1
00:01:24,630 --> 00:01:26,723
I call it a hit.
What'll your review say?
2
00:01:26,898 --> 00:01:31,392
- I like it too, so I guess I'll pan it.
- That's logical.
3
00:01:31,570 --> 00:01:34,835
My publisher resents Cohan
impersonating the president of the U.S.
4
00:01:35,007 --> 00:01:37,703
Says our young readers dream
of being president.
5
00:01:37,876 --> 00:01:43,143
"I'd rather be right than be president."
Cohan may find out he isn't either one.
6
00:01:46,952 --> 00:01:50,285
- See how George does it at his age.
- I remember him when I was little.
7
00:01:50,455 --> 00:01:53,856
Congratulations, George, old boy.
You did a great job.
8
00:01:54,026 --> 00:01:55,857
- Thanks.
- Congratulations, Mr. Cohan.
9
00:01:56,028 --> 00:01:59,293
- You had him down to a tee.
- But we're still on dangerous ground.
10
00:01:59,464 --> 00:02:02,297
Imitating the president,
a lot of people won't like it.
11
00:02:02,467 --> 00:02:04,799
It's good, clean fun.
Didn't they enjoy it in Boston?
12
00:02:04,970 --> 00:02:07,063
Never could do anything wrong in Boston.
13
00:02:07,572 --> 00:02:11,008
Greatest man in the U.S. Played by the
greatest actor. Nothing wrong with that.
14
00:02:11,176 --> 00:02:13,371
Especially when the greatest actor
is my husband.
15
00:02:13,545 --> 00:02:16,912
- This could be treason.
- A dollar-a-year man will take care of you.
16
00:02:17,082 --> 00:02:18,879
A lot of them would like
to shoot actors.
17
00:02:19,051 --> 00:02:21,178
Save these telegrams.
Government needs paper.
18
00:02:21,353 --> 00:02:23,947
You've got a list with everybody
but Hirohito.
19
00:02:24,122 --> 00:02:26,249
- We'll bring him in.
- Here's the one I sent.
20
00:02:26,425 --> 00:02:29,258
- Will you read our cleverness?
- What makes you think I didn't?
21
00:02:29,428 --> 00:02:32,920
I didn't know there was that much love left
in the entire Western Union codebook.
22
00:02:33,098 --> 00:02:34,963
Hold that. Thank you. Thank you.
23
00:02:35,133 --> 00:02:38,193
- Don't bother me.
- It's from the White House.
24
00:02:38,370 --> 00:02:39,837
- Well, that bothers me.
- Here.
25
00:02:40,005 --> 00:02:42,565
You read it.
These aren't my reading glasses.
26
00:02:42,741 --> 00:02:45,005
"George M. Cohan,
The Alvin Theater, New York.
27
00:02:45,177 --> 00:02:48,806
The president requests that you call
upon him at your earliest convenience...
28
00:02:48,980 --> 00:02:50,914
...in regard to a personal matter.
29
00:02:51,083 --> 00:02:54,177
Kindly reply for definite appointment
at White House.
30
00:02:54,352 --> 00:02:57,321
Stephen T. Early,
secretary to the president."
31
00:02:58,957 --> 00:03:02,654
There you are, Sam.
There you are. What did I tell you?
32
00:03:02,828 --> 00:03:05,592
Coming at a time like this,
with everything on his mind...
33
00:03:05,764 --> 00:03:08,631
...this is not just a casual invitation.
This is important.
34
00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:10,529
- I think we're in trouble.
- Don't worry.
35
00:03:10,702 --> 00:03:13,068
They don't telegraph you
to come and be shot at sunrise.
36
00:03:13,238 --> 00:03:16,366
- He doesn't get up that early.
- I've got a run-of-the-play contract.
37
00:03:16,541 --> 00:03:19,237
Fine time to make lame jokes.
38
00:03:19,911 --> 00:03:21,538
I'm worried, Sam.
39
00:03:21,713 --> 00:03:23,874
I'm really worried.
40
00:03:39,631 --> 00:03:41,462
Halt!
41
00:03:44,136 --> 00:03:46,866
- What can I do for you?
- I've got an appointment.
42
00:03:47,038 --> 00:03:49,336
- The name, please?
- Cohan. George M. Cohan.
43
00:03:49,508 --> 00:03:53,069
All right, sir. If you'll wait
just one moment, I'll call.
44
00:03:56,481 --> 00:03:59,746
This is Sgt. Lewis
at the Pennsylvania Avenue gate...
45
00:04:01,219 --> 00:04:04,017
- Good evening, Mr. Cohan.
- Good evening.
46
00:04:04,189 --> 00:04:07,022
- We've been expecting you.
- Thank you.
47
00:04:10,262 --> 00:04:12,059
Why, your coat's wet.
48
00:04:12,230 --> 00:04:15,324
- Didn't you come in a car?
- No, I walked up from the station.
49
00:04:15,500 --> 00:04:18,435
Washington's a great town to walk in.
Always get a kick out of it.
50
00:04:18,603 --> 00:04:21,697
Yes, indeed.
Won't you come with me?
51
00:04:23,775 --> 00:04:26,642
I was supposed to be off duty
this evening, Mr. Cohan...
52
00:04:26,812 --> 00:04:30,771
...but when I heard you was coming, I
thought I'd like to see if you look the same.
53
00:04:30,949 --> 00:04:35,443
- That depends on when you saw me last.
- It must have been 30-some years ago.
54
00:04:35,620 --> 00:04:38,248
I was valet for Teddy Roosevelt.
55
00:04:38,423 --> 00:04:42,689
He got me a seat up in the gallery.
The play was George Washington Jr...
56
00:04:42,861 --> 00:04:47,195
...and you was just singing and dancing
all about the grand old flag.
57
00:04:47,365 --> 00:04:50,357
Mr. Teddy used to sing it in his bathtub.
58
00:04:50,535 --> 00:04:52,594
- It was a good old song in its day.
- It was.
59
00:04:52,771 --> 00:04:56,298
And it's just as good today
as it ever was.
60
00:05:00,312 --> 00:05:02,371
Come in.
61
00:05:06,585 --> 00:05:09,486
Well, hello there.
How's my double?
62
00:05:09,654 --> 00:05:12,316
Your double isn't too sure.
Give me time to work on that.
63
00:05:12,490 --> 00:05:16,927
- I was told you knew all the answers.
- There was a time when I thought so.
64
00:05:17,095 --> 00:05:20,531
- Right now, I wish I did.
- Yes, so do I.
65
00:05:20,699 --> 00:05:23,361
- Sit down, Mr. Cohan.
- Thanks.
66
00:05:23,535 --> 00:05:25,696
You know, I'm a little bit nervous.
67
00:05:25,871 --> 00:05:29,864
- I'm sorry I missed the opening of your show.
- Maybe just as well.
68
00:05:30,041 --> 00:05:33,772
Don't worry about it.
We understand each other perfectly.
69
00:05:33,945 --> 00:05:34,934
I think so.
70
00:05:35,113 --> 00:05:40,278
Herald Tribune says that you make a better
president in I'd Rather Be Right than I am.
71
00:05:40,452 --> 00:05:43,649
Don't forget,
that's a Republican newspaper.
72
00:05:43,822 --> 00:05:48,225
I can remember you and your family
very well. The Four Cohans.
73
00:05:48,393 --> 00:05:50,691
Do you really?
That's a long time ago.
74
00:05:50,862 --> 00:05:54,764
Yes. It was while I was
attending school near Boston.
75
00:05:54,933 --> 00:05:57,766
I was a pretty cocky kid those days.
Pretty cocky kid.
76
00:05:57,936 --> 00:06:00,962
A regular Yankee Doodle Dandy.
Always carrying a flag in a parade.
77
00:06:01,139 --> 00:06:04,233
- I hope you haven't outgrown the habit.
- Not a chance.
78
00:06:04,409 --> 00:06:08,607
That's one thing I always admired
about you Irish-Americans.
79
00:06:08,780 --> 00:06:13,683
You carry your love of country like a flag,
right out in the open. A great quality.
80
00:06:13,852 --> 00:06:16,719
I inherited that.
I got that from my father.
81
00:06:16,888 --> 00:06:21,120
He ran away to the Civil War at 13. Proudest
kid in the whole state of Massachusetts.
82
00:06:21,393 --> 00:06:26,763
So you've spent your life telling the
other 47 states what a great country it is.
83
00:06:26,932 --> 00:06:30,459
I never thought of it that way before,
but that's about the size of it.
84
00:06:30,635 --> 00:06:32,262
And I lost no time either.
85
00:06:32,437 --> 00:06:35,235
It started with a very funny incident
about 60 years ago.
86
00:06:35,674 --> 00:06:38,074
It was in Providence, Rhode Island,
on the 4th of July.
87
00:06:38,243 --> 00:06:41,007
There weren't so many stars then,
in the flag or on the stage...
88
00:06:41,179 --> 00:06:43,044
... but folks knew more were coming.
89
00:06:43,214 --> 00:06:46,183
They were optimistic,
happy and expectant.
90
00:06:46,351 --> 00:06:49,479
The beginning of the Horatio Alger age.
91
00:07:03,268 --> 00:07:05,793
My father played in a variety theater,
breaking in a single.
92
00:07:05,971 --> 00:07:09,270
No one was more expectant than he was,
unless it was Mother.
93
00:07:09,441 --> 00:07:11,272
She was busy on a smaller production.
94
00:07:52,450 --> 00:07:53,849
- Message come yet?
- No word, Jerry.
95
00:07:54,019 --> 00:07:55,919
- Take a bow.
- I can't. I gotta get out.
96
00:07:56,087 --> 00:07:58,920
- Watch that border!
- I gotta find out what's happening.
97
00:07:59,090 --> 00:08:00,819
Oh, for heaven's sake, Jerry.
98
00:08:00,992 --> 00:08:03,688
Take up number three.
You're on. Go ahead. Lights up.
99
00:08:03,862 --> 00:08:06,990
- Bye, Sally.
- You can't run through the streets in that.
100
00:08:07,165 --> 00:08:09,156
- They'll put you in jail.
- They'll have to catch me.
101
00:08:09,334 --> 00:08:12,394
- Don't forget, you're on again at 4:15.
- Don't worry, I'll be back.
102
00:08:12,570 --> 00:08:16,370
- These things take hours sometimes.
- My wife never held up a show in her life.
103
00:08:32,724 --> 00:08:36,091
- Can I get through here?
- The Irish are up in the head of the parade.
104
00:08:36,261 --> 00:08:40,391
- I'm not in the parade. I wanna get through.
- Not a chance, brother.
105
00:08:49,307 --> 00:08:51,741
You don't say!
We'll get you there in a jiffy.
106
00:08:51,910 --> 00:08:54,105
Here, this'll give you courage.
Charge!
107
00:09:07,325 --> 00:09:09,225
Nellie.
108
00:09:19,604 --> 00:09:21,094
- She all right?
- She's fine.
109
00:09:21,272 --> 00:09:22,398
What is it?
110
00:09:22,574 --> 00:09:25,941
Well, all signs point to its being a boy.
111
00:09:33,485 --> 00:09:35,680
He just got here,
and he's sleeping already.
112
00:09:36,387 --> 00:09:39,686
All babies sleep 20 hours a day.
113
00:09:40,825 --> 00:09:42,952
That's why most
never amount to anything.
114
00:09:43,128 --> 00:09:45,028
- What'll we call him?
- I don't know.
115
00:09:45,196 --> 00:09:48,996
- What do you say?
- Seeing that he arrived on the 4th of July...
116
00:09:49,167 --> 00:09:51,965
...what about George Washington Cohan?
117
00:09:52,137 --> 00:09:54,537
Has a nice patriotic ring to it.
What do you think?
118
00:09:54,706 --> 00:09:59,666
The George is fine, but the Washington
may be too long for a billboard.
119
00:10:00,712 --> 00:10:03,840
How about a nice, short Irish name?
Dennis or Michael.
120
00:10:04,015 --> 00:10:08,281
George Michael Cohan.
121
00:10:08,887 --> 00:10:11,321
Yes, I like that name.
122
00:10:12,924 --> 00:10:14,118
Gosh, I forgot.
123
00:10:18,429 --> 00:10:20,897
Hey! It's a boy!
124
00:10:23,968 --> 00:10:25,196
Oh, Jerry.
125
00:10:31,009 --> 00:10:34,274
Heavenly day, Nellie,
he's crying with a brogue.
126
00:10:37,015 --> 00:10:39,711
The first thing I ever had in my fist
was the American flag.
127
00:10:39,884 --> 00:10:43,479
I hitched my wagon to 38 stars
and 13 stripes.
128
00:10:43,655 --> 00:10:49,093
I was 6 or 7 before I realized they weren't
celebrating my birthday on the 4th of July.
129
00:10:49,260 --> 00:10:52,855
Then my folks had a real break when
my little sister, Josie, made her entrance.
130
00:10:53,031 --> 00:10:56,728
She grew to love show business
just as she loved everybody and everything.
131
00:10:56,901 --> 00:11:01,565
We toured the kerosene circuit on a show
called Daniel Boone on the Trail.
132
00:11:01,739 --> 00:11:05,800
Everybody doubled in brass.
Dad walloped the bass drum.
133
00:11:06,110 --> 00:11:09,876
They teamed me with a donkey.
I was a good Democrat even in those days.
134
00:11:10,415 --> 00:11:12,144
Mother and Josie threw out handbills.
135
00:11:12,317 --> 00:11:15,684
Their smiles would've sold tickets
to wooden Indians.
136
00:11:18,356 --> 00:11:22,486
They kept putting new stars in the flag, and
the Cohans kept rushing out to meet them.
137
00:11:23,428 --> 00:11:27,626
We had jokes to match every cornfield.
We sang at every milk station.
138
00:12:47,445 --> 00:12:50,778
We trouped through depression and inflation,
part of the country's growing pains.
139
00:12:50,948 --> 00:12:52,813
Froze in winter, and roasted in summer.
140
00:12:52,984 --> 00:12:54,611
But it was a good life.
141
00:12:54,786 --> 00:12:57,254
It's a lucky family
that dances together every day.
142
00:13:23,414 --> 00:13:25,939
1891 found our fortunes
flat as a pancake.
143
00:13:26,117 --> 00:13:30,645
Then came jobs for the whole family
in a show called Peck's Bad Boy.
144
00:13:30,822 --> 00:13:33,086
We opened in Brooklyn.
145
00:13:33,558 --> 00:13:36,652
The town was known for spirited audiences
even before it had a ball team.
146
00:13:42,467 --> 00:13:45,027
- Hammering on opening night!
What are you doing here?
147
00:13:45,203 --> 00:13:47,967
- I'm the star of this play.
- You have the leading part, yes.
148
00:13:48,139 --> 00:13:49,538
That means I'm a star...
149
00:13:49,707 --> 00:13:53,074
...and there should be a star on my
dressing-room door. Law of the theater.
150
00:13:53,244 --> 00:13:56,680
- Yes, Jerry, give the devil his due.
- I know, but I'm nervous.
151
00:13:56,848 --> 00:13:59,078
I'll go blank.
I won't be able to remember a line.
152
00:13:59,250 --> 00:14:03,380
Don't worry. If you stick,
I'll throw you the line. You too, Mother.
153
00:14:56,073 --> 00:14:58,371
- It's to jail you're going, me boy.
- Oh, there.
154
00:14:58,543 --> 00:15:02,206
Henry's not really a bad boy.
He's just mischievous, that's all.
155
00:15:02,380 --> 00:15:05,281
Mr. Schults, that should take care
of the damage, don't you think?
156
00:15:05,450 --> 00:15:08,010
Henry, I want you to promise
the cop and Mr. Schults...
157
00:15:08,186 --> 00:15:10,950
...that from now on,
you will always be a good boy.
158
00:15:11,122 --> 00:15:14,216
I'll promise, but I can still lick
any kid in town!
159
00:15:37,081 --> 00:15:38,946
- Fine work, Georgie.
- Thanks.
160
00:15:39,450 --> 00:15:41,748
- Great, Georgie. Great!
- Nice going, kid.
161
00:15:41,919 --> 00:15:44,387
- Real piece of acting there.
- Son, you're going places.
162
00:15:44,555 --> 00:15:48,491
- Boy, you sure rolled them in the aisles.
- Thanks, but why are you surprised?
163
00:15:48,659 --> 00:15:51,253
You could've told during rehearsals
that I'd be a sensation.
164
00:15:51,729 --> 00:15:54,425
Listen, there's nothing
to this acting business.
165
00:15:54,665 --> 00:15:57,759
I wonder what took me so long
to become a star.
166
00:15:57,935 --> 00:16:01,530
Excuse me. Hey! Call rehearsal
for 10:00 tomorrow morning.
167
00:16:01,706 --> 00:16:04,300
Jerry, the time has come
for George's first spanking.
168
00:16:04,475 --> 00:16:06,272
That's right.
I'll hold him, you hit him.
169
00:16:06,444 --> 00:16:09,242
Not me. I don't hit hard enough
to make an impression.
170
00:16:09,413 --> 00:16:12,382
I can't do it. He'd think I'm jealous
because he got more laughs.
171
00:16:12,550 --> 00:16:14,643
Don't think I'm not, either.
172
00:16:15,753 --> 00:16:18,779
Several gentlemen to see you outside,
Mr. Cohan.
173
00:16:21,092 --> 00:16:24,653
Gentlemen of the press, I presume.
It's started already.
174
00:16:24,829 --> 00:16:26,626
Will you excuse me?
175
00:16:30,301 --> 00:16:32,599
Let's see how tough he is!
176
00:16:43,214 --> 00:16:46,547
Ought to be arrested,
every one of those hoodlums.
177
00:16:46,717 --> 00:16:49,584
It seems to me you're taking this
very calmly, Jerry.
178
00:16:49,754 --> 00:16:52,780
Your own son almost murdered
in cold blood.
179
00:16:52,957 --> 00:16:55,425
The way I figure, it's a fine tribute
to Georgie's acting.
180
00:16:55,593 --> 00:16:57,584
The way he plays the part,
every tough kid...
181
00:16:57,762 --> 00:17:00,424
...will want to take a punch
at Peck's Bad Boy.
182
00:17:00,598 --> 00:17:03,260
What? Have I gotta go
through that every night?
183
00:17:03,434 --> 00:17:06,892
Yes. And matinees Wednesdays
and Saturdays.
184
00:17:07,071 --> 00:17:09,403
Georgie, those boys did you
a great favor...
185
00:17:09,574 --> 00:17:11,872
...and they saved me a lot of trouble.
186
00:17:12,043 --> 00:17:15,672
Most actors give their whole lives
to their profession without scoring a hit.
187
00:17:15,846 --> 00:17:17,814
You're lucky.
You're a hit at the age of 13.
188
00:17:18,149 --> 00:17:21,209
I've been in this business a long time.
I've never met a performer...
189
00:17:21,385 --> 00:17:24,843
...who in the long run wouldn't rather
be a great guy than a great actor.
190
00:17:25,022 --> 00:17:27,422
That is, until I made your acquaintance.
191
00:17:27,625 --> 00:17:28,956
Can't I be both?
192
00:17:29,126 --> 00:17:32,118
Chances are, the way you're going,
you won't be either.
193
00:17:32,296 --> 00:17:34,628
If the hoodlums don't get you,
a committee of actors will.
194
00:17:34,799 --> 00:17:38,599
Actors are considered a very bad risk
by insurance companies.
195
00:17:38,769 --> 00:17:43,297
Any actor with a conceit like yours,
we just couldn't afford the premium.
196
00:17:43,474 --> 00:17:45,999
What your father really means
is you're too sensitive.
197
00:17:46,177 --> 00:17:48,008
You're too anxious to make good.
198
00:17:48,179 --> 00:17:49,669
You love the theater too much.
199
00:17:50,314 --> 00:17:53,147
Oh, I know you can improve
if you want to.
200
00:17:53,317 --> 00:17:55,148
Sure I can. Just watch me.
201
00:17:55,319 --> 00:17:58,846
From now on, I'm Peck's Bad Boy
only from 8:30 till 11 in the evening.
202
00:17:59,023 --> 00:18:01,389
- That's a boy, Georgie.
- I promise, Mother.
203
00:18:01,559 --> 00:18:05,017
And don't forget, Wednesdays
and Saturdays, 2:30 till 5.
204
00:18:05,196 --> 00:18:09,895
Yes, sir. And the other 21 and a half hours,
I pattern myself after Dad.
205
00:18:10,067 --> 00:18:14,094
Well, you could find a better example,
but that's the general idea.
206
00:18:14,705 --> 00:18:17,868
Jerry, what do you know!
Ed Albee's coming backstage to see you.
207
00:18:18,042 --> 00:18:20,203
- Albee!
- Albee! That's B.F. Keys' partner.
208
00:18:20,378 --> 00:18:22,369
That's bigtime vaudeville!
We're big time!
209
00:18:22,546 --> 00:18:24,810
He didn't send for us.
He's come here to see us!
210
00:18:24,982 --> 00:18:27,041
It may be better
if I spoke business to him.
211
00:18:27,218 --> 00:18:29,482
I thought you said
you were going to reform.
212
00:18:29,654 --> 00:18:30,916
I'm sorry.
213
00:18:31,088 --> 00:18:33,147
When he comes in,
I want you to keep quiet.
214
00:18:33,324 --> 00:18:37,055
- Look at the condition of this dressing room.
- Get the cheap makeup off the table.
215
00:18:37,261 --> 00:18:38,853
Hurry up!
216
00:18:39,030 --> 00:18:40,622
Quick, Georgie!
217
00:18:40,798 --> 00:18:43,790
Get the stuff off that shelf.
That's right.
218
00:18:43,968 --> 00:18:46,937
Albee will be right in.
He just stopped at the water cooler.
219
00:18:47,104 --> 00:18:48,969
If he offers you a cigar,
don't take it.
220
00:18:49,140 --> 00:18:51,734
I'll take it. It'll impress him
if he thinks I can smoke.
221
00:18:51,942 --> 00:18:53,375
- Get behind that curtain.
- But...
222
00:18:53,544 --> 00:18:56,980
Hurry up! I don't wanna hear a word.
I don't want to even hear you breathe.
223
00:18:57,148 --> 00:18:59,878
Josie, fix the chairs.
The other one.
224
00:19:00,117 --> 00:19:01,482
Here, take this.
225
00:19:01,652 --> 00:19:03,677
Oh, Jerry.
226
00:19:04,455 --> 00:19:06,946
- Sit down, Nellie. Sit down.
- All right.
227
00:19:13,831 --> 00:19:15,355
Come in.
228
00:19:15,533 --> 00:19:17,296
Mr. E.F. Albee.
229
00:19:17,468 --> 00:19:19,936
- Hello, Cohan.
- Albee. Meet Mrs. Cohan.
230
00:19:20,104 --> 00:19:21,264
How do you do?
231
00:19:21,439 --> 00:19:23,532
- Sit down, Mr. Albee.
- Thank you.
232
00:19:23,708 --> 00:19:27,007
I saw your show tonight. Not bad.
233
00:19:27,178 --> 00:19:28,668
Have a cigar?
234
00:19:28,846 --> 00:19:30,108
No, thanks.
235
00:19:30,281 --> 00:19:34,911
Your show's no good for vaudeville, but
I've seen a lot worse right here in Brooklyn.
236
00:19:35,086 --> 00:19:38,055
We're opening a new theater in Philadelphia
on the 4th of July.
237
00:19:38,222 --> 00:19:40,053
If you fix up a good vaudeville act...
238
00:19:40,224 --> 00:19:44,183
...we'll double your salary, give ten weeks'
guarantee and third or fourth billing.
239
00:19:44,361 --> 00:19:47,330
- Double our salary?
- You'll be with the best variety artists.
240
00:19:47,498 --> 00:19:51,298
Vesta Victoria, Eddie Foy, Ward & Vokes,
Lottie Collins, Charlie Case...
241
00:19:51,469 --> 00:19:53,460
Just a second.
242
00:19:53,871 --> 00:19:57,568
I'm George M. Cohan. You're opening
a theater in Philadelphia on July 4th?
243
00:19:57,975 --> 00:20:00,910
- Yes, that's right.
- That's my birthday.
244
00:20:01,445 --> 00:20:03,276
That isn't why we're opening the theater.
245
00:20:03,447 --> 00:20:05,881
The salary's all right,
but how have you got the nerve...
246
00:20:06,050 --> 00:20:09,781
...to offer us third or fourth billing
after my performance tonight?
247
00:20:09,954 --> 00:20:11,387
Is this kid in your show?
248
00:20:11,889 --> 00:20:15,017
Am I in the show! Who do you think
was Peck's Bad Boy?
249
00:20:15,326 --> 00:20:17,954
I beg your pardon.
I didn't quite recognize you.
250
00:20:18,129 --> 00:20:21,257
You didn't? Then maybe you're not
the showman you're cracked up to be.
251
00:20:21,432 --> 00:20:22,694
- George!
- George!
252
00:20:22,867 --> 00:20:24,767
Well, now, maybe I'm not.
253
00:20:24,935 --> 00:20:27,961
Maybe you're not quite ready
for the big time yet.
254
00:20:29,140 --> 00:20:32,871
Mrs. Cohan. Mr. Cohan.
Good night.
255
00:20:33,043 --> 00:20:34,943
Mr. Albee!
256
00:20:36,580 --> 00:20:38,411
- How do you do, Mr. Albee?
- Good evening.
257
00:20:38,582 --> 00:20:40,072
- Can I call you a carriage?
- Lf you will.
258
00:20:40,251 --> 00:20:42,617
Carriage for Mr. Albee!
259
00:20:43,154 --> 00:20:46,123
You see what happens
because you wouldn't lay a hand on him?
260
00:20:46,290 --> 00:20:49,088
A mother doesn't do any punishing.
She gives her permission.
261
00:20:49,260 --> 00:20:51,125
Have I your permission?
262
00:20:51,295 --> 00:20:53,695
You certainly have.
263
00:20:54,031 --> 00:20:55,828
Shouldn't you get my permission too?
264
00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,601
- Not on the hand, he has to play the violin!
- All right, not on the hand.
265
00:20:59,770 --> 00:21:01,635
Not on the mouth, he has to sing!
266
00:21:01,806 --> 00:21:04,900
All right, not on the mouth.
Come here.
267
00:21:06,210 --> 00:21:08,178
Here's one place without any talent!
268
00:21:15,386 --> 00:21:17,980
- Who were Lewis and Clark, George?
- Acrobats?
269
00:21:18,322 --> 00:21:20,620
- Look at this swell write-up we got.
- Write-up?
270
00:21:20,791 --> 00:21:23,385
You found us whenever new states
sprouted on the prairie.
271
00:21:23,561 --> 00:21:25,825
We played every town in America
that had a theater.
272
00:21:25,996 --> 00:21:28,863
- Any mail for Mr. Cohan?
- No. Your father picked up his mail.
273
00:21:29,033 --> 00:21:31,228
I mean for Mr. George M. Cohan.
274
00:21:32,102 --> 00:21:34,036
The next 10 years rushed by
like a circus train.
275
00:21:34,205 --> 00:21:37,402
Dad seemed content with the sticks,
but I was straining at the leash.
276
00:21:37,575 --> 00:21:39,600
- Here's your mail, Mr. Cohan.
- Thanks.
277
00:21:39,777 --> 00:21:41,335
Couple of tickets for the show.
278
00:21:41,512 --> 00:21:42,809
We were playing stock in Buffalo.
279
00:21:42,980 --> 00:21:46,177
And being versatile,
I was playing my mother's father.
280
00:21:46,350 --> 00:21:50,286
- Oh, Daddy, he's left me.
- All is for the best, my daughter.
281
00:21:50,454 --> 00:21:53,719
In life we trip, but right ourselves.
282
00:21:54,225 --> 00:21:56,420
I was correct about man's love.
283
00:21:56,594 --> 00:22:00,360
First, he considers his pleasure
or his honor or his purse.
284
00:22:00,531 --> 00:22:04,023
Only secondly does he think
of the woman he says he loves.
285
00:22:04,435 --> 00:22:10,840
Now I must go life's journey alone and
struggle on my weary way to find peace.
286
00:22:11,542 --> 00:22:14,136
Courage, Emily, courage.
287
00:22:14,311 --> 00:22:17,109
Living has taught your father
many things.
288
00:22:17,281 --> 00:22:21,274
Among them,
to take the bitter with the better.
289
00:22:21,452 --> 00:22:27,755
The road to happiness is paved
with heartaches and stones.
290
00:22:52,783 --> 00:22:54,182
They're all yours, sweetheart.
291
00:22:54,351 --> 00:22:56,046
Good luck, honey.
292
00:23:26,917 --> 00:23:30,648
There's a young lady. One of those
stage-struck kids would like to talk to you.
293
00:23:30,821 --> 00:23:32,345
Show her in.
294
00:23:32,523 --> 00:23:34,388
All right, miss.
295
00:23:34,858 --> 00:23:37,622
- Mr. Cohan will see you.
- Thank you.
296
00:23:37,828 --> 00:23:40,160
He's all yours.
297
00:23:45,469 --> 00:23:48,097
I'm 18. I sing and I dance,
and I'm going to New York.
298
00:23:48,272 --> 00:23:50,069
Should I?
299
00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:54,404
Oh, Mr. Cohan. You're so old,
and so experienced in the theater...
300
00:23:54,578 --> 00:23:56,705
...so fatherly.
301
00:24:01,652 --> 00:24:03,279
Do you think it's wise?
302
00:24:03,454 --> 00:24:07,550
I mean, my being 18, singing
and dancing, and going to New York.
303
00:24:07,725 --> 00:24:12,219
Well, that's very wise.
I mean, being 18 is very wise.
304
00:24:12,796 --> 00:24:17,165
As for New York, The Four Cohans
open there this fall with their new show...
305
00:24:17,368 --> 00:24:20,064
...with a new cyclorama
and two carloads of scenery.
306
00:24:20,237 --> 00:24:24,173
- Really? When are you leaving here?
- Tomorrow night, right after the show.
307
00:24:24,375 --> 00:24:28,539
Oh, I can't leave till Wednesday.
I graduate from high school Tuesday.
308
00:24:28,746 --> 00:24:30,407
That's too bad.
309
00:24:31,048 --> 00:24:34,677
Georgie... Excuse me. You haven't forgotten
we have a date tonight, have you?
310
00:24:34,885 --> 00:24:38,218
Oh, no, no. Of course not.
We're going roller-skating.
311
00:24:38,389 --> 00:24:40,619
Roller-skating on a night like this?
312
00:24:40,791 --> 00:24:42,281
Why, there's a moon out.
313
00:24:42,459 --> 00:24:44,689
I'll be ready in five minutes.
314
00:24:47,731 --> 00:24:50,723
- Pipperino, isn't she?
- Yes. Is she your daughter?
315
00:24:50,901 --> 00:24:53,597
- I'm not married.
- Your niece, perhaps?
316
00:24:53,771 --> 00:24:57,366
She's just a kid with the show.
We've been dating.
317
00:24:58,008 --> 00:24:59,999
Isn't she a little too young for you?
318
00:25:00,177 --> 00:25:03,943
No. She's getting along in years.
She's 17.
319
00:25:05,816 --> 00:25:07,716
Well, shall I sing for you?
320
00:25:07,885 --> 00:25:10,854
I know I have talent,
even if I am from Buffalo.
321
00:25:11,021 --> 00:25:12,784
We haven't got any piano handy.
322
00:25:12,956 --> 00:25:14,753
Then I'll dance.
323
00:25:21,865 --> 00:25:24,356
That's rather old, isn't it?
Everybody's done that.
324
00:25:24,535 --> 00:25:26,196
You don't want to be just an imitator.
325
00:25:26,370 --> 00:25:29,032
Oh, no.
Here's a step I made up myself.
326
00:25:32,876 --> 00:25:36,334
But on the other hand, you don't want
to be too original, either, do you?
327
00:25:36,513 --> 00:25:38,140
- No.
- I'll tell you what you do.
328
00:25:38,315 --> 00:25:41,807
You sit right here,
and I will give you an idea of what I mean.
329
00:25:41,985 --> 00:25:45,113
It may not be much. I'm not the dancer
I used to be, but then who is?
330
00:25:45,289 --> 00:25:46,916
Now watch carefully, now.
331
00:25:49,993 --> 00:25:51,255
Oh, no, no!
332
00:25:51,428 --> 00:25:54,226
- Don't you like it?
- But your heart!
333
00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,026
My heart is every bit as good
as it ever was.
334
00:26:00,871 --> 00:26:05,934
Oh, so fast!
Such excitement at your age.
335
00:26:06,110 --> 00:26:07,475
- Sit down and rest.
- Thanks.
336
00:26:07,644 --> 00:26:09,509
Maybe I have overdone it a little.
337
00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,706
Look at the perspiration on your brow.
338
00:26:13,183 --> 00:26:15,777
Your wrinkles!
What happened to your wrinkles?
339
00:26:15,953 --> 00:26:19,582
I do have to make up older
than I actually am.
340
00:26:19,756 --> 00:26:21,587
How old are you?
341
00:26:21,758 --> 00:26:23,658
Not yet 70.
342
00:26:23,827 --> 00:26:27,422
You seem different from when I first came in.
Even your voice sounds younger.
343
00:26:27,598 --> 00:26:30,999
It's a gift I have.
I'm always as young as the people I'm with.
344
00:26:31,168 --> 00:26:34,035
And you've made me feel very young.
345
00:26:34,204 --> 00:26:37,196
- Very young.
- I'm glad.
346
00:26:37,374 --> 00:26:41,572
Now, let's make plans.
Which manager shall I take you to see first?
347
00:26:42,246 --> 00:26:47,513
Erlanger? Good old Abe's a very nice fellow,
but maybe a little bit too soon.
348
00:26:48,118 --> 00:26:50,643
Tony Pastor?
Well, that's better.
349
00:26:50,821 --> 00:26:52,948
Albee, Coster, Beall and Proctor...
350
00:26:57,027 --> 00:27:00,827
Wait a minute, little girl. Don't let an old
white beard and eyebrows frighten you.
351
00:27:00,998 --> 00:27:03,091
In show business,
you'll see a lot of those.
352
00:27:03,267 --> 00:27:05,531
I'm not sure I wanna go
into show business now.
353
00:27:05,702 --> 00:27:09,695
A girl with your talent and ability? There
are very few who can sing, dance and act.
354
00:27:09,873 --> 00:27:12,398
How do you know I can do those?
You've never seen me.
355
00:27:12,576 --> 00:27:15,306
I don't have to see you.
I can tell a trouper a mile away.
356
00:27:15,479 --> 00:27:18,243
I feel as though I've known you
for years. What's your name?
357
00:27:18,415 --> 00:27:20,610
- Mary.
- That's a very pretty name.
358
00:27:20,784 --> 00:27:23,878
Now, Mary, you calm down.
Let's go and have a bite to eat.
359
00:27:24,054 --> 00:27:26,181
I always eat after the last show.
Are you hungry?
360
00:27:26,356 --> 00:27:30,452
I've been sitting in the theater since 2:00
trying to get up courage to come backstage.
361
00:27:30,961 --> 00:27:32,952
You must be hungry after seven shows.
362
00:27:33,130 --> 00:27:35,325
We'll have a nice cold bottle and a bird.
363
00:27:35,499 --> 00:27:37,831
What's a cold bottle?
364
00:27:38,001 --> 00:27:41,198
That's what we in show business
call a piece of pie and a glass of milk.
365
00:27:41,371 --> 00:27:45,000
Aren't you going roller-skating
with that pipperino?
366
00:27:45,175 --> 00:27:46,972
I'm tired of picking her up.
367
00:27:48,512 --> 00:27:50,275
What's the matter, darling?
368
00:27:51,648 --> 00:27:52,876
Got it.
369
00:28:48,272 --> 00:28:49,466
Pretty good.
370
00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,074
There's a contract on my desk already
made out. Get it.
371
00:28:52,242 --> 00:28:53,402
Hey!
372
00:28:53,577 --> 00:28:57,877
If any of The Four Cohans ask how
you like their act, tell them it was fair.
373
00:29:53,537 --> 00:29:57,803
Ladies and gentlemen,
my mother thanks you.
374
00:29:57,974 --> 00:30:00,169
My father thanks you.
375
00:30:00,344 --> 00:30:02,574
My sister thanks you.
376
00:30:02,746 --> 00:30:04,714
And I thank you.
377
00:30:10,387 --> 00:30:13,754
- Nice going.
- That's tearing them out of their chairs.
378
00:30:14,091 --> 00:30:15,683
All set up for you. Go get them.
379
00:30:16,026 --> 00:30:18,756
After the way we went tonight
we're ready for New York.
380
00:30:18,929 --> 00:30:21,124
If we're a hit here,
it's a cinch in New York.
381
00:30:21,298 --> 00:30:22,765
- Nice going, kid.
- Thanks.
382
00:30:22,933 --> 00:30:27,233
Oh, Mr. Cohan, just a minute.
Pretty fair act you folks have got.
383
00:30:27,404 --> 00:30:29,634
- They seemed to like it.
- That's a soft audience.
384
00:30:29,806 --> 00:30:31,501
- Got any open time?
- From now on.
385
00:30:31,675 --> 00:30:33,643
- I'll make an offer.
- We'd be glad to talk.
386
00:30:33,810 --> 00:30:38,247
Fine. Fine. You know, they're always a
soft audience here on Wednesday. Pushover.
387
00:30:43,286 --> 00:30:45,754
- Did you catch it?
- Oh, you were wonderful, George.
388
00:30:45,922 --> 00:30:49,119
- But I don't know, I miss that beard.
- Did you get up on that number?
389
00:30:49,292 --> 00:30:51,817
It's a lovely song, George.
I've learned it by heart.
390
00:30:51,995 --> 00:30:54,964
Good. I rehearsed it with the orchestra.
You'll do it this show.
391
00:30:55,132 --> 00:30:57,396
He knows your key.
You just follow him for tempo.
392
00:30:57,567 --> 00:31:00,832
But there's a notice. You can't
change your act after the first show.
393
00:31:01,004 --> 00:31:04,201
The manager expects me to sing
"The Wedding of the Lily and the Rose."
394
00:31:04,374 --> 00:31:06,308
Who were they applauding,
the manager or me?
395
00:31:06,476 --> 00:31:09,968
- Now go on out there and do it.
- Oh, George, I can't move.
396
00:31:10,147 --> 00:31:12,513
I can't go out there,
not without rehearsal.
397
00:31:12,682 --> 00:31:14,115
What are you worried about?
398
00:31:14,284 --> 00:31:17,378
You're doing a George M. Cohan lyric
to a George M. Cohan melody.
399
00:31:17,554 --> 00:31:20,648
- Yes, but it's my voice.
- A George M. Cohan discovery.
400
00:31:20,824 --> 00:31:25,158
Nobody ever had a better start.
There's your introduction, go on.
401
00:31:30,534 --> 00:31:32,058
Good luck, kid.
402
00:32:12,609 --> 00:32:15,703
Ten consecutive weeks in New York.
That's the big time.
403
00:32:15,879 --> 00:32:18,575
When you leave New York,
Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago...
404
00:32:18,748 --> 00:32:21,740
- Just look at her.
- Excuse me.
405
00:32:22,185 --> 00:32:27,054
What's going on here? Take your
makeup off. I'll be back in just a minute.
406
00:32:32,963 --> 00:32:37,491
Bill, what is this? What's she singing?
Who told her to switch that number?
407
00:32:37,667 --> 00:32:40,431
She's supposed to sing
"The Wedding of the Lily and the Rose."
408
00:32:40,604 --> 00:32:42,902
- Who told her to switch that number?
- I don't know.
409
00:32:43,073 --> 00:32:44,802
You don't know!
410
00:32:44,975 --> 00:32:50,345
Bring down that curtain! When she finishes
the chorus pull out the houselights.
411
00:32:50,514 --> 00:32:52,243
Wait a second. See how that song goes.
412
00:32:52,415 --> 00:32:55,384
- The song is gone. Pull out the lights.
- Don't do it, Charlie.
413
00:32:55,552 --> 00:32:59,716
Say, who does she think she is? Who
does she think is running this theater?
414
00:32:59,890 --> 00:33:02,791
The only reason I put her on was
because the dog act got drunk.
415
00:33:02,959 --> 00:33:05,484
- It'll be all right in the morning.
- She was your idea.
416
00:33:05,662 --> 00:33:08,631
- And a very good idea too.
- Now I know who got the dog act drunk.
417
00:33:08,798 --> 00:33:11,926
Who, me? Why I've never been
in a saloon in my life.
418
00:33:18,475 --> 00:33:21,967
Now look at that. Could you ask
for anything more than that?
419
00:33:22,145 --> 00:33:24,613
Mr. Dietz, she's wonderful.
Don't you think so?
420
00:33:24,781 --> 00:33:27,944
Don't do that! Don't do that!
421
00:33:28,118 --> 00:33:30,985
Pull out the lights.
Pull down that curtain.
422
00:33:32,088 --> 00:33:36,081
Get your props together, you're on next.
Start limbering up, you follow the jugglers.
423
00:33:36,259 --> 00:33:40,093
You get that curtain up. You can't ring
down on a George M. Cohan song.
424
00:33:40,263 --> 00:33:44,222
A George... Oh, I see!
It's your song. You wrote it.
425
00:33:44,401 --> 00:33:46,096
You can tell that by the applause.
426
00:33:46,269 --> 00:33:49,602
Now, Mary, I want you to do an encore.
Do one more chorus and really do it.
427
00:33:49,773 --> 00:33:51,741
Oh, no, you don't.
Young lady, listen.
428
00:33:51,908 --> 00:33:55,071
If you're gonna try junk like that,
you'll do it on a split beat time.
429
00:33:55,245 --> 00:33:57,304
But you'll not be singing
that in my theater.
430
00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,573
You take a little tip from me.
Start packing.
431
00:33:59,749 --> 00:34:03,014
If you've got any squawks, unload
them on me. I started all this.
432
00:34:03,186 --> 00:34:07,282
Listen, squirt. Any more interference and
you'll be blacklisted in show business.
433
00:34:07,457 --> 00:34:10,085
You won't be able to get
into a stage door of any theater.
434
00:34:10,260 --> 00:34:12,285
What's more, as for those songs of yours...
435
00:34:12,462 --> 00:34:16,455
...they won't be played on a hurdy-gurdy.
- Are you trying to threaten me?
436
00:34:16,633 --> 00:34:21,070
- Mary, don't pay any attention to him.
- Get me the key to your dressing room.
437
00:34:21,237 --> 00:34:25,731
Drunk or sober, the dog act goes on
on the next show. And look here...
438
00:34:29,746 --> 00:34:31,839
Bring down the curtain!
439
00:34:34,951 --> 00:34:38,819
Cohan, you're fired! You're canceled.
You're washed up!
440
00:34:38,989 --> 00:34:41,685
You and your whole family!
441
00:34:43,293 --> 00:34:47,423
Oh, things were tough.
But at least I was in New York.
442
00:34:47,597 --> 00:34:50,964
I had a trunk full of songs and play
scripts and a heart full of confidence.
443
00:34:51,134 --> 00:34:52,396
I'm glad I had it.
444
00:34:54,204 --> 00:34:56,798
I'm sorry, I can't use this, Cohan.
445
00:34:57,807 --> 00:35:02,107
Youth needs confidence. I'd learned my job
the hard way, all over the United States.
446
00:35:02,846 --> 00:35:07,180
Guys who'd never been past the corner
cigar store said my stuff was no good.
447
00:35:07,350 --> 00:35:09,477
A kid had to believe
in himself to buck that.
448
00:36:47,050 --> 00:36:49,712
- What do you think?
- I didn't like it. Didn't appeal to me.
449
00:36:49,886 --> 00:36:52,855
What do you mean it didn't appeal
to you? I'm the senior partner.
450
00:36:53,022 --> 00:36:55,217
- I make the decisions.
- Well, what did you think?
451
00:36:55,391 --> 00:36:59,384
- It didn't appeal to me either.
- Which proves you have no ear for music.
452
00:36:59,629 --> 00:37:04,464
He's got no ear for music. I'm the senior
partner. I have a wonderful ear for music.
453
00:37:04,634 --> 00:37:08,365
- The libretto is a grand story, isn't it?
- I laughed all the way through it.
454
00:37:08,538 --> 00:37:12,065
That's my cue. If Harold laughs
then I know it isn't funny.
455
00:37:12,242 --> 00:37:15,473
Why don't you have Mr. Cohan sing?
Maybe you didn't like "Harrigan"...
456
00:37:15,645 --> 00:37:19,137
...because I haven't got much of a voice.
- I think you have a lovely voice.
457
00:37:19,315 --> 00:37:24,082
- Don't you think so, Mr. Dietz?
- Yes. If you'd like a job answering phones...
458
00:37:24,254 --> 00:37:26,745
Are you or are you not going
to produce my play?
459
00:37:26,923 --> 00:37:29,858
If you think I'd put my wife's money
in that trash, you're crazy.
460
00:37:30,193 --> 00:37:34,653
That's it, Mary. That's enough.
They've had their chance.
461
00:37:34,998 --> 00:37:37,091
- Have you an appointment?
- Yes. I'm Sam Harris.
462
00:37:37,267 --> 00:37:38,996
I want to see them
about this melodrama.
463
00:37:39,169 --> 00:37:42,104
- We don't teach them their business.
- We're busy. We have no time.
464
00:37:42,272 --> 00:37:44,297
You don't know it,
but your days are numbered.
465
00:37:44,474 --> 00:37:47,671
You're making room for the likes of me.
Someday, Mr. Senior Partner...
466
00:37:47,844 --> 00:37:50,210
...you're gonna come to me and
admit you were wrong.
467
00:37:50,380 --> 00:37:53,440
In 20 years of show business, I never
once admitted I was wrong.
468
00:37:53,616 --> 00:37:55,743
- That's his department.
- And your wife's money...
469
00:37:55,919 --> 00:37:58,046
- Excuse me. I have an appointment.
- Who are you?
470
00:37:58,221 --> 00:38:01,850
My name's Sam Harris. I have a
melodrama here called Wildflower.
471
00:38:02,025 --> 00:38:03,959
Wildflower.
472
00:38:04,594 --> 00:38:07,722
One, two, three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine, ten. Horses.
473
00:38:07,897 --> 00:38:09,228
Oh, and Indians.
474
00:38:09,399 --> 00:38:13,927
Come on. Don't let a couple like that
get under your skin. No sense in crying.
475
00:38:14,103 --> 00:38:17,368
- Buffalo is such a beautiful city.
- Is that what you're crying about?
476
00:38:17,540 --> 00:38:19,804
It's a beautiful city,
but I hate to go back to it.
477
00:38:19,976 --> 00:38:22,035
Don't worry, you won't have to.
I'll show them.
478
00:38:22,212 --> 00:38:25,978
I'm gonna have my name posted and
plastered up and down Broadway.
479
00:38:26,149 --> 00:38:29,084
Now, you stick along,
we'll whip them to a standstill.
480
00:38:29,252 --> 00:38:32,915
- I never really thought of leaving.
- We'll make this business holler for help.
481
00:38:33,089 --> 00:38:36,490
That's what we'll do. They'll all hear
from us. Every one of them.
482
00:38:36,659 --> 00:38:38,820
I'm the senior partner.
I'll do the throwing out.
483
00:38:38,995 --> 00:38:41,259
You don't have to throw me out.
I know the way.
484
00:38:41,431 --> 00:38:43,991
That's the last time I'll
ever bring you a play.
485
00:38:45,068 --> 00:38:46,535
That's my department.
486
00:38:46,703 --> 00:38:50,139
I will take it to Clower and Erlanger.
They don't always think of box office.
487
00:38:50,306 --> 00:38:53,139
- Thanks.
- Too expensive.
488
00:38:53,309 --> 00:38:57,109
Didn't even read the second act. Probably
the biggest forest fire ever on a stage.
489
00:38:58,414 --> 00:39:00,473
I think he's a little upset.
490
00:39:01,551 --> 00:39:05,783
5:30. We'd have done eight shows
by this time in Buffalo.
491
00:39:11,361 --> 00:39:13,591
The juggler just paid
three weeks back board.
492
00:39:14,030 --> 00:39:16,396
Put him at the head of the
table so he doesn't reach.
493
00:39:16,566 --> 00:39:18,363
Where shall I put the magician?
494
00:39:18,534 --> 00:39:21,503
Until he's paid he sits at the foot
of the table with the Cohans.
495
00:39:21,671 --> 00:39:24,367
- Starvation corner.
- And put the goulash at the head.
496
00:39:24,540 --> 00:39:28,476
Keep everything but the noodles and
syrup out of the reach of the Cohans.
497
00:39:28,645 --> 00:39:31,045
Noodles and syrup are just
enough to keep them alive.
498
00:39:31,214 --> 00:39:34,980
Anybody who owes me two month's
board bill I just keep alive.
499
00:39:35,151 --> 00:39:37,881
I don't have to wait on them.
500
00:39:41,491 --> 00:39:43,925
- Good evening.
- Good evening, madam.
501
00:39:44,093 --> 00:39:48,257
Oh, no, no, no.
From now on, this is your seat.
502
00:39:48,431 --> 00:39:50,991
- Oh, thank you.
- And you, master magician...
503
00:39:51,167 --> 00:39:53,863
...you sit over there with the Cohans.
504
00:39:54,037 --> 00:39:58,804
Madame, some day I hope you will give
me the pleasure of sawing you in half.
505
00:39:58,975 --> 00:40:02,502
I just heard today that Hammerstein
was bringing over the Scotch actor.
506
00:40:02,679 --> 00:40:04,738
Harry Lauder at 2500 bucks a week.
507
00:40:04,914 --> 00:40:08,645
Hammerstein's a great showman. A lot
of people have never seen a Scotchman.
508
00:40:09,252 --> 00:40:11,880
Take some goulash, Mrs. Cohan.
509
00:40:12,055 --> 00:40:14,888
Did you have that appointment
with that man about your booking?
510
00:40:15,058 --> 00:40:17,492
Oh, yes. He's gonna give work
to the act any day now.
511
00:40:17,660 --> 00:40:21,221
What happened to that Boston offer?
That was a mighty sweet proposition.
512
00:40:21,397 --> 00:40:24,491
Four weeks' guarantee, $300 a week,
and top billing.
513
00:40:24,667 --> 00:40:27,261
Well, we didn't take it.
You see, it just wasn't right.
514
00:40:27,437 --> 00:40:30,873
Any act that lays off as long as
you have, any offer's all right.
515
00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:32,371
- Butter?
- Thanks.
516
00:40:32,542 --> 00:40:34,772
We just thought we'd rest
a few more weeks.
517
00:40:34,944 --> 00:40:39,677
Yes, my brother's writing some new
material. We're just not ready to open.
518
00:40:41,451 --> 00:40:42,884
You're not fooling anybody.
519
00:40:43,052 --> 00:40:46,818
Everybody knows that you, Nellie and
Josie can get work anytime, any place.
520
00:40:46,990 --> 00:40:48,287
But nobody wants Georgie.
521
00:40:48,458 --> 00:40:51,325
He's made trouble in every theater
this side of San Francisco.
522
00:40:51,494 --> 00:40:55,055
You can't lay off just because every
manager in town has blackballed Georgie.
523
00:40:55,231 --> 00:40:57,222
His family hasn't blackballed him.
524
00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:00,392
We may take a lot of hard knocks and
make a lot of sacrifices...
525
00:41:00,603 --> 00:41:04,972
...but if they want our act, they'll take him
too. We're not breaking up our act or family.
526
00:41:05,141 --> 00:41:08,508
All right, all right. Let the blackballs
fall where they may.
527
00:41:08,678 --> 00:41:12,114
Madame Bartholdi,
champagne for everybody!
528
00:41:12,448 --> 00:41:14,416
- Swell.
- Even if I had it, who would pay?
529
00:41:14,584 --> 00:41:17,075
Dietz & Goff. They're producing
Little Johnny Jones.
530
00:41:17,253 --> 00:41:19,687
- George, really?
- They went crazy about the book.
531
00:41:19,856 --> 00:41:22,848
Dietz said to heck with his wife's
money. He's gonna use his own.
532
00:41:23,026 --> 00:41:27,895
Second round of champagne on me, if
you had it. Pass that goulash down.
533
00:41:28,064 --> 00:41:32,364
Oh, George. Think of those billboards.
534
00:41:32,535 --> 00:41:36,494
Book, music and lyrics all by
George M. Cohan.
535
00:41:36,672 --> 00:41:39,106
- Oh, Georgie, l...
- Take it easy, Josie.
536
00:41:39,275 --> 00:41:42,267
There's enough water on the goulash now.
537
00:41:42,445 --> 00:41:45,209
Dad, I'm gonna be tied in rehearsal
for the next few months.
538
00:41:45,381 --> 00:41:48,373
Why don't you and Mom and Josie
take other offers in the meantime.
539
00:41:48,818 --> 00:41:51,548
Well, I hate to see the act split up,
but if you think so.
540
00:41:51,721 --> 00:41:54,588
Oh, sure. Play all that stuff
around Chicago for Sullivan.
541
00:41:54,757 --> 00:41:59,694
- The money's good. The jumps are short.
- Good idea. You get tired resting too long.
542
00:42:00,096 --> 00:42:03,327
But it won't be the same going back
on the road without you, Georgie.
543
00:42:03,499 --> 00:42:06,366
We'll be like a carriage
with only three wheels.
544
00:42:06,536 --> 00:42:10,028
But you will admit I was a bumpy wheel.
You'll roll along easier without me.
545
00:42:10,206 --> 00:42:11,503
- No, Georgie, no.
- You will.
546
00:42:11,674 --> 00:42:16,338
If there's a part for a bicycle rider, I
used to be known as "Venus on Wheels."
547
00:42:16,512 --> 00:42:18,377
I always knew you weren't a cook.
548
00:42:27,523 --> 00:42:30,117
- How's everything going, George?
- Not so good. Not so good.
549
00:42:30,293 --> 00:42:33,057
I've been pounding the pavement
so long my socks have bunions.
550
00:42:33,229 --> 00:42:35,789
- Mac, would you put a head on that?
- You bet I will.
551
00:42:35,965 --> 00:42:37,364
The villain turns and says:
552
00:42:37,533 --> 00:42:40,434
"I'll tell who you are unless
you help me hold up this train."
553
00:42:40,603 --> 00:42:44,300
Think fast. It's due in 10 minutes.
You'll have the audience standing.
554
00:42:44,474 --> 00:42:47,705
I know, I know. The hero helps him.
Gets shot in the leg.
555
00:42:47,877 --> 00:42:53,110
- And the girl nurses him back to health.
- No. He gets shot in the arm, not the leg.
556
00:42:53,282 --> 00:42:56,217
- Do you know what happens?
- I won't be in the theater to find out.
557
00:42:56,385 --> 00:42:59,183
I will be on the street watching
a musical comedy.
558
00:42:59,355 --> 00:43:01,550
Before I put $ 10,000 into a show...
559
00:43:01,724 --> 00:43:05,660
...it must have songs, dances,
and a lot of girls.
560
00:43:06,996 --> 00:43:10,022
Women, women. Little rose petals.
561
00:43:10,199 --> 00:43:13,327
The big scene is where the hero saves
the girl from a burning forest fire.
562
00:43:13,503 --> 00:43:16,666
It won't be terribly expensive.
I know where I can get a cheap fire.
563
00:43:16,973 --> 00:43:20,101
You don't need much of a fire.
Just enough to burn that manuscript.
564
00:43:20,309 --> 00:43:22,937
- I've been looking all over town for you.
- What?
565
00:43:23,112 --> 00:43:25,137
We gotta go to Dietz & Goff
and sign papers.
566
00:43:25,314 --> 00:43:26,679
- Papers?
- What papers?
567
00:43:26,849 --> 00:43:29,716
- What papers?
- I see. You don't want to talk about it.
568
00:43:29,886 --> 00:43:32,411
- You haven't discussed our musical?
- Musical?
569
00:43:32,588 --> 00:43:35,216
- Remember what we promised.
- I haven't said a word.
570
00:43:35,424 --> 00:43:39,292
Good. Dietz said it was the best musical
he's read. Even allowed Goff to agree.
571
00:43:39,462 --> 00:43:42,431
When I told him about those 20 ponies
and 20 showgirls all coming...
572
00:43:42,598 --> 00:43:44,395
- Ponies and showgirls?
- Just a minute...
573
00:43:44,567 --> 00:43:46,899
...would you tell me what
you're talking about?
574
00:43:47,069 --> 00:43:48,331
- You got the check?
- Yes.
575
00:43:48,504 --> 00:43:51,905
- That's mine.
- No, no, no. We won't argue about it.
576
00:43:52,074 --> 00:43:53,939
- Glad to have met you.
- That's minor.
577
00:43:54,110 --> 00:43:56,738
- Come on. We can't keep Dietz waiting.
- You are a fine guy.
578
00:43:56,913 --> 00:44:01,850
You have girls up your sleeve, you have
ponies and showgirls and you don't tell me?
579
00:44:02,018 --> 00:44:04,145
- What's it about?
- We gave our word to Dietz.
580
00:44:04,320 --> 00:44:06,481
We haven't got time.
It's about Todd Sloan.
581
00:44:06,656 --> 00:44:08,453
- The famous jockey.
- Yeah. Come on.
582
00:44:08,624 --> 00:44:13,027
Jockey sounds swell.
Just my luck to miss out on it.
583
00:44:14,230 --> 00:44:16,755
Well, good luck, boys.
584
00:44:20,002 --> 00:44:23,529
You forgot your manuscript. Say, before
we sign up with Dietz & Goff...
585
00:44:23,706 --> 00:44:26,004
...I made some change in
the lyric of "Yankee Doodle."
586
00:44:26,175 --> 00:44:28,609
- "Yankee Doodle"?
- You shouldn't have. It was perfect.
587
00:44:28,778 --> 00:44:31,144
You'll like this.
It gives the number added value.
588
00:44:31,314 --> 00:44:33,612
- May I listen a little?
- Think we should?
589
00:44:33,783 --> 00:44:36,411
- Well, I don't know.
- Lf you promise to be quiet.
590
00:44:36,586 --> 00:44:38,349
- I promise.
- All right. Come on.
591
00:44:38,521 --> 00:44:43,424
- There's a piano in the private room.
- "Yankee Doodle." "Yankee Doodle."
592
00:44:44,427 --> 00:44:47,328
- Yankee Doodle Candy.
- Dandy. "Yankee Doodle Dandy."
593
00:44:47,496 --> 00:44:49,862
Yankee Doodle Candy.
Thank you. Yankee Doodle Candy.
594
00:45:21,530 --> 00:45:22,963
I have heard enough.
595
00:45:23,132 --> 00:45:26,465
I will never forgive you for trying
to pawn a forest fire on me...
596
00:45:26,636 --> 00:45:29,799
...when you had that musical.
- Yes, but we gave our word to Dietz.
597
00:45:30,006 --> 00:45:35,034
I can't understand it. Why is Dietz's wife's
money better than my wife's money?
598
00:45:35,211 --> 00:45:36,542
Why?
599
00:45:37,713 --> 00:45:41,114
Must you give it to Dietz & Goff?
Must you give it?
600
00:45:41,284 --> 00:45:44,253
Well, I don't know. I like Dietz,
but I'm not too fond of Goff.
601
00:45:44,420 --> 00:45:46,911
I'm crazy about Goff but
haven't got any use for Dietz.
602
00:45:47,089 --> 00:45:50,149
Gentlemen, you are in perfect agreement.
603
00:45:50,326 --> 00:45:53,784
- I will give you a check to bind the deal.
- Here.
604
00:45:55,097 --> 00:45:58,999
- Thank you. What's your partner's name?
- I don't know.
605
00:46:01,937 --> 00:46:04,132
What's my partner's name?
606
00:46:04,307 --> 00:46:09,074
Well, don't toy with the kid at a time
like this. Tell him. George M. Cohan.
607
00:46:09,245 --> 00:46:12,510
George M. Cohan. C-O-H-A-N.
608
00:46:12,682 --> 00:46:16,880
- And what is my junior partner's name?
- Sam H. Harris. Shake.
609
00:46:17,420 --> 00:46:20,617
- Hello. What should I write?
- Cohan and Harris.
610
00:46:20,856 --> 00:46:25,316
Cohan and Harris.
611
00:51:12,615 --> 00:51:15,175
That's it, ladies and gentlemen,
it's all over.
612
00:51:15,351 --> 00:51:17,581
Yankee Doodle let them down.
613
00:51:17,753 --> 00:51:22,690
So they'll either pasture him in clover or
have him hauling rubbish in London town.
614
00:52:15,444 --> 00:52:17,412
Women, women. Little rose petals.
615
00:52:17,579 --> 00:52:19,570
It's wonderful. You got them
eating from your hand.
616
00:52:19,748 --> 00:52:21,375
- My congratulations.
- Thanks.
617
00:52:21,550 --> 00:52:24,144
- As long as those critics don't eat my leg.
- Don't worry.
618
00:52:24,319 --> 00:52:27,948
You have a smash hit. It's in the air.
You can't stop anything that's in the air.
619
00:53:27,082 --> 00:53:28,811
All right. On the boat.
620
00:53:29,051 --> 00:53:32,578
Remember, Jones, watch for the
skyrocket. If it goes off, you'll know...
621
00:53:32,755 --> 00:53:37,818
...that I've obtained papers that'll prove
you innocent of throwing the Derby.
622
00:53:37,993 --> 00:53:41,952
It'll mean complete vindication. So stick
on the pier and watch for the skyrocket.
623
00:53:42,131 --> 00:53:44,031
Thanks, pal. I'll be watching.
624
00:53:54,910 --> 00:53:57,640
Goodbye, Johnny. And don't worry,
we still believe in you.
625
00:53:57,813 --> 00:54:01,442
- Thanks, kid. That'll help a lot. Bye-bye.
- Goodbye.
626
00:57:05,867 --> 00:57:08,097
That was your department!
627
00:57:10,072 --> 00:57:12,540
Is it the robin that heralds the first
breath of spring?
628
00:57:12,708 --> 00:57:16,439
How can you think of robins in the
spring when we're freezing in Illinois?
629
00:57:16,611 --> 00:57:19,603
Hey, Jerry. Did you see the way
they're billing you in Waukegan?
630
00:57:19,781 --> 00:57:24,616
- Come here. Look at that. Funny, isn't it?
- "Jerry, Nellie and Josie Cohan...
631
00:57:24,786 --> 00:57:27,380
...family of George M. Cohan,
the Broadway sensation."
632
00:57:27,556 --> 00:57:31,549
- Hey, the kid's doing all right.
- Look at that.
633
00:57:33,028 --> 00:57:35,963
Well, that's true. He is
the biggest thing on Broadway.
634
00:57:36,131 --> 00:57:38,964
I know, but it ain't right.
We can build our own reputation.
635
00:57:39,134 --> 00:57:43,594
- We'll be billed as The Three Cohans.
- All right. No need to get excited.
636
00:57:43,772 --> 00:57:47,230
Don't think I'm jealous of Georgie's
success. Even though I am a better actor.
637
00:57:47,409 --> 00:57:49,969
Of course you're not jealous.
Everybody knows that.
638
00:57:50,145 --> 00:57:54,946
There'll be no stopping George. All he
needs is experience and he'll be a genius.
639
00:57:55,117 --> 00:57:57,881
He mustn't know I'm a better actor.
It might interfere.
640
00:57:58,320 --> 00:58:01,619
Still, it does look a little funny,
George being the toast of Broadway...
641
00:58:01,857 --> 00:58:04,291
...and you folks gathering crumbs
in the tank towns.
642
00:58:04,459 --> 00:58:07,758
- Is either of you fellows Jerry Cohan?
- I am.
643
00:58:17,472 --> 00:58:19,337
It's from George.
644
00:58:19,541 --> 00:58:23,500
"Impossible to find three clever actors
named Cohan for my new show...
645
00:58:23,678 --> 00:58:25,475
...anywhere in New York.
646
00:58:25,647 --> 00:58:28,946
- Return immediately for rehearsals."
- What'd I tell you?
647
00:58:29,117 --> 00:58:32,951
The four of us back together
again. And on Broadway!
648
00:59:16,891 --> 00:59:19,155
Even in the kitchen
you sound like a Tetrazzini.
649
00:59:19,327 --> 00:59:21,989
In Buffalo they say I have a nice little voice.
650
00:59:22,163 --> 00:59:25,929
A lot they know in Buffalo.
In Buffalo they thought I was an old man.
651
00:59:27,168 --> 00:59:30,069
- Well, how do you like your part so far?
- Oh, I like it.
652
00:59:30,238 --> 00:59:33,071
It's small.
I'd be afraid to try anything bigger.
653
00:59:33,241 --> 00:59:36,108
You got something on the leading lady,
the best song in the show.
654
00:59:36,277 --> 00:59:37,710
Here it is. It's finished.
655
00:59:37,879 --> 00:59:39,847
- Come on.
- Well, what about the lyrics?
656
00:59:40,014 --> 00:59:42,915
I'm gonna give it to you now.
Sit down and give me a pickup.
657
01:01:38,466 --> 01:01:40,024
Yeah.
658
01:01:40,501 --> 01:01:42,492
Gee, I never cared much
for my name before.
659
01:01:42,670 --> 01:01:46,606
It's kind of common.
Gee, there are millions of Marys around.
660
01:01:46,774 --> 01:01:48,765
I didn't write it for the millions of Marys.
661
01:01:48,943 --> 01:01:51,776
I wrote it for one particular,
very special Mary.
662
01:01:51,946 --> 01:01:54,676
It's a wonderful feeling
having your name written in music.
663
01:01:54,849 --> 01:01:57,784
- Not bad music either, huh?
- Nope, it isn't.
664
01:01:57,952 --> 01:01:59,749
How will everybody know I'm the Mary?
665
01:01:59,921 --> 01:02:03,288
I want to make sure that everybody
knows it was written for me.
666
01:02:03,491 --> 01:02:04,753
They'll know, all right.
667
01:02:04,926 --> 01:02:08,589
When they look at you singing that song
and then look at me looking at you...
668
01:02:08,763 --> 01:02:09,991
...they'll know.
669
01:02:10,164 --> 01:02:12,564
- Oh, George.
- Take it up an octave.
670
01:02:12,733 --> 01:02:15,065
- George.
- Better.
671
01:02:15,403 --> 01:02:18,372
Excuse me for butting in,
I've been looking all over town for you.
672
01:02:18,539 --> 01:02:20,700
Strange that I should find you here.
Hello, Mary.
673
01:02:20,875 --> 01:02:24,675
George has just written me a new song
for the show. Think I'll be able to do it?
674
01:02:24,846 --> 01:02:26,746
Of course.
You've got a nice little voice.
675
01:02:26,948 --> 01:02:29,178
That is not a little voice.
You need an ear trumpet.
676
01:02:29,350 --> 01:02:32,478
We've got to go. We've got to see
Fay Templeton before she goes on.
677
01:02:32,653 --> 01:02:35,213
- What does she want to see us about?
- We want to see her.
678
01:02:35,389 --> 01:02:37,880
You need a leading lady,
you've got your ing�nue.
679
01:02:38,059 --> 01:02:40,323
- George!
- Fay Templeton, not bad.
680
01:02:40,495 --> 01:02:43,157
If she can do two years in the turkey
she's in, she can do four for us.
681
01:02:43,331 --> 01:02:44,730
- Will she take it?
- I don't know.
682
01:02:44,899 --> 01:02:47,595
- At least you can get her autograph.
- Or she can get mine.
683
01:02:47,768 --> 01:02:51,795
- Bring her back to supper after the show.
- We will, if she's still speaking to us.
684
01:03:02,817 --> 01:03:04,614
A flower, mister?
685
01:03:04,785 --> 01:03:07,015
- Here you are.
- Would you like to buy it?
686
01:03:07,188 --> 01:03:08,212
Thank you.
687
01:03:08,389 --> 01:03:10,482
One thing in our favor
is Erlanger's on our side.
688
01:03:10,658 --> 01:03:14,185
- He's got influence with Miss Templeton.
- You take Erlanger and I'll tackle Templeton.
689
01:03:14,362 --> 01:03:18,025
You don't tackle a star like Miss Templeton,
you approach her and very tactfully.
690
01:03:18,199 --> 01:03:20,565
Well, if it's tact that does it, it's done.
691
01:03:22,603 --> 01:03:25,766
If you get me in to see Miss Templeton
I'll get you passes to my next show.
692
01:03:25,940 --> 01:03:28,408
Look, Dietz.
Looks naked without Goff.
693
01:03:28,576 --> 01:03:31,511
- Where's Miss Templeton's dressing room?
- Upstairs.
694
01:03:31,679 --> 01:03:35,308
Tell you what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna see
that Miss Templeton gets your flowers.
695
01:03:35,483 --> 01:03:37,849
My respects to Mrs. Dietz.
696
01:03:38,252 --> 01:03:40,652
Now that was a very sweet gesture.
697
01:03:40,821 --> 01:03:43,483
You've got to remember,
Fay, we're having a tough time...
698
01:03:43,658 --> 01:03:47,253
...lining up a vehicle for you.
Now, you should listen to this man.
699
01:03:47,428 --> 01:03:49,623
- He's just written a big hit.
- One hit.
700
01:03:49,797 --> 01:03:51,788
He may be a flash in the pan,
for all we know.
701
01:03:51,966 --> 01:03:53,831
And I heard about Little Johnny Jones.
702
01:03:54,001 --> 01:03:58,267
And I read the critics.
Of all the loud, vulgar, flag-waving...
703
01:03:58,439 --> 01:03:59,906
Well, it was a wow.
704
01:04:00,074 --> 01:04:03,635
I haven't laughed so much in years.
That fellow's got the golden touch.
705
01:04:03,811 --> 01:04:06,041
Maybe so, but not for me, Mr. Erlanger.
706
01:04:06,214 --> 01:04:08,842
What I want is a quiet,
dignified musical play.
707
01:04:09,016 --> 01:04:11,610
I want to perform in a theater,
not a boiler factory.
708
01:04:12,119 --> 01:04:13,916
Come in.
709
01:04:14,088 --> 01:04:16,522
- Hello, Harris. How are you, Cohan?
- Hello, Abe.
710
01:04:16,691 --> 01:04:20,058
- Everything's all right. She'll see you.
- That's fine.
711
01:04:20,228 --> 01:04:24,096
- Fay, may I present Mr. Harris?
- How do you do?
712
01:04:24,265 --> 01:04:26,699
And Fay, this is Mr. Cohan.
George M. Cohan.
713
01:04:26,867 --> 01:04:28,129
How do you do?
714
01:04:28,302 --> 01:04:31,567
We were just talking about you.
Miss Templeton's never seen your work.
715
01:04:31,739 --> 01:04:33,866
Been sick or in Europe?
716
01:04:36,911 --> 01:04:40,472
No. I've been right here
on this stage for two years.
717
01:04:40,648 --> 01:04:42,809
Oh, buried.
718
01:04:42,984 --> 01:04:44,781
Don't misunderstand me,
Miss Templeton.
719
01:04:44,952 --> 01:04:47,443
Well, I've never been
at a loss for words before...
720
01:04:47,622 --> 01:04:51,023
...but right now, standing
in your presence, why, I hardly...
721
01:04:51,192 --> 01:04:53,854
Well, I'd prefer to have
these flowers speak for me.
722
01:04:54,028 --> 01:04:57,555
- Why, Mr. Cohan, how sweet of you.
- It was nothing at all. It's something...
723
01:04:57,732 --> 01:05:00,257
Excuse me for breaking in on you,
Miss Templeton...
724
01:05:00,434 --> 01:05:03,096
...but I would like to present
my own flowers, my own way.
725
01:05:03,271 --> 01:05:04,431
Mr. Cohan, I thought...
726
01:05:04,605 --> 01:05:06,197
- Drunk.
- Is he?
727
01:05:06,374 --> 01:05:10,242
May I have the honor of supping with you
at Rex's tonight after the show...
728
01:05:10,411 --> 01:05:13,346
...and drinking champagne out of your...
Pardon me, slipper?
729
01:05:13,514 --> 01:05:17,610
Mr. Dietz, haven't you forgotten that
your junior partner does all the drinking?
730
01:05:17,785 --> 01:05:20,754
Yes, but on special occasions I take over.
731
01:05:20,921 --> 01:05:23,788
- May I put these in water for you?
- Well, really, l...
732
01:05:23,958 --> 01:05:25,585
I never saw Dietz drunk before.
733
01:05:26,627 --> 01:05:29,425
- Well, shall we get down to business?
- Lf you like, Abe.
734
01:05:29,597 --> 01:05:33,465
George, how would you like to do a play
with one of the biggest stars in America?
735
01:05:33,634 --> 01:05:35,659
What do you think I've been doing?
736
01:05:35,836 --> 01:05:38,566
You see what I mean, Fay?
Isn't he a card?
737
01:05:38,739 --> 01:05:40,263
Positively a riot.
738
01:05:40,441 --> 01:05:43,672
Yes, well.
George, what's your new story like?
739
01:05:43,844 --> 01:05:46,642
That is, I mean, can you write
a play without a flag?
740
01:05:46,814 --> 01:05:49,840
Miss Templeton, I can write a play
without anything except a pencil.
741
01:05:50,017 --> 01:05:53,350
- Laugh. Well, look...
- There's really no use discussing anything.
742
01:05:53,521 --> 01:05:57,480
I'm afraid I would never please the people
who revel in your antics and fireworks.
743
01:05:57,658 --> 01:05:59,353
You're being modest, Miss Templeton.
744
01:05:59,527 --> 01:06:02,894
If you'd let yourself go, you'd be
just as entertaining as the rest of us.
745
01:06:03,064 --> 01:06:04,531
You might even have fun yourself.
746
01:06:04,699 --> 01:06:06,963
Abe, isn't it about time
for the curtain to go up?
747
01:06:07,134 --> 01:06:10,035
If you haven't time now,
maybe you'll give us time after the show?
748
01:06:10,204 --> 01:06:12,672
I'm sorry, after the show
I'm going home to New Rochelle.
749
01:06:12,840 --> 01:06:16,469
It's only 45 minutes from here.
Thank heavens, it's like a thousand miles...
750
01:06:16,644 --> 01:06:19,374
...from all the noisy,
neurotic people in our profession.
751
01:06:19,547 --> 01:06:22,539
- Now, Miss Templeton, you can't...
- Fay, I wanted...
752
01:06:22,717 --> 01:06:26,380
That tact of yours, that wonderful tact.
753
01:06:29,790 --> 01:06:31,724
What are you thinking about?
754
01:06:44,205 --> 01:06:48,164
- Well, have you thought it over, Fay?
- I'm not interested in Mr. Cohan or his plays.
755
01:06:48,342 --> 01:06:51,971
Now, you're making a great mistake.
He's the most original thing on Broadway.
756
01:06:52,146 --> 01:06:56,515
You know why? Because he's the whole
darn country squeezed into one pair of pants.
757
01:06:56,684 --> 01:06:59,551
His writing, his songs,
why even his walk and his talk.
758
01:06:59,720 --> 01:07:02,211
They all touch something
way down here in people.
759
01:07:02,390 --> 01:07:05,553
Don't ask me why it is, but it happens
every time the curtain goes up.
760
01:07:05,726 --> 01:07:08,456
- It's pure magic.
- I'm bored by magic.
761
01:07:08,629 --> 01:07:12,622
I know his formula. A fresh young sprout
gets rich between 8:30 and 11:00 p.m.
762
01:07:12,800 --> 01:07:14,427
Yes, that's just it, Fay.
763
01:07:14,602 --> 01:07:17,093
George M. Cohan has
invented the success story...
764
01:07:17,271 --> 01:07:21,173
...and every American loves it because
it happens to be his own private dream.
765
01:07:21,342 --> 01:07:23,469
He's found the mainspring
in the antique clock.
766
01:07:23,644 --> 01:07:25,578
Ambition, pride, patriotism.
767
01:07:25,746 --> 01:07:28,044
That's why they call him
the Yankee Doodle Boy.
768
01:07:28,215 --> 01:07:31,207
Now, if you'll take a tip from me
you'll do just what I'm doing.
769
01:07:31,385 --> 01:07:34,047
You'll hitch your wagon
to his star right now.
770
01:07:34,221 --> 01:07:36,985
Abe, I've got to change for the second act.
771
01:07:38,259 --> 01:07:41,786
Fay, don't make up your mind too quickly.
Take a little time to think it over.
772
01:07:41,962 --> 01:07:43,452
Who's locked my door?
773
01:07:44,565 --> 01:07:47,056
- Who is it?
- What's going on here?
774
01:07:47,268 --> 01:07:49,236
He'll be through in a minute.
775
01:07:49,403 --> 01:07:52,566
Excuse me, Miss Templeton,
I didn't realize who you were. Come in.
776
01:07:52,740 --> 01:07:54,401
- May I?
- Well, of course.
777
01:07:55,176 --> 01:07:58,043
What does this mean?
Mind telling me why you're still here?
778
01:07:58,212 --> 01:08:00,646
- It's ready and waiting and dedicated to you.
- What?
779
01:08:00,815 --> 01:08:03,978
When you made that speech you said
you lived 45 minutes from Broadway.
780
01:08:04,151 --> 01:08:07,086
That struck me as a perfect title
for a show and a song.
781
01:08:07,254 --> 01:08:09,586
During the first act
you've written this new song?
782
01:08:09,757 --> 01:08:13,784
- Strange surroundings, so it took longer.
- He's worked so hard. At least hear him.
783
01:08:13,961 --> 01:08:17,226
- It'll only take a minute, won't it?
- Depends on the encores.
784
01:08:17,398 --> 01:08:20,231
Well, you certainly are persistent.
All right, go ahead.
785
01:08:21,202 --> 01:08:23,432
- Mind if I change?
- Thank you, Miss Templeton.
786
01:08:23,604 --> 01:08:26,198
Thank you very, very much.
Go ahead, George, play it.
787
01:08:59,874 --> 01:09:02,934
That's good. It's rather different.
788
01:09:03,110 --> 01:09:05,772
You like it, Miss Templeton, do you?
Excuse me!
789
01:09:05,946 --> 01:09:07,277
That's only a chorus number.
790
01:09:07,448 --> 01:09:10,212
He's got one number called "Mary"
that's just perfect for you.
791
01:09:10,384 --> 01:09:12,181
- She doesn't sing that.
- She is going to!
792
01:09:12,353 --> 01:09:15,845
Shut up. Wait till you hear this,
it's the best thing he's ever done.
793
01:09:16,290 --> 01:09:18,383
"Mary"?
794
01:09:18,559 --> 01:09:20,254
This looks very interesting.
795
01:09:20,427 --> 01:09:23,919
- You wouldn't like it.
- Lf it's like "45 Minutes From Broadway"...
796
01:09:24,098 --> 01:09:26,066
- Well, it isn't, and besides...
- George!
797
01:09:26,233 --> 01:09:28,394
- Don't spoil everything.
- She can't have that.
798
01:09:28,569 --> 01:09:31,037
- You gotta let her have it.
- She's gonna sing it!
799
01:09:31,205 --> 01:09:32,968
- She can't sing it!
- She will sing it.
800
01:09:33,140 --> 01:09:36,940
With Abe's money and your brains
we'll be able to make a million.
801
01:10:28,195 --> 01:10:29,856
Come in.
802
01:10:30,831 --> 01:10:32,924
A little early for Christmas, isn't it?
803
01:10:33,100 --> 01:10:36,501
Well, I was just passing the flowers
and they threw in the candy.
804
01:10:36,670 --> 01:10:38,695
George, I'm sure our song will live forever.
805
01:10:38,872 --> 01:10:42,433
I've been playing it since you left
and the neighbors haven't complained once.
806
01:10:42,610 --> 01:10:44,134
What happened with Fay Templeton?
807
01:10:44,311 --> 01:10:47,576
Oh, she's dying to play the part,
but I haven't made up my mind yet.
808
01:10:47,748 --> 01:10:49,272
- Ham or bacon?
- Bacon.
809
01:10:49,450 --> 01:10:51,008
Good, ham makes me self-conscious.
810
01:10:51,185 --> 01:10:53,745
You're hesitating about having
Fay Templeton in your show?
811
01:10:53,921 --> 01:10:56,583
Big stars are always temperamental
and hard to get along with.
812
01:10:56,757 --> 01:10:59,726
Asking impossible terms and conditions.
I'll take my coffee black.
813
01:10:59,893 --> 01:11:02,657
- I think you ought to give in to her.
- But, darling.
814
01:11:02,830 --> 01:11:06,288
- No matter what she asks?
- No matter what she asks.
815
01:11:06,467 --> 01:11:08,332
Why are you so concerned
with Fay Templeton?
816
01:11:08,502 --> 01:11:10,766
I don't care for her,
I'm looking out for you.
817
01:11:10,971 --> 01:11:15,408
Think what it means for you
to have a star like Templeton in your show.
818
01:11:15,576 --> 01:11:19,342
Always worried about me, aren't you?
Ever think about yourself?
819
01:11:19,513 --> 01:11:23,813
Not much lately. Haven't had time.
The minute I saw you without your beard...
820
01:11:23,984 --> 01:11:26,919
...I knew here was a little boy
who needed a lot of looking after.
821
01:11:27,087 --> 01:11:29,180
So I gave myself the job.
822
01:11:29,356 --> 01:11:32,917
There are a lot of singers, you know,
but very few really good looker-afters.
823
01:11:34,962 --> 01:11:39,126
Darling, how would you like
a lifetime job of looking after?
824
01:11:39,299 --> 01:11:43,133
Leading lady, run of the play. Maybe a few
heartaches after the curtain goes up...
825
01:11:43,303 --> 01:11:45,863
...but I can guarantee you some laughs.
826
01:11:46,040 --> 01:11:50,875
- How does it sound?
- I think I might like it, Mr. Cohan.
827
01:11:51,045 --> 01:11:53,513
Could I see some of the script?
828
01:11:59,653 --> 01:12:02,053
Not bad for a first reading.
829
01:12:04,458 --> 01:12:06,119
The coffee's boiling over.
830
01:12:07,127 --> 01:12:10,688
- Darling, something I forgot to tell you.
- Yes, dear?
831
01:12:10,864 --> 01:12:14,095
I gave your song to Fay Templeton tonight.
832
01:12:15,269 --> 01:12:17,635
Darling, did you hear me?
833
01:12:17,805 --> 01:12:22,833
- I gave your song to Fay Templeton tonight.
- Yes, I know.
834
01:12:23,010 --> 01:12:26,343
I knew you did, dear, when you
brought the candy and flowers.
835
01:14:04,945 --> 01:14:08,847
It's a wonderful song, George.
Best you've ever done. It'll live for years.
836
01:14:09,016 --> 01:14:12,474
Thanks, Sam, but I still think
Mary should have sung it.
837
01:14:12,653 --> 01:14:17,386
Oh, that's all right.
Fay has the song, but I have the author.
838
01:17:34,087 --> 01:17:36,681
Look at Cohan.
He's got them lined up at the box office.
839
01:17:36,857 --> 01:17:40,088
I've never seen the guy and his name
all over the place, look at that.
840
01:17:40,260 --> 01:17:42,854
"Cohan and Harris present
George Washington Jr.
841
01:17:43,030 --> 01:17:46,295
Starring the author and composer
George M. Cohan."
842
01:17:46,466 --> 01:17:48,957
I wonder what the M is for?
Oh, modesty.
843
01:17:49,136 --> 01:17:50,433
- Hello, Mr. Foy.
- How are you?
844
01:17:50,604 --> 01:17:52,572
- Enjoyed your show last night.
- Thank you.
845
01:17:52,739 --> 01:17:56,607
- You always appear in the kind of stuff I like.
- Thank you. That's very nice of you.
846
01:17:56,777 --> 01:17:58,711
"George M. Cohan and his royal family.
847
01:17:58,879 --> 01:18:04,249
Books and lyrics, music and directed by
George M. Cohan. Printed by Sam Divensky."
848
01:18:04,418 --> 01:18:06,318
That must be Cohan's alias.
849
01:18:06,486 --> 01:18:08,784
Certainly gave himself good billing,
this George M. Cohan.
850
01:18:08,955 --> 01:18:11,423
You don't have to memorize it,
they're all over town.
851
01:18:11,591 --> 01:18:15,994
I'd like to forget it. Hey, fella,
you connected with this turkey?
852
01:18:16,163 --> 01:18:20,156
- You think it's a turkey? I hear it's good.
- That's a malicious rumor to gyp the public.
853
01:18:20,333 --> 01:18:21,960
Who is this Cohan? Where is he from?
854
01:18:22,135 --> 01:18:24,228
- Is he an upstart?
- He's been through the mill.
855
01:18:24,404 --> 01:18:27,862
Played everything: Bigtime vaudeville,
rep shows, even followed dog acts.
856
01:18:28,041 --> 01:18:31,738
Must have looked like an encore.
Say, is he as good as Foy?
857
01:18:31,912 --> 01:18:34,972
- Who?
- Foy, Foy. Eddie Foy.
858
01:18:35,482 --> 01:18:38,679
- Oh, pardon me.
- Pardon me, I didn't quite catch the name.
859
01:18:38,852 --> 01:18:41,912
- Would you mind spraying it again?
- Eddie Foy.
860
01:18:42,089 --> 01:18:44,853
The star with the big show down the street
with a chorus of 70.
861
01:18:45,025 --> 01:18:47,721
Why, I thought they looked
a little younger than that.
862
01:18:47,894 --> 01:18:50,328
I hear now that Cohan's in town,
Foy's gonna retire.
863
01:18:50,497 --> 01:18:52,089
Foy won't retire till he's 90.
864
01:18:52,265 --> 01:18:54,733
Will it take him that long
to discover he has no talent?
865
01:18:54,901 --> 01:18:57,665
I hear when he tries to sing
the orchestra puts up umbrellas.
866
01:18:57,838 --> 01:19:01,604
Tries to sing? Why, he's a genius.
He keeps his audience glued to the seats.
867
01:19:01,775 --> 01:19:04,767
That's one way to keep them in the theater.
Cohan does it with talent.
868
01:19:04,945 --> 01:19:08,005
He produces his own plays,
writes his own books, lyrics and music...
869
01:19:08,181 --> 01:19:12,777
...plays the leads, and is a great dancer.
- He dances, eh? When does he practice?
870
01:19:12,953 --> 01:19:16,354
When you write your own plays you don't
have to practice. Cohan's done all right.
871
01:19:16,523 --> 01:19:20,084
He's given the world Yankee Doodle Dandy.
What's Foy done for his country?
872
01:19:20,827 --> 01:19:22,317
He gave them seven kids.
873
01:19:22,496 --> 01:19:23,963
- Does he dance?
- One of the best.
874
01:19:24,131 --> 01:19:26,497
When does he get time to practice?
875
01:19:26,666 --> 01:19:29,658
Say, listen, young fella,
my name's Eddie Foy.
876
01:19:29,836 --> 01:19:31,997
I know it. I'm George M. Cohan.
877
01:19:32,706 --> 01:19:34,640
Oh, so you're Cohan?
878
01:19:34,808 --> 01:19:38,801
Well, if I said anything accidental
to make you mad, I'm darn glad I did.
879
01:19:38,979 --> 01:19:42,380
I don't blame you. I'd feel the same way
if I were up against Cohan.
880
01:19:42,549 --> 01:19:44,380
- What do you like to drink?
- Oh, Moxie.
881
01:19:44,551 --> 01:19:45,779
I can supply it.
882
01:19:45,952 --> 01:19:49,911
The attraction inside is bigger than I am.
Come and see it when your show closes.
883
01:21:39,165 --> 01:21:42,157
We took the red from the flame of dawn.
884
01:21:42,335 --> 01:21:44,098
The dawn of a new nation.
885
01:21:44,271 --> 01:21:48,401
And the white was the white
of the snow at Valley Forge.
886
01:21:48,575 --> 01:21:52,511
The blue was the blue of the free, open sky.
887
01:21:52,679 --> 01:21:56,479
And the stars were
the 13 sisters by the sea...
888
01:21:56,650 --> 01:22:00,552
...who built their home
and called it "Liberty."
889
01:22:02,155 --> 01:22:03,315
Right!
890
01:22:04,958 --> 01:22:06,482
Right again!
891
01:22:11,197 --> 01:22:12,664
That's the spirit!
892
01:22:52,505 --> 01:22:57,340
And that government of the people...
893
01:22:57,610 --> 01:23:03,071
... by the people,
for the people shall not perish...
894
01:23:04,384 --> 01:23:06,511
... from the earth.
895
01:26:03,129 --> 01:26:04,960
May I have your autograph, Mr. Cohan?
896
01:26:05,131 --> 01:26:08,191
To what do you attribute
your continued success, Mr. Cohan?
897
01:26:08,368 --> 01:26:11,337
Oh, I'm an ordinary guy who knows
what ordinary guys like to see.
898
01:26:17,510 --> 01:26:20,206
Front row center, the greatest
show on earth, the people.
899
01:26:20,380 --> 01:26:22,280
To the people. God bless them.
900
01:26:28,421 --> 01:26:31,549
Here, chick, chick, chick, chick!
901
01:26:32,325 --> 01:26:35,488
Oh, it's such fun, Mother,
having cows and chickens.
902
01:26:35,662 --> 01:26:37,357
Everything's running so smoothly.
903
01:26:37,530 --> 01:26:39,521
It's always been a dream of ours, Mary.
904
01:26:39,699 --> 01:26:43,191
We kept hoping for 20 years
it might come true someday.
905
01:26:43,369 --> 01:26:46,634
Imagine knowing how to feed chickens,
or how much to feed them.
906
01:26:46,806 --> 01:26:48,706
And you're a farmer only three weeks.
907
01:26:48,875 --> 01:26:51,503
Jerry and I've seen
a lot of chickens in train windows...
908
01:26:51,678 --> 01:26:53,578
...and we always wanted some of our own.
909
01:26:53,746 --> 01:26:56,772
You know, watch them hatch
and feed them, and eat them.
910
01:26:56,950 --> 01:26:59,544
If we only could. They're so pretty.
911
01:27:02,088 --> 01:27:03,612
- Georgie?
- Yeah?
912
01:27:03,790 --> 01:27:07,123
- What'd you get Dad for his birthday?
- Nothing much, just a smoking jacket.
913
01:27:07,293 --> 01:27:11,229
- Is it bright? Will he like it?
- It's silk, and very red, and very yellow.
914
01:27:11,598 --> 01:27:16,626
- That'll do it. Look what I got him, Georgie.
- Now, there's a present.
915
01:27:16,803 --> 01:27:19,328
- That must have set you back.
- Dad needed a new watch.
916
01:27:19,505 --> 01:27:22,406
His old one's so loud,
you can hear it right through his coat.
917
01:27:25,244 --> 01:27:27,940
My future husband helped me pick it out.
918
01:27:30,316 --> 01:27:32,079
Your future what?
919
01:27:32,418 --> 01:27:36,980
Husband. We're getting married
as soon as Fred's road tour is over.
920
01:27:54,774 --> 01:27:57,004
So Little Josie's gonna get married, huh?
921
01:27:57,744 --> 01:27:59,769
It doesn't seem that long ago...
922
01:28:02,248 --> 01:28:07,151
- What happens to The Four Cohans?
- Oh, just a simple case of subtraction.
923
01:28:07,320 --> 01:28:09,788
You know, one from four leaves three.
924
01:28:10,456 --> 01:28:12,048
Three Cohans.
925
01:28:12,959 --> 01:28:14,620
That's only arithmetic.
926
01:28:14,794 --> 01:28:17,922
One Cohan from Four Cohans
leaves nothing.
927
01:28:18,431 --> 01:28:20,365
Mom and Pop know?
928
01:28:22,502 --> 01:28:25,733
Mom's been working on
the wedding dress for weeks.
929
01:28:33,179 --> 01:28:35,841
What are you thinking about, Georgie?
930
01:28:40,353 --> 01:28:44,084
I'm going to write you the most
terrific wedding march ever put on paper.
931
01:28:44,257 --> 01:28:46,487
It'll pack the pews.
932
01:28:49,262 --> 01:28:53,528
Dad, tell Josie just because she's getting
married that's no reason to break up the act.
933
01:28:53,700 --> 01:28:56,225
We're just as much an institution
as marriage is.
934
01:28:56,436 --> 01:28:58,461
No one knows that any better than I do...
935
01:28:58,638 --> 01:29:01,129
...but we want to settle down
and raise a family.
936
01:29:01,307 --> 01:29:04,743
What's the matter, can't he raise a family
and be a stage manager too?
937
01:29:04,911 --> 01:29:06,003
Oh, George.
938
01:29:06,179 --> 01:29:10,275
George, I'm afraid your mother and I are
breaking up the act before Josie is.
939
01:29:15,722 --> 01:29:18,384
You hear that?
All three of them, walking out on me.
940
01:29:18,558 --> 01:29:22,688
- Well, it's been a 40-year run, remember.
- We're giving our two weeks' notice, George.
941
01:29:22,862 --> 01:29:26,059
All we'd like to do now is spend
the rest of our days here on this farm.
942
01:29:26,232 --> 01:29:29,861
You can't do that. You can't put an actor
out in the grass, fresh air kills him.
943
01:29:30,036 --> 01:29:32,061
We've gained nearly 10 pounds apiece.
944
01:29:32,238 --> 01:29:34,604
You can work it off,
the show's ready for rehearsal.
945
01:29:34,774 --> 01:29:38,835
- They're grand parts in it for both of you.
- No, George, I...
946
01:29:39,011 --> 01:29:40,808
We've had good times together.
947
01:29:40,980 --> 01:29:44,575
Well, new shows need new faces
and new feet to go with you.
948
01:29:44,751 --> 01:29:48,118
From now on, it's just you alone, son.
949
01:29:50,556 --> 01:29:52,547
- Well, what's this?
- A surprise, Dad.
950
01:29:52,725 --> 01:29:55,751
- Happy birthday!
- Happy birthday, Mr. Cohan!
951
01:29:57,163 --> 01:29:59,427
- Here we are.
- Which one do you want to open first?
952
01:29:59,599 --> 01:30:00,861
- Make your wish.
- I have.
953
01:30:01,033 --> 01:30:02,295
Good one, Dad.
954
01:30:03,903 --> 01:30:06,997
- Which should I open first?
- How about opening this one?
955
01:30:07,173 --> 01:30:08,868
I'll open this one, you open that one.
956
01:30:09,041 --> 01:30:12,340
- This will match your new suit.
- I think someone gave me that last year.
957
01:30:12,512 --> 01:30:14,002
- It looks fine.
- It looks grand.
958
01:30:14,180 --> 01:30:18,014
It's made from that old backdrop you
like so well. Fireproofed and everything.
959
01:30:18,184 --> 01:30:21,585
- Oh, darling, that's a lovely watch.
- I'm so glad you like it, Dad.
960
01:30:21,754 --> 01:30:26,384
- This is better than being on next to closing.
- The only trouble is it's three minutes fast.
961
01:30:26,559 --> 01:30:29,460
Dad, press the little button on the side
and see what happens.
962
01:30:33,065 --> 01:30:35,533
It plays "One on One"
and segues into "Dixie."
963
01:30:35,701 --> 01:30:40,229
- Here's more ties that you won't like, Jerry.
- Well, I'll have to open up a store.
964
01:30:41,507 --> 01:30:44,670
- Here's a letter from George.
- Don't read it now. That's between us.
965
01:30:44,844 --> 01:30:47,745
You haven't written me in 20 years.
I'll open it now and read it.
966
01:30:47,914 --> 01:30:51,543
George, this isn't your party.
Now sit down and let him read his letter.
967
01:30:51,717 --> 01:30:53,309
- Sit down.
- Come on, Dad.
968
01:30:53,486 --> 01:30:57,013
Probably only a bill for his jacket anyway.
969
01:30:59,392 --> 01:31:03,556
"Dear Dad, this is your 62nd birthday,
and God bless you.
970
01:31:03,729 --> 01:31:07,756
Maybe I've never told you before,
but no son ever had a better dad...
971
01:31:07,934 --> 01:31:09,196
...or one to be prouder of.
972
01:31:10,236 --> 01:31:14,400
You and Mother have always given me
more love and understanding...
973
01:31:14,574 --> 01:31:16,235
...than I ever deserved.
974
01:31:16,409 --> 01:31:21,142
And all the luck I've had is due
to the things you two have taught me.
975
01:31:21,314 --> 01:31:24,715
Nothing I can do could
ever repay the debt...
976
01:31:27,787 --> 01:31:31,416
...but here's a little present
for you and Mother.
977
01:31:31,591 --> 01:31:35,652
From this day on,
you and I are partners...
978
01:31:35,828 --> 01:31:40,993
...in every theater and
theatrical property I possess.
979
01:31:41,167 --> 01:31:42,998
Half and equal.
980
01:31:43,769 --> 01:31:48,103
The Cohan Theater,
the Astor, the Gaiety...
981
01:31:48,274 --> 01:31:50,208
...and the Grand Opera House in Chicago.
982
01:31:52,078 --> 01:31:55,047
And all my plays and songs,
as long as they...
983
01:31:56,048 --> 01:31:58,141
...or you and I, live."
984
01:32:02,188 --> 01:32:04,918
These are not my reading glasses.
985
01:32:05,091 --> 01:32:08,424
Why didn't somebody give me
some reading glasses for my birthday?
986
01:32:09,262 --> 01:32:10,957
"Wish you all my love.
987
01:32:12,265 --> 01:32:14,995
Your son and partner,
George."
988
01:32:18,170 --> 01:32:21,537
Well, George, on behalf
of your mother and myself, l...
989
01:32:23,910 --> 01:32:26,504
There she goes, stealing the scene again.
990
01:32:31,584 --> 01:32:35,042
One success followed another.
But there was one challenge I hadn't met.
991
01:32:35,221 --> 01:32:38,156
Critics said musicals and cheap
comedies were all I could write.
992
01:32:38,324 --> 01:32:40,690
I'd wave a flag, they said.
Nothing else.
993
01:32:40,860 --> 01:32:44,626
So I wrote a legitimate drama.
Very deep and very significant.
994
01:32:44,797 --> 01:32:48,096
No music, no gags, no flag-waving.
995
01:32:48,267 --> 01:32:52,601
I called it Popularity.
The title showed how hard I was hoping.
996
01:32:53,139 --> 01:32:57,439
I couldn't attend the opening because I was
appearing in The Yankee Prince.
997
01:33:00,379 --> 01:33:02,677
- Open it up.
- Keep it closed, Buck.
998
01:33:02,848 --> 01:33:05,339
Cohan, you're surely not going
to your dressing room now.
999
01:33:05,518 --> 01:33:08,783
- You're good for another five curtain calls.
- That's enough for tonight.
1000
01:33:08,955 --> 01:33:11,981
- Mr. Cohan, are you sure you're feeling well?
- I feel all right.
1001
01:33:12,158 --> 01:33:15,355
- Any news on Popularity?
- No, but they should be ringing down now.
1002
01:33:15,528 --> 01:33:17,257
You'd think Sam would let me know.
1003
01:33:17,430 --> 01:33:20,490
Well, it's a good sign. They probably
couldn't tear themselves away.
1004
01:33:21,968 --> 01:33:23,560
- What time is it?
- 7:30, sir.
1005
01:33:23,736 --> 01:33:25,135
- That clock right?
- Yes, sir.
1006
01:33:25,304 --> 01:33:28,068
Wonder what's keeping them.
They ought to be here by now.
1007
01:33:28,240 --> 01:33:29,537
Maybe something's wrong.
1008
01:33:29,709 --> 01:33:31,506
Got the reports on the minstrel show.
1009
01:33:31,677 --> 01:33:34,145
- What'd we lose this week?
- Oh, 10,000, more or less.
1010
01:33:34,313 --> 01:33:37,805
- What's the total loss so far?
- A few dollars under 200,000.
1011
01:33:37,984 --> 01:33:41,044
That include the cost of the red ink?
Popularity better be a hit.
1012
01:33:41,220 --> 01:33:44,781
A lot of dough sunk into that too.
Eddie, find out what's keeping them.
1013
01:33:44,957 --> 01:33:48,324
- What did the papers say about the show?
- Here they are. Rave notices again.
1014
01:33:49,528 --> 01:33:51,155
Rave notices. That's bad.
1015
01:33:51,330 --> 01:33:53,821
The better notices you get,
the more it costs you.
1016
01:33:54,000 --> 01:33:55,331
All except the last act.
1017
01:33:55,501 --> 01:33:59,562
- Alexson suggests a new finish.
- Oh, I see, a new finish.
1018
01:33:59,739 --> 01:34:01,331
How about Saturday night?
1019
01:34:01,507 --> 01:34:03,532
- Close it?
- Close it.
1020
01:34:03,709 --> 01:34:05,438
Saturday night.
1021
01:34:05,611 --> 01:34:07,806
- Give the company two weeks' salary.
- All right.
1022
01:34:07,980 --> 01:34:10,278
- Well, good evening.
- Good evening.
1023
01:34:10,449 --> 01:34:13,475
- Hello, dear.
- Hello, Mom. Darling.
1024
01:34:13,652 --> 01:34:15,779
Well, Dad, I was worried about you.
1025
01:34:15,955 --> 01:34:18,446
Sit down, sweets, right there.
You sit down.
1026
01:34:18,624 --> 01:34:20,216
That theater's awfully cold, George.
1027
01:34:20,393 --> 01:34:22,520
- Better have more heat put in.
- Take care of that.
1028
01:34:22,695 --> 01:34:24,356
Remember that skating act from Camden?
1029
01:34:24,530 --> 01:34:26,657
They were there.
I wonder where they got the money.
1030
01:34:26,832 --> 01:34:28,766
Fagan, Feeny and Riley.
I remember them well.
1031
01:34:28,934 --> 01:34:30,561
Well, come on. Tell me.
How'd it go?
1032
01:34:30,736 --> 01:34:33,534
The audience loved it.
Every minute of it.
1033
01:34:34,040 --> 01:34:36,099
The sets were beautiful, George.
1034
01:34:41,680 --> 01:34:44,740
- Why so quiet, Sam?
- The toughest house I've ever seen.
1035
01:34:44,917 --> 01:34:47,511
The critics walked out
at the end of the second act.
1036
01:34:52,958 --> 01:34:55,654
Come on, Dad. Come on.
Let's have it.
1037
01:34:55,828 --> 01:34:58,388
Well, there's no use
beating around the bush.
1038
01:34:58,564 --> 01:35:00,293
Pretty bad, George.
1039
01:35:00,466 --> 01:35:02,491
Could've been a lot better.
1040
01:35:02,668 --> 01:35:06,229
All right, you write a bad play.
The only thing to do is forget about it.
1041
01:35:06,405 --> 01:35:08,236
Everybody's entitled to one failure.
1042
01:35:08,641 --> 01:35:11,769
Let's go to Delmonico's, have the party.
Just as if the show was a hit.
1043
01:35:11,944 --> 01:35:15,209
You take the girls on over there,
and I'll see you in about a half-hour.
1044
01:35:15,381 --> 01:35:17,906
I got some things
I want to talk over with Sam.
1045
01:35:24,623 --> 01:35:28,525
Those critics have been after me for years.
They'll gang up on me and do a good job.
1046
01:35:28,694 --> 01:35:32,221
But I'll beat them to it. I'll take an ad
in every paper alongside their reviews...
1047
01:35:32,398 --> 01:35:37,529
...telling the public we got the greatest show
in town, sold out for 10 weeks in advance.
1048
01:35:37,703 --> 01:35:39,534
It'll be my word against theirs.
1049
01:35:39,705 --> 01:35:41,502
- Georgie, you can't do that.
- Why not?
1050
01:35:41,674 --> 01:35:46,043
You got too big a reputation.
Listen, you can't disappoint the public.
1051
01:35:46,212 --> 01:35:48,772
We stuck our necks out,
we got clipped.
1052
01:35:49,381 --> 01:35:50,746
Georgie.
1053
01:35:51,650 --> 01:35:53,481
You can't do this.
You'll always regret it.
1054
01:35:53,652 --> 01:35:56,450
- Sit down and take this.
- We'll be sorry.
1055
01:35:56,622 --> 01:35:58,749
- To the theatergoing public.
- George...
1056
01:35:58,924 --> 01:36:01,119
To the theatergoing public.
1057
01:36:01,293 --> 01:36:03,921
I wrote a play called Popularity.
1058
01:36:04,096 --> 01:36:06,587
Mr. Harris and I produced that play.
1059
01:36:06,765 --> 01:36:10,394
In the opinion of people we respect,
it is a bad play.
1060
01:36:10,569 --> 01:36:15,404
In this, we heartily concur.
It is a very bad play.
1061
01:36:15,574 --> 01:36:17,565
I do humbly apologize and ask forgiveness...
1062
01:36:17,743 --> 01:36:20,871
...for having presented anything
of which you couldn't possibly approve.
1063
01:36:21,046 --> 01:36:23,014
There will be five more performances.
1064
01:36:23,182 --> 01:36:24,740
Please miss them.
1065
01:36:24,917 --> 01:36:26,384
Signed...
1066
01:36:27,319 --> 01:36:28,718
Happy?
1067
01:36:30,389 --> 01:36:31,287
It's a wonderful second-act curtain.
1068
01:36:32,591 --> 01:36:34,821
Send copies of this
to all the New York papers.
1069
01:36:34,994 --> 01:36:39,624
Extra! Lusitania torpedoed
by German sub! Extra!
1070
01:36:56,982 --> 01:36:58,142
This is it, George.
1071
01:36:58,350 --> 01:37:01,114
And we were worried about
the success or failure of a show.
1072
01:37:01,287 --> 01:37:04,017
Now we've really got
something to worry about.
1073
01:37:13,732 --> 01:37:15,290
Seems it always happens.
1074
01:37:15,467 --> 01:37:18,561
Whenever we get too high-hat,
too sophisticated for flag-waving...
1075
01:37:18,737 --> 01:37:22,366
... some thug nation decides we're
a pushover, all ready to be blackjacked.
1076
01:37:22,541 --> 01:37:26,739
And before long we're looking up anxiously
to be sure the flag's still waving over us.
1077
01:37:38,290 --> 01:37:39,723
Left foot.
1078
01:37:39,892 --> 01:37:41,223
Right foot.
1079
01:37:41,393 --> 01:37:43,293
On your toes.
1080
01:37:44,163 --> 01:37:45,562
I used to be a model.
1081
01:37:45,731 --> 01:37:47,631
You'll look awful pretty peeling potatoes.
1082
01:37:47,800 --> 01:37:50,598
- On your way, wise guy.
- Next.
1083
01:37:51,237 --> 01:37:52,966
Left foot.
Right foot.
1084
01:37:53,138 --> 01:37:56,596
Take this paper and report
to Sgt. Cooper for your examination.
1085
01:37:56,775 --> 01:37:58,265
Next. Name, please.
1086
01:37:58,444 --> 01:38:01,641
Oh. George M. Cohan.
1087
01:38:01,814 --> 01:38:05,580
Occupation:
Actor, author, composer and producer.
1088
01:38:05,751 --> 01:38:08,117
Address:
Devonshire Hotel.
1089
01:38:08,287 --> 01:38:11,518
- How do you know so much about me?
- Don't you recognize me, Mr. Cohan?
1090
01:38:11,690 --> 01:38:13,282
I was a clerk at the Friars Club.
1091
01:38:14,693 --> 01:38:17,958
- Age: 39.
- Doesn't even give me a chance to lie.
1092
01:38:18,430 --> 01:38:22,491
Thirty-nine? I'm sorry, Mr. Cohan.
You're overage. Thirty-one's the limit now.
1093
01:38:22,668 --> 01:38:25,933
What's 8 or 9 years? The Germans
won't ask me for a birth certificate.
1094
01:38:26,105 --> 01:38:29,871
Oh, I know how you feel, Mr. Cohan.
But you've got to be young and tough.
1095
01:38:30,209 --> 01:38:33,007
It's no picnic. All those hardships,
the mental strain...
1096
01:38:33,178 --> 01:38:34,839
...trenches,
the fighting, the marching.
1097
01:38:35,014 --> 01:38:36,777
- The ma'am-selles.
- I hope.
1098
01:38:36,949 --> 01:38:39,315
No, you'll never be able to stand it.
1099
01:38:39,485 --> 01:38:42,716
Hardships and physical strain?
You don't know what you're talking about.
1100
01:38:42,888 --> 01:38:45,652
This war's a coffee klatch compared
to a musical show.
1101
01:38:45,824 --> 01:38:49,726
I'd like to see one of you do what I do in a
performance and be on your feet at the end.
1102
01:38:49,895 --> 01:38:51,522
I'll give you an idea of what I mean.
1103
01:39:06,745 --> 01:39:09,213
Thank you very much
for your entertainment, Mr. Cohan.
1104
01:39:09,381 --> 01:39:12,043
But I'm afraid we have more need
of you here than over there.
1105
01:39:12,217 --> 01:39:15,209
But that'll make the war last a year longer.
1106
01:39:15,387 --> 01:39:17,855
- Goodbye, Mr. Cohan.
- Thank you, major. Thank you.
1107
01:41:28,787 --> 01:41:31,483
Pick it up, soldier.
Keep singing, Nora.
1108
01:41:31,657 --> 01:41:34,319
- Where are the lights?
- I suppose the generator's gone again.
1109
01:41:34,860 --> 01:41:38,318
Hit your lights and play them on the stage
so we can keep going, will you?
1110
01:41:38,497 --> 01:41:42,831
Boys, hit your lights and keep them on
the singer until the others come up, will you?
1111
01:42:06,124 --> 01:42:07,887
Everybody sing!
1112
01:43:14,927 --> 01:43:18,522
We'd won the world war.
Manhattan went wild with postwar hysteria.
1113
01:43:18,697 --> 01:43:20,562
But I spiked my shows with prewar stuff.
1114
01:43:20,732 --> 01:43:23,792
The sentiment and humor an older
America had aged in the wood.
1115
01:44:42,781 --> 01:44:45,477
Still, it was lonely on the main stem.
1116
01:44:45,651 --> 01:44:47,448
Mother and Josie were gone.
1117
01:44:47,619 --> 01:44:50,349
Dad was by himself on the farm
and had grown very old.
1118
01:44:50,522 --> 01:44:53,514
Every night I went to the theater,
I expected a phone call.
1119
01:44:53,692 --> 01:44:56,126
Well, finally, it came.
1120
01:45:05,137 --> 01:45:07,401
You'd better give him two more cc's.
1121
01:45:07,572 --> 01:45:10,166
May as well try to make him
as comfortable as possible.
1122
01:45:10,342 --> 01:45:12,071
Yes, doctor.
1123
01:45:12,778 --> 01:45:15,747
If you have to get
back to town, Dr. Llewellyn...
1124
01:45:15,914 --> 01:45:20,146
...I'll be here all night.
- It's all right. I'll wait till George gets here.
1125
01:45:20,686 --> 01:45:25,350
- Cigarette, doctor?
- Yes, I will. Thanks.
1126
01:45:25,524 --> 01:45:30,928
I remember I was a kid in medical college in
Baltimore when I first saw The Four Cohans.
1127
01:45:31,096 --> 01:45:32,825
They were a great act.
1128
01:45:33,131 --> 01:45:34,758
Yes, they were.
1129
01:45:37,803 --> 01:45:42,172
I always thought George M.'s sister
was the loveliest dancer I'd ever seen.
1130
01:45:42,340 --> 01:45:46,106
I can't help thinking
a theatrical era is dying in there.
1131
01:45:46,478 --> 01:45:49,675
His sister and his mother gone
and now the old man.
1132
01:45:49,848 --> 01:45:52,874
In some ways, I think he was
the best performer of the lot.
1133
01:45:53,051 --> 01:45:55,884
Well, I'd settle for his age.
1134
01:45:56,054 --> 01:45:58,989
There never was anything dull
about his life, either.
1135
01:45:59,157 --> 01:46:02,991
And he's lived to see his son
an American institution.
1136
01:46:03,528 --> 01:46:04,961
I'd settle for that too.
1137
01:46:11,069 --> 01:46:12,866
- Hello, doc.
- Hello, Mr. Cohan.
1138
01:46:13,038 --> 01:46:15,598
- How is he?
- Resting quietly.
1139
01:46:18,610 --> 01:46:20,840
I think you'd better go in alone.
1140
01:46:25,917 --> 01:46:29,648
We can't... We can't do that.
Wait till George gets here.
1141
01:46:29,821 --> 01:46:33,154
- Where's George?
- Here I am, Dad. Here I am.
1142
01:46:33,325 --> 01:46:36,954
Oh, that's good.
I'm glad you came.
1143
01:46:37,129 --> 01:46:39,893
The booking office has
been calling up all day...
1144
01:46:40,065 --> 01:46:42,659
...and they want us to play Des Moines...
1145
01:46:42,834 --> 01:46:46,133
No, don't worry about that.
We're not going to. I've canceled it.
1146
01:46:46,338 --> 01:46:48,636
We're gonna pick it up on the way back.
1147
01:46:49,908 --> 01:46:53,810
- How'd it go tonight?
- Oh, fine. Fine. Yeah.
1148
01:46:53,979 --> 01:46:57,506
It's not every kid that gets
a chance to play Peck's Bad Boy.
1149
01:46:57,682 --> 01:46:59,206
That's right.
1150
01:46:59,384 --> 01:47:03,377
Were you...? Were you nervous?
Did you remember your lines?
1151
01:47:03,555 --> 01:47:07,514
Oh, sure. Every one.
I can lick any kid in town.
1152
01:47:09,561 --> 01:47:13,361
Don't you upstage your mother,
or I'll whale the tar out of you.
1153
01:47:13,532 --> 01:47:15,966
Oh, don't worry, Dad.
I'll never do that.
1154
01:47:16,134 --> 01:47:18,432
I'll play the show
with one foot in the trough.
1155
01:47:18,870 --> 01:47:23,466
No, no. We'll be billed as The Four Cohans.
You're not going to break up the act.
1156
01:47:23,708 --> 01:47:27,804
Don't worry, Dad. They never will.
We won't let them. Won't let them.
1157
01:47:29,047 --> 01:47:32,915
- How many curtain calls did you take?
- Six. Six curtains.
1158
01:47:33,218 --> 01:47:36,244
- That's pretty good for a drama.
- Yeah.
1159
01:47:37,455 --> 01:47:41,619
- Did you make a speech?
- I thanked them for us.
1160
01:47:42,861 --> 01:47:45,125
I said, "My mother thanks you.
1161
01:47:45,297 --> 01:47:47,162
My father thanks you.
1162
01:47:47,666 --> 01:47:49,691
My sister thanks you.
1163
01:47:50,869 --> 01:47:52,803
And I thank you."
1164
01:48:59,337 --> 01:49:00,770
Well...
1165
01:49:02,874 --> 01:49:04,705
...it was a good combination, Sam.
1166
01:49:04,876 --> 01:49:06,605
Worked well for a long time.
1167
01:49:06,778 --> 01:49:10,714
Now that it's all over, who was the senior
partner and who was the junior partner?
1168
01:49:10,882 --> 01:49:12,873
You mean who was Dietz
and who was Goff?
1169
01:49:13,051 --> 01:49:17,215
I'll bet it was the first firm in the history of
show business to have two senior partners.
1170
01:49:17,389 --> 01:49:20,620
- You know how I feel, don't you, Sam?
- Sure. I understand.
1171
01:49:21,626 --> 01:49:24,823
When Dad died, with him went
the last link with The Four Cohans.
1172
01:49:24,996 --> 01:49:30,525
All the backslapping and the applause,
well, became unimportant. No more fun in it.
1173
01:49:30,702 --> 01:49:34,468
Didn't mean anything anymore
with Dad, Mom and Josie gone.
1174
01:49:34,673 --> 01:49:37,107
So Mary and I are going away
to enjoy ourselves...
1175
01:49:37,275 --> 01:49:39,709
...visit all those places
we've always wanted to see.
1176
01:49:40,111 --> 01:49:43,103
Old theaters where nobody
ever even heard of us.
1177
01:49:43,281 --> 01:49:44,748
You'll have to go to Timbuktu.
1178
01:49:45,283 --> 01:49:46,511
Got it booked.
1179
01:49:47,152 --> 01:49:49,848
George, you've always been
the one with the words.
1180
01:49:50,021 --> 01:49:53,115
I never was much of a hand at saying things.
1181
01:49:53,625 --> 01:49:56,526
But we've done more than
make a lot of money.
1182
01:49:57,228 --> 01:49:58,957
And lose a little.
1183
01:49:59,431 --> 01:50:03,299
Sometimes friends drift apart.
Let's not let that happen to us.
1184
01:50:03,902 --> 01:50:06,837
No matter how legal dissolution
of this partnership is, Sam...
1185
01:50:07,005 --> 01:50:08,996
...50% of me will
always be in this office.
1186
01:50:09,174 --> 01:50:11,074
I'll remember that when the rent is due.
1187
01:50:11,242 --> 01:50:12,834
You'll be more successful than ever.
1188
01:50:13,011 --> 01:50:16,447
But if ever the rent does come due,
and you can't meet it, well...
1189
01:50:16,614 --> 01:50:20,778
And, by the same token, if I get stuck
in Madagascar, you'll hear from me.
1190
01:50:23,121 --> 01:50:24,816
You'd better get out of here.
1191
01:50:27,092 --> 01:50:29,720
That ship will sail without you.
1192
01:50:36,368 --> 01:50:38,131
Seasick pills.
1193
01:50:38,303 --> 01:50:42,034
I won't go to the boat with you.
You know how red my nose gets.
1194
01:50:44,776 --> 01:50:47,404
We thought you guys weren't
speaking to each other.
1195
01:50:47,579 --> 01:50:50,104
Can we have a picture of you
tearing up your contract?
1196
01:50:50,281 --> 01:50:53,444
Well, that's impossible.
We never had a written contract.
1197
01:50:53,952 --> 01:50:55,544
The only contract we've ever had:
1198
01:50:55,720 --> 01:50:59,383
Hold that pose, will you?
We want to show it to our legal department.
1199
01:51:05,030 --> 01:51:07,760
Life was less full, but it was
by no means empty.
1200
01:51:07,932 --> 01:51:11,231
I still had Mary.
A playmate as well as a helpmate.
1201
01:51:11,403 --> 01:51:13,564
We set out to rubberneck at the world.
1202
01:51:19,411 --> 01:51:22,346
Nelson Monument. It's a good thing
I wasn't born an Englishman.
1203
01:51:22,514 --> 01:51:25,540
With the history their flag has,
I'd have waved myself to death.
1204
01:51:29,020 --> 01:51:31,215
Oh, George.
I didn't know you could yodel.
1205
01:51:31,389 --> 01:51:34,324
Learned it on the farm.
Nothing but hog-calling with frost on it.
1206
01:51:43,835 --> 01:51:46,133
It takes two men to impersonate
a horse on Broadway.
1207
01:51:46,304 --> 01:51:48,636
And you always have trouble
catching the front end.
1208
01:51:55,547 --> 01:51:59,039
Folks always come back to where their
heart is. And we came back to the farm.
1209
01:51:59,217 --> 01:52:02,948
The farm we Cohans had dreamed of
when farmers were envying us.
1210
01:52:14,432 --> 01:52:18,198
Hey, mister. Our radiator needs some H2O.
Can we use your well?
1211
01:52:19,070 --> 01:52:21,163
Sure, go ahead.
Help yourselves.
1212
01:52:21,339 --> 01:52:22,465
Come on, Jack.
1213
01:52:22,640 --> 01:52:25,768
- Let's make this hop-up solid.
- Okay, Jackson. Come on.
1214
01:52:27,979 --> 01:52:31,312
- Radiator busted?
- No, it's only got high blood pressure.
1215
01:52:31,483 --> 01:52:33,576
What are you gonna do
when the tires give out?
1216
01:52:33,751 --> 01:52:35,719
Oh, it'll run a lot smoother on the rims.
1217
01:52:35,887 --> 01:52:37,912
"Stix nix hix pix."
1218
01:52:38,723 --> 01:52:42,284
- Greek. I'll bet that's Greek talk.
- That ain't Greek. That's Russian.
1219
01:52:42,460 --> 01:52:44,485
- "Stix nix hix pix."
- That's show business talk.
1220
01:52:44,662 --> 01:52:46,061
Here, I'll translate it for you.
1221
01:52:46,231 --> 01:52:50,429
Stix: Small towns. Nix: Refuse.
Hix: Rube. Pix: Pictures.
1222
01:52:50,602 --> 01:52:53,264
Small towns refuse rube pictures.
"Stix nix hix pix."
1223
01:52:53,538 --> 01:52:54,971
Stix nix hix pix.
1224
01:52:59,644 --> 01:53:02,010
- I thought that was new jive talk.
- New what talk?
1225
01:53:02,180 --> 01:53:03,704
- Jive talk.
- Oh.
1226
01:53:03,882 --> 01:53:05,782
- Are you an actor, sir?
- Used to be.
1227
01:53:05,950 --> 01:53:07,941
- What were your pictures?
- Oh, not in pictures.
1228
01:53:08,119 --> 01:53:09,950
I was on Broadway,
the legitimate theater.
1229
01:53:10,121 --> 01:53:13,113
- Oh. What's your name, sir?
- Cohan.
1230
01:53:13,291 --> 01:53:15,759
- Coen?
- Cohan. George M. Cohan.
1231
01:53:15,927 --> 01:53:18,589
- I guess you must've been before our time.
- Yes, guess I was.
1232
01:53:18,763 --> 01:53:21,197
- Were you ever in some big shows?
- Yeah, a few.
1233
01:53:21,366 --> 01:53:24,733
- Like what?
- Oh, like Little Nellie Kelly...
1234
01:53:24,903 --> 01:53:26,803
... The Tavern, Ah, Wilderness!
1235
01:53:27,705 --> 01:53:29,104
Raised in a vacuum bottle.
1236
01:53:29,274 --> 01:53:32,175
I guess your parents must have seen me.
Fathers and mothers.
1237
01:53:32,343 --> 01:53:34,641
Maybe they have.
I never heard them talk about it.
1238
01:53:34,812 --> 01:53:37,440
Ever hear of a song called
"Give My Regards to Broadway"?
1239
01:53:38,016 --> 01:53:40,143
- I don't think so.
- No, sir. Who sang it?
1240
01:53:40,885 --> 01:53:43,285
- Who sang it?
- Was it a theme song or something?
1241
01:53:43,454 --> 01:53:45,718
A follow-up to
"Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar"?
1242
01:53:45,890 --> 01:53:47,448
Or "Jeepers Creepers."
1243
01:53:55,867 --> 01:53:57,425
Come on, kids. Time's a-wasting.
1244
01:53:57,602 --> 01:53:59,433
We gotta scram now.
Swinging session!
1245
01:53:59,604 --> 01:54:01,071
Thank you very much, Mr...
1246
01:54:01,239 --> 01:54:04,470
- What was your name again, sir?
- Cohan. George Cohan.
1247
01:54:05,276 --> 01:54:08,074
Goodbye, Georgie.
You're cute!
1248
01:54:08,680 --> 01:54:14,141
- Nice old guy. Let's go!
- We've got places to go and things to do.
1249
01:54:15,620 --> 01:54:17,019
Bye!
1250
01:54:22,393 --> 01:54:24,327
They did that.
1251
01:54:24,495 --> 01:54:26,395
I'm not angry,
but it's very discouraging.
1252
01:54:26,564 --> 01:54:30,125
Kid asked me my name, I said, "Cohan."
He asked me again, I said, "Cohan."
1253
01:54:30,301 --> 01:54:33,202
Never even heard of me.
16 years old, and I bet he can't read.
1254
01:54:33,371 --> 01:54:35,999
But you've been away from
the theater for years, George.
1255
01:54:36,174 --> 01:54:38,472
Nine or ten generations
have grown up since then.
1256
01:54:38,643 --> 01:54:41,635
Naturally they don't remember you.
Nobody's got that good a memory.
1257
01:54:41,813 --> 01:54:45,078
Why not? Many generations remembered my
father and mother in vaudeville.
1258
01:54:45,250 --> 01:54:48,344
That's because they were real troupers.
They stayed with it.
1259
01:54:48,519 --> 01:54:51,044
Your father could do a good buck
and wing when he was 60.
1260
01:54:51,222 --> 01:54:53,850
- What makes you think I can't?
- I'd hate to see you try it.
1261
01:54:54,025 --> 01:54:57,392
Your father never sat around an orchard,
listening to his arteries hardening.
1262
01:54:57,562 --> 01:54:58,927
Nothing wrong with my arteries.
1263
01:54:59,097 --> 01:55:02,863
No, not right now because
those kids got you all worked up.
1264
01:55:03,034 --> 01:55:05,002
You're picking on me for a reason, Mary.
1265
01:55:05,169 --> 01:55:08,730
You're trying to get a rise out of me.
Come on. Let's have it. What is it?
1266
01:55:08,906 --> 01:55:10,635
All right. Here it is.
1267
01:55:11,576 --> 01:55:14,204
I got a long-distance call
from Sam Harris this afternoon.
1268
01:55:14,379 --> 01:55:15,744
What about?
1269
01:55:15,913 --> 01:55:18,381
He's producing a new show
by Kaufman and Hart.
1270
01:55:18,549 --> 01:55:21,450
They're good writers.
Nothing I can do to improve their stuff.
1271
01:55:21,619 --> 01:55:23,951
Sam thinks you could,
if you played the lead.
1272
01:55:24,856 --> 01:55:26,221
Play the lead?
1273
01:55:26,391 --> 01:55:29,451
What is the matter with that man?
Hasn't he got any sense at all?
1274
01:55:29,627 --> 01:55:33,427
- What's he trying to do? Spoil all our fun?
- But are you having fun, George?
1275
01:55:33,598 --> 01:55:35,828
When we were in Europe,
you haunted every theater...
1276
01:55:36,000 --> 01:55:38,298
...not knowing a word
that was said on-stage.
1277
01:55:38,469 --> 01:55:42,496
Going back, congratulating the actors.
They didn't know what you were saying.
1278
01:55:42,674 --> 01:55:44,301
Just to smell the greasepaint again.
1279
01:55:44,475 --> 01:55:49,139
You think I'm stage-struck. I only go
to the theater to get out of the night air.
1280
01:55:49,314 --> 01:55:54,081
Fun? I'm having a wonderful time.
I'll have nothing to do with Broadway.
1281
01:55:54,252 --> 01:55:57,688
Sam says it's a great part. No other actor
in the world but you could do it.
1282
01:55:57,855 --> 01:55:59,823
That's just more of that Harris con.
1283
01:55:59,991 --> 01:56:02,516
He needs me as much as
he needs a hole in the head.
1284
01:56:02,694 --> 01:56:05,162
He really does need you, George.
He's in trouble.
1285
01:56:05,330 --> 01:56:09,562
If positions were reversed,
he'd help you out. You know he would.
1286
01:56:09,767 --> 01:56:12,292
Besides, he never said so,
but Sam's broke.
1287
01:56:13,905 --> 01:56:19,605
- Can you think of any more reasons?
- Yes. I want you to.
1288
01:56:20,445 --> 01:56:23,039
Well, that settled it.
1289
01:56:23,214 --> 01:56:26,047
I've never refused you anything, have I?
We'll do it.
1290
01:56:26,217 --> 01:56:29,277
- Come on. Let's get packing.
- We're all packed.
1291
01:56:30,755 --> 01:56:34,782
- What?
- We're all packed, dear.
1292
01:56:34,959 --> 01:56:40,864
Now you can start getting mad all over again
because I told Sam I'd talk you into it.
1293
01:56:45,069 --> 01:56:47,469
What are you laughing about?
1294
01:56:47,638 --> 01:56:50,766
Just full of news, aren't you?
Telling me all kinds of things.
1295
01:56:50,942 --> 01:56:52,876
I want you to know
I knew it all the time.
1296
01:56:53,044 --> 01:56:56,844
I was listening in on the phone downstairs
while you were talking to Sam.
1297
01:56:57,014 --> 01:56:59,710
Why, you devil!
You knew it all the time!
1298
01:56:59,884 --> 01:57:02,876
And what's more, I phoned Sam
right back and told him I'd play it.
1299
01:57:03,054 --> 01:57:07,047
Oh, I ought to pop you.
You... Oh!
1300
02:00:31,295 --> 02:00:34,093
Good work, kids.
I'll see you at 11 in the morning.
1301
02:00:37,134 --> 02:00:40,365
And then came your wire.
And I was really worried.
1302
02:00:40,538 --> 02:00:43,598
Here I am going on like Tennyson's Brook,
giving you my life story.
1303
02:00:43,774 --> 02:00:45,742
I'm sorry.
You should've stopped me.
1304
02:00:45,910 --> 02:00:48,401
Why, I wanted to hear
the story of your life.
1305
02:00:48,579 --> 02:00:52,071
It has a direct bearing
on my sending for you.
1306
02:00:52,249 --> 02:00:54,183
Do you know what this is?
1307
02:00:55,686 --> 02:00:57,176
Congressional Medal of Honor.
1308
02:00:57,355 --> 02:00:59,789
Let's see what the inscription says.
1309
02:01:00,291 --> 02:01:02,156
"To George M. Cohan.
1310
02:01:02,393 --> 02:01:05,487
For his contribution to the American spirit.
1311
02:01:05,663 --> 02:01:08,791
'Over There' and 'Grand Old Flag.'
1312
02:01:08,966 --> 02:01:11,662
Presented by act of Congress."
1313
02:01:12,603 --> 02:01:14,901
I congratulate you, Mr. Cohan.
1314
02:01:15,072 --> 02:01:19,372
I understand you're the first person
of your profession to receive this honor.
1315
02:01:19,577 --> 02:01:21,738
You should be very proud.
1316
02:01:21,912 --> 02:01:23,277
I am proud.
1317
02:01:23,447 --> 02:01:27,383
In fact, I'm flabbergasted.
For the first time in my life, I'm speechless.
1318
02:01:28,853 --> 02:01:31,981
- You're sure there isn't some mistake?
- Quite sure.
1319
02:01:32,957 --> 02:01:36,256
But this medal is for people who've given
their lives for their country.
1320
02:01:36,894 --> 02:01:39,328
I'm just a song-and-dance man.
Everybody knows that.
1321
02:01:39,497 --> 02:01:44,332
A man may give his life to his country
in many different ways, Mr. Cohan.
1322
02:01:44,502 --> 02:01:48,734
And quite often, he isn't the best judge
of how much he has given.
1323
02:01:48,906 --> 02:01:52,398
Your songs were a symbol
of the American spirit.
1324
02:01:52,576 --> 02:01:56,444
"Over There" was just as powerful
a weapon as any cannon...
1325
02:01:56,614 --> 02:02:00,050
...as any battleship we had
in the First World War.
1326
02:02:00,217 --> 02:02:03,709
Today we're all soldiers.
We're all on the front.
1327
02:02:03,888 --> 02:02:06,857
We need more songs to express America.
1328
02:02:07,024 --> 02:02:10,516
I know you and your comrades
will give them to us.
1329
02:02:11,062 --> 02:02:14,725
Mr. President,
I've just begun to earn this medal.
1330
02:02:14,899 --> 02:02:16,457
It's quite a thing.
1331
02:02:16,634 --> 02:02:21,401
Well, it's the best material we could find,
what with priorities and all.
1332
02:02:23,174 --> 02:02:25,404
Goodbye, sir.
1333
02:02:25,576 --> 02:02:28,909
And I want you to know that
I'm not the only one that's grateful.
1334
02:02:29,080 --> 02:02:32,675
My mother thanks you. My father
thanks you. My sister thanks you.
1335
02:02:32,850 --> 02:02:35,045
And I assure you, I thank you.
1336
02:02:35,252 --> 02:02:39,746
And I wouldn't worry about this country
if I were you. We've got this thing licked.
1337
02:02:39,957 --> 02:02:43,859
Where else in the world could a plain guy
like me come in and talk with the head man?
1338
02:02:44,328 --> 02:02:48,389
Well, that's about as good a definition
of America as any I've ever heard.
1339
02:02:48,566 --> 02:02:53,526
- Goodbye, Mr. Cohan, and good luck.
- Goodbye, sir. And good luck to you.
1340
02:04:23,227 --> 02:04:26,355
What's the matter, old timer,
don't you remember this song?
1341
02:04:26,530 --> 02:04:28,293
Seems to me I do.
1342
02:04:28,465 --> 02:04:30,729
Well, I don't hear anything.
1343
02:05:33,931 --> 02:05:34,920
[ENGLISH]