"In January 1933, fourteen years after the defeat of Germany in the First world War," "adolf hitler came to power." "In violation of the VersaiIIes Peace Treaty," "Germany at once began rearming." "In March 1936, in violation of the treaty, Germany reoccupied the RhineIand." "In March 1938, in violation of the treaty, Germany absorbed Austria." "In September 1938, with the Munich Pact," "england and France yielded to Germany" "large areas of CzechosIovakia, under adolf hitler's threat of war." "With this pact, Germany guaranteed peace in Europe, and the independence of the rest of CzechosIovakia." "In March 1939," "Germany violated the pact and occupied the rest of CzechosIovakia." "Germany was also threatening poland." "And now, on March 31, 1939, the British government, at last resolving to halt HitIer's Germany, gives poland an unconditional guarantee of military assistance." "This guarantee will lead to the outbreak of the Second world War." "colonel general waiter von Brauchitsch, commander in chief of the German army." "general Franz HaIder, chief of staff." "Lieutenant general alfred JodI, operations chief of the OKW," "hitler's supreme headquarters command." "colonel general WiIheIm KeiteI, chief of the OKW." "admiral Erich Raeder, commander in chief of the German navy." "Summoned by the Fuehrer, these officers are here for a meeting on the British military guarantee." "You have heard..." "Ribbentrop's news?" "Yes, mein Fuehrer." "My will...is fixed and unshakable." "You will proceed with the planning for Case White." "Mein Fuehrer, the starting date?" "September 1 ." "Does the Fuehrer's decision present problems for the military?" "Joachim von Ribbentrop, hitler's foreign minister." "Vain and incompetent, he has succeeded in earning the dislike of almost everyone in the German government." "My Luftwaffe will be ready September 1 , mein Fuehrer." "If necessary, even sooner." "field marshal Hermann Goering, commander of the powerful German air force." "In the Third Reich, second only to the Fuehrer." "With all due respect to the field marshal, mein Fuehrer, you give us only five months to prepare for general war." " lt would require at least a year." " We do not have a year!" "It is my belief that if the attack on Poland is started with sudden, heavy blows that gain rapid success," "general war will be avoided." "But if England and France do march... I'll cook them a stew they will choke on!" " Glory be, it does exist!" " What exists, Madeline?" "This Hitler business." "I read about it in the papers, but..." "Well, it seems too ridiculous and crazy to be real." "It's real, all right." "Commander Victor Henry, United States Navy." "Stateroom 63, A deck." "Thank you." "General von Roon." "I can't believe it." "We're actually going." "Madge Tolliver was in Berlin for the Olympics." "She keeps saying how wonderful it still is, and how cheap." "She says we'll just love it." "Oh, here it is, Pug." " Surprise!" " Warren!" "Hi, Mom!" " Hi!" " Hey, cutie!" "What the devil?" "!" "Why aren't you in flight school?" "Just blew in." "Are you kidding?" "You think I would have missed this?" " l hitched a ride on a PBY." " Pug, isn't it a wonderful surprise?" "Saturday night in New York?" "Watch out, all you big-city girls, Warren Henry's in town." "What do you say we get this party under way?" "Has Byron heard about the move?" "We haven't heard from your brother for months." "The last letter we got, he'd quit his studies in Florence, and he's vagabonding around Europe." " Got bored with the fine arts." " Oh, now, Pug, don't carry on so." "Byron's a strange fish, but there's brains underneath." "I know." "That's the problem." "Well, here's to the new tour of duty." " Yes, and good luck in Berlin." " Cheers!" "Well, I got a Navy car." "Can I drive you someplace?" "My date's not till 5:00." "Take me to the Rockefeller Center," " the National Broadcasting Company." " What for?" "I'm gonna look for a job." " Does Dad know about this?" " Are you crazy?" "Besides, it's just for the summer." "Bye!" "They're good kids." " When the cat's away, huh?" " l've been smoking for years." "Well, to whom?" "To the kids." "Yes." "Our abandoned nestlings." "All right, to the kids." "Oh, I really do feel adventurous, Pug, sailing on a German ship these days." "I wonder if there are any Nazis right here at this bar." "Let's go out and look at the Statue of Liberty." "No, sir, I want another drink." "I've seen the Statue of Liberty." "Look, as long as we're aboard this ship, we have to assume that everything we say is being recorded." "That means at the bar, at the table, in our stateroom." "Did that ever occur to you?" "Well, yes, sort of, but... ln the stateroom too?" "Always?" "You mean..." "You don't mean day and night, Pug, really!" "If they didn't, they'd be sloppy." "The Germans are not a sloppy people." "Well, then, mister, keep your distance on this boat, that's all I can say." "And I intend to spend the entire trip chastely brushing up my German." "It's gonna be the same in Berlin." "Honestly!" "Oh, hell." "It really doesn't make much difference anyway, does it?" "Can I have my other drink now?" " Hi." "Byron Henry?" " Yeah." "Natalie Jastrow." "Hop in." "This is Leslie Slote." "I don't need a driver in Warsaw." "It's all horses." "I don't have to hear about that." "Here we are." "AJ?" "AJ?" "Oh, good." "You're back." " Aaron, this is Byron Henry." " Columbia '38, is it?" " Yes, sir." " Welcome to Siena." "Well, here's to Byron Henry, notorious hater of the Italian Renaissance." "Where did you hear this?" "My old friend Cesare Milano at Columbia." "He mentioned it in passing, in a letter he wrote to me about you." "Well, I guess I have no choice but to drink to it." "What have you got against the Italian Renaissance, Byron?" "Oh, I suppose I just had too much of it." "I started out fascinated, and I ended up just snowed under and bored." "It's the mixture of paganism and Christianity." "It sort of sticks in my craw." "You asked what I had against the Italian Renaissance." "I told you." "Now, don't fold up on us, Byron." "Other people have taken your position." "A good name for it is Protestantism." "Byron, I understand your father is a Naval officer." "Yes, sir." "He's in Washington in war plans." "War plans, gracious!" "is that as ominous as it sounds?" "Every country draws up theoretical war plans in peacetime." "Tell me, does your father think war is imminent?" "He didn't mention it in his last letter." "Leslie is in the Foreign Service, which makes him an expert on these matters." "He thinks my uncle should go home." "We've had an argument about that now for days." "Of course, he's going on to Warsaw." "Well, for what it's worth I think there's gonna be a war." "You do?" " l'd be interested to know why." " l just toured Germany." "Everywhere you drive, you pass trucks full of troops, and railroad cars loaded for miles with artillery and tanks." "Byron, with such displays, Hitler won Austria and the Sudetenland." "And he never had to fire a shot." "Dr. Jastrow, when I was in Germany, I saw signs on park benches and trolley cars about the Jews." " And I saw burnt-out synagogues." " Yes." "I'm surprised that you speak as calmly as you do about Hitler." "Being Jewish, I mean." "If Hitler wins out, the Jews will simply fall back to the second-class status they had for so long under the kings and the popes." "We survived 1 7 centuries with that." "We have quite a store of wisdom and doctrine for coping with it." "Aaron, this Olympian attitude of yours completely exasperates me." "That you could rely on Adolf Hitler's prudence for Natalie's and your safety, strikes me as grotesque." "I think Natalie's parents would agree." "Natalie can go home tomorrow if she wishes." "But I think, perhaps, she finds working here in Siena as my secretary more stimulating than Miami Beach." "I'm thinking of going home all right, Leslie, but not because of Hitler." "There are a few things that bother me a bit more than Hitler at the moment." " Look, we are not..." " l daresay." "Come on, dear." "Let's go." "Upstairs here is where we do most of our work." " This is quite a library." " A fair collection of early Christianity." "Now, Byron, I understand you took a Naval Reserve course and obtained a commission." "is that where your interests lie?" "No, sir." "The commission was more to please my father." "I assume that when Dr. Milano suggested you visit, he mentioned that I might have something for you." "Yes, he did." "My next work is called The Arch of Constantine." "You do know who Constantine was?" "The first Christian Emperor of Rome, I believe." "A-plus, Byron." "I need some research on the Emperor's wars." "Would $20 a week interest you?" " l've flunked more history courses..." " l see." "You don't want the job." "No, sir, I didn't say that." "Would I be living and working here in the villa?" "Certainly." "You'd be working right here in this room." "That's Natalie's desk there, and yours would be here." "I think I'll try it, sir." "Oh, you will... although you say you have no aptitude." "Why?" "Well, for the money," " and, of course, to be around you, sir." " To be around me?" "Oh, to be sure." "All right, Byron, why don't we give it a try." "Waiter, waiter!" "Oh, captain, baked Alaska!" "We try to make the last night of the voyage a memorable one, Mrs. Henry." "And it is the Fuehrer's birthday." "No, Mr. Tudsbury, there will be no war between England and Germany." "Well, we're all the same stock." "All North Europeans." "It would be a sad thing for brothers to fall out." "Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it, Pam?" "Remind me to include it in my next broadcast." "Oh, nobody wants war now anyway." "Absolutely nobody." "It would be so silly nowadays." "Does your wife speak for the United States Navy, commander?" "She speaks for Piper-Heidsieck '34." "I've just had the pleasure of lecturing at your Naval War College." "Really?" "What was your impression?" "Your Navy is the one fighting force in the world today which can compare professionally with the Germany army." "I would put in a word for the Royal Navy and the RAF." "It is already well-known that the Royal Air Force have lost air parity to the Luftwaffe." "As for the Royal Navy, that is the province of Commodore Grobke's U-boats." "Not a bad navy, but we have damn good U-boats." "You had U-boats last time." "We did fine, until America came in." "Were you in the Atlantic then?" " Destroyers." " l was below." "Maybe this is not the first time we meet?" "Maybe." "My dear Mrs. Henry, may I have the honor of this first dance?" "That is, commander, with your permission?" "By all means, captain." "Tell me, general, will your Fuehrer attack Poland?" "His whole brilliance lies in his bloodless victories." "The Polish Corridor is an idiotic anomaly." " The Fuehrer will find a solution." " No war over Danzig?" "No war." "None, that is, that Germany will start." "Well, I suppose you're on a school vacation?" "Yes, for quite some time. I'm 28." "I'm sorry. I thought you were about my daughter's age." "She's 19." "Many make that mistake. I suppose because I'm always with my father." "I help him with work." "His eyes aren't good." " That must be interesting." " Depends on the subject matter." "Nowadays it's somewhat of a broken record." "Will the "Little Tramp" go, or won't he?" "Oh, lovely." "Divine, my dear Mrs. Grobke." "Most energetic dancer, your wife, commodore." "Thank you." "Gentlemen, excuse us, please." "Gad, Henry, the woman's tireless." "Makes one wonder how that Grobke fellow's held up as well as he has." "A great deal of sea duty, no doubt." "Well, fraternizing with Jerry, were you?" "Strictly in the line of duty." "He's invited me out to inspect the sub base at Swinemünde." " Anyway, I doubt that Grobke's a Nazi." " You do?" "Well, those U-boat fellows are all right, I suppose, as much as any Germans are." " May I have another dance later?" " Of course, thank you." "I shall get myself a white wig and a cane." "They look so shattered when I refuse." "And as for that hateful conga..." "The Fuehrer's Ball." "I've been covering that fellow Henry since the day he marched into Austria." "Something right out of Plutarch, that was." "A zero of a man, with no schooling, of no known family." "At 20, a dropped-out student, a drifter, a failure." "Henry, I watched that man march in triumph through the streets of Vienna where he had sold postcards and gone hungry, the sole heir to the combined thrones of the Hapsburgs and Hohenzollerns." "That grotesque travesty is the central truth of our age, and the only reason for this damned ball." " You created him, you know." " l beg your pardon!" "The Fuehrer." "You and the French." "Your insane Treaty of Versailles partitioned Germany and made an economic and political madhouse of Europe." "Did you think that would last?" "You generated a volcanic resentment in our people." "Hitler is the political eruption." "is the German army with him?" "He has rearmed us." "He has given us back our self-esteem." " And terror." "And concentration camps." " All forms of politics are dirty." "Democracies, dictatorships, variations on one theme:" "Please the mob." "Meine Damen und Herren, ladies and gentlemen." "I propose a toast." "A toast to Germany's great leader, Adolf Hitler, on his 50th birthday." "And to his life's aim, peace." "Attention, breakfast will be served in the main lounge in 1 5 minutes." "Thank you." " Good morning." " Good morning." " Would you mind if I joined you?" " Oh, yes, thank you." "I feel so stupid preparing to smile at 40 feet." "Doesn't your father believe in before-breakfast walks?" "Talky?" "He hates exercise of any kind." "Besides, right now, he has a touch of gout. lt's his curse." " "Talky"?" " His middle name is Talcott." "Ever since school he's been "Talky" to his friends." "Guess why." "Where's your wife, commander?" "Also not a walker?" "Oh, she's busy packing." "Not that she'll walk to the drugstore if she can catch a ride or hail a cab." "Will you be coming back to the United States?" "If Father is thrown out of Berlin, which seems inevitable, we will." "Why?" "I have a son I should like you to meet." "Unlike his father, he's quite handsome." " What does he do?" " Naval officer, like his father." "A sailor!" "Never." "A girl in every port." " Don't you have any other sons?" " As a matter of fact, I do." "But..." " he'd be a bit young for you." " Maybe not." "I never do seem to hit it quite right." "I say, commander!" "Just had a word with that Grobke fellow." "Managed to horn in on your little trip to Swinemünde." " l hope you're not put off." " Not at all." "Glad to have you." "Talky, I thought you were packing." "We dock any minute now." "That's exactly why I'm here." "I've made a muck of it." "You know I can't handle things of that kind." "Well, what are you standing there for, you lazy creature?" "Say au revoir to Commander Henry, and go below and get my things together." " Shall we see you in Berlin?" " Of course." "I shall be pumping him for the latest military intelligence." "And learning nothing, I'll be bound." "Auf Wiedersehen, commander." "Go on." "Tudsbury, I have notions of matching your daughter up with a son of mine." "Oh, have you?" "I warn you, Pamela is a handful." "Why, how can you say that?" "I've never met a gentler or pleasanter girl." "Still waters. I warn you." "See you in Berlin." "General von Brauchitsch is expecting you." "The chief of staff is with him." "You had a pleasant American journey?" "Feel refreshed?" " Yes." "Thank you." " Good." "You will take full charge of operational planning for Case White and report back Friday." "What assumptions are being made about the Soviet Union?" "Stalin shot most of his first-class general officers in the Purge." "I don't rate the Red Army very high." "It can field 300 divisions." "Yes, but will Stalin allow us to roll across Poland to his border unchecked?" "I am not an optimist about that." "What if their alliance with England goes through?" "That is politics." "We have our orders." "And you have yours." "I will report back on Friday, of course." "But I can give you my estimate now." "Case White will be an all-out two-front war from the outset." "The fatal error of Kaiser Wilhelm." "The Kaiser was not a political genius." "This man is." "He will pull off another political miracle." "Good." "So we plan for a miracle, huh?" "We plan to smash Poland in two weeks, and..." "And hold in the West." "Hold in the West, with what we have?" "That is the miracle we plan for." "AII previous studies inadequate." "Assumptions about Soviet Union, in view of the proposed AngIo-Soviet alliance, are highly hazardous." "We are going out on very thin ice." "Come in." " Colonel Forrest, the military attaché." " Welcome." " l'm Bill Forrest." " Pug Henry." "I'm right next door." " Uniforms every day here?" " No, no. I just came from a review." " You suit up only for occasions here." " Good." "Such as...this one." "We get to meet Hitler right away?" "Just luck. lt's a big crush for the Bulgarian minister." "We'll just pass by and shake hands." "It ought to give Mrs. Henry a thrill." "is this usual?" "An attaché at a head of state reception?" "Not very, no." "And the queer thing is, those cards came from Wehrmacht headquarters." "Compliments of a General von Roon." "Well, Pug, aren't you gonna say anything about my new outfit?" "I think it's just perfect." "You never looked better." "Well, it isn't my choice, but Sally Forrest says Hitler is mad about pink." "It makes Washington seem dull and tame, doesn't it?" "Fantastic-looking, isn't it?" "Beats Radio City Music Hall." "Oh, Pug." "Oh, look." "You can see him now." "Oh, that prison haircut. I declare!" "He's such a simple-looking man." "The rest are all so gaudy." "Colonel William Forrest und Frau Forrest." "There's Ribbentrop and Goebbels." " Would you like to meet them?" " Please!" "Come on." " General." " Commander Henry." "General von Roon, how nice to see you again." "Excuse me." "Well, thank you for getting us here." "What do you think of the Fuehrer?" "Not much like the image in the New York newspapers, all horns and a tail." "No, not at all." "I understand you're an excellent tennis player." "Oh?" "Was that included in my dossier?" "Very little was not included." "Perhaps we can have a game sometime." "I'd like that." "Oh, Pug." "Pug, it's perfect." "You'll never believe it." "I know it's your lunch hour, but I was afraid somebody would snap it up." "It even has a tennis court." "Pug, you don't think Hitler had anything to do with this, do you?" "Well, I mean, do you think he really remembered?" "It's such a pleasure to do business with Americans." "My brother has a real-estate business in Chicago, that is where l learned." "Someday, perhaps, I will go back." "On top of everything else, there are five bedrooms upstairs and three marble baths." "And wait till you see the garden." "Look. lsn't this the most beautiful drawing room you've ever seen?" "Look at the paneling." "Here..." "Here is the garden." "And behind the house there are tennis courts, which I'll show you in a moment." "Here." "This way." "Now, this way." "Down there is the lake." "It's a lovely little lake." "You can see it." " Who owns this?" " Ludwig Rosenthal." "A well-known sugar merchant." "Very large firm." "What's the catch?" "What, "catch"?" "What do you mean?" "Why is the price so low?" " Well, there is this new ruling." " What ruling?" "I'm not very clear about it." "Something about Jewish people owning real estate." "Well, does this man know that you're showing me this house at this price?" "Naturally." "When can I meet him?" "I have taken the liberty to ask him to come out." "He should be here at any moment." "Excuse me." "Seventy-eight dollars a month?" "It's ridiculous!" "Well, that's what I thought." "It's a lovely house, Herr Rosenthal." "Thank you." "We are fond of it, my wife and I." "We have spent a lot of time and money on it." "The truth is, Mrs. Henry and I are..." "Feel a bit awkward about leasing it." "But why?" "You are very desirable tenants." " lf a lower rent would help..." " Lord, no." "The rent is incredibly low." "Do you actually get the money?" "Of course." "With the agent's commission deducted and certain municipal fees, I will receive every penny." "Knoedler told me that some ruling compels you to rent it." "I assure you, Commander Henry, that won't affect you as a tenant." "But just what is this new ruling?" "Well it's an emergency decree." "You understand?" "I am sure eventually it will be rescinded." "Meanwhile, this property can be sold at any time without my consent." "However, if there is a tenant in residence with a diplomatic immunity, that cannot be done." "Hence the modest rent." "May I ask you a question, Herr Rosenthal?" "Why don't you just sell out and leave Germany?" "My family has a business more than 100 years old." "My wife and I are born Berliners." "This is home." "I have lived through other bad times." "I was shot through a lung in Belgium in 191 4." "A man goes through a lot in his lifetime." "Well, Mrs. Henry loves the house, but we just hate to take advantage of someone else's misfortune." "You'd be doing just the opposite." "You know that now." "I wish we hadn't taken it." "You do, truly?" "It never really struck me before." "It never seemed to really be happening." "That fine man. imagine..." "Renting out this beautiful home for pittance in order to keep it from being sold over his head to some fat Nazi, no doubt, lying in wait to pick it up cheap." "Well, do you want me to call it off?" "He really wants us in, you know." "Oh, I know he does." "That's what's so scary." "I'm never gonna be happy in this house." "Or in this country." "It's such a barn." "I'll need a troop of servants." "Oh, we'll get them." "No problem." "They're all Gestapo spies, you know, every last one of them." "Oh, Pug... I wish you'd been ordered to a battleship." "So do I, honey." "So do I." "Byron, have I grown another head?" "Was I staring at you?" "Only for two weeks now." "Maybe you remind me of somebody I know." "Possibly your mother?" "You writing another letter to Slote?" "Aaron needs those notes this afternoon." "Do you suppose you could fit them into your busy schedule?" "Do you like your job?" "It's a job." "Why?" "Seems like you're kind of wasting away here." "Really?" "My, what a tragic fate." "I'll tell you, Byron, you do peculiar things when you're in love." "But why you're doing this, I really don't know." "Me?" "I'm broke." "For you." "Forwarded from Florence." "Another letter from Slote?" "My folks are in Germany now." "My father's a Naval attaché in Berlin." "What's Slote got to say this time?" "I'm going to Warsaw." "Aaron." "You've been in Siena nine years and have never been to the Palio?" " l have never attended the race." " That is incredible." "It's nothing but a relic of the medieval burlesque races." "In some towns they raced donkeys or buffaloes." "In Rome, they raced Jews." "Moreover, my friend the archbishop tells me the crowds are so unruly, you risk being jostled or even trampled." "Then why the sudden interest?" "Because LIFE magazine wants me to write an article about it." "For a very substantial sum of money." "AJ, Leslie writes that he wants me to come to Warsaw." "That's not very consistent of him, is it?" "Urging us to go home and inviting you to Warsaw, when the war talk gets worse every day." "You said there's nothing to worry about." "Natalie, is it ladylike to pursue Leslie Slote?" " ls it wise tactics?" " That is my business." "Leslie is a very cold-blooded customer." "I'm going." "A Jewish wife is not suitable these days to a diplomat's career." "It's as simple as that." "You'll be in Greece." "It's the perfect time." "I postponed my trip to Greece." "This Palio thing gets in the way." "Look, I have an idea." "I haven't time to research the Palio and attend that silly race." "Why don't you do all that, and then you rough draft an article and we'll split the fee." "How's that?" "How much?" "You'd receive $1 ,000." "A thousand dollars?" "Say, I could buy a whacking good trousseau for that." " A trousseau?" "is that still in the wind?" " Yes." "Can I use Byron for the research?" "I don't see why not." "Then I'll go to Warsaw in August, after the second Palio." "Agreed?" "If the war news doesn't get worse." "Yes." "Fine." "Well, is it all set?" " What?" " Warsaw." "Oh, that's postponed, at least until the end of August." "What are you grinning about?" "What?" "Who, me?" "Grinning?" "Wonderful, Pug!" "Good shot." "Guess what." "Byron finally wrote us a letter." "Yeah." "OK." "Fault." "Lots of good news, dear." "Set point, Rhoda." "Tough luck, general." "Take a couple more." "No, no." "This set." " Got time for another?" " Unhappily not. I must be going." "Well played." "Now you can read your letter." "Aaron Jastrow?" "He's the fellow that wrote that book, A Jew's Jesus." "Oh, yes." "You said you liked it, didn't you?" "Yeah, I read it twice." "Well, if Byron Henry's working, it's the biggest news about him since you had him." "There seems to be bigger news." "Looks like he's interested in a girl." " What kind of girl, Italian?" " No, a New York girl." "It's that author's niece." "Her name's Natalie." "Natalie Jastrow." "Right there." "This thing is kind of far along." "I think maybe I'll write him." "What do you think you're gonna say?" "It doesn't make any difference that she's Jewish, although it may raise questions about the children's faith." "Children?" "Pug, he doesn't say a word about marrying her." "It's the way he writes about her." "If she's Aaron Jastrow's niece, she's probably top-drawer and brilliant." "The point is, what chance has a marriage like that got to work nowadays?" "At least I want Byron to think." "That comes hard to Byron." "Another letter from your folks in Berlin?" "What's so funny?" "I guess you just have to know my father." "Oh?" "He got the wrong impression from my last letter." "You don't say." "About what?" "Nothing you'd be interested in." "Though it's too bad there isn't a chance." "Good news!" "The archbishop has arranged for seats for us behind the judge's stand for the second Palio." " l thought you weren't gonna attend." " This makes it much more attractive, so book my airplane tickets a week later for Greece." "The..." "August 23, I think." "Wonderful." "That's when I'll fly to Warsaw." ""What follows gets into prognostication" ""so may be judged frivolous or journalistic." ""However, to this observer," ""all the evidence indicates that Adolf Hitler at this time" ""is negotiating a military alliance with the Soviet Union."" "Henry, do you really intend to send this stuff to the Office of Naval Intelligence?" "That's the way I see it, sir." "My job here is reporting on Germany's combat readiness and political trends." "Henry, anti-communism is the lifeblood of Hitler's politics." "The German people's fear of the Bolsheviks put him in power and keeps him there." "When Grobke took me to that submarine base, I saw some very interesting things." "When I left there, it was quiet as a graveyard." "No night shift." "I don't think Hitler's people are behind him for full mobilization." "And the way I see their industrial picture, they can't get into Poland without first nullifying the Soviet Union." "Well, all I can say is, if I send in this report, I'll be laughed out of the Foreign Service." "And I don't think it'll do your career much good either." " l wouldn't want to look like a fool." " Good." "Leave the global masterminding to the men who are paid for it." "Now, there's your report." "Yes, sir." "Unthinkable!" " Why?" "Isn't it militarily sound?" " Militarily, militarily, militarily." "A pact with the United States would be equally sound." "But Poland doesn't lie between Germany and the US." "It would be a political miracle." "Well, isn't that your Fuehrer's specialty?" "Sheer fantasy, commander." "Crude melodrama." "If you say so." "I'm afraid you do not understand European politics." "is Germany prepared to fight an all-out war on two fronts?" "Number one, war is not inevitable." "Number two, two fronts are also not inevitable." "Well, Victor, let's hope I am better on a horse than on the tennis court, huh?" "With Case White, the invasion of poland, only 20 days away," "MussoIini sends his son-in-Iaw, Count GaIeazzo Ciano, the italian foreign minister, to hitler's mountain retreat." "Mein Fuehrer." "Graf Ciano." "Fräu Eva Braun." "Charming and urbane, with the ability to speak fluent German," "Ciano has been charged with a mission of relaying to hitler" "II Duce's decision not to enter into any armed conflict over poland, despite the vaunted Pact of steel between their two countries." "hitler discloses the plans for Case White to Ciano." "He must attack by September 1 because the autumn rains start October 1 5th." "He needs six weeks." "Two weeks to smash poland, two to four weeks for mop-up." "Ciano warns HitIer that italy is unprepared for war." "He explains that the Pact of steel was signed in anticipation of war in 1942, not 1939." "He proposes another Munich-styIe conference." "Maybe the West will give in again without a fight." " Unthinkable!" " Why?" "Your chargé is exactly right." "Read Mein Kampf." " l did." " You haven't grasped it." "He says himself somewhere that a pact with Russia will be the end of Germany." "I did a little ungentlemanly spying aboard Grobke's flagship." "I saw some operational figures." "He'd like me to think that he has 70 submarines operational." "I doubt that he has 50." " Well?" " So, it's just part of the general German unpreparedness." "Hitler can't go to bat if there's a risk Stalin will come against him." "Just so." "And we've got an alliance with Stalin practically sewed up." "So Hitler's stymied." "So no war." "So why hasn't this alliance been announced?" "What do you think, Pamela?" "I think if that report would jeopardize your career and make you unhappy, then, by all means, tear it up." "That's hardly the point, is it?" "As far as I'm concerned it is." "Victor, don't send that report." "If you do, you'll make a complete ass of yourself." "Come in." "The courier, commander." " Yes, sir." " When are you leaving?" "I'm about ready to seal the pouch now." "I leave for Tempelhof in ten minutes." "Hold the pouch open for me and wait outside." "Yes, sir." "Telephone orders from Keitel at Supreme Fuehrer headquarters." ""Battleships and submarines proceed to war stations." ""Dispatch telegrams to commence army mobilization." ""Move army headquarters to Zossen at once for operations."" "Did General Thomas present the army's warning memorandum to Keitel?" "Read it to him." "And his response?" "His response?" "Britain is too decadent, France too degenerate," "America too uninterested to fight for Poland." "And the Soviet Union?" "What is his opinion of the Soviet Union?" "Issue the orders." "lmmediately." "Well, hasn't the archbishop done us proud!" "Couldn't have better seats." " Can a riderless horse win?" " You're asking me?" "Yes, indeed." "Just so." "Bravo!" "Bravo!" " l think that horse was drugged." " Yes, sir. I think most of them are." " What on earth is going on there?" " lt's a double-cross." "That guy probably sold out to another parish." "Natalie, this article will write itself." "What these Sienese have evolved is a grotesque little parody of European nationalism." "The Palio is war." "This is war." "Let's get out of here now!" "I hadn't quite bargained on this." "My feet are barely on the ground." "Just keep walking." " Hang on to him, Byron." " Hold on." "Go along with it." "We'll get out of here next time we come to a side street." "Oh, dear, what is that?" "Where's Aaron?" "My God!" " Are you OK, sir?" " My glasses, they're shattered." "That was quite a commotion." "Close call there, wasn't it?" "These people are out of their minds." " He's fine." " l said it was a war." " We must spare civilians." " Thanks." "People are absolutely insane!" "Well, in for a penny, in for a pound." "I find all this quite exhilarating." "So let's go." "You better hang on to me a little more tightly, Byron." "You were a little derelict there for a moment." "There are snags in the Nazi-Soviet deal." "The Russians are getting tougher, and are in no hurry to proceed." "valuable time passes." "TeIegrams fly back and forth." "Ribbentrop has offered to fly to Moscow, with full powers to conclude a pact." "Weighing on hitler's mind is the knowledge that the British and French military envoys are in Russia, still negotiating." "finally, he comes to an unprecedented decision." "He will humble himself and write a personal letter of appeal to his great enemy, StaIin." "Something has to be done about it before it is too late." "The tension between Germany and Poland has become intolerable." "A crisis may arise any day." "I therefore propose that you receive my foreign minister on Tuesday, August 22." "At the latest, August 23." "I should be glad to receive your early answer." "Byron, have you ever been to Warsaw?" "No, why?" "Would you like to come there with me?" "What would be the point?" "The thing is, Aaron's getting difficult about my trip." "And my going would make a difference?" "Yes." "Don't you know what he calls you now?" "My "golden lad"." "He can't get over what you did at the Palio." " Oh, you exaggerate that." " No." "You showed striking presence of mind." "I was very impressed." "So was Aaron." "I mean, that horse might very well have killed him." "What about Slote?" "He'd take a dim view of me showing up with you." "I'll handle Slote, all right?" "With Aaron away in Greece, I couldn't imagine a more dismal place than this." "Why not, Natalie." "Terrific." "We'll have a wonderful time, I promise you." "Byron, I cannot tell you what a load you have taken off my mind." "This headstrong girl doesn't realize how wild and backward Poland is." "The political situation is deteriorating by the day." " You talk as though I were an idiot." " You are a girl!" "You have quite a lot of trouble remembering that." "However, my mind is much more at ease." "You're a very capable young man, Byron." "Let's have a bottle of champagne on it." "Champagne, Maria." "So..." "You and Natalie are off to Warsaw." "I hope you'll manage to see my cousin Berel." "I haven't seen him since I left Poland almost 50 years ago." "Berel Jastrow." "Presence of mind was his strong point too." "The time pressure continues to grow." "Twenty-four hours have passed, and still no reply from Moscow." "hitler is in a state of near collapse from sleeplessness and tension." "Fuehrer." "The reply." ""l thank you for your letter." ""l hope the German-Soviet nonaggression pact" ""marks a decided turn for the better in our relations." ""The Soviet government agrees to von Ribbentrop's arrival in Moscow" ""on August the 23."" "Pug!" "You were right." "They were all wrong and you were right!" "Compliments on your prescience, Victor." "You turned out to be right after all." "The question is, what did he have to give Stalin?" "Looks like we could be walking right into the middle of a war." "I realize for you this is no longer a gay excursion." " l'll go on by myself." " l don't think you understand." "Hitler made this alliance to give him a free hand to invade Poland." "Byron, you heard Aaron." "Hitler hasn't used his army and he's not going to." "I'd suggest you call Slote." "Maybe he'll tell you not to come." "I'll never get a call through to Warsaw today." "Try." "What are you talking about?" "I can't hear you." "What?" "We were cut off before I could finish." "I'm choking!" "Let's get some air." "What did he say before you were cut off?" "He's furious." "He said I was insane." "The diplomats are burning papers." "Hey, will you take it easy?" "What did you expect?" "What else?" "I should get out of Italy and go straight home with or without Aaron." "God, it's hot!" "Buy me a lemonade or something." "Let me see those plane tickets." "I'm sure we can get a refund." "You get the refund." "They burned papers before Munich." "England and France will fold up, just as they did then." "Even if you're right, that embassy will be swamped." " You won't have a chance to see him." " l'm on my way. I'm not turning back." "Give me the ticket." "I'll go check us in." "You sure you want to go?" "You needn't." "Honestly." "I'm releasing you." "Wait a minute." "I don't want you to come." "Don't come." "Tell Aaron I said that." "Oh, shut up, Natalie." "Just hand over the ticket." "My, my!" "Listen to Byron Henry being masterful." "The thing is, if anything does go wrong, I don't want to feel that it was I who dragged you into this." "Finish your lemonade." "I'll meet you at gate five." "There's Slote." " So you got my wire." " You madwoman." "Only you'd make a pleasure trip during a general mobilization." " Hello, Byron." " Hi." "Give me your passports." "I can move you through fast." "See these people?" "You know who they are?" "They're sensible people." "They're getting out while the getting's good." "They're Jews, mostly." "Do you listen to the radio, read the newspapers?" "Do you pay attention to what's going on?" "What kind of a stupid question is that?" "Of course I do." "The point is, are you glad to see me or not?" "By the way, did you manage to locate Uncle Aaron's cousin?" "Oh, your Berel Jastrow?" "He's out of town, it seems." "Gone to Miedzyzdroje for his son's wedding." "Oh, that's too bad." "I wanted to meet him." "There's no war scare here." "On our way back to Rome, I thought we might stop off at Miedzyzdroje." "Absolutely not." "Forget it." "I will not!" "Aaron told me to visit the family and that's what I'm going to do." "There are half a million German soldiers in Czechoslovakia this minute, posted at the Jablonka Pass, 40 miles from Miedzyzdroje." "You understand that?" "What was this?" "Paderewski's pied-à-terre?" "In the last three days, the hotels have all emptied out." "They're virtually giving these rooms away." "This is what I need." "All right, gentlemen, leave." "See you at dinner." "I'm gonna have a great bath." "Byron, listen, this Miedzyzdroje trip, it's... lt's dangerous nonsense." "I'm gonna get you air tickets out of here quickly." "If it takes both of us to put her bodily on that plane, it has to be done." "OK?" "Yeah, sure." "Thank you." "See you at dinner." "Hi. I'm sorry to be late." "The embassy is just a madhouse." "It's the Jews." "They're storming the gates." "We've turned into visa officers." "God knows, I don't blame them." "If anyone can show a relative, a friend, a letter from the States, we process." "Right now, a New York telephone book in Warsaw is worth 100 zlotys." "Shall I just order for everybody?" "These are local specialties, you'll like them." "Veal steak. lt's very good here." "Interested?" "I don't care what trouble you went through, I'm not going to Rome!" "I'm not ready to panic." "Hitler will do what he wants to do." "That'll be that." "For all we know Hitler has given the order to march." "In Miedzyzdroje, you have a 50-50 chance of being captured by Germans." " l think those odds are a bit risky." " Oh, be quiet, Slote!" " Who's there?" " Hey, Briny, are you dead?" "Just a minute." "Just a second." " What are you doing?" " l'm off to Miedzyzdroje." "I'm not missing that wedding." "Wanna come along?" "Didn't we just go to sleep?" "I never went to sleep. I've been with Leslie all night." "Arguing, mostly." "What time is it?" "Half past 6." "The plane for Cracow leaves at 9." " Cracow?" " lt's the closest airport." "Get in here." "You told Slote you were flying to Rome this afternoon." "I know." "I'll leave him a note." "We don't have to go back to Warsaw." "We can go to Rome from Cracow." " Have you heard any kind of news?" " We listened to BBC at 6." "Henderson is conferring with Hitler." "Chamberlain went to the country." "Slote himself says that the British are crawfishing and that the worst is over." "When will I ever have another chance to see where my parents come from and meet my family?" "I'm here, now." "How are you gonna get from Cracow to Miedzyzdroje?" "Wired Berel Jastrow to meet me." "OK, I'll go with you." " You will?" " Yeah." "You're as goofy as I am, Briny." "Oh, Natalie, you will have big surprise when we come to Miedzyzdroje." "All family very happy American kuzynka is coming for marriage." "This is very good luck for everybody." "You'd better brace yourself for a big reception." "And you no worry for going to Rome." "I have very good friends in Cracow." "And no problem for you to fly airplane day after marriage." "No problem." "What did I tell you?" "Nothing to worry about." "Oswiecim!" "That's where Father and Aaron studied the Talmud as boys." "Only it had a different name then, under Austria." "Berel, what was Oswiecim called before, under Austria?" " Before, it was Auschwitz." " Yeah, that's it." "Auschwitz?" "Natalie, this is our village, Miedzyzdroje." "Many, many from this children is your cousins." "You know, half, no, more than half of this village is Jastrows." "is he serious?" "Yes, and we're gonna meet every single one of them." "Yes." "Henry, Byron." "The Rabbi." "What in the world did he say to them?" "He said you're my protector, an American Naval officer Aaron sent." "Byron." "Byron." " The Germans." " What about them?" "They coming." " Hi." " Hi." "They crossed the Czech border 50 miles from here, headed for Cracow." " Right this way." " Well, what do we do now?" "Get back to the American Embassy in Warsaw." "Brilliant." "How?" "I buy you two tickets on train to go to Warsaw." " How do you get there?" " Oh, my family and me, we go in automobile." "Don't worry." "Three hundred miles in front of the German advance in that?" "No problem." "Good car." "Give them to your wife and daughter." "We'll go with you and the newlyweds." " No, no, no." " No, I insist." "Sorry I got you into this, Briny." "Forget it. lt'll be interesting." "Besides, it was a great wedding." "I don't think Poland will hold out more than two or three weeks." " Talky, how are you?" " What are you doing here?" "I've come to interview your chargé." "Haven't the other British correspondents left?" "The Jerries gave me until tonight." "Want to hear the bad man explain all to the Reichstag?" "I can get you into the press box." "My last story from Berlin." " Sure, I'll go." " Good." "Pamela will pick you up." " She's packing like mad." " Tudsbury, will England fight?" "By God, I hope she will." "If Chamberlain won't declare war, I think he'll fall." "Well, see you in the Reichstag." "Ryan!" "Sir." " Call him." " Oh, the lines are jammed, sir." "Get through." "It's gonna be a long ride to Warsaw, isn't it?" "Well, maybe it'll clear out as we go along." "They're magnificent, aren't they?" "Yes, they are very brave men." "I wonder how they'll do against tanks." "I think we have hole in tire, I think." "Commander Henry!" "I had no idea my son was not in Italy with you." "Oh, seven days ago, he and my niece went up to Warsaw." "Warsaw!" "Yes, she had a friend there in the embassy, a second secretary, Leslie Slote." "They expect to get married, in fact." "But I've been trying and trying to get through to Warsaw." "I'll get on this right away." "Well, it was a harebrained trip, but when your son volunteered to go with her, that was a relief to me." "He seems to be a very capable young man." "I'll wire you as soon as I find anything out." "You know, this gives me a strange and terribly sad feeling." "I can't help remembering the last war." "Not so long ago, doctor." "Well, I hope to meet you one day." "I'd like to know Byron's father." "He worships you, you know." "If you hear anything, will you please let me know?" "I will, I will." "Goodbye, doctor." "Here." " This one looks worse than that one." " Don't worry. I will fix it very good." "Byron." "Byron, the woman, she asks if you want something to eat." "We cannot eat this." "You can." "No, thanks." "I'm gonna get this tire fixed." "I'm glad you're amused." " Get under the car!" " What?" "Go on, get under the car!" "Get her in there!" "Byron!" "Byron!" "Byron, for God's sake!" "That was a close one." "Mama!" "Mama!" "Mama!" "Mama!" "Mama!" "Extra!" "Read all about it." "War in Europe." "Hitler invades Poland!" "Warsaw bombed!" "England and France mobilizes." "Read all about it!" "Extra!" "Get your morning papers here." " Extra!" "Extra!" " l just heard it on the radio." " lt's really happening." " lt sure is, lady." " Who's gonna win the war?" " Let's hope it isn't Hitler." "Ain't he something?" "I've always said the man is crazy, and this proves it." "Well, honey, so long as we keep out of it, who cares who wins?" "Extra!" "Read all about it!" "War in Europe!" "Hitler invades Poland!" "Warsaw bombed!" "Now, damn it, Fred, CBS News has gone and snatched my girl!" "I work for CBS too!" "Look, I know it's the war." "My whole show this morning is about the war." "Look, Fred, I need some help down here." "What do you mean you can't send anybody?" "Fred, there's scripts to be-- This is not a one-man operation, Fred." "Mr. Cleveland?" "Just a minute, Fred." "Yes?" "The personnel office sent me." "You?" "How old are you?" "Twenty." "What's your name?" "Madeline Henry." "All right, Fred." "Well, Madeline, let's get started." "First, I want some more coffee and a chicken sandwich." "And there's tomorrow's script to be typed over." " Mr. Cleveland." " Yes?" "Well, I have to tell you that I'm very temporary." "I have to go to school in Washington in three weeks or my father will kill me." "Three weeks...?" "Mr. Cleveland, please let me work for you till then." "Your show's brilliant." "I'll get the coffee, I'll type the script." "How much experience have you had?" "Well, none, but..." "Look, I've been trying to get into broadcasting for four months." "This is the only chance I've had at a real job." "Please give me a chance." "What does your father do?" "is he in government?" "Well, he's in Berlin." "He's the Naval attaché there." "Your father is our Naval attaché in Nazi Germany?" "Yeah." "Madeline, would you by any chance know of an admiral by the name of Preble?" " Stewart Preble?" " That's him." "is he some high mucky-muck?" " He's chief of Naval operations." " Big job?" "Mr. Cleveland, you don't get any higher in the Navy." "He's at the Warwick." "We keep tabs on all the large hotels." "Does he know your father?" "As a matter of fact, he does." "My father was his aide when he was working in Washington." "His aide?" "Look, kid... admirals and generals usually are lousy guests, but there's a war on." "So they're hot." "Take this to the Warwick and deliver it to Preble." "Don't let them push you around." " You mean I got the job?" " Sure." "Just get to Preble." "Use the old charm." "Make him say yes." " How's your charm?" " Not like yours." "Move your tail!" "Oh, Mr. Cleveland, the sandwich and the coffee?" "Get going." "That's your car fare." "Oh, aye, aye, sir." "Okey-be-bedokey." " Hi." " Good afternoon." "The news is bad." "Radio Warsaw claims they've been pushing them back with heavy losses." "Rubbish." "My father's been on the phone to Stockholm." "The Polish air force doesn't exist anymore." "The Germans broke through the whole front with tank companies." "Panzers, they're called." "Yeah, the Germans are very good at spreading such stuff around." "Well, we can't sit here all day." "I'm gonna miss your fireball style of driving." "Well, where are you off to next?" "London." "Then Washington, I should think." "Don't you have a young man in London or several who object to your jumping around so much?" "Not at the moment." "My father says he needs me." " Late as usual." " Well, I drove as fast as I could." "Come on, commander." "Just in time." " l'll be waiting in the same place." " Right." "I can't believe they're buying this." "They're eating it up." "Do you realize he's been talking for almost an hour?" "Well, what did you think?" " He's not big enough." " He's big." "That's the mistake we made here far too long." "You and the French have him outnumbered and outgunned." "The French?" "There's Pam." "Henry, we're gonna need help to stop this fellow." "You tell them that in Washington." "Don't you think I will?" "You tell them as well." "Happy landings." "The same to you, commander." "Hello." " l'm Palmer Kirby, from Denver." " Oh, yes." " lf you're busy, I'll come back." " Not at all." "Sit right down." "I've got your file right here." "Red-carpet treatment, the Bureau of Ordnance says." "How'd you get here?" "I had to dodge through Belgium and Norway." "Some planes are flying, some aren't." "Well, your meeting with the Ig Farben fellow seems all set." "Good." "You're a scientist?" "Electrical engineer." "Manufacturer." "Anything to do with uranium?" "Uranium?" "You can tell me it's none of my business if you want." "The things you want all zero in on uranium." "The graphite figures, the purchase of heavy water." "The Germans keep talking about this ultra-powerful bomb they're building." "They're so loose-mouthed about it, I figure it's nothing to it." "Just a propaganda plant." "The chargé wanted to see you the moment you got back." " Can you wait?" " Sure." "Then, around 7." "Yes, that'll be fine." "Thank you." "So you were at the Reichstag this afternoon." "Yes, sir." " How did he strike you?" " Reese, the man is punch-drunk." "That's an odd reaction." "It's true he's had quite a week." "Incredible stamina though." "He undoubtedly wrote every word of that harangue." "Quite effective, I thought." "By the way, you're wanted in Washington." "The State Department, German desk." "You're to proceed there by fastest available transportation." "Isn't that unusual?" "I gather your combat readiness report on Nazi Germany had something to do with it." "It didn't seem to have the effect on your career that I predicted." "At any rate, the idea seems to be that you pack a toothbrush and leave." "Right." "What's the latest word on England and France?" "Well, Chamberlain is addressing Parliament tonight." "My guess is, the war will be on by the time you get back." "Maybe it'll be over." "In Poland... perhaps." "Oh, Lord." "For how long?" "If the clippers keep flying, I'll be back by the 15th." " When do you go?" " l leave for Rotterdam at 8." "Tonight!" "You mean we don't even get to go to the opera?" "Oh, damn!" "What about that galoot that Buord wished on us?" "Not your problem." "Bill has his file and Sally will entertain him." "And what if France and England declare war?" "Wouldn't that be peachy, me alone in Berlin," " in the middle of a war?" " l'll get back through Lisbon or Copenhagen." "I'll get back, Rhoda." "At least you'll see Madeline and I guess Byron's safe enough in Siena, if Italy does stay out of it." "Byron will be all right." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Oh, I'm sorry I threw my little fit, dear." "You know me." "Two days have passed since the German army attacked poland." "england and France have not yet moved." "The British ambassador has just delivered a message to Ribbentrop's official interpreter, paul Schmidt, at the foreign ministry." "Schmidt is rushing the secret paper to hitler and his advisers at the chancellery." " Well?" " Ribbentrop!" "Just the essentials." ""This government's note of September 1 notified the German government" ""that unless German troops were withdrawn from Poland" ""Great Britain intended to fulfill its obligations to Poland." ""No reply has been received." ""German attacks upon Poland have intensified." ""Unless not later than 1 1 AM today satisfactory assurances" ""have reached His Majesty's government in London," ""a state of war will exist between the two countries as from that hour."" "What now?" "I assume the French will hand in a similar ultimatum within the hour." "If we lose this war, may God have mercy on us." "In two months" "Poland will be finished." "Then we'll have a great peace conference with the Western powers." "I shall now go to the front." "What is this?" "There is bad Polack, there is good Polack." "This time, very bad Polack." "He wants our automobile." "Hold on here." "Let me talk to this guy." "Careful!" "I'm an American Naval officer returning to the embassy in Warsaw." "This American girl is my fiancée, and these people are her family." "He says American officer never marry Jew." " He does not believe you." " Passport!" "Briny, don't go with him!" "It'll be OK. I'll be right back." "Keep everybody quiet." "Subtitles by sdl Media Group" "Tomorrow." "Who are you?" "By what right do you keep my passport?" "Never mind who I am." "We're making sure who you are." "Call the American Embassy." "Ask for Leslie Slote, the political secretary." "That shouldn't take that long." "Thank God you're back!" "What happened?" "They confiscated my passport until tomorrow." "Let's get out of here." " Who confiscated your passport?" " Those army officers." " He hasn't the right." " He's got the guns." "What are you gonna do without it?" "I'll say I lost it in a bombardment or something." "That's a terrible risk." "Well, that's a bad bunch back there." "Ask Berel." "Oh, yeah, bad Polacks." "I came in too high." "A carrier deck is a damn small piece of real estate to land on, Warren." "Remember that." "Otherwise, you did all right." "Do you think we should cancel the officers' dance tonight?" "Because of Poland?" "What's it to us?" "I bet your old man's having a hot time in Berlin right about now." "My father seldom has a "hot time"." "Lieutenant Henry, you got a call from Washington." "It's your father." "You can reach him at this number." "Yep, Warren, they yanked me right back here." "Just for a few days, staying at the Army and Navy Club." "Mom's in Berlin." "I'll be returning there." "Everything's just fine." "How you making out as a flyboy?" "Well, I'm improving." "You know, Dad, it's really great to talk to you." "Where the devil is madeline?" "There's no answer at Aunt Augusta's." "Madeline..." "Madeline's in New York, Dad." "New York?" "Doing what?" "well, she's working at CBS." "Hang on a minute, Warren." "Russ Carton." "Hey, long time, no see." "Hello, Pug." " Why aren't you in uniform?" " Uniform?" "Well, what did the State Department tell you?" "Check in Army and Navy and wait." "Oh, snafu, as usual." "You're due to see the president in 20 minutes." "My car's downstairs." "Come on in. I'm on the phone." "Warren, I'll have to call you back." "Right." "Byron Henry and Natalie Jastrow to see Mr. Slote." "You'll see Araleh in Italy, huh?" "Araleh?" "Dr. Aaron Jastrow." "We call him "Araleh"." "Sure." "Of course we will." "Will you please tell him Berel say "Lekh Lekha"?" "Two simple words in Hebrew." "Lekh Lekha." "Remember." "Lekh Lekha." "That means "get out"." "Yes, "go out"." "I must go now." "I have to go to find my wife and daughter." "God watch you." " Be careful." " Bye." "My God, am I glad to see you two!" "Come on in here. lt's all right." "Let them in." "Come on in." " Hello, Jastrow." " Hello." "Without your passport?" "You're lucky you weren't picked up and shot." "Shot at again, you mean." "I'll cable your father via Stockholm." "He'll let Aaron know that Natalie's all right." "Oh, I'm dying for a bath." "Use my apartment." "I've moved in here." "The senior personnel left for Stockholm." " l got elected to remain in charge." " Can I take Byron with me?" "My mother might object." "For crying out loud, Byron, with all the running in and out of bushes we've been doing together." "He's like a kid brother, sort of." "Don't you believe it." "I'm really a hot-blooded beast." "Maybe I can find a YMCA." "Suit yourselves." "How do we get out of Poland, Les?" "Who knows?" "Radio Stockholm has announced the Wehrmacht will surround the city within a week." "Hitler's announced if the Poles don't surrender then, Warsaw'll be leveled." "Fortunately, the Swedish ambassador is negotiating a safe-conduct out for all the neutrals, through German lines." "That's how we'll get out." "I hope." "I can't understand it, Russ." "What could he want with me?" "You'll find out soon enough." " You know he chewed me out once?" " The president?" "He was assistant secretary of the Navy then. I was an ensign." "He was sailing to Europe aboard my destroyer, summer of 1918." "I was hosing myself down after a workout." "He came bounding out." "A very athletic man." "Very snappy dresser." "Well, I drenched his brand-new outfit from head to toe." "It wasn't funny." "Well, he's had a lot on his mind since 1918." "Here we are." "Commander Henry to see the president." "He's expecting you." "I'll tell him you're here." "Hello there, commander." "Glad to see you." "Drop your bonnet on the desk." "Have a chair." "Oh, by the way, this is the secretary of commerce, Harry Hopkins." "Sir." " How about some breakfast?" " No, thank you, sir. I've already eaten." "Well, Pug." "Have you learned yet how to hold on to a saltwater hose at sea?" "Oh, God, sir." "I've heard about your memory, but..." "Harry, this young fellow ruined the best blue serge blazer and straw hat I ever owned." "Now that I'm commander in chief, what have you got to say for yourself?" ""The quality of mercy is mightiest in the mightiest."" "Oh, very good." "Quick thinking." "I'm a Shakespeare lover myself." "You're forgiven." "About your report to Admiral Preble on the low combat readiness of Germany." "You wrote it before the Germans launched this new form of warfare, of course." "This blitzkrieg, as the press is calling it." "You couldn't foresee that, could you?" "I stand by my report, sir." "Then how is it they're blitzing Poland so easily?" "A country with two and a half million men under arms?" "Surprise, concentration of force, better political leadership, better leadership in the field, better training, a sound war plan." "Plus, a lot of interior rot and confusion behind the Polish lines." "Well-put." "Also..." "Go on." "The British and French are sitting on their duffs through the greatest strategic opportunity ever." "You can't win the game without getting on the field." " l'm stepping way out of line..." " You're not." "You suppose he'll offer peace when he finishes with Poland" " if he's all that unprepared?" " Why not?" "It might just work." "You don't know the British." "How well do you know the Germans?" "Well, they're a hard people to know." "There's only one thing we have to know about the Germans." " What's that?" " How to lick them." "A warmonger, eh?" " Are you suggesting we get into it?" " Negative, sir, in the strongest way." "Unless we have to." "Oh, we'll have to." "How did you foresee that he'd make a pact with Stalin?" "People here were stupefied." "Mathematical." "Somebody had to make a wild guess." " lt just happened to be me." " No, that was an astute report." "We had advance intelligence here." "It just wasn't believed." "That's usually the catch with intelligence." "What's Hitler really like?" "Have you met him?" "Only to shake hands." "Well, Pug, thanks." "You know, I liked that report." "Touches like the submarine base emptying out at 5:00." "That spoke volumes." "Gave me a feel about what was going on over there." "That's important." "You have a knack." "How about dropping me a line now and then?" "Just anything that strikes you as significant or interesting." "But not through channels, mind." "I get enough official reports, Lord knows." "Aye, sir." "Goodbye, commander." "Sir." "Mr. President." "Russ." "Well, do I go straight back to Berlin, or what?" " Unless you've got business here." " l do." "The point of this meeting, for which I crossed the Atlantic, is that I'm to send him some Berlin chitchat direct, as the spirit moves me." "Bypassing the chain of command, if I understood him." "You understood him." " Slightly nonregulation." " He's the boss man." "Commander Henry?" "State sent that over for you." "I must bathe or I'll go mad." "I can't stand myself anymore." "Slote's rooms all smell like an old library." "Let's get cleaned up." "Then you'd better find a hospital and get your head examined." "Come here." "You sweet fool, risking your neck to protect some dopey Jews." "Hadn't you better put another bandage on?" "It's gonna be OK." "My God, how young you are." "I keep forgetting." "I flunked out of graduate school." "Isn't that mature enough for you?" "Leave, please." "My God, what now?" " You think they're coming this way?" " l don't know." "Let's just stay inside here and relax." "It'll probably be over in a minute." " You want a cigarette?" " No, thank you." "It's like a summer storm coming towards us. I never pictured it like this." "Don't you think we'd better go to the cellar?" "No, stay right here." "We're better off." "Just take it easy." "It's gonna be over soon." "It's OK." "They're going away." "I told you it'd be all right." "Those German bastards." "My God, Byron, look." "Can't we help?" "Can't we do something?" "They probably got volunteer squads." "Nursing, cleanup, like that." "I'll check it out." "I can't watch it anymore." "I'm sorry I got you into this, Byron." "Don't worry. I'm having a good time." "This is fun." "Fun?" "!" "There must be hundreds of people dead or dying from this raid." " Did you see the kids they pulled out?" " Yeah, I saw them." "Look, all I meant was... I don't think I'm gonna be killed, and this is the most exciting time in my life." "How stupid and callous can you be?" "Slote thinks that I'm screwy, but you are really peculiar." "I'm gonna meet ya 'round The corner 'bout a quarter past four" "She's gonna meet me 'round The corner about a quarter past four" "You really like this tommyrot?" "Well, Dad, he's the biggest comedian in radio." "He makes 15,000 a week." "That's obscene right there." "That's more than a rear admiral makes in a year." "Well, millions of people love him." "Does nature need a gentle push?" "For that great regular feeling, try Feen-O-Lax, the gentle candy coaxer." "You fell out of the sky." "How'd you track me down?" "I called Warren in Pensacola." "Oh, how is he?" " He says he's got a girl." " Yeah?" "Now this one sounds serious." "She's the daughter of that isolationist congressman." "From Florida, Ike Lacouture." "You know what?" "I think Hugh should be taking a break about now." "I'm sorry you want her to go back to school." "The girl is 19." "She's better than women of 30 who've worked for me." "Reliable, energetic." "I wish she'd show some of these "4.0" qualities in school." "I loathe school." "Say, how about coming on our show as a guest, commander?" "I'm nobody." "Mr. Cleveland, 15 minutes." "You're the attaché in Berlin." "You could strike a blow for a two-ocean Navy, like Preble." "Not on your life." "Well, no harm in asking, I hope." "Well, it's been nice meeting you, commander." "And if you change your mind, we'd love to have you, sir." "Phil has the final script." "Energetic." "is he married?" "He has a wife and three children." "When does school start?" "Oh, Dad, I'd be so miserable." "I feel like I've joined the Navy." "And I want to stay in." "What attracts you to this flimsy business?" "It's the furthest thing from your mother's interests or mine." "What about the time Mom spent that summer traveling in a musical show?" " Did she ever tell you about that?" " She was 1 7. it was an escapade." "Was it?" "You know, a couple of years ago, in our old Nags Head house, when she and I were in the attic," "Mom came across the old parasol she used in her dance solo." "Right there in the attic she kicked off her shoes, she opened the parasol, she picked up her skirt and she did the whole dance for me." "And then she sang a song, "Ching-ching-challa-wa China Girl"." "Mom's a frustrated actress, that's what." ""Ching-ching-challa-wa China Girl"." "She did that dance for me too, Madeline." "Long, long ago." "Oh, Dad, please let me stay and work." "When I get to Berlin, I'll discuss it." "With "Ching-ching-challa-wa China Girl"." "Thanks." "Ching-ching-chaIIa-wa China girl" "There can be no finer girl" "What does "chinga-Iing chaIIa-wa"mean?" "It means that I Iove" "You" " You should have been an actress." " Oh, it is just a faded dream." "Great heavens, 2:00 in the morning." "I don't know where the time has gone." "Oh, Rhoda, I can't tell you how you cheer me." "The opera, the boat ride, the ballet this evening." "It's all been so grand, so nice." "Well..." "Pug doesn't have the time for such things or the inclination." "It's been my week to howl." "He's due back Friday?" "That's what the cable says." "Well, that should make you happy." "Ecstatic." "I miss him." "Well, it looks like Poland may be finished by then." "And has your visit been a success?" "So-so, so-so." "Except for getting to know you." "And Commander Henry." "Good night, Palmer." "Good night, Rhoda." "Come, I'll walk you to the door." "Warsaw is surrounded." "We are entitled to a glass of cognac." "And still the French have not moved." "That calls for cognac." "What ails the French?" "With more tanks than we have in Poland, with 100 infantry divisions facing a paper-thin screen, a tremendous air umbrella in the RAF and their own air force." "The will isn't there." "It will go down as a miracle." "A historic military miracle." "Now it's too late for them." "He foresaw that." "He's a political genius." "I gave orders not to be disturbed." "General von Roon." "What?" "Would you repeat that, please?" "Our military attaché from Moscow." "The Russians are on the move." "Yes." "Yes." "Against whom?" "Yes." "Yes." " Against whom?" " l see." "Thank you." "The Fuehrer gave the eastern half of Poland to the Soviets in a secret protocol of the pact." "Our troops are approaching the dividing line." "The Russians are jumping in to grab their share." "What pretext are they giving?" "Due to the collapse of the Polish government, they are moving to protect the Ukrainian nationals." "Hyenas!" "Ribbentrop is coming, on his train, no doubt." "He'll give us the final lines of the protocol in the morning." "The Russian military attaché will come with him to confirm them and prevent troop clashes." "We will have to withdraw from the oil fields around Drogobyc." "That is now in the Soviet area." "We shed German blood for those oil fields." "We are finally learning the price of that pact." "The Russians will now be 200 kilometers nearer to Berlin." "More important, we shall be 200 kilometers further away from Moscow." "It's broad daylight out." "Do you wanna open those curtains?" " ls there anything going on out there?" " No, nothing unusual." "OK, let's have some daylight." "Such smoke." "Are there really that many fires?" "God, yes." "The sky was great this morning until dawn came up." "All red and smoky, like Dante's Inferno." "What about the water, Byron?" "Me and Gunga Din." ""You may talk of gin and beer when you're quartered safe out here."" "How did you haul it back?" "Did you manage to find gasoline?" "You can forget about the truck. I think gasoline's finished in this town." "I just scrounged around till I found a horse and a cart." "Where's Natalie?" "The hospital?" "Yeah. I'd appreciate it if you'd go over there and bring her back right away." "Listen." "The Russians have crossed the Polish border." "They're marching in this direction." "Things are looking grim for Warsaw." "The Swedish ambassador has worked out the evacuation of neutrals." "But I have to have my people prepared to move." "I'll go get her." "Byron, I have to visit this safe-conduct exit route in the morning with the ambassador." "You might come along." "Yeah, sure." "I can't leave now." "I just came on duty." "Will you listen to him?" "For once he happens to be right." "I don't want to hear about it anymore, Byron." "This is the only maternity ward left in Warsaw." "The Germans bombed St. Catherine's. lt was horrible." "Everywhere, pregnant women running around on fire, their babies burning!" "The Russians are on their way." "They're hundreds of miles away." "I've got to stay here." "They need me." "If you want to go, go ahead." "If the neutrals leave, we go with them." "Natalie, I hear what you're saying." "The young man is right." "You have to go with your people." "We don't even know if they're going." "If they do go, he can fetch me." "You can't take that risk." "You are Jewish." "That woman over there is hemorrhaging." "She will be attended to." "Go." "You have helped us." "Thank you." "Go." "Leslie Slote is nothing but a selfish bastard." "All he wants is one less thing to think about." "Still having fun, Byron?" "Yeah, more fun than a barrel of monkeys." "The ambassador's here." " Slote will let you go with us." " l think you're both crazy." "Why go near Germans when you don't have to?" "Of course we're crazy, Mark." "Why else would we be here?" "Come on." "How do we know this route is open?" "Do we have an alternate route?" "My dear, we may go rather close to the front." "I've heard guns before." "Very well, let us go then." "Please." "It's amazing that this bridge still stands." "German marksmanship is not as devastating as they claim." " Where are those soldiers going?" " They're returning from the front." "They come home for lunch or dinner, or to sleep with their wives, then they ride back and shoot at the Germans." " How far do we go?" " A few miles." "We look for advance headquarters, near an old church." "My God!" "God Almighty!" "Maybe we made a wrong turn." "We're behind German lines." "Hardly. I don't believe we have come more than three miles from the bridge." "Stop this car." "These young people are my responsibility." "I had no idea that we'd endanger them in this way." "We must take these civilians back to Warsaw." "Colonel Rakowsky is expecting us at this moment." "The cease-fire will probably come at 2:00." " We must go back." " l'm afraid there isn't time." "I have to view the route." "So must you, in case our parties get separated." "Just a minute." "I insist that you at least take us back to the bridge first." "From there, we can hitch a ride on a bus or a truck." "Clearly, we are not behind the German lines." "Look, we are perfectly fine." "Let's go on." "Natalie, Leslie's right." "He has a responsibility." "Let's get out here." "We'll wait for you in one of those cabins." "Great idea." "We'll wait in this one right here." "I saw a woman in the doorway." "My dear, please do as you are told." "If I rode along with you, I could have a look at the layout for the American party." "Excellent." "See you shortly." "Come on, let's get inside." "Quick." "And it was just a few hundred meters down the road." "He says that the best view is from that tower. I must make a sketch." "It's important that the refugees don't head for the wrong church." "I can draw a map." "Why don't you let me climb up there." "The colonel says that the tower has been drawing quite a lot of fire." "That's OK." "Hi." "It's OK?" "I have to sketch a map." "Speak English?" "OK." "OK." "Hey, Mark!" "Mark Hartley!" "Hey, Mark, come on." "We're leaving." "What's the matter?" "Are you OK?" "Byron, I've never been so scared in my life." "You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?" "OK." "I'm gonna tell you something." "My name isn't really Hartley, you see." "It's Marvin Horowitz." "Horowitz, from Brooklyn." "So?" "How is anybody going to find out about that?" "Well, I thought that President Roosevelt was gonna send us out on Army planes, but we're going to the Germans, Byron." "Germans." "I don't think I can handle that." "What are you doing?" "Stick that in your bag." "Make a good Christian out of you." " Come on, we're pulling out." " Thanks, Byron." "He's coming." "He's really scared, but he's coming." "How are you?" "What can they do?" "I have an American passport." "They don't know I'm a Jew." "Don't go getting brave and defiant." "Let's just get the hell out of here." "I'm not an imbecile, Byron." "Come on, let's go." " Natalie..." " Natalie?" "You might find it more comfortable with us in the embassy car." "Whoever copied my map did a pretty good job." "Two o'clock, right on the button." "please keep together." "Do not make wrong turns." "It is an easy hour's walk, even for old persons." "The enemy will undoubtedly recommence hostilities at 3, and we will return the heaviest fire." "Therefore, please hurry." "Good luck to you all." "Long live freedom." "Long live poland." " You OK?" " Yeah, yeah." "Here's our church." "Germans." " Are you afraid?" " Not anymore." "Now that it's happened," " l don't know, it's kind of like a dream." " Right, some dream, Natalie." "My name is Mark Hartley, and oy, am I a good Christian!" " Graham." " Graham, yes." "Thank you." " Graham." " Graham and Graham." "Thank you." " Oh, this is Jeff..." "Yes." " Grant." "All right." "Look at Slote, taking a cigarette from a German, for crying out loud, and laughing." "Oh, my God, I think he's bringing him over here." "Your chargé tells me your father is American Naval attaché in Berlin." " Yes, sir, he is." " l'm a Berliner." "My father is in the foreign ministry." "I believe I had the pleasure of meeting your parents at the Belgium Embassy and dancing with your mother." "What have you been doing in Warsaw?" "Oh, sightseeing." " Ernst Bayer." " Byron Henry." "Hi." " Where do we go from here?" " Klovno." "There you transfer to a train for Königsberg." "From there, the neutrals choose to either go to Stockholm or Berlin." "It's a three-hour drive." "There's still room in the embassy car if you're interested." "Bad business." "The Polish government is completely irresponsible." "Warsaw should've been declared an open city weeks ago." "This destruction is pointless." "In any event, it should be over in a day or two." "You never know." "It could take a lot longer than that." "You think so?" "Nice to have met you, Mr. Henry." "Why the hell did you get him angry?" "Blaming the Polish government for this siege!" "One minute after 3." " Poor Warsaw." " Please don't talk." "Don't say anything." "Let's just get on the truck." "Come on." "Slote said Stockholm or Berlin, huh?" " l'd like to see Berlin, myself." " Are you crazy, Natalie?" "What, are you absolutely crazy?" "You just go to Stockholm, baby." "Just pray they let you go to Stockholm." "You know something, Byron?" "This woman definitely has a screw loose." "Berel's message goes for you too." "Lekh Lekha." "Oh, for God's sakes, would you stop with the Hebrew, please?" "OK, who wants some of this?" "Listen, everybody, please." "Those are the S.S." "I'll do any talking that has to be done." "You have a gentleman named Byron Henry in your party?" "Your father represents the American Navy in Berlin?" "This message is forwarded to you via our foreign ministry." "Your parties' passports, may I have them, please?" " l am reluctant to surrender them." " l assure you it's quite routine." "They will be returned to you in Königsberg." "Thank you." "Now your roster, please." "You have no Negroes in your party." "How many Jews?" "We make no record of religious affiliation." "But you do have Jews." "Even if there were Jews in this party, I have to decline to answer." "My government's policy is one of absolute equality of treatment." "Who are these Jews, please?" "I just don't know if there are any Jews." "My government's policy is simply to maintain separate records for Jews." "I wasn't interested, you see?" "So I never asked." "I'm instructed to separate out the Jews." "Form a double line, please, alphabetically." "No." "You are in the custody of the Wehrmacht in a combat zone." "Under strict martial law." "I call this to your attention." "For your purposes, you can assume that we're all Jews." "Now, just a minute!" "What on earth do you mean by that?" "I'm not a Jew. I don't want to be classified or treated as one." "We will all be treated alike, Clara." "That's all." " Please cooperate." " Oh, no." "No, you don't." "Nobody's putting me down for any Jew." "Sorry, Leslie, I'm just not buying it." " What is your name, madam?" " Clara Young." "Chicago, Illinois." "I'm not Jewish." "You can be damn sure of that." "Would you be kind enough to point out the Jews in your party?" "No." "Thank you, mister." "That's your business, not mine." " What is your name?" " Tom Stanley." "Now you know your party cannot board this train before I carry out my orders." "You seem to understand this matter much better than your chargé." "Who are the Jews here?" "Well, I tell you, friend, I'd like to cooperate. I really would." "But as far as I know, there's not a one." "Not in this party." "You!" "Step forward!" "Stay where you are." "I would like your name and rank." "And I warn you, continuing this will result in a written protest from my government." "There is no reason to protest." "The officials of the other governments are cooperating." "What is your name?" "Hartley." "Mark Hartley." "Hartley?" "I see." "And under what name were you born?" " Hartley." " Really?" "And what were your parents?" "Americans." " Jews." " No." "Americans." "Mr. Hartley has been to church with me every Sunday in Warsaw." "He's a Methodist, the same as me." "I can vouch for that." "I conducted the services." "Mark is a devout Christian." "I'm sure that a physical examination would show... I would report that as a personal violence." "In America, circumcision at birth is routine." "I'm circumcised." "So am I." "Now, hold it, sir." "This is not a customs point." "There is no reason to search personal belongings." "What are you staring at?" "You are very pretty." "Thank you." "Rather dark." "Your ancestry?" "Italian." "Your name?" "Mona Lisa." "I see." "Step forward!" "She's my fiancée." "Leave her alone." "Joachim!" "Very well." "You love your Jews." "Take them!" "Gather all your possessions and we can board the train." "Make sure you have everything and hold the children." "Let's proceed right through." "Natalie, Byron, over here." "Thank God." "Stockholm, here I come." "I think I may have lost all interest in Berlin." " ls everyone OK?" " Well, I am now." "Leslie, you were magnificent." "Sure was." "Mona Lisa." "You fool." "I love you." "We haven't seen our son in over a year." "Ah, well." "This is a great moment." "Oh, my stars!" "is that him coming down the steps?" " lt can't be him." "He's a skeleton." " Where?" "Oh, he's disappeared." "Somewhere over there." "No, there he is!" "There he is!" "Byron!" "Byron!" "Mom!" "Dad!" "Briny, how are you?" "I'm reeling." "Been feeding us like hogs on this train." "I had lunch with three different wines." "Mom, you look great." " l'd say about 25." " Well, you look ghastly!" "What the devil were you doing in Poland?" " Well, I was..." " Dr. Neustadter, foreign ministry." "Do you feel you have been treated well, Mr. Henry?" "Yes, fair." "Very fair." " That is, once we got out of Warsaw." " Ah, well." "That's war." "We'd be pleased to have a little more about your treatment, at your convenience." "My card?" "What did that guy mean, "That is war"?" "Byron!" "Byron!" "That's the fella that ran the embassy in Warsaw." "Really tough job." " Hi." "You must be Mrs. Henry." " Hello, hello." "Commander Henry." "I'm Leslie Slote." " l'm sorry if our son was a burden." " No, on the contrary." "Byron was a remarkable help." "When I've straightened things out, I'd like to come by and tell you about it." " Perhaps put it in an official letter." " By all means." "I must run now." "I'll see you later." "Excuse me." "Now, what was that all about?" "Not much, Dad." "I think sometimes Les gets a little carried away." "Let's get you home and cleaned up." "Wait'll you see what I've got in the icebox for you." "All your favorites." "Steak, roast beef, turkey, whatever you want." "Where's that Jastrow girl?" "Isn't she still with you?" "We changed trains in Königsberg." "She went on to Stockholm." "He'll be asleep for the next 1 4 hours." "Thank God he's alive." "I've never heard Byron pour out words like that before." "It's an astonishing story." "Important too." "I doubt that any other American drove across Poland under German fire." " He should write a report." " l've asked him." "I'll shoot it off to the Office of Naval Intelligence." "Quite the change in Byron." "It's that girl." " He didn't say much about her." " That's the point." "He said nothing about "her"." "And yet he went to Poland on account of her." "He almost got himself killed on account of her." "Seems to me he did almost everything in Poland except become a Jew." "Maybe you could find out more about her from this man Slote." "She was supposed to be engaged to him, wasn't she?" "I don't understand it." "He's so much older than Byron." "So different." "I can't quite picture the girl that bridges that gap." "She must be quite some girl." "Well, we'll have to have Sally Forrest invite Byron for Friday." " Friday?" " Oh, didn't I mention?" "Palmer Kirby leaves Saturday, Sally's arranged a going-away lunch at the Kaiserpavillon." "Nice fellow, that Kirby." "I like him." " Well, I..." " Shall I delay the dessert, sir?" " No, bring the menus." " The menus." "Very good, sir." "Thank you, sir." "Well, this is a, sort of a hail and farewell party, I guess." "Hail to Byron Henry and farewell to Palmer Kirby." "I'm sure Palmer, or "Fred", as he likes his friends to call him, is as glad to be getting out of Berlin as Byron was to get out of Warsaw." "So to Byron, welcome." "To Fred Kirby, happy landings." " And to all of us, cheers." " Cheers." "Bill, what do you suppose?" "Warsaw, I guess." "Must be over." "Could it be an armistice?" "I've heard armistice talk." "Wouldn't that be wonderful to stop this stupid war before it gets going?" "It's been going." "Well, you know what I mean." "Do they expect us to stand up?" "Well, I'm not standing." " Watch what you're doing, please." " You go and call your headwaiter." "Headwaiter?" "I am the headwaiter." "I am your head." "It might be smart to just leave." "Oh, yes, I think we should just pay and go." "We haven't had our dessert yet." "Might be a good idea to knock that waiter on his tail." " l'll volunteer for that." " No!" "No incident." "That's what he wants." " l told you to call your headwaiter." " You're in a hurry, honorable sir?" "Then you better leave." "We are very busy at this restaurant." "Stop!" "Turn around!" "Now, you go and get your headwaiter." "And do it right now." "I really do think we should leave." "It isn't worth the trouble, Pug." "Yes?" "You have a complaint?" "We are a party of Americans." "Military attachés." "We didn't rise for your anthem." "We are neutrals." "This waiter chose to take offense." "He's been clumsy, rude and dirty." "He's jostled the ladies." "His conduct has been swinish." "You tell him to behave himself, and we need a clean cloth for our dessert." "You will be served properly." "My apologies." "Well, I'll be damned." "Well done." "Beautifully done." "Oh, Pug does have a way about him." "OK, Dad." "We hadn't had our dessert." ""Thank you for a grand letter, old toff." "Very vivid." ""l loved that touch about the skywriting over Berlin, advertising toothpaste." ""Imagine, with a war going on." ""That says so much about the present German frame of mind." ""Write me again whenever you get a chance, about your life in Berlin," ""what you and your wife do for fun," ""who your German friends are, what the people and newspapers are saying," ""how the food is in the restaurants," ""just anything and everything that occurs to you." ""What does a loaf of bread cost in Germany today?" ""Washington is still incredibly hot and muggy," ""though the leaves have started turning."" " Hey, you look snazzy." " Thank you." "I thought maybe we might take in the new Emil Jannings movie." "Sally Forrest said she'd like to see it, if you're too stacked-up." " l'll be back early." " OK." "Bye." "Hello, darling." "Franz, I'll need the car." "Hi, Dad." " You tell Franz you want to see me?" " What about that report?" " What report?" " On Poland." "Oh, yeah, that report." "Dad, there's something I want to ask you." "What would you think about my joining the British navy or the RAF?" "I take it you want to fight the Germans." "Well, I gotta say, when I was in Warsaw, I enjoyed myself. I felt useful." "Quite a change, coming from you." "I thought a military career was O-U-T, out." "I'm not talking about a career." "I hate to discourage an admirable impulse, but what might be a good idea now is to ask for active duty in our Navy..." " No, thanks!" " Will you just hear me out!" "The reservists who go out to sea now will draw the best duty" "I could be in for years." "Suppose the war ends?" "Well, you're not doing anything else." "I wrote Dr. Jastrow." "I'll wait to hear from him." "Well, I guess this is it." "Your happiness." "Oh, that. I've had that." "It's in the past." "Did you get your connection to Lisbon?" "The clippers are jammed." "I may be hung up there a few days." "Well, I wish I had that in prospect." "I hear it's becoming the gayest city in Europe." "Well, come along." "Don't tease me, Palmer." "Oh, I was supposed to call you Fred, wasn't I?" "Somehow you don't strike me as a Fred." " You know, that's very strange." " What is?" "Anne always called me Palmer." "She never called me anything else." "I wish I'd known her." "Yes, I think you would have become good friends." "What do you think of Pug?" "That's a tough one." "He's certainly on the ball." "That was quite a job he did on that waiter." "But he's a hard man to know." "Well, in all these years, I don't think I know him very well." "I've come to admire him, I can tell you that." "See here, Rhoda, I'm really a proper fellow, all in all." "But I have to tell you this." "You are a wonderful woman." "I have been sad, and very dull since Anne died, and you've made me feel very alive again." "Very much." "I'm sorry." "Does that offend you?" "Oh, don't be a fool." "It makes me very happy." "You know that." "However, it's going to be a little hard on my contentment for a day or two." "I..." "Oh, damn!" "Are you all right?" "Everything is just fine, dear." "I... I do wish you'd write, just once in a while." "Just a friendly little scribble to let me know you're alive and well." "I'd like that." "I'll write the day I get home." " You will?" " Yes." "That's fine." "They haven't called the plane." "No... but my chauffeuring job is done and... I'm leaving you here and now." "This is as far as I go, dear." "Have a wonderful trip." "Hey, Dad." "See what Franz collects?" "Some real treasures." "Been panhandling them off of tourists for years." "The fits you threw about me reading these." "The sight still doesn't thrill me." "Thank you, Franz." "Great Superman." "So how did Hitler look making his speech?" "You're aware he made one?" " Yeah, I listened on the radio." " He looked all too well." "Licking the Poles must have toned up his system." "You think he meant that "outstretched hand of peace" business?" "Who knows?" "If the Allies buy it, he's got half of Poland for the price of a quick, cheap campaign." "The lies he told about the Polish campaign." "What contempt for his own people!" "Well, you put that in your report, if you ever write it." "You know me and paperwork." "Well, I'll expand it." " Did you hear about the royal Oak?" " Yeah." "Some story about that U-boat skipper, sneaking right into the British fleet and sinking an old battle wagon like the Oak, then sliding on home to glory." "The German submariner is a good man." "Did you ever think of going into submarines?" "You get into submarines, you got a tough job getting out." " That's the service I'd choose." " You don't sink a battleship every day." "You think that's what appeals to me?" "If you're interested, a classmate, Red Tully, runs the submarine school in New London." "Hey, easy." "It's a tough physical, but you could pass it." "Forget it, Dad." "In short, the West has shown itself spineless and impotent." "The tide is with us." "The time to strike is now!" "You saw how the British and the French reacted to the Polish war." "Nothing but talk!" "No one was really ready to fight." "September 29th, 1939." "The leaders of the German armed services, fresh from their great triumph in poland, are summoned for an urgent night meeting with adolf hitler." "Prepare to execute Case Yellow." "We attack France in full force in November." "November?" "Five weeks from now?" "Mein Fuehrer, the Luftwaffe is ready and eager for that battle." "Fuehrer, the transfer of the entire Wehrmacht to the western front is a colossal logistical problem." "It can be done." "Five months would not be too long." "Nonsense." "You exaggerate." "My decision is irrevocable." "We attack in the west." "Case Yellow will go forward not later than November 12th." "That is all." "Hello, Byron." "What are you reading?" "Mein Kampf?" "I just bought it." "How you doing?" "Are you coming back to the States?" "Our transportation is set for Thursday." "I really don't know yet. I..." "Why don't we go down and have some coffee and pastries." "We'll talk." "Come on, let's be a couple of Berliners." " l don't have a lot of time, but..." " Oh, relax." "Coffee will not make me relax, you understand that." "Boy, this is the life." "All these nice, polite, cordial, joking, happy people." "Did you ever see a nicer city?" "The only thing is, these folks have been blowing the hell out of Poland, pounding a city as nice as Berlin into a horrible pulp. it puzzles me." "Well, the contrast between the frontline and the back area is always a little startling." "No doubt Paris was charming while Napoleon was doing his butcheries." "Come on, Slote." "You can't tell me that Germans aren't just a little bit strange." "Yes, the Germans are strange." "That's why I want to read Mein Kampf." "One tried to blow my head off." "I'd like to know why." "Well, Mein Kampf is just the froth on the cauldron." "I'm overdue at the embassy." "I have to go." "Are you or aren't you coming with us?" "What's Natalie's plan?" "She may try to work her way back to Siena from London." "She had that notion." "But that may be impossible." "Does she even know the word?" "I don't have time to talk about Natalie Jastrow now." "But I'll tell you this." "I haven't had a moment's peace of mind since I met that lioness." "Why don't you marry her?" "I just may, if she'll have me." "She'll have you." "I don't think I'll be going with you." "I'm gonna stay on here with my folks for a while." "Let me know if you hear anything about where Natalie went." "Certainly." "Enjoy Mein Kampf." "All right, Pug." "What's it all about?" "Only a letter." "A letter?" "What letter?" "From whom?" "Well, goodness me, Pug!" "It's only from Madeline." " Who did you think it was from?" " Good Lord, how was I to know?" "The Gestapo or somebody, from your manner." "Honestly!" "It came to the embassy." "Well, what's wrong?" "She's gotten a nice raise in salary." "Read the last page." "Oh, I see what you mean." "An apartment of her own in New York." "At 19." "Oh, Pug." "Don't worry about Madeline." "She's as strait-laced as you are." "What can a girl do that's worth that much money?" "That's what a senior-grade lieutenant makes after ten years!" "It's absurd!" "Well... would you like me to go to New York and be with her?" "We can't afford that." "The Navy won't pay your way." "Briny, you're going back with Slote." "Maybe you can find a job in New York." "I've been meaning to talk with you about that." "I got a letter too, from Dr. Jastrow." " l'm going to Siena." " You're what?" " Going to Siena." " Who says so?" "I do." "Isn't this something we should all discuss?" "is that girl there?" "No." "She may be coming from London, Dr. Jastrow doesn't know." "What about money?" "is Jastrow paying your way?" " He says he can't." " Then he's not expecting you." "No... but I can afford it." "I saved most of what I earned." "That's what you're going to do." "Literary research, in some nice Italian villa, while there's a war on." " lf l'm called to active duty, I'll go." " That's mighty big-hearted of you!" "If you didn't, the Navy would toss you in the brig for a couple of years." "I'm real proud of you, Briny." "You do as you please." "Hello, AJ." "Byron, how good to see you." " May I go back to work now?" " Yes, yes." "Of course." "Gracious!" "It's gonna take me a week to get over the start you gave me." "We were talking about you at breakfast." "We were certain you'd be back in the States." " ls she here?" " Yes, of course." "She's up in the library." " Would you excuse me, sir?" " Oh, yes, yes." "It is you!" "Nobody else galumphs up those stairs like that." " Why the devil did you come back?" " l have to make a living." "Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" "I thought I'd just show up." "You look well-rested." "Put on a little weight." "Yeah, I feel really fine." "Good." "Well, we can use you." "We're still working on that Constantine book." "general Brauchitsch has been summoned to a meeting with hitler." "He carries a memorandum signed by all the leaders of the German army asserting that an attack against France at this time is impossible." "At German Army Headquarters in Zossen, on the outskirts of berlin, the generals tenseIy wait for word from Brauchitsch." "I'm going for a walk." "I'll join you." "hell, mein Fuehrer." "I must confide in you on a very serious matter." "I have been approached by certain by certain army personages of the loftiest rank and prestige with a frightening proposal." "What did you reply?" "That they were talking high treason." "Now I will confide in you." "So, what is new in all this?" "Fuehrer, it is the army's final position." " Case Yellow cannot proceed." " Why not?" "Because of the military fundamentals, as stated." "Such as?" "The season, to begin with." "The meteorologists predict continuous soaking rains for weeks." "It rains on the enemy too." "The conspiracy has been going on that long?" "Since Czechoslovakia?" "If the British had not caved in at Munich, perhaps." "Who knows?" "But they did." "And ever since then, ever since his big triumph, it has been hopeless." "Hopeless." " Empty talk, talk, talk." " l am staggered." "Eine hundred times I myself could have shot the man." "I can still, at any time." "But what would result?" "Chaos." "The people are for him." "He has unified the country." "We have to stand to our posts, save him from making military mistakes." "But we really cannot proceed with Case Yellow." "Brauchitsch will get a postponement." "And if he does not?" "Fuehrer, even the supply of artillery shells is totally inadequate." "Who says so?" "General Thomas, my chief of economics and armaments." "Do you know how many artillery shells of all calibers we have in the staging areas?" " Right this minute?" " No." " How many are in the reserve dumps?" " lt's up to my staff..." "What the monthly annual production of shells is?" "Or the projected rise is in production, for the next six months," " month by month?" " Who keeps such figures in his head?" "I do!" "The supply is adequate." "I tell you so, and I am a field soldier who depended on artillery for four years to protect his life." "Check with your staff." "If one of those figures is wrong, you can postpone Case Yellow." "Otherwise, you march!" "And next time you come to see me, know what you're talking about!" "If we... lf we march, unprepared as we are, defeatism will run rampant." "It will destroy the Wehrmacht and the fatherland." "The morale of the army was low even in the Polish campaign" " against an enemy in collapse..." " You're questioning to me?" "To me?" "The courage of the German soldier?" " l am talking facts." " What facts?" "Back up this monstrous assertion!" " Well, I..." " ln what units was morale low?" "What action was taken?" "How many death sentences were handed out for cowardice?" "Speak up!" "I will fly to the front and pass the death sentences myself!" "Name one instance of failure of nerve!" "One specific instance!" "I..." "instances..." " lt was common knowledge." " Common knowledge?" "!" "What is common knowledge is that Army Headquarters at Zossen crawls with cowards." "You opposed me on rearming the Rhineland." "You opposed me on the Anschluss with Austria." "You opposed me on Czechoslovakia, until the British came crawling to me!" "You dirtied in your trousers, you heroes of Zossen, at the idea of marching into Poland!" "Well...have I once been wrong?" "Have you once been right?" "Answer me!" " Mein Fuehrer..." " l know your go-slow tactics!" "I know your Zossen tricks, your Zossen schemes, your Zossen ideas!" "Tell everyone who signed this insubordinate Zossen rubbish to beware!" "I will ruthlessly crush everybody, up to the rank of a field marshal, who dares to oppose me." "You do not have to understand." "You only have to obey!" "The German people understand me." "I am..." "Germany." "My God!" "is something the matter?" "No, no, no." "Sorry." "Nothing." "Well..." "Briny?" "Yeah?" "Well, I might as well tell somebody and I guess it'll be you." "Guess what I hold here in my hot little hand." "A proposal of marriage from a gentleman named Leslie Slote," "Rhodes Scholar, rising diplomat and elusive bachelor." "What do you think of that, Byron Henry?" "Congratulations." "There's Aaron, and I'm in a fog." "Oh, this is Natalie, my niece." "Dottore Buffari." "Alien Registration Bureau, Firenze." "Would you go upstairs and get my resident status file?" "My file too?" "No, no, no." "Only the professor's file." "Again, please." "Aaron, why was that official checking your papers today?" "Oh, just a technicality." "Some clumsiness about letting my passport lapse." "That makes no difference." "Renewal is automatic." "That's what I thought." "But it seems now if you're not native-born, there are problems." "Besides, I imagine being the last permanent American resident in Siena may have helped stir up the mud." "What about those actors down the road, Tom and Ethel Searle?" " Gone." " Cleared out." "Lock, stock and barrel." "After 15 years." "Shipping every stick back to the United States." "That beautiful villa of theirs?" "What about that?" "They abandoned it, said they couldn't afford to get stuck here if war spread." "That's the difference between buying and leasing." "You just walk away." "You know, sir, if you believe there's a danger, don't you think your skin comes first?" "I have no such fear." "I'm rather tired." "Tell Maria to bring my cheese and fruit to the study." "Shall we take the coffee in my room?" "Yeah, sure." "I've never seen AJ more upset." "Well, Berel gave him the right advice." ""Get out."" "Now maybe he will." "How far away that all seems." "Do you ever think of Warsaw?" "Yeah. I dream about it a lot." "God, so do I." "That hospital. I keep going round and round in my head at night." "Well, what do you think of old Slote's proposal to make an honest woman of me?" "I'm not surprised." "You're not?" "Well, I'm stunned." "I never thought I'd live to see the day." "He told me in Berlin he might marry you." "Yeah, well, he's had that option open for a hell of a long time." "So you had a big discussion about me in Berlin, did you, you two gentlemen?" "No, it's not a big discussion." "This is getting interesting." "What else did he say?" "That you were no girl for me to get involved with." "And that he hadn't had any peace of mind since he first laid eyes on you." "Two accurate statements." "Don't you know about Leslie and me?" "Big, tempestuous thing in Paris, years and years ago." "He didn't want to marry me, because I'm Jewish, and it might have loused up his diplomatic career." "Evidently, he's thrown the towel in." "Trouble is, I think I know why." "He's lonesome for you." "He behaved disgustingly in the Swedish ambassador's car." "I despised him for it and let him know." "That was the turnaround." " You exaggerate that whole thing." " Don't be mealy-mouthed." "All he did was turn yellow and hide behind my skirts." "The ambassador almost laughed in his face." "I'm not saying I won't marry him because he panicked under fire." "After all, he behaved well enough at the railroad station." "This proposal is just his way of apologizing and being more of a man." "And it is hardly the answer to my maidenly prayers." "It's what you want." "Well, I don't know." "When I first told my father I loved a Christian, he had a heart attack." "No, I mean a real heart attack." "Now my mother's written that he's had another one, and I've cabled home to see how serious it is." "I'm sorry." "So there'd be that whole fight again." "And then there's Aaron." "He's not your problem." "He's got to get himself out of Italy." "The sooner, the better." "And then there's another complication." "The biggest." "What's that?" "Don't you know, Briny?" "Haven't you a little inkling?" "Come on." "Stop it." "I really don't know what you're talking about." "Well, then, I'll tell you." "You've done it, you devil!" "And you know it." "You've done exactly what you set out to do the very first day you came here." "I'm in love with you." "What a dumb, stunned expression." "Don't you believe me?" "I only hope it's true." "No, Byron." "Look, I just had to do that or die." "But it's no good!" "I've been fighting it off and fighting it off, but it's no good." "You're a boy and a Christian, and I cannot go through it again!" "Don't look at me like that, Briny." "I think you'd better leave." "Please, go now!" "God!" "You're such a gentleman!" "It's one of the unbelievable things about you." "Do you want to stay?" "I just don't want to make any mistakes." "I'll do anything you want." "I absolutely adore you." "Listen would you think of marrying me?" "That's incredible." "Two proposals in one day." "It never rains but it pours." "Natalie, I know you think I'm crazy." "If you really love me..." "Oh, no, no." "Wait a minute." "This is insane." "The first idea is the right one." "You'd better go." "I know you're serious, and I'm terribly, terribly touched." "But you know, Byron, the one thing we've got is time." "We've got all the time in the world." "I swear we do." "You won't come back. I know that." "Things will get difficult here." "Of course, I could go to Arizona or New Mexico." "They're such dull, arid, zero-culture places." "The very thought of trying to write there..." "My books may not be important, but still the work is what keeps me going." "But, AJ, your books are important." "Are they?" "Why?" "Well, of course, they're very readable and often brilliant." "But that's not their distinction." "Their originality lies in their spirit." "They're very Jewish in a tough, unsentimental way." "It made me realize how much Christendom owes to this bizarre little folk we belong to." "Bless you, my dear." "I know I've evolved into a pagan, a materialist, a hedonist." "I fell in love with the splendor of Christianity and Jesus long, long ago." "But none of that has made me less Jewish." "That is something that nobody in the family can understand, your father least of all." "I'm so grateful to you that you can." "How long after you go do you think Byron will stay?" "He makes me feel so secure just being here." "Then why not give him a raise?" "That'll convince him more than anything." "I don't think he's ever made a penny before." "Good morning." "Sorry I overslept." "I didn't get too much rest last night." " Are you going someplace?" " The Rome airport." "My mother cabled that my father's worse." "My brother wrecked his health in the garment business." " Tell me something, Byron." " What?" "Tell me when you decided you liked me." "When you took off your sunglasses." "My sunglasses?" "When was that?" "Remember in the villa?" "You were in the car with Slote." "You took off those big sunglasses and that was the first time I saw your eyes." "So...?" "You asked when I fell in love with you." "That's the trouble with you, you make everything sound so simple." "It's too simple." "Listen, I want to talk." "Talk all you want." "Listen to me carefully, Byron." "How old are you?" "I'm old enough for you, Natalie." "Old enough for what, to sleep with me?" "The problem is, what are you gonna do?" "I have an MA and I can teach, but what have you got?" "I mean, you have a smile that drives me absolutely out of my mind." "Listen, I think I'm going to tell you what I really think." "You are trained for something." "You're a Naval officer." "That's one thing I made a career of not being. I'm just in the reserves." "What if we go to war?" "You'd fight, wouldn't you?" "Well, what else would you do?" "That's the way your mind works, and I love it, but I don't want to be the wife of a Navy officer." "I can't think of a more ridiculous and awful way for me to live." "Hey, I wouldn't marry a test pilot or an actor either." "Don't you understand?" "Hey, what's the matter?" "Natalie." "Why are you crying?" "Shut up, Byron." "This is an insane conversation." "The more I try to make sense out of all this, the crazier it gets." "Oh, darling, this doesn't solve anything." "Three days before Case yellow, the attack on France, and AdoIph HitIer tours the western front." "The same everywhere?" "From every staging area around the front, Fuehrer." " The latest meteorological report?" " No letup for at least two weeks." "Are you prepared to march nevertheless?" "My Fuehrer, the army awaits your orders." "Postponed." "This will be the first of 19 postponements of Case yellow." "Attention, please." "flight number 75 is now arriving from berlin." "You're all checked in." "The flight's been delayed until 4:30." " Oh, damn." " Oh, that's great." "An extra half-hour, it's like a lifetime." " Holy cow, there's my father!" " Your father?" "Where?" "There, with that group of guys coming through the door." "Wonder why he didn't tell me he was coming." "Hey, Dad!" " Briny, how about this?" " What are you doing here?" "Mr. Gianelli, my son." " l'm delighted to meet you." " Pleased to meet you, sir." "Well, we'll meet you outside." " Why didn't you call?" " l'm sorry." "Everything happened sudden-like." "I meant to ring you tonight." "Why are you here?" "Natalie's father's sick." "She's going home." " Has she left already?" " No, she's sitting over there." "So that's the famous Natalie Jastrow?" "I've gotta meet that girl." "Natalie, this is my dad." "Sorry to hear about your father." "I'm going home to see how serious it is." "Will you be coming back?" "Not if Dr. Jastrow returns to America." "He'd be well-advised to do that, fairly fast." "Well, I guess I'd better mosey along, Briny." "It's not right to keep these foreign-ministry types waiting." "Byron tells me you know the Tudsburys." "You know, Pamela and I were great friends in Paris." " Really?" " She's lovely." " She's a lunatic driver." " You don't have to tell me." "She drove me to Chartres once and scared me witless." "I'm sure it would take more than that to scare you." "Well, I'm glad to have met you, even in this accidental way." "It explains a lot of things." "Happy landings." "Thank you." "That is some girl." "What you didn't tell me was how pretty she is." " Well, I think so." " A man could drown in those eyes." "She is stunning." "But, like I said all along still goes." "That is a grown-up woman." "No offense." "No offense taken. I'm in love." "Look, Warren's getting married on the 20th of May, the day after he finishes carrier training." " l'll be sure and be home for that." " Good." "Will we be able to have dinner or breakfast tomorrow?" "Breakfast, maybe." "Meet me at the embassy at about 7." "You better get on back to her." "She's sitting there all alone." "He really liked me?" "You bowled him over." "If you're not coming back, wire me." "I'll take the first plane home." " Byron..." " And don't marry Slote." "How young you are." "Promise me?" "You know what Lenin said. "Promises, like piecrusts, are meant to be broken."" "Forget about Lenin, just promise me." "You idiot, don't you know how much I love you?" "Bye, darling." "Subtitles by sdl Media Group" "Mussolini speaks very little English." "How's your Italian?" "Fair." "Normally I'd be accompanied by our ambassador, but this whole errand is unusual." "The president feels that a negative reply to a San Francisco banker would not affect formal relations between our two countries." "The president highly values your discretion and feels it might be wise to have you along at my interviews." "Another pair of eyes and ears." "I'm not sure that ll Duce will like it." "Suppose l just come along as though it were the natural thing, unless, of course, they stop me." "Duce." "The Fuehrer will know long before you get the chance to tell him." "OK." "Commander Henry to see Captain Kirkwood." "Commander Henry, sir." "Captain Kirkwood won't be in until this evening." "You're welcome to use his office if you like." "Very well." "Oh, sir, the captain left an envelope." "It's on the desk." ""Captain Roger Kirkwood presents his compliments to Captain Victor Henry," ""and trusts he is free to dine at 9 at the Osteria dell'Orso." ""P.S. You're out of uniform, Pug." ""Four stripes, please."" " Congratulations, captain." " Thank you." "I'm catching the morning train to Berlin." "Would you convey my regrets to Captain Kirkwood regarding dinner?" " Aye, aye, sir." " And I'm expecting my son." " Will you show him right in, please?" " Yes, sir." "Hey, Dad, four stripes, and on the first ALNAV too." " Congratulations." " Thanks." "Glad I came to Rome now, just for this." "Surprised me, after all my shore duty." "One's not supposed to mention this kind of thing, but doesn't this put you way at the front of your class?" "You're never in front until you retire." "All it takes now is one false move." "Some helmsman doping off on midwatch." "I've got to go to the hotel and change clothes." "I gotta catch a train." "Sorry about breakfast, Briny." "Incidentally, that submarine school starts classes in June, right after Warren's wedding, so if you apply now..." "June's a long way off." "How about if I ride to the station with you?" "Hey, Dad, you know, I'm really proud you made captain." "About sub school..." "Look, if Natalie stays in the States, well, who knows?" " What do you mean, I'm not going?" " Your name is not on the invitation." "But that's just their form." "Wives always go." "I'm just going there for security reasons." "Take my word for it." "Security reasons!" "That old chestnut." "When you want things your way, it's always security reasons." "I'd rather take you along." "You know that." "Then prove it." "Call the protocol officer at the air ministry." "Or if you're too bashful, I will." "Are you well?" "I'm bored!" "This Berlin weather stinks." "Everything stinks." "I have horrible headaches." "You're never here." " l'm going out of my mind." " You will not call the air ministry." " Hitler will be at Karinhall." " l know." "All Berlin's talking about this party at the Goerings." "Oh, here's a letter from that Kirby fellow." " l wonder what he's got to say." " Read it." "Dull as he is." "All about how glad he is to be home and how good the skiing is in Denver." "Three pages of nothing." " Well, you look wonderful." " l do not." "That darned hairdresser baked my hair to shredded wheat again." "I'm tired." "I'll open a couple of bottles of champagne and we'll celebrate my promotion." "Celebrate it with the Goerings." "Oh, if only he could marry, eh, Luigi?" "He loves children." "Stoller!" "Reich Marshal Goering told me you'd be here." "Captain Henry." "Wolf Stoller, one of the great German bankers." "General Armin von Roon is my good friend." "He's a tough tennis player." "He speaks highly of your tennis and of you." "I'll tell you what, they promised..." " Oh, yes." " lt's a fairyland." "Oh, we are quite mad about San Francisco." "Mostly because of Luigi's hospitality." "Always a pleasure." "At last we can reciprocate." "You must come to Abendruh." " Our little country place." " This weekend." " We're giving a small party." " Yes." " You too, captain, of course." " General von Roon will be there." "Unfortunately, I fly to Lisbon first thing in the morning." "But you don't fly to Lisbon." "I'm sure Mrs. Henry will enjoy the outing." "Said and done." "Good." "Brigitte will excuse us." "I think..." "Alas, no time to show you the wonders of Karinhall." "The Reich marshal and the foreign minister are waiting." " These are indeed wonders." " Just odds and ends." "Gifts from governments, from cities, from monarchs." "He is a brilliant collector." " A man of great wealth." " Oh, wealth..." "You will have exactly seven minutes of the Fuehrer's time to state your business." "Your Excellency, I am here in a private capacity, and I regard that amount of time as an extraordinary courtesy." "This peculiar visitation is another studied insult by your president to the Fuehrer." "Between civilized countries, the diplomatic structure is used." "Germany did not withdraw its ambassador in Washington by choice!" "The United States first made the hostile gesture." "Your president's change of the so-called Neutrality Act that he pushed through Congress is a blatant act of aggression against Germany." "And your maladroit mission is a show of contempt for a powerful nation of 80 million people." "May I respectfully..." "The willingness of the Fuehrer to give a hearing in these circumstances is a testimony to his desire for peace that history will record some day." "And that, I'm afraid, is the sole value this peculiar interview possesses." "Captain Henry, I beg you to confirm my instructions to the great field marshal." "We already know all that, and...we also know the question." "Your president feels that from time to time he must give me those stern, fatherly admonitions, but, of course, I am giving up my life for the renaissance of my people." "And I cannot help seeing things from that limited point of view." "Germany's political aims are simple, open, moderate and unchanging." "Five centuries before Columbus discovered America, there was a German empire at the heart of Europe." "War has come over and over to this heartland through the attempts of many powers to fragment the vigorous German people." "And often their attempts have had temporary success." "But the German nation, with its strong instinct for survival has time and time rallied and thrown off the foreign partitioners." "And so I restored the Rhineland, I brought back Austria into the Reich, I normalized the Bohemian plateau, and the manufactured monstrosity of Czechoslovakia has once again become the traditional protectorate of the Reich." "Now this restoration of normal Germany is complete, and it has been done almost without bloodshed." "Only Britain's foolish guarantee to Poland forced on me the brief police action to solve the Polish question." "I share the president's desire for peace." "I hunger and yearn for it." "I was born to create!" "Not to destroy." "I am an artist, a builder." "But the British and French leaders called for the destruction of Hitlerism." "I have made Germany strong again, and that does not suit them." "But this, their hate, if persisted in, will doom Europe, because I and the German people cannot be separated." "We are one." "This is a simple truth, though I fear it will need a test of fire to prove it." "How can they be so blind?" "I achieved air parity in 1937." "Since then I have not stopped building planes, planes, planes!" "U-boats, U-boats, U-boats!" "I have piled bombs, bombs, bombs, tanks, tanks, tanks to the sky!" "What a wasteful, staggering burden on my people, but our enemies understand no other language." "Out of strength, I have offered the outstretched hand of peace." "I was rejected, scorned!" "At the price of peace, our foes demand my head." "My people only laugh at such pathetic nonsense." "I have done my utmost, and my conscience is clear before the bar of history." "So let the test of fire come." "Germany will emerge victorious." "If not, we will all go down together, and Europe as we know it will cease to exist!" "Now this visit of Sumner Welles, I have no wish to return discourtesy for discourtesy." "I would do anything for peace." "But until the British will to destroy me itself is destroyed, the only road to peace is through German victory." "Anything else is irrelevant." "I will continue to hope with all my heart for a last-minute signal of sanity from the other side, before the great cataclysm bursts on the world." "My observation, Mr. President, is that all three men acted as though the offensive in the West is ready to roll." "I don't think they give a damn whether WeIIes comes or not." "If the British are really as set on their terms as hitler is on his, you'II have an aII-out war in the spring." "The glimpse of cross-purposes at the top may show a weakness of the Nazi structure, but it has nothing to do with hitler's hold on the Germans." "That includes Goering and Ribbentrop." "When he entered the room, they cringed." "If HitIer were the haIf-crazy, haIf-comicaI gangster we've been reading about, this war would be a pushover." "unfortunately for the allies, he is a very able man." "Now, this is everything on StoIIer." "His bank is the conduit by which Goering has become so rich." " Mainly by extortion from Jews." " l didn't know that, sir." "Oh, it's all very legal, German style." "The new laws put stiff restrictions on Jewish firms." "They can't get export licenses, can't use the railroad, shipping and so on." "Heavy taxes." "Naturally, after a while, they go under." "Now, Stoller's bank has access to the Gestapo." "He is the first person who knows when a big Jewish firm is sinking to its knees." "So he steps in with a very low takeover bid." "Other bankers won't bid against a Goering front, so the Jewish owners sell for a song," "Goering acquires another major company, and Stoller is in there for a big share." "I'll just decline the invitation." "Your business is gathering intelligence." "Just know what you're getting into." "Life with you is full of marvelous surprises." "Please come with me." "Well, I must say, this is very peculiar." "Well, this is more like it." "Oh, what a magnificent suite!" "Yeah, Wolf Stoller hasn't done too bad for himself." "I would say." "Come in." "Sir, madam, dinner will be at 7." "We are here to assist you with dressing." "What's all that?" "Well, Rhoda, now you know why they brought us up the back way." "Oh, dear heaven, Pug, I'll die!" "I can't possibly." "I've practically nothing on underneath." "Why can't they warn a girl?" "!" "When in Rome..." " General." " Oh, Henry." "Quite an icebreaker." "Stoller, I must say, has quite an individual touch." "You'd never know there was a war on." "There hardly is." "First blitzkrieg, and now sitzkrieg." ""The Phony War."" "And how long does that continue?" "That is up to the opposition." "Our Fuehrer has offered peace." "They can have it tomorrow." "If they accept his conquests and his crimes." "Crimes?" "Well, the rape of Czechoslovakia, for one." "The Allies themselves handed Czechoslovakia to him at Munich." "And Poland?" "As for Poland..." "Some other time." "I found this all laid out for me this morning." "Oh, Pug, I may never leave Abendruh." "The British regard the invasion of Poland as a crime." "Poland was worse than a crime." "It was a mistake." "The great victory?" "The Fuehrer bluffed himself into a corner over Poland." "He got out of it with a pact with Stalin." "A coup de théâtre, perhaps, but the Russians gained half of Poland without firing a shot." "A strategic disaster for us, despite our victory in the field." "Great men can make great mistakes." "And with greatness, maybe they overcome them." " You call Hitler great?" " A great politician, without question." "He has united the country, like your Roosevelt." "He is what I believe you call a "winner"." "And his master-race stuff, you buy that too?" "Bunkum for the masses." "A vulgar distortion of German nationalism." "But that is politics for you." "You're not a Nazi, then." "I?" "I am a conservative monarchist." "Do the other generals think as you do?" "As in your Navy, I imagine, we have all kinds." "I see." "One thing we all share:" "Loyalty to the head of state." "One thing we all believe:" "Orders are orders." "Let us join the others." "There is Captain Henry." "What better authority do you want?" " Let's ask him." " lt might embarrass him." "No war talk, please." "That's out." "This weekend is for pleasure." "I don't mind." "What's the question?" "Please..." " l am, as you know, an actor." " One of Germany's greatest." "I create illusions for a living." "And I say it is an illusion to hope that the United States will ever allow England to go down." "Please, let's talk of something else." "I'm a businessman, a realist." "I maintain this isn't 191 7." "The Americans are realists." "Once Europe is normalized, we can have a thousand years of peace." "What do you say, Captain Henry?" "The problem may never come up." "You still have to lick England." "Oh, I think we can assume that's in the cards." "Providing the Americans don't step in." "Your president doesn't try to hide his British sympathies, eh, Victor?" "Although, wouldn't you say that the people are against him, or at least sharply split?" "Yes, but America is a strange country, Herr Stoller." "Public opinion can change fast." "Remember that in dealing with us." "Public opinion doesn't just change." "It is manufactured." "There you have the live nerve." "The power of the Jews." "I think you exaggerate that." "You fellows tend to do that, as a form of kidding yourselves." "Victor, who is your minister of the treasury?" "The Jew, Morgenthau." "Who sits in your highest court with the most power?" "The Jew, Frankfurter." "Who...?" "Well, I could go on and on." "But no." "Admit it, Victor." "The Jews have American finance, communications, justice, even the presidency in their pockets." "To begin with the treasury post has very little power." "All the other cabinet positions are held by Christians." "Financial power lies in banking, shipping, oil and so forth." "All in the hands of Christians, always has been." "That's always the Jewish line, how unimportant they are." "You recommend that we force them out of their businesses at 10 cents on the dollar?" "You are better-informed than many Americans, Victor." "But anyway, it would be an excellent idea for the health of your economy." "And you'll come to it sooner or later." "Please, Stoller, enough of this!" "But is it truly your position that the Jewish question really has no bearing on America's entry into the war?" "Oh, I didn't say that." "Americans react very sharply to injustice and suffering." "And your Negroes in the South?" "It's bad, but it's getting better." "And we don't put them behind barbed wire." "That's a political penalty." "A Jew who behaves himself doesn't go to a camp." "No, the American Jews would be making the greatest possible mistake to drag in the United States." "You know what the Fuehrer said in his January speech:" ""lf they start another world war, that will be the end of them."" "And he was in deadly earnest, I assure you." "War or peace is not in the hands of the Jews." "You've greatly distorted that situation." "I don't think so." "Anyway, I can only pray that your government will come to its senses." "And soon, so that the Jews might be spared the very, very bad fate" "which they seem determined to bring on themselves." "Now, we have a little lunch prepared, gentlemen." "Nothing elaborate, you understand, but what would you say to an omelet, a glass of champagne?" "Please." " Who are you?" " Rosenthal." " You are living in my house." " Of course." "Forgive me but my wife and I are going to be sent to Poland soon." "And we were wondering if there were any articles in our home you and Mrs. Henry would care to...buy." "But you have a factory here." "You must have people who can keep an eye on things until conditions improve." "In fact, I have sold my firm." "So there is nobody." "To Stoller Bank?" "You know about these matters?" "I have received a very fair price." "Very fair." "Herr Rosenthal, I told you when we rented your house, I had no wish to profit by your misfortune. I don't. I do not." "Captain Henry, you could not possibly do me or Frau Rosenthal a greater kindness." "If you want to telephone me, you can get me here." "Merry Christmas." "There you are!" " What on earth...?" " l decided to walk." "Four miles in the snow?" "We're due back at the embassy at 8:00." "I'll change clothes real fast." "Lord, I hope this party will be fun." "This is one grim Christmas." "Amen." "The best parties you have ever seen." "They are the nicest people." "Spending time with the Stollers?" "Honey, the trouble with you is, you don't know what the hell is going on." "How dare you say that to me?" "!" "Hey, what's it all about, Fred?" "The Wolf Stollers, Pug." "Loveliest people your wife ever met." "I said the nicest Germans, and they are." "I thought broadcasters were supposed to be impartial." "You are wildly prejudiced." "Time for you to go home, Rhoda." "And what does that mean?" "If you think the Wolf Stollers are nice, you've got to get back on American chow and The New York Times." "Well, aren't we the nice, clever radio personality?" "I just know the German people are not monsters with tails and horns." "They're just ordinary people, however misguided." "Or did some Fräulein climb into your bed with cloven hoofs, dear?" "It might be easier to navigate in this country, Rhoda, if the bad ones did sprout horns and grow hair on the palms of their hands or something." "What Wolf Stoller has on his palms is blood, lots of it." "He acts unaware of it." "You encourage his color-blindness by acting the same way." "Lords of mercy me!" "If that isn't the wildest poppycock!" "Freddie Fearing, you are the one who should go home." "Merry Christmas." "Now, Fred, it's Pug's job to socialize with people like Stoller." "I propose a moratorium tonight on discussing Germans." " l agree!" " Hear, hear. I agree." " Absolutely." " Christmas Eve." "Pug Henry, I like you." "I guess I'll go for a walk." "Fred." "Fred?" " Forget it." " Fred." " Pass the wine, will you?" " Yes." "Give me... "Give me" have some." "That Freddie Fearing." "Big-shot authority on Germany, he thinks." "Why, Mrs. Stoller is an absolute darling." "We meet at the hairdresser and gab away by the hour." "We're already invited to the big hunt party in April at Abendruh." " We'll decline." " What?" "We're never going back to Abendruh, Rhoda." "We most certainly are." "The only fun I have had here..." "Wolf Stoller is Goering's man for extorting money from the Jews." "He can't be." "That's what Fearing was talking about." "Claremont showed me the file on Stoller." "He's made millions out of it." "That charming man?" "That charming man drove Rosenthal to the wall." " Rosenthal?" " The man we rent our house from." "He approached me tonight on the street, like a beggar." "He wanted us to buy some things from his house." "Anything for a little cash, because they're shipping him to Poland." "How awful." "What did you say?" "I didn't take him up on it." "I don't want to suck his blood." "The man must be desperate for money." "I'd be glad to give him money." "I will not buy up his possessions." "He won't accept your money." "There are lovely things in the house." "We can pay him a very fair price." "A very fair price?" "Like Stoller gave him a very fair price?" "I think it's time we got out of this hellish town, Rhoda." "I don't want to be disturbed." "Dear admiral PrebIe:" "I am requesting BuPers to relieve me, preferably before april, and the sooner the better." "berlin is a nightmarish place." "It's bad for me, worse for Rhoda." "I've trained 25 years for combat at sea." "I'm a gunnery man and nothing else." "I ask, I beg for transfer to sea duty." "Pressure against Sweden and Norway in the intensified blockade sunk the Norwegian ship Navarra." "Briny, dear, the doctor says my father's coming along just fine, but I don't like his fragile look." "He doesn't do much but sit in the sun and listen to the news." "He's terribly worried about uncle Aaron." "He never used to speak much of him." "Now he goes on and on about him." "He's terrified that hitler is a devil who's going to conquer the world and murder all the Jews." "well, it won't be long until your brother's wedding, will it?" "Time flies." "Before we face each other again," "I'd better level with you about me and leslie SIote." "Don't panic, love." "It's nothing earth-shaking." "Last December, when I reached New York and found out my father was out of the hospital," "I decided to stop off in Washington to see leslie." "I owed him that much, dear." "He was definitely not expecting the answer I brought back to his proposal." "Lord, did he carry on!" "'You and that boy," he kept saying." ""There can't be anything substantial between you."" "In the end, I came flat out with it." "I said the thing between us is damn substantial, that by comparison, nothing else just now seems very substantial." "well, he calls it a "physical infatuation, very temporary"." "He insists I'II marry him in due course, that he and I are meant for each other." "He keeps telephoning and once he flew down to see me." "Nothing has happened that can make me forget the look in your eyes, the feel of your arms around me when..." "The Phony War has ended." "A fierce air, sea and land battle is raging for Norway." "We bring you special reports from the war capitals." "First, London." "This is the BBC." "In a lightning attack without warning or provocation," "Nazi Germany has invaded neutral Norway by sea and air, and German land forces have rolled into Denmark." "The royal Navy is moving rapidly to cut off the invasion." "Winston churchill, first lord of the admiralty, has declared:" ""AII German vessels entering the Skagerrak will be sunk."" "Next, berlin." "Fred Fearing in berlin." "The propaganda ministry has issued this bulletin:" "ForestaIIing a British plan to seize Scandinavia and deny Germany access to Swedish iron ore and other materials," "Germany has taken Denmark and Norway under its protection." " Papa?" " And now, Paris." "In an official communiqué, France has announced that the allies will rally to the cause of democratic Norway, and will meet the German onslaught 'with cold steel"." "Papa!" "Mama!" "Mama!" "Mama!" "Mama, come quick!" "This would mean the collapse..." "Well, what do you think of the news?" "So much for the Sumner Welles mission." "This may just get you that sea duty you keep writing all those letters about." " Hell of a way to get it." " Yeah." "Your report on the GianeIIi meetings was really tops, old fellow." "Gave me an excellent feel of how they went." "hitler's a strange one, isn't he?" "Everybody's reaction is a little different." "admiral PrebIe tells me you're returning briefly in May for your son's wedding." "Be sure to drop in on me before you return to berlin." "I'm absolutely delighted that you are where you are, and I've told old PrebIe that, in no uncertain terms." "Sir?" "A man named Rosenthal." "Call him at that number." "Aye, aye, sir." " Pug?" " Hello, Rhoda." "Everything stinks." "Yes. I know, the war's breaking wide open." "Look, honey, you better make yourself a hair appointment." "That hunt party at Abendruh, call Mrs. Stoller and accept." "Oh, marvelous." "And I want you to make out a list of everything you want to buy from the Rosenthals." "After each item, put down a very fair price." "This is more like it." "The Second world War is in its ninth month, and Paris is having a lovely spring." "adolf hitler's Germany has conquered poland and occupied Norway." "But all is quiet on the western front." "For, in the West, the Germans face the Maginot Line, that impregnable chain of great fortresses shielding France from the Swiss to the belgian borders." "The French army, the strongest, best-trained, best-equipped in the world, led by the great general GameIin." "The British expeditionary army, backed by the royal Air Force and the world's most powerful navy." "And so, Paris is tranquil." "The British call this lull the "sitzkrieg"." "American headline writers call it 'the Phony War"." "But on May 10, 1940, the Phony War comes to an end." "After 19 postponements, six months of delays," "Case yellow, the attack on France, begins, with the assault on belgium and holland." "Then, as the allied armies move to stop them, the Germans strike through the hilly Ardennes." "This main armored punch bypasses the Maginot Line, catching the allies by complete surprise, and threatens to cut the front in two." "The allied armies are in peII-meII retreat to avoid entrapment." "In London, the chamberlain government fails." "Winston churchill is the new prime minister." " Madeline!" " Put it...!" "Oh, Pa!" "Gosh, you look great!" "Both of you look great!" "This is Janice Lacouture and she's in town shopping for her trousseau." "Oh, my dear!" "Your snapshots don't do you justice at all." " You're ravishing!" " Thank you." "I always said that Warren had good taste." "And how is he, anyway?" "All right, I hope." "He's sweating out carrier landings, down off Puerto Rico." "Byron, I'd like for you to meet..." "Byron?" " Byron." "Byron?" " Where the devil is he?" "Yeah, just now." "I'm in New York at La Guardia." "Natalie, I'm sorry about your father." "Well, did Aaron come home?" "No, he's stuck." "He said he'd write you and tell you about it." " Listen, I'm flying down there." " What about your family?" "Don't you worry about them." "I'll phone you and tell you what flight I'm on." "Byron, are you sure?" "Hey, bye for now. I love you." "Janice." "I'm Warren's brother, Byron." " Hi." " l knew you'd be here, so..." "Go ahead, Janice, open it." "What a beautiful little elephant!" "You marry any of us, you must have the patience of one." " My God, if that isn't the truth." " Oh, Mom, Palmer Kirby called." "He's at the Waldorf and he's invited us all to dinner." "Well, for heaven's sake, what's he doing here?" "I don't think we can go, can we, Pug?" "As a matter of fact, I want to talk to Fred Kirby." "Oh, it's impossible. I have nothing to wear to the Waldorf." "My clothes are a mass of wrinkles." "Well, if only I could get to a hairdresser." "I have nothing to offer but blood, toll, tears and sweat." "He's a genius." "Where has he been till now?" "Head of the British navy when U-boats got into Scapa Flow and sunk the royal Oak and when the Germans crossed the Skagerrak" " and took Norway." " Will you shut up and listen?" "...I will say, it is to wage war by sea, Iand and air with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime." "That is our policy." "You ask, what is our aim?" "I can answer in one word: victory." "Victory at all costs." "Victory in spite of all terror." "Victory, however long and hard the road may be for without victory, there is no survival." "Let that be realized." "No survival for the British Empire." "No survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, that mankind will move forward towards its goal." "But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope." "I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fall among men." "At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all." "And I say, "Come then, Iet us go forward together 'with our united strength."" "You have just heard the newly appointed prime minister of Britain," "Winston churchill." "That man will save civilization." " Do you think we'll get in?" " Oh, no." "We'll never let them conquer England." "Fred, can I talk to you for a couple of minutes?" "Caviar, champagne and business as usual." "That's Pug!" "Sure, we can talk in the bedroom." "Dad, I gotta be moseying. I'm leaving for Miami at La Guardia in an hour." "You know that Fred Kirby expects you to be dining with us." "Well, the reservations are already made, so..." "What about Madeline?" "She wants us to come to her show right after dinner." "I know, Dad, but I really think I ought to go." "Byron, you are impossible." "Couldn't this have waited until tomorrow?" "Mom, don't you remember what it was like to be in love?" "Me?" "Of course not!" "What a silly thing to say." " l'm a million years old." " That must be some girl in Miami." " Yeah, she's all right." " Bring her to the wedding." "Don't forget." "Byron, you have a real talent for disappointing your father." "He'd be disappointed if I didn't disappoint him." " Bye, Mom." " Goodbye, honey." "Yes, yes, these will be very helpful." "Thank you, Pug." "I thought you might find them interesting." "Fred you're working on a uranium bomb, aren't you?" "Now, of course, you can tell me it's none of my business, but I'm visiting the president this trip, and if the occasion arises, you might want me to volunteer my valued opinion and tell him to do something about uranium." "The real question here, Pug, are the Germans." "How far along are they?" "If uranium bombs are possible, and if Hitler gets them first that could prove to be disagreeable." "The invasion of France is still under way." "Winston churchill, the new British prime minister, a night worker, a late sleeper, has ordered his staff not to wake him, except in extreme war emergency." "On his fifth day in office, they awaken him." "Sir." "The premier of France is on the phone." " Reynaud himself?" "At this hour?" " From Paris." " What's the news?" " Lord Gort's forces are still holding." "But Holland will surrender at 1 1 AM and the Belgians are wavering." " And the French?" " Retreating everywhere." "Churchill." "Mr. Churchill we are beat." "We..." "We have lost the war." "Surely it cannot have happened so soon?" "The front is broken near Sedan." "The enemy's armored forces are pouring through in irresistible numbers." "Then he will outrun his surprise, and we will counterattack." "That was the winning principle of your great Marshal Foch in 1918." "We are defeated." "surely, corporal HitIer cannot have accomplished in five days what Kaiser Wilhelm could not manage in four years!" "There is only one chance left." "You must throw in your entire air force at once to stop the flood of German tanks." "Where are General Gamelin's reserves?" "Your "masse de manoeuvre" for counterattack?" "There is none." "Commit your whole air force in France, I implore you!" "Do it now!" "Otherwise the war is lost." "I shall fly to Paris." "Have courage." "Pray summon Air Vice Marshal Dowding." "The Germans have flanked the Maginot Line, Dowding, with their armored thrust through the Ardennes hills, where General Gamelin thought tanks could not operate." "The French front is cut in two." "They are surprised and routed." "These two German forces threaten to encircle and cut off our entire army in France." "All this in five days?" "The world order trembles in the balance." "Our empire, the French Empire." "Yes, civilization itself." "Lord Gort is falling back on Dunkirk, the only port left open to us." "But he is in grave peril of being cut off." "Now, if I have to rescue my army from France, can you master the air over the Channel while I do it?" "At high cost, yes." "If I have to fight on alone, how many squadrons must I hold back from the battle for France, to defend our island against the full fury of the Luftwaffe?" "Cut to the bone." "Twenty-five squadrons." "Well, I'm off to Paris." "I'll hold back your 25 squadrons." "Thank you, sir." "No war, no death." "It's just the sky and the sea and the sun shining down on us, all alone." "Hey, Mr. Henry!" "You awake up there?" " Yeah." " Just got a call from the beach." "Your father wants you to come in." " Wrong boat." "He's in Washington." " ls your father a Navy captain?" " Yeah." " He's on the wharf waiting for you right now, buddy." " What on earth...?" " l haven't got the foggiest." " Go ahead and turn it around." " OK." "I'd better get dressed." "I am green." "You should try putting on eyebrows and lipstick sometime in a rocking boat." "Yeah, just like I thought." "There he is on the dock." "I'd recognize that walk anywhere." "He's probably here with my mother." "I'm going to tell them, Natalie." "Listen, I only decided to marry you an hour ago." "I've got a few things I want to work out." "For example, I'd like to tell my mother." "Well, you'd better hurry." "Dad's got a way of getting to the facts real quick." "Come on, let's get your stuff." "Up." "Hell of a thing to do to you, Natalie." " Everybody all right?" " Everybody's fine." "The war news is shaking things up a bit, though." "Warren's leave is cancelled." "The wedding's been moved to tomorrow." "One-day honeymoon, he goes straight out to the Pacific Fleet." "You two had lunch?" "Well, I packed some sandwiches, but we kind of forgot." "The smells from that joint there have been driving me nuts. I haven't eaten." "Would you mind going up there?" "Some of these waterfront places can be pretty good." "Well, it looks like France is really folding." "The German army may actually bag the entire British regular army." "I heard the president on my car radio, making an emergency address to a joint session of Congress." "He asked them for 50,000 planes a year." " 50,000?" " lt's just wild talk." "He said we'll have to build factories to start making them." "He'll get the money too. I saw the mood up there in Washington." "The panic is finally on." "Now then, number one." "You have to be in Pensacola tomorrow morning at 10." " All right, I'll be there." " OK." "Number two." "Sub school starts earlier." "May the 20th." "If you wanna get in, you have to report to New London Saturday for a physical." "Applications are piling in." "Red Tully told me." "May 20th?" "That's three days from now." "Do you have to go to the submarine school so soon?" "It's a possibility. I don't know." "When does the school start?" "Three months." "Then what?" "Well, as far as I can make out, he'll go straight out to the fleet." "Three months and then you're gone." "We'll talk about that when we get to the wedding." "I haven't been invited." "Oh..." "Janice said to make sure I brought you along." "You know..." "Natalie and I are getting married." "I see." "Well, that might affect your admission to the school." "The unmarried ones tend to get the preference." "We only just decided this morning." "It's a terrible tangle." "There are all kinds of complications for me too." "None that can't be overcome." "The last thing I wanna do is stop you from going to school. I was in Warsaw!" "Well, that's that." "Great chowder." "Hit the spot." "Hey, I can still catch that afternoon plane to Pensacola." "Why didn't you just telephone this?" "Wasn't it simple enough?" " Why did you come all the way here?" " lt wasn't much out of my way." "Where's Mom and Madeline?" "They're still in New York, shopping." "They're flying down tomorrow." "So you'll come, Natalie?" "Well, I don't know if I can." "Yeah, we'll be there." "At least I will." "I guess that covers everything?" "What about sub school?" "I told Red Tully I'd call him today." "If Captain Tully has to know today, then I'm out." "OK?" "Byron!" "Don't make decisions like that." "I don't know how else to make a decision." "Well, talk to me. I'm involved." "Well, I've spoken my piece and now I'll leave." "We can pick this up tomorrow." "Then you really don't have to call Red Tully today after all." "Keep trying to remember, I didn't start this war, Byron." "I happen to think you'll make a good submariner." "They're all a bunch of goofy individualists too." "On the other hand, I can't hate you for wanting to marry this brilliant and beautiful young lady." "Well, I'll be going." "I'll see you in church, and be early." "You're to be best man." "Goodbye, Natalie." "I'm sorry for breaking up your day on the boat." " Please try to come to the wedding." " Yes, sir." "Thank you." "I'll pick up the check." "I have always loathed the smell of cooking fish." "Hey, what's the matter with you?" "I don't like the way you treated your father." "You know what he came here for, don't you?" "To separate us." "He was utterly right." "You're blaming him for the whole war situation." "That is completely immature." "I was embarrassed for you." "I hate that feeling." "You know, I never wanted anything before from life." "Or from him or from anybody." "And now I do." "That's all the more reason to look at reality and stop throwing tantrums." "Well, he really got to you, didn't he?" " He gets done what he intends to do." " That's how much you know." "I love you. I'm going to Pensacola with you." "Now shut up and take me home." "He saved our lives." "The last plane we could get from New York didn't leave us a minute to finish shopping." "Your daughter and I would've come to this wedding in rags." "Pug... lsn't this a cunning number?" "Found it the last second at Bergdorf's." "Oh, honestly, a small plane is so much fun." "You really know you're flying." "Well, that was nice of him." "is Fred Kirby that rich?" "Well, I wouldn't hear of it, but it's charged to his company." "He's taking it on to Birmingham today." "Anyway, I didn't want to argue too much. lt was a deliverance." "Zip me up in back, will you?" "Pug, did Briny really bring that Jewish girl?" " Yeah." " Oh, of all things." "I've never, ever laid eyes on her." "Now she'll have to sit with us," " and they'll all think she's family." " She may well be." "I don't believe it. I just don't!" "How much older is she?" "Four years?" "Oh, that Briny!" "Just enjoys giving us heart failure." "Always has, the monster!" "Pug, what's taking you so long?" "Land, it's hot in here." "She may be older than he is, but she is terrifically attractive." "Well, you've got me curious, I'll say that." "I pictured her as one of those tough Brooklyn chickens who shove past you in New York department stores." "Rhoda, this is Natalie Jastrow." " How do you do?" " How do you do?" "Well, my dear, how very nice you do look." "Oh, Augusta, oh!" "I am so glad you made it." "Well, I guess we'll see you inside." "Big hit I made." " Don't let Mom bother you." "She's OK." " You see how she looked at my suit?" "You're still in mourning." "She knows that." "This must be Byron's sidekick from that jaunt in Poland." "Natalie, this is my sister Madeline and Mr. Palmer Kirby." " How do you do?" " Hello." "I can see why the little devil left us so flat in New York." "Well, I can't say I blame him." "He shouldn't have rushed down here so fast." "Why not?" "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God to join together in holy matrimony this man and this woman." "She looks...interesting." "Doesn't she?" "From the looks of her, she might almost be an Armenian or even an Arab." "Byron met her in Italy." "Well, Warren did tell the congressman and I that she was beautiful." "Yes." "Don't tell them I'm your fiancée." "Let them think whatever." " l just don't wanna get into it." " Take it easy." "I swear, I'm the only Jew in Pensacola." "When I walk through these doors I'm going to set off gongs." "I told Byron this morning that I'm all for you." " That was sight unseen." " Do you always take such blind risks?" "A flyer should be more prudent." "Well, I know what you did in Warsaw and that's enough for me." "You're cheering me up." "I feel terribly out of place here." "You shouldn't." "Janice is as much for you as I am." "Byron, he's changed already." "Thank you." "Come on, children, we're going to the head table." "Come on, follow me." "50,000 planes a year!" "That's a billion dollars!" "He'll get it, congressman." "It's politically hysterical, financially irresponsible, and industrially inconceivable." "And you're willing to watch the British and French go down?" "Now, that's how that question is usually put." "Ask me if I'm willing to send three million American boys overseas against the Germans to prop up the old status quo in Europe." "That's what this is all about." " Don't forget it." " The British navy is propping up our own status quo right now, free of charge." "If Hitler gets that fleet, his reach will extend all the way to Pensacola Bay." "Oh, yes." "I can just visualize the old Rodney and the nelson out there at the marina streaming the swastika and shelling the hell out of our poor old yacht club." "That's not where they're coming, congressman." "They're not coming at all." "That's New York Times stuff." "Now, when those limeys see they're in a jam, they'll throw out that blowhard Churchill, make a deal with Germany." "They're gonna hang in there as long as they think that the Roosevelts and the British sympathizers and the New York Jews are gonna get us over there." "Well, I'm from Denver and I'm Irish." "Well, error is contagious." "It knows no boundaries." "I was in Warsaw during the siege." "That's right!" "So you were." "You and Byron." "Pretty bad, was it?" "For three weeks, the Germans bombed a totally defenseless city." "They knocked out every hospital except the one I was working in." "The wounded were piled up in our entranceway like logs." "In one of the hospitals, actually pregnant women were burning." "Well, that sort of thing has been going on in Europe for centuries, my dear." "And that is exactly what I want to spare the American people." "I heard a good one yesterday." "Old Abe and his family are driving down to Miami, and along about Tampa they run out of gas." "So they pulled into this filling station, and the attendant says, "Juice?"" "And old Abe says, "Well, what if we are?" "Don't we get no gas?"" "Oh, that's pretty cute." "Picked that one up yesterday." "Hey, sugar, give us a smile." "It's your wedding day." "Hey, listen, nobody meant anything by that up there." "I know." "You know, darling, I'm really finally getting organized." "I think I may as well fly up to New London, take that sub school physical." "What's the matter?" "Oh, nothing." "Go on." "You're going up to New London." "Only if we both agree." "I won't do anything from now on unless we concur." "All right." "So anyway, I take the physical, making sure that a married applicant has a chance, that if he's accepted he gets time with his wife." "That takes care of the first few months." "Then I'll probably get shipped out to a submarine base." "Chances are it's Pearl Harbor." "Might even end up with Janice and Warren." "They have a university in Hawaii." "You could teach there." "Goodness, you've been thinking about this with might and main, haven't you?" " You looking for us?" " l understand you're using the congressman's car to take Madeline to the airport." "Well, don't leave without me." "I just talked to Washington." "I gotta scoot." "Your mother's staying on." "What time is that plane?" "1 :40." "Darling, can you lend me money?" "I'll take that plane to Washington." "Oh?" "I'll be glad for the company." "I have to run upstairs and change." "I'll meet you out front, OK?" " Why are you going to Washington?" " See Leslie about Aaron's citizenship." "I thought while you're in New London, I could just take care of it." "What is the matter?" "You look as if you'd been shot." "You're mistaken." "I'll give you the fare." "Let me just show you Aaron's letter." "He wrote me and asked me to go see Slote about his passport problems." "He's really worried about it." "What's the point?" "I believe you." "Look, I know you and Janice have better things to do" " with the little time you have left." " Nothing that won't wait." "Dad, we're riding to the airport with you, now that's that." "Who knows when we're gonna see you all again?" "This family has been gypped by this miserable, stupid war." "This is the first time we've been together in how long?" "And we can't even stay together for 12 hours." "Well, I say, excuse me, that if this is gonna be a short reunion, it is damn well going to be a merry one." "Cheers!" " Cheers!" " Cheers, Mom." "You going to the airport?" "Wait a second." "All right, Mom." "All right, everybody." "Let's sing something." "BeII-bottom trousers Coats of navy blue" "He'II climb the rigging Like his daddy used to do" "When I was a lady's maid Down in Drury Lane" "My mistress, she was good to me My master was the same" "till we meet at Jesus' feet" "till we meet till we meet" "God be with you till we meet again" "till we meet till we meet" "till we meet at Jesus' feet" "Subtitles by sdl Media Group" "Hello there, captain." "You know the chief of BuAir, I understand." " Admiral Gray." " How about this picture, Pug?" "Like it?" "It's fine, sir." "Of course, I'm a sucker for sea scenes." "So am I, but do you know he's got the rigging wrong?" "What about that, Pug?" "All the man had to do was paint a sailing ship." "That was his whole job and he got the rigging wrong." "Well, that thing isn't gonna hang in here." "Well, Talbot, what about it?" "Are we gonna put Pug Henry to work on that little thing?" "Will he do?" "If you assign Pug Henry to paint a square rigger, Mr. President, you might not recognize it, but he'd get the rigging right." " A Naval aviator would be a far more..." " We went through all that." "Pug, I assume somebody competent is tending shop for you in Berlin?" " Yes, sir." " All right, Talbot." "Henry, see me tomorrow morning at 8." " Aye, aye, sir." " Mr. President." "That painting isn't going to end up in here, either." "It's going into the cellar." "Oh, just put the papers on the table, Felix, and thank you." "Thank you, Mr. President." "Well, how was the wedding, Pug?" "Did your boy get himself a pretty bride?" "Yes, sir, ravishing." "Imagine, a son of yours marrying lke Lacouture's daughter." " Good afternoon, Franklin." " Just in time." "Hello there, doggy." "Hey, fella." " This is the famous Pug Henry, dear." " Oh, what a pleasure." "Captain, are you surprised at the way the war is going?" "Well, ma'am, in Berlin, they thought the Western campaign would be short." "Back in January, the war contracts had a terminal date of July 1st." "They were sure that by then it'd be over." "That fact was never brought to my attention." "That's extremely interesting." "Why are the British putting up such a poor show?" "Well, the French army collapsed on their flank, ma'am." "The British either had to fall back to the sea or surrender." "This is an excellent martini, Mr. President." "It sort of tastes like it's not there at all, just a cold cloud." "You just described the perfect martini." "You've made his day." "Pug will the British hold out if France quits?" "I don't know much about the British, sir." "Would you like to go there for a spell as a Naval observer?" "Possibly after you've had a month or so back in Berlin?" "Mr. President is there any chance of my not going back to Berlin?" " You go back there, Pug." " Aye, aye, sir." "You'll get your sea command in due course." "Yes, sir." "Will you be taking your wife back with you?" "No, she'll be staying here." "She and my daughter are getting an apartment in New York." "At some point I'd like your impression of London." "There's the question of helping the British." "Franklin, you know you're going to help the British." "Captain Henry here doesn't know it yet, but he's gonna be in charge of getting rid of those old, useless surplus Navy dive-bombers." "We badly need a housecleaning there." "is that definite at last?" "How wonderful." "Of course, that may be the end of me, if word gets out." "Pug, what's your guess on that one?" "is that "man in the White House"" "going to break George Washington's rule and try for a third term?" "What I do know, sir, is that for the next four years this country is going to need a very strong commander in chief." "A politician exhausts his welcome after a while, Pug." "Like an actor who's been on too long." "The goodwill ebbs away and he loses his audience." "However..." "That Sumner Welles thing didn't come to anything, Pug, but our conscience is clear." "We made the effort." "You were very helpful." "Thank you, sir." "Goodbye, Pug." "Goodbye, Mr. President." "Goodbye, Mrs. Roosevelt." "Oh, a quarter to 1 ." "That show was even longer than it seemed." "How about a drink?" "If I'm gonna search New York courthouses tomorrow for Aaron's documents, I probably better get some sleep." "Let me see his letter again." "Why don't you mix us a couple shorties?" "All right." "You know, Aaron is in hot water on two counts." "First there's this about his father's naturalization." "If Aaron wasn't actually a minor at the time his father was naturalized, then Aaron isn't a citizen, technically." "Never has been one." "Even if he is a citizen..." "I mean, even if he was a citizen, he's been out of the country more than five years." "I told him he should come back, stay a few months." "I've just seen too many passport messes crop up on this one point." "I think the best thing now, by far, is to have the secretary of state drop a little note to Rome." "Therefore, there's not much point in nosing around Bronx courthouses." "I'll get on this first thing in the morning." "If I'm gonna hang around Washington, we're gonna have to get me a hotel room." "I'm not gonna stay here after tonight." "I feel pretty peculiar about it as it is." "I was on the phone for more than an hour." "There's not a room to be had." "Washington in May is impossible." "If Byron finds out, God help us." " Will he believe I slept on the couch?" " He's just gonna have to." "Leslie?" "Can you get me permission to go to Italy?" "The State Department is advising Americans to leave Italy, I told you." "But if I don't go back, Aaron won't come home!" "I don't think you're going to Italy to help Aaron." "Not really." "I think you're running away." "Because you're in way over your head with your submarine boy and you don't know what on earth to do about it." "My, aren't you the clever one." "I leave in the morning, Slote, if I have to stay at the YWCA." "Good night." "Yes?" "Open up." "Hi." "Something on your mind?" "Care for a nightcap?" "Why, Slote, it's after 2:00 in the morning." "Don't you ever sleep?" "All right." "I'm wide awake anyway." "My, how cozy this is." "A fire and everything." "Come here." "That was a very mean crack about Byron." "Wasn't it the truth?" "If we're playing the truth game, isn't it a lot simpler now for Foreign Service officers to have Jewish wives, now that the Nazis are beyond the pale?" "That never once occurred to me." "It didn't have to occur to you." "Listen, Leslie, you can feed me stiff highballs and play "This Can't Be Love"" "and all that, but would you really want me to invite you into the bedroom?" "Honestly, that would be a sluttish thing for me to do." "I don't feel like it." "I'm in love with someone else." "You're too damned explicit, Natalie." "You always have been." "It's coarse in a girl." "You said that the first time I proposed to you, sweetie." "I hate to bring this up again, but I must go back to Italy and get Aaron out." "Honestly, I feel horrible about my father." "He was worrying about Aaron the very day he died." "I must bring him home safe." "All right. I'll arrange it, if it's arrangeable." "Now we're talking." "Thanks." "My goodness, what a rich drink." "I do believe you're nothing but a wolf." "Let's see, what can I read?" "Graham Wallas." "The very man." "I shall be asleep in half an hour." "Listen to me." "I love you." "I'll love you forever and I'm gonna do everything I can to get you back." "Fair enough." "Good night." " Morning, Henry." " Sir." "Air Commodore Burne-Wilke." " Captain Henry." " Commodore." "Have some coffee." "Now, let's get at it." "Here, Chicago, St. Louis, Pensacola." "We've got 53 old-type scout bombers, SBU-1's and 2's that have been declared surplus." "Wanna get them to Chance-Vought, Stratford, Connecticut." "That's the manufacturer." "Get all US Navy markings and special equipment removed." "Our British friends will pick them up and fly them to a carrier standing off Halifax." "Now, for obvious reasons involving the Neutrality Act, this is touchy business." "The idea is to get this done without leaving a conspicuous trail" " of blood, guts and feathers." " Aye, aye, sir." "I'll put a plane at your disposal." "We have 60 pilots on hand and waiting." "How soon could we have those planes, captain?" "Day after tomorrow, late afternoon." "Would that be convenient?" "It'll take some time to get those markings off." " Day after tomorrow, you say?" " Yes." "The stragglers could come along on the deck of the next cargo ship." "Actually, we were thinking more in terms of a week from now." "We've given some of our fliers leave, and it'd require a bit of rounding up." "Thursday." "That gives you four days." "Four days?" "You do think that's feasible?" "He says so." "Well, then, I'd better get right at this one." " Admiral." "Captain Henry." " Commodore." "Day after tomorrow, eh?" "Admiral, I didn't really think that those fliers were all ready and waiting." "Well, Thursday's cutting it close enough." "Let's have some fresh coffee." "Refill, Tim." "Now, this whole thing is a subterfuge." "I suppose you grasp that." "The boss man wants it, so that's that." "But there are a few things you'd better understand." "Well?" "We count 52." "One forced down outside Nashville, busted undercarriage," " getting repaired, it'll be here at 0900." " Quite a job." "How long a drive is it to New London?" "Oh, I'd say about two and a half hours." "I got a son up there in sub school." "Think I'll pay him a visit." "Briny, my love, when you receive this letter in New London," "I ought to be in Lisbon." "I'm flying to italy to fetch uncle Aaron." "With luck, I'II be back in two months or less." "Don't be angry, sweetheart." "It's good for both of us to catch our breaths." "Your submarine school, and even Aaron's mess, are providential." "Your father's visit to Miami was an alarm clock, and it rang just in time." "Weren't you having second thoughts about me at Warren's wedding?" "I saw your mother's viewpoint and quite sympathized with her." "Why on earth should her little boy want to marry this dusky old Jewess with Rhine maidens like Janice Lacouture so abundant in the United States?" "I'm not backing out, Byron." "I Iove you." "But a couple of months to think it over is no hardship, it's a godsend." "When I come back, if you still want me, I'm yours." "plain enough?" "So, courage, wish me luck." "Here I go." "Love you, natalie." " Yeah." " Ensign Henry?" " Yes, sir." " Chief Schmidt at the commandant's office." "Your father's here." "He's gone with Captain TuIIy to electric Boat to inspect the Tambor." "If you wanna join them, they're at Pier Six." "Thank you." " Not bad, Red." " l thought you'd be impressed." "Hey, Pug." "Remember that magnetic exploder you were pushing up at buord?" "She's onboard now." "Standard equipment." "Dad." "What brings you here?" "I wasn't too far from here." "I thought I'd mosey on over." " Have you met Byron, Red?" " Not as yet." "Welcome aboard, Byron." "Well, you're in for a rough couple of months, young man." "Well, I'll try and survive." "Let's go aft, I wanna show you this new electric drive." " lt's a honey." " Right." "What the devil's the matter with you?" "You'd do well to watch your tone with your superiors, you're in the Navy." "Oh, I know I'm in the Navy." "And Natalie's gone back to Italy." " Why?" " You scared her off, saying I won't be admitted here if I was married." "She probably went back because of her uncle." "She's worried, I know." "If you hadn't come to Miami, I might be married by now. I know that." "Possibly, I should have butted out, but the decisions you're making will shape your whole life." "I was trying to help." "Yeah, you helped." "She's gone." "And if anything happens to her over there, I'm never gonna forget it." "Hey, Pug!" "Ready to go ashore?" "This is the toughest school in the Navy." "What's past is past." "Let's get off this thing." "The retreating British expeditionary force," "england's last hope for continuing the war, the entire BeIgian army, and ten divisions of the French 1st army have their backs to the channel, surrounded on all sides by the German army." "Then, as the badly outnumbered Spitfires of the RAF battle the Luftwaffe to a standstill in the air, the British admiralty presses into service every seaworthy vessel in english waters." "And in ten desperate days, 338,000 British and French soldiers are rescued from under the guns of the enemy." "calling it "The miracle of Dunkirk", Winston churchill takes the occasion to deliver one of the most memorable orations of his remarkable career." "We shall go on to the end." "We shall fight in France." "We shall fight on the seas and oceans." "We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air!" "We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be." "We shall fight on the beaches." "We shall fight on the landing grounds." "We shall fight in the fields and in the streets." "We shall fight in the hills." "We shall never surrender!" "But ChurchiII's fighting words cannot hold back MussoIini." "As the French government declares Paris an open city and flees southward and the whole French front collapses," "italy declares war on France." "The people and the government of the United States have seen with the utmost regret and with grave disquiet, the decision of the italian government to engage in the hostilities now raging in Europe." "I have, of course, felt it necessary, in my communications with Signor MussoIini, to express these concerns." "The government of italy has now chosen to preserve what it terms its 'freedom of action"" "and to fulfill what it states are its "promises to Germany"." "In so doing, it has manifested disregard for the rights and security of other nations, for the lives of the people of those nations which are directly threatened by this spread of the war." "On this tenth day of June, 1940, the hand that held the dagger has struck it into the back of its neighbor." "Natalie!" "How splendid!" "You made it!" "I called and called for a taxicab and when time came for my nap, none had come." "Except I had a wonderful nap." "Come on indoors, my dear, and get some refreshments." " You haven't even begun to pack!" " We'll talk over tea." " l suppose you want to wash first?" " What is the situation?" "Didn't you get word from Washington?" "We heard word from Washington." "Leslie was splendid." "Aaron, you have got to get out now." "Natalie, I have reached page 967 of the book and it's good!" "Italy is at war!" "And if the British navy blockades..." "Why don't you go upstairs and wash first." "You look positively boiled!" "You're caked in dust." "The eminent author's niece." "What a pleasure." "Please sit down." "I'm sorry I couldn't see you yesterday, but I was simply up to my ears." " lt's perfectly all right." " People are scurrying home in droves, dumping everything on the consulate, and I'm up to my neck in paperwork." " Would you like some Evian water?" " No, thank you." "Well, I have to drink an awful lot of it." "Some stupid kidney thing." "My uncle is under house arrest." "No!" "The day Mussolini declared war, the police came to the villa." "He's confined to Siena, his own home, as a "stateless person of Polish origin"." "But how could they know about his little passport mess-up?" "Obviously, the police intercepted the letter you wrote." "Oh, my God, that's perfectly awful!" "is that what happened?" "I certainly didn't have my thinking cap on when I wrote that, did I?" "How could you recommend that he apply for readmission to the United States as a refugee Jew?" "Well, I should be hung, drawn and quartered." "Frankly, Natalie, if I may call you that, I thought the visa that I'd issued him had solved everything and that I'd seen the last of the messy Jastrow case." "Well, what do we do now?" "Blessed if I know, offhand." "May I make a suggestion, Mr. Van Winaker?" "Just renew his passport, then they can't hold him." "Oh, Natalie, that is so easy to say." "People don't see the screaming directives we get, warning us against the abuse of the passport system." "People don't see the departmental circulars about consuls called home and whose careers have gone "poof' because they were loose about things." "The secretary of state himself wants Aaron cleared, you know that." "Now, let's get one thing straight." "I've received no written instructions from the secretary." "Actually, I think that time will solve your uncle's problem." "The French are asking for an armistice, and the British won't fight on for long." "They'd be mad to try." "The Luftwaffe would pound them to jelly." "No, I fear me, this round goes to Fritz." "We can't count on the war ending!" "Oh, I think you can." "I expect peace by July 1st, if not sooner." "I want to take Uncle Aaron home tomorrow!" "Please give him the passport!" "Unfortunately, my dear, it is a matter of official record in this consulate that his passport is void." "To tell you the truth, as things stand now," "Dr. Jastrow has no more claim to American citizenship, technically speaking, than Adolf Hitler does." "Now, I couldn't be sorrier, but it's my duty to tell you the law." "Seems to me it is your duty to help us, and you're doing absolutely nothing about it!" "I have a suggestion." "Now, this is off the record." "By all means, tell me." "Just go." "Now." "The Italians are so sloppy." "Just get on the first boat or bus and leave." "Nobody's watching your uncle." " But won't they ask for an exit permit?" " lt's a trivial formality, dear." "Say, "Oh, I lost it," and fumbling for it, you reach into your bag and happen to take out a few thousand lire and put them on the table. lt's custom of the country, you understand." "I'd rather go to the consul general in Rome and tell him that you are deliberately thwarting the desires of the secretary of state!" "Well, that's certainly your privilege." "I'm prepared to take the consequences, but not of breaking the law." "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm rather busy." "Oh, Mr. Van Winaker, I'm so terribly sorry." "I've been traveling for two straight weeks and I've just lost my father, and I'm just not in the best shape." "I'm terribly troubled about my uncle." "I entirely understand, Natalie." "I tell you what." "I'll comb his file again." "Believe me, there's nothing I'd like better than to see your uncle go." "You will find a way to get him his passport?" "I'll give it my serious attention." "You have my promise." "Come back in a week." "Send in the next person, Myrna." "Paris falls, and hitler's legions enter the City of Light." "Two days later, the French government sues for peace." "What does it say?" ""Here, on the 1 1th of November, 1918," ""succumbed the criminal pride of the German Empire," ""vanquished by the free peoples which it tried to enslave."" "Have it blown up." "early in his rise to power," "hitler vowed to erase the shame of November 191 8, at the place where the years of Germany's suffering had begun." "He has kept his promise." "It is his towering moment." "Read the terms." "No, Natalie, I just heard from Byron." "He's received no letters." "I must have written a dozen." "What should I tell him?" "My letters go through the diplomatic pouch." "That I'm fine." "That I miss him terribly." "He expected you back by now." "There are problems." "Tell him not to worry." "They'll all straighten out." "When does he finish that school?" "In December, if they don't throw him out first." "They won't." "Anyway, I'll be back long before then." "Tell him that." "And that I love him." "The war's going really badly, isn't it?" "Well, the British claim to be hanging on in that air battle." "Do you think that the Germans will invade england soon?" "Here in Berlin, the Germans believe that the Luftwaffe will finish off England in about two weeks." "Goodbye, Natalie." "Goodbye, Captain Henry." "Dear Pug:" "CNO says you're a Iong-time booster of radar." "The British are secretly reporting to us an extraordinary success in their air battle of something called "RDF"." "How about going there for a look as we discussed?" "You'II get dispatch orders, and our friends will be expecting you." "London should be interesting now, if a bit warm." "Let me know if you think too warm for us to give them 50 destroyers." " BIinker." " welcome to London, Pug." "How the devil do you keep looking so fit?" "It's good tennis weather." "I play every day." "Really?" "Some war you've got here." "Oh, the war." "It's going on up there somewhere." "The Germans haven't dropped anything on London." "You see contrails." "You know the fighters are mixing it up close by." "Otherwise, you listen to the BBC for the knockdown reports." "Damn strange war." "Come on, I'll drive you to town." "We keep an apartment off Grosvenor Square for important visitors like you." " How's the family, Blinker?" " Fine." "But they're not here." "Oh, London's one hell of a town, Pug." "It's not easy to get lonely here." "I've even got a bit of the aristocracy feeling sorry for me." "How's this one:" "Lady Maude, without her lord, and a hell of a wine cellar," " and a lot of friends." " No, thanks, Blinker." "Sure, Pug." "Just trying to be helpful." " How's Rhoda?" " Fine." "The limeys will be in touch with you next." "This is the end of the line for me, until I can be of service to you, one way or another." "OK, Pug, if you'll hang on, I'll get your bags organized and pick you up." "Hello." "hello, pamela Tudsbury." "You're here." "Pamela!" "How did you get this number?" " How did you know I was here?" " My spy in your embassy." "Your father's in Washington." "I listen to his broadcasts." "I abandoned him. I was choking on all the bloody steaks and ice cream there." " l've joined the WAAFs." " That's wonderful." "And what are you doing here?" "Have you ever heard of a Major General Tillet?" "Our great military expert?" "Who hasn't?" "Well, I'm meeting him tomorrow." "He's showing me the war." "is he?" "When he's taking you around, bear in mind I'm with Group Operations." " Number 1 1 Fighter Group." " Will do." "We'll be coming up to London next week, any chance of seeing you?" "We?" "I'm engaged." "Who's the lucky fellow?" "He's called Teddy Gallard." "Fighter pilot." "His squadron gets off ops next week, so we thought we'd come up together." " I'II be around." " Lovely." "Well, I'll call you then." "Goodbye, captain." "So glad you're here." "Goodbye, Pamela." "Looks like the Germans took a beating last night." "I told Hitler the range of the Messerschmitt 109 was far too short." "He agreed, said he'd take it up with Goering." "The thing got lost in the Luftwaffe bureaucracy." "It's a mistake to think dictators are all-powerful." "They're hobbled by paper-shuffles like all politicians." " You've met him?" " Once or twice." "I've had several sessions with him." "He's a great admirer of mine." "Or so he says." " Do you think Hitler's crazy?" " He's a split personality." "Half the time he's a reasonable, astute politician." "When he's beyond his depth, he gets mystical, pompous and silly." "All in all, I rather like the fellow." "There's an odd pathos about him." "Of course, there's nothing for it now but to finish him off." "One of our airfields back there." "Jerry did quite a job." "Caught us napping." "You're welcome to inspect the damage, but I'm thinking we go straight to the Isle of Wight." "The fat boy should be over today, so you might find Chain Home Station interesting." "Chain Home Station?" "Goering's just starting to make sense, isn't he?" "He's wasted a whole bloody month, bombing harbors and pottering around after convoys." "He's got till the equinox, damn fool." "The Channel's impassable after September the 15th." "I mean, his mission is mastery of the air." "Define your mission." "Define your mission and stick to it!" "Chain Home Station." "You've come at a good time." "There's a large attack being laid on today." "Four bogeys bearing one-two-five." "Angels one-two." "Range 70." "Group of 24 bogeys." "Angels five-zero." "Now bearing one-zero-zero." "Course due west." "Quite a circus forming up there." "Well, we count 37 so far, sir." "And there's another 22 circulating over Cherbourg." "How do you get such a clear beam?" "Our radar designers say it's impossible." "Our cavity magnetron takes care of that." "Cavity magnetron?" "Yes, it takes a bit of designing, but your people should work it up in due course." "That breakthrough gives you the edge in the air war." "We vector our fighters straight at Jerry." "No wandering about in search." "The sky's a big place otherwise." "Have you got any cavity magnetrons for sale?" "Since you ask, why don't we pop back to London?" "A couple of people there would like to talk to you about that very subject." "Come in." "Prime minister, this is Captain Victor Henry, Unites States Navy." " Captain." " Sir." "All right, major general." "We're going to win, you know." "I'm beginning to be convinced of that, Mr. Prime Minister." "Your post is Naval attaché in Berlin." "Your president has sent you here to take a look at my RDF." "We call it radar, sir." "He reposes confidence in your judgment." " What do you think of my stuff?" " The United States could use it, sir." "Well, then, I suggest that you report to the president that we simple British have somehow got hold of something that he might want." "Oh, I will, sir." "Tillet has shown you the secret charts of the alarming rise in U-boat sinkings." "So you understand our problem." "If we are to beat off invasion, we must keep the Atlantic pipeline open." "Now, my own new construction won't fill the gap until March, so it is imperative that we have those 50 old destroyers." "I understand, sir." "Unfortunately," "Mr. Roosevelt wants a written guarantee from me, that should the Nazis invade and win, I will not yield the British fleet or scuttle it, but instead, steam to American ports." "I mean, that's a possibility I wouldn't even consider, let alone discuss." "The Germans have had practice in scuttling and surrendering." "We have had none." "Of course, I understand that the giving of 50 warships to us is not a wholly friendly act towards the other side." "There is a fear that Hitler might declare war on you." "Oh, I don't think there's much danger of that, sir." "There's not much hope of that, I agree." "Now, here is that bad man's invasion fleet." "As you see, the threat is real and serious." "So far, the stamina and valor of our fighter pilots hold him at bay." "I shall, in fact, be saying in the House of Commons tonight:" ""Never in the field of human conflict," ""has so much been owed by so many to so few."" "That is magnificent, sir." "Tell your president that now is the time to get to work on a landing craft." "We shall have to go back to France, and we shall need a lot of these." "We shall want a real Henry Ford effort." "Oh, I assure you that we shall do it." "Bomber Command is growing by leaps and bounds, and we shall one day bomb them until the rubble jumps, and invasion administers the coup de grâce." "But we shall need those landing craft." "We are prepared, even now, to raid Berlin in force, should he dare to bomb London." "If that occurs while you're here, you might like to go to see how it's done." "I should be honored, sir." "You don't think that's foolhardy nonsense?" "Not at all, sir." "Of course, I don't suggest that you return to your duty post by parachute." "It would save time, but might be considered irregular by the Germans." "They are sticklers for form." "I suppose it's out of the question." "It would be fun, though, wouldn't it?" "Captain, here we are." "Captain Henry, my fiancé, Ted Gallard." " How do you do?" " Sorry we're late, entirely my fault." "Operational delay." "Forgiven." "Shall we go down?" "And how is Mrs. Henry, Captain?" "Very well." "I mean, Natalie's extraordinary." "Good-looking, intelligent, willpower." "And ten times more organized than I'll ever be." " Good evening." "Your drink order?" " Dry martini, please." " Two." " Sir?" " Orange squash." " Orange squash, very good, sir." "Devil of an order, eh, in the Savoy?" "I'm told he used to drink like a proper sponge, but he went on orange squash the day we declared war." "My son is a Naval aviator." "I wish he'd go on orange squash." "It's not a bad idea." "This business up there happens fast." "Better look sharp to see the other fellow before he sees you." " Mr. Gallard." " Thank you." "I have to check back with operations." "I'll only be a moment." "Well, it's just as well l didn't wait for that Naval officer son of yours." "If you'd given me encouragement, I might have worked on it." "And Natalie's got the other one, so that's the end of the available Henrys, isn't it?" "Well, Ted seems like a nice boy." "Boy?" "He's 28." "The old man of the squadron." "Positively decrepit, captain." "Why don't you call me Pug." "Everyone else who knows me does." "Why "Pug"?" "It was hung on me at the academy." "I was a freshman boxer." "You boxed?" "Do you still?" "Too strenuous." "Tennis is my game now." "I play a fair game of tennis." "If you're here for a while, we could have a game." "Perhaps." "How long have you known Natalie Jastrow?" "Years ago. ln Paris." "She and I ran around with two chaps who roomed together." "That's who she was visiting at the embassy." "Leslie Slote." "Right." "That's what disturbs me, Pamela." "She's too old for him." "She's much too smart for him." "Everything about it is all wrong." "Except for the fact that they're crazy about each other." "Well, that's something." "But not everything." "Pam, there's been a change." "Our squadron's rest off ops is canceled." " When do you leave?" " Now." "I'll drive you to Biggin Hill." "Actually, they're digging the chaps out of various pubs and places of lesser repute." "We'll all be going up together." "There's no reason for you two not to go on to that Noel Coward show." "I heard it's funny." "Now's the time for me to leave you two quietly alone." "Why?" "Couldn't you stand Pamela's drunken chatter for a little while?" "Don't go." "Here she is, all tarted up for the first time in weeks." "Well, I think I might bear up." "Well, we shall have a nice long stroll through the lobby." " Good luck to you, captain." " Thank you." " lf you get a chance, pay us a visit." " l'll do that." " The spirit is very high at Biggin Hill." " Were you there?" "Yes, no question about spirit." "It's the arithmetic that's bad." "I mean, maybe the fat boy's running low on fighter pilots too." "We are perilously low." "We don't know the situation on the other side of the hill." " One waits for the signal." " The signal?" "A shift to terror bombing of London." "If the fat boy does that, it means he's quitting the battle of fighter pilots." "The bombing will be hell." "I'm not sure how we'll stand up to that." "But meantime, we'll have won the first round." " Where are we?" " Oxbridge." "You wanted to look at the 1 1 Group Operations Center." "Oh, yes." "One expects to meet a white rabbit, doesn't one, hurrying by, consulting his watch and all that." "Nothing here that interesting, I'm afraid." "Burne-Wilke, here's your American visitor." "Hello there." "Frightfully glad to hear you were coming." "Nothing much happening yet, but there will be soon." "The bad weather's drifting clear of the Channel, and Jerry's getting airborne." "I say, those airplanes you rounded up have proven ever so useful." " They can't play in this league." " They've been excellent on patrol." "They've done some smart punishing of invasion barges." "See here, could you have produced those planes in two days?" "I was sorely tempted to take you up." "But you look like a chap who might bring it off." "And then we'd have looked very foolish, wouldn't we?" "Smart girl, Pamela." "Says she and her father knew you in Berlin." "Yes, that's right." "Well, this is all fairly clear, isn't it?" "In theory, we dispose of more than 500 fighter pilots." "In theory." "Just now, we're borrowing pilots from other groups." "Even so, we're way under." "However..." "Coming down the wall with white lights, you step up in readiness, until the red row of lamps, detailed to raid, then enemy sighted." "Hello, here we go." "I believe Jerry's on his way." "Chain Home at Ventnor." "Several attacks forming up or orbiting." "Two of them, 40-plus." "One, 60-plus." "Goering's been an abysmal donkey, hasn't he, not to knock out our Chain Home stations?" "It'll prove his mistake." " He's tried. lt isn't so easy." " He should've gone on trying." "Air Vice Marshal Dowding." "He comes round when things heat up." "Likes to run the show himself." "We've got almost 200 planes engaged." "The others stand by to cover when these land to refuel and rearm." "Of course, we're at the far stretch for fighter pilots." "Biggin hill has landed, reporting three aircraft down..." "These things seldom last very long." "Jerry runs dry rather fast, and have to head back." "They keep falling into the sea like exhausted bats." "Yes." "The Luftwaffe has given the Channel an impolite name, equivalent to that creek you Americans are always up without a paddle." "Yes?" "What's the tally?" "What?" "All right." "Thanks." "Would you like to say hello to Pamela?" " Very much." "Well, how did it go?" " Oh, one can't stop every bomber." "I'm afraid quite a number got through." "But still, they lost a number of planes." "So did we." "I'll wait for you in the car, captain." "Well, you made it." "Not on the best day." " Ted's down." " Are you sure?" "He may have parachuted, but his plane dove into the sea." "Two of his squadron-mates reported it shot down." "As you've said, Pamela, they often climb out of the water and go right back to work." "I've asked for a special pass." "I think I'll come up to London tonight." "Would you buy me dinner?" "Some flowers, sir?" "Fine, thank you." "Well, thank you." "Thank you." "Marching as to war" "With the cross of Jesus Going on before..." "bless them all bless them all" "The long and the short and the tail" "bless all the sergeants The sourpuss ones" "bless all the corporals And their drinking sons" "'Cause we're saying goodbye To them all" "As back to the barracks They crawl" "No ice cream and cookies For flat-footed rookies" "So cheer up my lads bless them all" "bless them all bless them all" "The long and the short and the tail... I have a feeling Freddie is not unhappy about being kicked out of Berlin." "He's having such a good time with the girls in London, sometimes he has to crawl to the studio on his hands and knees." "What's the matter?" "I'm behaving shockingly. I'm playing on everyone's sympathy so I can be here." "I'm pushing them so far I'll get myself confined to camp until further notice." "By then, you'll be gone." "I might as well make the most of you while you're here." " Pug." " Oh, God. I'll get us some drinks." "Aren't you the sly one, Reverend Henry?" "She's small, but saucy." " She's the daughter of a friend." " Of course." "Talky Tudsbury." " Old pal of mine too." " Exactly right." "That's who she is." "Her fiancé is an RAF pilot who is missing in action." "Just so, she might enjoy a little consolation." "And how would you enjoy getting knocked on your ass?" " You mean it?" " l mean it." " How's Rhoda?" " She misses me, New York stinks, she's bored, and the weather is unbearably hot." "Situation normal." "Good old Rhoda." "Well..." "Here." "Here, Spiegelman." " What's wrong?" " Come on, let's get out of here." "Come in." " Cup of tea?" " Please." "I must say, I'll take your place over Fred Fearing's madhouse any day." "That's where the fun is." "Of course, you know, he assumes we're shacking up." "If he only knew." "I hope that's a complaint." "Would it get me anywhere if it was?" "My God, here they come!" "This is it!" "Where on earth are our fighter command?" "Tangling with fighter escort further south." " Poor old London." " lf General Tillet is right," " you've won the air war." " Won?" "According to him, the terror bombing of London means that Goering's given up on the duel of the fighter commands." "This could be his last card." "It's one hell of a way to win a battle, I'll grant you." "This is not the effect that Goering was after." "No, we thrive on disaster." "A bit too much, actually." "Let's go down to the Thames. lt must've been the docks that caught it." "Take me away from here, please." "I want to go back to Oxbridge. I feel like a deserter. I should be in uniform." "My God, they're coming back!" "These fires are a beacon to them." "Let's get you back to your flat." "Come on." "They just can't miss with those fires to guide them." "Well, Berlin can catch fire too, you know." "Oxbridge, I imagine." "Screaming for their little fugitive from duty." "Possibly inviting me to a court-martial." "Hello?" "Yes." "Yes, he is." "Who's speaking?" " lt seems to be for you." " Who is it?" "Wouldn't say." "Sounded important though." " Captain Henry here." " Henry." "jolly good." "Your friend Fearing suggested I call you at this number." "You do recall when you paid a visit a few weeks ago on a portly old gentleman, he mentioned you'd want to go on an expedition in the works?" "A trip to familiar foreign scenes." "I remember." "Well, the trip seems to be on." "Are you interested?" "I say, Henry?" "Are you there?" " Will you be going along, general?" " Me?" "God, I don't know." "I'm a timid old chap, quite unsuited for the rigors of foreign travel." " Besides, I haven't been asked." " Do you think I should accept?" "Since you ask me, I think you'd be ruddy insane." " When are they going?" " l gather sometime tomorrow night." "Can I call you back?" "I'm supposed to pass your answer along within the hour." "I'll call you back real soon." " l'm sitting here waiting." "Bye, captain." " Goodbye." " Who was it?" " Tillet." "Pamela, the RAF is bombing Berlin tomorrow night." "They've asked me along as an observer." "I see." "You going to go?" "I think it's an idiotic notion and General Tillet agrees." "It comes from your prime minister." "I either accept or not." " You want my opinion?" " That's what I'm asking." " Decline. lt's not your business." " True." "The chances of coming back must be...three out of five?" "It's terribly unfair to your wife." "That was my first thought." "Still, your prime minister feels there's some point in my going along." "Oh, rubbish!" "Winnie's such a child about combat." "He probably wishes he could go himself." "He imagines everyone thinks like him." "Well, I'm supposed to call General Tillet back pretty quick." "Hang on, what are you going to say?" "I'm going to accept." "Well, why did you ask my opinion then?" "I thought you'd voice an objection that I hadn't thought of." "You gave the best objection yourself." "It's idiotic!" "I'm not positive." "My job is intelligence." "Moreover, there's a taunt in this and it's a hard one to duck." "You're reading too much into this." "What would your president say?" "Did he send you here to risk death?" "After the fact, he'd congratulate me." "What about me?" "I miss Ted." "I should not be able to endure missing you." "I'm much more attached to you than you realize." "And I'm not at all that moral, you know." "You have very wrong ideas about me." "You don't understand, do you?" "On the Bremen you took me for a schoolgirl, and you've never changed." "How has your wife kept you so innocent all these years?" "I don't think I was born to be shot down in a British bomber over Berlin." "I'll see you when I get back." "If you get back!" "If." "Right, so much for the opposition map." "Again, primary and secondary targets, main flak positions, searchlight belts." "It's maximum effort tonight." "Over 100 aircraft in all from this and other bomber command airfields will be on the same target." "Sorry, lads, but it's got to be 10,000 feet." "Headwinds any higher will be too strong." "Otherwise, weather en route will be fine." "Visibility will be good, but unfortunately there will be a moon." "So you may have fighters." "Lights, please." "Now, Berlin will be on full alert after all the stuff they've been dumping on London, so work fast." "The flak will be heavy." "Keep those photoflash bombs handy." "Get your photographs, shove the nose down, pedal home as fast as you can." "Our American observer will be flying in F for Freddie." "Flight Lt. Killian, meet your passenger for tonight, Admiral Victor Henry." "One of the least prudent officers in the United States Navy." " Welcome aboard, Admiral Henry." " l'm afraid that's Captain Henry." "Spot promotion for fortitude." "All I've got to say is anybody who'd go on an op like this when he doesn't have to belongs in a bloody loony bin." "I'm Second Pilot Johnson, of F for Freddie." "And what I've got here is a token of the crew's admiration." "Well, thank you, Johnson." "But I'm already so scared I don't think I'll be needing this." "Well, that's it, chaps." "Good luck." " Good luck to you too." " Thank you, sir." "Let me introduce you to the others." "This is Reynolds, our navigator." " How do you do, sir?" " He'll do bomb aiming at the target." " Peters, our wireless operator." " Nice to meet you, sir." " Carter, front gunner." " Nice to have you, sir." " Rear gunner, Bailey." " How do you do?" "Tail end, Charlie, the loneliest man on the crew." "Once he's in the turret, you won't see him till we land." "You've got a few hours." "We'll see you're fitted out and get you" " after flight planning's finished." " Thank you." "If I may recommend these, sir." " Three pairs of socks?" " Gets cold up there, sir." " And you'll need this, sir." " Parachute." " Beautiful suit, sir." " What's your name?" "Aircraftsman Horton, sir." "Well, Aircraftsman Horton, if I should forget to pick it up, or something, it's all yours." "Oh, thank you, sir." "That's very fine tweed." "Jolly good night for a ride, old chap." "How do you like her, admiral?" "The Wimpy's nothing but a big canvas kite." " Canvas?" " That's right, admiral." "She's covered in canvas." "She carries a pretty good bomb load." "Conditions should be the same, skipper." "They're off to Freihausen." "F-Freddie ready for takeoff." "F-Freddie ready for takeoff." "F for Freddie, clear for takeoff." "We don't fly in formation, admiral, so you won't see any of the other chaps, except in searchlights or maybe over the target." "But we won't be alone." "They'll all be out there somewhere." "Second pilot, why don't you let the admiral sit down?" " No, that's OK." " No, no, it's eight hours roundtrip." "Make yourself comfortable." "Keep that light down, navigator." "About three more hours to go, admiral." "Why don't you go get some shuteye?" "Go ahead." "Nothing much happening until we reach the Dutch coast." "That damned convoy of ours, the one discussed in briefing, always where they shouldn't be." "Front gunner, fire off recognition signal, please." "Good old navy, admiral." "Shoot first, and ask questions afterward." "Now, why don't you go on back and get some rest." "While you're at it, admiral, will you please wake second pilot?" "Right." "OK, admiral." "Dutch coast searchlight belt." " What happens next?" " We'll probably pick up some flak, or maybe a fighter or two." "Hang on, admiral." "Here it comes!" "Last time we crossed the coast, admiral, the flak was heavier." "That was bloody close!" " You all right, admiral?" " l can't see." " Wireless operator!" " Hold on to me, sir." "I'll take you back to the bunk." "Searchlights, 10:00." "Here we are, admiral, Berlin!" "20 degrees off, navigator." "Don't blame me, those forecast winds at briefing were all wrong." "You should know by now." "Damned near missed Berlin altogether." "That'll do, sergeant." "Navigator to pilot, hold the course to one-zero-five for the target area." "Pilot turning on to one-zero-five." "I'm going below, skipper." "OK, navigator." "Those poor blokes who got there first are getting a real pasting!" "It looks worse than it is, admiral." "The stuff spreads apart once you're in it." "See that fire off at 1 1 :00, admiral?" "Some of the chaps have pretty well clobbered the primary already." "Navigator to pilot, can't see a bloody thing for the smoke." "All right, then." "Let's go for the Spandau Gasworks." "Course for the secondary, please, navigator." "I have the secondary in sight, skipper." "Stand by for runner." "If you want a better look, go below with Reynolds." "Go ahead, admiral." "Help yourself to a front-row seat." "Here, I'll let you by." "Good evening, sir." "Here." "Right there." "Navigator to pilot." "Open bomb doors." "Bomb doors open." "Excuse me, sir." "Bomb selected." "Here we go!" "Right." "Right." "Steady, left." "Steady." "Steady." "Steady." "Close bomb doors." "Missed." " Bull's-eye!" " Right on target." " Jolly good show!" " Course for home, navigator." "Stay at two-seven-three, skipper." "Look at that AA!" "Pilot to crew, put on parachutes. I've got to get out of these damn searchlights!" "I'll get the chutes, skipper." "Pilot to crew, we're out of it and we seem to be under control now." "But we've lost an engine." "I haven't a clue how bad it is, but I'm going to try a restart." "You all right down there, admiral?" "I'm all right, but your navigator is injured." "Hang on, admiral, we'll be right there." "You're gonna be OK, Reynolds." "Don't worry, admiral, we'll take good care of him." " He'll be OK." " Good." "To hell with the pictures, admiral." "We're going home to eggs and bacon." "You'll tell them you saw that gas plant go up?" "You're damn right." "How's the airplane?" "Starboard engine's hit." "Still pulling, but we'll see." "Bloody asinine way to make a living, isn't it?" "I should've joined the bloody navy." "Admiral, it may be close at that." "We're having a bit of trouble holding altitude." "How's your French?" "Subtitles by sdl Media Group" "And now, the news at noon." "This is the BBC." "Command reports that last night's raid on berlin caused substantial damage to the German capital." "Nine of our bombers are missing." "AII the rest have now returned safely." "The Air Ministry announces that forces of RAF bombers attacked selected military objectives in the berlin area last night." "Fires and explosions resulted and it is estimated that considerable damage was done." "The raid lasted between two and three hours." "Our bombers made direct hits on important military targets..." "Oh, my God, you came back!" "What the devil?" "What are you doing here?" "Your charwoman let me in." "I'm absent without leave." "I should be court-martialed and shot." "I shouldn't have sat here for a week." "Good heavens, Captain Henry, you do reek of rum." "That's the debriefing." "They give you a big breakfast, a lot of rum, and you talk." "How about this?" "is this the reward for the conquering hero?" "Exactly." " lt was bad, wasn't it?" " lt was long." "Do you want anything?" "A drink?" "Food?" "A drink, I guess." "And I could use a little sleep." "I thought as much." "I've turned your bed down and drawn the curtains." "I'll take that." "Now, you get into your pajamas, and I'll fetch the drinks." "Yes, ma'am." "I thought I'd try to call Pug tonight." "We won't make New York much before 8:00." " That's 2:00 a.m. London time." " Well, I can call him tomorrow." "We really stayed too late at the submarine school, but it was such a joy to see Byron looking so well and doing so well." "Pug will be delighted." "I'm ever so grateful to you for driving me there." "I had business in New London." "It worked out perfectly." "Besides, any time I can be with you, Rhoda, it's a pleasure." "You wanna stop for dinner?" "Or maybe try one of these little tea places." "Oh, I'd love some tea." "Thank you." " lt looks charming." " Yeah." "How wonderfully cozy this place is." "It's too bad we can't stay here." "Maybe we can." " Captain Henry." "Captain Henry." " Yeah." "Captain Vance called." "You're wanted at your embassy at quarter to 6." " What time is it now?" " Five." "I'm making you something to eat." "Where'd you get food?" "There's nothing in there but beer." "I went out and bought it." "Hey." "What the sam hill?" "Where and how did you get all this?" "I'm a London alley cat, I know where to forage." "Now, sit down, captain." "We don't have much time." " Some potatoes?" " Thank you." "Well, rather hungry at that, weren't you?" "That was the best meat, bread and wine I ever tasted." "You exaggerate." "I'm glad you enjoyed it." "I want to make up for the stupid way I behaved before you left." "I'm glad I went, Pam." "It was the right decision." "Well, now that you're back, no argument." " My apologies." " You're forgiven." "Good." "Do you know that I fell for you on the Bremen?" "Did you have any inkling of it?" "I must be pretty dumb." "I hadn't the faintest notion." "In Berlin, I was hard put not to try my luck with you." "I knew it was impossible." "You're devoted to your wife." "Yes, the Rock of Gibraltar." "When you opened that door a few hours ago I came close to believing in God." "Well, I've developed a high regard for a London alley cat, myself." "I'm glad." "I should be sorry to think that my grand passion was totally unrequited." "If you'll unhand me, I'll serve the coffee." "They're waiting for you at your embassy." "What will you do?" "Go back to Oxbridge?" "I thought I'd telephone." "What will you do?" "I have to find out what Blinker Vance wants first." " Shall I wait for your call?" " Do that." "All right." "Now, damn it, Pug." "That was one blamed fool excursion of yours over Berlin." "We don't want to give the Army the notion that the Navy trains goofy daredevils." "However, I've talked to General Fitzgerald and General Anderson, and I told them that I knew you from war plans and that you're a good man." "Now, shall we get at it?" "Captain Henry, you've been an observer here." "You've sent optimistic reports to the president advising all-out assistance." "Not wholly optimistic, sir, but recommending full assistance, yes." "We're proceeding to a dinner with some British admirals and generals." "We have a list of material they want." "It would strip our forces clean." "Point is, we have to cable specific recommendations to the president within five days." "That's the hot potato we've been handed, Pug." "So let's get down to business." "Suppose the British do hold out." "Suppose Hitler doesn't invade." "What then?" "I can give you the official line, admiral." "Hold Hitler in 1940." "Pass him in air power in '41 ." "Shoot the Luftwaffe out of the skies in '42 and '43." "Bomb factories and cities to bits if they don't surrender." "invade and conquer in 1944." "With what?" "Ten, 15 divisions against 200?" "Actually, it's somewhat simpler than that." "Just hang on until we get in." "Now you're talking." "But can they hang on?" "I've seen their invasion defenses, I visited their fleet, still the finest in the world." "They've held their own with superior aviators and advanced radar." "They've even started installing that stuff in night fighters." "Hang on?" "Yes, sir, I believe they can." "Well, I say this, Moose, your man makes a case." "We've got to come across anyhow, since that's what Mr. Big wants." "The least we can do is make some tradeoffs." "Like that cavity thing you wrote the president about." "And that airborne radar." "Right." "At least get something for our money." "But I'm warning you, if the British fold and this stuff winds up in German hands, all who take part in these transactions stand a good chance of hanging from a lamppost on Constitution Avenue." "Let's be on our way." "Our British cousins await." "I'll be right along." "And Pug well done." "Those limeys are holding the fort, we've gotta help them." "Trouble is, the big crunch comes when they run out of dollars." "But the big boss is a slippery customer." "I'm sure he'll figure out a way to just give them the stuff." "It's good Rhoda didn't know about the bomber ride." "Next time I recommend you take a little better care of your tail." " Aye, sir." " Let's go." " How did it go?" " AII right." "There's a dispatch here for you from BuPers." "Transportation has a priority for you available to Lisbon on the 1 4th." "Grab it." "Say, maybe you and that nice little Tudsbury girl can have a farewell dinner with Lady Maude and me tomorrow night." " Hello?" " pamela?" "Glad you called. ln a quarter of an hour I'd have been gone." " Gone where?" " I talked to Oxbridge." "They're being broadminded." "If I come back tonight, all is forgiven." "They're short-handed and expect heavy raids, so I really must go back." "Of course you must." "You're lucky you're not getting shot for desertion." "A WAAF has a certain amount of emotional rope to use up." "But I think this time I've really done it." "I'll get another pass in a week or so." "We can see each other then." "Pamela, I'm going back to Berlin day after tomorrow." "And then to Washington." "BIinky just gave me the news." "pamela?" "I'm still here." "Day after tomorrow, is it?" "That's right." "You wouldn't want me to desert two more days and take what comes?" "I'II do it." "I will." "That's no way to win a war." "No." "No, it isn't." "Well, this is an unexpected goodbye then." "Oh, our paths will cross again." "Do you think so?" "Well, I believe Ted's alive, and he's coming back so I'll probably be married then and that will be far more easy and proper all around." "All the same today was one of the happiest in my life." "That's unchangeable now." "I'll never forget it, Pam." "I'll never forget one minute of it." "Won't you?" "Good." "Neither will I." "Some hours of joy weigh against a whole lifetime, don't they?" "At least I think they do." "Well, goodbye, Captain Henry." "Safe journeyings." "Goodbye, Pamela." "I hope Ted makes it." "This wicked man, this monstrous product of former wrongs and shame" "has now resolved to try to break our famous island race by a process of indiscriminate slaughter and destruction." "What he has done is to kindle a fire in British hearts here and all over the world which will glow long after all traces of the conflagration he has caused in London have been removed." "He has lighted a fire which will burn with a steady and consuming flame" "until the Iast vestiges of Nazi tyranny have been burnt out of Europe." "You have been listening to the prime minister..." "Marvelous phrasemaker, that man." "And now, back to our regularly scheduled program." "Do you think they'll actually hold off the Germans, Palmer?" "What does Pug say?" "He wrote a pessimistic letter when he first arrived." "He hasn't written again." "Well, I suppose I should give up tea seeing as it was my downfall." "If only I could plead having been drunk, but I was sober as a minister's wife." "Oh, my." "Rhoda, I don't think of myself as a home-wrecker, especially not of a military man serving abroad." "Well, dear, I don't think of myself as a scarlet woman." "It must be the war, Palmer." "With Hitler bestriding Europe and London burning to the ground, all the old ideas seem I don't know, trivial or something." "I have to go to Denver." "A buyer turned up for my house, offered a tremendous price." "But you love that house." "It sounds heavenly and all the old memories..." "Well, Anne's dead, the children are gone." "I kind of rattle around in the place, and yet my friends are there." "It's a perfect place to live, to have children and grandchildren visit." "If I had a wife, I wouldn't sell it." "What do you think, Rhoda?" "Palmer." "Oh, heavenly days..." "We wouldn't have stayed at Mrs. Murchinson's if I hadn't felt this way." "Oh, my Lord. I'm proud and happy that you think of me like this." "But, Palmer... ls it that you want to make an honest woman of me?" "That's terribly gallant, but unnecessary." "Rhoda, Pug's an admirable man, and you're a wonderful woman, but there was a rift in your marriage before we ever met." "There had to be." "Before I ever knew Pug, I saw him play as a Navy fullback." " Rhoda..." " No, Palmer, let me go on." "Maybe I'll collect myself." "Oh, he was a husky fellow." "Aggressive, exciting, darting all over the field." "And then, my stars, he burst on me in Washington." "The war was on." "He looked dashing in blue and gold, I must say." "Oh, he courted the way he played football." "He was funny too." "Pug had a droll sense of humor, you know?" "All the other boys I went with were just from the same old Washington crowd." "Cut out of the same cookie cutter, you might say." "But Pug..." "Oh, he was different." "He is." "He still is." "Oh, I... I know he loves me." "The thing is he is so Navy." "Why, that man left me standing at our wedding reception for a half an hour while he drove his commanding officer to the train." "That's Pug Henry for you." "And yet, in 30 years, he..." "Oh, God." "Now, for the very first time, I suddenly feel very, very wretched." "Rhoda... I'm sorry." "You go, darling." "You go along to Denver." "As far as I'm concerned, you sell that house." "I just think you might regret it one day." "Yes, I'll go." "But I'm taking the house off the market." "Through the early days of September, england braces for invasion while enduring the Nazi terror bombing of London." "At the same time, churchill continues to hurl his RAF at HitIer's invasion fleet assembling across the channel in harbors from Ostend to Cherbourg." "Five transport steamers heavily damaged by air attack." "One invasion barge sunk." "And a munition train blown up." "Time is running out for Operation Sea Lion, the German invasion of Britain." "hitler must either go or not go within the next two weeks or the weather over the channel will make it uncrossabIe." "But HitIer vaciIIates, and the world waits for his decision." "Mein Fuehrer, it is obvious the RAF is in no way defeated." "In fact, their increasing activity is destroying the invasion fleet at anchor." "To mount Operation Sea Lion without control of the air over English ports would be suicide." "One moment." "I will guarantee total control of the air over the Channel for Sea Lion." "Reich marshal, you once guaranteed that if a single bomb ever fell on Berlin, the German people could call you Meyer." "You are addressing the deputy leader of National Socialism, my successor, should I fall in battle." "Party comrade Reich Marshal Goering has smashed the British in the air." "Magnificent performance, above all praise." "Mein Fuehrer, the army is ready." "Get us over there." "The army will undertake to march to London more quickly than we did to Warsaw." "I do not want to march to London!" "Destroying the British Empire was never my aim." "It's a stabilizing influence in the world." "I said that in Mein Kampf." "Let them recognize my hegemony and cede us some suitable colonies." "They can keep their empire." "In any event, England is finished, beaten, down on her knees." "London burns, the British harbors burn." "Out in the Atlantic, British ships go down under our torpedoings, more and more every day." "Churchill...is finished." "I know what you're thinking." "Why then does Churchill not surrender?" "I'll tell you why." "Because he still has two hopes, America and Russia." "From America I have nothing to fear." "A mongrel country filled with niggers and Jews, always in turmoil." "But the Soviet Union, that's a different story." "Stalin waits like a spider for me to get embroiled in a Channel crossing." "He's praying for just that." "While I was busy conquering France, he grabbed a piece of Romania and marched the Red Army to within 100 miles of Ploiesti, my only source of oil!" "And I stand 600 miles from Ploiesti." "So I give you now the new and most secret objective of the armed forces." "Operation Sea Lion is postponed indefinitely." "You will make all preparations to smash the Soviet Union in a quick, all-out summer campaign." "One colossal stroke in the east." "Smash Russia in six weeks and so bring England finally to her senses and end the war." "All forces will report readiness to me not later than February 15, 1941 ." "The Soviet Union?" "Jodl it is a two-front war." "The old nightmare." "The one thing he pledged never to do." "He is a supreme military genius." "He has always been right." "Now, when our armed forces are at their peak, now is the time to settle with Russia." "It is a grand prospect." "We fight at last for a great cause, for Christian civilization against Bolshevism." "Do we?" "Or do we turn east because Goering has not frightened the English into surrender?" "And because our leader fears the water?" "Mr. Slote." "Mr. Slote." " Mr. Slote." " Here." "Excuse me." "Thank you." "Hello, Leslie, it's Bunky." "How goes it by the old seashore?" " Oh, mighty dull, Bunky." "What's up?" " Oh, not much." "It's just that I believe that you've mentioned a girl named" "Natalie Jastrow?" "Yes, I have." "What about her?" "well, a girl by that name is sitting across from me right now." "Hello, old Slote." "I thought you were going to Moscow." "Hello, Jastrow." "Natalie." "Hello." "Let's have a good look at you." "No change." "Maybe a little more rested." "Why isn't Aaron with you?" "What are you doing here?" "Byron's arriving tomorrow on a submarine." "Come on, Leslie, come buy me a drink." "At the desk, yes." "I'm surprised he made it through that submarine school." "He just squeaked by." "This is his first long cruise." "The submarine's stopping here, and you'll think I'm rattlebrained, but he wrote and told me to come, and here I am." "Nothing you do really surprises me, sweetheart." "Thank you." "Listen, tell me the truth." "is Aaron in Siena because of the foul-up, or is he dragging his feet?" "Both." "The consul's being impossible, but Aaron, I think, secretly doesn't mind at all." "He's in more danger than he realizes." "Maybe you and I together can shake him free." " But you're going to Moscow." " l have 30 days' leave." "What if I went to Rome with you?" "I still have a few friends in that embassy." "Oh, that'd be marvelous." " To Rome." " To Rome." " Hello." " Bunky, you're in time for a drink." " Waiter." " l ordered it, double Canadian." "Oh, thank you very much." "Oh, Natalie, here's that list I promised you." "I'm afraid you'll agree that that effectively kills that notion." "Getting all this stuff together would take months." "I've seen it done in one month, but six to eight weeks is more usual." "Thank you." "For some reason, the Portuguese government doesn't want foreigners to get married here." "Thinking of getting married?" "It was something Byron wrote about, so I thought I'd check it out." "I mean, obviously, it's impossible, not that I thought it was all that hot an idea anyway." "God Lisbon gives me the creeps." "40,000 desperate people trying to get out of the net." "I've seen most of the faces here at our legation." "Not what we bargained for when we went to Foreign Service school, is it?" "Get rid of that Quaker conscience or you're gonna crack up." "Forty thousand people." "Forty thousand." "Suppose we admitted them all." "What difference would it make?" "I won't defend our immigration laws, but you have to draw the line." "What if there were no laws?" "Foreigners would flood the economy, start a revolution." "He's talking about a few right here in Lisbon, mostly Jews who have escaped the Germans, that's all." "Tried to escape." "The Germans could take Portugal overnight." "If you want to see the head of the Gestapo in Lisbon, he's just walking in now." "And with him is the German ambassador." "is he the one with the scar?" "No, I don't..." "I don't know who that one is." "Though he's undoubtedly Gestapo." "Lisbon is a very sad and horrible place." "I want another." "Why don't we go to my room and drink?" "Then we go to dinner." "No, I have an appointment for dinner." "Well, I wanna go up and change my shirt and all that." "Go ahead. I have to wait for a call about the sub." "I'll sit here and have another with Miss Natalie." "All right, I'll see you later." "I'll leave the door open." "Hello. I'm here." "Yeah, I'll be right there." "You like these rooms?" "Fit for a rajah." "Legation had it for a petroleum bigwig." "He didn't show, I got them for a week." " They're fine." " What's the matter with you?" "Byron's submarine was re-routed to Gibraltar." "No reason, that's how it is." "I see." "Well, too bad." "Maybe you can go see him in Gibraltar." "Thurston doesn't think so." " So, what are you gonna do?" " Just what I said I was gonna do." "I'm gonna wait for him in the bar downstairs, tomorrow morning at 1 1 ." "You heard, he's en route to Gibraltar." "Navy signals get crossed up like any others." "What'll you do?" "Sit in a bar like patience on a monument?" " Don't be cross with me, Slote!" " l'm not..." "Natalie, it's irrational." "Obviously, if he doesn't show by noon, the next thing is to find out how to get to Gibraltar." "I know." "Thurston thinks I'm a fool too." "This is quite a layout." "Me, I'm staying in a flea trap across town." "Yeah?" "Tell you what." "Why don't you stay here?" "No..." "There's an extra room for a maid." "I can stay in there." "Nothing doing, Slote. lf Byron does show up, I'm marrying him." "Well, it's what he wants." "And in point of fact, it's what I want too." "Some things are inevitable." "I love Byron." "I suppose I should congratulate you." "God knows I wish you well, Natalie." "I know you do, Slote." "Did you mean that invitation about my having the bedroom?" "Why not?" "The place is yours." "All right." "The idea of going to that fleabag again just gives me the horrors." " l mean, I haven't had a bath in days." " Be my guest." "The tub's magnificent." "People wouldn't understand about us, would they, Slote?" "There's nothing to understand about me." "You're the puzzle." "You didn't used to think that." "I'm paying a steep price for oversimplifying." "I'm fond of you, Slote." "Thanks, Jastrow." "Go take your damn bath, would you?" "Waiter?" "Excuse me." " Do you have the correct time?" " 1 1 :45." "Thank you." "Paging Mr. Larvo." "Paging Mr. Larvo." "Paging Mr. Gardia." "Mr. Gardia." "Paging Mr. Gardia." "Hey, watch where you're going." "Byron!" "I just..." "I just knew it." "I just knew you'd be... I just knew." "Mr. Brown." "Mr. Brown?" "Mr. Brown." "Slote, we're over here!" "Slote!" "Over here!" "Well, hello there." "Did Natalie tell you we had some wrong information?" "Well, not exactly wrong." "Anyway, I'm here." "He's got absolutely everything." "All translated from the Portuguese, notarized, authenticated by the Portuguese Consul, the works." "I thought you were lousy at paperwork, you devil." "How on earth did you manage to assemble all this?" "I heard we were gonna be in Lisbon, I got a pass and flew to Washington." "The Portuguese naval attaché played tennis with my dad." " He was real helpful." " Yeah, I should say so." "Well, I guess everything's here." "Well, now what?" "Will you marry me?" "Yes, I will." " Well, is the exercise on?" " We're on." "Natalie." "Leslie Slote." "My exec, Lady Aster." " How do you do?" " Pleasure to meet you." " Lady?" " Happened first year at the academy." "With a name like Aster, it was bound to." "My name is Carter, Natalie." "By all means, use it." "How about we get on with it?" "When we got re-routed to Gibraltar, we had this damnedest sudden outbreak of malfunctions." " How can you get away with that?" " We got the engine records to prove it." "Sure, those old S-boats, they just gasp and flounder along." "At any moment you could justify an order to abandon ship." "Coming into Lisbon was a highly commendable prudence." "At last." "Come on, we're late." " Big shot, this Admiral D'Esaguy?" " Vice chief of naval operations." "Your ensign must have awesome connections." "He says these things take time." "He invites us all to lunch." "That's very cordial of him." "Does he realize we only have three days?" "Don't press him, Byron." "Would you please tell him what I said?" "He says, "The dew will not dry on these roses" ""before you are married."" "They're beautiful." "Thank you." "You know, I'm beginning to believe it for the very first time." " Here we are." "The Marriage Bureau." " lt looks closed." "He says it's OK." "Manuel." "Manuel!" "Good luck for you." "Good luck for you." "What is this?" "Congratulations." "You're married." "We are?" "When?" "I must have missed it." "When you signed the blue paper, that was it." "I guess you just have to take their word for it." "You got the ring?" "Here you go." "No, Byron. I weigh a ton." "You're gonna slip a disk." "Whoa, honeymoon suite is right." "Nice of Slote to let us use this place." "Look at this." "Slote." "Mrs. Henry?" "For you." "What's that?" "Just some stuff I bought at the shop downstairs." " l guess Slote told them we're here." " He thinks of everything, doesn't he?" "He sure does." "Excuse me a minute." "Maybe you can pour some champagne." "Sure." "Wear the white, Jastrow." "You always looked angelic in white." "This is a confidential communication, to be destroyed." "Yours till death." "SIote." "On a knife-edge of geography, between war and peace, far from home," "Mr. and Mrs. Byron Henry, Americans, slumbering in wedlock on a January night of 1941." "One of the more than 2,000 nights of the Second world War." "When so much of mankind slept so badly." "Numerous losses we've suffered." "including the secretaries of Winston churchill." "He is wearing them out in relays." "Dictating a letter to franklin roosevelt more than 4,000 words long." "This letter is a turning point of the war." "Great Britain cannot handle the challenge alone any longer." "He begs RooseveIt to help him against the U-boat blockade by sharing the convoy job and by replacing the hundreds of vessels being sunk." "He asks, too, for immense quantities of aircraft and munitions." "finally, after many pages, he takes the plunge." "Last of all, we come to the question of the question of finance." "The more rapid and abundant the flow of munitions and ships that you are able to send us, the sooner will our dollar credits be exhausted." "The orders, as already placed, exceed many times the total foreign exchange" "remaining at the disposal of Great Britain." "Would it not be wrong if we were to be divested of all assets?" "And after victory was won with our blood, civilization saved and time gained for the United States to be fully armed," "that we should stand stripped to the bone?" "We are ready to suffer and sacrifice to the utmost for the cause." "The rest we leave with confidence to you and your people, confident that ways and means" "will be found." "And if, Mr. President, the defeat of the Nazi and Fascist tyranny is a matter of high consequence to the United States," "then you will regard this letter not as an appeal for aid, but as a statement of the minimum action necessary to achieve our common purpose." " The courier plane, Mr. President." " Thank you, Dan." "Churchill's letter, I expect, huh?" "Well, they aren't biting anyway." "Well?" "Sir, he wants everything he needs to keep fighting, free of charge." "He wants us to get it over there for him." "That is repeal the Neutrality Act." "Yeah." "They're fighting to save us." "To save the earth." "They're fighting alone." "They've come to the end of their rope." "The problem is money." "The dollar sign." "Needs an idea." "Well the fishing may be better tomorrow, Harry." "blow the horn!" "blow the horn!" "Fine show." "Especially for the crew." "You enjoy laurel and Hardy?" " Yes, I do, Mr. President." " Good." "So do I." "Well, Mr. President, we dock tomorrow." " Have a good night's sleep, sir." " Come to my quarters, Harry." "Attention on deck!" " Carry on." " Aye, aye, sir." "I've been thinking about that letter." "Got an idea." "In the minds of a very overwhelming number of Americans, the best immediate defense of the United States is the success of Great Britain defending itself." "Now, what I'm trying to do is eliminate the dollar sign." "That's something new in the minds of everybody in this room, I think." "Get rid of the silly, foolish, old dollar sign." "Let me give you an illustration." "Suppose my neighbor's house catches on fire and I have a length of garden hose four or five hundred feet away." "If he can take my garden hose and connect it to his hydrant, I may help him put out the fire, and thus prevent the fire from spreading to my house." "Now, what do I do?" "I don't say to him before that operation:" ""Neighbor, my garden hose cost me $15." ""You'll have to pay me $15 for it."" "No." "What is the transaction that goes on?" "I don't want $15." "I want my garden hose back after the fire is over." " Mr. President..." " Excuse me, Mr. President..." "Feeling cocky?" "No, simply adventurous." "After all, perhaps this will be our last game." "I understand you have been recalled to Washington." "And I go tomorrow for an inspection of the eastern front." "What eastern front?" "I thought you and the Soviet were buddy-buddies?" "Of course." "Our part of pacified Poland." "Of course." "Check." "Time for another?" "I haven't resigned yet." "Tell me, Victor what is all that smokescreen about lending and leasing and garden hoses?" "There is legal precedent for the leasing of American military property." "But the lending of ships and weapons is a novel idea." "Of course, they have to be returned in good repair after the war." "It's poppycock." "It's politics." "Check." "Oversight." "I was not concentrating." "Why is he so afraid to tell the truth to the American people?" "I can tell you what Franklin D. Roosevelt should say." "What's that?" "He should say:" ""My friends, this war is for the mastery of the world." ""Our aim should be to achieve that mastery, but with a minimum of blood." ""Let us encourage others to do our fighting for us." ""Let us give them all they need to keep on fighting." "What do we care?" ""ln developing the industries to produce the stuff for lend-lease," ""we are getting ready for world rule." ""They will use up all our early models, our discardable stuff," ""in killing Germans for us." ""Then, at the last moment, when the mopping-up will be easy," ""we shall step in." ""The others will shed the blood and we will take the prize."" "That is the true meaning of lend-lease, Victor." "That is your version, general." "Mate." "Time for another, general?" "Goodbye, Victor." "I shall miss our games." "If there's any last thing I can do for you?" "Oh, there may be." "A Ted Gallard," "British RAF pilot went down in the Channel a few months ago, good friend of mine." "Maybe your people picked him up." " Gallard?" " Gallard." "I will see what I can do." "Good luck in war plans." "War plans?" "Ah, Victor." "Please come this way." " Good evening." " Good evening." "I'm so glad you could come." "It's a little gloomy here now, Victor, but very private." "Please." "So you go so soon." " Did you expect this?" " Yes, I did." "Of course you are anxious to be reunited with your beautiful wife." "What do you say to a glass of sherry?" "That'd be fine." "Thank you." "Well, now what do we drink to?" "I daresay you won't drink to victory for Germany?" " Well, we are neutral, you know." " Oh, Victor if only you were." "Well, to an honorable peace?" "To an honorable peace." " Please sit down." " Thank you." "Now, about your friend Gallard, the British aviator." "He was plucked out of the Channel by our navy, he's confined in a prisoner-of-war camp, and I'm happy to report his condition is good." "I'm obliged to you and to General von Roon." "Please, please, please." "Among men of honor, certain courtesies are taken for granted." "And it is in that spirit that I asked you to come here this evening." "There are special conversations that have to be forgotten." "And in Germany we have a phrase for such delicate matters." "We say, "under four eyes"." "I believe I've heard that phrase." "What transpires next is under four eyes." "You and Armin had a conversation about this lend-lease bill." "Did he make sense to you?" "You prefer not to say, eh?" "Of course." "You are a diplomat." "I'm a gunnery expert misplaced in diplomacy and hoping to get the hell out of it." "A man of honor wants to serve on the field." " Would you?" " No, thank you." "That you sympathize with England is only natural." "I do. I love England." "After all, I spent two years at Oxford." "But we know that in your Army and Navy, there is serious opposition to this lend-lease giveaway." "Which will strip you of armaments, by the way." "Now, in war plans, you will be in a key position to foster" "this wise and patriotic opposition." "Frankly, Germany needs friends in influential positions, to offset the Morgenthaus and the Lehmans." " Herr Stoller..." " Please, please." "You promised that you would hear me out." "Now, Victor, and remember, this is under four eyes, we do have such friends." "Not many, but a few." "Patriotic Americans who see the realities and not the propaganda of the Jews and of Churchill, who is just an adventurous megalomaniac." "We hope that you will be another such friend." "Now you are aware of my connection with Hermann Goering." "To me, one of the great figures in European history." "His practical grasp of affairs still astounds me." "Now, Hermann Goering has established in Switzerland some anonymous, untraceable bank accounts." "After the war, these will be the rewards of Germany's honorable friends who said the right word in the right place." "It will be a time of simple gratitude among men of honor." "A sharing of benefits in the day of victory." "If our friends want these accounts, they will be there." "If not..." "So, Victor, I have spoken my piece, and after you have said yours, this conversation will be..." "As if it had never existed." "I find that interesting." "Extremely interesting." "But I must ask you, what made you, or General von Roon or Reich Marshal Goering" "so sure I might be receptive to this offer?" "Now, this is highly important to me." "Armin von Roon knows nothing about it." "OK." "As for the Reich marshal, he remembers your visit with the banker Gianelli, and his purpose now is exactly the same as Roosevelt's was then." "To avoid any future useless bloodshed." "He thinks you can help." "And I have confidence that you will." "Well, that is a very clear answer, and now here is mine, under four eyes." "You tell Reich Marshal Goering for me that he can stick his Swiss bank account up his fat ass." "I remind you, Captain Henry, that you have not yet left the Third Reich." "You are still in Berlin." "Reich Marshal Goering is second only to the Fuehrer." "I am an officer of the United States Navy, and unless I misunderstood you, or you withdraw it you have asked me, in his name, to commit treason for money." "My dear Victor, how can you take it in that way?" "What I asked of you was that you should present both sides for the sake of American security, and for peace." "Now, see here, old top." "We Germans are at war, surrounded by foes." "I think your response was naive, wrong." "Your phrasing was coarse." "Still, it was an honorable reaction." "And I have absolutely no hard feelings." "I trust you have none." "I put a very high value on your goodwill, Victor." "And we did have some good times at Abendruh, didn't we?" "By the way, I don't know whether you youngsters are interested in the war." "Remember the war?" "There's news." "The British have captured Tobruk." "is Tobruk important?" "Yeah, it's important. lt's the best harbor between Egypt and Tunis." "Well, look who's arrived." "The German ambassador and friends." "Oh, God." "Wait till you hear this." "Wonderful." "He's the best of the fado singers." "What's that, fado?" "Fado singers, fate songs." "Very pathetic, very Portuguese." "What song is that?" "That's an old one." "That's the fado of the sailors." ""Close your eyes." ""Life is simpler with your eyes closed."" " Let's leave now." " l'm for that." "Byron!" "Slote, do something." "He doesn't sing "O Sole Mio"." "The man said he doesn't sing "O Sole Mio"!" "Byron, they don't even understand you." "No." " No "Sole Mio"." " Karl!" "You get the hell back to your seat and shut your swinish mouth or else it will be the worse for you and your Jew woman." "Quick!" "March!" "It's all right." "Who are you?" "I'm an American Naval officer, attached to submarine S45." "I am the German ambassador to Portugal." "As it happens, I, too, feel that my companion was inexcusably rude." "Please accept my apologies." "I believe it's my wife who deserves an apology." "Yes, of course." "Will you accept my apology, madam?" "Yes, yes." "Byron, that's enough!" " Nicely done." " Yes, absolutely mad, but nicely done." "Well, I told the guy he didn't sing "O Sole Mio"." "All right, what's the matter?" "Nothing." "Nothing at all." "What am I doing wrong?" "Natalie." "All right. I loathe Lisbon." "I always have." "God, I'm going to regret till the day I die that we were ever married and spent our wedding night here." "I'll never forget the scene in that restaurant tonight." "It's not because of Lisbon, Natalie." "You keep saying that Lisbon's like San Francisco." "In San Francisco, the Inquisition didn't baptize Jews by force, burn those who objected, and take their children to raise as Christians." "How does that tidbit of Lisbon history strike you?" "Does it matter?" "Maybe it doesn't to you." "I'll do whatever you want about the religion." " Want me to become Jewish?" " Are you insane?" "I don't know where you're going." "I don't know when I'll ever see you again." "All I know is that you're leaving tomorrow on a submarine." "Why don't we tear up the Portuguese documents and just let everything be as it was." "Then if we're ever in a human situation again and still care, we can get married again properly." "This was a farce!" "No, it wasn't." "This is all I ever wanted, all my life." "And now I've got it." "We're not tearing up any papers." "You're my wife." "Why'd you go through all this trouble?" "Why did you get yourself in this mess?" "Because, Natalie married officers get extra allowance." "I see." "Well, that makes a lot of sense." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Even I can understand greed." "Byron!" "Byron!" "What?" "What time is it?" "It's quarter of 2." "Listen, since Tobruk, new orders are going out all the time." "Great." "That's life." "Hi, Natalie." "This is one terrible thing, breaking in on honeymooners." "Talk about extra-hazardous duty." "Well, what's the matter?" "It's a change of plans." "There's no sweat." "Listen, I gotta go round up the rest of the crew that's got overnights." "Should be an interesting tour of Lisbon after dark." "Well, tell me." "Since the fall of Tobruk, the mission has been changed." "S45 leaves in the morning." "Lovely." "My entire married life, cut short by a third." "Not exactly." "I plan on having six kids." "Six?" "I may never last the course." "Natalie, I don't want you going back to Italy." "But I have to." "What would Aaron do if you said we got married and you were going home?" "He'd make a mess of it." "He's terrible with officials and the stupider they are, the worse he gets. I have to go back." "All right." "Sixty days." "Two months." "If he's not out of there by April first, you go straight home." "You book your transportation now." "I see." "Are you giving me orders, Byron?" "Yes, I am." "Well, that feels pretty good." "All right, my lord and master, I'll do just as you say." "Sixty days." "Now, tell me something." "Exactly when do you leave?" "Aster comes for me at 5:30." "Hours and hours." "Great big chunk of our marriage left." "Why are you standing there?" "Come here." "Thanks a lot for the ride, pal." "Hey, Joe?" "Joe, wait for me." "So when did this seagoing Greyhound float in here?" "Yesterday." "It's an old Spanish bucket." "Crew is mostly Greeks and Turks." "I tried talking with them." "Pleasanter ones seem to be professional cutthroats." "I gather these poor Jews will be packed like sardines on five-decker bunks, for which they pay the price of a deluxe suite on the Queen Mary." "These fellows laugh like hell about that." "Careful." "Watch it!" "Watch it!" "Well, Natalie, you sure made a beautiful bride." "Now you're a beautiful Navy wife." " So long." " Bye-bye." "We're underway at 0700." "Everything's gonna be OK, Natalie." "It's just time." "Now man to special sea detail." "I guess that's it." "Getting married was exactly the right idea." "No, I really mean it." "It was an inspiration and I adore you for it." "Hey, I love you." "I'm very happy." "I love you." "Goodbye. I love you." "I love you." "You come home you hear?" "I will!" "I swear I will!" "I'll be waiting." "Two months!" "Two months!" "Subtitles by sdl Media Group" "Hello, old Slote, interested in buying Mrs. Byron Henry a breakfast?" "Good." "Let's push on to Italy and get Aaron out." "I want to go home." "Big surprise that I got summoned." "I had thought and certainly hoped that he'd forgot me." " You're not forgettable." " How far are we going?" "Just to Hyde Park." "He has to rest." " Are you all right, Mr. President?" " Fine, Missy." " Captain Henry." " Yes." " You're to sleep in the president's car." " Thank you." " Good evening, Captain Henry." " How are you?" "Fine, thank you." "Good to have you back." "This way, sir." "You'll be staying in here, sir." "The president will call you just as soon as he's ready." "I think that you'll be comfortable." "If there's anything that you need, just buzz for me." " Thank you." " You're quite welcome, sir." " Good night." " Good night." "Yes?" "Sir, if you're available now, the president would like to see you." "Thank you." "I'll be right there." "It's just at the end of the corridor, sir." "Come in, Pug." "Sorry I couldn't get to you sooner, old top, but Harry and I didn't finish up until just a few moments ago." "Did I break in on your beauty rest?" " Not at all, sir." " Good." "Sit down." "How are you on poetry, Pug?" "Do you remember the poem that ends:" "There isn't a train I wouldn't take No matter where it is going?" "Golly, that's the way I feel." "Just getting on this train has made me feel 100 percent better." "Well, 90 percent." "If this were a ship, it would be 100 percent." "I prefer a ship myself, sir." " The old grievance, eh, sailor?" " Oh, truly no." " No, I'm quite happy in war plans." " Are you?" "Well, I'm glad to hear it." "This train isn't supposed to go more than 35 miles per hour." "They're shading it up there." "I better have more of that cough medicine." "The U-boats keep working westward with this new "wolf pack" tactic." "The sinkings are outnumbering the combined capacity of our yards, plus the British yards to build new bottoms." "You're aware of all that?" "I've heard about that in these conferences." " You accept the British figures?" " Yes, I do." "So do I." "The point is the minute Lend-Lease passes, we'll be sending out a vast shipment of stuff." "Seventy ships are standing by now to be loaded." " Do you think Lend-Lease will pass?" " Oh, it'll pass." "But then what?" "None of that stuff must land on the ocean floor, Pug." "That's terribly important." "The British need it." "They need even more the morale boost of seeing it arrive." "The problem is getting it through as far as Iceland." "There, they can take it themselves." "But not from here to Iceland." "They're simply stretched to the breaking point." "What'll we do?" "Convoy, sir?" "Not with people like the good senator lke Lacouture screaming that if Lend-Lease passes, we warmongers will be demanding exactly that." "But I've been thinking, suppose a squadron of our destroyers were on exercise in the North Atlantic," "not convoying, understand, not convoying at all, just professional drills, you might say." "Then, suppose they somehow run across those 70 vessels, and the squadron leader decided that he would form up with those vessels" "and practice convoy procedures." "Just for drill exercises, you know." "Don't you suppose those U-boats might be a wee bit discouraged to see 16 or so Benson Class United States destroyers out there screening those ships?" "A wee bit, yes, sir." "But suppose one of those submarines closes and fires anyway?" "That's the whole gamble." "I don't believe it'll happen." "Thanks." "This is against doctor's orders, but I need a smoke." "Pug, I want this thing done, and I'm thinking you can handle it." " Go out with the destroyers." " Aye, sir." "It's very much like that airplane transfer you handled so well." "Everything depends on its being done in the calmest, quietest, most unobtrusive way." "And now tell me, what do you honestly think?" "It's my own idea. I haven't even discussed this with Harry." "If you think it's bad, say so, but tell me why." "Well, to begin with, the North Atlantic weather is atrocious." "Those U-boat fellows may never see us." "If they do, they will be surprised." "I doubt we'll hit a trigger-happy one." "The German submariners are professional." "They'll radio for instructions, and the policy question will go up to Hitler." "That'll take some time." "The ships have a good chance of getting through without incident." "Grand." "But it'll only work once." "It's a policy surprise far too risky to repeat." "Yes, it's a terrible risk, but this first shipment is the crucial one." "I'll draft a plan for CNO." "No, I don't want any paperwork." "Talk to Preble personally." "Well, Pug, we'll chat about that exercise again in the morning." "Aye, sir." "When you come back from that little jaunt, which you ought to enjoy, I want you and your wife and family to come for a quiet little dinner with us." "Mrs. Roosevelt often speaks of you." "Thank you, Mr. President." "I'm very honored." "Good night, old top." "Pug." "The best men I have around me keep urging me to declare war." "They say it's inevitable." "That it's the only way to unite the people, get them to put their backs into the war effort." "I suppose you agree with them." "Yes, Mr. President, I do." "It's a bad thing to go to war." "A very bad thing." "Get a good rest, Pug." "Good night, sir." " Captain Henry to see Admiral King." " Very well." "Messenger, escort Captain Henry to the flag mess." "Aye, aye, sir." "This way, sir." "So, captain, you are quite prepared to get the United States of America into this war all by yourself." "Well, that's one way for an obscure individual to go down in history." "The president and the CNO feel this exercise can go off without incident." "So you said." "Suppose that judgment is wrong." "Suppose a U-boat fires a fish at you." "What then?" "I propose to fire back." "That shouldn't start a war unless Hitler wants one." "Well, we're in this war anyway." "It doesn't matter when or how the whistle blows, the Japs are gonna kick off against us when it suits them." "And probably when it least suits us." "Well, at least this Lend-Lease business is going to get us building factories we need to fight the damn war." "Get me Admiral Bristol." " You've got nothing in writing?" " No, sir." "You're hereby to discontinue all references to the president." "Aye, sir." "Hello." "Admiral, I am sending to your office one Captain Victor Henry, special observer from war plans." "He is to be regarded as my assistant chief of staff with all the appropriate authority." "Affirmative." "He'll be in your office within the hour." "Thank you." "Captain, I desire that you now form out of DesRon 8 an antisubmarine screen and proceed to sea to conduct realistic tests and drills in the Newfoundland-lceland area." "This is to include forming up screens on cooperative merchant vessels should you encounter them." "And, of course, you will avoid provoking belligerent vessels if they are to sight you." "I desire that you keep security at a maximum, paperwork at a minimum, that you will conduct yourself similarly." "Aye, aye, sir." "All perfect horse manure, but that's the story." "In the event of an incident, it'll be a hanging party for all hands." " Carry on." " Aye, sir." "Attention, please." "American airlines..." "Pan American flight number nine now boarding at gate six." " Hello." " Hi, Rhoda." "This is PaImer." " Oh, Palmer!" " Did I wake you?" "No, no, no." " Where are you?" " I'm right here in Washington." "Washington?" "That's great." " Where's Pug?" " Oh, Pug?" "Who knows what he's up to." "He's away for a couple of weeks on some sort of hush-hush business." "Then how would you like to come away with me for a week?" "Rhoda, we owe it to ourselves and to Pug to get this thing resolved." "The way we left it in New York was far from satisfactory." "I know." "AII right, then." "Well, sir what did you have in mind?" "You and I will pile in the car and drive around the South and we'll look at magnolias and cherry blossoms and wisteria and we'll walk and talk and we'll drink some tea." "We will, will we?" "It's funny." "For the last couple of days, I've had this strange craving for tea." "Now hear this." "Brace for heavy weather." "close all watertight hatches." "Sir, my rudder is right standard." "Coming to new course 2-7-0." "Very well." " Here you are, captain." " Thanks, Spike." "Sir, steady new course 2-7-0." " Helmsman, right standard rudder." " Right standard rudder, aye, sir." " Sir, my rudder is right standard." " Very well." "Gale-force winds rising, captain." "Your convoy's out there." "Broad on the port bow." "Three freighters, hull down, bearing 320 relative." "No, wait a minute, four freighters." "Four freighters off the port bow, about 12,000 yards." "Very well." "One freighter, three tankers." "My lookouts need some drilling." "Peacetime Navy." "Now hear this." "The smoking lamp is out." "Assume tactical command, skipper." "Form Able Sugar screen in accordance with Plan William." " Use flag hoist signals only." " Aye, aye, sir." "Lieutenant, raise your convoy on your light." "Aye, aye, sir." "Seventy merchantmen zigzagging in a gale at night." "Should be interesting." "Deck cargo still secure, sir, but we're shipping seas over the hatches." " Keep an eye on the starboard." " Aye, aye." "Stop all engines, damn it!" "I can't make her out, captain." "This is the master of the HoIworth!" "Who the hell is colliding with my starboard side?" "blast your Holworth!" "You crossed my bow!" "What the devil do you mean, I crossed your bow?" "Damn it, do I have to spell it out?" "I repeat, you crossed my blaming bow!" "Get me Sissons up here on the bridge." "Aye, aye, sir." "Rubbish, man!" "I didn't see her!" "How do you expect me to see in this weather?" "I haven't got eyes in my backside!" "Lieutenant Sissons to the bridge." "Now!" "And that, my friend, if you've forgotten, is five cables you're steering into the starboard of me!" "So get that heap of rust you call a ship off my weatherside and quick about it!" "Lieutenant Sissons, don't your damned merchantmen skippers know enough to maintain radio silence when ordered to?" "Signal your commodore on that infrared apparatus:" ""imperative." "Repeat, imperative" ""you restore and maintain convoy radio silence."" "Aye, aye, sir." "Come on to the chart room with me." "I've seen better things crawl out of me biIges!" ""Didn't see me,"you bloody moron?" "You were 10 degrees off course, and sailing like a liverpool scud!" "So don't you tell me to watch my station, damn you!" "Discontinue zigzagging, sir?" "What about submarines?" "If there are any submarines out there, we don't know about it." "What we do know is this zigzagging is fouling this convoy's progress, creating multiple collision hazards and compromising radio silence." "You're the screen commander, skipper, what do you think?" "Well, it gets us to Iceland a lot faster." "Minimizes the risk of detection or collision, but if we encounter U-boats, we're sitting ducks." "The gamble here is they don't attack." "Signal your commodore, "Discontinue zigzagging"." "Aye, aye, sir." "Old Navy saying, "lf it works, you're a hero." ""lf it doesn't, you're a bum."" " Mind your helm, sailor." " Mind my helm, aye, sir." "Well, sir, looks like our weather problems may be over." "Multiple contacts on the sound gear." "Indications are they're submarines." "Four contacts dead ahead, sir." "About 12,000 yards." "They're making a lot of water noise, like a whale broaching." "May be running with masts out of the water." "That figures." "Can you estimate their speed?" "Maintaining station with us, sir." "Go to general quarters, Jack." "Alert the screen." "Aye, aye, sir." "general quarters!" "general quarters!" "AII hands." "Man your battle stations." "general quarters!" "general quarters!" "AII hands." "Man your battle stations." "general quarters!" "general quarters!" "AII hands." "Man your battle stations." "This is not a drill!" "general quarters!" "AII hands." "Man your battle stations." "Sir, perhaps we might consider resuming the zigzag maneuvers." "If Jerry's gonna penetrate a screen of 16 destroyers, well, with 7 1 juicy, crawling targets, zigzagging won't help much." "Present course and speed, lieutenant." "No deviations." "Aye, aye." "We just started picking this up, sir." "A very strong signal." "He's transmitting in code." "He's gotta know we're copying this." "He's waiting for orders from higher up." "I'd like to see some of those faces in Berlin about now." "I tell you, Jodl, the screening vessels are American destroyers." "Grossadmiral Raeder, what are you thinking of?" "Wake the Fuehrer?" "Bedsides, it is a mistake." "Weiner is my best wolf pack commander." "It's a confirmed sighting." "I will report it at the morning briefing." "jodi, U-boat standing orders are to stay submerged in presence of American warships." "They won't be able to keep up." "They will lose this convoy!" "Herr grossadmiral, it is not yet 7:00." "I will not wake the Fuehrer for a convoy sighting!" "All four contacts steady on course and and station, 12,000 yards ahead of us." "We've got them in sight." "If they fire on the convoy, we'll take them out." "I have no intention of waiting for the convoy to be fired on." "If they submerge and start closing, attack with depth charges." "If they surface and close, engage with gunfire." "Aye, aye, sir." "If they keep their distance, submerged or surfaced, we'll keep ours." "Aye, sir." "Contacts still maintaining course and speed with us, sir." "Very well." "I'll call when the briefing's over." "I beg you, Jodl, make this the first item of the conference." "Telephone me immediately!" "First comes the Yugoslavian crisis." "That is more important!" "Now hear this." "Ship condition Baker." " We're closing the contacts." " At what speed?" "We'll be over them in two hours." " Recommend we come right." " Negative." "He's losing power." "That commander will have to make his move very soon." "Looks like we're all waiting on Berlin." "American destroyers?" "Why was I not informed instantly?" "Why?" "It's Roosevelt." "He is trying to provoke me." "Twenty-six hundred yards and closing, sir." "Twenty-five fifty and closing, sir." "Twenty-five hundred and closing, sir." "Twenty-four fifty and still closing, sir." "All right, that's it." "Prepare for depth charge attack." " This battle force will not be fired on." " Aye, aye, sir." "Wait a minute!" "It sounds like they're all blowing their tanks." "They're coming up." "The bloody fools." "What targets." "It looks like he's throwing in the towel, sir." "Skipper, when all four submarines have extended to 5,000, stand down from attack." "Maintain sonar contact until they disappear." " All four." " Aye, aye, sir." "It worked, captain." "This time." "That's a real professional out there." "Did it all by the book." "He obeyed orders." "But there goes one frustrated warrior." "Oh, it's been sheer heaven." " Does it have to end?" " Heavens, yes." "We should have been back last night." "What are you gonna tell Pug?" "It couldn't be worse timing, what with Janice and Warren having the baby and Byron suddenly sailing off to marry that Jewish girl..." " There's always gonna be something." " l know. I know." "But he's down right now, Palmer." " Down?" " Beached." "You have to be Navy to understand." "With the Navy expanding, his classmates are getting battleships and destroyer flotillas and cruisers, and he's stuck in shore duty." " He's had 10 years of it." " He's in war plans." "Oh, I know war plans sounds glamorous, but flag rank depends on blue water command, not on desk jobs." "That's a lousy system." "Wives, the Navy wives always know the score." "Gals who used to be my closest friends are suddenly cooling off." "My man is falling out of the race." "Then it's not the time to hit him." "I know." "But how can I not tell him?" "I'll find a way." "Thanks." "Hey, honey, he's home." " Man the bar." " Darling." "It's been impossible to talk to the girls since you've been gone." "Nobody wants to gab about anything except new orders." "Pug, you would not believe some of the new assignments." "Chip Pennington, Old Chip who hasn't drawn a sober breath since academy?" "Well, he got a destroyer squadron out of Pearl." "Naturally, Tammy had it all over town before BuPers sent out a dispatch." "When you wind down, Rhoda, I've got something to tell you." "You do?" "Well, I've got something to tell you too." "This was waiting for me when I checked into war plans." "Dinner at the White House?" "But what is it, Pug?" "is it a state banquet or something?" " Or one of those huge affairs?" " No, no, no, just a quiet dinner." "Our family, the president and Mrs. Roosevelt." "Pug." "Oh, Pug." "Just us and the Roosevelts?" " What have you been up to?" " Nothing, a little errand-running." "This is just a carrot for the donkey." ""A carrot for the donkey"?" "It's magnificent!" "It's fantastic!" "Oh, wait till Tammy hears about this, and Elaine Foley too." "Oh, God." " Rhoda, simmer down." " What on earth am I gonna wear?" "I'll have to shop like mad." " You have something to tell me?" " What?" "You wanted to tell me something." "Oh, no, nothing." "God knows you've blown it clear out of my mind." "Oh, Pug." "Pug, just us and the Roosevelts." "Now hear this." "mail call." "Mail for you, Mr. Henry." "Thank you, KB." " What in blazes is going on?" " Hey, take a look at this one." "You did it." "Look at that." "Natalie's pregnant?" "That's wonderful news." "Yeah, can you believe it, Dad?" "Boy, do I feel great." "Congratulations." "Any news about her coming home?" "Slote says he really built a fire this time under the consuls." "well, they should be on their way by now, she and Aaron." " That's good to hear, Briny." " Something else, I got new orders." "Thirty days' leave, then pick up the devilfish." " Fleet submarine?" " I'm coming up in the world." "You said it." "Here's another one for you:" "You're invited to dinner at the White House on the 26th." " Cut it out, Dad." " Your mother and Madeline too." "Warren probably couldn't fly in from Pearl on time, but if you're around, you may as well come." "Something to tell your children." "With the date for the invasion of Russia," "Operation Barbarossa, set for June 22nd," "adolf hitler holds an intimate afternoon tea at Berchtesgaden." "finally, he is notified that the most important guest has just arrived." "Summoned by the Fuehrer, Gestapo Chief Heinrich HimmIer is here to discuss a matter cloaked in such secrecy that only a handful of top Nazi leaders know of its existence." " Let's step out there." " Right." "Well, Himmler, let's hear." "Mein Fuehrer, the special actions squads, we call them Einsatzgruppen, have been selected and reviewed by me personally." "At a meeting of the highest secrecy, I myself addressed them and disclosed their mission in the Soviet Union." " What was the reaction?" " lmmense enthusiasm." "You're sure?" "Was it genuine?" "These are picked SS men, mein Fuehrer." "National socialists to the bone, screened." "Former lawyers, physicians, police, civil servants, the cream of German manhood." " How many in all?" " All told, 3,000 men and officers." "They are just the organizers, mein Fuehrer." "The local population will execute the job." "We have been checking in Poland." "Plenty of volunteers." "A very positive report, Himmler." "Come to the party." "Have a little fun." "Relax." "You're working too hard, you know." "What do you think, Dad?" "The limeys gonna get the Bismarck?" "They claim that the Prince of wales winged her off Greenland." "But those German pocket battleships have got fine damage control." "I've been aboard the Bismarck." "If they did hit her they probably just buttoned up those flooded compartments, lit out for home." "British are throwing a lot into this search." "Well, they know where she's headed, the French coast." "They know the speed she makes." "I imagine British Air will find her, unless the Bismarck is not damaged." "In which case..." "God help any convoys she runs across." "She can pick off 40 ships in an hour." "I'd sure like to be on that search." "You would, huh?" "Hey, what time is it?" "Come on, let's make tracks." "Dad, you're pretty close to the president, aren't you?" "Close?" "I don't know anybody who's close to Mr. Roosevelt, except Harry Hopkins." "I got a couple of letters from Natalie the other day." "She's still stuck." " What now?" " l don't know." "Her uncle can't get his passport renewed, same old runaround." "Well, you tell your wife to come home." "Let him sweat it out." " That baby should be born here." " She won't leave him." "They're ringed by Germans." "They're in France, Yugoslavia, North Africa, all the way through Italy." "Dad, they're a couple of Jews." "I'm aware of that, Byron." "Pug, would you come here?" "I'm going out of my mind." "Yes, Rhoda?" "Will you look at how my stomach is bulging." "Why is that?" "This stupid dress did not look like this in the store. lt looked fine." " You're not bulging, you're very pretty." " For God's sake, I am bulging a foot." "Would you just button me up in the back, please." "I look six months pregnant." "I am horrible and I am wearing my tightest girdle." "What'll I do?" "You'll do just fine." "Hey, Dad, I was thinking maybe you could mention this to the president." "That is an unreasonable notion." "Byron I don't think that your wife's uncle's citizenship mess is a suitable problem to submit to the president of the United States." "Well, just where would you suggest I submit it then?" "For heaven's sake, what are you two jawing about?" "Pug, put on your jacket and come along." " Madeline's waiting at the station." " Yes, dear." "We're glad to have you back." "That is wonderful." "You really are a master at this, I can see." "My goodness, Mr. President, I wish Pug could carve like that." "Oh, I'm sure he can." " Think you can handle all that, Harry?" " Barely, Mr. President." "I do like a slice of ham, though, don't you, Rhoda?" " Oh, yes." " Not a steak, not a sliver either." "The secret is a sharp knife and a firm wrist." "We always served that at my house." " The children have always enjoyed it." " l love it too." "It's one of Pug's very favorites, I must say, Mr. President." "What's that, Pug?" "Am I missing something good?" "Mrs. Roosevelt was just asking me about German troop movements." "Captain Henry was in the intelligence business too, Willie." "He was Naval attaché in Berlin." "Very few people know this, Pug, but Mr. Maugham is not just a famous author, he was a British spy in the last war." "He even wrote a spy novel, Ashenden." "So watch out what you say around here, it'll get right back to Churchill." "Mr. President, you know very well that a houseguest would never do that." "I am not a ferret now, I assure you, but a much lower form of life, a sponge." "What do you think of this, Willie?" "Captain Henry predicted Hitler and Stalin's pact before it happened." "All the clever diplomats, generals and columnists were caught flatfooted, but not Pug." "What's your prediction this time, Pug?" "Will Hitler attack Russia?" "With that piece of luck, I hocked my crystal ball and threw away the ticket." "Captain, never admit to luck in our racket." "Let's ask our undersecretary of state." "Sumner?" "If one studies Mein Kampf, Mr. President, the attack is inevitable sooner or later." "I'd hate to be bound by anything I said or wrote 20 years ago." "If Germany attacks the Soviet Union, will England help Russia, or leave Stalin to stew in his own juice?" "I can't really say." "You know, Willie, a lot of folks here don't believe the story that Rudolf Hess is crazy." "They say he was sent to advise your people of the coming attack on Russia, and to get a hands-off agreement in exchange for a promise to help you keep the empire." "That very plan is in Mein Kampf." "Sumner do you think we could explain it to the American people if the British did not help Russia?" "I think that would finish off aid to England, Mr. President." "If Hitler is a menace to mankind, that's one thing." "If he's just a menace to the British Empire, that is something very different." "Of course, Hitler may be gathering his troops in the east precisely because he intends to invade England." " A feint, you mean?" " Yes." " That too, is possible." " The princess is quite right." "Unfortunately, nowadays, the whole thing seems to boil down to whatever Hitler's impulses are." "Pity we have to live in the same century with that creature." "Say we have here two men who have talked at length, face to face with the fellow." "Let's take a Gallup poll." "Sumner, do you think Hitler's a madman?" "I looked hard for such evidence, Mr. President." "But, as I reported, I found him a very cool, very knowledgeable, skilled advocate." "How about you, Pug?" "I'm afraid I must agree with Mr. Welles, sir." "Face to face, the man has a powerful presence with an incredible memory and a remarkable ability to marshal the facts when he speaks." "Yes, the fellow is able, of course, or he wouldn't be giving us trouble." "Pug, when on earth did you have a talk with Hitler?" "That's news to me." "He's always been close-mouthed, but to keep a thing like that from me..." "You didn't need to know." "Captain Henry, I bow to a professional." "My dear, you couldn't have paid your husband a handsomer compliment in public." "Well, I didn't intend to. imagine." "He is just a sphinx, that man." "Pug's a very fine officer." "I expect great things of him." "I always have, Mr. President." "Not everybody deserves such a beautiful wife, but he does, Rhoda." "Thank you, Mr. President." "Pug brought that to me." "He always brings me something from wherever he's been." " Keep track of it." " l do." " Where's this one from?" " He brought this from the Orient." "Has anyone noticed we haven't heard from our submariner yet?" "Byron, you're a natural for the silent service." " How's the morale in your group?" " Good, Mr. President." "Ready to go to war, as I'm sure Willie would desire?" " Personally, sir, I'm more than ready." " That's the spirit." "Byron was visiting a friend in Poland when the war began." "He was strafed by a Luftwaffe plane and wounded." "I see." "You have a motive, then, for wanting to fight Germans." "It's not that so much, Mr. President." "It's that my wife is trapped in Italy." "Trapped?" "How trapped?" "Her uncle is Dr. Aaron Jastrow, the author of A Jew's Jesus." "He's had trouble with his passport, and can't come home." "He's..." "Well, he's old and not very well, and she refuses to abandon him." "Why, Franklin, we both read A Jew's Jesus." "Don't you remember?" "You liked it very much indeed." "Dr. Jastrow taught at Yale, Mrs. Roosevelt." "He's lived here almost all of his life." "It's just some crazy red tape." "Well, there they are." "A Jew's Jesus was a good book." "Sumner, couldn't you have someone look into this?" " Certainly." " Let me know what you find out." "Yes, sir." " l haven't read the book myself." " Well, you should." " Really?" " lt's really a classic." " l beg your pardon, Mr. President." " Yes, yes, let me have it." "Well." "May I relate a bit of news?" "It seems they've got the Bismarck." "Isn't that wonderful?" "Wait, wait, wait, I don't want to be overoptimistic or premature." "What it says is that airplanes from the Ark royal have caught up with her and put several torpedoes into her." ""When night fell she was trailing thick oil" ""and steaming slowly west, the wrong way." ""The entire fleet is now closing in, and some units now have her in sight."" "Do they give her position, Mr. President?" "Longitude 16 west, latitude 48 north." "OK, that's over 1 ,000 miles from Brest, well beyond the Luftwaffe air umbrella." "They've got her." "Fill the glasses." "Pug always knows where everything is." "This could be a very important, crucial moment in the whole war." "The British navy." "The British navy." "palmer, dear, you have a kindly heart that understands without explanations." "I cannot do it." "My love and everlasting thanks for offering me more than I deserve or can accept." "I'II never forget, and I hope we will be friends forever." "Forgive me." "Captain." "The undersecretary sends his thanks to you for interrupting a busy schedule to come over." "Please, come in." "Please sit down." " Cigarette?" " Thank you." "Thanks." " Muggy day." " Yes." "Well, now." "The business of Dr. Aaron Jastrow's passport." "As it turns out, it was no problem whatsoever." "In fact...the authorization for clearance went out quite a while ago." "It may have been delayed a bit en route, but we've double-checked by cable and it's all set." "He can pick up his passport whenever he wishes in Rome," " and he's been so informed." " Good." "That was fast work." "As I say, there was no work to do." "It had already been taken care of." "Well, my boy will be mighty glad to hear about this." "Oh, about your son." "I hope you'll take this in the right spirit." "The undersecretary was a bit disconcerted to have this thing raised at the president's table." "So was I." "I gave the boy holy hell about it afterwards." "I'm awfully glad you feel that way." "Suppose you just drop a little note to the president, captain, sort of apologizing for your son's gaffe," "mentioning you've learned the whole thing was taken care of long ago." "The president asked for a report from Mr. Welles." "We made a rather dramatic effort this morning just to make sure that young Mrs. Henry could get home." "Literally thousands of these cases of Jewish refugees come to us all the time." "The pressure is enormous, it's absolutely unbelievable." "Now, the problem in your family is settled." "We'd hoped you'd be more appreciative." "Natalie and her uncle are not Jewish refugees." "They're a couple of Americans." "Now, in the case of the uncle, that was technically far from clear." "But it's all been set straight." "And in return, captain, I really think you should write that little note." "An unsolicited letter from me to the president of the United States." "Sorry." "Let me be frank, captain." "The undersecretary wants a report from me to forward to the president." "Just a word from you would conclude the matter..." "Mr. Whitman, why was a distinguished man like Aaron Jastrow stopped on a passport technicality when he wanted to come home?" "That's what the president wants to know and I can't give him the answer, can you?" "OK." "Obviously, you can't either." "I suggest that whoever can had better try." "Now, is there anything else?" "Captain, the undersecretary may find your refusal hard to understand." "You're flouting a direct request from the State Department." "I work for the Navy Department." "Many thanks." "No kidding, Dad?" " Well, do you believe it this time?" " Yep." "Now, if she can get a plane or ship..." "She can do it." "She can do anything." " l'm so happy." " l'm happy for you, Briny." "Dad, we just got word." " We're taking the Devilfish to pearl." " Then you'll see Warren and Janice." "Yeah, I know, won't that be great?" "God, I still can't believe that she's coming home." "Hey, Dad, be honest, was I right when I talked to the president?" "Or was I wrong?" "You had one hell of a nerve." "Now, look, I'm busy and I hope you are too." "Now, get back to work." "And write when you get to Hawaii." " Bye." " Yeah, bye." "June 22, 1941." "The German army of three and a half million men is deployed along a thousand-miIe eastern front, from the icy BaItic to the warm black Sea." "At exactly 031 5 hours, the big guns erupt." "Barbarossa, adolf hitler's invasion of Russia, is launched." "fleets of German war planes sweep across the borders." "Caught on the ground, the Russian air force is wiped out in the first hours." "The four-and-a-haIf-miIIion-man Russian army buckles under the onslaught." "The German surprise attack has succeeded on a scale unsurpassed in the history of warfare." "The Soviet Union totters." "field marshal Sir John dill, chief of the imperial general Staff, hastens down from London to Chequers, churchill's country home." "He is carrying the latest dispatches on the German invasion." "Our intelligence warned me of this, and I warned Stalin, but he ignored me." "He's not only a butcher, he is a bungler." "I shall broadcast at 9 tonight, offering our full support for the Soviet Union." "Does that not embarrass you, prime minister?" "You, the lifelong arch-foe of Bolshevism?" "Not at all. I have only one purpose, the destruction of Hitler." "If Hitler invaded hell, I should at least make a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons." "So you've heard the splendid news?" "The villain with the mustache is really throwing himself into his part." "Now we have a two-front war again." "I came from the immigration office." "Our seats to Lisbon were cancelled." " "Requisitioned" by the military." " So we have no exit permits?" "Oh, no." "On the contrary, I do." "How on earth did you accomplish that?" "I pleaded complications with my pregnancy and planned a medical visit to Zurich with you along to accompany the invalid for her safety en route." "When we get there, then what?" "We'll just stay until we can arrange for safe passage to the United States." "Natalie, I know how badly you want to get home and I understand that." "When I think of my lovely house standing there empty..." "Aaron, for God's sakes!" "Are you even considering staying on the same continent with the Germans?" "My dear, don't be impatient with me." "You were an infant during the last war." "The talk was the same." "The Huns were always spearing Belgium babies on bayonets and cutting the breasts off nuns." "Then I spent a year with some truly wonderful people in Munich." "There are Germans and Germans." "Do you know who I rode up with on the elevator just now?" "No." "Who?" "One of the Nazis Byron and I had that run-in with in Lisbon." "Did he recognize you?" "I don't know, but he gave me quite a stare." "Well, my dear, I wouldn't worry if I were you." " These men stare for a living." " Aren't you the least bit alarmed?" "We've been here for three weeks and they keep finding one reason or another not to allow us to leave." "Doesn't that seem strange?" "Aaron, I don't think they want you to leave." " Natalie, that is preposterous." " No, it's not." "You're important." "They probably think they can use you." "Aaron, I'm going to Zurich next week, with or without you." "My baby is not gonna be born in a fascist country at war." "Well, my dear, it's been a long time since I tasted Swiss chocolate." "The second day of the invasion." "adolf hitler travels from berlin to his new advanced army headquarters on the eastern front." "To sum up, mein Fuehrer," "general Leeb has advanced north toward Leningrad as planned." "Von Rundstedt met with more resistance than anticipated in the southward direction toward Kiev." "But the real surprise is in the center, where Guderian's armor has penetrated 25 miles toward Minsk." "25 miles!" "On the straight road to Moscow!" "Through their heaviest border defenses and the frontline mass of the Red Army and all in one day." "At this rate, mein Fuehrer, we'll be in Minsk, one-third of the way to Moscow, in a week." "It is starting out like Poland." "Even better!" "What word from Himmler?" "We talked on the phone an hour ago." "He is addressing the final meeting of Einsatzgruppen officers right now." "They will then join up with their units." "All four special action groups will jump off today." "They will begin actions immediately in the border towns." "Himmler will be sending in daily figures." " l want to know those daily figures." " Certainly, mein Fuehrer." "The first big figures, of course, will come from Minsk." "It's a huge Jewish center." "So begins the fulfillment of a dream." "Of a heroic and glorious vision, mein Fuehrer." "A purified Europe." "And in time, a purified world." "Lately, I've neglected the dog most cruelly." "Blondi, good dog, Blondi." "Good dog." "Mankind will one day understand your lofty aims and honor you for them, mein Fuehrer." "Fire!" "This pear." "What foul idiocy war is." "Europe is such a rich continent." "These bloody fools keep laying waste to it time and time again." "Tell me, Bunky, do you like Zurich better than Lisbon?" "Well, the tragic refugee thing goes on here too, but less visibly, less acutely." "In Lisbon it was just too horrible." "Will the Swiss send our passports over to the consulate to you?" "No, you'll pick them up here on your way back to Rome." "My darling, we have no intention of going back to Rome." " What are you talking about?" " We are taking the first plane, train or goat cart out of here, whatever gets us back to the good old USA." "Bunky, don't be angry." "I couldn't talk to you about it on the phone. lt's the point of our trip." "I'm not angry, Natalie, but I'm afraid it won't work." "Why on earth not?" "Well, you're not a problem, but Dr. Jastrow got through immigration on my parole." "He has no transit visa." "I thought things were going too easily." "Bunky, wild horses can't get me back to Rome, and that is that." "I mean, you've got to find a way to clear Aaron." "He's here now and his passport's good as gold, and I just know you can solve it." "We're this way." "I'll drop you at the hotel and your doctor's appointment is this afternoon." "Right here." " Dr. Wundt's on the third floor." " Thanks, Bunky." "Natalie you've caught me unawares." "I need a little more time." "But my permit runs out in 10 days." "I'll look into it." " Thank you." "Bye-bye." " Bye." "Bye." "Very well." "Take a little rest, Mrs. Henry." "You're strong as a horse." "You're carrying that baby perfectly." "I've had three bleeding episodes." "Yes, you mentioned that." "When was the last one?" "A month ago, maybe a little longer." "Well, you can wait around a day or so for the result of the smear, and the urine test and so forth." "I'm almost sure they'll be negative." "And Dr. Carona will deliver a fine baby for you." "He's the best man in Rome." "Unless I can go back to the US, I'd rather stay here and have my baby." "I don't want to go back to Rome." "So..." "Why?" "Because of the war." "If the US gets involved, I'd find myself on enemy soil with a newborn baby." ""Henry"." "What kind of name is that?" "It's Scotch, I guess." "Scotch-English." "And your maiden name is Jastrow, you said." "is that Scotch-English too?" "It's Polish." "Polish-Jewish." "And that gentleman outside, your uncle." "is he Polish-Jewish?" "He is a very famous American writer." "Really?" "How exciting." "is he Polish-Jewish?" "He was born in Poland." "Well, you can get dressed now." "Then come into the other room, please." "Mrs. Henry in the past few years I have to be frank with you, pregnancy has been used and abused to death here to solve passport difficulties." "The immigration authorities have become very hard." "I am an alien myself and my license can easily be revoked." "Do I make myself clear?" "But I have no passport difficulties." "None whatsoever." "Mrs. Henry, a flight to Rome is no problem for you." "Nothing to justify an extension of your stay." "I will see you tomorrow at a quarter past 5 and we will discuss your tests." "Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?" "Everyone should live in a blackout for a few months so they can appreciate the lights." "Do you know what Zurich reminds me of?" "Luna Park in Coney Island when I was a little girl." "You walked in this blaze of lights, millions and millions of yellow bulbs." "The lights were more exciting to me than the rides." "Switzerland's amazing, isn't it?" "It's like this little dry diving bell of freedom in a vast ocean of horror." "What an experience." "I'll never forget it." "Natalie, my dear, you're very merry this evening." "Well, I just have a feeling that everything is gonna work out." "Hello, hello!" "Sorry I'm late, but I've got quite a report for you." "Well, is it all arranged?" "Well, we're not in bad shape." "Say, I've been on the Teletype to Rome." "Your Byron outdid himself, didn't he?" "Talking to President Roosevelt about your uncle's passport." "President Roosevelt?" "What are you talking about?" "You don't know?" "Well, apparently they had dinner together, the Henrys and the First Family at the White House." "Well, nobody said anything about it at the consulate." "I'm not surprised. lt's embarrassing to get a swift kick from the White House." "And here I thought that we'd gotten this far because of Slote." "Byron." "What exceptional ingenuity." "Yes." "And now your file has a big presidential flag on it, and that's fine." "Well, Natalie, you're all set." "You're on the list at Lufthansa for connection to Lisbon." "You should be out of here next week." "Lufthansa?" "What about the Spanish flight?" "Well, you were misinformed." "It shut down this past May." "But don't worry." "Your passport doesn't say you're Jewish." "You're Mrs. Byron Henry." "Even the Germans have some tenderness about pregnant women." " What about Aaron?" " l'm coming to that." "She's the important one." "What happens to me couldn't matter less." "I've lived my life." "Hold on." "Hold on." "Good Lord, Dr. Jastrow." "It's going to be all right." "You just can't stay here in Switzerland." "But you're all set too." "Rome was absolutely appalled that you'd fled to Zurich." "The ambassador himself in particular." "If he has to, he'll put you on his staff and send you on diplomatic priority." "You will be retuning to Rome, but he'll take full responsibility for dealing with the Italians." "Well, it looks to me like we've come to a parting of the ways, Natalie." "Natalie I know you're set against going back to Rome, but if you'd reconsider, the ambassador will make identical arrangements for you." "I won't hear of it." "Natalie must go her own way now." "I bear a burden of guilt about you at least as large as that baby you're carrying." "Someday, you'll know the true measure of my gratitude." ""You have earned," as our fathers quaintly put it," ""a great share in the world to come."" "If only it existed." "All right, Aaron, but this parting is gonna be very, very strange for me." "Well, then you're all set." "Dr. Jastrow, you return to Rome tomorrow afternoon." "It is strange how easy it is to go back." "Like sliding down a greased slope." "Only the other direction is hard." "Pug, hello there!" "Kirby!" "What are you doing here?" "Been in town long?" "A few weeks." "Got business with the Navy." "Come home with me for a drink." "Better still, join me for dinner." "Thanks, Pug. I don't think I can." " That's too bad. I'm baching it." " Oh?" "Where's Rhoda?" "She's in New York, shopping." "You sure you can't join me?" "It just means telling the cook to throw on a couple more chops." "Why not?" "I've been eating alone lately." "This will keep until tomorrow." " Great." " Come on." "A second jug full?" "I've pushed dinner back about an hour." "Gives us time to relax." "The way I feel and the size of that jug, you may have to lead me to the dining room." "It's not so far." "The furniture has no sharp corners on it." "One of the first things your very sweet wife Rhoda said to me was that I drank too much." "It was the dinner you gave me in Berlin, remember?" "You had to fly back to see the president." "I was in a lousy mood and I started swilling the wine and fast." "And she brought me up short." "That was rude of her." "I think the amount a man drinks is his business." "Not to mention, on occasions, my proud beauty has a hollow leg herself." "So, what's happening with uranium, Kirby?" "That's why you're plying me with martinis." "Doesn't war plans have any information?" "It's all Jules Verne talk to us so far." "Well, unfortunately, it's much more than that." "The big question now is how far ahead are the Germans?" "What sort of weapon are we talking about?" "I mean, how powerful?" "In theory, one bomb could level New York City." "Even an area the size of Rhode lsland." " Jesus." " Yeah." "Yeah, I'm having some unusual feelings these days myself." "I suspect the human race may not survive the industrial revolution." "Hello!" "Surprise!" " Anybody home?" " We're out here, honey!" "I'm drenched." "A drowned rat." " We have company." " We have?" "Hello, Rhoda." "Oh, my God!" "Women." " Well, I'll be running along, Pug." " What are you talking about?" "Rhoda's home. I don't wanna intrude." "I've got 100 things to do." "Don't be silly." "Sit back down, have yourself another shorty, and I'll be right with you." "You OK, Rhoda?" "Where did you dig up Palmer Kirby?" " Did he telephone?" " No, I just ran into him." "I've asked him to stay for dinner." "is that OK?" "Why not?" "Why don't you go downstairs and keep him company." " l'll be down in a minute." " OK." "Hello?" "Yes." "Speaking." "Hello, admiral." "Yes, sir." "Aye, aye, sir." "Will do, sir." "Goodbye, sir." "Well, quick-change artistry." "Well, I hope so." "When I got here I looked like the witch in Snow White." "I had a call from Admiral King." "He's at the department." "Oh, no, Pug." "What about dinner?" "You two go ahead and have dinner." "I'll call you when I find out what it is." "The last thing Rhoda wants to do is entertain me." "You must be exhausted." "I'll go back to town with you." "Look at her, Fred." "Does she look exhausted to you?" "There's my taxi." "Let me." " l'll call you as soon as I can, honey." " All right." "I'll probably be home in time for coffee." "Pug doesn't realize he put you on the spot. I'll be going." "Palmer, don't be foolish." "You know, I really believe you don't feel the least bit awkward." "Palmer, I just take things as they come." " Actually, I'm very glad to see you." " Dinner, Mrs. Henry." "Just put it on the table, then you can go." "Yes, ma'am." "Now, Palmer, you'd just be wasting some very good double lamb chops." "Can't you smell them?" " All right, Rhoda." " Good." "No more Saint-Julien with the cheese?" "If he finds out we've cracked a second bottle, his eyebrows will go up." "Oh, pshaw." "Many's a second bottle he and I have cracked." "And third ones on occasion." "There." "Isn't this pleasant?" "Doesn't this porch remind you of the house in Berlin?" "Well, it does remind me of an evening in Berlin." "The way the light lingers on, and the fresh smell of rained-on trees." "You do remember." "Oh, yeah, I have an excellent memory." "Sometimes a little too good." "Was my letter really so very upsetting?" "Yes, it was the worst blow i've had since my wife died." "I've been trying to think how to tell you this without sounding like a flibbertigibbet." "I sat next to the president at that White House dinner." "He was very nice to me." "He liked me." "He said wonderful things about Pug, about his future career." "Dear a divorced man is very handicapped in the service, especially when he's in sight of flag rank." "I've always been aware of that." "And so, I did what I did." "And I've slept badly ever since and I've been an awful crab." "But I've stuck to him and I don't intend to apologize." "This might sound offensive." "I don't mean it that way, but we may never talk like this again." "I want to ask you a question." "I've thought about this a great deal." "When we met, you said until I came along, there had been no one else." "Well, I believe that, of course, and I still do." "What I want to know...is how come?" " Now I've made you angry." " No, no." "Of course, I know the answer you want that you were irresistible that there has never remotely been anyone like you and that's true enough." "Still, I've had my chances." "And I don't just mean drunken passes at the Officer's Club." "There have been times..." "But, to be absolutely honest, those men were all Naval officers just like Pug." "None of them measured up, or even came close." "Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not... I'm not blaming Pug for what happened this time." "That would be too low." "But he does...shut me out so much." "He's a fanatic, you know, about getting things done." "That's an American trait." "I'm the same kind of fanatic." "But when you were in Berlin whether you knew it or not, you were courting me." "And when Pug courted me, I fell in love with him too." "Just one thing more." "Though you, of all people, may give me the horse laugh I'm a good woman, Palmer." "At least I think I am." "And so, with one thing and another, there has been no one else." "Nor will there be." "I'm a quiet grandma now." "And that's that." "I'll be going now." "I feel a lot better." "Thank you, Rhoda." "Will I see you again?" "Well, Washington's a pretty small town." "Look at the way I ran into Pug tonight." "Can you find your way out?" "Yes, certainly." "I don't mean to be rude, but to be frank, at the moment, my eyes are messy." "How very continental." "And sweet." "Straight through the living room and turn left to the front door." "Mrs. Henry." "My key, please." "Thank you." " Hello." " hello, natalie?" " Bunky." " Yes." "Look, Lufthansa's come through." "One seat to Lisbon, day after tomorrow." "So soon?" "Yes." "Now, I suggest that you go straight over to the Lufthansa office." "It's about two blocks from your hotel." "Wait. I've just had a letter from Aaron." "He says we're both in the clear with italian Immigration." "That's wonderful, Natalie." "What's the problem?" "The date of the tickets." "December 15th." "If everything goes on schedule, I'd be a mother by then." "I'd have my baby in Rome." "Look, I know how you feel about that, but I do think you should consider the alternative." "Although I'm absolutely sure there'll be no problem with Lufthansa, you'II still be in Nazi hands for over 20 hours." "Look, I can't presume to make your decision for you, but I do know what leslie SIote would say." "And Byron too." "I know." "Play it safe." "Go back to Rome." "exactly." "Listen, Natalie, if there's anything I can do, just call me, will you?" "Thanks." "You've been a dear." "Keep me posted." "OK?" "Bye-bye." "Bye." "Good afternoon." "The American consul, Bunker Thurston, made a reservation for me to Lisbon on Thursday." " Oh, Mrs. Byron Henry?" " Yes." "Fine." "Your passport?" "Do you have the reservation?" "Yes." "Let me have your passport, please." "Fill this out, please." "My, what a lot of questions for an airplane trip." "Wartime security regulations, Mrs. Henry." "Both sides, please." " Give me my passport, please." " ls something wrong?" "Americans don't ask people's religions for travel purposes or give their own." "If you want to leave that blank, it's up to you." "It's quite all right, Mrs. Henry." " l'll take my passport, please." " l've started to write your tickets." "It's very hard to get a passage to Lisbon, Mrs. Henry." "My passport!" "Now hear this." "Boat ahoy starboard." "Sir." "And the fresh oranges." "I'm given to understand the president requires fresh-squeezed orange juice." "Yes, sir. I don't believe the president will be disappointed, sir." "Very well." "Good morning, sir." "All right, Henry what are you doing here?" "I ordered all the war planners berthed together on the TuscaIoosa." "You're nothing but a passenger here." "I was awakened at 0500 aboard the TuscaIoosa, sir, and told that the president desired my transfer and gear aboard the Augusta." "So I complied." " The president, huh?" " Yes, sir." "Tell me something, Henry, you're not by some chance a distant relative or an old family friend of Mr. Roosevelt?" " No, admiral." " l see." "Well, you might remember, when the occasion offers, that you still work for the United States Navy." "Aye, aye, sir." "That's all." "Boat ahoy, starboard." "The United States." "Sure that suit isn't a shade loose, Tom?" "Just fine, Mr. President." "Just fine." "Give that holder a bit more tilt." ""A jaunty angle", I believe that's the way the press describes it." "Am I right, gentlemen?" "Attention on deck!" " Here you are, sir." " Thank you, Marcus." " Anything else, sir?" " No, thank you." "Captain Henry." "If you're not standing watch, old man, you might look in about 8 or so." "The Skipper." "Check your local listings for Vic and Sade," "Pepper Young's Family, Ma Perkins..." "Come in." "Hello there, Pug." "Just in time for the morning news." "By George, doesn't it feel wonderful to be at sea again?" "Sure does, sir." "Many's the time I've sailed these waters." "I could navigate this ship for them, honor bright." " l'm sure you could, sir." " Stay tuned for the news." "The Soviet government confirmed today" "German claims that their armies have driven well past SmoIensk and have advanced many miles toward Leningrad in the north and are closing in on the great Dnieper Dam in the south." "Smolensk, the last great bastion before Moscow." "Though the whereabouts of the president are no Ionger secret." "He is on holiday aboard the presidential yacht, Potomac." "At 7:00 last evening, reporters spotted him on the afterdeck as the yacht passed through the Cape Cod canal." "And here I was on the high seas." " How do you suppose I work that?" " l don't know, sir." "How did you?" "Tom Wilson, that's the yacht engineer, is a big fella." "We got him a white suit and a white hat and put him out there for the reporters to see." "Well, that's just grand. lt worked." "We didn't want U-boats out gunning for Churchill and me." "Here we are." "Look that over, old fella." "I want your comment." "In Geneva, the world Zionist Organization has announced that Iarge-scaIe secret massacres of Jews are taking place behind the German lines in the Soviet Union." "The German government, calling these allegations "preposterous lies", accused the Zionists of deliberately spreading allied atrocity propaganda." ""The Red Cross is free to enter the occupation zone at any time,"" "the German Foreign Ministry declared, to verify the facts, and has offered..." "There's another lie." "Those Nazis are the most outrageous liars, really." "The Red Cross can't get in there at all." "I think, and I certainly hope, those stories are terribly exaggerated." "Our intelligence says they are." "Still, where there's smoke... I have a copy of that Jewish statement the radio was talking about." "But what's one to do?" "We've tried to get around the immigration law." "We've had some success." "But when I've got a Congress ready to disband the Army, can you imagine my going to them with a bill to admit more Jews?" "Well, what do you think?" "This is something for my chief, Mr. President." "Pug, you've got a feeling for facts, and when you talk I understand you." "These are two uncommon virtues." "So let's have it." "Take your time." "All right, sir." "Essentially, the Army sees things differently from us on Lend-Lease." "Maybe because they think they'll have to fight the Axis single-handed after the Russians and the British fold." "The Germans may capture and use against us all the stuff we send over." " And the Navy?" " Our contention is:" "That if the Soviet Union does go down, and Britain too, a hell of a lot of Germans are gonna have to die to lick them." "And every dead German is one less German who'll be firing on us one day." "I agree on that." "OK." "We can replace lost material pretty fast, but it takes 20 years to raise a live Boche to replace a dead one." "Pug, you're doing a grand job in war plans, but you shouldn't get bogged down." "Once my victory program is completed, why don't we see what we can do about detaching you to sea duty." "Mr. President, for a long time I've been yearning for a battleship." " You think you can command one?" " l think I can, sir." "Well, the commander in chief ought to have a little say in this." "Let's get you command of a battleship." "Thank you, Mr. President." "You know, Pug, I never have been able to beat this game, but I'm gonna keep trying." "Left face." "Company salute!" " Ready?" "Twos." " Clark." "Well, Eliot, I never heard "My Country 'Tis of Thee" played better." "Carry on." " Hear this." "The smoking lamp is lit." " Henry." " Yes, sir." " Take my barge, go over to the Prince of wales, and put yourself at Mr. Harry Hopkins' service." "The president desires to talk with him before Churchill comes to call." "Aye, sir." "She looks pretty good after her brawl with the Bismarck." "Yes, sir." " Expedite." " Aye, sir." "So you're still in war plans, huh?" " You'll attend staff meetings, then." " Yes, sir." "Some of them." " l believe you met a few of the British." " Who, sir?" " Lord Burne-Wilke." " Yes, sir." " General Tillet." " Oh, yes. I've met General Tillet." "He's heading their army planners." "You might bear in mind what our friends will be after." "It's fairly clear to me after five days at sea with the prime minister." "They'll press for an immediate declaration of war on Germany." "Now, they know they won't get that." "But it softens things for the real reason Winston Churchill crossed the ocean." "They want us to warn Japan that a move against the British Empire in Asia would mean war with us." "Will it?" "And they want assurances that for Lend-Lease, they come before Russia." " The president isn't thinking that way." " l hope not." "If Hitler wins Russia, it's the world." "That's the war, where stuff should go." "Then this whole conference is rather pointless." "No, it's a triumph." "The US president and British prime minister are meeting in person to discuss beating the Germans." "The world will know that." "That's achievement enough for now." "Well, gentlemen, shall we continue this at the morning session?" " Admiral Turner, one last word." " General Tillet." "A most productive session." "Most admirably chaired." "Very heady planning we've had here tonight, gentlemen, for fighting a global war as full allies." "Thousands of ships, tens of thousands of planes and tanks." "Many millions of men in arms, and so forth." "Visions of historic grandeur, which I devoutly trust and believe will one day soon come to pass." "At the moment, we British are in grave need of 150,000 rifles." "Lord Burne-Wilke." "The Germans captured Crete, you see, a large, well-garrisoned island, entirely with airborne troops." "We can no longer exclude such an attempt on England." "Now, we must arm against that possibility." "May we then tell the prime minister tonight, Admiral Turner, that those rifles will be forthcoming immediately from the arsenal of democracy?" "General Anderson?" "We're woefully short of field arms ourselves just now, admiral." "You may tell the prime minister that the request will in all likelihood receive expeditious, positive consideration." "We're infinitely obliged." "Thank you, gentlemen." "Tomorrow morning." " "Expeditious, positive consideration."" " Means yes." "Means yes, maybe." "Well, that's something, I suppose." "Henry, you hear the morning news?" "Congress renewing a draft by one vote?" "I heard it, sir." "By one vote, we've still got an army." "With the Germans and the Japanese out to loot the damn planet." "By one vote." "Now we've got to get to the church services at the Prince of wales." "I'll make this short." "Your record has been checked, and it seems to me that you claim" ""poor to fair" knowledge of Russian." "How's that?" "That's very unusual." "I put that down when I entered the academy, sir, in 191 1 ." "I was raised in a part of California that had a lot of Russians." "I see." "Well, it's there on the record." "Anyway Hopkins brought up your name and it's already been decided." "I suppose you could take a crash refresher course." "A military supply mission is being sent to the Soviet Union in September." "If Russia is still in the war, that is." "You're to go along as the Naval advisor." " Understood?" " Yes, sir." "Question?" "Only that the president may have something else in mind." "Well, when Hopkins brought up your name the president approved heartily." "Yes, sir." "All right." "Let's get on to the church parade." "Sunday morning, August 10th, 1941. 8:46 AM." "The United States Navy has been invited by Winston churchill to attend a church parade aboard the Prince of Wales." "Hey, can you take a line?" "Yes, certainly." "franklin roosevelt will lead the American contingent." "Offered the use of a boatswain's chair to be taken across, he declines." "He insists the president of the United States will not be carried to this historic meeting." "He will join the British prime minister aboard the great battle wagon." "But he will do it with dignity." "He will walk." "Onward, Christian soldier" "Marching as to war" "With the cross of Jesus" "Going on before" "Christ, the royal master" "Leads against the foe" "The historic meeting is a success." "We've got the 150,000 rifles." " You have a tough president." " Tough times." "Look at them." "You'd think they've agreed on almost everything," " instead of almost nothing." " Alas." "Those that have the experience lack the power." "Those that have the power lack the experience." "That can happen at the changing of the guard." "Changing of the guard?" "Well said." "Very well said." "Gentlemen, time to get back to the war." "Oh, I say, Captain Henry." "It completely slipped my mind." "I bring you greetings and a message." " Oh, from whom?" " The Tudsburys." "Old Talky says hello, and Pamela's grateful to you for the news about her fiancé you got out of the Germans." " How is she?" " Our little Pam?" "Oh, she's fighting a hell of a lovely war." "Old Tudsbury's on special assignment for the BBC." "I received word on high to grant Pamela a leave of absence." "He's half blind, you know." "Special assignment?" "To the Soviet Union." "I suspect they're in Moscow by now." "MahaIo and aloha." "I'm Mr. Cleveland's assistant, Madeline Henry." "Hey, you guys up there had better watch out." "I have two brothers in the audience." "And they're both big and strong." "All right." "Now I'm gonna explain the rules of our program." "Now, every contestant is gonna get a $500 defense bond." "And the performer that gets the most applause gets a special extra prize." "Our sponsor is gonna fly his girlfriend, or his parents, right here to Pearl Harbor to spend a week with him." "All right, I guess that's about it." "Now, here's the man you've all been waiting for, the star of Happy Hour, and my nice boss," "Mr. Hugh Cleveland." "Well, okey-be-bedokey!" "Maybe I'll let Madeline Henry continue." "I got the job, but she sure got the lines." "I better introduce her brothers so you can see how big and strong they are." "Our Naval aviator is Lieutenant Warren Henry of the Enterprise." "Where are you, Warren?" "Stand up, silly." "Stand up." "Come on." "Stand up, Warren." "Welcome, Warren." "And now, Byron Henry of the devilfish." "Howdy, Byron." "Their father is a battleship man, folks, so the family's pretty well got the sea covered." "Listen, folks." "And one reason our country remains strong and safe is that we have plenty of Henry families!" "Well, okey-be-bedokey!" "And now on with the show." "Our first contestant is Signalman First Class Virgil Hoover of Caddo Gap, Arkansas!" "Let's hear it for Virgil!" " Plan on finishing this by yourself?" " Yes, sir." "OK, Briny, what's wrong?" "My transfer got turned down." "I got the word today." "That's tough. I'm sorry." "You know, Briny, even if you got to the Atlantic, the chances of seeing Natalie, much less getting her out, are almost zero." "Almost zero is better than less than nothing, which is what I got now." "A call from New York." "Our sponsors, can you imagine?" "You know, I don't like that guy." " lt's time my kid had his bottle." " Want me to feed him?" "You kidding me?" "You like babies?" "I like this baby." "How about that, Vic?" "Both of us empty at the same time." "Yes, I know." "Yes, I know." "There you go." "Byron." "Hold on a minute, buddy." "Now, wait a minute, Byron." "You don't understand." "Our show got a spot-check rating of 23.5." "Only four points less than Fred Allen!" " What the hell are you saying?" " Our show, it's a hit!" "Sponsors love it!" "While you have a chat, I'll go out back." "Mix a couple more rounds there." "What do you say, huh?" "Okey-be-bedokey." "That's a married man, Maddy." "Mom and Dad would be damn upset about what I saw." "You're being horrible, Briny." "The Happy Hour was my idea." "I was so happy when I heard the ratings, I'd have kissed anyone here." "Well, you tell Hugh Cleveland that if I find out he's done anything to you, I'll come after him and put him in the hospital." "Well, you're cruel and you have a dirty mind." "And don't talk to me about hurting Mom and Dad." "I haven't married a Jew yet." "Hey, Maddy." "Where's Byron?" "Hey, Briny." "I've got a little flash here I think you might want to take a glance at before you get pie-eyed." " Where'd you come from?" " The base, sonny, where else?" "Just came on the harbor circuit, originated in Rome." "Thought I'd better hustle it right up here." "Congratulations, Papa." "How about that?" "It's a boy." "Uncle Warren!" "Here you go, lieutenant." "You got it." "You got it, baby." "Briny, forgive me for that awful thing I said." "You know I didn't mean it." "I love you and I adore Natalie, and I'm really happy about the baby." "Oh, I'm sorry." "We interrupt this program for a special news bulletin." "berlin:" "German supreme headquarters announces the capture of Kiev, claims the greatest victory in the war." "According to German sources, four entire Russian armies, numbering almost a million men, were surrounded and cut to pieces." "Radio berlin proclaimed at midnight, quote:" ""The Soviet Union no Ionger has a military capability." ""And the fall of Moscow is now in sight."" "With the German army less than 100 miles from Moscow, an AngIo-American military mission arrives in the Russian capital to offer Lend-Lease help to the beleaguered Soviet Union." "Well, this is a surprise." " Still in Italy?" "And pregnant too?" " That's right." "God, I personally arranged for both her and Jastrow to leave way back in June." "Their ship never left." "The Rome Embassy is still working on ways to try to get them out." "Well..." "What exactly is your assignment here in Moscow?" "Advisory." "Although Harry Hopkins has asked me to try to get to the front and write a report to the president, if I can wangle it." "Forget it." "The Germans get closer by the day." "Russians won't give you permission." "Well, according to what we heard in London recently," "Russia was throwing them back on all fronts." "Nonsense." "All we get here is, unless the West mounts a second front in Europe now, the war is lost." "Alistair Tudsbury, broadcasting." "Tudsbury." "Tudsbury's the best propagandist the Soviets have got." " You know the Tudsburys, don't you?" " Sure." "Pamela's at my apartment right now cooking dinner." "Your apartment?" "She's an old friend from my Paris days." "Don't get any ideas, captain." "She's being true-blue to that RAF fiancé of hers the Jerries have got." "And that, captain, is the story of my life." "Don't be alarmed, captain." "Your accommodations at the National will be more comfortable." "They won't be as nice as Tudsbury's." "Be damned if the Russians haven't given him Lenin's suite." " Bit of a surprise." " Pug Henry, by Jove!" "You've come with the Harriman mission, haven't you?" "Bless my soul!" "This confounded superman talks Russian!" "And that just about exhausts my vocabulary." "Victor!" "Victor." "Well bad pennies will keep turning up, won't they?" "Well, Victor, I certainly hope you'll be joining us for dinner." "Of course he is." "Get him some vodka, and me too while you're at it." "Right!" "Subtitles by sdl Media Group" "Leslie, anything new on that trip to the front?" "Your request has gone all the way to Stalin, I hear." "We're still waiting." "How'd you make out on those charts?" "I got nowhere, sir." "As for operating codes and signals, forget it." "Great!" "They called me out of retirement for this." "They told me with a straight face they had no such things." "They communicate in Morse and flashing light in plain language." " The YMCA boys." " What?" "That's a lot of tripe, Pug." "Did you give them our stuff?" "I showed them the general code and a few strip ciphers." "Admiral Gorshev, the fat one, tried to stuff them in his briefcase, but I won the wrestling match." "Did you really?" "You know, you could get hung for that, Pug." "You should've turned over our secret Navy codes and toasted eternal brotherhood in vodka." "We are getting quid pro quo for all we're giving the Russians." "They are killing Germans." "They're killing Germans, to not be killed by Germans." "That's the reason they're killing Germans." "Admiral Standley." "You don't eat, you don't drink." "Don't you like our Russian humble hospitality?" "I have my limits, Admiral Gorshev." "I'm a very sick man." "I have not long to live." "I might as well enjoy myself." "Hell, you look better than I do." "You're fine." " Let me ask you something." " Yeah?" "Why the mighty American Navy not even convoy Lend-Lease good to England?" "Are you afraid of little tin-plated U-boats?" "Admiral Standley in this world, you have to fight...to live!" "Well, let me tell you something, Gorshev." "Unless your people loosen up with harbor data and operation signals, hell will freeze over before we convoy to Murmansk." "Air raid." "The Germans would do well to score a bomb hit here." "If I'm gonna reply to that, Slote, you're going to have an international incident on your hands." "Would you like me to try it, sir?" "In my lousy Russian?" " lt's all yours." " Go easy." "The other Russians didn't like what he said." "Just a drop too much vodka." "...euphemism for Stalin's deal with Hitler." "What's the protocol in this case?" "I don't know, but don't drink until he's ready." "Right." "He's a shocking character." "Speak of the devil." "By God, that wind's got a bite in it!" "You don't suppose Jerry's beginning to feel it in his bones, do you, Victor?" "Well, I'm going, by God!" "Oh?" "You're going where?" "Why, to the front with you, of course." "That clearance of yours, or whatever it is, must be the secret password." "Well, actually, Pam's the only snag just now." "Pamela, you're not going." "Yes, I am." "So don't say a word." "If you're going, I'm going too." "I do need the girl, Victor. ln fact, I'm utterly helpless without her." "It doesn't make any difference." "The Russians will never allow it." "Actually, Victor, I wouldn't be too sure of that." "I said that you two were old and dear friends." "Why, you unscrupulous old horror." "Tudsbury here." "Yes, colonel." "Yes." "Of course." "And thank you." "Pack your winter drawers, Pamela." "We leave for the front in the morning." "I see Moscow is getting ready, colonel." "Moscow is ready, Mr. Tudsbury." "Of course, one can always get still more ready." "Yes." "Yes." "Why didn't we just drive straight ahead?" "We are going a bit out of the way to show you something interesting." "These German tanks were probing and got caught." "Their comrades left and didn't stop to bury them, being in a slight hurry." "The chief of staff in this sector, General Yevlenko, thought this might interest your President Roosevelt." "Tonight, at regimental headquarters, we dine with the general." "Yes, captain, in my sector we are outnumbered." "We have fewer tanks and fewer guns than the Nazis." "But still we might yet surprise Fritz." "Will they take Moscow, general?" "Excuse me." "Not through my sector." "And, if they do take it..." "Well, we will drive them out of Moscow." "Then out of Russia." "is that your belief, general?" "Or talk for the troops?" "Russian troops need no such talk." "They are fighting for their lives, homeland." "But I am told you are an observer, captain." "Those dead Fritzes you saw today, lying in the snow." "Did you observe their uniforms?" " What about them?" " "What about them"?" "Summer." "Summer uniforms!" "Where were their greatcoats and winter boots?" "They planned a short summer war, didn't they?" "And now..." "Now is October and the snow is falling." "We are going to beat them, captain." "But enough of war talk." "Tonight we toast beauty!" "You not like delicate English woman." "You like Russian girls!" "There'II be love and laughter" "And peace ever after" "Tomorrow" "When the world is free" "The shepherd will tend his sheep" "The valley will bloom again" "And Jimmy will go to sleep" "In his own little room again" "There'II be bluebirds over" "The white cliffs of Dover" "Tomorrow" "Just you wait and see" "The shepherd will tend his sheep" "The valley will bloom again" "And Jimmy will go to sleep" "In his own little room again" "There'II be bluebirds over" "The white cliffs of Dover" "Tomorrow" "Just you wait and see" "Dear God, it is a long way to Tipperary, isn't it?" "Not nearly so far as Washington, DC." "This afternoon when we were looking at those destroyed German tanks, I suddenly had this vision of the war coming to an end." "It seems such a strange idea." "The Germans beaten, Hitler dead." "The lights going on again in London." "It's a pipe dream." "The Germans are winning." "They're very close to Moscow." "Trust you to shatter my illusions." "Victor, do you know what I felt when you said the Germans were winning?" "I felt almost relieved." "Relieved!" "What kind of mad reaction is that?" "It's not so mad." "The war is something different when it's on." "You know, the expensive fireworks, the travel to strange places." " The interesting company." " The interesting company." "Where are we going tomorrow?" "I'm off to the front." "You and Talky are staying in a village a few miles back." " How long will you be gone?" " Just a few hours." "It's the flight over Berlin all over again, isn't it?" "It is not. I'll be on the ground, in friendly territory, all the way." "Now, that's quite a difference." "I want to kiss you goodbye." "Tomorrow morning I won't be able to." "I love you." "No, don't." "Don't say anything." "I just wanted you to hear me say it." "You've never heard me say it before, but it's been true for such a long time." "I think we'd better go back inside." "The Germans have been shelling us, trying to draw our fire." "But we wait." "You will see, captain, just how little these Fritzes know." " l hope you saw what you wanted." " l saw a lot." "It is not easy to understand the front just by looking at it." "I understand you need a second front." "Then you understand the main thing." "Hello there!" "Back already?" " Where's Pamela?" " ln the church." "There's an artillery spotter in the tower." "Said to be a great view, but I couldn't climb up the damned belfry." "I understand, colonel, there's a downed Junkers 88 in a field nearby." " Could you show it to me?" " Certainly." "Care to come along?" "No, I've seen a lot of Junkers." "I'll join Pamela." "Right." "Lead on, colonel." "Victor!" " How was the front?" " Quiet." " What is it?" " Just a minute." "Go look." " Tanks." " Germans." " That's the direction we came from." " Gondin said there was trouble." "They broke across the river and hooked around the woods." "Don't worry, it's not a large unit." "Good." "Airplanes!" "What's happening?" "Russian armory. I think they've surprised the Germans." "The Russians are winning out there, Pam." "Oh, my God!" "Hello there!" "There's a monstrous tank battle going on just outside the town." "They say there's more than a hundred tanks." "I say, Pam, you're all right, aren't you?" "I'm just splendid, Talky, thank you." "Well, you're all right." "I'm glad." "Now we go straight back to Moscow." "lmpossible!" "I want to have a look when the fight's over to interview the tank crews." "There is a very big breakthrough in the north." "Moscow is in danger." "All foreign missions will be evacuated to the Caucasus." "We must skedaddle." "Who's there?" "Egads, Captain Henry." "I'd given you up for lost." "We're all fine." "Have they stowed all the typewriters?" "I have to write a report." "A report?" "Are you insane?" "Get on the next train to Kuibyshev." "Tonight!" " The Tudsburys too." " We've been to the Foreign Office." "They'll take responsibility for neutral stragglers." "We have to check back in the morning." "Well, then, that's that." "There's a typewriter, I think, in Yeaton's office." "I don't know about a table or chair, a mad gang of workmen" " covered and stacked the furniture." " Why are you still here?" "I'm keeping things going with a skeleton staff until our mission is set up in Kuibyshev." "I'm the head skeleton." "How come you get stuck with this duty?" "It's a bit thick after Warsaw." "Well, I'm familiar with the drill, so I volunteered." "A huge pouch came in from Stockholm the day you left." "There was stuff in it from Rome." "Would you care to see Natalie and your new grandson?" "He's quite handsome, don't you think?" "Would you care to keep that?" " Certainly not." "She sent it to you." " l'd only lose it." "Besides, I have better pictures of Natalie." "You sure?" "OK, thanks." "Did she say anything about going home?" "They're on the Pan Am Clipper from Lisbon." "They leave next month." "That's a relief." "There was something else in here." "Looks like Navy business." "Anything good?" "New orders." "Command of the california." "Oh?" "What's that?" "That's a battleship, Leslie." "You don't say." "I'd think you'd find that confining after what you've been doing." "Not many Naval officers talk to Stalin face to face." "I'm not entirely unhappy with these orders, Leslie." "Oh." "Then I suppose congratulations are in order?" "Forgot to ask..." "Run into any trouble at the front?" "We heard some firing, saw some Germans." "I'd better get at that report." "Dear Mr. President:" "Command of the California fulfills my Iife's ambitions." "I couId only try to serve in a way that will justify this trust." "At Mr. Hopkins' request I have toured the front outside Moscow." "I am writing him a Iong, detailed report, but my bottom judgment is that the Russians will hold and in time will drive them out." "The cost will be terrible and meanwhile they need and deserve all the help we can send them." "But they are killing large numbers of Germans." " I saw many of the dead ones..." " Captain?" "We have a visitor you might wanna meet." "A distant relation of yours." "He's been here to see me before." "This is good surprise!" "The father of Byron here in Moscow!" "I'm here on government business." "What are you doing as a soldier?" "When I go away from Minsk, I tell the Russians I am soldier, yes." "So much confusion, they put me in construction battalion." "The question is, Mr. Jastrow, what are you doing back in Moscow?" "I hear all foreigners, they leave, so I come to ask what happened to documents I give you?" "I'm sorry to say, but our intelligence people questioned their authenticity." "But no, Mr. Slote." "I show you photographs, no?" " Yes." " l can bring ten people tomorrow will tell you such stories of children, of mothers of children, of old people..." "The Germans, they put them on big automobiles they transport to woods then...big hole in the ground and they kill them with machine guns." "Not only Minsk!" " This is everywhere!" " l am one man." "Almost alone now." "I am responsible for US affairs in Moscow." "But President Roosevelt, he must know about this crazy killing of innocent people." "President Roosevelt is the..." "He is the only man in the world who can stop it!" "So please!" "Please, Captain Henry who can tell President Roosevelt all these facts?" "Who?" "No?" "What happens to Natalie, my niece?" "This picture was taken a few weeks ago." "They should be on their way home soon." "This is small Byron." "May God keep him from trouble." "I leave my family in woods." "I come between German lines so America will know what is happening." "My document is true!" "I must go now." "I pray to God somebody will have heart to tell President Roosevelt." "Our intelligence people had a look at his stuff." "They decided he was an NKVD plant." "I tried to tell them otherwise, but..." "They're convinced he faked the atrocity reports for American consumption, to stoke up a war fever." "You saw his evidence?" "And what did you think of it?" "I was inclined to believe him." "So, what did you do about it?" "Uncharacteristically, I took quite a chance." "I showed it to a New York Times man here." "It ended up as a small back-page article." "There have been so many German war atrocities, you know." "It did earn me a stiff official reprimand." "What does he expect me to do?" "Go over the head of the ambassador?" "The head of the State Department?" "Write direct to the president?" "It's insane!" "It could mean the end of your career." "Exactly." "What would you do?" "I'm not sure." "I now take the liberty to add, Mr. President, that the embassy has received documentary evidence of an almost incredible mass slaying of Jews by German paramilitary units outside the city of Minsk." "With full awareness that you might consider this communication the worst kind of effrontery," "I venture to suggest that you ask to see this material about Minsk yourself." "Yeah?" "Thank God you're here, old friend." "I'm sorry to crash in on you like this." "I say, you're all right, aren't you?" "Yes, I'm just great." "I've been up all night typing a report." "What's up, Tudsbury?" "This is gonna be difficult, Victor." "But here it is straight." "Are you and Pamela lovers?" " What?" " Well, you know, sleeping together." "That sort of rot." "Of course not!" "Funny enough, I didn't think you were." "That makes it all the more baffling." "When we returned last night, there was a letter from her Gallard fellow." "It seems he's escaped and is safe and well, waiting for her in England." "That's good news, Tudsbury." "What's the problem?" "The problem is, old chap, she's just told me flatly that she's not going back to London unless you're going there." "Now, this is wild nonsense." "She's turned to stone." "There's no reasoning with her." "And the worst thing is, some RAF fellows are being flown out at noon and we've got the last two seats." " Where is she?" " She's gone for a walk in Red Square." "Won't even pack, you see." "I don't want to come the heavy father on you, but what about common sense?" "You don't want her training around after you, a happily married man." " Of course not." " l'm sure you wouldn't." "Look, you go back to your suite." "I'll see if I can find her." "Good." "But do hurry, there's a good chap." "That plane leaves at noon." "Damn." "The governor went and told you." "That's right." "There's something I've got to say to you." "Let's go over there." "What are your plans?" "Going to Kuibyshev or London?" "That's all been changed." "I'm going to command a battleship." " The california." " Command a battleship?" " Not bad, huh?" " Oh, my God, that's smashing!" "How happy your wife will be." " Where's the california based?" " Pearl Harbor." " Oahu. lt's in the Hawaiian Islands." " Hawaii." "I'll find a way to get myself to Hawaii." "There must be a consulate or military liaison of some sort there." " There has to be." " Pamela, you're engaged." "I won't marry Ted." "It was a beastly decision, but I've made it. I won't marry him." "My wife will probably come to Pearl." "I should think she would." "Now, what did you have in mind exactly?" "Well, I thought that you and I could deceive her discreetly until you're tired of me, and then I'd go home." "I don't understand that sort of arrangement." "No. I didn't think you would." "I know it must seem shocking and immoral to you, but I don't see what else I can do." "I love you and I'm happy with you." "I don't want to be separated from you." "You must agree to my proposition." "It's not such a bad one, really." "Pamela, I know this sort of chance won't roll around again in my life," " but I simply..." " lt won't!" "It won't!" "People to whom it happens even once are lucky." "So you can't marry me." "We must accept that..." "Wait a minute, I didn't say I couldn't marry you." "If I love you enough to have an affair behind my wife's back, then I love you enough to ask her for a divorce." "To me the injury is the same." "Now, you listen to me, Victor." "Unless you forbid me right here and now, I shall get myself to Hawaii, and sooner than you'd believe possible." "What a nuisance I must be to you, draping myself around your neck at this point." "Do you love me?" "I love you." "You're sure, are you?" "Say it again, just once more." "I love you." "What move shall I make today?" "You go quietly back to London." " London!" "But I thought..." " There's no alternative." "I'll write to you or cable you." "When?" "As soon as I know." "Very well. I'll wait." "Oh, God, how I love you." "I think he's in Moscow." "How does he draw these assignments, Rhoda?" "I mean, Moscow." "It's the end of the earth." "I haven't the faintest idea, Tammy." "But of course, President Roosevelt does rely on him so." "I have to suppose there must be a good reason." "That's the Navy for you." "No consideration for the wives and moms." " Could we dance?" " l'd love to." "I've got to get out of here." " Would you excuse us?" " Oh, go ahead, dear, I'm fine." " Hello, Rhoda." " Palmer." "I told you Washington was a small town." "May I have this dance?" "I'm sorry, Rhoda." "I won't bother you again." "Don't be silly, Palmer." "I'd love to dance with you." "...back to punt on his own 28-yard line." "ralph hill and Hank Mazur, the safeties for Army on their own 40-yard line." "The snap, and Werner gets off a high booming punt, driving Mazur back to the 35." "Mazur makes the catch, wheels left and..." "Wait, it's a lateral reverse!" "Mazur is lateral to hill on the 32," "hill is racing for the far sidelines." "hill breaks a tackle, now another!" "He's got only Werner between him and pay dirt." "He's brought down on the 26-yard line!" " Hey, Pug." " Hello, Red." "They told me you were here." "Come sit with us, we got a table." "Maybe at halftime." "It's like old times sitting on the grass." "You're dead right. I'll join you." "Mazur smashing into the Navy line." "He goes long left to the 1 5, to the ten, all the way down inside the one-yard line!" "Everyone in this stadium is on their feet as Army comes up out of the huddle." "Sets!" "The signals!" "The ball goes back to Watkins." "Watkins smashes into the center of the line!" "Touchdown!" "It's touchdown Army!" "And underdog Army leads Navy 6-0." "We're gonna lose this one, old buddy." "They've got a great backfield." " We could use old Pug Henry in there." " Yeah." "Fifteen-yard penalty for illegal use of the wheelchair." "Hey, you're the original Simon Legree, aren't you, Red?" " How's that?" " Sending the devilfish out on exercise in the middle of the Army/Navy game?" "What's wrong?" "Expecting a war or something?" "They're due back at 1 200." "Be tied up alongside for two weeks." "They told me you flew here via Tokyo." " That's right." " What's the straight scoop, Pug?" "Are those Japs really gonna start something?" "Back in July, when Roosevelt turned off their oil, we had all these scary alerts, but nothing happened." "I don't know, Red." "They're a strange people." "As far as I can make out, the odds don't matter when it comes to fighting." "All I know is, if they do go, we're in trouble." "The state of readiness in the Philippines is appalling." "He's back to the ten, to the 1 5, the 20!" "And he's blocked on the 32-yard line by..." "When was the last time you heard from Byron?" "Why?" "Well, I hate to have to tell you this." "That kid of yours has got brass." "The other day he walked into my office and asked to transfer to the Atlantic Fleet." "His skipper turned him down." "Byron was going over his head." "I told him, Pug." "I said this word for word:" "If he weren't your son, I'd have kicked him out of my office." "His wife and baby are in Italy, and he's worried." "We're all separated from our kinfolk nowadays, Pug." "Listen, I'm trying to comb out submarine officers from tenders and destroyers." "Listen, Pug, I'd do anything for a son of yours..." "Don't put it that way." "Byron's just another officer." "If you can't do it, you can't do it." "I'm glad you said that." "The ten!" "And he's over!" "For a touchdown!" "Red his family problems are really serious." "If it's at all possible, transfer him." "At this moment, in the nation's capital," "Japanese envoys are meeting with American diplomats." "At issue is Japan's demand that the US resume shipments of oil and scrap iron, and recognize Japan's right to rule East Asia." "And I'll do all I can to make it a successful one for the sake of two countries, Japan and the United States." "But the talks are stalemated." "America is insisting Japan call off the war in China and withdraw from the Asian mainland." "Meanwhile, the Imperial Japanese Fleet is underway." "Only a very few flag officers know where it is going and why." "And as the Japanese task force steams east, a much smaller American task force sorties from pearl Harbor, steaming west." "admiral William HaIsey on the USS Enterprise is ferrying 1 2 Marine fighter planes to Wake island, which presently has no air defense at all." "Pilots to Scouting 6 Ready Room!" " What's up?" " The old man wants a word with you!" " The captain?" " No, Halsey!" "Attention on deck!" "Carry on." "You fellows all heard this yesterday." "The admiral has asked me to read it to you again." "Battle order number one." "The Enterprise is now operating under war conditions." "At any time, day or night, we must be ready for action." "Steady nerves and stout hearts are needed now." "Signed by me." "Approved by Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, commander aircraft, battle force." "Dated 30 November 1 941 ." "I have reliable information that someone said this piece of paper gives every one of you carte blanche to plunge the United States of America into the World War." "Now, would the brave soul who said that care to step forward?" "Sir." "What's your name?" "Lieutenant Warren Henry, sir." "You think this order permits you to plunge this country into war, do you?" "Sir, I added I was all for it." "Well, you're all for it, eh?" "Why?" "What are you?" "Some bloodthirsty killer type?" "Admiral, I think we're in this war already." "We're fighting it with both hands tied behind us." "Gentlemen, this force was stripped for action weeks ago." "There is nothing loose, disposable or inflammable left aboard the Enterprise that I know of." "Except the wardroom piano." "I made that exception myself." "Now, there will be no friendly vessels in our path." "They've all been warned away." "So any ships that we encounter will belong to the enemy." "And if we don't shoot first, we may not get a chance to shoot." "Therefore, this force will shoot first and argue afterward." "The responsibility is mine." "Questions?" "Good day, then." "And good hunting." "Attention on deck!" "I'll give him one thing." "He's a tough old bird, huh?" "Or a trigger-happy nut, depending on events." "You know, Dad, that was really great news about the california." "I could hardly believe when Mom told me." "What's the latest on Natalie?" "She's flying to Lisbon on the 1 5th." "I've got a picture of the boy." "They look like my baby pictures." "You ought to see him." "I'm looking forward to it." "Damn, it's rotten being so far apart." "Hey there, Dad, there's Harrison Avenue." "What do you say we take a look at the old house?" "Yeah, why not." " ls that it?" " That's it." "How long has this place been deserted?" "I don't know, it looks like a long time." "It looks like it shrunk." "Remember it being so much bigger." "Look, that's where Warren threw that can of red paint at me." "It's still got the stain." "Wonder what the back looks like now." "Hey." "Look up there, Dad." "Remember we sat on the porch and you tutored me?" " You remember that, huh?" " Yeah." "I shouldn't think that a pleasant memory." "Why not?" "Missed all that school." "Somebody had to when I had the accident." "Yeah, but I was such a lousy tutor." "Maybe your mother should have taken it on." "But she was always busy with one thing or another." "For all the times I lost my temper, Byron, I apologize." " l didn't mind." " You cried sometimes." "You didn't cry when the truck hit you." "Pain never made you cry." "Sometimes you put on that angry voice, it scared the hell out of me." "It's all right. I liked studying with you." "I understood you." "Well, now that we've seen the house, how about some lunch?" "Maybe a quick game of tennis." "The plane doesn't leave till 6." "You know, outside of those three days in Lisbon with Natalie, I was happier here than I've ever been in my life." "I really loved this old house." "Yeah." "That's the trouble with a service career." "You never strike roots." "You raise a family of tumbleweeds." "Come on, let's go." "Well, you sure ran the old guy around." "Well, I gotta hand it to the old guy." "He's still in pretty good shape." "Just trying to keep the old wreck afloat." "Incidentally didn't you say that Natalie is flying to Lisbon on the 1 5th?" "Yeah, that's right." "Well, now the 1 5th's almost here, isn't it?" "About that transfer request, couldn't you table it now that they're coming home?" "Table it?" "It's tabled." "I've been turned down." " What more do you want?" " l mean in your own mind, Briny." "I'm assuming she's gonna get home with the baby." "Otherwise I'd desert and go fetch her out." "And I still want to be transferred." "I want to see them and be near them." "I've never even seen my own son." "There's another side to it." "Your squadron is in desperate need of watch officers." " They're on a war alert." " Dad, what do you want?" "I haven't asked you to go use your influence on Tully, have I?" "I'm sure glad you haven't." "Tully stretched a point getting you into that May class." "That was different." "Oh, yeah." "I'm eternally grateful to both of you." "That's why my son was born in Italy." "That's why I'm separated from my wife from the whole wide world." "Maybe we'd better just drop it." "Yeah, good idea, Dad." "Well... I guess this is it, then." "You'll be seeing Janice and Warren in a couple of days." "Give them my love." " Tumbleweeds blowing apart, huh?" " That's right." "Tumbleweeds blowing apart." "I pray for Natalie and your son, Byron." "I know you do, Dad." "Thanks." "Natalie." " Herb, how are you?" " Just fine." "I'm sorry." "Do you know Phil Briggs with The New York Times?" "This is Herb Rose, who runs a Paramount office here." "Hi." "I spotted you speaking Japanese over there. lt's very impressive." "I had a studio office in Tokyo for a couple of years." "I had no choice but to pick up the lingo. I was gonna call you." "Can I talk to you for a minute?" "Sure." " We'll be right back." "Excuse us, Phil." " Sure." "What is going on?" "Now, listen carefully." "I have to talk fast." "War with the Japs may be a matter of days, maybe hours." " How do you know?" " l'm in a position to do these guys a favor from time to time." "I want you and your uncle to go to the Coliseum tomorrow morning at 9." " What for?" " You'll be offered a chance" " to get out of Italy right away." " How?" "Via Palestine." "Palestine!" "That's a more dangerous place than Italy." " Not according to Herb Rose." " lt's a hellhole." "A desert full of flies, Arabs and diseases." "Come on, Aaron." "Anyway, Herbert is leaving illegally, isn't he?" "And that's risky." "In a touch-and-go situation like this the first principle is not to give the authorities an excuse to act against you." "Obey orders." "Keep you papers straight, your head down, your spirits up and your money in cash." "That is our ancient race wisdom." "And above all, stay within the law." "You sure Herbert said the Coliseum?" "Yes, Aaron, I'm sure." "Let's just wait here." "Dr. Aaron Jastrow?" "Would you be good enough to autograph my copy of your" "A Jewish Jesus?" "Please, that picture gives me the horrors." "I've disintegrated beyond recognition." "Obviously not, since I recognized you by it." "I'm Avram Rabinowitz." "Mrs. Henry, how do you do?" "I am glad you've come." "I asked Mr. Rose what other American Jews were left in Rome." "And I was amazed to learn the great writer Aaron Jastrow was here, with his beautiful niece." "We better walk around." "We are sailing from Naples on the flood tide tomorrow." "Are you coming?" " You're a ship's captain?" " Not exactly." "I have chartered a vessel." "This won't be an easy voyage." "The ship is an old one and it's small." "It's been transporting hides, fats, horses and such things." "So the smell is interesting." "But it will take us there." "How long a voyage will it be?" "I want to be frank about this." "Depending upon the current situation, we may go to Turkey then proceed over land through the mountains into Galilee." "You're talking of an illegal entry." "If it can be illegal for a Jew to go home, yes." "But we don't think so." "I have a 2-month old baby." "Can he make this trip?" "Well, Mrs. Henry, haven't you heard the stories coming from Poland and Russia?" "Maybe you should take some risks to get your baby out of Europe." "You want to think it over, I'm sure." "Mr. Rose will telephone you tonight at 6:00 and ask whether you want the tickets for the opera." "Tell him yes or no, and that will be that." " We're very grateful to you." " For what?" "My job is moving Jews to Palestine." "is your baby a girl or a boy?" "He's a little boy, but he's only half-Jewish." "Never mind, we'll take him." "We need boys." "I'm tired." "I want to go." "He's so warm." "Oh, my dear, I'm sure it's nothing but a little touch of cold." " Hello?" " natalie?" "Herb Rose." "I was just wondering, you want those opera tickets?" "I don't know what to do." "The baby seems to be coming down with something." "Herb, I think we'd better wait for the later tickets." "You're making a mistake, natalie." "I think this is the Iast performance." "You sure?" "Positive." "OK." "Good luck, kid." "December 7th, 1 94 1." "5:32 AM." "The Japanese fleet lies some 230 nautical miles north of the island of Oahu." "Five days earlier, with the Washington negotiations still deadlocked, the Japanese imperial council arrived at a decision:" "unless the fleet is sighted by the enemy anytime before December 6, it will be irrevocably committed to strike." "Now, as dawn breaks on this Sunday morning, the fleet remains undetected." "And as the heavy carriers swing their bows into the wind, they are less than two hours' striking distance from the bulk of the US fleet anchored at pearl Harbor." "Anna May, I have to run down to Yoguchi's." "We're out of eggs." "Yes, ma'am. ls Mr. Warren coming home today?" "Yeah." "The Enterprise is due in this morning and he's gonna want some breakfast." "Good morning, Mr. Yoguchi." "A dozen eggs." " Can you pick out a nice pineapple?" " Yes, ma'am." " ls this one OK?" " Good." "It's good one." "Many plane." "Big, big drill." "Look!" "My money!" "You no pay!" "My money!" "My money!" "My money!" "They must all be asleep or out of their minds!" "You sure about the war, Mrs. Henry?" "I think maybe you just saw a drill." "Oh, for heaven's sake, a drill?" "How stupid do you think I am?" "I saw a hundred Jap planes." "Maybe more!" "Sailors are burning up and drowning out there!" "Warren, my God!" "What happened?" "Baby, what happened?" "We were flying patrol ahead of the Enterprise." "We never even saw the bastards till six of them jumped us out of the sun." "Shot me down, Janny." "Killed my radioman." "Dearest pamela, here's one more pass at writing that famous letter." "I've already torn up two false starts." "In Tokyo, I actually went to the cable office and wrote out the message:" ""Come. "" "Yet I didn't send it." "Captain?" "Can you come up here a minute?" "Why are we going back, Ed?" " Think it's for real?" " l wouldn't be surprised." "I honestly never thought they'd go." "Attacking Pearl, they'll get creamed." "I hope so." "What are your plans?" "Going back to Wake Island." "I raised the control tower there." "All quiet so far." "How and when do we get to Pearl, Ed?" "God knows, captain." "I still say you should go to the hospital." "The hospital's gonna be jammed." "I'll get cleaned up here." "I'm gonna go to Ford Island, see what's there, maybe get a plane." "Hold still, honey." "I wish you saw their faces when I came climbing out of that tree dragging my parachute behind me." "What a madhouse!" "I saw this beautiful Chinese gal go galloping across Dillingham Boulevard in nothing but a bra and pink panties." "You would notice something like that, even if they shot your arm clean off." "Oh, stop." "Sailor, whose boat is this?" "Sir, this is Captain Bradburn's gig, sir." "Lieutenant Henry of the Enterprise, a dive-bomber pilot." " Yes, sir?" " The Japs shot me down." "I've gotta find another plane to get back in this fight." "So how's about you taking me over to Ford Island?" "All right, sir." "Be careful, baby." "And come back to me." "Roger. I'll see you there." "Yesterday, December 7th, 1 94 1, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked" "by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." "The United States was at peace with that nation." "And at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor, looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific." "Indeed, one hour after the Japanese squadron commenced bombing in Oahu" "the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to the secretary of state a formal reply to a recent message from America." "With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us God." "I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan" "on Sunday, December 7th, 1 94 1, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire." "Ladies and gentlemen, in this short period of time..." "This floor is wild!" "This short period of time, the presidential address is over, a total of not more than 500 words at the most." "Mr. RooseveIt is leaving the rostrum now on the arm of Captain James RooseveIt." "We should have gone to Palestine." "Oh, don't be hasty, Natalie." "He's declared war only on Japan." "But Japan is part of the Axis." "Hello?" "Yes." "It's the American Embassy." "The ambassador wants to talk to you." "Mr. Ambassador?" "Yeah, I see." "Do you really think you can manage that?" "Well, we would be desperately grateful, sir." "So we'll just sit tight until we hear from you." "Thank you." "Well?" "The Italians have suspended all exit visas for Americans." " Oh, God." " We may still be all right." "The ambassador has connections in the immigration office." "He's sure they'll waive the suspension in our case" " so we can still leave on the 1 5th." " Marvelous." "Provided the United States doesn't go to war with Germany and Italy." "Otherwise..." " Look alive!" " What are you doing?" " Come on." " Move it!" " Take it over!" "Take it on over." " Slow it down." "Slow it down!" " Hey, hey, hold it!" "Where you going?" " Hey, hold on, you guys!" "It's probably just another false alarm." "What do you think?" "We only have three fish." "The orders call for six." " Can you work that crane?" " l can try." "Here they come, boys!" " Hit the deck!" " Yes, sir." "Let's get out of here, sir." " What are we gonna do?" " Oh, my God!" "Listen up." "Listen up." "These fires are gonna spread." "When they do, these fish will go up." "Yeah, we lose these torpedoes, we might as well scrap the squadron." "Hansen, go get us some help." "You guys, let's load torpedoes." "Let's go." "Let's move it!" "Move it." "Come on!" "Ahoy on the devilfish!" "Stand by and get your ladder, I'm coming aboard." "Welcome aboard." "Here's the situation." "We took it real bad back at the anchorage." "Sea Lion looks like she's a goner." "Sea Dragon still might be saved." "I want you to go back there and see if you can help out." "Ahoy, DeviIfish!" "Request permission to come alongside." "Midshipman, on the double!" " Who the hell is this now?" " Pierce." "He was on a work party." "Captain, Mr. Henry sent me to tell you his party's all right, sir." "They're taking the torpedoes out of the shop." " You mean that thing is still standing?" " Yes, sir." "The fire blew in another direction." "Mr. Henry got some trucks." "We've been taking torpedoes out right and left." " Pierce, stand by, I'm coming aboard." " Yes, sir!" "Take that boat back to Cavite!" "Almighty God, they leveled it." "All right, let's get the hell out of here." " Come on, Pierce, shove off!" " Yes, sir." "Holy cow!" "Boy, howdy!" "Hot damn!" "Well, can you beat that?" "Boy, I thought you guys was gone!" " Hello, Byron." " Attention on deck!" "Afternoon, sir." "Carry on, men." "Well, how many did you save?" "Twenty-six." "We had to leave." "The fire was closing in." "Well done." "That's quick thinking." " Well, it was Hansen's idea, sir." " Who's Hansen?" "Hansen!" " What's your rate?" " Torpedo man, first class, sir." "That's where you're wrong, sailor." "You're chief torpedo man now." "Thank you, sir." "As you were." "I want a full report on this." "The names and rates of all your working party." "Oh, one more thing." "You still interested in that transfer to Sub Force Atlantic?" " Yes, sir, I am." " All right." "Submit another request." "I think I can assure you it'll get favorable consideration." "Thank you, sir." "Haul this gear to Mariveles and report to the devilfish." "Captain Hoban's got his hands full over there." " Aye, aye." " Very good." "All right, Pierce." "Get me out of here, son." "Captain, we're coming in to Hawaii now." "Skipper wants to know if you'd like to sit beside him." "Yeah." "We'll be seeing the fleet in a few minutes, captain." "Oh, my God, there it is." "I can't pick out the california, captain." "Maybe she sortied." "Captain Victor Henry to see Admiral Kimmel." "Sir, you really don't expect to see Admiral Kimmel today, do you?" "I just arrived to assume command of the california." "Excuse me." "A Captain Victor Henry to see the admiral." "You may have to wait all day or a week." " You know what the situation is." " l have the general picture." "Would you care to sit down?" "Yes, ma'am." "Certainly." "The admiral will see you right away, sir." "That's the second door down to the right." "Thank you." "Sir, about the California..." "Oh, that's right." "You were supposed to relieve Chip Wallerstone on the california." "How did she come out of it?" " You haven't heard?" " No, sir. I came straight here." "Well, she took two torpedoes to port several bomb hits and near misses." "One bomb penetrated below decks causing a big fire." "She's down at the bow, sinking." "Preliminary estimates a year and a half out of action." "Possibly two." "That's all top-secret, of course." "Chin up, Pug." "You'll get another command." "Yes, sir." "The only thing is, admiral, there aren't that many battleships available." "Not anymore." "Now, see here, Pug..." "Washington was crying wolf about the Japs for a year while the paper-pushers were giving our hardware to the Russians and the British." "We didn't even have the wherewithal for proper patrols." "God knows I didn't want to rely on the Army, but what could I do?" "Oh, well." "The milk is spilt, the horse is stolen, and I think it's pretty clear that President Roosevelt was too damned interested in the wrong enemy the wrong ocean the wrong war." "Well, sir, I can see how busy you are." "Yes, well, I do have a thing or two on my mind." " Nice seeing you, Pug." " Thank you, sir." "Dad!" "Where on earth are you calling from?" " I'm in pearl." " You're here in Pearl Harbor?" " Just got in this morning." " This is wonderful!" "Warren got back too." "I'll put him on in a second." "But Dad, you've got to promise me that you'll stay with us the whole time you're here." "Yeah, I'd Iike that." "Here." " Hey, Dad." " How are you, son?" "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I'll tell you all about it when you get here." "You know about the california?" "Yes." "I'm sorry about that. I really am." "Look, I'll tell you what." "When you get here, I'll have the bar open and Janny will be putting dinner on the table." "Sounds fine." "I'll see you in a little while." " Bye, Dad." " Bye." "Long time since we see you in the club, Mr. Henry." "Very long time, Salas." "pamela, I'm finishing this letter in pearl Harbor." "In manila, Byron and I visited the old house we once lived in." "Memories overwhelmed me." "Rhoda, the kids." "Those were the sweetest and best days of my Iife." "Is it really in the cards for me to start over, to have new babies learning to talk, little boys playing on the grass, a little girl twining her arms around my neck?" "Facts are sometimes hard on dreams." "The facts are plain to me at last." "I'm a family man." "I'm a one-woman man." "And I've got to fight a war." "I said I Iove you, pamela." "I do." "I guess I'II love you until I die." "Don't come." "Yours forever," "Pug." "He's a maniac after all." "Exceedingly clever, persuasive and forceful, but a maniac." "I confess, I never grasped it before." "I thought he play-acted." " Now what?" " l'm afraid that was it." "He said he'd called in the United States diplomats and given them their papers." "All I can say is, I couldn't be less surprised." "Mussolini still has to talk." "We'll know about him in about an hour." " What choice has he got?" " l believe I'll have a glass of sherry." "Would you like one?" "I'd better keep my wits about me today, what's left of them." "Well, don't despair, Natalie." "I still have one very good card to play." "Remember my friend Father Enrico Spanelli, the Vatican librarian?" "Well, he'll be coming around in a little while to drive us to the Piazza Venezia." "He knows all the newspapermen, so we're going to hear and see Mussolini from the press section." "Aaron, I don't want to take the baby into that fascist mob." "After all, my dear, it is visible history." "And since we are in a tight spot, we might just as well get the good of it mightn't we?" "Natalie, do you know I'm a Catholic?" " What?" "What do you mean?" " Then you don't know." "I thought perhaps you were being tactful all these years." "But it's quite true." "Are you serious?" "What am I supposed to say?" "It's the family skeleton." "I converted when I was 23." "Of course, it never took." "I fear I'm not the right blood type for that or any other religion." "But at the time, the act was sincere." "That's what it was. I wondered why we could never talk about you." "Well, it's understandable." "But the important thing is, I still have the documents." "Father Spanelli has copies." "So you see, we do have friends in the Vatican." "And that could be a very useful insurance if we need it." "My sympathies, General Guderian." "What a frightful place for tanks." "Did you manage to hear the Fuehrer's speech?" "Yeah." "How could he do this?" "Roosevelt declared war only on Japan." "As we came in to land, I saw a supply train halted in the snow, half buried." "I know. lt's the same all the way along the front." ""Failure of supplies, insufficient strength, unexpected bad weather."" "Terrible!" "Madness." "We have not even ordered winter uniforms." "The Fuehrer thought it would be bad for the troop's morale to even hint that we could not win in the summer." "Fuehrer." "Great fighting men, but they are being pushed beyond all endurance." "Then let us hope the Russians are worse off than we are." "Out there." "Can you make out the dark red mass to the right?" "The Kremlin." "It might as well be the moon." "General Guderian." " Yes, colonel." " Berlin is on line at the command post" " for General von Roon." " Thank you." "Roon, have you heard the news out there?" "Yes, general." "We couldn't be more surprised here." "We are devastated." "But at least Japan must come in now against Russia." "That will take the pressure off the Moscow front." "And we can look for an attack on Vladivostok." "We cannot." "Japan has not declared war against Russia." "The Fuehrer did not demand it of them." "That is not possible." " Beyond belief." " Yes, but it has happened." "He just went ahead and took on the United States." "But there is no plan, no strategy for a war with the United States." "That is why you must return at once to berlin, to draw up a wholly new operational scheme." "All-out, two-front war with possible major enemy landings in the West." "And you will report to Halder." "Halder?" "I am resigning my command." "I am very sick." "Forgive me, general." "I must return to Berlin at once." "Problems." "meanwhile in Rome, with the die already cast for him by hitler's declaration of war against the United States," "MussoIini addresses the italian people." "I'm afraid that's it, my dear." "Well, here we are in enemy territory." "We have to return to the hotel." "The hotel?" "We've got to go to the embassy!" "My dear, I know it was very stupid of me, but I left my briefcase with the manuscript at the hotel." "I never thought he'd do it." "The utter idiot!" "I take you to the hotel immediately." "Wait a minute, stop!" "Dear me." "Police." "Germans too." "Never mind the manuscript." "Let's go to the embassy." "Of course, your manuscript, it is very precious, professore." "But if worse comes to worse I can always get it for you." "Embassy." "Why can't we just go to the front gate?" "No, it will only be worse there." "But we should be able to pass through that line with no trouble." "Let's try." "Don't try and crash that cordon." "Terry Young, a man from UP, got into a jam doing that." " Took him away in a police car." " Should we go to the Vatican?" "Would it be any use?" "No, no, not now." "Don't think of it." "Nothing has been arranged." "In time I can work out something." " But now it could be the worst thing." " Natalie!" " Why are you here?" " Why are you?" "Ship's generator broke down." "We came back for a new armature." "Hello, doctor." "Now, listen, we're all in big trouble." "I think the best thing for you to do is come along with me." " Come on." " Good." "Sorry about the accommodations, Natalie." "I know how tough it's been on the baby." "He's been gagging on the stench for hours." "I may never eat fish again." "We still have much further to go?" "It should only be a few more minutes to the docks." "You know, I keep thinking about that diplomatic train." "I still think that ship of yours is dangerous, but the diplomatic..." "You can go back and get on the train if you want, but I won't!" "Soldiers." " They're coming." " Quick, under the tarp." "Natalie, you have to do something with the baby." "OK, we are through now." "Natalie, how on earth have you managed with the baby?" "I gave him his dinner." "Great." "When do we sail?" "lmmediately?" "First we have to install that thing and test it." " What was the name of the boat?" " lt's now called the Redeemer." "Turkish registry." "Once you're aboard you'll be secure." "The harbormaster and the Turkish Consul have an excellent understanding." "But come aboard." "We'll find comfortable place for you." "Aaron, I'm beginning to feel like a Jew." "I've never stopped feeling like one." "I thought I'd gotten away from it." "Obviously, I haven't." "Come, my dear." "Your quarters are through this passageway." "I'll show you the way." "You can relax now, Mrs. Henry." "We're in Turkey." "That's a start." "Hi, Dad." "How about some breakfast?" "No, thanks, Jan. l'm still off schedule from all that traveling." "Oh, by the way, Fleet forwarded your mail." "It's there on the table." "Thank you." "Dear Pug:" "I know this is the worst possible way to break this news to you, in a letter which will reach you in a faraway place." "I know how unfair it is." "Pug, my love, you've always had your doubts that I was cut out to be a Navy wife." "After all these years," "I suppose I've proved it." "Ever since berlin, during your long absences," "I've been seeing a Iot of palmer Kirby and the fact is..." "What's the matter, Dad?" "Oh, nothing." "Bad news from home?" "Coffee's mighty hot." "I burned my tongue." " Where's Warren, by the way?" " He went to the ship." "He expects to be back for dinner." "But I guess we can never be sure about anything anymore." "That's exactly right." "You sure you won't eat something?" "No, no, I don't want to eat." "I guess I'm tireder than I figured." "I might even crawl back in the sack for a bit." "Fresh bottle, Janice." "Opened it up, drank the whole thing." "is he all right?" "I don't know." "He's out." "I mean he's just out cold." "Well he was reading his mail." "Now, I think something in one of those letters upset him." "Maybe you should look at his mail." "Did you listen to the evening news?" "No." "Big air strike on Manila." "They made a mess out of the Cavite Navy Yard." "That's all the news Washington put out." "The communicator on the Enterprise told me two submarines were bombed." "One sunk." "The DeviIfish?" "God, no." "Maybe it's a mistake." "Maybe." " Hi, Dad." " Good morning, Jan." " My shower wake you up?" "I'm sorry." " No, no." "Vic usually wakes me up at this time." "Are you ready for some bacon and eggs?" "As a matter of fact, that sounds great." "Warren get back last night?" "Yeah, he's getting dressed." "Well, what are the orders for the day?" "I see that an old buddy of mine is running Cincpac personnel." "Jocko Larkin." "I'm gonna see if I can get him to shake loose another command for me." "Good idea, Dad." "Honey." "He's in there." "Oh, good morning, Dad." " How you feeling?" " Not badly, considering." "Did I empty the bottle?" "Bone dry." "I only remember the first half of it." "Believe me, Dad, it was just what the doctor ordered." " How about a little hair of the dog?" " Not on your life." "That's the road to perdition." "This coffee is excellent." "Believe me, you picked a good day to miss." "There's lots of news, none of it good." "For instance?" "Hitler and Mussolini have declared war on us." "They have?" "Well, the lineup's complete." "They're fools, though, making it easier for the president." "That the worst of it?" "They sort of plastered Cavite, Dad." "Any dope?" "Not much." "Apparently they went for the shore installations." "The DeviIfish was alongside." "Dad, I didn't want to tell you this because it's unofficial." "The word I got on the Enterprise was that they got two subs." "One was the devilfish." "What about survivors?" "There's no word." "Look, Dad I've got a really strong feeling that Byron's OK." "Now, there's so much confusion in this Navy right now." "The word could be wrong." "It's a very comforting thought, Warren, until we get more definite information." "What about you?" "Will I be seeing you?" "I hope so." "Sometime during this war." "No, no. I mean tonight." "It doesn't look like it, Dad." "We sortie at dawn." "I'm gonna leave the car for you in the staff parking lot." "Why don't you drive it home when you're finished?" "All right." "Well..." "Good luck, Warren." "Good hunting." " Yes, sir?" " Philippine operations file." "Aye, aye, sir." " Here we are, sir." " Thank you." "Sir?" "is there anything wrong, sir?" "Nothing." "Where's Captain Larkin's office?" " Building three, sir." " Thank you." "Where in the world have you been, Pug?" "I tried to find you all yesterday afternoon." "Hold the calls, Amory." "Well, now, it's good to see you." "Pug I'm sorry about the california." "She'd have had a great skipper." "Why were you trying to find me, Jocko?" "Admiral Kimmel is going to be relieved at his own request like Louis the xvi had himself shortened by a head at his own request." "Now, his successor is going to be Admiral Pye." "The admiral wants to start shaking up the staff." "He wants you for operations." "Now, hold it right there, Pug." "Hold it!" "This is as great a break as a man in our class can have." "And remember, there are six Iowa class battleships building now, due commission in 1 2 to 20 months." "The world's greatest warships and you're in line for one." "Jocko, get me a ship." " l am telling you..." " Now!" "Not in 1 943." "Pug, you don't say no to the fleet commander." "Where's Admiral Pye's office?" "Will you sit down, you son of a bitch." "By God, you never could play football or tennis." "And you don't think straight either." "Now, sit down." "is everything all right, Pug?" "I mean, you look a little green around the gills." "I hit the brandy a little too hard last night." "You did?" "You?" "I didn't like losing the california." "I understand." " How's Rhoda?" " Fine." "Let's see now." "You have a boy aboard the Enterprise." "is he all right?" "I also have a son on the devilfish." "DeviIfish?" "That's right." "I'm sorry, Pug." "The Northampton might conceivably be available." "The Northampton?" "God love you, Jocko." "That's the heaviest thing we have left." "Pug, I don't care." "A cruiser command doesn't compare with Cincpac's deputy chief for operations!" " And you know it." " Now, you listen to me, Jocko." "I've shuffled all the high strategy papers I ever want to see in this Navy." "I'm a sailor and a gunner, and there's a war on." "If you can't find anything else, get me a squadron of minesweepers." "I want to go to sea!" "I hear you, Pug." "Loud and clear." "One more flap I'll have with the admiral." "I'll give it a try." "And in conclusion, Rhoda, if I really believed this divorce would make you happy," "I couId endure it better." "However, it strikes me as a calamity, for you as well as me." "I know the life we've been leading in recent years has put a strain on our marriage." "In manila I said to Byron that we'd become a family of tumbleweeds." "That's the truth." "And lately the winds of war have been blowing us all around the world." "Right now it strikes me that those same winds"