"Oh well would you look at this." "Oh Archie don't, leave it." "LORNA:" "I have two sons overseas." "They're alive !" "Well Yeah." "Girls these days haven't figured beauty's in what a woman hides." "Witham foods has unparallelled food supply contacts." "Together we'll make millions." "Last night was the best of my life." "Marry me Gladys, the woman that I can cling to while I'm over there." "Unless you're in a uniform nobody sees you as a man, they think I'm a coward." "An affair with Hazel somehow proves that you're not." "What if I were the one that strayed, what would you do ?" "Don't make me answer that." "I thought Lewis had forgotten all about me look at this." "Thirteen letters, a bakers dozen." "When a soldiers mail comes it comes in spurts." "Betty !" "The censors are so heavy handed." "I thought you were engaged to a rich American." "Well now she's engaged twice." "Is he romancing you ?" "Truth be told it's mostly about food." ""There's not much beef to be had in the market and eggs are a dollar a dozen"" "Boy the guy oooozes charm." "How am I to write him back if I want to stay true to James ?" "You should have thought of that before you gave him my address." "" I dream of holding you in my arms to once again kiss your ............... "" "Oh my, soldiers don't write me letters like that." "It's your day off Lorna, have some fun." "You can't be here I have neighbours, thin walls !" "And what'll they say huh ?" "What'll they say about a poor Pusan who's bringing fresh Pomadories from his victory garden ?" "My husband could come home from the Legion any minute." "Well then we'll make him an Egg Plant Parmigiana." "No we won't make him anything." "You gotta take these, their from my best batch." "Marco, what happened the other night, that was a mistake." "I'm married." "If I thought it wasn't written in your body I wouldn't be here." "Oh you don't make this easy." "Then I'm doin' it right." "KNOCKING ON THE DOOR." "My God, stay here." "Thank you for the delivery." "Military telegram." "Hey don't worry about it, there's plenty of reasons for them to send a cable." "Must be about my boys." " Here" " No !" "I have to wait for Bob, this is for him and me." "You need to go." "You shouldn't be alone Lorna." "Please Marco, this has nothing to do with you." "Please." "This family understands soldiers Major, unlike another grocery firm which shall go unmentioned." "I'll mention it "Steinem"" "Game face Gladys, the army just sprung the news, their awarding the rations contract in the next 48 hours, it's down to us and the Steinems." "I'll take it, I'll take it." "Those are the rations James and daddy manufactured ?" "Indeed." "Swanky." "Your father thinks the product speaks for itself but until the ink is dry presentation is everything." "Give them a big smile Mrs. Witham." "I'd show them some leg if I thought it would help." "Your fathers playing up his time in the great war for all it's worth." "I think he had a rather cushy time of it to tell the truth." "According to him he defeated the Huns single handedly." "The naybobs here are lapping it up." "So he's paving his way with lies." "Gladys, we need this win, this contract will set us up for life." "Come James, the Colonel seems to think your the brains of the outfit." "Oh he is father." "You too Glady, I told them about your war effort as well." "Even if you're only sorting files in a munitions factory." "Only." "Now there's the fire we need." "Gin ......." "I'll take those." "No need for coppers where I'm Goin'." "You're gettin' outa here in a coupla days." "I not gonna live like this, Archie, not out there in the big bad world." "You know what I'm working with." "Fancy a kiss ?" "Maybe I do." "With my luck this scar will travel to my eye." "Tonights pills makes 39, tomorrows 40, 40 winks to follow." "40 winks forever." "Whatya wanna do, about our Two year anniversary ?" "Surprise me, you always do." "VOICES:" "Just drop that mess in the kitchen, we'll deal with it later." "Nearly caught by the help." "These aren't the rations we ate, they've gone off." "That's why we couldn't serve em'." "Still a few kinks we have to iron out before we go into full production." "They're out there conning the army with tricked out fakes." "They're enjoying French Pate mixed with Broiled Brisket." "They're just rations Gladys." "Who knows if the soldiers will even need to eat this stuff." "James, I know that soldiers are obsessed with food." "Most times a decent meals the only pleasure they see in a day." "They're out there living off a dogs breakfast, what kind of army are we gonna have ?" "What kind of business am I going to have if we can't make a profit ?" "Oh yeah, go on then, eat it yourself." "We'll fix the rations once we get into production I promise." "DOOR CLOSES" "Bob, you back ?" "Oh dammit, where are you ?" "You reek of drink, you know that ?" "This telegram came last night, and where were you, out getting drunk with your buddies." "Is it the boys ?" "I don't know but it won't be any good will it." "Nobody ever delivers good news in a telegram." "I fell asleep waiting !" "I couldn't open it without you." "You've got to be kidding me." "What is it ?" "They're handing out the tin already ..... military medal." "" For courage and utter disregard for personal safety"" "Stanley risked his life to save someone elses, he's okay." "LORNA:" "He must be in North Africa" "Barely into this mess and they're already giving' out medals like gum drops." "Stanley's a hero, huh, Stanley." "It's a game Lorna ......it's like kids swapping' baseball cards." "Is your heart so dead you can't even take a moment to feel proud of the man our sons become." "I'm relieved as hell but it doesn't make me blind to the war machine buying off our boys with bits of brass." "Since when do you get dressed up for work ?" "Just showing a little pride Bob." "Leon.... your singing at the canteen dance was amazing." "LEON:" "Uhhh it's good of ya to say" "I wish I could sing like that." "That'd be a novelty act, you look the way you do sounding the way I do." "I wonder, do you think I might ever be good enough to sing with the band ?" "Uh huh hmmm ..... yeah, let me know when you find one." " Hey Kate." " Hey hi" "Lorna ..." "Lorna the telegram, I'm worried." "It was good news, my boy Stanley got the military medal for bravery." "Then you must be relieved, and proud." "I am, very." "Maybe I was your good luck charm." "Be careful Mr. Moretti." "I always am." "KATE:" "Letters mean so much to soldiers even when they don't know a girl they like knowing someone's thinking of them." "GLADYS:" "But I do know this soldier, it makes writing to him worse because I'd be lying to 2 people." "KATE:" "You can't break his heart before he goes into battle." "GLADYS:" "Does seem a wretched thing to do." "Stop by tonight,t I'll show you some of the letters the girls at the rooming house write the boys." "That'd be swell." "I'll even nick a few bottles of bubbly for your trouble." " Champagne" " Yeah" "Another one pregnant." "Well, happy news for the husband." "Her husband shipped out a year ago." "I don't know where your girls find all these men." "I sure would like to have a few of them around here though." "Perhaps love would be a better recruitment tool." "What about you, Mrs Corbett ?" "How's your heart these days ?" "Strong and able." "Not bursting with emotion ?" "I don't know what you're insinuating." "Well your son, he's one of our first boys to receive the military medal." "Ah yes we're very proud." "Which makes you the perfect speaker for the factories armistice day service 11am on the 11th, the boss has approved the work stoppage." "I'm hardly the type to give speeches sir." "You're exactly the kind of woman our workers need to hear from." "And uh, families welcome, we're clearing the line to make it safe for civies and veterans." "JAMES:" "It's me" "Come in." "Your mother said I could come up." "Our business won't take long, sure you don't want to go out later." "GLADYS:" "Sorry, girls night." "We still quarreling ?" "GLADYS:" "That depends, are the rations still vile ?" "Vile is a little strong." "GLADYS:" "So was the smell." "I spoke to a manager at Tenants plant, he says the canning sealant has a 3 per cent spoilage rate." "GLADYS:" "And ?" "And increasing the thickness of the seal would reduce the risks substantially." "GLADYS:" "It's simple, increase the seal." "Except the process is more costly." "GLADYS:" "But you know it's the right thing to do." "GLADYS:" "James if you win this contract ......" "There's no if, I'm here to sign it." "Withams is now the official supplier of quality rations to our men overseas." "I want to congratulate you but if those rations aren't improved." "We won't poison our troops Gladys." "As you say, they do so much for us." "We are all asked to make sacrifices and while not every sacrifice is rewarded ........" "it is our duty to do so." "I'll tell you how armistice day should be marked, they should drag out the bodies of about 200 teenage boys scatter 'em in the streets and let the rats have a go at 'em that'd be something worth remembering." "It's been 25 years Bob, 25 years since you went over that god dammed trench, we have raised 3 children, buried our parents and somehow managed to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads." "But it's like non of that ever happened, non of it because you see everything through the lens of a few terrible months you had 25 years ago !" "You have no idea what that war ......." "Because you'd never tell me, I asked, I hinted, I tried and then finally I gave up !" "You want drag you in to to live again to some muddy gash of earth, tell you how everything bled out on me the day I did my duty and jumped over that trench well I won't do it, no decent man would !" "Yeah well I think a decent father ......... !" "Don't you start with ........... !" "A decent father would let go of his own pain when his learned what a brave and honorable son he raised !" " To our boys." " To our boys !" "MUSIC PLAYS" "So it isn't half bad." "Careful Betts, champagne has a terrible reputation for giving girls terrible reputations." "Not to mention terrible hand writing," "I can barely read what you've written these last Two soldiers." "Gladys give us what you've got." "GLADYS READING: " Dear Lewis, how lovely to receive your letters, each time I read one I feel closer to you "" "BETTY:" "Though not as close as you got when you mauled me against a brick wall." "KATE:" "Betty !" "GLADYS READING: " closer to you and proud of the sacrifice you are making for the safety of our nation. "" "So Poetic, you'll stoke his heart Gladys." "Especially if his hearts a little lower than it once was." "I think I'm walking the line impeccably, cheering him up without leading him on." "KATE:" "You should send him some photos." "Now that would give him false hope." "Oh give him a kick where it counts." "Want a kick, lets go see Leon and his band play." "You know where Leon plays ?" "I got a rough idea, yeah." "Isn't it a bit late." "No one said you had to come." "You girls hold the fort." "Hey wait up !" "JAMES READING: "When I return dearest I'll bring a diamond ring and all my love."" "" I'm dying for this war to end so I can get another chance to hold you close and feel your heart beating next to mine. "" "" Write soon and tell me that you miss me, all my love Lewis."" "James !" "Are we business men or charity carers ?" "I'm all for healthy profits but it'll cost us less to fix now than if the government forces us to do it later." "James you were the one that had a problem with this spoilage issue." "97 per cent of this product is flawless, good enough for any man, especially a soldier." "If you don't like risks don't be a soldier." "I've changed my attitude." "Where do I sign ?" "JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS" "SOLDIER:" "Hey doll wanna dance ?" "GLADYS:" "Sure" "Is it wrong of me to love this war ?" "BETTY:" " You okay ?" "KATE:" " Yeah." "Thank you." "GLADYS:" "It's like dancing in a crowded elevator" "GLADYS:" "You have such hep friends Betty." "Whataya mean hep ?" "Hep .... nifty, interesting." "Why don't you get us a drink princess." "Sure." "Help you Gladys" "Nurse !" "Nurse !" "Slow but steady, 90 over 60, fever of 102." "Erin, he was teasing me just last night." "You should be sleeping ?" "And Archie should be on the mend." "DOCTOR:" "We think it's Sepsis, which means his whole body becomes poisonous to itself, but he's fighting it." "Will he beat it ?" "Some do, many don't." "How about the pain he's in, can't you do anything ?" "We're managing the pain Vera, you look after yourself, get some sleep." "SOUNDS OF CRYING" "Church mouse, crept out of her hole." "And she never wants to leave, whataya call that music ?" "You keep lookin' for definitions." "I like to know what I like." "You like "Jump Blues" mouse." "Now I want to introduce you to some of the fellas." "Look at 'em falling' all over her." "She's got something special." "Next thing you know she'll move out of the rooming house and go on tour." "Don't you think your exaggerating." "Whataya know about anything." "Your lucky to have such a good friend." "I Look so dowdy." "I can't wear this wreck for the speech." "Your putting way to much importance on this speech Lorna." "You put too little." "SHOUTING:" "I'm home !" "What a night ....... you Two going out ?" "No, we're not." "You Two are on your own for dinner tomorrow." "I'm going to go shopping." "KATE:" "When that British flier wiped on a Hitler mustache and started singing." "BETTY SINGING:" "If the moonshine don't kill me I'll live 'till I die." "Shusssh. !" "It might have just have been the most fun I've ever had" "Thank you." "Well next time maybe just you and me." "Yes, and you know what Leon said, he might let me have a chance on stage with him." "Good thing he likes me." ""A little gem for my perfect Jewel"" "Love James." "They're lovely." "There was a bakers dozen." "GLADYS:" "My fiancee found the letters Lewis wrote from overseas." "Maybe I miscounted, after all he would have said something." " So you say something first, tell him you were just ....." " Randy" "Patriotic !" "No fiances going to understand that much patriotism." "We're having dinner tonight, it's our Two year anniversary." "Maybe if I'm lucky the factory will blow up before then." "BUZZER SOUNDS." "Hey Vera ......." "Vera !" "Still here champ, I wanted to see you outa here first." "Just as I thought, on the mend." "Yeah." "You'd better get better before they kick me outa here I have no intention of leaving this gorgeous corpse out in the park somewhere." "Think me and you should go for a walk in the park." "Nurse !" "Nurse !" "KNOCKING ON DOOR" "Come on in." "Ba Ba beep da doeeeee" "Betty at the door ba deep ba door ba beep ba doeee yaaa." "That's scat singing." "Yeah, I've heard about it." "I think I'm getting the hang of it not exactly Ella singing mr Paganini yet but ......." "Scatting, singing the blues ......." "Not everybody can do it." "Betty , you sound kind of prejudiced." "Kate it's a bad idea, goin' to sing at the club you make one little mistake and they will tear you to shreds." "That's not the impression I got from Leon." "Yeah well he'd have his own reasons for giving you a different impression." "He's been nothing but decent to me." "I'm just trying to spare you." "From what, happiness ?" "No, from getting hurt." "I found something I love, I don't care if I fall on my face." "Did I surprise you with my restaurant choice ?" "You surprised me alright." "You haven't said anything about how your present looks on me." "The ear rings, they look lovely." "You always look beautiful." "Thank you." "I see you got some mail." "Go on, it seems I'm not the only one who thinks so." "Oh James." "You can do better than that, you're never at a loss for words." "He was an airman, shipped out the next day, he was scared." "He needed to know that somebody would care for him while he was overseas, somehow that became me." "Somehow, I told you about Hazel, I prostrated myself before you and all the time your the cat who got the cream." "Huh !" "It happened so quickly." "You promised to marry him !" "It was only words, they didn't mean anything." "Apparently none of them do." "You can keep the engagement ring." "James please." "Please get out of the car." "Harps ?" "Bag pipes, it's Armistice day dope." "Hey you're still here." "I told you, I'm waitin' until you get better." "COUGHES" "Okay, shhh" "It's got a hold of me Vera, I can't do it." "Sure you can, this can turn around." "You got a choice Vera, I got none." "You gotta help me Vera, I'm not gonna make it." "Okay .......... okay." "Lorna !" "I barely recognised you, quite the show huh ?" "Your family here ?" "No they were busy sir." "Shame, I'd like to meet your husband." "A soldier who survived the Somme, far too few of them." "I lost my brother and Three cousins there, excuse me." "Which one of us has been asked to make sacrifices at times when they seem impossible but it is our duty to think of ..." "................." "Marco, someone will see." "Mama mia who is this woman ?" "I don't know her anymore." "I'm gonna find us a place." "Make it soon." "Look there's mum, doesn't her new dress look swell." "Let's get up front." "Uh no, take me over there." "I don't want to be in the line of fire when all the show boating starts." "BAG PIPES PLAYING" "Good morning family friends and co workers." "I am honored to be addressing you today." "This is a time .................." "A time when each one of us has been asked to make sacrifices." "At times they may seem impossible, but it is our duty to think of the greater good." "Forget our solitary, I'm a little nervous, my husband is here I ......................." "I didn't expect that." "We're a typical married couple neither one of us knowing what the other ones doing." "Bob doesn't have much use for this kind of ceremony." "When he came back from the first war he was badly injured and felt like everything that had happened to him had been for nothing." "Sometimes I can see how he'd feel like that used and spat out by folks who honestly couldn't give a damn if he lived or died." "But if he hadn't fought in that war, if all those other soldiers hadn't made their sacrifice, we wouldn't be standing here today." "I have Two sons overseas, they've seen dangers I can't even know the shape of and here we are building the bombs that make them strong." "You can't say we don't pay a price." "Sometimes you know when a thing is right." "What's a few small sacrifices on our part when we stand to win back the happiness and freedom we deserve." "Thank you." "They all gotta go down Archie." "That a boy." "Don't you fall asleep yet." "You know, after my accident" "Edith told me Lorna argued with doctor Poytche, said he had to do right by me with surgery." "She called me a soldier, same as any man here." "And I liked that, I suppose I still do." "That's the Two of us Archie, we're soldiers ......... on the home front." "Come on, one last mile you can do it." "I am with you." "Well done darling, we're home." "Mum look at you, and that speech, sure wasn't the one you were practicing." "I wouldna let you out of the house if it was." "I didn't mean to embarrass you." "You didn't, you did good, real good." "Thank you." "BOB:" "The things I say I don't mean any harm." "I know Bob, same here." "MUSIC PLAYS." " I'm a clot." " With tin ears." "Both." " Has he asked you up yet ?" " No" "We'd like to ease our way into the evening with a special guest." "Go, he's not going to wait forever, go go !" "." "KATE SINGS:" "I wished on the moon for something I never knew." "Wished on he moon for more than I ever knew." "A sweeter rose a softer sky on April days, that would not dance away." "I begged on the stars to throw me a beam or Two." "Wished on the stars and asked for a dream or Two." "I looked for every loviness it all came true, I wished on the moon for you." "CLAPPING AND APPLAUSE." "Kate Andrews." "GLADYS:" "Dear Lewis, the day we met I let my good judgment get swept away." "First in attending the dance and then in, in our further intimacies." "Lewis I am engaged to another man." "I was wrong to have pretended otherwise and I was thoughtless in accepting your proposal." "Although he has no reason to believe it I love my fiancee deeply." "My heart belongs to him ...." "What he wanted was so simple, and he made me feel like only I could give it to him." "Is there some way ?" "You were intimate with this man." "It was just some kissing and petting, you had a full fledged sexual affair." "It's not the same thing." "KATE:" "Why not ?" "Because I didn't care about her, she meant nothing to me." "Except you showed her more of yourself than I have ever seen." "What are you afraid of James ?" "That this is me, that this is all there is." "That's all I've ever wanted." "If I've done this all wrong I'm so sorry," "I'm so sorry." "Make it up to me." "You sure ?" "Yes." "I love you." "I love you too." " James." " I told you I learned a thing or Two." "Was it worth the wait ?" "Only if we make up for lost time." "Your letter to that airman, what was his name ?" "Lewis." "You can't send it." "I have to tell him the truth, he needs to know it's over." "Right now he thinks that he's taking you into battle with him." "You can break his heart when the war is over." "I'm sure he'll have forgotten me by then." "I don't think that's possible." "Your top drawer James Dunn." "You're here to see Vera ?" "Yes ...." "I heard about your friend, I'm so sorry." "There's people." "I'm merely comforting a co worker, nothing more nothing less." "Yeah." "Were you close ?" "Not really but somehow I'm the one they asked to touch his things." "What about Archie's family ?" "He was alone Lorna." "No family no friends, that's how it is in the end." "Well, lucky we have our families." "Yeah, I saw your husband yesterday." "Yes you did." "Not exactly what I was expecting." "Bob's a good man." "Why, because he wheeled out for one speech." "How dare you !" "You're not happy with him Lorna." "I know what it cost him to do that, to be there, you don't." "There isn't going to be a safe place for us is there ?" "I wish there were." "So brief you know Lorna, if your gonna burn why not burn bright ?" "I rang cook, requested something special for lunch." "Not yet married and already acting the hostess." "It seemed appropriate to mark Armistice day with an act of solidarity with our soldiers." "A day late, but not a dollar short." "Not even a dime." "You think this is funny ?" "Of course if this comes from one of those" "Three per cent cans that may be spoiled," "Whataya you think James, about Ten minutes from here to the hospital ?" "Sounds about right." "Get this outa my face!" "All the more for me." "Hmmm Ptomaine poison." "Gladys !" "You've no clue the compromises that come with doing business." "I know all about compromise father, doing the right thing for as many people as possible." "If we increase the density of he interior lag the spoilage rate goes down to almost nil production costs up two per cent." "Next thing you know we'll be doing this for nothing." "I have as much say in this as you do." "Well, I've lost my appetite." "Where'd you dream up this little antic, last nights sleep over with Carol." "Turns out I didn't get much sleep."