Family Affair (1966) s01e22 Episode Script

1
Hey.
Yeah.
We got a phone message down below.
The foreman thought it might be bad news.
Bad news?
Yeah.
Your niece tore her toodoo.
Is that real bad?
She takes ballet.
Ballet.
You know, little girl stuff up on her
toes, dancing.
And she hurt her toodoo.
Oh, a toodoo is a little dress,
you know, the thing they wear.
It sticks out like that and bounces when
they dance, real Lacy and fluffy and nice.
And, uh, you go in for that kind of stuff?
Yeah.
What about it?
Oh, nothing, Mr. Davis.
Nothing.
Nothing at all.
And now we do the P.A.
And And
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
Now the grand battement.
And
One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
Now children, once around the room like
little flowers, and that will be all for today.
Go.
Is Mr. Davis coming to the recital?
Oh, yes, yes.
The entire family will be present.
We consider this a very important debut.
Buffy, a little flower does not hold on to
her.
She's too short for hands.
Yes, ma'am.
The string broke.
Perhaps we had enough little flowers for
today.
And now your attention, children.
This is Miss Margot Dunbar, a prima ballerina with
some of the most famous ballet companies in the world.
She was once my pupil, and she has consistently
sent her to help us with our coming recital.
Good morning.
Good morning, Miss Dunbar.
I consider it a very great honor to work
with such future stars of the ballet.
And it's going to be my very difficult
responsibility to choose dancers for the
principal roles in our ballet,
Little Red Riding Hood and The Wolf.
Melissa will be simply adorable as Red
Riding Hood.
I'm quite sorry, Mrs. Nelson.
Melissa Nelson?
Yes, ma'am.
I've picked you to be The Wolf.
I said sorry, madam.
And Buffy Davis?
Yes, ma'am.
You will dance the role of Little Red
Riding Hood.
Now, children, I expect you to practice
very hard and make your parents proud.
Dismissed.
Thank you, Miss Dunbar, for selecting
Buffy.
Are you her father?
No, I'm employed by her uncle,
where she resides.
Mr. Davis is delaying his trip to the bridge he's
erecting on the Orinoco so that he may attend the recital.
Orinoco.
Building a bridge.
Is his first name Bill?
Why, yes.
Mr. William Davis.
Ask him if he remembers the closing night
of Swan Lake in Venice.
Swan Lake night?
The closing night?
Better yet, ask him if he remembers the
night he closed Swan Lake.
Hi, Tiger.
Hi, sis.
Hello, Uncle Bill.
Uncle Bill, we had a wonderful time in the
park today.
Didn't we, Jody?
I guess so.
If you like boys this easy.
Virginia?
It's Bill Davis, honey.
Listen, you want to go to ballet with me a
week from Saturday?
No, no, no, no, not Lincoln Center.
No, it's, uh, my little niece,
she's in, uh, kids' ballet.
You know, she's gonna be a Daisy or a
bunny or something like that.
I thought maybe you'd like to
No, you wouldn't, huh?
No, no, of course I don't mind.
Yeah, I remember when I wouldn't go to
your nephew's piano recital.
Yes, ma'am.
Goodbye.
All right.
Well, good day, sir.
Excellent news.
The starring role.
Buffy was chosen to dance Little Red
Riding Hood in the ballet of that name.
Oh.
Well, that's great, honey.
Little Red Riding Hood?
That's like being, uh, Scarlett O'Hara in
Gone with the Wind.
What's that?
Well, that's pretty good.
And I'm proud of you.
Uncle Bill, I wanted to be the wolf.
Wolf?
Sure.
You'll get to wear a wolf outfit and be
real scary.
Okay.
I'll go tell Mrs. Beasley.
She wanted me to be the wolf, too.
I see.
We, um, we have a message for you,
sir.
Yeah.
A most attractive young lady.
Oh.
Yes, we were, we were asked to inquire if you remembered
the night you closed Swan Lake in Venice, sir.
Swan Lake in Venice?
Oh, Margot Dunbar.
Exactly, sir.
Oh, well, well.
Yeah, we were riding along the Grand Canal in
one of those gondolas, and it kind of got tipped over.
Anyway, she got all wet and couldn't make
the show.
Where'd you find her?
Well, at the ballet schools.
It was Miss Dunbar who selected Buffy.
Shall I give her your best when I take
Buffy to rehearsal tomorrow, sir?
No, I'm gonna take Buffy to rehearsal
tomorrow.
I understand, sir.
She even looked good soaking wet.
You were trying to show the
gondolier how you paddle up the
Amazon River in a dugout canoe
when all of a sudden, splash.
Yeah, there was a bright sight.
No alligators.
That's right.
Honest, Mama, I don't mind being a wolf.
Well, your father minds.
He minds very much.
He wants to know how it happened.
I.
know.
Hello, Mrs. Nelson.
Good afternoon, Miss Dunbar.
Have you met Mr. Davis?
Yes.
We live in the same building.
Miss Dunbar, may I speak to you for a
moment about Melissa?
Of course.
Well, I'll leave you alone.
Please don't go, Mr. Davis.
This concerns Buffy.
Buffy?
Mr. Nelson was quite disturbed that Buffy was
going to be Red Riding Hood and not Melissa.
After all, Melissa has been coming to
dancing school a lot longer than Buffy.
Oh, well, listen, we don't care one way or
the other.
Mrs. Nelson, the wolf is a very important
part.
It's the second lead.
Well, Buffy could play the wolf.
In fact, I think she'd rather do that.
I've made my selection.
It's final.
There's nothing personal involved,
Bill.
Miss Dunbar, the children are ready for
you.
Excuse me, Mrs. Nelson.
Bill, dear, what time is dinner?
Oh, I don't know, honey, but I'll pick you
up about seven.
Okay.
Dinner?
Dear?
Honey?
Oh, we're old friends.
Oh.
Anything else, huh?
No, thanks.
It was French's idea to send Buffy to
ballet school.
He knows all about that stuff.
It was a marvelous idea, French.
She seems to have talent.
We must confess it was an experiment, Miss
Dunbar, an anti-clumping-around-the-house campaign.
Uncle Bill, is it time for us to go?
Do you want to go to bed?
Yep, it's time.
Gosh.
You need plenty of rest now, Buffy.
After all, you're a prima ballerina.
What's a prima ballerina?
Well, it just, um, it just means that
you're the best dancer in red riding, I'd say.
And if you study very hard and keep at it, pretty
soon you'll be a ballet star before you know it.
A star?
Me?
Sure.
Have your name over the lights and
everything.
What do I do when I'm a ballet star?
Well, you dance and you travel all over
the world, you know, like Miss Dunbar does.
You go to London and Paris and Rome.
It's very exciting.
On my first tour, I didn't get back to
America for two years.
Two years?
Flies like the wind, with the applause, the
excitement, meeting new friends everywhere you go.
What about old friends?
And friends?
Brothers.
Well, you see them when you get back.
You know, like I saw Miss Dunbar at your
school.
Now, go on to bed, big.
Good night, Uncle Bill.
See you tomorrow afternoon, Buffy.
Yes, ma'am.
How long are you gonna be in town?
Not long, I'm afraid.
The troop leaves Monday on a European
tour.
I'll be gone six months.
Can I talk to you a minute, Jody?
Sure.
What?
Watch this.
Yeah, good kicker.
Jody, I'm scared.
I don't want to be a big ballet star like
Miss Denver.
Why not?
You'll go all over the world and meet
people and everything.
That's what I'm scared of.
I like it here with you, Cissy,
and Uncle Bill.
I don't want to go all over the world.
I'm only in the first grade.
Maybe you won't have to go till next year.
Miss Denver said, before you know
it, Uncle Bill said you were good, too.
That makes it worse.
Good night, Buffy.
Good night, Jody.
I'm gonna miss you, Jody.
All.
right, girls, positions.
And.
Buffy, come on.
Wolf, chaser, not too close.
Come on, come on, out, out, out.
Buffy, turn.
Bow.
Splendid.
The performance should be an absolute
smasher.
Buffy.
You turned a bit too fast on your bow.
I wasn't good?
Oh, you were very good.
And most graceful.
Bravo, bravo.
Miss Dunbar, we have just witnessed the
royal ballet in miniature.
Thank you, French.
They were all good.
They should do quite well, thanks to the
talent of our young prima ballerina.
You know, Buffy, Miss Dunbar was no older
than you when she started.
I know.
You are destined to go far.
But that was quite a compliment,
Buffy.
You must thank Madame Leonton.
Yes, sir.
Thank you, Madame.
I think I'll go get dressed.
How'd the rehearsal go?
All right.
Well, Buffy's tired and a little
temperamental.
A sure sign that she's destined to become
another Pavlova.
Whoever she is.
Hi, Buffy.
Hi.
Want to play checkers?
It's no fun playing alone.
Every time I win, I beat myself.
Okay.
I'm going to miss playing checkers with
you, Jody.
Why can't you play checkers with me
anymore?
You know, I'm a good player.
I'll be dancing all over the world.
I sure wish you were a worse dancer.
So do I.
Too bad you gotta be good Saturday night.
Too bad.
I don't gotta.
You don't gotta what?
I don't gotta be good.
Yeah.
Then you can stay.
King me.
Children, children, do not wrinkle your
costumes.
Oh, little flowers.
We do not eat jelly beans the night of a
performance.
Buffy, how are you wearing your hood?
I think it's all right.
It's supposed to be up, dear, so the
audience can see your pretty face.
Do they have to?
Of course.
Miss Dunbar, Buffy, not nervous,
are we?
French, if anyone's nervous, it's you.
To be sure, Miss Dunbar, but it is our
first performance.
She'll be superb.
Oh, we have the utmost confidence in her.
I suggest you brace yourself for a thunder
of applause.
Yes, sir.
Miss Dunbar, Mr. Davis is far too nervous
to come backstage, but he wishes to invite
you to an opening night ice cream party
after the show at home.
I wouldn't miss it.
You're certain she isn't nervous?
French.
Well, I shall now return to the family section
and endeavor to conquer Oh, Mr. Davis.
Miss Dunbar, does my daughter have to wear
this suffocating loose head?
She hates it.
It's an important part of the costume.
But you can't see her face.
Nobody will know it's my kid inside.
Her name is in the program, Mr. Nelson.
Excuse me.
It is springtime, and the forest is alive
with beauty.
Trees, birds, and flowers wave and sway in
the wind.
All of nature seems to be in the air.
All of nature seems to be dancing merrily.
Where's Buffy?
She'll be home soon.
Let me know when my kid shows up.
Here's Melissa.
Suddenly, a wolf appears.
He is wicked and hungry and searching for
food.
Here's Buffy.
And here comes the new red riding hood,
carrying her basket of fruit.
Get a load of this star.
And once more, she is on her way to her
grandmother's cottage, deep in the forest,
where the wicked wolf is waiting.
Melissa is really excellent, dear.
Yeah, imagine her playing red riding hood.
Might have been a great show.
Will the wicked wolf pounce on little red
riding hood?
Probably not.
It seems the wicked wolf got to the
cottage first.
Poor little red riding hood.
Here she comes, carrying her basket of
fruit for grandmother.
The wolf is waiting inside for her.
Will red riding hood escape from the
hungry wolf?
She runs faster and faster, even faster.
And finally passes.
This is the wolf.
I guess we need a faster wolf or a slower
red riding hood.
There we are.
At last the hunters saved little red riding hood
and everyone except the wicked wolf is happy.
And it has been a glorious day in the
forest.
Jody.
Even though I was so terrible?
Yep.
Buffy, you were just awful.
Jody, we don't talk about our sister that
way, no matter what.
French, can we have some ice cream while
we're around?
Yes, sir.
I'll help you.
I've got to go tell Mrs. Beasley what a
terrible dancer I was.
Thank you.
Look at that.
Poor little thing trying to make the best
of it.
Oh, why couldn't she have been a tree or
something?
Trees don't get nervous.
I don't understand it.
She wasn't nervous in rehearsal.
She was marvelous.
Think she got stage fright or something?
I don't know.
Everybody like strawberry?
Yes.
Good, because it's all we got.
I'm sure glad Buffy doesn't have to go
away.
Go away where?
Around the world and stuff, like Miss
Stenbock.
She likes it here.
You don't think?
I certainly do.
He's neat.
Some.
of the kids said I was awful.
And some said I was clumsy.
And Melissa tried to bite me with her wolf
teeth.
It was perfect.
I want to talk to you.
Yes, sir.
You didn't change your mind, Uncle Bill.
You don't think I was good, do you?
No.
No, I don't.
I don't think you were any good at all.
But you could have been, right?
If you hadn't been afraid you'd have to go
away?
But I like it here with you and everybody.
Buffy, do you honestly think I'd let a little girl
like you go traveling around the world without me?
This is where you live and this is where
you're going to stay.
Besides, even if you wanted to go,
how would we get along without you?
Really?
Come on, let's get the ice cream.
Could you get along without me,
Uncle Bill?
Nope.
Can you name me one other uncle that's got
a little red riding hood that always falls down?
Come on, we got a lot to celebrate.
Never!
Never!
Never!
Never!