Johnny Tremain (1957) Movie Script
Mr. Jonathan Lyte!
- Good day to you, Mr. Lyte.
- Good day, Lapham.
- I have a commission for you.
- Yes, sir, your servant.
The teapot to this set
was ruined by a careIess maid.
I vaIue the piece
and wish to repIace it.
But I must have it by Monday next.
Monday, sir? It's a mighty short time
for such a fine piece.
Looks Iike one of Revere's best.
Why not take it to him?
Revere? Look at the mark.
You made that set yourseIf
more than 30 years ago.
So I did. So I did.
Oh, but Monday, sir. I don't know.
It's a Iong time
since I've done anything Iike this.
Very weII,
I shaII have to take it to Revere.
We can do it, Mr. Lyte.
My master's too modest.
You do not seem overburdened
in that direction. Who are you?
- Johnny Tremain, sir.
- [Lapham] My apprentice.
WeII, since you aIIow him to speak
for you, on Monday morning.
- EarIy.
- Yes, sir.
A fine commission,
and you'd have Iet it go out the door!
BeautifuI, isn't it?
And I made it.
I think I can do most of it, sir.
A fine piece Iike this?
And you not haIf through your term?
Takes a taII man
to cast a great shadow, boy.
Put it away.
But I'm sure I can do it.
Heed HoIy Writ, Proverbs 1 6:
''Pride goeth before destruction
and a haughty spirit before a faII.''
I think I can do anything, CiIIa,
just about anything,
if I get the chance.
WeII, Grandpa's right about one thing.
When the meek inherit the earth,
I doubt you'II get one square foot
of sod, Johnny Tremain.
Oh, it's no use.
It Iooked aII right when it was...
You think I don't know
what's wrong?!
[sighs] God's wiII is pIain.
Mr. Lyte wiII have to find
another smith.
I'II go to Mr. Revere in the morning.
He heIped me before,
he'II know what's wrong.
You've Iet commissions go before
when Grandpa didn't feeI up to them.
Why are you so anxious about this one?
Mr. Lyte's our IandIord.
Isn't that reason enough?
What's this?
A mark to sign my siIver with
when I'm my own master.
Using Mr. Lyte's famiIy crest?
J for Johnny, T for Tremain,
what's the L for?
[night watchman]
Seven o'cIock on a fine night!
It's a secret I've never toId anyone.
[night watchman] AII's weII!
You can teII me.
Promise on your hope of heaven
you'd never teII anyone eIse?
- On my hope of heaven.
- WeII...
My mother toId me my reaI name
is Jonathan Lyte Tremain.
Jonathan Lyte Tremain?
You, a reIative of Mr. Lyte?
What are you to him?
I don't know.
Mother wouIdn't teII me.
Why? Was she afraid?
Or ashamed?
Proud, I think.
She was the proudest woman
in the worId.
But apprenticing you to Grandpa...
And the Lytes aImost as rich
as John Hancock himseIf.
She wanted me to Iearn my trade,
make my own way.
Are you crazy?
A chance at a big house,
servants, coaches,
and your own ships
saiIing the seven seas?
I'd rather be my own master
and stand on my own feet.
Johnny, this isn't another one
of your tricks, is it?
Maybe you'II beIieve this.
[Johnny] My mother's christening cup.
If I ever have to go to Mr. Lyte,
I'm to show him this.
But she made me promise I wouIdn't go to
him unIess God himseIf had forsaken me.
And I never wiII.
[saIesman] Fresh cod! MackereI!
- I'm Iooking for Mr. Revere.
- His shop's down the street.
Yes, I know.
His wife toId me I'd find him here.
- He's busy.
- WeII, I'II wait.
If you want to.
''Countrymen,
ships Iaden with EngIish tea
are now bound for this port.''
''Shun the detested beverage,
Iet none be Ianded on these shores.''
What's this?
The most important
piece of news in Boston.
- Tea? But I Iike tea.
- AImost everyone does.
The EngIish Ministry has aIready
coIIected a tax on this tea,
and added it to the price.
Now, if we Iet that stuff in,
every time we buy a pound of it,
we'II be paying a tax
we haven't voted.
That's why we're printing these,
to warn everyone of the reaI truth.
Who is ''we''?
- The Sons of Liberty.
- But who are you?
Everyone in Boston who beIieves
their Iiberties are worth fighting for.
You can keep your poIitics.
I'II stick to my trade
and mind my own business.
- Rab, you finished yet?
- Yes, UncIe Nat.
- If they suit Mr. Adams.
- I'II Iook at them.
- What are you doing here?
- I want to see you, Mr. Revere.
- In a moment.
- Yes, sir.
- ExceIIent, Rab.
- Thank you, Mr Adams.
Get them to your Liberty boys. Sooner
they spread through town, the better.
I'II naiI one
to the Governor's door myseIf.
Sometimes I wonder
why we troubIe ourseIves.
- Liberty is for the young.
- They have the spirit for it.
This Iad seems to have business
with you, PauI. We'II go on.
Good day, gentIemen.
Dr. Warren, Mr. Adams...
Seems Iike everybody in Boston's
interested in tea.
Not tea, the principIe behind it.
Now what is it this time?
WeII, we've been commissioned
to repIace the teapot in a siIver set.
I copied this from the creamer
and enIarged it,
but it aIways comes out wrong.
This is properIy the work
for a master, not an apprentice.
Mr. Lapham feeIs he's too oId for
such work, but we need the trade badIy.
The fauIt here is not craftsmanship.
I've seIdom seen better.
No, it's in your design.
EnIargement isn't enough. Proportion
has to be taken into account too.
Now...
If we make our curves...
...deeper, Iike this.
You see?
Enough of work, Iad. Don't you hear
the beII ringing for vespers?
I've aImost finished this pattern...
There are things much more important
than a rich man's siIver.
The boy is onIy trying to do
what you can't do yourseIf.
God granted him a great gift.
But he must Iearn gratitude
and humbIeness.
But, Grandpa, onIy an hour?
It's time that God and His Word
came first in this house.
We wiII begin our Sabbath tonight
as becomes humbIe peopIe.
Begin with the 1 9th verse.
[Johnny] ''And I wiII break
the pride of your power;
and I wiII make your heaven as iron
and your earth as brass.''
''And your strength
shaII be spent in vain
for your Iand
shaII not yieId or increase.''
''Neither shaII the trees of the Iand
yieId their fruits.''
Pray the Deacon's meeting Iasts extra
Iong so he won't miss us from our pews.
We'd be jaiIed
for breaking the Sabbath.
If we get caught. Fetch water so we can
douse the fire if anyone comes.
Then keep watch down the street.
- Hurry up, Johnny!
- Yes, Mrs. Lapham.
The ConstabIe's coming!
Put it away, quickIy.
I'II douse the fire.
Johnny!
[CiIIa] Oh, Johnny!
Hey, it's you again.
- Where you been?
- Around.
- What happened to your hand?
- I burned it.
What's the gun for?
The tea I toId you about,
it's in that ship.
We're here to stop them Ianding it.
Oh, the tea gain.
Good morning, sir.
Fine day, isn't it?
That it is, Iad.
If you're gonna carry
one of these things,
Iearn to carry it right.
Yes, sir.
- Who's that?
- AdmiraI Montagu of His Majesty's Navy.
He's taken quarters for himseIf
over there,
but he can't Iand the Marines
he's got on his fIagship.
What do you mean? You wouIdn't hang
around this tea ship Iong if he did.
That's it.
Governor Hutchinson won't Iet him.
HaIf of Boston wouId turn out if the
Marines were Ianded against us.
Why not get your master to give you some
time off so you can take a turn with us?
My master's a siIversmith,
not a troubIemaker.
You couId've rode to CharIestown for
that charcoaI, time you've been gone.
There were others ahead of me,
I had to wait my turn.
Since when have you taken to waiting
for other apprentices
when there's work to be done?
- What's got into you?
- Let the boy be.
- Everything in good time.
- He's been moping about for weeks.
- But, Ma, his hand.
- Time we Iooked at that, too.
Unwrap it, Johnny.
Did you hear me, boy?
Move your fingers.
I can't.
It's no wonder.
They've aII grown together.
I know.
WeII, so... So that's it.
[Mrs. Lapham] There'II be
no more foIIowing the trade for you.
Why, we're not bound
to his contract after this, are we?
Johnny's contract is with me.
Come here, boy.
I've said nothing about
the broken Sabbath, Johnny.
God has sent you
enough punishment for that.
If you can't serve me,
you'II have to find other work.
But I want you to know
that as Iong as I Iive,
there'II be a pIace in this house
for you.
Not if I can't earn it.
Johnny!
Johnny!
Johnny, I don't want you
to go off Iike this.
Goodbye, CiIIa.
But at Ieast stay
untiI you can find something.
You're a stubborn fooI, Johnny Tremain.
Sixteen hundredweight
of West Indies moIasses
to the order of
Hitchbourn and Company,
at Boston in the bay of Massachusetts.
Good, boy, very good.
Lads who can read
are hard come by these days.
Now Iet me see a sampIe of your pen.
Come on, boy.
I'm sorry, boy,
we couId've used you.
[man] Fine sinew on your bones.
Enough to weather a voyage
in fine styIe.
- We saiI on the Tuesday tide.
- You'II give me a berth?
Here's my hand on it.
I'm sorry.
But who's going to hire
a boy with one hand,
when there are dozens
to be had with two?
[man] 'Ware coach!
Wait here.
BiII me for these
at the end of the month.
Yes, sir. Good day, sir.
- By your Ieave, sir.
- WeII, what is it?
- Sir, I wanted to taIk to you.
- Aren't you Lapham's apprentice?
The young rascaI who ruined
the siIver he was making for me?
Yes, sir, I was. But my name
is Jonathan Lyte Tremain.
So, Jonathan Lyte Tremain.
Get on with it.
There's more to it, isn't there?
Or shaII I teII you how it goes?
Your dying mother toId you
to come to me in adversity.
That you are my reIative,
isn't that it?
Why, yes,
but I didn't reaIize you'd know.
What rich man doesn't know that trick?
It's one of the oIdest in the worId
and one of the scurviest.
But, sir, I have this
to prove what I say is true.
- Where'd you get that?
- My mother gave it to me.
Gave it to you, eh?
A Iong time ago, I suppose?
Yes, when she toId me
about my name.
Quite so.
Suppose you bring that
to my house after supper tonight
and we'II discuss our...
...our reIationship
in proper surroundings?
- Drive on.
- Thank you, sir!
- What do you want, boy?
- I have an appointment with Mr Lyte.
Oh, Master Tremain!
Can I take your bag, sir?
Right this way.
- Master Jonathan Lyte Tremain.
- Ah, come in, my boy.
- My friend Mr Hooper.
- Your servant.
That cup, boy.
I think you've soIved a famiIy mystery
of Iong standing, Master Tremain.
I think we can agree that these
four cups are identicaI and of one set.
Bearing the Lyte famiIy crest.
It is obvious that this fourth cup
now stands where it beIongs.
There remains onIy the question
of how it came
into Master Tremain's hands.
I've aIready toId you, sir.
My mother gave it to me.
Ah, yes. Your mother.
ConstabIe, didn't I report
on August 1 0th Iast
that a window was broken
in this room and one of these cups,
careIessIy Ieft out, was stoIen
aIong with some other trifIes of siIver?
That you did, sir.
WeII, we've found our burgIar,
ConstabIe.
Take him away.
Come, boy.
Mr. Revere! Rab!
How did you know I was here?
He's with us, Johnny.
He Iets us know every time
he gets a new tenant.
Looks as though Mr. Lyte
intends to make an exampIe of you.
But don't worry, Iad.
This is Mr. Josiah Quincy.
He's taking your case.
I can't afford a Iawyer,
Iet aIone the best one in Boston.
Any innocent man can afford me.
But I'm a nobody.
We're aII nobodies
when we're standing aIone.
It's what I tried to teII you, Johnny.
[Rab] It's when we fight together
that counts.
We beIieve we must fight as fierceIy
against smaII tyrannies as big ones.
So, Mr. Quincy is your Iawyer.
Now, then, Mr Lyte,
having heard your testimony
and that of the defendant,
a few questions if you pIease.
CertainIy, sir.
You state that these cups
were presents from your father
to each of his chiIdren
to commemorate their christening.
Yes, as the soIe survivor
of those chiIdren,
these cups have
come into my hands in due course.
Quite so. Each of your three brothers
passed on to his reward,
Ieaving his goods and chatteIs,
incIuding these cups, to you.
But, sir, yours is a very weII-known
famiIy, both here and in EngIand.
I'm under the impression
that your father had five chiIdren,
rather than the four you mention.
True, there was a sister, Iost under
tragic circumstances many years ago,
before any of us came to America.
Is it not possibIe
this boy's story couId be true?
CouId he not in fact be reIated to you?
You say my name and famiIy
are weII known.
Look at this beggar
from the streets and Iook at me, sir,
and Iet that be your answer.
Your eIoquence
is respected by aII, Mr Quincy,
but I fear, sir,
that not even you can aIter fact.
That heirIoom, of IittIe vaIue
in itseIf, was pIainIy stoIen
for no other purpose than to estabIish
just such a preposterous cIaim
as that young ruffian has proposed.
Your Honor, the apprentices of Boston
get out of hand these days.
They roam the streets
in IawIess bands,
roaring out treasonous songs
in the pubIic squares,
and prating of Iiberty
Iike drunken parIiamentarians,
IoyaI and IawfuI citizens
at their mercy.
I suggest that these sentiments
have prejudiced you against this Iad.
Most certainIy not.
My reputation for fairness
is known throughout this coIony.
I bear no iII wiII
towards my feIIow man,
whatever his age or station.
But I have been robbed and the gaIIows
of this city have been too Iong empty.
In the interests of justice,
I demand the death penaIty.
That, fortunateIy,
is for the court to determine.
I thank you, sir.
Does that concIude your case,
Mr. Quincy?
No, no, Your Honor.
I remind you that
we have a fuII docket today.
I had hoped to summon a witness
on behaIf of my cIient.
Out of the way,
out of the way, sir.
[Quincy] There she is now.
I caII PrisciIIa Lapham.
Go on.
Do you swear by the Iiving God that
your evidence concerning this cause
shaII be the truth, the whoIe truth and
nothing but the truth, so heIp you, God?
I do.
Miss Lapham,
have you ever seen this cup before?
- Yes, sir.
- WiII you teII the court where?
In Grandfather's shop.
[Quincy] And you know
to whom this cup beIongs?
Him. He showed it to me
the night he toId me
his true name
was Jonathan Lyte Tremain.
And when was that?
- The fifth of JuIy.
- Are you sure of the date?
I'II never forget it.
It was just two days
before he burned his hand.
I submit, Your Honor, more than a month
before Mr. Lyte
says his missing cup was stoIen.
Thank you, Miss Lapham.
Just a moment, girI.
Do you know who I am?
- Yes, sir.
- Good.
Now, isn't it a fact that
the accident to which you refer
occurred whiIe this feIon
was deIiberateIy breaking the Iaw?
He was breaking the Sabbath, you mean.
- PreciseIy.
- We aII were, except Grandpa.
Because this unprincipIed boy
urged you to it.
No, sir,
because you'd brought us an order
that couId've paid
aII the back rent Grandpa owes you.
Your Honor, it is not I
who am prejudiced in this case.
This girI is obviousIy
in Iove with the prisoner,
and is determined to protect him.
I'm not in Iove with Johnny Tremain.
He's the most stiff-backed,
thick-headed, stubborn boy in Boston.
- And a Iying thief.
- That isn't so!
Don't argue with me!
Johnny may be everything I said,
Your Honor,
but he never toId a Iie
or did a dishonest thing in his Iife.
I am not interested in your opinions.
- What I want to know...
- One moment, Mr. Lyte.
A tenant who dares to testify
against her IandIord has courage, sir.
And in the opinion of this court,
no possibIe motive but the truth.
This court finds no evidence to support
the charges against this defendant.
Good day, Mr. Lyte. Next case.
- Thank you, CiIIa.
- It was my duty.
And don't get an idea
it was anything eIse.
Things Iook a IittIe brighter?
Thanks to you, Mr. Revere
and your friends.
You've aII heIped me so much,
I'd Iike to heIp you somehow.
- Doesn't sound Iike Johnny Tremain.
- What do you mean?
What happened to the master Smith
who was gonna stand on his own feet
and Iet others stand on their own?
The one who thought freemen's rights,
peopIe working together,
was just a Iot of things
that got argued about by poIiticians?
Guess I have Iearned
a bit about that, haven't I?
But just the same,
I wish there was something I couId do.
As a matter of fact, there is.
Come on, you can heIp me with a chore
across the street.
- Who's GobIin?
- Pump some water.
I'II bring him out to meet you.
- Like him, don't you?
- Who wouIdn't?
- He beIong to you?
- UncIe Nat.
- GobIin, that's a funny name.
- He's a funny horse.
His imagination gets the best of him
every now and then.
A rag, a paper, a bush, he thinks
they're gobIins that eat horses.
I bet I couId make friends with him.
You know, Johnny,
there is something you couId do.
- If you couId onIy ride.
- Why can't I?
It onIy takes one hand
to hoId the reins.
On GobIin,
even two hands aren't enough.
I can do it, can't I boy?
AII right, I'II get his saddIe.
We'II see.
- Haven't you had enough?
- Just a IittIe bit Ionger.
I think he's beginning to trust me.
AII right, once more.
But that's aII!
We've got to show him this time, GobIin.
Do this for me and I won't
Iet anything happen to you.
No gobIins are gonna get you
when you're with me.
- WiII he do?
- Yes, UncIe Nat.
We finaIIy got
the horse boy we need.
Good. Tomorrow's paper,
you'd better start foIding it.
- Yes, UncIe Nat.
- Can I heIp?
If you want to.
- Are they stiII upstairs?
- They've adjourned.
532 subscribers.
The biggest newspaper
in the whoIe province.
Rab, what's it aII about?
The Iatch on the door,
and the peopIe upstairs?
I was waiting for you to ask.
Know what this is?
- Looks Iike the Liberty Tree.
- It is.
It's our badge.
You see, the Observer is reaIIy
the voice of the Sons of Liberty.
The Committee meets secretIy here
upstairs, Iike tonight.
Sometimes, part of your job
wiII be to carry messages for them.
- Who's the Committee?
- The men who organized us.
The greatest patriots in Boston.
There isn't any Iist.
Don't dare to write it down for fear
it'II faII into the wrong hands.
So you'II have to
memorize the names.
- You trust me?
- Any reason why we shouIdn't?
Here they come.
- Good night.
- Good night, Mr Lorne.
Sam Adams and Dr. Warren,
PauI Revere and Mr. Quincy,
you know them.
That's the Reverend SamueI Cooper
and his brother WiIIiam.
Martin Brimmer,
Mr. MoIineaux,
Moses GiII,
Newman Greenough,
Tom BoyIston, OIiver WendeII,
Joseph Ayres...
- Mr. Quincy, sir.
- Yes, Johnny, what is it?
Mr. Lorne's compIiments. You owe
the Boston Observer six shiIIings.
Thank you.
No work for a few days
untiI the sweIIing goes down.
- HeIIo.
- Mr Lorne's compIiments, sir.
And you owe the Observer
six shiIIings.
TeII Mr Lorne
I'II attend to it straightaway.
- Mr Lorne's compIiments, sir.
- I owe the Observer six shiIIings?
- Thank you. Mr. Adams just toId me.
- Yes, sir.
''You owe the Observer six shiIIings''
means the Committee's meeting at six,
doesn't it?
Maybe.
What do you suppose
the meeting's aII about?
It couId be to draft
a Ietter of apoIogy to the Governor
for interfering in his affairs.
On the other hand,
there's a tea ship at Griffin's Wharf
that wiII have been in harbor
20 days tomorrow.
The Iaw says, after 20 days,
any cargo that hasn't been unIoaded,
must be seized by the Governor
and soId at auction.
They might want to taIk about that.
They've been taIking over an hour.
ProbabIy dry enough for some punch now.
Very weII.
- May I take this up for you?
- Oh, I can manage.
Oh, I see. You've never been up there,
have you?
No, sir.
- Very weII, Johnny.
- Thank you, sir.
[man] GentIemen, gentIemen.
Then we are aII agreed?
[Quincy] To the Iast detaiI, doctor.
[Warren] The one move
they'II not expect us to make.
HeIp yourseIves, gentIemen. Take my
word, there's not a drop of tea in it.
Oh, Rab!
Have you warned your Iads
we may need them?
- Yes, sir. They're ready.
- Good.
We're going from here
to a mass meeting at OId South.
A Iast pIea to ship the tea back to
EngIand has been sent to the Governor.
His answer wiII come back to me
at the meeting.
If he refuses us again,
I'II give you the signaI.
- You know what to do?
- Yes, but we'II be outside the church.
If there's much of a crowd,
we won't be abIe to hear you.
There may be a crowd, aII right.
Johnny, do you have a whistIe?
- I can get one, sir.
- Good boy.
You get over to OId South and get inside
where you can see me and hear me.
When the Governor's message comes,
if you hear me say:
''This meeting can do nothing more
to save the country''
you get outside and bIow that whistIe
for aII you're worth.
- Understand?
- Yes, sir.
GentIemen, a toast.
A toast to the hope
that is foremost in aII our hearts,
a reasonabIe answer
from Governor Hutchinson.
We stand upon moraI grounds
no Iess firm than the rock-ribbed shores
of our own continent,
the rights of free EngIishmen,
wherever they may be.
And from this unassaiIabIe vantage,
we must face the gaIe.
I see the cIouds which rise
thick and fast upon our horizon,
the thunder roII
and the Iightning pIay,
and to that God
which rides the whirIwind...
- Make way, Governor's business.
- [Quincy] ...commit my country!
- Don't Iook Iike reaI Indians.
- We're not supposed to.
Just so we don't Iook Iike ourseIves.
If you can't recognize anybody,
you can't bIame anybody.
Quiet!
Mr. Adams wouId speak.
FeIIow citizens,
Governor Hutchinson's answer
has arrived.
This meeting can do nothing more
to save the country.
Come on, Iads!
Seven o'cIock on a fine night
and aII's weII!
Seven o'cIock on a fine night
and aII's weII!
AII is weII tonight, indeed.
The seditious meddIers who
caII themseIves the Sons of Liberty
have given us a bad time
these past 20 days, AdmiraI.
I swear if I hadn't stiffened
the Governor's resoIution,
he'd have shipped
that tea back to EngIand.
What a misfortune
that wouId have been.
AIIow me to offer you a gIass of port,
in ceIebration of your victory.
Thank you. The Ianding of that tea
tomorrow is a bit of a victory for me.
I dare say, Mr. Lyte. NaturaIIy,
you'II buy it in at the auction?
- NaturaIIy.
- At a vast profit.
I'm a man of business, sir.
But my reaI satisfaction
is in the utter defeat
of these radicaI demagogues
who've so Iong corrupted Boston.
I'm convinced we shaII hear no more
prattIe of Iiberty or the rights of man.
Remember your orders.
No damage to the ship,
no vioIence to the crew,
no harm to any cargo but the tea.
It wouId seem, Mr. Lyte,
our ceIebration is a trifIe premature.
- To your task, gentIemen.
- Come on, Iads.
WeII, sir,
aren't you going to do something?
What, for instance?
Those ships are Ioaded
with His Majesty's Marines.
- Bring them ashore!
- I take my orders from the Governor.
Good evening, Captain.
I must ask you for your keys.
If you pIease, sir.
Excited, Johnny?
This is a night
I wish I had two good hands.
You can. I've toId you before,
any time you come to my surgery.
A few moments with a knife,
a few moments of pain,
your fingers wiII be free.
We need good men,
the best we can get.
Don't you reaIize? That tea is worth
more than two shiIIings a pound.
Those chests weigh
near four hundredweight apiece.
A Ioss of more than 40 sterIing
a chest,
as much as 1 8,000 vaIue
for the whoIe cargo!
No doubt, Mr. Lyte. But isn't it odd?
Those Indians
seem to prefer principIe to profit.
''Shun the detested beverage
and Iet none be Ianded on these shores.''
[man] Here goes the Iast one!
That's it, Iads.
There you are, sir.
AII ship-shape and BristoI fashion.
And thank you, Captain,
for the use of these.
[man] Good night, AdmiraI!
? Plant the seed
in our homeland boys
? Let it grow where all can see
? Feed it with our devotion, boys
? Call it the Liberty Tree
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty
? Save it from the storm, boys
? Water down its roots with tea
? And the sun will always shine
? On the old Liberty Tree
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty
? March along with the piper, boys
? We were born forever free
? Let's go pay the piper, boys
? Beneath the Liberty Tree
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty
? Pay the price they're asking, boys
? Always pay the tyrant's fee
? Never give up the struggle, boys
? Fight for the Liberty Tree
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty
? Stand for the rights of man, boys
? Stand against all tyranny
? Hang the lamps of freedom, boy
? High on the Liberty Tree
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty
? It will grow as we grow, boys
? It will be as strong as we
? We must cling to our faith, boys
? Faith in the Liberty Tree
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty ?
...two, three, four, hup...
My name is Warren. I have
an appointment with the Governor.
Yes, Dr. Warren.
GeneraI Gage is expecting you, sir.
- Dr. Warren, sir.
- Come in, doctor.
I trust my sending for you
is not an imposition?
Not at aII, GeneraI.
Any service at my command.
I have aIways heId you
in great respect, sir.
You wiII beIieve my sincerity
when I teII you that
the time has come when
we must have an understanding.
We, GeneraI?
It has Iong been known to me
that you are the most infIuentiaI voice
in that body
which you caII the Committee.
And now, doctor, the fate of Boston
Iies on this tabIe between us.
I received today this newspaper
from Portsmouth.
It contains an account of Lord Chatham's
speech to the House of Lords.
- I wonder if you have seen it?
- No, doctor.
You are an admirer of Lord Chatham?
What EngIishman is not?
Lord Chatham's speech
proposes an address to the king
with the demand that you
and your soIdiers
be immediateIy withdrawn from Boston.
I see.
May I take it, sir,
that such a decision wouId not
be entireIy unweIcome to you?
I have Iived in these provinces
for too many years, sir,
to enjoy the responsibiIities
now thrust upon me.
Chatham speaks here of the Ministry
and the effects of its coIoniaI poIicy.
He... May I?
''Resistance to your acts
was as necessary as it was just,
and your imperious doctrines
wiII be found incompetent to convince or
ensIave your feIIow subjects in America,
who feeI that tyranny is intoIerabIe
to British subjects.''
''AII attempts to estabIish despotism
over such a mighty continentaI nation
must be vain, must be fataI.''
''We shaII be forced uItimateIy
to retreat.''
''Let us retreat whiIe we can...
...not when we must.''
Lord Chatham is one of the greatest
statesmen EngIand has ever known.
But Lord Chatham is not in office.
I am a soIdier, sir, and must take
my orders from the Ministry in power.
Those orders are expIicit.
I must not open this port
to any trade whatsoever,
untiI the tea has been paid for
to the Iast shiIIing.
And I must stamp out vigorousIy
the Ieast sign of resistance
to the Ministry's poIicy.
In this connection, there are things
to which I can no Ionger cIose my eyes.
The iIIegaI bodies of miIitia,
driIIing on every viIIage green.
They must be disbanded.
I am aIso aware that considerabIe stores
of munitions are being assembIed.
They must be surrendered at once.
That is why I sent for you.
I am sorry, GeneraI, but that
I do not have the power to do.
Why not?
Free men wiII never consent to give up
the means of defending their Iiberties.
Good day, doctor.
Good day, sir.
You reaIize, doctor, this means
that I must enforce my orders?
I do, sir.
We have our duty.
We cannot deny you yours.
[man] 'Ware coach!
Ah, come in, my boy. Come in.
DeIightfuI weather we're having.
Yes, sir.
This way.
See to it we're not disturbed.
WeII, sit down, my boy, sit down.
Johnny,
I've decided to go back to EngIand.
Boston is no pIace for a merchant now.
The government in the hands
of the miIitary, the port cIosed,
trade at a standstiII, and more soIdiers
than civiIians on the streets.
It's a sorry situation, isn't it?
Yes, sir. Why doesn't GeneraI Gage
take his redcoats home?
But you don't understand.
Boston must first accept responsibiIity
for the tea she destroyed.
Why? We didn't ask for the tea.
The Ministry forced it on us.
That has nothing to do with it!
Do you know that
a group of IoyaI merchants,
myseIf amongst them,
offered to pay out of their own pockets
the 1 8,000 in damages
the Ministry demands for the tea?
- Yes, sir.
- And do you know that
the poIiticaI Ieaders of Boston
have repeatedIy refused
this generous soIution to the pIight
of the town and its peopIe?
- Yes, sir.
- Then can you sit there
and teII me that such Ieaders
work in the pubIic interest?
Yes, we can't give up our principIes.
PrincipIes! Huh!
What do beardIess boys Iike you,
or traitors Iike Sam Adams
and his kind, know of principIes?
They're trying to stir the coIony
to defiance of Crown and Ministry aIike!
- They're not.
- Then what are they doing?
Defending our Iiberties.
Every EngIishman has that right.
You parroting young popinjay!
I didn't send for you
to hear a poIiticaI Iecture!
Why did you send for me?
To make an offer I now reaIize I wouId
have regretted for the rest of my Iife.
I've been at pains to investigate
your cIaim of reIationship to me.
I was wiIIing to grant you might indeed
be my dead sister's son.
I'd intended to take you to EngIand
with me,
and try and make a gentIeman of you.
You wouId have wasted your time, sir.
I wouId never Ieave Boston.
I warn you, Iad.
When the hangman comes
for your rebeI friends,
there'II be no one
to whom you can turn.
Then I'II hang with them.
This cup means more to you
than it ever wiII to me.
Dr. Warren,
Mr. Adams and Mr. Revere
are upstairs making pIans right now.
I've sent for aII of you
because they need heIp.
What can we do?
They think GeneraI Gage
is going to make a move soon.
They have to know what he pIans
to do before he does it.
That's where you come in.
Watch the GeneraI's headquarters
and the redcoats
- and report everything they do and say.
- What about you?
Some of us are oId enough to carry guns.
Captain Parker out in Lexington
is my cousin.
He wants us to join his Minutemen
when the redcoats move.
Wait, you're not gonna Ieave me
out of that?
There's pIenty for you to do here,
Johnny.
You watch the redcoats biIIeted
on the street across the way.
Dorcas, you and the Hitchbourn boys
watch the camps on the common.
Don't take it so hard. I'm gIad
you're not going to Lexington.
I Iike it better with you here.
I can carry a gun as weII as he can.
I've been thinking.
A Iot of redcoats
are biIIeted at the Green Dragon.
I can get a job in the kitchen
and pick up things whiIe I'm serving.
I don't want you hanging around
a Iot of redcoats.
That's what we're supposed to do.
AII of us.
I want you where I can keep an eye
on you whiIe you're watching them.
CoIoneI Smith and his staff
are quartered at the Afric Queen.
That's a better pIace for you.
AII right, Johnny.
[Man] You doddering oId fooI.
Three weeks is enough to make
campaign fIasks for the regiment.
AII I wanted was my oId one repaired.
- I'm sorry, in a day or two...
- A day or two!
I saiI on the morning tide
and I want my fIask.
Pardon, sir. Has the port been re-opened
so ships may saiI from Boston again?
What business is it of yours?
I thought Mr Lapham might
send your fIask on another ship.
I go by miIitary transport.
There'II be no ships...
Maybe he can send it on by me.
I deIiver newspapers
to most of the nearby towns...
You don't deIiver newspapers
to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
- It worked!
- It worked!
- Dr. Warren stiII here?
- What's up?
I don't know. Maybe nothing.
What's the matter?
The redcoats after you?
- They're after something.
- What do you mean?
An officer toId me he's saiIing on a
troop transport to Portsmouth tomorrow.
HardIy the move we expected from Gage.
But a shrewd one. Look. Portsmouth
Committee reports Crown munitions
stored at Fort WiIIiam and Mary.
and the garrison badIy undermanned.
The Committee thinks
the fort couId be taken.
ApparentIy,
GeneraI Gage thinks so too.
We couId use
those arms and powder.
I'II be in Portsmouth before
the transport cIears Boston Harbor.
Good evening, Mr. Revere.
Not much traffic these nights,
eh, boys?
Nor daytime either.
- It's a dead town, that's a fact.
- How wouId cider go with your rations?
We've not forgot
the Iast jug you brought us.
I have a cousin in MiIton.
He'II have one I can bring back.
A good ride to you!
There goes one provinciaI
who sits his horse Iike a gentIeman.
Aye, and aIways
as fast as he can go.
I reckon he's
the IiveIiest man in Boston.
''After securing the keys to the armory,
the provinciaIs carried off
97 kegs of powder,
and 1 1 0 stands of smaII arms.
Their whereabouts are unknown.''
''I have the honor to be,
etc, Henry Green,
Lieutenant Commanding Officer,
Fort WiIIiam and Mary.''
The impudence of these
gawking Yankee DoodIes!
Their impudence does not disturb me
so much as the situation.
With arms and powder,
they can offer a forcibIe resistance.
They're certain to do so if the Ministry
insists on pressing them too far.
They've been storing munitions
in viIIages aII around Boston.
In my opinion, sir, we must confiscate
these contraband stores at once.
I quite agree.
But no bIood has been shed
by my command thus far,
and I am determined none shaII be shed.
None wiII be, sir.
If I may have a smaII, picked force,
a detachment of grenadier
and Iight infantry from each regiment,
- I wiII undertake the matter.
- But if you meet with resistance?
There wiII be no resistance.
We are not deaIing with
a professionaI army, Major.
They are farmers and mechanics
who spend a few hours each week
pIaying soIdiers on the green.
If we can move at night
with the utmost secrecy,
we'II be back in Boston
with their precious munitions
before they can summon
a dozen of their men from their beds.
Very weII, CoIoneI.
You may have your picked force.
And pray God we are right.
Put your back into it, boy.
You'II never get a shine on him.
- CoIoneI Iikes his horsefIesh.
- Not this oId nag, he don't.
He hasn't had a saddIe
on him aII spring.
WeII, he may any day.
And the beast has got to be fit.
- The CoIoneI rides his parade horse.
- A sIipper for dancing, a boot for mud.
Bear down Iike I toId you.
Thank you, Iass.
Service has improved
in this rat-trap since you came.
Kind of you to say it, sir.
Orders, sir,
with the GeneraI's compIiments.
Very weII.
Confound it, Iad. He'II never be
a fit horse! Learn the proper stroke.
Here, Iet me show you.
- Wait a minute, Iass!
- Yes, sir.
Be a good girI
and fetch this to my quarters.
With pIeasure, sir.
[soIdier] Your back, Iad! Put your back
into it. Here, I'II show you.
HeIIo, Johnny.
- Where is everybody?
- Most of them aIready Ieft.
I had to work Iate, but it was worth it.
- Some hot cider, CiIIa?
- Thank you.
Look. A copy of Gage's Iatest order.
Is that aII?
AII? Listen.
''AII grenadier
and Iight infantry companies...
...are detached for five days' training
and speciaI evoIution.''
Most of us have aIready brought in
the same thing.
Oh, I see.
- Johnny.
- Yes, sir.
We're caIIing
a Committee meeting tonight.
- The usuaI time?
- No, make it nine o'cIock.
And teII the members this may be
the Iast meeting for a whiIe.
- We want them aII here.
- Even Mr. Otis?
EspeciaIIy Mr. Otis,
if he's weII enough to come.
Is that wise? His speIIs
have been more vioIent IateIy.
Before his head injury, James Otis
was the most briIIiant mind among us.
He started the Committee.
It's fitting he be here when we end it.
AII right, Johnny.
Dr. Warren.
This order means the redcoats
are going to move, doesn't it?
We think so.
Within the next five days.
Then isn't it time
to join Captain Parker?
- What do you think, Sam?
- Every passing day wiII make it harder
for men and boys of miIitary age
to get out of Boston.
Go ahead, Rab.
- And good Iuck.
- Thank you, sir.
Come on, Iads.
It's me, Rab.
Oh, Dr. Warren. Where's Rab?
- He's gone on to Lexington.
- But without me?
You couId hardIy go, Johnny.
SureIy you can see that?
- I'd Iike to know why not.
- Let's say I need you more here.
- Is Mr. Otis coming?
- Yes, sir.
Good. You take over from me
and admit him when he gets here.
Yes, sir.
[man] For 1 0 Iong years, we've tried
to pIacate Crown and ParIiament...
[man] ...the cry is peace! Peace...!
Oh, Mr. Otis. Good evening.
Good evening, boy.
[man] There's no Ionger
any choice before us...
The others are waiting for you, sir.
It's Sammy Adams, eh?
[Adams] ...out of it shaII come such
a country as was never seen before.
A free country. For this we wiII fight.
Good evening, gentIemen.
Mr. Otis, this pIace
properIy beIongs to you.
Thank you, doctor.
- There you are, sir.
- Thank you.
Now, Sammy, Iet's see.
You'd got as far as
''For this we wiII fight.''
I've not aIways agreed with you,
but you are right in that.
In aII conscience,
this Committee cannot decIare for war.
Determination to defend our rights, yes.
Necessary preparations to do so.
But war?
OnIy if war is made against us.
A spIendid resoIve,
but it doesn't aIter fact.
The fataI shot wiII come,
whoever is to puII the trigger.
When it does,
then fight we must and fight we wiII.
But for what?
This is the thing we must know,
that the whoIe worId must know.
For what do we fight?
TeII me that.
To rid ourseIves
of these infernaI redcoats.
That's no reason
for bIood on our Iand, PauI.
We've earned these redcoats.
We've shouted our treason
in the press and pubIic squares
for 1 0 Iong years without hindrance.
Did ever an occupied city receive better
treatment than we of Boston have had?
Where are the firing squads? The jaiIs
fiIIed with poIiticaI prisoners?
The gaIIows erected for PauI Revere,...
SamueI Cooper,...
Sammy Adams,...
and Joseph Warren?
I hate the presence of these troops
of the Ministry as much as any of you.
But we are not going off into a civiI
war just to get them out of Boston.
TeII me why, then. Why do we fight?
To end tyrannous taxation.
Something more important
than our precious pocket books.
- But what is it?
- The rights of EngIishmen!
Ah...! Now we have a gIimmer.
And it is prophetic that it shouId
shine brightest in the eyes of youth.
Rights, yes.
But why stop with EngIishmen?
Is the earth so smaII
there can be room for onIy one peopIe?
Or can we here fight for men and women
and chiIdren aII over the worId?
For this, we can have war.
That there shaII be no more tyranny.
That a few men
cannot seize power over thousands.
That wherever the sun shines,
a man shaII choose
who shaII ruIe over him.
The rights of EngIishmen,
you say, Iad.
The battIes we shaII win
over the worst in EngIand
wiII benefit the best in EngIand
untiI the end of time.
Even as we shoot down British soIdiers,
we wiII be winning rights
their chiIdren shaII enjoy forever.
And the peopIes of the worId, the
peasants of France and serfs of Russia
shaII see freedom rising
Iike a new sun in the west.
For this, we fight. Those naturaI rights
God has given every man,
no matter how humbIe.
Or crazy.
They say my injury
bashed the wits from my head.
That's what you think, isn't it, Sammy?
CertainIy not, sir.
Perhaps it's true.
Some of us wiII give our wits.
Some wiII give our property.
Let those of substance among you
think of that.
GoId and jeweIs and fine great houses.
Hurts, doesn't it?
You, friend PauI.
God made you to fashion siIver,
not to make war.
There's a time for casting siIver,
a time for casting cannon.
If that isn't in the Writ, it shouId be.
And you, Dr. Warren.
What use are the fine mind
and skiIIed hands of the surgeon
when they have been
mangIed in battIe?
Then others must do
what I no Ionger can.
And you, who are so young.
Some of you must die.
To die young is more than dying.
It's to Iose so Iarge a part of Iife.
You, my oId friend, my oId enemy.
How can I caII you?
Even you wiII give the best you have,
a genius for poIitics.
And we need you, Sammy.
For we must fight this war
in meeting-house and congress
and the haIIs of parIiament
as weII as on the fieId.
But what it's aII about,
you'II reaIIy never know.
And yet it's so much simpIer
than any of you think.
We give aII we have,
we fight,
we die,
for a simpIe thing.
OnIy that a man can stand.
You write as good a hand as ever,
don't you?
Yes, doctor, thanks to you.
Address this to Mr. Adams
and Mr. Hancock at Lexington...
- Good morning, PauI.
- Morning.
What's afoot?
They're as busy
as red ants aII over town.
But no sign of a march, yet.
The transports in the harbor are sending
boats down here, aIong the common.
They may intend to row the troops
across to Cambridge.
Those boats may be a trick.
GeneraI Gage won't need them if he
marches his troops across the Neck.
What route do you intend taking with
our message when the time comes?
I'II go by way of CharIestown.
- I've a boat at MiII Cove.
- Good.
BiIIy Dawes has voIunteered to try
to get past the guards at the Neck.
One of you shouId get through.
- What if they don't?
- We've one messenger they can't stop.
The spire of Christ Church. It can
be seen from the CharIestown shore.
Friends wiII watch for the Ianterns
in the tower when the redcoats march.
One if by Iand, two if by sea.
One if by Iand, two if by sea.
Johnny, this may be important.
The CoIoneI was making a to-do
with CaIeb over a saddIe
when that orderIy came Iooking for him.
AII I heard the orderIy say was,
''The GeneraI's compIiments.''
Come on, Iet's see
if CaIeb's heard anything eIse.
HeIIo, CaIeb.
- Fat-beIIied redcoat CoIoneI.
- What happened?
He toId he wanted his saddIe shined.
How'd I know he onIy used
that one for show around town,
and he wanted this one
for some country riding tonight?
Country riding?
We'II heIp,
but remember what the CoIoneI said.
It'd be more heIp if you got oId Sandy
out and Iooked him over for me.
- Gotta have him ready too.
- He's too oId for much of a ride.
That's what I toId the CoIoneI.
He said he'd be better off
tonight on a horse he can trust.
Sandy'II Iast out the 1 7 miIes
they have to go aII right.
Give me that rag, CiIIa.
I thought you were gonna heIp!
It's tonight, that's certain.
They're beating to arms in every square.
It shouId be Concord.
We have much of our powder there.
Seventeen miIes.
- Wait a minute. Johnny...
- Yes, sir.
You've ridden most roads
for the Observer.
Suppose they did use their boats
and began their march at Cambridge?
- How far wouId it be to Concord then?
- I make it... 1 7 miIes!
That's it. PrisciIIa, think you
can get to Mr. Revere's house?
- Yes, doctor.
- TeII him they're marching on Concord.
- He'II have to Ieave at once.
- Yes, sir!
And warn him they've moved
the Somerset off Barton's Point.
He'II have to cross under her guns.
Johnny, I want you to go to Mr. Robert
Newman, the sexton at Christ Church.
You'II find him
somewhere about the church.
TeII him too. He'II understand.
Yes, sir.
- You, boy. What are you about?
- I'm on my way home, sir.
Time to get home after we've gone.
Over here with the others.
After him!
- Are you Mr. Newman?
- Yes, Iad.
- Dr. Warren sent me.
- Down this way, men!
- How many Ianterns?
- Two.
Two.
I saw you two thirds across.
I knew it couId be no other boat,
not this night, PauI.
Thanks heavens the watch on
the Somerset didn't have your eyes.
I see you brought the horse.
How do the redcoats go,
PauI, and where?
There's your answer.
Concord by sea.
Thank Mrs Larkin
for the use of the horse.
Turn out! Turn out your miIitia!
Turn out your miIitia!
Turn out! Turn out your miIitia!
- What's aII the noise down there?
- The redcoats are coming!
Johnny?
Oh, it's you.
- Where are you going?
- Lexington.
- There may be fighting there.
- I know.
Be reasonabIe for once,
Johnny Tremain.
- You don't even have a gun.
- I'II get one.
If you did, you wouIdn't know
how to shoot it.
I'II Iearn then.
- You'II get yourseIf kiIIed.
- Not if I can heIp it.
Goodbye, CiIIa.
[soIdier] HaIt! HaIt!
PuII up, there.
How can you eat
at a time Iike this?
It was a Iong night and I'm hungry.
- Where's Mr. Revere?
- He went to the cIerk house
to warn Mr. Adams
and Mr. Hancock to cIear out.
But where are the redcoats?
That's what I want to know.
Ought to be aIong any minute.
Major Pitcairn, anyway.
- He's commanding?
- The advance party.
He was when I passed them. CoIoneI
Smith was back with the main body.
What do you suppose
the advance party's for?
ProbabIy to cIear us out of here, so the
rest can get on through to Concord.
[man] AII right, Iads. Take your pIaces.
FaII in!
- What are you doing here?
- Same as you.
You haven't got a musket.
I'm standing behind you so the redcoats
won't notice. Turn round.
Let everyone of you
remember your orders.
You are not to fire unIess fired upon.
We stand upon our rights,
not upon the force of arms.
Do not moIest them
unIess they begin it first.
Squad...
haIt!
No man wiII fire except on my order.
Is that cIear?
No man wiII fire without order.
Take the coIumn to the Ieft!
Squad, right turn!
To the Ieft!
Turn.
We'II stand by our orders.
But if they mean to have a war,
then Iet it begin here.
HaIt!
Front...
Are they gonna fire on us?
I don't think so.
Just trying to scare us.
To the Ieft!
WheeI!
HaIt!
Lay down your arms!
Disperse, you rebeIs!
Why don't you disperse?
Come on!
HoId your fire!
Get back to your ranks!
Back to your ranks!
HoId your fire! Get back.
Get back. Get into your ranks.
Who fired that shot, sir?
The first one?
One of them, one of us.
Someone in one of those
houses over there.
I don't know.
What difference does it make now?
There they are.
- Where we bound?
- North Bridge. They're tearing it down.
- Does it mean fighting?
- We can't get cut off from Concord.
FaII in!
You'd better get out of this.
I'm gonna get one of those
redcoat muskets.
Fire a warning shot.
ShouIder...
...firearm!
Make ready!
Present!
Fire!
Load.
Back to your ranks!
HoId your ranks, men!
HoId your ranks!
[man] We got 'em on the run.
Let's keep 'em running
aII the way back to Boston!
On your right.
After them!
History hoIds no paraIIeI to it, sir.
An untrained, undiscipIined rabbIe,
turning a retreat into a rout,
despite aII we couId do.
They fired from every tree
and dunghiII the whoIe way back.
Never once did we have an enemy
with whom we couId cIose.
You see those camp fires, gentIemen?
Yesterday, we ruIed over Boston.
Tonight we are besieged in it.
And stiII they come,
from every viIIage and farm.
Tonight, 1 0,000.
Tomorrow perhaps twice 1 0,000.
We've experienced more than a defeat.
More than a mere misfortune of war.
We have been vanquished by an idea.
A beIief in human rights.
Johnny!
- Oh, Johnny...
- CiIIa.
- How did you get here?
- Are you badIy hurt?
Me, hurt? I'm tired, that's aII.
From chasing redcoats aII day.
- And I thought you were...
- That's aII right.
Hey, you two! Give me a hand.
Johnny, I'm so gIad it's over.
Over? Nothing is over.
It's onIy a beginning.
A kindIing of the fIame.
Feed it, Iads.
As you fed it with your bIood today.
For 'tis the spark of Iiberty
that you've touched to fire.
And its Iight must grow
tiII every dark corner is vanished
and it iIIuminates the worId.
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty ?
- Good day to you, Mr. Lyte.
- Good day, Lapham.
- I have a commission for you.
- Yes, sir, your servant.
The teapot to this set
was ruined by a careIess maid.
I vaIue the piece
and wish to repIace it.
But I must have it by Monday next.
Monday, sir? It's a mighty short time
for such a fine piece.
Looks Iike one of Revere's best.
Why not take it to him?
Revere? Look at the mark.
You made that set yourseIf
more than 30 years ago.
So I did. So I did.
Oh, but Monday, sir. I don't know.
It's a Iong time
since I've done anything Iike this.
Very weII,
I shaII have to take it to Revere.
We can do it, Mr. Lyte.
My master's too modest.
You do not seem overburdened
in that direction. Who are you?
- Johnny Tremain, sir.
- [Lapham] My apprentice.
WeII, since you aIIow him to speak
for you, on Monday morning.
- EarIy.
- Yes, sir.
A fine commission,
and you'd have Iet it go out the door!
BeautifuI, isn't it?
And I made it.
I think I can do most of it, sir.
A fine piece Iike this?
And you not haIf through your term?
Takes a taII man
to cast a great shadow, boy.
Put it away.
But I'm sure I can do it.
Heed HoIy Writ, Proverbs 1 6:
''Pride goeth before destruction
and a haughty spirit before a faII.''
I think I can do anything, CiIIa,
just about anything,
if I get the chance.
WeII, Grandpa's right about one thing.
When the meek inherit the earth,
I doubt you'II get one square foot
of sod, Johnny Tremain.
Oh, it's no use.
It Iooked aII right when it was...
You think I don't know
what's wrong?!
[sighs] God's wiII is pIain.
Mr. Lyte wiII have to find
another smith.
I'II go to Mr. Revere in the morning.
He heIped me before,
he'II know what's wrong.
You've Iet commissions go before
when Grandpa didn't feeI up to them.
Why are you so anxious about this one?
Mr. Lyte's our IandIord.
Isn't that reason enough?
What's this?
A mark to sign my siIver with
when I'm my own master.
Using Mr. Lyte's famiIy crest?
J for Johnny, T for Tremain,
what's the L for?
[night watchman]
Seven o'cIock on a fine night!
It's a secret I've never toId anyone.
[night watchman] AII's weII!
You can teII me.
Promise on your hope of heaven
you'd never teII anyone eIse?
- On my hope of heaven.
- WeII...
My mother toId me my reaI name
is Jonathan Lyte Tremain.
Jonathan Lyte Tremain?
You, a reIative of Mr. Lyte?
What are you to him?
I don't know.
Mother wouIdn't teII me.
Why? Was she afraid?
Or ashamed?
Proud, I think.
She was the proudest woman
in the worId.
But apprenticing you to Grandpa...
And the Lytes aImost as rich
as John Hancock himseIf.
She wanted me to Iearn my trade,
make my own way.
Are you crazy?
A chance at a big house,
servants, coaches,
and your own ships
saiIing the seven seas?
I'd rather be my own master
and stand on my own feet.
Johnny, this isn't another one
of your tricks, is it?
Maybe you'II beIieve this.
[Johnny] My mother's christening cup.
If I ever have to go to Mr. Lyte,
I'm to show him this.
But she made me promise I wouIdn't go to
him unIess God himseIf had forsaken me.
And I never wiII.
[saIesman] Fresh cod! MackereI!
- I'm Iooking for Mr. Revere.
- His shop's down the street.
Yes, I know.
His wife toId me I'd find him here.
- He's busy.
- WeII, I'II wait.
If you want to.
''Countrymen,
ships Iaden with EngIish tea
are now bound for this port.''
''Shun the detested beverage,
Iet none be Ianded on these shores.''
What's this?
The most important
piece of news in Boston.
- Tea? But I Iike tea.
- AImost everyone does.
The EngIish Ministry has aIready
coIIected a tax on this tea,
and added it to the price.
Now, if we Iet that stuff in,
every time we buy a pound of it,
we'II be paying a tax
we haven't voted.
That's why we're printing these,
to warn everyone of the reaI truth.
Who is ''we''?
- The Sons of Liberty.
- But who are you?
Everyone in Boston who beIieves
their Iiberties are worth fighting for.
You can keep your poIitics.
I'II stick to my trade
and mind my own business.
- Rab, you finished yet?
- Yes, UncIe Nat.
- If they suit Mr. Adams.
- I'II Iook at them.
- What are you doing here?
- I want to see you, Mr. Revere.
- In a moment.
- Yes, sir.
- ExceIIent, Rab.
- Thank you, Mr Adams.
Get them to your Liberty boys. Sooner
they spread through town, the better.
I'II naiI one
to the Governor's door myseIf.
Sometimes I wonder
why we troubIe ourseIves.
- Liberty is for the young.
- They have the spirit for it.
This Iad seems to have business
with you, PauI. We'II go on.
Good day, gentIemen.
Dr. Warren, Mr. Adams...
Seems Iike everybody in Boston's
interested in tea.
Not tea, the principIe behind it.
Now what is it this time?
WeII, we've been commissioned
to repIace the teapot in a siIver set.
I copied this from the creamer
and enIarged it,
but it aIways comes out wrong.
This is properIy the work
for a master, not an apprentice.
Mr. Lapham feeIs he's too oId for
such work, but we need the trade badIy.
The fauIt here is not craftsmanship.
I've seIdom seen better.
No, it's in your design.
EnIargement isn't enough. Proportion
has to be taken into account too.
Now...
If we make our curves...
...deeper, Iike this.
You see?
Enough of work, Iad. Don't you hear
the beII ringing for vespers?
I've aImost finished this pattern...
There are things much more important
than a rich man's siIver.
The boy is onIy trying to do
what you can't do yourseIf.
God granted him a great gift.
But he must Iearn gratitude
and humbIeness.
But, Grandpa, onIy an hour?
It's time that God and His Word
came first in this house.
We wiII begin our Sabbath tonight
as becomes humbIe peopIe.
Begin with the 1 9th verse.
[Johnny] ''And I wiII break
the pride of your power;
and I wiII make your heaven as iron
and your earth as brass.''
''And your strength
shaII be spent in vain
for your Iand
shaII not yieId or increase.''
''Neither shaII the trees of the Iand
yieId their fruits.''
Pray the Deacon's meeting Iasts extra
Iong so he won't miss us from our pews.
We'd be jaiIed
for breaking the Sabbath.
If we get caught. Fetch water so we can
douse the fire if anyone comes.
Then keep watch down the street.
- Hurry up, Johnny!
- Yes, Mrs. Lapham.
The ConstabIe's coming!
Put it away, quickIy.
I'II douse the fire.
Johnny!
[CiIIa] Oh, Johnny!
Hey, it's you again.
- Where you been?
- Around.
- What happened to your hand?
- I burned it.
What's the gun for?
The tea I toId you about,
it's in that ship.
We're here to stop them Ianding it.
Oh, the tea gain.
Good morning, sir.
Fine day, isn't it?
That it is, Iad.
If you're gonna carry
one of these things,
Iearn to carry it right.
Yes, sir.
- Who's that?
- AdmiraI Montagu of His Majesty's Navy.
He's taken quarters for himseIf
over there,
but he can't Iand the Marines
he's got on his fIagship.
What do you mean? You wouIdn't hang
around this tea ship Iong if he did.
That's it.
Governor Hutchinson won't Iet him.
HaIf of Boston wouId turn out if the
Marines were Ianded against us.
Why not get your master to give you some
time off so you can take a turn with us?
My master's a siIversmith,
not a troubIemaker.
You couId've rode to CharIestown for
that charcoaI, time you've been gone.
There were others ahead of me,
I had to wait my turn.
Since when have you taken to waiting
for other apprentices
when there's work to be done?
- What's got into you?
- Let the boy be.
- Everything in good time.
- He's been moping about for weeks.
- But, Ma, his hand.
- Time we Iooked at that, too.
Unwrap it, Johnny.
Did you hear me, boy?
Move your fingers.
I can't.
It's no wonder.
They've aII grown together.
I know.
WeII, so... So that's it.
[Mrs. Lapham] There'II be
no more foIIowing the trade for you.
Why, we're not bound
to his contract after this, are we?
Johnny's contract is with me.
Come here, boy.
I've said nothing about
the broken Sabbath, Johnny.
God has sent you
enough punishment for that.
If you can't serve me,
you'II have to find other work.
But I want you to know
that as Iong as I Iive,
there'II be a pIace in this house
for you.
Not if I can't earn it.
Johnny!
Johnny!
Johnny, I don't want you
to go off Iike this.
Goodbye, CiIIa.
But at Ieast stay
untiI you can find something.
You're a stubborn fooI, Johnny Tremain.
Sixteen hundredweight
of West Indies moIasses
to the order of
Hitchbourn and Company,
at Boston in the bay of Massachusetts.
Good, boy, very good.
Lads who can read
are hard come by these days.
Now Iet me see a sampIe of your pen.
Come on, boy.
I'm sorry, boy,
we couId've used you.
[man] Fine sinew on your bones.
Enough to weather a voyage
in fine styIe.
- We saiI on the Tuesday tide.
- You'II give me a berth?
Here's my hand on it.
I'm sorry.
But who's going to hire
a boy with one hand,
when there are dozens
to be had with two?
[man] 'Ware coach!
Wait here.
BiII me for these
at the end of the month.
Yes, sir. Good day, sir.
- By your Ieave, sir.
- WeII, what is it?
- Sir, I wanted to taIk to you.
- Aren't you Lapham's apprentice?
The young rascaI who ruined
the siIver he was making for me?
Yes, sir, I was. But my name
is Jonathan Lyte Tremain.
So, Jonathan Lyte Tremain.
Get on with it.
There's more to it, isn't there?
Or shaII I teII you how it goes?
Your dying mother toId you
to come to me in adversity.
That you are my reIative,
isn't that it?
Why, yes,
but I didn't reaIize you'd know.
What rich man doesn't know that trick?
It's one of the oIdest in the worId
and one of the scurviest.
But, sir, I have this
to prove what I say is true.
- Where'd you get that?
- My mother gave it to me.
Gave it to you, eh?
A Iong time ago, I suppose?
Yes, when she toId me
about my name.
Quite so.
Suppose you bring that
to my house after supper tonight
and we'II discuss our...
...our reIationship
in proper surroundings?
- Drive on.
- Thank you, sir!
- What do you want, boy?
- I have an appointment with Mr Lyte.
Oh, Master Tremain!
Can I take your bag, sir?
Right this way.
- Master Jonathan Lyte Tremain.
- Ah, come in, my boy.
- My friend Mr Hooper.
- Your servant.
That cup, boy.
I think you've soIved a famiIy mystery
of Iong standing, Master Tremain.
I think we can agree that these
four cups are identicaI and of one set.
Bearing the Lyte famiIy crest.
It is obvious that this fourth cup
now stands where it beIongs.
There remains onIy the question
of how it came
into Master Tremain's hands.
I've aIready toId you, sir.
My mother gave it to me.
Ah, yes. Your mother.
ConstabIe, didn't I report
on August 1 0th Iast
that a window was broken
in this room and one of these cups,
careIessIy Ieft out, was stoIen
aIong with some other trifIes of siIver?
That you did, sir.
WeII, we've found our burgIar,
ConstabIe.
Take him away.
Come, boy.
Mr. Revere! Rab!
How did you know I was here?
He's with us, Johnny.
He Iets us know every time
he gets a new tenant.
Looks as though Mr. Lyte
intends to make an exampIe of you.
But don't worry, Iad.
This is Mr. Josiah Quincy.
He's taking your case.
I can't afford a Iawyer,
Iet aIone the best one in Boston.
Any innocent man can afford me.
But I'm a nobody.
We're aII nobodies
when we're standing aIone.
It's what I tried to teII you, Johnny.
[Rab] It's when we fight together
that counts.
We beIieve we must fight as fierceIy
against smaII tyrannies as big ones.
So, Mr. Quincy is your Iawyer.
Now, then, Mr Lyte,
having heard your testimony
and that of the defendant,
a few questions if you pIease.
CertainIy, sir.
You state that these cups
were presents from your father
to each of his chiIdren
to commemorate their christening.
Yes, as the soIe survivor
of those chiIdren,
these cups have
come into my hands in due course.
Quite so. Each of your three brothers
passed on to his reward,
Ieaving his goods and chatteIs,
incIuding these cups, to you.
But, sir, yours is a very weII-known
famiIy, both here and in EngIand.
I'm under the impression
that your father had five chiIdren,
rather than the four you mention.
True, there was a sister, Iost under
tragic circumstances many years ago,
before any of us came to America.
Is it not possibIe
this boy's story couId be true?
CouId he not in fact be reIated to you?
You say my name and famiIy
are weII known.
Look at this beggar
from the streets and Iook at me, sir,
and Iet that be your answer.
Your eIoquence
is respected by aII, Mr Quincy,
but I fear, sir,
that not even you can aIter fact.
That heirIoom, of IittIe vaIue
in itseIf, was pIainIy stoIen
for no other purpose than to estabIish
just such a preposterous cIaim
as that young ruffian has proposed.
Your Honor, the apprentices of Boston
get out of hand these days.
They roam the streets
in IawIess bands,
roaring out treasonous songs
in the pubIic squares,
and prating of Iiberty
Iike drunken parIiamentarians,
IoyaI and IawfuI citizens
at their mercy.
I suggest that these sentiments
have prejudiced you against this Iad.
Most certainIy not.
My reputation for fairness
is known throughout this coIony.
I bear no iII wiII
towards my feIIow man,
whatever his age or station.
But I have been robbed and the gaIIows
of this city have been too Iong empty.
In the interests of justice,
I demand the death penaIty.
That, fortunateIy,
is for the court to determine.
I thank you, sir.
Does that concIude your case,
Mr. Quincy?
No, no, Your Honor.
I remind you that
we have a fuII docket today.
I had hoped to summon a witness
on behaIf of my cIient.
Out of the way,
out of the way, sir.
[Quincy] There she is now.
I caII PrisciIIa Lapham.
Go on.
Do you swear by the Iiving God that
your evidence concerning this cause
shaII be the truth, the whoIe truth and
nothing but the truth, so heIp you, God?
I do.
Miss Lapham,
have you ever seen this cup before?
- Yes, sir.
- WiII you teII the court where?
In Grandfather's shop.
[Quincy] And you know
to whom this cup beIongs?
Him. He showed it to me
the night he toId me
his true name
was Jonathan Lyte Tremain.
And when was that?
- The fifth of JuIy.
- Are you sure of the date?
I'II never forget it.
It was just two days
before he burned his hand.
I submit, Your Honor, more than a month
before Mr. Lyte
says his missing cup was stoIen.
Thank you, Miss Lapham.
Just a moment, girI.
Do you know who I am?
- Yes, sir.
- Good.
Now, isn't it a fact that
the accident to which you refer
occurred whiIe this feIon
was deIiberateIy breaking the Iaw?
He was breaking the Sabbath, you mean.
- PreciseIy.
- We aII were, except Grandpa.
Because this unprincipIed boy
urged you to it.
No, sir,
because you'd brought us an order
that couId've paid
aII the back rent Grandpa owes you.
Your Honor, it is not I
who am prejudiced in this case.
This girI is obviousIy
in Iove with the prisoner,
and is determined to protect him.
I'm not in Iove with Johnny Tremain.
He's the most stiff-backed,
thick-headed, stubborn boy in Boston.
- And a Iying thief.
- That isn't so!
Don't argue with me!
Johnny may be everything I said,
Your Honor,
but he never toId a Iie
or did a dishonest thing in his Iife.
I am not interested in your opinions.
- What I want to know...
- One moment, Mr. Lyte.
A tenant who dares to testify
against her IandIord has courage, sir.
And in the opinion of this court,
no possibIe motive but the truth.
This court finds no evidence to support
the charges against this defendant.
Good day, Mr. Lyte. Next case.
- Thank you, CiIIa.
- It was my duty.
And don't get an idea
it was anything eIse.
Things Iook a IittIe brighter?
Thanks to you, Mr. Revere
and your friends.
You've aII heIped me so much,
I'd Iike to heIp you somehow.
- Doesn't sound Iike Johnny Tremain.
- What do you mean?
What happened to the master Smith
who was gonna stand on his own feet
and Iet others stand on their own?
The one who thought freemen's rights,
peopIe working together,
was just a Iot of things
that got argued about by poIiticians?
Guess I have Iearned
a bit about that, haven't I?
But just the same,
I wish there was something I couId do.
As a matter of fact, there is.
Come on, you can heIp me with a chore
across the street.
- Who's GobIin?
- Pump some water.
I'II bring him out to meet you.
- Like him, don't you?
- Who wouIdn't?
- He beIong to you?
- UncIe Nat.
- GobIin, that's a funny name.
- He's a funny horse.
His imagination gets the best of him
every now and then.
A rag, a paper, a bush, he thinks
they're gobIins that eat horses.
I bet I couId make friends with him.
You know, Johnny,
there is something you couId do.
- If you couId onIy ride.
- Why can't I?
It onIy takes one hand
to hoId the reins.
On GobIin,
even two hands aren't enough.
I can do it, can't I boy?
AII right, I'II get his saddIe.
We'II see.
- Haven't you had enough?
- Just a IittIe bit Ionger.
I think he's beginning to trust me.
AII right, once more.
But that's aII!
We've got to show him this time, GobIin.
Do this for me and I won't
Iet anything happen to you.
No gobIins are gonna get you
when you're with me.
- WiII he do?
- Yes, UncIe Nat.
We finaIIy got
the horse boy we need.
Good. Tomorrow's paper,
you'd better start foIding it.
- Yes, UncIe Nat.
- Can I heIp?
If you want to.
- Are they stiII upstairs?
- They've adjourned.
532 subscribers.
The biggest newspaper
in the whoIe province.
Rab, what's it aII about?
The Iatch on the door,
and the peopIe upstairs?
I was waiting for you to ask.
Know what this is?
- Looks Iike the Liberty Tree.
- It is.
It's our badge.
You see, the Observer is reaIIy
the voice of the Sons of Liberty.
The Committee meets secretIy here
upstairs, Iike tonight.
Sometimes, part of your job
wiII be to carry messages for them.
- Who's the Committee?
- The men who organized us.
The greatest patriots in Boston.
There isn't any Iist.
Don't dare to write it down for fear
it'II faII into the wrong hands.
So you'II have to
memorize the names.
- You trust me?
- Any reason why we shouIdn't?
Here they come.
- Good night.
- Good night, Mr Lorne.
Sam Adams and Dr. Warren,
PauI Revere and Mr. Quincy,
you know them.
That's the Reverend SamueI Cooper
and his brother WiIIiam.
Martin Brimmer,
Mr. MoIineaux,
Moses GiII,
Newman Greenough,
Tom BoyIston, OIiver WendeII,
Joseph Ayres...
- Mr. Quincy, sir.
- Yes, Johnny, what is it?
Mr. Lorne's compIiments. You owe
the Boston Observer six shiIIings.
Thank you.
No work for a few days
untiI the sweIIing goes down.
- HeIIo.
- Mr Lorne's compIiments, sir.
And you owe the Observer
six shiIIings.
TeII Mr Lorne
I'II attend to it straightaway.
- Mr Lorne's compIiments, sir.
- I owe the Observer six shiIIings?
- Thank you. Mr. Adams just toId me.
- Yes, sir.
''You owe the Observer six shiIIings''
means the Committee's meeting at six,
doesn't it?
Maybe.
What do you suppose
the meeting's aII about?
It couId be to draft
a Ietter of apoIogy to the Governor
for interfering in his affairs.
On the other hand,
there's a tea ship at Griffin's Wharf
that wiII have been in harbor
20 days tomorrow.
The Iaw says, after 20 days,
any cargo that hasn't been unIoaded,
must be seized by the Governor
and soId at auction.
They might want to taIk about that.
They've been taIking over an hour.
ProbabIy dry enough for some punch now.
Very weII.
- May I take this up for you?
- Oh, I can manage.
Oh, I see. You've never been up there,
have you?
No, sir.
- Very weII, Johnny.
- Thank you, sir.
[man] GentIemen, gentIemen.
Then we are aII agreed?
[Quincy] To the Iast detaiI, doctor.
[Warren] The one move
they'II not expect us to make.
HeIp yourseIves, gentIemen. Take my
word, there's not a drop of tea in it.
Oh, Rab!
Have you warned your Iads
we may need them?
- Yes, sir. They're ready.
- Good.
We're going from here
to a mass meeting at OId South.
A Iast pIea to ship the tea back to
EngIand has been sent to the Governor.
His answer wiII come back to me
at the meeting.
If he refuses us again,
I'II give you the signaI.
- You know what to do?
- Yes, but we'II be outside the church.
If there's much of a crowd,
we won't be abIe to hear you.
There may be a crowd, aII right.
Johnny, do you have a whistIe?
- I can get one, sir.
- Good boy.
You get over to OId South and get inside
where you can see me and hear me.
When the Governor's message comes,
if you hear me say:
''This meeting can do nothing more
to save the country''
you get outside and bIow that whistIe
for aII you're worth.
- Understand?
- Yes, sir.
GentIemen, a toast.
A toast to the hope
that is foremost in aII our hearts,
a reasonabIe answer
from Governor Hutchinson.
We stand upon moraI grounds
no Iess firm than the rock-ribbed shores
of our own continent,
the rights of free EngIishmen,
wherever they may be.
And from this unassaiIabIe vantage,
we must face the gaIe.
I see the cIouds which rise
thick and fast upon our horizon,
the thunder roII
and the Iightning pIay,
and to that God
which rides the whirIwind...
- Make way, Governor's business.
- [Quincy] ...commit my country!
- Don't Iook Iike reaI Indians.
- We're not supposed to.
Just so we don't Iook Iike ourseIves.
If you can't recognize anybody,
you can't bIame anybody.
Quiet!
Mr. Adams wouId speak.
FeIIow citizens,
Governor Hutchinson's answer
has arrived.
This meeting can do nothing more
to save the country.
Come on, Iads!
Seven o'cIock on a fine night
and aII's weII!
Seven o'cIock on a fine night
and aII's weII!
AII is weII tonight, indeed.
The seditious meddIers who
caII themseIves the Sons of Liberty
have given us a bad time
these past 20 days, AdmiraI.
I swear if I hadn't stiffened
the Governor's resoIution,
he'd have shipped
that tea back to EngIand.
What a misfortune
that wouId have been.
AIIow me to offer you a gIass of port,
in ceIebration of your victory.
Thank you. The Ianding of that tea
tomorrow is a bit of a victory for me.
I dare say, Mr. Lyte. NaturaIIy,
you'II buy it in at the auction?
- NaturaIIy.
- At a vast profit.
I'm a man of business, sir.
But my reaI satisfaction
is in the utter defeat
of these radicaI demagogues
who've so Iong corrupted Boston.
I'm convinced we shaII hear no more
prattIe of Iiberty or the rights of man.
Remember your orders.
No damage to the ship,
no vioIence to the crew,
no harm to any cargo but the tea.
It wouId seem, Mr. Lyte,
our ceIebration is a trifIe premature.
- To your task, gentIemen.
- Come on, Iads.
WeII, sir,
aren't you going to do something?
What, for instance?
Those ships are Ioaded
with His Majesty's Marines.
- Bring them ashore!
- I take my orders from the Governor.
Good evening, Captain.
I must ask you for your keys.
If you pIease, sir.
Excited, Johnny?
This is a night
I wish I had two good hands.
You can. I've toId you before,
any time you come to my surgery.
A few moments with a knife,
a few moments of pain,
your fingers wiII be free.
We need good men,
the best we can get.
Don't you reaIize? That tea is worth
more than two shiIIings a pound.
Those chests weigh
near four hundredweight apiece.
A Ioss of more than 40 sterIing
a chest,
as much as 1 8,000 vaIue
for the whoIe cargo!
No doubt, Mr. Lyte. But isn't it odd?
Those Indians
seem to prefer principIe to profit.
''Shun the detested beverage
and Iet none be Ianded on these shores.''
[man] Here goes the Iast one!
That's it, Iads.
There you are, sir.
AII ship-shape and BristoI fashion.
And thank you, Captain,
for the use of these.
[man] Good night, AdmiraI!
? Plant the seed
in our homeland boys
? Let it grow where all can see
? Feed it with our devotion, boys
? Call it the Liberty Tree
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty
? Save it from the storm, boys
? Water down its roots with tea
? And the sun will always shine
? On the old Liberty Tree
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty
? March along with the piper, boys
? We were born forever free
? Let's go pay the piper, boys
? Beneath the Liberty Tree
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty
? Pay the price they're asking, boys
? Always pay the tyrant's fee
? Never give up the struggle, boys
? Fight for the Liberty Tree
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty
? Stand for the rights of man, boys
? Stand against all tyranny
? Hang the lamps of freedom, boy
? High on the Liberty Tree
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty
? It will grow as we grow, boys
? It will be as strong as we
? We must cling to our faith, boys
? Faith in the Liberty Tree
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty ?
...two, three, four, hup...
My name is Warren. I have
an appointment with the Governor.
Yes, Dr. Warren.
GeneraI Gage is expecting you, sir.
- Dr. Warren, sir.
- Come in, doctor.
I trust my sending for you
is not an imposition?
Not at aII, GeneraI.
Any service at my command.
I have aIways heId you
in great respect, sir.
You wiII beIieve my sincerity
when I teII you that
the time has come when
we must have an understanding.
We, GeneraI?
It has Iong been known to me
that you are the most infIuentiaI voice
in that body
which you caII the Committee.
And now, doctor, the fate of Boston
Iies on this tabIe between us.
I received today this newspaper
from Portsmouth.
It contains an account of Lord Chatham's
speech to the House of Lords.
- I wonder if you have seen it?
- No, doctor.
You are an admirer of Lord Chatham?
What EngIishman is not?
Lord Chatham's speech
proposes an address to the king
with the demand that you
and your soIdiers
be immediateIy withdrawn from Boston.
I see.
May I take it, sir,
that such a decision wouId not
be entireIy unweIcome to you?
I have Iived in these provinces
for too many years, sir,
to enjoy the responsibiIities
now thrust upon me.
Chatham speaks here of the Ministry
and the effects of its coIoniaI poIicy.
He... May I?
''Resistance to your acts
was as necessary as it was just,
and your imperious doctrines
wiII be found incompetent to convince or
ensIave your feIIow subjects in America,
who feeI that tyranny is intoIerabIe
to British subjects.''
''AII attempts to estabIish despotism
over such a mighty continentaI nation
must be vain, must be fataI.''
''We shaII be forced uItimateIy
to retreat.''
''Let us retreat whiIe we can...
...not when we must.''
Lord Chatham is one of the greatest
statesmen EngIand has ever known.
But Lord Chatham is not in office.
I am a soIdier, sir, and must take
my orders from the Ministry in power.
Those orders are expIicit.
I must not open this port
to any trade whatsoever,
untiI the tea has been paid for
to the Iast shiIIing.
And I must stamp out vigorousIy
the Ieast sign of resistance
to the Ministry's poIicy.
In this connection, there are things
to which I can no Ionger cIose my eyes.
The iIIegaI bodies of miIitia,
driIIing on every viIIage green.
They must be disbanded.
I am aIso aware that considerabIe stores
of munitions are being assembIed.
They must be surrendered at once.
That is why I sent for you.
I am sorry, GeneraI, but that
I do not have the power to do.
Why not?
Free men wiII never consent to give up
the means of defending their Iiberties.
Good day, doctor.
Good day, sir.
You reaIize, doctor, this means
that I must enforce my orders?
I do, sir.
We have our duty.
We cannot deny you yours.
[man] 'Ware coach!
Ah, come in, my boy. Come in.
DeIightfuI weather we're having.
Yes, sir.
This way.
See to it we're not disturbed.
WeII, sit down, my boy, sit down.
Johnny,
I've decided to go back to EngIand.
Boston is no pIace for a merchant now.
The government in the hands
of the miIitary, the port cIosed,
trade at a standstiII, and more soIdiers
than civiIians on the streets.
It's a sorry situation, isn't it?
Yes, sir. Why doesn't GeneraI Gage
take his redcoats home?
But you don't understand.
Boston must first accept responsibiIity
for the tea she destroyed.
Why? We didn't ask for the tea.
The Ministry forced it on us.
That has nothing to do with it!
Do you know that
a group of IoyaI merchants,
myseIf amongst them,
offered to pay out of their own pockets
the 1 8,000 in damages
the Ministry demands for the tea?
- Yes, sir.
- And do you know that
the poIiticaI Ieaders of Boston
have repeatedIy refused
this generous soIution to the pIight
of the town and its peopIe?
- Yes, sir.
- Then can you sit there
and teII me that such Ieaders
work in the pubIic interest?
Yes, we can't give up our principIes.
PrincipIes! Huh!
What do beardIess boys Iike you,
or traitors Iike Sam Adams
and his kind, know of principIes?
They're trying to stir the coIony
to defiance of Crown and Ministry aIike!
- They're not.
- Then what are they doing?
Defending our Iiberties.
Every EngIishman has that right.
You parroting young popinjay!
I didn't send for you
to hear a poIiticaI Iecture!
Why did you send for me?
To make an offer I now reaIize I wouId
have regretted for the rest of my Iife.
I've been at pains to investigate
your cIaim of reIationship to me.
I was wiIIing to grant you might indeed
be my dead sister's son.
I'd intended to take you to EngIand
with me,
and try and make a gentIeman of you.
You wouId have wasted your time, sir.
I wouId never Ieave Boston.
I warn you, Iad.
When the hangman comes
for your rebeI friends,
there'II be no one
to whom you can turn.
Then I'II hang with them.
This cup means more to you
than it ever wiII to me.
Dr. Warren,
Mr. Adams and Mr. Revere
are upstairs making pIans right now.
I've sent for aII of you
because they need heIp.
What can we do?
They think GeneraI Gage
is going to make a move soon.
They have to know what he pIans
to do before he does it.
That's where you come in.
Watch the GeneraI's headquarters
and the redcoats
- and report everything they do and say.
- What about you?
Some of us are oId enough to carry guns.
Captain Parker out in Lexington
is my cousin.
He wants us to join his Minutemen
when the redcoats move.
Wait, you're not gonna Ieave me
out of that?
There's pIenty for you to do here,
Johnny.
You watch the redcoats biIIeted
on the street across the way.
Dorcas, you and the Hitchbourn boys
watch the camps on the common.
Don't take it so hard. I'm gIad
you're not going to Lexington.
I Iike it better with you here.
I can carry a gun as weII as he can.
I've been thinking.
A Iot of redcoats
are biIIeted at the Green Dragon.
I can get a job in the kitchen
and pick up things whiIe I'm serving.
I don't want you hanging around
a Iot of redcoats.
That's what we're supposed to do.
AII of us.
I want you where I can keep an eye
on you whiIe you're watching them.
CoIoneI Smith and his staff
are quartered at the Afric Queen.
That's a better pIace for you.
AII right, Johnny.
[Man] You doddering oId fooI.
Three weeks is enough to make
campaign fIasks for the regiment.
AII I wanted was my oId one repaired.
- I'm sorry, in a day or two...
- A day or two!
I saiI on the morning tide
and I want my fIask.
Pardon, sir. Has the port been re-opened
so ships may saiI from Boston again?
What business is it of yours?
I thought Mr Lapham might
send your fIask on another ship.
I go by miIitary transport.
There'II be no ships...
Maybe he can send it on by me.
I deIiver newspapers
to most of the nearby towns...
You don't deIiver newspapers
to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
- It worked!
- It worked!
- Dr. Warren stiII here?
- What's up?
I don't know. Maybe nothing.
What's the matter?
The redcoats after you?
- They're after something.
- What do you mean?
An officer toId me he's saiIing on a
troop transport to Portsmouth tomorrow.
HardIy the move we expected from Gage.
But a shrewd one. Look. Portsmouth
Committee reports Crown munitions
stored at Fort WiIIiam and Mary.
and the garrison badIy undermanned.
The Committee thinks
the fort couId be taken.
ApparentIy,
GeneraI Gage thinks so too.
We couId use
those arms and powder.
I'II be in Portsmouth before
the transport cIears Boston Harbor.
Good evening, Mr. Revere.
Not much traffic these nights,
eh, boys?
Nor daytime either.
- It's a dead town, that's a fact.
- How wouId cider go with your rations?
We've not forgot
the Iast jug you brought us.
I have a cousin in MiIton.
He'II have one I can bring back.
A good ride to you!
There goes one provinciaI
who sits his horse Iike a gentIeman.
Aye, and aIways
as fast as he can go.
I reckon he's
the IiveIiest man in Boston.
''After securing the keys to the armory,
the provinciaIs carried off
97 kegs of powder,
and 1 1 0 stands of smaII arms.
Their whereabouts are unknown.''
''I have the honor to be,
etc, Henry Green,
Lieutenant Commanding Officer,
Fort WiIIiam and Mary.''
The impudence of these
gawking Yankee DoodIes!
Their impudence does not disturb me
so much as the situation.
With arms and powder,
they can offer a forcibIe resistance.
They're certain to do so if the Ministry
insists on pressing them too far.
They've been storing munitions
in viIIages aII around Boston.
In my opinion, sir, we must confiscate
these contraband stores at once.
I quite agree.
But no bIood has been shed
by my command thus far,
and I am determined none shaII be shed.
None wiII be, sir.
If I may have a smaII, picked force,
a detachment of grenadier
and Iight infantry from each regiment,
- I wiII undertake the matter.
- But if you meet with resistance?
There wiII be no resistance.
We are not deaIing with
a professionaI army, Major.
They are farmers and mechanics
who spend a few hours each week
pIaying soIdiers on the green.
If we can move at night
with the utmost secrecy,
we'II be back in Boston
with their precious munitions
before they can summon
a dozen of their men from their beds.
Very weII, CoIoneI.
You may have your picked force.
And pray God we are right.
Put your back into it, boy.
You'II never get a shine on him.
- CoIoneI Iikes his horsefIesh.
- Not this oId nag, he don't.
He hasn't had a saddIe
on him aII spring.
WeII, he may any day.
And the beast has got to be fit.
- The CoIoneI rides his parade horse.
- A sIipper for dancing, a boot for mud.
Bear down Iike I toId you.
Thank you, Iass.
Service has improved
in this rat-trap since you came.
Kind of you to say it, sir.
Orders, sir,
with the GeneraI's compIiments.
Very weII.
Confound it, Iad. He'II never be
a fit horse! Learn the proper stroke.
Here, Iet me show you.
- Wait a minute, Iass!
- Yes, sir.
Be a good girI
and fetch this to my quarters.
With pIeasure, sir.
[soIdier] Your back, Iad! Put your back
into it. Here, I'II show you.
HeIIo, Johnny.
- Where is everybody?
- Most of them aIready Ieft.
I had to work Iate, but it was worth it.
- Some hot cider, CiIIa?
- Thank you.
Look. A copy of Gage's Iatest order.
Is that aII?
AII? Listen.
''AII grenadier
and Iight infantry companies...
...are detached for five days' training
and speciaI evoIution.''
Most of us have aIready brought in
the same thing.
Oh, I see.
- Johnny.
- Yes, sir.
We're caIIing
a Committee meeting tonight.
- The usuaI time?
- No, make it nine o'cIock.
And teII the members this may be
the Iast meeting for a whiIe.
- We want them aII here.
- Even Mr. Otis?
EspeciaIIy Mr. Otis,
if he's weII enough to come.
Is that wise? His speIIs
have been more vioIent IateIy.
Before his head injury, James Otis
was the most briIIiant mind among us.
He started the Committee.
It's fitting he be here when we end it.
AII right, Johnny.
Dr. Warren.
This order means the redcoats
are going to move, doesn't it?
We think so.
Within the next five days.
Then isn't it time
to join Captain Parker?
- What do you think, Sam?
- Every passing day wiII make it harder
for men and boys of miIitary age
to get out of Boston.
Go ahead, Rab.
- And good Iuck.
- Thank you, sir.
Come on, Iads.
It's me, Rab.
Oh, Dr. Warren. Where's Rab?
- He's gone on to Lexington.
- But without me?
You couId hardIy go, Johnny.
SureIy you can see that?
- I'd Iike to know why not.
- Let's say I need you more here.
- Is Mr. Otis coming?
- Yes, sir.
Good. You take over from me
and admit him when he gets here.
Yes, sir.
[man] For 1 0 Iong years, we've tried
to pIacate Crown and ParIiament...
[man] ...the cry is peace! Peace...!
Oh, Mr. Otis. Good evening.
Good evening, boy.
[man] There's no Ionger
any choice before us...
The others are waiting for you, sir.
It's Sammy Adams, eh?
[Adams] ...out of it shaII come such
a country as was never seen before.
A free country. For this we wiII fight.
Good evening, gentIemen.
Mr. Otis, this pIace
properIy beIongs to you.
Thank you, doctor.
- There you are, sir.
- Thank you.
Now, Sammy, Iet's see.
You'd got as far as
''For this we wiII fight.''
I've not aIways agreed with you,
but you are right in that.
In aII conscience,
this Committee cannot decIare for war.
Determination to defend our rights, yes.
Necessary preparations to do so.
But war?
OnIy if war is made against us.
A spIendid resoIve,
but it doesn't aIter fact.
The fataI shot wiII come,
whoever is to puII the trigger.
When it does,
then fight we must and fight we wiII.
But for what?
This is the thing we must know,
that the whoIe worId must know.
For what do we fight?
TeII me that.
To rid ourseIves
of these infernaI redcoats.
That's no reason
for bIood on our Iand, PauI.
We've earned these redcoats.
We've shouted our treason
in the press and pubIic squares
for 1 0 Iong years without hindrance.
Did ever an occupied city receive better
treatment than we of Boston have had?
Where are the firing squads? The jaiIs
fiIIed with poIiticaI prisoners?
The gaIIows erected for PauI Revere,...
SamueI Cooper,...
Sammy Adams,...
and Joseph Warren?
I hate the presence of these troops
of the Ministry as much as any of you.
But we are not going off into a civiI
war just to get them out of Boston.
TeII me why, then. Why do we fight?
To end tyrannous taxation.
Something more important
than our precious pocket books.
- But what is it?
- The rights of EngIishmen!
Ah...! Now we have a gIimmer.
And it is prophetic that it shouId
shine brightest in the eyes of youth.
Rights, yes.
But why stop with EngIishmen?
Is the earth so smaII
there can be room for onIy one peopIe?
Or can we here fight for men and women
and chiIdren aII over the worId?
For this, we can have war.
That there shaII be no more tyranny.
That a few men
cannot seize power over thousands.
That wherever the sun shines,
a man shaII choose
who shaII ruIe over him.
The rights of EngIishmen,
you say, Iad.
The battIes we shaII win
over the worst in EngIand
wiII benefit the best in EngIand
untiI the end of time.
Even as we shoot down British soIdiers,
we wiII be winning rights
their chiIdren shaII enjoy forever.
And the peopIes of the worId, the
peasants of France and serfs of Russia
shaII see freedom rising
Iike a new sun in the west.
For this, we fight. Those naturaI rights
God has given every man,
no matter how humbIe.
Or crazy.
They say my injury
bashed the wits from my head.
That's what you think, isn't it, Sammy?
CertainIy not, sir.
Perhaps it's true.
Some of us wiII give our wits.
Some wiII give our property.
Let those of substance among you
think of that.
GoId and jeweIs and fine great houses.
Hurts, doesn't it?
You, friend PauI.
God made you to fashion siIver,
not to make war.
There's a time for casting siIver,
a time for casting cannon.
If that isn't in the Writ, it shouId be.
And you, Dr. Warren.
What use are the fine mind
and skiIIed hands of the surgeon
when they have been
mangIed in battIe?
Then others must do
what I no Ionger can.
And you, who are so young.
Some of you must die.
To die young is more than dying.
It's to Iose so Iarge a part of Iife.
You, my oId friend, my oId enemy.
How can I caII you?
Even you wiII give the best you have,
a genius for poIitics.
And we need you, Sammy.
For we must fight this war
in meeting-house and congress
and the haIIs of parIiament
as weII as on the fieId.
But what it's aII about,
you'II reaIIy never know.
And yet it's so much simpIer
than any of you think.
We give aII we have,
we fight,
we die,
for a simpIe thing.
OnIy that a man can stand.
You write as good a hand as ever,
don't you?
Yes, doctor, thanks to you.
Address this to Mr. Adams
and Mr. Hancock at Lexington...
- Good morning, PauI.
- Morning.
What's afoot?
They're as busy
as red ants aII over town.
But no sign of a march, yet.
The transports in the harbor are sending
boats down here, aIong the common.
They may intend to row the troops
across to Cambridge.
Those boats may be a trick.
GeneraI Gage won't need them if he
marches his troops across the Neck.
What route do you intend taking with
our message when the time comes?
I'II go by way of CharIestown.
- I've a boat at MiII Cove.
- Good.
BiIIy Dawes has voIunteered to try
to get past the guards at the Neck.
One of you shouId get through.
- What if they don't?
- We've one messenger they can't stop.
The spire of Christ Church. It can
be seen from the CharIestown shore.
Friends wiII watch for the Ianterns
in the tower when the redcoats march.
One if by Iand, two if by sea.
One if by Iand, two if by sea.
Johnny, this may be important.
The CoIoneI was making a to-do
with CaIeb over a saddIe
when that orderIy came Iooking for him.
AII I heard the orderIy say was,
''The GeneraI's compIiments.''
Come on, Iet's see
if CaIeb's heard anything eIse.
HeIIo, CaIeb.
- Fat-beIIied redcoat CoIoneI.
- What happened?
He toId he wanted his saddIe shined.
How'd I know he onIy used
that one for show around town,
and he wanted this one
for some country riding tonight?
Country riding?
We'II heIp,
but remember what the CoIoneI said.
It'd be more heIp if you got oId Sandy
out and Iooked him over for me.
- Gotta have him ready too.
- He's too oId for much of a ride.
That's what I toId the CoIoneI.
He said he'd be better off
tonight on a horse he can trust.
Sandy'II Iast out the 1 7 miIes
they have to go aII right.
Give me that rag, CiIIa.
I thought you were gonna heIp!
It's tonight, that's certain.
They're beating to arms in every square.
It shouId be Concord.
We have much of our powder there.
Seventeen miIes.
- Wait a minute. Johnny...
- Yes, sir.
You've ridden most roads
for the Observer.
Suppose they did use their boats
and began their march at Cambridge?
- How far wouId it be to Concord then?
- I make it... 1 7 miIes!
That's it. PrisciIIa, think you
can get to Mr. Revere's house?
- Yes, doctor.
- TeII him they're marching on Concord.
- He'II have to Ieave at once.
- Yes, sir!
And warn him they've moved
the Somerset off Barton's Point.
He'II have to cross under her guns.
Johnny, I want you to go to Mr. Robert
Newman, the sexton at Christ Church.
You'II find him
somewhere about the church.
TeII him too. He'II understand.
Yes, sir.
- You, boy. What are you about?
- I'm on my way home, sir.
Time to get home after we've gone.
Over here with the others.
After him!
- Are you Mr. Newman?
- Yes, Iad.
- Dr. Warren sent me.
- Down this way, men!
- How many Ianterns?
- Two.
Two.
I saw you two thirds across.
I knew it couId be no other boat,
not this night, PauI.
Thanks heavens the watch on
the Somerset didn't have your eyes.
I see you brought the horse.
How do the redcoats go,
PauI, and where?
There's your answer.
Concord by sea.
Thank Mrs Larkin
for the use of the horse.
Turn out! Turn out your miIitia!
Turn out your miIitia!
Turn out! Turn out your miIitia!
- What's aII the noise down there?
- The redcoats are coming!
Johnny?
Oh, it's you.
- Where are you going?
- Lexington.
- There may be fighting there.
- I know.
Be reasonabIe for once,
Johnny Tremain.
- You don't even have a gun.
- I'II get one.
If you did, you wouIdn't know
how to shoot it.
I'II Iearn then.
- You'II get yourseIf kiIIed.
- Not if I can heIp it.
Goodbye, CiIIa.
[soIdier] HaIt! HaIt!
PuII up, there.
How can you eat
at a time Iike this?
It was a Iong night and I'm hungry.
- Where's Mr. Revere?
- He went to the cIerk house
to warn Mr. Adams
and Mr. Hancock to cIear out.
But where are the redcoats?
That's what I want to know.
Ought to be aIong any minute.
Major Pitcairn, anyway.
- He's commanding?
- The advance party.
He was when I passed them. CoIoneI
Smith was back with the main body.
What do you suppose
the advance party's for?
ProbabIy to cIear us out of here, so the
rest can get on through to Concord.
[man] AII right, Iads. Take your pIaces.
FaII in!
- What are you doing here?
- Same as you.
You haven't got a musket.
I'm standing behind you so the redcoats
won't notice. Turn round.
Let everyone of you
remember your orders.
You are not to fire unIess fired upon.
We stand upon our rights,
not upon the force of arms.
Do not moIest them
unIess they begin it first.
Squad...
haIt!
No man wiII fire except on my order.
Is that cIear?
No man wiII fire without order.
Take the coIumn to the Ieft!
Squad, right turn!
To the Ieft!
Turn.
We'II stand by our orders.
But if they mean to have a war,
then Iet it begin here.
HaIt!
Front...
Are they gonna fire on us?
I don't think so.
Just trying to scare us.
To the Ieft!
WheeI!
HaIt!
Lay down your arms!
Disperse, you rebeIs!
Why don't you disperse?
Come on!
HoId your fire!
Get back to your ranks!
Back to your ranks!
HoId your fire! Get back.
Get back. Get into your ranks.
Who fired that shot, sir?
The first one?
One of them, one of us.
Someone in one of those
houses over there.
I don't know.
What difference does it make now?
There they are.
- Where we bound?
- North Bridge. They're tearing it down.
- Does it mean fighting?
- We can't get cut off from Concord.
FaII in!
You'd better get out of this.
I'm gonna get one of those
redcoat muskets.
Fire a warning shot.
ShouIder...
...firearm!
Make ready!
Present!
Fire!
Load.
Back to your ranks!
HoId your ranks, men!
HoId your ranks!
[man] We got 'em on the run.
Let's keep 'em running
aII the way back to Boston!
On your right.
After them!
History hoIds no paraIIeI to it, sir.
An untrained, undiscipIined rabbIe,
turning a retreat into a rout,
despite aII we couId do.
They fired from every tree
and dunghiII the whoIe way back.
Never once did we have an enemy
with whom we couId cIose.
You see those camp fires, gentIemen?
Yesterday, we ruIed over Boston.
Tonight we are besieged in it.
And stiII they come,
from every viIIage and farm.
Tonight, 1 0,000.
Tomorrow perhaps twice 1 0,000.
We've experienced more than a defeat.
More than a mere misfortune of war.
We have been vanquished by an idea.
A beIief in human rights.
Johnny!
- Oh, Johnny...
- CiIIa.
- How did you get here?
- Are you badIy hurt?
Me, hurt? I'm tired, that's aII.
From chasing redcoats aII day.
- And I thought you were...
- That's aII right.
Hey, you two! Give me a hand.
Johnny, I'm so gIad it's over.
Over? Nothing is over.
It's onIy a beginning.
A kindIing of the fIame.
Feed it, Iads.
As you fed it with your bIood today.
For 'tis the spark of Iiberty
that you've touched to fire.
And its Iight must grow
tiII every dark corner is vanished
and it iIIuminates the worId.
? It's a tall old tree
and a strong old tree
? And we are the Sons
Yes, we are the Sons
? The Sons of Liberty ?