A Walk in the Spring Rain (1970) Movie Script
A walk in the spring rain
a time for reflecting
on our brief interlude
that's now become a memory
a walk in the spring rain
how sweet to remember
when someone looked at me
and saw what no one else
can see
how good it was
to hear a gentle word again
now and then I long
for yesterday
a walk in the spring rain
a time for pretending
that one day you'll appear
and time for both of us to
share
a walk in the spring rain
man: Goodbye.
Thank you so much.
Hope you enjoy it,
Mrs. Meredith.
Have a good time.
- Bye-bye.
- Bye.
- Have a good vacation.
- Bye. Thank you.
Bye.
I wonder...
Do I need them more
than they need me?
It's not a question
of more or less.
You need each other...
Symbiosis.
- I've turned out
some good ones, lib.
- Mmm.
Libby...
- It'll be important,
won't it?
- Yes, darling.
Not just two weeks in the
sun, then right back at it
again.
A year all to myself.
Oh, you, too, lib.
You know what I mean.
I had quite a session
with the regent.
Says he's relying on me
to come back with that
book.
- What is that?
- A faculty wife's
going-away gift...
- A real silver band.
- I could have used it
on the regent.
Smug son of a bitch.
"We're counting on you,
Meredith.
"Something sparkling, old man.
Something university press
"can really merchandise."
What he really meant was
"publish or perish."
What time are we meeting Ellen?
- Seven sharp with bucky.
- Oh, lord.
You're only grandson, my love.
- He spills things.
- Not always.
Not if you have good reflexes.
Bucky, please be more careful.
I'll cut you that.
Now go ahead.
The world isn't all bucky,
mother.
Why couldn't mark make
it, our last night?
You can't sell insurance
in the daytime, father.
Not when you're third
from the bottom.
It's all after 7:00.
But he'll be by in the
morning to see you off,
all right?
Why do men take things so
personally?
Oh, that was a quick transition.
Well, everything
I do at home can be done by
part time help.
- Oh, bucky!
- Bucky, not that much.
In three years I could
finish law school
and take the bar.
But you have bucky.
Well, mother adores him
so much. Let her take him
while I'm in school.
I mean, it isn't as
though I'm running off with a
sailor.
Of all nights,
just as we're leaving.
If we don't settle it
now, when will we? Next
September when you come home?
I'm getting older every year.
Well, who's having dessert?
Why is it that if a woman
wants to accomplish something
even her own parents
consider her aggressive,
unhappy, or neurotic?
'Cause it's usually true.
Miss!
Well, operation deep
clean just doesn't turn me on.
In seven years of
marriage, I have personally
deterged
28 billion microbes.
I mean, is that
achievement,
father?
Roger: The hot fudge
sundae, please.
Just the wine.
I thought we settled all this.
Is it too much on our
last evening
to expect to get through
dinner decently?
Excuse me, father,
for trying to make you face
up to anything.
Ellen, Ellen.
Decency? What about honesty?
It's not on Saturdays
that it's annoying me
it's just on sunny days
la la la la
la la la la la-la
la-la la-la la-la
la la la la
la la la la
la la la la
la la la la
la la la la...
- Are you listening to that?
- To what?
- To that.
- Oh, I didn't even notice.
I'm just trying to make
where in the hell
the damn turnoff is.
And then you break it
fall apart,
I think you faked it
from the start...
How can they stand it?
Blood is thicker.
You're romancin'
it all sounds exactly alike.
The same tune.
I have it on good
authority they have two
tunes...
- A sad one and a fast one.
- I haven't heard the sad one.
But next time
don't you call on me
'cause I'm through...
Oh!
- Howdy.
- Uh, Mr. Cade?
- Come on in and get warm.
- The agent said you'd have
the key to the Evans' place.
My wife's baked
a nice chess pie and the
coffee's stewin'.
Say, I was told you had a wife.
- Uh, yes, in the car.
- Oh.
It's cold out here.
- Come on in.
- I thought we'd just pick
up the key and turn in.
We can get together tomorrow.
Well, I got to lay you
a fire first.
Otherwise, you'll freeze
before mornin'.
Now you get your lady in.
I'll step on over
and get you set.
Annie!
Lib.
We're going in for coffee.
My, my. That's a lovely lady
you got there, Mr. Meredith.
It's a night for wild dogs.
- My wife Libby, Mrs. Cade.
- How do you do?
The agent said the worst
would be over this time
of year.
Yeah.
Well, you ask me,
god put out the sun
and went away.
I can't says I blame him.
- Why don't you sit?
- Thank you.
Oh, now, that looks good.
Oh yeah, that is good.
Yeah, it's good if you like it.
My husband is a dessert person.
- Oh, you have to get
this recipe.
- Mmm.
If it isn't
Mrs. Cade's secret.
- You come for long?
- Pardon?
- You mean to stay?
- Until September.
I like to see a fire go.
I started this one
with sweet gum.
Makes a fire smell.
I didn't start the one in the
kitchen. I thought after
my wife's chess pie
you wouldn't be hungry
before breakfast.
Oh, now this one...
This one here Will Burn
all night.
This don't rightly belong
out here. It belongs in the
bedroom, on the stove.
You talk about something
burnin' and all,
that'll burn.
That's what the old man
over in lazy branch
used to call "tradin' wood."
We're very grateful, Mr. Cade,
but I feel we're imposing
on your time.
Roger, I would do
anything for anybody
if they would just
let me.
- Trading wood?
- Yeah, that's right...
Tradin' wood.
I was just a boy helping this
old man cut wood one day,
and we come upon this
fine, dead redwood tree, still
standing
so the rain went off it
nice and dry.
And he said, "son, you
cut that up and store it.
That's tradin' wood."
And I said, "well, what
do you mean, 'tradin'
wood'?"
He said, "well, you just
store it away.
When the snow is about
"two feet deep on the
ground, you take it over
to that young widow's house
"yonder. And weather like
that, you can trade it
for just about...
"Anything she's got."
- Did you?
- Well, there's nothin'
like a good fire.
Uh, Roger, I'll unload
the rest of them books for
you.
Tomorrow's plenty of time.
Besides, my wife's
ready to drop.
I think we'll just turn in.
Come over in the morning
for coffee,
and thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Roger.
Well, good night, Roger.
Good night, Mr. Cade.
The wind's died.
- Lib, you coming?
- Yes.
Damn. He even put
hot bricks in the bed for us!
Oh! This is a great bed, lib!
You remember I told the
agent there are three
absolutes...
A place away from it,
but still in the states,
a damn good library not
more than 50 miles drive,
and a big double bed.
- Would you like company?
- A hot brick only goes
so far.
And this, Mr. Roger,
is tradin' wood.
They tell me weather like this
I can trade it for just
about anything you got.
Old man Jones had two
daughters and a song
one went to Denver
and the other went wrong
his wife, she died
in a poolroom fight
his wife, she died
in a poolroom fight
now he sings from mornin'
till night
get along, little...
- Uh, who built that fire?
- Good morning. Well, I did.
Why?
- Smoke's all twisted.
- Well...
I got nice and warm by it.
I consider it a perfectly
respectable fire.
You shed that nice green
dress you was wearing last
night.
Talk about sad.
- Sad ain't no name for it.
- Cold ain't no name
for it either.
- Would you like some coffee?
- Thank you.
I brought you some breakfast,
-corn bread, eggs, and
fatback.
- Thank you.
There's a lot to be said
for central heating.
- Oh, good morning.
- Mornin', Roger.
- You're out early.
- I can't sleep after 4:00.
Gonna take us a little
while to get organized.
I'd like to hire that
handyman
as soon as possible.
Did Mr. nordster write
you about that?
Well, you got me,
and I ain't busy.
Of course, come spring
they'll be stringin'
after me to get their
machines runnin'.
But right now I might as
well be helpin' you folks.
Evan's got himself an old
water pump here.
It needs work.
Oh, Mrs. Roger, I already
fixed your washing
machine.
And all them books...
I got to build you some
shelves
if you'll tell me where you
want them.
You know, you got more
books than preacher Cassidy.
My husband is writing one.
What for, Roger?
I mean, you already got
plenty.
You know, he has a very good
point.
Well, we'll want to
discuss some arrangements,
some salary...
There's no need.
We owe you something for
all the repairs and
everything.
Well, the water pipe for
the washing machine...
Yeah, you owe me $2.
- Well, thank you.
- Oh, Roger. I mean,
later is all right.
Thank you, will.
We are very grateful.
I'm just happy to be here
with you
and drinking my coffee.
- Ow! Hey, hey, hey!
- What is it?
(Laughs) Hey, wait a minute!
Mrs. Roger.
Mrs. Roger, push him
around, will you?
No, just push him around.
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
I got you!
Look at that.
- What is it?
- That's a squirrel.
- Where did you find him?
- I found him near froze
to death.
I put him in my shirt, and I
forgot I had him.
- He's sweet. May I hold him?
- No, he bites, Mrs. Roger.
So you thawed out, huh?
Now you want to fight, huh?
Oh, Roger, look...
Will found a squirrel.
- Oh. Look at him.
- Isn't he sweet?
- And thank you. Thank you,
Roger.
- And we're still gonna talk
- business.
- All right, Roger, we'll talk.
Well, thanks for the coffee.
And I'll be lookin' at ya.
- Bye, Roger.
- Goodbye, Mr. Cade.
Get pneumonia running
around without a coat.
Well, he's used to it.
You know, I think
we should move the desk
from the bedroom
into the living room.
Near the fire. You can work
more comfortably there.
And after breakfast, I'll
drive over to the crossroads
and pick up some groceries.
And you get started.
Begins to dismiss
the memory of my life
without you
well, it seems like
yesterday
that my path took me...
Hyah!
Come on, boy!
Get up! Attaboy!
Get him!
Come on! Get up!
Come on, boy!
Come on! Get up!
Come on, boy!
Get up!
Come on, kid!
Get up! Come on, boy!
Get up!
Ugh!
Ugh!
Come on, boy! Get up!
Come on! Get him!
Get him, boy!
Aah! Aah!
Aaaah!
Ugh!
Ugh!
Ugh!
That's enough!
Father, you got nothin' better
to do?
You don't stomp a man
no matter what he done.
If I catch you around my wife
again, I'll shoot off
your damn head.
A man's got to do
what he got to do.
- You been seein' hildy?
- All right! Come on, men!
Back to work!
Don't make momma's holy
face, papa.
Just couldn't stand it.
Son, son, I don't know.
I can't tell you nothin'.
Nobody can't tell you nothin'.
Can't nobody tell you
nothin', neither.
I saw your Jeep, and...
I wanted to ask you
something,
but it...
Well, it seems so trivial now.
Mrs. Roger, you just ask.
That's all you ever gotta do.
What do you do for fresh
vegetables this time of year?
At the crossroads store,
all they have was cabbage.
Roger hates cabbage.
- Say, does he like cress?
- Watercress? Loves it.
Well, there's cress
on the branch right now.
You know, I can't understand
my boy. His wife loves him,
pretty little thing,
she lets him drink and all.
I mean, he don't even
have to go out and drink.
She just puts up with him
and just puts up with him.
But he got monkied up somewhere.
Seems like he always
wants whatever I got.
Once I had this garage,
and he wanted to be a
mechanic.
When I was farming,
he wanted to farm.
But he'll straighten up.
Everything's gonna be
all right.
It's gonna work out just fine.
Well...
There's your cress,
Mrs. Roger.
- Scads of it.
- Oh!
You got to go out to the
branch if you wanna pick it.
I should have brought wading
boots.
Here.
- I'm heavy.
- Not so as I can notice.
Well, you got a fine shape,
Mrs. Roger.
- A fine shape.
- Oh, listen... I'm a
grandmother
oh, there's a lot of
woman left in you,
Mrs. Roger.
A lot of woman.
Thank you, will.
You know what we need?
Animals.
- We have such a lovely barn.
- Do we?
Getting started is always
the worst part.
But not a cat or a dog.
Animals we can't have in the
city.
You're not thinking of a cow
by any chance?
That's an idea.
- Libby, have you any idea
how much they cost?
- Much?
Well, what can we get
just for the year?
Here... Come on.
Come on, come on.
- You wanna hold it?
- Oh, yes.
- Aren't they wonderful?
- Very handsome.
I thought goats smelled.
That's billies.
Only the billies smell,
and these are nannies.
They were only $15.
We pay more for rack of lamb.
Of course,
they're only grade goats.
If they were purebred, we
wouldn't have got them so
cheap.
The mother was mixed
nubian and, um...
Toggenburg.
Toggenburg.
They're only babies,
but the man said it was
all right to take them.
The old man needs their milk.
- Oh, what a shame!
- Oh, they'll be all right,
Mrs. Roger.
They're called
"blue goats."
Do they look blue to you?
Um, could be, I suppose.
It was very clever of
you, will, to find them so
soon for us.
I know where most things are
around here.
Go on. There you go.
There.
Thank you.
There you are.
Make yourselves at home.
Roger, how about you and
me goin'
frog huntin'?
- Frog hunting?
- Yeah, I got a gun in the
Jeep,
and I know this breedin'
pond where there's some big
devils.
As soon as it gets dark,
they'll be out.
- But let us all go.
- It's pretty damp out there in
the swamp.
But I got a jug of shine,
that'll keep us warm.
- Do you mind if I ask you
a stupid question?
- What?
How do you see a frog
in the dark?
That's the male frog
makin' all that racket.
He's callin' the ladies.
I guess if you and me was
to wait all winter,
we'd raise the roof, too...
Shh! I want to listen.
(Gunshot)
Damn it! Missed.
Let me try.
(Gunshot)
He can be pretty tasty
for a march frog.
I'll get us a few more...
And we'll have a nice
meal.
- Will.
- Yeah?
I have never tasted moonshine.
I'll get you some. Here...
Hold that, Roger.
Old man Jones had two
daughters and a song
one went to Denver
and the other went wrong
his wife, she died
in a poolroom fight
Mmm!
Trade you.
Here...
Ah, bullfrogs...
All winter waiting.
What right have we?
Ohh! Do you make that
yourself?
Sure do... Best home
mash in the county.
Roger, you know all about
Washington, don't you?
- Well, constitutional law.
- Why don't the government
get the hell out
-of the whiskey business?
- Get out of it? They're not
in it.
I hear the president
personally stirs the mash
every morning.
Next time I'm in Washington,
I may just look into that.
Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!
Old man Jones had two
daughters and a song
one went to Denver
and the other went wrong
his wife, she died in a
poolroom fight
and now he's singing
from morning till night
get along, little doggies,
get along...
for... And Snuffy are rarin'
to go
old man Jones had two
daughters and a song
one went to Denver,
the other went wrong
his wife, she died in a
poolroom fight
and now he's singing
from morning till night
Oh.
I was afraid they were going
to freeze to death out here.
I've been holding her
to keep me warm.
- Don't you ever sleep?
- I forgot to leave them water.
Did you come across
in them slippers?
- Yes.
- Just come over here
and sit down.
You'll catch yourself
a death of cold.
Will you hold her?
- Hey, you there.
- Ohh.
Such a winter, huh?
I can't remember such a winter.
You are the only man, other
than my husband,
who's ever rubbed my feet.
Mrs. Roger,
if you belonged to me
would you let me...
Wash your back?
Th... That's just something
one doesn't talk about.
Ain't no harm in talkin'.
Tell me, do you let
Roger wash your back?
Of course.
I'd like to bathe a woman.
Pat her dry
with a big, clean towel,
feel her getting all...
Warm and...
Sleepy.
Is that better?
You have a soft hand
for that animal.
They're lovely.
There's still some dark left.
Better go back to bed.
- Good night, will.
- Good night, Mrs. Roger.
(Whistling)
(Whistling)
There. Come my pets.
Come out with me.
Come on. Come.
There. Come.
Yes, come. Ooh!
- I told you so.
- But will said all I need is a
handful of corn,
that's all.
(Goats bleating)
(Imitating goat bleating)
(Imitating goat bleating)
Ohh.
I'll be damned.
Well, they wouldn't
answer to my language,
so I had to learn theirs.
I'm even beginning to see
the landscape through
their eyes.
It's primarily edible.
Lib.
- You're happy, aren't you?
- Yes.
Were you unhappy before?
I never thought
about happy or unhappy.
That's another lesson...
Point of view... Isn't it?
Come.
People our age
are not happy or unhappy
-just somewhere in between.
- Yes, I suppose that's
true.
Come. Come, come, come.
Come, let's go and play.
Here, come. Come.
The first of the season.
Oh, they're lovely, will.
- What are they?
- Redbud.
Thank you, will.
Where did you find them?
I'm the only man in this
county who knows where the
first bud of the season
is hiding itself.
- You want to see it?
- Now?
- Well, it ain't far from here.
- All right. I'll tell Roger.
First of the season.
There are three more yonder.
By Wednesday they'll be full,
too.
Then the hickory.
Another 10 days at the most.
Then the dogwood,
blackberries
higher than your waist,
and the red plum.
Mr. almanac.
(Laughs)
Then the whippoorwill.
(Imitating whippoorwill)
That's how he goes, come
dusk... Right on the dot.
Old whippoorwill... He calls.
You are a wonder,
you are, will Cade.
Well, you might say I'm special.
- Oh, and vain.
- No, there you're wrong,
Mrs. Roger.
It's just that you're
never gonna meet nobody
like me.
Least ways I never did,
though I'd like to.
Least ways I never did,
though I'd like to.
See what he's gonna do.
You're full of love, ain't
you, Mrs. Roger?
I mean, so am I.
You know, there's no one can
love more than me.
I could love a woman so
the roof just come off the
house.
From the happiness inside.
Now, why...
Why would a woman
not want to be loved?
Can you tell me?
Well, they do.
I mean, women do want to be...
Why shouldn't they
want to be loved?
Well, Annie she don't.
All she wants to do
is to go off someplace
where there ain't nobody,
just her and god.
She prays a lot, that woman.
When she ain't praying,
she's crying.
- What about?
- I don't know.
You know, miss Libby,
do you know that...
That I love you?
You mustn't say that.
You mustn't even think
that.
I love Roger, and I
wouldn't do anything...
Of course you love Roger.
It just makes me happy
to love you.
It's just something to think
about.
At night I go to sleep
thinking of you.
In the morning I wake up
thinking of you.
Well, I mean, it's better than
nothing.
Oh, will, it's childish.
It's... It's fantasy.
It's unreal and harmful.
Why? Is it hurting you?
No.
Well, it sure ain't hurting me,
so what's the harm?
It's harmful in a
psychological way.
Any deviation from reality
can turn to...
Oh, heck with it.
It's just plain stupid, that's
what it is...
Just like that other fantasy.
- Fantasy?
- Yes, about wanting to
- bathe a woman.
- Oh.
You remember that, huh?
Of course.
Well, I could pay someone
to let me, I guess.
I often thought of doing that.
But somebody I gotta pay,
I don't want to give a
bath to.
- Oh, will.
- Miss Libby...
- Roger...
- Mm-hmm?
Let's go into town, hmm?
- Next Wednesday.
- Tonight.
Let's take the whole weekend.
Just the two of us in a motel.
We better pack our
vitamin pills.
Oh, we'll get out and see
the sights, too.
In gatlinburg?
Ed partridge... He lives in
gatlinburg.
Of course, he's not
exactly a ball of fire.
But I've been planning
to call him sooner or
later.
I hated to start in.
Call once...
You know how it is.
- Goodbye, book.
- Well, maybe just for dinner,
huh?
There's supposed to be a
fine country club.
I'm sure ed belongs.
We'll go dancing.
I'm pretty good,
remember?
The nile casino,
the meadowbrook,
the aster roof?
Of course, I might not be
tuned in to all the new,
groovy steps,
but at our age...
What's wrong with our age?
Libby... What was all that?
Do you think there's a lot of
woman still left in me?
Whoever said there wasn't?
Whoever says there is?
Well, what next?
Is there anything I can do?
Lock up.
What about the goats?
Shouldn't I call will
to feed them?
Just leave a note for him.
Oh.
No, no, let's not take
the car, let's walk.
All right.
This is nice.
- Well, let's go and do
some shopping, hmm?
- Yeah.
- Here.
- I'd rather have
the chocolate one.
I didn't have much time
to spend
about a week or so
there I lightly took
advantage of a girl who loved
me so
but I found
myself a-thinkin'
when the time had come
to go
what am I doin' hangin' round?
I should be
on that train and
gone
I should be ridin' on
that train to San antone
what am I doin' hangin'...
- Howdy, Roger.
- Morning, will.
Something wrong with the missis?
Not that I know of.
What you building out there?
A pen for the goats.
You can't keep them
in the barn now.
They smell spring.
Maybe I ought to wait
until after lunch. No point in
starting and then stopping.
There's plenty of time
before lunch.
Oh, really?
I should see how the goats are.
Come with me, Roger.
Maybe I ought to get started.
They've been fed and watered.
Good lord.
Will, I let myself touch you?
Oh, will, I don't know.
All right.
All right, Libby.
Now that I know...
There ain't no limit
to my waiting.
"The very strength of our
constitution,
"its superb adaptability,
"lodges firmly upon the
ambiguity of its foundation.
"And it's this very lack
of specificity
"which makes the
constitution capable of
fresh interpretation
"by each new generation
in terms of its own
unique problems.
"Chief justice John
Marshall observed in 1819
"that a constitution
should not contain an
accurate detail
"of all the subdivisions
of which its great
powers will admit
"nor should it contain
all the means by which they
may be carried into execution.
"On the contrary, he argued,
its nature requires
"that only its great outlines
should be marked,
"its important objects
designated,
"and the minor
ingredients which compose
those objects
"be deduced from the
nature of the objects
themselves."
"Taking the case of..."
What case is that, Libby?
Case?
It's the case
I just referred to.
Did you refer to a case?
No.
But I was about to.
I found myself talking
into a vacuum.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I was about to refer to
the case of hammer vs.
Stagenhart in 1917.
Oh, yes, that case.
Let's, um... Back away.
What was your opinion
of chief justice
Marshall's observation?
Marshall?
Chief justice John Marshall.
I didn't know there was a
justice Marshall in the
court.
Is he new?
Damn it, Libby.
In 1819, not now.
Weren't you listening at all?
Of course I was.
You used the words
"adaptability,"
"ambiguity," and "specificity"
all in one sentence
back there somewhere.
What's wrong with that?
It is clumsy and
pedantic.
- Pedantic?
- Yes, pedantic.
Pedantic. Hmm.
All right, forget the language.
What about the thought,
the content, the point
I'm making?
But that is the point.
All those words get in
the way of the point.
Damn it, Libby. What do
you think I'm trying to
write, a damn bestseller?
What do you want, sex in
the supreme court?
Do you want me to pretend?
No, Libby.
I want you to be critical.
I really used all three
of those words in one
sentence.
I can fix that.
Good night, Roger.
Good night.
I know what I'm doing!
- Be right out, will!
- Okay, rog.
Will!
- Hold the eggs.
- Well, I am... I am! Lord!
Just hold on to them!
I'm beginning to regret
this already.
We couldn't very well refuse,
could we?
It's a big day for them.
I just hope it doesn't go
on too long.
Good morning, will.
My, my, pretty as a sunflower.
Thank you.
Annie.
- Good morning, Mrs. Cade.
- Roger: Good morning,
Mrs. Cade.
You hold on to your hat.
- You mind your driving.
- All right.
Don't want these busted
before we get there.
- I brought my camera.
- Oh, take a picture of her.
Afterwards, she'll
be so god uppity.
- May I?
- Come on, Annie.
It's a lot of fuss for nothing!
You got it?
(Laughing)
Roger: Will says you won
three years in a row,
Mrs. Cade.
- How do you feel
about this year?
- Oh, she'll win again.
All the smart money's on her.
Now, maybe I will, maybe
I won't. It's in the hands
of the divine.
- "Divine's" got nothing
to do with it.
- Oh!
Let me try to understand this...
Annie, tell him how it works.
Oh, just hush up, will Cade.
And will you try and get
us there all in one piece?
- All right,
take it easy, Annie.
- Goodness.
Now, you hold the raw egg
in your hand
and you face
your opponent, right?
That's all there is to it.
And then what?
Well, then you...
Just bash your egg
against his and...
The person whose egg isn't
broken, obviously, that's the
winner, right?
- Now you got it straight.
- Well, don't they both break?
No, not...
Not if they're
honest-to-goodness
hard-shell and
these here, if I say myself,
is harder than granite.
Tell them how come, Annie.
Well, that's mine to know.
Because you raise
the meanest, scrawniest
hens in the county!
She chases them with a
broom to make them meaner!
It's good for them!
- Got that egg, Roger?
- Yeah, there you go.
There you are, Annie.
Well, all right.
My goodness!
Oh, I'm sad and I'm lonely
-oh, my heart
it will break
I like that.
And don't hang your affections
on a green Willow tree
for he'll hug you and he'll
kiss you
and he'll tell you more lies
than the crossties on the
railroad
or the stars
in the skies
young lady, take warning
take warning from me
and don't hang your affections
on a green Willow tree
will: Angel Annie, good luck.
- Betting on Annie, will.
- All right, Earl.
Remember the time old man
Hubert rung in a marble egg?
Damn near cleaned out the
field before they got wise to
him.
What they done to poor Hubert?
He ain't been the same since!
Announcer: One...
Two...
Three!
Woman: Good one!
Get them, Lucy!
Man: Go, Annie!
Well, they'll be here for
another hour.
Come on, I'll show you
something else.
Hey!
Hey, will you listen to that?
Roger, you like that kind
of music?
Well, it's...
It can grow on you.
Would you like sausages?
- Is that more your style?
- Closer.
Well, come on.
I'll show you where they are.
Uh, Mrs. Roger, you want
some homemade candy?
No.
What, you don't like sweets?
Howdy, boy, howdy!
Nice to see ya!
Come on this way, Rogers.
- I haven't seen you in
a coon's age!
- How's that car running?
- Fine.
- Good, good.
Hey, haven't seen you
for a long time.
A sight for sore eyes!
Too pretty for a balloon!
Come on this way, Roger,
Mrs. Roger.
- Hey, Ben!
- Yeah?
Give me a slice of sausage
for my friend.
Just a minute, will.
Oh, I'll cut it myself.
- Mrs. Roger?
- No, no...
- Not for me.
- Sure?
How's that?
Mmm! Spicy!
I'll get you some cider
to wash it down.
- Would you like some cider?
- Yes.
Be right back.
He really enjoys this,
doesn't he?
But so can we, dear!
- Come on.
- No, we better wait for
will and the cider.
But he'll find us.
I want to hear the girls
play.
You go on ahead.
I'll just...
Wander around
and try to get into the
spirit of things.
I'll get on over and do
me a little rooting for
angel Annie.
Woman:
Oh, shenandoah
I long to see you
away
you rolling river
oh, shenandoah
I long to see you
away
I'm bound away
across the wide
Missouri
'tis sad, long years
since last I saw you
and crossed
your rolling river
'tis sad, long years
since last I saw you
away
hey, Seth, you got that cider?
Yeah.
- Hey, how you doing?
- How are ya?
Hey, boy!
I was wondering where you
got to lately.
Sure, you been wondering.
You been losing all kinds
of sleep,
wondering and wondering
where I've been to
lately.
Boy, can't you just once
look at me and...
Give me a smile, huh?
Since when you been
needing my smiles, daddy?
Huh?
Since when?
Well, uh, where's Mary?
I come by myself.
You shouldn't leave that
little gal alone, boy.
Now, you take it from me...
A woman needs a...
A lot of loving.
See ya, boy.
Hey...
For you.
May I...
- Can you hold these?
- Yes.
You got joy all over you,
gal. Just...
Shines out of your eyes.
Makes me happy, Libby...
Makes me real happy.
There.
- I hope you caught it, will.
- I did.
I'll treasure it...
A portrait of an absolute fool.
My, my, how you carry on!
Well, look at us...
Hasn't it struck you
that we would be the
world's most
inappropriate lovers?
Are you saying we ain't suited?
In almost every way...
Completely, ridiculously
unsuited.
You're wrong, Libby.
You're just like me.
The first time I set eyes
on you, I...
I felt it.
Oh, will, if I...
If I only could look at
you and not tremble.
Don't let it scare you, girl.
Just don't let it scare you.
'Cause, Libby...
I ain't never gonna bring
you no harm.
Annie: Will!
Will!
(Vehicle approaching rapidly)
Ellen!
Oh, for heaven's sakes!
But nothing is the matter?
Oh, mother, there you go
again. Always worrying.
Of course nothing's the
matter. On the contrary.
You can put the bag on
the porch, please.
Bucky's all right?
And mark?
They're just fine, mother.
Well, thank heavens I
have a strong heart.
Why didn't you send us a wire?
We could have met you.
I felt like surprising you.
Where's father?
- In gatlinburg... Library.
- Oh, I see...
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you, ma'am.
Well, I must say,
the country certainly agrees
with you. You look so...
Young.
You can flatter me later.
Right now I want to know
why you came.
Oh, mother,
I'm so excited. I just had to
come in person, you know?
Look,
I don't know how
father's going to take this.
You're going to have to
help me with him.
It's lucky that he isn't here
right now. That way, you and I
can talk this out.
It's charming!
Don't you think you have
created enough suspense,
or would you rather
I give you a tour of the
house first,
and we talk around whatever
it is that has brought you all
the way to Tennessee?
You don't want me to
enjoy my little moment, huh?
Ellen, I'm waiting.
All right...
I've been accepted
at Harvard... The law school.
Didn't you hear me?
Mother!
I thought that you'd be
thrilled.
I thought that father was
going to be my only
problem.
I mean, you know how he
feels about careers for
women.
And mark...
How does he feel?
Once he got over all that
foolishness,
thinking that I was
emasculating him,
then he got excited
at the prospect.
I mean,
marriage should be
a partnership.
- Why shouldn't the woman
contribute?
- But she does, Ellen.
As a mother and as a wife.
Do you know what that means?
It doesn't mean slavery.
It isn't every day that
Harvard accepts a female
law student.
My daughter, the attorney.
Three years...
Hard years...
And then the bar.
They suggest that I get
up to Cambridge right away.
Look, mother, I'm not
fooling myself.
I know that it's the fact that
father went there that got me
special consideration but...
Now it's up to me to
prove that I'm worth it.
I'm planning on leaving in the
next few days
and I'm counting on us
all going back together.
Just like that...
Pack up and leave?
I know that you'll have
to make certain arrangements.
But, Ellen, your father's hard
at work on a very difficult
project
that means a great
deal to him...
And to me.
He can write it back
in New York.
It's only a textbook, mother.
He doesn't have to stay
up here in the middle of
nowhere
and commune with nature.
I mean,
he's not writing
the great American novel.
The fact is,
you need a babysitter.
Mother!
I wonder if you have ever
thought of me as...
If I may borrow a word
that has been taken over
by the very young...
As a person.
You're my mother.
What a catchall that is.
What's happened to you?
It's only just spring.
Just spring.
And I'd hoped to see
the summer here,
and early fall.
- Cookies, hmm?
- Calories.
I must say, I...
I'm rather knocked out
by your attitude.
Something has happened to
you, mother. What is it?
Now...
What do you know about me?
Oh, mother!
I wonder. In the whole world,
was there ever one child
who really knew its mother?
I think that you're
acting sorry for yourself.
Oh, wouldn't that be terrible.
Out of character!
Only the young are free
to choose?
Be taken by surprise,
and find...
Joy?
Unfortunately, yes.
Older people have made
their commitments.
They've accepted
their responsibilities.
They have other compensations.
Such as?
Peace of mind.
Mother, I need you.
In all my life,
except for the time
that I gave birth to
bucky,
I have never needed you more.
Please, mother,
give me this chance. Let me...
Be somebody.
Bucky can't be left with
just anybody now that
he's started school.
Mark is hopeless with him.
If I thought that I'd
have to leave him with a
day nurse or...
What if I weren't alive?
What if you didn't have me?
But you are, and I do.
Yes, child.
I am, and you do.
Mother...
It hurts me to hear you
say that I don't know you.
You're a beautiful person.
I've always admired you
and respected you,
and I've loved you,
and I've tried to copy you.
I know that father can be
pretty trying.
He's selfish,
but what man isn't?
Mother,
I'm sure that over the years,
you've wondered many times...
What it would have been
like if you hadn't married
father when you did...
If you'd gone on to get
your master's.
Have you?
Have you thought about that?
About me?
Yes, mama.
I love it here.
Darling...
Can you understand?
I'm trying.
You and I,
we're both afraid
of the same thing
pointlessness of...
Of finally being nothing at all.
You want to be somebody.
Wasn't that what you said?
So do I.
Are you saying
that you won't come back?
You won't give me this chance?
Yes, darling...
That's what I'm saying.
Was you expecting my daddy, huh?
Huh?
Huh? Was you expecting
my daddy?
Get out of my way.
You're drunk!
Don't I know my daddy?
Like a bee to the flower,
that old man.
He wouldn't let
a gal like you get by him,
now, would he?
It isn't like that!
It isn't like that at all.
Then just what the hell is it
like, huh?
- What is it like, huh?
- Leave.
- What is it like?
- (Shouts)
Boy...
Let loose of her.
Daddy, don't mess with me.
Why you...
Why you do her like this?
Look at him, lady.
Look at all the wear and tear
on him.
See what an old man you got?
Boy, boy.
You and me's leaving.
Ain't leaving, daddy!
I got me a gun!
- Oh my god...
- Easy now, easy!
What for you need a gun, boy?
Oh, I don't need it, daddy,
but if I should...
I got it.
What have I ever done you...
That you should
pull a gun on me?
Boy, I...
I'm your daddy.
What did you ever do for
me, huh, daddy?
What the hell did you
ever do for me?
What...
What did you want me to do?
Man...
I gotta tell you.
You'll never get to know.
Oh.
I see.
I guess you figure
the time has come, huh?
You, uh...
You want to fight the old man.
Is that what you want, boy?
Is that gonna make you happy?
You think maybe
I can't take you?
Maybe you can.
Now, you just put down that gun.
You just put it down
and come at me.
Maybe you can take me...
But...
But you come at me...
Like a man.
Well, I got me a man's
work cut out here with
this city gal,
and I'm gonna fix it
for her, daddy...
Like you ain't never fixed it!
Boy!
Oh!
Boy, wake up.
Boy, wake up!
Boy!
Come on, wake up!
Come on.
Boy, open your eyes.
Come on, boy, open your eyes!
Boy.
Boy!
Will...
We better get him to a doctor.
Son.
Libby...
You weren't here.
You didn't see this happen.
Now, you got that straight?
This is the most terrible
day of my life.
Pastor: Help them, lord Jesus.
Help them to understand...
For you're just returning
a part of his person to
the earth
for which he has no
further need.
Amen.
Bless you, will.
Bless you, Annie.
Thank you.
I'll get the car.
Oh, will...
I've been looking for you
everywhere.
Libby, I...
I've made my peace.
You're so tired.
Come.
Libby, you know
what I found out?
The clouds just keep
right on moving...
Just keep moving.
Libby...
Ain't I heavy on you?
No, darling.
Say that again.
Darling.
Libby...
All I've got now...
Is you.
Roger?
- Oh.
- What's the matter?
I... I couldn't sleep.
I couldn't read, either.
The electricity's off.
Shall I make you some coffee?
No, thank you.
What is it?
Oh, it's... Like the storm.
It'll pass by morning.
Well, Roger, for heaven's sake,
if something
is bothering you, say it.
I'll make us a drink, hmm?
- I don't want a drink.
- I do.
All right, there is something...
A minor event,
nothing to shake up
civilization, just the...
Silent, unnoticed coming apart
of Mr. ordinary...
Me.
This place...
Has been important for
both of us, hasn't it?
I think you found
something here, lib.
That's the good part...
And I lost something...
But that's good too,
in a way.
Anyway,
it's time to go home now.
I want to leave, lib.
I want us to go back.
Leave?
You want us to leave?
And quit?
Give up on the book?
Why did I want to find a
place like this to come to?
Didn't you wonder that?
I needed...
A neutral corner
so I'd come out fighting.
I was gonna do this book.
I was gonna show them.
I'd show me.
I always thought there was
time... Lots of time.
There isn't, is there?
Fifty-two years old, no
scratch on the world, just...
Chalk marks on a blackboard.
What are you saying?
Where's the book I came
to write?
Still eight months!
No, Libby, no.
It's not working.
Oh, it's not bad work,
it's adequate,
it's scholarly, and it's dull!
You said it, it's pedantic.
Amazing, isn't it?
Imagine going on half salary
for the privilege of
finding out one is quite
mediocre, really, when one could
stay on full salary
and maintain the illusion
of brilliance.
Roger...
Do I know you too well...
Or not at all?
We're in a time of change, lib.
Did either one of us know
each other?
I hope now that we do.
It's funny, isn't it?
A man can lose an arm,
people pity him...
Lose a child,
cry for him, but...
If he should lose himself,
it passes as quietly as a...
Marshmallow in a
cup of hot cocoa.
You're all dressed up!
We're leaving.
Not September yet.
I just came to say goodbye.
Will!
Yes, Annie?
Why, Libby.
Hello, will.
They're leaving.
Today...
This afternoon.
Now, why do a thing like that?
My daughter...
She ailing?
No, my daughter is going
away to law school and
I have to take care
of my grandson.
Goodbye, Mrs. Cade.
I'll be looking at you.
Goodbye, will.
Goodbye.
Libby, I love you.
Libby...
I love you.
Ain't nothing, not...
Not making a living, not
taking care of children...
Nothing means what that does.
Why did you get mixed up
with me? I'm...
Too damn complicated.
I must leave.
It ain't what you want.
Yes...
Yes...
It is.
It is exactly what I want.
Then tell me why, Libby.
How can you do that when...
When I killed
my own son for you?
Will, you mustn't say that.
That was an accident.
Why did I hit him?
Now...
Why do you think I hit him?
I never...
Never hit him before.
Will, help me.
Libby, please stay.
Libby, please.
Don't leave me.
All right, Libby.
I'll help you...
Because that's how much
I love you.
You go back to your city
and I'll be here waiting
'cause I ain't going nowhere.
And, Libby...
Libby...
I'm never gonna die.
Oh, god, William.
You still believe in miracles...
But I don't.
I almost did.
Oh, I came so close.
Goodbye, will.
(School bell ringing)
how good it was
to hear a gentle word
again
now and then I long
for yesterday
a walk in the spring rain
a time for pretending
that one day you'll appear
in time for both of us
to share
a walk in the spring rain
a time for reflecting
on our brief interlude
that's now become a memory
a walk in the spring rain
how sweet to remember
when someone looked at me
and saw what no one else
can see
how good it was
to hear a gentle word again
now and then I long
for yesterday
a walk in the spring rain
a time for pretending
that one day you'll appear
and time for both of us to
share
a walk in the spring rain
man: Goodbye.
Thank you so much.
Hope you enjoy it,
Mrs. Meredith.
Have a good time.
- Bye-bye.
- Bye.
- Have a good vacation.
- Bye. Thank you.
Bye.
I wonder...
Do I need them more
than they need me?
It's not a question
of more or less.
You need each other...
Symbiosis.
- I've turned out
some good ones, lib.
- Mmm.
Libby...
- It'll be important,
won't it?
- Yes, darling.
Not just two weeks in the
sun, then right back at it
again.
A year all to myself.
Oh, you, too, lib.
You know what I mean.
I had quite a session
with the regent.
Says he's relying on me
to come back with that
book.
- What is that?
- A faculty wife's
going-away gift...
- A real silver band.
- I could have used it
on the regent.
Smug son of a bitch.
"We're counting on you,
Meredith.
"Something sparkling, old man.
Something university press
"can really merchandise."
What he really meant was
"publish or perish."
What time are we meeting Ellen?
- Seven sharp with bucky.
- Oh, lord.
You're only grandson, my love.
- He spills things.
- Not always.
Not if you have good reflexes.
Bucky, please be more careful.
I'll cut you that.
Now go ahead.
The world isn't all bucky,
mother.
Why couldn't mark make
it, our last night?
You can't sell insurance
in the daytime, father.
Not when you're third
from the bottom.
It's all after 7:00.
But he'll be by in the
morning to see you off,
all right?
Why do men take things so
personally?
Oh, that was a quick transition.
Well, everything
I do at home can be done by
part time help.
- Oh, bucky!
- Bucky, not that much.
In three years I could
finish law school
and take the bar.
But you have bucky.
Well, mother adores him
so much. Let her take him
while I'm in school.
I mean, it isn't as
though I'm running off with a
sailor.
Of all nights,
just as we're leaving.
If we don't settle it
now, when will we? Next
September when you come home?
I'm getting older every year.
Well, who's having dessert?
Why is it that if a woman
wants to accomplish something
even her own parents
consider her aggressive,
unhappy, or neurotic?
'Cause it's usually true.
Miss!
Well, operation deep
clean just doesn't turn me on.
In seven years of
marriage, I have personally
deterged
28 billion microbes.
I mean, is that
achievement,
father?
Roger: The hot fudge
sundae, please.
Just the wine.
I thought we settled all this.
Is it too much on our
last evening
to expect to get through
dinner decently?
Excuse me, father,
for trying to make you face
up to anything.
Ellen, Ellen.
Decency? What about honesty?
It's not on Saturdays
that it's annoying me
it's just on sunny days
la la la la
la la la la la-la
la-la la-la la-la
la la la la
la la la la
la la la la
la la la la
la la la la...
- Are you listening to that?
- To what?
- To that.
- Oh, I didn't even notice.
I'm just trying to make
where in the hell
the damn turnoff is.
And then you break it
fall apart,
I think you faked it
from the start...
How can they stand it?
Blood is thicker.
You're romancin'
it all sounds exactly alike.
The same tune.
I have it on good
authority they have two
tunes...
- A sad one and a fast one.
- I haven't heard the sad one.
But next time
don't you call on me
'cause I'm through...
Oh!
- Howdy.
- Uh, Mr. Cade?
- Come on in and get warm.
- The agent said you'd have
the key to the Evans' place.
My wife's baked
a nice chess pie and the
coffee's stewin'.
Say, I was told you had a wife.
- Uh, yes, in the car.
- Oh.
It's cold out here.
- Come on in.
- I thought we'd just pick
up the key and turn in.
We can get together tomorrow.
Well, I got to lay you
a fire first.
Otherwise, you'll freeze
before mornin'.
Now you get your lady in.
I'll step on over
and get you set.
Annie!
Lib.
We're going in for coffee.
My, my. That's a lovely lady
you got there, Mr. Meredith.
It's a night for wild dogs.
- My wife Libby, Mrs. Cade.
- How do you do?
The agent said the worst
would be over this time
of year.
Yeah.
Well, you ask me,
god put out the sun
and went away.
I can't says I blame him.
- Why don't you sit?
- Thank you.
Oh, now, that looks good.
Oh yeah, that is good.
Yeah, it's good if you like it.
My husband is a dessert person.
- Oh, you have to get
this recipe.
- Mmm.
If it isn't
Mrs. Cade's secret.
- You come for long?
- Pardon?
- You mean to stay?
- Until September.
I like to see a fire go.
I started this one
with sweet gum.
Makes a fire smell.
I didn't start the one in the
kitchen. I thought after
my wife's chess pie
you wouldn't be hungry
before breakfast.
Oh, now this one...
This one here Will Burn
all night.
This don't rightly belong
out here. It belongs in the
bedroom, on the stove.
You talk about something
burnin' and all,
that'll burn.
That's what the old man
over in lazy branch
used to call "tradin' wood."
We're very grateful, Mr. Cade,
but I feel we're imposing
on your time.
Roger, I would do
anything for anybody
if they would just
let me.
- Trading wood?
- Yeah, that's right...
Tradin' wood.
I was just a boy helping this
old man cut wood one day,
and we come upon this
fine, dead redwood tree, still
standing
so the rain went off it
nice and dry.
And he said, "son, you
cut that up and store it.
That's tradin' wood."
And I said, "well, what
do you mean, 'tradin'
wood'?"
He said, "well, you just
store it away.
When the snow is about
"two feet deep on the
ground, you take it over
to that young widow's house
"yonder. And weather like
that, you can trade it
for just about...
"Anything she's got."
- Did you?
- Well, there's nothin'
like a good fire.
Uh, Roger, I'll unload
the rest of them books for
you.
Tomorrow's plenty of time.
Besides, my wife's
ready to drop.
I think we'll just turn in.
Come over in the morning
for coffee,
and thank you.
Thank you, Mrs. Roger.
Well, good night, Roger.
Good night, Mr. Cade.
The wind's died.
- Lib, you coming?
- Yes.
Damn. He even put
hot bricks in the bed for us!
Oh! This is a great bed, lib!
You remember I told the
agent there are three
absolutes...
A place away from it,
but still in the states,
a damn good library not
more than 50 miles drive,
and a big double bed.
- Would you like company?
- A hot brick only goes
so far.
And this, Mr. Roger,
is tradin' wood.
They tell me weather like this
I can trade it for just
about anything you got.
Old man Jones had two
daughters and a song
one went to Denver
and the other went wrong
his wife, she died
in a poolroom fight
his wife, she died
in a poolroom fight
now he sings from mornin'
till night
get along, little...
- Uh, who built that fire?
- Good morning. Well, I did.
Why?
- Smoke's all twisted.
- Well...
I got nice and warm by it.
I consider it a perfectly
respectable fire.
You shed that nice green
dress you was wearing last
night.
Talk about sad.
- Sad ain't no name for it.
- Cold ain't no name
for it either.
- Would you like some coffee?
- Thank you.
I brought you some breakfast,
-corn bread, eggs, and
fatback.
- Thank you.
There's a lot to be said
for central heating.
- Oh, good morning.
- Mornin', Roger.
- You're out early.
- I can't sleep after 4:00.
Gonna take us a little
while to get organized.
I'd like to hire that
handyman
as soon as possible.
Did Mr. nordster write
you about that?
Well, you got me,
and I ain't busy.
Of course, come spring
they'll be stringin'
after me to get their
machines runnin'.
But right now I might as
well be helpin' you folks.
Evan's got himself an old
water pump here.
It needs work.
Oh, Mrs. Roger, I already
fixed your washing
machine.
And all them books...
I got to build you some
shelves
if you'll tell me where you
want them.
You know, you got more
books than preacher Cassidy.
My husband is writing one.
What for, Roger?
I mean, you already got
plenty.
You know, he has a very good
point.
Well, we'll want to
discuss some arrangements,
some salary...
There's no need.
We owe you something for
all the repairs and
everything.
Well, the water pipe for
the washing machine...
Yeah, you owe me $2.
- Well, thank you.
- Oh, Roger. I mean,
later is all right.
Thank you, will.
We are very grateful.
I'm just happy to be here
with you
and drinking my coffee.
- Ow! Hey, hey, hey!
- What is it?
(Laughs) Hey, wait a minute!
Mrs. Roger.
Mrs. Roger, push him
around, will you?
No, just push him around.
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
I got you!
Look at that.
- What is it?
- That's a squirrel.
- Where did you find him?
- I found him near froze
to death.
I put him in my shirt, and I
forgot I had him.
- He's sweet. May I hold him?
- No, he bites, Mrs. Roger.
So you thawed out, huh?
Now you want to fight, huh?
Oh, Roger, look...
Will found a squirrel.
- Oh. Look at him.
- Isn't he sweet?
- And thank you. Thank you,
Roger.
- And we're still gonna talk
- business.
- All right, Roger, we'll talk.
Well, thanks for the coffee.
And I'll be lookin' at ya.
- Bye, Roger.
- Goodbye, Mr. Cade.
Get pneumonia running
around without a coat.
Well, he's used to it.
You know, I think
we should move the desk
from the bedroom
into the living room.
Near the fire. You can work
more comfortably there.
And after breakfast, I'll
drive over to the crossroads
and pick up some groceries.
And you get started.
Begins to dismiss
the memory of my life
without you
well, it seems like
yesterday
that my path took me...
Hyah!
Come on, boy!
Get up! Attaboy!
Get him!
Come on! Get up!
Come on, boy!
Come on! Get up!
Come on, boy!
Get up!
Come on, kid!
Get up! Come on, boy!
Get up!
Ugh!
Ugh!
Come on, boy! Get up!
Come on! Get him!
Get him, boy!
Aah! Aah!
Aaaah!
Ugh!
Ugh!
Ugh!
That's enough!
Father, you got nothin' better
to do?
You don't stomp a man
no matter what he done.
If I catch you around my wife
again, I'll shoot off
your damn head.
A man's got to do
what he got to do.
- You been seein' hildy?
- All right! Come on, men!
Back to work!
Don't make momma's holy
face, papa.
Just couldn't stand it.
Son, son, I don't know.
I can't tell you nothin'.
Nobody can't tell you nothin'.
Can't nobody tell you
nothin', neither.
I saw your Jeep, and...
I wanted to ask you
something,
but it...
Well, it seems so trivial now.
Mrs. Roger, you just ask.
That's all you ever gotta do.
What do you do for fresh
vegetables this time of year?
At the crossroads store,
all they have was cabbage.
Roger hates cabbage.
- Say, does he like cress?
- Watercress? Loves it.
Well, there's cress
on the branch right now.
You know, I can't understand
my boy. His wife loves him,
pretty little thing,
she lets him drink and all.
I mean, he don't even
have to go out and drink.
She just puts up with him
and just puts up with him.
But he got monkied up somewhere.
Seems like he always
wants whatever I got.
Once I had this garage,
and he wanted to be a
mechanic.
When I was farming,
he wanted to farm.
But he'll straighten up.
Everything's gonna be
all right.
It's gonna work out just fine.
Well...
There's your cress,
Mrs. Roger.
- Scads of it.
- Oh!
You got to go out to the
branch if you wanna pick it.
I should have brought wading
boots.
Here.
- I'm heavy.
- Not so as I can notice.
Well, you got a fine shape,
Mrs. Roger.
- A fine shape.
- Oh, listen... I'm a
grandmother
oh, there's a lot of
woman left in you,
Mrs. Roger.
A lot of woman.
Thank you, will.
You know what we need?
Animals.
- We have such a lovely barn.
- Do we?
Getting started is always
the worst part.
But not a cat or a dog.
Animals we can't have in the
city.
You're not thinking of a cow
by any chance?
That's an idea.
- Libby, have you any idea
how much they cost?
- Much?
Well, what can we get
just for the year?
Here... Come on.
Come on, come on.
- You wanna hold it?
- Oh, yes.
- Aren't they wonderful?
- Very handsome.
I thought goats smelled.
That's billies.
Only the billies smell,
and these are nannies.
They were only $15.
We pay more for rack of lamb.
Of course,
they're only grade goats.
If they were purebred, we
wouldn't have got them so
cheap.
The mother was mixed
nubian and, um...
Toggenburg.
Toggenburg.
They're only babies,
but the man said it was
all right to take them.
The old man needs their milk.
- Oh, what a shame!
- Oh, they'll be all right,
Mrs. Roger.
They're called
"blue goats."
Do they look blue to you?
Um, could be, I suppose.
It was very clever of
you, will, to find them so
soon for us.
I know where most things are
around here.
Go on. There you go.
There.
Thank you.
There you are.
Make yourselves at home.
Roger, how about you and
me goin'
frog huntin'?
- Frog hunting?
- Yeah, I got a gun in the
Jeep,
and I know this breedin'
pond where there's some big
devils.
As soon as it gets dark,
they'll be out.
- But let us all go.
- It's pretty damp out there in
the swamp.
But I got a jug of shine,
that'll keep us warm.
- Do you mind if I ask you
a stupid question?
- What?
How do you see a frog
in the dark?
That's the male frog
makin' all that racket.
He's callin' the ladies.
I guess if you and me was
to wait all winter,
we'd raise the roof, too...
Shh! I want to listen.
(Gunshot)
Damn it! Missed.
Let me try.
(Gunshot)
He can be pretty tasty
for a march frog.
I'll get us a few more...
And we'll have a nice
meal.
- Will.
- Yeah?
I have never tasted moonshine.
I'll get you some. Here...
Hold that, Roger.
Old man Jones had two
daughters and a song
one went to Denver
and the other went wrong
his wife, she died
in a poolroom fight
Mmm!
Trade you.
Here...
Ah, bullfrogs...
All winter waiting.
What right have we?
Ohh! Do you make that
yourself?
Sure do... Best home
mash in the county.
Roger, you know all about
Washington, don't you?
- Well, constitutional law.
- Why don't the government
get the hell out
-of the whiskey business?
- Get out of it? They're not
in it.
I hear the president
personally stirs the mash
every morning.
Next time I'm in Washington,
I may just look into that.
Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!
Old man Jones had two
daughters and a song
one went to Denver
and the other went wrong
his wife, she died in a
poolroom fight
and now he's singing
from morning till night
get along, little doggies,
get along...
for... And Snuffy are rarin'
to go
old man Jones had two
daughters and a song
one went to Denver,
the other went wrong
his wife, she died in a
poolroom fight
and now he's singing
from morning till night
Oh.
I was afraid they were going
to freeze to death out here.
I've been holding her
to keep me warm.
- Don't you ever sleep?
- I forgot to leave them water.
Did you come across
in them slippers?
- Yes.
- Just come over here
and sit down.
You'll catch yourself
a death of cold.
Will you hold her?
- Hey, you there.
- Ohh.
Such a winter, huh?
I can't remember such a winter.
You are the only man, other
than my husband,
who's ever rubbed my feet.
Mrs. Roger,
if you belonged to me
would you let me...
Wash your back?
Th... That's just something
one doesn't talk about.
Ain't no harm in talkin'.
Tell me, do you let
Roger wash your back?
Of course.
I'd like to bathe a woman.
Pat her dry
with a big, clean towel,
feel her getting all...
Warm and...
Sleepy.
Is that better?
You have a soft hand
for that animal.
They're lovely.
There's still some dark left.
Better go back to bed.
- Good night, will.
- Good night, Mrs. Roger.
(Whistling)
(Whistling)
There. Come my pets.
Come out with me.
Come on. Come.
There. Come.
Yes, come. Ooh!
- I told you so.
- But will said all I need is a
handful of corn,
that's all.
(Goats bleating)
(Imitating goat bleating)
(Imitating goat bleating)
Ohh.
I'll be damned.
Well, they wouldn't
answer to my language,
so I had to learn theirs.
I'm even beginning to see
the landscape through
their eyes.
It's primarily edible.
Lib.
- You're happy, aren't you?
- Yes.
Were you unhappy before?
I never thought
about happy or unhappy.
That's another lesson...
Point of view... Isn't it?
Come.
People our age
are not happy or unhappy
-just somewhere in between.
- Yes, I suppose that's
true.
Come. Come, come, come.
Come, let's go and play.
Here, come. Come.
The first of the season.
Oh, they're lovely, will.
- What are they?
- Redbud.
Thank you, will.
Where did you find them?
I'm the only man in this
county who knows where the
first bud of the season
is hiding itself.
- You want to see it?
- Now?
- Well, it ain't far from here.
- All right. I'll tell Roger.
First of the season.
There are three more yonder.
By Wednesday they'll be full,
too.
Then the hickory.
Another 10 days at the most.
Then the dogwood,
blackberries
higher than your waist,
and the red plum.
Mr. almanac.
(Laughs)
Then the whippoorwill.
(Imitating whippoorwill)
That's how he goes, come
dusk... Right on the dot.
Old whippoorwill... He calls.
You are a wonder,
you are, will Cade.
Well, you might say I'm special.
- Oh, and vain.
- No, there you're wrong,
Mrs. Roger.
It's just that you're
never gonna meet nobody
like me.
Least ways I never did,
though I'd like to.
Least ways I never did,
though I'd like to.
See what he's gonna do.
You're full of love, ain't
you, Mrs. Roger?
I mean, so am I.
You know, there's no one can
love more than me.
I could love a woman so
the roof just come off the
house.
From the happiness inside.
Now, why...
Why would a woman
not want to be loved?
Can you tell me?
Well, they do.
I mean, women do want to be...
Why shouldn't they
want to be loved?
Well, Annie she don't.
All she wants to do
is to go off someplace
where there ain't nobody,
just her and god.
She prays a lot, that woman.
When she ain't praying,
she's crying.
- What about?
- I don't know.
You know, miss Libby,
do you know that...
That I love you?
You mustn't say that.
You mustn't even think
that.
I love Roger, and I
wouldn't do anything...
Of course you love Roger.
It just makes me happy
to love you.
It's just something to think
about.
At night I go to sleep
thinking of you.
In the morning I wake up
thinking of you.
Well, I mean, it's better than
nothing.
Oh, will, it's childish.
It's... It's fantasy.
It's unreal and harmful.
Why? Is it hurting you?
No.
Well, it sure ain't hurting me,
so what's the harm?
It's harmful in a
psychological way.
Any deviation from reality
can turn to...
Oh, heck with it.
It's just plain stupid, that's
what it is...
Just like that other fantasy.
- Fantasy?
- Yes, about wanting to
- bathe a woman.
- Oh.
You remember that, huh?
Of course.
Well, I could pay someone
to let me, I guess.
I often thought of doing that.
But somebody I gotta pay,
I don't want to give a
bath to.
- Oh, will.
- Miss Libby...
- Roger...
- Mm-hmm?
Let's go into town, hmm?
- Next Wednesday.
- Tonight.
Let's take the whole weekend.
Just the two of us in a motel.
We better pack our
vitamin pills.
Oh, we'll get out and see
the sights, too.
In gatlinburg?
Ed partridge... He lives in
gatlinburg.
Of course, he's not
exactly a ball of fire.
But I've been planning
to call him sooner or
later.
I hated to start in.
Call once...
You know how it is.
- Goodbye, book.
- Well, maybe just for dinner,
huh?
There's supposed to be a
fine country club.
I'm sure ed belongs.
We'll go dancing.
I'm pretty good,
remember?
The nile casino,
the meadowbrook,
the aster roof?
Of course, I might not be
tuned in to all the new,
groovy steps,
but at our age...
What's wrong with our age?
Libby... What was all that?
Do you think there's a lot of
woman still left in me?
Whoever said there wasn't?
Whoever says there is?
Well, what next?
Is there anything I can do?
Lock up.
What about the goats?
Shouldn't I call will
to feed them?
Just leave a note for him.
Oh.
No, no, let's not take
the car, let's walk.
All right.
This is nice.
- Well, let's go and do
some shopping, hmm?
- Yeah.
- Here.
- I'd rather have
the chocolate one.
I didn't have much time
to spend
about a week or so
there I lightly took
advantage of a girl who loved
me so
but I found
myself a-thinkin'
when the time had come
to go
what am I doin' hangin' round?
I should be
on that train and
gone
I should be ridin' on
that train to San antone
what am I doin' hangin'...
- Howdy, Roger.
- Morning, will.
Something wrong with the missis?
Not that I know of.
What you building out there?
A pen for the goats.
You can't keep them
in the barn now.
They smell spring.
Maybe I ought to wait
until after lunch. No point in
starting and then stopping.
There's plenty of time
before lunch.
Oh, really?
I should see how the goats are.
Come with me, Roger.
Maybe I ought to get started.
They've been fed and watered.
Good lord.
Will, I let myself touch you?
Oh, will, I don't know.
All right.
All right, Libby.
Now that I know...
There ain't no limit
to my waiting.
"The very strength of our
constitution,
"its superb adaptability,
"lodges firmly upon the
ambiguity of its foundation.
"And it's this very lack
of specificity
"which makes the
constitution capable of
fresh interpretation
"by each new generation
in terms of its own
unique problems.
"Chief justice John
Marshall observed in 1819
"that a constitution
should not contain an
accurate detail
"of all the subdivisions
of which its great
powers will admit
"nor should it contain
all the means by which they
may be carried into execution.
"On the contrary, he argued,
its nature requires
"that only its great outlines
should be marked,
"its important objects
designated,
"and the minor
ingredients which compose
those objects
"be deduced from the
nature of the objects
themselves."
"Taking the case of..."
What case is that, Libby?
Case?
It's the case
I just referred to.
Did you refer to a case?
No.
But I was about to.
I found myself talking
into a vacuum.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I was about to refer to
the case of hammer vs.
Stagenhart in 1917.
Oh, yes, that case.
Let's, um... Back away.
What was your opinion
of chief justice
Marshall's observation?
Marshall?
Chief justice John Marshall.
I didn't know there was a
justice Marshall in the
court.
Is he new?
Damn it, Libby.
In 1819, not now.
Weren't you listening at all?
Of course I was.
You used the words
"adaptability,"
"ambiguity," and "specificity"
all in one sentence
back there somewhere.
What's wrong with that?
It is clumsy and
pedantic.
- Pedantic?
- Yes, pedantic.
Pedantic. Hmm.
All right, forget the language.
What about the thought,
the content, the point
I'm making?
But that is the point.
All those words get in
the way of the point.
Damn it, Libby. What do
you think I'm trying to
write, a damn bestseller?
What do you want, sex in
the supreme court?
Do you want me to pretend?
No, Libby.
I want you to be critical.
I really used all three
of those words in one
sentence.
I can fix that.
Good night, Roger.
Good night.
I know what I'm doing!
- Be right out, will!
- Okay, rog.
Will!
- Hold the eggs.
- Well, I am... I am! Lord!
Just hold on to them!
I'm beginning to regret
this already.
We couldn't very well refuse,
could we?
It's a big day for them.
I just hope it doesn't go
on too long.
Good morning, will.
My, my, pretty as a sunflower.
Thank you.
Annie.
- Good morning, Mrs. Cade.
- Roger: Good morning,
Mrs. Cade.
You hold on to your hat.
- You mind your driving.
- All right.
Don't want these busted
before we get there.
- I brought my camera.
- Oh, take a picture of her.
Afterwards, she'll
be so god uppity.
- May I?
- Come on, Annie.
It's a lot of fuss for nothing!
You got it?
(Laughing)
Roger: Will says you won
three years in a row,
Mrs. Cade.
- How do you feel
about this year?
- Oh, she'll win again.
All the smart money's on her.
Now, maybe I will, maybe
I won't. It's in the hands
of the divine.
- "Divine's" got nothing
to do with it.
- Oh!
Let me try to understand this...
Annie, tell him how it works.
Oh, just hush up, will Cade.
And will you try and get
us there all in one piece?
- All right,
take it easy, Annie.
- Goodness.
Now, you hold the raw egg
in your hand
and you face
your opponent, right?
That's all there is to it.
And then what?
Well, then you...
Just bash your egg
against his and...
The person whose egg isn't
broken, obviously, that's the
winner, right?
- Now you got it straight.
- Well, don't they both break?
No, not...
Not if they're
honest-to-goodness
hard-shell and
these here, if I say myself,
is harder than granite.
Tell them how come, Annie.
Well, that's mine to know.
Because you raise
the meanest, scrawniest
hens in the county!
She chases them with a
broom to make them meaner!
It's good for them!
- Got that egg, Roger?
- Yeah, there you go.
There you are, Annie.
Well, all right.
My goodness!
Oh, I'm sad and I'm lonely
-oh, my heart
it will break
I like that.
And don't hang your affections
on a green Willow tree
for he'll hug you and he'll
kiss you
and he'll tell you more lies
than the crossties on the
railroad
or the stars
in the skies
young lady, take warning
take warning from me
and don't hang your affections
on a green Willow tree
will: Angel Annie, good luck.
- Betting on Annie, will.
- All right, Earl.
Remember the time old man
Hubert rung in a marble egg?
Damn near cleaned out the
field before they got wise to
him.
What they done to poor Hubert?
He ain't been the same since!
Announcer: One...
Two...
Three!
Woman: Good one!
Get them, Lucy!
Man: Go, Annie!
Well, they'll be here for
another hour.
Come on, I'll show you
something else.
Hey!
Hey, will you listen to that?
Roger, you like that kind
of music?
Well, it's...
It can grow on you.
Would you like sausages?
- Is that more your style?
- Closer.
Well, come on.
I'll show you where they are.
Uh, Mrs. Roger, you want
some homemade candy?
No.
What, you don't like sweets?
Howdy, boy, howdy!
Nice to see ya!
Come on this way, Rogers.
- I haven't seen you in
a coon's age!
- How's that car running?
- Fine.
- Good, good.
Hey, haven't seen you
for a long time.
A sight for sore eyes!
Too pretty for a balloon!
Come on this way, Roger,
Mrs. Roger.
- Hey, Ben!
- Yeah?
Give me a slice of sausage
for my friend.
Just a minute, will.
Oh, I'll cut it myself.
- Mrs. Roger?
- No, no...
- Not for me.
- Sure?
How's that?
Mmm! Spicy!
I'll get you some cider
to wash it down.
- Would you like some cider?
- Yes.
Be right back.
He really enjoys this,
doesn't he?
But so can we, dear!
- Come on.
- No, we better wait for
will and the cider.
But he'll find us.
I want to hear the girls
play.
You go on ahead.
I'll just...
Wander around
and try to get into the
spirit of things.
I'll get on over and do
me a little rooting for
angel Annie.
Woman:
Oh, shenandoah
I long to see you
away
you rolling river
oh, shenandoah
I long to see you
away
I'm bound away
across the wide
Missouri
'tis sad, long years
since last I saw you
and crossed
your rolling river
'tis sad, long years
since last I saw you
away
hey, Seth, you got that cider?
Yeah.
- Hey, how you doing?
- How are ya?
Hey, boy!
I was wondering where you
got to lately.
Sure, you been wondering.
You been losing all kinds
of sleep,
wondering and wondering
where I've been to
lately.
Boy, can't you just once
look at me and...
Give me a smile, huh?
Since when you been
needing my smiles, daddy?
Huh?
Since when?
Well, uh, where's Mary?
I come by myself.
You shouldn't leave that
little gal alone, boy.
Now, you take it from me...
A woman needs a...
A lot of loving.
See ya, boy.
Hey...
For you.
May I...
- Can you hold these?
- Yes.
You got joy all over you,
gal. Just...
Shines out of your eyes.
Makes me happy, Libby...
Makes me real happy.
There.
- I hope you caught it, will.
- I did.
I'll treasure it...
A portrait of an absolute fool.
My, my, how you carry on!
Well, look at us...
Hasn't it struck you
that we would be the
world's most
inappropriate lovers?
Are you saying we ain't suited?
In almost every way...
Completely, ridiculously
unsuited.
You're wrong, Libby.
You're just like me.
The first time I set eyes
on you, I...
I felt it.
Oh, will, if I...
If I only could look at
you and not tremble.
Don't let it scare you, girl.
Just don't let it scare you.
'Cause, Libby...
I ain't never gonna bring
you no harm.
Annie: Will!
Will!
(Vehicle approaching rapidly)
Ellen!
Oh, for heaven's sakes!
But nothing is the matter?
Oh, mother, there you go
again. Always worrying.
Of course nothing's the
matter. On the contrary.
You can put the bag on
the porch, please.
Bucky's all right?
And mark?
They're just fine, mother.
Well, thank heavens I
have a strong heart.
Why didn't you send us a wire?
We could have met you.
I felt like surprising you.
Where's father?
- In gatlinburg... Library.
- Oh, I see...
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you, ma'am.
Well, I must say,
the country certainly agrees
with you. You look so...
Young.
You can flatter me later.
Right now I want to know
why you came.
Oh, mother,
I'm so excited. I just had to
come in person, you know?
Look,
I don't know how
father's going to take this.
You're going to have to
help me with him.
It's lucky that he isn't here
right now. That way, you and I
can talk this out.
It's charming!
Don't you think you have
created enough suspense,
or would you rather
I give you a tour of the
house first,
and we talk around whatever
it is that has brought you all
the way to Tennessee?
You don't want me to
enjoy my little moment, huh?
Ellen, I'm waiting.
All right...
I've been accepted
at Harvard... The law school.
Didn't you hear me?
Mother!
I thought that you'd be
thrilled.
I thought that father was
going to be my only
problem.
I mean, you know how he
feels about careers for
women.
And mark...
How does he feel?
Once he got over all that
foolishness,
thinking that I was
emasculating him,
then he got excited
at the prospect.
I mean,
marriage should be
a partnership.
- Why shouldn't the woman
contribute?
- But she does, Ellen.
As a mother and as a wife.
Do you know what that means?
It doesn't mean slavery.
It isn't every day that
Harvard accepts a female
law student.
My daughter, the attorney.
Three years...
Hard years...
And then the bar.
They suggest that I get
up to Cambridge right away.
Look, mother, I'm not
fooling myself.
I know that it's the fact that
father went there that got me
special consideration but...
Now it's up to me to
prove that I'm worth it.
I'm planning on leaving in the
next few days
and I'm counting on us
all going back together.
Just like that...
Pack up and leave?
I know that you'll have
to make certain arrangements.
But, Ellen, your father's hard
at work on a very difficult
project
that means a great
deal to him...
And to me.
He can write it back
in New York.
It's only a textbook, mother.
He doesn't have to stay
up here in the middle of
nowhere
and commune with nature.
I mean,
he's not writing
the great American novel.
The fact is,
you need a babysitter.
Mother!
I wonder if you have ever
thought of me as...
If I may borrow a word
that has been taken over
by the very young...
As a person.
You're my mother.
What a catchall that is.
What's happened to you?
It's only just spring.
Just spring.
And I'd hoped to see
the summer here,
and early fall.
- Cookies, hmm?
- Calories.
I must say, I...
I'm rather knocked out
by your attitude.
Something has happened to
you, mother. What is it?
Now...
What do you know about me?
Oh, mother!
I wonder. In the whole world,
was there ever one child
who really knew its mother?
I think that you're
acting sorry for yourself.
Oh, wouldn't that be terrible.
Out of character!
Only the young are free
to choose?
Be taken by surprise,
and find...
Joy?
Unfortunately, yes.
Older people have made
their commitments.
They've accepted
their responsibilities.
They have other compensations.
Such as?
Peace of mind.
Mother, I need you.
In all my life,
except for the time
that I gave birth to
bucky,
I have never needed you more.
Please, mother,
give me this chance. Let me...
Be somebody.
Bucky can't be left with
just anybody now that
he's started school.
Mark is hopeless with him.
If I thought that I'd
have to leave him with a
day nurse or...
What if I weren't alive?
What if you didn't have me?
But you are, and I do.
Yes, child.
I am, and you do.
Mother...
It hurts me to hear you
say that I don't know you.
You're a beautiful person.
I've always admired you
and respected you,
and I've loved you,
and I've tried to copy you.
I know that father can be
pretty trying.
He's selfish,
but what man isn't?
Mother,
I'm sure that over the years,
you've wondered many times...
What it would have been
like if you hadn't married
father when you did...
If you'd gone on to get
your master's.
Have you?
Have you thought about that?
About me?
Yes, mama.
I love it here.
Darling...
Can you understand?
I'm trying.
You and I,
we're both afraid
of the same thing
pointlessness of...
Of finally being nothing at all.
You want to be somebody.
Wasn't that what you said?
So do I.
Are you saying
that you won't come back?
You won't give me this chance?
Yes, darling...
That's what I'm saying.
Was you expecting my daddy, huh?
Huh?
Huh? Was you expecting
my daddy?
Get out of my way.
You're drunk!
Don't I know my daddy?
Like a bee to the flower,
that old man.
He wouldn't let
a gal like you get by him,
now, would he?
It isn't like that!
It isn't like that at all.
Then just what the hell is it
like, huh?
- What is it like, huh?
- Leave.
- What is it like?
- (Shouts)
Boy...
Let loose of her.
Daddy, don't mess with me.
Why you...
Why you do her like this?
Look at him, lady.
Look at all the wear and tear
on him.
See what an old man you got?
Boy, boy.
You and me's leaving.
Ain't leaving, daddy!
I got me a gun!
- Oh my god...
- Easy now, easy!
What for you need a gun, boy?
Oh, I don't need it, daddy,
but if I should...
I got it.
What have I ever done you...
That you should
pull a gun on me?
Boy, I...
I'm your daddy.
What did you ever do for
me, huh, daddy?
What the hell did you
ever do for me?
What...
What did you want me to do?
Man...
I gotta tell you.
You'll never get to know.
Oh.
I see.
I guess you figure
the time has come, huh?
You, uh...
You want to fight the old man.
Is that what you want, boy?
Is that gonna make you happy?
You think maybe
I can't take you?
Maybe you can.
Now, you just put down that gun.
You just put it down
and come at me.
Maybe you can take me...
But...
But you come at me...
Like a man.
Well, I got me a man's
work cut out here with
this city gal,
and I'm gonna fix it
for her, daddy...
Like you ain't never fixed it!
Boy!
Oh!
Boy, wake up.
Boy, wake up!
Boy!
Come on, wake up!
Come on.
Boy, open your eyes.
Come on, boy, open your eyes!
Boy.
Boy!
Will...
We better get him to a doctor.
Son.
Libby...
You weren't here.
You didn't see this happen.
Now, you got that straight?
This is the most terrible
day of my life.
Pastor: Help them, lord Jesus.
Help them to understand...
For you're just returning
a part of his person to
the earth
for which he has no
further need.
Amen.
Bless you, will.
Bless you, Annie.
Thank you.
I'll get the car.
Oh, will...
I've been looking for you
everywhere.
Libby, I...
I've made my peace.
You're so tired.
Come.
Libby, you know
what I found out?
The clouds just keep
right on moving...
Just keep moving.
Libby...
Ain't I heavy on you?
No, darling.
Say that again.
Darling.
Libby...
All I've got now...
Is you.
Roger?
- Oh.
- What's the matter?
I... I couldn't sleep.
I couldn't read, either.
The electricity's off.
Shall I make you some coffee?
No, thank you.
What is it?
Oh, it's... Like the storm.
It'll pass by morning.
Well, Roger, for heaven's sake,
if something
is bothering you, say it.
I'll make us a drink, hmm?
- I don't want a drink.
- I do.
All right, there is something...
A minor event,
nothing to shake up
civilization, just the...
Silent, unnoticed coming apart
of Mr. ordinary...
Me.
This place...
Has been important for
both of us, hasn't it?
I think you found
something here, lib.
That's the good part...
And I lost something...
But that's good too,
in a way.
Anyway,
it's time to go home now.
I want to leave, lib.
I want us to go back.
Leave?
You want us to leave?
And quit?
Give up on the book?
Why did I want to find a
place like this to come to?
Didn't you wonder that?
I needed...
A neutral corner
so I'd come out fighting.
I was gonna do this book.
I was gonna show them.
I'd show me.
I always thought there was
time... Lots of time.
There isn't, is there?
Fifty-two years old, no
scratch on the world, just...
Chalk marks on a blackboard.
What are you saying?
Where's the book I came
to write?
Still eight months!
No, Libby, no.
It's not working.
Oh, it's not bad work,
it's adequate,
it's scholarly, and it's dull!
You said it, it's pedantic.
Amazing, isn't it?
Imagine going on half salary
for the privilege of
finding out one is quite
mediocre, really, when one could
stay on full salary
and maintain the illusion
of brilliance.
Roger...
Do I know you too well...
Or not at all?
We're in a time of change, lib.
Did either one of us know
each other?
I hope now that we do.
It's funny, isn't it?
A man can lose an arm,
people pity him...
Lose a child,
cry for him, but...
If he should lose himself,
it passes as quietly as a...
Marshmallow in a
cup of hot cocoa.
You're all dressed up!
We're leaving.
Not September yet.
I just came to say goodbye.
Will!
Yes, Annie?
Why, Libby.
Hello, will.
They're leaving.
Today...
This afternoon.
Now, why do a thing like that?
My daughter...
She ailing?
No, my daughter is going
away to law school and
I have to take care
of my grandson.
Goodbye, Mrs. Cade.
I'll be looking at you.
Goodbye, will.
Goodbye.
Libby, I love you.
Libby...
I love you.
Ain't nothing, not...
Not making a living, not
taking care of children...
Nothing means what that does.
Why did you get mixed up
with me? I'm...
Too damn complicated.
I must leave.
It ain't what you want.
Yes...
Yes...
It is.
It is exactly what I want.
Then tell me why, Libby.
How can you do that when...
When I killed
my own son for you?
Will, you mustn't say that.
That was an accident.
Why did I hit him?
Now...
Why do you think I hit him?
I never...
Never hit him before.
Will, help me.
Libby, please stay.
Libby, please.
Don't leave me.
All right, Libby.
I'll help you...
Because that's how much
I love you.
You go back to your city
and I'll be here waiting
'cause I ain't going nowhere.
And, Libby...
Libby...
I'm never gonna die.
Oh, god, William.
You still believe in miracles...
But I don't.
I almost did.
Oh, I came so close.
Goodbye, will.
(School bell ringing)
how good it was
to hear a gentle word
again
now and then I long
for yesterday
a walk in the spring rain
a time for pretending
that one day you'll appear
in time for both of us
to share
a walk in the spring rain