Reuben, Reuben (1983) Movie Script
That sempiternal slut, the Sea,
...the sea...
Spits and hisses in my father's sleep,
Sprawls, crawls...
sucks her soft sad sand gums...
moans
At the full moon caught among the rocks
Like a lozenge in her broken teeth...
Mumbles, fumbles at the lock...
the salt sill...
Where my father snores
into the tide all night...
Blowing the little fishes
back to Blatherskite.
And I...
a dull and muddy-mettled Pascal...
Think how all her white limbs
and his red hunger
came to this:
A night hag riding the Atlantic deep
While he dreams of brooms...
in his disreputable sleep.
Give me applause now,
I'm finishing.
Enough...
that's sufficient, thank you.
Now I believe that
the modest stipend...
you are paying me
for this random reading
of my more minor poetry...
...in fact owes you to a brief
question and answer period.
I say brief, because the cocktail hour
is fast approaching.
So, are there any questions?
In your closing poem Mr McGland,
you speak of your father.
Would you tell us a little
of your background?
There are so many
conflicting stories.
Which I help promulgate.
The truth is that I was one
of a family of 8 children...
My father was a weaver...
an impoverished weaver...
in the north of Scotland.
He was half Welsh.
My mother was half Irish, so...
I suppose you could say that
there's less Welsh rain
in me than Scotch mist.
Mr McGland, we'd be very interested
to know who is your favorite author.
I am.
I mean, whom do YOU read?
I read everything by everybody.
Oh, Mr McGland, not everybody!
Do you read Harold Robbins
and that ilk?
Yes, I read Harold Robbins,
but I don't inhale.
- Mr McGland...
- Yes?
Do you also read trashy writers?
There are no trashy writers.
Only trashy readers.
Sum up for us, Mr McGland...
the moral standards portrayed
by contemporary literature...
as opposed to the writing
of say a century ago.
I not only can, I will.
A hundred or so years ago...
Hester Prynne, of "The Scarlet Letter"
was given an 'A' for adultery.
I doubt today if she'd rate
any better than a C-plus.
- Mr McGland...
- At your service.
There's been so much
written about your...
I mean there have been
so many stories...
and one does hear rumours...
- My dear Mrs....
- Weyburn.
Weyburn?
My dear Mrs Weyburn,
I realise...
that your highly-developed sense
of delicacy makes it difficult
to say outright that you were
interested in my private life.
Oh no...!
Given a little money, education,
and social standing...
any man with any style at all
can make a mess of his love life.
And women?
What about women?
Women?!
Any woman with any gumption at all,
can make a shambles of her marriage.
You think I exaggerate?
Let me ask you this...
How many women here have not
made a shambles of their marriage?
I imagine that this
is the ideal point...
for me as Chair-lady
of the...
PERSON.
Sorry, Lucille...
As Chair-PERSON of the Woodsmoke
Women's Literary Group...
to thank you,
Mr Gowan McGland...
for an enchanting,
informative and cultural afternoon
Since I understand you're to be
in our midst a little longer...
to express the hope that we again
may have the privilege of hearing...
a little more of the poet
who has become...
How shall I put it...?
"A legend in his own time"
would do it very nicely.
A legend in his own time.
Thank you.
Thank you Mrs... thing.
Ladies, one last question...
Is anyone here driving past
the Dew Drop Inn? I need a lift.
I am...
Gowan!
I thought you weren't coming.
Why, it takes a little time
to throw her off the track.
You should have heard
the terrible things I said.
Tearing you down
to my sister, while...
I said I didn't know
whether you were...
a clean poet or a dirty businessman,
or what.
"He reminds me of Waltzing Bear,"
I said
I offered something
very nasty about your poetry.
I said I thought
it was very derivative.
I doubt if you know the name
of any other poet.
Hello.
Yes.
Mrs who?
Haxby.
Oh, with an 'X'.
No, I'm relieved to hear that.
Thank you.
No, I enjoyed my poetry, too.
Wednesday... I'm not sure.
No, could you just hold on a sec?
I just have to have a wee peek
at my engagement book.
Just hold on a sec.
Who is Mrs Baxter?
Haxby.
It's my sister-in-law,
Lucille.
- Really?
- Unfortunately.
She's invited me to dinner
on Wednesday.
Say you're busy.
Are you stark raving mad?
A free meal,
and me a starving poet.
Hello, Mrs Haxby,
I'd be delighted.
Right... no.
No. I don't know it, but...
...no, I do hope it's expensive.
Right... OK...
I'll see you then.
Bye bye, Mrs Button.
She's picking me up 7-ish.
She has a lovely voice.
Does she have the breasts
to go with it?
I warn you, Gowan...
stay away from Lucille.
Why?
Dr Haxby, that's why.
- Doctor doctor?
- Dentist doctor.
Movie stars come all the way
from Hollywood...
to have him fix their teeth.
Because movie stars come
all the way from Hollywood...
...I'm supposed to avoid his wife...
What's the logic?
The logic is,
he'll kill you.
I happen to know what
he did to another man...
who made a play for Lucille.
Now what makes you think that I'm
going to make a play for Lucille?
No... although I've only
known you a few days...
I know you're a son-of-a-bitch...
I ought to know the feel.
Was she wearing black...
with chains?
I didn't notice her.
You never notice women.
Actually, what I did notice...
was that she has...
...a flat arse...
And women with flat arses...
...lack warm natures...
because curve is also missing
from the temperament.
Look... she's your sister-in-law...
and you get yourselves
invited to dinner...
I can't say no...
and I feel well-protected.
Right.
Now to work.
Show me.
Oh, Mr McGland...!
Good morning Mr Pycraft.
Easy Reuben... Easy!
Goodness, a compatriot.
And a splendid example of the breed,
if I may say so
My goodness...
It wouldn't surprise me at all
if he dressed for dinner.
Wouldn't surprise me none, neither.
Mr McGland...!
Postcard come for you.
Mr Pycraft, I wonder if I...
If I might, um...
...if I might borrow this chair
for a bit.
Chair in your room...
Two, if I'm not mistaken.
You're not mistaken, Mr Pycraft...
and they're both splendid examples
of fake American colonial.
They are however a little frail...
...for what I have in mind.
May I ask just what
you have in mind?
You may, Mr Pycraft.
I suffer from acute arthritis
in the neck.
It is particularly acute
since yesterday.
I engaged in some
very strenuous...
Anyway... the doctor
has recommended traction...
and has supplied me
with an orthopedic collar...
on which my head reposes...
rather like that of John the Baptist
on the platter.
I get the picture, Mr McGland
but where does the chair
come in?
The collar's supplied
with straps...
...by means of which I'm supposed to
suspend myself from some sturdy object.
I still don't understand
where the chair comes in.
The chair's to stand on...
...in order to prevent me
hanging myself.
Although I must confess
that I don't know why, I'd rather...
Take the chair, Mr McGland!
Although I'd appreciate it if you removed
your shoes before you get on the chair.
I would also appreciate it...
...if you'd allow me to finish a sentence
just once in a while.
Very sorry about that, Mr Pycraft.
There'll always be an England,
won't there, Reuben.
No, what does surprise me Edith...
...is that there was no 'Postage Due'
on the card.
Yeah, listen... What's the point
of me coming to New York?
What is there to talk about?
Frankly Edith, I can't afford
to buy you lunch.
You will? That doesn't sound
like you, Edith.
OK, listen...
I tell you what...
If I can raise the train fare
to New York, I'll call you
Collect, of course.
OK... right...
No... no, I don't love you.
Not any more
than you love me.
OK... right.
Cheerio... right.
Come on, Reuben, come on...!
Let's go home.
Reuben!
Reuben!
What the jahoot are you doin'?
Reuben! Stop it!
Be a good boy!
Sorry, Mr McGland.
Oh... I'm flattered.
Come on, Reuben...
We got a long walk home
Do you mind if I walk
a bit of the way with you?
That traction loosened my neck,
but it stiffened my legs.
I'd be delighted.
So would Reuben.
Eh Reuben?
Come on, boy.
I know who you are.
Wouldn't hurt none
to know who I am.
I'm Frank Spofford.
Any friend of Reuben's
is a friend of mine.
How do you do.
Poet fella I hear.
So people tell me.
I make no such claim.
Well... I'm a chicken-farmer.
I'm not gonna say a MERE chicken farmer,
like you might expect.
Coz in the first place,
I lack the humility for it.
And second, there's nothin' MERE
about runnin' a poultry ranch.
Nothing could be less "mere",
if you want the truth
Oh, I do.
There's nothing I cherish
more than the truth.
I don't practice it...
but I'll cherish it.
Am I correct in assuming...
..that you're one of that
endangered species...
The native New Englander.
I worship that.
I'm the most displaced
of all displaced persons.
Your 'Native Son'
in a modern town.
And, can you believe it...
...I got displaced
by staying put.
I saw this town,
where I was born...
...grow from 1800 neighbours,
to 20,000 strangers.
All of them swarmin' in
from New York, or thereabouts.
Look... there...
That's where they live.
And you know there are...
subdivisions...
With names like "Orchard View"
and "Vineyard Haven"
All of them named...
God help us...
...for the woods and the vineyards
and the apple trees...
...they bulldozed out of existence
to make way for the new culture.
And the wives!
They're the kind of women
who put "-ish" behind everything...
..and "sort of" in front of it.
What size fowl did
Madam have in mind?
How many pounds?
"Sort of... seven-ish."
I'm invited to dinner
tomorrow night...
"sort of 7-ish."
Oh I'm sure we could rustle up
an extra ticket for you.
Jack HATES the ballet.
I don't hate ballet, Lucille,
I loathe it.
Big difference.
Firstly, you don't mind
escorting "moi"?
Well now... just one second...
What group is it?
The kind of dances they depict...
Contemporary phenomena,
like slum-clearance?
Yes, but they do it beautifully.
Without me, I'm afraid.
I'm off to New York tomorrow.
Well, I may not get the acclaim
you writing fellows do, but...
My work requires a steady hand
and much earlier hours.
So I guess I better sign off.
You know, I often think with...
...no great affection...
...of the dentist in my home town...
he was...
He was a great believer in pulling teeth
to save other teeth.
You know, the way you'd chop down a tree
to give the other's a chance.
Dentistry in America is several light-years
ahead of our colleagues in Europe.
Not only dentistry, Jack...
Look at this ad campaign
we're doing for speed reading.
Eh?
Speed-reading.
Accelerated reading.
I gather it hasn't made
any headway in England.
No, I doubt we've even heard of it,
but of course...
But we in the British Isles...
...are some 15 to 20 years behind
in the cultural decline...
...which is raging through
the rest of the world.
You may laugh, but...
It's done wonders...
Blumus for instance.
Blumus is allied to Lyser...
came to us in the States...
He said he simply could not
get his work done...
because of reports
piling up on his desk.
He was actually desperate.
6 months in the workshop...
and he can read everything
he has to for the day, in an hour.
And our star pupil read "War and Peace"
in 55 minutes.
He was clocked
by a neutral committee.
But he read the book the way
the fertiliser man reads reports.
He did not read it as a book.
I for example
would like to read...
Fitzgerald's "Tender is the Night"
as slowly as possible, in fact...
I would pay vast sums...
...for anyone to teach me to read
the books I love at a snail's pace.
- Thank you very much, Sir.
- Good.
- I'll get the car.
- Right.
Why restrict oneself to reading?
Why not also listening?
The "Minute Waltz"
in 5 or 6 seconds.
Or why not go to the ballet...
and by 9 o'clock be home
in bed with your wife?
Or if you're very lucky,
somebody else's wife.
I've heard about some
of your latest clam stock.
An abscessed tooth
is no longer a goner, right?
Not necessarily.
Why, are you concerned about something.?
Oh, no...
Occasional twinge
in one side, you know.
Drop into the office
when you're in New York...
and we'll have a look.
That's very kind of you.
But I know your reputation,
and just at the moment...
Nonsense!
We make enough from those
who CAN pay, to...
...write one off to international relations,
once in a while.
Well, I'm in New York tomorrow,
as it happens, so...
I might give you a ring,
if I can manage it.
Fine. Call the office.
We'll squeeze you in.
Thank you. Oops, sorry,
I've left my cigarettes. Just a second.
Well, thank you, Doctor,
for a lovely dinner.
Stimulating, profitable evening.
Thank you Edith,
for a lovely lunch. And Edith...
...an extraordinarily dull afternoon,
if you don't mind my saying so.
Not at all.
Thank you for dressing up, dear.
Edith, what is this all about?
Look, let's go and talk in my hotel.
Come on, we can walk there.
- How far is it?
- No more than half a mile.
That's not a walk,
it's a journey.
We'll take a cab,
my treat.
- How unexpected!
- I've left my cigarettes
Au revoir.
Edith... what is it?
You want a divorce?
No! No!
Why not?
If I was married to me,
I'd want a divorce.
What is it?
A big American publisher wants me
to write your biography, Gowan.
And here I am from London,
all expense paid.
So, would you like a drink...
on the house?
Desperately
There's scotch, vodka, gin...
And something called Jack Daniels.
Which would you like?
Just mix them.
I should have remembered.
Who the hell is interested
in a poet that's still alive.
Haven't they the decency
to wait till I'm dead?
When you're dead,
they'll bring it out in paperback.
Mind you, most...
Most poets worth a damn...
Keats, Shelley, Byron, Chatterton...
Dylan Thomas, Brendan Behan...
all died terribly young...
So I suppose they are expecting me
to do the same.
Oh, Gowan, darling,
they're counting on it!
Anyway, why you?
There are many writers
who are better than you.
Of course. But who knows you
better than I do?
What does any wife know
about any husband?
I know enough about you...
...to know why you haven't written
a line of poetry in 5 years
I know why you're content
to eke out a miserable living...
...lecturing and charming women.
And harassing their husbands.
You're one of those
unfortunate creatures, Gowan...
...who combine tremendous ambition
with overpowering...
...sloth.
Sloth?
If you mean laziness,
say laziness.
Well, I prefer sloth.
You're like a little boy...
You dreamed of being
a great symphonic conductor.
Bowing to thunderous applause...
a lock of hair falling over one eye.
But you never ever dream...
...of the back-breaking work
required to reach the podium.
Not to mention the grueling hours
of rehearsal.
You finished?
The trouble with you Gowan...
...is you've always wanted
unearned fruits.
That's so bloody perceptive...
No wonder our marriage failed.
So... you turned to poetry.
Well, I had to.
My whole body cried out
against the inhumanity...
...of regular employment.
So... desperation... poetry.
It's not regular.
And it's not employment.
We had our moments,
didn't we, Edith?
What I remember most vividly...
...was the cottage...
...evenings before it got dark.
Walking by the sea.
YOU were walking by the sea.
I, of course, was too lazy.
But I'd watch you.
Far below...
Your hands thrust deep in the pockets
of your red wool coat.
Gosh... remember
your red wool coat!
God!
Every now and then...
...you'd make a futile attempt...
...to bounce a stone
off the surface of the water.
I couldn't wait for you
to come home.
Edith...
No!
Not even for old times' sake?
Especially not for old times' sake.
Besides, I'm not here alone.
No?
No.
A younger man, I take it.
Younger than you.
Younger than I, for that matter,
the bastard.
What does he do?
I mean apart from
being youthful.
He's an actor.
Christ!
Oh, Edith!
It's alright...
He's not a very good actor.
He'll be here in a moment.
You'll like him.
No, no, no... I've got no time.
I've got to call a dentist.
You haven't got a phone book handy?
Still having trouble
with your teeth, Gowan?
Pain in the arse.
I've lost 2 more
since I last saw you...
1 in a fight,
but 2 to natural causes.
I've only got 5 left
in my upper jaw.
The dentist says
if I lose 2 more...
there won't be enough
left to hang a bridge on.
Oh, poor Gowan!
What's this bloke's name?
Smiles are now
an obsession with me.
I can spot capped teeth at 10 feet,
a bridge at 20.
Oh God... look at that.
Haxby.
Funny name,
honest to God.
Hello... hi...
My name is Gowan McGland.
Doctor um...
Haxby...
...said I was to call
and that you would squeeze me in.
What?
You see I won't be here
tomorrow, Darling.
No, it's alright,
thank you for your trouble.
She says he's gone
on an emergency call...
Somebody has his teeth all scattered
in a car crash or something.
God, wouldn't you know it!
As soon as I know he can't see me,
my tooth starts to hurt.
Despite medical science...
I consider the only effective cure
for toothache, to be whiskey.
I'm sorry, Gowan.
- Here...
- What's that?
It's a mini tape-recorder.
What would I want
with a mini tape recorder?
Any stray thoughts you might have
from time to time...
An anecdote, say.
Bits and pieces I might use
in your biography.
What makes you think
I'm going to authorise...
...a biography of myself
by you or anybody else.
You owe it to me.
I mean, we were married
for 6 years...
...and I made you almost happy,
for 2 of them.
I was miserable for all 6.
How much money are you going
to make on this book of yours?
A piss-pot full, I hope,
Of course you'll be mopping up
round the world...
...on lecture tours,
after I've gone.
It had crossed my mind, yes.
You'll make more money
writing about me...
...than I ever did,
from my poetry.
I don't see how
I can avoid it.
Great honest to Christ!
Hullo...!
Hello Darling!
Alvin, I want you to meet
Gowan McGland.
Mr McGland...
I'm honoured.
Go on... I'm depressed...
You're too damned good-looking.
Let me get rid of these,
I'll be right back.
Dazzling smile,
hasn't he?
One cap and a small bridge.
What about the icebergs?
Have you ever considered them?
Silent...
...on a long polar night.
Or the giant redwoods...
...standing since before
the birth of Christ.
Have you?
See...
She looked like an intelligent woman, but...
What do you think about it?
Excuse me.
Well, what do you think about it?
Do you have a considered philosophy?
Tickets...
Thank you.
Tickets.
Tickets...
Tickets.
Excuse me...
Would you mind...
Whoa... just a sec...
I was only kiddin'.
You can have a wee drop.
It's whiskey.
I apologise for keeping you.
I know you're
an extraordinarily...
...full timetable...
that you're...
a man...
I don't understand, because...
...I shall purchase at
considerable personal expense...
...a ticket to Woodsmoke.
You're familiar with...
Excuse me...!
Conductor!
I'll pay for his ticket
when you get around to me.
Yes, Ma'am.
I heard you read
at my college...
I figured it's the least
I could do.
Easy, Reuben... easy!
Gowan friend,
glad to see you!
Hello, Reuben...
I'm fine thanks, how are you?
Hi.
Tea-time, so I thought
I'd just pop by for a drink.
Happy you popped by...
No fun drinking alone.
If I'd known YOU were comin',
I'd have got some decent bourbon.
This is just everyday stuff.
It's the only time I drink.
You know,
he looks upper-class...
...but his bark is
definitely Cockney.
I guess he's just trying
to show his feelings...
...like a true member
of the Spofford family.
Got that from my father.
No ice, thank you.
Like an old Reserve,
he used to say.
"Reserves" were Scandinavians.
If we can't express the
emotions God give us...
then we don't deserve 'em
We're only on loan
to one another, so...
Let's show our true feelings,
while we can.
Mum, I'm only going to the post-office
to mail a letter.
Not even a letter, a postcard.
Letter or postcard, what-not...
You're going to put something on!
George...
Talk to your daughter.
You look wonderful!
Mother...
Please don't be upset!
That girl...
Are we talking about
my granddaughters?
Geneva... did I tell you about her?
Your granddaughter?!
Thing of beauty,
ain't she?
She got that from my father.
A rangy man.
Long face...
Finest pair of blue eyes
you ever saw.
So it was a shame they weren't
better lined up than they were.
Gramp, will you get Mom
off my back...
She's so worried
that I'm gonna catch...
Mr McGland!
Hello!
You two know each other?
We've met, yes.
Yes, we were on the same train
from New York...
...and I misplaced
my return ticket.
I found myself inexplicably
out of cash...
and your granddaughter
was good enough to...
It was nothing.
And I'm very glad to
have met you again,
because I'd like to pay you back
There's no hurry, it was...
Wait a minute...
YOU paid for HIS ticket?
- Yes, she...
- Take the money.
I wonder...
...if you could see your way
to cashing a small check.
It's an advance
from Yale University.
How much is it?
300 dollars.
Not more than 40 dollars
in the till.
But if you'd care to take the rest
in chickens and eggs...
Perhaps... I could go
to the bank in the morning.
Maybe Mr Pycroft could...
Not old Harry...
He won't cash no Yale checks.
He don't believe
in higher education.
Well, if you'll excuse me...
I've got to get to the post-office
before it closes.
Oh, I'm going that way myself.
That'd be great.
Thanks for the drink, Frank.
What for?
You didn't finish it.
Come on.
That the poet fella that's been
raping all the women in Woodsmoke?
Yep.
You have to wait your turn, Ma'am.
Why am I lingering
in Woodsmoke?
Well I realise I am
behind enemy lines...
But there are many questions about
American life that I would like answered.
I guess it's true that flowers
sold in a supermarket are guaranteed.
How long have people
been wearing plastic clothes?
And are they really spun
out of soybeans and flu germs?
Geneva!
Geneva!
Tad!
When did you get back
from Oxford?
Oh, Tad, this is
Gowan McGland...
Gowan, this is Tad Springer.
Mr McGland...
I'm so happy to meet you.
Sorry to have to be bouncing
up and down like this, but...
...I've just done 4 miles,
and 4 more to go...
...and if I stop cold now, I'd...
...probably pull a hamstring.
Oh, my sympathies...
I imagine a hamstring, pulled,
is not a pretty sight.
Mr McGland...
Did you know...
...that I took a course
in your poetry last term?
No, I didn't know.
People delight in keeping me
in the dark.
Oh, I flunked.
I'm sorry.
Why didn't you cheat?
It wouldn't have helped.
For instance, there is
this one poem...
It... begins...
It begins...
"How deep your warming stream..."
"My stork leg..."
"...who measures true,
allure in your bed..."
"wherein the half moon
rolls, traditional and wan..."
"Who wrecks the hospitable lees
and rules of love."
It's called "The River."
Well, frankly,
I dont understand it.
What does it mean, Mr McGland?
It means...
...that I was short of cash,
when I dashed it off...
..and sold it at an exorbitant price...
...to an editor who
didn't understand it, either.
Look, absolutely fabulous!
Well, thank you.
Yes, she does look beautiful.
I'll call?
O.K.
And I'll see you on Saturday.
'Bye!
Seems a nice enough young man.
What's he like, stationary?
What does he mean by
"See you Saturday" ?
His mother is having a party,
and I'm invited.
Why don't you come?
I don't really imagine
Mrs Springer will ask me.
Well, the party
is for me...
I'm the sort of guest of honour.
And Bobby did ask if there was
someone I'd like to have come.
I'd like to have YOU come.
Sounds tempting.
I'll see... I'm not real sure
about the date.
Thanks again.
Miss Spoff... er,
Geneva...
The incident on the train,
yesterday...
Your attitude, your behaviour,
your...
...generosity...
I really don't want
to talk about it any more.
I want you to know that...
I forgive you.
You stay here, Reuben.
Hello.
Geneva...!
What a surprise!
Why don't you come
and say hi to everybody?
Mr McGland...
Hello again.
Hi, Tad.
Excuse us!
You look ripping!
Gowan...
How long was your son
in England?
About a year.
I've lived there
all my life...
I've never once said "ripping."
What on earth made you
bring Geneva Spofford?
I'm in love with her.
If I may borrow the expression
from your son...
I think your husband looks
absolutely ripping on that jacket.
And I love the way his thin Grey hair
exactly matches the tie...
But not his image...
It is exceptional.
Did you decorate the entire house
around him?
Behave yourself, Gowan.
Thank you so much...
just pass them over there...
Could you just point out
the nymphomaniacs to me?
Not to worry...
They'll make themselves known.
Gowan!
Gowan, isn't this
a lovely party?
You go and be a host
and talk to your kid now.
God... don't they look
wonderful together?
God, I detest the music.
I loathe the music.
I despise the politics.
In short, I hate the group.
Rimbeau was my favourite
19th century poet...
Until I read somewhere that he
stopped writing at the age of 19.
Went into business,
and made a fortune.
He sold out.
People are always talking
about selling out.
Personally, I can't wait
to sell out.
I just can't seem to be able
to find any buyers.
Thank you very much...
Excuse me...
Oh, Gowan!
When did you ever get involved
with the geriatric set?
What was Adelle Jayson like?
Leaked rather heavily...
On laxatives.
Is it simply that you don't know
where to draw Te line...
...or that you really don't care?
Do you refuse to accept the fact...
...there are limits to what
you can get out of life?
I mean, even as a sexual anarchist,
must you go on grabbing...
...grabbing, grabbing,
and again grabbing?
Would you care to add...
"at everything in skirts" ?
Are you completely amoral?
Oh, what is it about you, Gowan?
I wish I knew.
I mean that was the straw...
The way you looked
at her, that...
...carnivorous stare.
"Carnivorous" ?
Was this before,
or after dinner?
C.B. is jealous enough...
but Lucille's husband...
I warned you about Jack before...
He'll demolish you!
Mrs Springer, a delightful party.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for coming,
Father Clayton.
I'm sorry I didn't get to meet
the guest of honour.
He wasn't very much
in evidence tonight.
He's very shy, you know.
This is Gowan McGland.
This is Father Clayton...
...of our All Saints episcopal church.
How do you do, Mr McGland...
an honour!
I understand you're going
to be in our midst for a bit.
Well... it would seem so, yes.
If you cared to attend service tomorrow,
you'd be most welcome.
Tomorrow...?
Even though your stay here
is limited...
...we want you to feel
a member of our congregation.
Certainly.
Who is she?
Oh, I see...
The famous McGland sense of humour.
Well, goodnight, Bobby,
and thanks again.
- Thank you, father.
- Goodnight.
Really... Gowan!
Well then, you know...
Tad and I, we hadn't seen
each other for so long.
I was glad to see
that his acne had cleared up.
How did you know?
I just assumed.
After all, no sensitive youth
ever escapes it.
I vividly remember
my own sensation...
...in discovering that the eruption
covering my face...
..was something called impetigo.
Surely, I felt,
this is no disease...
This is the name of a river,
in American Indian country.
"The Impetigo winds lazily
through the valley lands..."
"...dwindling to a trickle
in the fall..."
"...and overflowing its banks
in the spring..."
"...when the tributary streams,
swollen by the mountain snows..."
"...engulfs chickens, old ladies..."
Well...
Acne or no acne, being away
has done wonders for him.
Oxford has really matured him.
It has?
Fortunately it did
no such thing for me.
I say "fortunately", because I think
maturity is rather overrated.
You went to Oxford?
I did something much better
than go to Oxford.
I was EXPELLED from Oxford.
I'll race you to the posts.
No no no! I'm giving you 20 years...
You're giving me a head start.
Wait... wait!
Now?
Now!
I won!
I won I won I won!
I let you win
Chivalry, and all that shit.
Well...
Thanks again.
Could I see you again?
Sure! Of course.
When...?
Tomorrow?
Tomorrow I'm going to church.
Church?
My parents are Congregationalists.
My grandfather's an atheist.
I don't know what I am.
But Tad asked me
if I would go with him.
All Saints, I think.
What a coincidence,
because I've been asked, too.
Do you have any plans
after church.
Tad's going to run
his 8 miles.
Bless him!
Could I walk you from
your church to your house?
Not even the Reverend Clayton
could object to that.
O.K.
Oh... right.
- Goodnight, Gowan.
- Goodnight.
Edith, my dear one...
Here's a chapter
for your filthy book
I'm in love, Edith.
Picture this, if you will...
We're standing at the portal
to her modest home.
To my horror, I hear myself saying,
to this young girl...
"May I walk you home
from church?"
Can you believe it?
Shit!
Just to be in the same
spirit-chilling edifice...
To breathe the same stale air...
...as this strapping girl...
...with rousing breasts.
And hair like ripe wheat.
Hips that sway like a bell.
And large eyes...
...the colour of cornflowers.
She's a radiant creature, Edith...
Glowing with that light
that seems to come from within...
...healthy young girls.
God, my heart bleeds for
the raw youths that she must...
...entrance and torment.
There is after all, Edith...
...no aphrodisiac...
...like innocence.
Jesus!
Jesus!
Whoever were you talking to?
Wasn't talking to anybody.
I heard you talking
to somebody.
I couldn't make out
what you were saying...
but I distinctly
heard you talking
No, I was merely confiding a few thoughts
to this contraption here.
Were you composing a poem?
Sort of.
- May I hear it?
- No, no, no...
No... you know...
Just for the sake
of conversation...
...may I inquire as to
the whereabouts of your husband?
Jack...?
God, he's is in one of those deep sleeps,
which means that...
Nothing... nothing is going to
wake him until 3 o'clock.
When he makes his nightly
pilgrimage to the bathroom.
So...
...allowing for travel time,
we have...
...just under an hour.
What's the matter?
"Released from their support..."
" the breasts dropped,
like hanged men."
Gowan, you're a shit.
You know that,
don't you.
Yes, I know it.
And since YOU know it,
what the hell are you doing here?
I'm sorry...
Oh, God!
I'm sorry,
I'm sorry.
Oh, God.
I'm sorry.
Would you dedicate
the poem to me?
Yes, of course.
Steady...
Maybe it'll guarantee me
a kind of...
...immortality.
Alright.
The body of Christ...
the bread of man
The body of Christ...
the bread of man
The body of Christ...
the bread of man
The body of Christ...
Oh, no thanks...
I'm on a diet.
I'm sure only the priest heard.
I heard.
It wasn't meant
for you to hear.
Why?
When I'm with you,
I'm like a schoolboy.
Schoolboys equate naughtiness
with manliness.
I was merely trying to impress you
with my macho image.
Poor Father Clayton..
That was the funniest thing!
- Hi kids!
- Want a lift?
No thanks.
Okay.
Not a bad-looking wench, that
Better-looking than Bobby Springer?
They're indistinguishable.
Indistinguishable?
You know, I majored in psychology
in college.
Oh, my God... did you?!
Sorry to hear that.
Well it shouldn't be too surprising
that your case interests me.
I'm a "case" now, am I?
Well, doesn't it bother you that you're
almost as well-known as a womaniser...
...as you are a poet.
No... no... no.
What bothers me, is,
that neither pays very well.
Well, you know of course that the
accepted factual analytical explanation...
...is that consciously
or subconsciously...
womanisers are tryin' to prove
something that they're not
That they're hiding
what they really are.
Oh, well this is a red-letter day
for me.
In the space of a few minutes...
...I've been accused of blasphemy
and homosexuality.
I don't know of which
I am most proud.
I'm not accusing you
of anything, Gowan...
I'm just trying to
point out to you that...
100 years ago,
they laughed at Freud.
Well, he's still good for a chuckle
now and again, if you ask me.
Yes, now use of that attitude
is typical...
Can we just discuss this
over a glass of wine.
Just two little girls,
letting their hair down
Very interestingly,
an affinity between...
...men of genius and women
of the so-to-speak lower orders...
You've got it.
Van Gogh, and the chick
he gave his ear to...
And Brahms... Brahms used to whack about
with a lot of tarts.
I'm not talking about
men of genius, Gowan
I'm talking about you.
Oh, thank you.
Though, by promiscuous pursuit,
you make women look promiscuous...
...and thus unworthy
of pursuit.
Van Gogh and Brahms...
...were lucky to have been born
before psycho-analysis.
You do have these hostilities
towards us.
Look at the way
you're twisting your napkin.
Whose neck are you wringing?
Yours.
Okay, that's fine.
The thing is that I don't judge you
when AI say these things.
We all have the dash
of the opposite in us.
Women of the masculine,
and women of the feminine
It's nothing to be ashamed of.
There's no doubt that
he's heterosexual, eh?
Was you referrin' to me, Buddy?
Yes, I was merely remarking
that you were heterosexual.
that's what I thought
you said.
Would you care to
back up that remark
with some action,
right here, right now?
I think you misunderstood me,
what I meant was...
...that in fact,
your sexuality...
Know exactly what you mean...
Who do the hell you think you are?
Take your hands
off of him!
Geneva, I can take care of this.
I take it sir, you're familiar with
the rules of the Marquis of Queensbury.
That last remark's gonna cost you, Bud...
Now, here or outside?
Gowan!
Oh, God!
Jerry'll clobber him...
I feel sorry for that poor slob.
I know his type...
He's acting that way,
because he thinks I'll step in to stop him.
- Well, aren't you?
- I might wait a way.
You goddamned gorilla!
Come on boy,
get outta here
Blood... I'm bleeding blood!
Are you alright?
No, I'm not alright.
I never WAS alright.
I never will be alright.
Gowan.
Why are you always present
at my greatest humiliations?
Drunk and penniless
on that damned train.
Now, bent double...
...from a lucky punch
to the stomach.
Do you suppose that I think less
of you because you can't fight?
"Can't fight" ?!
Cannot bloody...!
Fuckin' shit, you bastard!
I'll have you know, that I'm known
in half the pubs in London...
...and most of the counties
of Scotland...
...as being one of the greatest
bar-room brawlers of modern times.
"Cannot bloody fight!"
Look, Gowan, I don't...
Listen, Geneva...
I'll tell you something.
I would rather mix it up
with a good rough and tumble...
that write a great poem!
Please, Gowan,
don't get worked up!
You elude me.
You let me kiss you...
No resistance...
But no response.
You're a puzzle.
I can feel the warm current...
...lying under the ice.
Seeking out the wretch in a man.
And I am wretched.
Ever since that day
I saw you on the train...
...so beautiful...
...so cool...
...so unattainable...
...I've been unable to think
of anybody or anything else.
You have reduced me
to that...
...most contemptible of creatures...
...the love-sick swain.
I find myself thinking thoughts
that no power...
...on earth or hell, could ever bring me
to express to you in words.
Thus, you will never hear me
mumbling inanities, like...
..."I will get The Holy Grail for her" !
"I'll slay a dragon" or...
"I will shower twice a day"
Are you going to let me
go on rambling like this?
No...
Gowan, I wish you would stop.
Alright, one last idiocy.
I keep thinking...
I don't see how I can
go on living without you.
Really I don't.
I'm sorry, Gowan.
Do I appear ridiculous to you, as...
...pathetic wretch,
and figure of fun.
No... you really don't.
But still, I will have to go on
living without you, won't I?
I understand.
I won't badger you.
Bye bye, Geneva.
Listen, don't bother
to see me home...
I'll find my own way home.
Bugger!
Edith... you will never know
what I have been through.
All I will tell you, is this...
That I'm gonna go somewhere
far away...
...where I'm not known...
and for one solid week.
I'm gonna do nothing
but howl like a dog.
That's all you're gonna get, Edith...
My neck is killing me.
Gowan...!
Gowan...
The poet is beautiful...
But do they understand it?
It doesn't matter whether
they understand it or not.
Women always applaud wildly.
That is the most sexist remark.
Don't men applaud, too?
Darling, men are much too sensible
to attend my evenings.
Oh, Gowan!
You're bristling...
I find bristling very offensive.
I'm NOT bristling!
Then what are you doing?
Don't rush me, I'm trying to think
of just the right word for it.
Oh, take your time...
Because the importance of words
cannot be overstated...
...for the damage they can do,
or the good.
Are you off
on another lecture?
No, I'm merely trying to find
a graceful way to let you off the hook.
Look... look around you...
Look... I mean... look...
Take the lowly chickweed,
for example...
...which we hound from our gardens
like a common criminal.
Now...If this was called
"Mist of Morning"...
...or "Mary's Eyes" ?
As chickweed...
...pluck it out with swags and cusses!
But how carefully would we tend
to avoid trampling on "Mist of Morning"
...or "Mary's-bloody-Eyes" ?
There you are Geneva...
You have the power of words.
Oh God, Gowan, I love you!
Now are you sure
that is the exact word...
...that you want to use...
You might care
to embellish it with...
..."adore" or "worship".
No... don't be greedy.
You don't mind if I just continue
staring at you, do you?
But you know what THAusually leads to.
What do you think
about "THAT" ?
On a bed of "Mist of Morning"
or "Mary's Eyes" ?
What could be lovelier?
15 two.
It's wet today.
It's the weather.
- Off again?
- 'fraid so.
That... fella again?
If you mean Gowan, yes.
That makes...
...every night, 2 weeks in a row...
Way I figure it.
Is it?
I didn't realise that.
Thanks, Mom.
I don't get it.
Is it coz he's rich and famous?
Famous, yes.
Rich... no!
Funny, coz they usually go together,
like "rich and famous".
You know... "old and lecherous".
Very funny, Mary.
Very subtle.
And he's NOT all that old.
Don't wait up for me.
I have my keys. Goodnight.
I just don't like him.
Do you, George?
Not if you don't.
You look like one of those
barnyard villains in a cartoon.
You know, the foxes and the dogs
that are are always on the prowl.
I hanker for you.
Unfortunately,
the world's full of women...
..and hankering.
You arouse more of it
than this hankerer.
I don't know...
I'm certainly doing my best.
Well...
I suppose we were meant to hanker.
Without it, there would be...
...no painting, no poetry...
No music.
Oh, shit!
Hello.
Oh, hello, Lucille.
No... not now.
It hasn't been 2 weeks,
has it?
Oh... dear!
No... I've got a bit of a toothache...
I took a couple of 'Sentinels'
about 20 minutes ago...
They're just beginning
to take effect.
Okay... I'll call you soon.
I promise.
Okay.
Bye, Lucille... bye bye.
Tart!
We'd better hurry,
before Bobbie Springer trecks in.
So it isn't only his poetry
that's made him a legend, is it?
No, his indolence, his sloth,
are equally legendary.
Gowan always maintained that
what he hated most about writing was...
...the paperwork.
How did you and Gowan McGland meet?
We acted opposite each other
in a radio play.
Gowan spouted his contempt for the...
as he put it...
"piece of rubbish in which
I have performed so nobly."
"Thank you" I said,
"I wrote it!"
Actually, after that,
Gowan and I fell in love...
2 weeks later,
we were married.
He's married. You're going out
with a married man.
If you don't care to discuss the marriage,
we can go on.
No, on the contrary.
It's going to be an important part
of the book I'm writing about Gowan.
Have you been in touch
with him lately?
Well, that's no easy task.
I believe he's cutting an erotic swath,
down the Eastern Seaboard at the moment.
I've heard enough!
"Lecture tour" might be
more accurate.
Come on! I wondered,
did you know he was married?
Well actually,
it's no big secret.
And it's no big deal!
Excuse me.
Well...
That gives us something
to think about.
Who the hell's calling
at 11.30 at night?
Answer it, and find out.
For Christ' sake,
I'm doing my teeth.
All you've got to
do is reach over it.
I'm reading.
I know you're reading...
I can see your lips moving.
Fuck you!
Hullo!
Gowan... Gowan!
Are you out of your mind?
Hold on a minute...
It's Gowan McGland.
- Who?
- He wants to talk to you.
Hullo.
Yes, well, what seems to be...?
Oh, I see...
Upper molar is it?
Oh, it's sensitive
to cold water?
That can be pretty bad.
Well, we better
have a look at it.
My first appointment
tomorrow is...
...10. Why don't you get in at 9.30,
and we'll see what we can do.
Oh, I'm sorry, there's nothing
I can do right now.
See if you can rustle up
some aspirin.
Goodnight.
Got it awful?
Well, he's in a good deal
of pain.
You're not too unhappy
about that.
I'm not exactly crazy
about him.
Then why the hell
are you treating him...
...and not charging him
for it, at that?
Because that's my way
of humiliating him...
...if you must know.
What the hell has he got...
...that he has all the women in Woodsmoke
slobbering all over him.
What is he?
Who the hell is he?
Well, he's got a dentist,
for one thing.
I'm gonna let THAT pass.
He walks around in a tweed suit...
...that's never been pressed.
Sock that don't even match.
And the women fall flat
on their backs for him.
What the frig has he got?
I want to ask you something.
I hear you.
Have YOU jumped into the sack
with him?
Darling, couldn't you put it
a little more delicately?
"Has he had his way
with you...?"
"Has he had
carnal-knowledge?"
Stop stalling!
I want an answer.
What if the answer's "YES"?
Is it "YES"?
Yes!
Yes, it's YES!
Gonna let that pass, too?
I'm not gonna let it pass!
I'm not gonna let it pass.
Good morning, Gowan.
Good morning, Dr Haxby.
I've read your X-rays...
Both teeth seem OK...
No abscesses, or even cavities.
Oh, that's good...
It must have just been a neuralgia.
No, not exactly...
What's happened is that...
...the bicuspid, that's the forward one,
has shifted position.
I should say it's become tilted.
Here... look.
Now... you see..
The root has worked itself forward...
...away from the molar,
while the tooth proper has come back...
...toward the molar, and the result
is this little triangular pocket...
...in which some infection
has developed.
That's whats caused the tenderness
and pain you've been feeling.
Now, let's have a look...
Now, open wide...!
If you could open up
just a little wider...
Oh... sorry!
Sorry!
Well, it's probably
a low-grade infection...
and we might get rid of it now,
with a shot of penicillin.
That's no problem.
But...
...the thing is...
...it's certain to come back.
The danger is, that in time...
Maybe a year, maybe next week...
...it'll infect the molar.
And we don't want that,
do we?
That way, you might
lose them both...
...which would be the end
of any possible bridge work.
There's only one...
...safe thing to do.
What?
Give up the bicuspid.
It's much less valuable...
In fact it's no use
to you at all.
It's your molar that supplies
your support on that side.
And when THAT goes...
If that goes, you'll lose them all,
because you won't have enough anchors left.
All that stands between you
and a set of false teeth...
...is that molar.
I'd be glad to pull
that bicuspid, now.
Mr McGland! Miss Thompson,
get some brandy from the cabinet
Pour Mr McGland a drink.
Gowan... it's alright, Gowan!
Are you alright?
It's alright... it's alright.
Listen, it'll be absolutely painless...
And it won't take more
than 10 minutes, now...
Could I have another one, please.
Miss Thompson...
The Novocaine, please.
Gowan, I'm sitting here
all bright-eyed and bubbly..
And you are looking like a...
Darling...
A short time ago I spent
the worst half-hour of my life...
...in a dentist's chair
I just do not...
- Escargots for Madame.
- Oh, thank you.
Chicken supreme
for the gentleman.
I hope you enjoy your dinner.
- Just a....
- Yes, Sir?
I think there's been
some mistake.
You ordered chicken Supreme,
did you not, Sir?
Yes, but I did not order
a child's portion.
That is our regular portion, Sir.
No, I ordered an entree,
not an appetiser.
Of course, Sir.
What's got into you?
3 martinis and a toothache.
Isn't that the clown
who steals tips?
Hi, Gowan!
Geneva... would you mind
not being so bloody cheerful?
I'm sorry, I appreciate
what you're trying to do, but...
High spirits, unlike low,
unfortunately are not infectious.
Will this be sufficient Sir?
Hey, son...!
Come on... you better
clean this place up.
Goodnight.
Geneva!
Geneva!
I have never, ever, in my entire life
been so embarrassed.
All those people staring!
I saw two couples
that I recognised.
What the hell!
Well if that son-of-a-bitch
smart-arsed bastard...
...the waiter, thinks he...
Just a minute!
What's the matter
with you?
You have a toothache.
And now I have
a terrible headache.
And I just want to go home.
So will you please
call me a taxi.
Please!
Just call me a taxi!
But Geneva...
Please.
Oh... Christ!
Oh... Jesus!
Hello... Mr Pycraft...
What's the name of
the best dentist in Woodsmoke?
No, no, he's in New York.
I've seen him.
No, in Woodsmoke.
Sorry, spell that.
Very good of you
to see me...
That's alright.
Let's have a look.
If it's an emergency...
You certainly sounded urgent
on the phone.
I can always catch up with the boys
on the back nine.
Well, you're absolutely right.
That molar is definitely abscessed.
Mind you, that's not necessarily
a death sentence nowadays.
Oh, no... certainly not.
But I'm afraid that's not
the whole story here.
This tooth...
as such, we might save...
...if we go in with antibiotics...
And if that doesn't work, we can
drain the abscesses surgically.
But there's something more serious
than all that...
The gum damage around it.
Periodontic disease has caused
a lot of gum breakdown...
...which is about to
cost you that tooth...
...even if, by some miracle,
all the other factors work in our favour.
Didn't your dentist explain all that,
before he pulled that bicuspid?
This was as good
as rendering you toothless.
Mr McGland...!
Mr McGland...
You alright?
Mr McGland!
Did he HAVE to pull it?
That's what's puzzled me a bit.
He must have known
that by pulling it...
...you'd be stripped clean
on that side.
And we can't hang a bridge
on what's left.
I'm sorry, you'll just
have to have 'em all out.
We could make arrangements
for tomorrow.
You know, I make it a rule,
never to run down my predecessors.
But it's a foolish economy
not to get the best.
Now, is this man
a friend of yours?
Not exactly a friend.
That's alright,
I won't ask his name.
I'm not interested in that...
but...
You see the importance of having
someone who knows what he's doing.
I think he knew
what he was doing.
In the name of the Father...
...and of the Son...
...and of the Holy...
...Ghost.
Gowan?
Are you here?
Geneva?
Gowan, I have to talk to you.
My home is your home.
No... Let's walk.
This home's too depressing.
I'm sorry to hear you say that.
I rather like its "lived-in" look.
Come on.
Gowan...
I'm pregnant.
Jesus... Christ!
You find it funny?
I don't know...
Have to let it sink in.
Have you told your parents?
No.
Are you going to?
Don't know.
Might tell my grandfather.
Not my father.
And certainly not my mother.
Jesus wept!
She'd say "He'll have to get
a divorce and marry you".
Would you marry me?
No, Gowan.
No doubt?
Would you marry ME?
I love you too much,
to marry you.
What are we gonna do then?
Well, let's see, it's been
roughly 200 years since the...
Do you think it's too soon to announce
another immaculate conception.
Oh, God!
I withdraw the suggestion.
Well...
...fortunately it's no big deal,
these days.
What?
Abortion.
Oh, Jesus!
What?
You wouldn't want that?
I don't so much mind the idea,
as the word.
I just don't like to think
of any child of mine "aborted".
I don't so much mind
"cancelled" or "deleted" or...
Even "expunged".
"Aborted"... it's...
I'll take care of everything,
whatever I decide...
Don't you worry.
Thank you for shielding me
from the harsh realities.
Gowan...
Then...
Don't you think it would be better
if we don't see each other again?
Don't you, Gowan?
Don't I know what?
Don't you think
it would be best, if...
...we didn't see each other again?
Sorry, I thought it was
a rhetorical question.
Yes... er...
Yes.
I suppose it would be best.
It doesn't mean
I'll ever forget you.
That's sweet.
Thank you.
Thank you for everything.
Will you think of me,
sometimes?
I'll take it under consideration.
And she won't talk.
And...
Like a well-cast heroine...
...she'll not look back.
When she said...
"Do you think
it would be best..."
"...if we didn't see
each other again?"
I said yes.
I think it would be best.
My voice rang like
a handful of false coins.
And so...
...dear Edith...
I have a gift for you.
The ending for your book.
I will record for you...
...the last stray thoughts.
The final sensations...
...of your protagonist...
Gowan...
...Evans...
...McGland!
As I left Dr Ormsby's office...
As I descended the stairs...
...as in a dream...
I knew...
...the destination
to which I was moving.
I'd always known...
...that for me,
truthlessness...
..."truth-less-ness"...
...would be the moment of truth.
Truthlessness...
...is for me...
...a chief...
...in a range of
consummate insults...
...heaped upon Man.
Proof of...
...of his being...
...totally...
...and tragically ludicrous.
The sign of...
...that for me...
...living is no longer endurable.
In the long, strategic retreat...
...called "life"...
...I'd always see myself...
...as I back in towards my grave...
...tooth by tooth...
...and poem by poem.
I'll go to my grave
voluntarily.
Christ!
Voluntarily, Edith!
With a few of each,
still left in my head.
Christ!
Come on, Reuben...
Come on!
I keep thinking of Geneva.
As we sat in the town square...
...I experienced one...
...last...
...vast plummet of yearning...
...to reach her
and hold her.
Resisting that was probably...
...the single at
of self-mastery...
...I have ever performed.
That's more reason
for my departure now, not less.
Even...
...should she choose
to have the baby...
...I can give my child
a heritage.
As long as I'm not around
to spoil it.
Eehee, Reuben, eehee, eehee!
You'll see your friend
soon enough.
You know, Edith...
My very last thought,...
...like my last address...
...is the poem
I never finished.
God!
Do you remember that one...
...the one that
we both liked so much?
"Come..."
"...let us spread a picnic
on the precipice."
"Eat, drink and be merry,
with our backs to the abyss."
"Till in nighted dusk..."
"... where bats..."
"...cannot be told from swallows."
"Gifts from threats..."
"...will banish solemn songs
like this."
"Solemn songs like this."
I could never finish it, could I?
Goddammit!... could never...
...never finish it.
Hopeless!
"This is our hopeless heaven."
"This is our hopeless heaven."
"These flowers,
our eyes have watered."
That's pretty good.
That's pretty good,
do you think?
"These flowers,
our eyes have watered."
"Wine drawn from our veins."
"Tunes piped from hollowed bones."
"And gaiety..."
"...pouring from every wound."
Edith, that's...
"Gaiety pouring from every wound"
is good, isn't it?
You'd better type that out
and send it to somebody.
No, I'll...
You're so bloody hopeless...!
Yeah... I'll do it myself!
Edith, does this mean then that I'm
really too chicken to go through with this?
Think it does, Edith, eh?
Well, why should I...
Why the hell should I...
Goddammit!
Bloody hell!
Do you think there are still poems
to be written, Edith?
There's still women
to be made love to.
Jesus!
Including you, including you,
my dearest Edith.
Got a lot of 'em, my friend!
Oh, shit!
Reuben!
...the sea...
Spits and hisses in my father's sleep,
Sprawls, crawls...
sucks her soft sad sand gums...
moans
At the full moon caught among the rocks
Like a lozenge in her broken teeth...
Mumbles, fumbles at the lock...
the salt sill...
Where my father snores
into the tide all night...
Blowing the little fishes
back to Blatherskite.
And I...
a dull and muddy-mettled Pascal...
Think how all her white limbs
and his red hunger
came to this:
A night hag riding the Atlantic deep
While he dreams of brooms...
in his disreputable sleep.
Give me applause now,
I'm finishing.
Enough...
that's sufficient, thank you.
Now I believe that
the modest stipend...
you are paying me
for this random reading
of my more minor poetry...
...in fact owes you to a brief
question and answer period.
I say brief, because the cocktail hour
is fast approaching.
So, are there any questions?
In your closing poem Mr McGland,
you speak of your father.
Would you tell us a little
of your background?
There are so many
conflicting stories.
Which I help promulgate.
The truth is that I was one
of a family of 8 children...
My father was a weaver...
an impoverished weaver...
in the north of Scotland.
He was half Welsh.
My mother was half Irish, so...
I suppose you could say that
there's less Welsh rain
in me than Scotch mist.
Mr McGland, we'd be very interested
to know who is your favorite author.
I am.
I mean, whom do YOU read?
I read everything by everybody.
Oh, Mr McGland, not everybody!
Do you read Harold Robbins
and that ilk?
Yes, I read Harold Robbins,
but I don't inhale.
- Mr McGland...
- Yes?
Do you also read trashy writers?
There are no trashy writers.
Only trashy readers.
Sum up for us, Mr McGland...
the moral standards portrayed
by contemporary literature...
as opposed to the writing
of say a century ago.
I not only can, I will.
A hundred or so years ago...
Hester Prynne, of "The Scarlet Letter"
was given an 'A' for adultery.
I doubt today if she'd rate
any better than a C-plus.
- Mr McGland...
- At your service.
There's been so much
written about your...
I mean there have been
so many stories...
and one does hear rumours...
- My dear Mrs....
- Weyburn.
Weyburn?
My dear Mrs Weyburn,
I realise...
that your highly-developed sense
of delicacy makes it difficult
to say outright that you were
interested in my private life.
Oh no...!
Given a little money, education,
and social standing...
any man with any style at all
can make a mess of his love life.
And women?
What about women?
Women?!
Any woman with any gumption at all,
can make a shambles of her marriage.
You think I exaggerate?
Let me ask you this...
How many women here have not
made a shambles of their marriage?
I imagine that this
is the ideal point...
for me as Chair-lady
of the...
PERSON.
Sorry, Lucille...
As Chair-PERSON of the Woodsmoke
Women's Literary Group...
to thank you,
Mr Gowan McGland...
for an enchanting,
informative and cultural afternoon
Since I understand you're to be
in our midst a little longer...
to express the hope that we again
may have the privilege of hearing...
a little more of the poet
who has become...
How shall I put it...?
"A legend in his own time"
would do it very nicely.
A legend in his own time.
Thank you.
Thank you Mrs... thing.
Ladies, one last question...
Is anyone here driving past
the Dew Drop Inn? I need a lift.
I am...
Gowan!
I thought you weren't coming.
Why, it takes a little time
to throw her off the track.
You should have heard
the terrible things I said.
Tearing you down
to my sister, while...
I said I didn't know
whether you were...
a clean poet or a dirty businessman,
or what.
"He reminds me of Waltzing Bear,"
I said
I offered something
very nasty about your poetry.
I said I thought
it was very derivative.
I doubt if you know the name
of any other poet.
Hello.
Yes.
Mrs who?
Haxby.
Oh, with an 'X'.
No, I'm relieved to hear that.
Thank you.
No, I enjoyed my poetry, too.
Wednesday... I'm not sure.
No, could you just hold on a sec?
I just have to have a wee peek
at my engagement book.
Just hold on a sec.
Who is Mrs Baxter?
Haxby.
It's my sister-in-law,
Lucille.
- Really?
- Unfortunately.
She's invited me to dinner
on Wednesday.
Say you're busy.
Are you stark raving mad?
A free meal,
and me a starving poet.
Hello, Mrs Haxby,
I'd be delighted.
Right... no.
No. I don't know it, but...
...no, I do hope it's expensive.
Right... OK...
I'll see you then.
Bye bye, Mrs Button.
She's picking me up 7-ish.
She has a lovely voice.
Does she have the breasts
to go with it?
I warn you, Gowan...
stay away from Lucille.
Why?
Dr Haxby, that's why.
- Doctor doctor?
- Dentist doctor.
Movie stars come all the way
from Hollywood...
to have him fix their teeth.
Because movie stars come
all the way from Hollywood...
...I'm supposed to avoid his wife...
What's the logic?
The logic is,
he'll kill you.
I happen to know what
he did to another man...
who made a play for Lucille.
Now what makes you think that I'm
going to make a play for Lucille?
No... although I've only
known you a few days...
I know you're a son-of-a-bitch...
I ought to know the feel.
Was she wearing black...
with chains?
I didn't notice her.
You never notice women.
Actually, what I did notice...
was that she has...
...a flat arse...
And women with flat arses...
...lack warm natures...
because curve is also missing
from the temperament.
Look... she's your sister-in-law...
and you get yourselves
invited to dinner...
I can't say no...
and I feel well-protected.
Right.
Now to work.
Show me.
Oh, Mr McGland...!
Good morning Mr Pycraft.
Easy Reuben... Easy!
Goodness, a compatriot.
And a splendid example of the breed,
if I may say so
My goodness...
It wouldn't surprise me at all
if he dressed for dinner.
Wouldn't surprise me none, neither.
Mr McGland...!
Postcard come for you.
Mr Pycraft, I wonder if I...
If I might, um...
...if I might borrow this chair
for a bit.
Chair in your room...
Two, if I'm not mistaken.
You're not mistaken, Mr Pycraft...
and they're both splendid examples
of fake American colonial.
They are however a little frail...
...for what I have in mind.
May I ask just what
you have in mind?
You may, Mr Pycraft.
I suffer from acute arthritis
in the neck.
It is particularly acute
since yesterday.
I engaged in some
very strenuous...
Anyway... the doctor
has recommended traction...
and has supplied me
with an orthopedic collar...
on which my head reposes...
rather like that of John the Baptist
on the platter.
I get the picture, Mr McGland
but where does the chair
come in?
The collar's supplied
with straps...
...by means of which I'm supposed to
suspend myself from some sturdy object.
I still don't understand
where the chair comes in.
The chair's to stand on...
...in order to prevent me
hanging myself.
Although I must confess
that I don't know why, I'd rather...
Take the chair, Mr McGland!
Although I'd appreciate it if you removed
your shoes before you get on the chair.
I would also appreciate it...
...if you'd allow me to finish a sentence
just once in a while.
Very sorry about that, Mr Pycraft.
There'll always be an England,
won't there, Reuben.
No, what does surprise me Edith...
...is that there was no 'Postage Due'
on the card.
Yeah, listen... What's the point
of me coming to New York?
What is there to talk about?
Frankly Edith, I can't afford
to buy you lunch.
You will? That doesn't sound
like you, Edith.
OK, listen...
I tell you what...
If I can raise the train fare
to New York, I'll call you
Collect, of course.
OK... right...
No... no, I don't love you.
Not any more
than you love me.
OK... right.
Cheerio... right.
Come on, Reuben, come on...!
Let's go home.
Reuben!
Reuben!
What the jahoot are you doin'?
Reuben! Stop it!
Be a good boy!
Sorry, Mr McGland.
Oh... I'm flattered.
Come on, Reuben...
We got a long walk home
Do you mind if I walk
a bit of the way with you?
That traction loosened my neck,
but it stiffened my legs.
I'd be delighted.
So would Reuben.
Eh Reuben?
Come on, boy.
I know who you are.
Wouldn't hurt none
to know who I am.
I'm Frank Spofford.
Any friend of Reuben's
is a friend of mine.
How do you do.
Poet fella I hear.
So people tell me.
I make no such claim.
Well... I'm a chicken-farmer.
I'm not gonna say a MERE chicken farmer,
like you might expect.
Coz in the first place,
I lack the humility for it.
And second, there's nothin' MERE
about runnin' a poultry ranch.
Nothing could be less "mere",
if you want the truth
Oh, I do.
There's nothing I cherish
more than the truth.
I don't practice it...
but I'll cherish it.
Am I correct in assuming...
..that you're one of that
endangered species...
The native New Englander.
I worship that.
I'm the most displaced
of all displaced persons.
Your 'Native Son'
in a modern town.
And, can you believe it...
...I got displaced
by staying put.
I saw this town,
where I was born...
...grow from 1800 neighbours,
to 20,000 strangers.
All of them swarmin' in
from New York, or thereabouts.
Look... there...
That's where they live.
And you know there are...
subdivisions...
With names like "Orchard View"
and "Vineyard Haven"
All of them named...
God help us...
...for the woods and the vineyards
and the apple trees...
...they bulldozed out of existence
to make way for the new culture.
And the wives!
They're the kind of women
who put "-ish" behind everything...
..and "sort of" in front of it.
What size fowl did
Madam have in mind?
How many pounds?
"Sort of... seven-ish."
I'm invited to dinner
tomorrow night...
"sort of 7-ish."
Oh I'm sure we could rustle up
an extra ticket for you.
Jack HATES the ballet.
I don't hate ballet, Lucille,
I loathe it.
Big difference.
Firstly, you don't mind
escorting "moi"?
Well now... just one second...
What group is it?
The kind of dances they depict...
Contemporary phenomena,
like slum-clearance?
Yes, but they do it beautifully.
Without me, I'm afraid.
I'm off to New York tomorrow.
Well, I may not get the acclaim
you writing fellows do, but...
My work requires a steady hand
and much earlier hours.
So I guess I better sign off.
You know, I often think with...
...no great affection...
...of the dentist in my home town...
he was...
He was a great believer in pulling teeth
to save other teeth.
You know, the way you'd chop down a tree
to give the other's a chance.
Dentistry in America is several light-years
ahead of our colleagues in Europe.
Not only dentistry, Jack...
Look at this ad campaign
we're doing for speed reading.
Eh?
Speed-reading.
Accelerated reading.
I gather it hasn't made
any headway in England.
No, I doubt we've even heard of it,
but of course...
But we in the British Isles...
...are some 15 to 20 years behind
in the cultural decline...
...which is raging through
the rest of the world.
You may laugh, but...
It's done wonders...
Blumus for instance.
Blumus is allied to Lyser...
came to us in the States...
He said he simply could not
get his work done...
because of reports
piling up on his desk.
He was actually desperate.
6 months in the workshop...
and he can read everything
he has to for the day, in an hour.
And our star pupil read "War and Peace"
in 55 minutes.
He was clocked
by a neutral committee.
But he read the book the way
the fertiliser man reads reports.
He did not read it as a book.
I for example
would like to read...
Fitzgerald's "Tender is the Night"
as slowly as possible, in fact...
I would pay vast sums...
...for anyone to teach me to read
the books I love at a snail's pace.
- Thank you very much, Sir.
- Good.
- I'll get the car.
- Right.
Why restrict oneself to reading?
Why not also listening?
The "Minute Waltz"
in 5 or 6 seconds.
Or why not go to the ballet...
and by 9 o'clock be home
in bed with your wife?
Or if you're very lucky,
somebody else's wife.
I've heard about some
of your latest clam stock.
An abscessed tooth
is no longer a goner, right?
Not necessarily.
Why, are you concerned about something.?
Oh, no...
Occasional twinge
in one side, you know.
Drop into the office
when you're in New York...
and we'll have a look.
That's very kind of you.
But I know your reputation,
and just at the moment...
Nonsense!
We make enough from those
who CAN pay, to...
...write one off to international relations,
once in a while.
Well, I'm in New York tomorrow,
as it happens, so...
I might give you a ring,
if I can manage it.
Fine. Call the office.
We'll squeeze you in.
Thank you. Oops, sorry,
I've left my cigarettes. Just a second.
Well, thank you, Doctor,
for a lovely dinner.
Stimulating, profitable evening.
Thank you Edith,
for a lovely lunch. And Edith...
...an extraordinarily dull afternoon,
if you don't mind my saying so.
Not at all.
Thank you for dressing up, dear.
Edith, what is this all about?
Look, let's go and talk in my hotel.
Come on, we can walk there.
- How far is it?
- No more than half a mile.
That's not a walk,
it's a journey.
We'll take a cab,
my treat.
- How unexpected!
- I've left my cigarettes
Au revoir.
Edith... what is it?
You want a divorce?
No! No!
Why not?
If I was married to me,
I'd want a divorce.
What is it?
A big American publisher wants me
to write your biography, Gowan.
And here I am from London,
all expense paid.
So, would you like a drink...
on the house?
Desperately
There's scotch, vodka, gin...
And something called Jack Daniels.
Which would you like?
Just mix them.
I should have remembered.
Who the hell is interested
in a poet that's still alive.
Haven't they the decency
to wait till I'm dead?
When you're dead,
they'll bring it out in paperback.
Mind you, most...
Most poets worth a damn...
Keats, Shelley, Byron, Chatterton...
Dylan Thomas, Brendan Behan...
all died terribly young...
So I suppose they are expecting me
to do the same.
Oh, Gowan, darling,
they're counting on it!
Anyway, why you?
There are many writers
who are better than you.
Of course. But who knows you
better than I do?
What does any wife know
about any husband?
I know enough about you...
...to know why you haven't written
a line of poetry in 5 years
I know why you're content
to eke out a miserable living...
...lecturing and charming women.
And harassing their husbands.
You're one of those
unfortunate creatures, Gowan...
...who combine tremendous ambition
with overpowering...
...sloth.
Sloth?
If you mean laziness,
say laziness.
Well, I prefer sloth.
You're like a little boy...
You dreamed of being
a great symphonic conductor.
Bowing to thunderous applause...
a lock of hair falling over one eye.
But you never ever dream...
...of the back-breaking work
required to reach the podium.
Not to mention the grueling hours
of rehearsal.
You finished?
The trouble with you Gowan...
...is you've always wanted
unearned fruits.
That's so bloody perceptive...
No wonder our marriage failed.
So... you turned to poetry.
Well, I had to.
My whole body cried out
against the inhumanity...
...of regular employment.
So... desperation... poetry.
It's not regular.
And it's not employment.
We had our moments,
didn't we, Edith?
What I remember most vividly...
...was the cottage...
...evenings before it got dark.
Walking by the sea.
YOU were walking by the sea.
I, of course, was too lazy.
But I'd watch you.
Far below...
Your hands thrust deep in the pockets
of your red wool coat.
Gosh... remember
your red wool coat!
God!
Every now and then...
...you'd make a futile attempt...
...to bounce a stone
off the surface of the water.
I couldn't wait for you
to come home.
Edith...
No!
Not even for old times' sake?
Especially not for old times' sake.
Besides, I'm not here alone.
No?
No.
A younger man, I take it.
Younger than you.
Younger than I, for that matter,
the bastard.
What does he do?
I mean apart from
being youthful.
He's an actor.
Christ!
Oh, Edith!
It's alright...
He's not a very good actor.
He'll be here in a moment.
You'll like him.
No, no, no... I've got no time.
I've got to call a dentist.
You haven't got a phone book handy?
Still having trouble
with your teeth, Gowan?
Pain in the arse.
I've lost 2 more
since I last saw you...
1 in a fight,
but 2 to natural causes.
I've only got 5 left
in my upper jaw.
The dentist says
if I lose 2 more...
there won't be enough
left to hang a bridge on.
Oh, poor Gowan!
What's this bloke's name?
Smiles are now
an obsession with me.
I can spot capped teeth at 10 feet,
a bridge at 20.
Oh God... look at that.
Haxby.
Funny name,
honest to God.
Hello... hi...
My name is Gowan McGland.
Doctor um...
Haxby...
...said I was to call
and that you would squeeze me in.
What?
You see I won't be here
tomorrow, Darling.
No, it's alright,
thank you for your trouble.
She says he's gone
on an emergency call...
Somebody has his teeth all scattered
in a car crash or something.
God, wouldn't you know it!
As soon as I know he can't see me,
my tooth starts to hurt.
Despite medical science...
I consider the only effective cure
for toothache, to be whiskey.
I'm sorry, Gowan.
- Here...
- What's that?
It's a mini tape-recorder.
What would I want
with a mini tape recorder?
Any stray thoughts you might have
from time to time...
An anecdote, say.
Bits and pieces I might use
in your biography.
What makes you think
I'm going to authorise...
...a biography of myself
by you or anybody else.
You owe it to me.
I mean, we were married
for 6 years...
...and I made you almost happy,
for 2 of them.
I was miserable for all 6.
How much money are you going
to make on this book of yours?
A piss-pot full, I hope,
Of course you'll be mopping up
round the world...
...on lecture tours,
after I've gone.
It had crossed my mind, yes.
You'll make more money
writing about me...
...than I ever did,
from my poetry.
I don't see how
I can avoid it.
Great honest to Christ!
Hullo...!
Hello Darling!
Alvin, I want you to meet
Gowan McGland.
Mr McGland...
I'm honoured.
Go on... I'm depressed...
You're too damned good-looking.
Let me get rid of these,
I'll be right back.
Dazzling smile,
hasn't he?
One cap and a small bridge.
What about the icebergs?
Have you ever considered them?
Silent...
...on a long polar night.
Or the giant redwoods...
...standing since before
the birth of Christ.
Have you?
See...
She looked like an intelligent woman, but...
What do you think about it?
Excuse me.
Well, what do you think about it?
Do you have a considered philosophy?
Tickets...
Thank you.
Tickets.
Tickets...
Tickets.
Excuse me...
Would you mind...
Whoa... just a sec...
I was only kiddin'.
You can have a wee drop.
It's whiskey.
I apologise for keeping you.
I know you're
an extraordinarily...
...full timetable...
that you're...
a man...
I don't understand, because...
...I shall purchase at
considerable personal expense...
...a ticket to Woodsmoke.
You're familiar with...
Excuse me...!
Conductor!
I'll pay for his ticket
when you get around to me.
Yes, Ma'am.
I heard you read
at my college...
I figured it's the least
I could do.
Easy, Reuben... easy!
Gowan friend,
glad to see you!
Hello, Reuben...
I'm fine thanks, how are you?
Hi.
Tea-time, so I thought
I'd just pop by for a drink.
Happy you popped by...
No fun drinking alone.
If I'd known YOU were comin',
I'd have got some decent bourbon.
This is just everyday stuff.
It's the only time I drink.
You know,
he looks upper-class...
...but his bark is
definitely Cockney.
I guess he's just trying
to show his feelings...
...like a true member
of the Spofford family.
Got that from my father.
No ice, thank you.
Like an old Reserve,
he used to say.
"Reserves" were Scandinavians.
If we can't express the
emotions God give us...
then we don't deserve 'em
We're only on loan
to one another, so...
Let's show our true feelings,
while we can.
Mum, I'm only going to the post-office
to mail a letter.
Not even a letter, a postcard.
Letter or postcard, what-not...
You're going to put something on!
George...
Talk to your daughter.
You look wonderful!
Mother...
Please don't be upset!
That girl...
Are we talking about
my granddaughters?
Geneva... did I tell you about her?
Your granddaughter?!
Thing of beauty,
ain't she?
She got that from my father.
A rangy man.
Long face...
Finest pair of blue eyes
you ever saw.
So it was a shame they weren't
better lined up than they were.
Gramp, will you get Mom
off my back...
She's so worried
that I'm gonna catch...
Mr McGland!
Hello!
You two know each other?
We've met, yes.
Yes, we were on the same train
from New York...
...and I misplaced
my return ticket.
I found myself inexplicably
out of cash...
and your granddaughter
was good enough to...
It was nothing.
And I'm very glad to
have met you again,
because I'd like to pay you back
There's no hurry, it was...
Wait a minute...
YOU paid for HIS ticket?
- Yes, she...
- Take the money.
I wonder...
...if you could see your way
to cashing a small check.
It's an advance
from Yale University.
How much is it?
300 dollars.
Not more than 40 dollars
in the till.
But if you'd care to take the rest
in chickens and eggs...
Perhaps... I could go
to the bank in the morning.
Maybe Mr Pycroft could...
Not old Harry...
He won't cash no Yale checks.
He don't believe
in higher education.
Well, if you'll excuse me...
I've got to get to the post-office
before it closes.
Oh, I'm going that way myself.
That'd be great.
Thanks for the drink, Frank.
What for?
You didn't finish it.
Come on.
That the poet fella that's been
raping all the women in Woodsmoke?
Yep.
You have to wait your turn, Ma'am.
Why am I lingering
in Woodsmoke?
Well I realise I am
behind enemy lines...
But there are many questions about
American life that I would like answered.
I guess it's true that flowers
sold in a supermarket are guaranteed.
How long have people
been wearing plastic clothes?
And are they really spun
out of soybeans and flu germs?
Geneva!
Geneva!
Tad!
When did you get back
from Oxford?
Oh, Tad, this is
Gowan McGland...
Gowan, this is Tad Springer.
Mr McGland...
I'm so happy to meet you.
Sorry to have to be bouncing
up and down like this, but...
...I've just done 4 miles,
and 4 more to go...
...and if I stop cold now, I'd...
...probably pull a hamstring.
Oh, my sympathies...
I imagine a hamstring, pulled,
is not a pretty sight.
Mr McGland...
Did you know...
...that I took a course
in your poetry last term?
No, I didn't know.
People delight in keeping me
in the dark.
Oh, I flunked.
I'm sorry.
Why didn't you cheat?
It wouldn't have helped.
For instance, there is
this one poem...
It... begins...
It begins...
"How deep your warming stream..."
"My stork leg..."
"...who measures true,
allure in your bed..."
"wherein the half moon
rolls, traditional and wan..."
"Who wrecks the hospitable lees
and rules of love."
It's called "The River."
Well, frankly,
I dont understand it.
What does it mean, Mr McGland?
It means...
...that I was short of cash,
when I dashed it off...
..and sold it at an exorbitant price...
...to an editor who
didn't understand it, either.
Look, absolutely fabulous!
Well, thank you.
Yes, she does look beautiful.
I'll call?
O.K.
And I'll see you on Saturday.
'Bye!
Seems a nice enough young man.
What's he like, stationary?
What does he mean by
"See you Saturday" ?
His mother is having a party,
and I'm invited.
Why don't you come?
I don't really imagine
Mrs Springer will ask me.
Well, the party
is for me...
I'm the sort of guest of honour.
And Bobby did ask if there was
someone I'd like to have come.
I'd like to have YOU come.
Sounds tempting.
I'll see... I'm not real sure
about the date.
Thanks again.
Miss Spoff... er,
Geneva...
The incident on the train,
yesterday...
Your attitude, your behaviour,
your...
...generosity...
I really don't want
to talk about it any more.
I want you to know that...
I forgive you.
You stay here, Reuben.
Hello.
Geneva...!
What a surprise!
Why don't you come
and say hi to everybody?
Mr McGland...
Hello again.
Hi, Tad.
Excuse us!
You look ripping!
Gowan...
How long was your son
in England?
About a year.
I've lived there
all my life...
I've never once said "ripping."
What on earth made you
bring Geneva Spofford?
I'm in love with her.
If I may borrow the expression
from your son...
I think your husband looks
absolutely ripping on that jacket.
And I love the way his thin Grey hair
exactly matches the tie...
But not his image...
It is exceptional.
Did you decorate the entire house
around him?
Behave yourself, Gowan.
Thank you so much...
just pass them over there...
Could you just point out
the nymphomaniacs to me?
Not to worry...
They'll make themselves known.
Gowan!
Gowan, isn't this
a lovely party?
You go and be a host
and talk to your kid now.
God... don't they look
wonderful together?
God, I detest the music.
I loathe the music.
I despise the politics.
In short, I hate the group.
Rimbeau was my favourite
19th century poet...
Until I read somewhere that he
stopped writing at the age of 19.
Went into business,
and made a fortune.
He sold out.
People are always talking
about selling out.
Personally, I can't wait
to sell out.
I just can't seem to be able
to find any buyers.
Thank you very much...
Excuse me...
Oh, Gowan!
When did you ever get involved
with the geriatric set?
What was Adelle Jayson like?
Leaked rather heavily...
On laxatives.
Is it simply that you don't know
where to draw Te line...
...or that you really don't care?
Do you refuse to accept the fact...
...there are limits to what
you can get out of life?
I mean, even as a sexual anarchist,
must you go on grabbing...
...grabbing, grabbing,
and again grabbing?
Would you care to add...
"at everything in skirts" ?
Are you completely amoral?
Oh, what is it about you, Gowan?
I wish I knew.
I mean that was the straw...
The way you looked
at her, that...
...carnivorous stare.
"Carnivorous" ?
Was this before,
or after dinner?
C.B. is jealous enough...
but Lucille's husband...
I warned you about Jack before...
He'll demolish you!
Mrs Springer, a delightful party.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for coming,
Father Clayton.
I'm sorry I didn't get to meet
the guest of honour.
He wasn't very much
in evidence tonight.
He's very shy, you know.
This is Gowan McGland.
This is Father Clayton...
...of our All Saints episcopal church.
How do you do, Mr McGland...
an honour!
I understand you're going
to be in our midst for a bit.
Well... it would seem so, yes.
If you cared to attend service tomorrow,
you'd be most welcome.
Tomorrow...?
Even though your stay here
is limited...
...we want you to feel
a member of our congregation.
Certainly.
Who is she?
Oh, I see...
The famous McGland sense of humour.
Well, goodnight, Bobby,
and thanks again.
- Thank you, father.
- Goodnight.
Really... Gowan!
Well then, you know...
Tad and I, we hadn't seen
each other for so long.
I was glad to see
that his acne had cleared up.
How did you know?
I just assumed.
After all, no sensitive youth
ever escapes it.
I vividly remember
my own sensation...
...in discovering that the eruption
covering my face...
..was something called impetigo.
Surely, I felt,
this is no disease...
This is the name of a river,
in American Indian country.
"The Impetigo winds lazily
through the valley lands..."
"...dwindling to a trickle
in the fall..."
"...and overflowing its banks
in the spring..."
"...when the tributary streams,
swollen by the mountain snows..."
"...engulfs chickens, old ladies..."
Well...
Acne or no acne, being away
has done wonders for him.
Oxford has really matured him.
It has?
Fortunately it did
no such thing for me.
I say "fortunately", because I think
maturity is rather overrated.
You went to Oxford?
I did something much better
than go to Oxford.
I was EXPELLED from Oxford.
I'll race you to the posts.
No no no! I'm giving you 20 years...
You're giving me a head start.
Wait... wait!
Now?
Now!
I won!
I won I won I won!
I let you win
Chivalry, and all that shit.
Well...
Thanks again.
Could I see you again?
Sure! Of course.
When...?
Tomorrow?
Tomorrow I'm going to church.
Church?
My parents are Congregationalists.
My grandfather's an atheist.
I don't know what I am.
But Tad asked me
if I would go with him.
All Saints, I think.
What a coincidence,
because I've been asked, too.
Do you have any plans
after church.
Tad's going to run
his 8 miles.
Bless him!
Could I walk you from
your church to your house?
Not even the Reverend Clayton
could object to that.
O.K.
Oh... right.
- Goodnight, Gowan.
- Goodnight.
Edith, my dear one...
Here's a chapter
for your filthy book
I'm in love, Edith.
Picture this, if you will...
We're standing at the portal
to her modest home.
To my horror, I hear myself saying,
to this young girl...
"May I walk you home
from church?"
Can you believe it?
Shit!
Just to be in the same
spirit-chilling edifice...
To breathe the same stale air...
...as this strapping girl...
...with rousing breasts.
And hair like ripe wheat.
Hips that sway like a bell.
And large eyes...
...the colour of cornflowers.
She's a radiant creature, Edith...
Glowing with that light
that seems to come from within...
...healthy young girls.
God, my heart bleeds for
the raw youths that she must...
...entrance and torment.
There is after all, Edith...
...no aphrodisiac...
...like innocence.
Jesus!
Jesus!
Whoever were you talking to?
Wasn't talking to anybody.
I heard you talking
to somebody.
I couldn't make out
what you were saying...
but I distinctly
heard you talking
No, I was merely confiding a few thoughts
to this contraption here.
Were you composing a poem?
Sort of.
- May I hear it?
- No, no, no...
No... you know...
Just for the sake
of conversation...
...may I inquire as to
the whereabouts of your husband?
Jack...?
God, he's is in one of those deep sleeps,
which means that...
Nothing... nothing is going to
wake him until 3 o'clock.
When he makes his nightly
pilgrimage to the bathroom.
So...
...allowing for travel time,
we have...
...just under an hour.
What's the matter?
"Released from their support..."
" the breasts dropped,
like hanged men."
Gowan, you're a shit.
You know that,
don't you.
Yes, I know it.
And since YOU know it,
what the hell are you doing here?
I'm sorry...
Oh, God!
I'm sorry,
I'm sorry.
Oh, God.
I'm sorry.
Would you dedicate
the poem to me?
Yes, of course.
Steady...
Maybe it'll guarantee me
a kind of...
...immortality.
Alright.
The body of Christ...
the bread of man
The body of Christ...
the bread of man
The body of Christ...
the bread of man
The body of Christ...
Oh, no thanks...
I'm on a diet.
I'm sure only the priest heard.
I heard.
It wasn't meant
for you to hear.
Why?
When I'm with you,
I'm like a schoolboy.
Schoolboys equate naughtiness
with manliness.
I was merely trying to impress you
with my macho image.
Poor Father Clayton..
That was the funniest thing!
- Hi kids!
- Want a lift?
No thanks.
Okay.
Not a bad-looking wench, that
Better-looking than Bobby Springer?
They're indistinguishable.
Indistinguishable?
You know, I majored in psychology
in college.
Oh, my God... did you?!
Sorry to hear that.
Well it shouldn't be too surprising
that your case interests me.
I'm a "case" now, am I?
Well, doesn't it bother you that you're
almost as well-known as a womaniser...
...as you are a poet.
No... no... no.
What bothers me, is,
that neither pays very well.
Well, you know of course that the
accepted factual analytical explanation...
...is that consciously
or subconsciously...
womanisers are tryin' to prove
something that they're not
That they're hiding
what they really are.
Oh, well this is a red-letter day
for me.
In the space of a few minutes...
...I've been accused of blasphemy
and homosexuality.
I don't know of which
I am most proud.
I'm not accusing you
of anything, Gowan...
I'm just trying to
point out to you that...
100 years ago,
they laughed at Freud.
Well, he's still good for a chuckle
now and again, if you ask me.
Yes, now use of that attitude
is typical...
Can we just discuss this
over a glass of wine.
Just two little girls,
letting their hair down
Very interestingly,
an affinity between...
...men of genius and women
of the so-to-speak lower orders...
You've got it.
Van Gogh, and the chick
he gave his ear to...
And Brahms... Brahms used to whack about
with a lot of tarts.
I'm not talking about
men of genius, Gowan
I'm talking about you.
Oh, thank you.
Though, by promiscuous pursuit,
you make women look promiscuous...
...and thus unworthy
of pursuit.
Van Gogh and Brahms...
...were lucky to have been born
before psycho-analysis.
You do have these hostilities
towards us.
Look at the way
you're twisting your napkin.
Whose neck are you wringing?
Yours.
Okay, that's fine.
The thing is that I don't judge you
when AI say these things.
We all have the dash
of the opposite in us.
Women of the masculine,
and women of the feminine
It's nothing to be ashamed of.
There's no doubt that
he's heterosexual, eh?
Was you referrin' to me, Buddy?
Yes, I was merely remarking
that you were heterosexual.
that's what I thought
you said.
Would you care to
back up that remark
with some action,
right here, right now?
I think you misunderstood me,
what I meant was...
...that in fact,
your sexuality...
Know exactly what you mean...
Who do the hell you think you are?
Take your hands
off of him!
Geneva, I can take care of this.
I take it sir, you're familiar with
the rules of the Marquis of Queensbury.
That last remark's gonna cost you, Bud...
Now, here or outside?
Gowan!
Oh, God!
Jerry'll clobber him...
I feel sorry for that poor slob.
I know his type...
He's acting that way,
because he thinks I'll step in to stop him.
- Well, aren't you?
- I might wait a way.
You goddamned gorilla!
Come on boy,
get outta here
Blood... I'm bleeding blood!
Are you alright?
No, I'm not alright.
I never WAS alright.
I never will be alright.
Gowan.
Why are you always present
at my greatest humiliations?
Drunk and penniless
on that damned train.
Now, bent double...
...from a lucky punch
to the stomach.
Do you suppose that I think less
of you because you can't fight?
"Can't fight" ?!
Cannot bloody...!
Fuckin' shit, you bastard!
I'll have you know, that I'm known
in half the pubs in London...
...and most of the counties
of Scotland...
...as being one of the greatest
bar-room brawlers of modern times.
"Cannot bloody fight!"
Look, Gowan, I don't...
Listen, Geneva...
I'll tell you something.
I would rather mix it up
with a good rough and tumble...
that write a great poem!
Please, Gowan,
don't get worked up!
You elude me.
You let me kiss you...
No resistance...
But no response.
You're a puzzle.
I can feel the warm current...
...lying under the ice.
Seeking out the wretch in a man.
And I am wretched.
Ever since that day
I saw you on the train...
...so beautiful...
...so cool...
...so unattainable...
...I've been unable to think
of anybody or anything else.
You have reduced me
to that...
...most contemptible of creatures...
...the love-sick swain.
I find myself thinking thoughts
that no power...
...on earth or hell, could ever bring me
to express to you in words.
Thus, you will never hear me
mumbling inanities, like...
..."I will get The Holy Grail for her" !
"I'll slay a dragon" or...
"I will shower twice a day"
Are you going to let me
go on rambling like this?
No...
Gowan, I wish you would stop.
Alright, one last idiocy.
I keep thinking...
I don't see how I can
go on living without you.
Really I don't.
I'm sorry, Gowan.
Do I appear ridiculous to you, as...
...pathetic wretch,
and figure of fun.
No... you really don't.
But still, I will have to go on
living without you, won't I?
I understand.
I won't badger you.
Bye bye, Geneva.
Listen, don't bother
to see me home...
I'll find my own way home.
Bugger!
Edith... you will never know
what I have been through.
All I will tell you, is this...
That I'm gonna go somewhere
far away...
...where I'm not known...
and for one solid week.
I'm gonna do nothing
but howl like a dog.
That's all you're gonna get, Edith...
My neck is killing me.
Gowan...!
Gowan...
The poet is beautiful...
But do they understand it?
It doesn't matter whether
they understand it or not.
Women always applaud wildly.
That is the most sexist remark.
Don't men applaud, too?
Darling, men are much too sensible
to attend my evenings.
Oh, Gowan!
You're bristling...
I find bristling very offensive.
I'm NOT bristling!
Then what are you doing?
Don't rush me, I'm trying to think
of just the right word for it.
Oh, take your time...
Because the importance of words
cannot be overstated...
...for the damage they can do,
or the good.
Are you off
on another lecture?
No, I'm merely trying to find
a graceful way to let you off the hook.
Look... look around you...
Look... I mean... look...
Take the lowly chickweed,
for example...
...which we hound from our gardens
like a common criminal.
Now...If this was called
"Mist of Morning"...
...or "Mary's Eyes" ?
As chickweed...
...pluck it out with swags and cusses!
But how carefully would we tend
to avoid trampling on "Mist of Morning"
...or "Mary's-bloody-Eyes" ?
There you are Geneva...
You have the power of words.
Oh God, Gowan, I love you!
Now are you sure
that is the exact word...
...that you want to use...
You might care
to embellish it with...
..."adore" or "worship".
No... don't be greedy.
You don't mind if I just continue
staring at you, do you?
But you know what THAusually leads to.
What do you think
about "THAT" ?
On a bed of "Mist of Morning"
or "Mary's Eyes" ?
What could be lovelier?
15 two.
It's wet today.
It's the weather.
- Off again?
- 'fraid so.
That... fella again?
If you mean Gowan, yes.
That makes...
...every night, 2 weeks in a row...
Way I figure it.
Is it?
I didn't realise that.
Thanks, Mom.
I don't get it.
Is it coz he's rich and famous?
Famous, yes.
Rich... no!
Funny, coz they usually go together,
like "rich and famous".
You know... "old and lecherous".
Very funny, Mary.
Very subtle.
And he's NOT all that old.
Don't wait up for me.
I have my keys. Goodnight.
I just don't like him.
Do you, George?
Not if you don't.
You look like one of those
barnyard villains in a cartoon.
You know, the foxes and the dogs
that are are always on the prowl.
I hanker for you.
Unfortunately,
the world's full of women...
..and hankering.
You arouse more of it
than this hankerer.
I don't know...
I'm certainly doing my best.
Well...
I suppose we were meant to hanker.
Without it, there would be...
...no painting, no poetry...
No music.
Oh, shit!
Hello.
Oh, hello, Lucille.
No... not now.
It hasn't been 2 weeks,
has it?
Oh... dear!
No... I've got a bit of a toothache...
I took a couple of 'Sentinels'
about 20 minutes ago...
They're just beginning
to take effect.
Okay... I'll call you soon.
I promise.
Okay.
Bye, Lucille... bye bye.
Tart!
We'd better hurry,
before Bobbie Springer trecks in.
So it isn't only his poetry
that's made him a legend, is it?
No, his indolence, his sloth,
are equally legendary.
Gowan always maintained that
what he hated most about writing was...
...the paperwork.
How did you and Gowan McGland meet?
We acted opposite each other
in a radio play.
Gowan spouted his contempt for the...
as he put it...
"piece of rubbish in which
I have performed so nobly."
"Thank you" I said,
"I wrote it!"
Actually, after that,
Gowan and I fell in love...
2 weeks later,
we were married.
He's married. You're going out
with a married man.
If you don't care to discuss the marriage,
we can go on.
No, on the contrary.
It's going to be an important part
of the book I'm writing about Gowan.
Have you been in touch
with him lately?
Well, that's no easy task.
I believe he's cutting an erotic swath,
down the Eastern Seaboard at the moment.
I've heard enough!
"Lecture tour" might be
more accurate.
Come on! I wondered,
did you know he was married?
Well actually,
it's no big secret.
And it's no big deal!
Excuse me.
Well...
That gives us something
to think about.
Who the hell's calling
at 11.30 at night?
Answer it, and find out.
For Christ' sake,
I'm doing my teeth.
All you've got to
do is reach over it.
I'm reading.
I know you're reading...
I can see your lips moving.
Fuck you!
Hullo!
Gowan... Gowan!
Are you out of your mind?
Hold on a minute...
It's Gowan McGland.
- Who?
- He wants to talk to you.
Hullo.
Yes, well, what seems to be...?
Oh, I see...
Upper molar is it?
Oh, it's sensitive
to cold water?
That can be pretty bad.
Well, we better
have a look at it.
My first appointment
tomorrow is...
...10. Why don't you get in at 9.30,
and we'll see what we can do.
Oh, I'm sorry, there's nothing
I can do right now.
See if you can rustle up
some aspirin.
Goodnight.
Got it awful?
Well, he's in a good deal
of pain.
You're not too unhappy
about that.
I'm not exactly crazy
about him.
Then why the hell
are you treating him...
...and not charging him
for it, at that?
Because that's my way
of humiliating him...
...if you must know.
What the hell has he got...
...that he has all the women in Woodsmoke
slobbering all over him.
What is he?
Who the hell is he?
Well, he's got a dentist,
for one thing.
I'm gonna let THAT pass.
He walks around in a tweed suit...
...that's never been pressed.
Sock that don't even match.
And the women fall flat
on their backs for him.
What the frig has he got?
I want to ask you something.
I hear you.
Have YOU jumped into the sack
with him?
Darling, couldn't you put it
a little more delicately?
"Has he had his way
with you...?"
"Has he had
carnal-knowledge?"
Stop stalling!
I want an answer.
What if the answer's "YES"?
Is it "YES"?
Yes!
Yes, it's YES!
Gonna let that pass, too?
I'm not gonna let it pass!
I'm not gonna let it pass.
Good morning, Gowan.
Good morning, Dr Haxby.
I've read your X-rays...
Both teeth seem OK...
No abscesses, or even cavities.
Oh, that's good...
It must have just been a neuralgia.
No, not exactly...
What's happened is that...
...the bicuspid, that's the forward one,
has shifted position.
I should say it's become tilted.
Here... look.
Now... you see..
The root has worked itself forward...
...away from the molar,
while the tooth proper has come back...
...toward the molar, and the result
is this little triangular pocket...
...in which some infection
has developed.
That's whats caused the tenderness
and pain you've been feeling.
Now, let's have a look...
Now, open wide...!
If you could open up
just a little wider...
Oh... sorry!
Sorry!
Well, it's probably
a low-grade infection...
and we might get rid of it now,
with a shot of penicillin.
That's no problem.
But...
...the thing is...
...it's certain to come back.
The danger is, that in time...
Maybe a year, maybe next week...
...it'll infect the molar.
And we don't want that,
do we?
That way, you might
lose them both...
...which would be the end
of any possible bridge work.
There's only one...
...safe thing to do.
What?
Give up the bicuspid.
It's much less valuable...
In fact it's no use
to you at all.
It's your molar that supplies
your support on that side.
And when THAT goes...
If that goes, you'll lose them all,
because you won't have enough anchors left.
All that stands between you
and a set of false teeth...
...is that molar.
I'd be glad to pull
that bicuspid, now.
Mr McGland! Miss Thompson,
get some brandy from the cabinet
Pour Mr McGland a drink.
Gowan... it's alright, Gowan!
Are you alright?
It's alright... it's alright.
Listen, it'll be absolutely painless...
And it won't take more
than 10 minutes, now...
Could I have another one, please.
Miss Thompson...
The Novocaine, please.
Gowan, I'm sitting here
all bright-eyed and bubbly..
And you are looking like a...
Darling...
A short time ago I spent
the worst half-hour of my life...
...in a dentist's chair
I just do not...
- Escargots for Madame.
- Oh, thank you.
Chicken supreme
for the gentleman.
I hope you enjoy your dinner.
- Just a....
- Yes, Sir?
I think there's been
some mistake.
You ordered chicken Supreme,
did you not, Sir?
Yes, but I did not order
a child's portion.
That is our regular portion, Sir.
No, I ordered an entree,
not an appetiser.
Of course, Sir.
What's got into you?
3 martinis and a toothache.
Isn't that the clown
who steals tips?
Hi, Gowan!
Geneva... would you mind
not being so bloody cheerful?
I'm sorry, I appreciate
what you're trying to do, but...
High spirits, unlike low,
unfortunately are not infectious.
Will this be sufficient Sir?
Hey, son...!
Come on... you better
clean this place up.
Goodnight.
Geneva!
Geneva!
I have never, ever, in my entire life
been so embarrassed.
All those people staring!
I saw two couples
that I recognised.
What the hell!
Well if that son-of-a-bitch
smart-arsed bastard...
...the waiter, thinks he...
Just a minute!
What's the matter
with you?
You have a toothache.
And now I have
a terrible headache.
And I just want to go home.
So will you please
call me a taxi.
Please!
Just call me a taxi!
But Geneva...
Please.
Oh... Christ!
Oh... Jesus!
Hello... Mr Pycraft...
What's the name of
the best dentist in Woodsmoke?
No, no, he's in New York.
I've seen him.
No, in Woodsmoke.
Sorry, spell that.
Very good of you
to see me...
That's alright.
Let's have a look.
If it's an emergency...
You certainly sounded urgent
on the phone.
I can always catch up with the boys
on the back nine.
Well, you're absolutely right.
That molar is definitely abscessed.
Mind you, that's not necessarily
a death sentence nowadays.
Oh, no... certainly not.
But I'm afraid that's not
the whole story here.
This tooth...
as such, we might save...
...if we go in with antibiotics...
And if that doesn't work, we can
drain the abscesses surgically.
But there's something more serious
than all that...
The gum damage around it.
Periodontic disease has caused
a lot of gum breakdown...
...which is about to
cost you that tooth...
...even if, by some miracle,
all the other factors work in our favour.
Didn't your dentist explain all that,
before he pulled that bicuspid?
This was as good
as rendering you toothless.
Mr McGland...!
Mr McGland...
You alright?
Mr McGland!
Did he HAVE to pull it?
That's what's puzzled me a bit.
He must have known
that by pulling it...
...you'd be stripped clean
on that side.
And we can't hang a bridge
on what's left.
I'm sorry, you'll just
have to have 'em all out.
We could make arrangements
for tomorrow.
You know, I make it a rule,
never to run down my predecessors.
But it's a foolish economy
not to get the best.
Now, is this man
a friend of yours?
Not exactly a friend.
That's alright,
I won't ask his name.
I'm not interested in that...
but...
You see the importance of having
someone who knows what he's doing.
I think he knew
what he was doing.
In the name of the Father...
...and of the Son...
...and of the Holy...
...Ghost.
Gowan?
Are you here?
Geneva?
Gowan, I have to talk to you.
My home is your home.
No... Let's walk.
This home's too depressing.
I'm sorry to hear you say that.
I rather like its "lived-in" look.
Come on.
Gowan...
I'm pregnant.
Jesus... Christ!
You find it funny?
I don't know...
Have to let it sink in.
Have you told your parents?
No.
Are you going to?
Don't know.
Might tell my grandfather.
Not my father.
And certainly not my mother.
Jesus wept!
She'd say "He'll have to get
a divorce and marry you".
Would you marry me?
No, Gowan.
No doubt?
Would you marry ME?
I love you too much,
to marry you.
What are we gonna do then?
Well, let's see, it's been
roughly 200 years since the...
Do you think it's too soon to announce
another immaculate conception.
Oh, God!
I withdraw the suggestion.
Well...
...fortunately it's no big deal,
these days.
What?
Abortion.
Oh, Jesus!
What?
You wouldn't want that?
I don't so much mind the idea,
as the word.
I just don't like to think
of any child of mine "aborted".
I don't so much mind
"cancelled" or "deleted" or...
Even "expunged".
"Aborted"... it's...
I'll take care of everything,
whatever I decide...
Don't you worry.
Thank you for shielding me
from the harsh realities.
Gowan...
Then...
Don't you think it would be better
if we don't see each other again?
Don't you, Gowan?
Don't I know what?
Don't you think
it would be best, if...
...we didn't see each other again?
Sorry, I thought it was
a rhetorical question.
Yes... er...
Yes.
I suppose it would be best.
It doesn't mean
I'll ever forget you.
That's sweet.
Thank you.
Thank you for everything.
Will you think of me,
sometimes?
I'll take it under consideration.
And she won't talk.
And...
Like a well-cast heroine...
...she'll not look back.
When she said...
"Do you think
it would be best..."
"...if we didn't see
each other again?"
I said yes.
I think it would be best.
My voice rang like
a handful of false coins.
And so...
...dear Edith...
I have a gift for you.
The ending for your book.
I will record for you...
...the last stray thoughts.
The final sensations...
...of your protagonist...
Gowan...
...Evans...
...McGland!
As I left Dr Ormsby's office...
As I descended the stairs...
...as in a dream...
I knew...
...the destination
to which I was moving.
I'd always known...
...that for me,
truthlessness...
..."truth-less-ness"...
...would be the moment of truth.
Truthlessness...
...is for me...
...a chief...
...in a range of
consummate insults...
...heaped upon Man.
Proof of...
...of his being...
...totally...
...and tragically ludicrous.
The sign of...
...that for me...
...living is no longer endurable.
In the long, strategic retreat...
...called "life"...
...I'd always see myself...
...as I back in towards my grave...
...tooth by tooth...
...and poem by poem.
I'll go to my grave
voluntarily.
Christ!
Voluntarily, Edith!
With a few of each,
still left in my head.
Christ!
Come on, Reuben...
Come on!
I keep thinking of Geneva.
As we sat in the town square...
...I experienced one...
...last...
...vast plummet of yearning...
...to reach her
and hold her.
Resisting that was probably...
...the single at
of self-mastery...
...I have ever performed.
That's more reason
for my departure now, not less.
Even...
...should she choose
to have the baby...
...I can give my child
a heritage.
As long as I'm not around
to spoil it.
Eehee, Reuben, eehee, eehee!
You'll see your friend
soon enough.
You know, Edith...
My very last thought,...
...like my last address...
...is the poem
I never finished.
God!
Do you remember that one...
...the one that
we both liked so much?
"Come..."
"...let us spread a picnic
on the precipice."
"Eat, drink and be merry,
with our backs to the abyss."
"Till in nighted dusk..."
"... where bats..."
"...cannot be told from swallows."
"Gifts from threats..."
"...will banish solemn songs
like this."
"Solemn songs like this."
I could never finish it, could I?
Goddammit!... could never...
...never finish it.
Hopeless!
"This is our hopeless heaven."
"This is our hopeless heaven."
"These flowers,
our eyes have watered."
That's pretty good.
That's pretty good,
do you think?
"These flowers,
our eyes have watered."
"Wine drawn from our veins."
"Tunes piped from hollowed bones."
"And gaiety..."
"...pouring from every wound."
Edith, that's...
"Gaiety pouring from every wound"
is good, isn't it?
You'd better type that out
and send it to somebody.
No, I'll...
You're so bloody hopeless...!
Yeah... I'll do it myself!
Edith, does this mean then that I'm
really too chicken to go through with this?
Think it does, Edith, eh?
Well, why should I...
Why the hell should I...
Goddammit!
Bloody hell!
Do you think there are still poems
to be written, Edith?
There's still women
to be made love to.
Jesus!
Including you, including you,
my dearest Edith.
Got a lot of 'em, my friend!
Oh, shit!
Reuben!