SAM: I came to America in 1914, by way of Philadelphia.
That's where I got off the boat.
And then I came to Baltimore.
It was the most beautiful place you've ever seen in your life.
There were lights everywhere. What lights they had!
It was a celebration of lights.
I thought they were for me: "Sam was in America."
Sam was in America.
I didn't know what holiday it was, but there were lights.
And I walked under them.
The sky exploded! People cheered!
There were fireworks. What a welcome it was!
What a welcome!
I didn't know where my brothers were.
I had an address on a letter, but when I went there, they'd moved.
I found the man who knew the name Krichinsky.
He was a little man with big shoes. I'll never forget him.
He had such big shoes! They were brand new, beautiful shoes.
He told me this was how he made his living.
He would break in shoes for the wealthy.
Stuff them with newspaper and walk in them.
I said, "What a country is this. What a country."
The wealthy didn't even have to break in their own shoes.
So this man with the shoes took me down one street after another.
We walked and walked and the skies would light up and explode in a celebration.
And then we came to Avalon.
And the man with the shoes yelled, "Krichinsky! Krichinsky!"
And my four brothers looked down and saw me.
"Sam!"
Sam.
Sam.
And that's when I came to America. It was the Fourth of July.
Boy, did they used to celebrate! Big celebrations then!
They closed the streets and would celebrate through the night.
(IMITATING TRUMPET)
CHILD: What happened to the guy who wore the big shoes?
The funny thing is that he did it for another two years.
He brought his brother into the business.
Both of them would walk the streets, breaking in shoes. Then he got an idea!
Why not make shoes that fit right?
So, they became custom shoemakers: The Solomon Brothers.
They made shoes, pants.
And then, they were a department store.
But the Krichinsky brothers, wallpaper hangers.
The five Krichinsky brothers, wallpaper hangers.
And we worked and we worked and we worked.
Except Gabriel didn't work.
Gabriel used to point a lot. "There's a crease, it's not straight."
He was the inspector. He was the inspector.
How did you all get to be wallpaper hangers?
It was your grandfather William.
He came to America first and he worked in a department store where they used to sell wallpaper and do wallpaper hanging for people.
So he became a wallpaper hanger.
And as each brother came over, we all became wallpaper hangers.
But. But on the weekend, we made music.
What music it was!
We liked American music. We were very popular ourselves.
One night I looked across the floor and I saw
this young, lovely girl.
I wasn't handsome and I didn't have a beautiful body.
But when I touched a woman they fell in love with me.
Oh, the family! How it grew. The wives, the kids.
Krichinskys everywhere, everywhere.
So we had the family-circle meetings.
We put money in the hat to bring over the cousins, the aunts, the uncles.
And then, out of the blue, William gets the flu.
It was a terrible epidemic, the flu of 1919.
Thousands d*ed.
William d*ed.
He was a young man. He left three kids.
Sam, how many times do we have to hear this story?
They know this story. They heard it before.
If we don't tell the kids, they don't know.
Belle, last year. Last year Belle d*ed.
Was very warm last year when Belle d*ed. Wasn't it warm?
Sam, how many times do we have to hear this story?
The children know this story.
I'm telling them about when I came to America.
Yeah, we know about it. We all heard it before.
Hey, Dad, you want to cut the turkey, or do you want me to cut the turkey?
It's done? I wanted to tell them about when my father to the country.
You have plenty of time to talk about your father.
JULES: They know the story.
Sorry we're late.
Another minute and we would've cut the turkey without you and started to eat.
To cut the turkey without me present?
We leave. We leave the house!
-SAM: We didn't cut the turkey. -I heard the turkey was cut.
SAM: I was just talking about when Belle d*ed.
GABRIEL'S WIFE: Thank God we are late.
EVA: I don't understand this holiday. I'll never understand this holiday.
SAM: What's not to understand?
EVA: Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving.
We're giving thanks to whom?
You're giving thanks for what you have.
How many times do we have to go through this?
All I'm saying is, we had to get the turkey and we had to k*ll it to give thanks.
If it wasn't this holiday, we wouldn't have turkey.
I don't eat turkey the rest of the year. Why do I have to eat it now?
Mom, don't give thanks, okay?
Time to tell the kids when my father came to America.
Can't it wait till later?
(CHILDREN YELLING)
The kids should hear this story.
Eva, this is very tender.
Of course it is. It's a beautiful bird.
The turkey was in the basement alive. She k*lled it.
Ew.
We brought my father over in '25.
-'25? -William d*ed in 1919.
'25.
'25? It was later than '25!
He came the same year we brought Belle and Edith over.
Belle and Edith came after!
-After? -Yeah, after!
It was '26.
Gabriel, what's the difference? He came to America, right?
It's a big difference between '25 and '26.
One is '25 and the other is '26.
All's I'm saying is, who cares if it was '25 or '26?
Jules, Jules, if you stop remembering, you forget.
It was '26.
I remember the excitement when you went to meet him.
Finally, the father was coming.
We saved the money and sent it to him.
The whole family went to the border.
Jules, you were just a little kid. A very little kid.
It was cold!
We went to the marketplace. It was cold. It was cold.
What are you talking about, it was cold? It was May. It was late May.
May? I remember cold.
No, you're thinking of when Irene was getting married.
It was bitter cold then. No, it was May 17 when your father came.
Anyway, we went, the whole family.
The brothers, the wives, the kids.
WOMAN: I didn't go, and all the kids didn't go.
We waited in the house.
There was such excitement. The father, the father was coming.
All I ever heard was, "Wait until the father comes."
The head of the family. I pictured this big, powerful man.
Because all I'd heard was, "Wait until the father comes."
The father's word when he speaks...
So I'm there. I see him.
He's shorter than me, and I'm only 6.
(LAUGHING)
He was this little...
He was a little, little man.
Hey, Jules. Jules.
I never said he was big.
-But I said he was the father. -The father.
From the day...
From the day he came to America, he never had to work.
Not a day in his life.
-Each of us would give him ten percent of our salary. -MEN: Ten percent?
Right? Right? Yeah.
-Ten percent. -SAM: He was the father.
GABRIEL: He never drank water.
The entire time he was in America, from the day he came he drank whiskey or Seltzer water.
He never drank water.
And oh, boy, could he drink!
What was that stuff called he always used to drink?
Slivovitz. Slivovitz.
He used to call it, "Block and fall."
You have one drink of that, you walk one block, and you fall!
If you have one drink...
It's such a strong drink, it b*rned the gums out.
He was funny. He was funny. Very, very, very funny.
How often did he drink water?
Never, ever touched it.
How many times... I'm sitting across from you, you can't hear it?
He never drank water!
That means he doesn't drink. I got it.
GABRIEL: You asked me, I told you. Now I'm telling you some more.
Occasionally, maybe, he had some water.
Never drank water.
JULES: So he didn't like it.
-He didn't like water. -How many times...
Are aunts kids before they become aunts?
Everybody's a kid before they become an aunt.
-They are? -I thought they just popped up.
IZZY: I've been thinking about it, I've been kicking around.
I think it's a good time we open our own place, open our own business.
Open our own business? What, are you kidding?
Think of the risk involved.
I got good a route. You got a good route. Why should we gamble?
It's a perfect situation. We got built-in customers.
-Built-in customers? -Yeah, we open our own place.
We keep the same routes. We just start switching people over to us.
We don't let the routes go. We sell the same goods, except the money goes in our pockets.
You don't think Simmons is going to sit still?
We open our own place, he's going to put someone on our routes.
We're going to hold on to a lot of the customers. They like us, trust us.
Yes, but we are not going to hold on to everybody.
We're going to loose customers.
This is less dollars, and we suddenly got to find new customers.
The w*r is over, right? There is a lot of people out there with a lot of money.
I think it's a good time to gamble.
Dessert!
I hear dessert?
I hear dessert.
Dessert.
Bring me dessert.
The kids aren't having dessert?
My grandmother is grandmother to me, but she's not grandmother to Teddy.
-Yes, right. -Then what is she?
She's Teddy's great-aunt.
There are aunts and great-aunts?
What's the difference between a regular aunt and a great-aunt?
They're older. That's the difference.
No. No. It's not just because they're older.
Because then someday, all aunts would be great-aunts.
But why are great-aunts just called great-aunts?
Why can't they be "good aunts" or "fantastic aunts" or "terrible aunts"?
No. No. It doesn't have anything to do with what kind of person they are.
It's got to do with great. You know, they're great, they are older.
And what about those red ants that crawl around on the floor and bite you?
No, no, no. That's A-N-T.
Ant.
What's a first cousin, twice removed?
I have absolutely no idea.
I'm going to sell with my dad today.
You mean you are not going to school?
It's the Christmas holidays. No school for a while.
Christmas holiday.
-Keep your nose clean. -Yeah.
MICHAEL: How come you didn't become a wallpaper hanger like Sam?
Well, you see, Sam always had this idea, that doing manual labor had no dignity, but selling...
"Selling was security," he said.
No matter where you are. No matter what you're selling you can always make a living.
-Can you sell anything? -Anything. I can sell anything.
See, it's all a question of being able to talk to people.
The product? It doesn't make any difference.
You're selling yourself.
Can you sell model trains?
-As many as they can make. -Can you sell toothbrushes?
To as many people as have teeth.
Quick. See that car? What car is that?
Chrysler!
The one over there on the right?
-Nash! -Pretty good.
MAN: Give me your money.
-What's that? -Give me your money.
Are you kidding me?
No, I'm not kidding you. Give me your money.
What, are you robbing me? With all these houses around, you're robbing?
MAN: Yeah, I'm robbing you.
(SIRENS WAILING)
Get help.
I can't play.
I can't play.
I never learned to play the piano.
I never learned.
I said, I never learned.
SAM: Jules!
JULES: I can't. I can't play the Piano.
I can't play.
Piano...
I can't.
No, I can't. I can't play the piano.
See!
He can't play, but he can learn!
I can't play.
I can't play.
SAM: That's the problem with collecting.
GABRIEL: Yes, I know that's got to be a problem with collecting.
NATHAN: It's unheard of.
GABRIEL: When you got lots of money...
NATHAN: It's unheard of to s*ab somebody and take the money.
It's unheard of. I never heard of it. I don't want to know about it.
Not like in the old days.
When they know you got lots of money, somebody wants the money.
-We know that. -He is right.
We know that. But who wants it?
I don't want anything about it.
It's not like it used to be! A man can't walk in the street?
Never, never, never. It's the money that's the problem.
-You're right. -Somebody tries to k*ll.
Somebody tries to k*ll my boy just for money.
-That's not good. That's not good! -It's the money.
-It's not good. -No good.
-That's all right. -Money, money, money, that's it.
-That's the whole problem. Money. -Money. Money.
When I was a little younger than you...
...I used to think the world was made up of big people and little people.
And that's the way it would always stay.
And then I always wondered why sinks were too high.
You had to climb up to wash your face. Cupboards, too high.
The hole in the toilet was too big.
Nothing. Nothing was made for us.
It's just a world of big people and little people.
You never got any older...
...and nobody ever d*ed.
Michael!
Michael.
I just talked to the doctor. Your father's going to be all right.
-SAM: There, you got it? -IZZY: Yeah, yeah. Hold it.
MICHAEL: What is it? What is it?
ANN: What could it be? It's so big.
-SAM: It's a holiday gift. -MICHAEL: What is it?
JULES: What is it? What is it?
SAM: It's a surprise. Wait and see.
The family circle voted and decided to get you a holiday get-well gift.
JULES: For me?
Oh, you didn't! You didn't!
So, what is this?
A television.
That's television. You can only watch for so long.
To me, it doesn't have what a radio has.
Yes, it does.
Anybody want coffee?
Yes.
Nice picture, huh?
Beautiful picture.
SAM: Never happened.
In the old country, never heard of anyone stabbing someone to take their money.
Never happened.
You're right. But the government would k*ll you.
Would take your money, your property, whatever you had.
You know what you have to do? You have to be like in the Westerns.
Have a stagecoach and the shotgun when you collect.
That's what they had in the wild west, because of outlaws.
Yeah, that's what you need. There's always robbers.
What was the movie we saw with the stagecoach? A very good movie.
-Stagecoach. -The movie had a stagecoach.
-Stagecoach. -Very active movie.
John Wayne, he was an outlaw but was not an outlaw.
What was the movie called with the stagecoach?
-Stagecoach. -That's what I'm saying with the stagecoach.
-Stagecoach. -Stagecoach?
I saw a nice little shop off Helen's Market on the...
Yeah, southeast corner.
All right. Supposing we do do this, what are we selling?
Same things we sell now?
Yeah, only we can sell them for less than for running the routes.
Pots and pans?
Pots, pans, brooms, vacuum cleaners, everything.
I am telling you, the time is right we get out on our own.
We don't have enough money in savings. Now is not the right time.
-Ann, please. -All right.
ANN: The problem is, Jules, we never have a moment's privacy.
Everybody's on top of everybody. We need our own place.
And we'll get it. But, you know, Izzy's right.
This is the time for us to use our savings for our own business.
We can get off the street and we can see if we can make a go of it.
Well, I know that's the best thing.
I just can't promise I'm going to remain sane.
Did you put on a little sweater?
Yeah, be sure to take small steps. There's a little wind.
Michael! You forgot your lunch money.
MICHAEL: Toss it!
-Ann, do we leave at 10:30? -Yeah, that will be fine.
I have to be back at one o'clock.
I have to go to the doctor's with Jules.
-You're not driving, are you? -No, I'm still taking lessons.
Oh, thank God.
"Can" is whether you're capable of doing something.
"May" is asking for permission.
Yes, Michael?
Can I go to the bathroom?
Michael, do you want to repeat that question?
Oh no, I'm going to be made an example of.
Michael!
I said, can I go to the bathroom?
You can, but you may not.
Well, can I or can't I?
I don't think you have been paying attention to this lesson, have you Michael Kaye?
Yes, I have.
So, how would you rephrase the question?
Can I please go to the bathroom?
(LAUGHING)
Children!
Michael Kaye, why don't you spend some time in the hallway until you've learned the difference between "can" and "may."
When you've learned the difference then you may come back in.
I have to go to the bathroom, but I'm afraid to ask.
Now, does anyone know the difference between "can" and "may"?
Young man, have you learned the difference between "may" and "can"?
Not yet.
You stay out there until you've learned the difference.
Yes, Mrs. Parkes.
Well? Are you ready to rejoin the class, Michael?
Yes, Mrs. Parkes.
And what's the difference between "may" and "can"?
Give me a little more time.
Young man, what are you doing in the hallway?
I am learning the difference between "may" and "can."
And how long do you think it would take to learn it?
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
-Hello? -Is this Mr. Kaye?
His father, Mr. Krichinsky.
No, he's at the doctor's, but he's doing fine.
Who is this?
This is Mr. Dunn, the principal of Michael's school.
We seem to have a problem.
Is he sick?
We seem to have a problem between "may" and "can."
SAM: What's the problem?
MR. DUNN: That was the lesson they were learning and Michael asked if he could go to the bathroom.
He said, "Can I go to the bathroom?"
The teacher said, "You can, but you may not."
What's the problem? He asked to go to the bathroom.
He asked, but he asked incorrectly.
He raised his hand didn't he?
Yes he did, Mr. Krichinsky, but the point is, it was a lesson about "may" and "can."
Okay, it's fine with me. So, what's the problem?
He asked, "Can I go to the bathroom?"
The teacher said, "You can, but you may not."
That's confusing to the kid, because you're saying, "You can," and then you say, "You can, but you can't."
I don't think you understand the subtleties of the English language, Mr. Krichinsky.
SAM: This English, it's very difficult.
I never realized how difficult English is.
"May" or "can." You can, but you may not.
We've come a long way.
In the old days, if you had to pee, you peed on a tree.
With no "may" or "can." That's progress for you.
Oh, my God.
Hon?
I got it.
The store: televisions.
Wall-to-wall televisions.
We'll pack them in. We'll sell more of them.
How are we gonna sell more of them?
We'll sell them cheaper.
Televisions, televisions, from one end of the shop to the other.
Nothing but televisions.
I think something's about to happen.
Seems like the humming's getting less.
That's when something's about to happen.
TEDDY: Seems like it's humming the same hum to me.
You better hope they start getting some more interesting programs.
See, I told you something was going to happen.
It's Howdy Doody.
We're getting ahead of ourselves maybe with this television.
Why don't we add some linoleums, toasters, pots and pans, brooms.
Get a little foot traffic in here, you know?
Maybe that'll help.
Why are they not coming in here?
ANNOUNCER: Electronic equipment!
Here's adventure!
And now let's return to Westinghouse Studio One.
And Letter from Cairo.
Fighting for law and order, captain...
Here's adventure.
Here's romance.
* Mr. I-magination...
The Cisco Kid...
-Henry Aldrich! -Coming, Mother.
ANNOUNCER: The Colgate Comedy Hour.
...say the secret word for $100...
It's a common word for something you find around the house.
Well, well, well. Good evening.
It is Wednesday night again, and I'm back on television.
...your Hit Parade...
Time now to enjoy What's My Line?
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show...
(CLAPPING)
-MICHAEL: Well, what does it mean? -ANN: What?
What does it mean, the suburbs?
ANN: It's just a nicer place to live.
That's what it means? A nicer place?
Yes, it's nicer. It's got lawns and big trees.
And Uncle Izzy and Teddy and everyone, they're gonna be there too?
In one house in the suburbs?
Oh God, please be careful! It's a very old piece.
MOVER: Yes, ma'am. We've got it.
Huh? In one house?
No, Michael, it's gonna be just the same.
Us and your grandparents will live in our house.
They're gonna live in another house.
We'll all live near each other just like it is now.
Honey, please don't distract me, okay?
It's gonna rain any minute, I got furniture all over the street, I'm in a panic.
Okay.
Aunt Dottie, Aunt Dottie!
Is this a good thing that's happening?
What?
Is this a good thing, going to the suburbs?
-Am I gonna like it there? -You kids are gonna love it.
We've been here forever.
We're even gonna have to go to a new school.
You ever been in the suburbs?
I never even heard of the suburbs until this thing happened.
Wait a minute, where are you running with that?
-Wait a minute. -Ma, they'll wrap it.
No, no. We take this in the car.
It'll be wrapped. It's gonna be fine.
No, no. We take it in the car.
The truck hits a bump, anything could happen.
Okay, we're all set.
I remember Michael learned how to walk right here.
Held on to the sofa, and he took his first steps.
He went right to your room.
Yeah, I remember. What was he? A year old?
No, no, not a year.
Nine months.
Held the sofa, and he took his first steps.
Nine months.
What's wrong, Pop?
I don't know, I don't know.
I get nervous about making a change.
What are you talking about? You came all the way to America.
We're just going to the suburbs.
I came to America in 1914 but I was a young man.
Oh, come on, Dad.
What about the house? You saw the house.
Forest Park area. It's beautiful.
We're gonna have more room for the whole family.
We're getting farther and farther away from Avalon.
I think I'm getting too old for change.
-Bill, are you hurt? -Not a bit. Cut me loose.
No, Sam, don't feed the dog from the table.
He likes meat.
Don't give him big pieces. He has a small throat.
What's wrong with the green beans?
I don't like green beans.
Since when you don't like green beans?
Never. I never eat green beans.
I cannot believe we're having the same kind of argument over the dog and the green beans every meal.
Green beans and the dog. Like it's the first time it ever happened. Constantly you argue about the same thing.
It's not an argument, it's dinner talk.
Dad, this goes on all the time.
Whether it's green beans or feeding Nimo, constantly the two of you are have a problem at dinner.
-Constantly? -Yeah. How about drinks?
How you argue about how you can mix drinks.
Mom says you can't.
He can't. The mix that he makes is not a good drink.
Please, let's not get into the drinks thing now.
What are you talking about? I take the juice from the pears mix it with a little Coca-Cola. It's a good drink.
Oh, please. You're going to make me sick with this.
Sam, I said don't feed the dog from the table.
-Oh, my God. -Ann, we're thinking of keeping the store open a couple nights a week. Until 9.
Do you have to?
I think if we want to stay competitive.
The other shops are staying open later.
We've gonna have to do it.
He's gonna choke to death.
One night we look under the table, the dog will be laying there dead.
Oh, Dad, I spoke to Izzy about this family-circle meeting this Sunday that's supposed to be here.
Well, some of the brothers feel it's too far to go.
Too far?
How far can it be? They should get on Rogers over the Liberty Heights.
We know which way to go.
Why Rogers? You take Greenspring.
We don't have the light.
It's a bottleneck with the construction.
-It's not a bottleneck. -It is a bottleneck.
It's not a bottleneck!
It's a bottleneck. I say you take Rogers.
For a guy to go to Rogers, he's got to go up Park Circle. Why should he have to go to Rogers?
The question is not which way they're going to come.
They think it is too far.
(SIREN WAILING)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
* We're the men of Texaco We work from Maine to Mexico
* There's nothing like this Texaco of ours
* Our show tonight is powerful We'll wow you with an hour
* full of howls from a shower full of stars *
What do you want? You want me to tell them to move out? What do you want?
I don't want you to tell them to move out.
I just was expressing a feeling that maybe, you know...
Maybe we can get them their own place and chip in with rent or something.
Get them their own place? Where the hell would the money come from?
I don't have that kind of money yet. They don't have that kind of money.
I know, I just feel there's always somebody watching over me.
Every time I do something, I feel like somebody's...
Somebody's thinking that they could do it better.
What? I don't know.
I put something down, I like the way it looks on the coffee table, I come back and it's moved.
You want me to talk to her?
I'd like to be able to put something down if I think it looks nice there and have it there when I return.
Do you want me to talk to her? I'll talk to her.
I'll talk to her again and again but it doesn't do any good.
You know her. She's like an enigma.
I feel like I'm still with my mom and dad.
I'd like to feel like this is my home.
I'd like to feel like the mom in my own house.
I understand. I understand that.
I go out and buy what I consider to be an attractive outfit. I come home...
"No, it's too tight here. The material's not
"becoming to you. It looks too heavy for summer."
Or whatever it is.
She speaks her mind. She's got opinions.
I'd like to feel good about something that I buy to put in my house or put on myself.
Don't let her make you feel bad.
How can I help it?
-Put her in her place. -Right.
You gotta do that sometimes.
-I don't know. -You gotta put her in her place sometimes.
I just would like to feel like I live in my house.
You do. You live here.
What do you want from me? I don't know what to do.
I know. I'm just...
...talking.
MICHAEL: I got it!
Hi, Eva.
-Hi, Nimo. -Your mother, where's your mother?
She's in the dining room.
Come on, let's play a game. Got it.
You're not going to believe this.
I got a call.
American Red Cross. My brother's alive in Europe.
What?
I can't believe it. I have to sit down.
I need something to drink. I ran to get here.
I'll get you some lemonade.
Oh, it's too sweet. Not too sweet.
My heart. My heart is running.
So, Ma, so, what happened?
Well, I don't know exactly.
He was in a concentration camp.
He lived through the concentration camp.
They found him, but I don't know.
I don't know...
I don't know how he lived through it. I don't know.
I never saw him. I heard about him from letters.
When I came to this country, he wasn't born.
And when he was old enough to come he wouldn't leave my father. No, he was blind and dying.
And then the w*r started.
So where is your brother now?
I don't know. With refugees.
But now they found me, they make plans for him to come to America.
It's 4-1.
And after the concentration camp he's put in a camp with the displaced people.
He says he has a sister in Baltimore, but he can't remember my married name, Krichinsky.
Doesn't have his letters anymore. They were all destroyed.
He knows the name's Russian, not Polish.
It's a Y, not an I, but he can't remember the name.
I cannot imagine having a brother I've never seen.
Never seen.
Thought was dead.
All right, Michael. Give me your best sh*t.
That's an out.
TEDDY: Oh, my God.
Bees!
Bees! Bees! Bees!
Stand still! You're supposed to stand still!
Run, run!
Bees! Bees! Bees!
Oh, my God!
Get the hose!
Run, Michael!
EVA: Put your hands over your eyes.
Don't let them get in your eyes.
DOCTOR: He's not allergic to the bees, so there's no real problem.
He's just gonna be a little uncomfortable for a while.
I hate the suburbs.
I'm surprised your mother-in-law didn't come along with you today.
She refuses to get in the car with me.
She's never been in a car when a woman drives.
One, two, three.
Jump!
GABRIEL: The election of a new family-circle president will take place three weeks from this Sunday.
So we have to make some serious decision-making.
It's like a furnace in here. Like a furnace.
That concludes old business.
Moving on to new business I make a proposal that we take the next meeting at Frock's Farm.
-Very good idea. -I'm with you.
A very good idea.
It's cooler. We won't be suffocating to death.
This is a family-circle meeting, this is not an outing.
Why not combine the two when it's this hot?
You have an outing and a family-circle meeting at the same time.
Because an outing is an outing and a family-circle is a family-circle.
I'm dripping.
Why don't we just finish the meeting quickly and that'll be it?
And that will be it. That will be it.
When Schulman was alive, we sat in the meeting.
The meeting finished. Then we left.
It was hot, it was cold, it was snow, it was rain. We sat and we had a meeting.
If we don't want to meet because it's hot let's not meet.
-Do not meet. -No one said not to meet.
-Nobody said not to meet. -It's a furnace.
We need to decide how much money we are gonna give to our charity this year.
This is a heat wave.
It was hotter at Avalon.
We had a meeting one time and it was so hot you couldn't stand up.
What are you talking about? Aunt Molly fainted.
Still, we had the meeting.
Last year we gave... Just let me have a look.
We gave to six charities.
An elephant just went by the window.
What?
It's the heat. You're hallucinating.
Then the heat made me see another elephant because another one is going by the window.
CHILDREN: The circus! The circus!
The circus! The circus!
Oh, look at this!
JULES: They must be going through here to get to the tent site.
What tent?
I think I read that they're going to have the tent site at Edmondson Avenue.
Wow, look at the circus, Mom.
The circus is coming.
Yeah! Yeah!
Do you got everything?
You'll waste the battery.
-And remember, you stay with Sam. -Okay.
Don't wander off around the reservoir without him, understand?
BOYS: We know. We know.
When you come back, I'll make you breakfast.
* With the breeze you can sleep
* You'll love it. It's cool
* The breeze comes off the water With the breeze you can sleep
* With the breeze you can sleep *
In the old days, it used to be hotter in the summertime.
* It's the breeze, it's the breeze, it's the breeze... *
Did I ever tell you my father never drank water in America?
The whole time he was alive, he never drank water in America.
MICHAEL: What did he drink? Coca-Cola?
SAM: Whiskey.
And if he didn't drink whiskey, mineral water.
But he never drank from the faucet.
Why?
He had the old ways. You see, we drank from a well.
Spring water in the old country. And he said, "Water that comes through a pipe under the streets of a city
"can't be good water. Can't be good for you."
He was a very stubborn man.
And we never could convince him otherwise.
Your grandmother is a stubborn woman.
We know. We know.
Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael.
I came to America in 1914.
And when I came to Baltimore it was the most beautiful place you ever saw.
MICHAEL: We know that story, Sam. Can you tell us another one?
Yeah, wait, wait, wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Did I tell you I used to own a nightclub?
You used to own a nightclub?
Yeah, yeah. Not a big nightclub.
A small place on lower Pennsylvania Avenue.
It had a bar and a dance floor.
You went off and got married?
You see, we didn't plan to get married.
They decided to get married and we were taking them to get them married.
We were getting married. Jules has the car so he gave us a ride.
So, because you needed a ride, my son is now married?
No, well, we sort of got caught up in the moment.
Yes, it was very... Well, you know.
We were gonna get married sooner or later.
-Sooner or later? -We got a deal too.
Normally the justice of the peace charges $10 a couple.
I got him down to 15 bucks for the whole thing.
It's wonderful. Just what my son needed.
A bargain wedding.
You saved $5 by getting married.
I am so pleased.
Come on, Dad. Be happy for us.
Do you love my boy?
Yes, I do, very much.
Good. Because that's one young man that's crazy about you.
Kiss the bride at least.
Let me see you kiss the bride. Izzy, kiss your bride.
That's it! That's it, that's it! That's it.
Dad, it's alright. She's gonna sleep at the house tonight.
Where is that marriage certificate, let me see that marriage certificate.
Let me see, let me see.
I don't want any hanky panky going on in my house.
Who's this? Who's this Jules Kaye?
That's me, Dad.
I changed my name.
IZZY: Me too, I changed mine to Kirk.
It's easier to say that Krichinsky. Kirk, it's better.
Who said names are supposed to be easy to say?
What are you, a candy bar?
You got a name! Krichinsky!
It's a name!
Kaye. Kirk.
Two cousins, different names.
How can this be? How can this be a family?
When the father's called Sam Krichinsky, his son is called Jules Kaye and his first cousin is called Izzy Kirk.
This is a family, God damn it!
Krichinsky is the name of the family!
It's not Kaye! It's not Kirk! It's Krichinsky!
Krichinsky.
We argued and argued.
And then, the way things are in life, you stop arguing.
It's your life. You're going to have to live it.
What a celebration, and we celebrated that night!
(SINGING)
SAM: It wasn't your ordinary family celebration.
It was the best wedding I ever went to.
It's nice.
It's easy to sleep when you have a breeze, it's easy to sleep.
JULES: I'm gettin' nervous. This is too much expansion.
We bought out that store, the other store, we got upstairs now, we got all this merchandise that's not ready, nothing's ready, we got no customers.
We got money going out and not coming in.
I tell you, Izzy, I'm gettin' a little nervous. More than a little nervous.
You're not the only one.
I've been talking to some of the people around her in the marketplace, you know, asking them, and I'm not sure anyone knows what this discount is.
I don't know whether it means anything to anybody.
It's not like we invented the word.
I didn't say we invented the word. But it doesn't mean anything.
What the hell do you want it to mean? What are you saying?
What I'm saying? I'm saying we need to be more clear.
We need a catchy slogan or something.
More clear than "discount?"
More clear than "discount," something that...
Alright, you want a catchy slogan? How about, "Guaranteed lowest prices in town."
That's good.
A little higher. Higher!
Higher! A little higher!
What is somebody buys and it's cheaper?
Cheaper than the guaranteed lower price, what do you do then?
Jules! What happens if somebody buys cheaper than what you sell?
Good question. Izzy, what are we gonna do if they get it cheaper someplace else as we already guarantee it's the lowest prices in town?
Buy it somewhere else cheaper then we'll match it at that price.
That's good. We'll match it!
-They'll match it. -What does that mean?
That means whatever the guy buys somewhere else he can get it here for the same price.
What the hell does he need to do that for?
He bought it and then they guarantee they'll give him the same price.
That makes no sense.
He's got to take it back to the shop, and then get it here for the same price?
Why wouldn't that make sense?
-They guarantee it. -That's what they said.
They'd guarantee it. Maybe they'll make it lower.
How much lower? Because if it's a little lower I'm not going to take it all the way back to get it here for a nickel less.
JULES: A little higher!
Can we just put up the sign?
Is it me or does it look a little low?
No, it's still low, it's low.
I gotta go to the doctor's and then go get the kids.
I told them I'd pick them up from the movie around four.
From the movies?
From ten o'clock in the morning till four in the afternoon.
I can't believe how they do it. What do they watch, nine movies?
Did you say you were going to the doctor's?
Yeah, it's just a check up. What time will you be home?
I'll be home probably around seven.
Can you see if my mother wants to go back with you? Please?
Huh?
You want a ride back with me?
With you?
Yeah.
Nah, I think it's still too soon.
I've been driving now for six months.
No, it's still too soon.
We're way up town. You've got a lot of turns to make. It's too soon.
Well, then you're gonna have to wait until seven o'clock, because that's when Jules is gonna head home.
I'll take a streetcar. It's on tracks. You take a 32 and you're there.
Alright, fine.
I cannot believe your mother!
What? She's not going back with you?
No, I haven't been driving long enough for her.
What's that?
I wonder how long it's gonna be until we get our own rocket suits.
Yeah. It'll be great. We'll be able to rocket to school...
-Yeah. -...and we'll be able to rocket back home.
It will be great.
I'd love to see my grandmother rocket into the store to get the bread.
(LAUGHING)
Go, Rocket Man!
-Yeah! Yeah! -(CHEERING)
Hi, will you fill her up?
-I'm going across the street to the theater and get my kid. -Sure.
Alright, I'll be right back.
Oh, I can't see!
That's because you've been sitting in a dark movie theater all afternoon...
(BRAKES SCREECHING)
(STREETCAR BELL RINGING)
ANN: I can't believe this. Wait a minute, wait a minute. What are you saying?
That it's my fault?
No, I'm not saying it's your fault.
Well, you say it sounds like my fault that the streetcar smashed into my car.
No, I'm not saying it's your fault.
No, you took the car and it got hit.
And I could have been sitting in it.
But you don't understand. You keep making it sound as if I'm responsible.
-As if it's my fault. -I've been in this country 40 years.
I've never seen a streetcar jump the track and hit a car.
Am I crazy or is she making it sound as if it's my fault?
I think you're being a little sensitive about this, honey.
She's not trying to blame you. You're not trying to blame her, hey, Mom?
No, no. No, I'm not blaming her.
What I'm saying is, they should get rid of the streetcars.
They got buses, why do they need streetcars?
Their tracks are too slippery.
I don't even like Sam to drive in the rain.
But the tracks is dangerous. When it gets wet it gets too slippery.
Did you ever know anyone whose car got hit by a streetcar that went off its tracks?
JULES: It's a first.
When I think I could have been sitting in that car...
Thank God I didn't get into that machine, that's all I'm saying.
I cannot believe this conversation.
Can we put the streetcar talk to rest? We're lucky nothing serious happened, that's the end of it, alright?
You should have seen it, Dad, it was just like the cliffhangers.
Michael.
Alan Ferguson.
-What? -Alan Ferguson's car got hit by a streetcar.
It wasn't a streetcar! It was a train!
Off in Saratoga, a freight train. It wasn't a streetcar.
-It wasn't a streetcar? -No, it was a train.
Do you know where my new coat is?
Yes, it's in the back closet. Yeah, it was too crowded.
Never has there ever been a streetcar jumped his tracks.
No, a train has jumped its tracks but never a streetcar.
Must have circulated over 10,000 fliers for the opening of the new store day.
I never believed in fliers.
I always think if people don't pay for something they don't bother to read it.
The newspaper you pay for. Then you read an ad.
Well, let's hope you're wrong, because we can't afford to advertise in the newspaper.
Well, it's a good time to gamble. You're young, you make mistakes, you can always start again. See what Solomon did.
He could have stayed in the business of just breaking in shoes, but he gambled.
-Today he's got... -Yeah, I know, one of the biggest department stores
-in Baltimore. -Well, it's true.
I can't find the coat.
Oh God. I sent it to the cleaner's.
Dad, where's the keys to your car?
Ready, hon?
I'm just putting on my coat.
Michael, be good.
I will.
Don't be late.
And it's true with Solomon.
I'm about this far away from losing my mind.
Thank you.
Want pictures here?
-Pictures? -No, thanks.
Pictures here?
Miss, Miss?
What do you want?
-I don't think my eyes are open. -Oh, they look fine.
What's your problem?
I'm getting a little nervous.
You? You getting nervous?
Your husband makes me nervous.
Oh no, we're back on to the business again...
-You started it. -What? No, no, no.
Maybe the customers won't show, maybe nobody will show, we're expanding, we're getting in over our... You get me?
It was a genuine concern and it remains a genuine concern.
Genuine concern. That I like.
Genuine concern. Very nice phrase.
I have to admit he does tend to be a bit on the conservative side.
Alright, let's face it. If this expansion doesn't go over, we're out of the suburbs and we're back into row houses, huh?
That's a genuine concern.
Alright, then, we'll toast to genuine concern.
It's been acknowledged.
No. Let's toast to the suburbs. Shall we?
Better.
Honey, don't count, just...
(LAUGHING)
-I'm doing good, aren't I? -You're doing wonderful.
Thank you.
Now, who would have thought that this bargain marriage would have lasted this long?
(CHUCKLING)
You know, I didn't, I didn't get a chance to tell you, uh...
...before, but...
But what?
-What? -I'm pregnant.
You're what?
I am pregnant. I'm pregnant.
-You're kidding. -No, I'm not kidding.
You have great news like that and you wait until now to tell me? This is incredible...
Well, I would have told you sooner, but the streetcar discussion got in the way and it didn't seem like the proper time for me to get in the fact that I was pregnant again.
I mean, let's face it, the streetcar story was all-consuming.
Honey, this is great news.
Whew.
Let's do the prom night thing.
* It's a big, wide wonderful world we live in
* When you're in love
* You're a master of all you survey
* You're a gay
* Santa Claus
* There's a great big star-spangled sky above you
* When you're in love you're a hero
* A Nero, Apollo, the Wizard of Oz *
Please. It's bad enough.
* You've a kingdom, power and glory
* The old, old, oldest of stories is new, true
* You've built your Rome in just one day
* Life is mystic
* A midsummer's night we live in
* A Turkish delight I'm in heaven
* It's swell when you're really in love *
-(SONG PLAYING ON RADIO) -What is this?
(CHUCKLING) What is this?
A lot of people for something.
This is us! This is for us!
Discount is here.
-This is good. -Look at this!
This is good.
Don't go anywhere, we're coming right out!
(TRAIN BELL CLANGING)
I don't even know what he looks like!
Where are the people who know where the people are?
Simka.
(SPEAKING IN YIDDISH)
This is Elka. This is my Gittle.
Welcome, Gittle! Welcome! Welcome!
(SPEAKING IN YIDDISH)
She is very beautiful.
(SPEAKING IN POLISH)
(SPEAKING IN POLISH)
ANN: I don't know exactly what they were saying.
DOTTIE: I couldn't tell if they met in the concentration camp.
ANN: No, it couldn't be that.
Must have been a refugee camp.
No, I don't think she was in a concentration camp.
I think...
I think, what I got was that her husband d*ed in the w*r.
-No, I didn't get that! -It must be.
She would not have had a child in a concentration camp I think he met her in the refugee camp.
To think a woman can survive a concentration camp with a child.
Oh my God, it gives me the chills.
I don't think she was in a concentration camp.
I got that they met in a refugee camp.
That her husband d*ed.
No, no, the refugee camp was really recently and the kid is, like, six, so...
No.
We'll have to ask later.
(CHATTERING)
See. There's nothing else to do with it. It's done.
That's the problem with model planes.
There's nothing left to do but look at them.
It doesn't fly.
It'll never fly.
We could throw it off a building and watch it crash.
How about a cliffhanger?
Now that's an idea!
(KIDS SCREAMING IN EXCITEMENT)
MICHAEL: Boom! End of the Chapter!
Oh, my God! Oh, my God, what's happening?
What are you doing? Are you crazy?
-You'll burn the house down. -The wing's on your foot.
You've got the wing on your foot!
Fire in the house!
You'll burn the house to the ground.
It was just a cliffhanger.
The Pilgrims started it, whoever they were.
And now, we all have to give thanks.
We k*ll a turkey and everybody says thank you.
It's a holiday!
It's a holiday.
Yeah, we never have turkey the rest of the year
-but now we have to eat it. -(SAM LAUGHING)
It's a funny holiday, if you ask me. It makes no sense.
-Are we going to eat? -In a minute.
SAM: Gabriel should be here any minute.
Yeah, that man will be late for his own funeral.
(ALL LAUGHING)
Dad! Why don't we eat?
(KIDS COMPLAINING)
-I'm hungry! -I want to eat something.
No, no, no. We should wait for Gabriel!
Every year we have to go through the same thing, we can't cut the turkey because of Gabriel!
Jules!
-Cut the turkey! -(CHEERING)
I hate when food touches!
What's the difference? It all ends up in the same place.
I hate that! I hate when it touches!
Michael.
Sorry we're late.
(DOOR CLOSING)
Gabriel!
(CHATTERING STOPS)
You started without me?
You cut the turkey without me?
Come on. We leave.
They start without us, we go.
Every year you are late, Gabriel.
We were hungry. The kids wanted to eat!
We were ready, we couldn't wait.
Your own flesh and blood and you couldn't wait?
You cut the turkey?
That's it!
That's the last time we come for Thanksgiving!
Gabriel. Come here, for God's... Gabriel!
Gabriel! Come back...
Such a lunatic!
IZZY: It's ridiculous. It's the same thing every year!
We wait for him and he shows up late and then we cut the turkey.
You cut the turkey!
It took us hours to get here!
You live miles from nowhere!
It's too far, for God's sake!
Too far for relatives!
Get new relatives!
Get relatives that live near you, and who you'll wait for!
Gabriel, for God's sake.
-Let's not make an issue out of a turkey! -You know what it is?
That's what happens when you get to be wealthy!
You got a wealthy son, so you don't even wait for your brother to come before you cut the turkey.
-To hell with you! -To hell with me?
Jules making a good living has nothing to do with when we cut the turkey! Nothing.
When we lived in Avalon, nobody ate!
You wait for everybody before you eat, much less cut the turkey without a brother!
You move out here to the suburbs and you think it doesn't matter anymore?
The young ones are hungry, they carry on, they make a commotion.
What do you want to do? Stand on ceremony with the family?
There's always young ones.
There's always young ones that are hungry and carry on and want to eat!
They got to wait until every relative is there before the turkey's cut! I've said enough!
(CAR DOOR CLOSING)
(SCREAMING)
What's wrong?
IZZY: Put all the kitchen appliances over through here.
Washing machines, refrigerators, stoves.
You make a whole department.
We've got one entire floor for bedroom sets, sleepovers, sofas, the whole floor.
It's been no time since we just expanded the other place.
Where is the money coming from?
-The bank is financing us. -The bank is financing us?
They're giving us the money. This is time.
We got no real competition.
You open a place like this, we're so big no one will be able to compete with us.
No, no, no. We got a chance, we might as well run with it.
Running, gambling...
JULES: Discount department store?
-Right. -This place is enormous!
What's the worst thing that can happen? It goes under!
It goes under?
Right. How much money you got right now?
You got nothing. You got nothing!
I got nothing because every time I make a dollar, you want to expand.
All right. God forbid, the place goes under.
You can't have less than nothing. Not a lot.
What are we? We're a discount warehouse.
There's never been nothing like it.
We got no frills, no fixtures, we're stripped down.
No one's ever done this!
I have to invent new ways of counting money!
We're gonna tear up this town!
Yeah?
-All right. Let's do it. -(CHUCKLING) Yeah?
Let's do it!
(SPEAKING IN POLISH)
SAM: A job at McCormick Spice Company?
Good. Very good.
We'll have a family-circle meeting.
Get everybody to help you get your own place.
(CHEERS IN POLISH)
Own place.
That's a good drink.
You'll have your own place.
You'll be an American, like us!
Two...eleven... and thirteen.
That's the only channels we've got.
Howdy Doody on eleven.
So that's the channel you want to be on in the afternoon.
Do you want to try it?
Two...eleven...thirteen...
Howdy Doody.
Monday through Friday, Captain Video.
That one's great.
Did you ever see Captain Video where you come from?
Captain Video.
Captain Video.
-Where is Michael? -He's in the car.
What time is Jules coming to the family circle?
He'll be there! I told you!
He said, he wants to take some golf lessons.
See how it goes.
Golf? He's going to play golf?
That's what I said when I heard.
A working person doesn't play golf.
It's for people with sweaters and a cap.
EVA: Where does he get such crazy ideas?
ANN: Why is that such an unusual thing?
EVA: Well, it's not unusual. I just never heard of it.
Sam, don't run with the machine.
SAM: I'm not running! I'm going 25 miles an hour.
EVA: You're running! You're running!
The trees are going past too quick.
(TRAM BELL CLANGING)
Good-bye, buddy.
-Ooh, touching. -Touching.
I'm gonna use my linky. Hey, b*at that.
I don't think we have to chip in for Simka. That's all I'm saying.
But this is part of our tradition.
One brings another over. We supported them.
We took care of them! You brought me!
When's the last time you gave percentages of our money?
How long has it been?
It's got to have been 25 years!
Belle came over in the late '20s, so it wouldn't be 25 years. Let's see now.
Couldn't be 25 years. Let's see now.
It's close to 25 years!
She came in 1930, now that's 25 years, and that's it!
What do you want to do? You want to start supporting every Tom, d*ck and Harry?
We're not talking about Tom, d*ck and Harry!
We're talking about my wife's brother.
Herbie, you talk like an idiot!
Don't call my son an idiot! He's not an idiot.
Tom, d*ck and Harry, for God's sakes.
He has never had any sense. He has never had common sense!
Just because Jules has money, you got a right to call my Herbie an idiot?
Come on. Nobody's calling anybody an idiot!
He called my son an idiot! His son makes money and all of a sudden, they get this kind of attitude.
What attitude?
What are talking about?
You live out there in the sticks.
You don't even wait for anybody before you cut the turkey.
So this is about the g*dd*mn turkey again!
-The g*dd*mn turkey, again and again and again! -Yeah, yeah.
The man has the mind like an elephant!
But that was not fair, that he drove all that time and you go ahead and eat the dinner before he gets there!
Who ate? We didn't eat! We did not eat the dinner.
-We cut the turkey! -You ate.
It wasn't a question of how much you ate or you didn't eat.
It was the act!
It was the disregard for an older brother!
You might as well have stabbed me in the heart.
IZZY: What's this about here, huh?
This meeting is about cutting a turkey, or is it about Simka?
Why don't we get back to the issue and figure out a way to support Simka and his family.
Oh, another member of the wealthy contingent is speaking!
Uncle Gabriel, we're out there busting our asses trying to make a living.
-Why are you so contemptuous? -HYMIE: The language!
The language. The children are outside!
We're not talking about a lot of money for Eva's brother.
What do you mean it's not a lot of money?
All right, enough of this! I'll give Simka the money and that'll put an end to it. All right?
I'm with you, pal.
Good! Let's move on to next business.
Next business. Next business!
I resign! That's the next business! I resign!
Oh, he resigns!
I am finished with this family-circle!
Let's try to settle this!
(INDISTINCT YELLING)
I am insulted! I'm not going to stay where I'm not wanted!
He was a lousy president, anyway.
NATHAN: We need you, Sam!
We're going, get in the car.
IZZY: Teddy, Mindy, come on.
Teddy, Mindy, come on.
NATHAN: Sam, Sam, Sam!
Sam! Come back for God's sake! Let's talk!
Gabriel! Let's talk!
Come on, you're brothers.
Is it over already?
-Sam, Sam. Come back. -Are we going for Chinese?
ANN: Get into the car, please. EVA: Where's your car?
The golf pro dropped Izzy and me off.
Never do I come back! Never!
We brought you to this country!
We put you in the paper hanging business!
If it wasn't for my say-so, you'd still be in the old country!
You wanted to quit the paper business!
You wanted to own your own club!
I said, "Okay!"
When the nightclub was over and you wanted to come back to the business I said, "Okay!"
That's got nothing to do with nothing!
Nothing!
I came to a Thanksgiving dinner, proud to have dinner at my brother's house!
But you have no respect!
No respect!
(PIANO PLAYING)
I remember when I brought home the piano for Jules.
It was a beautiful, sunny day.
-You should learn how to play. -I don't know.
I don't know. I tried to teach your father.
But he never learned.
Never.
That's a shame.
MICHAEL: If the baby's going in your bedroom, where are you going to go?
Well, Michael, there comes a time when you have to leave your kids.
Your mom and dad need their own place.
But where are you going to go?
We'll get a place with Simka, Gittle and Elka.
You mean, you won't live here?
See this seam? You get a bubble in it.
You use the brush like this and you smooth it out.
-Can I try it? -Here.
It's not important for you to know how to wallpaper because you should never do this in your life.
I don't want you to ever leave.
One way or another, we all have to leave.
On July 4th, the largest discount department store warehouse in the state of Maryland opens its doors.
Hi, I'm Jules Kaye.
And I'm Izzy Kirk. That's right, Jules, July 4th, the day you'll get independence from higher prices when K&K expands serve you better.
60,000 square feet of discounted merchandise.
And with that guaranteed lowest-price-in-town sticker price.
-That didn't sound right. -Okay. Cut it.
What? Sounded good to me.
DIRECTOR: You said price twice. That's what threw you off.
-Price twice. -You said it twice.
Let's reset to try to do this again.
Lowest-price-guaranteed sticker.
IZZY: Guaranteed-lowest-price sticker.
-This is tough. -IZZY: Read the card.
We should've got the announcer guy. Because I'm not good at this.
-Nah, nah, nah. They're too professional. -I'm not good at this.
You're very good. We're salesmen.
-Who better to sell than salesmen? -(SIGHING)
Besides, we can't even afford these spots.
(LAUGHING LOUDLY)
You're going to k*ll me with this.
Every time I turn around, you remind me of how broke we are.
Seriously, this TV thing is way beyond the budget we set aside for advertising.
How many times I have told you, nothing will get the message across like that.
You told me, you told me. Television. You love television.
So what you're saying is true, what are we gonna do?
Don't worry, all right?
Just shift some money around. Ah.
Take little from this area, borrow from here, take it to there.
Little creative financing. Boom, boom, boom.
Everyone does it all the time.
-Lowest-guaranteed-price sticker? -Read the card.
Can I see the card again? Can I see that card again?
MAN: Mr. Kaye, you mother's on the phone.
-Okay? -Yeah.
My mother's on the phone? My mother's on the phone.
Excuse me. My mother's on the phone.
His mother's on the phone.
Come on, Jules. Time's money, huh?
Hold on a second, Ma.
You not gonna believe this. Simka's moving to New Jersey. He's gonna work on a farm.
-A farm? -How did this happen? I don't understand.
-With cows? -One of the people he works with at the spices?
All right. All right, Mom. We're gonna have to talk later, all right? Bye.
What hell was that about?
One of the workers at McCormick's has a brother.
He's got is farm, land in New Jersey.
He made some good deal. He's gonna be the farm manager.
Or whatever the hell they call it when you run a farm.
It turns out he thinks it's too busy in a big city.
That's something.
-She comes to America in 1918. -1916.
IZZY: Finds out she's got a brother who was born after she left.
He gets caught up in the w*r, concentration camp.
They finally meet for the first time in 30 years, and in less than one year, he decides to move on.
So much for family reunions.
(BABY CRYING)
ANN: Everybody out.
-You got your jacket, Jules? -MICHAEL: Hey! Wait up, Teddy.
I hope they show up. Good luck.
Well, they showed up for the George Washington sale.
It's one thing they show up for George Washington sale.
It's another thing they show up on 4th of July with 60,000 feet of merchandise.
-All right, boys. Come on, time to go to work. -ANN: See you later.
Oh, I forgot something.
I forgot my model plane kit.
You think he's gonna be all right down there all day?
-He's got Teddy to play with. He'll be fine. -Don't kick the seat.
-I'll see you later. -TEDDY: I didn't.
-Come on, Michael. Hurry up. Big day. Don't hold them up. -(ENGINE STARTING)
-Bye. -Come on, come on.
Take a look at that.
-An SE5a. -This is going to be good to build and burn.
You nervous?
-No. I'm not. -You're nervous.
All right, I'm nervous.
Hey, what happens if we get there and there is only eight or nine people show?
-Huh? -You see all this? Huh?
Take a good look.
You're not gonna see it again.
-Back to the row houses? (LAUGHING) -That's right.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
-(WHISTLE BLOWING) -(HONKING)
-(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION) -(WHISTLE BLOWING)
(SPLASHING)
Finally, got through to the store. They say it's a madhouse there.
Oh, God, what a relief.
I didn't get... Just a second, honey. I didn't talk to Izzy but Joe says they got the fire marshals there to keep some of the crowd out.
They got more people than they know what to do with.
-That's amazing. -They did it!
-Mummy... -Just a second.
-How are the kids? -They're doing fine.
They're playing in the basement, away from the craziness.
Last time anybody checked they were building a model airplane.
-Mom, can l go... -Just a second.
They could be out here in the sun, fresh air. Playing with the other kids.
Instead they're in a hot basement on July 4th. Beats me!
I blame Teddy. What do you want, sweetie?
Is it time to go back in the water?
Ten minutes until you digest.
(FIRECRACKERS)
I think you put too many in there!
(BREATHING HEAVILY) Oh, my God! A fire is starting!
Everything's catching fire!
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
-Nothing. -I think that's it.
TEDDY: That was close, huh?
MICHAEL: Just what we need. We burn our fathers' store down the first day it opens.
That's just what we need.
It don't get much better than this! Huh!
Nineteen thousand, six hundred and twenty-eight dollars!
How do you like that? Ah! Woo!
Way to go, brothers!
You were right. You were right. We're rich.
(SCREAMING)
(SINGING)
Dad, that sounds horrible.
-Mr. Kirk. -Yeah.
I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but you have a telephone call.
-What is it? -I don't know. I haven't got the call yet.
-Where is it? Here in the main house? -You can get right over there
-at the snack bar. -All right.
-Thank you, sir. -Be right back.
Hello?
Yeah.
-What? -(SINGING)
Jules. Jules! Jules!
-What? -I just got a call. The new store is on fire!
-What? -It's on fire!
-What happened? -I don't know. It's a four-alarm. We got to go.
Come on! Come on!
Dottie, the store's on fire. We got to go.
Oh, no.
Don't say anything to anybody. Ever.
We did it. We b*rned the whole store down.
Hey, Michael! Come on! We're going!
Remember. Nothing to nobody.
(SIREN WAILING)
(DISTANT SHOUTING)
-JULES: Hi, we're the owners. -Sorry! It doesn't look good.
What do you mean it doesn't look good?
-Can you save it? -FIREMAN: We're trying to contain it this time.
-There's nothing you can do? -FIREMAN: We're doing all we can...
ANN: Michael!
Michael!
I don't know whether he's gonna try and go to the store or what. I'm going after him.
-Will you stay? -Of course.
-Are you sure you two didn't have a fight about something? -Mm-hm.
-(BELL TOLLING) -(DOG BARKING)
I hate this thing.
The radio, you put it on the station, it's there.
Here the picture goes this way and that way.
That's it. You got radio.
-Sam! -EVA: Michael is here?
SAM: Hey, Michael, what's wrong?
-MICHAEL: I did a terrible thing. -SAM: Calm down.
-MICHAEL: No. -SAM: Hey?
MICHAEL: I did a terrible thing.
-Terrible. Terrible. -What happened?
Me and Teddy were playing with the model airplane and something must have happened.
-EVA: Oh, Michael. I told you not to play with that. -But I didn't know.
-EVA: I told you not to play with that! -It was just a little fire.
-SAM: Eva, please. -MICHAEL: It was just a little fire.
SAM: What are you talking about?
-MICHAEL: I b*rned the store down. -EVA: Oh, my God!
ANN: I don't know where he is, I have no idea. He just ran out of the house.
I drove around the neighborhood, I couldn't see him.
I thought maybe he came here. I don't know where he is!
-Alright, don't yell at me! -I'm not yelling! I'm worried about him!
-What? -Come on.
All right! I'll be right there.
Did you try calling my parents? Maybe he went there.
-All right! I'm gonna go look for him. -Call my parents.
And let me know. All right?
(FIREWORKS BURSTING)
I told your mother to have your father come and get you because...
...because you had something very important to say.
You're gonna have to tell him.
How am I gonna do that?
Michael.
Michael.
So, what's all the mystery?
Michael has something he has to tell you.
Go, Michael.
Daddy, it's my fault.
What?
I b*rned the store down.
You what?
Me and Teddy were playing with the model airplane and we finished it and put glue all around the basement and Teddy had some firecrackers and we added those.
We lit it and it caught fire and we thought we put it out, but we didn't, I guess.
Sit down. Sit down there.
How many times have you been told not to play with fire? Huh?
-Lots. -A lot! A lot!
You think maybe it's time you start to listen?
-Yeah. -Huh?
Ah, I'm glad that you told me.
It's a very brave thing to do.
It's not your fault. I was just talking to the fire marshal, the fire started on the fourth floor.
It started on the fourth floor?
Yeah. They're not 100 percent sure.
It seems there was some kind of an electrical fire.
It started on the fourth floor, huh?
Not in the basement?
You didn't do it, Michael.
Come on, let's go home.
-Jules. -Yeah?
Jules, what about the store?
It's gone, Dad.
It's all gone.
(CAR DOOR SLAMMING)
No.
(FIREWORKS BURSTING)
JULES: What's that supposed to mean?
What it means is we don't have any insurance to cover this.
What hell are you talking about we don't have any insurance?
You took care of that stuff.
What are you talking about? You're telling me we don't have any insurance?
We had it. I canceled it.
You canceled it?
There's no insurance for this whole g*dd*mn thing? How is that possible?
What the hell did you do?
I told you when we were doing the televisions commercials that we didn't have enough money. All right?
You didn't seem to care when I said we had to shift some money around, take a little from here, borrow from there. Pa-pa-pa.
It's always been borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.
Yeah. It's like a gamble.
I took from the insurance, figured we'd save a little money from there, while we set up advertising budget. Get this place on its feet.
And this is like a fluke.
You know?
JULES: Yeah.
It's a fluke all right.
IZZY: Things like this don't happen.
What are the odds on something like this happening? What's it gotta be?
-JULES: Some like this? -IZZY: Yeah.
JULES: It's gotta be a million to one.
IZZY: Exactly. A million to one.
So, what are we gonna do?
Well, file bankruptcy, re-group, start over.
Of course we'll lose some of the distributors. Because they're not gonna want to do business with us anymore.
But we'll pick up some new lines.
With a little luck, we'll be back.
No, I think that's it for me.
It's too much of a roller coaster ride for me.
The Krichinsky cousins, Kirk and Kaye.
Izzy, this is the end of the road for me.
What you gonna do?
A salesman can always sell.
It's not the product. It's the salesman.
That's what my father always said.
EVA: Sam, don't run with the machine.
SAM: I'm not running, I'm not running.
HYMIE: Sam, why don't you speak to Gabriel?
SAM: I never speak to him.
HYMIE: So you don't speak to Gabriel, and then Nathan doesn't want to speak to you because he doesn't like the idea that you don't speak to Gabriel.
So now we got four brothers and two don't speak to one another.
How come Nathan speaks to you when you speak to me.
I can talk to you. This he can tolerate.
But he won't talk to you unless you speak personally to Gabriel.
Got an indigestion.
You've been having indigestion a lot.
-Yeah. Whatever I eat, it lays on me. -(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
Bombs away!
-How come they are not going to the country club? -I don't know.
Don't seem to like it there. They like it better here with us.
They better like the country club, because they're gonna get rid of this.
-What are you talking about? -I was talking to the old man.
He's going to sell the place. They want to build homes here.
Homes?
It's too far for homes.
Got to be a pioneer, to live out here. You can't get here with a streetcar.
They can build homes, they can put more streetcar tracks.
Again?
Indigestion?
I think I'll take a little walk.
Might help.
-Do you boys want to go for a walk? -Yeah.
HYMIE: Fix me another sandwich, will you?
ALICE: You already had two.
HYMIE: This will make three.
ALICE: You want something, Sam? -No, no, nothing for me, Alice, nothing for me.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
(MICHAEL SCREAMING)
Hey, Pop.
-How's she doing today? -The same.
Every day's the same. She gets better, she comes out, she gets worse, she comes back to the hospital. In and out. In and out of the hospital.
Listen, Dad, Ann's going to make a little Thanksgiving dinner, you know.
I know, I know. She's been here all day.
-You gonna come over? -No, I better stay here.
I'll have a bite in the room with your mother.
All right. If you change your mind.
Hi, Ma.
How you doing?
Oh, I'm tired.
-How's the new job? -It's good.
I like it.
It's interesting...
...and it's challenging.
I like it.
Selling time.
I never heard of such a thing.
It's not just time, Ma. It's time for television commercials.
Companies buy the time for television commercials, so they can sell their products.
-I hate commercials. -(CHUCKLING)
But I like the one that the cigarette packs dance. I like that one.
Did you sell them time?
No, Ma.
Oh! That's a shame, because I like that one.
MOTHER ON TELEVISION: Henry! Henry Aldrich!
HENRY: Coming, Mother.
-Henry, how many times I have to call you? -What is it mother?
RABBI: We have come here to pay our final respects to the late Eva Krichinsky, a woman of valor.
She came to America in 1916.
She married, raised a beautiful family.
Was a devoted wife and a caring mother.
One who was loved and respected by her family and many friends.
She lived a full and happy life...
SAM: Gabriel didn't come.
Nathan didn't come.
What happened to Simka?
He called. He couldn't get away.
Couldn't get anyone to take care of the farm.
This is not a family.
Not a family.
JULES: Dad, come on for some dinner.
ANN: What's the matter with your corn? DAVID: I don't like it.
Since when you don't like it?
I've been making you corn since...
How was school today, Michael?
Dad, that's David.
Michael is in college.
It was yesterday, I had to go up to the school. He was in trouble.
Something with
"may" and "can."
With "may" and "can."
TELEVISION: Science prove there is no life on Mars as we know it...
He wets the bed.
My dad wets the bed.
(JULES SIGHING)
You'd like to see Sam Krichinsky?
Yes, I'm his grandson. Michael Kaye.
-Hi, Mr. Kaye. Do you know the way? -Yeah.
-Does my son need one? -No, he's fine.
(INDISTINCT SPEAKING ON TV)
(PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
In the end, you spend everything you ever saved, sell everything you've ever owned, just to exist in a place like this.
So are you dating?
I told you, Sam. I'm married.
-Hey, you are married? -Yes.
And this is my son.
I named him Sam.
You're not supposed to name him after the living.
I know.
You know?
Carry on the family name. Carry on.
Ah, couple of years ago, I went to see the house on Avalon.
It was gone.
Not just the house, but the whole neighborhood.
I went to see the ballroom, where me and my brother used to play.
The whole place, gone.
Not just that.
But the grocery store where we used to shop, gone.
All gone.
I went to see where Eva lived off Poplar Street.
It isn't there.
Not even the street. It isn't there. Not even the street.
And then I went to see the nightclub I used to have.
Ah, thank God, it was there, because for a minute, I thought I never was.
If I knew things would no longer be here, I would have tried to have remembered better.
I miss you, Sam.
I came to America in 1914.
I came to America...
...in 1914.
Daddy, that man talks funny.
He wasn't born here, Sam.
You mean, he wasn't born in Baltimore?
No.
MICHAEL: He came to America in 1914.
He said it was the most beautiful place he'd ever seen.
Avalon (1990)
Moderator: Maskath3