Places in the Heart (1984) Movie Script
Possum, put that up, now.
Our Heavenly Father...
...bless this meal and those
who are about to receive it.
Make us thankful for your generous
bounty and your unceasing love.
Please remind us,
in these hard times...
...to be grateful for what
we have been given...
...and not to ask for what
we cannot have.
And make us mindful of those
less fortunate among us...
...as we sit at this table
with all of thy bounty.
- Amen.
- Amen.
Turn your plate over.
Put your napkin in your lap.
Frank, you want to take some...
...okra and pass it to your pa?
- Yes, ma'am.
Forgot to tell you, we got a letter
from your Aunt Gladys.
She was hoping we could come
to Oklahoma and visit them...
...during your vacation.
But I don't know.
I was hoping we could paint the house.
I'll get it.
Thank you.
- Frank, one biscuit.
- Yes, ma'am.
Right on my biscuit.
Excuse me, Mrs. Spalding.
The sheriff home?
He is, but we just sat down to dinner.
Can't this wait?
No, we got a problem down...
It's all right!
I'll be right there, Jack!
Sorry to bother you, sheriff, but
there's a drunk Negro by the track.
- I thought you ought to...
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Where are you going?
- With Pa.
- Royce?
- Hey.
No one excused you from the table,
young man. You stay here.
I won't be gone long.
- Who'd you say it was?
- That Wylie boy, sheriff...
Hey, boys, get on back now,
you hear me? You hear?
Wylie!
Wylie!
Howdy, Mr. Royce.
Nice day.
Wylie, you're drunk as a skunk.
I sure am, Mr. Royce.
Now, you ought to know
better than that.
I'm sorry, Mr. Royce.
- You ready to come with me now?
- Just a minute.
Wylie, are you done?
Royce...
Frank!
Frank!
Frank, give me my doll!
Frank. Possum.
- Frank. Possum.
- Give me my doll!
Come here.
Come on.
Something's happened to your pa.
- What do you think?
- Get her out here.
Ma?
- Ma?
- Never you mind, hon. Don't you look.
Come on.
For pity's sake, what do you
think you're doing?
You get out of here. Right now.
- Right now, Glen. I mean it.
- Guess we can go now.
Oh, sis.
Rosalie, you go down.
Go inside, both of you.
Oh, sis.
Sis, I'm so sorry.
I am so sorry.
I don't want anybody to see me.
- I don't want anybody to see me.
- I'm not gonna let anybody see you.
Nobody's gonna see you.
We would have been married 15 years
this October.
We had two children.
And I never knew till just now
Royce had a scar right there.
I never knew that.
I was afrai... I was afraid you wasn't
gonna make it.
Just don't worry about anything.
Darling, I'm sorry. I just heard.
I got here as fast as I could.
You all right? Come here.
It's all right.
It's all right.
Oh, honey, everything's gonna
be all right.
I'm here now.
I know how bad you feel.
There now, there now. I'm sorry.
All I could think of...
...when I saw that poor man
in there...
...was what would I do if it was you?
What would I do if something
happened to you?
Ain't nothing gonna happen to me.
I'm too ornery.
I don't think I could live without you.
Oh, I love you.
I love you so much.
I love you too.
Sorry to hear about it.
Thank you. We appreciate it.
- Wayne.
- Viola.
- Where's Edna?
- She's in the kitchen with Margaret.
All right.
- Hi, Buddy.
- Hello, Wayne. How you doing?
- How's Mrs. Spalding?
- She's all right.
Excuse me.
Vi, you want to take this
for a minute? I'll be right back.
Here, sug.
Come on, you gotta eat something.
Marie Thornton made that.
It's real good.
Margaret.
What's gonna happen to us?
I can't support this family.
I haven't the least idea
how to go about it.
It seems...
...like I have never done anything
all my life...
...but raise kids...
...and take care of this house.
Royce paid all the bills.
I never even knew how much
salary he made.
What's gonna happen to us?
And thou shalt eat
the herbs of the field.
In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread...
...till thou return unto the ground...
...for out of it wast thou taken.
For dust thou art...
...and unto dust thou shall return.
Amen.
Lord, I thought those people
would never leave.
- Margaret, let me get this now.
- No, you go on and rest.
I'll get that.
Evening, ma'am. Excuse me...
...but I was wondering if you have
any work around here?
No. There's nothing here.
You go on now. Shoo.
What is it?
I was just asking if you had
any chores I can help with.
Oh, no, there's no work around here.
I can make you a plate of food.
Thank you, ma'am.
- You wait out by the gate.
- Yes, ma'am.
Excuse me!
Morning!
I thought I told you last night
you can't stay around here.
Well, I seen you was almost
out of firewood...
...so I thought I'd chop some for you.
I could fix you some breakfast,
but after that, you got to go.
Thank you, ma'am.
You know, ma'am...
...you got a nice henhouse over here.
Of course, it's about ready
to fall down.
A mighty good-looking milk cow.
She sure need
taking care of, though.
There must be close to 40 acres
out back.
I reckon with the right
kind of help...
...you'd make yourself a handsome
living just farming cotton.
All you need is somebody like me...
...who knows most everything there is
to know about farming cotton.
I was thinking that maybe...
...I could work around here for food
and a place to stay.
No. I can't give you any work.
I could fix you some breakfast,
and then you've got to leave.
- No such thing as a job, nowadays.
- I'm sorry.
I'll fix you a nice plate of food.
You go wait out there
and I'll bring it to you, okay?
Yes, ma'am.
I can mend this fence with no
trouble at all, right after breakfast.
Oh, that'd be fine, just fine.
Okay. I'll be right out here.
Good afternoon, Mrs. Spalding.
- Mr. Denby.
- I hope I'm not bothering you.
- No. Won't you come in?
- Oh, thank you.
- Please.
- Thank you.
Mrs. Spalding, on behalf of everyone
down at the First Farmers Bank...
...if there's anything we can do in
this hour of need, please ask.
Thank you.
Mrs. Spalding...
...I don't know how much your husband
told you about his business.
But at the close
of banking hours yesterday...
...you had a balance of $116.72.
However, when your husband
bought this place...
...he did borrow money
from the bank.
At the time of his death
he still owed...
...$3681, to be paid twice a year.
What that means, Mrs. Spalding, is...
...come October 15th, you will owe
the bank $240.
We were wondering
if you had any idea...
...how you were gonna
make that payment.
Yes.
Matter of fact, I do.
I was thinking...
Rilla Langsford and her sister
have that nice little gift shop.
I thought I could
do the same thing.
I could get some pretty little things,
and I could set them out...
Mrs. Spalding, why would someone
come all the way out here...
...when the Langsfords' place
is there on the square?
Mrs. Spalding, what we at the bank
suggest is that you sell this place.
Now I know times are hard...
...but maybe we can pay off the loan
and have something to tide you over.
But where would we live?
I believe you have a sister
that resides here.
No, Margaret couldn't take us in.
She couldn't afford it, and besides,
she hasn't got room.
Mrs. Spalding, when tragedies
like this happen...
...sometimes we have to face up
to things that are real hard.
Sometimes it's necessary
to split families up, temporarily.
I believe your husband has
some family up in Oklahoma.
I'm sure they could take one
of your children.
I can't talk about this right now.
If you'll excuse me,
you can let yourself out.
I think that just about does the trick.
That'll be...
...75 cents.
I'll see you in a couple weeks.
Right. Thank you, Ruby.
I didn't know you were busy.
That's all right. I was just leaving.
- Bye, Ruby.
- Bye-bye.
- Kids, come on in.
- Hi, Aunt Margaret.
Don't touch anything, Possum.
Watch your sister.
Don't let her touch anything.
Mrs. Parks offered to buy 5 pounds
of tomatoes from us.
So we thought we'd come by
and say hello.
Where's Rosalie?
I'm sorry. She's gone off
with her daddy.
But if you go in the kitchen,
I got some Coca-Cola in the icebox.
- Can we, Mommy?
- Yeah, you can.
- Frank, split one with your sister.
- Okay, Mom!
It's all right.
You can each have one.
- What do you say?
- Thank you, Aunt Margaret.
Margaret, I've been thinking.
Maybe I could work for you.
I don't know much about this work,
but I could learn.
I'm a real good worker.
Oh, hon.
I hardly got enough customers these
days to support me and Wayne.
I understand, Margaret.
Don't you even think about it.
Kids, come on. We got to go.
It's getting dark.
- Here, I got $28 saved.
- I don't want that.
Take it. Wayne will just
spend it on some fool thing.
I don't need it.
Come on, kids!
- Bye, Aunt Margaret.
- Goodbye, Aunt Margaret.
I swear you are just like Daddy.
You'd think he was sawing off
his leg to ask for the least thing.
I'll talk to you tomorrow.
I'm sorry to bother you so late.
We caught this nigger with a bunch
of things I think might belong to you.
Found him down by the tracks.
He claimed he was working for you...
...but it looks like he was
leaving town.
No, he's working for me.
I needed somebody to help out
around here, and so I took on...
Moses. Moses Hadnot.
I took on Moses to do some chores
until I could get straightened away.
Mrs. Spalding, are you sure?
I mean, I found all that silver on him.
Oh, it's Mama's, and Margaret
wanted to borrow it.
If you had gone straight there and
back, you wouldn't have this trouble.
Yes, ma'am.
Mrs. Spalding, are you sure
you're all right?
Well...
...good night.
- Good night, Jack.
Ma'am, I appreciate what
you've done...
How much could I make
if I was to plant cotton?
Cotton?
Well, last year cotton fetched
6 cents a pound.
You got, say, 30 acres here,
you figure...
That's 300 and some dollars.
If you take out...
You sure you can do it?
Ma'am, I been chopping cotton since
I was 5 years old.
I know all there is to know
about cotton.
All right, you stay in
the shed beside the barn.
Ma'am, I wanted to say
that I appreciate...
If you ever steal from me again,
I'll shoot you myself.
You understand that?
Thank you. See you next week.
Good to see you.
- Good morning, Mrs. Spalding.
- Thanks.
Hello, Mrs. Spalding.
It's nice to see you again so soon.
Won't you come right in here?
Why don't you take a seat
right over there?
Mr. Denby...
...I was wondering if you would...
...show me how to fill out a check?
I never did it before,
and I'd best learn how.
Certainly, Mrs. Spalding. It's just
the simplest thing in the world.
Now up here, this is where
you put the date.
Mr. Denby...
...I'm thinking it won't be necessary
for me to sell my farm after all.
Of course it's necessary.
I explained all that to you yesterday.
- Down here...
- I was thinking...
...if I was to plant cotton...
Mrs. Spalding, you don't know
a thing about cotton farming.
- Yes, I know, but Moses says...
- Moses? Who's Moses?
He's this Negro man.
I don't know any Negro
around here named Moses.
He was just passing through, and I
gave him a job doing some chores.
You're telling me you let some Negro
hobo talk you into planting cotton?
Did you ever hear
of the Depression?
Now...
...you see these?
These are all foreclosures. And
that's just in the last three months.
White men who've cotton-farmed all
their lives and can't make a go of it.
And you listening to some
no-account nigger.
You'll excuse me, Mrs. Spalding...
...but that's just about the most
ignorant thing I've ever heard.
Mr. Denby...
...I'm not ignorant...
...and I'm not selling my land.
And I'm not giving my children over
to anyone else to raise.
I'm going out and I'm buying
$15 worth of cottonseed.
So I'd appreciate it if you would
show me again how to write a check.
Okay, Mrs. Spalding, that's...
Let's see, 450 pound of cottonseed
at. 03 cent a pound.
That comes to...
...$13.50.
- $13.50?
- Yes, ma'am.
Load up Mrs. Spalding's wagon.
- Mrs. Spalding?
- Yes.
That ain't the seed you're paying for.
He's charging you for grade-A seed,
but that's gin-run quality.
Something wrong, ma'am?
Mr. Simmons, I think maybe you
gave us the wrong seed?
Well, so I did.
That's just an honest mistake,
isn't it, boy?
Isn't it, boy?
Yes, sir.
Now you idiots gave Mrs. Spalding
the wrong seed.
We're lucky her nigger caught it.
That's a smart nigger you got there.
He's a credit to his race.
Why did you have to go shoot off your
big mouth in front of that white man?
I swear, you ain't never
gonna learn nothing.
You just got yourself into
a carload of trouble.
This ain't your land.
You just passing through.
That white woman
ain't nothing to you.
These people ain't no reason
to get yourself killed.
Howdy.
Howdy.
What's your name?
Moses.
My name's Frank.
- My pa was killed.
- I heard about it. I'm sure sorry.
He was shot.
It was a nigger killed him.
How old are you, child?
Nine, and 4 months.
You mean to tell me you got to be
9 years and 4 months old...
...and nobody told you
it's bad luck...
...to rock a rocking chair
with nobody in it?
Don't do no good now.
The damage is done.
I knew a man who rocked
a empty rocking chair.
Before nightfall, he got run over
by a cotton wagon.
Here, take this rabbit foot.
And you do what I do and
say what I say, you understand?
First thing is you turn around
three times.
One...
...two...
...three.
Next thing is you walk backwards.
Seven, six...
...five, four...
...three, two, one.
Thank you, Lord Jesus! Amen!
Thank you, Lord Jesus! Amen!
Give back my rabbit foot.
Got too much to do around here to go
around saving your life all the time.
If you're just gonna stand around,
you might as well be of some use.
Fetch me some of them nails
over there.
What are you thinking about?
I grew up in a place just like this.
Boy, I hated it.
I used to run away
every chance I got.
I'd sneak out of the house...
...go out behind the barn.
Then I'd...
...head out across the pasture
and down to this grove of elm trees.
And right in the middle...
...was this little spot where I
used to go and sit all the time.
Mrs. Spalding?
Hello!
Watch your step here.
And another one.
And a little step up.
Mrs. Spalding?
Yes, Mr. Denby,
I'm in the back yard!
I'll be right there.
Now put that thing away.
This woman may not like people
smoking in her house.
Now, please, for once in your life,
try and make a good impression.
Good afternoon, Mrs. Spalding.
How are you?
I'm just fine.
I don't believe you know my
brother-in-law, Will.
How do you do?
Mind if we come in?
No. No, not at all.
Poor Will, here, lost his sight
in the big war.
It was the Battle of the Somme,
wasn't it, Will?
He was a real war hero.
Weren't you, Will?
Will, he doesn't like to talk
about these things too much.
- Do you, Will?
- No.
Will's been living with his mama
until she passed away...
...and since that time he's been
visiting with my wife and me.
Now then, Mrs. Spalding...
...in spite of the fact
that I have great doubts about...
...this misguided attempt of yours
to hold on to this place...
...as a Christian and deacon of the
church, it's my beholden duty...
...to reach out the hand of charity
to a human being in need.
And I got to thinking, now what better
way to help out this poor woman...
...than if she took in a boarder.
Someone who could move in here, and
by paying a modest rent, help her out.
What if my brother-in-law was to move
in here and rent a room from you?
- Move in here?
- Will makes a fine living...
...caning chairs and making brooms,
so don't you worry.
Oh, Mr. Denby, I'm...
I so appreciate your thoughtfulness.
This just isn't a good time.
Sit down, Will.
Will?
Mrs. Spalding...
...speaking on behalf of the bank...
...we'd take it as a sign that you're
trying to provide for your family.
When would you like
your brother-in-law to move in?
As a matter of fact, I have his things
out in the car right now.
Anything special you like to eat?
I'm not a very good cook,
but I'm willing to try.
I don't want to be here
any more than you want me to be.
I'll try not to be any trouble.
And all I'll ask in return is to be
left alone in peace and quiet.
- I thought...
- I know what you thought.
But I don't need your help, and I
don't need you to feel sorry for me.
Honey?
I'm in back, darling.
Where you been?
We're real late for the dance.
Old man Wilson ought to put that
Studebaker of his out to pasture.
Not a week goes by without something
going wrong with that fool thing.
And the trouble is, he thinks he can
fix it all by himself.
So he goes in there
and messes everything up...
...and makes it worse than
it was in the first place.
I think he does it on purpose,
just so I'll come out and talk to him.
You know that carburettor
I fixed for him last week? He...
Where's Rosalie?
She's over at your mama's.
She's gonna sleep there tonight.
You ought not to eat that.
You'll get fat.
What about you?
- A lot you'd notice.
- I'd notice.
Wayne, we gotta go.
Everybody's waiting.
Wayne, you got to...
Hi!
Howdy.
Let's go inside and dance.
Come on, let's go dance.
I'll get it. I'll get it.
Thank you, baby.
- You warm enough?
- I'm fine.
You sure?
- Want my coat?
- No.
That's a nice table.
Hey, Wayne!
Howdy, Hank.
I sure am glad Rosalie took
that little trip tonight.
Why are you saying that?
Where were you two?
We were getting worried.
- Where you been?
- Hi, you guys!
- Hi, Buddy.
- Come here. I'll buy us a drink.
We're getting a bottle
of good-for-what-ails-you.
Be right back.
Just be a minute.
- How you been?
- I been just fine.
Hey, I hear you...
Where were you two?
Put that down. Come on.
Frank, are you craz...?
That man catches us in here,
he's gonna skin us alive.
I got something important to show you.
Do you want to see it or not?
Recordings for the Blind presents:
Trent's Last Case, by E. C. Bentley.
Chapter one, "Bad News."
Between what matters
and what seems to matter...
...how should the world we know
judge wisely?
When the scheming, indomitable brain
of Sigsbee Manderson was scattered...
Frank!
Possum!
Coming, Mama!
Ten minutes later, he's
driving a new Buick.
- You through?
- Yeah.
Vi and me are gonna dance.
I don't want to dance, Wayne.
Don't say no.
You have to dance. Come on.
Haven't danced all night.
Excuse me.
You look pretty tonight.
Let's go up to Dallas this weekend,
all right?
Take in a picture show...
...then have supper out
just like an old married couple?
You can tell Buddy you're visiting
that aunt of yours up in Dallas...
- No.
- Why not? Nobody will know.
- Wayne, I can't go on like this.
- Honey, just be patient.
I'll work everything out, don't worry.
Just give me a little bit of time.
I'll think of something, all right?
What's the matter, Vi?
We'll be fine. Just trust me.
Wayne, we're not gonna see
each other anymore.
- What?
- Not like we have been.
- Why?
- This is goodbye.
Mrs. Spalding?
Mrs. Spalding?
Mrs. Spalding?
Yes, Mr. Will. I'm right here.
Mrs. Spalding, believe me...
...if I had anyplace else to go
tonight besides...
...the State Home for the Infirm,
I'd gladly leave right now.
When I came here, all I asked
was to be left alone.
I am not some kind of freak
that is here on display...
...for the amusement of those
hooligans you call children.
- I will not...
- What?
...have them vandalizing
my personal property.
Don't come in my house
and talk about my children like that!
They are not hooligans or vandals!
They're well brought up children!
- You can't walk into my house...
- Fine!
Fine.
Whatever they are, you just
keep them out of my room.
That's all right, I'll get that.
The door's on your right.
Thank you.
Good night, Mrs. Spalding.
Good night, Mr. Will.
Ready, ma'am?
Get along, mules! Get along!
Now get along, mules!
Get along there!
Keep them straight, ma'am.
That's fine. That's just fine.
Right, Spalding. You don't know
the first thing about smoking.
I do so. I been smoking
since I was little.
- Then how come you can't inhale?
- I can so. I can inhale real good.
Mr. Will! Mr. Will!
Frank got caught smoking in school
and the teacher told Ma...
...and Frank's gonna catch it!
Frank, I'll see you
at school tomorrow.
Well, young man? What would
your pa do if he were here?
He'd spank me, I reckon.
I guess that's what we
got to do, then.
Frank, what's she gonna do
to you? Frank!
- Ma, what are you gonna do to him?
- It's okay.
Ma, what you gonna do to Frank?
Are you gonna spank him?
- Can I watch? Can I?
- Possum!
Frank, when your pa did this,
how'd he do it?
Most times...
...I'd lean over the table, grab hold,
and he'd let me have it.
How many times?
Pa would be mad
over something like this.
I reckon he'd give me 10 good licks.
I'm ready.
Ma? I'm ready.
- What's wrong?
- Frank's getting a licking.
Did it hurt?
Come on.
Let's let old Frank
be by himself for a bit.
Tell you what, why don't you help me
with my chores?
Mrs. Spalding?
I won't do that again. Ever.
Are you all right?
God, I miss my husband.
Lord, I can't hardly see
my hand in front of my face.
Feels like rain.
- Must be coming up a real storm.
- Sure is.
Help me wash dishes.
Now don't be mad, baby.
You're a good baby.
I made each of you
some cookies too.
Come on, boy. Let's get.
Come on, get! Get!
Get on, get on! Come on! Come on!
We got to get inside, ma'am.
Storm's coming from over there!
Get on! Get on, boy!
Come on! Let him be!
Come on, boy!
Come on, won't you?
Let him go! Come on! Run!
Girls, get in the schoolroom.
Boys! Robert, let's go!
Come on! Come on! No dawdling!
Sally!
Come on! Come along!
Be careful getting up these stairs.
Everybody get inside!
- Where's Frank?
- I don't know.
Let's go!
Toby!
All right.
Get the windows open
before the house blows!
You get the dining room,
then get on the floor!
I'll get these in here! Hurry up!
You're a little baby.
Possum!
Here! Give me him!
Possum!
- Possum, it's okay.
- Mr. Will! Mr. Will!
It's okay.
Step down! Step down!
Step down! Step down! Step down!
Frank Spalding!
There's a tornado coming!
Get on in here!
You'll get yourself killed.
I can't! I gotta get home!
Here!
I got him, ma'am!
Come on, Mr. Will.
It's all right. It's all right.
Get in now.
Mr. Will! Step down! Step down!
Watch your head!
Ma!
- Ma!
- Oh, my God, it's Frank!
Frank, stay there!
Frank, come on!
Now, come on, we got to get inside.
Come on, hurry up!
Get him in! Get him in!
Okay! Come on! Get in there!
Hurry up! Get inside!
Get off!
It's okay now.
It's all over now. Come on out.
It's all right. It's all...
Vi?
Hey, baby, it's okay.
It's okay now.
Everything's gonna be all right.
Oh, darling, I was so scared.
I was so scared something would...
I don't know what I'd do
if anything happened to you.
Come on, ma'am.
Here, give me your hand, Mr. Will.
How bad is it?
Everything's a little bent,
but it's still here.
Come on.
- Come on, Vi.
- Oh, Bud, let's leave this town.
There'll always be tornadoes.
Everybody'll always be poor.
Nothing can work out here.
I want to move, Buddy. Please.
I want...
Sure.
Hold me.
- Good morning, Mr. Will.
- Morning.
- Morning, Mr. Will.
- Good morning.
- Good morning, Mr. Will.
- Morning.
- In Chicago yesterday.
Cotton held steady after dropping
to a record low...
...of 3. 5 cents a pound
over the last four days.
Poultry and eggs were down
to a seasonal low.
Corn remains unchanged.
Soybeans gained...
So let me see.
At 3.5 cents a pound...
...30 acres, that would be...
That comes to $175.
Think there's any chance
cotton prices'll go back up?
How much money you got
left in your account?
Twenty-four dollars. That's all.
- It's not enough for your payment.
- I know.
I was wondering...
What I made from my cotton
would cover most of the payment.
Could you all...
...maybe, wait for the rest?
That's something only the
president of the bank can decide.
- You shouldn't get your hopes up.
- Could you ask?
There ain't no chance
you'll ever get that prize money.
- It won't work.
- It's a hundred dollars.
That plus a crop
is enough to make the payment.
You cannot begin to get that cotton
picked on time.
Why? Moses has said that it's ready.
Moses always says things.
- It's not always true.
- I said cotton comes in early here.
But in a couple days, the pickers
will get up to this county.
They pick it fast
as you can say Jack Robinson!
- Then we'll start right now!
- You got 30 acres to pick.
- The kids can help.
- That won't be nearly enough.
- I'll pick 24 hours a day.
- Did you ever pick cotton?
After an hour, the hulls
start cutting your fingers.
By noon your hands is bleeding.
Later your fingers start to swell.
Later there ain't no feeling
in your hands.
I ain't even speaking about what
it does to your knees and your back.
Get that through your head.
Once and for all, we can't do it.
Stop thinking about it
before you kill yourself!
Now you listen to me.
If we lose this place, you're going
back to begging for meals.
They'll put you in a state home.
I'll lose what's left of my family.
I won't let that happen.
I don't care what it takes.
I don't care if it kills me.
I don't care if it kills you.
I won't give up.
And if the two of you do,
you can go straight to hell!
Careful with that now, hon.
I bet she isn't ready.
All the time we been coming here,
she's never been ready.
I'm here. I'm coming.
I start out an hour early,
I always end up a half-hour late.
Okay, what can I do to help?
Get the cards
on top of the chest of drawers.
- That looks good.
- Want me to do something?
Set up the table, would you, Buddy?
Let me help you with that, Margaret.
Can you find them?
Here, let me get the light.
Right here.
Come on.
You want my peanuts, honey?
I'll take your six, honey.
Discard and rummy.
I don't believe you.
Thirty-two here.
Thirty-two.
What's the damage, Margaret?
- Seventy-three.
- Seventy-three?
Listen, you two. Vi and me
got a little announcement.
Next time you want to play cards
with us, you'll have to go to Houston.
I got an offer from an oil company
down there...
...too good to pass up.
You've lived here all your lives.
Well, don't look at me.
It was Vi's idea.
You know how hard it is to change
her mind once she gets it set.
We'll miss you, Margaret.
It's just such a wonderful
opportunity for Bud.
We just can't pass it up.
We'll miss you a lot more
than you'll miss us.
Congratulations.
Congratulations, Buddy.
We're real happy for you.
Thanks. I'll get another drink.
You want one?
It's my deal.
Whatever happened between you
and Vi, I don't want to know about it.
I don't ever want to hear about it.
Am I right?
Am I right?
Yes.
I'm not the same dumb beauty operator
you married eight years ago.
What are you gonna do?
I don't know.
I got the shop.
Rosalie and me can get along
without you.
I'm never going to see Viola again.
- It's over between us.
- It's too late for that.
I don't think I can
live with you anymore.
I don't think I love you anymore.
Please don't say that.
Lord, this ain't gonna work.
Ain't no way we gonna get
all this cotton picked...
...and yet you sent us
out here anyway.
I swear, sometimes I don't know
what's gotten into you.
Mr. Will, you gotta talk
to that woman.
She won't pay me no mind,
but she listens to you.
It won't do any good.
We only picked two acres today.
Should've done at least four.
And that's when we're fresh.
What's it gonna be in a week?
How many pickers would it take
to get the cotton in on time?
Nine or 10, at least.
Okay. We better hire them.
- Hire pickers?
- With what, Mrs. Spalding?
You said yourself you only had
$24 in the bank.
That ain't near enough
to hire 10 pickers.
I'll pay them out of the first bale.
What happens if you don't get
the first bale in?
Then I'll pay them out
of the money I get from the gin.
If you do that,
you'll have hardly any money left.
I'll take that chance.
We ain't got much time before
them pickers in the South...
All right, ma'am.
You got what you asked for.
Have they had breakfast yet?
I doubt it.
Governor Johnson appealed to
President Roosevelt today...
...for emergency relief due to
the failure of the WPA program...
...to get started in Dallas.
The governor had asked
the administration...
...for $1 million
in direct relief yesterday.
Texas was allotted
$500, 000 instead.
Governor Johnson said the situation
was becoming critical.
Meanwhile, in Baton Rouge...
...Huey Long's last legislative
measures, 37 of them...
...took a fall last Tuesday, as the
administration he left behind him...
...pushed its investigation
of his assassination 10 days ago...
...by Dr. Carl A. Weiss, Jr.
The Chicago Cubs retained their lead
in the National League pennant race...
...by defeating the New York Giants
8- 3...
...before a crowd of 29, 740...
...at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
It was the Cubs' 13th
straight victory.
Second place St. Louis Cardinals
beat Brooklyn 1-0.
The Giants are now four
and a half games behind the Cubs.
The weather in central Texas today
will be clear, no sign of rain.
Over here, Mr. Will!
- Moze, the pickers are here.
- How you know that?
I heard 11 trucks
pass by the house...
...and from the direction
they were headed...
...they were going out
to the Rapp place.
- How much land the Rapps have?
- Four hundred acres.
That means we got three days left.
We ain't got no time to waste!
Let's get to work!
Get along there!
Get along now.
You ain't no more tired than I am.
Get along!
Morning, ma'am.
Mrs. Spalding, I hate to be
the one to tell you this...
...but that sister of yours doesn't
have a natural talent for cooking.
I got to thinking, if we all weren't
gonna die of ptomaine poisoning...
...I'd have to do something about it.
So I'm fixing us some green beans
like my mother used to make.
Mrs. Spalding?
Mrs. Spalding, are you okay?
I was remembering a dream.
What day is this?
It's Friday, ma'am.
When do we have to be at the gin?
Tomorrow morning.
Recordings for The Blind presents:
Trent's Last Case, by E. C. Bentley.
Chapter one, "Bad News. "
Between what matters
and what seems to matter...
...how should the world
we know judge...?
You all right?
The end.
Ma'am?
Mrs. Spalding.
Hey, Mrs. Spalding!
We're finished.
We done it.
He'll be here any minute.
Get this straight.
He'll try to charge you
for ginning the cotton.
- I'll tell him no, do it for the seed.
- He'll say he'll take all the seed.
I say he can only have half.
No, we offer a third
and settle for half.
We gotta get 3.5 cent a pound,
even with the prize money.
You gotta remember that...
Here he comes.
- Howdy, Mrs. Spalding.
- Howdy, Mr. Simmons.
Nice load of cotton.
You ought to be real proud.
Real proud. Let's go into my office
and see if we can do some business.
Well, look who's here.
Go on and have a seat.
I ought to explain to you
how things work around here.
I gin the cotton for a fee, then I buy
your cotton if we agree on a price.
For ginning, it's customary
to charge $5 on the ton.
Excuse me.
I was told that you sometimes
gin the cotton for the seed.
Yes, that's another way of working it.
I gin the cotton and keep the seed.
The way it was explained to me,
you're supposed to keep...
...a third.
I'll tell you right now,
I won't pay that. Excuse me.
A little too much sun.
Out of respect for your late husband,
I am prepared to go 50-50.
Fine.
I expect you realize the bottom
dropped out of the cotton market.
I'm pretty much doing you a favour,
taking it off your hands.
Mr. Simmons, I want 4 and a half cents
a pound for my cotton.
You don't want me,
you want Santa Claus.
I'll pay you 2.75
and not a red cent more.
Four?
Maybe you haven't heard about
the Depression.
I can't pay that
or anything close to that.
Three cents a pound,
take it or leave it.
You know what your trouble is? You're
the victim of unbridled greed. 3.5.
- No.
- Ma'am, that is the honest price.
That's it.
I did my best. I tried to help.
You can't blame me.
I can't do no more for you.
Go on down to the square and see
how much you get for your cotton.
Mr. Simmons?
It just occurred to me. I was looking
at the pictures here on your wall.
I remember how much store
your daddy set...
...on ginning the first bale
of cotton each year.
This'll be the first year
since I don't remember when...
...that y'all aren't first.
I guess Mr. Wheeler at Wheeler's Gin
will be pleased to meet my price...
...just so he can show off
all next year at the Masons.
Mrs. Spalding...
...come back and sit down.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Let's get this wagon
to the loading bay.
Well?
What happened?
How much did you get?
3.75 cents per pound.
That's more than market price.
If we'd planted the other 10 acres in
cotton, think what we would've made.
We would've been dead.
- Mr. Estes is selling 12 acres.
- Have you taken leave of your senses?
- We'd have almost 60 acres of land.
- You can't afford that!
We only need one crop of cotton.
Just one good crop, and we could
afford to buy us a tractor.
A tractor.
I always wanted to have a tractor.
I always thought if I had a tractor,
ain't no telling what I could do!
Mrs. Spalding?
Yes.
Could I trouble you for a cup of tea?
Of course. I'll put
the water on for you.
Do you mind if I wait in here?
Not at all.
Trying to fix Frank's shoe.
It's got a big hole in it.
Mrs. Spalding, can I ask
you a question?
Yes.
What do you look like?
I have long hair
and I tie it up in the back.
And I have brown eyes.
I always wanted to have blue eyes,
like my mama, but...
...Margaret got those.
And my teeth stick out
in front a little...
...because I sucked my thumb
a long time when I was a little girl.
I'm no real beauty.
I'm all right.
Thank you.
Your tea's ready.
All right, friends...
...one of our all-time favourites,
"A Golden Dream. "
Mama?
May I please have this dance?
Frank Spalding...
...I'd be most pleased.
One...
Twenty-five dollars.
Mrs. Spalding give me $25.
She ought not to have done that.
She can't afford to go around...
What's the matter?
I thought I heard something.
Course you did.
You heard me talking.
You ought to speak with her.
If she goes around spending money...
Moze, there's somebody out there.
I don't expect so, but I'll go see,
just to make you feel better.
Light's on in the barn.
Be right back.
Get him!
Moze!
Hold him!
I'm gonna hit him again.
Get hold of him for me.
Give me him!
- Grab him! Come on!
- Goddamn nigger son of a bitch.
Get him!
Moze.
Keep out of this.
It's none of your business.
You move away from him right now.
Put that away, Mr. Will,
before you hurt somebody.
Goddamn!
Now!
Hold it, Mr. Will. We don't have
any quarrel with you.
Mr. Thompson, why are you
doing this to him?
You got the wrong man.
That ain't Thompson.
That's Mr. Thompson. I've been
selling him brooms for years.
As sure as you're Mr. Shaw.
And that's Mr. Simmons
over there by the barn.
All right, boys, let's go home.
All right, nigger.
But I ain't through with you yet.
- Want a Coke?
- No.
Would you rather just go on home?
Want to dance with me?
I guess.
You sure?
- Howdy, Wayne. Margaret.
- Hi, Mr. Cheeves.
- Good evening.
- My, don't you two look nice together.
Thank you, ma'am.
Been a long time
since we danced together.
That dress sure looks pretty.
It's new.
The colour. I really like the colour.
What do I have to do
to tell you I'm sorry?
He's out in the shack.
Moze? Moze?
Yes, ma'am.
Ma'am, I'm gonna have to be
moving along.
Won't be long before that bunch comes
back, and I'd best be gone by then.
What am I gonna do without you?
I'd appreciate it if you say goodbye
to Frank and Possum for me.
I'd soon as not have them
see me like this.
I been making on this doll
for Possum.
If you could give it to her,
I'd be most grateful.
And old Frank, he had his eye
on this rabbit foot of mine for a spell...
...so I expect he might as well
have it.
Here.
This is for you.
It's a handkerchief
belonged to my mama.
I thought maybe you could use it.
Well...
...I reckon I got a bit more attached
to this place than I intended to.
Well, Mrs. Spalding...
I'm gonna miss you.
Yes, ma'am.
You took a no-account
piece of land...
...and people that didn't know
what they were doing...
...and you farmed that land
better than anybody could...
...coloured or white.
You brought in the first
bale of cotton this year.
Don't you ever forget that.
Yes, ma'am.
Reckon I did that.
I reckon I did.
This morning we take our text
from First Corinthians...
...the 13th chapter,
verses one through eight.
"Though I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels...
...and have not love...
...I am become as a sounding brass
or a tinkling cymbal.
Though I have the gift of prophecy...
...and all knowledge
and have not love, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor and have not love...
...it profiteth me nothing.
Love is patient, kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful.
Love never ends."
On the night before his crucifixion...
...our Lord gathered
with his disciples.
He broke the bread and blessed it...
...saying, "Take, eat.
This is my body."
And he took the cup and said:
"Drink. This is my blood
which I shed for thee."
Peace of God.
Peace of God.
Peace of God.
Peace of God.
Peace of God.
Our Heavenly Father...
...bless this meal and those
who are about to receive it.
Make us thankful for your generous
bounty and your unceasing love.
Please remind us,
in these hard times...
...to be grateful for what
we have been given...
...and not to ask for what
we cannot have.
And make us mindful of those
less fortunate among us...
...as we sit at this table
with all of thy bounty.
- Amen.
- Amen.
Turn your plate over.
Put your napkin in your lap.
Frank, you want to take some...
...okra and pass it to your pa?
- Yes, ma'am.
Forgot to tell you, we got a letter
from your Aunt Gladys.
She was hoping we could come
to Oklahoma and visit them...
...during your vacation.
But I don't know.
I was hoping we could paint the house.
I'll get it.
Thank you.
- Frank, one biscuit.
- Yes, ma'am.
Right on my biscuit.
Excuse me, Mrs. Spalding.
The sheriff home?
He is, but we just sat down to dinner.
Can't this wait?
No, we got a problem down...
It's all right!
I'll be right there, Jack!
Sorry to bother you, sheriff, but
there's a drunk Negro by the track.
- I thought you ought to...
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Where are you going?
- With Pa.
- Royce?
- Hey.
No one excused you from the table,
young man. You stay here.
I won't be gone long.
- Who'd you say it was?
- That Wylie boy, sheriff...
Hey, boys, get on back now,
you hear me? You hear?
Wylie!
Wylie!
Howdy, Mr. Royce.
Nice day.
Wylie, you're drunk as a skunk.
I sure am, Mr. Royce.
Now, you ought to know
better than that.
I'm sorry, Mr. Royce.
- You ready to come with me now?
- Just a minute.
Wylie, are you done?
Royce...
Frank!
Frank!
Frank, give me my doll!
Frank. Possum.
- Frank. Possum.
- Give me my doll!
Come here.
Come on.
Something's happened to your pa.
- What do you think?
- Get her out here.
Ma?
- Ma?
- Never you mind, hon. Don't you look.
Come on.
For pity's sake, what do you
think you're doing?
You get out of here. Right now.
- Right now, Glen. I mean it.
- Guess we can go now.
Oh, sis.
Rosalie, you go down.
Go inside, both of you.
Oh, sis.
Sis, I'm so sorry.
I am so sorry.
I don't want anybody to see me.
- I don't want anybody to see me.
- I'm not gonna let anybody see you.
Nobody's gonna see you.
We would have been married 15 years
this October.
We had two children.
And I never knew till just now
Royce had a scar right there.
I never knew that.
I was afrai... I was afraid you wasn't
gonna make it.
Just don't worry about anything.
Darling, I'm sorry. I just heard.
I got here as fast as I could.
You all right? Come here.
It's all right.
It's all right.
Oh, honey, everything's gonna
be all right.
I'm here now.
I know how bad you feel.
There now, there now. I'm sorry.
All I could think of...
...when I saw that poor man
in there...
...was what would I do if it was you?
What would I do if something
happened to you?
Ain't nothing gonna happen to me.
I'm too ornery.
I don't think I could live without you.
Oh, I love you.
I love you so much.
I love you too.
Sorry to hear about it.
Thank you. We appreciate it.
- Wayne.
- Viola.
- Where's Edna?
- She's in the kitchen with Margaret.
All right.
- Hi, Buddy.
- Hello, Wayne. How you doing?
- How's Mrs. Spalding?
- She's all right.
Excuse me.
Vi, you want to take this
for a minute? I'll be right back.
Here, sug.
Come on, you gotta eat something.
Marie Thornton made that.
It's real good.
Margaret.
What's gonna happen to us?
I can't support this family.
I haven't the least idea
how to go about it.
It seems...
...like I have never done anything
all my life...
...but raise kids...
...and take care of this house.
Royce paid all the bills.
I never even knew how much
salary he made.
What's gonna happen to us?
And thou shalt eat
the herbs of the field.
In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread...
...till thou return unto the ground...
...for out of it wast thou taken.
For dust thou art...
...and unto dust thou shall return.
Amen.
Lord, I thought those people
would never leave.
- Margaret, let me get this now.
- No, you go on and rest.
I'll get that.
Evening, ma'am. Excuse me...
...but I was wondering if you have
any work around here?
No. There's nothing here.
You go on now. Shoo.
What is it?
I was just asking if you had
any chores I can help with.
Oh, no, there's no work around here.
I can make you a plate of food.
Thank you, ma'am.
- You wait out by the gate.
- Yes, ma'am.
Excuse me!
Morning!
I thought I told you last night
you can't stay around here.
Well, I seen you was almost
out of firewood...
...so I thought I'd chop some for you.
I could fix you some breakfast,
but after that, you got to go.
Thank you, ma'am.
You know, ma'am...
...you got a nice henhouse over here.
Of course, it's about ready
to fall down.
A mighty good-looking milk cow.
She sure need
taking care of, though.
There must be close to 40 acres
out back.
I reckon with the right
kind of help...
...you'd make yourself a handsome
living just farming cotton.
All you need is somebody like me...
...who knows most everything there is
to know about farming cotton.
I was thinking that maybe...
...I could work around here for food
and a place to stay.
No. I can't give you any work.
I could fix you some breakfast,
and then you've got to leave.
- No such thing as a job, nowadays.
- I'm sorry.
I'll fix you a nice plate of food.
You go wait out there
and I'll bring it to you, okay?
Yes, ma'am.
I can mend this fence with no
trouble at all, right after breakfast.
Oh, that'd be fine, just fine.
Okay. I'll be right out here.
Good afternoon, Mrs. Spalding.
- Mr. Denby.
- I hope I'm not bothering you.
- No. Won't you come in?
- Oh, thank you.
- Please.
- Thank you.
Mrs. Spalding, on behalf of everyone
down at the First Farmers Bank...
...if there's anything we can do in
this hour of need, please ask.
Thank you.
Mrs. Spalding...
...I don't know how much your husband
told you about his business.
But at the close
of banking hours yesterday...
...you had a balance of $116.72.
However, when your husband
bought this place...
...he did borrow money
from the bank.
At the time of his death
he still owed...
...$3681, to be paid twice a year.
What that means, Mrs. Spalding, is...
...come October 15th, you will owe
the bank $240.
We were wondering
if you had any idea...
...how you were gonna
make that payment.
Yes.
Matter of fact, I do.
I was thinking...
Rilla Langsford and her sister
have that nice little gift shop.
I thought I could
do the same thing.
I could get some pretty little things,
and I could set them out...
Mrs. Spalding, why would someone
come all the way out here...
...when the Langsfords' place
is there on the square?
Mrs. Spalding, what we at the bank
suggest is that you sell this place.
Now I know times are hard...
...but maybe we can pay off the loan
and have something to tide you over.
But where would we live?
I believe you have a sister
that resides here.
No, Margaret couldn't take us in.
She couldn't afford it, and besides,
she hasn't got room.
Mrs. Spalding, when tragedies
like this happen...
...sometimes we have to face up
to things that are real hard.
Sometimes it's necessary
to split families up, temporarily.
I believe your husband has
some family up in Oklahoma.
I'm sure they could take one
of your children.
I can't talk about this right now.
If you'll excuse me,
you can let yourself out.
I think that just about does the trick.
That'll be...
...75 cents.
I'll see you in a couple weeks.
Right. Thank you, Ruby.
I didn't know you were busy.
That's all right. I was just leaving.
- Bye, Ruby.
- Bye-bye.
- Kids, come on in.
- Hi, Aunt Margaret.
Don't touch anything, Possum.
Watch your sister.
Don't let her touch anything.
Mrs. Parks offered to buy 5 pounds
of tomatoes from us.
So we thought we'd come by
and say hello.
Where's Rosalie?
I'm sorry. She's gone off
with her daddy.
But if you go in the kitchen,
I got some Coca-Cola in the icebox.
- Can we, Mommy?
- Yeah, you can.
- Frank, split one with your sister.
- Okay, Mom!
It's all right.
You can each have one.
- What do you say?
- Thank you, Aunt Margaret.
Margaret, I've been thinking.
Maybe I could work for you.
I don't know much about this work,
but I could learn.
I'm a real good worker.
Oh, hon.
I hardly got enough customers these
days to support me and Wayne.
I understand, Margaret.
Don't you even think about it.
Kids, come on. We got to go.
It's getting dark.
- Here, I got $28 saved.
- I don't want that.
Take it. Wayne will just
spend it on some fool thing.
I don't need it.
Come on, kids!
- Bye, Aunt Margaret.
- Goodbye, Aunt Margaret.
I swear you are just like Daddy.
You'd think he was sawing off
his leg to ask for the least thing.
I'll talk to you tomorrow.
I'm sorry to bother you so late.
We caught this nigger with a bunch
of things I think might belong to you.
Found him down by the tracks.
He claimed he was working for you...
...but it looks like he was
leaving town.
No, he's working for me.
I needed somebody to help out
around here, and so I took on...
Moses. Moses Hadnot.
I took on Moses to do some chores
until I could get straightened away.
Mrs. Spalding, are you sure?
I mean, I found all that silver on him.
Oh, it's Mama's, and Margaret
wanted to borrow it.
If you had gone straight there and
back, you wouldn't have this trouble.
Yes, ma'am.
Mrs. Spalding, are you sure
you're all right?
Well...
...good night.
- Good night, Jack.
Ma'am, I appreciate what
you've done...
How much could I make
if I was to plant cotton?
Cotton?
Well, last year cotton fetched
6 cents a pound.
You got, say, 30 acres here,
you figure...
That's 300 and some dollars.
If you take out...
You sure you can do it?
Ma'am, I been chopping cotton since
I was 5 years old.
I know all there is to know
about cotton.
All right, you stay in
the shed beside the barn.
Ma'am, I wanted to say
that I appreciate...
If you ever steal from me again,
I'll shoot you myself.
You understand that?
Thank you. See you next week.
Good to see you.
- Good morning, Mrs. Spalding.
- Thanks.
Hello, Mrs. Spalding.
It's nice to see you again so soon.
Won't you come right in here?
Why don't you take a seat
right over there?
Mr. Denby...
...I was wondering if you would...
...show me how to fill out a check?
I never did it before,
and I'd best learn how.
Certainly, Mrs. Spalding. It's just
the simplest thing in the world.
Now up here, this is where
you put the date.
Mr. Denby...
...I'm thinking it won't be necessary
for me to sell my farm after all.
Of course it's necessary.
I explained all that to you yesterday.
- Down here...
- I was thinking...
...if I was to plant cotton...
Mrs. Spalding, you don't know
a thing about cotton farming.
- Yes, I know, but Moses says...
- Moses? Who's Moses?
He's this Negro man.
I don't know any Negro
around here named Moses.
He was just passing through, and I
gave him a job doing some chores.
You're telling me you let some Negro
hobo talk you into planting cotton?
Did you ever hear
of the Depression?
Now...
...you see these?
These are all foreclosures. And
that's just in the last three months.
White men who've cotton-farmed all
their lives and can't make a go of it.
And you listening to some
no-account nigger.
You'll excuse me, Mrs. Spalding...
...but that's just about the most
ignorant thing I've ever heard.
Mr. Denby...
...I'm not ignorant...
...and I'm not selling my land.
And I'm not giving my children over
to anyone else to raise.
I'm going out and I'm buying
$15 worth of cottonseed.
So I'd appreciate it if you would
show me again how to write a check.
Okay, Mrs. Spalding, that's...
Let's see, 450 pound of cottonseed
at. 03 cent a pound.
That comes to...
...$13.50.
- $13.50?
- Yes, ma'am.
Load up Mrs. Spalding's wagon.
- Mrs. Spalding?
- Yes.
That ain't the seed you're paying for.
He's charging you for grade-A seed,
but that's gin-run quality.
Something wrong, ma'am?
Mr. Simmons, I think maybe you
gave us the wrong seed?
Well, so I did.
That's just an honest mistake,
isn't it, boy?
Isn't it, boy?
Yes, sir.
Now you idiots gave Mrs. Spalding
the wrong seed.
We're lucky her nigger caught it.
That's a smart nigger you got there.
He's a credit to his race.
Why did you have to go shoot off your
big mouth in front of that white man?
I swear, you ain't never
gonna learn nothing.
You just got yourself into
a carload of trouble.
This ain't your land.
You just passing through.
That white woman
ain't nothing to you.
These people ain't no reason
to get yourself killed.
Howdy.
Howdy.
What's your name?
Moses.
My name's Frank.
- My pa was killed.
- I heard about it. I'm sure sorry.
He was shot.
It was a nigger killed him.
How old are you, child?
Nine, and 4 months.
You mean to tell me you got to be
9 years and 4 months old...
...and nobody told you
it's bad luck...
...to rock a rocking chair
with nobody in it?
Don't do no good now.
The damage is done.
I knew a man who rocked
a empty rocking chair.
Before nightfall, he got run over
by a cotton wagon.
Here, take this rabbit foot.
And you do what I do and
say what I say, you understand?
First thing is you turn around
three times.
One...
...two...
...three.
Next thing is you walk backwards.
Seven, six...
...five, four...
...three, two, one.
Thank you, Lord Jesus! Amen!
Thank you, Lord Jesus! Amen!
Give back my rabbit foot.
Got too much to do around here to go
around saving your life all the time.
If you're just gonna stand around,
you might as well be of some use.
Fetch me some of them nails
over there.
What are you thinking about?
I grew up in a place just like this.
Boy, I hated it.
I used to run away
every chance I got.
I'd sneak out of the house...
...go out behind the barn.
Then I'd...
...head out across the pasture
and down to this grove of elm trees.
And right in the middle...
...was this little spot where I
used to go and sit all the time.
Mrs. Spalding?
Hello!
Watch your step here.
And another one.
And a little step up.
Mrs. Spalding?
Yes, Mr. Denby,
I'm in the back yard!
I'll be right there.
Now put that thing away.
This woman may not like people
smoking in her house.
Now, please, for once in your life,
try and make a good impression.
Good afternoon, Mrs. Spalding.
How are you?
I'm just fine.
I don't believe you know my
brother-in-law, Will.
How do you do?
Mind if we come in?
No. No, not at all.
Poor Will, here, lost his sight
in the big war.
It was the Battle of the Somme,
wasn't it, Will?
He was a real war hero.
Weren't you, Will?
Will, he doesn't like to talk
about these things too much.
- Do you, Will?
- No.
Will's been living with his mama
until she passed away...
...and since that time he's been
visiting with my wife and me.
Now then, Mrs. Spalding...
...in spite of the fact
that I have great doubts about...
...this misguided attempt of yours
to hold on to this place...
...as a Christian and deacon of the
church, it's my beholden duty...
...to reach out the hand of charity
to a human being in need.
And I got to thinking, now what better
way to help out this poor woman...
...than if she took in a boarder.
Someone who could move in here, and
by paying a modest rent, help her out.
What if my brother-in-law was to move
in here and rent a room from you?
- Move in here?
- Will makes a fine living...
...caning chairs and making brooms,
so don't you worry.
Oh, Mr. Denby, I'm...
I so appreciate your thoughtfulness.
This just isn't a good time.
Sit down, Will.
Will?
Mrs. Spalding...
...speaking on behalf of the bank...
...we'd take it as a sign that you're
trying to provide for your family.
When would you like
your brother-in-law to move in?
As a matter of fact, I have his things
out in the car right now.
Anything special you like to eat?
I'm not a very good cook,
but I'm willing to try.
I don't want to be here
any more than you want me to be.
I'll try not to be any trouble.
And all I'll ask in return is to be
left alone in peace and quiet.
- I thought...
- I know what you thought.
But I don't need your help, and I
don't need you to feel sorry for me.
Honey?
I'm in back, darling.
Where you been?
We're real late for the dance.
Old man Wilson ought to put that
Studebaker of his out to pasture.
Not a week goes by without something
going wrong with that fool thing.
And the trouble is, he thinks he can
fix it all by himself.
So he goes in there
and messes everything up...
...and makes it worse than
it was in the first place.
I think he does it on purpose,
just so I'll come out and talk to him.
You know that carburettor
I fixed for him last week? He...
Where's Rosalie?
She's over at your mama's.
She's gonna sleep there tonight.
You ought not to eat that.
You'll get fat.
What about you?
- A lot you'd notice.
- I'd notice.
Wayne, we gotta go.
Everybody's waiting.
Wayne, you got to...
Hi!
Howdy.
Let's go inside and dance.
Come on, let's go dance.
I'll get it. I'll get it.
Thank you, baby.
- You warm enough?
- I'm fine.
You sure?
- Want my coat?
- No.
That's a nice table.
Hey, Wayne!
Howdy, Hank.
I sure am glad Rosalie took
that little trip tonight.
Why are you saying that?
Where were you two?
We were getting worried.
- Where you been?
- Hi, you guys!
- Hi, Buddy.
- Come here. I'll buy us a drink.
We're getting a bottle
of good-for-what-ails-you.
Be right back.
Just be a minute.
- How you been?
- I been just fine.
Hey, I hear you...
Where were you two?
Put that down. Come on.
Frank, are you craz...?
That man catches us in here,
he's gonna skin us alive.
I got something important to show you.
Do you want to see it or not?
Recordings for the Blind presents:
Trent's Last Case, by E. C. Bentley.
Chapter one, "Bad News."
Between what matters
and what seems to matter...
...how should the world we know
judge wisely?
When the scheming, indomitable brain
of Sigsbee Manderson was scattered...
Frank!
Possum!
Coming, Mama!
Ten minutes later, he's
driving a new Buick.
- You through?
- Yeah.
Vi and me are gonna dance.
I don't want to dance, Wayne.
Don't say no.
You have to dance. Come on.
Haven't danced all night.
Excuse me.
You look pretty tonight.
Let's go up to Dallas this weekend,
all right?
Take in a picture show...
...then have supper out
just like an old married couple?
You can tell Buddy you're visiting
that aunt of yours up in Dallas...
- No.
- Why not? Nobody will know.
- Wayne, I can't go on like this.
- Honey, just be patient.
I'll work everything out, don't worry.
Just give me a little bit of time.
I'll think of something, all right?
What's the matter, Vi?
We'll be fine. Just trust me.
Wayne, we're not gonna see
each other anymore.
- What?
- Not like we have been.
- Why?
- This is goodbye.
Mrs. Spalding?
Mrs. Spalding?
Mrs. Spalding?
Yes, Mr. Will. I'm right here.
Mrs. Spalding, believe me...
...if I had anyplace else to go
tonight besides...
...the State Home for the Infirm,
I'd gladly leave right now.
When I came here, all I asked
was to be left alone.
I am not some kind of freak
that is here on display...
...for the amusement of those
hooligans you call children.
- I will not...
- What?
...have them vandalizing
my personal property.
Don't come in my house
and talk about my children like that!
They are not hooligans or vandals!
They're well brought up children!
- You can't walk into my house...
- Fine!
Fine.
Whatever they are, you just
keep them out of my room.
That's all right, I'll get that.
The door's on your right.
Thank you.
Good night, Mrs. Spalding.
Good night, Mr. Will.
Ready, ma'am?
Get along, mules! Get along!
Now get along, mules!
Get along there!
Keep them straight, ma'am.
That's fine. That's just fine.
Right, Spalding. You don't know
the first thing about smoking.
I do so. I been smoking
since I was little.
- Then how come you can't inhale?
- I can so. I can inhale real good.
Mr. Will! Mr. Will!
Frank got caught smoking in school
and the teacher told Ma...
...and Frank's gonna catch it!
Frank, I'll see you
at school tomorrow.
Well, young man? What would
your pa do if he were here?
He'd spank me, I reckon.
I guess that's what we
got to do, then.
Frank, what's she gonna do
to you? Frank!
- Ma, what are you gonna do to him?
- It's okay.
Ma, what you gonna do to Frank?
Are you gonna spank him?
- Can I watch? Can I?
- Possum!
Frank, when your pa did this,
how'd he do it?
Most times...
...I'd lean over the table, grab hold,
and he'd let me have it.
How many times?
Pa would be mad
over something like this.
I reckon he'd give me 10 good licks.
I'm ready.
Ma? I'm ready.
- What's wrong?
- Frank's getting a licking.
Did it hurt?
Come on.
Let's let old Frank
be by himself for a bit.
Tell you what, why don't you help me
with my chores?
Mrs. Spalding?
I won't do that again. Ever.
Are you all right?
God, I miss my husband.
Lord, I can't hardly see
my hand in front of my face.
Feels like rain.
- Must be coming up a real storm.
- Sure is.
Help me wash dishes.
Now don't be mad, baby.
You're a good baby.
I made each of you
some cookies too.
Come on, boy. Let's get.
Come on, get! Get!
Get on, get on! Come on! Come on!
We got to get inside, ma'am.
Storm's coming from over there!
Get on! Get on, boy!
Come on! Let him be!
Come on, boy!
Come on, won't you?
Let him go! Come on! Run!
Girls, get in the schoolroom.
Boys! Robert, let's go!
Come on! Come on! No dawdling!
Sally!
Come on! Come along!
Be careful getting up these stairs.
Everybody get inside!
- Where's Frank?
- I don't know.
Let's go!
Toby!
All right.
Get the windows open
before the house blows!
You get the dining room,
then get on the floor!
I'll get these in here! Hurry up!
You're a little baby.
Possum!
Here! Give me him!
Possum!
- Possum, it's okay.
- Mr. Will! Mr. Will!
It's okay.
Step down! Step down!
Step down! Step down! Step down!
Frank Spalding!
There's a tornado coming!
Get on in here!
You'll get yourself killed.
I can't! I gotta get home!
Here!
I got him, ma'am!
Come on, Mr. Will.
It's all right. It's all right.
Get in now.
Mr. Will! Step down! Step down!
Watch your head!
Ma!
- Ma!
- Oh, my God, it's Frank!
Frank, stay there!
Frank, come on!
Now, come on, we got to get inside.
Come on, hurry up!
Get him in! Get him in!
Okay! Come on! Get in there!
Hurry up! Get inside!
Get off!
It's okay now.
It's all over now. Come on out.
It's all right. It's all...
Vi?
Hey, baby, it's okay.
It's okay now.
Everything's gonna be all right.
Oh, darling, I was so scared.
I was so scared something would...
I don't know what I'd do
if anything happened to you.
Come on, ma'am.
Here, give me your hand, Mr. Will.
How bad is it?
Everything's a little bent,
but it's still here.
Come on.
- Come on, Vi.
- Oh, Bud, let's leave this town.
There'll always be tornadoes.
Everybody'll always be poor.
Nothing can work out here.
I want to move, Buddy. Please.
I want...
Sure.
Hold me.
- Good morning, Mr. Will.
- Morning.
- Morning, Mr. Will.
- Good morning.
- Good morning, Mr. Will.
- Morning.
- In Chicago yesterday.
Cotton held steady after dropping
to a record low...
...of 3. 5 cents a pound
over the last four days.
Poultry and eggs were down
to a seasonal low.
Corn remains unchanged.
Soybeans gained...
So let me see.
At 3.5 cents a pound...
...30 acres, that would be...
That comes to $175.
Think there's any chance
cotton prices'll go back up?
How much money you got
left in your account?
Twenty-four dollars. That's all.
- It's not enough for your payment.
- I know.
I was wondering...
What I made from my cotton
would cover most of the payment.
Could you all...
...maybe, wait for the rest?
That's something only the
president of the bank can decide.
- You shouldn't get your hopes up.
- Could you ask?
There ain't no chance
you'll ever get that prize money.
- It won't work.
- It's a hundred dollars.
That plus a crop
is enough to make the payment.
You cannot begin to get that cotton
picked on time.
Why? Moses has said that it's ready.
Moses always says things.
- It's not always true.
- I said cotton comes in early here.
But in a couple days, the pickers
will get up to this county.
They pick it fast
as you can say Jack Robinson!
- Then we'll start right now!
- You got 30 acres to pick.
- The kids can help.
- That won't be nearly enough.
- I'll pick 24 hours a day.
- Did you ever pick cotton?
After an hour, the hulls
start cutting your fingers.
By noon your hands is bleeding.
Later your fingers start to swell.
Later there ain't no feeling
in your hands.
I ain't even speaking about what
it does to your knees and your back.
Get that through your head.
Once and for all, we can't do it.
Stop thinking about it
before you kill yourself!
Now you listen to me.
If we lose this place, you're going
back to begging for meals.
They'll put you in a state home.
I'll lose what's left of my family.
I won't let that happen.
I don't care what it takes.
I don't care if it kills me.
I don't care if it kills you.
I won't give up.
And if the two of you do,
you can go straight to hell!
Careful with that now, hon.
I bet she isn't ready.
All the time we been coming here,
she's never been ready.
I'm here. I'm coming.
I start out an hour early,
I always end up a half-hour late.
Okay, what can I do to help?
Get the cards
on top of the chest of drawers.
- That looks good.
- Want me to do something?
Set up the table, would you, Buddy?
Let me help you with that, Margaret.
Can you find them?
Here, let me get the light.
Right here.
Come on.
You want my peanuts, honey?
I'll take your six, honey.
Discard and rummy.
I don't believe you.
Thirty-two here.
Thirty-two.
What's the damage, Margaret?
- Seventy-three.
- Seventy-three?
Listen, you two. Vi and me
got a little announcement.
Next time you want to play cards
with us, you'll have to go to Houston.
I got an offer from an oil company
down there...
...too good to pass up.
You've lived here all your lives.
Well, don't look at me.
It was Vi's idea.
You know how hard it is to change
her mind once she gets it set.
We'll miss you, Margaret.
It's just such a wonderful
opportunity for Bud.
We just can't pass it up.
We'll miss you a lot more
than you'll miss us.
Congratulations.
Congratulations, Buddy.
We're real happy for you.
Thanks. I'll get another drink.
You want one?
It's my deal.
Whatever happened between you
and Vi, I don't want to know about it.
I don't ever want to hear about it.
Am I right?
Am I right?
Yes.
I'm not the same dumb beauty operator
you married eight years ago.
What are you gonna do?
I don't know.
I got the shop.
Rosalie and me can get along
without you.
I'm never going to see Viola again.
- It's over between us.
- It's too late for that.
I don't think I can
live with you anymore.
I don't think I love you anymore.
Please don't say that.
Lord, this ain't gonna work.
Ain't no way we gonna get
all this cotton picked...
...and yet you sent us
out here anyway.
I swear, sometimes I don't know
what's gotten into you.
Mr. Will, you gotta talk
to that woman.
She won't pay me no mind,
but she listens to you.
It won't do any good.
We only picked two acres today.
Should've done at least four.
And that's when we're fresh.
What's it gonna be in a week?
How many pickers would it take
to get the cotton in on time?
Nine or 10, at least.
Okay. We better hire them.
- Hire pickers?
- With what, Mrs. Spalding?
You said yourself you only had
$24 in the bank.
That ain't near enough
to hire 10 pickers.
I'll pay them out of the first bale.
What happens if you don't get
the first bale in?
Then I'll pay them out
of the money I get from the gin.
If you do that,
you'll have hardly any money left.
I'll take that chance.
We ain't got much time before
them pickers in the South...
All right, ma'am.
You got what you asked for.
Have they had breakfast yet?
I doubt it.
Governor Johnson appealed to
President Roosevelt today...
...for emergency relief due to
the failure of the WPA program...
...to get started in Dallas.
The governor had asked
the administration...
...for $1 million
in direct relief yesterday.
Texas was allotted
$500, 000 instead.
Governor Johnson said the situation
was becoming critical.
Meanwhile, in Baton Rouge...
...Huey Long's last legislative
measures, 37 of them...
...took a fall last Tuesday, as the
administration he left behind him...
...pushed its investigation
of his assassination 10 days ago...
...by Dr. Carl A. Weiss, Jr.
The Chicago Cubs retained their lead
in the National League pennant race...
...by defeating the New York Giants
8- 3...
...before a crowd of 29, 740...
...at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
It was the Cubs' 13th
straight victory.
Second place St. Louis Cardinals
beat Brooklyn 1-0.
The Giants are now four
and a half games behind the Cubs.
The weather in central Texas today
will be clear, no sign of rain.
Over here, Mr. Will!
- Moze, the pickers are here.
- How you know that?
I heard 11 trucks
pass by the house...
...and from the direction
they were headed...
...they were going out
to the Rapp place.
- How much land the Rapps have?
- Four hundred acres.
That means we got three days left.
We ain't got no time to waste!
Let's get to work!
Get along there!
Get along now.
You ain't no more tired than I am.
Get along!
Morning, ma'am.
Mrs. Spalding, I hate to be
the one to tell you this...
...but that sister of yours doesn't
have a natural talent for cooking.
I got to thinking, if we all weren't
gonna die of ptomaine poisoning...
...I'd have to do something about it.
So I'm fixing us some green beans
like my mother used to make.
Mrs. Spalding?
Mrs. Spalding, are you okay?
I was remembering a dream.
What day is this?
It's Friday, ma'am.
When do we have to be at the gin?
Tomorrow morning.
Recordings for The Blind presents:
Trent's Last Case, by E. C. Bentley.
Chapter one, "Bad News. "
Between what matters
and what seems to matter...
...how should the world
we know judge...?
You all right?
The end.
Ma'am?
Mrs. Spalding.
Hey, Mrs. Spalding!
We're finished.
We done it.
He'll be here any minute.
Get this straight.
He'll try to charge you
for ginning the cotton.
- I'll tell him no, do it for the seed.
- He'll say he'll take all the seed.
I say he can only have half.
No, we offer a third
and settle for half.
We gotta get 3.5 cent a pound,
even with the prize money.
You gotta remember that...
Here he comes.
- Howdy, Mrs. Spalding.
- Howdy, Mr. Simmons.
Nice load of cotton.
You ought to be real proud.
Real proud. Let's go into my office
and see if we can do some business.
Well, look who's here.
Go on and have a seat.
I ought to explain to you
how things work around here.
I gin the cotton for a fee, then I buy
your cotton if we agree on a price.
For ginning, it's customary
to charge $5 on the ton.
Excuse me.
I was told that you sometimes
gin the cotton for the seed.
Yes, that's another way of working it.
I gin the cotton and keep the seed.
The way it was explained to me,
you're supposed to keep...
...a third.
I'll tell you right now,
I won't pay that. Excuse me.
A little too much sun.
Out of respect for your late husband,
I am prepared to go 50-50.
Fine.
I expect you realize the bottom
dropped out of the cotton market.
I'm pretty much doing you a favour,
taking it off your hands.
Mr. Simmons, I want 4 and a half cents
a pound for my cotton.
You don't want me,
you want Santa Claus.
I'll pay you 2.75
and not a red cent more.
Four?
Maybe you haven't heard about
the Depression.
I can't pay that
or anything close to that.
Three cents a pound,
take it or leave it.
You know what your trouble is? You're
the victim of unbridled greed. 3.5.
- No.
- Ma'am, that is the honest price.
That's it.
I did my best. I tried to help.
You can't blame me.
I can't do no more for you.
Go on down to the square and see
how much you get for your cotton.
Mr. Simmons?
It just occurred to me. I was looking
at the pictures here on your wall.
I remember how much store
your daddy set...
...on ginning the first bale
of cotton each year.
This'll be the first year
since I don't remember when...
...that y'all aren't first.
I guess Mr. Wheeler at Wheeler's Gin
will be pleased to meet my price...
...just so he can show off
all next year at the Masons.
Mrs. Spalding...
...come back and sit down.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Let's get this wagon
to the loading bay.
Well?
What happened?
How much did you get?
3.75 cents per pound.
That's more than market price.
If we'd planted the other 10 acres in
cotton, think what we would've made.
We would've been dead.
- Mr. Estes is selling 12 acres.
- Have you taken leave of your senses?
- We'd have almost 60 acres of land.
- You can't afford that!
We only need one crop of cotton.
Just one good crop, and we could
afford to buy us a tractor.
A tractor.
I always wanted to have a tractor.
I always thought if I had a tractor,
ain't no telling what I could do!
Mrs. Spalding?
Yes.
Could I trouble you for a cup of tea?
Of course. I'll put
the water on for you.
Do you mind if I wait in here?
Not at all.
Trying to fix Frank's shoe.
It's got a big hole in it.
Mrs. Spalding, can I ask
you a question?
Yes.
What do you look like?
I have long hair
and I tie it up in the back.
And I have brown eyes.
I always wanted to have blue eyes,
like my mama, but...
...Margaret got those.
And my teeth stick out
in front a little...
...because I sucked my thumb
a long time when I was a little girl.
I'm no real beauty.
I'm all right.
Thank you.
Your tea's ready.
All right, friends...
...one of our all-time favourites,
"A Golden Dream. "
Mama?
May I please have this dance?
Frank Spalding...
...I'd be most pleased.
One...
Twenty-five dollars.
Mrs. Spalding give me $25.
She ought not to have done that.
She can't afford to go around...
What's the matter?
I thought I heard something.
Course you did.
You heard me talking.
You ought to speak with her.
If she goes around spending money...
Moze, there's somebody out there.
I don't expect so, but I'll go see,
just to make you feel better.
Light's on in the barn.
Be right back.
Get him!
Moze!
Hold him!
I'm gonna hit him again.
Get hold of him for me.
Give me him!
- Grab him! Come on!
- Goddamn nigger son of a bitch.
Get him!
Moze.
Keep out of this.
It's none of your business.
You move away from him right now.
Put that away, Mr. Will,
before you hurt somebody.
Goddamn!
Now!
Hold it, Mr. Will. We don't have
any quarrel with you.
Mr. Thompson, why are you
doing this to him?
You got the wrong man.
That ain't Thompson.
That's Mr. Thompson. I've been
selling him brooms for years.
As sure as you're Mr. Shaw.
And that's Mr. Simmons
over there by the barn.
All right, boys, let's go home.
All right, nigger.
But I ain't through with you yet.
- Want a Coke?
- No.
Would you rather just go on home?
Want to dance with me?
I guess.
You sure?
- Howdy, Wayne. Margaret.
- Hi, Mr. Cheeves.
- Good evening.
- My, don't you two look nice together.
Thank you, ma'am.
Been a long time
since we danced together.
That dress sure looks pretty.
It's new.
The colour. I really like the colour.
What do I have to do
to tell you I'm sorry?
He's out in the shack.
Moze? Moze?
Yes, ma'am.
Ma'am, I'm gonna have to be
moving along.
Won't be long before that bunch comes
back, and I'd best be gone by then.
What am I gonna do without you?
I'd appreciate it if you say goodbye
to Frank and Possum for me.
I'd soon as not have them
see me like this.
I been making on this doll
for Possum.
If you could give it to her,
I'd be most grateful.
And old Frank, he had his eye
on this rabbit foot of mine for a spell...
...so I expect he might as well
have it.
Here.
This is for you.
It's a handkerchief
belonged to my mama.
I thought maybe you could use it.
Well...
...I reckon I got a bit more attached
to this place than I intended to.
Well, Mrs. Spalding...
I'm gonna miss you.
Yes, ma'am.
You took a no-account
piece of land...
...and people that didn't know
what they were doing...
...and you farmed that land
better than anybody could...
...coloured or white.
You brought in the first
bale of cotton this year.
Don't you ever forget that.
Yes, ma'am.
Reckon I did that.
I reckon I did.
This morning we take our text
from First Corinthians...
...the 13th chapter,
verses one through eight.
"Though I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels...
...and have not love...
...I am become as a sounding brass
or a tinkling cymbal.
Though I have the gift of prophecy...
...and all knowledge
and have not love, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor and have not love...
...it profiteth me nothing.
Love is patient, kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful.
Love never ends."
On the night before his crucifixion...
...our Lord gathered
with his disciples.
He broke the bread and blessed it...
...saying, "Take, eat.
This is my body."
And he took the cup and said:
"Drink. This is my blood
which I shed for thee."
Peace of God.
Peace of God.
Peace of God.
Peace of God.
Peace of God.