry along with him." "Well, then we both sat down, and we talked it out." "And then he smiled." "Oh, Mary, I could work 100 years on that one smile." "Well, look, I gotta run." "The families are getting together for dinner tonight, and Mom started..." "She started cooking and crying at 5:00 this morning." "Where you going?" "Atlantic City." "You made up with Noble?" "Well, he called." "He found a house, and he wants me to come and see it." "Oh, kid, that's wonderful." "Well, look, call me when you get back, huh?" "Okay." "I hope the house is a dream." "Bye-bye, Alm." "( chattering in Italian )" "Shut up!" "( speaks Italian )" "( responds in Italian )" "( arguing in Italian )" "I played the right ball." "MAN 1:" "You don't know how to play." "MAN 2:" "Oh, shut up." "Oh." "Frank." "Oh, fa troppo caldo." "Come on, one game." "Just one game with me." "No, I don't wanna play." "It's too hot." "It's not that hot." "Come on." "Anyway, I wanna ask you something very important." "Look, Henry." "Um, I like Rose." "( grunts )" "Yeah, but, you see, Mary doesn't understand." "And, uh, well, what I wanted to ask you, Henry, is..." "When you want something so bad that you don't care what happens," "I mean, that's because God wants you to have it, am I right?" "It's hard to tell." "The devil works the same way." "Oh, Henry." "( speaks Italian )" "I know, but I'm asking you something very important, and you're giving me jokes." "I don't give you jokes." "I don't want a philosophy." "I want some advice from you as a friend." "( speaks Italian )" "VOICE OVER P.A.:" "Ralph Bianco." "Ralph Bianco." "Your mother's here to see you." "You know what?" "I'm..." "I'm scared." "I'm..." "I'm nervous." "Gee, you act like a boy." "Well, I've never been interviewed by a boy before." "Oh, come on." "Hey, Ralphie." "How are you, darling?" "How are you?" "You know, we talked to Mr. Harmon." "What about?" "Frank wants to tell you." "This is Frank." "Yeah, I'm Frank." "I guess you're Ralph, huh?" "Hey, Ralph, suppose you and me walk outside, huh?" "I don't want any women around while I'm answering questions, you know." "Who's going to ask them?" "Well, her father's in a cemetery somewhere in Italy." "He can't do it." "How about it, huh?" "( mouths ):" "Go on." "You know, Ralphie, when I was a kid," "I used to work summers picking on a farm." "Your mother tells me you like farming, huh?" "She must've broken your eardrums talking about me." "No, she breaks them with yelling." "Me, I yell right back." "That way, nobody gets heartburn, you know?" "You know, the radio said rain today." "I'm glad they made a mistake, huh?" "We could use some rain." "You can't make things grow by spitting on them." "Yeah, that's good, huh?" "Spitting on them." "Pretty good." "( light, upbeat theme playing )" "Hey, Ralphie, you know, about this house in Summerville" "What house?" "Oh, that's right." "I didn't tell you yet." "Well, anyway..." "See, there's this house in Summerville." "Boy, it's got a lot of acres in the back." "It could be a farm if you want." "And, uh, well, I'm going to buy it." "Ralphie, um..." "I'd like to marry your mother." "I mean, if you don't mind." "You know, gee, between that house and all the acres in back, boy, it could be like paradise for the three of us." "The three of us?" "You're talking to me like I'm sitting in someone's parlor." "Do you think I can just pack my bags and leave?" "What's the matter with you?" "Don't you listen to your mother?" "She told you we talked to Mr. Harmon." "He said as soon as we show him the marriage license, he'll let you come with us." "What?" "Well..." "It'll take, oh, about a week at the most." "I, uh..." "I guess it all depends on..." "Well, uh, if you..." "If you like me." "If I like you?" "What's the matter?" "Look, if you wanna marry my mother, that's okay." "But you don't have to get me in the bargain." "Come on, Ralphie." "Gee, how do you think I'd feel, huh?" "Seeing she has a son, and he ain't half mine." "Come on, now." "Come on, eh?" "You going to say yes or no?" "You know, I..." "Boy, I got a lot of signing to do." "You know, I gotta sign for the house." "I gotta sign for the license." "You know, you're holding up all that signing." "Come on." "Is it a deal?" "Like two men, huh?" "I'm getting out?" "Sure." "It's not all the way in my head yet." "I'm getting out!" "Ma!" "Ma, I'm getting out!" "I'm getting out of here, Ma." "(upbeat theme swells)" "NOBLE:" "Mary, come and see the master bedroom." "Huh?" "Well, what do you think of this?" "Did you ever see such a big bedroom, huh?" "I could have a harem in here." "And the view is beautiful too." "Oh, Noble, I knew you'd pick a house like this." "You like it, huh?" "I love it." "Oh, Noble, I'm sorry about that fight we had." "We wasted so much time just because I was so silly." "Come on, now, sad eyes." "Let's forget it." "But I'm always making you mad and miserable." "I don't know how you still wanna marry me." "Now, what kind of talk is that?" "We had a fight." "So what?" "You cried." "I cried." "Tears don't call off a wedding." "Mary, what's the matter with you?" "Papa's going to get married." "No kidding." "Mary, that's wonderful." "To that Rose Bianco, and you say "wonderful"?" "Noble, until I told him I had to move to this godforsaken place, he never even looked at another woman." "Mary, my business is here." "So keep it here and come home on weekends." "That's how a married man should live, huh?" "All week long in a furnished room while his wife is playing house with her father." "Playing house?" "Yeah, that's right, playing house!" "Oh, Noble, you make me mad." "All right, Mary, I'm sorry." "But your father wants his own home, huh?" "Don't I have a right to want mine?" "Well, I think you'd better find yourself another girl, Noble." "And give her this house." "You're my girl." "And you're going to be my wife." "You think I could live without you now?" "Then live with me in my father's house." "Go home, Mary." "(door slams)" "There, you see how special you are?" "I serve you coffee in the parlor." "Oh, excuse me." "Hey, Rose." "You know, when I used to see you" "I mean, when I used to go to the Gallos', and I used to see you, you know what I used to call you?" "Yes." "How do you know?" "Giulia." "No." "You know, still you shouldn't dress in mourning all the time." "You know, you could be a yellow orchid, maybe a pink." "Hey." "A red one." "But I got a lot of pretty colors." "Oh, yes." "Every week, I used to buy a new dress to go dancing and, oh, you know." "Hey, you like to dance?" "Oh, yes, I do." "Yeah?" "I used to be one of the best dancers in the neighborhood." "Oh, you're joking." "No, honest." "Honest." "I'll show you." "Here, you think I'm kidding, huh?" "(swinging jazz music plays)" "Ah, it feels good, huh?" "Yeah." "( laughs loudly )" "What's the matter?" "This is the first thing I see about you that's old-fashioned." "What do you mean, "old-fashioned"?" "You want me to get fancy?" "But you don't know how to move." "Oh, really." "What's the matter with that?" "Ay, ay, ay." "No, no." "I'll show you how to dance right." "Oh, you're going to show me?" "Yes." "All right." "Whoa, wait." "I lead." "No, no, no." "Just till you learn." "All right, all right." "( Frank speaks indistinctly )" "Go on, turn around!" "Now grab my hand!" "What are you doing?" "Now spin me!" "Now, turn around." "Turn around." "You're getting kind of fancy." "I'm getting dizzy." "Me too." "Whoa, what's that?" "Hey." "Oh, Mary." "Hey, Mary." "Mary." "Hey, I didn't hear you come in." "Oh, Mary, this is Rose." "Frank, turn that noise off." "Oh, sure, yeah." "Oh, I met her son today." "Hey, you should see that boy." "Oh, Mary, how about fixing us something to eat, huh?" "I'm tired." "Hey, since when are you too tired to fix me something to eat, huh?" "Are you hungry?" "Show her where the icebox is." "Mary." "Mary." "Don't you realize you're insulting Rose?" "Gee, honey, you come in here, you don't smile, you don't say anything." "Now you use that rotten tone in your voice." "Frank." "Frank, I'll go home." "No, no, wait." "Wait." "Mary's going to apologize." "Mary, take Rose's hand and apologize." "Papa." "Now, come on." "Put your hand out where she can reach it." "Mary, come on, now" "Papa, I can't." "I don't know why" "Frank, don't-- Will you shut up, both of you?" "Just put your hand where-- Come on." "Give her your hand." "Come on, Mary." "Just take her hand and say-- Don't you touch me!" "You're bad!" "He thinks you're good!" "He thought my mother was good too, but she was a crazy lady!" "Mary!" "( discordant music swells dramatically )" "Go to her, Frank... before you have to hate this night the rest of your life." "Rose!" "Rose, don't go!" "(bell rings)" "(chattering)" "Hey, Rose, I-- I came to take you to lunch." "Rose..." "Look, I don't blame you." "You're upset about last night, but you know..." "Listen, last night, I walked out of your house." "Let's say I walked out of your life." "Out of my life?" "Rose, what are you saying?" "I should have kept my heart in mourning." "Rose, don't even say that." "What do you come here for?" "Why do you have to make me see what can't be?" "Rose..." "What's between us, you think all of a sudden you can just act like it's not there?" "Frank, please don't say that." "Can you?" "Huh?" "See, that's what I came for." "That smile." "Come on." "Come on." "Rose." "ALMA:" "Frank, wait up!" "Hey, Alma." "Where's Mary been all day?" "Well, she's inside, I guess." "Well, I kept calling." "In five days, she has to be my maid of honor, and we haven't even discussed the gowns yet." "Come on in." "Mary!" "Mary!" "(suspenseful theme plays)" "Dinner's on the stove." "Where can she be?" "Where could she be?" "Alma..." "Mary!" "Mary." "Mary." "Mary." "( tries to turn knob )" "Mary." "Mary, don't lock the door!" "MARY:" "Don't try to come in." "Just leave me alone." "( softly ):" "Oh, dear God, please." "Please, please, God, not again." "Hey, Joe!" "Frank!" "Hiya, Joe." "Frank." "You're just in time." "I was going out to get some sandwiches." "The poker game just started." "Who's up there?" "Who do you think?" "Same bunch, huh?" "The same old bunch." "Frank, how's everything?" "Oh, fine, fine, fine." "No, I don't think I'll come up tonight, Joe." "I'm going next door." "Listen, I'll see you tomorrow night at the wedding, right?" "Yeah, yeah." "Sure, sure." "You, uh" " You nervous?" "Man, you know it." "Don't be." "See you, Joe." "Yeah." "Rose." "Frank." "Come and sit down." "Is Mary still locked in her room?" "Well... when I'm at work, she, um..." "She cooks and irons and cleans." "When I'm there she" "She stays in her room." "Like your wife." "God, Rose, it can't happen again." "Frank, tell Mary it's all off between us." "Rose, don't." "Go out of this house and make a finish of it." "Don't ask me to do that, Rose." "Frank, tell me this." "Can you get married and go to Summerville and leave your daughter locked in that room?" "Rose, Rose..." "Can you do that for anybody?" "Tell me." "Can you?" "(melancholy theme plays)" "Yes, sir." "Ralph Bianco!" "Your mother's waiting in the visiting room." "What happened, Ma?" "Things went wrong." "It's all off?" "What'd you do to ruin it?" "Me?" "Well, who should I blame?" "Pop?" "What'd you do?" "Tell Frank the house wasn't big enough?" "Or wouldn't he rob a bank for you?" "Ralphie... you hate me?" "Ralphie." "Ralphie." "( upbeat accordion theme plays )" "Oh, yeah, yeah." "Say, doesn't she look pretty?" "I have to change, Mom." "It's time to go." "Oh, Joe, God bless you." "Sweetheart, lots of luck." "What's the matter?" "What are you crying for?" "She's my daughter, no?" "No, you gained a son." "But, Papa, I'm so happy!" "She'll be back." "It's all right, Pop." "I'll take care of her." "You better..." "Alma, throw your bouquet!" "All single girls over to the foot of the stairs." "All single girls." "No, not you." "You've got one already." "(chattering)" "(cheers)" "(police siren blares)" "(tires screech)" "(buzzer rings)" "(ringing continues)" "Is your boy home, Mrs. Bianco?" "What's the matter?" "Well, he ran away again." "He isn't here." "(sobs):" "He won't come to me no more." "Well, I have to take a look anyway." "(sighs)" "You satisfied?" "Now get out." "(bells toll in distance)" "Pop." "Pop?" "Oh, Noble." "Oh, it's morning, huh?" "Yeah." "(grunts)" "You heard?" "Yeah, I heard." "Joe and Alma came to the shore last night for their honeymoon." "They came over, and they told me." "The whole thing." "Pa, why didn't you call me?" "What could you do?" "We had a fight last Sunday." "Yeah?" "I chased her out of the house." "I didn't call her once all week." "Oh, don't worry about her." "It wasn't your fault." "Pa, what are we going to do?" "Nothing." "What do you mean, nothing?" "Just that, Noble, nothing." "If she's going to come out, she's gotta turn the key herself." "Pa, we just can't stand around." "Well, we can pray." "God will do the rest." "Yeah." "But can't we help a little bit?" "You think God's in business?" "He puts "help wanted" ads in the paper?" "Hey." "You know I didn't mean it that way." "Pa?" "Hm?" "Now, listen." "Can't I at least go upstairs... and try?" "Go ahead." "Mary." "Mary, please come out." "Mary, not-- Not for me." "For Pa's sake." "Mary, baby." "Please?" "Come on, Pa, let's go to church." "We'll pray." "(tires screech)" "I'll wait for you in church, Frank." "(knocks on glass)" "Yeah?" "Rose, I..." "I was on my way to church, and I..." "I wondered if-- Any news about Ralphie?" "The other times when he ran away, he called me." "This time..." "Rose, after Mass, I'm going to go to the farm." "I'm going to explain to Mr. Harmon how it was my fault that Ralphie ran away." "How I made the kid go crazy from disappointment." "Rose, I won't let them punish him for something that's my fault." "And you think they'll listen?" "Well, I hope." "The sky falls down on your head, and you just keep right on hoping." "I don't expect no miracles, Rose." "But if nothing happens, I..." "Rose, if it turns out that..." "That you and me can't get together, I..." "Frank." "(sad violin theme plays)" "Is Mary still in her room?" "Yeah." "And you won't tell her about us?" "Rose, I can't." "I just can't, Rose." "Rose." "Let's go to church and pray together, huh?" "Come on." "We need more than prayers right now." "Look, they're going to find Ralphie." "He's going to be fine." "Come on." "No, I want to stay here." "(dramatic theme building)" "Ralphie." "I'm in trouble." "I know, son." "If Ma makes this Mass," "I want to look at her once more, before I go away." "You're going straight back to the farm." "I can't." "They'll put me in reform school." "And you're putting your mother through hell." "Ralphie, why do you make her suffer for something that's my fault?" "Your fault?" "You think I'm going to lie in church?" "Huh?" "Noble, drive us, will you?" "Come on, let's go." "Let's go." "( dramatic theme crescendoes )" "Mary." "Get out of here!" "We are alone." "We can say what has to be said, and nobody will ever know one word." "We don't have anything to say to each other." "Now, just get out." "But we should understand each other, Mary." "We are two of a kind, you and me." "Is that how the bad live with themselves?" "By thinking everyone else is no good?" "Yeah." "It takes somebody bad to tell you what it is like in the bottom of hell." "Get out of here!" "What you're doing is wrong, Mary." "You are trying to twist and bend your father to make him do what you want." "But it's wrong, Mary." "I did it to my husband, and I know." "Poor Tony." "He was so happy when I came to this country to marry him." "And I took his happiness, and I choked it." "I was like a kid in a toy store when I got here." "Everything I saw, I wanted." "And in a country like this, there is so much to want." "He didn't have one dollar, so he had to go stealing like a dog." "That's what killed him." "I don't want to hear any more." "Now, just get out of here!" "Stop twisting your father." "You don't know how doing that is like murdering." "In the end, they tied Tony's hands and feet and sunk him in the river." "But I was the murderer." "Now you're doing the same thing to your father." "Mary." "Go out of this room." "Be downstairs when he comes." "Hurry up, Mary." "Before you break him in half... forever." "He made a mistake over me." "Don't punish him." "Make him happy again." "I made him happy." "After my mother died," "I was the one that made him laugh again." "Now you want to take him-- All right, Mary." "I'm very much in love with your father." "For the rest of my life, all I would ever want is to see him smile at me." "But I won't let you kill him just because of what I want." "Mary..." "I'm going to walk out of this room... out of this house now." "And that's the end of it." "That's what you want." "That's what I'm going to do." "You can go downstairs now." "You can be there." "I won't." "Rose. would you like a cup of coffee?" "You know, every Sunday," "I make sausages for my father's breakfast." "And every Sunday, he makes another excuse not to eat them." "I guess that's one thing I never learned how to make to please him." "I know the way." "I'll get some sausages?" "Mm-hm." "Oh, where's the pan?" "Over there." "What's the water for?" "A little water kills the grease." "They don't come out too fried." "You can get the eggs meanwhile." "You know, Noble eats six." "Boy, you drive like a wild man." "Come on, let's go in." "Go ahead in, and I'll..." "I'll, uh..." "I'll be in in a minute." "All right." "Papa." "Hi." "Hey." "Boy, hey, something smells awful good." "Mary, tell him to sit down." "Well, I'll go get Noble." "No, I'll get him." "He's right outside." "What happened?" "She made me cook the sausages." "Oh, thank God." "Thank God." "Oh, Rose." "Oh, Rose, I found Ralphie." "You found Ralphie?" "He was at the church waiting for you." "Where is he now?" "Well, I took him back to the farm." "Is he all right?" "I spoke to Mr. Harmon." "He said everything was going to be fine." "Frank." "Rose." "Frank." "Rose." "Frank." "Noble." "Mary." "Hey!" "Hey, Mary!" "Oh, sit down here, huh?" "Now, let's..." "Let's see." "Oh, yeah, butter and bread." "NOBLE:" "Mary!" "Hey, Mary!" "Hey, Noble." "Oh, Noble, this is Rose." "Rose, this is, uh..." "Noble." "Hello, Rose." "Hello, Noble." "Now, come on, sit down before the stuff gets cold." "Yeah." "Aren't you hungry?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I'm hungry." "Frank, give me your plate." "I'll fill it." "No, no, you sit down." "I'll do it myself." "In some families, that's how they do it." "Well, if that's how you do it, then... do it." "Oh, thank you." "Oh, pardon me." "Hey, boy!" "Oh, boy!" "Oh, boy!" "This is sausage!" "Gee, Ma, I'm happy." "Hey, Rose, come on." "We're going to miss the bus." "Come on, let's go." "You wanna walk to Summerville?" "Goodbye, Mrs. Valente, Ralphie." "Goodbye." "Goodbye, Mr. Harmon." "Mr. Valente." "Oh, Mr. Harmon, I'm very bad at saying thank you, but..." "Oh, here's some apples for the boys, huh?" "Thanks." "(uplifting piano theme plays)"